Noctisardor Bypass goddess of the hunt

For the first time in days, Haunt woke without a severe headache. Her head still hurt, yet she could stand up and move around without feeling like she might pass out, throw up or worse. Now she became aware of the wounds on her neck; they were mostly healed and itched fiercely. Trying not to rattle her head too much, she sat and reached up a hind leg, groaning deeply as her nails raked over the knitting flesh.

After the itch ceased, she set her foot on the ground and sat up straighter, looking around herself. She had been pretty disoriented for a while, though now her head felt a little clearer too. Haunt could not remember what had happened the night she'd hit her head, though she vaguely remembered running off with @Vex to track @Kaertok. When she thought of their father now, it left her feeling very hollow.

Licking her chops, she pushed onto all fours and began to meander through the bypass. She checked on her neglected caches, then considered trying to hunt some small game. She thought about her efforts to capture something to set aside for her father but let go of that idea with a sigh that resonated in her core. He wasn't coming back and @Arbiter wouldn't let her go after him. It was a lost cause.

Something flashed in the trees ahead, scattering Haunt's thoughts and making her freeze watchfully. Her yellow eyes widened as she watched a young doe bound away, quickly vanishing. She didn't attempt to give chase, not just because it was a lost cause but because the sight suddenly triggered the recollection of a dream. She hadn't dreamed much since her early childhood but this one had been spectacularly vivid...

"Come with me," the gray she-wolf said to Haunt, who could only stare at the antlers thrusting from her head like a crown. "I will show you how to hunt, so you can feed your children. Come, arktoi..." She bounded away into the forest, leaving Haunt no choice but to lope after her.

They came to a stop at the top of a hillock overlooking a small valley full of deer. Haunt peered down at them hungrily but her guide stayed her with a paw. "There is much to learn before we hunt, little she-bear. And you must honor me. Pay homage to Artemis and you will enjoy great success in your hunting endeavors. Do you understand, arktoi?"

Someone called her name in the present, jolting Haunt out of her recollection and earning a small wince as her temple pulsed with pain.

vex, though not the fussing type — or the type to show much beyond disdain most days — worries after haunt. he swings by the den she was recovering in several times a day, even just to poke his head in and assure himself she was still breathing. unsure what to do with the guilt and the worry — both new and gnawing feelings — vex tries to burn them off in small hunts and patrols. these are exaggerated about staying firmly within legion’s borders no matter how his paws might itch otherwise. it’s not even a desire to find their wayward and missing father anymore. it was the burning need to hunt down the sonofabitch that had tore after haunt and hurt her.

haunt! vex hadn’t even realized he’d been following her scent trail — hadn’t even realized he subconciously noted that she was up and about — drowning in burning dreams of revenge; the need to protect his family, his sister.

hey, he quickens his pace to catch up to her. are you okay? why’re you out? you should be resting. he disapproves and makes no effort to hide it.

word count: 192

As the pain subsided almost as quickly as it came, Haunt became aware of her brother's rebuking tone. "Keep your voice down, please," she said to him brusquely, though she softened its sharp edge by nipping at his cheek. "I'm okay." She huffed out a breath, ruffling his fur, before answering to his other indictments. "I needed to stretch my legs and get some fresh air."

She swallowed as she considered asking Vex about what had happened that night. But Haunt decided she didn't care enough to know. It couldn't be anything good, after all. The skin at the back of her neck began to prickle and that was all the reminder she wanted. She very nearly asked him to help her scratch the itch, though Haunt didn't even want to acknowledge it out loud.

Instead, she asked something that would likely strike him as a total non sequitur. "Do you know anything about gods and goddesses?" Artemis had never called herself as much, verbatim, but in the dream, Haunt had simply known she was in the presence of the divine.

haunt’s voice is brusque and sharp as she asks him to keep his voice down though she offers him a nip on his cheek as if to tell him she hadn’t meant to speak so sharply at him. vex doesn’t apologize but at least has the decency to look sheepish and slightly apologetic as he grimaces. right. her head probably still felt like a lumberjack was trying to split it with an axe. vex studies her closely for a moment, making sure she is actually ‘ok’ enough to be out and about but is nevertheless glad to see her on her feet.

that was a good sign, right?

