Welcome back to Old Vows after so flipping long! I have been swamped at school and at home, so I have been writing very slowly.
This chapter is going to be one of the most influential in the entire story. There is obviously going to be a battle in this chapter, and I hope you guys like it more than the last one. I want you guys to know that I have some intense plans for the very near term here in this story. I try to balance the pain and the pleasure, but I advise you not to get lost in the pleasure because it can become a bloodbath in a moment's notice, lmao.
Quite a lot of questions you all might have had about Atalanta and her magic are going to be answered in this chapter, but there is one piece of information that I decided to leave out since I have a new scene planned in the future that will be a more relevant time to disclose the information.
WARNING! This chapter is full of blood and gore, and there is some very light, 2nd base smut towards the end of the chapter as well as suggestive themes. Viewer discretion is advised.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
It is the most impressive display of magical power that he has ever seen Atalanta demonstrate. A raging tempest of air erupts from the Huntress's palm in the blink of an eye smashing into The Commander with the force of a Mack truck, sending him barreling through the wall of the adjacent building. She uses the momentum and element of surprise to cast four more consecutive, smaller blasts of air that disarm the arbalists; the blast sends their crossbows flying out of the burning building.
Suddenly, one of the demigods or dark friends from the group of soldiers rushes toward her with their sword raised. Atalanta doesn't have much time to formulate a plan, but she parries his sword to the side, ducks under his arm as she then effortlessly hacks it off, then slashes with her sword horizontally with upward momentum in such precise gracefulness their head slowly falls away from their body as it hits the ground. Ray is completely dumbfounded as he watches this sequence play out in less than five seconds. The huntress then props a foot under the sword that the man is holding, and she scoops it toward Ray, who catches it.
Atalanta performs three showy backward somersaults in Ray's direction to gain some distance. She dismisses her sword from her hand, summoning her bow instead. She summons a special arrow to her right hand with lots of little packages and wrappings on the tip with a little burning fuse. She bends down on one knee in a low stance, pulling back her bow to full power as the other combatants run toward her, but it isn't enough to save them. Her bow makes a magical sound when it fires, sending that burning arrow whistling toward the mob. It explodes with a brutal force, killing three of them instantly.
The blast disorients them long enough for Atalanta to get a few more shots off. Her longbow is an impressive mechanical feat of engineering, and it requires strength to operate. With the speed at which the huntress could fire that bow, he could almost mistake her for the goddess herself. On top of that, she has pinpoint accuracy. One of the things that Ray has noticed is that Atalanta always goes for the head. Being an extremely well-versed tactician and specialist on the human body, she knows how crippling a head wound is, especially on the neck, which is where she aims when she can't see an eye.
Ray is in slow motion compared to the Huntress. He has a very bold individual walking menacingly toward him as the rest of his companions fight Atalanta, who is having no trouble. He looks over to her just in time to see her blast one of her opponents across the room with an air current, then dodge a spear from another. After she dodges the spear, she thrusts a dagger into the man's chest and another into his neck. She looks over quickly to see if Ray is alright, and she sees that he is handling himself alright. He's killed one in the time it has taken Atalanta to lose count.
Suddenly, she has her sword in her hand. She ducks under a swipe from another foe, transitioning into the stance to pierce it through his heart. She pulls it back out and narrowly avoids a big axe from another enemy combatant. She dodges it, but as she is twirling around to take off his head, she is suddenly struck by a massive object and flung into the wall. Her sword is flung from her hand, and it lands a short distance away with a clanging sound.
Ray sees his girlfriend lying there dazed on the floor, The Commander lowering his shield down from the air as he had used it to bash into the huntress. Ray dodges three sword strokes from the man who has been approaching him, probably to keep him distracted. Ray then meets a fourth cut in the air and uses the momentary leverage to punch the man in the face. He kicks his legs out from under him before Ray thrusts his sword through his heart. He quickly turns his attention back to Atalanta, who is now backed up to the wall surrounded by all the remaining combatants and The Commander. Atalanta is gripped with fear as she realizes she is cornered.
The three beasty figures that had walked in with The Commander had not moved from his side, almost like bodyguards. When the man was blasted into the nearby building, the figures did not attack her because they were protecting their master. Everything seems to freeze as the grizzled man speaks. He seems to be favoring his left side after Atalanta's welcoming handshake.
"Air is the element of freedom; it is good that you revel in that now, for soon all you will know is slavery." He says with a booming voice. He is mocking the fact that most of Atalanta's magic tricks are done using the air. He must not be happy she introduced him to the adjacent establishment. She's getting tired of his stuck-up monotone narration; she can't wait to silence him permanently.
"You survived." Atalanta observes as she gets to her feet again, ignoring the pain in her ribs.
The Commander laughs, a chilling, rattling noise.
"Give me the daggers, and I am sure The Dark Lord will be merciful in your suffering."
Atalanta is gripped with a chilling fear, but her voice remains unwavering. "I will never give you my daggers, and I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees."
The Commander takes a few steps closer to her so that he can crouch down to pick up the sword that flew out of her hand. "It's a good thing you don't have a choice, then."
He bends down to pick it up, and when the sword roars to life in a burst of flames, burning his hand, Atalanta speaks again.
"I always have a choice," she sneers, raising the sword that appears in her hand high in the air, bringing it down with a huge amount of force as a vacuum of air is sucked into the area around her body not too unlike an atom bomb. When she thrusts it into the ground, a massive, explosive column of fire erupts from around her in all directions… or at least it looks that way. The Commander raises his shield in time, but everyone else is sent flying into the nearest non-crumbling wall. She unleashed a massive explosion of outward air current coated with flames fueled by the oxygen.
Atalanta falters momentarily as she tries to get back to her feet. The drain on her endurance is starting to catch up to her, especially after that spell, but she can't give up now.
Ray takes cover by dropping to the ground, and he quickly hops back up to run to Atalanta. He catches The Commander off guard and thrusts his sword through his back, making him scream in pain. He pulls the sword out, dodging the big black sword from The Commander as he spins around, swinging it at Ray's head. As he dodges the blade, Ray slashes the man across the face, leaving a bleeding gash. Once Ray is out of range of the man, he runs to Atalanta's side to help her orient herself again. She seems to quickly snap out of her fatigue; a good thing, too, for the battle isn't over.
Atalanta takes his hand with difficulty, but she seems to snap out of it.
"Are you alright?" Ray asks her hurriedly as he helps her to steady herself.
"Yes, of course, I'm fine." She insists, brushing his arm off as she pulls the sword up out of the ground. Trails of flame are still burning around the restaurant from that spell, and it is helped along by the fact everything is already singed as it is. She then sets her eyes on The Commander, who is doctoring his face from the mark Ray left.
"You look pale. What is wrong?" Ray asked her quietly.
"Too much magic in too little time drains the strength." She takes a moment to look around before continuing, "Stay together with me. I won't be able to pull that off again."
Ray looks at her with concern as he surveys the area, seeing a little more than half of the combatants getting back up.
"Well, I hope there is still some left in the tank."
She smirks, tossing him a playful look.
"Oh, there is."
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Meanwhile
Percy and Arty step out of the alleyway that Percy had flashed them to, and she looks to see where he brought her.
"A Waffle House? Percy? Really?" She whines to him, very displeased.
"Quit your whining." He tells her sternly.
"I am a goddess, Percy, I deserve to be taken to a nice restaurant," Artemis states, planting her feet and crossing her arms in defiance of Percy's will.
