CLARION

Despite being a child of the sky and even riding in her own cabin's chariot, Clarion despised heights more than Artemis despised men. The girl could ignore the bitter wind with the warmth of the sun in her chest, but the sight of the ground hundreds of feet below her made her shake like a leaf in autumn. Butch handled the Pegasi, which up close, Clarion could see were Theona and Arcelios. Annabeth worked with the bronze navigation system. With the storm clouds gathering behind them and a bit of ferocious turbulence, the daughter of Apollo kind of wanted to puke again.
Jason noticed her shaking (and the fact that she radiated warmth) and stood closer to her. He'd noticed earlier that she was a safe zone for him, like when one played tag. He felt that if he were to leave her side, neither of them would be safe anymore. His additional warmth to her body helped her nerves, but the girl couldn't get out of the sky fast enough. She noticed that Jason switched his gaze from her to the horizon quite often. Piper watched him with a frown on her face, and Leo was his usual self.
"This is so cool!" He spit a feather out of his mouth. How it had gotten there, the daughter of Apollo was unsure. "Where are we going?"
Home. Clarion immediately felt better at the mere mention of it.
"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."
Piper was instantly on guard. "Half-blood? Is that some kind of bad joke?"
"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."
"Yeah," Clarion interjected. "We're not racist."  The thought of Chris calling her Ling-Ling made her clench her teeth. Okay, the majority of them weren't racist.
"You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Clary's dad is Apollo, god of music. And Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."
Leo choked. Butch looked like he could snap a hippo in half. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"
"Got a problem with that?" Butch asked. The air seemed to be getting colder. Hair stood up on the back of Clarion's neck, but not from the bitter wind.
"Uh, guys—"
"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows, very macho."
"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth added. "He gets along great with the Pegasi."
"Arcelios likes Clary better, though," Butch interjected. Arcelios whinnied in agreement, which normally would've made the girl smile, but the shivers down her spine were growing by the minute.
"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.
"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.
"Guys—"
"Demigods," Piper interrupted. "You mean you think you're... you think we're–"
Lightning flashed, the chariot lurching. Clarion closed her eyes. No, no, no. "Left wheel's on fire!" Jason shouted.
"If we survive this, Will is gonna kill you!" She directed the statement to Annabeth, who rolled her eyes while frantically trying to maintain control of the chariot.
"Why are they—" Piper started to ask.
"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth answered. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallion, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on, this is going to get rough."
Clarion groaned. "We're gonna die, we're gonna die." She felt the familiar Pegasi jump, nearly toppling over at the sudden speed. Without her sight, the sensation felt that much worse.
"The lake!" Annabeth shouted. "Aim for the lake!"
Oh gods.
Clarion wrapped her arms around Jason as they plummeted. He gripped her to his chest, the wind whipping around them.
BOOM.
The cold of the lake's water and the impact combined knocked the breath out of her, causing her to gasp and inhale water. With the force of the fall, Jason had been ripped from her grasp. Her eyes shot open, meeting the yellows of the nymphs. They grinned at her before hauling her out of the lake and onto the shore.
She coughed up the lake water, shivering. Shane and Harley from Hephaestus blasted her with warm air, drying her in two seconds. The girl was yanked from her position on the ground and pulled into a tight embrace. The welcoming scents of coconut, fresh bread, and raspberry alerted her of her siblings' presence. She melted into their arms.
Will, Kayla, and Austin were easily in her top ten favorite people in the world. How they squeezed her when she returned home from quests always let her know that they felt the same.
They let go of her, Will turning to yell at Annabeth. "Annabeth! I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"
"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise." Clarion's brother scowled, sizing up Piper, Jason, and Leo, whom she hadn't even noticed had gotten out of the lake. An unforgiving wave of relief crashed through her at the sight of Jason's living, breathing body. Confusion was quick to follow.
"These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"
"Claimed?" Leo asked, voice cracking a bit.
Before anyone could explain, Will continued, "Any sign of Percy?"
Annabeth frowned, "No." Clarion frowned too, her fellow campers muttering behind her. Another girl stepped forward, Drew Tanaka. Clarion could barely control her lip curling back. Drew was one of the pettiest, and begrudgingly prettiest girls at camp. It came with being a daughter of Aphrodite. Clarion watched as the girl sized up the trio of new demigods, bristling at the looks she served them, especially the one targeted at Jason.
In the corner of her eyes, Clarion could see Luna Lee, a daughter of Ares. Her broadsword was at her hip, her mechanical leg as shiny as ever. The curly haired girl was lucky to take more after her mother than her father, being less burly than her siblings and a lot prettier. That didn't mean she didn't have the rage of a pissed off bull constantly on simmer.
"Well," Drew started. "I hope they're worth the trouble."
