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Luke groans when he sees the teams for capture the flag. Getting the Athena kids is always nice, but everyone knows how difficult it’s become to win against the Ares-Aphrodite combo, no matter who else is tacked on.
Beckendorf looks at the team chit and snorts. “Lemme guess,” he says, rubbing his chin, “Clarisse?”
Luke bites back a laugh and Beckendorf raises an eyebrow. “That’d be nice,” Luke says with a sigh. Not that Clarisse isn’t a problem, it’s just that she’s a solvable one with enough people dedicated to stopping her from mowing her way to the flag. At least five. Seven on some days. Luke is pretty sure he knows who Beckendorf will guess next; Silena, Sherman, Mark. They’re problems too, but not Luke’s main concern. Guessing games are fun, but Luke is in the mood to cut to the chase. “It’s Drew.”
Beckendorf furrows his brow. Luke doesn’t sigh, but he desperately wants to. Most people assume that the issue with going up against Cabin 5 and 10 is Clarisse, Sherman, and Mark’s brute strength, or Silena being so disarmingly beautiful that people remember her skill with the spear in her hands too late. But they aren’t the crux of the problem.
Drew Tanaka. Extremely unassuming, especially since she’d only recently started learning how to use a dagger. Her strength is her ability to convince her opponents to do things. She knows the right thing to say and the right way to say it, almost like placing them under some sort of charm. Maybe it’s a gift from her mother, maybe it’s her ability to get information on people, maybe it’s both, but whatever it is, it’s a big problem.
The rest of the Hermes kids are always looking for a good deal and Drew trades in favours and info just like them, so they’re out. The Athena kids would be a good match for Drew if they didn’t all have the bad habit of looking down on the Aphrodite kids; that works to Drew’s advantage eleven times out of ten. The Hephaestus kids weren’t even in the running to begin with. Maybe Nyssa, but she’s too good at handling big groups to be put anywhere else.
In Luke’s experience, only he and the others from Cabin #10 resist whatever it is Drew does with words, but considering she’s somehow gotten Clarisse and the rest of Cabin #5 to actually slow down and pick their spots better, Luke can’t dedicate himself to keeping Drew occupied. Drew Tanaka is central to the Ares-Aphrodite Capture the Flag, but it’s only marginally easier to win against them if she’s taken down. She’s made sure of that.
“A charmer and tactician,” Kronos whispers groggily in his mind, “she will be a problem. Eliminate her.”
“Nope,” Luke responds adamantly. He tucks Kronos back into bed and shoves him to the back of his mind.
“Tanaka?” Beckendorf asks, still sceptical. Luke shrugs and gives him a smile—the sheepish ‘what can I do’ kind of smile. Beckendorf shrugs back. Luke appreciates how quickly he drops things. “So, what’s the plan?”
Clarisse always beats Beckendorf in a fight—Luke has seen enough sparring sessions between them to know that—but it’s never an effortless win. Hopefully that’ll be enough. “Okay Charlie. You’ll handle Clarisse…”
***
There’s something satisfying about beating the Athena cabin. Maybe it’s the fact that they think being beaten by Cabin #5 and #10 is a statistical anomaly despite it happening pretty often, though Malcolm is starting to catch on to the fact that Aphrodite kids aren’t stupid. Maybe it’s the look of resignation on Luke’s face when the game was called. Drew isn’t sure.
Whatever it is, Drew is in high spirits. Even her confusion about why Luke is walking towards her doesn’t dampen her mood. “We’ll get you next time,” he says with a small smile on his face.
“You will,” Drew says with a nod, keeping her face serious. She enjoys the confused look on Luke’s face for a bit before elaborating. “We’ll be together next time.”
“Ah,” he says, confusion replaced by a grin. It’s the kind that promises mischief. Drew finds herself grinning back. She’s always wondered what kind of chaos the Aphrodite and Hermes kids could create together. “Let’s bring them Hades.”
“Styx and all,” Drew says with a laugh. In the distance, thunder rumbles. Oops. Luke starts to laugh as well.
They start to walk to dinner together. “So,” Luke says conversationally, “why daggers?”
***