Hey guys, Jack here with a revamp of a sort. I wanted to try something a little different this time around. I know the whole 'child of Artemis' deal has been done to death at this point, but this is an angle that I don't think has been quite done yet. Hopefully, you guys will like it.

I don't own any of the Percy Jackson series at all.

Thalia Grace moved the flap on her matron's tent and slipped inside. Despite the late summer heat that had all but stifled the camp for virtually a week now, the inside of the tent was a much cooler temperature. The walls and floors of the tent were adorned with pelts and hides of animals from all over the world. In the center was a bronze brazen with flames dancing about, providing both light and heat. Sitting amongst it all was a girl, about twelve or thirteen years in age with auburn colored hair. Thalia wasn't fooled by the appearance in the slightest.

"You summoned me, milady?" she asked. The girl regarded her with a smile and motioned to a spot across from her.

"I did. Sit," she said. Thalia did as instructed, silently wondering what this was all about. Probably a mission or a hunt. That was what these meetings were usually about.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here," she said, as if sensing Thalia's thoughts. Given the fact that she was a goddess, that probably was the case.

"Yes, milady," she answered. Artemis looked from her Lieutenant into the flames.

"I have a task for you, and you alone, Thalia. None of your sisters are allowed to join you on this hunt," she said. Thalia couldn't help but frown and give the goddess a wary look. It wasn't the first time she'd gone out by herself. Being a daughter of Zeus and the Lieutenant of Artemis to boot meant that she could take care of herself way better than most others. But it was the specific nature of her instructions, and the tone in which she gave them that gave Thalia goosebumps. She may have still been new to this job, at least but the Hunt's standards anyway, but she had been around long enough to pick up on Artemis's tendencies.

"What exactly am I hunting?" she asked. Images of various monsters went through her mind. She flashed back to when she had first joined the hunt, and how the cow fish hybrid her friend Percy Jackson had named Bessie threatened all of Olympus with it's very existence. But Thalia quickly dismissed it as being something on that scale. If the threat was that big, Artemis herself would have gone and told the Hunt to stay put.

"A person. There is someone I want you to find and bring back," Artemis said. The threat wasn't as bad as she'd predicted. Mortals were easy to track down. Demigods less so, but that depended on their parentage and if they knew their identity or not.

"Who?" she asked.

"A young woman by the name of Charlotte Thomas. Half blood, and she's aware of what she is," Artemis answered.

"Shouldn't be too hard. Do you know where I should start looking?" Thalia asked. A self aware demigod upped the difficulty level a little, but again, Thalia was a daughter of Zeus. Children of the Big Three were always far more powerful than other half bloods.

"The Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. She's taken up residence in an abandoned mine there," Artemis said. It wasn't much to go on, but Thalia had done more with less. She'd once tracked a hell hound across Montana with a two day old trail and a scruff of fur, compared to that, this should be a cakewalk.

"Thalia, I must warn you. Finding her won't be the difficult part. It's getting her to come back. She'll know who and what you are, and just for that, she'll fight against you," Artemis said.

"Because I'm a half blood or because I'm your Lieutenant?" Thalia asked, confused.

"Because you are my Lieutenant. I'm afraid Charlotte has had a problem with me, and by extension your sisters for some time now. I tried to get her to come back with Zoe, and now I am hoping that a fresh face will do the trick," the goddess explained. The logic behind the goddess' reasoning was sound enough. Thalia, despite her rank, didn't dress like the others in the Hunt. While the standard uniform of a hunter consisted of a silver jacket, silvery camo pants, and black combat boots, Thalia still dressed in her punk attire from before she had joined. The only thing that identified her position was the silver circlet that rested on her head. It was possible that she would be better off if she didn't dress like her sisters.

"Will this Charlotte try to kill me?" Thalia asked.

"I doubt she will try to outright. That doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare for a fight though," Artemis warned. Again, this was nothing Thalia wasn't use to. The vast majority of monsters the Hunt went after could have torn her to shreds with ease, and she loved sparing. She'd been longing for a good fight for a while now, and this might have finally been her chance to scratch that itch.

"I shall set off immediately, milady," Thalia said before she stood to leave the tent.

"Thalia. One last thing. This girl, she's unlike anything you've gone after before. Be very careful," Artemis said.

"I will not fail you, Lady Artemis."

Black Mountain, North Carolina. Three Days Later.

