Capture The Flag

The day Nico Di Angelo officially met Skylar Solace could only be described as interesting yet startling. More precisely it's known as the day she stuck him to a tree.

Camp Half blood bustled that afternoon in preparation for capture the flag. Chiron wanted the game to occur while The Hunters of Artemis were here. It was tradition to play a 'friendly' match. Everyone scrambled to sharpen their equipment and draw up battle plans. Percy and Thalia would be co-captains for Camp Half Blood's team. Having prepared in advance, a pair of twins sat atop the Apollo cabin basking in the sunlight.

"So you think we'll finally win a game against The Hunters? We do have Percy and Thalia leading us but they don't exactly mesh well together without Annabeth to intervene." Skylar says to Will, pulling her curly blonde hair into a low ponytail a few strands framing her freckled face.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll hang one of them from a tree by their pants." Her brother grins his blue eyes glimmering in the sunlight. Will is normally a very chill guy but when it comes to capture the flag he gets competitive. One time he hung an Ares kid by his underwear and stole the flag out from under him, campers talked about it for weeks. Skylar snickers at the memory brushing the dirt from her jeans as she stands. Her brother rises next to her and they both head toward the woods. It was time to show Artemis's maidens who the true master of a bow is.

The blue team assembles in front of the creek dividing two territories. It was a modge podge of the camp's available players. Connor and Travis Stoll stood alongside Nico Di Angelo decked out in bronze chest plates and helmets. She was never formally introduced to the dark haired boy but heard about him through Percy. His sister apparently joined up with the Hunters and he'll stay in the Hermes cabin until his godly parent claims him. A part of her was worried he'd be injured by the opposing team or worse by one of the many monsters residing in the forest. The rest of the team consisted of a few kids from the Ares cabin, Silena from Aphrodite and Charles Beckendorf from Hephaestus.

On the other side Zoë stood alongside Bianca Di Angelo and eleven hunters all armed with silver bows and arrows. They would act as the red team. Percy and Thalia argue amongst themselves as Chiron explains the rules. "No killing or maiming. All magical items are allowed. The entire forest is fair game. Anyone who crosses the creek with the opposing team's flag wins. Blue team shall take the west woods, red team shall take the east. Get to your positions when you hear the conch shell we will begin." The centaur says and both teams rush to their designated meeting place.

Thalia devised a simple enough plan to follow. Silena would take two of the Ares kids, Laurel and Jason, and act as a decoy. Meanwhile Thalia, the Stoll brothers, Will Solace and the remaining two Ares campers would launch a frontal assault into enemy territory. Percy, Beckendorf and Nico would play defense leaving Skylar as the scout. However Percy had other plans dragging the Stoll brothers to defend as well. Thalia either didn't have time to deal with it or did not realize the switch as a loud horn sounded signaling the start of the game.

"I hope you know what you're doing waterboy." Skylar smirked at Percy, disappearing into the treetops bow in hand. Cloaked in the shadows of the trees she hopped the branches silently keeping an eye out for the opposing team and any monsters that may be lurking about. Traversing amongst tree branches in enemy territory with barely any visibility was hard enough without the Hunters trying to sniff her out. After all they are brilliant trackers.

Sounds of metal against metal and explosions of the infamous fart arrows filled the air off to the left where Silena diverted their opponents. The right side of the forest was unusually quiet especially since monsters were always lurking about. Skylar's boots kicked off the branch she rested on to run along the forest floor. If she hurried she could do a little recon and get the information back to Percy. She would reconvene with Thalia but her position on the main front was farther from her location. On top of that she's known Percy longer and as such knew the son of Poseidon had another plan on his mind. Only one problem. Things never go according to plan.

In the rush to find the location of the opposing team she tripped one the traps Beckendorf installed. The trap was designed to immobilize the enemy by using a tough golden string the Apollo cabin developed for the infirmary. It's intended use is to sew up wounds while simultaneously speeding up the healing process due to the healing magic embedded in the fibers. The string was still in early development but it looks like Will found a use for the prototype. Right now his sister wanted to curse him as she dangled upside down with a strong golden thread wrapped tightly around her ankle. This is what happens when a team is thrown together at the last minute. No coordination whatsoever. Skylar groans swaying slightly in the air.

