The title of the chapter has nothing to do with numerical order but more so with what happens in this chapter.
Six weeks had passed and the wolf was still making life interesting. When the big three were having a debating (*cough*screaming and shouting*cough*) they noticed that their symbols of power went missing which only caused more shouting. There was a sudden cacophony of barking but they ignored it for their debate, but were interrupted by a loud whistle. They turned to the one goddess who could make such a sound: Athena. The three looked at her and she looked pissed. But what was all the more terrifying was the smug wolf sitting beside her with a roll of paper in its mouth and his tail wagging behind him. The wolf stood up and strode right up to Zeus and handed him the rolled up paper. Zeus opened it and began reading before he shouted: "What?!"
"We got sick of the three of you fighting so the wolf took you symbols of power and we worked together to hide them in different places on Olympus," Athena said. When she saw the big three about to flash out she said, "And you need to work together to get them."
The big three looked pissed but flashed out.
"So, wait," said Hestia from her throne, "what exactly did you do?"
"We hid their symbols of power in such a way that they need to work together. Hopefully they will finally respect one another and quit their petty bickering," Athena huffed. The wolf just had a sly look on his face and wagged his tail while Athena was speaking.
"So, what's his deal?" Hermes asked. He had seen the look on the wolf's face before and it meant nothing but trouble.
"Well he was the one who came up with the plan, not me. I wish that I'd have thought of it first," she sighed.
Hermes and Apollo's cheeks bloated and then laughter came bursting out. The two gods were trying to stay on their thrones but kept sliding down. They were suddenly stopped when they saw the wolf glaring at them. They flinched and settled down and the wolf returned to normal. Apollo and Hermes felt something brush against their minds that caused them to cringe.
Only I am allowed to tease her about it.
The two gods looked at the wolf and quickly nodded. He then gave them a wolfish grin and laid down beside Hestia's throne. After three hours of quiet, agreeable conversation, the big three returned talking, laughing, and holding their symbols of power. The wolf barked and wagged his tail and Athena smiled.
"So it worked?" the goddess of wisdom asked.
"I suppose," Zeus said grudgingly, but with a small smile, as he and his brothers returned to their thrones.
"How did you come up with it?" Hades asked.
"The wolf came up with it actually," Athena said.
"Wait," Poseidon said with a grin.
"Don't!" Apollo and Hermes both shouted.
"What?" Poseidon asked.
"The wolf said that only he could tease her about it," Hermes said with a slight shake to his voice. The big three looked to the wolf who stared back and tilted his ears ever so slightly back. The big three smiled and nodded and returned to their jovial conversation. The throne room was full of laughter and friendly conversations for the rest of the day.
A few days later Zeus had Apollo do a full check up on the wolf. It took a bit longer than it should have because the wolf had the evening crazies and refused to sit still. The wolf somehow managed to grab Hades just as he flashed to the underworld and was transported with him. Zeus and Apollo then followed Hades and when they arrived found Hades sitting on the ground with a slightly terrified look on his face. He said something about too much energy and Cerberus before he collected himself, stood up, brushed himself off, and told Zeus and Apollo that they had to get the wolf away from Cerberus if they wanted him now or could wait a few hours and hang out. They ended up having a game night with Hades' X-Box after Zeus and Apollo saw the rambunctious pair of canines wreaking havoc in the fields of Asphodel.
When they returned to Apollo's palace with an exhausted and thankfully sleeping wolf, Apollo said that the wolf was at a healthy weight, had a super fast metabolism and would need to eat often, and was physically in perfect condition. They then flashed into Artemis' silent camp with the wolf. Artemis walked over silently and waved her hand over the wolf causing a tent to appear over him. She nodded to her father and brother and returned to her tent after they flashed out.
The wolf woke up the following morning and saw silver. It jerked its head up and saw that it was laying on grass in a silver tent. He rolled his eyes and stood up, stretched, and yawned. He was sitting right in front of the door, which the tent was just tall enough to allow, contemplating whether or not he wanted to go out and face the hunters. The decision was made for him when the tent flap was pulled open and he was looking in the face of Phoebe. The hunter gave a sudden and shrill squeal before bolting. The wolf shook his head trying to quell the ringing in his ears but smiled inwardly at the hunter's reaction. A minute later Artemis pulled open the tent and jumped back with a gasp.
"Well that explains it," she muttered. The wolf only tilted its head. "Phoebe camping bursting into the camp fire circle pale as a sheet," she explained. "Let's go," she said moving out of the way and pulling the tent flap with her. The wolf just looked at her. She huffed, "Do you want breakfast or not?" At this the wolf padded out of the tent where he stretched again and his stomach growled. "Yeah that's what I thought."
