𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔－ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓

Campers circled the group while holding one another. No one could believe their eyes, or how Percy was even standing so calmly, no tears in sight. Sydney was crying quietly with Pollux and Will was mourning to his cabin. The Athena cabin were all praying to their mother, and the Apollo cabin prayed to their father for something to occur, hut it was still quiet.

Clarisse couldn't even stand their. She sat on the ground, holding the side of her face where a scar laid, and a whimper escaped her lips. It was as if that scar meant everything to her now that she was gone, now that no new ones would be made in combat or spar sessions. Now that they only had memories to hold onto.

Juniper was sniffling, holding onto Bea's arm. They were muttering something in anger. If he had focused a bit harder Percy would've understood, but he couldn't at the moment. Not then. And he wasn't sure he ever would again.

Andrea and Andrew let Annabeth attach herself to them, arms around her shoulders, rocking her back and forth while holding back their own fears and tears.

Everyone stopped as Chiron knelt to the ground, horse legs stuck to the ground in frozen terror and bore. Nothing could have prepared him, or anyone, for that matter. It was all so sudden, so quick, none of them really had a true chance of saying goodbye. And that hurt the most for the centaur. Looking at the girl he has known since she was five. A girl he believed to be his own niece, a part of his family.

There was no sign of the wine god anywhere. Many believed he was recalled back to Olympus, that Zeus forbid him from being there to tear the camp apart, to risk everyone else in his rage. But they all knew sooner or later he would return, and bring this terrible baggage with him.

Percy hadn't even noticed that Nico and Tyson were there, too. They both stood off to the side with the cyclops heartbroken, and the son of Hades dropping his eyes toward the ground, before he stepped into the shadows and whispering something to no one.

Pollux looked up at him with his broken eyes, holding her out to the boy. Gently, he wrapped his arms under her back and knees, settling onto the ground.

There was no way she was truly gone. Percy did not believe that she was. Her curls were still tangled, but mostly from when she had been tugging at them earlier that evening, when none of them knew what was to happen in their small camp. Purple eyes dim staring up at him. It was taunting, in a way. But he couldn't bear to close them because he would miss them immediately afterward. Freckles dotted her her face, cut in half by the scar running along the side and ending at her chin, where he smile used to cross, bringing him such joy he felt that he could do anything with it.

Her hands were cold. Fingers were rough with callous from her years of battle, skin slowly turning cool. Percy just didn't understand why her. The only thing keeping him going. The very thing his heart has settled on when he was twelve, prophecy or not, knowing that she was the one for him and him only. Somewhere in  any life they would've crossed paths and fallen all over again. It was the simple truth of the matter.

No sense of laughter or joy would bring her back. There was just no chance she would ever return to wake up beside him in the late morning, groaning about how she hated school, and giving him a bright smile.

There would be no future nights where she would lay in bed with him when they had their own place, wearing an old shirt of his and a pair of shorts. Her hair wouldn't be up in a messy bun that she had put up because she was ready to shave off every curl on top of her head, and he would've still thought her to be the most beautiful person in the world.

No more deep morning conversations and late night mutters. No more small kisses on that one spot on her neck just to hear her giggle because she couldn't help it, before she would pout and go on about how he was just using it to his advantage, and he would always say: "My knowledge, my choice on how I use it."