Percy and Artemis slept for almost 3 hours after their love making sessions in the middle of the day, and after their long nap, the lovers finally started to wake up.
Percy wakes up first between the two of them and gets out of bed. He flashes on his boxers and goes to the bathroom. He had gotten a good nap, but he did not feel rested. When he got back to the bedroom from his session with the toilet, he found Artemis awake, with a pillow propped under her head and a book in her hands. Both of her legs erotically crossed on top of the bed, the comforter just barely covering her breasts as she lay there flipping through her book. Artemis reads a lot, which Percy doesn't necessarily like. She's a very old and a wise goddess, and reading has been something she has always done, much like some of her huntresses… But on occasion he would rather she pay attention to him than to the book.
"Did you have fun, love?" She swoons as he comes into view.
"Very much so, Arty."
"I am happy that you enjoyed yourself."
He asks her if she enjoyed herself too, and she immediately says yes, and not just because that if she hesitated, or said no, that Percy would feel bad, or concerned… But because she really did have the time of her life. Even though she feels quite sore between the legs, she is confident she still has hand prints on her ass, and equally confident her hair roots are still sensitive. She had treated him to 2 things that he's never gotten to experience before today… Stripping, and BDSM; Percy isn't the only one that enjoyed the latter. Her dance has been one of the most erotic displays that Percy has ever seen, and she is the only girl on the leaderboard, so that is really saying something. He is very appreciative of her for it.
"You promised you would help me free Calypso."
She sighs… "And we will; let me get dressed, and we can go." She said in a very gentle voice.
"Good..." He starts, a hint of something in his voice, "I'm going to go get something to snack on." He says as he walked over to the side of the bed and starts picking up his clothes and putting them back on. He strapps his Ethereal Silver sword on his back and walks out of the room to go rummage through whatever Arty had in her fridge.
He did not see the frown on Artemis's face.
A few minutes later
Percy walks out into the kitchen of Artemis's palace and opens the fridge. He is not ready for just how sorely disappointed he is going to be… Literally, the only thing that he found was a single flask of nectar and a few packs of Ambrosia, and that was it. He was expecting to at least find some cheese, maybe some cans of chicken, maybe some of Atalanta's venison Jerky since it seems to be more valuable than gold, but nothing!
Percy sighs and grabs the flask and a package of ambrosia anyways… He pops the cap off the flask and takes a drink, then he takes the ambrosia and carries the two items back to his bedroom to see if he might get another show out of Artemis.
He wasn't disappointed; as soon as he gets back to the bedroom he sees Artemis in front of her mirror brushing through her hair with the hairbrush and wearing only the sexy blue, lace lingerie that he loves so much. She isn't wearing the panties, though, and that was probably because she didn't feel like trying to look for them after Percy threw them across the room. Percy doesn't mind, of course, because it offers him a lovely view of her insanely sexy waist, hips, and ass that are all curved like the moon itself… Ironic. It is just too sexy to describe, and that is putting it lightly. Percy doesn't usually go around staring at women's asses; in fact, he thinks that that would be pretty rude, but Artemis has the nicest ass he has ever seen. The huntresses, especially Atalanta and Phoebe, are all in really good shape, but Artemis is just on a whole other level.
He walks up to the huntress and rests his hands on her hips. She notices him in the mirror before he gets to her, but she doesn't say anything. His lover sighs gently when his hands rest on her hips, and she keeps brushing through her beautiful auburn locks.
"I thought you were going to get dressed? You don't seem to be making much progress."
"Are you seriously complaining about how few clothes I have on?!" Artemis mocks.
Instead of responding, Percy places his right hand on her naked hip, and Arty smiles, reclining her head back in anticipation of what he would do next. Which she anticipates he'll pull her hair.
She was right… "Absolutely not, Arty." Percy purrs to her in a sexy voice, reaching up with his left hand to run it through her hair with a bit of a pull that drives her insanely horny. That hard tug as his fingers reach the end of her strands that have the same effect as an hour of him kissing her neck. She never would have thought that of all the methods of turning her on, pulling her hair would be the one she likes the most, or that has the most effect.
She loops her arms around his neck and leans in for a kiss after turning around with a hot moan. Placing his hands on her flanks, he has no hesitation meeting her lips in a passionate kiss. Artemis clearly woke up from their nap with a hungry fire for some love.
She expects him to take his hands off her hips and place them on her breasts, but instead, he pulls away.
She pouts, and Percy tells her to get dressed.
"Percy, we really should go check on the hunters before we free your… friend." She protests, crossing her arms and sighing.
"No, you are going to take me to rescue Calypso, and it's going to be now."
She looks at him completely appalled and crosses her arms. Percy has never gotten short with her before. Assuming that she would just obey, he turned around and began to walk out of the room… He was wrong.
"You know I am really getting tired of the way you treat me…" She starts, snapping her fingers to flash all her clothes back on… Percy stops dead in his tracks and turns around with a concerned look on his face.
"I deserve to be treated a lot better than that. You leave for 3 days without saying a word, and come back, sit in my throne with zero regard for respect and demand that I fucking dance for you? I did it, without complaint by the way, because I love you, and yes because I also felt bad about keeping Calypso from you… But then you boss me around here? In my own palace? When I brought you here so that we could makeup not to hear you arrogantly boss me around as if I'm your property? There's a limit to everything, and if anything, it's time I get my apology. Not just for you acting like this, but for you leaving me for three whole bloody days without any context." Artemis firmly states, crossing her arms in a stern and assertive posture; taking on that stoic and strong huntress stance that she never really uses around him anymore.
