Percy arrived back at his campsite one morning, cradling a dead turkey in his arms, his shoulders covered in golden dust. While hunting for food, he had run into a few monsters. If Percy toyed with them for a bit before he finally killed them, he wasn't gonna mention it.
Percy had since lost count of how long he had been out on his own, but if he had checked a calendar, he would've seen that it was the end of November. The turkey in his hand was fitting.
Percy had also gotten better at finding variety in what he ate. Over the weeks, he had found plenty of berries, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, etc. He even managed to hunt different types of animals, rabbits, squirrels, deer, even setting up a few traps. He still refused to fish, though. Hearing the animals chatter inside his head made it impossible for him to even consider trying to hunt them.
Percy grabbed his knife from the holster on his hip, and brought it out to carve the turkey. He still had a tiny bit of leftover elk meat from the last time he went hunting, but he knew that it was time to get some more meat. He dug the knife into the side of the turkey, taking care to separate the skin from the meat, and pluck out the feathers one by one. He planned on using the feathers for his arrows, as well as put a bit more stuffing into his pillow.
As Percy gently curved his knife around the bird, getting lost in the silence of his work, a sound made him freeze. He quickly looked up, and met the eyes of a pure black wolf about twenty feet away. When the wolf noticed Percy's eyes on it, it took a careful step forward.
Percy glanced down at the raw meat in his hands, and then back up at the wolf. Carefully, he twisted the leg of the turkey off, and tossed it forward. He watched as the leg hit the ground, and rolled a little bit before stopping at the feet of the wolf. The animal sniffed at it, before gently picking the meat up in its jaws, before padding away.
Percy watched the wolf wander away, confused, before he hesitantly turned back to his task at hand.
The next time he saw the wolf, he was holding a large rabbit bone with some leftover meat on it. He tossed it to the wolf, watching as it jumped up and caught it in its powerful jaws, before turning around and leaving.
The pattern of the wolf showing up, Percy giving it some meat, and then the wolf leaving, continued for a week. Except, after the eighth day the wolf had shown up, after Percy had given some meat to the wolf, it didn't leave. Instead, the wolf padded right up to where Percy was sitting on the ground in front of his fire, and settled down on dirt, gnawing on its dinner.
Percy stared at the midnight black wolf. He could feel the warm body of the side of the wolf press into his leg. He slowly raised his hand and placed it onto the back of the animal. The wolf just kept continuing to chew on the meat Percy had given it.
He slowly pet the wolf, running his fingers through the soft fur. The wolf lifted its head and turned to gaze into Percy's eyes, and Percy froze. The wolf's eyes glowed a bright silver, before returning to normal.
As the wolf finished off the rest of its food, Percy smiled. A blessing from Artemis, it seems. He closed his eyes as he continued to pet the wolf, and gave a short prayer.
Percy named the wolf Alexios, and the two were inseparable.
It had been about two weeks since the wolf permanently stuck with Percy, and Alexios was always by his side. Whether Percy was hunting, or shooting arrows at makeshift targets, or cooking the both of them dinner, he was always there. Alexios seemed to pick up on Percy's moods, being playful as the two of them would wade through a stream, or being a comforting presence at night as they sat in front of the campfire.
Like right now. Percy laid on the ground, his head being supported by his pillow. Alexios was practically laying on top of him entirely, and Percy's fingers were absentmindedly running through Alexios' soft fur. The campfire was dying, the flames long gone.
Suddenly, Alexios' head perked, and Percy narrowed his eyes as his wolf smelled the air. His wolf hopped off of him, and quickly stood to his feet, glancing back at Percy. Percy grabbed the bow and quiver that was within arms reach. He always had Riptide, of course, if things went bad. But, he was getting pretty confident on the bow with stationary targets, as he practiced for hours each day. If there was something that he needed to kill, he figured he might as well test out his skills on a moving target.
