A/N: THIS GUY! THIS FREAKING GUY!
Solidercrafter1
^Literally this guy!^ Is the only ONE review I've gotten from the the last chapter and it was half a bloody paragraph when I asked for at most 3 words! Guys, Guys seriously? Whatever. Not gonna bother then. Review if you review, don't even care. However, ya don't see something ya wanted to see? Not my fault. Ya can toss you own comments or concerns, questions and what not at me, and I've said it before, they will be taken into consideration during the writing process to possibly cater to certain desires. But apparently that went out the window so oh well. Any who, sorry for the wait. College is back and so is my lack of free time with it. But here's the next Chapter of Once Awake. ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I really hate having to do this every chapter but I don't own PJO and HOO those belong to Ricky boy and I only own OC's and original plot.
Chapter 21: Peace (Sort Of)
It had taken approximately 12 hours before the Hunt gave up chasing Noir. They tried everything. Traps, arrows, harpoons, grappling hooks, they had even found a couple of naughty magazines and laid them out over a pitfall upon which he blinked in 20 feet above them and proceeded to laugh at them for a full 15 minutes while dodging arrows before blinking out once more. He had even turned the tables on them with their own traps, some Hunters were tripped into their own snares and hung upside down unable to fire at the laughing wolf due to the skirts they wore. Sure they had shorts underneath but still it was degrading. Others he pushed into pitfalls he'd camouflaged, and for whatever reason, filled with maple syrup. The bear traps they had laid out were all sprung and holding bouquets of flowers, they found their arrows back at the armory all tipped with marshmallows, he even managed to find a device for managing their undergarments. A note had been left reading, "To help with the twists in your knickers."
Noir had once again appeared just to laugh at them before disappearing along with the machine. The only Hunter who had not given up was Phoebe and she was currently encased in a giant lime flavored Jello cube. Noir had come to 'help', by which he meant shave off a bit of the Jello into a bowl, cover it in condensed milk, and then eat while laughing as Phoebe spat curses at him. It was a half hour later when Noir had finished his third bowl of Jello (Lily had joined the fun and had a bowl too alongside Thalia after much pestering) when Phoebe finally called uncle and was blinked into the Pavilion during dinner time.
"Do me a solid and shovel her out will ya? Anything ya don't eat toss it for the gods. This was its own reward after all!"
Noir promptly flashed out leaving a blushing and thoroughly embarrassed Phoebe at the mercy of the (bitter) demi-gods. He then flashed back in,
"Any hands anywhere they're not supposed to be will be hands no longer attached to their arms. Capiche?"
The demi-gods nodded frantically at the glare he gave before he stepped up and popped an overly exaggerated kiss to Phoebe's forehead. She grimaced heavily while Noir chuckled.
"Love ya Phoe-Phoe! You always make things fun for me ya know that?"
She growled. He laughed. The demi-gods began to dig. Phoebe was just glad she didn't need to go to the bathroom at this point in time. That would be about six different kinds of awkward. Little did she know Noir wasn't that cruel. True he was a bit mischievous but never cruel. Except to his enemies. But that's beside the point since it only took about ten minutes before Noir blinked her out of the remainder of the cube. She found herself back in the Hunter's cabin where Noir was extending a hand to her. She scowled but shook it none the less. He was an idiot sometimes but truthfully the Hunt hadn't been mad. Artemis had explained the situation before hand and they wanted to have fun with the polymorph. Despite their frustration of being counter trapped they weren't really complaining. Male or not Noir was helping them have fun. They could read the intensity of the emotions he thought he hid well. They could sometime feel his apprehension and worry for them what with the main war approaching fast and possible replacements to a now deceased Cheshire (they hoped). They just wanted to keep him lively, and in turn he did the same for them.
