The soft thudding of supple leather boots filled the air; the girls seemed to fly through the forest after their prey, Tara in her place in the middle of the pack. The two years since she found the Hunt had changed the once small and slight girl into a lean warrior, who's sure footing belied strength and agility. A whoop sounded off to the left, and the girls leading Tara's hunting pack increased speed, signaling those behind them to keep up. Grinning with exhilaration, Tara followed their lead, sprinting ahead. It seemed that the other hunting party had finally caught sight of their prey.
Over fallen logs and through shadowed glens the girls rushed, a sense of excitement flowing through them as a whole unit; they were close to their query. Rushing around a crumbling stone outcropping, the leader of the group, the lieutenant Zoë, stopped short, barely winded. The girls, following her lead, also stopped short, a quiet look of confusion on those in the back. From around the other side of the outcropping stepped Phoebe and her group, all breathing lightly. With the two leaders of the hunt talking, Tara glanced over at the second group. There, in a position to the left front of the pack, stood a tiny black haired girl of Asian descent, no older than ten.
Sensing the gaze of her friend, the small, dark haired girl glanced over, breaking her attention on the older girls in front discussing strategy on how to finish the hunt. Her face broke into a toothy grin; no matter how many hunts they went on, Samantha Caslin always had a fiery, livewire excitement that tended to make heads spin. But it was that livewire energy that drew Tara to bond so closely her, and in the two years since Tara had taken her place in the Hunt, Sam was by far the closest friend she had; they had become comrades in arms, sisters, before anyone else had extended their hand to Tara.
"Art thou sure?" Zoë's voice snapped Tara's attention forward; it was time to end the hunt, one way or another.
Phoebe, the head of the other group and the best tracker they had, nodded. "If we are to have any help of succeeding in this hunt without the goddess, we must not kill the Teumessian fox. It is predestined. Our only chance at success is to lure it here and capture it; we cannot have it sent to the stars like its predecessor."
Zoë looked across the forest, her eyes scanning for the beast while contemplating the group's next move as a whole. Finally, she settled on a plan. "We wilt separate into three groups to trap this beast. Phoebe, thou taketh the fastest Hunters we hast and circle around. Be ready to lead the Teumessian fox hither. Naomi, taketh with thou the most skilled trappers we hast; thou will be the one to cage the fox. And I shall taketh the sharpest eyes and best archers. We will position ourselves among the rocks and trees; they shouldst giveth us a fair vantage point."
Although it took a few of the girls a minute to translate the orders, they quickly obeyed without needing prompting. The three groups were formed in less than a minute; Sam was among the runners. Everyone had found their place; everyone except for Tara. The lieutenant sighed and shook her head at the girl who was unable to decide which group would need her.
"Tara!" she called, startling the much newer girl, although she only let her surprise show with a straightening of her spine. She turned to her lieutenant, the silver circlet shining in the light of the Hunter's moon on the older girl's head. "Yes Zoë?"
Zoë studied Tara intently, as though she was some new species and Zoë was deciding whether to hunt her or not. She finally let out a sigh, "If ye are unable to determine with which group to go, just joineth the archers." What she didn't say but still hung heavy in the air was, It's where you'll cause the least amount of trouble.
Tara blushed, knowing that her indecision wasn't going to make her any more liked, and quickly walked over to the group of archers. The looks pointed at her ranged from annoyance to apathy to sympathy, but she turned away. Tara already knew she had to work harder to fit in among her new family; it wasn't like she needed a reminder.
With the teams set, Phoebe, Sam, and the others in their group ran off into the forest, awaiting the signal that would be given to lure the fox in. Naomi and her team quickly set to work, fingers and hands flying across branches and tying rope, creating complex knots that they quickly laid out in a pattern across the forest floor. Zoë glanced back at her squad of girls and they began to position themselves among the trees and on the rocky outcropping.
