Shrouded in Darkness

You Can't Teach A Demigod New Tricks

"Hey sleepy head wake up!" Someone shouts joyfully. I peep out behind my eyelids to find Percy hovering over my bed a giant grin on his face. I groan and pull my covers up over my head.

"Go away." I mumble.

"Oh come on Seasalt! Breakfast!" He shouts shaking my bed.

"Don't call me Seasalt." I mutter throwing back my covers and pointing at him menacingly.

"Aw come on! Don't be like that!" Percy whines as I sloppily make my bed and head to my dresser. I didn't get to bed til late last night. I was so exhausted I passed out. I didn't even dream.

"I'm just grumpy in the mornings." I mumble grabbing a clean shirt and some dark jeans. "Close your eyes." I tell him hardly caring at this point as I rip off my shirt. Percy yelps and slaps both his hands over his face. I hastily throw on my clothes and stash my pajamas away. "Alright all good." I tell him yanking my hair out of the ponytail and shaking it out. Percy peeks through his fingers at me and pulls his hands away when he see's I'm dressed.

"Breakfast Tyson!" Percy shouts. He's up in half a second looking around bewildered.

"Food?" Percy nods and makes way as the Cyclopes bounds out the door. I roll my eyes and don't bother grabbing my makeup bag.

"Let's go Fish Bait." I grumble hitting his arm.

"So I can't call you Seasalt but you can call me names?" Percy asks shutting the door to our cabin. "

Exactly!" I say with a smile looking at him tiredly.

"You didn't dream last night." It was more of a statement than a question. I shook my head.

"Too exhausted. I stayed up late just tossing and turning." I lie. Percy nods.

"Sorry sis." He says I shrug and look up toward the mess hall. There's someone with a familiar leather jacket and black skinny jeans walking up the hill with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Nico?" I called out. The dark haired boy turned. He was wearing a scowl on his face and looked dead tiered. Ha! Dead tiered. Ha!

"Hey." He mutters.

"Man I don't think I've seen you out in the sunlight in years." Percy says teasingly. Nico shrugs, his jacket crinkling.

"Didn't want your sister and my sister bugging me about eating." He replied.

"Well you might not want to stay out here too long you could burn up. You're practically translucent." Percy gives me a scared look. I don't think anyone ever messes around with Nico but he just mutters a,

"Shut up." And that's that.

"Do you even eat?" I ask. "You're like a bag of bones." Nico snorts.

"Are you trying to be funny? And do you eat? You're just as skinny as me." I don't reply at first. I've never really saw myself as skinny I mean I definitely had more meat on my bones than him but I guess it was less than the average person. I decide to answer his first question.

"Yeah haven't you ever thrown in a pun every now and then?" I ask. Nico shakes his head and rolls his eyes. I don't know if he's answering the question or he's not amused with me. "Like right now you could say. 'Im dying of hunger.'" Percy snorts and covers his mouth trying not to laugh.

"You're not funny." Nico says but the corners of his lips are twitching, ready to form a smile.

"You could also say that you're as 'pale as a ghost'." This one earns an actual smile. "Ha! You smiled! I win!" I say triumphantly fist pumping the air.