Ogygia

Calypso

The pain is like nothing Percy has ever felt before, worse than the pit scorpion, worse than holding the sky, even.

He felt like he'd been deep fried, then stomped on then fried again.

He's in and out of sleep like a wave rolling on the beach, he's barely conscious each time he comes to but he remembers the pain, the overwhelming burning sensation in his arms and legs, as if he were still in that volcano, his throat as dry as sand.

A girl appears in his vision sometimes, caramel hair and large, almond eyes staring down at him, her pink lips pulled up into a fond smile as if this girl knew him. She caressed his cheek with a tender palm, brushed her fingers through his hair and murmured soft-spoken words that Percy couldn't remember afterwards but cringed at the memory of her lips brushing his ear as she spoke.

When he finally comes to he's blinking up at the stone ceiling of a cave above him. The faint sound of a fountain gurgles in the background and he can smell juniper and cedar, and a bunch of other sweet scents that Percy couldn't name in his half-delirious state. He could hear waves, too, crashing against the rocky shore.

Percy wondered if he were dead, but no. The pain was still there, and besides, he'd been to the underworld before. It definitely hadn't smelt sweet.

He tried to push himself up into a sitting position, groaning as the bandages wrapped around his chest pressed into the inflamed skin, his muscles felt as if they were melting.

"Stay still," the girl's voice commands, causing Percy to flinch, he hadn't realised she was there. "You're still too weak to rise." The girl's lips quirked playfully as she pushed him gently back down onto the cot he was lying on, Percy blinked at her dumbly, wetting his dry mouth.

Gods, how long had he been asleep?

The girl waved a hand and a damp cloth appeared in her hold, Percy was almost too exhausted to clock the magic, but still, it made him nervous.

Goddess, his mind helpfully supplied, instantly becoming guarded.

Percy clenched his fists as she laid the cool cloth against his forehead, either oblivious to, or choosing to ignore the way he leaned away from her touch as she held a bronze spoon above his mouth.

She pressed it against his tight lips, as one would do to a stubborn child, refusing their dinner, raising her delicately arched eyebrows at him. He pressed his mouth tighter, tilting his head away from whatever she was trying to feed him.

"It's nectar, silly. It'll make you feel better." She rolled her eyes exasperatedly and Percy swallowed, parting his lips and letting her dribble the golden liquid into his mouth, the offer of nectar to soothe his burning skin too good to turn down.

The nectar managed to soothe his throat enough for him to croak out a question.

"Who?" He asked intelligently, earning a giggle from the caramel-haired girl. The spoon previously in her hand was gone now. Instead, she'd pressed a hand against his cheek, eyes tender.

"Shush now, brave one," she said. "Rest and heal, no harm will come to you here. I am the goddess Calypso." As if compelled by her words Percy drifted back off into sleep.

The next time Percy awoke the goddess-Calypso, was nowhere to be seen. The cave ceiling above him glittered with crystal formations - white and purple and emerald green like he was inside one of those cut geodes you'd see in souvenir shops. The walls were smoothed down and lacking any jagged edges like the typical cave, and as far as caves go, well, this was far from the worst he'd been in.

The cave was divided into two sections by gleaming silk curtains. Against one wall stood a large loom and harp, golden threads glistening in the faint rays of sunshine gleaming through the entrance. Against the other wall were shelves upon shelves of neatly stacked jars of fruit preserves. Dried herbs hung from the ceiling: rosemary, thyme and a bunch of other stuff his mom would've been able to name.