So...I'm assuming you all liked when I did Annabeth's POV last time, right? Okay? Okay. This is the POV for part of this chapter. Comment if you want other POVs done; I'll do my best to fit them in!
~Aurora
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Annabeth

I studied Luke. "Are you sure you want to ally with Athena? You sound like you aren't."

"Yeah, I'm sure," he replied, trying for a smile.

"You look...tired," Brianna prodded.

"I'm fine," he repeated, this time with a slight edge to his voice.

She raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't question further.

Attempting to break the uncomfortable silence, I said, "Okay. So what's our strategy?"

Brianna hesitated a second, thinking before responding. "Well, since the Hermes kids are great at thievery, they could steal the flag. A decoy patrol made up of a few Hermes, Apollo, and Athena kids could act like they're going to grab the flag, then cover the pure Hermes patrol as they run to our territory."

I nodded; the plan made sense.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "Then some of the Apollo kids could hide in the trees and be the cover for the main group. Since all three cabins are pretty big, we could have trade-offs, keep the other team thinking."

Brianna smiled, and nodded. I thought I detected her eyes light up a bit more when Luke added his part to our master plan.

"So. It's settled?" I said, more as a question than anything.

"Yeah," Brianna said with a genuine smile. "It's settled."

***

"Go!" Brianna yelled at me. "I'll cover you!"

I took off, hearing the clash of metal behind me. Since I was small, I could move quickly and quietly. I snuck up behind the Ares kids guarding the Red Team's flag. I spotted Lee standing on the other side, waiting. I gave him a slight nod, then waved to the bushes across the clearing. A series of whistles sounded, one after another. The signal for Luke's squad. Lee and I came from behind, engaging the Ares campers.

Kailey, a newer daughter of Ares, faced me. She attempted to knock my dagger out of my hand. Instead, I caught the hilt of her sword on the blade of my dagger, meeting her jet black eyes. I saw a flash of recognition in them just before I pushed upwards with all my strength.

Her sword flew up, and she backed away to avoid being chopped by her own sword. I saw a flash of blue out of the corner of my eye. Luke.

Lee called over to me, "Beth! We've gotta go!"

Nodding to show I'd understood, we took off together, covering the retreating patrol of Hermes kids. Lee's siblings shot arrows that crossed over our heads, hitting their targets each time. As we sped towards the borderline, I glanced back and saw Luke handing off the flag to Connor. Luke spun, drawing his sword simultaneously to parry Clarisse's strike from Maimer.

"I'm...not...gonna...make...it!" Connor gasped at me. My eyes flicked around, searching for something, anything. I spotted Brianna, waiting on the other side of the river. And Lee, running next to me, more comfortable with a bow than a blade.

"Lee!"

"Yeah?"

"Can you make that shot?"

He eyed it up. "Of course, but...What's the point-"

"The flag."

He understood immediately. Backing up, he shouted to Connor, "Hold it out!"

With a confused look on his face, Connor did as Lee asked. The banner streamed out, as if flying in a parade. Lee took the shot just as the first Demeter campers reached Connor.

The arrow caught the flag by its razor sharp tip, and the momentum carried the projectile from Connor's hands on this side of the banks to Brianna. She grabbed it off of the arrow as the arrow sailed to the ground. Her eyes met mine. Safe.

The banner shimmered slightly as it turned to silver, with a brown owl in the middle: the sign of Athena. The rest of the campers that hung back during the action surged forward, surrounding Brianna. Luke was one of the first to reach her, pulling her into hug. I smiled to myself as I sensed happiness radiating off of her. Capture the Flag, it seems, brought them back together once again.

"I hate going against Athena," Clarisse muttered under her breath as she passed me.

Katie smiled. "Congrats, Annabeth. Great thinking."

"That's what Athena does best," I said proudly. "But it was all Lee."

Lee, walking past, paused for a moment, saying, "I never would have thought to do that if you hadn't mentioned it."

"Great thinking, Annie," a familiar voice said from behind me. I turned. It was Luke, with his arm around Brianna.

"How many times-" I began, but he shrugged.

Brianna raised an eyebrow. "You know he doesn't care."

"Again," Luke cut in. "I'm standing right here."

I decided to change the subject. "Nice catch, Brianna."

"Nice idea," she answered.

Luke nodded. "Teamwork."

"As always," I replied with a smirk. It was a perfect ending to a day that hadn't been so great. And I thanked the Fates for it.

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Gah. That was one of the worst chapters in the history of chapters. I mean, in my other book, there were worse, but...this writing may as well have been wooden. Anyways...feel free to comment views that you would like done.
And it was an update, right?
See ya real soon!
~Aurora