Sweat dribbled down the tips of his hair and soaking his clothes.
His forehead was still stained with the grime of his own making.
Like a reminder of his own incompetence, he refused to wash it until he had completed his punishment.
Percy gazed up at the sun.
It was closed to setting.
The world was dyed with the orange hue of the disappearing sun.
His eyes admired the sight.
He had never seen such a thing before.
The faraway monument looked like it was from another world.
His mind forgetting that he had actually come from a world much different than this.
He was more focused on capturing the scene in his memory.
But besides that, Percy had underestimated how much he had to travel.
At the rate he was going, it would take another day of traveling.
It was a bit late to set up a camp but now was better than later when it would soon be completely dark.
He gathered some things to make a fire.
Without a guard, Percy knew that he couldn't fall completely asleep incase a wild creature decided to attack him unprepared.
Sleeping outside was nothing new to him, he had done it frequently in the Isle while he was training, but this was a completely different story.
There, he could sleep without a care in the world, but here he had to be prepared for anything.
The abrupt darkening of the world reminded him of that fact.
This was indeed a different world.
The air got slightly colder even as the fire was still burning.
Back in the Isles, the weather was the same for years on end. Sometimes warmer, sometimes colder, but it would always revert back.
Here, this place got colder as the sky turned darker.
Percy closed his eyes to enjoy the cold.
His head was resting on his legs with his arms wrapped around them.
The coldness relieving the exhausted state of his body.
Warmth of the fire balanced the temperature as well as soothing his mind with its soft crackling.
The world beyond his little haven was completely devoid of any light.
Today, it seemed as if the moon did not want to come out.
Its beauty was hidden by the clouds.
His mind was worn out from earlier, and his body ached from running.
But, a presence across from him prevented him from falling asleep.
His mind instantly snapped awake.
He couldn't detect them approaching.
Who was it?
Percy kept his eyes closed but focused his mind on their presence.
He wanted to see what they would do before he would take any action.
A few moments passed before he got impatient.
Carefully, he slowly opened his eyes to the figure of a woman tending to the fire.
She was barely noticeable if not for the fact that he could clearly feel her presence.
Her upper part of her face was obscured by the hood she was wearing, so the only thing he could see on her face was a gentle smile.
Her dress didn't shout anything fancy, but it was a nice and plain white.
There wasn't anything about her that stood out to him.
He could tell that she wasn't looking at him but at the fire.
It seemed like she was focused solely on tending to the fire.
Why did she reveal her presence to him?
Was it to test him or was it some other motive?
Maybe it was a ruse to lower his guard. But for some reason, he felt like that wasn't the case.
The feeling that he felt from her was strangely comforting.
Even though Percy had no idea who this was and why she was here, he felt just at home.
He himself had no idea why but it was a pleasant feeling.
It sharply contrasted the behavior that other people had towards him in this world, and it comforted him.
He couldn't feel an ounce of malicious intent coming from her, and he felt that it would be disrespectful of him if he kept staring at her.
His eyes briefly lingered on her before he closed them.
Is she really not going to do anything?
Percy took his time to relax his tired mind for a moment.
He was tired and wanted to sleep.
He had never been awake for an entire night before but today might be the day he would.
Although her presence was comforting, he couldn't afford to let down his guard when he could potentially need it the most, so he forced his mind to stay alert, much to his own dismay.
The woman let out a small giggle as if seeing through his own thoughts.
"It's okay child. You can sleep," the woman's soft voice entering his ears.
Despite being as old as he was, for some reason he didn't mind being called a child.
Then again, she could be tricking him.
He remained silent as his tired mind couldn't and wouldn't respond to her words.
And although Percy couldn't see her, he could tell that her eyes remained on the burning wood.
"If I wanted to do something to you, I would've done it a long time ago."
His mind already hazy, quickly thought about it and agreed with her sentiment, however it still remained distrustful.
He couldn't tell how long it had been, but after a while the woman began humming.
It was soothing to him just as the fire burning beside him.
He couldn't help himself from relaxing to the tune as if there was gentle force urging him to go to sleep.
The melody slowly but surely drifting his mind off to slumber despite its attempts to stay awake.
But eventually, he succumbed to sleep after what seemed like hours of semi-consciousness.
T-T
After Percy fell asleep, the woman stared at boy.
What a persistent child.
Her lips curved into a smile, admiring his stubbornness.
Hestia felt that her niece would be fine with this one.
He was careful.
Sly, even.
Patient.
Thoughtful and respectful.
His body movement suggested that he was hyper alert, and he had great willpower.
She, a major god, could attest to that fact, based on his resistance to her lullaby.
Yes, this was a good seed.
Hestia nodded her head inwardly.
Brother has no need to worry about this one.
She felt no particular desire the boy.
His lust was nonexistent unlike a particular someone she knew.
He wasn't hotheaded.
If there was someone that he resembled, then she would have to say...
Nevermind.
The only thing she felt from him was a desire to belong.
He felt lonely, yes.
It wasn't hard to guess that he did not receive a warm welcome from her niece's hunters.
She knew how harsh those girls could be and felt bad for the boy.
You poor, poor thing.
Hestia stroked his hair.
Young one, it's too early to feel lonely.
She didn't mind the grimy feel of sweat in his hair, nor did she say anything about his odor.
Her finger tapped on the crescent on his forehead.
May Hypnos bless your dreams.
She vanished into thin air.
The small frown on Percy's forehead slowly dissolved.