"Oh, okay, you want us to hunt with—wait, what?!" L said and the Pack shifted uncomfortably.
Sure, the Pack expected the Hunt to decline the offer with breakfast with them, but they sure as hell did not expect them to ask they wanted to hunt breakfast together.
"We want you to come hunt for breakfast with us" Artemis said with a tone as if they were doing stuff for politics.
Thalia wanted to laugh. This is going to be good. The other hunters are a bit reluctant with this offer, but they had all decided to give them a bit of a chance, so they agreed with this.
"Er," L didn't know what to say. He looked at his fellow brothers who seemed to be just as uncomfortable as he was. But of course, they couldn't decline Artemis's offer. It's never smart to not accept an invitation from a goddesses.
"Sure, Lady Artemis. We are honoured by your invitation" L says hesitantly which makes Artemis raise an eyebrow, though she let it go and said, "Alright, we'll meet you by the nearest slope of the mountains
Okay, right now, Artemis was regretting asking the Pack to join them for hunting. Inviting them was suppose to be a sign that they were trying to let the Pack be close to them, but Artemis really couldn't help rue offering the invitation.
It's not that the Hunt couldn't stand them it's just that...it's because, they kinda...oh hell, who was she kidding?!
The Pack was a FAILURE at hunting! And that's putting it in a mild way
"They walk so loud!" Phoebe complained
"I could feel their moement about 15 meters away!" said Melanie
"They're scaring off the animals within a 20 meter radius!" says Jamie
The last straw was K. K was about to tackle a dear from behind when he didn't notice that there was a hole between him and the animal. Of course, when he jumped for the dear, he fell.
"GAH!"
Thalia, Annabeth, Atalanta, and Cassandra couldn't help it and burst into laughter which caused the other hunters to follow
"Hey! It's not my fault I didn't see the ditch!" K complained and was blushing. Good thing they were still wearing hoods and the cloths and goggles over their faces because their embarrassment would only cause more hunters from hunt.'
"No offense, but what happened to the cool-headed, don't-get-in-my-way-I-won't-get-in-yours, we-won't-be-a-drag Pack!" Lila, one of the hunters, says between laughs.
The Pack groan. "Urgh! This is all the Ace's fault" J complained. Artemis paused and raised an eyebrow. "How is this your Ace fault?"
L scrunched up his eyebrows. "That's because-Oh wait, damn, I'm so stupid!" L says realizing something. He takes out a drachma from his cloak. "B, care to give me a rainbow or something here?" L says and B fumbles a little gadget that sprays some kind smoke.
"Oh fleecy, do me a solid, and show me the Champion of Hestia and Mars" L said and threw the coin
Percy couldn't have been anymore relaxed than now...though his muscles was still very soar.
He hears a sigh that came from somewhere near him. "Just a few more days, bro, and we can go back" Nico says and submerge himself in the water until it was almost in his eyes. Of course, Percy made an air coating above Nico's nose so that he could breathe.
They were in a wide pond but Percy made it so that it would heat up and act like a hot spring and mists were covering around them.
"Yeah, just a few more days-unless we die." Percy tells him
"Gah, don't remind me" Nico groans.
They see a shimmer further in front of them though they couldn't see it exactly because of the mist.
"Ace? Lieutenant? Guys? We need a favor"
Percy's eyes widen at the sound of L's voice.
"Dude! We're FUCKING STARK NAKED AND WE DON'T HAVE OUR HOODS ON!"
Percy exclaimed and willed the water to distort and cut the connection of the IM before any of them saw Percy and Nico in...um...all their glory
Just as soon as the IM was destroyed, L saw another IM shimmer and this time, they could clearly see two hooded figures with a pond behind them
Nico was only wearing a towel and Percy was wearing the towel and a shirt.
L raised an eyebrow "You left us to make friends with man-hating women-"
"man hating women right here, guys" Thalia says
"-just to go bathing in a hotspring?" L said.
Nico and Percy groaned. "Wait, the hunters are there?" Nico asks upon hearing Thalia's voice
L nodded "And you IMed us naked with them there?" Nico asked
"Dude, that's just wrong!" Percy says which caused some laughter and blushing from the hunters and the Pack
"What do you want, anyways?" Nico added.
"We want you to take off this damned things on our wrists and ankles. We're hunting with the hunters and we're dragging them down" L explained. Nico raised an eyebrow. "Hunting with them?"
"Alright, I'll do it" Percy says closing his eyes and mumbling words.
The hunters did not understand what was happening. And the words Percy was saying was muffled that all they could get out was ...let the binds unwound...by the power of Hestia...as the champion of Mars...I release.
