Chapter 9: Filler 1.0
3RD PERSON POV
After the issuing of the new prophecy, Percy's schedule with the Hunt got exceedingly more complicated. Luckily, Artemis cut down his chores significantly to help him out. Laundry and sharpening were usually handled by some of the other hunters, while Percy mostly cooked breakfast and dinner (occasionally lunch, but usually he slept). He began his recon during the evenings after Artemis returned from her chariot as he still needed to guard them.
He typically returned from recon in the early mornings before the hunters awoke to tend to any personal needs, then breakfast. After breakfast he'd have the highlight of his day: training the younger hunters. He had Kiani, Jessica, and Leah as one group together, since the three had been inseparable since they were all rescued around the same time by 'Theo'. They certainly had the best teamwork between the two groups he trained.
All three were adequate with a bow, Leah even able to enchant some of her arrows as a daughter of Hecate. Kiani was superior with hunting knives, which was a bit uncharacteristic of daughters of Aphrodite, but she reminded Percy a lot of Piper. This warmed his heart, but left it with a dull pain at the same time. Jessica remained in a midrange support role for her group as she was the most in tune with her mother's abilities.
The other group was held even closer to Percy's heart and consisted of Lora, Rebecca, and Estelle. Percy didn't have much experience with axes, but he and Lora figured out how to train her together. Rebecca was clearly her father's daughter and stuck to archery support and cover fire. Estelle was more than adequate with a bow, but favored her hunting knives much to Percy's displeasure.
Regardless, Percy saw the importance of all the girl's training, and was more than pleased with their progress. He remembered the day he started training them.
~Flashback: a day after the prophecy~
"Alright girls!" Percy said and gathered the young ones who wanted him to train them together. "I want to start with breaking you into two groups of three. I've noticed from training that Kiani, Jessica, and Leah all work together well?" The shy girls nodded enthusiastically. "Alright! That leaves Estelle, Rebecca, and Lora for the other group."
"Now, I want you to get with your groups, and talk about what it is you like and what you're good at. Knowing each others' strengths and weaknesses is a key part to being a strong group." Percy said, but got some frowns out of the girls.
"But Percy… we can't do much and don't have any cool abilities like you," Lora said with her head down. Percy frowned at this. "Are you kidding? You're all super cool! Even cooler than me!" The girls all looked at him in disbelief, but he continued on, "Lora, as a daughter of Hermes, you can improvise and pick up on skills after only a few days, making you incredibly versatile! Jessica, you can get the plant life around you to help assist you in battle. You just got to feel the connection to it. Kiani, I'm sure you have charmspeak and can get monsters or other enemies to do what you say to some extent. I can ask someone at camp to help you train it. Leah, I'll talk to your mom about getting you some spellbooks, and even more from camp when we get there. Rebecca, your archery is only gonna get better and your healing abilities make you invaluable at support."
"What about me Brother?" Estelle finally spoke up with a frown on her face. Percy picked her up and put her on his hip. "Well my little star, you have some gifts from Momma Hera." Estelle's eyes lit up, "I do?" Percy chuckled at her, "Of course. I have some from her too so you and I can train them together!" Estelle threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, "Thank you Big Brother!"
~End Flashback~
Percy thought back to how far the girls had come in only about two and a half weeks. "What's got you smiling like that?" Percy turned to see Artemis walking toward him. Percy let a smirk cross his face and said, "Oh nothing, Arty."
Artemis scowled at him. "I told you not to call me that," she got out through gritted teeth. In reality, Artemis didn't mind it as much as when Apollo did it. Her and Percy were friends. As such, the nickname lost a good part of its annoyance and gained sentiment. "Now what were you smiling about?" she pressed him again.
"He was thinking back to the first day he decided to train us," Estelle answered quickly running up with the other five girls in tow. Percy turned to her and mock pouted, "What have I told you about using Mom's powers on each other outside of training?" Estelle just rolled her eyes at him and said, "Whatever. Quit doting on how far we've come like a mother bear and let's train!"
Percy grumbled as he walked to get set up for the sparring match while Artemis turned to Estelle. "He really does dote over you six doesn't he?" Artemis asked her with a teasing smile on her face. Estelle smirked and turned to look at Artemis as she walked after Percy. "Oh not just us. He worries about the entire Hunt. Especially their, and I quote 'beautiful and deadly' patron," Estelle finished to sprint after the other girls, leaving Artemis in a state of shock with a small blush.
PERCY POV
Today, the girls were taking me on, one group at a time. First up was the group of Kiani, Jessica, and Leah. When we first started these group sparring sessions, I didn't even need my weapons. Now after only two and a half weeks, I summon my katana and a throwing knife. The sparring begins with Kiani charging me with her hunting knives. We dance around each other blocking and parrying blows.
'She's made so much progress already. I wonder if she's been training with Thalia or Artemis directly' I thought as I jumped back to avoid another blow. Jessica was constantly trying to get vines to wrap around my limbs as I avoided Kiani's onslaught. After I leapt back, Kiani switched up tactics. She began charmspeaking nearby animals to attack me in tandem with Jessica's vines.
