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The vacation to Australia should have been relaxing, a break from the usual chaos that came with being a demigod, yet here Percy is, panicking over the mysterious bite on his forearm. He didn't see the creature that did this to him, but he knows it wasn't some normal animal. Who knows what could be swimming around in his bloodstreams at this very moment! Poison? A disease? Something else completely? He hears drums beating inside his ears. He needs to get away from the group. He loves them, he really does, but he needs quiet, not making a whipped cream cannon or whatever. He heard some talk of a beautiful pink lake that sounds like the perfect respite.
"Hey Leo, I'm gonna borrow Festus, that okay?" Percy asks the son of Hephaestus.
Leo looks up from cuddling with his boyfriend, Nico. "Sure, whatever. Give him some Tabasco as a little treat for carrying us all here while you're there."
Percy hums in acknowledgement. "Thanks."
He heads out to the backyard of the house they were renting. There, a large, mechanical dragon is curled up, wisps of smoke coming out of its nostrils. Its eyes snap open when it senses Percy's incoming presence.
"Who's a good boy!" Percy rubs Festus's smooth metal head. He opens a plate on the side of the dragon's neck and takes out a mini bottle of Tabasco sauce. "You want some?" He shakes the bottle. Festus emits a happy whir, mouth opened wide. "Alright, I'll give you some, but after you gotta take me to this island called Pink Lake Hillier." The dragon blinks in agreement, and Percy gives it a good few drops of the spicy sauce.
He's not even sure if the machine can actually drink—that's a Leo question—but at least it seems happy. "Let's go," he smiles.
It doesn't take long at all for Festus to reach the destination. "Whoa." Percy breathes out, hopping off his mount. "This is even more beautiful than the pictures!"
The lake really is a bright pink and not just Photoshopped! The dusk colors perfectly combine with the body of water. He doesn't know why he's so amazed; he encounters things the mortal mind literally cannot comprehend daily. This is child's play compared to basilisks and gorgons and hippocampi. Still, there's a certain quality about not fearing for your life that really lets you appreciate something more.
Percy glances over his shoulder. Festus has lumbered off to Zeus knows where, so he’ll be completely alone. Devoid of any presence. …Maybe this wasn't a good idea.
No, no, no, he’s not letting himself talk himself out of truly enjoying this beautiful island. Being the son of Poseidon, the Greek sea god, water always makes him feel better. Look at this water in front of him, practically begging him to take a quick dive! It would be a shame not to listen.
He slips his flip-flops off and makes his way down. The feel of sand between his toes is grounding. Sometimes slight discomfort is worth it. The pink lake looks like a mysterious portal with the way the slight wind is creating ripples. He's said it before, and he'll say it again: "Beautiful." He closes his eyes and lies down, letting his feet rest in the cool water.
Something bumps into his foot.
"Ack!" He squeals, quickly retreating. Normally, he can sense the changes of water to pinpoint any creature that's even remotely close. What is this monster? If he glares any harder, he'd boil the water. There seemed to be a blue lump where he used to be. It moved, revealing its face. Its really derpy face. "Huh. You're an axolotl, yeah?"
The amphibian smiles. He looks like one of those rare blue axolotls you can find in that one block game called something like ‘Excavatemake’ but brighter. Look, Percy doesn’t play videogames, when he’s not stuck in Tartarus or fighting to survive, he enjoys baking blue foods and playing with his My Little Pony figurines. Tyson often joins in because he loves the little horsies.
"Okay," Percy says. "First, I don't think you should be living here. Wayyy too salty and not the right environment whatsoever. Second, you're blue. Axolotls aren't supposed to be blue. If you're gonna live in a pink lake, at least have the manners to be pink, too. Color coordination matters! At least, that's what the Aphrodite kids told me." He mumbles the last sentence.
The axolotl shrugs, as if to say "I am what I am".
"That's not a real answer."
"I do not understand why this human is talking as if he can speak my language. Humans are so silly.”
"I really can speak your language. Who's silly now?"
The axolotl's beady eyes widen. "So that is what your smell was... Whose son are you?"
"Poseidon."
"Ah. I thought you would have been a son of a river with your hints of forest."
Percy tilts his head. "Moving away from your cryptic and not at all scary words, what should I call you?"
