eachdraidh | δεύτερος ; video/text ; seelie & unseelie

once upon a dream ;

[ it's a warm summer evening in the middle of the woods — the same woods that her fellow demigods and one oracle will recognize as the grounds of camp half-blood. a ten year old clarisse, in full battle gear, pushes her way through a crowd of campers, spear in hand. it's too tall for her, but she prefers it over a sword. one of the campers stumbles as she barrels through without so much as an "excuse me" and shoots her a nasty look, but clarisse is too focused on scanning the area for a certain camp counselor to notice. when she finally spots him, already surrounded by a number of their hermes cabinmates, she takes off at a sprint and makes a beeline straight for them. ]

[ she calls out to luke and comes to halt in front of him with a look of frustration on her face, her lips jutting out in a pout. ] I'm not playing tonight unless I get to lead the Hermes cabin. [ her expression softens a bit, her eyes more pleading than demanding. she may not always use her manners, but she really wants this. she's tired of being pushed around because she's only ten; she's just as capable a warrior and a leader as any of her other cabinmates. ] Please? I can do it! [ connor and travis stoll, two twin brothers with lanky builds and floppy hair, begin to laugh, uproariously, clapping themselves on the back as they turn to luke. luke has a grin on his face, laughing quietly, but it's not at clarisse. he looks at her fondly, as though sizing her up, assessing if she's up for such a big task. ]

[ the smile lingers on his face, the brothers still laughing until they're almost wheezing, and clarisse glowers at them with half a mind to run one of them through with her spear or kick one of them in the shins until luke smacks the stoll brothers hard on the backs, pushing travis with a hard shove to the side. this seems to pacify her for the moment, at least. she stares up expectantly at luke, that frustrated and impatient pout gradually returning to her face while luke pretends to mull it over. eventually, he shrugs. ] Sure, kid. Where's the harm in that? [ clarisse's expression immediately brightens and for a moment all she sees is luke. if this were a shoujo manga, there would be sparkles in her eyes and flowers in the background for no reason. connor begins to open his mouth, among a few of the other hermes kids in the background, but luke raises his eyebrow. ] Shut up. Let her lead. And if you sabotage her and cost us the flag, I'm going to kick your ass to the Styx.

[ clarisse rarely shows affection to anyone but her mother, but luke agreeing to let her lead their cabin to a very assured victory has her awkwardly throwing her arms around his midsection while trying not to accidentally stab him in the face with the spear that is still in her hand. ] You won't regret it, I promise! [ and, true to her word, she charges into battle as soon as chiron gives the word that the game is to begin, envigorated with the rush of clashing weapons and, for the first time in her life, being able to give orders instead of taking them. it's like it comes naturally to her, as if this is who she was born to be. for the past four weeks she's fought for the hermes cabin, but she's always felt out of place in the brotherhood of hermes sons. she doesn't share their sense of humor, and she's more violent than, well, any of them. she doesn't know what that means, but she hopes that after tonight, maybe, just maybe, her dad might recognize her. ]

[ they don't have time to forumlate a battle strategy before the game begins, but they don't need to, because ten minutes into the game, clarisse knows exactly how they're going to win it, and her orders come just as aggressively as the way she fends off enemy campers. she doesn't know how she knows, she just does. more than just that, luke believes in her, and that in itself is enough to boost her confidence. she's not just doing this for her dad, whoever he is, but for luke too. she has something to prove, and this is it. she loses track of how many campers she knocks down and knocks out as she clears her the way for her cabin and for herself. despite her size, she's a powerhouse, and before she knows it, she's almost reached the enemy flag. it's taunting her, just out of her reach, just a sprint away. she just needs an opening to make a run for it — but then it occurs to her, as the leader, she can't do everything herself, even if she wants to. she has to trust that her cabinmates will come through for her just as she has for them. teamwork is still a concept she's learning, but she thinks she might be getting the hang of it, and while she holds off the enemy campers, creating a diversion from the flag, another hermes camper, a boy named chris, she thinks, seizes the opportunity she's given him and captures the flag for the hermes cabin. ]

[ the very moment the rest of the hermes cabin realizes they've scored themselves a win, luke pushes his way through the throng of kids coming to pat him on the back and attempting to pull him into a headlock, making his way toward the girl who had captained a ship most thought she'd sink. instead of speaking to her, luke pulls the stoll brothers with him, gesturing they follow as his shadow toward a girl who has her back turned to him, so caught up in the excitement that she doesn't notice them coming. within a blink of an eye, the boys pull her up, which startles her to the point of laughter, but she doesn't complain as they place her on luke's shoulders while the hermes cabin moves to crush in on them, cheering at their victory founded by the hands of an unclaimed little girl. she soaks in the attention, her chest swelling and her face beaming with pride. but luke allows clarisse to slip from his shoulders the moment they make the rounds, the stoll brothers taking over for him by lifting her up and ensuring all can see their victorious leader, as he slips away within the crowd. her stomach drops a little when her eyes search for his and find nothing, but hearing her name chanted over and over raises her spirits, replacing any anxiety she might have been feeling for that split second. ]

