A/N: It's me! Told you I'd be back soon. I really hope you guys start to see where I'm trying to go, with this chapter.
I'm honestly really excited about this, because- while the first chapter was essentially a filler- this chapter is the headway to everything I want to explore with this character.
Please let me know your thoughts on this too, as well as any other chapters I put up for this story. I want to know what you guys think, because, oftentimes, the reader's opinion is much more compelling and important than the writer's.
I'm just gonna get right into this chapter. . .
As soon as I do Fact of the Day XD
Fact of the Day (#16): The significance of mistletoe originates from a story from Norse Mythology: a goddess bore a son, and, because she loved him so much, made sure he was invulnerable to everything one could think of to use for harm. However, Loki found something the goddess had overlooked: a tiny, needle-like material known as mistletoe. He fashioned it into a dart and shot it at the goddess' son, killing him. The goddess, filled with grief, had the mistletoe hung above everyone, so as to make sure it was never overlooked ever again.
Here we go.
Octavian limped out of the Big House, leaning heavily on a crutch and tugging at his shirt self-consciously. It was rather oversized for his gaunt frame, falling past his hips and hovering over his sides, constantly shifting as if it was actively avoiding contact.
He was grateful for the bagginess, though, as it would be sure not to chafe at his injuries, and made him feel less prominent. Like he could disappear at any moment if he wished to. It made him feel. . . safer, somehow. Because he'd always been written off, but now he couldn't look up without a camper shooting him a glare. He. . . didn't enjoy it.
He thought he would relish the attention, but it only put him at an imbalance of sorts: he knew they had good cause to be angry with him, but he sincerely wished their rage wasn't so strong. He would never admit it, but it actually scared him. . . just a little bit.
So he kept his head down and his shoulders drawn, trying to compact himself as much as possible as he followed Chiron, now in full centaur form, to the dining hall. The mess hall itself was buzzing with activity, campers restless as they waited to eat, Sometimes it would get significantly quieter, as minds wandered back to Leo's death, not to mention everything else that had happened not several days prior.
The noise fell quickly when Chiron trotted to the front, Octavian close behind. He didn't look up, didn't speak or smile or glare. He simply took his seat beside Chiron and stared at his hands where they were folded in his lap until he felt dizzy.
Chiron turned to him, voice full of concern, "I must insist you eat, my boy; you need the strength."
Octavian shook his head numbly, "I'm sorry, I'm not hungry."
A doubting silence. "Is there anything in particular bothering you?"
He hesitated, "I just. . . I don't- I feel. . . off, like something isn't where it's supposed to be." He sighed, voice almost a whisper now, "I'm sorry." His breath grew a little quicker, suddenly, and his vision darkened, just for an instant. He took a sip of his orange juice with a shaky hand, hoping it might help to reorient him.
Chiron said something, but it sounded muffled, like he was talking through a thousand layers of cotton.
Then Octavian was falling, and he couldn't stop, couldn't drag himself back to the shouting and the sun and the clinking of dishes and cups.
Something caught him, but it was hard and ruthless and freezing. His head exploded in pain, somehow extending into a strong tickle in his throat. He gasped for air, coughing and coughing and coughing until his lungs burned and his eyes stung fiercely with tears.
He hurt everywhere: his eyes, his throat, his wrists, his head, his back, his heart. Something lifted him, and suddenly he was airborne, shouting and silence and light and dark surrounding him.
He take it anymore, he decided.
There was too much pain, too much noise, too much light, and he just wanted it all to stop-
Everything was dark.
Dark, and silent.
Dark, and silent, and alone.
Alone.
Alone again.
Tears streamed silently down his pale cheeks, and he fell deeper into oblivion.
He woke again, sweating profusely and shivering fiercely.
His head was pounding ruthlessly, his skin tingling with fever. He groaned, eyes screwing up and small coughs pushing up through his lips. Something cold and wet was being pressed to his forehead by a careful hand,
He peeled his eyes open.
Beside him hovered the shadowy, blurry figure of Nico di Angelo. The boy looked back at him, his face revealing nothing but boredom and a trace of curiosity. They stared at each other for a moment before Nico called quietly: "Will. Short, bland, and rude is awake. He doesn't look too good; his face is turning a little green."
