Hunter's camp | White Mountain National Forest
By the end of the conclave, duties had been assigned. Athena, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Hera would stay on Olympus formulating a plan of action against the titans using information gathered by Leto. Ares and Apollo would join Dionysus at camp half-blood to train the demigods and prepare them in the event of war. Hephaestus would take to his forges, while his wife Aphrodite acted as liaison between him, Olympus and camp half-blood collating the weapon orders he had to fill. Hermes would deliver said weapons and ensure any demigods currently making their way to the camp arrived their safely, they would need the numbers. Chiron, Demeter and Persephone gathered the satyrs, centaurs' nymphs and other woodland creatures to help with the cause. This left Artemis to hunt the monsters that had been sighted. Cross referencing mortal sightings with reports from the demigods who had come across them, she worked tirelessly with Thalia, marking each and every one on the map. Reyna had taken a few of the newer members to visit the amazons, calling for their help in dealing with the monsters swiftly, and would send word in a few days regarding how many women they could spare.
"Thalia!" The huntress shouted. It was dusk and their camp was a flurry of activity, hunters gathered weapons and supplies, each being assigned a group they would hunt with over the next few months. Usually, Artemis liked to keep the girls together but there were simply too many monsters. Groups had been assigned to particular monsters depending on the abilities of each girl, hopefully reducing casualties. As she strode through the busy camp looking for her lieutenant a sharp pain shot through her head.
The hunters were clad in Greek chitons, the sun shone down scorching hot. They quickly rushed around packing up camp, a tension in the air, as Artemis watched on. She donned a bright silver armor ready for battle, to her right stood a girl with long black hair.
"You shouldn't go alone; Phoebe can look after the girls let me go with you" the girl pleaded. Her hand touched Artemis' arm as the goddess sighed.
"There is no place for you in this war love, Otis and Ephialtes would take me for their own and I will not have you getting in the middle of that. I need you here. With the girls. There is no one else I trust more. Take them to the half-blood camp, you will be safe there. I will be back soon." Her heart ached as the grip on her arm tightened.
"Artemis plea- "
"That is enough Zoë, I will not lose you in this war."
Zoë, there was that name again. Before she could think of it further the image receded and along with it the blinding pain. Standing before her was her lieutenant, a worried look crossing her face.
"Lady Artemis? Are you alright?" the demigod asked.
Debating in her head whether to question the young girl on who this Zoë was, she was pulled from her thoughts by the clash of metal. Heads whipping to the side, both the goddess and her lieutenant turned toward the origin of the sound to find a young girl surrounded by a pile of equipment she had just dropped. Sending an apologetic look to the goddess she was joined by two other hunters who made quick work of the mess. Sighing she pinched the bridge of her nose "I'm fine Thalia. Has everyone been briefed on their duties over the next couple of months?"
"Yes, groups A and B will be taking on the stronger monsters while groups C through E will focus on the stragglers. Group E will be assisting Lord Hermes in locating demigods in need of transport to camp half blood and Reyna and the others should be arriving at the amazon base tomorrow. Everyone has enough supplies until they can make a pit stop in a few weeks and each Friday there will be a meeting with everyone to give updates and hopefully liase with the amazons once an arrangement has been made. That's everything right?" She questioned nervously. The goddess smiled, even after all these years of being her lieutenant the girl still questioned her aptitude in the role.
"Yes Thalia, that's everything. Anything else we can work out along the way. I will stay in touch." The huntress had her own monster to hunt by herself, one less for her girls to worry about. She started to walk back to her tent when the lieutenant quickly followed her.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" The girl questioned as she fell into step beside the goddess.
"I will be fine; I am more than capable of taking care of this by myself. Besides, it would take too much time to send a group there to face it. I will take my chariot, dispose of the beast and be back to join you before you know it." Artemis reassured her. It was just Lamia, who had managed to wander much further west than the rest of the monsters. Making its way all the way to San Jose, an easy opponent for Artemis. Sending a group of girls out there to destroy it would take far too much time, no she would take care of this one herself. She was looking forward to the time alone it would give her too to be honest. It wasn't that she wanted to be away from her hunters, they were her family, but since the incident on Mount Olympus it was like everyone was walking on eggshells around her. She just needed some space to breath.
"I can still go with you; I've been in Apollo's chariot before and at least I won't be driving this time." Thalia shuddered. The goddess chuckled, still the irony of the daughter of Zeus being terrified of the heights amused her.
"Thalia, its fine. While I am sure I would deliver a smoother ride across the sky than you in my brothers chariot you need not worry. It will take me three days at most. I'll be in Chicago before you even get there" She stopped in front of her tent and waved her hand as it packed itself away into a small bag, furnishings and all. "Now, make sure you don't forget my tent, I will need it when I meet you" She turned to her lieutenant who was shaking her head.
"It's not fair you can pack up that quickly you know" the girl laughed. The goddess smiled before turning to walk to the edge of the woods. Thalia followed, keeping a distance in anticipation of what was coming next.
