Old and Young, Inside Out

Chapter 22

Dominic dropped his sword to the ground with a sigh, having lost to Percy at dueling for what felt like the hundredth time. How did anyone ever beat him? It seemed impossible without the use of magic.

"You're getting better," Percy complimented. "You lasted a good minute."

"A minute? That's not long at all." Dominic abandoned his sword and went to get a water bottle.

"Yeah, but it's longer than before." Percy followed and got his own water. "You're learning. Did you train at all before coming to camp?"

Dominic shook his head. "I used my magic for everything. Which I could totally beat you with, if I was allowed to use it."

"You could, but then you'd be clueless against a monster." Percy sat down, transforming Riptide back into a pen. "Nico's already said it doesn't work against them. Greek ones, anyway."

Dominic sat beside him. "So...he's fought a lot of them?"

"Yeah, we all have." Percy gestured around them. "That's why this training is necessary. Kids like us...if we don't fight, we don't last long."

"So it's not like being a wizard," Dominic muttered.

Percy laughed. "No, it's not like being a wizard. Though according to Nico, you guys have your own troubles happening right now."

"I guess..." Dominic shrugged. "We can't do much, though. But on this side of things...you can train all you want and fight all you want. It's different."

"A good different or bad?" Percy asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Dominic played with the water bottle in his hands. "I like the excitement, the adrenaline. But as soon as I face a monster, I'll probably go running back to Hogwarts."

"I wanted to run away when I first found out, too. But I couldn't." Percy patted Dominic's shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it. We all have."

"What age did you find out?" Dominic asked. "And how did you?"

"I was twelve, so like your age," Percy recalled. "Zeus had claimed I had stolen his lightning bolt. I had to go to camp and go on a quest...soon enough there was a war. I couldn't back out, not when they needed me. That's a complex a lot of us demigods have."

"Not me," Dominic muttered.

Percy looked over at him. "You won't know until-"

"Last year, Nico went with Ron, Hermione, and Harry to save the Sorcerer's Stone from a guy working for the dark lord," Dominic explained. "I...I stayed behind literally because I was too afraid. I don't do battle. But I like training. Weird, huh?"

Percy shrugged. "All of us are afraid. That's not anything new. Nico's afraid, I'm afraid, Annabeth-"

"Nico's afraid? Of what?" Dominic shook his head in disbelief. "The only time I've seen him truly afraid was when he had no memories of his past and he thought he was reincarnated."

"How much as Nico told you?" Percy asked.

"That he fought in a couple of wars and like the basics of demigod lives. Monsters, fighting, you know." Dominic shrugged. "Not much backstory, you know?"

"Oh, you're in for a long story." Percy grabbed another water bottle. "Listen up. I was twelve, and I was taking a field trip..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico threw the book aside in frustration after getting to the last page without a clue in sight. "This is pointless, Annabeth!"

"Research isn't pointless." Annabeth kept her nose buried in her book. "And all of this is so interesting. Change the rest into Greek for me. I'll take them back to my cabin tonight."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "You're stealing my books, aren't you?"

Annabeth nodded. "The camp should have basic knowledge on the wizarding world just in case."

"In case of...what, exactly?" Nico asked. "You're not thinking we could possibly go to war, are you?"

Annabeth met his eyes. "Why? You're not sure who you would fight for, are you?"

Nico paled. "I..." He looked away from her gaze. "It's getting late. I'll help you get them to your cabin, then I'm going to bed."

"Nico..." Annabeth looked down at the books. "I... We'll just hope we won't go to war, okay? So we have to keep all of this hidden."

Nico nodded as he started to gather the books. "Then should we really bring these to your cabin?"

Annabeth shook her head. "You're right. We can keep them in here." She started to stack them against the nearest wall. "Don't tell anyone about why Percy and I are here. We'll announce it tomorrow at breakfast or something."

Nico finished stacking the books. "We should go find Percy and Dominic. Who knows what they're getting themselves into."

Annabeth stood up and stretched. "Dominic seems like he's a good friend. You met your first year at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," Nico led her out. "We share a room. And he really helped me out when I was going insane over random memories."

Annabeth ruffled his hair. "It's good you're making friends, Nico."

Nico scowled as he fixed his hair, suddenly reminded of his physical age. "I may look thirteen, but I'm not."

Annabeth shrugged. "It's too easy to mess with you, Nico."

Nico grumbled to himself. Before long, they got to the sword arena. Percy and Dominic were sitting together, talking in low voices.

"What's all this?" Annabeth asked, throwing her hair up into a ponytail. "Doesn't look like much practicing is going on."

Percy smiled at the sight of his girlfriend. "I was explaining to him more about everything. Apparently, Nico didn't do a great job."

Nico shrugged. "To be honest, I've had a lot on my mind."

Annabeth elbowed him. "Really? You couldn't explain things to a new demigod?"

"I did the basics," Nico muttered.

Dominic stood up and grabbed the sword he had been using. "This is all so insane. Percy told me how he can blow up a bathroom and-"

"That's all you got from it?" Nico asked. "Honestly, I'm not surprised."

Dominic put his sword away before joining Nico. "Did you two figure anything out?"

Nico glanced over at Percy and Annabeth, who had started up on a quiet conversation together. "Not really... She doesn't have any knowledge of wizarding monsters. Come on, let's just get back to my cabin and get some rest."

Dominic stuffed his hands in his pockets as he followed him. "Did Annabeth tell you why she's at camp?"

"Yes, yes, she's pregnant," Nico replied. "She told me. Don't go telling anyone, okay?"

Dominic nodded. "Okay."

Nico glanced over at him. "How much did Percy tell you?"

Dominic shrugged. "Told me how he found out he was a demigod and everything leading up to both of the wars." He frowned. "Do you think our war in the wizarding world is going to be that deadly?"

Nico looked down at his feet. "Honestly? Yeah, I do."