Chapter Five, Healing Hut and Grief

"Help! Help!" Grover shouted as he ran through the camp careful not to jostle Solerai too much as he headed for the healing hut. "Grover? What's the matter?" His friend Luke asked, he was tall with sandy brown hair, bright blue eyes and scar under his right eye running down to his bottom jaw. "What happened to her?" He asked concerned seeing the unconscious girl in his friends arms. "A Minotaur it attacked us as her mum was driving us here tipped the car over we managed to escape but it quickly caught up with us. Sally, Solerai's mum held the Minotaur off to give us time but Rai wouldn't leave without her mother it killed Sally then went for Rai, she killed it but got injured in the process." Grover explained rapidly.

Luke looked at girl lying in his friend's arms she was pale, dangerously so and blood was spreading further over her shirt, she was rather pretty and had to be only a few years younger than himself. Taking the girl- Solerai from Grover into his own muscular arms he quickly ran to the Healing Hut Grover close behind. Once he got into the Hut the Healers immediately took Solerai off of him and took her to a room at the far end of the room not allowing himself or Grover into the room. "Please don't die Rai please don't, you're like a sister to me." Grover muttered under his breath but Luke heard and wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Come on Grover we're in the way here I'm sure they'll come get us when they're finished. And I'm sure Solerai will be just fine she took on a Minotaur and only ended up with one injury, when she's better I'm so teaching her how to fight." Luke said excitedly making Grover laugh and shake his head at his friend, as they sat in the Waiting Room waiting to hear news on Solerai.

- three days later-

As Solerai came to she winced hissing in pain at the bright light that pierced her eyes and clamped them shut again. Slowly this time, she slowly opened her eyes letting them adjust to the light, as everything cleared and she could finally see where she was she didn't recognise any of it and immediately started to panic frantically trying to throw the covers off of her.

She flinched when a hand landed on her shoulder trying to force her to lay back down crying out as she fought against the stranger who was trying to get her to stay in the foreign bed. "Hey, hey it's alright you're safe now. Everything's going to be alright." A soft baritone voice, a male voice said from her left but, it only made her panic mode as she didn't recognise his voice, who was this stranger? What did he want with her?

The man, or boy sighed as he realised she wasn't going to calm down any time soon and he was obviously only making it worst so he called over his friend to help. "Grover, come help me calm her down!" The stranger shouted.

"I told you, Luke, she'd panic upon waking and to let he stay with her but did you listen: Nooo!" A familiar voice Solerai recognised through the blind white fog of panic, it was Grover her best friend.

"Rai, it's alright you're safe now nothing can hurt you, I won't let it and Luke won't hurt you either. Just take deep breaths for me." Grover instructed his voice quiet and soothing as he tried to calm down his best friend, the girl he saw as a sister. "That's it Rai follow the sound of my voice. In and out... In and out... In and out." Grover instructed over and over again as Solerai finally calmed down her panic attack ebbing away as her eyes cleared revealing sea green eyes shinning back at them. "Grover?" Solerai asked confused. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

Grover and the stranger- Luke Solerai's mind supplied, exchanged looks that both aggravated and worried Solerai. Just what the he'll had happened? "Rai." Grover said hesitantly as he reached for her hand. "What do you remember?" Solerai frowned thinking about how she got here, wherever here was; suddenly something clicked on her brain about the night before, was it the night before? She was so confused.

She remembered being on her mum's car with her mum and Grover in the back, her mother was talking about her father and some special camp, Camp Half-blood. Then it all suddenly came rushing back to her and her eyes filled with tears. "G-Grover, m-my mum is she...is she?" Solerai couldn't finish her sentence as the tears ran unchecked down her face, but she didn't need to as Grover's face said it all. "No! No, no, no, no. She can't be. She's all I have, I don't have anybody else." Solerai said through her sobs as she laid back down turning away from Grover and facing Luke.

She hoe noticed that he had sandy brown hair, bright blue eyes and a scar running down his cheek from under his eye to his jaw on the right side of his face. She figured he was only s couple of years older then her fourteen, fifteen at the most. "I'm sorry Rai, really I am." Grover said sadly rubbing his friend's back as he tried to comfort her as best as he could as Luke rubbed her arm soothingly. If she was not grieving for her mother she would've felt a slight attraction to Luke as he was rather handsome.

It was at least half an hour until her sobs subsided leaving her hiccuping occasionally and her eyes red and puffy. Sitting up she wiped at the tear tracks that had stained her face and the occasional tear that escaped her eyes. "How long have I been here?" She asked looking around what she now recognised as a hospital wing. Though as she put too much strain on her side a shooting pain shot to her side causing her to double over in agony, only Luke's arms were holding her up.

"You need to be careful that was a pretty bad wound you had there, though it didn't look too deep it actually was and it was pretty long. You need to take it easy for awhile at least while it heals properly. It'll most likely scar, those type of wounds always do." Luke told her kindly. "And to answer your question; you've been here for three days and will probably be in for another day or two." He smirked when she groaned and threw her head back on to the pillows dramatically only to yelp in pain once more. "I just told you to take it easy." Luke laughed as he helped her lay down properly.

"But I don't like keeping still." Solerai whined pouting cutely as Grover watched on with a smile he hadn't seen Rai so happy and carefree for ages, hopefully with Luke's help they'll be able to stop her from falling into a deep depression. "Tell you what." Luke said gathering both Rai's and Grover's attention as he noticed Rai was becoming upset again. "Of you do what you're told until you're released, Grover and I will show you around Camp when you're better. I'll even teach you how to use you're sword properly as well as whatever else you want." Luke said hoping she'll take the bait.

"That's gonna be hard Luke. I don't think Rai can keep still for that long." Grover teased knowing Rai will take up the challenge just like always. "I can do it." She said determined. "Just you wait I'll show you." She said glaring at her best friend as she crossed her arms over her chest. Luke and Grover looked at each other smirking when she wasn't looking. Hook, line, sinker. Now all they had to do was keep her distracted, how hard could that be?