(no subject)

[slashy]

Ares materialized in the main hall of Apollo’s temple, calling out for his brother.

“I’m here, Ares,” Apollo said as he stepped out of a room on the other side the room.

Ares quickly crossed the hall and made to enter the room, when a warm hand on his forearm stopped him.

“Wait, Ares. We need to talk first. Before you go in.”

“Whatever it is, it can wait until after I’ve seen him.”

“Ares. Let’s talk first.”

“When I’ve make sure that he’s okay.”

“Damn it, Ares, he’s not okay. If we had gotten there five minutes later, you’d be talking to Uncle Hades right now. As it is, he’s barely holding on.”

“What? Apollo…” Apollo had never heard Ares sound so scared in his life.

“Shit, Ares. The damage to his shoulder was… extensive. And he lost a lot of blood because of it. I have no idea how he was still conscious when we got there. I can only say it must have been an act of pure will. He’s stronger than any mortal I’ve ever met.”

“You fixed him, though. Right?”

Apollo rubbed his hands over his eyes. “I wish I could say I did. Look… first thing I did was replenish his blood and repair his shoulder as much as could be done. I mended the bones and muscles, but the skin… there wasn’t any left to mend. I’ve accelerated the growth of new skin, but, well… he’ll carry the scars.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“But…” Apollo broke off.

“But what? Just say it.”

“Due to the blood loss his body went into shock. Soon after, he fell into a coma.”

“Shock? Coma? I don’t understand, ‘Pol. I… what does that mean?”