Hello, and welcome to this little piece called "Through Brier and Bramble We Walked"

I had exhausted not only my own small collection of books, but also that of Percy Jackson series, and after reading a few of the pieces on here, the ole gears in me head start turning. Had this idea swimming around for a while, and finally decided I might as well put it down

The story takes place, at least in the beginning, around just before the beginning of The Son of Neptune, so sorry if that part based around The Lost Hero confuses you. It's simply there so that I'm not pulling a plot point out of my ass later on. In short, just before when the events of the former book should kick off, a strange trio finds themselves near Camp Half-Blood under mysterious circumstances. What role with these three play in affecting the Fate of those around them, and do they hold a secret to something that could dwarf the war with the Giants?

In all seriousness though, this is just sort of a thrown together, shower thoughts idea I had after reading the books (I've only read up to Blood of Olympus but am aware of the events of the other series) and a few works from other people. I have a rough idea of where the story is heading, at least in the beginning. So leave thoughts and reviews after reading! I also haven't full committed on certain things regarding the overall divergences from canon, aside from the three new characters, so stay tuned. Like Percy possibly having originated in the Roman Camp...Stay tuned and Enjoy!

A mile west of Half-Blood Hill

The night was peaceful and pictures of what one would typically expect of an early summer's night on the Long Island Sound. The forest was quiet, save for the occasional hooting of an owl piercing through the cool night air or a light breeze dancing on the branches of a tree causing the leaves to russell as it made its way through the forest. Thick and lush green grass grew wildly like unkempt hair on the floor of the forest where in the day countless small creatures of the wild would run and play upon it. Trees were in full bloom with fresh young leaves of brilliant emeralds hanging from every branch, blocking out the silver light of the night's full moon from bathing the entirety of the forest floor. In some places it passed through, drenching a particular patch of grass or a small bush in pale light. Elsewhere fireflies drifted lazily on the summer's breeze, flashing at random intervals like a miniature fireworks show for a non-existent audience. They danced their nightly dance, searching for a partner with whom they could share their fleeting but beautiful existence. Some would be lucky, while others would simply return tomorrow night to try their luck once more in the game called life.

In the distance the sound of water crashing softly on a beach could be heard. A lightly swirling and churning emerged if one listening closely as the pale blue waves rumbles and tumbled upon each other in immortal duty of climbing upon the sand till they nearly touched the soft green grass of the forest just beyond, and then retreating back to the confines of their home, unearthing once forgotten shoreline again. In their wake they leave behind pebbles of various shapes and sizes, their colors and patterns as unique and different as every snowflake which may fall during any late winter storm. Elsewhere pieces of wood, rendered dull in color and smooth to the touch by the many hands of the ocean, littered the shoreline in various thickness and length, no doubt the remains of many a ship which had at one point graced the waters about them. In the distance a group of fish danced in the pale moonlight as they threw themselves through the air between sweeping waves as if attempting to out-do each other with the height and distance they could gain with their theatrics.

It was, in all possible definitions of the word, a serene summer night. The one that filled the hopes of young boys and girls everywhere when they dreamt of escaping the confines of the school building for the freedom of summer vacation. And all things considered, it seemed poised to remain that way, but this was no seemingly simple and common portion of the woods of Long Island, much less anywhere in the world. No, this was the place where strange people gathered and strange occurances, well, occurred. As such it would be unsurprising that a peaceful night as was this one would not last. In a small clearing of the forest where the trees refused to grow in a twenty odd foot radius, there was a sudden flash of orange light and a burst of wind which the leaves of the surrounding trees rocketing skyward and flattening the surrounding grass as if a steamroller had been driven across it. From within this burst of light fell three figures. The first to appear was off to the side of the small clear and with a tremendous speed flew sideways into a nearby tree, the left side of his chest crashing against its aged trunk with an unnerving thump.

The young man who had just given the tree an unwanted hug, which was not reciprocated by the tree, appeared to be in his late teens, perhaps no older that twenty at the most. His skin was on the paler side, but his skin had a light tan to it from exposure to the sun which gave off a slightly bronze finish. Not quite Mediterranean in tint; more akin to that of a watered down colorization. Had it not been for his tan he would've likely been fairly fair skinned, though such was not the case for more than a few scars lay upon his exposed face, neck and arms. The young man's hair was a messy mop of auburn hair which glowed faintly in the moonlight, and upon the gaze of the sun would no doubt be rich in color like a fine spiced rum, though at current it was wicked with sweat and while straight, was pressed upon his face and head in a less than handsome manner. Like he had gotten out of the shower and forgotten to dry his hair thoroughly. His eyes, half shut, were of a similar hue, though brighter, like the pale yellow and gold of freshly reaped hay from a field. At current they were clouded and partially crossed as he staggered to his feet visibly dazed. He wore a simple grey and white flannel shirt with an olive drab army jacket, though the jacket rested on his shoulders for his arms had not been put through it. Complimenting it was a pair of tan cargo pants and some well worn leather boots that seemed just about ready to fall apart and sun-bleached to the point of nearly being beige instead of dark brown.

