REVIEW REPLIES:

Anonymus: Yep! It's still being continued! I just… got a bit caught up in other stuff. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait!

Anthisberger: Aww! Thanks! I'm glad you like it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Haneelonglegs: Um… funny story… I took me a while, but.. I'm back, at least! Sorry this chapter took so long. Got a it caught up with exams, and then summer holidays so…. Yeah. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!

DaughterofHecate: Yeah, I'd go insane if I couldn't talk to someone for that long as well I don't know, depends on Iris' mood, I guess. She doesn't seem to like the idea of carrying messages for 'major' gods, so she might charge every now and then. Or maybe not, I haven't a clue. I'm glad that the conversation wasn't too bland, I'm really not very good at sensitive father-son conversations. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Nico didn't expect fighting for his life to be so fun.

Maybe he was being naïve and ridiculous, or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't yet grasped the severity of the situation, but here, fighting against real monsters for the first time, Nico didn't really feel as terrified as he probably should have.

He dodged, slashed and stabbed, his old sword instructor's advice blaring in his head.

'Concentrate!' barked the voice, 'Always focus on your surroundings!'

At the time, Nico had huffed and said, "Why do I need to focus on my surroundings? I'm kind of busy focusing on just one opponent!"

Now, about a year later, Nico could finally appreciate his mentor's advice. He tried his best to keep track of the other cyclopes, while also trying not to get squished by the one in front of him.

You could say what you liked about the Hunters, but one thing that you couldn't deny, was that they were really good at their job. They strung their bows and shot down the cyclops' steadily, their pace never wavering. They worked together seamlessly, like a well oiled machine.

The battle was almost over when Nico finally went into panic mode.

Zoe, who had been perched atop a tree, was about to be squished.

One of the few remaining cyclopes was stumbling backwards, clutching the arrows on its chest frantically, trying to pull them out. The other Hunters had deemed it harmless, and had begun to celebrate. Zoe was climbing down, ready to join her comrades, but her back was towards the stumbling monster.

No one had noticed. Except him.

Why did this always happen?

"Zoe!" he screamed, running towards her, "Get out of the way!"

Zoe apparently did not understand the urgency of the situation, "I beg your pardon! "she said indignantly, looking rather confused.

Nico felt like rolling his eyes.

'No time for that!' chided the voice in his head.

He raced towards the stumbling cyclops, leaping as high as he could and drove his sword into the cyclops' leg, dragging it downwards viciously and putting the poor cyclops out of its misery.

Zoe was not pleased.

"What did thou do that for?" Zoe demanded.

"Excuse me?" Nico asked, taken aback, "You know, a thank you would've been nice!"

That... was apparently the wrong thing to say.

"You expect to be praised? For helping someone?" she said scornfully, "Typical men."

Nico stared at the ground, and suddenly, all the joy and relief at having survived his first hunt drained out of him.

"I- I just wanted to help." he said meekly.

"I did not need help from a boy." she said haughtily, turning on her heel.

The way she said 'boy' as though it was some sort of insult, or something he had chosen, made Nico's despair slowly turn to anger.

"Oh really?" he asked quietly, making Zoe stop in her tracks, "Because to me, it looked like you did."

Zoe turned slowly, and marched towards him.

She poked a finger at his chest, and when she spoke, her voice was low and deadly, "Thou should stop interfering where thou are not needed, or wanted."

"I was just trying to stop you from getting squished!" Nico protested, glaring straight back.

"I do not need to be saved by some boy!"

What Nico said next probably wasn't a very good idea, but at this point, Nico was just so fed up with the Hunters and their 'we are above men' attitude that he was past reasoning.

"What did I ever DO to you ?" He yelled, his fists clenched at his side.

'Stop! Stop it! APOLOGIZE!' advised a voice in his head.

'No!' argued another voice, 'Don't apologize! Let them know exactly what you think of them!'

Against his better judgement, Nico listened to the second voice.

"Honestly, from the minute we met, the only thing you've ever done is glare! Did you ever think that maybe just because you swore off men and romantic love, it doesn't mean that you need to hate every single male you come across? Look, I get that some of you have been wronged by men and stuff like that, but that doesn't mean that you get to treat all men like garbage!" he paused to take a deep breath, and when he continued, his voice was a lot quieter, "Before you get any ideas, I'm not trying to defend those guys, because whatever they did was wrong, and I'd be one of the first to volunteer to beat them up. Or try to, anyway. But really, what have I ever done to you? Apart from taking the last pomegranate that one time. "

Zoe was staring at him in shock, and Nico was surprised to see traces of guilt on her face.