Clarion snarled. "Drew, I'll cut your pretty little tongue out." The other Asian girl sneered at her, Kayla's arm one of the only things stopping Clarion from actually fulfilling her statement.
"Gee, thanks," Leo snorted. "What are we, your new pets?"
"No kidding," Jason said. "How about some answers before you start judging us— like, what is this place, why are we here, and how long do we have to stay?"
"Jason," Annabeth said. "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew—" the blonde's glare was scalding—" all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."
Yeah, Clarion didn't plan on nearly dying, but hey, just a day in the life, right?
"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."
Drew sniffed. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"
Piper stepped forward, ready to slug her, but Annabeth stopped her.
"Piper, stop."
Luna stepped forward, a malicious grin on her face, "Piper, go. I've been itching to knock her out for a good time now."
"You just think she's hot!" One of Luna's brothers called from the back, Elliott, if Clarion remembered correctly.
Luna whirled. "While I don't deny that, you should make sure you check your bed before you sleep, Smelliot. I should hate for you to bed a couple scorpions." Campers snickered and Clarion smirked at Piper's blush.
"Enough! We need to make out new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth shot a pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."
   "Will somebody tell me what claimed means?" Piper asked, exhausted. As if on cue, a flaming hammer.
   "That," Annabeth nodded to the flames, "is claiming."
   "What'd I do?" Leo panicked, looking up and yelping. "Is my hair on fire?"
   "This can't be good," Butch muttered. "The curse—"
   "Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"
   "By a god," Jason interrupted, dragging all eyes to him. Clarion's eyes had already been on his figure. He had a tiny scar on his top lip that she hadn't noticed before. "That's the symbol for Vulcan, isn't it?" The girl's jaw popped open. How did he know all of this?
   "Jason," Annabeth said carefully, "how did you know that?"
   "I'm not sure." He frowned, scratching his arm. It was at that point that Clarion noticed his tattoo. He'd ditched his windbreaker after falling in the lake. An eagle, accompanied by the letters SPQR and a bar code looked burnt into the skin on his right forearm.
   SPQR, the aureus, the Roman terminology. Was it possible that Jason was Roman like she was Greek?
   "Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE Star Trek. What are you talking about?"
   "Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, "the god of blacksmiths and fire."
   "The god of what? Who?" He stilled swatted at the air like the flames were still there, but the hammer had long since faded. Annabeth turned to Will.
   "Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk mates in Cabin Nine."
   "Sure, Annabeth," the scent of fresh bread drifted away from her as her brother moved away and towards Leo.
   "What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"
   "Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything," Will clamped a hand on Leo's shoulder and led him to the cabin area. Her dark eyes locked on the Hypnos Cabin, desperately wanting a nap for a solid minute before shaking herself out of it. Annabeth seemed to take notice of Jason's tattoo as well.
   "Hold out your arm."
   He did as he was told, seemingly just as surprised as the rest of them. His skin was taut over his muscles, hand in a fist. Clarion could feel his anxiety pulsing through his body like blood and wondered if anyone else could too. His blue eyes found her, rooting her in her spot. How could someone so physically demanding look so small and scared?
   "I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said. "Where did you get them?"
   Jason shook his head with a sigh, taking his gaze from Clarion. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know." Campers pushed forward, trying to get a better look. The markings made them uneasy, almost like a declaration of war. Jason frantically found her gaze again. Clarion sighed, shoving through the campers to stand by his side.
   Piper's eyes narrowed in her direction, but honestly? Clarion didn't care at all. All she knew was that Jason's anxious, pleading gaze made her want to flip tables.
   "They look burned into your skin,"  Annabeth remarked. Clarion hadn't noticed that bit, the skin looking like it died, but only in those spots.
   "They were," Jason winced like he had a sudden, massive migraine. "I mean... I think so. I don't remember." It confused Clarion how he was able to remember so much about Roman terminology, but nothing about himself.
   "He needs to go straight to Chiron," Annabeth decided. "Drew, would you—"
   "Absolutely," Drew slid her arm through Jason's. "This way, sweetie—"
   Clarion sucked in a quick breath, ignoring the pain in her ribs. "Annabeth, maybe I should take him, that way I can debrief Chiron about the trip," she said, mostly just wanting Drew's nasty claws off of Jason's arm. She could tell Piper shared that sentiment as well.
   Annabeth's grey eyes scanned her best friend before shaking her head. "Have Kayla look you over, hit the showers. You've had a long day. Brief Chiron later," her words made sense, but that didn't mean they didn't piss Clarion off any less. She huffed, letting Kayla lead her to their cabin. Her younger sister's arm around her shoulder obscured her view, but she looked back at Jason one last time.
His blue eyes followed her as she left. Drew had draped her arm through his and was pulling him, a flirtatious smirk on her devious face.
One day, Clarion was going to wipe it off.