WARRIOR!
( chapter twelve )
INGRID WOKE WITH a start. Not from a nightmare, nor from armor and swords clashing against each other. It was because her cabin was singing Happy Birthday.
She groaned as she leaned over to see the clock on her bedside table, groaning even more when she saw that it was barely 6:30. On her other side, Casey was sitting up in his bed, a huge smile on his face. "Come on, Ing!"
She rolled her eyes, sitting up to see the wide grins of her siblings, still screaming the words to the birthday song. "Happy birthday dear Casey and Ingrid! Happy birthday to you!"
"I hate you all. " Ingrid said with a yawn. Her siblings laughed and she could help but give in. "Okay, I don't hate you. Not that much anyways."
Casey smiled. "You guys are the best. Happy birthday Ing!"
"Happy birthday Case. You ready for today?" The girl asked, sitting up in her bed to face her twin.
"Absolutely. Red velvet cupcakes, attention all day, presents galore, AND it's with my twin? What else could I ask for?" He said, flopping next to Ingrid on her bed. He threw an arm around her, in which Ingrid shrugged off.
"I could ask for some space, but I know that wasn't on your list." Ingrid said and Casey rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. You love me."
"I do? Since when?" Ingrid said, and Casey scoffed, hopping off of the bed. "I'm kidding! Love you Casey."
"That's what I thought!" Casey said with a laugh. He continued walking away, most likely towards the bathroom. Ingrid smiled to herself, laying down in her bed. She had a feeling it would be her best birthday yet.
HER FEELING WAS wrong. Well, kind of. The day hadn't been all that bad so far. In fact, it had been great. Annabeth baked the twins their annual red velvet cupcakes, topped with sparklers from the Stoll brothers. Clarisse gifted them new weapons of their choice, Ingrid a machete and Casey a bow. She claimed she made them herself, but it had the Hephaestus cabin touch written all over it.
The twins always had loads of people wishing them happy birthday. Well, Casey at least. He was obviously more social and boastful about the day. Ingrid just stood by his side with a smile, for if her brother was happy, so was she.
At dinner that night, the Ares cabin made sure the twins got first pick of food. Meaning that because Casey and Ingrid came late after sword fighting, they had about half the camp angry at them, and hungry as well. Once they apologized and got their food, they sat at the head of the Ares table, which only Clarisse ever did. But as an Ares cabin tradition, those with a birthday got the head of the table.
The dinner was normal, filled with discussions of weapons, strategies for fighting, and ways to guard their cabin besides the landmines they already had. Ingrid felt at home with her siblings. They gave her comfort in a way she wouldn't have imagined when she first came here.
Once everyone began to finish eating, Clarisse rose from the table, standing on the bench. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she announced the best and final birthday event. "Alright everyone, time for the canoe race! Head to the lake to see which Reid twin will win for their 17th 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.
"Ingrid 1, Casey 0!" Chiron bellowed, resulting in either a cheer or a groan from the campers.
The twins continued, staring each other down as they did so. Casey winked at Ingrid on the third rap of their fists, causing Ingrid to lose focus, putting down scissors instead of her usual paper. To Casey's luck, he put down rock, beating her in that battle.
"Ingrid 1, Casey 1! Next one to earn a point wins first pick." Chiron announced, and Ingrid furrowed her brows at Casey.
"You did that on purpose," She said. "You knew it'd trick me up."
"I know." Casey said with another wink, but a grin on his face along with it.
Ingrid rolled her eyes and put her hands into position. She knew that Casey liked to do rock, but he always switched to scissors for the last round. All she had to do was rock and she would win. They began the round, but on the first rap of her fist, she heard a cheer from a voice that always made her lose focus.
"Go Ingrid go!" Rachel yelled out, which encouraged cheers from the rest of the campers as well. Ingrid widened her eyes at the sound and panicked as her palm hit her palm, ending in paper, which is her usual go-to. Casey laid down scissors as usual, earning him the win.
"DAMNIT!" She yelled out, while Casey just smiled.
"Ingrid 1, Casey 2! Casey Reid wins RPS, and will choose first for the picking of teammates!" Chiron announced. At that, many drachmas were passed around the crowd, from winners to losers.
Ingrid's heart was racing. Rachel was here? To watch her? She couldn't believe it. Who had told her about the race? What if she lost in front of Rachel? The possibilities of outcomes were running through her head so quickly that she almost missed Casey picking his teammates.