Artemis led the wolf to where the hunters were sitting around the fire pit and a deer was roasting. Phoebe looked to be trying to scoot a little farther away while the rest of the hunter paled. The wolf rolled his eyes and looked at Artemis before turning towards the forest, smelling the air, and bounding away. The hunters gave a collective gasp and Artemis just watched his tail disappear from sight between the trees. The Colorado Rockies where they were camped had plenty of game, so Artemis wasn't worried. The hunters quickly finished their breakfast when ten minutes later they heard twigs snapping from the direction that the wolf had gone. They looked, expecting to see the wolf, and saw a large pack of hellhounds, about forty in all ranging from the size of a truck to the average dog, stalking into the clearing instead. The hunters dropped their breakfast and pulled out their bows and began firing into the pack, but the hellhounds were fast.
Half of the pack melted into the shadows while the other half managed to dodge the arrows. The half that had disappeared into the shadows reappeared on the other side of the clearing where the hunters were camped. Both groups of hellhounds charged. The hunters were firing back to back but had only managed to bring down a handful of the fast monsters before they were forced to pull out their knives. They traded blows for nearly a minute before one of the younger hunters went down. Artemis screamed in outrage. She couldn't revert to her true form without vaporizing her hunters as well and there was no way to flash out all of her hunters. She saw the largest of the hellhounds lunging at Phoebe's exposed back. She raised her bow but she knew that she wouldn't be fast enough. But a sudden blur motion caused the hound to be turned to dust. She saw that the wolf was back. It went bounding around the hunters and somehow managed to herd the hellhounds to one side and was standing between the hunters and the hounds. There were half a dozen new piles of golden dust made by the hunters and nearly two dozen made by the wolf when he had entered the clearing.
Artemis saw the wolf with his hackles raised, his face contorted into a vicious snarl, and his bright green eyes seemed to glow. Artemis, in that moment was terrified of him, and so were the hellhounds. The pack began to back away toward the trees, but another snarl stopped them. Out from between the trees strode another wolf. This one had a tan hide with bright blue eyes and it was about the same size as the black wolf. The wolves snarled and the hellhounds quailed. The two wolves lunged at precisely the same moment. The hounds, in their terror, kept running into each other trying to get away. But in the end, all that was left was a lot of golden dust. The two wolves let their tongues loll out of their maws and went trotting back into the trees.
The hunters were speechless. Artemis was frozen. The forest was silent. Everything seemed both confused and frightened, as though no one dared break the silence first. But Artemis swallowed and cleared her throat to get her hunters attention. She was about to begin speaking when the black wolf walked into the clearing carrying two deer by their necks. Artemis, for a moment, thought that the tan wolf had been a figment of her imagination, until it came striding out of the forest, also carrying a pair of deer. Artemis and her hunters watched as the wolves lay down across from each other and eating their catch. The hunters listened in terror as they heard the sound of bones crunching coming from both wolves.
Artemis walked over to the black wolf and began petting his side, though slowly at first. She wasn't sure how he'd react now that there was another wolf and they were both eating. She approached his head and breathed a sigh of relief when he moved his head closer to her hand when she started scratching behind his ears. The tan wolf on the other hand had both eyes on her, its muscles were taut, and he was leaning over his meal. Artemis knew he wasn't threatening her, but that could change very quickly if she went after his food. The black wolf growled quietly and looked the tan wolf dead in the eyes. They exchanged grows and a few small barks until the tan wolf relaxed and both started eating again.
Artemis kept petting the black wolf and watching the tan wolf. The two ate and the hunters stared open mouthed. Now there wasn't one wolf, there were two! Artemis looked at her hunters and motioned for her hunters to practice their archery and start sparring. The hunters nodded and cleaned up around the fire before going to the archery field and sparring grounds. The wolves crunched their way threw their breakfast until there was only a big pile of fur and a couple pairs of antlers. Artemis continued petting the black wolf and he rolled over and leaned against her legs. She gave a light laugh as he threw her off balance for a second. The tan wolf looked up, seemingly surprised. He gave a small bark and the black wolf moved his head to look at him before giving him a bark in response. The tan wolf's head bobbed around for a minute as though he were considering something before he barked back. The black wolf sigh and the pair of wolves was silent for a time before the two looked up at each other. Artemis could see that both pairs of eyes were filled with sadness, but also determination.
Artemis was confused, but quickly forget it when the wolves stood up. They shook themselves and stretched and yawned, teeth flashing in the morning light and they trotted in the direction Artemis' hunters had gone. She followed them, wanting to see what they would do. The wolves arrived at the archery range and their quiet padding turned silent as they crept into the trees. Artemis stopped and watched for a distance. The wolves disappeared into the forest, but she could sense them close by, but not their exact location. She waited for a few minutes and watched at the hunters shot endlessly at the targets.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of movement. She turned to look and saw nothing. She extended her senses and felt... nothing. She glared at the spot about halfway down the archery range when the black wolf suddenly burst out of the trees and ran headlong through where the hunters were firing. Artemis started and then saw the tan wolf had done the same thing on the other side. The two wolves passed each other at halfway across the range. The wolves then vanished into the trees making strange movements, like throwing their heads in the air, along the way. Artemis was dumbfounded and so were the hunters. The hunters had stopped firing after they saw the wolves, but by that time the two were already halfway across leaving a lot of arrows still in flight, and weren't sure what was going on. Artemis shrugged and heard twigs breaking behind her. She turned with her bow ready and saw both the wolves trotting out of the forest with their mouths full of something. The wolves sat a few feet away from Artemis and opened their mouths and out came arrows.
