ACHILLES + PATROCLUS [p. jackson]

1.8: THERE'S A WAR GOING ON DOWN THERE (AND I CAN'T DO A DAMN THING)

This chapter might not be that great, as I have never written a battle from the perspective of an outsider before.

I wish Rip could participate, but as stated in the books, Reyna was not fighting at all and was observing from above.  

     OUT OF ALL OF THE THINGS ABOUT HIS LIFE BEFORE PRAETORSHIP, Agrippa missed the war games the most.

It was against the rules for praetors to join in them, as they have already proven their might, and earned their place in the Legion. If Rip had any say, he would point out that the praetors need to sharpen their skills as much as the legionares do, but he thought the others might find that insulting.

The games were always pure chaotic fun, as he loved seeking out Jason on the field and testing how good they each had gotten over the last little while, and they were almost always evenly matched outside of a few times when Jason or himself got the upper hand when a particularly loud canon shot startled one or the other, or something like that.

But now the balance had shifted, and every single time, nobody was shocked when the First and Second Cohorts won. He had even heard Michael offhandedly mention they were planning to play cards - something no one would get away with at his and Jason's prime.

He sat comfortably atop Alexander as he made tight circles above the Fields of Mars, which he imagined were once beautiful, but were now marked with gaping craters and scorched earth scarring the land. As always, the fortress was immaculate and wonderfully crafted - good for the First and Second, horrible news for the underdogs.

The Third, Fourth, and Fifth looked like ants from up there, moving in semi-coordinated lines in a familiar march. He could barely distinguish between who belonged to which, and lost track of who entered the field first.

As the defenders made a large, tightly-packed circle to discuss their plan of attack, several eagles swooped in to take their place circling behind them in spectacular formation - the ambulance squadron, whom could carry even the heaviest warrior to New York and back without a need for a single stop.

The sole outlier from those around them was Nico di Angelo, perching himself in a small observation tower decaying from disuse, as spectators were few and far between these days. Sometimes, families would come to watch, as if it was some sort of major sporting event that they would place bets on. But there was no surprise anymore, no excitement or challenge really.

If he strained his hearing, he could almost hear the groaning of whom he imagined were the Fifth, as they stood the farthest away from anyone else. Not by choice, of course. Nobody chose to stand by them in fear, stupid as it may be, but they are children of the Gods, the most paranoid people to ever exist, that their bad luck would pass on like some viral disease.

Reyna glanced over to him, clutching an intricately carved war horn tightly in her hands. Rip detached his own from his belt, and she gave a short nod. As the soldiers below took their battle positions, Agrippa and Reyna raised their horns to their lips and blew through them, creating a loud, clear sound that could he heard from miles around.

As usual, the Fifth was spread thin and thrust forward, used as bait rather for their skill. As the first line surged forward without much enthusiasm in their cheers, Agrippa took note of three lone shapes huddled together off to one side. He could barely make out the shape of each of the trio as they were so tightly packed together, seemingly in deep conversation.

He imagined that was Hazel, Frank, and Percy, but for all he knew, they were sent to the front lines to as easy bait and target practice, neither a really good thing. He knew the three of them were powerful, he had helped train Hazel and Frank himself (mostly because Dakota tended to be too burned-out to do it, and Gwen was too busy picking up on her fellow Centurion's slack), and if the show of strength at the river was anything to go by on Percy's part.