In which Percy is protective and badass, and Ella loves her lots already.
Replies:
The Official Clarisse: Don't worry, the bit I'm referring to is a good freak out- or I think it is. And yes, we would all like to beat up Phineas- but Percy's priority is looking after Ella right now- all I'll say is she's her mothers daughter through and through.
Weirdhead: Heh, Percy sees someone around her age or younger who looks like they need help 'Whoop, big sister mode activated.'
Undeath9087: Percy whenever someone says how bad it'll get 'Don't threaten me with a good time guys!'. Or alternately when she has her memories 'Oh bitch please I married Kronos how much worse could it get'. And all I'll say is that Alabaster will have a somewhat major role in one of the fics coming up and it'll make a week trapped with him look pretty mild.
disney fanatic: Hah, of course getting demigods to capture a harpy could backfire!
It was Hazel who figured out Percy's plan first, her gaze focusing on the food in Percy's hands. "You're going to use that as bait-"
"No." Percy's voice was firm, "We're not going to capture her. We want to talk to her right? So it's a peace offering. I'm gonna need you two to help me make sure that the other harpies don't steal the food okay?"
As Percy walked she uncovered the Thai noodles and unwrapped the cinnamon burrito. Fragrant steam wafted into the air. They walked down the street, Hazel and Frank with their weapons out. The harpies fluttered after them, perching on trees, mailboxes, and flagpoles, following the smell of food.
Percy wondered what the mortals saw through the Mist. Maybe they thought the harpies were pigeons and the weapons were lacrosse sticks or something.
Maybe they just thought the Thai mac and cheese was so good it needed an armed escort.
Percy kept a tight grip on the food. She'd seen how quickly the harpies could snatch things. She didn't want to lose her peace offering before she found the red-feathered harpy.
After what felt like a lifetime Percy spotted her, circling above a stretch of parkland that ran for several blocks between rows of old stone buildings. Paths stretched through the park under huge maple and elm trees, past sculptures and playgrounds and shady benches. The place reminded Percy of…some other park. Maybe in her home town? She couldn't remember, but it made her feel homesick.
Together they crossed the street and found a bench to sit on, next to a big bronze sculpture of an elephant.
"Looks like Hannibal," Hazel said.
"Except it's Chinese," Frank said. "My grandmother has one of those." He flinched. "I mean, hers isn't twelve feet tall. But she imports stuff…from China.
We're Chinese." He looked at Hazel and Percy, who were trying hard not to laugh. "Could I just die from embarrassment now?" he asked.
"Don't worry about it, man," Percy said. "Let's see if we can make friends with the harpy."
She raised the Thai noodles and fanned the smell upward—spicy peppers and cheesy goodness. The red harpy circled lower.
"Hey-" Percy called up, her voice gentle- coaxing- a tone she was sure she'd used before on scared kids- on her brothers. Even if she couldn't remember doing it. "We don't want to hurt you- we just want to talk okay? We're not on that guys side believe me. We just want to talk to you okay? Thai noodles for a chance to talk. That's all we want-"
The harpy streaked down in a flash of red and landed on the elephant statue.
She was painfully thin. Her feathery legs were like sticks. Her face would have been pretty except for her sunken cheeks. She moved in jerky birdlike
twitches, her coffee-brown eyes darting restlessly, her fingers clawing at her plumage, her earlobes, her shaggy red hair.
"Cheese," she muttered, looking sideways. "Ella doesn't like cheese."
Percy hesitated. "Your name is Ella?"
"Ella. Aella. 'Harpy.' In English. In Latin. Ella doesn't like cheese." She said all that without taking a breath or making eye contact. Her hands snatched at her hair, her burlap dress, the raindrops, whatever moved.
Quicker than Percy could blink, she lunged, snatched the cinnamon burrito, and appeared atop the elephant again.
"Gods, she's fast!" Hazel said.
"And heavily caffeinated," Frank guessed.
Ella sniffed the burrito. She nibbled at the edge and shuddered from head to foot, cawing like she was dying. "Cinnamon is good," she pronounced. "Good for harpies. Yum."
