He Cried Ichor

SIRIUS

I

Sirius, Regulus, and Hagrid were smiling like madmen by the sight of the camp. Well— Hagrid was jumping up and down, practically rolling on the floor, whilst Sirius winced in pain, but managed a smile as he readjusted the sleeping body of Regulus on his back. The older one seemed to have a few fractured ribs but nothing fatal. 

Despite being unable to see through the Mist entirely, Sirius knew that they were only moments away from relief. Just an hour more, and then they would be okay. They would get to sleep undisrupted, eat knowing that they would get to eat again the next day, and breathe without checking their surroundings for monsters.

Up until now, the list of creatures they had encountered in the past six days was longer than any letter Sirius had written in his fourteen years of living. He couldn’t be bothered to remember their names besides the few that haunt him and will continue to do so for a while. The dracaenae were first on his list. Something that confusing shouldn’t have been allowed to exist within any universe, really. From what Sirius could remember (which, mind you, was a bunch of flashing images that made no sense, and the smell of monster blood), these creatures had the most luscious hair, the most alluring eyes, and most beautiful faces. However, that didn’t change the fact that they had dragon body parts starting from their lower waist. Their upper-body beauty, upsettingly, did not affect their deathly attempts at clawing his eyes out.

Then, there was the K-something-metallic-bull. Sirius could not remember its name, but he sure as hell remembered its unforgiving roars and the steam that arose from it each time he unleashed fire on him. 

He was sure that some of these fights would be reenacted in his nightmares of the following months, but that was alright. Really, he would be willing to have nightmares for eternity if it meant that he got to sleep in a comfortable bed.

“So,” Hagrid said excitedly as he started to kick off his shoes to reveal hooves beneath them. “ ‘Ya must be dyin’ to get a good night’s rest, yeah?” 

Sirius nodded. He really might’ve been dying at this point. 

“Yeah lad, I’m with ya’. This is some big journey it’s been. For the gods’ sake, where are all them monsters comin’ from? Never in my fifteen years of workin’ have I seen so many of these at once, I’ll tell ya’ that!” 

The shorter tried to retort, but essentially just groaned and bit his tongue because of the stabbing pain in his lower ribs. 

Immediately Hagrid paled and started fretting. “Sirius, mate, you’ve gotta stop bein’ so stubborn. Lemme take Regulus-” 

“ No ,” Sirius answered harshly. His voice came out deeper and louder than he had expected it to, and for a second, all sound of water currents that wandered through the forest stopped. Hagrid flinched and took a step back.

Sirius cleared his throat before he excused himself. “Oh, no. Sorry about that, pardon me. I didn’t mean to do… well— that . Reggie might flip out if he wakes up and I’m not the one carrying him, that’s it.”

Regulus stirred for a moment, before burying his face deeper onto his older brother’s shoulder and made an uncontent noise, as if Sirius’s ‘no’ had gotten in the way of his beauty sleep. The older rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his lips.

Hagrid seemed tense for a while as they carried on through the woods. Because of this, Sirius tensed also. “Monster?” he asked.

Please say no.

“Ya’, a big one too…” replied the satyr.

The black haired boy wanted to punch himself for believing that they could have made it to the camp with no other unwanted guests. 

Just as he had started to gently wake Regulus, he heard a distant voice in his head. 

“My, my… How rude of us, welcome to our Camp!”

He stilled, his eyes shot wide open. The voice belonged to a woman— no, a girl. There was something inhumanly sinister about it. 

He didn’t know much about this Camp Half-Blood, but he thought that anyone that could see through the Mist here, could understand that whatever that voice was, did not belong within the camp borders. 

Regulus had started to peel himself off Sirius’s back when Hagrid slowly reached for a stick on the ground. 

“What’s going on?” Regulus warily asked.

No one answered.

He turned to tug at his brother’s leather bomber jacket. “Siri? Is it them again?” 

Sirius swallowed dry as he nodded. 

He wanted to break down wailing at the sight of an exhausted Regulus, who had gone pale with tears threatening to spill.

Their latest encounter with these creatures had been rough on all of them, but Regulus was the most shaken between the three of them. 

The monster was an awfully dedicated dracaenae. Hagrid was passed out across the roof of the building they were on. Snakes were slowly sneaking around him, possibly trying to decide who would get to feast on the satyr.

The half-woman, half-dragon creature had Sirius pinned. Her claw-like hands positioned themselves on his jaw and skull. She smiled like a maniac as she started tearing his face apart. Sirius could have sworn he had never experienced pain like that. He felt the flesh of his face first stretch, and then start to rip. 

If a small, bronze dagger hadn’t revealed itself between the monster’s eyes, and her body hadn’t suddenly gone stiff, before starting to crumble to dust and get blown away by wind, Sirius was sure he wouldn’t have lived to see another day. 

