p class="MsoNormal"Alecto had known what Ariadne Jackson was from the beginning, a demigod, the spawn of the king of the seas, yet another child of the broken oath./p
p class="MsoNormal"But she didn't meet the demigod as Miss Dodds, the mathematics teacher./p
p class="MsoNormal"Years before Alecto had been sent to Yancy Academy by Zeus, long before the king of the gods knew about the existence of the sea's daughter, Alecto had… been soul searching amongst the mortals./p
p class="MsoNormal"Hunting for lost souls was a rare treat for the fury, a break from the monotony of the Underworld to spend some time making sure things were right./p
p class="MsoNormal"It had been difficult, the lost soul having known what they were up to, knowing that they were running from death. Thanatos and Hades had both been agitated, leading to Alecto going on the hunt./p
p class="MsoNormal"It should've been easy, hunt down a mortal soul and send them to the Underworld./p
p class="MsoNormal"But it hadn't been./p
p class="MsoNormal"The mortal had been cunning, working in the shadows with the aid of a mysterious benefactor – the reason the mortal escaped judgement in the first place./p
p class="MsoNormal"Alecto had been on the trail for days, being led around in circles by the false trails./p
p class="MsoNormal"And that was when she met them./p
p class="MsoNormal"A clear-sighted mortal, Sally Jackson./p
p class="MsoNormal"And the woman's daughter./p
p class="MsoNormal"A half-blood, Ariadne Jackson./p
p class="MsoNormal"At the time of course, Alecto hadn't expected to run into either. Nor was she expecting the child and mother to act cautiously around her, both fully understanding who and what she was. Cautious, but not fearful./p
p class="MsoNormal""What's a Kindly One doing here?" The mother had asked, one eye on her daughter and the other on the Fury./p
p class="MsoNormal""She's working." Said the child. Despite her young age, she looked entirely too knowledgeable for what was going on for Alecto's comfort./p
p class="MsoNormal""I am." Alecto said slowly, considering her words. "My Lord has assigned me to track down a wayward soul. I am not hunting down either of you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You should look near the train tracks." Said the girl. "You'll find interesting things there."/p
p class="MsoNormal"And then the girl had giggled, pulling her mother away from the Fury. Alecto was off-guard and… confused. Nothing about the encounter had made sense./p
p class="MsoNormal"But the girl had been right, and there had been enough markers at the train tracks to make it easier for Alecto to hunt her prey./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was her first encounter with the demigod, but it wouldn't be the last./p
p class="MsoNormal"And the interesting family of the two Jacksons… was a strangely safe place for a Fury to visit in the mortal realm./p
p class="MsoNormal"She was not the only monster to think so, a plethora of the more… human… ones, those with stronger morals, those who would think through the consequences of their actions instead of charging ahead. Many could find solace in meeting the two Jacksons./p
p class="MsoNormal"And the came the days when their relationship would change./p
p class="MsoNormal"Alecto had been requested to act as a teacher at a school by Zeus himself, told to look for a powerful demigod that he believed to be there./p
p class="MsoNormal"And there she was./p
p class="MsoNormal"Little Ariadne Jackson, the girl who knew too much and seemed to see everything. Daughter of the god of the seas./p
p class="MsoNormal"Of course, she wasn't the only person looking for the demigod. Chiron had been there too, and one of the satyrs./p
p class="MsoNormal"As for Ariadne, well, things were always surprising when it came to the Jackson women./p
p class="MsoNormal"emTo my lovely friend,/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emWatchers mean it is best not to be as we are./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emMasks are often required to slip past the prejudice and suspicion./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emDon't worry too much about me, my friend./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emI know what I am doing./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emSigned, an old friend./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"It was a game, a dance of deception./p
p class="MsoNormal"A monster and a half-blood pretending that they did not know each other for what they were, that they were not friends. That there was nothing unusual to see at all./p
p class="MsoNormal"And if any of their watchers had been smart enough to look further, they might have noticed, might have seen, unlikely as they were to understand, they might have seen a small bundle of blue cookies placed at the desk of Mrs Dodds every morning./p
