THE ARCHER, percy jackson

CHAPTER TWO

"Just give him a chance, Val," Luke whispered back.

Suddenly, Percy released the arrow in the direction of many campers, sending him and them falling to the ground.

"Should I try again?" he asked meekly.

"No! No. No." they all shouted.

I gave Luke a look. "I told you so."

"Shut up," he said. I laughed lightly. Percy looked over to us with a weak smile. I rolled my eyes, walking over and helping him up.

"Good luck, kid. Y'know, with the glory thing. Let's hope you find it quicker than I did."

He looked at me funnily. "How long did it take for you to get glory?" he asked. Luke, Percy, and I started walking down the bath, heading towards the forge

"Still finding it," I shrugged.

"Wait, but how?" he questioned. "You're, like, the second best archer at this camp?"

I pointed at him. "Key word, second. There's nothing special about being second. And archery is really the only thing I'm good at."

"That is a lie," Luke laughed. "She's got an amazing voice, and she can play guitar really well. Just wait 'til the campfire."

"Not better than Sunniva," I added. "And plus, those aren't really things that Clarrise values or respects. She calls me Songbird because of that. And not in a cute friendly nickname way, in a condescending way."

Luke just rolled his eyes. Percy looked at me. "Why do you keep bringing up Sunniva? Why can't you just let yourself take a compliment?"

I stopped in my tracks. "Umm..." I checked my watch, hoping for the time to be what I wanted it to. Thank gods it was. "I, uh, have to go help Annabeth with, um, Capture the Flag stuff, so... I'll see you guys later."

"Wait! Valerie!" Luke called out to me as I ran away. "Capture the Flag isn't until..." he trailed off when he realises I wasn't not listening. "Oh, my gods, that girl will be the death of me."

I WATCHED HIM for a while. Not in a creepy way, but in a I-was-walking-through-and-didn't-wanna-interrupt-his-seemingly-important-slash-sad-moment way. He was sitting on a moss covered log, and in front of him, a tin can lit inside.

I couldn't see what he was holding, and I could barely hear anything he was saying except for a few words, but it looked like he was making an offering to the gods.

It was a quiet night. Dryer than the last one. It was clear, and the moon was full, so tonight was perfect to get away from everyone.

Percy leaned over and blew out the makeshift candle. He sat there for a while, and I decided to finally go over.

He was startled by the crunching of leaves created by my shoes. "Who's there?" he asked, jumping up. He pulled something from his pocket, and a second later, it was a sword.