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Celestial Firestorm Captain
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 Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:00 pm
She raced through the trees even harder, moonlight breaking through the branches ahead. Suddenly she was upon a clearing, and a flash of the moon reflecting off a small lake blinded her, making her trip on a root. She fell hard, crashing to the ground heavily. A cold chuckle brought her attention to the bank of the lake.
“You’re persistent, aren’t you?” The black haired man motioned to a small lump on the ground next to him. “I assume you’re here for this?” She could see a dress and feet poking out, but the rest was hidden behind his thin form.
“You’re a monster!”
“Now, now. Let’s not resort to name-calling, shall we? After all, I’ve had a good long time to come up with something better than ‘monster’.”
She slammed her fist into the ground, and he chuckled again. “Ah, the petty shows of anger from you humans. It’s always amusing…” His mouth kept moving, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. For some reason, this made her grin. He looked confused, just before the earth started to shake. She couldn’t hear it, but she could feel it, and he did too. Before he could react, a column of solid earth shot into the air, carrying him with it.
Scrambling to her feet, she rushed to the body, turning her over and checking her neck. There were two scars, but nothing fresh. He hadn’t bitten her. She was relieved, but more confused. He’d had the poor girl for two days. He hadn’t fed yet?
He landed behind the two, harder than the vamp was used to. Normally he could leap from a rooftop and land without a sound, but this had taken him by surprise. She was just a human; how could she perform such magic?! He fought against the urge to buckle to his knees.
She didn’t hear him, but her touch made up for that now. She felt the ground twitch. “So you haven’t eaten yet.” It wasn’t a question. As she picked up the limp body, she turned only to find him in the middle of a sentence. Luckily, it seemed like that sentence was, “No, I haven’t.” He was breathing heavily, and she smirked. “What, not prepared for the lack of air at that height?”
He was getting angry now. He made large gestures with his hands toward the tower of dirt, but she was watching his lips. She had to tilt her head a bit to concentrate, but when he stopped she had a fairly good idea what had been said. “Oh, I’m a human, all right. I’m just no human you’ve ever met before. This,” she said, plucking the feather from her cap with a grin, “is gonna be fun.” She launched it into the air and as it reached the top of its loop, it transformed with a blinding flash into an enormous falcon. With a deafening caw it swooped low, where she jumped onto its back. She flicked her wrist in a sarcastic salute and winked, leaving him there in the dust as the falcon tore through the skies.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:04 pm
The girl groaned, and Artemis looked up. She glanced at the bird roosting on his stand in the window, then got up and went to the girl’s side. “Hey there, kiddo… How are you doing?”
She groaned again and held a hand to her head, sitting up. “I… remember… nothing…” Artemis raised an eyebrow. She reached out and the girl took her hand, staring at it. “No… This skin… I remember this skin…” She looked up into Artemis’s bright green eyes and ran her little fingers through the woman’s short chestnut hair. “You saved me. And a bird.” She looked to the falcon on his perch. “A big bird.”
He ruffled his feathers annoyed and turned away.
Artemis took the girl’s hand again, bringing back her attention. “That’s right. Do you remember anything before that?”
Her eyes unfocused as she tried to think back, then her face grew scared. She started to shake and spun to Artemis, leaping at her and wrapping her arms around her neck. “That man…! Don’t let him get me again!”
Surprised, Artemis caught the poor girl and held her loosely, before her instincts took over and she wrapped the girl in a hug. “Don’t worry, kiddo, he won’t get you now.” She only seemed to grip tighter, bunching up Artemis’s shirt in her little fists. “I promise. But right now we have to get you home, okay?”
She sunk back onto the bed. “I don’t really have a home. That man lured me away from the orphanage with some food.”
“You should know better than to go with strangers,” Artemis muttered absently, eyes flicking left and right in thought. So he’d taken a kid no one would miss, and then hadn’t fed off of her… What the hell was going on here? A tug on her sleeve brought her back to reality.
“If I go back, won’t he just find me again?”
Artemis looked to the falcon, who seemed to feel her eyes. He shuffled a bit, then just as he was about to flap out the window, she cleared her throat. He glanced over and flinched under her stare. “I think we can work something out. Right, Sho?” He ruffled his feathers again, so she asked again. “Right, Sho?” He gave up, cooing reluctantly.