As he gained his bearings he looked around the small clearing about him and and his vision focused he noticed the two small forms laying just a few feet away in the clearing, huddling together as if they were cold. He tried to move his body, only to find his limbs feeling like lead, but slowly he shuffled in the dim light of the glowing moon ever closer to the pair. As he approached the larger of the two began to stir and poked its, or rather her, head up to look at him, though in the darkness he couldn't tell if her eyes were open or not.

He was within about five feet before his foot snagged on some unforeseen obstacle and sent him tumbling onto the ground, only a few inches from the young girl and her companion who was still unconscious and breathing heavily. A silent curse he muttered under his breath as he turned back to find the source of his tumble, a large rod of wood upon the group. At first, he assumed it to be but a tree branch that had fallen in the wake of their arrival, but upon closer inspection was revealed to be a spear of sorts. Such was given away by the flat blade of metal at the end which seemed to glow and pulse with a faint blue in the night time. Apparently recognizing the piece, he took a minute to snatch it in one hand before moving, this time much more carefully, towards the semi-conscious girl.

She stood in stark contrast to her older, conscious companion. Her skin was a ghastly white, so pale that it seemed to reflect the light of the moon itself around the clearing of the forest. Despite this, her face was fair and beautiful in an ethereal way with no blemishes nor cuts upon her skin and visible softness in her features on her face. She bore a slender, seemingly frail frame, though noticeable woman curves were easily visible despite her rather plain attire of a simple red t-shirt, the collar just peeking out from under an ocean blue long-sleeve sweater she wore and a pair of well worn jeans to match. The only new thing on her appeared to be a simple set of black sneakers which contrasted greatly with her pale pigmented skin. Long curly hair had been neatly tied back in a singular large and flat braid which fell to just about the middle of her back, with the hair itself being of a dark blonde color that bordered on brown, intermingled and variegated with strands of soft red hair. The young, striking, and wraith-like girl wore a pair of pale grey eyes which were dull and seemed to almost be opaque, though in the moonlight it took on a more silver hue and in the daylight would probably sparkle like a thin sheet of ice. The only other notable thing about the young girl, who could be no more than perhaps sixteen, was the earrings upon her ears, which seemed to be made of simple metal with a ornate pattern upon them, though it was impossible to make out what it was in the darkness.

'El...'

In the distant corner of her mind, through the fog of what had to be the worst hangover anyone had ever experienced came the soft calling falling upon her ears.

'El...!'

Every fiber of her tired, sore, body called for her to ignore the implacable but familiar voice which was attempting to raise her from her unwilling sleep, yet try as she may she could not find it in her to rouse her body from slumber.

'ELIN!'

With a start her head jerked up from where it had been laying on the comfortable and cool pillow that was the fresh grass of the forest floor. It wasn't the name itself that woke her with such a start, but the urgency and pleading in it that did. Her eyes shot open only to find them face to face with a young man and his worried expression which quickly melted away as he saw her open her eyes. Though it was not to last and was soon replaced with a smirk which was followed by a short and curt sigh and snort.

"Geez kid, you'll take any excuse to sleep on the job won't you?" came the young man's soft voice with a biting sarcastic tick at the end.

He might've worn a smirk on his face but his pale yellow eyes betrayed him. Elin took a deep breath and groaned slightly as she became aware of the fact her ribs were indeed quite bruised. Slowly and with the help of the pale eyed man she was able to rise to her feet, though she stumbled slightly more than once. She moved to say something, but whatever it was never left her mouth as a blood-curdling screaming lifted up and through the forest.

"Ardal..." said Elin as she watched his tired form pick up the spear he had discarded earlier to help her rise to her feet.

He shot her a wry grin of confidence, which unlike earlier, matched his piercing eyes which were focused on the treeline ahead of them. His grip on the spear was tight, his knuckles going white with the force of which he grasped it, and had it been a lesser spear it was altogether likely it would've simply crumbled in his grasp. But the spear held firm, much like it's wielder.

