Artemis was interrupted in her weekly routine of cleaning all of her weapons by Talia kicking in the door to her room. The Great One's daughter stomped into the room and dropped a raw steak on a tray in front of her and stomped out. Artemis raised an eyebrow at the steak before getting up and following Talia outside.
"What, exactly, am I supposed to do with that poor cow you dropped on my floor?" Artemis called down the hall after the other woman. Talia spun around and threw her hands in the air.
"I am the Great One's daughter, I will not associate with the likes of him," she shouted, spinning on her heel and marching down the stairs, away from Artemis. She sighed, going back to her room and picking up the steak gingerly, averting her nose at the smell. She carried the steak downstairs to the main level of the castle, dodging Damian and knocking Harper into a wall on her way down the stairs.
She reached the main level and the clan members recoiled as she walked by with the slab of meat. They quickly made a path for her to the door to the dungeon. She wrenched open the door and stepped into the dark corridor, the smell of meat amplified tenfold. The one that they'd captured had been living down here for a week and the smell of wolf was already permeating the walls.
Artemis continued walking down the hallway, observing all of Castle Al Ghul's empty dungeons and wondering what they were for. The castle never had any prisoners, as Ra's was not a prisoner type of person. He usually just killed interlopers on first sight. She knew that this wolf was different, though, and that scared her. Ra's was even more ruthless than she had first thought, selling the kid to the hunters rather than form an alliance with the other families of the valley.
As she came upon the cell at the end of the passageway where the wolf was housed, she had to cover her nose with her hand. The werewolf noticed and started laughing maniacally, emerging from the shadows of his cell.
"Can't stand the smell of me, Babe? You know, you don't smell like lilacs and daisies either," he quipped. Suddenly, his eyes focused in on the steak in her hands. "Is that a T-bone steak you've got there, Babe?"
She rolled her eyes and dropped the tray on the floor, kicking it through the slot in the bottom of the cell. He fell upon the steak quickly, devouring it in mere seconds, looking at her expectantly with what would best be described as puppy dog eyes.
"What do you want, dog?" She asked, rolling her eyes at the pathetic look he was giving her.
"Was that seriously the only food you brought? C'mon, Babe, I'm starving here!" he said, patting his stomach. "By the way, the name's not 'dog,' it's Wally!"
"What do you want me to do about it, Wally," she sneered. "I was only given one steak. And I'm not about to go getting myself into a bind because you're a bit peckish. By the way, the name's not 'babe,' it'sArtemis."
"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he said, winking at her.
"Now where have I heard that before," she said, her tone mocking and singsong. Wally's stomach rumbled audibly.
"Please, Artemis? Can I have some more food? That was my first food in two days," he said, sobering immediately. She looked over the scrawny werewolf questioningly, not putting it beneath Talia to not feed the prisoner if she found the task distasteful. She nodded to Wally, picking up the tray that he had just finished licking clean.
She walked back through the hallway to the door, steeling herself for what was about to transpire. Finding her resolve, she banged open the door to the main hall, marching over to the door by the foot of the stairs.
"Talia," she yelled, hoping that her charade would prove effective. She was not mistaken. Talia soon threw open the door, her face a mask of annoyance and repulsion.
"What do you want, Parasite?" she sneered. Artemis felt like blanching, remembering exactly what happened to Cameron. She knew all too well what Talia was capable of.
"The prisoner is emaciated. You haven't been feeding him. I know you and your father, you don't keep prisoners unless you have some use for them I don't know what you're planning on doing with the dog, but he's not going to be much use to you if he's dying of starvation," Artemis said confidently, noticing the clan starting to emerge from the doors around the main hall.
"How dare you assume what the Great One's methods are!" Talia exclaimed, turning abruptly to face the door creaking behind her. Ready to unleash her ire onto whomever intended to interrupt her, she immediately sobered when it was her father who exited the room behind her. He put up his hand and she begrudgingly let him pass by her to get to Artemis.
She bowed, murmuring "Great One" as he approached her. Ra's raised her up, saying, "You are correct in your reasoning, child. I do have plans for the vermin, although they are not yet finalized. IF your claim is true, that my daughter has been neglecting her duties, go to Ubu and get him to give you more sustenance for the prisoner."
