Another one?
Chapter Three
The werewolf stared blankly at her.
"Who?" It asked, confused. Artemis simply raised an eyebrow, taken off guard by his ignorance.
"I am the goddess Artemis" She told him again, "Goddess of the moon and the hunt"
The werewolf's expression didn't change, but after a few seconds of silence it nodded.
"Very well. I will remember that name. When I return, I swear I will hunt you down and avenge myself." Artemis smiled wryly. The beast collapsed on the ground, turning to dust that was soon picked up and scattered by the wind.
"That might be more difficult than you think" She mused to the wind. Putting the fight behind her, she turned to the young demigod. She took a second to analyse his injuries. Surprisingly, there weren't many physical ones. The water probably healed them. There was however three claw marks slashed right across his chest. She knelt down next to the barely conscious boy, placing a hand on his wounds.
They burned to the touch. Artemis winced in pain as she felt them. They seemed to be rejecting her power, stopping her healing touch from soothing them. She pulled her hand away, deep in thought. What kind of curse couldn't be healed by a goddess?
She didn't have any more time to think about is as Percy fell forward. She caught him before he hit the ground, then stood up, cradling the boy in her arms. She smiled to herself. If any one was watching, it probably looked quite comical. She looked up at the moon, drawing a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
"I have a feeling this is only just the beginning of this, Perseus"
A rustling from the treeline distracted her from leaving. She looked over, eyes piercing the dark to see what had made the sound. Two other children were hiding away. Were they who Perseus was protecting?
"Come out" She called to them, putting a little godly power into her voice. "I promise I won't hurt you"
It took a few seconds, but the two did come out, the boy shyly hiding behind his older sister. She looked them over curiously. They didn't look very injured, but they were strange. The girl was a mortal, that was for sure, but she couldn't tell what the boy was. It seemed familiar, yet it was different, distorted somehow.
"What are your names?" She asked them, making sure to be as gentle as possible.
"Pauline…" The girl answered, trying to sound clear and confident. She gestured to the boy behind her.
"This is Theo. T-thank you for saving us…" She bowed in thanks, motioning for the boy to do the same. Artemis chuckled softly at her politeness.
"That's alright you two. It was mostly this boy anyway"
The girl shifted her gaze to Percy, looking over with worry.
"Will he be alright?" She asked. Artemis nodded. The girl fidgeted nervously and Artemis could tell she was quite the earnest type.
"I-I'd like to say thank you…." She trailed off, unsure. Artemis smiled reassuringly at her
"Would you like to come with me? You can have a warm meal and a safe rest at my camp."
The girl hesitated, looking back at her brother, then she turned to the goddess again, with determined eyes.
"Yes please" Artemis looked at her fondly.
Perhaps I can gain another recruit
Gesturing to the two children to come close, she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. A bright flash filled the clearing, and when it vanished, it left nothing behind but the regular sounds of the beach and a small black stain.
-Line Break-
The first thing Percy noticed when we woke up was the pounding headache that had decided to pay him a visit. He rolled over onto his side, wincing as the movement sent a shock running up his body. He forced himself to sit up, steadying himself with his hands as he nearly blacked out from the pain. When his vision cleared, he began to notice his surroundings.
He was in a tent. It was rather minimalist, having only three pieces of furniture; a bed, a table and a chair. On the table, he noticed a few tools, needles, stethoscopes, medicine bottles etc. He grabbed the bottle labelled 'headaches' and with the bottle of water, managed to swallow a few. The pain receded pretty quickly and he sighed in relief.
He looked over at the chair, which to his surprise was occupied by a girl. She looked to be about 17, with brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She was dressed in silver; silver jacket, silver shirt, even silver socks and shoes. Percy frowned. She seemed familiar.
A sudden pain in his chest grabbed his attention and he looked down, stifling a gasp as he did. There were three horrible looking scars, right across his chest. He touched them, and swiftly drew his hand back as the heat from the scars singed his fingers. The events of last night came back to him, and he fell back onto the bed, overwhelmed.
"What the hell have I got myself into?" He muttered angrily.
A rustling of clothes shifted his attention once more to the girl sitting in the chair. She opened her bleary eyes, bright blue ones, and stared at him confused for a second. As the memories began to flick back into place, her eyes widened, and she excitedly leaped out of the chair, rushing towards him. Percy was taken aback, wincing in pain as she hugged him.
'Ow, OW! Hold on" He yelped. The girl drew back.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry," She cried. Percy smiled, even as his muscles screamed at him.
"It's alright…. just a bit sore is all…." The girl nervously looked down.
'Thank you…" She muttered. Percy looked at her, confused.
"For what?" She didn't look up, clutching her jacket.
"For… for saving me…. I can't thank you enough" She replied. Percy laughed awkwardly.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm fine." The girl shook her head, but still didn't look up.
"You nearly died! He tore open your chest!" Percy grimaced at the memory.
"It happens more often than you might think." The girl looked up finally, looking at him with a horrified expression
"It does?!" Percy winced as the volume of her shout messed with his ears. He placed a hand on his head as his headache returned.
"Uh yeah…" He said, at a loss for words. He wasn't really in the best condition or mood to explain things. But the girl was still looking at him intensely for an explanation. He opened his mouth, still thinking about what he would say.
"You're awake." Came a voice from the door. Percy looked over and nearly fell out of bed.
"Lady Artemis?!" He half-coughed, half shouted. Artemis smiled at him, but Percy suddenly felt less like a patient and more like a pet.
"I didn't hear a thank you in that." She reprimanded him, entering the tent.
