Lila's been in Camp Half-Blood a week. Everyday, she's been plagued by dreams about her childhood, memories she'd rather forget. The entire year with Nico, she lived dream free - it's as if whoever the god of dreams is has suddenly extended his power to Camp Half-Blood. 

Almost every minute has been spent preparing for the war. Growing healing plants, training, sharpening weapons, planning, training, trying to predict Kronos's next move, training. 

Still, Silena has dragged both Clarisse and Lila over to the Aphrodite cabin, and there they sit. Clarisse is slouched in a chair, dressed in a leather jacket, dark trousers and a red top that fits to her like a second skin, her eyeliner thick and black, framing her. She's covered in muscle, muscle that only seems to develop with every day. She was born for war. 

 Silena, on the other hand, is a total trainwreck. Lila hasn't told her, but she's kind of ... well, her hair's a mess, for one. She's never seen Silena wear her hair in a ponytail before. It looks like it hasn't been washed for at least two weeks. 

So, Clarisse and Lila are staging an intervention. Well, Lila is, and Clarisse is the intimidation. It's not really working. 

"Silena, when was the last time you showered?" Clarisse raises an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair. 

Lila kicks her. "Subtle." 

She makes a face. 

Silena, sitting cross-legged in her bed, rolls her eyes. "Charlie hasn't complained." 

"That's because he loves you." Lila says, gently as she can.

"Yeah, love has made him stupid," Clarisse nods. "And blind, apparently." 

"I have better things to be doing." Silena throws a sock at Clarisse. Lila's not sure why there are socks on her bed (she hopes they're clean). "There's a war going on, you know." 

Lila folds her hands together. "Lena, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but - " 

"You look like shit," Clarisse interrupts. 

Lila kicks her again. 

Silena scowls. "I do not. I'm hot."

"Yeah," Lila agrees. "But you'd be hotter if you like, had a shower." (Or brushed her teeth, or her hair.)

"You're both in no position to lecture me," Silena scowls. "You," she points at Clarisse, "are fighting with the Apollo cabin over a chariot - "

"It's not about the chariot," Clarisse scowls. "It's about pride and respect - "

"And you," she points at Lila, "are avoiding your blatant daddy issues. Seriously, it's been a year, you need to deal with it - " 

"Okay, I do not have daddy issues - " 

"The Apollo cabin stole that chariot from us- " 

"How can I have daddy issues if I don't have a dad? It doesn't even make sense - " 

"My entire cabin is speaking in haikus!"

"You know, I was basically made by meiosis when you think about it - " 

"Mark won't stop singing, do you know how bad he is at singing? I want to claw my ears out - " 

"And at least I've showered." 

Clarisse nods. "True. Lila's hair looks terrible, as usual. Yours on the other hand, looks terrible, unusually."

Lila kicks her again. 

Silena fiddles with something in her pocket. "It just all seems to pointless right now. Showering, everything. People are dying. You guys just came back from this horrible mission, Clarisse - Charlie's away doing gods know what - actually, the gods probably don't know, since they're busy fighting that giant storm monster that's practically destroyed all of America already, and Kr - He grows stronger everyday." There are tears forming at the edges of her eyes. 

Lila surges forward, throwing her arms around her. She doesn't really have anything to say other than that. She's right. Everything is falling apart. They'll probably all be dead next week. 

Clarisse leans back in her chair, shaking her head helplessly at Lila. She's not the most tactful. If Lila is the pleasant golden retriever, Clarisse is the bloodhound. She'll tear everyone apart if they get too close.

"You're more use to the camp if you take care of yourself," Lila says, as gently as she can. "If you, one of the most experienced campers here, gives up, everyone else will follow you." 

Silena wipes her eyes. "You think I've given up?"

Lila winces internally. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to phrase it. 

"Maybe I have." The elder girl mumbles quietly. "It all seems so hopeless. We don't really have a chance against them, do we?"

Lila presses her lips together, fighting her own tears. Every day, there's another announcement about demigods dying, Typhon slowly growing closer to Olympus. If they aren't killed by Kronos, they'll die to him. If the gods defeat him, Kronos will slaughter them. 

If the demigods can't hold off Kronos long enough for the gods to kill Typhon, if they can, and if the gods can muster enough strength after that to defeat the Titans, then maybe some will survive. The demigods are being used as ... a time-wasting tactic. 

But there is a prophecy. 

"We have a chance," Lila says. "Percy is the strongest demigod in like, forever. There's Thalia and Nico too, who are pretty terrifying when they want to be. Annabeth's the smartest camper there's been for ages. We have some powerful demigods on our side." 

Lena sniffs. "You're a little biased, Li." 

Clarisse huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not. Listen, I'm not Jackson's hugest fan - " 

Lila coughs. 

"- but he is powerful enough to save us." She adds, very quietly. "Probably." 

Lila kicks her again. 

