abraxaslogs | [open] I was tame, I was gentle, til the circus life made me mean

[ annabeth has idly been to the castle's training grounds a couple of times now, though mostly because she's looking for someone she's likely to find there. personally she doesn't think she needs any sort of lesson, but the more she thinks about it the more she should probably stay in practice, and at the very least get a sense of how the locals fight. ]

[ so today, she meanders down closer to eight. she's tired, but she hadn't been able to fall back asleep, so she snagged some pastry for breakfast and found her way outside to get some air. ]

[ she's not surprised to find wilhelm there, but this time she watches him practice for a little first, watching to see how he moves and fights and what he might have learned. she remembers him mentioning that he'd trained with kyle, whom she knows is now currently in jail, and the way he spars with some of the younger guard. she could probably stand to flex her muscles instead and get out some pent up energy instead of letting it fester, so she calls out to him, again without much by the way of greeting. ]

Okay. Do you want a real challenge?

[With less than two years of training under his belt, he's still rough around the edges. He's a little stiff in some of his attacks, and his form falters when he panics in the heat of a match. But it's clear even from the sidelines that he's putting all of himself into it.

That's not something he used to do very often in his old life. He'd played the piano because his parents wanted him to, and rowed because his brother had done it before him. But this — this he chose for himself. Wilhelm feels electric with the sense that he's moving toward something, that he's getting stronger.

He has just managed to scrape a win when Annabeth catches his attention. Mid-stretch, he turns a grin on her.]

Sure. [His arms swing back to his sides and he shakes them out.] Now that I'm warmed up, I'm ready to get my ass handed to me by a monster slayer.

[ she pulls her hair out of its ponytail and reties it into a bun to get more of the curls back up and out of the way, given it was partially falling out from sleep. then she stretches her arm across her chest, repeating the motion with the other arm. ]

At least you know what you're getting into.

[ she bends her knee and grabs her heel to stretch her leg, repeating it with the other too. she hasn't had a proper warm up like wilhelm, but she's been doing this longer, so maybe it'll even out. ]

I haven't only come up against monsters, so bring your best. [ she rolls her neck, drops into a quick squat, then pops back up all in a few fluid motions, before finally stepping in closer. she sweeps her foot across the ground, like she's testing the solidity of it. ]

[ it belatedly occurs to her that she hasn't told him who her mother is, so perhaps it's not quite fair, but sometimes... annabeth doesn't play fair. ]

Edited 2024-07-10 05:28 (UTC)

[Although he's already warmed up, Wilhelm runs through a few quick stretches to keep his muscles ready, and to work out some of the hits he's taken in previous spars. When Annabeth appears ready, he suggests:]

First one to land three hits wins the round. Best two out of three?

[He's not optimistic about his odds of winning the whole thing, but if he can land a few hits, maybe even scrounge up a round, he'll consider it a victory of sorts.

He's curious to see how she fights. As he spars with the guards, he has started to notice subtle differences in their technique, deviations from how Kyle has taught him. He has started to learn, little by little, how to adjust what he's doing to block their attacks and find holes in their defenses.]

Works for me.

[ annabeth also does not expect to lose, but she goes into most sparring bouts with that attitude, even when it might be undeserving. there aren't that many people who can keep up with her at camp anymore, but thorne is not camp. she's a little antsy to see where she might slot in. ]

[ she shifts, planting her feet firmly with a slight bend at the knee and lets her arms hang loosely but ready at her sides. she studies him and his own posture first - she did get a general sense of his speed already from her prior observations, but it's different going head to head. ]

[ and then she just sweeps in, fast, swinging her right arm towards his shoulder. ]

[There was a time, not that long ago, that he would only train one-on-one with Kyle. They met on an obscure strip of the castle grounds tucked away between trees, because he was self-conscious of his stumbling efforts as he learned. He was self-conscious of how poorly he fit into this world, where everyone around him seemed to excel in one thing or another while he struggled with just about everything.

That he thinks he has a shot of landing a hit says something about his burgeoning confidence. As Annabeth positions herself, so does Wilhelm. He waits for her to make the first move, leaning toward the defensive side of fighting. That was why Kyle offered to teach him in the first place, to prepare him to defend himself.

He blocks her fist, just barely, catching her wrist on his forearm and shoving it aside in a wild maneuver. Before she can close herself off again, he tries to throw a punch at her exposed side.]

