LEAH V.
The showers were just what Leah would expect from a sort of country-esque summer camp.
They were simple and didn't require much thinking. Thankfully, they were also clean, so Leah made short work of her shower, making sure to drop her previous clothes back on her bunk in the cabin, and then she quickly made her way toward the arena where Chiron was supposedly waiting for her.
On her way there, several campers stopped and stared. Some whispered amongst themselves or to their friends, and then kept on their way. Some looked back as they were walking away.
Leah did the only smart thing and refused to give any of them the time of day or even a belief of recognition. She threw her braid over her shoulder and kept her eyes forward. It was what her mom had always told her to do, and she'd kept it in the back of her head since she was a child. It didn't hurt her any to do it then, and it definitely didn't hurt her now.
She finally stepped into the arena. The damage caused from yesterday was all repaired, even down to the meticulous details in each box that Leah had smashed on her way out. A part of her was upset and sorry for what she'd done, though she wouldn't admit to it. It was in the past, and it was done.
A sword fighting class was in progress as Leah walked in. Most of the campers didn't notice her and didn't pay attention. One or two turned to gape at her, as if she was a celebrity of some sort(which she technically was), only to be barked at by the instructor. With a start, Leah realized that Percy was the instructor. The class was about twenty students in all, and they were grouped together in pairs of two. Percy walked back and forth, correcting stances, answering questions, or handing out advice to anyone who needed it, though occasionally he yelled out among the entire group.
"Switch roles!" He called. There was a collective groan throughout the class, which Leah thought was a little funny, but they followed his words to a T. Now, the other kid in each pair was attacking while the other was defending. By Leah's own standards, most of them were decent, some were really good, and one or two needed a lot more work. In a fight against most monsters, she was sure they could handle their own. Against some of the smarter ones, or even other people, though, and they would be decimated.
Keeping those thoughts to herself, Leah quickly made her way over to Chiron, who was standing off against the wall of the arena, the same way he'd stood off when she had fought Percy. The old centaur noticed her before she made it to him, smiled, and issued her over.
Once she actually got over to him, Chiron was silent for a moment, watching the class take place. Leah decided to follow suit and watched as well. Percy was caught up in showing a kid the proper stance for offense, helping him hold his sword, and all that noise. The kid kept complaining-his sword was too heavy, the armor was uncomfortable, he didn't like holding a shield-but Percy was patient with him. Leah could admire that, remembering how much she complained when she was younger too.
Percy glanced up at Chiron and saw Leah. Casting her a smile, he pulled away from the kid to call out to the entire class.
"Class! Practice your stances, your balance, anything you aren't good at! If you're caught slacking, that's a lap around the entire arena!" He yelled. Several of the kids complained, but others nodded enthusiastically and moved away to do whatever. Watching over them for a moment, he nodded before turning around and dashing over to where Leah and Chiron stood.
"Percy, good teaching as always," Chiron complemented. Percy smiled, nodding. "Would you mind taking the advanced class after this too?"
Shaking his head, Percy shoved his hands into his pocket. "I've got nothing better to do this morning. Come afternoon, though, and I'm stacked," He glanced over at Leah, smiling. She smiled back. "Morning. Had a good nights rest?"
Leah hesitated, her dreams rushing back to her. Percy spoke like he'd assumed she'd dream like he'd experienced it all before. Despite her thoughts, she didn't let it show and nodded.
"Yeah, the cabin is nice," She responded. "It's pretty comfortable in there."
He nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty great. Have you gotten like a schedule or something? Y'know, like activities to do while you're here?"
She shook her head. "No, Annabeth said something like that too," She looked up at Chiron, raising an eyebrow. "Is that why you called me in?"
Chiron shook his head, his tail swathing through the air behind him. "Not exactly. I wanted to say that I wasn't planning on giving you a schedule. The classes we have here, be they regular or advanced, should not apply to you as it is. Regardless, if you want to join a class in progress, you're free to do so. I want your focus for the week to be finding a third for your quest and getting situated with what you know and what you don't so that when you leave on your quest, you have the knowledge you need to be prepared."
Leah gaped at him, unsure of what to say. Taking a deep breath, she smiled up at him.
"W-well, thanks, Chiron. I wouldn't really know what to do, s-so I guess I'll just roam around the camp for now," She looked over at Percy, who had stepped back to yell out instructions to his class again. "Maybe I'll just follow someone around. Like Ben, if I can find him."
The old centaur nodded, trotting back and forth in place. "Ben is usually out in the strawberry fields, or at the Big House in his room. He meditates mostly through the day, but he will be part of the advanced sword training class later on this afternoon. If you can't find him by then, I suggest just coming back to the arena."
She nodded, already messing around with her own personal schedule in her head.
"Okay, that's good. There's an archery field too, right?" She asked. Chiron nodded. "Okay, I plan to stick around there for most of the week. I suck at archery, and I don't know about Ben, but it'd be good to have a balanced team."
Chiron nodded along, his arms crossed over his chest. "It seems you have thought all of this out, Leah."
