cymophobia | percy jackson

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AN: JUST PUBLISHED A DEMON SLAYER STORY GO CHECK IT OUT XOXO

Clarisse and Ash walked Annabeth to the Big House, splitting off at the stairs. The dark-haired pair went down to the basement on the brunette's insistence to check on Chris. The Hispanic boy was curled up on a case of strawberry preserves. Ash approached him slowly with a small smile and a bottle of water.

"Hey, Rodriguez," she said, and Clarisse waited until the daughter of Thanatos' hand made contact with the son of Hermes' skin before coming to sit on an adjacent crate. He'd been rocking back and forth violently but now slowed, allowing Ash to give him some water and put her hand at the back of his neck to calm his nerves. She had to brush some of his dark curly hair out of the way to do so, wincing at how greasy and matted it was.

Clarisse clutched a canister of nectar so tightly her knuckles were turning white. "How is he?

Ash sighed deeply, leaning the boy who kept muttering to himself back against the wall. "If there's any improvement it's minimal. I'm sorry, Clary. The most I can do for him is ease his pain. Here, try and give him some nectar."

It took a few gos, but eventually Chris swallowed the godly drink the girl who cared about him so much tipped into his mouth. His eyes fluttered shut and the boy took a deep breath. When they opened, they were a little more focused, and trained directly on Clarisse.

She smiled weakly. "Hey, Chris."

Chris just stared for a long minute. His hand reached out for her face and then faltered as Ash watched on worriedly. Then he buried his head in his arms and started to sob.

"Oh dear," Ash murmured. Clarisse tried to reach out but the boy shrank away, sniffling, shaking, gripping his own shoulders harshly.

"It's okay," Clarisse soothed. "You're okay. Try a little more nectar."

"You're an illusion, Mary!" Chris cried, backing farther into the corner. "G-get away."

"My name's not Mary." Clarisse's voice was gentle but so sad it made Ash sad too. "My name is Clarisse, remember?"

"It's dark!" Chris whimpered. "So dark."

"Let's go outside," Ash coaxed. "Some sun will help you."

"A thousand skulls. The earth keeps healing him."

Ash frowned. "Chris," Clarisse pleaded, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Mr. D will be back soon. He's an expert in madness. Just hang on, please."

Chris's eyes were wild, desperate. "There's no way out, Mary. No way out!" His frantic, bloodshot orbs trained on something invisible and he let out a strangled, terrified sound. "The son of Poseidon! He's horrible!"

Ash sighed, letting energy flow from her palm. Chris quieted, tucking himself tighter into a ball and shivering, slowly falling asleep in the fetal position as the two girls watched.

"I'm so sorry, Clarisse," Ash said as she gently lifted the boy into the cot Silena had made up for him.

The girl wiped her eyes. "Whatever. Not your fault. Thanks for helping him sleep, I guess."

"Anytime." Ash put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Let's go see if Annabeth made it yet, huh?"

₪₪₪

"I got the prophecy," Annabeth said once they'd all gathered back in the sword arena. "I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop."

Nobody cheered, although Ash did manage a weak thumbs-up. They all loved her of course and wanted her to have a quest, but this one seemed a lil extra life-threatening. In fact, they'd all seemed a lil extra life-threatening these days, huh?