Disclaimer: I don't own anything (not even the pictures) except my OC.
PERCY
I
The hot afternoon sun beat down on the group of half-bloods in the dust. Swords clanged against each other and metal glinted under the merciless sun.
You could feel the tension in the humid air as the two waves clashed and converged against each other. Steel armor gleamed and warriors grunted as they delivered blow after blow.
The dust rose into clouds of earth vapor that momentarily blocked the fighters from view. The younger trainees leaned forward, their faces drawn into frowns. Then the dust settled and the kids, mostly teens, sat back on the benches around the arena.
A dozen small battles were raging everywhere, mostly mono-e-mono standoffs. The young recruits studied the scene in front of them, some with a hungry glint in their eyes, some disinterested.
Their appearances varied: Some had brown, stringy hair and bulky muscles, while others were slim, with fair hair. Even others had black hair and were dressed in dark punk clothes. There was one thing they all had in common, though. The were all wearing orange T-shirts and each of them had a leather necklace with clay beads on it around their necks.
Though the whole setup and the strategy were fascinating, their eyes kept being drawn to one of the duels in particular: A standoff between a boy and a girl in the middle of the arena.
The girl had short, curly blonde hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. It whipped at her cheeks as she struck out at her opponent with inhuman strength, her bright, new bronze dagger flashing through the air faster than one could think possible. Her grey eyes were cool and calm, calculating her rival's every move before he could make it.
Said rival was a boy with ebony hair and sea-green eyes that twinkled with happiness and laughter, caught in the heat of the moment. His sword, a celestial bronze blade with a leather grip, swung through the air in weightless arcs. His attacks connected, but they connected against the girl's dagger.
The duo moved double as fast as anybody else in the arena, their arms entwining, then flashing apart by the whirl of battle. Bronze arcs flashed around them, radiant streamers through the afternoon air. The moved perfectly in sync, as if they knew their contestant's moves by heart, like graceful dancers on a dance floor full of drunk, tired high-school age kids who had done too much homework.
"Σταματήστε!" a voice called out and the fighting ceased in one moment as the centaur Chiron clopped forward. He moved through the ranks of fighters, congratulating them one moves as he went. The competitors all nodded, gasping and puffing as sweat poured down their backs.
All except the two fighters in the middle. Seemingly deaf, they whirled on, faster and faster, and they showed no signs of stopping. Then, there was a slight shift in their stances: Their bodies moved further apart as if collecting themselves for a lightning strike.
When it came, they both struck at the same time. The boy's sword arced through the air in a deadly descent, only to be stopped by the girl's knife. She had caught the sword on her blade, a move only the quickest and most skilled knife-fighter could manage.
For one moment, the two grinned at each other, both outmatched, both out of moves to throw at the other. Then, they kissed.
"Admit it, I'm better than you," I chuckled, pulling away from Annabeth. Just this once, I thought, maybe she won't…
She punched me in the gut and smiled at me, angelic. "Seaweed brain."
Okay, then again maybe she will.
I laughed and put my arm around her as we snuck, as inconspicuously as we could, to the back of the crowd waiting for Chiron's comments on their performance. I returned my sword to its more handy ballpoint pen shape and stuck it in my pocket, while Annabeth slid her knife into the sheath on her arm.
Some campers were already leaving, trying to catch some time to clean up before the next activity started. Chiron walked over to us, his horse tail flicking flies away in the summer sun. "Impressive as always, Percy, Annabeth. I suggest to get Nico to raise some more ghost warriors for you to spar with."
Annabeth smiled. "Okay, Mr Chiron. One question though…" I kept waiting for the day when Annabeth was out of questions. Unfortunately, that would be the day on which the Underworld froze over.
I breathed in deeply. The smell of Camp always calmed me down and made me feel right at home: Strawberry fields, smoke from the forges, salt from the sea, horse manure…
All of a sudden, I glimpsed movement at the top of the hill. Peleus, the dragon guarding the golden fleece on Thalia's pine tree raised his head and squinted into the distance. I slipped my arm from around Annabeth's shoulders and cocked my head. The golden dragon turned around to the valley and uttered and long, hoarse roar.
Annabeth whipped her head around, her grey eyes instantly alert. She smiled. Man, she looked good like that. "Finally, a new camper! I was beginning to think we had all of them!"
Chiron waved at us and galloped off towards the distant hill. Annabeth and I glanced at each other and ran towards the pine tree at top speed.
We were among the first campers to reach the summit, even though we had been all the way down at the arena. What can I say? Saving the world leaves you in top condition. We came to a stop beside Peleus and stared down at the scenario.
My first thought was: Grover. My best friend was standing halfway up the hill, his eyes wide. His set of reed pipes was at his lips and he was playing frantically. The music was a quick jig, like the wind blasting over meadows in a storm. The grass on the hillside rippled, almost toppling the monster but not quite restraining it. The thing was about as large as the average horse, with the back legs and hindquarters of a horse and the front talons, head and wings of a rooster.
"A hippalectryon," Annabeth murmured into my ear. I nodded as feet pounded behind me. Turning around, I found Clarisse standing next to me, breathing hard, her electric spear Maimer in her hand. "Where's the monster?" she huffed. "Who do I kill?"
"You won't be able to kill anybody in that condition," I noted.
She glared at me, but her eyes weren't nearly as scary as Tartarus. I stared back, totally cool. She growled. "Jackson, remind me to pulverize you later." I nodded agreeably.
Grover was now frantically gesturing and yelling at the girl to get over here, where she would be safe, but she stubbornly shook her head. I could relate. If I was given the chance to kill a monster, I wouldn't back down either.
