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"I hope you forget me the next time you smile."
Ahalya Roy
Zoë led both Ahalya and Percy to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved them inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to the auburn-haired girl, whom Ahalya had no trouble now thinking of as Artemis. Initial shock always runs off.
The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others I didn't recognize. Ahalya figured an animal rights activist (i.e. her stepmother Kaira) would've had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins, but maybe since Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, she could replenish whatever she shot.
Ahalya almost thought Artemis had another animal pelt lying next to her, and then she realized it was a live animal—a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap (or maybe Kaira wouldn't die of heart attack but rather bond with her on the love of dears).
"Join us, Percy Jackson and Ahalya Roy," the goddess said.
Ahalya was not totally sure what the whole conversation would be about and by the looks of it neither was Percy, so they just proceeded to sit cross from the goddess on the tent floor (as if they had any chance of actually denying the order). Artemis studied them with very ferocious intent, which made the boy uncomfortable and Ahalya very doubtful. It also did not help that she had such old eyes for a young girl.
"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.
Were her emotions that easy to read? Ahalya thought in a fit of disbelief, it was truly shocking, nope not even shocking, it was a crisis for the daughter of Hecate— because for one her poker face was practiced to be top tier, and so therefore Ahalya came to the conclusion that indeed her face was not that easy to decipher and it was only because Artemis had like crazy mind reading powers
"Uh...a little." Percy mumbled as if even he was in shock, which truly he shouldn't be since his face was actually very easy to read.
"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."
