A Little Birthday Celebration ((Sienna Linslee))

One of the best, and sneakiest, perks to being a Praetor was having access to records on legionnaires.  And although Elijah would never abuse this, it did come in handy sometimes.  The man had been flipping through some files when something caught his eye.  A birthday...a good friend's birthday.  Sienna and his relationship had changed so much over the years.  Elijah could still remember the disaster of their first meeting.  But things changed, and the man was grateful they had.  Not only had the woman proved herself a great friend, she was now the son of Discordia's sister-in-law.  So when the man saw that Si's birthday was the next day, he decided he'd do something nice for her.  He had been trying to figure out something for ages, with everything the woman had done for Elijah and Jack's wedding, so this seemed like the perfect chance to do something extra special.  Elijah knew his friend wouldn't want anything big for her birthday, but they could have a quiet birthday between friends.

To start, Elijah had gone in to New Rome to find a birthday gift.  He had a very clear idea of what he wanted, and a small jewelry shop did not fail him.  The small man liked giving gifts anyway.  Sienna deserved the best...for her birthday, of course, but as an added bonus, everything she had done for the wedding.  Elijah and Jack couldn't have done it without the daughter of Venus.  With planning and setup and all, but also everything she had done for the small man's sanity.  There was the little stuff, like helping him figure out how he was going to do his makeup...but also keeping him calm in general.  Keeping him and Jack calm in general.  Yes, a lot of that for Elijah fell to River, but sometimes, Elijah needed a little more...gentle.  Sienna was good at that.  She had her mother's compassion.  So yes, the small man found no problem in an extra special birthday gift.  Sienna deserved it...without a doubt.

Along with the gift, Elijah had gotten Jack to bake a little cake for his sister.  It was nothing fancy, just something the man could stick a candle in for his friend.  Besides, Elijah's husband could bake up something better than whoever regularly staffed the kitchens anyway.  And although the man figured one could argue that twenty-three wasn't a huge birthday or anything, he would argue that every year mattered for a demigod...especially once they reached their twenties.  It meant they were beating all the odds and living another year.  Sienna had spent some time in the mortal world...at least, the son of Discordia was pretty sure she had, the past few years.  If he remembered correctly, this was the first year she had chosen to stay at camp during the year.  They had spoken of it at one point...the woman was a dancer, and all dancers had a clock ticking down on their time in their chosen field.  But Sienna was optimistic about it...she still had time, and could always end up teaching.  Elijah was sure being a daughter of Venus would end up helping, too.  Either way, the woman had made it another year.  That was always something to celebrate.

Elijah was hoping he could find Sienna in her barrack...it was cold out and he didn't want to go wandering.  Although camp had magical boundaries that kept out rain and snow and all, the temperature was still quite low.  Having grown up in one of the coldest parts of the country, the man knew he should be able to handle it, but as he was tiny and skinny, it still got to him.  Buttoning up his pea coat and tying the belt tight, the man made sure he had everything he needed in his bag.  The usual stuff, of course, but also the tiny gift wrapped box, a nice candle, and a box of matches.  The cake Jack had made was in a little box that was on his bed, and Elijah made sure to grab that as well.  He made his way from the Principia, heading over to the Fourth Cohort barracks.  It was definitely cold out, something the man tried to fight by reminding himself it was probably a lot worse in Bridgewater.

Letting himself into the barrack, Elijah looked around, his eyes settling on Sienna sitting at her desk.  "Sienna!" he called excitedly, making his way over to her.  He sat the box with the cake down and leaned against the desk, pulling out the gift box.  Inside were two delicate earrings...he had tried to match them as best he could to the ring Venus had gifted Si all those years ago.  He truly hoped his friend liked them, but he was sure she would.  "Happy birthday!  I figured you wouldn't want anything big...but I got you a little something, and I had Jack bake you a cake," Elijah motioned at the box.  "Just a little celebration between friends.  And a belated 'thank you' for all your help with the wedding.  Put the work down for now...we're going to have a nice time," a break was always nice...especially for something like this.  Elijah was beaming...this was going to be great.

In the past, Sienna had liked her birthdays to be a big deal and she especially liked being fussed over. As an only child, she had been spoiled by her father and he had always lavished attention on her. Camp Jupiter had tempered that fact somewhat, where uniformity within the ranks was largely required and a birthday was rarely a big deal. Spending all that time on her own after its destruction had really been the final nail in the coffin, so to speak, and after that Sienna spent her birthdays quietly and on her own. It wasn’t even that hard. Most people were unaware of the date and Si spent so much time on her own in the mortal world and at camp anyway. She really couldn’t be sure why she kept leaving the safety of Camp Jupiter—the seemingly endless determination she had to make things right had to end sometime, right?

