A/N: Hello this my first fic, I hope you enjoy it. Critics are welcome, I can take the heat. I have many stories I wish to write and hope to improve. With that said, this story has multiple arcs and it's continuation depends on its reception. There are no pairings planned for this story yet, I am open minded to suggestions. This is the first time I have written a story of any length but have been a lifelong reader and it is with great trepidation I leap into the abyss.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson

"What's the future? It's a blank sheet of paper, and we draw lines on it, but sometimes our hand is held, and the lines we draw aren't the lines we wanted."

- John Marsden

Chapter 1: The Hunt Begins!

Hunter

There was a slight chill in the air. Fall's mellow warmth would soon still into an icy freeze and the days would become short and nights colder and longer. Montana's winter climate was unforgiving, there wouldn't be another hunt after this.

The hunter was young, a mere child in the eyes of the world. But his appearance stole any notion of childishness from his youth. The boy's face was drawn with serious calm and focus. Where one might expect soft smooth skin on his cheeks there was a weathered tan surface from constant exposure to the elements.

His careful movements did not betray his excitement. It always got to him no matter how many times he hunted. The rising suspense and total immersion into the world around him was bewitching to him. All of his senses hummed and the world seemed so very alive in that moment. This is what he lived for, nothing else in the world made sense, but this ... this was simple.

The young hunter's gaze swept the silent trees. He was cautious, he had been tracking for the better part of three sunrises and he knew he was close. That, however, was not the only reason for his sharp vigilance. He was not the only predator that walked through these woods. He had seen enough to know of those that slinked, stalked, prowled through the deep wilderness. Cougars and bears were a concern but the others were a threat that the young hunter took care to avoid.

His golden eyes returned to ground as he continued his pursuit of his quarry, his prey. The trail led up a sharp incline back down into a small hollow. The hunter reached the break in the trees and immediately stilled, the lone stag he had been following finally showed himself. The deer was moderately large, enough to last the winter.

The hunter strives to conquer his racing heart, the anticipation and the adrenaline were egging him on. 'Too much emotion will spoil the hunt' he reminded himself, 'breath' and the young boy tightly reigned in his excitement.

This hunt was important, more important than any other he had made this year. If he didn't succeed, he wouldn't eat. Carefully he removed his large bow from his back and notched an arrow. The wind blew and the young hunter drew back the arrow, the young hunter could feel the power stored in his bow fight his back and arms as he drew. 'You see the mountain, the tree and the tall grass; you don't see me. You hear the wind, the bird, and the wolf; you don't hear me. You smell the pine, the snow and the herd beyond; you don't smell me. You're of the wild and so am I.'

He released his arrow and the cord snapped like the sting of fate and the arrow flew true. The stag died instantly and the arrow embedded itself quivering in the tree beyond it. The boy smiled and approached his kill. Quite pleased he drew his knife and prepared to clean his kill.

That's when the underbrush in front of him exploded into movement. He heard a deep growling and glimpsed several streaks of silver shooting past his head.

Artemis

The boy carefully picked his way up the steep slope and slipped over the hill. The goddess of the moon had been watching him for the last hour or so.

She saw him while he was crossing a small stream and had been following him with two of her most trusted hunters. Zoe had looked confused when she signaled to follow the young boy.

To be honest the goddess of the hunt had no idea why she felt she needed to follow the young hunter but all her instincts told her not to let him slip away. Maybe it was just mild curiosity or that large bow he kept slung on his back or his striking golden eyes that gleamed beneath a mop of inky black hair that convinced her. However, the longer she watched him, the quicker her doubts fled her.

This was no normal mortal, she could feel his strong presence radiating off of him. Now her duty bound her to investigate this strange boy. Whom seemed to be all alone deep within the untamed wilderness of northern Montana.

One thing she noticed was his incessant wariness. Every few minutes he'd stop and check his surroundings and then move on.

He also moved like he knew what he was doing, quiet, quick, and deliberate. Artemis actually found herself a little bit impressed with his tracking skills, for a boy he actually acquitted himself as quite a talented hunter.

