Authors Note: Good news, the name for the hunters has been chosen, and you will see the name later on and the winner in the end a/n. Sorry for the late update, I kinda slept while writing this chapter today and the euro cup kept me distracted lol :P. Enjoy!
Chapter 24: The fish out of water arrives
Perseus was definitely weirded out by Aphrodite. What did Pontus say before, that she was incredibly naïve? Yeah, no. She was downright dumb and definitely infuriating. And a lot of other things, that's for sure. These were all the thoughts that floated in Perseus's head as he tried not to gag when Aphrodite showed him a clump of wet sand in front of his face.
"This tastes sooo good! I thought sand by itself tasted just fine, but mix it with seawater and mhm, mhm, MHM! De-licious. I wonder how it will taste with steamed seaweed, and look!" Aphrodite cried happily as she rolled around on the sand. "We have an infinite supply to feast ourselves on! Come on Percy, join me."
"Five minutes in and you already shortened my name. Why does this always happen to me." Perseus muttered as he watched Aphrodite scoop up more sand and shoving it in her mouth. "How can you even like all this stuff? Didn't Pontus at least feed you something...normal?" Perseus asked as he threw a handful of sand on Aphrodite.
"Hey watch it! No throwing food, didn't your mother teach you any manners!" Aphrodite snapped, but then immediately got distracted as she saw a crab crawling around. "Ooohhh, pretty. Can you sing little one?"
Perseus had a flabbergasted look on his face. "Okay, first of all, sand isn't food. It's basically loose dirt so stop eating it. Second, I never threw food. Only cutlery, and pointy stuff for some reason. Third, crabs can't sing! Unless, they are magical and you can understand them like my uncle Poseidon but that's beside the point."
Aphrodite glared at him. "Well, for your information, I can understand sea creatures which is why I asked the crab if he can sing. Oh, that's a beautiful melody!" Aphrodite exclaimed as she began to sway. "Under the sea, under the sea..." she sang softly.
Perseus's right eye began to twitch as he stared at the supposed Olympian goddess of love and beauty, covered in sand both dry and wet while singing alongside a crab. Yep, that's his life alright.
"Pontus...I deserve a reward if I'm going to be 'babysitting' her." Perseus muttered, frowning when he distinctly heard laughter that sounded like that of a horse inside his head.
"What kind of food did you even eat may I ask." Perseus asked.
"Just some seaweed soup and steamed seaweed with algae. Grandpa P did want me to try some seafood but I had already befriended several sea creatures. It would have been terrible of me to eat their friends and family."
Perseus just stared at her as he took a couple of deep breaths. "Right...not going to argue on that. Though he could have fed you ambrosia or nectar at least."
"I'm sure they taste nice Kelpie, but I bet nothing will beat sand!" Aphrodite exclaimed, as she held some sand out for the crab. "Would you some little one? Hmm? ...Sand is not...food?"
"Hah! See, singing crab agrees with me." Perseus said proudly. "But wait, did you just call me Kelpie?!"
"That's what Grandpa P calls you. Something about your mom falling over some pile of kelp in his realm while pregnant with you, not sure about the details. And the singing crab's name is Sebastianos." Aphrodite said as she picked a seashell. "Oh these are so pretty! Help me raid this entire place from these, please Percyyyy." Aphrodite said, making her eyes big and mouth in a pouting shape.
Perseus was almost tempted to say yes when he mentally slapped himself. "No way, just collect a bunch and then we're out of here. Heck, you can summon seashells if you want once you get use to godhood and all that stuff."
"You are no fun you big meanie. Are you like this with all your friends huh buzzkill?" Aphrodite said.
Perseus smirked. "I won't say I'm a buzzkill, but I'm the second voice of reason when it comes to the shenanigans my friends come up with. Artemis is usually the main voice." Perseus said with a fond look on his face, which was replaced with a frown when he saw Aphrodite wince slightly. "You okay? You didn't prick your finger on a shell did you."
"Of course not, it's just that I felt an immense burst of romantic emotions. Coming from you..." Aphrodite said, a large smile forming on her face. "Is there, by any chance...you are in love Percy?" she asked, trying to act nonchalant. Which she terribly failed in due to her face splitting smile and vibrating body.
"Uh...no. Nope, I don't have anyone I..." Perseus began to say, only to falter when he saw Aphrodite slowly creep up on him, her smile still fixated on her face. "Like I said, I...I..."
"Go on." Aphrodite said with a sing-song voice.
"I..." Perseus began to say, only to feel his mouth twitch. "Why is my mouth twitching?!" he desperately thought.
"I felt the burst when you mentioned your friends. And it crept up exponentially when you mentioned the name 'Artemis'." Aphrodite said, her eyes immediately lighting up as she squealed loudly. "Do you have a crush on this Artemis?! Autumn mentioned something similar, where you-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there. I didn't say anything so don't jump into conclusions!" Perseus quickly shouted. "And Artemis is just a...just a... . ...Aghhhhh!"
"Yes, come on continue that sentence." Aphrodite said, bouncing up and down. "Don't leave me in suspense!"
"Forget it, I'm out of here!" Perseus cried, as he quickly got up to run at the opposite direction from Aphrodite. Aphrodite on the other hand was left behind as she stared at the retreating figure of Perseus, but then also got up as she chased Perseus around.
"You can't leave a conversation on a cliffhanger like that!" she cried.
"Yes I can, and yes I will!" Perseus shouted back.
After a few minutes, both of them were lying on the ground tired. Perseus was already complaining about the fact that Aphrodite was trying to hold him back on the island by tiring him out so that they wouldn't leave at all. Aphrodite just shrugged his complaints aside as she inspected a rock.
