This time on, The Drifting Weaver. So, in this story there will be a large betrayal, but not in this chapter FYI. Everything in these chapters is set so they can build up to more major things. Hope you enjoy the fighting scenes, I'm not too good at them, which is probably a bad thing considering everyone will most likely fight a lot. Ah well, enjoy.
Chapter 6
The days grew longer, and yet the time only seemed to go faster for Percy. Annabeth, the incredibly intelligent, blonde, grey-eyed girl, taught ancient Greek to Percy, reviewing myths and writings in the space of an hour. In her class, Percy certainly enjoyed learning fast, possibly on-par with even the most brilliant children of Athena. Miserably, for Percy, that was the only part of the day which he had pause, until dinner of course. Luke was Percy's grasp on sanity, and pull into insanity. Percy and Adonis had become more distant, Adonis had become increasingly good with the sword, Chiron returning the sword "Riptide" to him after having a serious chat, unfortunately, mostly out of earshot. Something about the sword having a regrettable past. After that timing, Percy and Adonis had stopped talking to each other, doubtlessly not set to be close friends in the end.
On the other hand, Luke had Percy a dagger crafted by the Hephaestus cabin; much to Percy's delight. Indeed Luke had formed a brotherly bond, as the sibling Percy never had, yet always wanted.
Physical training, apart from being with the Apollo cabin when aiming down the range, Luke saw Percy's weakness and evidently took it into his own hands. From running the border of camp, learning the hiding spots, tight spaces, and other hidden secrets, to climbing the wall of hellfire (and receiving a lot of burns in the process), Percy was made strong. Or rather, stronger. The she-demon Clarisse of the Ares cabin decided to demonstrate how puny Percy was: every. Single. Day. Infront of his blond taskmaster of course.
Then came the swordplay, alternately, dagger vs. swordplay. Luke repetitively parried Percy's attacks flawlessly before thrusting to the point where he could emphasize a killing blow without performing it. Slash, slash, get parried, get disarmed, get annihilated, that was the routine Luke was so intensely trying to improve, break or directly replace. "Guard too high," Luke tutted, disdain creeping into his voice. "Attacks too unfocused. Attacks too predictable. Are you fighting or dancing to distract me?"
One fateful afternoon, Luke became worse- even though the training was a journey into the fields of punishment, Percy never hated him for it, as he believed it was care that influenced Luke to behave in such a way. The cause of Luke's displeasure, no other than Adonis Adams. With Riptide in hand, the most experienced and fierce sword-wielder in camp was beaten by his own disarming technique.
This experience triggered something in Luke to ignite, a fury able to beat Adonis thrice after.
Abnormally, the following day, Luke was not stood, arms crossed impatiently as he waited for Percy to leave Annabeth's teaching, He was not at The Big House, or cabin eleven, the wall, the forest, the shoreline, the amphitheater. The one place he was, however, was the arena. There he weaved amongst bronze-covered dummies, delivering a blade storm of strikes. Cleaving straw limb from limb with unmatched elegance.
Percy approached carefully, not desiring to spoil the activities of his friend until the last target's "head" was severed from its former place. When the challenge had been accomplished, Percy spoke up: "Bravo, bravo!" Clapping on his way down further into the sandy pit. "Do you do this often? Destroy the training equipment I mean," Percy hinted a kind smile upon his lips as Luke scowled at Percy's appearance.
"Only when I need to. You're out early?" He inquired at the observer's appearance.
"Nope, it's eight-thirty-ish about now, not to mention that I've been searching for you around this gods-forsaken place," Chuckling, Percy declared: "You know you are probably the best warrior in camp right? You don't need to push yourself this hard."
"Well, I know you need to be pushed hard," Luke countered, "Besides, if I can lose a battle to some new kid with a special sword, how am I supposed to be of any use to-... Any use to camp and those that need help, I can't let people I care about die in front of me."
"Bah, beginners luck, you thrashed him afterward." Percy responded, "If you want, you can test him with capture the flag. A pawn in the plot, all to win."
