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Artemis turned around hearing that same familiar voice she hadn't heard in a while. "Da----Ollie!" Immediately she ran towards the origin of the voice and wrapped her arms around him. The ease to know she wasn't alone comforted her so. "Are we the only ones, you know alive or something? Life's just been a huge smudged mess the past couple of months, thought everyone ran away from me, literally."
Watching Arty run towards him felt like slow motion. Until he felt reality speed everything up into real time. As Arty's arms wrapped around him in a hug, causing Oliver to react by returning the favor. He had almost forgotten what it was like to have contact with anyone. His eye lids closed temporarily as he held her closely. Opening his eyes slowly he gently released her after a while to see how she was doing. Providing a small smile, "I've missed you. Glad to see you are alright, alive and well." Oliver's jaw tightened slightly in response to Arty's questions. He didn't have the answers she was seeking. For he too was on the same page. Shaking his head to the sides. "I don't have an answer, I wish I did. I have no idea what has happened to everyone. This place.. has pretty much become a ghost town." Lifting up his right hand to rest along her shoulder gently, "I'm here for you. I'm always a phone call away, I promise."
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A couple tears ran along her colored skin as she smeared them away from her chin. "I just thought...I was alone...again---and and---I cannot or do not want to be back there, Uncle Ollie, promise?" Artemis didn't care at this point whether or not there were others alive and well, most certainly there were, but probably not close to near them. After the young justice league had dispersed into a possible scatter plot she couldn't configure back together due to her short tempered aggravation emotions she decided to quit on the idea again. Sadly, this was the future she didn't want, but luckily she had Oliver again, her mentor and if he could very much so make it out himself, that only gave her motivation to make it out as well.
Oliver reached over to dab away some of those tears that had fallen along Arty's skin. He didn't want to see her in such distress. Listening to everything she said, he nodded his head. "I promise." Oliver Queen's promise is golden. He has never broken a promise he couldn't keep. Family is very important to him. If he could move mountains he would do so, to protect the ones he loves.
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Artemis wrapped both her arms around Ollie. She hated comfort to a form of extent due to her family's history and her troubled past. Comfort was at the last of her needs, but now she needed it more than ever--someone to tell her she'd be fine, she'd--to say they'll come out of this, whatever it was. She didn't like admitting weakness, but her lips trembled as she mouthed very silently, 'I'm scar-r-ed....Ollie..." The only person she wanted to trust was Ollie, but she didn't know nor cared what the consequences were of this. Her father taught her if she had shown an sign of weakness to any living person, she'd failed herself and her family name, but she just didn't care. Artemis was truly scared not for herself, but for everyone including Ollie.
Oliver held Arty as long as she wanted to be held, comforting her. Its truly amazing the power behind a hug is. A hug never fixes anything that's complex but it can temporarily fix what a person is feeling for a brief time period. By helping lift some worries and weight off a person's shoulders. Oliver frowned, not liking how their future seemed to be so uncertain. So many teams had disbanded over the span of weeks to months and the number was increasing as time went on. There were a few however, like himself and Artemis that still remained around fighting til their last breath. Was the age of heroes finally over? It seemed that way. He hated this feeling of defeat. Oliver Queen was not the type to beg for mercy on his knees, he would rather die fighting, giving his all to make sure those he cares about are taken care of and given a chance to fight on if he were to fall.
