HELLO EVERYONE, THIS CHAPTER IS KINDA SHORT BUT THE NEXT ONE MAKES UP FOR IT.
LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS, AND ENJOY!
It had been a week since the war with Gaea had subsided, though its effects and solemnity still lingered around Camp Half Blood. It was evident through the near-deserted training grounds, with only about half a dozen campers sparring halfheartedly, the quiet hallways of the Big House and the flooding infirmary, gods the infirmary! During the first 2 days of the aftermath of the war, there had been literally no vacant space in the infirmary and the Apollo campers, led by Will Solace, worked relentlessly through the night and the day tending to the wounded.
Most of the patients had been discharged within 2 to 3 days and only those with severe injuries were admitted still. Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades, happened to be one of them. Despite suffering the 3 days of mandatory detention prescribed to him by Will, when he had still not been let off the hook, he had thrown a much expected, albeit weak fit of rage and frustration.
"You'd said 3 days! I put up with all this for 3 whole days!" he whined.
Will sat down exhausted on a nearby stool, going through his file and added with a sigh, "I know, di Angelo, but the effect of all that heroic shadow travelling you pulled off has been more severe to your systems than I had anticipated. Not to mention those gashes from the werewolf attacks. You can barely even stand without falling over and that's just speaking of your physical health. Your mind is more exhausted than you think. Of the past 72 hours, you've spent about 50 sleeping. You need more rest, whether you'd like to admit it or not. So please cooperate."
Nico just about opened his mouth to argue when Kayla approached the 2 boys, deep black circles below her eyes and said slowly to Will, "Clarisse needs your attention. She's had another concussion and I'm afraid it's more serious this time, she's beginning to get a little incoherent."
A few seconds later she added, to Nico, "How do you feel?"
Putting on his bravest face, he responded with "Completely fine, as a matter of fact." Although his voice shook more than he had hoped.
"Good, rest up!" came her reply. Of course Kayla had seen through his little act of valiance and she muttered something inaudible on her way out, followed closely by Will, who simply shrugged at Nico.
Nico couldn't help but feel agitated. To begin with, the mere fact that he was surrounded by just so many people made him uncomfortable. He'd much rather be "resting" in his own cabin, oblivious to all the sideways glances he was rewarded with in the infirmary. He knew people were intimidated by him. Of course they were! He was Nico di Angelo, the formidable son of Hades who summoned skeletons at will and could raise armies of dead people or simply melt into the shadows if he felt like it. He had never been one that quite cared to get accepted by the people around him, so honestly, he felt comfortable knowing that people were in awe of him. But that didn't mean he liked being subjected to this sort of scrutiny, especially when he was so vulnerable, lying around with sick people in the infirmary.
And then there was Will. Nico couldn't stop thinking about this particular son of Apollo. He'd once stood up for Nico against that sick psychopath Octavian in New Rome and now he had taken personal responsibility for the wellbeing of Nico. He just couldn't figure out what Wills deal was! Why was he always after Nico? What could he possibly want? Nico had long since lost faith in trusting humanity. For beginners, Zeus, out of pure jealousy and spite had burned down his house, killing his mother and Hades' beloved Maria di Angelo. Nico and Bianca had nearly died themselves, rescued by Hades just in time. They'd then been trapped in the Lotus Casino for nearly 70 years and almost immediately after being rescued, he had lost Bianca to the junkyard of the gods. Stupid mythomagic figurine. Time after time, he had been used, betrayed and hurt. He didn't believe in trusting anyone anymore. That's the reason he kept to himself didn't bother mixing with other people. 'They all have ulterior motives' was what he always told himself. Other than the 7 of course. The 7 and Reyna. He could trust them with his eyes closed, since they'd fought by each other's sides and proven themselves on the battlefield. He knew he could trust them without a doubt, but that wasn't the case for all the other prying demigods, just waiting to tear him apart. So again he asked himself, What does Will Solace want?
Although he'd never admit it to anyone, he couldn't deny the fact that he sort of liked Will. Not the way he liked Percy, at least that's what he thought. He simply liked the way Will was so intent about helping people. He was head counselor of the Apollo cabin and his specialty was healing. Just a few words in ancient Greek and voilĂ ! Of course the magic sapped his energy and lately he had been using it to an unhealthy extent. Maybe, just maybe Will was different...
His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by Jason, who came storming into the little dormitory that had been home since the past few days.
"Neeks!" He exclaimed, with that typical goofy grin plastered all over his face.
Nico sighed, shaking his thoughts away and sitting up a little.
"Hey Jason, what's up?"
