I shivered against the cold hard ground as I tried to sleep. It was blizzarding around me now, and I was sure I would freeze to death. I was running from everything. Everyone. I was around 1000 kilometers south of the coast paralell to the Artic Circle, and even in summer it was always below freezing. Instincts took over as my mind wandered as I looked for something to eat. I hadn't eaten for a week now. The last civilization I had been in contact was a city off the river Lena, and that was last I ate. I stole a loaf of bread from a bakery. I took the knives I had stolen from a weapon shop out of my belt.

Again, instincts took over. I pounced on the creature, slitting its throat as it struggled. The doe's attempts eventually stopped as the last remnants of blood drained out of the carcass. As I began to drag the deer's body to a safer place to cut the meat I sensed a presence.

'Someone's here to take your food' a voice in the back of my head thought.

My head snapped up as I saw the traces of silver, just enough to tip them off in the thick white snow, moving towards me. They were stealthy, but I was faster. I yanked the carcass into a tree and followed it, repeating until I was a good twenty feet off the ground. I could see them now, all female, like me, in silver parkas and white pants suited for this kind of camoflage. I remained silent. One of them, possibly the oldest, with auburn hair and strange luminescent eyes, stepped forward and signaled for her companions to stay back. Her eyes scanned the trees and locked onto mine. Possibly because mine were the worst for Artic camoflage; a hue of emerald with streaks of brown near the pupil bursting out like a supernova, and traces of a deep blue-ish gray on the outside rims that could just show up if I wore the correct color. She spoke a word I could not understand. I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to give the enemy and posistions to slip through and grab me. Who were they? She was silent for a moment and spoke a word of my understanding.

"Mir." Peace. I kept my standstill for a moment. I did not trust the strange people armed with bows and knives banded against me. She seemed to understand this and motioned for her companions to disarm themselves. They all took their weapons and tossed them on the ground, as did she. She spoke a word in another language I did not understand, although the accents tipped it off as something Meddeteraenean, and she spoke in the first odd language, though this time I did understand.

"Peace. Neither me nor my companions mean harm. Come down so I can speak to you. I hesitated. What had I forgotten. Ah, yes. The doe. I shot her a look of warning that mean, Touch my game and I will not hesitate to kill you. And jumped down, carcass dragging behind me. I saw that the meat had been tainted and cursed under my breath. I inspected it. Nothing too bad, a bruise on the back hindquarter. I looked at her and spoke, her somehow understanding my language.

"I am Alexandra (A/N pronounced, al-eek-SAN-drah)." I said warily as she looked at me. Now I could see that her luminescent eyes were a combination of a silevery/blue, silver, and a shade of yellow resembling the moon. Such odd colors. Although I shouldn't have thought that because they weren't so alien compared to mine.

She spoke, "I am Artemis, goddess of the Hunt and maidens."

All those myths I had heard when I was young were true. I wasn't that surprised, my teacher had always scolded me whenever I claimed they were just made up stories. I acknowledged her.

"Artemis, what do you seek from me?" I asked,

"You have been betrayed, a maiden, and left to die in the woods. That is how you have grown up for your seven years, yes? You were born with strange abilities like knowing your native language? Born with dyslexia? Restlessness?"

She was true. I was always on the move, and had trouble frequently with reading the characters on maps and books and such. I nodded, muscles still tensed for a fight against my precious kill. I rarely caught game of such nice tender. Tasted like chicken... my old home... I was snapped out of my thoughts as she continued.

She sighed, "As you may know, I took an oath to be forever a maiden, but I have always needed something more. Become my... daughter, of sorts."

"Wherever the wind takes us."

I was discouraged at this. The thought of leaving my home soil... But I would have a family. It was hard to resist. Four years of solitude in the forest. I had my descision.

"Okay."

She smiled. She spoke another word in what, Aincient Greek?, and a siler aura enveloped me. I felt stronger. Masking my emotions, I shrugged and said, "Thank you, Artemis."

"Now we must leave, but if I may see your game?" she asked. I tensed up and drew my knives.

"We will have food at our campsite." she stated, and added looking at the vast assortment of scars, bruises, cuts, and marks I had from my arms to my neck, from grappling with prey as strong as a full grown mountain lion, "And Phoebe, our best healer, may be able to heal those bruises."

I followed my new... mother of sorts... back with the rest of the hunters after giving her my game, which she had magically brought back to life. Most of them seemed friendly, but one of them, Thalia as I had now known her name, was acting strange. Giving me glares and such, until we reached the campsite. There were seen silver tents and a roaring fire, I was unsure of how they had gotten it in such weather, in the center of it all. Another thing I noticed is that the blizzard stopped immediately when we got withing twenty feet of the site. Thalia lowered her angry stare as Artemis turned around.