"We tried it your way last time, and that is never happening again."
She is momentarily taken aback by that statement as she remembers what happened on their first date.
"That was an accident," Artemis admits dejectedly.
He stops walking to quickly turn back around to face her with an exasperated expression.
"An accident!? Artemis, I will never forgive you for what happened."
"How was I supposed to know they had shrimp tacos?!" She yells desperately, causing the other pedestrians to look over at them with concerned, confused expressions about what Percy and Arty were talking about.
"YOU GOOGLE THEM! IT TAKES 20 SECONDS!"
"I don't know how to google!" Artemis yells back at him with a lot more ferocity than she intended. Percy just raises an eyebrow.
"You're a goddess, Artemis. Go talk to Techno to find out or something."
They stay there for a few moments, staring at each other. Her posture is very defensive, and his posture is relaxed as usual. They remain still for what seems to go on for hours, and then Artemis finally gave in. They never argue, and she regrets starting this one.
"Fine, we'll go to Waffle House, but I will not be happy if my eggs are undercooked."
Percy smiles wickedly at her, and she rolls her eyes in anticipation of his inappropriate comment that is about to be released from Percy's extremely talented tongue… Both of which the comment, and the tongue, can and probably will drive her crazy.
"I can't wait to cook your eggs."
She just rolls her eyes at his semantics.
"That's just cringe, Percy."
Hand in hand, the two walk into the restaurant, Percy opening the door for Artemis like a gentleman.
"I didn't think you knew what cringe was," he adds quietly, entering behind her, a small smirk on his face.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Atalanta raises her sword above her head with both hands, and then she throws it with all her strength towards The Commander. The sword is propelled with a spin as if it is a bullet out of a rifled barrel, and it leaves her hands flying through the air with such velocity that Ray is barely able to see it. The Commander uses his thick shield to effectively parry it out of the air, but he underestimates the huntress. The sword bounces off the shield with absolutely no damage to either weapon, but without his shield protecting him, Atalanta blasts him with another tempest of air.
"When I said I wanted to show off my magic to you, this is not what I meant," Atalanta admits with a wicked smile upon her young, beautiful face.
"When I said I wanted to take you to a fancy restaurant for a romantic date, this is not what I meant."
She has a good laugh at that one, "Try to keep up with me this time."
"That's easier said than done."
She grins, looking out to see The Commander getting back up after being deposited on his ass for the 2nd time that day. He hadn't flown quite as far as the first time, but it was close.
"The big one's mine."
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Percy walks up to the door with Artemis following behind him. She usually, and usually being almost always, takes the lead whenever they are out in public; since this was Percy's suggestion, and since they are alone, she is just following his lead; furthermore, even though she is, for all intents and purposes, technically his mistress. She is the goddess of the hunt, but she has never reminded him of that ever. She doesn't abuse her power, and she certainly never used it to get Percy to bend to her will. She isn't like that, and she would never be like that. She is so strict about equality, so she would never be such a hypocrite as to abuse her power over him. She had been a bitch to him in the parking lot too, so that doesn't help her situation.
Artemis gets all flustered about proper etiquette and her public image when they are around other people, so she usually gets snappy with him, and that is what happened today. He doesn't deserve that, but it's just in her character, and that's a lot harder for her to change than hating men turned out to be.
She smiles kindly to him when he holds both doors for her. He is such a perfect gentleman, and she'll have to tell him that later.
"What a gentleman…" She remarks with an impressed expression and a blush as she accepts the open door. The mist makes the color of her blush red so that the mortals will not suspect. They sit down in the corner of the restaurant by Artemis's preference, so they won't be disturbed or bothered nearly as much as they would at the bar stools or the seats close to the doors. Artemis would prefer to have Percy's eyes be the only ones on her. Artemis hates going into the mortal world, and she hates the men in the mortal world, too. She still has a strong dislike for men, and that especially includes pigs. She wants to speak to just Percy, and that's it. She hopes that she is able to go the whole day without getting hit on, but she seriously doubts it with the day she has planned for them that she hopes Percy will approve of.
"The people in this restaurant are the people we huntresses always stay away from. Look at these pigs sitting around here…" Artemis says with malice after the waitress hands them their menus. The waitress is quite pretty, and Arty just hates the way the waitress is looking at Percy. Sometimes, his perfect personality and charisma make her extremely uncomfortable.
"We haven't been here five minutes, and you're already insulting people? Chill out, Arty. You were in a completely different mood not too long ago when we were still in the bedroom."
She sighs with indignation, "I just can't stand to see the level of disgust from the mortals anymore. What has happened to America? It's not even just the men anymore! People wonder why we hate men so much, and after dealing with this…" She gestures to the population of the restaurant. "Can you blame us?"
"Yes, we can. You use hatred and the actions of a few to justify killing and torturing innocent men and boys. You're murderers. I choose to overlook the atrocious, evil, vile things you have done in your life, but today, it really hit close to home. I don't want to hear it, Artemis." He snaps at her in a low, aggressive voice. Artemis has a very prideful and dominant personality, and she only ever truly changes that demeanor in the bedroom, so arguing with her in anything other than an equally confident manner is asking to lose that argument.
"I know I am a horrible person, Percy." She says softly. What Percy said about her is mean, but she knows that it is true. He looks at her with a comforting expression as his eyes are also drawn to the neckline of her dress. She dressed up for him in very nice attire, especially for Artemis. She wore a v-neck crop top that pushes her breasts together enticingly with some short denim shorts that reveals her smooth, long legs. To compliment the outfit she has on some, almost sensual, heeled, white cowboy boots. She always presents herself in the brightest light possible whenever she goes out with Percy anywhere, and she has already noticed him taking a few glances at her neckline… Which makes her feel very good, especially after they have been dating so long, and he still takes glances. She can't wait to find out what he is thinking later tonight.
"You're not a horrible person, Arty. You're one of the strongest people I have ever met, and you have the most exemplary of values."
She rolls her eyes, "We both know that's not true, Percy. If I had good values, I wouldn't have kept so many secrets from you."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Artemis, and some just make more than others. It doesn't make you a bad person, it just makes you a little human. I don't hold it all against you, but it wouldn't kill you to just be a little transparent with me?" He says to her slowly as he watches the waitress come up to them and ask them what they want to drink. Artemis and Percy both order coffee.
Once the waitress is gone, Artemis picks off where Percy left off.
"Well, I am sorry, Percy, really. I promise you I have nothing left to hide, and… and I'll tell you anything you ask me. I don't want to fight." She tells him softly. Artemis is a very strong willed person. She never wants to argue, and instead, she really does prefer to have a peaceful relationship.
He really does appreciate the outfit she picked out to wear, and he can't stop himself from undressing her with his eyes as they wait for the waitress to come back and take their order. The waitress did finally come to take their order, and after all of Artemis's complaining about healthy dieting and limiting the volume of your meals to be respectful to what nature supplies for them, she ordered the flipping all star special with extra bacon and a blueberry Waffle… The last of which Percy appreciated.
Percy takes a sip of his coffee and then starts the conversation on the topic he's been meaning to bring up for a while.
"So… Arty. What do you think of Ray and Atalanta?"
Artemis immediately crosses her arms in that ol' defensive posture she is so good at.
