IV.
Finn watched in an almost awed, hushed silence as Artetris notched an arrow onto her bow. His eyes glistened to see the warrior wizard at work, her eyes and mind focused on their targets above. Finn observed the two quails as they landed and silently gulped as Huntress Wizard crouched down and readied a bow for the kill.
"The mighty huntress has spotted her quarry high in the treetops…" he narrated playfully in his head as Aretris focused on nothing but the birds on high. "Her breaths flow in and out with the breeze as it rustles the leaves so has to conceal her presence from the birds…unless her breathe smell rank, yo? And the birds catch a whiff… I haven't had an opportunity to find out is she and—wait. No, I can't let my mind wander THERE…though, it would probably be nice to kiss her…"
Finn shook his head free of his own confusion as his mind snapped back reality. His Jake-like narration had derailed, but the hunt lived on. Not wishing to let his mind wander further, he decided to watch his ascetic mentor in silence.
Slowly, Artetris' arm pulled back on her bow's string; she held the arrow firmly in its place as she aimed for the quails above. Her hand nor her mind shook as she kept herself in that locked position, aiming for the two who had just been unlucky enough to have caught her hunger's attention. Finn watched Artetris work with great admiration as the arrow loosed itself from bow to bird, killing the one quail before it knew what hit it. The other, whom Aretetris had also aimed to kill only to miss, panicked profusely and fluttered its wings to flee.
Another pointed shaft brought the spooked beast down, and Huntress Wizard stood with mild pride. Finn blinked in confusion. When had she notched another arrow on to the bow string? Had it been after, and he missed it? Had she really been that fast? Finn stood up in awe as she stepped out to claim her prizes, and his face flushed as he watched her head back towards him. Watching Huntress Wizard's instincts in play felt like…magic…even when there was no magic.
And why had there been no magic? Finn's mind wandered to this as she held up one of the quails for him with a soft smile.
One for him and one for her.
Finn softly returned the smile and politely took her offer—a regular quail cabob!
"These two quails will make great quail cabobies," she suddenly remarked, and Finn muffled a sniggle at their brains thinking together. She shook her head at him, not with disapproval but with playful endearment. As she walked past him, she elbowed him bro-style. "Come on. Let's clean these up and get to snackin'. The sooner we finish the meal, the faster we'll get back to our hunt. I can't believe that in two weeks, we've turned up nothing more that a lesser spirit or two. It's baffling."
"Yeah, no kidding!" Finn agreed but not because he actually thought Huntress Wizard's surmise was baffling.
A pang of guilt twisted in his gut as he thought of every flute song he had conjured post Egress. All of those songs he had been playing had not been for the Spirit of the Forest—even back at the river.
They had all been for her—his Huntress…
Huntress Wizard snapped her fingers at him and brought him from his trance. Finn felt his face grow warm from embarrassment, and he nervously rubbed the back of his hat and head. Huntress Wizard kept her arms folded and stared at him blankly.
"You should not worry about it," she remarked, speaking of the flute spell, as she headed off through the trees for their camp nearby. Finn silently followed, least his mouth said something it shouldn't. "I don't think the problem lies with you. I sense powerful notes in your songs, each one of them lulling and moving. It's the kind of stuff he likes, so he should be listening. We just…need an extra something to draw him out…"
"Yeah, sure," Finn said, agreeing upon seeing his chance to latch his thoughts onto new ideas. "Maybe I should serenade you under the moon and stars or some stuff. That sorta gossip would draw Jake's eye in a heartbeat. Haha."
Artetris said nothing to him as a reply. Finn's skin crawled with the jitters. Why on their partially exploded earth had he said that out loud? Had she been offended? Had he crossed a line he shouldn't? The old Huntress Wizard would have filled his hide with arrows for putting her in a spot like that, so…perhaps she had just not heard him. Finn heaved a slight breath of relief as the campsite came into view. He hoped she hadn't heard him and thought poorly off him after their past week together had been so good…
Artetris stopped at the edge of the campsite and suddenly looked up towards the morning sky. Finn paused and waited for her to say something. Was she going to say something or not? Only the melodies of the woods broke the silence between them.
