KYRA
Kyra lost track of how long she and Leo had been sitting silently next to one another. It was a comfortable silence, like the two of them were perfectly content to sit beside one another, not saying a word.
Kyra still held on to Leo's hand. She couldn't remember the last time she willingly touched someone for this long of a time. It was strange. Usually, she would be terrified of physical contact with anyone, especially men, but Leo wasn't like the people she had spent most of her life with. He sat almost perfectly still beside her, which was odd considering anytime Kyra looked at Leo while on his quest he was constantly moving or fidgeting with something.
"Thank you," she said, turning to look at him.
"For what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.
Kyra looked away slowly, "For saving me from Medea and taking me with you. For not leaving me behind," she explained softly.
Leo rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't currently holding Kyra's as if he was uncomfortable. "Oh, yeah of course. It was no big deal. I just did what anyone would have done," he explained, causing Kyra to turn quickly and look at him.
She shook her head while frowning, "That's not true," she explained. Leo turned and looked at her.
"Really Kyra, anyone would have done that, I didn't do anything special," he finished, shrugging.
Kyra felt herself get frustrated. Why didn't he understand that this was a big deal for her? That he was different?
She turned away from him, gently letting go of his hand and pulling her knees to her chest: something she did as a form of self-comfort. "No, they wouldn't," she explained, her voice coming out in a whisper.
From the corner of her eye, Kyra saw Leo look at her. He moved slightly closer. "What do you mean they wouldn't?" he questioned slowly as if he was afraid to know the answer.
She let out a soft sigh before answering, "I mean that nobody cared about what happened to me before you," Kyra began explaining. "You were the first person to even try and help me in years."
"Really?" Leo questioned, sounding surprised. Why would he be surprised? People didn't help Kyra. That just wasn't how things worked.
She turned slightly to face him once more, Leo's brown eyes were fixed intently on her; he looked at her like he was trying to see all the things she hadn't yet told him just by looking into her eyes.
He looked sad. Kyra wasn't sure why he would be sad, but she knew she didn't like to see his face set in a frown or his eyes without their normal shine.
She shrugged, not really sure how to respond to him. She wasn't sure he would completely understand. "Yeah, really," she answered softly. "I- I don't know why, but people would either hurt me or look the other way. You were the first one to try anything close to helping me."
Leo didn't respond and Kyra worried that she had said the wrong thing. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything at all. Maybe it was better if he didn't know how broken she truly was. She was too much of a burden.
"I'm so sorry Kyra," he said eventually.
"What?" she questioned, turning her body to face him head-on. Leo didn't have anything to be sorry for, if anything she should be apologizing to him for wasting his time with things he didn't care about.
"You didn't deserve that," he started. Her whole life Kyra had been told she deserved everything that happened to her. That she was asking for it when they hit her. That if she was better or prettier or more obedient people wouldn't be forced to hurt her. She felt like Leo was lying. He was the only one to talk to her like that, why would he be right when so many others told her the opposite?
"I'm sorry nobody helped you sooner. I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner," he explained.
"You didn't even know me," she responded quietly. "It's fine, really, you don't need to feel bad. That's just always how it has been for me," she finished nonchalantly.
Leo looked like he wanted to say something else, but Kyra was pretty sure she would burst into tears if he said one more thing about how she didn't deserve whatever she had been through. "Anyway, I just wanted to thank you. So, thanks," she finished awkwardly, removing her gaze from his eyes and to the floor.
Leo paused and Kyra was worried he would try and tell her again how she deserved better or something else that just wasn't true but instead he simply replied, "You're welcome."
She looked back to him, just now realizing their fairly close proximity on the floor, and gave him a small smile. He grinned back at her which made Kyra's heart feel strange in her chest.
Kyra looked at Leo as if she was seeing him for the first time. Without the threat of being trampled by a giant or becoming a sacrifice to the gods, she was finally able to truly look at him.
He was really beautiful, or handsome, she supposed. His brown eyes sparkled as he looked back at her and his dark curls were messy in an endearing way. Her eyes trailed their way down his face stopping on his lips, his smile. He really did have an amazing smile.
She felt herself wanting to be closer to him, causing an odd fluttering in her stomach. She'd never felt like this before: it was odd.
A soft knock on the infirmary door startled Kyra, causing her to jump as her heart began to beat faster. She moved closer to Leo who put his hand back on top of hers.
