A/N What is up my dudes. I really need to be studying for my Chemical Process Safety Exam tomorrow, but I decided to procrastinate so if I fail it's your fault. As always, please leave constructive criticism and tell me your honest opinion. Just getting responses, even negative ones, really makes it feel like this is worth doing. Much love my guys.
Dances With Wolves
Percy woke up on his back in a clearing surrounded by trees. He couldn't remember what he was doing there, nor could he remember where there was. The only thing he could remember was his name. Trying to think about what had happened gave him a splitting headache. Focusing real hard, he could almost see a person's face. The harder he thought about it, the foggier the image became. He was 73 percent sure it was a girl's face though. A wave of dizziness struck him when he tried to stand up. Kneeling, he waited for the nausea to dissipate. With his head cleared, he finally took in his surroundings. It was clear he was deep in a forest somewhere, there was a faint hint of salt in the air too, so he had to be close to the coast. Patting his pockets, he felt cylindrical object. He pulled out a pen. The pen felt strangely important, it must have been something sentimental to him, but he couldn't remember. Stowing the cheap ballpoint pen, he suddenly spun around when a twig snapped behind him. There was a faint rustling from the bushes, he almost mistook it for the wind, except there was no wind. A wave of unmistakable bloodlust rose from all around him. He was being hunted. The bloodlust vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared. Staying on high alert, his eyes darted all around him. He swore he could almost see behind him despite not moving his head an inch. Movement straight ahead of him grabbed his full attention. A wolf stocked out from the first bush that rustled. A giant silver wolf whose shoulders stood at the same height as his own snarled at him. They locked eyes, neither moving an inch. Percy suddenly dove to his right and another silver wolf, albite a slightly smaller one, sailed through the air he had just occupied. He rolled back onto his feet, snagging a thick branch while doing so. The moment his stance was sturdy, he spun towards the outside of the clearing, swinging the branch at the same time. The stick connected square with a third wolf trying to catch him off guard, sending it careening off to the side. Turning slowly in a circle where he stood, he noticed three more wolves had joined the first two in surrounding him. The third wolf stood back up, shaking its head and trotting over to finish the circle. For a moment, no one made a move. The forest was strangely quiet. The only sound was the low growls coming from the six wolves. Percy, with the wild eyes of a cornered animal, faced the largest wolf again. Their eyes met and Percy charged forward. He had only taken a handful of steps before he was tackled from the left, and then the right a split second later. Percy was wrestling with the two wolves when the big one, that he was guessing was the leader, padded right up to them and gave a sharp bark. The two wolves immediately broke apart and sat on either side of Percy. The large wolf bent down and sniffed Percy thoroughly. It then started to lick the few scratches the appeared-on Percy's arm. The wounds started closing almost instantly and Percy stared dumbfounded by the unnatural phenomenon that he was witnessing. He felt an intrusive presence within his mind. A female voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere, and no where at the same time.
'Relax, little pup. We're not here to kill you.'
Percy hurriedly looked around him for the source of the voice. He quickly heard laughter in the same voice. Turning back to the wolf, he saw a perplexing expression of amusement on the wolf's face.
'Yes, that was me. My name is Lupa. Lupa Luperca. My pack is here to help you.'
"Perseus. Jackson. Call me Percy. You sure have a funny way of helping people." Percy responded out loud.
'We do not help those who cannot help themselves. We needed to test your mettle.'
"And?" Percy said, clearly irritated.
'You have the instincts of a wild animal. The instincts of lone wolf. You probably don't even need our help, but you have it if you desire.'
"How about answering some questions. Where are we? How did I get here? And who exactly am I?"
'We are in the Olympic National Forest, Washington. I do not know how you got here. You're a demigod. We found you by following your scent.'
"Following my scent? Wait, demigod?"
'You smell strongly of the sea. If I was a betting wolf, I'd say you're the sun of Neptune, the roman god of the sea. I am surprised you're so old. Most demigods find us by the age of 12, but you're sent does not remind me of Rome. Perhaps that explains your age.'
Percy nodded his head, strangely taking earthshattering revelations in stride.
'You asked who you were, do you not know? What is the last thing you remember?'
Already forgetting the fading image of the blurry woman, "Waking up here, minutes ago." He replied.
'Interesting. Come follow us, if you can keep up.' With that, Lupa and her pack members took off into the underbrush without warning. Percy, with no other option, immediately chased after them.
X
An hour later, they came to another clearing. There were easily another 30 wolves milling around. "What is this?" Percy asked.
'This is my pack. We take in demigods and give them the essential skills of survival before sending them on their way to New Rome.' Lupa answered.
"New Rome?"
'It is a safe heaven for others like you. If you so wish, you could leave now. Your instincts will guide you home and you would without a doubt be able to make it.'
"Really? I guess I do feel a pull toward the south…"
'However, I do not suggest you leave right away. Your aura is indistinguishable from that of a lone wolf. Strong, independent, and fierce. Your will to survive and persevere is unparalleled. However, as the case with all lone wolves, your death is not a matter of if, but one of when. A wolf is a fierce predator, but our strength comes from teamwork, trust, and loyalty. Alone we are strong, but together we are unbeatable. The survival of the individual depends on the pack, but the survival of the pack depends on the individual. Stay, run with the pack, and realize the whole is greater than the sum of each component.'
Something Lupa said resonated deep within Percy, a feeling that couldn't be explained but as an awakening was spreading across the very essence of who Percy was. He dropped to one knee, "I would be honored to walk among your pack, Alpha."
Lupa's eyes seemed to gleam. 'Walk? Boy, you will run with the Hunt.'
A/N Short Chapter, but not really because I intend to put out the next chapter in few hours. I Just felt that this was an appropriate place to end this chapter. Hopefully the quality of my writing will improve with these next few chapters. I want to be done with the skipping around and being undetailed. I'm working on a roadmap for this next arc that I think will actually make this story be halfway decent.
