(Finn Pov)
From across the room, Bell Cranel held out the book in his hand, waiting for someone to come take it.
No one volunteered. No one said anything. They were all too busy thinking about the battle they had just seen. Finn in particular. A young child, barely entering into adulthood, killed a presumedly level 3 or 4 monster with no training, just his wits and a sword that he picked up for the first time.
Really, if they had not just seen it, none of them would have believed it.
Finn was having a hard time believing it himself, even with the visual evidence. Sitting quietly while everyone chatted Finn got lost in his thoughts. Even though he was named the Braver, many of his comrades in the Familia liked to joke that he should have been called the Thinker, and they weren't wrong.
As the Captain of the Loki Familia, it was Finn's job to lead his family into the Dungeon and get as many back home as he could. And one of the ways that he did this was by making plans. Plans that span over hundreds of adventures and enemies, and put them all together. Like a complex puzzle with no ending.
Percy was a puzzle. Probably the most important puzzle of his life, in fact. Not to say the Watcher and its theater weren't important. They were pretty puzzling in of itself, but he wasn't so arrogant as to think that he could understand the way of the Gods.
He'll leave that to Loki for now, and they can work on it together with the others when they have time to themselves.
But at the very least, if they trusted the Watchers' words, then they were meant to learn something from Percy. And if they did, then possibly, they would be released from this confusing space and returned to their home.
So…Why him, why this kid, what was so special about him? And, what as it about him that they were supposed to learn from?
These were the questions that he just couldn't get out of his head, and it was driving him nuts.
As of right now, no matter how well he fought that monster, Percy was still just a novice. Sure, he has talent, but it's nothing that Finn hasn't seen before. So what was it about this particular kid?
Not just that, but something about this "story"was messing with the Gods. In particular, Hestian, Ouranos, Hepheastus, and Hermes.
The Gods liked to say that nothing could be hidden from them, that they could see all lies. But they forget sometimes that mortal eyes can see just as much as they could. They tried to hide it, but he and a few others could see how they flinched when Kronos was brought up.
The Watche mentioned that they needed to learn from this. Something about their world being fractured, and many things that should have happened had not. So if that is true, then this world would show them their missing pieces. And if the Gods' reactions are anything to go by, then the Titan Kronos was the key to understanding everything.
And the only way to learn that was this book.
"I'll do it."Finn raised his hand.
Everyone turned, surprised to hear him volunteer.
"I'll read."He repeated. Getting up from his spot next to Loki Finn, he walked over and gently took the book from Bell's waiting hands. Staring at him with wide eyes the kid couldn't even say anything as Finn walked back. That was fine, he could tell that the kid was a little starstruck by having all these well known adventures around him.
That's what he liked about the newly ranked level 4. No matter how high he rose he still had that childlike innocence with him. Like Ais, Tiona or Lefiya, some of the strongest people that he knew, but at the same time could still carry that purity inside.
And maybe he just likes to be viewed as a hero. It was his dream after all, to be the hero of the Pallum.
Returning to his seat, Finn ignored the knowing smile on Loki's face while Gareth and Riveria tried to hide their chuckles at the Captain's expense. They knew how much Finn enjoyed being seen as a hero, but they'd keep quiet on it for now. It would not do to have their captain's little secret be known to everyone.
Finn opened the book to the right page. "Chapter 2: Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death."
"Socks of Death? Is someone making socks for Death God's now?"Hermes joked.
"That sounds nice, right?"Hestia nervously asked. As the Goddess of the Hearth the thought of having someone knit her something was the nicest thing she could hear. Oh, she wished that Bell would knit her something that way she could always have his warmth with her.
"I don't know the words are a little off.. It's not the socks for Death, it's the socks of Death."Loki clarified.
"Which means that these socks might actually be able to kill someone."Riviera finished.
The room got tense. No one knew what to expect after the last chapter. A pair of socks that could kill you might just be something that was possible.
Seeing that no one else wanted to talk, Finn continued.
Percy was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than he could handle. For the rest of his time at Yancy, Percy felt like the entire school was playing a trick on him. Everyone was convinced that Mrs. Kerr, a perky blonde lady, had been with them since Christmas. No mention of Mrs Dodds at all.
"Who the hell is that?"Bete asked as they saw Mrs. Kerr step onto the bus.
"She must be the person who replaced Mrs. Dodds with but how did they get her there so fast?"Riviera rubbed her chin in thought.
"And what kind of Magic did they use to change the memories of all those people?"Lefiya wondered
"Why didn't they change his memories too?"
