His true self.

Artemis took a breath, his nose filled with the various scents around him. He was surrounded by many, many angry bodies. He could smell their anger, their sweat, the alcohol on their breath. Their heavy breathing as they swelled with anger. Furious by his wording. He was standing in a bar, he'd wandered into Oak town with one goal. See, he wasn't wearing his armour tonight, that tightly restrictive uncomfortable thing he'd been forced to wear for quite a while now. It had been suffocating him, like an emblem of his entrapment. Of the cage that his family had placed him in, he was boiling over. Tired of it all, the paperwork, the long hours, the playing nice and being respectful. Heck, even the character he'd adopted whilst being this chairman, it wasn't him. He couldn't banter, or flirt, or socialise. He couldn't do any of the things that made him, who he was.  Tonight, we would not wear this persona forced on him by his family. He was not representing his guild, but himself. He was wearing a black tank top, a leather jacket and jeans.

Tonight, he was Artemis.

And he had done one of the few things he did most, he had walked into one of the meanest, roughest bars he knew, stepped up to the toughest guy he saw. And laid out a thick stream of insults, targetting everything from his receding hairline to his tiny ankles. Foolish stuff really, but anything to get a rise out of him. And it worked, he was known being stared down by a fairly large, muscle-bound man.

"You got a lot of nerve spouting that shit to me you little weasel." He growled, Artemis looked up at him with a bored expression. Indeed he did. But he needed this, he needed this rebellious moment, his role at the guild had just been winding him too tightly lately. One night, one night was all he needed. Just to blow that fuse, be himself, the self that he loved, that his family were trying so hard to rid him of.


"Come on big fella, enough talk, let's dance."


The fist flew quickly, Artemis reeled back barely dodging as it whizzed past his nose. He curled his right hand into a fist and slammed indirectly into the guys gut. He tensed just in time, meaning Art's fist collided with a hard wall of muscle. He grinned, pulling back, he darted around the guy. Lifting his left leg, he booted him in the back of the knee. Causing him to buckle. there was a sudden crack against his skull, glass shattered around him. Art stumbled for a moment, looking around, he spotted another guy, holding the remaining part of a broken bottle. Pointing it in his direction. Artemis reached up, touching the point on his head where it had connected, he felt the area of impact, feeling the cut there. He grinned, bringing his hand down.

"See, now it's a party." He said before launching himself at the guy.

The next twenty minutes were a blur, a series of punches, kicking, smashing, crashing. A lot of shouting, and cursing. People were pouring out of the bar trying to get away from the madness that seemed to have erupted inside. Finally, Artemis stepped through the doors, brushing himself down. His clothes were slightly ruffled, his hair a mess, but otherwise, he was fine. He grinned, making his way down the street, he threw a wink at the onlookers that were gawking at him. Gobsmacked by his behaviour, inside in the bar, the bartender was on the phone to the authorities and several men were splayed around the bar, either unconscious or unable to pick themselves up.  

Meanwhile, Artemis made his way back to that guild, that had been fun. He was most likely going to get an earful from his father when he found out. But it was worth it, worth it for just one night of freedom. One night where he could be who he really was, Artemis fucking Dagger.