Phoebe crouched next to her, "Milady why are we still pursuing this male?" she muttered under her breath.

"He may be important, he's no normal mortal, that is for certain." Artemis returned.

"You believe he is a demigod?" Zoe inquired .

Artemis shook her head, "I don't know, but I intend to find out.". The three of them moved towards the direction they had last seen him. As the huntresses and Artemis crested the hill they watched as the young boy suddenly froze, his eyes locked on to his target. A full grown stag that he had been tracking.

The goddess quickly found herself unintentionally holding her breath as the boy drew his bow smoothly and without haste. Once again she found herself impressed with his composure. She could feel the mounting suspense as he found his aim. She marveled at the bow he was using, over five feet long and almost as tall as he was. It was overkill to use a bow of that size; which could only be practically used in war. She was only half surprised when she saw the arrow pass clean through the deer and embed itself in a tree. The bow was powerful and more than likely very difficult to draw.

She set aside the thrill she felt witnessing the successful hunt when something else drew her attention. A monster's presence soon flooded her senses. The goddess glimpsed the shadow move on the other side of the clearing.

Hellhound. The boy did not take notice of its presence, more than likely too preoccupied by his prey. He had dropped all of his previous wariness as he crossed the small clearing. She quickly signaled to the other huntresses the location of the hellhound and the three of them drew their silver hunting bows.

The hellhound let loose a growl and launched itself towards the boy and the huntresses let loose their arrows. The beast was killed immediately, however several more soon broke cover and began racing towards the young hunter.

The boy had dropped to his knees when the arrows started flying and was now crouched in the tall grass. Another hellhound exploded into dust when an arrow found its heart. Leaving only two remaining. Artemis let off three quick shots killing one and wounding the other. The wounded hellhound wailed and howled in pain before being felled by another arrow.

Artemis cursed when she heard several more howls somewhere in the distance. It would seem she alerted the rest of the pack. It was at this moment the young boy decided to make a break for it and before she could stop her Zoe drew her bow and fired at him, hitting him in the fell, rolled to his feet, and started running again.

Artemis glared at her lieutenant to which she shrugged, "What? Now he can't get away." The goddess of the hunt sighed and drew back her bow moments before the clearing erupted into chaos.

Hunter

Moments after the shooting started. The young hunter was cursing himself for his lack of vigilance. He had let his guard down and now he was trapped between a group of hellhounds and the hunters of Artemis.

Oh he knew all about them and the hellhounds as well. That is why he did his best to steer clear of them. Now he either gets captured by a group of immortal man-hating girls or gets eaten by hellhounds. Not great alternatives.

So when he heard the pack in the distance he had hoped they would distract the hunters long enough for him to escape. He braced himself and booked it for the trees to the right of him. He had only made it a dozen yards before an arrow embedded itself in his leg. Pain exploded from his leg and caused him to stumble and fall. However, he now feared more arrows were coming his way so he rolled back to his feet and continued running.

He ran until he cleared a ridge line, he could still hear the snarls and dying yelps of the hellhound behind him. He examined the arrow, the adrenaline rush helped him move but now it was wearing off and the wound aches. He cursed violently, just his luck, as if perfect seclusion wasn't good enough. Trouble finds him, as usual.

The head of the arrow was sticking out the other side of his thigh. It didn't seem to be bleeding substantially but the boy couldn't be sure if the arrow had nicked a major artery. If it had, he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. He also knew it had to come out, if he was to get away. He decided he'd rather take his chances dying of blood loss then with the mercy of the hunters; so he fetched an emergency bottle of whiskey he kept in his pack.

As that old wolf once told him 'whiskey is the best all purpose medicine that money can buy and what it can't heal it'll comfort until it dies.' He smiled grimy at the bottle. That old wolf was the man who taught him to hunt and survive, the boy missed him.