"Well?" Nico asked, starting to get impatient, "What did I do to you?" he turned to the other Hunters, who had been watching the episode in horror, "What did I do to any of you?"

No one spoke, all staring at each other uncomfortably and avoiding his eyes. After a solid minute of silence and staring, Zoe shook herself out of her stupor and stomped off. Everyone else started whispering to each other and glaring at Nico, although the glares didn't seem to have as much heat as before, and Nico dared to hope that he had somehow managed to get through to them.

****Line Break****

Back at the campsite, all alone it his tent, Nico's confidence and anger had abandoned him. Now, he was left with nothing but panic.

How on earth could he have said that? What had he been thinking? Oh right, he hadn't been thinking. Zoe was going to kill him. Brutally. Artemis would hear about it, and he would be kicked out, and he'd have to go home(not that he was complaining about that), if he wasn't killed on the spot that is. Nico would've loved the prospect of being sent home, if it weren't for the disappointed face that his dad would give him. The 'I really thought you would try and make this work' face. But it wasn't Nico's fault. Not really. He really had tried to make it work, but he was bound to blow up sooner or later.

That night, while the rest of the camp slept, Nico spent hours tossing and turning, trying to convince himself that he had done the right thing, that he had done the best he could.

He was blissfully unaware of the fact that on the other side of the camp, another was going through the same thing.

*****Line Break*****

The next morning, Nico emerged from the tent cautiously, looking around warily as though he was afraid someone would confront him about yesterday's debacle(which he was).

Surprisingly, that didn't happen. He caught a few dirty looks being sent in his direction, and a few of the older Hunters glared at him viciously, but for the most part, he was ignored and left alone to eat his pomegranate in peace.

A few minutes later, Nico was approached by none other than Zoe Nightshade.

The look on Zoe's face was murderous, and the fact that she towered over him did nothing to slow down Nico's rapid heartbeat. Awkwardness filled the air, as the Hunters stared at the two of them, exchanging doubtful looks.

"Hi." Nico squeaked, his voice embarrassingly high-pitched.

"Hello." She responded, neither of them sure of how to begin.

"So..." Nico began, "Is this about our... conversation yesterday?"

"It is." Zoe said, confirming Nico's fears, "And... I believe that... I... owe thou... an apology." she said slowly, forcing it out as though it physically pained her.

"Um.." Nico hesitated, feeling rather lost, "Right... so, if that's all-"

"Wait!" Zoe held up a hand, "I am not done."

"Right!" Nico squeaked, "Of course! Continue! Please." he added hastily.

"It has come to my attention that I might have been... slightly unfair to thou."

'Slightly?' he thought, 'That's not how I would put it, but okay.'

"My prejudice has blinded my judgement, and for that, I apologize." she said formally, "Thou are not Herc-" she paused for a moment, cutting herself off, "not him, and I should not have treated thou as I did. Are thou willing to start anew?"

'Anew?' , Nico thought, left in shock by Zoe actually apologizing, 'Who even says that anymore?'

However, he still had enough awareness to know that saying that out loud would not help.

Zoe was staring at him, starting to fidget, and Nico realized how anxious she probably felt, standing before him, swallowing her pride (and prejudice) and giving him a heartfelt apology in front of all the other Hunters who were eagerly watching their every move. It must be killing her.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Apology accepted." he assured her, hesitantly extending a hand, half expecting her to leave him hanging, like the first time they had met.

Much to his surprise, she accepted his hand warily, and shook it gently, looking like she wasn't exactly sure how to go about it.

"Archery practice starts in half an hour." she told him, her shoulders sagging slightly in relief, "I expect to see thou there on time."

With that, she strode away briskly, leaving Nico(and the Hunters) gaping.

This was the start of a beautiful friendship.

It was also the start of Nico's endless struggle to learn how in Tartarus one was supposed to use a bow.

A.N:

Hi there!

Umm... I'm back? This chapter was a hard one to write for some reason.

Am I late? Very. Do I have a good reason? Not really, I just got caught in the 'holiday excitement'.

Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Also, I have no idea how to use 'thou'.

As always, please review!

-Keera^_^