Rise (Percy Jackson x Reader)

twenty-six

"Around six forty-five. It's almost been two hours. How are you feeling?"

He sighs, "Weak."

(Y/N) raises an eyebrow, slightly amused, "Weak? Explain."

"My limbs feel like jelly and I'm exhausted. I'm sure that you do more than this without getting tired, so yeah. I feel weak."

She chuckles, "That's because this is the first day. Just wait for the next few, they'll be even worse. But you'll be fine, Percy. After a while, this is going to be nothing. You just need to get accustomed to it."

Percy nods, resignedly, "Okay. I still don't like it, though."

"I get it," (Y/N) says, patting his shoulder in comfort, "I felt the same at first, but it'll get easier. Now, your five minutes are done, let's finish this warm up."

"We're still not done?"

"Absolutely not. Ten laps."

"You're kidding me."

"Eleven."

Percy immediately starts jogging, and (Y/N) continues to keep track of each time he runs past her. When it's his tenth, she calls out to him, "Push through this one. Pick up your speed and sprint." Percy lengthens his strides and pushes his legs to move faster, a fierce burning spreading through his thighs and calves as he makes his way around the cabin for a final time. He slows when he reaches (Y/N), coming to a stop and panting, resting his hands on his knees.

"Good. I want you to stretch before this next exercise."

"Are we done with the warm up?" he asks, hopeful for an end to the workout that has significantly lowered his self-esteem.

(Y/N) chuckles. "Yes, we're done with the warm up."

"Oh, thank the gods."

Percy stretches out his arms and legs, somehow feeling more rejuvenated even though he's completely exhausted. In the meantime, (Y/N) sets up a practice dummy in the center of her training area. She makes sure the base is steady before grabbing a protective wrap for Percy's knuckles. "Do you know how to wrap your hands?" she asks, and Percy shakes his head. "All right, I'm only showing you once, so pay attention."

She takes his hand in hers, making butterflies come to life in Percy's stomach. He shoos them away, focusing on how she wraps up his knuckles, palm, and first digit of each finger. "Now you do it," she says, giving him the roll of wrap and watching as he puts it around his left hand. "Good. Let's get started with this," (Y/N) leads him to the center of the small clearing, where the training dummy is set up. Percy chuckles at the spray-painted smiley face on its head, feeling slightly bad for the battered-up punching target.

Maybe his brain is jelly along with his limbs.

It's a dummy.

It has no feelings.

This is probably why (Y/N) warned him that he'd be pushed past his limits.

"For one minute, I want you to punch this dummy," she explains, and Percy nods. "But you have to have good form. I want to see your hips rotating properly, your fighting stance never dropping, and make sure you're retracting your shots. If I see any one of these falter, then I'm adding another minute to your time. Do not stop punching. Just fix your mistakes."

Percy nods in acknowledgement, and (Y/N) starts the timer on her watch, "Go."

He starts sending jabs at the dummy, but when he's ten seconds in, he forgets to bring his arm up to protect his face. "Keep your guard up, Percy. You've got another minute now." He squints his eyes as he focuses on the dummy, hyper-aware of retracting his hands to protect himself, but he forgets to use the correct punching motion.