"Oh, fuck you, Jackson!" Michael laughed as Percy set down his skip card. "I had a good play!"
"Save it for next turn," Percy taunted. "If you can." Michael scowled and Percy continued to laugh.
Percy was currently on his bedroom floor with his three friends playing a game of Uno. It was maybe eleven or twelve, no one bothered looking at the clock, but it was dark enough to guess. They were staying over at his place for the night and, as all teens did, were trying to stay up as late as possible. Percy was a bit jumpy at it being so dark, which was normal since the gods had revealed themselves. Monsters had no care about mortals anymore. There was always a chance of being attacked.
Eddison played a two and Blaine put down a wild card. "Green!" He declared.
Percy groaned. "Come on, seriously?" But he put down his only green card anyway, a five.
Michael grinned and set down his challenge card. "Yellow, Eddison."
"Challenge!" Eddison barked. "Come on, show it!"
Michael smirked and flashed his cards. There was no green to be seen. Eddison groaned, drawing eight.
It was then that they heard it. There was a sound, echoing slightly and sounded like it was done with force. They all sat up straight, glancing around the room as if someone was in there with them. Nothing out of place.
They heard it again, and Percy looked to the window. There, sitting on his windowsill, was a brown speckled hunting falcon peering in at him with familiar yellow-silver eyes. A smile pulled at his lips. He knew who this was.
"Woah, dudes, look at the window!" Blaine suddenly exclaimed. The other two turned and looked at the bird. "What is that?"
"It's huge!" Eddison blurted. "Is that an eagle?"
"No, it's too small," Blaine answered. Eddison stared at him like he was crazy. "It might be a hawk of sorts."
"It's a falcon," Percy said. "A hunting falcon."
"A hunting falcon?" Michael asked. "Aren't those, you know, not in New York?"
"I don't know," Percy shrugged. "I just know what it is." He looked back at the goddess-turned-bird and noticed that she was fluttering her wings impatiently. When she saw he was watching, she stomped a foot and flapped her wings. She wanted him to come out. This late at night? With friends? Unusual, even for her.
"Get your shoes on," Percy said suddenly. "We're going outside."
"What?" Eddison said. "Are you serious?"
"If this is because of the bird, give it up. It'll fly away before you can get to it," Blaine stated.
"Just do it," Percy insisted. "Unless you'd rather stay in here."
"We'll come," Eddison sighed. "Hold up, will you?"
It was five minutes later when the four were marching out the door, quietly shutting it behind them to not wake Sally or Paul. Percy noticed Artemis diving down out of the corner of his eye and headed for the stairs. They went down to the lobby and exited the building.
"What the hell, man?" Michael said. "What are you doing?"
"I don't exactly know," Percy admitted. "Trust me, though. It'll probably be worth it." If Artemis was willing to risk his friends seeing this just so he could, it'd got to be good. Otherwise, she'd stay away.
"Is that the falcon?" Eddison asked. Percy saw Artemis zip past them, shooting straight forward. Percy broke into a sprint to keep up, racing after the bird as fast as he could. He heard his friend's footsteps behind him, straining to keep up. Artemis weaved through the streets, heading toward Central Park.
"What are you doing?" Percy muttered to himself quietly.
"It'll be worth it, trust me," he heard in his head. Percy sent an affirmative to the goddess, letting her know he agreed. He heard her chirp happily.
She finally slowed when they reached Central Park. Artemis landed on a tree branch and Percy turned to his friends, who were quite a ways behind by now. They caught up after a minute, panting heavily. "Seriously, how are you so fast?" Eddison gasped. "I thought I had stamina!"
"Sorry," Percy said sheepishly. "I didn't want to fall behind."
"Fall behind?" Michael repeated. "Behind who?"
"Hey, look, it's the falcon!" Blaine shouted. Artemis cocked her head at him, watching curiously.
"Do you trust these boys?" Artemis asked him telepathically. Percy again sent affirmative. "Enough to reveal yourself if need be?" Percy hesitated but sent his agreement. "Then I hope they're prepared. I'm going to be flying us there."
"Wait, how-" his thought was cut off when Artemis hopped off the branch, landing on the ground. All four boys watched her carefully. Suddenly, she began to glow, her small body contorting and growing into something larger than any animal he could think of. He watched as her feathers were shed until only a line of silver feathers remained along the spine, her skin popping out rock hard scales. Her wings split into large sections of bone, a thin membrane stretching between each. Her beak elongated into a snout sporting gleaming teeth within it. Her hind legs grew and forelegs sprouted, clawed feet forming on the ends. Her tail feathers extended out into a tail at least twenty feet long, a long fan of feathers at the end. When all was said and done, a silver dragon maybe twenty feet tall and at least forty feet long stood before them, feathers cresting along her back.