They hadn't forgotten the rescue mission that had preceded his transformation to humanoid. They still had no idea what had happened after they blacked out and Noir refused to elaborate. He'd always brush it off or flip is hair flamboyantly before jumping into a preposterous tail of ninjas, dragons, evil half ant-half dog monsters that had come to his aid in the time of need before he battled the evil over lord for the hand of the princess he had to save afterwards. Every time they tried to coax it out of him, the story simply got more comical and had even had him popping up in a pink dress once before. With that in mind Phoebe did the most surprising thing possible and pulled him into a hug.
Noir froze, completely wide eyed before he relaxed and gently snaked his hands around her shoulder. He rested his forehead on top of her head.
"Thank you. For everything, whether we've known about it or not, thank you."
A low rumble signaled Noir's chuckle, "C'mon Phoebe. Don't tell me you've gone soft."
His voice cracked slightly half way through but he managed to choke it out.
"You sound like a twelve year old." she replied, "So tell me, who's the softie now?"
Noir didn't respond and pulled her closer. He gently patted her head before blinking out. Phoebe smiled before turning back to her cot and lying down. She pulled the covers up to her neck and turned in for the night.
"C'mon girls, we have a wolf to hunt tomorrow and I'm not doing it while I'm dead tired." The rest of the Hunters quickly followed suit. Quite happy they had a friend in such a high place.
-Line Break-
The next day Noir could be seen running around with some of the younger campers on his shoulders. He was a lot more active and bubbly and the whole camp seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. They even had a small soiree when Beckendorf had finally asked Silena to go out with him. Noir had conjured a banner after he asked that read 'Took you long enough!'. The campers had a good chuckle at that. The underlying tension of the approaching war wasn't completely gone but it was something. They had a meeting later since they had gotten word of monster forces gathering and attacks decreasing. It seemed they were gathering and the head councillors plus Thalia were going to determine the next course of action. They had managed to also get word of the Princess Andromeda via sea nymphs that had reported to Poseidon. There was powerful magic keeping it hidden but they would find it eventually. The rest of the time the satyrs were bringing in more demi-gods that were being crammed into the Hermes cabin. Noir had scowled at the cramming before expanding the entire interior. There had been some sweet customizations according to rumor but nothing had come to light. Even with Dionysus and Chiron putting pressure on the wolf who would simply whistle an 'innocent' tune and vanish right before their eyes.
That aside The Hunters had been training at the range when their compatriot popped up. Noir actually looked slightly tired before smiling and yawning. The hybrid had been vanishing every so often. No matter how hard they tried no one could manage to catch him before he blinked out. He had said he had a surprise for them but refused to even give a hint. They were anxious at this point and even Lily's super-duper puppy dog eyes had yielded nothing. Artemis had threatened to castrate him to which he laughed and then turned her into a MAN much to her horror. No one knew how he did it all they knew is that he had snapped his fingers and Artemis had been engulfed in platinum flames. When they had cleared a lithe twelve year old boy with auburn hair and silver eyes was looking down at himself in horror.
"Now Now Artemis. Impatience is most unbecoming of a young lady. Men are more suited to rash action don't ya think?"
She had screamed and passed out. He changed her back and walked away slightly hunched over with tears streaming down his face from laughter. Artemis had awoken in time for him to reach the beach. She snarled and exploded after him. They both took off across the water and into the horizon before a pink mushroom cloud could be seen in the distance. Artemis had warped back in wearing a pair of silver capris and a black see through halter top embossed with a silver tree over a sports bra. A note on her forehead read
'Just wait and find out will ya? Until then get with the time! Your outfits are atrociously drab!'
Thalia had laughed until she was engulfed in a silver poof. She came out in a pair of ridiculously short black denims. Her parka was replaced with and extra length black leather jacket and her 'Death to Barbie' shirt had changed to a silver tank top with a black skull on it. The skull looked like it was designed with water paint leaving it streaming down in different areas while silver poured from its eyes. On her neck was a black spike choker and she had on fingerless gloves as well. Her makeup was pretty simplistic but efficient. Her black eyeliner was flawlessly winged and her lips were black. On the back of her right hand glove was an ornate cross like the one on Noir's belt buckle and her hair came down to her neck in a pixie bob. She looked over herself in pure horror before gold lettering seemed to draw itself into existence before them.
