chapter 4: waterside chat
Percy POV--
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I had finally been let out of the infirmary, a small bag of some 'prizes' I got from the battle. It was mostly just useless junk, so I ended up selling most of it in the store, but kept some in case there were some traders who would trade me stuff for it. Speaking of the store, I found some pretty interesting things up for sale.
'Store- gold: 100
Instant chicken ramen cup(5 per cup)
Smart water Water bottles(10 per bottle)
Empty milk jug(15 per jug)
Cactus juice(25 per head)
Cabbage(30 per head)
Celestial bronze(500 per bar)
Cheap healing potion(600 per bottle)
Cheap water satchel(1,000 per satchel)
Rusty dagger(1,100 per dagger)
Rusty broadsword(1,500 per sword)' like I said, interesting. Though the cactus juice sounded interesting, I'd have to try that later. To my left was annabeth, who was walking a bit ahead of me as she was leading me to where I'd be staying. The camp had everything a young demigod could need, a volleyball court, a archery field, a basketball court, a arena, you name it. Though I did notice that everyone was mainly at places you could learn to fight and or shoot, which striked me as odd. Annabeth suddenly stopped in front of a cabin with a eleven on it, Hermes cabin.
"You'll be staying here until you're claimed, good luck, and try to hide your valuables." She said, walking away and leaving me at the doorstep.
"Um... Goodbye then." I said, turning towards the cabin door. I sighed as I turned the knob and opened the door, just to get hit in the face by a rubber chicken. I stared blankly into the cabin, everyone was frozen in fear at what just happened. This was going to he so fun, note the sarcasm. Everything then became riled up again as I walked through the crowd of people searching for a place to sleep, finding one I set my bag down on the floor and rested my head on it. The chaos around me continued on as I laid on the floor, looking through the system. I remembered the tickets I had and thought I might as well use them, so I waited patiently as ten things appeared on my screen. Nine of them were black, and one was green. Opening them all I began to sort through the items.
'Item: mask-black; a mask for your entire face to conceal your identity
Item: sword-black; a regular sword
Item: knife-black; a common knife used amongst rednecks and hillbillies
Item: sunglasses-black; used to block the suns light from your eyes
Item: charger block-black; used to charge your phone
Item: ball-black; a spherical device used by humans to play with their dogs
Item: 1989 Mercedes-black; a means of travel for long distances
Item: gas tank-black; a tank for gas
Item: enchanted ring-green; a ring that's been enchanted by the goddess hectate, makes user invisible for five seconds a day' they weren't terrible, but they weren't the best either. The ring however seemed promising, and I was grateful for that. Storing everything in my inventory I looked at the time, noticing I had a few hours before lunch. Without anyone noticing I stored my outside stuff inside my inventory and slipped out the cabin, making my way towards the lake. When I got there I took my shirt off and dove in, doing a couple laps back and forth. I swam back to the shallower end and began to work on my water bending, moving my hands back and forth along with the waves. The water seemed happy to oblige, and only moved when I moved my hands. I don't know why, but I felt more powerful in the water, more at peace. Even my muscles began to relax, all the uneasiness I felt about being here was washed away by the waves, so much so I didn't notice someone sneak up behind me.
"I didn't peg you for a swimmer." she said, making me turn my head to the right. There, annabeth sat on the docks, her toes dangling in the water.
"I'm not, I just enjoy the water." I said not breaking my movement with the tide, she then looked at me with those stormy grey eyes observing me up and down. I smirked as I looked at her out of the corner of my eyes.
"Checking me out?" I asked jokingly, causing her to blush a bit.
"No I was just observing you." She replied, not fazed.
"Oh? Do tell what you observed about me, I'm curious." I said, still following the tide.
"You seem more relaxed, more free... Like the water was meant for you." She said, I could practically see her brain at work like it was piecing together a puzzle. "In fact the water seems to be perfectly mirroring your movements..." She said, finally piecing it together.
"What'd you discover?" I asked with a soft smile, a real smile.
"What makes you assume I discovered anything?" she asked, raising a brow.
"I could practically see the gears spinning around in your head." I said, she looked at me quizzically.
"You're more interesting than I thought..." she said, seemingly coming to a conclusion in her head.