p class="MsoNormal"But the thing is, when no-one notices something is wrong, they fail to see all the little hidden things that point to the truth./p
p class="MsoNormal"But she didn't meet the demigod as Miss Dodds, the mathematics teacher./p
p class="MsoNormal"Years before Alecto had been sent to Yancy Academy by Zeus, long before the king of the gods knew about the existence of the sea's daughter, Alecto had… been soul searching amongst the mortals./p
p class="MsoNormal"Hunting for lost souls was a rare treat for the fury, a break from the monotony of the Underworld to spend some time making sure things were right./p
p class="MsoNormal"It had been difficult, the lost soul having known what they were up to, knowing that they were running from death. Thanatos and Hades had both been agitated, leading to Alecto going on the hunt./p
p class="MsoNormal"It should've been easy, hunt down a mortal soul and send them to the Underworld./p
p class="MsoNormal"But it hadn't been./p
p class="MsoNormal"The mortal had been cunning, working in the shadows with the aid of a mysterious benefactor – the reason the mortal escaped judgement in the first place./p
p class="MsoNormal"Alecto had been on the trail for days, being led around in circles by the false trails./p
p class="MsoNormal"And that was when she met them./p
p class="MsoNormal"A clear-sighted mortal, Sally Jackson./p
p class="MsoNormal"And the woman's daughter./p
p class="MsoNormal"A half-blood, Ariadne Jackson./p
p class="MsoNormal"At the time of course, Alecto hadn't expected to run into either. Nor was she expecting the child and mother to act cautiously around her, both fully understanding who and what she was. Cautious, but not fearful./p
p class="MsoNormal""What's a Kindly One doing here?" The mother had asked, one eye on her daughter and the other on the Fury./p
p class="MsoNormal""She's working." Said the child. Despite her young age, she looked entirely too knowledgeable for what was going on for Alecto's comfort./p
p class="MsoNormal""I am." Alecto said slowly, considering her words. "My Lord has assigned me to track down a wayward soul. I am not hunting down either of you."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You should look near the train tracks." Said the girl. "You'll find interesting things there."/p
p class="MsoNormal"And then the girl had giggled, pulling her mother away from the Fury. Alecto was off-guard and… confused. Nothing about the encounter had made sense./p
p class="MsoNormal"But the girl had been right, and there had been enough markers at the train tracks to make it easier for Alecto to hunt her prey./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was her first encounter with the demigod, but it wouldn't be the last./p
p class="MsoNormal"And the interesting family of the two Jacksons… was a strangely safe place for a Fury to visit in the mortal realm./p
p class="MsoNormal"She was not the only monster to think so, a plethora of the more… human… ones, those with stronger morals, those who would think through the consequences of their actions instead of charging ahead. Many could find solace in meeting the two Jacksons./p
p class="MsoNormal"And the came the days when their relationship would change./p
p class="MsoNormal"Alecto had been requested to act as a teacher at a school by Zeus himself, told to look for a powerful demigod that he believed to be there./p
p class="MsoNormal"And there she was./p
p class="MsoNormal"Little Ariadne Jackson, the girl who knew too much and seemed to see everything. Daughter of the god of the seas./p
p class="MsoNormal"Of course, she wasn't the only person looking for the demigod. Chiron had been there too, and one of the satyrs./p
p class="MsoNormal"As for Ariadne, well, things were always surprising when it came to the Jackson women./p
p class="MsoNormal"emTo my lovely friend,/em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emWatchers mean it is best not to be as we are./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emMasks are often required to slip past the prejudice and suspicion./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emDon't worry too much about me, my friend./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emI know what I am doing./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"emSigned, an old friend./em/p
p class="MsoNormal"It was a game, a dance of deception./p
p class="MsoNormal"A monster and a half-blood pretending that they did not know each other for what they were, that they were not friends. That there was nothing unusual to see at all./p
p class="MsoNormal"And if any of their watchers had been smart enough to look further, they might have noticed, might have seen, unlikely as they were to understand, they might have seen a small bundle of blue cookies placed at the desk of Mrs Dodds every morning./p
p class="MsoNormal"But the thing is, when no-one notices something is wrong, they fail to see all the little hidden things that point to the truth./p