The wolves nosed through the arrows so that they weren't overlapping before sitting down and staring at them. After a minute of the wolfs' noses bobbing up and down as though they were counting them the wolves looked at each other then started barking loudly and jumped to their feet teeth bared. The wolves snarled and then lunged at each other. The hunters skittered back leaving Artemis alone with two warring wolves. The wolves rose up on their hind legs, making them tower over Artemis' twelve year old form, and lunged at each others throats and claws at each others chests. The wolves were truly terrifying.
Artemis, completely lacking in any other options took a step forward towards the slashing and snapping wolves that were still on their hind legs bracing against each other and yelled, "Stop!"
The wolves suddenly stopped exactly where they were. It was strange to see two wolves that had been going at each others throat suddenly freeze, look at each other and then look at Artemis. They were still braced against each other when they looked at the goddess and so had to crane their necks down to see her. The black wolf barked to the tan one and they both fell back onto all fours and walked up tho Artemis. They both smelled her from opposite sides before looking at her.
"What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.
She felt two presences brush her mind and felt the same word. Sparring.
She felt the mind of the black wolf give her another thought. Never had a chance to fight something that was close to my equal.
"Okay," she said. When she thought about it that way it made sense. "Continue," she said after she had taken several large steps back. The wolves looked at each other and lunged. There was more snapping and snarling, but, rather than be concerned, Artemis took the time to study the wolves. Each swipe was stronger than that of a bear and each snap of their jaws was strong enough to break bone, yet they weren't trying to hurt each other. They kept their claws turned out and only snapped when they got frustrated. They weren't aiming to hurt each other, merely hone their skills.
She watched as they separated from each other and began circling each other. The pacing ended when the tan wolf quickly and suddenly closed the space and slammed into the side of the black wolf, sending them both to the ground. The black wolf turned and grabbed the scruff of the tan wolf, surprising him greatly, and threw him into the ground next to where he was laying. The wolf yelped, but both stood and faced off again. They had been glaring at each for nearly two minutes before both relaxed and their tongues lolled out. They strode a short ways out of camp to where there was a creek and Artemis followed. The sound of the two wolves drinking was loud in the otherwise quiet forest as they gulped down mouthfuls of water. After the two finished their drink they started panting. The black wolf pointed out a patch of shade not far from the camp and both wolves walked over before laying down with about twenty feet between them and went to sleep.
Artemis walked back into the camp and went to where the piles of arrows were. There were eleven arrows in each wolfs' pile. They tied, that's why they fought, Artemis thought. Giant competitive wolves. Camp will certainly be very interesting. Artemis gathered the frightened hunters told them that the wolves, while not tame, were friendly, but to give the tan wolf time to adjust to being around humans and a goddess. She also made a point of explaining not to go anywhere near the wolves' kills. She didn't want the wolves to develop a taste for demigods or hunters because of an avoidable accident. The hunters nodded then went through their regular routine of training with their bows against targets and knives and left the wolves to rest.
Artemis would occasionally go and check on the pair before returning to her hunters. It was nearing lunch time when Artemis went to check on the wolves and couldn't find them. She checked the kitchen tent, the camp fire, their patch of shade, even the black wolf's tent. She finally gave up and knew that the wolves could take care of themselves. She met the hunters around the camp fire where Phoebe was helping a younger camper dish up a light soup for lunch. Artemis accepted a bowl and checked on the young hunter who had been hurt in the fight, who was fine thanks to nectar and ambrosia, before starting up a conversation.
"So how do you think training today went?" she asked no hunter in particular.
"I think it went well," a younger hunter said. "I hit seventeen bulls-eyes in a row. My best yet!"
"Congratulations," Artemis said with a smile. The hunter smiled back before going back to eating her soup. "Anyone else have anything big?"
After a silence Phoebe spoke up. "I'm doing as well as ever, but what were the wolves doing when they ran across the archery range? They could have been killed."
Several hunters nodded and set their soup in their lap and looked at Artemis for an explanation. Artemis realized that she had never explained what was going on to the hunters.
"Well, the wolves were having a competition to see who could grab more arrows out of the air. They tied with eleven and so resorted to a fight. I'm not sure why it ended, but they were just play fighting," Artemis explained. "I promise, the black wolf is very easy going, but I don't know about the tan wolf."
"Do you think that there could be more giant wolves Milady?" a younger hunter asked.
