Song recommendation: "I'll Just Wait" by Emarosa. A great song that I've loved for a long time. Unlike some of the other songs I have or will recommend, this song refers to a version of Percy that I haven't written much of. It's the pre-Artemis version as I like calling him, where he's just gotten out of his relationship with Annabeth. Percy, in my mind, can be wrathful (hint hint) but he's mostly a kind spirit. He blames himself for their relationship falling apart and this song is a great reflection of that. At the end of the day, he's upset and he's hurt, but he's still hoping that she's okay. I think this song encompasses that very well. It's simple. There's not much complicated writing or instrumentation, but it's beautiful in its simplicity, crafting a story of someone who might not be doing so well, but still looks out for someone he cares about. Definitely worth a listen.

Percy's day had been rather pleasant. He woke up early, went for a run, and was quickly mobbed by hunters. As it would happen, they were quite eager for their lessons with many of them bugging him to hurry up and start their next lesson. Artemis had observed this interaction with a small smile while Thalia snickered. It seemed that they were enjoying their little training sessions, even if they complained afterwards about not being able to feel their extremities. Interestingly, it seemed that they could not only bear the training, but enjoy it as well. That made his life significantly easier, and it made him quite happy.

He'd noticed their new vigor during their solo sparring sessions with each of the hunters making up for their relatively untrained abilities with extreme zeal. There'd been a point where one of the older girls had chased him around the ring, much to the amusement of the others. If anything, it seemed like they were the ones trying to tire him out. Unfortunately, they'd have no luck with Percy easily keeping up and outpacing them. To be fair though, many of the newer girls were far younger than he was, so it wasn't saying much. He did, however, applaud them for trying and made sure to give them an extra break. He certainly admired their tenacity in that aspect.

Percy found that he was quite enjoying himself. He wasn't too sure why the moon goddess had tasked him with teaching her hunters, especially given the fact that she was better with a blade than he was, but he was more than happy to help out where he could. It seemed that the girls also appreciated the change of pace. Something about Artemis being a slave driver when it came to training probably influenced that but it was anyone's guess really. Regardless though, he sort of needed something to do so he didn't mind in the slightest. Training seemed to be a great method with the multiple sessions keeping him busy throughout the day.

He casually smacked the flat of his blade against his opponent's knuckles, causing them to yelp in pain and drop it. It wasn't particularly hard, but it certainly got the point across. Currently, his plan was to show that their blade was deadly, but that true mastery of a sword came with being able to utilize all parts of it effectively, hence why he was using anything except for the edge to attack. Some of the other hunters watched the matches, eager to glean any small trick or technique from him that they could. And while this meant that they weren't practicing, it did mean they were learning and he was more than content to let them do so at their own pace.

This practice stemmed from his years of school. With the exception of Chiron, Lupa, and one third-grade English teacher, none of his other teachers had ever truly shown an interest in him. He, by all standards, was rather bad at school. That wasn't to say he wasn't intelligent. He was. He was just a… subpar student. And that, in turn, had killed his love for learning. The last thing that Percy wanted was for his own students to feel the same way. The training was hard enough on its own. No need to throw in extra issues on top of that.

His eye twitched a little as he saw some movement on the edge of his vision. It wasn't enough to distract him, but he did note the auburn shock of hair that hadn't been there before. The savior of Olympus wasn't too surprised by this. Artemis had watched over their training sessions each time they'd happened, occasionally stepping in to assist him whenever he had his hands full, or whenever he needed a more experienced partner to assist him with a demonstration. She'd disappear and show up again on her own whims, but he could feel her presence constantly. Interesting, but not anything he was unused to. It often felt that way at the Huntress's camp.

"Psst," his sparring partner, another daughter of Aphrodite named Lauren, (or Ren, as she preferred being called), whispered to him, snapping him out of his reverie, "You're staring at Milady."

