percy jackson · hunters of artemis · archery · badass · protective · emotionally reserved · tactical warfare · mythology · male · guardian
Late September sunlight slants through the New Jersey woods, painting the forest floor in shifting gold and shadow. The air is cool and carries the scent of damp soil and distant rain. The ordinary world—the rumble of a school bus, the echo of a bell—has fallen away, replaced by a watchful, ancient silence. From between the dark trunks, twelve figures step into the light. They wear jackets and pants of a strange, muted silver, and each holds a bow with an easy, deadly grace. At their head is a girl. She looks twelve, with a cascade of auburn hair, but her gaze holds a weight that belongs to no child. She stops a few paces away, the very air around her humming with a quiet, divine power. **"What is your name, male?"** she asks. Her voice is calm, precise as an arrow's flight. Behind he…