"I choose Clarisse LaRue and Piper McLean!" He announced and the two girls bounded over to Casey's side. Casey puts an arm the two and turned to Ingrid. "Your turn, twin."
Ingrid raised her eyebrows. She knew he'd pick Clarisse. Anyone would pick her first. But Piper surprised him. Not because she's a bad pick, but she knows that Casey is strategic with his picks.
Ingrid scanned the crowd, looking at the faces of those to choose from. One of the Stoll brothers would be a good pick, but Travis was older and stronger. With Clarisse already taken, Sherman was her next best bet, and he always had her back. There was the new guy, Jason, who looked tough but didn't know him enough to consider him part of a team. And then there was Rachel.
The two locked eyes and Rachel smiled wide, holding her hand up in a wave. Ingrid felt her face grow hot, and gave a small smile back before focusing her mind into choosing teammates.
"I choose Sherman Yang and Travis Stoll." She said the two boys joined her side. With the two being a head taller than the girl, they slung their arms around her shoulders.
"Okay! The teams have been chosen. Remember, all is fair in this race except for quite literally blowing the other team out of the water. No explosives shall be thrown into the other team's canoe." Chiron said with a pointed glare towards Travis. The boy held his hands up guiltily in the air, but still had a devilish grin on his face nonetheless.
"Remember, all three team members must return for it to count as a win. Now, we will begin in 5 minutes. Teams, use this time wisely." Chiron said, and Ingrid nodded, immediately turning to Travis and Sherman. Not wasting any time, she jumped right into strategy.
"Sherman, you're going to be the main rower. You're the strongest and I know you could hold up well if there's any disturbances in the water." Ingrid said and Sherman nodded.
"Travis, you'll play offense. Any tricks up your sleeve, I want you to throw them right towards Casey. And I'm sure that you have literal tricks in there."
"Obviously." Travis said with a grin.
"I'll be the defense. If we happen to get close to them, I'll be the one who fights, got it?" Ingrid said and the boys opposite of her nodded. "Alright, let's get ready in the boat."
The three loaded into their boat, Ingrid making sure her machete was strapped to her side. Sherman was stretching out his arms, ensuring that he'll have enough strength to win the race. Travis was taking account of everything in his side pack, surely filled with tricks to sidetrack the other team. With her team on lock, Ingrid glanced over at Casey's team, who was seemingly doing the same thing.
It seemed like Casey was going to be the rower, with Clarisse and Piper hovering on each end of their canoe. Piper smiled at Ingrid, in which Ingrid just gave a small nod back. Knowing Casey, he surely had a plan including the girl, and Ingrid didn't want to succumb to it.
Before she knew it, Chiron was calling for the race to begin. Annabeth and him took their places at the starting spot, and with the stomp of his hoove 3 times, the annual canoe race began.
Sherman got the head start, pushing off the shore quickly and efficiently. Right off the bat, Travis threw an expanding net in front of the other boat, in which it caught onto one of Casey's oars in the process. While Piper quickly slashed it away with her sword, it still gave Ingrid's team the great start she was hoping for.
But the race didn't stop there. With a fire igniting his determination, Casey steered his canoe as close as possible to Ingrid's, leaving them neck and neck in the middle of the lake. Clarisse was his designated defense, meaning she would be up against what seemed to be Ingrid.
Clarisse immediately jabbed her spear toward Ingrid in attempt to make her lose balance, but Ingrid was steady. She swerved away, and slashed her machete towards Clarisse, who did the same. Their weapons clashed against each other, both in a battle of strengths to see who would falter. Ingrid did, but quickly recovered by swiping at Clarisse's arm, who winced and dropped her spear. Clarisse's now free hand flew to her injury, and picked up her spear with her other hand. With the advantage, Travis threw sticky tack at the hand on her shoulder, in which Clarisse yelled out a curse.
Piper stood idly at the side, wracking her brain for something that would help out her team. She began talking in hopes that something would affect the other team and give them the lead.
"Why don't I know you Travis? You are sooo different than your brother. How does he have girls after him and not you? You're clearly the better brother. You have such a great bag of tricks! Do you think I could get a look?" She said, her charmspeak kicking in.
Travis began to take his side pack off of his belt, but Sherman caught on and stopped him. He smacked one of his oars toward the other boy, who luckily got him out of his trance before he could hand over the pack to Piper. But that also made half of its contents fall into the lake.
