Ren was sick of the Hermes cabin.

They got a one out of five for inspection because it was so messy. That couldn't be helped, though. Didn't the girl who came in to look at it understand that?

Apparently not.

Ren was also sick of Scar calling him smelly.

But that didn't matter anymore. Tonight, at Capture the Flag, Ren hoped he would be claimed and then move to another, less crowded cabin. Preferably one without Scar in it.

Has anyone else noticed that Ren always seems to be against Scar? Area 77, Turf war, Boatem vs Octagon, mayoral race, Red Winter War? Please tell me that SOMEONE else has noticed that.

Ren already knew how to put on armor. So did the rest of the Hermits. So when Luke came to help them out, he was surprised.

"How do you already know how to put armor on?"

Ren shrugged.

All seven Hermits stood in a group as Chiron explained the rules to the campers. "On the blue team, led by Annabeth, the Athena, Hermes, and Apollo cabins. On the red, led by Clarisse, Ares, Dionysus, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.

"The creek is the boundary line, and the entire forest is fair game. No killing or maiming. Prisoners may be disarmed, but not bound or gagged. Magical items are allowed."

"Encouraged," Mr. D said eagerly.

The campers ran to their separate sides of the creek. Annabeth claimed she had a plan. As long as it got them the flag, Ren didn't care.

He was playing to win.

Ren remembered the last game of capture-the flag he had played: the Hermitcraft Civil War of Season 6. It started with pranks, and then certain Hermits like Grian and Iskall helped it along. That had led to a full-on war. It had ended when the G-Team stole three flags from Team S.T.A.R. and won the battle.

Ren had plenty of experience with Capture the Flag.

Grian and Tango had both been on the G-Team. Ren had been on Team S.T.A.R. Scar had been neutral for once, and Gem, Bdubs, and Zedaph hadn't participated in the war, or hadn't been there for it.

The last game of Capture the Flag had ended badly for Ren. This time, he was determined to win.

The Blue and Red Teams ran in different directions, the Blue Team jumping over the creek to get to their side. Annabeth gave out orders to kids both older and younger than her, warning them about monsters and enemy patrols.

Not enemy, Ren reminded himself. This is a friendly match.

A roar of cheers came from the other side of the creek.

Yeah. Friendly. Sure.

We're gonna get pulverized.

"Hermes, you'll help Luke get that flag," Annabeth said. Ren snapped back to attention.

"Can we have magical items?" One kid said. Ren assumed he was new.

Annabeth snorted. "Not with your experience. Just avoid Clarisse's electric spear. In fact, avoid Clarisse altogether. She's a daughter of Ares, and although not that smart, she's a good fighter."

The campers who had been there a while nodded and muttered their agreement.

Then Annabeth was finished with her speech, and then the horn blew, and then they were off.

The Athena and Apollo kids were patrolling the area. The Hermes was going for the flag on the opposite side of the creek.

"Someone stealthy, go and scout," Luke said. "I need to figure out where the flag is before we go for it."

Travis, Connor, and Grian agreed to go and scout. Ren thought it was a bad idea, because Grian was not stealthy. In the occurrence when he was startled, he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Ren shook his head and grinned. I guess I'll know when he gets caught.

Until the scouts came back, the Hermes cabin patrolled the creek to stop anyone else from entering. Then, when the scouts (surprisingly) came back unharmed, they all jumped across the creek into enemy territory.

The campers didn't bother to be quiet. They were such a big group that they didn't need to be. A few Red Teamers tried to stop them, but backed off when they realized who they were up against.

"There's no Ares campers," one of the kids near Ren muttered. "Annabeth said she had a plan to get them out of the way. But it's still kinda suspicious."

Ren thought so too. But he wasn't complaining. Electric spears sounded painful.

The campers of Cabin 11 cheered as Grian, Connor, and Travis led them to the flag. Then Luke grabbed it and, surrounded by his fellow Hermes kids, he ran for the creek.

They dodged trees and boulders along the way, only pausing to fight off monsters. By the time the creek was in sight, they had a whole crowd of Demeter kids on their tail, an Apollo camper joining them to ward off the attackers with his bow, and the Hephaestus kids trying to throw a bomb.

But as they jumped across the creek, a gigantic canine jumped out of the bushes.

Ren remembered being attacked by one like this back in Hermitcraft. But this time, nobody would think it was a harmless dog.

"Hellhound!" someone screamed.

The thing went straight for a kid who was standing in the stream, with a sword that was too heavy for him and armor that had partly fallen off his shoulders. The broken shaft of a spear was clutched in the hand without the sword. Alarmed, Ren pulled out his axe, which glinted Netherite black. It glowed purple with enchantment.

The hellhound pounced on the boy. The assembled campers gasped, and screamed, and sometimes ran or pulled out swords, but none of them would get close.

The boy didn't even cry out. He just made a strangled groaning sound.

Ren had killed one of these things before. He charged.

He didn't notice the red glow around him until the hellhound was reduced to dust.

Annabeth stomped over to the boy. "Get in the river," she said, and pushed him.

"He's injured!" Gem protested.

"Watch," Annabeth said.

Around them, eyes went wide.

The kid's wound was closing itself. Healing.

By the water.

"Ren, what-" Scar said.

"He's an Ares!" A girl cheered. She was on Red Team.

Ren glanced above his head to see the glowing symbol of a bloody sword.

He was claimed.

Chiron clopped into the clearing and stared around, first at Ren, then at the kid in the creek, then at Annabeth.

Suddenly, a gasp rippled through the crowd.

One, they saw Ren.

Two, the kid in the creek had just been claimed as well.

A glowing green trident had appeared above his head. It faded, as well as the sword above Ren's.

Chiron looked at them with wide eyes. "Two claimings in one night," he said. "That's rare. Hail, Ren, son of Ares, and Percy Jackson, son of Posideon."

------

Ren did not want to be an Ares kid.

He almost preferred the stuffiness of the Hermes cabin.

The Ares cabin had walls lined with weapons and armor. The walls were painted blood red, and the blankets on the bunks were the same color. It was too much red.

Ren had been welcomed, if not accepted as an Ares kid. But now, most of the Athena and Hephaestus kids hated him.

He decided he did not like being hated.

Feared? Yes. But hated? Definitely not.

Zedaph was the only Athena kid who sometimes talked to him. Which was sad. Athena and Ares would work really well together if they tried.

The other Hermits seemed eager to be claimed. They were constantly looking for opportunities to shine, hoping they'd be recognized.

To be honest, Ren still didn't really think the gods were real. Supposedly he was a son of Ares, but he had never seen Ares. He believed in the creatures, sure, but not the gods. The documentary had claimed that Mr. D was Dionysus, but so far he hadn't done anything remotely interesting.

Clarisse, his new head counselor, sharpened her sword. The rythmic screech of stone against metal filled the air as everybody tried to sleep.

Ren glared across the cabin at her, even though she couldn't see him.

It was going to be a long summer.