Disclaimer- I do not own any of the characters they all belong to Rick Riordan and Greek Mythology

We continue on our journey towards Camp Half-blood. As we walk through the busy streets of Manhattan full of bustling people the five new additions all bombard us with questions.

"How long have you all been a hunter?"

"How many monsters have you killed?"

"What is this camp you're going to?"

"Are all of you human or are some of you not?"

"Will we learn to fight?" We all just chuckle at their relentless interrogation while answering to the best of our ability: A long time, A lot of them but they always come back, A camp for children of the gods, No barley any of us are fully human, Yes you all need to be able to protect yourselves. It continues like this for the rest of the day. We all follow Artemis as many of us older hunters are lost in the modernised world and even newer hunters are confused as to where we are going. Artemis on the other hand navigates the streets with ease as if she does this everyday just like all the other people in the city.

We walk for around 3 hours after the encounter before we reach the outskirts of the city. As the strange buildings gave way to more trees we started to feel more at home; this was where we belonged. We had made it tout the city with only a few more distractions from a couple of stray monsters here and there. We walked another half an hour before the buildings completely gave way to flat countryside. There was the occasional tree placed here and there but otherwise nothing to provide sufficient shelter for tonight.

The sun had started to sink into the horizon before we made it to the dense forest. To many it would seem daunting and scary, all different branches reaching for you and unknown creatures. I could even see our newest hunters slightly hesitant to continue, going quiet and dropping back. "Don't worry," I told them, "you're hunters now, nothing can hurt you especially in the forest." We aren't the many, to us the forest is inviting a calming place where we overpower anything hostile towards us not there is much. It has become our home and safe haven since we were driven from our old ones. Even now we could tell that as we made our way deeper Riley, Ripley, Alex, Peta and Felicity were becoming more accustomed to their surroundings and calming down. They wove in and out of trees playing around in this new environment and a couple of us couldn't help but join in with their antics (later we claimed it was a training exercise to help with their stealth)while we searched for a suitable clearing to set up camp.

We found a clearing quickly that was perfect. We all set up our individual tents before doing the mandatory jobs needed when we set up camp. A couple of us went to help the new girls set up and answer more questions, another two went to find the nearest water source, a larger group of around five went to catch game for dinner and the rest of us set up the communal areas; dining tent, a fire pit, weapons storage et cetera. As we this I looked up and realized Artemis was right ;I couldn't see as many stars as I used to. As I looked I realized that all the old constellations such as Asterism, Rangifer, Cerberus and Felis were less obvious than a few years ago even Ursa major and Orion's belt were less bright than most constellations normally are. I was distressed as we used constellations and stars to navigate therefore if we can't see them we can't navigate easily. The stars were also my reminders of the garden and my sisters whom I would stargaze with almost every night to see if any of us could find new constellations. I didn't have time to dwell on it though as Artemis came back with the hunting group and we had to prepare a meal.

Artemis and her group of five had returned with a large stag as well as 3 rabbits. The hunt was obviously a large success and we instantly swarmed them to prepare our meal in the dying light. Megan and Alison instantly lit a large fire while the rest of us prepare the animals for cooking. This would give the embers time to form and provide the heat required to cook. Half of us skinned the animals, keeping the pelts in good condition to use in other situations, while the other half created a salad by foraging for plants and going through our stores of fresh food.

Half an hour later everything was cooking over the fire. The salad was prepared so we were just awaiting the meat. While we all sat around the fire older hunters were asking our new recruits what they thought so far. Each of the sounded as though they were content and glad they had joined. At that Phoebe laughed claiming that, "you haven't even experienced the best part yet, beating the pathetic campers in capture the flag. Don't worry though as we'll get that chance in a couple of nights time once we get to camp." We laughed and recounted the 54 times the campers had lost to us in their own game. By that time dinner was ready and we all conversed in the light of the dying embers and the celestial bodies above us.

