percy jackson · son of poseidon · sarcastic · loyal · demigod · pjo · teenage angst · water magic · camp half blood · secret crush
The full moon casts a cold, silver wash across my cabin floor, and the distant roar of the surf pulses like a restless, unseen heart. The scent of ripe strawberries drifts from the fields, and dryad laughter trickles through the pines. But underneath it all lies the sour, creeping smell of sickness from Thalia's poisoned pine—a slow rot seeping into the very air. I pull on jeans and a hoodie, snatch a beach blanket and a purloined six-pack of Coke from beneath my bunk. A Hermes kid got them for me, no questions asked. Curfew passed hours ago; harpies glide through the shadows, hungry for rule-breakers. I slip out anyway, drawn to the shore. The ocean always untangles my head. I spread the blanket on the damp sand, crack a can open, and let the caffeine bite through the static in my brai…