Note: Based off a prompt I received on Tumblr about how I would imagine Artemis in the KamiAso universe through Apollon's route from before the game to after. It became a larger project than one fic would allow. Also based more on the Apollon game route.
There was a great crashing that swept through the underbrush of her forest, scattering leaves in the wind that this fumbling idiot made. A herd of deer that had been soaking in the peace and quiet immediately took off in a frenzy, and the ears of her wolves flicked with irritation. Prey was running that they weren't meant to be chasing right now. An intruder had come into their mistress' forest.
Leaning down, Artemis ran her fingers through the thick coat of the silver wolf at her feet. "Easy now, girl. We all know who it is."
It was hard to mistake the blazing heat of her brother, the way he brightened everything around him. Even if she was annoyed by his appearance, a small smile still tugged unbidden at her lips.
She was a sucker for the idiot, after all.
"Apollon," she said in greeting as she rose from the forest floor. The smile immediately died when she took him in, the frantic mess of his golden hair, the despair in his eyes as he found her. "What happened?"
As though he couldn't bare to stand any longer, he fell to his hands and knees, fingers digging into the ground below him. She paused. Her brother was often prone to bouts of overemotional hysterics. He was the storm to her calm, a whirlwind of joy and hot anger and passion. But seeing him this way, something plucking at her that said there was something very wrong, had the fire of rage moving through her body.
Kneeling before him, her cool hands cupped his warm face and tilted it up until he was looking at her. "What's wrong with you?"
"Daphne," he moaned. "Daphne's what's wrong with me."
Artemis squinted for a moment, trying to recall any mentions of this Daphne before now. Her brother took many lovers, too many to bother keeping track of. A frown tugged at her mouth, and she didn't resist rolling her eyes.
"Scorned again, huh?" She patted his cheek gently. "Apollon-"
"No." The look he gave her was fierce and dark, golden gaze meeting her silver one. "She asked to become a tree to escape me!"
The corners of her mouth twitched, but more out of humor than anything else. The rage that had begun to burn in the pit of her stomach ebbed away. This was a typical hurt for her brother, something she couldn't save him from.
"So you came to my forest to seek comfort? Where there are trees?"
He glared at her for half a second before puffing out a sad sigh. "Not her tree."
"You're a big baby," Artemis murmured, brushing her fingers through his messy hair. He sighed again before flopping completely to the ground, his head in her lap.
It was the same, as it always was. He'd hide away from the world in her forest where nobody came, nursing his broken heart. And then he would leave, all smiles and excitement, ready for the next lover that would pull his attention.
She stroked his hair, humming lightly.
This was why she didn't want to be attached to men, to fall under this dangerous spell of love and heartbreak. Why bother when she could have the solitude of the hunt, to run with her wolves and enjoy the company of her nymphs instead?
She wondered, as she always did in these moments, if perhaps Apollon sped through love as much as he did because he was making up for her lack of it. As if in the womb, he'd been able to take that from her and kept it all for himself. Not an impossibility, she believed.
"My legs are falling asleep," she finally said to him.
"Just a little bit longer," he pleaded.
And as always, she gave in to her younger brother.
"Is he here?"
Artemis glanced up from the bow she had been restringing, silver brow furrowing. This guest had come in more quietly than she had expected, and she wasn't too keen on unexpected guests that weren't Apollon.
A familiar golden gaze stared back at her, crowned by garish red. "Well?"
"I don't recall inviting you over for a chat, Dionysus," she said pleasantly. Her fingers plucked at the string of her bow. It sent a twang through the leaves.
"I know, I'm intruding on your land, you're an excellent shot," Dionysus muttered, his hand moving for emphasis. He took a sip from the goblet permanently attached to his hand. "I came to see Apollon."
Artemis got to her feet, not that it was impressive. She was small and slight in comparison to her half-brother, after all, but they both knew she could easily wipe the floor with him, so there was some comfort to that. "What do you want with him?"
"You can't keep coddling him every time he goes and makes a mistake," the god of wine whispered, bending down so that he was eye level with her.
Her lips thinned out, pale face tinged pink with rage. "I don't coddle him. I'm letting him heal. It's not like I go after him to bring him here."
Dionysus frowned. With a growl, she shoved her hand into his shoulder, moving past him. Perhaps it was because he was drunk - which would explain why he would ever dare come to her forest - but his hand snaked out then, fingers wrapping tightly around her wrist.
