-PERCY AGE THIRTEEN-
Percy dodged the blade that nearly cut his head off as he launched himself forward. The advancer saw this and ducked the predicted punch only to have her legs swept out from under her. She fell but rolled away as Percy tried to tackle her. She quickly jumped to her feet and slashed Percy's exposed chest and he hissed before giving her a quick jab to her arm making it go numb. He advanced again while throwing clean and powerful punches. She swiftly avoided all of them and he started to get angry. He stopped and took a step back while observing his opponents movements. She was smaller which made her more agile and quick, he would have to think more carefully for she was a formidable foe. He faked a punch at her face and she ducked, predicting this he gave her a sharp upper cut to the jaw that made her head snap upwards. She stumbled backwards and Percy rammed his elbow into her stomach making her fall to the ground. Before he could move she jumped up and quickly kicked him in the stomach. He gasped for breath and she slashed his back with her knives. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the blade as it came down. He wretched it from her grasp and tossed it behind him so she only had one knife. She smirked and slashed at him, he avoided the blade and spun out of her reach. He watched her movements closely and saw her legs tense, he rolled right as she jumped in the air and grabbed her ankles. He hauled her down and she fell to the ground with a thud. He tackled her only to find her knife at his throat,
"Yield?" He debated this for a moment and tried looking for another option besides surrender. He saw her exposed stomach and punched it making her hands immediately grip it in pain, he took the moment to yank the knife from her and toss it away as well. Once she recovered she flipped him so she was on top only for him to do the same thing. They were soon rolling on the ground throwing punches, knees, elbows, and kicks. Their stubbornness made it almost impossible or either of them to submit, Percy's body soon felt like he'd been stampeded by a group of stags...which has happened before. Neither of the opponents could seem to surpass the other as they tried to fight for dominance, he threw a quick punch but she moved her head to the side and he punched the ground instead. His knuckles were bleeding heavily and knew that this would get them no were,
"Draw?" He asked and she nodded. They were both a sweaty mess and felt bruised and awful. Percy winced at the series of pops he heard coming from his back, he stood and helped her up. Her silver eyes were swelling with pride as she smiled widely at him,
"Your getting far better then I could of hoped Percy." He grinned and embraced her,
"Thanks sis, that means a lot coming from a man hating goddess." Artemis chuckled and popped a square of ambrosia in her mouth while Percy sipped on some nectar. His cuts healed instantly along with his bloody knuckles, but it did little to ease the stiffness of his sore muscles. Together they walked back to the camp, they pointed out a few flaws they saw in their fighting practice.
"Percy, I'm extremely impressed that you had unarmed me while you were unarmed yourself." Artemis praised and Percy shook his head modestly,
"Having five years of practice and counting really helps. Not to mention you would of easily defeated me had I not seen your exposed stomach." Part of Percy's training was to fight hand to hand against opponents that had weapons. He had been traveling with the hunt while helping them get new recruits, kill monsters, and kill corrupted men. He had won the entire hunts heart and was extremely close to Zoe and Phoebe. Phoebe was his big sister who he adored. She was the one who had defended him in the beginning and had encouraged hunters to give him a chance, from then on she was always there for him and he couldn't bare the thought of life in the hunt without her. Zoe was his best friend, after she had accepted him they became extremely close to one another. Truth be told his feelings for her grew but he knew it would never happen. Even thought Artemis was his sister he knew she would kill him for even thinking about it. Apollo was the big brother Percy always wanted, he was fun, protective, silly, and nice...well to him at least. Apollo and Percy had formed one of the closest bonds but his bond with Artemis was closer.
She was like Phoebe, his big sister he could count on to protect him. She had, after all taken him under her wing despite hating every male on the planet. Pluto became Percy's father for Neptune had still never made the effort to try to contact him or see him at all. Percy didn't mind though, Pluto was a great father to him and allowed him into the underworld when ever he wanted. Pluto had taken his time when he taught Percy his powers to a more advanced level each time he saw his new son. Vesta came frequently and always took Percy out for mother son time after he completed his training lessons. Percy continued to teach himself water powers and soon became skilled and could control the sea with ease.
