Man of The Moon

Chapter Six - Demigods

“Why can’t Luke join the hunt?”  Thalia asked, and Zoë snorted.

“He is a male; he will betray or hurt you in the end.”

Percy sat next to Zoë trying not to let what she was saying get to her. He knew that she wasn’t talking about him, but it still hurt when she said those things. Zoë kept throwing him looks, making him feel a little bit uncomfortable, but it was clear that she was telling him that she wasn’t talking about him.

“Luke would never do that!” Thalia exclaimed, looking appalled at the thought.  Zoë scoffed.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, just you wait.”

“Luke is a good guy! Why do you think he would betray us?” Thalia yelled, getting wound up at Zoë’s words.

“All men will do it at some point, unless they were raised right. I have only met one man like that.” Zoë responded. “Join the hunt, and you won’t have to deal with him. He will betray you.” Thalia stood up, and looked at Artemis.

“I’m sorry, Lady Artemis, but I cannot join the hunt if I have to deal with this,” Thalia pointed to Zoë. “all the time. Luke is a good man, and would never do that.” Thalia nodded towards Percy, and walked out of the tent. Artemis sat their staring intently at Zoë who looked a little guilty.

“Thalia would have been a good hunter, I could feel it.” Artemis said, directing it at Zoë. “I know that you have had bad experiences Zoë, but try to see it from her perspective. Luke probably helped her out. Hopefully he will turn out to be a good man, but we do not know. I must go and talk to Phoebe; hopefully they will have camp set up.”  Artemis stood up, and walked out of the tent, leaving Percy and Zoë sitting on the floor. Percy was silent, and I caused Zoë some worry.

“You know that I wasn’t talking about you, right.” Zoë said softly. Percy didn’t say anything. Zoë looked up. “Please Percy, I wasn’t talking about you.”

“I know Zoë, it’s just still hard being the only male in the Hunt, and to hear you guys talk about other males like that.” Percy mumbled. Zoë reached over and grabbed his hands, despite how much her brain told her it was wrong.

“You will never be like the men we talk about. You are undoubtedly the best man in existence, and you being in the hunt are where you belong, and I would not have it any other way. You are my best friend; please know that we would never include you in our talks.” Zoë said softly, trying to convey how she felt, but Percy didn’t catch on. He looked up and smiled at Zoë.

“You are my best friend as well, I know you would never talk about me, and sometimes I just need to be reminded of that, because it is sometimes hard to remember what the hunt normally does.” Zoë nodded to this explanation. The two of them spent some time sitting in Artemis’s tent, before Artemis walked into the tent. She saw Percy and Zoë sitting on the floor talking, and smiled. She then cleared her throat to let the two of them know that she was there.  They both turned around, and smiled at Artemis.

“It is time for us to move camp.” Artemis said.

“What about Thalia, Annabeth and Luke, they can’t travel with us?” Percy asked confused to as why they would be moving with visitors. They had kept their travel method a secret for years, why would they reveal it now?

“They have left the camp. Thalia was slightly hurt by Zoë’s words.” Artemis said. Zoë looked guilty and looked down, but Artemis bent down, and pulled her face up by the chin. “There was nothing wrong with what you said. I sensed a great deal of unrest in the boy, and it does not bode well with his future, but I could not bring myself to tell Thalia that, as she trusts him. They have left camp, and I have contracted Chiron to send a satyr to gather them.” Percy and Zoë nodded.  They knew that the demigods would have a slight problem with the hunters, and so they didn’t bother to be worried about them leaving, even though Zoë still felt bad about what she said to Thalia, though she decided to not let it bother her, as it was not her biggest problem at the moment.