The ease in which Thalia found this Charlotte's hideout was something that just screamed trap to her. Artemis had gone out of her way to warn her about this girl, and yet she was sloppy enough that Thalia was able to track her down with little to no effort. It was clear to the daughter of Zeus that she didn't care if she was found, or worse, wanted to be found.

Even the locals had taken notice of her presence. The moment Thalia had stepped off the bus in town, she'd seen a poster that depicted her prey's face and name. Apparently she was wanted for questioning by the local law, and social services weren't too far behind them, wanting to know why a teenager was living by herself in the woods.

That didn't exactly put Thalia's mind at ease. The fact that she was still out there in the forest, despite all of the locals looking for her told the Lieutenant of Artemis everything she needed to know about this girl she was after. She was bold, if not a little cocky, and she had the skill to back it up.

Thalia found the camp she was looking for easy enough. Maybe the locals couldn't do it, but she had the goddess of the hunt on her side. The entrance to the mine was mostly overgrown with forest foliage, yet there was a canvas tarp that had been strung up so as to divert rain away from the shaft. A small campfire burned near the tarp, and several pelts of various animals were strung out to dry. There was even a Dutch oven that hung over the fire with a soup bubbling inside. Everything about the sight made it clear that someone was around, and yet no one was to be found.

Well, at least that's what it appeared, until an arrow buried itself in the tree next to her head.

"Move an inch and I'll bury you, Hunter," a feminine voice said. From out of the brush rose a slim form. It was a young woman, not much older than herself. Her hair was a dull copper color, and her skin was covered with dirt and mud, both from moving in the underbrush and purposely applying it to herself. She wore an oilskin poncho, a pair of faded and dirty camo pants, and a worn out set of combat boots.

In her hands and held at the ready was a simple wooden short bow. Several leather straps were wound tightly around the center of the bow to form a grip. Thalia realized that by the time she summoned her own bow, the other archer would have put her arrow through her eye.

"I'm not here to hurt you," Thalia said calmly, keeping her hands visible so as to show that she wasn't armed.

"Oh, I know why you're here, Lieutenant. Frankly you can turn right around, go back to Artemis and tell her you failed," the young woman, Charlotte, said.

"Listen, Charlotte.."

"Charlie!" she interrupted, causing Thalia to pause in surprise.

"What?"

"It's Charlie, not Charlotte!" she snapped. Thalia would have pointed out that she didn't care, but the fact that there was an arrow currently pointed at her throat made her focus on the task at hand.

"Sorry. Listen, all Artemis wants to do is talk, that's it," she said. Charlie actually snorted at that, clearly finding this fact amusing to some degree.

"Yeah, right. 'Just wants to talk'. That's what she always says. I'm not falling for that one again," she said.

"She just sent me, and not the entire Hunt. Isn't that enough proof of her not wanting to harm you?" Thalia pointed out. Charlie's eyes narrowed, and she lowered her bow somewhat.

"You're new, aren't you? How long have you been her Lieutenant?" she asked.

"A few years now."

"And what happened to your predecessor, Zoe?" Thalia felt a pang of sadness in her heart and cast her eyes toward the ground.

"She was killed," she answered. For the longest time, Charlie remained silent and stoic. So much so that Thalia began to wonder if Medusa had snuck up behind her and turned her to shone without her knowing. Finally, she took a breath and lowered her bow entirely.

"I'm not going to try and convince you to think any differently about your patron. You swore your oath, you made your choice, and you have to live with that. I'll go with you, but only this once, because that's what Zoe would have wanted. After that, all bets are off the table," she said.

"I can live with that," Thalia said as she lowered her hands. Charlie slung her bow across her midsection and motioned for the young woman to follow her. She led the way into the small camp and stopped at the pot hanging over the fire. Picking up a large metal spoon, she began to stir the brown liquid inside.

"What's your name?" she asked without looking up from the soup.

"Thalia."

"Nice to meet you, Thalia. I'm Charlie," she said. Thalia couldn't help but notice that a lot of the hostility she sensed coming off of the young woman had vanished, or at the very least retreated. There was still an underlying sense of unhappiness there, although she seemed to at least be trying to make nice with her new guest.

"It's getting late. We'll stay here for the evening, head back to town at first light," Charlie said.

"Why don't we just head out now?" Thalia asked. She was a Hunter of Artemis, in the forest. She was in her prime. Yet, Charlie was shaking her head.

