Ink- Hallow all, I'm seriously considering changing this story's title to Percy Jackson: The Moon Prince. Has a nice ring to it, should I?
Scenario: Hi.
After we give our dishes to Naomi, who was shockingly nice, we go on our way to Camp Half-Blood. It isn't that surprising that Naomi's attitude changed, now that I know the huntresses accept me as one of them.
"So, how is Camp Half-Blood?" I ask.
"Alright well, most of the hunters, including me, dislike our trips to Camp Half-Blood because of the males there. But we honestly go there to get recruits." Zoe answers.
"Recruit who?"
"Arctic foxes. No, other girls, you idiot! What else would you think?" She says, slapping my neck.
"Hey!" I yell while rubbing my neck. Why do her slaps always hurt? Also, I was thinking of wolves because one time Mom said that we occasionally travel with them to give to her godly friend Lupa. I don't say this, however, because she will slap me again. We walk for another hour with the hunt. It was fun. We played games like 'Shoot It', which is basically when someone fires a bowshot, and then someone else tries to one-up that shot. If they don't they are out, and it keeps going until there is one person left.
I lost every single time we played, but sometimes, I wasn't out in the first round, which I took as a moral victory.
"How long do we still have? It feels like I've been walking for 10 years." I complain loudly to no one in particular.
"Gods, you have been saying that for the past hour! If I say how much we have left to go, will you finally shut up about it?" Phoebe exclaims tiredly. First of all, there is no way I have been saying that for the past hour.
"Alright, I will, how long until?" I concede, and everyone sighs with relief.
"Hey! I wasn't that annoying." They turn around and give me an 'if you don't shut up you die' glare, and I quickly clam up.
"Alright, we are about 10-20 minutes away. Possibly 30 if you don't hurry up," Phoebe pointedly explains while glaring at me. I glare back half-heartedly, but I quickly retreat. I also hurry up my pace to join with the rest of the hunters. Butterflies form in my stomach. 10 minutes. I gulp.
What if they don't like me? Would I fit in better with the hunters? There are so many more questions I have that all show I'm nervous, and Zoe's description to me of the people there didn't help. She walks up to me and comes close to a whisper.
"Hey, I know you are scared, little brother, but you will prevail. You will see me again after this is all finished." I give her a wavering smile and lean into her. She gives me a quick side hug and runs to the other hunters. I don't know how she knew this, but Zoe must have sensed my discomfort.
"You plan on finding someone at camp?" A voice from my side projects. I jumped and turned around to see who startled me, and an oddly familiar blondie came into sight.
"Umm, what?" I ask, thrown by the question, "I'm 10." Atalanta shrugs like I said I was 20 or something.
"I've seen gods get with someone at the age of 3. So 10, in comparison, isn't that bad." Atalanta explains.
I give her a dumb expression.
"But I'm not a god, I'm a demigod." In return, she glares at me angrily.
"I know that idiot of the sea. You're practically a god in my eyes." I roll my eyes at the nickname, but then it hits me.
"Idiot of the sea? Also, how am I, 'practically a god,'" I say, emphasizing the last words with air quotes.
Atalanta speaks in a condescending tone to show that I'm dumb, "Your adopted mother is Artemis, your dad is Poseidon, your uncle is Apollo, and who knows if your birth mother was a demigod." Atalanta says, but then quickly rushes, "I'm sorry, that was insensitive." I wave it off, as it didn't offend me. I only really get offended if they talk about my mom disrespectfully.
"You really think she might've been a demigod?" I ask curiously.
"Oh yeah, it isn't uncommon that a god goes for a demigod, though, they luckily only go for the single ones, and not the married, or else the other demigods would riot," Atalanta explains. Makes enough sense. I think about it a bit more.
"I think I remember her mentioning that her mom mysteriously disappeared as my dad did." So that means my grandmother is a goddess, wait a second that means, woah that's too much. So that means Rhea, Hera, and another goddess are my grandmothers. This hurts my brain.
Atalanta nods like she's always correct. And to her credit, she usually is. She suddenly turns rigid, like when Mom was talking to Zoe in her mind, so I presume it's the same.
"Percy, Milady wants you, me, and Zoe to travel with her to Camp Half-Blood separately since it is your first time or whatever." Atalanta rolls her eyes. I blush, as my mom did not seem to be the type of person to do a thing like this.
"You wanted to come too?" I questioned her. It didn't seem to be her sort of thing.