"He terrified that poor nymph, and it's not the first time he's-"
"Let go of me, brother, or I'll make your life absolutely miserable," she whispered hotly. There would be satisfaction in letting her rage go, in washing the world into darkness and breaking her brother in half. But she was still worried for her twin, didn't want to upset him anymore than he already was.
And she didn't want him to find the two siblings he loved the most fighting with each other, either.
Dionysus laughed, a sad sort of smile resting on his lips. "Artemis, that's a little overdramatic."
She scowled. "So what if it is?"
It wasn't as though she disliked Dionysus. He was nice enough, when his parties didn't get out of hand, his nymphs carousing in her forests and disturbing her peace. But she was a solitary creature, and the only person she ever wanted to deal with was her moron of a twin brother. They were night and day, the sun and the moon. What use did she have with anyone else?
"You two are more alike than you like to pretend." His hand dropped from her wrist. "I'm not trying to insult you here, but he can't just hide every time he gets hurt. Or hurts someone else in return."
"Oh, like you're one to talk," Artemis huffed with a wave of her hand.
"I rarely regret anything I do. I think it's the wine." He swirls the cup in his hand before holding it out to her. "It's my best batch in years."
"Oh, did you bring that for me?" came a happy voice suddenly. Apollon appeared, grabbing the cup before Artemis could even decline. He drained it while she watched with a frown.
How long had he been there? How much had he heard?
Dionysus arched an eyebrow at him. "We could have shared that," he said with a heavy sigh, taking back his glass with a pout.
"Get more, and let's share!" Apollon wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders, tugging him further in Artemis' sanctuary while she watched on and gritted her teeth.
And that was how, despite having no invitation extended by her, Dionysus ended up staying with them as well. It was just more thing she couldn't deny Apollon, as much as she would have liked to. To make up for the overabundance of others in her home, she spent as much time as she could hunting. Each night, she would bring fresh meat home, and they would share a meal together.
It was comfortable, she found herself thinking. There was something enjoyable about having her loud, rowdy brothers to spend the nights with. At the same time, though, she couldn't wait until they were gone and she had her solitude again.
For gods, time seemed to move at a different pace than for mortals. What was a second to a human could be a lifetime for a god and vice versa. Artemis couldn't say how long Apollon and Dionysus hid in her forest (and what, exactly, the hypocritical god was hiding from in the first place), but it could have been eons. It could have been weeks. It was too long and too short all at once.
"Maybe it's time to rejoin everything," Dionysus spoke up during dinner one night. They had been silent otherwise, with nothing but starlight and the occasional hoot of an owl for enjoyable company.
His gaze flickered to Apollon, who in turn stared at Artemis, as if she were the deciding factor in all of this. As if he were torn between the safety her presence provided him and the allure of everything that waited for him outside of her trees.
She wanted nothing more than to stay silent. Dionysus' words still weighed on her, even if she didn't believe that she was coddling her brother. He'd have to grow up some time, she knew that. They were the same age and yet infinitely apart all at once.
Artemis speared a chunk of the rabbit she had caught earlier that day, moving her silver gaze from the fire to her twin instead. "The sun needs to be carried again," was what she decided on. "You can't keep dodging your responsibility as the sun god, Apollon."
His bottom lip jutted out into a pout. "I didn't mean to. The sun still rises-"
"But with no real direction," she pointed out, hating the twist in her gut at his sad face. He was like a small pup, hopeless in his endeavors and too eager to please those around him.
Dionysus clapped Apollon on the back. "I'll throw a party and you can ogle my nymphs without worrying if they're going to put your eye out."
Artemis turned a narrowed gaze on her half-brother. "I knew that black eye of yours wasn't from stumbling into a tree."
"I was drunk."
"I've got another eye of yours I can put out," she threatened in a low growl.
Dionysus paled considerably while Apollon laughed.
It felt good, Artemis decided, to hear that from her brother. It lit up the forest and warmed her, and she couldn't help the small smile on her lips as she turned back to look at him. He was extremely lucky that she loved him, that was all she could say.
Reaching out, he took her hand, golden tattoos flashing against her white ones. He was warm where she was cool, and she reveled in the feeling of being attached to him once more before he went off and wooed more lovers and broke more hearts and had his own broken again in return.
"One last night with Artemis then," Apollon cheered.
"Maybe our dear sister will even accept my cup," Dionysus offered once more.
With a grin, she took it from him and drained it. "I've had better."
It was worth seeing the dark look that came over his face.
She knew that she would miss the both of them when tomorrow came.