chapter two!

claire.

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SHE FELT OUT of place. It was a strange feeling. Claire had been invited to sit at this table; to lounge back in the soft lounges that were set out in the forum. She was being offered food and drink by air spirits who would give her cheeky little smiles before they materialised back into nothing. She was shaking hands and nodding at other senior officers; smiling and being as polite as she could manage. She met Percy's new friends Frank and Hazel; she complimented Hazel's determination to fight with a cavalry weapon despite her height and discussed different arrows and different bows with Frank ... they were being kind and they were being accomodating ... but Claire knew she was not welcome.

She felt the same on edge feeling that made her tense and check every noise, every exit and entry▬count every single Roman that sat around them in case something happened. She couldn't describe why, but she just knew deep inside her chest that she did not belong here and that she needed to leave.

Claire pushed through it. She did her best to fight it. She was sure it was rooted deep within her from her ancestry▬the ichor of the gods that ran through her blood warning her. Like animals that knew to run from their predator because evolution had written it to become a part of their very being. However, right now, Claire didn't know whether she was a predator, or whether she was prey▬she supposed the reason she felt so uncomfortable was because both sides were capable of turning a peace talk into a declaration of war.

She picked at the food▬there was so much of it, but she could barely manage much more than a bite. Claire kept eyeing the boy with the scars; the same boy she had come across at Hoover Dam. She had felt that same feeling then that she felt now. She had questioned who he was ever since, and now, he was sitting only a few seats across the table from her. He eyed her with a similar look▬staring up through the strands of hair that fell over his brows; and Claire pursed her lips. She recognised that look: it was the look she wore whenever she didn't trust someone ... almost to the exact.

Her heart was pounding. It told her the answer to all of her questions, she knew, but she was too scared to listen to it. Claire eyed him for a second longer before turning away, finishing off her lemonade and setting it back down on the table. As she did, she caught the scowl the blonde kid▬Octavian▬sent her. He was freshly back from burning one of his build-a-bears and was not happy to be around any of them. And for some reason, he was especially vexed by her. So she decided to set him a sickly, sweet sarcastic smile as she picked up a grape and sat back against Percy's side, satisfied to see Octavian take a sharp, bothered breath.

It felt strange, too, to sit beside her boyfriend again. To look up and see his face, to feel the warmth of his side against her▬it almost didn't seem real. She was scared that she'd blink and he'd be gone ... that she had dreamt it all.

Claire frowned a little to herself and quickly took his hand that rested on her leg. She held it tight, and the warmth he brought▬not only did it make her positive he was real, it also reminded her that she was, too. Sometimes, she forgot that she still wasn't lost between death and life. Percy glanced at her, a little concerned, but he just linked their fingers together and squeezed.

"Hey," he then gently gestured for her to come closer. She frowned but leaned in, letting him speak softly to her so no one else could hear. "I want to show you around New Rome. Just you and me. The place is incredible." Percy gave her a little smile, waiting for her answer. She was quick to nod, very careful not to seem too hesitant. He could read her easily; she didn't want him to see how tense she was▬how uneasy and unnerved she had become; she didn't want to disappoint him.

Because she should be thrilled. Alone with Percy? That was exactly what Claire wanted right now. But instead, she glanced down at the hand that held hers, and she felt this bitter resentment rise up her throat to see the marks burned into his skin. A SPQR tattoo just like Jason's. Unlike Camp Half-Blood, that passed out commemorative beads to represent each summer spent, Camp Jupiter seared years of service onto a soldier's arm ... as if to say: you belong to us. Permanently.

Hearing him speak so enthusiastically about Camp Jupiter made her scared in a way she could not quite explain. What about Camp Half-Blood▬their camp? Their home? What about the docks where they kissed? Or the campfires they snuggled at? What about the grounds they trained and they laughed and they fought and they got to know each other? The woods they chased each other through, never once looking back.

But she didn't tell him this. No, of course not. This place had become important to him▬these people. And while she was ashamed to be fearful of how much, she refused to ruin this day for him. She refused to make him feel bad about it. So, Claire smiled and nodded again, "Yeah. Okay."

She found herself fixing the praetor's robe around his shoulders, trying very hard not to show how troubled she was at the sight of it. Percy watched her, "Uh▬" he began and she stopped, meeting his gaze again. She watched him take a sudden nervous breath. He started to play with her fingers▬she noticed his leg was bouncing underneath the table.

Claire patiently waited for him to figure out the words he wanted to say. She knew all too well that their minds raced faster than they could talk. They were constantly sprinting in order to catch up.

Percy briefly closed his eyes, stopping his thought path to restart. Once he did, he squeezed her hand again and said to her, "I've been thinking," in a quiet voice. "Well▬I had this idea▬"

He stopped as Reyna called a toast to friendship. Claire threw her eyes up to the ceiling, wishing she could have waited at least a few seconds longer enough for Percy to finish what he wanted to say.

