Claire - IV

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Damien was a genius.

He had spent weeks asked members who had Clarisse leading them during the games, looking for a flaw in her planning. Clarisse never had a strong defense.

"Good job, Dunne." He said, patting me on the back. I never understood why people called me by my last name. The rain had stopped, but everyone was soaking wet. Well, everyone except for me.

Me and Damien lead the Blue team to the Big House. Someone had told Damien how I captured the flag and was claimed. I wanted to punch them. People gave me a wide berth, wider then usual. I wanted to strangle my dad, how could he do this to me? Why couldn't he have claimed me with no one around? I could have hid it, but no, he had to ruin the best moment of my life.

Everyone was looking at me with a mixture of awe and a little bit of fear. I groaned quietly and rubbed my eyes in exasperation. I was never gonna live this down. We entered the Big House with Clarisse, who shot me a dirty look. She held an ice pack to the back of her head.

Now that it had stopped raining, my shoulder and ribs gave painful throbs and I choked back another groan. Chiron smiled warmly at us when we entered.

"Congratulations, Claire." He said warmly. I nodded once, my throat was too tight to try and speak.

"Sir," Damien said. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but he continued before I could. "Claire was claimed during the game." Chiron's smile widened.

"Wonderful news!" He boomed. "Who is it, then?" We were all silent. Chiron's eyebrows knit together in worry. Finally, Damien spoke.

"Poseidon."

"I see," Chiron said in a troubled voice, rubbing his chin. I wanted to rip out my hair and scream You see what? You see that I'm a freak? A mistake? But I held my tongue. Clarisse was still staring daggers at me behind Chiron's back. "Well, I guess she'll move into cabin 3 right away." I handed Chiron the flag glumly and turned to leave.

"Wait," Damien said. "I want you to help me pick the cabins for next week." I was surprised, helping the leader chose the cabins was a great honor. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Chiron put seventeen cards in front of us, each one with a cabin number on it.

Thirty minutes later, Blue team and Red team were sorted out. Damien tried to get me to lead next week, but I refused. I had had enough attention to last me a lifetime. Clarisse pushed past me angrily, pausing once to lean in close.

"I hate children of Poseidon."

I trudged through the wet and muddy grass to my new cabin. Marry stood there, waiting with my chess set and small shoebox.

"Hey," She said and handed me my stuff. I nodded once in thanks. "I'll miss you at the Hermes cabin." I snorted.

"Sure, you'll miss the downer of the cabin." Marry frowned.

"I'm serious." I swallowed down the lump of emotion stuck in my throat. Suddenly, Marry though her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. I was shocked she actually was hugging me. I didn't like being touched, but I made an exception this one time.

"It's not like you're never going to see me again." I said with a weak smile. "I'll always be hovering creepily in the shadows." Marry laughed and turned away.

"Bye." She said quietly.

"Bye." I murmured glumly when she was gone. I opened the door to cabin 3 and sighed miserably. I looked around the spacious building, it was empty of kids as usual.

I touched each bed in turn, looking for a good one. I finally settled for the one in the very back, surround in the most shadows. I closed all the blinds and shoved my stuff under my bed. I didn't even open my shoebox, I wasn't in the mood for sentimental stuff.

I looked around, I hadn't noticed the decorations before. Unfamiliar sea plants swayed on the window sills. They were quite beautiful. Hippocampi were painted on the walls, it was actually kind of pretty. The walls were a mixture of blues, greens, and blacks. I was surprised how much at home I felt.

I pulled off my boots and unzipped my jacket. I threw them on the floor by my bed. I never took my jacket off in front of others, I don't really know why it made me feel safe and shielded when I have it on around other campers. I wondered the cabin, counting the number of seashells in the fountain and feeling more alone then ever.

I came to one of the beds and was surprised to see someone else's stuff here. There were photos and a shield was hanging on the wall. The blankets were cold and slightly dusty, so who ever had been living here was long gone. I leaned towards the photos to see a tall guy with dark hair and green eyes with an arm around a girl with long blond hair and clever grey eyes. The guy in the picture looked very familiar, but I know I'd never seen him before in my life.

A knock at the door made me jump and I silently scolded myself for being so jumpy. I walked over to my bed and slipped back into my jacket. I opened the door and a blast of cold air washed over me, making me shiver and zip my jacket up all the way. Nico was standing there, for some reason my stomach tightening slightly at the sight of him.

"Hey." he said. I bit my lip nervously, but quickly rearranged my expression into a pokerface. I nodded. "During the game. You were claimed?" he asked. I nodded again. I knew there was something else he wanted to talk about. I raised my eyebrows. He sighed. "Fine, I wanted to ask you where you learned to fight." I was taken back by his question.

"Where I learned-?" I asked.

"To fight." Nico finished, nodding. I didn't understand why he was asking me this.

"Here, training-" He cut me off.

"With who?" he prompted.

"I-I-well-" I swallowed. "I kinda taught myself." Nico's eyes knit together. "Why?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Well, I've met some pretty decent fighters and you're probably the most skilled one I've faced." I felt heat flood my cheeks at his words and I looked down. "I wanted to learn how to fight like you." I tucked a strand of loose hair behind an ear, self-conscious.

"W-well," I stammered. "Maybe I could show you some time." He smiled, just one corner of his mouth tipping upwards. He turned away and I caught myself wishing he'd stay so I wouldn't be alone. What's wrong with you? I asked myself as I closed the door. You don't want to get close to other people, they'll just break your heart. Snap out of it! I shook my head and walked back over to my new bed. I pulled my jacket off again and pulled the covers over myself.

When I opened my eyes, I was confused and disorientated. My shoulder ached and my ribs shouted at me to stay in bed. Rubbing my side, I stood and stretched. Wincing once from my soreness. It was so dark in the cabin, I couldn't tell wether my alarm clock was saying it was eight in the morning, or eight at night. I realized I had the blinds drawn so I opened one. I yelled in pain when the sun stabbing into my eyes.

Rubbing away black spots, I closed the blind. Eight in the morning, I decided. I slumped back to my bed. I sometimes think I'm really a vampire, not a demigod. Or maybe I'm just a freak. I'd bet my money on the latter.

I wish I could fall back asleep, but I was wide away now. I sat up, groaning, and walked into the bathroom at the very back of the cabin. I stared at my reflection, surprised by how scrawny and pale I was. Skin pale and unhealthy looking, my hair was an ebony black wave down my head to my elbows. It was an extreme contrast to my skin, making me look even paler then I actually was.

I pulled it back into a messy braid, something I didn't do often. I stared at my muddy green eyes, they were hard and cold. My eyes drifted over my thin lips and pointy chin. Flat chest, boney limbs, waxy skin, I looked like a corpse. No wonder everyone was scared of me. I pulled my leather jacket on and boots, my stomach was grumbling from the lack of food and it was breakfast time. I opened the door and walked into the sunlight right when a scream pierced the sleepy calm of Camp Half-Blood.

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