"I think this will be a good place to put the flag," Reyna said. She glanced around the clearing that her and Nico stood in. There was a perfect place to nestle the flag, near some rocks and a cluster of trees. It would be easy to hide a trap or five near the trees. A small grin came to Reyna's face.
It wasn't that Reyna wanted to hurt the Greeks. She just wanted to crush Annabeth's hopes and dreams of winning to a pulp. Reyna hadn't been able to truly participate in any of Camp Jupiter's war games since she became praetor. She was forced to sit there and act as a judge. It would be nice to be able to destroy people and not get yelled at for it.
"I think so," Nico said. He looked around. "I'm proud of you, Reyna. You haven't tried to escape or murder anyone yet."
"Give it another day or two," Reyna said, and a small smile came to her face. She looked around the forest and grabbed a small notebook from her pocket. Reyna leaned against a tree and started to sketch a map of the path they had taken.
Reyna's biggest disadvantage was that she did not know the surrounding terrain, so she was trying to rectify that and make a small map of the forest. The forest seemed to be never ending, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Reyna closed her notebook and tried to think.
Planning for capture the flag was going to be a challenge. Reyna didn't know much about the forest, other than the fact that there was apparently monsters in there. It really made no sense to Reyna. Camp Half-Blood had a barrier designed to keep monsters out of the camp, but they also stockpiled monsters in the forest. Who decided on that?
Reyna also didn't really know anyone in the camp. Annabeth trained with or taught probably all of the campers at Camp Half-Blood, so she knew all of their strengths and weaknesses. Reyna would have to go off of first impressions, and while she had experience with that, she also knew that appearances could be deceiving. Annabeth probably already knew how she was going to win.
Granted, no one expected Venus' cabin to actually be able to win against the children of Minerva. Whispers, and by whispers she meant the taunts from the children of Mars, told Reyna that Piper only won the last game of capture the flag by accident.
The whole concept of capture the flag didn't make sense to Reyna either. The war games were simple enough. Cohorts would team up and go against each other, and there would only be one winner. With capture the flag, the two cabins that held the flags would recruit the other cabins to be on their team. Then, someone would capture a flag, and they would win and become one of the captains for the next week, but the team they were on would win as well, since they didn't lose their flag. Reyna really needed to know who decided on all of this.
It wasn't like anyone really won capture the flag either. It was more like they didn't lose their flag. Reyna sighed and shook her head. She wasn't sure how to plan for this little challenge. Annabeth would have everything planned out, except for Reyna. The daughter of Bellona was a wild card. The only thing Annabeth could plan for was Reyna planning the strategy for her team.
A small smile came to Reyna's face. She knew exactly what her plan for capture the flag was going to be. Reyna spoke, "Hey Nico."
Reyna looked up and didn't see Nico nearby. She slowly stood and looked to her left. Then, she looked to her right. It took her a few moments to slowly turn around in a full circle and look around for her best friend. A sigh escaped her as she didn't see him.
Nico usually disappeared without saying a word, which was fine. It really was. Reyna didn't mind the fact that he wanted to be alone sometimes. She understood the feeling completely, but there was one small problem with Nico disappearing at that single moment in time. Reyna had no clue where she was.
Reyna looked back at her map and blinked a few times. Then, she sighed and started to walk. One of three things could happen. One, she would find her way back to the main camp. Two, she would come out the other side of the forest near the beach. Three, she would run into a monster, or she might even run into Nico and then kick his ass for leaving her.
Reyna sighed tiredly and glanced at her watch. Dinner was suppose to be soon, or was it happening now? Was that why Nico abandoned her? Reyna frowned and stepped through a cluster of trees. She studied the lake in front of her and glared. That lake was not on her map, so she really was lost.
"Great," Reyna muttered. She walked towards the water and knelt by it. Reyna dipped her fingers into the water and closed her eyes for a few moments. Her entire day was spent getting a tour of the camp and being introduced to the cabin councilor. Reyna's head hurt, and she was tired of social interaction. All she wanted to do was curl up and fall asleep.
Upon opening her eyes, Reyna found someone staring at her. She slowly looked up and met eyes with a woman. The woman was quite literally sitting in the lake. She sat on the water as if it was the ground, and the water didn't even ripple.
