Chapter Text
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Pearl Moonwood was never a good student.
She had insomnia, making her always so tired that she nearly fell asleep during Spanish class, and ADHD which made her unable to focus on her teachers, and dyslexia which made English class a living hell. She got into fights with her classmates and may or may not of stabbed a few of them last year and got expelled (that'd been fun to explain to her case worker, but they deserved it! They had broken her nose and tried to take her bracelet from her! That was the only connection she had to her biological mom!)
Pearl Moonwood wasn't a good student and she'd probably never be, because the world seemed to hate Pearl Moonwood.
At least, all her classmates did.
From the moment she enrolled at Chesapeake Boarding School, whispers followed her, talking about the girl who stabbed a kid last year and couldn't last a semester without getting kicked out of school. They got worse as she got picked on, being unable to make friends as the school seemed to create an unspoken rule against hanging out with her. The only thing she liked about school was her one and only friend, Cleo.
Cleo was around Pearl's age, though maybe a little older, with fiery hair and a personality to match. She walked using crutches, being exempt from gym classes, though that didn't stop her from throwing a punch. She was fiercely protective of Pearl, having taken one look at the lonely girl and decided to be friends with her, probably because she was an outcast too.
Today was the last day before winter break, meaning that today was the final time Pearl would get to see Cleo before they came back in January. It also meant Pearl had to return to her foster home.
Pearl didn't understand what the point of taking in a foster kid was when you were just going to send her off to boarding school, but she did have foster parents.
Her foster father was named Adam North, and he was… fine. Pearl honestly didn't know what to think of him. They didn't talk enough for Pearl to get a good read on the man, he seemed a little overworked, maybe slightly tired, but overall kind. Pearl had been with him for about 3 years now and they were amicable, and that was about as much as she could hope for. Adam had started dating a new woman a few months ago, named Laura Mia Smith, though Pearl had yet to meet her.
Pearl and Cleo stood by the front of the school where those who were going home for the holidays were gathered, waiting for their guardians to pick them up. It was well passed 5pm, the school having let out about an hour ago, but Chesapeake Boarding School was pretty remote so it took most parents a while to get there, especially those with work. The school sat in wooded mountains with a view overlooking the bay, which, while very pretty, also had to be patrolled by staff at night to stop students from getting too close, whether because they were dared, being hazed, or… other reasons. The school wasn't allowed to put up a fence, though, because the state wouldn't allow it.
Pearl was wearing her favorite black hoodie – it being a surprisingly warm day for the 19th of December so she didn't need a heavier coat – as well as some silver hair tinsel in her black hair, of which she had dyed the interior salmon and her bangs blue. Her right wrist was covered in bracelets, some with beads, some those chunky plastic ones you can get from a Clare's, a white scrunchie that she used during gym, one was one of those friendship bracelets you make with rubber bands – she'd made it herself during an arts and crafts day two schools ago, it was blue, white, yellow and orange – but there were many of them. On her left hand though, only one bracelet made it's home. It had a black band, pale crescent moon charm on the back of her arm and a bronze four point star clasp on the inside, and it was the only thing she had from her biological family. She'd had it for as long as she remembers, and it was given to her from her mother so long ago that she couldn't remember when.
Cleo looked like she normally did, her messy orange hair descending down to beneath her shoulder blades and her bangs getting in her green eyes. Pearl always thought that her friend could benefit from a hair tye, with how much her hair got in her face, but she always declined when Pearl offered her a scrunchie. She had a beanie on over it all, she always wore that beanie. Pearl was surprised, honestly, that Cleo could get away with wearing a beanie because the teachers here had yelled at her for getting her ears pierced. Cleo finished it off with a pair of baggy pants and sneakers.
"–and then Adeline smacked into the wall and turned red like a watermelon while Daniel laughed. I was able to get a photo," Pearl snickered, holding out her phone for Cleo to see. On the screen, a picture of a young girl on the floor with an embarrassed look on her face was shown.
Cleo raised an eyebrow and smirked at that, "deserved it. That girl seriously acts like an idiot around Daniel, maybe this will teach her to think twice about that."
"So, what's your holiday plans?" Pearl asked.
Cleo shrugged, "go home and sleep, I guess. I'm really tired, you?"
