Archery Observation [palmer&thalia?]

[percy jackson]

As the Praetor and one of the two connectors between the Romans and Greeks, Percy wasn't afforded very much free time. He had so much responsibility and was one of the most important heroes of his generation, but he was still only seventeen. The son of Poseidon liked to sit back and observe every once in a while, pretend he was apart of the crowd. It was relaxing for him, not having any pressure on himself or spectators around him. He could be the audience and allow others to impress him. That was how he found himself in the Fields of Mars. Many demigods could be found training here on a regular basis, and sometimes he would join in. Other times, like now, he would simply watch others, usually those with the heightened talent. Archery was never a strong suit with Percy, and as a result he respected, almost to the point of envy, those who were good at it. Usually that list consisted of children of Apollo and few others.

Today, Percy was not disappointed. There were a few children of Apollo around demonstrating their talents. One girl especially caught his eye. She was one of the newer people to the camp, though he definitely didn't know her. That meant she was a recent recruit to the Greeks, which made her even more interesting to him. His focus gradually drifted from the others to only watching her. She was definitely beautiful, but that opinion was purely observational. It was definitely uncommon and out of stereotype for a seventeen year old guy to be able to have such control over his hormones to the point of not even finding sexual interest in almost all girls outside of his girlfriend. But Annabeth was really his everything, and the idea of anyone replacing her was literally unfathomable.

But there was definitely a sense of respect and admiration already manifesting for this girl. Percy was unsure why, but he couldn't shake the desire to meet this girl. While before, the demigod was a shier guy than most, in the past few years, he had built himself up to having the self confidence to approach others, even strangers, with little worry. Descending into the area, Percy was careful to avoid any flying arrows or interrupting other archers. He wound his way to this girl, and watched her for a second close up before greeting her. "Excuse me, miss, but I couldn't help but admire your talent." It was peculiarly formal, and came out a tad bit more awkward than he had intended. Apparently public, leadership speaking was much more of a strong suit than individual conversational speaking. "I'm Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you."

^{STARRING : percy & Palmer
WORDS : 450
STATUS : finished
NOTES : was bored and musey so I started this from the iPad xD
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : pirate skittles! of caution 2.0
TAGGED : TANA}

[palmer canton]

* - - - -

Being new, Palmer tried to do what she was told, when she was told to do it. She attempted to stay with her siblings and be on time to almost everything. Although she hated taking orders from others there was really no other choice in this place. This "camp" as they call it. What was so camp-like about it? All they seemed to do was train, eat, breathe, and train some more. Being a child in the Apollo clan she seemed to practice archery more than anything else. Palmer had nothing to say to that considering that was one of the only things she could do right.

Shooting arrows at targets put her in the same state of mind that singing and guitar playing do. It's a sort of trance that can take hours to break if she isn't interrupted. Palm becomes more aware of things when shooting arrows. She doesn't know why, but she swears that it happens. After a long time she thinks that she can hear even the small sounds that the bow makes, that the arrow causes when it goes through the air, the sound that come from the target after it is hit. Then again, it is more of Palmer's imagination than an actual heightening in her hearing.

Today she and a few of her brothers and sisters decided that they would go out to the Field of Mars and shoot a few arrows. Palmer set herself at the end of the line, a little farther away from the others, but nothing too drastic. She was still new at this, they were all much better than her and the last thing she needed was to hit someone or get in the way.

She strung the arrow, aimed carefully, and released the tightly pulled sting. The arrow cut through the air and within seconds it hit the target about an inch and a half away from the center. Palmer made a face as she picked up another. She aimed and released. This time it was less off, but still not perfect. At this point Palm had been at this for about a half hour. She was stuck in the unbreakable trance.

This time she aimed more carefully, straightened a little more, relaxed her shoulders the slightest bit, and released. The arrow hit the center. Well pretty darn close! Finally! She thought before the voice of someone beside her rang in her head. It took a second but the trance was broken and she turned her head to see the stranger beside her. He had sounded so formal and proper that she hadn't expected to see someone so young standing there. She didn't say anything, only flashed a smile and lowered her bow, still holding on to it in one hand.

