Hi everyone, a quick note that though I'm not sure where this original idea for this plot is from, I got the idea for this chapter from 's oneshot book, so definitely go and check them out!

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Rina Kang drummed her fingers against her desk, feeling the small ache in the pads of her fingers with every hit. Ancient Greek was probably the most boring part of the day for her, save for whenever the teacher decided to teach them about monsters and the Hunters of Artemis. If given the chance, Rina would drop everything to join the Hunters, so having some decent knowledge about the world and its monsters seemed like a wise choice if she ever wished to be invited, somehow, someday.

North Bout High was one of the less privileged ones in America, meaning that most of the misfit students were sent there when no elite high school would take them in. If there was one thing schools cared about more than snatching the crinkling dollar bills out of your hands, it was their own reputation. No school wanted to be known as a terrible one—that was something Rina was sure every administrator could agree on. And with North Bout in desperate need of students in the area that they were situated in, misfits were all they could take in. Rina was forced to come here because of her living situation, though she couldn't say the say for her three friends; Brooke, Isabella, and Sandra.

Isabella and Sandra were both expelled from their previous schools for being a tad bit too expressive of their dislike of men—meaning the breaking of some noses for just saying a simple hello to the two girls—whereas Brooke had come to North Bout due to the fact that the number of girls here outnumbered the guys, and her parents didn't wish to be the reason for a third student responsible for unwarranted broken bones in their old school. Rina was almost positive that Sandra had temper issues, though she never thought it wise to bring it up.

Rina glanced at the clock hanging above the door, grinning with she saw the time. It was now eleven-thirty, which was when she had been instructed to head to the administration office to show a new student around. That meant that not only would Rina get to skip forty minutes of ancient Greek, but she got to get a potential friend and possible Hunters of Artemis enthusiast, if she was lucky, at least.

• • •

Rina walked up to the front desk, peering over the edge of the cold stone table to see Keilly typing away at her computer, muttering something under her breath. "Hi Keilly," greeted Rina with a smile. Keilly was probably the nicest person in the entirety of North Bout, and she always told the students to call her by her name.

"Hello, Rina dear. Are you here for the new student?" inquired Keilly, kiwi accent rich. Rina nodded with a smile, digging around the front pocket of her bag and taking out her phone with its ridiculously cracked screen protector. She pulled up the email from earlier that week, showing her screen to Keilly for her to see. The blonde seemed to read the contents of the email with slight difficulty, before nodding. "You're right on time, dear. Thalia's just arrived." chimed Keilly, standing up and making her way around the desk to bring Rina to a small corner of the office, where a pale girl with dark hair sat cross-legged in one of the less wrecked plastic chairs.

Keilly motioned at the space between Rina and the girl, smile still bright. "Well I better be off, enjoy your first day, dear!" said Keilly to the girl before stepping back towards her desk. Rina turned to the girl, giving a small wave to which the girl—Thalia—just stared at. Thalia was dressed in dark clothes, a Death to Barbie t-shirt partially hidden beneath a parka jacket that was not fitting for the current weather, a weird silver bracelet was wrapped around her wrist, and a Mace canister hanging from a hook on her belt. Thalia had some sort of circlet on her head, keeping the mop of shaggy black hair tamer than what it might've looked like without it.

The punk look was a bit like a slap to the past, but in a good way. It suited Thalia, and brought out the sharp contrast of her almost electrified-looking blue eyes. Rina grinned, she seemed like a fun person to be around, that much she was sure of. "Hi, Thalia. My name's Rina. Ready for your tour?"

Thalia seemed to examine Rina for a second, before standing up with her backpack in hand. She slung the strap over her shoulder, and nodded, a grin playing on her lips. "Lead the way."

• • •

"Guys, meet Thalia!" announced Rina upon spotting the three girls sitting against a wall. The cafeteria was always overcrowded at lunchtimes, so the four of them just decided to just sit at the small benches across from the small school field.

Isabella was the first to look up, and she lowered her sandwich to wave hello, shaking her head once to get a stray strand of brown hair out of her eyes. "Hello," chorused the three girls, motioning for Rina and Thalia to sit. "What's with the hunting gear?" asked Sandra, head tilted to one side. With a start, Rina realised that there were an array of knives, ropes, and weird fabrics on her utility belt, how had she not seen them before?

Thalia raised an eyebrow, taking a large bite of her muesli bar. "I'm in a hunting group with some of my friends," she said with ease, as if she had been waiting for the question to come "It's not like the school cares about me bringing some stuff in what with the lack of faculties, so I didn't think it a big deal." Rina nodded, eyeing the glinting silver blade peeking out of the small sheath at Thalia's calf.

The next couple minutes consisted of random topics of conversation that came up, and the occasional comment on the Hunters of Artemis, as well as everyone's dislike of boys. Seeing the passion in Thalia's electric eyes made Rina smile, she was definitely not a fan of boys, and if she was right, Thalia could even be a Hunters of Artemis enthusiast, like her and the others.

