AN: Titan's Curse, we have ARRIVED! I did end up splitting this chapter, so only some of the action is in here. Keep an eye out for the next part, but who we all wanted to meet anyway is here! Some notes about Will's powers: In Trials of Apollo, it is canon that Will tells Apollo he is about 16 as Lester, so I'm stretching that to include that Will and the healers can kinda sorta tell age from their vitals. Just let it happen. Also the calming power comes mostly from their healing being warming. I took this from Will being able to calm down Clarisse during that meeting during.. BOO? Anyway, enjoy Chapter 3 and stay tuned for the other half of Titan's Curse!
Chapter 3: Titan's Curse Part 1
Will hates the winter.
It makes sense, as a child of the sun god, that winter would be the worst time for him and his siblings, but before this year, Will hadn't been at camp year round. No siblings around him to make him notice the patterns that follow the things that he had experienced himself.
But he'd been learning and studying more about healing under Michael's watchful eye, and now he realizes that what happens to them in the winter mirrors what happens to some mortals.
He just finds it funny the acronym is SAD.
"Hey, Aria, I'm going down to the infirmary to see if Michael's all good. Do you need anything?" He asks, pulling a jacket over his orange camp shirt. Aria waves her hand dismissively from her bunk, only her eyes and a tuft of blonde hair sticking out from where she's burrowed herself completely in blankets, a sun globe sitting on her bed across from her. They had ordered a bunch of them a few months ago to try and combat the rough months. With Luke trying to raise Kronos from the dead, the Apollo cabin couldn't take any chances being weak.
"M'okay. I got the Nano too." Electronics that transmitted any radio waves were too dangerous for demigods, but with some convincing from Chiron, and proof that they didn't emit any waves, they had been allowed to keep iPods. But only Nanos, Shuffles or Classics. Nothing that could access the internet.
"Alrighty, I'll be back later." She hums, and Will pops his head up to one of the top bunks to check on Aaron, who is still fast asleep in his bed. He'd gotten a bad case of the flu earlier in the week, and was still sleeping 12 hours a day. Will presses his hand to Aaron's warm skin, checking over his vitals. He seems fine, which Will is grateful for.
The air outside is cold once he leaves the cabin, and Will pulls his jacket around him a little bit tighter. He's not used to the quiet that surrounds the camp during the school year.
Only a few demigods stay at camp year round. Will thinks about it, counting on his fingers as he walks. He can only name about two dozen campers, including him and his three siblings. He trudges through the last bit of slush from the last snowstorm a few days ago. They didn't get much snow, but it tended to stick.
His mom had decided to start on another tour, so Will had made the decision to stay at camp this year, and if he was being honest, this was probably going to be a permanent change with everything going on in their world. He thinks about the rest of his siblings that stay year round. Aria was an orphan who had been getting kicked from house to house, school to school, before Aaron, Samuel and Lee had found her during the summer getting attacked by a drakon. Michael was taking over as Head Counselor during the school year for Lee who was enjoying his sophomore year in high school, and he was also running the infirmary with Will's help. Aaron… He sighs, kicking a rock away. From what he remembers from the VERY long conversation the two of them had, Aaron's mom wasn't exactly present, and she's more concerned with her dimming athletic career than she was with her teenage son. So Aaron elected to stay at camp during the school year to avoid being around his mom.
Will can't help but be grateful for his mama and all that she did for him, even though that often meant him tagging along on her tours and getting homeschooled. Truth be told, he preferred the system Chiron had set up for schooling, more like self study, especially since that meant he could take things at his own pace.
Plus, reading everything in Greek means his dyslexia isn't acting up like it does trying to read everything in English.
Will pushes open the door to the infirmary with his shoulder. It's technically not a real infirmary, just an extra room that they had converted into an infirmary, but Chiron was getting whittled down day by day to making it actually official and better stocked. Give it a year or so, they'd finally get everything they needed, Will's sure of it.
"Hey, Michael!" He calls, and his brother pops his head out from behind a curtain, his dark hair messy.
"Hey, Will!" Michael calls back, a slight smile on his face. "How're Aria and Aaron?" Will comes over to sit next to him on one of the medical stools, swiveling the stool a little bit back and forth.
"They're fine. Aaron's still sleeping." Will smiles warmly as he recognizes who is in the bed that Michael is stitching up. "Hi Silena." He says softly, his cheeks turning a little pink in the presence of the pretty daughter of Aphrodite. She looks a little green, but she greets him with a friendly smile.
"Hi Will. Winter getting to you guys?" She asks in a lilting voice, and Will nods, running his fingers through his hair.