"I'm not impressed…" she says venomously, "I knew that as soon as I lifted the no-men policy and allowed these girls to have the chance to get laid, that Atalanta would immediately find a boy to slip in bed with. I just never expected her to make it a convicted criminal who deals out misdemeanors and wrongdoing like monopoly money."
"So… that bad, huh?"
Artemis finds that amusing enough to lighten her mood.
"If you had asked me that before this morning… I would have told you how much I thought Atalanta should never be dating that criminal, but now… I'm a horrible person who has done vile, cruel things, but the best man in the world still wants me." Artemis finishes with a very warm smile to Percy.
"So you put yourself in Ray's shoes?"
"Yes."
"Well… that is the answer that I wanted to hear. I think everyone deserves a chance to start anew, and Atalanta obviously has extended her invite to Ray to start that new life with her. That Huntress is just madly in love; it's clear as day."
"I agree wholeheartedly. I don't know if I approve of them sleeping together so soon, but Atalanta made a compelling argument, and she is right. I have to let these girls choose for themselves… The way that Atalanta stood up to me, wow, she had never done that before." She points out with a sigh.
"You made the right decision, Artemis." He tells her in a soft, assuring voice.
"I know, Percy, thank you."
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Surrounded by the three mutated monsters with swords covered in black poison that accompanied The Commander to this slaughter, Atalanta thrusts her dagger into the leg of one as she dodges the sword strike of another. She pulls out the dagger, causing the monster to scream in pain. She then dodges another slash, and with the momentum, she uses her sword to cut its leg off. Faster than the normal eye could see, she swivels and takes the head off the monster she just cut the leg off of. The beast crumples to the floor, but as it falls down, with one last flood of adrenaline, the beast slashes at her. The poisoned, serrated blade saws into her exposed thigh, causing the Huntress to scream in pain. Atalanta uses all her power to blast the other two beasts away from her as she drops down to her knees, clutching the wound.
The gash burns like a branding iron, and she begins to feel weak. The wound gushes out blood, and after she gave a ton of it to Ray earlier in the week, she instantly begins to feel weaker and weaker. She doesn't have time to nurse her injury; however, as one of the mutated, hairy monsters attacks her again. She doesn't have the patience anymore to play games. Atalanta channels her power into her sword for the second time that morning. It glows blue, and she holds it in front of her to mimic the same spell she used earlier to deflect the crossbow bolts.
The monster bounces off of the much weaker shield than before, and she then gestures a dismissing wave with her left hand, making the shield glow and spin. Atalanta then clenches her hand into a fist. The gesture makes the glowing ward break into a dozen pieces, and as Atalanta thrusts forward with her hands in a stopping gesture, the pieces of the shield shoot forward, shredding the monster into pieces.
Atalanta looks over to see Ray rushing towards her covered in blood. She notices two fresh corpses directly behind him, so she is impressed.
"Are you alright, Atalanta?" He asks her quickly with a labored voice.
She looks down at the gash in her leg, which is now turning black. It burns like a red hot iron. Phoebe would be berating her for being so careless as to get hit. For now, however, she hopes she'll just be able to see her again. She has no idea what kind of poison this is, but it can't be good.
"I'll be alright, Ray." She tells him in an optimistic voice as she attempts to flush out the wound with some fire magic, which hurts like hell.
Suddenly, she hears some heavy, clunking footsteps. Her head shoots up, and she sees The Commander walking toward them with the last living demigod and the last living monster walking closely behind.
"No matter who taught you, you can't dodge everything." He taunts in a low, rumbling voice that sounds as if he is laughing. He was told by Erebus that Atalanta was taught and mentored for thousands of years by Atlas's estranged daughter, so he will be decorated with the highest honors by Lord Erebus if he brings him his prize.
Atalanta doesn't hesitate. She immediately summons all her strength, thrusting her arms out in front of her, fists clenched. The Commander raises his shield to defend against her magic, but he underestimates her once again. Instead of a frontal attack, her spell strikes from underneath as the earth begins to shake violently underneath his feet. He is staggered momentarily, and she uses the opportunity to throw both her daggers with deadly precision at his neck.
Both the last beast and the last demigod jump in front of her daggers to save The Commander from decapitation, appearing to kill them both instantly. The outcome is almost as glorious as the flood of weakness that Atalanta feels after pulling off that stunt. She is like a battery, and it's almost completely empty. The blood loss from the wound in her leg and the toll from her magic are bringing her closer and closer to unconsciousness.
Atalanta uses the momentary confusion of The Commander to reach out to her daggers and make them fly back to her hands. As she grasps them in her palms again, she feels a jolt of energy course through her. Atalanta's woosy vision clearly up, and she feels the nausea in her chest die down a bit. She stares at her daggers with confusion as she tries to piece together why she suddenly feels reenergized.
Did I just imagine that?
She doesn't contemplate for very much longer because The Commander got his wits about him once again. She stands tall and firm at her feet as she readies herself for the final battle of this skirmish.
"Let us end this." The Commander snarls, swinging his sword back and forth in large, practice swings. He takes a defensive, square up stance, leveling his large sword st Atalanta.
Standing a few yards apart from each other, Atalanta and The Commander stare each other down and prepare themselves for the duel to come. Ray comes up to stand beside Atalanta, but she stops him with an arm across his chest.
"Don't do anything stupid, Ray." She warns him gravely.
"I was just about to say the same to you, Atalanta."
The Commander has enough of staring because he becomes beef cake as he starts to charge at them like a raging bull. Atalanta holds onto her daggers tightly, and just before the big idiot reaches them, she mutters an "I'm sorry" as she blasts Ray out of the way with a spell. He goes flying toward the other side of the room, and he hits the ground hard. Atalanta did it for his own good, but she still feels guilty… She'll have to make that up to him someday, but right now, she has one big ass fish to fry.
Atalanta dodges to the left with a roll as the idiot tries to cleave her in half with his big sword. The roll reignites the pain in her ribs, and her leg is starting to hurt more and more. She ducks under another wild slash, and she realizes how much her injuries are slowing down when she tries to counterattack, and she only hits air.
The Commander had leaped back out of the way as she tried to drive her dagger into his ribs. She can't use her sword in this situation because it would not be able to puncture his armor. The Ethereal Silver can melt through obsidian, so she has to use them. Ray just got lucky with his attack earlier that stabbed the big man in the back. Staying close to the man puts her at an advantage because of the length of her weapons, so it forces him to fight on her terms, but staying so close to a foe that big is extremely dangerous.
The Commander decides to cosplay as Captain America when he decides to attempt to slice her head off with his stupid shield. She ducks underneath the attack with a spin and quickly stabs her dagger into his thigh. The Ethereal Silver burns through the Obsidian like a hot knife through butter. The Commander screams in pain, and he swings his shield back around to try and bat Atalanta away, but she swiftly darts around it, narrowly avoiding the hit. The large shield passes by her with a whoosh sound that fans her with some air.
Atalanta uses the momentary relief to get her balance and her breath back. She watches ignorantly as The Commander frantically tries to relieve the burning pain in his thigh. If she was at one hundred percent, she might have tried to end this fight early by striking the mortal blow; however, his movements are much too sporadic to predict, and in her current state of well-being, she would not be able to react in time. The Commander finally gets his wits about him once again and sets his eyes on her. He looks more pissed off than before.