Silena nods. "You're right, you're right. I'm being stupid." She wipes her eyes, but Lila isn't convinced. She's shaky, trembling, clearly spooked by whatever is going on. Something is, for sure. Maybe she's been having terrible dreams too. She's probably worried about Beckendorf, on that dangerous mission. The one Percy's on, too. 

"Let's start with our nails," Lila announces. "I know you have nail polish under your bed. What colour?"

She drops to the ground, stretching to drag Silena's huge box of colours out from where they're tucked in the corner, probably to hide from the other Aphrodite kids. It's covered in dust; Lila coughs, batting it away. 

"Pink," Silena decides. 

"Which pink?" she has like thirty shades of it. 

"I'm not wearing pink," Clarisse scowls. "Red, maybe." 

Silena's face lights up, and Lila is glad she's temporarily distracted. "You'll paint your nails?"

Clarisse can't back out now. "I'll consider it." 

"I want pink," Lila announces. "Or green." 

"Why not both?" 

"If we're both doing pink, so should you." 

"Pink is not my colour."

"To be fair, you do wear a lot of red - " 

Lila digs around under Silena's bed and finds a bunch of romance novels, complete with pastel coloured graphics of people kissing on the covers. "Oh, what are these?"

Silena lunges. "Get off that!" 

She's surprisingly vicious, climbing over Lila to reach the books. "I'll paint your nails black if you keep this up." 

Lila wouldn't really mind black - she'd feel like a slightly less angry version of Nico. But Silena bats her hands away in an effort to get to the books, kneeing her in the stomach. She coughs, kicking out and batting her friends face. 

Clarisse snickers. "It's like watching two puppies fight."

Silena wins, shoving them back under her bed and climbing off Lila's stomach. Lila pants, lying on the ground. "I think you crushed my ribs." 

"Oh, don't be dramatic," Silena rolls her eyes. "I'm not that heavy."

She's pretty heavy. She doesn't look it, but she's all muscle from all the pegasus riding she does - it's amazing how much strength is needed to stay upright on a flying horse. 

 "So," Clarisse interrupts their fight. "Red?"

"Pink," Lila and Silena agree. 

The daughter of war must know that she's fighting a losing battle, for she surrenders her palms to Silena's weapon of choice, nail polish. 

It's hard to forget about the imminent war for more than an hour or two. Eventually Clarisse tears herself away from Silena, her newly painted nails glowing pink. She uncoils like a snake preparing to strike, winding itself up for a hit. 

"I'm going to train." It's a request, even if she doesn't phrase it like one. 

Lila jumps up. She's grown used to Clarisse's blank phrasing. "Sure, sounds good." 

Silena leans back onto the bed, though she looks less defeated than she did before. "I'll find something to do. You guys have fun." 

They probably won't. Lila's still covered in bruises from the day before. 

Despite the depleted number of campers, the training grounds are packed full. Everyone wants to train, knowing that just an extra hour could save their life in the next few days. Everyone wants to help out with the war effort, but they're all secretly crossing their fingers and praying that they're not picked on for the next mission. 

Still, they clear out as soon as they see Clarisse. One Apollo camper makes a point to bump into her, though it seems to hurt him more, with Clarisse barely moving. 

"So, still not agreed about the cabin?" Lila wonders, though she doesn't really need an answer. She can hear Sherman screeching in haiku from across the camp. 

Clarisse scowls. "What do you think?"

Lila hums in agreement and grabs her spear. She doesn't really want to talk about it - personally, she thinks Clarisse is being an idiot, but she can't find the energy to care about the stupid chariot. It's more trouble than it's worth - who even cares about a flying chariot? They have pegasi. 

"I know what you think," Clarisse grumbles. "You're just avoiding the subject." 

Lila shrugs. "Whatever."

Clarisse spins her spear, almost taking Lila's head off - she ducks at the last second, and it misses her hair, barely. 

"Relax!" Lila steps out of range. "You can do what you want. It's just a chariot, though." 

She probably shouldn't have added that last bit on. Clarisse throws her spear, Maimer (though everyone calls it Lamer) and electric sparks nearly take out Lila's head. She darts out of the way, spinning her own weapon. 

"I'm kidding, I'm just kidding," she snickers, as Clarisse retrieves the spear. The other campers step away, leaving a wide circle around them. "You need to chill out." 

"You need to shut up," Clarisse grumbles. "I'll shove your head in the toilet." 

It's a truly terrifying threat. 

Clarisse grabs a shield for Lila, throwing it her way and equipping herself with one. They usually fight with them, since they (hopefully) will have one in the war. Clarisse also tends to avoid using Lamer, since it's kind of an unfair advantage (though she's been known to break that rule). 

They circle each other in perfect synchronisation. Lila waits. 

Clarisse attacks first, every time. Lila dodges her first strike, stepping out of the way, but she turns the spear to strike with the back end, which Lila dodges too. Clarisse rolls her eyes. 