A good thing it was, for no more than a minute later did a crashing resound out from somewhere nearby in the forest and from the edge of the clearing did roll out the form of a small boy, no child was a more appropriate description. The kid couldn't have been any older than perhaps thirteen or fourteen, though he looked much younger on account of the fact he was a skinny thing. His clothes were ripped and torn and below the holes showed more than a few scrapes and cuts against his skin, some so recent they were still leaking out a small stream of red liquid from them. Before he even had a chance to regain his foot a small furry creature rolled out after him, panting heavily and glancing around rapidly as if it had just done an entire line of cocaine a few minutes earlier and the high was just hitting. The boy had a simple mop of almost glowing blond hair which was matted with dirt and sticks and was the only feature that stood out about him. His companion was different, and seemed to almost resemble a goat that someone had the poor choice of attempting to dress like a middle school student, with equally ripped clothing hanging from his body. Weirdly enough, the thing had hooves for feet and small brown lumps protruding from his head. Upon seeing this, it was noticeable to her how much Ardal tensed, though the reasoning escaped her.

Her eyes were suddenly drawn for the strange duo however when a larger being stomped it's way out of the forest and into the clearing beside them. At first, she reasoned it was simply a person, but as it ducked out from behind the branch of a tree and rose to it's true height, she realized how mistaken she had been. The being rose to an impressive height of nearly eight feet tall and lumbered with arms that were thicker than a cannon attached to hands that could make a basketball look like a gumball in its palm. Like the boys, or at least the boy who had arrived ahead of it, it wore a wife beater which was soaked with mud and what looked like blood and a pair of ripped up blue jeans that gave off the impression whatever they were looking at had put them on without checking the size first. It almost made her release a soft chuckle if it were not for the fact that merely breathing caused an extreme pain to bubble up in her chest.

Probably hoping we'll deal with the...Orge? Elin thought as the duo scampered behind Ardal, seemingly not having any weapons of their own. Or perhaps, the thought passed her, none left.

"Giant..." a hushed voice behind her rambled out. It was the form of the fur covered kid, mumbling to himself, as he shielded the young battered boy and attempted to patch up some of the cuts on his arms and legs.

"A Giant?" Elin repeated.

"Yes, Laestrygonian. Eats People. Very Baa-aa-ad" said the fur ball. Though the last part only seemed to confirm the theory it was in-fact a goat they were dealing with. How it walk on two legs and talk? Well there were stranger things in the world she supposed.

"Seems pretty small for a Giant if you ask me" was her tired reply.

The only response was the goat-child rolling its eyes and muttering something about green horns and bravado. She chose at that point to ignore him and instead refocus on Ardal and the 'Giant' in front of her.

What would happen next was something she would eventually struggle to explain, though at the time she had yet to know this. As the 'Giant' released another booming roar, Ardal did something unexpected. She watched as he reached for the necklace which hung from his neck, a large blue crystal with intricate gold work surrounding it featured at the center, flanked on either side of the chain with two small squares of metal which resembled the earrings dangling from her ears. Placing his left hand on the bottom half of the pendant, it suddenly broke from what was seemingly only a minute amount of force. The curious part was how it seemed to be a clean cut, despite being done with his hand. Grasping the bottom half of the jewel he tossed it her way without even looking before lowering himself into a stance not too dissimilar from that of an Olympic sprinter. Most Olympic sprinters, however, don't carry a spear in their hand as they prepare to take off.

The spear sat level with his body, right arm cocked back so that the head of the spear sat parallel to his own head, his eyes were focused straight ahead, a gaze piercing through the 'Giant' that lay ahead of him and that which lay beyond. She watched as he sucked in a deep gulp of air, his chest inflating to its fullest extent as every muscle and fiber in his body seemed to tense up. His veins pressed against skin on his forearms and neck as his muscles contracted as much as they could. His worn boots dug into the soft and rich earth below his feet, settling him into his stance further, like a predator ready to strike, despite the fact this prey had a two foot height advantage. Though lions were known to go after much the same. In the next moment all the breath in his body escaped from his body, and despite the relative warmth of the night, it escaped in a cloud like it was sub-zero conditions. As his breath left his body, so did the strain on his muscles, his body seemingly completely relaxing.

In the next moment, he was gone with a thunderous clap that uprooted several of the closest trees and sent an armada of fresh green leaves fluttering out through the forest like how waves may ripple when a stone is thrown upon a still body. Though he was not the only one to disappear without so much as a sound, the 'Giant' that had once stood a mere ten meters away had disappeared as well. To where, she had little clue. In its place what was left behind was a portion of grass in the center of the clearing that had scorched down to topsoil, as if a blowtorch were put to it, and in the place where Ardal had once stood were two off set holes in the earth some foot and a half deep each.

