Man of The Moon

Chapter Seven - Heartfelt

The Hunt sat in silence waiting for some word from their lieutenant on the condition of Percy. It had been a few hours from the attack, but they hadn’t heard a word from Zoë or Artemis since then. Early on in their waiting, they had whispered and shared their worries, and tended to the small wounds they had received, but after a while they stopped talking. 

If you asked them, they would say that they were not worried about Percy, but in reality, they were terrified about what would happen if they didn’t have Percy as their second lieutenant. Even if he wasn’t a normal hunter, they still considered him family. He was their only brother in a group of sisters. He was the humorous one and the sarcastic one in times of danger and seriousness.  He was their rock and their base. In essence, he was their glue. Before he came to the hunt, they had fun and joked around, but it was always more of a clam thing than now. Now it was something that made the whole hunt crack up in laughter, and right now, none of that laughter was happening.

Zoë sat on the bed next to Percy as she waited for him to wake up. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was worried for him. He had lost a lot of blood from the wound that he suffered to his thigh, and she didn’t know if he was going to survive. Artemis had been sitting with her as she waited, but she had left to tend to the rest of the hunt who had been strangely silent since the battle. 

Zoë knew that she had fallen for Percy. She had fallen for him years ago, but as she sat on the edge of his bed, as he was very possibly dyeing, she realized that she didn’t know what she would do without him. He was her best friend, and the person that she relied on. In all her years of being in the hunt, she had never had someone like that. It seemed to her throughout all those years that everyone else relied on her, but she never had someone to lean on, but that had all changed, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Zoë promised herself that if she ever saw the Minotaur again that she was going to shove an arrow where the sun doesn’t shine, no matter if Percy lived or died. With his head resting on the pillow, his face looked peaceful. He was still in his female form as he had not had time to change between the whole incident with Thalia and the hunt being attacked. His long silky black hair was spread out underneath him, framing his face. His eyelids were closed, much to Zoë’s annoyance. He had caught herself staring into his eyes too many times than she would like to count, but she couldn’t deny herself that they were undoubtedly beautiful. The sparkling sea green transitioning into the blinding silver captivated her.

Zoë was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Artemis walk back into the tent and sit down next to her. Artemis reached over and grabbed her hand, startling Zoë.  

“Deep in thought are we?” Artemis asked.  Zoë nodded, not brining herself to speak.  “In all the time that I have had you in the hunt I have never seen you so worried.” Artemis spoke again. Zoë looked up and found worry shining in the eyes of her mistress.  Again, Zoë nodded, not sure what to say, and then looked into her lap again.

Artemis pulled Zoë’s head up again, and forced her to look into her eyes.  “Zoë, how long have you been in the hunt?” She asked.

“Over two thousand.”

“We have been through much together, Zoë, and I know what you are feeling.” Zoë looked alarmed when she said this. It could only mean one thing, and she would not know what to do if what she thought was happening happened.  Aremtis looked down to the peaceful face of Percy.

“I would be wrong if I said that in either form, Percy was not beautiful or handsome. He is the perfect man, and a perfect member of the hunt. I have not regretted my decision to allow him into the hunt, and I became even more positive when I made him your co-lieutenant that he was the perfect male.  I know what you are battling with right now.” Artemis paused for a moment, looking at Percy again.