"Can you blame me? I just want a taste of actual human, or in this case godly company and you're already going to take me off to some unknown place. Think about me and what I have to go through will you." Aphrodite said, biting into the rock. "OW! This is not soft like I expected to be on the inside. Or maybe it is and I just have to break-"
"Stop eating that, it's not food." Perseus said, summoning the rock from Aphrodite.
"That I will try to eat later. But for now, I'll stick with sand." Aphrodite said as she reached out for sand, only to end up empty handed. She then tried again, and saw that the sand kept on slipping from her fingers. She once again tried to grab the sand, only for it to recede back from her.
"What the sea cucumber is going on." Aphrodite muttered, glancing up to find a smirking Perseus who formed a smiley face in the air from sand.
"You! You are doing this!" Aphrodite cried, throwing a bunch of rocks at Perseus. Only for them to stop midair.
"No throwing food Frothy." Perseus sang. "Didn't your grandpa teach you manners?"
"Arghhh. Meanie." Aphrodite muttered, turning away from Perseus. "I officially hate you now." she announced, flipping her hair aside.
"Aww...and here I thought you two were getting along splendidly. *sniff* Can't an old man have his grandchildren be nice to each other?" a voice said out loud. Perseus and Aphrodite whipped their head to the direction of the sea, where Pontus was, sitting right on the water and slurping some seaweed.
"Grandpa!" Aphrodite squealed as she ran into the water and began to waddle towards Pontus. "I missed youuu! You never call, you don't visit, you-"
"Frothy, I just saw you two days ago my dear." Pontus said with a smile. "And I am already endangering myself by being so close to Gaia. Though I can't seem to sense her...oh well. But I see you two have finally met, and that's wonderful. So...how is everything?" Pontus asked.
"Percy is a meanie."
"Aphrodite is a literal baby in a grownup's body."
"Aww, you guys are bonding. I was worried there for a second. You remind me of two siblings." Pontus said happily.
Perseus got a confused expression on his face while Aphrodite had a thoughtful look on her face. "Percy being my brother... we are quite similar in a sense. I like it!" Aphrodite said.
"Huh? How do we act as sib- whoa!" Perseus cried as a water tendril rose from the water and grabbed Perseus by the arm. It then dragged him to Pontus who then took hold of Aphrodite and spun them around.
"It's settled then! You two are siblings and I'm your grandpa!" Pontus shouted, Aphrodite giving her approval as well.
"Do I get ANY say in this shit?!" Perseus yelled out, but was drowned by the happy cheers of the two other deities.
Pontus finally left, after reassuring Aphrodite he will see her again and giving Perseus a boost of health and power with his ailment stone. "It will only last a couple of days, and don't ask for more! Unless...I can have your vambraces?" Pontus said. Perseus merely rolled his eyes on hearing this as he then shadow travelled Aphrodite and himself to Turkey, and then to Mt. Olympus. They both appeared in one of the many gardens in the city.
"*sniff**sniff* I can't smell this. Hmmm it tastes like normal water, but cold." Aphrodite said, as she licked the snow off her hair. "Oohh, what are those? They are pretty."
"Those are flowers."
"They smell lovely. Can you sing little one?"
"Flowers can't sing, they don't have mouths." Perseus said as he dragged Aphrodite away.
"Ooh, what are those?"
"Lanterns."
"And those?"
"Fruits and vegetables."
"And that?"
"A statue..."
"I would like a statue. But what are those!"
"...Sandals. You are literally wearing them!"
"They look different. And what are those?"
"Those are literally birds; how do you not know-. ...Aphrodite?"
"Yes?"
"Do you know anything other than sea stuff. Anything?" Perseus asked, almost pleadingly.
"Hmm." Aphrodite hummed closing her eyes. "I know how to take care of my beauty." Aphrodite said, ruffling her hair a bit. She then snapped her fingers, and her hair immediately smoothed itself. "Oh, and I know how to conduct sexual acts of pleasure."
Perseus was going to bang his head on a nearby pole until he heard he last part. He then slowly turned around and stared at Aphrodite.
"I'm sorry what?!"
"Se-"
"I know what you said!"
Aphrodite blinked. "Oh...OH! You don't know what that is, I see. Well, when two people really love each other-"
"I know what that is too!" Perseus cried out. He then grabbed Aphrodite's hand and then dragged her off to the throne room. Unfortunately, there were a lot of passersby on the way, and soon enough, every single guy and others were entranced by Aphrodite's godly charm. And it didn't help at all when she waved and blew kisses to everyone.
"Hello ma'am, you seem new here."
"Hey pretty lady, want to take a ride with me on my new chariot?"
"Your hair is so luscious! Can I...just...feel it..."
"Move out of the way people." Perseus said through gritted teeth as he tried to push his way out of the now forming crowd.
"Oh of course she's wrapped around Perseus. Can't this god leave any chicks for-"
"Aphrodite hold on." Perseus announced, immediately slipping into a shadow along with her. A few moments later, he then turned up inside the throne room, which was actually empty for the first time. Zeus wasn't on his throne/recliner, and his mother wasn't tending to the hearth. Though in a way that was a good thing, he didn't want to do introductions over and over again.
"I'm really sorry about the commotion outside." Perseus said, knowing fully well Aphrodite was basking in it. "Everyone is always curious about a new deity coming to Olympus. But you will get used to it...hopefully."
"I don't mind. I kind of liked it." Aphrodite replied with a giggle. "So, what's this massive room for? And why are these chairs so big?"
"You know what a chair is, bravo. Well, this is the throne room where he Olympian council of gods come together to...talk, and make decisions. Some of them dumb but that's how we roll." Perseus said as he flexed his arm back. Small wisps of shadows collected inside his palm, solidifying into a long spike. He then threw the spike upwards into the ceiling, where it broke forth into multiple wisps which soon left the room.
