Artemis

four

ORION WASN'T A CRIMINAL, NOR WAS HE A TERRIBLE PERSON IN THE EYES OF SOCIETY. He just made a move on Artemis when she had made her boundaries very clear, and she decided to kill him, as you do.

No, Orion was pretty chill. The first and only member of the hunt to be a full time male, he was very good at his job. He was an excellent archer, a real asset to the hunt, and killing him broke Artemis. She never wanted to do it. He was her best friend, someone she could go to when things got rough, but he betrayed her trust and fell in love.

The worst part was, she loved him back.

That's what truly terrified Artemis about facing her lover a second time - that maybe her heart would betray her yet again. He made her vulnerable once, and those who had been in the hunt since then could testify to how Artemis guarded herself against those who fell in love too easily.

However, Artemis' past never stopped her from loving her family and friends. She was stronger than one man.

"What do you mean, Orion's back? You killed him! Centuries ago!" Tara's voice went up in pitch as she panicked, running her hands through her jet black hair as she remembered the pain that the man had brought with him.

"I mean, Hades is gone. Thanatos is gone. There's no one holding back the worst monsters we've ever defeated and Orion is just the tip of the iceberg. Our resources are gonna be spread thin, but I think I have an idea about how to do this." Artemis pressed a button on her watch, calling all available hunters to the common area of the lodge. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

—

For the first time in centuries, the lodge was almost completely empty. No one was fighting over the record player or tv remote. No one was heating up their leftovers in the microwave. Adaku wasn't berating someone for leaving their boots in the middle of the floor.

Instead, it was Artemis and her most trusted, most trained, senior hunters sitting on kitchen counters, debating their plan of attack.

"We don't know where he is, and we don't know where he's gonna be. The most we can do is chase smaller problems and hope he pops up," Quiang said, laying out the facts. Alethea, who sat next to her, nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, there should be some local stuff here on Terra, but I'm not opposed to traveling."

Atremis plucked an arrow from her quiver and started to clean her fingernails. "He's going to show up here. Orion knows my fondness for this planet and the people on it, the most we can do right now is protect people from smaller threats."

"So, what, we're just going to go out and roam a country until something comes up? Sounds boring," Adaku Adayemi sighed, rocking back on her heels. "Why can't we go help other groups?"

A few people in the group looked uneasy, thinking through the thought process behind questioning the orders of a goddess. What they failed to take into account was the fact that 1) Adaku was royalty (maybe not present royalty, but when her people ruled what would become Nigeria, she was their princess), and 2) Artemis loved Adaku to bits and took her criticism lightly.

"If I wanted you with other groups, I would have sent you with them. Besides, I cannot afford to have you somewhere without easy access to transportation in case Orion is spotted." Artemis shoved her arrow back into its place. "Tara, stay here, give Lilo some training, teacher how to use the doors. I'll beep you if I need you."

The goddess hugged her right hand woman and lead her group of hunters out of the safety of the lodge.

—

"I need clothes," Lilo muttered after a few minutes of silence.

Her words sparked Tara into movement, taking Lilo's hand and leading her to a plain door down one of the hallways. She opened it, revealing that it was a door with a wall behind it.

"We use this to train hunters to use our method of transportation. It's difficult to get the hang of, so we'll practice ice until you've got it." Tara closed the door and opened it again, this time showing a bedroom with clothes scattered on the floor and papers littering the bed. "That's my room, pardon the mess. Now, you try. Think of your bedroom here in the lodge."

Lilo closed her eyes and pictured it as best as she could - the white walls, clean floors, tall ceilings, empty shelves.

"Now put your hand on the knob and feel the image going from your head, down your arm, into the door."

Lilo tried her hardest to do as she was instructed, furrowing her brows and pursing her lips. She twisted the door knob and pulled hard, the door swinging open.

Nothing.

The wall seemed to taunt Lilo, which pissed her off. She wasn't used to getting things wrong on the first few tries.

"It's okay, it takes some time. Do it again. Focus really hard on that feeling." Tara encouraged Lilo, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

Lilo repeated the process twice more, each time coming up with the same results: a blank wall staring back at her.

Lilo sighed, nearly slamming the door close for the third time. "Damnit."

"Why don't you try to envision your bedroom at home? It might work better if you have an actual, physical connection to the place." Tara placed a comforting hand on Lilo's shoulder.

Lilo concentrated. She focused until her head started to hurt. She felt the longing to go home, the resentment towards her parents for being unaccepting with her sexuality. She felt the love for her little sister. She felt her home, channeling her thoughts to the goddamn door.

Her hand closed around the doorknob. Twisted. Pulled.

A wall of warm, fresh air hit Lilo in the face. She opened her eyes, and stared directly into her room on Moloka'i.

author's note

wow! i love this chapter! next time, we get to explore some more relationships, including the people y'all came here for.

thank you so much for reading. i've been cooking this up for a while, and it means a lot that people are actually reading it. i love each and every single person who took time out of their day to read this. thank you.

- rory