I 019. I
𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔
❝ hey, kelp head ❞
"WHERE THE HELL DOES THIS KID LIVE?"
This had been the fifth time she mumbled to herself in the past two minutes. She had gotten weird looks but they had only lasted for a few seconds, this was New York after all.
She had been staring up at the apartment buildings for the past ten minutes, wondering which was Percy's. Her eyes scanned the windows but the only thought on her mind was if it looked like she was stalking someone, or simply a kid trying to get back home.
Ariadne has gotten off the plane two hours ago, those had been spent in the back of a taxi as the driver yelled at the people moving slow. So she opted to pay the guy and walk herself, which was a stupid decision since she had no clue where she was going.
No monsters had attacked her yet, but that didn't mean she wasn't on high alert. Any person who gave her a glance was suspected of being one in disguise, that was how she worked.
Percy has told her where he lived, incase she came to visit over the break. She had wished she would be back during the winter, but Aria has taken her to Paris for the break.
She walked through an ally and looked at the fire escapes, head whirring. To the right, three down, fifth floor, second window.
Thankfully her brain had remembered, she should really write things down more. Her legs pushed her up, latching onto a metal bar before climbing onto the stairs.
Her feet moved quickly, trying to not make that much noise. But she stopped before reaching his window, cringing at her next thoughts.
What if he thought she was stalking him? Thinking she had been there to watch him change? She gagged at that one.
She sighed before hiding under his window, grinning slightly once she saw him. He still had the messy black hair and vibrant sea-green eyes, but his face was losing its baby cheeks. The boy had only grown a few inches, but it was nothing compared to her.
Ariadne has grown tremendously. Her height went from five-foot to a whopping five-foot-five. So she was definitely taller than him. Why the sudden growth spurt, and why that high? She had no clue. Her hair had gotten longer and curlier, becoming more of a nuisance.
He seemed to sense her there, and she panicked. The girl cursed slightly while she ducked and placed her back against the brick. She heard him stand from his end and walk towards the window, just as he moved his hands to open it, a knock sounded on his door.
Percy popped his head back just as his mom called from the other side, "Percy, you're going to be late."
The boy sent another look towards the window before turning around, just as she peeled around once again. "Come on, dear," Sally Jackson voiced through the wood. "Last day of school. You should be excited! You almost made it!"
"Coming," he grumbled. Under his pillow, his hand reached down and pulled out Riptide. He placed it onto his nightstand before turning to grab his clothes, she decided it was time to depart.
Her feet led her down the stairs, deciding on whether to follow him to school or catch him on the way. But Aria advises her to wait until after, so after it was.
The girl hid in the shadows of an ally, making sure no one would catch her. She sighed while thinking, finally having the time.
No one had heard from Grover the whole summer, at least, she hadn't. But then again, neither had Annabeth, who she talked to daily. Hopefully, Percy has gotten ahold of the Satyr. But she knew something had happened, from her words dream that morning to the other dreams of the camp being overrun by monsters, it was clear something bad was going to happen. Especially with the thought of Thalia's barrier tree becoming sick.
Her ring glistened in the summer sun, creating sparkles along the ally. She watched as the green trident in the center pulsed, it had done that all summer. But it confused her, never stopping from emitting a green glow like a glow stick at bight.
Over the school term the girl had been learning to control her powers, after the whole Luke thing and the mass of vines growing from the ground, she decided it was time. But another power that showed up was her madness powers, but only once over winter break, and the poor maid of the hotel they were staying at ran away in hysteria, screaming something about a giant snake chasing her.
Ariadne sometimes wished those powers were not as powerful as they were. She wished to have them more mellow like her brothers, who hadn't even unlocked the madness one. They could only grow vines while concentrating, she did it just by walking.
It was a terrible fate for her, because any Dionysus child with that degree of power, who could rival with a child of the Big Three was destined to become a hero, and most heroes stories end in tragedies.
Over the course of school, she had successfully punched three kids and broken their noses while also maintaining straight A's. But every night, before she went to sleep, she thought over every possible situation of how she could've prevented Luke from turning against them.
Those thoughts haunted her. They really did. But what also was stuck on her mind, was how Chiron had Iris Messaged her to find out how she was, but the in the back, she could see vines crushing trees while they created webs near the lake shore. He had informed her that they were still growing near the creek and lake, Nothing they could do about them.
A familiar mop of black hair brought her from her mind, he was walking down the street while she moved from the ally. The girl followed him as he met up with the tallest thirteen year old there was, the tall boy was wearing tattered clothes. He had clumped brown hair, but when she saw his face, she almost ran into a light post.
One eye. One eye rested on its face. He gave the demigod a grin, walking alongside him. Ariadne followed behind but her steps were more forced than anything, because she was following one of her best friends and a Cyclops.