"That's…not that bad of an idea," she finally said, breaking the silence and shooting him a backwards glance. Finn smiled, a twinge of excitement growing within him. Had he just sounded smart in front of a wizard? "There's a crescent moon tonight. It's one of the most magical for forest folk…. We could totally try this serenade beneath the stars. If it doesn't work, we'll try one other thing before calling it quits I guess. I can't keep wasting your time or mine. That witch won't find herself if I keep dawdling too long."
Finn's heart sank.
"Right…" he said, though not enthusiastically.
"Quits"—he did not want to call it quits, not now when they had finally started getting along. Not now when they had finally started to learn one another's mannerisms, quirks, and stories. He still had a few tales he wanted to spin for her, like Simon since she knew Betty…
Artetris moved towards the fire circle, and Finn quietly followed as he wondered what they could do on their next to last day while waiting for the moon and stars. While she sat down beside her sleeping spot and immediately began to pluck the feathers from her dead bird, Finn sat by the campfire circle and placed the arrow that held the quail in his mouth so that his hands were free. Huntress Wizard had a trick she could do to light a fire if she so chose, and Finn had remembered that at one point in time, he also knew that trick before forgetting. Somehow, with her, he found himself remembering lots of minute things of the old past. He wondered if that was the magic of love…
However, before Finn could even get started on his attempt, she suddenly appeared beside him and started rubbing her hands together in his stead. A fire started on the hot spot, and Huntress Wizard immediately sat beside him, her plucked bird ready for cooking. Finn took his own bird from his mouth before eying her curiously. She blankly stared back before pointing at his grass hand. Finn held up his palm and looked at it; he could feel it aching to kick something's butt.
"That thorn of yours would probably hurt your other hand if you tried," she remarked, looking off. "You'll turn to grass if you are not mindful of that cursed arm, and no one wants that fate. No more meat, no more senses other than the feel of the wind on your body, a grass curse slowly eroding you to nothing but a shell of your former self—that's the fate that could await those over taken by grass curses. I've seen it happen."
"Oh wow," Finn replied, marveling at her almost subtle compassion. She looked back and squinted at him with a soft smile before turning to cook her bird. Finn turned away in silence and began to pluck his own bird so that it could join hers in a matrimonial roasting. In his chest, his heart turned flips. He truly felt that she cared about him the way he cared for her, if only for that split second. Even if their initial adventure ended, there could possibly be other run-ins with one another. Finn grinned. "Thanks for that heads up, HDubs. I appreciate that wizard know-how.
"Speaking of wizards, why'd you use your bow instead of magic before? I'm curious. Is there, like, a difference in power? What's the deal there?"
"Magic contains great power," she replied, "but the side effects that come from overuse of the craft aren't the kind of thing you'd really want to deal with over a couple of quails, dude. That's why I keep my bow for silent and less serious hunting. Have to keep the eyes sharp too."
"I see," Finn said, admiring his plucked bird before holding it over the fire. "So you've got side effects like Simon and the crown but not nearly as crazy because you control the power versus it controlling you mostly. That's cool."
"Crown?" she questioned aloud as she tested the firmness of her bird. Clearly not ready to eat it, she stuck it back by the fire and looked at him. She seemed completely interested in what he had to say. "When you say crown, do you mean the IK?"
Finn nodded with a proud smile. He wanted more people to know about Simon, at least those he felt would treat him with respect. Huntress Wizard looked away from him and hummed.
"I see, so he's 'Simon'," she remarked. "Betty mumbled the name the last time I saw her but never said anything more. Has she…found any signs of the cure she seeks for him?"
"Nah, not that we've seen," Finn replied, rubbing the back of his hat nervously. "The last time we saw Betty, Jake and I had been turned to bread and soup….and Betty got all of Magic Man's powers…and maybe some of Glob's, but who knows? Anyway, she's probably not quite sane if Magic Man's anyone to judge by."
"That figures…" Artetris remarked, almost laughing. "Ah well. You can't help the helpless I suppose. I hope she took the magical lessons I taught her to heart or else she'll never save…Simon…I guess."
Finn smiled with pride. He liked that she called Ice King Simon without much question. Huntress Wizard felt really cool.
"Maybe if we all keep calling him Simon, the crown will finally lose it's hold on him and bring him somewhat back to normal," Finn remarked, wanting to feel optimistic.
