Artemis and Persephone: Hunting in the Night
Who: Artemis and Persephone
What: Artemis takes the new queen of the dead on a hunt
Where: The forest.
When: Evening. The summer after Persephone’s first winter away
Rating: PG-13; what? Hunting can be bloody!
Status: Complete

She had changed, and Artemis took careful note of her demeanor. it seemed so long ago that the girl was care free, wild, Artemis had herself considered asking the nature princess to join her huntresses. But that time was passed, Kore had become Persephone and Artemis would not take a girl no longer a maiden to her huntresses. But that did not mean that the moon goddess stopped caring for the girl. No Artemis still cared deeply for her still, that is after all why she called her hear tonight. Unlike the girl’s mother, her dark counterpart or the men upon Olympus Artemis did not morn the loss of Kore’s innocence. If Artemis mourned it would only be for the loss of a great huntress that would never join her guild, but the huntress did not morn. She embraced Persephone’s change, the young girl had taken control of her own destiny and despite many things Artemis had to respect that. Persephone was a strong woman, and so many where not.

Artemis knelled close to the earth running her fingers through the dirt to get a feel for what monsters where out tonight. She turned her silver blue eyes back on the queen, “Still willing to get a little dirty?” The Goddess teased her companion.


Kore -- no, Persephone -- laughed. It was the same laugh from endless summer past, amused with a hint of mischief, a genuine laugh, not stifled, like her chuckles with the nymphs. No, with Artemis, she could be herself, didn't have to worry about pretenses, about pomp and circumstance, about what her half-sister would think. She respected the moon-goddess, cared for her probably more than any of her other half-sisters Zeus had sired with countless women, and she confided in her.

"You know it," she said, with a smirk. She breathed in the scent of the forest, took in each detail of the surroundings with her dark eyes, relishing the world above the ground. She followed the huntress stealthily, as she'd done so many times in the past.


Artemis smiled, the goddess herself never fit much into the clean shape of what her half-brothers and sisters thought a goddess should be. Artemis was almost always dirty, her hair knotted into tight dreadlocks, and perhaps that is what the moon-goddess liked so much about the new queen, and Persephone did what she wanted not what others expected of her. Her new position was proof of this. After all, it was quite obvious it was not her mothers wishes.

Artemis darted barefoot into the trees, moving both quickly yet slowly at the same time as she searched for a trail to follow, for her nose to catch the sent of a monster or her eyes to find the track. But part of the fun was taking other on the hunt, to see what they could do, after all she was a pro she could do this in her sleep. She her nose caught a whiff to the south, but she did not speak up waiting to see if Persephone would take notice.


Perhaps that was why they'd gotten along so well, why the were so close. And while Persephone had tried to conform, outwtdly, had played the role of deliberately cute child, she had always doubted, had always wanted something more, had always confided in Artemis. And now, for once in her existence, she'd acted -- and it was liberating.

The place was blooming with life, stirring with the sights and sounds the Chthonian queen had nearly forgotten. But she could not forget -- such things were as much a part of her as anything. She continued after the virgin huntress, steps light and silent. Then, the scent reached her.

She halted in her path, nodding southward at Artemis with a knowing grin. Her time below, if anything, had heightened her senses, made it easier to seek out the living.


The moon goddess smiled as Persephone pointed the way, the huntress took note of the differences since their last hunt. Artemis slowed, they where getting close, she could feel it. Artemis peered through the darkness and the foliage and found her prize spotlighted in a shaft of moon light. The giant boar was grazing slowly, his ears twitching listening for enemies. but he never heard the goddesses coming. Artemis looked back at her companion, and in a millisecond made her choice.

Artemis handed the Queen of the Dead her silver bow, after all on their precious hunts Artemis had always made the kill. But the way the huntress saw it, Persephone could not govern the dead until she knew death at her own hands.


Her dark eyes opened slightly wider at the action, and she looked at her sister and the bow with reverence, nodding, honored.

It seemed instinctual. She'd seen Artemis make the kill so often, had seen her fire the flawless shot countless times, but the Spring goddess had never been able to wrap her head fully around it, had never realized just what it was to take a life. In that moment, she knew.

She took aim carefully, handling the weapon with precision, and fired her shot, time seemingly slowing down as the arrow made its way to its target, through the trees and greenery into the moonlight, striking the boar fatally, the animal letting out a roaring groan.

The Queen of the Dead let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.