Luke started to radiate with humor at the thought of capture the flag. "It just so happens, I believe he could be of use, let's just hope the Ares cabin go easy on him- ah, right. You haven't heard. He exploded the toilets somehow, saved himself from Clarisse's introductions, but he's definitely gonna be beaten up by her cabin one day, capture the flag is her best chance, she wont give it up for the world. "
Percy whooped, "The best fighting cabin in camp could be distracted trying to achieve revenge, and we could slip right through. Incredible!" His heart slightly sinking at the deception that had to occur, Adonis would have to be placed out of the way of the Athenian force so the Ares cabin wouldn't disturb their push, but that would mean it would be easier to get away with injuring him.
A coach horn blew to signify the beginning of dinner. A pleasant experience, full of bickering and gossip, perfect for gaining information (true and false) about whatever happened in camp. Percy took up his usual seat between Luke and Adonis before summoning his drink, the reliable taste of plain water. Lamb, steak, pork, fruits, cheeses, vegetables: the buffet was nothing short of fantastic, the gods got their pretty share of burnt offerings. Laughter and joy blazed like wildfire through each individual table. A couple of satyrs played magical flutes which sounded like whatever you wanted to hear, from 90s music to a subduing white noise.
Chiron took to the stage in his centaur form, in this place of myth and magic there was no need to hide your true form (for centaurs, nymphs and other peaceful campground creatures at least), he gained the immediate respect and silence which his authoritative aura practically forced. "As your activities director, I will announce tonight's capture the flag as between: The Athena cabin, and their chosen cabins; the Ares cabin, and their chosen cabins. There will be absolutely no maiming, killing or binding of prisoners. Magical weapons are allowed. You will prepare: immediately!"
In a storm of movement, the children grabbed summoned armor from the tables, weapons from either belt, sleeping areas or weapon racks beside The Big House. "Cabin, we have blue helmet plumes today, form up in five minutes or you will get left behind!" Luke hollered, grabbing Percy's shoulder he uttered: "Percy, you need to grab a standard hoplite set and one of those spears over there, carry your dagger on your belt. Adonis, get the same gear but just use your sword, you're better with it than a spear."
Percy hoped he wouldn't have to run, because the armor he quickly donned was absurdly heavy, compared to normal clothing. Oh how disappointed he would be. Just how was he supposed to fight when he was being weighed down so much?
The entirety of the Hermes cabin lined up behind Luke. Beside them was the Apollo cabin lead by Lee Fletcher, then came the cabin of Athena lead by Annabeth Chase. Together in unison, they marched down to one side of the forest, Annabeth dictating Adonis and several other campers of Hermes, paired with a child of Apollo- except Adonis- for fire support. Adonis was set to be alone at the far edge of the battleground, stood in the creek, and "probably" wouldn't see any other activity. Percy made a mental note to rush down to where-ever he was at the end of the match, just in case he was being beaten to death by the children of Ares.
"Another minute campers, then you begin, no cheating! I, along with the nymphs, will be the battlefield medic!" Chiron notified from somewhere near the forest.
The Hermes cabin filed out in a row with spears up, standing to attention. Another line of Athenian campers filled the lines behind them with similar weapons, then followed a cluster of evenly spread archers set behind them for reinforcement. The flag only being defended by two, very abled, campers as was allowed in the rules.
For the second time that night, the coach horn blew loud. The clear noise of it played through the thick treelines, the dark underbrush, the pure midnight sky.
"CHARGE!" Roared Annabeth, golden curls whipping in the wind as she ran forward to lead the platoon. The large group of campers rushed forwards at a steady pace, panting as they did so. Percy thanked his harsh training because he was somehow able to keep up with the group, staying in his place in the front lines.
It wasn't too long before they met the war cries of the Ares cabin, or half of them, Clarisse nowhere to be seen as planned. The joined forces of Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite and of course, the two Ares kids smashed upon the circular shields of Percy and his battle-brothers and sisters. Percy, determined not to break formation, stabbed his blunt spear into the armored shins of a red-adorned boy, gleaming as the boy dropped his defense down to block, before Percy smashed his shield into where the kid's temple would be underneath his helmet, the blunt impact able to knock him out. A plump-ish boy who had been sitting at Grover's table, presumably a child of Mr. D, shot towards Percy as he stomped upon Percy's spear, effectively disarming him of it. A blunt arrow whizzed past Percy's shoulder, thudding against the exposed knuckled of the invader making him cry out in pain, clutching his hand desperately, trying to numb the throbbing agony. Percy managed to take control of the situation and, with all of his strength, raised his foot and kicked out against the metal plate, intending to unbalance the child but somehow forcing him back into another one of his fellow team-mates, two birds with one stone.