Percy forced himself not to blush, ignoring both the laughs of the love god's child, as well as those of Artemis herself. It was a good thing the goddess didn't mind him being an idiot. Gods knew he would have been smited long before they ever reached this point if she had.

"Yeah yeah," Percy rubbed the back of his head, "Where were we?"

Ren's hands were firmly in her pockets as she smirked at him, "Before you started drooling over Lady Artemis, we were going over a disarming technique."

This time, Percy couldn't stop his face from flushing a little. Lauren was one of the older girls, being around fifteen or sixteen in age. Interestingly, she'd been one of the demigods that he'd brought to camp with the two running into each other near New Mexico. She'd been running from something or other, and he'd just happened to stumble across her while doing a favor for Apollo, "I wasn't drooling."

"But you admit you were staring?"

"Off into space."

"That Milady just happened to be inhabiting at that point in time?"

Percy grumbled out a response, "Yeah something like that."

The girl propped a hand on her hip, "Right."

"Not sure what to say to that," Percy said, spinning his sword idly. Even in the absence of Aphrodite, it seemed that somebody had to poke fun at his love life.

"Nothing nothing," her posture shifted a little, "When you finally get it together, you should ask her to go on a date with you."

Percy was thoroughly confused by this, "Are you trying to set me up with your patron who might I mention is still a maiden goddess?"

She shrugged, "Maiden doesn't mean they can't date. I'm sure she'd say yes too."

Percy rolled his eyes, "Right. Can we just go back to training?"

"Fine fine," she readied her own blade before adding something on as an afterthought, "Just think about it, yeah? It'll be good for both of you."

"If I say yes, will you shut up?"

She just smiled at that. It didn't take them long to get back into the swing of things with the son of the sea doubling down on their training in an effort to keep the daughter of Aphrodite from talking. He casually batted her blade away and stepped in close to smack her forearms with the flat of his blade.

She hissed, dropping her weapon again, "I might have deserved that."

Percy's response was little more than a grunt, but he was quick to pick up her blade for her and toss her a small square of ambrosia for which she thanked him. He just smiled before launching into an explanation about what she could improve on, "You've got great technique, but you should probably move around more. You're too static and you don't really have the mass for it so anyone stronger than you is just going to overpower you, even if you may have them beat in technique."

She sighed in relief as she swallowed the godly food, "Any advice then?"

The son of the sea was thoughtful for a moment, "If you've ever seen your patron fight, you'll notice that she's always making small movements. It doesn't have to be anything major like jumping back and forth, but taking space for yourself and controlling the tempo of when they can attack is always important. She does it far better than anyone else I've seen, so I'd say ask her."

"Do you always have that look when you talk about Milady?" Ren teased. Percy stared at her for a moment before continuing, intent on ignoring the last comment.

"Point is, you're not a tree. You're light and you're fast. Use that to flow out of the way and find space where others can't."

"And to my second question?'

Percy groaned, "I'm going to smack you again."

"Worth it," she cackled.

The savior of Olympus made well on his threat.

Percy toweled off as he stepped out of his shower. Interesting that tents could have showers, but as Thalia had said, the gods took good care of him. It wasn't quite as fancy as Artemis's own tent, but it was still roomier than any of the other hunters. In a way, he sort of felt bad about that, but there wasn't much he could do about it. To be fair, it made sense that he had his own shower and tent area. He didn't exactly fit the hunter vibe on account of the fact that he was neither a girl, nor any good at hunting. In other news though, he'd been attempting to learn how to use a bow. Surprise surprise, but it wasn't going well.

As he'd come to find out, using any of the standard hunting bows that they kept stock often ended up with damaged property. On a minorly related note, he was expressly forbidden from trying any of the special arrows that the hunt had after nearly burning down camp after a rogue arrow hit a tent. After that particular fiasco, Thalia had the wonderful idea that he just practice with his own bow away from everyone else. It made sense. Learn on one to keep as much as consistent as possible. It also helped that it had been personally blessed by the two greatest archers in history.

