Race Against Time

Chapter 6

Metal clanged against metal as two boys whirled around in the center of an arena. They were slick with sweat and panting heavily, both looking for an opening in the other's weakness. 

One was a familiar figure- Swaeshy. His fluffy dark brown hair bounced as he skillfully dodged each attack the other boy made. He changed into an orange t-shirt with the words 'Camp Half-Blood' printed on it in black. His jeans were ripped up from previous duels- his knees scraped and bruised. A small cut was present on his cheek, blood slowly dribbling down his face. He held two swords that he was twirling in his hands they seemingly flashed between weapons every couple seconds- able to keep his opponent on his toes.

The other boy had a pale yellow shirt that clung to his figure. It was ripped up in a couple places and he wore a leather chest-plate over it. The leather taking most of the beating that the boy received. He wore dark leggings that had small yellow sparkles dusted over them. His white sneakers were matted with dirt and sand from brawling. His brown hair dangled in front of his hazel eyes. The boy fought with a spear and a shield, opting to take a more defensive side unlike Swaeshy who rained down attacks on him.

Both were engaged in the dangerous duel- eyes sharpened with focus and confidence. Blades clashed against one another neither gaining the upper edge. The tides of battle can turn in an instant, all it took was one missed jab from the hazel eyed boy for Swaeshy to disarm him, knock him to the ground, and point both of his swords at his neck.

"That makes it 121: 69 Aegis. You're slacking." Swaeshy commented offering a hand to his fallen friend. With a small grunt he hoisted Aegis up and clapped him on the back. "All things considering we were pretty even for a while. That last jab failed though, you tried going for a move you know would fail."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Aegis huffed reaching for his water bottle at the edge of the arena. "We done for the day?" 

Swaeshy let a small hum, agreeing with the other boy. "Yeah, sounds good. The furry trio brought back four new campers yesterday."

Aegis raised an eyebrow, a bit perplexed. "You mean Flare, Las, and Alice? Also four campers what the hell."

"Yeah- the furry trio that's what I said." Swaeshy said with a straight face as he plopped down on a bunch at the side of the arena. "I didn't stutter did I." Aegis couldn't help the laughter that bubbled to the surface. His laughter rang out, causing Swaeshy to give a small chuckle as well.

"Anyways yeah three new campers. Leo made a big scene at two of them being his sisters or something- wasn't too pleased about that. Rumor is that he just punched one of that at some point." Swaeshy commented. "The other two are unclaimed though so who knows what mayhem is going to descend soon. I don't think we want another child of Hephaestus running around like crazy."

At the second sentence Aegis flat out just spat out the water he was drinking. "Leo punched one of them." Aegis wheezed out doubling over. "T-that's fucking hilarious. Oh I would've paid to see that." The boy wheezed out- barely forming his sentences. 

A smile twitched onto Swaeshy's face, before he slung the swords on his back. Both of them sheathed and sharp. "Anyways, I've got to meet up with Flare and those four. Something about choosing weapons and how I'd be the most helpful."

"Soooo- you got the boring job?" Aegis raised an eyebrow at the taller boy.

Swaeshy huffed starting to walk away, "Well if we let Leo pick out weapons for them- he'd probably stab one of the poor girls. And you know I'm not wrong." He waved to Aegis and jogged off towards the armory. He passed a couple people on the way- a girl who was sleeping on top of one of the cabin's roofs, a girl who sat beneath a tree that produced grapes causally sipping her coffee, a boy who stuck to the shadows and hardly ever moved from the spot.