"So, Kiri," Artemis broke the comfortable silence between them and disentangled herself from Kiri's arm, "Want to go train for a bit?"
Kiri nodded enthusiastically, all traces of a horrible headache gone.
Artemis was the first to stand, and she held her hand out to Kiri, who accepted the offering gratefully. She pulled Kiri up with ease, for her petite figure, and hummed happily to herself. Kiri thought he heard her mutter something to herself under her breath, but he didn't quite hear it and was too content to pester her with questions. He began to follow after Artemis, and they were halfway back to the fountain Irene stood by when Kiri paused and turned around. There was still a certain sharpshooter sitting by herself on the grass, adamantly looking anywhere but at the departing couple.
"Hey, Art!"
Art's head turned sharply as she traced the source of the shouting to Kiri. A brief look Kiri had never seen cross Art's face before flashed for a brief moment before her usual grin returned. She tilted her head to one side, opting not to shout as well.
"Aren't you coming?" Kiri asked her in honest confusion.
Art was not sure what to say to Kiri, with his dejected look, or the significantly more hostile yet still well disguised look that hovered over his shoulder. So, Art took an internal breath to steady herself and debate the decision her heart screamed at her to make.
"Of course!"
Art leapt up and jogged over to Kiri with a playful grin and a full quiver of clanking arrows ready to be released upon the hordes of unsuspecting monsters. Kiri slung his arm over her shoulder with a chuckle and then returned to Artemis's side. Art's mind drew a blank and she tried to ignore the presence of his arm over her shoulder, but it did not work very well. Her mind did somersaults in an attempt to figure out what was going on, and she feared it might overheat. In response, a slight red tinge showed on her face.
Then, to Art's horror, Kiri made another move. He took his other arm, and in a moment of ignorant laughing and warm heartedness, he threw it over Artemis's shoulder. Artemis seemed to jump slightly at the sudden motion, but she calmed down when she realized it was just Kiri. Then, she realized it was Kiri, and shot a glance at Art. At first, Art swore the powerful archer's eyes burned with anger, but after they held their gazes for a moment, both of them gradually dissolved into confusion, each of them asking the other the same question.
Do you know what he's doing?
Art blinked twice, and then Artemis blinked twice too. It was like Morse code, and the double blink indicated that no, neither of them knew what in the world Kiri was actually doing. It was a shame, the two elven archers thought, that Kiri was completely oblivious to their Morse code form of communication, because he might be able to clear things up. Neither of them wanted to ask him directly either. That was simply out of the question.
"Artemis," Kiri finally spoke up as they were halfway out the gate to Crystal Stream, "Where are we going?"
Artemis froze in place and her mind seemed to go through some sort of reboot. Then, she pulled her gaze away from Art, who started looking with just a little too much enthusiasm at a random building.
"Um," Artemis forced her mind to start working again, which was made even more difficult by the look of admiration on Kiri's face, "Astral Coven Lab?"
There was a tense pause.
"WHAT?"
Both Art and Kiri shouted at the same time, physically recoiling from Artemis as if she carried some sort of deadly virus that would kill them if they even came slightly in contact with her.
"What?" Artemis flinched at the aggression in their shock, wondering what it was that she had said or done wrong.
"Astral Coven Lab?"
"As in, the one with all the spiders?"
"And the cobwebs?"
"And all those spiders?"
"And the poison?"
"And the spiders?"
Artemis looked from Kiri to Art to Kiri again as the clamored at her in sickening synchronization. She was not quite sure why they were overreacting so much. Astral Coven Lab was really very easy, and it was an excellent place to train too. Honestly, she was just hoping to do Astral Coven Lab over and over again for quite some time to get Kiri some good training for the day. And possibly the day after. And so on and so on until he was ready to head over to Saints Haven.
"Yes?"
Clearly, that was not the answer Kiri and Art had wanted. They shrunk farther and farther away from Artemis with similar looks of horror on their face. Kiri even held his forehead as if the ghost of pain echoed within it.
"Is there a problem?" Artemis asked cautiously, fearing another violent outburst.
Art and Kiri shot each other a painfully knowing glance that made Artemis feel even further away than she already was to them, and not just in a physical sense. Finally, after a moment that seemed to take forever, Kiri and Art looked back at Artemis.
Kiri sighed and said, "No, everything's fine. Let's go."
