Percy woke up sweating and crying. He didn't even remember his dream but somehow he knew it was about them. The people who caused him to leave. He remembers everything they did to him. All the scars, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
He didn't tell his friends everything that happened. They only know bits and pieces but they understood that it was still a sore subject to Percy, even after 60 years.
You've got to tell them one day you know.
Percy sits up in his bed and pulls his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.
"I know. But it's hard. I don't want them to worry." Percy knows he's talking aloud even if he doesn't have to. But he could honestly care less. "I try to be better when they're around. I do. And sometimes I know they suspect that what they did couldn't have just gone away so I hide it away."
But you still need someone to talk to. Someone who isn't me and can easily see into your head. A friend.
"But you are my friend right? Even though we share the same body, which is super weird I might add, you still think I'm a friend?"
Eli takes a bit to answer. When Eli was his own self he never had any friends. Percy knows this so he understands why he's silent.
I would like to be friends. Plus we could always play pranks on the others.
"Okay I don't know about you, well I kinda do, but you know how Bianca and Luke are very secretly together right? And they think no one knows but we all do?"
Yeah of course. And I think I know what you're talking about. You want to steal that picture you took a while back. The one you gave them because they thought you'd catch on.
"I don't see how I couldn't. They were literally holding hands. I may be dumb but I'm not stupid."
Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Go to bed we'll do it later. When they're at breakfast.
"Okay. Goodnight Eli."
Goodnight Percy.
—————————
"I can't believe you still eat blue pancakes." Luke says as he sits down across from Percy. Right next to Bianca.
"Well yeah. I've had blue pancakes for so long it's hard to quit."
Zoë walks over carrying a plate filled with waffles. "Yo Perli I need to talk to you."
Percy raises an eyebrow at her. "Perli?"
The former hunter rolls her eyes. "Yes. Perli. I had to come up with something for the both of you."
"Alright whatever. Perli it is." Percy's left eye changes to a dark red color. "What is it?"
"I don't care how long you do that." Beckendorf begins. "But you talking like that gives me the creeps."
"Oh, whatever. We can't help it. Well we can but that's a lot of work.
Silena rolls her eyes. "Yeah it's so much work that you can do it in your sleep."
"Can I ask my question now?"
"Sorry." Everyone says smiling sheepishly.
"Okay as I was trying to get to before I was so rudely interrupted." She glares at the other five people at the table until she looks at Percy. "Do you guys know everything about each other?"
Percy stills. His fork halfway to his mouth.
"Why?"
"I just want to know. Curious I guess."
"Well, I mean, we know mostly everything about each other. There's some things that just haven't come up yet. But we know what each other is thinking and feeling."
"Does it like go in order?"
"What do you mean?"
Zoë adjusts her seat so she's fully turned toward Percy and looks into his different colored eyes.
"I mean do you remember everything in an order? Like from age. Younger to older."
"For the most part, yeah. Sometimes certain words or places will trigger a memory that's not in a certain order."
"That's honestly pretty cool." Bianca says. "Having one person know everything about you without even having to tell them."
"Yeah it is. Where are you at right now? In Percy's memory."
Percy glances at Luke then closes his eyes. When he opens them both of his eyes are a dark red with tiny black specks. "Percy doesn't see his memories when I get them so he doesn't know. Same thing for me. As of right now I know up to the first war you guys were apart of. On that plant called Yermé. I don't know the whole war yet but I got to the part where Luke was being an idiot and screaming that they were all going to die." He stopped for a second. "In front of the terrified people that live there."
Luke looks down. "Hey, it's not my fault. The last war I was in I died so sorry for being a bit panicked." He looks a smile on his face.
"Oh, yeah, sure. That's totally the reason."
"It was!"
"Not!"
"How would you know?"
"Because when Percy's memories get into my head I notice things. Like how Bianca was on the floor laughing her ass off after whispering in your ear."
Luke paled. He then turns to Bianca. "Does that count? You said I couldn't tell anyone it was a dare. But he found out. So it doesn't count right."
Bianca shrugged and looked at Luke. "It may or it may not. Guess you'll have to find out."
Eli it's time now.
Percy's eyes turn back to mismatched and stands up.
"Be right back guys."
"Okay."
Percy walks out the door and quickly runs to Luke's room where he knows the photo is kept. On his way to the room he runs into a person and falls to the ground.
"Well that hurt." Percy looked up to see Chaos standing there with an amused expression. "Oh—uh hey dad? Okay that sounds weird."
"What sounds weird?"
Percy's eyes shift back to his black eyes with white and green stars and looks up to his father. "Eli thinks it's weird to call you that. So we may come to an agreement to just call you Chaos when we are both out. Just easier for him, I guess."
"I see. Whatever floats your boat."
Percy stares at him. "I'm not even gonna ask where you heard that from." He gets up to leave and walks to Luke's door. "And don't tell Luke I went in his room."
Chaos waves his hand in a way that says 'whatever' and walks away a small smile on his face knowing what Percy's planning. "Zeno you better be careful with whatever you're planning."
"Don't worry, I will."
Percy walks into Luke's room, eyes changing back to different colors. "Alright so I say we find the picture first, then paint his room a bright pink color because he hates it so much. Something about a killer poodle?"
Percy looks around the room until he finds a small chest looking thing and opens it. "Shit, we found the jackpot."
Inside the chest are photos of Luke and Bianca in all the different planets we've been. "Well this is disgustingly adorable." He continues to look through the chest and decides to just pick up half of them.
