The Brother of the Hunt

9

Wow, sorry it took so long. On with it...

That first night in Alaska passed by peacefully. No monsters attacked; no Gods, Goddesses or other deities arrived; and Artemis regained her strength after sleeping and eating. Before nine o'clock the group had set off again, into the unknown.

They had been camping for weeks in the same place. Traps had been set up - both for animals and monsters. Boundaries had been put in place - specifically for the almost three year old who liked to run around. An archery range had been built - obviously the most important part of a camp housing the Goddess of archery - and while they still slept in their tents, a few permanent structures had been fabricated. It was the perfect place to stay.

The girls were happy and carefree yet alert; Artemis felt like she was one of her hunters (which was a nice change); and Percy was happy learning what the huntresses wanted to teach him that day.

But - after months with no contact, no monster attacks, no missions and no adventures - they all started getting antsy, restless. Wanted to get on the move.

Percy was about to turn four, so Zoë and Artemis decided they would stay put until he passed the day they had found him. It wasn't his birthday, but it was when they celebrated - September 18th.

Eventually the day came - it didn't differ much from their usual routine, except for the fact that they played whatever game the boy wanted to play.

They got on the move a week after that, having had to take down huts and hide any evidence they were ever there.

Years passed of the group travelling around Alaska, content to train Percy to be the best  he could be.

At age seven, he proceeded to scare the fight out of the Hunter's when faced with a hoard of Drakanae (I don't know how to spell it). They were surrounded, Artemis - without her usual power - got thrown into a tree. Percy screamed in anguish when she didn't jump back up and a tidal wave washed over everyone. The monsters evaporated into gold dust but the Hunter's didn't have a hair out of place. They were shocked. Artemis stood slowly and lipped over to the boy, sweat clung to his head from exhaustion.
"You're father must be Poseidon." She muttered, stroking his hair and pulling him close. "You poor thing." A couple of the girls chuckled nervously at that, but most were too shocked to say anything.
"Mama? What happens now?" He timidly questioned, tucking his head into her and wrapping his arms tightly around her.
"I don't know."

He continued to train, continued to learn his powers, but he started garnering too much attention. They had to return. Artemis needed her power back to hide the attention Percy's power was demanding.

The moment they stepped back onto Zeus' terrain, he showed up, the rest of the council flanking him.

"Artemis." Apollo said fondly.
"Apollo." Artemis responded less fondly.
"Why are you back?" Zeus growled.
"It is time to return Percy to his rightful family." She said, confidently.
"You've decided to give him up?" Artemis glanced back at the nine year old boy. He gave her an encouraging smile, hand on her shoulder.
"Yes." Though her voice was meek, her gaze was determined and unwavering. "We found his true mother to be a woman named Sally Jackson. She lives in New York. Percy will have his memory of his time in the hunt wiped and altered to remember a normal life."
"And you?"
"Will return to my duties."
"The boy will be cursed in archery - we don't need him working out his childhood." Zeus demanded. Percy gulped and shuffled on his feet - he loved archery. The goddess looked back at him before nodding sadly.
"Yes father."