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𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮, Andy with a small, accidental arrow wound, and Clarisse with a large gash in her upper arm. They were sitting on opposite cots, waiting for the only Apollo camper on duty to heal them both.
The blonde boy, probably about ten, was racing back and forth between them, obviously very stressed. He muttered something about getting more ambrosia, and bolted out of the room.
Clarisse was gazing around the room, looking at everything except for Andy. Andy was staring at Clarisse, as if challenging her to talk first.
"What are you looking at?" Clarisse demanded, growing tired of the awkward silence. "You got a problem?"
"You're Clarisse, right?" Andy asked. "Daughter of Ares?"
The other girl narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. What do you want?"
Andy ignored her question. "Why are you here?"
"Got hit with a sword. What's it to you?" Clarisse asked, looking down at her hastily bandaged arm.
"So you know how to wield a sword properly?" Andy asked. "I mean, you are a daughter of Ares. It should be a given, right?"
Clarisse raised her eyebrows, and her face contorted in anger. "What's that supposed to mean? Yeah, I know how to wield a sword!"
Andy looked a bit ashamed but didn't apologize. "How good are you, then?"
"Pretty damn good. Why does it matter to you?"
"Teach me."
Clarisse looked a bit shocked. "Why on Earth would I do that?"
"I've been here for three years and I still can't seem to get a hang of it." Andy said, shrugging. "If you're really good, you should be able to help me. Let's see if you're actually as good as you say."
"Of course I'm as good as I say!" Clarisse said, angrily. "Teaching you will be a breeze!"
Andy smirked. "Good." She got up, ignoring the slight pain in her calf. "See you tomorrow, at the arena, after breakfast."
She walked out the door, leaving Clarisse in the empty silence.
"Damn it!" Clarisse said, realizing what had happened.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 at the arena. The others there, just a couple of random campers, gave her weird looks. They were used to her avoiding the sword-fighting arena like the plague. They also didn't like her very much.
She wasn't the most popular camper, not by a long shot. It had something to do with her ability to manipulate anybody, and her need to insult everybody. She didn't mind too much. It wasn't her fault they couldn't take a friendly, joking insult.
