Chapter 7: Change: a fresh breeze winding around the mountains
Notes:
...Hi!
Been a while, huh?
It's taken 7 chapters, but we are now finished with what I planned for Chapter 3. Also, the words have run away from me in the in-between and thrown my tentative plans into Chaos.
Enjoy!
Sally slowly lowered the phone from her ear and into its holder with a quiet click.
She glanced over towards the bathroom, where she could hear sounds of quiet conversation and bright laughter echoing off the tiles.
They sounded so young. Happy. Like the teenagers they were supposed to be, vibrant, reckless and carefree. And not at all ready for what her whisper channels had murmured to her.
Out of nowhere, the low-level gang hierarchy has been thrown into anarchy, with some groups disappearing entirely and not just in the sense of disbandment. Additionally, some of the Active members of a vassal group of a minor Italian Famiglia had drunkenly gibbered about surviving an encounter with a strong, unknown Cloud Pair in Un-Marked territory. An ambitious, weak flame Sun vassal boss was now tasked with initiating contact with the 'Myriad Cloud' and the 'Devil-Eyed Pure-Flame' and negotiate an alliance with them.
Her fingers tapped a quick rhythm on the wood of the side table.
It was obvious who the Pair were. Percy, with his Flame as expansive as the ocean and the as close in purity to starlight as mortals came and Piper, a difficult Flame to pin down with the influence of divine White Flame talents and the invisible shroud of Cloud from Percy's claim. Clouds typically leave such 'markers' on their territory borders, but it seems that Percy has chosen to guard, shield and bolster the people that gather under his lead instead, demigods and more, both Greek and Roman, if the protective Flame traces on Grover and Jason were any indication. With Piper being in such close vicinity and the sheer intensity of Percy's Flame... to the mafia, it would make more sense for two Clouds to Hunt together (almost impossibly rare but documented) than a standoffish, aloof Cloud to have a territory of people.
It would be a weakness if known. A glaring one. A Famiglia would only have to insert a loyal member into that cloud of protection as an in-road. Never mind avenues of kidnapping, ransom and blackmail.
This at least they would be safe from as long as Percy didn't claim any Active mafioso and the pair of them stay out of the attention of Flame actives strong enough to perceive the truth with their superior flame sensitivity.
Still, they needed to learn how to shield their Flames and Sally now didn't have the time to teach them...
...Teach. Now that was an idea... dear Donatello did owe her that favour still and his master has contacts in some former Professors of that Italian Mafia school...
It's been a long time since she played this game and winning or losing is sometimes simply a single move...
Hm. Percy and his Rainy friend definitely had to leave the city as soon as possible. Rumours like these spread like an oil slick in the Underground and always reached scum-line ears first. Her boy was not prepared to handle him and his against Mafia attentions just yet.
They suddenly were suddenly running out of time before mafioso of the slimiest, most unscrupulous and power thirsty Famiglia start oozing on their doorstep.
The only choice now was which direction to send them in.
Moving to the kitchen in calm, silent steps, she put the kettle on, called for the two young adults to join her and turned away to hunt through the darkest corner of the cupboard for the colourful mugs of Percy's arts and craft projects across Elementary schools.
Slightly lumpy mugs of fired clay in hand, Sally Jackson-Blofis looked over to her... suspiciously quiet son leaning against the doorframe. Her seventeen-year-old son, whose hair had looked significantly less like captured Cloud Flame the last time she had seen it.
Piper McLean's face appeared at his shoulder, framed by shorter-than-before brown hair messily chopped and feathered into random lines with tongues of dip dyed fire-hydrant red flaring up like furious Storm Flames. She was grinning, but her eyes were sharp even with their mischievous twinkle ready to intervene should Sally react unfavourably. They were currently also an ocean green like her son's (like they had been as a boy; like sparkling green coastal waters before the all the pain in his short life turned them stormy and unfathomable as the high seas) … and shimmering with just a touch of aqua Flame- instinctual, an easy tell of tension.
(Hm. Potential for the subtler arts of interpersonal interaction and a good foundation of loyalty to her boy. Good.)
Keeping her face impassive, she walked up to him and took his face in her hands and brushed a thumb over the gnarled scar on his cheek. He'd gotten so tall… even hunched over with shoulders curved inwards. Big and strong. And so, so brave. He should stand tall and she hoped some freedom to live life for himself gave him the confidence to, because after all he's fought for he deserves it. Sally hummed and smiled, watching relief soften stormy greens and a crooked grin quirk his mouth to one side.
