Chapter 3: Kyana and Leva Screw Genetics
The group arrived outside the school where two men were standing. One was a short blonde with bushy eyebrows and green eyes. The other was tall, with purple eyes and silver hair. He wore a creepy smile and a white scarf despite the heat. But weren't the girls' grandfathers supposed to be seeing them off? The blonde looked at his pocket watch.
"Right on time," he said, pleased, in a heavy British accent.
"Hullo, Grandfather," said Kyana, suddenly in a British accent too, which caught Nico and Grover off-guard.
"Дедушка," said Leva smiling and giving a respectful head nod. The man with the scarf, who Nico assumed was her grandfather, put his hand on her shoulder proudly.
"Ты самая специальная моих детей, Korleva." He said, "I have a gift for you." Leva's eyes widened in surprise and anticipation. He reached into his brown trench coat and pulled out a scarf, much like his own but a bit smaller.
"A scarf!" exclaimed Leva. "Thank you, дедушка, thank you!" She gave her grandfather a big hug before wrapping it around her neck.
"It's June…" said Grover, in disbelief that she would do something so ridiculous. Suddenly, with a malicious look in his eye and a childish smile, the large man pulled out a faucet pipe.
"Is there a problem, little goat man?" he said looking down at the smaller man.
"No!" he yelped before running onto the bus.
Meanwhile, Kyana and her grandfather were having a far more awkward time. They were both sort of smiling nervously and it was almost painful for Nico to watch. Both went to talk, but when they saw the other open their mouth, being the polite Brits they were, told the other to speak. Kyana cleared her throat and gave her grandfather that look. His lips pursed as he realized that he had forgotten what he was about to say.
"Uh… be careful out there," he told Kyana. "Demigods are hunted by monsters quite terribly, and with your ancestry, well, you know."
"Of course, grandfather," she replied. "I hope to make you proud."
"Right, right, of course you do," said her grandfather, rushed and nervous. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his colleague give his granddaughter a scarf.
"Um, well, here…" Out of his pocket, he pulled out a bag of roast chicken flavored Walker's chips, and handed it to her. "For the, uh, for the road."
"Ah, yes, thank you grandfather," replied Kyana. "I'll see you in the fall, then."
"Yes, alright, then," he replied. "Best be on your way." Kyana nodded and got on the bus, Korleva and Nico following. The bus driver closed the door and Leva stuck her head out the window.
"До свидания, дедушка!" she called out.
"Goodbye, Grandfather!" Kyana added. "See you in the Fall, Professor Braginski!"
"You too, Mr. Kirkland!" shouted Leva. The girls sat back down in their seats, Leva smiling happily. Kyana let out a stressed sigh and opened her bag of Walkers.
"Anyone want a crisp?" she asked.
"Hey, it's ok, da," Leva said trying to consoling. "He's not scrutinizing you anymore. You grew up in New Jersey. It's a chip." Kyana laughed and popped one in her mouth.
"At least it's my favorite flavor!" she said through crunches.
"And you," said Leva turning to Grover. "My дедушка is not one for name calling. Not with lies. Now why did he call you a goat boy?"
"How did he know?" asked Grover, slipping off his cap, showing his two little horns.
"TUMNUS!" exclaimed Kyana.
"No!" snapped Grover. "He's a faun! They're Roman, it's different."
"The only thing that's different is the name," muttered Leva.
"That's not important," said Nico. "Why are your grandparents like twenty?" The girls shared a look. Nico could tell Kyana was nervous again. They began whispering to each other, tossing in Spanish words at random. They nodded in agreement and let out simultaneous sighs.
"Our school isn't so different from your camp," said Leva.
"I think I know why our teachers can see through the Mist. Some of them like to brag about being equal to the gods," Kyana told them. "They are the personifications, the literal embodiments of countries."
Nico and Grover sat quietly for a minute. This was a new one. They were used to helping new demigods get over the shock of realizing who they actually were, but they had new appreciation for how baffling that kind of news can be. Personified countries? But they were in America right now… And all those teachers had names that were definitely not countries. Nico tried to wrap his head around it. That Professor Vargas had spoken to him in Italian. Kyana said he was an Italian teacher. But, Nations?
"…What?" he finally said. "I mean gods, but the countries are people?"
"Like, how many?" asked Grover.
"I haven't met all of them but most of Asia and Europe, and North America," said Leva. "There are also a couple states and cities, and we can't forget General Winter. And there are micronations too but were always told not to talk to them. So pretty much all of them."
"Di immortals," sighed Nico. "So how do they have kids?"
"Um… the usual way I guess… we don't really like to think about that."
"No I mean do they have DNA or how does that work?"
"I guess," said Kyana. "They pass on traits and stuff and some of them think of themselves as siblings but we aren't really related to anyone other than our grandparent or cousins."
"But that's how the gods work," said Grover growing more confused.
"How do you guys even exist?" asked Nico. "I mean don't you have like half the DNA of a normal person?"
"Screw genetics," said Leva. Kyana nodded, finishing her chips.
"Screw science in general," she added.
"So, who did we meet exactly?" said Nico changing the subject.
"Professor Vargas is the southern half of Italy, but everyone calls him Romano. Señor Fernandez-Carriedo is Spain. Headmaster Jones is America. Vice headmaster Beilschmidt is Germany. And my grandfather, Arthur Kirkland is England." Kyana rattled off.
"And my дедушка, Ivan Braginski, is Russia" Leva said proudly.
"But they're personifications of the countries who live in those countries?" asked Grover.
"It's not a perfect system."
"Can they… die?" asked Nico.
"Um… They can dissolve," answered Leva. "But if their influence is still around, they have a tendency-"
"HEY, KIDS! THIS IS YOUR STOP!" yelled the bus driver to be heard over the air conditioner and other passengers. Leva covered her friend's mouth as she started to apologize profusely. The four got off the bus and started walking towards camp.
Russia note
Leva: and this is what happens when Kyana delegates the typing to me.
Kyana: I was busy! (And then I took my good, sweet time posting this. Whoops. I blame Homestuck.)
Leva: we know. It's ok. So yes, all is explained and Grover is in shock
Translations:
Дедушка- Grandfather (Russian)
Ты самая специальная моих детей, Korleva¬- You are the most special of my children, Korleva.
До свидания- Goodbye
Di immortals- general swear word (Kyana: It means The Immortals or something. Pretty sure it's Greek.)
