Artemis

Artemis

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Artemis is a strange child. She wandered into the clan one day, played with the other young hatchlings, and disappeared into the woods before any of the adults could stop her. But she kept coming back, and she was well-fed and well adjusted, and Euryale couldn't follow the hatchling through the woods no matter how hard she tried, so she could never confront her parents about their hatchling's wayward behavior. Even Enishi lost her not a half mile outside clan boundaries.

When she finally came of age, Artemis arrived at Clan Hunting Alpha like she always did. That's the night she refused to leave.

She's an unnaturally good hunter. Sometimes she'll chase something for miles only to drag it back to the lair after everyone's given up on looking for her. Sometimes prey will simply lay down at her feet and she'll gut them without a fight. When she's not hunting (which she chooses capriciously), she joins Icewing and Iuriel in clan-guarding duties. She and her mate Orion are often found at the edge of the clan. If they want to be found. Despite ranging far and wide for the sport hunting they're so fond of, the clan has never gotten any accusations of poaching or trespassing against the two.

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Artemis suffered several gashes on her face during the ambush, but she refused to remain behind. She is the best tracker in the clan (besides perhaps her mate but he has never hunted dragons she cannot send him) and only she can lead them to the lair of shadow. She cannot vouch that she will leave afterwards either.

Orion stares worriedly as she peels off her bandage. "It's fine, dear. See?" Underneath, the scales are smooth and black, like she was never injured.

---

She likes this place. She spent a long time in the Viridian Labyrith, after all it was where she started, but it wasn't right. The Labyrinth was always out of control, too crowded with other powers all vying for dominance to ever be stable. Leaving had always been presented as an option, though viewed with disdain. But, she figured, how else could the Wild spread if it never left its nest? So like many young predators, she left home for the Sunbeam Ruins and started over.

And over.

And over.

The ruins were always spacious and just the right mix of overgrown and civilized to be comfortable. Lily shouldn't have been surprised to find someone like her here. An overgrown scholar state just across the water from the Labyrinth? Of course it was going to have a few renegades. This clan especially, with its half wild matriarch and its martial focus, was a comfortable battleground. And with Wilding Orion by her side, she'd make sure this little clan stayed in sharpest form.

(Her warped interest in Vencerast of the Gaol?)