A/N: Hi readers!

I've been branching out from my usual pieces (so. much. research), but I apologise if I offended anyone with what was probably hideously translated french in the previous chapter. Google translate is my friend, but maybe not yours. I hope you enjoy this chapter, which feels shorter than the others, but provides a lot of background around the Core Four.

Whipped cream & other Delights,

TheHarleyQueen

There was only one school on the Isle. The halls were opened onto the street, allowing any stranger into the school. The walls were covered in so many layers of graffiti that no one could see the original brick. Except for when it came to four very specific tags. A fae queen, a genie, an succubus and a madwoman marked the halls, the words 'Long Live Evil' curling around them like tendrils of smoke. The concrete floors were splattered with what looked like blood. A closer inspection would indicate that it was blood, and that it was fresh. Teenagers and children alike hung around the block, blowing smoke into the sky and leering at each other.

There was a shriek from one of the classrooms, and a cold laugh echoed. The intelligent ones left the quad, scampering into classrooms and out of the school. And then they appeared.

One wouldn't think that the four teens that come out of the classroom were dangerous. There were two boys and two girls, and only one of them had any factor of physical intimidation. He stood with his arms crossed, sleeves covering all but the tips of his tattoos, which poked out along his wrists. He stood behind the other boy, the pale one with light hair, who was wearing a black and red leather jacket and had a piercing hooked into his lower lip. He held the hand of the girl who wore royal blue- well, everything. Even her hair was blue. She wore big, clunky jewelry. It looked like costume jewelry, if anyone had to hazard a guess, but the gems in the centerpieces shone only as objects infused with magick can.

The last member reeked of such magick, long purple hair braided in a crown around her skull, green eyes lighting their way out of the school. She wore ripped jeans and heeled boots, with a mauve top cut so low one could almost see her naval. Her teeth were the just-slightly-sharp of the fae, just like the blue girl had the red lips and shining allure of a succubus, or the strong boy had the dark skin of the middle east.

But if one were to look closer, to look at her Ib (the Egyptian words make little sense, but they had the idea of souls down to a tee) they would see that her heart was a tainted black. Making deals with Death (AnubisHadesAzrealHelPluto) would do that to you.

On the other side of the street, a young woman smoked a cigarette and leaned against a fence that proclaimed 'CAUTION: ELECTRIC' in large, bold letters. The fence had been out since she was in school. A wisp of smoke drifted out of her mouth, and she cracked one eye open. Evie ( AnaelVenusAphroditeFreyaHathorConquest) stood in front of her. She was beautiful, that the rumors got right. She wore a short skirt and a thin blouse and a necklace (that was a collar that was a claim) with an amethyst on the pendant. She smiled at Helena (for that was the smoking girl's name- Helena Hook, daughter of Captain Hook of the Neverland Pirates) and took her hand, leading her through the cobbled alleyways, never once misplacing the thin heel of her stiletto. Eventually, they found an alley that was dark enough, or hidden enough, or just far enough for Evie's taste, and then it was fast and passionate. Their shirts dropped and their skirts were hiked up and jeans were unbuttoned and their mouths were sealed together and their teeth were clashing and it was over before it even began, Helena bracing herself against the bricks and her fingers clutching at nothing.

Then Carlos ( LokiHermesMercuryGabrielPestilenceSet) was at the edge of the alley, calling the angel in front of her, and Evie grabbed a shirt that wasn't hers and left her skirt slightly skewed and ran, winking back at Helena only once before leaving her behind completely.

In that moment, although she didn't recognise it, her Ka, her life force, shone that much brighter, and in that moment, she was not Helena Hook, but she was PakhetSifJunoHeraIsis. And they (because they were a they, they were so many people, goddesses worshiped and women borne of pain and strength) stood in shock, eyes unfocused and hearts full.

Some days later (and Helena wasn't certain it was days, the only indication of time passing was her father shouting and the dropping level of whiskey in the bottle) she was at the market, and there was new rolls of recoloured fabric hanging from the stalls, mostly-fresh produce and partially broken furniture. There were small, dirty children dashing between patrons and stealing small change.

And then they were there, their presence overwhelming, their scent of smoke and salt and magick and death permeating the air. They were beautiful and unique and they burned brighter than any star in the sky.

And he was watching them, the last one, the one with the string presence of War (and MichealAresMarsHorusThor) and he was pretty, she guessed, and she could see why every girl in the school gushed about him, and his muscles, and his eyes and his tattoos, but she preferred something softer, something more feminine, something like- something like that.

Evie stood at one of the stalls, except she wasn't paying attention to the stall's goods, she was paying attention to the purple-haired fae that was kissing up her neck, who was spinning Helena's angel around and kissing her, hard and fierce and they were beautiful ( objectively, Helena could see that, but Juno was screaming in her head about unfaithfulness, and Sif was crying for Thor, who was so close, but would never see her the way he saw Anael and Azreal, and Isis was screaming for her son, for Horus, and Helena's head was so full she thought she was going to split in two). And there was something wet on Helena's cheek, and you don't cry on the Isle of the Lost, so she turned and left.

And Death smirked against Conquest's neck.

"I win."