The Wants of a Young Demigod Heart (Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez x OC)

Chats and Spars

"Nothing." I wave their question away. "Is everyone sparring together?"

"Yeah," Ryan replies amicably, holding Taylor tight. "Since it's winter, not a lot of campers are here. I think the biggest cabin might me Hermes or Nike."

"Sheesh, how many campers are in those cabins?" I ask. 

"I think there are four or five in Hermes and three in the Nike cabin," David answers. "There was a new camper while you were away, and I can't remember if she got claimed or not."

"Yeah, she did," Chey rolls her eyes. "She's Athena, but she's probably hanging out with that Adrien kid like she's been doing all winter."

"Adrien?"

"Unclaimed camper," Abigail says, coming up to us. "He's been here as long as anyone can remember. Nearly as long as Annabeth."

"That's a long time," I frown. "Didn't Percy Jackson strike a deal with the gods that they'd claim their kids?"

"He's been here since before the Battle of Manhattan," Ryan explains. "Maybe the gods assumed the promise didn't apply." Well, that's rude. My friends continue talking about the mysterious camper when I see a lone figure enter the training arena. It's Nico. 

He isn't flanked by Will as usual; instead, he's back to his old gloomy self, for one reason or another. I guess Will was too busy or something. Nico catches my eye and quickly looks down. I can't help but feel a little bad. Like, yeah, I know he broke up with me for my best friend, but he's still a human, you know? A human with no idea of human emotions at all. It's entirely plausible that he just made a mistake.

Eventually, everyone makes it to the ring (ten minutes late, I might add). Chiron pairs us all up, and just my luck that I end up facing Nico. I tighten my armor. I really, really like it. Apparently, Leo made it for me a while back but never had the guts to actually give it to me until Christmas. I wish he'd given it to me sooner. This armor is light but really strong and it fits me perfectly. Camp armor is always super bulky and heavy, which is not a good combination for my five foot two self.  

"Hi Nico, long time no see," I greet him. 

"Hey," he mumbles. I smile lightly at him, but he doesn't attempt to smile back at me. This is going to be difficult. Over the din of the arena, I hear Chiron give the okay to start sparring. It seems as though Chey is up against Bree, and somehow, I don't think this battle is going to go well for Bree. Seth grins at me and gives me a thumbs up. He's against Sherman Yang. That smile won't last long, that's for sure.

"Ready?" he asks me, taking me from my observations. 

"Oh, sure," I agree. We both get into our fighting stance and for a bit, we circle each other, looking for a clear opening. I clear any intruding thoughts from my head and focus on the battle in front of me. Suddenly, Nico lunges, making an expert jab at a breach in my armor. I sidestep and block the hit with my dagger. My arms shake from the impact but I quickly recover. 

Using my small stature, I nimbly jump to his left and attempt to pierce his side, but just as quickly, if not faster, Nico's black sword is there to stop me. Nico pushes down heavily on my dagger and tries to disarm me, but I slide my hand over and up, causing Nico's sword to lift, allowing my other dagger to make a small cut on his wrist. 

Hissing in pain, his sword arm clumsily jerks downward but eventually steadies. Nico backs up, re-assessing the situation, before jumping back in. Luckily, I have a plan. When he moves in to strike, I duck under his arm, ending up in close contact with his torso. I turn, so I am facing away from his face, but towards his sword. As Nico tries to back up, I trap him with my arm and using my other hand, I make another cut, this one slightly deeper, but not deep enough to cause a ton of damage and, releasing my hold on his torso, I smack the butt of my dagger on the same hand and his sword clatters to the ground.