As the trappers on the ground were finishing, Zoë let out a shrill, three toned whistle. Birds flew up in surprise, the harsh sound startling them from their slumbering perch. With the last of the rope secured and hidden, Phoebe and the others retreated into the trees, their task completed. The whole forest seemed to await the Teumessian fox's arrival; even the wind died to a whisper, as if it too was holding its breath.
There suddenly came an inhuman shriek that gave rise to more than a few sets of Goosebumps. Thunderous padding footfalls came echoing against the trees, and darts of silver and dark blue shot through the clearing by the outcropping. Only meters behind them was a huge white muzzle, easily as thick as a full grown tree. Glowing orange-yellow eyes flickered like lamps, flickering between each of the Hunters it was pursuing, as if it was unable to choose the tastiest one to follow. With the last Hunter clear of the trap, Zoë loosed the first arrow, aiming it to pin the fox's tail to the ground. The rest of her group followed suit, each arrow falling less than an inch from the previous, quickly accumulating into a snare to pin the fox in place; or at least momentarily.
It was then that Phoebe gave a strong tug to the rope that she held, the one she rigged to trigger the trap they had assembled. Unfortunately, it was also at this moment that Tara let her last arrow fly, aiming to help secure the hindquarters of the fox. Her arrow strayed and instead sliced through the rope like it was made of paper, and Phoebe when flying back. The whole intricate network of ropes and knots fell apart, the sudden release of tension being exactly the opposite of what the trap was designed for, and it could not withstand it. The fox, sensing his chance, ripped his tail free, leaving only tufts of reddish-gold fur and patches of blood. With a bark of triumph, it turned and raced off into the trees, its destiny intact.
After everything that they had prepared for, the two weeks they had spent tracking the beast through Kentucky and into the Jefferson National Forest, it had all become so anticlimactic. No one said a word. Tara was wise enough not to move; she knew she had screwed up, big time. She'd be lucky if she didn't get saddled with tending the camp for the next decade for this. Before any stones could be cast however, the moonlight glowed bright, and somewhere nearby a wolf let out a long howl. A hawk screeched as it wheeled in the night air, and out from behind a sycamore tree stepped an auburn haired girl of twelve or thirteen. With her appeared the wolves the Hunters usually traveled with, and more hawks filled the sky.
"Lady Artemis," one of the Hunters murmered, casting her eyes down and bowing. The rest followed suit, leaving only the Goddess and her lieutenant, who made a quick half bow, and then straightened to give a report. "My lady, we were unable to slay the Teumessian fox. There was an, accident, and it escaped."
Artemis did not look surprised. "The Teumessian fox is fated never to be defeated. It would have surprised even me if you would have been able to subdue it without Laelaps. And we remember what happened last time that was attempted." Zoë nodded, although she didn't seem appeased with her goddess' answer. "This hunt was just an exercise in tracking and trapping," Artemis continued, looking to her newer Hunters. Tara couldn't quite meet her eyes, which seemed alright, because Artemis' gaze seemed to purposefully sweep over her, skipping from one archer to the next. "We will make camp here for the night. I have not returned from my meeting on Olympus alone. Expect a visitor come morning." With that, she turned her attention from the group, focusing on just her senior Hunters.
As the Hunters began to form camp and the archers descended from their perches, Tara sought out solitude, quickly and quietly slipping around and under her friends and fellow Hunters' angry glances. Shouldering her bow, she only had to mutter a quick, "I'll be on first watch," and they deemed her redeemed enough to at least ignore her presence for now. Only one person actively attempted to seek her out, and Tara couldn't figure out if she was more grateful or annoyed at her best friend.
"What are you doing, Sam? I'm on first watch. Grab some food and go relax in a text." Her friend could see how much her failure was weighing on her shoulders though, and refused to leave. "Hey now. Everyone screws up once in a while." Tara shot a dry look over at Sam. "Ok, ok, so you really screwed up. But hey, if Lady Artemis said it was fated that that fox wasn't supposed to get got, then maybe you just screwed up through divine intervention." She shrugged her shoulders and continued. "It's not like it couldn't happen."
