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Will had lived at camp for some years now. He went home sometimes, but he loved it here at camp. He got to be with his friends! And all his siblings! They taught him all kinds of things, stuff that his old schools never taught. After Apollo claimed him, Will was swept up into the whirlwind that was Cabin 7. People already thought he looked like a mini Apollo, so no one was too surprised. Except Will, of course, who never stopped smiling since the moment the sun symbol appeared over his head. His brothers and sisters whooped and hollered, picking his tiny body up and tossing him in the air as they marched towards their cabin.
Will had never felt so loved and accepted, except by his own mother.
Not long after he settled into the Apollo kid life, Will’s knack for healing became apparent. His innate care for others coupled with his budding powers had his older brother Michael smiling wide with pride. Older campers began calling Will “doctor” just to see him practically glow with joy as he carefully placed band-aids on their cuts.
In Will’s little kid mind, camp was the happiest place on earth. His life outside of camp wasn’t horrible, but the abundance of people, of friends and family, all in one place made his heart swell. Helping in the infirmary and going to classes, Will made sure to get to know everyone at camp.
This included all new, unclaimed demigods that found their way there.
The day that Nico and Bianca di Angelo crash-landed at camp, Will was in the middle of archery class. At this point, he knew he wasn’t going to be the marksmen that some of his siblings were, so really, Will was just enjoying his time in the sun. He blamed his next miss on the commotion coming from the new arrivals.
When everyone rushed over to see what was going on, Will, bless his 11-year old soul, went with one of his siblings to grab a medical kit in case anyone was injured. By the time they reached the crowd, he could hear whispers of two new half-bloods that felt powerful. Will didn’t really know what to make of that, but he did hear that one of them was around his age. He couldn’t wait to meet them!
The crowd dissipated and Will finally got a glimpse of the new kids – the girl was older and talking with a bunch of other girls with bows and arrows, and the boy was the one about his age, talking with Percy Jackson. The boy seemed really excitable and talkative, which made Will even more eager to meet him. But, it would have to wait because Chiron was shooing everyone away to get things sorted out.
It wasn’t until a little later that Will got to talk to the kid.
“Hi!” Will bounded right up to him, bright smile and all. “I’m Will! What’s your name?”
The dark-haired boy turned to him, eyes lighting up on sight. “Hi! My name is Nico. I’m 10.”
“Oh! I’m 11,” Will smiled wide. Then, he noticed the boy, Nico, holding something in his hands. “What’s that?”
Nico gasped with excitement, like he momentarily forgot what he was doing before. “These are my Mythomagic cards!” He shoved them in Will’s face so he could see. “It’s a game! All the characters and monsters are from Greek mythology. Which is real here? Or everywhere, I guess? That’s so cool!”
Will was ecstatic, even if he had never heard of the game before. He nodded enthusiastically anyway. “Yep! It’s all real stuff. My dad is Apollo,” he said with pride.
Nico nodded sagely. “Ah, yeah, that makes sense. I think you kind of look like him. All golden and pretty. I was with him earlier.”
Will deflated a little. “You… you met him?”
“Mhm,” Nico nodded. “I drove his chariot!”
“Oh,” Will looked down and kicked at the grass. “I’ve never met him.”
Nico’s eyes widened in panic that he’d made Will sad. He rushed out, “Well, at least you know who your dad is.” His eyebrows furrowed, as if he wasn’t sure where that came from or if he helped the situation at all.
Will looked back up and met Nico’s eyes. He saw the same sadness and worry he saw in all unclaimed campers’ eyes reflected back at him, the same look he had before he was claimed. He was quick to recover the conversation. “It’s okay! You’re new, and the gods usually don’t claim right away. They’re busy,” he shrugged.
Nico nodded again, but didn’t otherwise respond, a faraway look in his eyes. Will wanted to make everything better, so he blurted out, “Can you teach me?” Nico blinked at Will, clearly confused. “The game. Mythomagic.” Will gestured shyly towards the deck in Nico’s hands.
Will breathed a sigh of relief when he got the reaction he wanted – Nico lit up like he’d discovered buried treasure. “Oh! Yes! Let’s play!” They plopped down right there in the grass, and Nico began chatting up a storm. “Hm, let’s find your dad first! His card looks pretty cool, he’s basically a human sun…” And on their afternoon went.
Will loved his new friend, and his new friend loved camp and the new world he was discovering.
Then, his sister left him.
“It’s not fair!” Nico stomped as he ranted to Will about what was going on. “She just, just left me! Like she doesn’t even care! She joined those hunters that hate boys. They’re gonna make her hate me!” Tears were pooling in his dark brown eyes, but Will wasn’t really sure what to say to make it better.
“You’re her brother – she won’t hate you, Nico.”
“Then why did she leave?” There was desperation in his voice that he tried to cover with anger, but Will heard it loud and clear.
“I… I don’t know.” This was something that he would go to his older brothers for. He had asked the same question about his father, but even then, the only positive response was that he was busy. So many of his siblings resented their father for never visiting them. Will wanted to love his dad, as a kid should, but it was hard to do when he never met the guy.
Nico’s situation was much different from a god. And Will didn’t have an answer. So, he did the next thing he knew to do. Will lunged forward and engulfed Nico in the warmest hug he could muster. Nico was startled for a moment, but he immediately brought his arms up and squeezed tight. It was desperate and fierce, and so very needed. For as long as Nico could remember, which wasn’t much thanks to the Lethe, only his sister ever hugged him like this. Only Bianca knew when Nico needed comfort most. Whether Will was pushing some healing powers out right now or not, Nico felt safe wrapped up in his arms.
“I’m sorry, Nico. But I’m here for you – I won’t leave you.”
Nico smiled a watery smile into Will’s neck, gripping his back a little tighter. “Thanks, Will.”
After a beat, he added, “I won’t leave you either.”