But she supposed all of that had to wait. There were more important things right now▬they needed to figure out a plan to stop the earth goddess from the destroying the world. They needed to join together▬to create peace within each other.

And so, they all introduced themselves and exchanged stories. Jason recounted how he arrived at Camp Half-Blood without his memory and the quest he ventured onto with Piper, Leo and Savreen to rescue Hera (or Juno▬it didn't really matter, they were both a pain in the demigod ass▬) from her prison at the Wolf House.

Octavian flushed bright red at this. He butted in with a screech of, "Impossible! That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there▬"

"They would've destroyed her," Piper cut him off, her words clipping off her tongue, "and blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish."

Octavian went to object, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. Leo sent him a glance of mock pity. Savreen subtly high-fived Piper under the table before sending Jason a thumbs-up to continue. Reyna eyed the group of them curiously▬her gaze locked onto the smile Piper gave Jason, reassuring and encouraging; and the confidence she held seemed to falter for the briefest of seconds▬so quick Claire almost didn't catch it.

"So," went on Jason, "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House: he said he was retreating to the ancient lands▬Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by ... what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."

Percy nodded thoughtfully. He sent Claire a quick glance, "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

He then dived into his own end of the story. Claire tried very hard not to cry as she listened to him speak. He began from where he woke up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name▬her name.

She blinked back tears. Claire felt a sudden wave of emotion▬this whole time, she had been terrified he forgot her. That she would run to him and he'd look at her and ask: who are you? But instead, he remembered her. This whole time, it was she who he remembered. She watched him, unable to think of anything else as he told them about how he travelled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel▬how they defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos and returned the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp, leading it into a battle against the giants' army.

Once he finished, Jason's brows shot up. He let out a low whistle of appreciation. "Pluto's pauldrons, no wonder they made you praetor."

"He's good at that," said Cain as he finished his fries. It was hard not to notice how the Romans sitting close to him had all shuffled away, eyeing him with the wariness anyone held in Cain's presence.

Octavian snorted at that. Happy that he was able to talk again, he leaned forward and sneered, "Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!"

Claire shook her head at him, she was about to ask him what his problem was, but Percy spoke before she could: "Hey, look on the bright side," he gestured towards the augur, nothing genuine in his tone, "both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up."

(This boy).

Octavian flushed as purple as his camp shirt. Jason grinned and reached over the table to give Percy a fist-bump. Even Reyna managed a slight smile, but her eyes were stormy.

"We will have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," she decided. "Right now we have more serious issues to deal with."

Percy shrugged as he sat back, "I'll step aside for Jason," he said easily. "It's no biggie."

"No biggie?!" choked Octavian. "The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?!"

Ignoring him, Percy continued to watch Jason▬he looked rather impressed. "So ... you're Thalia Grace's brother, huh?" he made a face. "Wow ... you guys look nothing alike."

"Yeah, I noticed," Jason frowned slightly but then gave Percy a nod. "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job."

"Back at you."

Annabeth kicked Percy's shin from across the table. He let out a sharp, "Ow▬!" and sent her an estranged look. She returned it with one of her own, and Claire understood▬they needed to move on. She quickly spoke up after that, "We should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it, too?"

Reyna nodded, "We call it the Prophecy of Ten. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?"

"Of course," he said. "But, Reyna▬"

"Recite it, please. In English, not Latin."

He looked like he wanted to disobey her and do exactly that just to spite her, but Octavian took a sharp, miffed breath through his nose and began: "Ten half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall. Only can fear guide harmony in acceptance▬"

"▬Or face true mournful, chaotic discrepance. An oath to keep with a final breath," continued Claire without thinking. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

Everyone stared at her▬all except Leo Valdez, who found his pinwheels far more interesting. He was currently trying to stick them into passing wind spirits.

Claire flushed at all of their stares. "Uh ... sorry," she said, sheepish. She tried to shove it off, shrugging and playing a little dumb smile. "Daughter of Apollo▬prophecies, sort of my thing, you know?"

Frank sat forward▬he was watching her with a breath of fascination. Claire frowned back at him, incredulous and starting to feel like a zoo animal on display. "Is it true ... that you're the Light's Kin?"

"Yes," she said, suddenly feeling very defensive. The amount of things she has had to deal with as the Light's Kin with prophecies ... she should have a drachma every time someone called her the Light's Kin, or the Light's Apprentice or Child of Light▬whatever they could come up with. "Why is that such a surprise?"

Octavian scoffed, "If you're truly the Light's Kin, then▬"

"Enough," snapped Reyna, shooting him a glower that was more a hurricane than a storm. "Claire is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides ..." she gave Claire a look of grudging respect. "Percy has spoken highly of you."

