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Nick had been minding his own business, feeding his voracious and seemingly neverending appetite.
"Um, hi, sorry for interrupting, but I just wanted to ask you a quick question. You're here to help us train better right? I need to become a smarter fighter. Can you help me in that area? If you can't it's fine, I'll ask someone else." It was the voice of a female, which intrigued him. Obviously. When he glanced up, he sort of cocked his head to the side and gave her a studious glance over.
A light smile touched his lips because heās a friendly guy. There was no need to be rude. As imposing as he might appear, Nicholas was a down-to-earth sweetheart ā intercom oopsies aside. He picked up a plump red apple, planted an elbow on the tabletop, and took a crunchy bite out of it. It was a bit juicier than he imagined, so a bit of it ran down the corner of his mouth and dribbled down his jawline.
Smooth. Real smooth.
He was letting Iliana soak in her own question for a bit as he formulated his own opinion. Being the son of Poseidon, he supposed it was only fair that someone comes to him. He was the child of one of the three greatest gods. Supposedly, anyway.
"A smarter fighter," he parroted while his head nodded a few times and he took another bite of the apple. He glanced over her shoulder for a moment to spare a look at Ethan and Heath but paid them no mind for now. It seemed that the girl had come here of her own volition. He gestured toward the seat in front of him.
Nicholas, while he was many things that might make him appear untrustworthy, didnāt have an ounce of malicious intent in his bones. "Do you need to be a smarter fighter or a confident one? Iām not that smart, so I canāt give you the smart fighter playbook." He tapped the side of his head to make a point. "Donāt answer that. You already know. Youāve got to have confidence."
He finished up the apple while letting her stew in his words for a few minutes. There was no rush. As far as he was concerned, the girl seemed legitimately in need of some kind of guidance. He didnāt know anything about the Demigods here, so her wasnāt going to pretend to have knowledge that he didnāt possess. What he could offer was his view of her spar, which he watched closely, even if his head was planted in another personās lap.
It was a nice lapā¦ His thoughts drifted for a moment.
He blinked and was back to the matter at hand. He sighed deeply and let it out slowly, "The truth is that you will most likely never know your opponent. Unless youāre a super genius or maybe itās your arch-enemy. You just need to know yourself and your own abilities. You donāt even have the basic skills to begin fighting āsmartlyā."
As he started to list off a few things, he lifted his hands and pointed to one finger for each item, "Confidenceā first and most importantly. You donāt know your strengths, weaknesses, and the depths and limitations of your abilities." It might have sounded cruel or judgemental, but it wouldnāt serve anyone well to be dishonest about things. These things might be hard to hear, but they were necessary.
He crossed both of his arms over the table and leaned forward, "Iām not sure anyone can help you with those things. You have to find those on your own. Until you know all of that, no one can teach you how to fight." He looked her in the eyes, "But that doesnāt mean we canāt try."
He slapped the table top and gave her a wide and goofy smile, "But itās going to cost you! Youāll need to be up at 5 am ready to learn. Iāll need a couple of hours of your time, too. Itās not an easy task, but Iām confident that youāll get there eventually."
He pulled himself up and took a couple of steps forward. He gave her a light pat on the shoulder, "See you before the sunās up tomorrow," he reminded her while getting on his way.
When he was on the way out, he slipped past Sloane and Rocco. "Cute pup," he mentioned in passing. He stopped for a moment and took a step back, "Good fight, too." Nick gave her a wink, tucked his hands into his pockets, and resumed his forward motion to the next destination. Wherever that was. Heās not sure. Sometimes he just wandersā¦
After some time he had stumbled upon a glint of red hair in the distance. Evelyn. Not that he knew her name. He could have gotten his jacket from her at that time, but with a single step forward, Sylasā figure slipped into his field of vision. Shame.
It was probably better that way. While he wasnāt the sharpest tool in the shed already, he was dullest when around beautiful women.
He turned to head in another direction, not about to intrude on someone elseās conversation. He didnāt care anyway.
Eventually, Nick found his way to a cliff, and in the longest distance, his sister was in the middle of the ocean looking like an evil Little Mermaid. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and wondered how much longer they would have to play this game. Nicholas didnāt want what his father forcefully bestowed upon him. If he could just hand it off to his wanting sister, he would do it in a heartbeat. He didnāt blame her for how she was beginning to turn out. It was not easy being the daughter of Poseidon ā a misogynistic piece of work. She would be better suited than him. He wanted to be free of burdens but was overwhelmed by them.
It was just a shame. All that potential was slipping into the dark. He was supposed to be here for everyone, but he couldnāt help but feel drawn to trying to lift his sister up. She loathed him, but he didnāt hate her. He was sorry that he was her brotherā¦ and that being his sister, even if she was stronger or more willingā¦ she was automatically beneath him because of that.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. What could he do, though?