"That was my summoning card, which is used to get the others here. You will also get one once you're inaugurated as well." Perseus explained, growing into his godly ten-foot self. He then went to his throne, and pointed at the doors. "I suggest you wait outside for the time being. I kinda like the suspense and element of surprise so..."
Aphrodite grinned. "Oohh, I like surprises. Give me a second." she said, quickly going outside. The minute the doors closed shut; the other gods soon appeared on their thrones.
"The first time you ever summoned us, what's up Perce." Apollo asked with a grin. Artemis looked at Perseus confusedly and mouthed if e had looked for hunting spots. Perseus winced, and immediately mouthed back a 'later'.
"Well Perseus, what is the occasion that you called all of us here for?" Zeus announced.
Perseus took a deep breath. "I'm not sure if you all already know this, but the Fates have selected another member for this council. The goddess has just received her domains and I was...sent by the Fates to get her here."
Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "Another one? Didn't we just get Hephaestus like-"
Suddenly, a vortex appeared in the center and a small paper came out of it. Athena grabbed the paper and read it out. "Sent Perseus for deity pickup. Domains are already given. Be nice." Athena read out, glancing up. "Where is this goddess?"
"She's outside." Perseus replied, flicking his fingers to open the doors. Aphrodite soon stepped inside as she walked gracefully inside. Perseus noted that the tension and silence in the room began to grow and he glanced around to find all the goddesses (except for Hestia) glaring at Aphrodite with loathing. And as for the gods, they were staring at Aphrodite and their faces were slowly becoming golden in color.
"Everyone, this is Aphrodite. She is the goddess of love, beauty... um, guys? Why are you all-"
It was then instant mayhem. Every single god clambered out of their thrones to rush at Aphrodite. Poor Hephaestus landed on his face when Ares tripped him as he struggled to clamber over to the goddess in front of him, opting to crawl over to her.
"It would be my honor, my divine honor to marry you!" Hermes exclaimed as he held Aphrodite's palms.
"No, my honor!" Apollo barked, trying to shove Apollo away.
"My honor!" Poseidon yelled.
"You're already engaged to be married!" Zeus snapped at Poseidon. Zeus then threw himself forward, flexed his muscles and gave a megawatt smile that would make a mere mortal combust. "It would be my honor, to marry a gorgeous-"
"You're already married!" Hera protested. "To me!"
"Curses! Er, I mean...of course, dear." Zeus said sheepishly.
The arguing never stopped though. Hermes offered a gold set of matching helmets, winged shoes and a staff, and select beautiful locations for dates and living, courtesy from the god of travel. Poseidon tried to one up him by offering the best seafood one has to offer, matching tridents and a beautiful chariot with horses. Oh, and a pony.
"What's a trident? Can it sing?" Aphrodite asked, but her question was drowned out by Apollo's improv horrible poetry, which he tried to sing in order to woo Aphrodite. Ares drew out his weapons in order to intimidate the other gods, and managed to promise Aphrodite a chariot ride on a battle field, over the crushed lifeless bodies of his foes of course.
Perseus watched the scene in mild shock and horror. He knew he more or less aced the same way when he first saw her, and the incident before was also something. But this, this seemed to be quickly escalating into a full out brawl.
The other goddesses seemed to have the same thoughts as Perseus for they too walked up to the other gods and berated them for behaving like fools. It really seemed that the Olympian council was on the verge of a civil war, while Aphrodite was just stood there, batting her eyelashes las if to say 'All this for little old me?' But inside, she was loving it.
Hera was right now in the middle of a severe breathing exercise as she hauled her son Ares back on his throne. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she collected her thoughts. "One thing is for sure, if Aphrodite's relationship status isn't taken care of, then the entirety of Olympus will fall into chaos. She needs to be shipped off with someone!" Hera thought as she scanned the bunch of salivating gods for potential candidates. "Poseidon is already engaged, not going to put him. I'm going to ignore those two bastard children of my husband. So that leaves Ares, Perseus and Hephaestus. Cross out Hephaestus, he has no chance. Ares would be a lovely pick; he really needs a woman other than me in his life. But he may be too bloodthirsty and violent for her... . Perseus seems to already be acquainted with her so he would be wonderful. He wouldn't dare go behind her back, he's kind and attentive, not to mention handsome. If only Zeus was like that... . But Perseus is interested in Artemis... I know! I will get my revenge on that girl by making the love of her life marry off to the new goddess!" Hera thought as she cackled evilly, drawing confused looks from those nearby. "But wait... the gods and goddesses will get super jealous because Perseus is off, and so is Aphrodite! Both of their lives will be filled with constant hate from both sides." Hera was definitely running out of options on what to do, when a sullen and dejected god caught her eye, who was slowly clambering to his throne and unnoticed by everyone. And that's when Hera hit jackpot.
"Everyone QUI-ET!" Hera shouted, effectively making the arguing and noise die down as she got everyone's attention. "As the goddess of marriage, I have decided that in account of everyone's good health, Aphrodite needs to be married off immediately! And my word on who it will be, will be final!"
The gods were all stunned on hearing this, but they all silently agreed that Hera had a point. Apollo and Hermes were both slumped on their places, knowing fully well that Here wouldn't at all pick them.
"Wait...is that allowed?" Perseus asked worriedly. "I mean, you can just go up and marry off anyone together?"
"Drastic times call for drastic measures nephew. And this is one of them otherwise I wouldn't have interfered." Hera explained.
"Do I get a say in this-" Aphrodite asked, only to get interrupted by Ares.
"I truly know, that your judgement will be the best mother." Ares said, pushing his chest forward. "And I must say mother, those new robes really bring out your eyes."
