Breath Of The Wilderness

Chapter 12: The Weight Of Reality

Disclaimer - I don't own PJO or HOO and I never will

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To start, thank you guys so so much for getting this story to #1 in pertemis yesterday! (#2 today but somehow it's on #1 yesterday!) It's so unbelievable I thought I was dreaming. Thank you!!! You guys are all amazing!

Also, I'm experiencing with different writing styles and stuff right now. So, the style of each chapter might be a little different. I'm trying to find which one I like best. With that being said, that's dive into the story! 

- Kathy

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Artemis sat awkwardly across from Percy in his apartment, the suffocating silence hanging in the room. Her eyes darted around, looking at anywhere but the sea-green eyes boy in front of her. Her hand was playing with her hair nervously.

"So..." Percy started, dragging out his word before trailing off and coughing awkwardly. "Are we going to talk about what happened?"

"Nothing happened," Artemis insisted, ignoring her beating heart and how her palms turned sweaty. Percy placed a hand on top of hers, sending sparks running through her body.

"We can't just pretend that nothing happened," he tried to reason.

"I can and I will," she crossed her arms, ignoring the blush that was surely on her cheeks as her mind flashed back to the moment. How close their faces were. She slapped herself mentally, something she found herself doing more and more these days. "You are not changing my mind."

"Moonbeam," Percy started, his hand caressing her cheek, turning her head toward his. Their eyes met once more and Artemis doesn't know if her face can become any redder. "We can't just let it hang over our head forever."

Artemis stared into his sea-green eyes, and he stared back. She sighed, breaking eye contact. "Fine, but not today."

Percy nodded in agreement. "Soon."

Artemis sighed again before getting up. "Want to come hunt with my hunters today? Try out something new?"

A look of horror flashed across Percy's face as he backed away slowly. "N-no, I'm fine."

"Scared of my hunters, aren't you?" Artemis teased. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that the hero of Olympus was afraid of her hunters and wolves.

"No, I just have some homework I need to do," he lied. Artemis rolled her eyes before walking toward the door.

"Well, suit yourself. Have fun with homework!" She called out as she flashed away. Percy stared at the door for a minute before groaning and flopping back onto the sofa.

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Artemis appeared back at camp, the smile on her face quickly fading when she noticed the lack of hunters. The air was quiet, a little too quiet. She ran toward Thalia's tent, opening the flat. But to her disappointment, there was no one in there. She did the same things to all the other tents.

The fire was still going around their dining area and there was overcooked food in the cooking pot. Artemis went toward the archery range next, a look of worry presented on her face. The area was as empty as the others.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down as she closed her eyes, reached out her senses before running toward the North. Artemis crashed through the trees and branches, her steps as quiet as ever but running at her top speed. She stopped at a clearing, kneeling down to examine the ground. Traces of blood and monster dust were seen. The blood part scared her more than she'll ever admit.