"I- I don't know, I think I…. Woke up like this." Artemis commented, still in a slight shock at the moment.
Thus he started to pace, having built up enough nervousness over the matter to power all of London if it could be converted into usable energy of course. However, nervousness doesn't go in the favor of teens, especially not demonic teens who are slipping out of their more human- likeness and into a proper demon one. And just like acne, the changes were sped up by his nervousness. Artemis was pacing when the tearing of cloth could be heard, before a tail fell with a thunk onto the floor behind the young adult. "Artemis…." Butler commented, before pointing out the other's new limb.
"Huh?" He questioned, turning around and glancing at the black furry tail before eyes widened slightly. His hidden nerves started to work into overdrive now. And more cloth started to tear steadily, fur was starting to take over his body, his hands were now fully clawed and his ears could now move with his mood, currently the long slender, freshly furred things were folded back in annoyance. Wings started to emerge from the freshly torn shirt, as feet began to turn catlike and clawed, thus causing his socks to be the next victims to the changes that were occurring. Finally, his senses became suddenly much much sharper and sensitive. Artemis hissed as he was assaulted with too much at once. He did something he hadn't done in a long time, he sat down on the floor and started to cry, though he tried to hide it.
Meanwhile, his father had seen Butler disappear and noted Artemis was taking longer than usual to come downstairs, hence he started up the stairs towards the bathroom closest to Artemis's. Slowly, he opened the door and crept into the room, unnoticed. And there on the floor was his demonized, adoptive son. "Hey…." He commented.
Artemis froze at his father's word. "Oh…. Shit." He groaned, going back to hiding his face from view.
"No no, now, Arty, look at me," Artemis Fowl coaxed. "Chin up, come on, this is what I wanted to talk about yesterday."
"Yes- yesterday?" Artemis questioned.
"Yes, yesterday, you see you really aren't blood related to the Fowl name at all, really." He commented, simply.
Artemis blinked, before he looked directly at his father as what would seem to be a new bad habit of cussing was revisited, "You're shitting me." He stated.
"Look at yourself right now and tell me that again." His father calmly pointed out. "That's almost what your real father looked like when he gave you to me."
"You knew! My whole fucking life and you knew this was going to happen!" Artemis was feeling a fury right now that he'd thought he'd never feel towards his own family, scratch that, his adoptive family well up inside of him. "You never told me a damn thing about this!"
"Think about my situation, I wanted a son to raise, Artemis and despite everything me being a thieving man, I wanted a boy to raise. To hold, to be proud of! The night I saw that chance slip away into forever, I was torn, I wasn't there, Arty! I wasn't anything, I was empty. And whatever God there may be, whatever entity may rule over our fates, caused yours to be clashed with mine for a reason! I was given another chance to have a son and I'd be damned if I didn't take it," The older Fowl argued. "I still raised you as a Fowl. You are what I raised you to be. That much I know. So what if you've changed in appearance? Make the best of it! At least you aren't missing a leg, and I've even made the best of that that I could. Hell, I can even still go out thieving if I chose to."
"What are you talking about, you've not done any thieving that I've noticed." Artemis reminded.
"Ha! That's where you're wrong, I thieved from you to prove to myself that I could because believe it or not, Artemis, there are points where I feel less of a man and that's when I need to thieve beyond a doubt. I stole that diamond necklace I gave your Mother for last Christmas. And as every Fowl should know, I know how to cover my tracks," He continued. "So, you're a little different, so what? And it's not like I wasn't planning on telling you , I was, I wanted to tell you when I returned but, your Mother talked me out of it."
Artemis was silent as last whispers of changes took hold on his physical form. Butler was weighing the verbal war between the two from the beginning, wondering who'd won this one. Until Mr. Fowl had made it obvious as to who had conquered beyond a doubt. And it was the older man. "So, Artemis, you want to learn more about your kind that I've hunted down?" He questioned.
"I guess… There's not really much I can do about this now, is there?" He wanted to know.
