End over End (nick)

[Deleted]

Okay she had been making a few trips back and forth from the armory. People were starting to look at her strangely as she toted a massive amount of weapons back and forth to the Field of Mars. Soleil had picked a target dummy close to the edge of the woods, she didn't want to bother anyone. It would seem that the little girl, standing here in armor way too big for her, was just a joke to most of the other legionnaires. They pushed her out of their way, shoving her and stepping all over her stuff as she tried to square up with one of the dummies. To say the least the focus of her weekend project was to find a particular weapon that she could wield if things got too close for her to use her bow. Even on the Archery Field she got disgusted looks from some of the Apollo kids. Soleil knew that she was just an inconvenience on people. But it seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't stop being in the way of all of the people in camp. She sighed, she picked up one of the first weapons from the pile. Well, maybe pick up was a bad choice of words. Soleil dragged the two handed bastard sword from the pile. It left a deep groove of dirt from where she drug it from the pile. Okay, maybe this one was a bad idea, she though as she attempted to lift it upwards. Her arms strained, but the only thing that she was able to do was barely pick it up an inch from the ground. This was going to be a lot harder than she first thought. The first time she met Monsieur Mort (Mr. Mors) he had suggested a rapier. She didn't know what that was, but with this big pile of different melee weapons, she was sure that she could figure something out.

Soleil dropped the bastard sword to the ground with a huge clatter. Must have hit a rock or something, she thought as she then started to look at the pile that was substantially bigger than she was. As it was, she could barely see over the top of the mound of weapons. She picked up a knife, or maybe it was a dagger, Soleil didn't know. It was kindda small, like she was, but it didn't feel right to her as she held it in her hand. She dropped it into the same area as that bastard sword. After surveying the massive pile, she picked up a large morning star, but almost instantly dropped it on her foot. She hopped and howled with pain as she tried to move it over to the 'not this time' pile. Soleil looked at it sorely, rather tempted to give it a good kick, but she thought better of it. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to kick a weapon she had a hard time lifting. Instead of kicking it, she rolled it over to the pile. This was going to be much harder than she though. She picked up a stick, she had seen those sort of weapons in her picture books of the different kinds of fighters around the world. It was light and sturdy, and it seemed like it fit well in her hands, despite the fact it was much much taller than she was. She had seen this weapon also in her Robin Hood picture book. She didn't know who it was that carried this weapon, but he was a big man, sturdy and strong. It wasn't like a sword or an axe, but it seemed to catch her eye as she held the bo staff like she had seen in her picture books and started to swing it against the wooden dummy.

Soleil couldn't help but smile. The sound of the oak staff, or at least she thought it was oak, maybe it was another type of hard wood, she at least thought Oak was what they used for something like big sticks to hit things with, the sound was glorious. Her balance was off and she kept having to move her feet, but the satisfying sounds of wood on wood was just enough to make her smile. She took the wooden staff and prodded at the head of the dummy with a bit of surprising force, knocking the helmet askew. Soleil's chest swelled with pride, this was the first time she had done something on her own without help. Maybe she really could do what she set out to do. Suddenly she was sent sprawling backwards over the massive pile of weapons that she had pulled from the armory. There was the sound of laughter as a fifteen pound medicine ball had knocked her squarely off her feet. She landed horribly over a shield, hurting her back, a large gash trickling crimson blood down her arm. She couldn't figure out how to stop the bleeding, so she would just have to deal with it. Now limping and covered in blood, Soleil put the bo staff aside as she started to dig through the pile of weapons again. Her chest hurt and was probably bruised from where she got hit by that medicine ball and tears streaked down her slightly dirty face as she scrounged through in her armor that was two sizes too big. She probably looked really ridiculous at the moment. Why did the gods hate her right now? She could bet anything that they were sitting atop their towers and thrones just poking at her with a sharp and pointy stick. Idiots, she thought savagely. Soleil looked at the pile that was still a good deal taller than she was, what was she going to attempt to try next?

