Song recommendation: "Timberwolves at New Jersey" by Taking Back Sunday. Older album for sure, but this song is great. It was one of the first songs I actually learned how to play on guitar. Super simple, super catchy, and something I could relate to in a weird way. Worth a listen though!
He had to admit that the previous night had been one of the best in memory. Not just in recent times, but of all time. They'd set off shortly after the goddess showed him what the metal slip was for. As it turned out, it wasn't a key, at least not in the traditional sense. In actuality, it was how the bike was accessed. Interestingly, she'd had the same done for his truck, with his father's permission of course. As per usual, the sea god had been quick to agree upon hearing their plans. It would be cumbersome to have to drive back for the larger vehicle every time they felt like driving their bikes.
It was quite a simple enchantment, working as a key to retrieve the item in a sense. The black metal slip was keyed in a particular divine energy signature allowing for the user to either send or receive something. In this case, it was either a truck or a bike. In the same way that Artemis could summon the moon chariot, Percy could summon his vehicles. Unfortunately, it didn't double as a helmet, meaning that Artemis had to summon one for him. It was a bit cumbersome, but certainly worth it. Even if he was tougher than mortals, it was best not to take chances.
Initially, he'd elected to go a few miles without the helmet, but had quickly decided to use it as their speed began to climb. With the way that Artemis was driving, it was a wonder that Apollo ever beat her. She looked like she could race professionally if she wanted, and to be fair, she probably could. Of course, she'd slowed it down for him after a second, but she'd quickly put him in his place when he'd tried to overtake her. She'd laughed as Percy had passed him before absolutely annihilating him as they went through a particularly windy section of road. The goddess had been damn near parallel to the ground during some of the turns and Percy wisely decided not to even consider attempting it.
He was pretty sure the goddess would have given any cop a heart attack after watching her tear up the road. Thankfully though, she did slow down after teasing him a little. Another win for her he supposed, not that he minded. In their own classic fashion, they'd stayed out well past normal hours before returning home and having a quick meal and parting ways for the night.
And then, a few days later they set off once more. This time though, they were side by side in Percy's truck cabin with their (Percy's) bags packed. Their current plan was to snake their way down the east coast before meeting up with the hunt near the Blue Ridge Mountains. It'd take a good few hours assuming they didn't stop, but he was almost certain that they'd get sidetracked by something or other. First and foremost though, they needed food. Sure, they had snacks, but a drive-through breakfast sounded perfect at the moment.
As Percy put it, there was something about those awful little breakfast stops that just made road trips all that much better. Artemis wasn't so sure about that but agreed to it anyway since her companion seemed so giddy. It was still quite early in the morning, only around half past six when they pulled into the drive through of their fast food chain of choice. Artemis gingerly noted that their cashier looked half asleep but Percy just laughed, saying that most normal people would be if they worked at this time. As he put it, not many people wanted to be at work at six in the morning.
After a quick order totalling somewhere near thirty dollars, the two were on their way again. Percy had insisted on driving for the first portion of their drive, even though Artemis pointed out that he'd nearly fallen asleep in the bathroom only half an hour earlier. The moon goddess had accepted this, so long as she could choose what they listened to, not that Percy minded. As it would happen, their tastes were quite similar though neither were too particularly surprised.
"You said we were meeting everyone at Green Ridge Park?" Percy glanced over at his friend as he changed lanes while striking up a small conversation with his friend.
"That will be in tomorrow but yes."
Percy nodded as he thought for a moment, "Do you want to stop in Philadelphia for a little bit then?"
"If it pleases you then I do not mind," she said easily as she mapped out their route in her head, "Why there?"
He responded after taking a large bite out of his breakfast sandwich, "I want to see the John Coltrane house."
"Your mother did mention that you liked jazz," Artemis smiled as she looked out the window, idly spinning a small blade in her hand. Percy noted this with mild interest but chose not to say anything.
He grinned, "Does it not seem like something I'd like?"
"Not particularly," Artemis said lightly, not looking at him.
He gasped, "That's rude. I'll have you know I wanted to play the saxophone when I was a kid."