'Anyone else want to laugh?' The Hunt wisely kept their mouths shut while Thalia and Artemis swore their revenge to the heavens. It was then they heard a camera snap and saw Noir and Aphrodite standing side by side with a Nikon. Noir grinned and high five Aphrodite.
"We killed it." And with that they vanished as Artemis and Thalia barrelled past where they had been previous standing. A note popped up in front of them
'I won't be warping around but if you can't catch me before the meeting this afternoon you'll be stuck like that for the next week. Your outfits might change as I see fit. And to the rest of the Hunters. Keep your eyes open. If I trap you you'll suffer the same fate. J'
They all looked horrified while Artemis and Thalia sprinted off towards the camp grounds. They really needed to catch that bloody wolf.
It would be harder than they thought. Finding Noir was the easy part, catching him was something entirely different. He was true to his word and didn't blink anywhere but it was like trying to catch smoke. You can't. Artemis could tell that he wasn't using any power but it didn't make her feel any better as she lost sight of him again. He was always within a couple meters of her but she just couldn't figure what the hell kind of movements he was using to evade her. Every now and again she would get close enough to grab him but in what seemed like slow motion he would simply drift away. She and the girls stopped and backed off as he stood in the centre of them smirking. Then he started to move TOWARDS them. He swayed drunkenly from side to side slowly. All of their eyes widened as short range after images followed his movements. It looked like there was a procession of Noirs approaching her, all following the same pattern as they faded away before the next directional change.
Artemis stepped back slowly, the lazy grin on his face was a complete guise for the danger before them. They knew he wouldn't get particularly rough but they knew precisely how much damage he could do to their formation with feral efficiency. They were treating this as a HVT Assault and Capture mission. Noir was taking this seriously and now they were too. They all set their stances low as they approached the hybrid. Artemis blinked and he was in front of her. She yelped and scrambled back. She tried to regain her balance but Noir hooked her leg and pulled. She aimed to bring him down with her as she grabbed his collar but he jumped with the pull, pinched her wrist making it go numb and limp, and somersaulted out of the circle.
That was when all Hades broke loose. Thalia gave up on calm and collected and lunged at him expecting him to back up further due to how close they were. Obviously she wasn't prepared for him to lunge into her outstretched hands and use his shoulder (along with her momentum) to toss her clean over his head where she landed upon her mistress. Phoebe was quickly up next. His grin grew when he saw her approaching and he promptly shoved his hand in his pockets. Outraged at the insult Phoebe charged, much to Atlanta's dismay as she rushed to back her up. Noir's hands flew outwards and clamped onto both of Phoebe's as he slid between her legs and into nose nuzzling distance to Atlanta. Atlanta blushed at their proximity which was the perfect distraction for Noir to use. He quickly dropped into a low sweep, simultaneously dodging Phoebe's grab and tripping the both of them where Atlanta's momentum sent them tumbling into a finally recovered Artemis and Thalia. The rest of the Hunters looked terrified before Trixie, a daughter of Tyche, grabbed her lucky Rabbit's foot, let loose a battle cry and charged. Noir's smile only grew as the Huntresses rapidly approached.
With Percy, at the beach
"GO TO THE MOON!"
Percy looked quizzically towards the camp grounds wondering what kind of trouble Noir was getting up to. He shrugged and settled back into the warm sand to continue his relaxation. He'd wreak havoc tomorrow, Noir could manage well enough on his own for today.
Back with the Hunt and Noir
When Trixie landed on her, Thalia was entirely sure the hybrid was doing this on purpose. She rolled out from under Trixie as another one of her sisters, Moira a daughter of Hecate that had joined during the Salem Witch trials, landed heavily on top of Trixie and Artemis who was at the bottom of the dog pile as it were. Artemis let out an 'Oof!' when Noir used Moira's back as a quick springboard and launched into the air in a tight flip. Backwards. He landed behind the Hunters who had thought he would continue forward, clearing the tightly packed group, and skidded to a halt as they all tumbled into each other as they tried to spin back around. With the Hunt in a heap he blew them a kiss,
"Good to know I got the ladies piling up to hold me down."
