Archive of Our Own

It is surprising how often people lie.

“I hope you have a nice day,” says the barista to their client while giving them their morning coffee.

A lie.

“I won’t go anywhere on my way to school, don’t worry mum!” Says a teenage boy as he steps out of the doorway.

A lie.

“I’m so glad we bumped into each other,” says a woman to one of her old high school friends.

A lie.

Lies, lies, lies, lies.

They are everywhere. Everyone says them. Some are even said with good intentions, as to not worry one’s loved ones. But they are lies nonetheless. 

Most lies that are spoken between strangers, never get found out. Moreso, they are entirely forgotten.

But the lies spoken between loved ones, friends and just close to us people? They get revealed sooner or later.

Sometime the later is a long time. Sometimes it is even taken into the grave. But it always gets revealed even if it is in the afterlife.

For Lee, the later would never come. He always knew sooner. No, more like he always just knew. In an instant. The same moment someone told a lie, he knew it was one. He just did.

Ever since he was born, or at least ever since he could remember, when someone told a lie, he got a weird sensation that traveled up and down his spine. It really wasn’t uncomfortable, at least after years of living with it as a constant in his life it was like background noise.

It helped determine who he trusted. His mama was usually fully truthful and so she was also trustworthy. Her soft I love you and I’m proud of you were never a lie, nor were her harsher words like Don’t you dare do that ever again, Lee Fletcher, you could get hurt or Don’t do that, that’s dangerous and Stay with me, don’t stray away, something bad could happen . They were all the truth , so Lee always followed her orders. 

Especially when every time before sleep, she kissed his head and whispered softly that as long as she was with him, he’d be safe.

Her worry and love were real and when he once asked if the bad things she always was paranoid about were really that bad, she looked him straight in the eyes and said one simple word.

Yes.

She never told him what the bad things were, though.

She knew of his truth and lie detector. He was confused with it when he was a little kid and just like every little kid would do, he asked his mama about it. At first, she looked scared, but quickly composed herself. She told him that she expected something like that, told him not to worry, explained that it helped him know the truth and that it apparently runs in his father’s blood.

When he asked more about his father, she told him that he wasn’t yet ready to know about him. And Lee believed her, because that was the truth. 

After his confession, she never lied again. Not that she lied before, but after that when he asked if she was tired after work, she’d say yes, but don’t worry about it, baby instead of no, I’m fine . 

She never lied even in the simplest things, not even to make him feel better, not like she used to. Together they figured out that the harshest truth was better than the most beautiful lie. 

It didn’t mean Lee knew of everything in his mama’s life. There were things she didn’t think were appropriate for him just yet or simply details of her job that she was bound by her contract not to tell anyone, even her child. But Lee was never troubled by them, because she always said that he’d learn of the things that were truly important to him when he was older and ready. 

And he believed her, because that was the truth.

She also told him to keep secrets. That wasn’t lying, it was not telling the truth . She taught Lee that just like he didn’t need to know everything about everyone, not everyone had to know everything about him. 

His truth detector was the first secret. Lee asked if it wouldn’t be easier if he did share that one, people would just stop lying, because it was pointless, but she shook her head. You can deceive even with truth and that ability is sacred, only for those you trust the most to know.

The second thing he was never to tell anyone were the things he saw, the monsters. They made him hover behind his mama’s back, hide under his bed, run as fast as he could. He asked why won’t people just deal with them as a community, but he didn’t even have to wait for her answer. He remembered that every time he stared at those monstrosities the people around him looked at him weirdly and said that there was nothing there . And it was true even if Lee knew it was a lie .

That day his mama taught him about relative truths, that there were more than one universal truth. Everyone has their own truth . To them, there really was nothing and that was their truth, but to Lee, there was something and that was his truth.

She told him that people often judged each other if their truths didn’t align. How he could be perceived as odd and wrong and insane if he were to share his monster truth with people. So he didn’t, he averted his eyes and didn’t say anything to anyone.

The third and last thing his mama told him not to tell, was how the sun kissed his skin, like it was actually kissing , because it felt just like his mama’s kisses, warm and full of love, and how he always heard a melody each time the sun was rising, nudging him to wake up and great another day and he just couldn’t go to sleep anymore after that, and each time it was setting, wishing him goodnight and sweet dreams and immediately causing him to seek the nearest bed, how in his sleep, he saw the sun too, but it was different, more private and personal, it had a face and body, he never could remember the face after waking up, but he remembered what it felt like. Warm, loving, cheerful, beautiful, divine.

He couldn’t really see why that was also one of his three not-lies but his mama just said it was important and you’ll get it when you’re older, you’re not ready yet.

Lee kept those secrets, avoiding them, straying off topic. And it worked. He didn’t tell the truth, but he also didn’t lie.

Actually, Lee thought he simply wasn’t able to lie . He just couldn’t bring himself to do it, even if he wanted. Each word he spoke was always true . That wasn’t a bad thing, far from it, quite frankly he was proud of it, even if he was unable to please people around him with meaningless compliments. He found enough good things in people to tell them about and he didn’t lack friends, he wasn’t the most popular, but he had some of them. At least at first.

And of course, he had his best friend Finley. He was the odd one, as many might call him, and that made Lee cling to him at first glance when he joined his class in the middle of his first year of school. The other boy wasn’t of the best health, he had something unusual with his legs. He said it was a partial paralysis, but it was a lie. Despite that, Lee never pressed about it, it wasn’t like he would know it if not for his detector sense and he couldn’t tell about it even his best friend and moreso, maybe the thing that was wrong was a hard topic for him and he didn’t want to stress the poor boy more than a new school normally would.

Though he did once ask if it was hereditary, something his family also struggled with and something they knew how to help him with. Finley said yes and it was the truth , so he was relieved that the boy was properly taken care of.

The school they went to was one that was very prestigious and offered an after classes nursery, because Lee’s mama was often in her lab until very late hours. He didn’t mind, she was figuring out new ways to help people, new medicine. Even if she had already developed one that was considered a miraculous work by her colleagues, she still went and tried everyday to improve it. 

And the story of her miracle was one of Lee’s sparse pieces of information about his father. 

They knew each other for three years and met semi-regularly while he helped his mama with the medicine. The day she learned Lee would be born was also the day the medicine was officially approved to be used, and the man left soon after. His mama wasn’t bitter about it though, said she’d be selfish if she even thought that she could keep him with herself forever.

And Lee wasn’t bitter that his mama worked a lot, because at the end of the day, she would pick him up and they’d eat dinner together. She’d tell him a story or sing a song to sleep and he’d fall asleep in her arms. But most importantly, the weekends were all theirs. 

She never worked on weekend and they would go on short trips or just play board games all day long. They’d also always stay outdoors, if it was possible, because they both loved the sun and were determined to bathe in its light even if it was reaching very low temperature. The only thing stopping them was rain, or rather storm, with lightning and all. Lee didn’t like that much, the lightning looked like something powerful and cruel, and he much preferred hugging his mama indoors than facing it outdoors.

Lee invited Finley over for his eighth birthday. His best friend had given him a fake dagger. It was bronze, and heavy, but what should be a sharp surface felt like soft plastic. His mama both frowned at the gift and his friend, who she had seen for the first time. After the little party, she made a call somewhere she didn’t want Lee to know, and it was fine, because she sometimes had to make urgent calls for her work, and he never tried to pray.

Until, when he was passing by her room, he overheard his name. The door was closed, but he always had incredible hearing and caught just one single sentence that made him pause in his steps.

“His father said Lee shouldn’t be bothered until he turns at least twelve. He’s eight!”

That was about him. And it was about his father, about whom he knew so little. He never really wanted to know the man, perfectly content with the way the things were, but if he got some more informations about him, he’d gladly take them.

So, despite his mothers secrecy, Lee listened.

He couldn’t make out all of the words, sometimes his mama would only whisper them, making it impossible for even him to hear, and he never heard the responses, but from what he gathered, his father wanted him taken away from his mama.

Presumably, when he was twelve or thirteen, he’d go to some camp his father told his mama about. It would be for his safety, so she decided that it’d be best if she followed with that request, but this camp wanted Lee sooner, but she insisted that just for a while longer, she could shield him.

Lee would never want to leave. He felt a little bit of betrayal that his mama didn’t tell him earlier, but she said it’d be dangerous if he knew, so he forgave her. There was no lie in it. 

But there was one word that caught Lee's attention the most. Monsters.  

“They have yet to come after him, they’re not attacking him. No need to give him a weapon, even if it’s one that won’t activate unless it’s used.”

If those monstrosities he saw were to one day go after him and actively attack him, Lee would probably collapse on the spot. He quickly ran to his room for the fake dagger from Finley, it was probably the one they were talking about. Maybe Finley’s family was acquaintances of his father? Whatever the case, he had to have something to defend himself with, even if it was a fake dagger.

He returned with it clenched tightly between his hands just to hear the last bits of the talk.

“I don’t know who his father is.” A lie. “ He hasn’t shown any powers yet.” A lie . “He told me he’s a god, you will help me with Lee and to go to you when Lee’s twelve. That’s how I know.” A truth.

He stood there, before her door with a dagger, trying to comprehend what she said. His father, a god. They weren’t religious people, didn’t believe in anything other than each other, but his mama said he was a god, and that was the truth.

He still stood there when she opened the door and saw him. She must have immediately grasped what have happened, because she scooped him up and carried to her bed, where she threw soft blankets over them.

“I’m sorry I listened in,” Lee said, while hugging her tightly. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Don’t you worry, sunshine,” she kissed his forehead. “It was bound to happen, I can’t really keep secrets from you, can I? I won’t tell you much, still, but I can tell you some more. Does that sound good?” He nodded.

So she explained how his father was a god, he was a god of healing and so he got interested in her project. At first he just wanted to help a little, seeing the potential, but over the years, they were on a few private meetings, dates , outside of work, the last ending with them together in a bed and Lee coming into being. And the story was all true.

“So what does it make me?” He asked, trying to fully comprehend that his father was a god. He didn't even believe in any god before and now he was a child of one.

“You’re a halfblood, a demigod, half-human half-god, mortal yet with some special abilities,” she explained and it was the truth.

“Like my sense of truth? You said it ran in my father’s blood,” he recalled, but then remembered another small detail. “But he was the god of healing, how can healing equal truth? Do all gods and demigods have that power?”

