Fifteen or so junior campers, about the ages twelve to fourteen, sat casually in the middle of the arena, some sharing their excitement and worries regarding their sword fighting lessons, but most gossiping about their ridiculous instructors.
There was no denying that Travis and Katie were, hands down, the oddest and most entertaining couple (save perhaps Percy and Annabeth) at Camp Half-Blood. It was obvious that they were in love with each other with Travis often gazing admiringly at Katie whenever he would spot her and with Katie frequently smiling and humming while she tended to her plants because Travis would be occupying her thoughts. However, regardless of these amiable moments, ninety percent of their relationship was spent with them in argument; hurtling insults at each other and exchanging descriptive threats of murdering the other in their sleep. The remaining ten percent consequently seemed to mostly consist of heavy makeout sessions and (rough and loud) sex. Nonetheless, everyone at camp took note of the couple and their students were looking forward to what would for sure be amusing classes throughout the entire summer.
As the campers continued to trade retorts and comments, a little passed 9am, Travis strutted into the arena gripping his sword.
"Alright losers, get your asses up and grab a weapon." Travis' voice rung in the arena, causing the students to cease their chatter stand up quickly. As immature and casual as Travis was, the younger campers knew to respect his seniority unless they wanted to find their toothpaste replaced with wasabi or their eyebrows singed off during capture the flag.
"Now each of you go grab a dummy and spread out." Unenthusiastically, the campers went to the corner of the arena and each grabbed a straw mannequin that ambiguously looked like a human or a malformed octopus with four uneven legs (a tetropus?).
"Where's Katie?" One of the campers strained while he was struggling to drag the heavy sac of straw across the floor.
"She… isn't able to attend today," Travis stated in response and gave the camper a if-you-press-me-you'll-be-sorry look completed with a daring smile. Patting the camper degradingly on the head, Travis confronted his students while gesturing to his dummy.
"Okay, nerds. Today we'll be working on your oberhaus." Travis displayed the move by cutting the figure across the torso first diagonally and then vertically.
"Your mittelhaus." He then swung his sword horizontally left then right quickly, resulting in straw seeping from the slashes.
"And your mordschlags." Travis finished his demonstration by slicing his blade downward with both his hands from the "head" through the "torso" of the sac, splitting the bag in half and causing hay to litter the floor. Travis turned away from his dummy and faced the students, who were gaping at him. Smugly, he leaned against the mutilated mannequin and rested his sword on his shoulder.
"Any questions?" He asked while he examined his finger nails.
Just then, an arrow whistled over the campers' heads and embedded in the dummy head, inches away from Travis' face. Some of the campers gasped or yelped while others glanced around the arena to see where the arrow had come from. Travis clutched his chest, trying to calm his heart, while he searched for the person who apparently wanted to assassinate him. His eyes widened when he saw Katie stalking towards him (realizing that "assassinate" wasn't far off) with a bow slung on her shoulder, a sword swinging in her hand and a pair of severed handcuffs clutched around her wrists like bracelets.
Now, many people have seen Katie pissed, in fact some have even seen her revengeful; however, only a mere handful of people have seen Katie murderously livid. Travis just got upgraded to the latter category. The campers parted out of her way, half terrified, half anxious, as she approached her target. If looks could kill, Travis would have been a pile of ground meat set on fire already. He swallowed hard and raised his weapon, preparing to protect himself.
"Hey Katie-Kat, I-" Travis started but was cut off when Katie let out a exasperated yell and hacked her blade horizontally towards his neck. He barely ducked in time, but that didn't prevent the slash from cutting into the dummy, cleanly decapitating what one would assume to be its head. Travis scrambled backwards as Katie advanced on him again.
"What was that, Stoll? I didn't hear you." Katie's eyes flared as she swung her sword to the right then left forcefully, perfectly demonstrating an effective mittelhau if Travis had been a sheer few inches closer. Travis countered by curving his blade in a downward motion, gaining some courage. Katie caught his attack above her head.
"I said, it was nice of you to join us." Travis simpered as his blow pushed Katie backwards. Katie's teeth clenched as she unexpectedly stepped out of the way and let her arm go slack, causing Travis to topple forward due to the force he was putting on his weapon. Stepping out to stabilize himself, he redirected his sword's momentum towards Katie, who rolled out of the way. Crouched on the ground, Katie sliced at his legs and Travis had to jump to avoid contact. The two councilors continued slashing and obstructing each other, both becoming tired, but neither backing down.
