Chapter Text
It was a warm summer day at camp Half-blood, the sun shone down over the meadows as songs of the naiads played throughout the fields. Arguably, this was the best alarm you could ask for.
Everyone slowly emerged from their cabins, but today we focus on two. A son of Poseidon and you, a son of Ares.
The two of you weren't friends, in fact, one could argue enemies. Percy Jackson was always the hero, always praised for his actions.
You however were constantly overlooked, even by your own father. Clarisse was his favourite (even though he still somewhat hated her), the other boys were smarter and stronger— you didn't seem to matter.
And so, you became bitter and resentful towards everyone, but especially towards Percy. His father always helped him, he was the prophecy, he always had the spotlight.
It just wasn't fair. Nothing was ever fair, you never got anything you wanted and sometimes what you needed. Your parents banished you to live year round at camp because of what you are. Nobody ever seemed to help.
So you started to believe you didn't need help. You'd dress your own wounds, cook your own meals when possible, do solo training every chance you had.
There were very few people in camp that you respected. The Hephaestus cabin was always top of the list, their craftsmanship was impeccable. The naiads were good musicians, so you'd sit with them sometimes. Actually, most of the creatures in camp were fine by you.
To focus back on the story, both young men had sat down for breakfast, their tables conveniently located next to each other. Sucks for you.
Things went by quickly, and soon enough, everyone was split into groups for practice. But Chiron pulled you and Percy aside, apparently you two were doing something else today.
The centaur walked slowly, both of you on either side of him to prevent any potential malice.
"The two of you will be doing sparring drills. Combat training is of the essence for Percy, and I trust that you—"
Chiron's gaze fell upon you as he picked his pace up, causing you and Percy to jog to keep up.
"—will give him the fight of his life. I'm allowing all of your dirty tricks today."
For once, you got some good news, some recognition for your skill. It's one of the reasons your mother had put you in camp, why you stopped training with the others.
Nobody liked the way you fought. You didn't follow any principles, didn't care for rules. Playing dirty was your greatest weapon, but how you did it wasn't something the others could handle.
But you got to take it out on Percy Jackson of all people? No strings attached, full approval to cause hell? Oh, today seemed promising.
So you jogged and eventually ran to keep up with your centaur mentor, until you both reached an area you hadn't seen yet.
The area wasn't necessarily big, but it definitely worked. Rough terrain, wet grass and some dam tall trees. Not to mention that there was a fully stocked armory here, clearly the work of Charlie.
"This," Chiron had started to explain, "is an unused training ground. As camp got bigger, this one got abandoned due to lack of need. But I think it will serve nicely for today."
You couldn't contain your excitement. Your feet ran faster than you could think, bolting towards the armory to get a look inside.
The thing was huge, all sorts of weapons were strewn about the room from the floors to the ceiling. But out of everything, there were two neatly wrapped packages. One was way bigger than the other.
The small one was for Percy, Chrion's neat handwriting addressing it to the other demigod.
The other one was for you, addressed in some weirdly scratchy but fancy letters
Yes, addressed to you. So, eagerly, your hands ripped it open to reveal something you didn't expect.
The letter on top was from your father. Not Ares though, your stepdad. But it's a gift, so it's kinda cool. You opened it and were severely disappointed.
"A little something to help with whatever you do, good luck, champ."
Inside of the package laid a single dagger made of bronze, nothing special. The exact thing that was everywhere in camp.
Luckily, you'd had Charlie Beckondorf agree to a bit more of a modern design. And so, you scoured the walls, finally spotting your blades.
A pair of karambits, engraved with feral dogs on the handles. It was the most beautiful set of knives you'd ever seen or owned.
While you admired your knives, Percy walked into the armory to grab the box and sword. He opted to leave riptide in his pocket for this, just to try something else.
You glanced over as he opened it and pulled out a few Ambrosia bars. Dumbest gift ever, but he'll need it.
After some prep, the two of you got set up on the field, waiting for Chrion's signal to begin.
Your excitement could hardly be contained, bouncing from one foot to the other and grinning like a madman.
Percy seemed to take it well, though he only thought that it was a friendly excitement, not the fact that you were eager to rip him to shreds.
