Disclaimer: Percy Jackson © Rick Riordan
Rating: T for mild violence and language.

AN: Ladies, gentlemen and distinguished guests. This has been a long time coming. No delay, onto chapter four!


The Forgotten: Denise Gilroy


Chapter 4: Rivalry


If you show up to your weapons lesson with a ready-made weapon… you're gonna have a bad time. I caressed the growing bruise on my shoulder as Pollux sighed and reset his stance. I brushed the dirt of the sickle's hilt, gripping it within my half gloved fingers. Pollux controlled his breathing, his collar bone barely rising and falling as he waited. I weighed up the chain in my other hand, the ball end twitching as I did so. My navy irises set their sights on Pollux.

Ok, all I had to do was disarm him.

I sidestepped to the left and right, testing which would seem easier to rush. He mirrored me, and we circled for a few moments while I weighed up the option of attacking his feet. Screw it. I skid forth on my knees, swinging the chain out to the left, careful to keep it taught. Pollux blinked in the motion, leaping over the chain and sprinting behind me. I twisted my wrist, changing the chains direction behind me with a wide, low swing. I followed through with my knees, twisting dirt onto my jeans as I lifted onto a foot. He stepped back and I took the initiative, jumping onto my other foot and flying forward.

Ok, now all I have to do is knock or disarm him… I swung, sickle outstretched in my left hand. He ducked and shifted his weight away. I spun with the momentum, ball chain flying past faster than I predicted. It wrapped around my forearm, twisting around to connect with the left of my back forcing me forward… and now I was on my face.

I coughed the sand away from my lips, resting myself on my elbows. Pollux knelt next to me with a bottle of water. "Thanks," I breathed, sputtering on some dust.

"Much better, but you're still inexperienced." He furrowed his brow, scratching his blond hair. "How did you get a weapon like this again?"

"I can't remember. It's just always been around." I pushed up onto my knees, washing my chin off. "Is that unusual?"

"It just doesn't seem like a thing Dad would gift," He stood up, "We'll call that enough. You should go see your Apollo friend, Fae?" I smiled at his concern looking up to meet his eyes but he was already walking away before I could.

"Thanks." I grumbled, clicking the sickle back into a simple chain. I looped it through my jeans and tucked the ends into back pocket. I was glad the adrenaline hadn't faded yet. I was really going to hurt. I shuffled off to the Apollo cabin; I really hoped Fae didn't have an activity with her house. I played with my striped sleeves, tugging at the ends and brushing any dirt off of them. A group of guys were rough housing for a ball, I edged away from them but that didn't stop a tan boy from knocking me onto my ass.

"Hey jerk-wad! Watch i-" I winced in pain, fingers twitching over the shooting needles through my back and arms. He checked over his shoulder, slowing a little. His brown unruly hair swayed away from hazel eyes. I made sure he caught a disdainful glare before averting that focus back to the ground. I released a lung full of air, this wasn't the worst pain I'd felt. I tried to come up with something to distract myself. Like the time I leapt out the back of a car. Yeah, that hurt a hell of a lot more than this. I rocked back onto my legs and continued forth to Apollo's overly-shiny cabin, chuckling bitterly at the memory as I did so. I knocked thrice and waited. The guy from before rounded over to me, I tried not to notice him though. If the following conversation doesn't make it obvious, I failed.

"You ok?" He inquired with a slight accent to his voice. Some kind of European, I couldn't begin to guess.

"Fine," I said, keeping it curt.

"You new here?"

"Almost a week."

He let out a low whistle. "That's pretty new." Those eyes kept observing me, and I didn't like the feeling. "What's with your hair?"

"Wha…" I reached up and ruffled the short strands of my left side, moving over to scratch my neck. I realised he was inquiring as to the style, my hand fell away as I raised a brow, "Well, nothing, it's just hair?" I wasn't sure what he was hoping for.

"Why'd you cut it like that?"

The corners of my lips twitched downward, I really didn't like this, "Because I liked the look."

"Where'd you see it?"

I exhaled sharply, staring deadpan at this guy, why did he care so much? "A cartoon." I frowned, hoping he would think me weird and leave. He paused for a moment, mulling over the answer, and finally smiled; a crooked smile with slightly crooked teeth.

"Ok. My name's Frank. You know they're out, right?"

I sighed, "I was hoping someone would be here." I left the porch and turned towards my own cabin. Hopefully Pollux wouldn't be there. No matter how much 'space' I tried to give him my very being around the cabin seemed to grate on him.

"What's your name?" I glanced sidelong. This Frank person was walking in step with me, still crookedly smiling.

"Denise."

"Pretty name."

"Umm… thank you? I got it for my birthday. I-uh, think your pals are waiting for you, dude."

"Please, call me Frank, and they can wait. I'll make sure you get to your cabin."

"Traditionalist?" I questioned.

"If traditional is barrelling a girl down then escorting her to a demigod cabin, then yes, wholeheartedly." He held a hand proudly over his heart, the other tucked behind his back. I admit that got an unintentional chuckle out of me. I breathed in so quickly I snorted and before I could cover my mouth with my hand he was beaming.

