The Warfighter, the Storm, and the Moon

Chapter 6: Rest

'Rest'

24-Jun-2030, 0115S

Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt

Hunters of Artemis

Killdeer Mountains, North Dakota, USA

I exhaled a breath I didn't realize I was holding. The situation, it seemed, was at least resolved for now.

I looked at Thalia, who stared at the blood-stained ground where Perseus used to be.

"Thalia... I'm sure Perseus will survive. He has, after all, held up the sky and gone through Tartarus itself," I said.

"Percy," she responded.

I frowned. "What?"

"You called him 'Perseus,' Milady. It's 'Percy.' That's how he always likes to be called. He reserves 'Perseus' for his enemies and extreme formalities only," she said with a chuckle, although it sounded forced.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. It was interesting: he risked provoking the ire of the gods, but still demanded to be called "Percy," not "Perseus."

"Very well. But he will be fine. We should get moving."

"Okay. Lead the way, Milady," she replied quietly.

"Hunters! We're leaving!" I called out.

"Yes Milady!" they replied.

On the walk back, Thalia was silent. Some of the other Hunters were talking with excitement about the recent battle. Carly, Helen, and Jessica did not, instead approaching Thalia and I at the front of the group.

"Milady?" Helen asked.

"Yes, Helen?"

"Where is Perseus? Is he all right?"

I was quite surprised that she was asking about his health. But it made sense.

Every now and again, I will have a Hunter that doesn't follow the usual man-hating standard. It isn't exactly to my liking, but I cannot do much about it. They still followed the rules of swearing off romance and the company of men, but they did not show any particular dislike towards the other gender.

And as if luck would have it, all four Hunters like this at the moment were with the group in the form of Thalia, Carly, Jessica, and Helen. Coincidentally, these four were incredibly close with each other, closer than any other Hunters.

Jessica, like Helen, looked at me expectantly. Carly, having already witnessed what happened, had a hand on one of Thalia's shoulders, trying to cheer her up.

"C'mon, Lieutenant! Don't worry! If the stories I've heard are true, this guy can take on the armies of Tartarus without breaking a sweat... with a spoon!" she joked.

"My brother has him in his hospital on Olympus to be on bed rest. Perseus is in a coma," I told the other Hunters.

Their eyes widened, the concern on their face amplifying.

"Will he live, Milady?" Jessica asked.

Come to think of it, the most accurate way to describe the four would be that they don't trust anyone in general. Actually, while Jessica and Carly's suspicion of males was somewhat higher than that of females, they were still slow to trust new people.

I once asked Thalia as to why she holds equal distrust towards males and females alike. She simply said, "Because anyone can be a threat, Milady, and I've been hurt by both males and females." I couldn't see the logic in her statement, but Carly, Jessica, and Helen evidently did.