Nico
A rough voice summoned him from the darkness of sleep. Well, actually not the voice, but it was part of what woke him. The other was the pale green light flooding his cabin, product of the hanging brass lamps placed at intervals around Cabin 13. He tried to cover his eyes with the blanket, rolling over to face the wall. The voice continued chanting- ¨Nico. Nico. Nico. Nico, get up.¨ Someone, or something, because as a demigod you really never knew, was shaking his shoulders and poking him in the shoulder repetitively. Nico wondered if he pretended to be asleep, the voice would go away. Soon, though, it appeared the answer was no. 5 minutes into being poked and shook and having his name said over and over, Nico snapped. He kicked off the blankets and lashed out at the offending finger which had poked him, but missed, instead hearing a satisfying thunk as he ended up hitting a certain cerulean-eyed someone, who jumped back and rubbed his nose. ¨Finally! You know, you sleep like the dead.¨ Percy Jackson said in irritation. ¨You need to get your ass up, though. Chiron wants you in the Big House.¨ He continued, oblivious to Nicos glare.
Nico was not sure if he could deal with the mischievous, cute son of Posiedon this early in the morning. He meant, sure, he had told Percy he was over him, but the thing was, even if you didnt have a crush on someone, you could still be persceptible to certain...attributes. Like the way Percys lips turned naturally up at the tips, a perpetual smile, and the way his eyes seemed to dance with aquamarine light whenever the words ¨blue" or ¨water¨ were mentioned. Beyond that, Percy was annoying Nico right now. It was an unspoken fact that anyone who tried to wake Nico up was liable to be half-heartedly beat into dust by the grumpy Son of Hades.
¨Why, oh why, is it at this torturous hour that Chiron, eh...wants...me?" Nico said, melodrama apparent in his voice. Percy just shrugged and said, ¨Man, I would like to stick around and find out, but my bed is calling. See you in the morning, Nico.¨ He finger-gunned Nico, and with a sound like, ¨pshhghh¨ walked out of Cabin 13, off into the night. Nico also mumbled something unintelligible, and ran a hand through his onyx hair, which tangled and required him to separate the individual strands of hair in order to actually run his hands through it.
If Chiron had called him, Nico knew he really should answer the centaurs call, regardless of messy hair or pajamas. If Chiron had called him, it was likely something urgent that apparently only Nico could fix. Nico understood Chirons sentiment- that the 7 of the Prophecy deserved a break. And Nico agreed, of course, although it did sting that he was not considered one of the most powerful demigods mentioned in the Prophecy. However, that did not mean that Nico had to enjoy the many small, tedious tasks assigned to him. Nico wished he could be given a break, just a small one, from everyone. Hadnt he shadow-travelled the Athena Parthenos halfway across the world? Hadnt he gone through literal hell just to be trapped in an airtight jar? Hadnt he sacrificed so much for the Camp, just so that he could be forced to take on constant work? He had fought in both of the wars just as much as Annabeth or Piper or Percy or really, anyone, yet he didnt receive nearly as much appreciation for it. He tried, though, very hard to take it all in stride.
Nico was still expecting people at the Camp to start looking at him like that again- distrust visible in their eyes, like he would start summoning skeleton warriors to burn the Camp to the ground, suspicion thinly veiled in their actions. Maybe, Nico thought as he took off his shirt and replaced it with a cleaner one, that is why I do all I do, instead of asking for a break. I dont want to alone. Nobody does. Training new demigods, running around on constant alert, helping with dishes after lunch, slaying monsters that came too close to the border. All that, and anything else anyone asked the over-worked son of Hades to do. Not to mention the minor quests the man himself requested Nico fufill, since Nico had unfortunately pledged to help Hades out with minor things that were below his attention but still worrisome in exchange for the god of Death´s help in the second War.
It didnt matter, though. Not right now. Nico glanced vaguely at his new outfit, which he had tossed on without really looking at. A pair of ripped jeans and a light yellow shirt with a stylized sun with sunglasses and the words, ¨Here comes the sun¨ embossed below it in curly writing. It had been gifted to him by a certain healer that, after seeing Nico didnt really have anything to wear but what he was currently in, had gone out and bought it for him. But the fact that it was his favorite, Nico would never admit.
And so he began the short walk from his cabin to the Big House, off to do what he was certain would just be another boring quest, something that would be a sad form of distraction from his past and all its memories that were brought up as he lingered around Camp. He didnt know how wrong he was.
As he approached the Big House, he saw a tall figure leaning against the faded blue pillars of the place. They waved as Nico approached closer, but Nico did not return it, unsure of who the figure was. If Nico had ever said demigods were suspicious creatures, Nico himself was not exempt from that estimation. As he danced carefully up the stairs, suddenly a hand darted out and brushed against Nicos skin, stopping him.
¨Hey, Sunshine!¨ Will Solace chirped. There were slight grey bags under his eyes, like he hadnt slept well enough. ¨Why are you here this early?¨ Nico asked.
¨Well...Chiron called me, but nobody bothered to tell me why, only that I should hurry and go there so that I could make a good impression on the oth-oh! Nevermind the last part! Kaylas weird.¨ Will rambled, while Nico looked at him impassively.
¨No, I know what you mean. Percy woke me up.¨ Nico said vaguely, waving a hand to indicate it didnt really matter.
Nico had enough sense to realize the situation was awkward, or maybe it was just him. But, anyways. Nico had spent his 3 days in the infirmary, mostly on-and-off sleeping intermingled with drawing. In that short time, Nico wondered if Will and Nico were now...friends. If they did, Nico wondered, how long until Will realized just how messed up and scarred Nico really was? How long until that bubbly smile dripped off Wills face once he knew Nico better, seeing that he wasnt the brave, fearless leader of the dead as he had been protrayed during the War in which Nico and Will had officially met. Really, it all boiled down to one thing- how long until the ecstasy of winning the war was over, and Nico was sent away unintentionally again? It really would be best for Nico to just ignore Will and walk inside. He didnt want to care about the freckled, kind healer. Nico didnt know if he could face the slowly consuming flames of losing someone he cared about.
But when Will looked him in the eye and asked in an odd British accent, ¨Shall I escort you inside, my Prince?¨ Nico couldnt say no, accepting Wills proffered arm with a small giggle and walking inside the Big House