Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙮 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙧, 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 out of his seat. The daughter of Athena still had wet hair from what Andy had heard people refer to as the "toilet water incident."
Andy took a big bite of strawberry and waved the stem at Annabeth's face. "I was thinking about the capture the flag game on Friday."
Annabeth just glared at her.
"Well, I'm on your team, as you should know." Andy said. "I just don't think that arrangement is very logical. I mean, you clearly don't like me, and I don't particularly want to be on your team. I think it'd be, what's the word? It'd be wise if I could switch teams. You'd know all about wisdom, being the daughter of Athena, right?"
Annabeth snarled at me. "Fine! I'll talk to Clarisse."
"Already done." Andy said, smiling widely, getting up. "She was the one to invite me."
Annabeth looked like she regretted it immediately, but Andy was already gone.
𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙮 𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙣, 𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 conch shell sounded, she stood and walked over to the Ares table. Everyone was standing, and Annabeth and Clarisse ran into the pavilion carrying their flags. Athena's was glistening grey, with a painting of a barn owl on an olive branch. Ares's was bright red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.
Ares went for the brute strength approach, like always. They allied with Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. (And Andy, of course.) Athena went for a more tactical strategy, siding with Hermes and Apollo.
The Ares team had the advantage of having more campers, but Demeter and Aphrodite kids weren't too aggressive. The Hephaestus kids were big and strong from working in the forges all day, and were pretty good at handling heavy weapons.
The Athena kids were smart, and most were extremely talented with weapons. Apollo kids were good with long-range fighting, but not so much with close combat. Hermes had a lot of kids, many with different talents.
It was pretty evenly matched.
Chiron hammered his hoof in the marble.
"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is false 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."
He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered in weapons and shields.
Andy pushed her way through the Ares cabin, grabbing a good sword. She wouldn't need a shield (or a sword) if she played this right. They all grabbed helmets, too, with red plumes.