Artemis turned to him with a look of amusement, gently poking him in the ribs, "Now that sounds like you."
Percy didn't quite jump but his eyes did flick over to the goddess, "My mom used to play his music sometimes since she wanted me to learn about all sorts of stuff. Music just happened to be one of those things I actually enjoyed so she tried to get me to listen to a bit of everything."
Artemis nodded, "You are lucky then. A new style or perspective is often not a bad thing."
"For sure," Percy agreed, placing his arm between the seat and back wall so that he could look out the back window. He took a quick look before moving to shift lanes again, this time pulling them onto a larger road, "How was your food?"
Artemis glanced down at their bag, "Better than I thought it would be."
"You want more?" he asked, gently reaching to pull something out after noticing that she'd finished everything else.
"It is yours."
Percy shrugged, "I'd rather you have it. Plus we can always stop and get more."
She deliberated for a moment before caving and taking the offered item. It wasn't much more than a biscuit with bacon, egg, and a smattering of cheese, but it was still good. Simplicity was not always a bad thing after all. She hummed appreciatively, causing Percy to smile, "Thank you."
He would have waved her off but he was busy adjusting their course to avoid a rather erratic driver. He responded without taking his eyes off the road, "You're welcome to take whatever you'd like."
Artemis just smiled, taking a moment to enjoy her food. Percy didn't say anything but she could see his smile grow a little as he drove. After a long period of comfortable silence, Artemis turned to him, "Tell me about your childhood."
"What about it?" He hadn't expected that to be her question.
"Whatever you would like," Artemis said simply.
Percy was pensive for a moment before beginning, "Well I'm sure I've explained the blue food thing so that's out. I did strangle a snake when I was a baby though. Scared the hell out of my mom but she sort of just accepted it after a minute. Demigod things I guess."
"Was that one sent by Hera as well?" Artemis joked.
Percy chuckled, "Doubt it. Apparently she likes me well enough."
"Be proud. It is something that I have yet to manage."
"Really?"
"It is understandable when you think about it," Artemis shrugged, "I lose no sleep over it as I too would be angry if I had eternal reminders of my husband's infidelity. And that is not mentioning my staunch rejection of her marriage attempts."
"She's tried to marry you off before?"
"On more than one occasion," Artemis said simply, "As we have discussed, the gods use their allies as little more than bargaining chips, and I am no exception."
Percy grumbled a little, "I don't understand how people could treat their family that way."
"Family only means so much to the gods," the huntress said casually, "Many looked at Apollo and I's relationship strangely as there are few gods that actively identify as true siblings."
Percy tried to avoid thinking about it for a second, but a shudder ran up his spine as a few intrusive thoughts won out, "Yeah I don't want to think about that too much. It's weird enough without thinking about all the strange siblings I have. Like a horse brother. That's fucking weird."
Artemis smirked, "A good rule of thumb."
Percy shifted a little as he looked out the window, "Gods are strange."
"Are you saying that I am strange?"
Percy replied without missing a beat, "Absolutely yes."
"Oh? Do tell."
"Well for one," Percy started, "You're really telling me that you like butterscotch ice cream?"
Artemis laughed, "Sacrilegious, I know. You've made that much clear."
"It'd be fine if it was blue," Percy grumbled, "but come on. It's such an old person flavor."
"I am well over three thousand years old," Artemis deadpanned.
"Okay but do you act like it?" Percy countered, "Tell you what. The moment you start looking like a grandma, I'll say it's fair game."
"Or if it's blue."
"That too," Percy grinned, "At least you think chocolate is better than vanilla."
"In all fairness, I did not say that butterscotch was my favorite, only that it is acceptable."
"It's close enough that it doesn't really matter," the young man shrugged, eyes laden with amusement.
Artemis just sighed, "How your mother managed to deal with you is beyond me."
"Moms have superpowers. No other explanation for it."
"That would be your explanation."
"I'm not wrong."
"You are not," she smiled in return as he shot her a quick grin while checking his blindspot, "I suppose my mother had her hands full between Apollo and I."
