illyris, p. parker ¹

xix. a new hope

"I won't," he assured quietly. His determined face gave her comfort and the two smiled softly as Ned bounded up to them, still reeling from the shock of his "big save" two nights ago.

The crinkling of paper caught their ears— above them, the homecoming committee was taking down one of the large banners draping from one wall to the next. The festivities were wrapped up and it was time to get serious now... well, until the Winter Formal.

Bex tilted her head towards Thea, gesturing for the boys to follow. She placed a hand on the locker just next to the Valaryen girl, a mischievous grin plastered on her face.

"On this year's season of Teen Mom, we have the glorious contestant, Theadora Valaryen. Give it up for Thea Vee everyone." She began to clap obnoxiously along with Peter and Ned who wore shit-eating grins on their faces.

"You guys suck," Thea chuckled, closing her locker and hiding a wince as her wrist throbbed. Her fingers were stained brown from hair dye but that wasn't a consolation as she remembered what happened to her father and to Daerion before him. It was like a pit of dread had planted in her stomach.

Every time she moved, she felt that resounding pain in her body pulsate throughout. Before leaving the house, Thea popped a few over-the-counter pain meds to alleviate the battle injuries she'd sustained but they eventually wore off. Luckily, Sera signed a fake doctor's note excusing her out of gym class. A neat line of Steri-Strips bandaged the cut from the Vulture's wing smacking into her face but she had told everyone she fell down the stairs.

It was hard to sit through class, a pastime for people who weren't her and Peter. They saved the city, maybe the whole world. Them, two teenage vigilantes with powers they were still grappling with. Peter was a portrait of Greek mythology itself, Atlas holding up the world that threatened to crush him and Thea awakened creatures of legend, breathing life into the stone dragons. It was all so surreal and she often felt like pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"So are they at home with Sera?" Ned asked, barely able to control the excitement leaking from his voice.

"Yes, and you can see them after school if you want," she said and sighed. "I'm trying to get them to eat but they don't want any of the raw meat we got from the deli."

"So, suddenly you have two baby dragons and people are supposed to think that's normal?" Bex mused.

"I've already come up with a plan," Thea assured. "I adopted two big dogs with TBD-names. I've gotten to work on creating a spell that could disguise them at home."

"What breed?" Bex inquired. Receiving looks from Thea and the boys, she shrugged. "I'm just asking!"

A grin stretched across Thea's face. "They're—get this— Great Pyre-nees."

They all looked at her, silently picking their brains to figure out what the flat joke was but also struggling to look amused. Bex started the fake round of laughter first, prompting Ned and Peter to join in.

"You get it? Like pyre," Thea remarked joyfully.

Bex snorted. "Yeah, 'cause they were born in what was about to become your pyre if you didn't pull off the witchy stuff."

"You're gonna use magic to hide dragons?" Ned asked and then grinned. "Awesome."

Peter's shoulders slumped. He was turned around and a peek past his shoulder gave Thea the reason why. Liz Toomes was standing in front of the trophy case by the entrance of the school, using the sleeves of her shoulders to wipe at her tear-stained cheeks. Thea's heart sunk and she broke apart from the group, making quiet, careful steps towards Liz who handed a box of her belongings to her mother.