"You never heard that." I muttered darkly behind my hand.

"Heard what?" He feigned, returning to a neutral smile.

"Ok Frank, the smiley one. This is my stop."

"Shame. Sorry about before. Honestly." I nodded over my shoulder as a silent appreciation for the apology. The door clicked shut and I barely made it to the couch before collapsing. I breathed into the fabric; this camp was just a little something to get used to. I couldn't feel I was really a part of it all, it just seemed to wash over me. I preferred that over the other option.

I woke up the first night and almost went into a panic attack by the shock. I had entirely forgotten about this place in the span of a night's sleep. Pollux was awake and just looked at me in his usual confusion of emotion before mentioning we had Archery first. I felt like an idiot wiping the starting of tears as I practically leapt towards the bathroom.

My fingers traced swirls into the wooden floors as I stared blankly at the wall. This was all something so very new. I wondered if Fae, Tex, Ace, or even Perry had this much trouble adjusting. I cursed myself now realising that I probably should have stopped into the Big House to see if my Aunt has called back yet. A whole four days and I'd heard nothing. It shouldn't have stung so much, but it did. I was reliving being dropped off to my Aunts' in the first place. Moving so suddenly out of the blue after a visit from what I hazily guessed was Dad. A tear traced my cheek and I was surprised by its cool touch. The door swung open and I hastily, to the protesting of my limbs, sat up on the couch.

"Hi," A guy with sun-kissed hair beamed, I'd seen him around the Apollo cabin before. Pretty sure he was one of those cabin councillors. Pollux followed closely behind him.

"Set up the games, I'll get the snacks." He said happily before he spotted me. There was an awkward pause from him. The Apollo guy looked us back and forth before patting Pollux on the back.

"So this is your new cabin mate," He said, Pollux carried on over to the bar.

"Denise this is Will, Will this is Denise." He introduced, ducking behind the counter for a bowl. Will held out a hand, I ashamedly winced.

"Sorry, Pollux kicked my ass in weapon's training. I can barely move."

"Pollux!" He feigned aghast, "How could you?"

"I can't control where the other half of Denise's weapon ends up."

"Other half?" He inquired. I tugged the chain ends out of my pocket, twisting the nut. It morphed in my hand into the chain sickle I was to become accustomed to. Will inquisitively raised his brow; I parted with the weapon so he could closer inspect it. After a few moments he returned it, Pollux placed a bowl of chips on the coffee table. "Pretty cool weapon."

"What are you guys playing?" I asked.

"Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time." Will grinned.

"Not a multiplayer or co-op?"

"Will can't handle the pressure." Pollux cheekily injected, walking back to the bar.

"I can't help it if I enjoy the story more." He returned, fiddling with the TV in the corner.

"Classic console?"

Now it was Pollux's turn to feign aghast, "Would this really be a party without the Nintendo sixty-four?" He brought over three cans of Diet Coke, holding one out to me.

I matched his eyes, half smiling, "Thanks." He brushed his hair with his now free hand, running condensation droplets through it.

"No worries." He mumbled.

Will let out a content breath over his shoulder, "How sweet, family love,"

I rolled my eyes while Pollux scoffed, "Does your being here mean Fae is free as well?"

"Yeah, she should be coming by soon. Pollux mentioned you needed to be checked up," I watched the back of Pollux's head as he picked out his controller and plugged it in. Not sure what answers I was hoping to find but the drying droplets on his hair didn't so much as whisper me a clue. Rude.

"Can I watch?" I mumbled, a little unsure what to do with myself. Will glanced at Pollux before nodding to me.

"The more the merrier. Do you mind just watching? It's Pollux's turn to fail meeting the speed run time."

"Please, you still haven't beaten my last run."

"You haven't beaten your own run time either."

"That's not how it works."

"William Sun-Fried Solace!" A familiar female voice crowed. He moved with such practiced speed, I barely caught it. He ducked behind the couch as she swung the door open. Fae was there, red-faced and slightly disheveled. Something I was not very used to seeing. Will unwittingly peaked from behind the couch. Fae grasped a strawberry coloured pillow and began chasing him. "What do you mean you won't be here Friday? What do you mean by-" She caught up to him, hitting him with the pillow with every syllable, "-you. Want. Me. To. Lead. For. A-pol-lo. Ca-bin!" He'd scrambled out of her reach but she made a point of tossing the pillow directly at the back of his head. Pollux and I had stood up at this point, still by the game corner while Will had rounded back into the bar area. Fae placed her hands on her hips, "Did you forget we've made a tentative pact with Aphrodite and half the girls can't handle the sight of me?!"

"You were the only one I saw fit to lead, Fae," He mumbled from behind the counter. "All the new guys are, well, new, and everyone else is away for Summer."

"And out of all the people left you saw me to be the best suited?"

"Should we be, I dunno, mediating or something?" I whispered to Pollux.

"They should be able to handle this like adults."