"Thank you, Ares. Now, I have already decided on Aphrodite's husband. And I must say I did a good job. The one to wed Aphrodite, is my son..." Ares immediately beamed with pride. "...Hephaestus!"
"WHAT!" every person cried out in the room.
"Mo-Mother, think reasonably. How can this." Ares cried, gesturing at Aphrodite. "Be married to that...that thing." Ares said, pointing a shaky finger at Hephaestus who had fallen on the floor on hearing his name.
"Well, a beautiful woman needs a hard-working, no-nonsense husband to keep her grounded. Besides, Aphrodite has to be married now or it will be total pandemonium once again. And Hephaestus is perfect as none of you all will be remotely jealous of him marrying Aphrodite. Think about it for a second." Hera replied.
Everyone really did not know what Hera was thinking, until they did put in the thought on Hera's plan. She once again had a point, none of the gods will get remotely mad at the fact that Hephaestus was the one married off to Aphrodite. And if she was stuck in an unhappy marriage, then the possibilities of a secret boyfriend really grew exponentially.
"I agree with Hera, this is a wonderful idea, and I should know, I am the wisdom goddess of course." Athena said, getting nods from Demeter and Hera.
"It's decided then. Come here the two of you, we have to officiate the marriage now so you both can do whatever it is married couples want to do." Hera said.
"Why no marriage party?" Perseus asked.
"Cause Zeus over here wasted five years of expenses on that one inauguration party. I'm sure you know which one." Poseidon replied. "And he wouldn't dare ask for more money from his relatives.
In the end, after some one-sided vows, Hephaestus and Aphrodite were married much to the glee of the other goddesses, and the disappointment of many gods. After all the fanfare was said and done, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to make a throne for Aphrodite (and a bunch of other stuff as a part of the dowry. Since Zeus gave away Aphrodite and all that). Hephaestus immediately left to work on his projects. Ares, Apollo and Hermes so this as the perfect opportunity to woo Aphrodite once again, only to get another shock when they saw her running to Perseus.
"Percyyyy!" Aphrodite cried, giving Perseus a bearhug. "They can't just marry of without my consent! What am I, some...some..."
"A piece of meat that a bunch of hungry animals are after?" Perseus offered, trying to remove Aphrodite off him.
"I don't know what that is, but I'll accept it." Aphrodite sniffed, tightening her grip. "I need family comfort so stop squirming Percy."
"Percy?!" Apollo and Hermes cried out, while Artemis just stared at the hugging duo silently. "You met her for a day and you already allowed your name to be shortened?!"
"Of course I didn't!" "Of course he did, he is my brother of course." Aphrodite said proudly.
Apollo and Hermes blinked a couple of times and then gave out sighs of relief. "Phew, and here I was thinking it was something-"
"A brother I love very much!" Aphrodite said, resting her head on Perseus's shoulder.
Apollo and Hermes were once again gawking at the two, while Artemis was slowly glowing silver. "Wait, is this sibling love, or-"
"Sibling love, now get off me." Perseus cried, crying out in surprise when Aphrodite squealed in his ear and jumped in his arms. "Yaaay! You have finally admitted that the two of us are siblings! Grandpa P-"
"He said to get off him!" Artemis shouted, grabbing Aphrodite and hurling her across the room. She then took hold of Perseus's arm, and flashed him as well as herself out of Olympus, leaving behind a bunch of stunned gods who had witnessed the scene. Apollo and Hermes were once again left shocked at what just happened, until their brains registered what had really happened.
"Artemis threw aside a fangirl out of the way." Apollo said, glancing at Hermes.
"And she flashed away with Perseus to who knows where." Hermes said, glancing at Apollo.
The two then grinned at each other as they slung their arms together and began spinning around the room. "It's happening, it's happening! It's finally happening!"
"Perseus is one step closer to being my actual bro!" Apollo shouted happily.
"And I'm going to receive five hundred drachmas today!" Hermes said gleefully.
On the other hand, Aphrodite slowly got up from lying on the floor as she clutched her head and grumbled. "This is the worst day in my entire life! I want to go back to the sea!"
Perseus and Artemis both appeared in a dimly lit cave, which Perseus recognized as one of the many caves he and Artemis found in Delos. Speaking of Artemis, he glanced at her direction to find her studying him with a blank expression on her face. Perseus silently gulped as he took in her piercing silver eyes that literally felt like they were staring at his soul. He was starting to feel a bit squeamish.
"So..." Artemis began.
"...So?" Perseus replied.
"..."
"..."
"Did you find suitable hunting spots?" she asked.
Perseus took a moment to register that question, and another few seconds to come up with an answer. "No... . But I did find a nice place when I was going about, we can maybe check out. Arcadia. It has like a ton of forest area, and is basically unspoiled by mortal interference, yet. But we can always take advantage of the situation now.
Artemis nodded her head slowly. "Arcadia sounds lovely, and I have heard some things about it from Persephone." she said. "But...tell me. What is the deal with you and that...Aphrodite? If I may be so blunt, she seemed quite...touchy with you."
Perseus sighed. "And I really didn't like that either. I only met her today, and I'm guessing since I'm literally the first person who ever befriended her, I kinda mean something to her."
"Now that I think about it, she called you, her brother." Artemis said, tilting her head to the side. "Are you two actually related or...?"
"No, not really. She's a child of Ouranos, at least that's what I was told. And I probably wouldn't have believed it but she radiates a power that's...ancient. Similar to mine really. I think she really is a child of the actual sky.
"That's...unheard of though. A primordial giving birth to an actual god, is that even possible? I mean, sure, you are a similar case in a sense. But we don't know the actual technicalities of your birth." Artemis said.
