Surprisingly, waking up after being knocked out by a very unhappy Hunter was much less pleasant than being nearly killed. When Ryker's vision swam into relative focus he blinked several times as he watched the ceiling spin above him. He frowned and narrowed his eyes, wondering if he was on a spinning bed for some reason. But the ceiling slowed its rotation after he narrowed his eyes. The first time he had woken up his chest had been paining him severely, which was bad in of itself. Now both his chest and his head were causing him severe pain. He felt something soft wrapped around his forehead and, as expected, when he touched it with his hand he recognized it as bandages.
His chest felt rather tight, uncomfortably so, and he ran a hand down his bandages. He paused halfway down when his hand encountered a leather strap running horizontally across his bandages. He followed the strap with one hand and quickly realized that he had been bound to the bed. He attempted to find the buckle for the strap but, upon being unable to find it, gave an angry sigh and returned his hand back to his side. Evidently they did not want him to get up again and, based on his searing migraine, he didn't think he wanted to either. So, unable to move, he simply laid there and wondered about what punishment they were planning to subject him to. Strangely, after having spent time in the Acheron, nothing that he could think of truly frightened him. His time in the River was far and wide the second-worst pain he had ever felt in his life. The first was undoubtedly when he watched his mother fall.
The thought brought tears back to his eyes and he had a sudden overwhelming desire to see her body, if only to say his final farewells. He struggled against his bonds, grunting and panting with exhaustion, to no avail. He finally gave up, his forehead beaded with sweat from his efforts. He heard the silver curtain move and Ryker steeled his resolve, looking resolutely to the tent's ceiling. "So, you are awake. About time."
Ryker attempted a shrug but the attempt was feeble and restricted. "Apparently."
"How's your head?" The person, definitely female, inquired. "I imagine it doesn't feel too good. You took quite the fall."
Ryker frowned as he attempted to place the voice, his mind working far slower than normal. She was definitely familiar and yet it seemed like it had been years since he had heard her speak. "Who are you?" He asked finally.
"What, you don't recognize me?" The sound of her laughter was soft and sweet in Ryker's ears.
A halo of golden blonde hair encircled his head and Ryker quickly knew to whom he had been speaking. "Victoria." He stated, frowning up at her. "Why are there two of you?"
"Probably because you have a concussion." She informed him, smiling slightly. "Trust me, I am the one and only."
"Don't think I could handle more than one of you." Ryker muttered, closing his eyes.
"Oh please, you can barely handle one of me." She scoffed. Ryker felt her straighten from where she had been standing over him and he opened his eyes again. "So how are you feeling?"
"As good as can be expected, all things considered." Ryker said after a moment's contemplation. "I don't suppose you can get me out of this strap?"
"Sorry, no can do." Victoria told him regrettably. "I just came in here to check on you. If I try to let you up your doctors are both going to kill me."
"Both?" Ryker repeated curiously. "I have more than one?"
"One Hunter-." She giggled slightly as Ryker groaned in dismay, "And one son of Apollo from Camp Half-Blood. They've been the ones in charge of you these past couple days."
"I've only been out a couple of days?" Ryker asked, surprised.
"Yeah, you surprised the Hades out of the Hunter who knocked you out." She chuckled again and shook her head. "That Son of Apollo, Will I think his name is, he and the Hunter didn't think you would be waking up for another couple weeks at most. Your wounds are healing quickly, well they were until you tore the stitches when you got up, which is good. You are still going to have to stay in bed for at least a few more days so your wounds can at least close."
"Uh-uh," Ryker said, his hand trailing along the strap again. "I hate sitting in one spot. I need to move."
"We know. That's why we strapped you down." Victoria said knowingly.
"We?" Ryker repeated. "How many people were in on this idea?"
"A lot." She admitted. "Like, a lot. Most of the Hunters, actually I think they just don't want you to run off again. Most of the gods were of the same mind too. It was pretty much decided that having you somewhere that you can't escape from was in everyone's best interest."
Ryker couldn't find an argument for that, nor did he think one was particularly justified. He fell silent for a few more minutes, staring up at the ceiling. "And my mother?" He asked finally, his voice quiet. He knew the answer. Though he couldn't explain it, he had felt it when she had died. "What of her?"