"Yeah, but the sun globes we got have been helping a lot!" Silena nods, brushing her long hair behind her ear.
"That's good, I'm glad." Will actually feels like she is. Silena had always been one of the nicer, more helpful older campers. She tried to teach Will how to ride a Pegasus once, but he wasn't a big fan of horses.
"How'd you get this?" Will asks, motioning to her leg. There's a nasty gash, almost to the point Will thinks he can see bone. Her cheeks turn pink, and she looks away, tugging on a piece of her long dark hair.
"I um… fell. At the stables. There was a bit of jagged something, I didn't see what. I think Charlie cleared it up though." Michael and Will share a look. Practically the entire camp knows about Silena's crush on Beckendorf at this point. Will understands, if he's being honest. The son of Hephaestus is really handsome.
"Well, it looks worse than it is." Michael comments casually, shrugging his shoulders. "Plus, between me and Will, we can heal it up nice. I don't even think it'll scar." Silena smiles gratefully, still nervously touching her hair.
"Alright, I'll finish stitching this up. Will, can you go grab some ambrosia from the back?" Will nods, quickly going over to where they keep the stores of their healing foods. He takes a square from the Tupperware filled with them, bringing it back over to where Silena and Michael are.
Silena takes the cube from him gratefully, popping it in her mouth. Will's always curious about what it tastes like for other people, but he knows better than to ask about it. Not everyone was as lucky as he was with his mama.
"Is it just Silena in here right now?" Will asks Michael, and his older brother nods.
"We don't really get a lot of injuries during the school year, especially during the winter. Just little things here and there. I'm not even in here most of the time." Michael shrugs, before starting to hum a familiar song under his breath, his hand on Silena's leg. Will is always amazing by the way that their healing works. What would take months in the mortal world takes but a few seconds with their father's blessings, the skin knitting back together. The stitches they place were merely to guide the healing, as their powers cannot restore to perfection. Michael opens his eyes, looking down at the wound and inspecting it.
"Come back tomorrow, and I can take out the stitches, probably. Maybe. No more than 3 or 4 days. Don't take any more nectar or ambrosia though, okay?" Silena nods, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Thanks Michael, and you too, Will." Will blinks, looking at Silena in confusion.
"I didn't do anything though?" He asks, and Silena laughs, making the blush creep back up Will's neck.
"It's always nice to see a familiar face around here." She says, waving her hand. "It can be SO dreary, like a hospital." Will's never been to a big hospital before, but he's not too sure about that. The infirmary is all wood and warm natural sunlight. "Anyways, I gotta get back to the stables, and then make sure Drew hasn't thrown her curling iron at someone." She sighs, shaking her head. "I'll see you boys later!" She hops off the bed, hesitating and making sure she can walk without stumbling, before waltzing out of the infirmary, leaving Michael and Will alone.
"Aphrodite kids." Michael shakes his head, starting to clean up the bed. "Will, go grab another sheet and change it, okay?" Will nods, bustling back to the laundry baskets. For once he's happy to be busy.
—
"Dad was here apparently." Aaron grumbles as they sit down for dinner. Will looks at him with wide eyes.
"Huh?" He asks, and Aaron huffs, shaking his head. He tugs on one of his blonde locks of hair, a frown on his face.
"Percy and Thalia brought back two new kids, and apparently Dad took them up in the sun chariot." Will frowns. He's never met Dad. Most of them had never met him before. Apollo was apparently never… one of the most active parents. "Wait, you said two new kids?" He cranes his neck, looking for a new face.
"Yeah, one joined the Hunters, so she's not staying at camp, but there's a new boy. Ten, I think? He's sitting over there next to Travis."
Will spots him.
Aaron's right about him being around ten, but there's something different about the other boy that Will can't place. He can't help but stare, taking in all the information that he can get just from a look. Dark hair, dark eyes, tanned olive skin, a wide smile. He can't hear what the younger boy is saying, but it must be enthralling the way he's animatedly chatting on, using his hands for emphasis.
"What's his name?" Will asks, and Aria leans over, looking over at the Hermes table as well.
"Oh! I saw him earlier! The little cutie newbie! I think Percy said his name is Nico?" She says, and Will blinks, taking in the information.
Nico.
Will feels that familiar darkness in his chest, making his eyebrows furrow. He doesn't understand why he feels that way, why the younger boy's name gives him the same feeling he's felt for the past two years. Hmm. Maybe his dad would send him some more information through a dream eventually that would help him understand more.
"Percy also came by the infirmary earlier and said that we are playing Capture the Flag tomorrow." Michael comments. "You don't have to fight if you don't wanna. There's not equal numbers." Will nods, his gaze still lingering on Nico.