Shortcomings with a bow aside, Percy had elected to shower quickly while everyone else was eating as the heat had left him practically drenched in sweat, and he wasn't too interested in having his shirt cling to him for the rest of the night. He stood on the mat near the shower to drip dry for a second before toweling off completely, with the exception of his hair. Piper had got him on some sort of routine for it since their last beach party after noting how good it looked after getting cut. This had been quickly seconded by most of the group. Now that it was at near shoulder length, he figured he'd at least keep it looking nice. It didn't help that Artemis, or rather Diana at that point in time, had backed them almost instantly.

The son of the sea quickly wrapped the towel around his waist before stepping out of the little bathroom area and on towards his actual room. Question now was what he was going to wear? Probably something linen given the heat but he wasn't too sure. He ran hot anyway so he wasn't sure it would make too much of a difference. Percy riffled through his pack, tossing out a linen shirt before going back to look for a pair of jeans. Now, his question shifted to light wash or dark wash? They were both going to be blue anyway so all he really needed to do was decide which one he liked better. He didn't get to answer that question as he felt Artemis's presence brush against his mind.

"Your students want you to hurry up."

Percy laughed. The younger hunters had made it into a little competition with each other to see who could do the best against him, and as such, many were interested in practicing with him as often as possible. It was a welcomed change to the campers who'd never wanted to practice any more than they had to, so he wasn't complaining in any way, "I'll be out in a second. Dark or light?"

"What?" Artemis's disembodied voice came a second later, seeming interested but confused.

"Like what pants should I wear?" Percy held both of them up in front of himself, raising one as he looked at it.

"And your options are dark or light?" she asked. A second later, Percy could feel an abrupt stop. For some reason, it suddenly felt like she was staring at him, "You're not wearing any clothes."

Percy blinked, "I'm wearing a towel though."

"Yes I kno-" Artemis cut herself off, pausing to take a breath before continuing, "Go with light. I'll see you outside."

And with that, she was gone, leaving Percy both confused and maybe a bit of happiness. He couldn't quite identify why so he brushed it off, instead choosing to pull on the aforementioned pair of pants. His shirt came shortly after. He glanced at himself in the mirror. He wasn't at all surprised to see that the lighter pants had been the better choice. After examining himself for any issues, he quickly made his way back into the bathroom and found the bottles that Piper had given him. After a few minutes of getting everything incorporated, he smiled. Sometimes it was nice to take a break from everything and just appreciate the small things. He ran a hand through his hair before making his way out of the tent where he was quickly greeted several heads turning in his direction. He got the distinct feeling that several of the hunters were eager for their next session.

'O-kay.' Percy thought to himself before beginning his march towards the dining area. Technically, dinner had been over for half an hour, but he did like helping out where he could. Oftentimes, he'd assist in menial chores or other things, something that had caused many of the hunters to warm up to him quite quickly during their first few interactions. Add Artemis's own endorsement, and most had been happy enough to have him along. He'd expected some resistance, but he'd gotten none. Apparently, Thalia had threatened them with something or other and the moon goddess had backed her.

"Head still in the kelp?" Speak of the devil. Percy looked up, bringing himself out of his thoughts to see the Lieutenant staring at him with a smirk, "Care to explain what you did to make Milady that sheepish?"

Percy cocked his head, "She was embarrassed?"

Thalia nodded, "Don't think anyone else noticed, but I did happen to be talking to her at the time."

Percy let out a long breath, his eyes looking at anything but his friend, "Well you know how gods can sort of see you when you pray? We were doing something like that to communicate."

"And?"

"I may have forgotten I wasn't wearing anything and then asked her what to wear," Percy winced.

Thalia looked dumbstruck for a moment before bursting out in a happy cackle, "I didn't think you had it in you!"

Percy rubbed the back of his head, "It was an accident."

"Happy accident then!"

"I made her uncomfortable."

Thalia shrugged, "Doubt it. She seems pretty used to you undressing in front of her."

