Perseus and the Quest for 12

And the winner is…

Option C, Stall them himself!

Final Score:

Option A, protect Clarisse and get out of the way: 41

Option B, use the explosives:1

Option C, Stall the bulls himself: 43

Special shoutout to the AO3 folks, who were unanimous in their support for option C. Y'all carried that one to victory in the closest vote yet.

Chapter 11

Bedside Manner

Really, Perseus decided after a second of thinking, this was only fair. He'd chosen to follow Clarisse's reckless plan, and now they were facing the fallout. The least he could do was fight to stop it…

Even if that meant putting himself on the line.

He ran forward, adrenaline turning his heart into a drum. Clarisse was facing the bulls on her feet, glaring as if she could stop them with just her eyes. Both bulls charged— one much faster than the other, which still had Clarisse's spear sticking straight through its knee.

"Bring it on!" Clarisse demanded. 

Perseus had no idea what she planned to do if they actually did. Instead of watching the Ares counselor get a first-hand lesson on the danger of stampedes, Perseus reached her fist, shoving her aside.

Clarisse fell easily, shouting in surprise. She hadn't heard him coming at all. It was no wonder, because standing in the bulls' path Perseus could feel the ground shake. One hit from those bronze horns and he'd be gored through.

He took a deep breath. Perseus refused to allow himself to panic. The faster, healthy bull lowered its head. He tracked the horns with his eyes.

Faster than the automaton could process, he lashed out, stabbing its neck before sidestepping just as speedily. He dodged the horns, but his sword skidded harmlessly off the thick metal skin. as he jumped back and dodged the injured bull the same way, Perseus gasped.

He was starting to feel the cuts across his torso. He'd lost a lot of blood. As much as he would've loved to keep dodging and the bulls until help arrived, he couldn't count on his body lasting longer than a minute. 

So he did what he was best at— something reckless.

He had to hit the bulls in a weak spot in order to do any damage. His quick sword just didn't have the heft to hurt them any other way. Perseus grabbed the rags that had been his shirt, soaked-through now with blood from his many cuts. The shirt tore easily, held in his free left hand. Dangling it out, he gave the rag a few short flicks, and watched as both bulls immediately charged it.

"Thank the gods that Hephaestus cares about attention to detail," he muttered.

Bronze or not, they were still bulls. Dangle a bit of red in front of them and they were guaranteed to lose it.

Steam and sparks puffed from their nostrils. The ground shook again, Perseus attempting to blot out the deafening noise. He needed to time this right. 

The lead bull jerked its head up, stabbing the ruined shirt. Perseus turned sideways. He brought his sword around, burying it in the bulls eye-socket, stabbing all the way to the gears in its head making it tick. He pulled his sword out deftly, just in time to watch the bull's legs give out, the automaton skidding to a stop as an inanimate heap. Twisting his head, Perseus faced down the injured bull. 

All he had to do was the same thing, one more time, on an even slower target. It was doable. Until his legs gave out.

Perseus blinked, looking down uncomprehendingly. He hadn't told them to do that, yet he was on his knees now. He tried to rise. Nothing happened. The bull came closer, one thunderous footstep at a time. It angled its horns— not toward the red shirt in his hands, but toward the bright cuts all across Perseus's equally-red torso.

He should've been frightened, but all Perseus could think about was how the world seemed to be spinning. Had eyesight always been so fuzzy?

Somebody screamed. Perseus was pretty sure it wasn't him, because it sounded like a woman. 

The bull hit him. He flew.

Perseus twisted in the air. Sensation had become muted, seeming distant, yet he felt something sharp in his arm now. It wasn't supposed to bend that way… right? He hit the ground with a heavy thud. 

The bull limped toward him, intent on ending everything. It charged again, as fast as its legs could carry it. There was nothing Perseus could do… Nothing but shut his eyes and…

The bull let out a great mechanical whimper, stalling in place. Someone had appeared in front of Perseus, with short dark hair and a raised shield. The automaton flinched at the sight of the shield, as if it were the opposite of a red cape. As soon as the bull stopped, its fate was sealed. Another girl drove a dagger through a chink in the monster's neck, appearing on its back straight out of thin air. At least, that's what it looked like to Perseus's spotty vision. Maybe he just hadn't seen her jump on?

His tired brain set that question aside, along with the rest of his thoughts. His whole body was throbbing with the pain he'd ignored earlier. It was all too much.

A shadow fell over his body.

"You idiot!" Perseus thought hands might've grabbed his shoulders, but it was hard to tell. "Who said you had to save me? Who said I needed help? Answer me!"

Just as quickly, the hands were yanked away.

"What is your damn problem?" demanded a familiar voice… Thalia?"

