xxxxxxAndromeda Bolton , Mason Hughson , Daniel Vadas & Cherise Boyse
xxxxDaughter of Hecate, Son of Hades, Son of Hecate and Daughter of Apolloxxxx
Daniel woke up with a stiff neck and instantly laid his eyes upon Andy. It didnât look like much had changed but by god was it going to. They needed to speed this healing process up and he knew just the girl. The thought did occur to him last night but it was hardly appropriate to demand her help at such an hour and while it was a little early still, this had to be the appropriate time.
Mason had fallen asleep, cheek atop his crossed arms resting on her bed. Daniel crept out and commenced the search for Cherise, not bothering to snap his fingers for a change of clothes.
The Daughter of Apollo was up in the early morning; just shy of the sun beginning to perk up for the day. She took a familiar path through the woods, which also happened to stop at a cliff overlooking the ocean. She loved to take a moment to breathe in over that scenery. It was peaceful and calm and perfect for a little self-reflection. Right now Cherise was a tad puzzled. Daniel. Keith. Whoever he was really - broke her into something she wasn't quite ready for. Prepared for? Would she ever have been? As her chest heaved heavily from the run, her gaze drifted out toward the calming waters to run through her thoughts on the matter. Should she care? She didn't know him enough, and she was almost certain that a lot of contexts was missing. There was nothing she could do about it now.
She turned away from the vista and headed back toward her cabin at the same jogging pace, speeding it up a tad to get to breakfast. Gods, she was starved.
Who else would be up and at âem? Daniel smiled taking a moment to enjoy the view. She was committed and fit and beautiful and â no. Andy needed them. He was on a mission. Daniel ran to catch up but the girl kept moving and Daniel was on a time strain. He didnât have time to play chase for once. He raised his hands and cast a little spell, then pulled gently to guide her to him. Only the energy vacuumed her back too suddenly like a giant vortex. Daniel caught her hips, stumbling back a few steps upon impact and was fortunate not to get a headbutt or mouthful of hair. "I got you," he assured then sighed out in relief.
Cherise didn't have a moment to gather her right mind in this situation. The feeling of something tugging at her out of seemingly nowhere was fucking startling. When she was pulled into Daniel, of whom had her by the hips, she looked up with that wide-eyed look of shock. If he wasn't so cute, she'd slap the hell out of him right now out of pure surprise. "You do have me, Daniel. I think that my heart almost pounded right out of my chest, so - thanks for that." She laughed at that a bit to ease any nervous tension.
There was a lot of awkward tension. She wanted to touch him, she didn't want to. Yet, here he was holding onto her. It was... quiet. Too quiet. It was almost as if she was in a weird place and she had no idea how to get out of it, or if she needed an escape at all.
The adrenaline of either his powers being rusty or Cherise against him, only made situations worse. His heavy breathing made his chest push up on her more until he realized he was still holding onto the girl for beyond what was necessary. They both had their balance. He cleared his throat and put his hands up in surrender - well in this instance more claiming innocence and backed away. Cherise tilted her head at this. Gods, she was so confused.
"Hey. You look good. But I can't get sidetracked," he voiced aloud snapping himself out of it. "Uh, Andy's injured and you're the only healer I know and trust." It might have lacked the "ease everyone into it" factor again, but it was hardly the time to tiptoe or go the long way about a topic. Everybody at the beach knew what happened... The others, that already left the party and went to their cabin, didn't, Cherise among them. Damn it. "Please," he added, pleading she'd pick up on his urgency.
She blinked at this. No, he didn't have a way of easing people into things, and he had that quality that was also reminiscent of Keith - quickly-paced talking without allowing her much input. Perhaps it was luck that Cherise is an extremely easy-going gal that trusted he would give her all the missing details whenever he felt like he could. Or should. Whichever, it didn't bother her much at all.
Just as Cherise parted her lips to utter a few words, Daniel took her hand. "I'll tell you details on the way." He said as he began to pull her along, a few paces off from breaking into a run. "Andy got beaten, electrocuted and hurled into a tree headfirst. She looks like hell and she probably feels worse. She uh..." his brows pinched together, recalling his sister's vulnerable state. "It's like you could blow on her and she'd be in pain. She needs you."