"I have no preference."
"I'm gonna call you Oreo, because you remind me of my mom's homemade blue Oreos."
Oreo hums in indifference. "It has been rather boring in this lake. Not big like the ones I'm used to. I shall stay with you."
"All right. By the way, what's your accent? I've been all over and never heard anything like it before."
Oreo sighs, looking at nothing. "It is old. You would not know."
He barks a laugh. "Older than Greece?"
"No, but it is older in a different way. Older in people's memories." The axolotl curls around Percy's neck. "You should go to sleep—it is getting late."
A yawn bubbles in his chest. This area seems safe enough. If worse comes to worst and Percy gets jumped by some Australian monster, Festus is around here somewhere. His eyelids droop dangerously. His intuition tells him something isn’t right, but everything else screams at him to rest. “Wake me up if anything happens,” he mumbles to Oreo. And there he falls asleep, curled up on the sand with an axolotl.
“Hello?” Percy’s voice echoes in the empty nothingness. He wonders if this is what the spirits in the underworld feel like, incorporeal and ungrounded. He really wishes there he had some sand to sit on. He would bury his feet in it, wiggle his toes, really prove that he’s real. Grains of sand pile under him. Wait… he can actually feel the sand. Well, maybe feel isn’t the right term, it’s like his mind is telling him he should be feeling something, but it’s only a shadow a touch. Even being a demigod with the weird dreams that come with it, he’s never been able to control them. This is new, and new when it comes to demigods is be dangerous.
The ground falls from under him and he goes careening into some sort of forest. Shadowy wisps vaguely shaped like trees form a sphere around him, allowing only wisps of light to illuminate his surroundings. Not that there’s anything to see. The way Percy’s floating reminds him of water, which makes him feel calmer. He flips upside down, having a bit of fun. As his blood is rushing to his head, he sees a pair of glowing eyes just a few feet away from him.
He swims towards it. Maybe not the smartest move, but he’s curious! The sea-green eyes moved closer, the shadows falling away to reveal a big cat. A very big cat with spots like ocean waves. Annabeth would know what it’s called. Not a cheetah, certainly not a lion… Maybe a bobcat? Wait, those have short tails and this cat doesn’t. Not striped, so no tiger. That leaves jaguar and leopard. What is the difference between the two? Does it even matter?
“So… hello, leopard?” He questions. Look, this is a dream, maybe the cat is smart enough to answer. The white cat growled. “Okay, not leopard. Jaguar?” The feline steps forward and nuzzles his hand. “Jaguar it is.” He laughs.
The jaguar moves back a few feet. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing big kitty friend?” The cat growls reassuringly.
Then it runs into him.
Percy screams, waiting for pain. It never comes. Instead, the jaguar dissipates into a sea-green smoke smelling of the beach that curls around his body. The smoke settles into his pores, entering his mouth, filling his very soul to the brim. His senses sharpen. He could see everything, hear everything, know everything.
He’s awake.
Percy jumps to his feet. The moon is high in the sky, bathing the lake in its pale light. How long was he asleep? Something feels weird. Maybe he shouldn’t have slept outside, but he’s had worse. This is different. He can see clearly despite the pale light and he’s closer to the ground. He looks down at his… paws? By Hades, this is weird, and he knows weird.
“Am I a werewolf?” Percy whimpers. “Oh gods, I’m a werewolf! Th-this can’t be happening! I’m still in a dream. I have to be in a dream. ”
“No, this is real life.” He looks down to see his axolotl friend: Oreo. “And you are no mere werewolf.”
“If I’m not a werewolf, what am I??” He circles, looking at his body. He has a long, cat-like tail, spots cover his whole body, and he’s furry.
“You are a nagual, and a jaguar one at that. Very powerful, you should be proud.” Oreo grins, his tail swishing calmly behind him.
Percy flicks his ear. “That’s not helping any.”
“A nagual is an Aztec term. It is like your guardian animal. Those who are truly attuned to themselves can transform during the night. I simply unlocked your potential.”
“Unlocked…? Wait! You, you were the thing that bit me! Why you’d do that that? And how’d an axolotl be that fast?! Or big!”
“There is a perfectly reasonable explanation. Now, if you could stop yelling, I’ll tell you.”
