A Cat's Healing Shadow
Vampiresswolf
My name is Althea, and I should not be here.
Where is here, you ask? Here is with my family. Or, well, my new family I suppose. I originally had a father of my own, but he died a quite tragic death, leaving me and my demigod brother, Galen, out on the streets.
Demigods, yes. We are technically both demigods, however, I do not belong as he does. You see, he is a right, good Greek demigod, as are my new siblings, as well as my new fathers. But me? I am a daughter of the cat goddess. I know what you're thinking, and you are right. I am not a Greek demigod. Nor am I a Roman demigod. I am an Egyptian demigod. Which, obviously, sets me apart from the others at both Camp Half-blood and Camp Jupiter. I have heard it's not too far-fetched for siblings to be from different sides of the Olympian, and I suppose my father's taste fit into this category. However, I do not believe that any of those others were taken in by completely different sets of deities.
If you were to look at me and my brother, the only thing you could point out that connects us is our father's eyes. They are both a dark chocolate color. Other than that, we could be from separate worlds. He has the typical pale skin and light brown-blonde hair of the Greek goddess that mothered him, a minor goddess known as Epione. I have the caramel skin and dark hair of the Egyptians.
What I am about to tell you happened when I was five. My brother was nothing more than a three year old toddler. And we only survived because of our new Papa coming to our rescue.
The date was November 20. It was snowing, and it was extremely cold. We had been out on the streets for a week, and if it hadn't been for the talents we got as demigods, we would have starved. I wasn't opposed to rat, or mouse, though when Sasha, our golden, long-haired cat pattered in with a rabbit, I was ecstatic. Our father had taught me how to cook on a fire without burning myself just in case anything like this ever did happen, so I quickly set out the branches and began to cook the meat. Galen looked at me as I squatted next to the pit, his little thumb in his mouth. I frowned, his ribs were begging to show and his nightie was tattered. I would have to somehow find some new clothes for him before the end of the week.
You need new clothing as well, my kit. I looked over to where Sasha was giving me a serious look and smiled, glancing down at my own torn nightgown. She was right, of course. But my little brother would be able to heal the frostbite I may get if he was healthy.
It will be cold tonight, Sasha. Please, will you go find some others? So that we can be warm?
Sasha's bright green eyes looked at me disapprovingly, I do not want to leave you helpless, my kit.
We'll be fine in the moments it takes for you to retrieve them and come back. I have my knife.
That is barely more than a sharpened stick, and you two attract more than most.
Please? If we are not warm, it won't matter if a monster finds us, we will be dead anyway.
Very well. I shall be back shortly. Sasha gave me a long-suffering look and stood, pattering out with a frown upon her muzzle to find some other cats to warm us.
Once she had turned the corner of the alley, I sighed. I was nervous because she was right. A normal set of young demigods, ones who knew what they were, would attract a ton of Greek monsters. But for some reason (at the time I was unsure exactly why), we had monsters that appeared more than just those of the Greeks. I was not sure what they were, as they were not in my mythology picture book, but they were terrifying. I curled up beside my brother, quenching the fire and burning myself in the process.
"Ow!" I hissed, and the younger boy beside me looked at me.
"Gimme." He said, taking his finger from his mouth and reaching for my hand. I smiled and watched as when he touched the burn, it faded and disappeared. Once that was done, he collapsed in exhaustion on the pillow that served as a bed for us.
OOO
It wasn't long after I had drifted off that a hissing noise woke me. My eyes darted open, but I stayed in the same position. Looking out of our box, I saw something extremely disturbing. It was a monster, no doubt. But once again, it was not one that I recognized at all. It had a huge, long, tubular snake body, and if it hadn't been flying, I might have guessed it to be a giant anaconda of some sort, never mind that they didn't live in this part of the country.
It had four huge wings keeping it aloft as it looked around for me and Galen. I ever so slowly began reaching for my knife, but I instinctively knew that I couldn't beat this thing. Sasha had been right, and it was partly my fault, I thought, as I hadn't been willing to move again, as we hadn't been attacked the night before.
"Thea?" I heard a barely perceptible statement, and looked down at my brother. His eyes were wide, "What is that thing?"
"I dunno…" I whispered, "But be quiet, it might hear you." He nodded, his body too quiet for the toddler he was.
I ever so slowly twisted around, keeping my eyes only slits, as did a cat, in order to try and minimize the glow. I knew my eyes would shine, just like a feline's, and just like a feline, I had no trouble seeing in the gloomy darkness of the alleyway.
However, my movement gave away my position, and I darted to my feet, pushing Galen behind me as I raised my kitchen knife, "Galen, I need you to run, run and find Sasha, and tell her to take you away!" I said.
"But sissy…" He looked at me, terror in his face, and I shook my head, "Go! Now!" He nodded, slipping behind the dumpsters and toward the entrance to the alley while I hissed, keeping the creatures focus as he went. I could tell he was sobbing, but there was no way I'd go down without a bit of a fight. I gulped, shaking slightly, as it prepared to strike.
What I was not expecting was the sound of a sword, and what little light there was in the night suddenly appeared to disappear. I couldn't look away from the monster in front of me to see what was there, what new terror had arisen, as the snake dived.
I screamed, covering my head with my free hand and stretching the knife as far forward as I could manage, when suddenly there was a loud scream, and the monster exploded.
I blinked, peering around with a frown, before I noticed a figure in the shadows.
"Demigod, you are not safe here." A silky voice stated, and I looked up into a shadowy face. Though it appeared as sunken as a ghost's, it held a lively glow, and the smile gracing his face made me look around for my brother.
