"My Lady, that was the best shot I've ever seen!" Angelina exclaimed from behind her, which Cinder agreed with, judging by her sharp bark. Artemis turned and dipped her head in acknowledgement, before Phoebe bounded up to her, giving her a sharp salute.
"My Lady, thanks for the assist, you should've seen my view of that Drakon's face when it found its own head shoved into the dirt."
...
Artemis dipped her head, the ichor in her veins still throbbing with unused power, "I figured you wouldn't mind my assistance in dealing with that Lydian Drakon, good work recognizing it, and challenging it directly. We might has lost a hunter on the left if you hadn't." That was a very somber declaration. As powerful as she was, Lydian Drakons were some of the most dangerous monsters out there.
"Mara and Sarah were there, I wouldn't let them face a foe such as that being so fresh here in the hunt." Phoebe answered quietly, as the rest of the hunters ran forward, crowding around Phoebe in congratulations.
Watching them fondly, Artemis leaned against a tree, resting her hands on her bow. She watched Zoe clap Phoebe on the shoulder before weaving her way to Artemis. Angelina passed Zoe with a high-five, something that Zoe had recently learned, and she and Cinder joined the fray.
"My Lady, I witnessed thine shot. Masterfully done." Zoe said brightly.
"My hunters have now complimented me on my shooting three times in five minutes, almost as if they are surprised that I do indeed shoot a bow." Artemis responded cryptically, with a small amount of humor.
Zoe smiled in return, her onyx eyes gleaming in the morning air, "You doth know of what I speak, My Lady. Our hunts have not had the privileges of thy's appearance of late. It is a welcome sight for you to enjoy the hunt with us."
Artemis nodded in return, conceding the point. Zoe had a point, it had been far too long since she had last participated in a hunt, especially one where it felt as if… as if she was back there again…
Artemis had found a sleek surface of the boulder she sat upon, which was an ample place to hone the points of her arrows. She had sharpened a dozen arrows lightly, watching the nine hundred men slowly gather together. She had thought they would all come back to her in small groups, but it seemed that the eight boys were trying to organize a semblance of an orderly column. They had succeeded it seemed, and Artemis put her arrows away, as the nine hundred slowly approached. They were in order, but their marching off cadence. A small detail, and of little tactical importance, at least, for the training she had in mind.
The column neared, before breaking as they gathered, hundreds carrying odd supplies like the eight had. They all gave her a mix of curious, wary, lustful, and angry glances as the hundreds filed forwards, depositing herbs, the odd animal, wood, and stones. The process was a long one, and it allowed Artemis to study these boys, and assess what they were capable of. She tried to impartially judge their abilities. Many were lean, likely fast runners, and good climbers. That was essential for a skirmishing troop. So far, she hadn't met many, but she would need to find the leaders from among them. Not their officers, but the common boy who was willing to take a leading role from a common background.
That would come in time, as she had learned from centuries with her hunt.
For now, she had to break them in. they had marched with Alexander and Perseus, but she would put them up to the Hunt's standards.
As they finished depositing their collections, a rough semicircle was formed, with loud mutters and milling conversations breaking out. Artemis knew it was time. She stood from her seat on the boulder and shouted, quelling any conversation before her
"Listen up, boys from Pella. You may have heard of men from your companions, but in case you are unaware, let me introduce myself. I am Cleoxene of the Amazons, and I have been tasked with training you all in the arts of war. You have questions, I presume. Disregard them. I have the authority of both your Commander, Perseus, and Alexander King himself. As such, I supersede your officers, and Perseus himself, when it comes to training you in the finer arts of skirmishing. I have a simple set of rules. Follow my orders, or be punished for disobeying your King. I was a trainer of Amazonian warriors in my time among the amazons, and I plan to pass on my teachings to you here. Now any questions?"
A voice called up from the back, raising his hand to the amusement of some men around him, "Yeah, can you suck my cock for… AHHH"
Artemis lowered her bow, seeing her arrow strike true, right through the man's raised palm. There were exclamations of horror and amusement from the hundreds gathered, who peered back at the man nursing his injured hand.
