Pajama Field {open}

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"You do not need to know only how to kill a dragon to become a great warrior, Astrid," Artemis pointed out slowly, still keenly observing Astrid's every movement and her arrow shots. She had to admit that she believe in Astrid to become one of the greatest. It was more than Artemis could say for any other mortal she'd met before, which was a huge step. "To become a warrior, and not only a dragon slayer, one must master all techniques of hunting."

"Or perhaps you do not plan on becoming the best warrior, but rather just the best dragon slayer." Really, Artemis did not know what to think of the girl. She was putting herself all out there, but argued that she didn't need to know how to become an archer. Artemis saw it that she did need to know. Perhaps it was just a matter of opinion.

Artemis smirked at the comment on their last hunting trip, though they had not been hunting together. "I thought we went over this before. You would not have hit the deer. I did not throw you off," she stated, shrugging slightly. "But you must also remember, you are not on your own if we do go hunting. You are one of my hunting companions, as are my other immortal companions, which you may use and are at your disposal as well, according to how you need of them."

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"So I've noticed," admitted Astrid, though she was about as sulky as she could manage. That was reminding her all too well of her encounters with Beowulf and the subsequent training that she'd been putting herself under. She wanted to be able to fight on equal terms with warriors like that too, but it really was secondary. Which was why she groaned in frustration to Artemis' continued questioning. "Why do you think I'm here? I've been working my butt off training just to fight people lately."

She paused, taking a few more shots, her anger starting to leak into the motions. This meant the arrows went a little harder than they needed to, and they were sinking deeper into the target. They were also slightly more wild, which only was making Astrid angrier, and was likely to lead down a bad path. She lowered her bow and blew out her lips. "I just don't really like archery," she admitted.

And she didn't. She could do it alright, but she didn't like the distance. She definitely didn't like the idea of using something so small on someone. It felt... sneaky, and she wasn't a fan. You could hunt with a spear or by throwing axe or something, though she'd been using bows at the time to brush up on the skills.

"Yeah, I remember those too," she said, frowning. "They were the ones giggling at me last time," she flicked her eyes to Artemis, "and if I hadn't gotten that deer with that shot, I would have kept trying."

She also would have likely tried to run it down ,but she didn't add that. Instead, she raised her bow, taking another shot, this one a good deal closer to the bull's eye.

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Artemis shook her head. "Picking a fight with someone just to fight people is foolish, girl. You will achieve nothing by doing so," the goddess told her plainly. "If you want people to understand what you are aspiring to be, and if you want to truly prove that you are the greatest of mortals, then you cannot go around fighting people. You must show them, but wisely." She was being extremely hypocritical, but then again, Artemis couldn't be killed in a fight. A mortal could.

Artemis laid a hand on Astrid's shoulder, offering her a smile. "In time, you will, because you will not have much of a choice. Arrows can prove to be far more efficient than a sword or an axe." She nodded at the young warrior. the girl was still indeed young. She had time to learn to like all methods of fighting.

It was hard not to laugh as Artemis remembered how her companions thought that the entire situation was so very amusing and entertaining. They had always thought that mortals who considered themselves better than a goddess (be the situation a mistake or not) was funny. "Yes, well, I can't exactly say they will ever like you as much as they like me. But they will listen to you if I tell them to."

Was she still thinking she would have gotten the deer? Artemis rolled her eyes, but said nothing. there was no point anymore. It was in the past.

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"Uh, that's kind of the Viking way," said Astrid, looking at Artemis as if she'd grown a second head. "We sort of fight when we do everything. I think even our holidays involve us hitting each other on the head or something."

Astrid really, really couldn't grasp the idea of not picking a fight with someone. That was how you asserted your authority, how you showed everyone that you were someone that you just didn't mess with. Plus, it was just plain fun. True, Astrid didn't exactly go picking fights with just anybody, despite what people [and a signature] might tell you. It just sort of happened to her. A lot.

"Arrows aren't going to work well--" began Astrid again. She was tempted to continue, but instead ended up taking a deep breath. She settled for giving Artemis another look of consternation, before reaching down for arrows again. It was around that point that she realized that she had, in fact, emptied the grounded quiver of its arrows. Astrid stared for a few seconds, half expecting them to automatically refill.

"I'm not looking to be liked," she said, not wavering in her gaze. "That--- well, back home it just sort of happened."

Because she was pretty, vibrant, and pretty well the epitome of the female Viking, though Astrid didn't quite realize it. Quite. She finally looked up from the quiver, looking back down range as if considering whether she should just walk or ask or...

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Though Artemis wouldn't voice it aloud, she thought that the "Viking way" was foolish and unnecessarily stupid. Why did everything have to involve violence and hitting each other? Wow. Hel must really be rubbing off on Artemis, because when the goddess of the hunt was questioning violence, then something was terribly wrong. Saying something against this might offend Astrid, and Artemis didn't want her to be offended. So, she merely shrugged.

