𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇, Clarisse la Rue

𝐢𝐢𝐢. movies and monsters

STRENGTH
━━ act one, chapter three.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

   NEWS OF PERCY'S QUEST HAD SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE. It was the talk of the entire camp. Nabi had heard it had to do with Poseidon and Zeus — Zeus believed his brother had stolen his master bolt, declaring he'd go to war if it wasn't returned by the summer solstice, whilst Poseidon demanded an apology for such an accusation on the same day.

People at the camp had started taking sides, and tension was heightening between different cabins, especially with the hellhound attack that had happened. Speaking of, the hellhound incident had died down a little, but people were still uneasy about a possible... traitor amongst them. The demigods were brewing up new rumours, and the likeliest would've been Hades had sent it from the Underworld.

Apparently, the god of the dead had something to do with it — he was said to have stolen the lightning bolt. Nabi didn't really know how to feel about that. The man that was speculated to be her deadbeat father, who still hadn't claimed her, was possibly the reason the whole world would be destroyed? She didn't want to believe it... could her father really be that bad of a man?

   Had he left Nabi because he hated her? Had he left her because he didn't want her to be blamed for his actions; for stealing the lightning bolt? Had he left her for no reason at all?

Nabi tried not to dwell on it.

Throughout the past few days though, Clarisse had been even more sulky and agitated to other campers. Nabi was fed up with her behaviour. She had let Clarisse be for a while, due to her broken spear, in hopes that she'd cool down and return to normal eventually. But she hadn't.

So one night, whilst everyone was eating dinner, Nabi made her way over to the opposite side of the pavilion, grabbed Clarisse's wrist, and dragged her all the way to an empty Ares cabin. Clarisse muttered protests and gave her a bewildered look as the rest of the camp watched the interaction with amused glances and hushed whispers. Clarisse questioned, "What are you doing? Why are you taking me back to my cabin?"

   "To talk, Clarisse." Nabi huffed.

   Clarisse opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Maybe it was the way Nabi's voice drawled, or something else that made her stay quiet. Nabi might've heard her mumbling something along the lines of, "Oh my gods, shut up brain."

   Nabi didn't comment on it. Maybe she heard it wrong — it made no sense for her to say such a weird thing.

   When they got to the Ares cabin, Nabi had shut the door, hovering in front of it so Clarisse couldn't leave. Then Nabi gave her an expectant look, folding her arms. "Well?"

   "Gods," Clarisse scoffed, "What is it?"

   "What's your vendetta against Percy?" Nabi asked, "Why him? I thought I'd finally gotten you to stop bullying people, and then— and then this happened!"

   Clarisse scowled. "Of course it's this. Why is it such a big deal? I don't get it."

   "It's a big deal because it's not right, Clarisse," Nabi said, her voice slightly more gentle when she'd uttered her name, "I want you to tell me what the problem is, please?"

   If it were anyone else, Nabi knew she'd push right past her and head back to the pavilion. But Clarisse sighed, and sat down on her bed. "Fine. I'll say it."

   Nabi sat down next to her, their knees touching as she waited patiently. Clarisse took a deep breath, and began her explanation, "I thought, y'know, new camper — whatever, I'll just ignore them or try not to be too mean like you ask me to. But he showed up after killing the stupid minotaur. That's— that's an opportunity. Then, Percy gets claimed by Poseidon in less than a week. And he breaks the spear — the only thing Ares has ever given me. His dad noticed him so fucking fast, and he has the chance to get all this glory, and he doesn't even want it like I do."