The two wolves simply watched as father and daughter shot. They did all kinds of tricks, and even taught each other something new. However, when it came to competition, Zytia lost, which surprised her father. Especially because if she ever lost, she never lost by much. "Your head's in the clouds, Zytia." The goddess looks at Apollo,"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I suppose I do have some things on my mind." Apollo wonders,"Like Arcas?" Zytia glares at her father,"I thought I told you to drop it?" Apollo half grins,"Your not denying it." Zytia rolls her eyes,"Your so immature." She turns towards her wolves,"Come on."

(Sorry this is short)

Artemis felt sorry for her brother, and gave him a sypathetic smile once she had stooped laughing.

"Sorry, that was mean of me." She said softly.

Arcas grunted in response and melded his mind with the horses pulling the chariot, not wishing to talk about it.

"I guess, well.. I guess I don't know how you feel, because I'm a sworn virgin, but I can understand how you don't want to talk." She shrugged and gave a small, sad smile.

Arcas heard her faintly and nodded calmly.

"Thank you." He replied in a small voice.

After the chariot ride

Just before the sun rose, they has parked the chariot on the border between Artemis's realm and his own and had parted ways. Immediately Gebo came to Arcas, and warned him that Tala was looking off colour. As her due date for her foal was the next week, Arcas had a bad feeling about her as he rushed through the curtain of water and into his wild kingdom.

Apollo suddenly grew serious, which was unlike the sun god. "Zytia." At the serious tone, Zytia pauses. Half turning back, she'd never heard him so serious. Apollo's eyes gleam with some wisdom,"Don't be afraid to fall in love. I'm not saying being a maiden goddess is bad. But, love is not bad either."

Zytia raises an eyebrow, half tempted to ask how his love life was going. But she knew the answer to that. Like much of the gods, she knew of his love life. The fails, but also the successes. But she also knew, gods moved on quick. They were immortal. How could they fall in love and stay in love forever? Especially with the same god.

Zytia simply nods,"I'll see you later, Father." Leaving her father staring after her as she and her wolves leave. Taking her time as she roams through the gods realms, as well as sometimes crossing through the human realm. She had no real destination in mind, she was just wandering. Her wolves staying beside her, but also going off to explore and play.

Arcas rushed over to Tala, who was breathing heavily and looking quite unwell. She was lying down, but as he approached she stood shakily to her feet and began pacing in circles.

She's definitely in labor... Arcas thought, annoyed by the timing but quite excited all the same.

She contiued to act like this for a few hours before settling down under Arcas's sympathetic eye. He sat near her and kept a hand on Tala's neck as sweat began to cover her coat. After about 20 minutes of hard contractions however, the foal, healthy and strong, was born safely.

Arcas stayed with Tala until midday, where he went to get some water for her to drink. After another hour, her foal was making an effort to stand, and eventually succeded on his lanky legs that were out of proportion. The foal was a colt, and was a deep chestnut colour, quite different from Tala who was palomino, and Pego who was a smoky black colour.

As Arcas helped Tala get settled in a lucious corner of the meadow, he couldn't help thinking of Zytia again.

Zytia finds her way back into her meadow, where her pack rose to their feet to greet her. Well, most of them did. Some of the older ones just lifted their heads, while the pups were too busy playing with each other. The goddess laughs slightly as she watches a pup bowl over another pup. The two Alpha's bound to their own pups, who were old enough to be left alone, but not yet old enough to be considered young wolves. Zytia smiles slightly as she greets her pack, before they finally settled back down. Though, some chosen to start wrestling, and as Zytia sits down, she keeps an eye on them to make sure they didn't get too rough.

Arcas spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the meadow, and later that evenin he called Pego in to the enclosed corner of the meadow so that he could meet the foal. All was well when the sun went down, but unable to sleep, Arcas reached out with his mind to Gebo, but alongside the magical bear's mind was that of the goddess Artemis. His half sister and him were the rulers of the night sky together, taking in turns and doong slightly different jobs in the nightime hours, but lately Artemis had been hunting a lot more with her hunters, and had left the job mostly to Arcas. He cried out as he felt the mind presence of another god, before yielding and letting Artemis into his domain. He stood up from beside Tala and walked out of the small copse. He could sense Artemis from afar and paused on the edge of the wide meadow, before striding out to meet his half-sister.

