Chapter 2- Training Part 1 of 2

"Again!" ordered Lupa as 5-year-old Percy got into his battle stance. He had been going in and out of his battle stance for the past 2 hours and were it not for the fact that he was a half blood, he would've collapsed ages ago. His face was contorted with sweat and his legs felt like they were going to give up very soon.

Lupa observed his body stance as she circled Percy. She had started training him recently, after teaching him the basics of survival and also nurturing him for the past 6 months. She looked as Percy tried to keep himself up while in his stance. He looked exhausted but it was essential for him to learn this first.

"Spread your legs out even more. You need to have a steady balance so you are prepared for strikes in any direction and be able to counter back," Lupa said to Percy. Percy, grumbling under his breath, did as he was told. Lupa observed him again to see if there were any faults again, but this time he had it perfect.

"Mother Lupa, may I please take a break," whined Percy. Lupa thought for a moment before nodding to him. Immediately, he collapsed to the floor, exhausted after doing the same repetitive thing for a while now. Lupa looked at Percy with amusement as he tried to collect his breath, clearly tired and his legs sore.

"Mother Lupa, why do you make me learn this?" questioned the son of Neptune. Lupa looked into the young child's sea green eyes, filled with curiosity as she responded.

"Every warrior must learn the basics in order to build on. Your stance is one of the most important things of your fighting abilities. Think of it as your foundation. Without a foundation, everything else will collapse. Your stance is your foundation here. You need to have a solid, perfect stance and all of your fighting abilities are based on that. I make you do this again and again, because once you have learnt it perfectly, it'll serve you for life. This is the starting point of your training, my young destroyer," responded Lupa.

"I think you just enjoy watching me suffer," grumbled Percy as Lupa rolled her eyes. Percy had potential but he also had a tendency to complain and talk back at times.

"Mother Lupa, when will I be able to meet other people? When will I be allowed to go to camp?" asked Percy. Lupa didn't respond for a few seconds before saying

"Once I deem you worthy," Percy's face fell a bit at hearing that. Lupa looked at him before sighing.

"Listen to me Perseus. You are special case. The circumstances of your birth are the reason why you haven't been able to meet others yet. People aren't ready to deal with someone like you. And you need more time to learn how to control your abilities, because if not, you may do more harm than good. You are different to others in many ways and until I believe you are ready to go out to the open world, you have to stay with me," Lupa told Percy. Percy didn't speak for a few moments as he took in what Lupa told him before nodding in understanding.

"Then I'll do as you say Mother Lupa. I will work just as hard as I have to prove myself to you and I will make you proud," said Percy with determination displaying across his face. Lupa looked at the child, her face still neutral, but her eyes filled with pride. Percy had a sincere motivation to do her proud and work as hard as needed to prove himself, just like a true Roman.

"I am sure you will Percy," replied Lupa. "Now that you've had your break, get back into stance" ordered Lupa. Percy's face shifted into annoyance for one moment, before his eyes filled with determination and he got back up.

Percy rolled on the floor as he dodged a frontal attack from the wolf. Lupa wanted him to attempt wrestling a wolf for the first time and he wasn't doing too good. The wolf had already scraped his shoulder badly and landed a few scratches on his lower abdomen. Percy tried to get up but the wolf pounced back onto him and held him down. Percy attempted to use strength to wrestle free but the wolf had an iron grip on him. In retaliation, Percy, headbutted the wolf in the snout, giving him a 2 second leeway to break free, and used his weight to push the wolf down onto the floor, but somehow the wolf saw it coming and used his claws to attack the back of his shoulder, bringing Percy back down again.

Just as Percy was about to admit defeat, he heard a voice in his head

"Call to the sea and it'll come to your aid. All you have to do is ask and it'll do your bidding"

Percy let instinct take over as he felt a tug in his stomach and the next thing he knew, a large wave of water swirled past him and attacked the wolf, leaving him a few metres away from Percy. Percy tried to get up, but found himself unable to do so, exhaustion taking its toll on the child of the sea. The wolf got right back up and prepared to pounce when Lupa's voice cut through

"Check!" her voice resonated through the surrounding as the wolf immediately froze. Lupa nodded to him and he bowed back before bounding away into the woods.

