The Demigod Games

Chapter Six

The tributes gathered in the training area early in the morning, still heavy with sleep and nervous for the upcoming tasks.

Leo did his best to put a positive spin on everything, but the other tributes were in no mood to joke around with him. He felt alone, even though many of his friends stood among him.

Piper and Jason were at first inseparable, but there was something that morning that struck Leo, they stood apart, several feet away from each other attempting not to steal glances, yet failing misribly. Leo thought that they were perhaps fighting... perhaps.

Hazel stuck with Nico, clearly creating an alliance with him. She gave Leo a solemn look from where she stood, one that said I don't want any of this to happen, but I'm getting out alive.

The little Athena boy, he was small, only about twelve or thirteen years old. He looked fragile and weak, but Leo suspected there was something more to him than just what he looked like, children of Athena were like that. Leo was shocked when he found out that Percy had a Roman sister. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, she was stunning with her flowing black hair, cascading down her back.

Leo wasn't surprised when he found out a Roman brother of his would be fighting as well. The boy didn't look like too much of a threat. He was holding hands with a girl he knew at the Apollo cabin, surprisingly enough. Leo wondered if they were dating or something like that.

The Ares tributes frightened him. They were definitely going to be a strong force in the games. Yet they acted like they were enemies of each other, competing for their father's love by training the hardest, and killing the most demigods. Leo already knew Clarisse from camp, and she wasn't always the nicest person in the world. The other one must have been Roman, but he was brutish, tall and ugly. Much like an ugly cyclops, Leo thought. He shuddered at the thought of cyclops, the previous summer he had some bad experiences with them, but ended up saving the day.

The Apollo boy was clearly flirting with an Aphrodite girl. He could easily ask her out on a date and get a yes, he was attractive and muscular. The way he stood indicated that he was trying to show off his biceps nonchalantly. It seemed to be working on the lover girl, her blue eyes lit up and a small smile played on her face.

The two Hermes tributes appeared to be arguing. One was carefree and lighthearted, much like Leo. His light brown hair was ruffled from sleeping and his blue eyes were mischivous. Even though he was fighting with his half-sister over something, he still seemed to be less serious and more goofy. The girl, however, looked really pissed off. Her face was red with anger, and her hands were curled up into fists. Right away, Leo knew the boy must have pulled a prank on her or something, seeing as he was nearly about to burst into laughter at any given second.

Lastly, Leo's eyes fell upon Percy and Annabeth. They didn't look like they wanted to participate in that event at all, but they looked determined. Leo wished he could go and talk to Annabeth, then try to figure out why they were there in the first place, but something held him back. There was a wall up between Leo and his friends. It was almost like a brick wall of protection, boxing one inside and protecting them from any troubles. You could be alone and safe, or you could be social and dead. Which would you choose?

They all waited there, standing awkwardly together. Ares was being a jerk as always and making them wait all eternity for them to begin training. Leo bit the inside of his cheek so hard it started to bleed as he looked upon the weapons and such lined up on tables around the area. There was every weapon imaginable and you didn't want to get anywhere near any of them if you enjoyed your life.

Finally, Ares casually walked in, his leather boots thudding against the cold, concrete ground. "Tributes. It's your first day of training. As you know, now is your time to learn and to practice. So here's how it's going to work," he clasped his hands together, rubbing them eagerly. "You get used to the weapons, practice and learn how to use them. Some satyrs have volunteered to practice with you if you need someone to scrimmage with. No scrimmaging with other demigods." They all stared at him for a second, not catching a single word of what he said. "I SAID GO!" he repeated in a thundery voice.

The tributes panicked, then broke apart, going to different stations set up. Leo wasn't fast enough to get to the one station he needed to go to the most, hand to hand combat. There a small line in front of the burly satyr sparring with the tributes. The only station left was the plant station, where that one daughter of Neptune stood analyzing the plants as the satyr droned on about which ones are edible and which ones she should stay away from. He had nothing to loose, so he sauntered over to the station and began listening in on the conversation. The girl didn't even recognize my his presence.

When the satyr stopped talking and allowed the two to analyze the plants on our own, Leo decided to start a conversation with Lara. "Hey, I'm Leo," he said casually. "Son of Hephaestus."

"That would explain that stupid belt of yours," she retorted, scrunching up her face in distaste. "Lara. Daughter of Neptune."

"That would explain why you look so much like Percy over there," Leo pointed to where Percy and Annabeth where at the archery station. Annabeth tried to lead Percy and help him shoot arrows, but Percy hadn't been able to succeed in archery, ever. He was failing miserably while a son of Apollo easily shot several arrows smack dab in the heart of the cut out person target.

"I have a brother? Father never mentioned him..." Lara stared at her brother. Leo glanced back and forth between the two. They shared the same black hair and emerald green eyes. He doesn't seem like that much of competition.

Leo shrugged. "You both are children of one of the most powerful Gods on Mount Olympus, I wouldn't underestimate him because of his crappy archery skills."

"I guess you're right," Lara sighed, then plucked a leaf from a nearby shrub on the plant table. "Did he say this was poisonous?"

"You think I paid attention?" Leo laughed. "I have the attention span of a goat!"

The satyr huffed and crossed its furry arms across his chest. "It is poisonous, but I wouldn't mind you eating it," he snapped then stomped away.

Lara finally cracked a grin, and a slight chuckle. "Fawns.. Such interesting creatures," she added sarcastically.

"How are you feeling about this?" Leo asked suddenly. The girl seemed pretty confident about her outcome. Leo, however, felt the complete opposite. He knew he would die if someone with Jason or Percy's power got their hands on him. That's why he tried to make friends with Lara. If she takes a liking to him, then he could come out alive... possibly.

"Fine," she replied evenly.

"You're not nervous?"

Lara shook her head, bring some of her black hair in front of her eyes. "Not at all," she said, letting a grin take over her face again. "Maybe you could teach me how to build something useful, Vulcan boy."

"Uh... sure," Leo said with a smile, then pushed a strand of Lara's hair behind her ears. She didn't even flinch or back off. She smiled back and grabbed Leo's hand, leading him to the mechanics station.