Owen Changes His Mind

BONUS: Ch. 7-13 (Proper Timeline)

TW: Please double check trigger warnings for each chapter. These include violence and suicidal thoughts, especially with scenes from Owen's POV. 

Author's Note: Here it is! Everything that happens from chapters 7-13, in its proper timeline order. The chapter order is approximately 7, 11, 8, 12, 9, 13, and 10.  Take your time with it! OCHS will return to daily posts on Sunday, and continue until the end of the fic at chapter 20. I'm really excited for you to see the third and final part of the fic. See you then!

Oh, I almost forgot. I've been adding  "title page" art to past chapters. There are at least three I've added so far. Can you find them all?

When it occurred to Apo a few days later that he hadn't gotten the food and water he'd packed to Owen, he panicked a little. "My backpack, what's it doing here!?" He asked Soup, who had bandaged his shoulder. Apo's throat was on fire.

"Hmm? Well it is your backpack, isn't it?" she asked, flipping through a book she'd been looking at. "Shouldn't it be next to you?"

"No," Apo rasped, "it's for Owen. So he won't starve."

At this, Soup carefully shut the book and assessed him. "The same Owen who tried to strangle you?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, yeah," Apo fidgeted and tried to clear his throat. "Rasbi was making sure he didn't get food or water, and no one seemed to want to risk it, and she was even there to kill him, which would be wrong, so-"

"Apo." Soup interrupted. "You're trying to save the person who literally tried to kill you, not once, but twice, if Rasbi is to be believed. She said what happened in the maze was self defense." She paused to catch his eyes. "It would make sense for you to feel the same as Rasbi."

"Is - did she- did they-" he twisted the blanket covering his body with his fingers, then winced as he felt the injured shoulder muscle try to bunch. "Oh god-"

"Easy," Soup commanded, "be easy. They're both still alive. For now."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Jeez Apo, it just means that the maze is a dangerous place, anything can happen, and-" Soup cut herself off when she saw his expression. She took a calming breath and started over. "Apo, Owen is alive. Rasbi's taken to keeping to herself. Guts has been feeding him. They've been very careful to keep him alive, but they've hardly been out of their house recently. We're all feeling it. We're tired. Everyone in the clearing is just... tired."

Apo closed his eyes in relief. There was still a chance.

"You have bruises on your throat," Soup observed. "I wouldn't try to see him just now if I were you."

"That's not your decision to make," Apo breathed, eyes still closed. But a worm of doubt crawled into Apo's heart. Owen had threatened to kill him twice, now. What if he never stopped?

---

"You have a visitor," Guts announced before backing away. They glanced toward Apo. "Be careful."

Apo thanked her and turned to face the man in the cell. "Owen," he croaked, then cleared his throat. "Owen," he repeated.

Apo fidgeted, waiting for Owen to do something, anything. Owen was sitting on the floor, his back to the chalkboard. The chalkboard was full. Apo tried to read what it said, but too many words had been written on top of eachother. It looked a little insane. Apo remembered his time in the cell and understood. He fidgeted with the backpack. "You don't have to say anything, Owen. I brought a backpack with a ton of food and water in it. I know it's hard to get food down here, since you have to wait for Guts to bring it to you. I thought you could use something healthy, and maybe some variety. I, um, I thought you might like some oranges, so I put some of those in there. A-and, I thought you might like some cheesecake." Apo only realized he was rambling when he stopped. Owen was unresponsive. Was he dead? "Owen?" he asked. Apo looked for signs of life. He was still breathing. Apo hesitated, then opened one of the bars to push the backpack through. "O-