Zoe saw the duo approaching and ran to them excitedly,
"Who won this time?" As of everyone heard the question they were soon surrounded by curious hunters.
"It was a draw." There was an uproar of surprise which made Percy chuckle. He and Zoe slipped out of the group and began to talk,
"How did a idiot like you tie with Lady Artemis?" She asked as she looked at him suspiciously. He rolled his eyes but couldn't help but love the playful banter between himself and Zoe.
"If you must know, I was awesome...end of story." She flicked his forehead and he yelped,
"Youch, just kidding!" She chuckled and clasped his shoulder with her hand while looking at him seriously. He felt a blush creep it's way on his cheeks,
"Percy, you need to stop hanging out with Apollo, it's very unhealthy." He saw the hint of mischievousness in her dark eyes and he smirked,
"I guess your right, mom always taught me to respect my elders." Zoe's eyes widened and a scowl formed on her face. Percy gulped nervously,
"I-I was just kidding Zoe, honest! I said elders because your fourteen and I'm thirteen." Her eyes narrowed at the now pale Percy,
"You really expect me to believe that?"
"Uh...yes?" It sounded more like a question then an answer.
"As the god of truth I can sense he is lying." Percy turned and glared at his brother Apollo. Zoe grabbed him by his ear, she then yanked really hard making him fall to the ground. He clutched his throbbing ear and frowned at her,
"Owwwwwwww! I said I was joking!"
"It wasn't funny!"
"Your right, it was hilarious."
"The only thing hilarious is when I drag your sorry butt to tartuarus!"
"Shessh! Is it that time of the month?" He asked sincerely and Apollo roared with laughter along with the other hunters. Artemis face palmed at Percy's stupidity but cracked a smile at his joke. Zoe's eye twitched and she stomped on Percy's stomach,
"Oof!" He grunted and held his now hurt tummy. His body felt twice as sore but he couldn't help but smile at Zoe's angry face. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her lips were pursed. He liked seeing Zoe happy, but sometimes angering her was far to fun.
"Meanie." He grumbled and slowly climbed to his feet. Zoe shrugged and looked at him in amusement,
"I try."
"Really hard, not like you have to." he muttered and Zoe flashed him a glare,
"What?"
"Nothing!" He exclaimed hurriedly and held his hands up in surrender. Phoebe approached the two and embraced her little brother,
"Good job Perce." He smiled and flashed her a smile. He really loved his siblings, they were all warriors, they were all fun, and they all loved him as well.
"Hey Phoebe, think you can still give me a piggy back ride?" He asked as he fondly remembered her constantly giving him piggy back rides when he was younger. Phoebe eyed him warily,
"I'll try Perce, you've gotten pretty big." Percy had grown immensely once he started his training. He had developed a six pack that was extremely uncommon for any thirteen year old. He was well built and strong, his speed was incredible along with his agility. Phoebe sighed as Percy jumped on her back. They instantly fell to the ground causing everyone to roar with laughter. Percy rolled off a flattened Phoebe and smiled at her sheepishly,
"Sorry sis." She lay unmoving and Percy became nervous, he leaned closer to her and she suddenly shot into the air and jumped on Percy's back. He was surprised at this and started grumbling,
"But I wanted a piggy back ride!"
"To bad fatty." He pouted but then started running around causing Phoebe to laugh.
"Giddy up!" He frowned,
"Great, now I'm a horse." He growled and Zoe laughed at the interaction between the two. She had a tiny crush on Percy but she would never admit it, he was very attractive with jet black hair and sea green eyes. He was well built and always wore the hoodie his father had given him. Had it not of been for the green eyes he would of totally passed for a son of Pluto. Once Pluto had adopted him it seemed as though his bright green eyes had gotten darker but it didn't lessen the affect his eyes had on her. She shook her head vigorously as she tried to clear these thoughts from her mind. You are an eternal maiden! She scolded herself as she continued watching Percy and Phoebe.