sure, vex murmurs, making an effort to keep his voice low for her benefit. it’s good to see you awake and on your feet. though vex isn’t sure how to communicate that it fills him with relief and joy, that simple gruff admittance was as close as it would get. you should probably know that we’re basically never allowed to leave legion’s borders. ever. he offers the information, perhaps a dramatic exaggeration — or perhaps not because arbiter was pretty pissed at him that night and probably presumably afterwords and he wouldn’t put it past his mother.

her question throws him; coming from his point of view as entirely out of the blue. he blinks at her slowly, confusion playing across his visage only to smooth out as he considers her question. gods and goddesses? for the life of him, vex couldn’t recall anyone ever telling him much about deities; if at all. no, i don’t think so. he hedges, offering her a small shrug of his shoulders. other than the fact that mom might legit be some war goddess reincarnated? he adds, with a small grin.

seriously though, i don’t even know who to direct you to for uh, godly stuff. he wasn’t super sociable beyond his family; keeping his inner circle tight — and probably because he was amassing a reputation for being a total assbutt and bully to boot. why? he asks, softly, wondering what brought the sudden question about.

word count: 351

Her question seemed to throw Vex, though he did his best to answer. His remark about their mother earned a thoughtful frown from Haunt. It wasn't surprising to hear she'd prohibited them from leaving the bypass after what they'd done. Haunt was in no condition to disobey anytime soon, though she knew—and their mother must know too—it was only a matter of time before she breached the borders again.

None of that mattered at the moment. Vex continued pondering aloud over her query. Now the pale girl's expression shifted to one more quizzical. Did she even want to consult with anyone about "godly stuff"? She'd have to think about it. For now, she was merely curious about the dream, where it had come from and what it could possibly mean.

"I just had a strange dream," Haunt said in reply to his, "Why?" "There was a gray she-wolf with antlers. Wolves can't have antlers, can they?" An ear splayed. "She called herself Artemis," and she'd referred to herself in third person. "And she called me..." Haunt paused, working her tongue to make sure the dream-word came out correctly. "Arktoi. It means—I'm pretty sure it means—'little bear.' I don't know how I know that," she finished, her tone wondering.

vex isn’t sure if he believes in anything he can’t actually see, touch, experience. gods and goddesses and faith was asking a stretch of his imagination and sparked little but utter skepticism in him. still, vex’s gaze as she speaks, admitting that she had a ‘strange dream’ is soft, curious. notably different from the normal cold, cutting gaze he usually adopts with others. he tries, for her sake, to have an open mind as she talks about a wolf with antlers. no, i don’t think so. he murmurs when she asks if wolves could have antlers. if they did i’d probably try to hunt them. vex jokes with a snort and lets it falter soon thereafter not wanting to think he wasn’t taking her seriously.

because he was.

artemis, he repeats in a low rumble to himself, testing the strange but not entirely strange sounding name upon his tongue. there is something about it that holds a lulling sort of similarity to the adult rank titles of legion. it’s a strange connection he makes, without much validation on whether it was correct or not. where ever it came from, it wasn’t from kaertok’s language.

that doesn’t sound like dad’s language. vex surmises, tone hedging, ears fluttering back to rest at half mast atop his skull. he was fairly sure bear was something like nanuq. maybe it’s a sign or something. vex says, unaware how steeped in voodoo their bloodline is.

word count: 240

Her ears both fell backward when he mentioned Kaertok in passing. "No," she murmured in agreement, pondering his prior statement for a beat before saying, "She told me that if I paid homage, I would become a more successful hunter. I don't really know what that means. Do you?" She had an inkling, helped along by that special brand of inherent knowledge within the dream. But Haunt didn't know what it meant in practice...

...in case she wanted to do that: practice. "It couldn't hurt, could it—to pay this homage, I mean? What if it really did help me become a more successful hunter?" There were few things closer to Haunt's heart than hunting. She would do almost anything to become a better one. Paying homage didn't seem like a particularly steep price, though of course she didn't have much clue.

