6/1/20

New chapter! Sorry it's pretty late, but I've had a really busy week, and then the wifi went down before I could finish it.

This chapter is going to touch on self-harm at the beginning, so trigger warning for that.

Also, someone asked about making the Arai a larger plot-point. Vengeance was able to absorb the cures, but Riptide couldn't. Which killed the last Arai?

All characters belong to Rick Riordan.

Wordcount: 1176

Midnight Musings

===========?===========

Percy POV:

Percy sighed and sat up. He had been tossing and turning ever since he had laid down, and Damasen snoring in his bed wasn't helping. Sleep had always been hard for him, and nightmares plagued him when he did fall asleep, especially after the war. He talked to Annabeth about it once, when she asked about the bags under his eyes, and she got him some sleep meds from the Apollo cabin. It worked a charm, knocking Percy out within ten minutes after he took it. It did nothing to help with the nightmares, so he usually went without it.

!Trigger warning for self-harm!

He glanced down at his forearms. Scars ran up and down the skin in neat rows, some deeper than others. Each had a name that he knew by heart. Zoe. Bianca. Ethan. Luke. He absent-mindedly rubbed the one he made for Beckendorf, the deepest of them all. He had Nicked a vein then. Annabeth found him in a puddle of blood. He made some lame excuse about messing up while cleaning his sword and she bought it. She helped him to the bathroom where he patched himself up. He had nearly died then. He wished he had.

He wasn't able to cut himself after he took the curse, leaving everyone who fell during the war only on his necklace, but he made up for lost time in New Rome while waiting for the Argo II. He decided to make marks for the Romans who fell during the battle at Camp Jupiter, as well

Scars were nothing new to Percy. He had scars long before he knew of the greek world. Not all monsters were of the Greek kind. His first stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, was less than kind to him. Burns from cigarette and cigar butts were dotted around his body, but always under what a pair of shirts and shorts would cover. "Can't have your mommy knowing about our 'guy time' right?" Gabe had said. He had a handful of scars from broken bottles, the deepest from his shoulder blade to his lower back. That had hurt. He regretted not being able to look the piece of schist in the eye as he died.

Ambrosia, Nectar, and water wouldn't heal wounds the person wanted there (Or thought they deserved them), usually for people with piercings or Tattoos, but it didn't heal him, either, which was nice. He would rather not cut his arms every time he got banged up in the training area. That didn't stop him from making more cuts, though. He would still cut the oldest scars, to stop them from fading.

A sudden weight appeared in his left hand. Vengeance sat in his hand, the celestial bronze and steel sword gleaming up at him. It begged to bite into his flesh, to open an old wound. He turned the blade in his hand, appraising it. He brought the blade to a scar close to his elbow, Zӧe's. It bit into his arm, easily cutting through his flesh. Sharp. It burned, far more than what would be expected for a cut that deep. Right, the whole severing your soul thing. Whoops.

Crimson blood rose out of the wound, dripping onto the floor. Percy turned the sword back into a watch and fastened it to his left wrist. He sat for a few minutes, merely watching as the blood dripped onto the ground, before reaching into his new bag and grabbing a bandage. He bound the wound, before laying back down and falling asleep.

!Trigger warning over!

Summary if you didn't read it: Percy cuts himself every time someone during the war died, as well as the Romans who died at the battle during SON. Gabe abused Percy. Percy cut himself.

Percy woke up before Damasen, so quickly packed up his stuff and went on his way. He silently slipped out the door and, remembering some directions Damasen had given him over dinner, continued to make his way to the doors. As he made his way through the trees that resembled Redwood trees he had seen in his school textbooks, except black.

He wondered what it was like on the Argo. Annabeth was probably sad, but Piper would probably be able to cheer her up. Leo would be making jokes, like always. He hadn't talked to him much, but he reminded him of a younger Percy. Back before half of the people he knew died.

Jason was probably being, well, Jason. They had butted heads at the beginning, especially when he suggested they leave Nico behind. As much Percy hated that the little goth hadn't told him about who he was in New Rome, he understood why he did it. Nico was still his friend, and Percy would be damned if he was left behind. He hoped they were safe. It was all he could do for now.

===========?===========

The forest slowly melted away to plains once again. The muddy ground gave way to gray rock. It was dead quiet, and his heartbeat was deafeningly loud in his ears. As he walked, a structure grew larger in the distance, and the pit walls closed in on either side of it, making it impossible to go around. He grew increasingly uneasy as he grew closer, but he couldn't turn back, not now. This was the only way to the doors for a mortal, Damasen had said.

As he got closer, he could make out more features. It had high bronze walls, presumably with monsters patrolling the top. Towers extended from both ends of the wall, perfect for archers. A memory tugged at the back of his mind. Bronze walls. Something about a prison?

===========?===========

At the base of the wall, Percy wasn't any less uneasy. It was smooth, with no visible creases, dents, or even scratches. Percy figured it was one massive piece of bronze. The wall connected to the wall of the pit on either side, so no going around, and there was no entrance that he could see.

"Looks like I'm going climbing today," Percy groaned, silently thanking himself for all the time he spent on the rock wall back at camp. He uncapped Riptide, and Vengeance appeared in his left hand. He slammed Riptide as high as he could into the wall, burying it up to the hilt. He pulled himself up and repeated with Vengeance.

"Two down, a hundred more to go," Percy muttered.

===========?===========

And that's a wrap, folks! Thank everyone for the support, and please review!