In My Heart (You'll Always Be)

Chapter 10

sorry to all Elijahs

-- Yuki :)

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Perseus could be considered an old god. He was not the oldest, not by a long shot, and he was pretty young in comparison to others, but there was something about him that made him wise beyond his years. He could tell you a story of war and desperation, and you would still never come close to understanding him. Perseus was an enigma amongst the unknown and even most gods could not tell you much about him.

However, one thing was agreed upon, one thing people who met the god could tell you with upmost certainty.

It was difficult to make Perseus angry.

Now, it seemed ridiculous. A being hundreds upon hundreds of years old must have gotten mad at some point, right? Heimdall, with his vast memory and sight, could tell you that the god couldn't even seem to remain angry when he fought in the war against Jotunheim. In the beginning he was enraged that everyone had to fight such a meaningless war because of petty pride. After a while, though, Perseus just grew tired. His bones ached, as did his heart, but he could not muster up the energy to continue protesting.

This child of Nemesis was really pushing his buttons, though.

"Repeat that again," Perseus tilted his head, ignoring how some people's heads snapped around to look at him. "I must be getting old in my age, I don't believe I heard you correctly."

The child of Nemesis, some boy named Elijah, had been at the camp for about a week, perhaps a week and a half, and was already beginning to annoy many campers. While expressing yourself was something Camp Half Blood encouraged, it did not accept someone purposely belittling others or shunning them for what they chose to do.

Perseus is the god of heroes, among other things, but that did not mean he had to be everyone's own hero. Sometimes, heroes came in different forms, teamed up together in unlikely pairs for the greater good.

"I said," Elijah rolled his eyes at the god, like Perseus was the child. "This freak shouldn't be in this camp," He gestured to Vanessa, who flinched. "I mean, come on, he's just pretending to be a girl!"

"Hey, bitch," Aaron pushed through the crowd that was gathered near the Big House. They glared at the boy, tapping their foot on the ground, "No one here is pretending to be anything. That's a girl if I ever saw one."

The son of Nemesis frowned, "But he was born a boy."

Aaron crossed their arms, leaning forward like they were going to tell a secret. "Elijah, look me in the eyes and tell me if I give a fuck," They deadpanned.

"A-Aaron," Vanessa reached out slightly towards the child of Hephaestus, awe on her face. She could feel tears building up in her eyes, especially since she knew that Aaron was usually a sunshine child.

"Oh, come on," Elijah stomped his foot slightly, looking at Aaron like they were scum on his shoes. "I bet you're one of those freaks, too. Honestly, the gods should just smite Victor for being so-"

The son of Nemesis was suddenly cut off as he was punched. He looked up in shock to see Clarisse standing over him, Annabeth just a few feet behind her. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"What does it look like?" Clarisse glowered at him.

Annabeth cracked her knuckles, looking pissed, "Girls protecting girls."

Perseus felt pride fill him as he watched girls stepping forward to defend Vanessa, even some boys. Like he mentioned, he was the god of heroes but that did not mean he had to be one. Sometimes, your own heroes were the ones who were human just like you.