𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, l. castellan

𝟎𝟎𝟖. capture the flag

He briefly touches Valeria's forearm, tipping his head to the side to signal for her to follow. However, Annabeth calls out again, making them pause momentarily and turn to peer back at the girl.

"Hey," Annabeth starts. "Today feel like a winning kind of day to you?"

Luke smiles at her. "I'll see you on the other side." He raises his sword to face his and Valeria's team, pointing in the direction of the bridge leading to another part of the blue team's territory. "Company! Move out."

"Kleos!" Glory.

____________

The second conch sounded nearly six minutes ago, yet none of Clarisse's allies have decided to make their attack. Luke and Valeria's team continues to march through the woods cautiously, though it's clear that many have already grown bored from the lack of action and uncomfortable from the treacherous warmth.

Valeria lets out an exasperated sigh, sheathing her sword and lifting her now free hand to remove her helmet. The relief that floods her scalp is refreshing, and she shakes her head softly while humming.

"What are you doing?" Luke asks, slowing his pace to match hers. "Put your helmet back on."

Valeria rolls her eyes at his command, tossing it aside instead. "Come on, Luke. My head feels like it's on fire. I won't need it."

"You won't have a head anymore if somebody decides to chop it off because you weren't wearing a helmet."

"Dramatic much?"

"You're the expert."

Valeria smacks her shield into his hip, causing Luke to sway slightly on the tilted ground as he chuckles. "I'm not even that dramatic."

"Uh—huh. Whatever you say."

Chris shifts his body slightly to peer over his shoulder at the two. "Lovebirds, can we focus on the game, please?"

Luke glares at his cabin mate, coming to a pause in order to retrieve the girl's discarded headgear. "You think you're funny, don't you?"

The boy shrugs, grinning smugly and twisting back around to face the front of the line.

Then Luke holds out the helmet to Valeria, who looks up at him blankly and unimpressed. "Put it on," he repeats. "I'm not gonna deal with your whining later when you get hurt because—"

A sudden shout from up ahead causes Luke to drop her helmet and instinctively unsheathe his sword from the scabbard on his hip, as if he had been anticipating the ambush already. Valeria copies his actions just as several members of the red team leap out from behind bushes and trees, letting out cries to announce themselves as the battle ensues.

When somebody lunges past Luke to get to Valeria, she counters her opponent's attack with ease, the steel of their swords grinding together and blending with the other noises surrounding them. She pushes against their blade harshly, gritting her teeth while using her shield to block their abrupt attempt at jabbing her side.

Valeria maneuvers around their body to switch places with them. They deflect one another's strikes by swinging their swords in precise yet effective motions, though Valeria seems to be more capable of continuing these movements than her opponent because their grip has started to loosen around the hilt of their sword. Valeria uses this to her advantage, taking a quick step forward and slicing her blade through the distance between them.