Quite possibly the most fun I had writing a chapter for this story. A shout-out to fellow Brazilians out there.
Onto reviews (count these as shout-outs too):
Vvabbajacc and Death Fury: thank you very much!
skotos07: Indeed, making Zeus an idiot is just dumb, he's simply not a fool like a lot of people write him to be just because he dislikes the protagonist.
With a movement of his hand, the rifle was recharged. Special celestial bronze bullets, capable of hurting any mythical being. A finger was put on the trigger. She on the other hand proceeded to get an arrow from her quiver, and placed it on her perfectly crafted and sculpted bow. The bowstring tensed as she pulled it.
At the same time she let go of the bowstring, letting the arrow loose, he pulled the trigger, firing the bullet. At surprisingly equal speeds, both projectiles hit their targets at the same time.
In this case, literal practicing targets. While Artemis's arrow fixated itself at the center of her target, a perfect bull's-eye, the center on Percy's target was non-existent, being replaced by a huge bullet mark. Some birds flew off from nearby trees, thanks to the noise of the sniper rifle.
"So uncivilized." Artemis muttered as she looked at Percy recharging the rifle that he had acquired years ago. Killing monsters for blacksmiths so they would pay a favor to him wasn't anything new, but he did enjoy killing that hydra much more than those telkhines. At least he didn't have to blow up a volcano to get his gun.
"Not to me. It's much better than primitivism." Percy replied with just the right amount of sarcasm, making Artemis roll her eyes. He got himself thinking for the millionth time already how much this whole thing was not as he had imagined it to be at first. As Artemis had said about her attachments to him, he too was getting perhaps too friendly with the goddess, and it was weird to say the least. There was also another thing, one that he wasn't foolish to even think about it when she was close by, since he didn't really know if gods could in fact, read minds, because he didn't want her to know that he was possibly getting not just attached but… also attracted to her.
Yes, the maiden goddess. That's why he thought it was a horrible idea to even conceive of it, even in his thoughts. He knew what happened to people who either courted Artemis (getting mauled to death by its own dogs) or even encountered her at inappropriate moments (getting turned into a woman).
Percy didn't wish for either of these options, so, as long as he kept his mouth shut and mind clean, this would all be over soon and he would get to live without too much danger.
Okay, maybe that was a lie. And despite what he was feeling, he was enjoying some company, along with not having to disguise himself anymore. The mask sure made breathing difficult.
What really intrigued him, however, was how Artemis looked and acted around him. She admitted that she was getting attached, pretty much confirming that they were now something close to friends, but Percy had been around teenagers enough that he knew the look and behavior of someone who was interested in another, not to mention the whole appearing as a twenty year old thing and the poor excuse that she gave him.
Perhaps Percy's mind was deceiving him, Artemis wasn't a teenager after all, even if she probably had less love experience than a thirteen year old, and he wasn't about to risk his life asking the reasons, no way in hell. Even if he really wanted to.
It was already late afternoon, the sun was barely visible anymore, being replaced slowly by the moon on the opposite side of the sky. That brought a small doubt to his mind.
"Artemis?" He called, noticing that she was previously staring at some trees with an unfocused look.
"Yes, Percy?" She acknowledged without turning to him.
"I've been told that gods can manifest themselves in multiple places at the same time. Are you entirely here right now?"
Artemis turned to him, her eyes more curious than ever. Even in her adult form, Percy was much taller, as such she looked upwards while a smile took over her face.
"Well, to be honest, no, I'm not. But just because I have my duties as the charioteer of the Moon. Apart from that, right now, I…" she paused for a moment. "I'm completely focused on you." Once more she paused, opting to look at the sky. "On us."
Artemis now began to stare at the now much more visible stars, and Percy followed her gesture. It didn't take long for him to spot the Huntress in the sky. The familiar sensation of guilt burnt in his throat for a second, and he diverted his attention away from the constellation of Zöe.
"Do you want to start our hunt now since it's night time already?"
She took a bit to respond, blinking twice before looking at him again.
