Tether // percabeth

chapter seventeen: wounds

  ANNABETH'S POV:

  Will gently put Nico on the concrete ground next to the fire, trying to rid him of the bone-shattering shivers raking his body. Despite the cold outside, there was a sheen of sweat dampening his forehead. 

  I instinctively brushed his sweat-dampened hair back from his face, and he mumbled indistinguishable words. His eyes tightened until Will grabbed his hand, only then did his face relax. 

  My eyes traveled to inspect his wound, and what they found made my stomach churn. Four large slashes of dark red injuries were leaking rivers of blood. 

  "Oh, Nico." I bit the inside of my cheek, this was really bad.

   As I looked closer and saw that the area around the wounds was swollen and red. I experimented, placing gentle pressure on his skin, and I heard him gasp in pain. 

  "What'd you do that for?" Will's eyes were wild with worry, and it pained me to be the bearer of bad news but this was even worse than I thought it to be. We'd be lucky if Nico lived through the night if we don't do something about this infection.

  "Will, I need you to go outside and get me a handful of snow." I wiped Nico's brows with my sleeve, trying to keep his sweat from his eyes. 

  Will rushed back in with his shirt folded in a makeshift pouch filled to the top with sparkling snow. He slid to a stop next to me, getting the already melting snow to me before it turned into a puddle. I scooped up as much as my fingers could hold, and moving quickly but gently, spread the sludge onto Nico's swollen skin. Nico's hand shot out, grabbing and squeezing Will's hand as he grits his teeth in pain. Will whispered encouraging nothing while I set back to work on Nico's wounds.  

  Just when I would be about to finish up, I looked and the snow I had already placed had already started to melt. I sent Will out probably four times before I noticed the red shade of Nico's skin had started to take on a dark pink instead, and once I noticed the reduction of swelling I finally began to relax. Will had started to relax some as well and had begun properly cleaning and wrapping all of Nico's other injuries he had mysteriously acquired. 

  As Will fussed over Nico's broken body, I went over to the bag Nico had dropped before he collapsed himself, and I sorted through the food inside. One thing that caught my eye in particular, that made my stomach growl, was a can of pineapples. I walked back over to the others with the grocery bag in one hand, and the can of fruit in my other. Placing the bag next to Will, I moved to sit on the other side of the fire to give them some privacy, while still being warm. 

  After some moments I called over the fire in a loud whisper, "How's he doing?"

  "The fever has started to go down some, and the snow isn't melting as fast anymore."

  "That's good." He nodded. 

  I ate the can of pineapples before laying down on the hard floor. As I was closing my eyes a set of heavy steps sounded behind me, and my heart sped up in a panic before I realized it was hooves that I heard. Blackjack plopped down next to me and I moved to lay on him. 

" Are you ok?" I whispered to him, though there were no visible indications of him being hurt.

  He snickered and bobbed his head before enveloping me into the cover of his wing. Within only a few seconds I had closed my eyes and let the void of exhaustion take over my body, allowing me to float in an endless ocean of dreamless sleep.

  It was almost a month before the ice outside had melted, and the sky finally took on a brighter hue. It was another month before Nico had healed enough to travel. Will had made several trips to other markets and all of them being, for the most part, successful. My Clothes had started to get tight, and the button on my jeans now just sits there uselessly. 

  We exited the old warehouse that we had spent the last two months calling home, and this time we made it all the way out of the door. Blackjack whinnied and after a few moments two figures were circling above us. The two pegasi landed next to him and Nico and Will both climbed onto their backs, me onto Blackjack's. We took off, heading north. 

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                                                                                                 A/N

hey I'm finally back! i hope this was worth the wait! and thank you all for being so patient!!!!! i don't know when or where my writing style changed, but it did and I'm not complaining. welp, hope you like this chapter, and have an amazing day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                              -Livinginvibes

                                                                             word count: 826