Dealing with Drama

A Maiden Mother

AN: Alright, so this chapter, I guess, will be a major point in the drama, but it's not over yet. I was wondering, I could skip Ruby and Cathy's scenes, because they are OC's, and I don't think anybody cares about them much. It will free up 4 entire chapters for more drama and shit. Anyway, let me know what you think.

Time: Same Time as Thalia's Tent

The campfire crackled in a lively manner, sending orange embers up into the starry, clear night sky, accompanied by smoke that ascended upwards in a ghostly spiral of grey, before fading into nothingness.

Artemis picked up another twig, tossing it into the fire, eager to get as much light as she could from the small campfire. A small, lazy smile of content played across the moon goddess' full, pink lips as she stared into the glowing, orange embers, reflected in her shining silver eyes.

She sighed in satisfaction, shuffling her feet a little to warm herself, getting slightly closer to the flickering, dancing flames, her boots muffled against the soft soil, drowned out by the crackling fire. Forgetting her worries for a moment, Artemis leaned back, using her arms as support as she leaned her back against the log she had been sitting on, tilting her head back to stare into the starry night sky.

The skies were a dark violet, almost black, studded with stars like gleaming diamonds on the darkest of silk cloth, making out discrete patterns that had been studied by the mortals for time immemorial. The moon was glowing a bright silver, an enormous pearl in a sea of diamonds, making Artemis sigh despite its beauty, as she turned away from it, being reminded of all her immortal duties as a goddess that weighed her down for eternity.

The night was beautiful, and she wasn't gonna let anything spoil the mood.

They were in a small clearing in the middle of the forest, just enough to set up two tents with a small campfire between them. The breeze was gentle, caressing everything that it touched, gently rustling the leaves of the trees. The orange glow from the campfire lit up only a small portion of the dark, mysterious forest, fading out into pitch-black long before reaching the canopy high above. The forest seemed to be rejuvenated by the presence of the goddess, livelier than usual, with songbirds during the day, that had gone to sleep after sunset. Still, the trees spoke, leaning as close as they could to the goddess, their leaves rustling, trying to speak to her in hushed whispers of a mysterious language that even she could only ever hope to understand.

She and Percy were on a scouting mission, leaving the Hunters back at their camp. The son of Poseidon had retreated into his tent early, feeling sleepy after 'she had disturbed his sleeping schedule', making him wake up at dawn's first light and trudge a few miles before getting to eat something.

Yeah, Artemis might have had a not so small crush on the son of Poseidon, but it didn't mean she was going to change her hunting ways for a mere male.

"Ugh, why has life gotta be so complicated?" These words escaped Athena's lips, making Artemis raise an eyebrow at her casual, informal language, which was so unlike her.

Oh yeah, she forgot to mention the temporary presence of the other two maiden goddesses in their camp.

Athena had dropped in that evening to discuss the coming prophecy with Percy and her, wanting to know their thoughts. No matter how dumb he could be, even the wisdom goddess could only acknowledge the tons of raw instinct and street smarts that Percy possessed, that more than made up for his lack of knowledge.

Perhaps their lengthy discussion that evening about 'boring' stuff, had been conducive to making Percy feel sleepy, prompting him to an early bedtime.