tushanshu_logs | the world's a beast of a burden//you've been holding up a long time

[He's in some kind of public training are where he's worked in the past. Usually Percy trains with water dummies, but right now he's not in the mood to be maintaining something with his powers. He just wants to hit something, and hit it again and then maybe a few more times until he can't think about craters in the ground and monsters whispering in his ear and Annabeth's hand in his, the rock slipping from beneath his fingers--

A particularly savage thrust of his sword has stuffing spilling from the dummy's head, but Percy just switches his attention to the torso. There's already one mutilated training aid on the ground nearby, almost unrecognisable.

Anyone watching for long enough might see him give up on the sword, taking a pen cap out of his pocket and touching it to the top. The sword morphs into a pen, and Percy tucks it into his shorts before whirling back on the dummy, punching it over and over.]

[Hey guess who's in the canals.

It's Percy. Percy is in the canals. But there's a reason for it! Ever since the turtle was sick, he's picked up a job keeping them clean. Anyone walking by will be able to see him using his water powers to blast away at gunge on the sides of the canals. Or maybe they overhear him talking to the fish, chiding them for being greedy - which actually just sounds like him talking to himself. Or he could just be swimming, floating on his back and trying to find some kind of peace.

Even the water can't help with that, lately]

[The thing about having a giant hellhound is that she needs a giant amount of exercise. Percy and Annabeth are on the outskirts of Keeliai, somewhere with enough room for Mrs O'Leary to run, but close enough to the city - just in case something happens. There's no such thing as too paranoid, when you're a demigod.

Annabeth's parked under a tree with her laptop and totally unavailable to anyone that isn't Knowledge, but Percy's laughing for the first time in what feels like too long; his dog (black, and the size of a large rhino) has him pinned to the ground and is slobbering all over his face. Other options for coming across him involve watching him throw a small tree trunk with large hands made out of water for Mrs O'Leary to fetch, or just racing her around the area.]

[Victor's used to seeing fish and various other animals in the canals. Sometimes he even sees some Kedan there too. He's not quite used to seeing someone just floating in the water. Stopping mid-step, he frowned in Percy's direction a moment.]

Hey? You okay there?

[He keeps floating for a moment before he realises that he's being spoken to. There's a moment of flailing as he goes from horizontal to vertical, reaching for the pen in his pocket] Wh - oh, Victor. Uh - yeah, I'm fine, why do you ask?

[Actually he looks like crap, with dark circles under his eyes, but shh]

[The flailing just makes Victor a little more concerned. He's not really convinced by the answer he gets. Especially not after he gets a better look at Percy. Crouching down by the water, Victor frowns.]

Because you look like hell, Percy.

[In general, Percy is a pretty open person. But Victor says that, and his face shuts right down, expression turning flat] It's fine. [His tone is a little clipped] I just haven't been sleeping much, that's all.

[Victor just sighs at that reaction. He doesn't buy it at all but he doesn't press right now.]

The canals probably aren't the best place to try to catch a nap. [A little attempt at humor.] I know a pretty good place to catch one in the sun though.

[ oooh, now isn't the best time to talk to Percy.

she should leave, try and bump into him "at random" another time. when he's not feeling quite so -stabby.

but nah, Rachel's not really the type to approach a situation with her chin up then turn tail as soon as it looks a little tense. she wanted to talk to Percy, so she's going to talk to Percy. and no, she doesn't have any set things to talk to him about, nothing so organized. it's more of a "it's been too long, and he's my friend, so this is stupid" thing. not that she was avoiding him, but-

whatever.

she approaches him with some caution ( she learned walking right up to someone while they're training is never smart - thanks, Ares kids ), but she's not sheepish or shy about it. she'll just- poke at the mutilated dummy on the ground with her foot, as if checking for life, then stay right around that area. in his line of sight, but not in the way. she doesn't expect Percy to stop throwing punches just because she's there, after all ]

Deearly beloved- [ yes good idea making jokes always a solid plan to clear any tension that may or may not be in the room -we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of- Dummy McStuffington. Are we really mourning, though? Should we mourn? Some would say he had it coming, being a hit dummy and all. He knew the risks, and it seems he's embraced his fate rather gracefully. Sorta. [ headtilt ]

[He sees her pretty much immediately, and a kind of nauseous feeling overcomes him. Not because the sight of Rachel makes him sick or anything, but because of the awful combination of anger and guilt and missing her that roils in his gut.

