someone to call mine (pjo various x reader)

you shall go west, and face the god who has turned.
you shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.
you shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.
and the one not of this world shall shape your journey's end.
all while failing to save what matters most in the end.

why is it different? i may not remember what the oracle originally spitted out, but i know it did not include the whole 'the one not of this world' bit.

i should've known this was coming. i mean, i literally read this scene in the books before i got dropped into this world like a glitch in the system. still, knowing what's coming and experiencing it firsthand? two totally different things.

we're in the big house, the air thick with tension. percy looks like he's barely keeping it together, grover is nervously shifting from hoof to hoof, and annabeth is standing stiff beside me, her stormy gray eyes focused on chiron like she's already planning a hundred different strategies for the quest we all know is coming.

i know what's coming too.

"the oracle has spoken," chiron says gravely. "you must go west and retrieve what has been stolen. you shall find it and return it before the summer solstice, or war will break out among the gods."

percy blinks. "what was stolen?"

i don't answer, though i could. the master bolt. zeus' biggest flex and biggest insecurity. but i can't just blurt that out without raising too many questions. instead, i watch as percy's brain scrambles to catch up. it's honestly kind of cute, and i don't miss the way annabeth scowls slightly when she notices me watching him.

"poseidon's being framed," i say instead, crossing my arms. "and the gods don't like waiting."

chiron nods. "y/n is right."

annabeth lets out a slow breath beside me. "so it's a quest."

percy still looks shell-shocked. "and i'm supposed to go?"

"you must not go alone," chiron says, a small smile playing on his lips. "you may choose two companions."

grover steps up instantly. "me. obviously."

annabeth doesn't even hesitate. "i volunteer."

then she glances at me, and for a moment, i see something flicker in her eyes—something uncertain, like she wants to say something but doesn't. i know what she's thinking. in the books, i wasn't there. but i am now.

"i'm going too," i say, making the decision for her. "you're gonna need me."

percy looks relieved, and that makes something in annabeth's expression darken for half a second before she schools her face back into something neutral. she doesn't argue, though. and that's how i know she doesn't really mind me coming along—she just minds how percy reacts to it.

this is gonna be interesting.