“…sorry…”
“I wasn’t an axolotl then, anyways. I was a Xoloitzcuintle. Before you ask, it is a type of hairless dog.”
“I wasn’t gonna ask, but thanks anyways. Can you answer my first question now? About why you did it?”
“I needed somebody’s help. I recognized you as a hero, and, most importantly, you smelled of Aztec. I just had to unlock your potential. A simple bitemark is a small price to pay for the power of being a nagual.”
“You could’ve asked. It hurt, dude!” Percy snarls.
“Again, small price.’’
Percy squints angrily. “I don’t have to like to like it. How’d you smell ‘Aztec’ on me? As far as I know, I’m Greek and white. Nothing else.”
Oreo puts a webbed hand on his paw. “It was not your father; he was born before the Aztec’s time. It had to have been your mother.”
That’s a lot of information to take in. Maybe that’s why Poseidon was attracted to his mother. Old civilization to old civilization.
“Okay, whatever, okay. This is fine. I’m a jaguar now, but that doesn't matter! A blue axolotl needs my help, so it bit me! Who cares?? Not me, that’s for sure!” He stabs his claws into the sand.
“If it helps, I really need your assistance.”
“No, it does not.” His voice has a sharp bite to it. “Y’know, it’s very weird hearing such smart words from such a derpy animal.”
“It’s quite weird that such unintelligent talk comes from a supposedly smart creature.”
Percy rolls his eyes. “If you want my help, maybe you shouldn’t be so mean.”
Oreo shrugs and says, “It runs in my blood.” He turns towards the sky. “Please. He is coming. Help me fight him.”
Percy lashes his white tail. “Fight who?” He’s not going to fight something if he doesn't know the facts.
“Him.”
The sky lit up like it’s day. In a flash of light, a large snake-like reptile with large, sparkling green scales appears. He has bright red gums and eyes like the sun. A mane of red and yellow feathers surrounds his neck and tapers along his back until the end of his tail. He has a glistening, golden underbelly. Green, feathery wings sprout near the start of his neck. The edge of the wings is marked by blue feathers the color of the sky on a clear day. The dragon sports a golden piercing through his nostrils and golden cuffs around the base of his wings. Everything about this dragon screams majestic and beautiful.
Percy turns towards Oreo. “You want me to fight this? Are you crazy?”
“Yes.” Oreo grimaces. “Perseus Jackson, this is my twin brother: Quetzalcoatl.”
“Wow, you’re a tiny little eepy critter and your brother gets to be a cool dragon. Seems pretty unfair.” Percy doesn’t even question how Oreo knows his full name, there are bigger things on his plate.
“Haha! Little brother’s always been lesser. He was just born like that.” Quetzalcoatl booms, yet he still manages to sound melodic.
“I don’t know why he calls me little brother; we are literally twins. We were born at the same time!” Oreo screams, his voice somehow getting higher.
Quetzalcoatl glides through the air towards Percy. The dragon is close enough for him to feel the steamy breath against his neck. “Hm, jaguar. Powerful. Shame you had to ally yourself with my pitiful brother, Xolotl.”
Oreo, er, Xolotl stands on his hindlegs to stare Quetzalcoatl in the eyes. He has to crane his head upwards, but it still counts. “Look, you overgrown worm, you are the one that is pitiful. You confronted me when I’m in this weakened state, unable to become my proper form.”
“And why are you locked away from your power? It’s your own fault.” The dragon teases, booping Oreo’s little snout.
Percy turns to the angry salamander. “Yeah, I’d like to know what happened.” He holds the other’s gaze for a few moments before Oreo looks away.
Oreo flicks his feathery gills. “It’s a hard story…” He looks at Quetzalcoatl, who grins toothily—showing a single golden tooth in the process—and nods to continue. “I,” he takes a deep breath, “Slept on the job. For, like, what? One hundred years? Pshaw, not that long at all.” He starts mumbling under his breath. “Though it is weird, normally I only take a yearlong nap every decade or so and I’m good.”
“Is there any Aztec god of sleep or whatever?” Percy asks. Quetzalcoatl covers his mouth with his tail feathers, belatedly telling him to shush. “Ew, dude.” The jaguar growls, one of the smaller feathers stuck in between his back teeth. Sadly, his protests go unheard as the dragon is able to muffle him.
