MOONLIT [Discontinued]

Training to Strive: "There For You"

She looked at me skeptically, before nodding. "I hope you don't do this in the future. Now sing to me. That is the only way I'll forgive you" she said the last part mischievously. "Of course Missy" I said smiling as she closed her eyes and leaned back on the chair she was sitting on. 

So I sang to her what my mother taught me when I was 6. It was my favorite song, a mixture of Sanskrit and Greek. It always made me fall asleep when my mother sang to me. After 5 minutes of singing, I stopped, panting. I was waiting for a remark before I realized Artemis was already asleep, a smile adorning her face. Gods, she is gorgeous, I thought. I gently picked her up and moved towards the bed. I blushed hard when she snuggled in my arms and buried her face in my chest, mumbling something about being very comfortable, all the while being fast asleep. I slowly tucked her in, making sure not to wake her up, and I myself got in beside her. As soon as I laid down, Artemis scooted closer and snuggled up into my side, mumbling 'warm'. Blushing like a ripe tomato, I went to sleep too.

PRESENT 

Thinking about it still made me blush. Now ever since we defeated the whole legion of 500 strong monsters, the Minotaur and the Manticore, word among the monsters spread quickly and they steered clear off the Hunt. However, we still found some stragglers which used to be great practice material for my blood control. Speaking of practice, it reminded me of the time I trained with every elder god and goddess.

FLASHBACK

About a month after becoming the Protector of the Hunt, I decided it was time to start training with the Olympians. Seeing that monster attacks were almost nil, I decided that I would train full time. I decided that training with the Olympians would be in the order of the oldest to the youngest elder gods, starting with Hestia and ending with Zeus. 

So early the next day, I told Artemis my plan and approached the campfire where I prayed for Aunt Hestia. A flash of flames marked her arrival. "Perseus, why did you pray to me?" asked an amused hearth goddess. "Aunt Hestia, I have decided to start my training for the prophecy. I have decided to train with Olympians in the order they were born in, starting with you and ending with Lord Zeus" I said calmly. She looked immensely sad when I mentioned the prophecy but beamed with pride when I mentioned why I chose her to be my first mentor.

She grabbed my hand and flashed us to her palace gardens on Olympus. For the whole day, I learnt to manipulate fire and to heal wounds using the hearth. Being a child of the sea, manipulating fire was not easy at all. By the time I finished my training for the day, I was tired to the core. As soon as Hestia flashed me back to the camp, I trudged to the dining tent, ate my fill, and collapsed onto the bed Artemis and I shared, falling asleep almost instantly. By the way, I was out of commission the next day due to me being totally spent.

Over the course of the next 4 months, I would train with Hestia for 3 days a week and managed to master my control over fire. I learnt that emotions were what controlled the intensity of the flame I wielded, ranging from a soft yellow flame to greek fire. She also taught me to light up my blade during a fight without causing the sword to melt. Now, I could heal even a god to a great extent before breaking a sweat using the power from the hearth. Over time, Hestia was so impressed by my control over her elements that she even blessed me such that I could summon some quantities of food. At the end of my training, I promised Hestia that I would visit her from time to time, which I did, Artemis accompanying me sometimes.

In the next 5 years, I trained with all the elder Olympians. Each had grown a special bond with me. The closest bonds were with Hades and Hera. Hades was my favorite elder Olympian. While training we developed a very strong parent-child-like bond. He helped me immensely with my sword fighting and over time, unlocked all his powers on me, meaning I had all the powers of a demigod child of Hades; shadow travel, control over the dead, summoning precious metal and even sensing when someone died. I hated power but seeing that Hades had literally told me that he would be honored if I accepted his blessing, I could not refuse.