✔ | [1] 𝒞𝒶𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝒸 | ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ

𝓍𝓁𝓋𝒾𝒾. Two desperate mothers and their doomed sons

⋆༺𓆩⚔𓆪༻⋆

Poor old Jim's white as a ghost

He's found the answer that we lost

We're all weeping now, weeping because

There ain't nothing we can do to protect you

O'Children

⋆༺𓆩⚔𓆪༻⋆

⚔ Percy would have rather teleported using fire like Helena does than ever shadow-travel.

Seriously, he had almost burnt himself travelling with Helena but it was better than whatever was happening to him now.

Percy couldn't see anything; it was pitch black. He kept getting shivers up his spine; he felt as if his face was actually peeling off and he was pretty sure he left his stomach back in the woods of Long Island. Don't even get him started on the weird and ominous noises he heard the entire time. 

His overall experience, despite it only lasting a minute? -10/10. Percy would not recommend shadow travel.

The shadows, after a minute of pure agony and torture, melted into a new scene.

Percy and Nico were on a cliff in the woods of Connecticut. At least, it looked like Connecticut from the few times Percy had been there—lots of trees, low stone walls, big houses. Down one side of the cliff, a highway cut through a ravine. Down the other side was someone's backyard. 

The property was huge—more wilderness than a lawn. The house was a white colonial-style two-story. Percy could hear cars on what was likely a highway but it felt like they were in the middle of nowhere. The place had seemed abandoned despite the light coming from what seemed to be the kitchen window. 

Mrs. O'Leary staggered. Percy remembered what Nico had said about shadow travel draining her, so he slipped off her back. She let out a huge toothy yawn, then turned in a circle and flopped down onto the ground, causing a mini earthquake.

Nico appeared right next to him like the shadows had darkened and created him. He stumbled but Percy caught his arm.

"I'm okay," he managed, rubbing his eyes.

"How did you do that?"

"Practice. A few times running into walls," Nico said. "A few accidental trips to China. At least my experience was better than Ethan's. He somehow ended up in the middle of Russia, which meant we were waist-deep in snow, which was fun for Helena but not so much for us lesser beings that aren't walking and talking heaters."

Of course, Helena had fun waist-deep in the snow in Russia of all places.

"She didn't tell me about that."

"Ethan said he would cry if she told you," Nico shrugs. "He didn't say anything about me telling you, though."

Percy snorts. Helena was rubbing off on Ethan and Nico and it showed. 

Mrs. O'Leary started snoring.

"Are you going to take a nap, too?" Percy asked Nico.

He shook his head.

"The first time I shadow-travelled, I passed out for a week. Now it just makes me a little drowsy, but I can't do it more than once or twice a night. Mrs. O'Leary won't be going anywhere for a while."