Title: To Be A Hero: The Lightning Thief
Author: Keeper Of The Fandoms
Fandom: Percy Jackson And The Olympians (Book)
Major Pairing: Nico/Percy/Talon (Thalia)
Word Count: 6304 words
Tags (Will be added to later): Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Violence, Genderbent!Thalia (Talon), Good!Luke, Mild Annabeth bashing at first, Powerful!Percy
Basic Info: Percy is still male and so is Nico but Thalia has been turned into a male. Unfortunately Thalia/Talon and Nico will not appear until the end of book two for Thalia/Talon and the beginning of book three for Nico. Annabeth will be mildly annoying and sort of bashed in the first book but it won't extend into the second
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, its characters or plotline. I only own my own ideas!
'I want you to show them the difference between what they think you are and what you can be'
Percy groaned blearily, his body thrumming with pain, cracking open his eyes just a bit he hissed at the bright light filtering through the room, the blonde girl from before hovering over him Not noticing his slitted eyes she pushed a spoonful of what looked like pudding, but Percy knew to be nectar, into his mouth; the taste of honey cakes just out of the oven soothed his swollen throat.
"Finally you're awake, what's going to happen on the summer solstice?" the blonde demanded, Annabeth if Percy remembered Mr Bruner correctly.
"What?" Percy was annoyed to discover his voice came out croaky, sounding like he was a 40 year old chain smoker.
"What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks?" her voice was high and Percy cringed, his nose scrunching up in annoyance.
"I'm sorry I have no idea what you're talking about," he growled, his eyes already beginning to slide shut as there was a knock on the door, Annabeth shoving another spoonful of nectar through his chapped lips.
Percy woke up a couple of times after that, each time to a new person in his room. There was a surfer looking guy with hands everywhere on his body, the tall blonde guy who he saw on the nights he fought the Minotaur and Mr Brunner who had appeared in his centaur form believing him asleep, Percy pretended to be dead to the world so he wouldn't alarm him.
The next time Percy woke he felt much better, the soft afternoon light filtering through the window. His duffle bag sat at the end of his bed and he knew whoever had put it there would be dying to know what was inside, only Percy or someone he allowed could access the bag.
He groaned, sitting up and shoving off the blankets, noticing that his shirt and pants had been cut away leaving him in his underwear, obviously because of all the blood that had soaked into them. "Damn it, I loved that top," he muttered sadly, reaching for his bag and dragging it onto his lap.
He grabbed out a pair of bright red skinny jeans, enjoying the familiar feeling of the soft material gliding over his thighs. He pulled a silver tank top over his head, a loose forest green shirt draped over the top, unbuttoned and falling to just below his butt.
He grinned and pulled on his knee high combat boots, throwing his bag over his shoulder and jogging out of the room and down the stairs. He reached the bottom and lifted his shirt quickly to inspect his stomach when he didn't feel any pain; raising an eyebrow at finding only near impossible to see marks.
"Guess they're better at healing than I thought," he shrugged, clutching the familiar weight of his necklace for comfort, straightening his back and pushing back his shoulders as he left the building, gazing about in awe at all the people milling around.
"Perce?" a disbelieving voice whispered from behind him and he whirled around, laughing with excitement when he saw Grover leaning against the railing.
"Grover?" he said just as quietly before throwing himself into the satyr's arms, burying his face in the satyr's shoulder.
"You weren't meant to be up for a few more days, you nearly died Perce," Grover mumbled, clutching him closer and nosing his hair, smiling as he gripped him tighter.
"I thought you were dead," Percy whispered, inhaling the scent of pine and berries.
"Yeah and I would have been if it hadn't been for you, speaking of which I have your spoil of war," Grover drew back and grabbed a large shoebox, passing it to Percy reverently.
"What is it?" Percy's voice faltered as he opened the box, a large bull's horn laid within, the end jagged from where he had broken it off, and the tip splattered with dry blood after he had driven it between the minotaur's ribs. "Oh," he muttered, closing the lid and looking up at his friend with worried eyes.
"Perce I hate to spring this on you but Mr D and Chiron are waiting to see you," Grover nudged him gently in the shoulder and grabbed his hand, tugging the smaller demigod after him as he led him along the wrap around porch, Percy shoving the Minotaur horn into his bag as he walked.
