Break- A Spar of Bronze and Iron
Everyone is walking around and stretching their legs. While the demigods stretch and do some light exercises, which makes people watch them.
Clarisse is doing handstand push-ups, Thalia is stretching her shoulders, while Annabeth starts on her leg stretches. Marina walks up to Nico and saddles up at the end of the couch, gaining the attention of Nico and her wizarding friends.
"Do you want to spar with our swords?" Marina asks antsy to spar with someone since not many can match her, especially not any other of the wizarding mortals. Her demigod strength would hurt them.
Nico looks at the girl, knowing that she wants to get closer to protect him for both Bianca and because he's younger. What happened with Bianca wrecked her, and the guilt almost ruined their quest.
"Okay, let's spar." Nico tells the older girl who smiles brightly at him, glad that he agreed. They quickly walk into the center of the room, and the hall shifts and moves the couches so they have space.
People startle at the moving couches and chairs. The couches form a large open circle. People watch as Marina and Nico stop in the middle of the circle. The Greeks immediately know what's happening, so they circle around the edge while the witches and wizards follow them, curious.
"What's happening?" Lily questions from her spot between James and Poseidon. Her voice is heard through the entire circle, which makes Marina glance at her mother while she checks her shoes.
Poseidon glances at the beautiful redhead before looking back at their daughter, "They are having a spar."
"Why?" Sirius questions from his spot on James' otherside, Remus standing beside his husband also curious.
"Why not?" Thalia answers the man from her spot not very far away from the family. This makes the witches and wizards glance at her in confusion. Lily and James share a worried look, not knowing that their sword fight was part of her life.
"We have spars and duel all the time at camp. They are necessary." Clarisse tells them as she watches from the side.
Marina fixes her hair into a ponytail, so it's not flying everywhere, which makes some of the guys around the room eye her. She's always been pretty, and they would have made a move, but from early on, she was claimed by Nott as he was her, and they don't want to make moves against the Nott family.
"Shall we come up with some rules? So we don't kill each other?" Marina suggests to Nico, who agrees.
"Whoever severely wounds the other first wins?" Nico suggests, which horrifies the witches and wizards while the Greeks just shrug it off. Marina agrees to the rule, but Nico speaks up again.
"How about a bet as well?" Nico offers, which makes Marina pause as she holds a pen which confuses the witches and wizards.
She looks at Nico with slight suspicion, wondering what he might want. "What would you want?"
"I want your agreement to what I offered when we last spoke." Nico tells the girl, and she goes still. Everyone notices the tension and are wondering what they last spoke about that would make her react like that.
Marina looks at Nico and she see's that he's serious. She contemplates what he said while she stares at the floor. The quietness and tension make everyone realize that what they last talked about was very serious.
Making a decision, Marina looks back at Nico with fierceness in her eyes that almost none of the witches and wizards have seen before except her friends. "I agree to your terms."
"What do you want if you win?" Nico questioned the girl. People are curious about what she would want, considering the seriousness of his request.
A light shines through her eyes as the corners of her lips turn up at the edges, "I want you to teach me how to play Mythomagic while I'm at camp." She sports a mischievous smile.
Everyone pauses at what she requested. That's what she wanted? To learn how to play a game?
Everyone, especially the Greeks, looks at her in disbelief, but she's looking straight at Nico with a different look in her eyes beside the one that she sported a moment ago. Noticing it, Nico and Marina look at each other and communicate with their eyes.
Hades feels a small string being pulled, and he pays more attention to Marina, who sports a smile at his son who's looking back at her with a softness. Hades realizes that the oracle might need a new body soon.
Athena and Artemis realize the meaning of the words of her request. Hestia has a warm smile, feeling the familial bond between the two kids.
Annabeth thinks about what Marina requested before realizing her specific words, which makes her gain a smile that the others notice. "What is it?" Grover questions her.
Annabeth huffs with a smile, "Camp will be needing another cabin soon." This confuses the others, but Thalia quickly picks up.
"A Hades cabin." She tells the others who realize.
Nico looks at Marina, who stands there waiting for his answer, and he feels the urge to deny, but he feels warm at the meaning of her words. He truly thinks about it for a moment. She agreed to his request even if it was clear she didn't want to, which helps make up his mind. "I agree to your terms."
They nod at each other as Nico pulls out his sword, which shocks and awes the witches and wizards; it's a short sword that's a solid black iron. They haven't seen a sword like it. It's frightening with its sinister purple glow.
Marina holds out a pen, which confuses them before pulling off the cap. The pen expands into a shimmering bronze sword. It's a double-sided blade that she lightly swings in her hand, feeling it out. It's more loosely related to the swords that they have seen in the wizarding world, but it still feels other worldly.
"Ready?" Marina questions Nico, who gives a nod before rushing at Marina. She blocks his attack before countering with her own. Nico barely moves out of the way of her sword.