She nodded triumphantly and looked back to the girl. “Now, what’s your name, kiddo?”
“Um…” She seemed to be thinking about it. She looked up at Artemis again, as if she was trying to read more into the woman that had saved her life. “They call me… Zephyr.”
Both Artemis and Sho fell back in surprise. In fact, Artemis literally tipped back and knocked over the stool she’d been sitting on. Zephyr sat up and peeked over the woman’s splayed legs. “Are you okay?!”
The hunter grunted and rubbed the back of her head where she’d smacked against the floor, sitting up slowly. “Y-Yeah… Your name’s Ze—Ze—that, huh? Isn’t that something, Sho?” she asked, giving the bird a queer look while smiling nervously. Through clenched teeth, she muttered, “Fate has an odd sense of humor.”
“Is there something wrong with my name?”
“No, no…” Artemis pushed herself off the floor and righted the stool, patting Zephyr’s head. “It has… kind of a history. With us.” Sho wobbled back and forth on his perch anxiously in agreement.
Zephyr nodded as if she understood, then looked confused. She shook it off and watched as Artemis went around the small sparsely-furnished cottage, collecting her gear. “We’d better get going. We’re not going to be safe in one place too long.” She looked the little girl over as she secured a small blade across the small of her back. “We’ll make better time if you ride on my back.”
“Make time…? Where are we?”
“The outskirts of the boondocks. Fairly deep into the swamps. No one comes this far unless they have to; it’s safer.”
“But you just said—“
“With Ambrose after you, we have to throw him off his guard. He’d never expect us to take you back to town.”
The girl nodded slowly. “He’ll figure you’d be hiding me. So I’ll be out in plain sight…where he won’t see me!”
“You got it, kiddo. Sho, scout ahead. I’ll catch up.” The falcon snapped at her before taking off out the window. Artemis slapped her hat on her head, readjusting the feather carefully, before digging around in a dusty cabinet. “I think I still have that… Aha!” She pulled out a small cloak and flapped some of the old dirt out of it, holding it up to size against Zephyr. “Should fit,” she muttered as she wrapped it around the girl’s shoulders.
It was an off-white color, a soft eggshell, and it kind of…shimmered as it moved. Zephyr rubbed the fabric between her fingers and was surprised how soft it was, especially after how long it must have been in that cupboard. “Why does it…?” she trailed off in search of the right word, opting to just wave the cloak to get the point across instead.
“It’s a special cloth. There used to be an Elfish tailor in town who was really good to the neighborhood kids. The discount was too good to pass up. If you’re in trouble, just hide somewhere and cover yourself with it. It’ll camouflage you.”
“Wow… Elfish cloth…”
Artemis made sure the clip was secure, then patted the girl’s shoulder. “Okay, let’s get moving.” She scooped up the little body like she was a bag of leaves and they quickly got her situated on the woman’s back. “Just keep those little arms tight around my neck, alright? I’m gonna be going pretty fast.” They heard a caw outside the window and went out. Sho was circling overhead, and when he saw them, headed off for the west. “Good, the path’s clear.”
Zephyr was about to ask something, but suddenly they were running and her hair was whipping around her face. When she managed to see again, she watched as the trees blazed past, and wondered how Artemis could see things fast enough at this speed. It must have taken a lot of concentration, and yet… She seemed to be, if nothing else, enjoying herself.
She hadn’t gone this fast in a long time. Her joints were a little stiff, and when leaping over a log she managed to cut it close (if you consider two feet above it close), but she was loosening up with each pump. She grinned. Yeah, maybe she was showing off a bit for this girl, but it was still awfully fun. As the trees thinned, she only poured on more speed, now that she didn’t have as many obstacles to clear.
The land here was rolling and green, the farming land outside the city. No matter where you were coming from, you had to pass through this country land to get in or out. Arty was tearing across the fields, avoiding the paths, but she knew she’d have to cross the main road soon. Huffing through her nose, she veered off her straight line and climbed a hill, not even stopping at the top to survey the land. If she had, she would have noticed that horse and rider…
They barely missed each other on the road. Artemis streaked across the horse’s path, spooking it silly and making it rear, bucking the rider off violently. Arty jumped into the air, somehow managing to jump again while up there. It was like she’d kicked off a wall, but there had been nothing there. She flipped over and landed with a thud, collapsing to her knees under her own force. It was the only effective way to stop without skidding all over the place. “You okay, Ze— kiddo?”