"Adam mentioned something about going to Gettysburg," Pearl said, scrolling on her phone to try to find the picture from science class two days ago, where Makena sprayed down Mr. Jones with a fire extinguisher, "not nearly as interesting as going to L.A. last year, but he doesn't have time for anything more than a day trip, you know how his is with work."
"He into history?"
"No, he wants to spend a night in a haunted inn, cause he's weird like that. I mean, that man doesn't like Olive Garden. Olive Garden!"
Cleo snorted and just then, Adam's familiar car drove into view, and a woman came out of the passenger seat.
She was conventially pretty, with short hair, soft skin, a slim face and elegant grace in her stance, but there was something about her that put Pearl off. Maybe it was terrible smell, the slightly too wide smile, or her uncanny posture, but she sent chills down Pearl's spine.
She could tell that Cleo felt the same, her face was scrunched up as though she'd smelt dog poop on the side of the road, which was fair, as the woman did smell like rotting feces.
"Laura Mia?" Pearl asked, and she nodded, smiling sweetly.
"You must be Pearl, Adam told me much about you," Laura Mia said, her voice like poisoned honey.
Pearl realized what it was that wasn't right about her. Her eyes – they didn't crinkle when she smiled and were dead in a way that made her look inhuman, the skin surrounding them sunken slightly into her skull in a way that made them bulge, the whites of her eyes were a strained red color, as though hadn't blinked in a few minutes. In fact, Pearl hadn't seen her blink this entire time.
"Pearl, I don't like this," Cleo muttered, and she had to agree with her best friend.
Laura's smile turned sharp, "why don't you get in the car, we were thinking of having dinner, you know, a good way to get to know each other."
"Dinner where?" Pearl asked, as she felt Cleo shake her head next to her.
"Adam was thinking… Olive Garden."
Pearl felt her suspicions get confirmed, "Adam hates Olive Garden."
Laura scowled, lunging at Pearl just as Cleo pulled her away.
"Laura Mia?" Cleo asked, "Really? Lamia you could do better than that."
"Shut it!" She hissed, voice turned into a hideous snarl. Her legs turned into a tail as her teeth turned sharp and she grew about 7 feet taller.
"What the fu–!" Pearl shouted, but was cut off when Cleo pushed her away from another attack.
"No time to explain, we have to go!" Cleo said, dragging Pearl into the woods.
"Oh my god, oh my god, she turned into a snake woman!" Pearl sputtered as Cleo led her to the trees, "Cleo, she turned into a snake woman!"
"Yes, I know, and she's gonna eat you if we don't get away now," Cleo hissed, then dodged as Laura Mia (Lamia?) whipped her tail towards her.
"Come here, little ones, don't you want to come home?" A sickly sweet voice said, and Pearl almost listened to it, would've, if Cleo didn't slap her across the face and pull her along.
"Eat us? What?"
"Lamia looks that way because the gods cursed her when she started cannibalizing children. Though it's strange, she usually targets young boys!" Cleo shouted.
"Guess I'm just that delectable then!" Pearl joked as Cleo pulled her behind a tree.
The two paused and caught their breath, the sun dipping over the horizon.
"What the hell is going on, Cleo?!" Pearl questioned.
"Quiet down, we need to run north towards New York–"
A big thump noise interrupted Cleo, as though something big hit into the trunk, and the tree started to creak ominously.
"Aphòdeuma! Run!" Cleo shouted and Pearl jumped out the way of the falling tree, the world rumbling when it hit the ground.
Pearl was both stunned that not only did Cleo just swear in Ancient Greek, but also Pearl understood her.
Cleo then pulled Pearl into the woods proper, running in the awkward way she did, and Pearl realized something.
"Wait, you said Lamia eats children?"
"…yes?"
"Then what will she do to the rest of the school?" Pearl asked.
"Probably nothing! She prefers to eat half bloods like you!"
"What's a half–? Never mind. If we lose her in the woods, won't she just attack the school?"
"I dunno! It's my job to protect you so I focused on– what are you doing?" Cleo asked as Pearl broke from her grip and rushed back towards the school.
Pearl crouched down and picked up a small stone, "I'm protecting the school!" She jumped out and threw the rock at Lamia.
