the apollo cabins night routine was one of the few things coraline enjoyed about spending time with her siblings. there was an unsaid bathroom rule that routines were sacred, and sharing products was one of the few things coraline loved to do. she applied her simple skincare like clockwork, never forgetting a step. her half sisters shared face masks with her half brothers and the bathroom mirror was never free of course, but it was one of the things that made coraline feel a little less lonely. "no i don't want your number no i don't want to give you mine..." smiling to the music, coraline stepped into the separate room to change into a pair of cotton sleep shorts and a soft tank top that hung on her frame.

lee and adrian bell were singing into brushes passionately as she returned "a scrub is a guy that can't get no love from ME!" they danced and jumped from bed to bed, coraline couldn't help but laugh as they raced across williams bed, causing a shriek from the boy under the covers trying to rest. "lights out in ten!" lee panted, stepping off of the poor boys bed and turning off the music.

Coraline slipped between her sheets and picked up her latest read, 'little women' so far her favourite character was Jo, but she knew anyone would associate her with Beth. She admired Jo's strength and compassion, something she wished to emulate in the real world if she ever had the chance. She studied the pages under her reading light well after dark, even though there were several night lights (shaped like the sun, naturally) she was always going to be uneasy about the boogeyman lurking.

"Coral, it really is lights out now!" she heard Lee's voice from across the room. She laughed awkwardly along with a few of her other siblings, and begrudgingly turned off her reading light which left the apollo cabin in near total darkness.

She dreamed of a sea so green it looked toxic and monsters in tunnels so dark it made her skin break out in hives. Monsters never stopped chasing her, across the tunnels and the nuclear waste ocean. Her heart beat out of her chest,her hair sticking to the nape of her neck as she sprinted down and across a maze. "See? i'm not a total sea cucumber" a masculine voice rippled across her visions, why was it so familiar?

Coraline's dream had bothered her all morning, she had chosen to sit with Marley Ravani over a breakfast of eggs and bacon. Marley signed curiously are you okay you look weird her eyebrows upturned with slight disgust. Coraline barely paused from chewing her eggs if i look weird then what does that make you? Marley smiled and rolled her eyes.

Marley was short with lean cut muscles, her mane of curls were dark and well kept, as many of Ares children had hair resembling the fierceness of a lion's mane - and so hair products were always well stocked. Coraline looked up to Marley, despite her being two years her junior. She was a daring child, first to rise to any challenge and tried again and again until she won, Coraline was also jealous of Marleys hair which didn't help. She was the Jo to her Beth, their friendship however forming in a unique way.

Capture the Flag made Coraline a victim every single time, and on one occasion when she was 10 years old; she was flattened by Marley Ravani. A young deaf girl who had fallen out of a tree trying to spot the enemy. They had been inseparable since, Coraline having learnt ASL as her language elective during the winter months where chiron demanded she had a "proper" education at camp.

We have training with the new one today Marley signed, Coraline could easily read between the lines and signed the letter Q?, for Quintus. He was the new trainer at camp, a lucky demigod who had grown to his mid fifties. Coraline had trained with him before with her cabin, but he had chosen to opt for mixed training groups to foster 'realistic battle instincts', given that siblings or cabin vs cabin was too straight forward.

will you use the sun's sword, or are you too scared? Marley raised an eyebrow. The sun being her father, Coraline shrugged. Dewdrop was a great sword, perfect for her given its bespoke design. But it was a pathetic excuse for a peace offering, Apollo would have to at least try and have an in person conversation if he ever wanted Coraline to lessen her grudge.

i'm not scared she signed defensively, having the last sip of her iced tea. well you usually are, if i had a magic sword from my dad i'd never put it down Coraline rolled her eyes, she hated the fact that Marley usually always made good points.

The arena was hot and dusty, the sun beating on her back, Coraline had opted to wear her hair slicked back in a long braid with baggier sports shorts, despite the aphrodite cabin declaring that they were not trendy. "Alright! Is this everyone?" Quintus had a well kept thick head of grey hair with a clipped beard, his leathery skin was torn by scars up his arm which rippled over his muscles. Coraline couldn't help but think he was very well built, and how dangerous he made it look to survive on the outside, given his plethora of writhing scars. She worried for Lee in that moment.

There was around 12 campers, ranging from ages 12 to 17 given that the class was mixed ability. Coraline just hoped she would be fighting someone she knew first to ease herself in. "Pair up and practice, i'll observe and help when needed" Quintus plucked a pair of aviator sunglasses out of his pocket, "at the end we'll see about two or three people fight that i think are worth taking notes from".