Zephyr stood on her own, a little wobbly out of fear and dizziness after the little aerial stunt. Somehow she managed to nod.
Artemis got to her feet and dusted off her pants, watching the horse trot around. It was still upset. “Stay away from the horse,” she muttered to Zephyr before climbing out of the small embankment. The road itself was a little higher to help drain water after heavy rains, and luckily that meant there was a lot of grass on both sides of the road. If the rider had the same luck that Arty did, he had landed on the other side. Well... Let’s just say he wouldn’t have called it luck.
A recent traveler must have dumped his horse’s water into the embankment, because as the woman got close, she saw the rider was covered in mud. He was trying to get up, only to lose his concentration when he saw her shadow over him and slip back in. Wrinkling her nose, Artemis rolled up her sleeve and reached down, taking him by the back of the shirt and hauling him onto the road. “You okay, buddy?”
He was naturally irritated. “I just got bucked off my horse and covered in mud. No, I’m not okay!” He turned to her angrily and was about to yell at her, but stopped short. They blinked at each other, surprised. Usually people were shorter than either of them, but these two were looking each other in the eyes.
Artemis stood at about 6 foot 4; he must have been about the same.
They both took a step back and eyed the other.
She saw an elf, short strawberry blonde hair falling just so about the pointed ears. He had a sturdy build, covered in light armor embossed with the emblem of the elf kingdom. His large golden eyes were sharp and attentive, and they had seen more than their share of death.
He saw a human, tall not only for a woman, but also a human in general. She was in simple clothes, though more expensive garb than that of a normal townsman. His elven eyes spotted many hidden weapons, as well as the knife on her back. He also took note of the feather tucked into the band of her cap. Her eyes had seen death as well, but something about it was stronger than the knights he’d seen slain in battle.
Artemis was tentative. “Are you… hurt?”
He took a moment to answer, but then sighed, trying to brush some mud off of his sleeves. “No…no. You must have come off that hill awfully fast to spook Maximos like that.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”
He hmphed. “Is the girl alright?”
She nodded. “Just a little dizzy, I think—“ She stopped talking as her eyes were drawn to the horse again. Zephyr was trying to approach him. “Ze—“ Her voice caught on the name, as it had been doing more and more lately. She coughed at the odd look the elf gave her. “What did I say about the horse?!”
“There’s no need to worry. Maximos is a kind soul.”
“Maybe so, but any horse spooked is dangerous.” She went to grab Zephyr, but as the girl held out her hand, the horse settled a bit and stepped closer. She gently patted his nose and looked over at the adults. The two were stunned. They glanced at each other, shocked, and they kind of chuckled nervously. Artemis held out her hand, smiling. “Sorry about the mud.”
He took it and shook his head. “Sorry about almost trampling you.”
She laughed as Zephyr brought Maximos over. “It’s all good. I’m Artemis.”
“And I’m Zephyr.”
He held his fist to his shoulder, bowing. “My name is Nicodemus Mi-Kani. A pleasure…if only it had been under better circumstances,” he added, tugging at his soggy tunic.
Artemis opened her mouth, but was cut off as a caw pierced the air. Sho circled overhead, before diving to settle on her shoulder. “Oh, geez, right.” She threw a look to Zephyr. “I’m an idiot! C’mon, kiddo, we’ve gotta make tracks.” Sho pecked her head in agreement and took off, and she scooped up Zephyr. She gave that little flick of a salute to the elf. “Thanks for the interesting interlude. See you later!”
“Y-Yes, goodbye.” He watched as Zephyr held on tight and Artemis jumped off the road, racing down across the field. “…An odd pair.” Maximos snorted in agreement.
As they dashed, Zephyr pulled her mouth up to Arty’s ear. “He seemed nice.”
“Formal, anyway. Elves are like that.”
The girl smiled into Artemis’s shoulder, glad the woman couldn’t see the look on her face.