Behind her stood the fur covered boy and his child companion, the latter, while looking shocked at what had just transpired, was looking much better for wear, with the color returning to his face and a large amount of his bleeding stopped. Unsure of what to do, all she could manage was to smile weakly in his direction and then to jump in front and shield him, as well as his friend and the still unconscious girl who was her original companion, as another loud crash drifted from the wood line. This one, however, was nowhere near as loud as the previous and was accompanied by a very human sounding string of curses.

Though, if she was relieved or not was up to debate, as a stocky young woman not much older than herself appeared from the woods. She was well and sturdy built, looking like she could take a charge or two from a bull, and if it were not for her voice she may have well assumed it was a man, for most of her form was covered in a strange bronze-like armor, coupled with a helmet that showed very little of her face. She wielded a long spear, not that much different from Ardal's save for the fact the head was made of bronze, much like her armor and...flickered with electricity? Certainly a new one. The armor clad girl simply took in the scene before her, and though her face was covered, Elin would easily tell she was just as confused as the others around her. Elin attempted to stride forward to meet the newly arrived warrior, only to fall face first into the ground, her adrenaline seemingly choosing now of all times to taper off.

"Chiron isn't going to like this..." were the last words she heard before she drifted off into slumber.

Hoover Dam Observation Deck

She should have been excited. Hell, she should have been ecstatic considering what was at stake with this whole operation. For a few months they had a pair of Demi-gods under their observation. An old Satyr, albeit a bit of a belligerent one, had discovered two out at some strange correctional school in the west. They were old for Demi-gods, being around the age of sixteen, and yet despite that having very little issues regarding monster attacks and the like for those of their age. It was a strange occurrence, and likely all the more reason that it should be investigated. Still, despite this it had fallen on the back-burner with a missing camper still at large. In her mind that took priority over everything, but the logical part of her brain did it's best to real in such thoughts. There were still the issues with the strange duo in the west and the weird behavior of the undying monsters still plaguing Camp back home.

It was all the more reason that she should have been elated when her intelligence spoke of a special delivery appearing with the other two Demi-gods. There was only one person it could be if it was supposed to be a special delivery, at least her in mind. Then why was it that no matter what she did she could not push past the feeling that something was off? Was it the logical part of simply telling her it couldn't be this easy, or was there something more at play that she couldn't understand? Regardless, Butch, her companion seemed to stick in better spirits than her herself, which was good. It allowed her to focus her thoughts on the mission ahead of her. There were, after all, two Demi-gods whose lives were still at stake and according to their contact on the inside, still a monster at large. She could only hope it would go smoothly.

Somehow, she knew she would be disappointed.

It was supposed to be a simple rescue operation; go in, retrieve the three Demi-gods and one overweight Satyr and then be out, hopefully back to Camp before sundown if they were lucky. As most things she had experienced, it simply was not to be. Arriving at the edge of the deck, they found the place in total disarray, looking as if some sort of storm had just rolled through the entire place. Papers and bags had been thrown around in a hap-hazard way with most of the former having looked as if thrown through a paper shredder and littering the sky deck like a blanket of freshly fallen snow. The deck itself wasn't much better off with spider web cracking spreading throughout like a disease and several portions of the deck, namely the railing, warped beyond recognition if not missing completely. Nevertheless, there they stood, the three Demi-gods waiting for them. All except the one she was hoping for. Typical. She knew she had been a bit too harsh at first when dealing with them, especially the two that seemed the most lost with the whole encounter. But, she had to vent a little bit of the frustration somewhere, unfortunately they were just the closest.

They were just about finished loading the three newly acquired Demi-gods on their chariot when the once sealed doors to the skywalk flung open with such force that there was visible tearing on the hinges mounted to the wall. In the middle of where the two doors once stood, stood a singular man, tall and seemingly in his early twenties. Just from his entrance alone there was a visible shift in the sky-walk. The changed from what was once a soft breeze rolling up along the canyon walls to that of a dead still that carried with it an eerie calmness. The five on the chariot froze in place, seemingly struggling to move at first as if the air around them was suddenly syrup, and did nothing but stare at the newly arrived man.