With a slight blush running across her face, Leah nodded again. "W-well yeah, I kinda have to. It's an important matter."
Smiling in agreement, he gestured out toward the rest of the camp.
"Then do with your time what you see fit. Today is Wednesday, and things change around depending on the day or so. Get accustomed to it all." With that, Chiron turned and trotted out of the arena. Leah saw him take a hard bank to the right of the entrance, and then he was gone. She was left in her thoughts for a moment before Percy came back over.
"Hey," He said calmly, gesturing toward the trail of dust Chiron had left in his wake. "You decided on what you gonna do?" He asked her. Honestly, Leah shrugged.
"Not exactly. I've got like a clear basis of a plan, but I dunno what I'll do right now." She replied. He nodded, seemingly understanding, before pointing out of the arena.
"Best thing I can think of is to just walk around and see what's going on. You'll find something eventually." He told her. Definitely not a clear plan, but she didn't have much else of an idea on what to do.
Leah began to back track out of the arena, waving off Percy as she did.
"Sounds like something, I guess," She told him. He shrugged, a glimpse of that crooked smile both of them often wore falling over his face. "I'll see you later, Percy."
"See ya, Leah." He replied as she turned around and walked out completely. Turning back to his class, he noticed that a pair was missing. Scouring around the arena, Percy spotted them way back behind the higher seats at the end of the arena. He already knew who it was, too.
"Jaina, Roland, that's an extra two laps for both of you!" He called out to them. The two kids perked up at his voice and immediately groaned before lugging themselves back toward the main group. Smiling, he turned to the rest of the class. "Alright, let's start endurance training." Another collective groan sounded out, but they listened and lessons were back on as normal.
It wasn't very hard to find the strawberry fields, seeing as they took up a good portion of the front of the camp. Getting there, though, Leah realized just how large they actually were. The sheer size would make it difficult to find Ben, but she was confident, in some aspect, that she could find him. After all, there weren't many people in the fields this time of day. She could count on both hands the total amount of heads that she could see so far, so it definitely wouldn't take long. At least, that was the hope.
She started off slowly. A couple campers were in the fields, closest to where she was, and she'd asked them for help first. The first two were skeptical to talk to her, and once she'd walked away she heard them whispering behind her. Rolling her eyes, Leah simply moved on to the next camper. He wasn't exactly eager to talk to her either, but he pointed her in a direction, hopefully leading somewhere.
"Thank you!" She called back to him as she ran off in said direction. He nodded after her a knelt back down to pick more strawberries.
The sun was beginning to bear down on Leah as she walked along. Wishing she'd dropped her losses and put on shorts, she kept moving forward; until she hit a snag in the road. That snag, though, was a person laying in the fields.
Luckily she saw him before she walked over and stepped on him, and she slowed to a stop just to look.
Just from looking for a moment, she could tell he was taller than her. Most people were, since she was only five foot five. He was definitely shorter than Ben, though. He was built like a runner, tall and lanky. His hair was platinum blond and, in the shining sunlight, it looked white and on fire. His skin was pale, despite him sitting in the sun, and was olive in tone.
He wore black skinny jeans and knee-high black boots that weren't tied, though the laces were short as it was anyway. He had a black belt with fake studs on it looped through his jeans, but over that he had three more just wrapped around his waist. That was confusing, no doubt.
The camp t-shirt he wore was extremely faded, to the point where the orange looked nearly pink and the black words and symbols on it were a very pale light gray. Around his neck, he wore a silver necklace with a thick pendant on the end. Engraved onto it was a closed eye. It creeped Leah out just looking at it, so she looked away.
His hands were clasped behind his head, keeping it off the ground, and his eyes were clasped shut. One leg was extended out into between the rows of strawberries and the other was kicked up over the first. The sun beat down on him, but the second Leah's shadow extended over his face, one of his eyes cracked open to look up at her. His eye was blue and cloudy, difficult to focus on, so she focused on his nose instead.
"Can I help you?" He asked her. He had some kind of accent, but she couldn't place it. It took her a moment to respond merely because she was trying to think of where he could be from.
"Oh, uh, sorry," She said, stepping back and letting the sun fall over him again. "I was looking for someone. Ben, do you know him?"
The guy shut his eye again and huffed out air. He didn't move, but he seemed to be thinking.
"Yea, yea. He should be a couple rows down from here. He moves fast, though, so you might wanna get goin'." He responded, tilting his head toward the sun once more. Leah shot up and looked out along the field. There were a few silhouettes here and there, but the closest one looked big enough to be Ben. She turned back to the kid laying down, though he couldn't see her, and nodded.
"Oh, thanks a lot!" She exclaimed before stepping over him and walking away through the rows of strawberries again. He mumbled something as she walked off, but Leah couldn't hear him and she didn't want to backtrack just to ask him what it was. Instead, she turned and walked away, her shadow falling away from him and letting the sun shine on him once again, as she made her way to the person who she assumed was Ben.
Luckily for her, it was Ben, though he was hard at work and he didn't even hear her walk up behind him.