But maybe Vex did. She looked to her brother, catching his eye. A soft smile of gratitude was given for humoring her and not poking fun. All of this might sound so random and ridiculous, Haunt realized. Yet he looked as serious as heart attack, which meant a lot to the pale ghost.

homage? vex repeats; testing the word out on his tongue. it sounds sophisticated and …suspicious. like …paying respect maybe? he attempts to puzzle out, just choosing that particular phrase because it used the keyword before it same as her ‘paid homage’. he could be deadass wrong, of course, but there was an inkling, same as his sister’s unspoken one that he probably wasn’t; or it could just be his general arrogance.

i guess not, vex hesitates, chewing on the inside of his cheek in thought. he squints at a rustle in the dying underbrush; the rotting leaves not yet having fell off rattling against one another as a frog hops out. what if this artemis asks more than you’re willing to give? vex asks, surprising himself by the worry bleeding into his voice. perhaps, he considers, he’s not half as skeptical about the idea of gods and goddesses as he’s so willing to believe.

you’re already a natural hunter, haunt. he tries to bolster her confidence with what he thinks ( and therefore knows ) is the truth. he almost offers to ask around about this artemis to see if anyone outside of legion knew anything about this strange antlered wolf but then remember’s he’s friggin’ grounded. being grounded sucks. he mumbles following his own trail of thoughts without specifying context to haunt.

…but it’s your choice. if you think she can help you and doesn’t ask anything too crazy of you, then, y’know. go for it. if you want.

word count: 248

She nodded when he parsed out the meaning of "homage," though it seemed Vex didn't know much more than she did on the topic. He skeptically pointed out that Artemis's price might be higher than Haunt was willing to pay, which was entirely possible. Until she understood what the goddess might want from her, she couldn't really say, nor could she make any decisions.

Her brother cut in with a non sequitur, right after complimenting her skills. Haunt's lips twitched into a faint, empathetic smile. "It won't last forever," she said quietly, "it can't." She had been very disoriented since returning to Legion's fold, though Arbiter's clear wrath hadn't escaped her notice. And Haunt didn't expect leniency for her injuries.

Haunt nodded at Vex's assessment and said nothing more on the subject. She did say, "I bet Royal's mad at us too, isn't she?" She couldn't remember seeing their sister, though she'd been out of it quite a lot. Haunt's lips pursed, though she found she didn't feel overly anxious about it. Surely Arbiter and Royal would forgive them in time. In the meantime, Haunt and Vex had each other.

"But," she spoke again after a couple beats of contemplative silence, "even when we're allowed, I don't think I'll go after Kaertok again." It felt too intimate to call him "dad" now. "I think he left us, Vex."

yeah, vex murmurs, uncertain. it wasn’t like he had any sort of idea when he ( and haunt ) would be trusted with being allowed out of the bypass; it could be weeks, months, years. the last of which seemed a bit extreme to him because they’d be adults in an exact year’s time. still, without a clear and cut directive of when vex doesn’t look for it to lift anytime soon. for haunt, this was probably good. she was still healing — at least vex thought she was but he was no medic. for vex, it drives him a bit stircrazy …but at least he wasn’t prowling around being an assbutt to underserving wolves ( at least, for now ).

probably, vex snorts. it’s not like she talks to me so even if she is, there’s no difference. the truth was he and royal were probably too similar …but maybe they weren’t at all. after all, as far as vex was aware, she was too busy trying to be the perfect daughter. vex had ambition too but he was also a free thinking, wild, rebel child. he doesn’t even think she visited haunt which sits wrong in vex’s chest. even if royal did speak to him, he’d probably accuse her of a lot of unfair things — largely of not caring about haunt like she was supposed to.

the admission that haunt gives him feels heavy, the use of their father’s name out loud settling like a weight vex had been trying to avoid upon his shoulders. maybe kaertok wasn’t worth it …but vex finds himself gritting his teeth all the same. i am, he declares with a huff, hoping that haunt won’t tattle on his future plans when he’s allowed to roam again. because if you’re right haunt, if he really left us... we deserve to know why. we’re his friggin’ kids.

vex wants answers, answers that he could only get by tracking kaertok and demanding them; more than that he wants kaertok to feel the sting that vex feels now: burning in his chest, in his lungs.

word count: 346

The words came out quietly, slowly, yet with a conviction Haunt didn't know she felt until they were spoken. She wondered if Artemis had told her this, though Haunt couldn't recall that part of the dream. She only knew that her feelings about her father's departure had shifted significantly. Her lips twisted thoughtfully, particularly when Vex insisted he would track down their father to get some answers. That was fair. Besides, Haunt wanted to show support, like he'd done for her.

