A/N: Hey guys! Long time no see! It's been awhile since I last posted… sorry about that! You guys are an amazing audience (Is audience the word I'm looking for? Oh well you know what I mean.) So, last chapter has left us with Percy finishing his first day with the hunt, pretty eventful if you ask me. Tune in to enjoy!

Chapter Six:

I woke up to a tent collapsing on me. If you ever had a tent fall on you while camping you can relate. However, this was a magical folding tent, folding with you still in it; a little harder to put yourself in my shoes. The canvas walls around me started to constrict more and more. I felt like I was trapped in the garbage compacter from Star Wars. Now, I'm not claustrophobic but I was starting to panic, I managed to pull Riptide out of my pocket and I slashed through the tent before it smothered me to death. I saw Thalia staring at me with surprise.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I yelled at her. The look she gave me confused me; it was like she didn't know I was in there. She looked down and her face slowly built up blood, giving her cheeks the appearance of bright red tomatoes. She quickly turned around. Confused even more, I turned around. I realized I had just gotten up, still in my boxers. I stood there, yelling defiantly at a member of the hunt with a sword in hand, and nothing but a 6 inch in-seem covering up my groin. Needless to say, in that moment I wished that I had stayed in my collapsing tent. My face turned hot, now I was blushing. I heard other hunters around us start laughing. My face got even hotter. Not to offend any gods but in that instance, I was glowing hotter and brighter than even Apollo himself. I bent down and quickly covered myself with the shredded remains of the tent.

"Sorry Thalia." I said, looking at my feet.

"No, it was my fault; I didn't know you were in there." Thalia said, also refusing to look at me. "We're moving a few miles upstream. Artemis ordered all tents to be taken down and we've been up for so long we figured you weren't in your tent. Every member of the hunt wakes up at sunrise instinctively."

I nodded, scrummaging around the tent remains for some pants. Luckily I was able to find a shirt too. I looked around, it was clear that our little episode didn't go unnoticed. I would have to say at least half of the hunt had witnessed what went on. Most just continued their duties, some were still laughing though. With the shock of what happened gone, I was able to start putting some priorities together. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Artemis wants you to participate in all stages of the hunt." Thalia replied, shaking off what just happened. "That includes prep, tracking, scouting, and execution; along with some other miscellanies things."

"You will have a much more active role in this hunt than most other hunters." Artemis said as she walked over to us. "Usually new hunters will only help with camp chores and the prep stage of the hunt. Your focus is on training and I intend to give more than you can handle."

I steeled my face and nodded. No more training wheels. "You'll also want to start setting an alarm. We cannot waste daylight waiting for you to get up. We would also like to avoid future incidences like this morning." My face turned red at Artemis' last remark. I looked up and saw a smile of mischief on her face. She was only teasing me. She laughed and said, "Honestly Percy, lighten up. Nobody is going to hurt you here; it's only your second day. Any mishap is to be expected. Meet us at the center of camp in one hour, eat some breakfast and get ready for a long day." With that, Artemis took her leave.

"Man," I said. "That was weird."

"What part?" Thalia asked.

"The part where Artemis was being friendly towards a male."

Thalia shrugged in response. "It's not our place to judge a goddess' actions. I'm sure the fact that Zoe returned this morning has put her in a good mood."

"Zoe is back?" I half yelled, half asked; a pleased expression obviously worn upon my face.

"Yep! Apollo said that if you hadn't had stopped her bleeding when you did, it would have taken her a lot longer to recover, if ever." Thalia said grinning. "The entire Hunt heard Apollo say it when he returned with her this morning."

"Yeah but if it wasn't for me she never would have been injured in the first place." I mumbled, my feeling of euphoria turning dark and solemn. At that moment I was reminded of my failure to protect Annabeth, the same way I failed to protect Zoe. "It's all my fault." I grumbled and turned my back to Thalia. A hurt expression came to her face again. It was clear that she wanted to be there for me, to comfort me. She wanted to be needed by me. And I did need her, but I needed to be alone. I didn't want to be cheered up. I walked to the rocks that Thalia and I sat on the night before, content to be alone with my thoughts. However, it didn't take long for my stomach to start rumbling.

A few minutes went past and Thalia came over with something to eat. It was just a bowl of plain Cheerios. No sugar or anything in it. It wasn't my kind of cereal, but I was thankful none the less. Thalia left me to go help tear down camp and pack things. After a very lonesome breakfast, I headed back to my tent to gather a few things. I found a small, athletic backpack that I didn't notice before, it was silver and black so it matched the clothes the Hunt gave me. I picked up some extra clothes lying in the dirt and put them in my new pack. I was also able to locate my new bow and quiver, which I strapped both of them to my back. The quiver was parallel with the side of my backpack while the bow shaft went across it with the string running across my chest. I stared at the fabric of the tent, it was beyond salvaging. I picked up all that I could and brought it over to the small fire in the center of camp. I placed on the flames in a way that didn't allow the fire to be smothered. I stared at the fire, watching my tent slowly catch flame and disintegrate into gray ash. As all thought disappeared from my mind; I felt something brush up against my shoulder and a light, warm pressure took hold there. I tore my gaze away from the entrancing flames and embers; I saw that it was Zoe standing next to me.

"Zoe!" I cried out. "I'm so glad to see that you're okay."

"All thanks to you, Perseus."

"You mean it's thanks to me that you got into that mess?" I said gloomily.

"No, I mean it's thanks to you that I'm alive. Apollo told me that your quick thinking with the ice is what saved my life. It also saved my arm and that if you hadn't, I wouldn't be able to hunt and the Hunt is my life. So in my eyes you saved me twice."

I didn't know how to reply, so I dropped my gaze and shrugged. "I'm going to need a new tent."

"I'll talk to Artemis about it. In the meantime, I brought you these." She held up a pair of hiking shoes. "These are trail running shoes. They are light, durable, and waterproof. Although, I don't think you needed to worry about that last part anyway." I took them from her, I checked the size and they were perfect for me. "I hope you will find these much more comfortable then your tennis shoes."

"Thanks, Zoe." I said. "When are we leaving?"

"Right now. You better get those shoes on."

I quickly changed out of my old beat op sneakers and strapped on the new trail shoes. They were extremely comfortable, like walking on clouds. "Right, lead the way."

I followed Zoe towards the edge of camp, where all the other Hunters were gathering. Artemis was in the front, facing everybody. It looked like she wanted to make a speech, but she was waiting for everyone to arrive. Another minute passed full of small chatter from the girls. I kept to myself mostly, but I was standing between Thalia and Zoe. I was getting anxious to leave when I heard Artemis clear her throat, all side conversations stopped immediately. It was odd seeing a twelve-year-old (for Artemis was in her twelve-year-old form) command such respect from such a large group.

"I have decided to move the camp up stream several miles because my insufferable brother now knows our location." All the girls nodded in agreement. "Once we set up we will begin work on our hunt." Again, all the girls nodded in agreement, some even cheered from excitement. "Hunters, move out." With that, the girls swarmed into the forest, excitement evident in their steps.

A/N: I know, not an exciting chapter but necessary to fill in the gaps. This was shorter than I wanted it to be but after not updating for a long time I wanted to get this out there. Thank you to all who have stuck with me and to those who actually enjoy this story for some reason the wait most have been torture. I also would like to thank the users who got in contact with me asking about this chapter, it really helped me to sit down and finish it. As always, feed back is always welcomed and highly encouraged! Let me know any ideas you have or suggestions on how to make my writing better!