"Come with me and I'll get you supplies."

Supplies. Something I had been without with all my time on the run. What were they going to be?

I followed her into a tent, seemingly larger than I had expected, decorated with skins and such. She dug through a large chest while looking at me a few times in between and pulled out a bow about two-fifths of my height. She handed it to me.

"This is your bow. Use it well, my child." It sounded strange. I had been in solitude for so long... She continued digging, and pulled out a silver backpack.

"This is your pack. Fill it with whatever you like, and it will always have more room, whatever you put in it."

She looked around again before pulling out a uniform similar to what her other Hunters wore.

"Wear this. It will protect you from whatever weather there is. Use it well." she said, and dismissed me. I silently changed and asked where Phoebe was.

"Last cabin on the left," Thalia snapped without even looking at me. What did I do wrong?

I tredded down to Phoebe's tent and opened it. There stood a girl about twelve looking with a huge stack of odd things. Twigs, charms, pills, some vials, even a needle or two.

"Hi. Are you Phoebe?" she nodded. "Artemis said I could come here to get my, er, cuts taken care of." I said, motioning to the marks going from purple to white to even black that ran across my arms and shoulders and neck. She nodded and motioned for me to come closer. She looked at the scars on my arms for a moment. She had a look of confusion running across her face now.

"How could you acquire these? Lady Artemis says only- nevermind. Surely impossible." She said, but it seemed to only reassure herself. I figured I'd ask what she meant later. "Sorry, but these," she said, pointing to the bite marks and odd scars, "Are un-healable. Though I can take care of fresh injuries." She laid a hand over each arm and whispered something in Greek, at least I thought, and the scars slowly receded. She did the same for all healable marks on my neck and I thanked her and left. It, judging by my internal clock and the posistion of shadows, was now around 4 p.m. Hunters now gathered around a set of targets. She lined up in a horizontal line parallel to the line of targets and started shooting. Why use archery? Well, maybe they weren't born with knowledge and strength of a Kung Fu Black Belt (A/N a Kung Fu Black Belt is one of the highest ranks any student taking Kung Fu can achieve. It is very, very prestiged.) . Perhaps some were.

I had no idea how to use a bow and arrow so I just waited for Artemis to come. I made a rough diamond in the dirt and started footwork and kicks. Sometime after Artemis came out, but I hadn't noticed. When I was in this state I was completely tuned out of the other world unless my senses told me danger was near. Here I felt home. I knew it was at least an hour later because after my 30th set of kicking combos she spoke.

"You have great skill, Alexandra." she said.

I, slightly surprised, got out of my stance and acknowledged her. "Thank you... Mother." I said. I hoped she hadn't noticed the hesitation in my voice. It seemed she hadn't.

"Perhaps you could enlighten my Hunters on this art."

"Well, it takes at least 2 years for people with such strength and endurance as your hunters. Although I... was just born with it." I said. Her look wavered to a sense of disaster, but she quickly composed herself. Was this what Phoebe meant? I continued. "But, since your Hunters are immortal, I think I will be able to teach them." I said. She nodded.

"We start now."

"Okay." I said, my head quickly forming a plan on the basics of this art. They all lined up in diamonds I had my mother-of-sorts make appear when I told her what they looked like. They were ready to begin.

-HUGE Time Skip-

2 Years Later

My pupils, including my own mother, had finally done it! They were now all black belts. Finally, my last student, had just gotten her black belt. She smiled as I handed her the belt, midnight black, and she tied it. From what they had started from, immortal marshmallows that were just really really tough, and ended as stronger, lither, smarter, and more disciplined. I turned to them. For the final time, for this style of martial art, I put my feet together and made a fist with my right hand. Tucking it to my side with knuckles facing forward I covered it with my open left hand. Bending my knees slightly, I forwardly inclined my back just slightly- the bow.

It was my 14th birthday next week, and Artemis, the Hunt, and I were all going for a hunt near an Indian Reservation, La Push, in celebration. This was one of the few birthdays that it celebrated, most of the Hunt being immortal. Artemis had decided for my to gain immortality at the age of fourteen. Next week would be my final birthday. Little did I know what was in store for a simple hunting trip.

......

Wow I put a lot of effort into a single chapter. Sure signs of this being a good story! Well, R/R, the usual, bla bla bla. Oh, and I don't own anything.

~pugswanthugs~