"Wh-who are you?" I whispered.
"I am a friend."
"That didn't answer my question." I said, and though I tried keeping malice in my voice, it still managed to have a tremored squeal to it.
He laughed, "My name is Nico. The young boy ran that way, shall we go look for him?" He asked, pointing out of the alleyway.
"I can find him myself." I said, which only served me another chuckle.
"You are young, and in danger by yourself. Let's find him." He walked out and I hesitantly followed. Sure, he'd saved us, but that didn't mean I would trust him.
"Galen!" I ran forward to where my brother was huddled on the ground, dirty tear-tracks down his face as he held Sasha. He looked up at my approach and a shaky smile graced his lips as he stood.
My kit, you are alive!
"Of course I am."
This is a demigod, too. Sasha noted, pattering up to sniff the dark guy, Why is he here?
"Well, you see…" I started. I could hear Galen talking to him, explaining to him that I could talk to her, before I sighed.
He saved you?
"Yes."
Why has he come with you?
"Um… I don't know." I looked over to the man, Nico, "Why are you here? We will be fine now."
"I wish to take you to a safe place, young one. The streets are no place for two young demigods."
You should go, then, kit. I sense truth to him, he will not harm you.
"Your cat is welcome, as well."
Galen's smile grew huge, and he darted into the man's legs, hugging him, "You save sissy! Let's go!"
Sasha, too, padded to sit beside him, and with a frown I nodded allowing him to take my hand.
"Hold on tightly now." He warned, and suddenly the world grew black.
OOO
He brought us to a building inside a town called New Athens. It was where children too young to live on their own lived. He left shortly after filling out paperwork the lady at the desk presented to him.
"Althea, sweetheart, what is your last name?" She asked.
"What's your last name?" I countered, "Or better yet, what's your first name?"
She simply smiled at me, "My name is Piper Grace."
I nodded, "Jetson." I said.
"Thank you, when is your birthday?"
She continued to ask me questions, filling out papers on the clipboard, for a while. When I got antsy, she led me and my brother to get a bath, gave us a new pair of clothing, and brought us into a large room with many beds, where she left us. Galen, Sasha and I climbed into a bed in the far back corner.
"Will the man come back?" Galen asked, looking up at me with his big eyes, and I sighed sadly.
"That's not likely, Gal." I said quietly, "He's got a family of his own. He just brought us here to be safe, so we might get our own new parents."
Galen frowned, "I liked him. He was sort of scary, but he reminded of Daddy. I wish he could be my new Daddy, if Daddy can't come."
I smiled sadly as we curled up on the bed and drifted to sleep.
OOO
We were there for two weeks before Piper called us to the Interview Room. It was where potential adopters came to meet children. I was not expecting to get a prospective family at all, especially not so soon, and when the three of us walked in, I was sure not expecting to see the man who brought us sitting in the chair, a man with piercing green eyes beside him and three children playing with the toys at the side of the room.
"Why are you here?" I asked, eyes narrowed as I crossed my arms.
Nico smiled, but it was the other man who answered, "We wish to adopt you, of course."
"You don't have to do that. You have no obligations."
"We know that."
"You already have children. You don't need us."
"We want another."
"There are two, no, three, of us." I said, looking to Sasha.
The man smiled, "I know." He turned, and called for the three children playing, and they pattered over, looking at us curiously. The oldest was a girl a little older than me, with silky, curly black hair and dark brown eyes. She was a miniature version of Nico. The other two looked a little younger, a girl with straight black hair pulled back into a ponytail, with dark eyes and skin like Nico's, and a boy who was probably her twin, who had thick black hair and green eyes like the other man's.
"Bianca, Nereus, Ebonee, this is Althea and Galen. Althea, Galen, these are our children."
The oldest girl, Bianca, nodded her head and stuck out her palm, "Nice to meet you."
"Brother?" The little boy asked, looking up with curiosity at his fathers' face and then at Galen.
"Yes." He got a big grin on his face and toddled over to Galen, giving him a big hug.
OOO
The day we went with them to camp, I immediately knew something was weird. It didn't feel right. Galen, Ebonee and Nereus were only there to say goodbye to Bianca and I, as they were too young still for camp, but both Galen and I were going to the Claiming Ceremony, as neither of us knew our parent.
I had gotten used to my new siblings, though it was a bit of an adjustment, going from the eldest to one of the middle children. They sat with us when we were waiting, smiling encouraging grins as we awaited our parents' signals.
Galen's came soon enough, and he was claimed by his mother, Goddess of the soothing of pain, Epione. However, I never got claimed, which made my new Dad, Percy, very upset. Apparently he had forced the deities to claim their children because he had done something amazing for them. So it wasn't long before we were treading up to Olympus for a meeting with the all-powerfuls.
The moment I was pushed forward in front of all of them in the council chambers, more than three hundred of them, I could tell that I was different. I didn't look like any of them. My skin was too golden, my build not right, and as far as I could tell, not one of them was a goddess of cats.
The argument went on for a long time before there was a knock at the golden gates and it opened to reveal what was obviously a goddess, but she looked completely different. She looked like me.
"Hello, Greek friends. I have come because it seems as though there has been a misunderstanding. You see, this child is not Greek, nor is she Roman, for she is my daughter, and I am Egyptian."
Well. You can imagine the conversation that followed that. It appears that, just as the Roman and Greek children were never originally supposed to mingle, neither was that of the Egyptian. For all I know there are other deities out there that we aren't yet supposed to know about. I know now that I am supposed to go to some special Egyptian place for training, however, I am also allowed to spend time at the Grecian camp and to live with my Grecian family. More on that later, though.