Percy was on her feet, rushing towards the harpy- her heart aching for her, "Ella wait-" but it was too late- before Ella could even take a bite the bigger harpies were swooping down and they started to pummel the tiny harpy with their wings, snatching at the burrito.
"Nnnnnnooo." Ella tried to hide under her wings as her sisters ganged up on her, scratching with their claws. "N-no," she stuttered. "N-n-no!"
Percy felt a rush of panic- and anger at the other harpies, crying out in fury at the sight, and the rain that had been coming down in a light drizzle started coming down harder, harder and harder, battering the harpies attacking their sister- Frank and Hazel let out panicked yells, throwing their hands up to shield their heads from the somehow painfully hard rain that struck with more force than hail, that struck hard enough to bruise, the harpies scattered- though a big yellow one managed to tear half of the burrito away from Ella's grip as they fled- and Percy focused hard, the rain stopping inches from Ella's cowering and shivering form. And then the rain stopped, turning into it's drizzle again, and Percy was moving before Hazel and Frank could even lower their arms, trying and failing to climb up the side of the metal elephant, slipping down and landing on her ass with a grunt, "Ella! Ella are you okay?"
And Hazel was there a moment later, reaching up to touch the trembling harpies foot. "Did they hurt you?"
Ella poked her head out of her wings- her eyes wide with shock as she clutched the half of the burrito tightly, pressing it close to her chest as she looked down at them.
As Frank helped Percy to her feet she could see the bleeding gash on her back from where Phineas had hit her with the weed whacker.
"Rain girl helped Ella." the harpies voice was small, "Made the rain hard, scared off others."
"Yeah." Percy nodded quickly, "You eat your burrito. I'm sorry they got half of it-" and she watched as Ella took a bite, and her heart ached seeing the poor thing's expression- no one should be that happy to eat. She was half starved.
"We'll try and get you some more if we can." Frank offered, "Do you like it-"
"Nice." Ella nodded, offering them an almost hesitant smile, taking another bite of the burrito. "Cinnamon. Good for harpies-"
You said." Percy smiled gently, "Can you come down Ella- we just want to help you. We want to be your friends-"
"Friends," Ella said. "'Ten seasons. 1994 to 2004.'" She glanced sideways at Percy, then looked in the air and started reciting to the clouds. "'A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds.' Sixteen. You're sixteen. Page sixteen, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. 'Ingredients: Bacon, Butter.'"
Percy's breath caught- she felt like she'd been smacked over the head and punched in the gut- those words- they were familiar, important, so important.
"Ella- Ella, sweetheart what was that you said?"
"'Bacon.'" She caught a raindrop out of the air. "'Butter.'"
"No, before that. Those lines…I know those lines."
Next to him, Hazel shivered. "It does sound familiar, like…I don't know, like a prophecy. Maybe it's something she heard Phineas say?"
At the name Phineas, Ella squawked in terror and flew away.
"Wait!" Hazel called. "I didn't mean—Oh, gods, I'm stupid."
"It's all right." Frank pointed. "Look."
Ella wasn't moving as quickly now. She flapped her way to the top of a three-story red brick building and scuttled out of sight over the roof. A single red feather fluttered down to the street.
"You think that's her nest?" Frank squinted at the sign on the building. "Multnomah County Library?"
Percy nodded. "Let's see if it's open."
They ran across the street and into the lobby.
A library wouldn't have been Percy's first choice for someplace to visit. With her dyslexia, she had enough trouble reading signs. A whole building full of books? That sounded about as much fun as Chinese water torture or getting her teeth extracted, but she did feel like she spent a lot of time in libraries- she saw a flash of herself sat at a table, Annabeth and Rachel sat together pouring over books while Percy pulled faces and played with her phone.
As they jogged through the lobby, Percy figured her girlfriends- if that was what they were- and gods but what would they be now? Would like this place. It was spacious and brightly lit, with big vaulted windows. Books and architecture, that was definitely Annabeth and Rachel's scene- and art too- Rachel loved art.
The thoughts made Percy falter, her breath catching in her throat- and she closed her eyes, hands shaking as she leaned against one of the bookshelves- pressing one hand over her mouth to stifle a sob.