“Yeah, a few. Ixtlilton and…” Oreo glares at Quetzalcoatl. “You wouldn’t. You hate him.”
The latter twin grins, flashing his golden tooth. “Wouldn’t I?”
Percy jerks away from him, freeing himself from the feathery prison “Who in the name of Hades are you talking about?”
Oreo huffs out a sigh. “Our brother: Tezcatlipoca.”
“I know you’re trying to be dramatic and all, but you gotta remember I know nothing about Aztec gods.” He feels his face flushing. Greek mythology? He’s got that down. Roman? Pretty good, he was Roman for a bit. Norse? Not great, but his girlfriend is related to someone with Norse ties, so he knows enough to get by. Even Egyptian he’s heard of some gods! But Aztec? Zero, nada, zilch. It’s weird to think how many beliefs are out there that he knows nothing about: Chinese, Buddhism, Scottish, Australian, and almost everything else. (He doesn’t know what they’re technically called, sue him.)
“Tezcatlipoca is the god of night and sorcery. He can see into mortals’ minds and souls with his obsidian mirror. His nagual is also a jaguar, like you.” Oreo explains.
“And why were the last two facts relevant?”
“They’re not, just wanted to share to help you along your journey to become not dumb.” Oreo pats his paw consolingly and condescendingly. “Tezcatlipoca must have snuck up on me and used his weird magic to lull me into a deep slumber. Quetzal probably coerced him into it; Tez and I have always been close, both being the brothers of this big ball of gas and all. It is weird that they worked together. There was a big fight long ago, deities turning into suns, mortals turning into monkeys, birds, and fish, floods, droughts, fire rain. Very annoying for the gods, possibly also bad for the mortals, but I’m sure they didn’t mind.”
Quetzalcoatl fully settles onto the ground in a coiled ball. “It is none of your business why Tezcatlipoca helped me. The only thing you should worry your cute little head about is surviving the rest of your sentence.” He sneers, snapping his jaw together with a loud snap. Those teeth sure do look dangerously large and sharp. He takes a few steps back.
“Sentence?” He asks from the safer distance.
“Little brother here was condemned to a century locked away from his true form—a year for each one he whiled away sleeping—left with only enough magic to do parlor tricks. Not that he was ever that powerful to begin with.” Quetzalcoatl flicks Oreo’s head with the tip of his wing. “Poor baby can only turn into his patron animals now.” The dragon tilts his head and flares his nostrils, his golden nose ring shifting slightly. “Hah! He can’t even do that anymore. He must have used the last trickles to unlock your potential. Wow, you must be special.” He turns to Percy, eyes glinting with malicious intent. “But are you special enough? This former god entrusted you to help him, alas you seem to be neither willing nor strong enough. I get why you wouldn’t trust Xolotl, he’s scum. I don’t understand how such a creature has the same blood running through his veins as I.”
Each word’s a stab in the heart. Percy can’t imagine what it’s like for Oreo to have this attitude as a brother. He’d sleep for a hundred years too if it meant never hearing from Quetzalcoatl again. Gods, he can’t believe he’s doing this; he doesn’t even know if it’ll work, but he needs to try. For Oreo. Or Axolotl or whatever his name is.
“Y’know, you’re being a bully, and I don’t like bullies.” He hisses, hackles raising. He feels a pull to the water and latches on to it.
“What are you going to do, little kitty? Meow at me?” Quetzalcoatl laughs, his bright feathers bouncing.
Percy remembers a fact his girlfriend Annabeth once told him. “Jaguars can’t meow,” he plants his paws into the ground, bracing himself, “But we can roar!” He roars so loudly, so powerfully (because he isn’t powerless, no matter what anybody says) the water ripples and parts. He closes his eyes—focusing—and finds that it’s easier to use his power than usual. His guardian animal, his nagual, is helping him. What a wonderful feeling it is: a wild spirit working alongside him! So freeing, like a mix of caffeine and sugar. He forms a sphere of water and guides it above Quetzalcoatl.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” The serpent demands. He glances up. “No. I command you to stop!” Before he is able to move to either attack or flee, the pink water splashes down, droplets flinging everywhere. The salty liquid coats every inch of him, burying itself between the grooves of his feathers.
