𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗘! 𝙥. 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣 ¹

Lydia Saves Percy's Ass

CHAPTER FOUR: LYDIA

Lydia's next few days were uneventfully spent between practicing her powers at the strawberry field with Katie and combat lessons with Chiron.

She didn't see much of Annabeth or Percy unless it was at the mess hall, but even then she never really got a chance to talk to them.

Annabeth was busy doing whatever intelligent thing she was up to that week and according to her naiad buddies, Percy was busy sucking at everything.

The only thing he really excelled at was canoeing, but that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur and blown up the bathroom.

She got to see him then, by the canoe lake when she was hanging around with Desdemona and Cressida.

The interaction went a little something like this;

"Hey, Lydia." Percy had greeted.

She'd been laying on her back with her eyes closed, legs dangling off the pier into the water. Getting some sun, as Desdemona chatted on about a dryad that was trying to steal her man.

Lydia was so startled, she sat bolt upright fast and hit her head on the railing.

"Oh, jeez, are you okay?"

"Uh, hi!" Lydia frantically brushed her hair away from her face and sat up properly. "I'm fine!" She squeaked.

Percy was coming nearer from behind her naiad friends in a canoe.

Desdemona nudged Cressida and they disappeared under the surface in flurry of giggles and good lucks. Percy looked at them weird but didn't comment. Lydia was grateful.

Once Lydia had regained her bearings, she commented, "You're not doing so bad with that." She gestured to his canoe-ing abilities.

"Yeah, uh. It's nothing spectacular." Percy said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We all start somewhere, Percy." Lydia assured. "If it makes you feel any better, I still suck at everything and it's been a year."

Percy chuckled. "You can't be serious."

"It's true! I haven't even been halfway up the climbing wall yet." Lydia joked (she was serious).

She used to feel really bad about it but she had made peace with her lack of athletic prowess.

Lydia was about as uncoordinated as a baby penguin. It made her feel better to compare herself to penguins because Lydia really really liked penguins.

"Everything makes more sense when you get claimed. I was only useful when I was working with the satyrs on the strawberry field." She said, trying to prove a point but cringed once she realized how bad that would sound to an undetermined kid.

Lydia swore, panicking. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Hey, it's okay." He reassured. Lydia let out a small sigh of relief and smiled.

"So, you know those naiads?"

"Yeah, that was Desdemona and Cressida." Lydia explained. "They're still pesky flirts. I don't suggest you get to know them."

That was technically a lie but knowing Cressida's big mouth, she had to make sure Percy—and every other person here on camp never actually get a chance to have a proper conversation with her.

Percy had pulled up to the dock and was basically parking his canoe, for lack of better terminology. Sue her, she's never tried to learn anything canoe related.