At that moment, the Pack's wrists and ankles shown a bright light and something fell off of them and landed in a very loud 'thud'
"Is that all?" Nico asked
"Yup, thanks"
"You do know that the moment we get back, Mars will want to put it on you again, and every time you request it to be taken off, it'll only get heavier by half as much"
L groan "I know. Don't remind me, now shoo!" L says as he waves of the IM. The last thing they heard was Percy muttering "Whoa, man, I can feel the appreciation"
The Pack was now rubbing their wrists and stretching their feet as if a huge burden was taken off them.
"Gods, it's been a month"
"What are those?" Artemis asked.
"Those, my lady, is the sadistic part of having Mars as a Patron" L explained and the Pack groaned in agreement. Annabeth walked over to one of the cylindrical wrist bands that came off of their ankles and wrists. She tried to carry them. "Skata, this is heavy!" she exclaims as she barely carries just one of them with both of her hands
"Wait, you've been wearing these from the start?" Phoebe asks who was trying to lift one too.
"Yup since Camp"
The hunters were dumbfounded and suddenly they felt a bit of guilt for they had purposefully moved, trudged, and walked faster this past month just to give the Pack a hard time. But realization dawned on them
"So you mean you were wearing these while we were playing Capture the Flag?!" Annabeth says slightly insulted.
The Pack's eyes widened with fear. "We're sorry!" they say having their hands crossed into an X in front of them as if in protection
Thalia laugh.
"Don't worry, boys. Here, catch" Thalia says as she press some kind of button in her bow and tosses to L. L caught it but his hand was forced to drop it with a very very loud 'thud'
"That's the weight of our bows in the CTF. We thought we should give you a handicap, plus, we always thought we would win so we thought it would humiliate you guys further if we wear carrying heavy bows to drag us down" Thalia says. The Pack nodded in understanding. What Thalia meant was 'I knew you guys would hold back, so I'm gonna make the Hunt hold back, 'cuz that's just plain insulting'
"Oh" they say. "Now, shall we hunt properly?" Thalia says smirking.
Once they had remove their weights, Artemis guess the Pack's hunting skills weren't so bad.
But the hunters were a bit confused by one thing: the Pack didn't try to brag.
That thought had puzzled them when the Pack did the impossible in the CTF and actually had a tie with camp.
And it puzzled them even more when the Pack had been able to keep up with the Hunt and did not offer smug-ish smirks.
Instead they seemed to have even understood the great feeling of hunting that the Hunters had always relished. They laughed happily when they felt the adrenaline that comes when the Hunters hunt.
Only those who truly appreciated the hunt actually felt that feeling.
And they did not even try showing off to the hunters, instead, they fell in sync with them: moving when they moved, adjusting their pace to the Hunt's as if their sole purpose was to make sure things were okay with the hunters.
And they did not say anything like 'see? we're just as good as you?' or 'that should teach you from belittling us'
Instead they had just smiled at them and thank them for the hunt as if the thought that the Pack did not drag or slowed the Hunt down or compromise them made them really content.
They were back in the Pack's igloo now and was going to continue the story sharing. The hunters were once again gathered around the pillar of camp fire and the Pack were scattered everywhere: giving the hunter some space, further at the back in the sofa, watching from upstairs.
"Hey guys, I'm Q. C was supposed to continue from yesterday, but you see, he's asleep" And as if to prove his point, C snored and as he did, some vines seemed to appear creeping around the sofa he was sleeping in.
"Sheesh, bro," Q says and raises a hand as if in concentration and willed the vines away. "Sorry about that, that always happens when we sleep. C and I have kind of the same brothers. I'm a son of Bacchus. I am also the last one here who has any relation to the Hunters"
Q took a deep breath and took of his hood, and his goggles and his cloth over his mouth. He had black wavy hair that grew up to his chin and entrancing purple eyes.
"My name is Quentin and I am the twin sister of the late Hunter Qylla"
The hunters eyes widened at the name of their dead sister. "Yes, I can see it now. You look an exact boy replica of Qylla" Artemis says with sadness obviously thick in her voice.
Quentin nodded.
"Here goes
I was being brought to camp by a satyr with my sister. Qylla was older than me by a few minutes, but it felt like a few years because I always remembered her taking care of me.
We ran into a couple of monsters and our satyr was overpowered and besides the fact that there were still abut a monster or two after us, we freaked out when we saw the satyr turn into some kind of rose plant" The hunters and Pack members snickered at this.
"And well, that moment was all the monsters needed to gain on us. I forced Qylla to go ahead, telling her we should split so that it'll make things harder, but truthfully, I was going to make a last stand to make sure my sister was safe.
She bought the lie and I faced the monsters. And when a monster attacked me from behind, suddenly, some dude stepped out of the shadows and started killing the monsters.