"I'll play healer like normal." He says softly. "Did Percy say if Nico was claimed or anything?" Aria shakes her head.
"I overheard that the kids were orphans, so they don't even know which parent is godly. I guess we'll just have to wait for a claiming, if that ever happens." Will shares a look with Michael. Claimings were few and far between. Aria got lucky with hers happening right when she got to camp. Many languished weeks with no claims.
"Yeah, I guess we'll just have to see…" Will says, but there's a part of him that just can't shake this feeling, almost like deja vu.
—
The next afternoon, Will and Michael trudge out to the amphitheater, healer bags at the ready. It wouldn't be Capture the Flag without at least a few injuries, and against the Hunters? Will's not so sure there won't be any serious ones.
Michael leaves him on his own when they get to the grounds, and Will watches as he gets in a heated discussion with one of the Stoll brothers. Connor, he thinks.
He's startled out of his people watching when a blur of dark hair and tanned skin materializes itself in front of him.
"Hi!" Will looks down, and he can't help but smile. The new kid. "I'm Nico!"
"I'm Will, it's nice to meet you." He says gently, and Nico nods furiously, his eyes locked on his bag.
"What's that?" He asks, pointing at Will's satchel.
"Oh, I'm not playing in the traditional way today. Well… I don't really ever." Will laughs softly. "I'm a healer, so this is my bag full of supplies in case someone gets hurt and I need to help them right away."
"You're a healer? Do you have cool magical healing powers?" Nico says, his eyes widening. Will shrugs his shoulders casually.
"Yeah, just a little bit. I sing a hymn to my dad, and he helps me and my siblings heal people. I think it's pretty cool, even though it can be really hard." Nico's enthusiasm is honestly really infectious.
"Your dad? Who's your dad?" Nico asks, and Will can't help but smile more.
"Apollo, god of-"
"The sun! He has 2000 defense points! He's super cool." Will's not sure what he's talking about, but the way that Nico's eyes light up when he talks about it is quite literally the most adorable thing that he has ever seen.
"My dad is god of a lot of things. Music, the sun, healing, prophecy, archery…" Will trails off, trying to think of more things his dad has domain over.
"Archery! Do you use a bow?" Nico looks over at him, but seems disappointed when he doesn't see a bow.
"Ah… I'm not really that good at archery, actually… I mostly focus on healing. It's what I'm best at." Nico nods, and he frowns a little bit.
"I don't know who my parent is. I wanna find out soon! I hope I get some awesome powers like you do. Percy has cool powers too!" Will flushes a bit at the mention of the son of Poseidon.
"Percy's powers are much cooler than mine." He mutters, but Nico doesn't hear him, his gaze already turned somewhere else.
"Oh! There's Percy! And Thalia! I'll see you later Will!" Before Will could even reply, the younger boy ran off towards where Percy and Thalia were standing. Will can't help but laugh softly. He remembers how excited he had been when he first got to camp. The thought makes him frown. It'd only been two years but he feels so different now. He shrugs it off, trotting back over to Michael.
"You ready?" His older brother says, and Will nods.
"At least it doesn't feel boring anymore." He says, and Michael laughs, shaking his head.
"I can't believe that you ever found Capture the Flag BORING, Solace. Like of all things?" Will shrugs, brushing a wayward curl out of his face.
"I don't like fighting. So I play healer. And most of what I do is watch and wait, and hope no one gets maimed by a spear or something." Will says offhandedly, and Michael sighs, squinting in the sunlight.
"I know, kid." Will can't help but roll his eyes. Michael's barely older than him by a few years. "Just try and take it in stride, kay?" Will shrugs, and Michael pats him on the shoulder.
"Will do." Will says simply, and Michael chuckles.
"Also." Will looks at Michael expectantly, and his older brother squints at him. "Stop growing. You're already taller than me and it's not fair."
Will can hear his loud laughter echoing throughout the grounds.
Thalia calls for the Camp Half Blood team to follow her after a little bit, and Will perks up, watching them file through the woods. At least the game would finally be underway, and he could focus on something. He watches Nico tag after Percy, chattering away. He can't help but smile, hiding a laugh when Percy trips over a shield.
Clumsy.
Michael turns to him, a contemplative look on his face.
"Will, you should head to Zeus's Fist, hang out with the campers on watch. Just so you're close by if anything happens." Will nods before tagging after the campers. He runs through the woods quickly, ducking under branches.
Zeus's Fist stands tall in front of him, and Will can see Percy, the Stoll brothers, Beckendorf and Nico. He hums, running up to the group of campers.
"Hey Will!" Connor says, and Will waves, catching his breath.
