Showing Off Like a Pro

Hunter paced around the sword fighting arena, the clang of celestial bronze against celestial bronze making its way into some sort of background noise that was almost rhythmic. He wondered when Niamh was coming. Just remembering her made him blush and he squatted to the ground with his hands clasped behind his neck as he tucked his head towards the floor. Maybe he overdid it a little, the way he asked her out. Gods it was terrible. Maybe the flowers were a bad idea. Girls liked flowers right? He picked some wild flowers he deemed nice enough and gathered them into a hopefully neat bouquet. He stood back up and scratched the back of his neck.

Flowers were good, he convinced himself until he sighed and stood back up. He held his daggers and twirled them in his fingers as he shuffled from side to side.

OOC: What a short a** starter

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
Get a grip. Thats what Niamh has been telling herself for the past hour. But she had the right to be nervous, right? She was going on an official date with Hunter and the way he had asked her out was kind've embarrassing. Niamh practically died when he asked her in front of her half-siblings. But at the same time, she kinda liked it.

"Hi Hunter." Niamh siad as she entered the arena, her gaze casted on a frantic Hunter. He looked tense. Maybe it was because of the date. But she had said yes so he shouldn't be worrying. Her sword, Fionna, was held in her hand. She doesn't know how to fight that much and now she needed pointers. Maybe Hunter could help.
OOC: mines not good either

 

 

When Hunter heard a familiar voice his head perked up immediately and his eyes searched around the arena until he finally saw her. The tension in his shoulders relaxed when he jogged over to Niamh with a grin on his face. Somehow he was always smiling when she was there.

"Hey Niamh," He greeted and gave her a peck on her forehead. "Was the sword arena bad idea for a date?"

He was a bit nervous although, honestly he had no reason to be. After all this wasn't the first time they met in arrangement. Hunter guessed it was just the official title of a 'date' that kinda freaked him out. He hadn't been on a date in a looooooong time and wasn't really sure how it was supposed to go. Was there a manual or something? Oh he cracks himself up even in his mind. His gaze caught the sword by her side and he inspected it from afar. It was short and he guessed that it was about a foot and half long or so.

"Nice sword, does it have a name? Some people name their weapons and stuff."

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
Pink dusted her cheeks as Hunter pecked her forehead. He looked the same as before, pretty good looking if she should say. Oh wait, he's talking.

"Nah, I never been on a date here dough." Niamh told him, playing with the hem of her white tank top. She had dressed so she wouldn't be uncomfortable. Her outfit also consisted of a loose pink shirt on top, grey sweat shorts, and blue running shoes. Her blonde locks were tied up in a messy ponytail, a cheery smile on her face.

"Fionna, I named her but I don't spar much so all she does is collect dust in ma trunk." Niamh admitted sheepishly. She really needed this right now.

"So, what do ya have planned today?"

 

 

Fionna? Hunter thought it was was simple and pretty. Some other campers usually tended to name their weapons some Greek word but he found it extremely difficult to say. Him? One dagger was named Roscoe and the other was Figero, both named after his old dogs. See? Simple.

"Hm. I was just thinking of maybe some sparring; see how good you are with Fionna." He suggested.

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
"Hm. I was just thinking of maybe some sparring; see how good you are with Fionna." Niamh shrugged at this. Fighting wasn't her style, she was more of a lover. The last time she had tried fighting it was really bad, her grip on her sword wasn't so good so it kept flying out've her hand. Big embarrassment.

"I'm not da best." Niamh said truthfully, eyes cast down a little. "If anything I need pointers."
OOC:shortshortshort

 

 

Hunter smiled at her confession and slung an arm around her shoulders and winked at her, pointing his thumbs to himself. "That's why I'm here. I'm not the best either but I do like to believe I can hold my own in a fight and that's all that matters." He declared boldly with a grin and let go of her. He swung his arms out wide and held them open like he was waiting for a hug, daggers in hand.

"Try to attack me." He stated confidently.

OOC: You and me both dude btw I'm probs not able to post for the majority of the day since I has a party thingy

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
A blush appeared on Niamh's cheeks as an arm was wrapped around her shoulders, Hunter winking at her. Giggling a little, Niamh pecked his cheek. Sometimes he was too funny.

"Well, I really need help." Niamh said just as he let go of her, taking a few steps back. He held his arms out like he was about to give her a giant hug, causing Niamh to giggle even more. Wow, ya giggle a lot.