When he turned the corner to the front of the main house he stilled, taking in the scene with wide eyes. Now that it was no longer dark outside he could see the teens running about. There were several rowing across a large lake, another lot were shooting arrows in a range, most of them had blonde hair that glinted in the sunlight. There was a group playing volleyball in a sand pit with a bunch of satyrs and another clashing swords as they went through drills.
"I think I'm in Elysium," Percy muttered, scowling as Grover chuckled and towed him across the balcony to a large table that sat two people, Annabeth, the rude blonde from earlier leant against the railing, glaring as Percy came closer.
"That's Chiron, Mr D and Annabeth, she's been her longer than just about everyone," Grover pointed to the blonde who sneered at Percy, the dark haired demigod hissing between his lips, what had he ever done to the blonde.
"Ah Percy, lovely to see you awake," Mr Brunner cheered, pulling out a seat and inviting him to sit down, offering the same to Grover before turning to the blonde.
"Annabeth dear please get a bed set up for Percy, we'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now," Chiron called and Annabeth nodded, stopping in front of Percy for a few moments, long enough to level a death glare at the seated demigod before running off, her blonde hair flying behind her.
She was everything Percy thought a typical Californian girl would be, tanned, blonde and bitchy but the eyes threw it off, they were silvery grey and full of intense concentration.
"Who are you?" Percy demanded, spinning in his seat to face the only person at the table he didn't know, raising an eyebrow as he did, pursing his lips.
"Names are powerful things," the man said, shuffling the cards as if it was second nature.
"Yes and you know mine so I believe it is only fair that I know yours," Percy smirked at his stunned look and took the cards he offered, nodding at his question of whether or not he played pinochle.
"I believe you should know me, I am one of the twelve Olympians," the man said, looking over his cards at Percy.
"So you're Dionysus, the god of wine?" Percy asked, canting his head and laying down a card, watching with satisfaction as Chiron warily picked it up and cursed in ancient Greek, scowling down at his cards.
"Yes unfortunately the wine part isn't so true yet I have been as you would say forbidden," Dionysus frowned angrily, his fingers clenching around the cards.
"Mr D here took an interest in a wood nymph a while ago that had been declared off limits so Zeus placed him here to punish him," Chiron explained, laying out several cards and drawing from the pile.
"Yes father does love to punish me, first time around it was ten years, absolutely ghastly that was. The second time around… well she was really very beautiful I just couldn't help myself. Sentenced to a hundred years here. Father says I should be working with children instead of tearing them down." Mr D snorted and Percy looked at him curiously.
"What was his exact wording of your punishment?" he asked, pursing his lips in thought, eyes narrowed at his cards.
"I am not to conjure, buy or otherwise enchant myself any alcoholic beverage," he looked so sad in that instant, regarding his diet soda can with something akin to hatred.
"I believe I can help," Percy smiled at the wine god, putting him off as he was used to the brats staring at him with either fear or resentment.
"How can you do that?" he asked, laying his cards down and watching as Percy did the same, reaching for his duffle and pulling it up onto the table.
"Can I have a glass and a mixer," he requested, grinning as they appeared on the table within an instant of him asking. Pulling out several of his more pricey bottles of alcohol from his self-dubbed 'bitch slap in the morning' bag he grinned at Chiron's shocked look and Grover's efforts to stop from face palming while Dionysus regarded him with something close to kindness.
"See your punishment only says you can't make the alcohol it says nothing about someone else making it and giving it to you. Besides your punishment is way out of whack, imagine separating Poseidon from the sea or taking away Aphrodite's ability to create and feel love. They're cutting you off from your base element." He shrugged and grabbed only a few of the bottles, placing the rest back very carefully.
He quickly threw a perfect blend of alcohol into the mixer and shook it, waiting for it to come together into a light amber colour before pouring some into the glass and handing it to the hopeful wine god, "Here, it's my own creation, bourbon, tequila and scotch with a splash of cider. I call it the hurricane" he explained, watching as Dionysius took a sip and his eyes lit up, hurriedly downing the rest.
"I love it," he bounced excitedly in his seat and waited for Percy to pour him some more, sipping happily on the beverage. "You know I think you may be my favourite demigod ever Percy," Mr D sighed, licking his lips as he finished the glass.
"I can make you something every day, I hope you don't mind me experimenting though, it was my chemistry class in one of my old schools, we may have turned someone blind once then there was that woman who had the heart attack but she was old, like 45 or something…" his voice trailed off before he shook himself and looked about the table. Mr D was wearing the most gleeful expression he had ever seen while Grover had his head buried in his palms and Chiron was staring at Percy open mouthed.