"Hey, it's okay," he said softly. "It's probably Will or Annabeth wanting to make sure you're okay," he explained. "Can I tell them to come in?"
Kyra nodded slowly, unsure of her answer but still thinking it was better to just agree to whatever was asked of her. It was better than someone being mad at her and then. . .
Leo nodded, "I'm gonna stay here, that okay?" he asked.
Kyra nodded once more, this time actually believing her answer.
Leo smiled reassuringly at her. "Okay, I'm just gonna call out to them from here to see who they are." Kyra nodded her head, her hand feeling warm under Leo's slightly larger one.
Leo cleared his throat before responding to the knock, "Who is it?"
"It's Piper and Jason. Will and Annabeth are here too. Is it okay if we come in? We just want to make sure Kyra's okay," Piper shouted back through the door.
Leo looked at Kyra, who was confused for a moment. She wasn't sure if he wanted her to respond or not. She slowly nodded her head to Leo, not trusting her voice at the moment. But she knew Piper and Jason; they were kind to her. She could handle meeting two new people.
Leo's smile grew at her small confirmation, causing a small smile to appear on her own face.
"Yeah, come on in! We're in the back where we were before," he responded.
Kyra tensed as she heard the door open, her hand grasping Leo's tightly, seeking a way to ground herself. The warmth and comfort Leo's hand gave her were enough to do the trick.
Leo turned to look at her, his gaze slightly worried. "It's alright. You know Jason and Piper. Annabeth seems a little scary, but she just misses her boyfriend. And Will's really just a great big ball of sunshine," he explained softly to her. "Just say the word and I'll ask them to leave, okay?"
Kyra nodded, feeling herself relax slightly. Leo was on her side; he'd make sure she was okay.
Piper rounded the corner first looking extremely worried, Jason was close behind her, an equally stressed expression on his face.
"Gods, I'm so sorry Kyra," Piper started. "I shouldn't have left you alone," she said, seeming like she wanted to move closer but Jason gently grabbed her arm, leaving her and Leo a safe distance away from the two of them.
"It's okay," she responded softly, trying to give Piper a smile, but she was sure it just came out as a grimace. Kyra tensed once more as the two blonde teenagers from earlier walked in.
She looked at Leo nervously, feeling the urge to run, but he simply nodded at her with an encouraging smile and a gentle squeeze of her hand. It felt like he was saying: you got this, but I'm here if you need me.
The younger boy looked like he was going to cry and stayed a good distance away from Kyra and Leo.
The blonde girl with calculating grey eyes sent her a warm smile, her gaze drifting briefly to Leo and Kyra's intertwined hands.
"I'm Annabeth, and I'm so sorry about before, we didn't mean to scare you," she explained motioning to Will who stood very still beside her.
Kyra nodded, "Kyra," she responded softly, introducing herself to the duo.
The blonde girl, Annabeth, gave the boy a pointed look and he began apologizing profusely.
"I'm really sorry, Kyra. I totally didn't mean to scare you, yell at you, or make you uncomfortable. I really just wanted to help," the boy sounded so genuine, it confused Kyra. He didn't even hurt her, why did he feel the need to apologize so much?
She turned back to Leo, not quite knowing how to respond to the boy.
He sent her and the group around them a smirk, "And that's Will, he normally doesn't apologize so much. Actually, he really likes bossing people around I've learned," he finished thoughtfully, causing Kyra to smile softly.
"Everyone, Kyra. Kyra, everyone. Well, not everyone I guess," he finished awkwardly, seemingly trying to defuse the tensions present in the infirmary.
Jason cleared his throat, "Glad to see you're okay, Kyra," he smiled at her. She smiled back, really just glad that the boy was alive and that using her healing powers on him hadn't made him even more dead than he already was before.
"You must be hungry," Annabeth said. "Is it alright if we have Will make sure your wounds are okay? We can sit in here and talk with some food if you want," the girl said smiling at Kyra, although the smile didn't reach her eyes.
She nodded slowly, not quite knowing what to say to the new girl.
Will cleared his throat, still standing stiff in his spot that seemed to be the furthest away from Kyra that he could find. "It's probably easier if you sit back on the infirmary bed," he explained. "O-Only if you want to of course,"
Kyra gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, the boy didn't mean to frighten her and she felt bad that he was trying so hard not to scare her again. "Sure," she responded only then realizing how stiff and tired her limbs were.