Ah, the young Viking would in time learn. She did not have to only kill dragons. To master the art of hunting, one must start with the smaller, less valuable things. To kill a buck was a lot simpler than shooting a fleeing sparrow, despite what anyone thought. But the warrior was learning quickly. She was already learning not to argue against what Artemis said. Perhaps Astrid was smart, but she wouldn't ever have the experience that Artemis had.

Sighing, Artemis waved a hand over the faraway image of the target filled with arrows, and it quickly cleared up. "At least you've got a brain in that head of yours," Artemis said, nodding. "The point is never to be liked, but to be respected." She lifted a few fingers towards the empty quiver, and then new arrows appeared.

"How old are you, Astrid?"

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The image disappeared, and for a few moments, Astrid figured that their training session was over. She even shifted, ready to head on her merry way. Soon enough, more arrows and a new target were appearing. The Viking shrugged, obviously equally content to continue as she had been to leave.

Astrid couldn't say as much for the conversation. The liked versus respected thing made a whole lot more sense when you were a goddess as opposed to a mortal, but Astrid really wasn't in the mood to get into that. She'd heard somewhere that Artemis was a goddess of chastity or something, more interested in hunting than relationships. Given Astrid's own experience, she was willing to buy into that. Was it something she wanted for herself though...?

The question caught her off-guard though, even making her fumble a shot. She looked up at Artemis, obviously confused. "I'm seventeen... didn't you already know that? You're the wise goddess here," she finished, moving to look back downrange. Her wild shot showed, and she winced as she looked at it. Yeah, that definitely wasn't an improvement. Muttering a curse, Astrid hurriedly fired another shot, this one hitting the ring just outside of the bulls-eye.

Better. Much.

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When Astrid's arrow flew...not as well as it should have, Artemis sighed. "How are you to shoot an arrow when you are being distracted, and under attack by an enemy, when you cannot answer an mere question while shooting a target?" Artemis shook her head, but pushed Artemis to try again. "Concentrate."

Rolling her eyes over at Astrid, Artemis put a hand to her hip. "That would be Athena, actually," she replied. "And I cannot read minds. I'll guess if I must, but I am not as precise as others can be." Duh. Did mortals really think that immortals were like their said Superman figure? Sure, Artemis knew a lot, was wise on many levels, but it was not what she was born for, and her abilities and skills did not include mind reading or anything along those lines.

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"I have to think more about your stupid questions than fighting," replied Astrid, meaning every word, though it nearly stung to say that. She knew she'd been focusing more and more on her fighting abilities here, but she'd like to think that her ability to think through tactics hadn't been completely dulled. It was nearly enough to make her miss shots, but by now she'd focused her anger into a laser scope, utilizing it to help strengthen and guide her actions instead of disrupt.

It was a scary step, but thankfully Astrid wasn't stopping to think about it.

"How am I supposed to know what all your abilities are?" asked Astrid, turning slightly to look at Artemis out of the corner of her eye. "You're Greek. I'm a Viking, remember? I didn't even know who the hell you were till you literally shot an arrow in front of my face."

see, she even managed to tactfully not mention the kill stealing, though obviously Astrid was proving remarkably adept at holding a grudge.

"Shouldn't you have all sorts of knowledge and stuff though?" asked Astrid. She followed through the motions of shooting another arrow, more than pleased that the training was kicking in now. "You know, from living forever and all that?"

Another shot; she was sinking them in fairly close to the bullseye now, at least.

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"Ah, but a warrior can think and concentrate through the craziness of the battlefield, or the cries and roars of dragons," Artemis said, tilting her chin upward at Astrid. She could see the blonde becoming the next closest talented thing to a goddess. OF course, that still wasn't anywhere near the real thing, but it was definitely closer than anyone was. There were only a few things Astrid still needed worked on, and she could be all set.

Rolling her eyes, Artemis noted how...lame humans could be. As bright as they were a lot of the time, they just...sometimes acted like they didn't have a brain in that thick skulls of theirs. "I don't have all that many, Astrid. I am just the Goddess of the Hunt and of Chastity. I usually control all things related to those two main things. Simple," she said with a shrug. And it might be best to simply ignore that comment. Astrid really needed to let go of that moment. Artemis won, whether the other liked it or not.

"No, I shouldn't. I only know of things which concern me, and things which don't, I do not know of. There is no point in so much knowledge if I would not be using it to my own advantage." Artemis shrugged. She might have lived quite a long time, but she didn't need to know everything that existed out there.

As the arrows were going in closer to the middle of the target, Artemis decided to make things a bit more difficult. Astrid may not be that advanced just yet, but it would make for great entertainment. And besides, it was near the end of the lesson anyway. Artemis had found out some more about her human protege, and Astrid knew her archery better. Giving a slight nod to Anemone, who liked to be a trickster on occasion, the nymph grabbed ahold of Astrid's next arrow, and had it pierce right through Astrid's sleeve. Artemis kept a straight face.

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Astrid opened her mouth to argue the next point, only to find that she really didn't have much to argue about. Sure, there were... details there that she didn't want to think about or address, but overall, she definitely agreed with what Artemis had to say. She needed to be able to pay attention on the battlefield. Sure, Astrid planned on doing exactly that, but just saying so wasn't going to do anything. Plus, she figured she had better shut up from time to time around the goddess. Artemis was taking her own personal time out to train.

