21

Harry took a stance, then threw the shield attached to his left arm. It flew straight and true, before hitting one of the pillars in the backyard of Helios' Temple. The godly weapon struck sparks, then bounced off in an irregular fashion, tumbling to the ground.

The boy frowned, then walked over to pick it up. No matter how many times he tried, it just wouldn't bounce back to him. The comics made it look so easy, but it was turning out to be incredibly hard instead. He didn't even know whether it was even possible at all!

His godly, Athena-given shield was pretty well balanced, and he could definitely hit things with it, but it just wouldn't bounce off in any kind of regular pattern, anything at all that he could use to figure out how to get it to bounce back. It was infuriating!

Having picked up his shield, he made sure it was still in perfect condition. It was, just like the three or four dozen times before.

Once again, he threw the shield, aiming it at the pillar. It hit, struck sparks, bounced, and tumbled to the ground nowhere near where Harry had expected it to land. He sighed again. Throwing the shield could potentially be a very good move, if only it didn't leave him without a shield afterwards. If he could figure out how to bounce it back, he'd have an awesome new skill.

He picked up his shield, attached it to his arm, then dismissed it. He wasn't getting anywhere with it, not today. Maybe he'd have to ask Miss Athena and brave the look of incredible disappointment on her face.

Whether that would be disappointment because he couldn't figure it out for himself, or whether it was disappointment because he was trying to emulate comic books and should know better, he wasn't sure of yet.

Instead, he took another stance, and wove his way through some martial arts sets, pushing himself to be as fast as possible yet retain his accuracy. He couldn't allow himself to get sloppy, after all.

He was well underway, and had worked up a nice sweat, when he heard someone knocking on the doors of the temple. While visitors weren't entirely unheard of, they were rather rare, so Harry wondered who it could be.

Picking up a towel, he started wiping off most of the sweat that had gathered on his face and in his hair as he walked to the door. The knock sounded again, causing Harry to break into a quicker trot. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" he shouted.

He reached the door and started pulling it open. "I'm sorry, I was in the back ya..." he trailed off when he saw that his visitor was one of Artie's gorgeous deer, carrying a metal message tube in its mouth. "Yard," he finished.

The massive animal seemed to study him for a bit, before stepping closer and depositing the message tube in the boy's hurriedly raised hand. "Whoa, thanks," he breathed, slowly reaching up his free hand and petting the deer's soft fur along its neck.

It didn't seem to mind, and so Harry spent a few moments petting it. Finally, the deer seemed to have enough and stepped back, dipping it head in a sort of bow or greeting, its massive rack of antlers making dangerous-looking motions as it did so, before turning, taking three steps, and vanishing.

Harry grinned. He'd gotten to pet one of Artie's deer. Already the day looked up!

Stepping back inside, he looked at the massive statue of Helios. "It was one of Artie's deer with a message," the boy said, holding up the message tube. Helios' presence communicated surprise.

"Yeah, I wonder why she sent me a message too," Harry answered. "I got to pet her deer, though, so that's good."

Helios seemed amused by his response, making Harry grin. "Let's see what she has to write," he said, picking the end cap off the tube and pulling out the parchment scroll inside. It made his grin widen; sometimes the gods could be deliciously old-fashioned, and he loved message tubes and scrolls. Especially with the gods' ancient Greek script that didn't hurt his eyes.

His eyes bounced left to right as he scanned the missive.

"Whoa, this is awesome," he muttered, looking up at Helios' statue. "It looks like I'm set for a new survival test," he told the statue. "Artie tells me to get ready to be away for a week, and that I should report to her camp this evening. Miss Zoë will be taking me somewhere."

Helios communicated acceptance, a slight sense of worry, and a larger sense of support and confidence. Harry grinned at the cornucopia of emotions. "I'll be careful, Mister Helios," he said. "Thanks for believing in me, though."

Helios' presence emoted a hug, which made Harry's smile widen. "I'm going to have to talk to Hestia, and let my other teachers know that I won't be around for the next week or so," he explained to the presence as he walked to the hearth in the living area.

Waving his hand while thinking of Hestia's temple, the fire turned green. "Hi Hestia, it's Harry. Do you have a moment? I've got something to tell you," he asked the flames.

Sure, Harry. Please come through, he heard/felt in his mind. Smiling, the boy stepped up to the fire and was whisked away.

Stepping out of the fire in Hestia's temple, he was met with an empty space. Knowing where his all-time favorite goddess would be hanging out, he walked in deeper, towards the living area, while thinking about the upcoming test.

He wondered where it would be this time. Or how much equipment he would be allowed.

Emerging into the living area, he was abruptly drawn from his thoughts when he realized that Hestia wasn't alone. He blinked at the goddess' visitor, before swallowed painfully.

"Hi Mister Zeus," he managed, somehow able to hide his feelings for the god in question.

"Demigod," Zeus replied, his gaze boring into Harry.

"Harry," Hestia greeted. "Come, sit, have some tea," the Goddess of the Home said, a cup of tea appearing on the table in front of one of the seats. A seat facing Zeus, with Hestia seated at the 'head' of the table.

Harry frowned slightly, now he couldn't make an excuse and leave. "Thanks, Hestia," he said, sitting down, and picking up the cup and saucer. He took a seat and relaxed slightly; the tea was exactly as he liked it.

Well, of course it would be, Hestia had made it, but it still bore commenting on, or so Harry felt. He looked up from his drink to the King of the Gods.

Said King of the Gods was glaring at Harry, his eyes cold and distant. Harry stared back, determined not to blink. Slowly, he noticed the left eyebrow of the god travel upwards.

Hestia calmly sipped her tea, either completely oblivious to, or completing ignoring the, awkward atmosphere hanging between her two visitors.

"So, Harry, you wanted to tell me something?" the Goddess of the Hearth asked, drawing Harry's attention away from the silent battle.