Uncorking the bottle he quickly gulped down several mouthfuls, he felt it burn down his throat but paid no mind as he poured some on his wounds. After taking another sip he cut the arrow head bindings off and removed it. Gripping the shaft he slowly and painfully drew the shaft from his thigh. It came out with a hiss of pain, although bleeding neither side of the wound seemed to be excessively doing so.

He was lucky, after pouring more whiskey in the wound to clean it he covered it with honey, a natural antiseptic. Then bound it with some strips of cloth he kept with his emergency supplies.

Then he stood up and found his leg could bear weight. With haste he stowed his gear and shouldered his bow, pack and quiver. Then set off running again.

Although he didn't know why the hunt shot him it was now clear what was going to happen. The details didn't matter anymore the hunt would follow him and probably won't stop until they caught him. It was best to assume they would kill him or worse should they capture him. The young boy had heard their reputation, which had proven accurate seeing as they shot him on sight without cause.

Anger brewed within him, even so deep in the wilderness, so far away from anything at all trouble found him. They could hunt him if they wanted but he refused to be caught easily,'This is my home after all, they're just visiting.' Thanks to that old wolf he knew these mountains and forests better than anyone.

As he slipped through the trees trying to put as much distance between the hunters and himself he put together a plan to escape the goddess of the hunt herself.

Three days of constant movement wasn't doing his arrow wound any favors. He had replaced the bandages a few times and the bleeding was minimal. It's still hurt a considerable amount.

He knew he was traveling slower than he needed to be, therefore he hardly slept during his escape. He'd take 90 minute rests every night and then immediately set off again. For now he had managed to stay ahead of them. He knew they were on his trail too, six hours after he was shot he could hear the hunting wolves in the distance.

After that he quickly began to erratic paths to deter his pursuers. He'd weave through wide stretches of open forest then double back and dart through the most difficult terrain he could find. He tried using as much the landscape to try to break his trail which included climbing over cliffs and running up a small river for a few miles.

However after all that energy spent running from the hunt his tank was running on empty. He was running low on the food he had taken with him and his muscles were beyond fatigued.

It was at this point the young hunter finally reached his destination. Here he found a 250 foot ridge that towered in front of him. The formation stretched for over 20 miles in each direction and on each end was a mountain This would require them either scale the cliff face or go around. He hoped this would force them to go around buying him precious time to heal and gather food.

He didn't have any climbing tools nor did he need any; the ridge was able to be free climbed if you know where to go. Once he found the spot he was looking for the young hunter began to pull himself up the cliff face. Hand hold after hand hold the boy trembled in agony his leg could hardly support him anymore.

There were several times he was forced to stop and simply cling to the cliff while his muscles shook with exhaustion. His arrow wound has started bleeding again under the strain, he could feel it trickle down his leg and pool in his boot.

Scaling the cliff would have been tiring under normal circumstances but the boy had made a snap decision. He began climbing before he could doubt his ability and left himself with no choice but going forward or perishing. Climbing back down was not an option, he would certainly fall if he tried.

So rather than face the hunters he decided to bet his life on the strength of his arms and legs. He seemed to be fairly far off the ground, but he couldn't tell if he had 20 feet to go or 200. He cursed his trembling arms, he wouldn't fall, he swore he wouldn't die a bloody smear on the ground below. He could imagine those hunters smug faces when they found his mangled corpse.

The thought filled him with rage. Anger was fuel and he burned it and continued his desperate accent. Every inch gained became a victory; a grasp at life and freedom.

The young hunter fought his way forward, until finally his hands found the top.

Phoebe

Frustration was an understatement. This male had eluded the hunts best tracker and her team for three straight days and considering he was a male and wounded, her inability to find him was wearing on her nerves.

He was smart, smarter than any sort of prey she ever tracked. The false trails and the harsh terrain had impeded their search significantly. Also she had underestimated his determination more than once, which nearly led to a dead trail had they not found it again by chance. His endurance was another thing she had not anticipated.

After the first day she let her hunters rest and sleep until dawn believing the boy to not far and more than likely spent. She was already impressed he had managed to carry on like he had to evade her.

