Tales of Camp Half Blood

Tale 17; The Yugoslavian Who Comforted The American

It was weird having to get adjusted to sleeping in a room with a bunch of other people. Will had been an only child before coming to camp. It had always been him and his mom against the world. Now he had like fifteen older siblings all of the sudden, and Michael said they probably have a lot more than that which they just don't know about yet. It was a disorienting experience, shifting his concept of family from his mom to a small army of brothers and sisters.

He didn't want to be selfish, he knew he should be happy to have such a big, doting family around him. All his siblings were so nice and within a day of him arriving and being claimed they had already started treating him like he'd been part of the fold his entire life. Sometimes the babying could be a little much, but he was the youngest of the cabin now so they were kinda overprotective.

But definitely the strangest part was suddenly sleeping in a room with a bunch of other kids. He had his own room back at his moms house, so the concept of sleeping with fifteen kids in the same cabin was slightly strange to him. And it also made it hard when he had nightmares and suddenly didn't know what to do. All his life he had been plagued by vivid dreams that he couldn't quite remember when he woke up. All he knew was that whenever he did wake up from them he was panicked and terrified, sobbing and hyperventilating.

Usually he'd run to his mom's room and she would let him sleep with her for the rest of the night. But now that he was at camp he didn't know what to do. His siblings had told him that he could wake them up any time if he needed something no matter how small he may think it is. But did they really mean that? I mean he just had a nightmare, it's not as if he was in danger. He doubted any of them would appreciate him dragging them out of their beds in the middle of the night for something so stupid.

Will laid shivering in his bed despite the small pile of blankets he was laying under. Maybe if he just closed his eyes he would be able to get back to sleep by himself. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore the terror filling his mind.

It was no use though, everytime he tried to go back to sleep he was plagued with senseless flashes of violence and blood. Sometimes he almost wished he remembered what he dreamed about, at least then it would make sense. But if the absolute terror he got from the brief images that remained in his mind were anything to go by, he probably didn't want to know.

He really, really, just wanted a hug right now. Maybe he should wake up one of his siblings. Worst comes to worst they'd just be a little annoyed with him, but at least he could have the brief comfort of getting to see and talk to another person. The more he thought about it, the more he knew he needed to talk to someone. If he had to sit here with nothing but his thoughts for the rest of the night he was sure that he would go insane.

Which sibling should he wake up though? Lani and Daemi were the eldest, and Jo was the sweetest. The three of them would all be good options, but someone else came to mind instead. The first sibling he had ever met was Tatiana, and so far she was the sibling that Will liked the most. She was just so cool- she was a really good archer and one of the most talented healers that camp had ever seen according to Lani.

Plus Tatiana was really nice, Will had only known him for a few weeks and yet Tatiana was always ruffling his hair and giving him piggyback rides around camp as if they'd known each other their entire lives. He had to see the girl who allowed him to call her Tanechka or Tatianochka or Tanya.

Quietly, as to not wake Mary who was sleeping in the bunk below his, Will climbed down the ladder and onto the ground with silent steps. tatiana's bunk was next to his so he didn't have to go more than a few feet until he was at the base of the ladder. Tatiana slept on a top bunk as well, but Will didn't really have to worry about waking her bunk mate while climbing up. Michael always slept like the dead, he doubted his older brother would wake even if a siren was going off.

He quickly climbed to the top, already starting to regret the impulsive decision to come up here. He didn't want Tatiana to think he was annoying or something. Maybe he should just go back to his own bed.

"Will?" A groggy voice mumbled, "Will? Are you ok?"

"Sorry for waking you up!" He squeaked in reply, "I- I'll just go back to bed."

"No," Tatiana insisted, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "what's wrong, did something happen?"

The worry on her face only made tears well up in Will's eyes and he sniffled pitifully.

Tatiana cooed, "oh no, what happened Will," she said sympathetically, opening her arms in a clear invitation for Will to come closer.

He took the offer immediately, scurrying over the edge of the bed from where he had been perched on the top of the ladder and collapsing into his sisters arms. Tatiana shifted so that she was wrapping Will in a tight hug, letting him rest his head against her shoulder.

"Did you have a nightmare sunshine?" She asked softly, moving one of her hands so that she could drag it through Will's hair in a comforting motion.

Will nodded against Tanya's shoulders, feeling his lower lip quiver as he tried to hold back tears, "m'sorry to bother you."

Tatiana shushed him, "it's not a problem at all Will, I don't care if you wake me up every single night. As long as it makes you feel better, that's enough for me," she assured him, almost causing Will to burst into tears again.

"Is it okay if I stay with you tonight?" He asked hesitantly, hiding his face in Tatiana's shoulder as he spoke so that his voice came out muffled.

His older sister made a quiet awwing noise, "of course, do you want me to sing you a lullaby or something as well?"

Yes! Will thought internally. That was what his mom used to do whenever he came to sleep in her room after a nightmare. But out loud he said, "I don't want to wake our siblings up."

Tatiana gave him a conspiratory smile, "don't worry I'll be quiet, and most of our siblings are pretty used to music in this cabin. We've all learned to filter it out like background noise, I highly doubt any of them will wake."

In that case, "yes please," Will mumbled bashfully, nodding his head as he spoke.

Tatiana smiled at him softly, ruffling his hair before starting to sing an old nursery rhythm in Ancient Greek. Almost instantly, Will's eyes were closing, making him think there likely was some magic to the song like the hymns they sang to heal injuries.

Will let his eyes close fully with a yawn, feeling himself be lulled back to sleep by the soft sound of his sisters voice and the feeling of a hand brushing gently through his hair.