AN: Thanks for the positive feedback! :) It's really encouraging.
Windpipe Chokes are not Fun
I was drop dead tired (ha ha) when Will Solace dragged me out of the infirmary by my hair. Phoenyx had looked wide awake and alert, last I had seen. She had slept for twenty hours. I hadn't. I'm not a morning person anyway. Solace practically had to carry me back to Cabin 13, where I decided to take a shower. The warm water running down my neck helped me clear my head and think. Or not think, if I needed it.
It had been a strange three days. Two nights prior, I had experienced a really strange dream. Not like the kind where your spirit takes a road trip, but like I was witnessing somebody's story. Phoenyx's, to be exact. The early days, in the late eighteen hundreds. I didn't know what to think. I guess I should have told Phoenyx about it, but things went kind of quickly.
After rinsing the shampoo and conditioner from my black mop, I quickly threw on my usualy outfit: a fresh black tee shirt, black jeans, and Nyk's old aviator jacket. Wearing made me feel kind of guilty, because it used to belong to a brother I never knew while he was alive. Phoenyx had wanted me to keep it, but I couldn't shake the feeling.
As normal, I didn't bother to brush my hair, or tie my shoes before I walked out the Hades Cabin door. I stood for a second, reflecting on how freakin' bright it was while my eyes adjusted to the morning light in my face. The ten minute bell for breakfast rang from the Big House. I marched into the infirmary to check on Phoenyx. She wore fresh clothes, and was sitting on her cot with her arms folded casually. For the most part, I approved of her apparel choices. Black jeans(like me), dark purple tee shirt, and grey pullover hoodie. Dark, but not black. Oh well. I guess not all children of Hades have the same taste in threads.
Phoenyx nodded somberly to me. "Nico." I couldn't help thinking how she was treating me almost like a business partner, not a brother.
"Hey." Will Solace approached and smiled at both of us.
"How's your foot?" he asked Phoenyx.
"Mostly better. There is still a small cut on top."
"Let's take a look at it," Solace told her, gently unwrapping the gauze. The only sign of injury left was a small cut that exposed the tendon. I shuddered. Death I could do, but I wasn't a fan of exposed flesh. Phoenyx flexed her foot.
"It only hurts a little. The tendon mended itself during the night." She turned to Will, who looked impressed. "Should I try walking?" He shrugged.
"If you think you're up to it." Phoenyx swung her legs off the cot and onto the linoleum floor. I took a step closer to catch her if she stumbled. She seemed to be walking fine, without any limp. Will approved. "You're good to go, then." He smiled at Phoenyx, who grinned affably back and shook his hand.
"I'm obliged," she thanked. Solace shrugged.
"I need a bit of excitement around here every once and a while. It was nothing." Phoenyx raised an eyebrow.
"Really? In that case, 'nothing' hurts like you wouldn't believe." The both of them laughed, and I just smiled. The muscles in my face protested. I made a mental note to practice smiling on a regular basis. Will got a funny look on his face as we walked away. Like disappointment. Or confusion. Maybe my smile looked too much like a grimace. Either way, I needed to work on it.
I took Phoenyx to the dining pavilions where we sat down at the Hades table. I hadn't had company here sense Hazel left for Camp Jupiter a month ago. Things had just started to settle down from the war with Gaea. Everybody was ecstatic when Leo came back with Calypso, but besides that, things were pretty much normal. Well, as normal as Camp Half-Blood can get. I missed Hazel. And the rest of the gang too, I realized. Reyna, and Frank and Jason. The rest of the Seven were here on Long Island. After the Romans left, we had gotten some new campers: a daughter of Dionysus, Maddie Flynn, a legacy of Nemesis, Fortuna and Iris named Lucky Pane, and even a daughter of Poseidon, Collette Johnson. Percy was still really new to the whole 'Big Brother' thing, and was really protective. There wasn't any true need for it. Collette(or Cole, as she liked to be called), was a headstrong, independent girl almost perfectly capable of looking out for herself. And she really enjoyed messing with Percy.
Lucky was one of the only people who didn't seem happy to be at Camp Half-Blood. He looked sour and vindictive most of the time, and he called everyone 'Angel Face'(which I find offensive) or 'Cupcake'. In other words, people avoided him.
Phoenyx had wolfed down her food in a matter of thirty seconds flat. I'm serious. Her plate was clean, and she went back for second and third servings. I'm the son of Hades, and I still thought that was a little scary how fast her portions were gone.
Chiron announced that later, at three o- clock we would play Capture the Flag. I planned on not playing as usual. Nobody really wants me on their team, except maybe Will and Percy, but they both are usualy on opposite teams. Plus I was still sluggish from not getting enough sleep last night, and quite sore from carrying Phoenyx to the infirmary yesterday.
"So," I asked nonchalantly, swirling the Coke around in my cup, "how did Percabeth find you?" She laughed.
"Percabeth? Annabeth and Percy?" I smiled and nodded.
"It's the ship name I gave them. Anyway, how did you meet?" Phoenyx took another impossibly large bite out of her pancakes.
"I was on the run from the police, and I uh, kind of ambushed Percy," she said sheepishly. I raised an eyebrow.
"How'd you manage that?"
"I jumped out of the shadows and attacked. I was in my element." I put down my loaded fork.
"You mean to tell me you bested Percy Jackson in a fight?" Phoenyx nodded slowly.
"Ye-es. Is that so impressive? I've trained all my life in unarmed combat."
"Are you kidding? He's the best swordsman here. Probably the number one of all demigods. He fought Ares." Phoenyx looked confused.
"It was mostly wrestling."
"That makes more sense. How hard was it?" I asked.