He then introduced himself as Percy Jackson. That name. She knew that name! Who didn't around here? This kid was practically a legend, well not really, but yes at the same time. In Palmer's eyes he was. She wasn't sure why or anything, but still. To have him comment on her archery was as good as the bronze medal at the Olympics. Not gold, that would be a compliment from her father. Not silver because that would be a compliment from... okay well maybe it was as good as a silver medal.

"Palmer Canton." Her voice was rather cheery and Palmer-like. She was a happy kid, what more could you expect. "So you're Percy Jackson? The one that everyone talks about? Honestly, I expected someone older. No offense or anything!" Palmer. Sometimes someone needed to step in and put their hand over her mouth to shut her up. She will never learn the think before speaking. Nothing she said was in a harsh tone, in fact it was the same cheerful voice she had used to introduce herself. Maybe he would take it with a grain of salt like most people.

- - - - *
Word Count: six. five. one.
Tagged: Percy! & Thalia (maybe XD)
Outfit: Click Here.
Notes: Another thread
with Nick!? Oh I'm so honored ^^
Palmer. Palmer. Palmer...

[percy jackson]

Percy was very impressed, as the last arrow the girl had shot before he greeted her had hit it's target nearly exactly. The arrow stuck out from the center of the target, with excellent accuracy. As the girl realized who he was, Percy chuckled a little bit. He was definitely no secret, a celebrity of sorts among the demigods. "Yup, that's me. THE Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you, Palmer. Daughter of Apollo, I assume? And no offense taken." Percy was chuckling. This girl was very friendly and easy to talk to. "Your dad is a pretty cool guy. You kind of remind me of him, actually. Both very easy to talk to." That was a recent quirk he had picked up. Name dropping Gods. He had started to really enjoy the attention and admiration all of the demigods would give him, and his ego began to inflate the slightest bit.

Palmer did seem to be a genuinely nice girl. Just on first impression, Percy could tell that this girl was really nice, and probably someone he would enjoy being good friends with. After that, any sort of awkward feeling seemed to fade away, and his speech became a little bit more relaxed. "Sorry for interrupting you, by the way. I vaguely recognized you departing the Argo II, but hadn't gotten to meet you yet." Percy had a strange desire to meet all the new Greek demigods, and get to know them. It wouldn't do him any good if he had all of these ranks around him, being kind of in charge of them, when worst came to worst, if he didn't know them. It would be a test of his memory, that was certain, but he wanted to be able to at least mildly trust and acknowledge every demigod within the ranks.

"I've never been much for archery. Riptide has always been my only weapon, and the only one I've ever needed." Sword fighting was definitely his combat talent, and with the Celestial Bronze sword he was gifted by Chiron, and it had been an unrivaled addition to his quests. "That's why I like to spectate on the archers. I find it amazing when people are great at it. Many kudos to you, for that reason." Paying compliments was almost always a way to developing a good relationship, and Percy wasn't about to beat around the bush to be friends with this girl. He didn't have time to play games with people, so straight forward was the best way to go.

^{STARRING : percy&palmer!
WORDS : 452
STATUS : finished
NOTES : of course, my love!
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : pirate skittles! of caution 2.0
TAGGED : TANA}

[palmer canton]

* - - - -

"Yup, that's me. THE Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you, Palmer. Daughter of Apollo, I assume? And no offense taken." It was a good thing that Percy hadn't taken her comment to heart or anything. Most people would be embarrassed after saying something that could be taken as rude and annoying. Palmer wasn't like most people, she said whatever she could think of without thinking at all. It was a problem that she never cared to address and it was a good thing that there were people around here that just brushed off whatever she said. She couldn't help but smile again when he said 'no offense taken' and nod in response to being a child of Apollo.

