[A/N]: Oh hey there. Chaptah dos? Yes sir.

Someone yesterday asked an important question that I guess I forgot to explain. A lunar halo is exactly what it sounds like. A bleached rainbow around the moon. Go look it up. It's purdy cool.

Lunar Halo

Chapter Two: Learning to Sew

I made it surprisingly far before I had to stop. I was a decent runner, but my legs were sore, and my breath was heavy. I sat down on a nearby rock and considered my lot.

How many of the gods knew of my existence? Who knew of my parentage? Who was my father? Why would Artemis break her vow?

The whole situation made my head spin, and the headache that soon followed was crippling. I slid off the rock and onto the dusty path, laying on my back. I stared upward towards the empty sky.

Except it wasn't as empty as I thought. The sky was filled to the brim with stars and planets. Directly above me, the moon was shining bright. Around it, shimmering white, was a bleached circle, casting an eerie glow.

I was fascinated by the way light managed to fill even the darkest night, and began tracing the circle with my finger. I began drifting away to sleep, when a rustle in the bushes jostled me awake.

I leapt to my feet and pulled the sword from my belt. I crept towards the bush, prepared to kill anything inside. But when I pulled back the leaves and held my sword at the ready, all I found was emptiness.

I lowered my weapon and stared blankly. I could have sworn I heard—

Slam!

I was on the ground in a split second, pinned down by an unseen force. I struggled, but something knocked my sword from my hand, and then a heavy foot pushed down on my chest.

Silhouetted against the moon, a dark figure leaned over me. I could see a silvery bow strung and pointed at my neck, and I panicked.

"Who are you?" I asked gruffly, but the figure only pushed down harder with its foot.

"Shut up," a feminine voice growled. "Trying to kill me, where you? I should shoot you on the spot!"

I squirmed and begged like a little girl. "No! I wasn't trying to kill you. I was just trying to see what was in the bushes, honest. I thought you were a monster."

"Demigod?" she asked, and I nodded vigorously. "Figures," she mumbled, and relaxed her bow.

"Can I get up now?" I asked nervously.

She seemed to just now realize that her foot was still holding me down, and quickly helped me up. As I was dusting myself off, I tried to take a closer look at her, but I noticed that she was slowly rocking back and forth on her heels, and her face was blank. I realized to late what was happening.

She collapsed, and I barely caught her, just inches from the ground. I laid her down gently and looked her over, checking for obvious injuries. Finding none, I sat back and wiped my sweaty forehead with the palm of my hand. But for some reason, my skin felt more moist than before, and I touched it with my other hand.

My fingers came back covered in crimson. I glanced down at the first hand and it was drenched in blood. I searched for her wound, and finally realized that the side of her white shirt was stained deep red.

I could feel myself begin to panic as I lifted her shirt slightly, exposing the deep wound. I took a deep breath before reaching into my backpack for the first aid kit. I pulled the box around and laid it next to me. I looked back at her side and had to turn away. It was slightly disgusting, and I was slightly squeamish.

I steeled my nerves and reached into the box for rubbing alcohol. My hands were shaking as I poured the liquid over her gash. I started to take deep breaths, and examined the cut closer. It was deep, and she was loosing blood at an alarming rate. I glanced into the kit desperately, and my eyes fell on a needle and medical thread.

Oh gods, I couldn't do this.

But my hands reached for them anyway, and my not so nimble fingers struggled to thread the needle. I almost threw up as the sharp metal pierced her skin.

As the minutes ticked on, I had to pause multiple times to calm myself. I thanked the gods that I had skipped out on dinner that night. Finally, I tied the thread off and sunk back. My breathing was heavy, and my head was pounding. I pulled out a long, thick bandage and struggled to wrap it around her body. Eventually, I tied it tightly and laid down next to her.

I couldn't believe I had actually made it through that without throwing up. My hands were shaking violently, and I struggled to settle down. My mind was just as restless as before, but I was conscious of the shivering girl beside me. I stripped off my jacket and laid it over her.

I stood up, rubbing my sore head, and began to gather pieces of wood for a fire. I needed the warmth right about now.

When she finally woke up, her eyes were wild. "What happened?" she asked frantically, trying to get up, only to collapse back down.

"Chill," I said, pushing her lightly to keep her down. "Are you a demigod?" I asked.

She nodded and began to talk, but I ignored her and handed her an ambrosia square. "Eat it," I commanded.

She obeyed and scarfed it down like it was the most amazing think she had ever tasted, though it probably was. Ambrosia was a taste of heaven, or rather, Olympus.

"I'm Ryan. What's your name?" I asked.

"Wallace," she said between bites.

My head snapped up. "Wait, Wallace?" She looked at me skeptically and nodded.

"Artemis is looking for you!" I blurted, expecting a gasp at the least.

She merely laughed and shrugged. "Of course she is. I'm one of her top hunters."

I suddenly noticed her attire. Her white shirt and dark jeans weren't what tipped me off, but instead, I noticed a leather pouch at her hip, a silvery braided headband across her forehead, and a small crescent pendant hanging around her neck.

My eyes met hers for a brief moment and I glanced down quickly, getting a sudden idea. "Can you take me to her?" I asked frantically.

Obviously taken aback, Wallace scoffed. "No," she said harshly.

"Well I stitched you up! You owe me something," I said pleadingly.

"Absolutely not!" she said again, this time sitting up.

I stomped out the fire, and shrugged. "Fine. Don't take me. But I doubt you even know where Artemis is," I said calmly, but in my head I was praying desperately that my plan would work.

Wallace blinked, looking lost for only a moment before regaining her former vigor. "Of course I know where she is," she scoffed.

I laughed. "You have absolutely no idea. And you're hurt. How do you expect to make it across the country with that bad of a wound all by yourself?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and I realized my slip-up. "How do you know that she's across the country?" Wallace asked carefully.

I shrugged mildly. "Just guessing. But if you don't want my help, I guess I can just leave you here. All alone. Injured. Without food or water. Stranded."

Her face was filled with such fear that I almost felt bad threatening her, but if she caved, it would be so worth it.

I watched her reactions carefully, waiting for her reply. "Don't leave me here," she whispered.

"Well you're of no use to me, so I might as well," I said coldly, with no real intention of abandoning her.

After a long moment of silence, she finally broke. "Fine! I'll help you find her," she said in defeat, but her eyes perked up and she asked, "Why do you want to see her anyway?"

I played off my nervousness with a shrug. "In time, dear Wallace," I said mysteriously, but she just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she mumbled.

I could already tell that this was going to be difficult.

Upon reaching the nearest town, I collapsed on a bench. I had half-carried Wallace the entire four miles, and she was a lot heavier than she looked. I left her on the bench with the promise that I'd be back with food and a map shortly. On my return, I found her hanging upside down off the bench.

"What are you doing?" I asked with mild interest.

She sat up and smiled. "The world looks cooler upside down," she replied simply. When she saw the loot I brought back, her face brightened. "Oh, donuts!"

We feasted on the sugary goodness, and then I pulled out a small folded map.

I laid it out in the grass in front of me and examined it. Wallace sprawled out next to me and pointed to New York City. "We're around here, right?" she asked.

I nodded and put my finger on Utah. "And Artemis is here."

Wallace whistled. "This should be fun."

I sighed, and let my head fall into my hands. "This should be difficult," I mumbled.

"What, two thousand miles isn't that bad," she said cheerfully, but I silenced her with a glare.

"Someone's grumpy," she muttered, scooting away.

"Well," I said as optimistically as possible, "We should probably get ourselves on the road."

[A/N]: Wallace is my favorite name in the whole wide world.

Review or die.

-camille