Percy followed his beloved wolf, relying on hearing Alexios' paws on the ground, as he blended into the darkness of the night. Alexios slowly kept picking up the pace, until eventually he was sprinting. Percy darted after him, but knew that a wolf like Alexios could outrun him easily at top speed.
Percy lost the sound of Alexios on the leaves and twigs of the forest, but just continued forward, panting heavily for air as he pushed his muscles to the limits. Suddenly, the trees thinned, and Percy skidded to a halt as there was a break in the forest, a clearing, as a road ran through it. His eyes searched for his wolf, but he stopped as he heard screaming.
He quickly notched an arrow and he hurried closer to the noises. In the distance, he spotted Alexios, illuminated by a stray lamp post. His wolf was crouching low to the ground, his belly barely scraping the grass as he inched closer. Percy came up silently behind him, and his eyes focused on the sight in front of him.
"Please!" A young girl sobbed loudly. "I gave you everything I have, I promise!" Her hands were in the air, and even Percy could smell the blood already pooling on the ground.
"Why don't I believe you?" The man in front of her growled, and as he waved his hand around, he saw the glint of a gun. There was a second man next to him, rummaging through what looked to be a purse. He made a sound of displeasure as he pulled his hand out of the bag.
"No cash, or a phone. She's hiding it somewhere." The man told his friend, throwing the bag out into the middle of the road.
Percy lifted his bow, resting the string of his bow on his cheek as he aimed. He had gotten better at crafting arrows over the weeks, and he knew the ones in his quiver were pretty deadly. Not only were they now barbed, the arrowhead was wide, and hard to pull out.
Percy closed one eye as he aimed for the man who was holding the gun. He trained his arrow in the middle of the guy's throat, and he let go.
Notching another arrow, his eyes didn't leave the arrow he fired, and a small grin graced his face as he watched it hit right on target. He heard the man scream, then gurgle, as blood poured out of his mouth. He dropped the gun, and the metal made contact with the road with a large bang.
Slowly, Percy walked forward as chaos erupted. The second man's eyes were wide open, as he wildly searched for who shot the arrow. He didn't even try to catch his friend, who had fallen to his knees, holding his bleeding throat. In the confusion, the girl snatched the gun off the ground, and took a few steps away from the two.
Percy pulled the arrow back as he walked, and aimed at the second man. Trained on the spot just between his eyes, Percy fired. His eyes followed his arrow as it made contact, exactly where he had predicted.
Arrows weren't meant to kill someone instantly, like guns and bullets were. They were meant to stick in something, meant to make it hard to pull out. They were meant to make someone bleed.
As Percy stepped under the light of the lamp post, his hands down by his sides, he watched as the men bled. They would die slowly, of course, and no one was here to help them. They would die slowly, in immense amounts of pain, and alone. Well, they had each other, but they weren't exactly comforting each other about their inevitable death as they writhed in pain on the asphalt.
He turned his head to the young female who grabbed her purse off the road, and was now staring at him.
"Did you get everything back?" He asked, his voice scratchy from many days of disuse.
The girl stared at him, wide-eyed, and shook her head no. "My wallet." She pointed at the first man, the one closer to death, her hand trembled.
Percy approached the man on the ground, his heavy hiking boots making loud thuds, before kicking the choking man onto his side. He crouched down and grabbed the wallet poking out of his pocket. As he stood up, he tossed it in the air towards the girl.
She didn't manage to catch it, still staring at him, but she quickly picked it up off the ground.
"You should probably leave." He said, looking at her. She nodded quickly, stumbling backwards, before spinning on her heel, and sprinting down the road.
Percy turned his head back to the two robbers. One had already fallen silent, but one was still whimpering softly.
"Enjoy your time in the Fields of Punishment." He spoke softly, grinning wide enough to show his sharp teeth. He was sure that the two hadn't heard him consumed in their agony, if they were even still alive.
Percy turned his back on them, making his way slowly to Alexios. The two of them turned, and headed back into the forest.