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—PERCY was whining ... again. This time, it was because Thalia had put him on defense duty instead of his usual offensive squad. He didn't understand that they needed a strong team of defensemen at the back because the Hunters would inevitably end up at the flag faster than them. He didn't understand that it was actually a strategic plan to put him with their flag. He didn't understand, so he was bashing the position and Thalia out of frustration.
Judith, despite trying to pay attention to the game and not the fuming son of Poseidon, couldn't help but feel offended. Defense was her place, it was her main job. It always had been, and she liked it that way. It was where the most action was. The focus was put more on the fighting than the stealth. Beckendorf was also with her, as he always was. The last line of defense — like sweepers on a soccer team.
The son of Hephaestus was taking Percy's complaining a lot better than she was, laughing it off like a joke. "This isn't a punishment," he said, his eyes crinkled up in amusement beneath his helmet.
Percy huffed as he traced a stick figure in the dirt with Riptide. "Sure feels like it," he mumbled.
Judith, unbelievably annoyed by his moping, picked up a pebble and hurled it as his back. It would have been enough to leave a bruise if he didn't have his leather armor on, so he felt it and spun to face her, face screwed up in astonishment. "Hey!"
Percy picked up his own rock and threw it at her. The girl's quick reflexes managed to knock it away with her forearm, the leather guards protecting her.
"Knock it off, you two," Beckendorf scolded, though his face said he was enjoying the show. "We've got a job to do."
"Yeah, sitting around, fun job," Percy uttered before moving past them to stare up at the giant mound of rocks they were guarding.
Turning Riptide back into its pen form, he pocketed it and wiped his hands on his pants before starting to ascend. Judith only watched him climb Zeus' fist for a moment before rolling her eyes and turning outward again. Once he was at the top, the son of Hephaestus looked up at him curiously.
"How's it looking?" He yelled up.
Percy held a hand up to his forehead to block out the light as he stared out at the clearings beyond. They could all hear the clang of metal against metal — probably swords and shields deflecting the arrows.
"Not great," Percy replied, beginning his descent quickly, with much more tact than he had climbing Polyphemus' island over the summer.
Percy had been mildly embarrassed by his lack of skill when climbing that cliffside and was dead set on conquering the lava wall at camp after coming back from the quest. It was safe to say that he was ten times better than he was only months ago, but he still stumbled the last few steps, narrowly missing colliding with Judith ( she had sidestepped purposefully so he didn't knock into her ).
