"That will be your first mission."
Phoebe nodded to the dark-haired girl in front of her in reverence, the now not-so-young girl trying her best not to meet the shining silver eyes that seemed to see into her mind.
"I understand Lady Artemis. I shall set off at once."
The Greek goddess of the hunt nodded curtly. "Bring one of your sisters with you. It is up to you to decide your hunting companion."
Without waiting for a reply, Artemis turned around and entered her tent. Phoebe sighed deeply, still unused to being in the presence of a god. Over 4 years it has been since Perseus and her had arrived on Chios, and in that same timespan she had yet to have a reunion with her friend and benefactor. To say she missed him would be an understatement, but at the same time her duties prevented her from doing so.
The 'family' that Anthousa, Helene, Daphnae and now Phoebe herself belonged to was one led by the Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunting among other things. After joining the family, she was trained in the art of hunting and archery as well as fighting in general. While she still thought Perseus was leagues ahead of her, she knew clearly that she was no longer the defenseless girl she once was. Artemis had mentioned during their first meeting that she would teach any maiden that happened to come across her or her hunters these skills, as in the goddess' own words, 'the Greek world is one not kind to anyone, women in particular'. In fact, Phoebe had seen a few of these women that visited the hunters' camp for a brief period to train before leaving once again without swearing into the family like she did, though these women were not privy to the knowledge that the gods of Olympus were real. Many of her sisters in the family were descendants of the gods, though when Phoebe questioned the goddess on who her godly parent was the goddess chose to remain silent.
Mindlessly twirling her silver knife around with her right hand, Phoebe focused on the task at hand. This morning she awoke to the goddess declaring that she was now old enough to be fully sworn into the family, and was given her blessing. While Phoebe was happy that she was granted a blessing by the goddess like all her other sisters in the family, having learnt what the blessing entailed from her sisters brought a sad undertone to her happiness. Heightened senses and improved physical abilities were some of the benefits, but the most important one was the partial immortality. She could still die from a serious illness, poison or a blade through her heart, but age would no longer be a matter of concern to her. Furthermore, the blessing was a favor to her from Artemis and was only ever granted to maidens. If one day Phoebe loses her identity as a maiden willingly, Artemis would immediately strip her of her blessing.
Just as Daphnae did.
Perseus' mother had a mixed reputation among her new family. She had learnt that Daphnae was one of the oldest among the family and was considered as one of the starting members of the group. One of the first daughters Apollo sired since his ascension to his status as an Olympian, Artemis took pity on her young niece and took her under her wing alongside several other maidens, forming the 'Daughters of Artemis'. According to Anthousa, not many of the original daughters still remained, with the only 2 left currently on a hunt for a particularly dangerous monster in the neighboring island Lesbos. Also according to Anthousa, while Daphnae was still respected by the older members of the family, the younger ones called her names such as 'oath-breaker' and 'deserter', much to the disappointment of the older girls. During her first meeting with her patron, Phoebe briefly mentioned Daphnae's death, but Artemis expressed none of her thoughts on the news and dismissed Phoebe shortly after.
Speaking of Anthousa, Phoebe found her way to the older girl's tent and made her presence known. Not long afterwards Anthousa popped her head out and gave Phoebe a questioning look.
"Lady Artemis gave me her blessing earlier," Phoebe said with a hint of pride. "I am to undertake my first mission."
Anthousa nodded, though the confused expression never left her face. "What does that have to do with me?"
"Lady Artemis said I was to take one of my sisters with me." Phoebe explained. Anthousa's expression brightened and she wrapped Phoebe up in a hug.
"I'll be ready soon. Wait here."
True to her words, a few minutes after disappearing into her tent Anthousa reappeared with her hunting outfit on. "What's the mission?"
"We are to track down some of the wolves that broke out two days ago and bring them back."
The older girl started to laugh which grated on Phoebe's nerves. "A fetch quest," Anthousa snorted. "Fitting for a new recruit."
"I have not been new for 4 years." Phoebe growled, trying her best to keep the embarrassment she felt from showing. In truth she knew the mission Artemis was sending her on was not necessarily one she would be proud of telling others, though Phoebe knew how difficult the wolves could be to locate and capture considering the fact that they were also blessed by the goddess herself.
"4 years is nothing," Anthousa replied, leading the way to the exit of the camp as Phoebe followed her.
"To you it might be," Phoebe muttered under her breath. "you're old."
Anthousa gave no indication of whether she heard it or not and started to hum a soft melody. The two girls walked through the dense vegetation with familiarity as they kept an eye out for tracks or trails that might lead them to their prey.
"They might have avoided the trail," Anthousa commented after searching unsuccessfully for an hour or so. Phoebe nodded in agreement. "I've heard of how smart they are."
