AN: THIS YEAR FOR CALCUTTA! THE CUP IS OURS, BITCHES!
Time: Next Day
Artemis groaned, burying deeper into the covers.
It was still early in the morning, and she was still tired from yesterday's excursion. All the new clothes she had bought had replaced her wardrobe, and she was free to wear them. But she was still clad in Percy's clothes, primarily because they were extremely comfy, but mainly because she felt as if it would make her more alluring in Percy's eyes.
The moon goddess could swear that she looked like a complete mess right then. Her dark auburn hair was a rat's nest, and her stomach still felt full from yesterday's buffet.
The sunlight filtered in through the window at the head of her bed, making her groan and hide her face in the soft pillow. Birds chirped outside, the melodious twittering sounding quite irritating to the sleepy goddess. The air held a slight chill to it, making the goddess pull the white covers up to her chin. She missed the others' body heat, from when they all cuddled up on the couch last day and watched movies till midnight.
And happily, today, she did not have to wake up to Calypso's pleasured screams, or the sounds of the two having sex in the corridor.
The auburn-haired goddess sat up, letting the covers fall to her waist, and scratched the back of her head, slightly trying to flatten her hair. She smacked her dry lips, before pulling up Percy's loose Juventus shirt which threatened to drop from her shoulders and leave her half-naked.
She made her way to the shower, coming out merely a few minutes later, a changed person from the snappy goddess who woke up. She was now wearing Percy's favourite red Liverpool away jersey, with the same navy-blue boxers. Her hair was combed, and still slightly wet, returned to its naturally curly state, and let down. Her skin had a glow to it as she got out of the shower, followed by a slight mist from the hot shower. The smell of lavender, which she used as a bath soap, hung about heavily in the air.
She made her way downstairs to find that everybody was already there. She was greeted by a nod and 'Good Morning' from Calypso and Athena, and a bear hug from Percy.
Artemis laughed into his chest, slightly tapping his arm to indicate him to let go. Percy did not free her, instead carrying her to her seat and pushing the chair back in when she was seated. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, making Athena pout. "You never kiss my forehead!" She pointed out in a whiny voice.
Percy laughed, pressing his lips to the blonde's forehead. "I thought you would be afraid of anyone touching your forehead." He teased.
Athena's ears turned golden, and she turned to the new book that was propped up against the nectar jug.
Percy pecked Calypso's lips, before sliding along a stack of blue pancakes to Artemis. "Extra syrup?" He asked.
Artemis smiled at him, and Percy sighed, handing her the jug of maple syrup. "Take as much as you want." He said, making Artemis smile gleefully.
Her bright demeanour seemed to be reflected in the room, as Athena was smiling to herself as she read, Percy was trying to make everyone laugh as he fumbled about, and Calypso merely observed Artemis quietly with a smile on her face.
"What has got you so worked up today, Percy?" Artemis asked, stopping Percy in his tracks as he demonstrated a rain dance performed upside down.
"Nothing." He answered vaguely, trying his best to seem mysterious, and making his voice deep and hoarse.
"Percy, you suck at that," Athena stated calmly, not even looking up from her book. Percy pouted in response, making Calypso laugh, and hug him, "Don't worry, Percy, she lying, we were all very scared." She spoke in a soothing voice, even as a smile tugged at her lips.
Percy poked her belly, "Let it all out."
They all cracked up at that.
"I want you all to wear something casual, and meet me here in twenty minutes." Percy clapped his hands, making them all look up at him. "I'll wait for you here. If I'm not here when you arrive, look at the docks." He shooed them all away.
Artemis laughed at him, even as she pushed away her empty plate, and got up, followed by Athena and Calypso.
"Why does he want us to dress up?" She asked the caramel-haired Titaness, earning only a shrug in response. "I don't know, you better wear something nice, and come down in twenty minutes." She disappeared to the roof, which was the master bedroom, apparently.
Artemis smiled at Athena as the two entered their neighbouring bedrooms.
