A New Path - Part 7

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Have you ever had a day where you learn something new and are then expected to turn around and apply the new skill to some critical task right away? No room for error, like people's lives are on the line type of perfection? Picture a young heart surgeon, just out of medical school. Would you expect him to run an operation solo after one successful assist in the operating room? Well, that's about what it felt like to me on training day number two.

I wake up feeling pretty good. No pain or stiffness left from my injuries yesterday, and I get close combat today first thing in the morning. Now you might ask why I am so eager to go back to the place where I got pummeled less than a day before. Well, now that I know what to expect, it just doesn't seem so intimidating. I feel ready to take on whatever comes my way and try to learn whatever else I can to keep me alive down the road. I already know more about my own weak points from yesterday's beating and am sure I can protect myself better already.

I grab my gear and head down to the arena. The instructor gives me a half-smile as I walk up. "Got a little bloody and came back for more, I see. Good! I like that. Let's find you something a little milder today and see what we have to work with. Mr. Nox, let's have you work against Mr. Valentino this morning. Jones! You watch and instruct." Jones is a big guy from cabin 9 who looks like he would have no problem pulling two rabid fighters off each other, so that gives me some reassurance that I won't be back in the infirmary today. The my opponent walks over and I figure I am in serious trouble.

A dark haired boy walks over laughing and joking with his friends until he gets to the edge of the fighting circle and sees me there. His attitude does a complete 180 and I find myself on the receiving end of a rather murderous stare. I nervously adjust my grip on my blade as I try to figure out what kind of fighting style he might bring against me. I can't read him well enough to tell, but I know it is going to be non-stop. My opponent is Angelia's brother, Michael.

The match starts and Jones circles the ring to watch each of our styles. Michael approaches with a very focused look and goes on the offensive right from the start. His uses a very quick, stick-and-move type of style. He makes an attack and then quickly gets out of range of any return swings I can make. However, I see he is going after the same week points that Nos went after the day before. I am able to guess at many of them and move out of the way or get my shield into position, but he is still very quick and that shield starts to get heavy after even a few minutes of sparring. My guard starts to drop and Michael begins to land some glancing hits on me and draw a little blood.

Michael smiles with enjoyment with the way the match is going. He knows it is just a matter of time before he breaks through. Then Jones calls a timeout. He starts with Michael, giving him some pointers on his striking motion, pointing out where he is losing some power in his motion. Oh, great! Just what I want to be hearing. Jones then comes over to me. "Give me your shield." I hand it over to him and he tosses it out of the ring. He then pulls a bronze dagger out of his belt and offers it to me. "Your natural fighting style is too light and fluid to deal with a heavy shield like that. Try this for your off-hand. I think it will suit you better." I take the knife, but look at him with a confused look. "So what am I suppossed to do for defense?" He just smiles, "Parry. Or better yet, don't get hit at all. Resume!"

Michael drives forward once again, probably figuring he has this fight in the bag. I figure he pretty much has it won as well. The first few attacks, I just barely manage to dodge out of the way. Jones was right about one thing though, I feel a whole lot better without that shield weighing me down. But how do I get back in this fight when he is controlling our movement around the ring? The next attack comes and I decide to hold my ground, rather than keep moving back. I don't attack him, I just focus on his blade and try to knock it aside when it comes. I halfway expect a stabbing pain when I try it, but instead am rewarded with a satisying metal clang as his blade goes wide. I stay cautious and defensive, but I manage to hold my ground as his next few strikes come in.

Ok, back to even...pretty much. My blood loss may be slow, but it is wearing me down. On the flip side, Michael is using much heavier equipment and is starting to show signs of fatigue as well. This one is going to be tight. So what's my next move? I think back to the moves Michael used early on that wore me out the most. I try to work similar moves into my parries to create a kind of 1-2 combo. Parry and thrust. Parry and thrust. I don't land any hits at first, but I do start to see his shield level dropping ever so slightly as time goes on.

