I'm Still Here (Rewrite)

Never Forget Them

They've just come through a war successful.

It's over, they could celebrate.

Celebrate as much as you can whilst being a child war veteran. As much as you can after you've watched so many die.

As much as you can with the mindset of a soldier.

Chiron shouted for attention, sighing and banging his hoof on the floor when no one listened.

They all finally looked up, the air still heavy.

The silence was thick, unnerving. It promised danger.

Chiron cleared his throat, praying to the gods for his voice to come out clear, strong.

It did, thankfully.

"Campers! We have fought our best, our hardest. Our hard work has paid off. No matter how unsure we were going into this war, we came out successful. Came out as the winners."

Chiron knew what he was saying was the wrong thing to say. That was why he did it. He wanted a reaction, a sign that these children weren't dead on the inside.

He wanted them to be okay. Wanted them to get through this the way they did the last.

Chiron got a reaction, just as he wanted.

The campers began to break out into thundering protest, tempers short.

Chiron looked out into the crowd, his brown eyes meeting those familiar sea green ones.

He watched Percy shake his head, disappointment written clear on his face. He watched Percy sigh, turning around to walk away, right through the middle of the crowd.

No one followed, they just watched with heavy hearts as Percy walked away, heading straight for his cabin.

Grover's eyebrows furrowed, not waiting a second longer before trotting after his best friend, determined to cheer him up.

He knew his best friend, knew him better than anyone.

He knew Percy wanted to honour the sacrifices made during the wars, the lives lost.

He knew he wanted to never forget them.