"Hey, Thalia, right? I heard you're new, wanna hang out after school?" Rina frowned, turning around to see that the voice had belonged to none other than Percy Jackson, the one boy she never expected those words to come from. Percy was a nice guy, and apparently had a girlfriend who he was very committed to, so it didn't make sense why he was here hitting on Thalia. Rina turned to the girl in question, expecting the annoyed look she had possessed earlier in the day when a boy asked the same thing during their tour, only to see Thalia sporting an annoyed yet fond grin on her face. Apparently even she would succumb to the charm of Percy's smile. Rina began mourning the loss of a potential new aspiring Hunter of Artemis, when Thalia jumped up from the ground and punched Percy in the bicep. Hard enough to hurt, though Percy didn't even flinch.

"What in Hades, Jackson? Gods, I swear you're becoming dumber by the year." snickered Thalia.

"Missed ya' too, Pinecone Face." answered Percy, tapping the side of her circlet in an almost brotherly way.

"What are you even doing here?" asked Thalia, shaking her head.

"Chiron wanted to spread us out, Grover said that there was a lot of. . .activity in this area. I'll transfer back to Goode next year, but for now, you're stuck with me."

Thalia seemed to grow concerned when Percy spoke of 'activity', but brightened when he finished his sentence. "Let's get burgers after school then, we have a lot to catch up on."

Percy nodded, before stepping away back to wherever he had been sitting before, though not before doing some sort of quick secret handshake with Thalia that only consisted of a fist bump and somehow odd-looking handshake.

Once Thalia sat back down, all eyes were on her. Rina leaned over her bag, resting her elbows on the rough fabric of the front. "What was that about? You know Percy has a girlfriend, right?" chimed Brooke with a single raised eyebrow, and Rina blinked. She hadn't even thought about that—nothing about Thalia and Percy Jackson's interaction struck her as anything but platonic, though she supposed she wouldn't know much about what counted as romantic—to her, anything more than hand-holding was it.

Thalia blinked. "What—" she paused, as if processing. "What do you take me for, Anderson? Firstly, Percy is my literal cousin, and secondly, I don't date."

Rina couldn't help but wince when Thalia mentioned her relations to Percy, but perked up at her second point. She didn't date, and she knew just about anything there was to know about the Hunters of Artemis. Rina locked gazes with the others, motioning for Sandra to speak.

"We just had a thought," said Sandra. "Brooke, Isa, Rina, and I, we have a club. All four of us want to join the Hunters of Artemis someday, and if I'm not wrong, you do too? We wear something silver to school everyday, and every other Thursday, we throw together ideas on how to catch the attention of a Hunter—or the lieutenant, whoever can get us an in."

Thalia blinked yet again, as if taken aback. She seemed to think about it, before giving a slow nod, as if devising a complicated plan. "Alright," she finally said. "Meet me after school by the entrance to the woods behind school, don't be late."

• • •

That afternoon, Rina had gone to the entrance of the woods to see that Brooke, Sandra, and Isabella were all already there. It had gotten a lot colder throughout the day, and Rina didn't want to spend any more time outside than she needed to. "If she doesn't show in ten, I'm leaving." Isabella grumbled, throwing a pretty grey cardigan over her black dress. She took drama, and had just had an assessment that had required all-black attire. In the plain outfit, Isabella looked like a completely different person with a completely different personality.

Soon, ten minutes was up, and the girls were about to leave, when they heard the horn.

It was a conch horn, Rina realised. She tugged on Sandra's back strap, motioning for her and the others to stop walking. The four turned back to the woods to see a large group of girls jog out from the rows and rows of trees. There were some who looked twenty, some ten, some in between. The girls were all dressed in similar attire, with their hair done up save for the ones with short bobs, dark tank tops paired with jeans and combat boots, and silver parkas either on or around their waists. All the girls wore utility belts that looked identical to the one Thalia wore, except theirs didn't have a canister hooked on. Some of them carried bows and with quivers slung over their shoulders and weapons on their belts, others carried backpacks and satchels with gauze tapes and small bags hooked to their belts.

Rina didn't know just what to think—all she knew was that she was here, in front of the Hunters of Artemis.

"Sorry I'm late."

Rina turned her head slightly to see a familiar face walking up from the back of the Hunters, a petite auburn-haired girl with glinting silver eyes standing beside her. Thalia still wore the same attire from earlier that day, except now, she had a bow and quiver slung over her shoulder, with two hunting knives in her hands.

"Well, let's just say you did it: you caught the attention of the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. Congratulations."

• • •

"I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis, turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."

Thalia grinned at Brooke, then Sandra, then Isabella, and lastly Rina. Rina glanced down at her palms, basking in the soft warmth that filled her as she glowed momentarily with the blessing of Artemis, who stood in the crowd of the old hunters. Thalia smiles as she raises a hand up, throwing her palm down with a hunting knife in hand, directing a charge of electricity into the earth. The hunters all raised their bows at her movement, firing the arrows off into the distance. Somewhere in the back of her head, Rina recognised that this probably didn't usually happen when someone was crowned a hunter.

"Well, girls." grinned Thalia. "Welcome to the Hunt."