[Deleted]

It was a good day to train, he only hope that there weren't any foolish campers around. mars fields weren't for campers that didn't like to train or to get hurt, it was a place where a warrior faced its limits and forced itself to get pass them to become a better warrior. Fear was not an option in that place and he knew it very well, so whenever he got there he put his Venus half on the back of his head and kind of forgot it so his Mars half bloomed and allowed him to be the warrior that the Camp needed, that the gods would be proud of.

He put his leather armor on and then on it his metalic one too, he always dressed up to a battle when he went to train, well sometimes he only wore the leather one, but that day he wanted to challenge Charlie, she was just an amazing warrior and he knew that he would need his complete armor to be at least at her middle fighting level. He only hoped she had some free time to train with him. He walked to the armory first to get a sword, his was in the forge being repaired after he broke it last week, so he needed to borrow one from the armory until it was ready to be used once more.

He was picking a common roman sword and also a bastard sword, he loved the huge metalic piece, he would use the common roman one to train with Charlie and later the bastard one to train by himself. He was picking a shield in that moment when he saw a little girl with a bunch of weapons walking to Mars fields. He frowned not really knowing what would she be doing with all those weapons? He grabbed a shield and then walked to the field kind of following her. He saw how she left them on a pile of weapons, which made him half smile at her. what did she think she was doing?

He left his shield on the ground next to him and looked at her. He saw how other campers were like if she wasn't there, yet she continued there. He then saw her round face and smiled, he remembered her from a couple of days before. She was talking to Mors and they were trying to decide which weapon would be best for her. So when she grabbed the bastard sword, he frowned and shook his head. that wasn't good, he could find tons of flaws there, but he wanted to see if she was able to see them too.

when she put it aside he smiled, then she was testing them. He looked at the pile and shook his head, he remembered that Mors thought a rapier would be good for her, but it seemed that she had forgotten about it or worse, she didn't know which one was it. He was going to move and look for Charlie when he heard a hard dull hit. He looked back and saw the girl on the ground and a medicine ball there. He frowned and looked around. They were laughing, well if they had to face him, they wouldn't laughing. He remembered the hundreds of times that other campers had laughed about him. Him being a lot like a Venus child, his vanity didn't help, but he showed them he wasn't just a pretty face, that he was a great warrior too.

He breathed deeply and decided to help the girl, as Mors suggested him. when she would be able to defend herself, then no one would laugh of her. "didn't Mr Mors told you to use a rapier?" he asked walking to where she was. "don't cry, that would only give them weapons to hurt you again and again." he said leaving his shield and his bastard sword on the ground. "do you mind if I help you here?" he asked and squated near the pile of weapons where she was looking for a new weapon.

[Deleted]

She didn't pay much mind to the other people that laughed at her. She needed help but there was one thing Soleil knew for a fact, she wasn't going to get the help that she needed or wanted from anyone around here. Trivia had been kind to her as well as Monsieur Mort, helping her in ways that no one else had bothered. Rhiannon had even been so kind to help her learn how to read, telling her about the different gods that she had in her picture book. But she didn't know where to find Rhiannon to ask her for help at this particular point in the day. Lance was hard to find too when she needed someone to talk to. She would have to deal with being alone and learning things on her own. Mostly it would be trial and error, but it would be okay. Soleil had been alone for the longest time, so what was another couple of days of being by herself? There was another bout of laughter as she tried to pick up a shield. Tower shield is what she thought she heard a person refer to it as. It was made of dense metal and was at least a good foot or so taller than she was and made of pure metal. Geeze, how much did this thing weigh? It fell over with a rather loud clunk, soleil looked at it with a strange look as she struggled to push it aside. Okay so shields were out of the question. Soleil quickly moved the other two shields that she had picked up in order to attempt to try out. She couldn't even pick it up at all.

There was the sound of a voice. It was familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had heard it before. She looked up as she wiped the tears away from her face as blood dripped down her arm. She nodded and sniffed as she tried to stop crying. She sniffed as she tried to look up at the voice who had spoken to her. He was the man from the other day, the one who was in the armory with Monsieur Mort. “I am sorry,” She stated in her shaky, yet throaty french accent. “But I do not know what a rapier eez.” She gestured to the large pile of weapons that was beside her, “I was simply trying to find a better weapon.” She nodded again when she was told that if she cried, it would just give people more ammo to use against her. She didn't know what ammo was, but it couldn't be good if people used it against her. She watched as he squatted down next to her, offering help. “Si vous plaitez? Zat would be wonderful. I am stupid so I do not know much about any of zis zings.” Soleil hung her head, waiting for the lecture or the beating that would surely follow. That's what her centurion would do when she admitted to not knowing anything.

