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cabotwife · 7 months ago

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FIRST POST FROM ONE OF MY CLOSE FRIENDS!!!! GO CHECK THIS OUT!

aphrodite areia

dedicated to the lovely @cabotwife , thank you so much for helping me with this fic ! the quality would be 100% worse without your input, i hope you like it <33

warnings: canon typical violence/death, small amount of swearing 3.5k words

“Please, Clarisse. For my siblings, for camp, please.” Silena’s voice was desperate, begging. Her hands were clasped in front of her, blue eyes pleading. But she wouldn’t relent. “No, Lena. I won’t risk my siblings. We won’t fight in a war we can’t win. I won’t send them to die.” Clarisse folded her arms resolutely, watching as the other girl’s face morphed from anguish to frustration, and back to her misery. It had been back and forth like this for hours, ever since Silena had returned to camp. She hated seeing Silena like this, but there was no choice. It was safer here, and the idiots that went to fight would have to fend for themselves.

“Clarisse, please-”

“No, Silena. I already said no.” “Clarisse, you’re being unreasonable. Without you, they will all die. Please.” Silena’s eyes grew glassy, welling up with tears Clarisse knew she wouldn’t be afraid to shed. She had never stood much chance against Silena, but she wouldn’t relent. Not this time.

“Then they die. I don’t care.”

Silena’s lips tightened into a thin line, quivering, blinking hard as she shook her head. “You’re such a fucking coward.” she spat, as she turned and left, marching away. Clarisse heaved a sigh, putting her head in her hands, before balling them up into fists, digging her nails into her palms for some semblance of relief from the anger and frustration that swirled in her chest. Stupid Aphrodite girl, didn’t she see what Clarisse was trying to do? She was keeping them safe, protecting them from the inescapable death that would consume them all if they joined the fight.

It was almost funny how quickly they had fallen apart since Silena arrived. When Clarisse had seen her, alive and in one piece at the camp border, she had almost collapsed in relief. The daughter of Aphrodite had leaned into her, soft lips brushing her cheek. Despite her bruised body, her eyes had glimmered with the light that was only reserved for her, pale blue as the ribbon in her hair.

Almost three hours had passed before Silena started asking her to join the fight. Three, blissful hours with her at her side, under her protection, fed, safe, and clean. Three hours with the only person that really mattered, their faces so close together, lean arms around her neck. “Come fight.” Silena had said, her voice silky and soft, the words whispered into her ear. Clarisse had been so, so tempted. ‘Yes.’ was all she had had to say. ‘Of course, anything for you.’ But some part of her mind must have cleared, the haze thinning. Instead, she had jerked back, stumbling away from the embrace that had been so soft, so sweet only moments before.

Then they started arguing, and the rest was history.

Clarisse half sat, half fell onto the ground, groaning. Why was there a war in her lifetime? It was ridiculous. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and just as sleep was about to wash over her tired body, a voice called her name. “Clarissa!”

Eyes snapping open, she recognized Chris. She raised her eyebrows in question, and he smiled at her softly. Familiar shame flooded through her veins at his gentle face. How could she have been so close to Silena earlier? She was Chris’s girlfriend.

“What’s up?”

“What are you doing on the ground, Clarisse?” he asked, his smile teasing.

“I can do what I damn want on the ground, Chris.”

The regret was instant. His face fell, eyes worried, searching her for an answer. “What’s wrong?”

She took a breath. “Nothing. It’s fine. What did you want?”

“Uh, we were going to patrol now, remember?” he swallowed, as if bracing himself for a retort.

“Oh, right. I’ll be right there.”

“Okay.” he lingered for a moment, before slipping away down the hill. She deserved an award for the amount of people she had managed to upset today.

Sighing, she heaved herself to her feet and stumbled down the hill, turning towards the weapons shed. Maimer was in the hands of Sherman, he was the only one of her siblings she trusted enough to take care of it for maintenance. She pushed open the creaking metal door, flipping on the hanging light. Clarisse didn’t take long to choose a weapon, her trained eyes skimming across the array of swords before snatching one up, a wide, heavy blade that had a nice swing.

She met Chris at the Thalia’s pine, and they exited the border together.

It was quite possibly one of the worst patrols ever. Chris was quiet, instead of chatty like he usually was, and Clarisse was damn miserable. Not even a single monster showed up for her to kill, to vent her anger on. After around half an hour, they decided to turn around and just head back. There was nothing to protect camp from, they might as well just go home. When they crested the hill, though, they were greeted with a camp void of any people.