"Is it okay if I help you?" Leo asked her softly. She nodded gratefully. She would definitely need help, she just wasn't sure how she was going to ask for it.
Leo stood first, his hand still not leaving Kyra's as he offered her his other hand. Kyra looked around the room before taking his other hand so he could pull her up and noticed Piper grinning widely at her and Leo. Weird.
She grabbed Leo's other hand and stood up slowly with his help. She stumbled slightly as she put her full weight on her legs, her stomach hurting from the wounds as she did so. The others surged forward, wanting to make sure she didn't fall.
Leo only put out his arm for Kyra to grab on to if she needed support, turning to give them a look as if to say: really guys?
Kyra steadied herself, lightly grabbing Leo's outstretched arm. "Thanks," she told him. He nodded to her as they slowly walked back over to the infirmary bed.
She stepped gingerly on the stairs situated at the bottom of the bed, placed there to help those who couldn't easily sit on the bed. Leo's hand left hers slowly as she sat down on the bed.
She didn't like the missing sense of comfort and security that washed over her when he released her hand, but she felt slightly better when he sat down in the seat beside her, closest to the bed.
Will came closer to Kyra before pausing. "Is it alright if I come to check your injuries?" he asked. The poor boy looked really upset; Kyra was finding that she didn't like to see those who were kind to her upset or in pain. She hadn't really had the chance to care about anyone besides herself in a long time. She was more empathetic than she originally thought she would be.
"Yeah, it's okay," Kyra responded. "You don't have to feel bad. You just startled me. I'm really okay," she reassured him with a small smile that she found was beginning to form on her face more frequently when she was around this group of demigods.
He smiled back widely at her, looking less tense than before. "I really am sorry about that," he said coming closer to Kyra. "I should have given you more time to adjust," he said as he stood beside Kyra.
Kyra did her best not to tense, but being close to the new boy was nerve-wracking. She was going to have to get used to being near people without constantly being wary of her safety.
Will smiled reassuringly at her. "I think first you should have some more nectar. It should speed up the rest of your recovery," he told her.
She nodded, looking at the group of demigods around her. It was nice to see that Piper and Jason seemed to be doing okay. The blonde girl regarded her with curious grey eyes. She looked tired. It seemed like something was missing from her, Kyra just couldn't distinguish what it was.
The girl noticed Kyra staring at her and gave her a weak smile. "How are you feeling Kyra?" she asked as Will came back with the nectar.
Kyra gave her a small smile back. "I'm okay," she responded, looking over at Leo who gave her a big grin back.
Will handed her the nectar; as Kyra drank it she realized it tasted like the tacos Leo had made for the group of demigods on their quest. Kyra was pleasantly surprised but also slightly confused about how the drink was able to taste exactly like the tacos they ate in the cave after Midas had turned Piper and Leo into gold.
"I'm glad to hear you're feeling okay," Annabeth responded to Kyra, still observing her as if she was trying to decipher some secret code that only Kyra knew the answer to.
Kyra shifted, feeling slightly uncomfortable under her gaze, sipping on the nectar slowly. Will came back over with some fresh bandages.
"The nectar should help with most of the wounds you have, but I'd still like to change your bandages, that alright?" he asked.
Kyra felt slightly uncomfortable with her arms and stomach being uncovered in front of such a large group of people, but she nodded anyway.
Will nodded and stood beside the infirmary bed, opposite the side where Leo sat. She shakily held out one of her arms. Will took out trauma shears and slowly cut the bandages off. He gently grasped her arm to inspect her wounds but she flinched.
"Sorry," she mumbled, feeling her face get hot as she turned her gaze to the floor in shame. Will paused, gently placing her arm back down on the bed.
"It's alright. We can wait a minute if you want," Will said gently.
Kyra shook her head. "No, it's okay. You don't have to stop," Kyra replied. She didn't want to seem weak to the new demigods. Who knows what they already thought of her? She should be able to handle a boy her age changing her bandages and making sure her wounds were healing correctly.
Will nodded and Kyra finally raised her gaze from the ground, seeing the red bandages that Will had removed from around her arms. She realized all her scars were on display for the group to see. She watched Jason clench his jaw and Annabeth's mouth turn downwards in a slight frown.
"You can take a minute if you need it, Kyra," Leo told her, sending her a smile from his place beside her. She appreciated him so much. It seemed like he was always looking out for her.
