Under the Hunters Moon

Waxing Moon: Part III

New Jersey Pine Barrens, Mid-day:

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It had been eleven years since that cold night in October, she had never told anyone what had happened nor what she had done out of a whim and curiosity.

She had paid the price for it that night, or at least she thought.

She and her hunters had found themselves in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, not the hardest place in the world to survive, but they weren't there for a survival exercise; they were there for a hunt!

It had been a few years since they had hunted the Hind, a ritual that is done every one hundred years or so to test the skills and wills of the recruits and keep sharp the skills of the older ones.

She had released her Hind with a two-day head start in the pine barrens before bringing her hunters in.

The rules were simple: hunt the Hind by any means, do not lose yourself to the hunt, and those who bring the Hind back alive will be honored as Hunt leader for the next year.

If the hunter would bring back the Hind dead, well they would still be honored that night for bringing back the kill and showing the respect it deserves.

Artemis would just revive the Ceryneian Hind the next morning.

The Hind was a particularly difficult hunt to have.

The Hind was fast and none but the swiftest hunters could hope to keep up.

It was smart and able to double back on its tracks, use rivers and lakes to wash away its scent from hounds, it would use rocky paths to hide its tracks.

Yes, one had to be cunning to hunt the Hind, and thanks to its golden fur it is almost unkillable by any normal methods.

She looks forward to seeing who can catch the Hind this year.

Artemis sits atop the peak of a hill overlooking the pine barrens and a small lake in the middle, her eyes picking out her hunters as they scour the land looking for the Hind.

She sees a few of her oldest hunters who have done this hunt before lazing away by roaming the forest or sleeping in trees.

This brings a smile to her face as she picks her target, a hunter by the lake, a fishing pole resting against a rock, and her with a book in hand.

Artemis takes out her bow and notches an arrow before aiming, and takes her time picking her shot, so when the huntress raises her water bottle for a sip; she lets the arrow fly.

As it strikes the water bottle almost a mile away she laughs at the shocked hunter looking for where the arrow came from.

Hopefully, that would hopefully teach Phoebe to look after her younger sisters and not lay about; no matter how many times she had hunted the Hind.

Artemis sits back down on her perch looking over the forest below, none of the hunters were close to finding the Hind, which was currently swimming in the river leading to the lake.

The rustle of pine needles behind her perch in the tree alerted Artemis of someone walking up behind her, not sneaking per se, they had long ago learned that was impossible in her domain of the forest.

Her lieutenant was just naturally quiet after all these years.

"Zoë." Artemis greets her second in command, "Has anyone lost themselves yet?"

She asked the more important question first because she both knows how the hunt is going and why Zoë had not joined.

"No, My Lady." Zoë replies "All seem clear of mind and focus on finding the Hind, but I will keep an eye on the younger members, they are the most susceptible to it as you know."