❝her sad eyes were full of beautiful stories❞
⤷ lauren m. garcia
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"Again! Again!"
"Harley, don't you think Kira is tired of telling this story?" Nyssa asked from the crowd.
"Please, Kira?" Harley asked, looking at her with puppy eyes.
"Fine, just for you."
Kira was facing nineteen campers in the amphitheater, retelling the battle on Mount Olympus for the third time that week. For some reason, the campers still looked interested.
It was winter, which meant there wasn't many campers that stayed, but that wasn't including the campers that had been disappearing.
As head Ares counselor, she should have been out on a quest looking for the lost demigods, but since the Oracle wasn't working, and Chiron refused to let her leave, she was forced to retell the battle against Gaea that happened six months ago.
She spoke into the dark, with confidence that she wouldn't have ever had two years ago. It still shocked her how much she had grown.
She told the camp how the Eight had fought side by side the gods, but despite their best efforts, Gaea had rose due to Percy's nose bleed.
"We blame Percy for that, right?" Harley asked, and Kira smiled.
"Yes, exactly. All Percy's fault."
She couldn't wait until he returned and learned that the entire camp knew the story of Percy's nosebleed creating the end of the world. That would be a good book title. Percy Ending the World (again): This Time, with a Nosebleed.
"And what happened to Leo again?" A camper asked in the back. Kira tensed, squeezing her palms together.
He was a new camper, and he didn't know any better. But hearing his name sent the girl down a path of dark thoughts. Memories flew past her skull, and she struggled to keep her face straight.
The campers next to him elbowed him, whispering harshly.
"He died a hero." Kira said after a few moments of silence. "He saved this entire camp."
The demigods were quiet after that. Most knew what happened, and the few that weren't here had learned to not speak of him around Kira.
"I think that's a wrap on tonight," Nyssa said, standing to be beside Kira. "We don't want her lips to fall off telling the same story over and over again,"
Kira gave her a grateful grin. "Remember the three-legged death race is in two days!" She reminded as the demigods dispersed.
Nyssa and Connor stayed, but Nyssa had to go after Harley tugged on her arm, asking to be put to bed.
Kira and Connor smiled softly, waving goodnight as the two ran off towards the Hephaestus cabin.
"Ever get tired of it?" Connor asked, throwing a stick into the sizzled out fire. They sat down on the ampitheater seats, overlooking the sea.
"Tired of what?" Kira asked, looking up to the dark sky and the hundreds of dazzling stars. She fiddled with Leo's necklace, which hung besides he camp necklace, which now held two beads. The first had been the flying dragon, but now there was a flying ship that represented Argo II.
"The attention, the never-ending story telling."
Kira looked to the boy. Connor was never serious. "All the time. You alright, Con?"
Connor threw another stick. "Yeah. Just remembering the Second Titan War."
"Annabeth told me about that. You fought that too?"
"You bet," Connor said, giving her a dry smile. "We lost a lot of campers that battle. Just as you lost yours here."
Kira knew about the Battle of Manhattan, and how many campers had died. Just like the Second Giant War, the Second Titan War had been harsh, and taken a lot more demigod lives.
They sat in silence, both lost in their own minds. For Kira, that was dangerous.
"Get some sleep, Stoll. You better still be up for that duel tomorrow."
"How could I miss it?" Connor said, standing. "Yang's got fifty bucks that I win,"
Kira shook her head. "Wow, you got my own cabin against me?"
Connor shrugged. "Sucks to suck, Willows."
"Well, Nyssa's got seventy that I win. So we'll see."
Connor bid her goodnight, trailing back to his cabin. Once she was alone, she let out an exhausted sigh. Once she was alone, she could finally just be sad. No more reason to hide it, which ended up being worse then just accepting it.
She made her way to the beach, avoiding the harpies.
She had done the same thing for the past six months. She hoped that she would see Leo flying out from the night clouds every day, but he never came. She watched to moon, sending a silent prayer to Artemis.
It was the only time shows truly alone. Sure, all of the Eight had left her, Percy was home, studying for college, along with Annabeth, Piper, and Jason, Hazel and Frank were at Camp Jupiter, and Leo...well, he was gone.