"If I had to guess, then whatever is special about Peryc also prevents them from using their magic on him,"Hephestus said.
"They're gonna make that kid go crazy at this rate."Mama Mia added.
Percy tried to trip them up, make them admit to Mrs. Dodds being real but no one changed their story. For a second he even started to believe them..Almost. Grover couldn't fool him he knew that he was lying."
"This seriously hurts. Whoever picked this guy for this task should be thrown off a cliff."Hermes covered his eyes with his hands. He couldn't bear to watch this anymore.
"Hermes-Sama!"Asfi explained, shocked that he would say something out loud.
"No, he's right, this is atrocious,"Loki, as a Goddess of Trickery, could feel Hermes's pain. Whatever Grover was doing, it was like a stain on her domain.
Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.
"No shit,"Bete muttered under his breath. Probably so that Riveria wouldn't hear his crass words, but if Finn could hear him, then she definitely could. People always underestimate how sensitive elf ears are.
Case in point, the blush on Lefiya's cheeks and Riveria's deadly glare now aimed at a sweating Bete. He will be fine, Finn convinced himself. At the very least, he will check up on him when Riveria's done with him.
I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.
"Oh, Percy-sama,"Haruhime the Renard held her hands over her mouth as her eyes watered. She seemed to grow attached to the kid, so seeing him in pain hurt her.
Finn could sympathize with that, he has seen many adults go through less in the dungeon and never come out the same, if they come out at all.
The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. Scene played across the screen, thunderstorms blowing through Percy's dorm, Hurricanes through a city by the water. In class, Percy was forced to listen to the number of planes that fell out of the sky this year as compared to last.
"What the hell are those Gods doing?"Welf exclaimed.
"They're destroying the city."Tione gasped.
"They're destroying the natural order."Ouranos slammed his fist into his chair
"A god shouldt be liek this."Hesita whimpered. "All those people without a home, without their family, and it's all because some gods lost their lightning, why? Why are they doing this?"
Finn looked down at the book in his lap. No matter how close they lived with their Gods, they never really understood how much power they truly had. Sure, they knew that if they unsealed their Arcanum then they could return to their full power, but knowing that and seeing it are two different things.
Honestl,y it made Finn fear their Gods a little. What if they ever decided to stop playing mortal and return to what they were? How much does God truly love their children?
Percy got angry, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He got into fights more, got sent into the hallway almost every class. Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.
"Mama?"Tiona turned questioningly to Riveria.
Riviera rolled her eyes, sighing, she said. "It means an old drunkard, someone who can not put down the bottle even if they should."
"Oh, like Loki."
"Exactly."
"OI!"
Lili knew a few people back at the Soma Familia that fit that description, but she chose not to say anything. She vowed a long time ago never to bring those people up again, not even in her own head. They were better left in the darkest part of her memories.
The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy. Percy didn't care, he was homesick. He wanted to be with his mom, even if it meant being around his step-father . But he'd miss things. The forest, the Hudson River out his dorm. Most of all, he'd miss Grover, he wondered how he'd survive without him.
"He's been kicked out."
"Oh no."Haruhime choked back her sobs.
"What's he gonna do now?"Yamato asked. Everyone except Haruhime looked at her, unsure of what she meant.
"What do you mean, Yamato-sama, he's going home?"Lili said.
"He dishonored his family like this, he can't go home."
"It's different for him, Yamato, he's not an Easterner like you or Haruhime,"Ryuu explained to her.
Ah, some of that Eastern culture Finn realized. He guessed that to them, this seemed like a big deal, but to everyone else, this was just a kid acting up. Sure, he has a reason to, given his experiences. But at the end of the day, he's just a kid.
To Finn, it's on the adults to handle this better. They should have seen that Percy wasn't okay. Someone should have talked to him, maybe gotten him to realize that everything was okay. But instead, they pushed him away as if he wasn't their problem.
I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well. Percy studied hard for his class. He started believing that this class really was life or death. One night though, he got so frustrated at his mythology book that he threw it across the room. The words swimming in his head.
"Why are the letters doing that?"May asked
"That I believe is his dyslexia. Like I said before, many wisdom Gods have been studying it in their free time. Once when I was doing a delivery, they stopped to explain it to me. This is basically what he described it as."Hermes told her.
Looking up from the book, Finn watched as words on the screen blurred then transformed. Some of them stopped even looking like letters anymore. Is that what Percy sees all the time? HE couldn't even read it, and he's had to become a pretty learned person just to be a Captain.