"She's gone, Ryker." Victoria said softly. "I'm so sorry."
He might have known the truth, but it still hurt to hear someone confirm it. He was silent for another few minutes as he processed it before asking, "Her body?"
"It turned to earth a few minutes after she died." Victoria told him. "There wasn't anything to put onto a funeral pyre."
"It's better that way." Ryker said softly. "She was of the forest. It is only fitting that she become part of it in death."
"If there is anything at all I can do, tell me." Victoria told him, pulling up a chair and taking a seat by his head. "Please. You don't have to deal with this alone."
Ryker glanced over at her and smirked. "I don't think anyone can do anything to help me with this." He told her. "I lost my father a very long time ago. I don't really remember him, truth be told. My half-sisters all died a long time ago. And now my mother is gone. I have no one left."
"You have me." Victoria told him, smiling at him. "And the others."
"I betrayed them, Victoria." Ryker reminded her. "I betrayed all of you. I may have brought them all back, but in the end I killed them all the same. They will never trust me. They shouldn't trust me. A wild animal can never be domesticated, I'm sure you have heard that phrase before?"
"Yes, I have. But how did you?" Victoria inquired curiously.
"A dryad once tried to tame a wolf pup that had been abandoned by its mother. It was the runt of the litter." Ryker smiled ruefully at the memory. "I tried to warn her, but she tried to tame it all the same. She told me the phrase several months later after it had bitten her and ran off. It's the same concept here."
"What, that you won't ever be domesticated?" Victoria arched an eyebrow and Ryker suddenly got the awful feeling like she considered his words to be a challenge.
Oh no. He moaned internally, closing his eyes as she spoke again.
"Well, we will just see about that now won't we?" She asked, confidence dripping from every word.
Ryker didn't answer, closing his eyes and silently wishing that he could be anywhere else. The curtain opened again and Ryker was suddenly glad for whoever had entered the tent. With any luck Victoria would stop thinking about ways she could bring him to heel. He doubted it though. She seemed quite determined. "So you are awake." This voice Ryker had no trouble placing. He suddenly wished that it was only he and Victoria again. This was a conversation he was not looking forward to having, and would have been happy never to have had.
"Hello, Artemis." He said resignedly, certain that he was about to be berated and or punished. Probably both. Most likely both.
"Would you mind giving us a moment?" Artemis asked Victoria kindly.
"Of course, my lady." Victoria stood up and Ryker opened one eye to see her struggling to hide a smirk. She glanced slyly at him and winked before sauntering out of the room.
I really don't know what I did to deserve her. Ryker thought to himself despondently. But I really wish I knew so that I could not do it again. She's relentless.
Artemis, in the guise of the thirteen year old girl she had been when they first met, took a seat where Victoria had been sitting. She stared down at Ryker for a few moments, her chin raised slightly. Ryker stared at the ceiling, his jaw set as he awaited whatever punishment or verbal bashing she was about to give him. "It has been quite a while since we spoke like this." Artemis began.
"Has it?" Ryker asked coolly. He began to wonder if this was the part where other demigods would beg for mercy or forgiveness. If that was what she expected, she was sorely mistaken. He might have sworn an oath to protect the camps, but that did not at all mean that he had to bow and scrape like some of the other demigods. He still had his pride.
"Others in your shoes, after making the choices you did, might take a more polite tone with one of the goddesses you betrayed." Artemis told him coldly.
"Others might. I won't." Ryker attempted to cross his arms out of sheer habit and winced as his chest tinged in pain. "If you are here to punish me, or whatever, just get it over with."
"I suppose that you might consider it a punishment." Artemis said after a moment. "Being bound is evidently something you absolutely despise. So I guess that would mean that bringing you back into the Hunt is a punishment in of itself."
"Come again?" Ryker's eyes snapped open and he glared at Artemis. He had been expecting torture, perhaps being turned into stone or something of the sort. "You are making me rejoin the Hunt?"
"I claimed you." Artemis told him sternly. "At your mother's request, I claimed you as one of my own. I will not sully her name by tossing aside her only son simply because of a bad choice he made. You have more than earned your place back in the Hunt, for both good and bad reasons."