[ eventually, she finds herself back on the ground as the campers start to disperse, and it appears as though luke deems she's had her fill of the spotlight, approaching her once again with a smile on his face. with his fingers around her wrist, he gently guides her away to come sit upon a large rock. he remains standing, ruffling her hair with his fingers as he smiles. she has to try her hardest not to blush, but she can feel the faint heat rise to her cheeks nonetheless, her heart beating fast and hard against her chest. ] Congrats, Squirt. You did good out there. That reminds me, I've got something for you. [ clarisse blinks, raising her eyebrows in surprise. ] For me? [ he makes no move to sit, instead opting to remove the armor from his upper arms. clarisse watches intently, almost transfixed with curiosity, as he pulls a boar bracelet from where it's embedded itself into his skin. it's large, bigger than the width of her own arm, but luke doesn't say anything of note to tarnish the gift he's unwrapped for her. he sits, then, opposite her, leg drawn up as he fiddles with the bracelet in his grip. ] The moment I saw it I thought of you. [ this time she does blush, and she prays to whoever her father is that he doesn't notice. he lifts his gaze to hers, pointedly, before it shifts away. his fingers continue to play with the bracelet and she finds it fascinating how a warrior's hands can handle something so delicately. she stares back up at him as he continues, already investing herself in the story it seems he's about to tell. ]

Nabbed it from this guy — I'm pretty sure he was a hunter. Had one of those elephant tusk boards on his wall and all these hunting rifles hanging on these hooks ... [ leaning in, his voice lowers, as though speaking of a dangerous secret, and it sends a chill down her spine. her eyes widen just slightly and she nods at him to go on, holding her breath. ] I saw this on his dining room table. It was full of sh — crap. Knives, bullets, pelts ... It was just sitting there, collecting dust, so I figured I'd go grab it for my girl. [ her face goes redder, and no amount of praying to any of the gods would make it less noticeable. he called her his girl. even if it was a joke... she swallows and her eyes drop to the bracelet. ] It'd look better on her arm, anyway. [ leaning back, his voice grows louder. ] Almost lost my head — literally — but it was worth it. [ he hands the bracelet over to her, sitting in his open palm for her to grab it. she glances back up at him, as if making sure he hasn't made a mistake in giving her a gift. his eyes remain on her, which is answer enough. she takes the bracelet from his hand hesitantly, but it brings a small smile to her face. ] Boars are an animal belonging to the Ares cabin, but — [ luke shrugs, the smile growing upon his face. ] — you're tougher than the lot of them. You proved that today. They're going to be running scared the moment they see you coming for them.

[ clarisse takes a moment to examine the bracelet, and just as she slides it onto her arm, something bright shines over her head — in a vibrant red, the symbol of ares. ]

text ;

[ a few hours later, she feels the need to add her own brand of commentary about something she hasn't thought about in eight years. she never forgot, but when the one person you try your hardest to hate was once the one person you wanted to impress the most, it's not something she actively tries to remember, even if that game of capture the flag had led to her father claiming her as his own after a month of waiting. it had led her down the path to embracing ares and becoming who she is today, but... now everything is just... complicated. ]

in case you were wondering that was the symbol of the god of war, ares that makes me his daughter now you know

[ and, of course, she conveniently fails to mention anything about the majority of that memory being about luke. if she ignores it, maybe everyone else will too. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[well what's worse, a shitty dad, a dad who constantly reminds you that your sister was better, or a completely absent dad?]

Maybe three.

[clearly joking. please don't take him seriously.]

[ how about a shitty absent dad who constantly reminds you your brothers are better. though, to be fair, she has at least met her dad. ]

Yeah, sounds about right. Ever happen to strangle a snake when you were a baby? You might be the next Heracles.

[ yeah, heracles, because she's greek. suck it. ]

Gods, I hope not. He was a dick.

[ well, now that elicits a snort from her. ]

I wouldn't know. Never met him.

[hey, if jason is badmouthing someone, you know it's legit.]

You don't want to, trust me. Unless it's to beat him senseless or something, in which case go for it.

[yeah there's no brotherly love lost here.]

[ clarisse whistles, almost impressed that jason is talking smack about someone, let alone his immortal brother. but, hey, immortal brothers suck, she'll admit it. don't even get her started on phobos and deimos. ]

Damn, Grace. Never thought I'd see the day you actually want me to beat someone up.

It happens. And on the "more likely to happen" side of things, if we ever get home and all that, you might eventually meet this guy named Octavian. Well, you probably will, given he was leading an army to attack Camp Half-blood last I heard. Please knock him out for me.

[god, he's always wanted to. but rule number one of being a good praetor is that you can't zap people just because they're huge assholes.]

Octavian, huh? With a name like that, there's no way he's not a huge prick. Don't worry, Grace, I got you covered. Especially if he's leading the army. See, as it just so happens, that's my job, too. So there's no doubt we'll end up clashing swords, and you can rest easy knowing I will take pleasure in kicking his ass for you.

[ aww, isn't that sweet? ]

[you're the sweetest. he's making a visible effort to keep a straight face, that roman upbringing still making it a struggle to really give no fucks about how unprofessional his opinions are sometimes, but there's a grin fighting its way through despite his struggle.]

Just go easy on everyone else. They don't know any better than that the Greeks are their mortal enemies, and Octavian's got them all worked up into a frenzy.

[ she waves a hand dismissively. ]

Yeah, yeah, sure. Take out this Octavian guy first and maybe I won't have to worry about the rest of the army. You know, like what they tried to do at the beginning of the Trojan War. Except I'll actually finish the duel.

Pretty much. He won't even be that hard to beat -- the guy doesn't really use his knife for much besides gutting teddy bears.

... Gutting teddy bears? [ what. ]

Uh, it's an augur thing. He's, like, the Roman equivalent of the Oracle, kinda. In Ancient Rome, they used to predict the future using the entrails of animals, but these days we have guys like Octavian that just tear open stuffed animals and read their stuffing.

Remind me not to let him get anywhere near our prized stuffed animal collection, then.

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