Chapter 17

The conversation Artemis had with Dash instantly changed her point of view of him. After viewing him as a stuck up snob since she arrived, she never realized how similar they both were. With this new knowledge running through her mind as she flew home, she decided she wanted to try to be friends with him. First things first, she was going to sleep on how a friendship would blossom.

Next morning, Artemis got up and went straight to her closet and began picking out her outfit for the day. She put on her corset top, pants, her boots, and because the storm fairies were planning on practicing their talents, she put on a jacket and cloak. Donning her usual single braid, she took a look at her faded brand in the mirror and wondered what it could mean. Then, she left her home and went to the hawk.

The hawk was waiting for her in their usual spot and surprisingly didn't bite her in greeting. Instead, it walked up to Artemis with a calm demeanor. It was rather strange considering the large bird had tried to kill her numerous times and now it was looking at her as if it was expecting to be stroked. Even though she knew it wouldn't really understand her, she couldn't help make a comment about it.

"What's your deal hmm? One minute you were wanting to kill me, and now what? Also what's with the branding, how did that get there?" Artemis's questions came out of her mouth, but of course there was no answer.

Tentatively, she reached out to stroke the birds feathers in case she would have another vision. Nothing happened, but the feeling of petting the hawk was rather soothing.

Sighing, "I'm never going to get an answer am I?" She asked aloud, but of course there was no answer. "I suppose I could check on your wing while you're all calm right now and then maybe work on coming up with a name for you." She went on as she began undoing the hawks bandaging.

Once the homemade splint was undone, the hawk immediately began stretching its wings. It looked certainly much more happy to have the bandage off and then without warning, began trying to get off the ground.

"Hey wait, I need to make sure its all healed!" Artemis shouted at it.

Paying no heed to her shouting, the hawk flapped its wings and sluggishly it was up in the air. Surprised and excited at seeing the large bird fly, Artemis watched as he got higher in the air. Then with a determined look, the hawk took off with no problems at all. It only took the animal fairy a couple of seconds to lose her excitement of the birds flight and replace it with worry over what would happen if it flew off in an area with a lot of fairies.

Going after it, she found herself flying further in the little wood she spent so much time in. It was rather eerie, but she continued until she decided to land on a tree branch and look around for it this way. Artemis was only met with silence, until she heard the sound of flapping wings. Looking in the spot the sound was coming from, she waited for it to come into sight. Then out of nowhere, she was nocked off her branch and began falling towards the ground.

Righting herself up, she began flying to the ground and turned around to get a better look at what nocked her off the branch. There was nothing, until she turned around and was met with the red eyes of none other than the bird from her nightmares. The crow seemed to stare at her in menacing way and it made all thoughts of flying away leave the animal fairy's mind. Walking backwards, she could've sworn she heard the sound of different wings flapping in the sky, but her fear of the dark bird in front of her over took her thoughts.

Artemis saw the crow move slightly and she immediately knew it was going to come after her. Then, without warning, large talons grabbed her and she was then dangling in the grip of large claws in the air. Looking up, she was met with a remarkable sight. The once aggressive hawk who had tried to kill her in the past, was now saving her from the crow she had feared for so long. Immediately she heard the crows loud caws and looked behind the hawk to find the black bird following them. If looks could kill, the expression the crow was giving them would've ended her on the spot.

The hawk flew on, with the animal fairy in its grasp, farther into the Autumn Forest. The farther they went in, the more difficult it became for the large bird to fly. Eventually, after being stopped by a thicket of trees with thorns, the hawk began to fly up past the trees and into the clear sky. The crow continued its pursuit, chasing them without loss of breath. Then, Artemis began to see a shimmering in the distance and then the next thing she knew, she felt a surge of powerful energy flow through her and both her and the hawk almost flew into a large tree covered in green leaves.

Then, without warning, the hawk used its leg to toss Artemis in the air and she was then on its back. Artemis would've felt excited about flying on the hawks back, if they weren't being hunted by the crow. Looking behind them, Artemis saw the crow was nowhere in sight. Continuing to look around for the black bird, she then noticed a little too late what they were going to fly into. Not able to stop the hawk, they then flew into a trap dangling from the tree branches. For the second time in Artemis's life, she was locked in a cage with no way out.

Author's Note: Hello ya'll I'm back with another chapter, this time its a little bit more exciting. I want to thank you all again for continuing to follow this story even though it takes a little bit for a new chapter to come out. Now I'm starting to get an idea of where I am in this story and basing it off of what I have planned on how to progress this story, I'd say we're at the halfway marker. I'm going to be delving deeper into Artemis becoming a Hawk Rider, her relationship with Dash, and her facing the villain Morwen. I also kid you not, I've already got the chapter planned out of when Artemis meets her mysterious sibling and I think it'll surprise you of who it is (it's not the next chapter). If you have any thoughts on who you think it'll be, you can leave me a comment but I am not revealing anything. TinkFan4Life I hope my pm answered your questions and I want to thank you again of your continuous reviews. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible, so take care until then!