it is at moments after i have dreamed: Spoilers for Son of Neptune. It is a series of vignettes from twelve characters on the Greek side that may have felt Percy's absence in the seven months he was gone. Sort of sloppy, but I wanted to experiment.

song choice: We Are by Joy Williams

Each to Each

i. paul blofis

The first couple of days after Percy disappears, it's not that big of a deal. It sounds like a terrible thing to say as a parent, but honestly, this is a kid who has led an entire army into battle before he even had his driver's license. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time he's vanished, and more likely than not, he'll turn up in a week or two having come back from saving an errant demigod. He'll have lost track of time, and Sally will scold him and laugh at how scatterbrained he is and everything will be as it was. But this is not what happens. A month later, Percy is still missing, yet there is nothing they can do.

"Call the police," Paul says, incredulously. "Put up signs." Sally looks at him wordlessly, eyes dark and empty as a flame that has been put out, and he swallows his protests. They know why he is missing, and the police will not find what the gods themselves have hidden.

ii. chiron

This is what it means to be the trainer of heroes. After the Battle of Manhattan, it seemed like he let out a breath he had been holding since the great prophecy had been given. He had been given hope that peace had come, at least for a hundred years. When Percy disappears, he cannot sleep for a week for fear that the night will bring him visions of the end. He should know by now that every hero is meant to be lost. They are sacrificed so that vast numbers of others may survive. He should know by now it is foolish to hope for happiness instead of peace. Perhaps time has made a fool of him.

iii. clarisse la rue

Aren't you a special snowflake, Percy Jackson? It takes him maybe two months after the end of the war to go off and get himself kidnapped by some stupid god or another, and he sends the entire camp careening into chaos in the process of looking for him. Everyone acts like chickens with their heads cut off. Some newbie in her cabin asks her why she isn't freaking out like the rest of them. "Because I know better," she says shortly. "This is his fault somehow. He just has to be the center of attention all the time." She turns away and goes back to her dinner, ignoring everyone's shock at her answer. As if everyone here doesn't know what he's capable of. If anyone can take care of themselves, it's Percy. What a fucking overreaction. He'll find his way back. And if he doesn't – well, then he's not the kid she thought he was.

iv. travis and connor stoll

No, we did not drug him and hide him somewhere. Yes, we're sure. Seriously, it wasn't us.

v. nico di angelo

In the underworld, there have been whispers of a plot from the queen of heaven, murmurs of uniting a divided family. Nico might not have seen sunlight in a couple of weeks or you know, bothered to build any social skills with living creatures, but there are certain advantages to staying in the land of the dead. They don't have anything to do except gossip. And he hears it before anyone. Something is about to happen. It takes a few months, but he befriends Hazel and takes her to camp, his new sister. It feels sour on his tongue. His real sister has escaped without even saying a goodbye, and he is left betrayed once again. Bianca, he thinks, what do you mean by this? It's like she has spent her entire life trying to leave him and then her entire death doing it too. Itchy with anger, he goes back to Camp Jupiter, and when Percy Jackson shows up, the real game begins.

vi. rachel dare

She can't see him, and that's the most frustrating thing. It's not like people haven't been asking about it. She hates that she has no answers for anyone, but even more, she hates how she has no answers for herself. She misses him. He was one of the only people who came to visit her just for the sake of visiting her, and not to try and knock a prophecy out of her. People seem to think she is a magical walking 8-ball. No, she can't tell you what you're going to get on your algebra test tomorrow. No, she doesn't know if Ellen likes you. No – hang on, why do you even want to know what Mr. D will be doing next Thursday? Bizarrely, the only other person who would hang out with her before Percy disappeared was Annabeth, the girl who used to hate her more than anyone. But even Annabeth is too busy or too exhausted or too sad to grab coffee with her every once in a while.

"Chin up, Miss Oracle," Apollo tells her. "The anxiety is ruining your zen vibe." Right, wouldn't want that to happen, would we?

vii. katie gardner

When she thinks back on the Battle of Manhattan, all she can remember is a sensation of drowning. It is impossible to explain what it feels like to be stranded on an island and surrounded by overwhelming numbers of enemies on all sides. There were less than a hundred demigods and allies, all told. Throughout the whole thing, it felt like her last stand, a horrible process of holding out until the last possible moment to be killed. But she clutched at the knowledge that Percy was still alive. Percy was still defending Olympus and directing the troops. She had maybe never even had a real conversation with him but his unshakable confidence that they would win made her believe that death was not inevitable. They followed him, not because he was a son of Poseidon or because he was the prophecy child, but because he inspired a kind of instantaneous loyalty out of everyone around him. He was the first out on the field and the last to leave. He was the person you could trust your life with. The point was, he was always there. No matter what happened, he was there.

