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Deuce hung up with a groan. That call was meant to be casual but it had quickly turned into a yelling match between him and his mother. He put his iCoffin face-down on the bench and leaned backwards.
"Deuce, are you good?" Clawd asked, sitting next to him. "I heard some yelling."
Deuce forced a smile. "I'm fine, dude. It's just a family thing." He glanced back at the iCoffin, snake-hair hissing aggressively.
Clawd nodded. "I understand, man. What happened?"
Deuce shook his head. "Don't worry about it, dude. It's just- family is just really complicated, y'know dude?"
A little orphan girl stumbled through the streets of Athens. Dried tears stained her cheeks, scorch marks on her dress. She knew where she was going. The one place her family could always feel safe in.
The five-year-old kneeled on the steps of the temple. She didn't know how long she stayed like that, just getting her bearings together, before looking up. A priestess was looking down at her, haloed by the light from the temple.
"Hello, child," the priestess greeted in a kind voice. "What brings you to Athena's temple?"
The girl bowed. "I'm Kaila Angelopoulos." She sniffed slightly. "My parents are gone. Can I... Can I stay here? Please..."
The priestess approached her, kneeling to get closer to her height. "Of course you can. Come along."
Kaila choked on a sob, a smile forming. "Thank you." She took the priestess's hand.
The two entered the temple. Kaila felt her mind feel slightly lighter. Her life was changing. She was safe.
Home acquired
Deuce watched Cleo exit her family's carriage. The young mummy had a frown on her face, her eyebrows pinched together. She chewed her lip, assuming no-one could see her.
Deuce walked over to her. "Hey, babe. Are you okay?"
Cleo nearly jumped at the voice. Her face brightened at the sight of him. "Deuce!" She ran over and hugged him.
Deuce ran a hand through her hair as one of his snakes kissed her forehead lightly. "What did your dad want?"
Cleo sighed dramatically. "Nothing important. You know how it is. Daddy and Nefera just wanted to know the happenings around school." She leaned against him as she muttered: "They made sure to tell me how much better Nefera would handle it if she were still in school."
Deuce huffed slightly. "She wouldn't handle anything better. You're doing amazing."
Cleo rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that because I'm your fang-tabolous girlfriend."
Deuce poked her cheek. "There's my Cleo." He intertwined their arms. " C'mon, I'm sure your ghouls would love to fang out with you 'round about now."
Cleo straightened up, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Of course. Royalty always has to look good for others."
Deuce shook his head. "Cleo, you know they don't see you as royalty over them."
Kaila scraped the best bit of her egg into the fire before she began to eat. "Accept my offering, Athena," she whispered, throwing an olive into the fire as well.
The priestess was out so six-year-old Kaila was the only one in the temple. She sat comfortably under the Athena statue as she ate her breakfast. Her chore list ran through her mind.
"Is anyone there?" a masculine voice rang out.
Kaila ate the last of her toast before creeping to the temple entrance. A man with black hair and tan skin kneeled before the steps. Kaila stood upright, swallowing her food quickly.
"Hi," she greeted. "Why are you at Athena's temple?"
The man looked up at her. His eyes were the colour of the sea. "I have come to visit her glory."
Kaila didn't notice the smirk in his eyes as she invited him in. He rose and entered, revealing how much taller he was than she thought. He wore a seashell necklace over a Hawaiian shirt. A powerful aura surrounded him.
"Would you like some tea?" Kaila asked, looking over at the kettle.
The man nodded. "Is the priestess around. I would like to speak with her."
Kaila shook her head, switching the kettle on. "She's out right now. I can keep you company 'til she gets back though." She beamed at the man. "I'm Kaila. I'm gonna be the priestess when I'm big!"
The man studied her. "You don't say..." He smiled kindly. "Apologies, I've been ill-mannered."
A flash of light filled the temple, causing Kaila to knock the kettle as she shielded her eyes. When the light cleared, the man was wearing a crown on his head and a dark blue cloth around his waist. His hair seemed longer and curlier as she looked down at Kaila. She stared at him, feeling frozen.
"I am Poseidon. God of the Ocean," the man said in a mighty voice.
Kaila kneeled. "Hello, my Lord. I... What... Why are you here?"
Poseidon smiled. "I came to speak with my niece's priestess."
Kaila nodded. "Of course, my Lord. She will be back soon."
Poseidon looked down at her. "You may rise, girl."
Kaila got to her feet, still trembling. Poseidon considered her.
"You fear me."
