Talking (Marie, Tyler and Aaron ONLY)

He grinned slyly. "Depends, are you saying yes?" He asked, biting his lower lip slightly.

As she opened her mouth to answer, they heard a twig snap. Without delay, Marie drew her bow from nowhere and shot into a tree. A thud and crash later, Tyler lay dazed on the forest floor.
"What did I tell you!?" she yelled at him, approaching with another arrow at the ready, pointed straight at his chest. He put up his hands in surrender, eyeing the sharp point warily.
"Don't shoot?" he said, looking at her pleadingly. Marie was angry, her chest heaving up and down with her breaths, her face red, her eyes narrowed.

"Marie, don't shoot him." He murmured softly. "He annoys me as much as you- Well, no, he probably annoys you more, but don't shoot him." Withdrawing his hands to his pockets, his face turned a delicate shade of pink. Tyler must have heard and seen everything.

She didn't back down. Shockingly, her eyes were filling with angry tears.
"I am sick of him following me everywhere!" she cried. "He doesn't get the message!" A hot tear escaped, and she wiped it away with her elbow.

Tyler glanced back and forth between Marie and Aaron, looking for help.
"Look, I'm sorry!" he tried telling her, while slowly backing up. "I just like you a lot! But that probably means nothing to you." The blonde teen sat there, staring at Aaron.

Aaron sat there, feeling awkward. If he took Tyler's side, Marie'd get angry at him. But if he took Marie's side, Tyler'd hate him... not that he cared, but he didn't like being disliked.

After several moments of tension, Marie lowered her bow. She stood there, looking down at Tyler. She seemed to be deciding whether to kill him or not. Finally, she stepped back a few steps.
"Εκτέλεση, λίγο κουνελιού."
Tyler didn't hesitate. He scrambled up, ran the to the edge of the trees, then paused and appeared to be thinking something over.
"Get out of here!"
Marie's shout echoed, and Tyler was gone in a heartbeat.

Aaron stifled a laugh as he disappeared. "I think he's not coming back." He chimed.

The hunter had a different reaction. She set her back against the tree, then slid down until she was sitting on the forest floor. Her bow lay beside her as she buried her face in her hands.
"I'm such a horrible person," came her muffled voice.

He sat next to her, wanting to hug her but yet afraid. "Why? You're wonderful, not horrible!" He sighed

She merely shook her head, looking over at him. Now, her tears fell freely.
"What do you see in me?" she suddenly asked him. "I mean, I'm violent. I'm a daughter of Artemis, the one goddess who completely opposes men. I'm skinny, pale, and lame." She hugged her knees close to her chest.

"I'm pale, skinny and lame. " He grinned. " I don't mind your mother, and you're only mean and violent to Tyler, which is justified, since he is consistently stalking you." He said quietly and quickly. He continued to fight the urge to hug her.

Not looking at him, Marie leaned on his shoulder. She wiped her face, which was most likely covered in grime now. And, for the first time in a while, she smiled.
"Thanks," she whispered, closing her eyes.

Giving into the feeling, he wrapped an arm across her shoulder, hand lying on her opposite shoulder. He leaned his head over her's, so they were close together.

OoC: Cheesy moment :')


Marie lay there, wondering when her mother would intervene. It was amazing she had managed to make it this long without Artemis knowing about this. Then again, she was probably jinx--

A flash of moonlight caused Marie to jump to her feet, startled. Standing there, with an arrow ready, directed at Aaron, was Artemis herself.

Aaron jumped up and back, hands raised, drawing a sharp breath. He glanced at Marie, helping her to her feet, and looked back at Artemis.

The look in the goddess's eyes got scarier when Aaron touched Marie.
"Step back, boy," she said evenly.
Walking steadily over to Artemis, Marie said, "Mom, I can explain." Suddenly, the arrow was trained on the hunter instead.
"Is this boy worth your part in the Hunters?" she challenged, her dark brown hair covering her eyes eerily. Her daughter looked from Artemis to Aaron, her mouth starting to open, but she had no clue what to say.

Stepping back, he said, "She was upset. I was comforting her. " He replied. The look in her eyes was fierce, but he was only somewhat afraid.

Artemis's eyes flashed dangerously.
"You'd better hope you're not lying," she hissed. For good measure, she released her arrow. It flew into Aaron's foot and embedded itself deep. Marie cried out.
"Mom, he's just a friend!" She never could stop herself from going red when she lied. Her mother, luckily, did not know this, and figured it was because her daughter's friend had been shot.
"Keep an eye on him," she warned, and was gone. Marie ran over to Aaron.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm sorry, I am so sorry." She said it over and over. Her arms and hands shook, and her whole body trembled.

He yelped as the arrow forced entry to his foot. He kept murmuring to Marie that it was ok, he was fine, no need to be sorry, as painfully, he removed to arrow from his foot. The bloody head and shaft were now crimson rather than silver, and he winced again.

Gently, she took the arrow from him, apologizing again and again.
"Never should have happened," she kept saying. "She's a goddess, what were we thinking? Come on, we have to get to the infirmary."
By this point, the sun had set, and the moon was beginning to rise. It was merely a sliver of light in the velvet sky.

He shook his head, hopping on one foot to a creek and sticking his foot in. "I'm fine." He insisted. He hated it when she felt bad, for him of all people.

Marie wrung her hands, watching him anxiously.
"I'm really sorry," she said one more time. She felt awful for what had happened, like it was her fault.

Reading her like a book, he said, "It's not your fault. If anything? It's mine. I should have guessed you're mother would try to kill me. Honestly, it isn't the first time" He soothed. "Please, calm down."

She shook her head, making her black ponytail swish like Chiron's tail.
"Maybe this isn't a good idea," she said thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if this will be good."

He shrugged thoughtfully. "Maybe not yet... But someday. Maybe." he clarified.