Her quiver dropped to the ground below with a clatter as she managed to save two arrows in a last ditch effort. A low growling came not too far from her location. If she didn't free herself soon there will be one less twin at Camp Half Blood. Shouldering her bow and biting down on her last remaining arrows she unlatches a bronze dagger from her thigh in hopes to cut the string. After trying to snip the line a few times it finally breaks loose and she plummets to the ground. Twisting her body Skylar lands on her feet a dull pain pulsing through her left ankle. A Rustling in the bushes puts her on high alert. She nocked her two remaining arrows and pulled back on the bow string waiting patiently. The bushes shake louder and a figure emerges from the brush. Not taking any chances the arrows whiz through the air pinning them to the tree with a startled yelp. Wait, there isn't any monster dust. Oh no.

Skylar rushes closer to the tree, Nico Di Angelo's scrawny form appears before her blue eyes. Thank the gods her arrows didn't wound him only nailed him to the tree by the straps of his armor. The boy's chocolate eyes stare at the blonde in surprise through his oversized helmet. "We're on the same team! Is that even allowed?" He questions as the female releases him. "What's your name anyway?"

"I'm so sorry about that I thought you were a monster. The forest is full of them. I'm Skylar Solace." She smiles nervously at him.

"I'm not hurt so it's cool. I'm Nico. Nico Di Angelo." A small smile graces his lips.

"You're the new half-blood everyone's talking about. Your sister joined up with The Hunters of Artemis." Skylar states causing Nico to frown. He was trying not to think about his sister leaving him alone to join a group of bow wielding girls. The growling Skylar heard earlier was right next to them now. In the dim light filtering through the trees she could just make out the large body of a bloodthirsty hellhound.

"Holy Hades." Instinctively she stood in front Nico whom stared up at the monster with a mixture of fear and disbelief. The bronze sword he was given clutched limply in his fingers. He was still new to the whole demigod and monster thing but even he could see this was a bad situation. Skylar whom wasn't much older than him stood tense before him half her body shielding him from the beast's view. A faint yellow glow slowly wrapped around the girl's fingers. Something that happened when her emotions flared. Woman up. You can do this. "Nico I'm going to count to three and you're going to jump to the right of the monster. If we time it right it'll be confused long enough for me to put an arrow in it's eye." She whispers hoping he can't hear the fear in her voice. Meanwhile the hellhound eyed the two children hungrily, it's large mouth dripping saliva onto the earthen floor.

Nico nods his head slightly and Skylar begins the countdown. "One...two...three!" The duo leapt into action. The daughter of Apollo snatched up two arrows from her abandoned quiver and launched them into the monster's skull as Nico leapt to the right his sword slashing the monster's paw. A pained howl boomed through the trees shaking the leaves from their slumber as the hound reared in pain one of it's paws swatting in Skylar's direction slashing her cheek and sending her into a tree. Blood oozes from the fresh wound the blonde struggles to her feet faltering slightly on her throbbing ankle. Her back flared in pain as she prepared to fire upon the beast. Across from her Nico kept the monster busy long enough for her to let loose more arrows into it's body successfully turning it to gold dust.

"So much for a friendly game of capture the flag." She tries to joke collapsing into the dirt. Nico sits beside her, his rush of adrenaline leaving him exhausted. Dirt covered his shaggy hair from dodging the hellhound. The only injuries he seemed to have was a cut along his jawline. Skylar was glad the hellhound went down quickly. Neither would of fared well in their condition. He wondered if the game was still going on. Most likely it was since Chiron has yet to blow the conch horn.

"W-what was that? Nobody told me monsters were going to attack us." Nico says directing his attention to the bleeding girl. Blood continued to drip from the cut on Skylar's face. She needed medical attention but Nico didn't know any nor did he have the strength to carry her back to camp.

"That was a hellhound." Skylar winces pressing her fingers gingerly against the claw mark. "We don't normally see many of them inside the camp." Someone had to of let it in. Her fingers glowed as she sang a hymn to Apollo the cut healing just enough to stop bleeding. Sure she could heal herself fully but it sapped her strength and she might need it if another monster shows up. She'd stop by the infirmary once capture the flag has ended. Her hand lightly caressed his flushed face pouring her energy into repairing his small wound until it disappears completely. Nico watched in awe at her handiwork a small blush coating her cheeks after noticing him staring.