"Couldn't have been that bad," Percy started before pausing, "On second thought, I might be wrong."
"You are."
"Should have expected that," Percy grinned ruefully, "Wonder what raising a godly child is like."
"I am sure that you could find out if you wished," Artemis said casually. Percy briefly wondered what would have brought that on but quickly brushed it off as he considered the implications of having a child.
"Yeah not sure I should raise a kid," Percy turned on his blinker, "Wouldn't know where to start."
Artemis agreed to Percy's chagrin, but he had to admit that he was probably going to be the last out of his friends to have a kid, outside of the maiden goddess herself obviously. He was telling the truth when he'd said he'd have no idea where to start. The way he saw it, not having a father was going to make his parenting a bit rougher. And for that matter, his now dead but previously abusive step-father wasn't going to make anything easier either. Percy brushed it off though. Those were issues for when he was ready to have kids. As far as he was concerned, that wouldn't be an issue for at least another five years.
As with many things in his life, it was a future Percy issue. Artemis pointed out that it was a very 'Percy' thing to say as he said it before the two of them settled back into their comfortable silence. Occasionally, the two would strike up conversation at their fancy but for the most part, they were silent, simply enjoying the sounds around and each other's company. At several different points, they found themselves playing little word games or games involving guessing simply to pass the time. Soon enough, the deciduous forests began to thin. Trees became sparse as they moved out towards open fields, gradually making their way down winding coastal roads.
Percy had intended to cut straight towards their intended city, but had avoided doing so at the moon goddess's request. From then on, his plan shifted with the two instead taking the curved, scenic roads along the eastern coast before they'd cut back inland, nearly doubling their driving time, not that he minded in the slightest. At some point, they'd stopped at an abandoned rest point and Percy swapped the truck out for his bike. Artemis had been amused by this but was quick to do the same. He noted that she had a scrambler rather than a sport bike. It fit her a little better, matching her attire better than a sportier bike would have.
Her heavy aviator jacket and lighter shirt paired well with the thick, black cargo pants that she wore. Interestingly, she opted to forgo the helmet, instead choosing a nice pair of sunglasses to pull the look together. Percy was still in the same clothing he'd worn initially as he'd opted for functional, rather than aesthetic. Of course, Aphrodite had made sure that whatever she got him was a good blend of both so he didn't look half bad either, even if it was currently prioritizing safety.
It was a slow start with the two taking the time to enjoy the natural beauty of the world around them at a leisurely pace instead of racing through as they'd done many nights ago. They'd come to a stop at a few points simply to take in the view. As they saw it, the small details were what made their trip fun. It wasn't about getting from destination to destination as quickly as possible. If anything, it was the opposite. Sure, they had a deadline to meet tomorrow, but it was one of only a handful. Plus, Artemis had told him that they could take as long as they'd liked. As she put it, her hunters weren't too big on deadlines.
It would seem the goddess was enjoying herself quite a bit. He noticed that she seemed relaxed. While the two of them were quite comfortable with each other, he'd noticed a marked difference in her actions since her return. She was a bit more comfortable speaking her mind, voicing random thoughts as she pleased and occasionally indulging her more carefree side which was something that he quite liked. It wasn't a massive difference, often coming in the form of subtle actions such as a quick hand through her hair or some sort of subtle fidgeting, but it was a difference nonetheless.
What's more was that he noticed that she seemed to care less about her appearance, less so in a physical sense, and more so in a presentational sense. Her regal nature had taken on an aloof aspect, though she was as peaceful as ever. If anything, she seemed to act more like the world around her, emanating a certain tranquility and ease. And, interestingly, Percy found himself talking more. Something about her just made him talk. It didn't have to be about anything in particular. Sometimes, it'd be about a cool tree he saw. Other times, it'd be him geeking out about a particular song that he loved. Each time, the goddess would look at him with interest, casually listening and occasionally commenting.
