The first thing Perseus noted when they arrived at the 'camp', was that he was not welcome. On many occasions a girl that walked past would draw their knives or bow and threaten to kill him, only to be placated by his two guides assuring that their patron had personally invited him. Other times the girls that walked past stared at him as if he was some sort of rare animal.
"I hope you can see what I meant by a sisterhood," Anthousa winced after what felt like her tenth time shooing away one of her more aggressive sisters. "You might be the first male Milady has ever invited here."
Perseus remained silent as he eyed another group of hunters that were staring at him from a corner warily. Phoebe noticed and smiled bitterly. Soon the trio found themselves in front of a large hut, and the two hunters stood to the side and beckoned Perseus to enter first. The boy hesitantly stepped forwards, entering the hut with the two girls following behind him.
"You have arrived."
The goddess was sitting on the floor of the hut, with a silver deer sitting next to her with its head resting on her lap. Her eyes never left the deer as she stroked its neck gently while acknowledging Perseus' arrival. Perseus hesitantly dropped into a bow, careful not to disrespect the goddess.
"Raise your head," Artemis spoke, her voice firm and clear. Perseus slowly looked up and stared at the goddess. Her beauty made his heart skip a beat, but knowing that the goddess would not take well to such thoughts he made sure he didn't show it on his face. Sea green eyes met silvery ones as goddess and demigod maintained eye contact for much longer than the two hunters present would have thought.
"You are the son of Daphnae." The way she said it made it seem like more of a statement than a question, but Perseus had no intention of lying to a goddess, so he nodded in affirmation.
"How did she die?"
"...She died trying to protect some girls who were being held captive by a barbarian known as Demetrios." Perseus said after a slight pause. "Another man named Erasmus dealt the killing blow."
"I see. And Phoebe was one of the girls that Daphnae died trying to save?"
Perseus nodded again.
The room fell silent as the three mortals waited for the goddess to speak, and surprisingly the first noise to break the silence was a long and heavy sigh coming from the goddess herself. Her hand had stopped stroking the deer on her lap and she was seemingly looking at something far away.
"To think I'd lose you in such a way." Artemis murmured under her breath. The goddess then directed her attention towards Perseus.
"I will allow you to stay with the hunt." That sentence elicited gasps from both Anthousa and Phoebe. Perseus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he waited for the goddess to elaborate.
"However, you must follow the creed that I have set out for my hunters with the condition that if you ever tempt any of my hunters," The goddess' eyes flashed dangerously. "I will personally kill you."
"I understand. When I feel well-equipped enough, I will set out on my journey to hunt down the two that took part in the death of my mother and you shall never see me again."
Artemis narrowed her eyes as if she had something to say to that, but ultimately nodded.
"Anthousa, teach him the oath with suitable adjustments."
Anthousa stepped forwards, stopping next to Perseus and took a deep breath. "Repeat after me." She said sternly. Sensing the seriousness of the matter, Perseus stood up a little straighter.
"I, Perseus, pledge myself to Artemis, Olympian goddess of the moon and protector of maidens. I shall discard the notion of romantic relationships with women and join the hunt."
Perseus recited the oath word for word, and Artemis nodded.
"I bind you to your oath." The moment Artemis finished that sentence, Perseus was enveloped by a faint silvery light.
"Welcome to the hunt."
"Fire!"
The sound of arrows whistling through the air filled the forest as the hunters did their daily archery practice. Perseus kept his eyes trained on his arrow as it plunged itself into the center of the target he was aiming for and hummed in satisfaction, ignoring the judging stares he was receiving from other hunters as he walked forwards to retrieve his arrow.
Almost a month had passed since his induction into Artemis' hunt, and over half the hunt remained dissatisfied to some extent with having a male among their midst. The fact that his skills could rival some of the older hunters did not help.
"Another bullseye I see. Good job, Perseus." A hunter that was on friendlier terms with him praised his shot and Perseus nodded with gratitude.
"Hunters."
Everyone present stopped in their tracks and turned to face Artemis as she called them to attention. Perseus noticed the goddess staring at him in particular for a few seconds before diverting her gaze.
"There is a monster that must be hunted down. The council has decreed it so."
The hunters whispered amongst themselves, but their words died out as Artemis opened her mouth to speak again.
"I want three hunters to go on this hunt. Eumelia," A tan, tall girl with long brown hair stepped forwards proudly. "Eutropia," A girl with much fairer skin that stood at a little over 5 feet stepped forwards with some of her friends cheering her on from behind. "and Perseus."
Perseus' right eye twitched when he heard his name, and almost instantly all the hunters turned around to look at him. He reluctantly stepped forwards, looking at the goddess to gauge whether this was a cruel joke.
"Though I say this is a hunt, what is required of you three is to track down the beast and inform me through a prayer. Come meet me before dinner, and I will provide you with more information." The goddess turned around and disappeared into the forest, and the field instantly erupted into chaos. Hunters swarmed up against Eumelia and Eutropia, while Perseus managed to sneak off to the side and watch the chaos unfold.
"I wonder why she chose you in particular," Helene spoke as she walked up to Perseus with Phoebe, Anthousa and some of the other hunters that accepted Perseus in tow. "You've only been here for a month."
