First, we had to prepare.
Grover and Jason left the morning after the Lion Incident, off to start the mission of the Pontifex Maximus (which I still can't say with a straight face) to bring recognition and worship to the minor deities of the Greek and Roman Pantheons. Weirdly, as I watched him ride away into the sunrise on Tempest, I kinda felt like I should be going with him, just to... I don't know, make sure he was safe, that he had another pair of eyes with him to spot an ambush.
Which was dumb because: A) he could take care of himself, before the whole Flames thing he was almost my equal after all (... almost ) and B) he was deliberately seeking out gods and goddesses of Western mythology, who I've been trying to catch a break from since I started coming across them.
Piper and I, we've never really fought together you know? And she's got basically no training. So I trained her.
...Well, by that I mean we raided the nearest NYC weapons cache and went out into Central Park, where I taught Pipes some knife tricks I picked up from Annabeth and went through some of the classical agoge training she'd started on at Camp.
However, Central Park just didn't have the proper facilities (never thought I'd miss the lava spewing climbing wall that threatened to crush unfortunate slow-pokes) so obviously the only option was Demigod-Tag.
Now, I don't know if you've ever seen two teenagers armed to the teeth bouncing off the walls of side streets and alleys like demented rabbits simultaneously playing keep-away and kick-the-can-but-the-can-is-your-face...but it is not exactly subtle and if you're the one playing, you end up in places faster than you can get a handle on what's going on there.
Which is how Piper and I ended up in the middle of a gang war.
~~~∞Ω∞~~~
It was my fault.
We were running around the meatpacking district of lower Manhattan and I'd just dodged Percy's tackle by slowing him down with a push of want and slow in a shimmery touch of blue ice over a puddle and jumping onto the fire crates and dustbins. Anyway, I ended up on the roof and of course, this being an area untouched by the questionable renovation of gentrification, the roof was old and, when I got to the centre, it promptly gave way.
With the sudden sensation of weightlessness, I panicked and pulled on my Flame, coldness rushing through my limbs and rippling against the air, slowing my fall slightly. I heard a shout and hit the floor at a roll, back on my feet and- face to face with two very mean looking groups with some very dangerous weapons, emanating anger with a tinge of ...fear?
Heart pounding from the adrenalin but mind oddly calm, I fixed a bright smile on (Smile #4 by the Aphrodite Cabin standard: Charmingly Undeniable), tugging on the cool power pooling in my throat as I opened my mouth to Charmspeak these suckers to let me through. I put a primordial entity down for a nap, forty or so mortals? Piece of cake.
Then Percy dropped down behind me and all Hades broke lose.
" C-Clouds!"
" Prince of Seas! Per-"
"CALM!"
Whoa, apparently Rain Flame and Charmspeak are really, really effective together. Who knew?
...At least they're calmer now? A bit dopey actually, even though they're all still stewing with terror... all the better to question them with!
"Sorry to barge in like this, but who exactly are you?"
There, confidence is key, act like you have all the rights here and with Charmspeak trance-state, it works almost every time!
The thick fisted middle-aged man on the left answered, voice level and eyes unfocused despite his pupils pin-pricked in murky blue and his bald head shiny with sweat.
"Davey Clamp Hands, Sun, Mafioso, David Joseph Anderson, Boss of the Crowsfoots, the Corvo Famiglia's affiliation in the Big Apple."
He blinked and jerked a bit, a faint light flickering in his eyes and some clarity returning, "Mist! How- M-Mist and Rain and Cloud?!" His gaze moved over my shoulder and he went white.
"I-I didn't know there were Active Clouds in this hood! It's not Marked as Territory! We didn't know!"
There was something... bright, warm in him that, though weak and spluttering, was actively burning away at the haze of Charm and light Rain.
So, this is a Sun? Huh.
" Perseus Jackson, I beg of you have mercy."
The man on the right spoke in a hoarse whisper, stiff and shaking with fright, dark eyes locked on something behind me like a rabbit staring down something very big and very predatory, which has very sharp teeth, and is hungry.
I glanced over my shoulder and- had I not trusted him like I did, I'd have frozen like them.
Percy... he was... I've heard about the Wolf Stare, even seen if from Hazel and Frank upon request, but Percy...
His face was half shadowed, light catching on gnarled scars and a glint of canine fang, the dark making his eyes gleam . Sea-greens and bright teals shifting and rippling with a wholly unnatural violet sheen, like frothing crests to stormy waves.
He didn't even have his sword drawn. He wasn't moving, shoulders tense but limbs loose, the bearing of the hunter. Anticipation. Threat. Promise.
He was still, yet the air around him moved.
There was a Power emanating from him, invisible if not for the dust in the air to echo the movement, lazily swirling around him and coiling out towards me, lapping at my feet.