They all growled as he laughed and sauntered off, making sure he swayed his hips with as much sass as he could manage. The flustered pile of angry girls were scrambling trying to get after him but were counterproductive as a whole, tripping and pulling each other down. They were getting nowhere fast.
Artemis sighed as someone accidently elbowed her ribs. She was going to be stuck here a while.
When Thalia and Artemis walked into the Rec Room jaws dropped. Artemis was showing mid-drift, Thalia's legs were on display, and the bubble gum she was chewing popped with a ferocity no one could deny. She glared at them all and the head councillors quickly looked away. Artemis sat and crossed her arms over her chest while Thalia leaned against the wall behind her with one foot braced against the wall as she blew another bubble.
"What are we waiting for?" she inquired.
Travis Stoll swallowed thickly as he tried, exceptionally hard, to maintain eye contact. "We're missing two we just need Percy and- "
"Me?"
Jaws dropped again as Percy and Noir strolled in. Percy had a Victorian suit on with a cane included. A top hat sat upon his head with a teal ribbon tied about it. The ruffles of his shirt were tipped in the same teal and it stood out against the white undershirt and popped against his black waist coat. His trousers were tidy and wrinkleless while a cane was topped with a Dark Opal rested in his hands. The colors swam within it making it look like a blue nebulae atop his walking stick. He tipped his hat with a crooked grin and took his seat with his cane beside his chair. Unfortunately all eyes were on Noir.
He wore black denim slacks with platinum diamond pattern on one leg and no shirt. He had button up on but left it completely unbuttoned revealing his chiselled torso for the world to ogle. He had a long scarf on that wrapped around his neck but trailed in two tails over his shoulder tipped with platinum. The area around his neck held four pendulums all hanging across his chest and a black newsboy cap sat atop his head. The bill of it was edged with his trade mark platinum and two slits had been added so his wolf ears could poke through. He had apparently gotten tired of looking human but took pity on the rest of them, relegating himself to a single black tail. It seemed to fit with the tribal wolf head emblemized in platinum on his button up's breast pocket. Three thick lines of platinum dropped from beneath it with a staggering finish. A familiar platinum chain hung off the belt loops of his low slung jeans. If anyone had a problem with the black, white wasted boxers they could see beneath his V-line no one commented on it.
This time Katie swallowed hard, "Yes." She managed to croak out. He gave her a wicked smirk.
"Well ya want me? Ya got me. Now come on, keep staring and I'll start charging. We have work to do."
Chiron cleared his throat while the rest of the councillors tried to look anywhere but at Noir, Thalia, Artemis, and Percy. Though Annabeth seemed to be having the most trouble keeping her eyes off Percy whose hat sat crookedly on his head like the mischievous smile on his face. Thalia dutifully ignored her hormones as Noir stretched heavily and let loose a low groan before taking his seat. With (almost) everyone's (almost) undivided attention Chiron began the meeting.
"We have to be ready to respond especially with the gathering storm approaching. According to Percy we know that Kronos had risen in the body of Luke Castellan. The ship the Princess Andromeda has a veritable army on it and cannot be located. We know Kronos is targeting Mt. Olympus and we know he has quite a few minor gods on his side."
Noir snorted, "Minor gods that could easily shift the balance in this war for better or worse you mean…"
"What do you mean?" Noir faced Katie
"I'm saying you guys are extremely lucky Iris is a peaceful goddess. You'd be screwed in terms of communication. Same thing with Hestia and as for Hecate, who is openly supporting their side by the way, is not a minor goddess you fools. She's a minor TITANESS. Need I say more?"
Chiron nodded in grim agreement while the councillors paled slightly.
