obsidian black ● jason grace

whisper

cw: throwing up

Selfish, stubborn, the river taunted her. Cruel, self-centered, unlovable.

    Daria knew it was a dream, knew this because she was both smarter and more powerful than people gave her credit for. Knew this because she had driven Gaea out of her mind, had survived the Gods' taunting for months. Knew that the only reason she was struggling was because these words were so reminiscent of the words she had heard when her eyes were open.

    It wasn't Jason's fault either, she wouldn't allow it to be. The river reminded her that everything that life had greeted her with had been of her own doing. She was selfish, stubborn. Cruel, self-centered, unlovable.

    The voices transformed, bubbling together until she was able to pick apart pieces. Percy, Reyna, Hazel, Nico, Piper, Jason. They surrounded her, tighter and tighter until-

    Daria woke up, stumbling out of bed with a silence that she had been practicing for many nights. It was only when she locked herself in the soundproof (she wasn't the only one with nightmares) bathroom that she allowed herself to gasp and heave, her dinner making itself known in the toilet bowl.

    She was sweatier than she wanted to be – would have to shower to get rid of the emotional grime of her nightmare. She sat with her back against the wall for a moment, feeling the waves rock the ship beneath her. Had she taken her meds the night before? She couldn't remember.

    But that didn't matter now. She got herself together, trying not to linger on anything for too long. They were in Jason's room, as they always were; she didn't trust that the plan that she, Percy, and now Leo were working on wouldn't somehow be left on her table, so if she wanted to change out of her sweat covered clothes, she would have to shower in her own room.

    This was where being the daughter of the earth goddess benefitted her. Just as she had made fun of Jason for 'asking the air not to make any noise' the wood beneath her feet was alive. It had to obey her, and tonight, she asked the maple hardwood not to wake her sleeping boyfriend.

    She showered under too cold water, which might have been good for her pores but also was effective in waking her up. As far as she knew, Leo was on duty tonight; Daria wasn't afraid of much, but recently the thought of going back to sleep terrified her.

    She hummed Chiquitita, the ABBA song, as she climbed the staircase to the deck, cup of water from the Mess Hall in hand. Leo was leaning on the railing and he turned when he heard her coming.

    "Torpe!" He cheered in a soft whisper. "I felt like you'd join me tonight." It had to be around 1 in the morning, but what Daria appreciated most about Leo was that he had no regard for time.

    "Yeah?" She said. The July night air was chillier than she was used to, being from California. She was wearing leggings and one of Jason's too big t-shirts, but she still shivered. "You got a brand new sense of intuition now?"

    Leo shrugged. "Eh, it was a fifty-fifty bet."

    "Most things are," she replied. They lapsed into silence; the waves were louder than they used to be, and lighter. Maybe they were sailing a different part of the Mediterranean.

    "So," Leo's body gave off heat like a furnace. She moved a bit closer to him. "How much sleep did you get this time?"

    "Longer than usual," she stroked Festus. The metal head reminded her of Reyna's dogs. "A few hours."

    "Not bad," Leo agreed. "And my best friend?"

    "Still asleep."

    Leo raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to talk to him this time."