charm(less)

duodēvīgintī

—— d u o d ē v ī g i n t i ——

KOREY COULDN'T SLEEP for a number of reasons.

First of all was the fact that he was lying on the floor of the already crammed Hermes cabin, with nothing but a thin bedroll to wrap around himself. He was squished between Cad and a bulky guy who looked too large for his own good, who was taking up half of Korey's allocated floor space and snoring like a truck. Then there was the more pressing issue of his mark. It burnt like a brand against his skin and no matter which way he turned, how much he shifted, he couldn't get comfortable with that stinging pain as a constant reminder that something (or multiple somethings, more likely) out there wanted to kill him. He'd stopped by the Demeter cabin on the walk back from the campfire to pick up some more draughts for the pain and Felicia, the head of the cabin, seemed concerned that he needed more so soon.

"I should have given you enough to last for at least another week," she had said with a frown. "Are they not helping?"

"They are a little, but it wears off quickly. Do you have anything stronger?" Korey had asked. "So I don't have to take as much?"

Felicia had headed around the cabin to the small garden the Demeter kids tended to with a thoughtful look and returned with a foul-smelling purple tincture in a small glass vial, advising him to only take a couple of drops at a time. "It's very potent stuff," she said. "As potent as painkillers can get medicinal wise, that is. Don't take anymore because there can be some side-effects like dizziness, nausea, that kind of thing. Nothing serious but not exactly pleasant either."

Only now Korey was lying awake in the dark, his arm still burning despite the promise of potency and his head spinning a little, the edges of the nausea Felicia had promised creeping up on him. He wondered whether he should be more worried about this mark. It seemed like it was only getting worse with time, and no one had any clue how to get rid of it. The sympathetic way Chiron looked at him every time they passed made him think he should definitely be more worried about his imminent death.

Then there was Park. And the fact Korey couldn't stop thinking about him, in a way he knew he shouldn't be. They hadn't spoken even after the campfire died down and everyone wandered back down to the cabins, Park wordlessly retreating to the sleek black walls of the Hades cabin without a second glance at Korey. Nothing had happened at the campfire, Korey hadn't actually done anything despite how badly he wanted to, but he was scared he'd ruined things with Park anyway. That the other boy had read his feelings plain as day on his face and retreated before Korey could do something stupid, like act on them. His face turned warm at how horrifically embarrassing that would have been and how he would have ruined the tentative trust they had built after it had taken so long for Park to bring his walls down to even allow it.

Another half an hour of tossing and staring at the wooden beams of the ceiling pass. Finally, Korey couldn't bear the hot prickling of his arm anymore. He tossed his covers aside and allowed a single drop of the tincture to fall on his tongue. It tasted bitter, like herbs. He'd already exceeded Felicia's recommendation but almost immediately some of the pain receded, clearing his brain enough to at least think clearly. He rose as quietly as possible to his feet and soundlessly picked his way out of the cabin, taking care not to step on any sprawled limbs. Something told him Selina would not let him get away with accidentally stepping on her face.

It was dark outside and the air was cool with the sea breeze blowing up from the beach. Korey stretched his arms behind his head, tipping his head up to stare at the sky. Round and luminous, it cast silver light across the whole camp. He let it's soft glow take him down past the dining pavilion and climbing wall, skirting along the edge of the forest until he reached the beach. He slipped his shoes off where the sand began and marvelled in how soft it felt beneath his bare feet, sinking between his toes. He'd wandered halfway down it when he saw a familiar silhouetted figure closer to the lapping waves and drew short. It was Park, standing in the surf, skipping stones with expert ease. Korey watched the one he flicked out to the sea bounce one, two, three times before disappearing into the waves.