Harry realized he'd looked away first and glanced back at Zeus. The god was smirking. Harry sighed, and dipped his head. Yes, he'd definitely lost that one. Zeus' smirk grew wider.

"Yes, I do," Harry replied to Hestia's question, looking away from the God of Thunder. "Artie's sent me a message. Apparently, Miss Zoë is taking me on another survival test, and I'll be away for a week or so. I didn't want you to worry."

"Still playing in the woods with Artie's Hunters, Harry?" Hestia asked, teasing the boy. "Please be careful."

"Thanks, Hestia. I will," he answered, drinking more tea in an effort to finish it soon and get away from the glaring King of the Gods.

"Please finish your tea in a gentlemanly manner," Hestia chided, obviously having caught on. "There is no reason to rush or hurry."

Harry looked at his tea, then up at the glaring god in front of him, a god that was really smirking now that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Zeus, please stop glaring," Hestia told her other guest. "You're making Harry uncomfortable. It's quite childish."

Zeus' smirk turned into a glare as he focused on his older sister. "But Hestia, he-!"

"He revealed one of your many, many dalliances in front of the others, yes," Hestia said. "It wouldn't be the first time that has happened. I really would prefer it if you two could make things right."

Zeus looked away. Hestia sighed with disappointment. Harry felt like he couldn't dislike the god more at that point. He willfully disappointed Hestia and didn't seem to care!

"Sorry, Hestia," Harry told his favorite goddess. "I didn't know you had a visitor, and I'm making things uncomfortable."

"Nonsense, Harry," Hestia said. "If I had minded, I wouldn't have told you to come through. I was hoping you two could bury this animosity you had for each other, now that chance had brought you together in my temple, but I suppose it was asking for too much."

Harry felt bad for her. He glanced at Zeus, who was still pointedly looking away, glowering. The young demigod sighed again and finished his tea. "I should go," he told Hestia. "I need to let my other teachers know I won't be around for the next week," he said, grasping any excuse at all to get away from the uncomfortable atmosphere.

Hestia seemed to realize the same. "Of course," she said. "Thank you for letting me know."

"I wouldn't want you to worry," Harry told her as he stood up. "It doesn't happen often that you skip a daily visit, but with my luck, you never know."

"And I appreciate the consideration," Hestia said, smiling faintly.

Harry turned to leave but stopped halfway. "Bye Mister Zeus," he tried. The god just waved a hand, and Harry sighed dejectedly. He didn't like the god, not one bit, but had wanted to make the effort for Hestia's sake.

It seemed like this wasn't going to happen until Zeus changed his mind.

Giving Hestia one last look and a nod in farewell, Harry walked back to the fireplace and traveled back to Helios' Temple. He had some tutors to contact.

00000

Harry stepped out of the fire in Artie's camp that evening, dressed in strong clothes and comfortable protective boots. He wasn't wearing a backpack; he'd learned that lesson after his first survival test. He was carrying his bow and a full quiver of arrows as well, although he was halfway convinced he wouldn't be allowed to carry it with him.

He did have dinner, though. There was a large chance that he wouldn't get to eat until he caught something, after all.

"Hi Miss Zoë," Harry greeted his teacher. Artemis' Lieutenant dipped her head and looked him over for a moment. "Hug?" he offered, halfway opening his arms and given her a disarming smile.

"'T is good to see thee, Harry," she answered, while giving him a tolerant little smile. "Handshake," she added, extending her right hand. Harry grinned and shook it.

"Please remove thy weapons and clothing," The Hunter told him the moment they dropped their hands.

Harry blinked, convinced he'd misunderstood her. "Sorry, Miss Zoë?"

"Thou heard me," Zoë repeated with a tiny twitch of her lips. "Please remove thy clothing and weapons. Thou mayest keep thy underthings, but thou must remove everything else."

Harry gaped at her for a few moments, before exploding into a candy-apple red blush. "But you're a Hunter!" he protested.

"So I am," Zoë confirmed. "That hath no relation to this. Please remove thy clothes, or I will be forced to ask Phoebe to shoot thee."

Harry glanced fearfully around, but the Hunter with the biggest bone to pick with men of all shapes, sizes, and ages, was nowhere around.

"Ehm..." Harry muttered, causing Zoë's eyebrows to rise, as if asking him why he wasn't getting on with things.

Artie, help! Something's wrong with Miss Zoë! I think she's been mind-controlled or replaced or something! Please hurry!

His prayer was desperate while he fiddled with the buttons of his shirt, trying to stall for time. Never before was the sound of a tent-flap being pulled back so welcome to his ears.

"What is going on?" Artemis asked, stalking from her tent like a deadly hunter. "Zoë? Harry?"

Before Zoë could say anything, Harry pointed accusingly at her. "Miss Zoë's been mind-controlled or replaced or something!" the boy shouted. "She's telling me to take my clothes off and threatening to have someone shoot me if I don't!"

Artie listened with surprise at the boy's rambling, then slowly turned to look at Zoë. "Lieutenant?" she asked.

Zoë flushed slightly. "As thou knowest, My Lady, 't is time for Harry's latest survival test. As a challenge, 't is time for the higher difficulty."

Artie relaxed, then nodded once. "I see. You may want to explain that in the future, rather than ordering someone to take their clothes off. There will be less confusion that way."

Zoë's flush darkened slightly at the mild rebuke. Meanwhile, the Goddess of the Hunt turned to the young demigod, and said, "I told you once that I would strip you to your underwear and drop you in a forest filled with bears."

Harry paled when he recalled the statement in question. Artie's smile took on a definite predatory edge. "Yes," she said, reading his expression. "It's time."

Harry gulped. Artie just smiled and patted his shoulder. "You did the right thing, a plain order to strip is definitely unexpected and out of character. You did well to call me. Next time it could be an imposter."

She turned to walk away, then looked over her shoulder. "I'll leave you at the tender mercies of my Lieutenant now, Harry. Good luck."