“No, I think it’s rather rare, your father gave me a list of powers I should expect you showing overtime, but that was one he only said you could get but it wasn’t a given.” Truth.

“So then why?”

“Well, he’s a god of many things, he fell in love with me because of his healing domain, but he gave you your power because of his truth domain.” Truth.

“So he’s the god of healing and truth?”

“And many other things, but I don’t want to tell you too much. As I have always said, it’s dangerous for you to know too much yet.” Truth.

“Why? Shouldn’t I know who my father is if he’s giving me powers?” 

“The monster you see, they are attracted to your scent. The more you know and the older you get, the stronger the scent,” She had a grim expression on her face. “Right now, they are not attacking you, but one day, your scent will be too strong, then you’ll have to go to a special camp for demigods to learn how to survive and fight the monsters. But that life is dangerous and I want to avoid it for as long as I can.” Truth.

And it was all true , so Lee didn’t press more than that. Even if he desperately wanted to ask if he ever got a chance to meet his father. The man, the god, suddenly became something that was important in Lee’s life and with it, came the desire to know him better. But for that would come the time. Maybe he’d show up once he got to that camp.

***

After that, there were more monsters, but they still didn’t attack him, so he stayed off their path and they stayed off his. It didn’t make them any less scarier, though.

Finley was more nervous around him too and something told him that it was because of the fact that his mama probably talked with his family. He didn’t know it for sure, but the boy had given him a dagger that was an actual weapon, if safe proved, made to look like a fake one, so he probably was part of whatever godly thing was going on. But he didn’t tell anything, because he didn’t know if Finley was just passing a gift and he was still being protected by being oblivious.

And so the years passed. Finley didn’t visit them for Lee’s ninth birthday, they went on a week-long trip. Same for his tenth birthday. They still were close friends, but it was a little stained because Finley tried to keep his distance and not keep it at the same time. Lee told himself it didn’t matter anyways, because some day, they’d probably both end up at that camp his mama told him about.

But having a distant former best friend was hard. Because with each day of school, Lee became the odd one more and more. Suddenly, the fact that he only had his mama was a problem. Some girl told him on Father’s Day that his father ran away because he didn’t love them. Lee almost spat in her face that his dad was a god and had many important things to do, but he bit his tongue. That’d be a perfect bait for the monsters. 

Needless to say, other than Finely, none of his older friends stayed. And other school problems were also troubling him.

He was falling behind his classmates, because words kept swirling and it was harder to focus with each day. And when he thought that he finally found a way to stay focused, which was playing a little melody with his pencil on the school desk, because he always concentrated better with music, his teacher told him it distracted other students. Which was true, they kept looking at him instead of the woman, but he was back to point zero. 

When it came to music, it was actually the only subject at school he was good at, even better than others. But he sometimes lost his mind while playing the flute, which was deemed by him the best instrument he played so far, and the teacher was still displeased with him.

He was also good at athletics, ran faster than his classmates and could throw with insane accuracy. But whenever he did something remotely better than others, they called him a show-off. Lee didn’t call them that when they could read a book he was even unable to look at! 

The worst thing was that all those people, his classmates and teachers, all believed what they said about him, because that was true for them. They actually meant it.

His mama assured him it wasn’t his fault and that he would find more friends eventually. She didn’t say anything about Finley’s distance, though.

But life went on, for better or for worse, and Lee was content to live it as long as he got his mama and the time he would eventually have to go to that camp was set further ahead in time. It was good.

Until the monster broke into their house.

In retrospect, Lee thought that his mama took it too far, telling him about his father, but still keeping him by herself, telling the satyrs to shove off and start bothering her again when he turned twelve. It would save them a lot of trouble. 

It would probably save her too.

They were just having dinner, when the thing broke into their house. It broke the window and jumped right onto their dining table. His mama shoved him away, screaming for him to go to his room and get the dagger. He complied. He ran while she tried to keep the monster busy by throwing kitchen knives and other utensils at it.

When he came back, she was lying on the floor. Her dark, almost black, brown hair was sprayed with blood making it a weird, dark purple combination. Her clothes were torn, one of her hands was missing, leaving a sickly looking bone sticking out of her limb instead, and there were marks of fangs and teeth all over her body.

But the worst thing were her eyes.

Her soft , loving , intelligent , compassionate and true eyes were glazed over, staring off into nothingness. Dead.

Lee couldn’t help it, he screamed.

The monster must have remembered that there was a demigod in the house that it was after and jumped at him from behind. At that moment, something strange came over him, some completely new feeling that forced him to fight back. He pushed his dagger into the monster and twisted it. Once. Twice. He took it out and stabbed the thing in some different place. Twisted. Once. Twice.

He repeated the process while struggling with it, the monstrosity fighting and trying to overpower him throughout the whole process, until it dissolved into golden dust.

The dagger fell out of his hand and he quickly picked it up. He had resented the idea of carrying it around all the time, but now he couldn’t think of leaving it. He ran to his mama, kneeled next to her and tried to check for even the slightest sights of life, even if he was fully aware that it was futile.

Her face was still scrunched in a frown, just as it always did when she was focused and determined. Lee supposed that keeping him alive for just a while longer must had required the most focus and determination of her lifetime.

He kissed her broken head, he noticed that on the back of it it was slightly dented in. Something hit her, the monster, and it did so with enough force to bend bone. It was a nasty head injury, she probably died in an instant, not even feeling this particular wound. But the knowledge that she passed on somewhat painlessly did not comfort him at all. She was still dead.

That was the new truth , he thought bitterly as he closed her eyes and hugged her, desperate to feel one last time her embracing him, even if it was not the same. He only hugged her, she didn’t hug him back.

And she would never do it again.

But some part of him refused to let her go and he also wanted to comfort her in her death, even if she could no longer feel it. Maybe if he kissed and hugged hard enough she would come back. Weren't kisses and hugs supposed to heal the worst of wounds? She always said so and she was a pharmacist.

He didn’t know how long he stayed that way, only that he was broken out of his trance by a man pulling him off her.

“I want to be with my mama!” He trashed and screamed in his grasp. He accidentally swung the dagger at him, but it went right through the man. “She always kisses and hugs me when I’m hurt, I must do the same!”

Even if he knew she was gone, even if he knew she was not going back again, he still hoped and wanted to stay by her side for as long as he could. But they forced him to stay back as they put her body into a black bag.

That night Lee prayed to his father. He was the god of healing, maybe he could still help her, but he was quickly proven unsuccessful as he watched her casket being lowered into a dark, seemingly endless pit. 

Apparently, even the god of healing could not revive the dead.

They didn’t have many relatives. Lee’s grandparents died even before he was born and the only sister his mother had was somewhere in Europe, Lee wasn’t even sure if he remembered correctly where. Germany or the United Kingdom? Or maybe France? It didn’t matter anyways, because the woman had no intention of taking care of him, and as the chaos of the funeral and trying to find out what happened (they called it a serial killer’s attack. Apparently whatever monster attacked them did so previously and no one lived to tell the tale) subsided, it was finally time to do something with Lee. 

He inherited quite the fortune after his mama. He always knew they were rather well off, but he didn’t know she made that much money. It was all locked away from him until he was eighteen and until he came of age he was going to live with a foster family.

The government official that drove him to them was adamant that he’d soon find out they were like a real family , but she didn’t even believe it herself, because that was a lie , and it only made Lee clench his dagger tighter.

It was a small miracle that no one saw it, or rather they saw a teddy bear instead. He couldn’t really see the similarity, but they wouldn’t let him carry a weapon, so he was glad they were so delusional.

She left him next to a rather big house, it looked worn, but sturdy, like it definitely saw better days, but would carry on for many more to come. The other woman that greeted him at the doorsteps immediately set him on edge, her smile couldn't be checked with his sense, but he knew it was all fake and a lie .

“Call me auntie Joy,” She said with that fake smile and gestured to her husband who helped him get his things inside. “And that’s uncle Rich for you. We’ll give you a tour of the house, sweetheart.”

There were three rooms, two for the girls, and one for the boys. In each room, there were two beds, closets, a shared wardrobe and a table with two chairs. That looked normal enough. It was a change from Lee’s own old bedroom, but he came to terms with sharing things. It seemed a little strange that the couple was allowed to take care of six children, but given the overextended system, where there were too many kids and too few foster families, he supposed that wasn’t too unheard of. 

Joy entered the boys room, very easily distinguished from the girls rooms, because it was blue, not pink, and a little afraid checked if someone was hiding inside of it. Which, first of all, was weird, and second of all, made Lee worried that they paired him in a room with some seventeen year old with a build of a professional brawler that made the woman afraid even in her own house.  

Finally, after quickly inspecting the room she sighed in relief. “Looks like he’s not here.” She said and her husband helped Lee put his things next to the bed further from the only window in the room, which made Lee kind of sad. He always liked when the sunlight fell directly on him as he woke. His old bed was just under a big window that let in so much light not a single corner in his room was ever devoid of it during daytime. Apparently, that had to change with his new house.

Joy told him to unpack and put everything neatly in order. “We don’t tolerate messes in this house, sweetheart,” She said and then gestured to the other bed and a closet that was standing next to it. “And we respect privacy, so better don’t go and mess with your new brother’s things. Any of your new siblings for the matter, but especially this one.” She winced and absentmindedly stroked her hand where Lee could make out a set of wounds that looked concerningly like teeth marks. Teeth marks that lacked several teeth, including the front ones. “Because you’ll interact the most, being roommates and all.” 

Then she hurriedly exited with her husband as if afraid that something might come out of the wardrobe.

Lee sighed. He put his dagger next to him on the floor, close enough to get ahold of it in just a second, and started getting his clothes out. Best to get this over. Even if whatever brother they paired him with would probably tear him and all his things to shreds soon enough, judging by Joy’s actions.

When Lee was younger he always wanted a brother. Older or younger than him, it didn’t matter, he just wanted one. That was probably a thing most single children dreamed of- to have siblings. His mama laughed at that, kissed his forehead and said that he’d probably get some in the future. She never even dated after his father, so he did see how that was possible. 

But if that brother was really rather a roommate, a foster sibling who he was forced to live with and who made Joy terrified, Lee didn’t want them. No thank you. 

He was brutally interrupted by a rock hitting him at the back of his head. Lee immediately turned around, dagger held tight in both hands, regretting internally turning his back to the entrance. But he quickly lowered his weapon, when what he saw was neither a monster nor a monster brother.

