Kaleidoscope Eyes [Clarisse la Rue]

ix. Irritating Little Sisters and Unpleasant Caskets

It had been almost a month since Aurora Alvarez had arrived at Camp, and the little girl finally began to settle into her new life. Though still often confused about new challenges that arose in her life as a demi-god, the day-to-day life that was so tightly scheduled by Chiron, the activity director, kept her grounded. She hoped that as she grew, her time might be more freely controlled, but for now the girl was kept under the watchful guidance of Butch through all hours of the day (save for when she was begrudgingly handed off to Mara in the mornings and evenings to get ready for the day and for bed).

"When will I get to see Clarie?" Aurora complained for the fifteenth time that day - she was counting, wondering when she would finally wear down her older brother and convince him to bring her to wherever her best friend was.

"Soon, Aurora," Butch said for the fifteenth time that day with an exasperated sigh. She glanced up to see him roll his blue eyes, muttering something in Ancient Greek under his breath. She didn't quite understand the words he was saying, but she knew they couldn't be particularly kind.

"Sammy says if you have nothing nice to say, you oughtn't to say anything at all." Aurora said, sticking her nose in the air slightly - something she wasn't used to was having an older brother. Most of the time, Aurora loved it - having someone to dote on her, like Sammy and her father used to at home. She couldn't lie; Aurora secretly loved the constant attention from Butch, and Mara and the others in the Hermes cabin that all fawned over her. She and Clarisse were two of the youngest girls at Camp - aside from a slightly younger blonde daughter of Athena that Aurora had never met.

"Oughtn't?" Butch snorted, and Aurora chewed her lip; had she said it wrong? A blush settled on her cheeks when Butch continued, "My take - speak your mind, and tell your little kid sister when you're about to chuck her in the lake if she asks to see her friend one more time."

Aurora frowned and said, "I can't swim."

"I know."

Aurora almost wanted to ask again when she could see her friend, but with one quick glance at the lake, Aurora shivered and decided against it, instead continuing to follow her brother down the bath towards the Cabins. They had just finished stable-cleaning, and were going to change before dinner. They were given stable-cleaning as a chore more often than the other cabins; as children of Iris, Butch and Aurora were naturally gifted with the pegasi; they had both easily formed bonds with them so it was their special chore to deep-clean their stables at least once a week.

Aurora didn't mind some parts of the work; another thing she liked about having a big brother was that he did most of the hard work with a few bats of her eyelashes, whilst she refilled their food troughs and helped him clean out their stalls.

The two walked in silence for the last few minutes; Aurora was afraid that the instant she opened her mouth, she would ask when she could see Clarisse. She had only glimpsed the girl at breakfast that day; the two were too busy with their cabin-mates to escape and spend any time together, and Aurora was worried dinner would be the same. Since Clarisse had been claimed, the two hadn't been able to see each other as much.

"Oh, Aurora, you're disgusting," Elena Sherman, an unclaimed camper chided once the younger girl stepped through the doors of Cabin 11. She had been lounging on her bed like the other cabin occupants whilst Butch and Aurora completed their chores - the younger girl thought it was completely unfair, but she was too scared of Mr. Chiron, the activities director. He was very nice to the girl, and she had no reason to be afraid of him, but she still couldn't get over the fact that he was half-horse.