The day was clear and cool, with a small frosty bite in the air. It was late October in the English countryside, and fall was slowly declining into winter. Astria trudged through the piles of fallen leaves, all colours of crimson, orange and gold. It was quiet, and all noises were amplified and echoed by the tall foreboding houses. She could hear her own footsteps crunching through leaves, her own breath. But there was something else as well, something carefully matching her pace, something trying desperately not to step loudly on the crackling leaves. Astria clenched her fists tightly. She pushed one hand inside a pocket of her ripped leather jacket. Her fingers curled around the jagged piece of tin, a kind of weapon to protect against the many dangers that stumbled into her life.
Astria counted under her breath and forced a jauntiness into her step. One, two, three... She rounded the corner and whirled around, knife in hand. A small shape about knee height rounded the corner. It looked like a furry toad, with buggy eyes and bowed legs. It blinked at Astria and hissed. She blinked as well. With the kind of menacing feeling she'd had, she had expected something more—well, dangerous.
Suddenly, the toad began to swell, like it was preparing to croak. The problem was, it kept swelling until it was over 12 feet tall, looming over Astria. She swore.
Now, any other normal person would have been shocked out of their wits by the appearance of a strange giant toad creature. Not Astria. On the scheme of strange things in her life, this ranked a 1. Maybe a 2, on a good day.
It hissed again, and made a swipe for her with it's gooey clawed hands. Astria ducked out of the way, and stabbed it in the arm. It spat greenish smoking acid at her, and she leapt to the side, narrowly missing disintegration. The frog-beast lurched forwards, its protruding belly making an easy target. She lunged forwards and scraped her knife across it's soft skin, scoring an ugly gash across. It withdrew, as dark blood dripped onto the sidewalk, snarling and waiting for an opportunity. Astria, however, wasn't sticking around. She saw her chance and ran for a nearby outstretch of woods, the thick trees providing some hope of escape.
Astria pushed through the branches of pines, needles slapping her in the face like tiny, flexible needles. Elbowing her way through a particularly stubborn tree's branches, she emerged in a small clearing completely surrounded by trees. She froze in place and listened to the frog-beast hunt around for her, floppy feet slapping on the ground. Astria held her breath and waited. The trees' bushy foliage protected her from sight, and the frog-beast clearly didn't have a very good sense of smell, as it turned away after a few seconds.
Peeking through the trees, Astria watched the frog-beast shrink back into the odd creature with bowed legs and bulging eyes, and wander down the road. She sighed heavily and flopped into a cross-legged position on the needle-y ground.
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Behind the protective unseen bubble, the Hunters stared at the sitting girl. They had just watched her fight a spriggan and then retreat to the secluded copse. Now, they watched her look for food in her pockets and clean the blade of a make-shift knife. It had been Thalia's quick thinking that had saved them from exposure, erecting a bubble of Mist around the camp while the rest of the Hunters were still in their tents. The campfire crackled merrily in the ring of silver tents, shooting crimson sparks into the air. A kettle of tea slowly heated to a boil near the fire, and wolves wove in between the tents, patrolling and keeping watch.
The Hunters themselves, however, were grouped in a silent crowd at the edge of the bubble, not more than a few feet from the girl. There were about seven of them, all dressed in matching silver hoodies and dark jeans. Behind them, a graceful auburn-haired girl slipped out of the main tent and approached them, the Hunters parting respectfully in front of her.
"My lady Artemis," said Thalia, bowing her head to the goddess. Artemis smiled.
"Thalia." she said lightly, though her tone conveyed many layers of subtlety. "I wish to speak with you, in private."
Thalia nodded, and followed the goddess back to her tent, where they took seats on soft rugs.
"What do you make of her?" asked Artemis, pouring a cup of nectar. She sipped it like tea, and Thalia wondered briefly what it tasted like to her before she considered the question.
"Well, my lady, she seems rather resourceful, and definitely brave." Artemis nodded for Thalia to continue. "Her knife is made out of cut tin, a clear sign of ingenuity, and she was quick with fighting the spriggan. I think she may be a demigod, and a powerful one, as she seemed very unsurprised by the appearance of a large monster."
"I agree." said Artemis, offering a cup of tea to Thalia who took it gratefully. The evenings were already getting colder, although the tent was reasonably warm. "I sensed a kind of power from her, and I suspect she has godly blood. She seems a worthy maiden, and in need of my help. As the patron and protector of all girls, I owe her that. We will open our camp to her, for the night, and..." She did not finish the sentence, though Thalia knew what she had been about to say. And she might decide to become a Hunter in the morning. One of their number, a girl named Delia, had died earlier that day in a fight with a well-wyrm, and both hoped that the mysterious girl would choose to join the Hunt as a sister. However, Thalia was forced to speak up, at least on behalf of her sisters.
"My lady, while it is not my place to disagree, the rest of the Hunters may be upset to find their dead sister so quickly replaced. I am worried as to—"
"Do not be." Artemis interrupted. Thalia blinked. It was uncharacteristic of her to interrupt anyone, and the goddess's unease about the new developments was becoming more apparent. "Increasingly rare is the girl who follows the true path of a huntress, or would be willing to become one." Artemis sighed. "Our numbers become fewer," she said, looking Thalia in the eye. "We need all the Hunters we can get."
Thalia stood and bowed. "Yes, my lady. May I welcome her to the camp?"
Artemis nodded, and gave her lieutenant leave to allow the girl into the camp. She watched the retreating Hunter's back and questioned the wisdom of her choice. It was a mark of the mounting desperation of the maiden goddess that she did not question it any further.