"I didn't need… I… GAH!"

The last thing Perseus heard was a fist hitting the dirt and a loud, unadulterated bellow of frustration. Two muscular arms wrapped around his chest with surprising gentleness, tilting him up, as his consciousness faded.

O-O-O

Rather than saying he woke up, it would be more accurate to say that Perseus became slightly-less-unconscious a couple of times. It always felt like a dream, just one that came with a sharp pain in his right arm. He was conscious enough to understand that he was laying in a soft bed, calloused hands gently feeding him a sweet drink.

"Nectar," said a girl's voice. "Drink."

Other times, when he became slightly conscious, there was no nectar. But those hands were a constant. Whether they were feeding him, rewrapping his bandages, or simply adjusting his position, he could always sense their touch. In one of his more lucid moments, he marveled at the level of care the Apollo Cabin could offer.

When he finally came-to for real, he could tell immediately that this time was different. The pain in his arm had become a duller throb, for one, and his eyes were actually willing to open.

The mild sunlight shining through a nearby window was too bright at first, but his eyes adjusted as he blinked through it. He went to push himself up, only to hiss, the dull feeling of his arm transforming into sharp pain in seconds.

Those two calloused hands grabbed his shoulders, keeping him from rising. Perseus relaxed at the touch, having grown used to it. He traced up the arms holding him, expecting to find a cute daughter of Apollo, maybe even Kayla Knowles, the girl who checked his health when he first arrived at camp.

What he found instead made his jaw drop open.

It wasn't that the face was unattractive, but the harsh features couldn't have been further from the soft smile Perseus expected. His bedside nurse scowled at him, her hair tied back in a messy bun.

"Clarisse?" he croaked.

The daughter of Ares started, then blushed, before scowling even deeper, as if it were his fault that she was embarrassed. 

"Don't misunderstand," she muttered. "Chiron told me to."

Perseus felt strength returning with every second. He wouldn't be springing up anytime soon, but it was enough to wriggle into a more comfortable position, raising his eyebrows.

"Told you to what?"

"What do you think, dingus? To take care of you."

Despite the disdain Clarisse said this with, her hands told a different story. She fiddled with the hem of his bandages, making certain they were applied properly, moving with the same deftness Perseus had become accustomed to during his rest.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but… was the entire Apollo Cabin busy?"

Clarrisse's hands grew a touch rougher in their fiddling. "What, is my care not good enough for you?"

"It's not that," Perseus said, choosing his words carefully. "Just…"

He trailed off, unable to find a way to say politely that she seemed as likely to kill someone she was tending than save their life. But maybe that wasn't being fair. After all, she'd done well enough with him that he mistook her for a trained doctor, or at least his sleep-addled brain had.

And besides, her outfit…

Clarisse had pulled out all the stops. And by that, Perseus meant donning an outfit that looked straight out of Aphrodite's 'special' closet on Olympus. It was clearly based on what a nurse might wear, with lots of white and lines of red thread, but there was about half as much fabric in total as a real practitioner would wear. Clarisse's huge, muscular quads bulged out of the skirt, which strained to reach past her crotch, while her bust pushed against the upper buttons. She'd made slight alterations to the sleeves, rolling them up over her bulky shoulders, the same way she usually wore her Camp Half-Blood t-shirts. Combined with the dark bags under both of her eyes, she looked a lot like a cosplaying stripper that accidentally got called in for the night shift. 

She must've felt his gaze, because she pulled her hands back, crossing her arms. 

"What?" she said.

"Nothing," Perseus said quickly.

Her arms were only pushing up her bust, making the front button wobble as it clung on for dear life.

Finally, Clarisse sighed and looked away.

"You want to know why you're stuck with me for a nurse?" she asked. "There's two reasons. The first is that both of us are in the doghouse right now."

"For protecting the camp?" Perseus asked.

"That's what I said!" Clarisse exclaimed. "But then Chiron starts talking about 'recklessness' and 'needless risks'. That horse doesn't know a thing about glory! But he can't fool me. Campers are already talking. I'll be the hero of camp! And I guess you're alright, too… for a sidekick."

"Much obliged," Perseus said dryly. "Is that the second reason? You can't have your sidekick dying on you?"

"What? It's nothing stupid like that. Clarisse La Rue doesn't owe people anything. If you fuck with me I get even, and if you help me out, I pay my debt."

Perseus blinked, equally surprised by the dramatic declaration and the complete lack of embarrassment she stated it with.

"How… honorable."

"And don't you forget it!"

Clarisse uncrossed her arms, leaning forward. She planted her hands on the edge of the bed Perseus was in, which was much nicer than anything in the cabins, meaning this must've been somewhere inside the Big House. She sniffed him, of all things. Perseus just watched her, trying to puzzle out what she was up to now.

