Fatal Flaw: Empathy (Nico di Angelo)

Chapter Ten

So for the sake of the story, Nico fights with a long dagger, not a sword. Still Stygian Iron, but I don't want her to be trained by anyone else. And he's bi in this story because why not?

"Nico!" Percy yelled from across the room waving like a maniac. "We gotta talk, buddy."

I walked over as slowly as I could. Just to annoy Percy. I smirked lazily, before finally stopping in front of Percy.

"Hey, Perce. What do you need?" We were pretty much best friends after all the things we'd been through. Though the whole not my type thing was... not what I hoped it would be.

"So, get this: Aletha got weapons yesterday from our dad. But I can't train her, because she has two daggers. And I know you have a fighting style that people with daggers use. Not to mention, you're a master with that thing..."

"You want me to train your sister?"

"Yeah? Please, Nico? She's gonna get teased if she doesn't learn to use them. And she's pretty sensitive when she's not roasting people." Percy chucked. If he was Persassy, Aletha was Alethally savage.

"What's in it for me?" I asked. "I mean, it's not like I get anything out of this."

By now, Aletha has come over, she looked dead tired, pun not intended. She waved at me. And climbed on top of Percy like some sort of koala. Really, she just climbed a human being, and now she's just sleeping there.

"Aletha, get off!" Percy grumbled. "Isn't it too bright up there?"

She nodded. But stayed there and buried her face into Percy's hair. Watching her made me miss Hazel a lot. Percy looked over to me again, and he was smiling fondly. "Come on, Nico. Please?"

I guess maybe now we could talk. About why she didn't talk to the others. "Fine," I grumbled, "we train at night, though. By the beach if she wants, and I'll get a dummy. And no other time, Percy." I warned looking at his expression. "And no, you can't be there. I need her to focus, and she can't if her living breathing eucalyptus tree is there. Isn't that right, gamberetto?"

Aletha looked up, her eyes meeting my gaze. She nodded slowly, and put her head back down.

Percy bent some water and sprayed her in the face. She jumped off, landing on all fours, and 'I swear she was a koala, how did she turn into a cat,' glared at him shivering. She pulled her armbands off and bent the water off herself and pushed the current against him. She froze it, and strutted off her hair swooshing behind her as she put the daggers to her arm. They turned into bracelets.

"I thought she couldn't do that, Percy? Bend water, I mean." I said smirking at Percy who was getting the water off himself.

"She can't without one of her daggers. Charybdis controls the water, Scylla runs on bloodlust. Something like that." He muttered. "Good luck training her tonight, Nico. It's by the beach."

I shrugged. "She needs to be comfortable in her own element before she can be comfortable anywhere else. And water is stronger at night, much like myself. She'll need it, especially with the stance she had just now."

"Hey, what's 'gam burrito'?" Wow. I didn't think that could be mispronounced.

"Gambaretto?" I repeated. "It's my nick name for her. It means Shrimp in Italian. She used to speak it, so... yeah."

"Does she have a nickname for you?"

"It used to the Death Breath in Italian, ultimo respiro. Now she calls me re fantasmi. Since I told her about my title as Ghost King."

"I think I like Death Breath, better, oh king of ghosts. Good luck teaching my sister. I don't know how easy that's going to be, so good luck."

Percy dashed off, probably to go to the beach.

'Yep,' I thought. 'Good luck, me.'