How did one feel a shadow when it was eternally night?

Artemis lifted her head a scant inch at the sensation of the presence towering over her. She should be afraid, she knew. But she was too numb for fear, too caught up in her own grief and self pity to care about self preservation. She turned her head over her shoulder to see matted fur, dirty and blood-red in the Lantern's glow. Her eyes rose up the powerful legs, broad chest, then finally to the long snout with wicked, glinting teeth. Golden eyes shined, cutting through the Lantern's light.

The wolf.

Hadn't she set it on fire?

The memory stunned her through her haze – that seemed so long ago. Her chaotic first moments on the island trickled back to her, tangled memories like knotted vines curled around each other until you couldn't tell where one ended and another began. 

The wolf wasn't looking at her though. It was looking out at the forest, eyes darting and ears twitching. It was on alert, watching. Waiting.

Guarding?

Artemis couldn't quite bring herself to care about this new puzzle. She forced herself to turn back and look down at the Lantern clutched in her hands. Her fingers were clenched tight against it, hooked and aching. She didn't know what to do.

She knew what she was [i]supposed[/i] to do. Take the Lantern to Oseely. Free her family, if there was anything left of them. Kill the dragon… somehow. But the thought of doing any of those things froze her heart in her chest and stilled the breath in her throat. Shame crept through her blood at the thought of seeing her family – and more shame still, that she wasn't doing everything in her power this [i]second[/i] to free them. To see them again, if only for a moment.

Her fingers tightened around the Lantern.

[i]Kill the dragon.[/i]

The one promise without complexities – without emotion, save for this angry, chilling hatred. Artemis clung to it, desperate for anything to keep herself afloat, lest she drown in her own regrets.

Artemis was going to kill the dragon. Maybe then… she could see her family again. Maybe then she could look at them without this terrible shame. Artemis looked up again, at the forest around her. She watched the shadows shift and sway, almost solid. An idea came to her then.

She pushed herself up, stepping forward away from the wolf. Nura, who'd been glancing warily at it, wings ruffling, chittered at the movement. Artemis ignored her. Swiping at her wet cheeks with the palm of her hand, she looked out at the dark of the forest.

[color=turquoise]"I know–"[/color] her voice was frail and small, and Artemis gritted her teeth at it. This wasn't the time to show weakness – she needed a strong front, at the very least. [color=turquoise]"I know you're there,"[/color] she said, louder. [color=turquoise]"In the shadows. I know you can hear me!"[/color] This was a terrible idea, this was going to get her killed or worse – but Artemis just tightened her grip on the Lantern, holding it up. She tried to cling to that anger again, desperate for strength. [color=turquoise]"Oseely said the Lord of Wood is everywhere because the forest is everywhere… so are the shadows.[/color] Artemis spun slowly in a circle. Eyes glowed in the dark, twigs snapped as unseen creatures stepped through the trees. [color=turquoise]"[i]So come out![/i]"[/color] Her voice echoed through the night, and Artemis paused, waiting – for what, she didn't know. For death, maybe, courtesy of one of the many beasts she was no doubt drawing the attention of. 

[color=turquoise]"You want the dragon gone, right? Get rid of the competition? Island isn't big enough for two powerhouses? I want it gone too."[/color] Artemis was going to get herself killed, one of these days. At the moment she didn't care.
[color=turquoise]"I want it [i]dead[/i]! So… so come out. And I'll help you kill it."[/color]