From where she stood, a couple feet back and behind the next row of strawberries, Leah could see just how hard he'd been going. His shirt was drenched in sweat and his skin seemed to shine in the light because of how much he was sweating.
She heard him grunt, and then he pulled back to drop a handful of strawberries into one of the six baskets next to him. Four were completely full already, and the fifth was on its way there. The baskets themselves were huge, though. Clearly a lot bigger than regular ones, these were about the size of small laundry baskets.
Leah stood behind him for a minute or so before finally deciding to say something. Standing there for as long as she had, however, had made her throat go dry, and she had to clear her throat a bit. Ben heard her, his head perking up at the sound. A bit of movement, mainly his arms moving across his chest and face, and he turned around to face her.
His face was beaded with sweat, but aside from that, he looked normal. Ben smiled up at her, dropping the strawberries he had in his open palm into the half full basket before standing up, wiping his hands on his shirt. The camp shirt, a tank-top variant no doubt, was growing darker and darker the more he sweat, and the bottom was coated with a fine layer of red liquid. Strawberry juices, or that's what Leah suspected.
"Hey," He said, panting as he spoke. "I see you've gotten your day started." Leah nodded in response.
"Well, yeah. Chiron called me out as soon as I woke up," She told him, looking around at the fields as she spoke. "I've got a nice outline for my quest and all."
Ben nodded along, stretching now that he was finally standing up again.
"Okay, cool. Have you decided on who you're going to take?" He asked her, head tilted in question.
"Oh, right, about that," She started. "I wanted you to go with me. You're the first person who was legitimately nice to me here, and I appreciate that."
A slight blush crept onto his face, though thanks to having darker skin it was near impossible to see. Leah continued, though.
"It helps that you're as skilled as you are. Despite being the pacifist that you are, I saw what you could do when we were in the forest. That, and afterward, in the infirmary. The way both you and Will worked on Miranda, I was a bit inspired. Annabeth and the others suggested that I round my team out as best as possible, and I feel like you'd fit really well alongside me and my strengths."
There was a moment of silence where Ben simply let her words sink in. He didn't much like praise, but he had to admit that it at least felt good to hear it all coming from her.
"That's, uh...that's nice to hear and all," He reached up to rub at the back of his neck. "Honestly, I don't think I deserve the praise that you're giving me. I just...try to be the best that I can be. Regardless of all of that, I'm honored you want me going with you, and I, uhm...accept your offer, Leah. I'd love to help you out, however I can."
Leah beamed, maybe a bit bigger than she'd meant to.
"You would? Wow, great. Great, that's actually...that's great. Thanks, Ben, thanks uh, a lot." A tinge of red touched her face at just how flustered she sounded. In her mind, there was no way Ben would accept. It was a dangerous quest, and she'd be surprised if anyone wanted anything to do with her after the things she'd said already.
He nodded at her, and then looked down at all the strawberries that he'd picked. He was due to have all six baskets back before his advanced sword classes, and there was no doubt that it was coming close. Looking back to Leah, he gestured towards the fruit with his hand.
"I could use a little help, just to get these things filled in time," He knelt down once again, hefting up the baskets to get them out of the way. "Mind lendin' a hand?"
Leah took note of a bit of an accent in his voice there before nodding and kneeling down next to him, sitting on her knees.
"I don't mind at all. Point me where you need me and I'll get to it." She replied, clasping her hands together as she did. Ben smiled and pointed down the line, just a bit away from where he already was.
"I can handle this bit of the line here. We'll go until the last basket is filled, alright?" He picked a strawberry as an example, dropping it into the half full basket. Leah nodded enthusiastically.
"Gotcha. Let's get this done soon, there are some classes that I want to hang around in." She replied. Without another word, Ben bent back down over the bush and began pulling away at the strawberries. Leah watched him for a moment, just to pick it up, and then she turned away to start on her own section. It was definitely harder than she thought it was, and the strawberries themselves were nearly the size of her entire palm. Maybe it was because her hands were just small, but they still definitely felt humongous. In five minutes, she'd managed to pick four. Looking back at Ben, he'd pulled out a dozen in half that time. He was experienced, she noted. She sighed, threw her braid over her shoulder, and leaned back over the bush, determined to make at least half of Ben's total.
Twenty minutes later, Leah barely had a fourth of the amount that Ben had. Luckily, the baskets were finally full, so she didn't have to try as much anymore. Ben told her that they now had to take the strawberries to the Big House, which she had no problem with. Ben took four of the baskets, two on each arm, and Leah extended her spear, and then hung the other two baskets on either side of the spear, which she held over her shoulders. They hefted the baskets back, dropping them by Argus, who scared the living daylights out of Leah before they left to freshen up before classes.
Afterward, both of them sat on the porch of the Big House, relaxing with drinks. Ben had a glass of lemonade, and Leah had a glass of ice water. Most of the time they sat there, they were silent. A few times, they talked about their lives. Leah had learned that Ben was from North Carolina, that he was an only child, and that he only had one uncle and three cousins. Likewise, Ben learned that Leah was from Georgia, that she had an older step-brother, and that she didn't know much about her extended family.
