𝐀 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐆𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒 𖤓 - 𝖯. 𝖩𝖺𝖼𝗄𝗌𝗈𝗇

𝐈𝐈: 𝖧𝗂𝗀𝗁 𝖳𝗂𝖽𝖾

       THURSDAY AFTERNOON, first sword lesson for Percy. He was pretty much terrible at anything so he wasn't really enthusiastic about it. Luke suggested to be his partner since it was his first time and Percy accepted. That dude was unstoppable. He was giving advice between a hilt strike and another while the black haired boy was getting more and more battered. They stopped and Percy could finally rest for a few minutes, he was drenched in sweat. He turned and saw the last person he wanted to see him like that: Zaya. 'Why is she near me every time I look like an idiot?! Is she doing this on purpose or something?!' he thought. She was smiling, for a moment there he thought she was smiling at him, but then he followed her gaze and it fell upon "the best swordsman in the last three hundred years": Luke.

       Zaya would be lying if she said she didn't have a crush on him, he was sweet, polite, mature, respected and talented. He had everything. He was even more friendly around her. He'd wrap his arm around her shoulder every now and then, kiss her on the cheek, make her laugh, help her every time she needed. He was amazing.
Now, she was looking at him after his spar session with the guy she helped a few days before, she had to admit that he was cute, but next to Luke... The blonde boy got a water bottle and poured it on himself, Zaya couldn't help but stare. She was going to melt him with her gaze. Percy noticed the interest his new friend was getting so he did the same thing. He immediately felt stronger, but the girl was still staring at Hermes' son. He turned to Luke and he was, surprisingly (notice the sarcasm), matching Zaya's look. 'Damn it Luke.' Percy thought.

       Luke sent a wink and a smirk at the girl as she laughed a little, he then announced that he wanted to try a move to disarm the opponent and he wanted to try it with, you guessed it, Percy. 'This will be fun...' thought sarcastically the poor victim. They tried the move slowly and Luke disarmed Percy without ceremony, obviously. They did it again, but in real time. Percy, somehow, disarmed Luke. They did it again and Luke won. Someone shouted "beginner's luck?" but the scarred boy shushed them down saying that he just needed a balanced sword.

🗡°。 ⋆༺𖤓༻⋆。 °🏹

       Friday night arrived in the blink of an eye, the air was buzzing with excitement; it was finally time for Capture The Flag.

       "Heroes! You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line, otherwise the entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed at all times and no more than two guards. No maiming or killing! I'll serve as referee and battlefield medic. Ready yourselves!" announced Chiron.

       There were two teams: the blue one and the red one. The blue team was composed of Hermes, Athena and Apollo, the red team was, instead, composed of Ares, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Demeter and Ephaestus. Percy was, of course, in the blue team. Their flag was silver and had the image of an owl on an olive branch while the others' flag was bright red with the image of a bloody spear and the head of a boar on top of it.

       "Hey, ready to win?" asked Zaya all of a sudden. Percy whipped his head towards her voice.

       "Yeah... obviously." he said uncertain. They still had to fight against Ares' kids.

       "Don't worry, everything will be fine. There are Luke and Annabeth with us. They're awesome."

       "You are too, Beyoncé." said jokingly Annabeth. Zaya laughed at the name.

       "Aw, thank you, Michelangelo." responded Zaya making the blonde girl giggle.

       Zaya got near Annabeth and put an arm around her shoulder and whispered something to her. They both laughed out loud looking at each other and almost tripping over. Percy smiled at them. They looked like sisters even though they were completely different in appearance, except for their tanned skin tone. Luke arrived too and hugged both of them with a bright smile. A small family with no blood ties. That's what they were. Percy felt a bit left out, honestly, but they soon broke the hug. Zaya and Luke's gazes lingered on each other while Annabeth's was sad and focused on Luke. She stopped and turned her attention towards the team.