"It's a new moon tonight. Cuts back on all your abilities and makes climbing down the mountain more dangerous than it needs to be. Better to sit tight and wait," Charlie said. Thalia was going to argue, but realized that she was right. Her connection to Artemis was at it's most diminished during a new moon. That, and Charlie had made it clear she had no intention of going anywhere until dawn. Both were good enough reasons to stick around.

Night fell rather quickly, and Thalia found that she was happy she'd decided to follow Charlie's lead. Without the moon and with an overcast sky, the entirety of the forest around them was cast in a soupy darkness. Only the campfire and a few lanterns that Charlie lit up were the source of any kind of light at all.

"So, what's your beef with Artemis?" she asked. Charlie didn't answer, but rather broke a branch across her knee with a loud snap and tossed both ends on the fire.

"Sorry I asked," Thalia muttered before turning away slightly.

"No, wait. It's not right of me to be angry with you. You've done nothing wrong," she said before taking a long sigh and sitting back on the balls of her feet. To Thalia, she looked worn and tired. No doubt she'd been living off the land for a long time, probably hunted by both the local mortals and any monsters on the prowl.

"My problem with Artemis is a…very personal matter. She took something from me without asking how I felt about it first," she started.

"She kicked you out of the Hunt?" Thalia asked. To her surprise, Charlie shook her head.

"No, well, not exactly. I was more of an honorary member than anything else. But, I messed up, made a mistake. As punishment, she took away who I was and made me…this," Charlie said, motioning toward herself in the process. The Daughter of Zeus gave her a confused look.

"I don't follow," she said.

"My name, my birth name anyway, was Charles Thomas," she explained. Thalia's look of confusion only hardened.

"You use to be a guy?" she asked. Charlie nodded somberly, looking into the crackling light of the fire.

"I started out as an orphan. Mom died when I was small, and the Hunt found me in the forest living off of nuts and berries. Artemis took pity on me and sort of adopted me into the Hunt. But, a few years back, I messed up big time. Artemis turned me before she cast me out of the Hunt entirely. I've been on my own ever since," she said bitterly.

"She could have turned you into an antelope. I think you got off easy considering what she usually does to guys that stumble across the hunt," Thalia pointed out.

"I was suppose to be different," Charlie replied quietly. Thalia got the feeling that the last statement had been directed inward rather then for the both of them. The two lapsed into a silence after that, with Thalia retreating into her thoughts. Her instinct was to jump to her matron's defense. At the same time, however, she could see why Charlie was so bitter, even if she didn't know the whole story.

"How did she die?" The question was so quiet that the daughter of Zeus almost missed it entirely. She looked across the fire to find that Charlie wasn't looking at her, but rather was staring into the flames with a forlorn look.

"What?" Thalia asked, not sure she heard correctly the first time.

"Zoe. How did she die?" Charlie asked, a little louder. Thalia looked into the fire herself, her heart sinking at the memory.

"She was killed fighting Atlas while trying to free Artemis from holding up the sky. My Lady honored her by putting her in the stars," Thalia said, looking toward the clouds which hid constellation overhead that was her one time friend and predecessor. Charlie looked upwards as well, her eyes shinning with unshed tears.

"I thought I'd noticed something new. It suits her," she said.

"Were you close with her?" Thalia asked. Charlie didn't answer, but rather pulled her legs further into her chest and making herself into a ball.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's alright. Yeah, you could say I was close to Zoe. Maybe a little too close," she said. Thalia caught the underlying sense of sadness coming from the young woman, and decided to leave the subject be. If she wanted to talk more about it, Charlie would. Otherwise it was best just to let her have her space.

"You want to know, don't you," she said, her tone making it clear that it was a statement, not a question.

"What?" Thalia asked, playing innocent. All this did was earn a look of annoyance from Charlie.

"Don't play dumb. I can see it written all over your face. You want to know what I did to get gender bent and cast out," she said matter of factly. For a while, Thalia didn't answer. There were usually two reasons why someone left the Hunt. Death, or love. Seeing as how Charlie wasn't dead, that narrowed down her options.

"You fell in love, didn't you," she guessed. Charlie nodded an affirmative.

"Yeah. I fell in love. But I didn't act on it, I kept it to myself. Still, Artemis and the entire Hunt found out, and now here we sit," she said.

"It was Zoe, wasn't it?"

"That's one too many questions for tonight, Lieutenant," Charlie said, her voice containing some of the coldness it had when they had first met. Thalia wisely kept her mouth shut as Charlie rearranged some stuff around her and reclined so that she was looking up into the dark sky.