"I don't know," said Artemis with a far away look in her eyes. "Maybe."
"Where do you think they come from?" an older hunter asked Artemis.
"I have no idea. They aren't monsters," Artemis said. "They have flesh and blood and they seem fairly friendly as well as incredibly clever and intelligent. The black wolf came up with a plan, Athena called it brilliant, in a council meeting a while ago. But where they could have come from, I haven't the slightest idea."
The hunters looked thoughtful at this. They probably would have sat there all day musing if Artemis hadn't clapped her hands and said back to training and chores. A few hunters groaned while a few tipped their heads back and downed the rest of the soup and left two of the hunters to their dish duty.
At sun down Artemis started to worry. The wolves weren't back yet. She knew that they could handle themselves, but she and several other gods, goddesses, and Olympians had grown attached to the black wolf. She was grabbing her bow and hunting knives to go look for them when the pair came silently out of the woods. They both had golden dust on their paws, around their mouths, and all in their fur. Artemis rolled her eyes and approached the pair.
"I knew you two were getting into trouble," she said. The wolves just gave her wolfish grins that were actually rather terrifying. She gave a forced smile in return. The tan wolf stretched and the black wolf followed his lead. The wolves smacked their lips and looked around the camp to where the hunters were each entering their tents for the night. Artemis felt the minds of the two wolves brush up against hers.
Border patrol? they asked.
"Would you mind?" Artemis asked surprised.
The wolves looked at each other and shrugged. Too strung up from fighting those stupid dracaena and hellhounds we found, the black wolf said.
Can't sleep, said the tan wolf.
"Then I will call off the hunters and leave you to it," she said. She gave a whistle that perfectly mimicked a bird's song and four hunters came, one from each cardinal direction. Artemis explained that the wolves were going to be on border patrol while they slept. The hunters bowed to the wolves, who looked surprised by the gestures and bowed their heads back in return, before the hunters went to their own tents. The wolves gave Artemis another grin before the black wolf took off to the north and the tan wolf ran to the south. Artemis shook her head at the pairs antics but went to her tent. She was putting away her bow when she realized that while she couldn't read the wolves thoughts unless they let her, their minds also felt different. The blacks wolf's mind felt calm, but felt like that could change at any moment and without warning. The tan wolf's mind was a gentle touch but with a small shock. But both were holding back... something. Artemis shook her head and realized that in the time spent thinking about the mysterious wolves she was ready for bed. She sighed and slipped under her covers and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The following morning came all too quickly to the hunters' camp. As soon as the sun broke the horizon Apollo popped into camp, surprising a couple of the older hunters who were already up. Apollo looked around, ignoring the glares the pair of hunters sent him, and dashed to Artemis' tent as soon as he saw it.
"Yo! Little sista!" he said as he flung open the flap to Artemis' tent.
Artemis thanked Fortuna that she was already up and dressed and was just strapping on her hunting knives and gabbing her bow when her all too happy and morning person brother walked into her tent it bout so much as knocking. She wondered how much sugar he to put in his coffee on top of his already very sugary cereal to be this hyper in the morning. She just sighed and walked out into the camp.
"So what do you want Apollo?" she asked. "And I'm still older."
Apollo ignored the second part of her reply and just looked around the camp. A couple more hunters had woken up and were sitting near the fire the first hunters had made and they shot glares at Apollo.
"So where's the wolf?" he asked.
Oh, she thought, that's what's got him so excited. "I actually have no idea where he's run off to," Artemis said leaving out the arrival of the tan wolf. "He offered to do border patrol last night and I wasn't going to try and stop him."
Apollo looked confused and a little sad for a second before his slap happy face came back, much to Artemis' disappointment. She really wished he'd just leave. "I want to say hi and see how he's doing," Apollo said. "Can I just... hang out somewhere?" When he saw his sister's suspicious face her held up his hands. "I don't want to flirt with your hunters, I just want to see the wolf," he said.
Artemis was about to reply when she saw the wolves walk out of the forest, each with three deer this morning and she put her thinking face on. To Apollo it looked like she was thinking about a far away place to have him wait, while Artemis was really mentally contacting the wolves. She brushed up against their minds and thought, Scare him. She could see the wolves silently set the deer in the grass a few feet from the fire and creep silently up behind Apollo. Both eight foot tall wolves towered over the sun god who only stood six feet tall. Artemis looked the same but adjusted her head ever so slightly so that she could get a better view of what was going to happen.
Apollo was just about to ask Artemis to hurry up when he heard two loud growls above and behind him. He tried to turn but something pulled him off of his feet and he went flying over the tree tops. Artemis had seen the black wolf grab him by the back of his shirt and throw him. A second later Artemis heard a splash. Her jaw dropped and she started laughing. She was holding her sides when she saw the wolves collapse on the ground as they couldn't breath from their wolfish laughter. Artemis had to sit down after a minute. The wolves collected themselves before vanishing behind Artemis' tent. Artemis was about to ask what was up but saw a sopping wet Apollo come stumbling into the clearing with a looked of disbelief on his face.