The junior campers cheered and watched their instructors with interest as they competed for the offensive position. Katie and Travis swung their weapons expertly and blocked the other's assaults with grace. Watching the two spar was like watching a choreographed dance; they mirrored each other and predicted each other's attacks, shifting smoothly and effortlessly from one blitz to the next.
When one of the Demeter campers yelled out an encouragement to her sister, Travis' ADD involuntarily caused his attention to waver from Katie, who took advantage of the distraction by twisting her blade in a way that forced Travis to let go of his weapon. His sword sailed up in the air and Katie caught it in her subordinate hand and proceeded to kick Travis' legs out from under him. Travis cursed the girl who caused his falter as he landed on his back with Katie's knee pushing on his chest and both swords positioned to slit his throat.
"Any last words?" Katie grinned as she pressed the sharp edges against his skin with enough pressure to form a bruise. Abruptly Travis' eyes widened and he gestured behind her. Katie quickly peered over her shoulder, suspecting a monster, or worse, Chiron, interrupting her murdering her boyfriend. Only once she looked away did she realize that she'd been tricked. As soon as her head turned, Travis pinched her sides, causing Katie to release the hilts and he pushed her back forcefully. The two demigods grappled on the floor resulting in a cloud of dust to linger around them. Using his advantageous strength, Travis managed to maneuver himself so he was sitting on Katie's chest with his knees pinning her arms to the ground. He was able to snag one of their weapons and rested it over her neck in a similar fashion that she had moments before.
Smirking victoriously, Travis mocked Katie's offer: "Any last words, babe?"
Just then, Katie's face blanched as she focused on something behind him.
"Chiron." She murmured, but Travis just barked out a laugh.
"Yeah, right. I'm not falling for that, Gardner." Only when someone cleared their throat did Travis notice that the cheers from their students had died down.
Cautiously, Travis tore his eyes away from Katie and glanced behind him. Sure enough, Chiron was standing amongst the junior campers with his arms crossed, wearing a disgruntled expression. Hastily, Travis got off of Katie and they both stood up slowly, covered in dirt, small cuts and forming bruises.
"Both of you. Big House. Now." As Chiron turned, he shook his head and rubbed his temples while he began trotting away. Embarrassed, Travis and Katie followed him out of the arena. They trailed at a distance where they couldn't be heard on they way to the big house, spitting insults and inflicting mild mutilations on each other:
Travis: Good thing Chiron showed up to save your ass.
Katie: Get away from me; your stupidity is probably contagious.
Travis: Go do something you're good at and plant a flower, garden gnome.
Katie: Make me, you incapable kleptomaniac!
Travis: *shoves Katie*
Katie: *punches Travis in the face*
Travis had Katie in a head lock while she pinched his sides (surely causing blemishes to form under his shirt) when Chiron turned around on the porch of the big house. Apparently not noticing that they had arrived, Chiron coughed in his hand to get Travis and Katie's attention. Swiftly the two released each other, shooting one another one last glare before standing apart. Both had their arms crossed, heads hung low and a scowl etched in their features.
Chiron wore a disappointed expression as he started his allocution:
"I know that there has been some conflict between the two of you in regards to teaching together." When neither demigod looked up, Chiron continued in a stern tone. "Both of you are talented swordsmen and more than capable of teaching lessons together. However, I'm afraid if you cannot cooperate, I'll be forced to assign other campers to instruct the class. This is your first and final warning, do I make myself clear?"
Still not looking up, Katie and Travis mumbled simultaneously:
"Yes, sir."
"Good." Chiron offered them one last pointed look before entering the Big House. Travis and Katie watched the door shut and then shuffled off the porch. Both marched off in different directions after Travis stuck out his tongue and Katie flipped him off. Katie was furious. Travis was pissed. And both were not prepared to give up their class.
So... Here's some more of the story. Just a future warning that the next chapter will contain a lemon-ish sorta scene. I know I said that I'd finish the story off for today, but I'm actually having a lot of fun writing this and in trying to finish it off, I've gotten some more ideas for future chapters. So... I'm gonna extend finishing it off one more day (the next chapter will still be up later today though) and please let me know if you guys want me to just conclude and end it or if you want me to continue to write some more chapters.