"You're pretty interesting too I guess." I said calmy as I moved with the tide, my feeling of strength only growing. "You know it's funny, me and my mom used to drive to Montauk cabin, we'd spend the weekend playing in the water and eating a bunch of blue food... When I think back to it all I remember is the way it made me feel, the scent of the ocean in the air, the sand beneath our feet, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore as we sat at a camp fire roasting marshmallows." I said, smiling a bit. "Coming here, realizing that the water will always be with me no matter where I go... There's a kind of solace in that." I stated, the tide becoming a little more aggressive.
"Architecture." She said, making me turn my head towards her. "That's my water... It's always fascinated me, the way buildings can stand up, or how ancient Greeks and Romans designed their cities... It's like no matter where I go, I can always rely on it." She said, smiling at her reflection.
"Nerd." I said, resisting the urge to smile.
"I'm not a nerd! I'm just more intelligent than you are." She stated proudly, making me stop for a second and look at her.
"Sure you are, nerd." I said, going back to moving along with the tide.
"I am not a nerd!" She yelled, glaring at me slightly.
"You just said architecture was your water, never have I met someone feel more at home with architecture." I said, sending her a slight glare back. She sighed as she face palmed, like she couldn't believe she admitted something like that to me.
"I swear, all you have in that head of yours is kelp... Seaweed brain." she retorted, smirking a bit.
"Oh yeah wise girl?" I asked, smirking a bit.
"Yeah-" she said before I completely drenched her with water, making her stare at me in disbelief.
"In case you forget I'm the one with the high ground here." I said, smirking. She then smirked right back at me as she moved her wet hair out her face, her brain already developing a plan.
"Oh yeah obi-wan?" She asked smiling a smug smile, making me start to regret my choices.
"I think I just fucked up..." I muttered as she began to stand up, and without warning, she jumped right at me. We the began to wrestle with each other in the water, annabeth wrapping her limbs around mine and constricting me. I struggled to move my arms as her legs wrapped around my waist, and her arms held mine back by reaching underneath my armpits and around back to my back. I then flopped onto my back pushing her into the water and effectively getting her off me, and as she and I rose to the surface we locked eyes and exchanged smug smiles.
'Abundance of fate fragments nearby... Beginning crystallization' does that mean they can appear anywhere? Or maybe just when I'm doing certain things... Maybe the system knows.
'Fate fragments are detected when the host participates in events crucial to the fate of the world. The amount harvested depends on the systems level, scale of the event, and length of the event' so basically if I end up fighting in a battle to save the world I'd get a crap ton of fate fragments just for participating... But that also brings up the concern that this water battle between me and Annabeth is an event that could help shape the fate of the world, which honestly makes me scared at how much a little event like this could end up harming the world later down the road. Bringing me back from my thoughts, Annabeth splashed me with water.
"Pay attention seaweed brain." she said, smirking.
"I am wise girl." I said, splashing her back. We both laughed as we started to splash each other over and over, each of us fighting with a smile on our faces.
3rd person POV
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"what are they doing?" A random demigod asked, a few others gathered around him.
"I think they're having a splashing battle..." The other answered, everyone there just staring at the two young demigods in the wayer in confusion.
"Annabeth chase... Having a splashing battle..." One of them said. "I would've never guessed she'd be capable of having fun." He said, a familiar blonde boy walking past and noticing the crowd.
"What's going on?" Jason asked, walking over.
"Annabeths playing in the lake with the new kid." a girl answered nonchalantly, making Jason raise a brow. Jason then looked at the two, squinting his eyes in suspicion, as the corners of his lips curled up into a smile.
"It's about damn time." He muttered under his breath, watching as the two soaked each other in water.
Percy POV
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By the time both of us were tired from the constant splashing and play fighting, the lunch bell was ringing. We both looked towards the shore as we stood in the water, looking back at each other with an awkward silence. Annabeth then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and smiled awkwardly.
"Um... See ya later." She said, running off to her cabin to change. I stayed there, the water crashing against my knees, as I watched her go until she faded off into the distance. Almost as if on command, a ping broke me from my thoughts.
'Fragments crystallized, you have gained three new fragments' the system said, then another notification popped up.
'ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: crystallize three fate fragments-
+5 fate fragments
+clue to getting stronger' the system caught my attention with that last one, opening it up I began to read my clue.
'The water seems to always welcome you, in fact, it seems to give itself up to you. Aquatic creatures are not afraid of you, and will often try to be as close as possible to you. The water is as connected to you as you are to it, you are stronger together. You are blessed by it, and it's master is blessed just by having you near it' that.... Might actually help, if it's a clue to what I think it is.... And I think I know what it is.