“Wha—” was all he managed before a blood curdling wail ripped from Regulus.

At that moment, Sirius realized that the dagger had belonged to Regulus. His darling little brother had killed a monster for the first time. Not only that, he had put a dagger through her skull. 

That was approximately sixteen hours ago, and they had managed to avoid the devil spawns ever since then.

Up until now, that was. The voice in his head spoke again.

“You’ve brought friends to play with, Hero. If I knew, I would have called upon my own… In Fact, I shall do that now!”

The hairs on Sirius’s neck rose. Judging by their lack of reaction, Regulus and Hagrid were immune to the voice. Still, Hagrid had never looked so unprepared or scared. 

The older took in a deep breath as he forced a smile onto his lips. All he could think was ‘for Reggie’ . He ruffled his younger brother’s hair. “Hey Reggie. Do me a favor, hold onto Hagrid and do not let go of him until I come back. Can you do that for me?”

Hagrid must’ve heard, and clearly he must’ve understood, because he suddenly turned to the two brothers ready to protest. However, Regulus had beat him to it. “Not without you,” he insisted. 

Hagrid nodded.

As much as Sirius wanted to run away with them, he knew that the monsters would get to all three of them that way. If the creatures were too occupied with him, they might not chase after Regulus.

Sirius pulled Regulus to his chest. He mouthed an ‘I love you’ no one would ever know about, not even Regulus, before he broke away and looked at Hagrid. He didn’t need to speak for the satyr to understand that Sirius was not asking, no, he was begging. Or ordering, whatever it was that he needed to do in order to make sure his little brother would be safe.

Tears welled in Hagrid’s eyes, but ultimately, he held onto Regulus’s arm as he pulled him somewhere deep within the forest.

The last glimpse Sirius got of his brother was him thrashing around in Hagrid’s grasp.

“That’s not nice, Hero. You mustn’t be so greedy and keep us all to yourself! Sharing is caring, that’s what you mortals say, right?”

She giggled. The sound made a chill run down Sirius’s spine. 

He reached into his cross-body bag and rummaged inside of it to find the celestial bronze daggers that Hagrid had provided for him and Regulus. He held one in each hand. 

When the voice spoke again, it was clearer and louder. 

“We want to play, Sirius. What would you like to play?”

Sirius did not answer. He was too preoccupied trying to figure out what creature this could have been. He had a fairly expanded amount of knowledge when it came to Greek mythology. 

“You’re rude. You remind me of that one Son of Ares. He dared insult us, as you are doing now…”

“He must be lovely, then,” the black haired boy finally gave in and answered. 

He could feel that he had angered the creatures he was opposed to, just by the sudden movement of the grass beneath him. Every single flower he looked at crumbled into ashes. The grass turned yellow.

He tightened his grip around the daggers. He positioned himself in a way that would allow him to pounce in any direction when he needed to. His eyes narrowed as everything slowed down. He searched every corner of the forest as thoroughly as he could without moving from his spot. 

“Is that so? Hm… Brothers, what do you think?”

Another voice chimed it, and Sirius felt his brain getting crowded. “ If he thinks so highly of the Son of the god of War, then maybe we shall arrange a meeting for them, ” the male voice said sinisterly. This one was deep. Deeper than any voice Sirius had ever heard.

A third voice added to the second’s suggestion. “You’re right. They’ll have tons of fun in the Underworld, I’m sure,” the second brother said. They all giggled. 

The third presence in Sirius’s brain seemed to be his breaking point, because every creature that habited the forest must have heard him shout. “Oh fuck’s sake! It’s rude to invade people’s brains, you know?! I mean really, can’t a boy just keep his brain to himself?! Please!”

Perhaps he shouldn’t have said that, because the answer he got came from behind him, somewhere within the forest. Somewhere close. It was the female one again. “Oh? Alrighty then! I must say, I also prefer talking face to face. Helps capture the fear of my victims better,” she said with a dreamy tone. She must have been daydreaming about sucking the joy out of Sirius. 

Sweat trickled down his face. 

Now, yeah, alright, maybe this situation wouldn’t have been a total death sentence if it was anyone but Sirius. He had always been too overconfident. All he could think about was the time he threatened three cops with a knife. All three of them had guns. As expected, he got arrested. He had to wait for his mother to bail him out, and then proceeded to get the shit beaten out of him t home. 

This was kind of the same, because he was about to blindly insult three demonic creatures that had eons of experience over his mere thirteen years of living. 

He still managed a weak smirk. “Fear? Do you actually think I’m afraid of you?” Sirius mocked. Of course he was, but he would rather die than admit it. 