Atalanta analyzes his every move from her vantage point a few yards away, but she does not see or hear the rustling behind her. The Commander doesn't hesitate, and he begins to run toward her again. She stands firmly while she anticipates the forthcoming attack. Suddenly, she sees The Commander's eyes lock onto something behind her, and she is alarmed. She immediately whips around turning her back to the big idiot charging her… She can hear the footsteps, so it doesn't matter, but what does matter is the big beast man swinging his black sword at her. The mutated creature would have taken off her leg had she not jumped in time, but she failed to hear The Commander so close behind her. She sees the gloved hand coming straight for her face, so she immediately, desperately casts the same spell she used twice already, but being so weak, and without the aid of her sword, it doesn't work. The gloved hand slams into the shield, stopping it, but the spell backfires right in Atalanta's face, sending the huntress flying across the room into the opposite wall… Not far from where Ray is.
The impact of hitting the wall is so intense that it knocks the huntress unconscious, making everything go black.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Artemis and Percy finally get their food after a few minutes, and it is absolutely flipping amazing. Artemis is in love with the blueberry waffle, and the bacon is just delicious.
"All that complaining about Waffle House, but -"
"Don't say it, Percy, don't say it."
Percy chuckles while taking another sip of his coffee.
A few minutes go by while they are eating in silence, and he doesn't start a new conversation for a little while.
"Arty?"
She wipes her lips off with a napkin and washes the last of her Waffle down with the rest of her coffee. She considered wearing the lipstick that Aphrodite gave her not too long ago, but she decided that it would not have worked very well; she also thought it would look out of place.
"Yes, Percy?"
"Did you really mean it when you said you would answer anything I ask?"
Artemis looks away for a few seconds, wearing a pensive expression.
'Yes, of course, Percy, anything you want to know. I've done nothing but hide things from you ever since we met, so I'll do whatever is required to change that narrative."
"Alright, after we rescued her from her island, where is Calypso now?"
That's not what she wanted to hear, especially on their date. Artemis crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts together in an enticing manner, but that is not the reason she does it.
"Why do you want to know where Calypso is?"
"Because she is my friend, and I want to know if she is doing ok now that she is freed. Stop being so jealous."
"I'm not jealous!" She insists, but they both know that's a lie. Percy crosses his arms with an unamused expression, and Artemis blushes. The mist makes her blush look red, or course.
"I've never even been in a relationship with her, and I've never even voluntarily kissed her, so why are you so damn jealous of her?"
Artemis looks down at her food. She doesn't really know what the answer to that question is.
Why am I so damn jealous?
"She's so beautiful, and the way she looks at you… I took advantage of you for two years before I committed myself to you, and Calypso offers you the peaceful paradise of perfection with every glance. I suppose I am jealous because I envy what she has. She is the kind of girl I want to be for you, and I have failed at that." Artemis explains softly.
Percy looks at her with a lot of confusion. He's never been very good at understanding women.
"I never once compared you to Calypso, Artemis. There is no comparison to make. She doesn't hold a candle to you." He assures her with a friendly smile.
Artemis finishes the last of her plate with a pleased smile upon her beautiful lips. "Thank you, Percy. She is staying with Athena in her palace on Olympus." She answers his previous question.
"Why is she staying with Athena?"
"Apparently, my sister wanted to do something to apologize for her daughter's actions, so she gave Calypso her massive guest bedroom, which is basically the same size as the master. Apparently, Calypso is really happy, and the two of them are getting along really well." She remarks with fake optimism before she starts ranting to herself in thought.
Far too well for my comfort. Two women who would do anything to get in Percy's bed getting buddy buddy is the absolute last thing I fucking need.
"I am happy to hear that. I will have to thank Athena for being so generous with her hospitality."
Don't get too gracious, Percy.
A few minutes later
The two of them slid out of the restaurant after Artemis paid the bill, and as soon as they got outside, she pulled him into a kiss. Standing there with her arms around his neck, she thinks of how blessed she is to have this perfect man in her life, to be his… to be so easily forgiven for her transgressions.
"Percy, you are such a perfect gentleman. You should be proud of the man you are, Percy." She whispers softly and encouragingly to him.
"I try not to let it go to my head, " he says with a smirk. Artemis rolls her eyes at his semantics, and she blushes at his confidence. They stand there for a few moments enjoying the envious looks they get from the other couples that walk back and forth in and out of the store at this early morning hour.
"Percy, I have been meaning to give you some special reward for being so good to me and for forgiving me for what I have done recently…" She starts softly.
"You don't have to give me anything, Arty."
"I actually had in mind that we could go somewhere. While we are out in the city like this, it provides a lot of good opportunities for us to go shopping."
"You always make your hunters go out shopping for you." He points out as he begins to run a hand through her hair.
"Actually, I was thinking of somewhere that just me and you could go. A place that I would never take the hunters. I was thinking that you and I could go lingerie shopping." She says softly with a blush. Percy looks surprised hearing her say that, and he didn't ever imagine that Artemis would allow herself to go to an adult store and shop for adult wear.
"Really?"
"Yes, Percy, and you can pick out whatever you want me to wear. I'll wear whatever you want." She promises him, and Artemis, with all her flaws, always keeps her promises. She has no idea where she got this absurd idea. She has always sworn to all the gods that she would never be found inside an adult fun store, but now that Percy is here with her… here she is about to do exactly that.
"Well that's really nice of you, and I would love to, but shouldn't we go back to check on the hunters first?" He says selflessly with a lot of concern. He cares about the hunters, and he would feel horrible if anything happened to them.
"No, they'll be fine," she says irresponsibly. "We deserve some time to ourselves." She says suggestively, and they start walking in the direction of the nearest strip mall.
The hunters are absolutely not fine.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Atalanta lies completely unconscious on the ground, slumped against the wall as The Commander slowly walks toward her. Ray is just now beginning to get the slightest bit of consciousness back after Atalanta hit him so hard.
"You're weak, huntress." He starts, swinging his massive sword back and forth in front of him. "I am going to enjoy delivering you to Lord Erebus. I am going to kill your dumb little boyfriend, and then I am going to kill off all your fellow hunters now that they are unguarded."
Suddenly, a voice comes from behind him.
"Leave them alone"
Standing a few yards back from the big armored man is a young, pale-skinned man with shaggy black hair, not unlike Percy's, wearing black pants and a black jacket with black boots. His skin is either inhumanly pale, or the clothes make it look that way. He has a jet black sword on his back.
The Commander turns around slowly with an amused expression.
"What did you say?" The man in obsidian armor snarls.
"I told you to leave them alone, and I will not repeat myself a third time." The young man says firmly. The voice sends a shiver down The Commander's spine. The same feeling you get when you watch a movie and suddenly a scary dead corpse is found floating, drowned in the river.
"You won't get the chance to if you don't stand down." The big armored man warns.
"I don't take kindly to bullies, especially the ones that threaten me. I know who that is," the young man says, gesturing to Atalanta who is still unconscious, blood beginning to cake on her face and in her hair, "I won't let you get away with hurting her."
"She is the property of the Dark Lord Erebus now, and you are nothing."
"I'm the last person you'll ever see before you meet the punishers." He says calmly and reaches behind him to unsheathe the jet black blade he is carrying. He knows that he has to be extremely careful and focused. Whoever this monster is he defeated who some consider to be the most highly skilled huntress, so he is clearly dangerous.
"No, you'll be the second to last person I kill before I take this huntress to Lord Erebus."
Their black blades crash into each other with unmatched ferocity sending dark lightning flooding out from their blades at the point of contact.