"Good luck Thalia, keep the girls safe." Artemis said before starting to glow a light silver. Sounds of the girls packing ceased as they closed their eyes or averted their gaze from the impending flash of their goddess teleporting to her chariot.
Titan Base | Mount Othrys
She quickly realised she had no way of telling when night was, the downside of it always being dusk in the garden. Not that she had anywhere else to go and being immortal meant sleep wasn't required as often anymore, she decided to busy herself being useful. She had found a stick earlier on and a sharp stone on the ground. Ignoring the fact that she felt like a primitive human, she put herself to work sharpening the stick to a point. It was small enough for her to hide in her dress but would still be useful should the chance ever arrive for her escape. She was still wary of Leto. Her gut told her to trust the elder titan, after all, the times she had met her before she had shown nothing but kindness to the girl. That coupled with the fact she wasn't anywhere near as narcissistic or imperious as some of the other titans had to count for something. Still, she couldn't think why she would be here. She knew how much Koios cared for his daughter, far more than he did for Astrea or Lelantos, could it be he finally got through to her? Or worse, threatened someone she loved?
Before her thoughts could continue, she felt the hairs on her neck stand on end once more and turned to find Leto standing behind her again, hood already pulled from the top of her head.
"My lady, thank you for returning" Zoë stated, bowing her head in respect. She knew better than to anger the titaness. Both the divine twins were known for their tempers and while Apollo's was fiery and quick like his fathers, Artemis's was cold and enduring, a trait she had inherited from her mother and maternal grandfather.
"At ease Zoë. I do not have much time, but I shall tell you what I know." The titaness gestured for the Hesperide to sit as she did the same, the two sitting cross legged on the grass facing each other. She explained everything that had happened. How the titans had risen again, the way they were stealing souls from Elysium and unleashing monsters from Tartarus, how her father had approached her inviting her once more to join their side, this time she accepted as Zeus had already approached her to do the same thing. More importantly she disclosed who was holding the sky, a question that Zoë had been stuck on since she saw her father.
"Your brother is holding the sky? Lelantos?" She chuckled; the younger brother of Leto had always been a week minded individual. Fashioning himself off his older sister he vied for his father's acceptance by copying everything his sister did. Even down to making his daughter the counterpart to Artemis. Zoë had had the pleasure of meeting him once or twice in the early years of her life when she lived in the garden, he would hang around Atlas during the start if his punishment trying to steal ideas from him to cause another uprising. She assumed he thought if he caused a successful uprising his father would love him more than his sister. It was a short-lived quest; Atlas grew tired of him quickly and he stopped visiting the garden. Last she heard he was sulking in some corner of the world, still second best to his sister even after she gave birth the children of Zeus the usurper.
Leto hummed in agreement, smiling at the mirth on Zoë's face. "Yes, though I finally think he has bitten off more than he can chew." Suddenly her face turned serious. A coldness set in her eyes as she averted her eyes from Zoë's. "There is…one other thing. It's Artemis" she said, body unusually tense.
"Artemis? Is she hurt?" the younger titaness questioned. Her heart sped up in her chest as her mind raced.
"No, no. She is fine. Well…physically she is fine." Leto took a breath as she met the younger girls' eyes once more. "Her memories. Specifically, her memories of you. They are gone."
The Hesperide's heart felt like it had stopped. She didn't remember her. All the years they had shared. The centuries they had spent loving each other, caring for each other. Everything they had been through. Gone. She felt numb. What did she do with that? How was she supposed to process the fact that here she was, in chains, back in the hands of her father? And the one person she had loved more than anything was out there with no memory she had ever existed. The numbness in her body was slowly filled with a rage, she was her father's daughter after all.
Leto watched the emotions flicker across the younger girl's face. Shock. Grief. Resentment. Anger. Rage. All things she had felt when her son had told her what Zeus had done to her daughter.
"How could he! How could they let him! Not one person stood up for her. Not even Apollo? Or you?" Zoë screamed as she leapt to her feet.
"Control yourself." Leto snapped as she too rose to her feet, looking round to see if the Hesperides shouting had attracted anyone. "Do not forget where we are child." Taking a breath in Zoë squeezed her eyes shut as she clenched her fists. Body shaking with rage.
"How could this happen" the Hesperide whispered.
"No one had a choice. By the time anyone knew what was happening it was too late." Leto sighed. She stepped toward the girl, one hand coming to rest on her shoulder as the other lifted her chin. "Open your eyes Zoë."
Opening her eyes, the Hesperide looked at Leto's face. Her eyes so much like Artemis's it made her heart clench.
"There is nothing we can do now. I understand your anger, but you must control yourself. If anyone should find out I have been talking to you my cover will be blown. Can I trust you?"
"Of course. Your secrets are safe with me." Zoë sighed. She moved away from Leto, turning to face the sky. A small breeze alerted her to the fact she was alone once more. She crossed her arms over her torso as her form shook once more, this time racked with sobs. Closing her eyes once more, tears slipped down her face as she crumbled to her knees.
Artemis. Her Artemis.
Well not hers anymore it would seem.