"So your mom never talked about her family?" Ben asked her, sipping from his glass. Since the strawberry fields, he had changed into a pair of light cargo shorts, a different tank-top camp shirt, and athletic running shoes. He had on some wooden jewelry, like a monk would wear, like beads around his neck, a few rings on his index and pinkies, and a single bracelet on his right arm. His shades were still perched atop his nose.
Leah shrugged, pushing her glass around with a stray hand. Every time a drop of water dared to fly out, she redirected it back with her finger, dropping it right back into the glass. She'd also changed, into black shorts that stuck close to her legs, a thin long-sleeved camp shirt, and her black boots. She'd made a detour to go back to her cabin to grab the roll of gauze that Ben had given her before, and now it was in her pocket alongside the pearl.
"I never really asked. I'd thought about it a lot, but I didn't say anything," She sighed, leaning back into her chair and pulling her braid back over her shoulder. "I always asked my brother, Marshall, about his dad, though. I liked hearing about him."
Ben nodded, drinking from her glass again.
"What was he like, then?" He asked. Leah raised an eyebrow and he continued. "Marshall, I mean. He was a cool brother?"
She laughed a little, letting her head fall back against the chair that she sat in.
"He was the best. Overprotective, but it was great. He didn't let our lack of blood change anything. I was always his sweet little sister and nothing would change that," She sighed again, sounding a little more dejected and sad. "I was upset when he left for college, but he always wrote to me and my mom. I kept his letters in a box in my room."
Smiling, Ben sat up from his chair. He was about to say something when someone called from across the yard, waving toward them. He was tall and lanky, though taller than the kid that Leah had walked over earlier in the strawberry fields. His hair was more vibrant, easily regular blond, and his eyes were an intense gray, not cloudy blue. Leah realized that he reminded her of Annabeth a bit. They must've been siblings.
The son of Athena quickly made his way to the porch, where both Ben and Leah turned to face him.
"Hey, Ben," He quickly turned to Leah, nodding. "Leah," Then he turned back to Ben, addressing him. "Advanced sword classes start in a couple minutes. Percy wants us all to be in there now. You comin, right?"
Mouthing out an 'Ohh', Ben nodded and stood up.
"Yeah, of course, Ian. Guess I lost track of time, then." He replied. Ian flashed him a lazy smile and shrugged.
"To each their own, Benny. I'll be waiting for you in the arena." With another nod to Leah, he turned around to jog to the arena, leaving Ben and Leah on the porch.
Ben began to stretch, groaning as his joints popped, albeit quietly. He then looked back to Leah, head tilted.
"You're still coming, right?" He asked her, leaning back against the porch railing. She pulled her head up to look at him. Her eyes were slightly lidded, tired from work that she wasn't used to.
After a moment of thought, Leah yawned and nodded.
"Yea, yea, sure. I should be looking for other people, outside of close combat specialists, for the quest, but it couldn't hurt too badly," She pulled herself out of her seat and, grabbing her glass of ice cold water, dumped it on her head. Her eyes blasted open, though she still moved with the grace of a lazy cat. 'Let's get going, Ben."
The advanced class wasn't too big, consisting of just a dozen or so of campers. They were all clearly older than the kids from the beginner's classes, and Leah was surprised to see that Nico was apart of the class. He stood near the wall, wearing all black as usual, but with his coat slung over his arm. His black sword hung at his side, and Leah wondered if she'd see him use it today.
Percy stood at the head of the arena, as he did earlier that day. His hair was wet and matted down, suggesting either sweat or he'd poured water on his head the same way that Leah did. His sword, Riptide, Leah remembered, was in his hand, and his watch, the shield one, was secured around his other wrist.
Once they got into the arena, Leah and Ben split off. Ben walked over to the weapons rack, where Ian was standing around, and struck up a conversation. Leah herself strayed towards the bleachers, where she promptly sat down just to watch. Percy saw her from a distance and waved, to which she lazily reciprocated. Quickly, he pulled his class together.
"Alright, let's get this going," He called out, clearly more lax than he was earlier. Maybe the younger kids needed a little bit more force in their lessons. "We're doing advanced sword drills and dueling today, guys, so let's get partnered up so we can start immediately."
Everyone nodded along and began pushing their way out towards their friends or so. Ben and Ian were about to partner up before Percy caught them.
"Hey, Ben, Ian, change of plans, alright?" He told them, pulling them to the side. Ian raised an eyebrow, a flick of nervousness crossing his face.
"Change of plans how, Perce?" He asked, hefting his sword up over his shoulder. It looked to be just under three feet, though it seemed unbalanced for him.
Percy pointed towards Ian. "You've been lacking lately. So I planned on partnering with you, just to help you out a bit."
Ian took on a look of ease, a lazy smile gracing his face. Ben raised an eyebrow, though.
"Wait, so what about me?" He asked, sticking his own sword into the dirt. It wasn't the same one he'd had in the forest, but it was fairly identical.