Things were growing more developed as they made time to the city, and soon they were within the borders. Artemis slowed gradually to a stop, sheltered between two tall brownstones.
“Alright, kiddo. Where’s this orphanage?”
“Downtown.”
With Zephyr pointing out the way, Arty jogged her down to the old brick building. Tons of kids were playing in the yard and a pudgy female dwarf was watching over them. She planted her hands on her hips as the two approached.
“Zephyr! There you are! How many times do I have to tell you not to run away?”
Arty crouched down and Zephyr hopped off, shaking her head vigorously. “But Ms. Skye! I didn’t run away!”
“Hmph. That’s what you said the other three times, too. Get up to your room, missy!”
“Now, wait a minute,” Arty said. “You’re not gonna punish her, are you?”
“Of course! I can’t let this behavior seem acceptable!”
“Well, but, she didn’t run away. She was kidnapped.”
Ms. Skye rolled her eyes and glared at Zephyr. “Is that what you’re telling people? You’re such a little liar!”
“Oi!” Half the noise around the yard quieted as the kids took notice. “You can’t talk to her like that! Do you yell at all the kids around here?”
“No,” she spat, glaring daggers at the human. “Only the troublemakers.”
Artemis ground her teeth and stood, staring down on the caretaker. The dwarf seemed taken aback by the sudden height difference. She was used to humans, but this one was something different. “She was kidnapped, by a vampire. I rescued her last night. Good to know the people who are supposed to be looking after her don’t even bother to call the police when one of their kids disappears!” She reached down and picked Zephyr up with one arm, letting her sit just like a bird on her shoulder. “Come on, Z-Zephyr. You’ll be safer with me.” She turned away, but threw over her shoulder, “In more ways than one,” before walking away.
Zephyr didn’t even bother waiting until they were out of earshot before bursting into laughter. “That’ll show her! She was always so mean to me; it’s not like I ever did anything wrong.”
“Running away three times?”
“That’s beside the point. But hey, you called me by my name!”
“Y-Yeah, I guess I did. … Oi, way to change the subject!”
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Celestial Firestorm Captain
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Celestial Firestorm Captain
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:12 pm
Artemis unlocked the front door and glanced around outside before going in. “Looks like everything’s alright for now.”
“I didn’t know you lived in the city!”
“This is one place I have, yeah. Though, I guess I do tend to stay here more.”
“It feels very homey and lived-in. I like it!”
It was one of the cute little brownstones on the edge of town; very thin in a block of two others, but three stories high. (Things kind of ran in threes in this area.) Everything was wood paneled and did in fact have that lived-in feeling. Really, it felt much homier than what would be expected of someone like Artemis, especially after seeing the cottage in the swamps.
Arty rubbed the back of her neck and muttered, “Yeah… Come on upstairs, I’ll show you your room.” Zephyr’s bare feet padded upstairs much faster than the older woman’s boots, and she was already exploring one of two rooms on the second floor by the time Arty had caught up. “Make yourself right at home, there,” she said with a laugh, leaning against the door-frame.
Zephyr climbed onto the bed and bounced a little, before noticing a picture on the bedside table. Artemis’s eyes widened but wasn’t fast enough to stop her picking it up. “This is you. And your family?” She looked up to see Artemis biting her lip. “You have a mom and dad too?”
“O-Of course I do. Everyone does.”
She seemed in thought before gazing at the photo again. “He’s a big man. You look a lot like him.”
“I get that a lot.”
“He looks strong. He’s holding you two above his head.”
She smiled and sat next to the girl on the bed, looking at it fondly. “He was a lumberjack.”
“And then there’s your mom. She’s very pretty.”
Her mother was standing in the background laughing at her husband’s antics. In a clean cotton dress and white apron, and her silky blonde hair pulled over her shoulder, she was the picture of sensible beauty.
“The other one looks like her.”
Arty bit her lip again.
“But she also looks like you.”
The woman jerked in surprise.
“This is the girl, isn’t it? The girl with my name? The reason you can’t say it?”
She leaped to her feet and paced across the room.
“It’s okay, Artemis. Everyone feels sad after a loss.”
She nodded, but then stopped and looked up at the girl. “I didn’t say I lost her. I haven’t said anything about it at all.”
