Welcome to Wonderland

"Eventually you just have to let the madness draw you in." My name is Artemis Crock. I'm 17 years old and a senior at Happy Harbor Academy. You better hope you never end up on the wrong side of my bow.

[ofmammaspeedy]

You're...Mia, right? You're on the archery team?

Mia blinked and nodded. “Yes. And yes. You would be?” She asked the other, looking over her.

[artemiscrockpot]

Artemis grabbed Mia’s hand, giving her best handshake. “Thanks. I met Oliver earlier, and he sort of creeped me out. I mean, he was nice, but I got a sort of womanizer vibe from him. Of course, I could be wrong - it’s been known to happen - but that’s just the feeling I got.” She shrugged.

[ofmammaspeedy]

Mia laughed. Oliver did give off that sort of womanizer vibe. “Yup. That’s da- Um, Mr. Queen for you.” She smiled, shaking the other’s hand.

"Do you want to go practice shooting some targets in the field? Or something?" She asked. It was nice to see more people into archery.

[artemiscrockpot]

What was she going to say before 'Mr. Queen'? That'd be a question for later, Artemis supposed. For now..."I'd love to go out to the field. I haven't shot for a few days, and I feeling like I'm going through a withdrawal."

[artemiscrockpot]

What's Shakin', Bacon?

[hellomeganmorse]

-

Megan waved it off, already over the scare when she realized the other wasn’t really going to attack her. It didn’t exactly make a great start towards befriending but the redhead was a very forgiving person and she’d forget about the incident all together by the end of the day. “That’s alright,” she assured the blonde.

Feeling a lot more comfortable when the other smiled back she gestured around a corner and lead Artemis down another hallway. “Believe it or not, I haven’t. Besides, a few other students here are from Gotham so I’ve heard of it.” Her tone remained friendly the entire time she spoke and continued as she turned towards Artemis and offered a handshake. “I’m Megan. You’re not by any chance Artemis the senior, are you?” Megan’s excitement bubbled up in her chest as soon as Artemis mentioned her name. There was no way this couldn’t be her roommate, right?

[artemiscrockpot]

Other kids from Gotham? Really? Artemis couldn't believe it, to be quiet honest. The possibility that other kids from Gotham High had managed to get out of that hell-mouth like she did...that just sounded too good - or bad - to be true. And then her brain finally started processing what else the girl - Megan - had said. "How do you know what grade I'm in? Oh my god, you're not some creepy stalker, are you? I thought I'd left all that weirdass stuff behind in Gotham!" Ugh, what a way to start off her new life: some girl with freckles and way too much pep was stalking her and probably knew like everything about her. This fucking sucks.

[ofmammaspeedy]

You're...Mia, right? You're on the archery team?

Mia blinked and nodded. “Yes. And yes. You would be?” She asked the other, looking over her.

[artemiscrockpot]

"I’m Artemis. I’m the newest member of the team." Slightly quirking her head, the older blonde sized up the younger. "You look strong and sturdy. I bet you’re pretty good."

[ofmammaspeedy]

Mia smiled a bit. It felt great meeting another archer. “Welcome to the team, Artemis.” She said, smiling and holding out a hand. The brunette shrugged. “I’ve been trained by the best. Mr. Oliver Queen himself.”

[artemiscrockpot]

Artemis grabbed Mia's hand, giving her best handshake. "Thanks. I met Oliver earlier, and he sort of creeped me out. I mean, he was nice, but I got a sort of womanizer vibe from him. Of course, I could be wrong - it's been known to happen - but that's just the feeling I got." She shrugged.

[artemiscrockpot]

What's Shakin', Bacon?

[hellomeganmorse]

-

Spooked from the other’s sudden pose, Megan took two steps back and held her hands up apologetically. “Sorry sorry sorry,” she repeated, keeping her distance just in case. The girl in front of her didn’t look like someone who was easily scared but the redhead couldn’t see any other reason why she would be so defensive. 

When it seemed safe enough Megan approached the girl again and recalled the far corner of the school they were in and how exactly to get to the…dining hall? Megan grinned. “You mean the cafeteria? I’ll show you, sure.” Gesturing down the hall they’d just come from Megan took a step in that direction and waited for the other to follow.