Percy then uses some of his handy-dandy magical powers to summon himself some bright pink. "If I didn't know better I'd have thought this was made with a star. Why is it so bright?"
He picks up a big paint roller and paints Luke's walls after moving some objects against it.
After maybe an hour, Percy finally finishes. He's not surprised that Luke hadn't come back yet. They normally go to train right after breakfast for about two and a half hours. So Percy had some time.
"Alright this place is bright and pink and way too shiny. I think he'll love it." Percy makes the paint buckets disappear and walks out of Luke's room. He makes a few turns and walks into the training room to see a very irritated Zoë being held back by Silena from trying to kill Luke.
"What in the name of Hades is going on in here?" Percy asked.
"This dimwitted peacock said I am a terrible archer!" Percy looked at Luke then back to Zoë and just burst out laughing. Everyone gives him a look of bewilderment.
"You mean to tell me," he laughs even more,"that Luke said Zoë is a terrible archer? I'm sorry man but do you have a death wish? She would decapitate you and have your head on a shelf in her room.
"I was being sarcastic! I didn't actually mean it!"
"Well you should know I am a great archer! So get your facts straight peacock."
"Why are you calling me a peacock?"
Zoë lets out a smirk and looks straight at Luke.
"Because I know what happened at the zoo 23 years ago."
It seemed that all color drained out of his face when Zoë said that sentence.
"What happened at the zoo?"
Luke looks at Zoë with a pleasing look in his eyes begging her not to. Zoë just smiles more and begins the story.
"Well Luke here decided he would visit a zoo on Ara just so he can see all the different types of species. It turns out that Luke 'accidentally' insulted the peacock and the people on Ara, they are witches and wizards of some sort. Well, they turned Luke into a peacock for insulting their favorite bird."
"Oh that's why you were gone for a week!" Silena exclaimed. "You said you were exploring the magical forests on some planet I can't remember the name of!"
"Zoë! How did you even find out about that."
Zoë shrugged. "I followed you. I was bored and you were going to a different planet."
"Well..." Percy says and grins. "I can always make him a peacock again."
Luke's eyes widen. "Oh, no don't do that! Please! I'd rather jump off a rock into a pen filled with poodles than do that."
"Oh yeah! You've got that fear of poodles!"
"Oh whatever I'm going to my room!" Luke runs off and Percy tries to stifle his laughter. Well, until Luke screams and runs back to the training area. "Who did it?"
Percy couldn't take it anymore and bursts out laughing.
"What happened?"
This makes Percy laugh even louder and falls to the floor.
"What the hell Percy? Did you have to do that to my room?"
"What did he do?" Bianca asks.
Luke looks at her "Go see for yourself." He then walks off into the direction of his room.
The warriors followed Luke to his room and when they got there they all laughed, Percy was already laughing and falls to the floor again. Silena and Beckendorf hold on to each other to stay standing. Zoë and Bianca are with Percy on the floor at the sight of Luke's pink room. They all know about his fear of pink so that's why it's so funny to them.
"Percy, you better put it back!"
"Why should I?" He asks between laughs. "I think it matches your style don't ya think?"
"Percy I swear to Chaos if you don't turn it back I will castrate you!" This causes Percy to laugh even more, if possible.
"Oh, I don't think you will. Unless you want some things to be going around Origo that you don't exactly want out yet."
Luke looks confused before he runs to his small chest and opens it to find half of the pictures of him and Bianca gone.
"Percy how'd you know about these?"
"Oh please you act like I'm stupid."
The others look at the two, confused but Bianca has a neutral expression.
"Alright so just please turn it back and give me the missing items. Please." Percy sighs.
"Fine but you better tells us something soon or else I will be the one castrating you.
Luke gulps and puts an arm on his forehead. "Scouts honor."
Percy rolls his eyes. "Please, like you were a scout." He waves his hands and Luke's walls turn back into their original light blue. "Now that I have done that. If you want to get these back." He takes an envelope out of his pocket. "You need to tell us why you hate pink so much and what's up with poodles."
"Oh, yeah, Luke you gotta tell us this!"
Luke sighs and sits on the floor, the rest of the small group following his example. None of us caring that we're sitting in the hallway.
"Alright so a while ago, before I like... died, I was just minding my own business reading a book."
Percy snorts at the thought of Luke reading. Luke glares at Percy but continues his story.
"So this person comes walking by, right? Well this dude is literally wearing all pink and I mean a bright pink. And that wasn't the worst of it! He had this poodle. A tall poodle, really tall poodle." He stops for a few seconds and lets out a small breath of air. "You know what else? The damn poodle was pink too! Next thing I know all I see is pink as the poodle jumps on top of me. I thought my lungs were gonna pop. And the owner just stood there, not trying to get the dog off me until I had enough and rolled over and the poodle jumped up and growled at me. It was terrifying, I thought I was gonna die! It's not funny Percy.
"W-wait! Just listen. On his grave: Luke Castellan, death by pink poodle!" He rolls over in laughter and soon the others are laughing and Luke is scowling at them.
"Yeah, laugh it up! And Percy we had a deal." Percy takes out the envelope and gives it to Luke. He quickly puts it into his room and comes back out to see Percy with a wide smile. His eyes turning red.
"Pleasure doing business with you." He bows and walks off. The others can hear him talking to himself but they're starting to get used to it.
Slowly.