“O-Oh, I’m sorry! I just assumed. Why else would you be so upset?”
Arty raised an eyebrow, but nodded reluctantly. “…Fair enough. Um, this will be your room, alright? I’m upstairs.” She charged to the door, but stopped when she saw the door across the small hallway. “And, um… Don’t go in there. It’s a… storage room, and things are piled high. You might knock something over and get hurt.”
“Okay.”
She nodded again, and kept nodding as she walked out of the room.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 6:16 pm
After getting something to eat and getting Zephyr settled in her new room, Artemis had gone out, to restock the cupboards and have a little “chat” with the orphanage keeper Ms. Skye. She assured Zephyr the girl would be safe as long as she stayed behind the locked door, but she hadn’t said anything about what to do if she got bored. The house was pretty bare of entertainment, aside from watching the grass blow in the breeze outside the window. But like a good girl she was staying put, and staying out of that other room.
Of course, it helped that it was locked.
Not that a locked door had ever kept Zephyr at bay for long.
She was sitting in the doorway to her bedroom -- which she had quickly figured out was in fact Artemis’s old room -- staring at the closed door like it would suddenly grow a mouth and start telling her secrets. A part of her actually willed it to, but another part didn’t want to know everything that might have happened around here. She absently started to braid her long tangled hair, trying desperately to keep her hands busy and away from that lock.
“Upstairs!” she suddenly cried, glad to have an idea that didn’t involve breaking and entering. She got to her feet and dashed up the stairs to the third floor. She could explore Artemis’s room for a bit; after all, the woman hadn’t told her to stay out of there.
The staircase went up in a tight spiral, just like the other one, to save room in the small home. But unlike the other stairs that opened up into the hallway, this one stopped abruptly with a trap door in the ceiling. There was a lock on it, but a gentle nudge told Zephyr it wasn’t closed. She climbed her way inside.
The first thing she saw was an enormous bed on the other side of the room, but her attention was quickly diverted by the wall behind it. What should have been brick was instead a single pane of glass. The left half was covered in those annoying wooden slat curtains -- the kind that rattle into each other uncontrollably if so much as a stiff breeze drifts past -- but the other side was empty, and she could see out for miles across the farmland. Her keen eyes noted three heavy bolts on this side of the window frame, and carefully moving the curtains aside revealed a matching set of strong iron hinges. The glass was meant to be opened. Though judging by the growing rust on the hinges, the last time it had been opened at all was when they had moved in the king-sized bed. There was no possible way of getting that thing through the trap door.
A cursory glance around the room told the girl everything she needed to know: everything was old. Not incredibly old, how-has-it-not-crumbled-to-dust-yet old, but certainly at least a decade older than Artemis herself. They were either second-hand or heirlooms, and both possibilities gave Zephyr some thoughts to chew on for a while. She gazed out the window for a moment, then shrugged. That wasn’t as exciting as she’d hoped it would be, and didn’t last very long. She was still lost as for what to do until Artemis came back.
Heading back downstairs, she drifted past the locked door in kind of a bored haze, going all the way down to the first floor. So if nothing else she was at least staying out of trouble.
The stairs deposited her near the front of the house, next to the door, on one of the few swatches of carpet in the whole place. There was a coat rack there and some hooks on the wall, so the girl took it as some sort of foyer-type area. Actually, she discovered, following the carpet, it flowed from the front to the back into the living room. The only thing that told her it was a living room were the comfy chairs, but she figured that’s what it was supposed to be. Every other panel of the floor was wood, and she was already getting kind of tired of it. It was too cold for her feet, since she never wore shoes.
She pulled herself into the biggest chair in the place, snuggling down into the worn-but-loved upholstery. It was soft and warm, and large enough she could stretch out like a contented cat in the sunlight shining through the window. She was so comfortable it was almost indecent, and she didn’t even attempt to drag herself from it when she heard the front door open.
“Zephyr? … You better not be in that room, you little-- … Oh.” The girl cracked an eye just enough to see Artemis standing frozen in the kitchen, just a few feet from the “doorway” to the living room. She was staring at the sprawled child, fear written on her face. “... I’m back.”
