Indigo Eyes

Chapter 76

Percy was going stir-crazy waiting for Annabeth to return from visiting the Oracle, especially after Juniper told him that she'd also seen Quintus poking around the rocks nearly a week ago. He'd been wandering towards Cressida's cabin, hoping to talk to her, only to see her walk out of the Ares cabin with Clarisse at her side, the girls in deep conversation as they headed for the Big House.

He followed them as they headed for the basement where Chris Rodriguez was waking up as Clarisse roused him.

"Do you know who I am?" Clarisse had asked gently.

"Clarisse," he answered, his eyes seeming clearer than the last time Percy saw him, and Clarisse looked genuinely happy that he remembered her. "And she's Cressida."

Cressida gave him a supportive smile from where she stood next to his bed that he wasn't tied down to now. "You've been studying the pictures."

Chris gave a small nod and Percy spied a small pile of labelled pictures on a table that also had an empty plate and fresh nectar and ambrosia on it. "It seems...clear," he said vaguely, and Cressida's smile grew.

"That's good. That's very good," she said as she sat on the other side of his bed. "I'm going to be honest with you though, you're not completely better. Things might get foggy again because I haven't put all the pieces together yet. And I might not be able to for a while."

"Are you - are you leaving?" he stuttered, anxious as his hand linked with Clarisse's grew tighter.

"No!" Clarisse said quickly. "I'm not going anywhere," she promised, and he nodded, the information seeming to significantly calm him down.

"I might be though," Cressida said. "So, since I don't have the time to finish putting the last pieces of your mind and your identity back together, what I can do is sort of...strengthen what we've already put together."

Chris looked confused so Cressida sought to put it into simpler terms.

"Think of your mind as a puzzle. And we put some of the pieces together - but not all - to make a clear picture," she began and he nodded as Clarisse began rubbing the back of his hand with her free one. "I can't put the rest of the pieces together but what I can do is glue together the pieces that we already have so we can keep the clear image and it won't become foggy and fall apart."

His nod was slow as if it took a minute to make sense.

"Is this like what you did for me?" Clarisse asked.

"Very similar. Hopefully, it will keep him like this and make him easier for you to take care of for longer. Long enough for me to get back if Books decides to take me on her quest."

"She definitely will," Clarisse said.

"I like glue. Glue keeps it together. Keeps it clear," Chris blurted and Cressida nodded.

"Are you ready?" Cressida asked as she offered her palms to him. Chris glanced and Clarisse first who nodded encouragingly and he hesitantly let go of her hand. He didn't have to sit up from the gurney-styled bed as his torso was angled upwards and he reached for Cressida's hands. "Keep calm," she said soothingly.

"Remember what we practised. Slow breaths," Clarisse reminded him and he nodded first to her and then to Cressida who let purple fire engulf their conjoined hands. Her eyes were open this time, fire sparking inside her irises as she began repeating the basic things that he already knew. His name, his age, his siblings in cabin eleven.

They shied away from the mention of his father for fear that it might bring back some of the hatred he had for the gods. She didn't force him to forsake Kronos in her attempt to rebuild his mind, it didn't feel right even if he was supposedly evil. But for Clarisse's sake, she made sure to emphasise how they'd helped him, how the gods had helped them and how excited his siblings would be to see him once he was better.

When Cressida stopped talking she let go of Chris's hands as the fire died down and her eyes returned to normal. And she didn't even seem phased by the power she used as Chris let his head roll to the side and he looked at Clarisse as if he was waking up for the first time.

"You - You said, we could take a canoe ride. You wanted to see the sunset."

She gaped at him, water threatening to line her eyes as if she didn't believe what he'd just said. "Yeah," she said breathlessly. "I did. We can. Can we?" she stuttered as she turned to Cressida who couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

"Give him 24 hours. See how he goes. And then, yes, you should be able to take him out for a canoe ride and maybe even introduce him to one of his more...sensible siblings. But just remember to take it slow and absolutely no monsters or weapons."

Then Clarisse did something that shocked Percy as he watched the daughter of Ares round the bed and hug Cressida for all it was worth.

"Thank you! Really! Thank you, Lynn."

Cressida chuckled as she hugged her back. "He's not completely better yet, he's still got a way to go, but he's on the right track."

"Shut up and accept my thanks. I doubt you'll get it again," Clarisse said as she pulled away and Cressida rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome."

"Was that so hard?"

"You're impossible," Cressida said but it was more used as an affectionate term rather than an insult.

"And you're crazy."

And Cressida's smile was wicked. "I'll give you two a minute," was all she said before she turned to Chris. "I'll come back to say goodbye if I go."

"When you go," Clarisse corrected.

"Whatever you say, La Rue," she said as she headed for the stairs and Percy scrambled back outside the basement, pretending to be pacing around the room waiting for Annabeth when Cressida came up and her indigo eyes pinned him to the floor. "Word of advice," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Next time you want to eavesdrop on someone, take a stealth class first."

And she walked out of the building.