"Michael thought it would be best if I stayed over here, and he went off with one of the other groups. I don't think the Hunters would take too kindly to our offers for help." Travis snorts, nodding. It was well known the distaste that the Hunters had for men, apparently. Will had only learned about them recently.
Will squints up at Percy, who seems to be scouting out for the Hunters, his lips set in a frown as he looks over the forest. Will doesn't understand everyone's love for this game, but he supposes it is good training.
"What's Percy doing?" Nico asks, and Will snaps out of his thoughts, looking down at the younger camper. Nico's dark eyes are wide as he looks up at Percy on top of Zeus's Fist.
"Probably seeing where all the action is happening." Will says, and Nico nods, dragging his sword through the dirt a little bit. Will laughs softly, pointing to Nico's sword. "Is that a good size for you?" Nico looks up at him startled, before following Will's gaze to his sword. He turns a bit pink, shaking his head.
"It's a little heavy…" Will can hear a lilt of something in his voice. An accent maybe? Not one that Will is familiar with though.
"You should tell Percy! He and one of the Hephaestus kids can get you one that works for you. Though, you'll probably grow into a better one…" Will shrugs. "Just be careful and don't dislocate your shoulder trying to swing at someone. But if you do… I'll be there to patch you up anyway!" Nico breaks out into a bright, youthful smile and nods.
Before Will can continue the conversation, Percy frowns more, leaning over the top of the mountain. Nico notices, and scrambles over, trying to climb the pile of rocks.
"What's happening?" He cries, and Percy hums, thinking deeply for a second. He probably sees something, and is trying to figure out how best to approach it, WIll muses.
"Nico, come down. It's not safe." Will calls, and the younger boy huffs, but stops trying to climb the rocks.
Suddenly, Percy bounds down the pile of rocks, brandishing his sword. "Can you guys hold the fort?" Percy asks Beckendorf, who just snorts.
"Of course we can." He says, and Percy grins.
"I'm going in." Nico and the Stoll brothers cheer as Percy lopes off into the forest. Will sighs, leaning against the pile of rocks. He's already exhausted from this game and it's barely started.
He can hear faraway yelling, and a crackle of electricity. Nico looks around startled, and Beckendorf pats him on the back.
"That's just Thalia. She's got lightning powers from her dad." Nico blinks, looking toward the sound.
"Zeus?" The sound of crackling lightning comes back. Beckendorf nods.
"Yep. She's powerful. Percy too. Big Three kids always are." Nico frowns, his eyebrows furrowing.
"What's a Big Three?" Beckendorf folds his arms, his sword dangling from his belt.
"Kids of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Not very many of 'em nowadays, but that's a conversation for another day." Nico nods, a frown still marring his features.
There's a loud commotion, and a streak of silver flashes in front of them. Before Will can even get his bearings, he looks up and sees a pair of Hunters, and he ducks before an arrow can hit him.
"Will! Get cover!" Beckendorf yells, and Will flits around the side of the rocks, staying out of the way. He peeks from around the side, watching as Beckendorf yells commands at Nico, the Stoll Brothers fighting off another hunter. In quick succession, one of the Hunters unloads two arrows, the ends sticking out of Connor's helmet.
"Shit." Will mutters under his breath. The Hunter slams the pommel of her knife against Connor's head and he falls to the ground.
"Neutral!" Will calls out. "I'm a healer, son of Apollo! I'm not on any side!" He breaks out from behind the rock, running over to Connor's side. He touches his hands to Connor's face, closing his eyes.
Good, he's not hurt too badly. No injuries from the arrows. Probably just a concussion.
He hears a grunt and turns his head to see Travis fall in the same way, the Hunter grinning wildly.
"Now, Zoë!" She shouts, and Will sees one of the older Hunters, probably their leader due to the circlet in her hair, snatching the flag off the top of the rock.
"Will! We're gonna go after her!" Beckendorf yells as she races down the rock, and Will waves his hand, signaling them to leave. Nico and Beckendorf take off after Zoë, and Will runs over to Travis's side, checking out his vitals as well.
Same thing as Connor, just less arrows in his helmet. No blood spilt. Good, good. This will be a pinch to take care in the infirmary.
"William!" Chiron calls as he thunders into the clearing, and Will looks up, brushing sweat out of his face. "Are they quite alright?" Will nods, standing up.
"One of the Hunters knocked them out, but there's no blood. No puncture wounds." Chiron nods, his lips set in a firm line.
"Excellent. Do help me get them onto my back, I believe we are about to lose the game yet again." Will, with quite a struggle, heaves the set of brothers onto Chiron's back. The centaur takes off in the same direction that Nico and Beckendorf had run, and Will takes a second to breathe before following.