"What just happened?" Apollo asked breathlessly as he stumbled up to Artemis. The hunters who had seen him go flying overhead and heard the splash were trying to keep their laughter in, but after one lost it, so did the other three. Artemis was started laughing again and Apollo looked confused. "What threw me?" Artemis kept laughing and Apollo was about to start shouting when a shadow fell over him. He looked up into the face of the tan wolf who was giving him a toothy, wolfish grin. Apollo gave shriek before he collected himself. Then he questioned it.
"Wait, what happened to you? I thought that you were," Apollo suddenly stopped when he felt a hot breath on the back of his neck. He whipped his head around and came face to face with the black wolf. The sun god gave a very undignified scream before falling ever so gracefully onto his butt. At this point in time Artemis toppled over from lack of air. She was clutching her sides and had tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Oh *laugh* my gods *gasp* your face!" she said in between fits of hysterics. "You *laugh* look *gasp* ridiculous!"
"Glad to know you care," Apollo huffed before turning his attention back to the two wolves. "So where did he come from?" the sun god asked. The tan wolf bent down to smell Apollo, but the sun god was still unsure about this new wolf. The tan wolf suddenly leapt forward and pinned Apollo. Apollo struggled, but was no match for the massive hound. The black wolf walked around and sat beside the sun god. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice quailing. The black wolf gave a small huff and Artemis saw the trouble her brother was in and got a hold of herself.
"Guys," she said in a warning tone. "What's going on?"
The black wolf regarded her while the tan wolf stared Apollo down. The sun god tried to shrink away and was wishing that the ground would swallow him up when he wondered what Hestia was up to and if she would help.
"Oh nothing much and maybe if you ask nicely," came a happy voice from by his shoulder. Apollo turned and saw Hestia sitting beside his left shoulder. "So what are you up to?" she asked with a giggle.
Apollo stared open mouthed at the goddess of the hearth. The black wolf gave a bark of happiness, walked over, and nuzzled Hestia affectionately. The tan wolf watched this with rapt attention and Apollo tried to use that to get away. All he got was the tan wolf's claws digging into his shoulders. Hestia rubbed the black wolf's head and the tan wolf looked confused. The black wolf opened his eyes and the pair of wolves seemed to have a short, internal conversation before the black wolf closed his eyes again and enjoyed the petting. The tan wolf locked eyes with Apollo then looked at Hestia and then the black wolf. Apollo looked confused so the wolf looked again.
"Wait, you want me to pet you?" the sun god asked. The tan wolf then got off of him and sat down beside him and lowered his head. Apollo sat up and began rubbing the tan wolf's head. Both looked a little unsure at first, but in no time the tan wolf was laying on his side with Apollo, still a bit damp, was leaning against him and rubbing his head. Apollo looked at Hestia and saw that she and the black wolf were doing the same thing. "So," Apollo started, getting the tan and black wolfs' attention, "why did you throw me into the river then tackle me?"
Apollo felt the wolfs' minds come into contact with his. Funny, they both said.
I was bored, the tan wolf answered the second part of the question.
"Fair enough," Apollo said with a shrug. "So where did you come from?" he asked and looked into the tan wolf's eye that wasn't resting on the ground.
There was a pause before the tan wolf answered. Not sure.
"Do you have a family?" Hestia asked.
The tan wolf shrugged its shoulders. Maybe. It almost sounded whistful.
When the rest of the hunters finally came stumbling out of their tents towards the camp fire, they were surprised to see Artemis, Apollo, and Hestia leaning against the wolves and having a pleasant conversation. The hunters were still very wary of the wolves, which Hestia asked Artemis about. Artemis explained that the hunters were still on guard in case the black wolf sought retribution. Hestia gave a small smile before summoning a piece of ambrosia. As soon as she had it, both heads popped off of the ground and stared at the piece before looking at each other. Both wolves stood up and looked at the goddess. They eyed each other and used their shoulders to try and shove each other out of the way and still sit in front of Hestia. Artemis laughed at their antics and Apollo watched with a smile on his face.
The hunters looked alarmed. They thought that the wolves were trying to hurt Hestia. So they pulled out their bows and pointed them at the wolves. But to the wolves it looked like the hunters were pointing their bows at Hestia. The pair turned, hackles raised, teeth bared, faces pulled into vicious snarls, their claws got longer, and their eyes glowed with an unnatural light. The hunters blanched (paled) and several hands shook for a moment before they were steadied. The wolves stood in front of Hestia and stared down the seventeen immortal girls. Several hunters adjusted their grips, but their minds were screaming for them to run. Before the situation could escalate any farther Hestia walked around the wolves and stood in front of them.
