Venus

Chapter 2 - A Family Well Met

It's been nearly a week since they moved, and the only part of the house that are fully unpacked and cleaned are the kitchen and the bathrooms.  Priorities man, priorities.  Venus was halfway through with unpacking her room, and Artemis and Apollo's room look like a bomb dropped in there.  Nowhere near being completed.

They haven't gone out much, for one it is summer time, and for two they hardly know anyone in town.  Still.  And it isn't like staying in the house is helping.  But Venus didn't think it would matter for long, after all they were going over to Wyn's house tonight for dinner.  Venus was pretty excited, for the food, and for meeting new people.  She constantly imagined how the dinner would go, and what the couple's children would look like.

Venus sighed dreamily and set down the shirt she was folding.  "This is gonna be great," she said to herself.  Jumping up from the floor, Venus trotted out of her room and into the kitchen, humming happily to herself.  There was a lot she had to do before they left tonight, she needed to shower, pick out a casual, but cute outfit, and put on some make up.  Not too much though, because she wasn't quite skilled at the art of make up.

Before all that, she needed some lunch, as well as the rest of her family.  "Hey, mom!  Come help me make some food!" Venus yelled.  She grabbed ingredients to make some mac and cheese and some sandwiches.  Her mom popped into the room, her dark hair tied up in a bun, her mouth wide with a smile, and her brown eyes sparkling with excitement, "Aren't you excited, Venus?  A new home, your own room, and free dinner tonight," Her mom gushed.

Venus laughed, "Of course I'm excited for some free food- here start the mac and cheese- I'm also so excited to meet the family!  We've been having a lot of good things happenin' lately, and I feel like more good things are gonna happen," Venus said.  Her mother nodded.

"I feel the same, as if the only way to go from here is up."

Venus agreed, humming as she and her mom worked to fix lunch.

"Venus!"  Two voices cried simultaneously, followed by the pounding of little feet, "Venus!  There's a man out in the forest!"  Artemis informed her.  Venus frowned and looked at her mom.  Her mom went to the window above the sink, checking the forest line for said man Artemis and Apollo have claimed to see.  "I don't see anyone?  Venus, go get dad and go check it out.  Keep your phone on you and ready to text me in case I need to call the cops."

Venus nodded and ran through the house to get her dad.  "Dad, there's someone in the forest.  We need to check it out," Venus said once she got to her dad's office.  Elliot looked up, a confused frown on his face, but quickly set into motion, grabbing his gun in the process.

Father and daughter stepped outside, slowly edging closer and closer to the forest, looking around for any indication of a stranger lingering around.  It was quiet, no bird song or even the rustle of the wind, as if a predator were lying in wait for them walk into its trap.

Just as the ominous silence pressed down on them, it broke with the snap of a twig and the materialization of man.  "Hello, what're you doing out here?" He asked, his face shrouded in suspicion.  Elliot raised his gun in warning, "We live here.  Just moved in a week ago."

The man looked past them to their house.  He huffed and looked at Elliot, "So they finally sold the house.  Well, we'll be on our way then, so sorry for intruding."  Venus looked around and finally noted the other people surrounding them at the man's mention of 'we'.  She startled and took a step back, but did nothing as she and her dad watched the people disappear back into the forest.

"Well, that was ominous," Venus commented.  She stared into the forest, watching the swaying branches and listening to the birds pick up their song once more.  It was odd, how once those people left, life returned to the forest once more.  Then again, it could've been a coincidence.  Those things happened.  "Let's go back in and eat.  I made you a ham and turkey sandwich."