"So what do we do now?" Hercules asked after a few moments of silence.
"Go stop the poachers." Kora replied as shortly as she brushed past him. Hercules sighed to himself, 'so we're back to the dictator-minion relationship we had last time she was the Huntress.' He swerved on one heel and jogged after Kora. They continued on their way for awhile in silence. Suddenly, Kora held up a hand, causing Hercules to come to an abrupt halt. Kora sank down into a crouching position, motioning for Hercules to follow suit. She pointed out a group of men skirting the edge of the woods off in the distance to the puzzled demigod. "It's them. Those are our poachers."
"How can you be sure?" whispered Hercules, "they could be hunters, or just travelers even."
"It's them. I can sense it. They have the feel of creatures slaughtered unjustly all about them" Hercules stared in awe at Kora.
"That's a Huntress thing, right? The whole sensing dead animals thing?" Kora paused only long enough to roll her eyes at Hercules before notching an arrow on her bow. Hercules watched as she took aim. With a start, the half-god realized that her arrow was pointed straight at one of the poachers' chests. And she was the Huntress--she wouldn't miss, and the hit would be fatal. "Hey, whoa," Hercules jumped in front of Kora. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Taking care of these poachers so we can get to the hinds as soon as possible."
"Yeah, I can see that, but do you have to kill them?"
"It is the will of Artemis. Those who kill animals sacred to Artemis, or kill any animals in lands sacred to the goddess of the hunt must pay for their wrongs with death."
"Listen, you kill them and you know that they're gonna have buddies who are going to be on our tails all the way to the Isle, and you know that's not really not something we need. Besides, the Kora I know wouldn't kill a man in cold blood. I know this Huntress thing changes you somewhat, but I'm not going to let it change you that much." Kora's face remained stone, but her eyes were a portal to the war going on in her mind. Finally, the Huntress made her decision.
"Alright, fine," she said coldly. Then, in a softer, kinder voice, Kora added, "Thanks."
"No problem. Anytime." Kora raised her bow again, this time taking aim right above one of the poachers' heads. She let loose, and the arrow flew through the air with a whistling sound. The arrow seemed to skim the top of the man's head. It thudded in the tree behind the man, his hat snagged by the arrow. The poachers twisted around in shock and gaped in the direction that the arrow had come from. Hercules and Kora ran up and confronted the poachers just as two of them tried to escape. As Kora fitted another arrow to her bow, Hercules grabbed the two escapees, picked them up, and hauled them back in front of him. (All this happened in a matter of seconds.)
The poachers trembled in fear as they stood, faced by these two young people. You didn't mess with the Huntress. These particular poachers might have had the guts to go up against her alone, but she was accompanied by a man with the strength of a god. And there were only five of them…maybe if the others were around…but they weren't. "You killed deer on lands sacred to Artemis," Kora stated in her no-nonsense Huntress voice.
'I don't remember Artemis saying anything about deer,' Hercules thought, 'must be another one of those Huntress things.'
Kora continued. "Normally, Artemis would have me kill each and every one of you for what you've done. Luckily, you've caught her in a merciful mood. She'll let you go if you never offend her again. Next time, Artemis won't be so kind. I suggest you leave her grounds before she changes her mind." The poachers needed no second warning. They ran as if Cerberus were nipping at their heels. Hercules and Kora watched them go.
"If it's Artemis' decree that all poachers be executed, are you going to be in trouble when she finds out that you let them go? If she comes, I'll take all the heat. I'm the one who wouldn't let you kill them."
"Somehow I doubt whether or not a few poachers were properly punished is the top thing on her mind right now. I'll doubt she'll notice." With that, Kora stalked off towards the east--in the direction of Artemis' Sacred Isle. "C'mon. We can't afford to waste any more time."
"Yes Ma'm!" Hercules answered, saluting Kora with a small smile. She ignored him, continuing on her way. Hercules' smile faded. "Well, excuse me for tying to lighten things up a little," he muttered to no one in particular before running to catch up with Kora.
That's all I've got for now! I'll keep going and get more posted as soon as I can. In the meantime, review and tell me what you think so I can have an idea if I'm doing good so far on this or not.