He heard all three creatures sneer at once. He also felt them closing in on him, slowly but surely. He continued to tempt them. “I don’t do ‘fear’,”

A tree branch snapped above him. One of the three monsters had launched itself on him. It had a face that was made of shiny metal, perhaps even silver. It shone brightly. The rest of its body was unknown to Sirius, because it wore a long, black gown. It had its hood up too. The monster was the size of your average adult mortal.

Sirius’s survival instincts kicked in. He rolled over to the left as he avoided getting crushed. He wasted no time launching himself on top of the monster when it landed face first. He fixed one dagger between his teeth, using the one in his dominant hand to stab the back of the creature’s skull. His free hand was on the monster’s nape, holding it as still as possible. 

He continuously reinserted the dagger until the body beneath him turned to dust. Expect, it never did. It went limp, and blood oozed out from the wound, but its body didn’t disintegrate. 

It weirded him out, sure, but he wasn’t out to kill. He just needed to survive, and there were at least two more of this out to get him. 

He carefully lifted himself off of the blood stained body on the ground and grabbed the dagger he had previously placed in his mouth. 

“Well, come on out! I’ll go easy on you guys, really,” Sirius called out.

He warily snuck away from the body on the ground, afraid that it might revive itself and ambush him the moment he least expected it. As much as he hated to admit it, it was possible that the creature had tricked him into believing it died, just to smash his skull with more ease. 

He heard growling from a tree to his right. “You hurt him,” it said. It was the second voice he had heard. It sounded enraged, as if Sirius had robbed him of life’s meaning. 

He could hear movement all around him. Behind the tree trunks, and in the branches. “Don’t be such a pussy!” he yelled. He needed to know where they were. He wasn’t sure that he could dodge another surprise attack.

Fortunately he didn’t need to. The monster had taken Sirius’s call to heart, apparently. It appeared a step away from the young hero’s face in the blink of an eye. 

Unfortunately, Sirius had a feeling he had fucked up. Unlike the previous one, this monster was visibly jacked. The enormous gown fit tightly around his chest, biceps, and shoulders. He was also much taller. 

Sirius blinked with wide eyes. “Oh. Hi, uhm, sir. You look very—”

The monster roared. Sirius stumbled onto the ground, afraid of the sound. His grip on the daggers had loosened despite his best efforts to keep it together. 

“No one hurts Avery like that,” he spat. He took a step towards Sirius.

Sirius crawled backwards. “Ah but see, if I knew that that was Avery, I would have acted differently. I would have numbed his nerves with a Swedish massage and then stabbed him!” he said. 

The monster took an especially grand step and absolutely crushed Sirius’s left leg in the process. The smaller winced in pain as he bit his tongue to keep from bursting into tears.

So maybe Greek monsters did not appreciate humor. 

“You Heroes are all the same, spoiled rubbish. All you do is inflict damage,” he started before carrying on with his speech.

However, Sirius wasn’t listening. On top of the almost paralyzing pain in his leg, he was painfully aware that he was in desperate need of a plan. He thought of cutting the monster’s foot off, and pouncing on him when he hopefully lost his balance. But it was too risky. 

The monster managed to pull Sirius back to reality when the heel of its shoe started to dig deeper into his leg, which was definitely crushed by now. The boy on the floor blinked with a blank expression as a new sight appeared before him. 

Next to Boy Monster One, was Girl Monster (he had named them, just for the fuck of it). 

Seeing the two together, an uneasy feeling settled at the back of his throat. Despite the fact that one of them looked stronger, it was clear who was the one to fear. The Girl Monster was the most terrifying thing ever. 

“I don’t like it when people hurt my friends, Sirius Black,” she said. 

Without meaning to, Sirius nodded. His head felt like it was on the verge of exploding, and he had no control over his own body.

“That made me and Mulciber here really sad, you know?” 

Sirius felt his lips part against his will. “I’m sorry,” he said. Instantly, he bit his tongue. He hadn’t meant it.

An eerie, silver smile appeared on the Girl Monster’s metallic lips. “Well, all’s forgiven here. Isn’t that right, Mulciber?” she asked and turned to look at the taller. 

Boy Monster One (Mulciber, apparently) looked just as shaken as Sirius. He looked as if he was ready to whimper and start sobbing any second now. He nodded. 

Girl Monster smiled contentedly this time. She kneeled beside Sirius and started playing with a lock of his hair. Up close, Sirius could see that every feature on her face was fluid, like real flesh. She had a beautiful face. Her eyelashes were long and curled, her eyes seemed to have no iris, her lips were plump. If she had been human, Sirius might have called her gorgeous. 

She spoke again, her tone laced with honey. “You know, you could always come home with us, we don’t bite—”. She halted when an arrow flew towards her. It whistled through the air with deadly precision. It struck the edge of her hood, lifting it clean off her head. The fabric fluttered away, revealing the monster’s black braided hair. Her head snapped towards where the arrow had come from, and Mulciber shifted off of Sirius’s leg to protect her.