"We don't know the technicalities of her birth as well." Perseus pointed out, and then frowned. "Why are we discussing this again?"
"Because wanted to know if the two of you are actually related. And to see if something else was maybe going on." Artemis said, muttering the last part.
Perseus smiled. "Nothing is going on with her, I've only just met her today and she's already been married off to Hephaestus. Plus, I think she really wants to go with this sibling dynamic for some reason. Though that's for the best, better have her see me as a sibling than a romantic interest. Cause there is no way I would ever reciprocate her feelings or anyone else's.:
Artemis looked at Perseus curiously, her eyes shining with faint traces of hope. "What do you mean by that? That there is no way you will reciprocate anyone's feelings?"
Perseus shrugged. "It's simple. I already... I..." Perseus began to say, only to falter. He then stared at Artemis, who was starting to glow a faint silver, something Perseus noted happened only during a full moon. She had her hair down this time and was wearing a sleeveless long dress. Perseus whished that she always kept her hair down, but sadly that was not really practical when hunting. Her long slender arms were moving in front of him and she...was waving at him?
"Perseus, hellooo. PERSEUS!" Artemis yelled, making Perseus jump. "I'm listening. What's up?" Perseus asked.
Artemis narrowed her eyes. "You still haven't answered my question you know. And I'm going to pry that answer out. Forcefully if I have to."
Perseus audibly gulped.
"Do you, like someone. Like...'like' like." Artemis asked.
"Well... that's an interesting question." Perseus said. "One which, needs severe amount of thought, and processing. Because one slight miss up, and who knows what will happen-"
Artemis groaned out loud. "At least say 'Yes' or "No'. I can go with that at least, I won't ask anymore-"
"Yes!" Perseus said quickly, closing his eyes. He cracked an eye open to see Artemis smiling at him, though there was an unknown look on her face.
"You can't ask me anything else now." Perseus whispered with a slight smirk on his face.
Artemis shook her head fondly. "Only for now. But watch out, I'm not going down so easily."
"Come on arrowhead, I'm not begging you for info on your love life. Let me just be." Perseus said, shoving her lightly. Though he really wanted to know if she had anyone she liked, or not. "Any reason on your hair coming down?"
Artemis shrugged. "I like my hair down. Sadly, it's not practical for hunting."
Perseus laughed. "I agree with you, sadly. So, what gear did you pick out for our hunters?" he asked, watching fondly as Artemis started rambling about the different hunter uniforms and designs to choose. And whether to allow the hunters farting arrows.
It was soon midnight and Perseus and Artemis were waiting outside the entrance to Kichyros. A few moments later, their new hunters showed up, each bundled with a small bag that may have contained personal belongings.
"Looks like everybody is here. Now, I need you to all hold hands, and in turn mine and Artemis's. We're going to teleport over to our first temporary location." Perseus announced, holding out his hand. After the hunters complied, they were soon enveloped in a bright light and then the entire group disappeared. They soon materialized in a very dense forest, crickets and animal sounds quite abundant.
"Everyone, welcome to Arcadia. This is where we ae going to teach you guys how to set up camp, which of course is necessary if you are going to try and stay overnight in a forest. But first..." Artemis said, snapping her fingers. The groups clothes began to flutter and were then replaced with traditional hunting clothes. They were a dark blue in color, lined with silver. A crescent moon with a solar eclipse featured prominently around it was placed on their left side of the chest.
"These are your hunting uniforms. They are very durable, made by one of the best seamstress out there so it will last a while. "And the eclipse can be changed from solar to lunar, depending on your preference. I thought it would be a nice touch." Artemis said, smiling at Perseus who grinned back.
"Next, these are your weapons which you all will use primarily. A bow and a quiver, hunting knives, and some rope. Be very careful when handling them now, we don't want any accidents." Artemis warned.
"Okay, now we're going to take down your strengths and weaknesses. Don't be shy to list them out, we are all not perfect, yes even us gods. Though some of them don't like to hear that." Perseus said, smirking when the sky rumbled. "We will of course improve your strengths, but of course focus on your weaknesses so you guys can be better. Just because you guys have added strength and maybe a finer tuning with the bow doesn't mean you guys are experts."
The group nodded. Soon enough, Perseus got a good idea on his hunters. Phoebe was excellent at tracking, but not good with the bow. Celyn was basically the opposite of Phoebe. Ajax knew how to set very elaborate traps and knew some animal behavior and tracking, but was not that great with a bow. Acantha and Clio just knew basic archery, courtesy of Celyn. While Arius...he just knew animal names.
"This will be a work in progress." Artemis muttered as she studied the chart. "But progress will indeed happen. Alright listen up. All of you will now turn up for bed, its already late. Tomorrow, you are going to wake up at eight in the morning so we can start with some basic training. If all goes well, we can then start with practice hunts in a week. How does that sound?"
Everyone agreed to it, after some whining. Artemis then handed Perseus some metal rods, which seemed to elongate into long poles. "Place them on the ground, and here are the dimensions. And don't worry about tarp and cloth, you will find out later." Artemis said. Perseus did what Artemis told him, and to his surprise, cloth and tarp did materialize out of the poles which then joined together to make a rectangle tent. Soon enough, there were five such tents laid out.
"Um, milady? There are like eight of us but only five tents." Acantha said, her eyes slowly widening. "Oh don't tell me we have to share."
"That is correct. Split up in pairs please, and no boy and girl will be rooming together!"
"So I'm guessing they aren't a couple." Clio whispered as she counted the tents.
Ajax shrugged. "Who knows, maybe in the future."
"I'm rooming with Phoebe!" Celyn yelled.
"I have no choice only." Arius muttered. "But the tents look easy to set up."
Artemis grinned. "These tents are. But the other ones which you guys are going to practice on won't be. And if you all fail, the wolves will eat you all of course."