He swallowed again, and looked at Zoë, who had a definite evil grin on her face. "Thou believest me to have been replaced?" she demanded.

Harry shrugged. "Well… you did act out of character and I didn't know what was going on," he rambled. "You could have been kidnapped or hurt or taken prisoner or something, and I just want to make sure–"

"True," Zoë said, cutting him off from his rambling. "As My Lady said, 't was a reasonable deduction to make. Now, I shall take thee on thy survival test. Please remove all weaponry and all clothes but thy underthings. This will be a proper challenge."

Harry nodded feebly and started stripping.

"Thy divine tools as well," Zoë said when he blushed spectacularly, dressed only in his boxers.

He looked reluctantly at the rings for Hestia's Lasso and Athena's shield, as well as the bracelets that held Hephaestus' bracers. He gave Zoë his best puppy-dog-eyes look.

She may as well have been carved from stone. He sighed, and extremely reluctantly, took them off. "They shall be well cared for," the Hunter said. "Please remove thy hunting knife as well."

Harry frowned when he pulled out the hunting knife he had tucked in his boxers' waistband. He held it out to Zoë. "Please be careful with it. It saved my life a couple of times, and it was given to me by someone I care greatly about."

Zoë lifted one eyebrow and gave a tine smirk. "As thy other weapons, it shall be well cared for," she replied. "And nice attempt at flattery. Unfortunately, it shall not aid thee, but 't was a nice try nonetheless."

Harry pouted.

Zoë studied him for a few moments, then seemed to make a decision. She turned and started to walk. When Harry made to follow her, she stopped him. "Please remain here. I shall return shortly," she told him, then vanished into the supply tent.

She was back within a minute or two, but those were the most uncomfortable minutes in Harry's life, standing there, stripped to his boxers, in the middle of Artie's camp of Hunters. All of whom were female. And all of whom giggled and whispered when they saw him standing there.

Harry tried in vain to cover up, but it only seemed to make the giggling worse.

Zoë returned with a pair of knee-length shorts. "Please wear these, they shall ease thy mortification."

Harry practically teleported into the pair of shorts. Zoë gave a short nod. "Good. We can depart," she told him. "Please follow."

He trotted to keep up on while on his bare feet, and soon the camp was nothing but a memory. They walked for some time, but luckily it was on grass or sand or soft dirt, so it didn't hurt the soles of his feet.

When they stopped, the sun was low in the sky, the skies were a clear blue, and there was nothing but sand and rocks as far as the eye could see.

"This is where thy challenge starts," Zoë declared, turning to him.

"This isn't a forest filled with bears," Harry said, looking around.

The Hunter grinned. "Forests filled with bears also tend to be filled with food. I think this to be a more worthy challenge. I wish thee luck."

Harry pouted at her, which didn't help the situation in the least. Finally, he sighed and took a good, long, hard, look around. He had no idea where he was, but he refused to panic. Artie's first ever lesson stuck in his mind. If you panic, you can die in three minutes. He wasn't about to die.

Taking a deep breath, he studied his new surroundings. The ground was sandy, but the sand was covered with rocks of all shapes and sizes. In three directions, the rocky desert stretched out endlessly, with nothing but sparse vegetation. The entire regions screamed 'desiccation'. Water would be his first priority here.

In the fourth direction, there were mountains not too far away. He took another long, hard, look around and saw nothing better. Mountains would, on average, have more rainfall than the plains, so that was where he would go.

Nodding to himself, decision made, he started his trek. He winced as his bare feet trod over sharp rocks, all the while ignoring Zoë who calmly paced herself behind him.

As he walked, he noticed the sun climbing. That meant that, wherever he was, this was morning, not evening, as it had been in New York. He sighed; this meant he would be missing a night. This test was getting worse by the minute.

He stopped, closed his eyes, and re-centered himself. He couldn't allow negative thoughts to consume him. If he started out thinking negatively, this would get only harder. This was a test. A challenge. He would meet it head-on, and he would succeed at it!

Nodding to himself, he braved a smile. He didn't know where he was, that just meant he was exploring some place new. He didn't have any water or food, but those mountains were sure to have water, and where there was water, there would be resources.

His smile wasn't so forced anymore now that he had a more positive mindset, and he started walking again.

As the sun climbed higher, so did the temperature. Wind blew across the rocky desert plain, causing the heat to suck the very moisture from his body. He pushed on, closer to the mountains, convincing himself that he would be able to find protection and shelter there.

The pain in his feet grew worse as his trek continued, the rocks and stones not only sharp, but getting hot in the climbing heat. His pace slowed as he picked his away across.

Finally reaching the foothills of the mountain he was aiming towards, he started exploring more deeply. A small valley beckoned him, and his smile, which had been steadily dropping, widened once more.

He knelt next to a patch of green. It seemed like a messy bunch of leaves, but it was something he had seen in Artie's book of plants he'd never heard of. It had a Mongolian name Harry couldn't pronounce, but it translated loosely in English to 'Wild Ass Drink'.

The plant itself wasn't edible, but it was useful for something else. Something he needed right now. He grabbed a large bunch of it, held it over his mouth, and squeezed hard; the liquid that came from it was sour, but it was fluid nonetheless!

He drank a few mouthfuls, until he had all but depleted the patch of the plant he had found. He could drink more, and probably SHOULD drink more, but he didn't want to remove the last of the plant. This way it could grow back and maybe save the life of the next potential traveler to come this way.

He started walking again, his step picking up slightly now that he'd had something to drink. The sun had crested, and Harry wiped the sweat off his forehead.

Finally, he sighed and gave up. This wasn't going to work. Sitting down, he rubbed his tender feet, and found that there were sharp burrs, thorny ones, that had decided to stick themselves to his soles. This was probably how these plants spread their seeds, Harry realized, but right now he wished that they didn't use him to do it.

He needed shoes somehow. The problem was the environment, there were very few plants around, and none of them helpful for footwear. There were no animal resources, not that he could see.

