He didnÆt want to throw himself into the fray just yet, because he would only draw attention to himself and get attackedùand then, when the attack inevitably broke upon him, heÆd draw even more attention.
Instead, he circled around the tree line, on the outskirts of the battle. Most of the fighting was centered on the river and he deduced the battle was an attempt to either keep or take control of it and this area. However, the simple truth of battle was that no matter how much a commander tries to impose order on it, it never stays orderly.
In the overall clash of the two forces, a number of smaller groups had broken off from their respective armies and scattered throughout the battlefield. Some were trying to escape or even just get to safer positions, while others were chasing specific opponents. Some had probably just gotten disoriented in the sheer chaos of battle and ended up somewhere they hadnÆt intended to be in the constant pushing forward and falling back. Still others had probably been sent, or, perhaps, had decided themselves, to circle around behind the enemy group and attempt to attack from behind, where, naturally, others had moved to counter them.
Simply glancing at them was nowhere near enough to determine which was which, of courseùhe just had experience in this matter and had been taught by Chiron, who had an enormous amount of experience in the matter. As such he had to choose wisely when picking who he wanted to question. He didnÆt want anyone big, noticeable, or important looking. People that didnÆt look important had their dangers to, but going down that road would lead to the type of twisted logic that would only confuse him. HeÆd just have to pick someone that probably wasnÆt important in the overall scheme of the battle.
So he chose the tiny like pixie-thing that was being chased by a cat of some sort. Honestly, it was just stereotyping, but he had a hard time believing that screaming red sprite was someone in a leadership position and she was being chased around by a cat on the side of the field that he was pretty sure she was on, so she probably wasnÆt a spyàthough, that would make her a pretty great spy if she actually was oneà
Percy halted that train of thought as well, closing the distance between he and the two enemies in an instant. Knowing he had nothing to fear from the catÆs claws, he dropped Riptide and grabbed it by the neck without fear even as his other hand caught the little pixie it had been chasing.
It was only about halfway through that that he realized how big the cat was. It was like a bobcat; maybe three feet long and two feet at the shoulder. However, it definitely wasnÆt a bobcatùor any normal type of cat. The structure of its skull and face were different and the fell of its fur was rougher. Its paws had too many digits and were wider then a catÆs.
Its eyes, a bright, alien green, narrowed.
ôWhat are you doing, human?ö It asked, speaking in understandable English, though the inflections and intonations sounded strange. ôThis is not a matter that concerns you.ö
As it spoke, it revealed its teeth, already stained with multicolored blood. The fairy in his left hand squeaked at the sight and he got the distinct impression that knewùhad knownùthe people that blood had come from.
ôProbably not,ö He said, trying to keep his tone from cooling. ôBut IÆm getting involved anyway. I came here to speak with the fairies and this battle had gotten in the way of thatùô
The moment he said the word æfairies,Æ outrage had flashed through the æcatÆsÆ eyes. Percy fell silent as it lashed out at him; itÆs raking at his skin.
If he had been a normal human, or even a normal demigod, those claws would have severed the tendons in his wrist and cut deeply into the muscles of his arm, if they didnÆt actually reach the bone. HeÆd have dropped it immediately, his hand no longer able to hold anything, and heÆd be in serious danger of dying of blood loss from the wound to his wrist.
As it was, they glanced harmlessly off the surface of his skin, doing nothing but making his gaze cold.
ôThis,ö He said. ôIs why IÆm a dog person.ö
The creatureÆs eyes widened at its failure and before it could react in any other way, PercyÆs grip tightened immensely. He cut off its breath for several long seconds as it struggled, making it obvious that he could kill it.
The only thing stopping him from breaking its neck was the reasonable little voice in the back of his head that told him that killing random æpeopleÆ in a æforeignÆ could easily end very badly, especially if he had no idea who they were or what position they may have held in this place.
So he let go of the creature, allowing it to fall to the ground.
ôGet lost.ö He said.
For a moment, it seemed ready to attack, but a single flexing of his fingers was enough to convince it to do as he said.
He shifted his gaze to his other hand.
His first thought was that she looked a lot like a red-haired Tinkerbell. She was a tiny woman, maybe six inches in height, and fit completely into his hand. She was staring at him in awe, probably because of how heÆd dealt with her tormentor.
He released her slowly, letting her fly a bit away from his hands, and tried to smile.