"You're right. We deserve answers," she murmured in agreement, grimacing as that hideous itch flared suddenly at the back of her neck. This time, she couldn't resist and positioned herself to scratch at it again, though she kept her face turned toward Vex. "I would go with you, if you wanted," she added, which went directly against what she'd just said, but she'd do that for her brother.

As she took care of the unpleasant tickling at the base of her skull, Haunt realized something: she and Vex had grown much closer since Kaertok's departure. It was the silver lining of an otherwise awful situation and it left her feeling a strange mixture of fortunate and guilty. Some of that culpability came from their aforementioned sister. Conversely, Haunt felt like she'd drifted away from Royal. When she sat her foot down again and straightened, there was a strange glister to her yellow eyes.

"I don't know how long it'll take to heal," she said, "but once I'm better, maybe we could make a plan." It would be better than spontaneously running off into the wilderness, with hardly a lead to guide them. "In the meantime, I'll try to figure out how to pay this homage to Artemis, in case it helps us hunt him down."

it wasn’t about bringing kaertok back anymore; haunt giving voice to something vex secretly pondered in the deep throes of night when he pretended to be asleep but instead kept playing it over and over in his mind. if kaertok didn’t want to be apart of their lives anymore well, then, that was fine; truth was, it wasn’t fine but vex was full of biting bravado that helped convince others ( himself ). he clung to it like it was his lifevest. either way, coming to the conclusion, or even acknowledging, that clearly their own father didn’t want them anymore left a wound in a boy’s heart that could not be sutured.

i’d like that. despite the scowl that twists vex’s visage, his voice is soft; thick with sappy emotion towards haunt. vex wanted her to be his back up, to give him the strength he’d need to face kaertok and demand what he wanted.

yeah, a plan sounds good, vex agrees. alright, vex drawls. and i’ll try to talk to mom. maybe i can convince her to let us go so we don’t have to sneak out. maybe she’d be more willing if we could get warlock to go with us. though, admittedly, vex isn’t too confident of how much talking about trying to find kaertok arbiter’ll allow him to do currently. likely, the last thing their mother wants to hear is that they ( he, mostly ) wants to set out again so soon after the disastrous first time.

even so, vex isn’t likely to give up. this matters too much to him, even if he has a sinking feeling that he may not like what kind of answer he gets if and when they catch up to their wayward father.

word count: 289

Vex mentioned talking to Arbiter and that earned a sharp glance from Haunt, only for it to soften over the next few beats. It was probably a lost cause, though maybe it would be better to approach her directly. Haunt would prefer to inform their mother rather than ask permission, per se, but perhaps that was just a youthful wile. Maybe Vex was right and bringing along an escort would sway the matter. Haunt still doubted, though her brother's ideas certainly had merit.

"I'm sure she wants answers too," Haunt murmured thoughtfully. What if Arbiter herself went with her children on their quest for answers? It seemed just as unlikely as anything else, though she added, "We'll discuss it more later. For now, want to walk me back to bed? My head's starting to hurt again," a dull pounding beginning in her temple, the yellowing bruises there hidden by her white fur.

vex ignores the sharp glance he earned from haunt at the casual mention of asking permission — or informing, whichever worked to his best advantage — about their plan to find kaertok again. if there was one thing he learned in the past few days ( week? ) was that sneaking out had accomplished literally nothing for either of them besides her injury and their mother’s wrath and the subsequent hawkish following of his every move, lest he try it again. even if she said ‘no’, vex would keep hounding her, true to his name, until she relented.

and …goin’ behind mom’s back got us nothing but trouble. vex points out, feeling the need to reiterate it ( for her sake or his own, it didn’t matter ). maybe, just maybe, showing determination and maturity to come to her this time with a detailed plan might win her over. maybe it was wishful thinking, either way, vex wasn’t going to put this matter to bed.

sure. vex agrees, falling into a silence that feels comfortable as he escorts her back to where she’s been recuperating. he lingers for a little bit, just to be extra sure she was okay before he turns and heads towards the borders for a patrol.

word count: 207