Aven Wilson has never once been happy. Thanks mom.
To this date, she is the only known daughter of Akhlys, goddess of misery and poison, and, oh boy, can you tell. It's hard to stick around her, and Aven doesn't blame the people that avoid her gaze...
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▬▬▬𝖢𝖫𝖠𝖱𝖨𝖲𝖲𝖤 𝖣𝖨𝖣 𝖭𝖮𝖳 𝖧𝖠𝖵𝖤 𝖳𝖧𝖤 emotional energy to help me fix my boxing form. It wasn't bad, obviously, but the daughter of Ares was naturally good at all things violent, and so she was the one I usually asked for help. Annabeth and Luke were better at daggers and swords, but there wasn't anybody at camp who could compete with Clarisse in the boxing ring. Not even her older siblings.
I went to the arena, her cabin, everywhere, but I eventually found her sitting outside the forges, sharpening a knife.
I didn't even need to ask before she was saying no.
"Back off, crybaby," she snarled in my direction. Her voice was little more gravelly than usual, or so I'm told. I've never heard it sound different, but I assume that I only hear her when she's on the verge of tears. "Not in the mood."
"Not even to beat me up?" I offered, matching her dead tone. She'd called me crybaby ever since she met me, when I still cried through my days. It's never affected me. Clarisse likes to think she's tough, but she's got nothing on public school kids when you've got ADHD, dyslexia, and can't stop sobbing. Kids can be mean.
I could sense the incoming danger, though, so I backed off before she could stab me with her freshly sharpened blade. When people got too tired to resist, my aura affected them more. I had no doubt Clarisse hadn't slept well, which also meant she was more prone to aggression. I held up my hands.
"Okay," I said. "I'll leave you alone. Find me if you feel better."
She seemed to get more upset at the notion that she could get better than she already was, because she growled "Better? I'm fine," as if I couldn't see the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
I nodded, and I turned and left. There was no use pressing Clarisse. She'd probably break my nose if I kept talking. Instead, I went to find Annabeth.
Usually, I didn't seek her out. She came to me if she felt like it, and left when my aura got the better of her. But I was itching for training, and if I couldn't box with Clarisse, I might as well go to the only other person who could tolerate me.
Annabeth had gone to check on Percy's bunk in the Hermes cabin, so I headed there first. It was much easier to find her that it had been to find Clarisse. I saw her, and Percy, stumbling out of the door, so I increased my speed.
