Mother Nature, Mother Earth (Artemis)

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The woods were silent besides the crunching noise her boots made in the show with each step she took, and Marian smiled at the stillness. She probably shouldn’t be out here, she could only imagine Robin’s reaction if he knew she was wandering about the woods alone in her condition, but she had needed some time to herself. She loved her husband dearly, more than life itself, but the further along in her pregnancy she got the more he seemed to hover. It was endearing to be certain, but when her mood swung it could easily switch to being irritating.

Stopping several yards from a large oak tree, Marian pushed her heavy wool cloak back over one shoulder to reveal the obvious swell of her belly as well as the bow she had been carrying. Pulling an arrow from the quiver on her back, she nocked it and lined up her shot. Once again she was out of practice, but for a much more pleasant reason this time, but she hoped her aim would not be too far off.

Fixing her eye on a knot on the tree she took a breath, focused, and let the arrow fly.

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Hunting out in the woods when there was fresh snow on the ground was one of Artemis' favorite things to do. Her favorite season was winter, despite the fact that nature was her best friend. Actually, it didn't even matter that she depended upon nature to live independently. She could have a shrub sprout out of the ground at any time if it was to her advantage. In the winter, her blonde hair really camouflaged among the white snow and once she had a white coat on, she was nearly invisible. Of course, to her disadvantage, the crunching of the snow was loud enough to scare off any animal. Which is mostly why she didn't go hunting in the wintertime in the first place. Although...

Target practice never hurt anyone, did it? Not intentionally, anyways....Okay, so maybe there were a few incidents with Artemis and arrows, but she had good reasons! Artemis held her bow steady as she pulled back an arrow, finding her aim with an eye. Just as she was about to release the arrow, however, she heard a whooshing sound by her ear and she jumped in ultimate surprise. For a moment, Artemis only stared at the arrow on the tree a couple of feet away from her to her right, unable to move. But once she regained herself, she immediately put down her bow and arrow and turned for her eyes to search for the location where it had come from. Had someone been aiming for her? Or was this person just a bad shot? Or maybe she was just hidden and the archer hadn't seen her. No, it was definitely not a bad shot. The arrow looked like it landed where it was aimed - the knot in the tree.

"Who's there?" Artemis called out, glancing around curiously. Nobody was moving, and all she could see was the blinding white fluffy stuff. It was hurting her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you," she promised. She was dying of curiosity on the inside now.

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When her aim struck true, Marian lowered the bow and smiled. She knew it was silly to be worried about losing this skill at such a time, but with so much else to worry about it was not such a bad thing to have something small to focus her attention on once in a while. Last time she had been seriously injured, so recovery had been long and frustrating, and while this was nothing even remotely similar perhaps she had just needed the reassurance. Reassurance that she could still defend herself, that she was still in control.

Reaching back for another arrow, she was startled when a voice suddenly called out, shattering the silence around her. On instinct she pressed her back to the nearest tree, dropping her cloak to hide her situation, and got the arrow ready, just in case.

There was always something unsettling about someone who would randomly call out that they were not planning on hurting her. Why did they jump to that conclusion instantly if they meant no harm? For the moment Marian stayed silent, her eyes searching the blinding white surroundings.

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Nothing. Dead silence. And it was literally killing Artemis. She knew there was someone close by, because if whoever it was was on the run, Artemis would hear the footsteps for sure. How had she not sensed that someone was near her? Walking up to the tree with the arrow stuck in it, Artemis reached up to grab the arrow, breaking a bit of it off in the doing. It was a foreign arrow. Not like one she'd seen before, and Artemis had seen a lot of arrows in her life. Narrowing her eyes at the continuous silence, Artemis could only infer that the arrow'd come from an enemy with the intent of scaring her. Like a piece of twig would scare the great goddess Artemis.

Re-setting her first arrow on her bow, Artemis walked slowly and as quietly as possible towards the direction from which the arrow came. If it was an enemy, he was definitely going to get a taste of a real arrow. Without mercy, too. Skipping and hiding from tree to tree would be silly. No huntress of Olympus hid from her prey. Especially not Artemis. She'd rather die (figuratively speaking, of course) than be considered a coward. And her boldness had gotten her into trouble more than once in her eternal life.

Artemis released the arrow towards a crowd of trees, hitting a low thin branch, causing it to snap off the tree. Since the hunter wouldn't respond to her voice, maybe a wake-up call would work. She pulled out another arrow from her quiver and looked around some more. "If you're lucky, I'll spare you. I'm in a fair mood this morning," Artemis said, annoyed now. She'd give the hunter one last chance before she started getting pissed off.

