Hello my fabulous readers! Welcome to the second day of Christmas! (Though this is the "eleven" theme… Hmm… The people who created this whole "Twelve Days of Christmas" thing didn't think it through so well…) But anyway, let's get on with it!

Thank you to WisegirlAnnabethChase for being my first reviewer! (:

R&R!

Eleven Cabins

"And, BEGIN!" Chiron shouted, sending all of the campers into a frenzy. The annual cabin decoration contest was underway; the cabin with the most authentic, interesting, Christmas and wintery décor got dibs on Christmas dinner.

And that was a big prize. Percy's mouth started watering just thinking about the grand feast they'd have on Christmas Day.

The fastest runners got to the enormous pile of decorations first, seizing strands of lights, garlands, lighted reindeer statues, blow-up snowmen; the works. The only rule was "don't kill each other", as it was every time, so the campers were ruthless. The tougher, older demigods, like Clarisse, pushed, shoved, and punched their way to the front of the pack, claiming the best decoration for themselves.

It was all in good fun, right?

Once the rest of the camp had taken to their own cabins, throwing things here and there, Percy surveyed the remains of the pile. He collected a few strands of lights, both multi-colored and golden, some thick ropes of garlands that smelled strongly of pine, and a larger-than-life-size jolly old Saint Nick.

There's no way I can win, he thought miserably to himself. All the other cabins have ten times as many people as me.

Percy observed the other campers hard at work; he realized he wasn't the only single-camper-cabin.

Oh, of course. Jason and Nico are on their own, too. That brightened his spirits a bit, and he quickly got to work.

Percy wiped the sweat off his brow. The contest had been going on for about an hour at that point, and he was already exhausted from the effort. He checked on the other cabins' progress.

The Demeter cabin had grown several Christmas trees in their lawn, each wrapped with thick strands of bright lights. They had mistletoe and garlands circling the edge of their roof, with holly sprinkled on the grassy top. Percy sighed; the Demeter cabin was one of the toughest competitors.

Now, the Ares cabin might have seemed aggressive and ready to roll at the beginning of the contest, but to Percy's delight, they'd only accomplished a few things; they were too busy arguing over where to put the decorations to actually get stuff done.

Percy was afraid to look at the Hephaestus cabin; he knew they'd build something incredible for their display. The other cabins had produced a pretty good show as well; Percy decided that examining them all would just psych him out even more; he needed to stay focused.

He was hopeless at decorating, but because he was surrounded by all of the other busy campers, he was able to mimic their styles to create a pretty good display.

He had just finished stringing the lights around the edge of his roof. He stepped back to admire his work.

He had run water off of the edge of the cabin, which instantly froze in the chilly air, creating some pretty impressive icicles. Santa Claus waved cheerily, his mechanical features swaying back and forth. The garland was roped around the edges of the cabin, shining with its red and white berries. He'd stolen some mistletoe from Jason; he hadn't noticed any was missing, since he had so much.

Piper's in for a surprise, he thought, laughing to himself.

He hung the mistletoe right above the front door, smiling evilly at the thought of Annabeth's reaction. She'd probably punch him, but then laugh and kiss him anyway.

Percy sighed happily to himself, picturing Christmas morning with Annabeth: cuddling up by the bonfire, giving each other gifts, and just being together.

Together, Percy thought, is a nice word. After being through so much, together and apart, they were still together; that was all that mattered to Percy anymore.


And, SCENE! Comment which cabin you think should win the decorating contest, and I'll add it in a later chapter. It can be any cabin of the main thirteen, except Artemis and Hera. Hades is included in the thirteen, just to clarify.

-TheLegendaryPotterhead **Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and All That Jazz**