Victorious

Emma

Emma sighed as her dinner turned in her stomach. Why lactose intolerance? How did she not know that Alfredo pasta would have milk?
Carter and she were sitting at a lonely campfire as kids milled around, talking, but not eating as much as usual. People were worried. Ella has sprouted a prophecy a few weeks ago.
A legacy of The Seven Generation leads the crusade
And one shall leave with the feeling of the betrayed
With the war, fire and storm legacies combined
The land beyond the gods is where the fates align
And loose their chance with a final sign.
Emma's head throbbed just thinking about that prophecy. It made no sense. Literally. It didn't say any particular goal.
She watched Carter fiddle with a bunch of gears. Emma always thought it was cute when he did that, but she knew he only did it when he was nervous. Probably wondering what he's going to say to that graceus next. She grumbled to herself.
Emma didn't know how to feel about Cleo. Emma had always liked Carter- and she thought he liked her too. But then miss Swiss Army knife comes in here and threatened their lives, and he's all over the moon for her. And Cleo seemed kind of hostile. She always had the same hard, blazing look on her face like she was hiding something. Emma didn't want to trust that. And from the sound of it at the temple of Bellona, they were thinking of making her centurion. Cleo would be the youngest centurion of the second cohort and Emma was surprised one of the best cohorts wanted to put their fate in the hands of a twelve year old.
Melissa, a daughter of jupiter, stomped to the campfire and gave Carter a mean look.
"You left all of your... Tools, on the desk. We have inspection tomorrow, and unless you want to scrub the streets of New Rome again, then I suggest you clean it up!"
Carter grumbled. "But we don't have a desk in the fourth cohort, miss clean freak. And if we had one, I would clean up."
"Just do it Carter. Or else I'd have to sign you up for that bag of weasels again."
Carter stood up and rubbed his arm. "Knowing you, you'd sign me up for it again, centurion."
"I'm sorry, but graceus legacies aren't heroic. The farthest you'll ever go is creating a wind up toy." Carter dropped whatever he was holding and clenched his fists.
Emma felt bad for Carter. Since his parents were both Greek, he wasn't respected. Especially since his dad blew up New Rome at some point. The Valdez's managed to live in New Rome and everyone eventually forgave them, but Carter was considered a problem.
"Knock it off, Melissa." Emma said casually. "Your voice is giving me a migraine."
Melissa shook her head. "Good thing you're not in my cohort, miss cavalry."
Melissa walked off and Carter stomped behind her.
Emma sat at the campfire for a few minutes, wondering when to put it out. People were still walking around, so it wasn't curfew yet. She then spotted Cleo in the crowd, and saw her coming towards Emma. She was reluctant to taking out her sword as defense.
"May I join you?" Cleo asked. She sat anyway. Emma didn't get to answer her question.
She studied Cleo. She had a centurions pin on the front of her jean jacket and her camp Jupiter t shirt underneath. Cleo had the same hard, serious expression she had from the moment she met her.
"Centurion." Emma said. "Congrats."
Cleo grumbled. "Thanks. I don't know why'd they trust me, though."
"Why wouldn't they?"
Cleo frowned like it was obvious. "Because I'm 12. Don't you guys have structure here?"
Emma's mouth twitched upward. "Well, we've adapted to a bit of the Greeks way of doing things, since we work harmoniously now."
Cleo nodded. "So you can really turn into anything?"
"Within reason." Emma nodded. "It has to be alive."
"Where'd you get that power from?"
"My father. Why?"
Cleo's face faltered for a second.
"Just wondering. How does it even work?"
Emma shrugged. "I just think of an animal, and it comes to me."
Emma inspected her nails for a second.
"So who are your; oh my-" Emma jumped backward when she saw not Cleo, but just a chair.
"Cleo?" She said. The chair was a light brown mahogany, the same color as her hair.
"You're- you're a chair!"
"Hey Emma!" Carter walked over, sitting on a log while he gave the chair a weird look.
"Carter!" Emma said. Why now? Why does he come to the campfire now! Emma felt like she was on a TV or something, like the camera people would focus on Emma's terrified face and play sugar, we're going down by fall out boy.
"Not a good time, Carter. Don't you have something to fix?"
He frowned at the chair. "That chair looks a little edgy. But hey, have you seen Cleo? I wanted to-"
"She went that way." Emma pointed in a random direction and he ran from the deserted campfire.
"Cleo." She reassured. "If that's you. I hope you're not playing a trick on me, but changing back into your organic life form, you just have to think about it."
Emma blinked, and she saw unamused Cleo sitting in front of her. She realized Cleo did that- she would have split seconds where she would show fear, but she'd keep on a confidant face for show. Emma admired that.
"You're- a shape shifter."