Percy smiled mischievously. "I didn't forget about you, Ben. You're good where you are on this stuff, so I thought you could handle a bit more."
At his call, Nico stepped out of the shadows, hanging his coat on a peg in the wall that Leah hadn't seen before. He walked over, standing at Ben's side and nodding toward Percy.
"Nico's going to be your partner today," He stated matter-of-factly. "He's one of our best, so I'm sure you'll be pushed further than before."
Ben looked nervous, and Leah was sure he'd say something against it. Instead, though, he sighed and nodded.
"Sure then, I guess...," He looked toward Nico, rubbing the back of his neck as he did. "Keep it clean?" He asked. Nico grinned and nodded.
"I wouldn't fight any other way." He stated calmly before turning and stepping back to an empty section of the arena. A lot of the others had already started, seemingly knowing exactly what techniques they'd be going over. Leah spotted some incredible moves, like twisting and using the point of the sword to disarm people. She herself wasn't that good with a sword, she was a spearwoman by trade, so she could respect it.
Still, watching a sword fighting class wasn't of top priority. She'd wanted to see just how good the rest of the camp was. She'd witness some level of skill from Ben, and she'd experienced how good Percy was. He was the top dog, though, from what she'd heard. He was the best sword fighter at the camp, and if the rest were at least close to his level, Leah would have to change her opinion of the place.
Soon, Percy and Ian moved off to practice on their own. Ian's sword was unbalanced, and Percy had to help him pick out a better one. Meanwhile, Ben and Nico had moved off and took basic stances. They were farther away now, so Leah couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could clearly see their mouths moving. She couldn't read lips, so she merely watched instead.
Suddenly, and without warning, Nico lept forward with a stab aimed at Ben's throat. Leah saw the taller boy tense up for a moment before he pulled his sword in to quickly smack the blade away. Moving with the motion of his sword, Nico spun back and slashed out across Ben's chest. Ben met it with the flat of his blade, and Leah saw him twist his wrist outward, pushing Nico's black sword back and out while also push his own inward. Nico's sword slipped out of his hand, and the point of Ben's was close to slashing out across his neck. 'This has gotta be it.' Leah thought.
Nico whipped his right arm back, letting his sword fall from his grip. Maybe he was giving up, Leah thought. Instead, though, he ducked to the right, dodging Ben's slash, and plucked his sword out of the air with his left hand. Stepping inward and putting his right foot against Ben's, Nico dipped forward and swiped upward, slicing through Ben's shirt as he frantically stepped back. The taller boy panted, the shades over his eyes gleaming in the sunlight. There was a crack in the corner of the right lens, but Ben didn't seem to notice.
Grinning, Nico swapped his sword back to his right hand, taking up a simple offensive stance. He was ambidextrous, as Leah was. Ben sighed and pulled his sword up again.
"You've got some moves, Ben. I can see that," Nico commented aloud, taking a tentative step closer. Ben stood his ground. "But you have to open your mind to your opponents and what they can do, as well. That's how you get the most out of your skills."
He jumped in again, another stab at Ben's throat. Ben followed the past and smacked the blade away, though this time he moved with his own momentum and spun, slashing out wide toward Nico's chest. With a flick of his wrist, Nico pulled his sword back and deflected the slash off the flat of his blade, sending it upward. Taking his sword with both hands, Nico sent a strong downward slash across Ben's chest. Once again, it was deflected, and Nico stepped in following the motion of his sword. He pulled up, another strong upward swipe that slashed through the front of Ben's shirt again. There was no blood, so the sword hadn't nicked him, but it was dangerously close.
Refusing to stagger, Ben stepped in again, using his height advantage to block Nico's sight. The smaller boy squinted, completely covered in Ben's taller shadow. The hairs on the back of Leah's neck stood up as Ben brought his sword down with both hands. She flinched a little, only to see that Ben's shadow had risen up out of the ground. It was solid, like a wall, and Ben's sword was stuck in it.
The son of Hades quickly rounded the dark wall, slashing out across Ben's face. The wall dropped as he did so, but Ben was hunched over, staggered. He was forced to let go of his sword or lose his nose, and in the end, he let go. The black blade swiped across Ben's shades, slicing them in half as Ben fell backward onto his back. Leah thought she saw a flash of orange, maybe blood in the sunlight, before Ben's hand came up to cover his eyes.
Nico stuck his sword in the ground immediately and knelt down at Ben's side. Practices around them were still going on as normal, but Percy squinted in their direction, just to be safe.
Ben sat up, his hand still over his eyes, and spoke to Nico quietly. As far as Leah could see, there was no blood. Maybe the sunlight had bounced off a shard of his shades weirdly, but Leah was curious.
Slowly, she stood up from where she was sitting and quickly walked her way over. Nico was still knelt by Ben's side, talking in low voices, but as he saw her, he quieted down. Ben had dropped his hand so that it was only covering his right eye. There was a slight slash through the corner of his left eyebrow, but his eyes themselves seemed fine. The slashes through his shirt were thin; they hadn't done much at all.
Squatting down next to Nico, despite herself, Leah tilted her head.