Coraline made a beeline for Marley, who was already wiping down her dual swords. They were long and thin, almost like needles that cut the skin in a surgically precise manner. Coraline thought they looked like pirate swords sometimes, although Marley didn't appreciate being called Jack Sparrow.

There was no room for Marley to sign with both her hands full, so Coraline went ahead and pulled her bracelet off of her wrist. Dewdrop was the one thing her father had actually done right, a magical blade that could turn back into the perfect opalite bracelet once Coraline was done with it. She had been gifted it mysteriously on her 7th birthday (the sacred number of apollo) and it hadn't left her left wrist since.

Dewdrop was a strange blade much like its owner, short double edged and thin in width. It had especially shiny sides which cast reflections like water in light on the ground. It was a pale gold and had a subtle smooth piece of seaglass shaped like a teardrop engraved into the hilt.

Coraline was immediately on the defence as Marley crossed her swords and charged against Coraline's blade. The clang sent echoes into the arena. Grunting, coraline pushed back and sliced Dewdrop upwards, splitting Marley's blades apart. They circled each other, Marley bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. Dewdrops short blade meant she would have to get in close, like a traditional greek fighter. But it was difficult considering Marley's blades were almost double in length.

Coraline could hear her heartbeat in her mouth, her feet tread slowly before she abruptly dived forward, slashing Marley's forearm slightly before Marley bashed her own elbow with the hilt of her sword. It was a light gash, nothing that would scar of course, but Coraline hoped Marley was impressed. She was usually always on defence, playing the part of Beth - but today she wanted to be more like Jo, more like the head counsellor she was becoming.

Marley lurched forward, and Coraline could hardly keep up as she blocked and parried both Marley's blades with clumsiness. She could feel Quintus' eyes on her, the pressure of his gaze caused her to ignore the throb in her elbow and plant her feet,pushing against the crossed swords. They were nearly nose to nose, Coraline stared into Marley's hazel eyes and felt a tugging in her gut, the kind she always felt when she was near the ocean.

Coraline felt a wash of calm go over her, she was fine! She had all the time in the world to win this battle. But those thoughts were not her own, she felt as if something alien in her stomach was flowing throughout her body trying to spill out. Coraline felt herself smile, but it didn't feel like her smile. It was sly, it stretched further over her lips and her teeth felt sharp and coy. She could hear the crashing waves of the ocean, but it felt far way and tinny, like it was coming from the inside of a seashell.

Marley's pupils dilated and her grip loosened. Coraline pulled away and swung her blade round causing the swords to crash to the ground and pointed Dewdrop at Marley's neck.

The sweat against her skin was too warm, her head throbbed. How had she gotten away with beating a child of Ares? She only recently started winning against the inanimate targets! Marley was shocked, which made Coraline feel even prouder. Why did you look at me like that? what did you do to me? Marley scowled, a confused expression knitted across her face.

what?

She could feel Quintus beside her, as she lowered Dewdrop from her best friend's neck. "Excuse me, is it Coraline Wells?" Coraline was taken aback, did Chiron tell him about her? Was be going to judge her like everyone else? Quintus must have noticed her surprise. "Very interesting methods of combat, do you mind if i pair you up with someone different? I would like to see how you fair with say, Percy Jackson?"

Marley frowned, she could lip read half of their conversation well enough, she tapped Coraline harshly on the shoulder next time don't slash at me, you know i hate blood. And with that, she walked away to clean her swords to a pristine standard. Coraline's heart was going to beat out of her chest, did Quintus really say Percy Jackson?

Coraline had spoken to Percy Jackson once, after his quest from the sea of monsters when he drained the water from her CD player. At the time it was daunting to ask a camp celebrity for a simple favour, but Coraline would prefer to face her social anxiety in any other way if it meant she didn't fight Percy in front of 10 other campers. Quintus had called Percy over from his partner, a Hermes girl with a large stygian iron mace .

"Do you want me for the demo?" Percy asked, jogging over to where Quintus and Coraline stood. She scowled, his first (or second?) impression was coming off rather cocky, which she didn't like.

"no need jackson, i've found you a new sparring partner" Quintus gestured to Coraline, who nervously waved. She felt like an absolute idiot. Percy didn't seem to notice her awkwardness "oh okay nice, hey my names percy nice to meet you!" his hand reached out to shake hers. Coraline's eyes narrowed, did he not remember her? they had spoken only last year!

Despite her ego being bruised, she gently took his hand. It was sweaty and calloused, the kind of hand that has seen the outside world and lived to tell the tale. "nice to meet you too"

Quintus set them up for a duel whilst everyone fought around them, yet Coraline still felt their eyes in the back of her neck. She reached up and tightened her braid before lifting Dewdrop higher. She had to convince herself she could do this, what would Jo do?