She sent handwritten letters to all her friends since Iris messages were down. Even Leo. She wasn't sure why she wrote him letters, but when campers came to collect them, they never pointed it out. It had become a habit, writing all seven letters once a week, and it seemed to make her content, so no one bothered her about it. Every time, the post office sent the letter to Leo back, as it had no address to be addressed to. No one told her that, though, and the letters piled up in the Big House.
So, it wasn't exactly comforting, but she made it her way of keeping hope that he was somehow still alive. If she truly believed he was dead...that wouldn't be good.
Maybe he would sense her sitting at the beach, and come flying back home to his love.
She sighed, picking up sand, and letting it fall through her fingers.
"I love you Leo Valdez," She said, just as she did every night for six months. "And I forgive you for leaving me."
After a few silent moments, looking out to the horizon that never answered her, she stood, wiping her sandy palms against her sweatpants.
"By the way, Bob and Damasen says hello." She told the twinkling stars in the dark sky, just as always. For a moment, her mind swam, remembering when the same sky had erupted in gold.
She decided she would try to sleep in her own bed tonight.
Walking back to the Ares cabin, she longed for Leo's arm to be draped over her shoulder, leading her back to her cabin after their long day spent together. She could imagine his laugh, a blissful sound that made her weak in the knees.
She knew she just had to keep fighting, that everything would somehow get easier. That was what her friends told her. But she was afraid, because she couldn't fight forever.
Kira made it to her cabin. She sighed before she pushed the door open.
Day 182 without him.
The Ares cabin was mostly empty. Sherman and Ellis were the only kids to stay full-year, but Ellis had disappeared several months ago.
Exhausted, she fell back into her bed. Her blank walls constricted her, but she managed to fall asleep.
Kira was sitting on the beach, as usual, but she looked younger, and she wasn't wearing her trademark orange camp shirt.
Behind her, stood Leo Valdez.
Leo sat down next to her. Kira leaned her head on his shoulder silently.
"You made a little bit of a scene, huh, daughter of Ares?" He said in a joking tone.
Kira wouldn't look away from the moon.
"Kira.." He said softer, gentler. He looked at her sympathetically.
"My dad is just like my mom," She whispered. "I'm going to end up just like them,"
"You control who you are, not your parents, hermosa," He told her. Kira only sighed.
"Leo, I can't. I can't be a daughter of a war god and be peaceful," She told him, watching the soft waves hit the shore.
Dream-Kira watched the scene sadly. She remembered this moment, and her mind reminded her of it every second it got.
"God, you're pathetic," Leo snarled. Dream-Kira froze. That wasn't how the memory happened.
"You're so weak," He spat, rising. He wasn't looking at the Kira in the memory now, but Dream-Kira. She stumbled back.
"You can't live without me? What wold Ares say, that his child depends on someone else for their own happiness?"
Kira backed up. "I'm allowed to be sad. I'm allowed to feel." She defended herself.
Leo threw his arms up. "Look at you! What the hell is wrong with you, did you actually think I was going to stay?"
Kira trembled. "Stop!" She whispered.
"Aw, are you going to cry again now? You've been doing a lot of that for a child of war."
Kira's jaw stiffened.
"You know," Leo said, walking around her in circles, as if she was his prey. "If you were the one that died, I wouldn't miss you."
"Leave me alone," Kira managed, anger flaring in her eyes.
"You're nothing to me, don't you get that?" Leo screamed. "Nothing!"
"Shut up!" Kira snapped.
Leo only smirked.
The scene swirled into inky darkness.
A familiar terrain appeared, and Kira's entire body trembled.
Tartarus' landscape spread out across her, but she was laying down on her back, facing the top, making it look like a giant, never-ending cave.
"Thank the gods you finally got up," Kira jumped, glancing to her left. Percy and Annabeth were watching her carefully.
"What, are you guys going to tell me how worthless I am, too?" Kira mumbled, trying to stand.
Percy and Annabeth looked confused. "Huh?" Percy asked, as Annabeth helped her to her feet.
"You were asleep for days, we thought we lost you." Annabeth told her.
