"Alright ladies, rise and shine!" Thalia called, her voice ringing out in the early morning dawn. Ryker watched her from where he rested high above the ground on a tree branch, one eyebrow raised at her choice of words. He had been awake from the moment that the sun had begun to peek above the horizon and had seen Thalia exit her tent and stretch. The lieutenant cast her gaze around the clearing as girls began to shuffle out of their tents many of them bleary eyed after being awoken. "Has anyone seen Ryker?"

"Maybe he left." One girl said hopefully, searching for the boy.

"I hope not." Artemis said as she strode out of Thalia's tent. "We would have to track him down again, and that would be a terrible waste of time."

"Where is he?" Thalia wondered. "He said he didn't want to have a room in a tent-."

"Thank the gods." Another girl sighed in relief.

"So where is he?" Thalia finished, casting a withering look to the girl who had interrupted her. "He's part of the Hunt now, have some decency."

"Thalia is correct." Artemis told the hunters. "Or would you like to question my judgement?" Her words were neutral but Ryker was certain that he heard a veiled threat in them.

Deciding that he had kept them searching long enough, Ryker leapt off from the branch he had been resting on. He landed lightly on the outskirts of the camp with slightly less noise than a whisper. Artemis seemed to sense his presence and glanced around, nodding at him when she spotted him. "Good morning." She greeted him.

"We'll see." Ryker answered back, remaining on the outskirts of the camp. Already the other Hunters were glaring at him through their sleepy eyes.

"Alright ladies," Thalia clapped her hand together loudly and addressed the rest of the Hunters. "Start packing up. I want to leave in an hour. Ryker! Would you mind if I had a word with you?"

"Yes." He answered immediately.

Thalia rolled her eyes, walked over to him, grabbed him by the arm, and marched him into her tent with Artemis following close behind them. The other hunters gave them a wide berth, eager to stay away from Ryker which pleased him to an extent. Once inside Thalia's tent Ryker was released and Thalia took a seat on her couch. She leaned back and crossed her arms, frowning at him. Artemis leaned against one of the walls that supported the tent, a curious expression on her face. "Look," Thalia began, "I get that you didn't want to join up. Totally understand."

Ryker remained silent, waiting for her to make her point. "But you can't keep staying away from the others." Thalia told him.

"I can actually." Ryker corrected her. "It doesn't seem like it will be that difficult either."

"That's not the point." Thalia rolled her eyes. "My lady, some help please?"

"I believe that what Thalia is trying to say is that you can't remain separated from the others." Artemis clarified for him.

"Again, I can actually." Ryker repeated, smirking.

"To put things more bluntly; I will not allow you to." Artemis told him. "Such a rift will only cause strife among my chosen. Strife that, if left unchecked, could lead to grave consequences. Such as my hunters falling in battle when they otherwise might have been able to survive."

"And you think that me choosing to sleep somewhere besides among your hunters can cause this?" Ryker asked.

"No, I think that the antagonism you insist on creating will be the cause." Artemis countered, her face even and composed. She didn't seem at all like she was scolding him, which was probably for the best, instead she was simply reciting facts as she saw them. "The hunt relies on teamwork and trust in each other. Both of which are in short supply between you and my hunters."

"What would you have me do?" Ryker asked, his expression slowly dissolving into his customary scowl. "Joke with them? Perhaps I could instruct them on the finer points of archery."

"Hey, easy there, that's a goddess you are speaking to." Thalia reminded him, half-rising from the couch.

"I am well aware of who she is." Ryker didn't look away from Artemis, unconcerned with Thalia's outrage.

"I had anticipated that you would be a difficult one to bring into the Hunt," Artemis admitted, "And yet I had not foreseen such a stubborn refusal. I do not think that I have ever met such an obstinate demigod, especially when speaking directly to me."

"Don't try to make me into something I'm not and I won't have to be." Ryker answered back. "I'm not a fan of companionship."

"And yet the wolves seem to have taken quite the liking to you." Artemis said slyly, thoroughly surprising him.

After Artemis had finished speaking with him the night before Ryker had strode out of the tent and nearly stepped on the tail of a wolf as he made his way to the woods. The beast had yelped and snarled at him but after a few moments Ryker had calmed the wolf and had begun to wrestle with her. He had not given it a second thought, it was normal for him to be on good terms with animals of the forest, but apparently Artemis thought that it had more significance. "Animals like me." Ryker said cautiously, certain that he was walking into some sort of trap. "I don't see your point."

"Throughout my years walking this world I have found that animals are often more perceptive than humans understand." Artemis informed him, a smile playing on her lips. "They often can divine a human's true nature within seconds of meeting them. Facades do not affect their judgement, they see right through them. One might say that animals are the best judge of character."

"Your point being?" Ryker asked pointedly, glancing questioningly to Thalia. Unfortunately it seemed as though she was just as clueless as he was.

"My point is that my wolves seem to have taken a liking to you, despite your gender." Artemis told him flatly, "Which tells me that this unapproachable demeanor that you have been demonstrating for everyone is not your true personality."