I start to press the attack and, inch by inch, I start to drive him backwards. I barely realize I am controlling the flow when it happens. I make a slice with the dagger coming on from an angle. Michael gets his shield into position a fraction of a second too late. He does manage to deflect the tip, but the momentum of the swing carries my hand and the pommel of the dagger striaght into his cheek. He staggers back from the hit, his hand instinctually coming up to rub the red mark on his face. I am so stunned I landed a blow that I fail to press forward to take advantage.

We stand their staring at each other in suprise before we both charge forward into a frantic blur of strikes and blocks. He manages to land a few more shallow cuts on me before he starts to slow down again and I am able to repeat my hit from earlier, this time landing the pommel of my blade on his cheek, just below the eye. "Halt!" Jones calls out. "Much better from both of you. Go get cleaned up. That is enough for today."

A supply of nectar and small bandages is kept on hand at the arena, so I do not have to make a trip to the big house for healing today. As I get patched up, I see Michael nearby. His cheek is pretty swollen from the hit. He puts an icepack on it which gets me thinking if nectar doesn't work as well for bruises, or if maybe he already had more than he should for now and has to rely on conventional stuff for a bit. Either way, I certainly didn't do anything to make things any better between us, but I am not sure what else I could do under the circumstances.

I head off to get cleaned up and change clothes before heading out to the strawberry fields. Apparently this is how the camp pays for everything from the outside world, so every camper takes a turn tending the fields to help earn their keep. Demeter and Dionysus cabins apparently have senior status for this task due to their natural connections to plant life. Upon arriving, I find myself assigned to a team under Chloe. She sends the more experience campers off to handle tasks that they are apparently familiar with and has me tag along with her to learn the basics of the field.

I follow her up and down the rows, taking note of the different things she points out with an ivy entwined staff. I note a few other campers with similar staves and learn that is how the team leaders are identified. I learn about the different age groups that are planted in different zones, how much water they need, and what to fertalize them with (I pray I don't get assigned that task).

"Ok, pretty boy, let's see how well you were paying attention. Tell me where to find the 2 month old plants." I answer correctly. "Good! Now tell me what is used to feed the plants at 6 months." I answer and try not to get grossed out by what it is. "Good! Last question. What the heck have you been doing to Mike's sister?!?" With that last question comes a solid WHACK to my leg with her staff. "OW!" I fall to my knees.

"What are you talking about?!?" I look up at her in shock. WHACK! "OW!" "I know your ways, perv boy! And Mike wouldn't be so worked up if you weren't up to something!" WHACK! "Would you stop that?!? I only talked to her! Maybe bled on her a little while she was patching me up!" Chloe eyes me suspiciously, "So, you two weren't snogging in the infirmary yesterday...?" "What?!? No!...I mean I would love it if we were, but we just talked! I swear!"

Chloe looks embarrassed and kinda toes the dirt for a moment. "Oh...well then...I guess that's ok..." WHACK! "Ow! What was that for?" "You're hurting the plant. Stop kneeling on it and go get it some water." She kneels down and starts holding the leaves and talking to the plant like its a puppy that I just kicked. Not wanting another caning, I limp back to the toolshed to get a watering pail. I wonder if Michael has a spare icepack I can borrow...

Luckily, the rest of the day goes by pretty smoothly and I am feeling a lot more upbeat by dinner time. My sisters joke with me about the scene in the strawberry fields and then proceed to make the entire Apollo table squirm as they keep looking over at them trying to figure out who this mystery girl is that is stirring up so much activity around me. The happy feelings are cooled some though by the serious look on Chiron's face as well move to the evening campfire.

Chiron motions for silence and we all turn to see what is going on. "There has been an expected prophecy given out and it appears a quest needs to be issued. After it is determined who will be going, that group will meet with me at the Big House to go over things in more detail." Whispers break out all around the campfire as people try to guess at what may be going on and who is going to be picked. Chiron is handed a paper and begins to read,

"A child of night and a child of day,

shall help the dove to find his way.