A little surprised at the sudden compliment, Claire resisted the urge to make a face and mutter a low okay... but then she noticed the way Percy looked down, suddenly very interested in his feet. Claire started to grow hot at the cheeks. She realised what had happened ... Percy had turned Reyna down for her.

She suddenly felt very small, not too sure on what she was supposed to say now. She became very awkward, wondering what need Reyna had to speak compliments to her with that weighing down on her tone. But she supposed the praetor of Camp Jupiter was as ADHD as the rest of them▬sometimes they just couldn't help but over-share details in order to try and make themselves feel comfortable surrounding a group they did not know.

Claire squeezed Percy's hand, silently trying to tell him every breath of gratitude she held▬every breath of admiration that filled her chest at his undying loyalty. Others called it his fatal flaw, she called it his greatest advantage.

"Um, thanks," she said to Reyna, trying to change the subject▬for everyone's sake. "At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death ... that must mean Romans and Greeks. We have to work together in order to find those doors."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Hazel quickly snatch something next to her plate. For a moment, Claire thought it looked like a large ruby▬but just as she saw it, it was gone; Hazel tucked it into the pocket of her denim shirt.

"My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," she then said.

This made quite a lot of them frown. Claire blinked, taken aback. She knew Nico di Angelo▬quite well, she assumed (well, as well as anyone could get to know the son of Hades), but he was so ... well ... Nico, and Hazel looked to be so wonderfully sweet and youthful. And yet ... she seemed to hold that same heavy sadness in her eyes that he did▬and Claire wondered whether it was a curse for the children of the God of the Underworld to suffer▬to feel the weight of the dead with every breath and step they made in the living world.

Cain seemed to find this just as jarring. He stared at Hazel. Then, he realised he should blink and so he shook his head, "I▬uh▬wait ... Nico di Angelo?" He knew him better than any of them. Cain not only seemed to form an understanding that could almost be a friendship with the son of Hades, but they also attended the same military school where they were found by Grover, Annabeth, Thalia and Percy before being taken to Camp Half-Blood with Nico's sister Bianca, who had tragically died that same month. "He's your brother?"

Hazel nodded as if this were an obvious revelation. Cain frowned, then he slowly sat back, "Okay ..." he ended up deciding, and that was probably the best way to end that conversation.

Annabeth was there to make sure everyone stayed on track. She tapped the table, "Okay▬you were saying, Hazel?"

"He disappeared," answered the daughter of Pluto. "I'm afraid ... I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him."

"We'll look for him," Percy immediately promised and she nodded, pursing her lips. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome▬like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?"

"Thanatos told you this?" Annabeth shook her head, a little bewildered by it all▬or perhaps slightly troubled. "The death god?"

"He's actually a chill dude," said Percy as he pulled Claire's fingers away that had tried to pick at his fries instead of her own. "Had a great chat with him. Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."

Piper nodded. She twisted the bracelet on her wrist thoughtfully. "Like water leaking through a dam," she suggested.

And just like that, Percy looked down, doing his very best to hide in his laughter. Beside him, Claire covered her nose and mouth, hiding her sudden giggle towards his arm. Annabeth watched them with a shake of her head▬she gave Percy another kick under the table, but he ignored her, muttering to Claire: "Yeah, we got a dam hole."

She stifled her snickers to add: "It's a dam problem."

Piper made a face, perplexed, "What?" she asked the two of them▬the rest of the table held similar looks on their faces.

Percy muffled a final set of chuckles before saying: "Nothing," he quickly grabbed Claire's elbow before it would make contact to his side, biting back a grin. She was the same. "It's an inside joke. The point is we'll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece. It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated."

Reyna had picked up an apple from the fruit platters. She turned it in her fingers, frowning at the dark red surface. "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realise that the ancient lands▬and the Mare Nostrum▬are dangerous?"

Leo perked up at the name▬and just like that, his attention had been brought back from sticking pinwheels into wind spirits, "Mary who?"

"Mare Nostrum," Jason glanced at him. "Our Sea. It's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean."

The son of Hephaestus passed one of his pinwheels to Savreen who eyed it carefully before deciding to take a bite. "Cool name."

"Not cool," Reyna warned. Leo shrugged, deciding to then reach over and steal some of Piper's carrot sticks instead. He passed some down until they reached Claire who held her hand out for them. She's soon realised they all had a tendency (and love) to share food with each other; a sweet, silent way to tell one another they considered themselves friends. "The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not the only birthplace of the gods. It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants ... and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse."

"You said Alaska would be bad," Percy reminded her. "We survived that."

She only shook her head. "Percy, travelling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."

"Then we're good!" Leo grinned, giving her an optimistic thumbs-up. "Because we're all crazy, right? Besides, the Argo II is a top-of-the-line