warrior ( RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE. )

xii. BIRTHDAY

THE CANOE RACE started on their 14th birthday, which was their first birthday spent at camp. After bad birthdays all the years prior, Casey made it an effort to give Ingrid the best birthday ever in their new home. He did everything with her that day, so much to the point that it got on Ingrid's nerves. She loved her brother dearly and appreciated the effort he was putting in, but she was still her own person. She quite literally had not had a moment to herself that day. So after dinner, when she was included in yet another conversation about bow and arrows that she didn't care for whatsoever, she snapped.

"I'm going for a canoe ride." She said, and left the table abruptly.

"I'll go with you!" Casey immediately said. Ingrid turned on her heel and let out a frustrated sigh.

"No! Look, I love you and appreciate you making up for the shit birthdays we've had before, but I'm my own person! Let me do something for myself today for once."

Casey took a step back. "Why didn't you say something earlier? After all the effort I put in? Do you think I wanted to fight with machetes all day? Or climb trees all day? No! All you had to do was tell me to leave you alone and I would have." Casey said, his voice raising with every word.

Ingrid shrunk a little into herself. Her and Casey have never fought like this, let alone said these things out loud to each other. They had always been inseparable, but now Ingrid was unsure of that. But if this was what Casey truly felt, then she had a solution for it all.

"Fine. You want the birthday for yourself? Let's race for it. Canoe race for it. First one across the lake and back wins the birthday to themself and the other gets to celebrate the day after." Ingrid said, her chest rising and standing taller than before. Knowing Casey, he wouldn't back down from a challenge.

"Deal. We each pick two people to help us. Rock Paper Scissors for who picks first?" He said, and Ingrid nodded, holding out her hand.

"Deal. Meet you at the lake in 10 minutes." She said.

Long story short, their referee that night who had been the Stoll brothers, one on each side of the finish line couldn't agree on who had won first. The twins had gotten so fed up seeing the Stolls argue that they both forfeited the win to each other. That night ended in a long talk, lots of crying, hugging, and a new birthday tradition in honor of their ridiculous hour long rivalry.

TEN MINUTES LATER, the entire camp was down at the lake. Ingrid and Casey each stood beside a canoe, ready to RPS their way into picking teams. Bets were being placed all over, mostly instigated by the Hermes cabin. Chiron stood between the twins, stomping a hood to get everyone's attention.

"Campers! We now commence Ingrid and Casey Reid's annual birthday canoe race, a tradition started here 4 years ago. I will be this year's referee, along with Annabeth Chase. We are both ineligible to be picked. Well, Annabeth is. I don't think I would quite fit into one of the canoes." Chiron said, which gathered a few laughs. "I will now judge the RPS contest on who gets to pick their 2 team members. The twin that wins the best 2 out of 3 matches will pick first."

Chiron turned to Ingrid and Casey with a smile. "Ready?" The twins nodded. "Begin!"

Cheers exploded from the crowd before them as the twins began to play the game, knocking their fists against their palms 3 times to make either rock, paper, or scissors. The first game Casey laid down rock, as he always did. Anticipating it, Ingrid laid down paper.