Isn't it a bit ironic that my way to cool off from monster and titan killing, the losses from the war, and not knowing if I was going to survive the next battle is by going on a solo hunt to kill leftover monsters and continuing to endanger my life? Yeah, I thought so too. But here I am, alone in a forest somewhere in the United States, after a month of trying to be normal and completing my high school education.

I guess I should explain what's happened in my life. My Mom and Paul lost their lives battling during the last day of the Titan war. I had come down to the Empire State lobby after rejecting godhood, glad and shocked that we had won but lamenting the losses of friends, nature spirits, and hunters. I thought it was weird that my Mom hadn't immediately come up to see how I was doing even though I sent her the blue signal. I knew my Mom, and she would've been worried anyways. Immediately, I was filled with dread and raced outside but Nico found me first. And when I looked at Nico… I didn't even have to ask.

When we got back to Camp Halfblood, we had a funeral for all those that were lost, including the hunters and my Mom and Paul. Annabeth and Grover helped me make their shrouds and arranged to bury them in a cemetery in New York. That day was horrible and the loss of my Mom erased any feeling of joy I felt at winning the war. After the burning of the shrouds, everyone's mood slowly improved and soon enough they started celebrating, singing at the campfire, glad that at least they were alive and we had saved Western Civilization. I don't blame them at all, I would have joined if not for the crushing guilt I felt. I only realized it was my birthday when at the end of the day Annabeth tried to cheer me up by making a cake for me. It was blue. It hurt to even look at it. I appreciated Annabeth's help though, and eventually a couple of days later we kissed, and I started feeling slightly better. Annabeth really tried to help me with the loss, but she didn't understand me completely.

Eventually, when summer was over, Annabeth had convinced me that if I went back to school and tried to live like a mortal that it would distract me from the pain and give me a break away from the demigod world. So, I went back to my old apartment, financially supported by Camp Halfblod's strawberry sales to try to live a normal life on my own in New York. I thought that Annabeth would change schools and live with me so I wouldn't be alone, but she decided to go back to San Francisco and spend time with her family and redesign Olympus. At first, I was hurt by her decision and fought with her. But hey, I can't blame her for wanting to continue her own life and maintain her recently improving relationship with her father. I can't take that away from her, it would be selfish of me.

So I tried to live alone and go to high school, like a regular teenager. Living alone was hard. The emptiness my Mom's apartment tore at me. I could feel their lack of presence like shadows, wandering in the living room, cooking in the kitchen, behind the closed door of their bedroom. I refused to open that door. I couldn't bear it. I didn't clean much, I didn't want to move around the things they had touched so recently. I practically stayed in my room the whole time whenever I was at the apartment. I even kept food in my room to avoid going into the kitchen and seeing all the blue food dye my Mom kept stored for me. Therefore, I tried to spend as much time out of the apartment as possible. I joined the swim team and basketball team, I studied after hours at school even though I could hardly concentrate on whatever subject I was supposed to understand, and whenever I could I went over to Rachel's even though her Dad did not like me at all. It didn't help that in school, I felt like a zombie walking around, attending classes I didn't understand, barely talking with my mortal friends at school since I couldn't understand how they were so oblivious to the world almost ending. Swimming and basketball was fine though, they were good distractions but they were not enough. Eventually, when CPS started coming around to the apartment, explaining that they would have to meet my new legal guardian which was technically Chiron, I lost it.

I grabbed some essentials, ambrosia and nectar, some clothes, some food, and a lot of drachmas and money, a couple of photos of my Mom and Paul, and my Mom's novel manuscript. I IM'ed Annabeth and told her that I was leaving, that I couldn't handle it anymore and that I was going to hunt down the remaining monsters after the Titan war to blow off some steam. At first, she tried to dissuade me, but once she saw how my mind was already set, she let me go, with the promise that I would IM her regularly.

And that's how I ended up here, in a random forest, with a pack of hellhounds growling viciously at me. There were about five hellhounds, each one as tall as my waist and around five of me in width.

"Hey doggies," I took out my pen and uncapped it, the gleam of my sword only highlighting their ugly snouts. The first one hinged its legs and punched at me, lightning fast. I quickly stabbed it, turning it into a pile of dust. At this, the pack attacked all at once.

I rolled and slashed at the hellhounds, killing the next one while the others turned around and prepared to attack me from both my sides and my back. I turned, kicking at the one to my right and stabbing the one to my left, preparing for the next hellhound to attack me when suddenly I saw an arrow fly and turn that hellhound to dust. I quickly slashed at the one I kicked and looked at the arrow. It was silver.

I looked around, expecting to see the hunters of Artemis and Thalia, but found no one. Then, I saw the silhouette of a girl approach me, walking into the clearing without making a noise. As she came into the light, her auburn hair and silver eyes like the moon, I realized it was the goddess Artemis. "Lady Artemis," I bowed, going on one knee.

"Perseus," she spoke softly. Her voice had changed since the last time I saw her. Come to think of it, she looked older, more like my age. "Stand, I don't like people kneeling to me."

I stood up. "Percy's just fine. Thank you for your help, I probably would've been hellhound food."

"It's not a problem." She circled around me, without emitting a single noise. Goddess of the hunt, probably has stalked her prey down to perfection. I felt a bit nervous under her gaze. Finally, she stopped in front of me. She still had her bow in her hands and her quiver was frighteningly full.

"What are you doing here, alone?" She finally asked.

"Um," I rubbed my neck. "I'm on a mission to hunt down the remaining monsters from the war."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is it some sort of quest?"

I shook my head. "No, not really. I haven't been assigned this job, don't even have a prophecy, just out of my own free will."

"Oh. I would think that the Hero of Olympus would be on a vacation after saving the world." She said, almost suspiciously.

I slightly blushed at her comment of 'hero'. "Ah, see, technically the Titan war was during my summer vacation, I should be in school really."

She hummed, playing with the string of her bow. "Interesting." She paused. "Well, I should leave you to it then." She turned around and went back into the forest. When I went to go look after her she was gone, she didn't even leave a trail of footsteps.

Oh well. That was a frazzling encounter. It was night time, so I decided it would be time to set up the tent I traveled with and go to sleep. Since I travel alone now, I always try to sleep near a body of water with my pen in my grasp. Soon, I dozed off, wondering why Artemis was here, without her hunters.