As we were all close to finishing we heard a deep, enchanting howl resonate through the woods. It's sound rattling around in my skull. However, no matter how beautiful this sound was we all recognized and shuddered. "Peta, ripley, riley, Felicity and Alex, get to your tents now and don't come out until we say. You don't have the experienced required to stand against this foe," Artemis orders. They immediately follow their orders. Artemis then turns to us, "you all know what to do. Those experienced with daggers, knives, spears swords, anything melee you get up close while the rest of us pick them off from behind. Remember they are formidable and this close to full moon they will be growing restless," Artemis warns before we hear the familiar sound of paws padding across the decomposing leaves.

They are approaching fast, their heavy steps disturbing the peace of the forest. "Be ready for anything girls, remember that they play dirty," Artemis says. The tension is rising and I adjust the grip on my bow, having my first arrow loosely in drawn. Awaiting the moment when this foe burst into the clearing. Seconds later they arrive. At least 30-40 wolves, all quickly changing to human once the notice us. A man with blood red eyes, greasy soot coloured hair and a bone crown stepped forward. He was wearing a robe of pelts which, due to the lack of care smelt strongly of death himself. We were frozen, no movement by either side as him and Artemis had a glaring competition.

"M'lady, I must say when I caught the whiff of deer in the area I was not expecting to find anything but a humble snack, let alone a goddess," the man smirked as he mocked Artemis. His fanged canines showing.

"Of course Lycaon, but don't you find joy in feasting on human flesh, after all that is why you are this way, isn't it?" Artemis innocently shot back, hoping to aggravate the Werewolf king. It had the desired effect as he howled and clenched his fists.

"It seems the little goddess has some fight, we'll soon put an end to that," he snarled before launching towards Artemis. His form changing to a wolf in the air. He aimed his teeth at her throat but was quickly shot out of the air by Alish. That was the unspoken signal as the rest of his pack of dogs charged us after that.

The battle was a blur. I was on autopilot following the simple instructions of grab an arrow, draw, aim and shoot. I repeated this over and over again in my head. Wolves came jumping at us with fangs and claws as sharp as knives all aiming to kill. We would slow them down with our arrows but very few would stay down. That coupled with our already dramatic lack of numbers led me to change tactics. I broke the line of archers creating a wall preventing the wolves from entering our camp, trading my bow for a silver dagger I stabbed into a wolf's neck as it came flying at me. It collapsed instantly staying down for a while before exploding into golden dust. By that time I was already busy with another foe. Occasionally a wolf would change to try and pin one of us or throw a stray arrow back but that would lead to more harm coming to them. As we were engaging the pack Lycaon and Artemis were having their own fight. The moonlight from the waxing Gibbous giving both of them strength. They would switch between wolf and human forms making the fight seem almost fluid as an attack would begin with a knife then end with the sharp canines of a wolf. They were fairly evenly matched however occasionally both of them would get a lucky shot.

After five minutes of combat Lycaon called for surrender. We looked over and saw him defenceless with Artemis's dagger aimed right at his heart. Both were bleeding heavily, rivers of immortal ichor leaving multiple wounds in their bodies. Lycaon gave Artemis one more toothy grin and a taunting remark before shifting and leading his pack in a retreat. While we hadn't evened the numbers there was a considerable dent in his pack, which was enough to give us the feel of victory. We all cheered and hugged each other. The five girls came out and asked what happened. We explained all of it about how Lycaon was our number one enemy as we were one of the few who possessed the right equipment to kill him and his mangy pack. We promised them that next time there is a battle they would be experienced enough to participate.

After a quick celebration we made the call of an early night. Hoping for an early rise before continuing on our way towards Camp Half-blood. We each retreated to our tents and giving each other final congratulations on performance in the battle. Entering my tent I lay down and allow myself to drift into Hypnos's realm to the calming sounds of the forest.

Hey,

This updated was a lot quicker than the last one. It also isn't as long though. Any thoughts, criticism or questions feel free to contact me and we're on the countdown for the last 3 chapters.

-Ella Rae