"You good, Ben?" She asked, her hands in the pockets of her shorts. They made her a bit uncomfortable, but she could deal. "I saw the fight," She glanced at Nico with a nod. "You're good."
He shrugged, directing his attention back to Ben. "I practice more often than not. Never hurts to be prepared." He responded. One hand was on Ben's shoulder, just for support.
The taller boy sighed and sat up, dropping his hand completely. There was a slight nick next to his eye, much too small to be from the sword, Leah assumed.
"I think a shard of glass from my shades hit me," Ben stated through breaths, confirming Leah's guess. He looked up at Nico with a slight smirk. "What happened to keeping it clean?"
Shrugging again, Nico stood up, helping Ben to his feet.
"It's like I said, you have to know what your opponent can do," He stuck his hands in his pockets. It didn't look like he'd broken a sweat at all. "You've seen me bend shadows. Your height in this sunlight is better for me than it is for you."
Ben looked down at his shadow as if it'd suddenly stand up again, and sighed.
"I was thinking more tactically than personally," He said, flexing his arm to relieve some strain. "I try to keep the two separate. I don't like fighting enough as it is."
Nico nodded. "I know that much. In these drills though, you have to be able to bend your mind to the situation. Be liquid, Ben."
Cracking his neck, Ben nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I get you. Come on, let's get it started again. I'm working myself into a pattern that I need to break."
Leah sighed and started to walk away, back to the bleachers, before she noticed something on the ground. Bending over to pick it up, it looked like a large shard of Ben's shades. There was a clean cut where Nico had slashes them in half, and the front side was still whole, despite a few cracks in it. The back of the lens, however, where Ben's eye would've been, was burned and melted. It drooped a little as Leah held it, and then the heat of it reached her. She dropped it immediately and watched as it melted further, fusing into the ground a bit.
That was...weird. What would've made it melt like that? It could've been something to do with Nico's sword, but Leah wasn't so sure. Glancing back at Ben and Nico, who had stepped off to get back into stance, Leah quickly made her way back to the bleachers. She'd mull it over, but for now, she'd just watch the fights. It was a learning experience, after all.
The training went on for another hour and a half. Occasionally, the campers switched partners and went on afterward. Ben and Nico, however, remained partners for the duration of the course. They never switched, and their fight ended, in the same way, each time. Ben, on his back or on one knee on the ground, whereas Nico stood above him, barely breaking a sweat. It was funny, in a way, but Leah didn't laugh about it. Not out loud, anyway.
Ben was on his back again when Percy finally stuck his sword, after turning it back to a pen, into his pocket and then standing back in front of the whole class.
"Alright, we're done for today!" He called. Ian, who was lying on his back on the ground and drenched in sweat, cried out in relief. Most of the other campers ignored him. "I would say we'll come back day after tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow is Friday! And you all know what that means!"
There was an assortment of cheers and some groans were thrown into the mix. Leah was on her way, walking over to where Nico and Ben stood against the back wall. The son of Hades had pulled his coat back on, and as she got closer, Leah realized that the air itself was a bit cold around him. She shivered a bit but hid it well as she stopped near them. Ben was scowling, his eyes downcast.
"Ugh. I hate Fridays." He said, holding his head in his hands. Usually, that kind of talk at Leah's old school would get you socially rejected. Here at camp, though it seemed to be a popular opinion, as Nico nodded his agreement.
"It's actually the worst," Nico commented, crossing his arms over his chest. "Lucky me, hiding in the dark is my specialty."
Ben groaned. "Yeah, lucky you," He finally looked up, spotting Leah, and waved a little. "Hey. You done here too?"
She nodded, tossing her braid up over her shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm really just exploring at this point," She responded before leaning in. "So, what happens on Friday?"
Nico leaned up off of the wall, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Capture the Flag. Happens every Friday with the whole camp practically split into two."
Leah's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Capture the flag? What's so bad about that?"
Groaning again, Ben looked up at her, pushing himself off of the wall. "You fight with real weapons and armor and all. Whatever you can get in with you, you're allowed to use. I can't really participate at all, but I'm usually roped in with the rest of my cabin."
"Oh. Oh, yeah, that kinda sucks," She responded, kicking the toe of her shoe into the dirt of the arena floor. Then she looked at Nico, an eyebrow raised. "What about you? Why don't you like it?"
The son of Hades merely shrugged, a weird smile on his face. "I just don't like participating. I have before, but I've got a feeling I won't feel like it this Friday," He ran a hand through his hair, tussling his hair even more. "With the way it's looking, the game'll be over in no time."
Leah tilted her head in question. "What do you mean by that?"
Nico looked past Leah, to where Percy was rearranging the swords on the sword rack.
"The Athena cabin and the Ares cabins are the head of the alliances right now, as they usually are," He told her, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "The Athena cabin has an ever-lasting alliance with both the Poseidon and the Hades cabins, meaning that Annabeth, me, Hazel, and Percy would all be on the same team. You too, if Chiron lets you participate."
