Falling for you || Percy jackson

Percy IX

With a jolt, Percy's eyes snapped open.

His nose was instantly assaulted by the hot stench of meat and blood. Percy scrambled to sit up on the strange flat bed he found himself on, a thick material connecting two poles together about a foot off the ground. Percy hissed, wincing as burning pain tore across his body, and he looked down, preparing himself mentally for the worst, but blinked instead. He couldn't even see the wound; his torso had some ragged brown material wrapped tightly around the Minotaur injury, blocking it off. It smelled like his mother's herb rack. His eyes wandered further, noting his leg was still strapped to the tree branch. It was straightened out, his bones no longer visible, but it still felt like it was on an awkward angle.

Where was he?

He looked around with a brow furrowed in confusion. He was in some kind of- hut?- Percy guessed. It was pretty dark, just a few candle type creations in the corners here and there, burning quietly and providing a soft light. There seemed to be a collection of junk hanging from the brown canvas ceiling, that hung low, supported by odd white beams, like a crowded garage. There were hooks embedded into a few of the off beams. On them, drawstring bags hung, some oozing some kind of liquid that spread across the bottom. An assortment of weapons lay in the corner, some driven through the canvas walls like sewing needles. There was a chair in the corner that looked twice as tall as him.

Was he hallucinating? He ran a hand over his sweaty brow; as nice as it was in there (for Tartarus, anyway), it was in no way cooler. He breathed in the stuffy, meaty air and gave himself a beat or two to try and match up his memories while he had some time to himself. As far as he could tell, he was alone.

Which was why he jumped as a large hand fell on the bed to the left of him.

Percy looked up, tired eyes squinting.

A Giant towered over him.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, pushing himself backwards, his free leg trying to gain traction to propel his body away.

Percy's hand flung itself out to search for his sword, his arms going up defensively. He swore. No part of his sword came into contact with his hands, yet he refused to turn his head to look, not giving the Giant even more of the advantage to attack.

The red-haired Giant observed him, and Percy got the same feeling he got whenever a teacher would cross their arms at the front of the class and say 'I'll wait'.

"Your weapon is on the table by your foot." The Giant told Percy, who blinked. "It is next to some medicine that will dull the pain. If you're done reopening your wounds, that is."

Percy halted his attempts to get away. He made a noise of protest at the whole situation, a very mature and thought-out, "Eghhh?"

The Giant raised a furry eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, what?" Percy asked, genuinely confused.

The Giant sighed, sitting on a wide stool next to the bed, that looked like it could support Percy's entire cohort on it. He was a red-skinned giant with flowers in his rust-coloured braids, a jerkin of green leather around him. Percy had never seen him before.

"I am Damasen." The Giant said evenly. "Iapetus brought you to me, convinced me to treat you, reckless and fallen child of Poseidon."

Percy felt like he'd had the mother of all concussions. And he knew concussions well. "But- but you're a giant!" he pointed out, "Big bad son of Gaia? One of the 'Crush-Demigods-First-Ask-Questions-Later' guys? Why haven't you killed me?"

"Do you want me to kill you?" Damasen raised his eyebrows at Percy.

"Uh- no?" Percy hastened to answer properly, "No! No, I'd really rather you didn't." Percy glanced around for any sign of the amnesiac titan, hands still clenching the sides of his flat bed just in case it was a trap, ready to shove himself up at the drop of a hat.