reflection ● jason grace

Mitch tries to kill her

Daria and Jason had now been at Camp Jupiter for a year.

They were settling in nicely, their days spent between going to classes and training in the arena. Much to Jason's disappointment, they weren't allowed in War Games yet, but Daria didn't mind too much. If she was going to participate, she was going to be so good that she wouldn't lose.

There was also the matter that they weren't permitted to have real swords, and instead had to use wooden ones, or arrows with rubber tips. Daria wasn't good at archery, and anyway, she loved the feel of her trusty wooden sword in her hand.

Sometimes, she and Jason would practice with their powers, usually against each other. Leila and Ryan had become like their mentors, they would watch from the sidelines, calling out encouragement. Daria wouldn't be surprised if they were betting on the two behind their backs, but she didn't mind. All she wanted to do was get better.

When she wasn't doing one of those two things, she hung out with Atticus or Leila. Atticus, as it turned out, was a big fan of poetry. They would spend time in the library, pouring over the Iliad and the Odyssey. Jason always pointed out (with a scowl) that Daria spoke differently than everyone else. She supposed this was true in a way; it was almost like she and Atticus had developed their own language, like only they could understand each other.

Leila, on the other hand, toted Daria around like she was her little sister. Daria didn't mind. She adored Leila. Sometimes she would complain about Ryan, they had started 'dating', Daria didn't really understand it, but it seemed yucky, or sometimes, Leila would let her help out with her centurion duties, asking if she knew the answers to things. Daria rarely did, but she was learning a lot.

She wished Jason was as interested in learning as she was. Well, that wasn't really true, he liked math a lot, she knew. Daria didn't really understand math or science, though, so she wasn't a great conversationalist on the subject. Anyway, from what she knew and had seen, Jason was...well normal, except for the fact that he asked a lot of questions, the one thing he used to find annoying.

Maybe he was right to be in the Fifth Cohort, they were both legionnaires now, with one stripe tattooed into their arms. Over the year, Daria had learned that the Fifth Cohort wasn't actually the worst in skill, but they were underdogs, at a disadvantage when it came to being heard in the Senate where Leila had taken her a few times.

All in all, Jason was still her best friend. She just wished they were more similar. She wished he had anything going for him except for being the son of Jupiter, and Daria.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Leila asked. They were at the cafe, mostly because Leila had gotten Daria addicted to her hot chocolate recipe, but they were having their weekly lunch too.

"Do you think people like Jason?" She picked at her spaghetti. "I'm worried about him."

Leila snorted. "What does a six year old have to worry about?"

"Leilaaaa."

Leila hesitated, her light brown hair falling out of her well-kept bun. She had just gotten back from training where she helped run drills with the other centurion of the First Cohort, Devon. Daria had talked to him a couple of times, but according to Leila, he was going to retire soon.

"Ryan's worried about Jason too," she admitted. "Well, not worried, Ryan doesn't worry, but apparently your Jason isn't one for the rules of the legion."

Your Jason, Daria mused. She didn't know if she liked that or not, didn't like the idea that she was better than Jason coming out of somebody else's mouth. But Leila seemed to be saying it affectionately, so she let it go. "What does that mean?"