violent delights, percy jackson

chapter five

Without wasting another minute the girl, Annabeth, as Azalea recalled, lead her out of the cabin and back to the well worn dirt path. The two travelled mostly in silence, only broken when Azalea asked a question here or there about training to keep the clueless act up.

"So," Azalea spoke up hesitantly, after the two girls had rounded the bend of the horse shoe shape that the cabins lined around, "Sparring?"

The blonde girl didn't show any chance of hearing her at all, making azalea assume either that she didn't notice her talking, didn't care, or was deaf. It wasn't like she whispered when she spoke. Many times had actually been told to shut up by Ethan because she was quite a loud mouth on occasion.

"It's mostly harmless," The braided blonde eventually spoke up, after the two had been travelling in silence for a good minute. "No serious maiming has happened in years."

The ending of the statement had, Azalea stumbled in shock over the path at the girls bluntness. "Maiming?"

The blonde girl waved off her worried as she gave her a quick glance at her reaction. As if she was surprised the girl didn't think that maiming was a likely outcome to training amping heroes. "Don't worry. you'll do fine."

Azalea didn't have the confidence to implore more on the topic and quickly let it drop. By doing so she tried to focus her uneasy energy into taking in the views of camp. Unfortunately, that only made her more aware of the onlookers that followed the two as they walked the beaten path. Girls pointed, not very subtly she might add, and whispered behind their hands as looked her up and down like roadkill. Disgust and pity in their eyes. The boys, though usually didn't even give her a second glance once she noticed their prying eyes, quickly adverting to the task at hand. The one boy, a chocolate skinned and cinnamon coloured top on wasn't quick enough and met her eyes for a brief second before nearly being sliced in two by a sudden sword slash form his opponent. Azalea nearly smiled at the display as the camper who was behind the blade took advantage of his distraction.

"Do people always stare this much?" Azalea couldn't help but ask after watching the sword fight continue within the ring. Around them there was a group of ten or so campers all watching and awaiting their turn. "I feel like everywhere I go I have someone looking at me."

Annabeth for the first time since they had been walking, showed something other than judging and distance in her actions as she chuckled. Azalea nearly grinned at the tension that left her chest as the girl seemed less uptight.

"Well," Annabeth started, "before it was cause you had twigs in your hair."

"Yeah," Azalea didn't bother to hide her frown, as she kicked a loose rock into the field as she admitted, "I fished those out in the shower."

The blonde girl gave her a quick three second smile, capturing her pristine white teeth in the moment. "Now it's mostly cause you're the first Halfblood that has shown up as a teenager in like three years."

Azaleas mood plummeted further at the knowledge despite knowing the fact beforehand. With Luke's words ringing often in her head to blend in she needed the attention for her and her random appearance. She didn't want people looking into it, or need people to be suspicious of her because of it.

"Oh."

Out of nowhere the blonde girl nudged her with her elbow as they rounded past the pavilion near the centre of camp and more towards the archery fields. A place she had no want to be anywhere near, mostly because the said weapon hated her with a passion and she quite literally but everyone at danger when around the cursed tool. Ironic considering her dad, but nonetheless true. The last time Ethan and tried to teach her she nearly took off his own head and he was behind her. The physics behind it, and how she had notched the slim arrow on the wood pedestal shouldn't have made the outcome possible.