He was tall, to say the least, his height being slightly more than Jason, placing him at around six foot and then some. The man, for he was easily in his early twenties from his size, had a robust build that while not overly bulky was well defined. Square set shoulders and well defined arms were present under his simple red and black flannel. Sun kissed skin showed on his forearms and around his neck and face, evident of many a day spent outside under the gaze of the sun. The man's hair was surprisingly long, appearing to be tied back in a small pony tail by the nape of his neck, and though a large percentage of it was blocked by the simply baseball cap he wore, strands of light brown hair, like that of a dogwood trees bark could be seen emerging and eventually connecting to a well trimmed beard that wrapped around the man's sharp jawline. His features were hatchet and looked as if they had been chiseled straight from clay giving him that sort of rough handsome look that is common with farm folk. All things considered he looked like a typical Midwest farm, save for the pair of steel-grey aviators that he wore upon his face, blocking his eyes from sight.

At the entrance of the skywalk he stood like a still like a statue and except for a few slight inflections on his neck; the only evidence he was looking around as his sunglasses prevented one from noticing his line of sight. For some reason, simply looking at the man had stopped her from continuing with her work. It didn't help that the man's neutral face and dark tinted glasses prevented her from getting a read on him, much to her annoyance.

"Is that a...mortal?" Butch called aloud.

His words caused the three new additions to the chariot to pause, with Piper and Leo, as she had heard them referred, looking immensely confused. Meanwhile, the Jason guy seemed more worried than anything else and continued to stare on. Apparently the idea that he was a mortal appeared strange to them, but it was to be expected. She simply shook her head.

"He could just be trying to make sense of whatever the mist is showing him." Was the answer she gave

At first, it seemed like a reasonable assumption to make as the man simply continued to gaze out at whatever was seemingly replacing the image of five Demi-gods, two Pegasi and a Greek styled chariot. What that could be, she could only begin to ponder. Maybe a news helicopter or a lost hang-gliding party.

Such was not the last, seemingly, as the man's gaze eventually settled onto Jason, the blond teen who had become an additional boon to the operation, though not the one she had originally hoped for. As his eyes, at least she assumed they had, settled on Jason a subtle change drifted across his sculpted features. His nose twitched every so slightly and flared a bit as a heavy breath escaped his lips. The lines on his forehead deepened slightly as the skin around his eyes, just visible at the edges of his glasses scrunched up ever so slightly as if he was squinting against the sunlight. The atmosphere tensed up as well, with the still air being suddenly replaced by a fierce wind whipping up through the canyon, though whether or not it related to the man or not, she couldn't tell. What was evident though was the aura of unease radiating off the man in front of them, no more than twenty meters away.

It almost looked like something out of one of those old westerns for a minute, with both sides tensing up, each waiting for the metaphorical clock to strike noon and the first shot to be fired. On her left Butch was slowly notching an arrow in his bow as the man across from them only seemed to harden his glare being directed from Jason and now towards Butch. Evidently having a bow aimed at his face was not something he found enjoyable. It then dawned on her that this man, or whatever he was, was able to see through the mist. The realization struck her like a sudden flick to the head, though it still raised the question: was it simply a clear-sighted mortal or some sort of beast poised to strike?

Butch, seemingly did not want to waste time on deliberation or questioning as he simply let loose the arrow he hat notched into his bow string. In a few seconds the arrow arced across the open sky-walk flying with speed towards the chest of the man in the entrance. In surprise she whipped towards him to stay something, but was cut short as the brown haired girl, Piper was her name if she recalled, gasped aloud. Again she whipped her back towards the man, only to see him standing there with the arrow clutched just before his chest, a small stream of red trickling down his forearm before sinking into his already similarly colored flannel shirt. Her eyes then widened as his free hand, his left, reached towards the pocket on his pants.

"Butch!" She nearly screamed.

In the next moment, the chariot and it's five riders disappeared into the pale blue sky above.

Somewhere in California

Thalia Grace liked to think that she had seen a lot of things in her short time on the Earth, both as a Demi-god and with the Hunters of Artemis, and all things considered, she had seen a fair amount as compared to even some of the most senior members of the hunt. Yet, it would seem for better or worse today would be a day of firsts for the Lieutenant of the Hunt. The first would come in the form of having to burn the dust of monsters once they were defeated, granted such was becoming a common practice to alleviate the strange occurrence of the monsters simply not dying and immediately reforming. A major annoyance for a group who's mission seemed to solely revolve around the killing of various monsters, which certainly put a damper on things. That, however, was child's play in comparison to some of the other things that she would come to notice after clearing out the small group of Hellhounds that had begun to form a den in the small forest a few miles away from San Francisco. No, what would definitely have to take the cake was the strange boy who suddenly came into existence with a defiant roar and a puff of gold powder of what could only be assumed to be a monster disintegrating as he appeared.