"Try to attack me." Niamh gasped at that. She couldn't attack him really, she barely knew how to swing a sword.

"I-I can't do dat. I still need to practice with ma sword!" She cried out.
OOC: thats kay, just don't go crazy ;)

 

 

"I-I can't do dat. I still need to practice with ma sword!" He paused for a second with his arms still outstretched in midair. He brought a hand to his chin and the other arm over his chest in a pose that made him look like he was thinking. He thought that at least she had practiced a bit before and knew the basics but then again maybe she hadn't. After all she was 14 so she probably hadn't been in camp long enough to do it.

"Alright then maybe we should start off with a dummy." Hunter said as he walked over to one, the straw sticking out of the burgundy cloth.

"Hold your sword with two hands, doesn't really matter how you hold it but as long as you have a good firm grip on it then it should be good enough. You don't want your opponent to be able to knock away your weapon." He instructed as he put away one of his daggers and held the other with two hands to demonstrate. He knew enough swordplay despite using daggers and preferred the smaller blades for agility and speed rather than brute strength.

"Here let me help you." He offered as he took her hands and positioned them correctly even though he knew that holding a sword was no hard feat and she could probably do it herself. He just wanted an excuse to hold her hands. Okay he was shameless, sue him.

OOC: lol i didn't xD i was just like hiding in a storage room so i didn't have to do anything since it was more like a family party with a bunch of people i didn't even know

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
After a while of string at Hunter doing a funny pose that resembled someone thinking, Niamh followed Hunter over to a nearby dummy. Most of the time she sees Ares kids hacking at that thing with battle axes and swords, making the arms fall off and straw come out. She always hated that, i seemed inhuman...or undemigodly for them to be fighting that much.
She wasn't paying that much to what he was saying, more to what he was demonstrating. She was finally snapped into reality when Hunter's hands were placed on hers, guiding them to the correct spot on the handle on her sword. The blush creeping onto her face, Niamh tightened her grip on the handle, inching closer to the dummy.

"O-Okay." She stuttered, a little unsure of swinging at the dummy. Well, she might as well since Hunter was watching. Raising her arms, the blonde took a couple swings at the dummy, slashing some of the stomach only. The rest she just missed. A slight improvement from before.

"Did I do well?" Niamh asked, turning back to Hunter.
OOC: i do that every time i'm at a party like that. its like "who are you people?"
and i wrote too much, didn't i?

 

 

Hunter quirked his eyebrows, watching as the daughter of Aphrodite slashed at the dummy and landed only a couple of hits. Well at least she hit it. He took a few steps closer to her and nudged her closer to the straw dummy as he had his palm on the small of her back. He gave her an encouraging smile and leaned down to steal a quick kiss. He couldn't help it and didn't care if they were dating or not or whatever. He'd stop kissing her when she protested. Hey, despite being a reckless or limitless kind of guy, he knew boundaries.

"You got some good hits in," He said. "But you were a little too far from the target. Since your sword's pretty short you'll have to get closer to your opponent in the future. Heck, your sword is just a couple inches off my own daggers." He exclaimed, taking his weapons out fluidly and holding it up for show.

"With larger weapons you're able to hit at distance with more strength but with smaller things like knives or short swords then you have to be quick and light on your feet- able to get close to the enemy and surprise them with a blade to their throat or somethin'." Hunter stated as he demonstrated again. He held his daggers in both hands and leaped from one foot to the other to show his agility. He feigned a strike at Niamh which he was sure would surprise her (that was the point) and got in front of her with the blunt of his blade pressed against her back. He gave her a cheeky grin, "See?"

He retreated away from her and put his daggers away and lifted up one of his feet, pointing to the area just beneath his toes. "If you wanna be light and quick it's best recommended to move on the balls of your feet."

OOC: lol no thats fine, i just dont wanna disappoint with short replies xD

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
A hand was placed on the small of her back and Niamh nearly jumped if she didn't realize it was Hunter. He nudged her a little closer to the dummy, stealing a kiss after. Niamh smiled, kissing back till she realized where they were. Okay, she loved that Hunter wasn't afraid to kiss her but Niamh wasn't too fond of kissing in public where people could watch.

"We're in public." She pushed him back a little, just as he let oh and started talking. He was right though, her sword was only a couple inches longer than his dagger. But she liked short swords, easier to use.