Never willing to miss an opportunity, Sirius got to his feet. He limped away from the pair of silver masked monsters. Before he could settle on a direction to run towards, a new voice broke through the silence of the forest. “Dorcas, leave. You’re no longer welcome at Camp,” spoke the bored voice of a boy. Then, two people, half-bloods probably, appeared from behind the tree trunks. They looked to be S irius’s age.

“Last I checked, you’re ruler of no land, Remus. You don’t get to tell me where I can and can not be,” hissed Dorcas.

The taller out of the two boys who appeared scoffed as claws materialized around his left hand. That must’ve been Remus. Sirius stared in awe. 

The second boy raised a bow as an arrow appeared in his hand out of nowhere. 

Mulciber growled. 

The boy with the bow spoke. “Sirius, right? I’m James. Your brother’s alright. He’s waiting for you inside Camp. You should start heading towards— wait, watch out!”

Sirius did not have time to appreciate the fact that Regulus was okay, because Mulciber had decided to attack him again. This time, he had a sword. He had a fucking sword. Mulciber’s sword swung towards Sirius, ready to decapitate him in one swift movement. He ducked beneath the sword’s range and wasted no time stabbing a dagger to each of the monster’s feet.

As Mulciber roared in agony and fury, Sirius saw an arrow fly through the air towards Dorcas. The girl dodged it with ease. “Don’t go easy on me now James! I know you can do better, unless you’re rusty!”

Sirius couldn’t follow through with the rest of their fight, because Mulciber was back at trying to make him into smoked ham. His sword was positioned right above the black haired boy’s head. He brought down his sword with speed, and force. Sirius rolled to the left, but that didn’t appear to suffice, as he found himself in the same situation a few seconds later. 

 “Black! Stay still, James will get him!” Remus screamed. 

Sirius ignored him. James could have been the embodiment of trust, hell, he could have been the god of good aim, and Sirius still wouldn’t have gambled his life into James’s hands. Instead of staying put, he continued to dodge. 

He heard someone fall. Remus screamed at him again. “I told you to not move, moron!”

But Sirius wasn’t listening. The next time it was time to dodge, he rolled significantly less so when Mulciber’s sword hit the soil, next to Sirius’s head, he slid towards taller’s feet and reclaimed his daggers. He slid between the monster’s legs and wasted no time before standing up again, behind Mulciber. Before he could turn around, Sirius stabbed one dagger where his spleen was located, and another towards his lower spine. 

Instantly, Mulciber’s knees buckled and he fell forward. 

Mulciber’s fall gave Sirius the briefest of respites, but Dorcas was still a threat, and from the sounds of the ongoing battle behind him, she was holding her own against both James and Remus.

When he spun around, the scenery he was met with was… unexpected. James was in a tree, sending arrows all around. Remus kept clawing at seemingly nothing, because Dorcas was extremely skilled at avoiding him.

Dorcas laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the trees. 

James notched another arrow, his eyes fixed on Dorcas. “Just leave. Stop trying to recruit every hero that swings by, yeah?,” he muttered, releasing the arrow with precision.

Dorcas dodged it again, but just barely. Her movements were starting to get sloppy, and Sirius could see a flicker of frustration in her silver eyes. “You are   getting rusty, James,” she spat, but the bravado in her voice was fading.

Remus took advantage of her distraction, lunging at her with his claws again. He managed to graze her arm, and Dorcas hissed in pain but ultimately got away.

Sirius, despite his exhaustion and the throbbing pain in his leg, felt a surge of determination. He charged towards Dorcas, daggers in hand.

“No, stay back!” Remus shouted, his voice filled with anger as he caught a glimpse of the approaching boy. “This is our fight, Black! You’ll just get in the way!”

But Sirius didn’t listen. Dorcas was too slow to react when a dagger impaled into her upper thigh. She howled in pain, her silver eyes blazing with fury. For a funny moment, Sirius imagined that she would start melting if she got angrier.

“You rat!” she screeched, lashing out with her claws. Sirius ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding her attack. He came up behind her, striking at her back with both daggers. Her shoulder blades were profusely gushing blood.

Dorcas stumbled, her movements growing more frantic and less coordinated. Her breaths came in as ragged gasps. Sirius pressed the advantage, striking again and again. 

Unfortunately for Dorcas, Sirius could not stop even if he wanted to. His body could not stop. So, yeah, maybe he was out to kill. 

James fired another arrow, this one catching Dorcas in the shoulder and pinning her to a tree. She screamed, thrashing against the restraint, but Sirius was already moving in for yet another blow. He lunged forward, driving his dagger into her chest with all his strength. And he continued. Again and again, in and out. 