"It's a compliment?" Will tried.

"Not when half those girls want to kill me!" She rounded around the counter, but Will had leapt over it in that time.

"Or not." Pollux grumbled, "They're not ruining the bar." He muttered under his breath, dashing to catch Will before he knocked something over. I shuffled over to Fae, still behind the counter, with a pillow in hand.

I blocked her exit, hoping she wouldn't jump the top. "If I give this to you will you promise not to throw it?" She let out a breath, blinking to me.

"Oh, hi Denise." She straightened her glasses, "Pardon?"

"Scream into this." I held out the lime coloured pillow. Her eyes widened as she snatched it from my hand. Just when I thought maybe she'd toss it across the room she crouched over her knees and did exactly what I said; screamed into the pillow. I didn't mean to laugh but all I had seen of Fae was this composed and deadly archer. Right now she looked like a five year old who didn't get both toys from the store.

I hoped there would be a little more sense across the room but Pollux was in the middle of convincing Will to stop using the table as a fort and to put it right way up again. I certifiably lost it. My insane cackles rattled my stomach and before I could help it I'd slipped onto my ass. It damn well hurt but that didn't stop me from laughing. Tears had come to my eyes. It had been a good week since I'd genuinely laughed this hard. Fae stood up from behind the counter, glasses freshly knocked of center again, and fringe jutting out at odd angles. Will smirked, chuckling at the image which earned him a quick pillow to the face.

Pollux snickered to himself, "Deserved it," I gasped for air. Just when I thought this was some kind of magical place; training up warriors for battles with giant monsters, adapting to a world with gods and goddesses. This is what the camp gave me; teenagers with high-school politics, and attitudes to match. For a brief moment I wasn't sure which one was more terrifying.

Fae brushed her hair down with her hand, re-pinning it into a ponytail as I collected myself. In due time Pollux and I had managed to seat them at opposite ends of the couch with myself keeping them apart. Pollux sat before them both on the coffee table, munching on chips. "Ok, so, what's the problem?" Fae began cleaning her glasses, leaving Will to answer.

"I'll be away for the next game."

"…and?" Pollux took a sip of Diet Coke.

"And I put Fae in charge of Apollo Cabin while I'm gone."

"Why?" He continued coaxing.

"Because she can handle the rest of the boys, and few girls, and has proven a decent strategist. She'll work well with Athena Cabin." Fae glared sidelong to Will.

"But?" Pollux nodded.

"We all know there have been a few… clashes," Will phrased it, "With Fae and members of the Aphrodite team; one of which who happens to also be leading them this week."

"That wasn't smart," Pollux put in.

"Dissent among the ranks is inevitable." I finished, sipping my Diet Coke. Pollux did the same.

"Fae can handle it." He half-heartedly chuckled. Fae rolled the blue eyes they shared, slipping a tutting sound as she did so.

"Just change it to someone else, ok." Fae requested more so than asked. She stood up abruptly, stomping out the cabin.

"I'll go follow her, you guys continue your games." I half smiled, handing my Diet Coke to Pollux as I stumbled onto my feet.

"Fae!" I called, "Wait up!" I stupidly tripped over my own feet near the hearth. Fae shoulders dropped as she released a breath. She turned and backtracked, offering me a hand up. "Thanks," I smiled. "So what is actually going on with these games?"

"The camp conducts games to practice our skills and fan our pride." She bitterly stated without actually answering my question, "But they are a lot of fun." She begrudgingly added.

"And these games are?"

"Depends on the number of campers, but we have enough for capture the flag."

We hadn't moved from where I'd tripped, so I started inching towards the hearth. I patted the stone space next to me. "Ace mentioned something. Tell me more?" Fae sighed, straightening out her camp shirt and tugging her denim shorts down. She didn't sit, but she did trudge over and start lightly tapping the tip of her shoe against the stone.

"What do you want to know?"

"Which team I'm on for starters."

"Dionysus is with us, but we're going against Hermes."

"Is Perry one our team?"

"Yes, along with Aphrodite, Athena and a few scattered others. Not everyone is here because it's Summer."

"So what is with you and Aphrodite cabin?"

"It's not the whole cabin… just select people who happen to be leading the cabin."

"I'm not going to ask you to tell me everything, hell; I don't even know everyone here." Fae eased up at the comment but still continued tapping the stone, choosing to look off away to the Hermes cabin. She grumbled something under her breath. I didn't press her, and instead changed the conversation.

"You know what would be distracting? A physical check-up. I'm almost certain I have fractured something with that weapon I was lugging around." I rambled. Fae turned to me, eyeing me up and down quickly before smiling faintly.

"Well if you're going to be so subtle about it." She said, raising her brow and chuckling softly to herself, "Let us go."


101, singing: *typing away at laptop* I looked at my clock and was like, "What the frak?"
233: *stops by room* What?
101: I set my alarm.
233: What alarm?
101: For two hours ago.
233: Uhh 101-
101: But I just keep sleeping through my life.
233: ...
101: *sigh, closes laptop* ...oh well.