"Ah, Seth. I see you've dawdled around on your first day." Annabeth had told me of Dionysus already; he was just as she had described. My eyes flashed back to the flame, which now had returned to normal.

"Sorry, Sir. I'll get going-"

"No." I froze. My bag still slung onto one shoulder, a bead of sweat dripped down my temple. "No. A little birdy told me that you didn't let Chiron or the Apollo cabin take care of your injuries. You're going to the infirmary, and then they can decide if you're well enough for camp activities." He firmly ordered. I understood that there was no changing his mind, but still took a shot at it.

"But... I... I get freaked out when-"

"You get freaked out when someone touches you. You've gotta suck it up when it comes to your health, or nothing will get better." He had a sliver of sympathy (pity? Sympathy or pity) for me, but I was still hesitant.

"Did... do you know what happened last night?" I was nervous about the unnatural abilities discovered last night, and didn't know how to control them. The last thing I wanted was to hurt someone just trying to help.

"Do inform me of what was so important last night that it's using my valued time." He clearly didn't care to know. I was wasting his time. My fault again. It never ends well. I shook my head rapidly and turned to leave for the infirmary, defeated.

"I'm sorry. I'll go to the infirmary." As I was leaving, the shocked look of concern and curiosity struck me by surprise.

"Seth, listen. I don't know much about you, but if you're at this camp you have to tell me things if it's important. Like why you have no last name listed in any database, or why you look like you saw Tartarus." I gulped nervously. Trying to muster the courage to respond must have taken too long for him, because he sighed and put a hand on my shoulder lightly. "I'm sorry, Kid. No one here wants to hurt you. You don't gotta be afraid of everyone when you're at camp." I wanted to believe him. I really did, but part of me screamed in protest. I shrugged off his hand and almost walked away. Halfway through the door, I froze again. With a sigh of my own, I met his eyes shyly.

"What do you need to know?" My gravelly voice was shaken, but his unreadable look told me I made a good move.

"No last name. What's up with your current family situation?" I almost let out a sigh of relief. These were the easy questions. They had a solid answer that wouldn't change.

"Don't have one. In the foster system since I could remember. Before that, an orphanage I assume. Don't know my birthday, any family, or anything like that."

"So what brought you out here?"

"Had enough of the abuse." It came out easier than I would have thought. Expressing my feelings wasn't something I had much experience in. Dionysus paused briefly, and then nodded.

"What happened last night that Chiron should have told me?"

"Beheaded a minotaur. Then caused the rocks to fall on everyone cuz I was being stupid. I was stressed, and my hands came to my head. They were black and blurry. I had surrounded everyone with a sphere of... darkness. Of nothing. I couldn't control it. Took a few tries to stop. Then... other weird stuff has happened." The god of alcohol looked worried.

"Please elaborate on "weird stuff" that's happened."

"I could see clearly in the cabins last night, even though the windows were covered. It was weird though. Highlights weren't white or blue from the moon, they were warm. Like a fire's embers. The fire here, it looked like it was turning black before you arrived." I must have been crazy, but there was nothing left I had to lose except... They didn't know about the journal, meaning it would be harder for them to take it away.

Mr. D sighed and put his head in his hands, "Why am I cursed with all of the most powerful half-bloods?" I blinked. I was far from powerful. "Look, Kid. I have no doubt that you're confused. Every half-blood is more than mortal; they have powers or talents passed down from their godly parent. Most are just little things, like the Aphrodite kids being able to seduce their fellow campers, or Ares kids being unusually strong and aggressive. That Parker Johansen, or whatever his name is, is a good example of some of the more powerful demigods. Strong dad, strong son. He does a bunch of water stuff. You seem to be similar." The paperwork he had been holding was now crumpled. "Agh. You're so much paperwork!" I awkwardly waited as he pulled himself together.

"Get to the infirmary. I doubt you'll do anything on command, and even if you do, the Apollo kids have been bored anyway. Do what they say and then head to mythology class if they say you can." I nodded, still trying to take in the information. Percy was a son of one of the most powerful and important gods, and Mr. D said I seemed similar? What god was related to darkness and the abys? My thoughts halted as I stood at the doorway of the Apollo cabin. With a sigh, I entered.