Tara cracked a smile. Even when she was in her deepest sulk (although she would never admit out loud to anyone that she actually sulked) that kid could pull her out and into a good mood again. "Yeah yeah, alright. Whatever you say." Tara acquiesced. Sam stretched, her back arching in an almost feline manner. "Sucks that you have first watch. Guess if it gets the others off your back for screwing up, then it's the least you can do. I'll see you later." With that, the little black haired girl walked back into the protective glow of the cook fires that had sprung up within minutes, their warm glow banishing the cool October shadows.
Tara didn't intend to give up watch that night; she knew that the loss of the hunt was on her shoulders alone, and she would bear the burden of punishment, even if it had to be self-inflicted. The moon continued its parabolic journey across the sky, the quiet of the night only rarely interrupted by the hoot of an owl calling overhead. The others had stopped coming to relieve her after she had sent the first two replacements away; there was only one other girl on watch, and she stood at the opposite end of camp.
A heavy mist began to collect along the ground as the sun drew closer to cresting the horizon, the vapor muffling sounds and obscuring finer details. The soft sounds of sleep could still be heard from the direction of camp; the Hunters had yet to awaken. Likewise, the wild was full of the sounds of its denizens either returning to their homes to sleep the day away, or just waking up, ready to stand in the sunshine. And then, almost indistinguishable among the soft sighs of the waking and sleeping, came a pair of footsteps headed slowly but surely in Tara's direction. Wondering if this was the visitor Lady Artemis spoke of, she cocked her head to listen more closely, but then recoiled as her ears registered the heavy footfalls of a man. Her eyes confirmed what her ears already knew when he came around the corner, the first of the day's rays of sunlight playing across his face and hair. Tara drew her hunting knife; this situation would not be easy. If this was Artemis' guest, then she could not attack him without embarrassing the goddess and the Hunt further. However, if this was merely some boy who had stumbled across their camp, then she would be well within her rights to take him down on the spot.
While she glanced back to the semicircle of tents, the older boy studied her, an easy grin on his suntanned face, his clear blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "So," he said, clearing his throat and shifting his weight onto one leg, the picture of ease, "you must be one of Artemis' girls." Tara's grip on the knife relaxed slightly. He wasn't just some wandering fool then; he knew the Goddess. That didn't mean that he was not a threat. He flipped his honey blond hair out of his eyes in what seemed to be an attempt at flirtation. "I see you Hunters get cuter and cuter each year." Tara narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist around her knife once again; guest of Lady Artemis or not, no one flirted with the Hunters.
Noticing the angry glare and murderous intent, the stranger attempted to backpedal. "Whoa, hey there. No need to get upset. I just said you're cute. Anyway I'm just here to visit my sister. But feel free to leave out the part where I said you girls were cute." At this point he winked. "She doesn't like me flirting with her Hunters." And that was when it clicked for her. She was standing in front of Lord Apollo, god of the sun, archery, music, and (really bad, from what the others said) poetry. Taking three large steps back, Tara tried to calm herself. He isn't here for any of us. It isn't like that. It won't be like that. Lady Artemis will protect us. Besides, he just wants to see his sister. Without a word to the sun god, Tara motioned him to follow her, quietly leading him through camp to Lady Artemis's tent. The other girls were just beginning to wake; some stared out of their tents at her, leading a male through camp. Great, she muttered to herself, one more reason for everyone to think I'm useless. They probably think I invited him here.
The pair stopped in front of Lady Artemis' tent. Within minutes, the Goddess emerged, looking only slightly annoyed to see her brother. "Little sis!" Apollo cried and tried to hug her. Artemis neatly sidestepped him and turned to Tara. "Thank you for delivering my brother to me. I hope he did not cause you too much trouble." Tara stayed mute at this. Artemis turned to her brother. "I believe we have something to discuss?"
Apollo's expression sobered. "Yeah, we do." He turned back to Tara, and gave a quick smile. "Thanks for bringing me here without killing me." Tara nodded and turned away with what was almost a faint smile on her face. Almost.