Artemis nodded, bowing again before turning in the direction of Ubu's hovel. She heard Ra's muttering to Talia as she walked away, smirking to herself.
She found her way to Ubu's hovel easily, mostly by following her nose. Walking through the archway, she came upon the remains of the poor cow whose flesh she had delivered to Wally. The massive man was hunched over the carcass, carving the remaining meat off of the bones, tossing the skin into a pile to be dealt with later.
Not one member of the clan knew how Ubu, a human, came to live with a coven of vampires but none of them questioned it. He generally only associated himself with the family Al Ghul, choosing to spend his remaining time with the cows and other animals that populated the fields around the castle.
The hovel stank of fresh meat and animal blood. Artemis tried and failed to keep a straight face as she approached Ubu. The hulking man stood up when she announced her presence, wiping the blood and gristle off his hands onto his primitive clothing.
"What does the mistress desire? Ubu is happy to offer his service to someone as prestigious as the Great One's prodigy," he said, tilting his head in her direction.
Prodigy, she thought, shaking her head at the notion. Ra's had put her in command of some things around the castle, but she surely couldn't be his favorite after his daughter.
"The Great One has sent me to fetch more food for the prisoner," she said. Ubu nodded, taking a machete off of the wall and slicing a hunk of meat in half. He picked up one half and put it on the tray that Artemis held out, trying to keep the stinking flesh away from her body. She nodded to Ubu in thanks and turned, walking back towards the dungeons.
She hauled open the door to the dungeons a second time, quickly making the walk to the farthest cell. Wally was waiting patiently where she had left him. His tail started thumping the ground when he saw the massive chunk of meat on the tray.
"Wow, babe, you really know how to treat a guy right!" he exclaimed, setting upon the meat instantly. He finished the meal quickly, nudging the tray back out to Artemis. "So are you in charge of feeding duties now, as opposed to that terrible soulsucker from before?"
"She is, isn't she," Artemis said, sitting down against the bars. "I guess I am. Why does your family want ours to join this League thing so badly?"
"I dunno. I guess it the old 'strength in numbers' thing. I think that you'dreally like Zatanna, she's a lot like you," Wally remarked, scratching his ear with his foot, his tail thumping and his tongue lolling out in bliss.
"So how does this half-wolf thing work?" Artemis asked. "I thought that your kind just changed during the full moon."
"'My kind?' Damn, Arty," he chuckled. "Actually, you'd be surprised how much that crazy lady with the vampire love stories got right."
"Really?" Artemis said. The entire valley had stories written about them but none seemed quite as bad as the 'sparkly vampire movies.' When the first one was published, Zatanna had shown up at the castle expressing her greatest condolences. "Every now and then we get some crazed girl that finds the castle and wants to be a part of 'the lifestyle.' We usually just drink her dry."
"Well, I mean you've got to eat. And what better to eat than someone that shouldn't be reproducing?" Wally chuckled. Artemis laughed along with him. It was nice, having someone to talk to that wasn't too scared to share their opinions.
"So, the way that the half-wolf thing works is that I can change halfway anytime I want, like so," he said. His fur receded into his skin and the hair on the top of his head changed color, becoming a violent orange from the previous subtle auburn. Freckles appeared under where the fur had been.
She smiled at the ginger mop on top of his head, reaching through the cell bars to ruffle it. He flinched under her touch at first, but smiled and played along as she continued toying with his hair.
"Red hair, it suits you," she remarked.
"You think?" he asked brightly. She nodded, getting up off of her position on the floor, turning to leave.
"You will come back, won't you?"
"Hmm?" she asked.
"It's lonely here. I like you. Please come back," he said mournfully. She nodded and walked back up the hallway to the door that lead to the main hall.
On her way back up the stairs to her own room, she nearly ran over Ra's.
"My apologies, Great One," she apologized. He nodded, stopping for a moment.
"Artemis, after your new duties, you have seemed to retain a certain smell. Would you please?" he asked. She blushed bright red, nodding profusely and reversing her rout to take her to the grotto.
She opened the door to the dungeon corridor and started the long walk down the hall. She heard strange sounds coming from the end of the hall, and started to walk a bit faster. Soon she realized that what she was hearing was Wally groaning. Worried, she walked as fast as she could without tripping and falling face first into the squirrel that she had on her tray.