It was like she was transported back the night Grover brought the three demigods, where she tried helping Thalia Grace but ultimately failed, where she made a promise to herself to protect Annabeth, Grover and then, Luke. The night that she felt failure for once, and how she could have saved the girl. Feeling as if all the thunderstorms were for her and her failure, Zeus never forgetting.
A Cyclops. The very thing which had killed Thalia. Grabbing her from Ariadne's hold and tossing her to the ground. Watching as she died and a tree sprouted from her chest. A monster which she had vowed to kill in the name of Thalia, but she wasn't so sure she could anymore.
***
ARIADNE WAS NOT NOTICED WHILE SHE FOLLOWED THE BOY AROUND. The Mist did its work, disguising her as a normal student so the teachers never gave her a glance of suspicion.
She walked with her head down, curls covering her peculiar eyes from anyone's view. But it gave her tome to think while she hid in the shadows, to think about the wounds she never fully closed from that night, or how the salt burned in those cuts.
How had Percy not known he was friends with a Cyclops? Contrary to what she originally thought when she had first met him, the boy was smart. But sometimes, he wasn't the most observant. He had to have noticed the large height or the one eye, right?
She wished Annabeth was here to help her out, but the blonde was heading back to camp.
Meriwether College Prep was much different then her school in Miami. It was a progressive school, meaning the students would sit on beanbags and didn't have any grades, the teachers wore jeans and graphic shirts.
Compared to her school, which was an expensive boarding school filled to the brim with rich kids who had daddy issues along with behavioral ones as well. Her worst enemy, Patrick Moore, would always torment her because of her IED diagnoses. Try to get her mad and he always did, which he would go home with a broken nose for.
But Aria handles the situation with ease. Using some persuasion she had developed over the years as a goddess to keep her from being expelled. Her school was extremely strict, unless the parents paid the teachers off to give their students good scores.
Percy was a loser. Plain and simple. At his school, he was not the heroic son of Poseidon, he was just Percy Jackson, and that version of himself was seen as being a loser. His Cyclops friend, 'Tyson,' was a loser as well. But in reality, she noticed he was a big softie, but that didn't Reid her of any suspicion.
Matt Sloan and his friends were a big problem. For her and Percy. The classic school bullies, always teasing or insulting Percy. At one point, she almost blew her cover and beat the boys senseless, but she knew better. Matt always targeted Percy thinking he was scrawny, and she knew the demigod boy could easily send a wave of water over his bully, but he didn't.
Ariadne day in the back of Percy's social studies class, head bowed with her hoodie covering her eyes. She fiddled with her camp necklace, watching as he removed his notebook to start the longitude and latitude assignment.
A slight smile stretched across his face, looking at something in his notebook. She grew curious, moving her head to see, but even if she grew a few inches, that didn't mean she was Tyson's height.
Just as he was about to turn the page, Matt Sloan reaches over and ripped whatever it was out of the notebook. She caught sight of the paper and noticed it was a photo, which happened to be of her.
The girl blushed slightly when she saw herself standing in front of her backyard, when the pavilion hadn't been made yet. Her memories remembered that Aria had emailed it to Sally after she had taken it, on the girl's first day of school which was a few days before Percy's.
She was wearing a mid-thigh level skirt which was red and black plaid. Her shirt was a white blouse which was required and a red cardigan thrown over it. Weston County Prep's signature logo of a seagull was in the corner of the cardigan, her hair in a half up half down style.
"Hey!" Percy shouted.
Sloan seemed surprised that he had a picture of her, "No way, Jackson. Who is that? She is not your—"
Her face was most likely a tomato by now, heart pounding at what Sloan was insinuating. "Give it back!" Percy growled, reaching for the picture once more.
The bully handed his friends the picture, they took it and ripped it to pieces to make spit balls. Ariadne was ready to break Sloan's nose and jaw, but she stopped at the sight of the name tags on Sloan's friends. MARROW SUCKER, SKULL EATER and JOE BOB.
Her eyes narrowed on the huge and beefy supposed thirteen year olds. It may seem like they were being funny, but she knew it was because they were most likely monsters hiding behind a different form. Her guard was up.
"Theses guys are moving here next year," Sloan said. "I bet they can pay the tuition, too, unlike you're retarded friend."
"He's not retarded!" Percy defended.
"You're such a loser, Jackson. Good thing I'm gonna put you out of hour miser next period."
The bell rang, signaling that class was over. Ariadne quickly grabbed her bag and headed after them, pushing through the crowd of students that had swept both Percy and Tyson out of class.
Just as she was about to step into the gym, a hand grabbed the back of her pack. It spun her around and she met the face of a teacher who had their hands placed over his hips, a slight glare on his face. "And where do you think you're going, Miss?"
She gulped, "Um... class?"
"No. You don't have gym. This is the fifth time I've had to get you to the right one, Miss Jenner."