"Miss Zoë?" he asked;

The Hunter turned to face him but said nothing.

"Please turn around," he requested.

Artie's Lieutenant nodded and turned. It wasn't the first time he'd asked such a thing; usually it was because he had to relieve himself. Now it was for a very different reason.

He stripped down the knee-length shorts he'd been given, then stripped off his boxers. He shimmied back into the shorts, then ripped up his boxers, tying the material under his feet to provide as much protection as possible.

When he started walked again, Zoë picked up immediately. She gave a small grin at his feet and his unusual style of footwear, yet remained silent.

His progress was quicker now that his feet weren't being assaulted by rocks and burrs and heat and all kinds of nasties, and he could finally start climbing the mountain.

The first hill was brown and desiccated.

The second was no better.

Nor was the third. The higher he climbed, the further he got, nothing changed; brown, brown, brown. Desiccation.

He turned and looked back, the elevation now allowing Harry to see how far he'd walked. He sighed slightly, he'd found nothing beyond that plant, and that had been hours ago. He was thirsty again, his mouth completely dry.

He glanced at the setting sun. It would be dark soon, and he couldn't climb in the dark. He wasn't confident enough in his skills with magic to climb using a magical light, so he'd have to make do and sleep exposed to the open air. There were no trees at all, nothing he could even begin to think about using as a fuel source for a fire.

The night was bitterly cold as Harry curled up next to large boulder to make a taken effort to stay out of the wind. He had basically skipped a night, so despite the cold and the wind, Harry still managed to catch at least some sleep.

He slept fitfully, both due to the transportation lag and the cold. When he decided to call it quits, the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, and Harry shuddered, rubbing his bare arms in an effort to generate heat.

His mind felt sluggish, and for a few long moments, he just sat there. Closing his eyes, he focused on his internal energy.

He wanted to feel at least somewhat warm while he waited for the sun to rise, so tried to do the trick Marduk taught him with fire instead of light. Nothing happened, the shen energy dissipated.

Frowning, he tried again, creating more shen and throwing it at a fire visualization. A small burst of warm air flowed over him, causing Harry to frown. Why did he create heat, but no fire?

Then he slapped his forehead.

Of course he couldn't create fire – air didn't burn, and fire needed both fuel, oxygen, and heat. Oxygen was there, heat, too, but there was nothing to burn! Of course he couldn't get a comic book-style fireball!

He thought for a few moments, remembering everything that Marduk had taught him. He visualized splitting hydrogen off from water vapor in the air, then burning that.

Shen was sucked out of him, but barely anything happened outside of a small burst of nearly invisible flame as the minute amount of created hydrogen burnt up in a flash.

Harry sighed. Desert, right. No water vapor in the air. He rubbed his forehead and wanted to kick himself. he'd just spent the last half an hour trying to conjure or create fire, had spent precious calories doing so, and had nothing to show for it.

He groaned and got up. Walking would warm him up, and he had to get a move on before the sun got too high and the heat slapped him over the head. He needed water, and he needed it right now.

Drawing a breath, he pushed forward again, climbing yet another hill. Maybe it was a mistake to enter the mountains. Everything he'd been taught told him that mountains had more chance of water than the plains, but maybe these were the one set of mountains that were the exception. There were always exceptions.

He climbed the next hill and stopped to look around.

In the far distance, he saw something that made his heart leap. A valley! With greens and dark greens! That must be an oasis, the dark greens along the edge clearly indicated there had to be water there.

With a clear goal in front of his eyes, Harry pushed forward on his improvised shoes, a spring in his step that had been missing until now. Water!

The descent into the valley was steep, and in the end, Harry rode the descent down by sitting down and, using his feet for brakes, slid down the slope until reaching nearly flat ground.

More sand and sharp rocks, but the green of the oasis wasn't too much further. As he traversed the flat desert ground, he frowned at the plethora of animal bones that he came across. That did not bode well.

He stopped next to a camel skeleton; its bones reasonably intact but long-since bleached white in the hot desert sun. For a few moments, he studied it, then decided on grabbing a scapula from the skeleton. It would make an ideal fan to fan a fire with, and it would make an excellent digging tool in case he had to dig for water.

Finally, he reached the green and found it to be high grasses that obscured his sight. He laughed; grass this high needed water!

He explored the oasis at a frantic pace, before coming across a pool. He didn't think twice, and fell to his stomach, sticking his head in the water and drinking deeply. He didn't care about finding a way to boil it, or finding a way to filter it. He needed liquids and he needed them now!

He drank, then sat, then drank some more. He knew from Artie and Miss Zoë that there was only so much water a body could absorb as once. He would just pee out any excess, so it was better to drink some, wait fifteen minutes, then drink some more.

He probably spent close to two hours next to that pool, just luxuriating in having as much fluids as he wanted, cozy in the shadows cast by the tall grass.

Finally, deciding that he had fully rehydrated, he got up. The hot desert sun beat down on him, and he ducked back down. He probably already had minor sunburn from walking around in only a pair of shorts, he couldn't risk it getting worse.

He dug up lots of nice, cool, fresh, mud from the edge of the pool and slathered it on himself as an improvised sunblock, making sure to even cover his face and head.

He stood up again, and studied the pool. Something had dug it; he was sure of it. But was it a human or some kind of large animal? He still wasn't entirely sure where he was, and so he wasn't sure what kind of large animals were around.

As he trekked out of the oasis to explore around it, he froze.

There, on the ground, were animal tracks. Animal tracks that went in a straight line, from the oasis to the mountains on the other side of the valley from where he had come in. And next to said tracks, he found something that made his heart drop.

Bear scat.

"So, there are bears here," Harry said, half to himself and half to Zoë.

"My Lady did promise thee bears," Zoë replied. "I should not withhold that promise from thee."

Harry swallowed, then frowned. "I didn't think bears lived in the desert," he muttered.

"I shall give thee a hint," Zoë answered. "There is a very rare sort of bear that does live in a single, solitary, desert."

