Rise (Percy Jackson x Reader)

thirty

edited: april 7, 2021
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"You are conflicted, young one."

(Y/N) keeps her eyes closed, and warmth passes through the ground in a burst of light as she sighs. "I am," she answers Lupa, her voice solemn.

"Why?"

"I wanted to keep my friend safe," (Y/N) explains, her words carrying regret, "I trained him so he'd eventually be one of the best, but I broke his spirit in the process. He hates me now, and I don't know whether I should regret the decision and take back all the progress he's made or if I should just accept that he doesn't want anything to do with me."

A soft rumbling comes from the wolf's throat, almost as if she's humming in acknowledgement. "But if he has gotten better, as you say, then why take it back? Would you rather he be unable to protect himself?"

(Y/N) shakes her head, "No, no, that's not it. It's just... he didn't deserve the torture I put him through. And I want to apologize, but then that would take back the meaning of my training and the fact that he's improved."

Silence passes as Lupa thinks over (Y/N)'s words.

"You are a strange one, daughter of Persephone."

(Y/N) slowly opens her eyes, not expecting to hear her mother's Greek name from the Roman goddess. "How so?" she asks, looking forward.

Lupa's tail twitches on the grass, and (Y/N) hears the soft rustle before the goddess speaks. "You possess the traits that make the deities of Rome. You are strong; you fight with determination. You aren't afraid to go to war, nor are you afraid to die. But the question is why?"

(Y/N) looks ahead, contemplating. Her thoughts are filled with each instance that she placed herself at risk, and a connection links all of them.

The day she stood in front of a little girl being yelled at when she was in the orphanage, staring up at their caretaker with determination.

On a quest, when she jumped in an arrow's path so it hit her leg instead of a camper's stomach.

When she looked Annabeth and Luke in the eyes, telling them to run before her world went dark.

The evening that she stopped her friends from leaving the camp alone on their quest to the Underworld.

When her arm got burnt to a crisp, putting her in extreme agony.

Every time she made Percy bleed and bend over in pain, constantly telling him to get up again.

"To protect them," she whispers, her eyes staring forward, dazed, as her mind remains caught in the memories.

Lupa nods, "I choose the strong to let them train at Camp Jupiter. But you," she pauses, and (Y/N) waits, patiently, "Your presence called me here. You are powerful, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Not just strong or skilled. That is something that you could use to your advantage."

(Y/N) remains silent, looking at the stars reflected in the inky black water in front of her. "But you choose not to," Lupa continues, "You don't fight to win. You don't want to take power. No, you put your own life on the line so that others may live theirs. Your motive is unlike any that I have come across, even amongst the gods and goddesses themselves, and because of this, I hold an amount of respect for you that I have never had for anyone before.

"You are strong, but more than that, you are loyal and selfless. You are valiant and venturesome, yet you safeguard and shelter. You are Persephone's daughter, not Proserpina's. You possess the qualities that the Romans and the Greeks both revere, but you act for the benefit of others. Your choices have been made, and rightfully so. This is why I ask you not to dwell on what could have been, for even we cannot change the past. Your friend will be safe, my child. There is nothing to regret."