“Zere eez just so much to look at and to try, I do not know where to start.” She said as she gestured shakily to the pile of weapons. She pulled her helmet up so she hoped it would sit on her head. It slipped down, covering her vision. She would really need some armor to help her get better. She didn't have a single piece of armor that fit her. She was simply too small for real armor. She felt as if she was walking around in a trash can. “I cannot keep up with my cohort, I want to learn, to get better. Eet eez 'ard. Zank you for taking ze time to 'elp me.” She said, looking up at him though the small eyes of the helmet that was rather ill fitting. The man before her was strong and he was a real roman soldier. He was much stronger and much smarter than she was, but if he could help her, she would be better and she would learn.

[Deleted]

The pile of weapons was huge, he wondered how was it possible that a girl like her, so small, so inexperienced, brought so many weapons by herself. As he looked for the rapier, he also saw other weapons that maybe she could use. He saw a couple of daggers, good weapons but not for her in that moment, she needed to be a bit more experienced, then he put the daggers away, then he saw a couple of old chakrams. He smiled and placed them on his right, where he could use them later. maybe he could also teach them how to fight with those, she wouldn't need to be close to the enemy, not always at least, that could be an advantage for her.

As she was apologizing, he also found other weapons, spears, other bastards, flourettes, machetes, arrows, which maybe she should learn how to use too, but finally he found a good Rapier. He smiled when he held the magnificent weapon, it seemed to be kind of new, maybe only used once or twice, so it was good for her. But in that moment she said that she was stupid, which made him frown and get straight again. He looked at her holding the rapier in his hands. "Por los Dioses!" He said as if she had said an insanity. He tilted his head and walked closer to her. "stupid you say?" he asked as he handed her the rapier with the handle at her so she could hold it safely.

He walked back to the pile of weapons again, he was trying to find the correct words to talk to her. He knew about beauty and war, but he wasn't a Mercury's boy to find the correct words to talk to someone, which was weird because Venus was good with words, maybe he only needed to practice more his Venus side, not only the vanity aspect. He looked at her and noticed the huge helmet on her head and also the armor that didn't fit at all around her small body. "Not knowing about something doesn't make you stupid, it only makes you ignorant about it. But being ignorant can be fixed by a simple action..."

He grabbed another rapier and then walked to where she was, but when he saw the helmet again he smiled and left the rapier on the ground. "I'll help you, you'll learn how is each of those called, also how to defend yourself and how to attack. But don't call yourself stupid. How do you expect people don't think you are one when you believe it so hard?" he asked and then took the helmet from her head and examined it for a second. "but first, you need an armor that fits... if not the armor itself will be a weapon against you... there wasn't someone in the Armory who told you so?"

[Deleted]

Soleil looked up at the blond headed man that was helping her out. At first, she had been afraid of him. Well to be honest, terrified seemed to be a more applicable word to use. He was tall and strong, most of the people around here were like that. It took all of her strength and will power, there wasn't much but it was there, he was an adult and adults were mean. They hit her, ignored her and laughed at her. It was not cool. Not at all. Mr. Mort said that he would help her and for some strange reason, she trusted the god who personified death much easier than anyone else. Soleil wondered briefly if there was an asylum for crazy demi-gods who willingly and so easily trusted death. She wasn't suspicious of him a bit. There was also something about him that made her feel comfortable. But as she looked upwards at Nick, something crossed her mind. What if he was just being nice so he could beat her up later on? She grew suspicious, looking away from him for a moment. Lance had said she needed to start trusting people. Trusting Adults. It was hard, especially after they had let her down so often.