§§§§§§§§§§§§
The sound of fighting begins to finally make Ray open his eyes. His head is pounding, and all he can remember is Atalanta telling him she's sorry-
Atalanta!
His mind and grogginess are cleared fast because all he cares about more than anything in the entire world is his Huntress. His heart is filled with dread as he sees her lying a few yards away from him. He quickly rushes over to her side and checks her pulse… It is very faint.
"Atalanta?" He tries. She doesn't open her eyes. He reaches for her arm and pulls her toward him, so she lays flat on her back instead of on her side. He is no expert on CPR, so he hopes that she'll wake up and not make him have to do it. Atalanta usually carries a small assortment of vials and healing supplies on an arm band, but her shirt is completely sleeveless, so she didn't wear it in order to look a little more appealing. He wishes she would not have done that.
He looks down and sees a massive black gash in her leg. He gasps so sharply he nearly faints as dread clenches his heart. Ray rips his shirt off and packs it into the wound, tying it around her leg. The pain must have been excruciating, but not even that didn't wake her back up. He knows that she gave him a substantial amount of her blood in order to save his life, and if she loses anymore she is going to die… it may already be too late. He has never seen someone so selfless.
Ray turns his attention back to the battle briefly, and he sees that the young man who came to their rescue appears to have the advantage. Ray has no idea how well Atalanta did, but the gash in The Commander thigh seems to be the work of her daggers, and it is slowing him down significantly now. The young man in the black uniform is moving like a shadow. Ray can barely see him as he effortlessly dodges, blocks, and counters the blows from The Commander's massive greatsword.
Ray is intrigued by how the young man fights. He has never seen anything like it. He doesn't fight anything like Percy or Atalanta. The man takes a stab at The Commander, but he side steps it and grabs the blade with his gauntleted hand. He pulled it sharply out of the boy's grasp and kicked him in the chest, sending the young man tumbling across the floor. Ray watches as the young man gets back up to his feet, and how The Commander begins to walk toward him menacingly… or at least he tires, but since he is limping so bad from the wound that Atalanta gave him it looks more like a hobble.
Ray doesn't know what is gonna happen now. Their rescuer is weaponless, but The Commander is on his last leg, literally. Just before he reaches the young man to finish their fight, an arrow suddenly embeds itself deep into the man's right eye, and almost simultaneously another joins it embedding into the left eye. The Commander drops to his knees and then face plants into the ground shoving the arrows the rest of the way through his skull.
Ray sits there staring in shock at what he just saw. He looks up and tries to see where the arrows came from, and he notices a figure kneeling down on the roof of the building that Atalanta had first sent The Commander into at the beginning of this skirmish. He is amazed as the figure rappels down the side of the building and walks over to the young man who originally came to save them. The girl then walks over to Ray with the young man following behind her, and Ray is able to recognize who it is, and he isn't surprised.
"Phoebe?" He says softly. He is surprised to see her here even though he is also surprised that the huntresses did not immediately come to investigate the explosion in the city. He is almost as scared of Phoebe as he is of Lady Artemis.
She looks at him briefly, and she surprisingly gives him an acknowledging and respectful nod. She turns to Atalanta, and he notices how her face instantly drops. Her entire expression becomes darkly grim, and Ray could swear that he sees a small tear fall down her uniquely beautiful face.
"Oh, dear sister, how could we let this happen? I am so sorry." She says softly, almost like a prayer. She wipes the tear off of her face, and she looks up and sees the shirt wrapped around the wound in her leg. Phoebe turns to him, and in the most surprising turn of events today, she thanks him for being by her best friend.
"Go on, Ray, pick her up. She belongs to you now, and you have to protect her. Come, I'll lead you back to the Moon Mansion." She encourages him. She then turns around and addresses the mysterious man who came to Ray's defense.
"And you," she starts definitively, "who the hell are you?"
The man walks up to her close enough to irritate the huntress.
"You don't recognize me?" he asks, almost surprised. As he does, Ray seems to notice a sense of loneliness emanating from the man. Phoebe, narrows her eyes and studies him. There is something familiar about him, like a distant memory struggling to be recollected. He stares at her, as if sizing her up, and Phoebe does the same, her gaze unwavering. Noticing this, the man only sighs, a fleeting smirk crossing his face.
"Don't worry, I've already had my fight. Besides, if I wanted to fight you, I would've done so by now, so relax." He says nonchalantly. He is sincere enough, but he also seems pensively passive aggressive.
"I'd like to see you try," Phoebe snorts, a hint of pure defiance in her tone. "And I'm still waiting for you to tell me who you are, boy."
"I must admit, I'm a little disheartened that you don't remember me, but then again, no one knows me. Why would anyone ever care about me? But you might know my sister. She was, after all, your responsibility for a brief period." Upon mentioning his sister, Phoebe notices a fleeting look of hurt flash across his face. She shrugs and says, "Tell me." The man, his voice as soft as a whisper, says, "Her name was Bianca Di Angelo. You remember her, don't you?" Suddenly, Phoebe remembers who this handsome man is. And even worse, she remembers his sister, the same girl she rushed into a quest; the same girl who died so young, in a far away land with a far away name.
"You're Nico. Nico Di Angelo," she says. He doesn't reply, instead studying her hard, staring into her eyes. Phoebe isn't intimidated this time, but put off. She feels the urge to squirm under his hard glare. She quickly apologizes to him about being so snappy with him, and she invites him to come back to the Moon Mansion with her and Atalanta.
"I would love to come back to the Mansion with you. Are Percy and the goddess home?"
"Come with us and find out." Phoebe tells him sincerely, and she watches as Ray picks up his girlfriend gently.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Ten minutes later, back in the Moon Mansion.
All of the hunters gather around to watch Ray lay Atalanta's unconscious body down on the large sofa in the living room. Alissa immediately begins to tend to the huntress wounds applying mixes of nectar and healing herbs to her cuts and bruises. Alissa also cuts off Atalanta's shirt so that the doctor can tend to all of Atalanta's injuries. Alissa flushes out massive lacerations in her leg with strong alcohol, but Alissa notices that the cut is not the only thing she needs to treat. The black poison seems to be bubbling. Alissa is Atalanta's apprentice, so she naturally would know almost as much as her mentor does about medical treatment.
"Is she going to be alright?" Ray asks her worriedly.
Alissa looks to him with an expression of brief malice, but it quickly fades.
"She took a hard hit," Alissa starts as she looks over her mentor with a grim face, "A few minor lacerations, bruises, a broken rib and a substantial head injury… The gash in her leg is the worst concern. We may need to burn out the poison. It's already probably spread to her bloodstream. She needs blood. Atalanta is not far off from going into Hypovolemic shock, and we may be able to flush out the poison in her bloodstream, or at least we may be able to dilute it. She gave a lot of her blood to you after the battle for the city, so she does not have much more to lose before she becomes critical." Alissa explains intently. Ray loves Atalanta, and Alissa's worried expression is not giving him a warm, cozy feeling.
"I'll give her mine. It's the least I can do after she gave it to me." Ray says selflessly. Alissa looks at him with admiration, and she asks the other hunters to go get the medical equipment for it.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
A half hour later
Alissa is a very good doctor, as Ray realized, and he is a dumbass for ever doubting that Atalanta's apprentice wouldn't be just as skilled as her mentor. Alissa made sure that Ray's blood drawing was as painless and comfortable as possible, and less than twenty minutes after the needle first went in he was off of the table and watching as Alissa gave the blood to Atalanta. It grips at his heart to see his girlfriend like this.