They circle each other a bit more, until Lila sees an opening, bringing the spear towards a tiny gap between the shield and Clarisse's body. It almost hits her, but she turns at the last second, hitting Lila's spear with her shield, and she stumbles. Clarisse presses her advantage, lunging forward to kick at Lila's leg. In return, Lila stumbles over her and kicks her shield, somehow shoving Clarisse back a few steps. 

Clarisse's eyes narrow. She steps forward, thrusting toward Lila three times in quick succession, all of which she evades. The fourth strike is the hardest, and Lila blocks it with the shield. The spear lodges there, and the shield is torn from her hands. 

While Clarisse is preoccupied, Lila then steps forward and hits her forearm with the staff of the spear, and she drops her own shield. She grunts in approval. "Good one." 

Lila glows at the praise. 

They fall into habit, striking, blocking, dodging, until Lila's back is soaked with sweat. Clarisse's hair begins to fall from it's ponytail, and she blows it away. They don't bother with taunting each other anymore. 

Finally Clarisse lands a stronger hit, and Lila stumbles away. Clarisse juts her leg out, and Lila goes sprawling to the ground, panting. She turns, to find the spear point at her neck. 

She yields. "Urgh, you always win." 

Clarisse shrugs. "Pretty much." 

She moves her spear, helping Lila to her feet. They both dust themselves off. "Again?"

Lila shrugs. "Sure." 

They drink a little - not too much, though. Then they go back to their circling. The fight lasted longer than usual, Lila's a little more tired than she normally is. 

About twenty strikes later, Clarisse has Lila on the ground again. She rolls her eyes. 

"You keep forgetting to defend your feet," Clarisse scowls. "It's totally open." 

Lila hadn't noticed that. "Huh." 

They go back to their fight. Sure enough, when she properly guards her legs, Clarisse seems to struggle to find an opening. The fight lasts longer this time, ending when Lila backs off for a moment to breathe, and Clarisse launches the spear at her. She hates that about Clarisse. Most people are too afraid to throw the spears, but Clarisse chucks it whenever she feels the urge. 

"You're totally cheating," Lila mutters. 

"You're totally losing," Clarisse mocks. 

They fight again. This time, Lila makes sure she covers every base, properly. After what feels like forever of twisting and turning around each other, Clarisse strikes with the spear and it sparks with electricity. 

Lila grins. Clarisse using her electric spear means Lila's welcome to use her own magic. A couple plants bloom and Clarisse trips over. Somehow, she manages to fall right into Lila, who's distracted by her own power (it comes so easy now) so they both go tumbling to the ground, rolling around in the dust. 

"Seriously?" Clarisse snickers. "That was an easy win." 

Lila pushes her off. "Shut up." 

The last fight, they're both pretty exhausted. Lila's throat is all dry, and she's dreaming of her bottle of water, abandoned at the corner of the arena. Still, she blocks the strikes as they've practiced. Finally, she manages to slip through Clarisse's defence and locks the spear over her shoulder, pulling her to the ground. 

Clarisse groans, and yields. 

Lila drops her spear and celebrates. 

"Finally." 

Lila kicks her again. "Shut up."

One of the Hermes campers darts into the arena, grinning. "Percy's back!" 

Clarisse groans, though her lips are twitching. She's been friends with Percy since a mission a few months ago, but for some reason, they both refuse to admit it. 

Immediately, a flood of people rush out of the arena, and Lila and Clarisse are quick to follow. Lila can't stop her smile; finally, something going right. The ship is blown up. The Princess Andromeda is gone forever, the taunt of that ship finally out of their lives. 

"Silena will be glad," Clarisse says, pulling Lila though the crowd of people. Everyone parts to let her through; she's a bit like a bull, pushing people out of the way and clearing a path. "She was really worried about ..." 

Percy stands alone, beside Chiron and Annabeth. Clarisse and Lila rush to join them, stepping up. Percy looks relieved to see her, and Lila can't pretend her heart doesn't skip a beat when she sees him. They've been Iris-Messaging, but it's not the same as the real thing. Percy is one of those people who's larger than life. 

They don't get a chance to talk, though, for Silena pushes through the crowd, and Lila realises that Percy is alone. 

Her heart sinks to her stomach. 

"What happened?" Silena asks. "Where's Charlie?"

Lila stares at her dumbly. The stupid pink nails look stupidly bright on her hands. 

Chiron clears his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House - " 

"No," she mutters. "No, no." Then she begins to cry. 

unedited (have given up on edited i will edit everything when i get to the end so if something doesn't make sense tell me & i'll clarify / edit it later)

i want lila to start calling clarisse "babe" because i have a friend who calls everyone "babes" ironically and i've started doing it too

but i thought no one else would find it funny lmao 

depressing start to a depressing act. it's going to be so fun! (for me)