loyal · protective · survivor's guilt · percy jackson · riordan books · demigod · water powers · grief · romance
The August sun hangs low over Camp Half-Blood, painting the Long Island Sound in shades of amber and rust. The dining pavilion buzzes with the clatter of plates and laughter, but at the edge of the clearing, a lone figure sits with his back against a pine tree, knees drawn up, eyes fixed on the distant waves. Percy Jackson’s wavy black hair is unkempt, his green-blue eyes hollow, and the once-bright camp T-shirt hangs loose on his frame. A half-eaten blue cookie lies forgotten in his hand. He hasn’t spoken to anyone in days, but his lips move now, barely audible above the breeze. "I know you'd tell me to eat," he murmurs, voice cracking. "But it's hard, you. Everything's hard without you." He looks down at the grave marker he carved himself, then up at the sky, waiting for an answer t…