rhea's locket | solangelo | neko! nico |

The Tension

tw: described sensory overload

"We don't quite know what is happening." Will tells me. Having calmed down significantly since the incident in the bathroom, I'm now sitting on the bed in the infirmary private room, Will and Kayla sitting across from me. "We're trying to figure it out."
Kayla tells me gently.

Since I've managed to calm down, I feel more in tune with my body, and... It's taking a while to adjust. To start with, I'm more sensitive (physically, but also emotionally if my outburst in the bathroom is anything to go by). My skin feels irritated simply by the infirmary gown, which I'm sure isn't actually as itchy and rough as it currently feels. Furthermore, my senses feel heightened, most notably with my improved hearing and the way that the light around me, which I've been assured is fairly dim, hurts my eyes a little.

The strangest development, though, is that I'm experiencing not only extremes of what I'm already accustomed to, but also completely new sensations. Earlier, when I pushed Will over, it was as if I could sense his fear, and even now, it lingers. As strange as it sounds, the best way to explain it is to say I can taste it, like a tangible thing. Is this what people mean when they refer to animals being able to smell fear?

Will continues,
"We haven't even scratched the surface yet, but we can tell already that your senses are heightened, your muscle mass has increased... And, um... Obviously..." He glances at my ears awkwardly.
"You're like a superhero." Kayla says in awe.

I don't feel like a hero, super or otherwise. I feel like an idiot, cursed in the most humiliating and impractical way for attempting to take something which isn't mine.

"On the plus side," Will murmurs, probably reading my emotions from my expression (he's good at that), "we saved Nate thanks to the artefact you got."
"Wh-what? I-" I frown, trying to make of what I'm being told. "I didn't get the artefact. I passed out after just touching it."

"No, you must be remembering wrong." Kayla shakes her head. "Jason and Hazel say you were wearing it when they found you, and they didn't bother taking it off until you got here."

"It must be charmed somehow."
Will informs me. I want to snap at him "no shit, Sherlock, look at me!" but I stay silent. I've hurt him enough. "It really didn't want to part with you." He holds up his hand, and on the palm I see a burn mark in the same shape as the lion on the locket. "It gave me this when I snapped it off your neck. I could take it off normally; the clasp had jammed and it couldn't slip over your head."

I distinctly remember touching it and then collapsing, rather than putting the necklace on then being struck down, but I suppose that, all things considered, my memory isn't that trustworthy. Still, why would I adorn Rhea's necklace?

"Can you tell us anything that you think we might need to know?" Kayla asks. I nod numbly and list the unusual symptoms I'm aware of. She jots them down in a notebook while Will studies me silently.

"Okay, I'm going to go and see if we have any softer clothes and blankets." Kayla tells me.
"Why?"
"Well, you said that the gown is irritating your skin. You must be more sensitive some how, like your nerve endings are hyper-aware."
"Oh, no, no, it's fine." I try to
assure her.

"Stop it." Will snaps, his voice surprisingly harsh.
"Huh?" He just shakes his head tiredly.
"Accept the favour, di Angelo." He growls, before turning to his sister. "Try to find soap and shampoo for sensitive skin, too."
"Good idea." She nods, leaving the room. The door clicks shut behind her softly, plunging Will and I into silence.

After an agonisingly long time, he speaks.
"We've figured out that this isn't contagious, but try not to leave this room. Nobody apart from Hazel, Jason, Kayla and I really know what's going on, and we don't want to unnecessarily alarm anybody. We'll allow any visitors you want to see, though."

He's acting so... professional. I hate it. He's never acted this way around me before...

"I don't want to see anybody." I murmur.
"Not even your sister?" I shake my head. "Nico..." He says softly. "Are you... ashamed?"
"No." I say instinctively, but I know I'm not being truthful. Of course I'm ashamed. I took something I shouldn't have, and now I look like an idiot for it.

Like he can hear my thoughts, Will softly says,
"Hey, that necklace saved a life, and could save countless others. You did a good thing, and anything that comes from that is nothing to be ashamed of."

I keep my gaze fixed on my hands, clasped on my lap, but the traitorous tail I've been cursed with whips about behind me, showing my agitation.

Will sighs, prompting me to flick my eyes up to him for a moment. Running a hand through his hair worriedly, he gets to his feet, then looks at me pensively.
"I'm gonna... Go. Um, see if anybody else needs me."
"Okay." My voice is barely above a whisper.

He all but runs from the room, and I'm left alone with my thoughts. Oh, and with that incessant tail, which is now slashing through the air so hard, I can hear it cracking like a whip.