"Okay." The blonde nodded when Hunter finished explaining. She took another couple swings, landing more on the arms than missing. At her last swing, her grip had loosened since her palms were sweaty and her sword flew right out've her hand. What was even worse was that her right hand was nicked, a thin line of blood in her palm.

"Ah!" She cried out, holding her hand in pain.

 

 

So no PDA. No public displays of affection, no bad Hunter. He took that into note to only do that when they were alone since Niamh didn't like to do that in public. He was fine with that but then again that meant less of being openly close to her. Boo. He nodded his head, watching approvingly as she slashed at the dummy. Now that she was closer she could land hits more easily but he jolted, alarmed, when the sword flew out of her hands.

He rushed over to her and left the sword on the floor as he took her hand tenderly in his own. He inspected the wound, sighing in relief since it was only a scratch. He gave her a bright smile, "You'll be alright." He encouraged. He ripped a piece of his standard CHB shirt and wrapped the bright orange strip around her hand. He could understand why she would cry out like that despite the small wound- sometimes the smallest of cuts stung the most. Like paper cuts. He really despised paper cuts.

"Think you can still hold the sword? If you keep putting pressure on it, it should help." Hunter suggested. He knew he was being a little insistent but hey, tough love right?

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
Her hand was starting to sting and even the smile Hunter was giving her didn't help. Niamh rarely got hurt like this (there was that time with the dragon but that didn't matter now) and she was a little worried. How do you deal with something like this? The again, she did know that Hunter might know. But even his advice made her a little wary."

"C-Could I still down for a few? Then I'll try again." She said a little timidly. Great, he probably thinks she a wimp or something.

 

 

"C-Could I still sit down for a few? Then I'll try again." Niamh asked a bit shyly. Hunter nodded and bit his lip, reaching out for her hand to guide her over to the benches but refraining from doing so, fiddling with one of his daggers instead. Right. No touching in public.

"Sure that's fine," He replied with a quirk of his lips going into a smile. He sat down on the bench next to her, hands spread behind him to push him up with the palms against the bench. "I take it that you haven't practiced fighting a lot?" He asked teasingly with a smirk.

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
Niamh was very relived that she didn't have to continue sword fighting but she instantly became confused when Hunter retracted his hand from touching hers. Why would he- Oh. When she meant "we're in public", he might've gotten the wrong idea. She really meant "no kissing in public". Whoops.
She was so zoned out she almost didn't hear Hunter's question

"Huh? Oh, nah, I'm not that much of a fighter." She explained, her hand finding his on the bench. His palms were sweaty but she didn't mind.

"Do ya practice a lot?"

 

 

"Huh? Oh, nah, I'm not that much of a fighter." The son of Hermes smiled at that with a little laugh. More of a lover than a fighter? He felt like he heard that from a song somewhere. He smiled even more when he felt her hand on his own and he intertwined them together so that their fingers were locked together. Okay maybe she just meant kissing at the time. He inwardly winced when he realized that his hands were most likely clammy and sweaty but when he looked over at Niamh, she didn't seem to mind. "Do ya practice a lot?"

"Yeah, I try to whenever I get the chance to." Hunter answered. "I like to be prepared in case anything happens at camp and the borders can't protect us anymore or they, like, glitch or something. Could that happen? Can magic even glitch?"

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
"Yeah, I try to whenever I get the chance to." Hunter said and Niamh agreed, squeezing his hand slightly. It was nice to train but it was pointless to Niamh. On the rare occasions when she did train, she only trained so she won't die young. It wouldn't be nice if she died before she was an adult, it wouldn't be cool.

"I can tell. After all, ya saved me from da dragon." She teased, referring to their meeting in the forest. He fought the monster fairly easy while Niamh almost got herself killed. Not the best way to meet someone.

"But magic glitching?" Niamh laughed a little at that. "Thats impossible."

 

 

Hunter laughed, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand when Niamh recalled how they first met. He had to admit that the dragon was somewhat hard to fight but mostly because the fight started off in the trees and he preferred fighting on the ground. And then there was the fact that he fell too. But when he was on the ground and rendered the dragon flightless, it was fairly easier to terminate it. Terminate? Really Hunter? This isn't the Terminator.

"Well I still fell of a tree and nearly got a concussion. I wouldn't really call that cool." He replied with a grin. "And technically magic can glitch but I guess it's not really glitching but more like . . . I don't know, something. But take the camp Borders for example, when there are like cracks in it or weak spots that allow monsters to get through- like that! It's not called glitching though, I can't really find a proper word for it."