Sure, they'd fought. But Percy loves his friends, and the fact that he's been sort of avoiding Rachel is seriously at odds with that.

So for a moment, he just keeps punching the dummy, once, twice, three times, the same place over and over. He can feel the exhaustion finally starting to set in, but he doesn't stop until she starts to talk.

Despite himself, despite everything, the faintest smile twitches at his lips.] I'll give him an honourable burial. Promise.

Mm. A burial at sea, perhaps.

[ said with a seriously pensive tone- right before she snorts a laugh. but it's just a little thing, because she's not surei if she should be laughing and joking when there's obviously something going on with him. it doesn't matter what it is, specifically, it just matters because it's making him throw punches like exhausting himself might feel better than focusing in whatever it is on his mind. she gets that, sorta. only instead of working out, she usually just paints.

anyway, maybe it had something to do with the whole- not being in the right body thing that went on not so long ago. she's still trying to wrap her head around that whole situation, so. maybe he ended up in somebody with weirder issues than any of the campers had. ... it was totally possible!

( not really, how could that be possible? ) ]

Are you okay? [ kind of blurted out, oops. she huffs, mild frustration directed 100% at herself ] Are we okay? It just- feels like we might not be and I want to fix it. [ plain and simple. much better. ]

[He wishes he could sit down, or keep hitting things, or - something. His ADHD feels like it's on overdrive despite what he's putting himself through; almost instinctively, his eyes scan the surrounding area restlessly until he spots Annabeth in the distance. Something in his shoulders unknots, but only a little.

He almost misses what Rachel asks, his brain catching up a second or two later. And then his whole body goes stiff - if there's one thing he wants right now, it's for people to stop asking that. Irritation flickers across his face, but then Rachel keeps talking and - and he wants to fix it too. He doesn't want to be like this. He doesn't want them to be like this.

His shoulders sag, gaze dipping and staring at his hand, the one that had failed to hold on] We're fine. [Except that doesn't sound too convincing. He lifts his head and meets her eyes, and it's obvious that his exhausting isn't just from sparring, not with the dark circles under his own eyes.] I really mean that. You're one of my best friends, Rachel. I just--

[But the words stick in his throat. He shakes his head helplessly, staring at the ground again.]

[It takes Percy a second or two to register that as a joke; he bristles at the perceived advice, before it actually processes properly] Oh. [Humour. Right] Yeah, you're actually kind of right. The fish don't shut up.

Are they always bragging about how they're so much better than us land-dwellers at swimming?

[So, Frank had always liked animals. He might not always make the best decisions when it came to them, like that one time he had given Hannibal peanuts and he didn't know he had intolerance to them and yeah, it had been a mess. And then there was Hazel's horse, who Frank was sure just hated him. And then there had been that time where he had accidentally killed one of his Grandmother's Koi fish.

So maybe animals didn't like him all that much all things considered but he still liked them a lot, so when he sees Percy laughing and Mrs licking the hell out of his face it's like having his two favorite things together. He doesn't notice Annabeth just yet, but even then he'd know better than to bother her when she's in full research mode.]

Percy! Mrs O'Leary! [He runs towards them, bow still on his hand since he'd just come from practicing.]

[Despite what some people like to claim in their books back at home, Kal-El isn't actually a demigod. He's the son of two (mostly) ordinary Kryptonians, sent to live with two (mostly) ordinary humans and raised on Earth as one more. He doesn't know what it is to be like Percy, no more than anyone who was born a metahuman.

But you don't have to be a demigod to realize something is seriously wrong with Percy right now. He lands next to him not long after he's decapitated the dummy.]

Remind me to never get on your bad side.

[Kal is going to find himself with a teenager rounding on him, only just restraining himself from attacking at the last second. Not that it probably would have done anything.

His expression is caught somewhere between sheepish and annoyed as he lets his sword arm drop.] Too bad you're the only one who thinks so.

Food, usually. And they're really bad gossips. Which can either be funny or confusing, because they don't always understand exactly what they've seen. [He seems a little more at ease, now that the conversation has shifted away from him specifically. It's also worth noting that despite the fact that he's in the water, he's completely dry] Anyway, what are you doing in the Water Sector?

Fish gossip? That sounds like it should be a website. 'Funny things fish say'. [Victor grins at the question and tugs slightly on the tool belt he's got on.] Just finished some work and decided to walk for a bit.

