Rise (Percy Jackson x Reader)

nine

re-uploaded: april 15, 2021; edited: august 7, 2023
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"Why is everyone scraping part of their plate into the fire? Is- is the food here really that bad?"

Grover coughs to contain his loud burst of laughter, keeling over slightly as he tries to calm himself down. Percy watches his best friend with concern before glancing back to the bonfire—for whatever reason he cannot decipher, people mutter something to the fire while throwing their food scraps in. Still in a fit, Grover takes a few deep breaths, grabbing Percy's shoulder to keep his balance while doing his best to make his sounds of amusement go quiet.

Luke Castellan, whom Percy had met during Capture the Flag, walks up to the two, evidently with an answer to Percy's question. "They're offerings to the gods," he says, picking up a goblet and handing it to Percy. "It's not enough that they're omnipotent and all-powerful, they need to feel appreciated."

Grover swallows his laughter, his brow furrowing as he looks to Luke. "Doesn't omnipotent mean all-powerful?"

"N—. . . I think so, actually." The son of Hermes shrugs. "I don't really care." Percy chuckles as Luke raises his goblet, exaggerating a toast. "To the gods!"

"To the gods," Percy repeats, raising his cup as well. Luke grins, glancing to the side, and Percy notices a sudden change in his demeanor.

The hand holding his goblet lowers slightly, obviously forgotten due to the boy's distraction. Luke's eyes go soft, almost as if a thin haze has spread over his irises and made them foggy. His smile relaxes to become adoring instead of charismatic, but Percy notices a tinge of sadness in the expression.

He follows Luke's gaze to the far end of the clearing, seeing the girl who caught his attention.

"Holy shit, (Y/N), what happened?"

(Y/N) chuckles as Will Solace, a younger son of Apollo, stares bug-eyed at her arm. "I'm okay, Will," she says, rolling her shoulder a bit to relieve the pain. "Just a small Chimera issue, it's fine."

Will sputters, scoffing. "Oh, yeah, that's fine. It's not like you're just standing there with a poorly-bandaged dirty wound, dumbass!"

(Y/N) rolls her eyes. "I'm fine, Will. I'll tend to it later."

Will crosses his arms. "I can—"

"No," (Y/N) interjects, her expression gentle. "I appreciate it, really, but it's not too bad."

Will grumbles, frustratedly toeing the ground. "Fine," he concedes, knowing how stubborn (Y/N) tends to be on matters like these. He shakes his head, changing the subject. "Aren't you supposed to be on guard duty right now?"

(Y/N) shrugs. "I am."

Will furrows his eyebrows, waiting for her to elaborate. She doesn't, and he gestures around them at the bonfire and congregation of campers. "I don't know if you've noticed, but this isn't the barrier," he says, arms flailing wildly.

(Y/N) laughs at his actions, and he drops his arms with a huff. "Alecto managed to tell me an interesting bit of information," she says, and Will raises an eyebrow.

"Alecto the Fury?"

"Alecto the Fury," (Y/N) confirms, nodding. "She showed up at the barrier earlier today, looking for a 'lightning thief'."

"That makes no sense."

"I thought so, too." (Y/N) shrugs, crossing her arms and leaning back against a tree surrounding the bonfire clearing. "But, as it turns out, Zeus is paying some pretty close attention to us up in the skies. He made his presence known to me less than an hour ago."