[Lysandros Evermore, Camp Half-Blood]
I put down the practice bow Lee had lend me, as I look at the single arrow that had found it's way onto the target, tactifully ignoring the dozen or so arrow scattered around. What did you expect? Even the talented have to start somewhere!
"I think I got the hang of it Lee! Thanks for the support man!" - I said.
"You really did hit the target! That's impressive, you sure you are not my little brother?" - He joked.
"I wish, buddy, I wish... Want to go after Trika now?" - I asked patting him on the back.
"Now?" - He seemed almost a bit anxious at the prospect.
"There is no time like now! Come on my guy! What if someone is quicker and she is taken right in front of your eyes!?" - I said trying to encourage him, and it seemed to have worked.
"Guh... guess you are right..." - He ceded.
"I sure am! If you don't go, I could even do so myself! You would not even have any time to regret later!" - I teased him.
"That's not fair! You already have Thalia!" - He talked back to me - "What would she think if she heard you talking like that?!"
"Hehe... come closer..." - Beckoned him, as I whispered what I had done.
"Whoa... that was low... as a man I am quite envious, but that was low..." - He said shaking his head to disperse his shock.
"If it works, it works! And it's not like I will neglect her! Praise me more!" - I stuffed my chest and made a proud face, making Lee's mouth twitch.
"I want to hit you..." - He muttered, and I acted like I did not hear what he had just said.
"So, are we gonna go, or not?" - I asked as I turned and started going towards the strawberry fields, where most Demeter kids stayed at during the morning.
Rolling his eyes at my antics, he followed along. A couple minutes later we had arrived at a large expanse of strawberries. Guarded by some satyrs and a couple of gentle looking campers. Most definitely campers from the Demeter Cabin.
I ask for Lee to stay put, and I leave alone towards a brown haired boy who seemed a little younger than me.
"Hey there!" - I greeted him - "Could you give me some help searching for someone?"
"Hi! Sure, who are you looking for?" - He asked, his brown eyes looking towards me.
"I'm searching for Trika Roger. See that guy over there? He's got a crush on her, but is too stupid to do anything about it. So I have to play the wingman."
Looking towards Lee, the boy had a look of realization on his face - "Must be tough to be you..." - He said with pity - "Follow me, big sister should be deeper into the fields." - And he began leading the way.
Following him through the large field, we soon arrived in an earth mound where a lonely figure, dressed in a gardener atire, stood, cattering for the plants around, humming a happy tune. As we got closer, she noticed our presence and turned to look our way with curiosity.
"Good morning! You should be Trika Roger, right?" - I asked, mostly out of cortesy.
"Y-yes? That's me..." - She said shyly.
"Great! My name is Lysandros Evermore! Pleased to meet you! Do you have some moments to spare? I have a friend that's been dying to meet you!" - I said, extending my hand to shake her's.
A bit shyly, she took hold of my extended hand and shook it a little - "Your friend?" - She seemed a little confused.
"Yes! He said he has always wanted to talk with this one pretty lady from the Demeter Cabin, but he was a bit too stupid to do it on his own... so I have come to his aid! Could you spare some time to talk with this stupid and hopeless friend of mine?" - I asked making a dramatic voice.
"M-me? P-pretty?" - Her face took on a healthy shade of red at what I had just said, but she still nodded as if agreeing to my request.
"Take care, sister!" - The boy from before shouted, before turning and running away, leaving just the two of us, as the blush on Trika's face deepened. She was too embarassed to do anything other than stare at her feet.
"So... shall we go?" - I asked, earning back a timid nod. And so, we went on our way out of the strawberry fields. Not gonna lie, the minutes that followed were awfully awkward, with no one saying anything, and Trika following me from a few feet behind.
As we neared the place where I had left Lee behind, I felt the need to break the ice with Trika - "Hey, Ms. Roger, please don't be too harsh on my friend. He might not be the brightest, but he is certainly a good person! Don't worry too much, he won't bite you..." - I finished, sporting a smile, making her groan in agreement.
We soon could even spot Lee, who was standing awkwardly on his spot alone, some surrounding campers and magical creatures throwing curious glances his way. He did not see the two of us, but Trika had spotted him, causing her to freeze on the spot, before a deep crimson covered her face up to her ears. That made me understand something, as a cheeky grin made it's way up into my face.
We were soon just around a dozen meters away from where Lee stood, and he seemed to notice our existence.
"Hey! Lee! I've brought the package! Now it's up to you!" - I said, before quickly turning around and leaving back towards the archery range, not failling to notice the redness that spread through Lee's face as he locked eyes with Trika Roger. Guess we will soon have another couple in the camp! Call me the super wingman!
As it was still early, and there was quite some time before lunch, I took my time practicing what Lee had taught me on archery. I slowly got the hang of it, and started to shoot more and more accurately. When I could get almost every shot right at set distance, I would walk further away.
I know that doing such thing won't have any great effects on the short term, as I would not get too precise at any given distance, I would at least not be terrible in any of them, and with time, I'd become really versatile, as that is what I'm aiming for in the moment.
I trained all the way from 10 meters to over 300 meters away. I also have to consider training with my actual bow, but for that I would need an appropriate target that would not get punctured by the arrows, as that could put those around me in danger. I think I need to pay a visit to my new friend Charles in the close future, learning a bit about forging could really be handy if I ever need it. Who knows the day of tomorrow, right?
And just like that I was soon back to my book-lookalike tent, that should be done in a couple more days. The children of Athena were really excited on developing the new buildings. I heard even Annabeth has been no different, and if not for her older siblings insistance, she would have even pulled out allnighters on creating plans for all the tents and cabins.
Well, the dormitory was pretty much done, with my room, and bathroom already finished, so I took a quick shower to get rid of all the sweat, and, with my hair still wet, rushed towards the dining pavillion for my lunch, as I was really hungry at the moment, after all the training I had done.
And before I forget: Hurray to private bathrooms! I hated the communal one on Hermes Cabin, and it seems I wasn't the only one, for as soon as I mentioned wanting to have my own bathroom, much to Chiron's displeasure, as he was vehemently against the idea, saying it would be a waste of resources, so we managed to settle for 1 bathroom for every 2 beds.
Just so you all know, that fucker have his own bathroom in the main house, and he would absolutely not think like that otherwise. Had I pointed it out when we were having that discussion it would be likely for another revolution to begin.
By the way, have I ever said that many campers got reclaimed after we started building the tents? It seems some deities got interested in having a tent dedicated to them, those shitty deadbeat parents...
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Author's note:
Hello there dear readers, I hope you have all been well! I would first like to thank you all for the support, as we already managed to beat last week's power stones, and even entered the top 200 of the week! I have honestly never expected to make it this far, so I am glad so many people are liking my crazy ramblings of a novel XD.
We are also about to reach 2k collections! I'm even starting to feel a little shy here.
I hope you are all liking these last few chapters. And seeing the MC interacting with other campers. I also do plan to make the MC learn things like crafting from the Hephaestus kids, and maybe even charm from the Aphrodite campers. What do you all think?
But those will probably have to wait for a while, as MC will be too busy improving his archery, and then will come the hunters with a little adventure I have been planning for a while. But I guess that's all for now!
Peace out!