Jason sighed as he packed up his things, carefully rolling up his pencils so the tips wouldn't dull and neatly folding the extra sheets of paper into his notebook. He figured that his things would eventually get messed up during the long course of their trek through the jungle, but he hoped to minimize the damage by taking care of his possessions. Octavian insisted on calling him "prissy" for it.

Shouldering his pack, and looking around to make sure he didn't leave anything behind, Jason hurried after the company that was already out of the clearing.

"You really need to stop falling behind so much before we lose you and you get eaten by a lion."

Jason flushed from anger a little. Not at Thalia- his sister was just teasing him. He pushed his glasses up his sweaty nose and swatted at an insect.

"I've asked Octavian a hundred times to give me a two minute heads up before we start moving again. ...and there's no lions in this jungle."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Leaning closer so no one walking in front of them would hear, Thalia whispered, "But Octavian's an asshole, so I don't know what you expected."

They shared a grin before returning their gazes to the forest floor, trying not to trip over anything.

Jason didn't really mind the hard and fast hiking. He was used to taking his sketchbook on hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains over the weekends, looking for beautiful birds and gorgeous arrangements of branches to sketch. Plus he was lucky enough to have Thalia for a sister, who was constantly dragging him out to help construct housing for the homeless and reading him lectures about eating enough protein.

Despite being completely physically capable of the endurance necessary for their trip, Octavian and his buddies still seemed to think that being a bespectacled artist somehow made him a weakling and a mama's boy. It's not that Jason thought they were completely off, it's that it felt like they were hitting too close to home with their insults. He really wished that he wasn't so insecure about his love of sketching and appreciation of nature's aesthetics. He knew there was nothing shameful about enjoying the things he did, but somehow he always let taunts about it get under his skin.

It seemed an insult to injury, however, that Octavian also enjoyed making unwelcome passes at him. The first time was uncomfortable, the second time embarrassing, and every time after that made Jason want to keep to himself more and more. Jason wondered more than a few times if it was maybe a bad idea for someone as introverted as him to go out on a journey through the wilderness with so many strangers. But he was already here, and there was nothing to do about it than to turn down Octavian's lascivious offers and bite his tongue as his adventurer buddies continued to mock him and his meticulously cared for art supplies.

Reyna had dropped back and smiled as Jason and Thalia approached her. Jason waved back and she fell into stride at his side. Jason felt grateful for having both his sister and his boss here. The first few days, it had added ammo to the men's insults that he was constantly spending time being "coddled" by women, but Thalia and Reyna eventually set them straight about how they weren't going to tolerate any sexism on this trip. Jason didn't really want to think this, since it was probably rather sexist too, but it only made him feel more downtrodden that his two companions had more of a backbone than he did.

By the time Octavian called a halt for the night, Jason was so submerged in his negative thinking that he was feeling physically exhausted, even though they hadn't been moving particularly faster than normal.

Thalia found them a spot to spread their sleeping bags out, and after looking around at her options, Reyna dropped her gear next to Thalia's. Jason smiled as he sat on his canvas bag and unrolled his pencils from the paper they were wrapped in, settling in to draw something quickly before bed. When Reyna had invited him on this trip, he was certain he didn't want to go without his sister. Unfortunately, Thalia could be a very combative person and he was always worried about asking her to go places. Seeing Reyna and Thalia get along and be friendly with each other was a relief, since Reyna was no shrinking violet herself when she got into it with people.

The snap of a twig behind him and to his right made Jason jump. Octavian was standing right behind him, curiously peering down into Jason's journal. The man had just come from lighting the fire and smelled strongly of it. It would have been a nice smell, a sexy smell, even, if Octavian's personality didn't make Jason want to scream in frustration.

"What's the point of drawing birds and branches, Grace? You can always just walk around with a camera instead."

Jason tried to keep the frown off his face.

"If I enjoyed photography, I would be happy to snap pictures."

Octavian snorted and crouched down until he was eye-level with Jason.

"If you must draw, why such a boring subject matter? Drawing the human figure would be much more exciting."

"I don't really see how."

Octavian leaned in with a grin and Jason knew he wouldn't like what he heard next. He tried to shift away a little, already bracing for the discomfort.

"I could pose for you. In... various stages of undress," Octavian bit his lip and let it slip sensually from his teeth before continuing, "We can see how long it takes for me to get excited under your intense scrutiny."

Jason shifted away further.

"That sort of thing would make me uncomfortable."

Octavian's sneer at getting shot down yet again was menacing. He clicked his tongue as he stood up.

"Maybe some other time, then."

Jason wasn't really sure how that even made sense, but he bit his tongue and went back to sketching the beautiful patterns the foliage made against the darkening sky. Thalia nudged him and gave him a thumbs up. Jason tamed the grin that threatened to break out into a small smile. No need to antagonize Octavian if he was looking- it would probably only make him more unpleasant.

It's not that Jason had anything against the human figure. If he had any privacy available to him, there would be more than one male nude in his sketchbook. But with Octavian lurking around and the other thugs in the expedition always on the lookout to ridicule Jason, he wasn't about to reveal his sexuality. He had a few sketches of his sister and Reyna, but he had quickly gotten bored of drawing women.