"Whoever that was, you will bandage that take all the collected materials back into the camp yourself, as long as it takes. Anyone else?" Artemis called, nocking another arrow on her new bowstring. She cast her eyes across the silent crowd around her. There was a mix of fear, angry, and caution now present, but lust wasn't among the mass. Perfect.
"That's what I thought, now pair up into groups of five, and yes, there will be one group of four. You will do 5 circuits of the entire encampment before the sun touches the mountains to the west."
There was a pause, as many of the men peered over to the lowering orange ball in the sky, judging if this was even possible. Artemis knew the sun well enough to know that there was enough time to sprint and do probably four circuits, if one was in peak physical condition. Even her hunters couldn't do the task.
"Well?" Artemis prompted loudly, and that set them off. Artemis had a slight worry that they would fail to comply, but some of the more avid ones, including one she recognized, a boy who was one of the eight, lead four others over and began a strong pace over to the right wall side track. Another group began to follow them when the earth started to shake. It began as a tremor, and the only reason that Artemis noticed was because a few discarded pebbles on the flat surface of her boulder toppled onto the ground. There was a loud crack, and a opening high on the cliffs above the pass rumbled loudly.
The men before her panicked. Some had weapons, but most didn't. A loud scream sounded from the dark scar of the cave above, and a red clawed hand emerged first. The head came next, narrow, and serpentine, with a forked tongue and two curly horns, adorned with brown red scales. It screeched again seeing the frightened skirmishers below. A couple of men fire their slings at the Drakon, but the stones either missed, or were ineffectual. It screamed a challenge, perched on the edge of the cave like a hawk.
Artemis wasted no time. She nocked an arrow and aimed, her bow at full draw. Then, she whistled loudly, about the shouts and yells of the men behind her. The Drakon, about to roar again, cocked its head, and looked down, its clawed hands keeping it from falling down the high heights of the cliffs.
Artemis's arrow plunged into the unprotected arm socket of the beast's right shoulder. The Drakon screamed, it's weight buckling the right arm, sending the Drakon tumbling down the cliffs. It screamed again, only this time it was cut off by a jagged rock piercing it's midsection halfway down the fall. It hung there, sinking slowly onto the jagged crop, whimpering pitifully until it shuddered a final time. It remained hanging there, limp, its tail and long neck swinging slowly, until they too stopped.
Artemis had another arrow nocked just as the first found its target. She had her sights on the beast's head, but the jagged rock had done its work on the creature, and it was obviously dead. Despite her aching shoulder and back, her instincts had remained with her, and the adrenaline coursing through her body was winding down. Artemis let out a sigh, before turning back around to the men.
All were staring at her with wide eyes and gaping jaws. Artemis remembered that these were young men, and they responded to example rather than experience. Before she could give the order, they all rushed off in their groups, bolting down the right-side track of the palisade wall. Only one didn't follow, but Artemis was sure that he too would do his duty.
She glanced back up at the clifftop, where the surprise appearance from the Drakon had been snuffed. An owl with gleaming grey eyes met her gaze there.
The hunt was gathered between the tow piles of monster dust, and Artemis found everything to be in order. They had a lot of ground to cover today, to begin their search for the demigod that had supposedly stolen Zeus's Master Bolt. The wolves wove amongst the hunters, and they were doing last minute checks on their gear, yet something felt off. Her reminiscences of the Drakon she had killed long ago was somewhat like today's, but they had entered her mind entirely of their own accord. Something, an instinct had remembered something from that memory. A certain detail.
The Owl.
Artemis immediately cast her senses out around her, and her hunters soon noticed their Mistresses alertness. Athena was here.
"What is it My Lady?" Elizabeth said, drawing her bow, alongside the other hunters.
"Nothing dangerous, just family, an annoying half sister to be exact." Artemis responded, raising her voice towards the trees. Her eyes finally alit upon the sight of a barn owl, in a low tree branch just twenty meters in front of her.
The barn owl hooted before taking off from the branch, and flying low to the ground, straight towards Artemis.
As the owl neared, it morphed into the tall lithe form of Athena, clad in her grey sashed toga. The tall goddess walked forward, bowing her head in greeting to Artemis, "Well done sister, both in your fight against the Drakons and for noticing me. I thought that I had hid my aura well."
...
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