Chapter 12:

A/N: This is here just to address one of the reviews. Since you were a guest, I couldn't respond to you via PM. Yes, I meant Ezio but for some reason it autocorrected to Exit and I didn't catch that mistake. Also, this it to everybody reading this: Enjoy the chapter :)

Percy POV

I don't know where that name came from, but it just formed in my mouth and I just said it without thinking. The next thing I did was run as fast as I could. Just as I thought I got away, Artemis appeared in front of me and the hunters somehow caught up behind me. Artemis's face was red in agitation but I thought I saw the slightest blush through all of that.

"Do not call me Moonbeam, fish boy!" she said, trying not to smile. Another name popped into my head.

"Fine, I'm sorry Arty." I said trying to contain my laughter.

"Shut up Aquaman!" she said, her face somehow getting even redder. Just then, Thalia walked up smirking evilly and I somehow knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Aww, they already have nicknames for each other!" she said. Artemis and I both blushed furiously. Phoebe decided to step in.

"All right, all right! Let's get back to camp. We get a special story for Percy here today!" She said happily. The hunters cheered. Their last story was the quest Zoe went on where terrible things happened. Artemis smiled and flashed us all to camp.

When we got there, the big campfire was all wet for some reason and was deemed useless due to the messed up wood.

"Alright. Phoebe and Thalia, go get some wood quickly and then we can eat dinner, which Percy has to cook." Artemis said, smirking at me. What Artemis didn't know was that along with my fire powers, I could also instantly cook a normal meal, but I don't know the limit of "normal" in the godly world.

Before Thalia and Phoebe left, I stopped them.

"Hold on, can't I just set the wet logs on fire and remake the fire?" I said. They just started at me.

"You're such a Seaweed Brain! It's wet wood! The only thing that can make a fire with that is Greek fire, which we don't have spare cans for." Thalia said. I smirked and spread my hands

"And that's why I'm here." And shot beams of Greek fire at the wood, evaporating the water and setting the logs on fire.

"Since when can you control fire!?" Phoebe yelled. I stared at her confused and then it hit me.

"Oh yeah! You guys weren't there, it was only Artemis and Thalia. Hestia adopted me and I became her son and champion." I said. The hunters just nodded and sat down at the long table next to the fire.

"Percy, go make us dinner." Artemis said as she sat down at the head of the table. I smirked, ready to surprise her with my new power.

"Ok, what do you guys want?" I asked like I was annoyed to make it, which the hunters picked up on. Thinking they made it hard on me, they agreed on two large trays of macaroni and cheese and some mashed potatoes.

I smirked, closed my eyes and concentrated. I felt a tug in my gut and a collective gasp from the hunters and Artemis.

"Where did you get this power?!" Artemis asked. I smirked and just responded with

"My mom." and conjured a peanut butter sandwich out of the air. Artemis looked confused for a second and then gasped.

"Oh yeah! Hestia is also the goddess of home and family! She can make food out of the air like that!" and there was a chorus of 'ohhhh's from around the table.

"Well girls, dig in!" I said, wondering what they were waiting for. Without a second thought, they launched into the food.

Artemis POV

I watched them after conjuring up some nectar and ambrosia. Why were they acting like those dirty males that eat just like this? This is why I don't like them eating out of these buffet trays. I need to tell Percy about not making those… Speaking of Percy, why is he so different than other males and how they act. He was caring, unselfish and kind to everybody he sees, unless he doesn't like them. I wouldn't even be surprised if he does some act of kindness right… Oh wait, it's Emily again.

I saw her at the corner of the table, too timid to go get her food. She was a little afraid of the hunters after seeing what they did to men. I was furious when they just let her watch as they tortured a man that tried raping his brother's wife. Emily joined the hunt just a week before Percy showed up and saved the hunt the first time. I was about to get up and help her, but Percy beat me to it. Watching their interaction for a few minutes brought a smile to my face.

Percy POV

Gods of Olympus, what is wrong with these hunters when they are eating! Just then I saw a much younger girl at the very end of the table. She was 8 maximum. She had blond hair and light grey eyes, obviously a child of Athena. The older hunters wouldn't give her space to get her food, which really grinded my gears. I walked over to her and touched her shoulder. She jumped.

"No, no. It's ok. I'm here to help you." I said in a cautious voice. I need to take this slowly. It was obvious she was scared of men. She backed away a little.

"Are-are you going to hurt me like my dad did? Please don't, I'm sorry for whatever I did." I had to use all my willpower to keep my eyes from bursting into flames. What did he do to her!?

"No, I'm here to protect you. My name is Percy, what is your name?" I said. She seemed to relax a little when I said I was here to protect her.

"My name is Emily. You don't seem like my dad and his mean friends. Your eyes are really pretty." She said, slowly opening up more and getting comfortable with Percy.

"Thank you Emily. Now that we have introductions out of the way, what would you like to eat? Or do you also want macaroni?" I asked. She seemed deep in thought.

"Can-can I have some garlic bread with a cup of milk?" She said, obviously still a little scared of me. I nodded and smiled. I clapped my hands and a plate of garlic bread and milk appeared in her lap. She quietly said Thank you and started to eat slowly. She suddenly stopped.

"Were you the person that saved us from those scary monsters? The one with the wings?" I smiled at her and extended my right wing into her lap. She slowly reached out and stroked it.

"It's so soft!" She said. She stopped stroking it and I retracted it. But before it slid into my back, I pulled a feather off. I put the black and grey feather in her hand and closed it.

"When I'm not around, you can still remember me with that." I said and stood up. She surged toward me and hugged me tightly and whispered

"Thank you, Percy. You really are different than other men." I smiled and placed her in her seat.

"Now, finish your dinner. I'll see you after and tell you girls a story." I leaned next to her ear. "If you want to, I can take you on a ride tomorrow on my wings." She nodded and smiled at me.

"Of course! Bye Percy!" She said as I walked back to my little table where I finished my sandwich. Artemis watched the whole conversation with a smile on her face. Wow, Percy really is something else. Artemis thought to herself, finishing her godly food.

Around the Campfire

"Alright girls, it's a new story time! How long ago was our last one?" Artemis said.

"The same year I joined the hunt." Thalia said and then her eyes widened. "Wait, Percy. How old are you?" She asked me. I actually had to think about that for a second and then I remembered.

"I'm 19, why?" I asked confused. Thalia then turned towards the hunters.

"The last time we did this was 6 years! Wait, back up! Percy, you're 19!? That makes me 25!" Thalia said really surprised. "Never mind, let's get on with the story."

I conjured up a chair in front of the campfire and Artemis sat behind the hunters on another chair.

"Alright girls, what do you want to hear?" I asked. Nobody said anything except for Emily who shyly lifted her hand.

"What do you want to hear, Emily?" I asked.

"What is the story behind you joining the hunt? I didn't think it was possible for males to join the hunt." A flash of pain flew across my eyes and Artemis saw it, but she nodded for me to tell the story. She then entered my mind. The only way for you to get out of your pain is to tell people what happened. They can help you. And I felt her presence leave my mind.

"Alright, I'm going to start from when I left camp. After a little, the story gets a little hard for me to tell, so maybe Thalia or Artemis could pick up on those parts?" I asked. They both nodded and I took a deep breath.

"So here's the story: How I Became The Guardian of the Hunt

A/N: Yay, 3 updates in 4 days! Not too bad. Now that I have a solid build for my story made out in my head, the updates will be fire frequent and lengthy. That's all for now, catch you next time!

Pjo1829 out.