Percy Jackson-Estranged

Chapter 14-Lost

At ridiculous speeds, the group began to yell at Percy, each wishing to know much of the same things. "Why are you here? What happened to you? What was that? Are you okay?" All of the general essentials. He simply just kept nodding, not really answering any inquiries. Zoe walked up to him again, but this time, she didn't attempt to smack him. She just stood beside him, looking closely at his face and studying his expression. She couldn't get a read on him, and it annoyed her to no end. All she did know was that he was very handsome, and in amazing shape from living out in the wild. She blushed upon realizing this and looked toward the ground, hoping nobody would notice. Luckily for her, most everyone was too distracted by Percy to see her, save for Lissandra, who's eyes widened before she smiled. Oh no. Zoe knew what that meant. She had better threaten her somehow later. Or else she'd never live this down. Scanning the group she was with, she realized they were all still bleeding, and too busy wondering after Percy to look after themselves. Just like herself, Annabeth was lost in Percy's eyes, except she hadn't snapped out of it yet. Reyna was stealing glances at his body, but that was something nobody could really blame her for. The guy was fit, you could tell that much despite how much of him was covered. Eventually, Zoe spoke up, annoyed with the incessant noise. "Guys, we can grill him later, he's here now and we'll make sure he stays. We have wounds to tend to. Right Percy?" She glared pointedly at him. He had the nerve to shrug and walk away a few steps before turning around and responding. "Eh, sure. Didn't have any other plans anyhow." This earned him another attempted smack, one that got closer then last time. He laughed, a musical sound that brought color to her face once again, involuntarily. She really needed to stop that. She'd had plenty of time to get over her feelings while she was with the hunt. In spite of all that though, the boy just wouldn't leave her mind...

Hitting herself this time, she snapped herself from the daze she was falling into. She refused to stare at him for so long again. Walked away from him and to Thalia, she brought out what first-aid materials she had. Deciding against any nectar or ambrosia, she had relatively minor cuts and bruises, she cleansed her open injuries and covered those that didn't need to air out, covering them with a clear paste. Looking at her sisters, she saw that Thalia seemed fine, no injuries worse then her own, but Lissandra had a lot of evident pain in her expression, and was limping slightly with a pale face, presumably from blood loss. Zoe stood, but before she could approach, Percy walked to Lissandra and murmured some words to her. She responded in kind. With a nod, he placed a hand carefully on her shoulder, before water began forming across her body from apparently nothing. A few seconds passed, before soon the water sunk into her skin and vanished, leaving no trace behind. All the bruises and blemishes were gone, replace with healthy skin. Zoe's jaw dropped. The healing ability he had just shown had to match ambrosia and nectar's potential, if not surpassed it. He seemed to somehow notice her shock, or maybe he just felt like pointing it out, as he explained. "Water has great cleaning and healing potential on its own through something called hydrotherapy. However, pure water has properties comparable to nectar if you know how to get it. I can speed up the healing process too, perks of a son of Poseidon." His description amazed her, and made her wonder if she could do it herself thanks to her nymph origins. That was a question for later. For now, she had to check on the rest. Doing a quick twirl, she noticed that everybody else already looked like they'd bandaged and covered what they could. Reyna looked flawless, no mar visible on her skin. She only seemed pretty winded. Noticing Zoe's attention, Reyna gave her a quick smile, before walking over to Percy, her smile breaking for a moment. An awkward silence came between the two, her sizing him up with the corners of her mouth slightly turned down, and Percy, stone-faced, trying to avoid eye contact with her. Suddenly, Reyna lunged at him, bringing him into a tight hug, shaking with emotion. He was taken off guard, and took a while to realize the the hug she had him gripped in. He returned it carefully, evidently not used to such a display of affection. Zoe was surprised too, a dark feeling growing in her gut, one she didn't recognize, but had a fair idea of what it was. Forcing it down, she tried to feel happy for the situation they were all in. The quest was partially finished, and she had found Percy again, although she still didn't understand what the beast inside him would be. Subconsciously, she hoped she would be the one to really bring him back to who he used to be. But she could clearly tell she wasn't the only one who wanted something more with the boy.