"Searching the entire forest seems unrealistic," Phoebe tried to think of ways to draw the wolves towards them but if they were as smart as Phoebe heard from her sisters, they would know it was a trap. "What should we do?"
Anthousa smiled at Phoebe as she leaned against a tree. "This is your mission, Phoebe, not mine. Lady Artemis would want you to find a solution."
"Right." Phoebe followed the older girl's lead and leaned against a tree to take a brief rest. Silence fell upon the two as Phoebe racked her brain to formulate a plan and Anthousa watched with undisguised amusement.
"If they avoid our traps, we put them where we don't want them to go to make the wolves come to us." An idea popped into her head and Phoebe mentioned it to her sister immediately. Anthousa raised an eyebrow almost teasingly and Phoebe muttered some unsavory words under her breath.
"Let's head west." Phoebe started her way down the trail with renewed vigor with Anthousa on her tail.
Perseus sighed in frustration as he launched his fist at a nearby tree. Two times he managed to find the wolves, yet both times he had failed to make his arrows hit their mark.
"I can't be getting rusty, can I?" Perseus muttered, keenly aware that this shouldn't be the case. He practiced his skills every morning at the back of his hut, and if anything he was still improving though he could easily just be having a bad day. Slumping up against a tree, Perseus fumed in silence for a few minutes before picking himself back up again. The young man studied the tracks and followed them silently, his feet making no sound even when he stepped on the driest of leaves. This was becoming a battle of attrition that Perseus refused to lose.
After countless hours of tracking, Perseus located roughly where the wolves were and took to the trees to not scare off the beasts. Clambering from tree to tree, Perseus found himself struggling to do what came to him easily when he was younger and made a silent resolution to work on it after this hunt. Soon he was able to see the wolves, one gray, one white. Removing the bow from his back, Perseus nocked an arrow and took a deep breath to steady his aim.
No missing this time.
The arrow flew straight and true, piercing the heart of the gray wolf, but almost instantly afterwards two arrows flew towards Perseus from different directions. Perseus managed to swat away one with his bow, but the other planted itself in his left shoulder and sent a numbing feeling throughout the left side of his body.
"Malakes!" Perseus cursed as he fought to bring his left leg under control before he slipped off the tree. He failed, but somehow managed to catch his fall with the help of his right hand and his bow. The paralyzer was spreading very quickly through his body, and the fall from the tree did nothing to help his situation. He fought to stand but found himself pinned to the ground by his wrists. His consciousness fading, the last words he heard was his name.
"He has grown much." Anthousa mused as she stared at the unconscious body of Perseus at her feet. It was clear Phoebe did not appreciate her senior's lack of urgency and was panicking.
"Why did this have to be the circumstance in which we meet again?" Phoebe wailed. "And it was my arrow that landed too."
"It was a good shot; we barely had time to react.." Anthousa commended, earning her a sharp glare from Phoebe. Anthousa chuckled and produced a small vial of clear liquid from her belt.
"Here, the antidote to the paralyzer." Anthousa tossed the vial to Phoebe, who wasted no time in kneeling down and trying to pour it down Perseus' throat. The liquid's effect was almost immediate, as Perseus started to stir and slowly opened his eyes.
"Perseus!" Phoebe yanked the boy towards her and hugged him tightly. Their time together may have been short compared to the time she spent with the Daughters of Artemis, but she often looked back on memories of their travels together with much fondness.
"Calm down, Phoebe." Anthousa forcibly separated the younger girl and her male friend and helped Perseus to his feet. The boy shook his head and looked around, his gaze unfocused until he registered the identities of the girls in front of him.
"Anthousa," Perseus nodded to the girl in front of him before turning to Phoebe. Only giving her a curt nod to acknowledge her presence, Perseus looked at the arrow protruding from his left shoulder and gritted his teeth as he violently yanked it out, eliciting shocked gasps from the girls. Pain shot through his arm, but he ignored it and grabbed a waterskin from his belt. He then poured the water onto his shoulder and waited as his flesh and skin mended leaving only a small scar on his shoulder where the arrow once was.
"Is there a reason why you two decided to shoot me when I tried to hunt those wolves?" Perseus asked, annoyance clear in his voice.
"These wolves are ours," Anthousa replied, gesturing to Phoebe behind her back to let her handle this. "We were just trying to avenge them, not knowing the aggressor was you."
"I see." Perseus stared at the remaining wolf which was whimpering sadly as it nudged the carcass of the gray wolf with its snout. "I apologize for my actions then. Some of the villagers complained that the wolves were stealing their livestock, and so they wanted the wolves to be disposed of. I can compensate for them with drachmae if you'd like."
Anthousa shook her head in refusal. "No need. It is our fault for not keeping them locked up securely."
Perseus bowed his head. "Then the matter is settled then; I shall take my leave."