Dorcas’s eyes widened in shock and pain. For a moment, everything was still. Then, she slumped against the tree, unconscious.

Sirius did not stop. 

Remus had to pull him off of her for him to cease. His hands were trembling, and blood stained. He staggered back, panting heavily. He looked over at James, who had made it down the tree, and Remus, who were watching him with mixed expressions, mostly caution.

“It’s okay,” James said, reaching a hand out to Sirius. “You held your own, but it’s over. How about you hand over the daggers,” he spoke gently as he warily approached the trembling boy.  

Remus, however, was fuming. “What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped, glaring at Sirius. “You could’ve gotten us killed!”

“Remus, this is not the time—” James cut in, but Remus’s words seemed to have broken Sirius out of the trance-like state he had entered.

He bristled at the criticism, his exhaustion giving way to anger. “What was I thinking? I was thinking that if I didn’t do something, you’d both be dead right now! You were struggling with her, and I took the chance!”

Remus’s eyes flashed. “Struggling?!” he barked as he took a stride towards Sirius, who did the same. We had it under control until you decided that you know better than me! You don’t know what you’re dealing with, Black. This isn’t some playground fight where you can just rush in and save the day.”

Sirius clenched his fists. “If it hadn’t been for me, you’d be the one pinned to a tree right now! Be grateful, not a jerk,”

James quickly stepped between them, holding up his hands to keep them apart. “Enough, both of you! This isn’t helping anyone. Don’t tear each other apart until we get back to camp and report… her , to Chiron..”

Remus glared at Sirius for a moment longer before turning away, his shoulders tense. “Just stay out of my way next time,” he muttered.

Sirius shook his head, his anger simmering just below the surface. “And what makes you so great that I’d have to listen to you?”

James sighed, looking between the two of them. “We’ll sort this out later. Right now, we need to get back to camp,” he said and turned to Sirius. “Your brother’s waiting for you.”

Sirius nodded, a great deal of the tension seeping out of his shoulders at the mention of Regulus. “Right. Let’s go.”

As they made their way back to camp, they would stop every few minutes so that Sirius could catch his breath and try to manage the excruciating pain he was in. Between the fractured ribs and the crushed leg, he wasn’t doing too well. The blood that stained his hands, face, and clothes did not help. 

The tension between Sirius and Remus was palpable. He glanced at Remus, who was walking a few paces ahead, still looking wary. His claws were gone. Now that he had the opportunity to dissect the brunette’s features, he begrudgingly realized that Remus was good looking, handsome even. He had scars that were scattered throughout every visible surface of his body. His hair was well kept and wavy. He was tall, taller than James and even taller than Sirius himself.

Sirius turned to James, who was walking by his side, cleaning the blood off of Sirius’s daggers. He also had brown hair, but it was a darker color compared to Remus’s. He had tanned skin, glasses, and a gentle smile on his lips. He had a few scars on his arms, but they were almost entirely faded. Besides one, that was; a sharp cut on his upper arm. It was painful to look at. 

After approximately forty minutes of on and off walking, they arrived at camp. It was a huge field blocked off from the forest by a lake that circled all around it. On the field were ancient Greek architecture. It reminded him of all the ruins exposed in museums, if they were intact and untouched. There were also training fields, horses— no, pegasi, running around the place along with the campers. 

“How do we get over the lake?” Sirius asked. 

James flashed him a mischievous grin. “Well, some people swim. But, those people are stupid. If you look over here,” he said as he walked towards a small wooden cabin that Sirius could have sworn wasn’t there moments prior. He opened the door, to reveal five motorcycles within it. 

Sirius blinked. “Motorcycles?”

Remus went inside of the cabin to grab one. He pulled it out of the wooden cabin before settling on it. With one swift movement of his wrist, he was up in the air.

The black haired boy stared in awe. “Flying motorcycles?! Sick!”

James grinned, as he dragged two more motorcycles out. 

Sirius went first. As he glided over the lake, his pain seemed to wash away. He could have sworn it was the single most freeing thing he had ever experienced. 

When they finally crossed the threshold into the camp, the motorcycles evaporated immediately after landing. They were greeted by a man in a wheelchair, who looked them over with a critical eye. He had a blanket covering his legs. 

“You’ve had quite the encounter,” the man said to them, his tone serious and troubled. “Sirius Black, right?” he asked as he turned to the black haired boy. 

“That’s me. Where’s Regulus?” Sirius retorted. It came out harsher than he had intended. 

Remus scoffed. “Watch your mouth, Black,” he threatened.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the shorter queried.