Oh, but -," she began, already feeling a little winded from her run. On that same note, she understood his urgency even though she wasn't sure who his sister was. Not that it mattered, of course. She's a daughter of Apollo, and this is her duty to the other campers. Not to mention the fact that the practice was certainly needed and people weren't getting injured as much here. She tries to remind herself that it's a good thing, but it doesn't give her a lot of room for improvement. Nevermind - whatever she had to say wasn't worth the breath it would take. He must know that she wasn't the greatest healer yet if his own wound was any indication of her depressing skill in the area.
His racing legs had got them back in no time. Before pushing open the med hut, he paused, half glancing over his shoulder back at Cherise. "I need you."
She gave him her best reassuring smile, "I'm here, Daniel. Don't worry about it. If I couldn't do it, I suspect that my father would have been here by now."
No more needed to be said as they arrived at the infirmary and Daniel led Cherise to the foot of the bed that mattered most. Only then did he let her hand slip from his, anxious for the daughter of Apollo's evaluation. His gaze flickered nervously between his sister and Cherise, aware it was a big ask but she was their best bet.
Shifting to Mason, he had hard blue eyes set on Cherise and even shot an accusing look at Daniel. "This is Cherise. She's here to help." Mason's mind always automatically went to someone being an enemy or Valis groupie but the daughter of Apollo had a mind of her own. Daniel would have assured Mason of that - if not for Andy and it being seemingly out of context. Cherise didnât need to play a part in their personal war or explain herself.
Cherise just offered Mason a small nod. There was not enough reason to not be cordial, even if his attitude bothers her a bit. She slipped away from Daniel and made her way to Andy. "Maybe you two could go shower, get some breakfast? You know, do anything but sit here and watch me?" It sounded like a question, but it was more like a demand painted with genuine sweetness and punctuated with a smile.
That was an even bigger ask of Cherise and an exchanged glance said both men felt that way. Daniel was the first to fold, figuring itâd be less pressure for the daughter of Apollo. "I guess threeâs a party..." He turned on his heel to leave expecting Mason to follow but he didnât budge.
Under at least one expectant gaze, Mason scraped his chair away from direct bedside without leaving the seat and folded his arms across his chest as he resettled. "Iâm good, actually. Just pretend Iâm not even here," he offered Cherise with a cold smile.
Her eyes swiveled to Mason, but she didnât bother returning the frigid expression he tossed her way. Instead, she offered him an extremely thin smile - strained, even. There was good in everyone, she reminds herself. Even the assholes of camp. For all she knew, he was probably scared, so Cherise was kind enough to take that into account.
He didnât exactly want Andy to come to full consciousness with a stranger, and if things went south then the last resort would be ready. It was always better to bring back the newly dead.
Daniel gave a little nod to himself, assuring himself itâd be okay. "Iâll be back soon. If anything changes, better or worse, come get me.â Cherise looked away from Mason for a second and smiled warmly at Daniel. She even waved goodbye. Then he left, and she got right to work.
Mason pressed his tongue to his cheek, studying the new demigod. She didnât look sure of herself but an amateur was probably the best they could fetch.
She turned her back to the son of Hades, her gaze sweeping over Andy in assessment of all her injuries. Hunching over just a bit, she proceeded to lift parts of her clothing - unabashed by the nude flesh in any way, shape, or form - and she trusted Mason to be mature about it. Her brows knit together, the signs of a Human body forced to endure a lightning strike on her skin - the wavy Lichtenberg lines. "These will be temporary. They will go away on their own. What I want to see is whatâs going on inside of her head right now."
Cherise moved to the head of the bed and placed both of her hands on either side of Andyâs head. She closed her eyes to focus more clearly. Something in her gut felt off - as though something was wrong with the womanâs brain itself. Trauma, and that was to be expected when hurled into a tree head first by the daughter of Zeus.