There was silence for a moment after. Then, all three of Percy's friends tried to speak at once. Percy raised his hands up. "Quiet, please!" They shut up. "If you're wondering what this is, she's a friend of mine. A mythical one. She wants to show us something. I don't know what it is, but please, she says it's worth it. I'm trusting her. You should feel honoured she's trusting you enough to let you come along."
"Who's she?" Michael asked.
Percy winced. "That'll depend on if she wants to reveal that. Now, come on. We're flying." Artemis crouched low to the ground and Percy put a foot in the crook of her leg, using it as a boost to jump onto her back. The feathers softened his landing and gave him something to grip onto when they lifted off. "Come on up."
Percy helped his friends up, lining them up behind him. They all gripped the feathers hard, Eddison's face being paper white but Michael and Blaine only looking confused and anxious. Artemis stood up again, lifting them maybe ten feet off the ground. She roared, a sound that reverberated off the trees and probably woke half of Manhattan. She opened her wings, each one being at least thirty feet long, and with one downward stroke, they were up.
Artemis angled towards the ocean, where the moon was halfway up the sky. Something looked off, though, as if a heavy layer of mist was covering the moon. Artemis sent him confirmation that she was indeed hiding the true moon from all of their sights. Why, she didn't say.
"Watch the moon," Percy told his friends. They all looked up at the celestial figure, shimmering through the illusion.
"Are you ready?" Artemis spoke in his mind, and apparently in his friends as well, as they all jumped and looked around in surprise.
"Hit us," Percy grinned, turning his eyes back to the moon. His friends did as well. Suddenly, the mist was whisked away, revealing a solar eclipse.
"Holy shit," Michael muttered as they all watched the phenomenon in awe. Artemis purred, her body vibrating beneath them. Percy patted her shoulder but didn't take his eyes off the moon. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Something he doubted he'd ever see again.
"Shouldn't we be blind right now?" Blaine commented.
"You should be, but I'm protecting your eyes," Artemis replied.
They all jumped. "Shit," Eddison said. "Who's that?"
"The one that brought you here."
Eddison looked at Artemis's face with surprise. "You? The dragon?" It almost looked like Artemis was smirking.
"Yes. The dragon."
"Who are you?"
"You'll see with time," Artemis answered ominously. "Now watch. It won't last long."
It didn't. Within a few minutes, the eclipse became partial and the show was over. Artemis flicked her tail, the fin helping to curve them back around towards Manhattan.
They landed on the roof of Percy's apartment building. The four hopped off of the goddess, who yawned widely and settled down on the concrete. "Wasn't that something?" Percy commented.
"That's all you have to say?" Blaine said incredulously. "You tell us you've befriended a dragon who takes us to see an eclipse and all you say is 'wasn't that something?'"
"Alright, I'll explain," Percy said, raising his hands in surrender.
Artemis didn't let that happen. "Let me," she intruded. The four boys looked to her as her body shifted once more, this time into a human girl wearing all silver clothes. Her auburn hair shone in the light and her eyes gleamed with power.
"I am not a dragon," she announced. "I am a goddess."
"My lady," Eddison said quickly, dropping to a knee. Michael and Blaine followed in suit.
Artemis waved them off. "Don't bow. Percy trusts you, so I believe you're deserving of my respect." All three rose, looking at the goddess with confusion.
"Percy, which goddess are you friends with?" Michael muttered. "Who's the goddess of shapeshifters? What minor goddess did you come across?"
"Minor?" Artemis repeated. "I don't believe I'm a minor goddess."
"A major goddess?" Blaine said in disbelief. "Holy shit, Percy."
"Oh, just wait," Percy smirked. "It gets better."
Artemis looked up at the position of the moon. "I must return to my hunters soon," she said. "Percy?"
"Go back in, guys," Percy told his friends. "I'll be back in an hour max."
"Wait, who is she?" Michael asked loudly. "You can't leave us hanging!"
Artemis smiled, stepping up onto the wall that surrounded the edge and spreading her arms. "Come on, Percy. Don't leave a lady hanging."
Percy laughed. "Really, Artemis? You know I'd leave you hanging." Artemis just smirked and fell backwards over the edge. Percy ran and used the edge as a spring, leaping off the building. He only caught a glimpse of a large silver thing shotting upwards before he and Artemis were darting off into the night, leaving three mortals who were just told that their friend was close to Artemis.
"Does that mean we have Artemis's respect?" Eddison asked quietly after a moment as they watched the silver reptile disappear from sight.
"I think so, yeah. So . . . want to go inside?"