For a moment, he is stunned, bewildered if you wanted to say. Artemis had always been sweet, obeying and kind to him. Especially now… Seeing her like this came as a shock, and for a moment, he had no idea what to say.
"I saved you," he said in a quiet tone. "Willingly, I sacrificed my entire childhood, 4 years of my life just so that Olympus could be saved. Did I ask for immortality? No, my request was much humbler, much simpler. All I said was to bring recognition to those who deserved it, and to free those who deserved it. One, simple request, and not only did none of you do it, but you didn't even have the decency to tell me, your love, that poor Calypso was still stranded on her cursed island."
"And I told you I'm sorry! What more d'you want me to do, move the fucking mountains? It is something that I felt ashamed of doing, but even us gods aren't perfect! Instead of accepting my apology and at least making an effort to move on, you're still here, getting all rude with me and treating me like I'm beneath you when we're in my palace! Maybe if you wanna keep treating me like this you won't have a girl to mistreat!" Percy looks at her with a sheepish expression, and his eyes go wide.
"Art- Artemis..."
"No, don't 'Artemis' me," she snapped, before taking a deep breath and composing herself.
"Percy, I desire to be treated with respect, and decency. You've done nothing but boss me around for the entire time we've been back together, and after we woke up from our nap you've done nothing but ask about Calypso… Not after we woke up, and I was totally nude. Not even after I strategically positioned myself nearly totally nude in front of the mirror, you didn't take advantage of the perfect opportunity, just left me hanging… Percy, if she is so much more worthy of your time, then go be with her instead."
Percy freezes and his eyes go wide… Artemis is a very prideful and strong feminine goddess, and she has vastly changed her demeanor for Percy, for this relationship, and she finally snapped. Hearing those words from her made his spine tingle and his chest tense.
He cautiously walks up to her, and he is relieved when she does not back away from him. She had crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts together, but adding to her stern posture.
"Art- Artemis…" He purrs softly to her, obviously ashamed.
He daringly reaches a hand up to her face and cups her cheek, and she does not back away or bat his hand down.
"I-I am so sorry… I am sorry for putting Calypso above you on my priorities; I have no excuse for it, you should always be my #1 priority, and I am sorry."
"That shouldn't be the only thing you are sorry for." She retorts back quickly, softly and gently, in a sensual voice that is supposed to ease his worry. She has no intention, nor any desire to fight. All she wants is for him to start treating her a little bit better.
Percy sighs, removing his hand from his beloved girlfriend's face; he turns and walks over to their massive bed and sits down on the edge of it. Percy rests his elbows on his knees and puts his head in his hands.
"I suppose you're right, Arty. I just don't know what's been happening to me recently, but it gives me no right to speak to you that way. You're the goddess of the hunt and my lover, so you deserve a hell of a lot more respect than I have been giving you, and I am sorry."
"Percy…"
Artemis walks over to him and lifts his head up out of his hands, she then sits down in his hap and wraps her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately on the lips. He responds back with a bit of reserve, and he rests his hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, Arty."
"Percy… I'm not mad. Just come with me and we'll check on the hunters, and then we can go free your… Uhm, friend." It pains her so much to talk about Calypso… That damn demititaness is just about the last… female, she ever wants Percy to be around. Arty knows that Calypso is gods damn gorgeous, and after Percy rescues her from her prison, Arty can only imagine the woman will be… uhm, grateful.
"Alright, Arty."
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Arty and Percy arrive at the Moon Mansion not long after. Arriving in the kitchen and walking out to the living room to see what the huntresses are getting up to without them.
What they find is pretty normal. Phoebe laying on the far couch reading a book, most of the huntresses chatting quietly and snacking on mostly healthy snacks. Half of them are gone, probably working out or sparring in the massive gym that they have in the Moon Mansion.
Artemis goes over and starts to hit up a conversation with Thalia and Phoebe when she sees the most intriguing thing in the room. Sitting on the big couch in the room, Atalanta has both of her legs slung over Ray's lap and is resting in the crook of his arm and laying against his chest.
Most of the hunters pipe down as soon as they enter the room, and as if by some magical force Atalanta opens her eyes as soon as Percy takes a step towards them on the couch.
"Ray, wake up." She demands, taking her legs off of his lap.
"Well, good morning Atalanta, how was your nap?" Percy mocks.
"Just fine, Percy, how was your… Afternoon?"
"Thrilling," he responds with a straight face, and Atalanta can't help but blush. Percy quickly changes the topic.
"I see you blatantly disobeyed Artemis's rule, Atalanta, again…" He states, looking into Ray's eyes. The respectful legacy of Apollo doesn't respond, just looks at Atalanta like it was totally worth it. Which it has been… Seconds ago he had the lithe and insanely athletic legs of a complete bombshell of a girl slung over his lap, and her head on his chest.
"I just can't help it… Ray is so nice to me, and he won't tell me, but I know he doesn't get much to eat."
"Is that true, Ray? Do you really not get much to eat?"
"Yes, Lord Percy, it is true…"
"Please don't call me Lord Percy, just Percy is fine… Any good friend of Atalanta's is a good friend of mine." Percy replied with a smile. Ray nods in acknowledgement and continues his story, after he looks to his right and straight into Atalanta's kaleidoscope eyes that are full of empathy.