"You're taking this whole ancient Greek history is real surprisingly well," Chiron noted with a little bit of suspicion.
"That's because I've known I was a demigod since I was born. My Mum was the mortal one and my Dad didn't really stick around long enough to find out. I left when I was six, I haven't really looked back since. Plus my big bro and Grandma decided I should know about everything." Percy shrugged at their shocked looks and picked up his hand again, quickly exchanging his cards.
"I win," Mr D announced proudly, laying down his cards and grinning triumphantly.
"Not quite yet old friend," Chiron said sympathetically, placing his own on the table and grinning. "I believe I have won yet again."
"Damn," Mr D muttered, frowning down at the cards.
"Actually gentleman, I think I have won this," Percy smirked, throwing his cards on the table and grinning at their shocked looks, crossing his arms and tossing back his head proudly.
"How? No one's ever beat Chiron" Mr D asked gap mouthed, turning to look at him with surprise.
"Correction Diony old boy, no one had ever beat Chiron," Percy pushed back his black waves and smiled cheekily, mentally weighing how long it would be before he had to get another haircut, it was already down to his shoulders again.
"I believe I shall go have a nap before the sing-a-long," Mr D said faintly, turning before stopping to bear down on Grover. "Though I do suppose you and I shall have a chat first about your less than stellar performance. Cabin eleven Percy and mind your manners," the god gave him something resembling a smile and ambled into the house, Grover following morosely after him.
"Grover won't get in to much trouble will he?" Percy asked desperately, turning to Chiron who frowned.
"No I suppose not, Mr D isn't really angry just very resentful about staying here, I believe you are the first demigod he has ever smiled at that wasn't one of his," Chiron looked mildly surprised then gave a faint smile of amusement, rising slowly from his wheelchair, his white body following soon after, he looked upset at seeing no shocked reaction from Percy who looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Now on with the tour," Chiron chirped happily seeming to rid himself of all momentary sadness but Percy supposed if you had lived as long as he had then it would be a mighty torturous life to dwell on every moment of disappointment or sadness.
Percy sighed but shouldered his bag, trudging after Chiron; moments later looking around with bright eyes as he was shown around the camp. The only downside was the way people were staring at him, most pointing and whispering as he walked by as if they expected him to do a backflip or something. Stretching his back quickly he winced as he felt the stiffness, maybe he could give them what they wanted.
"Hey Chiron if I meet you at the cabins can you keep an eye on my bag?" he asked, offering the duffel up to the teacher and grinning as he took it with a worried look.
"What are you doing Percy?" he questioned, staring down at him with eyes thousands of years old.
"Showing off," he smirked, cracking his knuckles and leaning back as he had been shown how to in gymnastics, suddenly throwing himself into a flip, using the momentum to continue flipping, backwards, forwards and sideways, spinning his body easily through the air and adding more rotations, enjoying the whistling of the air past his body. He landed easily in the middle of the cabins, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder at the open mouth looks he got.
"Simple," he chirped as Chiron trotted up, scanning him for any injuries as he took his bag back before turning to look at the cabins.
"I am afraid of what you will do in capture the flag," Chiron muttered as if hoping he wouldn't hear it but he instantly snapped his head to meet the centaurs eyes.
"Capture the flag?" an excited glint entered his eyes and he jumped happily.
"Yes, it is where the two opposing teams fight to capture the others flag using both powers and weapons," Chiron explained and Percy nodded. "Do you have you own weapon?" Chiron asked as they walked, gazing down at the small brunette beside him.
"I have several," Percy informed him, smiling as he saw his shocked look.
"Really?" he gasped and he nodded.
"My sword, bow and arrow, daggers, throwing knives, throwing axes, spear and my fighting staff," he pointed to his necklace first then showed Chiron his charm bracelet, pointing to each in turn.
"Where did you get them?" Chiron asked curiously, looking at the remarkable craftsmanship on the bracelet.
"Grandma and Big bro" he said simply. He stared at the fire pit in the centre of the cabin circle with interest, jogging quickly over and ignoring Chiron's protests.
"Hello there," he greeted politely, sitting down beside the little girl.
"Hi," the girl said simply, turning back to poking at the fire.
"So which goddess are you?" Percy asked, ignoring the shocked look he got in return. "What? I know a god and they have this weird glow around them, you have one therefore you are a god," Percy explained and the girl nodded, smiling gently.
