orenda [leo valdez]

lvii. Percy Learns to Not Bet Against Kira

❝all the clouds in me are raining❞

⤷ r.h. sin

△△△

Sweat glistened on Kira's forehead.

"Is that all you got?" She growled. Clarisse raised an eyebrow, bringing her spear down, that Kira blocked easily. If her reflexes were a second slower, she would have been split in two.

Thrusting her spear meant leaving her body undefended, and Kira held her sword out to Clarisse's neck, that would have killed her if she stopped.

Clarisse huffed. "You're cocky, Willows,"

"You're allowed to be, when you're as awesome as me."

Kira glanced to her left, where a few of her friends stood watching the fight.

Percy grumbled something to Annabeth, handing her twenty dollars grudgingly. Piper and Jason laughed.

"Percy Jackson, did you bet against me?" Kira asked.

Percy held a guilty smile. "Me? Never."

Kira didn't smile, but her friends had desperately tried to cheer her up the past week. They knew that he mind was in a dangerous place. She tried, but it came out almost like a grimace.

Clarisse went to polish her spear, and Kira plopped down on the mat.

"I can't believe you're actually leaving." Kira said, shaking her head.

Piper and Jason were leaving for her father's house.

Percy and Annabeth were leaving to go to college in New Rome.

Hazel and Frank were already back to Rome.

Which meant, Kira was going to be more alone then she already felt.

She had Connor, Will, and Nico, but it wasn't the same as the other Eight. She had fought and lost so much beside them. Percy, Annabeth and her had been stuck in Tartarus together. It felt unnatural for them to be leaving camp.

"Promise you won't get into too much trouble," Annabeth told the girl, making a show of placing the twenty dollars into her pocket.

"No can do, Chase." Kira told her, turning her sword back into a ring.

Percy laughed. "You're going to fit in here perfectly."

Kira managed some crumpled copy of a smile for her friends sake. She had become very good at hiding her emotions the last coupled days. Of course, it wasn't like she had a choice. The Eight were on top of her constantly to make sure she was safe.

Sometimes all you can do is smile, move on with your day, hold back the tears, and pretend you are okay.

"Willows!" Clarisse's yell came from across camp.