Red Skies at Morning | Clarisse La Rue x OC | Percy Jackson AU

Percy Plays The Maury Game

"This is difficult," Wings stressed to the group after showing us a move that flung Percy's sword out of his hand. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."

Wings demonstrated the move a few more times, making us note to get the tip of your blade at the base of your opponent's sword, near the hilt. Then twisting your opponent's arm and forcing them to drop their sword.

After Wings figured that we understood the motions, he declared that he and Percy were going to spar until one of them used the move to disarm the other.

I expected Wings to do the move within the first thirty seconds but Percy was keeping up quite well, going on the defensive and not giving Wings a chance to disarm him. Watching them reminded me how naturally battle reflexes came to demigods. With the rigorous training, I'd almost forgotten that we were basically hardwired for this.

As the fight continued, Percy seemed to get the hang of things. He even countered one of Luke's strikes and got the courage to thrust at him.

Unfortunately, that was just what Wings was waiting for. An offensive move was like the green light for him to apply more force and intensity.

Percy started getting visibly tired as Wings constantly bombarded him, packing more and more power behind every strike. Just when I thought Luke was going to push him too hard and accidentally stab him, Percy's blade hit the base of his sword. Wings's weapon was sent to the ground with a loud clang.

The tip of Percy's sword was now hanging in the air an inch away from Luke's chest. Both looked stared at the sword's tip, equally surprised. But neither of them was anywhere near as stunned as the crowd.

Nobody moved; nobody breathed. Everyone just stared at the two in shock for a long moment.

"Um, sorry," Percy interrupted our gawking, lowering his blade.

After a moment to recover from his shock, Wings grinned.

"Sorry? By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me again!" He enthused, retrieving his blade and hurrying to stand in front of Percy again.

Wings hadn't gotten a real challenge from sparing another camper since before we met, and his excitement that Percy was an apparent prodigy was plain to see.

They were going to try the maneuver again but this time the moment their swords touched, Wings sent Percy's sword flying and there was a long pause as it skidded across the arena.

"... Beginner's luck?" Suggested a Hermes kid next to me.

"Maybe," Wings replied while wiping the sweat off his brow. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

The next day was Friday, and all anyone could think about was Capture the Flag. For a children's game, the evening before looked a whole lot more like preparation for war. The only difference was that the atmosphere was a little lighter and more exciting.

Campers could be seen sorting out what gear they were planning to use or sharpening their weapons during free time. Alliance deals, coordination, and strategy could all be heard mixed in with the usual gossip. Clarisse and I had spent every moment together making threats and talking about how our teams were going to crush one another.

Cabin 11 was on the Blue Team while Cabin 5 was on the Red Team. Any other day, I'd die for Clarisse and I had a suspicion that she'd do the same for me. But today, we were enemies, and everything we said that wasn't boasting could be revealed information. We were not about to have any of that forbidden friendship skatá.