Chapter 2
The forest was silent save for the soft crackling of a fire, the occasional spark drifting towards the cloudless sky and the flames casting dark shadows. The boy sat near the fire, slowly feeding it fuel from a diminishing pile of timber. His black hair had grown longer and wilder but his eyes had regained their keen look of determination; the emerald green eyes rekindled by hope. The boy was older and with it came a sense of quiet maturity that seemingly caused the forest to be silent as if out of respect. The boy was no longer a boy, he was a man; a man ravished by loss and war but still fighting for what he believed right. A thick hooded jacket of a material so black it may as well have been made of shadow garbed him, matching his demeanour perfectly.
The snap of a broken twig echoed out through the clearing and yet the boy did not move instead choosing to call out.
"Lady Hestia, you are becoming careless." He called out in a low voice.
"Or is it that I am simply letting my presence be known to my champion?" A lilting voice replied.
"Either way, I know you're here, so come and greet your champion." Perseus replied his voice unchanged.
Lady Hestia stepped out from the murky tree line and into the clearing, the fire seemingly leapt at her presence and she smiled as it grew stronger. She looked exactly as she did one year ago when she found him at Hades' door. Her brown hair flowed down her back and her red dress seemed to flicker with embers.
"You have grown Percy" She said softly as she stared at her champion, although frowned as she saw him wince as she said Percy.
"Why do you frown when I refer to you as Percy?" She asked curiously.
"Percy was forgotten a long time ago and I'd prefer it to stay that way." Perseus replied mechanically.
"Percy was a great hero, the bane of Kronos and Gaia, slayer of Hyperion and many more titles, why are you ashamed of you are?"
"Because I am no longer him, he would be disgusted by me and rightly so. They were right to turn their backs on me, I am no longer deserving of those titles as they belong to another boy." He replied his voice cracking as he did.
Hestia became quiet as she heard this and the fire became low.
"You have been guarding this forest against the forces of darkness for a year now Perseus and you have done it well. The time has come for you to leave this place. The satyrs have deemed the forest a Place of the Wild and have come to claim it in the name of Pan. They shall guard the forest in your stead." She spoke with no lack of confidence.
"What would you have me do now Lady Hestia?" Perseus asked as he gazed at the forest that had been his home. He had defended it against hellhounds, Cyclops, loggers and many more that would see damage done to this place.
"Demi-Gods are on the rise and as such more and more are slipping through the Satyrs' net. They need to be defended and brought to the Camp; it is unjust that they suffer death from our lack of responsibility to our children." The sky rumbles as she speaks but nothing more happens.
"Where do I begin?" Perseus replies bluntly without a hint of emotion.
"New York, monsters have begun to heavily congregate there and any Demi-God there will be at risk. Good luck Perseus, my only champion." She states, her voice lowering to a soft tone as she wishes him good luck.
A column of whirling fire surrounds Lady Hestia and Perseus is once again alone in the forest, the fire crackling as if nothing had happened.
This is my first attempt at a story of this type so I'd be grateful for any feedback and comments. Thankyou :)