Hi guys! I'm-*gets hit by an 18 pound turkey*

Oww. Yes, I'm sorry for the radio silence for-what was it, 4 months now? College is hard, okay?

*Dodges arrow.*

Um...*plucks arrow with extreme caution. Takes off note attached to the shaft*

*Reads note*

Where am I during Thanksgiving? Well, I was mostly doing term projects for college-

*Dodges another rock*

Alright, alright, I'm sorry! I'm here now, so here's another chapter. Enjoy!

*Disappears into void*

Disgruntled.

In all the years of her life (and that's gotta be, what, several centuries now?) she had never been filled with such a strong desire to practice.

She was one of the archer twins, and she's the better archer twin. She didn't need to practice, because there's no one better than her. That's not just her opinion. It's an objective fact.

So when she saw Orion shooting down the thorny projectiles with arrows with the same ease she was used to, all she could think of is, "Holy me, that's my job."

And now she was even more split between killing him and recruiting him.

You came this far. Stick with the plan.

All things considered, Orion passed the test with the mistforms with flying colors. He didn't try to interfere until they actually needed help, and even then he left the killing to the hunters. She'd even say he had a bit of a hero complex, though he wasn't aggressive about it the same way the foolhardy actual heroes of these days were. Just ask Bellerophon and his abuse of his power over Pegasus. Or Theseus and his plan to kidnap Helen, who was flipping twelve, and make her his wife. Douchebags.

It was the same reason she chose to use mistforms instead of her real followers, really. Heroes had a tendency to kill people when things went sideways, and she didn't want to lose her companions over something as stupid as what was essentially a personality test in a job interview.

What the heck is a job interview? Eh, I'll ask Athena later. She'll know. In the meantime...

She was going to thank Hecate later. Maybe drop off a few pelts for her cave, or hunt a few rare monsters for their potion ingredients. That manticore the mistforms killed with those rocks disguised as arrows might still have some leftover venom after Orion finished harvesting it. Those didn't really show up in Greece. Heck, she didn't know what it was doing there, and she's the goddess of hunting. She usually had some idea of the movements of prey, even mythical ones. Might be because it was outside her pantheon, or something. She'll have a talk with Ahuramazda sometime. Maybe get him to ask Ahriman to tone down a bit on the destructive tendencies.

Speaking of destructive tendencies…

The giant Orion was marching toward Delos with a vengeful purpose in his gait. He's gotten himself a new pair of eyes, though it didn't look like regular eyes as much as mechanical pieces that fit over them. Hephaestus's handiwork, without a doubt. He had gotten into something he had called "steampunk" recently. Artemis recognized the distinctive style instantly, though he and Apollo had an argument when he first saw it ("Why are you using a style that wouldn't exist for another three millienia?!" "Well, it exists now!"). Nonetheless, she had no doubt that they could see just as well, if not better, than his original eyes.

She couldn't help but wonder if she made the right choice, however, as he marched towards her island with astounding speed.

Oh, he's caught on, hadn't he?

"My lady," Orion said stiffly, keeping his head bowed. Never let it be said that he didn't have good manners.

"Orion," Artemis looked like a fifteen year old-Orion wondered why. "I was wondering if you would show up."

Be polite. Try not to piss off the homicidal goddess.

"Who am I to disobey the whims of a goddess?"

Holy mother, that was far too passive-aggressive.

Artemis raised her eyebrow. "Indeed. You have proven yourself to be interesting, for a man."

"...Thank you?"

"Congratulations with the manticore." Did he hear a smirk in her voice?

"Thank you, lady Artemis," he said again, trying to be polite and confrontational at the same time and only succeeding in the former.

"And the Hunters."

My gods. She wasn't even trying to hide it.

"Yes, my lady." Then, before he could lose his courage completely, he added, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"I do, actually." When she didn't elaborate, he cautiously ventured on, "Did you...put them in my path?"

"Technically, that was Hecate. But yes, it was my idea." She walked closer to him, "Congratulations. You pass the test."

"Test, my lady?"

"Yes. It's a Secret Test of Character™ . You passed. Well done."

"I'm...not sure I understand."

"For your initialization into the ranks of the Hunters," she explained patiently. "This is irregular, but well done. You're invited to join my Hunters."