It was a four years old.

A little, short and skinny kid, with black hair trimmed just above his head, with a handful of small rocks in one hand. The other held just one singular rock and was ready to throw it at Lee at any moment.

“Who the fuck are you and what are you fucking doing here?” The boy demanded and if that wasn’t a concerning vocabulary for a four year old then Lee was a unicorn. Also, the boy actually growled at him, which made his face scrunch up in what probably was meant to be an intimidating way, but looked so out of place on his little face, that it almost made Lee laugh, especially with his missing front row teeth. Almost, because he still was held at gunpoint (rockpoint? The kid was threatening him with a rock).

“I’m Lee Fletcher,” he said, pulling the dagger closer to him. He already attacked a human with it, by accident of course, and he knew the thing wouldn’t do anything to people, only to monsters . He didn’t want to attack and even less injure the child, but he just needed to hold the dagger  while someone was actively trying to attack him, even if the someone was a little four years old. He saw it as a teddy bear anyways and Lee probably looked ridiculous pointing it at him. “I’m going to live here?”

The boy still eyed him wearily and he was still ready to start throwing rocks at any time, but he stepped over Lee’s things that were scattered on the floor and made a beeline for the other bed. He stood up on it, still holding a rock and quietly observing Lee’s every move.

It was a little unnerving, being watched by a little feral child, but it was probably better than being watched by a feral big guy and by the way the boy stood on the bed like he owned it and the entirety of the room too, Lee guessed that there was never a brawler roommate to begin with, Joy and her husband were afraid of someone who could still very much be considered a toddler. 

But then he remembered the teeth marks on the woman's arm and the way the kid threw rocks at him as a form of greeting, and suddenly he started wondering what else the boy had in him.

Lee eventually returned to organizing his things. He put the clothes in their shared wardrobe and noticed that the other set was perfectly fit for just a little four years old. That definitely confirmed that he’s new roommate was just a scrawny little child with a little bit of an attitude problem. 

Whenever he moved too closely to the other’s thing, he threw a rock at him and told him to keep his fucking hands to himself and when he opened the wrong shelf the boy got espeacially agressive. He threw a handful of rocks at him at the same time and said a lot of things about personal space and privacy with a generous dose of curses. So Lee made sure not to anger him any more than necessary.

But even with the whole anger driven demeanor, Lee couldn’t help but somehow be drawn to him. To be intrigued. Maybe it was because he was a four years old that acted and talked like no four years old should, maybe because when he glared and protected his belongings his scrunched up face and small, lanky physique made him look like a little ferret (and Lee personally thought the animals were cute), or maybe because with his back hair and eyes and an intense stare he looked like he could be his mama’s child, definitely more than Lee ever did with his sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, and he was desperate for at least that little of familiarity. It didn’t really matter why more than that he did and eventually it made him break the silence that accompanied them for a good half an hour.

“And who are you?” The boy scowled at him but did not throw any rocks. Small miracles, or maybe he realized that his supply was growing thin and that he needed to start sanctioning it better. 

“None of your fucking business,” the boy crossed his arms on his chest, which made Lee notice a golden pendant that was too big for him hanging from his next. It caught the sunlight and reflected it in a way that made it look like it was glowing. 

“Well, we’re going to be roomies, from now on,” he reasoned, but that didn’t faze the boy at all. He just glared at him, pulling off what was probably his best threatening look, which only made him look like a little feral ferret (that sounded oddly like a cartoon character’s name).

“Not for long,” that was a truth in the boy’s mouth, so he truly believed that Lee would be off his head sooner rather than later. Did he really believe that he’d be able to force him out or was he referring to something else entirely? Four years or not, he probably knew that overly violent actions would probably get him out of this foster family and as far as Joy and Rich went they weren’t necessarily the worst. Sure, they just screamed fake , but so far they didn’t do anything from the stuff he overheard in his mama’s reportages that she watched each Thursday. 

Lee desperately wanted his mama back, but he knew she was gone and there was nothing he could do. But that boy, maybe he didn’t understand the concept of death yet and he wanted to get out, so he could go back to his. Lee couldn't help but fall for him for this.

He decided at that moment that he would not allow him to purposefully kick himself out. “I think it’d be best if we stayed together longer-“

“You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about!” The kid screamed and for good measure, threw a rock. Lee blocked it with his dagger, which surprised him at how quickly he reacted. But there was no time to dwell on it as he saw the boy eying his teddy dagger like he actually saw something .

The kid straightened, even got on his tiptoes, and looked at Lee in his very feral ferrety way. But even with his apparent show of dominance, Lee couldn't help but notice how he nervously glanced at his dagger. Did he do that before or was that just a recent change?

Just to check, he positioned himself like he was ready to attack and was immediately met with an onslaught of the boy’s remaining rocks. He lowered his weapon. “What do you see?”

“Not your fucking-“

“What do you see?” 

“I- I-“ For the first time, he looked actually lost and afraid. Out of his ammunition he retreated from the bed’s edge until his back met the window. That was bound to leave stains, no doubt Joy won’t be too pleased. 

“You don’t see a teddy bear, not anymore, do you?” 

That single sentence got the most bizarre reaction. A single tear fell down the kid’s cheek, but he quickly washed it away and grabbed a pillow. It wasn’t the best weapon, but it was something. For a second they stood in an impasse before eventually, Lee moved just a little and the boy threw the pillow, distracting Lee for just a moment, but that moment was enough for ferret to disappear and get out of the door. 

“Wait!” Lee tried to follow him, but it was futile, because there was no way he was going to find him in the mess that were this house’s corridors. Resigned, he decided to deal with the mess that their little fight resulted in. 

Picking up the rocks he realized with a certain dose of terror that the boy saw him as a monster . Throughout their interaction it was the kid who was the aggressive one, but in that last moment, when he was out of ways to protect himself, he just looked utterly scared. And that was all the confirmation Lee needed that the little ferret wasn’t feral or furious, but just a scared four years old. And he decided, still drawn by whatever feeling towards him, that he would do his best to protect him.

***

That night and dinner he got the chance to meet his other foster siblings. Joy absolutely insisted on good table manners and Lee never ate like a pig, but keeping his elbows to himself, holding cutlery in just the right way, waiting to swallow the food before drinking, sitting with your back straight and your knees set too close together was pretty hard and uncomfortable. But everyone complied, well, except for Lee’s new roomie.

The boy stood on the chair and used just the fork, but Lee noticed that he didn’t, in fact, get a knife, probably to limit the chance of fatal wounds caused by him throwing it. He ate everything hurriedly, like it was his last meal, but no one even tried to reprimand him. Joy only looked at him in mixed terror and disgust. If he was going for being kicked out, then he was doing a pretty good job.

The only rule the kid didn’t abolish was the no-talking rule, but Lee doubted that he could even speak with his mouth full of food. That didn’t stop him from saying full sentences with his eyes directed to Lee, of all people, like I don’t trust you and I better not see that dagger of yours again and You’re on my territory now. Gone was the scared kid he got to see for just a second, once again replaced with a feral ferret with aggression problems. 

As for Lee, his dagger aka teddy bear was deemed inappropriate for meals and hence it waited on the sofa. He tried not to show the discomfort it caused and instead opted for eating as fast as he could get away with it still being well-mannered. He didn’t doubt it for a second that if his roomie got even the slightest chance to get ahold of the dagger, he would not hesitate to take it.  Luckily for Lee, he was still the first to finish.

When he returned to the room and the boy followed suit, still eyeing his teddy dagger, he wasn’t at all surprised to see a new stock of rocks in his little hands.

“Look, I don’t want to harm you-“ he started, his hands held up in a peace offering.

“That’s for me to determine,” no rocks this time, good.

“Why would I want to attack a four years old? Think about it-“ 

“Four years old?!” The kid sounded offended. His face got all scrunched up, but eyes got all big.

“Yeah, there’s like this rule not to attack youngers and especially little children-“

“I’m not a fucking child!”

“Four is-“ Lee tried to resonate.

“I’m not four!” He screamed at the top of his lungs and that was true , so Lee wanted to ask for his real age, but before he got the chance, the kid set aside rocks from one hand and placed them on the windowsill. He showed an open palm with five outstretched fingers and then closed three of them to show two.

“Can you count?” He said while changing from two to five fingers and back. “I’m seven!”

“No way,” Lee couldn't quite believe it, but it was true, but at the same time the kid looked on the smaller side for a four years old, let alone a seven years old. He was tiny .

“Yes way, so don’t fucking underestimate me!” One rock was thrown to emphasize the point.

Lee stared at the kid, still a kid, additional three years be damned, while said kid stared at him back, rocks at the ready. He supposed that it made more sense for a seven years old to know curse words but only by a margin. And he also knew the word determine and underestimate, that was big kids stuff, no doubt. On the other hand, he was tiny.

“I don’t underestimate you, quite the other way around, I think it’s impressive you got Joy and Rich scared of you in their own house,”  and Lee really thought that. He couldn't lie, after all. 

The kid looked somewhat pleased with himself, but still scoffed, “They’re pathetic. Fake. Want to play those all-good christians who take care of poor orphans, but they don’t care. They didn’t even introduce you to us and vice versa. They don’t even want to play pretend and get us to know each other. I had foster parents who tried at least tha-“

“Hold on,” Lee interrupted. “You had different foster parents before?”

“Lots of,” the answer was true , but once again, Lee couldn't really believe it. The kid was seven and already went through more than one foster family. Also, that probably also meant Lee’s idea about why the boy wanted to get thrown out of this place was probably incorrect. “One woman wanted to have a little family after she miscarried. Forced us to call her mummy and stuff. Got just two kids, but had us introduce each other in detail.”

“That sounds-“

“Fake? That’s the worst kind. At least the uncaring or brutal ones are honest, you know they’re monsters . But those, they lie. Lying is a form of a monster all on its own.”

Lee couldn't agree more.

But at the same time, he couldn't agree less.

He despised lies wholeheartedly, he decided who to trust based on how often they lied and how severe those lies were, but still, fake but non violent people were probably better than those openly violent. He didn’t have experience with that stuff, though.

That kid got experience, no matter how tragic that sounded to Lee.

“So, you know that I don’t know your name,” he said to redirect the conversation on a different topic. “Mind sharing it?”