"Hey, hey, hey," she said holding up her hands and speaking gently, "easy now, easy."
While Hestia was trying to calm the wolves Artemis ran quickly and lightly to her hunters. "Lower your weapons," she hissed. The hunters complied. As soon as the weapons were lowered the wolves visibly relaxed. They still kept their eyes on the hunters, but their hackles lowered, they closed their mouths, their faces relaxed, and their claws unnatural length was retracted back into their paws. Their eyes still glowed though as they watched the hunters. Hestia walked right up to the wolves and they lowered their heads to her height and she rubbed both if their foreheads. The hunters stood in shock.
"They thought that we were aiming for Hestia," Phoebe said quietly. But both wolfs' head snapped up and they nodded before Hestia lowered their heads back down and kept petting them.
Phoebe put her weapons down on the ground and approached the wolves. The moment she took a step in their direction their heads came back up and they eyed her warily. Hestia stood between the two, but this time made no move to stop them. Phoebe walked forward with confidence, even if she was quailing on the inside. She held both of her hands out, palms up, facing the wolves. The wolves craned their necks and smelled Phoebe's hands. They smelled for a few seconds before both licked her hands.
Nice to meet you, the black wolf said and the tan wolf nodded.
"Likewise," the hunter breathed.
Phoebe stepped closer and began petting the black wolf. He lowered his head into her hand and she pet him. Slowly but surely all of the hunters made their way over to the two wolves and were introduced. Soon the wolves were laying down with hunters on all sides. Hestia sat by the tan wolf's head and was petting him while chatting with the hunters who were now fawning over the wolves. Apollo and Artemis stood a good ways off just watching when Artemis got an idea. She went up the two wolves and whispered something in their ears. They both picked their heads up, nodded to each other, stood up, and stretched. They smacked their jaws and then lazily looked at Apollo. The sun god gave them a nod, then took a quick step back at the look the two wolves were giving him. He'd seen it before whenever he or Hermes had sent the w lack wolf after the other. It was the look that said: Sucks to be you right now. Apollo turned and started running. He hit the tree line and kept going. He could hear the wolves crashing through the forest behind him. He tried to flash out but found that he couldn't.
Ah ah ah, came Artemis' laughing voice in his head. None of that.
"Damn you Artemis!" he yelled to no one.
He ran for a few more minutes before the noise behind him vanished. Then he remembered Hades' story and sped up. He saw where the forest ended and a seemingly endless field began. He went even faster. He broke out of the trees into the knee high grass and saw the two wolves were only twenty feet away on either side right alongside him. Their tongues were hanging out of their mouths and while they were working hard, they could clearly be going faster. Apollo poured on as much speed as he could. He started to pull away from the wolves, only to have them pick up the pace as well. He was doing an all out sprint, yet he could see that they were still holding back. He just kept running. But then he felt himself start to slow. And the wolves noticed too.
The wolves went from being twenty feet away to being only ten feet away as they closed the gap. Apollo nearly smacked himself before he stopped. He put his legs out in front of himself and dug in his heels. He left a nice narrow track about fifty feet long, but he had stopped and the wolves had kept going. He took a deep breath before he saw the wolves stop, and it only took them ten feet.
They're claws make it so they're wearing cleats! he screamed at himself. The wolves prowled closer. Apollo turned to run but the wolves lunged first. The black wolf caught Apollo up in its jaws without hurting him but then gave him a good shake. Apollo, having been in this position before, let himself go slack. He was too tired to fight anyway. He gave a start when the wolf set him gently on the ground.
Want a ride? the black wolf asked. Apollo stared open mouthed before nodding. The black wolf laid down and Apollo climbed onto his back. Hold on tight, he said and Apollo grabbed fistfuls of fur. When the wolf felt Apollo's grip tighten, it took off, the tan wolf right behind it. Apollo saw the world to whizzing by, but the wolves were both silent. He felt the wolves muscles and tendons working beneath the fur and realized that he had never stood a chance. He watched as they ran across the open plains and realized just how far he'd run. He'd started in Colorado and made it all the way to Missouri. Now the wolves were running back faster than before. How Artemis had caught the black wolf before was beyond him.
The wolves topped so suddenly that Apollo was nearly thrown off. Both wolves had their ears up and their noses in the air. Apollo was about to ask what was up until a breeze came from the south and both wolves looked in that direction. Apollo felt the black wolf's muscles tighten and he gripped the fur in his fists tighter and ducked low. The wolves took off with no warning. Apollo watched the sunset from the wolf's back before the pair stopped again. They put their noses back in the air before nodding to each other. They threw back their heads and howled a long note. When they were finished they had their ears up and their eyes forward. Then they heard it. An answering howl. The wolves dashed towards the sound. Across the plain the sun god could make out a large black shape moving towards them. The two wolves howled again and the shape stopped and an answering call was heard.