I had to move double time to avoid vines and some angry squirrels and the like, that I didn't notice the arrow flying at me until the last second. I bent all the backwards and the arrow clipped some hairs off my head. I had managed to get some spellbooks for Leah, courtesy of her mom pretty quickly. Hecate saying she owed me or something, but I didn't really get it. I just wanted to help Leah.
'She must've finished enchanting her arrows. Good distracting girls.' I thought as I worked to dodge fire and sleep arrows on top of Kiani's knife work and Jessica's vines. I parried one of Kiani's knives and went to block one of Leah's arrows. I blocked the arrow, but forgot about Jessica's vines and one latched my wrist before I could parry another of Kiani's knives.
As a result, my parry was slow and left me with a cut on my forearm about six inches long. The girls were shocked right away and stopped. 'Still a lot to learn' I thought as I cut free of the vine, snapping the girls back to reality. Leah launched another sleeping arrow, only for it to be caught and thrown at Jessica. Before she could react, the arrow knicked Jessica's arm and she wobbled to the ground asleep.
I heard Leah curse and used that distraction to throw my knife at her bow string cutting it. I quickly kicked Kiani back and charged Leah, spinning inside her guard and knocking her out with a quick jab to a pressure point in her neck. Kiani recovered and charged me again, but I easily disarmed her knives and had my katana at her neck.
"Yield?" I asked with pride in my voice. "Yield." Kiani grumbled and I went to heal and wake up the other two. After we all gathered, I sat down and summoned some quick snacks for the girls. "You girls did fantastic!" I said with a mouthful of cookie. "But we didn't win," Kiani replied, dejected. The other two girls put their heads down.
"No, but you managed to wound me this time," I said bringing their spirits up. "Does anyone know what they did wrong?" I asked. Chiron taught me about "teachable moments" when I was at camp once and I really took it to heart. "They let up when they injured you. They should have taken that moment and pressed further?" I turned to see Lora looking at me shyly after answering. "Exactly!" I said, picking up her spirits as well.
"You never know how the fight will go or what will happen. Because of that, you will have limited opportunities to strike and get the upper hand. But once you do, do whatever you can to keep it. That's how most fights are won and lost." I said looking at each of them in turn to see fiery determination in each of their eyes.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Perseus." I turned around to see Artemis and most of the Hunt approaching. I loved spending time with Artemis. We're actually friends now! I'm still smart enough to watch what I say around her, but I've been enjoying the Hunt exponentially more because of her. I still loved messing with her though. She's pretty cute when she's mad.
"Thank you Milady," I said and gave my little half-bow. "Though it was not entirely true. Once you've been in as many battles as me, there are patterns to recognize making it a little easier." I finished my thought. "Interesting Perseus. Are you saying you would be able to distinguish my patterns?" Artemis gave a challenging smirk that most people would grovel before in hopes to be saved from the fate of a jackalope. I relish the challenge.
"I don't know about that milady, but I believe I could hold my own against you."
ARTEMIS POV
"I don't know about that milady, but I believe I could hold my own against you."
Normally, anyone who speaks to me like this would be captured, castrated, tortured, turned into a jackalope, hunted, then killed. In that order. But with Percy, I can't help but feel giddy that he's challenging me. Don't get me wrong, I HATE losing, but the friendly challenge with him is addicting. 'I think this is why we get along so well. Friendly competition.'
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're getting cocky Perseus. We don't need another Heracles," I said to him, sporting a smirk on my face. He responded to my smirk with his own and an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes, "Bring it on, Arty."
He drew his two blades, Riptide and Frostbite, and got into a ready stance. I summoned my hunting knives and assumed my stance as well. A lone leaf blew lazily in the wind between us and upon it hitting the ground, we vanished.
Faster than my hunters' eyes could follow, we collided in the middle of the clearing our blades interlocked. Neither one of us budged, but smirked again at each other and withdrew, beginning the endless dance of combat. We both dodged, blocked, parried, rolled, flipped, and spun in and out of each other's strikes. The only sounds to be heard were the clang of metal and our breathing.
I had to admit Percy was remarkable. For someone of his stature, he moved with grace that rivaled mine. 'Tall and lean, but still with plenty of strength like a hunter,' I thought as we continued our dance. We spared for nearly an hour, the upperhand trading back and forth with each blow. Eventually, we were locked together again.
I looked up to Percy with a smirk, "Ready to yield, Perseus?" My breathing was surprisingly labored, but Percy's wasn't much better. "No, but I'm ready to end this one, Moonlace." I was so shocked by the nickname that it gave Percy the opening he needed. Surprising me further, Percy dropped his swords, and punched the ground, creating a small earthquake that threw me backward.
Before I could recover, Percy vapor traveled behind me and summoned his katana and another one of his knives. One at my throat, and one at the back of my neck. Percy's lips mere centimeters from my ear.
