A few days later, Valerian petulantly sat silent on the bed - like he had since he woke up - and ignored Will through yet another check up to see how well he was healing. He refused to speak to anyone for any reason, but that didn't stop the people from talking to him. Will was fighting a battle with himself for whether or not he should break the silence surrounding the two of them. In the end, he decided he needed to lay down a few facts.
"In this world," he began, "the world with Greek mythology come to life, there are rules that the gods cannot interact with life they have created with mortals. You are currently in a place where all the children of the gods gather to train and be protected from the monsters of the realm. This place - this camp, it is the gods' way of showing that they care for us. It may seem messed up, and it is. But some of the gods care more about their kids than others. Your mother truly does love you, and I think if you had an actual talk with her, both of you would benefit from it.
You can choose what way to live your life, but wouldn't you rather your life be a happy one?" By the time Will finished his impromptu speech, he was done with the check up and started to pack away all of the unnecessary tools. Once he was done and starting to leave the room, a soft voice caught his attention for a moment.
"Thank you." It was brief, but that's all that was needed. Will faced the boy on the bed and nodded shortly, before leaving Rian to his thoughts. "But my mother is dead and there is nothing I can do to change that, and there is nothing I can do to see either of them again until I pass." He closed his eyes as he said this, not noticing that Will lingered in the doorway, or how the look of determination filled his eyes as he softly closed the door in search for his broody, emo boyfriend.
Rian rested for a couple hours, not able to fully fall asleep. During that time, he tried imagining what his life would be like if his parents were still alive. Would his dad have let him ride around on a broom when his mother told him not to? Would his mom have helped him with his potions homework? Would they have pets? Would they have sent him embarrassing howlers to the Great Hall or sent him care packages filled with home-cooked food?
These kinds of questions played like an endless loop in his mind, getting more and more complex with every passing thought. He was so involved in the what-ifs that could have happened that he was unaware of another (unwanted) visitor arriving. When he finally couldn't think of any new scenarios that he hadn't already thought of, he drifted back into taking in his surroundings.
Throughout his life, he had become accustomed to sleeping light when he was able to sleep, lest his relatives decided to "surprise" him late at night or early in the morning. He also learned how to feign being asleep while at Hogwarts due to Hermione's habit of wanting to study or Ron's need to go flying on his Firebolt early on weekends when all he wanted to do was sleep to catch up from the exhausting week.
So he wasn't exactly surprised at the newcomer sitting at his bedside fiddling with something. He wasn't trying to keep his presence hidden, he was just waiting for him to "wake up". To Rian it felt like the person was calm, due to the even breathing and slow movements. He decided to risk it and cracked his eyes open to see who was sitting in the chair. It was someone he hasn't met since awakening a couple days ago. He had dark hair, and seemed to dress in all black except for a brown aviator jacket. The light seemed to accentuate a small nose piercing on the left side.
While he was looking at the newcomer's appearance, he noticed that he was being looked at in return, and realized that his eyes had slipped more open without him noticing it. He quickly looked away, but looked back when the person spoke to him. "You know that tall people can never sleep at night cause their feet are always cold due to hanging over the edge?"
"...What?"
"Well I mean beds are usually these standard sizes, so if a super tall dude tried to get into a single bed his feet would probably hang off to like mid-calf, but if he got a king bed that probably wouldn't happen you know?"
Rian's face drifted to staring straight up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, and softly breathed out "that's so strange." There was a silence between them, so heavy but just begging to be broken. "Why aren't you trying to convince me of something or comfort me?"
"Do you want me to? Cause I can, but I figured you've probably heard enough bullshit for one day." Rian huffed out a small laugh, rocking his head back and forth a couple of times trying to figure this guy out. Nico continued, "People here, they mean well but they sprout a lot of bullshit platitudes that aren't always appreciated by the one receiving them. It happened to me when I was 10 I think? It seems so long ago now. My sister had just died on a mission while I was stuck at camp. Percy gave me a statuette of Hades for my Mythomagic game, but I couldn't care less. He told me he tried to protect her, that she acted without thinking everything through. I got left behind by my sister twice that winter, I had been abandoned by her twice. They sang her praises, from the campers, to the gods, to the Hunters. It felt like no one cared about her. Only what she had done when she died. I was upset. I was furious. So I ran away. I met and re-met so many campers that always sprouted the same bullshit. I never wanted them to. Eventually I let go of the anger, but I still hate it; empty promises, hopeless dreams. I never want someone else to hear them from me."