The man on the wheelchair spoke again before Sirius and Remus got physical. “Regulus is resting in the infirmary, which James will show you the way to. We shall talk more when you are well. Remus, come with me please.” Remus did not care to spare Sirius another glance before following the old man.

Sirius hated that he was in no condition to protest, or to at least be cautious of his surroundings. He was simply too exhausted. Later, he would realize that he hadn’t even asked for the old man’s name.

He and James walked in a comfortable silence. The infirmary was one of the most beautiful buildings Sirius had seen. He would even go as far as to say that he was blessed to see such a sight.

“Hey, look, I have to go take care of a few things. You and Regulus are both going to be spending the night here, but I’ll see you in the morning,” James explained with a gentle smile across his lips. Sirius simply nodded before he watched the brunette walk away.

Sirius entered the building. He glanced around, spotting Regulus waiting anxiously on one of the six beds in the building. His brother’s face lit up with relief when he saw Sirius, and he ran over, pulling him into a tight hug that lasted for only a second. Sirius winced. It was easy to miss that it had even happened. 

“Fuck, tu m’as fait trop peur, Sirius. Ne m’abandonne jamais encore comme ça!” Regulus exclaimed, his voice trembling. 

Sirius gave him that sheepish smile he always did before gently ruffling his hair, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. “I’m okay, Reggie. We’re fine.”

The younger one eyed him suspiciously. “That’s what you said when we left home,” he said, his voice broken.

“That’s not home, not anymore. And I’m sorry, I was wrong. But I’m sure this time.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Regulus smiled and Sirius decided that it was all worth it. He would have his leg crushed again if it meant that his little brother would continue to smile so brightly, even when he was in such a dark place in his life. Even when he was haunted by the shadows that were his memories. 

Sirius did not dare point it out, but Regulus had an awful lot of bandages. He had a few cuts on his face, which had been tended to carefully and neatly. He must have sprained his wrist because it was wrapped in bandages also.

Suddenly, a girl’s voice came from where Regulus had been sitting. Sirius had not noticed her. “Hi love, can you sit down on one of the beds so I can do something for your leg?” she asked. “My name’s Mary by the way. Mary MacDonald.”

Sirius did not need to be asked twice. He was in a great amount of pain, and adrenaline could only help him so much. Regulus helped him to the bed opposite of his own. The older hissed as his back hit the bed. His ribs might’ve been broken and not just fractured after all. Regulus asked him if he should stand by, but Sirius refused. He told the younger one to go rest on his bed. Regulus did not protest as he was clearly in need of proper sleep. 

Mary approached Sirius with a bowl of unfamiliar food in her hand. 

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Ah, it’s called nectar. It’s god food, it’ll help,” she explained. 

He looked judgmental of the dish's capability of helping him heal, but he started eating anyway. Immediately, he was overwhelmed with an incredible sweetness. He couldn’t really put it to words, but it tasted like everything good and better. His eyes grew wide in shock as he turned to look at Mary, who already had a knowing look in her eyes. “Good stuff, isn't it?” she asked.

Sirius tried to tell her ‘this is so fucking good’, but it came out more as a ‘mhis sh so fwashin ammazin’ because of all the food in his mouth. She giggled and the sound reached her eyes. 

Now that he was up close to her, with (actual) divine food in his system, he could see that she too was good looking. She had extremely curly black hair that was long enough to reach her chest’s level, parted into two sections: half-up, half-down. She had dark skin that complimented her brown eyes. She wore the same bright orange shirt everyone else did, paired with a pair of baggy capri jeans. Her laugh warmed him. 

She rummaged through a drawer to grab a few supplies. 

“Do we have to wear those shirts?” he joked, but it was not really a joke. 

She started cutting his jeans to start working on it as she answered him. “Hm? Oh, the camp shirts? Yeah, but don’t worry they grow on you after a while.”

Sirius dug his hands a little into the mattress beneath him, the pain was tolerable thanks to the nectar, but it still hurt. 

“I’m sorry,” muttered Mary each time she saw Sirius cringe in pain. “Good news is, you’ll be back to walking normally in two to four days,” she announced. 

Sirius frowned. “How? I think I might’ve broken a bone or two,” he said.

“Well yeah, which is why you’re lucky to be in a camp full of demigods. If you know a little about Greek gods, you should know that some of them have healing powers—”

“Your father’s Apollo?”

“Oh so you’re a full blown nerd then,” Mary joked as she placed her hands on his mutilated leg. 

Sirius chuckled lightly as a warming sensation oozed across his leg, then his entire body. When he dared look at his leg, he saw that Mary’s hands were glowing yellow. She was biting her lower lip, her eyes narrowed. She seemed concentrated, so Sirius did not dare blow her focus by asking incredulous  questions about, well, this life.

When she finally pulled back a minute later, Sirius could already feel that his bones had been mended. 

