she who soothes

“Mother of otherness Eat me.”

Dark hair, dark eyes,  sharp teeth, ripping, tearing. The goddess moves gracefully– the bear is lumbering and slow until she isn’t. Lightning-fast claws tear into a fish, a slow, happy mouth takes all the cherries from the trees at dusk. Artemis and Her bears are fishers, black fur and hair soaked by stream water, stained purple by blackberry juice. The Huntress does not have to chase. The bear teaches us to wait, to take what the forest offers. Artemis can hunt slow and patient, can fish and gather and appreciate the gifts carrion has to offer. Bears are not lazy. Bears are not stupid. Kallisto was given a gift, although it might have taken her a long time to realize how strong she became, or to realize that Artemis Black Bear did not consider her fate a punishment.

ORION, with a step back : You don’t understand. You are my sister and my friend and my mother and my thoughts and my soul— ARTEMIS, cold as ice : —and your Goddess. ORION, stunned suddenly : …and my Goddess. ARTEMIS : Don’t you ever forget it.

hail to you, Artemis Agrotera, the doe among the graves. the arrow covered in my own blood, nocked again. the scent-memory of the bear chasing me up the cliff - and when the wind shifts, me with a knife, chasing back.