choke! JASON GRACE

ɪɪɪ. ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʟᴛ ᴏꜰ...!

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𝕴𝕴𝕴. 𝖜𝖊𝖑𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖚𝖑𝖙 𝖔𝖋...!

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"ꜰᴀᴛᴇ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴠᴇɴᴇᴅ. ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴜꜱ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴀʏ, ꜱʜᴇ ʟᴇᴅ ɪɴᴇxᴏʀᴀʙʟʏ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴀᴛᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴜꜱ, ɪɴɴᴏᴄᴇɴᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜɴꜱᴜꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛɪɴɢ, ᴛᴏᴏᴋ, ᴜɴᴡɪʟʟɪɴɢʟʏ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴏɴᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴛᴇᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴏʙʟɪᴠɪᴏɴ. ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴜꜱ ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ᴠᴇʀʏ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ꜱᴜɢᴀʀ." - ꜱʜɪʀʟᴇʏ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

The concept of a dreamless sleep had soon become an impossibly far away phenomenon. Sometimes she dreamt of mighty mountains and colossal red wood pines; sometimes she dreamt of a woman's warm embraces and a boy's laughter; sometime she dreamt of warm campfires and footsteps through the forest.

The bad dreams began after a particularly grueling day in the arena. She'd faced off against a particularly vicious boy from the 2nd Cohort, and whilst she'd managed to beat him - gods, her limbs ached.

It all started off innocently enough; she was walking through - New York? - a skip in her step and the sun in her eyes. But then the sky turned red.

All around her, screams tore through the air, monsters and demi gods struggling against each other in a wicked dance of death and torment. Bodies piled high; bronze clashed on bronze; mortals slept and the gods wept. She followed the red river to the Empire State Building, the canvas of her shoes soaking up the blood at her feet as she went. By the time she arrived at the doors, her steps were almost too heavy to bare.

She pulled the doors open and walked towards the elevator. But when she entered and locked eyes with the person in the mirror - oh, when she entered - she wasn't met with long silver streaked hair and dainty little nose rings, no. One dark brown eye stared back at her. His lips parted and, "Loveday," he said, his voice tainted with pain she couldn't begin to describe. "I did this to you, Loveday."

And then it was her in the mirror - nothing was amiss, besides the gaping wound splitting across her neck, of course. She tried to speak, to scream for anyone - for Dakota, or Gwen; Reyna or Jason. Gods, she even tried screaming her own name when she ran out of people to call for - but every attempt was only met with more and more blood pooling under her tongue and spilling out of her mouth. Gasping for air, she clawed at her ravaged throat. She fell to her knees and then right out of bed.

"I know!" She screamed. "I know something! I figured it out! Jason. Jason!"

Jason and Reyna looked up from their breakfast with wide eyes. The daughter of Bellona had to hide her laugh in her cup as she stared up at the bedraggled girl in her oversized sleeping shirt and bedazzled crocs. Jason on the other hand was having a slightly hard time trying not to look at her devastatingly bare legs. "Ah, um - morning Loveday."

"What is it exactly that you've figured out?" Reyna asked seriously, ignoring the curious states from the other early birds in the dining hall. "I'm gathering it must be rather important."