Thread: Innocence beneath the moon

Many years ago, The gods roamed the earth freely. Hunting, Building, fighting and quite often.. breeding. These gods, or godesses would choose a partner in secret, releasing their desires on the humans of earth. Most were very careful.. but sometimes they would slip up.. Causing an unwanted pregnancy. Artemis the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women fell in love with a beautiful driad male, loosing her self to lust and pleasure. Several weeks later, to her disgust her belly began to swell. She ran away to the village of Vandora, a small, remote village built infront of the trees of a large, vast forest. Here, she could birth her child and stow it away without the other gods around to bring her shame and punishment. When the baby was born, She was given to a barren wife with the name Callista . With beautiful white hair and stunning silver eyes.. this baby was anything but ordinary. Any life around the child blossomed, all livestock lived long,stayed fat and gave birth to many offspring. All the crops and plants on her families farm were much larger than average, and produced doubled the anual crops. The familys sheep dogs followed her non stopped, almost as if in a dazed trance. More than once, they had saved her from unwanted attention. But this wasnt the most out of the ordinary trait about the girl. On her eighteenth birthday, small nubs grew from the back of her shoulderblades.. covered in what looked to be scales and white feathers. With each passing night, they grew larger. She covered them in a cowl, looking to be a hunch backed women. Callista was ashamed of herself, and kept to herself for the most of her life... haunted by her abnormality. Her and her family thought of her as safe from harm.. little did they know they were wrong. Wake up dear A voice rang out through her head, but the only responce it received was an irritated groan as the girl on the bed turned to her side, pulling the wool blankets over her face. Callista, Wake up. The cows need to be fed for the morning The young girl sighed, pulling the covers off her body. She was slender, well curved and a bit on the short side. Only topping in at around 5'3 and 120 pounds, she was light on her feet. It was what made her such a good hunter. Callista was gracefull, quiet and had a deadly aim. Her family was always so overjoyed when she brought home the plumpest bucks from the forest. Lately though.. she had been having a hard time finding deer or elk, she blamed it on the wolves. As their population grew, its seemed her catch lowered. She could only sigh, not looking forward to the days work. Come now child. The traders are here today. If you feed all the livestock quick enough, Ill give you some coin to go get yourself some new furs.. then Ill sew you a new dress Her foster mother had such soft eyes, and she loved this child like should would love her own, if she had the ability to birth her own that was. She could only smile, Watching a warm grin spread across Callista's face. It was her favorite day of the month, Seeing all the furs, the fresh deer and exotic leathers. She never really did get time to go, so the offer brightened her up. Really?! Oh thankyou mother. Ill go feed them right away! The voice of the pale girl was so soft.. so serene. It was beautiful, angelic almost and yet it had the slight underlaying harshness of a grown she-hunter. It seems she got most of her traits from her real mother. The sweet voice the ring of a giggle to it as the girl raced out to feed the cattle. It didnt take long, as the delight of the trade filled her mind. She imagined the smell of fire-roasted meet, the touch of bear furs.. the rattling of shells and pearls as she worked. It made time go by so much quicker, and she raced back to get her coin. But of course, before she could leave.. her mother piped up a warning as she always did. Callista never understood why her mother was so paranoid. As if someone would take her right there in the street. Now Callista, Dont go out of sight of the villagers.. dont talk to strange men and keep your hood up. A light hint of greif washed over the girls face as she traced the small, ever-growing wings that come from her back. They wouldnt let her go see the village healer.. she was so eager to learn what was wrong with her. No, Instead she covered herself always. It was shamefull, but she wouldnt let it ruin her special day. Pulling the black fur coat over her head, she took the coin and dashed off to the town center. The trade was everything she thought it would be! Handsome, rugged men and a variety of furs, shells, roots and meats. She stood back and took a glance at the carts and boxes of items, immediatly settlng on one particular booth displaying a beautiful white pelt. The pelt would make a lovely pair of boots. She dear hoped she could afford such beauty. Walking up to the man behind the counter, she smiled.. making sure the top of her head and her eyes were hidden in the shadow of her hood. Of course.. that would hide nothing from this man. Little did she know.. but this was no ordinary man. He would be able to smell her.. The intoxicating scent of earthly magic, the wonderful smell of a winters pine tree and of course.. that smell that brought a predator into the thrill of the hunt.. inviting him.. encouraging him to begin his stalking.. to bring the beast to light. After all, she was a daughter of artemis.. and the dryad blood lines only added to her earthly scent. Of course, she acted so casual. She had no clue anything was out of the ordinary. She was just in the town center, trading with the hunters from the forest. There was nothing wrong with that, there couldnt be. With that cheery, beutifully soft tone, she spoke to this strange man. Such beautiful furs! I cant keep my eyes off this one! Her delicate finger raised and pointed to the white pelt. How much do you want for this one? She asked, keeping her voice low.