Quetzalcoatl screeches. “I just had this done! Do you know how long it takes to groom such a large surface area!?” A gust of concentrated wind blows on him while he shakes all the water he can off. A shaft of sizzling light hits him, evaporating the rest of the colorful water. “You’ll pay for this.” Quetzalcoatl sniffs, shivering slightly despite the ray being so hot Percy can feel the warmth from where he stood. Guess he found a weakness: the cold.
The serpent stretches his wings and gives an experimental flap. He mumbles “good” under his breath once finishing his examination. He straightens his body to better loom over the two animals. “Thank your gods, if you had damaged me more,” he laughs harshly at Percy, mouth formed into some twisted smile, “You would not live to tell the tale.”
“Melodramatic much?” Percy mutters to Oreo. The axolotl snickers in response.
Quetzalcoatl’s eye twitches, although he keeps his voice level. “Even though I have grounds to exterminate you where you stand, I made a new year’s resolution to be more merciful, so…” He pauses to think. “I shall lower the remainder of your sentence, little brother, to just five years. I recognize the heroism of effectively stomping on the little embers that remained of your magic. I’m not sure what you thought to accomplish trying to fight me. I’m a god! I’m immortal, you can’t kill me.” Oreo grins even though he’s being insulted. Percy wonders how long five years must seem to a god. “However, you’ll be bound to Perseus Jackson. I expect you to keep track of my little brother.”
“I knew there was a catch!” Oreo pouts, his gills drooping.
“Oh! And you’ll be referred to only by the moniker ‘Oreo’. No more Xolotl for you until you’re free. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. Wait, I do!” He giggles at his joke. “And do try not to fight me again, I might not be in so forgiving of a mood.” With that small threat finished, Quetzalcoatl fully spreads his wings and hovers in the air. Moonlight glints off his glossy feathers as he rapidly spins until he’s a blur of greens, reds, and hints of blue. He disappears with a pop and flash of light.
“That was slightly scary.” Oreo helpfully says.
Wow. He fought a god. A god! Or at least splashed one with water. And he didn’t die! He’s still here, not hurt at all. Well, physically, at least. This is crazy. He has an axolotl who used to be a god ‘bound’ to him, whatever that means. He’s nagual, which means he can turn into a jaguar during the night?? Hades, how does he turn back? He’s pretty blurry on the logistics of this all. His mom’s related to the Aztecs. She is very scary when she’s mad, probably those warrior genes. Does she know? He circles the lakes, finding all the water he can to move it back to the lake. There’s an ocean right next to him! Why’d he use the lake water? He’s going crazy. Scratch that, he is crazy. This is all too much. He needs to sleep and run a few laps around the world. Maybe both at the same time! Hahaha, this is horrible.
The last trickles of adrenaline exit Percy’s body as he flops next to Oreo. This is dumb, he’s dumb, everything is dumb. “Why’d you have to drag me into this?”
Oreo flicks tail. “Truth being told, you reminded me of my twin brother.”
He lifts his head, pupils contracting. “You mean Quetzalcoatl? I remind you of that narcissistic psychopath?” He has to hold in a growl. This isn’t the time or the place. He’s stuck with this little creature for half a decade, he should at least try to make it pleasant.
“Not like that. Just your smell. How others are attracted to you like a moth to light.” Oreo frowns. “We used to be on better terms. I’m not really sure what happened. We drifted apart, I guess.”
Is he really going to comfort the god? Curse his kindness. “Hey, stuff happens, dude. Just try to get other’s consent before dragging them into a family feud.”
The axolotl buries his head in his stubby hands. “How did I stoop so low that I needed comfort from mortals ?” He whispers.
Percy grins. “Remember, I have a jaguar’s ears, so I can hear just about everything.” He drapes his fluffy tail over the other’s shoulders. “Now, how do I transform back?”
“Oh, I have no clue.”
“WHAT!?”
“It is not my fault. I’m not god of the naguals. That is Tezcatlipoca’s job.” Oreo shrugs.
Percy suppresses a roar and asks, “The one who made you sleep for a century? Him?”
“Yes, Aztec gods reign over many things.”
“You didn’t pick up on anything after being his brother for a thousand years?”
