The sharp, small gasp cutting through the night air was the only sign Artemis had awoken. She had never been a peaceful sleeper. Someone else had, once. But the mystic found the waking world to be an escape from her dreams, rather than the other way around. In the beginning, waking had been a violent, unforgiving action, as panic slammed into her. But she'd learned to manage it over the years. 

The hard metal underneath her was the first thing she registered. Then the unmistakable sounds of the forest at midnight, a long with an odd, whispering …[i]tick…tick…tick.[/i] The cool night air breathed against her skin. And then finally, there was the warm red glow shining through her eyelids. Artemis was perfectly still where she lay as she realized [i]she didn't know where she was.[/i]

She counted out a minute in her mind as she searched her memory for an explanation. But there was nothing. In fact, she couldn't even remember where or when she'd gone to sleep. Her minute was up. So, she cracked one eye open. Then the other. Still nothing. Slowly, carefully, Artemis pushed herself up to a sitting position and looked around. She was in a forest just as she'd guessed. Quite an active one, too, if the sounds were anything to go by. The thought made her press her lips together. If there was anything… hungry, she'd be ill equipped to handle it. Especially since it seemed like all she had were the clothes on her back. 

The soft ticking captured her attention again and she turned to find its source: the… tree? Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion at it. She looked back down at herself and finally studied the metal pedestal she was on. It was old and weathered, and covered in plant matter, but her eyes widened when she saw the metal directly under her hand. Parts of it were [i]glowing.[/i] She hurried to push herself up to a standing position and saw the unmistakable outline of her body in the glowing metal.

Her eyes shot back up at the odd ticking tree and the eerie red lantern. Then she turned and hurried off of the pedestal and onto the forest floor. Stories from her childhood drifted up to the surface of her mind. Ghouls and imps that enticed and beguiled humans. Men who toyed with that which cannot be known. Of course, Artemis had long since outgrown the folktales of the Valley (even if her current line of work took full advantage of them). But still. If they'd taught her anything, it was that getting away from the mysterious glowing metal platform and the ticking tree was probably the wisest course of action. At least, she shouldn't be standing on top of one, and under the other. 

Artemis turned back to look at the tree once she was safely on the ground ('safe' being a relative term). Or rather, she looked up at the red lantern casting its eerie glow. Sharp, con-artist eyes narrowed at it. It seemed to be the most benign of the three, but… what was so captivating about it? It wasn't ordinary, that was for sure. 

Lanterns flickered because of the flames they held. This one just… glowed. Its light was a steady, unchanging force, whispering through the darkness of the night. Artemis stared and stared, and if she looked hard enough at it, she could've sworn it was almost pulsing. 

She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. Then she turned to search the forest floor. Her eyes lit up when she found what she was looking for and she bent down to pick up a long, sturdy tree branch covered in green moss with a half-rotten end. Artemis walked back up to the platform, getting as close as she could without touching it. Placing the rotten end of the branch against the ground, Artemis half leaned on it and looked back up at the lantern, mind working. 

She wasn't so sure she'd woken up after all.

[color=DarkTurquoise]"Well, [i]shit.[/i]"[/color]