Percy grimaced in pain as his muscles protested his sudden movements.
"I've been busy. Thanks." He sputtered out. Artemis nodded in satisfaction.
"That will do, I guess. Onto business. How are you feeling?"
Percy considered his answer.
"I'm feeling okay. My body hurts every time I move, and these claw marks are terrifying, but other than that…I'm alive." Artemis frowned.
"Your body was pushed way past it's limits. That's why your muscles hurt as much as they do. But you're right, those claw marks are terrifying. No one, not even Apollo, knows what they are"
Hearing those words, Percy's heart sank.
"The Blood of Chaos" He said. "That's what the werewolf said it was"
"Blood of Chaos…" Artemis repeated. "You mean the Chaos? The creator?"
Percy nodded. He stood up from the bed, groaning as his body did it's best to stop him.
"He said there wasn't a cure. That it would eat me away from inside."
Artemis frowned.
"I don't think he meant physically. This blood isn't acidic. Your body is perfectly healthy apart from your scars"
Percy wondered what that would look like, before instantly regretting it as his imagination worked overtime.
"Well whatever he meant; I'm going to die so…" He trailed off, looking at the girl, who was doing her best to hide her tears.
Wow Percy, He thought, Nice going
Artemis had noticed her too. She placed a hand on Percy's shoulder.
"You're not going to die. Not yet at least. You have my word"
Percy smiled in thanks, although he didn't miss the fact that she hadn't sworn on the Styx.
"Now come, you too." Artemis began, changing topics. "It's time for your tour"
Percy looked at her quizzically.
"Tour of what?" He asked. A gleam in Artemis' eyes told him he wasn't going to like the answer.
"Why, the hunters camp, of course!"
-Line Break-
Around him were about a hundred girls all armed with bows and arrows, and Percy felt like the biggest target in the world. Simply looking around the camp was enough to see the looks sent his way. Despite the danger he was in yesterday, Percy felt a hundred times worse stuck in the middle of the hunter's camp.
Beside him, Pauline was listening with rapt attention to Artemis, who was leading them around the camp. She was talking a lot about this and that, but Percy was more concerned with looking out for any stray arrows that might come his way. It wouldn't have been the first time (long story). He did catch a few friendly faces, ones who he'd fought beside in the Titan war, and who he could even remember the names of; Phoebe, Sarah, Louise - just to name a few. They all smiled at him, waving at him as he waved back. Their fellow hunters looked at them in confusion but Percy didn't get to see what happened next as an electric shock once again caused his muscles to go on strike.
"Hey kelp for brains!" Teased a familiar voice. Artemis looked back in amusement.
"Thalia, I told you not to touch him. He's still recovering from his injuries." Thalia laughed from somewhere near him, and as he opened his eyes again, the familiar face came into view, smiling mischievously.
"You daughter of a bitch." He groaned. Thalia grinned in satisfaction. Good to see you're still alive cuz."
"I don't feel very alive right now." He bit back, standing back up still wobbly. Thalia went to slap him on the back, but a glance from Artemis stopped her in her tracks. She sighed in pretend disappointment.
"Well, gotta run. Archery class to teach and all. We're catching up after I'm done though, okay Seaweed Brain?" Percy scowled at her.
"No way in hell." She laughed and skipped off. Leaving one very confused girl, one very amused goddess, and one very sore boy.
"She really cares for you in her own way." Artemis told him. Percy grimaced at the thought.
"I wish she didn't." he replied, but Artemis was already turning away.
"And that pretty much concludes the tour" She told them. "Do you have any questions?"
Pauline put up her hand. "So, I get to be immortal if I join you?"
Artemis nodded and Percy suddenly felt very much alive.
"Hold on a second Artemis! You're already trying to recruit her?" He asked incredulously. Artemis looked at him in confusion.
"Isn't that obvious?" Percy shook his head violently.
"No way! You can't do that! She doesn't even know what she is!" Artemis' eyes hardened.
"Are you trying to tell a goddess what to do Perseus?" Percy paled a bit, but didn't back down.
"Come on, this is the second time! At least let her get to camp first!" Artemis sneered.
"Go to that camp? Where her talents would be wasted? Where she'd fall under the influence of that drunk Dionysus?" Percy growled in frustration.
"Look these kids are special. They need to be protected." He argued. Artemis nodded in agreement.
"And the hunter's camp is the safest place in the world!" She shot back.
"But the boy can't stay here!" He pointed out. The girl's eyes widened.
"Is that true?" She asked. Artemis nodded.
"But you'll still get to see him." She told the girl, "We visit the camp quite often"
"No!" The girl cried out. She latched onto to Percy's arm. "He's my brother. I need to be with him. He looks up to me! I have to protect him." Artemis' eyes softened again.
"There are good people at this camp. People like Perseus." But the girl shook her head.
"I'm sorry. Thank you so much for the offer. But I'm going to camp." Artemis sighed in frustration.
"Curse you Perseus. I was so close." Percy couldn't help but smugly smile. He wiped it off his face before Artemis turned to him. He gently detached Pauline's arm from his, then smiled at her reassuringly. Pauline smiled back tentatively.
"Very well, if that is your choice, I shall not force you. But before you leave, I want to give you a present, to ensure that you can protect yourself." Pauline looked at Percy, then nodded shyly. Artemis beckoned for him to come. Percy went to follow, but Artemis halted him.
"As for you Perseus…" She drawled, and Percy felt payback coming.
"Don't you have a date with your favorite cousin?"
Oh ho, what sort of date will this be? Tune in next time to find out!
