The Story of Artemis- Wings of Fire

Chapter 25

Artemis jumped up in alarm, wheezing as the ashes reached her lungs.

"Nova?" She cried hoarsely, coughing up more smoke. The plants and trees around her were set ablaze, and she was inside a wall of fire.

She spread her wings to fly out, but they were too large and they ended up brushing against the edges of the flames. She yelled and pulled them in as the tips of her membrane were singed.

"Nova!" She roared again, louder this time. It wasn't long until she heard a angry roar from above that made her scales turn pale green.

Artemis's face began to bead with sweat from the fire as she lifted her head towards the sky. She could clearly see the seven tribe hybrid, Nova was locked in battle with..herself? No, there was something else..

"Scavengers?" She gasped, feeling a sudden sharp pain in her hind leg. A trickle of blood made its way down to the forest floor below as a tree flesh colored male scavenger stood defiantly next to Artemis, panting and holding a intricate spear.

A mop of gold hair sat atop his head, matching the fur around his body. She growled and snatched the scavenger up in her claws, making him squeak and pound his paws on her arm, dropping his spear in the process.

More scavengers made their way out of the gloom, each with a spear and a claw. They were covered in some sort of metal...

"Nova! We gotta go!" She yelled, swatting away the nearest scavenger as he advanced. Another prick of pain shot through Artemis's neck, where the scavenger in her paws had somehow managed to pry the last diamond in her neck scales out.

She stood on her hind legs, making the scavengers around her chatter and wave their spears. Artemis snorted and cupped her wings half-way, leaping out of the wall of fire. She didn't make a clean jump, and her scales got scorched. Cringing in pain, she clutched her underbelly, keeping the other scavengers at bay with her tail.

She noticed the scavenger still in her paws was trying to reach her necklace that made her a seven tribe hybrid. She snatched it away and growled at him, baring her teeth.

"No. This is mine."

She scavenger stared at her with big hazel eyes, making some sort of gesture with it's paws.

"What are you doing, you interesting little creature?" She wondered, poking his arm as he squeaked in protest. His eyes got wider, which seemed impossible. He waved his arms frantically, pointing behind her.

Artemis turned, finding Nova back on the ground, fighting with about five scavengers trying to get ropes around her legs and climbing on her back.

"A little help?" She yelped, snapping at a scavenger as he started tying a knot. Artemis just stared, transfixed.

How could they do that?

"Artemis!" Nova yelped again, flinging another scavenger across the clearing, slamming him into a tree. He didn't get up.

The scavenger in Artemis's paws beat on her arm, squirming, shaking and pounding to try and leave. She quickly slid him onto the ground, racing over to Nova to try and help.

Artemis pinched the back of a scavenger's fur with her serrated claws, surprised to find it easily pull away from the pale skin. Shooing him away after she set him on the ground, she went to work prying the others from the ground and setting them on boulders and taking away their weapons. She went to work to cutting the ropes holding Nova's hind legs together, and the scavengers had now fled. The fire died down, leaving blackened trees and grass.

She and Nova were bleeding from a few short cuts, Artemis was burnt, but nothing was incredibly damaged.

"What happened?" Artemis hissed, flaring her large wings.