"Percy!" Frank's voice was panicked and she felt his hand on her elbow, steadying her, "Are you okay?"
"I-" Percy's voice caught- "Memories trying to come through is all." she swallowed hard, forcing herself to straighten up, "I'll be fine."
"Anything clear?" Hazel's voice was soft and Percy gave a halfhearted little shrug.
"Just flashes- of Annabeth and Rachel. They were my girlfriends. I think. They-" had they moved on without her? Gods but that thought hurt more than she could handle. The thought that she might not have a place with them anymore.
"You'll remember." Franks hand moved to rub her back comfortingly and Percy breathed in slowly, straightening up, "Right, you're right. We need to keep going. The roof."
It took them a while, but they finally found a stairwell with roof access. At the top was a door with a handle alarm, but someone had propped it open with a copy of War and Peace.
Outside, Ella the harpy huddled in a nest of books under a makeshift cardboard shelter.
The three demigods advanced slowly, trying not to scare her. Ella didn't pay them any attention. She picked at her feathers and muttered under her breath, like she was practising lines for a play.
Percy got within five feet and knelt down. "Hi. Sorry we scared you. Look, I don't have much more food-" Ella had finished her half of the burrito- that was something at least, "But I mean-"
She took some of the macrobiotic jerky out of her pocket. Ella lunged and snatched it immediately. She huddled back in her nest, sniffing the jerky, but sighed and tossed it away. "N-not from his table. Ella cannot eat. Sad. Jerky would be good for harpies."
"Not from…Oh, right," Percy said. "That's part of the curse. You can only eat his food." it made her even angrier at Phineas than she had been.
"There has to be a way," Hazel said.
"'Photosynthesis,'" Ella muttered. "'Noun. Biology. The synthesis of complex organic materials.' 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness... '"
"What is she saying?" Frank whispered.
Percy stared at the mound of books around her. They all looked old and mildewed. Some had prices written in marker on the covers, like the library had gotten rid of them in a clearance sale.
"She's quoting books," Percy's voice was barely a whisper- she felt stunned at the realisation..
"Farmer's Almanac 1965," Ella said. "'Start breeding animals, January twenty-sixth.'"
"Ella," Percy asked quickly, "have you read all of these?"
She blinked. "More. More downstairs. Words. Words calm Ella down. Words, words, words."
Percy picked up a book at random—a tattered copy of A History of Horseracing. "Ella, do you remember the, um, third paragraph on page sixty-two—"
"'Secretariat,'" Ella said instantly, "'favored three to two-in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, finished at standing track record of one fifty-nine and two fifths.'"
Percy closed the book. Her hands were shaking. "Word for word."
"That's amazing," Hazel said.
"She's a genius chicken," Frank agreed.
Percy felt uneasy. She was starting to form a terrible idea about why Phineas wanted to capture Ella, and it wasn't because she'd scratched him. Percy remembered that line she'd recited, A half-blood of the eldest gods. she was sure it was about her- something about it resonated deep in her very soul.
"Ella," she said, "we're going to find a way to break the curse. Would you like that?"
"'It's Impossible,'" she said. "'Recorded in English by Perry Como, 1970.'"
"Nothing's impossible," Percy said. "Now, look, I'm going to say his name. You don't have to run away. We're going to save you from the curse. We just need to figure out a way to beat... Phineas."
She waited for her to bolt, but she just shook her head vigorously. "N-n-no! No Phineas. Ella is quick. Too quick for him. B-but he wants to ch-chain Ella. He hurts Ella."
Percy reached out when Ella tried to reach back to the gash on her back, gently grabbing the little harpies wrists. "Ella- Ella sweetie look at me." her voice was incredibly soft, "Me and my friends, we're going to help you. We'll find a way I promise." she took a deep breath, the words coming to her as if she'd said them before, "Ella. I swear on the River Styx I will to everything within my power to keep you away from him. I will not let Phineas hurt you again- not while I still have blood in my veins and breath in my lungs." and thunder cracked above them as Hazel and Frank both sucked in sharp little gasps and Ella gazed at Percy with wide awed eyes before she fluttered forward, hugging Percy tightly.