Huntress Wizard chuckled, and Finn looked up. She shook her head before checking her bird again.
"Wish magic IS powerful," she remarked. "It just…isn't powerful in that way, especially concerning other wish magics as it sounds like the crown is using. You might ask for something, but you never know how the whole thing's going to turn out without very specific, specifics. It's like asking the universe to save you, and then a comet crashes on your head. It, ultimately, saves you from living."
"Huh," Finn said, intrigued by her comet remark. Huntress Wizard eyed him attentively while periodically checking on her bird, and Finn smiled. He could definitely spend the day away jawing with her. "It's funny you should mention comets…and universal wishing like that because I had a funny wish thing happen when the last comet was approaching…"
"Really?" she remarked. "How so? Enlighten me."
"There was definitely enlightenment going on," Finn chuckled, making a joke to himself. Huntress Wizard stared at him blankly, and Finn recomposed himself and cleared his throat. "Okay. So…it all started when Jake and I, while serving the Candy Kingdom's temp king, discovered that Gunter had slipped into PB's rocket lab for…nefarious purposes…"
Finn held on tight as Huntress Wizard carried him across the treetops in pursuit of their evil quarry—an invasive forest worm awakened from ancient slumber. Finn's heart rushed with excitement; he felt hers do the same. She hurried along with a mighty spear held behind her, which Finn partially used to balance himself upon her. As soon as the worm felt close enough, he would leap or she would throw him—one or the other felt as if it would happen, Finn felt fine with it either way.
As the worm came into view, his grass arm tingled, anxious to get in on the fight if the opportunity presented itself. Finn quickly remembered their talk at the morning campfire and how their day of R & R together had been derailed by the invasion of several animals who had been displaced from their homes by the monster. HW was their "forest watcher"; thus, it was her duty to help them. Though clearly miffed at the prospect of being jerked around by some obscure obligation, Artetris had not objected. In heavy silence, she had accepted the task, and Finn had, naturally, followed after.
For whatever trouble the forest faced, her duty was as much his too. After all, he was the hero of all of Ooo. How could he, then, not also protect the creatures of the forest?
Finn readied himself as the worm felt close, close enough for him to leap. Huntress Wizard seemed to sense his intentions and held both arm and spear firm for his jump. Feeling confident, Finn propelled himself up and forward with the Finnsword raised high above his head. A battle cry escaped him, and the ancient earth worm stopped its crawling at the sounds of its impending battle. Finn's blade fell for the worm…
The beast's head fell clean off, much to Finn's pleasure. Artetris landed across from him and seemed to eye the scene with pleasure. Finn smiled, proud. However, their comfort faded as two more heads suddenly sprang from the foul beast, and it roared and spat with a vengeance. Both Finn and Artetris gritted their teeth at the scene in displeasure. Artetris rolled away as one head lunged for her. Finn watched the scene in horror and defended as the next head came at him. Carefully, however, he avoided cutting another head.
This monster clearly had hydra genes, and without Jake's fists to smash it down to nothing, they would have to be careful about slicing anymore heads. He wondered if Artetris knew… As Finn observed the young huntress dodging the heads and avoiding any direct attacks, he grinned; she definitely knew.
"Finn!" she suddenly called to him, and he listened, dodging once more. "Keep it distracted! I'll set it on fire! That's the best way to kill it so it can't grow more heads!"
Finn's eyes widened. He had never known that…
"Right!" he responded and then faced the monsters to glare them down with his most challenging stance. "Yo! Yo! Yo! Uglies! Finn's all about laying it down…your smackdown!"
Finn swatted at one of the heads with the flat side of the Finnsword. This only angered it and made it snarl, just as Finn wanted. The other head took focus from Huntress Wizard and onto him, also his intention. Both hissed as he grinned at them. Finn hissed back before blowing raspberries back at them with sword in hand. The worm heads roared and attacked him. Finn skillfully dodged and looked over to Huntress Wizard for approval…
…only to find she had gone. A wave of panic rushed through Finn. Where had she gone? Had she abandoned him? Why…?
