Christmas with Death Boy: A Solangelo Story

T W O

Will spread the letters out on Nico's bed, revealing the addresses.

"New Rome, Maine, Detroit... They sent us Christmas cards!" said Nico happily, squeezing close to Will as he bent over to open the envelopes.

"Yup! And I brought them to share." Will opened the first, from Piper and Jason. It was about their time scouting for demigods. Another, from Reyna, included a basilisk scale from a slight monster invasion not too long ago. Yet another was a paper airplane from Hedge, Mellie and their baby satyr. But Will and Nico's favorite was from Percy and Annabeth, in their college year in New Rome- and boy, did they have big news.

"It says that they're taking care of Percy's little sister. They rescued her from some monsters six months ago. Her name's Kristen, and she's three." read Nico.

"Aww, cute. " said Will, but he was distracted. Nico was snuggled up so close that the blood was roaring in Will's ears and he knew he was blushing.

"Hey, look, a photo," he said quickly, hoping that his friend hadn't noticed his undoubtedly crimson ears.

The photo was of Percy next to his Christmas tree, holding up a little girl with black hair to the baubles. She was reaching out to the ornaments, transfixed by the glowing lights. They both read the rest with a smile, then split the slightly crushed muffin.

As Will was popping the last bite of baked good into his mouth, he looked around and gasped. "You have made a grave mistake!" he exclaimed, eyeing Nico. He jumped, dropping his section of muffin.

"W-what?" stuttered Nico, which Will found unbearably cute.

"You haven't decorated for Christmas!" Will leaped to his feet and spun around, then stepped over to his friend and poked him in the nose.

"It's almost Christmas Day! It's too late to decorate!" protested Nico.

"Come on, Neek Neek! It's Christmas. Let's have some fun!"

Nico stared at his friend's grinning face for a moment, then smiled slowly.

"Yeah. Let's have some fun, Sunny."

And with that, Will dashed out the door.

Will was in the Hermes cabin, looking for the boxes of stolen Christmas ornaments he knew they had, when a satyr rushed in.
"Will!" he exclaimed, and the identified turned.

"Oh, it's you, Benny. What's up?"

"Two new campers..." huffed the exhausted satyr. Will cocked his head. Two new campers? It was highly unusual for there to be new additions in the middle of winter like this, when most kids were at school or with their families. Demigods had a tendency to unleash their powers in the summer months, when there was nothing to distract them from causing utter destruction. (Or, you know, they accidentally bumped into a monster or something. Either or.)

Either way, the intake of new campers drastically diminished in the winter months. So why would there be two new campers now...?

"They're hurt. They need your help." said Benny, and Will stopped thinking of anything else.

"Take me there." he said.

The pair of teenagers lay on two cots in the infirmary, both trembling from blood loss and fear. Will leaned over and gently placed a hot-water bottle underneath the comforter, and his patient instinctively curled around the heat source. He sighed, running a hand through his scruffy blonde hair.

The door creaked and Will turned to see Nico, now fully dressed and looking agitated. He made a beeline for the son of Apollo and glared at him, twisting the silver ring on his right index finger.

"Damn it, Solace, don't run off like that! You've been gone for an hour and a half." said Nico.

"I didn't leave knowing that I'd have to take care of two wounded demigods! Next time get your lazy butt up and decorate your own cabin." The amount of stress in his voice startled him, and Nico took a hesitant half-step back.

"Sorry, Sunny." apologized the son of Hades. "I've just been... irritable. You know why." He looked over at the pair of demigods. "They don't look too good, do they?"

He was right, they didn't. They were both girls, both torn and bloodied from the hydra attack that had chased them to the camp. One was bone-pale with a head of long, long brown hair so dark it was almost black. She was the more conscious of the two, and her eyelids would occasionally flutter open in an attempt to wake, but she never succeeded. Her body was painfully thin, with a look of starvation that hinted at a long past without a home. She was the younger of the pair, and she looked to be about six or seven- too young for something like this.

The other girl was shorter, and a bit heavier, she probably had a good life before she discovered her talents. She had skin the color of burnished mahogany and strangely pale hair that might have been dyed, but might also be natural. She was the more wounded of the two, and Will's current patient. Her eyes were firmly closed, and she was sleeping like a rock, her breaths shallow and rasping.

Nico leaned over her, placing one skinny hand on her arm. He winced, and awkwardly patted her hand in a futile attempt at sympathy.

"She's dying." murmured the son of Hades, and Will's eyes widened. "Get me some ambrosia and nectar right now," he ordered another infirmary demigod, and she ran off. He turned back to watch Nico examine the other girl.

The moment he touched her, her eyes shot open, and her hand grabbed up to latch onto Nico's arm. The boy jumped in surprise and tried to detach himself, but she was clinging desperately to him now, her eyes wild and frenzied.

"Whoa!" cried Will, and pried her trembling fingers off of his friend. "Calm down, calm down! It's okay! We're friends!"

The girl calmed, slowly, her breathing getting steadier and the look of panic dissapearing. She leaned over, clasping her arms around her stomach, staring at the bedspread like she had never seen anything like it. Will knew that look. The demigod was in shock.

"Listen, have some of this," said Will gently, taking the square of ambrosia that Nico passed him. He sat next to her and comfortingly rested a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the pain he naturally felt from her, and offered her the godly food. She took a glance at it and violently grabbed it from him, stuffing the whole square in her mouth and licking her fingers ravenously.

"Okay, what's your name?" he asked patiently. She looked up, but not at him.

She was staring at Nico.

The girl raised her hand, cocking her head as she pointed at the boy, her fingers trembling.

"...Nico?"

The boy's eyes widened, and he took a step back, shock running through his skinny form.

"Bianca?"