Percy blinked, "She told you about that?"

Thalia snickered, "No, but you're going to now."

Percy groaned, having walked into that one, "Well the night I got my bike, she to-"

"Wait wait wait," Thalia shook her head, "You have a motorcycle? We're going to come back to this undressing thing but I want to hear more about this bike you suddenly have."

Percy rubbed the back of his head, "Uh yeah. Lady Artemis got it for me."

Thalia openly gaped for a moment before practically shouting, "Show me."

"Here?"

The demigoddess debated it for a moment before shaking her head, "We'll take a little detour."

And they did, with Thalia leading her straight past the dining area and towards the road. A few of the hunters looked on interestedly and he knew he was being watched but he brushed it off as most of them continued doing their own thing. It made no difference to Percy as his mind was on a certain moon goddess. He was still mulling over her reaction earlier, and he probably would have continued to for the foreseeable future had Thalia not snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Waiting on you here," she tapped her foot as they stood.

Percy gave her a sheepish smile as he pulled his key out of his pocket, "Try not to drool on my bike."

She smacked him, but watched in rapt attention as he summoned the bike forward. He couldn't help but smile as it shimmered into existence in front of him. It was as beautiful as it ever was, and he couldn't help but feel the urge to go bother Artemis to go on a ride, and maybe to crush her in another hug.

"And you were worried about me being the one to drool." Ah good old Thalia, keeping a man as grounded as ever.

"I can do what I want," he poked a bit of fun at her, "It's mine."

Thalia grumbled, "She never gets me anything! I want one."

"Perks of being the favorite."

"You sound like Apollo."

Percy gasped, "You take that back!"

Thalia ignored him, instead moving around the bike and replying absentmindedly, "Don't think I will."

The demigod circled it a few times before turning back to her cousin, "If you die, I'm taking this."

Percy laughed, "Yeah well, you seem to forget I can't do that anymore."

Thalia grumbled, "Fine, then I'm stealing it."

"Or," Percy countered, "you just ask me to borrow it every so often."

She perked up, "Serious?"

Percy grinned, "If you can get your license, I don't see why not."

"Okay but do I actually have to get the license or can I just prove that I can drive one."

"Oh no no," Percy shook his head, "Full license. You could theoretically drive it, but after seeing you last time, I need you to show me actual legal proof."

"When have we ever cared about the law?"

"Okay fine," Percy conceded, "If Lady Artemis will let you, then yes."

Thalia groaned, "Yeah okay no chance."

"Unlucky," Percy shrugged, "You have my conditions."

"Fine," Thalia grumbled, "You'll have to teach me."

Percy found that agreeable enough, "I guess that's fine. Can't complain if you mess up somehow because I taught you."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Are you done then?" Percy rolled his eyes, "I kinda wanted to talk to your patron while she isn't busy."

"You do love monopolizing her time," Thalia gave him a cheeky grin, "Though given how you two are going, I can't really complain"

"I don't monopolize her time," Percy shot back, "she just likes me the most."

"That was never up for debate," Thalia shrugged, "If anything, I'm glad that's the case. You're good for each other."
"Why do I feel like you're trying to get at something else?"

The demigoddess shrugged again, "All I'm saying is that I've got a bet with Nico."

"Yeah," Percy looked around, "Is it just me or is that not at all helpful?"

"Sucks."

Percy groaned but let it go. It was Thalia after all. She was infuriating, but Percy loved her all the same, even if he would have preferred that she not mess with him as much. Then again, that was part of the fun, which he went to point out only to find that the demigoddess had completely disappeared. Wonderful. Percy grinned despite that as he slowly ambled back towards camp. From what he could feel, Artemis still seemed to be where she had been. Both he and Thalia hadn't been gone that long so it made enough sense.

It didn't take him long to find the moon goddess either as he made his way into the dining area. She sat in her usual spot at the head of the table, one leg crossed over her thigh as she sat back with ease, eyes closed.