However, the next morning instead of finding the boy quickly like she hoped she found a whole mess of false trails spread out far into the woods which confused the wolves. After nearly losing him there she nearly lost him again at the river when the trail suddenly went cold.

After a few wasted hours they discovered he had waded two miles upstream and crossed there. At the end of the second day she told her hunters to rest again until morning she really doubted that the boy would have much left in him.

Come morning she was met with a familiar confusing weave of trails. He couldn't have possibly done all this, then it dawned on her that he had been laying them at night. Did he sleep at all?

To cover so much ground in three days was absurd. He had made it at least 30 miles from where he was shot and all the while over difficult terrain. She was determined to find him today, he couldn't possibly keep this up.

Lady Artemis had left strict instructions to capture him intact and to not harm him anymore than he already has been. Phoebe finally tracked him to the base of a tall ridge, his trail began to follow the ridge for a bit then it disappeared. The wolves whined, searching with their noses to the ground. There was no sign of him anymore.

Phoebe wanted to scream. The rest of the group was a little frazzled as well. How strange, where could he have gone? The night would fall within the hour and the sunset seemed to set the cliff face on fire. Phoebe almost suggested they double back and try a different path, she was sure it was this one.

Then suddenly a wolf howled and clawed at the cliff face. There, about a few feet above her head the huntresses saw a few streaks of blood smeared up against the wall. She reached out and touched it. It was still wet. She looked around again confused, then several droplets of blood splattered against her uniform. She glanced up in shock and nearly couldn't believe what she saw.

Up the cliff more than 200 hundred feet off the ground was the young hunter. He was nearly at the top. The hunters all watched in awe as he scaled the last few feet and pulled himself over the edge. It was honestly the most impressive feat they had ever seen anyone do and he was a male no less.

Phoebe was actually more than a little pissed, the male had beaten them. Not only had he fooled and completely escaped his hunters he had done something she herself would not attempt. Her pride wouldn't accept it even though the truth told everything she needed to know.

The hunters of Artemis had been beaten at their own game by a male. One of the hunters turned to Phoebe, "What do we do now?" She seemed disappointed in herself.

"We tell Lady Artemis we failed."

Artemis

They've been gone for five days. The hunters were never known to be lazy or prone to getting lost. The group she sent to capture the wounded male was some of her best trackers. Something must have interfered or the boy was not what they had thought.

When they arrived, Artemis knew the hunt had gone poorly. Their heads were low and their faces grim. "Milady the hunt was unsuccessful".

Artemis and her hunters were rarely unsuccessful. "Were you attacked?"

"No."

"Did something interfere?"

"No, milady"

"He got away?"

"Yes, he got away."

Artemis was still waiting for an explanation when Zoe interjected, "I don't see how I shot him in the leg. He shouldn't have made it farther than a mile."

Phoebe looked up her expression unreadable, "That wound was the only reason we kept up with him. He made it well over 30 miles on that leg."

Artemis' face flashed a surprised expression. "He must be an immortal, perhaps. Or has a healing ability."

Phoebe was already shaking her head, "Neither, he is certainly mortal his blood is red not gold. He was also still bleeding when we saw him last."

Now Artemis was confused. "You saw him, how did he get away?"

Phoebe seemed reluctant to share, "We found him at the end, right before we broke off the chase. He was over 200 feet above us free climbing a cliff face to escape." Expressions of unguarded shock we're now worn about the listeners.

Artemis was now actually a little excited and in a serious tone she asked, "So you mean to tell me that a wounded male demigod outpaced you for thirty miles and then climbed a cliff where you couldn't follow and escaped."

Phoebe had to clutch her fist in embarrassment and bowed her head in shame. "Yes, milady."

Artemis broke out in a grin and grabbed Phoebe's hand, "You must tell me everything" she turned to others. "Rest up we're leaving at dawn" Phoebe looked a little bewildered and Artemis almost laughed at her "Come with me, we have a hunt to plan. Zoe, you come too." She now had new prey in mind, one that hopefully would offer a challenge

A/N: Thank you for reading. Tell me what you thought.