Harry blinked, looked at her, frowned, thought for a few moments, then paled.

"The Gobi bear," he said. "I'm in the Gobi Desert." The Hunter dipped her head once. Harry stopped walking, and instead started scanning his surroundings. Going into that oasis and staying there so long had been stupid with that bear around. If they'd stumbled across each other… he didn't want to think of what that bear would have done to him.

The fact that Zoë was with him suddenly didn't fill him with as much confidence as it used to. That bear could have torn him to pieces before she'd have a chance to react.

He couldn't stay near the oasis. He'd have to make or find some sort of shelter to make camp, a place where he was out of the way of this bear.

He trekked in the opposite direction of the bear tracks, and climbed a bit up the mountain range there. He found a small cave, not very deep, but with enough of an overhang to shelter him. It was nested in between two rock faces, so it had a nice corner for him to sit in. If he could make a fire in front of him, the heat would reflect off the rocks behind and next to him, making it a very cozy spot.

His campsite found, he trekked back down to the valley. The presence of water had allowed vegetation to spring up, and there was plenty of dead wood around for him to use for fuel. He spent the dying hours of the day dragging firewood to his chosen campsite.

That evening, he had a nice fire, a secure campsite with a fire for warmth and to keep that bear away, and a relatively nearby water source. He'd gotten three of the four survival necessities, so he felt reasonably good.

If only he had found something to eat. He was starving. That attempt at magic hadn't done him much good, either.

He slept warm that night, waking up only to throw more wood on the fire. He'd managed to estimate his reserves correctly, and didn't run out.

The next morning, he woke up with the sun rising over the mountains. He gave it a smile and a little wave, but it didn't wink at him. Maybe because he was in Mongolia and not New York, and therefore outside of Apollo's area?

He didn't let it stop him, and got up to have a look around, trying to scrounge up food. Maybe there were insects or small rodents? With the sun still low, small reptiles would be easy to catch, they'd be lethargic until the heat set in. Those were a valid target, too.

Harry pushed over larger rocks but found nothing underneath. After an hour of searching, he had still found nothing.

The young boy pressed on regardless. Finally, he came across some kind of burrow or warren made by some kind of ground squirrel, he guessed. The burrow was underground, but it had multiple exits.

If he could smoke out the residents, he'd have something to eat!

Filling up most of the exits and entrances took some time, before he started a fire over the one remaining entrance, hoping that the smoke of the fire would get drawn through the burrow.

He left it to burn for an hour, before using his camel scapula to dig up the various entrances he had blocked off.

No dice; either the burrow was deserted, or he had missed an entrance somewhere and the resident ground squirrels had managed to escape.

His shoulders sagged. He had wasted hours scouring the desert and trying to smoke out ground squirrels and had absolutely nothing to show for it. His stomach gurgled emptily, reminding him that it could do with some sustenance.

He had exhausted all of his internal energy by now, his body was now tapping into its reserves. Likely, he was already losing weight.

The desert had no edible plants that he had found, and no small animals for him to go after other than that burrow that he'd lost so much time on.

He returned to the camel skeleton. Maybe, with a stroke of luck…

He picked up a large rock and used that to break open the bones of the skeleton.

He had hoped for some bone marrow.

Instead, he found nothing but completely dried-out, empty bones. It was enough to make everyone depressed. He needed to eat something.

He looked out over the valley; his eyes drawn once again to the tall grass. It was a risk. A big one. With that bear around, he could get mauled within seconds if he made a mistake and came across one.

He wished he'd been allowed to keep his divine weapons. Or his knife. Anything at all to defend himself with, even if his chances of even pulling a weapon if a bear jumped him were less than optimal. Simply having the weapon would make him feel better.

Harry sighed; he had no choice. He needed food.

Decision made; Harry trekked to the tall grass next to the water hole and started exploring. The grass itself wasn't edible, but he did come across a small patch of plants with waving leaves.

The local Mongolians called it the 'sugar plant', and while the plant itself wasn't edible, its roots were. Using the scapula, he dug out a handful of roots, and cleaned them as best he could.

They tasted of licorice, and the small amount of sugars gave him a minor boost of energy. They also served to suppress his appetite for the moment, so he didn't feel as hungry. Every little bit helped, and he would take what he could get.

Then, he stumbled across a prize, and dug up an abandoned tin can. It was open on one side, and its contents had long since been taken, but the can itself was in good shape.

Under normal circumstances, Harry would have decried the littering. Under the present circumstances, that can made a good cooking pot, something he could use to boil water or make soup, if he ever caught something.

As he explored the tall grass, he made sure to keep making lots of noise; lots of noise would alert the bear that he was there. Hopefully it would allow him to remain safe.

He dug up another sugar root, before coming across a bush that had held little black berries.

Now he knew what that bear had been eating. Berries. And the bear had been eating well, it seemed, as Harry wasn't able to find more than a handful of the tiny fruit. It would be enough for a small meal, he supposed. Glancing at his can, which held two sticks of the sugar root and a small smattering of berries, he sighed again. This wasn't going well. Not at all.

He trekked to the water hole, filled the can with water, then went to his camp to poke up the fire and make himself sugar root and berry tea.

Which tasted wonderful, a bit like licorice and blackcurrant flavors combined. The sun had reached its peak, and he spent the hottest part of the day shaded by his overhang and watching the desert. Now that he had something in his belly, he realized that the desert really did have a beauty of its own to it.

After finishing his tea, he made sure to eat the remainder of the roots and the berries, to make sure he got every bit of calories from them that he could.

The tea, the roots, and the berries had given him energy, and Harry decided to spend a few hours building a bit of a wall to keep out the desert winds. While he had been reasonably warm that night before, the wind was still annoying. Having a wall to break it would help.

By the time the sun was setting, he fell next to his fire, crashing completely. The sugar rush from the sugar plant had made him think he had more energy than he really had, and now he was completely and utterly spent.