Lupa looked at Percy, who was drained and was gasping for breath on the floor. She couldn't deny that she was impressed that Percy was able to use his divine abilities at such a young age, but he'd need a lot more practise before he got the hang of it. She felt a presence behind her as she looked back and saw a figure just in the shadows. She nodded to her before turning back to Percy, who was slowly getting up, catching his breath.

"What-what happened," he asked in between breaths

"You called on your divine abilities for the first time. Usually, this takes up a lot of energy, especially at such a young age, nevertheless, I am impressed that you were able to do so, yet you can't always rely on them to help you. Had I not stopped the match, regardless of your abilities, you would've lost, being extremely tired after using the sea to help you" said Lupa.

"The sea. That's my father's domain, right? Neptune" asked Percy

"Yes. Your father, Lord Neptune, ruler of the seas and oceans, the bringer of storms and the earthshaker, one of the 3 sons of Saturn," replied Lupa

"Will it always be that hard for me to control water?"

"No. Soon I will start coaching you in the use of your father's abilities, but for now, you must focus on your physical training. Tomorrow, you'll wrestle the wolf again, and you will not use your abilities. I do not expect you to win but to learn from it."

Percy nodded, still worn out from what had just happened. Lupa studied him for a moment before saying

"Go downhill to the lake and heal yourself. Then do half a lap of the field and you have the rest of the day to relax pup. You've earned it" said Lupa.

Percy smiled in response, before trudging down the path to the lake.

Lupa waited for a few moments before Salacia walked from the shadows. Lupa glowed for a moment before she transformed into her human form and greeted the Queen of the Seas.

"Greeting Lupa. How goes Perseus's training?" inquired Salacia.

"Slow but quite well. He's started learning the basics of combat fighting and as I am sure you witnessed, he managed to use his abilities for the first time today, which is quite the feat for his age, I assume with the assistance of his father?" Lupa asked with a raised eyebrow

"My husband wished to see how his son was doing in your care. Still he appears to be growing and learning quite well. Quite essential considering the circumstances of what is happening around us," responded Salacia.

"Even you see them now?" asked Lupa

"Yes. Old deities of the sea have started stirring. Scents of beings I have not heard of in over a millennium have attracted the attention of my husband. I assume the same can be said of the upper world?" queried Salacia.

"Unfortunately, so. I fear if Jupiter doesn't take action soon then there may be consequences on all of us. Hopefully, he sees the signs and takes action soon," sighed Lupa.

Salacia nodded as both goddesses remained silent for a few moments, watching the night sky over them.

"I shall come again to monitor my champion's progress when I have the opportune. Till then, farewell." Salacia spoke as she glowed and disappeared.

Lupa watched the night sky for a few more moments before transforming back into a wolf and heading into the woods.

Author's Note: So this is the beginning of Percy's training. I decided to show him starting to develop into the Roman warrior but still having some of his childish attributes and also learning the basics of fighting. Also decided to show how much impact Lupa has on Percy and vice versa with my calling Lupa as Mother Lupa as she is the main motherly figure in his life and Lupa raising Percy as a child rather than him just being another demigod that she trains.
Also Salacia (Roman form of Amphitrite) will be playing a large role in Percy's life, just as Juno does for Jason.

The next chapter will also be based on Percy's training and him growing up but then Chapter 4 will be about Percy finally joining camp and how everyone else adjusts to having a son of Neptune in their midst.

Many Thanks to Vu1kan18, JoJo Jesus, somethingcameup and BlackJackkk12 for reviewing and a response to JoJo Jesus

JoJo Jesus: First off thanks for that extremely positive review, glad to see you like it. Also I have quite a few plans for Percy regarding his love life but Perlia isn't a bad idea, it just depends on how the story progresses. I dont have an absolute certainity for who I am pairing Percy with but if Perlia does become popular then I'll do that. Another idea that did come to me was Percabeth but Percy and Annabeth becoming close over time at the Argo, but like I said it just depends what becomes popular.

Leave a review please and hope you enjoyed

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SpiritsOfTheWorld