Finn suddenly found himself smacked by a worm head. He slammed hard against a tree and fell to the ground in a daze, all the while cursing himself for his distraction. But where had Huntress Wizard gone? Before he could worry about her, his grass arm tingled. Finn's panic returned, and his grass arm rippled.
"Dude, stop!" he exclaimed as it slashed the two heads and made four appear; the worm also grew larger to compensate for the extra heads. Finn grimaced at the blunder and slapped at his grass arm to cease slashing. Reluctantly, it retracted, and Finn groaned as the four head threw their heads back and roared. Wherever Huntress Wizard was, she probably felt like killing him. Finn took a deep breath and faced the beast down with his Finnsword in hand. They needed to stay calm and trust Huntress Wizard. Finn glared at the worm. "You think you're so tough, worm? Who cares if you have four heads? Huh? We'll take you all on and cut out your heart and show it to each one of your faces…though you probably have four hearts now….
"Four times the FUN!"
Finn leapt and aimed at the center. He smacked two of the four heads with the flat part of his sword as they lunged at him. The two middle heads each smacked their neighbors, and the hydra worm collapsed at being knocked off balance. Finn landed to the back-left side of the worm and glanced around once more for his wizard. Where was she with that fire? Where was she period?
The ground shook beneath Finn just as the hydra-worm began stirring… Finn looked down at the dirt in shock before falling back on his rear as the dirt parted. A flurry of arrows with vines attached them rose from underground and wove themselves around and through their prey, tying it fast and firm to the dirt. Artetris reappeared from behind Finn, slowly walking by him with her special spear in hand and eying the hydra-worm with contempt as it roared and wreathed. Finn heaved a sigh of relief and smiled; their enemy was as good as beaten.
Finn stood up and quietly watched as she approached the monster hydra worm and stepped upon its trapped body. Slowly, she pulled forward her special spear and rubbed the tip between her hands. It caught fire, and much to Finn's wondered, the fire burned a strange greenish blue. Mixture. With the tip ablaze, Artetris took it firmly in hand and focused on her opponent's heart-section, calmly aiming her blazing weapon. The hydra worm gave one last hiss and then…nothing.
The spear's fire passed from weapon to beast as its mighty tip penetrated the ancient monster's flesh. The wound exploded into green and blue flames, burning the hydra worm's hearts and the rest of its body. Artetris leapt down from the body, dismissing her weapon as she coolly walked towards Finn. The two of them exchanged quick smiles before facing their fallen foe's body and watching it burn in flames like earth colors. They stood there in complete silence as they observed the death scene.
Finn wondered if fire was meant to have special meaning or if it was just for killing hydra worms…or if it was simply something unique to her as forest watcher. So many questions filled him concerning Huntress Wizard! It…kind of made his gut twist in fear. How often had he wished to know a woman so closely? When had that started? Normally, he'd simply wish to show off and get her to smile at him and his crazy stunts, but somehow, knowing HER—and not how much she found his jokes funny or his hero skills impressive—seemed to mean more.
He wanted to know everything he could about her. It made him feel…funny; for knowing her suddenly meant more than all the hugs and kisses he could have in the multiverse. That felt good! But weird… Could he just ask her or not?
As the last of the hydra worm vanished beneath the earth colored flames, Finn looked at Huntress Wizard, and she looked at him.
"That…was the most awesome fire display I've ever seen," Finn remarked, "and I dated Flame Princess, so trust me when I say that I know!"
Artetris huffed with a snicker, and Finn wondered if he had blundered again.
"You're funny," she remarked before turning away and walking off. She beckoned for him to follow, and Finn hurried after her with a content grin. She shot him a backwards glance before looking back forward. "We need to clean the areas the hydra earth worm destroyed with its rampage. Fix the dirt… Mend the trees… Tend to the injured… Fix the houses that might have been destroyed… It shall be a ton of work.
"Are you up for it? If not, you can wait back at the campsite while I tend to forest matters…"
"Hey, I'm down," Finn said, smiling his laid-back smile. "Hero work kind of entails the same things, so I'm a natural at hand building a shelter and such. We'll have this worm's mess cleaned up in no time!"
Huntress Wizard smiled and closed her eyes as if to hide her emotions…even though the smile gave it away what she was feeling.