Not so much the next bit: "So, what, you don't ever think about anything that's not hunting related? That's gotta be boring," she glanced over at Artemis for a moment, before refocusing back on the whole shooting thing. Sure, Astrid was pretty single-minded herself, mostly directed toward taking down dangerous beasts and fighting, but even then, she had... other interests. Like... driving. Yes. Driving. That totally counted.

Astrid continued sinking arrows into the target, and her confidence was nearly soaring. Then, she released an arrow, and it seemed to catch. Astrid cursed, stumbling forward a few paces, nearly losing her balance. She jerked upright, reaching for the arrow, only to find it in that awkward place, that place just out of reach. What resulted was not that different from a dog chasing her tail.

"The hell?" she said, stopping the movements to glare at the arrow. "How did that... is that even possible?"

And lo, there was more turning in place, before Astrid stopped herself, took a deep breath, and snatched, managing to catch the arrow. Her eyes were in dangerous slits, and she directed them over the field, her suspicions rising.

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Artemis thought about it for a moment, realizing how ironic that fact was right now, and then tilted her head thoughtfully at Astrid. "I do, actually. More than I probably should," Artemis admitted. "But my thoughts are often directed to hunt-related things, and the advantages I may get over others when it comes to hunting. Revenge is on my mind more than it should be, but I usually push aside thoughts that are not concerning me. Such thoughts are pointless." Shrugging, Artemis actually gave it more thought. That was indeed a good point Astrid brought up.

It took a lot for Artemis to keep a straight, sober face while she watched Astrid struggle a bit with the arrow. While she smiled a bit at Anemone, who was now giggling, Artemis crossed her arms over her chest. "You should really learn to be a bit less uptight and snobby with your range of interests, because they seem to be boring," Artemis answered, raising an eyebrow at her.

She held out her palm, and the arrow Astrid had managed to grab disappeared from her hand and into Artemis' fist. "Anemone is at your disposal for tricks, if you'd like. She will more often stay invisible unless I have not called for her use, but you may call her as well. Of course, do not take advantage." And she was not referring to small meaningless tricks either. The nymphs did not need to be used to destroy.

"I did say I was a goddess, didn't I?" Nodding out towards the field, Artemis waved a hand over, and a couple of golden stags came into view, prancing around as if they were deep inside the forest. If she was thinking right, Astrid should try to shoot one, and if she would manage to get the shot, the deer would not be hurt; it would disappear again.

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"Revenge? Did another god crap in your breakfast or something?" asked Astrid. Because as far as the Viking was concerned, the only person who could possibly tick off a goddess to the point of "revenge" had to be another deity of some kind. Okay, Astrid supposed that a monster of some kind or Titan or whatever would work. Still gods, more or less.

And she'd nearly lump whatever it was that caused the arrow problem in there with it. At least Astrid had more or less gotten a hold of the projectile before the truth was revealed. She looked to the weapon, feeling a pang of jealousy for Astrid's godly powers, then looked to the direction of the giggle. Great, god powers, just what she wanted to--- wait, did Artemis just effectively cast a boon upon Astrid? The Viking's eyes went wide, and all her frustration melted away, just like that. she nodded to the goddess, swallowing any contrary words for the moment.

A hand wave came in response, one that Astrid followed. She saw the animals, so she looked back to Artemis, brow raised. "Is one of those yours, or am I allowed to shoot at them?"

Well, best to ask at least, instead of just opening fire. Because that worked so well last time.

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Artemis couldn't help but roll her eyes yet again at this mortal. Astrid may be smart, had a good head on her shoulders, but wording sometimes really sucked. "No, I don't actually need to eat food to live. But I understand the expression. And no. When it comes to revenge, believe me, it is nothing like what you mortals get angry over." And when Artemis said mortals, she meant Astrid.

It was obvious that Astrid was fairly pleased with Artemis' offer of Anemone. These were the benefits of being trained by the Goddess of the Hunt. If you did well, Artemis would treat you better than most mortals.

Artemis shrugged. "Shoot and see," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. A moving target would do Astrid good. Even if she missed, there would always be other lessons. For now, the human had done extremely well.

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Astrid was half tempted to ask what it was that got gods riled up. This seemed like something that would be important information to know in the long term, after all. She even opened her mouth to ask precisely that. However, discretion actually kicked in instead. Astrid closed her mouth, gave Artemis a level look, and instead looked back at the animals in the distance.

Artemis' next instruction, her next words, rang a much better chord with Astrid. She grinned and raised her bow, taking careful aim. By now she'd gotten used to using the weapon, at the least, and this really wasn't the first time she'd ever tried to shoot an animal. True, she seemed to have a little difficulty actually bringing one in, but she was dismissing that for now. Astrid whispered a quick prayer to the gods, honoring her personal patrons: Artemis and Thor, and then released the arrow.

It was aimed toward the deer, and seemed like it might actually hit...