A bit of a chill ran down her spine at the thought of that. Imagining Percy, Nico, and Annabeth all on one team was terrifying enough as it was, but she had no idea what Hazel could do. Her eyes were scary enough, but it made her shiver just thinking about it.
"What about the other cabins?" She asked, looking at Ben. "Who do the Ares cabin have on their side?"
Ben sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, I know they've made a temporary alliance with both the Apollo cabin and the Demeter cabin. They'll have traps and archery on their side, but it's nothing new really," Ben shoved his hands into his pockets. "Surprisingly, they have the Hypnos cabin too, but I can't really expect too much out of them."
Leah rubbed her chin. There were lots more cabins than that, but she couldn't think of all of them at the moment.
"Zeus cabin?" She asked. Nico shook his head.
"Jason isn't technically apart of the Camp right now since he's here on official business. He doesn't get to play."
"Maybe the Hephaestus cabin then?" She asked, looking to Ben.
"They've sided with us too. I think Leo just wants to mess with Percy, though."
"Hmm...Aphrodite cabin?" She asked. Ben tilted his head in Percy's direction.
"Allianced with Athena. They don't really fight, so much as they make sure everyone else's armor is good."
"What about the Hermes cabin, then?" She asked them.
"Surprisingly, they're on the Ares Cabin's team," Ben answered. "I think Clarisse has exchanged chore duties and free time to get them on her side. They don't usually side with us."
"Hm...anyone else to worry about?" She asked, starting to actually get into the idea of it.
Ben rubbed his chin thoughtfully, crossing one arm over his chest. Nico got a faraway look in his eye before nodding.
"Kind of," He said, leaning up off of the wall. "There's the Morpheus cabin, but there's only one camper in there. He's on our side, mainly because he can't stand the Hypnos cabin."
Leah tilted her head, surprised to not have heard of him at all.
"What's he good at?" She asked, to which Nico merely shook his head in response.
"I've got no idea. I only ever see him lying around camp, doing pretty much nothing," He replied, sticking his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Chiron gets pretty upset with him, but I've still never seen him do much."
She frowned, letting her arms fall limp at her side.
"Well, that's no good." She said, losing a bit of interest. It sounded like Athena's side would win, since they had strong fighters like Percy and Nico. Then again, the Ares cabin was full of fighters, and the Hephaestus cabin could be dangerous. The thought that maybe Chiron wouldn't let her participate was clear at the forefront of her mind, though. Sighing, she waved it off.
"Well, it's whatever. I guess we wait until Friday to see, then." She commented. Nico nodded and turned to walk out of the arena, where Percy met him and they left together. Ben and Leah glanced at each other before shrugging and leaving after them. It had gotten significantly darker, but it was still only the afternoon. There were no more classes to be held after that one, so they essentially had down time until dinner, Ben told her. Ben went off to shower, and Leah decided she'd spend a bit of time watching the archery range. After all, it'd be the best choice for her quest. It made sense.
It took her longer to find than she would've wanted to admit. Thankfully, a camper pointed her in the right direction, and in a matter of minutes, she'd gotten there. The range was nothing too special to look at, so Leah didn't waste time looking at specific details. It seemed a class had just concluded, as Chiron was walking away with a group of kids, all armed with bows and quivers of arrows. They hadn't seen her, which was surprising, but she'd paid no mind to it.
There was a small patch of tall grass nearby, so Leah sat down in it. It itched her arms a little, but it was comfortable. She trained her eyes on the field and the path that lead up to it for a while. Seconds passed, then minutes, and eventually half an hour. By that point, Leah had fallen over on her back, her eyes shut, nearly asleep.
The sound of an arrow piercing the air startled her, forcing her awake. She sat up slowly, struggling to remember where she even was when another arrow flew through the air ahead of her. Her mind cleared up, and she sat forward slowly. First, she looked down the range toward the targets. They were simple circle targets, though there were a few bigger ones in the shapes of things like giants and cyclopses.
Leah almost gasped out loud, though she remembered to cover her mouth. The circle target in use had four arrows sticking out of its center. All bullseyes. She watched as another arrow whistled through the air and stuck deep into the center again. Whoever this person was, they were great with a bow. She turned to look back, only to see that whoever was shooting was cloaked in shadows. It had gotten even darker than before, making it very hard to see. She squinted, leaning slowly out of the bush to see.
She heard a sigh, then saw the figure pull back on their bow once again, watching for a moment before releasing and letting another arrow fly. Another bullseye. Leah was amazed and was getting ready to step out of the bush, only to hear a loud gong-type thing. Suddenly, the sound of a lot of doors slamming open sounded afterward.
The person at the range swore under their breath, and Leah saw them run down the range to grab all their arrows out of the target. In the dark, it was hard to make anything out. It looked like a guy, but she really couldn't tell. He was tall, wearing mostly black, and his head was covered. The quiver on his back was black too. If anything, Leah would've thought it was Nico. The problem, though, was that this guy was too tall to be Nico.