It was a good change, made him look less like a troublemaker probably on the 'wrong' side of the law and more like a teenage rebel who got into accidents and the odd scrap gone wrong, especially with the eclectic mix of beads and objects threaded on his leather Camp necklace.
It softened him.
"So what brought this on?"
He ducked his head, so she ruffled his hair. Vigorously. "Ah! Mom, stop! Ah- I just wanted to try something a little bit different, I don't know, just, to have a change"
Piper spoke up from where she had backed off to lean against a wall, "We got lipsticks and stuff too, but Percy thought it was a bit much for a first reveal," she smirked at him, "Told you it would be fine."
Sally nodded, "If you like it, you know Paul and I would be okay with just about anything and besides, changing identifying colours in hair, clothes or makeup is a good disguise technique," she turned away into the kitchen to finish with the drinks and murmured half to herself, "…and you might need soon."
"Mom?" Ah.
Finishing with the drinks, Sally led them over to the living area and sank into Paul's large, plush armchair across and to the side of the couch where Percy and Piper settled. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the faint scent of cappuccino and paper for the superficial comfort it gave her and gathered herself.
After a moment, she began. "Percy, it's not going to be safe for you to stay here much longer." He flinched bodily, but Sally pressed on. "There are Whispers starting up about an Unknown Cloud Pair in the New York Territories; powerful, unaffiliated, unbound Unknowns, meaning a fast track to much higher standing for any group that can chain you and a reasonably high chance of success to provide temptation as the combination of 'Unknown' and 'powerful' usually means uncontrolled, instinct-driven high intensity Flame use with low skill and stamina, ready to be moulded into anything by the first group that can lay claim."
She breathed and took a sip of tea to calm down, calling a ripple of Rain into her blood when the drink didn't help.
He's not ready for this.
She thought she could shield him from that just a little while longer. This was supposed to be his chance to get away from fighting against the monsters, not going straight to where they congregate.
Oh yes, she saw them. There was a strange relationship between mortal Flames and the Mist. Most Active Mists could sense it and see through it to varying degrees, but what really determined Sight was Flame purity and while Ocelotta d'Antennaria had a relatively weak Rain Flame, it was more than pure enough to clear her Sighted of the veils of illusion shimmering around various places, objects...people. It was what had captured Poseidon's interest first off, that she could see he was far more than all around her perceived. She watched inhuman entities establish themselves withing the worst circles of the Underground... and thrive.
The Mafia was a different sort of enemy than Percy was used to. They were sly, strategic and most of all coordinated. Sally had no doubt he could hold his own against any single monster or even a low-level gang or minor Famiglia, but it would never be that simple. With the foundations of an information network laid purely by being in the same 'business' under Omerta... and the temptation of a shackled Cloud, of chaining a demigod of the Big Three, Percy Jackson and forcing him to submit-
They would join forces to take him down (before they fractured again over final ownership). Pooling resources and dirty tricks. The most depraved of Flame binding techniques.
There would be traps. Ambush.
...She didn't think Percy would win against this sort of enemy.
He didn't know what he was up against.
How they move. How they think.
And against a larger group? An established one with Alliances stretching over generations?
He doesn't stand a chance.
"Low level groups will come down on you to force you to join them. Higher level gangs and famiglia who know more about Clouds will try to take you out before you become a threat- either from a bolstered low-tier gang or the massacre that always follows a Raging Cloud rampage when you snap under the forced bonds. All the way up and down the ranks Percy, you're going to be Hunted and you need to run before the rumours are investigated and turn concrete."
She looked at her son and saw his green, green eyes were empty, her own stung. "Oh Percy. I'm so sorry baby." She surged to her feet and wrapped her arms around him when he met her half way. She swallowed the tight lump in her throat painfully, "I can't keep you safe, I'm so sorry Percy."
Strong arms circled her shoulders and squeezed with heart-breaking gentleness. His voice was a deep rumble she could feel through his chest. It was ragged and rough like Poseidon's had been when he was forced away as well. "It's me who should be saying sorry Mom, not you. You don't need to apologise for anything. I attract the monsters and get myself in trouble and-" his throat bobbed audibly. "...I won't do that to you and Paul and Baby Starfish."