The scene unfolding in front of him is slightly terrifying.
"I was at their base!" Thalia is quite frankly screaming at Percy, sparks crackling on her armor. "If you hadn't butted in, we would have won!"
Percy looks just as angry, his sea green eyes blazing. "You had too many of them on you!"
"So you're saying it's MY fault we lost?" Thalia bites back, and Percy rolls his eyes. Will rubs his eyes tiredly. Is this how all Big Three kids are, or this just a certain brand of Percy and Thalia not getting along? He's not sure, and at this point he's too afraid to ask.
"I didn't say that!" Percy snaps.
Thalia screams, and suddenly Percy sails back ten feet into the water, causing a large splash. Will gasps, as do several of the other campers. He can hear laughter from the Hunters, causing him to frown. It's not very funny that Thalia and Percy are fighting, and he's sure they don't know about Percy's healing in water.
"Sorry!" Thalia cries out, looking a little pink in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to-" Suddenly a huge wave rolls out of the creek, soaking Thalia from head to toe.
"Yeah." Percy says, and Will can FEEL the anger rolling off of him. "I didn't mean to either."
Will could see both of them panting, anger in their eyes. This was not good.
"Enough!" Chiron yells, but neither Percy nor Thalia hear him.
"You want some, Seaweed Brain?" Thalia barks, holding out her spear. Will watches as Percy brandishes his sword (what was it called again?) with a look of determination on his face.
"Bring it on, Pinecone Face." Will winces. Oh, Percy… It hadn't even been a year since Thalia had revived from being a pine tree. That was a one way ticket to getting a smackdown, if anything Will knew about Thalia was true.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning comes down from the sky, routes through Thalia's spear, and smacks Percy in the chest. Will gasps, running forward, only to be held back by Michael, who had finally appeared from his detail with the rest of the campers.
"Don't, Will. Percy can heal himself, and I don't need you getting electrocuted." He mutters, and Will's shoulders sag. Michael's right. No use in getting himself hurt in a skirmish between Big Three kids. Percy can take care of himself.
"Thalia! Stop it now!" Chiron calls, and Will can see how tense the older girl is in her shoulders. She's clearly not about to let this go. Will can feel his hands start to shake in fear. Just how far was this about to go?
Percy summons a wall of water, his mouth set in a determined line. It swirls around him in a funnel cloud, and Will can't help but be in awe of his power. Thalia too, of course, but the physical manifestation of Percy's power is something to see.
"Percy!" Will can hear the desperation in Chiron's voice, but something causes Percy to drop the water, his eyes widening almost comically. Thalia turns in confusion, and Will does as well.
Green mist rolls out of the forest, and Will squints, not sure what he is seeing. He hears Michael gasp, his older brother grabbing onto his shoulder to pull Will back.
"What's going on?" He asks, and Michael shushes him, a grave look on his face.
"It's the Oracle…" He hisses in a low voice, and Will startles. He'd only ever heard of the Oracle, but never seen her before, too young to take on his own quest. Not that he wants one anyway.
"This is impossible, she has never left the attic ever…" Chiron says, nerves palpable in his voice.
Will takes a step back when she emerges from the forest, and Michael's hand curls around his wrist. Will shakes with fear, but Michael pours his calming power into Will, thumb running across his wrist.
"Hey, it's fine. She's just old." He says lowly, and Will can't help but let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Yeah, that's the understatement of the century." He says, and Michael just huffs out a chuckle, shaking his head.
A voice hisses through Will's head, and he nearly drops to the ground with how painful it is. Is he sensitive to it because of his dad?
I am the spirit of Delphi. The voice whispers, curling itself like the mist around Will's brain. It is the most uncomfortable feeling that he had ever experienced. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Will sighs. Dad. The sunlight seems to get a bit stronger, the beams weighing down on Will.
The Oracle turns to Zoë Nightshade. Approach, Seeker, and ask. She whispers, and Will purses his lips. What is going on?
"What must I do to help my goddess?" Will looks at Michael, who just mouths Artemis at him. He nods, blinking a few times as he thinks.
More green mist pours out of the Oracle and Will squints, trying his best to see the images. He can see a young girl kneeling. She can't be older than 15. Will frowns. Is that Artemis? He looks at Michael again, and his brother shrugs.
Will holds his hands to his ears as the Oracle speaks, the sound feeling like it's piercing through his brain.
A prophecy.
Great.
—
"I have to go, I'm sorry, Will." Michael says, and Will sighs, leaning against the door to the back room of the infirmary.
