The Forgotten Children

Don't Play With Fire

Leo side stepped another one of Piper's attacks, barely though. She was getting better, however Leo dodging most of her attacks was becoming frustrating.

Why was this so hard Piper thought angrily as she took another swipe at him with her dagger, which he dodged again.

Annabeth had made it look so easy!

They were training, both had agreed to not to use their extra demigod powers in the fight, though Piper was regretting it.

She could have easily won if she could use her charm speak!

"You can do it Piper!" Jason shouted from the sidelines.

Piper smiled at him reassuringly before she started to attack Leo again.

"Ugh! Would you stop dodging me for gods sake!" She shouted at Leo, who raised his eyebrows and said teasingly "You'd prefer me to stand still and let you stab me with a dagger beauty queen?"

"I expect you to fight back!" Piper snapped.

Leo rolled his eyes.

"Fine" He said.

Thats was all the warning Piper got before she was on her back, stars in her eyes, her head ached badly.

Leo held the sword over her, the end facing towards her.

He'd just hit her with the end of the sword!

Piper glared up at him.

He shrugged, smiling cheekily "What? You said fight back"

"Not like that! You were supposed to jab me with the sword, so I could block! Not hit me over the head with it, its a sword, not a hammer!" Piper huffed, rubbing her head.

"Hammers are better though" Leo said, crossing his arms.

"I'd like to disagree"

Leo looked around, his eyes widening as he took in Jason...with his sword out, he also happened to be smirking.

"Um" Leo said.

"How about we go around?" Jason asked, casually.

"You know...that fight was pretty tiring, I think I'll just-" Leo said awkwardly, trying to get away.

Jason caught him by the back of his t-shirt, pulling the smaller boy backwards.

"Ah, ah. We've hardly trained at all together. It's been months, come on Leo" Jason teased.

Leo scowled, hand going to his shoulder that had been dislocated painfully in his last fight with Jason, not mention all those bruises that hadn't gone away.

"I wonder why..." Leo muttered, knowing he'd purposely avoided Jason in the training sessions and Percy.

They were two demigods he'd never be able to match in sword fighting, so he avoided them to stop himself being humiliated, simple as.

"Jason" Leo pleaded, not in the mood to be beaten down in front of a large amount of people...

Okay, he'd just done that to Piper but she'd only have a bruise on her head! He'd be walking away from this fight with multiple bruises!

"Nope" Jason replied, readying himself in a battle stance.

Leo groaned loudly.

He could already feel his skin prickling and heating up as his heart rose in slight fear and anticipation of the pain and humiliation to come.

Leo scowled at his best friend as he to reluctantly went into his own battle stance. The sword felt clumsy in his hands, he wielded a hammer, not a sword, there was a reason for this!

Jason didn't hold back.

Leo dodged to the side just in the nick of time. He knew Jason would stop before he hurt Leo really badly, he was his best friend, it would never come to that.

But it didn't stop Leo's heart rate increasingly dramatically, adrenaline surging through his veins and the temperature around him rising.

Looking back on it, Leo knew he should have stopped the fight there.

He began to feel hotter and hotter, that was the warning sign when he didn't have a controlled grasp on his powers like he usually did.

He should have called the fight off then.

Jason would have understood.

But Leo didn't and that changed everything, a stupid mistake.

Leo did manage to block one of Jason's blows, the impact rocking through his body but he fell to the ground at the same time.

The sword nicked his arm that was holding his own sword, he dropped it, wincing.

His temperature shot up to dangerous degrees.

Usually Leo would have gotten back up but he decided the best option was to lose the fight now. It was easier, especially when he didn't have that much control this morning.

Jason frowned when Leo didn't get back up.

Sighing Jason went for the killing blow, well the blow that would end the fight, he'd hoped Leo would be more of a challenge.

The sword whizzed at Leo in what felt like slow motion.

In Leo's mind he knew the sword would stop inches away from his neck, a position in a real fight the opponent wouldn't be able to get out of.

From then on the fight would end.

Leo knew this.

But his body reacted just like it would in a real fight, it was instinct. Leo felt like he had no control over his body as his hands raised, his temperature even hotter.

Then bright red flames came from Leo's hands right in the direction of Jason...

From then on everything went downhill.