The boy scoffed. It appeared to Lee that he just scoffed before talking, like on instinct. “I’m Michael. And not Mickey, Mike, Micka, Mimi, Mikko and definitely not Mickey Baby. Just Michael.”

“Got it, just Michael,” Michael glared. “That is, got it, Michael.”

“That dagger, how did you get it to change into a teddy bear?” The boy asked. He still held a handful of rocks, but Lee noted that he wasn’t positioned to fire at any given moment. 

“I don’t really know how it works exactly, just that people don’t see it,” he contemplated if sharing the whole truth with Michael was something his mama would disapprove of. She wanted him to hide his true self, being a halfblood and all that, but the boy had already seen the dagger. “It also passes right through them.”

“If it passes right through people, then why do you carry it?” And that was a valid question for someone who threw rocks to assess dominance in the house, but Lee never wanted to harm any people . The monsters however… they could all dissolve into that golden dust if it was up to him.

But monsters were a secret his mama directly told him to keep , no matter what. Not acknowledging them would keep him safe and people would look at him weirdly if he did so. But a monster had already gotten after him, killed his mama and Lee realized with dread, that it was just a matter of time before more came after him.

And when that time came, no one near him would be safe. He didn’t really care about Joy, Rich and all the other children all that much, other than not wanting to harm innocent people, but he still felt that weird feeling that nudged him towards Michael. He didn’t want the boy to get hurt, maybe he should kick himself out of this foster family before they came after him?

Michael saw that dagger, that was another thing. If he saw it, was it possible that he also saw them? And if so, if Lee went away, would that put him in more danger, with no possible way of defense? Kitchen utensils didn’t work on it , rocks wouldn’t do much either.

“There are other things you’d want to protect yourself from,” he said at least, checking if his suspicions were correct. He hoped they weren’t. “Other kinds of monsters.”

A certain realization came over Michael. His eyes widened, lips trembled. He gripped the rocks tighter. “Do you see them too?”

And it was all the confirmation Lee needed

If Michael saw those monsters , then he must also be a demigod. And if that was the case, then a weird feeling or not, Lee definitely couldn’t leave him alone. Also, if he was a halfblood, then that feeling was probably just him recognizing another one. 

Lee nodded, “that dagger can deal with them for good.”

“Really?” The kid sounded sceptical, but hopeful. “I always had to run away from them.”

“They attacked you?” 

Michael nodded, “most of them don’t pay me any mind, but a few snakes chased me. They still chase me, all the time, that’s why I have to stay on the move.”

That’s why he wanted to get kicked out. 

“When they come next time, I’ll deal with them for you,” Lee stated, outstretching his hand to the boy. “I pinky promise.”

Michael held his own hands protectively to himself. Apparently, despite his previous show of trust, by sharing details of his life, he still didn’t completely trust Lee. Not yet, and Lee couldn't blame him.

Instead, he thought about telling the boy about his truth sensor. Just like him, Michael despises lies , so maybe, if he knew that he couldn't lie and knew immediately when someone else did, he’d warm up to him quicker. In the end, he decided against it. He already shared one of his three sacred secrets. Maybe there would come a day when he’d tell him, but that was not that day.

“Maybe he was right,” Michael said, still not connecting their fingers. “Are you sun blessed? ”

“What?” Lee crooked his head to the side confused. “What do you mean? Who told you what?”

“The sunny man, in my dreams. Said someone who was sun blessed would come and that I should trust them. Are you that someone?” 

“I don’t know, but-“ he didn’t know if Michae was referring to the same sun with a face and body he saw in his dreams. Maybe that was a halfblood thing, but his mama never said anything about it, said it wasn’t yet the right time. Michael used the term sun blessed , though. Not halfblood or demigod . It was definitely connected, but Lee was sure it wasn’t an equivalent. “You can definitely trust me.”

And just for a moment, Lee swore he could see Michael’s lips crack into a faint small.

***

That night, Lee dreamed.

That is, he dreamed of the Sun.

He was in a clearing. A field of small, yellow flowers that were bathed in a soft light. And in front of him, was the sun man.

As always, his face was fuzzy. He sat in the grass and Lee lowered himself next to him. “Am I sun blessed?”

The man laughed softly, “I get it you met Michael. He’s quite the sweetheart, don’t you think?” Lee must had made a face that said that he definitely didn’t share the sentiment, because the man laughed once again. “He has a big heart, but won’t let just anyone into it. You two should stick together, at least for now.”

“For now? What do you mean?”

“For now it’s better if you remain in the open world. You’re both too young for my liking and I know what you think, but that thing wasn’t the worst that can come after you. You’ll both benefit from sticking together.”

“And how long will that for now last?”

“A few months, a year at most, I think,” the man scratched his head. “You’re turning eleven in just a few weeks. It’ll take those satyrs longer to properly get to you, I’m afraid. They’re sometimes quite inefficient at their jobs. And you met Michael, I think you can understand why you going there during the summer wouldn’t be the best idea, so it’s best if you wait til after August.”

“You’re talking about the camp? ” Lee inquired. The man smiled once again. “Why can’t we go there now? My dad told mama to send me there when I turned twelve or thirteen, but the monsters already attacked me.”

“The one that killed your mother wasn’t actively going after you,” the man said. “It just so happened to be a very violent and bloodthirsty one. You’re inexperienced, you need a satyr guide, but they lost your scent. Those mortals always camouflage it well, sometimes a little too well. But they can never hide you from the snakes , never from the snakes .”

The way he said it made Lee think of the most disgusting creatures in the world. He never liked snakes, or any other reptiles for the matter, but to say their names with such venom took another kind of hatred towards them. Apparently, as much as snakes liked to bathe in the sunlight, the Sun didn’t return the feeling.

“And you want me to protect Michael, don’t you?” Lee guessed. He was never chased by them, but they were on Michael’s trial for however long now. 

“You’re a clever boy, Lee,” the man sighed. “I guess nothing can stay hidden from you, especially with your sense.”

“About my truth sense, should I tell Michael about it?” 

“That’s up to you. If you’re scared he’ll deceive you in some other way like your mother warned, then don’t be. He’s not that kind of person. But he’s also not telling you yet about his own powers, so it might only be fair.”

“But will he trust me more if he knows I can’t lie?” The man nodded. “Then that’s probably for the best, even if it’s something my mama told me not to do.”

“Your mother was a smart woman, but even she could be wrong. Trust me on this, Lee, even if she believed what she told you, it doesn’t mean it was all true . It was true to her, but in the long run, even the most believed truths can turn out to be just lies.”  

Lee had a feeling he wasn’t talking just about his mama, but rather, something further in the future, something bigger. Whatever that was, it scared Lee.

The man must had noticed his discomfort, because he gently caressed his cheek. His hand was warm, just like sunlight. “Don’t worry too much about that just yet, it’s not the right time .”

He was sick of people telling him this. Maybe if his mama was fully open with him, she’d still be there. No matter how much she believed it, it was just a lie , the time came to Lee much faster than she had anticipated. The man said so himself and now he was doing the same thing. 

“Who even are you?” He found himself asking. “You’re the sun , I know it, but really, who are you?”

The man smiled, “I think you already know.” And Lee realized, he did. The man held a finger to his lips, “Don’t tell Michael that just yet, though. I believe he’ll have to prove himself once the time comes for him. It always works best for you kids if you prove and realize it by yourself. You’re an exception, Lee. You just have to know the truth.”

And with that, the man started shimmering. Lee closed his eyes, unable to stand the light, even if he could usually stare directly into the sun. When he opened them again, the man was gone.

“Goodbye, dad ,” he said to the remaining flickers of soft, golden right that still lingered in the air.

And just like that, the dream was over.

***

When Lee woke up, it was to the soft snoring of Michael in the bed next to him. The boy slept rolled in a fetal position with rocks still held tightly in his hands. His ferrety features were twisted in a grimace, even when he slept.

The bed crooked slightly as Lee stood up. He flinched, anxiously looking over to the other boy, fearing that he’d wake up. None of that happened, luckily, so Lee let out the air he was holding.

He looked over to the small boy, his brother . He had this feeling nudging him towards the other, alright, and he already guessed that he also was a halfblood, but a brother? 

Not that he was mad at his dad for having more children, his mama told him that he was not hers to keep, so it really didn’t faze him all that much.

Did he also have the truth sense? No, his dad didn’t say so, but he did mention some other power. That one was also weird to think about, the sun man he saw in his dreams for as long as he could remember was actually his father . And his mama must had known about it, she told him not to mention it to anybody.

Truth, healing and now also sun, those were all the domains he already knew his dad was a god of. Would his actual brother - well half brother, but still- have a special power from one of them?

Not truth, he didn’t have the sense , so maybe healing? No, Michael was too eager to change people into rock targets. So the sun? Could he glow? It didn’t look like it. 

Well, if their dad had already turned out to be a god of three completely different things, then it was possible that there was more in his arsenal. Maybe he was a god of throwing things? Lee also was good at that.

He’d probably find out sooner rather than later, when it was the right time .

Something shimmered on Michael’s chest in the faint glow of barely setting up sun. It was the same golden pendant that was definitely too big for the small boy Lee saw before. It was funny, how it seemed to be there and not just a second later. 

It might work just like the dagger, Lee realized finally, when he saw an image engraved on the thing. It was a sun, with swirly rays and all. It might even had been a gift from their dad. Maybe to keep the boy safe, although Lee couldn't figure out how the thing worked. Apparently not very well if Lee had to be there to protect his brother.

Speaking of said brother, he moved and his frown deepened. For a moment, Lee thought that he made too much noise, again, but just like last time, it wasn’t him. It definitely wasn’t him when Michael turned on the other side, pulling his arms and legs closer to himself. One of his hands gripped the pendant like a lifeline.

A nightmare.

If that was the case, no matter how badly Lee wanted to help, he couldn’t. He just watched as Michael trashed a little more, before he abruptly sat up, eyes wide open and gasping for air, like he had just came from underwater after he had been drowning for a whole.

“Are you alright?” Lee asked, hovering next to his brother. Michael looked at him, his eyes were unfocused, like he couldn’t quite grasp where he was yet, probably still partially in the nightmare. He didn’t react in any way other than that, but Lee still told him as reassuringly as he could, “you’re safe now, that was just a nightmare.”

“Oh yeah,” the kid stuttered out. “Yeah, it was one.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“No.”

