reflection ● jason grace

One of the good ones

 Maybe it was karma for the argument between Daria and Leila the other day, but as Daria walked away from civilization, she couldn't fathom a logical reason for Reyna and Jason's behavior.

She felt like they were ganging up on her; that they were conspiring with each other. But she had no way of knowing whether that was the anxiety bubbling up in her stomach or rationality.

After a few minutes of walking, she ended up on the banks of the Tiber. The guards didn't patrol this area of the river; she probably wouldn't be disturbed. Slumping, she all but collapsed on the sand.

She took a stone in her hand, remembering that day before the dance. Everything seemed so childish now, dress shopping, Mitch teasing them, Clara asking who Daria was going to go with.

And there was a part of her that thought maybe Reyna was right. Daria was a big fan of self-determination. Blaming other people for the sequence of events that led up to this moment was easy, but it wasn't necessarily true.

Daria had made her bed from the moment she arrived at the Wolf House; she supposed that the only thing she could do was lie in it. But somehow, that didn't seem right. She had all but lost Reyna. The idea of giving up on Jason, one of the people she cared about the most, would kill her.

She was about to scream, just to do it. Just so that the trees might listen to her, but at that moment, a child raced across the clearing and fell into the stream.

"Oh god," Daria muttered, leaping to her feet. The Tiber wasn't all that deep in actuality, but this wouldn't be the first time someone drowned here.

She extended her arm as far as possible so that she wouldn't fall in herself. Quickly, she grabbed his floundering arm, yanking him to his feet.

"Benny?" She heard Octavian's voice call. "Benny! Where on earth have you gotten to?"

"He's over here," Daria called back, clutching the shivering boy in a tight hug. She ruffled his dirty blond hair, crouching down to his height. "You shouldn't be running around by the river. Someone won't always be there to save you, you know?"

His lip quivered and he stared up at Daria with wide hazel eyes. "Sorry, Daria."

"And?" She prompted, not letting him go. Just in case; children weren't always the brightest.

"And I won't do it again," he vowed, puffing his chest out. "I promise."

Benny was nearly 9 now, and Daria expected that Octavian would've pulled some strings by now to get him in the First. She had seen them on the archery range a few times before, which probably meant that Benny, along with the rest of his siblings, would take after Apollo in that regard.

He was one of the better things around camp. Contrary to popular belief, Daria liked children. They reminded her of better times, when she and her friends were more carefree. Benny was the one she talked to the most, albeit not too often. He reminded her a lot of a young Jason.

"Sorry, sorry," the augur in training hurried over to them. "We were just supposed to be taking a walk."

"Keep a better eye on him," Daria scolded playfully. "Next time he might charge into the principia."

"That would be hilarious though," Octavian grinned, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. He looked her over and began to frown. "Daria...are you alright?"

He squinted. "Your eyes are red." Benny escaped from his grasp and started picking up stones on the riverbank. "So you were either crying, or..."

"Don't finish that," she muttered, wiping at her face. She hadn't even noticed; if Octavian told someone, there would be Senators on her ass for showing weakness, and that was more than Daria could take.