“Anything else you want me to take a look at besides the superficial scarring darling?” she questioned.

He took off his leather jacket as he pulled the hem of his shirt uhm, showing her his bruised ribs. It looked worse than the last time he had checked. “It started hurting two days ago, but it’s been getting worse.”

Mary pursed her lips into a thin line. “Alright. Well, a few broken ribs never killed a demigod,” she told him optimistically. She started tending to his ribs the same way she had to his legs. 

They did not talk for the entirety of that process. It lasted a little longer than his leg, but Sirius felt that he could breathe without feeling a stabbing pain each time he did. 

As Mary started to manually stitch and bandage his wounds, they made small talk. Talking about what the average day at Camp looks like, the cabin systems, etc…

And when the topic finally came to the other campers, there were only two people Sirius was really eager to discuss. 

“What’s Remus’s problem? Is he always such an egotistical jackass that bosses people around?” He asked, his voice laced with anger. 

Mary took her time before answering. “Remus has it rough. He’s been at Camp since he was seven I’m pretty sure. And yeah, he gets a little bossy, but it’s literally in his nature. His mom is Athena, so battle strategy and smarts is his thing,” she explained. 

He didn’t really have an answer to that. Alright, so maybe Remus had a reasonable explanation for his behavior during battle, but he still did not have the right to scream at Sirius like that after he managed to knock out their opponent. 

“And James?” he asked. It was evident from his voice that he was much more interested. 

And this time, Mary answered more sincerely, and seemed to be much more at ease. “James is also an Apollo kid, which makes so much sense. He’s a summer camper and he’s been coming to camp since he was 11. People really love him, but to me, he’s the most annoying brother ever ,” she said. She was smiling from ear to ear as she spoke about him however, so Sirius knew that she didn't really mean that. “He knows his way around bows and arrows, but can’t even heal a simple fever. That’s why we usually team up when we train in groups. He basically destroys everyone whilst I make sure that he doesn’t bleed to death because he received a dagger to his neck.”

They continued to chat like that for a little longer before Mary informed him that she had to leave, but would be back in the morning with Chiron (who names their child Chiron?) to show them around camp. Sirius did not protest: he was more than ready to drift into sleep, like Regulus had. 

Sleep came easy, but so did the nightmares. He did not need to remember what he had dreamed of to wake up with a start multiple times throughout the night. Each time he awoke, he made sure that Regulus was still there, that he was still alright. 

Sirius stopped counting the amount of times he woke up that night around the fifth time. He stopped trying to go back to sleep when he saw the first rays of sunshine seeping into the infirmary through the window. He gently lifted himself off his bed. That’s when he noticed two fresh sets of clothes on the bed next to Regulus. He walked over to the bed as quietly as possible, careful not to wake up the sleeping boy. 

There were two piles of neatly folded clothes and each one had a little piece of parchment on top of it. One of them read ‘For Regulus, from Remus’ (Sirius had to strain his eyes to read it because of the hand writing). He raised a brow, confused. That’s  odd, I didn’t think that guy had it in him to be thoughtful, he thought to himself.

He turned to look at the other note which read ‘For Sirius, from James. PS: you can change in the bathrooms for now, I’ll be by the huge rock next to the lake’. Sirius smiled to himself. He picked up the pile that consisted of the bright orange camp shirts, dark blue baggy jeans, and a sweater that awfully resembled a grandpa sweater. He spotted the showers within the infirmary. He felt a sense of lightness wash over him as he scrubbed away at the dry blood that painted his body. He was not too surprised to find the clothes fit him perfectly.

At first, he debated whether it was a good idea to leave Regulus alone or not, but he was reminded of every time Regulus had berated him for treating him like he was a toddler. He slipped out of the building silently. 

Walking through the camp-site, watching the nymphs and the birds fly between the trees, Sirius sensed that he was going to enjoy it here. Away from Grimmauld Place, away from his insane mother.

He spotted the rock James had been talking about in a matter of seconds. It was so grand that he guessed you could see the entirety of the camp from atop. He walked towards it at a leisurely pace. The further he approached it, the more he could make out the silhouette of a boy sitting on the rock. It was, no questions asked, James. 

Sirius found that for such a steep-looking rock, it was rather easy to climb it. He sat next to the brunette when he reached the top. He joined James as they watched the beautiful scenery of the sun rising behind the forest ahead. 

“I knew you couldn’t keep still until morning,” James said with a chuckle, still not looking at the black haired boy. 

Sirius turned to him, before he too turned away. “What can I say? I’m a child of the night,” he joked back.

“Unless I am mistaken, Artemis is still a virgin,”

“You know what I meant, James. You’re not funny,”

“I beg to differ,”

Sirius chuckled. He pulled his knees to himself, resting his chin on them and wrapping his arms around his legs. “It’s awfully quiet here,” he muttered.

