I sing praise to Artemis Agrotera as I gaze upon the moon -
I imagine that great, barefooted huntress running through the forest with her Companions
Chasing down a stag, her dogs on the heel
And I sing my praises to Lady Artemis, great daughter of Mother Leto, and sister to Lord Apollon
Artemis, guard your worshippers, I ask
Remember our offerings
And protect us on the Wild Hunt
Greek archaeologists expressed their concern on Monday over the abandonment by the state of the site of the mid-5th century BC Temple of Artemis Agrotera, which they described as “one of the most historically important archaeological sites in the center of Athens.”
The Ionic-style temple, dedicated to the Greek virgin goddess of the hunt was constructed of Pentelic marble.
It stands on Ardittou street, in the neighbourhood of Mets, surrounded by modern buildings.
In a press release titled “A monument in danger,” the Association of Greek Archaeologists says that despite numerous decisions published by the Central Archaeological Council since 1964 for the immediate expropriation of the land it stands on and the surrounding properties and the protection and promotion of the site, no action has ever been taken.
“Our Lady is as unpredictable as nature itself, and as allusive as a Doe in the Forrest. Yes, you find find her, she might even be complacent for a time. But if the Agrotera gets loose, then Throne help you finding her again.”
Socrat Ventillion, Captain of the Twilight Repentia 3rd Grand Company.
Characters/Pairing: Artemis Agrotera, Apollon Agana Belea, Yui Kusanagi. Slight Apollon/Yui, eventual Artemis/Yui. All the other gods will obviously appear as well.
Note: The birth of the pretentious numerals in this chapter. They're just too easy as a source for scene breaks.
The Original Prompt by prevolt: How do you think an Artemis would be like in KamiAso’s universe? I want to see your version of the events in Apollon’s life from before to after the series from her PoV.
Rating: Teen (for now)
Chapter Six: Competiton
One // Two // Three // Four // Five
Read @ AO3
--
i.
She wasn’t surprised that literally nobody showed up to the pre-orientation ceremony. The only reason she had bothered to show up was because it was for Apollon’s benefit - who had cajoled - and because she had said to Yui that she would.
Artemis was many things, but she tried to not be much of a liar. Especially not now, she supposed, all things considered.
Her legs dangled over the side of the stage as she looked at her fellow gods trapped in her father’s mess. A fellow moon god and another god of light. She watched them carefully as they pumped Yui of information, listening with half a ear.
Her gaze settled on Balder for the moment, as if drawn to him. He was, in so many ways, like her brother. At least in appearance and magnetism. She couldn’t claim to know him at all, and so she couldn’t actually decide what kind of a man he was. But his lips curled up happily, and there was a softness in his eyes that made her want to relax and bask in his glow.
She glanced at Apollon from the corner of her eye as he leaned forward excitedly, thrumming with more energy than anyone could possibly handle.
And then she watched Tsukiyomi, the Japanese god of the moon. How strange for her to see a god over her domain, when she was so used to goddesses. Before her, there had been Selene, who had passed her mantle to her and to Hecate.
“What do you think, Artemis?”
Artemis blinked, a faint heat washing over her face when all sets of eyes finally settled on her. Her lips parted. “What.”
She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t even really been paying attention to the conversation. She had been watching, as she always did. Rubbing a hand over her face, as if that could rid herself of the blush, her lips pulled into a tight smile.
Yui smiled kindly at her while her brother laughed. “Artemis never listens to anyone,” Apollon whispered loudly, as if he were telling the others a secret.
She grimaced. “I listen.”
“We were just suggesting that we go out and see if we can convince the others to come with us to our ceremony later,” Balder informed her. His mouth had quirked up as well, as if he wanted to laugh but also respect her.
It didn’t stop Artemis from imagining punching him. “Sounds like a good idea.”
Apollon’s hand was warm as he rested it on her thigh. “Also, we’re not allowed to make sacrifices for this.”
“If you’re not careful, I might sacrifice you anyway,” Artemis told him as she brushed his hand away. She slid off the stage, her boots hitting the floor with a loud thump. Looking up at Yui, she winked to let her know that it was a joke. “No time to waste if we’re going to get this place in order.”
--
“What were you thinking about?” Apollon asked her after they had split from the others on their search.
“I was just sizing the others up,” she told him, crossing her arms over her chest.
“We’re not competing against them,” her brother pointed out. As if he thought that’s what she would be trying to do.
Maybe it was, she thought, even if she hadn’t realized it herself. She spent so much time out of the way of others, interacting with people that weren’t her maidens was strange. The last one had been Orion, so very long ago that sometimes she forgot what he had looked like.
A frown tugged at her lips.
They weren’t competition. They were all pawns in Zeus’ madness, and that much was obvious. And she didn’t think, for all of her father’s ego, that he had designed this place as a competition to be won, although that would have been much easier for Artemis to accept. To deal with. She was a winner.
But she so often saw people as targets, as prey, that it wasn’t easy to shake off that way of thinking just because she’d spent less than a day in a mortal body.
“I know,” she said finally. “I know they’re not.”