I didn't have time to worry about whether he was an enemy because, I was already wounded a lot from so much fighting. We fought back to back, but as soon as I saw the last monster disintegrate I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was beside a camp fire wrapped up in a blanket with a boy who was staring at the fire as if it was talking to him. I only realized after I joined the pack that he really was talking via the fire...it's a Hestia's-my-patron thing.
He healed me, and told me his name. He told me he was the lieutenant of this secret group.
"Rescuing unclaimed newbies really isn't my thing. Usually, Ace let's me go and handles this stuff...or assign some of this stuff. I'm more of a save-demigods-in-quests-from-the-shadows guy" he told me.
"So, why did you take this mission now?" I asked him.
"It was accidental. I saw Ace about to leave and I ask him for details...you kind of reminded me about myself when I was a kid"
"I did?" I ask him
"Yup, I had a sister too and she always took care of me. Plus, we were also found by a satyr and had the manticore attacking us. And my sister also joined the Hunters"
At the mention of my sisters I jumped.
"My sister! We have to find her"
"Relax, she joined the hunters, she's safe" he said and bit his lip hesitantly "plus, you won't be able to find her with the hunt"
"What?!"
That's when Lieutenant explained to me what you guys where.
Qylla thought I was dead so she joined the hunt.
I was a bit furious at first. I didn't want my sister taken away.
That's when the Lieutenant told me about my options: the camp or the pack.
I didn't want to go to camp. My sister wasn't there. Plus, he told me that usually, Ace had stationed some of us always near the missions of the Hunters-though we don't interfere unless completely necessary-because the Pack has relatives there. And I also did not want the gods to know about me nor did I want to meet my father.
By the time I joined the Pack, there were a lot of us already so the Pack's initiation was quite overwhelming" Q says
"You guys still have to test these kids before you let them join?" Phoebe says a little bit disgusted at the thought that initiation means analyzing their abilities. Analyzing their abilities means that the Pack are low enough to only want those that are good enough to join them.
"Let me explain
The Pack explained to me the meaning of having Mars and Hestia as my patrons. With Mars, I was to make sure I knew of three things: dignity, respect, duty.
I needed to know the meaning of respect and how only with respect will I be able to co-exist with everything, everyone, anything, and anyone.
I needed to never forget about my duty, and how forgetting it is like forgetting the purpose of my being.
I needed to earn the real essence of dignity, and how it's not the same as pride, because dignity is the symbol that we acknowledge the worthiness that our patrons saw in us, no matter how small we think ourselves be" Q says
The Hunters saw the Pack straightened, especially J.
Ah, they understood. J thought he was a monster because of the blood trance. A was made to think he was worthless in camp. And who knows what doubts the Pack had of themselves. They are happy and they feel lucky that someone-let alone a family and to patrons-acknowledges that there's something worth in them.
This, the hunters realize, was what was different in the Pack than in other boys. They are not full of themselves. They are humble enough to doubt whatever greatness they earn.
"These were the original values that our Ace had, and the original values that Ares forgot he was responsible for but remembered because of our ace.
With Hestia, she made sure that we held one thing higher above all the rest: family.
When you join the Pack, Hestia will show you visions of her memories. How she had always cared for her father, the Titan King, despite the treachery he did. How she wasn't jealous, unlike some of her siblings, that Zeus was save the horrible wrath of getting eaten. Instead, she felt happy because her mother was able to protect her brother, and sorry because she had failed to save her other siblings.
All she wanted was to let all of her family, his father mother siblings-all of them, to be safe
That's what we learn when we enter the Pack. Family protects Family.
But she also taught us another thing. True Family knows how to let go.
She taught us how she learned to accept of what has become of their power hungry brother.
How victory has turned her brothers against each other.
She taught us that if we really care about family, we'll care for them even when they had changed. If they had turned to the other side, or if, like some of our parents, disown or not care for us, it is alright that we are hurt.
It is alright to feel pained by their betrayal.
That didn't stop us from hating them. But that didn't stop us from still caring for what was once our family.
Our Ace had been questioned once, and in turn had questioned Mars, 'do we fight with the gods because they are good, or because they are family? If push comes to shove and our secret is out, who will you fight with?'
Mars did not answer
I remember Hestia showing me that her eyes sparkled when she saw that in Ace's heart and in Mars's heart, they already had an answer. And I always see that same sparkle in her eyes when a new recruit of the Pack reaches the same conclusion:
We fight with the gods because they rule better than what we fight against. We fight with the Pack because they are our family. And if push against to shove, then we will fight against our family precisely because of that-because we are family.
Once, we reach that epiphany, that's when Hestia truly makes us belong to the Pack.