James shrugged. “Not really, it’s only like this in the mornings. It’s still my favorite part of the day, though,” he said, barely above a whisper.

It was silent between the two for a moment before the brunette spoke again, this time turning to look at Sirius. “I was talking to Mary the other night. She said you were, and I quote, ‘such a darling’.”

Sirius giggled, still looking out towards the horizon. “Ha, I wish. But she just might be the sweetest soul, like, ever,”

The brunette rolled his eyes playfully. “Yeah, something like that.”

Sirius rolled up the sleeves of his sweater, for it was getting warmer by the second. James couldn’t help but stare at his arms which were marred by scars, some old, some new. 

“Where’s you get those?” he queried, nodding towards the shorter’s arms. 

Sirius turned his face away from James completely before he inhaled sharply. “Just… monsters.”

James’s expression softened, because he had a feeling that the kind of monsters Sirius was talking about were not mythical creatures.

This led to another elongated silence. 

“How did you learn that you were, uhm, a half-blood?” Sirius asked as he turned to face the brunette. 

James looked a little taken aback by this. “Oh gods, it’s such a lame story. You don’t want to hear it, it takes away all my charm,” he said with a warm, humourful smile. 

“Try me,” the shorter one urged. 

The brunette gave him a look that was humorous, before laughing. “Mhm, well, you asked for it. If it doesn’t please your angsty standards, I apologize in advance—”

“Oi! What makes you think I’m angsty? ” Sirius shot back, but he was being playful. James could just tell he meant no harm. 

“Oh please , you’re in a camp full of children with at least one absent parent. Some of the stories I’ve heard here are… And you just have that vibe anyways,”

“You’re awfully rude, you know, that?” 

“You might be the first person ever to tell me that,”

“Well someone’s got to put you in your place, sunshine,”

James blanked at the pet name. “Oh? Is that so, love? You can’t be going around calling me that, I just might blush,” 

The two burst into laughter. 

Sirius did not care about the pain that shot through his chest, he was simply incapable of stopping. James was continuously wiping tears from his eyes as he wheezed. 

When they finally settled down, James turned towards the horizon once again, and started speaking so softly, Sirius would have missed it if their surroundings hadn’t been stranded of sound. 

“Well, I first came here the year I turned 10. Up until that summer, I had a very casual life. I wasn’t spectacular when it came to classes, because of the dyslexia—”

“You’re dyslexic?”

“You’re not? That’s… lucky, and kind of odd. Most half-bloods’ brains aren’t wired to learn English, instead it’s easier for us to speak ancient Greek, and Latin. Some also have ADHD, which is the term normal mortals use to define what actually is our battle reflexes,” The brunette explained. Sirius nodded. 

“Anyways, as I said, I had the single most casual childhood. My ma married my step-dad when I was maybe four. Well— I call him dad, because he’s no different than an actual dad for me. The first day of my summer break that year, he and my ma sat me down and… well it was an intriguing conversation for sure. An hour later, I was in a car with my parents, and Hagrid, driving to New Forest.

“I only come here during summers, usually. But Chiron says I should stay this year. It’s getting kind of rough out there for half-bloods. They’ve been overworking Hagrid and all the other satyrs. I came back early this year, on my birthday actually.”

Sirius must’ve looked a little underwhelmed, because James flashed him a knowing grin. “Told you it’s not angsty,”

The shorter answered with a sheepish smile. “Yeah, well, I didn’t know life could be so mundane. And also, Chiron? Like the centaur Chiron?”

James nodded. “Yeah, he’s been the camp activities director for centuries now. You actually met him yesterday, though I don’t know if you realized who he was,”

“Uh, no I didn’t? I’m pretty sure I would have noticed a half-man, half-horse person if I saw one.”

“Even if he was in a wheelchair?”

“Yes, even if— wait, huh ?” Sirius blanked. “A centaur, in a wheelchair..? Yeah, that’s mental.”

James giggled. “Right, and learning you were a demigod wasn’t?”

The brunette immediately seemed to regret saying that, because Sirius paled a little. “Yeah. You’re right. It was a shock…” he muttered. 

Once again, James didn’t push it. 

They continued to sit in silence before they were disrupted by the familiar voice of a girl who they both recognised as Mary. “Hey lovelies! Can I grab you both for a second? It’s almost morning and Chiron will want to talk to you guys.”

Sirius started climbing down the rock, and James followed. “Why me?” the brunette asked, confusion evident in his voice. 

Mary shrugged. 

Sirius noted to himself that James gave the grand rock they were sitting on top of a meaningful g;ance before turning towards him and Mary. They started walking towards the infirmary as they made small talk. 

Sirius was really loving it at his new home.