reflection ● jason grace

For once, things are okay.

The next few minutes were a blur.

Someone moved Atticus's body, and after the silence washed over the crowd everyone was in good spirits once again. A couple people offered to get the kitchen running, find where all the wind spirits had gotten to. People were cheering and hugging; Daria found herself crushed in Nathan's arms.

"No more patients!" Clara declared as she walked out of the Med Bay, Dakota in tow. "Everyone who was injured has recovered!" The legion gave another cheer after that.

Daria wasn't concerned about her own shoulder – granted everything felt numb now. She smiled, but she had just murdered someone. Though, you know, mentioning that seemed like it would be a bit of buzzkill.

She saw Jason land shakily with Reyna in his grasp, looking exhausted but proud. Mitch yelled out something to the people nearest to him and a chant fell across the crowd. "Jason! Daria! Jason! Daria!"

They wanted to raise her as praetor, Daria recognized, and the churning in her stomach came back. But she decided long ago what she was going to do. She still craved power with an unrelenting force, but there were other ways to get there.

Daria grabbed Nathan's arm. "Tell them to raise Reyna as praetor instead."

He didn't ask if she was sure, he wouldn't argue with her. With a loud whoop! Daria's name suddenly mangled itself into Reyna's. No one would remember this moment except her and Nathan.

The crowd lifted Jason and Reyna up, carrying them all the way down the Via Praetoria with Daria and her friends in tow.

She linked arms with Clara and Koda, the first friends she'd ever had. It seemed proper to end their journey where it all began. They marched down the street together, cheering Jason and Reyna's names from the top of her lungs.

In the blur of buildings and noise, she caught Nathan's eye. Lightly, she could see him shake his head. Daria knew there would be times in the future where she regretted her choice, but the praetorship wasn't for her. Not many things were, after all.

"Okay enough," she heard Jason laugh from up ahead. "You can put us down now." His tone sounded light-hearted enough, but Daria knew him too well to be convinced.

"Ave praetor!" Jess called from the crowd as they messily set the two down. "What do you want us to do now?"

"Take the day," Jason replied after a silent conversation with Reyna. "Eat. Spend time with your friends."

"Reconstruction begins tomorrow," Reyna followed. "Relax now, but be prepared to work."

"To lunch!" Someone cheered. Others took up the call and rushed to the dining hall, including some of her friends, leaving Daria and Clara in their wake.

They looked at each other, then at Dakota's retreating figure. "Kool-Aid," they decided simultaneously.

Daria didn't get to see much of Jason during lunch.

She tried not to feel too bad about that. They were all exhausted, and everyone wanted to shake the new praetors' hands, which meant Jason and Reyna had to eat as they walked. Daria bit into her own taco. She didn't envy them.

But she knew her friends could see her hands tapping impatiently on the table, the frequent sighs that escaped her. Finally, Dakota took her hand to stop her from moving and said. "Just go."

"Huh?"

"You've been staring at him the entire time," Michael pointed out without annoyance. Okay, maybe there was a little annoyance, but not too much. Whatever, he'd had his turn.