Rostris: The Hunting Demigod

Zeus' Ill-Fated Lover

     We've been walking but running when no one is around, for two days so far. Crius has been healing well and since we're powerful, we can heal faster. His wound is almost fully closed up. Laelap has just been enjoying the weather and I've been having her hunt for us as a treat for taking down Lynx. Crius and I have started to talk more and I gotta be honest, he's a great guy once you get to know him. I guess I just misjudged him based on what I was told. I don't know what's going to happen once everything is over. Deep down though, I'm kind of hoping that he'd stick around. I know he would definitely say yes since he likes me and needs shelter. I'm just not sure myself because I've mostly been a loner. Last night, my mother called me on my phone (thank the gods she finally got one), and asked me how everything is so far. I told her how the town was acting very weird and also my encounter with Lynx. I'm definitely not going to let her know that a fugitive has been with me since the day I left. I told her that Lynx said that Ekho was in Achaia, but I don't know. I have this creeping sensation that something is waiting for me there. Something bad.
     "Hey, Crius. How's your arm doing?" We're walking on a gravel path that seems to be a mile long. Almost like it's supposed to lead you to a specific place.
     "Um, it's fine. Nothing I can't handle." He winked at that last part and I couldn't help but laugh because of how ridiculous he is in situations. He always has to try to impress me.
     "We should change when we make camp tonight. Our clothes are starting to stink. I packed some wipes that we can clean ourselves with and feel refreshed again. We should find a place that has a waterfall or a lake or pond. I need to clean Laelap. If we can find one then we can wash in it." Crius smirks and I guess he misunderstood what I was saying. "I mean by ourselves." Gross. I take out my phone and look up waterfalls near us. Looks like there's a small one a few miles east. That would only set us an hour off of our destination but that's if we walk. We should be able to run by then because Achaia is kind of secluded except for animals. "Alright let's go."
     We finally reach the waterfall and just looking at it, it's like looking at a majestic tub full of sparkling water and bath salts. Obviously, it's not, I just miss my showers and baths. I haven't had one in four days. "Ok. So me and Laelap will go first since we're women. Haha. You can actually set us up camp here for the night and we should be done by the time we come back." I call Laelap to follow me and I grab my bag. The waterfall is half a mile up from our campsite, out of sight. Since no one is around, we use our super speed and arrive at the waterfall in a second. I open my bag and find a soap bar, a mini towel, two washcloths, and both of our brushes. I decide to clean Laelap first since she's harder to clean with her kind of long hair. The good thing is that this waterfall pools into logs that were tightly packed and man-made, so it's like a mini tub for Laelap. I put her in it and start to pour water onto her. I soak a washcloth and rub the soap in it. Once it got soapy, I rub it all over Laelap and then rinse her off again. I take her brush and brush down her fur and then have her run in circles to dry off. I don't use my towel on her because I don't want to get her wet fur all over me when I use it. Done with her, I go deep into the waterfall and clean off. I stay in it an extra minute just because it's so relaxing and it's like a get away from reality. Once I finish, I dry off my towel and don't see Laelap so she must have gone back to Crius. I feel like she's starting to grow a bond with him. I change into some black leggings and grey tank top and a green-brown jacket. I gather up all of my stuff and head back to Crius.
     "Your turn," I tell Crius he can head to the waterfall and get cleaned up and I also find Laelap running around him. "She's starting to get attached to you, you know."
     "Ya. It's kinda nice. Was the water warm?"
     "Oh my gods, it was perfect."
     "Great. I'll be back in fifteen minutes. I set up your cover on the ground and I made my pile of leaves to sleep on. I also found some wood that we can start a fire with when it gets darker, which will be soon. Do you want me to fill your water when I go down?"