"Eh, yeah, I am," She then adds in a more menacing tone, "you've got a problem with that?" I gulp and she continues, "You seem like a semi-decent person, so I volunteered to go." I try to control my face to not show surprise. A daughter of Athena wants to travel with a son of Poseidon, weird. Unfortunately, Atalanta sees my face.
"Yes, I volunteered. Now shut up and move!" I give a mock salute to annoy her, and we head on our way. Zoe midway, groups up with us, and we nonchalantly walk away from the rest of the hunt. Fortunately for us, no one notices us leaving them. As we walk a thought comes to mind.
"If you guys and mom are gone, who is going to lead them and be in charge?" I look up to see if they are even listening. Ugh, so annoying, why do they have to be so tall? Eventually, I will become taller than them!
"If I'm not mistaken, Phoebe is in charge while we are gone. Right?" Zoe answers, looking for Atalanta to correct her. Atalanta nods. As we are conversing, Mom flashes in.
"I assume we are all set to go." She declares. We nod, and she starts walking in a certain direction, which I think is east because that's where the sun rises. Zoe and Atalanta follow suit, and I realize that I've got to move as well. I run to Mom and walk with her.
"So, after we arrive there, I have to leave you?" I ask her. Artemis looks to Zoe and Atalanta, who are having their conversation. She kneels to my height, another annoying height problem, and pulls me into a hug. Her auburn hair blows in the early summer breeze.
"Percy, we might be staying there for a couple of days once we arrive there." She says calmly. The breeze once again strikes, causing Artemis's and my hair to misshapen. Artemis chuckles and wipes my black mop of hair off my face.
"Might," I echo. Artemis suddenly looks guilty but maintains eye contact.
"I promise to you, I will explain it to you once we get there. Alright, my little moon prince" She says, smiling softly. Hold up. Two things. Firstly, what's with the nicknames? First, Idiot of the Sea, and now, Moon Prince? Although I will admit, the Moon Prince one has a nice ring to it.
Secondly, there's a chance that they'll just drop my ass off like Gabe tried to do at the orphanage when he killed Mom. My knees wobble at the realization and memory, and I have to use my mom's shoulders as support. Though my hands are too small so I slip, and fall into Mom's arms.
"Ah ah ah, I gotcha Percy. Also, if you ever feel lonely or want anything, call for me in your curious mind and you can ask for me or really anyone in the hunt." Artemis says as she lays my head off her shoulder with my hand clasped in hers as she starts to walk with me. As we head to Camp Half-Blood a thought comes to mind.
What if I need Apollo for my training?
"Hey Mom, what happens to my training with Apollo?" I ask. Artemis stares to the west for some reason.
"I remember discussing with Apollo about this, and he thinks you can train with the kids at Camp Half-Blood, and once you are done with camp and back to training, he will go from there." Artemis answers.
"Yay!" I say flatly, "no more family."
Zoe slides in next to us.
"Stop being so dramatic, you'll see us in like 2-3 months." She says, smirking. I smirk back, and I am beginning to feel myself again.
"If all goes well," Artemis calls after my fellow huntresses, "we will be staying there for 3 days." They look confused for a second, take a look at me, gaze at me, and nod. I can feel my face getting hot, what's that about? Zoe doesn't notice my face and resumes her previous conversation.
"Atalanta, what do you think of Camp Half-Blood?" I'm guessing Zoe is only asking for my sake because I'm pretty sure she already knows. Atalanta's face resembles like she suddenly tasted something sour.
"Ew, there." She says childishly. Mom rolls her eyes but says nothing.
"Why is, uh, there bad?" I ask, uncertain of what to call Camp Half-Blood. Maybe it's a forbidden word in the hunt. We continue to walk away from the hunter's camp and we are, from my totally accurate nature sense, about 5 minutes away from camp.
"Everything," Atalanta says bitterly, "the people there stink, especially the males. The training is mediocre, and their head of the camp is an absolute idiot," She probably could have ranted for hours if Artemis didn't stop her.
"Chiron isn't that bad," Zoe says almost defensively. Atalanta merely blinks cluelessly, which is not a common thing for a child of Athena who is never clueless.
"Oh," Zoe says, understanding after a couple of moments, and amends herself, "you are talking about Mr. D. Now that makes sense." Atalanta and Mom snicker out loud.
"Why don't you use his actual name, Ezoez?" The blonde questions.