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In the silence that surrounded her Marian thought she heard footsteps approaching, but they were so quiet she could not be certain. She was listening so intently, barely even breathing, that when the branch snapped off a tree only a few feet to her right she jumped and let out a tiny yelp. Silently she cursed the noise.

What had she done to deserve this woman’s wrath? Was she to be hunted among the trees like a wild animal? And for what? But more importantly, most importantly, what was she to do to escape safely? She could not run, not through the snow, not in her dark cloak, and certainly not with the awkwardness caused by the changes to her body. If she could not run, could she fight? The risk to her unborn child was too great, and even if she did manage to escape alive with only minor injuries, the repercussions at home would be too much to bare. Robin would never let her out of his sight again.

There seemed to be only one choice; hopefully this hunter could be reasoned with.

Hidden mostly behind the tree, Marian aimed her bow in the direction of the voice but kept it lowered slightly. “Sparing a life has nought to do with luck, it is about mercy. And if you are fair as you claim, you will at least inform me of my crimes before exacting your judgement,” she called back.

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There it was! Artemis heard it, all right. She had extremely good hearing and it was quite useful for when she was out hunting. Every little gust of wind, creak, and now...a little surprised sound. It can from near where the branch she shot fell. The crowded area of trees made it near impossible to find whoever it was that was hiding. From the yelp, Artemis could tell it was a woman. Another female huntress. There were quite a few over at the university, but there were not many that would shoot an arrow so close to Artemis' head. Was this one fearless?

That was when Artemis heard was she didn't expect to hear. The woman called out to Artemis, and the goddess instantly jumped to point an arrow towards the direction from which the voice came. Walking still slowly towards the intended tree, she held her breath for a bit to see if she could hear anything else. But there was nothing more. Nothing but silence. And her own heartbeat. All right. The negotiating was good enough for Artemis. "Your arrow..." Artemis stopped a few feet away from the tree, and made no rush to see who was behind it, as she tossed what was left of the other huntress' arrow beside the tree. "It hardly missed my head."

And as if to justify her words, Artemis scoffed a little. "Believe me. With Artemis, sparing a life has everything to do with luck," the blonde announced, and moved far enough to see the woman's weapon in her hand. Well, Artemis was quicker than the said huntress would believe.

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Marian held her breath, listening, waiting. She could hear the approaching footsteps, light as they were, as the snow crunched beneath them, and then they stopped. She was not far away now, and Marian kept her bow at the ready. Her eyes, though, she dropped to the ground when the remnants of her own arrow appeared at the foot of the tree she was using as cover.

Her blue eyes widened. She had sworn there had been nobody else around, that she had been alone; she would not have fired if there had. Apparently she had been mistaken.

Then the woman stepped into view and it became quite obvious how such a mistake could have been made. With the white clothing, blonde hair and fair skin, Artemis was nearly invisible to one with even the slightest bit of snow blindness. She stood in direct contrast to Marian, who blended better to the dark tree that now only partially concealed her.

“It was not my intention,” she claimed, now pointing her weapon directly at Artemis as the other woman did the same to her. “I believed myself to be alone, and when I fired my aim was true.” Had she wanted the arrow to hit Artemis, she had no doubt it would have.

Wait... Artemis... she knew that name. If she was not mistaken, it was the name of Apollo’s sister. Marian was quick to judge and to dislike, but Apollo’s treatment of Merlin had fairly earned her pure, unadulterated loathing.

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Yeah, well, I believed myself to be alone, as well. It was a plausible excuse, but it was also an easy one. Keeping her bow and arrow cautiously pointed at the other woman, Artemis stepped until she stood face-to-face with her. "Whether or not it was your intention, I found your aim a threat. Therefore, I believe you should be taught a lesson," Artemis replied, keeping her lips in a thin line and her eyes still narrowed.

It was silent, and Artemis loved silence. The slightest crackling of a twig, or rustling of the leaves in the trees were taken as warnings and threats. Every living breathing thing in the forest knew when Artemis was out hunting, whether for pleasure or for game. All of the animals and nymphs knew to be careful when Artemis was out because they could become the next prey, or purpose or not. Normally, she tried to stand clear of nymphs, and it's become a talent of hers to be able to detect which tree was a wood nymph and which was not, as to not harm their trees, but the animals? Although they had hearts and suffered pain too, Artemis stopped feeling empathy for them. "Who are you? State your name, woman."