"Sherman, what the hell?" Travis yelled, quickly snapping his side pack shut before anything else could fall out.
"Dude what you mean? You almost gave it all over!" Sherman said, continuing to row, this time shifting farther away from Casey's boat.
"I did?" Travis said confusingly.
"Guys, focus! We're almost at the other side of the lake. We need a game plan for the final stretch. Clearly Piper can charmspeak, and I'm sure Clarisse got that tack off of her arm, meaning she'll be out for revenge." Ingrid said, and the two boys quit arguing to think.
Ingrid glanced over to see the Casey's boat also conspiring. As the two teams reached the opposite side of the lake, they quickly turned their boats around, and it was time for the final stretch. Ingrid knew it would be a close race.
"Travis, what do you have left in your pack that we can use?" Ingrid asked, and Travis frantically rummaged in his side pack.
"I have one thing of sticky tack, a firework stick, a 'floor is lava' trick, a 'floor is ice' trick, and an expanding net." He said, sighing. "I had a lot more but..."
"No, that's good. We can work with that." Ingrid said, looking over at Casey's boat, who seemed to be edging closer to them. Ingrid closed her eyes, taking a breath. A plan began formulating in her head, and she knew what she had to do.
"Okay, Sherman, I want you to shift as close as you can to their boat, but when I say 'break,' I need you to get away. Got it?" Ingrid said, and Sherman nodded, already shifting the direction of the boat.
"Travis, use the firework first. Then direct the lava pack towards Clarisse's feet, it'll affect her the most. Then use the ice one on Piper. With the two of them distracted it'll leave Casey scrambled. Throw the net onto him. I'll say break and we'll pull out a win. Got it?" Ingrid said and Travis gave a firm nod.
Ingrid branded her machete, her reflection showing a look of determination. Despite being up against her twin, it was still her favorite tradition. The two always left any aggression on the lake, and gave each other big hugs after the race. This year, she was excited to make it even more worth it.
Soon enough, Ingrid's boat knocked against Casey's, and Clarisse wasted no time jabbing at Ingrid. Ingrid stayed steady and the two fought at odds. Travis began to execute the plan and let his firework off, making Casey's team glance up into the air. The firework didn't make it far, for it was just a small one. It did gain attention from the crowd on the shore though, who Ingrid could now hear cheering loudly.
Clarisse and Piper snapped their attention back towards their opposing team, this time Piper taking a jab at Travis with her sword. In a panic, Travis threw out his sticky tack at Piper, latching her sword onto her hand. She grinned, feeling energized with this new advantage.
"Shit! Ingrid, what do I do?" Travis panicked, and Ingrid glanced over, her eyes widening only a bit.
"Just keep the plan in motion!" She said, just barely swerving from Clarisse's spear.
Travis swallowed hard and nodded, quickly throwing the 'floor is lava' trick at Clarisse's feet. Clarisse felt the heat rising in shoes, glancing down to see her feet covered in lava. "Stoll!" She yelled, stepping to the side, making her bump into Piper.
With that, Travis threw his 'floor is ice' trick at Piper's feet, making her feet frozen in place in the boat. "Piper, move!" Clarisse yelled, and Piper tried, but her feet were stuck.
"I can't!" Piper said, and she turned to Casey. "Casey, help!"
With a quick shift of his oar, Casey flicked water onto the lava and ice, making the trick dissipate. The two girls recovered quickly, their sword and spear brandishing fiercely.
"Travis, net!" Ingrid said, and Travis threw the net atop their boat. "Sherman, break!" With that, Sherman steered their canoe away quickly, leaving Casey's team struggling to get the massive net off of them.
Ingrid grinned to herself. She was going to win! They weren't far from shore now. She was able to pick out faces in the crowd, cheering her on. Connor, Mitchell, Leo. But most importantly, Rachel. Ingrid could spot her red hair from anywhere, but what stood out the most was the massive sign that she held in her hands. It read, "Go Ingrid! The fiercest girl at camp!" Seemingly innocent to most, but Ingrid's stomach dropped.
What if this was how Casey would find out that she'd been lying? Casey can't know about Rachel. Ingrid knows he'd be angry, and that's a side of Casey that barely shows. Ingrid's heart began to race and her breaths grew rapid.
