As it turned out, Violet was not as okay as she claimed.
She strolled, grinning, back over to the railing. It was when Will and Annabeth attempted to pull her back on to the walkway that she felt the pain.
"Ouch." She exclaimed. "Ow ow ow."
"Lemme see." Will saw her cradle her left arm to her chest, and he gently pulled it away. He felt up from her forearm to her bicep, but it was when he prodded her shoulder joint that she winced again.
"It's dislocated." He declared. "I'll set it when we get back."
"Ok." Violet went back to keeping her arm folded across her stomach, careful not to jostle it on the way back through the woods.
Annabeth watched the two take the lead, and could understand how life threatening situations can close rifts between people. Usually. Holding grudges was a dangerous way to live when you were about to die at almost any moment of the day.
Violet stared out the window on the way back, as she had on the way there. Her wonder had not been lost, apparently.
"I don't know about you guys." She said cheerily, as they dismounted at the stop by their campsite. "But I had fun."
Will laughed, swinging an arm around her shoulders and kissing her hair. "I'm not surprised you'd say something like that."
The sun was setting as they pulled their sleeping bags out from the hiding place. The sky had turned orange, and the temperature was beginning to drop. Not New York drop, but enough to put on their coats again. The sky was still cloudless, the landscape still stunning. Will settled in to fix Violet's arm, bracing against a nearby tree.
"On three." He said, getting ready to shove her arm back into the socket.
She nodded, her face made of stone.
"One." He said, and pushed hard until he heard the satisfying pop and crack of the bone finding it's natural spot again.
Violet screamed. A crowd of guys gathered around a campfire a few feet to their right looked over at them.
"What the fuck was that?" Violet half yelled at him.
"You needed to be relaxed. Sorry." He smiled, employing puppy dog eyes. She softened, rubbing her shoulder.
"It'll be sore for a couple of days." He advised.
"Yeah, I know the drill." She leaned against him, and they laid back on the bedding to watch the sky darken.
To their left, Annabeth was reading a thick looking book in Greek. Beyond her, Elwood seemed to be bothering Jane with his latest antics. Violet was now thoroughly convinced that Elwood did some kind of magic with his purple hair, the way it had managed to stick up without fail for the entirety of the trip.
"Ya know," Elwood kneeled down next to Jane, a sly smile on his features. "It might get cold tonight."
"Oh yeah?" Jane looked faintly amused, but more just like she wanted him to shove off.
"And the best way to keep warm is body heat." He mimed snuggling an imaginary person in his arms.
The humor drained from Jane's face. "Fuck off."
He took a hint and rolled back on to his own sleeping back, knowing he'd stepped too far. Violet suppressed a snort of laughter as she watched Jane ignore him. Will just looked concerned.
The sun set quickly, and they set up for the night. They hung their backpacks from a tree branch several yards away, should the food, ambrosia, or nectar attract bears. It was unlikely, in such a populated campsite, but Annabeth was not one to ignore common sense.
Annabeth crawled into her bag, wearing socks and a coat. She turned on her flashlight and continued to read. Jane and Elwood got into their beds, too, studiously ignoring each other. Violet and Will slipped into one bag, relying on one another to keep themselves warm instead of wearing coats.
"I wish I could have taken a shower in the last couple of days." Violet muttered, already with her eyelids flickering.
"I wish you could have, too." Will grinned cheekily at her.
"Shut up." She laughed and tried for a punch, but they were too tightly pressed together. "You smell like shit, too."
"And yet you still agreed to share a bed with me."
"Well you have amazingly sexy hair, which helps."
"I try."
Annabeth turned off her light and zipped up her bag so that only her nose peeked out through the heavy fabric. Jane turned in her sleep, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground.
"You know that song 'Walk the Line' by Johnny Cash?" Violet asked.
Will snorted. "Of course I fucking know it."
"Okay, okay. I just like it."
"It's a good song."
"I like the lyrics. I can relate, assuming I'm interpreting them correctly. Honestly, with song lyrics, I don't have the slightest idea what's going on half the time."
Will recalled the words in his head.
I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line
He could understand why they might resonate with Violet.
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
He smiled. Violet seemed to be actually trying to tell him she cared about him. Interesting.
Because you're mine, I walk the line.
"Hey, Violet." He touched her shoulder, but she had passed out already.
"Shut up, you guys." He heard Jane yell over Annabeth. "Trying to sleep."
"Sorry." Will replied and settled in with his arms around Violet. He leaned in close, the only sounds a breeze blowing through the trees and campfire crackling nearby.
"I love you." He whispered. Her breathing remained steady, she was out cold.
He rolled onto his back. Why he felt the need to say that, he had no idea. Maybe he was just a nice guy, like people said, always looking out for others. But this seemed like more of a selfish situation, seeing as he was the only one that heard his own words. Had he ever told Violet that, in a way that was more than a quip? Had she ever said that to him? It was something they should say more often, he decided, seeing as a demigod's life was far too short to beat around the bush.
This made him think about the Battle of the Labyrinth, when he and Violet had first gotten together. Their friends and siblings had rolled their eyes and muttered about how it's about time, because they'd spent years as best friends. They may have been an odd couple, but their feelings were obvious to everyone but themselves.
He remembered the day clearly. He had just watched Lee Fletcher take a spear through the throat, and still managed to keep his limbs moving, to keep the archers firing, his blood pumping. After the battle, he was vacant, empty. Even as a demigod, he'd never seen such violence, fast and cruel and unforgiving. He could barely comprehend it; Lee had just been there, standing right next to him, and then he was gone. Where the hell did he go?
He pulled the spear from his brother's neck, in some fool attempt to save his life. He'd pressed his shirt against the wound, but the jugular vein had been penetrated, and blood was everywhere. Lee was dead long before Will stopped trying to revive him, nearly getting killed by a minotaur in the process. He looked at the battlefield, covered in blood and sweat, tears boiling in the back of his eyes. He wasn't seriously injured, almost everyone else was getting patched up. He should have been helping—not all Apollo kids had the power of healing he did.
Inadvertently, he'd found himself looking for Violet's red hair among the corpses. It seemed unlikely that she would have fallen, at that point he'd never seen her lose a fight. Something snapped, and he sprinted back toward the cabins, up the steps to Athena and slamming open the door.
She was there, peeling off armor, looking as dirty as him. She was tired looking, and even frail, if that was even possible. Older, worn. He didn't take in anything else except her grey eyes flashing to him as he rushed in. He didn't hesitate, just took three and half steps forward and slammed his lips into hers. Adrenaline, grief, passion, fear, all pressed into one gesture. It was exhilarating.
He had realized all too suddenly that she could've died in that battle, and he'd never have told her what he'd been thinking for longer than he cared to admit. Demigods did not live the kind of life that allowed for waiting for good things to happen. You needed to grab it yourself.
The stars littered the San Francisco sky when he finally quieted his thoughts and let his eyes close.