Lieutenant

Chapter 27

Thalia noticed the change in Artemis. The goddess had been handling things well for some time, but something drastic had happened. She didn't know what, and she didn't want to press further, but the goddess' mind was elsewhere. As if she were thinking of a million invisible things. Thalia's observations would be correct. The goddess was distracted.
---
Her thoughts had traveled very far back, to a conversation she'd had with Zoë after the hunters had protected a mother wolf and her pups from a monster attack. The wolves had been kept warm and comfortable for the night while the others retired.

"Those pups were eager to play with you," Zoë remarked, recalling the way the baby wolves had scrambled into Artemis' lap, wrestling for attention.

"I've been told I have a natural aura that draws in wildlife." Artemis smiled, slipping off her shoes.

"That, and you are quite sweet." The comment made Artemis laugh, but Zoë wasn't quite finished. "And you do have a motherly nature."

"I've been told that as well," Artemis laughed, discarding her warmer overcoats, worn for the winter hunting season.

"Do you not believe it?" Zoë questioned.

"I think it is true, to an extent, but I am not the type of person who easily tolerates immature kids." Artemis gave Zoë a pointed look and they both jumped to the same conclusion; Apollo.

"Perhaps you do not give yourself enough credit," Zoë mused, tossing a hairbrush at the goddess.

Artemis caught it with ease and rolled her eyes, "What in the world has brought on this string of questions? You don't want to keep one of the pups, do you? They have to learn how to survive in the wild until adulthood."

"I know that," Zoë laughed. "But don't you feel like you're missing out at times? Watching people grow up and all?"

Sighing, Artemis sat down across from the hesperide and contemplated the question while detangling her hair. "Yes. There is something enticing about watching a fragile creature grow. However, I also find it sad."

"Why?"

"Well, you would have to live with the choices it makes. Have the burden of influencing something that could either make or break their identity. I look at the job my father's done and it's quite appalling." Setting aside the brush Artemis crossed her legs.

"You would be better than him. Anyone would be better than him." Zoë snorted. The goddess smiled softly and shifted into her usual sleeping place. Zoë stretched for a moment before nestling into the goddess' side.

A moment of silence passed between them before Artemis broke it with a hesitant question. "You are asking such things because you wonder?"

Zoë didn't respond for a moment and Artemis was worried she'd fallen asleep; she hadn't.

"I have wondered myself, but this line of work would not be compatible let alone the physiology required for such a thing." Artemis ran a hand lightly over Zoë's arm tracing a random shape on occasion. "I suppose it is every girl's nature to wonder. Only some will only ever get to wonder."
---
"Hey, Artemis do you mind helping me fix this?" Thalia asked nervously stepping inside the goddess' tent. Her bow had snapped and splintered in half.

"Yes, of course. How did you manage that?" Artemis asked snapping from her thoughts.

"Just a playful scrap." Thalia smiled sheepishly, hands holding out the broken bow in a silent ask for help. Artemis rolled her eyes but took the weapon carefully. "More or less."

"I figured as much." The goddess was more than an expert at repairing bows and set to work with ease. To Thalia, it seemed she didn't even have to look at what she was doing, as though her hands had it ingrained in their memory.