No Wheaties Allowed

On occasion, hunters would go and visit someone who wished to join them. Abigail had rarely attended these trips, though generally liked them, as it was the only time the hunters walked among dense civilization. This instance was different. The hunters did their share of recruiting, though they were relatively picky sometimes. They needed recruits, just like anyone else did, however, because their kind was so elite and highly trained, their lesser numbers often equated to much more than one would expect. Because of that, it was very rare for a hunter to die. Add to that, the fact that they didn't age, and you had yourself one heck of a platoon.

Abigail knew very little about the girl, other than she had seen her in the same place for three days in a row. They weren't that close to Camp Jupiter to justify seeing more than the stray demigod at most, so why had this one girl taken the effort to train so hard and leave safety daily? It was something Abigail respected, it reminded her of herself in a way. She had made brief mention to some other hunters, though, and they seemed to think she was worth checking out. Not that it mattered, Abigail had made up her mind before that.

She approached her the following afternoon, and there the girl was, in the same place. Abigail was in the same dark hunting gear she always wore, though she often wished it looked more modern. Abigail had no clue how she looked in the gear, though she imagined it must have been damn good based on how the other hunters looked. Her bow was in her hand, an arrow notched, though the string was not pulled and the arrow and bow were both facing the ground, Her hair was tied up in a ponytail for the occasion.

"Greetings." Abigail said, though it mildly annoyed her to realized she was adopting some form of Asina-speak. "I need to talk to you. Because frankly, you've caught my curiosity." Abigail said.

"Most people wouldn't leave themselves open to strike." Abigail commented. "Regardless, I've seen you out here daily, placing all of your effort into getting stronger. That's effort well spent, and effort that most demigods don't bother with." Abigail continued. She crossed her arms, watching the girl strike. She struck as though she was striking someone she hated. Abigail could relate, she hated many people, though generally didn't allow emotions to control her. Whether or not this girl had issues was far beyond Abigail's perception. Baggage or not, she could be important to the hunters. She could be another piece to make them stronger. She watched her strike, it was almost like she was wouldn't even have to let the girl know she was being evaluated.

"My name is Abigail, and I associate with a group of people called the Hunters of Artemis." Abigail began. "Maybe you've heard of them, maybe you haven't; we typically associate with more Greeks than Romans. And I have to assume you're Roman, as your camp isn't far from here." Abigail continued. "I'll be blunt, we're not weak." Abigail stated, she left the floor open to the other girl, in case she had questions before Abigail continued.

"You're the girl who lost her leg on that hill last year, aren't you?" Abigail asked. There were other hunters with prosthetic limbs, and while Abigail felt the maintenance needed could be considered a weakness, she couldn't even tell Dominika had one. "Even I heard about that. It isn't everyday someone suffers that and then hangs on. You must have been strong to find a reason to hold on after that." Abigail commented. This was turning into something interesting. She knew this girl was strong without her powers or title, then add on top of that, she was indeed a child of the king of the gods himself. That was not a weak title to have, unlike Demeter's children, the wheat people.

The accent wasn't so strange to Abigail; lots of the girls in the Hunters had them. There was even a girl with a Polish accent. "But yes, I'm interested in recruiting you. It isn't flattering yourself if you have the skills, Dominika, and I think you very may well just have them." Abigail continued. "You're here alone. I like that fact, not many people feel they can make it alone. But you clearly do. If you can make it alone, you can flourish with us. If you want to be strong, we're what will supply you with thousands of years of combat knowledge."

"If it's Lear, you can come with us. None of us have been even inconvenienced by it. Lear won't touch us, we're not sloppy like the camps. If it's a boy on the other hand, well, that's something you would have to deal with on your own terms. One of my sisters once kissed a boy, Katarina. The kid was kinda cute, I caught a glimpse of him once, but he wasn't exactly a dream boat when it came to who he was. Had a screwy last name, even for a demigod." Abigail was spilling hard information, information she normally wouldn't ever spread, however, part of recruiting and manipulation was to relate with someone, Abigail would have told her something similar and lied about it, had their not been a much easier truth to set place to it.

"Anyway, you don't need to be hasty. I'm not going to door-to-door salesman you here, Dominika. But come with me, let me show you what we learn, what I've learned in just a few short years, before you make a choice. After that? Well, I'd rather much be hurting someone who wronged me than heckling someone who's minding their own business." Abigail explained. She had a calling card to give to her, however, she rather would give it to her after she showed what they could do, and not before.

"Hmm." Abigail pondered, watching the girl closer now. "Like I said, I won't force you." There was a silence afterwards, though to Abigail, it wasn't an awkward silence. "There's something strange. I saw you a few days ago, and you reminded me more and more of myself. Talking to you now, I only see more of me in you. Except you're staying, for your friends. If I felt that I would see you again, I definitely wouldn't tell you this, but I left a brother behind to be here. I think about him every night. What you're doing, for your friends, it's noble. It's the right thing to do." Abigail said, with a sigh following. She wasn't going to give Dominika a calling card. She didn't want to build on the temptation. "But, you didn't hear that from me. I called you weak for holding onto the mortal side of the world, right?" Abigail insisted. She couldn't have some daughter of Jupiter hurt her name, even if it was to people who would never talk to the hunters, no.

Abigail Johnson was not a softie. She was a warrior and a hunter, far beyond her years, and that was a title she wanted to keep.

Abigail suddenly heard a noise, or a few noises, barely. She saw what she could only explain as leopards, and not panthers that were utterly pitch black. Their eyes were a piercing glowing red, but Abigail still didn't want to see these things come night fall. Their hind legs weren't shaped how most felion animals were, and as such, Abigail suspected that they didn't move. With how large their mouths were, Abigail figured that they made up with it with their teeth. It was hard to tell, as the only one growling showed that their teeth were black too. "Dominika, six and eight 'o clock." Abigail muttered in a low whisper. She knew some were behind herself as well, but they had the few precious moments to communicate before the animal-like monsters would try to strike. "I got your eight." Abigail committed. She'd have time for at least the one arrow.

It was only a matter of moments before the first leopard was dust, thanks to Abigail's relentless training with the bow. Abigail shifted her body so that she was nearly on her back, and watched the knife whiz right over her, into the leopard's head. Abigail felt impressed, but shocked more than anything that it was still alive. She remembered one of Lady Artemis's most important lessons on hunting; have mercy on your prey. Abigail didn't feel guilty, but she did know that the second she was free, either her or Dominika would have to put the other leopard out of the misery it must have been in.

Abigail swiftly gained herself to her feet, and was able to see the third leopard coming for them. She was delighted to see their lack of hind leg support heavily inhibited their speed, but hey, they needed some handicap with those teeth of theirs. "Dominika, weave right!" Abigail said on instinct, she used Dominika's right, hopeful that she wouldn't stop to think which right and take her own. Thankfully she did, leaving Abigail to draw her bowie knife. It gleamed a pleasing silver color; it was Abigail's best friend to this day.

Abigail played the angle perfectly, getting the knife in the leopard's throat as it charged her, though not enough that she stayed upright. The cloud of dust began to spread away, leaving Abigail looking upwards from her place on the ground. She twirled her knife in her hand, spotting the leopard close to her now, but she wasn't in a good position to attack.