Chapter 5:
The moon beams fell through the tree. The branches and leaves blocking it giving shadows to the ground beneath.
Rin Merlin stood with a newly made bow and arrows, the edge of his eyes glowing silver, the powers of future Artemis filling him up.
'3 hounds left and 1 arrow, should have made more arrows,' he thought. He pulled on the leather string he made from the deer hide inside Artemis's cave, the leather creaked and the arrow tipped with special wood aimed at the closet hellhound to Artemis.
"I'll give you one chance puppies," said Rin's voice, "run." His threat rang clear through the forest.
The hounds snarled, backing away slowly, but one didn't, he jumped towards Artemis hoping to finish the job, hoping being the key word. Rin let loose his arrow and pierced the hellhound through its head, disintegrating into golden dust.
Rin held the bow in his left hand, and dived off the branch and fell head first, moments from hitting the ground he reached out with his right arm and grabbed a branch, springing through the air and landing in front of Artemis.
The other two hellhounds charged at him, hoping to gang up on him. They were wrong, Rin spun the greek style bow and hit the closet hellhound in the jaw with one of the limbs of the bow. He spun the bow around his body, and with the momentum struck the other hellhound across the head, sending it a good few feet away.
Rin turned back just in time to see the first hellhound jump at him with its jaws open. The son of Poseidon drew his bow into the hounds mouth, and with the sharp edge of the bow, cut right through the hound's head and into it's brain, turning the monster into dust.
Rin dropped the bow down when it was inserted into the hound and just when Rin was about to pick it up the the pile of gold dust, he was knocked down to the ground by the other hellhound.
The hounds mouth snapped over Rin, trying to bite his head off. He held the hound back with his left, while his right went to his pocket and brought out his pen.
He aimed it right inside the hounds open mouth and with his thumb slid open his cap, Void Ripper enlarged and in the process of becoming a sword, blew right threw the hellhounds head turning the monster into dust instantly.
Rin coughed out some of the dust that had gotten into his mouth. He got up, recapping Void Ripper and dusting the golden specks that he had got on him from the monster kill.
Artemis was shocked, and in all honesty impressed. She saw Rin take down two hellhounds via arrow, one with using a bow and the final with a sword. She wanted to know why he had done this? She was no one to him. The only person who cared about her was her family, and that was because they were family. She had a few friends, but most of them were gone now.
Artemis tried to get up, but her ribs ached, "AH!" she cried out and she fell back on her ass.
Rin snapped to Artemis, running to her. "My lady! Are you alright."
"Did I not tell you to stop calling me my lady?" she asked smiling through her pain, "you boys are so forgetful."
"Yes well that is our charm," Rin replied back smiling at the huntress, "what hurts Artemis?"
"I think it's my ribs, maybe a crack or two."
"Yeah just a crack nothing big about that," said Rin in a very sarcastic tone.
"Yea a few days rest should do the trick, Rin help me inside, the tree is enchanted, we will be safe there."
Rin nodded, and approached Artemis, "ah… do I have permission to touch you?"
Artemis raised her eyebrow, "Rin you idiot I asked you to help me. I asked you, get it? That is giving you permission."
Rin blushed in embarrassment, "oh, right sorry."
Artemis chuckled a little, but the laughter sent pain through her. Rin saw the look of pain and quickly and gently picked up Artemis and carried her bridal style into her house. He still looked around just to make sure there were no silver arrows coming for him from her hunters, he may be years in the past, but you never know.
Inside Rin laid Artemis on her bed of deer hides.
"Rin", said Artemis, "next to the fire pit is a secret compartment on the floor marked with the sign of a crescent moon, open it."
Rin nodded and raced to where she said. There he moved away the dust and there was a carved image of the moon on the stone floor. He reached down and pressed the moon and the lid popped up. Inside were several bags filled with what looked like herbs. He grabbed two and a roll of bandages.
He sat down besides Artemis and gave her the materials.
"Alright Rin I need you to help me with this, I'm going to eat on of these bags. It will help spread it internally, and you are going to have to make it into a paste to apply to my body, to let it work externally, got it?" Rin nodded and they got started.
Artemis took one bag, and after a staring contest with the green leaves in her hand. She closed her eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. She crushed the leaves with her teeth and quickly made it into a paste swallowing it. The taste was left in her mouth and she hated every moment of it.
Rin took Artemis's water skin and added a few drops to the leaves he had in his hand. He slowly mushed them together making them into paste. As the leaves turned their smell started escaping and he could smell it, and god did it stink.
"This smells so bad," said Rin, "it is so going to stink up my hand."
"How do you think I feel?" asked a very pissed Artemis.
Rin took the paste and spread it on a roll of bandage spreading it out to make it even. He put it in front of Artemis, and walked out.
"Wait where are you going?" asked Artemis, surprised by Rin's action.
"Ah… don't you want me to give you a little privacy?" came his reply in a weak voice.
"No you idiot I have two broken ribs and my arm won't stop shaking. I need you to put it on me."
Rin turned white, like dead white, the kind that reminded Artemis of her uncle Hades.