Now, whether it was her experience throwing rocks gained from years of dealing with annoying foster siblings, the boost of adrenaline giving her increased aim, the strange giddy (yet also weirdly peaceful?) feeling that came to her each night, or maybe just dumb luck, she didn't know, but the stone spun through the air, up and up, and hit straight into Lamia's face, piercing her right eye.
Lamia let out the most unholy, earth shattering screech, lurching backwards as her tail went thrashing. She reached hand up to her face, long fake nails pinching her eye as she pulled it out with a wet squelching noise, chucking it into the crowd of confused and afraid students behind her.
Pearl gagged.
"Cleo–!" She whined, hand covering her mouth.
"She does that," Cleo said, voice strained, "got the ability from Zeus after Hera cursed her to never be able to close her eyes. That was when she was still dating the king of the gods before she'd turned to cannibalism and got cursed by 'im."
"You speak as though the Greek Gods are real!"
"Cause they–"
"Insolent child!" Lamia spat, peering down at Pearl, "you know, I had children like you, once! Oh yes, but that was before that jealous woman took them away, just because her husband liked me better, and I told myself that if I couldn't have children, no one could!"
Pearl shuddered, raising her now clenched fists to her face.
"But time has passed since then, I have gained taste! It is always the half bloods, especially male half bloods, that taste delicious. The stronger the better. And you smelled just so potent that I couldn't resist! But now I see, I came for an easy meal, not feisty half blood with a keeper in toe!" She growled.
"Does that mean you'll leave?" Pearl asked, hopeful. (Even if she didn't know what a half blood or keeper were.)
Lamia let out an evil, growl–like laugh and licked her lips, "no, not when there's such an easy target right here!"
She lunged into the crowd, pulling a student from the stunned masses as people screamed. Pearl thought she recognized him and his light blue shawl and short brown hair, she'd passed him in the halls once or twice.
Cleo paled, "you aren't the only–? But I was so sure! How could I not notice!"
Lamia grinned wickedly, "yes, a young man, and a product of an Olympian no less, you shall be perfect!"
"What do we do? We can't let him die," Pearl whispered to Cleo.
"No, if he dies right under my nose, I'll get in trouble," Cleo muttered as Lamia unhinged her jaw like a snake and brought her schoolmate to her face as if to swallow him whole.
Pearl then did something stupid. Brave, but stupid. She ran up to Lamia and punched her right in the gut.
"Alright Lame–mia, you're just an ugly little snake, no wonder Zeus cursed you! Hera is so much prettier than you'll ever be!" She taunted, getting the monster to drop the boy and spin towards Pearl.
"You little–! I guess I'll be having you for dinner after all! Two for one meal, and I'll have the satyr too!" She screeched, tackling Pearl to the ground.
The dark of the night was deep, yet Pearl could see those rows upon rows of sharp, gleaming teeth as Lamia salivated with perfect clarity.
Fuck, she was going to die, wasn't she?
The sound of flutes filled the air, and something barreled into Lamia at high speeds.
"Oh yeah! It feels good to have those fake feet no longer slowing me down!" Cleo shouted, and Pearl was stunned.
Cleo's sneakers were gone, and below the hem of her baggy jeans were hooves. Cloven hooves, and her beanie was gone, revealing two floppy goat ears. Cleo's eyes (oh goodness, Cleo had the strange shaped pupils of a goat, how had Pearl not seen? Had her messy hair covered it so well?) were softly glowing, and she had this aura about her, one of pine scented air blowing at gale force speeds and clean rivers with raging rapids and wolves guarding their own.
Cleo stomped on Lamia's tail, the monster howling in pain from the force of the hoof brought down on her. Pearl heard a snapping sound, though it didn't come from Cleo's attack but somewhere to Pearl's right, and she whipped her head around to see that the nearly swallowed boy had twisted Lamia's arm around and broken it.
Pearl rolled back from Lamia as she thrashed about, dislodging Cleo and causing shawl boy to take a few steps back. The three of them slowly circled the beast before them as Lamia slowed her flailing, eventually getting up off the ground, breathing heavily.
"Admit it, Lamia, you've lost," Cleo stated.