They searched for the next 10 minutes, but it was completely empty, not a single person in sight. All of the chariots were gone, and her armor and spear were both missing. With every moment that passed, a pit grew deeper and deeper in her gut, and she knew exactly what had happened.

“Chris! We need to go!”

He appeared beside her and gave a stiff nod, worry flashing in his eyes. They raced to the crest of the hill, where the van lay unoccupied. Clarisse flung herself into the driver’s seat, and without even buckling in or waiting for Chris’s door to close, she turned the ignition and slammed her foot on the accelerator, throwing them both back against the seats. Her racing mind whirled to a stop as her focus narrowed to only the road in front of her, and the destination. They hurtled down the winding path, Chris letting out little yelps every time they made a turn.

Clarisse lost track of time the moment the van started moving, so she wasn’t sure how long it had taken them to arrive at one of the tunnels that led to Manhattan. At least a couple cars had been overturned or pushed to the side by the van, though, and she had half a mind to hope that there was nobody inside. The road grew too crowded to push through, and with a yell of frustration, she threw herself from the seat and started running, weaving through the cars until she emerged from the entrance of the tunnel, Chris at her side. The piercing screech of what she knew had to be a drakon echoed through the silent city, and they took off, sprinting towards the noise. Her heart seemed to be beating ice through her veins, each breath coming in sharp and aching. Her legs burned, but slowing down wasn’t an option, and she spurred herself faster, even outpacing Chris, who was blessed by his father with incredible speed.

Silena had to be okay. She was going to be fine. Clarisse was going to take her place, keep her safe, inside. It was going to be fine, she just needed to run, faster, faster.

“Clarisse!” Chris’s voice yelled. She turned, and saw him on a bike, weaving through traffic toward her. He reached out his hand and she grabbed it, hauling herself behind him. They hurtled forward, scraping cars and thumping up and down sidewalks.

The drakon shrieked again, this time much closer, louder, the sound reverberating in her ears. The ferocity of it sent them spinning onto the ground and she rolled on the impact, clutching at her ears. “Shit, shit, shit.” she muttered, picking herself back up. She pulled Chris to his feet and glanced at the bike, her thoughts whirling. It was beyond salvaging, and plus, they were close. She turned, resuming her mad dash through the town, Chris right on her heels. Her muscles screamed for relief, and she knew they would bring her hell tomorrow. If there even was a tomorrow.

She rounded the corner in time to see the drakon writhe and smash into a building. The stolen chariots circled the beast, though a few lay broken on the street. Her eyes scanned the scene, and she recognized someone in her armor charging the beast. Silena.

Her joints throbbed, her knees shaking from her relentless pounding against the concrete. “Silena!” she screamed, her voice tearing from her lungs, too hoarse from her lack of breath. “Silena!”

And then it happened.

Silena glanced at her, and in her moment of distraction, the drakon reared high into the air, spitting poison directly at her. She fell from the chariot with a cry, arms flailing.

“NO! No, no no no no!” Clarisse yelled, closing the distance between them before stumbling to a stop, her legs giving way beneath her. Her vision blurred, and Silena trembled beneath her, her blue eyes wide and terrified. She cradled the girl’s broken body, desperately trying to pry the melting armor from her face. A screech split the air, and she looked up, holding Silena tight. Percy Jackson was fighting the thing. They were safe, all she needed to do was take the armor off and get her some ambrosia, and everything would be okay.

“Silena,” she sobbed, and her chest shook with the force of it. “You stupid, stupid girl.” Silena’s blue eyes welled with tears, her shaky fingers reaching for Clarisse’s. In the end, that’s what they all were, wasn’t it? Scared children, reaching for someone to come save them. But she was here, and she was going to save Silena. She just had to get this stupid helmet off, and it would be fine again. People began to crowd them, hands reaching for Silena. Clarisse almost bit them, until she realized what they were doing. Steadier fingers than hers began to unclasp the pieces of armor, pulling the steaming metal from Silena’s body.

A thunderous crash rumbled through the street, and Clarisse glanced up long enough to see the drakon’s head slam into a building. It tugged itself out, and Chris screamed for Percy to move, when did Chris get there? before it turned to face them. The beast began to rear up off the ground. Hatred pumped her blood to almost boiling, and she snatched her spear, which lay on the ground a few feet away, charging at the stupid thing. Her mind seemed almost distant, her instincts guiding her. “YOU WANT DEATH?” she screamed. “ WELL COME ON!”

