Sunday Morning Sweats

[Su Mei Lin]

It was the weekend again. Where some campers preferred to use the end of the week to rest up, a certain daughter had different plans for her Sunday morning. Mei Lin had been at Camp Half-Blood for over several years now. She had learned many new things, met many new people and apart from some arguments that led to fights, she was having a great time. One of her half-siblings she beat to a pulp one time is hung around like normal as expected of a child of a war god. They don't succumb easily but she needed to teach him a lesson about messing with her stuffed animals. And no, she's still no fan of her father when he goes around the world in his motorbike with Aphrodite. The most beautiful woman in the world, apparently.

Unfortunately there were still thoughts gnawing at her, thoughts she hardly could let go of. There is an inherent anger that resides in her soul and her fighting discipline discourages practitioners to use their emotions in battle. Seeing that boy from there irked her, but she has a neutral stance with the rest of her half-siblings. She was one of the few girls in the cabin but even she didn't really get along with them because of a culture difference. And mostly because, she doesn't regard their father as high as they do. She stood by her beliefs and she doesn't intend on budging. Speaking of, they don't really take care of their weapons do they?

She elected to spend the morning with her two weapons in a form of a hair pin and a mechanical pencil. She had worked on crafting the former for a long time but it did not take her long to choose the object it can transform too and the other was a gift from a satyr. She thought it was a new pencil but an accident ensued when she held it close to a sheet of paper to write and an entire gladius appeared in her hand... It was horrifying but funny at the same time. Well, it's funny now. Mei Lin arrived at the amphitheater, content that she has this facility to herself. Mostly, but she liked the distancing.

She gazed down at her mechanical pencil and pressed the button with a click. In the next moment, she held her gladius by the grip. It's no special when it had chipped edges but she made sure to take care of it. It was symbol of friendship with Clover and she hasn't seen him in a while. @ Axel Gauthier

[Axel Gauthier]

Axel ambled accross the grounds, absentmindedly spinning a longsword in his hand. To most boys of his stature it would have been considered a hand-and-a-half sword, but his celestial blood gave him that little bit of extra strength he needed to weild it one-handed. He was headed to the training grounds - a normal part of his daily routine - but was in no particular hurry. After all, he had all day to get his training sessions in. There were no classes or events today. That fact left young Axel to face his greatest adversary: bordom.

A glimmer of light caught his eye. Turning his head, he quickly identified it's source. The sun was glimmerring off the blade of a weapon. It wasn't dissimilar to his own, though quite a bit shorter in the blade department  The child of Nike was familliar with the weapon of course - a gladius - but the surprising part was that it appeared to have transformed from an ordinary pen! Fascinating... he'd heard mention of the magic that made their magical weapons appear as household objects in the outside world, but hadn't been at camp long enough to have much experience with it. Curious, he approached it's weilder.

"Oh, Mei!" he exclaimed, recognizing the girl as he drew closer. She'd once caught him at one of his lower moments, rooting through the armory in a desperate determination to go out and prove himself.  She'd used a different weapon then though. "Using a gladius today? Or..um..a... pen? What happened to the polearm?"

It was nice to run into someone he actually recognized around here. He supposed there was time to stop and chat. "You practicing on your own today?" 

[Su Mei Lin]

Like every demigod's weapon, they're made of Celestial Bronze. The steel glimmered in the sun and if she tilted it in a certain way, the light would have been reflected to hit her eyes. She swung it around with her other hand near her chest, thumb curled and fingers tight against each other. She was just getting a feel for it before honing her skill for it. It had been some time since she used it, but she didn't want her memories of Clover to fade away. Not when he helped her through her time in middle school.

Though when she heard a familiar voice, she stopped her movements immediately as if someone was nearby and was about to get a wound from her blade. She drew a long breath and turned. It was that boy! From the shed and that spontaneous monster hunting escapade. She loved monster hunting but that made her like it better when people are coming along. "Oh, this?" She raised her sword a bit. "It's a gladius. I cannot use it's pen form. It's a mechanical pencil but no lead comes out even when I put one in." She paused. She recognized him but she couldn't really get his name in the first few seconds of eye contact. "You're... Axel, right? Sorry, I'm terrible with names."

