curiously_cora | (no subject)

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percy

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There was one excitable puppy running towards a young man, bouncing and yipping at his heels. There was one haughty black cat, slinking through the open door to the Homestead and miaowing a soft warning at his human. And there was one teenage girl, her face covered in fading bruises and scratches lying beneath a set of blankets and dozing softly. She dreamt of dark girls and darker deaths and terrible things and it was only Cat, leaping onto her, that woke her up and startled her.

"What? Oh, what are you doing hey fusspuss? See, I'm okay you need to stop worrying silly Cat. Were you worrying?" Coraline asked curiously, tickling Cat beneath his chin and wrapping her arms loosely around him before hugging him. Listening to his soft miaow, Coraline looked up at the warning and listened out for the excitable bark of Bobo. Staring at the door curiously, Coraline waved at the familiar sight of Percy and made a face at him. "What are you doing here?"

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I blinked at that. Why in Tartarus wouldn't I be here. "I went to the clinic," I said. "I thought you'd be there. I just heard--" I stepped forward, trying to keep my breathing under control. "Are you all right?"

"What?" Coraline asked confused, wondering why he would go to the clinic before she shook her head at him. Coraline wasn't even sure how Percy had found out about it. She just sort of wanted to hole up in the Homestead and hug Bill and not leave until she looked better. She hadn't wanted anyone to see her... hurt. "Why would you go to the clinic? I mean, I'm fine. See? Perfectly fine."

"What do you mean, why?" I could see the bruises on her face! I stopped myself a moment and took a deep breath. "I heard..." Another deep breath. "I thought I heard Esther hit you with a branch."

"OH um she... she did. She um... left me," Coraline said, not adding the 'For Dead' part. Esther couldn't hurt her anymore, Esther couldn't do much of anything anymore and Coraline didn't know if she was supposed to feel bad about that but she didn't. She was kind of glad actually. And she wasn't going to tell anyone that. "I'm okay though I mean it wasn't... it doesn't hurt that much."

For a minute, I couldn't say anything. I couldn't stand still. The thought that anyone would try to hurt Coraline... Well, I wanted to hit something. I'd actually brought my sword with me -- it was in its scabbard on my back -- before I'd learned that Esther had, in fact, been killed. And, for a fraction of a second I'd been upset that I hadn't been the one to kill her.

Annabeth would have told me to cool it. Valkyrie would have reminded me I was letting emotions getting the better of me. But how could one not be emotional about this!

Abruptly, I turned and, stepping forward, I wrapped Coraline in a hug.

"Ow! Percy... be careful," Coraline said, looking at Percy oddly as he suddenly moved to hug her. Cat hissed, miaowing in protest before squeezing through the gap of Cora and Percy and stalking off to find something suitably tall to glare at Percy on. Coraline stared at Percy, a little bit confused before wrapping her arms around him much gently. Percy was definitely acting weird... well, weirder than usual. "Are you okay?"

I stepped back hurriedly. Coraline was hurt, and I was hugging her? What was I thinking. I gripped the hair on my head. "I... No. It's just... Someone hurt you, Coraline!" I took a deep breath, held it, then let it go. "I really, really want to hurt them back."

I felt like I'd failed. I'd fought for my friends before. Who was I if I couldn't protect them?

"Sorry," I said. "I'm acting like an idiot. You probably don't want to hear this." I looked at her. "Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to get Johnny?"

"It's alright, just not too tightly everything still hurts." Coraline said simply as Percy stepped away from her like he'd hurt her terribly. It all just hurt, it still felt like yesterday but maybe that was just because she felt so raw and strange because of it all. Coraline looked at Percy curiously as he gripped his hair and looked... well, she'd never seen him like this before. "I know but I'm okay, it's okay Percy. Why would you want to hurt them? That's not... that's not you Percy."

Coraline shook her head at his questions. She didn't need him to get Johnny or anything, she didn't really want to see anyone but seeing as he was already here he could make himself useful. "Just sit down would you, you look silly standing there like that. Are you okay?"

Sitting down was probably good advice, so I sat down. But I gave Coraline a bit of a dubious look at her "that's not you Percy" comment. She hadn't seen me when Annabeth had been made to literally hoist the world on her shoulders. She hadn't seen me when Valkyrie gave herself to the zombie horde in order to try and save us.

"I'm... okay, I guess," I muttered. Really, I was not. "I just hate the thought that somebody tried to hurt you." I looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "I'm glad you're okay, though. Mostly. Right?"

"Ahuh, you do remember I am your best friend?" Coraline said making a face at Percy as he told her he was okay. He was not, he was acting really weird. Coraline hurt herself all the time, okay no one usually hurt her but she couldn't remember him getting this worked up about it. It was weird. "You wouldn't really hurt someone for me, would you?"

Coraline looked at him confused before nodding. "Mostly. Everything hurts just a bit though."

I looked up at Coraline. In my mind, there was a certainty. I would definitely hurt anyone who deliberately hurt Coraline. Just as I would if it were Annabeth who'd been hurt. Or Grover. Or Valkyrie. Or, nowadays, even Luke. But telling her that... that wasn't a good idea.

Loyalty was said to be my fatal flaw. Was this why?

But Coraline was right: there was no way I could lie to her. So I told her a different part of the truth.

"You're my friend. My best friend. And there isn't anything I wouldn't do to protect you," I said.

Edited 2012-10-26 04:14 (UTC)

"But that's different, that would be hurting someone to protect me and you're... angry. You want to hurt someone because of that, not to protect me but because you want I don't know vengeance or something." Coraline said bringing her knees up to her chest and patting the sofa beside her as Bobo took a running leap at the space that was empty and jumped up to lick her face. "Why? I mean, why would you want to do that?"

"Coraline," I said, before stopping. How could I possibly explain this? "Yes, I'd protect you, but it's more than that. If somebody hurts my friends -- my best friends--" I struggled for the next words. "How can you expect me not to be angry? You're my friends! And nothing and no one should be allowed to hurt them, ever! As long as I'm living, nobody hurts the ones I--" I caught myself with a cough. That was a dangerous bridge too far. "I'm best friends with."

Clearly, I needed to walk this back, fast. "I'm glad you're better, and I'm sorry I went a little crazy, there." I looked away. "I saw some good friends almost die. I saw some friends die back at the Labyrinth. I swore then and there never again."

"Angry yes but not angry enough to hurt someone, to kill them Percy and that's what you sound like now." Coraline said concerned. Coraline looked at Percy oddly when he started coughing. What had he been saying? What did he mean? "You're an idiot sometimes, you know?"

Coraline tugged Percy down before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I'm not dead. See?"

At her comment about my being an idiot, I couldn't help but grin. "So I've been told. So I've been told." I accepted her hug and touched my forehead to hers, gently. Then I pulled back. "And I'm really glad you're not dead."

Coraline wrapped her arms a little tighter around Percy, smiling at him when he pressed his forehead against hers. Scrunching her face up she smiled at him before turning her head slightly to one side, leaning forward she brushed a kiss against his cheek before burying her head against his neck. Hugging him tightly, Coraline enjoyed simply hugging her best friend for a moment before pulling back.

"Definitely not dead. Besides if I was dead, you'd probably have to come and rescue Hades from me." Coraline said. Because it was clear if Coraline was ever to die the Lord of the Underwold would probably be getting a whole lot of trouble on his hand and need rescuing more than Coraline ever would.

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