Silence. The Hunt was in absolute awe at the performance their Guardian and I had put on. Percy finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity, "Do you yield to me, Phoebe Artemis?" Feeling his hot breath on my neck and ear and hearing him speaking my full name caused my breath to hitch in my throat. But what caught me off guard was that he asked if I yield to him. That made it much more… intimate and shivers ran from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
After what felt like an eternity, I made my plan. I hated losing so I took Percy's lesson to heart. A smirk grew on my face as I leaned back to his ear and said, "In your dreams, Sea Sponge," and planted a kiss on his cheek.
PERCY POV
"In your dreams, Sea Sponge."
Before I could even laugh at the nickname, I felt a pair of soft, full lips on my cheek and my brain entirely shut down. I felt like every fiber of my being was supercharged with Zeus's Master Bolt. I'm sure I had a dumb look on my face too because before I knew it, I was on the ground with a knife at my neck.
Artemis had distracted me perfectly with that peck, swept my legs right out from underneath me, and had me pinned underneath her with a knife at my neck in half a second. I looked right into her eyes and saw an endless sense of joy, happiness, and mirth. The thrill she gets from combat and hunting is so much like my own. 'That's probably why we get along so well,' I thought as I came back to my senses and realized she was straddling me.
"I yield milady," I grumbled out, but couldn't stay upset long when I saw the smile on her face. She helped me get to my feet, the electricity from the kiss still ever present when I grabbed her hand, and we faced the Hunt. The cheering broke out near immediately. The Hunt cheered for their patron, But I wasn't upset about it. I had my girls and Thalia rooting me on. Artemis looked rather uncomfortable, so I naturally made her more so by grabbing her hand and raising it above her head, gesturing to her with my other hand.
Signaling that she was the winner. After the cheering, Artemis held up a hand for silence and asked, "Any questions?"
"How did you both move that fast?" one of the middle aged hunters asked. "Well, Lady Artemis is just that fast, I had to work to improve my speed," I answered for the both of us. "How was his dual wield style milady?" Phoebe asked. "It was difficult to manage. Perseus was able to attack just as fast and just as strong. Had it been exclusively a sword fight, I don't know what the outcome would have been," Artemis answered, giving me some praise. I smiled and blushed slightly.
"What about the end there when he had you finished?" Thalia asked with a knowing tone and both Artemis and I looked at the ground. "Like Perseus said, create and maintain that opening to win," Artemis answered and I nodded, but swore I saw hints of a blush on her face.
"Now girls, back to your duties after lunch. Perseus, do you mind making lunch?" Artemis asked and I just gave my signature half-bow before heading to the dining tent.
After lunch, I went to sleep from the previous night's mission. More often than not, I sleep after lunch until dinner time, cook dinner, have my personal training while Artemis is performing her duties, then scout out my mission once she's back. I then return to make breakfast and train the others, then repeat. After I woke up, Artemis asked to see me before dinner.
ARTEMIS POV
After the spar with Percy, he made us lunch and retired to his tent. His schedule is crazy now that he has his mission on top of being the Guardian. He never complains though, which is part of why I admire him so. And the spar today was excellent. My adrenaline hasn't been kicked that high in a long time. I was broken out of my musings when he walked into my tent, bedhead very much present.
"Hey there sleepyhead," I giggled out to him. Yes, giggled. I hate to admit but I've been doing it at times strictly in Percy's presence. He yawned again and replied with a hello. "Do you have anything to report?" I asked him. He sighed. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I've been scouting out miles around the hunt as we travel. All of the groups I've encountered are not pressing. They're acting like scouting ranks or…"
"Or what, Percy?" I asked with slight alarm in my tone. "Bait." he said making me feel completely uneasy. "It's like a breadcrumb trail," he said walking to the map in my tent, causing me to come over. "Every force I have scouted, we have encountered later. Nothing more than a few injuries here and there and never anything fatal," he continued. "So where are they leading us?" I asked, looking at the map.
"Camp," he said. "What?" I asked. "Why would they lead us to camp?" I asked again. "They're trying to trap us in. Chances are they have one or two groups trailing us as we 'track them' east. I will go out tonight and scout ahead East like always to ensure that's their plan. After I confirm the east is relatively safe, I'll double back and see what exactly is following us. My guess is, they're trying to bait us to camp and then overwhelm us and camp with numbers. I wouldn't be surprised if they have forces on standby at camp already." Percy finished.
'When did he get so tactical?' I thought to myself mulling over his idea. "Okay. Scout out the east and make sure nothing is pressing. Double-back west and see what you can find. Information only this time, do not engage unless is life or death. We'll confirm their tactics tonight and send out reports to Olympus and the Camps tomorrow." I told him.
Percy gave his little half-bow, making me smile slightly. I called out to him before he left my tent, "Percy?" He turned around. "Be careful," I added in a small voice, and he just gave me a big crooked grin before changing his looks to 'Theo' getting his gear together for tonight.
AN: Short chapter. Trying to slow the pace of the story a bit, I agreed that it was a little too fast, so I'm working on that!