The cure for boredom (Invite Only)

Something about her home she just needed to get out of once in a while. It wasn't that she wanted away from Nightkill, or the comforts of the luxurious house. But being cooped up in there too much just made her crave for a venture outside exploring the city. It wasn't the first time she snuck out, and certainly not the last. Though, she didn't expect any of them to come looking for her. Backpack slung over her shoulder, housed her pet rabbit, Herbie. She didn't want to exclude her pet from the adventure. It was a gift from her adoptive father, and she cherished the little friend quite dearly.

She paused at a carousel at the park, watching the kids enjoying themselves and screaming as the mechanical ride spun the kids in a circle on the slow entertainment ride. Their parents watching them, catching every glimpse of happiness in their eyes. It made her wonder what happened to her real parents. Not that she would ever trade Nightkill for them at this point, but the curiosity was still clinging on her mind for years. Why weren't they there for her when she was growing up? It's supposed to be the parents obligation.

Sitting on a nearby bench, she slung her backpack gently on the bench seat and continued to relax in the peaceful environment of the park, watching the kids with a smile on her face.

Artemis was in the form a medium sized dog, running around the park playing with some of the children there. They seemed happy that she was there, and it wasn't that bad she got plenty of attention and was having fun. Plus she was getting scraps from there lunches. However she froze when a scent crossed her nose. It came from a backpack next to a girl sitting at a bench. She made a dashed towards the backpack, barking all the way. She jumped on to the bench, grabbed the backpack ad then jumped off the bench. She faced back to owner of the backpack. In a playful stance she wagged her tail then darted off in the opposite direction.

As the dog approached her, she had noticed it from earlier. It didn't seem to have any tags or owners nearby who were telling it what to do. She assumed it was just someones friendly dog who had gotten loose. She reached over to pet Artemis but instead it snagged Amy's backpack and bolted in the other direction. Gasping, she leaped up from her seat, remembering Herbie was in there. Hopefully the dog wasn't hungry. That's all she really could do, hope. That and try to get the bag back as quickly as possible. But she recognized that expression.

The dog was in a playful mood, playing the "come get me" game that they usually do. Extending her palm out and approaching the dog calmly, she hoped it would stay still long enough so she could get closer. Occasionally telling Artemis to stay, unknowing that she was much more than a dog. If she could get close, she would try to quickly thrust her hand out and snatch the bag out of the Artemis' mouth. She didn't want her pet rabbit to become its snack.

The girl chased after her, which is what she wanted. She ran around the park multiple times before taking to the streets, dodging between cars and people easily. The girl was trying to get her to stop and stay but she didn't listen, she didn't have to. She was having fun and the rabbit that was in the bag smelt good to her. Artemis ran down and alleyway but skidded to a stop when it was a dead end. She turned around and saw that the girl had been able to follow her here. She dropped the bag that the girl owned then ran up to her, getting on hind legs and putting her to lick the girls face. However half way through licking the girl she transform back to being human. She had been putting her weight on the girl in her dog form and her human form was a good amount heavier. "Hi." said Artemis cheerfully after she had licked the girl/

The dog was a lot faster than her clearly, as Amy tried to keep up with the dog that playfully ran and stopped periodically in a game of cat and mouse. One that Artemis could have seemingly kept up forever. Feelings of frustration and desperateness swept over her as she ran after the dog. Turning a corner down an alleyway, Amy hunched over panting with her hands on her thighs. Looking forward was the dog cornered in the alleyway. Standing up straight, she wanted to try and corner the dog to get the bag. But before she did, Artemis dropped the bag and began approaching her.

Leaping on her hind legs, a lick on the face instantly washed away any sour feelings she had for the dog. It was just playing after all, and Herbie was safe. However mid-lick she turned into a human girl.

"Aah! Uaah!" Amy cried out, her eyes widening in reaction from the transformation and increasing weight of the girl. Artemis didn't weigh that much, but it was more than Amy, plus Amy wasn't physically strong enough to keep up the leaning weight on her shoulders. Toppling over to the ground with a grunt she landed on the pavement with her rear.

Quickly wiping her face of saliva, the largeness of her eyes didn't change from shock based off Artemis' appearance. She hadn't seen anything like it in all her life. The only ones she knew to have powers were her and Nightkill. She knew others had powers, but animals living among them were possibly other people in disguise? It was all a bit surprising to her. Plus, didn't Artemis just lick her?

"W-who are you? What was that all for, pretending to be a dog!" she didn't understand it was actually part of Artemis' culture. She just thought that Artemis was messing with her.