Artemis wasn't sure how to respond when Kiri had replied so icily. She missed the warmth of his arm around her shoulder, but he did not seem willing to do so again. Instead, he and Art exchanged hushed, anxious whispers that Artemis could only catch vague snippets of as she led the way to Crystal Stream. Somehow, this was not what she had expected when she decided to come and visit Kiri.
When Artemis reached Crystal Stream, she spotted a familiar figure clambering out of a barrel with his head literally spinning. She glanced briefly back at Art and Kiri, who had stopped whispering and were now watching her as if their lives were or were about to be dependent on her, before she jogged over and put a hand on the dizzy figure's shoulder.
The figure yelped and tumbled out of the barrel. He hit the ground and sprawled out without the composure to get himself back up. He stared blankly at Artemis for a moment before an expression of recognition flashed across his face.
"Artemis! Is that you?" Fergus shouted with glee.
"Hello Fergus," Artemis greeted the not-so-sneaky spy with an amused grin.
"Artemis! It is you!"
Fergus leapt up and looked over Artemis.
"Wow, you look powerful," Fergus commented plainly, and then with a touch of teasing, "What happened to the meek, polite little archer that first walked this way from Ironwood Village?"
Artemis rolled her eyes despite the smile on her face, "I got better, of course."
"Wow," Fergus put on a mock act of being offended, "Forgive me if I forgot my lowly, humble place underneath you."
"You are forgiven," Artemis replied cheekily. Fergus chuckled.
"Wow," Fergus sighed on a completely different note, "I still remember when I watched you walk over to the Valley of Mourning with that ridiculous harp to attract those harpies. Boy, was I worried about you."
"Yes, Fergus," Artemis felt herself blushing at the memory of her younger, clueless self.
"I mean, I had scouted the area and I knew there was no immediate threat, but boy was I worried. You looked so squishy and weak."
"Fergus."
"I mean, you were just an archer back then," Fergus mused.
"Fergus."
Artemis sounded very stern when she finally got Fergus to stop spilling everything about her past self in front of Kiri and Art, who were listening in on the conversation.
"Anyways," Artemis dismissed the brief moment of silent tension in the air, "I'm a tempest now, so don't think I'm the same as that weak little archer."
"Of course not," Fergus chuckled teasingly.
"Well," Artemis sighed, "I should get going. I'm taking Kiri out to train."
Art fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Oh, hello Kiri!" Fergus greeted Kiri warmly, "And Art too!"
"Hi Fergus," Art and Kiri greeted him simultaneously.
"See you later Fergus!" Artemis chimed and began to jog away.
As they retreated away, Artemis heard Fergus muttering, "How did that little archer become such a powerful tempest?"
Artemis glanced back at the little grassy path that led back to Ironwood Village. That was where she had first started out on her long journey. She was a simple little archer, it was true, and now she lived in a swamp as a fearsome, powerful tempest. It was not necessarily a bad thing, of course. Artemis quite enjoyed the power, the strength, the fluidity, and the grace of her movements and attacks, and she also benefited from the respect and all the connections she had made. But still, as she glanced at Kiri and Art and saw that spark of unfamiliarity and curiosity and nervousness for what may or may not be their imminent doom in some unexplored dungeon or the vast world ahead of them, she felt like she was missing out on something she used to have. Even if she was to go back to Ironwood, even if she gave up on everything she learned and started anew, it would still not be the same. There was no erasing her experience out in the world, and there was no replacing it. She did not even want to replace it, because she treasured it. But she wished she could feel the innocent awe of a newbie once again, except by Kiri's side too.
"Well," Artemis declared when she spotted the familiar entrance to the Astral Coven Lab, "Here we are!"
Artemis could have sworn she caught Kiri and Art gulp, but she dismissed the thought.
"Ok," Art spoke up hesitantly, "Do you want to lead the way?"
"Of course," Artemis grinned, "Just sit back and let me kill the spiders for you guys. Free training, courtesy of Artemis."
"Ok then," Kiri put on a smile but gave Artemis plenty of room to head in first.
Artemis held on to her bow loosely and thought about whether or not she should show off some of her more advanced skills. She knew Art and Kiri would be impressed to see them, but that was also the problem. She didn't want to show off, especially if it meant making herself look bad in front of Kiri. She could just hear Art's voice in her head, mumbling to Kiri that Artemis was such a self-absorbed show off.