Rounding the corner, she stopped dead in her tracks. Wally's back was pressed up against the cell wall, his pants laying in the corner with his letterman jacket. His teeth were pressed into his lower lip as his hand moved up and down along his impressive shaft, quickly gaining speed. He tilted his head back against the wall, releasing his lower lip, moaning hername.
Artemis fought back a gasp as a distinct 'hnnnng' escaped his lips, he nearing his peak. She watched, enthralled as his hand moved faster and faster, his hips bucking involuntarily. His breath hitched and his cock began to spasm in his hand, ejaculate coming from the tip in short bursts as he finished himself off.
The young werewolf's ragged breaths were the only sounds echoing around the chamber as he slumped his head back against the grimy stone, panting.
"Oh, babe, if only," he rasped out hoarsely, a slight chuckle in his voice. Artemis's cheeks flushed.
She kept her eyes on him, not even having had the decency to look away as he cleaned himself up and tugged his clothes back on. Her sharp gray irises took careful note of the freckles that dotted the landscape of his back like constellations in human form. The sound of his zipper being tugged into place, accompanied by the loud, demanding gurgle from his hungry stomach snapped Artemis out of her frozen state.
"Brought your food," she hastily announced, jarring him out of his reverie. He jumped up, his face coloring deep red, accentuating his adorable freckles. She blushed in response to his, setting down the tray and turning her back quickly, her hand going to scratch at the back of her head.
"How much did, uh, didja…" he began, trailing off. She tensed her shoulders involuntarily at the sound of his voice, heat pooling in her stomach. She shouldn't feel like this about a wolf, she couldn't feel like this. She be staked or left in the sun or something for even contemplating a relationship with a werewolf.
"Uh, um, yeah," she said awkwardly, tensing even further at the groan that escaped Wally's lips. The sound was so distinctly different than the sounds he had been making not five minutes previously, despite them being entirely similar. She couldn't help but picture him below her, groaning and whimpering because of her. Her imagination ran wild, creating a full blown sex scene in her mind. She had to get out of there before something popped.
"I'm just gonna," she said, hooking a thumb at the door. Wally let out a strangled "mmhmm" and pulled the tray of squirrel into his cage, setting to work. Artemis scurried out of the dungeons, feeling like she had the blood of a holy man thrown on her.
When Artemis reached the grotto, she quickly stripped her clothes off, slipping into the bubbling water. She sighed, flexing her toes in the warm sand at the bottom of the natural hot spring. She had been visiting Wally religiously for two weeks, bringing him a variety of raw meat. The two had grown quite close in their time together, each relishing the other's company. However, neither of them had the stomach to bring up what Artemis had started referring to as "the incident."
She took a sponge off a shelf and started scrubbing herself vigorously, ridding herself of the smell of wolf. As her hands neared her hips, she shivered, remembering just how arousing watching Wally masturbate had been. She slipped a hand between her legs, briefly teasing her clit before getting a better idea. Wading over to where the grotto was most bubbly, she felt around for the source of the bubbles with her hands, finding it quickly. She sank to her knees, positioning herself over the jetstream. The air blossomed up around her, the bubbles that hit her sex causing her to thrust and her hands to ghost over her stomach and hips.
Imagining Wally's hands where her own were located, she let her eyes flutter closed and her digits roam freely, a hand darting up to knead her breast while the other helped the jetstream along. She threw her head back as she neared her peak quickly, the water unrelenting. All that she could imagine was Wally. Wally's hands, Wally's mouth, Wally's cock; in, around, and on her. She didn't care how they got there or why, but just the fact that he wanted to touch her and for her to touch him was enough to almost drive her over the edge.
However tempting finishing the job herself might be, Artemis forced her hands away from herself, twining her fingers in her hair while the hotspring did its work. Her eyes practically rolled back in her head at the ecstasy the bubbling water delivered, warm and unrelenting. She arched her back as she came, moaning Wally's name, still holding tightly to the fantasy that he was the one causing her to see stars rather than a natural occurrence.
Her rapture subsided all too quickly, her hands untangling from her hair and her shoulders slumping. Now, she could not delude herself that any feelings Wally had for her were not mutual. She finished washing herself quickly, terrified of what the consequences for her feelings would be.