Astrid Strider Daughter of Apollo

I battle the son of Hades

I quickly put away my materials as I made my way out of the Arts and Craft area. Chiron was going to pick two campers to battle. Just to show a little demonstrating. I saw Tobias and caught of to him. "Hey, um, sorry about what happened this morning..." I apologized, partially looking for Asha and fidgeting with the new bandages I put on my hands. He shrugged, "It's fine. I know how you and your temper is going so, it didn't bother me nor Asha too much." I nodded. "Speaking of Asha, where is she?" Almost as if on cue, I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw her with Leo Valdez. I slightly smiled at the two. Leo then did the unimaginable. He kissed her! On the cheek! It was so much to handle I nearly tripped. After that she saw us and came over, her face a blushing mess. "I cannot believe that!!!" I nearly squealed. It was so unlike me, so I cleared my throat quietly. "W-what...?" She asked quietly avoiding eye contact. I rolled my eyes playfully, "Leo just kissed you! He's like, your biggest crush!!!" I exclaimed. Her face turned redder and she tried to hide behind her blonde/brunette hair. Tobias seemed to have his full attention on us now.

   "What now?" He asked. "Leo kissed Asha you dork!" I said slightly shoving him in a playful manner. His eyes grew wide, "What?!?" I hung my head recognizing that look. He was about to yell. "My half-sister was kissed!?!" I face-palmed. I hated when he did this! It was embarrassing! It was already bad enough that he followed me around like a body guard and wouldn't let mortals touch me when I went to get something. He probably just thinks they have a 'disease'... "Hush! No one in camp needs to know!" Asha hissed. I smirked at her straightening up. "What if your boyfriend wants everybody to know?" Asha's face made a look as if she were thinking so hard she would malfunction. "H-he's not my boyfriend!" I snickered, "Oh, sure..." Suddenly, I realized I was in a good mood. Like, I just let the weight of the sky off my shoulders. Of course, I wouldn't know too much but what from Percy told me.

   Dropping the subject, the three of us made it to the battle clearing. Chiron stood in the middle explaining the rules. Of course, we all knew them. So I kinda zoned out. I heard Chiron call my name making me jump out of my trance. My heart raced as I realized I was going to battle. I grabbed my dark sword that was made out of celestial bronze. I read the inscriptions on the handle once more like I always did; Shadow. I slowly made my way into the clearing. I realized I didn't  hear who I was going battle. I didn't have to wait for long. Soon a boy my age with pale olive skin and dark rings around his eyes stepped up. My heart dropped. It was Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. I knew him, but I'm sure he didn't know me. I think he had gotten over his thing over Percy too... I was actually both nervous and excited. Nervous; I didn't know how well he was with sword fighting. Excited; I get to see how well I fight with a sword with an actual opponent. Flames flickered at my fingertips for a moment from excitement.

   Chrion reminded us, "You both know the rules, so... no killing one another..." We both nodded and Chiron stepped out. The campers watched us anxiously. I wondered who would make the first move as we circled. It wasn't even a minute before he attacked. Nico stabbed his sword at me, scrapping my shoulder. I winced but ignored the best I could. I swung my sword and he blocked it. But that's just what I wanted. As we pressed each other on, I let him push my down. I was crouching leaning back on my other arm as he swung his sword again and I blocked. "Get up and fight!" He hissed. I narrowed my eyes and jumped up, knocking him over backwards, his sword clattering out of reach. I brought my sword point up to his neck and held it there. We locked eyes and he seemed to be looking at me with annoyance and... admiration...? Impossible. He would never admire anyone like me. Besides, he was just beaten by a girl. I lowered my sword as most campers cheered. Especially Tobias, who whooped like a hellhound. I put out my hand to help Nico up but he just pushed it aside and walked off with his sword. I sighed watching him go. He was quite entertaining...