"Oh, Is that what that is?"
Everyone in the Loke Familia turned to Tiona.
"What?"Loki asked her.
Looking back, Tiona realized that she had said that out loud.
"Ah, well, when I was a kid, some of the other Amazons tried to teach me how to read, but whenever I tried, I just saw that stuff."She pointed to the screen. "I just thought that I was just too stupid to read, so I stopped trying."
"What? How come you never told me?"Tione jumped to her feet, shocked to hear this about her sister.
"I didn't want anyone to know, it was kind of embarrassing to tell people that I can't read after all."
"Um…is it still like that?"Ais asked in a quiet voice.
Tiona tilted her head to the side. "Yeah..I guess. I just got used to it, I guess. I can't read a whole page, but I can sort of get the gist of what's being written."
Everyone in the Loki Familia looked at each other. Finn knew that Tiona had trouble with reading, everyone did. He's had to listen to Riveria complain about how it seemed like she wasn't even trying to learn when Reveria taught her. But he didn't know that she had this Dyslexia.
Sharing a nod with Loki Finn knew that they were going to have to talk about this when this was over. Maybe they could get her some help.
Tione bit her lip. She didn't know what to think. Her sister had been going through this alone, and she hadn't even known. Sure, she never told her, but she should have known. But they were twins, God's sake. She'll make this up to her, she thought as a determined look grew in her eyes, she promised that.
There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it. Percy couldn't sit. But he felt Mr. Brunner's eyes on him, only accepting the best. He took a breath. He was going to ask him for help. He's never cared enough before to do that but he felt like he owned Mr. Brunner. He wanted to try before he left this year.
"At least some people care about their teachers."Riviera muttered beside him.
Finn chucked a little. He kind of got it. He wasn't gonna tell her, but her teaching can be a little harsh.
Percy walked down the hallways at night, heading to Mr. Brunner's office. When he got close, he heard voices. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "…worried about Percy, sir."I froze. I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.
"Nah I'd fail that."Tsubaki confesed.
"Haaahhh.."Hepheastus sighed as she palmed her face. "..Tsubaki, I've caught you eavesdropping on private business deals. Hell, you've even stood outside my office listening as I'm just trying to relax."
"I'm a very curious woman."Tsubaki threw her hands in the air. "You've got a nice singing voice by the way."
"Tsubaki, shut up…but thank you."
I inched closer. "…alone this summer,"Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—""We would only make matters worse by rushing him,"Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more.""But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline—"
"Meow? What's the summer soul-sticks?"Chloe scratched her head, not understanding what they were saying.
"Solstice, you lazy cat, it's the longest day in summer, how don't you know this?"Lunoire asked incredulously.
"It's also an old celebration with spirits. It's a day with great healing and renewal for the world."Freya said, sipping a glass of wine.
"...Where'd you get that?"Loki whispered.
"Oh, just ask and it will just appear, anything you want. This brand has not graced Genkai in over five thousand years, but it tastes like it was just made yesterday."
"REALLY!"Loki jumped to her feet in excitement. "I WANT-"
"No alcohol, Loki, wait until we are done."Riveria companded, pulling her back,
"Ahhhhh, but mama, she gets to have some."
"And she's not my Goddess, you are. Wait."
"Ahhhhhhhhh."
"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can.""Sir, he saw her.…""His imagination,"Mr. Brunner insisted."The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that.""Sir, I…I can't fail in my duties again."Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."
"Mist?"
"Must be whatever magic they have over the school."Hestia theorised
"What did he mean 'failed'?"
"You haven't failed, Grover,"Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.
"Stupid little shirt."Bete snarled. "A fucking baby could sneak bet-OW!"
Riveria lifted her staff from Bete's smeelingly dented head. "Shut it, we have children here."
Mr. Brunner went silent. My heart hammering, Percy slowly backed away as a large shadow with a bow slid over the door. Percy slipped into a classroom. Hiding, he waited as he heard the clops of hooves sound down the hallway.
"Monster!?"Ais got her blade ready, prepared to slice any monster in her way.
"No, Mr. Brunner is there, there couldn't be another monster."
"That sound reminds me of the minotaur,"Bell said.
"Whatever it is, it can't be a monster. Did you see that shadow? Monsters don't use weapons."Welf pointed out.
Out of the corner of his eye, Finn caught Hermes and Ouranos share a look. What could that be about?