If Jason was being honest, his favorite thing to draw was his Ideal Man. It was the only thing Jason ever drew from his imagination, and the only thing he never tired of drawing. His Ideal Man always turned out different, as Jason had trouble deciding on what the perfect lover would look like. There were only a few details that he based his sketches on. The Ideal Man had to have a very fit body, long eyelashes, and a serious but not unkind mouth. His most recent sketches of this man had taken a turn for the tall, dark, and handsome, with mischievous eyes. There was a specific image finally solidifying in his mind, after years of chasing it, but he'd left for this trip before he had a chance to capture it on paper.

At this thought, Jason had to shake himself. He was starting to pine for an imaginary figure again, and with the sort of miserable mood he was already in today, that was simply a bad idea. Putting his supplies away with his drawing half finished, he joined the women's debate about the likelihood of discovering a new species of mammal on such an expedition.

Jason woke up feeling a lot less stressed that when he'd gone to bed. He lay for a long time, listening to men snoring in their sleep or groaning as they stretched. Jason loved how even past the boundary of their camp, the forest was full of noise at all times of day and night. People talk about the "silence" and "quiet" of nature, but neither of these two things were to be found here. The birds were currently singing and wind was brushing through the leaves of both the canopy and the underbrush. And of course, there was the ever-present ever-annoying hum of insects. Jason slapped something as it landed on his arm and rolled over onto his stomach with a grunt.

He was so comfortable right now, and he really didn't want to waste his good mood by getting up and having to deal with the other members of the expedition. Finally, slowly and with a lot of stretching, he got up and started packing his things up, determined to carry his good mood through breakfast. He helped the women with their things when they got up too. Both Reyna and Thalia complained that they could take care of things themselves, but he knew they were grateful for the extra couple minutes of private time out of sight of camp. The other hikers weren't too big on hygiene and often rushed the women, who needed a few extra minutes in the morning.

By the time breakfast was served and eaten, Jason was in an even better mood than when he woke up, almost entirely because he was so surprised that he hadn't had to deal with any verbal abuse or sexual advances yet. He shouldered his pack with a smile on his face, and set off after their guide, at a pace that left everyone else throwing him weird looks and scrambling to catch up.

The guide, for his part, looked both amused and excited to see the man that normally trailed behind keeping up with him so easily. Charon, that was the guide's name, was a tall man and looked like he was used to taking wider steps then he could while leading a bunch of tripping and panting Americans. Invigorated by Jason's enthusiasm, he pushed through the jungle harder and faster than normal, and threw a smile over his shoulder every time he looked back and saw Jason keeping up without a problem.

"You know, it's really refreshing to see you up front, Jason."

Jason spared a glance and a smile in Octavian's direction for the sake of being polite as the other man caught up to him.

"It really provides a nice view for anyone walking behind you."

Jason's already thin smile slipped off his face entirely. He did not need this right now.

"That's highly inappropriate, Octavian."

"Just paying you a compliment."

"I don't want it."

Octavian slid up to him and hissed in his ear.

"Please. It's exactly what you want, isn't it? I've been to Reyna's office. Flipped through that sketchbook on your desk. It's all you want, isn't it? A big, strong man to show your tight ass a good time? That what you fantasize about while you space out "bird watching"? Getting fucked by a nice, fat cock? Don't tell me-"

Jason stopped in his tracks, and Octavian passed him by in his momentum, spinning around to challenge Jason with his glare. Jason tried to think of something to say, his cheeks burning. Then he spun on his heel and walked back to where his sister and Reyna were. At the curious glances from the other adventurers, he set his face into one of determination, like he had an urgent reason to be walking to the back. They let him pass unmolested. Luckily, they'd been far enough behind to not see what happened through the foliage of the forest.

Thalia looked like she was about to ask what was wrong, but Jason just shook his head and walked past both her and Reyna, actually feeling the two women exchanging glances after his passing. Once he was far enough away, he stopped, took a deep breath, and turned around to keep walking forward again.

He kept his distance as they continued their hike up some tricky terrain. Every once in a while, he caught glimpses of Thalia looking back at him in concern, but he didn't acknowledge her and dropped back out of sight. He tried not to kick the ground in frustration, but there were a lot of leaves on the ground and it was tempting to throw a tantrum. Instead, he stared at the forest floor and imagined how much noise he could make if he lost his temper and started kicking leaves up.

He was so concentrated on this imagined racket and rustling, that the silence of reality suddenly struck him and jarred him out of his thoughts. He stopped, listening for his fellow travelers. Nothing. Just the constant ebb and flow of animal and plant sounds that were the natural orchestra of the jungle. He gave a sharp shout and listened. Nothing.

Trying not to panic, Jason broke out into a run in the direction he'd been heading. He deftly jumped low hanging vines and ducked under large drooping leaves, staring forward, determined to prove to himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. He'd see Thalia right around that tree. No, that one. Or the next one.