[ her arrival at camp half-blood was marred by a whole lot of trauma, but annabeth threw herself into the training and into the demigod world as soon as she got the chance. athena's cabin was the perfect learning environment for her, as it would be for anyone. ]

[ annabeth recognizes the importance of defense. her mother's aegis looms as a reminder every time she thinks of athena, or the parthenos itself too. but she's never afraid to make the first strike, especially when it's her own choice. ]

[ her eyes briefly dart to his incoming punch, but she lifts her other arm and deflects it smoothly. barely a second later, she swings her first arm again, this time coming at a slightly downward angle from where he'd shoved it to strike at his waist. ]

Edited 2024-07-21 02:14 (UTC)

[He doesn't see the second strike coming until it's too late. He's too focused on what he's doing, not what his opponent is doing. When Annabeth's fist comes hammering down, all he can do is tense up against the impact.

Shit. Annabeth one, Wilhelm zero.

While he recovers, he dances backward with light footsteps to get out of her range. He circles around her, looking for an opening to wedge himself into. Then — a split-second breath, and he hooks a punch at her shoulder.]

[ her expression briefly flashes with a smile when she makes a hit, but it doesn't slow her down. she can spare a moment to preen at making the first blow without letting it go to her head. ]

[ she watches him sharply as he moves around her, content to wait for now and see what he does. he swings his fist again, and annabeth drops to dodge it instead of deflecting; with one hand, her fingertips touch the ground for balance and she swings her leg out at the same time towards his. ]

[She's fast, slipping away as easily as a ripple on water. Carried forward by the momentum of his punch, Wilhelm doesn't have time to get out of the circle of her range when she sweeps her leg out. He's on the verge of diving to the ground in a somersault to avoid her kick — not something he's ever practiced, but it's the first evasive maneuver that pops into his head — when her kick connects.

He comes crashing down with much less grace than he hoped. It's more of flop than a roll into the grass.

As he scrapes himself back up, he's much less confident in his odds of landing a hit than he was at the start of the match. But he's not ready to give up yet. Settling into a defensive stance, he waits for Annabeth to make her next move. Maybe if he can block the next strike, it will give him an opening.]

[ her speed is an advantage over percy now when they spar, especially since he got bigger than her. how annoying. but it comes in handy in plenty of other circumstances too, like this one. ]

[ her foot hits and her face breaks into a bit of a smug grin. annabeth rolls backwards herself once he falls in preparation of him striking back immediately, but he doesn't. she's back on her feet as he is, looking more like she's having fun than anything else. ]

[ she could wait it out to see what he tries, but mostly now she wants to land a third blow before he gets a first one in. she swoops in, swinging her right fist up high towards his shoulder; below, her left remains at her side, but her fingers are curled into a matching first. ]

[He looks like he's having a lot less fun than her, with his eyebrows knotted together in concentration and his mouth set into a hard line. He stiffens up as Annabeth's punch comes flying in, even though he knows he's supposed to stay loose to let his movement flow. It's a habit he's trying to break.

Again, he's too slow. Wilhelm moves to block her fist, but she blows right past him to pound his shoulder. The round is over. Annabeth three, Wilhelm zero.

Rubbing his shoulder, he cranks his arm around in its socket. He slowly sucks in a breath, lets it go, and tries not to sink into bitter disappointment. She's been doing this a lot longer than he has. He musters a little bit of teasing:]

Okay, but you have to do that two more times.

[ could she have... dragged it out? probably. but annabeth is never interested in making things easy. there's a small temptation to let him win round two, if only to extend it into a third round, but ultimately she decides she's going to keep at it as is. she wants to see if he can land a genuine blow and gauge where he's at. ]

[ she only grins wider at his teasing. ]

No problem.

[ she hurries through a few stretches of her own, the motions almost absently done. but then it's quick into round two! annabeth never stops having fun with it. it feels good to practice, even if it hasn't felt much like practice for her in a long time. she sweeps in, alternating between swinging a fist and a flat palm. she lands the first blow of the round, but wilhelm manages to block a few. she's happy for it, really, because she doesn't want to completely decimate. ]

[ he lands a blow of his own, and she lets out a delighted laugh upon the contact. ]

[ so obviously, that means her next move is to wait for him to get in close; when he aims for her shoulder, she leans into it and willingly takes the hit, which lets her slide in close enough to grab and throw him over to the ground. ]

I believe that's another win for me. Sorry we won't make it to round three. [ she is not sorry, if the way she's standing over him with her hands on her hips is any indication. ]

[In short, he gets his ass whooped.