Green makes the team a little more sound,

when added with energy unbound.

A quick trip West to parts unknown,

the world cut off, the five alone.

A light in the dark holds the key.

A hero lost sets others free.

A mother's love. A prophetic shout.

A treasure found, when most in doubt."

Chiron folds the paper and looks around at the various campers. "Any thoughts?" The noise from the crowd rises to a dull roar as people talk about what it all means. One boy speaks up, "Well the child of day is probably someone from cabin 7, but a child of night would be 8 and there are no children in that cabin." Another girl answers, "There are the hunters..." Chiron scans the crowd, "No, it may not be fair Artemis who is being talked about. The hunters are not about, but there may be one other who fits the description. Nos! Where are you?"

The path clears through the crowd to Nos, who is seen leaning back on a bench, playing with a lighter. She looks up, "Yeah. Ok then. " She stands and adjusts her backwards cap before jumping down to the center of the gathering. "So who else is joining the party?"

One of my sisters speaks up next, "Well it says a dove. That has to be one of us, right?" Nos frowns as the Aphrodite girls start to debate who should go. Someone from the Athena group speaks up, "You are missing something. It said 'HIS path'. That would seem to indicate it is an Aphrodite boy and that he will be the one leading the team." There is a lot of nodding as people agree with what was said. My two other brothers currently in the cabin seem to be doing their best to blend into the background. I may not be the best choice, but I will probably do better than either of them will. I stand up. "I will go..." Nos spits some unprintable curses at the ground.

Chloe then stands up on the other side of the gathering. "I should probably go too, to keep him in line." She looks both nervous and excited. I suspect keeping me in line is just her justification for going on a quest she would volunteer for anyways under other circumstances. Green could mean Demeter though, and I know she can be a team player, so it is a good choice in general. Chiron nods to her and she smiles as she sits back down.

A blonde girl nearby, who looks like she had waaaay too much soda at dinner, chatters non-stop to her neighbors. "Eeeeeeee! This is so exciting! Can you believe it? Who is the child of day? And who could possibly be energy unbound?!? I can't stand the suspense!" She bounces in her seat like this is the best TV show ever. The people around her all turn to stare as does Chiron. She stops bouncing. "Me?!? Oh my god! Oh my god! Yes!" She tries to calm down, but can't. She just bounces in her seat with her hands over her mouth to stop from giggling while the other team member is found.

One of the Dionysus boys speaks up next, "So what about the child of day? That could be anyone from Apollo..." Chiron rubs his chin thoughtfully, "Let's allow the team lead to decide then. Mr Valentino, who would you like to go?" He motions over to the Apollo group, but I already know who I am going to pick. "Well, we should probably have a skilled healer with us if we are going to be 'alone' like the prophecy says. I would like Angelia to come with me."

"No!" A figure shoots to his feet. Of course, I knew Michael would object, but the choice was given to me. Chiron turns to look at him. "You have a problem with the choice? You would rather go instead?" He glares furiously at me, "No, sir. I don't want to go anywhere with HIM. And my sister doesn't either!" Chiron gives him a look and then calmly says, "I see...But I believe the offer was made to Ms Angelia. She needs to accept or decline for herself. What do you have to say, dear girl? Do you accept?"

A clearing appears in the crowd around a very nervous looking Angelia. She is shaking so bad from being in the spotlight, I think she may be on the verge of passing out. She turns to Michael and gives him a look I can't see before turning to look straight at me as she nods her acceptance to the invitation. I smile back at her as my sisters quietly whisper around me, "Ohh, so that's her..."

Chiron motions to the five of us that were chosen. "OK then, the five of you should meet me at the Big House in 15 minutes. The rest of you, please enjoy the rest of your evening." He sets off towards the house. I get a few pats on the back from my family as I make my way down from the seating area. I start up the path to the house and wonder what I may have just gotten myself into.

To be continued...