"Reject men and love, my pure student. For love is but your only weakness."
Elio didn't like boys. Not in the sense that they weren't attracted to them, they knew they would be, but they just despised their mere existence. Spending time in Camp Half...
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Elio panted as she stood in the forest of Camp Half-Blood, her fringe sticking to her face as she looked around for a certain bird. When she heard the coo of an owl, she immediately turned to the sound and bowed down, closing her eyes shut.
"Master." She greeted, trying her best to even out her breathing, despite having run quite the length. An owl perched on a tree, staring the Featherborn down.
"You were nearly late. Do better." A booming voice rang out in Elio's ears, and she suppressed the urge to cover her ears. It was the voice of Athena, not an enemy. But the suddenness and the authority of the goddess' voice made Elio want to hide.
Elio silently cursed herself. She'd have to improve her punctuality. After a moment, she stood up, only to be eye level with a faintly translucent enemy. The feathery girl only then noticed the guards that were on her forearms. It seemed she was working on defence, this time.
How fun, she thought to herself. She just loved defence.
"As the mortals say nowadays, defence is the best offence." Athena explained, as the enemy — which seemed to be a mirage of an olden Greek warrior — stepped forward and aimed a slash at Elio's head. Immediately, the girl raised an arm, and the guard on her forearm turned into a shield. Of course, this shield was half the size of a normal one. The shield blocked the blow, and Elio soon engaged in a mildly heated duel.
"It's the other way around, actually." Elio thought to herself, as she continued to block any hits directed towards her. Athena often pretended to know of the many saying that mortals now used, but it was twisted to fit her mindset. Elio thought it was better that way. After all, Athena was wisdom itself, was she not?
"I see that a new camper has arrived. And you've been spending time with him." Athena continued, her tone slightly judgemental. Elio held back from rolling her eyes. She could practically see Athena's face be filled with disappointment. But Elio made no action to defend herself. She found out that whenever Athena would nitpick anything Elio did. As a child, it made Elio want to be the epitome of perfection itself.
And that hadn't really changed.
At this point in time, Elio was starting to become a tad distracted, and she was suddenly pushed to the floor. Dirt stuck to her clothing, and she already knew that mud had been smudged onto her body. The enemy faded away, as if he never existed and was a mere hallucination. Panic coursed through Elio's veins as she heard Athena mutter one thing, before her voice disappeared from her mind.
"You failed. Again."
Elio cursed herself and hit the floor harshly. She'd been getting so distracted lately, and it was affecting her training. Athena must be tempted to disown her now, to renounce her title as a student. Elio couldn't bear to think of such an outcome. A small, childish part of her wanted to say that it wasn't her fault, that so many worrying thoughts filled her mind and drove her up a wall, making it impossible to think and focus.
But Athena wouldn't take that excuse. For Athena was nothing but a teacher to Elio. Not a mother. After a while of laying in the dirt and nitpicking at her flaws, Elio slowly dragged herself out of the forest. Now being covered in cuts, sticks, and mud. She ignored the somewhat judgmental stares, seeing as they didn't really matter. Judge all they wanted, but they'd never impact Elio. But something else grabbed Elio's attention.
She saw a familiar blonde near the toilets, being drenched in water, that smelled suspiciously of sewage. And right after, she saw the boy — Percy — stand in the doorway, being completely dry. Elio felt anger bubble up in her throat, as she rushed forward and reached the two twelve-year-olds. She grabbed the front of Percy's shirt and pulled him forward, glaring daggers into his head.
"What. Did. You. Do?" She hissed, demanding an answer at that very second. Her arm was already raised to punch the boy in the face, but Annabeth's hand swiftly stopped her. The Featherborn took a deep breath, before releasing a very startled Percy and turning to face a very drenched Annabeth.
"...I have a plan." Annabeth explained, giving her sister a reassuring smile. Elio raised an eyebrow, glanced over at Percy, and then groaned.
"No, no. Look at him!" She exclaimed, gesturing to Percy, who let out a weak "hey...!" as a half-hearted protest. But when Elio saw the look in Annabeth's eyes, she rolled her eyes and sighed.
There was no negotiation when Annabeth had made up her mind.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Elio stood beside her half-siblings and the Apollo and Hermes on the night of Capture the Flag, glaring down the opposing sea of red. Chiron stood in the middle, as always.
"You all know the rules!", he yelled, looking around at the campers. "All magical weapons are allowed, but there will be no maiming or killing. The creek is the line. I will act as battle medic and as referee. Prepare yourselves!"
Elio glanced over at Percy, who looked just as confused and lost as he did when she first saw him, asking Luke question after question. Then, she directed her gaze towards Annabeth, and the two had a seemingly silent conversation. But, it wasn't exactly that silent.
"Are you sure that this plan will work?" Elio silently asked, raising a soft eyebrow at Annabeth.
"Of course it will. Athena always has a plan." Annabeth responded with a huff and scrunch of her nose.
"I know that, but why is my part the way it is?" Elio added with a furrow of her eyebrows and the narrowing of her eyes.
"It's the only way." Was Annabeth's response, with a small nod, before looking away from Elio and ending the conversation right then and there. Elio groaned at that and clenched her hands into fists. And the moment she heard the conch blow, she raced into the cover of the forest.
This game of capture the flag would be rather exciting.