There's a split second, riding the adrenaline high of finally landing a blow, and with his fist a breath away from connecting again, in which Wilhelm begins to hope that he might pull off a comeback. One more hit, and he'll claim the round.

Then suddenly, the sky is under his feet and he's over Annabeth's shoulder. Every bone in his body rattles like a house in a thunderstorm as he slams into the ground. Flopping onto his back, he stares up at her in a daze as if wondering how he got there. His hands drag down his sweaty face. He pushes out a deep sigh. Finally, he picks himself up.]

Good match, Annabeth. [Here, have an awkward congratulatory tap on the shoulder.] Any chance at a re-match sometime?

[Not today. Definitely not today. But now he's determined to win a round over her.]

[ in wille's defense, annabeth has been doing this since she was seven. ]

[ after he pats her shoulder, she'll hold out her hand for a shake and his concession. she's a little out of breath, but in a pleasant way that comes from flexing her muscles, and she's not particularly tired from it. ]

I'm not opposed. You just might need more practice first if you don't want me to kick your ass again. [ she pauses, looking thoughtful for a moment even through the smug way she's still grinning. she considers him and what she knows of him and his training so far, then makes a decision. ]

I can help though, if you want. Teach you a few more tricks.

[He completes the handshake. When he pushes a hand through his mussed hair, bits of grass fall out.]

Yeah, that would be great. Show me all your secrets so I can take you down. [He teases her with a grin.] But...I think I'm done for today.

[He had already been at it for an hour when Annabeth arrived, and now he feels a little bit like he fell out of a tree. Pulverized. Motioning for her to follow with a slant of his head, Wilhelm moves off the training field so that a pair of guards can take their place. At the edge of the area, he's left his bag, and from it he pulls a waterskin. He takes a long drink from it before offering it to her.]

[ when he pulls his hand back, annabeth pulls her arms in a few more stretches. ]

I don't know if any amount of secrets will let you do that. [ she's full of herself but at least here it's not entirely unwarranted. she's not interested in sparring a guard, so she follows after wilhelm easily and takes the waterskin when he offers. ]

Keep in mind you'd been at this for a while today too. You were already at a disadvantage there. [ so no wonder he's tired. she pauses, taking another sip of water before she passes it back. ]

Among other things. You should know what you're getting into if you want me to help you, given I didn't exactly warn you about my mother being a war god either.

[ she shrugs, but she's grinning in a way that suggests it hadn't been simply forgotten. he was doomed from the start. ]

[Annabeth deserves to be full of herself, as far as he's concerned. She's impressive in a fight, her every move swift and efficient, graceful and brutal like some kind of jungle cat. Even with a little bragging, she's gracious in her victory. Her reassurances soften the blow of his loss.

In the early days of his training, Wilhelm might have taken such a sound ass-kicking as a sign to quit. He might have pouted, frustrated to have all his self-doubts confirmed. But now, he turns his mind to what he can learn from her if he keeps trying.

He's tucking the waterskin back into his bag when she drops that fun little fact about her mom, and he arches his eyebrows up at her. He knew, of course, that she was the kid of a god. He just didn't know which one.]

Your mom's the goddess of war? Shit, I never even had a chance.

[A dry chuckle, as he folds himself onto the grass for a breather before he makes the trek back across the grounds to the North Wing.]

Edited (grammar failure) 2024-07-29 22:37 (UTC)

[ she sits down both gracefully and carelessly on the grass near him, not nearly as tired but using it as a means to stretch her legs some. ]

Yeah. My mom's Athena. Goddess of wisdom, war, handicrafts. I don't know how much you actually know about Greek mythos. You were definitely not going to win today with so much stacked against you, but it wasn't a bad bout.

[ she knew wilhelm knew she was a demigod, or at least assumed so via will or clarisse's insanity on the network, but she hasn't been as immediately forthcoming about her godly parent as the others. it's strange, because she's always been very proud of her mother, but perhaps her feelings are a little scrambled given her latest questing ventures at home. ]

It's a little weird to be open about it here, but I guess it doesn't matter as much keeping it quiet as it does at home.

