Drowning in the Siren's Song

Chapter 46

"Faster!" Lupa growled, her dark eyes glowing. A lone drop of sweat dropped from Percy's chin as he pulled Jason along with him, barely avoiding her strong jaws. They swirled around like the wind, their moves indecipherable to the naked eye. 

"Do you want to become my prey?" She was getting closer. "They way you're playing, I'd say you were begging." She taunted with a low voice, her voice resonating within them.

They'd managed to put some distance between them, but Lupa was no ordinary opponent. Within seconds she was back on their heels, forcing them to turn back and fight. She didn't even allow them a breath before her claws came down on them.

Percy cursed mentally, noticing that he was completely out of knives. His hands were empty and his waist was light. He rolled under her, grabbing a rock and thrusting it to her underside while Jason stabbed at her paws. 

They wordlessly scrambled side-by-side, their teamwork polished and perfect. Unfortunately, no matter how good they worked together, Lupa had the higher advantage. She twisted and slashed, the largeness of her body enough to reach both and hold them capacitated.

"Run!" Jason yelled, sprinting away from her. Percy followed, jumping up to snap a dry branch as a make-shift weapon and throwing it at her while he escaped in the moment. It was their strategy, fight when cornered and run when tired. It did allowed them to keep seated in the play, but they couldn't enjoy the story. 

 They'd started off as a 'friendly' spar- Jason and Percy against Lupa, but like always, it had turned into an all-out fight where they'd smashed down craters in the earth and dug up the forest ground without even using their powers.

Maybe it was the adrenaline draining from his bones but each step Percy took killed his energy instead of tiring him. But sprinting with the promise of Lupa behind him made them feel a sense of danger, something he had unknowingly missed after getting comfortable with monsters. 

He'd depended so much on perfecting his ability to use his powers than he'd remained weak in the art of using his body, something which he especially regretted after coming to Wolf House.

After coming to the place where demigods and their descendants had trained for years, it had become explicitly clear that he was more powerful than the average child-of-the-gods. And since he had dependent on powers which he would rather keep hidden, he was, in a way, forced to choose the path of weapons instead of will.

After he'd promised himself not to use his powers and rely solely on raising his physical prowess during his stay there, both for his safety and improvement, Lupa was much stronger than him, and the struggle to beat her felt real. It had become his new goal. 

As they faced each other time and again, Percy started noticing that there was something beautiful about the way they fought, they way they destroyed. It was along time since he'd truly enjoyed fighting. He'd fought for survival, he'd fought to learn, but it was a first for him to fight for the win. 

They both knew that Percy could beat her with his full power, but what he craved was not that victory, but rather a physical one, and Lupa was more than happy to oblige. She knew that the duo of boys was more than ready to call Camp Jupiter their home, but how could she refuse such a tempting offer. 

So she made them run faster, relishing their cries and frustration.