Banished

9

Artemis PoV

I woke up with a smile and got out of bed.

I got dressed and changed my bandages, which took longer than I had expected.

Percy was an interesting man, at least to me.

He was the main thing on my mind, recently. I suppose that was because there wasn't much else for me to do other than surviving.

It had been a few days since Percy last visited, but there were a number of explanations for this.

Paying no heed to that matter, I prepped the buck I had stored for skinning.

I had caught the buck more than a week ago, and my meat locker was getting full, so I needed to get that dealt with before it started to rot.

Thank, well, myself, for completely decking out my personal tent with magical add ons.

Once I had a sharp enough knife in hand, I began to skin the dead animal.

I had to eat, and this was the best source of protein.

I skinned the animal almost absentmindedly. A perk of having done this so many times before. My hands did the work through muscle memory while my mind wandered.

Instead of the task at hand, my mind was on Percy.

He was sweet, helpful, and incredibly handsome.

The god had been gentle when helping me and seemed to be genuinely interested in me.

I found myself carving the deer and placing the edible meat in the freezer.

I kept the organs in the locker for bait and washed the deerskin before spreading it out on a rock to dry.

As for the skeleton, I left it aways away from my camp for the wildlife to do as they wished.

I washed my hands thoroughly and sat down on my bed, wondering what else I could collect to make a meal instead of just eating venison.

Noticing a silhouette on the ground, I looked up to find Percy standing just outside the tent flap.

"Hey," he greeted. "Sorry I didn't come to check on you sooner. The barrier at camp half-blood was having issues and I was sent to go watch for monsters. How are you?"

I smiled and patted the spot next to me on the bed. "I've been better, but I've been worse. Right now I'm hungry, and I'm wondering what I should have to go with my venison steak. How are you?"

The god sat down next to me. "My knee's been better, and I'm pretty hungry right now too. What if I took you somewhere to eat?"

I bit my lip slightly as I felt his hand brush mine. "It would have to be somewhere other than the east coast."

"I don't quite understand your logic but know just the place," he replied.

I took his hand and closed my eyes.

We appeared at a small booth in a quiet restaurant.

The menus were in a foreign language, but I recognized most of the letters.

Percy asked if there was anything he wanted me to translate from the menu since he was a god and could read all languages known to mankind.

I scooted closer to him and pointed at an interesting looking dish.

"Coq au vin. Chicken in wine. Meat in alcohol," he explained.

"I'll probably have that," I decided. "I take it we're in France?"

The god nodded and skimmed through the menu a little more before making his decision. "I'll probably get the steak. You seem like the fry stealing type, so I'll get extra."

I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder as he took my hand.