[artemiscrockpot]

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Artemis muttered, "It's just...where I come from, people that sneak up behind you don't generally have the best intentions. It's instinct, you know?" She shrugged. Apologizing had never been something she excelled at. In Gotham, apologies got you nowhere.

Sighing in relief, she managed a small smile at the other girl. "Would you really? That'd be great." Her stomach growled again. "As you can tell, I'm starving." Artemis began following the girl down the hall, their steps synchronizing in just a short amount of time. "Um...I'm Artemis, by the way. I just transferred from Gotham High. Of course, you've probably been in boarding schools like this your whole life, so I doubt you've ever heard of it."

[artemiscrockpot]

What's Shakin', Bacon?

-

[hellomeganmorse]

As soon as Megan heard about receiving a new roommate she was much more than just excited. Due to a few students coming and leaving from the academy, she hadn’t had a permanent roomie since the start of the year and maybe she was getting ahead of herself with hoping that wouldn’t happen with this new girl but she was so happy to finally share her space and time with someone new. The redhead even had imagined who the other girl would be, what she was interested in, and whether or not they would get along as well as she hoped. 

But none of that would make up the same anticipation she felt when the Saturday morning finally arrived. Over the past few days she’d managed to finagle the name ‘Artemis’ from her dorm adviser as well make sure their room was especially neat -not that Megan was ever particularly messy beforehand- and as homey-feeling as she could get a dorm room to be. 

When she finally got bored of waiting around the dorm room Megan decided on venturing outside. She figured it probably wouldn’t be too hard to find the new student since it didn’t really seem like anyone was up this early on a weekend. When she saw a long blonde ponytail turn a corner Megan trailed after, almost positive that she didn’t recognize the other. Jogging down the hallway Megan didn’t pause until she was directly next to the other. “Do you need some help?” Whether this was Artemis or not, she wasn’t sure. Regardless, the ginger still offered a friendly smile to the unfamiliar person. 

[artemiscrockpot]

Needless to say, when Artemis heard someone coming up behind, her years as a Gotham citizen kicked in. Springing forward, she swiftly turned around, her pose strikingly similar to that of an Eastern martial art. She blinked in surprise when she took in the form of a doe-eyed and freckle-faced red-haired girl, probably about her own age.

"Um...yeah. I'm looking for the..." What was it called here? I don't think rich people call it a 'cafeteria'..."The dining hall? I think that's what it's called. Think you could show me the way?" Normally the blonde was a big fan of avoiding strangers, but at this point, she was too hungry to worry about the specifics of their relationship.

[ofmammaspeedy]

You're...Mia, right? You're on the archery team?

Mia blinked and nodded. “Yes. And yes. You would be?” She asked the other, looking over her.

[artemiscrockpot]

"I’m Artemis. I’m the newest member of the team." Slightly quirking her head, the older blonde sized up the younger. "You look strong and sturdy. I bet you’re pretty good."

[artemiscrockpot]

What's Shakin', Bacon?

When Artemis arrived at Happy Harbor Academy for the start of her time there, the first thing to happen was her introduction to Oliver Queen (PE teacher, Archery coach, and self-proclaimed God's gift to women). Normally, anyone who loved archery as much as Oliver seemed to would be okay in Artemis' book, but something about the man just creeped her out. Maybe it was because of all the new experiences she was encountering at one time. She was fairly hopeful (hope - that was something she hadn't felt in a long time) that once she was settled into the ritz and rigor of the Academy, her and Mr. Queen would get on just fine.

Speaking of settling in..."I have no idea where I am." Of course, there was no one around, so her declaration fell on deaf ears. This wasn't much help in her current situation, as an absence of people meant no one to guide her, and unfortunately, no map had been provided upon her arrival. "Just great," the blonde muttered, trudging down the hall with the one bag she'd refused to let anyone touch, "This place has money out the wazoo and they couldn't bring themselves to provide a measly map? I knew rich people were crazy, but this is ridiculous." This was going to be a LONG year.

And then, to top off what was probably the most aggravating pre-8 AM morning in existence, Artemis' stomach started growling. She'd been in such a rush to get to the school, she'd had no time to eat breakfast. I would give up my bow for some Xoi Trung right now. Of course, I bet they wouldn't even know how to make it - or even Pho. Rich people. All of this shot rapidly through her brain, ending with a less-than-perfunctory groan.