Percabeth Drabble

Percy had forgotten how his bunk felt in Cabin Three. He scolded himself for being surprised at how hard the bed was, for forgetting the smell of the wood floor. Tyson wasn’t there, so Percy was alone to his thoughts.
The first night was the hardest. Percy had tried fourteen different sleeping positions, but every single one failed to work. He woke up exhausted, his back covered in a rash and his eyes puffy and red.
Allergies? Percy thought. I never have had allergies before.

He consulted Will Solace at the Infirmary, who gave him a mixture of herbs to help quell the rash, but the medic was as confused as Percy was. Annabeth wasn’t any help, either, as she just stared in confusion at the state of his back.

The next night was just as bad, and the third night wasn’t any better. On the fourth night, Percy practically stumbled back to his cabin, but determined not to fall asleep until he figured out what was bothering him, he put one hand under his head and propped himself up, looking out of a skylight that he had forgotten was there.

Percy saw the stars, and immediately choked up. He thought of Zoë, and all the Hunters that had been lost during the fight with Gaea. He thought about Iapetus, or rather, Bob’s last wish. He thought about all of those that he had lost.

He felt his feet touch the old wood of the floor, and recoiled slightly as his skin hit the cold dew on the grass. He was transfixed on the solar array in front of him, trying to find Zoë, and his breathing grew high-pitched as he couldn’t find her.

He needed water.

He sprinted towards the Canoe Lake, eyes still fixed on the stars, but he couldn’t distinguish the Pleiades from Venus through the tears he didn’t realize were welling up. He tripped, finally, and fell onto his face hard, the pebbles below him scratching into his face. He closed his eyes, sobbing and letting the tears flow.

The darkness of his eyelids didn’t provide any shelter, as the faces of those he had seen killed before him were burned in them like full-color brands.

Charlie. Ethan. Zoë. Silena. Michael Yew. Luke. Castor. Lee Fletcher. So many people had died. For what? As he lay sobbing on the shore of the Canoe Lake, it all seemed so useless to him. He had led those people to their deaths, and they had accepted them gladly. He felt like he just wanted to melt into the water and become nothing. But that wouldn’t be justice enough.

He looked up once more, searching desperately for Zoë in the constellations. Finally, he recognized a pattern. A girl, running across the cosmos with bow in hand. She was so far away. He reached out, begging for forgiveness, the tears welling up in his eyes once more.

He cried out, “Zoë! Zoë, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

He didn’t even realize Annabeth had wrapped her arms around him until he realized he was being pulled away from the beach. Pulled away from the Huntress he had let down. Pulled away from everyone he had let down.

That night, he didn’t go to sleep in the foreign Cabin he had had an allergic reaction to. He went to sleep, fitfully, in the Sick Bay of the Infirmary. Annabeth had sat next to him all night.

When he woke up, he was staring into storm-grey eyes. The smell of coffee wafted into his nose, and he only felt the sting of his scraped up stomach when he tried to sit up.

“Hey,” Annabeth offered softly. Percy stopped sitting up. She put the coffee down and wrapped him in a hug. He slowly returned the favor.

“All those people,” Percy murmured, his mind wandering again.

“They are gone, Percy. You can’t bring them back.” Her words were sharp, but gentle. They were sobering.

He let one last tear slip down his cheek, and then tried as best he could to reapply his armor. He let go of Annabeth slowly, savoring the softness of her orange Camp shirt, the forgiveness in her cheek as he kissed it, and the warmth of her lips on his forehead, like a blessing. He rose out of the cot slowly, walking outside with her hand in his. He looked up, and couldn’t see the stars.

But he whispered, “I will never forget you. All of you.”
And instantly, his rash faded.

Notes

Hey, so I'm back on this story for once.

Enjoy,
Grafon