He needed food. Real food. Urgently. He barely managed to gather enough firewood to last him through the night, and he fell behind his knee-high wall of rocks and fell asleep.

The next morning, he woke up feeling extremely lethargic. All he wanted was to stay behind the small wall, next to the fire, and not do anything at all. His energy levels were at rock bottom.

And yet, he had to move. Listlessly, he pulled himself up, dragging his feet down the small incline down to the desert floor. Without must care, he looked under rocks for small animals, yet found nothing.

By the time the noon heat set in, he had dragged himself back to his camp, and he fell down flat next to his fire. It felt like he was wasting time.

One thing he was sure of. He wasn't going to quit. He remembered his first ever lesson from Artie, where she had told him that people can survive for three weeks without food. If worst came to worst, he would simply tough it out for a couple more days. He'd been hungry before. It hadn't killed him then and it wouldn't kill him now.

He had water, he had shelter, and he had fire. He could go a few days without food.

Even if he was extremely hungry.

When the sun had crested, he drew a deep breath and descended to the oasis and its tall grass. He needed something to eat, and the threat of that bear wasn't going to keep him from it.

By the time he returned to his camp with the setting sun, all he had was a single, solitary, disappointing, piece of sugar root, and half a dozen berries. It was enough for a cup of licorice and blackcurrant tea, but no more than that. His stomach protested its lack of real sustenance, and Harry rode the sugar rush, remembering what happened yesterday.

That sugar rush was artificial and would simply drive him deeper if he tried to capitalize on it.

He went to bed starving. The entire night, he dreamt of food. When he got up in the morning, he was thinking about food. When he dragged himself to the desert plains looking for food, he imagined the feasts that Hestia had cooked for him.

He found a new ground squirrel burrow, this one built into a small bank framing a depression in the landscape, as if at one point, there had been water flowing here. Maybe the depression was only filled when it rained.

He tried his method of smoking out the rodents once more. As he worked, he thought of the times he and Hestia cooked. Food was omnipresent in his mind. He salivated at the thought of the many wonderful dishes that he'd gotten to try thanks to Hestia.

Even if she didn't like him saying it, he still said it.

Best. Goddess. Ever.

He closed off all the entrances of the rodent burrow that he could see and find, except for one. That one entrance is where he started his fire, hoping for better results this time. There was more wind today, and it drive the smoke deeper into the tunnels the rodents had made.

As he waited, he imagined cooking them. Maybe in an underground oven, maybe he'd find some more berries to make some sort of sauce. He'd done that before. Or maybe he'd roast them over an open fire.

He licked his lips. Those rodents were going to taste so very good. All he had to do was wait a little, then dig out the entrances he'd blocked off, and gather his spoils. Even just one rodent would help so much right now, and who knew how many there were in a burrow of that size?

An hour and a half later, his fists hit the ground in pure frustration, tears stinging his eyes. Nothing. Not a single rodent. There was nothing in the entire stupid thing, and now he'd spent so much time trying to catch something, all for nothing.

He hit the ground again. It was just not fair. And again. And again, ignoring the sting in his eyes.

It left him panting, as even that small exertion reflected on his meager energy levels. Wiping his eyes, he drudged back to his camp. No food. Nothing at all. Not even a berry, or a single stupid sugar root. He'd harvested what he could find, that stupid bear had eaten everything else, and now he would have to spend another night starving.

He fell next to his fire and poked it up. The beauty of the desert no longer captivated him. The setting sun no longer felt as warm as it used to. All he could think about was food.

The looked to one side, where Zoë had pitched her Hunter's tent. That tent probably had all the food he could ever eat. For a single moment, he debated jumping at it and raiding its supplies.

The next moment, he felt ashamed of even thinking it. This was a test. Just a test. And it would last only a few more days. He shouldn't break trust like that. He just wasn't looking hard enough, or in the right places. That's all.

The sun set completely, and Harry shuffled closer to the fire. Despite the fire, and the reflected heat, he felt cold. A shiver went through his body. A hot bowl of soup would be so nice right now.

He spread his hands out towards the fire, glad to feel the heat. He closed his eyes and fantasized about a plate of mac and cheese. Hot and gooey mac and cheese, the kind that would stick to your ribs as you ate it.

He licked his lips when he felt his mouth salivating. Withdrawing his hands from the fire, he rubbed them in an effort to spread the warmth they'd collected.

The next moment, he felt something tug at his internal energy, and panicky, he opened his eyes. Right in front of him, between his body and the fire, was a large plate of mac and cheese.

He stared at it for a few seconds, before the edges of his vision darkened.

"How didst thou-" Zoë started to ask, yet he heard no more. The darkness spread from the edges of Harry's vision to its center, and the next moment it took all that he had to sigh to the ground without toppling over. He knew no more.

00000

"Wake up, Harry," a soft voice told him, jolting through his awareness and bringing him around. He blinked his eyes open, only to look into the concerned face of his all-time favorite goddess. He became aware that his head had been ensconced into her soft and warm lap, and at that moment, he wanted nothing else but to stay there for eternity.

"Hi Hestia," he muttered, blinking confusedly. He frowned slightly, then remembered where he was and what he had been doing. He glanced around; they were still in the Gobi. "What happened?" he asked.

Hestia gave him a tight little smile. "You pulled on my power, and I came to investigate. I found you have created a plate of macaroni and cheese, and were asleep from the exertion." She leaned in a bit closer. "I did tell you that there may be unintended consequences from you dragging a large statue through the fire."

Harry nodded. If conjuring food was a side-effect, he was happy with it. Slowly, he sat up, his body protesting. He felt slightly woozy.

He glanced at where the plate of mac and cheese had been. It was gone. "I vanished it," Hestia said, obviously seeing where he was looking. "You haven't eaten in a while so it would have been too heavy for you." She held out a large cup of broth. "Here, drink some broth," she instructed.