"My name's Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home," the girl introduced.
"Nice to meet you. Do you mind if I call you Auntie Tia?" Percy asked on a whim.
"Not at all child. I do believe that you are my grandmothers chosen. Be honoured young one for you are the first in history to be awarded this privilege. Besides I think I shall like being an aunt," Hestia mused, ceasing her prodding of the fire for a moment.
"Thanks Auntie Tia," Percy cheered, hugging the small girl quickly and running back over to Chiron.
"Strange I don't think I've met her before," Chiron looked puzzled and Percy hid a smile behind his hand.
"Yeah I saw her once in New York," Percy lied quickly, pasting an innocent smile on his face.
He ignored Chiron's suspicious look and took in the cabins around him, looking first to the largest two near the curve of the u shape. "Zeus and Hera?" he guessed, smiling at Chiron's nod. "Poor lady, must be horrible to be cheated on all the time, I wonder if he even meant his marriage vows?" he pondered, missing Chiron's startled look.
He spun on his heel, cataloguing each of the cabins. Number one and two were the king and queen of the gods, standing at the very centre of the horseshoe. Number three was low, long and solid, with all the windows facing the sea. The outer walls were smooth gray stone with pieces of seashell and coral and look like the bottom of the ocean floor, a beautiful mixture of colored seaweed could be seen hanging in the windows. "Poseidon," he muttered.
Cabin four was like a regular summer cabin if it wasn't for the flora everywhere. The roof was made of real grass thatching and flowers were practically covering the porch. The little wall you could see was a light brown like fertile earth and there was a small vegetable garden out front being tended to by several campers. "Demeter I'm guessing, that's a whole lot of plants."
He liked the look of cabin five right away, large and bursting with shouting campers the walls were a deep blood red and rock music blasted from inside. A stuffed boars head was over the doorway and people were wrestling and arguing. "Ares, too bad I'm not going to be there," he pouted, meeting eyes with the loudest camper, a girl of maybe thirteen with dark brown hair and tanned skin, Percy smirked and pulled a face.
Percy grinned at the now stunned girl and saluted her, the girl's lips tipping up in a quick smile as she bowed her head before going back to her cabin mates and engaging in an arm wrestling match.
Cabin six appeared cold to him, sharp grey walls with simple white curtains, a singular owl carving above the door. "Athena… it looks kind of cold," he noted, finding no warm colours or homely touches on the cabin.
The next cabin made his jaw drop, it was pure gold that glowed whenever the sun hit it. Everything looked like it have been carved from a block of gold, the porch, the roof and the walls. But despite the colour it still managed to look inviting, seeming to beckon. "Judging by the style I'm going to guess that's big… Apollo's," Percy cursed himself for his slip but luckily it looked like Chiron has missed it.
Cabin eight was the complete opposite to the cabin before it. The entire structure was made of shining silver stone, seeming to glow like the moon. Silver curtains hung in the windows and a carving of the moon decorated the door. Despite the obvious beauty of the cabin it seemed like it had never been used, not a single scratch or personal item decorating the space.
"Let me guess, Artemis?" he questioned, turning to Chiron who nodded slowly. "Figures, the one goddess who doesn't have children gets a cabin while the ones who do have kids and need it don't have one," he growled angrily, glaring at the cabin as if willing it into flames.
The next cabin was one of the strangest buildings Percy had ever seen, like an entire factory compressed into a summer cabin. The entire roof was covered in chimneys that billowed smoke at random periods. The entrance was framed with gears and the door looked like a bank vault. Percy could see flames from a fire flickering through the window and a steady clanging sounded from within. "Our resident weapons forge, Hephaestus' cabin" Chiron noted from over his shoulder.
Percy's eyes drifted to one of the more vibrant cabins, royal blue walls with a checkerboard floor on the patio, misty blue and green curtains hung in the window. A dove in flight was carved into the front door and a gaggle of people sat on the steps out front of the cabin, a blonde haired girl in the centre loudly debating the uses of eyeliner against eye shadow. "Aphrodite then. I like the cabin, looks pretty cool," Percy noted, catching the blonde's eye and smiling sweetly, gaining a beaming grin in return.
Cabin eleven was exactly what Percy pictured a typical summer cabin looked like with dark wooden walls, a large porch with overhang, paint peeling from the door and a caduceus at the top of the frame. People spilled out of the cabin, many of the campers coming out and going in had blonde or brown hair, blue eyes and impish features. "Hermes, I'm gonna guess that's where they stash all the demigods who don't fit in anywhere else," Percy spat, clenching his hands into tight fists, nails cutting into his palms.
