Hey there! Welcome back!

Anxiety rides me like a cowgirl and I'm still supposed to be an adult. This chapter has a fight scene that I loved writing so here. Enjoy!

For all of you who have followed and favorited this story, thank you so much!

Disclaimer: No, I do not own PJO, HOO or any other amazing creations from Uncle Rick. He does. If I ever get to meet him will I shake his hand and punch him in the jaw? Yes. Yes I will.

ON THE FIC!

"Good morning, Cassandra." Annabeth plopped down next to her "Slept well?"

Her soft yawn was her answer, but her eyes were giddy and satisfied. "Hi Annabeth."

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Will… I had so much fun yesterday that I wanted to know more and more and more and when we noticed it was so late! Past midnight! So, I didn't get enough sleep. Not as much as I'm used to anyway." She yawned again "What about you? How was yesterday?"

"Yesterday was cool. Taught some kids sword moves." She smiled "You're going to join them today. But first, we need to stop by the weapons shed and find you a weapon."

"Yeah, Leo told me about that." She nodded "Is it my choice?"

"Yeah, you choose it." Annabeth nodded.

"I have a question."

"That would be my job, please move over, cutie-snark." Piper sat down next to Annabeth and smiled "Hi Cassie!"

"Hello, Piper." The brunette smiled "How did you sleep?"

"Like a rock. I don't think I've slept this calmly before." She sighed "Too bad it's over. So, we're gonna take you weapon hunting today, huh?"

"Yeah, it appears so." Cassandra took a sip of her milkshake "I'm nervous."

"That's normal, cutie-pie." Piper winked "But we'll work on that. Annie, wanna go now?"

"Yeah, sure." The three stood up and walked away from the pavilion.

They made small talk all the way there. Piper commented on the fact that Leo had a hickey, and Cassandra said nothing about it, but her blush was enough of an answer. When they got there, Annabeth opened the door for her to enter and displayed her the weapons available. There were swords, daggers, bows, even a shotgun. Cassandra advanced to a silver dagger with a perfectly cylindrical handle and a long thin pyramid-shaped blade. She balanced it on her hand and smiled.

"Is that it?" Piper smiled.

"I think…" but then she looked to her side.

It was beautiful. It was curled around itself, it was at least 3ft in length. Its black leather was carefully braided, ending with a Celestial bronze fang. The handle was gentle, the leather braiding also there, but with an intricate pattern lined with details in gold. The hand holding the dagger fell to her side and she gaped at the object.

"You like that one, don't you?" Piper guessed.

"There's something about it."

"It's calling you."

"Yeah, very much so." She walked to it and grabbed the handle "Oh my…"

"It wouldn't be much efficient in a battle as that dagger." Annabeth observed "But it is yours if you want it."

"I do… but I wouldn't be able to protect myself that easily." She gulped and moved to let go of it.

"Take it." A voice declared "It's yours."

The three girls turned to see Mr. D standing at the doorway. His smiled was enigmatic, and his eyes laid on the hand that held the weapon.

"Mr. D?"

"She can easily borrow a dagger or a sword from any camper to learn how to fight." He declared, walking to Cassandra "Soon, she will be able to disarm them and take it herself. But that is yours, child. Take it."

"And the dagger?" Annabeth pointed.

"The dagger has seen its days of glory." Mr. D took it from her hands "Is that your weapon of choice?"

"Yes, it is." She nodded and took it from its place.

"Congratulations." He nodded and turned.

"Hum, Mr. D?" Piper called.

"Yes?"

"The dagger." She pointed at the blade the god was still holding.

"Oh, yes." He smiled "Consider this a simple act of welcoming, Camilla." And he threw her the dagger.

"My name is Cassandra…" she frowned, looking at the dagger at her feet.

"Yeah, whatever, Catherine." He waved her off "It's a gift. Take it."

She stared at his figure dumbfounded but took the blade anyway. Annabeth smiled, and Piper just shook her head.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked.

"You see, you get to pick your weapon of choice." Annabeth explained "But… what gods choose to gift you with, that's a different question."

"Wait, what? Mr. D is a god?" Cassandra gasped.

"Yeah. Dionysus. The god of-"

"Wine, ritual madness and theater. I know."

"You know your Greeks." Piper winked "But for now, I think it is best for you to start your training with the dagger. Let's save the whip for later and… more sole locations?"

"Agreed." The three laughed.

.