Still, he was happy to see him. It had been some time since their last hunt past curfew and finding him and Krystal inside the shed was a fond memory. "Yes, as usual. I haven't touched this since I was holding other weapons so I figured today is there this one shines." 

[Axel Gauthier]

"I know." Axel could certainly be blunt at times. It wasn't out of malice or anything. He just wasn't exactly god at talking to other people. Plus he was secretly a bt proud of himself for recognizing the blade by name. "That it's a gladius I mean. I used one for my practice last week." Indeed, the child of Nike was rather keen on weaponry. He knew the names of every blade in the arsenal, along with a bit of their histories too. He called it an interest - others would probably call it an obsession. There was just something about the feeling of a blade in his hand - and knowing how to use it - that made the world feel a bit safer. And "safe" was a pretty rare feeling in his experience. "That one didn't do anything cool like yours though."

"Interesting!" The boy stepped in closer to take a look, entirely unaware of any personal boundaries. So the thing looked like an ordinary pencil, but could transform into a gladius at a moment's notice. His mind raced with possibilities. Such a weapon would be invaluable in the field, particularly if it came down to stealth. It was portable, lightweight... he wondered how much force the transformation itself exerted too. What if, for example, she were to press it up against and enemy and then allow it to transform. Or was it always a sword and the illusory magic just caused people to perceive it differently... Ah! He realized he had been staring far to intently at Mei. He probably looked like a total weirdo.

"So... uh..." he scrambled for something to say. "Who made it? One of the Hephaestus kids? Woulda been cool if they made it work in pencil form too. Er - not that it's not already cool but-"

Mei continued on, recalling his name. Axel silently thanked the gods for the opportunity to end his blabbering. "That's right! I'm Axel."

Her response confirmed that she was indeed practicing alone today. Struck by a sudden eagerness, he spoke up quickly and displayed his own sword. "Want a sparring partner?" He'd briefly seen Mei's abilities on their last excursion and knew she could handle a blade. No shock, with her being a daughter of Ares and all. What better way to hone his skills than by fighting a talented opponent? "I mean - if you're not too busy of course."

[Su Mei Lin]

Mei wasn't too surprised from his blunt answer. When they first met, she recognized his knowledge on some weaponry. He was one of the few people that she could talk about them, aside from her friends and some of her half-siblings. And while he used it for practice last week, it has been a while since she had held it like this. She wanted to get her hands on every weapon in the shed. Get a feel of them. Fight and battle with them. Even then, she couldn't really fight good without a select few despite showing some degree of proficiency in them. Chuckling at his response, she glanced at her blade. "I think so too. It was a gift by a friend. Some people don't think it's cool, but I don't really care."

Noticing he got closer to her to inspect her blade, she allowed him to do so, tilting it towards him to give him a better view. It made her happy, to see that someone else was fascinated with her weapon. Most campers would be in awe of how she wields some but he seemed more invested in the appearance and their use, given their interaction back at the shed one night. It wasn't until later that he had been staring up at her... Confused, she was about to say something with her eyes narrowed into slits- until his voice halted her tracks.

"I'm not sure. My friend never got the chance to tell me. It was a gift for me as I was starting middle school so I can't give you a good answer. Given that it is possible Cabin Nine could forge these weapons, I'm sure enchantments like this is possible. Though I wouldn't recommend making mine work in pencil form... I'd prefer not to have my blade in hand as I'm writing letters."

At his request, she couldn't be any more delighted. She practiced by herself on most days and with a partner whenever they're available, but she knew having someone to parry her blade is better than swinging air. "I don't see why not. I do have to warn you though. I can be a bit fierce." It was just a fair warning but it happens every time she fights against someone. She could get invested. Maybe too invested, but with Axel, she could try to tone it down a bit.

[Axel Gauthier]

"Oh... I guess you're right..." Axel's pictured himself in the middle of taking a math test when suddenly his pencil shifted into a blade and impaled the test paper. He thought made him chuckle aloud. "I guess it wouldn't exactly be efficient as a real pencil, huh?" So it was a gift then. Axel forgot at times that the other demigods had life before camp. Frankly he'd been so happy to get away from his that he was reluctant to think back.