Percy was half a head taller than her, at least. He had broad swimmer shoulders and tanned biceps. He wielded his sword with a familiarity that seemed to flow like water. Coraline knew he would be tough to beat, so she was hoping to lose with dignity.

Coraline didn't really think when she dove forward, aiming to cut down and push Percy to the defence. He didn't anticipate that, stumbling sideways where he should have bounced easily. Coraline smiled to herself, she had caught him off guard. His eyes narrowed and he threw strikes at her which Coraline parried, almost with confidence. She hoped her nerves weren't obvious. "What's your name" Percy asked as she ducked under his sword and sliced the air in front of his knees. If this were a real fight, Coraline would be barely winning. "We've met before you know" She grunted, shoving Dewdrop against his larger sword. He pulled back, confused. "Are you sure? Im pretty sure i would have remembered you"

Coraline huffed and pushed forward, not wanting to stop in case her courage deflated. "well you clearly don't" She snapped, glaring into his eyes. They were a familar shade of green- where had she seen that colour before?

They were back and forth equally for what seemed like eternity. Coraline was growing tired, she needed to try something different. She didn't want to use her fathers gifts, but she was using Dewdrop so she had already done back on her word, why not?

Using the light in the arena, Coraline concentrated hard on bringing it towards her sword, the beams travelling towards her and reflecting off of her mirrored blade.She had only used light manipulation a handful of times, most of which went wrong. By sheer luck, the rays of light followed her subconscious commands and cast powerful rays of light straight into Percy jackson's eyes.

Blinding percy jackson, Coraline barrelled forward, the momentum was enough to send Percy backwards onto the floor. Coraline blinked heavily before realising she had fallen on top of a camp celebrity, Percy Jackson. She was on top of Percy Jackson. In front of everyone.

Breathing heavily, Coraline quickly got back up and lifted Dewdrop to Percy's neck as she stood over him. Her face was burning hot, desperate to play off her informal disarm.He coughed heavily at the dust and looked up at her with a strange mix of astonishment and intrigue.

"I definitely would've remembered someone like you" He remarked, shading his eyes from the sun as he looked up at her. "Do you mind?" he referred to the sword at his neck. She quickly lowered Dewdrop "Sorry" she heard herself mumble, her body in shock. Percy jumped up with ease, and Coraline blinked, did she really just tackle percy jackson to the floor?

She backed away from him and started walking away, too afraid of what he might say or do.Coraline cringed at herself, why was she practically half running out of the arena? this is not what a head counsellor would do! She thought to herself.

"Are your family related to sirens in any way?"Quintus spoke from beside her, as she walked further and further away from the arena. Coraline's heart palpitated, the man had appeared from thin air!

Registering his question, she was taken aback, did Coraline stick like a sore thumb that badly? How would she make it in the real world if it was that obvious? Quintus must have noticed her surprise "I only ask because your charm is distinct, that uncanny smile of yours is bound to charm anyone into a stupor" He smiled, "Good use of it mind you,i was worried you'd be circling your friend all day".

Coraline frowned "why did you pair me up with him" her distaste for Percy Jackson's casual attitude was palpable. Quintus smiled to himself "An experiment, you could say, i wanted to see how you two fought. I understand now that you have a unique heritage, and therefore a dangerous amount of power." His expression turned grave, "you and Mr Jackson are similar in that way, i believe you two could learn from each other".

Coraline was confused, she was dangerous? Chiron had always said she could never leave because she had no better place to be and no family to reach out to. But what if the real reason was because she was too chaotic to not be monitored?Did apollo think she was dangerous too?

Her mind racing, Coraline stopped walking and faces Quintus head on "I don't understand, what are you trying to tell me?". Quintus looked older in the shadows of the trees above them, his eyes looked darker too. "You and Percy are going to be important in this war i hear Chiron talking about. Percy has known about his destiny for a long time, i think you deserve to have an idea of where you're headed too." He put a hand on her shoulder, brows knitted in concern. "I tell you this as advice, not a warning. You are young and have potential, do not let the weight of this fact drown you." Quintus spoke clearly, and his voice was strong.

Coraline almost believed him.

AN
two updates my angels, more on the way i promise 😝 what do you like? what should i change? what are you predicting?

also im so sorry if this is cringe i tried my hardest not to be, but i wanted their first meeting to be in an uncomfortable context for Coraline, so that Percy can learn who she really is throughout the book!

lots of love 💗💗💗