Will walked over to them quickly, elbowing Nico in the ribs, "Be nice, for the gods' sake, di Angelo." He looked apologetically at Octavian, "Sorry for my boyfriend. He can be a bit grumpy sometimes."
Nico glared at the blonde, though there was hardly any ire to it, "Solace-"
Will ignored him, "How are you feeling, Octavian?"
He struggled to form words around the numbness in his lips, "Wha- what happ'ned?"
Will nodded, "I figured that'd be the first thing you'd ask. You passed out in the middle of lunch with a fever. Worried Chiron half to death and made quite a clamour. You're lucky you didn't get a concussion with how hard you hit your head when you fell."
Octavian must have looked confused, because Will elaborated: "We'd cleaned your wounds before, but- as it turns out- not well enough. Your injuries got infected, and pretty nastily, too."
Octavian's stomach growled. Loudly.
Nico smirked, though not unkindly, "Hungry?"
Despite what his body claimed, the thought of food alone made him dizzy with nausea. He swallowed the bile rising in his throat.
He shook his head, forcing himself to swallow the bitter taste again. "I feel sick," he managed, before promptly heaving over the side of the bed.
Nico barely sidestepped, while barely Will managed to nudge a trashcan in the right direction.
Octavian coughed as Will rubbed circles into the older boy's back. He coughed forever, his eyes watering and throat burning when the fit eased. He leant on Will, too exhausted to move. Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes as he rasped out an apology, and then he was out like a light.
Will muttered a Greek curse, carefully turning the augur onto his side, and tried to shake him awake.
When Octavian groaned, eyes fluttering but not opening, Will shook him harder. Octavian groaned again, eyes slowly cracking open. He coughed weakly, trying with herculean effort to focus on the young doctor. His eyes were glassy and hazy, his body trembling violently.
Will held water to the augur's lips, trying to coax it into him. He hesitated, but carefully sipped at it until Will was satisfied. Octavian looked uneasy again, and for a moment Will feared he might be sick again. But then the expression vanished, and he was asleep once more.
Will ran a hand through his hair, sighing in relief. Nico tilted his head like a small puppy, "Why haven't you just fed him ambrosia and nectar?"
"I don't know if it works when it's just a fever," Will explained. "And even if it does, I don't know if it'd help him or kill him, since I'm not sure how. . ." he gestured uselessly with his hands, as if trying to pluck the word from the air, "demigod he is. For all I know, he's completely human, considering how far down he potentially is in his generational line."
A knock sounded at the door, and Clarisse called from the other side, "Will, Nico, head counselor's meeting. Chiron insisted you guys join us, and soon."
Nico waited until her footsteps receded from earshot, then turned to Will.
"Stay here," he said. "I'll tell Chiron you needed to remain with your patient,"
Will nodded, smiling at his boyfriend gratefully, and then Nico was gone.
"Where's Solace?"
"I told you Clarisse: he's with Octavian. He can't leave a patient in need. It's against his morale and his natural code as a healer."
The daughter of Ares huffed, glaring at the son of Hades. She glanced at Chiron, who didn't seem at all fazed by Will's absence, so she conceded to move on, "Okay: what's our order of business?"
"We're deciding on a course of action concerning Michael Kahale," Nico explained, letting his gaze sweep the gathering of head counselors. He caught a brief smirk that lit up Clarisse's face, as if she were remembering how fun it was capture the son of Venus.
"What did he do?" asked Travis Stoll, head of the Hermes cabin.
"He nearly took the life of a young boy," Chiron replied, almost angrily.
"Where is he being held right now?" Clarisse asked gruffly, never one to beat around the bush.
"Here in the Big House, in the cellar," Nico reassured her. She winced, and he felt a twinge of guilt for bringing it up, even though she'd asked him.
The cellar was where they had kept her boyfriend, Chris, after finding him nearly gone to insanity from the Labyrinth. Not exactly sunny memories, he could imagine.
But Clarisse recovered quickly, "So what's the punishment for. . . what is it? Attempted manslaughter, I guess?"
Reyna perked up, "He's Roman; we'll decide his punishment."
"But the Romans and the Greeks are allies now, so we should both get a say," Travis pointed out. Clarisse grunted in agreement.
Reyna regarded the son of Hermes, "While that's true, Michael was exiled before the war, so the responsibility ultimately falls to Camp Jupiter."