"Huh?!"
"Don't scare them on their first night arrowhead." Perseus said, ushering the kids to the tents. "There are some sandwiches in incase you guys are hungry. We'll discuss everything you need to know in detail tomorrow. For now, get some shut eye, and goodnight everyone."
A chorus of goodnights later, Perseus joined Artemis outside who was muttering something, her hands glowing as silver as well. "What are you doing?" he asked, but was ignored. A few minutes later, a silver barrier appeared in front of them which then extended outward into the forest line, and probably around their campsite.
There we go, a barrier to repel animals and weak monsters." Artemis said, and then lightly glared at Perseus. "Don't try to break my concentration, it's difficult when you creep up on me."
"I break your concentration huh? That's nice to know." Perseus teased, making Artemis blush lightly. "I was wondering if you want to join me." Perseus asked.
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Join you? Where may I ask."
Perseus grinned. "Here only." he said, gesturing around. "Want to scout the area and maybe hunt for a while?" he asked.
Artemis smiled. "Definitely. But what about your bow, you don't have your braces."
"I never use my braces for a bow Artemis." Perseus replied, summoning his bow. "But I do need a quiver, I gave away my case as well."
Artemis smirked as she summoned a quiver and handed it to him. "Here you go, and there better be twenty arrows by the end. I don't want any arrows missing."
"Yes ma'am!" Perseus said giving a salute. "Shall we milady?"
"We shall." Artemis said, dashing off into the forest, Perseus right behind her. Soon enough, the forests were filled with sounds of animals and excited and indignant cries of two hunting gods.
"That was my kill! You're such a cheater Artemis!"
"Finders-keepers Percy. Hey, stay in your lane!"
"There are no lanes in a forest Arty."
"Then stay out of my way, Perce!"
"Oi, no calling me Perce." Perseus exclaimed, jumping forward. He then quickly summoned some rope and tied it to his waist and then an arrow which he then launched into the air. It hit a branch, and soon enough Perseus was swinging all around, launching arrow after arrow at his prey.
"I'm flyingggg!" Perseus yelled. "And I got fifteen- whoa!" Perseus cried out as he began to fall down. He closed his eyes as he braced for impact but when nothing came, he opened his eyes. He could still see the ground, but it seemed like he was floating. Then he realized he was being held by someone and craned his neck back to see Artemis smirking down at him, her silver eyes filled with mirth. Perseus gave a sheepish chuckle. "You're surprisingly strong." he said.
"And you're surprisingly light. Hestia not feeding you enough?" Artemis said, dropping him on the floor.
"Oof. For your information, she's trying to stuff me with food before I move out so I won't be hungry. And how did I even fall down." Perseus said, glancing up. There was a dryad glaring down at him from the tree where Perseus shot the rope arrow. The dryad huffed and then melted back into the tree.
"Looks like I pissed of a dryad." Perseus muttered, picking up the arrow.
"You, and making a dryad pissed? That's a first." Artemis said, punching his arm lightly. "No one can dare be pissed at Perseus, for everyone loves him."
"Hahaha, very funny. I definitely have some enemies out there, who definitely hate me." Perseus said, watching the moon. He felt his powers roll, something that happened when it hit twilight. "You know, I think I finally got a name for our hunters."
"You did? Well, what is it?" Artemis asked.
"Twilight Moon. Hunters of the Twilight Moon. Nae rolls right of the tongue."
Artemis laughed. "It sure does. But I really like it."
Perseus nodded. "Me too. Say, the moon seems really bright tonight. You have anything to do with it."
"Possibly. I was told by Selene that the moon sometimes reflects my emotions. Like, happier I am, brighter it will shine something like that." Artemis said, basking in the moonlight.
"And what are you feeling now?" Perseus asked softly.
"Happiness." Artemis said simply, her eyes filled with adoration as she looked at Perseus. "Just happiness."
Perseus smiled as he laid down on the ground, Artemis soon joining him. The two remained in comfortable silence as they laid close to each other, staring at the night sky and pointing out the different constellations, the crickets and night noises slowly lulled them to sleep.
The next morning, Phoebe came out of her tent, yawning as she checked her surroundings. Surprisingly, no wild animals or anything else disturbed her sleep. She wasn't sure what time it was, but judging by the sun's position, it looked like it was almost at the center. Which was weird since it meant that it must be something like eleven in the morning, but Perseus and Artemis were supposed to wake them up by eight...
"Good morning Phoebe, slept well?" Acantha asked as she too yawned.
"Yeah, surprisingly no wild animals disturbed us. Maybe it was Artemis and Percy?"
"I noticed to. But I had Clio to help me not have any sleep." Acantha said with a chuckle. "That girl can really snore."
Soon enough, everyone had woken up though the boys and Celyn needed some extra push. They were all waiting outside their leaders' tents, wondering if they what was taking them so long.
"They can't be asleep, are they even in the tent?" Clio asked, glancing at the rest.
"Even if they aren't, there's no way I'm going inside a god's sleeping place to check. I'm too young to die." Arius said.
"It's definitely past eleven." Ajax said, glancing up at the sky. "Didn't they say that we were going to start at eight?"
"Should we like, throw a paper ball inside? Or shout at them from outside?" Celyn wondered out loud.
Suddenly, rustling noises were heard coming from the end of the clearing making the hunters jump. But to their surprise, it was Artemis and Perseus who came out of the forest into the camp, both of them panting.
"Looks you guys are awake, good job. But don't tell me the time you guys woke up, I'm pretty sure it wasn't eight." Perseus said.
"Where were you two though? We weren't even sure if you were in your tents milady, and milord." Acantha asked.
"Come on, no lord stuff. And that to early in the morning." Perseus complained.
