IV

Title Prompt: A promise kept

Gwen's last straw was the two bottles of vodka- glinting with captured rainbows underneath the evening sun- which were stashed under Dakota's bed. Her fellow cohort member was simply nowhere to be seen.

She pushed her hair off her face. "Dakota!"

The empty bunk reverberated with silence. Dinner was in half an hour and the praetors had insisted that the fifth cohort be ready for inspection by then. The rest of them were gathered outside the building, fooling around with their armour.

Jason stepped into the room and noticed Gwen's worried expression and the bottles in her hand.

"Dakota?" He asked and she responded with a grimaced nod. "How a fourteen year old can down two bottles of that stuff and not be completely plastered is beyond me."

"He thinks he's so special just because he's the son of Bacchus!" Gwen said worriedly. "But if he's not here in fifteen minutes, the praetors are going to go crazy."

A loud thump on the window from outside jolted the both of them. They rushed towards it and peered out, the last rays of the sun bathing their eyelashes a glorious pink. Dakota lay crumpled outside the window, a hand over his face.

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Well, he's completely plastered."

They both made their way out and pulled Dakota up. His face (it leaned) was flushed and beads of sweat had broken out on his forehead. His eyes were screwed shut.

"Gweeeeeen-do-leen." He sang as he snickered to himself. "Zatyou?"

Jason and Gwen cast each other worried yet resigned looks- not again- as they dragged Dakota back into the room.

"Jay-son-of-Jupiter!" Dakota laughed feverishly. "Geddit?"

"Yes." Jason snapped as he rubbed a cold, wet cloth over the boy's face. Any normal kid would have been sick all over the floor and probably damaged for hours, but Dakota was after all, the son of Bacchus. He sputtered as Jason forgot the cloth completely and poured the clear, crisp water on his face.

"What was that?" He gurgled as the water dribbled down his lips. His eyes slowly turned back to normal.

"You were drunk." Gwen chided. "Again; and inspection's in half an hour!"

"Twenty minutes now." Jason nodded and Dakota cursed. Gwen glared at him and he arranged his features into something that faintly resembled shame.

"I'll get dressed." There was a hint of a slur in his voice.

-x-

The next morning blazed awake and Dakota blinked his eyes open, adjusting to the golden rays of sun that hit him. Dust fairies twirled gracefully in the air. He reached under his bed for his usual bottle- something light, even he couldn't do vodka at six-thirty in the morning- and his hands scrabbled against the dusty floorboards.

Fully awake now, he frowned and tumbled over the side of his bed, pressing himself against the floor. His stash was gone and he had a faint suspicion of who was behind this.

"Looking for something?" It was Jason.

"Yes and you know what it is!" Dakota snapped as he sat up.

"Here you go." Jason smiled as he passed the boy a Styrofoam cup. Without looking inside, Dakota took in gratefully and took a long gulp-

And spat black coffee all over Jason.

"What in Pluto's tiny name is this, Grace?" He rasped, his tongue dangling out.

"Coffee." Jason didn't look too angry about the dark liquid trickling down his skin. "Most people drink it when they wake up."

"I want my wine! Aw, c'mon!"

"Nope." Jason smiled happily.

"Good morning!" Gwen smiled as she entered the conversation. She was, Dakota thought with distaste- and this was the one thing he didn't like about her- entirely too much of a morning person.

"Please give me my bottle."

"No." They chanted in unison, smiling at him.

"Guys!" He begged.

"This can't be good for your health, Dakota." Jason said anxiously.

Dakota rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Grace, skip the Holy saints crap."

Gwen frowned. "You can still drink on special occasions, but downing like a litre of wine each day? Really, it can't be healthy."

Dakota's head pounded. "You can't be healthy!"

Jason sucked his teeth, "Not the best retort."

"I need something or my head is going to explode. Not even kidding."

Gwen cast her eyes around the room as Dakota pressed a thumb to his forehead and swiped a can of Kool-Aid of someone's nightstand.

Dakota drank gratefully. "That's better. So much better." He said when he finally withdrew, wiping a calloused hand across his lips. The sun wasn't a devil anymore. The dust motes weren't mocking him.

Gwen and Jason exchanged a look.

"Dakota, why don't you drink Kool-Aid instead of wine or beer or whatever?"

Dakota snickered. "You really think that is going to be better for my health?"

Jason shrugged. "Well at least this one makes you not slop around like a dead fish; plus, none of the praetors can possibly punish you- harshly- for being a Kool-Aid addict, can they?"

Dakota thought about it.

"C'mon, Dakota." Jason shrugged. "You know we'll always be here for you when you're having trouble, it won't be so hard. Promise."

"Sap." Dakota snorted.

"At least try?" Gwen begged and he could see the worry in their eyes. They wanted to help him, they really did.

"Fine." He muttered finally, "I'll try."

-x-

It had been exactly one month since Jason's disappearance. The fifth cohort was still tingling with an anxious mixture of depression and worry. Grace had been the one who finally gave their group a reputation with some credit; the one who would raise up their morale- slightly behind Gwen, who was just too sunshiny sometimes; the one who was their leader and more importantly, their friend.

They sat down to another dinner at their designated table as all around them, the dining hall buzzed with news about Jason's disappearance.

Someone brushed into the hall surrounded by a clot of people, her obsidian eyes glinting with pain. It was their newly enacted praetor, Reyna, one of Jason's closest friends.

She had just returned from one of the search parties. She cast Gwen and Dakota a disappointed look and they felt their hearts clench. The fifth cohort was smaller than usual, a sign of the casualties of the recent Titan war.

And now Jason was gone.

Dakota took a sip from his goblet, his fingers tracing the delicate whorls etched into the metal. Outside, a faint angel's breath of stars were lighting up the evening sky.

"Kool-Aid, huh." Gwen managed a smile and Dakota managed a laugh.

"Gods, it's been so long."

"We're proud of you, 'Kota." She said and he blushed.

"Yeah, well. Doesn't taste half bad." They paused for a moment, the cutlery clanging off the plates. "Wait, we?"

"Well, Jason as well…"

"Oh, yeah. How could I forget?"

He twirled a piece of spaghetti around his fork, downcast.

"Jason always told us he'd be here for us, didn't he?" He asked finally, wanting to cheer up his friend.

"Well, how can you be so sure?" It hurt Dakota to hear the pessimism in Gwen's usually upbeat voice.

"He'll keep his promise." He said with confidence. "I kept mine, after all, didn't I?"