This was the monster that had attacked Silena, that was trying to kill Silena, and half of her siblings. It struck the ground, sending shockwaves through the earth, but she rolled out of the way, leaping at its face. She plunged the pointed tip at its good eye, the shaft splintering beneath her hands. Electricity exploded from the spear, over the drakon, dissolving its flesh. Clarisse threw herself off of it, rolling to her feet. Over by Silena’s side, someone had finally managed to remove her helmet.

Her pretty face was melted, features twisting beyond repair. Silena’s breath shuddered, and she knew that if the girl could see herself now, she would have cried. Around her, bodies stiffened with shock, but she knelt beside Silena, taking her face in her hands.

“What were you thinking?” she sniffled, cradling her head softly. Silena’s mouth moved silently for a moment, before her voice cracked out. “You… wouldn’t listen… cabin would… only follow you.”

“So you stole my armor.” she almost laughed in disbelief, choking on her sobs. “You waited until Chris and I went out on patrol; you stole my armor and pretended to be me.” she suddenly became disgustingly aware of her siblings around her, jerking her head up to glare at them. “And NONE of you noticed?”

Shame flickered across their faces, but Clarisse didn’t care. They had let this happen. She was about to stand up to throttle them, but Silena’s voice drew her attention back to her. “Don’t blame them… they wanted to believe I was you.”

She had tried to push it aside. To deny it, to blame it on everybody else. It was easier that way, to be angry. Anger was simple. Something went wrong, and you blame it on somebody, take out everything on them. But the truth was there. Silena lay dying because she had refused to come fight. If she had agreed, everything would have been fine. “You stupid Aphrodite girl,” she sobbed. “You charged a drakon. Why?”

“All my fault…” Silena murmured, a tear sliding off the side of her face. “The drakon, Charlie’s death… camp endangered-”

“Stop it!” she snapped. “That’s not true!” But Silena betrayed her, her hand opening up to reveal a small scythe charm in the center of her palm. Her stomach dropped.

“You were the spy.” Percy Jackson said, his voice stiff and cold. Silena gave a small nod.

“Before… before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so… charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised… he promised I was saving lives. fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn’t hurt… Charlie. He lied to me.”

Luke Castellan. She remembered that, all the times Silena had snuck away to meet him in private. Clarisse had asked her about it and she had just said, “It’s a secret,” in a teasing tone. But she had also sounded afraid, terrified of someone finding out. She wondered if Silena had asked Luke to keep her safe too.

Silena’s blue eyes were wet, searching Clarisse’s face. She cupped her hand on her cheek, brushing the tears away from her scared eyes. “Go.” she instructed, looking up at her siblings. “Help the centaurs. Protect the doors. GO!”

They scrambled away without protest. Silena heaved a shaky breath, the fingers of her other hand locked in a death grip around Clarisse’s wrist. “Forgive me.” she whispered.

“You’re not dying!” her voice was shriller than it usually was.

“Charlie…” she said, her gaze shifting from her to the dark sky. “See Charlie.”

Her fingers loosened from her wrist, bright blue eyes going blank. Stillness echoed through the city, and Clarisse was almost certain her heart stopped in time with the dead girl’s. Her mind grasped for something, anything. Instead, she doubled over with sobs, clinging to Silena’s ruined face, wailing on the cold street. She felt a hand at her shoulder, and she pulled herself away, hunching further over Silena. This wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. Silena would blink in a moment, demand for some nectar in her sweet, bossy tone, and it would all be okay.

Finally, she pulled back, looking over her broken body. Annabeth Chase leaned over and gently closed Silena’s eyes, which tore out another choking sound from her throat.

“We have to fight.” the girl said, and there was almost comfort in the fact that her gray eyes were spilling tears too. “She gave her life to help us. We have to honor her.”

“She was a hero.” Clarisse’s voice cracked, but she looked up at them, almost begging. “She was a hero, understand? A hero.”

Percy Jackson nodded. “Come on, Clarisse.”

Slowly, she picked herself up, gently resting Silena’s head against her balled up jacket. She produced a coin from her pocket, and tugged the girl’s lower jaw down, placing the money beneath her tongue. “Safe passage.” she whispered, kissing her forehead softly.