She reached over and Ryker was forced to watch as she placed two fingers on his forehead. Just like before he felt a rush of warmth and energy wash over him. His bindings somewhat muted the shiver that ran through his body, but the sensation ran through him nonetheless. "Fine." Ryker said curtly, knowing that arguing would get him nowhere. "Now can I get up?"
Artemis shook her head slowly. "Jude would be most upset if I interfered with your healing, as would my brother's son." She told him. "Part of the Hunt once more or not, you must heal. And, like it or not, the only way you will heal is to give your body time. You heal quickly, admittedly, but not instantly."
"Look, I'm going to figure out a way out of these bindings." Ryker told her matter-of-factly. "Whether that takes an hour or a week I will get out of them. Let me up. I heal faster if I am connected to the Earth."
Artemis looked over him with exasperation and Ryker met her gaze stubbornly. "Are you deliberately trying to get me into trouble with your doctors?" She asked finally. "If so, please, let me know in advance."
"Let me deal with them." Ryker told her, moving his shoulders. "Now release me!"
"Telling a goddess what to do…" Artemis muttered, getting slowly to her feet. "Why am I not at all surprised by that action? Maybe I should turn you into one of my wolves for a couple years. Maybe that would teach you some respect."
Ryker chuckled darkly in response as if daring her to try. She swept out of the tent leaving Ryker bound to the table. "Hey!" He shouted indignantly, struggling against the accursed strap yet again.
He heard a loud snap and the leather suddenly vanished from around his chest. He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed against the bed once more. When he finally managed to accumulate the strength to sit up again he took it slowly, swinging his seat over the bed with the utmost care. He tried to summon his bow again but the note from Erebus appeared again and was promptly shredded by Ryker in rage. He slowly eased his weight onto his feet, pleased that no new crimson spots had appeared on his chest. He could feel the stitches protesting against his movement, but thus far they were doing their job and holding up well against his movement.
Making his way to the room's curtain was just as difficult as the first time but he made it nonetheless. He grabbed the curtain and began to draw it back when he thought about the action. Last time it had not gone well for him, not well at all. He drew them back with exceeding slowness, peeking through in case a Hunter was waiting to hit him again. When they were drawn enough for him to step through he did, his eyes darting around warily, but to his surprise no Hunter was currently in the tent. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He made his way around the tent, using the walls to support himself as he walked. He had just reached his arm out to grasp the tent's entrance when a Hunter stepped through, nearly knocking him over in the process. He grasped desperately for something to grab onto as he began to fall but, thankfully, before he did he both grabbed something and the Hunter grabbed his other arm. "Are you alright?" She asked fretfully, assisting him as he regained his balance.
Ryker did a double-take. "Yes, I'm fine." He said hesitantly. "Thank you."
The Hunter smiled at him with what seemed suspiciously like kindness. "You are welcome." She said. She then paused and frowned thoughtfully. "Does Jude know you are up? If you got up without her permission she is going to throw a fit. Again."
Ryker was at a loss. The second he had seen the Hunter he had prepared himself for a battle of insults and yet she was being kind. "I'll be sure to tell her I'm up when I see her." He said.
The Hunter laughed and walked away, disappearing into one of the tent's side compartments. "Well that was odd." Ryker said, turning back to the entrance and making his way out. The afternoon sun stung his eyes and slightly worsened his headache. He put a hand up instinctively to protect his eyes from the sun and when he put them down he saw that the commotion that was commonplace within the camp had died away. He blinked several times to clear away the last spots in his eyes and, when his vision returned, he saw the reason for the lack of noise. Every demigod had stopped what they were doing and were now staring at him. Their expressions varied from awe to suspicion and even to sympathy.
Ryker stood in front of the Hunters' tent, the eyes of the camp upon him, unsure of what to do. His head pounded and the effort that it had taken to get out of the tent had left a thin sheen of sweat on his face. The cheers started with one person, a younger demigod who was laden with what appeared to be broken arrow shafts. After that the enthusiasm spread like wildfire, the demigods cheering and raising their weapons in the air. The cheering, which only further confused Ryker, ended abruptly when a voice cracked out over the noise like a whip. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED AGAIN?!" Will Solace came marching up to Ryker, his face absolutely livid. It was at that moment that Ryker realized just how intimidating the son of Apollo could be.