"Your dad is a pretty cool guy. You kind of remind me of him, actually. Both very easy to talk to. Sorry for interrupting you, by the way. I vaguely recognized you departing the Argo II, but hadn't gotten to meet you yet." Sure she was easy to talk to, she didn't shut up. Was that something that made her like Apollo? Palmer had mixed feelings about her father. She didn't hate him but the idea of Apollo being her father was still unreal to her. It was all nonsense in her mind. Granted she did enjoy the majority of her time here at camp, it was just the thought that her blood was also his (well half of it but you get the point). It was weird for her to feel anything when Percy brought up Apollo. She was like him? Her face seemed to light up in a way, more than ever expected when referring to her father. "You've met him?" So not fair. How come this kid gets to meet my dad and yet I've never even gotten to say hi? As for the second portion of Percy's previous comment, Palmer was too absorbed with the Apollo comment she forgot to say something along the lines of 'well it's nice to meet you' which probably would have sounded more like 'oh yeah I was there!'.

"I've never been much for archery. Riptide has always been my only weapon, and the only one I've ever needed. That's why I like to spectate on the archers. I find it amazing when people are great at it. Many kudos to you, for that reason." Riptide? Oh right, the famous sword thing! Palmer smiled at the comment referring to her archery skills. "We are opposites then. I can't fight with a sword for my life." They were total opposites in that. Palm was terrible with a sword. Terrible, horrible, awful-- all of those combined. Palm looked down at the bow in her hand and a moment later she held it out offering it to Percy. "Want to try to shoot some now?"

- - - - *
Word Count: four. six. eight.
Tagged: Percy!
Outfit: Click Here.
Notes: Different format than
my others haha couldn't keep my
thoughts organized!

[percy jackson]

Percy was utterly amused with Palmer. Her facial expressions made her relatively easy to read, an open book, kind of. That was a trait he very much appreciated in friends. And opponents, but that was much less an appreciation so much as a strategic advantage. But Palmer was definitely someone he would learn to trust, and he doubted he would ever have to question her. The reference to her father, however, caused a mix of a few emotions. Percy knew that God parents were a rough spot for a lot, almost all, of the demigods. Especially since Zeus was preventing the Gods from making any contact with their children. Abandonment issues and all that didn't do much good for a teenager. Especially these teenagers, who were being trained to fight for their lives on behalf of their parents, without even an acknowledgement. It was rough, and Percy tried to understand others, but it had been a long time since he had shared those sentiments. Ever since the "Luke stealing the Master Bolt and pinning it on him" incident and success, Percy had developed a pretty good relationship with Poseidon and a few of the other Gods.

"Uh, yeah, I've met him. Few times, actually." He tried to play it down, be more modest, but he knew that subconsciously, he wanted to be asked more about his experiences. Telling stories was something he generally enjoyed doing, and he had plenty. "I've been around Olympus a few times, ridden in the Sun Chariot once. Nerve-wracking experiences." The son of Poseidon remembered how absolutely terrifying it had been, riding alongside Apollo in the Sun Chariot as his friend Thalia was driving it. The skies were dangerous for him anyway, a pseudo "illegal" child of Posiedon. Zeus didn't take kindly to that kind of disrespect anyway. Percy was still sure that the only thing that kept the God of the Skies from shooting them down was his daughter's presence in the bus. "But yeah, he's a pretty cool guy. And I can tell you're a pretty cool girl."

He listened to the daughter of Apollo with genuine interest. "I started off sucking pretty badly too. At least you've got the Archery thing down pat." He thought about his previous attempts at archery, and chuckled a bit to himself. As she offered him a try, he laughed out loud. "Probably not the best idea, but sure! Why not?" Percy took the bow from the female demigod's hand, and held it, sizing it up a bit. It was actually a really good weight and size for him, not that that would help anything. "Got any bows?" He looked at the target, and then looked all around it, imagining where his arrow would probably end up. "Hey, I'll make you a deal. If you manage to get me to hit anywhere on the target, I'll try and help you with a sword sometime. Deal?" There was something about the way he said it that was distinctly devoid of anything flirtatious, which was good. Most people knew about he and Annabeth's relationship, but there was always the chance that someone would try and test it. And he wouldn't help anyone with that effort, because he would swiftly shut it down. Rejection wasn't fun, but the only time Percy was ever caught serious outside of battle was when his relationships with friends were threatened.

