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As long as Percy could remember the campfire at camp had never stopped burning. It was a constant, a guarantee in his life. If he was at camp it was there, always shining brightly into the depths of his eyes. Comforting, bright, a reminder that he wasn't all alone. The campfire had brought him many memories, good and bad, happy and sad. It had made him think of camp with every blaze he'd come to see for the rest of his life. The campfire, a reminder of home. That there was a home out there, waiting for him to come home, waiting for the opportunity to shine into his eyes yet again. To find those sea green circles and to burn its light into them. It was almost alive. Seeking the affection of every demigod. Being there for everyone that came into its view. A comforting warmth shared between fire and being. It was magical, so many things were. But this particular one had always stood out in Percy's opinion.
As said it was almost alive, burning brighter in a moment full of glee and happiness, dimming at the face of death and sorrow. Complying with the feelings of those around it, every fire did that in a sense, this one just seems to be stronger, more adamant about its feeling and the feelings of others. If it was burning brighter, shining brilliantly, changing colors with every emotion present, then he was the only one to notice. Noone had pointed it out to him, nor had he ever heard a conversation about the topic. It was strange, he had always thought so but he had never ever brought it up to anyone. How would such a conversation even start?
As the years passed he had stopped thinking of the fire. As said it was a never leaving presence at camp and an ever present reminder of his home. The feeling of the fire grew on him and he never continued the thought of what could be behind the fire. But of course he did think of it once again, he was seventeen now, a war veteran of two wars, someone scarred down to the bone. With a mind never forgetting and a body with visible reminders of his deeds. Mind reminiscing of past guests and friends, taking him back to a time of ignorance and peace, but also of restlessness and frustration. Emotions flowers through his head as he pondered on sleepless nights. On one of those nights the fire had been brought up in his head. A fire, always there, always, in the corner of his eye, in almost every memory. A fire watching over him, caring for him, making sure he was alright. He wasn't sure just how he got that impression of the fire, it just was that way.
Now when he was lying in his bed, his eyes not wanting to rest but instead to stare ahead, up onto the ceiling. Watching the wood with the patterns of a tree's growth embedded into them. Showing their age and might. With his mind wandering to the thoughts of the campfire, and fire in general. A thought came to his mind, the thought of a girl he had seen so long before he had realized who the girl was. Just now knowing just who it was, she was the same as the fire, watching over him, making sure that he was alright. The same as the fire, the girl and the fire were coexisting, two of the same. They worked in harmony in his memories now that he had decided to look for the signs. A girl not that old, warm, kind and caring, bringing the feeling of comfort and home. A fire not that scary, warm, kind and caring, bringing the feeling of comfort and home. They really did bring the same feeling to his body and mind. Not that he had noticed and realized that before but still ingrained in his past. A girl waving to him kindly at the park, he and mom grilling marshmallows over a kind fire. Gabe getting burned by the campfire that one time he had been payed to go to a camp, the fire seemingly reaching out to burn him in an unnatural way. It all came together as Percy realized who had been caring for him. The girl he had seen at camp at first when Chiron was showing him around, the same as the park, standing beside the fire, the same fire that had burned what had hurt him. The fire, girl, goddess who had always had his back. The goddess of the hearth, of the home, Hestia. He almost cried when it clicked.
The realization that someone other than his mother had stuck with him all of his life. Why had she done that? Why had a goddess watched him for so long? What was it all about? Was it so that he would owe her a favor? No, as soon as that thought crossed his mind he knew it wasn't the case. Hestia was not one to do something of that sort. Had she done it for no other reason that she cared for him? But why would she do that? He was just- Just him. Percy. Perseus. But yet she had protected him. He wondered if she had a cause, or if she somehow had gotten attached to him. In every memory with the girl or the fire she had always been kind, brought joy and peace wherever she went. It was a comforting thought, it tickled his sense of safety ever so slightly as it became a part of his wall of reason.
That wall had grown with the years, at first it had been small, weak, too well to even imagine that it could stop something from entering and altering his sense of purpose. But nothing had managed to, Gabe had come close but just then his mind had managed to upgrade it, it had been necessary to. If his mind didn't want to crumble it had to evolve, adapt and rebuild. There were many parts of his life that later went into the building of that mental wall in his head, the wall of purpose and ideals. Tartarus had been one of the only times the wall had failed him. He had felt a deafening crack as he took control of that poison. Morals shrieking at him, asking him what he was doing. That crack had been a crack in the wall. A slight crack in the so strong yet so fragile wall, shield of his mind and sanity. Bricks of memories falling into the cloud below the wall, disappearing and becoming nothing more then nothing. But the pieces had not only fallen into the void, they had fallen through. Hitting his heart after leaving the confines of his brain. They hit his heart hard, momentum gained in the fall becoming power that hurt him. They had buried themselves in there, not going to be easy to get rid of.
Now the thought of Hestia caring for him added strength to that wall, strength that had slipped through his finger the last few months. Making his defenses weaker. But every once of love or kindness directed towards him had always made that wall stronger, mightier, thicker, and higher. This sudden reassurance in his mind had been missed for so long. Also becoming a pair of tweezers to pull out the broken prices of his thoughts and memories out of his heart. The material to build up his mind again, to start living again, to be part of the group that sits around that warming fire, to sit around the hearth in peace. Peace, he wanted peace.
The fire that always had been a secret haven in his mind actually had a mind of its own. She desired peace herself and ultimately he had managed to restore the peace of the world twice as of now. They had shared goals and thoughts. Thoughts of helping others, of precious family and friends. Their goals had aligned along time ago. Maybe that was the reason for her favoritism, a demigod, not selfish or glory seeking. Instead, wanting to protect and give, make sure those around him would be safe. So she had decided that the demigod needed someone like that of his own. If he was going to protect then who would protect him? She would. So now in the middle of the night, that protection continued.
His eyelids were starting to droop, they had become so heavy all of a sudden. Why? A warmth spread throughout his body, the cover of his bed seemingly becoming more and more inviting and welcoming. To sleep, loved and with no worries in the world, to sleep with the warmth of the hearth.
"Sleep, Perseus. Sleep and rest. You have done your part. Let everyone else handle the rest. You've fought well, Firefly." A warm and kind voice said. He couldn't tell if it was in his head or real, but it was so tempting to listen, to fall into a slumber and to rest. So he did.