"I "live"in a very small, uninsulated attic in town above an ice cream parlor; I barely make enough money to have a few old slices of bread in the morning, and a small hot meal in the evening before I go to bed… and I only got that job last year; before that I lived on the streets." He explains in a very low voice, low enough only for Atalanta to hear, and Percy to barely make out. Atalanta leans back in to rest her head on his chest.
"It's incredibly hard for me to believe that Reyna would allow you to live so poorly." Percy offers, crossing his arms in denial.
"Of course she does; that Praetor hates criminals, and since I have a troubled background she allows me to starve, and rot." He explains harshly, gesturing with his right hand in an exotic fashion.
"That is why I always let him in here… We have plenty of food, and we have a warm house." Atalanta adds.
"Well… I've been around Atalanta enough to believe that one should not necessarily be judged for their past actions and mistakes. Artemis has done very bad, disgusting things in her life, but I forgive her and love her anyways. Everyone deserves a second chance. I don't know what Artemis will say about this, but you are always welcome here in my book."
He looks to Ray with a friendly and sympathetic smile.
"Thank you, Percy." Ray replies earnestly with a low bow of his head. Being here is the greatest privilege and blessing he has ever received, and the possibility of ever getting kicked out is the wraith that keeps him up at night and strikes fear in his heart sharper than any sword.
"Don't mention it. The hunt is supposed to help any and all allies of Olympus." He repeats, looking into Atalanta's eyes to see her smile brightly at his versing of the Hunter's Oath.
Before Percy turns around and leaves to go check on some of the other huntresses, like Natalie and Grace, he gives one last piece of 2 cents to Ray.
"Ray… You picked a good one." He retorts and quickly vacates the scene to go speak with Caitlin who is over to his left a few sofas.
Atalanta blushes bright red, and Ray just smiles proudly to her.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
"No! Absolutely not, Atalanta." Artemis firmly states, planting a foot and crossing her arms defensively. Artemis was not surprised when the prestigious huntress came to her asking if Ray could stay in the Moon Mansion, but she was also prepared for it, and the answer is NO!
"Please My Lady, Ray is my friend, and we swore to protect and defend any and all allies of the Hunt, and to Olympus."
"Ray is in no danger, and until that changes, he can live with the consequences of his own actions."
"Please Lady Artemis, Ray is a good friend and the two of them are obviously close. He deserves to live a better life than he has right now, please let him have a room in the Moon Mansion." Percy adds firmly.
"Absolutely not, Percy! It is strictly against the rules. Ray will not be sleeping or living in any of the rooms here until he is either in danger, or he takes the hunters oath, and if he is not willing to devote his life to you, my wonderful huntress, and join the hunt… Then he shouldn't be here to begin with. Do I make myself clear?"
Atalanta opens her mouth, unwisely, to interject, but Artemis quickly barrels over the timid huntress.
"Ray is an outsider, and just because you and Alissa saved him does not make that any different. Ray is more than welcome to eat with us and commune with us as much as he likes, especially since you seem to not be able to follow the rules and not let him in while me and Percy are not here! But he is absolutely not allowed to stay here overnight, do you understand?"
Atalanta is ready to do anything to help Ray, and it gives her the courage she never would have been able to muster before, the courage to speak up against Artemis. The girl plants her feet firmly.
"You said we could fall in love, that you wouldn't forsake it like it has been for millenia. You took the maiden vow out of the Hunter's Oath, but yet you won't let us bring boys over? For the night at least? What if I love Ray so much I want to sleep with him? I have to bring him upstairs during the day like a whore? Or maybe in the closet? Or spend an arm and a leg and rent a room at the inn? You don't even give us enough allowance to do that!"
A silence grips the room like an icy frost, like dropping into a cold cellar on a hot day. Artemis looks at her with shock, completely appalled that the huntress would speak out so violently against her. Atalanta has always been an extremely timid soul, always perfectly compliant with the rules, respectful… But this truly riled her up, and put a voice in her.
"Atalanta is right, Art- Lady Artemis. You can't tease them with a chance to fall in love and then forbid men from staying over. You're breaking your own rule if you forbid this. First you broke your maiden vow, and now if you enjoy a man's company at night but refuse to allow the huntresses to do the same, did you truly ever give them the freedom to love?"
Artemis opens her mouth, and then closes it, then crosses her arms in resignation. Lowering her head in defeat and concedes. She sighs deeply, and after looking back and forth between the two a few times she folds.
"Percy… You've become a very wise young god… You're right, and I- I am sorry, Atalanta. I must seem like a selfish and vengeful goddess. Percy is absolutely right, it's selfish and hypocritical of me to forbid Ray from staying here. If you love him, then he may stay here for as long as we are. However, he is only allowed to stay in your room, with you. We cannot risk the other huntresses' peace of mind, some of them would be furious not unlike you were a minute ago if I allowed an outsider, especially a bo- a man to have free reign of the Mansion at night." Artemis concedes, relaxing her posture and speaking in an apologetic tone meant for the Elder Huntress. She truly is resigned and remorseful.
"Thank you so much, Lady Artemis!" Atalanta beams excitedly, a huge smile breaking out on her beautiful face.
"There is no need to thank me, you were right, it's the right thing to do, and I am sorry I ever made it not so."
Atalanta looks at Percy and he smiles at her, and she bows her head to him in gratitude. He is so happy to see his best friend thrive, and win this victory.
