✩ ━━━ chapter two, our humanity. ❝If I could feel your touch, if I could be your love,❞

"HAVE YOU EVER NOTICE HOW HUMANS THE GREEKS TRULY ARE?" Percy turned to his side, grains of sand sticking to his cheek when he lifted his head from the ground. The wind was blowing lightly, waves crashing against the shore as seagulls screeched above them.

Micah laid next to him, blond curls moving with the light wind, large wings fluttering with the breeze, pitch-black feathers gleaming with the reflection of the sunlight. "No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway," Percy replied, closing his eyes again.

"Well, if you're not interested," Micah sounded a little miffed. "Then I suggest waking up. Now, to what I was saying─" Percy couldn't help but smiled at the familiar tone of displeasure, digging his toes into the sand.

"Greek deities are very similar to humans." Micah lifted a hand to the burning sun. Apollo, imagined Percy. "Egyptians, Eastern Akkadian, Mesopotamian─They all portray their Gods with animalistic traits, or in complete control of nature, with no fear or humanity. "

Micah sat up, wings fluttering to remove grains of sand that clung on. Percy sat up as well. "But the Greeks, they are just like humans. Behaved the same, acted and thought the same way as well─that's why gods and their myths are still popular even today."

Percy rested his head on his knees. "That's nice, but why are you telling me this?"

"Listen to me thoroughly, then you will understand." Micah didn't sound angry, or disappointed as Annabeth would. Instead, he continued to speak with all the indulgence dripping off each word. Percy suddenly missed Micah, an aching sort of hurt. "It's a weakness. Do you see, Percy?"

"The Greek deities," Micah spoke with purpose. "They mirror humanity: It's their biggest strength and weakness. If every human has a fear, then everything with a touch of humanity does as well."

Percy's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you saying the Gods are afraid? Everyone is afraid of him, idiot." How could they not be? It's Kronos, the King of the Titans and arguably one of the most powerful beings ever.

But the son of Hypnos nodded like Percy proved his point. "Everything that has a sense of humanity will experience fear and uncertainty. It is part of our nature. If the Gods are afraid, and the demigods are terrified, then, Percy, what does that say about him?"

"He is scared..." Percy breathed out in realization, staring at the Titan's prized soldier. If it had been anyone else other than Micah, he wouldn't have believed them─but it was Micah, with his insightful nature and knowledge on how to deal with every situation. Micah, who wasted no actions if they didn't promise results. "How do I know you're not trying to trick me?"

Micah's wings flared up. "How can that information be of any value, Percy?"  He paused for a second, weighing his words. "If I wanted to give you anything of value, I would advise you to speak with a certain clear-sighted mortal friend of yours."

Clear-sighted mortal? The son of Poseidon remained quiet amidst the confusion. Micah stood, facing away from him. In the ocean ahead of them, the waves crashed softly and broke apart. "But it gives you hope, doesn't it?" Micah claimed. "To know that he is afraid─just like you, Percy, just like the rest of Olympus."

"You said hope is dangerous." Percy swallowed, kneeling on the sand. "In my last dream, you said─Hope is inside Pandora's Jar because hope allows you to act like you control the future. Nothing is more dangerous than the person who acts with a sense of the future; you said that."

So why give me hope, Percy wanted to ask, why give me hope when we are enemies?

Micah just looked pleased, peering down at Percy. "I always liked seeing you on your knees." He muttered to himself. Inhaling deeply, stretching his wings until they hid the sun from Percy's view.

Micah let out a quiet hum; he seemed exhausted, for a short second. "I'll give you another piece so that you can rest now, Percy. We need to speed along─we're running off schedule."

The son of Poseidon sent him an unimpressive stare. "So?" he asked, nonetheless.

Micah half-smiled. "I never said who. What is in danger, Percy? Who is the dangerous one? Is it the person who knows the future, or everyone around them?"

"Do you know the future, Micah?" Percy asked a little mocking.

But Micah just shook his head. "No," he said softly, dreamingly, like all the children of the Hypnos when they're ready to sleep. "I don't know the future, Percy, but I dream of it often."

Is that why you're the most dangerous one, Percy wanted to say, but before he could, Micah snapped his finger, and the dream was over.

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The son of Hypnos stayed floating through Percy's head all day. A spy in the camp, Rachel's drawings, Mount St. Helens collapsing, Typhoon, Princess Andromeda—how Kronos had known of their plan, the Titan who had shown Percy the silver scythe pendant he'd used to communicate with someone at camp.

Despite all that, he could only think of Micah.

Percy wondered if the son of Hypnos visited his dreams to snoop around his mind, gathering intel and the weaknesses of the demigod army, but quickly denied the possibility: Micah enjoyed a puzzle. Even if he could read Percy's thoughts, he wouldn't do it.

Hopefully, at least; nothing seemed to go the way Percy expected nowadays.

He ate a depressing breakfast alone at the Poseidon table, staring at the fissure in the marble floor where two years ago where Nico di Angelo had banished with a bunch of skeletons to the Underworld.