"He is very skilled," Anthousa added. "Our last spar was quite the embarrassment."
Perseus rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to that.
"I think he could possibly be as strong as Zoe." One of the hunters commented, and murmurs of agreement swept across the small group near Perseus.
"Shouldn't Zoe be coming back soon?" Phoebe asked, somewhat looking forward to meeting the leader of the Daughters of Artemis. While she wasn't one of the original daughters of Artemis, her skill alone made Artemis choose her to be the leader of the hunt, and she secretly wanted to see Perseus, the most skilled person she has ever met, spar with Zoe whose feats were legendary in the hunt.
"I think so." Helene replied.
"Eumelia and Eutropia are coming over." Anthousa observed, and the hunters opened a path for the two girls to walk up to Perseus. Perseus stood up a little straighter and bowed his head in respect. Eutropia gave him a friendly smile while Eumelia snorted.
"I believe this is my first time talking to you in person, Perseus. I am Eutropia and this is Eumelia. I look forward to going on this hunt with you. From what I have seen so far you are very skilled in many aspects." Eutropia bowed her head as she introduced herself.
"I'll cut to the chase, male," Eumelia drew her dagger and pointed it at Perseus. While he was unimpressed by her poor attempt to intimidate him, Perseus maintained his neutral expression and kept his eyes locked on Eumelia. "I have no intention of developing any sort of friendly relationship with you. Unlike most of them," She glanced at everyone nearby with no small amount of disdain. "I still remember my oath to turn my back on the companionship of men. While Milady seems to approve of you, I, along with many of my sisters, do not. If you drag us down, I will dismember you."
Without waiting for a reply, Eumelia walked back the way she came from, leaving a sheepish looking Eutropia.
"I'm sorry that you had to hear that. While many of us are not against the notion of you staying with us, especially since Milady has deemed you worthy, others are unsatisfied with your presence."
"I don't hold it against anyone," Perseus replied. "This was supposed to be a sisterhood."
"Well you are not a bad person, as far as I can tell, and that is good enough for me," Eutropia extended her hand and Perseus took it.
"I look forward to working with you." Eutropia said with a smile.
Perseus responded with a small one of his own.
"Me too."
Soon the sun set, and the Daughters gathered for dinner. As those in charge of preparing that night's meal distributed the food, the chosen three walked towards Artemis' tent with Eumelia leading the way, head held high.
"We have arrived, Milady." Eumelia announced their presence in front of the tent's entrance, and Artemis' beckoned them in from within. The goddess was in the same position she was in when she greeted Perseus, silver deer lying on her lap as she sat on the floor.
"The monster you shall track down is the Ophiotaurus."
Perseus looked at the two girls next to him and saw that they appeared to be just as confused as he was.
"Milady, I have never heard of such a beast. What does it look like? And why do we only have to track it?" Eumelia shot off question after question, and Artemis smiled as if she was amused by the hunter.
"It is known as the cow serpent. Its appearance, as you may have inferred from its name, is a hybrid between a cow and a serpent. Tracking it down is of utmost importance, and I trust the three of you to give your best efforts in completing this mission."
"Yes Milady!" Eutrophia and Eumelia both replied as they bowed their hands simultaneously. Perseus followed suit, though with noticeably less enthusiasm.
"Good. That is all I have to say for now. Go and enjoy your dinner." Perseus turned around and prepared to leave when he heard Artemis call his name.
"Perseus. Stay."
Shifting aside to allow the two girls to pass by, Perseus gave Eutrophia a smile and tried to ignore the stink eye Eumelia was giving him.
Perseus listened to their footsteps fade away before Artemis spoke up.
"You must be wondering why I chose you."
The boy turned back around to face the goddess. The second time seeing the goddess up close did nothing to help his nerves, and he once again silently admired the goddess' perfect looks.
"Your mother was a daughter of my brother," Artemis stood up, the deer moving away to allow her to straighten her legs. "She was a very dear friend of mine."
Perseus unconsciously stiffened up when he heard the goddess bring up his mother. He wasn't expecting to have this conversation with the goddess now.
"She inherited some of my brother's powers over prophecy, and the visions she saw… intrigued me."
The goddess slowly walked up to Perseus, and the boy's breath hitched when the goddess stopped right in front of him, her silver eyes staring straight at him.
"What does that have to do with me?" Perseus asked softly.
Artemis blinked, their eye contact breaking for a split second.
Her eyelashes are very long.
"I want you to prove your abilities. And your loyalty."
The goddess whipped around, her long hair swinging through the air and leaving a nice scent behind.
She smells really nice.
After swallowing his saliva as inconspicuously as he could, Perseus replied.
"Loyalty to whom?"
Artemis had sat down once again, the deer slowly making its way to her lap.
"To me. And to Olympus."
Their conversation ended after that, and Perseus left the tent.
The boy didn't go straight to dinner, his head still spinning from the encounter with the goddess.
"This is bad," He murmured. "really bad."
He was attracted to his patron, the Goddess of the Hunt.
Not really satisfied with how I handled the tent scene (it seemed better in my head) but oh well, story's almost getting to a fun part (imo) and can't wait to start working on it.