"On the bright side, Cheshire is gone but that doesn't mean they won't provide the Titan army with a bit more of a kick. If you see Kronos shooting laser eye beams don't be surprised is all I'm saying."
Cue nervous sweat
"However, with this there will be less contention to my actions with him gone. Not to mention we have a break while they gather their forces. We can use the extra time to recruit additional demi-gods for before and after the battle. I know we said we'd have no fatalities in this war but realistically bodies will be buried. I hate to say it but it's the truth. As for the battle itself, we need to train the campers harder. Don't kill them, but make them work for it. Also the transportation means for the campers needs a bit more work. We want snap reactions in case of ambush or pre-emptive strike. I say if we can get a lock on the Andromeda we can stealth on board and maul the thing. We'll need someone good on the water"
Pointed look at Percy,
"and someone with killer explosive talents."
A glance to Bekendorf who gave a simple nod from where he sat beside Silena.
"Good. We can presume this battle will be based in New York City, the main objective will be the Empire State Building upon which Olympus stands. We have a few weeks if we're lucky before everything begins to crack. Atlas is back beneath the sky but we will be faced with other powerful titans. In the meantime, there is another meeting I must attend. We will revisit this once more. C'mon Perce, we got work to do."
With that he blinked out, leaving Percy confused. Chiron looked thoughtful before wheeling towards the door,
"I believe he refers to the Council of Cloven Elders. They are the ones that lead the satyrs and are the awarders of searcher's license. With what he said transpired during the expedition of the Labyrinth he will need our support. Satyrs are more stubborn than most would expect."
Soon enough Percy was standing (still in his surprisingly cool and comfortable suit) beside Annabeth and Juniper, who was Grover's girlfriend, as he got chewed out by the Cloven Elders.
"Blasphemy! Pan is alive and he will return! He shall lead us once more into an age in which the Wild is dominant!"
Noir snarled viciously from his place beside Percy while Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose. Grover stood his ground firmly for what it was worth.
"Even if he is still out there, which he's not since me and the questers saw him fade and were witness to his final resting place within the labyrinth, he is not here now. We cannot continue to search for a god that is simply not there. We must fight for the wild ourselves if we want to make the difference especially with war approaching. We can't just keep running around while the rest of this pantheon fights for our survival. We need to gather the nature spirits and prepare for-"
"WE don't have to do anything you say! WE are the Elders. WE say what goes, WE-"
"Are a bunch of old sods sitting on your wilting thrones doing fuck all for this world while your subordinates dies in a quest for a ghost. You insult the memory of my resting friend with your ignorance and disrespect for his entrusted and you disrespect his memory with your dependence upon him. You disrespect his teachings as you sit upon your high horses getting fat off your prestige. Now YOU can sort yourselves the fuck out. Or I can force feed you're your goddamn lungs."
Noir stood proud in deer form, life energy flowing off him like water off a waterfall. The Elders looked absolutely terrified as he began to advance on them and with a few squeals/bleats they ran like hell itself was following them. With what they had seen Noir do, hell would've been the better option. Noir scoffed at their attitudes and blinked away while Grover began asking the gathered Dryads and Satyrs to help with the war effort.
"I'm glad that he stood up and helped, but now I have to gather the nature spirits. We've been too passive for too long and with Kronos coming we have no time to spare. He will burn the wild just as he would burn Olympus and we can't let everyone else sacrifice themselves for our homes. I'll rally the nature spirits. You guys work around here to make sure everyone is ready for what's to come."
With that he kissed a proud looking Juniper and spun off towards the woods. Percy was quite proud of him and turned back to Annabeth.
"Come on. We've got training to do."
The next couple of days were less lax as Noir led the Hunters through crazy high speed training as they moved from camp back towards California for a check up on Mt. Orthyrs. Noir was coaching them on the extent of their blessings and possibly channeling their own demi-goddess powers into it, and in turn, their bodies.