Artemis jumps in for this one, "We like to demoralize him evermore, no need to feed his ever-growing ego." All three of them suddenly burst out laughing, while I am in utter confusion. I have no idea who these Mr. D and Chiron characters are, but I got a general idea. Chiron good, Mr. D bad. Suddenly, an idea flashed in my mind.
"So, should I say what you just said to the campers there?" I say innocently, and turn to see a tree right in front of me. I deftly avoid and resume gazing at Atalanta. Atalanta gives me a panicked look. Luckily for Atalanta, Artemis saves her.
"No, no, no, the campers are still loyal to the camp. All we can do is show that the hunt is better." She says, placing a hand on Atalanta's shoulder.
Zoe smirks and says pompously, "Which it is, in every way possible." Atalanta and Mom nod. I just shrug.
"I mean, I haven't seen the camp yet so I can't be too sure." Zoe stops and her head snaps back as she glares at me.
"Uhh," I stall, my eyes darting everywhere. Mom laughs and places a hand on me, in a similar fashion with Atalanta.
"Relax girl, Percy does raise a good point."-I start to grin-" However, I can assure you you will like our camp better." I can tell that that wasn't a prediction, it was an order. We walk for another 8 minutes, and it looks to be like my calculations were incorrect. I stay relatively silent in the conversations the huntresses have. Zoe picks up on this.
"Why are you not talking?" She demands.
"Maybe because I don't feel like it." I fire back as viciously as she did, "Maybe because I'm going to a completely new place and meeting random strangers who might as well hate me." Zoe is about to retaliate when her volcanic eyes soften. I didn't mean to voice out my recent insecurities; they kinda just spilled out.
She wraps me in a hug and whispers to me, "No one's gonna hate you Perce. If they do, I'll knock some sense into them." She mutters the last portion under her breath.
"Well, you aren't going to be there for the entire summer with me." I counter. Zoe ignores it and brings her head to mine.
"Trust me Perce, I wish I was. But you are a strong kid. Stronger than most of the campers there. And I'm sure as Hades that none of them have defeated The Minotaur," She confidently tells me. I feel even more dejected. The only reason I'm the only one at camp who has defeated The Minotaur is that there is only one and I have the world's greatest luck. I sigh.
"I just want my sister there," I admit sadly. I can practically feel my face contorting into a frown. Zoe nudges my shoulder in a friendly way.
"Don't frown, it looks weird on you. Plus, you'll make a lot more friends. Look, you befriended Phoebe, the most...enthusiastic man-hater. Trust me, you'll be fine." I roll my eyes. I was hoping she wouldn't say anything cheesy.
"Sure, Ezoez," I say cheekily.
"Not you with the nickname," She grumbles. I grin as I turn to the front of a large wooden gate, which had seemed to magically appear, or maybe I just didn't notice. Probably the latter.
We are here. I begin to shiver out of sheer nervousness, which causes Zoe to squeeze my shoulder protectively. The doors slowly open, revealing a figure that is coming from the camp. It's a-wait wha- it's a horse! But with a human upper body.
"Hello, Chiron!" Mom speaks as if this is perfectly normal, shaking Chiron's hand.
"Wait, you're Chiron!" I blurt out, and before Zoe can slap me for the burst I continue, "I didn't know you were a horse!" Zoe goes to punch me when Chiron smiles.
"Ah yes, that is how most kids react, but yours was better than most. I am a centaur young demigod." I look at him intrigued, I can already tell that I'm going to like him.
"So," Chiron says, peeling his eyes off me, "Why has-sorry, I didn't get your name."
"Perseus but call me Percy," I pipe up.
"Right. If I may, why has Percy been traveling with you guys? Have your rules changed?" Mom shakes her head violently as I did earlier, and brings me closer to her.
"Chiron, Percy is my son, and the rules haven't changed. No rule was broken."
Chiron must be used to surprises usually because his eyes only slightly widen. Which I get the feeling is a big reaction for him. Chiron ponders.
"Was Percy a demigod before you adopted him?" Mom's mood turns somber.
"Yes, he is the son of my uncle Poseidon." Chiron's eyes slightly widen again, another big reaction.
"That is not good!" Chiron says gravelly. Zoe nods in agreement.
"So, what do I do?" I say awkwardly. I don't grasp the conversation at hand fully. Chiron smiles and his hind legs trot.
"Well, we can give you a tour of the camp."
"We?" I echo, raising an eyebrow.
"I can arrange some campers to tour you around." And with that, Chiron trots out to go find the campers. Artemis notices he's out of earshot and grabs me by the arm to bring me close.