The hairs on my arms stood on end. It was a slight sensation, cool, soft, like a whisper of sea breeze, Ebbing and flowing like the tides. Subtle and gentle with an undercurrent of danger, like a riptide waiting for the unwary.
His focus was intent on the other party -a dozen well dressed men in mottled, dark grey suits and leather gloves- completely ignoring Davey, who was cowering on the spot with neck bent in submission.
The men on both sides were sickly with panicky fear, frozen on the spot by their own instincts.
So. Crowd control before this escalates.
Davey ad his rough looking gangsters weren't much of a threat judging by Percy's complete disregard... and space is always good when facing multiple opponents...
"Davey why don't you take you people away and forget all about this incident."
His eyes snapped back to me, his pupils were still pin-pricked. I smiled reassuringly.
"I think you all turned up on the wrong day and there was no one here. A good sleep would clear your mind, don't you think?"
Davey's expression didn't smooth from its rictus of blind terror but he was nodding merrily, mumbling in agreement, turning to go "Wrong day, yeah, no one here, nothing happened, I didn't see no body."
There, a bit of Charmspeak and they stumbling away. One situation solved; one to go.
~~~∞Ω∞~~~
Monsters.
Locking eyes with the leader, I gave him my best Wolf Stare. I channelled my resolve, my mettle, forged, quenched and tested again and again against monsters and demigods, against gods and Titans, Giants and the Primordials themselves.
I don't know what you are (buzzing across my forehead, the recognition in their eyes) but I've faced worse and won.
I will rip out your throat if I have to.
They didn't seem keen to fight, there was no hatred in those dark eyes, only fear.
Good. Less of a threat to Piper, to my mom and Paul and Baby Starfish.
But not enough.
I will take no chances.
Between Bob the Titan and Damasen the Giant, my cyclops brother, his harpy girlfriend, Small Bob the skeleton cat and Mrs O'Leary the hellhound, I know not all monsters are monstrous.
(Hah. So damn funny aren't I )
I don't want to send them to Tartarus (not that place, with the heat/dark/sound/smell/ can't breathe/can't see/can't live/ burningpainpoisonshatteringof self / pounding heartneverstopsimmortalPrimordial/ the visage of Tartarus that made me drop my sword, nohopegoingtoDIEHERE- not that place, by any choice) ... but I will not fail my people ( friends, comrades, family, burning shrouds, choking smoke, grey eyes empty and still and staring- everything I touch just falls to ruin doesn't it.)
Ah, gentle wash of cool drizzle, Piper got the mortals out. Hopefully with Charmspeak they'll forget all this; the last thing we need right now is to get mixed up in the Mafia .
( ... One chance. I can afford them one chance.)
(...Because not all monsters are bad.)
"What are you?" It came out gruff, slightly growly and made the monsters flinch ( if the monsters quake and shiver, what does that make YOU) .
A flat tongue smacked against lips nervously. Then the leader...shifted, suits rippling with the bones and sinews under skin, mottling sharpening into spotted seal skin, face elongating and growing short dark fur while gloved hands broadened and flattened into clawed flippers. Telekhines.
Forgers, Smiths, Enemies during the Second Titan War. Part seal part dog, smart, skilled and powerful with some magics. The leader stood tallest at about 6'5, the rest similar…although the two at the back notably smaller... weren't adults supposed to be like seven, eight foot tall? The ones at the Mt. St. Helen's forge were.
The leader spoke softly, hushed with deference.
"We are the Telekhines of the Meigma Pack. We know you Perseus Jackson, Son of Seas, Bane of Monsters. We seek no enmity with the Avenger, Oh Loyal One. I beg of you have mercy."
I moved forward in a slow Stalk, putting Piper at my back, "Why should I let you go free, for other demigod to pay the price?"
He shook his head in reflexive denial, "We do not hunt demigods! We are Smiths! Artists! Craftsmen! We met with the human gang to Challenge their right to this Territory and their material-smuggling lines! The Meigma lost all our Territory and trade lines with the Failed Rise of the Second Titanomachy! We have nothing! "
His voice shook and broke with emotion. Unwillingly, I felt myself soften slightly.
"If you swear not to attack or hunt any demigod, Greek, Roman or whatever, then I will leave you to your business."
Behind the Leader, the pack of Telekhines sagged in relief. The smallest ones even started to cry.
"I Swear Upon the Styx, none who call the Meigma pack will hunt a demigod nor attack except out of self defence. Until my dust descends to Chaos, So Be It."
Hmm. Well, I can't fault him for protecting his Pack. Even risking me taking offense... yeah. I get that. I'm glad I don't have to kill him.
(For once, I won't leave dust and death behind me)
But if they're setting up in NYC... I'd much rather have an ally than not to guard my home. It would make leaving feel less like abandonment.