The man who had come to his and Atalanta's defense, Nico, his name was, Ray remembers, has kept to himself since they got to the Moon Mansion. He went over to the corner of the room in the shadows and leaned up against the wall as he waited for Percy to get back from his outing with Artemis.
"How long will it take for the blood to flush out the poison in her system?" Ray asks Alissa with a worried tone.
"Atalanta is a bit more resilient than normal. Once she gets the entire transfusion, it'll be nearly instantaneous. She should be waking up pretty soon. How are you feeling, Ray? Are you having any light-headedness from the blood drawing?"
He is momentarily taken aback that the huntress would actually be worried about him.
"No, I'm fine."
"There's no shame in admitting it, boy. Atalanta was weak for hours after she gave the blood that was used to save you. There's nothing else you can do here. I'll let you know when she wakes up, but right now, go drink some apple juice or something to replace the blood sugar you lost." She tells him firmly. He feels compelled to obey her, but he knows that she is not charming him with charmspeak because Alissa is not a daughter of Aphrodite as far as he knows.
"Yes, Alissa." He replies respectfully with a nod of his head. He hopes that Atalanta would be pleased with his respect and interaction with her apprentice. He tries his very best to always follow the rules and be the best man possible to these huntresses, and he doesn't do it solely to impress his girlfriend.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Ray walks into the kitchen of the Moon Mansion and opens the fridge door. Alissa must have been joking around because all there is is apple cider. He pulls out the big jug of apple cider that the hunters made a few nights ago and pours himself a glass. Alissa is right. He does feel rather depleted after he had his blood drawn. He definitely feels like he needs the sugar and nutrients.
"Ray?"
He turns around swiftly when he hears the familiar voice, so fast he almost spills his apple cider. Alissa had told him to get apple juice, but they didn't have any since Lady Artemis claims it's too sweet to be healthy.
"Yes, Phoebe?" He says cautiously.
She forces herself to smile for him gently, so she doesn't look any more threatening than she naturally does.
"Relax, I am not gonna hurt you. I see how much Atalanta loves you. I see how much she craves to be with you. You're very special to her, and she would be furious if I hurt you, so you have nothing to fear from me. A friend of Atalanta's is a friend of mine, and a love of Atalanta's is a love of mine." Phoebe says softly. She begins to slowly close the distance between them.
"Thank you."
"I just want to thank you for looking after her today. It took a lot of bravery to stand and fight, with her outnumbered seven to one. I was wrong about you, and I am sorry. You're a good man, like Percy, and you've earned my respect, Ray."
He lets himself have the pleasure of smiling, and Phoebe walks closer to him to give him a hug.
"Atalanta chose a good man. Treat her right, Ray. I know you will."
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
A few minutes later
(We're skipping around)
Atalanta slowly opens her eyes for the first time since the restaurant, and she instantly feels a shooting pain through the temples and a clenching in her chest. The world around her flashes bright white like the light of a flashbang thrown from the U.S. military. She groans in the same fashion as a deer caught in a barbed wire fence as she sits up, completely ignoring the warning from her young apprentice to the right; she does not even hear her. Atalanta rubs the front of her head in annoyance of the pain and pinches the bridge of her nose to try and relinquish the pain in her head.
"You're finally awake." A familiar voice says from off to her left, but she doesn't pay any attention to it. All Atalanta can think about is her young boyfriend. Her vision slowly comes back to her, even with her throbbing headache, she frantically begins to look around for her sweet boy.
When her vision finally comes back to normal, she sees that he had stayed close by her side, and he comes quickly to embrace her in a hug. Shortly after that, their lips melt together. His hands quickly find their way to her hips, and she wraps her own arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
Atalanta quietly whines against his lips, and she slowly falls back on the table with Ray on top of her. She's never loved him more than she does at that moment. He stood with her and fought today. He has proven his valor and bravery to her. He is worthy of taking her virginity now, in her mind. When she beat him in the friendly sparring match they had, she told herself that she still wanted him to prove valor in order to be worthy of her virtue, but he has certainly proven it now. An outstanding male role model is who she is making out with.
"Oh, come on, you two, get a room…" Phoebe groans, covering her eyes.
The two young lovers chuckle and smile with their noses touching intimately. Atalanta doesn't even blush in embarrassment at their public display, but her tender cheeks flush with admiration and love of the man she saved once upon a time.
After their lips slowly move against each other in tender kisses, Ray finally lets the huntress up. His hands drop down to her thigh to express his concern of the injury she suffered, but she assures him that she will be okay.
"Alissa? Thank you for the medical attention. I'm alive and near painless, so I commend you for a job well done. You're learning." She commends with gratitude, giving the younger huntress a hug.
"Thank you, Atalanta. I just did what you taught me, but you might not be able to walk for a few hours."
"That's okay, I know a strong, young man who likes to put his paws on damsels in distress who can carry me." Atalanta teases, giving Ray a wink. Phoebe and half the other hunters in the room roll their eyes.
"Here, Atalanta," Alissa begins abruptly holding out a package to her, "Eat this, your leg should start feeling better." Atalanta accepts the ambrosia and eats exactly half of the package, knowing that her minor goddess blood is not powerful enough to let her eat anymore. To Atalanta, the ambrosia tastes like Venison jerky.
"Thank you, Alissa, again. I am sorry for not spending the time I should have with you these last few days."
"Don't worry about it. I know you are prioritizing your relationship with Ray, and that is good!"
Atalanta smiles, and she looks over to Ray, who understands what she wants. She lays down, and he comes over and picks her up to bring her back upstairs to her bedroom. Atalanta feels kind of bad using him like this. He never asks her for anything, nothing, ever, but he is always so eager to please and serve her anything she needs.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Ray carries her up the stairs carefully and respectfully. Atalanta is happy to commend him for his strength and ability to handle her. She is quite impressed with his strength, and she is even more impressed by how well he seems to handle her weight. He doesn't appear to struggle with the strain of carrying up the stairs. He carefully brings her into her bedroom and lays her down on the bed slowly.
"You are such a gentleman, Ray. Thank you." She tells him in a soft, sweet voice. She can't walk hardly anywhere on her own, so some fun under the covers would be an excellent option to pass some time.
"Thank you, Little Huntress. Can I get you anything else?"
She smirks as she looks over to her dresser.
"Yeah, my underclothes are in the second drawer. Bring me a top and bottom, please, and in the closet I have a stack of sweat pants. Could you bring me one of them? Please? You're not a servant, but I'll be very grateful."
In her defense, he asked. Ray blushes, but he does exactly as she asks. Thirty seconds later, Atalanta had her clothes laid out next to the bed.
"Thank you, Ray, you are such a perfect young man." She tells him kindly as she begins to untie her bralette. She is really hoping that he will stay and watch her change, but he quickly turns around.
"You're more than welcome to watch. It's the least you deserve after you gave me a blood transfusion." She remarks as the garment falls away from her perfect form. Ray doesn't turn back around even after she welcomes him to.
"I was just trying to do the right thing," he admits, "You did the same for me after you saved my life. I could never repay you."
"There's nothing to repay in my mind. I didn't rescue you because I expected a reward; I did it because it was the right thing to do. A sweet young man like you has so much future ahead of him… You didn't deserve what life dealt you, and you certainly didn't deserve to die on that field." She tells him definitively.