"Ingrid, you okay? We've got incoming!" Travis said. Ingrid whipped to her right to see Casey furiously rowing toward the girl, Clarisse and Piper more focused than ever.
Travis reached into the boat to grab his sword, ready to clash against Piper's. Ingrid would have done the same, but her machete stayed strapped to her hip; her mind was too busy racing. Casey can't find out about Rachel. She didn't want to know the consequences. She didn't want to know what his reaction would be. All she knew was that Casey can't know.
With her mind too busy swirling, this gave Clarisse the advantage of attacking her all too quickly. As they grew close once more, Clarisse used all the force she had to slam the side of her spear against Ingrid, causing her to stumble, rock the boat, and fall off the side. Taken aback, Ingrid opened her eyes underwater, only seeing the serene blue shimmer around her. Quickly realizing her surroundings, she resurfaced, spotting Travis's outstretched hand. She took it, and together hauled herself back into the canoe.
Ingrid glanced over to see the roaring crowd congratulating Casey's team, who was soaring onto the shore. The three tumbled out of the canoe, jumping in victory. Ingrid slumped into the seat of the canoe. She looked at Sherman and Travis who looked just as devastated, their heads hanging low.
"I'm sorry guys. I don't know what happened." Ingrid said, and the two boys shrugged.
"It's okay. We put up a damn good fight though. There's always next year, right?" Travis said, and Ingrid nodded, giving a weak smile.
The three reached the shore, earning a cheer from the crowd. Upon stepping out of the canoe, Casey toppled her in a hug. "You guys did amazing! I didn't see any of it coming, honestly." He said, ruffling the top of Ingrid's wet head.
"Thanks Case. You guys were great too, congrats." Ingrid said, giving him the best smile that she could.
Casey threw an arm around Ingrid's shoulders, and she leaned her head against his. The two glanced around everyone before them, seeing drachmas reluctantly handed over, hands roaming in conversation, and most of all, smiles. Everyone was happy. It was always the outcome of their canoe race: happiness.
Ingrid couldn't help but feel the opposite though. Her feelings were all over the place. Of course she was happy; she had a great team, a great race, and she was celebrating her birthday with her twin. But she was disappointed too. She couldn't find Rachel, she couldn't tell Casey about Rachel, and most of all, she couldn't thank Rachel. She was there for her birthday, something that always happened to Casey instead. For once, someone was there for her, and that truly meant something.
Pushing her romantic antics aside, Ingrid snapped back into the moment with her brother, who was clearly itching to celebrate. "Go on, enjoy the night. It is our birthday after all." Ingrid said, and Casey grinned.
"Love ya twin!" Casey said, bounding away to the newly lit campfire. Ingrid couldn't help but smile as she wandered after him.
LATER THAT NIGHT, the birthday song was sung once again, red velvet cupcakes were devoured, and their spirits were high. The day had been the perfect birthday for the Reid's. As the twins settled into their bunks, the minutes of their birthday dwindling away, the two whispered to end their birthday on the right note.
"Hey Ingrid?" Casey said, turning to face his twin. Ingrid did the same, giving him a tired, yet quizzical look. "What made you lose?"
"What?" Ingrid said, now suddenly more awake.
"The race. You looked so dazed and confused. Like you were in one of your weird funks you get in when you overthink." Casey sitting, proppping an elbow up.
Ingrid let out a nervous laugh. Sometimes, she hated how well Casey knew her. "I was just overthinking some last minute strategy and Clarisse caught me in the middle of it."
Casey tightened his lips, only nodding. "Is there something else on your mind? Like not just from today, but in general?" Ingrid shook her head. There was a pause between the two, making Ingrid want to just blurt out the entire truth to Casey. She wanted to tell him everything. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't say it.
"You know you can come to me with anything. I'm your twin. I'm always here." Casey said, and Ingrid sighed.
"I know Casey. I know." She said.
Casey paused, but smiled softly. "Good. I love you Ing." He said, turning over onto his side.
"I love you too Case."
AUTHOR'S NOTE
it may be a literal year later,
but here is the next chapter!
life has truly been crazy but i will
always find myself back here.
writing may not be my main focus,
but it will always be true in my heart.
i really hope you all enjoyed this
chapter, it ignited my motivation
to write again! ingrid and casey's
silly tradition is something that i
loved coming up with and what i
hope you loved reading :)