"What are you guys talking about?" Kira asked nervously, glancing around.
"We fought the arai, remember? You got sliced by this nasty looking one, and you were out for days."
Kira's head spun. "You mean that was just a dream?"
"What was your dream?"
Kira blinked, her eyebrows furrowing. She never made it out of Tartarus.
She stuttered over the words, feeling light-headed.
The curse of the arai had worked that long, just to lead to Leo's death. She shivered.
"Leo's alive," She whispered, a blissful grin on her face.
"Uh, yeah, he was alive when we fell, pretty sure," Percy said, confused.
"You alright Kira?" Annabeth, going to feel her forehead.
"Fine!" Kira said. "Perfect."
They stood, and Kira saw Bob. She squeezed him in a tight hug.
"Look out!" Percy yelled.
Turning, Kira barely got the chance to scream before a cyclops ran though her with a spear.
She sat up, gasping desperately for air. Her hands were wrapped around an invisible force, holding a non-existing injury. Tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Jeez," Sherman said, leaning over her bed. "You're more wacko then I thought."
"Shut it, Yang," Kira grumbled, shoving the boy away and attempting to put on her emotional mask for the day. "Get out of here."
"This is my cabin too, princess," He said.
"I mean, stop leaning over me!" Kira said, pushing him away again. "Ever heard of personal space, dude?"
He grumbled something under his breath, but walked away.
Kira sat on the edge of the bed, trying to get her bearings together for the day.
She rubbed her eyes harshly, and shook out her trembling hands, hoping they would cool out for the day. Taking deep breaths, she managed to control her breathing.
Going to the bathrooms, she splashed water on her face before going to breakfast.
Chiron happened to like Kira a lot for some reason, so she really sat wherever she wanted to. She plopped down at the Apollo table today.
She conjured up a bowl of Cheerio's as she sat across from Nico and Will, listening to them bicker, but lovingly. Obviously.
"Good morning," She mumbled to the Apollo cabin, mouth full of Cheerio's.
"For a Hero of Olympus, you sure do act like a ten year old," Austin Lake told her.
"Shut it, Lake," Kayla said.
Nico and Will both nodded to her before returning to their conversation.
"What do we got going today?" Austin asked the girl, mouth full of breakfast.
"Well, me and Connor are fighting at some point. I have like, seventy bucks bet that I win," Kira said.
"Make that 100," Kayla said, rolling her eyes. "Unless Connor can steal your sword or something, he's going to lose."
Kira gave a soft smile to the daughter of Apollo. "Thanks, Knowles."
"Don't mention it, Willows."
After breakfast, she made her way to the Demeter cabin. It had become a routine.
Katie Gardiner stood at the door, holding out flowers.
It was a mix of daises and roses, the flowers Leo had stolen from their cabin to give to Kira the night he had officially asked to her be his girlfriend.
Once a week, the Gardiner sisters gave Kira the same flowers. It meant a lot to her, and it showed that people didn't forget about Leo and his heroic sacrifice. Since Miranda disappeared, Katie stood alone.
"Thanks, Katie," Kira said softly, gently taking the flowers. Katie just gave her a sympathetic smile.
She breathed in the flowers, trying to imagine that Leo had gotten them for her.
When she was jogging back to place them by her bed side, she ran into Connor.
"Running from a fight?" He asked, smirking.
Kira smiled sadly, showing him the flowers.
"Oh." Connor's face went red. "Sorry."
"Give me ten minutes, and you're on, Stoll!" Kira said, managing a smile.
After she placed the flowers on her bedside, she made her way to the fighting mats, where more then a dozen campers stood, waiting.
Kira rolled her eyes at Connor, and his ability to open his mouth.
"Aw, how cute," Kira joked. "You got the whole camp to watch you lose,"
"You're all talk, Willows," Connor joked back, brandishing his sword.
Kira smiled. No matter how much they bickered, Kira was lucky to have him as a friend. At times, he, Nyssa, Nico, and Will were the ones to patch her up after a bad day or give her an inspiring speech.
She twirled her sword, jumping onto the fighting mat.
