Artemis:
"Hey, yo, Artemis, wake up." The hushed sound of Dom's voice echoed throughout my head, a voice I'd become very accustomed to hearing today.
"Artemis, hey, you ok?" I opened my eyes in my own good time, turning my head I saw Dom standing over me. I tilted my head once more to see Blaze standing in the corner of my vision, talking to Lia and Angie.
"Finally you're up, thank God." I turned my attention back to Dom, my expression bewildered. "What happened?" Dom let out a short tee-hee before responding to me. "Firstly, how many fingers am I holding up? He raised his paw up before me. "Lions don't...lions don't have fingers." I struggled to answer the first time but I managed to get it out anyway. I had no idea why I felt so weak.
"Ding, ding, ding, you win a prize." He laughed and moved aside, giving me space to turn to my side. I turned and put my head down, closing my eyes and moving my head a bit in his direction, to let him know it was okay to continue talking. "You ok Artemis?" I opened one eye slightly, letting out a tired huff. "Yeah I'm good, just resting my eyes." I closed them once again, awaiting his explanation.
"Well what happened was, you legit just summoned an entire lightning storm." "What?" I didn't know if my hearing had been distorted but I needed Dom to repeat himself as I was unsure I understood what he said. "Say what now?"
"Well, I said you summoned a thunderstorm and electrocuted the shiz out of that Rhino. Blaze finished it off though so don't worry." I could hear the excitement in Dom's voice, he sounded like a cub excited over biting into his first carcass.
I didn't know how to react, I guess my powers were developing but honestly, in the position I was in, I couldn't really care less about that. I felt utterly exhausted and didn't even think I had the energy to walk back to the pride at that point. My eyelids were heavy and it felt like all my other senses had dulled as well.
"Good work Artemis." Blaze had walked over to the corner where Dom and I were. I didn't open my eyes to look at him but I heard him more or less fine, apart from a slight sharp pain I felt in the back of my head, probably a headache.
"When I saw the clouds moving I thought we were in for a storm, little did I know my niece had the lightning element." He didn't sound surprised, if anything he sounded like he was complimenting me for the sake of doing so.
"Anyway, you can rest easy for now." He turned his attention to Dom, I didn't see but I could hear what he said to him next. "We'll stay here for the night, go inform the pride members of the catch, they'll be pleased to see you guys took down such a beast and you're not even proper hunting age." He let out a hearty laugh, probably because of how ridiculous it sounded for a couple of 9 month old cubs to take down a rhino.
The next thing I heard was the sound of Dom's affirmative humming, then the pitter patter of his paws as he left the scene. "I'll leave you to get your rest." Blaze walked away from me and I rolled over to my next side, taking the time to think about all that had happened that day.
I wondered where my dad could be and if he'd found Apollo by then. I was worried about my brother but I was also worried about my dad. The savannah may have been a cool place to live but it definitely wasn't always a safe haven, even for lions.
It wasn't long before Dom came back with fellow pride members, I heard their voices as they talked, Dom even mentioned me a few times and how I'd taken down the rhino. A small grin tugged at my lips, I couldn't help but feel flattered at the way he talked about me, like he genuinely thought I was some sort of super lion.
"Artemis." I jumped at the sound of my name, the voice that called me wasn't my dad, it wasn't Dom and it definitely wasn't Blaze. I opened my eyes, raising my head a bit. "Mom." I sat up, I hadn't seen her in the past two days. She was the pride's head huntress and usually took it upon herself and a few other lionesses to scout the herds.
"Artemis." She sat down and made a shrugging motion with her shoulders. "Are we strangers? Come here Artemis." She laughed, pouncing on me and pinning me to the floor gently. My mom rubbed her head against mine, nuzzling the side of my face and letting out a gentle purr.
I returned her affection as she got off of me and licked my face a few times. "Has your father been cleaning you and your brother?" She always fussed over small stuff but I loved her for that. She was way bigger than I was and unlike my dad's light tawny fur, her fur was similar to Apollo's, an almost golden tone.
"Mom…" I stressed and giggled. "I'm old enough to take care of myself." My mom nuzzled me a few more times before responding. "I know baby, I know. You can't blame mommy for caring ok." She snickered. "So, where's your father and brother?"
I put my head down at the mention of them. I honestly didn't know and I really didn't wanna alarm her. Though I was surprised the other pride members didn't say anything to her.
"They went out for a stroll." Blaze looked like he'd been listening in on our conversation as he walked over to me and my mom. "Hello Atalanta."
My mom looked like she was trying to keep her jaw intact the moment her gaze landed on Blaze. "B-Blaze. It's been so long, what brings you here?"
"Oh, you didn't hear? The first stage of the defender tryouts were just held. Your daughter was magnificent, looks like she takes after her mother."
My mom couldn't help but laugh, it looked like she knew something about Blaze that I didn't. "Huh?" I tried to suck the mumble back in but it got to my mom's ears before I could try to play it off.
"I guess you don't know about the rivalry Blaze has with your father. They always tried to best each other at everything back when we were cubs. The dangers those two got themselves into, and not to mention me. I'm surprised we're all alive today."
Blaze laughed at my mother's remark. "Very funny Atalanta. Perhaps if you were with Lumiere on his own you'd be dead today." He chuckled lightly. "Well, I suppose I'll leave you two to your reunion." He left me once more, but this time I was in the comfort of my mother.
I didn't understand though, why did Blaze lie to my mom about Apollo and my dad going for a walk? He did say he had fate in my dad and perhaps he just didn't want my mom to worry.
"I suppose taking down a rhino was more of a tussle than you expected huh?" My mom didn't seem to worry to worry too much about me being injured or anything, she had a lot of faith in my abilities, just like everyone else. Unlike everyone else however, she was still overprotective of me when I was in over my head.
"It definitely was." I nodded before flinching at the sharp pain in my head from the headache. I blinked rapidly for a moment, bowing my head as the headache took its grip.
"Head hurts?" My mom asked. It was obvious that my head hurt but she was just one of those people who always pointed out the obvious. I guess I also took that from her.
"Yeah, I don't know why." My mom took her paw and gently rubbed on my head. "Don't worry Artemis, you're probably just hungry. Rhino meat is known for its healing properties."
"Really?" I grinned at the thought that there were magical meats out there.
"No, I'm just playing with you." I huffed sadly after my mom took away my little moment of wonder.
"Cheer up Arty. Let's go dig in before the others leave us a skeleton." She got up and waited for me to do the same. When I did we both walked over to the carcass, where the rest of the pride and even Blaze appeared to be having a heck of a time.
"It smells so good." I looked up to my mom as I could smell the aroma of the meat as the other lions ripped into it.
"Don't get weird on me Artemis. The scent isn't gonna fill your belly." We both laughed before running over to the rest of the pride and jumping into the feast.