Week 1, Day 2

Artemis's POV

"I need you to teach me stuff."

I looked up, setting aside the arrow I had been whittling. I didn't HAVE to make any arrows in such a crude way, I could simply wish them into existence if I so pleased, but it was nice to keep my hands busy. Plus I didn't want to get out of practice. I needed to teach my new hunters many skills, and making arrows was one of them.

"What do you wish to learn?" I asked Meg.

She seemed to chew on the thought, humming a little to herself as she looked about the room, as if an answer would jump out from the walls. Finally, she seemed to settle on something, a determined look entering her eyes.

"I want to do what I said I'd so as Goddess of Redemption and Rebirth, but I don't know how. I feel this weird pull, and I THINK it's because I need to do something, but I don't know what or how. I just know that people need me, and I want to help them. Also…" here she hesitated, shying away a bit, as if not wanting to say something, to admit something, but needing to anyway.

"I've been having some strange dreams. I'm inside this weird, gross body, except that the person whose body it is is ALSO inside with me. And I hear these cries for help, because that person ate and consumed more people, and those he ate are asking to be saved. Also there's a lot of kittens mewing for some reason. It's not a normal dream, but I don't know what it means, and just… I want to help! They NEED my help! But I don't know HOW or WHERE or WHAT or… or ANYTHING!" I could see tears glistening in Meg's eyes as she cried out, but she didn't allow them to fall.

A feeling of dread trickled from my heart down to my toes. I wasn't sure what her dream meant, but some parts sounded familiar. Being inside a body, and having that body's occupant be able to physically manifest inside their own body… that sounded like a Primordial God. There were only a few that made sense. Ouranous and Gaea had been scattered. While they COULD have come back, I doubted it. If they did, we had a MUCH bigger problem on our hands. For now, I was going to rule them out, until new information emerged. That left Pontos, Tartarus, and Chaos itself as likely candidates. Pontos hadn't caused any trouble in millennia, and besides, Meg hadn't mentioned it being particularly wet. Any being trapped inside of Chaos would have dissolved, so I doubted that it was the culprit. Which only left…

I took a deep breath, trying to school my features into a neutral expression. Best not to show fear and make Meg more nervous than she already was. Besides, I could be wrong. Surely she wouldn't be called to battle against Tartarus itself when she had only just become a goddess? The Protogenoi were stronger than even the strongest Olympians. There was no guarantee she would survive such a battle, much less escape with Tartarus's prisoners. No, that couldn't be what her dream meant. It couldn't.

But it could, a traitorous part of me whispered. Apollo felt a pull to kill Python when he was just a few days old.

Yes, and it nearly killed him! I yelled at myself (mentally. I had good self-control. I had to, in order to help my Hunters… my Sisters.) That can't be what the dream means… I can't wake up to find that Meg has disappeared to fight a being that could kill even an immortal, and only be able to wait, knowing that it's too late to help if the worst has occurred… I can't go through that again. And Mom! She just adopted Meg. To lose her after that… I don't think a mother ever truly gets over losing their child.

I wouldn't tell Meg what I suspect just yet. She might try to run off to Tartarus. She and Apollo were more similar than I suspected either of them would admit.

"You know what my dream means," Meg suddenly interjected. I startled slightly. I'd been so deep in thought, I forgot that Meg was right in front of me, watching my face as I had the mental discussion with myself.

I looked her in the eyes. I wouldn't lie to her, but that didn't mean I had to tell her everything either. "I have my suspicions. I know nothing for sure, however. And I do not wish to speculate when my fears may be unfounded."

I stood up. "Regardless of what it means, I think it would serve well for me to teach you. You are already a fine swordswoman. You know how to fight as a mortal very well. Valuable skills, as too many gods become dependent solely on their power, and become too cocky. But you must also learn to tap your divine nature, learn to fight as both gods and mortals do, so you can unleash your full power."

I concentrated for a moment and changed shape, morphing into a copy of one of my hunting dogs.

"Transformation is one of the more underrated common godly powers," I told Meg, speaking aloud but not bothering to move my dog mouth. "It's not much use for brute force - not for a god - but it can be used to outwit an opponent. And for all a god's raw power, it is not much use against an intelligent opponent with the right preparation."

If Meg was going to fight against an opponent as powerful as a Primordial God, she would need to be taught well, and quickly. I would try to keep her safe as long as I could, but I would not smother her. The best way to keep her safe would be to teach her and support her, so she could survive anything the world threw at her. That was why I took in so many young women, even though the work I and my Sisters did was dangerous. The world was filled with danger. I would teach Meg to be even more dangerous. I would not lose her, as I lost so many others.

We practiced late into the night. Meg had trouble with larger forms, favoring the small and quick. She soon excelled at switching between such forms smoothly and naturally. She favored the form of a housecat most of all. I approved. They were small, vicious hunters, and very lithe and flexible, which I had a feeling would be invaluable in a fight against a much larger foe. They were also quite stealthy, so perhaps Meg could get away without fighting at all.

When the pull became too great, and Meg answered the call, I would ensure she was ready. I just hoped that I would have taught her enough.