(𝟎𝟏𝟐.𝟎𝟏) A Poppy-Stem and the River Lethe,

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✩ ━━━ chapter twelve, part one, a poppy-stem and the river lethe

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━━━ chapter twelve, part one, a poppy-stem and the river lethe. another sun under the sky continues to rise and set, i just become a cloud and leave myself to the wind,❞

 ❝another sun under the sky continues to rise and set, i just become a cloud and leave myself to the wind,❞

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WHEN PERCY RETURNED TO THE WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE, NOBODY SPOKE TO HIM. Hiroki's army was gone, the Apollo campers—the ones who weren't slaughtered by the Hellhounds—rummaged the empty battleground. Together, they walked back to the Plaza Hotel to rest.

The campers seemed uneasy around him, casting him side looks and whispered to each other. Percy overlooked it, brushing it off as the worry for their siblings and need for guidance, but then he heard a small blonde-haired girl whisper to her older brother, 'why is Percy so angry?' and 'was he crying?' It made him feel terrible. Percy stopped crying long ago, his tears long dried. His face was twisted into a pissed-off scowl, still. He really couldn't bring himself to not be angry though, so he just allowed it to scare off his comrades even if he ached to comfort them.

With an arm twisted unnaturally and a wry grin on his face despite the drying blood splatters on his cheeks, a fourteen-year-old Apollo camper Will Solace approached him. "Percy? Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry about it," Percy said, gripping the red poppy in his hand tightly; he is the only one unharmed out of the army. He didn't want to think about the curse of Achilles too deeply. With a leveled voice, as a leader's voice should be, he asked: "Damage?"

Will Solace looked at the ground, kicking the hard pavement. "We're still searching for those who went missing. We can't find Michael..." He hesitated. "And, uh, a lot of injuries, but nothing major. Annabeth, too. She tried to follow you, but an enemy managed to slice her arm."

Percy turned his head sharply. "But she's okay, right?"

Will nodded nervously. "The dagger was poisoned, but I treated her quickly. The venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. It's not so bad. I sent her ahead with one of my siblings."

With Will's reassurance, Percy calmed slightly. With a last check around the perimeters, the remaining half-bloods headed to the Plaza hotel. Percy hurried past the fountain outside the hotel, eager to check on Annabeth and his friends when a bronze apple sailed over his head. "You, mini-Poseidon!"

as if the stars had aligned ━ percy jackson¹Where stories live. Discover now