She cleared her throat, trying not to worry about what everyone else thought of her. There was nothing she could do about the scars on her arms. "Really, it's fine," she reassured him.
She looked over at Leo, who seemed to have moved his chair slightly closer to the bed she was on and gave him as much of a smile as she could muster.
"Alright," Will said. "I'm gonna hold your arm again, okay? I'll make sure to be gentle."
Kyra nodded, catching the gaze of Piper, who gave her a reassuring smile, before directing her gaze back to the ground.
Will grabbed her arm once more, a little more slowly this time, and Kyra managed to only tense slightly this time. He turned her arm gently to see the extent of her injuries. He kept a surprisingly neutral face for the amount of damage Kyra had. Most people would flinch or turn away from the wounds on her arms. Some cuts were jagged, while others seemed to be placed strategically. The worst, in her opinion, was when words were carved into her skin. Some of her captors had taken one look a the scar of 'freak' on her cheek and decided to add to the story on her skin by carving additional words into her arms.
Annabeth cleared her throat as Will grabbed some medicine for the wounds that had the possibility to become infected. Kyra looked up at her, trying to ignore how all of her friend's gazes had drifted to her unbandaged arm. You didn't need to have perfect vision to make out what had been carved into her skin.
"So, Kyra, have Jason, Leo, and Piper told you about camp Half-Blood?" she asked. The girl was clearly trying to distract the group of demigods from what Will was doing to Kyra's wounds and Kyra appreciated it.
"Umm, I've heard a little bit," she started, not wanting to get Leo, Piper, and Jason in trouble if they were supposed to have told her about the camp.
"Well, since you'll be spending some time here, we can give you a tour once you're feeling well enough to leave the infirmary. But, in general, Camp Half-Blood is a place where demigods like us can be safe from the monsters who hunt us."
Kyra furrowed her brows slightly, she would actually be safe from the people and monsters who had been hunting and hurting her all her life? It was hard to believe.
Annabeth must have sensed her confusion because she began to explain.
"We have the Golden Fleece on our borders, it keeps monsters out and only lets demigods and select mortals in," she said, causing Kyra to nod as Will began applying various creams to her arms.
"The camp is split into different cabins that each of the god's children lives in. My mom is Athena and Will's is Apollo. I'm sure you already know Leo, Piper, and Jason's parents," she said as Kyra nodded in answer.
"Piper told us that your mom is Artemis, is that true?" Annabeth asked casually as if she was trying not to make as big of a deal out of her heritage as it probably should have been.
Kyra nodded slowly, she knew that she wasn't supposed to have been born. It had been one of the many reasons given to justify her imprisonment and harsh treatment from others. She was nervous that these demigods would turn on her if they knew the truth.
Will smiled as he finished applying the last of the various creams to her arms. "Cool! That means we're basically siblings since my dad's Apollo!"
Kyra smiled back at him, thankful that he actually seemed somewhat excited about who her mom was. "Oh, cool," she responded softly, looking over to Leo who still sat quietly beside her.
He was grinning back at her, making her glad he was still by her side.
Will moved to grab her other arm, pausing to silently ask permission from Kyra who nodded and held out her other arm. "So, does that mean you're really good at archery too? The Apollo cabin's the best, not to brag too much," he spoke, still grinning as he unwrapped her other arm.
Before Kyra could respond, Leo jumped in. "Oh, she could totally kick all your butts! She's awesome," he said, looking at Will with a glint of challenge in his eyes.
His confidence in Kyra caused her to blush fiercely and avoid the eyes of the two boys. She met Piper's eyes and the girl smirked at her while raising her eyebrows, causing Kyra to blush deeper. She moved her eyes to Jason who thankfully just gave her a gentle smile. She was grateful that at least he was acting normal.
Kyra watched Annabeth roll her eyes, causing Kyra to smile at the casual relationship the group seemed to have with one another. It was nice.
"Alright, Kyra, once you're feeling better we gotta get you out on the archery range. Everyone else in the Apollo cabin is going to be so excited to meet you too,"
Annabeth stepped in before Kyra could respond. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she would have said to that anyway. Why would they want to meet her? "Let's focus on getting Kyra feeling better and ready to meet Chiron before we make any trips to the archery field, Will."
Will chuckled sheepishly. "Right, sorry, I guess I just got excited," he said. "Your arms should be all set. How's your stomach feeling?"
