Cover up everything you know, come save me from the awful sound of nothing [W4, Monday Night]

[hydrokinetics]

[The horse being out of his room helps, but even so Percy finds it hard to sleep. The day's events have been exhausting, strange and mildly unsatisfying. He had received the answers he needed from Sheriff Hal and yet he felt...empty.

Knowing there really was nothing he could have done to save the one person he loves more than the worlds themselves was heartbreaking, but how is it possible for a heart to break when it's already snapped? And maybe that's what happened. Maybe Sara was right. Maybe Percy already snapped. He can't recall feeling anything beyond the horribly strange blankness settling on his chest like a weight, threatening to crush him if he dared try to feel anything.

Guilt and anger and grief had stricken him multiple ways over the weekend, but now he's just...hollow.

And it's for that reason the air is static and quiet when Will enters the lounge. Percy sees him from his place on the couch near the fire, Mrs. O'Leary asleep next to him and his eyes staring straight ahead to seemingly bore straight into Will's head.

Will. How did Will know? It had bothered Percy since Saturday, but he didn't trust himself to speak to the man before now. So with the opportunity in his hands, he takes it.]

Hello, Will. [Even the tone is void of any kind of emotion, measured and careful.] What are you doing up?

Comments

[hydrokinetics]

[Makes sense. Percy's well aware that he would be reckless as well without any sort of guidance. Without Annabeth he nearly lost himself, but today's a little better. Today's a little more logical, Percy willing to listen to reason.]

So Hannibal it is. [He understands a little more than enough and he gives Will another contemplative little glance.] I already told Dr. Lecter I'd do what I could to help you both in this game. It's only fair. It's the only thing I can do now.

[He rolls his eyes to the ceiling, knowing that what he plans to say next isn't the same, necessarily, but it's something.]

But I get it, sort of. Annabeth and I function best as a team, always have, always will. There's nobody better for me than her...even when we first started dating, I knew how to fight with her better than how to be a good boyfriend. We work together like that. I don't have an Empathy Link with her because we can't form them with each other, but...she's my tie to my mortality. If I didn't have her as a tie, I would have been destroyed instead of becoming invincible. She keeps me on track, she watches my back and I know if our roles were reversed she'd do anything to find out who killed me and also finish this game.

[A shrug.] Not the same as having an Empathy Link with the world and having Dr. Lecter act as a pair of earmuffs, but I think I understand. [He still wishes to know.] ...I guess I was just afraid to face the truth that you were right.

[sweats]

[ There's a conflicting kind of reaction in Will at that, even if it doesn't show on his face. He keeps his gaze locked to the floor now and sighs, knowing that this is just a reflection of once again Hannibal's machinations. Hannibal doesn't care, he's doing this to watch the splintering up close and personal. He's not truly invested, never is. Not unless it had to do with Will.

So, he feels pity for Percy then. He would help them, wouldn't he? Because Percy is a good kid who believes in what Will and Hannibal present. The sad thing is -- they are happy and they are in love, a deep potent blood red love that Will would never let go of at this point. But they aren't good and that's why Percy can't protect them like this.

Still, it's not Will's place to say. Not yet. He promised participation when he slayed the Dragon. He wouldn't take back that blood oath. ]

I can't say I don't appreciate the thought, Percy.

[ But that's all he says as he listens to Percy continue, giving a slow nod in response. Some of this doesn't make quite sense -- some of it makes sense only because of what Hannibal has shared with him, he's unsure of how to react appropriately then. He looks up towards Percy, eyebrow raised. He's torn on where to go with his reply so he speaks, careful and calm. ]

What do you mean by Empathy Link?

[ And -- ]

I know it's hard to hear about someone's last moments. [ He speaks then, with experience of dealing with victims and his own jagged knowledge. ] I'm sorry I put you in that place, it wasn't my intent.

[ Another pause here and he lifts his hand to drag it over his face, scratching at his beard. ]

I don't think this will be the last you see of her, if it helps? This place... it's so liminal in nature, death seems impermanent. Like they're all just right there, waiting for a real finish.

[hydrokinetics]

[There's a nod because what can he say? He will do what he can for this game and for the people in it so long as they choose to accept his help. Maybe he can still be something of a hero. It's hard to say.

At Will's question though, there's a slightly sheepish smile.]

An Empathy Link. It's...kind of what you described? Sort of. It's a link I have with one of my best friends. He opened it with me a few years ago so I could see him in my dreams and see what he was doing. [Please know that I want to die, Squee, I hate my canon so much. Please also know Percy's probably saying all of this with a straight face.] Because of the Link, it's easier to sense where he's at and he can tap into my thoughts and I can communicate with him. We can pick up on basic emotions and feel them from each other, too. With the Link we're sort of bound together so if he dies, I'll probably bite it, too. But they can only work between us and satyrs.

[So that's pleasant. And might as well throw that out there. With regards to Annabeth though...] ...I'd say it's not your fault, but it pretty much is. [There's a soft breath.] I should have realized that's what happened in the first place. Maybe I was just hoping to be wrong.

You really think they're still kind of hanging around, Will?