"You better win," Nyssa told her from the sideline. "I don't even have seventy dollars."
Kira turned to Connor, who was already charging at her. She easily sidestepped, tripping him and effectively sending him sprawling to the ground.
Kira pointed her sword to him, but he knocked it out of the way, jumping to his feet.
No matter how long Connor had trained, he was no match for Kira. She was the daughter of Ares, and she had trained vigorously for over two years.
She easily disarmed him, sending his sword flying. She pointed her sword at him again, and this time, he didn't defend.
"Wow, Stoll," Sherman said, laughing. "Couldn't have lasted thirty more seconds?"
"Bring me my money!" Nyssa declared, high-fiving Kira. Sherman scowled.
Kira turned to Connor, who was bright red. "Sorry Stoll," She said, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice. "I'll let you win next time,"
"You never let me win next time," Connor said, smiling despite his embarassment.
Kira laughed, jumping off the mat, making her way to the amphitheater for no particular reason other then to breathe without a crowd hovering over her.
She sheathed her sword, once again breathing in deeply and rubbing her eyes when she was alone. She fiddled with her necklace, glancing sadly to the beach.
She glanced back to the campers around the mats, who were still arguing. She debated trying to start a volleyball game.
"Hey,"
Kira jumped, flinching heavily. She turned to see one of the newest campers.
He was a couple inches taller then her, with blonde hair and brown eyes, and wasn't claimed yet, but Kira had a feeling he was a son of Hermes.
"Hey, Henry, isn't it?"
The boy nodded, a confident smile drawled out on his face. She recognized him as the kid who asked her what happened to Leo last night.
In his hands, there was a picture in between his hands. Kira squinted, recognizing it right away. "Hey!" She said, reaching for it. "Where'd you get that?"
The boy held the photo she had gotten from Aphrodite. He moved it out of her reach, never dropping his creepy grin.
"You know," The boy said boldly, leaning against a pillar from the amphitheater. "I think that you deserve better."
"Excuse me?" Kira asked, trying to remain sweet. The boy glanced down at her lips. She reached for it again, but he dandled it above her head. She glowered. "Give it back! How did you even get it?"
He shrugged, not impressed by the image. "Dunno. It was by a pile a rubble."
Rubble. Argo II. She finally snatched the photo from him.
"You heard me. I'd treat you better then that weird son of Hephaestus."
Kira held her anger in. "I'm not interested, sorry. Don't disrespect him like that." She placed the photo in her pocket after she unbent it.
The boy shrugged. "What, do you really think he's coming back for you?" He laughed. "He's dead, Willows!"
Kira glared at the boy, judging if he was a god in disguise or just really, really stupid.
"It doesn't matter, it's still a no."
"Aw, come on, you're too hot to be single. Let me change that."
Kira sized him up. He reminded the girl a lot like Dylan.
She debated swinging, and knocking him out, but she figured it probably wasn't a good idea to start a full-fledged fight. Besides, she had a silent agreement with herself to only fight monsters. no matter how stupid this kid was, he wasn't a monster.
"Dude. I said I wasn't interested."
"How could you say no to a face like this?" He asked, smirking so big that it made her uncomfortable.
He took her hesitation as a yes. He latched onto her wrist, and she whacked him in the face on instinct.
"What the hell?" He yelled, clutching his nose. "Crazy bitch!"
Kira rolled her eyes, grabbing his arm and dragging him to Will in the infirmary. He held his nose, whining.
She probably shouldn't have punched him, but she wasn't going to let some random new camper let him shit-talk Leo Valdez.
She stopped when she made it to the infirmary, where Will was fixing up another camper.
"He's all yours," Kira said, shoving the boy towards Will.
Will turned, frowning, confused. Henry was still cursing under his breath.
"Piece of advice." Kira said. "Don't ever disrespect Leo Valdez. Another: I'd make my way to Camp Jupiter if I were you. Wouldn't want another incident to happen."
Did anyone realize the cover of the story is a daisy and the flowers Leo gave her were daises?
I'm so excited to get to when my baby Kira isn't sad anymore :((
Genuine question: what is everyones thoughts on Kira's character?