"Couldn't they wait until we get this under control at least?" He asks, and Michael shakes his head.
"Not with a prophecy. And especially with the Hunters and a goddess involved. I'm really sorry to leave all of this to you, but I have to go." Will runs a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Aria's feeling better though, so I'll have her come help out when she can." Will frowns.
"What about Aaron?" Michael chuckles softly.
"We both know his healing isn't the best. He's doing a lot better though. Give him another day or two and he will be back to normal." Michael says, and Will purses his lips. It's true that Aaron's talents lie with archery, not healing. "I'll only be a few hours at most, it's just a meeting for the prophecy."
"Okay, I think that I can handle things here." Will says after a minute, and Michael ruffles his hair, smiling wryly at him.
"Atta boy. Alrighty, I'll be back later. Send Aria over if there's an emergency." Michael says over his shoulder as he leaves the infirmary.
Will looks over all the occupied beds with his hands on his hips, a deep bodied sigh leaving his lips. Literally all of the year round Ares kids are here. A few of the other campers. And… Nico? Will frowns, crossing over to the younger boy.
"Nico? What are you doing here? Did you get injured?" Nico shakes his head, swinging his feet back and forth off the bed.
"Noooo, I just got bored and didn't wanna bother anyone, so I decided to come over and see what you were doing!" He chirps, and Will laughs a little bit. He turns his head, looking around and thinking for a second.
"Well, I'm gonna be really busy, so if you stay quiet and out of the way while I work, you can stay here unless I need the bed for someone, okay?" Nico nods enthusiastically, and Will grins, patting the younger kid on the head. "Alright, I gotta get busy now, so just stay there."
Will crosses over to one of the Hermes campers that he doesn't recognize much. "Hey there, I'm Will." The other camper eyes him, a frown on his face.
"Ethan." He says quietly, and Will nods, a small smile on his face.
"What's got you in here, Ethan? Anything I can help with?" Ethan gestures vaguely to his right shoulder with his left hand, and Will notices the way that the older camper is holding his arm. "Dislocated?" He asks, and Ethan nods.
"One of the Hunters." He says bitterly, and Will nods, reaching out to take Ethan's wrist. He observes his vitals for a minute, his healing powers creeping out like tendrils to examine the injury.
"Definitely only dislocated. I can pop it back into place, but it's really gonna hurt. I'll give you some nectar afterward though. That okay?" Ethan nods, sitting up a little bit.
Will goes through the method of setting it back in place that Chloe had taught him last year. Gently changing the angle of the arm, small circles. Don't overextend. Don't pull. Don't press too hard.
"Okay, let me get a sling and some nectar. I'll be right back." Will says, and as he turns, Aria ducks into the infirmary, brushing her blonde waves out of her face.
"Hey, Will!" She calls, and Will feels a sense of gratitude wash over him. At least now he has some help.
"Aria!" He says, trotting to his sister's side. "Glad you're here. I need to set Ethan's shoulder, so if you could check on Carter and some of the other Ares kids, or maybe concussion protocol on Travis and Connor?" Aria nods, pulling her jacket off her shoulders and hanging it up.
"What about your shadow?" She asks, and Will frowns, but looks over at Nico in the corner, the younger boy watching everything with big eyes.
"Nico's not hurt. Just bored. I said he could stay here as long as he didn't get in the way and we don't need the bed." Aria nods, pulling a scrub shirt over her camp one.
"Alright, captain. Go get the stuff for Ethan." She pushes his back lightly, crossing over to where the Stoll brothers were.
After a quick grab of supplies, Will comes back over to Ethan. He sets everything down, arranging it in the way Michael had taught him. He closes his eyes, breathing out a few times. Relax. You're a great healer. Dad gave you these abilities. He opens his eyes and turns to face Ethan with a smile.
"Alright, I'm gonna grab your arm, and slowly move it. I'll use my healing and calming to hopefully lessen the pain, kay?" Ethan nods, watching as Will takes a hold of his wrist and elbow. Will feels the calming essence flow through his fingers. "So, are you a son of Hermes?" He asks. Talking to people while healing them helps take the focus away and keep the pain lower.
"No." Ethan says, his voice clipped. "Unclaimed." Will blinks, a bit shaken by the tone of Ethan's voice.
"Ah. Sorry about that, I was just tryin' to make conversation." He says shyly, and Ethan doesn't respond, looking off to the side, avoiding Will. "How… long have you been at camp then?"
"A year or so. Not long, but long enough being unclaimed is very annoying." Will nods, biting down on the inside of his lip as he moves Ethan's arm slowly.