“Okay, that’s cool,” Lee returned to his own bed. The sun was growing bigger and bigger at the horizon, so he deduced that none of them would manage to go back to sleep. Not if Lee’s experience as the child of the sun god was anything to go by. Finally, his affinity with living according to the sun cycle was explained. “If you change your mind, then I’m here.”

Michael did not change his mind. He evened his breathing and held tightly onto his pendant, caressing it between his fingers, like it was the only thing keeping him calm. Which, Lee guessed, it probably was.

“It’s beautiful,” he broke the silence. Lee hoped that if he concentrated Michael only on the thing he’d forget the nightmare quicker. “Where did you get it?”

The boy looked at him shocked. He immediately hid the pendant behind his pajama shirt. “You can see that?”

Lee nodded, “I think it’s hidden by the same thing my dagger is, so it really doesn’t work at us all too well.”

“It was my mother’s, before she went and got herself killed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, don’t be, I don’t even remember her and it’s not like you were there,” Michael scoffed, but it was visible that he did in fact care about the woman. Lee decided not to press the matter further, though. “It doesn’t do anything against the monster, not like you dagger.”

“So it’s just a piece of jewelry?” The boy shrugged. “It’s still beautiful, though.”

As much as Lee tried, Michael still wasn’t invested more in the talk about his pendant than he was in his nightmare. The topic was quickly forgotten and the boy even fished the pendant back, stroking his fingers on the engraved sun. His eyes seemed to not be there, but back in the dream.

“I have a thing I have to tell you,” Lee tried once again at a different topic. Maybe it needed to be new enough to get Michael’s full attention. “A secret, if you will.”

“What secret?” 

“Come here and I’ll tell you,” he patted the mattress, but the other made no attempt to move over. Instead, he threw a rock at Lee. “Alright, I’ll tell you from here, if you don’t want to listen like a normal person.”

“I don’t have to know your stupid secret.”

“Are you sure? It’s connected to the sun guy,” that got Michael’s attention, alright. “Or rather, who we both are and my powers.”

“Your powers?” Michael stood up. He didn’t sit on Lee’s bed, but he walked a little closer. “What kind of powers? What did the sun man tell you about them?”

“That I should trust them.”

“Sounds about right.”

“You wanna know what those powers are?” Reluctantly, Michael nodded. He assessed the offered seat warily and Lee decided not to force him any further. “I have a special sense. A truth sense. I always know when someone is lying.”

The boy looked unimpressed, he crossed his arms over the chest and simply said, “I hate banana milkshakes.”

A lie.

“You tested it, that was a lie.” He tried not to look impressed. The first thing the boy did was try for himself if Lee didn’t make the whole thing up. A smart move. “You wanna do more test, just to be sure?”

“I have six rocks behind my back.”

Truth.

“You really have those rocks there.”

“I once spitted into Joy’s morning coffee after she shaved my head.”

Truth .

“That’s disgusting and real.”

And so, Lee was tested a few more times. By the time breakfast came around and it was time for them to leave for school, Michael had deemed him trustworthy and was looking at him a little differently.

But the most important part was, he forgot the nightmare. At least to some extent.

***

Leaving with a feral ferrety little brother was an interesting experience, to say the least.

First of all, even if Michael had shown some trust, he still very much threatened him with rocks every other five minutes. And those every five minutes attacks established certain unspoken rules that Lee managed to grasp.

No touching . Got it.

No touching Michael’s things. Got it.

No pointing at and threatening Michael with the dagger. That one was slightly hippocrytical given the boy’s onslaught of rocks, but considering that rocks didn’t do any real damage except for occasional bruises and small cuts, Lee decided to follow that one too.

No further asking about the pendant and/or Michael’s family. Well, Lee wasn’t quite sure himself if he wanted to share his own stories of his dead mama, so it was best if they both opened up by their own accounts.

  Michael gets especially hissy if you try to open his underwear drawer so best to stay away from it as far as you can . Got it with like a dozen small bruises.

But it got its perks too. Joy tried her very best to not anger Michael, so when she noticed that Lee apparently fell under his protection, even if she didn’t understand it, she gave him a lot more lineage. Their foster sisters also strayed away from them as much as possible. It was quite funny how everyone in the household feared a seven year old tiny boy.

At school, they sat together on breaks and this time Lee also didn’t manage to get any friends. It was alright, though. Michael was actually nice to hang out with once he stopped hissing and glaring. 

Even so, whenever they hang out together, Lee couldn’t help but look in all directions, looking for possible monsters and snakes going after them. Needless to say, the dagger was always close to him, just in case. Michael didn’t mind. He always carried something that could be classified as a weapon too, be it rocks, shards of broken glass or sticks.

After two weeks, the only time when they were not together, aside from classes at school, were Sundays, when Joy and Rich took them to their community church. Michael wasn’t even allowed to go, apparently Joy feared he’d bite the priest or something. 

Lee was sure that the priest was actually one person Michael would not bite. The guy was alright, his sermons were funny and the best thing in Lee’s opinion was the fact that he did not lie . Even if he himself didn’t believe in the whole thing, the priest did. And who was Lee to judge if his own father was some other god. Not this one, he was sure of it, but some other. And the priest seemed like an overall nice guy too, so Lee decided that he actually liked him.

 After the ceremony they were all always invited to a little picnic in the garden of the church. The priest always allowed Lee to take some candy home, so that when his always sick little brother, oh poor thing, he always falls ill on the weekends, finally came back to good health, he could have some. So in the end, Michael also liked the priest.

The fact that there was a religious person who actually believed the all love everyone and stuff and acted like it, made Lee even more pity Joy and Rich. They were posers, turned a perfectly fine religion into their means to shine in the society in the most fake way. They didn’t believe what they heard in the church, Lee knew it, but they tried to pretend that they did and it made him sick. 

All in all, everything went fine. They weren’t attacked by any monsters, Lee spent his first birthday without his mama, which made him almost cry himself to sleep the day prior. Almost, because after about fifteen minutes of doing so, Michael made his way over to his bed and sat on it.

“You wanna talk about it, or something?” He asked in a voice he didn’t usually talk in, it was more gentle.

“It’s my birthday tomorrow,” he answered through his tears.

“Yeah, I know, Joy even got you a cake. I saw it in the fridge. It has the name Lee written on it,” the boy rubbed his pendant, like he always did when he was anxious. “It’s one of that healthy stuff, so it probably won’t be good.”

“I don’t care about any cake,” he said sitting up and getting closer to his brother. Not touch-close, but closer. “It’s- it’s just-“

Should he tell him about his mama? Despite the fact they spend all their time together, they still weren’t that close emotional-wise.

But he was so desperate for any comfort that he decided to open up. “It’s my first birthday without my mama.”

“She’s dead, isn’t she?” Blunt as always, Michael said, which made Lee cry even louder. “Oh fuck.”

“It’s my fault, she sacrificed herself to save me. A monster broke in and it-“ he couldn’t get himself to finish.

“She must had really loved you then,” Michael pulled on his pendant. It must had left a mark on the back of his neck, but neither of them particularly cared.

“She did. Her love was never fake, never a lie.”

“Mine’s also dead,” the boy confessed. He was pulling the pendant so hard it must had been pretty uncomfortable by now. “Got herself killed before I turned two. Had been in the system ever since.”

“ Got herself killed?”

“She was in the military. But she wasn’t a soldier, she was a medic. They don’t really allow those out in the open to fight, but she managed to catch some tropical illness. No cure, but at least she got enough time to leave me two things, one is that pendant around my neck,” he pointed at it and it now made perfect sense as to why he cared so much about the thing. “The other is a diary.”

Michael got up from the bed and walked to the wardrobe, opened it and from his underwear drawer pulled an old notebook. He returned with it clenched between his hands. It was then that Lee finally noticed that he didn’t arm himself with anything. 

He sat back on the bed and started rumaging through the apparent diary, “I have no fucking idea what is written on most of those sheets, but the last one isn’t in that messy handwriting.” He stopped when he found the last written page and showed it to Lee.

In big letters across the whole two sheets was I love you, Michael.

“She instructed her companions to give me those things, after they quarantined them I got them. But she still had them on herself when she was dying. It was her last effort to tell me something,” Now tears glistened in Michael’s eyes too. “She spent her last moments writing me this and I couldn't even fucking decipher it for most of my life.” He took a shaky breath, “what I wanted to say is, yours must had loved you too and if she got just a little more time it’d be her last words too. I bet they were, you just couldn’t hear her. She loved you, so don’t forget it.”

Lee was sure he ran out of tears, but somehow, new ones stroked his cheeks. The whole talk-confession had actually managed to lift his spirit and the fact that it was his little brother who had attempted to comfort him was also comforting on its own. “I love you, Michael.”

He didn’t know where that came from, but it most definitely wasn’t a lie . He didn’t lie and Michael knew that. The boy’s lip trembled and he looked like he couldn't quite understand the whole thing. At that moment Lee wondered if it was the first time he heard those words spoken aloud to him and not just written on a piece of paper. Lee opened his arms, “do you wanna hug?” 

At first Michael shook his head and took the diary and went to hide it in the drawer. When he returned though, he sheepishly sat next to Lee and put his small head on his shoulder. Lee then enveloped him and if he heard quiet sniffings and felt tears wetting his pajamas, he didn’t say anything.

The next morning, the face of his little brother who had slept with him through the whole night was the best birthday gift he received the whole day, stupid healthy cakes bought just to impress the neighbors be damned.

***

Their first monster attack was in May, five months after Lee’s arrival and five days before Michael’s eighth birthday. They were walking down the street after school, the walk back to their house wasn’t a long one, so they always took it by foot. 

In one hand Lee held his dagger, always at the ready and similarly, Michael held his famous handful of rocks. Their unoccupied hands were entangled together, holding each other for dear life. Even if they weren’t attacked yet - for some reason or another- they were both very aware of the danger.

Lee didn’t tell Michael all about demigods, not that he himself knew much, but he did tell him that at some point they’d both go to a safe place. He was immensely sceptical of it, but after a good night of sleep, and what probably was a visit from their dad, he agreed that when the time came, he’d go with Lee.

But no more than that, Lee suspected that if obliviousness helped hide their scent then his mama telling him all those things must had played a part in him being attacked before he turned twelve. He wasn’t having those chances with Michael, even if he was already chased by what he called snakes .