"When I went after those monsters, you didn't rat me out," she said. "That was the first favor you did for me. It wasn't a big one, but it meant something. I'd say nursing you pays that back."

"Okay," Perseus agreed, still not sure where this was going.

Without any more warning, Clarisse moved. She crawled out of her chair, onto the bed, suspending herself above his legs on her knees. She looked humongous from this perspective, muscular arms hanging at her sides while everything beneath her upper thighs was shown off.

"You… When the bull…" Clarisse was frowning. "That bull maybe, almost, for a second looked like it might've had me, and you got me out of the way."

"You're welcome."

"I don't want your thanks! I want to even the score. So hold still."

Clarisse was looking straight down at something Perseus hadn't noticed. His in-depth study of her outfit hadn't been without results. The thin sheet covering his body was sticking straight up above his crotch, pitching a family-size tent. 

Clarisse grabbed the hem of the sheet where it was resting over Perseus's midriff, pulling it down past his thighs. To his surprise, he'd been stripped out of his clothes for treatment. His cock stood straight up, unrestrained, in all its enormous glory. Clarisse tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, still frowning, and bent forward.

Using wisdom built up over years of fighting, she recognized that some fights weren't worth taking and didn't even try to swallow all of him. Instead, she wrapped her lips around his head, those calloused hands gripping his shaft and turning in opposite directions.

Perseus gasped. His injured arm was immobilized in some kind of cast, but his other hand was free to grab hold of the sheets as his body spasmed with pleasure. He expected her to be rough, but she was as tender with her blowjob as she'd been when tending his wounds. The unexpected softness temporarily overwhelmed him.

Soft sucking sounds filled the otherwise quiet bedroom. Clarisse looked up, staring him in the eyes. The angle showed off huge swathes of her milky cleavage, barely contained by the tight blouse. Perseus reached down with his working arm, stroking the side of her head. Clarisse glared… but she didn't stop, and even leaned into his touch.

Periodically she would pop her lips off of him to drip saliva onto his cock, bathing him in thick strands. Soon he was soaked and glistening, letting her hands twist faster than ever. She never squeezed too tightly. Slowly, Perseus felt the cool sensation of her excess spit slip down, running across his balls.

He must've been backed up after days in bed, because he didn't last nearly as long as usual. His balls tightened, and he spewed a load directly into Clarisse's coaxing mouth. 

She jerked back, her hands coming off of his cock as she straightened, coming to terms with her sudden mouthful of spunk. She looked tempted to spit it to the side, before her eyes became resolved. She swallowed slowly.

Perseus thought privately that they were even after that, but he certainly wouldn't admit as much when Clarisse kept going. 

Breathing heavily, with a distinct flush to her cheeks, Clarisse grabbed her nurse's skirt and yanked it up, revealing that she'd had nothing on underneath. She must have planned this, Perseus decided, staring at her hairy pussy. He winced as buttons suddenly struck him in the face. Tired of her blouse, Clarisse had grabbed the collar and torn it, jettisoning the buttons that had barely been hanging on.

Her huge tits bounced free, incredibly smooth and soft compared to her toned body. Perseus was quickly reminded of when she used him as a human shield as she got a face full of them, just like he had back then. Only now, there were no monsters to worry about, and there was nothing to get between him and those stiff areolas.

Clarisse, who had leaned forward and planted her hands on the headboard either side of his head, stared down at him. "Suck."

If doctors' orders were always this agreeable, Perseus would never have a problem following them.

He gnashed his teeth around her skin, biting in and drawing surprisingly girlish squeaks. Refusing to be distracted, Clarisse moved her hips, skillfully lining up his cock with her entrance. She plunged down, taking most of him in one go, yet managing to stop centimeters above his hips to not jostle his injuries.

She started to buck her hips, pushing her tits forward and pulling them back, lending a whole new sensation as Perseus enjoyed them. Sometimes he didn't even bite, just letting himself be smothered. At other times he bit ferociously, like he was trying to break the skin. Clarisse whimpered at these times. But, without fail, she tightened each time he left a mark. 

Perseus was incredibly warm, feeling as if he'd stopped beside Hestia's hearth. Clarisse was much bigger than his usual partners, almost bigger than he was himself, and in this position she could reach every part of his frame, bathing him in her body heat. Her hair was coming loose from its bun, falling down along her neck while she gasped and groaned.

Perseus threaded his working arm along her muscled back, reaching up from behind to hold the back of her head. He pushed it forward, forcing her to watch him, before delivering his heaviest bite yet, closing his teeth around one of her nipples and twisting. Clarisse gasped, a trembling moan escaping her mouth. She came then— Perseus could feel the tell-tale rush. But he wasn't there yet.