Percy looked around, thankful for the moon's faint lighting. Luke had dropped his spear whilst he deflected a bayonet thrust to above his head. Furthermore, he ripped away the camper's own shield to then lift the guy's helmet, with both hands, off of the half-blood's head, turn it, then slam it down with full force, probably giving the poor lad a concussion. Annabeth was nowhere to be seen, yet Percy sensed she was still here, and sure enough, at the back of enemy lines, archers were getting knocked unconscious one by one via some invisible force. Connecting the dots wasn't hard.
Unexpectedly, three Hephaestus' kids rained down upon the blue team's own archers, flanking them with awesome expertise. Dulled-edged swords in hand as they cleaved down almost the entire Apollo cabin. Lee Fletcher managed to drop one child who was heading to take down Luke while he was still unaware of the smithing strike-force, strangling him into incapacity from behind with his bow. Spittle flying from the comically bulky Hephaustus camper until eventually, he went down. The other two had to be overpowered by the entire Athenian cabin (excluding Annabeth). Disastrously losing eight of the eleven campers that tried to subdue the monstrously strong pair.
Waves of the children of Aphrodite crashed against the cliffs that were the front lines. "We can't take this for much longer! It's now or never! Head straight for the flag!" The boy on Percy's left screamed as he was ferociously toppled to the ground in a wrestling match with a child of Demeter, whose arms were like that of a tree. While Aphrodite's cabin may have been the expendable foot-soldiers, many children of Demeter had the factor of strength and nature on their side, ensnaring Hermes' kids in the thickest roots and slowly crumbling the blue team's morale. Thanks to the Hephaestus strategy, the side of Athena weren't going to last more than a few minutes, even with Annabeth being invisible and Luke's impressive skill in melee combat. Speaking of Luke, he had released his sword before sprinting towards the hill which held the banner that bore boar and bloody spear, he was being harassed by godly powers on all sides that attempted to cease his movement.
However, he was noticed by not only the enemy team, Percy and a few other campers on the blue team trickled out of the main clashing, more or less unnoticed, and darted after Luke, determined to capture the flag, acting as his honor guard, shoving any enemies that were ensuing straight into the dust, face-first.
Behind them, the clash and ring of a blade against a blade, or crack of a spear against a spear, or yell of someone while their bones cracked under brutal stress. Ahead of them, the flag, the prize possession. One, or two, problems, though, were the two sentries that guarded the flag in broad poses. One being another child of Mr. D, surprisingly strong for such a "minor" god. The other, unmistakeably Charles Beckendorf, a towering, African-American boy with a green bandana placed over his neck-guard.
"Hello lads," Beckendorf chatted, his voice a muffled echo as through a metal exhaust.
Being the cabin counselor of the ninth cabin, the place for the children of Hephaestus, and the same person who crafted Percy's own dagger for him, he had the most incredible armor. Intricate swirls upon his shoulders, and an engraving of an anvil upon his chest piece. For one of the best Greek blacksmiths probably alive, he also had the most un-Greek armor, fine chain-mail covered every inch of his body apart from his face, which was covered with a European style helmet with two harsh slits in for limited risk of blinding. In his hands, two impressive war hammers. Hammer on one end, a piercing spike on the other, the perfect anti-armor weapons.
Luke engaged Charles with his sword, warding off a hammer blow and attempting to cut the wrist of Beckendorf, venturing to disarm him for the rest of the fight. Instead, the blade harmlessly slid off of the interwoven chains, at best delivering a bruise. As in the arena, Luke was a swirling anger, spinning to roundhouse-kick Charles in the face, momentarily stunning the giant before crashing his shield into his toes, marginally bending in the metal boots to some, uncomfortable enough, extent. What happened next was Luke being thrown off his feet as Charles headbutted him with the force of a tank, a harsh clang leading to the almost identical denting of Luke's helmet in an unspoken revenge. Leading him to take it off, foolishly perhaps, and leap forwards, only at the last moment noticing the joint force of two hammers- turned to the great, penetrating, bronze spikes- swinging towards his side. Of course, not wanting to die after being doubly impaled, he dropped his sword and reinforced his grasp on his shield, pushing to evade the attack, not before the weapons entered through the metal sheet of a shield, generating a howl of pain from Luke as his arm, which the shield was attached to, was skewered through the plating like a fleshy kebab causing hot, cardinal blood to run down into a small puddle on the floor.