     "Oh, ya. Great. I completely forgot about my water. Here, thanks." I don't know why I had spaced about that. I hand him my water and also take out an extra bottle that was in my bag. "Here. I guess I can trust you now." He says thanks in a way that kind of melts my heart. It was so sincere and warm. I guess I need to start open my range of meeting people and getting to know them and them to me. Once he leaves, I figure that I should come up with our next move. So Lynx said that Ekho should just be a day away in Achaia, still. I know that I can't trust her, but I have no new move except to go there. Once we're there, if Ekho is there, then I guess we could try to encircle around her. Then we can all just go at it at her. But first, I would try to talk her into stopping. Fighting her would just be a last resort. I lay down to take a nap till Crius gets back so that I can talk with him on my thoughts.
     "Rostris. Rostris wake up."
     I feel a pushing on my arm and start to stir up. I open my eyes to find Crius right in front of my face and I look around. It's dark out. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier!?"
     "Because you needed some rest and you had looked so at peace."
     "Oh. Fine. Whatever. I need to tell you of what I was thinking we could do when reaching Achaia tomorrow and if Ekho is there." I see that Crius had changed his clothes into a different green t-shirt and navy blue jeans and that he had shaved again. I tell him and he has no problem with the plan. But he also brings up,
     "What happens if it's a trap?" Like if Ekho is not there but something else is?"
     "Good question. Um. I don't know. I guess we just fight whatever's there because there's no way of knowing what's going to happen till we get there."
     "Oh, by the way, Laelap and I went hunting. We found a few rabbits and even a snake. Snakes are the best. It's like eating a kabob."
     "Oh cool. Thanks. So I guess we just eat and then get some rest. Head out at first light?"
     "Sounds like a plan. Oh, by the way, while you were sleeping, I found a long, thick stick and carved the end into a spike, so that I have a weapon when we encounter Ekho. Was that ok?"
     "I guess so. I probably should've told you to do that anyway. That was stupid of me. I mean you'd obviously need something to defend yourself on the trip. Especially against an all-powerful dryad." Wow. I can't believe how cool I was about him having a weapon. I guess that means that I trust him a little more. The fire that Crius had started earlier keeps us warm as we drift off into sleep, Laelap my loyal and trusted companion, by my side.
     I wake up to the sound of blue jays, hidden and humming in the trees around us. The sun is just rising up and that's our wakeup call. I go over to Crius who, does not look comfortable on the pile of leaves but I mean, I don't have any extra covers. And we're definitely not sharing because we're not close like that. I keep shaking his arms lightly and calling out his name till he wakes up.
     "Wha―what?"
     "Crius. You gotta get up. It's time to go. Laelap had helped put all of our stuff together. All we need is for you to get up."
     "Ok. Let me grab my stick and then we can go."
     "Listen. If Ekho really is there, then this would mark the end of my mission. I honestly don't know what's going to happen after that."
     "Well. I'm hoping that we'll get see each other after. You know, if we make it out alive."
     I couldn't help but blush and laugh after he said that and I notice how I liked that I did. Now, he knows that I truly like him. I mean, I'm still going to be a jerk at times, but hopefully, his gods-awful jokes will be there to lighten me up. Since no one is around, we decide to get a headstart on Ekho and super speed our way to Achaia. It being a day away, we get there in only an hour. Lynx didn't give us a specific place to look for Ekho, but just the smell of smoke with my increased sense of smell, I was able to track it down. It leads me to a tree infested area and, like it or not, there were trees recovering from being put on fire. Zeus must have convinced Poseidon to water down the trees that Ekho would light up in flames.
     "As I suspected, Ekho is nowhere to be found. We were so dumb to let her go. She either lied to us or managed to get to her mom before us and had notified her of our coming." I was about to vent to Crius when I notice a shadow behind a few trees ahead of us. "Look. There's something over there." I point over to where I see the shadow and whisper to Crius that I'm about to tell whatever's there to come out, "I see you! You either come out, or I come over, and trust me, you don't want me to come over!" I first see a head peek out, then arms, then the body. Except the body doesn't seem like a human or a demigod. It has a kind of glow that only comes off of one kind of form. The form of a god or a goddess on earth. I would know because my mother would have the same thing. I remember Zeus telling me of a goddess that would try to get in my way. That this goddess would try to kill me to get to Ekho. That goddess' name is Hera.