As she rose to her feet, her grief morphed into a more familiar feeling, burning, hot, melting her insides. Rage took hold of her body, and she didn’t fight it, letting it wash over her, consume her thoughts. There was comfort in the way that it burned through her body, boiling her blood. She snatched up a sword from one of her siblings, marching over to one of the few intact chariots. “Kronos is going to pay.”

They didn’t stand a chance. She rode towards the enemy lines, bulldozing anything in her path. Her sword slashed through monsters like a knife through some fucked up butter. Around and around she went, tearing through them, seething hot anger churning in her body and mind. Once they had retreated a few blocks down, and the others were attacking, she turned around, back to the drakon and the fallen body of Silena Beauregard. She lashed a line through its eye sockets, attaching it to her chariot. With a roar of rage, she charged back at the monsters racing round the remains of the battalion.

The drakon’s body was both terrifying and deadly. It crushed through the monsters, smashing them into the ground. She continued to scream insults at the beasts as they shrieked in terror, running away. Running away from her.

That thought brought wicked satisfaction, vindication coursing side by side with the fire in her blood. A second layer of anger, of hunger for destruction encircled her, and she recognized the presence of her father, roaring his rage beside her.

“I AM CLARISSE, DRAKON-SLAYER!” she screamed. “I will kill you ALL! Where is Kronos? Bring him out! Is he a coward?”

Distantly, she heard voices telling her to stop. But they didn’t matter, because she was going to tear Kronos limb from limb. Another voice was begging alongside theirs, a softer voice, sweet and melodic. “What’s the matter, Titan-lord?” Clarisse yelled. “BRING IT ON!”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of gold, and through her peripheral vision she saw a man, his bronzed skin shiny in the light, riding a chariot beside her. He wore an Ancient Greek chiton, and his golden hair blew back from his face with the speed at which he was driving. He looked at her, greek fire blazing in his eyes.

He turned back to face the front, and spurred his horses faster, sand kicking up beneath the wheels. Wait, sand? She looked at him again, harder, and saw his chariot properly. It was made of wood and metal, very much a classic model. And at the back, tied to his chariot, a dead man’s body dragged along behind him. The man driving bellowed insults forward at an enemy she realized wasn’t the same as the one she was charging.

His image flickered, and for a moment, the man changed, bronze face spattered with blood, an arrow embedded into the back of his foot. Blood spilled from his mouth, and his green eyes were distant. Then he was gone, leaving her to stare blankly at the space where Achilles had rode beside her.

She wasn’t sure when she had been frozen, nor when she was defrosted. Clarisse was only able to put her thoughts back into coherence as Ares approached her. “That’s my girl!” he bellowed, ruffling her hair. “The best warrior I’ve ever seen! That drakon-slaying? THAT’S what I’m talking about!”

Part of her wanted to lean into him, to soak up the praise like sunlight. His sneering face was smiling, for once, and she couldn’t help but think that if he was like this more often, their cabin would have a better reputation than they did.

Her mind numbed with the noise around her, the walls blurring together, and she realized that she was damn exhausted. She stumbled away from the main hall, down a road and into some small alley between two buildings. The stone was cool to the touch, and she pressed herself against it, sliding into a hunch, relief spreading through her burning chest. Eyes closing, she drifted off into the warm release of sleep.

Silena took her hand, her skin soft, and pulled her through the woods. They were running, and laughing. The forest was green, like the skin of the drakon. And all of a sudden, they weren’t running. Silena was on the ground, her eyes staring up at nothing. “Wake up!” she begged. “Silena!”

Clarisse jolted awake, head snapping back and forth. Eventually, she realized there was nobody, and she was about as safe as it got. Silena was still dead, though. Maybe this was her curse for not listening to her sooner, reliving her death over and over until she joined the daughter of Aphrodite in the underworld.

The girl’s face was burned into her mind, the way her blue eyes looked blankly at the night sky, the way her voice had rasped her final words. “Charlie… see Charlie.” she had said. Clarisse wondered if Silena had ever loved her at all. Probably not, she imagined. Not like she had. Her throat closed, and she looked down the alley in a weak attempt to prevent the tears from falling.

Silena would have liked this place, the low hanging plants and colorful flowers. The sandy colored tiles and the frequent mosaics. The sky, which was blue like her eyes, with puffy white clouds drifting in the light breeze.

She hoped Elysium was like this. Silena deserved to see the world, even if it was just a little piece of it. Yelling in the distance told her that the demigods were packing up to drive back to camp, and with a sigh, she heaved herself to her feet to join them.

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