Kyra looked down at her arms, she had barely felt Will working on her other arm. Now they were both wrapped in clean bandages. The bandage on her stomach was slightly red, she might have needed stitches and torn them while she was trying to get away from the campers.
"It doesn't really hurt anymore. I think the nectar really helped. I could probably heal it myself," she explained.
"Heal it yourself?" Will asked. "You have healing powers?"
Kyra nodded. "Your dad gave them to me I think," she explained. "I just learned that I can use moonlight to heal people faster though," she explained.
Will just stared at her, blinking quickly. Did she say something wrong?
Leo jumped in, "Yeah, Kyra totally brought Jason back to life earlier with Piper's help. She also has sick moonlight manipulation powers."
"Huh," Will said thoughtfully. "That's cool. I think. Well, I'd like to check your stomach just to be sure. But I'm sure Piper or Annabeth would be able to help you if that would make you more comfortable,"
Kyra nodded thankfully. Will handed Annabeth some bandages and cream and Leo got out of his seat beside Kyra. "I'll just be out there with Jason and Will to give you some privacy," he explained causing Kyra to nod and smile at him as he closed the curtain, separating the girls from the boys.
Piper smiled widely at Kyra who was still confused by all the looks she was getting from the girl. Annabeth looked between the two girls before placing the bandages down on the bed.
"Do you need help unwrapping them?" she asked Kyra
"I'm not sure, maybe?"
"I can help, Kyra," Piper replied. "Is that okay?"
"Sure," Kyra responded, lifting her shirt up slowly, reminding her of her first interaction with Piper while in the air on Leo's flying dragon.
Piper gently began unwrapping the bandages around Kyra's stomach. "So, I think the boys stepped out. What's going on with you and Leo?"
Kyra furrowed her brows, "What do you mean?"
Piper grinned at her, "You two were sitting awfully close earlier," she explained. "You were even holding hands," she finished as she took the remaining bandages off of Kyra's stomach.
Kyra blushed. "Oh, I don't know really," she explained genuinely. "I guess he makes me feel calm. Is that what you mean?" she questioned.
Before Piper could respond, Annabeth cut her off with a smile. "I'm not sure that's exactly what she means Kyra, but we can talk about that later. Are you able to heal yourself?"
Kyra nodded, still slightly confused by the two girls. "Yeah, I think so," she replied as the blonde nodded her head.
Kyra closed her eyes, focusing on her stomach. She brought her hand up to hover over her wounds, feeling her hands begin to emit some sort of energy as her wounds began to close slowly.
She opened her eyes when she began to feel slightly weak. "I think that's all I can do right now," she told them.
Annabeth looked at her in awe. "Wow, that's amazing," she told her. "I can wrap the rest of the wounds if you want."
"Sure, thanks," Kyra responded.
"Chiron is going to want to talk with you about your mom, do you think you're ready for that?" Annabeth questioned as she began to wrap Kyra's stomach once more.
"We'll be right with you Kyra, if you want," Piper told her genuinely.
"Thank you," Kyra said. "I think I can do it. He's not mean right?"
Annabeth finished wrapping her wounds. "Chiron? No, he can be a little intense sometimes but he's very kind. I will warn you, he is a centaur."
Kyra nodded. "Okay, I think I can handle that," she responded.
Annabeth opened the curtain that separated Kyra's bed from the rest of the infirmary as Kyra pulled her shirt down. The boys walked back in from outside the infirmary, carrying some empty plates.
"We got these from the dining hall, thought you'd be hungry," Leo explained as he walked over to the girls. "You just think of what you want and it'll appear," he explained.
Kyra smiled at him as she gently took the plate from his hands. "Thanks," she said.
"Why don't we take these to Chiron's office and eat there? I think Kyra's ready to get out of here," Annabeth said.
"Good idea," Jason said.
"You ready, Kyra?" Jason asked her with a smile.
"Ready," she replied. Things could only go up from here, right?
****
Here's some fluff for you all since the last chapters have been pretty angsty. We're also getting more Leo and Kyra moments finally!
We're nearing the end of this book! I'm going to add a few chapters of Leo and Kyra getting to know each other better, along with Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and Will before we start the Mark of Athena.
What do you think Kyra and Leo's ship name should be? I'm thinking of either Lyra or Kleo. Thoughts?