"Trauma to the brain, lesion from the lightning," she tells herself, not sure where she is coming up with these medical terms off the top of her head. It was all being whispered to her somehow - maybe it was Apollo, himself, guiding her. Or maybe this was just exploring her power deeper.
She opened her eyes and looked over at Mason, "I will heal this damage first. Some things will mend secondary, but they will mostly be surface wounds. She has some bone damage as well, but she may need to have more than one session with me. Or I can call my father to help. Itâs up to you."
It was hard to distinguish when she was talking to herself or when she was talking to him, but a sure indicator was when Cherise palmed off some responsibility to Mason. Suddenly, he missed Daniel. "Iâd say try not to get the Gods involved. But if you can bring Andy aroundâŠitâs her decision."
That said, she rubbed her hands together until they grew warm. A bright, sterile white light began to envelop them as she took a deep breath in and slowly released it. She could do this. Cherise placed her hands back onto Andyâs head and allowed the warmth of Apolloâs light to touch her skin, penetrate it, and eventually fill the cerebral cavity. It worked like the godâs own fingers performed what would normally be a very precise and tedious neural surgery - it removed any hemisphere lesions, helped to heal the contusion she had undoubtedly received from the impact of her head to the tree. At the very least, Andy would be able to awaken.
Moments ticked by - seemingly long ones for Cherise. Some of the healing light slithered through the two major blood vessels in Andyâs brain, and normally they bring the blood up - but Apolloâs gift fought the resistance and it spilled throughout the rest of her body. It was only a small amount, however, as Andyâs head required a great deal of healing as the major source of - well, everything Andy needs for her body. Some of the scratches and bruises on her face would diminish, as well as other scrapes and cuts everywhere else.
When Cherise removed her hands, Andy would be able to wake. Sheâd still have the pain of fractured or broken bones, whichever there were, but Cherise wasnât her father. She couldnât heal everything in one go. She stepped back, the light dissipating, and waited to see if the woman woke.
While some people when they're unconscious might hear and sense the world around them, it was different for Andy. In her mind it was after taking a nap that lasted much longer than expected. Her mind awoke before the rest of her body and she felt like she was in a strange dream-like state. On one hand it felt like no time had passed since the beach but on the other, it also seemed liked years. Then all at once, it was like the consciousness overwhelmed her. She inhaled sharply, pushing off the bed to sit upright. The fast movement caused a head rush, halting her.
The son of Hades sprang up rigid in his seat when Andy did. He wasnât one to get his hopes up, even when Cherise was under such a watchful gaze. But she was finally awake and that was a start.
Andy groaned softly, letting herself lean back against the back of the bed with a sigh. She raised her hand to rub her head softly as she looked around. At first, she was met by a brunette girl that she couldn't recall having met. "What happened?" Her memory was foggy. She vaguely remembered the party at the beach, her falling out with Ajax and Daniel's return. She scanned the room until her gaze fell upon Mason who looked like he hadn't moved from that spot all night. She could feel the redness rising to her cheeks as memories of other events came flooding back into her mind.
After a moment of silence, Andy finally looked back to Cherise, glancing between her and Mason. "Why am I here? I remember a fight." Her brows furrowed as she searched her mind for what had passed. "... But I thought I walked away?"
Mason couldnât help but scoff and stood up to rejoin Andyâs side. "You did. You just got electrocuted on the way." But Mason didnât want to start his morning so bitter on those idiots and Andy should have saved her energy too. "How do you feel? The doctor here says you might experience a bit of pain still butâŠas long as itâs manageable." Mason guessed if it was a bother to Andy heâd try the human method and steal some pain killers or something.
He cleared his throat sparing Cherise a glance. "Thank you, by the way.â Then his eyes fell back on Andy. Did he apologize to her for being a potential cause, explain Ajax chose his shitty sisterâs side again or let her make her own sense of things?
When it became just the two of them, Mason sat at the foot of her bed. It was probably best to avoid drama and stress while she healed but it was an eventful night. "Do you wanna talk about last night?" Any of it. The kiss or hours she was unconscious. It seemed like the right thing to ask because who wouldn't be curious about it all.