He tapped his index finger to his cheek with eyes wandering aimlessly around the arena like the word would just pop out of nowhere. He sighed and gave up, pursing his lips. It was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't say it. He hated when that happened!

"So why'd you choose a sword?" Hunter asked to get his mind focused back on Niamh.

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
"But dat was only when Thalia's tree was dying!" She retorted. The only time she had ever heard that happen was when her half-siblings told her about how Thaila's tree almost died, along with the camp. She was kind've glad she wasn't there for that.

"So why'd you choose a sword?" Hunter had asked. Niamh puzzled for a minute before she knew her answer.

"I dink when I first came here, the saytr showing me 'found showed me da arena. There was two demigods fightin', one had a wee bit of a dagger and da other one had a sword. Da sword just fascinated me so when it was time to choose ma weapon, I chose da sword." She explained, tucking a price of hair behind her ear. The blood on her hand was still coming but was almost dry so that was a good sign.

"Why did ya choose daggers?" Niamh retorted back at Hunter.

 

 

"Well you can't always rely on something else to protect you," Hunter said. "I mean look at health insurance!"

Okay maybe he didn't know what he meant by that but still there were some faults in health insurance that you couldn't rely on. He didn't know how that could be compared to when Luke, one of his half siblings, rest in peace bro, poisoned Thalia's tree. He listened to why Niamh chose her weapon and nodded along. He wish his reason was that cool.

"Why did ya choose daggers?" Well crap now it was turned to him. He scratched the back of his head and let out a cheeky grin with a laugh, "I just thought they were cool."

"How's your hand?"

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
"I just thought they were cool." Niamh stared at Hunter with a look that said "really?". At least she had an answer that was also kind've a story.
Just when she was going to speak again, her hand began to sting again. God, it was like putting lemonade on a paper cut. It stung really bad. But maybe sh should try and practice again, it might help.

"It hurts a wee bit," Lie, it hurts a lot. "But I'll try." Niamh stood up, walking over to where her sword was scattered.

"But I still need ya help." She said once she had her sword in her hand.

 

 

Hunter frowned at that. She was obviously lying to him about how it hurt. He stood up and walked over to her, taking the sword from her hands and holding it himself. He walked behind her and pushed her back, guiding her back to the bench. He spun her around so she was facing him and her back faced the bench and pushed on her shoulders so that she sat down.

"Your a terrible liar," He stated in a singsong voice. He took out some ambrosia from his pocket and broke off a piece for her and placed it in her hand. She didn't really need that much since it was a cut. "There."

 

 

You've got a smile that will light up this whole town

 

With out you, tomorrow wouldn't be worth the wait and yesterday wouldn't be worth remembering.

 
 

 
Huh? Niamh's sword was wrenched out've her hand by Hunter. She must be a really bad liar. It was obvious, just as Hunter pushed her back to the bench, sitting her down before fishing something out've his pocket. Niamh instantly recognized it as ambrosia.

"B-But I don't need it." She said while pushing his hand back. It was just a small cut, not like she was gushing blood.
"I'm not dying." If she wasn't going to practice, what was she going to do? Oh wait, she knew.

"If I'm not going to practice, why don't ya practice? I'd like to watch ya a wee bit." She said, a little timidly. She thought it was a weird idea.

 

 

"True that," He said as he put his ambrosia away. Okay maybe he overreacted but he just didn't wanna see her in pain. Even from something as small as a cut. Oh gods, he was going all Mama Bear on her wasn't he? His old friends used to say he did that sometimes without even knowing it but at least he refrained from that right now. Saved a crap load of embarrassment.


"If I'm not going to practice, why don't ya practice? I'd like to watch ya a wee bit." Niamh asked timidly. He thought that was weird. Not the question- but how she was being more timid today. That was weird to him. Well, she was shy around sometimes but never to the point of timid. Did he do something?

Maybe it was the swords arena. Some girls aren't really used to weapons so maybe it was the surroundings. Hm, he'll think more next time.

"Sure." Hunter agreed with a shrug even though it kinda felt weird to just practice as Niamh watched but he could handle it, he practiced a lot by himself anyway. It could be considered extra training for himself perhaps. He took out his daggers and lunged at the dummy, slashing and cutting as he made his way to it. Dummies sucked. He wished he had someone to spar with. Last time he actually fought with another person was when he was helping a new camper from his cabin.