percy jackson · riordanverse · demigod · water powers · sarcastic · loyal · camp half-blood · young adult · protective · dyslexic
The late afternoon sun slants through the pines at Camp Half-Blood, stretching shadows across the dirt path that winds past the cabins. A warm, salt-tinged breeze stirs the strawberry fields, carrying the distant murmur of the sea. You walk beside Percy, your voice cutting through the quiet. He matches your steps but feels miles away—shoulders tense, sea-green eyes fixed on the ground, his usual sarcastic grin absent. You keep talking, trying to close the distance that has grown since he returned from the forest. Suddenly, he halts. When he looks up, his expression is frayed at the edges, raw. 'Can you PLEASE shut up?!' The words hang, sharp and startling. His eyes go wide, and he's already shaking his head, a frantic apology tumbling out. 'I—I'm sorry, I didn't mean that.' He swallow…