Annabeth was surrounded by young campers and Cassandra. She was using Percy to demonstrate basic self-defensive moves. She started with the normal talk of 'if you just don't start a fight, that'll be awesome, but if you must', and proceeded to show them the most effective parts of the body to hit. The eyes, the nose, the throat, the crotch area and the knees.

"What if we are too short to reach the face?" one of the smallest campers asked.

"Well, Jason once tried that with our friend Leo a couple of years back. Later, we found him on the floor crying. Apparently, Leo had gone through with his threat and kicked him really hard on the ankle." Percy told, and everyone laughed.

"Don't let anyone tell you you're too small to do something, you hear me?" Annabeth smiled.

A collective yes echoed, and Annabeth felt the need to partner up people. She gave a small demonstration with Percy and then paired them up. Cassandra was the odd number, so she asked her boyfriend to pair with her as Annabeth observed. The kids fought, one pair at the time, and then came Cassandra and Percy's time.

"Go easy on me, Water Boy." She asked, and Percy winked.

"Begin." Annabeth declared.

As a request from the girls, her whip was back in Cabin 9, and all she was armed with was her dagger. Percy pulled out Riptide, uncapped it and circled around her like a predator circles its prey. She felt small under his dangerous gaze, but brave enough to take him on. He moved, and she ran to the side. He smiled, and she blushed.

And then, his face shifted, and he was no longer the kind Percy Jackson. He was a warrior, a conqueror, and she felt fear. But at the same time, something inside her kicked in. He raised his sword and she saw him doing it before he even did it. Or he was slow in his movements and she was able to pick on them. Or he moved, and she saw him, and something ticked and made her move.

Whatever it was, she only noticed it when she was blocking his Riptide with her dagger and kicking him in the stomach. Percy stumbled back and coughed but eyed her curiously. "That was good. Nice going there." And he attacked again. This time, Riptide came from below, and she dodged the sword with a twirl of her body. He attacked again, and she was evasive, moving away and striking only to distance herself from the attacker.

Their graceful fight attracted a handful of viewers. Annabeth watched them, her eyes trained on Cassandra. Percy struck her again, this time from the side, and Cassandra stopped the blade with her own temporarily only to elbow Percy in the nose.

"Fuck!" he fell and looked up to Cassandra. Her hair was out of her ponytail and was moving with the breeze. Her eyes looked wild however, and a fire burned in them.

Annabeth looked around after seeing Percy fall. There were a lot of people watching them, and she spotted the faces of Piper, Nico, Chiron, Mr. D, Jake, the Stoll brothers and many others. Percy saw the centaur too and a silent conversation must have happened between them because when he got up again, he took a bottle of water from Piper and poured it down his face, washing away the blood.

"Wise Girl?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna up the stake on her. I wanna see how fast she can move." He rolled his shoulders back.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Cassandra spoke, in a daring voice.

"Something you should know about the children of Poseidon… when they're in contact with water, they get stronger." He smirked.

"Still not strong enough to beat me." She bit back, and advanced first.

The fight between them was fierce. And Percy was not holding back on her. They could see that the male was fighting Cassandra the way he fought Greek monsters: no conscience, only instinct, and with a sword on his hand. But Cassandra… she wasn't the shy girl they met. She was a flame, agile, flexible and bright. She moved like a feather in the lulling of the wind.

Percy attacked, she dodged. She attacked, Percy dodged. She had a few scratches on her arms from the son of Poseidon pushing her to the ground, but she rolled away before he could finish her. Percy had a cut on his leg and another two on his right cheek, from allowing her to get too close.

"Ready to give up?" he saw her panting.

"Not yet, Percy. I still have some fire in me." She took a deep breath.

"Come on, you're dying there!" he teased "I'll grant you an easy defeat and there's no shame in that."

"Defeat?" she pursed her lips in a grin that wasn't hers "I don't know that word. Bring it."

Percy attacked again, and she moved away. He had to admit, even for a demigod as powerful as he was, he was getting tired too. She was good, too good for a beginner. Where this fight was coming from, he didn't know. But he wanted to find out.

"Bet I can take you down with three strikes." He smirked.

"Bet you won't even land the first one." She licked her lips.

"Deal." And he moved.

It happened too fast, to be honest. Percy jumped on the opportunity, but Cassandra saw it. He jumped to strike her from above and she moved forward, grabbed his wrist and used his momentum and her kick to slam him to the ground. As soon as he was down, she pushed a knee to his chest and placed the dagger against his throat. His eyes were widened as Riptide flew away from his grasp and Cassandra eyed him carefully.

"You… you knocked me down." He realized.