Phoebe frowned when she noticed the ruffled-up clothes the two gods were wearing, which was partly covered with dirt and leaves. "Were you two...sleeping out in the wilderness?"
"...No idea what you're talking about Phoebe." Perseus said, cleaning himself p magically, Artemis doing the same. "Okay, breakfast time and then you all will learn how to set up these, and other sorts of tents. And we'll even teach you all how to make a makeshift tent out of common materials found in the wild."
After a hearty breakfast of sandwiches and sausages, which the hunters inhaled like a hungry satyr, the gods immediately set them up on their activities. Setting up the main tents was easy enough, though it was a bit difficult to break the improv swordfight between Clio and Arius. After a promise of sword lessons in a week or so, it was on to the temporary tents, which proved to be a bit challenging. Artemis ended up tangled in her own tent during a demonstration, and after one sneaky trip to Athena's library, Perseus came back with a camping guide that solved most of their issues. Which was a good thing because they failed at their first three attempts for the makeshift camp, and ended up making one that vaguely resembled a shop stand. A very small shop stand.
"Did you guys know how to do this before?" Celyn asked, trying not to burst into giggles as she watched Artemis help Perseus remove the hooks stuck on his chiton.
"To be fair, we thought of just showing it all with our powers. But that would be kind of unfair since we are not doing it hands down but you guys are." Perseus said. But good news, we all know now to never use fresh leaves from a tree. Because an angry dryad will come and beat you with a stick.
"I'm still shocked that we actually saw an actual dryad. That is really awesome." Ajax said excitedly.
"Great, my brothers vocabulary has already corrupted the mortals." Artemis said with a sigh while Perseus laughed. "They tend to ignore mortals fully. Unless you're a really good-looking guy, or someone that's going to hurt their tree. And we are probably going to see more of the latter."
"Oh and Artemis, I ran into Apollo when I went upstairs. He reminded me of our group hangout tonight at Delphi. You're going right?" Perseus asked.
Artemis scoffed. "Of course you dummy, it's a group hangout, I definitely won't miss it. But now that I think about it, what about the hunters? Are we going to leave them here for tonight, or..."
"Well, we did leave them last night when we slept outside and nothing really happened." Perseus replied.
"So you two were sleeping out in the wilderness!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"Busted." Artemis whispered while Perseus groaned.
"Wait, are you two going out somewhere?" Clio asked, but then immediately looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's not my place to ask such things."
Artemis smiled. "It's alright Clio, nothing wrong with asking. As long as its not confidential or anything like that."
"But to answer your question, me, Perseus, and some other gods are going to disguise ourselves and attend the festival in Delphi. Have you ever heard of it.
"Only a bit, it supposedly has something to do with the oracle or something. But I heard that during that time, they always make a special cream bread that tastes so delicious." Celyn said with a dreamy look on her face.
"Hmm." Perseus hummed, staring at the hunters. "Do you guys...possibly want to come to the festival for a while?"
Stunned silence filled the area as the hunters and Artemis gawked at Perseus. "Really?" Acantha asked. "It's really no trouble, we will be fine if we remain here."
"True, but it wouldn't hurt visiting for an hour at least. We can drop all of you back here once you all our done and go on to meet our friends. What do you guys say."
"But-"
"Come on, it's or treat. There will be cream buns. But you guys will at least try to put in extra effort in archery at least. That's all we ask, right Artemis?" Perseus said, getting a nod in response.
The hunters glanced at each other but in the end agreed to the arrangement. They were soon really excited at the prospect of going to a new city and taking part in a festival. Which then led to a race on finishing their other tasks. Stamina building was checked off the list and soon enough the group was doing archery.
"You have to hold the bow steady Arius. I know you're nervous since this is your first time even holding one but you have to focus. And don't overdo yourself, cream buns aren't going anywhere and you're still a beginner. So it's alright to go slow for now." Perseus told Arius, who grudgingly agreed as he tried hold his arrow in place, only for it to come of its position.
"There should really be some kind of stand to keep the arrow in check." Arius muttered.
"How will you learn it properly then, if you are going to use baby tools." Ajax said, launching an arrow and it then hit a target. Only problem was, it was Phoebe's target, who was now glaring at Ajax.
"Whoops." Ajax muttered sheepishly.
Perseus bit back a laugh. "Your stance is proper, but you do have a tendency to look around a lot while aiming. Which is not a bad thing since it's important to know your surroundings, but you also need to focus on your target. You can quite possibly injure someone if you're not seeing where your arrow is pointed.
Ajax nodded gravely. "You are correct sir; I will take in your words of advice and greatly improve on my limitations. They will not hinder me in the future."
"For a thirteen-year-old, you are quite formal in your tone and speech sometimes." Perseus noted.
"He's always been like that Mr. Perseus. I always wondered if an old man possessed him at some point." Arius said jokingly.
Suddenly, the ground started to shake as a slight tremor hit the forest. Birds began to fly everywhere as Perseus tried to steady everyone by using his terrakinesis. But as suddenly the tremor hit, the tremor disappeared as well instantly.
"What was that?" Clio asked out loud.
"You think that was our uncle?" Artemis asked Perseus, who then raised an eyebrow.
"Poseidon? Why would he send a random tremor over here? Though he sometimes does do that, but those usually hit the coast. But my guess, it's the Ourae. We are at a place that they are abundant in." Perseus said, glancing at the mountainside in the distance. "They are known to cause tremors when they roll around asleep."
"Ourae? As in mountain spirits?" Ajax asked.
"The very same. I should really plan a visit to them, since I'm technically their god and all."