"So, Atalanta, tell us… When are you going to use this new privilege?" He asks her, in an unnecessarily loud voice, and a wicked grin on his face.
Her cheeks turn bright red.
§§§§§§§§§§§§
Artemis walks out into the hall of the gods, the Olympian throne room, Percy following behind. He is deep in thought, thinking about how Calypso can help them in the war, and thinking of all the ways that Nyx has already helped them in this war. Shielding their presence from the enemy at Camp Jupiter had been a godsend… Literally, in this case. He also is thinking of how he has some questions to ask her, but that is for a different time.
"So… How are you going to free Calypso?" Percy inquires, crossing his arms and preparing for her to get upset again, but she doesn't.
"Well…" Arty starts in a sweet voice, "I originally thought about convening a council meeting, but now I realize that that is probably not a good idea."
"I couldn't agree more."
Arty jumps like she just saw a ghost, and immediately looks over to where the intruder is.
"Good afternoon, Nyx." Percy greets, crossing his arms in a defensive posture… Nyx is wearing an astonishingly small amount of clothing, and he can't imagine that Arty is very happy… Especially after their dispute about Percy's respect for her. All Nyx is wearing is a tight, black of course, lacey bra with only a beige, thin blouse buttoned just underneath her impressive breasts, to hide it… While looking at her blouse, just the garment, not what it is supposed to allude to, Percy thinks it has to be the brightest colored thing she owns.
The blouse goes down to half paat midnight, but that doesn't hide that she is only wearing a very fancy andlacey, probably worth more than a hundred drachma, panties underneath. She must have just woken up…That still wouldn't excuse her laziness to put on some clothes though, but she is a Primordial, and she doesn't have an ounce of shame. Who is going to tell her what she can and can't wear? Back in the day, thousands and thousands of years ago, she and everyone else perhaps wore no clothes at all… If that is the case it must seem foreign for her in her exceedingly long lifespan. It's hard to imagine that the gods' reign has been but a blink of the eye for Nyx.
Truth be told she is covering a lot more skin than her usual dress covers, so it's actually not anything to complain about.
Before he could give Artemis the chance to think that he is actually checking her out, he asks the woman in question, well, a question.
"What brings you here?"
"I came to help you. I heard your thoughts as I was sleeping, and I came immediately."
"I'm sorry to disturb you; I remember what you said the last time we spoke, about thoughts, so I will try and be more respectful with them."
"Thank you, but don't worry about it. Anyways… Now that I am here, what do you intend to do that needs the Olympian Council?" She asks only out of courtesy, as she already knew the answer to that question yesterday.
"I promised Percy I would take him to free Calypso, so that is what we are about to do."
"Ahhh yes… The demi titaness. What a touchy topic with you two. But I wonder why that is? Eh?" Nyx muses, looking into Percy's eyes as if trying to convey a message.
"We don't need to go into that here." Percy attempts.
"I think we do… You have every right to know why your precious girlfriend is so distrusting of you."
"I- I don't see why I need to explain anything." She pridefully proclaims, crossing her arms in that same defensive posture she used on Percy earlier.
"Ahhh yes, the classic deflecting of an Olympian goddess, nothing quite compares. So, you're afraid he'll cheat, is that it? Calypso is too beautiful for you to feel safe?"
"What?! No, of course not!" She quickly responds.
"Right… I think the question you need to ask yourself now is: Is it Percy's loyalty? Or your trust that is helping you drive this wedge between the two of you?"
Now that is… that's a great question.
Artemis looks like a child that was caught with their fingers at the bottom of the cookie jar. She is obviously conflicted with her feelings.
"You're right… I am jealous; I am insecure."
"What on earth has Percy ever done to deserve your distrust? I'm no marriage counselor, but there is something seriously wrong here."
"I've put up with enough fighting over the past 3 days; I don't want to listen to more of it." Percy declares righteously, crossing his arms.
Nyx breaks off what she is about to say and looks at Percy, then back to Artemis, who also crosses her arms.
"You don't think this is an important topic?!" Nyx blurts out in an obtrusive fashion. Being as it may that the woman is a Primordial, sublety, respectfulness, or garnishing of words are all not her strong suit.
"Yes, it is; however, I would rather have this discussion with Artemis in private, no offense." He offers.
"Fine, have it your way."
"Yes, I agree." Artemis adds, looking away shamefully and trying to hide her obvious embarrassment. It has quite precious little meaning coming out of her as she is the perpetrator in this.
"Again, why are you here? Nyx?" Percy asks her again, uncrossing his arms and trying to act as if the entire incident didn't just happen.
"I came to offer to take you to Calypso's island."
"Well that is certainly convenient, so I see no reason to wait, will you take us there now?"
"Naturally, come on." The Primordial responds with a light bow of her head, and as she with the ever so slight movement of a finger a portal opens, her underdressed and extraordinarily shapely pale form shimmers, and her usual, equally-scandalous dress appears on her form in place of what she was just wearing.
§§§§§§§§§§§§
Calypso's island is beautiful. A sprawling beach encircles the island, palm trees and beautiful sunshine cover its landscape.
The second that Nyx steps out of the portal she immediately curses something about Apollo and Aether being jackasses then covers her face with her hand as you would if covering your eyes from the sun on an ordinarily bright day. Orrrrrr how you might react walking in on your brother banging his girlfriend.
"What was that? Nyx?"