"Ah… I ah, no I ah…. well I ah-"
"-oh stop being a little bit*** and help me already!" she cried out in anger.
Rin kneeled back down and helped Artemis slowly lift up her tunic. He lifted the cloth until it showed the injured ribs which was now swollen red.
Rin lifted the bandage and slowly applied it to the injury, making sure not to add too much pressure. He traced his finger on her skin guiding the bandage. Her skin felt smooth, soft and it sent a feeling of excitement and want into him, the latter he did not recognize.
He slowly wrapped the bandage around the huntress, and with every new layer that went over her wound he added a layer of the herbs. The tunic did not hide much and ended right below her nipples. Rin gently tied the bandage in place, and when moving his hand away gently stroked her under her breasts.
Artemis let out a sigh, of relief and of pleasure. She lowered down her tunic, and that snapped him out of his trance like state.
Their eyes met, Rin's amber to Artemis's silver, and for one moment Rin's heart skipped a beat. And then Rin spoke.
"Ah… I should go out and find my bow," said a blushing Rin.
"Y-yes, yes do that," replied an equally red Artemis.
Soon Rin went outside and retrieved his fallen bow and the 2 wooden arrows he shot. He noted that he should have made more, so he decided to do so. After all the cold wind did help him settle down from what happened inside.
He climbed the tree and sat on the branch. He activated the Hephaestus in him, "imagination is the fuel of the forge." His eyes glowed rusty red and he activated Void Ripper again. He cut off another branch and started making the arrow.
Level by level he cut the wood until the shaft of the arrow was made. The shaft was perfect in every way, strong, sturdy and also not one imperfection. And then there was the feathers at the end. Since Rin did not have any actual feathers he carved them out instead. He wondered whether it would work, but it seemed it did when he fired them. Then came the head, for this Rin made the head into a screw like structure, and the actual arrow head he made from the wood that was found at the very top of the tree, the same wood his bow was made out of. It was difficult carving out the arrow head, but soon in 5 minutes one arrow was done.
Soon Rin set about his work his hands just taking over letting his mind wander. He thought about what had happened inside. The fact that he made it out alive was a big thing, hell it was a miracle!
Then his thought went to Artemis, for some reason she had been on his mind more and more. Her hair seemed to almost shine everytime Rin looked at it. And her eyes were so bright and full of belief, her energy, her self confidence just attracted Rin to her. He was afraid to admit it but he thinks that he might be i-
Crack! came a sound from the forest snapping Rin up. He looked at his work and found a total of 20 ready arrows.
He quickly notched one and took aim. He waited for a few minutes but nothing happened. But then he noticed something on the ground where he fought the hellhounds. Rin unnotched the arrow and jumped down.
Rin picked up what looked to be the pelt of the alpha hellhound he had shot. He gathered that and quickly went inside.
Once back in the warm hideaway Rin noticed Artemis was now asleep on her bed. She looked cold despite the warmth in the place. Rin walked up to her and slowly wrapped her with the pelt. As soon as he did she pulled it closer to herself and her look of uncomfort eased. Rin stroked a strand of hair away from her face, then the words, "light the way to the future," came into his head and a little light from his hand went into Artemis. It traveled to her chest and there it glowed brighter and brighter until it healed her wound.
Rin smiled at the sight, he then went to his spot and went back to sleep.
The next morning Artemis felt great. Like she could run through the entire forest and be back before the first meal of the day. She realized that this was not normal, she felt her ribs and they felt normal to her. No pain, no irritation. She slowly moved her previously shaking hand , and now it was calm and steady like a rock.
Artemis lifted up her tunic and blushed when saw the bandage, she remembered last night and what Rin did, his touch, it really was quite amazing, and she wanted to feel more. After she wiped the blood that started dripping from her nose, Artemis slowly opened the bandage and discovered her wounds were gone. Her skin returned to normal and there was no sign of the wound at all.
The only person who could have done some kind of healing like this was either her mother, or brother. 'And the only one here last night was…..' as her thoughts drifted off she turned to look at Rin, who was sleeping by the fire.
Artemis then looked down and saw herself wrapped in a black pelt, which she remembered the alpha hellhound dropped as a spoils of of war for Rin. He must have given it to her last night, she did feel warm yesterday.
'So he could heal to? And he gave me his spoils of war? Who is he'
Artemis got up slowly and set about packing her bag with supplies for the trip to see the Fates. After she was done, she noticed arrows lying next to Rin. There were about 20 of them and looked expertly made.
She smiled at their design, anything involving archery she loved.
Artemis then kicked Rin awake, "get up Rin we are burning daylight."
Rin looked up still drowsy from the lack of sleep, he looked up and saw an auburn haired goddess looking down at him giving him a devilish looking smile. For a moment Rin thought he was dreaming, he rubbed his eyes, but the scene in front of him did not change.
"Artemis?" he slurred out.
"Glad to see you are such a morning person," she said smiling as Rin rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes.
"Ha ha funny," he then looked at her and noticed she was standing, "are you sure you can walk? We don't have to go right now you know."