A bead of sweat trickled down my neck. Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing,"he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice.""Mine neither,"Grover said. "But I could have sworn…""Go back to the dorm,"Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow.""Don't remind me."The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office. Percy waited before going back to his dorm, making sure no one was there. When he got back, Grover was in bed "Hey,"he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"I didn't answer. "You look awful."He frowned. "Is everything okay?""Just…tired."I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.
"Ho.. got lucky."
"Oh come on, now the kid knows how to lie, what was with him earlier?"Hermes exclaimed.
"What are Grover and Mr. Brunner. If they were making those sounds, then they definitely aren't human."Garteht wondered.
"Demihumans?"Lefiya suggested.
"But what kind? They're not showing anything different about them. Ears, eyes, no horns, it's all human."Ryuu said.
Mama Mia scoffed from the back. "It's their feet, obviously, we could hear the hooves."
"But what kind of Demihuman has hooves, and why are they hiding it?"Syr wondered
Percy tried to understand what he heard. His friend and his teacher thought he was in trouble, Danger, they said. But he just couldn't wrap his head around it. Tomorrow, after a three-hour test where his head was swimming with Greek and Latin, Mr Bunner called him back.
"THREE HOURS!"People shouted. No one could understand why you would waste that much time on useless knowledge. It wasn't like this was stuff they needed to survive, like tips for the dungeon. That amount of time would be better spent learning how to fight. Training.
"Not even Eina's tests are that long."Bell said, shivering just thinking about the hell that Peryc must have been through.
"Insane, why would they make their students waste so much time?"May asked.
"These people must live in a peaceful time, where children don't have to worry about learning how to kill, instead, they learn how to grow."Ouranos's voice sounded out.
What he said stuck with Finn for a second. Could they be like, not have ot worry about monsters or Evilus? A time when Pallum aren't forced to be supporters for pennies or be forced to turn to crime. What would it be like to spend hours, years learning something that didn't help them kill? Finn didn't know, but for a second it sounded nice in his head.
But that didn't seem to be the problem. "Percy,"he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's…it's for the best."Mr. Brunner tried to clarify, but it just got worse. Percy felt like tears were filling his eyes. His favorite teacher was telling him that he didn't belong. "No, no,"Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say…you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—""Thanks,"I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.""Percy—"But I was already gone.
Everyone stared at the screen, shocked at what just happened.
"...He should have said that better."Riviera said.
"He's probably gonna think that Mr. Brunner is telling him that he isn't good enough,"Hestia said sadly.
Percy packed to go home. Around him rich kids talked about their vataction plans. When they asked Peryc he said "Just home.""Oh..cool"Then they left him alone. He was too poor for them. That was fine he didn't care about them anyway. He didn't want to say goodbye to Grover. But it turned out that he was going on the same bus as he was. On the road, Peryc noticed that Grover was in constant alert. Always looking over his shoulder. Percy had seen him like this before, but he thought it was just bullies, clearly, it was something else.
"Stupid rich brats."Mama Mia ground out. Rich brats were the worst, demanding food and service in the restaurant like it was their playhouse. Some of them even tried to take advantage of her girls, well, they showed them alright.
"They weren't very nice to Peryc-sama."Haruhime gripped her maid uniform.
"What's wrong with Grover? He looks like his heart's about to pop out."Tione asked.
Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.
"NOOO! Why would you confess!"Hermes fell to his knees, crying.
"This kid is so stupid,"Bete added.
"Ignoring..all of that. I'm more interested in these 'Kindly ones'."Gareth said.
"Obviously, there are the names of whatever monster Mrs. Dodds was, that means that they know her, and who, or whatever she serves."Loki folded her arms as she learned back.
Grover tried to lie, but Peryc could see right through it. "Grover you're a bad liar."His ears turned pink. From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:
Grover Underwood
Keeper Half-Blood Hill
Long Island, New York
(800) 009-0009
"What the hell is that!"Tiona called out.
Finn could see her distress. He was having a hard time reading it, and he felt like he was pretty learned himself.
"How the hell can anyone read that shit, its like a damn pansy twiled on piece of paper with a pen up their ass."Bete seemed to be the most pissed though, his eye twitching as he glared at the screen.
He was paying so much attention to the screen in fact that he never saw the staff until it was too late.
BONK
"What did I say about your language?"Riviera said, standing over the steaming lump that used to be Betes's head. "And I happen to think it looks sophisticated, maybe I'll learn to use it myself in fact, make all of you learn it as well."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful, Riveria-sama,"Lefiya said her hands clasped infront of her. The way the words curved and flowed so elegantly, it was like it was made of the elves.