^{STARRING : percy & Palmer
WORDS : 565
STATUS : finished
NOTES : lots of ramble/unnecessary stuff, sorry xD
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : pirate skittles! of caution 2.0
TAGGED : TANA}

[palmer canton]

* - - - -

He had met the god of the sun a couple of times. Scratch that. Met several of the gods at least once. As Percy said the few words about the sun chariot and actually getting to ride in it Palmer's mind went blank and her eyes dropped to the ground. Her expression softened for a moment. She wasn't angry at this Percy kid about getting an opportunity to ride in the sun chariot, she wasn't exactly sad that she hadn't either. The emotions that came across her when thinking of her father were always different at different times. She had gone through most of her life thinking that the other half of her bloodline was dead. It was a lot to take in finding out that her mom was "just kidding" about the whole dead thing. Not cool.

The brief explanation ended in another compliment that Palmer couldn't help but smile at. Comments about swords and archery were exchanged before she offered her own bow to the boy before her. "I'm sure you're exaggerating. You can't be that bad." Palm held up a single finger before saying "Hold on a sec." She quickly made her way to the target, pulled out the arrows that remained there from her previous practice, and brought them all back to her quiver, bow, and Percy. She handed him an arrow before putting the rest back into their holder.

That's when Percy offered to make a deal with Palmer. She laughed lightly before nodding. The way he talked to her, the tone that was used, sounded almost like a mentor, borderline brotherly. It was nice not having someone trying to tell her what do to and how to do it. Finally there was someone she could just talk to, and who was easy to talk to. Some people just didn't respond, others would give short answers, and then there were always those who thought that being the only one to talk was okay.

"Deal." He couldn't be that bad at archery to miss the target all together, right Palm took a step back giving Percy enough room to shoot. She crossed her arms and waited for him to shoot the arrow, her eyes shifted from the target and back. Seeing her bow in someone else's hand was weird. She had never offered it to anyone to use before, when had the chance ever come? Her fingers tapped a silent, random rythem against her side as she waited for Percy to shoot.

- - - - *
Word Count: four. one. six.
Tagged: Percy!
Outfit: Click Here.
Notes: Museless... but then
again when is it ever there?

[percy jackson]

Holding the bow, Percy felt awkward and out of place. It had been a long time since he had even attempted archery, and it never went well, so he rarely felt a desire to try. As Palmer handed him an arrow, he chuckled. "You severely overestimate me." Loading the arrow, the tip was unstable and wobbled up and down along the bow. His steadiness was almost nonexistent. When he thought the arrow was angled right, he let his fingers slip off, and the arrow went sailing. To his credit, it was probably one of his better shots. It sailed through the air, having been shot out with an average technique. However, despite his technique being about par, his aim was tragic. The arrow sank down a foot to the left of the target.

Laughing, Percy turned to Palmer, his concentration broken. "Told you so. That one felt good too. I've never been able to shoot it that far before." Thinking it over, his laughter increased. "Then again, the odds that I'd be able to do it again are almost zilch." Feeling more amused than encouraged, Percy took another arrow from Palmer and lined it up again. Sure enough, this one barely even left the bow before plummeting to the ground, not a yard in front of him. "Just because I'm THE Percy Jackson doesn't make me perfect. Trust me."