The last cabin in the horseshoe was about the size of the Aphrodite cabin but was made completely out of pine coloured wood, a light cream, vines covered the walls and trailed across the roof. Carvings of grapes resting in goblets patterned the pillars and a large vine was carved into the door. The cabin smelt strongly of grapes and freshly made wine, a sweet and intoxicating scent.
"Right. Look Annabeth is over there, I'll hand you over to her," Chiron said quickly, waving the blonde over.
Percy scowled right back as the blonde stomped over, placing a book that featured tall buildings and support beams down as she glared at Percy, her features rearranged in a hostile expression.
"Annabeth please take Percy from here, I have a master's archery class at noon and I must get everything ready. Percy stick with Annabeth and you should stay out of trouble," Chiron quickly trotted off and Percy groaned.
"That's what I was afraid of," he sighed, pouting. He shouldered his duffel bag and kicked open the cabin door, ignoring the several bodies it hit on his way in, he looked around with speculative eyes, noticing the similarities between some of the people within the cabin, those where the ones eyeing his pockets and duffle.
"Perseus Jackson meet cabin eleven," Annabeth announced, following the ebony haired demigod through the door.
"Oi its Percy I hate my name," Percy spat, shaking a finger in the startled blondes face and turning to face a cabin full of grinning people attempting to hide their smiles behind their hands so as not to incur the blondes wrath.
"Regular or undetermined?" a voice called from the back of the cabin and Percy smiled sadly.
"Undetermined," he stated boldly, ignoring Annabeth's questioning look. Groans broke out through the cabin and a guy who looked about 15 stepped forward, shushing them quickly.
"Now, now campers. That's what Hermes is here for, so welcome to Cabin eleven Percy. You can have the spot on the floor, right over there," Luke pointed to one of the only spare spots on the floor and Percy shrugged smiling brightly at the blonde boy who matched his grin, the smile taking away the sullen look the scar caused.
"This is Luke, he's your counsellor for now," Annabeth's voice came out kind of breathless and Percy resisted the urge to roll his eyes, surveying the dusty floor of the cabin and shaking his head.
"I'm good in the rafters," he tucked his duffle closer to his body and leapt upwards, catching the wooden beam with his hands and flinging his body up on top of it.
"They weren't kidding when they said you were strange," Luke mused, staring up at him. "So now what? You can't sleep on a beam that small, you'll fall off and kill yourself in the middle of the night," he pointed out as the campers craned their necks to watch.
"Don't talk for a second," Percy commanded, pressing his hand against the wood and visualising it spreading out, the wood flattening and curving to form a shape vaguely resembling a boat without the ends. He grinned and pulled a swag from his duffel, spreading it out and placing the duffel at the top to act as a pillow.
He poked his head back over the make shift bed and smirking at the stunned faces staring back, grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniels and a shot glass, pouring the amber liquid into his glass and downing it quickly.
"I'm such a lush," he muttered, staring at the glass in his hand resentfully before shrugging it off and placing the bottle back in his bag, swinging over the edge of the beam and dropping lightly to the floor.
"Easy," he shrugged, dusting off his hands and cocking a head at the eager looks he got, many looking as if they were judging the distance between his bed and the ground as well as the risks it would take to get to his bag.
"Don't even think about. Any of you touch my stuff and I'll be collecting your fingers as payment," he threatened and most of the impish blondes within the cabin nodded, two near identical looking boys near the front doing so more than the others.
"Now about this 'your counsellor for now' what the hell does that mean?" Percy turned to face Annabeth who looked startled at being suddenly in the spotlight.
"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travellers."
"And how long does one normally stay undetermined?" Percy asked suspiciously, already dreading the answer.
"Until their godly parent needs something done and claims them," one of the campers chimed in bitterly, obviously still waiting for their parent to acknowledge them,
"Of course because they're just so damn busy I mean it's not like they have an eternity," Percy's voice rose as he threw his arms out, gesturing wildly, many of the half-bloods looking at him with awe clearly distinguishable in their eyes as thunder boomed outside the cabin. He shrugged, it's not the last time he's going to piss off the gods, Apollo told him all his little stunts over the years have gained a lot of attention with the gods even though they don't know its him doing them.