He stepped on a patch of leaves and something went wrong. They didn't hold his weight. As his footing failed and he started careening to one side and sliding to the other, Jason swiveled terrified eyes to his left and saw no forest floor there, only layers upon layers of branches. He'd been running along the edge of a cliff and been so focused on looking forward that he didn't even notice.

His body hit the ground hard as he slipped down the treacherous slope almost vertically. Sharp rocks dug into his arm and thigh on his right side as branches snagged and tore at him from the other side. Jason squeezed his eyes shut, afraid of having them poked out and tried to grab at something- anything- to slow his descent. There was nothing but the quickly passing rocks that cut his fingers as he tried to grab at them. Jason's only hope to avoid injury at the bottom of the cliff was to try to relax his legs to minimize impact.

No sooner did he do that than he hit the ground. He lay panting for a while before finally opening his eyes, one at a time, and looking about nervously. No wild animals ready to spring and eat him. He sat up. The cliff face had curved out a bit at the bottom, making his landing even softer than he could have hoped for. Shaking with adrenaline, Jason carefully stood up and looked around. This part of the jungle seemed like any other part that he'd been in. He glanced back up at the cliff. There was no way he could scale it, and he couldn't even see the top behind so many leaves.

He should probably stay here. Even if his travelling party couldn't see him when they doubled back to search for him, they'd be able to call out and hear his response. With that thought in mind, Jason took a deep breath and relaxed against the rocks he'd slid down onto. His body felt like one big bruise after the fall, with many cuts and scrapes on his hands and forearms, but he was so grateful that there were no serious injuries that he considered them a small price to pay.

He sat there a long time, maybe a couple hours of listening intently for a search party, before he heard the hissing. His stomach tightened up and he tried to keep from making any sudden movements as he turned his head toward the sound. Above him and to his left, draped across thick roots protruding from the rock face was a giant constrictor, watching him. Jason gulped and started moving away. The snake struck out with its head in a sharp motion, and Jason just barely managed to lie flat against the ground to escape the sudden blow.

Constrictors might not be poisonous, but he really wasn't interested in finding out how much those huge fangs hurt. He scrambled to his feet the next moment. He'd taken off his canvas pack that contained all his hiking supplies earlier, and now it was way too close to the snake to reach for. As he started to sprint, still half hunched over from not having the time or thought to straighten up, he felt his drawing supplies slip from his shoulder. He half spun around to retrieve it, but caught one glimpse of the muscular snake already on the ground and slithering toward him, and spun right back around to keep running.

Terror gripped him as he realized that there could be even worse than snakes to look out for, even if he did manage to escape, and he pumped his legs faster. He ran until his lungs ached, and then until his legs felt weak, and still didn't dare slow down. Bursting through the foliage as he was, he had no chance to see the river until it was too late. With a cry of surprise, he fell face first into cold water. Shocked and bewildered, it took him a while to surface. Once he had that first gasp of air, though, he was right back to sprinting for his life, not sure which species of snakes could swim and not wanting to take his chances. He was almost to the opposite bank when he thought of alligators and a chill ran down his spine.

This time, full panic broke out, and Jason started pumping water under his arms so blindly that he didn't realize he'd reached the riverbank until his hand struck soil, and then he was out of there like a bullet, staring with horrified eyes at the water and trying to catch his breath despite his chest feeling like it was collapsing from pure primal fear.

When a few minutes passed and no alligators or crocodiles or snakes surfaced, and his breath finally started to even out, Jason let himself relax, and fall back onto the earth. He stared at the sky in complete and utter disbelief. How the hell was he going to be found now? How far had he run? He had no idea. He couldn't remember which direction he'd run from, or even if he'd run in a straight line.

Not that he was about to retrace his steps anytime soon. He propped himself up on his elbows, took one look at the murky water, and shuddered. There must have been a cataract nearby to kick up all those dirt particles into the water, and with such low visibility, there was no telling what was lying in wait under the surface. Jason stood up on weak and trembling legs and looked around. Deciding that his best bet was downstream, he started walking in that direction. Technically, this should be parallel to the general direction the expedition had been heading. And if he managed to get far enough downstream, he might reach a place where the sediment in the water finally started to settle and made the river less dangerous to cross.

He had walked less than an hour when he suddenly felt like he was being followed. There wasn't any sound, and he couldn't see anything when he turned around, but the feeling of eyes on his back was more intense than he'd ever felt before in his life. He took one last long look behind him. Nothing.

Then he started to sprint.

He ran parallel with the river, not daring to sprint into the trees. There was no hiding from any predators at the bank, but it was his only chance of not getting even more hopelessly lost. Finally, just as he was about to slow down, he heard evidence of being chased. Closing in, closer and closer, he could hear the bushes in the forest rustling. Whatever was chasing him was staying in the cover of the forest. Jason ran faster. Suddenly the noise behind him vanished. Jason didn't stop, unsure if silence was a good or a bad sign.

Then something dropped five feet in front of him and Jason screamed, falling backwards as he tried to slide to a stop.

Except it wasn't a something. It was a someone, and he looked very familiar.

Note: The story on this website will be edited to not contain any explicit content. If you want to read the explicit content when I write it, you can find the unedited version on my Ao3 account, where my username is also razielim.