Luke Castellan xOC
Once I had wondered what was holdin' up the ground
But I can see that all along, love, it was you all the way down
(completed 10/2/24)
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then, a woman said, 'speak to us of joy and sorrow'
and he answered: your joy is your sorrow unmasked
⋆₊ ⋆☼ ⁺₊⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆
Luke
Percy jolted awake, his chest heaving, breath escaping in short bursts. Across the cabin, Luke caught the movement and turned his head, his eyes narrowing with concern. The younger boy had been out cold for only an hour—barely enough time for the rest of the Hermes cabin to head off to their various activities. Luke leaned against the wall, arms crossed, observing as Percy blinked and struggled to shake off whatever nightmare had just gripped him.
"You okay?" Luke's voice was calm but edged with curiosity. His eyes flicked over Percy, assessing.
Percy rubbed his face, muttering, "Super." He slid out from his sleeping bag. Luke got up from his bunk and walked over to him.
"We all have them, you know," Luke said, trying to sound comforting. "Intense, recurring nightmares. That's normal here. And the daydreams, and the ADHA, and dyslexia. Demigods just process reality differently than humans do. For the first time in your life, you're just like everyone else."
The cabin door creaked open, and a few sweaty campers filed in, fresh from sword training. Some were nursing burns from the climbing wall, others wiping the grime of the day from their faces. Percy looked past them, his mind still chewing over what Luke had said.
"So are you also..." He began, then seemed to think better of it and rephrased, "do you not know who your-"
"Am I unclaimed?" Luke finished the question for him with a half-smile. Percy nodded, eyes wide, and Luke waved the question off. "No, Hermes is my father." He tried not to grimace at the sound of his father's name on his tongue. He shrugged. "That doesn't matter though, we're all on the same team here."
"Why is that okay?" Percy asked, an edge to his voice. "Why do they get to bring us here to ignore some of us?"
Luke's smile didn't reach his eyes. He'd had this conversation before, and it always ended the same way. "Spend too much time trying to figure out why the gods do what they do, and you'll drive yourself insane." He paused, hesitating. "Trust me on that."
Percy crossed his arms. "But that's not an answer."
Luke's eyes darkened for a split second before he smoothed his expression. He stepped closer, his voice softening. "Look, the sooner you stop worrying about them, the sooner you can start enjoying what this place does offer."
"What's that?" Percy asked.
"Glory."
"Glory?" Percy repeated, his eyebrow raised. Luke put his arm around the younger boy's shoulders and led him towards the cabin door, motioning for Chris and a few of his half-brothers to follow.