"Another wolf," Apollo breathed, but still lay flat on the black wolf's back.
The two wolves trotted over to meet the new wolf. The pair of wolves and the new wolf stopped about ten feet apart. The new wolf appraised the two wolves before he and the black wolf walked forward. Their snouts just brushed each other and the new wolf recoiled. The black wolf just stood still. The new wolf shook his head and seemed to regather himself. He looked at the black and tan wolves, a little unsure. The wolves barked a bit and then seemed to have some mental conversation. Apollo took the time to look at the new wolf.
The new wolf was solid black, for the most part. His head was white, from his black nose to the beginning of his neck. But he had black around his eyes and his lips. He also had a white stripe running down his back. His black eyes gleamed with madness but also with knowledge that he would never share. He was thinner and more gangly than the other two, but it seemed natural rather than sickly. Apollo realized that he had sat up while looking at the new wolf and saw it staring back at him before looking back at the black wolf with the grey stripe. The two seemed to have more internal conversation and the new wolf had a skeptical look for a while before turning back to Apollo. The new wolf then looked back to the black wolf and nodded. The three wolves then took off, the black wolf with a grey stripe in the lead with the white headed wolf on his left and the tan wolf on his right.
They arrived back at Artemis' camp right around midnight. The hunters were still up, gathered around the fire while Artemis and Hestia sat off to the side talking. The goddesses looked up when the black wolf with a grey stripe on his chest purposely stepped on a stick, alerting everyone to their presence. They looked up smiling but then seemed to stop cold. Apollo glanced over and saw why, in the dying light, the new wolf's head resembled a skull and his body wasn't visible in the darkness. But when the three wolves came fully into the light of the fire the goddesses and hunters relaxed. Apollo slid off of the black wolf's back and walked over to Artemis and punched her playfully on the shoulder.
"I ran all the way to Missouri you know," he smirked. "And they were just toying with me." Hestia and Artemis stared at the wolves with newfound appreciation. But were wary of the new wolf.
"Where did you find him?" Artemis asked, inclining her head in the direction of the new wolf. Her tone wasn't aggressive or angry, simply wary. The new wolf heard and looked at her. She saw the same look Apollo had and in the fire light it was unnerving. The black wolf nudged the new wolf and the new wolf went with the black wolf and the tan wolf to lay by the fire. The hunters were wary of the new wolf, but all walked up to him after he laid down and held their hands out. He smelled each one of them individually and licked every hand. The hunters eventually settled by one of the three wolves, all of whom were laying down, and began petting them.
"I didn't," Apollo said. "The wolves found each other. The pair was running full pelt, but stopped in the middle of nowhere. It's almost like they can sense each other."
"Artemis I think that you have a new mission," Hestia said.
"What's that?" Artemis asked.
"You need to find more of these wolves. They should be few and far between and, from what we've seen, make powerful allies. Have you ever seen them fight?"
"Yes," Artemis said with a shiver. "It was terrifying." Apollo and Hestia pressed for details and Artemis and the goddess of the moon told of how the two wolves had returned and slain the massive pack of hellhounds that had attacked the camp and that was when the tan wolf first showed up. Apollo and Hestia looked shocked. No wonder the hunters were so tentative around the wolves.
"I have a question, and I can't believe no one's thought of this earlier, what are their names?" Hestia asked. Artemis opened her mouth then shut it again.
"I have no idea," she murmured. "Let's go ask."
The three Olympians walked over to the fire and each sat near the head of a wolf. Apollo sat by the tan wolf, Artemis sat by the black wolf with the grey stripe across his chest, and Hestia sat but the black wolf with the white head. They began petting the wolves and the three woke up to see the Olympians. They nuzzled closer and looked like they were going to go back to sleep.
"I have a question for you," Artemis said to the black wolf. "What's your name?"
The black wolf looked confused for a moment. Then he looked thoughtful before he finally shook his head.
"You don't have one?" Artemis asked. The wolf shook his head again. "Do either of you?" she asked the other two wolves. Both of whom shook their heads as well. "Then do you mind if we name you?" The wolves looked thoughtful and the black one with the grey stripe across his chest shrugged his shoulders. All three wolves nodded.
"How about Grey for you?" Artemis asked giving the black wolf with the grey stripe a playful elbow to the shoulder. The wolf stared into the distance for a moment before nodding. "Grey it is."
"How about Skeletor for you?" Phoebe asked the newest wolf with a smile and a friendly elbow to the ribs she was leaning on. He did indeed resemble part of a skeleton in the dying light. The wolf rolled his eyes and shook his head. Over my dead body, resonated through the hunters', god's, and goddess' minds. His voice was slightly deeper and his mental touch was colder than the other two and even seemed to have a hint of an Italian accent in it.
The names Shadow, Skotadi (Greek for darkness), Omega and several other names were mentioned, but the wolf rejected them all.
"How about something Italian then, since you almost have an accent," Phoebe asked. "Anybody know Italian?"