Kaila looked down in shame. "Apologies, my Lord. You just look mightier than anyone I've ever seen..."
"Royalty always has to look good for others," Poseidon admitted, approaching her. "Although, you are quite beautiful yourself, Kaila." He cupped her face in one hand. "Perhaps I need not wait..."
Home lost
Deuce let Cleo lean against him as she spoke to her friends. Cleo, Draculaura and Clawdeen were talking about fashion or something. Frankie, Lagoona and Ghoulia offered occasional insight. Admittedly, Deuce had no clue what they were talking about - he was not paying attention.
He was watching Jackson basically beg the dudes to let him play Casketball with them. Manny, ever the normie hater, was refusing to let him. Heath, Jackson's fricking cousin, didn't defend the Jekyll-and-Hyde monster. Deuce would not have stood idly by if his cousin, Viperine was being excluded like that.
"Ghouls - and Deuce - can you keep a secret?" Draculaura asked, voice dropping to a whisper.
Deuce glanced over at the vampire. "Yeah, dude. I won't tell anyone."
Clawdeen nodded. "You can trust us, ghoul. Not a soul."
The other girls gave their words that they would keep it secret.
Draculaura smiled and looked at the sky. "The anniversary of my mom's death is coming soon so I just want to get something off my chest." Her high-pitched voice didn't have its usual energy. "I'm adopted."
Deuce's attention peaked. The girls all gave different reactions. Ghoulia leaned forward, urging her to continue. Clawdeen and Lagoona looked shocked.
Draculaura glanced over at Jackson getting discriminated against. "I was born human," she whispered. "Dad turned and adopted me when I had the plague - after Mom died from it."
Cleo hushed her. "What." She pulled a face. "You used to be a normie?"
Draculaura nodded, chewing her lip slightly. Silence followed for a bit as everyone pondered the information.
"That's cool, dude," Deuce said, breaking the silence. "I mean, Mom used to be human centuries ago."
Cleo checked her nails absently. "True. I mean, you're a monster now so it's all good."
"I'm just glad you're our friend," Frankie agreed. "I can't imagine what existence would be if you weren't here."
Kaila sat curled in a ball under the Athena statue. The temple was a mess and two gods were arguing right in the center of it. Poseidon and the actual Athena had intimidating presences. Kaila's soiled dress was an arm's lengths away from her and it was all so terrifying.
Kaila reached to grab the dress. The sticky fabric made her skin crawl but she needed to be dressed if she was going to clean up the temple.
"Leave!" Athena bellowed at Poseidon. "Swear that you will never set foot in any of my temples again."
Poseidon scoffed, crossing his arms. "I don't take orders from you."
Athena pointed her spear at him. "This is my temple. I am in command here."
Poseidon sneered before vanishing in a flash of light. Kaila buried her face in her hands, tears spilling.
"My Lady." The priestess was back.
Athena glanced at her. "You were lucky. The child was not so." She approached Kaila and removed her hands from her face. "I am sorry for what Poseidon did to you, child."
Kaila nodded. "I'm sorry that I dirtied-"
"No, no, child," Athena chided. "It is not your fault."
"My Lady, what happened?" the priestess asked, eyeing Kaila wearily.
Athena helped Kaila stand. "Poseidon took advantage of her to get back at me."
The priestess gasped. "Kaila! Are you alright?"
Kaila nodded. Her body pained and her dress felt like thorns against her skin but she was fine.
"I will take her elsewhere where she will be safe. You may say your goodbyes," Athena said.
The priestess approached cautiously. "Kaila, it was great to have you in the temple."
Kaila smiled weakly. "It was great to be in the temple."
Athena led Kaila out and the two walked for a while. They did not stop until they were alone in the forest. It was then that Athena turned and looked at Kaila.
"Have you heard about Medusa and the gorgons?"
Kaila thought for a moment. "The monster you helped Perseus kill? The one who could turn people to stone?"
Athena nodded. "That is Medusa but there's more to her than that. She was once my priestess and Poseidon did to her as he did to you. I turned her into a gorgon to protect her. No-one can harm her now. I turned her sisters into gorgons too as they wished to care for her." She looked own at Kaila. "I can change you into a gorgon too. Unlike Medusa's sisters, you will share Medusa's ability to turn people to stone. Unlike Medusa, it will be if you look at them instead of the other way around and it will only last a few hours. Long enough to get to safety. Is that alright?"
Kaila nodded. Safety sounded like a dream right now. No-one would touch her again.
