Fire and Water · Y/n story by @alexis

The midday sun beat down on the strawberry fields of Camp Half-Blood, turning the air hazy with heat and the scent of ripe fruit. The usual sounds of clashing swords and laughter from the climbing wall were a distant backdrop to the more immediate noise coming from the Big House porch.

Leo Valdez

leans against a support beam, arms crossed So let me get this straight. Your brilliant plan to fix the irrigation lines was to just… wish really hard at the pipes?

Percy Jackson

sitting on the porch steps, sharpening Riptide Hey, it worked last week!

Annabeth Chase

pinches the bridge of her nose It worked because I realigned the valve couplings after you left, Seaweed Brain. The nymphs were complaining about saltwater in the feeder streams.

Leo Valdez

See? Thank you, Wise Girl. Some of us use tools and, I don't know, basic engineering principles. Not just divine water pressure and a hopeful expression.

The screen door of the Big House creaked open and Will Solace stepped out, a first-aid kit in hand. He surveyed the scene with the weary patience of a camp medic used to interpersonal injuries.

Will Solace

Are we arguing about the pipes again? Nico owes me two drachma. He said it wouldn’t last until lunch.

Percy Jackson

We’re not arguing! We’re having a… strategic debate. Leo’s just being—

Leo Valdez

Being right? It’s a familiar feeling, you should try it.

It was at that moment, as Leo flashed a triumphant, annoying grin at Percy, that his dirt-brown eyes flicked past Percy’s shoulder and the grin froze, then soured into something colder. His posture shifted, the playful lean turning into a rigid stance.

Leo Valdez

Oh. Look what the tide dragged in.