𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇, Clarisse la Rue

𝐢𝐯. the traitor that lies amongst them

STRENGTH
━━ act one, chapter four.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

"CLARISSE, WE NEED TO GO."

   Nabi tugged on Clarisse's arm, urging her to leave. The movie's final few scenes went on in the background, the room still dark, as Echidna and her monstrous child menacingly bared their teeth. Clarisse scowled, "I'm not going anywhere. We're destroying this bitch, and we're finishing this movie."

"We won't be able to finish the film if we're dead!" Nabi exclaimed. "C'mon, let's go!"

The Chimera was such a large creature that it couldn't prowl into the rows of seats — so it snarled, before blasting fireballs all over the room to make room for itself. Clarisse and Nabi dodged the flaming shots as the movie theatre itself went ablaze, destroying the entire place.

   They were so getting banned from the cinema.

Nabi tugged on Clarisse's arm harder, a sense of alarm overcoming her, but the girl didn't budge. Instead, Clarisse raised her dagger to challenge the beast, as it hissed in warning.

   How was Clarisse not afraid?

Nabi wanted to run, because that was what she always did. She was afraid of her aunt's reaction that one night, so she left; she was afraid of her powers, so she never used them; she was afraid of her father and who he could be, so she never truly questioned his absence. Despite the bitterness and pain she'd experienced, the longing to be brave, she never actually faced any of her problems head on. She wasn't strong enough.

Here, against Echidna and the Chimera, it was the exact same. Nabi was afraid, she wanted to run. She wasn't strong enough to kill a monster, let alone the mother of monsters.

But Clarisse was. She was strong enough. She held her head up high, daring anything and everything to come her way — even Echidna wasn't enough of a threat for her to cower in fear.

Echidna laughed, as her form took shape into a more reptilian creature, with sharp fangs and scaly skin. She glared at them both, "You might want to listen to your friend, child."

   "Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Clarisse retorted.

   She threw her dagger, and it impaled the Chimera's body. It roared in pain before it lunged at the two demigods. They jumped over a few rows to evade the monster's sharp claws, making it to the front of the room where there was more space — less of a chance they'd be hit, if they were able to dodge.

Echidna, slowly slid the dagger out of the Chimera's hide and stroked her child, casting the weapon aside as she crooned, "It's okay, precious. Now, go get 'em."

   The monster made a weird noise of gratitude, then pounced once more, aiming for Nabi. She yelped, rolling to narrowly miss being ripped to shreds. Swiftly, she stabbed her dagger into one of its paws, and it made a weird hiss again. The Chimera's serpent tail swung at her. She was slammed to the ground. Clarisse cursed, "Di immortales— are you okay, Nabs?"

"Uhm, I think so?" Nabi winced. She was definitely gonna have a few bruises — how had they forgotten to pack ambrosia and nectar?

Throughout it all, the Chimera's body was so thick that their daggers — which were no longer in their hands — barely did any damage. Though it twitched a little, clearly irritated by the pain the weapons had caused. Echidna cackled, "It's so funny seeing you try... my precious takes a little more to kill than a few dull daggers. But now, you're weaponless."