The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 20: Dramatic Entrances

It was now June, meaning it had been a month since Jacob and Hannah had been rescued, and a month spent with the Hunt. The Hunters still didn't interact with Jacob much, but they no longer gave him looks of contempt and were constantly insulting him either. Currently, Hannah and Jacob found themselves along with Percy and Thalia at the archery range that had been set up in the Hunter's camp. Hannah and Thalia were standing off to the side, laughing as Jacob tried to teach Percy how to shoot a bow and arrow. Emphasis on tried. Jacob had been one of the best shots back at Camp Half-Blood, surpassed only by siblings such as Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew. With his eye he was lucky to get a bullseye, but instinct allowed him to at least hit the inner rings, most of the time. Over the past month a combination of lessons from Thalia and Jacob had allowed Percy to at least start hitting the target, but he still had a long way to go.

Thalia and Hannah were trying so hard not to laugh at the situation in front of them. Somehow, Percy had accidentally mixed up a regular arrow with one that wrapped its targets in Celestial Bronze wires. Then, Jacob had made the mistake to stand on the right side of Percy, meaning he could barely see him when looking downrange. Long story short, all of these factors added up meant that Percy, being the excellent shot he was, had somehow shot his arrow sideways and turned Jacob into a bronze mummy that he was currently trying to unravel.

"He's such a Kelp Head," Thalia sighed.

"Seriously," Hannah agreed. "I swear, Jake is so oblivious sometimes. I'm pretty sure his brain is made from just sunlight sometimes."

"How can they be so smart, yet so dumb?" Thalia mused.

"It's a mystery," Hannah said. "But I guess that's why we love them."

Thalia blushed at this. "Um, what? Why would you? I don't-," Thalia stammered.

"I wasn't suggesting- I mean, you're both Hunters- You would never, right?" Hannah rushed out. Thalia wouldn't look her in the eyes. "I always wondered how Annabeth could put up with Percy being Percy," Hannah said after a moment of awkward silence. "I guess she never did." The air around them seemed to grow dark at the mention of her name.

After probably a good five minutes of watching the boys, during which no progress was made on untangling Jacob, Thalia spoke again. "Something's been bothering me about that horde you said had been following you. Did they seem. . . organized?" she asked. "The whole thing reminds me of what happened to me when I was a kid."

Hannah thought for a moment. "I guess so. I've only ever seen monsters in a big group like that during the wars. . ."

Before they could go any further, there was a crow of triumph from Percy as he finally got the wires on Jacob to retract back into the arrow, which was then quickly followed by shouts of anger from Jacob. "What the Hades, Water Boy! How do you one, confuse the arrows, and two, shoot it directly sideways!"

Jacob was about to say more, but then a throat clearing interrupted him. "M'Lady," Percy said, obviously relieved. "What can I do for you."

Hannah and Thalia made their way over as well. "As you know, the Summer Solstice is in two weeks," Artemis said, the others looking at her expectantly. "Percy, this means that you will have to attend in the guise of Periplanómenos."

Percy frowned. "Do I have to?"

"I'm afraid so," Artemis replied. "Zeus is getting suspicious that we have been unable to locate you, and the council is growing impatient regarding the prophecy."

Percy still looked hesitant. "Hey man, we'll be there for you," Jacob said as he put his hand on Percy's shoulder.

"What about Annabeth?" Percy countered, concerned about the safety of his friends.