"I was wondering where you'd run off to," she didn't open her eyes.

Percy grinned, not that she could see it, "Yeah well I was just showing off the love of my life."

She cracked an eye open at that, "Oh? Do tell."

"Thalia's jealous," Percy shrugged, "Says you never get her anything nice."

"Ah, you mean your bike," Artemis smiled as Percy nodded, "Really though? The love of your life? Is that not a tad dramatic?"

Percy disagreed, "It is quite literally straight out of my dreams, and you got it for me so it's double special."

The moon goddess shifted ever so slightly, tilting her head forward to look at her friend, "It fits you rather well."

"I'd think so," Percy grinned, "I designed it. Mostly anyway, but the other parts were you so of course it's perfect."

"I do have a good record as far as designing your gifts go," Artemis agreed, thinking back on the various things she'd had a hand in designing for him.

"And my clothes too."

At this, the goddess stopped. It was momentary, hardly enough for anyone else to notice, but Percy knew her well enough to see that she'd stiffened, even if only for a second, "Yes well next time you ask me what to wear, do so with pants on."

The son of the sea blushed a little, "So you could see me?"

"Rather well," Artemis said lightly, "hence why most gods rarely converse like that. We often just send a physical aspect of ourselves. It keeps one from intruding on sensitive matters."

"Huh," Percy felt his face heat up more, "Uh sorry then."

She waved him off, "You did not know. "

"Yeah but still," Percy's replies were still sheepish, causing the goddess to roll her eyes.

"I did not mind, so there is no need to be concerned."

Percy paused, "Should I take that as a compliment."

"Yes," Artemis gave him that look again.

This time, he was sure he turned beet red as the moon goddess laughed at him. He took a quick breath, "You're the worst."

"You love me all the same," she shrugged, "If you don't want to hear it, don't present yourself while in a state of undress."

"I didn't know!"

"Yes, and as we established before, I didn't mind so we will call it even," Artemis smiled at him.

Percy looked away in embarrassment, "Aren't you supposed to be a maiden goddess?"

"I am whatever I wish to be," Artemis's reply was simple, "But that does not mean I can't enjoy what I see."

He groaned, "Can we move on from this?"

Artemis just smirked, "Of all the things that have happened, this is what embarrasses

you?"

Percy sucked in a quick breath as he flopped down into the seat next to her, "Well it's what's happened most recently."

"That is fair," Artemis agreed, "but you act like you have not undressed in front of me."

"Hey first off, that was an accident," Percy retorted, "Second off, you stopped me. Plus! You've seen me half naked plenty of times."

"I do regret stopping you," The moon goddess admitted, "Next time."

Percy wanted to scream, even if no small amount of pride welled up in him, "Okay now you're definitely messing with me."

She shrugged, "You are attractive. I've said so a few times."

He wanted to grumble, but the rational part of him told him to shut up and take the compliment, "Thanks."

The huntress smiled as the son of the sea calmed down a little, "Have you eaten?"

Percy shook his head, "Kinda been busy showing off my lovely bike to Thalia, then you started hitting on me so no."

"What would you like?"

Percy shrugged, "Probably just leftovers from dinner if there are any."

Artemis cocked her head, "Leftovers from dinner. With my hunters?"

"Fair enough," Percy grinned, "I'd swear you don't feed them with how much they eat."

"You have had a hand in how much they've been eating recently."

"Have I?" Percy asked curiously before his training sessions came to mind, "Okay maybe that's fair."

"I see you understand," the Huntress said serenely, casually draped across her seat. It would always amaze him how she managed to look both courtly and impossibly relaxed at the same time. Then again, maybe she was just that pretty, "You have not heard a word I just said."

"Uh no," Percy looked a bit bashful.

"Were you lost in thought or did you intend to stare at me?" she asked jokingly, bringing a knee up towards her chest.

"Probably a bit of both."

"Ah," Artemis smiled, taking a moment to tap her nail against the wooden armrest, "So? What will you eat?"