"Which…"
"My mom." He says, and Will nods. He gently presses Ethan's arm forward, and he feels the joint snap back into place. Ethan yelps loudly, and mutters a colorful curse in Ancient Greek.
"Told ya it was gonna hurt, but it'll go away, don't worry!" Will says, grabbing the sling from the table. He helps Ethan settle into it. "Just keep this on until the nectar helps it." He hands the older boy a cup full of the healing liquid. "You can leave once you finish the cup! Just leave it on the table and I'll clean it up after." Ethan nods, taking the cup in his good hand, pain still apparent on his features.
Will steels his shoulders as he turns away from Ethan. There's more campers relying on him. Time to be strong and prove himself to Michael.
—
Michael returns later that day, a frown set on his face. Will looks up from his book, and Aaron and Aria pause their game of slapjack.
"Who did they send?" Aaron asks. Michael rubs his face, throwing his jacket on his bed.
"Grover and Thalia from camp, Zoë, Phoebe and Bianca from the Hunters." Will frowns. Wasn't Bianca one of the new kids Percy and Thalia had brought back only days ago?
"No Percy for once? Daaaang, I'm impressed. I thought it was physically impossible for them to NOT send that kid on a quest." Aaron comments, flipping another card over. Aria snorts, a shout ringing out as she flips over a jack, slamming her hand down.
"You act like Percy isn't gonna sneak out or something. Didn't he do that during the summer?" Aria says, collecting the cards. Michael plops down next to Aaron, who shuffles the cards so the three of them can play.
"That he did. And he probably will. Apparently Annabeth went missing. She was with Thalia and Percy when they went to get the di Angelos." Michael says. Will looks up from his book, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Missing?" He asks, and Michael shrugs.
"Yeah, she didn't come back with them, and Percy seemed pretty stressed." Will snorts.
"Will those two just get together already? They're both so obvious. The Aphrodite campers have a bet on it, I'm pretty sure." Aria says, flipping cards over onto the stack.
"How much is the bet?" Aaron asks, and Aria scrunches her nose, shrugging her shoulders.
"I dunno. Daniel said Faolán told him about it." Will tilts his head. He doesn't recognize the name.
"Who's Faolán?" Michael and Aaron share a look, and Will looks between them, confused.
"You'll have to talk to Daniel about that when he comes back for the summer." Michael finally says, and Will frowns, but drops the subject. O….kay. Whatever that means.
—
"Fucking hell." Will blearily raises his head. Curse his dad for making him a morning person.
"Wha-?" He mutters, and Michael swears again.
"Percy's gone." He says, and he hears Aria moving in her bed.
"Of fucking course he is." She mutters, and Will feels the bed next to him shake as Aaron jumps down from the top bunk.
"I expected nothing less, honestly." He comments, grabbing his bag. "I'm gonna take a shower, and then we have archery today with Hermes, Will. Michael's on infirmary duty, so you need to come practice." Will huffs, sitting up.
"Fine, fine, fine. I'm getting up. I'm gonna shower too."
The winter sun does just enough to warm Will up, even in December. It almost makes him feel like their dad is beaming down on them practicing archery.
The three of them are joined by Hermes Cabin, a random assortment of kids. Unclaimed ones like Nico and Ethan, and kids of Hermes like Travis and Connor.
Will huffs, launching another arrow. He's really not good at this. He can feel his eye twitch when it lands just out of the bullseye. He's gotten better at least.
He can feel Aaron hovering, his brother's dark eyes questioning. He makes eye contact and shakes his head. He doesn't want help. He can manage on his own. Aaron just grins and squeezes his shoulder before moving onto another camper.
Will sighs, pulling the bowstring back again, another arrow notched. He takes a minute, breathing in and out a few times.
Let go.
He watches the arrow go, his mouth set in determination.
Oh!
He can't help but squeak as it hits dead center, and Aaron lets out a whoop as he runs over.
"You did it, little brother!" He scoops Will into a bear hug, and Will can't help the giggles that bubble out of his chest at Aaron's enthusiasm.
"I did it!" Will yells, and Aria runs over to join them. Aaron lets Will go, just for Aria to pull him into yet another hug.
"I told you that you would get better with time, Will! This is so amazing." Will can't help but smile, squeezing his older sister around her middle.
"I can protect myself." He murmurs to no one, and no one hears, Aria and Aaron chattering excitedly over his head.
"Alright, kids, back to square one! Let's run it again!" Aaron yells, pulling away from them and jogging down the row. "Will can do it, you can do it!"
Aria pulls back from the hug, and plants a kiss on the top of Will's head.
"C'mon little brother, let's get you some more bullseyes so you can brag to Michael about it." She says cheekily, winking at Will.