Piper looked simultaneously scared and relieved. "So what's the punishment for attempted manslaughter?" she repeated.
Reyna's eyes glinted dangerously, "Death." When everyone stared at her with wide eyes, she grinned good-naturedly. "He'll be put before our court and have a fair trial, which means Nico will have to join us when we leave for camp, so he can testify, since he's the only available witness. When he's found guilty, he'll be put in exile again."
Nico nodded in agreement, Chiron conceding, "Very well. I suggest departing within the week, but be sure to restrain him. And please remember you are welcome to visit us anytime, for any for any reason."
The praetor nodded, smiling, "Thank you, Chiron. And don't worry, I'll make sure he gets what he deserves."
Chiron's shoulder's sagged slightly in relief, an invisible burden lifting from his shoulders, "With that issue resolved, is there any other matter requiring immediate attention which we haven't-"
An unsettling tingle shot up Nico's spine.
Someone was dead, or otherwise dying. The closer the proximity, the stronger and more sickening the feeling was, but it was always there.
His eyes widened when he realized who it was, and he stood abruptly to inform Chiron.
Will beat him to it.
The door slammed in harmony with the scraping of chair legs as the son of Apollo burst in, eyes wild and frightened. He locked eyes with Chiron, "It's Octavian. He's steaming."
"No!" Octavian shouted hoarsely, struggling against Nico's wavering grip.
Will had told them that he needed help lowering Octavian's fever; helping set up an IV for a patient was one thing. But helping set up an IV for a patient while said patient was in the throes of delirium? Entirely different, not mention extremely difficult.
Octavian writhed on the bed with all his remaining strength, gripping Chiron's arms like lifelines while the centaur tried to soothe him and Nico tried still him. Will stood beside his boyfriend, fingering a syringe filled with sedative, waiting anxiously for an opportunity to use it.
The augur sobbed, fever-bright eyes wide and desperate as he pleaded with Chiron, "Don't leave me! Please! Nobody here wants me!" Tears streamed down his face in torrents, leaving glistening trails on his sunken cheeks.
Chiron bent down and kissed Octavian's burning forehead, as a father might, "I am staying, my boy. Be at peace."
Octavian stared at Chiron with the intensity of a frightened child before launching himself at the teacher, gripping the centaur's waist as tightly as he could manage. Chiron startled but returned the embrace after a moment, careful of the young boy's wounds.
Octavian sobbed quietly for some time, body shuddering and breath gasping until his grip went slowly lax, and he passed out once more.
Will sighed heavily in relief, looking at the syringe resentfully, "Thank the gods, I really didn't want to use this."
Nico snorted as Chiron lowered Octavian gently, wiping away the lingering tears, "I've always hated needles."
"I've always hated using them. It's just. . . " he shuddered, peering worriedly at the augur, who's skin was still eerily exerting steam. "His fever is still dangerously high."
Chiron sighed, obviously a little shaken from the whole ordeal, "Indeed."
Without another word, Will and Nico set up the IV drip as Chiron settled into his wheelchair.
Will frowned, "Chiron, are you sure?"
The centaur smiled, "I'll be more than happy to keep watch over Octavian as long as need be. However, if it will put you more at ease, we can make a schedule so you can keep an eye on him as well."
"Yeah, okay, we'll do that," Will nodded reluctantly, grinning when Nico grasped him by the hand, tugging him toward the door. "Thanks, Chiron. "
Chiron's smile grew, "You are very welcome, my boy. Get some rest, both of you." He looked pointedly at Nico, who rolled his eyes but let a small smile stretch his lips all the same.
He nodded silently, and they were gone.
A/N: Oh my goodness, you guys were so responsive! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
All those awesome words gave me the encouragement to get this next one up quickly. So please keep it up.
You guys are so awesome.
A quick shoutout to "K": Your review had me laughing for days : ) It makes happy that there are such in-depth sympathizers for Octavian, and I'm honoured that people are so enthusiastic about my story.
Admittedly, I'm still terrified, because I have been waiting for so, so long to get this story out there. I was afraid it wouldn't get any attention whatsoever, and that I would have ended up wasted a lot of time and effort.
A writer's nightmare, huh?
Anyway, thank you all again so much, and please continue to let me know what you think of each chapter.
The next one will be up soon, I promise.