"I did." And as reality began to settle in her, her eyes lost the flame of power and regain the sheer glow of happiness "I did! Oh, crap, are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" Percy chuckled as Cassandra pulled away the blade and jumped to her feet to help him up "That was amazing, Cassie."

"Thank you, Percy!" she beamed "Stroke of luck, I suppose."

"That was not beginner's luck," Annabeth approached them with a mysterious smile "that was a calculated fight. Consciously or not, you were perfectly aware of what you were doing. Last time I saw someone fight like that…"

"That was a great show, Cassandra." Chiron approached them "I believe that, after this demonstration, Cassandra should be upgraded to higher classes. Don't you believe, Annabeth?"

"Let me have her for one private lesson, and then I'll send her off to Percy." She smirked, and Chiron nodded in acceptance.

(:)

"Piper?" Cassandra sat next to her at the dinner table.

The young woman looked up to her worried eyes and gave her a small smile, moving to the side to give her some room. "Hey, Cassie. What's up?"

"That would be my question to you." She declared "What's wrong? You look… distressed."

"It's nothing…" she gave her a fake laugh "Really. It's just camp stuff."

"Piper." The daughter of Aphrodite looked Cassandra in the eye "You can trust me."

"I…" but a feeling of ease took over her. Her mind hazed but told her she could be trustworthy. Without reason, she was telling her everything.

"It's hard, Cassie. It's too much weight on my shoulders. It's too many eyes on me to fix things, to solve problems. It's me trying to hold everything together: my cabin, my friends, my life, my heart…! And in some days… it all comes crashing down."

"You shouldn't walk around with the world on your shoulders, silly." Cassandra placed a hand on her shoulder and kissed her forehead. "It's too much for one person to bear."

"But I can't help it."

"Piper… it's okay, you know. It's okay to not be able to handle things." She sighed "Sometimes it's good to let go and let the tears come."

"Thanks, Cassie." Piper smiled "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"How do you and Leo…?"

"Work?" she guessed "I guess the proximity helps a lot. But before this? Before we were together here at Camp? We talked. We talked every day, sometimes more than once a day. We never stopped talking, and we never lied or hid anything from each other. I know everything about you guys, about… Hera, because he told me."

"Communication, huh?" she bit her lip. "Can I ask you another something?"

"Of course."

"Are you sure you're human?"

"What are you talking about?" Cassandra frowned, pulling away.

"No one, and I mean no one, can charmspeak me into talking about my private feelings. And you did it with a simple touch and just a few words." She raised her head "How did you do it if you're only human? You're not a daughter of Aphrodite?"

"No, I'm not. You have to believe me." She bit her lip "I didn't charmspeak you, I promise. I don't even know how that works! Piper, you have to believe me. I never met my parents, I can't tell you who they are!"

"I'm not sure I do. First the way you fight, then the charmspeak." Piper stood up "It's too much for you not to be a demigod! And if you want to add all of our parents showing up here for you, then you will have to come up with some better lie than 'never met my parents'!"

"Piper…" Cassandra bit her lip "Please."

"No." she pushed the girl away from her seat and took Katoptris in her hand.

"Piper, what the hell?!" Percy stepped in.

"Leave it, Percy! You know there's something fishy about her! You knew from the second your father and all the other gods of Olympus turned up here to welcome her in our home!" She yelled, pushing his hand away "You know it! Tell me, is there any humanity in the way she fought you?!"

"I…"

"Tell me!"

"No, okay?!" he shouted back "No, there isn't! I've fought every single one of you here, and no one took me down the way she did."

"Thank you!"

"But that doesn't make her a liar, Piper!" he defended, stepping between the two females "Maybe she knows how to fight. Maybe she trained before. Or maybe Annabeth was wrong, and it was beginner's luck! Either way, that does not give you the right to jump on her like that!"

"What is going on here?" Leo's voice asked, and everyone turned to him "Percy? Piper? Cass?"

"Everything's fine, Leo." She smiled and nodded.

"Leo, I-" Piper tried, but Percy glared at her.

"Pipes?" he frowned, taking Cassandra's hand "You okay?"

"I… yeah. Everything is fine." She smiled "Everything's great."

"Then what's with all the shouting?"

"Piper and I got into an argument over which was the best mythology." She lied, kissing his cheek "She says Cherokee, I say Roman. Percy got in the middle and claimed Greek."

"Okay…" he frowned, but accepted her words "Percy, you good?"

"I'm good, man." He smiled, and Leo nodded.

A/N: I do like Piper, I just needed someone to fight Cassandra!

What now?

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LoneeWolf :)