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CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR aphrodite's web
——— VERONA! ( CAMP HALF BLOOD, EARLY APRIL )
EITHER VERONA BLAZE would die at the hands of a monster hunting demigods in broad daylight, or Clarisse La Rue would find the first New York cliff she could and catapulte Verona right off it (lately, it seemed the latter was the more likely option, considering the former had basically happened once already). She seemed sufficiently extra angry lately, although the only time Verona would truly see her is when she'd come out of the Infirmary, where Chris was staying until further notice. He'd often sneak off to the basement of the Big House however, too scared of the light and the sun, and they'd find him there curled in a ball hours later, with Clarisse watching over him to make sure nothing happened. She was completely miserable and lonely, and it was completely obvious she had cared for Chris long before he had ever turned to Luke's side — it was clear that Mr D had to get back soon and use his control over madness to take away Chris' pain, or Clarisse might pummel someone (probably Verona, the only person she saw most of the time) to death.
Even now, the only sound in the dull Infirmary was the ringing of the electrical fan set up in the corner because the heat was absolutely sweltering. Chris was lying there, half asleep for once, though he tossed and turned, the demons in his mind haunting him even when he closed his eyes, and when he kept them open. Clarisse was beside him, as close as he would let her get right now — her spear had been deposited as far away as they could, and Verona had left her knife in her cabin, both not wanting to bring a weapon close to Chris for his own sake. There was sweat glistening on her face from the heat, and her hair was pushed back with a band, her eyes remaining on Chris the entire time. She hadn't looked like she'd slept at all.
"You realize you have to sleep eventually?" Verona whispered quietly, her voice furrowing against the sound of the fan as she tried not to awaken Chris. He had been completely restless and the smallest noise out of his place would wake him. It had been a task like no other getting him across the country in one night before the sun awoke again mere weeks ago, and taking the Greys sisters cab to get to New York quickly had set him off, Clarisse and Verona almost losing him on the trek up the last of Half Blood Hill if they hadn't had Argus, the hundred eyed security guard, with them.
"Will you just leave me alone, punk," Clarisse glared at her, albeit it wasn't as scary as normal considering the way she looked and the fact that Verona was pretty sure her voice cracked a little bit. Verona wanted to be here even less than Clarisse wanted her here, probably, but Chiron had tasked her with the issue of making sure Clarisse went and ate and slept, trying to get back to a semi normal routine, and the daughter of Aphrodite would be damned if she didn't at least try to help the girl — after all, Clarisse was sitting around at Chris' bedside because she was worried about a guy she was probably in love with, and if anything had to be Verona's forte, it was that.