"Yes. Yes, let's go."
With that, Artemis waved her hand, making both targets disappear. Now turning to the trees, she started to walk away. Percy soon followed, reaching her at a fast pace which didn't go away after they were side by side. Guess they were on a rush.
"What are we going to hunt, exactly? I cannot imagine it will be anything like a rabbit or a deer."
"Indeed it won't." Artemis confirmed. "It's not a coincidence that we are here. It has come to my knowledge that this area has quite the…" Another pause. "What would you call a horde of unicorns?"
Percy slightly widened his eyes. "I'm not sure. So, we're hunting unicorns?"
Artemis grimaced. Even then, her features looked better than ever under the weak light of the moon. "Not exactly. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we're not gonna be killing anything tonight." Her voice was half-joking, but the other half almost seemed like she was actually sorry that Percy wouldn't have anything to kill.
Was that the impression that she had of him? It sure made him feel slightly uncomfortable with himself.
"I'm not bothered at all." Percy said sincerely. Artemis briefly looked at him with eyes that exclaimed curiosity.
"Good to know." She responded with amusement. "We are going to simply ambush one by one, incapacitating them, and after that, the Hunt is meeting us by sunrise, in order to transfer them to a secure location."
Percy hummed. "But… what are they even doing that's so problematic?"
Once more, Artemis scowled. "Their presence is… unnatural, to say the least. They aren't meant to really exist in a mortal ecosystem. More monsters are getting attracted to this area, and the unicorns would easily become targets."
He looked directly at Artemis's when an idea sprang up in his head. "Couldn't I convince them to move out? I can talk with equines, after all."
"I'm afraid not. They are known to be rebellious creatures. Much like carnivore horses, they wouldn't listen to you, prefering to run away instead." She said as she looked back at him, her silver eyes shining in the night like the stars above. But what Artemis said was true. He had to deal with carnivore horses in the past, and it was safe to say that they wouldn't cooperate in any possible way.
A comforting silence established itself, with Percy enjoying the temperature of the night, which was a bit cold, a soft wind slightly blowing his allegedly oversized hair. He had gotten the urge to throw Natalie in a lake for that comment. As they walked, his rifle still in his hands, he would subtly look at his companion, the goddess that caught all of his attention at the moment.
Really, what was wrong with him? First of all, he shouldn't have a crush on the maiden goddess that will make him be killed painfully. Second of all, a part of him wondered if he was disrespecting Annabeth's memory. But was he? His old love was dead. That was a fact, there's no running away from it. But what would she think about it? Annabeth wasn't the type to talk about that out loud.
Yes, seaweed brain, if I die, make sure to find someone that loves you!
No, it simply wasn't the case. He didn't have a way to know. Unless he did that ritual that Nico made to talk to his sister. Which probably wasn't ideal.
And he had decided to restricted himself from anyone, if any person ever tried to approach him, which didn't happen, thanks in part to him living in the woods, wearing a venta black mask. No way someone would be attracted to that thing. As such, for three years after her death, he had successfully remained alone, without developing feelings for any human, goddess, nymph, or whatever other beings there were out there. And without any of those (except perhaps, Kelli, but that was too weird and infuriating to think about) feeling attracted to him in any possible way.
But then, Artemis came crashing down into his world, like a meteor. Ironic, since usually the moon prevents meteors from crashing down into Earth. It wasn't just because of her looks, and those were by themselves breathtaking. She just seemed too chill for a goddess, per say. He had known many other gods, and Artemis was the one that felt the most human. Who wasn't out of reality, hiding behind emotional masks, or anything like it. She was understanding, and saw the good in him. Not like he was brandishing himself as evil, but many would say that he was by the way he dealt with things.
But it was simply a desire for the innocents to not be slaughtered. Like Annabeth and so many others had been. He had to admit, however, that it sometimes got out of hand. Almost like a bloodlust.
