Summary and Thoughts: basically in the books it's vaguely or just put in there that Percy has anger issues. but we never see that except for the Nancy thing which could be justified. actually I won't explain too much. I just wanted to write about Percy losing his shit after his mom died. He does this through fighting since he's praised for something.
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Since Percy's mom had died he'd taken it better than he thought he would. He managed to keep his crying to himself. Finding time when he could sneak from Hermes cabin to silently long for his mother. What if he never saw her again? What if she never got a chance to live without him in her way? She had only had him when she was nineteen. Sometimes they would talk about having enough money and just going places. Preferably somewhere ocean related.
His mom said that's where she and his father met. He was some sort of sailor and he had to leave for business but got lost at sea. Since then no word from him. So either he ghosted his mom or the poor man is ghost that will never meet his son. Percy wasn't sure he'd ever want to meet him anyway. Look what happened to Sally. She didn't deserve such a screw up like him. He felt like destined to disappoint from his very birth. His mom had spent over a decade of her precious time caring for him and died for him. Percy would never forget that night. He had nightmares about the minotaur every night. Sometimes Luke would wake him up with worry contorting his face in ways it just shouldn't be.
Shortly after his awakening Grover assured him if she was had gone anywhere it had to have been Elysium. He swore on everything including his chance of a searchers license. Percy wasn't sure he'd ever get there himself. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try.
In the time he'd been there Percy had proven himself a "promising young swordsman". Luke would call him talented with a smile then criticize almost everything he did. He said it was because he saw potential in him and he couldn't let it go to waste. All his life the child had been called a delinquent, an idiot, a fidgeting loser. Never was he unironically called gifted, treated with a sort of special care that wasn't demeaning. That's what gave him hope he would see his dear mother again someday. If other people could see a "hero" in him then he had to be able to get there one way or another.
Luke often scrutinized Percy for losing his form. Seeming to slash wildly without strategy. He said "having no set strategy could be a pretty good strategy by itself if it actually achieved something. Had a goal in mind." Either to defend or offend in a constructive manor. When Percy got too into it he would have a "freak out" of sorts but with a sword in his hands so you knew it would end nicely. Luckily the swords were only wood and Percy managed to win by pure animosity before it got too bad for anyone to deal with.
Today was a mini tournament. In actuality it was like a review test to see where everyone in class was. Percy was matched with a partner he wasn't used to. He was a tall, lethe kid like Percy but he seemed nervous. 'Luke probably played it by weight class' Percy thought. He didn't think the newbie was as skilled as him judging by his opponents hesitancy but still Percy surveyed him carefully. He'd seen some fighters play dumb only to embarrass you as soon as they could or draw out the fight to fuck with you. Percy had no intention of letting either happen.
Despite the fire inside of Percy after Luke had paired or grouped the majority of his students he said they were being graded on technique, form, and such. Not just victory. While saying this he scanned the crowd and let his gaze linger on some longer than others. Percy was one of them, no surprise there. His opponent wasn't though which both did and didn't surprise Percy.