Chiron pulled a whistle out and blew it, signalling the beginning of your fight.
You didn't waste a second, lunging at the son of Poseidon and striking. He didn't react quick enough to dodge, but he didn't get cut by your blade. Disappointing.
He jumped back, taking a swing at you with Riptide as he got his footing. You ducked and easily avoided it, swinging your leg around to sweep him— something he couldn't dodge.
Now that he was on the ground, you pounced, pressing your knee into his chest as you pushed his sword aside and placed one of your Karambits against his neck.
"Checkmate, Jackson."
Your voice rang out cold and with a growl, excitement and adrenaline coursing through your veins as you stared at him helplessly beneath you.
"Dude, that was wild." He responded, breathing slow as he tried to not move his neck too much. After all, you had that knife right against his airway.
Chiron called you off and got you two back into place for another round. This time, he encouraged use of the terrain, climbing trees and kicking up dirt. That centaur always knew how to get you hyped.
The whistle was blown again and you dashed towards Percy again, but he pulled a shield out of his watch, little did he know it was perfect.
You jumped on it, then over it, grabbing his hair as you leapt and dragged him down. His back hit the ground with a rough crash as he was thrown off balance, his sword falling to the ground as he winced in pain.
"What the hell was that?!" Percy was pissed off, but that just fuelled you even further, giving his hair a slight tug before you got up and got back into position.
You've never played fair, that's why most people avoided you for training. It's why you got in trouble at school. You found sneaky ways to do things better, people just hated creativity.
You were quick at things in nasty ways. Chiron always appreciated the idea, but the other campers didn't. Luckily, this was how monsters fought. Good practice for camp's hero.
"Get better then! Some hero you are, can't think fast enough against a weaker opponent."
Every word seemed to bother him, how you called him weak after knowing all of his feats. It drove him crazy.
For a third time you both were set up and the whistle was blown. Percy braced for an attack but you just...stood there.
It got boring easily if it was only you, so you let him start. After a few confused seconds, he got the hint and charged.
But of course, he was too obvious with his swing. A simple lean and you dodged him, of course adding a quick jab to his side.
He tried again, but all it took to avoid was a side step. Percy wasn't quick enough to hit you. Somehow, you had been just as quick as some monsters he fought.
It infuriated him. He's always been a top competitor for training when it came to sword fights, but now he's lacking. Something you just couldn't get over.
"Percy!" Chrion's voice had rung out across the field, catching both of your attentions.
"He's using his powers to make you aggressive. You're forgetting your own abilities. Make use of them"
Hearing Percy get lectured was almost intoxicating. Using that lovely rage ability had been the perfect plan, even if it was mostly passive.
And so, Chiron had set you both up again, blew his whistle and sent you off to battle.
Percy charged first, and you followed suit, creating a beautiful clash of passion and aggressive.
Your karambits made a sharp screech as they dragged off of his shield, his footing slipping a bit as he held you off.
Grabbing his shield, you pushed it down to take another swing at him, but you froze up as water poured down over you.
For a good few seconds, you and Percy just stood there. He could barely contain his laughter as you tried to process that you'd just had a bunch of water thrown on you.
But then you laughed. And so did he. Soon enough you were both too engrossed in dying of comedy to continue the fight.
You fell to your knees clutching your stomach, the oxygen failing to enter your lungs easily as you heaved over the hilarity of the situation.
Percy joined you on the ground, watching as you had started to tear up.
And now, for once, you were with someone. You were enjoying yourself with someone. And at that moment, you didn't hate Percy. In fact, you almost...liked him?
Chiron had decided that you two were done for the day and hauled you both up from the ground, shaking his head at the mud that had gotten on both of you.
He forced you two to get cleaned off and relax. After all, that was a pretty I tense session for only three rounds of sparring.
"Hey, you should join me in my cabin. It's quiet and it'll only be us."
Percy's offer caught you off guard. He wanted to hangout with you. Even after you were a massive dick to him. But goddamn, after laughing with him like that, how could you say no?
"Y'know what?" Your voice came out cocky and dripping with sass. "Fuck it."
The two of you ventured off together, heading towards Cabin 2 while making fun of each other. But in a somewhat nice way.