The look in the woman's eyes suddenly changed. Artemis wasn't sure what it was, but her eyes appeared to have this...vague familiar look in them. The more she studied the eyes, the more Artemis was able to detect more than just slight confusion and frustration, and quite possibly annoyance. But she ignored whatever else it was. There was something else that was catching Artemis' mentality, and couldn't quite...The moment Artemis' eyes looked the other woman up and down once to see if she would be any competition, she noticed something. Something that not many would care too much about unless, of course, they were the goddess of childbirth as well.

"You are with child," Artemis said, not sure how to feel about that. She suddenly felt warmer towards the woman, but she also didn't want to let her guard down. For all she knew, this woman was a well-trained huntress. "How many weeks left?" The weapon was still pointed, despite the pregnancy thing.

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When Artemis vowed to teach Marian a lesson, the darker woman was indeed annoyed. That was the most ridiculous reasoning she had ever heard. Because she saw the accident as a threat it deserved to be punished? She was going to teach a lesson on, what, how to not unintentionally do things? It was too nonsensical to wrap her head around. Perhaps the sister was as bad as the brother.

“If I am to be taught a lesson for all the things I do not intend then I shall hardly have time for anything else,” Marian replied. Perhaps ‘getting lippy’ with someone who was currently pointing a weapon at her was not the smartest move, but that had never stopped her in the past, nor was it like to stop her in the future. It was also tempting to refuse to answer to the rude demand for her name, but while the words were not appealing it was not an unreasonable request. “I am Marian of Locksley, and I would appreciate you not ordering me about, Goddess or not.” She was not some common servant, after all.

The sudden mention of her child, though, reduced some of her ire. On one hand, any mention of her future son caused her to soften and excitement to bloom in her cheeks, but on the other it showed a weakness, one that could be exploited if this woman decided to follow through on her threats.

“The doctor has said eleven weeks,” she replied cautiously, for there was no point in lying. It still amazed her how a due date could be pinpointed so precisely.

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Okay, so maybe the only "lesson teaching" Artemis could think of was death. But there would be absolutely no reason to kill this woman who hadn't actually even touched Artemis, whether intentional or not. The woman hadn't done anything at all, really. Just thought she was getting some practice out alone in the forest. Fine.

Artemis bored her glare into this said Marian of Locksley as she replied sassily back. Well, there were some similarities between them. Not like they'd become friends or anything of the sort. Oh, this one was honorable. She was respectable. "Well, Marian of Locksley, then I shall not demand things of you. I apologize." But the arrow didn't lower. Not yet. She didn't quite trust the woman.

...aaaaand that was when Artemis' weapon lowered slowly. She would definitely be alert with it, but she wasn't protecting herself with it either. "Eleven more weeks and you give birth?" Any talk of childbirth and infants, and Artemis was there. This is what she lived for - aside from hunting, of course. Oh, goodness, Artemis, relax yourself, will you? Artemis almost wanted to throw out suggestions. That she could be there to make the birth as painless as possible. That she could deliver the child safely. But then again, that was the childish and foolish Artemis thinking. The actual Goddess Artemis doesn't even know this stranger.

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The apology was direct, said without remorse but seemingly genuine. Marian nodded her head in acceptance, yet neither of them lowered their weapons. Apologies were exclusive and did not necessarily resolve the conflict between them; instead it was the other woman’s interest in her pregnancy that did the trick. Slowly the weapon was lowered and the soon-to-be mother felt a sense of relief, though she was not yet ready to let down her own guard. It took a certain type of person to harm an innocent woman over a misunderstanding, but a different despicable one altogether to do so to a pregnant woman. Had Artemis not lowered her weapon at this point her character would have been called severely into question.

“Yes,” Marian confirmed, her own bow relaxing slightly, though she didn’t lower it quite yet. It was not just herself she had to protect, so she could not be too careful. Despite herself, though, and despite the current situation, a slight smile graced her lips. “It is to be a boy. A son.”

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Artemis wasn't even worried anymore. Not that she had been anyway. It was indeed a slight mishap, and it was accidental as well, therefore there was no reason to hurt a woman with child. That would go against everything Artemis represented and there was no way she was ruining anything. That would be silly. Although Artemis' weapon was lowered, Marian's wasn't, and the Goddess could understand that. She'd seen this multiple times before, that a woman would do anything to protect her child, whether born or unborn. And this suddenly caused Artemis to be compassionate.

Propping her quiver with arrows and her bow against a tree, Artemis walked towards Marian slowly, her hand extended towards the other weapon. "You don't have to keep that pointed at me anymore. See, I'm clearly not...going to do anything to you." And as if to justify that sentence, Artemis held her palms forward like in defeat.

