wild and free

@mpapollo

Artemis was crouched on a sturdy pine branch, an arrow nocked, every muscle in her body taut as her bow string. An unsuspecting stag was wandering closer to her by the moment, grazing on the foliage poking out of the snow. Just a few more steps, and she would have a perfect shot through the trees. She didn’t blink, didn’t breathe - waiting in perfect stillness and silence for the right moment to strike.

When it came, she loosed the arrow without hesitation, her only movement a slight shift of her fingers. She knew the arrow would hit its target as soon as it left her bow. Of course it would - she was not the Goddess of the Hunt for nothing. However, much to her rage, a second arrow flew out of the brush and hit the stag at the same moment her’s found its target, perhaps just an inch to the left.

@mpxsol

Artemis had been out hunting most of the day - and off the island, in fact. She had heard that the main land had some kind of wild boar problem, so she had figured she would give them a discrete hand with it. Not that she blamed the wild boar for invading farms and cities. They had certainly been there first. And that was really what the silly humans deserved for setting up such sprawling urban centres, destroying and encroaching upon the territory of everything and everyone that got in their way.

But hey, wild boar meat was some of the best you could get, and that was her real motivation for the hunt.

By the time she made her way back across the bridge, pulling a hand-made sled with six boar strapped to it behind her, she was chilled to the bone; even through her good hunting furs. So, after leaving the boars with the local butcher (because, much to her chagrin, Apollo disapproved of her butchering anything in their loft), she decided to stop by to see Sol. Considering her fingertips looked a little blue when she raised her hand to knock on the door, it was probably a good idea.

Artemis as Tuxedo Mask (ft. @mpxsol as Sailor Moon)

mpapollo​:

Apollo did not know why his colleagues despised him so. He knew many hated his ego, but again, he was far too brilliant to be unaware of that. Many of his colleagues were just as vain, but they were far too dense to see it. Or, even worse, they projected their insecurities about their vanity against him. Regardless, it had lead to many arguments with colleagues, and he grew tired of their neverending attitude. For a job whose role was to help the island and demigods, he sure felt that he spent more time dealing with their politics than anything else. 

There was only one person on this island he felt some sort of reprieve, and that same person was on the receiving end of a long rant. Artemis was rather patient, most of the times, with his dramatics, but she seemed to have something brewing. As she sat, a small gasp fell from his lips, shooing her feet away from the coffee table. For a goddess who rarely left the forest, he did not want any dirt cluttering the table. 

Turning his attention to her, he raised a brow to her comment. “Other than the fact that at least half of them are soul sucking leeches?” He asked, scoffing. “Tell me what you heard. Wait, let me guess? Arawn sucks his thumb when he sleeps? Amaterasu hides horns under her hair?”

Artemis scoffed when he shooed her feet off the coffee table, begrudgingly tucking her legs under her and shifting to get comfortable again. Considering she had been living in the wild for centuries, keeping things spotlessly clean was not exactly on her radar. It made her wonder how much of their limited life spans humans spent cleaning their ugly blocky homes in these modern times. Probably far too much time, if she had to guess.

“Well, probably to both of those things. But no,” she replied, a smirk tugging at her lips. Considering how much trouble the other gods had been giving Apollo, she definitely supported some jokes at their expense. They more than deserved it. She was looking forward to serving up some hearty slices of humble pie in the near future.

So when Eris quite literally dances into her, nearly spilling the sweet wine in her glass, the apology on her tongue burbles into a laugh-gasp. "Oh, Artemis! I've never seen you at one of these things before."

Artemis was having a fairly good time at the gala, but she was sure that Sol was entirely responsible for any enjoyment she felt. The event itself was overwhelming - too fancy, too stuffy, too crowded. But she supposed it could have been worse. At least the music was not too loud and the crowd was not too wild. It probably could have been a lot worse, she thought.

When someone bumped right into her, though, she was fully prepared to snap at them for being so careless. Until the woman spoke. It took her a moment to realize who it was. "Oh. Eris." Careless and chaotic as usual, then. Knowing that Eris was present, it was actually surprising that the event had not devolved into anarchy. "Yeah, fancy parties aren't really my thing. I just came to keep Sol company," she commented, waving vaguely toward her date, who had wandered a bit ahead to go talk to one of her little demigod friends.

Summer Gala 2022 with @mpxsol

@mpapollo​

Artemis had decided to join the city council on a whim. It seemed like Apollo was having trouble with some of the other gods, so she had figured that he could use some back-up. Honestly, she found it very strange, that some people seemed so irritated by her brother for no reason at all. Sure, he was a bit of an arrogant jerk - she couldn’t name a single god in their pantheon (or almost any other, for that matter) who was not an arrogant jerk. Maybe the other gods just didn’t like him because he actually had talent and charisma to back up that arrogance. There were many gods who couldn’t say the same.

But regardless, she had signed the proper papers and the whole thing was decided. She pitied any idiot who tried to take a shot at her twin with her in the room. They would leave it without a tongue.

As if Apollo knew what she had just done, he started complaining about the latest council meeting the moment she walked in the door. Yeah, he sure was annoying... But she was the only one allowed to think that. After all, she was the one who had put up with it since birth. She let him go on about it as she kicked off her shoes and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. She had learned, traveling the forest with her young huntresses, that venting was a necessary and productive process - much better than bottling things up.