"Get some sleep, we got a long trek," she said. Thalia nodded in agreement before lying back herself and staring up at the dark, cloud filled sky, wondering what sort of secrets were still being kept from her.

If Thalia had anything to say about her new companion, it was that she had an odd taste when it came to clothing. Charlie looked like a modern homeless kid had mugged a mountain man and stolen everything he had. She was wearing a black wide brimmed cap and had a matching buckskin satual and back quiver slung over her midsection.

"I thought hunters were suppose to blend in, not stick out like broken thumbs," Thalia pointed out. In the middle of the woods, Charlie's attire might have been one thing. Walking down main street in a modern town? That was a different story.

"Would you rather I had gone with my tits hanging out? Cause most of my other clothes are in rags," Charlie snipped back.

"I could have gone into town and got you some clothes."

"You mean stolen some. Cause I don't have a lick of cash and all you had was enough to get us back here to the Base Camp," Charlie countered.

"Still."

"That's more attention from the cops than either one of us want, Lieutenant, and you know it. Just grin and go along with it, you're not the one wearing buckskins," she said. As much as Thalia hated to admit it, Charlie was right. Shop lifting clothes was a good way to get the attention of the local authorities. If that happened, they would have hiked all the way back to the Hunt's camp, rather than enjoying a peaceful bus ride.

So there they were, a teen punk and a mountain man wannabe riding on a bus and getting strange looks from everyone around them. Thalia would have called the whole thing ridiculous, if not for the fact that her demigod lifestyle made this whole thing seem like a normal day.

Thankfully, they had made it back to the Hunt's camp without incident. But as soon as they crossed the camp's boundary, the Lieutenant of Artemis immediately felt a shift, both from her new companion and in the air around them. Many of her sisters emerged from their tents or paused in the activates they had been doing, watching them as they made their way toward Artemis' tent.

Although she hadn't drawn any weapons, Thalia noticed that Charlie's hand had fallen to rest on the hilt of the hunting knife stuck in her belt. You could almost feel the hostility coming off of the Hunters around them. It was like she had brought a male into camp uninvited. Although, judging by her attire, it was possible that was what they had mistaken Charlie for.

Reaching the entrance to the tent, the pair of them paused. Charlie had visibility paled, and a sheen of sweat had appeared on her brow. Still, she had removed her hat and was holding it in her hands in a respectful manner, showing off her hair which had been pulled back into a messy bun.

"She just wants to talk," Thalia reminded, her voice low so that only the two of them could hear. Charlie exhaled slowly and nodded, although it didn't seem like she was really convinced. The gods were notoriously temperamental beings, and Artemis was no exception. There was nothing that said that she wouldn't turn the young outcast into a ferret the moment she entered the tent.

Finally, Charlie gave Thalia a short, curt nod, and the Lieutenant led the way into the tent. As usual, the tent's interior was cooler than the outside summer air, and it took a brief moment for the two demigods' eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. Artemis was sitting before the brazier in the center of the tent, facing away from them.

"Milady, I've brought the hunter you requested," Thalia said, making their presence known.

"Well done, Thalia. Hello, Charlotte, it has been some time," the goddess said without turning to face them. Out of the corner of her eye, Thalia saw Charlie's grip on her hat tighten.

"Milady," Charlie said.

"It's been some time," the goddess said as she turned to face them.

"Lady Artemis, I came as you asked, can we please skip to why I'm here," Charlie replied. Artemis frowned for a moment, but the look quickly melted back into the usual stoic mask she wore.

"Very well. There's a special hunt I want you to undertake. A rouge lycanthrope has been terrorizing a town not far from here. Go there, hunt the werewolf down and kill it, before things get worse," the goddess said.

"Why me?" Charlie asked, shooting a glance toward Thalia.

"You were one of the best hunters I have ever trained. I know that you can get this done quickly and cleanly."

"And what's in it for me? I'm not one of your hunters, milady, I need more motivation than just your say so." The goddess sighed as if she was disappointed, but had been expecting this.

"I expected as much. Kill this beast, sacrifice it's pelt to me, and I'll consider it the first of three tasks done."

"Let me guess, I'll receive a great reward if I complete the tasks?" Charlie asked. She didn't sound disrespectful, or at least like she didn't intend to be. Quests were common for demigods. To Thalia in particular, it had gotten to the point that most quests were like getting asked to pick something up at the grocery store. Based on her experience so far, she figured it must have been the same thing for Charlie.

