𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. | p. jackson.

▪︎botl▪︎ laughing with my feet in your lap

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"WHO?"

tyson swallowed. "every cyclops knows about her. stories about her scare us when we're babies. she was our jailer in the bad years."

annabeth nodded. "i remember now. when the titans ruled, they imprisoned gaea and ouranos's earlier children — the cyclopes and the kekatonkheires."

"the heka-what?" percy asked.

"the hundred-handed ones," andromeda translated

"the hundred-handed ones?" evander repeated.

annabeth nodded. "they called them that because. . .well, they had a hundred hands. they were elder brothers of the cyclopes."

"very powerful," tyson said. "wonderful! as tall as the sky. so strong they could break mountains!"

"cool," percy shrugged. "unless you're a mountain."

"if you ask me," evander began. "it's cool how many people you can flip off with a hundred hands."

"kampê was the jailer," tyson continued. "she worked for kronos. she kept our brothers locked up in tartarus, tortured them always, until zeus came. he killed kampê and freed cyclopes and hundred-handed ones to help fight against the titans in the big war."

"and now kampê is back," evander surmized.

"bad," tyson agreed.

"so who's in that cell?" percy asked. "you said a name —"

"briares!" tyson perked up. "he is a hundred-handed one. they are as tall as the sky and —"

"yeah," percy interrupted. "they break mountains."

"but how would something as tall as the sky fit in a tiny cell?" evander questioned. "and why is he crying?"

"i guess we should find out," annabeth shrugged, "quickly, though. before kampê comes back."

as they approached the cell, the weeping got louder.

the creature inside was human-size and his skin was very pale, the color of milk. he wore a loincloth, his feet seemed too big for his body, with cracked dirty toenails, eight toes on each foot. but on the top half of his body his chest sprouted more than countable arms. they looked like normal arms, but there were so many of them, all tangled together. several of them were covering his face as he sobbed.

"either the sky isn't as tall as it used to be," percy muttered, "or he's short."

"we've seen sky lower than his height," andromeda insisted. "we've held it."

"oh," percy nodded. "yeah, the distance was what? four feet?"

"guys?" evander interrupted. "can you postpone this traumatized flirting?"

"briares!" tyson called, on his knees.

the sobbing stopped.

"great hundred-handed one!" tyson said. "help us!"

briars looked up. his face was long and sad, with a crooked nose and bad teeth. he had deep brown eyes — without whites or black pupils. like eyes sculpted from clay.