He supposed that past may have something to do with his preference toward combat. There was something about the feeling of steel - or in this case bronze - in his hands that gave him a sense of safety. Having spent so much of his youth feeling powerless, the ability to stand his ground in a very real and physical way had been a precious discovery for the boy. As he looked at Mei, he wondered if her experience was similar. Was it always rough experience that made for seasoned fighters? Or was her story entirely different from his own? He found himself interested, more so than he had been in the lives of his other fellow campers. It felt as though this girl might speak his language. That language, of course, being the song of blades.

He drew out the longsword, dropping into a fighting stance. "I'll have to pay that cabin a visit," he noted. While he'd gained quite a bit of experience with the weapons in the armory, they were common property. The way she held hers... the boy could tell those belonged to her and her alone. "Maybe one of them could make me a blade of my own."

A smile spread over his face when she called herself "fierce". Perfect, he thought. There was so much more to be learned from a fierce opponent than one who fought half-heartedly like some of the others in class. "Thanks for the warning, but I think I can hold my own. At least I'd better... it's not like the monsters out there are gonna hold back." He held his sword firmly but not stiffly in his hand, ready to defend. Then he nodded at his opponent, beckoning her to make the first strike.

[Su Mei Lin]

She knew she would one day mistake it for a real pencil so she put it in a place where she would never make that error. To others, it may be a good idea to have it blend into their school utensils pouch or case, but she only put it in a place where she would know about. Like a hidden weapon she would draw in an emergency but that would hardly be the case.

Seeing him drew his longsword, she felt a shudder in her body. It was a surge of excitement mingled with a tinge of caution. The sight of the longer blade in her adversary's hands signaled a new challenge, a test of her adaptability and skill. It was not as though she was bloodthirsty for a fight but she had her ways of showing it with more grace and subtlety. Her adrenaline surged, heightening her senses as she gauged the distance between them. She knew that she couldn't let the initial advantage of the longer sword intimidate her.

Mei distanced herself a bit first.

Her heart pounded in her chest, fueled by the fiery spirit inherited from her godly parent. She had trained relentlessly, honing her skills and embracing the fearless nature instilled within her. She took a moment to survey the arena, its boundaries marked by tall columns and speckled with patches of lush green grass. The sun cast its golden rays upon the clearing, lending an air of intensity to the scene. Everyone else were occupied in their own practices so no one is around to watch them. With a deep breath, the daughter of Ares assumed a battle stance, her feet planted firmly on the ground, legs slightly bent. She tightened her grip on the hilt of her gladius, feeling the weight and balance familiar in her hands. Her muscles tensed, ready to unleash her power and agility.

"That is correct. Then I shouldn't hold back either. Come!"

[Axel Gauthier]

Axel's grip tightened on his blade's handle as the two swords met. Ideally he would have an advantage here - his weapon was larger after all - but he knew better than to underestimate an opponent like that. Larger meant slower, and though his superhuman strength made the thing easy enough to weild, he knew he couldn't hope to match her strike for strike if the pace escalated. That wasn't to say he was an ametuer though. The boy simply recognized his shortcomings in certain areas. And as far as he was concerned, that was the first step in making up for them.

Another blow... another parry... each strike sent a jolt down his arm and through the rest of his body. She wasn't kidding, a smile formed across his face as the thought struck him. This girl really is fierce. It was honestly rather invigorating to go up against someone who shared his passion for the craft. It wasn't that the other campers were lacking in skill or interest necessarily. Heck, many of the older campers were far more seasoned - having seen actual battle on multiple occasions. But his superiors here were rarely willing to engage with a younger child during sparring practice, and the others his own age fell far below his skill level due to his constant, almost obessive practice. But this felt different. More equal... and far more fun.

He kept his distance a bit, relying on his weapon's reach to keep him out of harm's way while he studied her movements. She was graceful and quick, exactly what he'd been woried about. If only he could find an opening... There! For a moment he thought he saw it. A weak point in the pattern. Yet with the next stroke it was gone. So again he waited patiently, watching closely. Again, the spot revealed itself. He seized the opportunity, lunging in in hopes to strike a blow.

"Gotcha!" he declared, hoping his words would prove true. Though even if they did, one blow does not a battle make.