reflection ● jason grace

Off to sea

 "I've got a boat," Nathan said, packing up his things. "So I really don't see the problem."

"The problem," Michael seethed, his dark hair loose around his face since he had just woken up. "Is that none of us have a license."

It was only 7 in the morning, the earliest Nathan had woken up since he left camp for December. He missed his friends a lot, but he had to admit, not being on the verge of death all the time was kinda nice.

"That's fine, Michael," Nathan snapped back. "Because I have a boat."

The other three watched unamusedly from his unmade bed. Truthfully, Nathan didn't even know why they were having this conversation. The final decision would be Daria's anyway.

Except for the fact that the girl didn't seem to be listening. Nathan could feel annoyance rise up inside him. He and Daria got along well until something important happened, and Nathan's best friend being kidnapped was very, very important to both of them.

"Nathan," Clara put a hand on his shoulder. "I think you're missing the point. It's illegal."

"Like running a camp in the middle of the woods with child soldiers," Dakota offered, staring out the window. "Or you know, something."

"Dakota's right," Daria agreed, completely missing the joke. "Are we really going to let the law stop us? Can they even put teenagers in jail?"

"Yes Daria." Michael's voice was laced with frustration and Nathan realized that for the first time in a while, Daria was on his side instead of perfect Michael Kahale's.

"Look," Nathan said, calming himself down so that he could get his point across. "I'll just charmspeak anyone who gets in our way. It's illegal, but what are they going to say? And also, who cares?"

Daria stared at him. She was wearing the same hoodie as yesterday, Reyna's. Nathan had smirked when he heard the news, then he realized that was kinda creepy. "You can charmspeak?"

"Isn't," Clara glanced at Michael who looked pissed. "Isn't that a Venus thing?"

"And Mercury," Dakota said, though how they knew that, Nathan wasn't sure. They raised their flask of Kool-Aid in the air. "Here's to agreeing on something!"

First Cohorters were always stiff; Nathan and Clara smiled at Dakota dryly, ignoring the other two who were frowning. The child of Bacchus was right. It had taken them an hour just to agree on the mode of transportation.

Nathan couldn't help but think that if Jason was here, the issue would be resolved much faster. He and Daria had this way of bouncing ideas off of each other that was too rapid for anyone else to keep up with.

"Fine." Daria tapped her fingers on the bed frame so rapidly that Nathan was getting dizzy. "Where's the boat?"

"Santa Monica," Nathan said, tossing the last of his emergency ambrosia into his drawstring. "My mom can drive us whenever we're ready."

"We're ready," Michael said standing. He offered a hand to Daria to help her up – she ignored it. If the situation wasn't so tense, Nathan would've been like, awkward.

They shuffled out of Nathan's bed room, Daria trailing the pack. Nathan stared at her with a curious expression. The problem was, he liked Daria, he understood Daria. Jason and Dakota were Nathan's best friends, in that order, but sometimes he wondered what life would be like if they weren't child soldiers.

Daria noticed him looking. "Don't piss me off," she warned him.

He snorted. "Right back at you, princess."