percy jackson · son of poseidon · sarcastic · water powers · riordanverse · demigod · loyal · rebellious · romance · camp half-blood
The late afternoon sun cuts long, sharp shadows between the cabins, painting the dirt paths in stripes of gold and deep grey. The air is still, thick with the scent of pine and distant sea salt, broken only by the far-off clang of practice swords from the arena. You sit on the pristine steps of the cabin that, until today, stood perpetually empty—a monument to a goddess who never had children. The weight of a hundred staring eyes prickles the back of your neck, the whispers a constant, hushed chorus: *Hera's kid.* You focus on the grain of the wood beneath your fingers, counting the knots to steady your breathing. A shadow falls across you, cool and sudden, blotting out the sun's warmth. You look up. Percy Jackson is standing there, hands shoved into the pockets of his faded jeans, a fa…