There was a buzz in the air as it came time for capture the flag.
There were only thirteen hunters including Bianca Di Angelo and around the same amount of campers.
"Out of the campers, there was Charles Beckendorf and a couple other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin, the Stoll brothers, Celia and her siblings, Nico and the few from Aphrodite cabin who were there. It wasn't common for many Aphrodite campers to participate, but they really hated the hunters.
"I'll show love is worthless." Lilia muttered pulling her helmet over her head, pushing any thought of ruining out her brain.
That left Percy and Thalia.
"I'll take offence, you take defence." She offered.
"Oh well I was kind of thinking, with your shield and everything, you'd be better defence?" He hesitated giving her a wary look.
"Well I was thinking it'd make better offence, besides you have a lot of practice in defence." He frowned slightly not sure if she was mocking him.
"Yeah no problem." His jaw was tight and he had a defeated look in his eyes.
Lilia walked over giving him a sympathetic smile. Her hand reached up to his shoulder and fixed his armour strap.
Before Percy could even process the action, she patted his chest and walked off toward the Apollo kids. And Nico came running towards him.
"Percy, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big.
Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"
"Well... no."
"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"
"That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides-"
"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurected as soon as we were killed, so we-"
"Nico, this is serious. Real swords. These can hurt." Nico looked slightly disappointed and Percy realised he'd just sounded like a mother.
"Hey, its cool. us follow the team. Stay out of Zoe's way, we'll have a blast."
Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.
"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team Camp Half-Blood shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis red team shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"
"Sweet," Nico whispered next to me. "What kind of magic items? Do I get one?"
Percy was about to break it to him that he didn't, when Thalia said, "Blue team! Follow me!"
They cheered and followed, Percy had to run to catch up, but tripped on someone's shield.
"So much for co-captain." He muttered rolling his eyes.
The campers set their flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It's this cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. If you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron wouldn't let us call the place the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much of a sense of humor.
Anyway, it was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.
Percy set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers, figuring he'd be safely out of the way.
"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."
"Got it!"
"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."
"Lilia you go with Celia and the Apollo cabin to the forest edge, guard above ground level, keep an eye out for hunters. If you see anyone yell."
Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work.
Thalia looked at Percy.
"Anything to add, Percy?"
"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got four guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Shout if you need help."
"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.
"Unless you see a golden opportunity," Percy added.
Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post."
"Right, unless-"
"Percy!" She touched his arm and a little shock hit him. Lilia guessed it's was to do with her dad being the god of lightning. Percy didn't look too happy.
"Sorry," Thalia said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "Now, is everybody clear?"
Everybody nodded, breaking out into their smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.
Lilia was perched on a tree branch out of sight from those walking below, along with all the Apollo children scattered across different trees, bows at the ready.
She watched as Percy climbed to the top of Zeus's fist and followed what he was looking at.
Silena ran through a clearing beneath her, followed by her two scouts. Five hunters ran behind them deep into the forest, away from Thalia's group.
But that wasn't what Percy was looking at, there was another group of hunters headed to the right, bows ready. They must have spotted her.
Percy got down from the rocks and ran towards the hunters as Nico and the stoll brothers cheered.
"What is he doing?" Celia hissed from near by, as Percy ran beneath them.
"Whatever it is, it's going to really piss of Thalia."
Lilia watched as Zoë and a couple other hunters ran after Percy quietly.
"Shit." She muttered, climbing down from her hiding spot, she raised her bow and shot a trip wire infront of them, one of the hunters fell.
Zoë and the other turned wide eyed, the latter of the two shooting an arrow in her direction, she swerved slightly but it hit her arm leaving a small graze..
That really made her mad, but she was to late Zoë was long gone and the other was running after her, Charles and Nico came running up behind her calling out for Percy.
Lilia was quick but as they got to the creek, Percy was coughing, a foul smelling smoke lingered around him. The hunters cheered holding up the flag.
"Noo!" Percy cried out in defeat.
"The hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. He had Connor and Travis on his back, and it looked as though they'd both taken some bad hits, Connor had two arrows sticking out his helmet.
"Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming toward him. She smelled like rotten eggs, and she was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. What an ugly shield Lilia thought to herself.
"What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?" she bellowed.
"I got the flag, Thalia!" He stood close to her waving it in her face. "I saw a chance and I took it!"
"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."
"You had too many on you!"
"Oh, so it's my fault?"
"I didn't say that."
"Argh!" Thalia pushed him, a shock ran through his body throwing him 10 feet backwards into the creek. Lilia cringed walking towards the creek ready to help him up.
A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs.
"Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to-"
Percy's jaw was clenched and his face was bright red. A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe.
He stood up. "Yeah," he growled. "I didn't mean to, either."
Thalia was breathing heavily.
"Enough!" Chiron ordered.
But Thalia raised her spear, "you want some seaweed brain?" She taunted. That seemed to make him angry his jaw tightening even more if possible.
"Bring it on pinecone face!" Before he could even raise his spear a bolt of lightning came down from the sky and hit her spear, and she slammed it into his chest. The campers gasped as he fell back his shirt burnt.
"Thalia that's enough." Chiron said once more.
"This is going to far!" Celia cried out to Lilia. They weren't listening to Chiron.
Percy didn't move for a second but then, the whole creek rose up, hundred of gallons swirling into a massive icy funnel cloud.
"BOTH OF YOU STOP!" Lilia willed every bit of charmspeak into her voice as she shouted at the two.
They both froze their eyes going foggy, the water splashed back into the creek.
They shook out of it and stared at her eyebrows furrowed.
Percy's gaze fell behind her, his eyes widened.
"This is impossible." Chiron whispered. "It... she has never left the attic, never."
And yet the withered mummy that held the oracle, shuffled towards them until she was stood at the centre of the group. Mist curled around her turning the snow a sickly green colour.
Lilia stepped back nervously, in the process squishing one of Percy's feet.
"Ow!" He cried out.
"Sorry." She said giving him a sympathetic look.
"I am the sprit of Delphi," the voice said. "Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python."
The Oracle regarded Percy and Lilia with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade.
"Approach, Seeker, and ask."
Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"
The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. The vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak could be seen.
It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:
"Six shall go west to the goddess in chains, One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail, Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand."
Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.
No one said a word too stunned to even move.
AN-
I've watched the first few episodes of Percy Jackson and could not be more excited! They're all so darn flippin cute! What's everyone else thinking??
Anyways Thank you for carrying on reading, and I hope that it's good to everyone's standards so far 😭. I'm really enjoying writing this and didn't think there was enough aphrodite child appreciation so here's where we are!!!!!
See you soon 🤍