Wonders at Sunset

Sol smiled in relief at the other’s reassurance. While she doubted anyone had absolute ownership of the forest, she did believe people had areas in which they claimed as theirs in the pursuit of achieving peace. To see someone with such a care, it felt refreshing. There were little others that she found in the woods like her, and because of that, she was immediately intrigued by the other. 

“I must say that I am jealous. I have only been able to enter the forest within the last year. Before that, I was stuck in the sky with no chance to enjoy life.” She speaks. Bitterness tangles with her words as her lips momentarily pulled into a soft pout. Even though she could now physically feel that freedom, she still felt bogged down without her brother being here to enjoy it with her. What she would do to be able to see Mani once more!

As the other reached to fix her hair, Sol looked at the other with fleeting surprise, warmth blooming on her cheeks. “Artemis? I’ve heard of you.” From the minor research she had done to the gods and the stories of those who clung to her chariot in safety, she found it nearly amusing that she was before another moon. “I’m glad to make your company.” She smiles, gently reaching forward to drag her thumb along the other’s jaw. “A woman of the moon is made for my care.”

“Stuck in the sky?” Artemis questioned, her head cocked to the side. She knew of gods who ruled over the skies, but she did not think she had ever heard of one being stuck up there. Then again, that was simply not her realm, so she did not know a lot about it. Maybe one day she should go to the library and actually do some reading on the other pantheons... but that sounded awfully boring, so probably not.

She was almost surprised that Sol had heard of her, until she remembered that not all the gods were as cut-off from the world as she usually was. “Sorry, I don’t think I’ve heard of you. But I’m an uneducated recluse, so don’t take it personally,” she replied, a sheepish smile on her face. This was maybe the one goddess she felt bad for not knowing about, because she seemed so sweet and intriguing.

My Dearest

it’s only a few hours later that something stirs within the house again, the silence broken by more than just the swish of him turning pages in the book. he’s been somewhat immersed in the story by now, but easily pulled out of it when his daughter speaks as she makes her way into the living room. he looks up from the book to follow her with his gaze, smiling when she simply takes a glass of water to drink, smiling wider when she tells him he didn’t need to stay.

“i wanted to,” is all he gives her in way of an explanation, not moving from the couch just yet. “i made a stew i think you’ll like, with boiled potatoes.” he looks at her from his position in the couch, his small a soft and almost private thing, meant for no one but her right now, and more genuine than a lot of his expressions tend to be. “if you hate the city living why don’t you go reside in the forest, my dear?”

it is then that he does push himself up from the couch, closing the book gently and returning it to the shelf with a casualness that belies how carefully he makes sure he doesn’t damage the book nor any of the others. “do you want me to reheat it now for you to eat or are you not hungry?”

Stew sounded familiar and comfortable. Sure, it was probably made with meat and vegetables bought at one of those stores, but at least it was a dish she recognized. And maybe there was a small part of her that liked that her father had cooked for her, too. It had been a long, long while since he had done something nurturing like that for her. Really, it had been a long, long while since she had even seen him.

“I am trying to... adapt. Apollo said it would be good for me. After all, I am not recruiting huntresses like I used to. It can... get a bit lonely out in the woods with next to no one to accompany you, even if I prefer it out there,” she explained, tone edged with awkwardness. She did not like admitting any of her weaknesses, and the fact that she could not handle being alone was definitely a glaring fault, in her eyes. “Anyway, it’s about time, isn’t it? Everyone else in our family seems to be perfectly at ease in this modern world. I have some catching up to do.”

Wonders at Sunset

As Sol gently kicked her legs, she watched the other make her approach. Her eyes trailed their body with appreciation. “I do not believe I have made any error.” She comments with a nod of her head. Artemis, on surface value, did not appear to be a threat. While the bow did raise some concern, she found it highly illogical for it be used against her. Sol increasingly found a kindred soul in the others, and without much hesitation, she gravitated toward the other.

“Your home?” She thought out loud. Though, in many ways, Sol related to Artemis and her feelings toward  the forest. While this goddess appeared to fit it in so natural to their surrounding, Sol often felt like an outsider finally making that connection she always wanted. “Well, I hope you do not mind my trespass. Water like this must be appreciated.”

Once Artemis finally got into the water, the goddess turned to face her. “I would not call myself lost. I am seeking peace. In the city, I feel like a fish out of water, so here I am.” She pauses for a moment. “What do the mortals call that… Ironic?” Sol ponders before turning her attention to the other. “But regardless.” She speaks, wading a bit closer to Artemis. “My name is Sol. And who do I owe the pleasure?”

Artemis couldn’t help but let out a small laugh when Sol suggested that she was trespassing. As if anyone would ever be bothered by such a peaceful presence. In fact, she was rather glad she had happened upon the beautiful, kind goddess. She could use the company. “You’re hardly trespassing. The forest is my home, but I don’t own it... And I only mind when someone is disrupting or destroying it. You are welcome here.”

She smiled as Sol explained herself, relief clear in her expression. She had really begun to think that she was the only one who felt so out of place in the city. “I understand completely. I have been living in the forest for centuries, and I find this modern city overwhelming in every sense.” Normally she would not be so candid about her discomfort, but she felt instantly at ease with the other goddess. Clearly, they understood each other - and she trusted her instincts when they told her that Sol was a friend.