Chapter XXXVI: Is the Bark Worse Than the Bite?-Artemis Evangelina

Artemis re-appeared in the air, suspended for a momentary five seconds, then was dropped on the ground. She landed on her back, and quickly flipped up into a crouch, surveying her surroundings. To her left, was the stream she had been following, and forest in all other directions. She breathed a short sigh of relief, and darted behind a few trees, worried that her unceremonious arrival had been a give away to her location. From behind the tree, Artemis looked up and down the area, and discovered that she had been dropped farther upstream then where she had been originally. For a few moments, Artemis listened to the sounds of the forest, straining to hear anything that would clue her into whither or not she was close to finding the man she was searching for. As Artemis was about to call upon the help of her forest friends, she heard a sound from further upstream. It was the sound of music, something that Artemis loved and treasured. She loved to play the wooden flute that Jake had given her many years ago; it was very relaxing to her spirit.

In one swift move, Artemis had jumped into the tree under which she had stood. It was easier to travel through the treetops when searching for someone, because they never knew you were there until you were good and ready to reveal yourself. In graceful, quick leaps, Artemis jumped from one tree to the next. She was very sure-footed, and was as quick as a deer. As Artemis traveled, she listened to the beautiful melodies that came from the area where she would *hopefully* find this mysterious person. This land seemed to be getting stranger and stranger by every passing minute. First, Artemis was faced with the duty to find this mysterious stranger, who would know all about this land. Then, she had stumbled upon that creature…a yoshi he called himself…named Lich. Artemis sighed as she kept jumping from tree to tree, and wished that she was back in her own land, joking with Jake over some nice, hot tea.
‘Jake…’ Artemis thought. ‘I hope you’re alright.’ Then another thought occurred to Artemis. She had not heard from Fang in quite awhile.

Fang, can you hear me? Artemis called as she stopped. There was a long pause of nothing, then came his reply,
Not…can…hear…me? It was very broken up, as if a barrier were trying to keep the contact between the two guardians from happening.
Fang, are you alright? She called back. This had never happened before, even when the two were separated over distances as great as this.
Not…clear…am…fine…animals well…scared… Was his answer. Artemis sighed, becoming worried about her furry companion. She had been separated from him before, but they were always able to come in contact with each other. In a way, she had never been alone before, and she didn’t want to be alone now.
Fang, I’m almost there. Try to find me; I’m near the stream. We shouldn’t be separated too much; this place gives me the creeps. Artemis sent, hoping that he would get most of the message.
Will…try…Yatina…see…soon…’bye…

Closing her eyes, Artemis leaned up against the tree. She had never been scared before, about anything. Even when she had almost died from when a large moose broke several of her ribs, almost puncturing a lung, she had not been scared. Now however, she felt very scared for some reason. Maybe it was because Fang was not with her, to lighten the atmosphere with wisecracks, or maybe she was just worried about the forest. Worried about the animals, and how they were getting along. Had anyone broke their word, and went beyond the forest borders? Shaking her head free of all thoughts, Artemis opened her eyes, and continued her tree hopping, searching for that person.

The music was getting louder, and soon enough, Artemis was in a tree almost right above them. Them…there were two. Which one was the one that she sought? They played two different instruments, and one also sang. The blue one was singing, while also playing a red…mandolin? Artemis turned to look at the other one, who was playing a different type of mouth-harp. He was spherical in shape, and was unlike any other person she had ever seen before! The people…where they creatures? Artemis didn’t really care too much; because she sat down on the branch she was standing on, and leaned up against the trunk, listening to the creatures play their music.

The hours passed, and many times Artemis was tempted to pull out her wooden flute, and start playing along with the two creatures, but she did not know how to react when she was discovered. Moreover, the music they played was innocent enough, but they had a certain air about them that just made you not want to be on their bad side. Evening was quickly falling however, and Artemis had to come up with a plan very soon, lest she spend the night sleeping in a tree. Although it was comfortable enough, she preferred the ground. The two monsters finished a tune that they had been playing for a long time, and set down their instruments.

Their mouths were moving, but Artemis could not hear what they were saying very well. She leaned forward, wrapping her legs around the branch, and stretching out to hear them. Creek… Artemis looked around, and shrugged, thinking that the wind was bending a branch. Creek…creek… The sound came again, and the two creatures were starting to look around for a source of the sound. Just then, Artemis was hit with a realization. There was no wind! Hesitantly, she looked behind her, and saw that the branch she was laying on was breaking. Any moment now it would…

SNAP!!

Artemis skillfully flipped off the branch before it came crashing down upon the two creatures. She landed in a crouch in front of them, but was not yet noticed. The leaves on the branch were blocking their view, which was still on their heads.
‘Run Artemis!’ She yelled at herself. ‘Run for another tree!’ It was too late though…and she was too slow. The two creatures were now staring at her, and soon recovered from their shock, reaching for, what Artemis thought to be, their weapons…