𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[8] Percy hates nets

It's my life - Bon Jovi
0:37 ━❍━━━━━ 3:01
↻ ⊲ Ⅱ ⊳ ↺

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Percy woke with a start. Someone, or something, was pounding on his door. He grabbed Riptide and got out of bed.

"Hello?" He called. THUMP. THUMP. Percy crept to the door and uncapped the blade. He flung open the door, and found himself face-to-face with a black Pegasus.

Whoa, boss! Its voice spoke in Percy's mind as it clopped away from the sword blade. I don't wanna be a horse-ke-bob!

Its black wings spread in alarm, and the wind buffeted Percy back a step,

"Blackjack," he said, relieved but a little irritated. "It's the middle of the night!"

Blackjack huffed. Ain't either, boss. It's five in the morning. What you still sleeping for?

"How many times have I told you? Don't call me boss."

Whatever you say, boss. You're the man. You're my number one. Percy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and tried not to let the Pegasus read his thoughts.

"Blackjack," Percy said, "you're supposed to stay in the stables."

Meh, the stables. You see Chiron staying in the stables?

"Well... no."

Exactly. Listen, we got another little sea friend needs your help.

"Again?"

Yeah. I told the hippocampi I'd come get you.

Percy groaned. "All right," he said. "I'm coming."

You're the best, boss.

"And don't call me boss!"

Blackjack whinnied softly. It might've been a laugh.

Percy looked back at his comfortable bed. His bronze shield still hung on the wall, dented and unusable. Percy took one last look at the cabin, before closing the door. Even then, Percy had a feeling that he wasn't coming back to his cabin for a long, long time.

.

.

.

Here. Blackjack slowed and turned in a circle. Straight down.

"Thanks." Percy tumbled off his back and plunged into the icy sea. He shot down into the darkness. Twenty, thirty, forty feet. The pressure wasn't uncomfortable. As he got closer to the bottom, Percy saw three hippocampi—fish-tailed horses—swimming in a circle around an overturned boat. The hippocampi were beautiful to watch. Their fish tails shimmered in rainbow colors, glowing phosphorescent. Their manes were white, and they were galloping through the water the way nervous horses do in a thunderstorm. Something was upsetting them.

Percy got closer and saw the problem. A dark shape—some kind of animal—was wedged halfway under the boat and tangled in a fishing net, one of the big nets they use on trawlers to catch everything at once. Percy hated those things. It was bad enough they drowned porpoises and dolphins, but they also occasionally caught mythological animals. When the nets got tangled, some lazy fishermen would just cut them loose and let the trapped animals die.