Into the Amazon

I

T H E
wood stretched as she pulled the arrow back. The bow made a bending sound just as the woman pinched the arrow. The point of the arrow followed the group of people who walked past the tree she was standing on.

"These were ancient grounds, where the gods themselves rested on, feasted on, and even lived on. Or so the Greek think they did." The man with the nasal voice droned on. He was an old man, dressed in beige clothes, leading the whole group of people. The woman held back a snarl.

That man knew nothing of the gods. They never lived on earth, why would they do that? Mount Olympus was where they lived, surely that old man knew that. The woman in the shadows started to release some of the pressure of the bow, ready to let it fly when she heard a growl.

The woman paused, looking over her shoulder. A silver animal stared at her from the bottom of the tree. Although the animal was hidden halfway into the bushes, he was still visible. The woman casted a look to the group of people as she lowered my bow.

"Go!" She whispered. "They can hear you!" She said in effort to shoo it away. Gregor stepped fully out of the bushes, his black nose twitching in the air. His black almond eyes glared up at her, as if scolding her.

His silver fur body gleaned in the beams of sunlight filtering through the trees. Gregor was a greyhound, a gift from Artemis herself. He was a giant dog, big enough for someone to ride. Even though he was a gift for all of the Amazons, he had chosen her from the start.

Ever since he was a pup he had been at the woman's side. And ever since then, she had been at his. She rolled my eyes, giving one last look at the tourists. Over time they were getting too close to her homeland. Occasionally trekking too close for comfort.

The woman placed the arrow back into her quiver, slinging the bow over her shoulder. She pushed herself off the tree branch, landing on the ground with a loud thunk.

The tour group didn't mind, instead they looked at the trees as the tour guide kept on babbling nonsense. She huffed, letting out a breath that hung in the air.

Mortals were stupid little things. Just like sheep. They were blind to their own surroundings. The woman turned over to Gregor, who was walking toward her. His wet nose touched her shoulder, nuzzling her for attention. Despite the circumstances, she grinned as she ran a hand down his strong neck.

Gregor was tall enough to reach her height, and fast enough to catch a deer. He was a good dog, not worthy of her companionship. The archer walked over to his back, gripping his shoulders as she pushed herself into the air and landed with a soft plop on his back.

The woman patted his neck. "Let's go home." She said, urging him over to the left. Gregor padded forward, knowing the way himself. The cold air ran through her fur cape covering most of her body. Winter was quickly coming to an end, and everyone back home was ecstatic.

In a few weeks it would be mating season again, meaning the Hunt was going to be prepared for in a couple of days. Mating season was only for women who had been chosen to reproduce to maintain the Amazon population. The Queen considered it a gift to bear children who would be the next generation of Amazons. But considering they never age, it was a strange concept. The women who had been chosen to bear children, had to only have the greatest men.

Although men or any mortal, wasn't worthy of them, they had to find the ones who were close enough to give a child. All the other Amazons who weren't part of the mating group, were given surgeries to prevent any harm in case of any type of contact with an aggressive man. The archer scoffed in silent forest. She would rather die, than to let any man touch her.  She distinctly remembered the day of when she got her surgery. It was a couple of weeks after her own Ceremony. The Ceremony was when an Amazon got her first Purification.