A small contingent of six hunters, herself making up the seventh, had been sent on a recon mission to scout out a particular part of the forest, as to gain information on their supposed prey for the month. As far as she had been told they were tracking an old beast, one that not even the Goddess of Hunting could seem to remember. It was not the first time that such orders had been passed down to the hunters, but it was the first time that Artemis had brought the remainder of the Hunters with her on what she considered a dangerous hunt in her own words. It should've been worrying that their foe was seemingly unknown to the most proficient huntress in the world, and that it lingered with a scent that seemed to be older than herself, but other things were currently resting in the forefront of her mind. Namely her mysterious guest.

Just as the hunters had finished cleaning up the last of the Hellhounds, there was what sounded like a crack of thunder only a distance away, and seeing as the day was clear and she hadn't yet found a reason to get pissed with the Gods, it could only mean something had caused it. Such was only confirmed as a blast of air rolled through the forest, threatening to send her reeling back and landing on her ass. Luckily it was only a single blast that echoed through the woods, likely a terrible shout. Without even needing to speak a word, the hunters that had been brought with promptly fell in with her as they raced off in the direction of the blast. Looking around it was clear to see the looks of confusion sprouting from their faces as well, many already drawing their weapons and notching arrows on the strings of their bows. A skillful maneuver given the speeds that they were dashing through the woods at, but such was to be expected of the best, after all.

Luckily, the group of hunters needed to only travel but a few minutes, which was about a mile or so, to reach a clearing in the woods that was certainly not there the last time they had passed through. The very ground in the clearing had been ripped up and tossed around as if it were freshly tilled soil on some farm, while the small saplings and bushes that may have rested there were uprooted and thrown all about the place with no rhyme nor reasoning seemingly about it. Further back, some twenty five meters, where the forest still existed, many trees and bushes found themselves simply bent over or cracked at the base and in danger of simply toppling over should another, hopefully natural, strong wind roared down through the forest once more. However, what truly was interesting about the whole situation was the form currently laying in the epicenter of the clearing, and likely origin of the blast, surrounded by a thin circle of gold dust. Monster dust.

The boy, though he was in his late teen evidently, was fairly par for the course, and aside from the fact he had seemingly appeared with a crack of thunder, was altogether less interesting than the mystery surrounding him. He had a mane of loose auburn hair that reminded her of how leaves look just prior to turning brown and dying at the end of the fall. It was drenched in sweat and muddled with the dust of whatever monster his appearance had killed, causing his hair to take on a golden tint which caught the moonlight well and seemed to glow in a strangely captivating way. His other features were not quite as impressive. His clothes were simple, but slightly ripped on the fringes as seems had begun to come undone and more than a few burn marks dotted his pant legs near the ankles, though the army jacket upon his shoulder was a touch not gone unnoticed by the young Lieutenant who at least gave him some credit for it. The teen's eyes were closed, prevented any glimpse into them, and something in her gut told her that she should avoid attempting to get a look before the kid rose of his own accord. What it was, she couldn't quite place her finger on it, just as she seemingly had trouble placing a Godly parent upon the teen. It was evidence enough by the dust and his physique that something wasn't normal about the teen seemingly sleeping, if the rise and fall of his chest was anything to go off, deeply in a field surrounded by destruction.

Most Demi-gods, at least in her experience, had some sort of feature about them that connected them to their parents. Hair color, eyes, skin color, facial features, were more than a few of the dead giveaways of a Godly parent without actually viewing their personalities or abilities. It was especially true of the more major Gods, namely those on the council, but when had she ever encountered a Demi-god with such colored hair as his, and given she couldn't bring herself to look upon his eyes, she was at a loss. Though all things considered it wasn't her problem per se. He was older than most Demi-gods she had encountered and furthermore was armed, meaning he at least had some idea of how to defend himself. The gold dust around him and covering him was proof enough of that. Perhaps it was some minor God or Goddess, and thus he had been able to escape having to be stuck at Camp. It was unlikely, but still a possibility. She had other things to worry about than just an auburn haired Demi-god with mysterious lineage. Thus, she turned her attention to the third and fourth surprises and firsts she found herself experiencing; the teen's weapon and the pile of golden dust surrounding him.