Grover groaned and clopped back down the hill, grabbing at rocks and branches and throwing them at the monster to distract it. The girl fumbled with a long something in her hand, a hunter green something…
"What is it?" I asked Annabeth.
She squinted down the slope. "Compound bow. We don't use them. Unlike longbows, compound bows have a wheel on the top and bottom of the string. They spread the tension so when you're drawing the bow, you don't have to hold the whole weight of the string. They're used mostly in schools in extra-curricular activities."
I nodded. "I see." Not.
The girl had nocked an arrow and was backing carefully away from the monster, letting it come to her. The rooster's head crowed in triumph and sprang forward, just as an arrow sank into its neck.
Grover threw a rock that bounced off its head and the monster howled, thoroughly confused. It turned, flapping its wings, but the space was too small for it to fly. It bucked and shook its head in agony as the electric blue arrow slid around under its skin.
The girl cursed and drew another arrow, a golden one this time. I heard some of the Apollo whisper appreciatively. "Nice stance, although…"
The horse-bird turned, screeching to Grover. My friend backed away, out of tricks. I instinctively reached for my pen, but Annabeth stopped me. "Wait for it…"
I looked at her, then back at the monster. It snarled at Grover, ready to pounce. Then, a rock hit it in the head. "Hey!" a voice yelled. "Come here, you freak of nature! Rooster pony! Uh, big bad griffin!"
The monster turned around and stalked up to the girl, every claw-step shaking the ground. It bent its head low to the ground and opened its maw for a mighty roar… which didn't happen. At the last second, a golden arrow rocketed from the girl's bow. Straight down the pony-bird's throat.
The thing choked, its eyes bulging as sand spewed from its maw. Its rusty orange-golden feathers stood up on end. Then, the whole thing collapsed into a pile of golden sand. I whistled appreciatively. "Man, she totally owned that hippo."
Annabeth elbowed me. "It's hippalectryon. Come on, let's welcome the new camper."
But we didn't need to. Grover and the girl were running up the hill, and the G-man had a large smile on his face. He was waving something in his hand… I groaned. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."
"'Fraid so," Annabeth chuckled. "It's a raw rooster foot."
Piper shuddered next to Jason. "That has to be the most disgusting spoil of war ever."
I grinned. "Phineas's bathrobe and slippers were worse." The daughter of Aphrodite, a vigilant vegetarian, shuddered again.
Annabeth elbowed me again, not so gently this time. "Seaweed brain…"
"Hey, I didn't do anything!"
"No kisses for a week," she said, staring straight ahead. I pouted. "Come on…"
I was cut off by Grover and the mystery girl arriving at the top of the hill.
"Hey, G-man!" I called out. "Like to introduce the new recruit?"
Grover turned to the girl next to him, and we all got a good look at the new arrival.
She was about twelve years old, with long, silvery-blonde hair and fair skin. Her eyes were deep blue, not light like Jason's, but almost teal. She had a spatter of silver-grey freckles over her snub nose. She was wearing ripped jeans, charcoal converse sneakers and a denim jacket over a hunter-green T-shirt printed with the words Some people just need a high-five. In the face. With a chair.
Her arrows, three of them, were slung casually through the belt loops of her jeans. Her compound bow, as Annabeth called it, was in her right hand. I waved at her as she looked around with a defiant expression, no doubt wondering who all these freaks in orange T-shirts were. Grover patted her on the shoulder and turned to us. "Camp Half-Blood, may I introduce our newest camper: Yvette!" He pronounced it eee-VET.
About fifty kids raised their hands into the air and cheered. Some clapped, some laughed and some ran forward to introduce themselves.
That ceased when Chiron padded to the front. Yvette's eyes widened. She glanced at Grover, then slung her bow over her shoulder and dipped her head. I was amazed by how easily she took this. When I'd seen Chiron the first time, I had been ready to fall to the floor and have a heart attack. But something in this girl's eyes told me that she wasn't backing down so easily.
Chiron smiled. "Welcome, Yvette! I am sure Grover has told you by now that the Olympian gods, Greek and Roman, are real and still ruling the world. And I am sure he has told you that you are a demigod, the child of a god and a mortal…" He chattered on, putting his hand on Yvette's shoulder as he led her in the direction of the Big House porch. Her Hello Kitty Must Die backpack was the last thing we saw.
"She would rock it off with Thalia," Grover said, amused.
I turned back to Annabeth. "You think she could be a daughter of Athena? Because I got the full Athena vibes coming from her."
Annabeth shook her head. "Not quite. Something's off. Athena always has a plan. Yvette did to, kind of… But with the bow? I think she could be of Apollo. She's young, and she's got a bit of acne, so Hebe maybe? Or Hecate. It could be anybody, really. She's just so… neutral."
I shrugged. "And she's got one heck of a temper, I'd guess."
"Oh, yeah," Grover agreed. "I was at the school, and she was famous. People were always talking about how she talked back to the teachers and the bullies and she always had a response. I swear, when this big guy came up to her at lunch one day and said: 'I don't think you're as tough as everybody says', she replied, without missing a beat, 'Go and be annoying somewhere else. I'm having a private conversation here.'"
"Well," Annabeth sighed. "I might as well follow them. You know, to give her the tour and everything." She kissed me on the cheek. "Meet you at Capture-the-Flag tonight."
I kissed her back and watched her as she ran off
So, what did you think?
Yvette is an actual name, and its meaning will be revealed in the next chapter.
Compound bows do exist, and I shoot with one at school when I do Archery. They're much easier to draw than longbows.
Picture of a longbow: .ca/big_
Picture of a compound bow: fs12/i/2006/290/4/3/Arrows_And_Compound_Bow_by_
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