Lamia looked around, at Cleo who was holding a set of wooden pipes like a weapon (where did she get those?), at shawl boy who had pulled at pair of scissors out his backpack, at campus security – which was making it's way through the crowd of onlookers, many of which were filming – blocking off the school and parking lot, at the plunging cliffs that overlooked the bay, at the woods, her only escape, which only had an unarmed Pearl in the way.
She screamed, the sound rattling around the mountains and waking the birds, before facing Pearl and barreling towards her.
Pearl stood in the monster's path, frozen. It seemed that her idiotic bravery had left her as she was starkly reminded that she'd never won a fight without a knife before, now very much wishing she had one as Lamia approached at high speeds.
Use my gift, that who comes from beneath my veil of stars.
Time seemed to slow as cool, night air filled her nostrils and she sidestepped the beast, a wet noise being heard as Lamia's heart got impaled on a knife Pearl knew she hadn't been holding 2 seconds ago.
Lamia tipped over slowly, eye wide in shock as Pearl wrenched the weapon from her body and swiped upwards, slitting her throat. The monster let out one last moan before bursting into a shower of golden light, particles falling to the ground and disappearing.
"What–" both Pearl and shawl boy were saying but Cleo didn't wait.
Within a second, the satyr (a satyr, her best friend really was a satyr) had taken shawl boy's arm and led him up to Pearl, who she grabbed by the scruff of the neck and dragged off into the woods.
"Move, we need to move! Before security apprehends us!" She was saying.
"Why would security apprehend us? That was self defense!" Shawl boy said.
"Because the Mist can be tricky when it comes to mortals and we don't know how it's going to cover this up! Nor do I want to find out! Now get going, we need to head north!"
"Mist? Mortals?" Pearl stammered, then, "Cleo, you're a goat!"
"Yes, I am, no time to linger, we need to get to New York!" Cleo said, letting go of the two students.
"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?!" Shawl boy shouted.
"Yeah, ok," Cleo said, breathing heavy. Now that Pearl had time, she could analyze her friend better. Her hindquarters were bent strange, like that of a horse or goat, and covered in soft brown fur. The same fur covered her goat ears, and crested her forehead and down her nose where her messy bangs usually covered it up. Beneath her hair, just poking out, was a small horn, newly grown by the looks of it. She trotted in a way that reminded Pearl of how she normally moved, but no longer holding back to hide her mythological side.
"Ok, introductions, let's start with that. I'm Cleo Cortefungi, a satyr and a keeper of Half Blood Hill. My job is to protect kids like you and get you back to camp where you'll be safe from the monsters that hunt you. Whose next?"
Pearl didn't know what to say, adrenaline was draining from her body in a way that made her feel as though she could actually sleep tonight if she tried, and god did she want to try, "I'm– huff– Pearl– huff– Pearl Moonwood, I– huff– have no idea– huff– what is going on, but I could really use a nap right now."
"No you don't, we aren't in the clear yet," Cleo said, before playing a quick tune on her wooden pipes.
Pearl felt a new surge of energy fill her, allowing for her to continue pushing forwards, "oh, come on Cleo, are you really going to prevent me from finally going to bed at a reasonable hour?"
She could feel her friend's eyeroll even if she was ahead of Pearl and not looking back.
"Well, you can call me Sausage, and I am very confused!" Shawl boy– Sausage– said, weirdly cheery for having had his world flipped on its head and being lost in the woods.
"Cool, now that we have the introductions out the way, Cleo Cortefungi! You are going to explain everything right now!" Pearl shouted, making Sausage shudder.
"Ok, so, the gods, monsters, heroes and tales you've heard all your life, the ones you believed myths, the ones you were tolded weren't real, are all true. They did happen, are happening and will continue to happen."
Pearl just gaped at Cleo as the satyr continued on, "the Olympian gods? Real. The heroes of the Trojan War? Real. The Titanomachy? Real. Monsters? Real. Demigods? Real. It's all real, and it's right here in the good old U.S. of A.!"
After getting over her imitation of a fish, Pearl started asking questions, "why? Wouldn't Greek mythology be in, I dunno, Greece?"
"Greek mythos is the embodiment of western civilization," Cleo said, "everywhere western civilization exists, the Greek pantheon follows. Whether it be in literature, art or architecture, you can always find its influence. From the demons Dante wrote in his Hell, to the facades of the government buildings in D.C. One cannot escape the influence of Ancient Greece.
