Competition Crushed (Open)

Keeley had finally escaped. Aaliyah and Danielle were probably looking for her, but she couldn’t care less. Plus, they’d never enter the Sword Fighting Arena. Too- what was the word?- pretty. She’d show them.

Keeley unsheathed her dagger. She almost dropped it in alarm when she heard voices, then relaxed when she realized it wasn’t Aaliyah or Danielle. "Focus, Keeley." There was no way she was losing to Aaliyah in Capture the Flag again.

"I told you they'd be no-one around lunch time!"

"But what if the harpies find us?"

"Relax, they don't come out till nightfall."

Jana Kay and Lucy stole through the porticoes into the arena, both wearing their full panoplies. Jana's sword and axe hung on her hips; her big bronze shield gleaming on her arm. Lucy's helmet was carved with vine leaves that looked oddly like laughing emojis.

"Okay, let's get a dummy and-"

"Hold up."

Both glanced over at the dark-haired girl on the opposite end of the sand oval. "Did you book the arena just now?" Jana asked with a wave.

Keeley looked up, pausing. “No. I can get out if you need me to.” She sheathed her dagger and looked at the girls, head tilted curiously. Her dark hair framed her face, and her green eyes glittered. The daughter of Aphrodite was fairly new, and she didn’t quite understand camp yet.

"Oh no, no, not at all! We're just here to practice with one of the dummies."

"Test our powers and all that," Jana added with a smile. "You're welcome to join by the way!"

"Well, I might as well practice." Keeley said. "I'm Keeley. Aphrodite camper." Her green eyes looked the girls over. They both looked like Ares campers, but there was no telling with this place.

"Oh, you're the new one aren't you? Welcome to Camp," Jana Kay said with a bright smile. "I'm in the Demeter cabin."

"And I'm a daughter of Gelos," Lucy added. "You probably never heard of him, he's the god of laughter."

"She makes killer puns. Anyway, shall we?" She circled her sword around her hand, a smile flashing underneath her helmet.

Keeley gave a half-smile. "I guess." Her dagger glinted in the sunlight. "Let's face it now, if we ever fought against each other, I'd lose. I'd lose bad."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Lucy said. "War god children aren't the only ones who have tricks up their sleeves - and you Aphrodites can be fierce on the battlefield."

"You have to find something that works for you," Jana added. "For example, I use the plants and the earth around me to get a better terrain."

"And I give my opponents fits of giggles to mess with their focus." Lucy shrugged. "You just gotta train smart. What are your strengths?"

Keeley paused for a moment. "Well, even though we're using our weapons, I've always been a strong puncher. But, in a full on battle, who's going to play fair?" She lashed out at a dummy, but the dagger hardly made a dent. She frowned and kicked the head instead, and it flew off.

The head rolled to a stop at Valerie’s feet. Feeling restless, she had decided to stop by the training area to de-stress. She started at the severed head. “Not going to play fair? That’s what I’m best at.” In a quick motion, she flipped the head into the air and slashed through it with her Stygian Iron blade.

Keeley jumped at the sound of the newcomer's voice. "Gods above, you scared me." Keeley sighed, looking the girl up and down. "I'm Keeley."

“I’m Valerie,” she said casually, brushing the straw off her sword. She glanced up and down at Keeley then shrugged. “You’re free for the afternoon too?” She suddenly felt awkward, as she was the only one not kitted out in battle gear.

"Nice backhand blow," Jana whistled. "Where did you learn that?"

"We're all free for the afternoon," Lucy explained, smiling at the newcomer.

Valerie shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of time to practice. It helps when you don’t have much to do.”

Keeley looks at Valerie one more time before turning back to the dummies. "I can never fight with weapons; I'm horrible at it. Self defense is easier for me."

“Hmm mmmhh.” She said, and grabbed a dummy for herself, and began slashing it to pieces, while feinting imaginary attacks. “You can do self defence with a weapon too, maybe with a more defensive weapon instead of offensive, or even play with speed.”

"I like punching and kicking." Keeley said, getting straight to the point. She swung her leg and it contacted with what would have been the dummy's ribs.

“Maybe you could get the Hephaestus kids to forge you some gauntlets or spiked boots,” she said, while she finally burst the dummy.

"That's a good idea," Jana said. "I think you should go for it, that was a great kick. Did you Taekwon-Do or something?"

“Taekwon-Do is good in close combat, I used to learn it kung fu from my mom before, uh, you know... Camp Half Blood happened.” She casually shrugged, trying to hide the fact she did miss some of her old life at times. “It’s not going to be of much use when your opponent is armed with a sword or a spear. A bow is worse. You also don’t want to be swinging your legs and fists at a shield either. It’s nice in training or a friendly match, though,” she added.

"I have- well, had seven older brothers. Lorenzo, the oldest, taught me street fighting. I've built off of that." Keeley said, finally tearing a hole in the side of the dummy.

“Oh,” she murmured. “I self-taught myself sword fighting. No other choice when it’s your only weapon and you’re chased by hordes of monsters on your own. I never actually followed standard moves, I just... do whatever feels right.”

"Hordes can't be bad compared to harpies." Kaelynn touched her arm, where the scars from the harpy's claws had grabbed her.

“You’re right, monster claws are the worst,” she said. She subconsciously reached for her own scar, peeking out from underneath her sleeve, then quickly withdrew her hand. She flinched at the memory. It was the one thing that didn’t heal when she first tasted ambrosia when she reached camp.

Keeley shook off the memory and slid her dagger out from her belt. She slashed aimlessly, before catching the dummy in the side of the head.