The Sea and the Sky
Chapter 8:
AN/ Okay, just to clear something up. Even though the two camps are combined, they don't share fighting styles. They almost never see each other fight, and have separate classes and teachers. The camp leaders just thought it would be easier to defend if the camps combined.
Percy POV:
Everyone gathered in the middle of the pavilion to show off their new weapons. "So who wants to go first?" Jason said. I stepped forward. "I'll go." Jason nodded at me. I clicked Riptide and the blade shot out. It was so sharp now that when you looked at it you could almost feel the pain. Clarisse whistled. "Wow Prissy, that sword's as sharp as Annabeth." I grinned at her. Yes, I grinned at Clarisse. Sometimes I surprise myself.
Max glanced at the pommel and smirked. "Really, Perce? That pearl is like this size of my fist." I grinned crookedly at her. "I thought it needed something." She just shook her head. I laughed and tapped the pommel, turning Riptide back into pen form. "You changed it into a click pen?" Leo asked, a little bit of excitement in his voice. Of course the freaking god of inventions would be interested. "Yeah. I thought it would be easier to draw that way." Nico stared at me. "You don't mean draw, like a picture, do you?" I looked at him, sarcasm showing plainly on my face. "Yes. I am so going to draw a picture with a huge sword." Nico shrugged. "If that's what you like to do." He said, his face telling me that he thought I was crazy. I gave him a blank look. "Dude. Sarcasm." Nico just narrowed his eyes at me, so a shook my head and pulled Palírroies off my neck.
Jason whistled as the charm turned into a full-sized gladius. "Sweet man, I've never seen one with a hilt like that." Everyone else looked at me, confused. "What kind of sword is that?" Annabeth asked, talking to me for the first time in weeks. I glanced sharply at her, and she looked down at the ground. I sighed. "It's a gladius. Don't you guys know this?" Everyone but Jason shook their heads. I looked at them confused for a second, but then my face cleared. "Oh, I forgot you guys weren't Romans." "What does that have to do with anything?" Katie asked. "Well," Jason explained. "That's a Roman sword."
Piper stared at me, a slight frown on her face. "Why would you need a Roman sword?" she asked, and for some reason her voice sounded a little, I don't know, possessive? "I'm a Roman." I said, and a little of my Roman pride crept into my voice. Max ruffled my hair. "And your Roman half has hubris coming out of the wazoo." She grinned at me. I pouted at her and was about to give her a snappy comeback when Travis piped in. "Percy, have hubris? I can't even form that mental image." Max smirked at him. "I can prove it. Watch."
She turned to me. "Perce, who would win in a fight, a Roman or a Greek?" "A Roman." I replied without hesitation. "Hey!" All the Greeks yelled. I gave them my wolf grin and their eyes got wide. "I'm sorry, it's the truth." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Yeah, man!" Jason said, giving me a high-five. Travis stared at me. "Alright, I have the mental image." Max laughed. "Admit it, Mr. Preator, you more than the healthy amount of pride." I pouted at her again. "Alright, I may have picked up on the ancient Roman tradition of extreme pride. But I don't have hubris." Max giggled. "Whatever you say, Surfer Boy." I huffed and pulled her into my arms. Annabeth looked like she could light Max on fire with her eyes.
Jason grinned and said, "Okay, who's next?" Max detangled herself from my embrace. "I'll go." She said before stepping into the circle we had all made. She glanced at two golden bands on her wrist before clicking them together. A six-inch blade slid out of each. Grover whistled. "Wow, they'll never see that one coming." At the sound of his voice, animals started drifting into the pavilion. Max looked at him. "Who's they?" Grover grinned. "Whoever you get pissed off at." We all laughed, but then abruptly stopped when we realized that Max sometimes got pissed off at us.
She grinned evilly before pulling a couple of feather-shaped hair pins out of her hair and throwing them. Halfway through their flight they changed into deadly silver daggers and there was a thunk as they hit the chairs on the other side of the pavilion. Clarisse looked impressed. "Wow, Bird Brain. That's pretty sweet." Max smiled at her before snapping her fingers. The pins reappeared in her hair, just like they were before she threw them.
Max walked back over to me and leaned against my arm. I leaned over and kissed the top of her head and she giggled. I smiled to myself. Max had been so scared and closed up when she first got to Camp Half-Blood. Now it was like a whole other side of her opened up, and I loved it. She leaned over and whispered in my ear. "What are you thinkin about, Perce?" "How much I love you." I whispered back. She hugged me and whispered to me again. "I have a present for you. After this is over meet me by the lake." I nodded and she turned around and walked out of the pavilion. I turned around to look at everyone's weapons, but I wasn't really paying attention "I wonder what she has for me?" I thought to myself.