“Mm, I see that. Did you give Ms. Skye a good what-for?”
“Huh? Oh!” She seemed relieved when the subject changed. She pulled the strap of her bag over her head and put it on the kitchen counter, covering a reassured sigh. “Well, I was going to, but they were all inside and honestly... I didn’t want to go in.”
Zephyr sat up, smiling. “It’s a dirty place, isn’t it?”
Artemis nodded, then chuckled. “Imagine. I go crawling around in dark filthy places all the time for a living, but I’m too grossed out to step inside an orphanage for five minutes to complain.”
The girl tilted her head, suddenly curious. “What do you do, anyway?”
“A little bit of everything, I guess. Anything that needs doing, that pays well. There are always odd jobs around, even if steadier work isn’t available.” She slowly started putting the groceries in the cupboards. “Even lumber isn’t selling like it used to.” Her hands stopped moving as she stared into the middle distance, lost in thought.
“Artemis?”
She visibly jumped. “Eh! O-Oh, it’s nothing. Nothing you need to worry about.” She gave the girl a weak smile and went back to what she was doing.
Silence invaded the conversation, save for the thunking of cans and the crumple of bags. It was too much for Zephyr to handle, so she finally blurted out the first thing that popped into her head.
“What do you think that Elf is doing right now?”
“What, you mean that Nicodemus guy? Why do you care?”
Zephyr shook her head, tugging her feet into a criss-cross position. “Just curious. I’ve never met an Elf before. Not a pure Elf.”
“There weren’t any at the orphanage?”
“Well, like I said, not pure.”
Recognition flashed on Artemis’s face and she nodded. “I guess that shouldn't surprise me... It just wasn’t that long ago that Elves wouldn’t even consider mating with humans, and now-- uh, mixed kids are running around all over the place.”
Zephyr looked a little disturbed. “Um, Artemis? You’re... not...?”
The woman looked up sharply. “Of course not! One of my best friends growing up was an Elf! Actually, he still is. He even married one of the human girls from the neighborhood; lives right down the street. I didn’t say the mixing was bad, I just think it’s weird how fast it took hold. Twenty years ago the thought was considered taboo; now it’s commonplace.”
For some reason, Zephyr really took that to heart and disappeared in deep thought until Artemis gave her a queer look. She grinned nervously, unsuccessfully trying to hide the idea forming in her head.
There was a tap on the window, but Artemis stood staring at the girl a moment longer before saying, “That should be Sho. Let him in, would you?”
Zephyr, happy to get away from the previous conversation, leaped up and skipped the two feet to the window. Sho was perched on a conveniently placed branch on the other side of the glass, watching all around until he heard the window open. He flew in without so much as a glance at Zephyr, heading straight for one of his several perches around the house. This one was in the doorway to the living room attached high on the wall, and he looked down at Artemis in the kitchen as he settled into place.
Artemis went back to unloading groceries. “Alright, Sho; what’s up?”
Zephyr half-expected the falcon to open his beak and start talking, but instead he just nestled into his spot and closed his eyes.
The hunter threw Zephyr a glance as she stared at the bird expectantly, smirking to herself as Sho’s thoughts started to flow into her mind. She moved as if nothing was happening, all the while taking in the falcon’s observations and opinions. She nodded as he finished, asking, “Did you check if there were any new jobs?” The inevitable yes sounded annoyed; she asked that every time and he never forgot to check. Those jobs were their livelihood.
Zephyr was dumbfounded. There was no communication going on here, not even body language, and yet the two seemed to be conversing in a way she couldn’t understand. “B-But... He didn’t say anything!”
Sho cawed angrily, making her jump, then closed his eyes again.
There was a moment of such silence that the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner only seemed to grow louder and louder, pounding harder and harder in the child’s ears with every second. She felt herself about to scream when finally Artemis spoke again.
“Is that so? Hm... Might have to look into that...” She smirked up at Sho, also catching sight of Zephyr. Suddenly that weird fear was written on her face again, the kind of fear that says, “Damn it! I wonder if she’ll notice I forgot she was in the room...” She glanced at Sho, who had on the same sort of expression. “Oh...yeah... That could be a problem...”
