Like mother like son [Artemis]

This time the shift would be seamless, with barely a hitch within the transition as the hawk touched the ground, and then shifted into something larger, a tiger it would seem. Roaring loudly, the feline would glare at the hawk, making an attempt with large power claws that could rend through flesh with little difficulty, and perhaps even more than that. He was stuck in a  fight that he was unsure if he would win, but it was usually fight until he could no longer do so, or until one of them were dead; he had no intentions of dying.

Artemis quickly flew out of Shael's now feline grasp, maneuvering flawlessly. He was pretty impressive but unpracticed. Artemis wonder how much of a threat he would be if he had training or was as used to his forms as Artemis was with hers. Either way he mainly lacked experience. Artemis flew around the forest as a hawk now focusing on basic it and ran tactics. If Shael would be able to follow her movements she would pull away right before she hit. Although she doubted it. This was her fastest form. Maybe a few hits from this would make him yield.

Shael tried to follow the hawk, the feline eyes darting about after this hawk. The bird was too fast, and yet Shael was not willing to accept the fact, even as the talons tore through the big cats flesh, blood oozing and mingling along with the light colored fur. It growled loudly, swatting with claws that missed by miles and another injury came from that. He was in pain, considering running away but unsure if he would be able to do so. His daddy would not be able to save him this time, and he should not have to rely on Fera to do so either, it was only him now. Yet he knew that he could not win, there was no defeating this foe and so that meant flight was the only option left to him. Without even wasting time thinking about it, the ethereal in tiger form turned and ran, as fast as his legs could carry him.

The boy seemed to be at his limit, shame Artemis was just beginning to have fun. Artemis kept up with the kid, flying between the trees. She was easily able to keep up with the boy, he wasn't exactly moving very fast. Artemis flew above the boy and shifted back into her human form in hopes of wrangling him down. If she failed she would shift back into a bird and keep going until he got him.

The sudden weight of the female human on him caused Shael to waver within his running, shifting and then falling as it rolled onto its side, with the pressure still remaining. The tiger growled before shifting back into his humanoid form, once again pinned, but with a few new wounds, a painful looking cut running under his eyes and a few more soaking his clothing in blood. The air was rich with the smell of his own blood, and Shael did not like this, the pain searing against every other sensation. This time he would draw upon a more subtle transformation, forming a draconic tail that would peer from where his tailbone ended, rising from the back of his pants and lashing out at Artemis with intense force. It was intended to force the shapeshifter off of him, and then he would adapt from there.

Artemis was sure she had this pup now. The boy had shifted back to his human form. Artemis guess that it meant he gave up, good. This pup put up a hell of a fight for being so weak. However Artemis wasn't one to give praise to one who was weaker then her. Although apparently the fight wasn't over. Artemis felt something against she stomach. She had landed on top of the boy's back and was holding him tightly. Artemis barely had time to react before pushing the boy away from her and jumping away. A partial shift? Artemis couldn't remember the last time she had seen that, if at all. Maybe this boy had more surprises then she thought. Artemis prepared to shift again. If he ran she would shift into hawk and hit him with move hit and run attacks. If he turned around attack she would shift into a wolf, ready to deal with whatever he would attack her with next.

Shael crouched lowly against the ground, baring fangs that could tear through flesh with ease as the draconic tail would swish about, sweeping away a few of the leaves that were scattered about on the ground, and then crushing down upon a fallen twig. There was something sweeping across his mind, a certain anger that was familiar and then overwhelming, Shael wincing for a moment. There was the sound of something crackling, the sound of fire spreading amongst the leaves and wood, a tree nearby burning in a bright red blast as it seemed to careen and then fall over. Where it was falling towards was Artemis as Shael leapt back, wood of the tree slamming against the ground around five feet from the shapeshifter. ”Shael, are you okay?” The familiar voice questioned, stepping into the middle of the clearing, a stoic expression present upon her face.

She turned towards Artemis, lifting a glowing red rapier towards the woman. The smaller shapeshifter wiped away a few drops of blood attempting to fall into his eyes, blinking away what could have not been wiped away. ’Yeah Fera, I’m okay.” He would mutter as the female flourished with the weapon, sliding it into a sheath that was slung on her thigh.

’You look injured, and by…her.” She would note simply, sneering at Artemis. ”Dad always did say she was a stupid whore.” The female said growling almost.

Well Artemis was on a roll today when it came to being wrong. A tree caught fire was knocked down. Only to reveal another intruder on her turf. The boy seemed to know the girl. Were they related? They seemed around the same age. Although Artemis was able to hear what the boy called her and It actually made her freeze. Fera, that girls name was Fera. Fera as in the Elder Spirit before her. The one that made her a spirit, well half spirit currently. This peaked Artemis' interests, however the girl seemed to be full of Animosity. It honestly made Artemis smirk. This girl was differently related to the boy, she had confirmed it while insulting her, which was another problem all together.

"Be careful pup. Just because you have some fancy toy doesn't mean you have the advantage." said Artemis. In her mind she was going over the best form for a 2 on 1 fight. Each of her favorite forms had there advantages. If she was a hawk she could out speed them both and deal a bunch of small cuts that would add up quickly. Her wolf form would pretty much be able to end the fight instantly if she got one of them. Although if she was a bear there would not be much they could do. Although in the back of her mind she was a bit worried. If this girl was Fera, then how was Artemis the next elder spirit or even alive.

”I’ll say this plain and simple. You hurt my brother, so as far as I care your life means nothing, and if you value it, you will stand down before I spay you.” Fera growled at the female, yet she did not unsheathe her weapon. Then kneeling down, she placed a delicate hand upon her brother’s cheek, inspecting the damage done, lightly touching the injury and the boy wincing reflexively. ”Looks like theres no one we can trust.” She muttered with a deep sigh, a single drop of viscous looking blood clinging to the fingertip as she pulled it away. The shorter male looked up to his sibling, his expression somewhat blank. ”Well come on, we’re going home.”

"Running away so soon pups." said Artemis. She was still interested in this new pup that showed up. Fera wasn't a common name. Besides she had been restless and her 'fight' with Shael just left her aching for more. "That boy, he called you Fera, that's not a very common name." Artemis began to confidently walk towards the pair of kids. She had no interested of letting them escape yet, not while she had question. "How about telling me how you got that name. You see that name has a very special meaning to it. In fact I only met one person with that name. I was under the impression that they were the only person with that name."

”Running away? No, I just don’t feel like wasting any of my precious time on you.” Fera noted simply turning away from the female, huffing lightly to herself. Pushing himself to his feet, Shael wiped away some of the blood that had dried on his cheek, though a few more droplets would fall down his cheek once again. ”My name was given to me by my father, that’s all you need to know.” She growled at the feral woman, patting Shael on the back of the head and urging him to go on ahead.

This new child was a brat. But something the girl said stuck with her. "Who is your mother Pup?" asked Artemis, sounding dead serious. Only a few people know of Fera and who she was. Not to mention what she meant to Artemis. One of the people who knew was Ouroboros, who was related to Michael from what she understood. Not to mention there was some joke about Michael saying she had knocked him up a while back. But even if that was even remotely possible, these kids where way to old. Artemis still would find it hard if they ended up being hers.

Fera paused for a moment, glaring at the feral woman before deciding to answer her question. ”You’re our mother.” She said simply, noticing that Shael had not gotten up from the ground, wrapping fingers around his forearm and pulling him up. ”Now unless you’re going to keep making idle threats, we have places to be.” She would mutter grabbing hold of the shorter males hand, as the small amount of trembling still persisted. It seemed that he was shaken up, and considering his regard for his parents in general, she was surprised he was not crying.

She was these pup's mother? No, that was possible. She hadn't mated with anyone yet. Was what Michael said true. It couldn't be possible, he was a guy. If she would have kids with him she would carry them. But she never mated with him at all. "Y-You're lying." said Artemis. She couldn't help tripping over her words as she spoke. "I don't have any pups, I never even mated yet. Besides you are to old."

Fera paused for a moment, letting a deep sigh hiss through her lips as she turned upon the female that was her mother. ”Why would I lie to you? What would I gain from lying to you of all people?” She noted simply, something within her expression seeming to change for a moment; perhaps a small bit of…hurt flashing through it. ”But if it makes it easier on you, no, we aren’t your children.” Shael seemed to whine slightly at that, following Fera’s lead as the two would begin walking away.

Artemis felt a weight in her chest. She just kept backpedaling. She was scared? Artemis had felt this emotion a lot recently but she still wasn't used to it. But the space between her and the kids was getting larger, mainly cause of Artemis. And for some reason something about what that girl said hurt her, deeply. She walked up against a tree. Artemis just stood up against the tree. Her legs failed her and slid down to the ground. Could they be? No, they couldn't, she never bared any children. By why did what the girl hurt? It wasn't until they where out of her sight and hearing before Artemis was able to pick herself up. Slowly at first Artemis starting moving, slowly breaking out into a run.

However she wasn't running away. In fact she found it kinda of strange that she was running towards the pups. She even shifted into a hawk to catch up to the them. Once She did she flew past them and landed in front of them. She just stood there wordlessly a bit before walking up to the pups and pulling them into a tight hug.

"I-I don't know how it's possible. But I can tell you aren't lying." said Artemis, holding the pair close to her. "Beside you both smell... familiar some how."