Nick handed her the correct weapon, Soleil could only assume that this was the rapier. Gingerly, she took the blade's handle. It was light, easy to hold. But it was at least twice her size. It surprised her greatly that she could hold something like that. Nick said something in a language that she didn't understand, then said something that she did. “Oui, yes, stupid. Zat eez what ze ozers always say about me.” She said in a matter of fact voice. Her green eyes looked upwards at the man who had become her companion. In the background, she could hear the others on the field that were talking and gossiping about the two on the field. Soleil gave them a stoney look as they once again and pointed and laughed at her. Inside she was afraid. She had been trounced before by one of the boys that laughed at her. He was so much bigger than she was and so much more stronger than she was too. “But ignorant.... I do not know what.... what does zis word mean?” She asked him with the tilt of her head as she watched Nick once more, pushing her helmet up as it had fallen once more over her eyes, covering her from seeing the guy in front of her. She made a face as she tried hard to watch Nick.

Nick then said that he would teach her, that he would help her. Soleil was greatful for someone to teach her. She had been practicing her letters and her alphabet, so she could learn to read and write. There was just so much she didn't know because of all of those years spent locked away from the rest of the world. She looked down at the weapon in her hands. There was so much she didn't know. “'ow do zey manage to make a sword so strong but so light?” She questioned Nick. She didn't expect to get an answer. Most people just pushed her aside when she asked a question. The helmet was taken from her head and she watched Nick as he gave it a good look over. He asked her a question and Soleil shook her head. “Non, zere was no one zere, but I got ze smallest size zere was in ze armory.” Well apparently Camp Jupiter only had one side, Roman. If this wasn't apparent enough that she didn't belong in the Legion she didn't know what else would say get out of the legion.

[Deleted]

As soon as the girl grabbed the rapier and smiled in such way, Nick smiled back at her. It was nice to see that something like a well chosen weapon was enough to make someone smile like that, so he knew he had done a good job in that moment. Then he heard the the laughs and saw Soleil's face. He looked back for a moment and glared at the campers laughing at her. He hated when campers mocked like that about someone.

He remembered when he got to the camp, He was 10 years old, thank to his mother and grandmother he was handsome but as a kid he was cute, other campers had said that he had a girl's face and manners. But thank to his father and grandfather, he was well trained in the arts of battle and war, then Venus kids thought he wasn't a true legacy of Venus due his skills in War and Mars kids thought he shouldn't have been claimed by Mars due his beauty, his delicate manners and graceful moves. Other campers also bugged him like that and he hated them all because of that. Maybe that is why he decided to help Soleil in first place, he saw a mirage of what he used to be, on her.

"don't pay attention to them, that only gives them more power and they don't deserve such power over you." he said and then was about to get his rapier again when she asked what 'ignorant' was. He stopped for a moment and tilted his head to think on a good way to explain it. Then he smiled and squated in front of her. "You speak French, right? but I know nothing about that language, which makes me ignorant about it. But as I said, to stop being ignorant there is a simple solution... and it is to learn about what one don't know... ok? so that is why you need to learn about weapons and fighting techniques, so no one can call you neither ignorant or stupid."

He got up again and wnet to check on the other weapons she got to that place, maybe he could find something useful for beginners, wooden blades would be recomended, they knew that the rapier was good for her, but she could get cut or worse if she wasn't careful, maybe wooden sticks for the first week till she was used to the fighting moves, but then she asked about how they managed to make a sword like that. He looked at her and breathed deeply. "well... I'd have to say that I am ignorant of that..." he winked at her. "I can tell you the name of each of them, how and what to use them for, all their specifications, but I have no idea of how they make them... maybe some of these days we'll have to go into the forge and ask one of the Vulcan kids how they do it, what do you think?"

He asked and then put her helmet back on her head, he didn't want a funny jerk to hit her in the head again. Then he checked on her armor as she told him that there was no one in the armory to help her. He shook his head and sighed kind of upset, he hated when the campers that most be in there to help younger ones with their choice of new armors simply weren't there or didn't want to help them. "ok, then we will have to go there or the forge and ask for an armor of your size... maybe I could even borrow you my old one... not girly at all, but it is small, maybe it would fit you. Wait here..."

He said and jogged back to the cohorts, he ran into the third cohort and looked inside his trunk, there it was. small leather one and also the small metalic one, also his old helmet. He grabbed all of it and then jogged back to the fields of Mars. He walked to where he had left Soleil...