Honestly, Lee suspected it were monsters with snake legs or heads or something, he saw those sometimes, but no, what had finally caught up to them were normal snakes. At least normal-looking, only one from the dozen snakes that pursued them was particularly big, longer than Michael for sure.

When they saw them, they ran, ran as fast as they could. But they were getting closer and closer. Michael threw his rocks, all of them hit their targets, but it killed only two of the snakes. They didn’t disintegrate into golden dust, which further proved their normal nature.

They didn’t have time to get into the house, but they needed a place to hide. So in the end they ran into the church, which was closer and just barely closed the door. 

Or not, because the largest and fastest snake managed to get inside and was making its way up Michael’s leg. The boy tried to get it off but all his attempts ended in vain, the thing was just about to bite him when Lee immersed the blade in the snake’s flesh. Just like he did with the previous monster , he also dealt with this one. And it was a monster alright, because it turned into golden dust.

“What is happening here?” The priest must had heard the commonsion and was making his way over to them. “Lee? And is that Michael? I haven’t seen you personally in months.”

“We were chased by snakes,” Lee explained, not bothering hiding his dagger. Joy tried to get him to stop bringing it to church once, so he told it to the priest and he said he saw nothing bad in bringing important things along. Especially when Lee told him it was one thing that made him feel safe after his mama died. He must had thought it was a gifted by her teddy bear, but it didn’t matter, as long as the priest allowed him to held it in the open.

“Snakes?” The man asked. “You think they are still there?” 

And when he opened the door, they sure still were there. One managed to get inside and also made a beeline at Michael, but the priest caught it in his grasp and unceremoniously threw it back outside.

“I’ll call for some specialists,” he said while gesturing for the boys to follow him. “Are you hungry?”

“Candy!” Shouted Michael and jogged after the man. 

And so, their first attack ended, but Lee wasn’t stupid, he knew more would follow.

***

On Michael’s eighth birthday, in a show of great trust, the boy showed Lee his pendant from up close. It was a fascinating thing, fully made out of gold but not as heavy as it probably should be. It was circular and the size of a coin, but a little thicker than one. The most fascinating thing, however, was that it couldn't fall off or taken off by anyone else other than Michael and that it wasn’t visible to most people, even Lee had sometimes trouble seeing it.

The pendant could be opened and then, it showed a golden coin and a perfect place where another one could be stored, but it was empty. The golden coin on one side had the image of a very tall building- Lee was sure it was some famous building, but he couldn’t recall which one- and on the other was the image of a young man with a bow in one hand and a lyre in the other. Although he looked different than in the dream space, Lee was sure that that was their dad. Prove that Michael’s mother had previously gotten the pendant from him. Also, it was definitely too thin for its storage capacity, so it had to be somewhat magical, made by a god.

But what was the most interesting, was that when you took the coin there was still a little place left. A piece of paper, that was in fact a golden photo, was stored there.

It presented a petite woman in short black hair, cut just under her ears, holding a baby. It didn’t take a genius to guess who that woman and the baby were.

With the secret of the pendant now uncovered, Lee was sure that he now knew all that was to know about his little brother, but he was proved wrong just the night after.

He was woken up by Michael. The boy was frantically shaking his shoulder, trying to wake him up.

“What is it?” He asked, looking at the window. The moon was still very much high up and Lee never liked being woken up in the middle of the night. Not that anyone liked it, but Lee especially, and Michael too, so it had to be important.

“Do you know a goat man?” The boy asked, dead serious.

“A what now?” 

“A fucking goat man. Half human, half goat,” he explained, but it didn’t match any monster Lee had seen in his life. 

“No?”

“Then you’ll be friends with one in the future, because you’ll hug one and then we’ll be following him.”

“Michael, what? What are you talking about?”

“I saw us chased by so many snakes and then following a goat man. Then we came to a pine tree, met a horse man and tree ladies. At least I think so, it was fuzzy, as always.” True , but they hadn’t done any of those things and the only explanation Lee could think of for this was that Michael saw it in a dream.

“What do you mean as always?” He demanded and then Michael looked away sheepishly. “Was that a dream? Did you have that dream multiple times?”

“Not that one, but it was one of those dreams.”

“What do you mean? Michael, you’re not making any sense.”

“So you don’t have them? Sun man said that it wasn’t many who ever got those , that it was rare, but I thought that you also got them,” the boy sounded a little disappointed, but he quickly composed himself and got into explaining it as simply as he could. “I got future visions in my sleep.”

“What?!”

And that was the day- or night- that Lee found out that his little brother was a prophet- a visioner or a vision dreamer- and he could predict the future.

He always saw things from his own point of view and they always were a bunch of images. There almost never were any sounds and many of those visions were fuzzy and it was hard to see what they presented. They always showed what had to be done and would be done no matter what. The sun man- their dad- even warned Michael to never try and prevent the things that would happen, because he would never succeed and it would only cause him great suffering. It must had been the power he told Lee about before in his own dream.

They both decided that when the time came, they would follow the goat man.

But the time didn’t come for a long time. Before someone even remotely close to a goat visited them, they finished the school year, ran away from many snakes- they usually hid in the church, it was better than getting snakes on Joy’s doorsteps and the priest got candy- and even faced some other monsters. One time, when they were basically cornered by something, Michael demanded Lee to lend him the dagger. Reluctantly he did so and then the boy threw it right into the thing ’s heart. It disintegrated on spot.

It was one thing throwing rocks and hitting every target and another throwing daggers and also scoring one hundred points in killing things . It was a big advantage they got over the monsters, being able to finish them off from a distance, but it’d be an even bigger advantage if they got more than one dagger. Nevertheless, Lee tried to give his own to Michael, because it was clear that he could use it better, but the boy declined. Instead, he gave him lessons at throwing things. They must have looked rather funny, practicing throwing rocks and teddy bears in the backyard over the summer.

They tried deciphering the rest of Michael’s mother’s diary, but the younger boy was still learning how to read, because he was incredibly bad at it, and Lee was even diagnosed with dyslexia, so he was an officially proven shitty reader. Needless to say, their attempts were in vail. Curse the woman for having such awful handwriting and to Lee’s despair, when he saw the handwriting Michael was slowly developing, he couldn’t help but notice that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Lee also learned that from all of Michael’s prophetic dreams only one ever got repeated, over and over again, at least once every three months, usually more often during the summer, especially August, when he could have it every night.

“It starts like this, I ride a flying carriage or something, it has winged horses, cool right? I shout into some girl’s face, she’s big and bulky, basically towering over me. Then I’m at some bridge, also shouting, but another kind of shouting. I think I yell to someone to go away, but there’s either a lot of them or I can’t see who they are because I can’t make out any person, it’s really foggy at that point. It ends with me telling someone the bridge is weak or something like this, then I’m falling and I hit water. It’s all over me and I think I’m drowning but then I wake up,” Michael ended his tale on one of those nights when Lee woke up to the boy’s frantic breathing and finally managed to convince him to tell him his dream. “It’s scary. Every time I see water it’s the only thing I can think of,” the boy looked at Lee with big, terrified eyes, unshed tears in the corners of them. “Lee, I don’t want to drown.”

“You won’t,” he said, hoping that his determination for this to be the truth would be enough to make it one. “Not on my watch. Not until I have a say in it.”

And Michael believed him, because Lee never lied. Even if the things he saw would always become true , even if one day he would be drowning, he believed that as long as Lee was with him, he would not drown.

But Lee wondered if it was the same thing his mama felt when she told him she’d keep him safe for as long as she was with him.

The goat man finally came in September.

They were at school, having a break together when all of a sudden, three biggest snakes they both had ever seen in their lives went out of the bushes. The creatures were accompanied by several smaller ones and steadily making their way towards them. 

Their favorite tactic for some time now- throwing the dagger at the biggest one and therefore killing the leader- was unfortunately out of the table, so they immediately went into a flight mode. 

But for some reason, the snakes were faster than usual. They needed a better tactic and quick.

“Michael, give me your pendant,” Lee said, breathing heavily between each word. His idea was that if the animals were mostly after Michael then if he got the most Micheal-smelling thing, they’d get disoriented if they were to part ways. After some reluctance, the boy gave it. “I’ll run to the church, you run to the house, go into our bedroom from the window and don’t go out until I return, okay?”

Michael nodded and at the count of three, they ran away from each other.

Just like Lee expected, most of the snakes went after him, two big ones and almost all small. Michael was still pursued by the rest, but Lee hoped that his rocks would be enough to slow them down until he was safely in the room.

But when Michael was finally out of his eyesight he quickly realized that just as Michael was safe, he was not and the snakes were making their way to him all too fast. At that pace, he would not make it to the church and so needed another new plan.

He thought about throwing the pendant away to even further distract the creatures, but it was too precious to Michael to just get rid off so easily. So he had no idea what to do and just one dagger to defend himself.

One of the bigger ones got into him and Lee fell down hard, hard enough to stumble and, thanks to his everlasting luck, lose his grip on the only weapon he had. He thought it was gonna be the end of him when he heard a soft melody played on pipes.

The melody effectively scared off the small snakes and disoriented the big ones, giving Lee just enough time to find his dagger and kill the one that was closer to him. The other one was finished off by someone who appeared out of nowhere, but looked strangely familiar.

“Finley!” He greeted his old friend and sure enough, there he stood. A little taller and with a similar dagger like the one Lee was holding, but still unmistakably Finley. “What are you doing here?”

“Not good, not good,” Finley mumbled, completely ignoring his question. “Were those snakes after you?”

“I mean they chased me-“

“Where did you get that?” He pointed at the pendant still in Lee’s hand. At this point the poor guy was hyperventilating from whatever had caused him his anxiety.

“It’s not mine,” Lee quickly said before Finley could cut him off again with another question.

“It’s not yours? You found it somewhere or-?” Finley asked hopeful, like him owning the pendant was the worst thing possible and Lee got offended on Michael’s account.

“After I was put into a foster family I got a new brother. It’s his, those snakes were after him and I figured that if I carried it then they’d mostly leave him alone. It worked, but, well, you saw what happened,” he explained, trying to calm Finley down. It worked a little, but then he got even more worked up. But Lee had no time to try and find new ways of calming people down, because something stuck out to him. “Hold on, you saw it all? You have a dagger, it’s the same as my dagger, are you finally into that god stuff?”

