Anthízo, Percy Jackson

IV. the never ending guilt of failure

AFTER THE THREE demigods left, karina managed to find herself back in the same spot she was two nights ago. she sat herself at the highest point on the ship— her back pressed up against the wall as her legs dangled loosely over the edge of the small platform.

it was almost like a crow's nest of the ship— except there were no barriers around the platform, and it was more like a wooden landing than a place to stand. it was as if leo had ran out of ideas for things to put on the ship and just stuck a random platform on the top of it.

she closed her eyes tiredly, letting the warm rays of the sun illuminate her already tanned skin. the breeze was calm, but it felt nice against her skin— a perfect combination of heat and wind going against her body. this was the calmest she had felt ever since she woke up from her slight coma— and even now she still felt on edge. but, her body wasn't has rigid, and her muscles were relaxed, so she felt that this would be enough for her.

karina didn't know how long she'd been up there for until she started to see the sun begin to fall against the horizon, representing that the day was about to come to an end. hazel, frank, and nico weren't back yet— which slightly worried her, but she tried to pay it no mind. they were strong demigods, they would be fine.

despite seeing the sky began to turn orange, her body seemed to refuse to move— as if it was telling her to enjoy these last moments of peace before she's roped back into more chaos. karina didn't hesitate to keep her position on the platform, feeling calm enough to where anything that was happening below her, didn't bother her.

"i knew i'd find you up here."

karina heart skipped a beat at the sudden voice, and her hand instinctively went to grip her necklace, but when she saw the smiling face of jason grace, she halted in her movements. and instead, she sunk her body back into the floor, and turned her stare back to the horizon.

"i didn't expect you here," karina said, her voice surprisingly calm, which made jason's nervous mind relax.

jason moved to where his body was beside her's, one of his legs pulled up to his chest while the other hung off the edge of the platform. "sorry for scaring you."

"you didn't scare me," she replied, her eyes not leaving the figure of the setting sun in front of her.

jason, despite trying to match her mood, slipped a small smile onto his face. "i saw you move to grab your necklace— something you always do when you get scared."

karina rolled her eyes. "well you didn't give me any warning that you were up here, so obviously it's going to scare me."

jason smirked. "so you were scared."

karina glared at him, looking at him for the first time since he'd gotten here. jason chuckled and raised his hands in defense. "sorry, sorry."

karina rolled her eyes again, and turned back to the setting sun. jason took this moment to look at her instead, admiring the face her face was illuminated in a hue of soft oranges and reds from the sky, making her body look as if it was glowing. her face was so peaceful, that jason couldn't help but stare at it. he hadn't seen her look this calm in so long, that he'd almost forgotten how she looked when she was. her hair was gently blowing behind her shoulders, revealing her soft eyes and expression— a stark contrast to her usual scowl and hard, emotionless eyes.

"stop staring," karina said. "it's weird."

jason's eyes quickly left her face, but he still remained close to her, turning his line of sight to the sunset as well. "sorry. you just look so peaceful— i wanted to remember how you looked when you're like this."