Percy grinned as the huntress in question came up beside him. She'd let off the throttle just enough to bring them to even speed and from there, they'd cruised for nearly an hour. Their road was perfectly empty, only crossing a handful of cars in their journey down the coast. Eventually though, they came to another rest point and Percy's legs were feeling a little worse for wear. This had elicited a laugh from the moon goddess, but she'd offered to drive the truck so that he could relax. He'd accepted this offer with many thanks and the two soon found themselves westward bound.
With the goddess driving, Perseus was woefully free to do nothing. And unfortunately, that meant he was bored. Sure, his lower body was thanking him for the chance to relax, but his mind was completely unoccupied. At some point, he began to feel a bit cramped in the small cabin as he idly scratched at his wrist. He tried watching the trees, but nothing about them stood out. It just seemed like there wasn't all that much to do. Nothing sounded fun at the moment and he wasn't even sure what he'd talk about with the moon goddess. For that matter, the son of the sea wasn't even sure if she wanted to talk given her silence. His skin felt a little raw where he'd been rubbing it but he hardly noticed.
"I am certain that there must be something you'd be interested in talking about," Artemis supplied helpfully, seemingly reading his mind.
"Perusing my mind again, My Lady?"
She spared him a quick look, "It is not hard for me to tell what is on your mind, Perseus. And, even if I were to, there wouldn't be much to see."
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, completely skipping over the last part, "Didn't realize it was that obvious."
"It is hard to miss." Artemis shifted gears, pausing for a moment.
The son of the sea glanced around awkwardly, hands gently wringing his shirt, "Any solutions?"
The moon goddess hummed, choosing to pull over instead of responding. They were surrounded almost entirely by forested land.
"This isn't going to be one of those 'I've driven you out to the middle of nowhere so I can split your skull with an axe' kinda things, right?" Percy asked curiously as he tried to smooth out a small wrinkle in his shirt. No luck though. While he knew the goddess had a reason for stopping, he wasn't entirely sure what said reason was.
"It may if you do something stupid," Artemis shrugged as she pulled the keys out of the ignition. Percy blinked.
"So, any reason why you stopped here? Other than to murder me I mean."
She grinned at him as they both got out of the car, "To take a moment."
He scratched at the back of his head, "For what?"
The moon goddess's eyes flicked towards him. It wasn't anything he was unused to, but it felt different. There was some emotion, some feeling, that he couldn't quite place. That wasn't to say that it was bad. If anything, the embodiment of the moon seemed more relaxed than usual, leaning casually against the truck bed with her arms crossed. He noticed the way she tilted her head ever so slightly when she was amused, and the way that her hands idly played with small bits of fabric from the navy jacket draped across her shoulders. All that was to say that the huntress was actually quite happy, "To relax. You are tense."
Percy smiled a little as she slowly began making her way over to him, "You didn't exactly deny that you were going to murder me with an axe."
"This is true." Artemis said simply as she turned him around with a soft touch, steering him towards the forest. There wasn't much of a path to walk on, but the trees seemed to part ways ahead of them, widening so that they could just barely make it through. Truth be told though, he was having a much harder time than the goddess behind him. Artemis was as graceful as ever, once again seeming to float around rather than actually walk. Strangely though, he could hear her following behind. The odd crunching of leaves or sound of light footfalls was a bit foreign in that sense, but he imagined she had a reason.
It reminded him of a big cat in some odd way actually. They'd move around in complete silence when hunting but they didn't do it all the time. Honestly, he imagined that most people were only able to see them because they wanted to be seen. Artemis was much the same way. If not for the gentle hand and still abnormally quiet footsteps behind him, he would have never noticed her trailing behind him. She was every bit the huntress he knew her to be, even when she didn't intend to be.
Their path seemed to widen just a bit as they moved, gently winding downwards in a very subtle decline. It was a beautiful area. Relatively untouched forest filled with the sounds of life sprawled out in front of the two, but their particular path came to an end far sooner than that. Ahead of them lie a rather clear stream, cutting a winding path through the soft ground straight into the bedrock below. Trees and foliage made their way right up to the bank before coming to a quick halt where they were replaced by patches of moss descending right over the edge. From what he could see though, there was a small place to sit just barely a foot away on the closest edge of the embankment though he wasn't sure if Artemis intended to continue through the stream.
