-{Hunter}-

-{TWO}-

"...Papa?"
.
.
.

His voice silenced the court and the all looked at him.

"What?.." Poseiden murmured, freezing as well.

"Y-you're papa! I-I remember you!" Percy had tears in his eyes.

"That should be imposible! For two reasons." Zeus growled the last three words. "1) Hades, Poseiden, and I swore on the Styx we would not have halfling children after WWII. 2) You shouldn't be able to remember that far back!"

"M-mama said that I have an eibe-? eidedit m-memory?"

"Eidetic memory." Athena breathed, looking in wonder at Percy.

"Y-yeah." He flinched as he looked at Zeus. "I-I'm sorry I r-remember, L-Lord Zeus... M-mama told me about the o-oath on the r-river when I was really little. I know I'm not supposed to e-exist."

All of the god's and goddess's hearts melted at his soft voice. Hera walked over to Percy, kneeling infront of him.

"No, little one. It is not your fault that my brother-in-law has poor self control." She said.

They could all practically see the gears turning in his head at her words. He was mouthing his thoughts as he pointed from one thing to the next.

Poseiden, to Zeus, to the empty throne,and finally to Hera. They all smiled as the lightbulb went off in his head, his jaw dropping and eyes widening.

"Y-you're Lady H-Hera..." He said.

He bowed to her.

"I-it's n-nice to m-meet you, L-Lady Hera." He said quickly.

Hera smiled and Zeus looked afronted.

"Why didn't he bow to me? I am the king of the gods!" He said.

"B-because everyone knows t-that the g-goddesses have m-more control than the g-gods." Percy said, matter-of-factly.

Zeus and Poseiden looked like they wanted to interject. Percy cut them off.

"Y-you can't h-honestly tell me that L-Lady Amphitrite a-and L-Lady P-Persephone don't have a-amost complete control o-over your d-domaines." He said, tilting his head.

This shut the gods up and they looked away, an embarrassed flush crossing their faces. Percy looked triumphant.

"That's w-what I thought."

"Percy, I have a gift for you." Artemis crouched down to the boy's level.

She handed him a sleek silver pen and his eyes glowed. He looked at the side and saw a word carved into the glassy metal; Toxotis.

"Archer." Percy breathed, and he was shocked when he uncapped it.

The cap turned into a quiver of arrows that had gold feathers and shining iron heads. The body of the pen turned into a glassy silver bow, with a fine but strong thread of pure gold.

"It's made of imperial gold thread and stygian iron. Hephaestus helped me make it." She bit her lip. "Do you like it?"

It was, in fact, perfect. When he held it, it felt as though he had put the last peice of a puzzle in it's place.

"Yes, y-yes!" He said. "C-can I hug you?"

She nodded and was soon engulfed by the small chocolate haired boy. She hugged him back. Standing up and holding Percy, she turned to her father.

"If that is all, father." She started. "My girls and I have to get back to our camp and start training Percy."

Zeus nodded and waved her away, flashing all of them back to their camp. Artemis set down Percy. He put the bow into the quiver and they turned back into the pen.

"Alright, Percy, are you ready to start your training?" Phoebe asked, looking at him with glowing eyes.

"I-if you're w-willing to teach me, I-I would be honored to learn f-from you, L-Lady Phoebe." Percy said politely, looking at her.

Everyone smiled. They were all thinking the same thing: That was the right thing to say.

"Of course. Now, who's going to teach him what?" She asked, turning to the group of hunters.

"I will teach him archery." Artemis said.

"I can teach him tracking and healing." Phoebe offered.

"Then I'll teach him stealth and hunting." Zoe said.

"Everyone else, back to training. Percy, let's start on your archery training." Artemis says, going towards the make-shift range she'd set up.

He followed her eagerly and and watched as she grabbed her own bow and quiver of arrows. She stood ten feet away from the target with her feet shoulder width apart.

She turned to the right a bit and shifted her weight from the left leg to the right leg. She tied her hair up and streched her arms, keeping them loose.

"Now, watch cosely. You have to keep your posture straight and keep your mind focased." She said, readying her bow and arrow. "Keep your arms steady and your feet shoulder width apart. And-"

She let the arrow go and it flung itself into the middle of the target. He beamed at the goddess and she smiled at his face.

"There. It will take practice, but you wil eventually become a master, as I and many others have." She said. "Now, uncap your bow and try it for yourself."

She handed him a bracer and he put it on. Standing about eight feet away from the target, he stood straight. Artemis watched him and corrected a few things.

"Relax your right arm. You are not controling the arrow, you are simply guiding it to it's destination."

"Turn to the side a bit, it will give you a better angle."

"Raise the nock to the corner of your mouth and close the left eye. You will be able to aim better if there's no blurring or angle deception."

"Good, keep your breathing stable and calm. The more you practice, the more it will become second nature to you."

"Exeptional. Now, when you're ready, release the arrow."

After doing all of these things, he released and-

-It hit just above the target, on the tree.

"You did it, Percy!!" Artemis said, ruffling his hair.

"B-but it d-didn't hit the t-target..." He said, lowering the bow and looking crestfallen.

"Percy, you are four years old and you hit a tree with a bow and arrow. And you know what else?" She said, crouching down to look at him. "You hit right above the the target's center, and tht is a dam good job."

She smiled at him and cupped his face.

"Besides, how many four year olds do you think can hit a tree above a target from eight feet away, hm?" She brushed away a stray hair. "It's amazing that you can do this. Now, do you want to try it again?"

He smiled and nodded, his spirits lifting. He stood in position and, knowing what he was doing this time, took a breath at shot. This time, instead of the sound of wood, he heard thatch crunching.

He looked up closer to the target and saw that he had hit just to the left of the center. His eyes gleamed with pride. Artemis smiled brightly and nodded aprovingly.

"That was incredible. Now," She hung up her bow. "Let's go eat dinner. I beleive it was Zoe's turn to fix up a meal."