Harry nodded, and turned to accept the cup. He suddenly realized that Zoë was behind the two of them, facing the corner of the rocky wall. "What-" he started to ask.

"I am rather upset with Artie's Lieutenant," Hestia informed him. "So, I asked her to stand over there and contemplate her actions."

Harry accepted the offered cup of broth and sipped it. Or rather, he intended to sip it. The moment the food made contact with his lips, it was like a flood gate had opened.

"Slo-" Hestia started to admonish, but before she could finish, Harry was already holding out the empty cup.

"Could I have some more?" he asked, softly. "Please?"

Hestia offered him a smile. "Of course, Harry. Drink slowly this time. You haven't eaten in a while, and your stomach will need time to adjust." The cup refilled itself while the Goddess of the Hearth glanced at Zoë's back. It wasn't a nice glance.

Harry sipped the broth this time, feeling the minute amount of ambrosia in it kick his body into gear. "What happen with Miss Zoë?" he asked, tentatively.

Hestia gave the Hunter another glance, then sighed. "I come to see what happened, and find you deeply asleep, yet half-starved," she explained. "It was most upsetting."

"But My-" Zoë started to say, only to be interrupted.

"Excuse me," Hestia said, stopping Zoë in her tracks. "But have I addressed you in some manner?"

"No, My Lady," Zoë whispered.

"Then I would kindly like to ask you to remain silent," the Goddess of the Hearth said. Despite the kindness of her tone and kindness of her speech, there was a dangerous undercurrent that Harry wasn't accustomed to hearing from her.

"Sorry, My Lady."

Hestia just gave a dip of her head, despite Zoë being unable to see it. "When I agreed to let Artie and her Lieutenant teach you, it was under the provision that they would take good care of you, and ensure your well-being. Finding you half-starved does, in my book, not constitute 'good care'."

Harry swallowed, then bent his head. "I couldn't find any food," he whispered, his cup empty again. "It's my fault, Hestia." Behind them, Zoë twitched, yet remained silent. "This is a survival test, and me not being able to find food means I go hungry," he added.

"Missing a meal or two will do no harm," Hestia replied instead. "Missing days' worth of meals does, however." She reached into an inner pocket of her robes and took out a block of raw ambrosia. With a single motion of her finger, she had cut off a slice, and held it out to Harry. "Here, Harry, eat this. We should go meet Artie and discuss the lessons you have been getting."

Harry silently ate the slice of ambrosia. It didn't so much hit his stomach as it dissolved on the way there, hitting his body right where it was needed.

Despite the food and the ambrosia, he didn't feel any better. He had failed his test, failed to find food, and now Hestia was angry. In one swoop, he'd messed up seriously.

Hestia smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "This is not your fault, Harry," she assured him. "Come, let's go see Artie. I wonder what her excuse will be."

Harry's shoulders drooped. This meant that this was likely the last time he'd get a lesson from Artie or Zoë. He'd miss them terribly.

Hestia stood up, prompting Harry to follow her. "Come along," she told Zoë, who shuffled awkwardly out of the corner she had been standing in. Harry gave her an apologetic look, yet the only reply he got was a tense grimace from his favorite Hunter.

Hestia motioned to the fire, and they all trooped through, emerging straight in Artie's camp. Still on her stride, Hestia walked purposefully to Artie's tent. Harry had to trot to keep up, while Zoë, too, looked like she rushed to keep up.

For a moment, Harry wondered how Hestia, despite being in a nine-year-old body, was able to move that fast.

He didn't have long to contemplate it, as the Goddess of the Home reached Artie's tent, and simply pulled back the flap without scratching at the post for entrance. Harry swallowed and rushed in after her.

"Who-" Artie said, looking up from where she was doing some work. "Aunt Hestia?" she asked, surprised. She glanced at Zoë, then to Harry, and her confusion deepened.

"I am rather upset and disappointed," Hestia said, simply taking a seat on one of the many poofs. Artie frowned, got up from her desk, where she had been working, and took a seat facing her visitor.

Harry didn't know what to do, and awkwardly remaining standing, while Zoë stood near the entrance, looking awkward.

"How so, Aunt Hestia?" Artie asked.

The Goddess of the Hearth frowned. "I found Harry half-starved," she replied. "An accident not long ago has allowed him greater access to my domain. Tonight, I felt him pull heavily on it in order to create some food; when I went to investigate, I found that the small effort required on his part to do so has rendered him asleep. To my consternation, I found him half-starved, and your Hunter did nothing to aid him."

Artie looked uncomfortable. "It is supposed to be a test," she said apologetically.

Hestia's eyes narrowed and her frown deepened. "So, dropping him in the middle of the Gobi Desert with no aid, dressed solely in a pair of shorts, is your idea of a valid test?"

Artie was gaping at Hestia as she spoke. She gaped at Hestia for a few seconds after she finished speaking, too. Then, her gaze turned thunderous. "Zoë, what is the meaning of this!?"

The Hunter flinched, as if she had been physically struck. "I… believed Harry could do with a more stringent test," she answered.

Artie was suddenly on her feet. "And you believe that the Gobi is a good test?" she requested angrily.

"I… misjudged, My Lady," the Hunter whispered.

Artie pinched the bridge of her nose. "We will discuss this later. At length," she stated coldly, before turning back to face Hestia. For a few moments, she seemed to debate what to say. Then, she sighed. "I wholeheartedly apologize, Aunt Hestia."

Before Hestia could reply, the Goddess of the Hunt looked at Harry. "It seems you survived, nonetheless. That is an impressive feat," she told the young boy.

Harry shrugged awkwardly. "I still failed, though, Artie. I couldn't find any food at all, and I was just going to tough it out for the last few days when I passed out creating the plate of mac and cheese." He looked at his feet. "Please don't be mad at Miss Zoë. I was the one who failed the test."

Artie sighed, stalked back to her seat, and sat down. The deer that had been in the tent, but nobody had paid attention to, slid across and put its head in her lap. She scratched its head softly between the antlers, visible calming down.