When they heard the hissing, Artemis leapt excitedly into battle, ready to kill and get Kiri some much needed training, but she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Art had leapt into the air and backwards, and that Kiri was standing close by, unwilling to approach but not wanting to face the indignity of running away either. Artemis sighed at their weird behavior and began to kick the spiders with much less enthusiasm than she had started with.
"Wow."
In a matter of seconds, the entire room of spiders had been cleared and Artemis was hardly exhausted. In fact, she had not even properly warmed up yet. Kiri and Art appeared behind Artemis with looks of awe on their faces.
"Artemis," Kiri said quietly, "That was amazing."
"Yeah," Art agreed immediately, "Why would you…"
Artemis flinched, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
"Why would you only show up now?" Art exclaimed sadly, "Why couldn't you have been here sooner! We almost died last time!"
Art tackled Artemis in a desperate hug and clung to her like glue.
"Why can't we always have such a great spider killer like you?" Art wailed.
Kiri laughed heartily and shot Artemis a knowing look with raised eyebrows. Artemis rolled her eyes but smiled at him. Kiri winked at her and held up a thumbs up sign. Artemis felt a painfully familiar emotion bubbling up inside her, and no matter what she knew she would never be able to avoid it.
"Well," Kiri finally spoke up and Art withdrew herself from hugging Artemis, "Lead on, oh great and mighty spider killer."
"Of course," Artemis replied with a wide grin.
They bulldozed through the dungeon with hardly a scrap of anything that could even vaguely be called effort, and Art looked so happy each time a spider died at Artemis's hands that one would think Art was developing an unhealthy obsession for it. Each time she squealed with glee, Artemis and Kiri shared amused glances. Artemis was glad they did, but somehow she wished it was because of something different. Having Art be the subject of their amusement and fascination, especially for Kiri, just made Artemis more depressed in the long run.
"Wow," Kiri said in awe, "this is so much easier with you here, Artemis! I wish you had been here sooner."
Artemis smiled and shot a final arrow through the belly of a punitive little spider. It hadn't even had a chance to leap an inch before it was dead, which only made Kiri even more impressed, and Art even more relieved.
"Well, we should be at the boss by now," Artemis voiced out loud, though mostly to herself.
Kiri and Art seemed passive to the statement made by Artemis. If anyone else had said it, they would probably be panicking and dreading another battle to the death with that horrific beast of a spider, but they were not with just anyone else. They were with Artemis, spider killer extraordinaire. There was no way that anything could go wrong. That monstrous spider did not even stand a chance.
When they reached the massive stone doors, Artemis pushed them open easily, with a surprising amount of strength.
"Here we are-"
Artemis's casual declaration was cut short by the scene in front of them. All three of them feel into silence when they saw a lone sorceress standing off against the massive spider. Her hair was long and oddly purple, but it was tied back in a high ponytail and swished around gracefully with each movement the sorceress made. Her simple, brownish purple attire left much skin exposed, but in the elegant combination of dodges, teleports, and flashy moves of exploding gravity balls and poison, the sorceress (apparently a mystic, the master of space, time, and light) looked more like a blur than anything. Unfortunately, her attacks did little damage to the massive tank of a spider, and there were only so many dodges the mystic could perform before she was forced to flat out run on her own two feet just to avoid getting hit.
Artemis, with her vast arsenal of experience, was the first to react. She leapt into action and immediately drew the attention of the spider away from the mystic. Art, not wanting to be outdone by the tempest, rushed into battle after her, aiding in damage from a safe distance. That left Kiri to go and check on the exhausted mystic, who had stopped running but was clearly breathing heavily. Still, she held her staff and mystical glowing orb with such an elegant finesse that Kiri could not help but admire the beautiful shape of her hands. They were oddly fascinating to him.
"Are you ok?" Kiri stopped at the mystic's side and rested a hand on her shoulder.
The mystic did not jump, but her head snapped to the side to see the hand that was placed on her, and she followed the path of the fingertips up the arm and to the face of the owner of the aforementioned hand. Her expression was reserved, and her eyes revealed no sign of gratitude or fear.
The mystic simply said, "Thanks."
"No problem," Kiri chuckled, "It's my job to help sorceresses in danger, like you."
The mystic stared at him without making a sound. She did not smile, but she did not get angry or cringe at the teasing either. She simply stared, clearly not looking amused but not entirely unapproachable either.