Katie still hasn't spoken to him much, but it's no surprise camp has fallen apart in his absence. If he were going to abandon camp, she expected it to be in a grand heroic sacrifice, not in a quiet, overnight departure. Out of habit, she finds herself looking for him sometimes for reassurance, and every time he isn't there, it shocks her hollow.

viii. tyson

Brother, where are you? I looked in the deepest sea and through the forest with Mrs. O'Leary dog but you are not there. Daddy says he doesn't know where you are. Annabeth is so sad, and I think you are making her sad. Please come back.

ix. mr. d

He doesn't know what all the fuss is about. The missing boy has probably gone and tried to do something unnecessarily heroic and stupid, trying to break some more rules, trying to get on his nerves. All of this extra energy being spent on that Piers Jacobson is completely ridiculous. It could go toward repainting the Big House, for example, or cleaning out the gaming area – it's always such a terrible mess there. Demigods make such a racket all the time about nothing. Even so, he orders a few satyrs to keep their eyes open for any information. Not that he personally cares or anything. Percy did a favor for him a long time ago, that's all. It would be a pity for that boy to go to waste.

x. piper mclean

Everyone at camp keeps walking around as if in a trance, as if they don't know exactly what's going on or what to do. It's weird, because she's curious about Percy Jackson and she wants to know more about him, but there's no one she can ask about it. She fears if she brings him up to anyone, they will either become very angry or spontaneously burst into tears. This is obviously a stressful situation for everyone. And it seems odd since quests happen with decent frequency, and there are many documented times of demigods not returning from them, but for some reason, this is different.

"So maybe we should send someone off to look for him?" she brings up timidly to Annabeth one day.

Annabeth sends her a sharp, cold look. "We are," she replies shortly. "We have been." Piper doesn't respond. In the coming months, she doesn't even allow herself to think what everyone is probably thinking after weeks and weeks without any contact – maybe Percy is dead.

xi. annabeth chase

She will never give them the satisfaction of seeing her collapse. She will not cry. She will not be weak. The camp needs her, and Percy would want her to pull herself together, take care of business. All eyes are on her, seeing if she will crumble. But she, at least, knows she has nothing to fear, because Percy will be all right. No matter what, he will be all right. She went through his funeral once; she is not going to live to see him die before her, and she is not going to be the one standing at the pyre watching his shroud burn. If that boy has any sense, he will be fighting every second to return to his loved ones.

When Hera's plot is revealed, everyone breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that somewhere on the other side of the country, Percy lives. Annabeth just turns away and quietly orders the plans for the ship. She, out of everyone, already knew he would be alive. She, out of everyone, never doubted it. Don't forget me, Seaweed Brain, she hums as she waits on the edge of the sea.

xii. sally jackson

Eyes gummy with sleep, she wakes up before dawn one day to make her customary cup of coffee and notices the answering machine blinking with the light of a missed message. The call is time-stamped from 1:27 a.m. from an unknown number. Percy's voice, deep and ragged, rings loud in the living room. She drops her mug. It shatters on the ground and coffee sprays across floor and stains the hem of her bathrobe. "I'll make it home. I promise. Love you." The call ends. She sinks to her knees, shaking, and gathers up shards of ceramic. All she can think is how they have beaten the odds again. When she held him as a baby and stroked his hair for the first time, she reminded herself that at a moment's notice, he could be gone forever. Every time he steps out of the apartment, she reminds herself, and she loves him – oh she loves him – so much that if he is gone, it would destroy her from the inside out, gut her alive. Yet she has to let him go because he is born for it, he is born to leave her, and he is born to break her heart. A hero's fate is never happy. She doesn't know how long they can continue to beat the odds. But today she will smile, because it is morning in Manhattan, and her boy is coming home.

Author's note: The call to Sally totally tore me up while I was reading. She is absolutely one of my favorite characters. Thanks for reading!