"Is that what you were saying when I wasn't paying attention?"

"Generally yes. I was asking what you would eat if I were to make something."

Percy shrugged, "Whatever you like as long as I get to help you."

Artemis smiled, "If you wish."

He grinned, rolling up his sleeves a bit, "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing complicated, but I do enjoy making it from time to time."

"That doesn't answer my question," Percy chuckled, "But you just point me and I'll do whatever you say."

"As you normally do."

Percy laughed, "Yeah well you're about the only person that I'll listen to so be thankful."

Artemis smiled, "Then I will count myself blessed."

Well hello again. So right before the last update, we crossed over 600 follows. Huge thank you to all of you, new and old, who have supported this story. Means a lot to me. Anyway, super fun chapter to write. It's casual, just sort of feel good fluff to sort of explore some changes in their relationship, as well as Percy's own with the hunters. I always do love writing Thalia so I made sure to do that. Anyway, on to some fun stuff.

To Dudududhehe: That's praise I'm underserving of, but I very much appreciate the sentiment. My ego doesn't need to get any bigger, but that is some crazy crazy praise. Thank you so much for that. To PhantomFuryJP: Always good to hear from you, and glad you're enjoying the songs. And thank you! The interactions are what make this story work in my opinion. To kikinder: Heh. Yeah me too. It's a fun idea too that I haven't really seen so I might play around with it a little. And thank you for reading! It means the world to me. To Ishimaru Taiki: Thanks! I needed the confidence booster, so I'm really glad to hear that you enjoyed. And, new chapter is up so I hope you enjoy. Shorter unfortunately, but has some fun moments that I really enjoyed. To Vladiz45: Glad to hear it! Always enjoy hearing that. To TomorrowCarpe Diem: Yep! Another one of those coming right now. And I'm glad you enjoyed. I liked writing that part of it, so it was pretty fun. To iNeptune: He's been immortal which happened before the story started and I've tried to bring it up pretty casually since it's not a huge deal. He's not a god yet, so that's an important distinction, but he's not a mortal demigod either. He's just kinda immortal. Hope that clears it up. To OkBoomer147: thanks! I love to hear that you're enjoying. A huge part of why I write is for those who read it. It keeps me inspired, and it makes me feel good, so a huge thank you to you! To storp930: No cookies for Zeus. Or Zelus. And about the action thing, there's more coming down the line with smaller fights and a few bigger ones that I want to use to spice things up a bit. I think it's about striking a balance without completely shifting the vibe of the story so I'm going to keep workshopping them. But! One of fights, and a few returning ones will be coming up during this arc, and in the next one. To Icefire99: Always lovely to hear from you! And me too. ascension arc is one that I've already started writing bits and pieces of and I hope that it pleases. It's a bit different from what I've seen, but I'm thinking that it'll work well. And I'm glad you like this style! It's different from my usual, so it's always nice to hear that people enjoy it. To BoyFromAngels: Hello! Been a minute! Always glad to hear from you and glad you're enjoying the music. I love hearing that others enjoy the songs I do because music's a huge part of my life. Also, about the M rated stuff. I really wanted to have the freedom to do whatever I want with it. I do intend to include some stuff and there's a little scene coming in one of the upcoming chapters, but I'm not sure if I'd ever go for full on sex scenes. Sex in media tends to not be about sex so maybe, but I'm not sure. Depends on if I think it'll benefit the story because it probably won't be in the typical lemon style if that's what you mean. Hope that helps, but I'll try to clarify more in the next if it doesn't. Have a great day! To Aether27: Thanks! Love to hear that! To RandomRandmness12: I love to hear that! Their relationship is always fun to write and I can't help but throw in fluff because it's just fun to write. I can't wait either, because I've got it partially written out but I need to figure out where to put it in the story. And Starset is awesome. Loved their newest album and got to see them a while ago. It was a great time.

Anyway! Hope you guys enjoyed. Let me know what you think!