She's right, much as it rankles - fights might be an option someday, but they'll have to wait until after he's able to walk unassisted.

"I can always take my chances with whatever beast I become - but I'm told it's likely to be a scaly piece of work." He found the mark on his second day here, high on an inner thigh: Skala, apparently evidence of cold pragmatism and a tendency towards the otherworldly.

This, though, is a genuine joke, not a but maybe. Whatever destruction Percy might cause in a monstrous form, it's going to be unjustifiable. There really isn't an option ahead of him besides finding someone reasonably attractive and going for a roll in the hay.