A Second Life

27. Percy Is Pretty, Deal With It (Looking at you, Apollo)

He groaned, running an exasperated hand through his hair. "Do I have to?"

I chuckled. "Yes. It's your weakest point, meaning that you cannot fight from a long range. It's a handicap in battle."

"But I can't aim to save my life anyway." He argued.

"We'll see."

He sighed, grabbing one of the bows I summoned. I waved my hand, summoning a target, but nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing. Only on my third try did a target appear. Anxiety coiled in my gut, but I waved it off with a smile. I'd worry about that later.

Percy sighed, getting into a relaxed stance. He pulled back, and instinctively, I ducked.

"How the Hades did you manage to aim sideways?" I gaped.

"I told you I couldn't aim."

Gods, this was going to be a long day. "Firstly, your stance was wrong. It's relaxed, but it's completely wrong for archery. It's not sword fighting - you don't face your opponent."

I picked up my bow, standing in front of the target as I demonstrated. "You want to stand parallel to the shooting line, not facing your target."

He copied my stance, still slightly confused.

I pulled back on the drawstring. "When you pull back, make sure your head only is facing your target. You need to pull back until the back of the arrow is parallel to your nose. Make sure your left arm is straight else you'll end up bruising it when you release the arrow."

"This feels... weird." He started.

"Maybe it's the stance... This is square stance. It has a narrower base than an open stance. You're trained in close combat, so you won't be used to this type of footwork."

"Ah. That makes sense."

I pulled back the drawstring and released. He followed suit. My arrow hit the target, but his flew straight over.

He smiled in bliss. "It went in the right direction! Apollo, did you see that?!"

Anyone else would've slumped down in defeat and said they were hopeless. I'd never seen anyone who'd ever been this gleeful about missing the target. However, his joy was contagious, and I found myself smiling with him.

"Ok, that was better. I want you to try something else though. Instead of standing parallel, twist your front foot ever so slightly towards the target and bring it a bit back. Move your back foot a bit forward, keeping most of your body weight on the back of your foot."

He did as I instructed, but was so focused on getting it right that his whole body was rigid. Without thinking, I set down my bow and wrapped my arms around his torso, straightening it and twisting it towards me. He tensed even more and I clicked my tongue in disapproval.

"Tsk. Relax, if you're tense the tension will be released in the arrow. You need to arrow to fly where you want it, before it to goes awry in the wrong direction."

He cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah."

I held his torso in place, instructing him to nock the arrow. He did as I said.

Before he released it, I held onto his bicep, bringing it back slightly more. "Look, now if you aim it like this it should go straight."

He let the arrow fly, watching it with growing anticipation. It didn't hit the bullseye, but it was close enough.

"I did it!"

"That was one arrow." I reminded him.

"Doesn't matter."

He didn't seemed bothered by me being so close, but I didn't want to push any boundaries, so I stepped back. I saw an emotion I didn't quite recognise flicker through his eyes, before he turned around and aimed another arrow, exactly how I instructed. This one hit the edge of the target, but he was improving. Slowly.

By the end of the hour, he was able to hit close to the middle, with some shots even hitting the bullseye. I noticed, with furrowed brows, that his fingertips were blistering and red. Something he didn't seem to notice. He readied himself for another shot, this time trying the first stance again.

I watched him carefully. The slight shake of his hands. The glances to the side. The unconscious tension coiled in his calves, like he needed to run any second. And, for the first time in a while, I felt my heart break.

What had the Fates done to him? I was so resentful towards the Fates for dooming all my lovers. For making it so that I broke my heart yet and yet again. But Percy? He had it worse than me. Zeus was an asshole but he wouldn't touch any of us. Even with his ego, he cared the slightest bit. Percy hadn't been that lucky. And then he was forced into two wars. He chose the prophecy. He could've let Thalia be it, or Nico, but he chose the Prophecy. How cruel had the world been to him that he would've chosen his demise to protect them?

It made me mad. It made me angry beyond belief. It created a fire burning inside of me, the kind that rages through forests with relentless and reckless abandon.

The fire that was soothed by a simple look from said demigod. The sun fell over his head in the most heavenly of ways. It created a halo of gold around his face, leaving his features silhouetted in shadows. The sun had started setting, painting the forest a rich green and gold. Shadows fell around us, only serving to make the boy in front of me look more godly. It was as if the Earth and skies themselves worshipped him, with his body so relaxed, the purple and gold of the skies blanketing him in warmth and beauty.

I held out my hands. "Give."

He handed me the bow.

"Not that. I want your hands." He looked at me confused, giving me both his hands. A golden glow surrounded both of us as I put all my energy into healing his hands. I allowed my warmth to travel through his body, soothing his aching muscles, calming his frayed nerves.

The light slowly died out, the sun now almost fully set. The skies were a waning lilac on one side, the other side already a dark blue. He pulled me into his embrace.

"Thank you, Apollo."

My words stuck in my throat. The only thing I could do was hold him tighter for a few seconds. His body was flush against mine. I could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. I could feel his breathe tickle my neck. I could feel his heart beating. I could feel his heart skip a beat, as if in sync with my own.

I pulled away from the hug. "You're welcome, Seashell."

He smiled at me, and I returned the smile. And just like that, we walked back towards Hogwarts, the silence between us light and amicable.

For once, I wasn't plagued by thoughts. For once, my mind was only of the presence of the demigod next to me. For once, I was at peace.

Guys was I seriously the only one who did know that Percy had a dream about Poseidon being pregnant and that that scene was real in canon? Like actually? Bruh, u guys gotta stop holding info from me Istg else I'm gonna have a heart attack 😭

Love u guys anyway ❤️