65 days before final transformation...

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CRACKLING leaves that indicated footsteps echoed throughout the hooting and eerie forest. Someone was coming.

Artemis whipped her head towards the sound, multicolored curls flying in the wind. She drew her silver dagger. "Show yourself!" She taunted, a smirk playing about the corner of her mouth.

The shadows of the trees pulled back to reveal a tall boy about her age. Thick, black curls surrounded his head like a halo. His chiseled jaw worked silently as he stared at her through beautiful, deep green eyes and thick lashes. Lean muscles showed through his arms. A sword rested in its sheath at his hip, the glowing, gold hilt peeking out. He was dressed in peasants clothing, with a thin cotton shirt and thick woolen pants. Sandals covered his feet, exposing them to the biting chill that wafted through the bitter air. He was perfect. 

Artemis blinked, stunned. Her breath came out in a gasp, cheeks coloring. "W-who are you?" She stuttered, voice raspy from not using it in a while. Her exotic hair whipped in her face as a brisk wind swept through the forest, carrying the sounds of monsters prowling within the undergrowth.

The stranger seemed just as taken with her as she was with him. "I am Falkor." His vivid eyes drilled through her, his flawless skin flushing. His deep voice was a tempting, melodic thrum. "And you?"

"Artemis." Golden lightening crackled in her hands as her emotions swirled within. The boy didn't seem to notice as his intense eyes intently studied her. 

"Artemis," Falkor repeated, smiling. "A fitting name for someone as beautiful as you." He winked, his eyes sparkling.

No, a fitting name for someone as beautiful as you. She quickly froze, then chastened herself for thinking about that. She didn't have time for anything except for herself. 

Coloring, she ducked her head. If he only knew what I am. 

"So, Artemis," he smirked playfully, "Why are you here of all places?" 

Because this is my sanctuary. She lifted her head. "I got lost." 

"Lost?" The glint in his eyes deepened. "How would a pretty girl like you get lost in a a forest like this?" 

A hint of defiance rose up within her. "It just happened." Her mind furiously worked up with the quickest solution she could make in ten seconds. "I wandered around a duck pond for a while and then I somehow came here."  Mentally, she grimaced at her horrible cover-up story.  

The boy laughed. "A duck pond?" He grinned mischievously. "You can't be serious." 

She playfully put her hands on her hips. Two can play this game. "Oh yes I am." She raised an eyebrow. "And why are you here of all places?" She asked, repeating his question. 

The twinkle in his eyes disappeared as he tersely replied, "Urgent business." 

So I'm not the only one hiding secrets, Artemis thought, curious. "Oh." 

Falkor tilted his head. "What's that?" He asked, pointing to her circlet. 

Artemis's hands flew up out of their own accord, covering it, her fingers careful not to touch the cold metal in fear of making it glow. "Nothing." 

Falkor didn't push the question when that was all she said. He flashed her a cheeky smile. "So Artemis,"  he emphasized her name, causing tingles to rush up her arms and legs. "Do you need directions to push you in the right direction?" 

Artemis shook her head. "I think I know where I am now." 

"You think?"

"Yes." 

"Well," Falkor exclaimed, smirking once more, his exotic eyes glimmering with a golden light. "It was nice meeting you, but now I need to go about my urgent business." 

He turned around and started slowly walking back the way he came. But, before the undergrowth swallowed him up, he turned to look at her. "I hope next time you can show me where that duck pond is," he drawled winking, and then the forest covered him once more. 

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Her heart beating like a hamster's, Artemis silently cursed all good-looking boys as she tried to tamp down her rising flush. Oh stop that, she scolded herself. You probably won't ever see him again. 

An ache settled dee within her chest. It had been a long while since she last had used her voice. And even longer since she had a conversation like that. To hear another voice made her heart long for another life, a life in which she could be a normal person that had a family and friends. Shaking her head, she started walking up a grassy knoll. 

Sheathing her dagger, she followed the sound of gurgling water to a murky stream that flowed fast and furious down the dirty riverbanks. She crouched low in the water, her eyes looking for any sign of movement below the cloudiness. A flash of motion filled her vision. Quickly, her hand whirled out and grabbed the source. In addition to her supernatural abilities, She had the abilities to move faster than normal, to be much stronger than the average person, and enhanced vision, which allowed her to see things that the normal human eyes couldn't. 

Glancing down, she saw a gulumpa, gills flapping in the air as it gasped for water. It was a pink, round, sea urchin-looking type thing, with shimmering gills that stuck out of the sides of its fat body. A rubbery fish tail flailed at its bottom, and gold eyes peeked out of its head. But Artemis didn't let its harmless appearance affect her. So when the gulumpa deflated its body, allowing its deadly venom flow to the tips of its needles, she was ready. In a flash, her hand reached out to grab her dagger out of its sheath,  slashing the animal in half, and instantly killing it. Shimmering, golden blood leaked out through her fingers, covering her dagger with the thick liquid. 