"As far as I've seen the blessing is a natural enhancement to your own abilities as well as an addition of typical Hunter related capabilities. Try drawing on it. Typically it's a passive addition but try focusing on what it encompasses. Focus on Artemis's domains and try to feel the energy you've been granted. Take in the forest and pull in as much energy as you can from the moon. Picture the rays of moonlight tethering to your bodies and feeding you strength."
With the full moon above them they could actually feel the strength of the world around them. The aroma of nature invaded their senses as their blessing's augments began to become more prominent.
"Good. Try and keep up that kind of connection as you train. It'll become easier to do with time and it'll be easier to maintain. Once you have the hang of that we'll work on the blending of your own powers into the blessing to further boost its capabilities. I would also recommend pushing your selves to set and break your limits. The blessing enhances, therefore, should you further strengthen your natural capabilities and they will be further enhanced. Make sense? Great."
With that he left them to meditate beneath their mistress's domain as he blinked off to wherever the hell he had been going for the past week. They eventually broke down into typical chores after a half hour. Thalia and Lily were setting up the fire while Phoebe and Atlanta went off to Hunt. It was 10 seconds before they both came bursting out of the trees with the Nemean lion hot on their trail, only it looked way different than when Thalia had previously encountered it. Bone protrusions sprouted from its shoulders and a pair of bull horns sprouted from above its eyes and curved down in front of its maw. Its coat wasn't just reflective gold, striations of black trailed a across its flank making it look more like a tiger than anything. There was also a T shaped club on its tail that hooked backwards like a mace.
Its roar shook the clearing and Thalia wasted no time firing an arrow into its now black maw. It bit down with ferocious force, splintering the arrow into dust. It turned to her with pure hatred in its eyes.
'Well fuck'
The lion lunged while Thalia rolled beneath it. It was apparently a whole load faster than before and spun on a dime, swatting her with a massive paw. Something soft caught her and set her down. She looked up to see a scowling Noir carrying her princess style while Artemis flashed into the clearing. She took in the lion before it whipped its tail at her. She jumped back and away, conjuring her bow and peppering its black and gold face with arrows. A thin film seemed to slip over its eyes and Artemis's arrow shattered against it. Noir flew past her and smashed a flat palm into the beasts flank. Much to the Hunter's surprise the beast didn't budge, the ground on the opposing side of it did. It shattered in an outward cone in the same direction Noir's palm had struck. The lion jumped away obviously wounded judging from the blood staining its teeth as they were bared at Noir. It was so focused on him it didn't even notice Lily standing directly behind it. She figured now was as good a time as any to test the theory she and Noir had come up with.
She quickly drew up and orb of solar power before slowly pushing lunar energy into the sphere. After all the glow of the moon was the reflection of sunlight upon it. Well…according to science anyway. The resulting flux was a swirl of gold and silver that she compressed as much as she could before she lunged towards the lion. It kicked out a leg but she slid beneath it and rammed the spiraling power mass into the beast's underbelly (A/N: Rasengan anyone?).
The resulting explosion pinned her flat against the ground whilst a silver and gold tempest of energy flung the lion sky high. Darkness was beginning to encroach in her vision. She had drawn that energy from within herself and not from her reserve, now she just felt drained. She had enough consciousness left to watch Noir and Artemis slam twin impacts into opposing sides of the lion, crushing its chest cavity and likely causing an insane amount of hemorrhaging before she passed out.
She awoke the next day feeling still the slightest bit groggy. She walked outside to find the sun high overhead.
'Must be around midday' she thought before she was tossed into the air with a yelp. Noir was beneath her smiling radiantly.
"That was awesome!" He caught her and pulled her into a hug which she returned.
"Absolutely brilliant. Brilliant I say! Drawing on your own powers, manifesting the power within a controlled state, AND infusing it with Artemis's domain? You, my friend, deserve a cookie."
The cookie he conjured was five feet in diameter and stood taller than she did. Also it was blue which he likely picked up from Percy.