"Nothing…"
Dumbass lies right there… The Primordial is the definition of Pale Skinned, and in this assaulting sunlight, as she would classify it, you could fry an egg on the tops of her beautiful breasts. That is not the only reason that she is discomforted, however, since she is the goddess of the Night, she does not fare equally as well in the daylight. She would much rather have done this during the nighttime.
"Percy you go find Calypso, and Artemis and I will stay here."
"Yes, My Lady." Percy mocks as he elegantly bows head down, leg extended, left arm flowing out and his right hand on his chest, chin to chest. Nyx rolls her eyes, and Percy obeys. He immediately sets off to go find Caly.
A few minutes later
Nyx and Artemis go and sit down under a particularly plowing enormous palm tree; Nyx sighs in relief to be partially out of the sun.
"You seem to be irritated by the sunlight."
"Well I am the Goddess of the Night… This is obviously the opposite of that. Standing in the sunshine is discomforting." She explains in vague detail.
"But you are an all powerful Primordial, how can the sunlight hurt you?"
"Because it is a fundamental part of the opposite domain from mine. The whole reason that me and that pig were ever married is because I am the Night, and he is the darkness."
"You Primordials are very interesting."
"That's not a good trait."
It is obvious that Nyx takes great pain in communicating with the inferior being, and perhaps pains her equally speaking to Artemis In particular.
"So… Why don't you trust Percy? I thought you two are getting along great?" She painfully asks after a few moments of silence.
"I do trust Percy…"
"Obviously not if coming here for Calypso brought you to the point of snapping at him."
"I-I suppose I was just jealous."
"Am Jealous" Nyx corrects.
"I'm jealous… From what I have heard about Calypso's beauty, and freeing her from this island is sure to win him a boat load of points with her, so I kept thinking to myself How can I compare to that? Someone who is so high maintenance? Over Calypso, who is drop dead gorgeous, and eternally indebted to him?'"
"I think you know the answer to that question."
"What?"
"That Percy doesn't care… He pursued you because you are a good person, a righteous woman, and that you would be loyal. Calypso lacks those qualities that he is attracted to."
"I think she would change her tune if someone, like Percy, saved her from this accursed island."
"Yes, I can agree this is an accursed place… But if you are a quality woman you don't need someone to save you from eternal incarceration for you to devote your life to that person."
Nyx crosses her arms and turns her head away from the goddess, covering her jet blavk eyes to shield them from the Vitamin-D.
"You're right…"
"Naturally, now hush, here comes Percy with Calypso."
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
Percy walks up to Calypso's home and slowly walks in through the front door. Calypso has no reason to close her doors, or lock them, or close her windows, so they are always open. She has a modest home, just enough to accommodate her and still has some extra room. It is different from what he remembers… Instead of releasing Calypso the gods must have thought giving her an upgrade would excuse their betrayal, it didn't.
"Calypso?" Percy calls out.
Nothing, not even a mouse.
"Calypso?" He tries again, searching for his beloved savior.
"Must be out in the garden" he thinks to himself and goes out back to see if he can find the demi titaness.
Percy walks out of her modest home wondering to himself if he should have knocked first, and then he walks out to the gardens that are directly behind her home.
The foliage is beautiful on Ogygia, and the scenery, sunset and green landscape are all breathtaking, just like the maiden herself. Who is kneeling down in her garden tending to some juicy tomatoes, in the shade of a tall peach tree.
She is just as beautiful as he remembers her… Luscious caramel hair, braided over one shoulder. Her eyes are dark, and almond shaped. Her face is almost supernaturally beautiful, and ageless. She looks young, the kind of girl that makes young men and boys weak in the knees. He realizes now, after his memory was jogged of Calypso, that Artemis's jealousy wasn't baseless.
She is the kind of love that only is spoken of in legends, myths and fairytales… A girl so perfect you can't believe she is real.
"Calypso?" Percy greets her in the sweetest and most friendly voice.
At first Caly doesn't move, only a slight twitch of her ear as if she refuses to take the bait… As if she thinks it's a trick from the gods to torment her.
"Caly? It's me, Percy."
She immediately perks up, and even though she seems to be almost startled at the disruption to her isolation, she immediately jumps up to wrap him in a hug.
"You came back for me! You kept your promise to me!" She happily squeals, kissing his neck and holding him tight as she wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. He hugs her back, very happy to finally be reunited with one of his best friends, a girl that nursed him back to health from near death. He would always be eternally grateful to her, which is why he tried so hard to free her.
"I came back, and I am so sor-"
He doesn't get to finish his statement because Calypso's lips passionately seal over his own in a sensual and obviously gratuitously filled kiss. She doesn't wish to hear about it, and she doesn't care that it took so long for him to free her. All she cares about is that he came back.
Percy lets himself be captivated by it for a split second out of sheer shock before he immediately pulls away; a shiver shooting down his spine at the sin. Her lips had felt good, but it was wrong; Artemis is the only girl he will ever need, and he will never cheat on her.
"Sorry Caly, but there's someone else."
She pulls away and lowers her head.
"Even when a hero comes to free me, I'm still cursed to be lonely."
"What about Leo? I thought you two were supposed to be lovebirds?"
She looks up to him with an appalled grin on her perfect lips.
"That shaggy idiot? Please… He was an insult from the gods, I swear."
"Funny, he is always bragging about you being wrapped around his finger. Leo is a good friend, and he did try to find this place again… He spent 3 days out at sea on Festus."
"Did he?" She asks genuinely, starting to blush… Insult my ass
"He did, and he wasn't the same for a week after that."