Luckily, this was quickly answered when the goddess moved her hand up to his shoulder and gently pushed him down into a sitting position.
"Am I missing something?" Percy asked curiously as he fanned his arms out behind him.
"Nothing of importance," Artemis sat down next to him, "Now, tell me what you see."
"Uh," Percy was understandably confused but answered anyway, "trees. And a stream. A few patches of moss? What exactly are we doing here?"
"We are sitting," Artemis replied simply, summoning a bow into her hand. He watched in mild interest as she fiddled with it, making small adjustments, "What do you hear?"
Percy thought for a moment, taking a second to close his eyes and listen out, "I hear water flowing and there are a few Mourning doves off to our right."
Artemis looked up from her bow, "How many do you think there are?"
Percy ran a hand over a patch of moss as he listened out, "Three I think. Ones a bit farther than the other two."
The huntress nodded as she casually drew the bow back. Even sitting, the action looked as natural as ever, "You would be correct. It is too bad that you cannot shoot a bow. You would make a good hunter."
Percy flashed her a smile, "Thanks but why do you say that?"
"Your observational skills are excellent, even if your aim is not."
"Not my fault. Bows just aren't meant for me."
Artemis shot him an amused look, "Show me then."
"Last time we tried this, I put an arrow through your tent."
"That much is true," Artemis recalled that particular incident with great clarity, "but that was three years ago. Surely you have improved a little."
Percy wasn't so sure, "If you say so."
He'd attempted using a bow many times in the past few years. Each time had gone rather poorly. Brushing that bad omen off though, Percy took the offered weapon and moved so that he could stand. Artemis, meanwhile, summoned a small target across the water for him to shoot at. With a quick breath, he drew the string back and gently let the arrow loose. It flew. Not very well, but it flew, falling several meters away from his target.
Artemis shifted next to him as she observed him, "You managed to shoot it forwards this time so this is progress."
"First time for everything," Percy said glibly. Try as he might, it annoyed him to no end that he couldn't shoot a bow for the life of him. He sighed but steeled his resolve and continued, taking several more shots while the goddess observed. None of them managed to hit the target, but he did manage to sneak a few closer. That being said, his grouping was awful and he couldn't get them to go where he wanted. Finally, Artemis stopped him.
"For one," the huntress stood up and tapped him in a few places, adjusting him slightly, "Your form was not the worst. It needs work, but it is better than the last time you attempted to shoot."
Percy tried noting exactly how she was moving him but his mind was a bit too cluttered for it to really stick. Artemis seemed to notice as much.
"Take a moment," she said as she gently moved his arms down. He stood there awkwardly, holding the bow in one hand while turning to look at his friend, "As you have said, you need not be in any rush."
He sighed, "Yeah I guess. I just don't understand why I can't get this down."
The goddess shrugged as she sat down once more, "Nothing worth dwelling on. There are much better things to do with your time."
The son of the sea let himself drop onto the floor, his fingers drumming away at the soft floor under him. The soft breeze was nice, but it did little to help his frazzled mind.
Artemis's voice cut through to him, pulling him part of the way back to reality, "What bothers you?"
Percy blinked, quickly shaking off the rest of his stupor, "What?"
"Something is on your mind," Artemis replied simply.
Percy's brow furrowed as he thought but he couldn't quite identify what it was that was weighing on him, "I guess so."
"But you do not know what." A thin smile made its way across his face. Leave it to the moon goddess to figure out exactly what he was thinking. She continued, "What do you need right now?"
Now that was a great question, and unfortunately, he wasn't quite sure. He just shook his head. Interestingly, the moon goddess nodded understandingly, casually moving back to mess with the bow. Percy hadn't even noticed that he'd let go of it but chose to ignore that as he observed the goddess. Truly, it was a wonder that she remained so calm. Of course, she glanced up at him in the middle of him staring at her. He was quick to smile, even if it was half-heartedly, before looking away. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind at all and quickly went back to her bow, gently tuning it while humming quietly.