"Do you need help?"
The Leader himself was still unnaturally pale, but there was some definite confusion in his face. So I elaborated.
"Your Pack is small and your members are young too. If there are other monster packs nearby who wouldn't Swear against a demigod dinner, I could...remove the competition, so to speak."
"... Why?!"
I looked him in the eye. "I'm trusting you with my Territory, my Home and my bloodline, the Gate of Olympus. If your pack needs help getting established, I will give it."
Have a sworn neutral body at the Heart, which protects it from unknown threats and one I can easily kill if I need to.
And so it went.
The Pack Leader, whose name was Emilio, gave a list of the different monster groups of the area, which ones he could ally with, which he could trade with and which he couldn't.
The ones he couldn't use to the Pack's benefit (too aggressive, territorial or unwilling to share resources through trade agreements) were marked on a map for removal.
Weirdly, he asked for a...token of some sort, to signify our alliance. A symbol. I was never really very good at naming stuff, so... I just told him to pick something.
Then Piper and I went Hunting.
.
Five hours of stalking, ambushing and fighting later and Piper and I were exiting another dark alley and on a main street, heading home.
My muscles were loose and warm and I felt pleasantly tired from the exercise and what experimentation I'd done with my Cloud Fire during the tracking and ambush stages of each mark.
It was very good training all round really. I got a much better sense for how Piper's mind works.
However, with the lingering adrenalin and heightened alertness from live combat, I was...noticing things.
Like the woman who sharply turned and went into a cafe when we accidentally made eye contact. The group of teens who went quiet and huddled close together as we passed. The business man who crossed the street to avoid us.
Piper had also noticed, "You've been chewed by a lion and you look it. Add in your wild hair, your eyes, your walk and you've got yourself a regular bad-boy." she said.
I looked at her helplessly. I didn't want to be a bad-boy, a trouble-maker, a delinquent. I'd done that. I'd been there, in every school I'd ever been to. That wasn't me anymore. I'd seen, done, too much. It...rankled, a bit. Or, it made me feel trapped, like I could feel eyes on me, not looking further than my skin, just looking and expecting and giving me a box, a title, a script to follow whether I want to or not and it itches-
"Hey."
Piper.
We'd stopped. My hands were clenched into fists.
"It bothers you?"
I didn't answer. She nodded resolutely.
"Then let's sort it out."
With that, she linked her arm in mine and set off, leading me across the street to a drug store and inside to the cosmetics section.
"...Piper..." I started warily. She shushed me.
"You don't like the impression you make and it takes more than just clothes to change that. So~ let's try something new! A little bit of makeup? Colours or a more natural look? Ever think about dying your hair? Doing your nails? I've got a lifetime's worth of birthday bribe money from my Dad's associates on card, I got it sorted back at Camp, so don't worry about the cost or anything!"
She looked so excited, but there was a fragility in her eyes.
"I...I've never really thought about it...but...I suppose it's worth a try?"
She beamed and presented the lipsticks with a flourish. "Then try we shall!" she rocked from her heels to her toes, "I used to do this stuff sometimes, back before the Wilderness School, when I'd sneak out own my own because I just wanted to go somewhere fun without people looking at me and knowing who I was.
"Mind you, I was properly outrageous, neon blue and yellow eye shadow and bright green lipstick, the lot. It meant that I got a break from people asking me out, because even Aphrodite's blood can't make that look good!
"...But, it was nice, to just...be someone different for a while. And I think...it will be nice to mess around doing this stuff with someone too. Even at Cabin 10, it wasn't for fun , it was competitive, about brands and technique and aesthetically pleasing coordinating. And that's not me, especially when I'm trying to learn to fight!"
Yeah, I could see how that might be... frustrating.
But the rest of it, to just- change yourself, to be someone different just for fun, for yourself? Well...that doesn't sound bad at all...and if anything, it's worth a shot.
I looked over the shelves of powder, pencils and compacts. I knew how to use the foundation, to an extent. I used to use Mom's to hide bruises Gabe gave me from school so they wouldn't make trouble.
I rubbed at a raised scar cluster on my cheek. I could hide the scars...
No .
Change is one thing, but I refuse to hide myself.
So, if covering them up is out, then I just have to make people look at me instead of my instead.
Most of the colours were pretty standard; pale pink, flesh, red, plum etc, but there was a small row at the edge with some far more promising colours. Yellow. Orange. Black. Purple. All in a battered box, scuffed on the lids and sides.
Perfect.
Selecting 'Emerald Envy', 'Black Velvet', a pinky purple 'Jinx', 'Peacock' in bright bluey green, a gold called 'Pirate' and a dark navy purple called 'Nocturnal', I was already feeling better about this.
Piper came over and dumped a mix of coloured pencils and eye shadows into the basket and oohed over my discovery. "Oh, nice . This one too!" From the dusty, shadowed depths, she pulled the true treasure; a literal rainbow stick. I didn't even know the did those. The power of Aphrodite at work, people.
Chuckling slightly, I moved to the nail polish with Piper. I wasn't sure about nail polish. Surely it would just chip off? We looked at it. Yeah, best not.
Finally, we were at the hair dyes. Piper looked at me; this was different from makeup that could be wiped off. I nodded.
"We'll need to bleach your hair first, so get whatever colour." She grinned and pulled out 'Flame Red' "I'm not doing the whole thing, just the ends, but it seems appropriate doesn't it?"
I worked a smile, if we ever do encounter any Mafioso, it will certainly throw them for a loop.
My eyes drifted over the colours (there was blonde. She even had CURLS) I swallowed.
Then I saw one of the boxes. It was a rich, slightly plump purple, not far off from the Camp Jupiter shade, but also not, but it was the name that caught my attention.
Byzantium.
The Eastern side of the Roman Empire. The Greek side. The side that survived.
"This one."
Greek. Roman. Both. Neither. It's own unique identity. Two great legacies like trees, twined together to be something more.
A pang of recognition, soul deep.
Yes, it whispered. This is Me.
~~~∞Ω∞~~~
Emilio, Former Alpha of the Meigma Telekhine Pack looked down at the map that had been returned to them by the Bane of Monsters, the Destroyer, Perseus Jackson and his Silvertongue companion Piper McLean, Daughter of Aphrodite, Soothsayer of the Lookng Glass.
The key trade lines of New York City, the hub, his. An oyster of a thousand pearls opened up for his Pack, simply by swearing not to Hunt those under Perseus Jackson's Protection. Even then, he had permitted harm from self defence. Had approved!
Emilio's Pack had been subsumed into the Titan Army during the First of the Failed Rises. They had lost...everything. They were less than a fifth of their original numbers, with every elder and strong adult killed by the end. Their resources were siezed for the war effort, as were their Territories, their trade lines and their labour, down to even their treasured artifacts, forged in generation long past. Gone.
The Titans had taken all from them, but they had been given so much by the one who was their undoing. He who stood against the Titans, the Giants, the Earth Mother Herself...
and Won.
He looked at his Pack, celebrating the return of hope.
'...Just pick something, I don't know. Tell me whenever we meet again.'
For the Son of Poseidon, Prince of Atlantis, Pillar of the Sky, Marked by the Styx, Sailor of the Sea of Monsters, He who Was Water...
Perhaps one more title for his chosen Leader, for The Alpha.
A skull and crossed bones.
The Pirate Brand, for one who has traveled further than Chrysaur has ever dared.
The Terror of the High Seas.
As he is the Head, we will be the Bones.
We are the body of an old ship, from which everything has been taken away.
Until the Sea lifted us to Sail again.
.
Noi siamo il Carcassa!
.
~~~∞Ω∞~~~
Three blocks away in his flat, Davey Anderson took a swig of a whisky bottle and wiped the sweat off his face with one large hand.
Clouds.
Two. In New York. Completely unknown.
Very, very strong ones too. A hellishly rare multiflame with powerful Mist to bend the mind of a flame Active of an opposing Element, even as Rain washed away panic under the drug-haze of Tranquillity. Maybe Propagated by her Cloud primary flame?
But the other one...
He shuddered and crossed himself.
He had seen Death in those eyes.
Inescapable. Inevitable. Primal in the way that he was Prey in the face of a Predator. An experienced Hunter with viscous scars and suffocating Flame pressure.
He closed his eyes ( toxic green and purple flashed in the darkness ) he took another gulp from the bottle to calm his pounding heart breathing through the burn. He fished out his mobile and entered a number, quivering fingers fumbling on the keys.
" Pronto."
"Signore, there are new Clouds in New York, a multiflame Rainy Mist girl and a demon with the face of Death."
"The Don will be informed. Report."
Notes:
AND SO THE CARCASSA APPEARS. Not that Perce knows this yet.
U ALL THOT IT WAS GONNA B THE CIRCUS FIRST U POOR NORMAL MINDED PLEBS U SHOULD NO BY NOW THAT MY MIND DEFIES THE INTENDED SEQUENCE IN WAYS UNPREDICTABLE EVEN TO MYSELF I AM A SIMPLE MINDED PLEB I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS HAPPENING GODDAMMIT SALLY THIS IS UR FAULT I SWEAR
I don't about the hood bit. It just made me smile to write.
About Davey's assumption of Misty Rain Cloud Piper: She's not. Charmspeak (the Mistish feeling) comes from Aphrodite, so it's a divine power that's used by kids regardless if type but can also mix with elemental flames bc White Flame, the gods flame, is Every flame, like light.
Bye~