Will looked at me with a face I couldn’t decipher, “Yeah, like there’s multiple types of deafness, muteness it’s a spectrum. Just like neurodivergencyness, which everyone here has, just at different levels."

Now I kinda felt bad. I never knew that… and I was thinking being mute was just not being able to talk but it wasn’t. I never understood that. I just thought that my mouth didn’t want to move… but I guess that that’s a type of muteness… isn’t it?

Your brain not wanting to talk and just be quiet, and so even if you want to talk or feel the need to, you can’t. I just always thought something was wrong with me, when every fiber in my body is screaming at me to just say something. But I couldn’t or just wouldn’t. I mean, my parents always said it’s okay, but… I always hated it when I’d just go quiet in some situations. But then the whole thing with finding my safe people and it stopped… till now.

Why now…

I just wish I could say something.

I wanted to yell…

No…

I want to scream so loud I shake the universe.

Cause I’m mad… and sad… Just… UPSET! Wait… why am I so upset again?

And why does it feel like a swirling volcano or typhoon inside of me? Like everything's all mixed up right now?

Why is everything all mixed up right now? I shou-

“Hey. You good? You zoned out pretty strongly, like you were having a vision or some shit.” Will tapped my shoulder.

I jumped a bit, since I had been startled. But.. I nodded. I’m alive. And that’s the bare minimum of being fine…

“If it were a vision they’d not have snapped back like that, they’d have stayed in it until it ended.” Annabeth corrected.

“It was a joke, I know that’s what happens when someone has a vision.” Will nodded.

Annabeth grabbed my face, her eyes looking deeply into mine“...hey… were Archie’s eyes always like that? I swear they were black why are they like… changing color… with mixed colors?” she asked Will, who was about to explain but he didn’t get the chance,  “Why are your eyes doing that?” Annabeth then asked me.

I had gained a quizzical look until I remembered what my mom had said, and what had been said before, ‘Also we need you to be able to have the mist more thinned for you. It affected me and your dad. We saw it as hazel eyes shifting color, when your eyes are bright, we can tell more because we know.’ Right, my eyes change color to my emotions because of my connection to Apollo… maybe Iris too? I dunno, my dad’s eyes don’t change color, but also some people’s  might.

So I got out my note book and somehow managed to get free from Annabeth’s grasp to write, “My eyes change color to my emotions, I dunno what each one means though.” and turned it to face them.