Out of courtesy, the son of Poseidon ran out to grab both arrows he had shot poorly. He handed them back to Palmer and smirked at her. "And no, don't think that I sabotaged the shots on purpose. If I had, I probably might have actually hit the thing. I really am that bad." He started to think about what he was good at, what made him a force to be reckoned with. It basically consisted of his water tricks and Riptide. Maybe if I had a bow and arrow conjured from water? But somehow, Percy knew that just because he had something that appealed to him didn't mean he could aim it any better. "I guess I could still try and help you with sword fighting. Though if you're as bad at that as I am at this, it might be a hopeless cause." Thinking what he had just said over, he quick apologized. "Not to say that you're hopeless...just that it might be an effort that could be better spent elsewhere. For both of us."

^{STARRING : percy & Palmer
WORDS : 408
STATUS : finished
NOTES : it's nice to see percy fail at something tragically. the books seem to rarely accentuate his shortcomings outside of personal stuff.
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : pirate skittles! of caution 2.0
TAGGED : TANA}

[palmer canton]

* - - - -

He was Percy Jackson. The kid that almost every single person had probably heard about at least once on that giant boat for the Greek campers. How awful could he be at something so simple as archery? Hadn't fought a billion things and won, considering he was standing here today. Once the arrow started wobbling against the bow Palmer could help but raise an eyebrow. This had to be fake. As he aimed she couldn't help but tilt her head to the side a bit, shift her weight from one foot to the other, and wrinkle her nose. Don't shoot it there. she thought to herself. Sure enough, he did. Now it was really a joke.

When he turned she shut her eyes, looked down, and shook her head as she laughed. He mentioned that the shot felt good and that he couldn't do that for a second time if he tried. She handed him another arrow and watched as he tried again. It was like a train wreck, impossible to look away from. "That was kind of not good." Her words came as she still snickers to herself. It was different seeing someone who was not one of Apollo's offspring attempt to shoot and arrow. Some people were good but other's, not so much. Others like Percy. Archery had come so easily to her that she had forgotten that other people had to actually try. He was right, he wasn't as perfect as the stories had made him out to be.

Before she knew it the arrows were being handed back to her. Palmer just put them into her quiver with the rest and shook her head at the sabotage comment. She couldn't believe that he was that bad. He kept talking, offering to help her with her sword fighting if she wanted. He mentioned that it may be a lost cause but quickly tried to cover what he was saying. Palmer laughed out loud and shrugged. "No no I get what you mean. You weren't that bad. Just relax through your shoulders or something and aim better? Maybe?" Sure the suggestions weren't all and for all Palmer knew that may not even be the problem. She was not a teacher, she didn't know archery that well at all, she was just good. "Oh trust me. I'm just as bad at sword fighting. The definition of hopeless."

- - - - *
Word Count: three. nine. six.
Tagged: Percy!
Outfit: Click Here.
Notes: Well then. I've
got nothing.

[percy jackson]

Percy's smile began to widen as he heard Palmer's laughs. She was kind of trying to muffle them, though it did little to prevent him from hearing her. It wasn't something that happened often, outside of his friends. Rarely did people feel comfortable enough around him to mock his lack of success. "Are you laughing at me? How dare you! I'm Percy Jackson, Praetor to the Twelfth Legion, son of Poseidon!" He was talking with his hands, exaggerating every syllable, quite obviously joking. Sure, it was fun talking his self up, but the tone in his voice and the smirk on his face stretching his grin.

Her comment sent Percy bursting into a fit of laughter. "Oh really now? I felt pretty confident on that second one, what do you mean it wasn't good?" It had been a long time since he legitimately, heartily laughed and enjoyed himself. Especially with new people. The last people he had let in where Reyna, Hazel, and Frank, and most of their conversations as of late were much too serious to be considered friendly. Palmer was someone the demigod pictured as being a relaxing person to be around, a true and unconditional friend. "Yeah, because I'm just my shoulders being tense was the only problem with that, right? Nah, it's just not my thing. I'll leave that to you, daughter of Apollo."