“I feel like there’s a but coming on here. And there shouldn’t be.” Apollon smiled brightly at her. “Zeus said that we all have the same goal for graduation! So we should all work together. That’s what we’re trying to do now, isn’t it?”
But Artemis didn’t care about the others graduating. Let them rot on this island. If she could help Dionysus and Hades, sure. Fine. Whatever. It just wasn’t her goal, and she wouldn’t break herself for them.
For Apollon, though?
She gave him a smile, letting her mouth remain loose, as happy as she could be. His green eyes darkened still anyway. “Yeah, it is. We’re going to help Yui help us, and we’re going to connect with humanity again.”
Apollon was quiet for too long, and she wondered if he would try to call her out, to dig into her soul and make her spill her secrets. He didn’t. “Yeah! Now let’s go find Dee-Dee.”
Of course they would go convince Dionysus first, who would cave as easily as she had when confronted by the sun god.
It would seem, in the end, it was only the six of them, bound together through thin bonds, that kept them working together.
ii.
“Artemis!”
The girl groaned, rolling over onto her stomach as she buried her face into her pillow. It smelled clean - it always smelled clean and nothing like the forest at all. Even nearly a week later, she still couldn’t get over that. Classes had begun the day after their entrance ceremony, and it was basically the worst thing she had ever dealt with.
If she could hide away like those other losers who never showed up, she would.
Except for one very large, very bright, very loud obstacle in the way of that.
Apollon climbed over her, using her butt as a seat as he straddled her. His fingers dug into her ribs, not sharp enough to hurt, but enough to make her twitch. “You overslept again.”
“Go. Away.” She tried to buck up, but from this position, it was futile. Damn this stupid, clean pillow.
“We have to go to class!” Apollon argued, poking her again.
“Go without me.”
“But how else are we going to graduate? And what about Yui? She’s counting on us to help her.”
No, nevermind, she was glad she was face first on the bed so that she could silently scream into it. She could already feel it, his stupid threads of romance and intrigue following after the poor mortal girl. She was honestly surprised by the amount of restraint he’d shown her so far, and could only wonder if it was because he was actually treating their father’s warning seriously.
Good, she thought. But she didn’t like the idea of him falling in love again, not when the matter of Cassandra still hung around her neck like a noose.
“You’re crushing me,” she breathed.
“No I’m not,” he said happily, even as he rolled off of her and plopped onto his back next her.
Turning her head, she watched her brother through a filter of dark hair. “Tell Thoth I’m sick.”
“Aren’t you having fun learning?”
She cuddled against his arm, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “No.” Her eyes closed again.
“We have to lead by example.”
Why did he have to do this? Why did she have to care so much that she had followed?
“Fine.”
Without another glance back at him, she rolled out of bed, grabbed her uniform, and dashed off to the bathroom.
The truth was, she actually didn’t mind the learning.
iii.
Artemis and Apollon walked together, hand in hand down the hall. She wasn’t even really sure who reached for whom, but it was a nice safety net to have her brother’s hand in hers. Next to them, Dionysus walked with his hands clasped behind his head, a smarmy smile on his face like he knew her thoughts. Like he could see into her and see her weaknesses.
She wanted to smack the look off of his face.
And then suddenly the warmth that had been anchoring her down was gone in a flash. Apollon pulled away from her, leaving her alone as he jogged to meet up with Yui coming from the other side of the hall.
“Fairy!”
Artemis tried to not gag.
Dionysus nudged her in the head with his elbow. “Don’t look so sour.”
“I don’t look sour.”
“Like a rotted grape unfit for wine,” he sang under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.
Artemis resisted the urge to throw Dionysus out of the window. Barely. She did, however, shove her annoying brother’s elbow hard enough that he stumbled into the wall on the opposite of the hall.
“Dee-Dee, what are you doing falling into the wall?” Apollon asked as his brow creased.
Yui watched him with wide eyes, the worry rolling off of her in waves. “Are you okay?”
“I guess I must have been thrown off balance,” Dionysus sighed loudly, ruffling his obnoxiously bright hair into place again.
“It was a push,” Artemis said lightly, her chin tilted up so that she could look down her nose at the other god. A hard feat to do, considering that he was much taller than her.
All Dionysus did was give her an amused smile, as if he never took anything she did seriously. Being the son of Zeus must have an idiot gene associated with it, Artemis figured.
Apollon sighed, but Artemis just grinned. She hurriedly linked her arm with Yui’s, catching the girl off guard. And her brother as well, as she tugged her toward the classroom. “We wouldn’t want to be late now, would we?”
Yui glanced back over her shoulder. “Do you not like Dionysus?” the girl asked in a whisper as they pushed through a crowd of spirits.
“He’s fine,” Artemis said breezily. “Apollon is closer to him, though.”
The girl seemed to be thinking this over. “So you’re friends with him because Apollon is, even though you don’t really like him? That’s nice of you. I know some girls who hate their boyfriend’s friends back home.”
It took a few moment for those words to process through her mind. They sank slowly, like oil on water, but when the meaning finally hit, Artemis stopped dead. Yui, unaware of that, continued to walk until her arm was jerked back.