Artemis licked her again, straight down the middle of the girl's face. "So what if i was?" asked Artemis looking at the girl. "My pack calls me Artemis." She got up and walked over to the bag and picked it up. She struggled a big with opening it, but eventually was able to force it open. She picked up the rabbit the the scurf and held it in front of her. "Why do you keep your lunch alive? Why not kill it and eat it?" asked Artemis. She looked at the rabbit who's wide eyes showed a lot of fear. She couldn't blame it, it was in the hands of a predator. "I don't get you at all."

After the second lick on the face, this time in human form, Amy's eyes slit back into irritation at Artemis. Getting to her feet, she dusted herself off. Just who was this girl? What did she mean by pack, she had to be joking right? As Amy finished dusting herself off from the dirty particles that were previously on the alleyway's ground, she looked up at Artemis who was snooping in her bag. Everything she was doing was socially awkward by anyone in New York's standards.

Artemis seemed interested in Herbie, the rabbit companion Amy kept with her. Yet, once again she didn't seem to understand what a pet was. Did she really think Amy kept Herbie as food? Her eyes eased off from a glaring look, as she tried to be more compassionate towards Artemis. She tried a different approach to talking to her. Wiping the saliva off her face with her arm sleeve once again, she approached Artemis and Herbie. She of course, wouldn't call him a pet. If she truly didn't understand anything about human nature or how Amy likes her 'food', then she wouldn't understand what a pet was.

"He's not food, he's a friend. His name is Herbie. Where are you from, Artemis? You know you're really odd compared to everyone else in New York. You seem like you don't really know how to react with other people."

Artemis was taken back when the girl said the rabbit wasn't food and that he was her friend. "I'm odd? all of this civilization everyone keeps talking about is odd." said Artemis. "My pack said i should walk with humans, i thought they were just being uh... i don't know what the human word for it is but i'm starting to think they are right. You keep food as friends and stuff them in sacks." She placed the rabbit back in the backpack, assuming that's where the girl would want it and closed the pack after a few moments of trying to figure out how. "First i get in trouble if i don't wear this things." said Artemis pulling on her small amount of clothes. "I never wore them in the past but i go somewhere with out them i get yelled at. And now people are keeping food in sacks calling them friends."

It seemed she wasn't joking, and Amy's assumption was right. She definitely wasn't from New York, but to an extreme degree. The way she spoke was as if she literally lived with a pack of animals. Where else would you live where clothes are optional? That and the dead give away that they wanted her to be with other humans. But did that mean she could speak with animals? Artemis sure was full of curiosity. Sure, she could get past the point that Artemis wasn't a fan of Amy's choice of 'friends'. After all, some countries eat dog, cat, guinea pig, or other animals that Americans widely view as pets.

It seemed though, that Artemis got the point that Amy was trying to convey. Herbie was safely back in her backpack in relative safety. A sigh of relief exited her mouth as she walked up to Artemis extending a hand to take the bag back into her possession.

"Yeah, thats right. As little as you're wearing, without it you'd be even more socially awkward than you already are. People don't lick faces either. Seems you have a lot to learn about being a normal person. So Artemis, why does your pack want you to be with us?"

"They said I needed to see my own kind for myself. Apparently my mom won't allow me to stay with the pack forever and sent me away. I didn't think i was doing bad, i helped raise cubs, even had a few male who wanted me. Maybe I was happy there!" said Artemis getting a bit angry near the end. Atleast she had improve with speaking, when she first showed up she couldn't talk at all. On a whim Artemis undid her clothes and let them drop to the floor. "Why does this bug people? asked Artemis. "Only a few people seemed to be ok with it and they ended up being touchy. Also what are those metal beetles called?" asked Artemis pointing to the cars on the road. And then the non-stop questions started again. How do the magic black boxes work and why do people ride around in metal beetles among other questions.

Of course, the girl had literally been raised by animals. Maybe this was what Amy was looking for today. An outing to meet someone and discover something interesting that would pique her interest. However, it seemed Amy struck a bit of a nerve. Artemis didn't really want to leave her pack, but it seemed she was kicked out. The thought of her being a mate with another animal was a little disgusting at the thought. But sporadically the woman dropped her clothes to the ground. Thank god they were in an alleyway that was relatively out of view of others. Hopefully she could get them back on before any idiotic men who thought they could take advantage of her would show up. It seemed she was too late in that regard though once Artemis started mentioning the 'touchy' ones that enjoy her 'natural' state.

"Those are called perverts!" She yelled. It was difficult to explain the thoughts of men. Switching back to a normal voice she explained. "People aren't like animals, we're a lot more complex. We don't just try to find a mate and continue the cycle. We have dreams and goals in life, and when we find a mate its supposed to mean a lot more than a breeding cycle. It's love."

In an undertone, she continued. "But there are bad people here too. They're worse than animals. They want to take advantage of you, mate with you for one day and abandon you with your 'cubs', moving onto the next female. Those are the touchy ones.

