This Dark Night ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase¹

―ii. chiron gets sacked (and percy gets a brother)

"OW!"

"Hold still."

"It hurts." 

"That's what you get for charging a fire-breathing bull." 

Naomi glared at Ethan as he finished wrapping her forearm in gauze, keeping the Aloe Vera dressing in place. "Your bedside manner could use a lot of work."

"And your patient temperament is terrible," Ethan countered. 

"I got burned, what do you expect?" 

 Ethan fastened the bandages securely. "You're mouthy when you're wounded."

"You're mouthy when you're wounded," Naomi mocked. 

"I don't sound like that!" Ethan protested. 

"I don't sound like that."

Ethan huffed. "I hate you." 

This time, Naomi raised her voice to crudely match Drew's: "Cry about it." 

Maybe it was the dismal mood that had plagued the camp for weeks since Thalia's tree started dying, or maybe it was the fact that she'd just gotten burned and almost killed by a bronze fire-breathing bull, but Ethan and Naomi both burst out laughing. 

When they sobered up, Ethan asked, "Are you sure you don't want some ambrosia?" 

"I'll be fine," Naomi assured him. Herbal remedies had an increased effect on Demeter kids and, as it turned out, Persephone kids as well (the plural for the latter was unnecessary, but it made Naomi feel a little less like a one-woman freak show). With the camp's supply of nectar and ambrosia beginning to run low and more and more campers getting injured trying to defend the camp borders, Naomi was fine sticking to natural remedies.

It had been about a month since Thalia's tree was poisoned, and things had only gotten progressively worse in the weeks since. The Apollo and Demeter cabins were trying to figure out a cure for the tree, but so far they'd come up with nothing. All they could do was slow the poison down, keep it from reaching its roots so soon, but it was like Sisyphus and his boulder. There seemed to be no good end in sight. 

Naomi sighed, leaning against the railing to breathe for a second—she'd been up and running around with her cabinmates since early that morning, and her lack of sleep was starting to catch up with her. She debated sneaking away for a quick power nap when she spotted two familiar faces in the distance. 

"Percy! Annabeth! You're back!" 

She ran down the porch steps and pulled them both into hugs, though she had to hold her burned arm out awkwardly to keep from hitting it.

Percy noticed the bandages. "What happened to your arm?" 

"Those bulls on the hill," she grumbled. "Are they still up there?" 

"They're down," Annabeth told her. "What's going on, Naomi? You didn't keep in touch, and I couldn't get an IM through, now Clarisse is saying something about a new activities director—what's happening?"

Naomi grimaced. "It's been a long year," she said. "A bad one."

"Is everyone at the border okay?" Ethan asked, coming down the porch steps to stand beside her. 

"Couple of injuries, but everyone's alive," Percy said, frowning at Ethan. "Who are you?" 

"Ethan Nakamura," Naomi said. "From Cabin Eleven. Remember?" 

"Oh... yeah," Percy said. "Yeah, sorry." 

Ethan raised a hand in an awkward half-wave. "Hello again."