But it was neither the Ourae, or Poseidon that had caused the tremor. For deep, deep below, in the gigantic caverns of Tartarus, two ancient beings were watching with baited breath and anticipation at a bunch of pods that were pulsing loudly. There were a bunch of nearby monsters as well roaming about, but watching the even with apprehension.
"It's happening my dear, the time has finally arrived." Tartarus said gleefully as he rubbed his hands together. "Oh I really can't wait for this."
"Patience my husband, I think one of them is going to pop." Gaia said.
Sure enough, the nearest pod began to expand and it then burst open, a loud voice echoing in the cavern as a bunch of grey colored liquid got sprayed around. Tartarus and Gaia slowly approached the open pod and glanced inside. For inside the pod, was a baby like creature that was wiggling around. It was the size of a boulder, with skin the color of green lima beans and a tuft of long dark green hair, it looked quite humanoid from the waste up, but down, it had the legs of a dragon. Gais gently carried the baby in her arms as she gently caressed the baby's cheek.
"Aww, Tartarus look! This is our son; oh this is our beautiful son!" Gaia exclaimed, choking up. "Hello there my little pumpkin, I'm your mommy, and you're my little pumpkin."
"I was expecting more red, but hey green suites him just fine." Tartarus said with a grin. Another loud burst shook the caverns as more pods burst open, its contents open to everyone. "Our children! Come husband, let's meet them." Gaia said excitedly as she dragged Tartarus around. They both cooed and fawned over their newborn children, as more and more began to pile up in their arms.
"I'm going to call the first one Porphyrion. Then this will be Enceladus, and he Polybotes, and... *gasp* look Tartarus, twins!" Gaia said, dumping the two babies into Tartarus's baby occupied arms. "I'm going to call them, Ephialtes and Otis!"
"Otis?!" Tartarus sputtered. "That sounds like a clowns name."
"Oh hush, it's perfect. Oh, more children!" Gaia squealed. "This I'm going to name Gration. Oh wow, he already has a beard growing. And this one, hmmm. He looks quite human like, don't you think?" Gaia asked, showing the new baby to Tartarus.
"Kid does look more human like. Please don't give him a name like Otis."
"I don't know any name like Otis. But I'm going to call this one...Orion." Gaia said, glancing up. "He seems special."
The two continued meeting their new babies, until they reached the last one which caught both of them by surprise.
"Well, I have to admit I'm shocked. Didn't think I would find one after each and every baby was a boy after boy.
"A girl Tartarus, we have a baby girl." Gaia whispered, holding the baby close. It had chocolate brown skin and a tuft of white stringy hair. The baby squirmed around for a bit and it then opened its eyes, revealing a pool of violet and in its center a gold-colored iris with a white pupil.
"She is beautiful." Gaia muttered. "I'm going to call her Foteinós."
"Luminous. Wonderful. Now..." Tartarus said, looking left and right. "Where is that damn Kylotes. We need to arm these kids as soon as possible."
"I'm sorry, what?!" Gaia exclaimed.
Tartarus looked at her confused. "Arm the kids. With weapons, and armor. We have to chuck them at the mortal world now, so that they can attack it and draw out the Olympians, and then-"
"Absolutely not!" Gaia thundered. "They are only baby's right now, and I'm going to wait until they are fully developed in every aspect of motor and learning skills. Then, we will have to see which god or goddess each one is a bane of and then train them, and teach them analytics and whatever required tool needed for a war."
"Eh?" Tartarus said confused. "How long is that going to take?!"
"Hmm. About a hundred years or so." Gaia replied.
"A hundred years or so?!" Tartarus shrieked. "What challenges will the Olympians even face until then?! What about my... I mean our conquest?"
Gaia shrugged. "We can always send in the big monsters. Chimera, its mother, Hydra, its father. Its father..."
"Tartarus raised an eyebrow. "Typhon, seriously? Wouldn't that be a bit hardcore, even for the Olympians?"
"I'm sure they will manage. Plus, it will allow us to know how much stronger the Olympians have become, especially the new ones. And I'm really curios on this, Perseus individual as well so this will be fun."
Tartarus frowned. "Perseus? Who's that?"
"I'm not sure either, the details around him are a bit murky, but I will try to find more information. But even though I find this godling interesting, I can't help but feel this sense of dread pool inside me."
"I see." Tartarus muttered, a steely look overcoming his eyes. Whatever the case, we will be triumphant against the gods of Olympus! For their bane, the Giants, have arrived!"
"Brrrfff."
"...Did a kid just puke on me." Tartarus asked wearily.
Gaia winkled her nose. "Four of them actually."
"*sigh* I need a napkin."
DUN DUN DAAAHHHH! The giants have finally arrived, but it's going to take a century to see them in action XD. And we finally have a name for our hunter, 'Hunters of the Twilight Moon'! Congratulations Ryan, who is a guest here for giving the name. And was the first one to suggest that particular name, because I saw similar ones later on. But honary shoutout to those who suggested a similar name, unless you copied which I'm sure you didn't :) Or did you...
Anyway, how was the chapter? If you haven't guessed already, I actually loosely, or tightly based Aphrodite on Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid'. Great movie, you guys should watch it. And it was honestly easy to sneak in the name 'Sebastianos', cause the name Sebastain is actually based on the earlier name, which is Greek in origin XD. I never even knew that honestly. oh, and some dialouge in the Aphrodite meets the gods scene was taken from RR's Greek Gods books, so yeah, some belong to him.
Once again, thank you guys so much for supporting and reviewing my story. I know last chapter was a bumpy for a lot of people and I hope I don't mess up in the future :P. But hey, it would help me grow in the future lol. And I will be doing a cleanup of this fic soon, you know checking for any spelling or grammatical errors in case you guys or new ones want to read this fic and won't have to come across my earlier blunders XD. Until then. Bye!...\/