Freya giggled. She wondered if she could gift this writing to her two litter elves for doing a good job.
Everyone else, though, just felt as if their soul was leaving their body. Just trying to read it was giving them a headache.
"What's Half—""Don't say it aloud!"he yelped. "That's my, um…summer address."My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy. "Okay,"I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."He nodded. "Or…or if you need me.""Why would I need you?"It came out harsher than I meant it to
"Man…"Welf shook his head.
"He's confused, they've been messing with his head for months."Haruhime said, trying to defend Percy
Grover blushed, he explained that he was supposed to protect him. Percy looked at him in disbelief "Grover, what are you protecting me from?"
"Nothing yet, apparently."Loki humphed as she crossed her arms.
"A weakling trying to protect someone is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen."Bete said.
And as harsh as it was, Finn agreed with him. The smallest amount, but he agreed. It's the role of the strong to protect. If whoever sent Grover wanted him to protect Peryc, then they sent the wrong one.
Then all of a sudden the bus broke down.
"Oh, what is it now?"
"What does fate have it out for him?"
"Come on!"
Everyone was forced to get off the bus while the bus driver tried to fix the problem. Waiting on the side of the road with everyone else Peryc looked across the not so busy highway and saw three old ladies sitting under a tree with a fruit stand.
Finn stopped reading. His thumb.. it was twitching. That wasn't strange in on itself, it's always been able to do that. But, it only ever did that when there was danger around. And with how hard it was twitching meant that the danger was right here.
Looking around, there didn't seem to be anything attacking them. No monsters jumping out of the shadows or Evilus cultist about ot stab him in the back. Everyone was looking at him, wondering why he had stopped.
".. What's wrong?"Ais asked.
"Captain, are you ok?"Lefiya looked around nervously.
"Finn?"Riviera placed her hand on his shoulder.
Finn got to his feet. Nothing, there was nothing, no danger, no imminent threat that he had to fight to survive, nothing.
Then he saw the Gods.
Frozen stiff in their chairs, wide-eyed, their eyes locked on the screen with fear in their depths. Finn looked, but the only thing there was the three ladies. Looking across the street, knitting. Finn narrowed his eyes as his thumb twitched harder, it looked like they were looking at them. Staring back at them through the screen.
Soon, though, everyone noticed the state that their Gods were in, breaking the spell over them and on Finn..
"Hestia-sama."
"FREYA-SAMA!"
"Lord Ouranos, what's wrong?"
Gareth went over to Loki. "What's amata Loki?"
The Gods tearing their eyee away from teh screen started breathing heavy. They wouldn't say anything, though, they just shook their head and said they were alright. Freya had to push Ottar away when he kept pushing.
After a while Ouranos spoke up."Finn… continue."
Hesetaing, Finn went over and sat back down and opened the ebook again.
The old ladies sat there knitting two large pairs of socks the size of Percy's torso. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn. But the wiedest thing was that they were looking at Percy.
"Man, what the hell is with this kid?"Bete groaned.
I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching. "Grover?"I said. "Hey, man—""Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?""Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?""Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.
Finn felt Loki next to him do the same. Almost stopping to see what was wrong, she gripped his arm and whispered, "Keep reading."
The whole room felt the tension but no one could figure out what was wrong, they didn't feel the same thing as the Gods.
"We're getting on the bus,"he told me. "Come on.""What?"I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there.""Come on!"He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.
"It wouldn't work."Hermes muttered. "Nothing would stop them."
"Hermes-sama?"Asfi asked.
Hermes just held his finger to his lips, though.
Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic.
The Gods gasped. Hestia started crying as Bell wrapped his arms around her trying to comfort her btu he didn;t knwo what to say.
"This isn't right,"Loki said as she bit her thumb, her teeth grinding on her nail.
After cutting the cord the old ladies packed up and left, almost as if they had been there for him. When they disappeared out of view the bus finally came back on. Percy went in with everyone else feeling as if he had caught the flu
Everyone flinched as the snap of the cord echoed throguh the theatre. After watching what happen and seeing Peryc look sick they culd no longer hold theri questions.
"What's wrong? What do those old ladies have to do with this."Ryuu asked.
"Yeah, whats going on it sjst a cuple of old ladies I could take them on."Tiona loudly asked.
"NO!"The Gods screamed, scaring everyone. They looked at Tiona in fear as loki said. "Tiona if you ever see any of them run!"