Infuriated by the pain of Luke, was one of Hermes' children that had slipped through with Percy, Chris Rodriguez, the six foot, Hispanic, kid- one of the people in Hermes' cabin closest to Luke. Chris, hoping to the gods it worked, charged and tackled Charles, squeezing his legs together and taking Charles with him off of the small hill-face. Sacrificing himself to a beating so Luke wouldn't have to take it.
Percy, alongside two other campers, rushed the child of Dionysus. This one much more in-tune with his godly powers. He caused vines to grab all three of the demigods. Percy and one other half-blood managing to cut themselves free, Pollux managing to grant a nasty right-hook, throwing one scrawny demi-god of Athena off of their feet also off of the hilltop- buried under the magnified weight of weariness and their armor.
The other demigod with Percy collapsed, screaming as he clutched his head. His eyes rolled back into his head due to the maddening, godly, powers of Dionysus. Percy held his dagger in an ice-pick grip. Wary of the strength of this demigod, as soon as the burning purple within the campers eyes targetted Percy, he didn't fall immediately, only his dagger did so. The flashing of a thousand nightmarish images within his head. Pain, suffering, hilarity, blood, torture.
The pictures caused something broke within Percy. Something that allowed his fingertips to morph into, sharp, hooked, claws. Something that allowed Percy's limbs to grow in length, giving him a towering appearance. Something that allowed Percy's mind and eyes to sharpen, abling himself to witness Pollux's expressions as he watched Percy's partial transformation in panic. Something that allowed Percy's teeth to sharpen into an array of knives with some large fangs hanging out. His teeth honed enough that when Percy jumped forwards onto the camper, who was thrashing in shock and fear, and promptly tugged apart the bronze helmet from the shoulder piece, he was able to bite down into the sweet tasting flesh. Perhaps the sweetest, juiciest thing Percy had ever tasted.
"What in Hades..." Luke stood, clutching his arm, free of his shield, blood collecting in a shallow river through his fingers, desperate to keep the wounds closed. Luke surveilled the display, interest, and unease swirling in battling pools within his eyes.
Instantly, Percy was himself, human- demigod form, once more. Ridden of his atrocious and horrifying characteristics. He looked down at the passed-out camper in his arms, whose blood stained his mouth, and was shocked, terrified even, of himself.
"We will talk about what happened here later," Luke stated firmly, "Right now, let's just win this game."
Percy wiped his mouth, scrubbing his face of every last trace of blood. "Ye-yeah." He whimpered, before grabbing his dropped dagger, Luke grabbed the flag with his free arm. Then they jogged, Percy, supporting his teammate all the way, went past the creek, hunted by stray enemy campers who noticed their defeat going straight past them. Until eventually, they crossed into friendly territory.
For the third time, the horn blew and signaled the end of the game, the flag magically transferring to host an owl of Athena on its cloth. Once a minute had passed by, those not unconscious on the blue team cheered in glorious victory, Annabeth running down to the creek, if not for the exhausting actions he had performed, Percy would have followed as: Adonis and Clarisse's crew were still missing. Glancing up to his battle-partner, Percy was met by the stern, calculating, staring of his sandy haired elder, an unbearable tension, burning into Percy's skull.
It was only broken when the demigods heard the shriek of "HELLHOUND!"
AN: I will try to update at least once a week. Anyway, Percy had only a partial transformation, his true one will be a lot more detailed. His godly parent will probably come later in the series. I hope you have enjoyed, until next time where I can write for a few hours to have you read in 10 minutes ;).
I'm probably not gonna take beta readers ;-; sorry if you want to be one. You can all be my beta readers in a way, you can review or PM me if you see an error etc. ;P Sorry if that isn't what you really wanted, but I don't want to go through the hassle of setting a beta reader up or something etc.
Still don't know what to do for pairings BTW, sooooo. Yeah, what do people want to see with pairings, because I should probably either introduce them pretty soon or introduce something that could work towards a love interest pretty soon.
That's all for now folks.