And that's when Artemis helped, even if she wasn't fully aware of it. He didn't want her to think that he was a monster. And this wasn't an ego thing, because she thought highly of him for almost a decade by now, but because Percy considered the Goddess of the Moon, at the very least, a friend. And the feeling seemed mutual.
But he knew that he didn't want it to stop there. Curse his desires.
Artemis's movements eventually came to a halt, and so did Percy's. She motioned for him to be silent, with one finger placed in front of her mouth. He nodded, and held his rifle firmly. The two resumed walking, but this time slowly, with soft steps. It wasn't long until their target was in sight.
The unicorn was just as beautiful as any equine, or even more so. Its white fur reflected the moonlight. The horn on its head was also reflective, both the silver and gold that possessed healing purposes shining brightly. The creature was peacefully munching on grass.
"So, what's the plan?" Percy whispered.
Artemis took a second before answering, also in a whisper. "I will fire at its leg. The arrow will have a sleeping agent effect, causing the unicorn to pass out. After that, we will heal the wound, and retrieve it. Got it?"
"Got it." Percy recharged his rifle, although it would probably not be necessary. Unexpectedly, the unicorn raised his head at the noise, but didn't move away. He could feel Artemis glaring at him, and his ears got slightly warm.
Thankfully, it was just that. Artemis placed the specially designed arrow in the bow, and pulled the bowstring. She aimed it at the animal, and fired the arrow.
The projectile hit the unicorn in its thigh, causing the creature to cry in pain. In seconds, however, it would fall into the ground, the sleeping effect immediately taking place. The two ran at the now fallen animal.
The situation didn't look dire. The wound was bleeding, but not too much. It didn't hit any fatal points, Percy knew that. Artemis kneeled down and started treating the wound carefully, removing the arrow with caution. In a few seconds, the bleeding had stopped.
"Really effective, huh?" Percy said.
"Mix a little bit of magic with conventional treatment, you can heal almost anything that isn't fatal." She said without taking her eyes off the unicorn.
Anything that wasn't prophesied to die, a voice whispered in his head. He shook it off.
"What to do with him?" Percy questioned.
Artemis didn't answer, instead extending her hand in the direction of the equine. It started to glow, so Percy diverted his eyes from it. After a few seconds, the glow had ceased, and the unicorn wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"I guess that's answered." He said with a sigh. Artemis smiled and got up.
"One done, three to go. If I have not been misinformed, there is a couple around here as well. You're gonna have to help me with them."
"Fine then." He answered with a shrug of his shoulders. They resumed walking, with Percy trying his best not to look at Artemis too much, instead opting to look at the trees, grass, any small animals roaming around, or the moon.
Looking at the moon was counterproductive to his attempts to not look at Artemis, though, since he was trying not to look at someone by looking at… something that represented the person that he was trying to avoid.
Why do gods have to be such complicated beings?
It wasn't long until they heard a distant neigh, which Percy unfortunately could not translate. Artemis pointed with two fingers at the direction of the noise, and soon enough, the two unicorns, one male and one female, were in the distance. Both of them were similar to the previous unicorn. Artemis and Percy kneeled down behind a close-by bush. A small river ran near to where they were.
"I believe you could shoot your arrows at an unnatural speed, knocking them both out in the process." Percy suggested, once more his voice no louder than a whisper.
"I could." Artemis admitted. "But it would be too risky. Instead we will go with my plan." She finished with a smirk that made Percy feel a bit dizzy.
"Alright." He took a deep breath before continuing. "What's the plan?"
"Simple. You go to a nearby spot, fire with that barbaric weapon of yours, drawing their attention, and subsequently making my job much easier." Despite the shameless slander of his rifle, that enchanting smirk never left her face.
"And are there any other options?" Percy dared to ask. Now, Artemis was fully smiling.
"You could use a bow to shoot them with me." She suggested.
Without even saying another word, he got up and started walking away. Behind him, he could hear Artemis laughing quietly, and he couldn't help but to smile as well.
Maybe he had missed things like these.
He made his way around the forest, walking until he was roughly on the opposite side of where Artemis was, but he couldn't spot her anywhere. Was there a god of camouflage? Artemis seemed like the obvious contender to be it.