"He's not wrong you know. Those movements and reactions as well as your power management were pretty freaking awesome."
Thalia lightly ruffled her hair and she beamed at the both of them.
"But you do know what today is, right Lils?"
She sent him a confused look to which he smirked and vanished (along with the cookie which made her pout) and reappeared in a tux.
The rest of the Hunters, along with Artemis, all stood around them in varying states of formal attire. He then flashed them to a ball room where the band immediately began to play. The concerto was soft and welcoming and there was a steaming buffet in the corner.
Noir snapped his fingers and a banner rolled down from the rafters
'First Month with the Hunt!'
They finally realized how much had happened in such a short time. The Hunt had gained two new siblings. A quest was issued and resolved. A full battle was fought. Some siblings were lost. They had come to (at least) tolerate the presence of men (despite the lingering prejudice). Finally they had become stronger. Not just as teammates, but as family. A slow smile spread across their faces, or in Phoebe's case a slight grin, and they began to cheer.
The rest of the night was peaceful as they danced and chatted with each other. Ate and listened to Thalia tell the about the ridiculous trouble Percy got into before they met him and all of the ridiculous moments they've had since before and after she joined the Hunt. When it got to the part about he had dumped lime green hair dye in the Aphrodite cabin's shampoo they had all clapped in appreciation. When they learned the cabin had turned everything he owned pink, and he then proceeded to own it, they had laughed heartily at the notion of Percy in a pink polo, with pink shorts, and a pink sweater tied about his shoulders as he strutted around in pink loafers. The notion was too much and the Hunt was practically in tears. They had heard even more stories of his ridiculousness and kindness that day as well.
When they heard of how he ran the sword fighting classed their interest was piqued. Normally they expected arrogance and cruelty but what they heard shocked them.
"He's surprisingly laid back about it. He does instruct firmly don't get me wrong but he's exceptionally patient, especially with the younger kids. He absolutely hates the attention and hero worship but he can never turn them down, 'They just look so cute with the puppy dog eyes and the whole you're my hero please teach me thing I just can't say no.' You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard Annabeth yelling at him about skipping classes to head down to the lake. I don't think she know he spends most of his time there with the kids. As it were He even sneaks off into the Arena with them after class and teaches them at their pace with wooden swords. It's actually hilarious cause one of them tripped him and he landed backwards on his sword."
Thalia chuckled, "He complained about his splinters for a week."
The Hunt was dumbfounded by the sheer kindness and humbleness of the demi-god. They had always thought he was goofy with the way he ended up spluttering and turning red in the face at the slightest tease. He would always smile about it and laugh anyway. They looked over to Noir who was dancing with Lily on his feet, smiling like a silly big brother and wondered
'Maybe. Just maybe. They might have been wrong about all men being pigs.'
The rest of the night went by peace fully and soon enough they were back at camp.
Atlanta marched right up to Noir who had a sleeping Lily on his back.
"You. Wolf. Now."
He cocked an eyebrow before he handed Lily off to Thalia and shifted.
"Bigger" she demanded
He grew to 45 feet tall and flopped onto his side. Atlanta climbed up onto his flank and flopped down on her back.
"Well? What are you guys waiting for? A bloody sign from the gods? Get up here!"
The rest of the Hunters smiled and hopped up onto the massive wolf. Noir curled up and set his head down. His massive tails swung around and rested lightly about and on top of them making a blanket of warmth and comfort.
In the cool nigh air, on top of their behemoth companion, the Hunt fell asleep beneath the stars. The warmth of family encompassing them.
A/N: Annnnnnndddddd Another Chapter done! 22 is half done since I got ahead on it before first week but it's second week and I already have a formal lab report coming up so that should about speak to how busy I'm gonna be with another 6 bloody classes. Any who not only working on quantity as well as quality so he story might hit a weekly update schedule instead of my typical 3-5 days (Yeah I actiually updated a full chapter within 3 days a few times). So just keep up and stay tuned, I still have another 5 books to get through here!