He made her ride him for minutes on end, working for her release. Sweat broke out across her body. Clarisse maintained her fast speed, all without hurting his injuries a single time. Perseus felt great. He felt energized, enough to want to finish in style.

His body still ached, regardless of how wonderfully gentle Clarisse managed to be. So he limited his active participation to a single thrust. Planting the soles of his feet on the bed, he propelled himself up, burying the last bit of his cock into Clarisse's warm insides. It was then, when he was at his deepest inside of her, that he allowed himself sweet release.

Clarisse came again as he flooded her insides. Her muscular back spasmed, while Perseus watched her thick triceps twitch and tremble. Her whole body squeezed tightly around him while their juices mingled. Clarisse was careful to the very end. When her body gave out and she slumped with exhaustion, she made sure to do it off the side of the bed, so as not to crush him beneath her weight.

Perseus was breathing heavily himself. That had been a lot so soon after waking up. Laying there, he could no longer see Clarisse, even though he knew she was on the floor just out of sight.

"Debt paid," came her voice, echoing up to him, accompanied by a solitary raised thumb rising into view.

Perseus just chuckled.

"What?" she demanded. "Was that not enough for you?"

"No, it was plenty," he assured her.

He could just tell. Call it a sixth sense. But after sex like that, Clarisse would be back, even if she had to invent a new debt to do it.

And he was perfectly fine with that.

O-O-O

Once she realized that his condition had improved, Clarisse left for a much-needed break. Perseus was left alone inside a room with white walls, minimal furniture, and a terrible view of a random patch of grass. He dozed for the rest of the day, trying to counteract his boredom with mixed success. In the end, when the door opened, he sat up straight, eager for any kind of distraction.

That excitement mellowed when Chiron rolled into the room.

Clarisse had replaced his clothes and sheets before leaving. Perseus watched the centaur wheel closer, using his magic wheelchair that let him fit through doorways. The half-man's bearded face was inscrutable as he watched Perseus.

"You were very stupid," he said.

Perseus winced. "Hello to you too."

Chiron continued to observe him in silence for just long enough for it to become awkward. Then, he dipped his head.

"Thank you," he said

"...What?"

"Whether it was stupid or not, you protected my campers," Chiron said. "I've already heard the full story from Annabeth and Clarisse. There are some things they disagree on, but I believe I understand enough of what happened. You risked your life for this place, and you came out the other side alive." He leaned forward, his voice deepening. "Barely."

Perseus nodded, not trusting himself to speak. It was rushing back now, the desperation he felt while beating Medusa to death, as well as the grim resignation when the bull was closing in on him.

He could've died. He almost died. His arm was broken and his torso was mauled… and he was lucky to be in this state.

"I have questions for you," Chiron said, "but I will get the most important one out of the way first. Why did you risk yourself that way?"

The ancient centaur's face was grave. He clearly put a lot of weight on this, although Perseus couldn't quite figure out why. Regardless, he pondered the best way to answer.

The simplest answer was that he just hadn't known. It wasn't until he was plunged into the dark with Medusa that the risks really sunk in. But even then, he'd kept going, forcing himself into the line of fire over and over.

He could admit that he wanted to protect Clarisse. He didn't want her to die, and thought that lending his aid would be the best way of keeping her alive. He thought Chiron would like that answer. But there had been other ways of protecting her than joining in her reckless plan, one which nearly cost both of them everything.

Glory. Perseus had thought of his reputation in camp, which he had tanked in order to take down Holly Victor. Making himself into a hero seemed like a good way of counteracting that, to the point that he willingly risked his life for the social benefits.

Finally, he could admit everything that went into the choice— his ignorance, his empathy, and his greed, all wrapped up into one confusing package. It would be the most honest answer. How Chiron would take it…

He didn't know. But the activities director was awaiting an answer, one that he needed to provide…

Choice: What should Perseus do?

Option A: Tell him that he didn't understand what it really meant to risk his life.

Option B: Say that he wanted to protect Clarisse.

Option C: Admit that he wanted the glory, and the boost to his reputation.

Option D: Tell Chiron all of these different parts that went into his choice.

How to Vote: Write a review which says/includes A, B, C, etc. You can just write the letter, or feel free to type out all your reasoning. Who knows, you may even sway others to back your vote if you make a really good case. 

I will count votes cast across all the sites this story is posted to (see my profile for details) and go with whatever has the majority. Chapters will generally be spaced out by at least a week, to give plenty of time for everyone who wants to vote to get the chance to.