"Don't read too much into it." Ryker advised her, smirking now. "Just because animals like me doesn't mean anything."

"On the contrary." Artemis studied him intently and seemed to nod at her findings. "I think that it means quite a lot. But for now, we have other things to discuss."

"Hunting Orion." Ryker nodded, eager to move away from the old conversation.

"He's proving to be even harder to find than usual." Thalia said unhappily. "He used to make a point to track us and attack whenever Artemis was away. We thought that we could use that to our advantage, but he hasn't been attacking us at all. On top of that-."

"He can disappear into the earth without a trace." Ryker nodded. "I saw him standing beside an open pit when I found him. I'm guessing that's how he's getting in and out of places without a trace. Probably how he's moving demigods out of the camps too."

"Which means that he has a rather powerful ally assisting him." Artemis mused, "Artemis may have many attributes of a great hunter but his dominion over the earth is no greater than my own. He was created to destroy me after all."

"But who would be helping him?" Thalia wondered. "Gaea was destroyed, she can't have regained her consciousness yet… right?"

"I think that we can assume that Gaea has not yet managed to pull herself together." Artemis nodded, "Which means that some other force is at work here."

"Do you have any idea, my lady?" Thalia asked hopefully. "Perhaps a titan or god has allied with Orion?"

"It is possible." Artemis admitted, though Ryker was sure that he heard uncertainty in her words. "But I do not think probable. Whatever is assisting Orion must be rather powerful. I have a few ideas, of course, but nothing solid."

"So finding Orion is the most direct way to understand what it is that he is doing." Ryker nodded in agreement. "But finding him won't be easy."

"We would need to know where he is going to be before he gets there." Thalia sighed in discontent. "Which is next to impossible. The demigods that he has been abducting have almost nothing in common other than that they have divine parents and they are fairly well known. Some of them have not even had parents that were major gods."

"And as you said, he has been appearing and disappearing without a trace." Artemis added. "If he had been simply slipping into camp and then retreating into the forest my hunters and wolves would be able to track him."

"But he must have some sort of limit to his form of travel." Ryker muttered, his mind working feverishly. "Otherwise he wouldn't have had to move after grabbing Silver."

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked curiously.

"When Orion took Silver she was perched on a branch above me." Ryker explained. "When I found Orion he had made his way to a small clearing. That was where the hole in the ground had appeared. It might be nothing, but I think there might be a limit to where he can use his little escape trick."

Thalia and Artemis seemed to consider this. "It's not much, but it's something." Thalia offered warily. "It might give us a small edge over him."

"Unfortunately we still do not have the means to watch over both camps at once." Artemis observed. "They are both already on high alert and Orion has still been taking demigods with impunity."

Ryker lapsed into silence as he considered this. Unpredictability was usually death to both hunter and prey. Both parties usually followed set patterns. If a prey chose a route other than the one that had allowed them to survive in the past there was a chance that a hunter was there waiting for them. Conversely, a hunter who could not adapt to its prey's tactics was doomed to starve. Choosing a hunting ground that had never been tested before was dangerous at best and deadly at worst.

So why is Orion choosing his targets with such disregard for any set pattern? Ryker mulled the question over in his mind. When the answer hit him he narrowed his eyes, considering it. After looking at it from every possible angle he came to the conclusion that his answer was the most likely. "Orion isn't the one choosing the targets." He said aloud.

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked.

"Orion is a hunter. Just like us." Ryker said simply.

"Orion is nothing like-." Thalia began fiercely.

Ryker held up a hand forestalling her denial. "Fine. Orion is a hunter just like me." He amended his statement. "I understand him. I don't think that he is the one who is choosing the demigods to be taken. In fact, I bet that he doesn't have a choice in the matter. If it were me, I would be taking demigods that had caused the most trouble for those who opposed the gods. On top of that, he isn't following a set pattern. He's been taken demigods at random, correct? Any predator knows that attacking unknown prey is almost certain death."

"So what are you saying?" Thalia asked, seeking clarification.

"I'm saying that you have been going about this the wrong way." Ryker said simply. "You have been trying to predict Orion's movements. If he isn't the one making decisions that makes all of your plans next to useless."

"So what you are saying is that we should instead focus our efforts on finding out who has been giving orders to Orion?" Artemis seemed to be intrigued by the idea. "It makes sense. I have known Orion for several millennia. He might be a ruthless hunter, but he is far from stupid."

Thalia stared blankly at a spot on the far wall over Ryker's shoulder. "So how do we find out who is giving Orion orders?"

"If someone is giving Orion orders, I am almost certain that they must be powerful." Artemis told them. "Orion does not follow orders out of any sense of loyalty, at least, not since he left the Hunt. He follows them through fear or threat of power. Monster attacks have been growing less and less common as of late. Something is coming, though I do now know what. We need to find out what it is before the dam breaks. If we do not, I fear what may await us."

Hello again my readers, I have a query for you. Have any of you guessed who the main antagonist of this story is as of yet? If you have, feel free to message me or leave it in a review. Your musings are of great interest to me. As always, thank you so much for taking an interest in my story. It means the world. Until next time!
Cheers, Hallowed