Chapter 5: Chapter 5 – Night Games
"Get up son of Odin." Percy heard before an arrow whizzed past his head. He didn't need any other inclination to move his ass. He dropped down from his perch gracefully before looking at the few hunters before him. Phoebe, Atalanta and Thalia had the task of retrieving their morning target.
"Ladies." He said, bowing deeply which he noticed gave the three girls smiles. He returned to full height. When his weapon, Yggdrasil was in its standard form it looked like a pole with no offending end. It was simply a tube of pure Asgardian metal, until Percy chose which form he wanted to use.
"Lady Artemis said that we are to tell you what's happening. You're going to be our newest target in a game of manhunt." Thalia squealed joyfully. Percy paled slightly. He was about to be hunted down?
"Oh joy of joys. That's exactly what I need on my first day here, to become a deer caught in headlights." He smirked as the four of them walked over to where the larger groups of hunters were all gathered around Artemis.
"Are you aware of your task?" Was all Artemis asked him. He didn't, but he nodded none the less. Artemis rolled her eyes, of course he didn't, he was a male after all.
"You have to survive fifteen minutes of being hunted down, after fifteen minutes have passed I will sound a horn signifying you've reached the halfway mark, after that you have to track me down. For the first fifteen minutes I shall be hunting you alongside everyone else. If you are taken down, the hunters win. If you survive the fifteen minutes and then successfully find me, then you win. This is our new daily training drill. We shall play until either the hunters win five rounds or until Percy wins one. When you're all ready ladies. Oh and Percy? No weapons for you." Artemis grinned evilly but was stunned when Percy simply shrugged and pulled Yggdrasil free. The pole extended ever so slightly and shimmered in the light before a ferocious looking spear became of it. Percy then stuck the spear head into the ground, making sure that Artemis saw the acceptance of the challenge in his eyes. She knew immediately that the girls were REALLY going to struggle to win this one as he was damn sure not going to go down without a fight, something that Artemis could already tell would be quite a hard task even when he was unarmed, he was after all the Viking Prince of Asgard.
"Ladies. I would not touch this weapon for your own sake. It weights over three hundred billion tonnes and only I can wield it. That being said, game on." Percy grinned, noticing the looks he was getting from the majority of the hunters. They all thought he must be crazy but they were approving of his acceptance that they were going to hunt him with every prejudice they had against males in general. Artemis couldn't believe it, but he was actually starting to get them to like him, and it had only been his first day in the hunt.
"Avoid pretty boy's face, we'll never hear the end of it." Thalia announced, getting a few laughs from the girls, to which Percy saw the perfect opportunity to really push his luck with boundaries considering his next remark could quite easily have been seen as vulgar.
"Pfft, do what you like to my face, it's my perfect ass that I'm worried about. I could have a career in modeling with this beauty." He shot back with a self amused grin. Though Artemis hid it very well, she had actually come incredibly close to laughing out loud at Percy's comment. Thalia had no such luck and instead was rolling on the floor clutching her ribs.
"One last question Lady Artemis. What is the rules on my use of powers?" Percy asked her. She looked at him curiously, nobody truly knew what powers he had beyond the control over lightning.
"Well seeing as the only power of yours that I'm aware of is the similar control over the heavens as Thalia, I'm going to allow it, but obviously you know your own powers, nothing that could be fatal to my hunters. These girls are tough, but you and I are in another league." Artemis said casually. The looks from the hunters resembled betrayal before they were forced to admit that Percy was practically emanating raw power. They could clearly sense it last night, but it was only made so much more evident when he was claimed by Odin and the armor had enveloped him.
The armor itself made things difficult for the older girls as they were aware of their own hormones and urges towards men, and with Percy's body that looked like it had been carved out of marble. It was clear from the way the armor clung to his tight skin that he was ridiculously muscular, but not overly bulky, he had an incredibly lean structure. The muscle was there, but it was defined and strong. Even Artemis was forced to admit to herself that out of every male that could have been forced to join the hunt, he was the one that was likely to cause problems for the older hunters because of his appearance. Of course he had to make an oath to never purposely seduce the hunters or do anything that may sway them in their resolve.
"I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Let's just say that it would be pointless trying to turn me into one of your jackalopes milady." He smirked before running off into the woods. The last thing they saw was his wavy black hair being wind swept with how fast he was moving. It was in that moment that Artemis noticed how difficult it might be for her hunters to actually take him down. To find him? They shouldn't have any problems with that, he was hardly the most stealthy among them all, but his body was a fortress as it was and she seriously doubted that any of their weapons save for Artemis' true bow would be enough to make a difference with that armor of his. Still, it would serve to show Artemis exactly how much punishment the male could take.
Half an hour later and Artemis had heard no sign of Percy being caught. The horn for him to be able to try and find her had been sounded almost ten minutes ago and still she had seen no sign of him. Currently perched silently in the branches of a tree she began to survey the entire area through the eyes of a small woodland hare that she had managed to take control of. She noticed a tall figure, impossibly built to be a hunter so she figured that it must have been Percy. He was storming through the woods at a real trailblazing speed, no more than a minute after Percy had stormed through, she found a brigade of hunters all in pursuit and everything was winding down to Artemis' location. She could cheat and move now, or she could wait and see what happens.
Percy ran straight through the clearing that Artemis was on the side of but just as he was about to carrying on going, he abruptly stopped and looked around. Surely he could not feel her presence? Only immortals could do that. But then again, she was unsure of the powers that an Asgardian demi-god could be capable of. He noticed that Artemis was watching him intently from her perch in the tree and he simply pointed at her, maintaining the eye contact the entire time. She couldn't help but grin, he really was a cut above the rest. Before she could announce that he had won the game, Thalia came rushing in, summoning the most powerful lightning bolt that Artemis had ever seen her lieutenant conjure. It struck Percy dead on but served to do very little, he caught the bolt in the palm of his hand and it swirled violently around his closed fist.
"I think this is yours Thals." He told her with a grin. Thals? He'd already found a nickname for Artemis' lieutenant, and little sister no less. She made a mental note to ask him about it when he was giving her a report of some sort. He extended his hand towards Thalia and opened his palm. The lightning shot forwards at extreme speeds and struck the daughter of Zeus dead on in the chest. She was taken off of her feet before Artemis jumped down from the tree.
"That's enough girls, as much as I hate to admit it, Percy actually found me just before Thalia's attack. Game over for today. We try again tomorrow. But for now, let's see if we can train Percy to shoot an arrow straight." Artemis grinned at Percy's pale ghostly white face.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone