Initiation hunt (Emily, Artemis and Aria)

Emily slept poorly during the night, her mind tormented by the fact that come the morrow she would be going on her initiation hunt. Sure she felt excited however there was the fact that at the end of it she would have to face a monster, if anything went wrong she or one of her beloved sisters could end up dead. Her mind ached from the lack of sleep, Emily made her way towards the meeting place.

She carried all of the necessary gear, knives, money... The list seemed endless at least Emily appeared to be a Hunter now. Dressed in camouflage, with dull black boots and a black bandanna wrapped around her head. She had a limp in her leg however that was usual for her. Her approach would have been easily heard as well for Emma packed rather poorly, she rattled and clanked through the undergrowth towards the meeting place.
She tried her best to learn the skills of the other Hunters, yet fate seemed to disagree with her new choice. Em possessed no genuine combat skills and struggled through most of the skills that the other Hunters already knew.

She arrived the infernal clanging ceasing for the moment. "Hey Aria." Em said with a nervous smile, she liked her, she seemed to possess an endless patience when it came to teaching her the skills to be a Hunter. "Sorry I am a bit late... I had a bit of trouble packing."

The speed at which Hunters could travel at surprised Emily, she honestly expected that they would be walking for days or travelling via a variety of different methods. Yet the sprinting through the forests, time seemed to speed up or something. She had no idea as to why this might be but put it down to one of the many benefits of the blessing. She felt her leg throb painfully but ignore the feeling as best she could, she would probably be never free of it.

She tried not to slow her pace and thus slow the others down. It would probably not be relieved very well if Em delayed their progress. Emily did not know Artemis too well, Aria on the other hand she knew quite well as a friend, older sister, mentor sort of way. If she had a older sister Emily would have wanted her to be Aria.
For Emily this happened to be a very special day, not only had she left the glided cage where she sought sanctuary from the wild, dangerous world she was also on her first Hunter mission. It felt great to be outside of the Camp, unrestricted by her crutches which she still kept as a reminder of what her life used to be restricted by.

Part of her often debated her choice to become a Hunter, her pledge. Some of her friends at the Camp, the non-Hunter friends well those that still acted friendly towards her believed that she had traded away freedom in order to have freedom of movement. She herself saw this rather differently, Em believed she traded her freedom to fall in love with a boy for a chance to actually have a life of her own.
An immortal life as that, one where she might yet actually make a difference rather than just be a mere survivor, a weak footnote in the glorious tales of other Demigods. Emily wondered if or what she would excel at as a Hunter, she currently had no idea however it would never be Canoeing, swimming or diving. She had a phobia of water, well drowning so adamantly refused to take part in anything to do with training sessions involving lakes.

Emily was grateful when they stopped to set up camp. Her leg throbbed painfully now, she rubbed it with her hands soothing it in her mind. Em believed that she had managed to keep up with her fellow Hunters quite well. For a time yes, she brought up the rear of the group, however she never really slowed down the pace of the group as they travelled.
This was the fastest Emily ever travelled, not even planes could travel at this speed. The only real part that Emily struggled with was the jumping over the torrents. Fear of water and all of that.

Still, now sitting down on a flat stone still warm from the sun, she reflected on what she hoped was a job well done. Em as of yet had not tried to wash or washed, instead she simply removed both of her boots. The pair lay on their sides, nearby but a short distance away as if she semi kicked them off. She struggled out of her back pack slowly, clattering as she did so. She was reluctant to relax fully as her more experienced sisters, Emily previously never really left the safety of the camp much, the wild, untamed places to her still held many dangers, too many unknowns for her to completely lower her guard.
So this was what America looked like away from the Camp and when it wasn't a blur as she travelled across the land. It held a quiet beauty to it despite all of the unknowns.

So far luck had been on their side as they did not have to ford any really deep rivers or cross any large body of water, something Emily was pleased about. She held no desire to argue with her sisters about her phobia of water. She was silent as her limbs felt quite heavy from exhaustion, if it wasn't for Artemis' blessing she knew that there would have been no way that she could have made it here. Not without transport or one of the Hunter's carrying her, she held a bit of stubborn pride that no matter what she would make her own way to places. Having one of her sister's carry her would have been a bitter wound to her personal pride.
Hopefully it would not come to that.

Emily listened to Aria as best she could, trying to focus on what her sister said but to be honest, most it was just a blur. Her mind felt foggy from exhaustion, the smell of roasting meat distracted her mind as her stomach grumbled at the thought of hot food. The food was good, initially she hoped that after eating she would have been able to focus more, it was not to be the case.
Now with a comfortably warm stomach she tried her best to stay awake whilst listening to Aria's stories. She liked Aria when they where at the camp, but this Aria she loved. She acted just like Emily believed an older sister would. She tried to focus on the story Aria now told her, it was respectful to listen even if she did just want to curl up in the smallest of balls and sleep.

Em's eyes flashed with a hidden emotion when Aria told a tale of a hunt in Scotland. Whatever the reason for it she kept it to herself for now. Emily had been quiet for a long period of time, listening to Aria however it took a while for her to process the fact that she may have just been asked a question.
"Erm... Tiring, very tiring I am just glad we did not have to cross any rivers or lakes." She mumbled hoping that Aria indeed was speaking to her and not the other sister who just returned.

Emily never felt so tired, so exhausted yet on the other hand she equally had never felt so alive. The warm, fuzzy feeling of following the path that was intended filled her chest as well as the genuine warmth of just being with her sisters. Everything she now had, she owed to the sisters and the Goddess they all served. The only thing that spoiled today happened to be the dull ache in her leg, almost as if a splinter of her past needed to still haunt her. She doubted the spectre would ever truly fade, many of the memories were bitter, angry... She would be better off if she could let the past simply die, vanish to dust and echoes.

Emily had watched the whole incident in a stunned silence. She wasn't sure what to do, uncertainty rooting her to the spot whilst Aria bounded away after their comrade. She listened quietly to Aria's explanation, comforted by the fact that it would not be dangerous yet she did not judge, sometimes things happened because they simply did.
Emily happened to be exhausted, her mind too foggy or numb with tiredness to really care what her sisters did, she cared about them but the things they did or happened to do where their own reasons.

"Yes... I would like to sleep I..." The newer Hunter ended up being interrupted by a huge yawn. "Sorry... I am not used to travelling far or fast. This is the first time I've left the Camp in years... The world is such a vast place and I kept myself locked away from it because I was weak." She remembered those days bitterly, becoming a Hunter brought freedom and a chance to fight, prove herself maybe even become a Hunter of some merit, if not a Hero.
Em wondered what fighting an actual monster would be like, part of her wished that they would return back to the relative safety of the Camp so that she would not have to face the grim realities of battle.
She tried her best to ignore that, Em needed to do this, for herself and her sisters. No more could she allow herself to be the weak link.

She fell silent, staring into the flames as if they held all of the answers to her questions. After a while she sighed, longing to go to bed yet surprisingly finding herself unwilling to move. She tried and failed to dismiss the thought of being unwilling to move, eventually deciding that it was an old habit, her leg ached which resulted in her being reluctant to move. A ancient habit from her pre-Hunter days, not that there were too many of those days anyway, being a Hunter anyway.
Eventually she found her voice, or gathered the courage to speak. "Do.." She stopped her voice coming out like a squeak, lacking any confidence. Em swallowed before trying to speak again. "Do you think I will make a good Hunter? I... I well I cannot lie and say that I thought I would be accepted... After all I sort of had a boyfriend even though we never said it or kissed or did anything. People thought we were..." She stopped, sighed heavily. "Never mind."

Emily nodded slowly, smiling at them both. "Thank you and it is okay." She did not believe that Artemis need apologise to her for something that appeared to be beyond her control. However her sister unfortunately had made her jump when she suddenly reappeared and then placed her hand on Em's shoulder. Em wasn't used to a lot of physical contact with anyone. "Guess I have the third watch then." With that she finally decided that now was the time for her to hit the hay and grab some desperately needed shut eye.
She waited a few minutes before entering the tent, Em undressed quickly pulling on a pair of baggy shorts coupled with an equally baggy t-shirt, before climbing into her sleeping bag.

Sleep came almost the instant she zipped herself up, her eyes falling shut as sleep eagerly claimed her.

Emily had nearly jumped a mile when Aria came and woke her up for her turn on watch. She groaned, forcing herself to clamber out of the sleeping bag and take up her spot on watch. The forest was quiet, still almost, unnatural in a way. Fear gnawed at her spine, despite her new found abilities, new skills and current allies, she looked down to find her bow drawn, the arrow notched. Em was afraid, she could hear so much, yet she knew of what dangers might lurk out there.
Much of her wanted to head back to the Camp that was no longer her own and avoid fighting the monsters, hide like a coward instead of facing the dangers of the world.

Her watch, mercifully was peaceful even if every muscle, every nerve was coiled like a spring, waiting, watching, listening. She hated the wait, she would much rather face something than let her mind race, conjuring up all manner of horrors to torment her. Through out the night, her leg throbbed constantly with an endless dull, driving ache. Some things still would not change, old pains remained like ancient scars, never to be completely forgotten.
Em was eternally grateful when the sun rose, in the inky darkness of night her mind easily created a phantom army of monsters. The light cast back the shadows slowly, warming her skin cold from perspiration. Em felt far from relaxed, or even rested. Her head felt heavy with weariness and the thought of facing a monster, a monster which she would need to kill... Did little to chase it off.
Somehow, even though both her sisters had countless years of experience, Em hoped that when she faced a monster there would be a few more souls to fight by her side.
Not that it mattered...

If she could only take two to face this unknown terror, then well... Emily would have picked Aria and Artemis. The fact that they both seemed so calm and collected filled her with a little confidence in herself. If the worst did come to pass, her sisters would be there to protect her.