Without looking at his scope, he fired one shot into the air, causing sleeping birds to fly away from trees, and for leaves to shake, much like when he had shot the target earlier. Both unicorns raised their heads, sensing danger, but one of them was quickly knocked out by Artemis firing an arrow at lightning speed.
The first unicorn, the male, yelped, with the second, the female looking at it with panic. Percy now knew to identify equine emotions quite easily considering he wasn't a horse himself.
The female unicorn barely managed to look at her fallen mate before she was hit with another arrow. The male unicorn fell on the ground, and the female soon followed. Artemis appeared, waving her hand and smiling, as she walked in the direction of the unicorns.
Even from afar, that smile drove him insane. God, why was he acting like a teenager?
Despite his internal conflict, he followed her action, also going to where the wounded equines were. When he reached them, Artemis was already treating their injuries.
"See? I told you it would work." She gloated, the smile still present. Percy couldn't help but to also grin.
"Better than having me shoot a projectile with a bow. Do you think a crossbow would be better?"
He could see that her eyes had widened a bit, followed by a laugh. "Oh, no. Please no. I don't want to see you using a crossbow. Ever. It would be a disaster."
Percy would feel offended if he didn't know that she was probably right. "Alright, fine. But just because you said so."
"Thank you." Artemis answered with another chuckle. Her mood was lighter than most of the time. Perhaps hunting did make her feel better, it made sense, after all. She finished healing the two animals, and with another glow, they were both gone, with only the two hunters remaining.
Suddenly, Percy felt the hairs on the back of his neck go up. That wasn't normal. He looked at Artemis and her smile and happy behaviour was gone, replaced by caution.
"We're being watched." She stated.
"Most likely. The question is, by who?"
Artemis got an arrow from her quiver and placed it on her bow. "I'm not sure. Let's just finish this, and call it a day."
"Works for me."
Again, they marched forward, with Percy prefering to place his rifle in his back, opting to hold Riptide in his hand, still in its pen form. They followed the course of the river, because according to Artemis, there was a track that did the same. Instead of the light atmosphere of before, there was now tension in the night's cold air. He could feel something approaching, but what it was, he didn't have a clue, and it unnerved him a lot.
Finally, they reached an open area, the river still running by, and a figure ahead of them. They both hid behind a huge rock, with Percy glancing over it carefully, to check for any weird behaviors from the animal.
Instead, what he saw was the unicorn lying on the ground, its breath extremely heavy, being audible from very far. He ran towards the unicorn, even with Artemis protesting with a "Wait!", and when he finally reached it, the scene was horrifying.
From the rock, it seemed like the unicorn was simply on the ground. But from close by, it was much worse. The torso of the animal was ripped apart, with internal parts visible, and blood coming out, forming a small puddle around the animal. Its legs were also injured, one of them broken. The wounds looked a lot like bite marks, instead of a weapon or even just claws. What made him even more unnerved was that the unicorn was not just alive, but the wounds were very recent. Signified by the fact that it was still alive, despite all of those injuries.
Out of nowhere, he heard Artemis screaming. He couldn't hear what it was, but he knew that it was a warning. Without glancing over to his godly companion, he instead turned to the opposite direction, where he saw what probably injured the unicorn.
Blood red eyes, much like the ones of an empousa, black fur like the darkest of nights, sharp and bloody fangs, and having the size of a semi truck. A hellhound stared right at him, snarling and ready to attack.
Once upon a time, there was a Percy Jackson that got terrified when first encountering a hellhound. A scrawny eleven year old who had just lost his mother for the first time, the kid that had just been introduced to this crazy world, and who had just battled three kids of the God of War.
This was not who Percy was now. In the past, he would be scared of such an encounter, even after years of experience. Not anymore. Without even blinking, the Butcher simply extended his arm forward, taking a grip over the blood flow of the monster.