"Percy, make sure you tell no one that you are from the hunt." I am about to interject when Zoe beats me to it.
"Unless you meet someone you trust," Zoe says. Mom genuinely looks confused about what Zoe said.
"You are going to meet someone you trust?" Mom asks me. I shrug, but then Atalanta and Zoe share a killer grin.
"Oh yep," Atalanta snickers, "he is going to find someone." Even though it sounds like it, I know for a fact that Atalanta isn't joking. I reflect on the odd conversation I had with Atalanta, that she knows that I'm going to meet someone. Almost like a knowing prediction.
"Anyway, you are going to be a son of Aphrodite." Mom casually states, "I got Aphrodite to claim you tonight."
"What!" Zoe yells in confusion, "Why her? Can't you get someone else, like Lady Athena?" Atalanta nods supportively. I nudge Zoe.
"Zo, I don't mind being an Aphrodite child." Mom gives Zoe a hard stare.
"Aphrodite is perfectly fine. Besides, Athena doesn't know of Percy and she would not help a son of Poseidon." She says as Zoe glares at the ground. Mom steals a glance at Atalanta.
"I don't like Lady Aphrodite, and I don't want Percy to be painted as weak at camp because that is what they do."
'It's also what you say,' I think pointedly. I don't say it out loud, because there is no use in her getting angry at me.
"And Percy," She continues, turning to me. Oh shit, I spoke too soon. "The only reason you are fine with it is that you are a male." I don't get offended by much, but Zoe knows how much I hate it when the hunt calls me a male. She instantly comes to my side.
"Sorry Percy, that was out of line. I guess I am just stressed about abandoning you. Sorry." She apologizes and pecks my cheek. I contemplate forgiving Zoe and giving her a heart attack. Kidding, did you think I was going to rebuff my favorite sister?
"You are fine, and I do have one last question. Why am I not Uncle Apollo's son?" Mom laughs at my question. Uh, what? Was I supposed to know that I wasn't going to be Apollo's son earlier?
"It's because you two look nothing alike. Apollo kids have blond hair so you are the complete opposite." Right. Hair color. That's a thing. Zoe steals another look from Artemis. All of them look uneasy.
"What are you guys hiding?" I demand suspiciously. Zoe avoids my gaze and Atalanta shifts around uncomfortably, leaving to talk to some of what I would guess to be fellow Athena children, leaving me with Zoe and Mom.
"Percy," Mom sighs, "I've pushed telling you this till the last moment because it hurts too much to say, but we only have time to drop you off." To put it bluntly, her words annoy me. I try to maintain myself to keep calm.
"So, in like 5 minutes, I'll never see you until the end of summer?" I say slowly. I know it's petty, but I couldn't help remembering the memory of Artemis abandoning Mom, and Gabe killing Mom, which made her abandon me.
Zoe gulps and eyes me warily, "You are taking this very calmly."
I glare at nothing and frown dejectedly, swallowing. "No use of getting upset at abandonment. I'm used to it." This causes Mom and Zoe to panic.
"Nononono no, Percy we aren't abandoning you." Mom rushes, and Zoe adds, "It was Zeus's orders." I give them a hard stare.
"Sure, I believe you. It's just, I thought my Mom and my sister would be here for my first day of school." Tears leak out of my Mom's eyes and she is about to say something, but Chiron comes, strolling along with a boy and a girl. He doesn't seem to notice my mother in tears and just goes straight to speaking with me.
"Hello, Percy. I've got you, your tour guides Annabeth and Luke." Annabeth, the girl who has pretty curly blonde hair, and Luke, who has a scar running down his face. I turn behind myself, and yep, as expected, they are gone.
Chiron finally notices and asks, "Where are-oh." He stops when I give him a wolf glare that Zoe taught me. I take in a deep breath, then form a fake smile.
"Hello! I'm Percy, but you guys already know that."
"Yep, we do," Luke grins, "let's get this tour underway."
Ink- It is currently 1:28 am for me and I just got back from an 8-hour car ride. So I thought I might as well finish this chapter. I'd like to say this is a pretty good chapter to set up SOA 10 and for the future. Make of that what you will but I hope you enjoy it. And always comment/review I wanna talk to you guys!
Scenario- Hey talk to me too :((( I don't check these platforms, but it's always so cool and awesome to read the comments. So thank you for reading! And also please thank Inkdud for creating this storyline. It's so cool! Stay safe y'all.
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