Percy sighed as he slowly closed the door to Andromeda's office, the silence of the halls and flickering light of the torches leaving the dark king alone.
He stepped back and turned away, heading down the hall and towards the throne room. He was due for a check in with the state of his domains and to sift through the prayers that kept coming to him. However, as he got to the main hall connecting the different passages, he was met with Leto. The redhead stopped as she noticed him, a small set of files tucked under her left arm.
"Perseus," she greeted in a slightly more subdued tone than was her normal warmth.
"Leto," he returned with a slight nod, pausing as the redhead approached him. "Do you need something?"
"Yes actually, it's about the demigods in the barracks," the matronly goddess said, handing the file to him.
He opened it and quickly skimmed the papers, noting it was mostly a series of reports on the supplies for the barracks with the demigods and a few request forms. Since Leto had the orphanage run like a well-oiled machine and with plenty of volunteers to watch over the young children, she'd offered herself to help watch over the newest arrivals. Hestia had been quite happy with the results as Leto's presence had done wonders with the scared demigods.
However, in the last couple of days, stress had been mounting for some of them, especially those of Athena's brood.
Athena's presence was sorely missed and without seeing her, some of the demigods were starting to close off even with Leto's efforts and other, friendly volunteers. But they could only do so much, the words and assurances of mostly strangers just not having the weight to it that the blonde goddess had. Hopefully, Athena will be able to come out of Hestia's office and visit soon, but between practicing containing her new power and watching over Cloelia, the former Olympian was busy herself.
'Raven's been wanting to visit them too,' he recalled, thinking back to his own daughter.
She'd been a frequent visitor to the barracks the first few days after their 'attack' and had quickly befriended some, like Piper's sister, Tracy. Sadly, with her own changes, while not as prone to power flares as Athena, Raven was still getting used to the mental strain of hearing direct prayers and the power coming with it. For the sake of safety, her visits had been put on hold.
Right now, she was with her mother, getting some rest after having gone through another long meditation session with him. Luckily, Raven was proving to have a bit of a knack for sorting prayers as she took in his lessons and settled her mind, her own personal construct already forming to organize better. There were still 'growing' pains as it were and Raven was still left exhausted afterwards, but he was confident she'd be ready to connect to the Moon and accept her first domain soon.
Thoughts of his daughter's progress set aside for now, he returned his focus to the file.
"Everything looks good here," he said, pausing at the end where Leto had a request written in. "Sleeping pills huh…"
Leto's silence was answer enough, but her slow nod just drove the point home further.
"You know that's something to run by Will instead of us," he said, his tone lightly chiding as Leto had the grace to duck her face a little. "Food, blankets, clothes, anything like that, you need it you get it, but medical supplies that isn't simple herbs and teas need to be cleared by Will or some of the other doctors on hand."
"I know but it's getting bad Perseus," Leto returned, her hands wringing together as she looked at him. "A quarter of them are having night terrors and barely sleeping as is, even with sleeping spells and you know how dangerous it is to overuse those on mortals, demigod or not."
"The pills could be just as bad, especially if you cross them with a sleeping spell," he commented, even as he willed a small pen into existence in his hand and signed off on Leto's request. "Please be careful and make sure none of the minor gods or blessed doctors use any sleep spells without clearing it with you first."
Leto had proven her ability to be responsible and caring about her charges. If anyone could use the pills sparingly yet effectively, it would be her.
"And make sure to stop by the clinic and run this by Will so nothing surprises him," he added as he handed back the files to the goddess. "Last thing I need is Will chewing my ear off … he might anyways," he finished, muttering the last bit.
At least that got the slightest chuckle from the redhead. Even he couldn't help but give a smile back as the goddess then took the file.
"Thank you, Percy," she said as she turned and started to head out.
"Any time," he responded, watching her go for a bit before turning.
With that handled, he resumed his walk back into the throne room. It took him a minute or two and once in, he looked around to see that it was empty. He wasn't surprised about it though, knowing most of his peers enjoyed having private mornings. 'Jason's probably with the Zhang's visiting Frank,' he recalled as he assumed his godly height and sat back into his throne.
He sighed as his focus shifted to the whispers of prayers and the echoes of dreams and nightmares normally at the back of his mind getting a little louder and clearer as they came to the forefront. Every day more and more seemed to flow his way and even with the assistance of Zoe, it could still take him hours to get through everything. Most gods might ignore them, dismissing it as something beneath them, but Percy couldn't bring himself to do that.
Not after the life he lived and the times he wished someone, anyone, would have answered if only to let him know someone cared. He was one of the ones to push for revealing themselves to the mortals and ending the isolation of the mythical, so why wouldn't he take the time to truly answer prayers as best he could? A lot of it was fleeting and trivial, true, but there were plenty still that genuinely needed something. He tried to be efficient about sorting anything that stood out in particular to him, answering what he could without being overly direct and blatant.
Nyx had spent years hammering it into his head that sometimes helping too much could be just as bad as not having helped at all. As much as he didn't like it, he knew hardship and failure could be the best way to learn a lesson and grow. That sometimes, stepping back and letting someone overcome something for themselves is the best thing you can do for them.
It didn't mean he couldn't be a source of support and encouragement along the way.
A little nudge in the right direction for those feeling lost, literal or not. A feeling or convenient hint for those searching for something—or someone—important to them. A bit of hope needed to last just long enough for help to arrive or to finally help themselves. Or, something as simple as just being a comforting presence for those that needed it.
Children and the young tended to need it the most, and he was all too ready to help where he could, even when he had a war on his hands.
Too many had their own 'Gabe' in life for him to stand idle. A parent or person of authority abusing it for whatever reason when they were supposed to be a trusted pillar of support and protection. People full of petty anger and insecurity, lashing out at whoever was close and vulnerable just to make themselves feel better.
He couldn't stand it, and even if he couldn't be as direct as he wanted—not yet anyways—he still tried where he could. An abuser developing a sudden distrust and fear of their own shadow could go a long way to distracting them from the vulnerable around them. He'd be lying if he said he didn't get a sense of dark satisfaction doing it too.
However, as often as he got prayers for help or strength, he also frequently got the vengeful kind. With mortal media and the net being flooded with the picture of him on the moon, it wasn't too surprising he became the mental image for the angry and spiteful. Particularly from scorned lovers in fact, as ironic as it felt for the dark god.
...
if you want to support me or just to read ahead of the public release, you can join my p@treon :
p atreon/Moonhorse