The silence was tangible. If a pin were to drop, it would leave an echo. Then, Rian spoke, "Thanks." He didn't really know what else to say: 'Sorry that your sister died and that you were alone for what seems like years. That's really shitty'? That didn't really feel appropriate considering the topic at hand. But he also didn't want to spew out his own life story to this weird teenager. (1) "I can understand how that feels."
The two fifteen year olds sat in companionable silence, relishing in the fact that someone was able to understand them. The quietness of the rustic hospital (In Rian's point of view) was broken by Will coming back into the room, with Percy once again trailing behind like a puppy following the scent of bacon. "So! I have some good news for you Valerian, you will only need to stay in the infirmary for another night. You'll be released tomorrow morning and you can get a feel for camp before settling into Cabin Four in the evening with your siblings. Percy here," Will waved his hand in the general direction of the ravenette, who in turned waved to Rian, "has generously offered to be your tour guide tomorrow alongside Neo."
Rian, who had started to relax when told he would be discharged soon, started tensing back up at the mention of the tour and his so-called siblings. "I don't have any siblings. I'm an only child. My father is James Fleamont Potter, and my mother is Lillian Jane Evans. They died when I was a baby and I live with my mother's sister Petunia and her husband Vernon. Lived. I lived with them. But I'm not going back. So stop with all this fucking bullshit that I have a godly mother and fucking siblings cause I don't! I don't know what they drugged everybody with here but GODS. DO. NOT. EXIST!" Almost immediately, irrepressible and unrestrained thunder sounded from above and the skies went black. Everyone gathered went colourless, knowing that something bad was going to happen to the teen on the bed, but they couldn't guess to what extent.
The lights in the infirmary went out, and the room was now only illuminated by the strong lightning reaching in from the doorway. With the next flash of lightning, there was a figure standing in the opening of the infirmary, a silhouette with no distinguishing features, but an oppressing sense of authority.
Will immediately dropped into a bow, while Nico and Percy stood with narrowed eyes. Percy casually had a hand in his pocket, while Nico had his arms crossed in front of his chest. After a couple of seconds of commanding silence, there came a soft glow from the figure.
The glow grew brighter with every passing second, going so bright that everyone had to shield their eyes lest they wanted to be blinded. It then softened to just lighting up the room, but only softly. What had seemed like a grown adult in the doorway, was indeed a small girl, with auburn hair who was glowing. Literally. She was the source of the light in the infirmary as the storm raged on outside, which now resembled a mere whisper.
Percy and Nico both relaxed and dropped their heads shortly in respect for the girl. Rian was still breathing harshly, lungs burning due to the lack of oxygen from yelling. He glared harshly at the girl, but there was a slight hint of fear there from the sudden storm, then the abrupt appearance of the aforementioned girl in the doorway.
"I can assure you, Valerian James Potter, the gods do exist, and there are many of us. You would do well not to insult those who can exact formidable retribution. Zeus does not take kindly to those who deny his existence. I have come to hopefully…correct the views you currently have. I am Hestia, the goddess of the hearth and home. I tend to the fire here at Camp Half-Blood, as well as the flame that keeps Olympus warm. You have been born of the relations of a goddess and a mortal man. You have likely displayed an affinity to vegetation in all forms, as well as an aversion to most animal products. This is so as you are the child of Demeter, the second born and swallowed of The Crooked One. You have power passed on by your biological mother, and you shouldn't ignore that fact. While Lillian Evans may have cared for you like her own while she lived, she was not biologically related to you. Do you understand child?"
The self-proclaimed Hestia had come closer in her speech, stopping at the foot of the hospital bed with the full attention of everyone gathered. The silence was palpable, so heavy that the gravity seemed to increase on everyone's shoulders. It felt like it lasted years, but in actuality it was only a minute at best.
"No." It was quiet, barely a whisper, but it seemed to leave an echo. Hestia made a soft inquiring sound. "No, I don't understand. If I'm not related to my mom, then I'm not related to Petunia. There wouldn't have been a reason that I was placed there. There wouldn't have been a reason they hated me, or hit me, or starved me! If the gods were or are real, why didn't anyone save me? I prayed to everyone and everything under the sun to take me away from that god forsaken place. Please tell me that the gods don't exist, cause then… because then I might have been able to die in that basement knowing there was nothing that could have been done."