"Good luck," the camper said, with a smirk riding his mouth, and Percy got the feeling that it was sarcasm. He shrugged, quirking a nervous grin of his own.
"Maybe he'll go easy on me," Percy said, ignoring the snort that served as the reply. They were friends, after all- it was plausible, right?
He walked towards the center of the arena, heart heavy and sword strange in his grip. Luke was waiting for him, blue eyes reflecting the afternoon sun. Percy aimed his smile at Luke, who reciprocated with more enthusiasm. When their swords clashed, the sound echoed through the camp, bringing in all the other campers' attention.
They took a break when Percy lost count of the cuts and bruises he had received. The class gathered around the cooler and benches, sipping from ice-cold water bottles. Luke tossed him one, pouring the contents of his own over his head. Percy copied the movement swiftly, feeling fresh adrenaline rush through his body.
He was stopped by his puzzlement by Luke, who had stood and was gesturing at the others to do so. "Okay, everybody circle up!" He shouted. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo." He grinned over at Percy, who just shrugged, not feeling like it was much of an option.
The Hermes kids formed around the two, suppressing snarky expressions and holding amused glints in their irises. Percy listened raptly as the blond spoke, fingers clenching at his sword.
"This is difficult," Luke stressed, addressing them all. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."
He demonstrated the move in slow motion, the blade clattering out of Percy's hand. He hurried to retrieve it, looking at Luke for further instructions.
"Now in real time," he said, glancing at Percy. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"
Percy nodded, dodging just in time as Luke came after him. He managed to reflect a few moves and put in a strike of his own, shocking the cabin leader and himself. Something changed in the way he saw the fight, like he had trained for this for years.
It didn't take long until the sword started to grow heavier in his palm, the rush of energy starting to diminish. In a last attempt, he tried the move, putting all his weight into making Luke's sword hit the ground.
It met the ground with a clash, and Luke's eyes lit up in a way he hadn't seem them do before.
The night of capture the flag was lively, as if the excitement of the demigods helped fuel the light of the stars of the chills of the wind. Percy watched as his tutor, Annabeth, ran up to the pavilion with two of her sisters and a silver silk flag. Clarisse held a gaudy red banner of her own, smirking deviously in a way that reminded him of Nancy.
He turned to the blond next to him at the table, yelling over the noise. "Those are the flags?"
Luke squinted at him. "Yeah."
"Ares and Athena lead the teams?"
"Not always," Luke said, turning his attention back to the commotion. "But often."
Percy thought about that for a moment. "So, if another cabin catches one, what do you do? Re-paint the flag?"
Luke glanced at him briefly, as if considering. "You'll see," he decided.
Percy hummed, the last question rolling off his tongue. "Whose side are we on?"
The outline of his face against the raging glow of the torches pulled itself into a sly expression, scar running down his features adding a menacing touch. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena," he said, tone telling and yet revealing nothing. "Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."
The next series of events went by in a blur, Chiron's speech echoing in his head. Luke helped him with the armor, nimble fingers making quick work of the complicated straps Percy would have spent hours on. The armor weighed him down, but Luke assured him it was worth the protection, handing Percy a bronze sword.
The son of Hermes looked around at the tables briefly, before selecting a polished helmet with a blue plume. He pulled it down on Percy's head, giving him his position and going off to assist the others.
Annabeth yelled something to the team and Percy joined in with the cheers, following the group down into the south woods. He had to struggle to catch up with Annabeth, trying not to be deterred when she just kept on marching despite his efforts.
He finally matched her pace, boots thudding against the soft soil of the woods. "So, what's the plan?" After he received no answer, Percy pressed on. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"
Her hand drifted to her pocket suspiciously, and Percy raised his eyebrow. They survived the bathrooms together, escaped from the Ares kids- surely she realized that he wasn't going to steal from her after that?
He suppressed the sigh, listening when she talked. "Just watch Clarisse's spear," Annabeth warned. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"
He nodded. "Border patrol, whatever that means."
"It's easy," she said. "Just stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." She pushed forward, leaving him in the dust.
"Glad you wanted me on your team," he murmured, trotting along with the rest of the group.
The night further into the woods was sticky and hot, fireflies clinging to the trees. Percy was left behind with a large bronze shield and an unbalanced sword, sulking as his teammates won the game. He distinctly wondered what Luke and the others were doing, and if he should actually care. Maybe the son of Hermes just uses all the new campers as pillows and then leaves them out to wallow in creeks.
A kid with a blue plume rushed passed, running over the borderline and into enemy territory. The leather grip on Percy's sword pulled down on his wrist, ears listening to the gentle sounds of the water pouring over rocks and wishing he were somewhere else.
Somewhere lost in his own thoughts the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, attention sharpening on its own account. He squinted out in the dark, jumping when the underbrush exploded and a cluster of Ares kids came rushing out of the makeshift hiding spot.
"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screeched, leading the ambush. He managed to dodge the first swing, just bringing his shield up in time to block Clarisse's spear. His hair stood up and the air smoked, and even though he recognized it as electricity it didn't seem to hurt.
The next swing did, however, and he hit the dirt. Percy watched as the four gathered around him, laughing.
"Give 'em a haircut," Clarisse snickered. "Grab his hair."
Percy stumbled to his feet, sword ready and eyes wary. Clarisse's spear slammed into his sword, but it didn't bother him, even as electricity ran up his arms.
"The flag's that way," he told them, not liking his chances, even if Clarisse's spear wasn't too effective. The sharp swords of her siblings would make up for that.
"Yeah," one of the kids snarled. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."
"You do that all on your own," he shot back, feeling daring and suicidal.
The effect was immediate. Two of them rushed forward, distracting him from Clarisse's spear, which dug straight into his ribs. It didn't do any major damage, thanks to his chest plate, but the small consolation was ruined when an Ares kid slashed his weapon against Percy's arm.
Seeing his own blood woke up something inside of him. The water in the creek churned, the ground rumbled slightly. Clarisse's spear buzzed unnaturally with wicked power, and he didn't know what was going on, didn't care.
Something was awakening.
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