Either way, her birthdays were a quiet affair so she took the time to contemplate her future. At 14 years old, the world had seemed bright and full of possibilities. She had been sure then, enrolled in dance academies and constantly participating in productions, what her future would look like. At 17, the vision had been changed, to be sure, but the principle was still the same. The world was her oyster. She could do anything she wanted so long as she tried hard enough. Things had changed since then; her goals had been reduced or destroyed completely. At 19, battered and worn, being back in Camp Jupiter was all she had wanted. Any thoughts of dance or what her future might be were put on hold. She’d recovered some of her previous ambition over the years, slowly, and finally at 21 she was ready to take on the dance world by storm again and hold onto the future her 14 year old had hoped for.

And now, at 23, Si didn’t really know where she stood. By both demigod and dancing standards, she was old. In the case of the former, she was hardly expected to still be standing. Whether struck down like many of her friends at 17, or defeated by a bleak future at 19, it still seemed miraculous that she was still here and kicking. That she was alive for her 23rd birthday. Si was much older than many of the campers, to be sure, and with all her friends in Manhattan it was a lonely view from up top. And, in the case of dancing, her clock was ticking. If she squeezed every last year left and perhaps with a little augmentation from her heritage, Si had maybe 10 years left. In demigod years that was a century, but to her it seemed very short. It brought into question, sometimes, what she was doing in Camp Jupiter.

Only briefly did she ask that, however. She knew what she was doing. As a Centurion and a veteran, Si was assisting in young demigods to reach her age. Every disappearance or death was hard, but every year gained brought a sense of purpose. She wasn’t wasting her time, she knew, but it took a very selfless person to put all one’s dreams on hold to stay in camp and teach. Si wasn’t sure she was so virtuous. It was easier overall not to think about it, however, so even on the most contemplative day of the year Si set those troubles aside. She gave herself a mental pat on the back for reaching 23, but after that she was determined not to think about it anymore.

The easiest way of accomplishing that was Si’s typical move when she wanted to ignore her own (surprisingly nonexistent) personal life. She sat down at her desk in the barracks and began shuffling papers to get caught up on this week’s affairs. She wasn’t the most organized person, unfortunately, so she spent the first part of her time just figuring out what was on her desk. Exhaling slowly, Si leaned back in her chair and out the window. It was cold outside, but the cloud cover had broken and little rays of sunshine were peeking through. Sienna combed her fingers through her hair then tied it up into a bun. She wondered what her 15 year old self would have said if she knew that Si was staying in and working on her birthday. It didn’t really matter, she supposed. The girl turned back to the desk and picked up her pen, flicking it idly against the desk as she shuffled through the stack closest to her.

She must have been working longer than she thought as the sound of the door opening startled Si out of her reverie. She hadn’t quite sunk into depression but more into a resignation that this was what her life was like. Si turned in her chair to see who had walked into the barracks (it was unusual for a legionnaire to return in the middle of the day) but she found herself pleasantly surprised to see Elijah. Her interest piqued to see he was carrying a box along with some other assorted things.

Her mood rose. “Elijah!” Sienna beamed as she got up from the chair to give the boy a hug (carefully navigating around the items he was carrying, of course). There was a time in which the sight of him would have frustrated Sienna, but she hadn’t been the only one to change over the years. When she’d met him, he had been an unusual boy with a bad grasp on his emotions. Having Discordia for a parent meant the chaos was always simmering under the surface, it seemed. Elijah was still unusual, sure, but he’d matured so well and grown into the role of praetor and now, brother-in-law. And, despite how different their parents and personalities were, they got along so well. It was a cheerful reminder that not all her friends were gone.

Si gave an embarrassed laugh and brushed a stray bit of hair out of her face. “Oh, that’s so thoughtful, you really didn’t have to…” Elijah and Jack were still in the honeymoon stage of their marriage and it was hard not to feel better when seeing how happy Elijah was. “Thank you! I’m starting to think you know me too well…this is all perfect. And please tell Jack thank you as well!” Her brother was a very good cook, and Si couldn’t resist opening the box a crack to see what he’d baked up for the occasion.

“Oh, and speaking of, how is the old ball and chain?” Si accompanied her words with a teasing smile, although she quickly adopted an innocent expression afterwards. Jack and Elijah’s wedding had been a beautiful occasion and there was no better couple out there than the two. While she was sure married life suited them perfectly, she wanted to hear it right from the source. And really, what child of Venus didn’t want to hear about happy relationships? Si took in everything before her. Elijah had pulled out another little box (a gift, perhaps? She was intrigued) and she could now see a candle had accompanied the cake box. Then there was the matter that her brother-in-law had taken time out of his very busy day to make sure Sienna didn’t spend her birthday alone. There were hardly any words to describe how she was feeling, so she hugged Elijah instead (she was more of a physical person than a master of words). “Thank you…” she repeated.