“Artemis?” She turned around quickly with concern.
Artemis didn’t care that they were in the front of the classroom, that Thoth was getting ready for another exciting class. All she could hear was the implication that her and Apollon were together intimately --
And she threw her head back and let out a cackle that had everyone looking in her direction with curiosity and embarrassment. Yui flushed a bright red, almost as dark as Dionysus’ hair, and even that made Artemis laugh harder.
“Wh-what did I say?” Yui asked nervously, glancing around before ducking her head.
“Yui!” Artemis exclaimed between breaths, unable to bring out the words that would be used to correct her new friend. “Apollon - he’s my--” She laughed again before striking out and dragging her brother by the sleeve. He gave a yelp of protest.
Pointing between the two of them - one golden, tall, perfect and one small, dark, and angry - Artemis laughed again. “We’re twins!”
She was sure that Yui was about to faint from shame.
“What just happened?” Apollon whispered.
“That is enough!” Thoth snapped behind him as Artemis was thrown into another fit of laughter again. He glared at the students all but the three of them found their seats and went silent. “Miss Agrotera, is there a reason why you’re bothering my class?”
There was so much she could say, so much she could do. But she had to play nice. Swallowing down the remainder of her giddiness, she gave their teacher - Zeus’ pet - a small smile. “No, sir. I hadn’t realized class had started yet.”
He glared at her, then at Apollon and Yui. “Take your seats.”
Apollon watched her with a bemused smile long after class had started. “I don’t think I’ve seen you that happy in a long time.”
Artemis shrugged instead of answering him. There were no words to describe how light she felt in this moment, even through the crushing boredom of learning, hard plastic seats, and her boots crashed in around her.
--
It wasn’t as though Artemis was unhappy. She pulled herself up on one of the trees in the forest surrounding the academy, letting her bare feet dangle in the air. There were few moments where she could definitely pinpoint being unhappy. It was just that she didn’t associate with people long enough for them to see some parts of her. And that was her choice. That made her happy.
So why was her brother’s words bothering her? He’d seen her happy before.
He also didn’t spend as much time with her as she thought.
Of course he wouldn’t have seen her like that, when he was going around, mooning after mortals and nymphs.
With a sigh, she leaned back into the trunk of the tree.
“What are you doing up there?”
Peering down through the foilage, Artemis spotted Yui below her. “Relaxing.”
Yui glanced at the ground before looking back up at her again. “Did you climb that tree without shoes?”
Artemis wiggled her toes with a smug sort of look on her face. “Yes.”
A slow smile took over Yui’s face, even as her eyebrows twitched. As though she couldn’t quite figure Artemis out. Then again, that was probably how she felt about all of the gods she was being forced to associate with. Artemis certainly felt that way.
With her solitude ruined, and thus her chance at obsessing over Apollon’s words, Artemis climbed back down the tree. She could have told Yui that she wanted peace, but she was missing her girls something terribly, and if she was going to keep running into this mortal who would teach her about the heart, then she might as well gather as much information as she could. It would be the best way to help Apollon.
The ground was cool beneath her bare feet, and she dug her toes into the grass and dirt with a sigh of relief.
Yui hid her giggle behind her hand. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”
“It’s fine. That tree will always be there,” Artemis said. “Did you just happen to find me again, or did you actually follow me this time?”
A blush took over her fair skin. “I wanted to apologize. For, um. I should have known that - well, you’re really close.”
Artemis grinned. “You’re not the first person to accuse us of having that sort of relationship, it’s okay. It’s just, I’ve never heard anyone ask it so innocently before.”
Yui rubbed the back of her neck. “So you’re not mad.”
Leaning down, the goddess picked up her discarded boots. “My laugh was meant to express humor, unless it didn’t come off that way.”
The blush intensified on the girl’s way. “No - I mean, it did, I just wanted to make sure…”
“Like I said, it’s not the first time it’s happened.” She inclined her head toward the building again, indicating that Yui should walk with her. They strolled at a leisurely pace, the boots dangling from Artemis’ fingers. “Do you like Apollon, Yui?”
“He’s very kind,” Yui said softly. “And enthusiastic.”
“Like a puppy,” Artemis pointed out, but Yui shook her head emphatically.
“It’s like he really wants to prove himself. He’s trying so hard already, even though the others don’t seem to really want and get involved.”
Artemis still thought it sounded like he was a puppy, but maybe Yui didn’t really understand her brother yet. “That’s my brother, always willing to bend to make others happy.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “He’s a good one, just kind of stupid sometimes.”
“You’re not really into this place though, are you?”
Artemis pressed her lips together. “What makes you say that?”
“You’re like Dionysus, or like the others who don’t come to class. Angry at being here.”
“Aren’t you angry, Yui?” Artemis asked her in a gentle voice, risking a glance at her. The girl looked sad, for a brief second, before realizing that the goddess was watching her.
“I was upset at first, but not angry. I get to spend time with all of you, and we get to learn from each other.”
Artemis wrinkled her nose. “You’re disgustingly optimistic. Just like Apollon.”
Yui grinned brightly. “You said you had hope in me. Isn’t that optimistic?”