"I will restore your original identity," she offered. For the first time since she stepped into the tent, Charlie's emotionless mask cracked.

"Everything?" she asked, her voice much softer now.

"Yes, child. Everything, should you succeed," the goddess confirmed. There was silence in the tent for a long time. Artemis sat in patient silence, waiting for an answer. Charlie looked unnerved and uneasy, as if she wasn't quite sure if she could even believe what was being offered to her. Thalia simply sat and watched between the two with a curious nature, wanting to see where this went.

"I'm going to need some silver arrows," Charlie finally said, "can't kill a werewolf with bronze and steel, now can I?"

Canaan Heights, West Virginia. Two weeks later.

Thalia wasn't sure who was crazier, her new companion, or herself for volunteering to come along on this hunt in the first place. Maybe she had felt sympathy for the other girl's plight, or maybe she just wanted to prove herself. Either way, she expected a relatively simple and straight forward hunt. They had arrived in the small mountain town, expecting to find signs of a lone werewolf on the prowl. Local pets, maybe even a random person or two going missing, that sort of thing.

Instead, they'd found that almost the entire town had been turned, and the whole place was now an infestation on the verge of getting out of control. The town church had been vandalized, replacing the Christian images with pagan depictions of Lycon and wolves in general. It only got worse, as during their investigation they discovered that the pack had devoured all of the town's children under the age of twelve.

Charlie, for her part, went off the rails at this point. While Thalia had opted for the option of sending for Artemis and the rest of the Hunt, Charlie seemed bound and determined to burn the entire town to the ground on her own. Thalia stuck by her side, trying to keep her from getting mauled in a rage. Eventually, the young huntress calmed down enough to where she able to at least think tactically about what needed to be done.

"I just want to go on record saying that this was all a horrible idea," Thalia said. The two huntresses were standing in the middle of the town square, over the form of a large wolf. Thalia had her shield and spear deployed, while Charlie had her bow with an arrow nocked. Around them, the night had closed in, and a full moon hung overhead in a cloudless sky.

The town burned with eerie emerald green flames, casting an unholy glow which mixed with the silver moonlight. Greek fire was a terrifyingly effective weapon, sparing nothing in it's path, be it mortal, monster, or god. Tonight, Thalia knew full well that the weapon had done it's task. Howls had gone up into the night, briefly drowning out the crackle of the flames. But it wasn't long before they fell silent. The few that had made it out of the raging infernos were cut down by the two huntresses. Now, there was only one thing left to do.

"Probably. Just have that horn of yours' ready," Charlie said. The church before them burned like the rest of the town. As it's steeple tilted and then collapsed into the green flames, Charlie watched, a look of mild satisfaction on her face. Drawing her hunting knife from her belt, she began the process of skinning the wolf.

It didn't take her experienced hands long, and soon she was stalking toward the burning church with the still bloody pelt in her hands.

"For Artemis!" she proclaimed before throwing it into the emerald flames. The moon seemed to shine a little brighter, and as if on cue, Thalia blew her horn. It was only the span of a few heartbeats, but it felt like hours before a second horn answered her own. From out of the shadows came the Hunt, their weapons drawn and at the ready as they came.

"Thalia, take your sisters and fan out. Cut down any survivors you may find," Artemis ordered as she came forward.

'Yes, milady," she replied before hurrying off to carry out the task. As she left, the goddess turned her gaze to the young woman standing before her. Her eyebrow was raised slightly as she studied the damage around them.

"Seems a little extreme for one werewolf," she noted.

"It wasn't just one werewolf, and you know it," Charlie replied bitterly. The brief smile that graced her lips confirmed that the young huntress was right.

"You and Thalia did well. The first of your tasks is complete," Artemis said.

"What is the next task?" Charlie asked. She couldn't bring herself to look at the goddess. If the first of these tasks required an entire town to be burned, what would the second and third ones require. Just how far was she willing to go to get her old self back?

"Go to the tip of Long Island. There is a camp there, a safe haven for demigods. I will send you your next task there," she answered. Charlie remained quiet for a long time, watching as the fires around them began to die down. Finally, she took her arrow from her bow and returned it to the quiver on her back.

"Long Island, huh? I've always wanted to check New York out," she said.

And cut, that's a wrap for this chapter. Please read, review, let me know what you liked or didn't like, and i'll see you all next time.