Some people have it other people dont, though the road that we've paved still goes both ways [W5 Th]

[hydrokinetics]

[It's starting to wind down around the hotel, and Percy's making himself a sandwich before going on bat-watch. He's in the kitchen and finishing up easily enough before he makes his way out of the kitchen, nearly running into Shinnosuke in the process.

He thinks about what Damian told them and he tilts his head, keeping his tone light and friendly as he sidesteps him.]

Sorry, dude. I didn't know you were there.

Comments

[hydrokinetics]

[A pause.]

...you could always crash with us if you felt like it. I know you'll probably say no for tonight and hopefully I see you alive in the morning, but next week. If you want.

[He's just interested in keeping everybody alive, sue him.]

[insincerely]

...

[Shinnosuke just makes a baffled face, because he actually does not comprehend where this offer is coming from. What the hell???]

[hydrokinetics]

You can stop looking at me like that annnny time now.

[insincerely]

[Then stop being weird??]

You don't even like me, right? Why would you offer for me to crash at your room?

[no comprendo]

[hydrokinetics]

I think you're annoying and you're kind of an asshole, yeah. [A lull.] ...but Annabeth liked you. Likes you. Whatever. And you're part of the Bounty and that means you're automatically someone I need to protect whether you like it or not.

That, and you've already proven you won't kill me in my sleep so I'm cool with that.

[insincerely]

[??????? there is not enough selfishness in that reasoning, percy, still no comprendo]

... You're a moron and I don't get you.

[hydrokinetics]

Yes, I know. [He's very aware it's stupid, but whatever.] You don't have to get me, you just have to work with me. There are things I've been learning about this game that I've been trying to use to our advantage to bring the whole thing to an end. The more people we can clear and get working on the same side, the better.

[He thinks for a minute.] I'm sort of used to leading armies, so this isn't really new to me.

[insincerely]

And I'm used to my teams dying on or backstabbing me, so better pray that it's your expertise that gets used here, not mine.

[Reasons why Shinnosuke prefers to be a lone wolf. Sorry, Percy—but he'll make the (very grumpy) effort, at least.]

[hydrokinetics]

Considering my expertise also includes people dying on me and backstabbing? [How Percy can stay even a shred hopeful we just don't know.] That's not gonna happen here if we can help it. It just means working together.

...and it's Milla and Noctis. They're not so bad, are they?

[insincerely]

[He shrugs.]

I'm not exactly part of your little buddy-buddy group, remember? We might as well be strangers, so it's not like I have an informed opinion of them.

[hydrokinetics]

And whose fault is that? [Just lightly.] Noctis and I have been friends since the beginning. Damian I don't think trusted me until, like, last week, and Milla only came to me because Natalie suggested she come to a meeting we were having in our room. I said something that resonated with her, Milla approached me.

So. Just because you're not doesn't mean you can't be. You don't even have to be enthusiastic about it.

[insincerely]

[...]

Okay, pretty much all of that sounded gross to me.

[He's allergic to anything that isn't just people straight-up wanting to stay away from him??]

[hydrokinetics]

[A shrug.]

Before we got here, Annabeth and I hadn't seen another person at all for nearly three weeks. So it wasn't that gross for us.

[insincerely]

Coincidentally, it was similar for me. [Percy might recall Shinnosuke looking for someone on the first day.] Still gross.

[hydrokinetics]

[He does remember, actually.]

Is this the part where I just tell you you're gross and threaten to dunk you in the water again? The water might not listen to me like it usually does but it shouldn't be that hard.

[Hm.] Just think about what I said. That's all I'm asking.

[insincerely]

You'd drown a blind guy? How horrible.

[...]

I've already forgotten everything you said.

[Nope, nope, you can't make him socialize with people.]

[hydrokinetics]

Yeah, yeah, I'm a really bad person. Haven't you heard? [He rolls his eyes.]

We're probably meeting tomorrow. You can join us or not. [He's shifting to stand up.]

[insincerely]

... We'll see.

[hydrokinetics]

Good enough. [A pause.] ...follow my steps if you want. I'm heading inside. [Thus he's turning and beginning to walk, keeping his voice silent but his footsteps heavy enough to lead.]

...one more thing, Shinnosuke. What you told Natalie about Hal's employers. That true?

[insincerely]

[He kind of wants to not follow Percy out of spite, but ultimately, he does it anyway.]

About his employers as "beings of a sort" who exist outside of time and space, feed off of pain, and would go around killing universes if they didn't set up this stupid game? That's what I heard from him, anyway.

[hydrokinetics]

Sounds about in line with what else we've known about them. I told Natalie it sounded like aliens but...I'm wondering if it's something else. I've heard that they used to play this game among themselves before they got bored and started bringing people like us in. Hal told me if they felt like it, they could also send a conduit down to us to interfere. They're omniscient or whatever.

The fact that this world also exists outside of time and space freaks me out. [So there's that.] But one thing at a time.

[insincerely]

Yeah, our little pocket of murder.

[Though some people (or specifically, one person) he can think of probably benefits from that.]

This stuff is outside of my forte, though. Outside of brainless monsters, my worst enemy has always been other humans.

[hydrokinetics]

I think Annabeth and I might be some of the only people who could deal with this. We're trying to take down an earth goddess and her giant children back home. But this is a little weird even for me.