"Harry, you were supposed to go to the forest of Canada. I promised you a forest filled with bears, which would mean plenty of resources. The Gobi is an inhospitable place that has killed people in mere hours," she told him.

"But if Miss Zoë thinks-" Harry started to say, before being cut off by Artie. He didn't notice how behind him, Zoë flinched again.

"Harry, it isn't the first time that my Lieutenant forgets herself, or forgets who you are. I remember certain exercises that were designed for Hunters, with divine boons on their side."

Harry nodded at that. It had happened before, that was true. "So, I will need to have a long talk with my Lieutenant regarding her duties and her responsibilities," the Goddess of the Hunt went on. "I must make sure this does not happen again."

The young boy just nodded softly. "You won't be too hard on her?" he asked softly. "If I could have found some food, it would have been better," he said, trying to appease Artie and Hestia both. They had to realize that this wasn't really Zoë's fault. He should have found food, that's all. So she changed things, that didn't matter. If he'd found food, none of this would have happened.

Zoë looked ashamed, but Artie ignored her. She shifted over on her seat, freeing some space, then patted the freed-up spot. "Have a seat Harry," she said, gently.

Harry shuffled over, and sat down, right next to his second-favorite goddess. A goddess who, to his surprise, threw one arm around his shoulders.

Before she had a chance to say anything, the deer shifted, so its head was now in Harry's lap. The boy gave the magnificent animal a small grin and started petting it.

"Seems someone has taken a liking to you," Artie said with an amused smile. She turned to Harry, and growing serious, she said, "Harry, remember what I said. The Gobi is inhospitable. It has killed fully grown adults in hours. Most die within a couple of days due to lack of water. It takes special skills and special knowledge to make a living there, none of which you have been trained in. You are only nine years old. The very fact that you were able to live there for five days is incredible."

Harry managed a small smile at hearing her praise him. "I was able to find an oasis on the second day, it had water, and there were dead trees I could use for a fire. The mountains weren't too far, and I found this sheltered spot with a bit of an overhang I could use as a campsite. If that stupid bear hadn't eaten all the food, it would have been great."

"Bear?" Artie asked, blinking. "You ran into a place with a Gobi bear?"

Harry gave a tight little smile. "Miss Zoë said you promised bears, so..."

The Goddess of the Hunt speared her Lieutenant with another glare. "I see," she replied, tightly. She drew a deep breath, then let it out. "So, you found shelter, water, and fire, and were determined to 'tough it out' without food?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "All I could find were some sugar plants, and a couple of handfuls of berries. Oh, and that book you gave me for my birthday, the one with the plants I'd never heard of, had a plant you could squeeze drinkable liquid from and that one kept me going on the first day!"

Artie gave a mirthless smile. "I'm glad that book came in helpful, Harry," she said. "And I think that you passed this test. Survival is about surviving. You survived." She gave another harsh glance at Zoë, who was looking at her toes now. She no longer looked like the millennia-old confident Lieutenant of Artemis' Hunters. Instead, she looked like a scolded 17-year-old girl waiting for her punishment.

"Harry, one more thing," Artie said, resuming on a kinder, gentler tone. "When you came to me for lessons, do you remember what you told me? You said you wanted to know how to survive should you ever be on your own again. Now, do you think you would ever, on your own, enter a desert? Or would you stick to places where you knew you would find food?"

"I'd stick to places where I can find food," Harry replied, honestly.

Artie nodded. "And that is where I have been focusing on, and where I told my Lieutenant to focus on. Unfortunately, a few thousand years of training Hunters has left her bereft of experience of teaching a mortal rather than a Hunter."

Harry sighed, then reached for her free hand with both of his. "Please don't be too hard on Miss Zoë," he softly asked. "Even if she did make a mistake in taking me to the Gobi. If that bear hadn't been there, I would have found food and all that."

Artie sighed. "I will have a stern talk with my Lieutenant," she replied. "And only you, Harry, would have the misfortune of running across one of the most critically endangered species on Earth. There are maybe 50 Gobi bears left on the planet, and you had to find yourself in the path of one."

Harry grimaced, remembering how his mother had told him his luck would balance on itself.

"We should go. Harry needs a shower, some more food, and a good rest," Hestia said, standing up. "I am glad to see that my trust in you was not misplaced, Artie."

"I can see how bad this would look," Artie replied. "I apologize again for the actions taken by my Lieutenant, Aunt Hestia, Harry."

Hestia gave a tiny smile. "You're forgiven, Artie." she turned, glanced at Zoë, who was still looking down, then held out her hand to Harry. "Shall we go?" she asked him.

Harry nodded softly, then gave his second-favorite goddess a big hug, patted the deer to let him up, and went to grab Hestia's hand.

Before he got there, he stopped in front of Zoë. "Everyone makes mistakes, Miss Zoë," he told her. "I'm not mad at you. I just wish I could have found food, then this wouldn't have happened."

Zoë looked up, shame still on her face. "Nay," she said. "'T was my mistake to make. This is not thy fault. Thou acted admirably. I did not anticipate that bear eating everything, either. As thy test proctor, 't was my duty to ensure a level testing field. That I failed is in no way thy fault."

Harry just nodded and held out one hand. He didn't think his normal offer of a hug would be appreciated right now. Even if he desperately wanted to give her one, because right now it looked like she could use one.

She grasped it. "Should I ever be trusted again, 't would be my privilege to work with thee again," Zoë said. "I thank thee for thy kind of words of support. I do not deserve them."

Harry grimaced. "You're awesome, and you're my friend, so yes, you do," he answered firmly. "Good luck."

Zoë gave him a tight nod, and he finally took Hestia's hand. "Ready," he told her. The Goddess of the Home gave him a smile, and her face looked like she couldn't decide whether to be proud or exasperated. In the end, she looked like both, before guiding Harry out of the tent and back to Helios' Temple. It was time for that shower, some food, and a long rest.