Later-
Percy POV:
Everyone had finished showing their weapons. Jason had the master bolt, of course, but he had managed to shrink the canister down to hang on his lightning pendent. He also had a solid gold gladius named Fulgar. When he pulled it out Piper looked at him and her facial expression said, "Really?" Jason shrugged self-consciously and his face broke out into a grin. "I just couldn't help myself."
Nico had a new Stygian sword named Infernum and two daggers dipped in pit-scorpion venom. He named them Mortem and Morbo. Travis and Connor each had a cadecus like their father. Travis named his Ieiunium and Connor had named his Velox. They each also had a pair of hidden daggers. Travis' were named Nuntius and Furtum and Connor's were named Viator and Deceptio. Leo had created an ornate hammer named Ignis that looked like it should be in the hands of Thor, and Creare and Facere, two bracelets that shot out spikes with a twist of his wrist.
Katie had grown a long whip out of vines that she named Nemus. When she was done with her demonstration it wrapped itself around her arm of its own accord. She also had a ring named Apis that, when twisted, grew a sharp point. Grover had conjured a pan flute he named Tibia. When he started playing, we all started falling asleep. He broke the spell with his laughter after we all fell over and got tangled up together. Of course, he stopped laughing when Clarisse threatened to shove a spear up his ass. He also strung a horn over his shoulder that he said could cause panic, but one glare from Clarisse stopped that demonstration.
Thalia had summoned a silver bow with a refilling quiver that she named Lunae. She also had a belt buckled around her waist with sheaths that would never run out of knives. Clarisse had stepped forward with a slightly evil smile and showed us her MK 47, Odium, and her pistol, Butio. Will had a bow named Aurea that was just like Thalia's, only it was solid gold. He also had a sweet guitar that blasted out deadly waves of music whenever he strummed it. He could shrink it down to fit on a chain hanging around his neck. Piper had two daggers, one long and one short, named Amre and Unguenti. Rachel had two daggers that could change the relationship between people. Annabeth had a small flute that could call owls to her aid and a couple of daggers.
As soon as everyone was finished, I looked at Jason. "Hey, sorry, got to go." I said, then ran off. I quickly made my way over to the lake, eager to find out what Max had for me. I slowed down once I saw her sitting on the dock, her feet dangling off the edge. As soon as she noticed me, she smiled her dazzling smile. I sat beside her on the dock, our hands intertwined. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have Max, especially after Annabeth's betrayal. I smiled at her. "So, what do you have for me?"
She laughed. "Impatient, aren't you." I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed some more. Gods, I loved hearing her laugh. She deserved to laugh more after what she'd been through. Max smiled and pulled something out of her pocket, then held it up for me to see. Hanging from her hand was a delicate golden chain with a beautiful feather strung on it. It was light brown and streaked with gold. "It's mine." she said, squeezing my hand. I beamed at her. "It's beautiful." Max reached up and put it around my neck. As soon as the clasp closed I felt a little tingle, like feathers brushing against my mind. She leaned back. "Now, just think about the sky."
I wasn't quite sure where she was going with that, but I did what she said. I closed my eyes and thought of the liberating freedom that I would have if I could soar across the sky like a bird. Almost immediately, I felt the tingle again, this time stronger. I opened my eyes and gasped. Hanging around me like a curtain was a magnificent pair of cream-colored wings. They had streaks of blue running through them, and the ends off all the feathers were glinting silver. I blinked a few times to clear the amazement out of my head, then pulled Max in close. "Thank you." I whispered into her hair.
We pulled apart, but our hands were still entwined. She beamed at me. "I wanted you to be able to fly with me." She said. I stood up, and Max came with me. I gave her my crooked grin. "Well, what better time than now?" She smiled. "I can't think of any." We both took a running jump into the air, then began to ascend into the sky. Somehow I instinctively knew how to fly. I guess it had something to do with the pendent. We gained elevation, and the buildings and people were now like tiny ants. We twirled and twisted through the sky, laughing in sheer joy. Eventually we evened out, and our wings beat in unison. For once, I was truly, completely happy.
AN/ Next chapter's a time skip, and hopefully I'll introduce the Flock. Till next time!