Fingers working quickly, she skinned the thick skin that covered the dead gulumpa and shoved it into her mouth -raw- saving the other half for later. The bitter meat was far from good, but it filled her stomach, which was all that mattered. 

She stood up, readying her bow and washing her bloody dagger in the stream. For a long moment, she crouched there, eyes lazily trialing the shimmering blood that flowed from her dagger downstream as thoughts whirled in her head. 

She craved to explore. 

Artemis spent hours wandering throughout the forest, stopping here and there to sit down and relax. But, she had to go back to her camp; night was coming, and soon, she would begin her transformation. 

She took out the other half of the gulumpa she killed earlier, and ate its cold meat. Gathering leaves to create a place to lie down, she curled up into a ball, and fell asleep. 

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A full moon cast its glowing blue light on the silent forest. Soft, golden lights floated in the moon rays of light, settling on the ground, covering Artemis, and causing the green forest floor to look like it was glittering. 

Artemis's eyes shot open, the silver dominating the blue. Her breath turned haggard as the lights sunk deep into her skin, making it glow with a golden light. She hunched herself into a feral position. Her ragged breaths grew deeper and louder as lightning crackled and flickered around her shaking form. 

It started with her eyes. They grew bigger and bigger, the light within them growing stronger, yet staying the same color. Then, it was her ears. One shrunk into her head as the other expanded, growing weathered and worn. Her hair turned a shaggy golden, shooting out and covering half of her head, including her circlet. Prickling sensations crawled throughout her upper body as hair crept down from her head to her torso. Pain shot through her arms as they grew longer and more muscular, thick paws replacing her slender hands. Her luscious lips grew thick and rubbery as fangs grew out of her mouth, along with drool. The fur on her legs shifted as each turned into a different pattern. A tiger. A bear. A lion. A black panther. Finally, her simple clothing sucked into her skin, vanishing in a flash. 

Her transformation was complete. 

With a primordial roar that shook the forest, Artemis deftly lifted herself on all fours and took off into the deep woods. 

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Her paws padded the mossy, green undergrowth as she explored the night. Jumping over a rotting log blanketed in toadstools, she crept into a clearing. 

Everything glowed with an alien light. Toadstools softly emitted an enticing twinkle as bright blue tree hollows grinned eerily at her. The radiant, vivid bright green undergrowth glittered beautifully. A shimmering, luminous pool of water rested in the middle of the meadow, the glassy surface clear and still, like a mirror. 

Artemis quietly tiptoed into the clearing, then, she slowly sat down on her haunches and began to drink from the pool. Insects buzzed in the background as a lone, purple grasshopper jumped over her paws. With a loud crack, it grew five feet wider, iridescent wings protruding from its glossy abdomen. Artemis closed her eyes and lost herself within the noises of the forest. It was like listening to nature's own symphony. 

A rustle shifted within the glowing trees. Artemis turned around, hairs on end, eyes wide and alert. A low growl emitted within her throat. The buzzing quieted. 

Two glowing, vivid green eyes stared at her through the dark. Artemis rose on her legs and stalked closer, growling louder. The moonlight shone on her golden fur, making it look as if it was dipped in liquid glitter. 

A huge wolf crept out of the forest. Thick, black shaggy fur encased his body, lean muscles prominent as it padded closer. 

Something about this wolf reminded her of someone. 

But who? 

Sensing no threat, Artemis laid back down, her huge tongue lapping up the clear, cold water once more. 

The wolf just sat there staring at her, its head tilting, eyes intense. 

Artemis closed her eyes in annoyance. Then, curious, she sneakily opened one eye to see the wolf break out into something of a smirk. 

Artemis rolled her eyes and crawled into the pool of water, jumped out and shook her soggy fur at the wolf, soaking him. 

The wolf blinked, then grinned, its pink tongue lolling out as if to say: Oh it is on. He jumped into the pool and with his head, he splashed water all over Artemis's already soaked fur. Droplets of water glinted in the bright light of the moon, arching for just a second before touching her fur. 

Artemis shook more water at him, inwardly laughing. 

He obliged, throwing more at her, his vivid, green eyes narrowing playfully. 

They did that for hours, chasing each other through the clearing, until the sun peeked over the horizon and shone its first warm rays in their faces, basking them both in its rosy glow. 

Artemis nodded her shaggy head in thanks to the wolf, and ran back to her campsite, overjoyed to have made a new friend. 

When it was night once more, she crept back into the clearing again. 

The wolf was right there waiting for her.