Sally frowned slightly and pulled away, "It doesn't need to be forever Percy, no-on in the mafia even knows what you properly look like right now, never mind your name and family."
Worryingly, this made him duck his head and scratch at the back of his neck with a wince.
It was the same body language that typically accompanied confessions of missed homework, trouble with teachers and classmates or eating the last cookie in the jar.
.
.
.
(...The dread was entirely justified, she later reflected after an enlightening discussion about the local established monster hierarchy and the recent changes it has undergone as her son decided to instate a minor monster pack gang as the central trade and territory authority of the Empire City, the Heart of the West.)
.
~~~∞Ω∞~~~
.
It took three days for Mom's …contact to come back to her with a teacher for us, who is a former teacher at Mafia school, which is kinda odd to think about- a whole room of big, beefy men in dark suits crammed together at knee high desks, labelling the parts of a gun and being quizzed at random on their favourite pizza toppings by a bored, exhausted substitute teacher who knows nothing in life really matters anyway and existence is futile.
...Anyway.
In the time between, not much happened, but at the same time a lot seemed to, like Piper and I working on her knife work (she was coming along great with Katoptris and the kopis curved short sword she picked up from the store that was hidden behind a display board for an old, abandoned cinema in the East Side, but was missing having a distance weapon like her Cornucopia, so we'll have to stop in at a less actively used weapons stash outside of New York for something) and she drew a large lump sum out of the bank in a mix of currencies on Mom's advice, for much less traceable money trail with something that is at least easily exchanged at a local bank for lower interest.
I didn't stay in the apartment much. It was... both for them and for me, and I was even careful about watchers looking for the Unknown Clouds (ugh, as if I wasn't infamous enough), trying not to use the bubbly purple fire and always using different routes!
And there was also the bike.
Paul, a god on the Hestia level of awesomeness wrapped up in the skin of a high school English teacher with salt and pepper hair, took me on a short walk to a small garage with tools on all surfaces and a bright-eyed mechanic with an oil smudge on his cheek who grinned a bit and greeted Paul as "Mr Blofis!". There, he pressed a set of keys into my hand and pointed to a shape propped against the wall under a dark tarp cover, I pulled it off and revealed a motorcycle.
Sleek, silver grey (like grey storm clouds-). Sturdier than a dirt bike but the chunky and overly stylish as the ones you usually see around the city.
A hand settled on my shoulder, "So how do you like her?"
"It's awesome Paul, but what-" I had a set of keys in my hand, that Paul just gave me.
( Seaweed brain )
His brown eyes sparkled when I met them. "She's a Triumph Tiger 1200, an Adventure type bike. Reliable, good traction for on and off-road (I thought that would be most useful for you, just in case), comfortable seated position for long trips, easier to do small repairs on than most, there's room on the back for a box with supplies and she can fit two people, though you have to be careful with a pillion rider" He paused for a second then rubbed his neck, "Ah, that's a passenger. Handling rider drives, pillion rider holds on... I was going to give it to you for your sixteenth but... and I thought a bike was more useful to you than a car, considering what happened last time"
My mouth quirked up on one side, he wasn't mad really, but he was never going to let me live down Blackjack's hoofprint on the Prius. "Its's perfect Paul, I love it."
The kid, Elijah, showed me how to do some basic maintenance and gave me some tips on problems to look out for.
Then we left for home, where Paul hand apparently hidden leathers and a helmet. "I've getting a set for Miss McLean and Sally is getting you set up with a licence, which is most likely for the best given the circumstances."
I nodded and paused a second as a thought occurred to me, "Paul" he looked over, "How... do you feel about mom's... uh, work history?"
He thought about it for a moment, put his hands in his pockets and answered, "Sally Jackson-Blofis is a strong, intelligent, magnificent woman, beautiful inside and out. I thought so when I first met her and almost tipped my coffee on her because I couldn't tear my eyes away to look where my feet were going. Again, when she told me unflinchingly about her first 'husband' and the situation surrounding her voyage into sculpting." Coffee brown eyes met mine and he said seriously, "And when she shared as much as she was able about another aspect of her and her history? Well," he grinned roguishly, "I learned she was even more so and wily as a fox besides."
Ah, I really should have known. Mom has impeccable taste in everything after all.