"Mama Mia!" one hunter exclaimed and several of the hunters dissolved into laughter. The newest wolf simply rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he had a small smile from their antics.
"How about Morte?" Apollo asked in a cryptically. The wolf's head popped up.
"What's it mean?" a hunter asked.
"Death," Apollo said with a sly grin that was almost creepy in the fire light. The wolf nodded to the name and lay back down.
"Now for you," Apollo said rubbing the tan wolf's head.
Names from Tony to Alpha to Aether were bounced around and the wolf declined all of them. A couple hunters had dozed off, but with three Olympians and three untested and unmatched wolves, they doubted that an attack would come. The hunters continued to pass names around until one of the younger hunters whispered something. The tan wolf's head popped up, much like Morte's did when his name of choice was spoken.
"What did you say?" Hestia asked softly.
"Animus," she said quietly. The tan wolf looked right at the young hunter and nodded.
"Latin for courage," Hestia whispered, but everyone heard it.
"Yeah," the hunter said in a quiet voice. "He saved us yesterday. And we didn't even know him. I was terrified, but he wasn't. When I saw him appear across from the black wolf, I mean Grey, I knew that we were safe."
The wolf gave her a small grin. It wasn't at all terrifying, if anything, it was comforting. The three wolves snuggled closer to the gods and hunters and went to sleep. The hunter curled up against the wolves and soon they all drifted off as well. Apollo and Hestia tried to take their leave, insisting that they had stayed too long, but Artemis insisted they stay and help her with something.
"If there are indeed more wolves out there, we need to find them," Artemis said. "I need to find them. I am going to attend tomorrow's meeting and seek his permission. Will you both support me in this?"
"Of course," Hestia beamed. "It would be my pleasure."
"Same here sis," Apollo said with a genuine smile. Artemis returned the smile and lay down against Grey. She had to admit, he made a great pillow. Apollo and Hestia also got more comfortable and soon, even the three immortals had drifted off to sleep.
The next morning came all too quickly for the hunt. The grass wasn't covered in morning dew, but there was still a small cool breeze. No one minded though as they lay against the warm, furry sides of the wolves. When the Olympians woke up they nodded to each other and Apollo and Hestia flashed out. Artemis stood up and stretched. Even if she'd only gotten part of a nights sleep, it was a good nap.
"You make a great pillow," she told a groggy Grey with a smile. The wolf just huffed and had a small smile, but stayed where he was. Hunters were still using him as a pillow, though one was unconsciously snuggling with the end of his tail. He saw his companions in similar positions, but none of them were quite ready to get up either. By nine o'clock all of the hunters were up and about and the wolves had gone to hunt. When they returned, Animus and Morte each had two deer while Grey had three. The wolves set their prey down and Grey picked up the largest of the deer and carried it over to the kitchen tent. He set it down in the preparation area, much to the surprise of the hunters on breakfast duty, and then walked back out. The three wolves ate their meals with the usual amount of crunching, though more pronounced with three wolves rather than one or two.
Artemis arrived at the kitchen just before breakfast was to be served to a heavenly smell. She walk into the tent and the aroma only got stronger. She watched at hunters finish making breakfast before she called one of them over.
"Amanda," she called, "what is for breakfast this morning?"
"Oatmeal," Amanda replied which confused Artemis as to the location of the smell. "And venison bacon and sausage."
"Come again?" Artemis asked. "Who went hunting this morning?"
"The wolves," Amanda said with a sly smile. The other hunter looked up from the plate of bacon she was holding and gave the same smile. Artemis was slightly dumbfounded. Then she brushed it off as one of the wolves oddities.
"Okay," Artemis said walking over and grabbing three strips of bacon of off the top of the heaping stack and eating them, "well they're coming with me to Olympus. I need them for the meeting."
The hunter simply nodded. Artemis then grabbed a handful of bacon off of the top and walked out of the tent. She strode over to the campfire where the wolves had finished their breakfast and the hunters were petting them and waiting for theirs. As soon Artemis got within ten feet of them, their heads snapped up with noses pointed in her direction and were staring at what she was holding. Artemis smiled and held out the bacon. All three wolves stood up and walked over. They sat down in front of her, focused solely on the handful of bacon she had. She gave four pieces to each wolf and ate the last two herself.
"Okay," she said, "now off to Olympus."
All three wolves cocked their heads in the exact same direction, at the exact same angle, and with the exact same look of confusion. Artemis stifled a laughed. "I would like to use you two," she pointed at Animus and Morte, "as proof that other wolves are out there and that we need to look for them." The wolves looked at each other and then all sat in thought. Artemis was positive that they were discussing it amongst themselves, but didn't interrupt. After a minute of deliberation the wolves all nodded. Artemis told them to close the wolves and her hunters to close their eyes and once they had done so, Artemis and the wolves flashed to Olympus.