Within moments, the massive spider met its due demise, and a pleased looking Artemis stood atop it like she had just climbed a mountain. A hint of bloodlust glinted in her eyes, and somehow it made Kiri feel so inspired he wanted to jump on top of the spider with Artemis and hug her. She had brought them through the Astral Coven Lab unharmed, and for that both he and Art were very grateful. They also got some good training too. And then, as Kiri glanced sneakily to his side, where the mystic was still standing, he got to meet a mysterious sorceress too. Artemis's visit had only brought positives, as far as Kiri was concerned.
"Artemis," Kiri breathed as she finally dismounted from the spider, "That was amazing!"
Kiri pulled Artemis into a quick hug. Art stood off to the side with her bow still drawn, staring blankly at the many arrows she had also fired into the spider's abdomen. Yet the space around her remained unoccupied, and Kiri's warm words did not reach her.
Artemis laughed happily and dismissed Kiri's insistent praising with a modest wave of her hand. Kiri, however, gave her another hug and proclaimed, "I knew it was the right choice to decide to join you in Lotus Marsh."
"Kiri," Artemis rolled her eyes but her wide smile gave away her secret pleasure.
"Anyways," Artemis continued in exasperation, walking past Kiri in order to face the mystic that was still standing there in silence, "Are you alright?"
The mystic did not speak, but she glanced over her relatively unscathed body and shrugged.
"Kiri, heal her," Artemis commanded Kiri.
"Sure," Kiri winked at the mystic as he cast a quick aura of healing to help her wounds recover quickly.
The mystic bathed in the comfortable glow of the healing light and watched as her wounds regenerated. It was soothing, but she still did not smile. After the aura dissipated, it was replaced by a thick blanket of silence. The mystic looked from Kiri, to Artemis, to Art, and then back to Kiri. She still did not speak.
"Well," Art jumped forward suddenly and clapped her hands together, which startled the mystic slightly, "What's your name? I'm Art, this is Kiri, and this is Artemis by the way!"
There was a long, drawn out silence between the four of the people still within the depths of the Astral Coven Lab.
"Bloodhunting."
"Oh," Art smiled at Bloodhunting and scratched the back of her head, "Should I call you blood then, or hunting?"
Bloodhunting did not reply. She simply stared at Art, with an expression halfway between shock and a failed attempt to remain emotionless.
"Oh!"
Bloodhunting jumped once again at a sudden outburst, but this time it was by Kiri.
"I know," Kiri mused, "How about I call you Odhu?"
"Odhu…" Art repeated the new name out loud as well.
"Odhu," Even Bloodhunting, henceforth named Odhu, repeated the name, but more out of disbelief than for want of hearing the name out loud.
"I like it!" Art declared, and Kiri agreed with her.
Artemis rolled her eyes and shot Odhu a sympathetic look, but Odhu merely shrugged and looked away.
"So Odhu," Kiri asked her out of curiosity, "What were you doing here in the Astral Coven Lab?"
Odhu avoided their eyes when they asked the question, and opted to look around at the empty room. With all the silence, she had plenty of time to observe the intricate detailing of the plain, crumbling stone walls.
"Just," Odhu finally replied, "Training."
"This is a good place to train," Artemis agreed with Odhu's explanation immediately.
Odhu nodded slowly and could not help but notice that Kiri was staring at her a lot more than was usual for two strangers that had just met. It made her feel very uncomfortable. But at the same time, she was oddly fascinated by the suave cleric. Why he was paying her so much attention was only somewhat mystery to her, and honestly a bad idea on his part, but she liked it nonetheless. She had never truly felt so unsettled by someone's gaze before.
"Hey," Kiri said to break Odhu's train of whirring thoughts, "I have an idea."
"Oh, what's that?" Artemis asked Kiri curiously and shifted closer to his side.
"Why don't you come with us back to Carderock, Odhu? We could hang out for a while?" Kiri offered his idea modestly, but winked at Odhu when she caught his eye.
Odhu paused and considered the idea. She knew she should not accept, and she was very tempted not to, but in the end, she went against her better judgment and agreed to go with Kiri, Art, and Artemis. In another moment of glorious triumph, Kiri laid an arm on the shoulders of both Artemis and Art, and Odhu followed to the other side of Art, perfectly content to not have to participate in any form of physical contact.
Artemis and Art shot each other glances again. Kiri laughed as they left the dungeon. All three of the girls sighed inwardly.