"Okay. Thanks, Chiron!" I heard Will's voice and the clip clop of Chiron slowly fade away. Will came through the doors right beside me, and offered a bright smile. I didn't have the energy to smile back right now. There were bright lights, almost as if to emulate the Sun's beams, everywhere. I blinked a few times to get used to it. "Hey Seth! Glad to see you again. Sorry again for this morning. I was just so proud of Kayla's poetry practice. Did you know she thought she was bad with words? I couldn't believe it." Will was literally the embodiment of the word sunny. I didn't plan on talking much, but he seemed to talk and smile enough for ten people. He gestured me to what I assume was the infirmary part of the cabin. Once he asked me if he could look at my arm, his tone got serious, yet calm.

I flinched back before spluttering apologies, "Sorry. I'm just- not used to this." He nodded sympathetically. After flickering his gaze between his med kit, me, and the cot, he sat down beside me.

"That's okay. I'm guessing you've had it pretty rough?" He was cautious with his questions and motions now. It was something I respected gratefully. Silently, I just nodded and stared at nothing.

"What would you do when... they hurt you really bad?"

"Deal with it. Make sure no one else knew who did it. Try not to do anything stupid before it got more bearable." I felt bad, but didn't let it show, as Will's face turned to a frown.

"You've done a pretty good job with the bandages it looks like, but that can't be comfortable right now." He gestured to the bandages pinching my chest tightly. I never had medical training of any kind, just knew what to do from repeated experience.

"You gonna tell me how serious that arm injury is?" It felt like more of a demand which made me flinch slightly, but I saw that he only had concern in his eyes.

"Broken bone. It cut through the skin. I set it back last night." The sunny boy's eyes widened in realization.

"You mean that you set your own broken arm? With no anesthesia?" I blinked in confusion. What the fuck was an anesthesia? He stood up abruptly and paced for a moment. "Holy Hades..." Setting the arm had hurt like hell, but what hurt more was probably trying to use it while fighting the minotaur. I had put a lot of stress on my arm to swing the axe around, and then to try and relax my hands and take away the sphere. I blinked suddenly as a voice echoed through my head.

"Hey, it's okay, just lay down. It's okay, you're doing great." I stared in disbelief blurrily through the cloud of my own vision. Once again, something I longed to hear, but had only imagined genuinely. "You okay? Unless there's something I don't know about, you shouldn't be passing out from blood loss. It could be... from pain." I shook my head and tried to sit up, but he rested a hand on my chest and it kept me laying on the cot.

"No. I... didn't sleep well." He nods slowly.

"How much sleep did you get?"

"..."

"Seth?"

"Maybe 40 minutes." He looked even more concerned then he had before, and I felt guilty. "I'm sorry." I apologized. With a sigh, he shook his head.

"It's okay. Here, I'm going to rewrap your shoulders, and give you a cast for your arm. Then, you can get plenty of sleep in here for as long as you need." Too tired to fight back, I nodded. He sighed in relief and went to open his kit. He was slow and gentle when he did touch me, which was odd. When he cleaned out the wounds on my shoulders, he didn't say anything about how I looked. Being born intersex, I was lucky not to have boobs, but being shirtless in front of Will was still nerve-wracking. He used some ointments and poured something on the wounds and on my arm, which immediately felt soothing. When he was finished, something changed in his face.

"You have a lot of scars." He blurted. When I avoided eye contact and turned away. I had mixed feelings about my scars; the book said that they were a sign of how much I had lived through, how strong I was. Everyone else said that they were a branding that I would never be normal, and that I was always the one who would be beaten and bruised, never good enough for a win. He covered his mouth with his hands. "Gods, did I just say that out loud?" he muttered to himself.

"Yeah. I do." I ground out. He had a hurt look on his face now, but the concern returned. He turned me to face him, and I looked down at nothing.

"What happened?" He traced a finger down a long light scar that went from my eyelid and curved around my nose to show on both my lips. Ah, I remember that one.

"Lucky encounter with a gang. Kicked me in the chest, sent me falling faster than he thought. The switchblade didn't get my eye as he swiped up." This time, WIll looked angry. I shuttered away from him, but silenced my own fear. Then he was looking at a starfish shaped one on my other cheek.

"Someone decided I would make a good punching bag. Hit me so hard it split the skin. Went deeper when they kept hitting me." He looked saddened again, and whispered something about being sorry. I nodded and looked away, hoping a bit of my hair would hide some of the scars on my temple. Will apologetically looked away and stepped back, opening the space between us. I admittedly felt more comfortable, now.

"Get some sleep. I'll wake you for dinner if you aren't awake by then." I nodded as he shut the door softly. With the blinds still allowing some light through to the room, I hid my bag under the cot and allowed myself to sleep. It came easy this time, like slipping into a pool just the right temperature. In different circumstances, I may have even smiled.