Will likes the sound of that.
—
"Um, Will?" Will turns when he hears a voice, his eyes widening at the sight in front of him.
"Nico? What happened?" The younger boy shuffles his feet, looking a bit embarrassed. There's a thick red cut on his cheek, crimson dripping down his tanned skin.
"I was sparring with Connor, and he got me on the cheek. He just said to come here and ask for you or one of your siblings so… Here I am." Nico says, and Will motions for him to sit on one of the beds.
"I can take care of it, don't worry!" Will smiles warmly at Nico and the younger boy plops down on the bed. "Lemme just grab some things right quick okay?" Nico nods, fidgeting with the blanket.
Will takes only a minute or two, gathering up supplies to clean the cut on Nico's cheek. Once he has everything, he sits next to Nico on the bed, motioning for Nico to face him.
"This is probably gonna sting, but I want to clean the cut before I heal it. Just to make sure no dirt or nothing gets stuck in it, kay?" Will says, and Nico nods. Will starts to dab at Nico's cheek, cleaning the wound. As he does so, Will decides to ask Nico about his life.
"So is it just you and your sister?" Nico makes a soft sound of agreement.
"Yeah, the nice lawyer lady told us that both of our parents were dead, and that we had to stay in this hotel. It was pretty cool! They had lots of Mythomagic players and fun games." Will chuckles softly, eyes focused on the cut on Nico's cheek.
"How long did y'all stay there?" Nico frowns, then shrugs his shoulders.
"I don't know actually… Not that long I think?" Will nods, leaning over to grab another clean cotton swab. "We went to some scary school after that… then Percy showed up and saved us from the monsters!" Will smiles and sets the tools down.
"Alright, your cut's all clean. I'm gonna heal you now, so I gotta touch your cheek, alright?" Nico nods, blinking up at Will.
Will knows something is different the minute he touches Nico's cheek.
The cut would heal as it should, but lying underneath… Will frowns slightly.
"What?" Nico asks, a layer of concern making his voice shake. Will blinks, and shakes his head.
"It's nothing! I was just thinking about something else. No need to worry, Nico." Will hums under his breath, the familiar hymn to his dad spreading over his tongue. A few seconds later, there is only tanned skin under his fingers, the cut completely healed.
"Woah! That's so cool!" Nico exclaims, pulling away from Will and touching his cheek. "I felt so calm too, like… I don't know how to even say it!" Will laughs softly, shrugging his shoulders.
"It's something our healing does. Dad gave us the gift of calming people down slightly to help with healing in stressful situations. It's the warmth, I think. Sun god, healing god, warm calming powers." Nico nods, looking deep in thought.
"I wanna have cool powers too!" He exclaims, and Will just chuckles, standing up. He ruffles Nico's hair and turns to clean up the mess he made healing Nico.
"I'm sure you will once you get claimed. You should probably head back to Hermes Cabin though, and tell Connor you got healed up. I gotta go talk to Chiron." Nico nods, and stands up from the bed.
"Okay! Bye Will! Thanks for healing me!" He practically skips away, a blur of orange as he tears out of the infirmary.
Will sighs, his fingers curling into fists. He really does need to talk to Chiron.
"What?" The centaur asks, his arms folded over his chest.
"I don't know how to describe it, but something's not right. You know how I am able to sort of tell how old someone is? Like I did with Thalia?" Chiron nods, kind eyes waiting for Will to continue. "Well, I healed Nico today, and something was not right. He was physically 10, but…" Will trails off, lips pursing.
"But what, William?" Chiron gently encourages, looking down at him.
"It was the same thing as Thalia. There was this… gap. This nonlinear aging. I can't tell for how long or why, but I don't think he has been alive for only 10 years. I don't know what it means." Will spits out, and Chiron hums, seemingly deep in thought. "But he also doesn't seem to remember a lot? I asked him a few questions, but…" Will sighs, shaking his head. "I'm not really equipped to deal with this, am I?"
"No, you are not." Chiron agrees, stepping forward to lay a hand on Will's shoulder. "Fear not, William, I will look more into this. It may have something to do with young Nico's parentage, or just simply how he and his sister came to us. But there is no need for you to deal with it." Will nods, ruffling his hair.
"Yeah… I just figured it was somethin' that I should tell you. I didn't wanna freak out Nico either, so I didn't say anything about it." Chiron nods.
"You did well." He says, patting Will's shoulder. "Now, I do believe it is almost time for dinner. You should get back to your cabin before then." Will nods, turning to leave the Big House. "And William?" Will turns back to look at Chiron expectantly.
"Thank you for telling me this. It is much to think about."