"Welcome, Artemis." He called softly. "I can guess why you have come here."

"Yes. I came to ask why in Hades realm you would ask Zytia out. I mean for Zeus's sake what were you thinking!" Artemis strode out of the field to meet him and after she had stated her piece she punched Arcas in the nose.

"Ow! What is wrong with you Artemis!" Arcas backed away clutching his cheekbone.

He turned away from her and felt his eyes welling up.

"I don't know what came over me! At first it was just a dare from Ares, Hermes and Poseidon but then I fell for her Artemis! I fell for the Goddess of Wolves, and I fell pretty damn hard didn't I!" He was angrily wiping away tears when he finally turned around to face her.

"If you have a problem with that then just go away!" He shouted right in his sister's face.

Artemis grabbed his wrists firmly and held his gaze.

And with that, she gave him a swift hug before disappearing into thin air, leaving only a silver mist behind her.

As she often did when she got bored, she studied her wolves. Each and every one had a story of how they ended in her pack. Some were sad, some were happy. Some were exciting, and some were boring. But all were special to the goddess. Many had faced a harsh life before being granted immortality to live free and loved by her. Those who had come to her crippled and injuries had been healed, well, at least those who wanted to. A few bore their injuries with pride and held no shame. Those Zytia found the wisest, as scars told stories. They told the stories of how life tried to kill the wolf, and yet the wolf survived.

After his confrontation with Artemis, Arcas knew that he had to get on with his nightime duties. He could sense that Artemis had left the night sky to him that evening, because he could feel her presence among her hunters somewhere far to the north. The moon chariot that he and Artemis shared appeared in front of him as soon as he called and he gave the silvery pegusi pulling it a calm pat before jumping up into the chariot.
"Gebo! Keep watch over Tala please, you to Pego. Thanks boys." He said to the stallion and the bear as he prepared for his night shift.

With a tap of the reins the pegusi soared into the sky and he felt his blonde hair being whipped around by the cool, rustling wind. Because of his rule over the night sky, he didn't feel the cold or pressure as he went much higher than most could go into the starry depths of the heavens. His time up there calmed him a lot, rushing past landmarks of the world, seeing everything, and thinking little about anything, especially keeping Zytia out of his mind. But after a while, her face crept into his memories, her strong demeanor took over, and he had a strong desire to crawl over the side of the chariot and fall into the depths of Tartarus below.
"I wouldn't wish that boy." Hades crept into view, flying seamlessly along through the sky beside Arcas, with no chariot or anything.
Arcas almost fell out of yhe sky with fright as his uncle appeared beside him.

"Tartarus is no place for you, Arcas. Just because of some silly girl." His voice boomed with amusement.
"Oh and what about Persephone aye! You stole her from the overworld, and yet you are laughing at my feeble attempts with Zytia." Arcas retorted.
The ground far below him shook menacingly and Hades's eyes burned with a cold blue fire inside them.

With that, Hades seemed to sink down to the ground and through the Earth back to his domain.
"That's two gods I've pissed off today." Arcas found that he was chuckling.
He felt a little better as he ended his night ride across the world back in his meadow.

As the moon began to rise, Zytia turns her gaze to the sky. Artemis was not the one in the chariot tonight. That much the Goddess could sense. She sighs quietly as she rises to her feet, getting ready to walk the meadow. "Zytia." Surprise flickers through the Goddess as she turns towards the edge of the meadow,"Mother." Leucothea emerges, her hair and dress flowing about her like waves on an ocean. The sea goddess looked beautiful under the moon as she moved closer to her daughter. "How are you?" The goddess often visisted her daughter and the wolves in the meadow. After all, Zytia was Leucothea's only child. As the sea goddess often remained deep in the ocean, alone and unvisisted by all but Zytia and sea creatures. Poseidon was perhaps the only other god beside Zytia to visit Leucothea and Poseidon had never attempted to even bed the Goddess. How Apollo did, no one knows.

"I am well. How is life under water?" Leucothea smiles,"Peaceful, lonely as well, but peaceful. Poseidon still visits as do many creatures, but I admit, it is quite lonely." Zytia sighs wistfully,"Better than having to attend Olympian parties." Leucothea chuckles slightly,"Is your father dragging you to parties?" Zytia smiles,"As always." Leucothea shakes her head,"i have never known Apollo to miss one."