"You can heal? I wonder what kind of cool powers I'll get." He looks down at his hands with a tired smile. Skylar laughs softly ruffling his charcoal hair.

"I'm a daughter of Apollo healing is one of my specialties. Something tells me you're going to have a really cool talent." She smiles looking up at the sky through the canopy of trees. "I wonder how our team's doing. I sure hope Percy found an opportunity to strike." Skylar rises to her feet using her bow for support. It was a little crazy but she wanted to win now more than ever and sitting here wasn't getting her anywhere. Nico was wary about continuing he just wanted to take a very long nap. Before meeting up with Skylar he saw Percy take off after the opposing team's flag so that must be what she meant by opportunity. It's possible they might win after all.

The pair progressed silently through the forest back to the creek. Skylar leaned slightly against Nico to relieve some of the pain coursing through her body. There they met face to face with Bianca Di Angelo, Zoë Nightshade, Thalia and Percy Jackson having a standoff. Percy was the first to move lunging for the boundary line toppling Bianca in the process. Zoë dodged an attack from Thalia's shield and made a break for the boundary line. Skylar jumped after the girl attempting to tackle her but ends up with a face full of dirt as the hunter uses her body as a vaulting board. Percy passes the line a second two late with the silver flag in his grasp. Grinning triumphantly on the other side of the creek stood Zoë her silver tiara glimmering in the setting sun the blue team's flag clutched in her fingers. The red team won.

"You went head to head with a hellhound?! Are you out of your mind? You should of called for help or ran away!" Will Solace paced the floor of the infirmary. In front of him laid Skylar whom relaxed on a cot. After they lost she was escorted to the infirmary. Her swollen ankle rested atop a pillow after being wrapped in an Ace bandage. A bandaid covered her freckled cheek where the hellhound slashed the skin. Nectar worked it's way into her system as she relaxed into the pillows.

"You should be proud I held my own or better yet go thank Nico. I wouldn't be having this conversation if he didn't draw the monster away. We have more important things to worry about at the moment anyway." Skylar huffs as her brother plants himself in a chair next to her. She had a point. As soon as capture the flag ended the surrounding area was covered in green mist. Everyone watched in disbelief as the Oracle floated down the hill to stop in front of Zoë. After fulfilling her duty of providing a prophecy she fell limp and Chiron called an emergency meeting between the camp counselors.

Will runs a hand over his face glancing to the entrance of the infirmary where a boy was timidly poking his head into the room. A few action figures were in his hands. "Nico!" Skylar calls swinging her legs over the cot to walk over to him much to Will's dismay. She leaned on a spare crutch they had lying around as she walked. The blond boy grumbles stalking over to Kayla who was treating an Ares kid who had multiple broken limbs.

"Curfew is soon you should head back to the Hermes cabin." Skylar says leading him out of the infirmary.

"I know I just...I'm worried about my sister." Nico mumbles as they walk.

"Ah right the meeting isn't over yet. Truth be told Percy has me worried too and if there's to be a quest he'll want to go. He hasn't exactly had a level head since..." Since Annabeth disappeared. Skylar shook the thought from her head choosing to look down at the figures in Nico's hands. "Wow those are awesome. What are they from?" She questions trying to steer the conversation on to something else.

Nico's eyes lit up at the question. "They're from Mythomagic! It's a card game and the rules are kind of complicated but it's really fun I promise."

"Do you think you could teach me how to play?" He could sense the genuine interest in her voice. Chocolate brown eyes met blue as Nico blushed. Nobody had been interested in Mythomagic since he arrived at camp. Even Percy somewhat brushed him off when he rambled about Zeus's attack power and whether he used real lightning bolts. The only one that listened to him was Grover but Nico could tell he wasn't really interested. Now here Skylar was his new...was she considered a friend? He hoped so since they took down a hellhound together and seemed to enjoy his company despite him not knowing his godly parent.

"Yeah! I'd be happy to!" The two stopped outside the Hermes cabin. Nico waves disappearing behind the door to his cabin. Skylar grins to herself as she makes her way to the Apollo cabin to turn in for the night. Tomorrow was sure to be an eventful day. She'd barely made it to her area of the cabin before falling asleep fully clothed. 

A/N: Remember the good old days when Nico was an innocent little bean of wonder? Yeah...me too.