"But why? Who are they?"
Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering. "Grover?""Yeah?""What are you not telling me?"He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?""You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like…Mrs. Dodds, are they?"
"No child, they are much worse,"Ouranos said under his breath, no one but Fels hearing him.
He didn't say anything, just asked, "Just tell me what you saw.""The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost— older."This is not happening,"Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time.""What last time?""Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."
"What!?"Haruhime shouted.
"Someone is hunting teenagers?"Tione couldn't understand why attack kids, Percy didn't even seem to understand what was happening.
Percy was getting freaked out,. "Is this like a superstition or something?"He asked. No answer. "Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best for my coffin.
"That's the end."Finn said, closing the book.
"OK! Loki, what's the deal? Why are you acting like you've seen a ghost? Who were those three old bags?"Tiona jumped out of her bag chair and stood in front of Loki, hands on her hips.
"Hermes?"
"Hephestus, what's wrong?"
"Hestia..please."
Everyone was asking their gods the same thing. This wasn't normal. Whoever those three ladies were, they put the fear of God in well…the Gods. Loki wouldn't stop biting her nails, Hestia was hugging her knees with her head down, and Hermes couldn't stop tapping his leg.
But no matter how much they asked or demanded for answers, their Gods remained silent. They instead looked to Ouranos for guidance. And when the adventures turned their attention to Ouranos, it only got worse.
Finally, Ouranos held his hand up, silencing the room.
Slowly, Ouranos lowered his hand. He didn't say anything for a minute or so, just looked down at his lap, gathering his thoughts. Then he looked up.
"Those three…were the Fates."He said, almost in a whisper.
"The Fates?"Lefiiya asked.
"What do you mean. Do you mean they are actually fate?"Tsubaki stood behind her Goddess, holding her shoulder.
Hestia spoke up this time, her voice muffled by her knees, "Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos."
"The Three Fates of Heaven."Hephasutus rubbed her forehead, trying not to look at her Captain.
Freya continued. "Spinning the thread of life, measuring its length and then finally cutting it at its end. That is their job. And yes, they've even spun your thread."
What?
Behind him, Lefiya collapsed in her seat. Ais followed after her, holding her up so she wouldn't fall, but she wasn't faring much better. Asfi took off her glasses as he covered her face. Bell held Hestia in silent contemplation as Welf cursed. Bete for once, started silent, the only thing he could hear was the grinding of his teeth.
No one was taking this news well.
Finn didn't even feel that he could continue standing. His knees were shaking just as much as his thumb.
He couldn't believe his ears. Spinning, Measuring, and Cutting is that all fate was. Did that mean that their fate was already decided then? The idea of Fate existing when Gods and Monsters roamed the world shouldn't be so far fetched, but it was.
Maybe they had grown to arrogant. Believing that just because they now carried the blood of Gods on their backs that they were above fate, or worse that it never existed in the first place.
"...Then what have we been doing…Was all our hardships, all the death and missery. Was that all for nothing. Are wer just characters in your plays."Ryuu tearful words shook their fragile mindsets.
Finn bit his lips. The amount of friends and loved ones that he's seen die, and to know that that was fate? What was he supposed to learn from that?
Hestia jumped to her feet. "NO NO! Thats not-"
"HESTIA!"
A loud shout echoed through the theater.
Ouranos was on his feat now glaring with all the might of God down on little Hestia. But she wouldn't back down, not when her child was hurting.
"They already know now. What's the point?"She questioned, tears streaming down her face.
"The workings of Heaven are never to be known to mortals, anymore and you will be decreed an Enemy of Tenkia>"But Ourano's word was final.
Silence returned, smothering everyone as they stood frozen, not knowing what to do.
Finale Ottar stood up.
"I'll read."
)))
Sorry for the Long update. Don't know if I said it here but I am working not only a 9-5 but also on my own novel that I am posting here as well as Fanfiction.net and Royal Road. Check it out is called Magic & Chaos. So this isn't my main focus, but something that I do as a sort of rebreather between M&C. Well, it's supposed to be, but sometimes I find myself getting too into it and working on it harder than I should be. But I will try to keep it at least once a month in this story.
Now PS. I know Tiona isn't dyslexic, but I wanted to add it because why not? It'll be a little side thing that may or may not grow into something bigger.
IF you have the time, check out my Novel, it's my second attempt as the first one I didn't like where it was going, so I started over. LEave commetns letting know how I'm doing and ways that i coudl improve in my writiting.
Thank you