"Um, hi, sorry for interrupting, but I just wanted to ask you a quick question. You're here to help us train better right? I need to become a smarter fighter. Can you help me in that area? If you can't it's fine, I'll ask someone else." It was the voice of a female, which intrigued him. Obviously. When he glanced up, he sort of cocked his head to the side and gave her a studious glance over.
A light smile touched his lips because heās a friendly guy. There was no need to be rude. As imposing as he might appear, Nicholas was a down-to-earth sweetheart ā intercom oopsies aside. He picked up a plump red apple, planted an elbow on the tabletop, and took a crunchy bite out of it. It was a bit juicier than he imagined, so a bit of it ran down the corner of his mouth and dribbled down his jawline.
Smooth. Real smooth.
He was letting Iliana soak in her own question for a bit as he formulated his own opinion. Being the son of Poseidon, he supposed it was only fair that someone comes to him. He was the child of one of the three greatest gods. Supposedly, anyway.
"A smarter fighter," he parroted while his head nodded a few times and he took another bite of the apple. He glanced over her shoulder for a moment to spare a look at Ethan and Heath but paid them no mind for now. It seemed that the girl had come here of her own volition. He gestured toward the seat in front of him.
Nicholas, while he was many things that might make him appear untrustworthy, didnāt have an ounce of malicious intent in his bones. "Do you need to be a smarter fighter or a confident one? Iām not that smart, so I canāt give you the smart fighter playbook." He tapped the side of his head to make a point. "Donāt answer that. You already know. Youāve got to have confidence."
He finished up the apple while letting her stew in his words for a few minutes. There was no rush. As far as he was concerned, the girl seemed legitimately in need of some kind of guidance. He didnāt know anything about the Demigods here, so her wasnāt going to pretend to have knowledge that he didnāt possess. What he could offer was his view of her spar, which he watched closely, even if his head was planted in another personās lap.
It was a nice lapā¦ His thoughts drifted for a moment.
He blinked and was back to the matter at hand. He sighed deeply and let it out slowly, "The truth is that you will most likely never know your opponent. Unless youāre a super genius or maybe itās your arch-enemy. You just need to know yourself and your own abilities. You donāt even have the basic skills to begin fighting āsmartlyā."
As he started to list off a few things, he lifted his hands and pointed to one finger for each item, "Confidenceā first and most importantly. You donāt know your strengths, weaknesses, and the depths and limitations of your abilities." It might have sounded cruel or judgemental, but it wouldnāt serve anyone well to be dishonest about things. These things might be hard to hear, but they were necessary.
He crossed both of his arms over the table and leaned forward, "Iām not sure anyone can help you with those things. You have to find those on your own. Until you know all of that, no one can teach you how to fight." He looked her in the eyes, "But that doesnāt mean we canāt try."
He slapped the table top and gave her a wide and goofy smile, "But itās going to cost you! Youāll need to be up at 5 am ready to learn. Iāll need a couple of hours of your time, too. Itās not an easy task, but Iām confident that youāll get there eventually."
He pulled himself up and took a couple of steps forward. He gave her a light pat on the shoulder, "See you before the sunās up tomorrow," he reminded her while getting on his way.
When he was on the way out, he slipped past Sloane and Rocco. "Cute pup," he mentioned in passing. He stopped for a moment and took a step back, "Good fight, too." Nick gave her a wink, tucked his hands into his pockets, and resumed his forward motion to the next destination. Wherever that was. Heās not sure. Sometimes he just wandersā¦
After some time he had stumbled upon a glint of red hair in the distance. Evelyn. Not that he knew her name. He could have gotten his jacket from her at that time, but with a single step forward, Sylasā figure slipped into his field of vision. Shame.
It was probably better that way. While he wasnāt the sharpest tool in the shed already, he was dullest when around beautiful women.
He turned to head in another direction, not about to intrude on someone elseās conversation. He didnāt care anyway.
Eventually, Nick found his way to a cliff, and in the longest distance, his sister was in the middle of the ocean looking like an evil Little Mermaid. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and wondered how much longer they would have to play this game. Nicholas didnāt want what his father forcefully bestowed upon him. If he could just hand it off to his wanting sister, he would do it in a heartbeat. He didnāt blame her for how she was beginning to turn out. It was not easy being the daughter of Poseidon ā a misogynistic piece of work. She would be better suited than him. He wanted to be free of burdens but was overwhelmed by them.
It was just a shame. All that potential was slipping into the dark. He was supposed to be here for everyone, but he couldnāt help but feel drawn to trying to lift his sister up. She loathed him, but he didnāt hate her. He was sorry that he was her brotherā¦ and that being his sister, even if she was stronger or more willingā¦ she was automatically beneath him because of that.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. What could he do, though?