riordanverse books from annabeth's pov

capture the flag

it was Friday night. The day of Capture the Flag. Athena VS Ares.

Technically we had other cabins as well on each team but I liked to think of i that way.

It gave me motivation to win and beat Ares.

Malcom, Evan and I carried our grey silk banner into the pavilion and everyone on our team cheered.

Clarisse, from the other side of the pavilion, carried in their banner, which was a lot more gruesome.

Ours was grey and had a barn owl above an olive tree painted on it.

Theirs was blood-red and had a bloody spear and a boar's head painted on it.

"Alright!" yelled Chiron. "The teams are as follows: On Athena's team we have Athena, Apollo and Hermes. On Ares's we have Ares, Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite and Hepheastus!"

Ha. Aphrodite wasn't going to compete. Everyone knew that.

Demeter....Eh. They had nature powers and stuff but they wouldn't use it to attack people. Besides, they weren't really powerful with nature.

Dionysus....Good athletic ability, low cabin population.

Hepheastus...Yeah, they might be a problem. Good thing I had made a plan to counteract them.

And Ares. Actually, I'm justified for sending Percy as border patrol because Clarisse would have gone after the new kid anyways.

Chiron stomped his hoof on the marble.

"HEROES! 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 a referee and battlefield medic! ARM YOURSELVES!"

He spread his hands and the tables were filled with armor and weapons.

I pulled on my blue horsehair-plume helmet on and glanced at the Ares team.

"BLUE TEAM, FORWARD!" I shouted.

Everyone cheered and shook their swords and followed me down the path into the southern woods.

The Ares headed off into the north, yelling taunts and insults.

"Hey," said Percy's voice next to me.

I nearly jumped but I kept on marching.

"So what's the plan?" He asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"

What? My hand subconsciously drifted to my pocket, where my Yankees cap was.

"Just watch Clarisse's spear," I said after making sure it was still there. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"

"Border patrol. Whatever that means."

"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away." I explained. "Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."

I marched forward, not wanting to waste any more time talking.

"Okay," mumbled Percy behind me. "Glad you wanted me on your team."

We reached our destination and I stationed Percy near the creek as the rest of us scattered in between the woods.

I motioned for everybody to follow me to the west side of the woods.

"Uh, any reason why we're not going to get the banner?" asked Malcom.

"No! No reason! I just thought...I'd try a different strategy this time."