The blizzard had only gotten worse by the time Marko finally had his small cabin in his sights. The cold was biting and he could barely feel anything under the layers of fur and fabric he'd donned to survive this remote hellhole. As agonizing as eating wild game and trudging through flesh rending ice and snow was, it was worth it to stay free of the merciless gaze of The Oculus. He'd lived for three weeks this way and even as curses escaped his lips and expelled hot mist through the wool covering his face, he knew this was the only way and accepted it.

By the time he reached the door, it was truly whiteout conditions and the light was dying on the distant horizon. Marko yelled with a dry throat and chapped lips, "Garr! Here boy!" He hefted the backpack full of meat and wood off of him and let it crunch in the snow while waiting for his razordog. Fickle and aggressive, they nonetheless made perfect guards and beasts of burden for those in such remote outposts. After moments of silence passed in what should have been filled with gruff barking, Marko noticed that the snow by his sealed window was stained with blood.

Somehow, the fugitive's blood ran even colder than the howling wind and cutting ice. His grip went to a wide-bladed knife sheathed at his hip. He pressed his body flat against the door of his cabin and opened the door with caution in case he wasn't dealing with some random animal and instead with someone armed. The door creaked open and the inside was a foreboding black void. Marko heard whatever it was before his eyes could adjust to the inky hue. Something was making loud crunching and wet squelching sounds. A predator it was then...

The first thing to resolve in Marko's vision were two yellow beads in the dark, slit pupiled eyes full of raw malice and insane hunger. He readied the knife, holding it with white knuckles while gritting his teeth. Before he could attempt to strike, he was stopped in his tracks by a viciously sultry voice.

"Hello there Marko," the creature in the dark purred. The raging wind blew the door in and flooded the cabin with light. The figure was illuminated in her fiercely feminine and feral form, her short body covered in coarse purple fur marked with wildcat stripes. She was gnawing on a bone tinged with gore, her shark-like teeth scraping it clean. His horrified gaze fell to a bloody spiked collar on the floor. "The months haven't been kind. Your... taste in companions used to be much better." She flashed him a serrated grin that made his stomach turn.

"A-artemis," he whispered, trying desperately to muster a strong tone but unable to steel his voice. She just gazed at him with manic glee, hovering in the air with her wings fluttering and long tail undulating in that unnerving manner her diminutive breed so often did. That's where the similarities ended. Sure she was short, but for a Vecc she was unusually well muscled with oversized talons. "How did you find me?"

Throwing the bone over her shoulder and licking her lips with a sigh of satisfaction, she landed on her clawed footpaws wrapped in bloody cloth. "It's what I do silly. I'll hunt anyone anywhere as long as it keeps my claws wet and belly full. As fun as it would be to chase your pet with you, The Oculus wants a word."

Panic flooded Marko and he raised the knife in trembling hands. "N-no, " he yelped on the verge of tears, "you can't. I won't let you take me!" He stumbled backwards, falling on his rear with a pained grunt and began to crawl backwards.

"Aww, " Artemis cooed with an all too wide smile and click of her tongue. "It's cute that you think I'm giving you a choice." Her expression went gleeful and wild as she lunged for the man and his cabin was filled with shrill screaming.
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This is a minor antagonist of mine just in time for Halloween! Artemis is a Vecc, just like Finn. Unlike Finn, she is a cold and fierce hunter who takes on quarry many times her size with bare teeth and claws. She's fallen to an addiction for the dopamine rush of the hunt and kill. Many Veccs have a propensity for hedonistic spirals if they aren't careful but hers has taken a singularly savage form. Many criminals and sinister aristocrats have employed her to track or eliminate nuisances and her success rate is unparalleled to any sane or professional bounty hunter. Pipefox helped me really nail her vibe. From the urban yet classically Asiatic attire, to her feral demeanor, and even how alluring she is in her animalistic mania. Artemis is the one who tracks down Kit and the beginning of the story, tasked with hunting the elusive Auroran and bringing him to her employer in tact. She and Finn are aware of each other, both having been employed by a mysterious Vecc crime lord called The Oculus at times. The name is warranted for little escapes his sight and those who earn is ire may find Artemis on their trail no matter how long and how far they run...

Art ©️ thepipefox
Character ©️ kitkabbit