"That's just another reason I love you so much, Little Huntress."
She smiles to herself. Atalanta turns around to look back at Ray with her arms covering her breasts. She wonders if he is like this with all women, or if he is like this because she is a huntress? She looks down at the clothes that Ray picked out for her, and she is not surprised. She has many different styles of undergarments in that drawer, and Ray, of course, picked out some of the more showy articles.
"Wow, Ray." She remarks with a light giggle as she sees what he picked out for her. He picked out a push-up bra with two large, white cups with lacey floral patterns and some lace panties. They both fit perfectly, and she hopes he'll like it. She's not surprised. He is a teenage boy, after all, so, of course, he would choose these from her drawer.
"You're a perfect gentleman for turning around. I'm dressed now. What do you think?" She asks him as she turns around. She would stand up for him and twirl, but she can't exactly stand very well. She once read somewhere that men find yoga pants to be one of the sexiest things a woman can wear, and it's even better when wearing only a bra. She doesn't have any yoga pants, but she does have close fitting sweat pants, so she hopes it will draw his interest the same way.
He turns around finally, and he sees the lovely huntress lying on the bed with her hands behind her head and her feet crossed. She looks amazing, as usual. The white bra hugs her form perfectly, and it really shows off her chest.
"You look amazing, Atalanta." He says to her softly as he walks over to the bed.
"Thank you, Ray. I sense there is still some time before Percy returns with our mistress, so would you like to talk? Come, lay with me." She offers with a suggestive wink. She read in a book somewhere that some men consider the best thing in the world after a fight to be a willing woman, so she wonders if he will make any advances on her. She's curious to find out. She hopes that he doesn't hold anything against her after what happened today.
Ray burrows under the covers with her after she dove underneath them herself, and she cuddles up to his side. He took off his shirt and pants before he got in bed with her.
"So, can we talk about the battle this morning?" He asks her with a bit of hesitation. She seems really tired, so he doesn't want to force her to converse if she doesn't want to even if she offered.
"What do you wanna talk about?" She mumbles against his chest. He can hear the drowsiness evident in her voice. It's coating her speech just like the thin line between sober and tipsy.
"Why did you blast me across the room?"
Atalanta smiles, and she answers him with a low chuckle.
"I did it for your own safety. I would never be able to redeem or forgive myself if I let you die. I also cast a spell on you. It would have teleported you back here to my bedroom if your life was in danger or mine ended." She explains to him.
He doesn't know what to say in response to that, so he just thanks her for looking after his safety.
"How did you stop those crossbow bolts?"
"I didn't stop them; I just redirected them."
"How?"
She sighs with deep discontentment and then sits up in the bed, folding her hands atop her chest.
"It's a very complex and situational spell." She says vaguely.
"How so?" He asks her with intrigue. He gestures with his hand to the side to emphasize.
"There are many different spells that create wards or energy shields, but very few create kinetic wards. That spell I used to redirect the bolts and the one I later used to defend against that monster was one of those kinetic wards, and it's one of the strongest… certainly the strongest that I can use. Kinetic means that the stronger the incoming force, the greater stopping power it has."
"What do you mean?" He asks with the same hand movement as before. The huntress is extremely pleased he is so interested in learning about her.
"I'm not powerful enough to cast the spell without the aid of my sword. The sword is magical, and it acts as a power buff."
"How does a sword boost your powers? I've never heard of anything like that."
Atalanta sighs deeply again. She knew that she was going to have to explain this to him at one point, but she didn't expect that she would detest the idea so much.
"Magic doesn't just happen when I extend my palm. I don't make things happen with my mind, and I certainly can't do the crazy stunts that you imagine when you think of a Sorceress. Magic, the power that I inherited from my mother, Hecate, is made up of five threads of reality…" She explains, "water, earth, fire, air and spirit."
"That is as cliché as it gets."
She rolls her eyes.
"Every single spell and every single menial task that is done using magic pulls power from weaving of those five elements, and the strength of a daughter of magic, like me, is measured by how many threads that daughter can control and weave together at once. It is also measured by how many or how large of each thread or threads they can control. There are spells that require just one, and there are spells that require all five with multiple strands of each."
"How many elements did the spell you used require?" He asks with intrigued.
"It requires four." She admits with a side glance to him. She is waiting to see if he will piece together what she said.
"So… so that means you're not strong enough to weave four together?"
"Smart boy!" She congratulates with a big smile upon her beautiful face, "I am only strong enough to weave three together. I have to use my sword as a buffer to do anything more. To answer your question, think of the arms as two knitting needles. To weave together vast tapestries, you need long needles. The sword is an extension of your arm, and it acts as an extension to the needle in order to make larger tapestries and thread larger weaves." She explains with great excitement. The smile upon her face is of pure delight, and she illustrates her story with her hands in complex displays.
"That's one of if not the most interesting thing I have ever had described to me. How did you get blasted into the wall? Unconscious?" Ray asked with an intrigued expression. He rolled over onto his side to face her not long ago.
"I cast that same spell without the sword. When you cast a spell that is too powerful to cast without a buffer, it still works, but it will explode in your face after it does. That only applies to wards. Mostly, any other spell you aren't powerful enough to cast is outright suicidal to attempt without a buffer." Atalanta says in the most serious voice he thinks he has ever heard her use. The same way he hears her speaking to Alissa whenever they are in the gym. This huntress is almost always happy-go-lucky, and he rarely ever sees her in a grim mood.
"How is it suicidal?"
Atalanta chuckles as she remembers what her dear sister told her so long ago.
"If you try to summon more threads than you can control, then you put yourself at danger of madness, but if you attempt to weave those strands together… The weave will snap, and those strands could potentially slip from your control, killing you instantly when they burn you from the inside." She explains with grim enthusiasm.
"If it is so dangerous to exceed your strength, then how do you find out what your strength is?"
Atalanta looks up at him, and she just rolls her eyes again. He is getting invested in her story, and it is taxing.
"There is a safe test involving threads of spirit. It is the least dangerous element, and every young demigod son or daughter must do it."
He decides to change the topic before he pisses her off for prying too much.
"Who was that man who showed up today? The black haired, pale-skinned boy?"
"Someone who we owe our lives to." She says with little emotion. She has her eyes closed, and her speech is beginning to falter.
"Why did he come to our rescue?" Ray asks with confusion.
"I have no idea. He has a Roman sister, so maybe he was visiting her and just saw the explosion?" Atalanta theorizes with her eyes closed. She is only barely following their conversation. Lethargy is starting to consume her.
They stay there in silence for a few moments as he takes in what she said. Atalanta's eyelids begin to fall again as she starts to be compromised by slumber.
"The men who attacked us today said they would -"
"They said what they thought would scare me." She interrupts definitively with authority evident in her voice.
"Why did you risk your freedom taking them on then? Why not retreat back here where the rest of the hunters are?"
Atalanta sits up in the bed and crosses her arms as she looks down at him.
"Bravery is not the absence of fear, Ray, it is doing what is right even when you are scared. If you feel that way, why didn't yourun away then?"
"I stood with you because you are an inspiration to me. You saved my life, so of course I would stand with you and fight." Ray tells her with compassion. He reaches over and puts his hand on her thigh.
Ray was, of course, scared to death. He had never faced anything like that, and he told her as much. She seemed to be pleased that he told the truth. Atalanta suddenly looks at him with a curious expression, and she tilts her head to the side ever so slightly.