ôHey, IÆm new around here,ö He said, trying to draw her attention away from the fact that heÆd nearly strangled someone in front of her with his best I-didnÆt-do-anything-wrong smile. It had never worked on his mom, but the fairy seemed to buy it. ôSince I saved your life, could you tell me whatÆs going on?ö
Blinking, the tiny woman glanced back at the battle which had, naturally, raged on unnoticing during everything, before looking back at him. After a moment, she seemed to decide something and nodded to herself.
ôWinter and Summer are fighting again,ö She finally answer, sounding upset.
Percy clicked his tongue, glancing at the two forces as well. Glancing once to the lively side of the river and once to the dead one, he made a guess.
ôThose guys are Winter, right?ö He asked, nodding to the dead side. ôThen this side is Summer?ö
The fairy nodded.
ôWhy are they fighting?ö
The fairy shrugged.
ôWinter and Summer are always fighting,ö She said, as if he should know this already. ôOne of them probably tried to take control of the river.ö
He turned his eyes to the river at that. Various creatures were clashing in the water, trying to keep from being pushed back while also taking any chance to push forward.
ôDoes it matter who has the river,ö He asked. The fairy immediately began to sputter. ôNever mind. The riverÆs important, then?ö
ôOf course itÆs important!ö He got the feeling that the only reason the word stupid wasnÆt in that sentence was because heÆd just saved her life. ôItÆs the boundary line!ö
Percy hummed at that. So it was what separated the two countries, basically. In that case, he could see why both sides were fighting for itùif you could cross soldiers from your side into the enemies side but they couldnÆt do the same to you, then you had the advantage.
ôWhich side was that cat on?ö
ôThe Malks are allied with Winter.ö She said. He assumed that the cat was one of those Malks.
ôAnd you?ö
She seemed to deflate at the question.
ôI was called, so I joined Summer.ö
ôCalledà? You mean you were drafted?ö He wondered, confused. When she didnÆt seem to understand, he rephrased it. ôI meanàyou arenÆt normally with Summer?ö
She shook her head quickly.
ôWyldfae are usually only drawn when thereÆs a war on.ö She said. ôIt hasnÆt really started yet, but things have been getting really bad this year. Local groups are getting called every battle.ö
Percy was curious what that meant, but decided to ask later. For a long moment, he pondered the battle, trying to make sense of what he knew.
Winter and Summer were at each otherÆs throats and war was on the horizon. If it was due to stuff that happened this year, the Battle of Manhattan could be the cause; but then, so could the war with the Red Court. Or, maybe it had nothing to do with that. It didnÆt matter at the momentùwhile important, he needed to decide what to do here and now.
If he wanted to get SummerÆs support, the logical thing to do would be to help their side, butàjust like with the White Council, he didnÆt want to be dragged into a war unless he knew what it was about and what his chances were. Supporting either side would be a mistake, then. Logically, he should back out of things, report back Annabeth, and let Winter and Summer fight it out.
ùHowever, he couldnÆt do that. Even if he didnÆt know the specifics, he at least understood that both sides were involving other people in this. If it was just two countries battling, he could stay out of things, but if they were making unrelated people fight for them when they obviously didnÆt want to, he couldnÆt approved.
Though, even if he said that, there was no real way to keep a country from drafting soldiersùespecially not one in which he had no real power or pull. Even if he did something here, it probably wouldnÆt change anything in the grand scheme of things.
That was fine with him, though; it was okay if he could at least help people that needed him here and now.
ôBy the wayàwhatÆs your name?ö He asked.
At that, the fairy fell silent for a moment, unsure.
ôI just need a name to call you by,ö He said, lifting an eyebrow at her hesitance.
ôàTana.ö She said, nodding, looking relieved for some reason.
ôWell, then, TanaàI just have to make sure of something. You and others like you live here in this forest, right?ö
She nodded, scattering hints of red pixie dust.
ôAnd you donÆt like them fighting here, do you?ö
She shook her head.
ôDo the others in the forest want to fight?ö
She shook her head again.
ôI need to be really sure of this, or IÆll get into even more trouble, so I have to ask; are you sure about that?ö
ôYes,ö She said. ôIf they wanted to fight for the Courts, they wouldnÆt be wyldfae.ö
Percy nodded at that; it made sense.
ôAnd this areaÆs not controlled by anyone? Nobody owns it or anything?ö
ôWinter and Summer wonÆt let each other control it.ö She said. ôThatÆs why there are so many battles here.ö
ôOkay then, one last questionàall that matters is who has control of the river, right?ö He asked, raising an eyebrow. When he received a nodded, he nodded himself. ôCool. Okay, Tana, if you want them out of here, hereÆs what weÆre going to doàö
There was no question about it; Annabeth was going to kill him.
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