He was confusing her with someone else, must have poor eyesight. The teacher steered her down the hall and away from the gym, she took a glance over the resounded while biting her lip.
The teacher brought her into a math class, kids watching her with interest. He made her sit at an empty desk next to his before placing a sheet of paper before her, things she had already learned. "Last day of school, kiddies." He wrote his name on the board. "Today we will be taking a final quiz, if you get all the questions right, I'll let you leave early."
Mr. Tanner, as he was called, brought out a timer. He set it at ten minutes, "You have ten minutes to finish, let's see how well you all did this year."
Ariadne flew through it quickly because of how much she had studied for her final test just like this. When her pencil was placed down, she was the first. The girl handed it to Mr. Tanner who gave her a surprised look, "Miss Jenner, you haven't been in class most days, how do you know this?"
"I'm smart," and that's all she said before leaving.
By the time she had reached the gym, it was a smoking mess. Her head poked in only to step back out, coughing at the heavy smell. But she walked into it and saw the rubble everywhere.
Percy stood in the middle of the gym, sporting the uniform and without a weapon. Belongings were spread everywhere, some rocks and bricks crushing them while dodgeballs burned with fire.
Students screamed and cried while ducking behind rubble. They pulled at the doors for them to open but they wouldn't budge. Tyson laid under a pile of bricks with a dazed look in his one eye.
A Laistrygonian stood before Percy while a dodgeball rested in his meaty hand. "Well! I'm the last one standing! I'll have enough meat to bring Babycakes a doggy bag!" It raised a ball to Tyson.
She ignored the weird name, twisting her ring into its golden counterpart. The green trident on the handle pulsed slightly while under the swirling vines, her hands twisted it slightly.
"Stop!" Percy shouted out, he looked like they had when they returned from the Underworld last summer. Battered and bruised. His hair was messier than what it was when he woke up, some pieces smoking. "It's me you want!"
The giant gave a large grin, "You wish to die first, young hero?"
Percy marches towards where a pile of clothes lay, sea-green eyes focused on a pair of shorts and a shirt. Silver glistened in the light and she saw Riptide poking from one of the pockets, but the giant stood in the way.
"My lunch approaches!" It laughed, raising its arm to give a good throw but Ariadne wouldn't let that happen.
She ran forward and stabbed Lunacy through its stomach, the giant froze. It glanced towards her and her sword before the dodgeball fell to the ground, bouncing a few times before rolling away.
Fingers drew the sword back with a dangerous look in her eyes, "Ow," the giant whispered. It dissolved into green flames, swirling at Percy's feet before falling into dust.
The son of Poseidon blinked rapidly, glancing from the dust and over to where the golden sword was. He let his eyes trail up the body of his best friend standing there in a grey hoodie, purple tank top and grey shorts.
Ariadne watched his mouth drop open with a bewildered look in his eyes, the same sea-green she had missed. "Hey, Kelp Head. Guess it's my turn to save you this time."
He nodded numbly before she moved forward, giving him a tight hug. The boy hugged her back as well, noticing that she was taller than him now, arms encircling her waist.
She moved back once she heard Sloan, "That's the girl..." he muttered. "That's the girl—"
The girl narrowed her eyes before walking towards him with sword in hand, her hand gripped the collar of his shirt. Thanks to her strength, she could lift him off the ground, placing the tip of the blade near his face, glaring up at him.
"Percy's my friend, and next time you mess with him," she pressed the tip to his cheek while he sniffled, "you'll have me to answer too."
She dropped him before turning around, but her fist knocked against his nose, a crack sounding through the air.
Flames danced along the gym as students ran around, holding their heads while screaming. Sirens wailed through the open hole in the brick wall, a warped voice spoke over the intercoms.
The headmaster and a group of teachers wrestled with the lock on the of the exit doors. Her eyes widened before turning to Percy, "Aidan..." using the nickname he had for her, "How did you... how long have you?"
She sighed, "All morning. I was going to get you once school finished, but, uh..." they both looked at the steaming room and cringed. "Seems like this was a good time."
"The shadow I saw this morning— that was— how did you— oh my gods, you were watching me through my bedroom window?!"
Ariadne reaches down and grabbed his clothes, rolling her eyes at his statement. "I didn't see anything, if that's what you're wondering."
But a blush rested on her cheeks before she tossed his clothes to him. "We need to go—"
"There!" A teacher screamed while they poured in their ugh the open doors. She curse slightly before turning her sword back into its ring.
"Meet me outside. And him," she nodded to the Cyclops on the floor. But her eyes narrowed at his one eye, "Bring him, too."
"What?"
"Let's go!"
Ariadne let her hands glow a slight purple, weaving between her fingers before swirling around the teachers who gasped, trying her hardest to use her newfound powers.
Percy gaped at her, "Holy—"
She let her powers rest there before spinning around, she jumped through the hole in the building before running. Purple eyes glowing brighter than ever before.