A/N

Hello. I am (not?) dead.

Follows Ch22, 'divinity'.

Artemis was, in many ways, baffled.

She had expected to hate the Son of Poseidon who had married the closest sister she had, the one who had pledged herself to her, the one who understood her in ways no one else could.

Now, he was in the middle of her camp, giggling like a little child while playing with some of the younger, uninitiated Hunters. And by playing, Artemis meant that he was skinning a deer and giggling as blood spurted out from everywhere. And the little girls followed suit.

How the fuck had the Hunt gotten like this?

"It's a weird sight, isn't it, Artemis?" The Goddess of the Hunt smiled softly at the familiar voice, nodding with absolute dignity in response.

"Yes, indeed; who knew Perseus could be so... interactive with children?"

Thalia pursed her lips. Children... it was an unusual thing. As maidens, of course, none of the Hunt had an innate desire for children, but Perseus wasn't part of the Hunt. He was a God, a deity whose 'urges' were far beyond those of a mortal man's. Yet never in his immortal lifetime had he sired a demigod, nor a God, for that matter.

And he remained a complete virgin.

"Do you think he wants some of his own?"

Thalia was startled out of her thoughts by Artemis' sudden inquiry, a genuinely curious look on her older sister's face. She sighed. "I don't know," she murmured, watching as Perseus herded the girls towards a blushing Phoebe (seriously, had his charm had to be so impressive?), "he has never expressed a desire for any."

The raven-haired girl picked at the band which sat on her ring finger, perhaps a little nervously. All this talk about children, well; she still didn't like talking about it. Why, she didn't know herself – she probably dealt with kids better than the rest of the Hunt themselves.

"Well, he's good with them, at the very least." Artemis chuckled as she watched Perseus flash his eternally disarming smile in their direction, apparently finally taking notice of the two women in cahoots. "Anyways, I'll leave you two to it, goodbye!"

"Artemis-"

But the auburn-haired goddess was gone, galloping towards Gods knew where. Silently, Thalia cursed Artemis for making her think like some wayward schoolgirl; she had known this man for millennia (while being married) for her own sake!

"Hey! Everything all good, Lady Thalia?" Oh, that fucking cheeky smile. Thalia wanted to punch it off his face, even now. Those damn dimples and the way he scrunched his nose. The dumbass.

"Stop calling me that." She huffed, turning around, adamantly ignoring the fact that yes, she had grabbed his arm. "Now let's go."

Yeah, she could picture those baby-seal eyes just from his confused tone. "To where?"

"To Hunt, dumbass. Now stop asking questions or I'll cut your thing off."

"Aye, aye captain."

(He couldn't see it, but Perseus knew she was smiling. He wished he could see it. Thalia's smile was really, really pretty. Her freckles and dimples and everything her was beautiful.

He really just had to be in the most confusing relationship ever, huh?)

Fin.