A son? My, my, how truly wonderful! And why was Artemis getting excited again? Oh, yes. Because ever since she'd arrived at Tintagel, she'd only been hunting and practicing with her bow and arrow. But that was only half of her, and the other half was weakening. Her midwife half. But was Artemis really about to...? Oh, gods, she was. Artemis got close another to wrap her fingers carefully around the bow, tugging it down a bit. "Marian, I want to make you an offer. Once that you are free to not accept if you don't want to. And I am entirely honest with it, no strings, and I want nothing in return."

Just like it was impossible to resist the temptation to hunt on a perfectly good day, it was impossible to be at the university knowing a woman was in labor and Artemis wasn't there to see it through. And it was a little strange to ask, especially when it was coming from the person who had been aiming an arrow at the pregnant lady. "When the time comes for you to give birth...will you send for me?" No, Artemis, that wasn't the most ridiculous thing to ask the woman at all. Nope.

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Marian watched intently as Artemis disarmed herself, setting her bow and quiver aside and was about to lower her own when the Goddess took a step toward her. Her wariness increasing, the brunette tightened her grip once more, keeping the arrow trained on the approaching figure. Artemis was no unarmed, presumably defenseless, but how could one tell with a Goddess?

Holding her ground, Marian let her approach, fear and distrust making her keep her weapon aimed, but she did not try to fend the blonde off when she set her hand upon the bow. In fact, she let out a small breath when her own weapon was finally lowered, even if it had not been by her own hand. She had just been so afraid she had put her child at risk, so worried about Robin’s reaction that she hadn’t been able to let it go. If she got herself hurt, if she lost their baby because of her own stubbornness and sharp tongue would he ever forgive her? Deep in her heart she knew he would always love her, no matter what, but it wold have never been the same.

Fortunately there was no time to dwell on such thoughts as Artemis was offering a completely new distraction that struck her completely dumb. It was the strangest request she had ever heard, especially considering the events that had just passed.

“Why?” Marian breathed out, lowering the bow the rest of the way and meeting the blonde’s eyes with complete confusion. “You know nothing of me, and were completely content to kill me only moments ago. Why would you wish to be present at the birth of my child?”

Letting go of the arrow to let it fall uselessly to the ground, her hand moved instinctively to cover her stomach, a protective gesture she’d had to fight against to keep her weapon ready since the beginning of this altercation.

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Artemis offered her a little smile when the other weapon went down too. She was going to have to fight to gain Marian's trust, and it was going to take a bit before that happened. Artemis had been, after all, aiming an arrow at a pregnant woman. And not only that, but Marian was stubborn and quick, which would make it even harder to actually get her to trust Artemis. She'd have to keep her voice calm and friendly and maybe smile a little more.

Yeah, so it was a really strange offer to make, Artemis knew that, but she needed this. She craved it. Why was she the goddess of childbirth, again? Even she had no idea. It couldn't have been just hunting and virginity? No, wait, cross out the 'virginity' part, cause that one sucked too. Damn all. "Correction, I was not perfectly content to kill you, because I would not have. Wound, maybe, but not kill," Artemis remarked, raising an eyebrow. Artemis, you got yourself into this, you're talking your way through it now.

"Why? Because it's...Because I'm the Goddess of childbirth, and just like you don't keep from protecting your baby, I can't keep away knowing you're giving birth," Artemis said. It was lame. That was the worst excuse ever. She just didn't know how to explain it so that Marian would understand. "I don't expect you to understand, but...that's my offer. I just wish to be present. And you do not have to hear from or ever see me again after that."

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Oh, so she had only intended to wound her, not outright kill her? That just made it so much better! “Oh, well that’s perfectly fine, then,” Marian snarked, wishing for a moment that she hadn’t dropped her arrow. Not that she would have used it, but if such a correction was supposed to be reassuring it certainly fell short.

What also fell short was the explanation. Marian knew that the Gods and Goddesses here supposedly had their particular callings, but it was still unsettling agreeing to call for a stranger when her time came due. More than unsettling was the claim that Artemis could now ‘not keep away’ from her. Marian did not want this woman there, nor did she need her. Had she been home then perhaps she may have considered it, but the hospital here was amazing, and she had no doubt that she would have the best care in the world there.

“That is not an offer, that is a request,” she pointed out. If it were an offer then there would be some benefit to it, and thus far Marian saw no benefit to herself nor her child, unless she was meant to believe that harm would come to them if she did not agree. That too would not be an offer so much as a threat. Relinquishing her bow so now both her hands were free, she wrapped her cloak around her again, disguising her obvious pregnancy once more.