Artemis wandered to the walk-in closet standing beside the full-body mirror. She left the closet door open as she changed, seeing as she had already locked the door to the bedroom. Flinging her comfortable, borrowed clothes out of the closet, and making sure they landed on the bed, she wandered deeper into the closet in search of underwear, stark naked.
She stepped out a few minutes later, clad in skinny jeans and a tank top.
Stepping into the dining room, the moon goddess immediately noted Percy's absence, and stepped out through the sliding glass door, easily picking up his footsteps and following them to the docks.
The day was a particularly nice one, with the sun up and not a cloud in sight. The strong, briny, seabreeze buffeted her face, making her squint to avoid the sand. She was thankful for the ponytail she had her hair in, correct in the assumption that if it hadn't been for that, cleaning would have been even more difficult.
The docks were really only a single wooden platform that went from the beach to the sea, lined with wooden posts. More than a few wooden posts still had the half-molten stub of a candle from Percy and Calypso's nocturnal excursions out here. What happened during those excursions was a clear fact, Calypso's screams could be heard all the way from their house, and she would be always be exhausted the next day. The water increased Percy's stamina exponentially, something which Artemis herself knew from first-hand experience all those years ago.
She slowly made her way to the lone black-haired figure sitting at the end of the docks, the wooden planks creaking slightly underneath her sneakers.
Percy didn't even bat an eye as the moon goddess sat beside him, and observed him. His strong jawline was scarred, but that didn't hide the blossoming purple hickey. The same silver fang-shaped earring was there on his right ear. His eyes stared into the endless spanse of sea, which reflected his irises, and his black hair was even messier than usual.
Artemis turned back to gaze out at the sea. It was an endless ocean of sea-green, the white frothing waves being the only break. Seagulls flew overhead, a few bobbing up and down as they floated on the waves. The sun was reflected in the turbulent waters, and distant, misty clouds could be seen in the otherwise clear azure sky.
"Beautiful, ain't it?" Artemis was broken out of her thoughts by the quiet words spoken right beside her. Percy had not turned towards her as he spoke, his eyes retaining the lost and entranced look.
Artemis nodded mutely, turning out to look at the sea. It truly was beautiful.
She was not sure if Percy had seen her nod, nevertheless, he continued, in the same soft voice, "This is where I met her, you know. Calypso."
She stared out at the sea, trying to imagine the two lovers' first meeting went like.
"She is as beautiful as the sea." Percy continued, "Her laugh is like the sound of a smooth receding tide." Artemis did not get the reference. "She saved me from many things. The Void, insanity, death, myself." He continued speaking, unmindful of Artemis' reactions. She felt smaller with each word, and could see the tears glistening in the Titan's eyes. His soft voice was doing things to her that even she did not know. Her heart ached as it had all those years before.
"I love her." He summarized softly.
"Oh." Artemis' response was quiet.
The word seemed to jerk Percy out of his reverie. He shook his head violently, wiping his eyes to clear the tears, before smiling brightly at her. "Do you want to see the seafloor?" He asked, back to his boisterous self.
Not waiting for an answer, he hugged her, slowly slipping off the dock and submerging the two of them beneath the waves. Artemis did not panic, having done this many times with him many years ago.
Percy offered her his arm, which she took with a smile, burying into his side as she hugged his arm close to her. Unconsciously, she shifted into the same position Calypso took, pressing her boobs to his body as she held his arm between the soft flesh. Percy took no notice, fortunately, he was too engrossed in the sea life.
"The aquatic life here is very different from usual, maybe because this is a magical island..." He rambled on, but Artemis was not listening. She was watching him, the way his black hair waved underwater, the light forming patterns on his skin, the perpetual smile on his face, the way his eyes lit up at every little thing.
Artemis loved every minute of their underwater excursion. "And those are the clownfish, they are rather rude, the sharks are the only thing those little buggers fear..." Percy was abruptly cut off by Calypso's voice. "Percy, you there?"
"Yes, Caly. Going up now!" He shouted back, smiling down at Artemis as he wrapped her in a bear hug. Luckily, she had removed his arm from between her breasts, and she smiled back up at him, mentally thanking all deities she knew for the diversion.