Percy hasn't seen him since his dream of the Titans: "You see, Percy?" the son of Hades had whispered to him in the dream. "You're running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?"

Percy did. He saw Luke betrayal of the Camp, Micah running from him, saw Nico's shadow melting away after learning of Bianca's death. Nothing seemed to improve; Camp recruitment was down to zero because Satyrs were having trouble finding new demigods and bringing them to Half-Blood Hill with the surge of monsters roaming the country. Even Percy's best friend Grover had been drifting farther and farther away ever since last summer when the god Pan had died. Thalia, who led the Hunters of Artemis, hadn't been heard from in months, and if Artemis knew what had happened to them, she wasn't sharing information. The Ares and Apollo cabins were fighting as well, over a chariot that the Apollo campers took in a raid that the Ares campers led.

Nobody trusted anyone.
There's no unity.

Presently, he watched Annabeth straighten up. She closed her laptop, a gift form Daedalus. He cleared his throat. "So... get any good info from that thing?"

"Too much," she said. "Daedalus had so many ideas, I could spend fifty years just trying to figure them all out!"

"Yeah," Percy muttered. "That would be fun."

She shuffled her papers, mostly drawings of buildings and a bunch of handwritten notes. Percy smiled slightly—it reminded him of Micah's obsession with formulating the perfect recipes. Bake, brownies, crème caramel and all those sugary treats: Micah wanted to perfect them all.

Annabeth's cheeks redden at the sight of Percy's smile.

"Percy?" The son of Poseidon looked up at the sound of his name.

"You know..." Annabeth brushed her hair behind her ear like she does when she's nervous. "This whole thing with Beckendorf and Silena. It kind of makes you think. About... what's important. About losing people who are important."

First, he thought of Luke, and like always, Micah. Percy's brain started seizing on every single memory of them. "Um, yeah," he stammered─he couldn't talk about them to Annabeth. "Like... Is everything cool with your family?" Percy asked dumbly; Annabeth couldn't possibly think that Percy had any time for relationships? Couldn't anyone at Camp understand the severity of the war?

Did they only use the Great Prophecy to hold it over Percy's head and have him do everything, then fooled around when it was time for them to step forward and set their lives on the line as well? But Rachel got angry when Percy had to leave for the quest, and she's—

A clear-sighted mortal. Percy resisted the urge to slap himself.

"Annabeth." He stopped her, thinking of Rachel's sketches. "Listen, I had this dream about, um, Rachel..." Immediately, Annabeth's face shut off. But Percy pushed on, describing the drawings of Luke as a child, the image of the Empire State Building with lightning all around it, at the base of the building the trappings of an army gathered.

For a while, Annabeth didn't say anything. Then she rolled up her inspection scroll so tight she ripped it. "What do you want me to say?"

"I'm not sure," Percy admitted. "You're one of the best strategists I know. If you were Kronos planning this war, what would you do next?"

"I'd use Typhon to dwindle the enemy's army." She replied immediately.

Percy bit his bottom lip. "And if you were Micah?"

Annabeth locked sideways sharply, bitterly and hissed out. "I'd use Typhon as a distraction. Then I'd hit Olympus directly, while the gods were in the West."

"Just like in Rachel's picture."

"Percy," she said, her voice tight, "Rachel is just a mortal."

"She's a clear-sighted mortal. But what if her dream is true? Those other Titans─they said Olympus is going to be destroyed in a matter of days." Percy argues. "They said they had plenty of other challenges. And what's with that picture of Luke as a kid─"

"We'll just have to be ready," Annabeth said. Percy shook his head, signaling towards the torn-apart Camp.

"How?" He said furiously. "Look at our camp. We can't even stop fighting each other. And I'm supposed to get my stupid soul reaped."

She threw down her scroll. "I knew we shouldn't have shown you the prophecy." Her voice was angry and hurt. "All it did was scare you. You run away from things when you're scared."

Percy stared at her, completely stunned. "Me? Run away?"

Annabeth moved forward, matching Percy's anger. "Yes, you. You're a coward, Percy Jackson!" They were nose to nose, bubbling fury and jealousy threatening to burst at any second.

"If you don't like our chances," she said with red eyes, "maybe you should go on that vacation with Rachel. If you don't like our company."

It isn't fair.

Ever since he hit the age of twelve, Olympus expected him to complete all the major quests, the most dangerous ones, all because he was possibly the child of the prophecy. Thalia ran away with the Hunters, Bianca died before the Gods got a grip on her, Nico has been running with his skeletons. Percy has been fighting. How could Annabeth possibly call him a coward?

"If I wanted to run away," Percy gritted out, frustration coiling inside of him. "If I wanted to run away from all of this shit, Annabeth, then I would've left with Micah."

Annabeth didn't reply. She pushed past Percy and stormed towards the strawberry fields.

For the rest of the day, Percy imagined a future where he had fled with Micah.

It hurt how much he longed for it.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ! ! !

poor percy he's just trying to get shit done and mope about his bf but everyone is all over him

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