The Hunter

First of all I'd like to thank all you for reviewing! Particularly you Artemis! But like I said thank you all!

Percy: Yeah, you all rock!

Thalia: Shut up, kelp-head.

Oh and by the way this chappie isn't really part of the plot... ah... writers blockhead-ness

Sorry ab-

Percy: On with the story!

A tall boy strode through the woods, pushing aside brush and branches as he pushed ahead. He was dressed in a silver hoodie and jeans but the resemblance of a normal teenager stopped there. A longbow was strung across his back alongside a quiver of arrows that shone like captured moonlight. He also carried an unsheathed sword in his right hand, that was bloodied red over the slightly silver tone blade. He thrust aside a tangled claw of brambles that reached out with grabbing fingers and entered a clearing where moonlight shone down unblocked or restricted. The boy thrust back his hood revealing his crew-cut black hair and sea green eyes. For a moment he did nothing but stare at the luminescent moon reflecting in his eyes. The he squatted down in the grass, removing his bow and quiver and beginning to wipe the blood off of his sword.

Nico shadow-traveled just into the clearing, below the branches where the shadow clustered together like a group of conspirators. The strange boy was sitting in the center, seemingly oblivious to his visitor. Well the boy may have been strange only to Nico. His sense of nearby souls told him many things, such as how close they were to dying. However the boy in front of him, who he had felt the soul of from the Underworld, had a soul that felt as old as Ancient Greece but at the same time as young and green as a college student. He stepped into the clearing, and the archer turned around in surprise. "Hello there Son of Hades." he said causally.

Nico narrowed his eyes. "Who are you? I've felt the souls of many demigods, but you are unlike any other."

The archer smiled ruefully. "Who am I? That's a question even I'm not sure about anymore." he turned to the sky again at this point. "Can you keep a secret?"

Nico was surprised. This meeting with the strange demigod was not going according to plan. He wasn't scared a bit, and now he was asking Nico if he could keep a secret? It was weird. Nico inched his Stygian iron sword out of the scabbard just enough to be able to whip it out at the slightest threat. "Sure" he said, still standing.

"I'm one of the lost ones, one of the ones who were harmed because of feuds between the gods. Honestly, I'm not sure how old I am, or who my parents were anymore. And most important I have no idea why I was brought back to life. Mostly I just know someone wanted me dead. Eternity away from life tends make you a little forgetful" He twisted his mouth in annoyance. "I don't even know where the heck I am."

Surprisingly, Nico felt himself relaxing. The stranger's story reminded him painfully of how he and Bianca had to be shoved into a time stopping casino for a couple of decades. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I understand. Join the club. My sister Bianca and I, we were put in a situation like that." He clenched his jaw not believing he was sitting in a forest in Pennsylvania talking to some complete stranger. "Anyway, as for where you are. This is the new home of Olympus, America. There's a camp for demigods in New York, north of here. And currently it's looking like it might become the final home of Olympus." The stranger's eyebrows quirked up questioningly. "Well you see a demigod named Luke has succeeded to resurrected Kronos." At this point the archer's eyes narrowed then widened in surprise at the news of open rebellion. "And the sweet little cherry on top, is that Typhon is possibly awakened."

For a moment, neither said anything about the disturbing news that had just transpired between the two. Then the stranger sighed heavily and rose to his feet. "Well, thank you, son of Hades. I'm fairly certain I was brought back for a reason. I'll drop by this camp, say hello to an old friend and slip back into the night." He settled his quiver onto his back in a more comfortable position and started to walk off, but turned around when Nico called after him. "Wait who are you?"

The stranger smiled, white teeth gleaming in moonlight. "Call me Orion."

And with that he strode into the woods, and Nico did not see him again for a long time.

Ok, good news! I have determined the four antagonists fro the story, even spent some time sketching them out! The plot will be picking up from now on!