Artemis watched the arrow lodge its self deeply in the boars hide. The animal faltered, dropping to ground moaning in anger and pain. Artemis drew a dagger from a sheath on her hip handing the dagger to Persephone. “You must never be cruel,” the huntress explained simply “and no suffering should come from your hand, his death is a noble sacrifice and should be honored as such.”

Artemis stepped into the clearing, the animal thrashed trying to hold on to a life that was no longer his. Her eyes intently on the spring goddess trying to gauge her feelings.


She nodded, once. The daughter of Demeter had never been cruel -- it would be years before she did anything that might approach that, before her transition was done, before she was really, truly, no longer Kore, the Spring Goddess, the Underworld's new queen, sweet as honey, before she was completely the Iron Queen, fearfully praised, whose name instilled fear in the hearts of mortals.

She stepped closer to the animal with her sister, her eyes closing for a fraction of a moment. She could feel the imminence of death, the inevitability of the end of the boar's life. He was suffering in his final moments, and she had to end his agony. Her movement was quick, soundless, and when she was over him, for one earth shattering second, he stopped his thrashing, quieted. She lowered her eyes briefly. Then, dagger in her left hand, with one swift, sudden stroke, it ended. He was dead.

She could see the very life drain from him, could smell the mortality, could feel the change in the air, a deathly breeze passing through, rustling the leaves just slightly in the clearing. She looked back at her sister after a moment, wordlessly.


Artemis stepped into the small clearing, her usually silent footsteps now crackled on the dry fallen leaves. She watched the blood pool under the boar, she put her hand on the younger goddesses shoulder. Artemis could almost see it, the future of her sister as she sat on the dark throne. She could feel it in that moment, and for once she wished she had her brother’s gift of prophecy (thought she would never admit that!). a feeling more then anything. Ice cold and hard, Regal and unforgiving. Artemis hoped that in that moment the queen would look back on this and remember.

“It was right, and honorable.” She said looking her sister staring in her deep brown eyes, a softness in her own silver blue that was uncommon for the huntress. “The power you will wield, the choices you will make are not to be taken lightly.” The huntress paused choosing her words carefully “You have chosen a hard road to travel, many will fear you, and even Hades does not have a throne on Olympus.” No the King of the dead only came up from his domain for major meetings, Artemis could count on one hand the number of times she had seen him.


"I know. You're right." But there was naught she could do now. She'd made her choice, and would continue to make her choices. And the prospects filled her with a feeling she'd never known.

The fair goddess nodded at her sister, genuinely, her brown eyes earnest and sincere. And she would be fair, would become the exacter of justice, the law-giver, the saving goddess. She would be a paradigm of balance and maintaining the order. She would serve as a regal hostess, would even allow one man to take his beloved back in death.

But she didn't know what more it would do to her. She could never have known, at that point, what she would come to do, what she would become. It would take just one moment to make her almost unrecognizable, completely devoid of the life she seemed to exude perpetually.

But that time was far away.

And just now, she'd made her first kill, had experienced a death at her own hands for the first time in her existence. She glanced down at her hands, the deep stains of blood fading away, disappearing. Then, she looked back at Artemis.

"But it was my choice," she said, softly. Her words were not clipped, not meant as a jab nor over-defense. She was just pointing it out, stating the obvious. She had made a choice, had taken things into her own hands, had made her destiny her own. And no matter how difficult, it would be worth it.


Artemis grasped her young companions shoulder “Yes dear, it was your choice. Good or bad, it will be what you make it.” She paused thinking she kneeled taking her dagger back from the queen, she regarded the boar for a moment “To take your destiny in you own hand is a hard thing; most just let their destiny happen to them. I think your Hecate would agree.” She looked up at Persephone “Have you ever found it odd that there are three goddesses of fate yet only one of choices? Both exist. Both are powerful, yet it is obvious that even our sisters and brothers prefer the easer of the two. Choices are hard; they take a strong person to take them on. You, dark Persephone, are not weak.” The huntress smirked “Why else would I have tired to get you to join my huntresses.”


She considered her sister's words, nodding, looking at her, considering her words carefully. And it was true. It seemed that most were happy to lay the lot of things on fate, never to consider the element of free will, of taking responsibility for their actions and the far-reaching consequences.

"You're absolutely right," she said, smirking. "I suppose it's simpler that way, isn't it?" she asked. She paused. "For the record, I'm honored and would have liked that very much," she added.

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