"Hey Paul?"
"Yes Percy?"
"Thanks."
.
.
.
However, when I was at the apartment, Mom gave Piper and I some advice on calling and using our Flames (though she forbade us from practicing until we found an isolated space once we hit the road, so we wouldn't be sensed and tracked), I got to spend some time with the Baby Blue Star (she was so small and delicate and perfect, with a small curly mop of Paul's salt and pepper hair over Mom's face in miniature. And when she blinked open green eyes and held my finger with her tiny ones the pink and white seashell nails on her fingertips curled together and I wondered for a split second, what a little baby girl might have looked like with blond curls instead- and hate the world and the gods and whatever destiny meant that I would never know)
I was also starting to look in the mirror a little easier now too, the hair colour took my focus off of the mess of my scars and the stranger in my eyes, made me feel a little less... shattered because I didn't look it quite as much.
It put just a little bit of distance between me and Perseus Jackson.
...Plus, I wasn't accidentally intimidating people on the streets anymore! Now, I got appreciative grins from teens and disapproving one-overs from everyone else, which was a definite improvement from fear.
(Though I knew really they were right to be afraid. Changing the scabbard doesn't change the blade)
Though there was another 'demographic' I came across on the streets, which was monsters from my group. Usually just one of the Telekhines of the initial pack, but sometimes a harpy or one of the young cyclopses as well (and hadn't that been a surprise, though maybe it really shouldn't have been, that there were more cyclopses on the streets than just Tyson, who had been cast out by their parents but hadn't yet become so broken and embittered by anger, resentment and loneliness that they became monsters. However, the five I met that first day still didn't want to go to Poseidon's underwater forges when I offered and asked to join the rapidly expandin 'Carcassa' over begging favours from a god that never helped them, which... I got, so I agreed).
They tended to look at me like the youngest campers, or the newest kids who just heard the stories; their eyes wide with something like awe.
...of course, there some... exceptions.
Like Yuying, who had flaming (not literally, for once) red hair and amber-brown eyes with slightly slitted pupils and was still really beautiful even when she sometimes turns into a man with the same features called Zhiming. Either way, she won't tell me what she is except 'Chinese' and if it's something related to that mythology I honestly don't have a hope finding out. I struggle enough with the Greek lot, never mind the Roman and especially not any more, (Wise Girl iswas the researcher) I'll learn enough about them when they come at me to kill me.
Whatever she/he is, and whether she's Yuying or he's Zhiming, there are always half-lidden gazes and sultry smirks being sent my way and I still don't want to sleep with them. Thank you. No.
(Thankfully Yuying doesn't appear much, a few steps behind me looking at my butt or not, and she stopped making anymore moved than the eyes after I told her I wasn't interested. I'm still not 100% if the whole thing was just to mess with me. Probably.)
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~~~∞Ω∞~~~
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Finally, Mom's contact came back with an information dead-drop location, that would have the first in a series of times and places before we actually got to meet the person face to face.
So now we were all set and ready to go, to set off on an adventure of learning and self-discovery and we were headed...
For Canada.
Notes:
• Flame Purity vs Strength: Purity is the resolve, typically higher in traditionally/spontaneous awakened Flames (near-death experience) rather than training and awakening/ignition techniques prevalent in mafia Famiglia. Strength is the manifestation capacity of a Flame, like the total pool of Flames from well to lake to ocean etc., generally higher in Famiglia mafioso (in part by genetic impact). Both are heavily tied together, but in summary: strength is stamina, purity is control.
• I noticed a short while ago that someone had translated this into Spanish on Wattpad (though I think it's been taken down now?). If anyone wants to do a translation or a off-shoot AU type work go ahead by all means, I'll be incredibly flattered by it, but please tell me so I can make a mention in the notes. 😊
• Updates are going to keep being slow sorry (the once-a-month thing was short lived huh…), for some reason this just doesn't write easily (probably smth to do with the emotional bits, but I'm COMMITTED now)
• Ok, so. Requests & Suggestions are open! (...and will remain so until the end of time when this thing's finally completed...) : Monsters! Gods! Spirits! Artefacts! Anything you want to see/ find interesting/ just want to share: PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Just drop me a line in the comments (here or on AO3 if that suits better) because it is all you lovely, wonderous people who bring me back and make me commit to actually writing something 😊
Thank you!
Tara~