"Not too hard. Until Annabeth skewered my foot," she grimaced. "Payback for beating up her boyfriend." So that was how she got injured. Phoenyx chugged the last of her milk. I shuddered. Health food.
"You up for a match?" She loosened her sword and knife belt. I looked at her primary blade. Hm. Spartan. I intended to politely refuse her offer, but my tongue spoke without my permission.
"Sure. Why not." I mentally kicked myself and cursed softly in Italian. It's one of the advantages of being bilingual: you can cuss, and no one else knows what on earth you're saying. Unless of course, some one speaks Italian. Phoenyx raised an eyebrow.
"Angry, much?" Again, my stupid linguetta spoke without contacting my brain first.
"You speak Italian?" I blurted.
"Enough to know what you just called yourself," she shrugged. I blinked stupidly before regaining my composure and lead Phoenyx to the arena. We both picked up trainer swords so we wouldn't hurt each other too badly when we landed a hit. She groaned.
"Are there any Spartan models?" she asked, rummaging through a pile of plastic blades.
"Maybe one or two," I guessed. I was pretty sure I saw one at some point, when some Ares kid tried it out, but gave up on it.
"Aha," Phoenyx said triumphantly, as she held up a sword that mirrored the shape of her real blade. Spartan swords look more like a machete or a scimitar than a 'normal' Greek blade or a Roman Gladius. A little longer, but not as much as a spatha like Hazel's. Phoenyx also grabbed a dagger and swiped it a few times at a dummy. Satisfied, she turned to me, an excited gleam in her eyes.
"Powers, or no?" she queried.
"Not this round," I responded. "Enguard?"
"Enguard."
We circled a few times, sizing each other up. The way Phoenyx was relaxed, but still completely ready told me she would be quick to react. I let her strike first. She backhanded a slash towards my head. I flicked the tip of my sword and deflected it, when I realized it was a diversion. Phoenyx's dagger came in for a thrust. I parried and undercut at her face. Her short sword blocked and twisted, moving in and forcing me to side step with a sweep. My blade swung toward her exposed side, causing my sister to cross-block with both blades, then dislodging the sword, and sending the point at my neck. Ducking, I sent my own sword toward the top of her shoulder, then redirected it back down. Phoenyx intercepted and threw it off course, then stepping in for a shot at my abdomen.
Our little sparring session went on. I was beginning to see how Phoenyx's style worked: she was an instinctive defender, and highly trained over all. Her patterns were very traditional, with a touch of intuitive spice. Rather unlike my style. I tended to be totally in the moment, with absolutely zilch amount of formal training. I was the street brawler. Phoenyx was the professional. She was Orthodox. I was Southpaw. Just by the way her attacks were punctuated, I could tell she hadn't had very much experience with multiple enemies, or on a battlefield. I, on the other hand, had almost all my time swordfighting in real combat.
Phoenyx was tiring. I saw this by the way her knife was often a touch lower than it should have been. I started attacking more aggressively. Feint. Sidestroke. Backhand-uppercut. Sidestroke. Thrust. Advancing, taking control of the rhythm of the fight, forcing Phoenyx back. Her blocks were getting desperate as I sped my movement up and let my instincts take charge. One of my overhands skimmed her shoulder, but she didn't flinch. Everything was in perfect balance. The upper hand was mine. Or so I thought. Phoenyx is very resourceful.
After feinting to disrupt my patterns, she threw her smaller blade at me and full on launched herself at me in a wrestler style tackle. The next thing I knew, Phoenyx was on top of me choking the living(or dead) daylights out of me. I struggled to push her hands off my collar, which she was using to apply the choke. Black dots swam in front of my vision, and I attempted to roll her off. Surprisingly, it worked. I think she was counting on it, because as soon as I landed in her guard, Phoenyx went straight into another submission. One of her legs was wrapped over my left arm, with the shin across my neck in a painful windpipe choke. My other arm was pinned beneath my weight. Phoenyx's other knee was clamped onto her ankle, and both hands were pulling my head into her shin. My windpipe hurt like freakin' Styx as she pulled harder and harder into the submission. Just as I was about to tap, the pressure slipped to a new area when Phoenyx jumped to a new position. Now, my face was smashed across the mat. Pain grew in my shoulder, and I knew better than to wait it out. I tapped.
My sister stood up and offered me a hand, grinning wildly. I mumbled thanks and hoisted myself onto my feet.
"No problem. That was some ace sword work."
"Thanks," I replied, catching my breath. "You're something else when it comes to unarmed combat." It was true: she handled me on the ground as easily as she would a toddler or something.
"Again?" she asked hopefully, picking up her weapons. I nodded and found mine. "Powers or no powers this time?"
"Yeah. Let's see what we're made of."
We touched swords and begun the second match. I summoned ten or more skeletons, and sent them after Phoenyx. She didn't bother with them, but melted into a shadow. Cautiously, I looked around, and got hit from behind with a force like a train. I was knocked onto my hands and knees in a cloud of inky black darkness. The shadow dissipated, and Phoenyx appeared in front of me with her sword at my neck. She gave a half smile and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of something breaking. Her brow furrowed, and she motioned for me to hold still while she listened.
"Let's go check that out," Phoenyx said warily, eying me, still on my knees, and offered me her hand for the second time in the past seven minutes. I wiped my forehead and walked side by side with her as we approached the source of the sound.
Around the bend was a short figure in boxing gloves pulverizing a punching bag. The thing was swinging wildly, and still the kid was pounding it like crazy. With a start, I realized it was Lucky Pane, from the Iris Cabin. He turned to look at us with a snarl on his face.