Vines and Thorns

𝟘𝟘𝟡-ℍ𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕊𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕥 ℍ𝕠𝕞𝕖

I didn't dream.

That was the first thing I noticed when my mind finally reconnected with my body, and I slowly became more alert. It wasn't unusual for a normal person not to dream, but for a demi-god, it was practically unheard of.

Our defenses were lowered when we slept, meaning that our minds were open and vulnerable to anything that wished us harm. Often, we were 'blessed' with pertinent images and glimpses into our future or what the fates deemed as relevant to our own personal journeys. Other times, it was complete gibberish that we could only vaguely remember in the morning.

But we always dreamed.

The second thing I noticed was the lack of pain in my body, which caused a mixture of fear and relief. Was this is it? Am I dead? Do you even sleep in the Underworld?

"...won the race. Of course, I don't think it's fair that they had a cyclops on their team. But whatever."

Nope. Not dead.

My mind worked slowly as assessed my body, wiggling my toes and touching my fingertips together before forcing my eyelids to open. Naturally, Clarisse was too engrossed in her complaining about losing whatever race she had been to notice that I had woken up.

I take her momentary lapse to my advantage, and slowly look around the room I was in. The room was dark and covered with creepy paintings of monsters fighting heroes that I know I should recognize, but I still felt too drained to really care.

I was definitely not in the infirmary, and it was definitely not my room, but the wooden walls of the room looked familiar. "Why are we in the Big House and not the infirmary?" I question, and smile when Clarisse jumps, her entire body lifting off the ground.

Her eyes widen for a moment before she looks back at me, and she blows out a short puff of air. "Gods, Danny, don't do that." She grumbles, her eyes narrowing as she gives me a sharp glare.

I roll my eyes. "Why are we in the Big House?" I repeat, and she shrugs.

"The infirmary is full from all the monster attacks recently. Everyone in the Apollo cabin is working overtime trying to get everyone healed." She explains, and I wince as I slowly prop myself onto my elbows, taking another look around the room.

The reason for the darkness was because the blinds were closed tightly, and on the small nightstand beside me was a large glass of nectar, and small ambrosia squares lay next to it. "How long have I been out?" I question, reaching over for the glass as Clarisse shrugs.

"Four days. Mr. D said you over exerted yourself. You haven't missed much. The monster attacks stopped as soon as the Fleece was put on the tree, and whatever poison that Luke used is gone now. Everything is back to normal." A small, annoying part of me knew that everything was definitely not back to normal, but I nod my head, nonetheless.

I gulp down the glass of Nectar quickly, relishing in the newly found alertness that rushes through my body. "Well, unless I'm on bedrest, I don't want to spend anymore time in here than I have to." I muse, and Clarisse quickly stands up to help me to my feet, but I wave her off.

"I got it, I got it." I mutter, swinging my legs off the side of the bed and using my arms to slowly lift myself off the bed. Thank gods for the nectar because I doubt my legs would be working without it.

My legs shake slightly when I put weight on them, but they thankfully don't give out as I stand up fully beside the bed. I look down at my clothes, and wince when I realize I was still wearing the charred and torn clothes I had been in four days ago. Clarisse notices my wince and shrugs her shoulders.