Athena waved her hand and Kaila felt herself change. Her icky dress was replaced with a new one as her form changed. Snakes hissed near her ears as she kept her eyes closed.
"Child, don't worry about me. I'm a god. Your ability doesn't affect gods, gorgons or gargoyles."
Kaila eased her eyes open. Her brown hair had changed into green snakes. They were actually kind of cute. Kaila gave one headscritches and it made a pleased noise.
Athena led Kaila to a home with many stone statues out front. She knocked as Kaila stood beside her. The door swung open suddenly to reveal a very unimpressed lady with snake hair. She scoffed at the sight of the god.
"What is it this time? First, you turn me into this. Then, when my sisters call you out, you claim it was to 'protect me'. Then you send someone to kill me. Then I wake up a year later because I'm suddenly immortal. What is it?" the lady demanded.
Athena gestured to Kaila. "This is your child now." She vanished in a flash of light.
Medusa and Kaila stared at each other. The young girl smiled awkwardly.
"Stheno! Euryale! Viperine! New family member!"
Home acquired
Deuce chewed his lip as he looked through his wallet. He let out a breath of relief when he counted enough money to pick up his prescription. He looked at the pharmacy.
"Hey, man," Clawd greeted. "What are you doing?"
Deuce looked at his friend and put on a fake smile. "Hey, dude. Just fetching my meds."
"What meds?" Clawdeen's voice said from behind him.
Deuce jumped, spinning to look at her. "It's not important, dudes. Just..."
"Just what? Are you sick?" Howleen asked.
Deuce jumped once more and adjusted his sunglasses. "Dudes, why the gang-up?"
Clawd raised his hands peacefully, as if he and his sisters hadn't just caged him in. "Chill, man. We're just worried. You've been a little distracted lately."
Deuce glanced at the pharmacy. "Alright, dude. I'll tell you. Just let me first get my dude meds."
"Your what?"
Kaila and Viperine nodded at each other, smiling widely. The two cousins crept to the living room. Stheno was working on her recipes. Medusa and Euryale were trash-talking the gods - something that Kaila had taken months to get used to.
"Mom! Aunts!" both girls yelled. "We have an announcement."
Stheno looked over. "Yes, girls?" She wiped her hands off on her apron.
Viperine and Kaila started poking each other, urging the other to speak. Stheno and Euryale chuckled at their childish antics. Medusa looked at them curiously.
"You say it! It's your announcement!" Viperine yelled at her cousin.
Kaila pushed the eight-year-old before looking at the adult gorgons. "Mom, Aunt Stheno, Aunt Euryale. I'm a boy."
"You did it!" Viperine shook her cousin. "Tell them your new name!"
Kaila smiled. "It's Deuce! I'm Deuce. After you, Mom!"
Medusa's usually cold expression softened. "Come here, Deuce."
Deuce climbed onto the couch and sat beside his mom. "Yeah, Mom?"
"I'm honoured you named yourself after me," Medusa said, bowing her head at him.
Deuce's heart felt warm. The first nice sentence she had said to him in his year of being her child.
"An adorable little nephew!" Stheno said, picking up the seven-year-old boy.
"Aunt Stheno!" Deuce whined. "Put me down!"
Euryale took Deuce from Stheno. "Look at that. I have a niece and a nephew!"
Family acquired
"So, yeah," Deuce said, moving his bag of hrt from one hand to the other. "I'm trans."
Clawdeen stared at him. "Abbey started a queer support group if you wanna come."
Deuce looked at her. "Dude? What do you mean?"
"Abbey's trans too and I'm lesbian. You can build community at the support group." Clawdeen smacked the back of Deuce's head. "You're not alone. And no-one will out you without your permission."
Clawd smiled - not that Deuce noticed with his eyes screwed closed to avoid turning anyone to stone. "Yeah, man. You're still my bro." He gestured to the bag of meds. "I'm chill to this."
Howleen pushed Deuce's sunglasses back into position, allowing him to look at them again. "Honestly, you're the most popular dude in school. Who knew you had something you're shy about." She imitated zipping her lips. "Secret's safe with me."
Deuce felt his heart swell. "Thank you." He looked between the siblings. "You don't know how much this means to me, dudes." Tears streamed down his cheeks. "My family are the only ones who knew."
Clawdeen elbowed him. "You're going to have to tell Cleo someday."
Deuce nodded. "I know... It's just hard, dude."
Clawd wrapped his arm around Deuce's shoulders. "We've got your back, man. Just take your time."