perhaps when one becomes too familiar with war,
they forget that peace exists.
[ book one -- storming universe ]
[ Sierra Machisse -- book one ]
[ sea of monsters -- titan's curse ]
{ 03 / 29 / 2020 -- ? }
( Percy Jackson x Female OC )
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SOME THOUGHTS ARE EASIER TO ORGANIZE AS A LIST.
For example, Sierra knows that one of the twins she calls paternal brothers, has a list of every scar, on every Ares camper. John likes this tally because it helps him to remember they're all human. That despite the godly blood, despite their innate love for violence and pain, he can always remind himself that scars are proof of not just that violent ache, but survival. John has scars on his wrists from his own hands, and Sierra thinks that's why he's so fascinated with the idea of a person's body being permanently marked for the sake of survival.
John's twin James, has another list. James has a list of all the things about the Ares cabin the other campers have totally wrong. James keeps this list for an entirely different reason than John. He keeps it, not for the reminder they're human, but for the reminder they're half divine. That just like their father, no one will ever truly know them, and that as any war strategist knows, there will always be safety in numbers, and mystery.
On James' list, there's an item, with a tally of exactly 126 marks underneath it, and a new one is added every time the list item is fulfilled, and the tally is restarted at the beginning of every year. The past year's number carved along the doorframe by one of James' various daggers. James likes to joke it's a self fulfilling prophecy, because ever since it was written down, the number went up at a higher frequency. Sierra knows it's because it helps to remind them they're all allowed to lean on one another.
That list item, is how many times an Ares child has been helped through a panic attack by their siblings. Morbid, maybe, but it's also something no one would ever imagine from the Ares kids. It's something Sierra wishes she'd known about her family when she was younger. It's one of the few things, Sierra allows herself to be vulnerable about.
Like now, when she's forcing her brother to put his head between his knees and telling him to just freaking breathe before she has to take him to the infirmary.
"Sherman Yang I swear to the gods," she says, anger clearly punctuated in her tone. Sheila is cowering in the corner, terrified as always, looking on the verge of her own panic attack. Sierra pointedly ignores her, she might be blood, but she hasn't earned Sierra caring about her yet. Sherman has, and if he doesn't start breathing in a minute, Sierra's going to kill him.
But he doesn't. Air goes in for about a millisecond before a strangled noise escapes and he exhales air he doesn't have. Sierra knows exactly why. There's only one thing that could make him react like this.
"She isn't here Sherman," she says firmly. "She's back in Utah, far away, and she isn't coming back. If she came within a hundred yards of you, I'd kill her. I promise. So just breathe."
Sierra had said it aloud, thought it, and told Chiron it was a fact more times than she could count that demigod children of Ares were just more predisposed to disturbing pasts. It could be that they attracted danger, but it was just as likely that their Dad just found it funny to fuck with them.