“Not a thousand. The Aztec civilization has only been around for about seven-hundred years, including my slumber. Have you heard of these new things called Takis? I found them mostly uneaten in the garbage, and I must say the spiciness is superb!”
“No! No changing the subject! Bad Oreo, bad!” Percy hisses. It’s like herding cats. If this is anything at all like parenting, he needs to apologize to his mom. “Now think. What did your subjects do?”
Oreo thinks for maybe two seconds. “I don’t know. They just did it. Are you dumber than them? That’s lowkey kind of sad…” Percy does a double take. He’s too shocked to say anything, so Oreo happily fills in the silence. “I heard it from the little handheld picture rectangles you mortals carry everywhere. Boons I believe is what they’re called.”
“Phone. You mean phone. I’ll explain all the modern lingo to you later.” Percy’s too tired to do it right now. He wishes he could rub the bridge of his nose, sadly his paws and new nose won’t let him, so he’ll settle for blinking tiredly.
“I’ll hold you to that promise.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Oreo looks like he’s about to continue talking, but Percy shushes him. “You hear that?” He whispers.
“No, axolotl senses are reprehensible.”
There’s whirring and clicking in the near distance. Like the turning of gears. Is that what he thinks it is?
Yes, it is! A small bronze figure is moving towards the island at breakneck speeds. It rapidly becomes bigger and bigger until Percy can also make out someone sitting on the dragon. Is that his girlfriend?
“Annabeth!” He roars.
“Don’t bother. All you’ll sound like to her is a crazed jaguar.”
“Well, could you go to her and explain what happened?”
“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.” Oreo closes his eyes and doesn’t explain.
“If you’re going to drop that bomb, you have to follow it up.”
“How do you know about the bomb?” Oreo opens his eyes only to narrow them suspiciously.
“We’ll confront that later. What I meant was you have to explain why you can’t explain to Annabeth what happened.”
“Oh. And by the way, there is no bomb. But I used the last of my magic to turn into the axolotl. I’m dry, out of reserves that can’t be replenished. The only two reasons you can understand me is because you’re in nagual form and you have relation to the sea. Besides me, you can also talk to other animals while a jaguar. They just might not be so eloquent as I.”
Percy nods, attention already turned back to Festus and Annabeth. They’re close. Close enough that he’s sure Annabeth’s piercing grey gaze has already found him. Despite himself, he yells again, “Annabeth! Over here!”
The mechanical dragon lands with a soft thud. Annabeth’s blonde hair is pulled into a ponytail. “Percy?” She calls out, jumping down from its back. “You better have not been eaten by that jaguar over there!” Percy laughs. If he was felled by a big cat, he would never hear the end of it from Annabeth. He can hear her teasing now: “Killed by a fluffy kitty, should’ve known that’s the way you would go.” Nah, he’d never let that happen, and Annabeth knows it.
“Festus, why’d you bring me here?” She looks in his glowing eyes. He emits a soft chir and juts his head towards the direction of the cat. “The jaguar or the axolotl? Both are outta place. Hm, it makes more sense for Percy to be an aquatic creature, and it is blue, which obviously has ties to water. But there’s something about that feline…” Percy confidently meets his girlfriend’s gaze. “Those eyes. Percy!” She runs at him and hugs his neck. “How’d this happen, seaweed brain?”
He melts into her touch. He hadn’t realized how tense he was. His hackles lower and his claws sheath. His fur lays flat and his breathing evens out. The jaguar melts away to reveal a human with messy black hair and tanned skin. He hugs his girlfriend back tightly to keep her safe, and so she can keep him safe in turn.
“Percy.” Annabeth breathes out.
“Annabeth.” Percy responds.
“I was worried.” She squeezes him again.
“Me too. Thanks for finding me.” He smiles into her shoulder.
“What happened to you?” She pushes him back to look at his dirty face. Her fingers dig into his shirt.
“He did.” Percy points at Oreo. Oreo waves, looking especially innocent.
Annabeth laughs. “Him? I think you have a lot to explain.”
Percy laughs right back. He does, but anything that happens, he knows he can handle it with Annabeth at his side. Who knows, maybe even Oreo will prove himself someday. Right now, though? All he can say is, “I really need some Takis.”