God Rising: Battle of Atela

The book floated to her side, but she knocked it away, "Stay out of this Zircon! You're always getting in the way."

Darren was still on the camel, contemplating whether he should get down or just leave her there until she comes to her right senses.

"If you don't get down, I'll cut the legs!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, and Darren couldn't wrap a finger at her reason for picking a fight. They weren't in the right place for it, and the weather wasn't favorable as well. But from her tone, and the look on her face, it seemed like she didn't care.

"fine" He got down, made a couple of strides towards her and put his hands behind his back.

Artemis raised a brow, "this wimp is finally showing some confidence, but I know you're not strong enough to wield a sword." She tossed her blade to the sand, then cracked her knuckles. "My fists taste better than the shit they serve in the dark elves domain." Darren didn't utter a word, neither did he move.

"You piss me off!!!" Her fist crashed into his cheekbone and he staggered to the ground. She fixed her menacing eyes of blazing red at the frail wolfman, then hissed, "Just that punch knocked you off your feet? How pathetic!"

Before he could get up, she shot her leg towards his jaw, then his stomach, and his arm. Pain jolted throughout Darren's body, but he got up. Artemis allowed him to.

"Seems like you want more beating? All right! Your order is coming right up!" She grabbed his hair, pulled hard, and kissed his lips with her knee. She didn't let him move an inch. She grabbed his collar and threw a heavy punch that left his nose seeping.

"What's wrong with you? Why won't you fight back? Why are you mocking me? What do you want to gain?" A lot of emotions were behind the words she spoke, and Darren felt the tension and intensity in her tone. She penetrated his defences, hit him repeatedly, not satisfied because he wasn't fighting back.

"Are you a masochist? I don't understand why you won't show the beastman in you? Hit me back!"

His stomach ached, his arms lost tension, and his legs weakened. The sun was already setting, and the wing carried more sand to their faces. Artemis stomped her way through the deep sand and pulled her sword that was covered underneath a thin layer of the dust.

"Huh?" Once she turned, she noticed he was gone. Immediately when she turned to the other direction, he blew something white in her face. She coughed as she stepped back, rubbing her eyes that suddenly felt droopy. Darren blew the powder again, and she fell into his arms.

He sighed, as he pulled her body close to the camel, and tied her with the ropes he'd bought in case of any emergency. He leaned against a rock and put Artemis close to him. He hoped the ropes would keep her down before her magic meter refills completely.

He pulled a small mirror souvenir from his pocket, then examined his face. He looked as beat up as he did in his short days of training, sparring with the older kids that had their magic awakened early.

Over time, the bruise that had begun as a purple stain above his eyebrow had sunk into the socket itself, and now it appeared to be a black eye. He sighed every time he noticed his wounded face. He forced himself to put the mirror away because it didn't curb his sadness. It only made things worse.

Zircon helped provide light with its golden glow, and Darren appreciated it. He patiently waited for Artemis to get up, and the moment she did, he didn't hesitate to say what he'd been keeping in him ever since they met.

"The fuck?!" She noticed she was tired, and she wasn't feeling strong enough to free herself like she'd have done if her magic meter was full, but she she squandered a lot in her battle with Darren, and she was amazed at how he was still alive. Maybe the training was working after all.

"Should we part ways?"

Artemis forced herself up, using her hands as support. She noticed he was still a mess after the beating she'd always wanted to give him, and it made her feel good.

"Not yet. After I'm done collecting the gems, you can go back to your daddy's castle. Speaking of gems... Where's the third one?"

He showed her briefly, "I'm not giving it to you until you hear what I have to say!"

She rolled her eyes, "Fine then. You can start your rant."

"I'll start by saying this. You're a jerk! After everything I've done for you, you still decided to pick a fight with me! What am I doing wrong? I didn't choose to be this way! Just because you're better than me doesn't mean I'm useless. Whenever you say those things without control, so many times I've wished I could just kill you, but i force myself to understand why you do this to me. Why are you taking advantage of the fact that I'm weak? Physically and emotionally. Why? I took your beating hoping you'd be satisfied but you've not changed a bit! What else do you want Armin?" He sniffled, wiping his tears away "I thought maybe we could get along at least, but there's no difference between you and my brother's pack that I spent all my life hiding from. Put yourself in my shoes for once!"

"Your shoes?" She jeered "What do you know? Have you seen what humans go through? Soon, I'll have every single one of you cry and beg me like you're doing one. I despise your kind. None of you can ever be good. You're just pretending to sympathize. Because of your kind, I lost my father…"

"What exactly happened to you Armin?"

"Shut up! Mind your own business."

"I'm sorry, okay. But I know what it's like to be oppressed. I agree I'm very lucky to be the Demigod's son. If I was a peasant, I would've been dead by now. Believe me Artemis, I know the taste of the pain you go through."

"Shut up!"

"But please, stop taking advantage of my weaknesses…"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!! What you're saying makes little sense to me. I hate how fake you are! You think buying me clothes or letting me pick what I want to eat will make me head over heels for you? Are you dumb enough to think that? I know deep down, no matter what Zircon says, you're evil. As far as you're a beastman, you have the same toxic blood flowing through your veins. I hate you, Darren! I hate your race as well! If you all could give us our freedom and happiness… I keep saying the impossible. Your lazy ass race won't ever let that happen—"

He barged into her statement "Be my friend!"

Artemis burst into laughter then spat at his face "You make me sick!" He pulled out a napkin from his trousers then wiped his face clean of her saliva. He then wrapped his arms around her tightly and she bit hard on his shoulder.

"Crap!" He winced, but he didn't let go. "I know you're upset because of what I'm doing, but please forgive me for this and just accept my request. I won't ever move on from my insecurities and improve if you keep treating me this way. If you disagree, then farewell. If you agree, I'll give you the gem. Pick wisely. Don't let your anger get the best of you. Please, I'm begging," his voice was a hint of his emotions, but he wondered if it was enough to move Artemis, and put an end to their disagreements.

Artemis let go of his shoulder after deciding on the next step to take "we should go seperate ways."