Edited 2024-07-31 01:51 (UTC)

[Wilhelm makes a wobbling motion with his hand to summarize the extent of his knowledge of Greek mythology. Now that he's becoming friends with a bunch of godly offspring, he wishes he'd paid closer attention to all those stories. But Athena's name he remembers, now that Annabeth has said it.]

Yeah, I guess it would be important to keep it a secret so people don't think you're insane. Around here, stuff like that is more normal. I mean, there's a lot of weird stuff to compete with. Have you seen the shark guy from Solvunn?

[Chuckling, he flaps his tunic by the hem to air himself out a bit. He wears it loose, unbelted, during training. Then there's a fumbling moment of hesitation before he adds with fleet sarcasm:]

My mom's just queen of Sweden. A lot of good it does me in a fight.

[It's rare that he brings up his royal status, and rarer still that he does so unprompted. When he first got here, he hid it because he enjoyed the anonymity of being nobody important. Then hiding it became habit as he distanced himself from his old life. Now, he doesn't really think of himself as a prince anymore; it's an unwanted burden he'd shed.]

[ annabeth snorts. ] You're lucky. It's basically been my whole life.

[ she probably shouldn't have been told so young who her mother was, but it's too late to do anything about that now. ]

Most people don't even know the gods are real back home, so it's an extra layer of sounding insane.

I haven't seen him in person! But I've seen his art.

[ her attention snaps to him when he drops the royal mom comment, but she keeps her expression stilted. there's a reason he probably hasn't brought it up before now - he probably doesn't want to make a big deal of it. so annabeth won't either, not in a deeply serious manner at least. ]

Just the queen? [ she says it teasingly. ] That explains the rich kid vibes. I'm surprised you didn't do fencing or something.

[ that seems like a rich kid sport that could have taught him how to fight! ]

[Wilhelm can only imagine what it's like to have a deity for a parent, but he knows all too well the pressure that comes with being the child of somebody powerful and important. So in a way, even though they've led very different lives, he thinks they can understand each other.

But right now, he looks mildly offended by Annabeth's comment about rich kid vibes. Such is the disappointment of discovering that he wasn't as camouflaged as he thought.]

Rich kid vibes? [He scoffs as if to say, excuse me?] For the record, I rowed.

[Which, he realizes as he says it, isn't any less of a rich kid sport.]

[ being the child of any god comes with different kinds of pressure, but athena's intensity is expounded by the pressure annabeth puts on herself in kind, to live up to her mother's very high expectations, as well as her own. she wouldn't want to be royalty - but yeah. she thinks there's overlap in understanding there. ]

You're not helping your case. We race canoes at camp, but it's always way more chaotic than coordinated.

[ he's lucky she isn't laughing, only grinning. ]

The schooling experience really gave it away.

[Wilhelm won't bother to point out that canoes are a different thing entirely. He just concedes to her with a heavy sigh, hanging his head in defeat, from which he soon pops back up.]

Yeah, I guess that did it.

[A self-conscious chuckle. He would like to think that he has severed himself from his old life completely, but he supposes your past will always be a part of you. The way it has shaped you can't be undone completely.]

Not everyone who went to my school was super rich, though. There were some non-boarders too. [He shrugs and shakes his head.] But...yeah, looking back on it, a lot of my classmates were kind of assholes.

[ she is AWARE of the difference, gods. just trying to be hashtag relatable. ]

I should probably admit I've also done boarding school on and off recently, but they weren't fancy ones.

[ with her strange academic record?? no way. annabeth has had no regular school consistency. she spent five years attending camp year round. her boarding schools collected the so called troubled youth, and she never lasted more than a year. ]

There were tons of kids who weren't rich, myself included, so. Kind of a mixed bag with real fear of expulsion.

[ the chases might be wealthy, but annabeth is so far removed from any of them and certainly did not grow up within any of it. she has no attachment to her family, no connection, and no money beyond the time she spends visiting her father. ]

[open] I was tame, I was gentle, til the circus life made me mean

sparring 🤼

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pretend I didn't forget how best 2 out of 3 works in my last tag lol

already forgotten bc i didnt even notice

a real pal

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