He slid all his arrows back into his quiver and then turned around to walk away. Leah couldn't see his face still, though she did catch a glimpse of something hanging around his neck, though she couldn't tell what it was. He turned and ran off, a long black coat billowing behind him as he did. Leah waited a couple minutes before getting up and dusting herself off. There were stray bits of grass in her hair and on her shirt which she promptly swept off of herself.
Looking down from where she could see, she saw a sea of campers moving off toward what she assumed was the dining pavilion. Ben had told her about it, so she assumed it must've been dinner time. Leah picked herself up as best as she could before sprinting down toward everyone, hoping she wouldn't make herself look stupid by coming in late. That'd be a bit ridiculous.
Luckily she wasn't late. Just as she neared the group, Percy came out of their cabin. He yawned, scratching the back of his neck, and walking slowly to join the flood of people. He saw her, after taking a moment to rub his eyes, and met up with her quickly.
"Hey," He said, yawning half-way through talking. "You find somethin' to do waiting for dinner?"
She yawned herself, painfully aware now that she'd fallen asleep in a bush.
"Sort of. I camped at the archery range for a bit, to see if I could find someone for the quest."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Any luck with that?"
Leah shook her head. "Not really. I got there a little late after the class ended, so I just sat there a bit longer," She didn't want to admit that she'd stayed there the entire time. "I did see someone really good, but it was dark and I couldn't see who it was. Kinda sucks."
He mimicked a stab through the heart and then shoved his hands into his pockets, casting her the same crooked grin she often wore.
"This camp is full of people. It'd be a pain to try and find whoever that was," He replied, watching as the crowd began to fill into the dining pavilion. "Did you see anything like, really obvious about them?"
Leah began to think for a moment before sighing and giving up immediately. "Nah. It was a guy, as far as I could tell. He was taller than me but shorter than Ben. He was wearing all black, quiver and everything. I couldn't make out what his bow looked like, nor could I see his face. It looked like he was wearing something around his neck, but I couldn't tell what it was."
Reaching toward his neck, Percy flicked the camp bead necklace around his neck. "Everyone wears these. That doesn't help too much."
She shook her head, subconsciously stepping around a giant scar in the ground as both her and Percy walked into the dining pavilion.
"No, not like that. It looked kinda like a chain, like a big one, y'know?" She said, following Percy and taking a seat across from him where he sat. "It wasn't a camp necklace, at the very least."
A small group of people swarmed into the pavilion after they sat down, including the kid that Leah had seen in the strawberry fields, and soon the place was buzzing with chatter. Percy shrugged, idly turning away to wave at Annabeth and the others around the place. Turning back to her, he raised an eyebrow, a concerned look on his face.
"A lot of the campers here still wear their own jewelry, Leah. It'd still be pretty hard to find em." He told her, crossing his arms over his chest. Leah sighed, slumping forward and letting her forehead touch the table.
"Ugh, this seems hopeless," She murmured into the table. Percy tilted his head to the side, looking down at her, his eyebrows knit tight.
"Don't look at it like that," He said, tapping his finger on the table. "You have like a week or two here, right? That's plenty of time."
She slowly turned her head up, looking at him through strands of her hair. She blew some of it out of the way, only for it to fall back in front of her eyes regardless. Leah sighed.
"I guess so. I've just always liked getting things out of the way as fast as possible, y'know?" Leah sits up, balancing her head on both arms. The pavilion is full now, and Chiron is up front, alongside a pot-bellied man who looks strangely out of place. He casts her a glare, but soon looked away as Grover, the satyr she'd met before, walked up to him. She sighed again. "I guess I can take it slow for now."
Percy smiled at her. "That's the spirit. Don't stress about it all. There are people here who can help you, don't forget to take that when you can."
Despite the thoughts in her head-an overlapping sense of failure, before she'd even started-she smiled and sat up fully, rubbing the back of her neck once she found there was a bit of strain there.
"You're right. I'll be here for a bit, and it never really hurts to take your time," She pulled her braid over her shoulder, running her fingers through her hair just to do something. "I'll keep as calm as possible about all this. Thanks, Percy."
Her half-brother shrugged, grinning. "No worries, Leah. It's practically what I'm here for," He glanced away from her. Food was whisking around through the air-wind spirits, Leah assumed-and Percy smiled again. "Come on. Once you get your food, we make an offering to the Gods."
Leah nodded, a plate of roast beef sliding across the table to stop in front of her. "Oh, yeah. My mom constantly made me do the same, back at home," her eyes clouded over, but in an instant, it was gone. "I'm sort of used to it."
Percy raised an eyebrow but didn't question her at all. She appreciated that and stood up, taking her plate in hand. Already, streams of campers were walking toward the roaring fire at the front of the pavilion. Leah took note that the kid from the strawberry fields hadn't gotten up. He'd already started eating. She wanted to question him, but it'd be awkward to do so.
Eventually, she stood in front of the fire, a section of her meal separated off already. Despite that, she had no idea what to say at all. She stood there for a while, thinking it over before she sighed and scraped a portion of roast beef off into the fire. She said nothing and quickly made her way back to the table where she sat with Percy. He nodded at her and left her to eat with her thoughts.
