Artemis stood up, and looked at Persi with a smile. She put a hand on Persi's shoulder, and her raven hair started growing longer. The hair stopped growing around her knees. Persi ran her fingers through her new long hair in awe. She walked over to the wall-mounted mirror, and looked at her reflection. Persi's hair had changed into a dark navy blue. Her face looked softer, not by much since she was only seven, but wow! Her ears were pointed, and her eyes were a more bluish color. Persi opened her mouth in shock, and noticed her teeth were now sharp canines. Her skin even had a blue tint to it instead of the pink of before.
Artemis explained, "My sacred blessings strengthen my hunters, and allows them to reach their true potential. It would seem as though you can shift your form at will. Though the pointed ears and sharp teeth may remain as they are traits that many powerful children of the sea possess."
Persi nodded her head. Artemis turned towards Zoe, and asked, "Zoe, can you bring Perseis to our encampment. I have important business to attend to."
"Of course, My Lady," Zoe said before towards Persi, and saying, "Climb on my back, μικρὰ κύμα."
Persi blushed a little at the nickname, and Zoe knelt down. Persi climbed onto her back, and wrapped her arms around Zoe's neck. Zoe stood up slowly, and grabbed onto Persi's legs to hold her in place. Zoe nodded towards Artemis before climbing out the window, and onto the fire escape.
Persi watched the beautiful scenery move past her as Zoe carried her into the night. They had left the city behind, and were now running through the woods. Despite it being so dark, Persi had no trouble seeing their surroundings. The blessing from Artemis enhanced her eyes to be able to see in the dark. It was so peaceful, and Persi loved being able to see the woodland creatures. Zoe started slowing down, and Persi could see a clearing in front of them. Laughter came from the clearing, and Persi knew that they were here. Her stomach felt tight with nerves. What if they didn't like her? What if they thought she was a freak?
Zoe stopped suddenly as she felt Persi's rapid heartbeat. She set Persi down, so she could be grounded, and wrapped her arms around the child. She knew that Persi was dealing with a lot. In the mortal world, being different led to people hating Persi.
"Persi, look at me," Zoe whispered, and Persi listened, "This is not the mortal world. Nobody will hate you for being different, okay. You are not a freak."
Persi sniffled, and nodded her head. Zoe grabbed her hand, and they walked into clearing. Persi walked behind her, so Zoe's leg would hide her.
The hunters all looked up, like deer, when they sensed a presence. Smiles broke out on their faces as they realized it was Zoe. One hunter ran up to them. She had light ginger hair, and slightly tanned skin. Her eyes were pale green. She smiled, and asked, "Zoe, is Lady Artemis not with you," only then did the hunter notice Persi. She knelt down, and asked, "Who are you, little one."
Persi retreated further behind Zoe's leg as Zoe answered for her, "This is Perseis. But many call her Persi. She is our newest hunter."
The hunte's face brightened, and she said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Persi. My name is Phoebe."
Persi whispered,"Hello."
Zoe said, "Persi is a child of the sea."
Several gasps rang out from the hunters, and Zoe glared at them. She placed a comforting hand on Persi's shoulder. Persi asked, her voice small, "Is that bad?"
The hunter, Phoebe, said frantically, "Of course not. It make you very special. Demigod children of the sea aren't born very often."
Another hunter, this one looked almost like she was made of water, walked up to them. Persi felt drawn to her, her body moving forward before her mind could even process the action. Something about the hunter felt like home, like safety. Persi wrapped her arms around the hunter's leg. The hunter giggled, and patted Persi's head. Persi looked up, and the hunter said, "My name is Egeria, Ὠκεανὸς παῖς. It is a pleasure to meet you, My Lady."
"My Lady?" Persi asked. She had never been spoken to so nicely before.
Egeria nodded her head, "Though I no longer serve King Poseidon, I will forever serve his daughters."
Whispers broke out among the hunter, and Zoë stopped them immediately. She spoke, "Yes, it may be true that Persi here is a child of Poseidon, but she is most importantly our sister. You will do good to remember that."
The hunters all nodded in agreement, and herded Persi into the campfire circle in the middle of camp. Persi sat down on one of the tree stumps around the fire. A hunter came up from behind her, and explained, "Us hunters have a tradition where the newest hunter gets their hair braid by the one who joined before them. My name is Astrid, and I joined two years ago. Can I braid your hair?"
Persi turned around, and the hunter was smiling at her, and holding a hairbrush. Astrid had skin the color of caramel, and black curly hair. She had a light Swedish accent, that Persi didn't know how she was able to pinpoint. Persi smiled shyly, and said, "Sure."
Astrid started brushing Persi's long navy blue hair, and the brush glided through it like water. That was when she realized that her hair was actually made of water. Though, it seemed as though only she could tell. Astrid finished brushing when she was satisfied with it, and separated the hair into two large equal sections, and a small third section. Egeria pulled out some pearls and small shells, handing them to Astrid. She said, "Here, take these and braid them into Persi's hair. They will allow to control water more precisely."
Persi didn't know what meant, but looked them over, and picked up the ones that called to her. She left the rest alone, and handed the ones she grabbed to Astrid. Egeria collected the rest of them. They sunk into her hand, her skin rippling like when someone drops a rock into the lake. Astrid continued braid her hair, adding the shells and pearls as she saw fit. While Astrid was braiding her hair, the hunters came over to talk to her.
"My name is Sophia," a hunter said as she sat down opposite her. Others sat down around them. She continued, "Why did you join Lady Artemis? She doesn't usually let people join at your age."
Sophia's eyes were kind, as though she already knew the answer, but didn't want to accept it. Persi could imagine that in a group of girls who swore off men forever, it was common to find hunter who were mistreated by men and boys. Persi took a deep breath, and said, "It was my stepfather…"
Persi didn't elaborate at all. She could see the color draining from Sophia's face as the suspicion she had was all but confirmed. Persi tried to explain further, but she couldn't open her mouth. She got like that sometimes. When her voice refused to work, and a fear to speaking filled her stomach till it was on the floor. No, she wouldn't speak. Couldn't speak. It was safer if she didn't. None of the hunter tried to make her explain, which she was grateful for. She was already ashamed of what happened, and talking about it would only make it worse.
Sophia wrapped her into a loose hug, careful not to spook her, and said, "I'm so sorry that that happened to you. But you must understand that none of it was your fault."