"That's kind… Perhaps I should pay him a visit."
"I think he would like that." Percy assures her, starting a long pause between them.
"Caly… I am so sor-"
"Don't, Percy, Don't… If I was upset I would have said something. All I care about is that you came back. I've lived on this island for millenia, 2 years makes no difference."
"I still feel bad… I- I used 2 wishes that the gods gave me, 2 of them I used to ask for your freedom, but those… those bastards never did it, they went behind my back. They had a vote before I even came before them that if I asked for your release, they wouldn't do it."
"Don't dwell on it." She insists, hugging him again and initiating another long pause between them.
"Come on, Caly, I'll take you off this place. Anything you wanna bring with?"
"Do you… Uhm, still have that Moonlace?"
Percy smiles brightly, "Yes, I do, it is in the window of my bedroom. It's grown healthy and strong."
"You're a good man, Percy, a pure soul. I do not wish to take anything with me."
"Let's go then, and thank you."
Percy smiles warmly to her and the two of them walk back in the direction of the two goddesses.
§§§§§§§§§§§§
"Atalanta… What are you reading?" Phoebe groans, walking out of the kitchen with some of Atalanta's venison jerky and a coffee cup.
"Predictably irrational, by Dan Ariely." She responds calmly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"See… I told you if you start getting into Psychology and Philosophy, your head will start spinning."
"The most powerful weapon in the world is education, Phoebe."
"You're just a nerd."
"You and I have completely different reasons for how we lived this long, so just stay in your lane, and I will stay in mine."
"Fine… Why are you dressed for your run but still here?"
"Ray asked if he could come along, and I said yes, so I am waiting for him."
"With abnormally tight short shorts, and an even more so sports bra… Right… Just going for a run."
Atalanta is wearing a light blue pair of loose training shorts and a tight blue sports bra, and in her defense it is hot outside, even though the real reason she dressed the way she dressed today is because she wanted to be impressive and appealing to Ray.
"If you have something demeaning to say to me, just say it."
"I mean no offense, Atalanta, it's just that I don't approve of your relationship with that… criminal."
"Ray is not a criminal!"
"Atalanta… Boys with a history of assault, theft, robbery, and vandalization are criminals."
"That was a long time ago, and I don't believe that people should be judged for their past actions…" Who you were does not define who you are. I would think that you of all people would be able to relate to that." Letting out a defeated sigh, Phoebe gives her a small smile.
"You're right… I am sorry, Atalanta." She concedes and then asks, "Do you know when Artemis is going to be back?"
"I was under the impression that they would be back this evening; something on Olympus for them to take care of or something."
"I was too… I'm starting to get tired of them repeatedly being absent."
"I return the same feelings, but Lady Artemis prioritizes Percy over us, and that is simply the truth of it."
"She can't just abandon us for basically 3 days in a row without being here hardly ever."
"Personally, I don't notice a problem in the situation; I have gotten to spend a lot of quality time apprenticing Alissa and cultivating my relationship with Ray."
"We also got to go out for lunch yesterday for the first time in forever." Phoebe pitches in.
"Yeah, and I talked you into allowing Alissa to come along with us since we decided that with Taylor's recent infraction with the law, she was not invited to come with us like tradition."
"We're of a dying race, Atalanta, you, me, and Taylor are the only Elder Hunters left."
Atalanta sighs and closes her book. She then looks up to her left to the wall of names.
"I don't really want to think about it, Phoebe."
"Do you still have hard nights thinking about her?"
"Them? You mean?"
"Yeah…"
"Yes, I do… Sitting at the table yesterday with just the three of us was the hardest thing I have done in a while, staring at those two empty seats… The only thing that made it bearable was watching how hard the waiter was trying to flirt with you."
"By the gods… Please don't bring that up." She groans, sending Atalanta into a fit of giggling.
"He was so sweet, and you were so mean… You should really change your attitude, Phoebe. There are a lot of good men out there."
"That boy did not care about me; all he wanted was what's between my legs."
"That's not true; if he didn't care about you, then he would have flirted with all of us, not just you."
"Oh…"
Atalanta sighed
"Everyone in the hunt looks up to us, Phoebe, so maybe you should try changing your outlook on men. It's a new time, and you're lucky that Artemis allowed you to stay after what you did to Percy and the way you spoke to her. I bet one of the biggest reasons why Lady Artemis did not kick you out of the hunt is because Percy didn't want you to be."
Phoebe doesn't reply.
Atalanta just sighs and gets up from the couch; she is waiting on Ray to get done with some business in the city so that he could then come and spend time with her. If she told that to Phoebe, she would immediately say something like, "Well I hope he isn't robbing someone or doing something fun like that!" She's insufferable.
Atalanta goes into the kitchen and gets some water and mixes it with 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar to help her digest her breakfast better. She should have taken it before she ate breakfast, but hey… day late and a drachma short.
Atalanta is a very old huntress, and she has completely mastered using her magic to make her body perform better, but she still has a few tricks up her sleeves to make things easier and more comfortable for her beloved system. One must cultivate the body as well as the mind.
When she finishes, she immediately walks back into the living room where Phoebe is still lounging on the couch, this time with a book of her own in her hands… She is reading Eragon.
"Alright, Phoebe, now what are you reading?" She announces teasingly.
"Eragon, because I love fantasy series like this."
Atalanta doesn't get to answer because there is a knock at the door. She immediately perks up and runs over to the door to open it for her knight in shining armor.
"Don't run too fast, lest you risk the chance of falling and knocking the sense into yourself that he isn't worth your time."
Atalanta doesn't answer.
She opens the door and greets her friend, inviting him to come inside. The first thing he notices is her outfit, and he likes what he sees, but he doesn't gawk. He doesn't know just how athletic this huntress is, but he imagines that he will be getting a good view of her backside for the entire duration of their exercise, so he will have plenty of time to ogle.
He briefly looks around the room and at Phoebe sprawled out on the couch, but doesn't give her more than 2 seconds of attention, instead choosing to focus on the girl that is much more deserving of his time as well as piques his fancy.
"Good morning, Atalanta. Nice to see you."
"It's nice to see you too, Ray. Sleep well?"
"About as well as can be expected, but it's life."
"I'm really sorry, Ray."
"Don't be; I really don't want to talk about it. Anyways, where are we going?!"
"I told you it wouldn't be easy, but you insisted anyways… Every morning, I take 3 laps around the entire city; are you sure you can handle that?" She challenges, and Ray just raises an eyebrow.
"I was just about to suggest we do just that."
Smooth
Atalanta giggles slightly and rolls her eyes, a faint flush coming over her cheeks; she glances over at Phoebe just to see she's just rolling her eyes.
"Did you stretch?"
"Of course." He mocks.
"Good job, now come on, let's go."
"You first." Ray insists politely.
"What a gentlemen… Try not to get in trouble while I am gone, Phoebe."
"Hmph, you wish."
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Atalanta does this run every single day when they are in Rome, so she sets a brisk pace. Ray has been on the streets for his entire life after his parents died in a house fire when he was 2 years old, so he is no stranger to rough going and harsh exercise.
"Tell me about Phoebe, Atalanta." Ray says to her as they are running.
"Phoebe is a good person, but she hates men, always has. She was really mean to Percy when he first joined the hunt and for many months after… I don't think she'll ever truly accept the idea of having a man in the hunt, and now with you, 2 men."
"I am glad you count me as part of the hunt."
"You're welcome."
"Why does Phoebe hate men so much?"
"Phoebe is very old, older than even my old mentor, Zoe Nightshade… In her time, women were very poorly treated by men, and as such, she is very distrustful towards them, hateful even. It was ingrained in her as a 14 year old child when Artemis took her into the hunt, and ever since she has just cultivated that hatred like a seed sprouting into a sequoia… Oh, and watching her blood sister get raped probably didn't help either."
"She is your best friend, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is. We're closer than you could ever imagine. We've been there for each other for millenia, and we have always had each other's back."
"That's really nice… I wish I had a friend like that."
"You do."
"Wha-"
"I saved your life on this field for a reason… Because it was the right thing to do, and now I see that you are a really good person that deserves to be loved and appreciated, and life has just dealt you a really bad hand. I'm really sorry. I am always here for you, Ray, and even though it may not look like it sometimes, the hunt is too."
"I grew up with no parents, and I have done some questionably ethical things to survive on my own… But I am changing; I have left that life behind, and I am starting anew."
"The hunt can be your new life; I can be your new life." Atalanta murmurs in her head.
"Will you tell me about your friend Alissa? The other girl that was with you when you saved my life?" Ray asks her genuinely.
"Alissa is my apprentice, just as I was Zoe's, our old Lieutenant, and Alissa is a young girl with a lot of potential… But she is extremely stubborn, disobedient, and arrogant. She's gotten in trouble at least three times that I know of, with Artemis, breaking the rules. She is a demigod daughter of Nike, and the only thing she manages to be victorious in is trouble."
"It's not your fault."
"You're kind… Alissa chooses her own path, regardless of my guidance, and one day it is going to get her killed… She isn't ready for this war, and I am afraid that I will lose her."
"You're the most impressive person I know; if anyone can do the right thing and protect her, it is you."
"Thank you, Ray. Come, let's sit down here for a few minutes." She offers, gesturing to the park bench that is coming up on their right. There is a hiking trail that circles the roman city, and Atalanta is not the only one that uses it; there are others that have the same idea.
"Well, big guy, you have certainly impressed me… You're not even out of breath."
"When you live on the streets, you tend to get tough."
They sit down on the park bench and start talking, as usual. The huntress immediately crosses her legs, and Atalanta also uses her power and summons a sealed package of venison jerky for them to snack on while they rested for a brief moment, and she summons one of her daggers to open the vacuum sealed package. She even offers it to Ray.
"You're the best!" He exclaims and eagerly accepts the package from her, sprinkling some of the contents into his hand and handing it back to her. As an orphan, he doesn't get much food other than the meals that he has been getting from the Huntresses of Artemis. Atalanta is not going to accept turning him away from their table; letting anyone go hungry is just wrong, horrible, and especially when it is a really nice and sweet young man like Ray.
"It's Venison Jerky."
"What?"
"Yeah, you heard me. I made it myself."
"That is impressive. You just keep surprising me more and more."
She smiles, which is really sweet.
Suddenly, he asks, "What is it like having magical abilities?" As soon as she summons a bottle of water to wash her venison jerky down.
"Uhm… What do you mean by that?"
"What is it like being able to summon whatever you need out of thin air?"
