If you asked Percy where exactly he was, he couldn't tell you. State lines were meaningless to him, as he had traveled hundreds of miles on foot. He was pretty sure that he was out of New York at this point, as he had been slowly traveling west for about a month now, but he wasn't sure what state he was in. He had only gone into a town once, and that had been about six days ago, when he had run out of soap, and needed to get more.
Percy practiced with the bow for a couple hours every night. He was still truly awful, but he could tell that he was getting better. The very first day he attempted to practice, he missed the tree that was only 15 feet in front of him with all of his arrows. The second day, he managed to hit the very edge of a large tree only once all night. A month later, though, he could reliably hit a tree 15 feet away with all of his arrows, even if it wasn't exactly in the center.
Currently, Percy was taking a break. He sat on a river bank, with his legs stretched in front of him, and submerged into the water. He dug his fingers into the loose dirt next to him, making his hand dirty, but he didn't really care.
A sudden twig snap from behind him made him tense. His hand immediately covered his pocket, and he slowly turned his head, where his eyes met another pair of eyes.
Percy smiled softly as he relaxed, looking into the cautious, yet curious, set of eyes that belonged to a deer. He slowly moved his hand back to the ground, trying not to startle the animal. He could tell it was a female, with her round head, and lack of antlers. She slowly took a few steps, keeping her eye on him. When he didn't move, the doe bent her neck down to drink from the river, lapping up water.
Slowly, Percy raised his hand. The doe flinched, and he stilled, yet she continued to drink. Gently, he placed his hand on her fur, and he could feel the doe tense under his hand. As he ran his fingers slowly through her fur, he felt the muscles in her back relax.
Percy's soft smile grew on his face as he continued to gently pet the doe. Done drinking, the doe decided that Percy was safe as she curled up on the ground next to him, delicately placing her head in his lap.
Percy slowly laid down to not disturb the doe, and fell asleep with his fingers still deep in her fur.
When Percy woke up, the deer was gone.
The first time Percy considered the extent of his powers, it was because a rat was rummaging around his food.
Hearing a noise as Percy was finishing cleaning his clothes, he turned around to see a rat scurry across his little campsite. His eyes tracked the small brown body as it ran towards the meat he had left out, as he hadn't quite gotten time to put it away yet.
"No!" He shouted, using his voice for the first time in a very long time, and throwing a hand out as if he could stop the rat from ten feet away.
Except, he did. The rat paused in its tracks, and Percy felt a large pull in his gut.
Instantly, Percy dropped his hand, and took a step back, feeling blood rush to his head as the fatigue hit him. The rat let out a loud squeak and darted away, not caring about the fresh meat anymore after that scare.
Percy stood numbly in the middle of his campsite, his mind being thrown back into that terrible, terrible place that had left him broken.
Percy stood, practically half dead. Anger flowed through him, from head to toe. He briefly closed his eyes, holding a hand out, concentrating.
"What is this?" Akhlys shrieked.
"Poison," Percy forced out through clenched teeth. "Your speciality."
The venom creeped towards the goddess as she coughed, her eyes watering. Percy let a smirk dance across his face as he listened to the goddess' wails and cries as the poison inched closer and closer. The fumes rushed into her nose and throat as she gagged, coughing, choking on the poison she created.
"Percy!" Annabeth cried out, retreating to the edge of the cliff. She sounded terrified. It took Percy a second to realize she was terrified of him. "Stop, Percy, please!" She pleaded.
Percy didn't want to stop. He wanted to watch this goddess choke and drown in her own poison. He wanted her to feel miserable. He wanted her to suffer the same way she tried to make them suffer. She tried to trick him, and she deserved to feel the pain from making that foolish decision.
He was tempted to ignore Annabeth's pleads as the power pooled around him. "Leave!" He finally shouted to Akhlys, and she instantly turned and ran. As soon as she was gone, he released his hold on the poison, watching as it evaporated.
Annabeth stumbled towards him, tears streaking down her face. "Percy, please… don't." She cut herself off, letting out a sob. "Some things aren't meant to be controlled. Please."
The power was only beginning to subside in his body, but he could still feel the poison practically under his fingertips. He looked into her eyes. "Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, okay."
His promise to her went against the feeling screaming at him in his gut.
But, Annabeth wasn't here right now. She hadn't been with him for a long time. And, why did it matter to her that he could control poison, control blood?
He flexed his wrist and his fingers, staring down at his hand. He supposed she was probably scared of his power. The fact that he was gaining power after power, and it didn't seem to slow down. Percy shook his head as he sat down right where he stood. He had been offered godhood after all. If he had accepted, he would be a thousand times more powerful than he was right now.
But he denied it. He didn't really care about more power, and he still didn't, even now. However, as he laid down on the grass, focusing on his breathing, he didn't necessarily think it was a bad thing if his powers developed by themselves.
He closed his eyes, and slowly drifted to sleep.
Up on Olympus, a god frowned. He fiddled with his trident as he stared at an Iris Message in a fountain. Slashing through the water, he turned around and walked to the empty throne room.
He settled upon his throne in his godly form, and pondered.
The image he saw was… disturbing. Disturbing in the sense that he knew how disastrous things could become if anyone found out. He watched his son accidentally bend the blood of a rodent to his will.
He would never think lowly of his son for his powers, never. Poseidon knew all too well how powerful himself could be, and Percy should never feel shame for what he could accomplish. Some may call it immoral, sure, but Poseidon understood.
But bending blood… he knew the other gods would not be happy. A mere mortal should not be able to possess that power, even if it were a demigod. Zeus wouldn't show it, but he would be scared. Terrified, dare he say it. When Zeus gets terrified, he lashes out in the only way he knows how. Control.
Percy would be in great danger if anyone were to find out that he had this ability, and he feared that his concerns would come to pass. Poseidon knew that Zeus occasionally kept an eye on Percy, checking in on him to see what he had been up to. Do not mistake this for kindness, however, as Zeus watches Percy to see if he poses a threat.
Poseidon sighed as he sunk deeper into his throne, closing his eyes. Percy will, again, throw the godly world into chaos. He only hoped that his son would make it out alive.