Chapter Text
“Are you… certain, milady?” Thalia Grace questioned. Her fingers were still red and raw from using her bow during the last hunt, and she could barely move despite considering herself fit. Many of the younger girls had passed out on the grass around them in similar states of exhaustion.
A 12-year-old girl with auburn red hair fixes her silver eyes on Thalia. “Is something wrong? You seem a little out of sorts, Thalia.”
Out of sorts? They had been hunting monsters nonstop after the Titan War. She was exhausted, and the others looked near death if she was being honest with herself. “It’s just… we just finished the last hunt, and I think maybe the girls might need a little bit of a break?” she finished lamely.
“A break?” The goddess surveyed her camp. The Hunters of Artemis lay on the grass near the forest where they had just killed their latest prey. Golden monster dust still swirled loosely through the air. One of the newer girls leaned on her wooden bow, only to misjudge the angle and fall onto the ground, tumbling into several other Hunters.
Another huntress, Alyssa, came over. “The lieutenant is correct, Lady Artemis. We are quite tired and would appreciate a few hours to make camp.”
Thalia sighed, “For the last time, Alyssa! You do not need to refer-”
Artemis interrupted Thalia quickly, “I think we could all use a day off. However, there is the matter of the moon chariot. I have the next several shifts for the moon, and I would prefer to be as fully present with all of you as possible.”
“Milady?” Alyssa said, thoroughly confused.
“I intend to go with you. It would have to be someone experienced, of course…”
The hunters looked at each other. They were determined to make this work, and if Artemis needed a chariot driver, they would find one.
Several long moments of silence passed as the girls thought through possible candidates to drive the moon chariot. “What about Lord Apollo? He drives the sun- surely that’s as experienced as you could get, right?” said Jo, a 10-year-old bundle of energy.
The girls and goddess sighed in unison at the thought of Apollo. “My brother can barely follow the few simple rules I have set when he visits us. How in Hades’ name could I ever trust him to be responsible enough to do this? He cannot even drive the sun chariot properly! The Sahara Desert is more than enough proof of that!”
Thalia glanced at the others. They motioned for her, as their lieutenant, to fix this and give them a few hours of peace. Stepping forward with a hopefully hidden grimace, Thalia said, “It is better than someone else doing it, right? Just imagine what Hermes or Ares would do. The chaos would be unimaginable."
Artemis frowned. “That is true. It is settled- now all we must do is figure out how to convince him to do it,” she mused.
The girls looked at each other in triumph. Some of the older girls had smiles beginning to spread across their faces.
Apollo whistled merrily to himself as he walked. He loved California, with its beautiful sun and large music scene. Just as he started to head towards a free outdoor concert, however, he heard something odd.
“Apollo!” That sounded like Arty. She had rarely ever called for him to visit her. He always came on his own accord, of course.
Reaching out to his twin bond, he found that Artemis was currently in West Virginia with the girls. Closing his eyes, he imagined himself there. “Hey, baby sis! Whaddya doing?”
Artemis turned around to face him. “For the last time, I am older! I helped Mother birth you, remember?”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, Arty,” Apollo said, smirking. “Where are the girls?”
“They are far from your flirting,” she snapped, with slight signs of annoyance in her eyes.
“As fun as this is, why did you call me here? I saw this girl-”
“Chasing after a maiden? You should know better by now.” Artemis narrowed her sharp eyes at him. “Anyways, I was hoping you could help me with something, brother.”
Apollo’s brain stopped working. Had she just-what-how-what was going on!? He joked and boasted that he was older, and she denied it, but she never asked him, as her brother, for his help in anything. That was what always happened. Maybe she needed his help with something so serious it made her feel more comfortable to call him brother? He had always wanted to play the protective brother role.
“Ever since the wars, we have hunted thousands of monsters nonstop. The girls are exhausted, and I…” Artemis broke off suddenly as if she did not want to finish that thought.
“Yes?” Apollo encouraged.
“Well, I have not been feeling well lately, and I thought maybe a break would help me feel better,” she continued, still avoiding his gaze.
Apollo stared at her. “Why didn’t you say anything? If you are feeling under the weather, I would be more than happy to assist you.”
“Really? Anything?”
“Of course, sis! If you need me to hang with the girls or teach them archery or-“
Artemis’ eyes widened. “My Hunters are also feeling unwell, so I had planned to give them the day off. And well, I need someone experienced, like yourself, to raise the moon. Just for today, of course.”
“The moon? Are you sure? The last time I offered, you nearly decapitated me.” Apollo remembered that day far too well. “If it would make you feel better, I would love to ride the moon chariot, but, uh, couldn't you just split your consciousness and do both at the same time?”
Artemis looked up at him, avoiding his questioning gaze. In her reluctance to look at him, Apollo found his answers. She paused for a moment and offered, "I am just... tired, Apollo."
In other words, she needed a break too but could not bring herself to admit it. Apollo nodded encouragingly. "Of course. I can do it, Arty. Absolutely."
“Really? Thank you, brother. I will make this up to you somehow."
“No need. But maybe you let me call you Baby Sis for the rest of the week?” he questioned hopefully.
Thalia Grace suddenly emerged from the trees and hastily spoke up. “Lady Artemis would be more than happy to accommodate you, I am sure. Right, milady?”
Artemis begrudgingly nodded. “I suppose it is the least I can do.”
“Don’t worry, little sis. What could go wrong?” The moon chariot was not upgraded like his beloved sun, so surely it would not be that hard to drive a regular chariot, right?