“Oh, well, you see-“ Finley said nervously and in a nervous tic stroked one leg with the other. As a result, his shoe fell off and-

“Is that a hoov?!” 

Then Lee learned that his friend was in fact a satyr- a goat man , the one that he and Michael were going to follow- and that he had been guarding him for a long time, because that was what satyrs did, infiltrated schools and befriended demigods to later guide them to Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place for demigods on Earth.

“But I lost your scent and it took me forever to find you again. And it’s bad, it’s bad when a satyr loses their halfblood, Mr.D is never happy about it and-“ he glanced nervously at the golden pendant like it could vaporize him on the spot if he just as much as breathed the wrong way. “Are you sure it’s that brother’s of yours?”

“Why is it so scary?” Lee asked eagerly for an explanation.

“You see, there’s like this one god, he often uses the sun as his symbol and, to make matters worse, his children are practically the only ones being chased by snakes,” that was their dad, Lee was sure of it. The way he spoke of the animals in his dream visit finally made sense.

“What’s so bad about the god?” 

“Well, you see, he’s kind of known for, well, uhm…” Finley once again looked at the pendant nervously and then took a deep breath. “Flaying satyrs alive.”

“Oh,” was all Lee managed to say. It was hard imaging the warm sun man he saw in his dreams flaying alive one of Finley’s friends.

“But it might not even be his! It might just be a coincidence and your friend just likes suns!” Finley sounded more like he tried to reassure himself than anything. Lee’s sense wasn’t activated, but that sentence was pretty close to being a lie.

“But he was chased by the snakes ,” Lee pointed out and it was clearly visible that at this point Finley lost all hope.

“Okay, that’s totally fine. I’ll just have to escort you two to camp and make sure that nothing happens to the kid. Not that you are not important, Lee! But you see, the last satyr who guided one of his children and the child got one of his fingers chopped off along the way… it didn’t end well for him, or so I was told. But still, there is a chance your friend’s not his child.”

“It’s alright, Finley,” Lee tried to reassure the poor satyr and internally decided not to tell him that he’d be guiding not one, but two of the sun god’s children. “Michael‘a pretty good at taking care of himself. You should see how well he throws things and how good his aim-“

“He’s good at throwing things?!” The satyr was damn close to passing out. Lee decided not to tell him anything more about Michael, because apparently, everything was a trigger for Finley’s panic attack.

***

As quietly but also as swiftly as they could, Finley and Lee made their way under the window to Michael and Lee’s room. When they arrived, Lee picked up a small rock and threw it just next to the window, not missing the way Finley looked at him in pure terror.

“Take off your shoes,” he ordered the satyr.

“Why?”

“Just do it,” he said, but then felt bad about brushing Finley off like nothing, so he explained “We can’t shout, Joy will hear and I have to somehow get it straight to him. Even if he has a great hearing, I’d rather not risk it.”

“He has great hearing?” Once again on the verge of tears, Finley asked.

“Yeah, don’t all demigods have straightened senses? It’s something mama said.”

“Oh yeah, most of them. They all notice things before most mortals,” Finley calmed a little, but then mumbled nervously, “but the greatest hearing always have his kids.”

If Lee himself didn’t posses a good pair of ultra hearing ears he’d probably miss that, but since he didn’t, he started wondering just how many things in his life were skills he got from his dad.

Soon enough, Michael's head showed in the window and Lee promptly embraced Finley. The satyr jumped shocked, but after seeing Lee’s pointing gaze, he returned the embrace. Michael must had also noticed the hooves, because he disappeared and later reappeared with two backpacks. He opened the window and in Michael-style show of gymnastics, used the gutter to get himself on the ground.

“That’s a baby,” Finley said terrified just as Michael passed one of the backpacks to Lee.

“I’m not a fucking baby,” Michael scoffed offended. “I’m fucking eight.”

“Michael, we talked about swearing,” Lee said, sending his brother a reprimanding glare. Michael just rolled his eyes. “But he’s telling the truth, he turned eight in May.”

“No way.”

“Yes way.”

And so they were on their way.

***

Their journey to camp was mostly uneventful.

Well, uneventful by demigod standards, because Lee was pretty damn surprised they all hadn’t been dead at this point, but Finley was saying something about being lucky.

But all in all, it went rather well. 

Or so Lee thought before they were chased by more snakes - why did it have to be snakes ?- just when they were almost there.

So they ran. Lee felt like all they did recently was running, but if it kept them safe then he could run even a dozen marathons in a row without break.

“Look, Lee!” Michael shouted next to him. “It’s a pine tree!”

Sure enough, there it was, a tall, gorgeous looking- for a tree, of course- pine tree. They saw hundreds of similar ones on their journey, but somehow this one looked different. Almost magical. And it didn’t take a genius to know that this particular one was the one from Michael’s vision.

“That’s the camp’s border,” Finley pointed at the tree. “But last time I was there, there was no pine tree on this hill.”

“How long ago was that?” Lee inquired.

“About five years ago?” The satyr answered and it clearly wasn’t possible that the tree was just planted there overnight. It was huge.

When they passed the tree the valley suddenly changed into the most bizarre summer camp Lee ever saw. Not like he ever had been to one, but it was still bizarre. It looked like a living Ancient Greek little village, with an amphitheater, an archery range, volleyball court and a climbing wall with lava falling off it.

Finley guided them to a big blue building that he called the Big House which was a very simple and fitting name. On the porch sat two men, the other was dressed in a tiger Hawaiian shirt and the other was sitting in a wheelchair. They were playing some card game, but when the group arrived, the wheelchair one stopped, which caused the Hawaiian shirt one to grimace and send them a tired glare.

“Look who’s finally back. You hounted your demigod’s scent or just picked two new ones thinking it’ll make up for it?” Hawaiian shirt asked. 

“No, sir. This is Lee Fletcher, the one I’ve been keeping an eye on. The other boy is named Michael Yew, he’s-“ Finley wasn’t sure how to explain it all, not mentioning his suspicion about the latter's heritage. “He was in the same foster family and already had his run-in with monsters, so he tagged along.”

“Well, we’re happy to have you both here. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. I’m Chiron,” wheelchair greeted them and Hawaiian shirt send them a grimace as well. “I promise you nothing bad can happen to you two here.”

“ Liar, ” Lee said before he even thought about it.

Chiron just smiled,”Lee, I know you’re after a tiring journey and you have just faced many monster but here are none-“

“ Liar,” he said once again and it caused Michael to shuffle closer to him. 

“What? What do you mean?” Chiron asked, puzzled.

“I don’t know, I just know you lied ,” Lee said, remembering Michael’s vision. He turned to the boy and as quietly as possible asked. “Was that guy in the dream?”

“I’m not sure, he look familiar but something’s missing," Michael said, assessing Chiron. He probably wondered how many rocks would it take to take him down.

“Please, sir, speak only the truth with us. We are fed up with lies ,” from the mouth of an eleven years old boy it probably sounded threatening, Lee hoped so.

“The truth ?” Chiron asked, looking over the boys. Something sparkled in his eyes, Lee could swear that. The man then stood up, or more like his torso started elongating, then a horse’s back appeared behind him and where the man was just seconds ago stood a half-man half-horse and a wheelchair with a pair of fake legs. A horse man , Michae had said and it was now clear what was missing with this guy. “The truth is that I’m a centaur, not really a monster , but there are still harpies in the camp. The forest is also full of them, that’s why we don’t go there alone. As for your safety, this camp is still the safest place for demigods, but you can still get hurt here.”

Lee nodded, “that is the truth.”

A light blinded everyone in the room, except for him, Michael and the Hawaiian Shirt man who was silently observing them while drinking a can of Diet Coke.

“Wow,” Michael said awestruck and pointed at something above Lee’s head, so he looked in the direction and sure enough, a glowing golden lyre that illuminated a warm glow that made it look like a mini sun. It felt w arm, loving, cheerful, beautiful, divine, welcoming, just like their dad.

“All hail Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo,” Chiron said bowing- that is lowering himself on one horse-knee. 

“O di immortales,” all air when out of poor Finley at once. He looked at Lee with the same terror in his eyes like when he looked at Michael’s pendant.

“Don’t worry, Finley, I’m sure dad won’t flay you alive,” he tried to reassure the satyr. “And even if, you got us here unharmed.”

“I’m sure Marsyas thought the same,” mumbled Finley, still looking terrified to the core.

“Apollo won’t flay you alive for bringing his children in less than perfect condition, I told you that countless times. He’s my old friend and I’m sure-“ Chiron also took to reassuring the satyr, but was cut off by the Hawaiian Shirt man.

“My brother would definitely do that,” said the guy with a smirk on his face and Finley almost passed out. Chiron sent him a glare that could just be described as you’re not helping.

“No, he wouldn’t,” Lee said, sensing a lie in this guy’s words. And he was happy to hear that, because it meant that his dad didn’t flay alive poor satyrs.

“Tell me, sun brat, ” the man said to him,” do you happen to have a certain truth sense?”

And Lee couldn't lie to him, but he still wanted his secret to remain as secret as possible. He glanced nervously at Michael, who was not helping by standing ready to jump at anyone who even dared attack Lee. Honestly, he should be moved, but it did not help him in his crisis.

But in the end, he told them. “I always knew when someone was lying, but please, don’t go out and tell it to everyone.”

“I wouldn’t dare to,” said the Hawaiian Shirt man. “But I wanted to know. It might come in handy in the future.”

After that, Chiron showed them around camp. Finley did not stay with them any longer, he went off mumbling something about his life passing him in front of his eyes or something.

When they were passing the training area- where a bulky boy was sparring with a younger girl. They were fighting using spears and they both moved so quickly and viciously that Lee promised himself to never get into the vicinity of any of them- Michael slowed his pace and tugged on Lee’s shirt, taking them out of Chiron’s earshot.

“That’s the girl,” He said and pointed to the sparring girl. “From my vision.”

“The tree lady?” 

Michael shook his head, “the one I shout at.”

“Oh” Lee said, nervously glancing at the lake like it would suddenly grow in size, create a tsunami wave and crush his brother under the pressure. 

“What are you two talking about?” Asked Chiron who must had just noticed they were no longer following him.

“Who are those guys?” Michael pointed at the sparring pair completely ignoring the horse man’s- centaur’s , Chiron had said he was a centaur- question.

