ZENITH ➸ avengers x pjo au ✔️

ave atque vale

❝ HAIL AND FAREWELL.❞

Within the silence, stood a silhouette, her posture was straight and her feet were planted firmly in the sand as she stared at the ocean view in front of her.

She didn't dare close her eyes, knowing that as soon as she did, all she would see would be them. She had tried her hardest to protect them but had failed. She tried her best not to think about their lifeless, pale bodies buried underneath the shrouds. 

Her friends. All gone.

But that wasn't the worst casualty.

Her mind always went back to him. His bright smile whenever he did something stupid that made her join him. His dreamy look whenever she summoned his favourite blue cookies. But those were the good things.

She kept reliving him being attacked, stabbed and poisoned a thousand different ways over the years. And finally her being frozen and trapped in the thickening mud as he died in the battle against Gaea.

Losing him was like someone had removed the oxygen from the room. He was her blood. Her other half. The better half. She had already lost a part of her centuries ago and having to lose another part was just too much.

She thought she was done losing everyone she had loved throughout the millennia. She finally thought she'd have a peaceful life without anymore wars and bloodshed. She knew it would never last but she continued to hope, dreading the moment when the Fates would steal it from her. But she never thought it would be stolen from her this fast. She wasn't prepared to have everything taken away from her. 

Not again.

She knew war was hell and there were always casualties. Being in endless, throughout millennials, made her understand that. She'd lost countless friends throughout all those wars. So she had vowed to herself not to get close to anyone else, not after the aftermath of the first Titan war that had left her broken. The pain of losing not one but two loved ones was unimaginable. It had hurt so terribly that she couldn't even cry. It was like shock had prevented her from truly feeling any emotion. But she had broken her promise and had gotten close to her half-brother, Percy, who she had come to love dearly and having to have another brother ripped away from her life made the pain even more indescribable.

She should've gotten used to it now, shouldn't she? After all these years, the pain should feel normal now, shouldn't it? 

But it didn't.

Her heart had now finally become broken beyond repair and her soul had finally shattered. Now that pain was just a numb feeling telling her that she was still alive.

She was tired of fighting her whole life. But that was the funny thing about her. She never knew when to quit. She had been hurt, broken and shattered beyond belief but she'd still fight. She'd keep fighting with every fibre in her body and she won't stop until she stops breathing her last breath.

She stared out towards the sea, watching the ocean waves gently crawl onto Manhattan's shores as the sun had begun to rise from the horizon. The salty spray mists, cooling her skin.

In saecula saeculorum frater, ave atque vale, she whispered under her breath before starting to turn away from the shoreline but something caught her eye, halting her. (Forever and ever my brother, hail and farewell)

She narrowed her eyes at that exact spot, only to see no one there, but she was certain that she was being watched from afar. For a moment, the pleasant coolness of the sea spray mist and the wind became unwelcomely chilling.

She turned away from the shoreline and walked through the beach, towards the busy, bustling streets of Manhattan. Throughout the years, she had become rather attached to this city, even if it brought back too many memories.

At least she'll never forget any of them this way, she thought humourlessly.

Gigantic skyscrapers towered over the hordes of people. She could hear the incessant honking of the vehicles even before the sun had fully risen. Impatient businessmen who had to get to their office, mothers who had to drop off their children to their schools; navigating through the busy crowd of parents and children. 

The mortal world had always never ceased to amaze her throughout the centuries with their modernisation. The area of thousands of houses, now in the space of one and transportation evolving from horses and carriages to cars and buses.

She wore a loose grey hoodie, covering her head, and black pants, blending in the lively crowd as she made her way towards the local Starbucks Cafe nearby.

A few minutes later, she walked out of the cafe with a cup of coffee in one hand. As she walked through the streets, sipping on her coffee, she could feel a group of people following her from different directions stealthily.

She let out an irritated sigh. For a couple of weeks, groups of mundane agents had been intent on recruiting her and if she complied, they tried to take her in for questioning. Could the Fates at least let her have one peaceful day? But no, the old grandmas were focused on ruining her life.

Like they haven't already, she thought bitterly, walking through shortcuts to try to make them lose their sight on her.