A/N: Honestly, I'm doing this as a sort of protest to the overwhelming Percabeth stories littering the site now. It's not meant so much for romance, but as friendship. Hopefully, you should be able to figure out when it takes place pretty easily. If not, you aren't very bright, or you haven't read past The Sea of Monsters (hint, hint?). I'd like your opinion if you read this. I took a break from my regular writing to write this for The Anti-Percabeth movement. This is more in the sense of friendship, than romance, so please don't think of it as the latter. Thanks for reading.
Knight
It was the morning after capture the flag, and honestly, I was in a bad mood. Breakfast hadn't even been served yet; it wasn't even seven. The fact that I'd even woken up this early was a first. I usually wasn't up until Grover started to pound on the Poseidon cabin door yelling that I'd missed most of breakfast.
Or Tyson might've waked me up, but he was visiting our dad down at his undersea palace. And honestly, I was bored, for once. At camp, of all places. Due to the fact that it was the middle of December, it was still dark out. I saw that it would be light soon enough. I figured I could go find Thalia, but she'd probably throw a pillow at me or shock me for waking her up so early. Besides, I was pretty sure she was still mad at me for "losing" the capture the flag game last night.
I'd been lying in bed since I'd woken up nearly twenty minutes earlier. Dragging myself out of bed, despite all the protests my sore, aching muscles, I made my way over to the dresser. Tyson had fashioned it out of bronze before he'd left. It was a little weird compared to the oak wood dresser I used at home, but it worked just the same.
After dragging on some clothes, I ventured out into the chilly air of Long Island. It wasn't too cold, but still, I was shivering a bit as I walked toward the arena. I'd left Riptide, my pen/sword sitting on my nightstand. I didn't figure that I'd need to vaporize any monsters within the magical borders of camp. It'd happened before, but hopefully, it wouldn't have to happen today.
A light brushing of snow covered the ground, a rare occurrence, I figured. It never rained or snowed within the camp borders unless it was wanted. But I did admit that the snow covering the ground now was nice. It crunched under my feet as I walked.
The usually dirt ground of the arena was covered in a dusting of snow, too, making it a mix of brown and white, like white sand almost. It was really peaceful, as if I was at the beach. Even though I wasn't doing any sort of training, I felt in place here. With mutilated practice dummies and broken spear shafts scattered around, I felt like I was home.
I mean, it wasn't the same as being home with my mom, the most amazing person ever, and her blue food, but I felt as if I had a place in the world here. Not even Clarisse was around to make things sour. In the distance, hints of violet splashed across the east horizon, over the vast ocean. The sun would be up soon.
Even after my ride to camp with Apollo, I was still a little confused on how exactly he did his job. He hadn't exactly given a clear explanation. I heard a few odd thumps in the distance, in the general direction of the archery range. I figured it was probably Artemis's hunters, out for some early morning practice. Maybe they were teaching Bianca some techniques.
Looking at the horizon again, the sky was now a color like indigo. It was almost peaceful.
"Hey, Seaweed Brain," she said emotionless, making me jump. I hadn't heard her approach. Her electric blue eyes glinted in the low light.
I turned to face the girl in dark clothes. "Thalia," I muttered. I was starting to remember how mad I was at her.
I started to scowl, but she said, "Look, Percy, I'm sorry about last night. I let my temper get the best of me, honestly. I shouldn't've lashed out like that."
I was feeling a little less angry, and more sorry, myself now. "Yeah," I muttered. "Me, too, I guess."
"What was that, Seaweed Brain?"
The edges of her mouth turned up slightly, making the mood lighten up a bit. I realized I hadn't seen her smile in a while.
"I'm sorry, too," I said, slightly louder. I couldn't keep from smiling, and I grinned, still looking away.
We sat in silence as we looked out at the newly blue east horizon. It blended in with the sea. After another moment, she stuck her hand out in front of me. "Still friends, Seaweed Brain?"
I paused a moment. This was the girl that had shocked me with an electric jolt last night. That had probably thought about running me through with a spear. But I also realized that she'd saved my butt a half-dozen times before. We'd only known each other for a few months, but she was easily one of my closest friends already. And yet, I didn't even know her last name. Finally, I took her hand and briefly shook it. "Friends, Pinecone Face."
She grinned. "I thought so. I'd have hurt you if you'd said anything otherwise."
Looking at this girl, I thought she must've come from a rough past. Something had to have influenced what she wore and how she acted. It couldn't have been just because she felt like it. And honestly, even though I'd never thought of her like this, I thought she looked kind of attractive, in a Goth, punkish kind of way. Though I knew if I said this aloud, she'd probably beat me up.
"Wanna fight?" she asked, breaking the peaceful silence. I noticed that her spear was lying next to her.
It honestly wasn't what I'd expected her to say, but considering it was Thalia, I figured it would've come up eventually, anyway. "I don't have Riptide," I admitted.
"It always appears in your pocket when you lose it, right?" she said.
"Well, yeah," I muttered.
"Then I bet it'll appear in your pocket if you think about it. Just a guess."
"But Thalia, I don't thi—"
"Just do it, Seaweed Brain."
I did. So I concentrated my mind on the bronze pen. I imagined it sitting on my nightstand, then disappearing and reappearing in my pocket. And after a moment, it did. I was honestly surprised that it had worked. It'd never appeared when I'd really needed it before. Pulling it out, I uncapped it and watched as it extended into a three-foot celestial bronze sword. It glinted in the light orange sunlight.
"Ready, Seaweed Brain?" she asked.
I grinned. "Bring it on."
A/N: Again, this is part of the Percabeth Revolution. I didn't start it nor think of the idea, but I'm happy to support it in its fight not so much against Percabeth so much as bad Percabeth fics. As well as Nico/OC fics. If you support it, go ahead and write a fix of your own. Or one-shot, which is the general choice. Just write it and put it up. Don't be afraid to try something new. I've not seen many Percy/Rachel, or Percy/Calypso (though I did read a really good one recently). I'm not exactly sure if this story fits the category, but the idea seemed good to me. Again, thanks for reading.
Knight