"Come on I'll show you the volleyball courts," Annabeth grabbed a hold of his arm and tugged, pulling him out of the cabin door. Unwilling to hurt the blonde Percy grimaced but allowed himself to be dragged out, resisting the urge to plant his fist in the blondes face.
"Jackson you can't say stuff like that," Annabeth scowled, rounding on him as soon as they were a few feet away from the cabin.
"And why not, somebody needs to tell them how it is," Percy spat, shaking off the blondes arm and tossing back his hair, glaring heatedly at Annabeth.
"I cannot believe I thought you were the one," Annabeth muttered and Percy's glare lessened.
"What do you mean? All I did was kill a Minotaur?" Percy asked confused, unable to understand why that was such a big deal to all the campers.
"Don't talk like that! Do you know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?" Annabeth cried, throwing her hands up angrily
"I have been fighting monsters on my own since I was born. That monster has tried to kill me many times and every time it nearly succeeded. When there is a chance you can die, when people have died, there is nothing good about fighting," Percy hissed, his body shaking with supressed rage.
Annabeth cowered back but stopped herself quickly, matching up against Percy.
"It doesn't matter you still can't talk about the gods like that," she growled and Percy shrugged, turning as Luke bounded out of the cabin.
"Hello guys, everything okay?" he raised an eyebrow and Annabeth nodded hurriedly while Percy crossed his arms and scowled.
"Well, a newbie!" a loud voice called from behind the group and they spun quickly, coming face to face with a tall, rough looking girl.
"Clarisse. Why don't you go polish your spear or something," Annabeth sighed and Percy smiled, clapping his hands in mock excitement.
"Nice to know you're a bitch to everyone and not just me," he sneered and Clarisse smirked.
"Princess it's going to need polishing after I run you through on Friday night," Clarisse snorted and Percy held his fist out, the brunette bumping it as the two chuckled, Luke watching on with thinly veiled amusement.
"You don't stand a chance," Annabeth growled, her knuckles turning white with the force with which she clenched her fists.
"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse hissed, squaring up against the shorter blonde then turning her head to face Percy. "Who's the newbie?" she asked in a contemplating voice.
"Perseus Jackson, meet Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares," Annabeth sounded as if she was suffering simply from saying the brunette's name.
"I told you blondie that it's Percy, honestly," Percy sighed angrily.
"You know you're okay Percy," Clarisse nodded, swinging an arm around Percy's neck and grinning down at him. "Go away Princess," Clarisse sneered, waving a hand towards Annabeth dismissively.
"Erre es korakas," Annabeth screeched, stomping her feet like a toddler having a tantrum and storming off, her blonde hair swinging.
"Really? Go to the crows? That's the best she can come up with?" Percy muttered, screwing up his nose in distaste. "Hey do you reckon you teach me how to call someone a slut in ancient Greek?" Percy cheered, staring up at the daughter of Ares who grinned in amusement.
"You and I are going to get along just fine," Clarisse chuckled, raising an eyebrow at Luke who was gaping at the two. "You got a problem Castellan?" she growled and he raised his hands quickly in the universal sign for surrender.
"So what's all this hype about capture the flag?" Percy asked, running his bracelet across the palm of his hand and flicking each charm with his fingers.
"It's like a big competition involving all the cabins, you trade duties and schedule placements to get people on your team and the cabin that gets the flag across the boundary wins." Clarisse explained, watching as he intertwined the bracelet through his fingers.
"So are we allowed powers or only weapons?" the raven haired teen smirked, imagining the chaos he could cause with his powers.
"We're allowed everything, powers, weapons, even magical items though we usually get them from our parents," the brunette examined him curiously, as if sizing him up in her head. "Do you have a weapon or do we need to get you one?"
"Nah I got… well several," Percy admitted, ducking his head.
"Yeah, what are they?" Luke asked, joining the conversation for the first time.
"I have my sword, Terra, on my necklace. And on my bracelet I have my throwing knives, throwing axes, dagger, spear, staff and bow," he explained, pointing to each of the charms in turn.
"Okay, and can you use them?" Clarisse demanded, regarding him in a new light.
"Of course I can. Tell you what, me and you in the arena tomorrow, let's see what you can do," Percy challenged, receiving a fierce nod of acceptance from Clarisse. "Everyone keeps talking about powers. So do you guys have any?" Percy saw the two exchange looks.
"In a way I do. My dad's Hermes, you know God of messages, travellers, thieves, all that jazz so I'm really good at lying and at stealing," Luke produced a handful of coins that had Clarisse fuming.