"I like that answer," she remarked. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to hear it, though. You are Ooo's hero after all. You are an…exceptional beast to be sure…like I am."
Finn smiled.
"Exceptional beasts, huh?" he remarked. "I like that. I'm not nearly half as talented, but I think it's cool if you can see me as rad as you. It's really kind of bunk to me now that we never hung out before. Better late than never, I guess."
"Yeah," Artetris said, not really hinting one way or another about whether or not she truly agreed.
Finn heaved a deep breath of comfort, and the two of them fell into silence as they treaded through the woods at a steady pace, side by side. On occasion, she would speed up as if to escape the monotony of their walking, and Finn would find himself itching to compete and would match her pace once more, often earning an amused smirk from her and another playful challenge. As they low-key played, Finn felt strange, as if he had mad a friend in Huntress Wizard and more.
A…feel-good connection… a vibe…
A bond.
Longingly, he fully felt himself hoping it would survive the storm to come—the end of their time together. Could it? Would it…?
Should it…
Eventually, the two of them finally reached the more damaged parts of the woods left by their enemy's thrash. He and Artetris immediately went to work, gathering the fallen plants or re-placing displaced items back into their original spots. As they worked, Finn's heart turned flips as he thought about the serenade he could play for her—a song of celebration and innocent fun like their adventure! Every now and then, Finn shot a glance her way; every time, he found her focused and hard at work, almost practically unaware of his presence as she carted boulders and logs with ease. It aroused him, touched him, to see her work so effortlessly and diligently in her job, without complaint or question. With her every motion, Finn felt desire, feelings he could not possibly see himself acting on… For Artetris Huntress Wizard felt beyond him, so far beyond that only his songs could reach her. She was not "his" not to "keep"….
Finn hummed to himself in thought at the notions of "having" and "keeping". He almost laughed but held himself so as to not draw the interest of Huntress Wizard. "Having her" or "keeping her" seemed so silly to him now! You couldn't have or keep a woman; she was…and independent person! Not a pet to coddle or an object to keep… How had he not seen it before? How had he been such a dumb, blind kid?
He didn't want to keep her… He wished for Artetris Huntress Wizard to reign free because free was how vibrantly her beauty shined in the day and night. Yeah… He could totally flute a song to that tune, and who knew? Maybe after the song was done, and probably failed, the two of them could talk and discuss picking the endeavor back up at a later date…if she wanted. Finn smiled.
He felt hopeful.
Artetris suddenly threw a stick at his head, and Finn dropped his twigs in confusion and whirled around to face her.
"Stop slacking off twig man," she remarked with an annoyed look on her face. Finn chuckled and shot her a happy smile. She rolled her eyes but mustered a small smile herself. "Come on. We don't have time for more games. We need to help fix the damage to this forest caused by that Hydra Worm before nightfall. I know that you have stuff in your head and that those things might be distractions, but…I really need you to focus on the mission at hand."
"Right, focus," Finn said, regathering his twigs and setting them to the side by the bushes where things looked more aesthetic. "Hey! Speaking of focus, I felt the most wonderful thing I could put into mystic song with my grass arm's aid. How about that for focus?"
"Your focus isn't making these logs any leaner," Artetris remarked, hurrying off. "We shall move on to the next section so we can be done my nightfall for that. I'll see you ahead."
Artetris hurried off, and Finn folded his arms with a grin as watched her vanished into the woods for their next section. Something in him bubbled with pride at this woman who had originally been one of his rivals for Bubblegum's smooch in Wizard Battle, his unencouraging wizard mentor in the days of his ignorance of the Enchiridion's true nature, and his cupid whose arrows had firmly pierced his heart without warning. He had it bad but in a way unlike the thrills of the past he ad once known. This thrill—it felt glad to truly know and understand Huntress Wizard…what little bit she allowed him at least…
Where would the future take them? Finn wondered as he moved forward to follow his companion's lead.
Only the future, he knew, held that answer, and for the moment he had a forest to help clean and a flute song to hum and then play that evening.
There was no time or point in getting caught up about "what might's" or "what could's". Those were, as Jake had once put it, imaginary problems, and he needed to keep his head cool. Finn nodded at his decisions in approval and vanished through the trees, smiling.