It was pretty clear that even though they were both pretty near top of their "field", neither was in any position to be able to learn much from the other. "Looks like that training might not work out for us then, huh? Too bad, I was really hoping to hang out with you again." It wasn't intended to be flirtatious or awkward, but there was really no way to say that without having at least a hint of either. So he decided to proceed, and try to subtly cover his ass. "You're a cool person, and I need someone to just have fun with, in spite of all this." He was sounding confident in himself, and wasn't giving her much of a question there. His statement was an assumption that she would be willing, not even really giving her an option. "So what else do you do, besides archery and make fun of new friends?"

^{STARRING : percy & Palmer
WORDS : 383
STATUS : finished
NOTES : sorry this took so long xD muse started slow but picked up ish by the end, so that's good.
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : pirate skittles! of caution 2.0
TAGGED : TANA}

[palmer canton]

* - - - -

The shot was obviously off. Maybe the shooter would think otherwise, but from the side it was obvious that there was very little aim. Archery was easy for Palmer, she forgot that it was a challenge for others. Percy shot the arrow and Palmer couldn't help but look at the ground, shake her head, and attempt to hold back her laughter. This had to be a joke, right? "Are you laughing at me? How dare you! I'm Percy Jackson, Praetor to the Twelfth Legion, son of Poseidon!" She didn't know what over half of those words meant and the fact that he had a motion for what seemed like every syllable made the comment even more funny. Palmer was freely laughing at him. She tried to stop after a moment and shake her head 'no'. "I wasn't laughing. You're seeing things." At this moment she was able to speak with a straight face, her expression blank. It was only a moment later when she cracked a smile a told him that the shot was really not good.

"Oh really now? I felt pretty confident on that second one, what do you mean it wasn't good?" Palmer had shrugged and made the suggestion about his shoulders. In reality they both knew that that wasn't the only problem. "Yeah, because I'm just my shoulders being tense was the only problem with that, right? Nah, it's just not my thing. I'll leave that to you, daughter of Apollo." At least he didn't think that he was perfect at everything. She nodded it was probably a better idea that she stuck with archery. "Better aim may help you too, but you're right. How about you just leave this to me, and you can have water tricks and sword fighting." Her words were not all serious, though they held truth, she continued to speak in a joking manner.

The two exchanged a few words about how helping one another may not be he best idea. Palm nodded in agreement to Percy's comment. She didn't know too much about archery when it came down to telling someone what to do. "Too bad, I was really hoping to hang out with you again. You're a cool person, and I need someone to just have fun with, in spite of all this." Palmer, who had a few fingers around the string of her bow and was bouncing the weapon, lifted her eyes from the bow to Percy. Her face held the same light expression it had through this whole conversation. "Well if you're ever looking for a distraction let me know."

The thought of why she was actually here, in a camp, in a roman camp, wasn't something Palmer thought about often. An impending war was far too scary to think about too often. Some would live while others died. She knew that. It was the dying part that she wasn't a fan of.

"So what else do you do, besides archery and make fun of new friends?" Her eyes had gone from the bow back to Percy. She thought about his question for a moment. Since she had gotten here all she had really done was play her guitar and practice archery. Back in Oregon she was a gymnast. Never competitive, but she was decent. Palm missed the hours of shopping with her friends, the sleepovers, going to parties and talking about them at school the next week, and everything else that came with that little town. Never in a million years had she thought that she would come to miss Oregon, but now, after being thrown into a new lifestyle she missed everything she used to do. "I sing and play guitar sometimes. Oh and I used to be a gymnast! But making fun of new friends is kind of my hobby." She was talking faster than she had before, a habit that she probably should get rid of. Then again there were so many bad habits where would she start? "What about you?" The words finally came clearer and slower than before. Palmer had stopped bouncing the bow in her hand before continuing a few moments later. Now she had put it around her shoulder in hopes to stop herself from getting even more distracted.

- - - - *
Word Count: seven. one. zero.
Tagged: Percy!
Outfit: Click Here.
Notes: Sorry about the
wait, Nick! And the random
post.. I was feeling a bit ADD
today XD