PJO Magazine Edition #4: March 2019

Oneshot: The Hunters' Game Night

"Thalia." Celyn grinned wickedly. "I dare you to shoot an arrow through the window of the Ares cabin."

It was a warm Tuesday evening, and the Hunters were camped out in the woods of Camp Half-Blood. Now Celyn, Thalia, and four others were playing a rowdy game of truth or dare in one of their big, comfy tents. Most of the others had all gone to sleep.

Thalia shook her head. "It's past curfew for the campers. Technically, even we're supposed to be asleep, since we're on camp grounds. We'll get in trouble for sure. And imagine the reaction of the Ares cabin!"

Mari, a tall brunette Hunter, piped up, "Is our great and fearless leader, the legendary Thalia Grace, actually scared of the Ares cabin?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "No, of course I'm not frightened. I just don't think it would be wise."

"Since when are you concerned with being wise? Now you sound like your friend Annabeth." Violet, a small, dark-eyed hunter, popped another marshmallow into her mouth, eyeing Thalia mischievously.

"Fine, fine! I'll do it. But no one rat me out," Thalia hissed. The other girls all nodded their assent, smirking gleefully as Thalia reached for her bow and stepped outside.

Celyn and Mari followed her down past Zeus's Fist to the edge of the woods, and around the side of the amphitheater. The cabins lay a short distance away, and even in the middle of the night, the crudely painted red Ares cabin was easy to see.

Thalia crept out farther, her comrades watching, until she had a clear view of the dark window. Spotting a dim lamp inside, she caught a glimpse of a low bed and raised her bow to shoot for the headboard. Positioning the bow, she aimed and let fly.

A shattering of glass and the dull thunk of the silver arrow hitting wood let her know she'd nailed her target. A few moments of silence ensued, and then an angry yell pierced the night calm, and a light came on in the Ares cabin. A minute later, a half-blood came tearing out of the cabin, spear in hand. Two more quickly followed.

Thalia, Celyn, and Mari didn't stay around to find out who the camper was. The trio raced back into the woods as fast as they could, dodging trees and shrubs, and startling quite a few sleepy dryads.

Thalia glanced back and made out the face of Sherman Yang behind her, and identified Clarisse La Rue and Matthew Scott as the pursuers. She veered away from their camp, not wanting to let the blame fall on her sisters. "Split up!" she panted.

Celyn took off to the left, and Mari slipped away to the right. Thalia continued straight ahead, studying the trees until she found an old, firm birch tree. Swinging herself up into its branches, she climbed higher and higher until she heard the crashing of branches below her and stopped.

"Where did those blasted Hunters go?" Sherman punched a tree in frustration. An offended dryad yelped and frowned down at him from the branches.

Clarisse grasped his arm. "I'm sure it was some silly game. Let's figure it out tomorrow. If the harpies catch us out here at this hour, we'll be on cleanup duty for sure. I don't really feel like washing two hundred plates tomorrow, do you?"

Sherman growled. "One of them shot an arrow at my bed. Four inches lower and it would've impaled me!"

"I know. Let's sneak away and whip 'em good in Capture the Flag tomorrow. For revenge," Matthew coaxed.

"Fine," Sherman grumbled. "But I get to knock out at least three of them."

Their voices faded as they moved back towards the cabins, and Thalia laughed silently as she slipped down the trunk of the tree. Darting away to find the Hunters again, she made a mental note to warn them to be on the lookout for some very angry Ares campers tomorrow.

By pluviophile_bookworm