So, I don't know what this is, or where it is going. I felt compelled to write after being overjoyed that there are readers that follow my writing. This is for you. This is an original work of which I do not have an outline for. That being said, I do not know how long it will be, or how often I will update it. I am at a loss for a better title. If you, reader, think of something better suited. Please allow me to consider it. And, I have no beta.

Trigger warning for violence, possibly non-consensual, implied, abuse, etc. If I missed anything that may possibly be triggering, please, please, please, let me know. I will try and keep triggers to a minimum, and will try and remember to make sure they are in place.

Italics are either an internal monologue or in certain instances, dialogue or a flashback.

Artio is a bear goddess in Celtic mythology. She is the goddess of nature, fertility, bears

I will continue adding bits and pieces of characters and myth as this work proceeds.

Chapter 6

xoxo

Her eyes followed the ripples of their wake until they disappeared completely from view. Deep breath. She kneaded her toes into the mud, sensing again the physical distance between herself and the children expanding, taking a part of her with them. Her shoulders slumped forward at the loss of her new and tiny family. Taking a deep inhale, she raised her face into the rain that was falling again. Had it even stopped? Balling her hands into fists, she released the breath she was holding. Get over yourself, girl. They at least will have a fighting chance. But she was here, right here, in this now. She knew this was her fight, as tears mixed with the rain falling down her face.

She continued digging her toes in deeper into the muck, cocking her head to the side as though listening for the sound of voices. The sound of the river faded as she closed her eyes, and concentrated on what she could feel. The world seemed to slow down around her. She could hear the sound of the individual drops of rain as it fell around her. The plop and tick of water as it strikes an infinite number of surfaces. And she was outnumbered, again.

Run. She shook her head clear, eyes flying open. We are here for you. Run!

She shook her head in the negative, it falling forward as she did so. She was so, so close. A swing and a miss. She almost got a chuckle out of herself.

She raised her face once again into the rain, issuing a silent prayer to what remained of the Universe, to protect that, which she cannot.

Eight. Let's dance. She snapped around, wings tucked, able to knock down the first two arrows, the third lodging into a tree at eye level. She charged her aggressors, teeth bared, mouth drawn, all the while scooping up the two arrows near her feet, wrenching the third from the tree she swept past.

She ignored the voices bouncing across her mind. Oh, she was going to run alright, just not to them. She didn't know how, but she shut out the sounds in and around her, until there was only the sound of her struggle.

The first hunter she came to was standing stock still, as he watched her approach, a look of shock on his face. His mouth gaping open as the arrow cast his way went right through his mouth, the tip peeking through, after lodging into the back of his neck. The next two were shaken from the same stupor, watching as their companion's body collapsed to the ground, both turning to run as she launched her next two arrows. She struck the man off to her right directly in the back, never blinking as he too joined the first. She grit her teeth, her wings sweeping forward, parallel to the ground, their very tips neatly removing his head from his shoulders, before his body could strike the ground. Blood splattered across her face as she continued, undeterred.

Her last arrow veered off course, striking her adversary in the left shoulder, an explosion knocking her backwards. She scrambled to her feet. Checking herself for injuries and finding none, she set out to finish what they had started. Five to go.

Drawing herself up to her full height, she closed her eyes once more and slightly turned to her left. When she opened them again she charged forward, flinching at the sound of gunfire, and again at the burning sensation that zinged across the rise of her left cheekbone. From the seam in her skin, a wide ribbon of blood crept down her cheek towards her jaw and chin. She swiped at it carelessly, all the while eyes never moving away from her next target. Leave them!

She continued her charge forward, ignoring the cacophony of voices in her head. Leave them, my love. They cannot follow where we are going!

"They cannot follow if they are dead!" She hissed aloud.

The man she wounded in the shoulder was crawling along the ground when she caught up to him. She ignored his pleas for mercy when she grabbed him by the shoulders. Dropping a knee squarely onto the upper portion of his back, she knelt close to his face. As his cries died down to whimpers she caressed his face, cooing at him all the while, then neatly snapping his neck. Dammit, I lost count! Three? I think it's three?

She remained on the ground, resting in a table top position on the dead soul beneath her, chest heaving from the adrenaline and exertion. She pushed herself away from the body until she was once again elbow deep in the mire. She stared unfocused, as blood dripping from her face, diluted itself into the brown rivulets of water swirling around her limbs. Her hands clenched fistfuls of mud and voices reached into the seat of her anger.

We know you can hear us. Come home. Come to us.

She let the voices free rein in her mind, unable to shut them down a second time. She growled an internal "No," and proceeded to rise again to a standing position. She swayed on her feet, eyes continually scanning the forest for the lives that sought to end theirs. She can feel them, the hunters, their fear is palpable and she wants to gag on the bile of it all. Suddenly her head snaps to the right, and she takes off running at a janky pace. As she proceeds, her legs seemed to remember what they are supposed to do, and the slogging became an incoming tide. She is in a full rage by the time she

finds her last two offenders. A primal scream erupting from the depths of her soul as she then turned to her left, with swift but waterlogged steps, encroaching on the next man. He launched himself in her direction, spear in hand, the other, a rifle at his shoulder

Once again, everything seemed to slow down, moving at a snail's pace. The round fired at her, stalled her forward progress, striking high into her left collarbone. Shock registered on her face as she collapsed to her knees. Another crack of gunfire and she landed on her back, body coming to rest against the base of a tree.

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Tears clouded her vision, two blurry figures approaching at a cautious pace through the woods into her line of sight. A weak, lopsided smile spread across her face, blood running from the corners of her mouth. She was dying. She was dying and she was happy about it. Peace. Tell the children... Peace she knows. Peace she can embrace. She would have liked to have lived long enough to raise the children, watch them grow, but somehow this will be better. No longer hunted, no more pain. Her eyes had begun to shutter themselves when she felt the butt of a rifle, press into the wound of her shoulder. A garbled cry and her eyes slammed shut. The lead bounty crouching down until he is level with her.

"You stupid cow. You disgusting piece of filth. I absolutely hate you and your kind. I hate you, I hate the weather. I hate that I am traipsing out here in this rot, only to have to drag you back to collect my bounty." He grabbed her face, the palm of his hand stretching from ear to ear, barely leaving room for her to breathe. Her eyes fluttered at the intrusion, her right hand swiping ineffectively against his strength. "Well let me tell you what's gonna happen next. I am going to snatch that stupid head of yours off your shoulders, stuff it in a bag, and toss it on the table at the next Council meeting." He slapped her face as he released her chin. "And then I am going to spend the summer, hunting down those little mutant shits you helped escape." She gave up trying to open her eyes, but sensing that he was within hearing, she choked out a whisper.

"Not today, cupcake." As she slumps over into the mire, there is a white light explosion that illuminates the darkness behind her eyelids. And even as she feels herself slipping away, she can hear the screams of the two remaining hunters, mixing with the ringing in her ears. And just as quickly as the explosion occurred, silence blankets them all. The screams have faded from whimpers to nothingness. The crushing weight of silence has fallen across the woods. She can feel warm arms cradling her body, shushing words of love as she fades away. "Oh my lovely, we were coming for you, and we are here now. And yes, we know you are so very tired, and have earned this rest. You fought so well, and the children are so proud of you, and love you. Go to that eternal rest. Sleep now. We will meet again in The After. I, will meet you in The After.

She follows the trail of silence into the darkness, feeling herself fall free of the burdens of the world.