"Uhm… I don't summon it out of thin air; I teleport it to me. Things like my daggers, my bow, or Zoe's old sword I can summon out of thin air because all three of those things are enchanted, but everything else is more strenuous to materialize because I am ripping it out of one place in time and making it reappear in my hand in another… Does that make sense? Like this jerky was in the cabinet at the Moon Mansion, and this bottle of water was in the fridge, but this dagger is enchanted to always be available at the shortest notice; I can materialize it into my hand whenever I want, with minimal effort." She explains.
"That's really cool." He admits and shoves another strip of venison jerky into his mouth.
"And I can do this too," she begins, and with all her skillful might she throws her dagger like a throwing knife into a tree that is about 30 yards away, making it sink into the wood about 3 inches because of the special properties of the Ethereal Silver they are made of. She then reaches her hand out like some Star Wars Jedi, and incredibly, the damn thing flew back to her and into the palm of her hand.
"That's amazing, telekinetic capabilities, wow…"
"That's a pretty big word; I'm impressed."
"Very funny." He plays, and they both start giggling.
"But seriously, I have cultivated and trained these abilities to their absolute highest potential over my long lifetime… I am completely in control of my power, and I use it to my advantage when I fight. I am not going to sit here and explain everything I can do to you; unfortunately, I am sure you will get to see almost everything in the war to come."
"How did you stop those arrows from hitting us during the battle? I have never seen anything like that."
"Everything about magic, especially for me, is about stamina. The more you use your magic, the less and less spells you can cast and in a shorter amount of time. I have trained and honed my skills for my entire life, and while I am not an innately strong daughter of hecate, I have honed those skills… Long story short, in the right circumstances I can use my telekinesis to stop incoming projectiles, but only for a short duration, and not very many at once." She explains, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Gods she is beautiful…" Ray thinks to himself.
"That is amazing, Atalanta. You're very interesting."
"I am glad I am interesting and fascinating to you, Ray." She mocks with a light blush to her already rosy cheeks.
"Is it possible for someone that is not a descendent of Hecate to learn magic? Can you teach me?" He asks her, hoping that she will say yes and he can easily slide into her DM's for some meaningful time together and rizz her up, of course. So far, she has been extremely receptive to all of his attempts to set up time for them to spend together, and she is always happy to listen or speak with him: she's very sweet.
"I would love to spend the time trying… But not all people are capable of learning how to manipulate magic. I have had hunters ask me to teach them before, and only a handful of them were actually capable of doing it."
Ray takes a second and thinks about how he is going to respond to her, and then in the sweetest voice that he can come up with he romantically says: "I knew a man once that said the teacher makes the student, so I am sure that I will learn quickly with someone as incredible as you teaching me."
Atalanta flushes, and it's not because of the hot sun.
"That… That's very sweet, Ray, thank you." She says admiringly, turning to the right and looking in his eyes. She smiles and scooches closer to him on the bench, resting her head against his shoulder. Ray is very happy that she does that, and he puts an arm around her daringly. Atalanta sighs… "Smiling, as she leans into his chest.
They are perfectly content to sit and rest for a while in the embrace of each other before they begin their run again.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
About 30 minutes later-
"Haha! Beat you!" The Huntress mocks, making a face with her hands and sticking her tongue out playfully.
Ray just sighs and looks at the triumphant girl with admiration.
"I think you cheated."
"Oh yeah… I am just such a bad girl, and I had to have cheated to beat you!"
Ray chuckles
"Either way… I really enjoyed being with you today. Can we call it a date?" Ray asks her genuinely, his voice sweet and confident.
Atalanta smiles as she giggles lightly, a blush overcoming her cheeks.
"Yeah… A date. I really had a lot of fun, too." She retorts back.
They stay like that in silence for a few minutes, and then as Atalanta begins to inch back towards the door of the Moon Mansion, Ray says: "May I- May I come in?"
Atalanta frowns, and she crosses her arms.
"Ok… but you have to stay close to me, and don't wander off, and most importantly, don't flirt with any of the other huntresses." She lectures.
Now it is Ray's turn to cross his arms in disapproval.
"What makes you think they are worth flirting with? And why is this time so much different than the other times I have been in the Moon Mansion?"
"That was Lady Artemis being nice to you on request of Percy, and myself, but right now Lady Artemis is gone on business and it is just the rest of us… With Thalia in charge, and the rules are a lot more strict, which means outsiders have to be watched a lot more religiously. Actually they aren't really even allowed in."
"I promise to be on my best behavior, I am just a guest."
That puts a big smile on her face, and she adjusts her posture to look a little more feminine. A respectful man is an attractive man to her.
You're much more than that to me
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS
The Killer's spy sits quietly atop a tall building not far from the Moon Mansion, watching, listening…
He sees a Huntress and a young man run up to the building and exchange a few words before going inside, and he quickly reaches for the crystal that summons a morphotic projection of his superior..
"My Lord, I found them."
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Finally! I am so sorry for the long wait; I just haven't been feeling it.
I won't bore you with a huge A/N, I just have a few announcements: I decided that I am going to write a new Witcher novel, and I plan to start that immediately, so I may not be updating this for a while.
I plan to go balls deep with the storyline for Atalanta and Ray coming up here.
Huge shoutout to Eesaamaster1/ThePilotDude for all his help! He deserves credit for a great many things in this chapter, and I could not have done it without his support! Thank you so much PilotDude! You are the greatest friend that anyone could ever ask for! Go check out his fics The Lover of Artemis, and his new one: Moonlight Serenade!
Also, go check out Emarcher36 and his stories on Wattpad, he is a great writer!
Thanks for everything yall, and consider leaving some feedback!
Peace!