The wizarding world has never seen Marina move that fast. They never knew you could move that fast, especially with a heavy sword.
Nico parries Marina's harsh blow with his own sword. Making him take a few steps back. She backs up quickly before going back again. Barely giving him time to breath and he stumbles to the side to avoid her.
Marina is pushing Nico in sword fighting, wanting him to be able to protect himself. She doesn't want anything to happen to him, and he's skilled, but he needs even more improvement. Especially as he only has the dead to help him train.
She lets up on him so he can catch his breath. She takes a few steps back as he charges her. She avoids his sword, knowing that it will suck the life out of her.
Everyone watches their sword fight, Marina was pushing Nico to the edge before she let up. "Why did she let up?" A random 2nd year questions.
Ares, who has been keenly watching the fight, answers, "She's training the boy." Athena nods along, seeing the strategy in the battle.
"However, she has to be wary of his sword." Athena tells the circle as Marina and Nico continue fighting, ignoring the talking of the audience.
This makes the mortals more alert, "Why?" Remus questions, worried for his niece.
"His sword is Stygian iron, which means a single cut from it will drain the life force out of her." Hades informs them about his son's sword. His words made the mortals who didn't know anxious about the battle.
Marina pivots from her spot, swinging her sword as she goes. Her sword cuts into Nico's leg. Gritting his teeth, he swung towards her. Slicing her arm.
She groans as she grabs onto the wound, already feeling the effects and pain. The mortals gasped as she pressed onto the wound. The Greeks wince, knowing she must be feeling agony.
Marina decided that she's going to put an end to this fight, hating the effects of Nico's sword.
Marina charges forward towards Nico. Taking him by surprise, he swings his sword in reflex.
She spins out of the way before quickly overtaking him in the fight.
She quickly grabs Nico's sword arm, shoving it away and leveling her sword with his throat, making him still.
The audience pauses as the fight comes to an end, Marina is fluid and quick with her sword, surprising everyone. She quickly backs away from Nico as she stumbles back. They both are taking some deep breaths after the fight.
Marina quickly pulls out her wand and points it at Nico's wound, healing it and vanishing the blood away. "Thanks," Nico tells her.
She gives a nod before trying to heal herself, but it doesn't seem to work, and she stumbles to a kneel as the agony radiates from her wound. Apollo quickly rushes to heal her. She gives him a quiet thanks as he heals her.
She goes to get up but stumbles a little, exhausted from the fight and side effects even after healing. Apollo catches her and helps her stand, "Don't rush. You might be healed, but it still takes a lot of energy out of you."
Poseidon summons a tub of water, big enough for his daughter to sit inside, and she goes to get in it, but she's suddenly shoved into it with a splash. She sits up in the tub to see everyone looking at Clarisse, who stood just behind where Marina previously did.
Clarisse just shrugs, "What?" The other demigods just shake their heads while Ares nods in approval at his daughter. Theo is looking at Clarisse with anger, not knowing the history between both demigods.
Marina laughs, "Revenge for our first meeting?" Marina suggests, which makes the demigods and Grover start to laugh while Clarisse turns red in embarrassment and anger.
"Nico, it seems I won." Marina turns to the underworld son who is sitting on the floor not far away, resting his legs.
He nods in agreement that she did win, not liking where this is going. She sports a mischievous smile, "Which means that you have to teach me about Mythomagic. I'll get all the cards and stuff we need to play."
Nico would use his own cards, but they both know that he burnt them when he left after Bianca's death.
"It also means that you need to pack your stuff." Marina's smile goes soft as she looks at the boy who looks like he's dreading this.
This confuses a lot of people who didn't pick up on her earlier words, "Why does he need to do that?" Ron questions confused as is the rest of the wizarding world.
"Because I'm going to Camp Half-Blood with the other demigods." Nico clarifies.
Hermione realizes, "She told him that he had to teach her while she's at camp, so he also has to be at camp." This clears up the confusion in the room.
"You can stay in my cabin since Hermes' is always full," Marina throws a look at the gods before continuing, "and I'm the only one in the cabin when Tyson's not there."
Everyone looks at Poseidon for his input, but he's relaxed and gives the boy a smile. Marina sports a wide smile at the approval, since some *Zeus* would be whiny about it. Hades gives his brother a glance at his acceptance of letting his son stay in his cabin.
"Why are you sitting in a tub of water?" A random 3rd year questions Marina who sits contently in the tub that her dad summoned for her.
"Water revitalizes me. Since it's my dad's domain, I get a boost from it." Marina explains.
Her answer cleared that question but made even more appear, but they weren't even asked before the hall started to shift and all the couches are moved back so they could continue the movie.
People take their seats, and Marina's tub suddenly moves, "Woah!" She holds onto the edges of it as it's moved between the couch that contains her friends and her family.
Before any questions can even be asked, the screen lights up.