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Despite what others believe, Briar had never been in trouble before. Has she caused trouble? Yes. But never has she sat in front of Chiron with his authoritative aura and look of disappointment. She has cut, slashed, stabbed, and broken bones during past capture the flag games, yet, Chiron had a problem with her binding another in shadows. It was almost comical. That was crossing the line? Even the nightmares had been a step too far in the centaurs opinion. He had Dahlia Primavera — Thing 1 and a daughter of Demeter — come to him once she snapped out of it, going into detail of everything Briar had forced her to see.
Dahlia, herself choking and gurgling on water as she sunk to the bottom of the ocean. The experience playing on a loop.
It wasn't the worst thing Briar could imagine. If anything that was tame. The nightmare would not have made it difficult for Dahlia to get on with her night — only the nightmare state had lasted till early morning, Chiron had informed her. But as Dahlia was one of the younger campers and adamant on Briar not getting away with that behavior, the teen was forced to apologize and clean all of the gear used for last night's game.
The task had lasted far longer than necessary with Clarisse coming to the Armory in a fit of rage. After the game Percy Jackson had been claimed by the Sea God, marking him a forbidden child of the Big Three like few suspected. The daughter of Ares had been wrathful while foaming at the corners of her mouth. While she could not go after Percy with the name of Poseidon protecting him on the grounds, she could direct that anger at another.
Briar wasn't welcoming or one to comfort but when a camper was in need she was there. She was not a loyal friend who would deliver guidance, she just listened. So there Briar sat for an hour and a half with Clarisse going off about Percy breaking the staff from her father, him being claimed by someone of such great power while he himself was plain, how he had been attacked by a Hellhound after ( nobody would fess up to who invited it in, though Clarisse clarified that Thing 3 was loud with her accusations of it being Briar ) and that she was forced to bow to him.
Briar felt pride in herself for not being as clueless as everyone else had been. It was obvious Poseidon was the boy's father, even if you took away his talents in water based areas. They looked alike. Their eyes were the same, they even held the same light when excited over something so minor. It was disgusting.
"And Chiron thinks he's destined for greatness!" Clarisse kicked over one of the stands holding the previously cleaned swords — Ares' daughter shifted her weight under the blank stare she received but continued. "But above that he broke my spear! The punk is gonna get it some day!"
Briar didn't understand the sentiment of objects just because they were gifted by a loved one. She would never begin to fully grasp the importance the spear meant to Clarisse. Maybe it should have saddened her to know there was yet another thing separating her from the people around her, but she felt relieved. Being guided by anger and sorrow could lead you down a dangerous path. Either for yourself or those dragged into your mess.
