Thea sat up and grabbed her blades. She left camp quietly in search of food. Thea followed the prints of a deer, deeper into the forest. She stalked her prey, knowing from the tracks that it had a weak back leg. Thea knew the laws of nature, as well as a true hunter of Artemis. Any injured animal was not likely to survive long, and by hunting this dear, Thea was only hastening the inevitable. Stealthily, Thea followed the tracks, until she could see the dear's brown coat. Thea stooped down and threw one of her blades with deadly precision at the animals side. The dear fell, and Thea rushed over to it. As she finished the animal, she whispered,
"May you come back as a hunter and not the prey." This was her common parting blessing to the animals she killed for food. She cut through the animals chest until she found it's heart. She ripped it out and held it in her palm towards the sky.
"Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis, please except my offering." Thea called out. Moments later her hand which held the dear's heart was engulfed in blue flame. Thea smiled and waited for the flames to disappear. She knew that that the gods could not directly interfere in a quest, but for Thea's offerings, the moon maiden would always grant her food during journeys. She turned back to her kill, and sighed. By the look of the dears size, it was going to be a long walk back to the camp. She bent down and lifted the dear upon her shoulders. Grunting under the animals deadweight, she fell to her knees, panting.
"This must be what Atlas feels like." Thea groaned, trying to get on her feet.
"Need some help?" asked a voice that came from the trees. Thea gasped,
"Is that you Eusebios?" she asked, embarrassed that he should find her like this.
The young solider came out from the trees grinning.
"Quite a load you're carrying there. Is that all for you?" he questioned. Thea lost her grip on the animal and it slid to the ground with a thump. She gasped and had to take a moment to steady herself.
"I thought I could bring this back to camp as a peace offering to the soldiers who are not pleased with my presence on the journey." Thea answered, giving Eusebios a pointed look. The young man looked away from her gaze and retorted,
"A woman of your strength and skill should certainly be able to carry such a load."
Thea laughed at this."I can do many things, but carrying this animal is not one of them." Thea pushed aside her pride and asked, "Will you help me bring this back to camp?" she smiled at the young man who reminded her so much of the soldiers back in Sparta. Eusebios grinned back, latching on to the acceptance, and came towards the dear. The two shared the weight of the animal as they walked back to camp. As they approached camp, Eusebios stopped, almost causing Thea to drop her end of the dear.
"Did you hear that?" the soldier asked. Thea halted her breathing and heightened her hearing, trying to sense what Eusebios had heard. Suddenly, a scream tore through the forest. Thea dropped the dear to the ground and pulled out her blades.
"Go tell the others. Gather the weapons." she ordered the stunned soldier. With that, she raced off in the direction of the scream.
She dashed through the trees and saw figures in the distance. She slowed her pace and crept silently towards them. She could see her fellow soldiers backing away from a grotesque figure. She was facing the monsters back ,and could see it's mangled body, and the fear in the men's' eyes as they tried to move away.
"Where is the half blood?" the monster growled, causing the men to cringe.
"Perseus…" Thea whispered, pulling herself up a tree to get in range of the creature.
One soldier made the mistake of trying to strike. The creature grabbed his spear and pulled the man towards him. He reached out and grabbed the soldiers head in a large, mutilated hand, and squished it into his palm. Thea's mouth opened in horror, and she almost fell out of the tree, but the one who screamed was the remaining soldier. The monster switched his attention to him, leaving the others body on the forest floor.
"Ares, give me strength." Thea prayed, and she launched herself out of the tree, aiming her blades towards the creatures heart. At the last possible moment, the monster turned around and struck away her blades with a sword of his own. His powerful blow knocked her to the ground. The breath left her, but she pulled herself up gasping to the soldier, "Run!"
She moved between the soldier and the creature getting a good look at it's face. It resembled a human's, but was scared and mauled beyond recognition. His eyes were not those of any mans', but were the eyes of an animal. Thea only had a moment before he struck at her. The power behind the blows was stronger than anything she'd ever faced before. They left her staggering, and focused only on defending herself instead of trying to fight him off. She was pushed back, the monsters mouth changing from a grimace into a smile as he overpowered her. Thea leaped back trying to get some distance between them. She lashed out at the creature as he followed close behind her. He blocked her strike easily and knocked her blades away. Thea's eyes widened in horror as her weapons were battered out of her hands. The monster laughed, and sounded surprisingly human.
"You thought you could defeat me, woman?" he asked backing Thea up towards a tree. His rancid scent assaulting her senses, his eyes blazing. " I am blessed by the gods." he continued, just as Thea's back brushed against the tree. She grasped a branch to her side and snapped it away from the trunk.
"That makes two of us." she snarled lunging at him. She aimed for the creatures heart, but was blocked again by his sword. The monster struck her with his hand across the face, the force of the blow knocking her to the ground. Thea's cheek throbbed, as she lay on the forest floor gasping. Unwanted tears sprang to her eyes from the sting. The creature stood over her, sword poised over Thea's heart.