That combined with the sounds of the woods around him was enough to quiet his mind, even if only for a little. The sound was more than pleasant, but that probably should have been expected. It made sense that the goddess had a melodic voice given who her brother was. Regardless of that though, Percy's attempt to clear his mind was bearing fruit. Some of the needless din had quieted, and though it wasn't as much as he would have liked, it was more than enough to have a few rational thoughts. In an effort to continue this, he voiced his thoughts.
"I think I could go for a swim," Percy said quietly, breaking their silence once more. At some point, the goddess had swapped out the bow for a book, something that he happened to notice as she looked over to him. The moon goddess in question nodded but said nothing otherwise, leading the savior of Olympus to smile, "You knew I'd say that huh?"
She only smiled, "Go on then."
Just got set up in a new apartment for uni so it's been a bit hectic but I'm settled in now and things should be going back to normal. PC is all set up too so I can actually start writing again. Been having that itch so I think I'm going to spend a decent amount of time doing that. Anyway, this chapter was exploring the two of them being a little more comfortable with each other, interacting casually again but with Percy having an edge. I'm exploring something from chapter nineteen at the moment which will be a running theme for the next little bit. Hope you enjoyed!
On to the fun stuff though. To PhatomFuryJP, Prenicolado, James1996, and bring the money: Thank you all for the reviews, always means the world to me since it's both a sign that people are enjoying and that I'm not doing a piss poor job. To TomorrowCarpe Diem: indeed he does. I intend for it to be both since they're really just the same person but I'm hoping I can mess around with it and have my own little spin on it. We'll see how it goes but it will be the both of them. To iNeptune: Well I appreciate it! And thank you. It's a huge milestone for me since I'm typically awful about writing consistently but since I added another minor in uni, I've been writing non-stop. To Cmonty17: Thanks! I do enjoy trying to round everything out with a bit of both of them. As someone else pointed out, it was a bit rambly, but that was sort of the way I wanted it to be. To HeyHoCookie: Well glad you found it and enjoyed. Always a pleasure to have you on board. I plan to write a lot more so hopefully you continue to enjoy. To Tri-Edge: Yerp thanks! Fixed it since I posted the wrong doc. And about the rambling thing, yeah that was sort of the intent. I haven't fully explored why yet, but it'll make sense. It's sort of rambly with a minor undertone of something else that will come out later. Super excited to take it further and really explore that aspect of Artemis in a little bit. And yep with the quotations thing. Glad to see you're enjoying though, always love hearing from you mate. And, finally to oneizm: You say ruin, but I disagree. It's always a pleasure to read what you say, and I'm especially happy to see that you're enjoying. Honestly, I didn't expect it to be with her either but I wanted to start exploring that facet of his character as a way to make Percy less one-note. I sort of wanted to get away from the classic 'oh lets cause a scene' sort of thing. I'm not done with it either. And about the Apollo Artemis thing, I really just wanted to showcase how the two interacted. So many other people make Apollo this very annoying, sort of asshole brother that either hates Percy or is just an idiot and I wanted to show that he's more than just some asshole god, especially after everything. And with Percy and Artemis together, that's sort of what I wanted with the two being sort of loners in that sense. They're both rebellious, both free spirits, and just generally very similar. And about motorcycles, I could talk for hours on end about them and cars and I'm getting another one very soon. I love my bike, and it's a huge part of my life. I imagined it would be the same for Percy. Artemis is just a badass. She's always been a fuck the rules, devil may care but strikes a great balance with it in her capacity to love as shown with her hunters. She may not have a romantic partner (yet), but she doesn't need it to show her love. In my mind, I imagined a Ducati panigale that has been sort of stripped down and modified to really allow her personality to shine through. On the roadtrip and ascension stuff, I'm currently writing the road and then ascension is coming up relatively soon and I can't wait. It's going to be a bit different from what I've seen, and I'm hoping that I can use it to either end the story and start a new one as a continuation, or that it gives me more things to write about. Noted on the harry potter thing, and married it is.
Anyway, thank you to you all! Hope you enjoy!