"Well, as stated before, your kind hold onto a human guise until you hit puberty or shortly after, then you develop into a more adult like form as you have already gone through. And there were earlier signs pointing this out to me along the way, you slept later, you developed strength even without trying too much in a short period of time, your diet has slowly gone from a combination of things, to strictly fresh fruits and vegetables. Your reflexes have slowly sped up as well, though still with the true power hidden deep inside." He commented. "You're nocturnal now, daylight will hurt you after today most likely, you'll eventually gain instincts as I stated before and have urges to simply jump off of high places in attempts to fly." He commented.
Artemis had slowly sat down on his hunches, eyes to the floor, not sure what to think about all of this. "There's another kind that you should be warned about. Most religions call them angels, but, I've seen what they're really like, they've been hunting for you, though why I wouldn't know, but, I've seen them, with torches bright as the purest light. Awe inspiring and yet the most gruesome I've ever seen, they have the meanest yet of the palest and smoothest skin I'd ever seen. They wield bloody swords that strike only at your kind. Because of how intertwined they are into human mythology though, I'd have to say that both of your kinds go back thousands of years, possibly before humans even existed. Your kinds have been at war for a long time now, a bitter war to which is over humans." He explained. "And whether or not we have the right to our existence."
Artemis's eyes widened at that. "Which side believes in what solution?" He questioned, actually afraid that it was his own.
"Believe it or not, the more angelic kind thinks we should be destroyed, either by our own devices or by them personally," Artemis Senor responded. "Your kind has been willing to help us to survive, that is all that I know about that matter really."
Artemis felt a wave of relief but calmed it to an unnoticeable emotion. Stealing his was fine with, killing wasn't in his blood really. He glanced at his Father carefully. "What about school and all?" He questioned.
"I've yanked you out of school, actually earlier this morning, before you were awake, I'm quite the actor you know, I did so claiming beyond a reasonable doubt that they weren't giving you proper credit, where surely it was due," Sr. commented. "And that you were going to be privately tutored instead, which of course you are, but not in the way you'd think. There's only one of your real family that I've found able to give me some idea as to what was going on and what would occur to you. He's not fully your kind of demon, but, he's half n' half. His Father killed for being a traitor, his Mother hailed as a protector of the true goal of your kind, reaching a peaceful world with both humans and the other other demons. He isn't readily accepted into either one, but he knows enough to help."
"So… He's?…" Artmis started, only to have the doors thrown open and a strange looking person come striding in.
This 'person' had blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, knee high boots that buckled, didn't strap along with a loose silk looking shirt underneath a beaten leather jacket Sunglasses which were tinted a light blue shaded his eyes from the other's view. Long, slender fingers were inside of again, leather gloves, both ears dawned with odd earrings and an odd belt hung loosely around his hips. "Here?" He questioned, smiling to reveal slightly more animal like canines.
It fell on the younger boy like a brick now, this, this person, who looked like a rebel rouser was his blood related half sibling! He looked at his Father helplessly. He honestly trusted this man?
"Had to travel all the way to Russia to find the poor lad and got myself in a bit of a sticky mess, now didn't I?" The older questioned.
Artemis was clearly left out of a lot of information that he knew he'd begin to hear about bit by bit now that he'd changed. But, he merely waited for it. "That's the real reason I went to Russia to begin with, Arty, and yes, that's when I was captured. But, it was for your benefit, you had to have someone like you to show you things I couldn't." He commented. "You cut it kind of close to high noon, didn't you?" He questioned.
"High noon? Feh, with my leather covering me up, I'd be perfectly safe from high noon, it's the darkest hour of the night that I have problems with." He stated, truthfully.
Artmis blinked. "You still have a ton to learn, Artemis, but don't worry, you're in the best survivor's hands that you ever could be." He commented, shrugging. "Wouldn't want a crown prince to go getting killed, now would we?"
"Oh…." Butler couldn't finish his sentence a feeling of complete awe having settled on him over this whole matter.
Artemis stumbled back then, not sure if he'd heard that right. His father nodded. "He knows what he's tailking about here." Was his simple input.
Artemis looked at his Father with real respect now. Knowing that he was a crown prince of something, hell it could even be a land of shit for all he cared, his father still gave him a chance to live a little as every Fowl had before and now he realized how important that really was. Because crowned princes do not have a chance to screw up without anyone knowing that they did. He was now more grateful for being raised a Fowl.
End Chapter