He dropped her off and stretched his sore back muscles. The fight with Artemis had really taken its toll on Percy, fighting an extremely skilled goddess with no weapons really took a lot out of him as well. He walked back over to Zoe and Artemis and grinned,
"I got one more piggy back ride coming up, either of you two wanna ride?" He asked and really hoped Zoe would take him up on his offer, she was his best friend and he knew this would make her happy. Artemis grimaced,
"On your back? No thanks." He rolled his eyes while his sister smiled at him playfully. Zoe shrugged,
"Why not?" He grinned as she jumped on his back and held onto his shoulders. He ran as fast as he could which was extremely fast. His speed could rival Alpha's who was the fastest of the wolf pack. Zoe was surprised at his speed and buried her head into the crook of his neck which made him blush. She could feel the wind whipping through her hair and she decided to look up. The forest was going by in a blur of green and brown, she smiled and watched the trees whip past them as they got farther away from the camp. Percy stopped by a river and set her down, the river was slowly running and Percy sat by the bank. Zoe went and sat next to him, their shoulders were touching which caused her cheeks to turn a light pink. Percy debated whether or not to tell her how he felt but he immediately decided not to. He didn't need her to be mad if she didn't feel the same way, the thought saddened him when he realized she probably didn't. She was a hunter and hunters weren't supposed to fall in love.
Zoe was pondering about the son of Pluto, he would eventually find a woman and fall in love. The thought made her bitter and she glared at the ground, because of her oath there was no way she could be with Percy. Not like you want to be with him anyway, she reminded herself. She's a hunter, an eternal maiden who swore to hate men, who swore to never fall in love. Percy was different though, he had easily gained the hunters favor in a span of three years which was quite impressive. He had gone on numerous missions with them to rescue young girls from abusive men, hunt down monsters, and saved their lives even when he was treated unfairly by them all. He was even humble and kind which was a rare combination in a male, he easily out skilled all of the hunters and was a rival against Artemis who had became his sister. Yes, Percy had accomplished many feats but he never boasted about them, he even had Apollo as a brother and it didn't change his personality at all. Sure Percy was many times stupid, but he was also wise, funny, nice, caring, skilled, and powerful. Even though he honed such powers she knew that she would like him even if he were a mortal. Power isn't everything, yet she sees young celebrities date very old and rich people, they did it for money and power. It disgusted her.
"Watcha thinkin about?" Percy asked while bumping his shoulder with her. She was broken out of her thoughts and smiled up at him,
"Nothing, what about you?" He wanted to tell her about his feelings but decided it wasn't the time and it wasn't wise of him to do so.
"About life, I was wandering if I'd be allowed in the hunt permanently." It wasn't a complete lie, he had thought of this before and hoped to roll with the hunt forever. Zoe's eyebrows widened,
"Why wouldn't you? Artemis and the other hunters would be thrilled!" She was very excited at the prospect of being immortal with Percy.
"Well, I've got a job to do before I can accept the offer." Zoe raised an eyebrow,
"And what's that?"
Percy grimaced, "I've got to play as a pawn for the gods first."
And what do you think? People asked me to make the story longer so presto! I did, also added some perzoe fluff. Comment! Oh and sorry in advance if anyone gets ticked about my spelling Errors, I'm not perfect and neither is my story so, sorry. And I was asked why Percy was allowed to go off in the woods on his own in an earlier chapter. Answer, he's a ticked off demigod who can set things on fire. I wouldn't try to mess with him and he can shoot bulls eyes like nobody's business so I'm sure a demigod with fire powers and can shoot a bow Fantastically would be just fine. I also got asked another question which was why Percy was roman, it's different and it's cool. So comment below and tell me what you think.