Right. Camp Half-Blood had a ton of Fauns, Nymphs, Naiads, and all different kinds of mythological creatures that just camped out at their door step. If Reyna was going to stay the week, she didn't need to upset any of them. Reyna spoke, "Apologies. I didn't realize that anyone lived here."
The Naiad, or Nymph, or whatever she was just smiled at Reyna. She had black hair and eyes that were as blue as a calm sea. Instead of speaking, she just smiled and stared. Reyna slowly stood and nodded towards the weird creature.
"Sorry again," Reyna said. She turned back around and hurried out of the clearing. Reyna let out another tired sigh. Camp Half-Blood was just so chaotic, and she wasn't rested enough to deal with it. Reyna suddenly walked right into someone, and she looked at Nico.
"I was looking for you," Nico began. Reyna gave him a look. He was the one who walked away from her. "You stopped following me."
"You left me behind," Reyna countered. She crossed her arms. Nico returned her look, and they both almost immediately grinned. "When is dinner?"
"Now," Nico answered. He turned and started to walk. Reyna followed behind him. "If you want, I can hold your hand, so you don't get lost again."
"I can also throw you up into a tree," Reyna said. She glared at Nico, and he glared at her. After a moment, they both grinned at each other and continued to walk. Reyna glanced back towards the clearing. "Why do you have so many weird creatures here?"
"It threw me off for a long time too," Nico admitted. He shrugged. "It's just something that you get use to. Try not to insult them though."
"I won't," Reyna promised. She followed Nico out of the forest and tried to keep her thoughts clear. Reyna was suppose to treat this like a vacation, so that was exactly what she was going to do. "I need to talk to Piper during dinner. I know our plan for capture the flag."
"Everyone is excited to see what plan you have," Nico said. Reyna just smirked. The rest of their walk was in a comfortable silence. They walked towards the dinner pavilion and slipped into their place in line. As Reyna got her food and scooped some of it into the fire, she could just feel Annabeth staring at her. It would be a little too fun to mess with Annabeth.
Reyna walked towards Nico's table and sat her plate down near him. She took a few moments to meet Annabeth's eyes, and then, she walked towards Piper's table. Reyna sat by Piper and spoke, "I thought of our plan for capture the flag."
"What is it?" Piper asked. She looked at Reyna and flashed a smile towards her. Reyna couldn't help the smile that came to her face, especially since she knew it would only worry Annabeth more.
"My plan is for you to plan what we will do," Reyna said. Piper stared at her for a few moments, and a confused look came to her face. "Think about it. Annabeth and I have been teasing each other about going head to head in capture the flag. I keep saying that I can make a better plan than her, and all she can do is talk about how her mother is a goddess of battle strategies. I'm a Roman. That stuff runs through my veins."
"You're getting off topic," Piper interrupted.
"The point is that Annabeth is fixated on the fact that I am going to make the plan. She is going to expect a plan similar to hers, like one that a child of war would make. She won't expect whatever you come up with. You know everything about this camp, and I am your wild card. Put me wherever you want, Piper. I trust you," Reyna said.
"I never made a war plan before," Piper said. She nodded to herself. "You think I can make a plan that beats Annabeth?"
"Let me tell you a secret," Reyna said. She leaned in closer to Piper. "You can make the best plan in the world, but if your troops don't listen to you, it can fall apart instantly. I believe in you, and I know that everyone else does. Be confident, and we will beat Annabeth."
"Thank you," Piper said. Reyna smiled at her, and she stood from the table. She walked back towards Nico and sat across from him. Nico studied her, and Reyna just grinned at him. She focused on her food.
Her first day was not that bad, and the next day would be even better, since she would be following Nico around. Apparently, he would be teaching some of the newer campers how to fight monsters. Reyna couldn't wait to just stand there and judge them. Could she get one of them to cry?
"Oh gods. There is a sing along, isn't there?" Reyna realized. Nico looked at her and smirked. Reyna sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Can we just skip it?"
"Chiron is going to make his announcements and then introduce you to the entire camp," Nico answered. Reyna swore. "And, we will get to know how everyone feels about you being here. The campfire reflects their mood."
"You're joking," Reyna said, and she lifted her head. Nico looked dead serious. "Fine. We'll attend the campfire, but if you think I am going to sing, I will throw you into the flames."