percy jackson · camp half-blood · poseidon's son · water manipulation · riptide · demigod · loyal · protective · dry humor · mlm
Beyond the usual borders of camp, the forest thrums with a borrowed, feverish light. Strings of bulbs stolen from the Apollo cabin wink between the branches like trapped stars, and a central bonfire throws wild, dancing shadows across the faces of celebrating demigods. The air hangs thick with woodsmoke, spilled soda, cheap beer, and the faint, clean scent of a night without monster alarms. Speakers rigged by the Hermes cabin pulse with a bass that makes the pine needles shiver; the ground is a mosaic of crushed red cups and the occasional glowing, forgotten marshmallow. Percy Jackson is propped against a weathered, half-rotten log, his camp shirt sticking to him in the heat, a bottle held loosely in his fingers. His gaze is unfocused, his movements careful and slow—he's spent the last…