"Whichever nation heads the west, the Greek Gods inhabit. From Greece, to Rome, to France, to England, and now, America. We head the west, so we get the gods, floating up there on Mount Olympus, 600 floors up in the Empire State Building."
"Why does no one notice?" Sausage asked, "I mean, the snake girl was pretty obvious in her attack."
"The Mist," Cleo explained, "it cloaks the vision of mortals, makes them see what they want to."
"And yet we are able to see through it?" Pearl questioned.
"You are not mortal, at least, not fully. You are half mortal."
"And the other half?" Sausage asked.
"I think you know."
"God. We are demigods, like Theseus, and Perseus, and Heracles," Pearl said.
Cleo waved them off, "nowadays we call them half bloods, but yes."
"You're saying my dad's a god!" Sausage shouted.
"If you know your mom is mortal, then yes. And one of the twelve Olympians if we are to believe Lamia, which makes it even more strange that I didn't sense you," Cleo trailed off.
Pearl didn't know what to think, so many questions flowing through her mind at once. Did this mean there really was an underworld out there? Were there really horses that could fly? Magic that could turn men into pigs? Did Aphrodite really rise from the sea foam kicked up from Ouranos' castrated ballsack or was she the daughter of Zeus and Dione? Did this mean she was exempt from her homework?
Who was her mother?
"Which god is my mother?" Pearl asked, quietly.
"Or father, you were put in foster care at birth Pearl, so we can't know which of your parents are divine if we don't know which is mortal," Cleo corrected.
Pearl shook her head, "just before I killed Lamia, I heard a voice. Feminine. Powerful. It told me to use her gift."
Pearl looked down at the knife she was clutching in her left hand. It was brown, like bronze, but there was something to it, some sort of sheen or maybe it was the weight of it in her hand that told her it wasn't just bronze. The handle was wrapped in a cloth as dark as midnight, and tipped with a pale crescent moon. A four pointed star was lightly etched into its blade. She flipped it in her hand, the weight felt nice. Natural, even. Like the weapon was forged for her and her alone.
"Speaking of, how'd you get your hands on a celestial bronze weapon?" Cleo asked.
"What?" Pearl said.
"Celestial bronze. It's a special type of metal, can hurt gods and monsters. The only way to kill monsters in the way you did, sending then in a shower of golden light and returning them to the underworld, is with celestial bronze," Cleo explained, "though celestial bronze can't harm mortals, same way steel can't kill monsters. Half bloods, though, they can get killed by both."
"I don't…" Pearl trailed off, staring at her hand, "my bracelet!"
"What?" Sausage asked.
"It's gone! I always keep it on me! It's the only connection I have to–"
"–your biological mother? You know, the one you think is a goddess?" Cleo asked.
Oh, that made sense. Pearl looked down at the knife, gasping as it started to glow. The weapon melted, wrapping its way around Pearl's arm and turning into a familiar black band with a bronze four point star on the inside of her arm and a pale moon charm on the back of it.
"Well, that answers both our questions. Seems like your momma didn't want to leave you totally helpless," Cleo said, "that's more than I've seen some other half bloods get. Whoever it is that birthed you deserves a big thanks, for if you didn't have that, you'd be toast."
"Why did Lamia explode into gold when I killed her?" Pearl asked.
"Cause she's a monster, she doesn't have a soul, so you technically didn't kill her. Can't kill what isn't truly living. All you did was return her to the underworld for a bit, but she'll reform eventually. Could take a month, or a lifetime. Depends on how lucky you are. Any more questions?"
Sausage shakily raised a hand.
"Yes?"
"When are we going to take a break? It's really dark and I can't see."
"As soon as we get out of this forest," Cleo said, "which, now that you mention it, I can speed up the process!"
She played a tune on her pipes, lovely and melodious, though with a hint of questioning, as if asking for something. When Cleo finished, a trail of lights lit up a path before them, each appearing with an otherworldly note being played, an echo of the song Cleo blew. The scent of chicory and circea filled the air.
"I'm going to need so much sleep after this," Sausage muttered.
Pearl whole heartedly agreed.
Cleo design!