reflection ● jason grace

The Metafours

The Forum was more crowded than usual.

It seemed like everyone was taking the whole 'travel in groups' order too seriously. Jason didn't get it – these were supposed to be trained warriors, and they were scared of a couple of monsters?

He was with Reyna, watching the band parade around the stage, providing entertainment to the young children that were playing together under their parents' watchful eyes. Michael Kahale sat closer to the stage with Octavian. Jason could hear them discuss band names.

"This is a song we wrote," Nathan announced, strumming a few chords that were horribly out of tune. There were a couple of girls sitting in the front row. When Nathan winked at them, they started giggling, and Jason could see Michael roll his eyes, even from here.

"They did not write this song," Reyna said beside him. Her eyebrows were knit together. "This is Party Rock Anthem."

"I don't think anyone cares," Jason grinned. Most of them had been stuck at camp for their entire lives. Sometimes they would watch movies in the theater in New Rome, but the only music they got came from the New Rome Orchestra and the ghosts who used to be opera singers.

He was in a better mood now. After their argument, he hadn't seen Daria for the rest of the day, and it was now almost dinner (a piece of bread and cheese for each legionnaire after they prayed to the gods for several days).

She was most likely still with Daniel and Leila, and maybe Mitch too. The son of Mars was pretty good at battle planning, but Jason didn't envy anyone who had to be in a room with Daniel and Mitch at the same time.

"We need a name!" Jason heard Michael exclaim. "Octavian, you're no help."

"You're taking this manager thing pretty seriously," Octavian commented back. Why Michael and Octavian got along, Jason would never know. "I thought you didn't want to be associated with them?"

"I don't," he shot back. "But if I'm going to be anyway, I'm not calling them 'the band'. That implies they're the band, like when someone says they're the shit, you know?"

Octavian looked like he was having an aneurysm. "No."

"Look," Reyna nodded towards the Via Pratoria. "Daria's coming."

"Great," Jason muttered. He wasn't going to be in a bad mood because of something Daria said. Besides, he was hanging out with Reyna. Jason and Daria didn't even have to talk to each other.

In fact, it was Daria who looked like she was close to snapping. Her lip was set in a firm line and her glasses hung low on her face, betraying her frustrated expression. Idly, Jason wondered if they had even taken a break for lunch; Daniel had a habit of pushing people.

"You're not doing a very good job of being mad at her," Reyna whispered. "If that's what you were trying to accomplish."

Jason watched as she plopped herself down next to Michael and Octavian without sparing him a second glance. "Huh?"

"Nevermind." Reyna sat back, her dark hair falling over her shoulder. She hadn't let go of the imperial gold dagger that she carried when they first met her, but Jason was also teaching her how to use a spear. She was a fast learner.

Jason wanted to ask her where she came from, how she had even gotten to Galveston, but he figured that Reyna didn't trust people easily. So he wouldn't pry until she wanted to tell him. He was nice that way.

"Don't look now," Reyna told him, bringing his vision back into focus. "But Michael just put his arm around Daria."

"Yeah," Jason sighed. Michael flirting with Daria was nothing new. He wondered if Reyna would agree to making her jealous (not because he liked her, but because he wanted to get revenge), but Daria didn't get jealous. "You get used to it after a while."