~-Moonlight Destiny - Artemis' Pride-~

[frayedflower]

((Hope no one shoots me for doing a time jump, here. ninja ))

Artemis lay near the den, beneath the shade of a tree. Time had passed, and his little pride had since begun to settle into their new home. It was... sort of overwhelming at first, even he had to admit. Here he had an entire life as a lion -- the Artemis who'd essentially grown up alongside Kagami and her family, never really known anyone else. Then all of a sudden there was this whole new life; the Artemis of the moon, a makeshift guardian and advisor to none other than Queen Serenity herself, right alongside Luna. Not to mention their daughter. A whole other history, a whole other life... and a death to go along with it. (That was the bit he tried not to think about too much if he could help it.)

He was adjusting to it well enough and all, considering. It was weird... but in another weird way, it just sort of clicked. That was then, this was now. It was the way the Queen had wanted it. A new life, a fresh start.

That just left him wondering: What about the Princesses? Especially Serenity? He, Luna, and Diana all seemed to be here... so what of the Princesses? Were they here too? Or...?

Then there was one other problem, one that had only spurred up recently. And one that left Artemis more concerned than he'd really come out and admitted just yet.

Where had Luna gone?  

[frayedflower]

Artemis couldn't help grinning back at his friend. No matter how he was feeling, Kagami always had a way of bringing his mood right back up again. "Hey yourself, " he chuckled, moving to lightly nudge at the lioness' shoulder with his forehead. Honestly? He was still sort of adjusting to her growth spurt. Not that it was a bad change or anything. She'd grown into one fantastic lioness. But after having a friend small enough to ride on your back most of the time for so long -- well, there was the adjusting part. "Have a good nap?"  

[frayedflower]

Artemis' eyes widened a touch as Kagami leaned against him, before he shook it off. She was just leaning on his shoulder -- the same lioness who'd ridden on his back not so long ago. Even if she had just been a cub then, but... still! What was there to get so worked up about?

He relaxed, smile broadening a short ways. "Sounds nice. Peace and quiet's nice, but too much of it... " He honestly would've preferred a hectic family scene like that. Bar the time he'd spent with Kagami and her family, he'd been alone most of the time.  

[frayedflower]

Artemis chuckled, resisting the urge to prod at her exposed belly with the feathery tip of his tail. Instead, he settled for playfully nudging her shoulder. "Hey, Kagami? You don't know where the others went off to, do you?, " he asked, glancing back towards the den. "I haven't seen anyone all morning." It was an innocent enough question, though there was still that underlying bundle of nerves. 'Luna...' Had she really left, just like that...?  

[frayedflower]

"I see... " Artemis never stopped smiling; but for a moment, an almost unfathomable amount of hurt swept across his face. She'd come, helped him remember an entire life, an entire love he'd never knew he'd had... and now she was gone, without so much as a word...

It was gone again just as quickly, tucked away who knew where. He pulled himself up, shaking out his mane and flashing Kagami a grin. "No use spending the whole day laying around, right? Let's go somewhere. Maybe take a walk, or go hunting."  

[frayedflower]

"Walk it is then." Artemis laughed, nudging her playfully on the side. Like the old days. "Anyplace in particular you'd like to go?" A touch of mischief crept into his grin. Speaking of the old days... "You know... I bet I could still beat you easy in a race."  

[frayedflower]

"Hey!" Bursting out into a fresh fit of laughter, Artemis took off right after her. It felt nice to just let loose and run like this; forget everything else, just concentrate on moving fast as he could.