reflection ● jason grace

This was so not supposed to happen

Daria would give anything to go back to having hypothermia.

It was their third day out. She had warmed up in someone's house in Sacramento and even Jason's shoulder had healed-some good old ambrosia never hurt anyone.

Ryan managed to call Leila on something called a landline. Demigods weren't supposed to use technology outside of camp, but Ryan had assured them that it was okay. Daria and Jason had stared as Leila's voice appeared on the phone. Now, that was cool.

What was less cool was the fact that they were cutting their quest short. Scouters in Redding had reported that the ship they were meant to rescue had disappeared. No one knew why. Ryan thought someone had stolen it. Either way, Daria was disappointed. On the bright side, they were going home.

On the downside, they were going home, which just meant more training and reading and waiting for their next breath of the outside world. Even though the first few days had been a mess, Daria liked questing. She liked the adrenaline she felt as her body thrummed, one with the earth.

They were walking in the direction of Camp Jupiter, all prior animosities forgiven but not forgotten. Daria still had a bone to pick with Jason, but it could wait.

"I wonder who your godly parent is," Ryan mused. "Oliver said something about it, when he was retiring, but it was Oliver, so-"

"It didn't make any sense," Jason finished. His sponsor messed up his hair in affection; Jason, of course, protested. It seemed like everyone was in higher spirits today. Daria figured it was a by-product of not being on the verge of death anymore.

"Obviously, it's an Earth goddess," Ryan continued. "So Ceres, Ops, Proserpine, all good options."

Daria shrugged. "Does it matter?" She didn't mean to sound rude, but if her mother wanted to claim her, she would. There was no use in wasting energy thinking about it. Besides, Gods came with expectations, and Daria had enough from everyone else.

Ryan thought about it. "I suppose not."

Jason was bouncing around in front of them, jabbing at something imaginary with his weapon, pronounced Julius. Technically, it said Ivlivs, but Ryan told Jason that if he called the coin Ivlivs, he would drown him in the Tiber. "Hey Dars, what games are you in for the feast?"

That's right! The Feast of Fortuna was only a few days away, and along with it, all sorts of competitions. Last year, she raced against Jason and done the climbing wall. She got second in both, but somehow, losing to Jason was more annoying.

"One Hand Sword-fighting," she squinted as she tried to remember the second one. Usually, people signed up for three, but Leila ordered them to save some competition for the other legionnaires. "And um, Latin actually."

Jason scoffed. "You signed up to take a Latin test after we graduated?"

"Yes."

"It's because of Atticus, isn't it?" Jason said it lightly but there was a fiery annoyance in his blue eyes.

Daria wasn't sure why she had been drawn to the language, but she knew it wasn't because of Atticus. "He's actually not that good at Latin."

"Oh," Jason sounded surprised, and Daria snorted at the implication. "Well, you're going to win at both of those."

"What about you?" Daria asked, eager to switch the topic. She didn't need Ryan tattle-tailing on her to Leila.

"Races, again." The sunlight reflected off his light blond hair. That and the mention of races made Daria think of Achilles, the hero from The Iliad. "And then..." He looked at Ryan for help.

"Jousting, Jason," Ryan reminded him dryly. "You've literally got your lance in your hand."

"You give him too much credit," Daria snickered.

Jason stiffened, the playful look dropping off his face. He spun the lance in his hand, turning it back into a coin and stared at Daria, unreadable.

"What?" She demanded.

"I'm uh," Ryan scratched the back of his head. "I'm going to go set up some lunch over there." He nodded his head to a clearing only feet away from the wooded path they were on. "Just, keep an eye out," he finished awkwardly.

Daria could barely wait until Ryan was out of sight to whirl in Jason's direction. "What?" She demanded again.

"I'm sorry, okay?" He muttered sulkily. "I'm jealous of Atticus, but it doesn't help when you're so mean to me."

That took Daria by surprise. She raised her eyebrows. "Mean?" This was controlled; after everything Jason had accused her of, this was gentle.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, no longer pouting, but rather glaring straight at her. "You make these comments like I'm stupid, but you worship Atticus and I just think-"

"Well, first of all, I don't 'worship' anyone."

"This is what I mean," he truly didn't seem mad. Just upset. "Daria, I know you're smarter than me. I don't think there's anyone at camp who doesn't know how smart you are, but I'm smart too!"

"I never said you weren't." Daria was still taken aback. She really wasn't good at this. "And Jason, you're better than me at a lot of stuff."

"Who cares?" His tone got louder; desperate. "Why can't we be the same? Equals? Just because you're supposed to be the most powerful demigod ever doesn't mean that I don't matter too!"

Daria could feel his words hurled at her like a javelin. It hurt because Jason had said them with sincerity; it hurt because Jason hadn't meant them to. "Okay," she said quietly. "We're equals, and I'm not saying that just to appease you. I swear to god, I-"

Thunk. Daria heard an arrow's impact, and by Jason's ear twitching, she knew she wouldn't have to explain herself when she yanked him down.

She tried to still both her breathing and her racing heart, but adrenaline was inevitable. She could feel her brain buzzing like it had when she was hypothermic. What next? She squeezed her eyes shut. What was she supposed to do next?

"Daria," Jason's breath was hot by her ear. "Do you sense anything on the ground? Do you hear anything?"

She concentrated, breath still coming in uneven outbursts. The ground was on edge along with her, but it was silent. Whoever had shot the arrow had left. "No." She tapped her rings together. "Let's go."

They creeped along the short pathway, still being overly cautious. The area smelled weird, something like the chemicals they would use to clean things at camp.

Jason clutched her arm. "I can't see Ryan."

"I..." She was ahead of him, but neither of them would be able to grasp the full picture until they entered the clearing. "We go in together," she decided, forcing down the waves of panic. "Back to back." Their fighting style was about trust, and Daria trusted Jason with her life. "Ready, go!"

They charged the clearing, ready for any traps or surprises. Daria scanned the clearing and almost fell over in shock. The scene before her....She hadn't been ready for this.

Camp Jupiter didn't teach you much about death. It taught you that it happened to demigods at a young age; it taught you that death was sad. It didn't tell you anything about watching your best friend collapse over his mentor in an overwhelming grief. It didn't tell you that beaming black eyes could look so dull.

Ryan was indeed dead. Daria knew enough basic anatomy to know that the arrow had pierced right through his heart. Jason's hands fluttered uselessly as he sobbed, and as much as Daria wanted to join him, something wasn't right.

She caught a glimpse of green eyes before a circle of flames burst around them.

Uhh, sorry to everyone who said they adored Ryan. But he doesn't like, go away? That doesn't make any sense but see you tomorrow around the same time.

-M