Glancing at the younger girl next to her, Anthousa saw that Phoebe was biting her lip and had her fists clenched tightly. "Go talk to him," Anthousa whispered. "While excessive contact such as hugging," Anthousa said with a stern voice. "is not allowed, conversation should be well within reason."
"Perseus!" Phoebe called out to the boy who was already several steps away. Perseus stopped and turned around to face her.
Phoebe studied his stony expression and winced internally. He was not in a good mood, though understandably so.
"I…. First of all, I'm sorry." Phoebe lowered her head slightly. "I told you I would be back soon, and I didn't. I betrayed your trust."
Perseus sighed, his expression softening. "If I gave off the impression that I was mad because you left, then I'll make it clear that I'm not. I was just," He reached for his head and scratched it as he tried to find words to express what he thought. "disappointed, I suppose. Not at you though."
Phoebe felt relieved that her friend didn't bear a grudge towards her, but she was curious about why he felt disappointed. Perseus noticed her fidgeting around slightly and chose to elaborate after giving Anthousa a wary glance, something the older girl seemed to have noticed and adopted a knowing smile in response.
"My mom and I left Sparta to look for her family in hopes of finding a safe place to live," Perseus spoke in a heavy tone. "She was certain that we would be welcomed, at least from what I could tell, but turns out I wasn't."
Anthousa furrowed her eyes at the implications. Daphnae, being one of the earliest members of the Daughters of Artemis, had a clear understanding of the rules. Bringing a male into their midst would definitely not be allowed. Why, then, would she be certain that Perseus would be welcomed?
Phoebe seemed to have also noticed this, though most of her attention went to the fact that she realized she didn't know much about her friend and his life before they met.
Perseus either ignored the two girls' contemplating expressions or didn't notice and continued. "I just feel like everything I've done up to this point has been a waste, in a sense. Though I am glad Phoebe managed to find a home amongst my mater's family, I still don't quite understand why I am to be ostracized."
Anthousa nodded, choosing to put away her confusion at Daphnae's actions for the moment. "There are many things I cannot reveal about our family, but I do agree that keeping you in the dark about this was a bit cruel of us." Anthousa started, stepping forward to face Perseus. "The family we belong to is a sisterhood, bonded together not by blood. Men are not allowed to join, so I know not why Daphnae thought of bringing you to us when she should have known that men cannot join." She paused for a bit, hesitation clear on her face as she quickly contemplated whether to share the following information as well before continuing. "Furthermore, sisters that left the family are not allowed to rejoin under any circumstance, so she would not be welcome to stay either."
Perseus looked down, and sighed heavily. "I understand." He replied after a pause. "Then there is no more reason for me to remain on Chios."
Phoebe immediately reacted to his words. "Wait! What do you mean by that?"
"I've told you this numerous times before; My original plan was to finish my training here under your family's guidance, then avenge my mother by hunting down the malakes that killed her." Perseus' sea green eyes that were calm just a few seconds ago suddenly turned stormy, and the smell of rain permeated the forest as dark clouds gathered above them. Anthousa was shocked at the display of power from the boy; while she knew the boy had some divine blood in him from the events leading to Phoebe's rescue, Phoebe had mentioned how the boy didn't seem to be aware of his divine side prior to their meeting. If he managed to grow this much in the span of 4 years unguided by anyone, then he might be one of the strongest demigod or demititans she has ever known.
Perseus' rage dispersed as quickly as it appeared, and he waved his hand dismissively. "I will find them and kill them. That is all you need to know."
"Stay right where you are, son of Poseidon."
Phoebe and Anthousa froze at the familiar voice, while Perseus merely turned around to look at the speaker. A young girl with long, dark hair about the age of 13 walked out of the forest, her silver eyes trained on the confused young man. The two girls were lost between bowing in front of their patron or remaining silent, not sure if the goddess intended to reveal her identity to Perseus.
"By son of Poseidon, you mean me?" Perseus asked, confusion evident in his voice.
"Yes," Artemis said curtly. "As far as I am aware, there is only one person present that can be called a 'son'."
"Who are you?" Perseus asked. "Why are you calling me a son of Poseidon?"
Artemis' expression remained stoic, though her eyes betrayed her annoyance at the young man.
"I am calling you a son of Poseidon because I know you are one. Bring him back to the camp. I will explain more when you arrive."
A soft gust of wind blew through the forest, and Perseus almost shouted in surprise when the girl seemed to have disappeared in an instant along with the carcass and the white wolf. Anthousa was the first to snap out of her stupor, her mind still racing as she pondered why her patron was breaking the rules she herself set for the boy in front of her. Was it because of his lineage? Or his power? While she was curious, she knew better than to assume the actions of an Olympian goddess. All but dragging Phoebe along her, Anthousa called out to Perseus.
"Come with us."
With no reason to refuse, Perseus heeded Anthousa's words, and the three set off on their way to the eastern side of Chios
Happy holidays people