"You stole my drachmas again!" she screeched, attempting to maul him with her bare hands but Percy held her back, digging his heels into the dirt.
"What about you Clarisse?" Percy asked when the brunette had finally calmed down, holding her drachmas close like a baby while Luke cowered behind a nearby tree, hesitantly stepping back towards the two girls.
"Ares kids don't really have visible powers. We have this… berserker thing in battle where we just can't stop until the enemy is demolished. And we know every weapon in the world and what it can do. Some of us can inspire a powerful hatred or anger in people but that's about it." Clarisse shrugged and Percy's face fell, he wanted just one person who was as strange as him.
"Do you have any powers?" Percy fidgeted uncomfortably as Clarisse asked.
"I know he does, he changed one of the rafters in our cabin into a bed by shaping the wood," he butted in and the two turned to stare at him.
"Do you have somewhere we can go that has water?" Percy said quickly, wanting to get this over with.
"Um yeah the beach," Luke grabbed his hand and pulled Percy along after him, Clarisse following after rolling her eyes but Percy could see the excitement glimmering deep inside.
The beach was deserted and Percy took off his shoes quickly, sending out a pulse of energy that came back with only the three of them around. "Now what I am about to show you does not leave this beach," he warned, tying his hair back and taking in a deep breath.
"Agreed," the two chorused, sitting back on the sand and watching him avidly.
He grinned and twisted his feet, drawing his hands up to chest height then pushing them out suddenly, a chunk of earth from behind them bursting from the ground and flying towards him, breaking up till it was a trail of dust that he could twirl with his fingers. Vines sprouted from the sand and curled up his legs, small flowers blossoming and opening to reveal dark violet flowers.
With a flick of his wrist the vines crawled back into the sand, the earth forming back together and slotting into the ground again. The two demigods in front of him gaped, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Give me a moment and I'll show you the other ones," he said, breathing slightly heavily through his nose and out through his mouth.
"Other ones!" Clarisse burst out, her mouth dropping open even wider.
"Yep," Percy sighed, straightening up and shuffling backwards till he was submerged in water up to his ankles, the calming push and pull of the water helping to regain his energy. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, imagining the water twining around his, the strands curling up from the water and dancing along his body, forming an assortment of shapes above his head, he opened his eyes slowly and watched the awed looks with enjoyment, he had never been able to show other people his powers before.
Letting the water flow down his body he willed it so he wouldn't get wet, the stream splashing harmlessly back into the lake. A feral grin took over his face and he slowly willed the water behind him to rise, the shadow falling over him made him look up, directly into the face of a huge wave that bordered on a tsunami.
Readying himself once more he allowed the walls around his inner fire to fall, the warmth humming through his body as he heated up. Cupping his hands he willed the fire out in small amounts, gradually adding to the fireball hovering above his palms. Letting it extinguish he placed a hand in front of his mouth and turned so he was side on to the two demigods who had been watching the proceedings with wide eyes, small shrieks of fear sounding beside his as he blew heavily, a turret of fire erupting from his mouth like a devilled tongue, the heat gradually fading as he allowed the fire to leave, placing his walls back up.
"So what do you think?" he asked shyly, toeing the ground as he pulled his boots back on quickly.
"I'm thinking I want you on my team for capture the flag," Clarisse mused, tapping her chin in thought.
"That's not fair he's a part of my cabin," Luke accused.
"But I'm not am I. I don't belong there Luke, like a lot of the kids in that cabin. Besides old Diony seems to like me so I'll just ask him," Percy shrugged, sitting down between the two who looked like they wanted to rip each other's throat out.
"Wait, Mr D likes you?" Luke asked in shock.
"Surprisingly yes."
"How did you manage that?" Clarisse demanded, turning so she was looking the smaller demigodl in the eye.
"I promised to keep him supplied with alcohol," Percy grinned at their stunned looks, standing and brushing the sand from his shorts.
"What about Zeus' punishment?' Luke asked as Percy hauled Clarisse to her feet.
"I found a loophole," Percy smirked and templed his fingers like he had seen Mr Burns do once in a Simpsons' episode.
"You're trying to get yourself killed," Luke muttered, following the two scheming brunettes back towards the cabins.
"Probably," Percy cheered, grinning at his two new found friends.
"You're something else kid," Clarisse shook her head as Percy smirked evilly, wiggling his eyebrows.
"And don't you forget it."