"You know, Ray, I should thank you with something more than words for staying by my side today. That was much more intense than anything you have faced before, and I am sorry for risking your life like that. I promised you that you could ask anything you wanted of me when we sparred, right? Well, I think you earned that today." She tells him with a very confident and pleased attitude.
Ray looks over to her with a surprised expression.
"You don't-"
She interrupts him abruptly, "But I want to. You deserve it, and you especially deserve it after you gave your blood for my health."
"No matter how modest he is… he will accept this for sure" Atalanta thinks to herself as Ray takes a few moments to consider. He looks her up and down and winks at her when she stares into his eyes. She had wanted to give him something special a long time ago, but it has been hard to get him to enjoy the sweeter things in life because of how modest and respectful he is with her. No matter how much she assures him that he can't get in trouble for anything he does to her… he doesn't listen.
Ray doesn't say anything to her. He doesn't kiss her, nothing; Ray just swings his legs over the side of the bed and sits facing the door. Atalanta is momentarily confused about what he is trying to tell her. She always thought that women were the complicated ones to understand, but this is baffling her. She thought that Ray would have just taken what he wanted if she offered, but he is obviously conflicted over what is right and what is easy. Atalanta realizes that Ray must be testing her. She doesn't know why or how, but she knows that she really wants to do the right thing. Atalanta slowly gets out of bed and tests her leg. She puts some weight on it, and when she doesn't collapse onto the floor, she stands up to walk over to him.
She straightens her bra and pushes the hair out of her face as she walks up to him. She cares much more about the way she looks than her sisters do, and she is trying extra hard to look nice since she now has a boy in her bedroom.
He scoots back on the edge of the bed a little bit more when she walks over to him. She realizes with embarrassment that he wants her to straddle his lap. She does just that, wrapping her arms around his neck, but she does so with flushed cheeks.
"I like it when you blush." Ray teases as he puts his hands on the sides of her torso just above her waist. Her skin is so soft… the dark tan makes it all that much better. She clearly has an excellent skin care routine, and she obviously enjoys sunbathing… nude, probably. She doesn't even have the faintest tan line anywhere.
She grins at his comment.
"So… whaddya want?"
He doesn't say anything to her, which she finds to be odd; he just kisses her. She is happy to kiss him back, and before long, she is melted into the kiss. She really has a soft spot for physical contact, and in that moment, Phoebe could have walked in, and Atalanta wouldn't have noticed. She feels her lover's hands slowly begin to slide up her body, and she savors the feeling. His hands keep getting higher and higher as he slowly and sensually brings them up her toned chest. Eventually, his hands stop mere centimeters from her breasts. He won't touch them, of course, but he wants to.
She slowly pulls away from the kiss. She is starting to get tired of his stubborn, respectful hesitation to explore her with his paws.
"Do it," she tells him with a hot voice, "Come on, Ray. I know you want to touch them." Atalanta encourages with a smirk. She ever so slightly arches her back and pushes her chest towards him, and then she leans back in to kiss him.
There's no way he doesn't do it, right? At this point, he isn't interested if he doesn't go for it; I swear to the gods.
Ray smiles and leans back in to kiss her. She feels his hands slowly move up her body again until they cup her full, round breasts through her bra. This is a sensation she has never felt before. She has felt her own hands there when she showers, or even other hunters doing it for her, but she has never been in this situation before sexually, and especially not with a boy.
It's incredible, and Atalanta moans into the kiss unconsciously moving her hips, which drives him wild, but he would never tell her that. Eventually, after thirty seconds or so, she encouraged him to begin kneading them, and she loves that even more. They stay there in that position for what seems like ten seconds, but in reality, it was a few minutes. He begins to move away from her lips as he kisses down her jaw line and eventually to her neck. She is pleased that he spent so much time kissing her before he took the next step; she approves. Ray begins to kiss her neck, but she pulls away sharply when she feels his teeth graze her. He doesn't know why she pulled away, but he is worried he did something wrong to piss her off.
"I'm sor-"
"Hush, boy." She commands him, putting two fingers to his lips to silence him. She finds his respectful modesty to be a redeeming quality of his, but holy shit does it get annoying. He could have already taken her virginity if he wasn't so damn stubborn.
"I am not gonna tell you what you can or can't do; in fact, I encourage you to bite me wherever you like, but if you bite me on the neck and leave a mark…" She says with slow emphasis as if she is trying to get him to finish the thought, "we'll get some very judging looks from the other hunters."
Ray looks up into her eyes with acknowledgment and regret. She can easily tell that Ray feels bad. He thinks he stepped out of line and crossed a boundary, so now he feels bad about it.
"I'm not mad, Ray," She assured him gently. She leans in to kiss him, and she arches her back to let him know it is ok to keep touching her. She is so much gentler and easy-going than he ever expected when hopping in bed with a Huntress. He kisses her back with a renewed passion, and she knows instantly that he will forgive himself. He starts out slow, but she quickly realizes that Ray is gonna make up for his previous mistake by showing her a good time.
"I was w-worried you wouldn't like my breasts, but I see those fears were unfounded." Atalanta says softly. The sounds she makes are the sweetest music to his ears. She's never been in such heaven as she is now. She would not give this up for the world. As he gets closer to her collar bone and further down her body, she starts to get more and more nervous about what he has in mind. It's a sweet anticipation, and the suspense builds even higher when she feels him kiss the top of her left breast.
"You're exquisitely perfect, Atalanta." He says honestly, and he keeps kissing the tops of her breasts. Aralanra smiles brightly when she hears that. She doesn't consider herself to be neither the comeliest nor the shapeliest huntress, but she is obviously a goddess to Ray.
She is ripped from her delightful thoughts when he sinks his teeth into the top of her breast.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
A few hours later
Atalanta and Ray slept like logs for a few hours, resting from the day. Atalanta resting from the battle and the recovery of her injury, and Ray from the loss of his blood. They spoke with each other softly after they woke up, but they were disrupted when a familiar face poked her neck into their bedroom.
"Atalanta? Are you and your boyfriend decent?" She calls with her eyes closed, and after Atalanta rolls her eyes, she answers in affirmation, "Lady Artemis wants to speak with you immediately… and your boyfriend." Phoebe tells them with conviction, and the two of them look at each other in panic.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
A/N- Thank you all for reading. I hope you found it worth the wait.
None of the characters are in the clear yet, and some of them are about to have an even rougher time… Gosh, so much action is coming up in the near future.
Thank you so much to TrainaMoon and ThePilotDude for helping me with this chapter. Thank you to StormKing, not_a_username and Magical696 for all of their instrumental feedback and idea sharing. This chapter would not have been the same without all of you!
The next chapter is not looking to be a hugely long one like this one, but that could change. Half of what you read in this chapter, I did not have planned yet when I posted the chapter before this, so I am still making ideas. I had to split this chapter into two parts because I came up with so much extra meat to fill this burrito, so you guys are going to love Pt.2.
Please come and join my discord: tCqn8MnsQx
There is so much that I do with my readers in my discord. I have frequent polls and questions that I ask my readers. These questions and polls nearly always dictate if I write something in or not, and I consider that feedback invaluable. Please, please join! There is exclusive content and opportunities that you won't get by waiting for the update notification. This chapter I offered to let anyone read it before I posted it, so you can get chances to do that as well.