Update alert! This shows more of Artemis! Remember to R&R! ;)
Any and ever Huntress would deny it in a second, but they warmed up quickly to the little ones. The boys were far from men, and hadn't yet learned to be sneaky and deceitful and rude. They were as obedient as could be expected from toddlers, and were actually very sweet and respectful. The immortal girls were happy to sacrifice a would-be successful day hunting to play with the children.
Zoë was surprisingly good with them. She had no problem carrying Thalia in her arms and letting the kids examine her arrows. 'Zo' had become her new nickname. "Zo zo?" chimed Thalia at her feet; they were standing on the side lines as a few of the hunters shot arrows at targets painted on the tree, making the bulls eye flawlessly every time. "Ar'mis?"
"Yes, little Lightning?" inquired Artemis in a fond voice, proud as she watched her followers.
"Me twy?"
Instantly, her full moon eyes widened jus a bit. "Oh… I doubt Father would approve Thalia."
"Dad-dy?"
"Yes, Thalia." Nodded her sister. "I don't think your 'daddy' wants you handling weapons at such a young age."
"Bu' Ar-a-mis…" she widened her eyes and stuck out her lower lip, tears welling up, whimpering. "P- Pwease?"
Almost instantly she caved under her adorable puppy dog pouting face. No one could hold up under it. "Fine. But just a few arrows."
"Yay!"
…
"Alright Thalia." The moon goddess knelt down beside the little girl, who was fiddling with the new tot-sized bow. It was carved of pine wood, smooth and beautiful, with bronze eagle fittings and engravings of lightning bolts. "Now, this isn't easy, so pay close attention."
She bobbed her head, long bangs falling in her face. She swatted them with her hand, and Artemis chuckled. "Alright, here." Undoing her own hair tie and turning it into a leather ribbon, she carefully tied her hair back. "Ready now?"
She nodded again. "Yep!"
"Alright, now, hold it right here." She situated her left hand onto the bows hold. She lined up an arrow, decorated with blue feathers on the end, tipped with celestial bronze. Artemis was ready to materialize it at any second should it choose a particularly… aggressive, path. "Pull back, all the way to your cheek- but hold your arm steady." Thalia obeyed, tugging at the string with her sisters' help, who was also helping to support the bow. "Make sure your finger is just under your eye" she did. "Look at the target, focus on the point you went to hit- the big red dot in the middle."
"Uh-Kay."
"Now, aim" she helped her straighten it just so. "And let go."
She did. Of course, with one of the Twin Archers basically governing her every movement, her aim wasn't bad. Not perfect, but it still hit the target. Right on the second ring outside the center. Thalia gave a long, dramatic gasp, eyes wide and happy as she beamed up at her sister, her smile far too big for her innocent toddler face. "I did i'!" she squealed, jumping up and down. "I did i'! See Ar'mis! I did it! It touched! 'm jus like you!"
Artemis chuckled as Thalia leapt up to hug her, arms around her neck and nuzzling her hair. "Yes, you certainly are."
She beamed even more after that. "Ooooooh! Les' do 'gain!"
"Alright, alright" she grinned. "Once more for my charming baby sister."
"Hooray!"
'Once more', as it turned out, really meant twenty arrows. Thalia found herself fascinated and extremely happy shooting a bow. Once or twice she heard her father's worried voice in her head, praising her attempts but warning that she be careful. The daughter of Zeus was perfectly content ignoring him and spending the day watching her sister and trying the sport of archery for herself.
…
Hours later came dinner time, and so came cooking around the fire. Watching someone actually cook food was a new experience for the demigods; living practically as royalty in their fathers domains, their lives were surrounded by magic- food usually just appeared on a plate for them. So, watching their newfound friends bake oven a fire was quite interesting.
More than once Percy had stuck his hand into the fire, resulting in a shrieking huntress yanking him away and scolding him. Of course, he didn't burn, but Artemis still demanded he not try to touch the flames. Every now and again, 'Aunt Essy', or Hestia, would appear in the flames and smile at them.
After the three half bloods had been served a meal of juicy steak and apple juice, they were content to snuggle up with their hunter companions and just lay content a long while, sleepy and tired after the long, fun day. These young girls seemed to be the only playmates that had the same never ending energy that they did.
From his place curled up in Zoe's lap, Percy asked "Zo zo?"
"Mm? Yes Perseues?"
"Mars Mewwow?"
"Ah… what?"
"Moss mewwow." agreed Thalia from nearby, laying with her head in Artemis' lap. "Moss mewwow Zo! Wan' moss mewwow!"
"I… I do not know what thou are saying."
Artemis chuckled good naturedly at her side, running her fingers through Thalia's hair. "They are asking you to roast marshmallows with them."
"Mellow!" they all chimed. Artemis smirked, conjuring a bag of the soft, fluffy treats that were sure to induce cavities and handed them to her lieutenant. "Yummy! Me want!" Percy reached for the bg, but she held them out of his reach.
"Manners, Perseus."
"Oh… wight." Batting his eyes at her, the toddler cooed "Peeeeaaaaase?"
She chuckled softly. "Alright. Because you asked politely."
Once they'd all had s'mores and the demigods were sticky messes of chocolate and melted marshmallow fluff, Artemis deemed it time to take them home. As she teleported to Olympus, a sleepy Thalia with her head on her shoulder, she came across Zeus.
"Ah, my daughters." He greeted them.
"Daddy…" Thalia mumbled holding her arms out to him. Smiling that rare, kind smile that as reserved just for her, he gently took the half-asleep two year old.
"Hello Princess."
"Hi dad-dy…"
He looked to Artemis. "I take it they behaved."
She smiled a bit. "Oh, yes. They were quite obedient."
"Aright…" as she turned to go, he called "Artemis, why is their marshmallow in your hair?"
Ok! And there ya go! Lots of Thalia and Artemis bonding, with some extra cuteness at the end with Percy and Zoe- the image of two year old Percy cuddling Zoe Nightshade was too cute! And I wanted to throw in just a little scene with Zeus and his baby girl… make sure to review!
