Chapter 7 – Coming To Terms
Percy awoke once again in a private infirmary of sorts, which was actually just his tent. Artemis and the girls that had been allowed inside to tend to him were all gone and it was fast approaching night time. He knew that he wouldn't be seeing his bane for quite some time as the spot his master weapon had hit would need to be revealed over several months."What did he do to it?" Percy asked out loud, wondering what the extent of damage had been done to the bane after the demon had taken over.
'I burnt half of his face off, broke both of it's hind legs, though in fairness, it healed them up pretty good after a while. I think I also punched half of it's face off. I'm proud of what I'd done.'
So he was free to do his duties as he pleased. What was he to do though when Artemis and Thalia were both angry, and one more than the other, would be looking out for him more than she needed to?
Unknown to Percy was the rapidly developing feelings that were coming from the Goddess. Inside the immortal's tent, there was not one divine presence but two. Aphrodite sat across from Artemis, watching her intently.
"Whatever you're doing, you need to let it take its course. I'm not asking you this as a Goddess, but as a friend Artemis." Aphrodite's words stunned Artemis by no small amount. She'd never seen the pink Goddess this desperate before. She didn't even bother to sneer or scorn her.
"What IS it doing?" Artemis asked her quickly, seeing the state of distress on her.
"I'm the Goddess of love. Everything under my domain affects me in different ways, but when a Goddess cannot figure out what she truly wants, it's overpowering. You need to figure out whether or not you're ready to accept him. But the worst is yet to come. I fear that if he does not return your feelings of affection soon, then the heart break may well kill me." Aphrodite explained, a measure calmer than when she'd first stumbled into the campsite.
"You're mistaken if you think that I'd ever have feeling for the boy." Artemis huffed indignantly. Aphrodite tilted her head slightly, analyzing every microfiber of Artemis' being.
"And you're mistaken if you think that I'd ever be lied to in regards to my greatest domains. Artemis, I know what this is, believe it or not. Either way I promise to keep my lips sealed until you decide to reveal anything. Be it a couple of days or an eternity of you rejecting your emotions. I'll be silent." Aphrodite explained. Artemis was seeing her in a new light, a new distress that needed cooperation between the two Goddesses. Artemis' expression softened at her promise.
"Thank you Aphrodite. I truly appreciate that. Now I must attend to my hunt however." Artemis stood and once she did Aphrodite just lazily fluttered her hand and vanished.
Line Break.
Percy knelt down at the small stream that lied just off to the side of the hunter's camp but still held within the safety of the Goddess' boundaries. He knelt looking at his reflection. He remembered when Zeus had unfairly summoned him. He hadn't known that it was Perseus, he was just following the immense power that was going around unchecked, little did he realize that it was an angered nephew of his.
Percy had been hunting a deer, risky business but the demi-god needed to eat. He made sure to pray forgiveness to Artemis before he did so, luckily the moon Goddess was aware of the situation. She didn't agree with her father's orders, but he was still the King of the Gods.
"Percy." A faint whisper broke through his remembrance of the past, he was just thinking about how Zeus had found him when the voice had cut through his focus and brought him back. When he didn't answer the voice he heard footsteps advance on him until he could see the reflection of the woman standing behind him. He knew that only two people would approach him with such a sympathy in their voices, and one of them refused to call him anything other than Perseus.
Though now, they mind end up referring to at least half of him as such. His talk with Artemis had been intense, he wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to kill him or to desperately fuck him, it was one of those kinds of talks. Luckily, they managed to cover the vital topic that she'd summoned him for. He couldn't believe that he'd referred to himself as Perseus, or at least, that's what the Demon had called himself, so perhaps that would make things a little easier, if the Demon was called Perseus, and himself Percy.
"What do you need Thalia?" He asked her with a heavy sigh, refusing to look anywhere but the running water. He'd purposely distorted it so that she couldn't see the pain that was held in his eyes, because that seemed to be a dead give away for these girls when they needed to know when to absolutely not go near him, which was effectively all the time.
"For you to stop being so detached like this. We all know why Zeus made you guard us. With Lady Artemis with us we would never need a guardian, yet without any choice you were forced here. None of us like seeing you this way Percy." Thalia continued. Her voice cut out in certain places here and there as she fought the urge to start crying. What she desperately wanted to do was to grab him by the shirt and… No, she shouldn't be thinking about those kinds of thing, not anymore, not now that she was part of the hunt, forever swearing off men. Artemis had known her reasons for joining the hunt, surely she would have foreseen how this would have affected her lieutenant. Percy was her closest friend, that mattered more than being her romantic interest, and if anything she couldn't bear to see him near suicidal.
"Leave me alone Thalia. I didn't ask to be here and I don't want to be here. It's obvious that I'm not your guardian, but you're mine. The Gods don't want the savior of Olympus to kill himself. But I don't see a way anyone short of Artemis can do that." Percy stood and before Thalia could say or do anything he lept into the river and made sure that none could get to him. He needed his solitude. He couldn't bear the way Thalia looked at him anymore. There was pain in her eyes, but it was for him, he didn't want to be the cause of anyone else's pain any longer. What if he could just end it all? Kill himself and put a stop to the constant danger that he presented the camp? Would anyone miss him? He could just runaway again. Not where the hunters could get to him, but instead to an underwater refuge. He knew that sooner or later his father would vie to find him and then it would only be a matter of time before they caught up.
'Think VERY carefully before you continue down this path Perseus.'
"Call me Percy. If you're my demonic aspect, then you can simply be known as Perseus, helps to avoid confusion." Percy responded casually.
In that moment he made his decision, he didn't know how much time had passed but the sun was rising and Thalia was still staring longingly into the river he was at. He needed to say goodbye, he'd already put her through so much. "Thalia." He got her attention, his voice heavy and laden with grief. His eyes were dark and she knew something was wrong, more than usual.
"I'm sorry. If things were different… Just know that I would never have rejected you." Percy spoke quickly and softly, his eyes glued to the floor. He could already hear Thalia choking up in front of him. He turned his back on her firmly before stepping into the river that surged above him.
"Perseus what are you doing?" Artemis' voice called out. She was now besides Thalia, looking at him warningly. Her hand was hovering over her hunting knives, if she could paralyze him, then she could prevent him from doing what she knew he was thinking about.
He spared the Goddess a quick glance before a brief smile washed across his face then disappeared as soon as it had arrived. "I'm Percy, the Demon is Perseus." With a wave of his hand the entire river surged upwards and blocked Artemis from doing anything. She tried to follow his movements but he was simply put, just far too powerful. The river rushed across the landscape in a tidal wave, continuously seeking a massive body of water.
"Thalia! Assemble the hunters!" Artemis ordered as she already took off after Percy.
"What for milady? What are we hunting?" She asked her in solid confusion.
"Percy Jackson." Artemis told her quickly before bounding after the tidal wave.
If you feel like supporting my other hobby, you can come and watch me play a load of old games from my childhood, a lot of nostalgic playstation 1 gaming happening at the moment, check it out. /channel/UCuR41yuScY68Z7r84rp0nZg