Of the two, the first that caught the young Lieutenants attention was that of the ring of dust that surrounded the teen's body in a semi-circle facing out from his head, as if it had simply sprung forth from the crown of the his head, yet the uniformity of the ring in thickness and depth wasn't what was drawing her attention. Namely, it was the fact that there was still dust there. For the past few weeks, no matter when they killed a monster it would quickly reform from the dust that split when it was slew. In some cases the monsters simply shrugged off what would normally be killing shots without so much as a car, simply ripping the arrows from their chests and heads as easily as if they were splinters or thorns with all the discomfort associated with such. Recently they had learned that burning the dust to ash would prevent the monster from reforming. At least for some time, but a stop-gap was better than nothing. Yet, here, directly in front of her sat a pile of monster dust that was not reforming, despite the lack of burns of any sort applied to it. That wasn't to say that it was still, for the top layer of the dust seemed to be shifting off in the opposite direction from whence it came. That being the feet of the sleeping teen. But it was slow in small amounts. Even if it was attempting to reform itself, whatever monster it had been, it was struggling more than it should've given the recent encounters they had had with beasts.

Then there was the spear. That spear. Something was strange about it, off to say, and much like with the teen's eyes could feel that pinching in her gut that said it wasn't any simple spear. It should've been apparent that was the case on first glance anyways. In all her time in the world of Demi-gods and monsters, she had seen a fair bit of weaponry. But this spear was different. In Camp, nearly every weapon save for maybe the training weapon was made of Celestial Bronze. A dull, copper like metal that was said to be blessed with the ability to slay monsters, and in some cases, Demi-gods as well. Armor, spears, swords, all were made of this highly sought after and important metal in the Demi-god world. There were some differences of course, the Hunters had their Silver arrows and Bianca's brother had that pitch-black blade made of that Stygian Iron stuff, but this was different. The shaft of the spear was quite simple, being made entirely of a pale wood that had been polished and sanded down multiple times to give it a fine finish, though there were curious symbols and designs etched into the shaft which seemed to swirl towards the head and pummel of the shaft, and the direction of the swirls changed depending on whether one was looking up the towards the head of the spear or towards the bottom. An interesting design choice, sure, but paling compared to the blade of the spear.

Where the spearhead met the shaft of the spear a metal darker than the spearpoint itself rested, rounded at the point of the shaft and then exploding outwards in a shape almost reminiscent of a tulip with multiple layers of metal seemingly forged upon it. From the center of this flower of metal rose out a thin and flat blade, at its largest with a diameter that was one and half times the thickness of the shaft, and then as it moved closer to the tip began to narrow to a point. The design in itself was ornate and spoken of pristine craftsmanship, but the spearhead itself was where things began to get interesting. At first it looked to simply be made of steel, but when the moonlight fell upon the blade, much like with the shaft, a series of etching wove their way from one end to the other like groves in the blade. And it was from this grove did a soft blue glow emanate that seemed to travel up and down the metal as if it were flowing like water, rather than remaining in a set position and simply glowing like a lamp would. No, it was more akin to a fire with the way the soft blue light seemed to flicker, growing stronger and weaker at irregular intervals. Just looking at the metal gave her the idea that it would be cold to the touch, though in the heat of a California summer she could not for the life of her guess why.

Curious more, was how the wolves snarled and barked at the metal as if afraid of it. It was not how they and other mythical beasts had reacted to the Stygian Iron sword of the child of Hades, when they would back away and avoid it as if it was a disease. Instead, they seemed to actively rally against the metal as if it were a challenge to them.

"Thalia!" came a cry from somewhere nearby rousing her from her thoughts.

She turned to see the form of one of the Hunters, a girl who looked to be about fourteen, outwardly at least. Her name was Emilia, and she was fairly new.

"What are we doing with that" another spoke, pointing towards the sleeping teen.

Thalia stood there for a moment, pondering over the scene before her. Something wasn't adding up and whatever that something was, was going to bother her to no end till. Being caught out of the loop was not something she would consider a prize among her pleasures. Though, if any could provide answers to the issue, it would have to be the leader. But such would likely provide serious issues, thus a compromise would be needed. Acting quickly, she moved over towards the spear which lay some distance from the teen, finding it surprisingly light and well balanced as she grabbed it, before turning back towards the hunters assembled in a loose semi-circle.

"I must speak with Lady Artemis immediately regarding not only our report of the Hellhound den, but also this strange boy.

Additionally there is also his weapon. I will bring the weapon with me and see if Lady Artemis can shed light on this situation. Until we return, watch over the boy and make sure he does not attempt anything before we can bring him before Lady Artemis."

She turned away from the Hunters, before pausing,

"Make sure he can still talk when I make it back" and like that took off towards the main camp, some ten miles away

"Why can't we just kill him, Naomi?" called one Hunter.

"Because," the one seemingly named Naomi replied, "Thalia said that she thinks Lady Artemis may be able to gain something from him."

"Are you implying that a male could teach her something, Naomi?" gasped another.

