Salle | Afternoon | Tuesday | May 10

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

It felt like it'd been awhile since Percy had been the salle. He'd come down maybe once or twice during the break weeks but other than that, he'd taken those weeks to just relax and enjoy not having any responsibilities. Now, with classes back in session, he'd forced himself to get back into the habit of training. He really didn't need Luke poking at his stomach and telling him he was getting soft. That'd just result in Luke's unfortunate death via drowning.

So, he was working himself up to a sweat today. The poor practice dummy was the unfortunate victim and Percy felt about as good as ever with Riptide in his hands. In his mind, he let his thoughts wander. He saw the labyrinth and Luke's ship. He saw Pan dying and Grover's grief. He remembered Bianca sacrificing herself and the anger Nico directed at him after that. He could see Annabeth and Rachel Elizabeth Dare sniping at each other and he could remember the utter devastation when his mother had been snatched by Hades. It seemed like so long ago but it wasn't.

And Percy knew it wasn't over. He drove the sword viciously into the dummy and left it there with only the hilt exposed. He wiped his brow and stretched tense muscles. Well. He'd be feeling this tomorrow.

[Open salle, open post]

Comments

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Nothing," Percy said but even he knew that wasn't true. He just had no idea what his problem was. "What's yours?"

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Right now you are," Luke said honestly. "And I'm wet, but I guess that also counts as a you problem."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I'm not a problem!" Percy protested, frowning. "I'm just...thinking about stuff, I guess. Crappy stuff."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

Luke relaxed a little and rested his sword across his shoulder. "What kind of stuff?"

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Lots of stuff," he said, shrugging. "My mom got kidnapped by Hades once. I ever tell you that?"

Percy figured he could tell the story and twist it a bit to keep Luke's future stuff secret.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"I think you did once," Luke said, remembering hearing something about that from either Percy or Nico. "Never really told me why though."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Does it matter?" Percy asked, shaking his head. "It was because of me, man. That was enough to suck pretty damn badly."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

Luke gave Percy a sympathetic look. "That kind of stuff is something we all have to deal with, man. I had to leave my mom because she kept getting attacked and I didn't know camp existed as a safe place."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"And stuff like that never catches you off guard and kills your mood?" Percy asked him curiously. "It seems to happen to me more often than I want."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Of course it does. It happens all the time," Luke said, shaking his head. "I try to not let it affect my mood though since there's nothing I can do about it."

Well, he was working on fixing that.

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah well, it got me today," he said and shrugged. There was more to it than that but whatever. "And I came down here to beat the hell out of a dummy to get it to go away.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Is it working?" Luke asked, stepping forward a bit more now that he didn't think Percy was going to chop his head off.

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Sort of," he said and flexed his fingers again. "I think I gripped the hilt too tight. My hands are killing me."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"I'm not surprised. You'd have to be gripping it too tight in order to get it through the dummy like that." Luke dropped his sword so he could reach for one of Percy's hands and massage his palm and fingers with his own.

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah well, better that dummy than a wall in my room or someone's face," Percy said, letting Luke take his hand without resistance. "I probably would have broken my hand if I'd punched a wall."

And that would have been idiotic.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"And you would have punched back if you hit someone else," Luke said, rubbing his thumbs against Percy's fingers gently. "Or at least I would have."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"I would have ducked if you'd have tried to hit me," Percy said, smirking lightly even if he wanted to wince a bit because his hands really did ache. He guessed he'd been wailing away on the dummy for longer than he'd thought.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Trust me, I wouldn't stop until I hit you back." Luke lifted up Percy's hand so he could press a kiss against his palm. "I have a very strong sense of revenge."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah? What if I knocked you out with that first punch?" Percy suggested, half smiling. "You would have had to find me."

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"I highly doubt you would ever manage to knock me out with a punch," Luke said. "But in that unlikely event I don't think it would be that hard to find you. Unless you cheated and hid underwater."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Please, if I were near water and I punched you? I'd not only knock you out, I'd break your nose," Percy said confidently. Didn't Luke remember what he'd done to Jason on the beach a few months ago?

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"What makes you think I would pick a fight with you near the water?" Luke asked, just holding Percy's hand now. "I barely go near water as it is."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Jason did," Percy reminded him, shrugging. "Maybe you'd forget or maybe you wouldn't realize there was water around."

Ares had been dumb like that.

[trickydemigod.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, like I'd ever not notice when water is around," he said, shaking his head. "Just accept the fact that if you hit me I'll hit you back."

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I'm not saying you won't, I'm just saying there are times when I'd drop you with a punch."

And they involved water but whatever, they were still chances!