Once they broke the surface of the water, Artemis noticed that all the sand in her hair was gone. She thanked Percy again for it, but he waved her away.
They all hooked arms, and Percy flashed them away to someplace.
Before Artemis' feet touched the ground, she knew where they were. They were in a forest in Wyoming, where she had loved to hunt with her Hunters. The old, twisted trunks of the evergreen trees twisted above, their leafy arms forming a shadowy canopy that blocked out all light. The slightly moist forest floor made walking slightly difficult for those inexperienced, owing to the uneven terrain, riddled with burrows, roots, and such.
Percy swept Calypso off her feet, holding her bridal style, seeing as she was the only one who had never been to a forest, and kept stumbling and grabbing others for support.
Artemis wondered where they were, as they walked through the dark forest.
Finally catching the orange glow of a campfire before her, and the silver tents, Artemis forgot everyone, and everything, sprinting at full speed to meet up with her sisters.
In her enthusiasm; she nearly bowled over Zöe as she hugged the life out of her. "Artemis, Artemis...you're okay, everyone's okay, we are all fine." She gasped, patting the goddess' hand to make her free her from the bone-crushing hug.
Artemis reluctantly broke the hug, still holding her lieutenant. "What happened after we lost?" She asked.
Zöe laughed. "You sound as if Percy would let anything happen to us."
Artemis sheepishly rubbed the back of her head as she looked back at the black-haired god, who was standing beside Athena and Calypso, the latter who had been finally been set down. Percy smiled back at her, before he took up the explanations. "I claimed custody of the Hunt, and went back to their patron. They are now a high ranking independent unit of the Othrygian forces, and answer only to me."
Phoebe, who had just emerged from her tent hearing the commotion, took up the speech. "And Percy has recruited so many new members, and he is teaching us all the full extent of our powers and giving his own powers to the mortals we take in. Right now, other than the three newest recruits, everyone can access Gambler's Luck at will, and each of us can take on an entire Cabin of average demigods alone. Those who are slightly more experienced, can take on a Titan, even."
Artemis laughed joyfully at that, hugging her former second lieutenant. "I take it Percy is teaching you all personally? Otherwise, no other teacher could ever access any demigod's max capabilities."
Phoebe laughed as Atlanta and Naomi hugged their former patron. "Of course. He isn't here always; but spends the majority of the training sessions with us. He finds a lot of time even with his work."
Artemis broke the hug, only to be bowled back down by two speeding bullets with sandy blonde hair. She laughed, hugging the twin daughters of Hermes. "Tracey, Pucey, how are you doing?"
"Great!" They shouted together. "Percy gives us blue cookies everyday!"
Artemis laughed, standing up, and hold in their hands. "Thalia, Bianca!" She was hugged by the two, not being able to hug back seeing as her hands were occupied.
Percy squatted in front of the two. "Why don't the two of you take your Lady Artemis for a trip around the new Camp?" He asked the twins, who nodded enthusiastically and ran off, dragging Artemis with them.
The auburn-haired goddess laughed in joy. "Slow down! I'm coming, coming!"
Once Artemis was shown around the Camp, from all the new additions made to the old tents, to the new patron's tent, and introduced to the new members, they walked back to the campfire, the twins telling her about all the new pranks they were planning.
"Artemis!" She was suddenly hugged tightly from behind.
By a male.
She did not mind, for she knew the voice. "Apollo, I missed you too, now I would like you to release me."
Artemis turned to Apollo; who we pouting. "Are you not happy to see me after so long?"
"No. I liked being able to stay away from your annoying presence."
Seeing the obvious hurt on his face, Artemis quickly amended the situation. "I missed my idiot of a brother." She sighed as Apollo brightened immediately again. "How are you, brother?"
"I am excellent. I am now the Titan of the sun, and healing on the Othrygian council." He spoke cheerfully, before asking, "Have you met the occupant of the patron's tent yet?" He smiled gleefully at the goddess' negative response.