"True but I feel like I owe you Rin, you did save me yesterday. And thank you for the pelt, it made my sleep so much better," she then threw the pelt at Rin who caught it from the air and examined it.
"I could make a pretty cool jacket with this."
"You could, it would also have magical properties in it to. It would help you with temperatures of extreme cold, it is also more durable than normal leather."
"If it more durable than how come I could shoot right through it with my arrow?"
Artemis shrugged, "maybe your arrow are special, what is the tip made of by the way?"
"I don't know the same thing my bow is I suppose, just wood I found on the tree."
Artemis nodded at the new information. The tree was charmed against monsters, so if wood taken from this tree is used to hunt monster, that would make it one powerful weapon.
"Alright Rin enough chit chat, time to hunt for the Fates, lets go."
And with that Rin and Artemis were off.
In the shadows unseen by both were a pair of glowing red eyes.
Artemis's knew the path like the path of her hand. They passed by rivers and several animals on their trek, and by the time the reached to foot of the mountain they had to climb it was already nightfall.
"We'll camp here for now Rin, trust me when I say we need visuals tomorrow if we want to climb."
Rin soon made a fire ready and Artemis made several trap around their camp.
Rin now sat down next to the fire sharpening his blade with a stone he found. Void Ripper soon shined bronze and Rin could see his reflection on it.
"Where did you get that blade Rin?" asked Artemis. She sat opposite to him and she was sharpening her arrows.
"That Artemis is a long story that involves somebody you know. Or will know, or maybe you know her now, but not the way you're going to. AH time travel is so confusing!"
Artemis giggled her cute laugh as her voice was like honey to Rin's ears.
"Well then fine there is no need to tell me that. But is there something you can tell me Rin?"
Rin smiled, "well how about my first quest."
Rin then told her all about his first quest. What Willard did when we found that dog. And fighting Medusa, although Artemis had no idea who Medusa was although she was impressed by Medusa's powers and our ability to outmaneuver her.
Then him going into the underworld and getting the lightning sword which they had all along. He did not mention that Hades ruled the underworld, because spoilers! But she did find it hilarious when I told her I kicked Ares's ass when I was a kid.
"HAHA really you did that?! And you picked up a sword when?" she said as she rolled in laughter.
"Hey give him some props," said Rin pretending to support Ares, "I was practicing sword arts for at least 2 and a half months."
That really did it as Artemis and Rin started laughing their ass's off. But after a minute Rin and Artemis stopped, which Rin did not like because he could no longer hear her laugh.
"Rin I swear the more I learn about you the more questions I have."
"Well what do you want to know," asked Rin as he tended to the fire.
"What is your favorite color?"
"red."
"Favorite food?"
"Anything with the color red in it."
"Favorite drink?"
"An-" began Rin.
"Anything with the color red?" finished Artemis to which Rin nodded. She laughed again for that.
"So Artemis you never really told me much about yourself. I mean history always has stories about you, like what you did and what not, but never who you are."
"It is a sad thing when people start to focus on the deed and not enough on the actions to lead to it. They remember the thing and not the person."
"Speaking from experience?"
Artemis nodded, "yes."
"But how?"
"During the war my father always went on and on about how this war was to free all the people and allow everyone live the life they wanted to. So that became the rally cry, the dream for us. But in the process of following that dream, we forgot who we left behind. The people we love, the people who fought beside us, the people who died beside us."
"You have had friend die?"
"Yes. Most were nymphs, or Satyr's a few minor beings with power and even a monster in one case. I still remembered them die as I went on, charging to that dream."
The tension hanged in the air, Artemis remembered all of her friends names she remembered.
"I know the feeling," said Rin after a moment of silence, "my friend ip, he died to save my life and killed several monsters. Another friend Selene who loved ip died later during battle. And then there was Katie," at the last name Rin teared up a little, he rubbed them quickly before anything could come of them.
Artemis sat down next to Rin and hugged him, putting her head on his shoulder. Rin was at first shocked, but then he realized what she was trying to do. He wrapped one arm around her and they just stayed like that, Artemis heard the beating of Rin's heart and the rise and fall of his chest. And Rin smelled the forest scent that came off of Artemis.
"Well is this not a lowly sight," said a voice as piercing as darkness.
Artemis grabbed her bow and notched her arrow, and Rin grabbed his sword looking dead in front of them as there was a figure cloaked in shadows. The figure extended it's handd and the shadows poured out of it. The shadow traveled like smoke and put out the light, extinguishing the fire without a sound.
And when the fire died down Rin saw the shadow of the figure slowly peel off its robe, and left standing was a beauty beyond anything Rin had ever seen. Her dress was void black, mixed with the colors of a space nebula, as if galaxies were being born in her body. Her face was hard to see except for the pinpoints of her eyes, which shone like diamonds. When her wings beat, waves of darkness rolled over the cliffs. And her face was perfect, almost as enchanting as Artemis herself.
"Well hello there pests, tell me," said this figure, "which one of you killed my children?"