     "Hello, Rostris. I've been so looking forward to meeting you. Hahaha. I'm sorry. When you said, 'You don't want me to come over!' That was just hilarious. Do you actually think you could beat me? A goddess! I am the Queen of Gods! You are just some silly offspring that came out of Artemis. What can you do?"
     "How about I show you what I can do?" I quickly snatch an arrow from my quiver and nock it on my bow. I immediately shoot the arrow directly to Hera. Even though technically a god or goddess can't die, there are ways to hurt them tremendously. And my arrows can do just that. Another gift from my mother. Too bad Hera just swiped her finger to the left and the arrow turned and fell.
     "Really? A bow and arrow. Come on Rostris. You're the daughter of Artemis. Surely you'd know better. Well, if that was the best that you can do, then we might as well should end this fast. I need to get back to findi―". Before I let her finish that sentence, I draw arrow after arrow, sending twenty straight for her at super speed. Only two of them ended up hitting both her shoulders because she was able to flick some of them off course, but wasn't fast enough to stop all of them, especially since I caught her off guard.
     "Well, now you've done it! Congratulations Rostris. You have officially enraged me and just put a death sentence on your head!"
     Oh crap. She looks like she might actually be serious. "Crius, I know you wanted to help with Ekho, but I didn't sign you up for Hera. Go. Take Laelap with you. I should handle this myself. I don't want you to get hurt."
     "Rostris are you crazy! Why would I leave you!? Especially when we've been getting closer. No. I'm staying and nothing is going to change my mind."
That right there. That was the moment I truly knew that I had to have Crius in my life. Too bad it won't happen because I see a powerful ball of fire headed straight towards me at tremendous speed. Even I wouldn't be able to move in time.
     "Nooooo―".
     It was all in slow motion. I turn my head to the sound of Crius and see him try to jump in front of me. When I focused back into real time, it was over. The ball of fire went into Crius instead of me. "Oh, my gods. Oh, my gods. Oh, my gods. Nooooo! Look what you did! Look at what you have done!" I point at Hera and lift up Crius' head. I can hear a sizzling coming from his body as the heat starts to burn his skin. I try to put out the flames with my hands, not caring if I burn them.
     "I call upon Artemis
     Olympic Goddess of
     The Hunt,
     The Moon,
     Chastity,
     And; my Mother
     My Mentor
     And; My Savior."
     I hear a swoosh and look up to see my mother standing over me, a horrified expression on her face. "Mom. Mo― I...I need... you to... to take Crius back to my cabin. He's hurt very... badly because of Hera." I could barely say anything, choking on my own tears.
     "Crius! Crius the fugitive. Why on earth would I do that!?"
     "Please! Just trust me! Go! I'm going to kill Hera now." She leaves and I wipe off my tears. I get up and straighten and see a look of humor on Hera's face. That was enough motivation for me to pick up my bow and nock arrow after arrow again, sending one hundred to Hera. My quiver is spelled by my mother to allow it to refill on itself. This time, ten arrows shot into Hera, all over her body. She screamed out in pain and as she did, I kept walking closer, shooting at the same time. Arrow after arrow shot into her until I was only a few feet away from her. "Any final words before I call upon Zeus?"
     "Yes. Say hi to Hades for me."
     "Wha―." I couldn't finish what I was saying because Hera straightened up and pulled three arrows out of her. The infused ones. She held them and a black, almost oily substance, came out of her other hands' nails and were embraced by the arrows. She plunged one an inch above my heart but I think she meant to aim at my heart, and the other two into my right thigh and the left side of my abdomen. I kept screaming out in pain as Hera disappeared into a mist. "Mom." That was the last word that I said as I saw Laelap run up to me and my eyes closing, blocking me from the sight of the world and my brain losing conscious.