Sorry for the delay. With finals coming up I decided to type up the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!
The large hound fixed its gaze on the pair, its red eyes glowing in the dim light. The dark fur was coated in scarlet blood, mated clumps where the liquid had dried. But that wasn't what caught his attention. Unlike Ms O'Leary, who just looked like a large hound, this one was different. It looked like it had a bone mask, the kind you would see from pictures today drawn by the mortals who didn't actually know what the creatures looked like.
Despite all of this, normally Nico wouldn't have wanted to run. Normally, he would face the creature and kill it easily. But something kept him from moving. The dark red eyes seemed to root him in place, stopping any movement and chilling his blood. The large hound took one step forward, its footsteps unusually light considering its large build, its eyes never breaking contact with his. One step after another the creature grew closer. Soon the scent of blood was overwhelming and Nico could almost feel the hot breath against his face.
Nico wanted to move. He wanted to run and get away. But its intense gaze kept him still, paralyzing him. The large hound crouched against the ground and Nico knew that if he couldn't move the sharp teeth would tear into his flesh, probably killing him on the spot, but he still couldn't move or even speak. He wanted to shout out a warning to Will, tell him to run before the hound caught them both in its spell. The hound jumped at him.
"Nico!" Will shouted, slamming him to the side and sending them both skittering through the leaves and remains of older prey.
Finally broken from its spell Nico got to his feet and ran towards the path they had come from. He could hear Will close behind. Glancing over his shoulder he saw the dark shape of the hound a few steps behind. Frantically Nico swerved to the left and broke through a thick net of branches, crossing his arms over his face so he could still see. The thick undergrowth would make it difficult for the large creature to follow.
As soon as the branches thinned out Nico skidded to a halt and turned, drawing his sword in one smooth movement. Will broke through a split second later, drawing his bow. Silence. Nothing came thundering out of the woods.
Slowly Will lowered his bow, "Do you think it's still following us?" he asked, his gaze still glued to the thicket in front of them.
"I don't know." Nico whispered back "Let's head back to the village for now, we can plan our attack better now that we know its ability."
"Ability?"
"Yeah, didn't you see how it kept us still with its gaze?"
"All I saw was you staring down the big dog," he smirked slightly "I thought you had gone insane, when it jumped at you I had no choice to tackle you."
"Oh…" Nico scowled. Why was I the only one who was affected? "Well, whatever, I'll give you the details later." He lowered his sword but kept it in his hand "Let's head back."
As it turned out, finding the things den was a lot easier than finding the village. After stumbling around in the darkness they finally decided to take a break. Will had spotted a cave and their energy was low. After checking to make sure it was safe Nico started a small fire and sat down, leaning back against the wall.
Will came and sat down on the other side of the fire. Nico was about to say something when he noticed the smudge of red on his companions hip "Hey!" he snapped, jumping to his feet "When did you get injured?"
Will looked down at the injury as if noticing it for the first time "It must have been when we escaped." he reached for his bag then froze. "Ah," he sighed, wriggling his fingers though a tear in the bag "I must have torn it when we were getting away…"
"That's not good." Nico said studying the wound "You have to stop the bleeding and we don't have any nectar." His fingers brushed against the wound as he inspected it.
Jumping at the sudden contact Will scooted back "I know that." He said quickly "I am a doctor after all." Using the wall as a crutch he got up and took another step back "I'll take care of it now, I can use my jacket for some bandages." He stumbled slightly.
"Do you need some help there?" Nico asked standing "You got the injury helping me."
Will shook his head vigorously "No no, I'll be fine."
"Fine, if you're sure…" Nico sunk back to the ground, looking at Will quizzically.
Breathing a quiz sigh of relief Will took off his jacket and cut it into to bandages using the small knife he had brought with him. He tied the bandages with a experienced hand and came to sit back down near the fire. Not daring to look at Nico, especially after that act.
Another long span of silence followed. Will finally looked up and noticed Nico staring at him. Surprised, Nico looked away. That was awkward, he though running a hand through his wild hair.
"We should get going." Nico said, slightly louder than necessary "Can you make it?"
Will nodded "Of course." He got to his feet, wincing slightly as he put pressure on his injured leg. He noticed Nicos worried glance "I'm fine," he sighed, rolling his eyes "Since when did you start worrying about me?"
Nico flushed and turned away "I was just worried that I would have to carry you back."
Will watched Nico walk away and smiled, even though he had joked about it, he was actually pleased that Nico was worried about him.
The sun peaked over the horizon. Its warm rays shone through the branched and leaves, dappling the ground with light. The pair had walked through the night and still couldn't find one of the main paths they had taken before, or one that was listed on the map.
"I told you we should have taken a left back there." Will complained, pointing at the map "If we are right here then we could have reached a path."
"What makes you think we are right here?" Nico growled, snatching the map back, rolling it up.
"Because it's lighter, and the sun was rising over there." He pointed to the bright orb "That means we are in the lighter colored area on the east side."
"I suppose that would be right," Nico muttered "But unfortunately for you there is a lot of forest in that general area."
Will scowled and huffed, turning away from the son of Hades "At least I had an idea."
It took them a few hours but they finally reached a path. It was small but they could now find where they were on the map.
Nico looked at Will, ready to make a smart remark but closed his mouth. Wills face was stern and his hand was pressed against the wound on his leg. Before Will noticed Nico staring her turned around and walked over to a fallen tree stump "Let's take a break."
Will almost sighed with relief as he sat down. The bandages he had used before were dirty and stained with brown and red. After cutting off the old ones he pulled the other bandages out of his pouch and set them down on a spot beside him.
"They are going to get dirty." Nico said helpfully
Will scowled at him "They are going to end up dirty anyways."
Rolling his eyes Nico stood and sat down beside him, picking up the long lengths of fabric "How long do you want them?"
Will shrugged "One sec, I'll measure-"he stuttered to a halt when Nico weaved the fabric around his hip, measuring how long it should be.
"H- hey, what are you doing…" Will muttered, willing his face not to turn red.
"I at least know how to do basic medical stuff, I did live by myself for a while." Nico replied, snatching Wills knife, cutting the fabric.
"Here." He held out the bandages.
Will took them without a word and quickly dressed his wound, his face felt like it was on fire. He only hoped Nico wouldn't notice.
As soon as they finished the break they were off again. But the calm atmosphere would not last long, they weren't prepared for what would happen when they got back.
How was it? Please review! I made it a bit longer to make up for delay.