He dragged her along to the large black tent, emblazoned with the Hunt's original symbol. A golden snake wrapped around on a silver moon, on a black background.
Artemis noticed the Hunters eyeing Apollo like they would any other male. "I take it they still do not trust you?"
The sun god sighed. "I tried flirting with them once. Percy invented a new game as punishment."
"Let me guess...sun hunting? With the winner able to do whatever they want to you?" She tried to stifle her laughter, barely successful.
Apollo looked hurt. "How did you know?"
Artemis was spared the trouble of answering when they entered the patron's tent.
It remained the same tent as it was when Percy occupied it initially. A tent which Artemis was closely acquainted with, having spent many a night on the queen-sized bed that sat in the middle of the room, initially with Percy at her side, later Percy's armour. The only difference now was that the tent looked pacifist. Where the armour stood once, now stood a vase of flowers. The weapons had been taken down, and the desk, once cluttered with maps and strategies, was occupied with medical tools and papers.
"Artemis. Apollo." Her breath caught in her throat at the auburn-haired female that her brother was hugging.
"Leto. Mother." She launched herself at her mother, whom she had not seen for a long time, crying into the white dress that she was wearing.
"Are you okay? Does Perseus treat you well?" She asked kindly, stroking her daughter's auburn hair, which was not unlike her own.
Artemis nodded feverishly. "Yes, he's the best."
Suddenly, Leto stood up, making Artemis stand up with her. "Now, let's go out to the campfire. I think the Hunters have something to say to you."
As Artemis left the tent, holding her mother's hand, she gasped.
Standing in front of her on a large, round table, was a cake larger than Artemis had ever seen.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Artemis!" Everybody shouted together, slightly overwhelming the moon goddess.
"Where's Percy?" She asked, slightly sad that he had left, as she surveyed the laughing faces before her.
Calypso smiled, hugging her. She stood back, allowing Athena to hug her sister. "He left for some more work. He'll miss lunch and dinner, but should come here before the party's over. Here is his gift." Calypso handed her two large packages, wrapped in Nemo designed paper.
Artemis laughed at Percy, before unwrapping his presents, the first of a large pile. The first, larger package turned out to be a large, leather-bound tome. At her questioning gaze, Calypso explained, "This is a copy of 'Monsters Through the Ages', the standard textbook prescribed to all godlings. However, this one was Percy's own copy. You will find that he has almost tripled the volume of the book with his own notes on their weaknesses. It comes from the forbidden section at his Library."
Artemis stared at the book in awe, finding it hard to digest that Percy would part with it. He was not a bookworm, true, but he held his own notes very high in regard.
She then turned towards the smaller package. She carefully, and slowly unwrapped the package to reveal a green velvet package. Looking up at Calypso in confusion, and spurred on by her reassuring smile, the auburn-haired goddess slowly unclasped the flat box.
Inside lay a simple silver chain, with an intricate serpent, carved out of a single large emerald.
Tears welled up in her silver eyes as she lifted the necklace to her eyes to examine it closely. There was no doubt that the snake stood for Percy himself, neither was there any doubt that Artemis would keep it close to her heart. "The snake will protect you. It's a magical guardian that will alert Percy whenever you are attacked, and it will grow into a large python."
Artemis smiled at the caramel-haired Titaness, lifting her auburn hair to allow the other to clasp the necklace around her neck.
Percy returned when they were roasting marshmallows and singing campfire songs. The daughters of Apollo, and Leto were the only ones who allowed Apollo to sit close to them.
"Man, Apollo, campfire songs, really?!" Percy asked, disappointed.
"We were waiting for you before bringing out the real stuff." Apollo laughed.
"Dude, that better be the real reason." He eyed the sun god suspiciously, before turning to the rest.
"What are you waiting for? Where are the drums and the electric guitars? IT'S TIME FOR SOME HEAVY METAL!"
AN: Done! It's foggy outside today, and cold. I was slightly reluctant to update today. Still, hope you enjoy!BTW, I'm cracking open the real moolah next chappie.Keep calm and CR7!! Keep calm and LM10!! (Messi)