The one called Naomi only sighed in exasperation. The same line of questioning had been echoing throughout the many trees and streams of the Californian forest since no more than fifteen minutes after Thalia had left the camp. Obviously, just long enough for them to be sure their leader was out of earshot. And thus they had repeated such questions to the appointed leader of the group, Naomi, who to give her credit where it was due, felt much the same way as the others. But orders were orders and the fury of Thalia, much less Artemis, was not one she wished to bring down upon herself by allowing the hunters to string him up by his guts, as a colorful ten year old among their ranks had put it.

Then again, she was somewhat curious about the kid. He had managed to grab the attention of Thalia, her ability to deal with males better than the rest of the hunters aside, had gotten her curious. The guy also hadn't really done anything to offend the hunters other than simply take a nap in the forest. How that was an insult to their mistress, she was unsure, but it was better than to question those lines of thinking. Especially when Phoebe would get worked up into a fit over the littlest thing. Then again, she couldn't blame them, seeing as this one seemingly had some sort of skill and power. Not to mention that spear. It bothered her immensely. Something about it provoked an eerie feeling of familiarity when she saw it, as if it wasn't her first time laying eyes upon. Yet for the life of her she couldn't place where she had seen it before. The boy had a familiar feeling too that was seemingly tied to the spear, and much like Thalia it was beginning to bother her. For different reasons, no doubt.

"I bet you he's a womanizer" called a hunter, stirring her from her own thoughts as she glanced back over towards the still sleeping teen.

What do you have to do to tire yourself so much? She wondered.

"Oh, so you're a blood-hound now?" said Naomi with a mocking smile.

"I know what I'm talking about." The Huntress said crossing her arms on her chest and huffing. "He smells like lots of women!"

"You can smell that?" replied another.

"Is that so?" said Naomi, making her way over towards the body in the clearing.

As she approached closer to the boy, she noticed something that she hadn't seen at first, and evidently had been missed by Thalia, as she could not see any reason for it not to be mentioned. Around the teen's neck was a thin strand of what appeared to be braided thread, possibly even made out of metal, that wrapped around his neck, seemingly with no break, but that was not the curious part, as it was what was on it that drew her attention. Two squares of metal had been clipped onto the necklace, with each being about the size of a quarter and about as thick as well. However, they weren't just simply pieces of metal, as much like with the spear, there were some sort of pattern etched into them, yet these were more uniform and weren't identical with one seemingly being more round in it's design like a whirlpool would be. The other was more rigid, simply spanning one end to the other on a diagonal like the symbol for a spare in bowling would be, but keeping the swirls all the same. Again, the symbol spoke of familiarity, even more so than the spear, but it eluded her like she had a migraine. That wasn't what caught her attention though. It was the large blue gen that sat between them, and the fact that looked as if it had been slashed in half, perfectly, with a blade of some sort.

The craftsman ship was also beautiful to look at as well, with a rich orb of blue crystal that seemed to hold all the beauty and power of the ocean in it, while being as serene as a perfectly clear summer afternoon's sky, devoid of clouds. Despite being clear, it's opaqueness was extremely low, making it nearly impossible to see through the gem, despite it's brilliant color. Surrounding the border was a thin braid of gold that too had been sliced through perfectly, and though not visible in the moonlight, even with her blessings, she could tell where notches had been made, as if some form of writing was carved into the braid. What it was, she had no idea. Perhaps if she could get a closer look she would be able to tell was the thought that compelled her to reach down and attempt to pull the severed gem closer to her face. However, she soon came to regret her decision, for as soon as she touched the orb, her hand was instantly burned as if it had just been submerged in boiling water and was scalded.

Instantly she dropped the orb and attempted to stand and back away stifling a scream that threatened to escape her lips, only for a hand to latch down on her wrist like an iron vise. If the pain of touching the gem had been intense, it paled in comparison to her wrist, that felt as if caught in a car door where pressure was continually applied. She looked down, finding the hand of the once sleeping boy clamped on her wrist. It was then the scream finally roared out from her lips as a loud popping sound echoed out from her wrist as she dropped to her knees. Even through the pain she could immediately tell that wrist had been dislocated from the grip, if not outright broken. She heard the hurried yells of your fellow Hunters as they no doubt swarmed around the no awake teen. Despite her better instincts she glanced over at the now conscious stranger, only to find a pair of pale golden eyes staring back at her. No, that was wrong, they were staring through her, sizing her up like she had done countless times to the various beasts she had hunted over the centuries. After a few awkward moments of eye contact, they shifted to glance over at the five bows, drawn and pointed straight at his head and chest.

"...The Hunters of Diana..." a surprisingly calm but hoarse voice rolled out. "Fuck."