“Those are our only year round Ares children at that moment, Oscar Drake and Clarisse La Rue,” Chiron explained. “It’s weird seeing so little of them, a pair of Ares’ twins just left for college. If it wasn’t for Clarisse’s arrival just after the summer ended, Oscar would be alone. Instead, he had taken it onto himself to teach his little sister some fighting skills.”

Calling Clarisse little was like calling Michael enormous. She only looked young and small compared to her brother. Big and bulky, basically towering over me , Michael had described her and it was a very accurate description.

“Tell me, Michael,” Chiron lowered himself to be as much at the boy’s eye level as possible. “I noticed how you were ready to fight earlier. You particularly fancy that?”

“You wanna see?” Was all he said before storming off again, leaving Lee and Chiron behind.

Chiron laughed softly to himself, like children telling him this was a usual occurrence. “Do you know who his mortal parent was?” He asked Lee.

“His mum was in the military,” he answered, unsure of where the centaur was going with that. Chiron just laughed again and nodded to himself.

“Oh yes, that checks out,” he said. “I can only bet that when he’s older he’ll grow up to be on pair with those two,” he pointed at the sparring pair. “Although you can never be sure, I might be wrong.”

“I doubt so,” Lee shook his head. “If that was the case, I think that at eight years of age he’d already be at least that girl’s size.”

“He’s eight?” Chiron asked, shocked. “I thought he was four.”

“Me too Chiron, me too.”

When they arrived at the lava climbing wall there were two boys already climbing it. For some reason, they had one of their hands and one of their legs bound together, so they essentially were one three legged and three armed spider climbing up it. 

The worst part? Michael was absolutely mesmerized by the lava wall and the way the boys were climbing, so he tried to persuade Lee into doing that with him, which Lee told him was never going to happen.

“Where’s Viveka?” Chiron asked a blond teenage boy who must had been supervising the two boys and a couple of other kids at the climbing wall, because he looked the oldest.

“I have no idea,” the boy answered.

“But she’s your counselor-“

“Tell it to her, Chiron, I’m sure she’ll listen,” the boy said and turned back to look after the climbing kids, just in time to see the two boys fall off the wall. “Travis! Connor! I told you this was a bad idea!”

Travis and Connor just ignored him and went back to climbing like nothing happened.

“Alright, in that case, Michael,” the centaur turned to said boy. “This is Luke Castellan, the second oldest claimed Hermes kid at camp, so he acts like the counselor when Viveka Swift, the real counselor, is not present due to… some reasons.”

Luke must, who had apparently just noticed the two boys accompanying Chiron, waved at them, “even if I’m not even a year at camp this honor falls to me.”

“Yes, Luke, this is Michael Yew and Lee Fletcher, they’ll be staying at camp year round from now on. Michael, Luke will be with you in the Hermes cabin until you’re claimed. I’ll walk you to it, so you can leave your things and then you can join your cabin mates at the climbing wall.”

“Hold on, horse man,” Michael said, walking closer to Lee and grabbing his hand. “With me? Where will Lee be then?”

“You see, he already was claimed, which means that he will be staying with his new siblings-“

“I’m Lee’s brother! ” The boy shouted into Chiron’s face and glared daggers at him. “Wherever he goes, I go.”

“It doesn’t really work-“

“I don’t fucking care!” 

“Michael, listen, I have a younger sister who is Athena’s-“ Luke tried to help, but in vain.

“I don’t fucking care!” Michael shouted once again. “How many more times do I have to tell it, shitheads? I don’t fucking care!”

“Michael, listen,” Lee said and it finally made the boy calm down. Internally, Lee screamed that his dad told him to not tell Michael of his percentage, because it was better to figure it out on one’s own. He wished nothing more but to tell it to the younger boy. Soon, he told himself and outloud just said, “I’m sure that it’s just a matter of time. You’ll get claimed in no time.”

“Well, I’m also sure it will be as soon as possible, but there’s no guarantee-“ Chiron wanted to clarify, but was, once again, cut off.

“How do I get claimed by this-“ Michael turned to Lee. “What was his name?”

“Apollo.”

“Apollo. How do I get claimed by Apollo?”

Luke looked at them a little sad, like he knew something they didn’t. Meanwhile Chiron looked like he didn’t want to tell Michael something that would cause him to get his hopes crushed.

“Michael, there’s no making the gods claim you. We can just try our best and hope for the gods to notice us. And even then, you can only be claimed by your parent . And I’m not sure if Apollo is yours. I might be wrong, but-“

“I don’t fucking care!” The boy turned on his heel and dragged Lee along. “We’re going to figure out how to get me claimed.”

Chiron quickly caught up to them, with his long horse legs it was actually pretty easy, and walked them to the cabins. Michael reluctantly put his things in the Hermes cabin, while Lee left his in the golden shining one. 

Inside, there were none of his- theirs, but Chiron didn’t know that yet- new siblings, but the centaur assured him that he’d probably meet them at dinner or even sooner. They apparently were at the archery rage, a place they hadn’t visited yet, but Chiron was more determined to take them to the armory and back to the training area. Apparently, Ares cabin’s reservation of the area just ended and even if they were still there, they had no reason to complain. And Chiron wanted to see how Michael did with a weapon.

He did terribly.

Be it as a spear, a sword, an ax, anything really, he did just terribly . It made the two Ares kids laugh and Chiron look at Michael puzzled like he thought that he got him figured out, but apparently didn’t. In all honesty, even Lee did better with the sword, although he still was nowhere near as skilled with it as Oscar or Clarisse. He was good with his dagger and Michael was also good with a dagger, if being good with a dagger was throwing it at Clarisse when she laughed particularly loudly. The girl had barely dodged it.

“Chiron, Luke told us we have a new brother,” a tall, tanned boy with strawberry blond hair that looked like it shined in the sunlight, said, making his way towards them. A blonde girl was trailing after him, looking fearfully at Clarisse and Michael, who were in the process of throwing at each other everything they put their hands on and cursing at each other using words no kids their age should know.

“Ah yes, Lee, this is Adam Bell and Elina Ray, other children of Apollo,” the centaur pointed at the pair, making Elina cower behind her brother and Oscar look at the newcomers, scaring the girl even more with his grin. “Adam, Elina, this is Lee Fletcher, he just arrived.”

“And immediately got claimed? What did you do kid?” Adam crunched to his eye level, Elina glanced a little from behind his back.

“It’s a secret,” Lee said. Adam looked a little taken aback, but he smiled and ruffled Lee’a hair.

“I take it you didn’t have a chance to see any cool Apollo stuff. Wanna come with us to the archery range? Have you ever used a bow? Do you play any instrument?”

“Have you ever tried writing a limerick? Or an ode?” Elina said for the first time. She had a really beautiful melodious voice. “I like that. And singing. And playing the lyre.”

“I’d like to try-“

“I’m going with you,” Michael appeared next to Lee out of nowhere, which made Elina jump. “I’m gonna prove I'm also that whole Apollo kid.”

“Yeah, sure, go with the archers!” Shouted at him Clarisse. “It was dishonorable enough that Chiron even thought you worthy and thought you were an Ares kid! Get out of our place!”

Michael showed her the bird. Lee quickly covered his finger, so that no one would see anything.

“You want to be an Apollo kid?” Elina sounded terrified about the concept. “I don’t think you’ll pass-“

“Anyone can try their best,” Adam told her, but he didn’t sound so sure either. “You can always try your hand with the bow.”

“Weren’t you just at the archery range?” Chiron asked them.

“Yes, but it’s free again. It’s always free, no one uses it other than us during the year.”

So to the archery range they went.

It went a lot better than the other weapons.

Lee managed to hit the edge of the target on his first try, which Adam said was pretty good, considering his lack of any previous training. Elina, despite being two years older than Lee, was at camp for only four months and used the bow only a little better. 

Adam explained that although all children of Apollo were skilled in his three most common domains; archery, music and healing , most had one they did especially well in. In Elina’s case, it was poetry and music, in Adam’s archery and he was eager for an apprentice, because even his siblings weren’t able to get on his level.

Apollo had even more domains, but powers related to them were less common. One of those domains was truth .

Another was prophecy and future telling. At that information, Lee glanced ever so slightly in Michael’s direction. The boy didn’t hear it, because he was too occupied with picking himself a bow. They didn’t have one that was a good size for him, Adam’s bow was even bigger that the boy, but it didn’t stop him.

Instead he settled for Lee’s bow, it was definitely too big, and it showed, but it was amazing just what determination could do.

Adam explained to Michael how to shout a bow, just like he previously did with Lee. The boy actually listened to him and looked interested in it. He mimicked Adam’s movements and for some time practiced stretching the bow.

When it was finally time for Michael to shout, they all stepped away. Elina even hid behind Adam, probably afraid Michael would change his mind and shoot in their direction instead.

Michael hit the bullseye.

The distance wasn’t big, but still, he hit the bullseye on his first try.

It made Adam ecstatic.

It also made Michael ecstatic when the same glowing golden lyre appeared above his head that earlier did above Lee’s. Which also made Lee ecstatic, because now he could tell Michae everything.

The only person who wasn’t ecstatic was Elina, who just looked at her new brother in terror.

The first thing Michael did as a newly appointed Apollo kid was take his things from Hermes cabin and throw them at the bunk bed above Lee’s.

At dinner Adam promised Michael to ask the Hephaestus cabin for a custom made bow, so that he could have a proper one. He also promised one for Lee, but it was clear who the older boy wanted to teach the most. Apparently, his excitement at having a new apprentice was even greater than his terror after he tried to ruffle Michael’s hair and the boy almost bit him.

The dining pavilion was also the place when they finally met the tree ladies Michael spoke of.

During the campfire they all led the singalongs. Adam played a guitar and Elina a lyre, together they both sounded heavenly. Lee grabbed a flute and was glad that no one stopped him when he got lost in the music. Michael, however, found out a new love in anything drum related that he could hit. 

According to Adam, the camp was almost deserted when compared to how it was during summer, but still, their campfire sing along was pretty loud.

That day, just like they did on countless other nights, Lee and Michael slept together in one bed. Despite being in what was deemed the safest place for demigods Lee still held tightly onto his dagger and Michael shoved a bunch of rocks under their bed and picked an arrow, just in case. 

They had found a new home , not just a house, and they both hoped that it would stay that way. That form then on, it would be their new truth.  

And when Lee said to his little brother that night that as long as they were together they would be safe , it was indeed true.