Clothes are important. They prevent the perverts minds from wandering and doing wrong things. They let people focus on getting to know other people, rather than looking at their bodies and thinking about wrong things.

If you want a true mate, true love. You wear clothes, so people can get to know your personality, who you are on the inside. Not who you are on the outside. Does that make sense?" she asked. Hopefully it struck a cord with the girl, and she could even comprehend what she was talking about. Before she was even going to touch the topic of the 'beetles', she wanted to make sure this point got across. But unfortunately they were in an alleyway. A sharp whistle came from the street as a group of men came walking down the alleyway towards Artemis and Amy. They seemed like the low life scum that would take advantage of a girl like Artemis.

"Heya Beautiful, those services for sale? I'd like me some of that!" one of them yelled as the group started closing in on the two.

Amy stood in front of Artemis in a protective state. "Artemis, put your clothes on. This may be dangerous."

Artemis jumped when the girl yelled, it seemed out of no where. She then began explaining the difference man and beast, or at least Artemis thought she was, she was using some words she never heard before. She also began to talk about a 'true mate' which made little sense to her but before Artemis could ask anything the girl moved on to the next thing. After a while a group of men whistled and approached the two. The girl put herself between the her and the men. This annoyed Artemis a little, from the girl's actions she guessed that these men were enemies and the girl was trying to protect her from them. She pushed the girl aside and approached the men.

"I guess this one's for sale." said one of the men obnoxiously. He reached out and touched her. Artemis grinned and shape shifted to a t-Rex then let out a loud roar. The men screamed in fear then ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Artemis changed back into her normal state.

"Wow..." said Artemis. "They're wimps, they would be eaten alive in a second in the wild."

Amy had hoped Artemis would simply put on her clothes instead of allowing them to have their way. She was obscuring their view of the no longer clothed woman in the alleyway. Her stance was intimidating but she couldn't thwart them all away from approaching Artemis, who seemed to not listen at all. Throwing her fists up in front of her face, Amy was ready to knock some of these guys out, she had faced tougher opponents in training. Though she was able to divert the attention of some, others easily went around her to approach Artemis.

However, transforming into a dog apparently wasn't the limitation of her power. The girl transformed into a prehistoric dinosaur and let out a thunderous roar. The sheer power was enough to send Amy's hair blowing back, echoing through the alleyway, probably heard for a mile. The street trash ran away in terror of what Artemis was capable of, as car alarms sounded off from the previous roar. Artemis changed back into her normal human clothes, but Amy just wanted her to dress decent so they could get out of there before they attract more unwanted attention.

"C'mon, get your clothes on. Let's go." she said, picking up her backpack and lightly jogging towards the exit of the alleyway that led to the streets of New York.

The sound of car alarms and screaming could still be heard. "Is everyone in city scared?" asked Artemis about the screaming, not realizing it was out of place. The girl beckoned her in a hurry, telling her to grab her clothes and follow her. Artemis had nothing better to do cause her playthings and just ran away like frightened cubs. She shifted back into the dog she was earlier and picked up her clothes in her month and walked after the girl, wagging her tail.

((OOC: sorry this is a small post i'm borrowing my mom's iphone to type this))

"Only everyone that could hear that super loud roar." she replied from Artemis' question. "When people don't know what something is, they become afraid. Their fear usually makes them react drastically. Makes them choose bad decisions, get dangerous sometimes. The metal beetles are called cars by the way. They're for people who are very busy or lazy. The beetles can move them faster than they can walk on foot.. They are also made by us humans. We're a very smart people, you are too Artemis. You've just lived among animals so you don't understand how things work. If you take the time to get to know our people very well, you won't regret it.

You'll be a very powerful person, and you can do whatever you choose to do with yourself. And I'll bet with you that you will choose to be with all your new friends over being with your pack.'" she said with a smile. Artemis had a lot of potential, as a friend and as a metahuman. Amy could only guess, but she assumed Artemis was capable of more than just a dinosaur and a dog. If she could transform into such things, she could be powerful enough to save peoples lives. Something that Amy wanted to do with her powers. She quite frequently would hear about the groups of Heroes that would save the world, cities, or even just a single person. If she could accomplish that in life, she thought it would be something worthwhile to pursue.

Safely out of the danger zone that they were previously in, Amy turned to face her newly found acquaintance, Artemis. "Don't tell anyone, but I want to be a Super Hero one day. Saving peoples lives, stopping bad people from doing evil things. It's all just so cool. I'm just not sure if I'm strong enough. I've got pretty good fighting skills. My dad had me trained in all sorts of Martial Arts. But I'm still just very fragile. I think I would die trying." she said, pinching the skin on her arm as a gesture.

"Do you think your powers could be used to save peoples lives too?"