When you belong to the pack, you will be slightly blessed by both patrons
And you will see the memories of all the members of the Pack as if you were with them the whole way. That's why it was overwhelming for me when I joined them. I had relived the lives of my brothers-all of them. I had learn to understand them in minutes.
That is our initiation" Q finishes and the Hunters were again in awe at the depth of the brotherhood of the Pack.
Surely, this is makes them worthy of that one small chance?
But how can they trust boys? For all they know, they are bending the truth
Oh, niece. This is my home. Though my Pack does not show their uncomfortable state from sharing to strangers like you (you are not the only ones who feel like they are letting an outsider point a gun on their chest), the hearth-that camp fire only allows them to speak what is in their heart.
Artemis eyes widened and so did the hunters. They had recognize that voice. Only Hestia could speak as warmly as that.
The Pack scrunched their eyebrows. "You guys okay?" "You kinda stiffened so suddenly" were said and a bit of concern was evident in their face.
The hunters were having very uncomfortable mixed feelings about the Pack right now. You know that moment when you know that you are about to make a decision soon, like that decision is beyond a cliff, and you are going to fall off that cliff inevitably? That's what they were feeling right now
"Okaaay, so let me talk next" a Pack member said because the Hunt's silence was making the Pack fidgety. The hunters were more than glad to find a distraction from all their mixed feelings. The boy step out. The hunters felt a little bit sleepy. That was weird
"I'm X. My real name is Septimus. Call me Tus. I am a son of Hypnos and also a son of a daughter of Horme"
"Horme?" one of the hunters asked.
Annabeth automatically answered, "spirit of energy, activity, and impulse. That's weird, I don't remember anything about spirits having children."
"They don't actually. Usually, a spirit could enter a mortal's body, have a night with another mortal, and then leave the body at the same night. They can't stay long in one body, you see. And the child created at that night will be mortal-except that he will be.." Artemis paused for the right word, "celestial enough to withstand the blessing of the spirit"
"Yup, yup, and did I mention that Zeus made it illegal for spirits to bless the child some time ago because it makes the spirit weaker? Though he is actually a bit lenient with that law. So that's why I'm not really wearing the red cloak.
BUT, because my mother was a daughter of Horme, spirit of energy and impulse, it help when I was born because it counteracts most of my sleepiness, and I could control my father's domain much better than my half siblings.
And, before any one asks, nope! I do not have drama in my life like J and A or the others! I only joined the Pack because one, my father Hypnos knows and is an ally of the Pack from almost the start"-hunters' jaws drop here-"so my father told me right away about the offer to join!" X was almost jumping as he said this. "And! And! If I wasn't as sleepy as my siblings at camp, that'd be suspicious, considering I can't stop moving! So when a satyr found me and told me a monster was following me, I ditch him! Hahahahahaha"-and now, the hunters were questioning the boy's sanity
"On with my story!
As I said, I ain't got no drama!
I saw camp from an IM and I thought, training and all? Boring! I'm not even allowed to go outside of camp just because of some stupid monsters-might-attack chance. Sheesh!
And so when my father told me about the Pack and all that secret mumbo jumbo, I thought, what the heck! And I joined them because I felt like it!" The hunters were staring at the boy. Was he crazy?
"But then, I got pass the initiation of the Pack, and I knew then and there that this...family...might be the only thing that I could always go back to. Having the blessing of the spirit of impulse makes 'permanent' kind of the holy grail, you know? And that was what the pack was: will be. Permanently stuck with them" He suddenly changed from hyper to some kind of sober.
"He's bipolar" A Pack member whispers to the hunters earning chuckles. And that Pack member suddenly had his eyeballs dull and collapsed asleep the moment he finished the 'r' in bipolar.
"Septimus" the Pack groaned.
"What? He was asking for it!" Tus laughed
"I told you to stop forcing your brothers to fall asleep!" The hunters realized how powerful a son of Hypnos with the resistance from sleeping can be
"Alright, alright" Tus yawned-the hunters were now going crazy, hyper to sober to laughing to yawned?-and snap the kid back into a groggy conscious state.
"So anyway! There's also a limit to my blessing from Horme. If I use to much Hypnos power then I get sleepy, oh, and I can't completely suppress the go-to-sleep aura children of Hypnos usually oozes to those near them, that would explain why some of you guys are a bit groggy from hearing my voice! End of my story! Told you there was no drama! Plus, my story is completely out of the topic! I just felt like sharing!"
The hunters laughed. Yup, Septimus was definitely an oddball.
A boy then started to tell his story
"Alright, I'm H. My real name is Colt. I won't be telling you guys my story, but instead the story of our companions. My Ace's wolf, Aku. The Lieutenant's Lion, Pisto. Our lions. Our tigers. Truthfully, I don't know why someone as great as them would follow us around. But I guess, it all started with Aku and Ace"