It's okay.

[ that his first answer was a little curt, that he cut himself off. because she knows what getting asked are you okay feels like when she's, you know, not, so she doesn't read into his body language as much as she might normally. not when it was her fault for poking at that question to begin with. right now he's all high-energy tension, but she feels like a small gust of wind could knock her on her ass, because she feels like she has no footing here, not really. she sees the way he looks to Annabeth and knows that she'll never completely feel like she knows what's going on in Percy's head, not when the two of them already have their telepathic love thing going on that doesn't require words- which probably makes her sound really bitter! that she thinks of it that way. but really it's more that she knows she can't expect him to share with her the things that Annabeth just knows. why dig into things like that when you don't have to? she wouldn't.

but it leaves her feeling like she has to watch every word she says, count the syllables and mind her inflections, because accidentally prodding at one means prodding at both, and really she just-

she just really wants her friends back.

so she'll skip the explanations and the how can I help?s and what can I do?s because she's sure that she can't and that's fine. really. ]

You can keep hitting things, if you want. I didn't mean to actually interrupt. [ a beat ] Well, maybe I did. But you look like you're either about to fall over or start sprinting laps around the room, so. Go, do that. I can talk while you punch. [ gesture gesture gesture- all the thing she does when she's not sure what she's supposed to say now. so she's just! really adamant! about the things she does decide to say! ]

[Ordinarily Percy would refuse that, tip his head and indicate to sit down or something. But he's not even sure what ordinary is right now, and there's still all this pent up tension inside of him that he just can't seem to get rid of.

So he nods, grateful, and starts laying into the dummy again. The stuffing makes a satisfying thump every time his fist slams into it] You're not interrupting. I mean, you kind of are, but I don't - it's fine. [Everything is fine! He punches in silence for a moment]

Did we ever actually explain what happened to you? Properly, I mean. [A weak spot in the fabric tears from the force of his next hint, and he eyes it for a moment before shifting his attacks]

[He looks over at Frank as his bro approaches, and if his grin fades slightly - well. It's nothing personal. He's happy to see Frank, he is - he's just enjoying these few quiet moments he has around Annabeth and his dog before they finally go and talk to the Emperor, and everything changes forever.

Mrs O'Leary is a little more exuberant, abandoning Percy and bounding over to Frank. Percy shuts his eyes and catches his breath for a second before pushing himself to his feet] Frank, hey. How's it going?

[Clara is out on her daily walk. Or at least it has become her daily walk since Rose left. She's desperate for anything to get her mind off of the loss of her friend.

She sees a familiar face on the outskirts and raises her hand to give Percy a wave before stopping dead at the sight of a giant dog. She doesn't scream but she backs up closer to Percy, trying to get out of it's way.]

Okay.

What is that?

[ hey, it's cool with her. less than a year ago ( more than a year ago for them, but she's not thinking about that ) she'd be perfectly fine standing around watching Percy work up a sweat. and she still is fine with it, only she feels stupid watching him, so she ends up kind of pacing, watching her feet as she forms invisible patterns with the soles of her shoes. she shakes her head before she realizes he's probably not even watching her ]

Technically no. I only know what I saw with you. [ in that nightmare world or whatever it was. ] But we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.

[He's hyper aware of where she's walking, but that's ADHD and instinct, not anything that's specific to her. He grits his teeth and tries to focus on the rhythm of his body, the sound of his blood and breath in his ears.]

No. You should know. [And there's an ugly thought in the back of his mind, one that wants her to know exactly what happened to him and Annabeth, so that she'll understand why he's angry, why she was wrong. He shoves that down with another hard punch, disgusted with himself the second it occurs to him]

Annabeth defeated Arachne, but she started freaking out. The cavern was coming down. Arachne fell down the hole, and there was some webbing attached to Annabeth's leg. I caught her hand, but-- [Another hole bursts in the dummy, and Percy pauses for a second, gasping a little before picking another spot and starting over] We both went over. I couldn't pull us up. So I let go of the edge. That's the last thing I remember, falling into Tartarus with her.

Edited 2013-10-07 04:20 (UTC)

the world's a beast of a burden//you've been holding up a long time

Sparring

Water Sector

Training His Giant Hellhound

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this is a good idea right

the best the best

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idk if it would make sense for him to go at this after the Rachel thread sob

it can just be a different day /o/

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