The hellhound barely had time to react before it was trapped. Even in its defenseless state, it continued to snarl. Percy turned his head to the side slightly, mildly curious at the attitude. Perhaps the irrational were braver than the ones that could think. Props to its courage.
But in Percy's opinion, it was too much for its own good. Closing his hand, the hellhound started to cry in pain, its blood now stuck, not moving at all. As most other monsters, it wasn't long before all that was left of the infernal beast was dust.
Just as he finished killing the hellhound, Artemis reached him. He felt a little bit bad for once again playing the psycho role, but at least he had his reasons. So much so that Artemis didn't even care for the, albeit reduced if compared to previous killings, brutality, instead kneeling down right by the unicorn's side.
"Such a waste." She muttered sadly. He noticed that the goddess now held a silver knife, and an incredibly sharp one at that. She placed it near the unicorn's neck. The eyes of the beautiful white equine pleaded for mercy. But not for them to spare it, but for them to simply save it from its torment, delivering a quick death.
And Artemis did as so, piercing the animal smoothly. The unicorn had its eyes widened as the blade cut through its neck, but soon, the eyes were left lifeless, and the heavy breathing ceased. Artemis muttered something in Ancient Greek, perhaps a passing blessing. The unicorn brightened for a minute, but importantly, a different type of glow. But just like the other three, the animal was gone, just like the light that emanated from it.
"The wild is…" Artemis started. "Not always fair. I pity these animals because they weren't meant to be here. They attract danger for themselves if not kept in safe places. They deserve better."
"Much like demigods." Percy replied. He could see that Artemis was not expecting that. It made him laugh bitterly on the inside, but at least he knew that she cared for half-bloods, unlike other deities. Or at least she cared for more people than just herself.
Percy was proof of that.
"An uncomfortably accurate comparison." Her voice had not only sadness to it, but now guilt, like she was apologizing on the behalf of all gods. But the truth was she was probably the least guilty of the Olympians.
Most likely because of the whole maidenhood thing, not letting her have kids to make the same mistakes as the others.
Percy wanted to reply, but the feeling that he was being watched returned. He had, in fact, thought that it wasn't the hellhound that triggered his caution. Instead…
He quickly pocketed Riptide and grabbed his rifle, recharging it and pointing at the river.
"Percy?" Artemis asked surprised, but Percy payed no mind.
"Whoever you are, show yourself. I can feel you in the water." He said loudly to the river, or at least it probably seemed like it to Artemis. Thankfully, he was not going crazy, since right as he finished speaking, something, no, someone emerged from the water.
And it was probably one of the most different naiads that Percy had ever encountered. Unlike many other water nymphs, she didn't appear young, instead possessing a mature face, resembling a mortal woman in her 30's. Her hair had a bluish black tone to it, and she was wearing a light blue dress that complemented her bright skin. She reminded Percy of the nereid that had helped him during his first quest, or even Amphitrite. She didn't look like the average naiad, that's for sure.
To his shock, she bowed her head. It wouldn't be too shocking if it was directed at Artemis, however she was clearly bowing to him.
"Lady Artemis. Lord Perseus." The naiad greeted with respect.
Hearing someone call him "lord" was particularly unpleasant. But he did at least lower his rifle. "Please, there's no need for the title. And you can also just call me Percy."
The naiad chuckled. "So you are as humble as they say. That's good to know." Her smile quickly faded away. "I apologize for the intrusion, I'm sure you are busy, but I'm in urgent need of your help."
Percy looked at Artemis, who gave him a "don't look at me!" stare. He rolled his eyes, and glanced back to the naiad.
"Lucky for you, I just finished my mission. If it's within my powers, I shall help you." Percy said in a friendly voice. "Just a thing, who are you?"
Percy was sure that he heard the naiad clear her throat. Once more a small smile appeared on the water spirit's face. "I am the spirit of the Mississippi River. It's a pleasure to at last meet you, Percy Jackson."
And we reach the end. Lots of unintentional BOTL references, and Percy, in contrast to Artemis, knowing full well what he is feeling and afraid because of it. See you next time!