“What?” The girl looked back and forth between them, trying to work it out. It didn’t take long. “Oh... It’s me. I’m the problem.”
Artemis quickly stepped to the girl’s side, dropping to her eye level and shaking her head. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. The thing is... Normally I can leave at the drop of a hat for work, since there’s no one here to look after. I can’t really just leave you all alone, can I?”
“Well, you did today. I can take care of myself!”
“Today was only an hour. Later it might be a day, or a week. I can get back here quick, but if you need help...”
Zephyr clenched her tiny fists, standing steadfast and making herself seem as tall as she could. “I’m not going to be a burden. I refuse to let myself get in the way of your life.”
Artemis was taken aback, not so much by what she was saying, but how she looked. She was determined and strong and willing...and thin. She was so small and frail, like she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in her life. (And at that orphanage, she probably hadn’t.) Her waist-long hair was tangled and greasy, and she was constantly flipping it away from her concave face. Her dress was tattered and too big, and looked more like a burlap sack than an article of clothing, and her feet were rough and callused from never having worn a shoe. But her shining blue eyes were firm, and there was no doubt she meant what she was saying.
Before she could stop herself, Artemis wrapped the girl in a bear hug, taking both of them by surprise. She admired this little girl, if for nothing else than her bravery and determination to move forward. And it reminded her of someone else she once knew, the one person she missed more dearly than anyone else in the world. Tears stung at the hunter’s eyes, but she just squeezed Zephyr tighter, refusing to let this get the better of her. She needed to be strong, for the girl’s sake.
Sho cooed softly from above and the females snapped back to reality. Artemis took a deep breath and let go, holding Zephyr out by the shoulders. “I, um... S-Sorry, uh... Wha? Zephyr, you’re crying!”
Zephyr seemed as surprised as Artemis as she touched the dampness on her cheeks. The tears had cut paths through the grime on her skin, but as she tried to wipe it away she only smeared it around some more.
Artemis took the girl’s wrists and tried to laugh, but it sounded strangled like it got caught in her throat. “Look, why don’t we, um, get you cleaned up, huh? You look like you could use a bath.”
Zephyr’s eyes suddenly twinkled. “A bath? A real bath? I can take a real bath?”
“Of course,” the woman said, taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs. “You didn’t get baths at the orphanage?”
“Not real baths,” Zephyr said with a shrug, taking the stairs two at a time. “Around back there’s this shed. The only floor is this grating, and we stand on that as they blast us with cold water from the ceiling. The dirt gets washed down the grating. Then they give us back our clothes.”
“At least they didn’t make you do it in your clothes.”
“That might be better. They don’t wash the clothes in water, they just beat out the dirt like a rug and give them back. Plus they only do it like once a month.”
Artemis was horrified. That kind of treatment was something they did for inmates in prison, not kids in an orphanage with nowhere else to go! “Well, I promise you won’t have to deal with that again. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure that kind of behavior stops.”
Zephyr gave her a huge grin. “I know you will!”
The sight made her flinch, but she returned the smile awkwardly. Trying to take attention away from herself, she pointed at the other end of the hall, to a door next to Zephyr’s new room. Inside, everything was clean and white, and the girl squealed in delight at the sight of the big bathtub. Artemis actually managed a small smile at the excitement, before rolling up her sleeves and turning on the water. “So, I was thinking after this maybe we could go into town and see about getting you some new clothes. Unless you’re attached to that potato bag you’re wearing.”
“Not in the slightest,” she answered, already discarding the dress in the trash can. “But I don’t need anything new. Whatever you have is fine.”
“Well, I was thinking we could also go out for dinner, make a day out of it.” Artemis turned away to check the water, but really she didn’t want her face to betray her real thoughts: she could network while they were out, see about finding Ambrose and ending this.
“That sounds great!” She joined Artemis at the tub, staring down into the flowing water. She stuck her hand in to check the temperature, and a layer of dirt loosed from her skin. She giggled then climbed in, sinking into the water slowly like it was the most amazing feeling in the world. Considering the filth that peeled off of her, it probably was. She leaned down and soaked her hair, and Artemis laughed as the water turned brown.
“I’ll just let it run,” she chuckled, pulling out the stopper from the drain.
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Celestial Firestorm Captain
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