"THOSE ARE THE FLAGS?" Percy yells over the noise to Luke. Excitement is at an all time high as it's finally time for Capture the Flag. Alex looks up at the Athena and Ares flags. Athena's is a gorgeous 3 foot flag. It's base is a dull grey and it has a painting of an owl on it. Ares, on the other hand, is just plain scary. It's the colour of blood with a spear and dead boar's head painted on it.
"Yeah." Luke responds.
"Do Athena and Ares always lead the teams?"
"Not always but often."
"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do— repaint the flag?"
Luke grins, not looking away from the flags. "You'll see. We just need to catch one first."
"But whose side are we on?" Part of Alex hopes Ares because then Clarisse will have a reason to not kill the twins but the rest of her wants to be with Athena so she can be as far away from the Ares campers as possible.
"We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you two are going to help." Alex grimaces at his words, hoping his smirk doesn't mean 'we are going to use you as bait'.
The teams get announced, Athena pairing with Apollo (as always) and Hermes. Ares teams with everyone else. Alex looks between the 2 teams. She thinks her team has the stronger campers but the glare of all the Ares kids makes her doubt it slightly.
"Heroes!" Chiron yells, grabbing everyone's attention. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"
Chiron waves his arm and weapons of every kind appear on the table. "Woah. Are you really supposed to use these?" Percy asks.
"Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here— Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol together." Luke hands Percy his gear while Griffin appears behind them, handing Alex a sword, chest plate and shield. She sighs while holding all the gear, feeling a little helpless.
She then looks at Griffin who doesn't wear any armour. He only wears his protective gear from his bow on the inner of his forearm and chest. She stares at his blankly, "You don't even have a weapon."
He laughs, pulling the necklace from around his neck with a gold key on it. He goes to snap the key in half but Alex blinks and suddenly he's holding a sleek black bow, a quiver of arrows on his back, one arrow already notched into the bow. "Gift from my dad after he realised he neglected me for 2 years." Griffin sighs.
Alex looks for signs that he's joking but finds none. Just when she opens her mouth to say something else, Clarisse cackles from the other side of the room, staring at Alex. The brunette turns her head to look at Griffin. "Is this armour going to protect me when she tries to kill me?"
"There's no killing or maiming." Luke buts in from beside them, securing his chest plate.
Alex looks back at the daughter of Ares who holds her creepy ass spear. "I don't... think that's going to stop her."
Griffin pats her shoulder, "I doubt she'll find her way to you. If she does, it's 2 against one." He shrugs while Luke laughs.
"I don't think you factored skill into that equation."
Griffin smiles at her reassuringly, dropping his voice when he sees she's actually concerned. "I won't be far. If things get out of hand, I'll step in."
