Seth's sea-green eyes stared into the sink, his mind fumbling over the strange dream he had during his short five hours of sleep. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't remember a single thing as everything seemed blurred except a particular sensation that seemed to be constant throughout the entirety of the dream...

...Warmth.

Not like the sort of warmth one would feel when wrapped in a cozy blanket sipping on hot chocolate, but something that was deeper. The kind of intense inner warmth that penetrated into the fibers of one's being and made them feel elated. But what was with the blurry dream? Why wasn't he able to "see" what was going on?

Just what exactly was with that dream though? The seventeen-year-old thought to himself, his eyes now glancing up into the mirror and at his face. He had showered and combed his jet black hair every which way for a messy look. His sea green eyes contrasted against his light skin and dark circles. They were now darting around the bathroom, as if something would help him remember the details.
Seth drew a breath and slowly let it out before shaking his head and clearing out his mind.
I'm not gonna waste time figuring it out. Besides, I did play Halo 2 until midnight. He thought, as he got dressed. His wardrobe was primarily composed of turquoise colored shirts and polos and dark blue or black jeans with the odd maroon or black top scattered throughout. Seth slipped on a turquoise polo and dark blue jeans and a pair of black monochrome converses. He grabbed his backpack, the black hoodie resting on a chair, and the golden-brown toasted strawberry and cream toaster strudel, and headed out the door.
Seth sighed, locking the door behind him, and glanced at the parking space in front of the two bedroom apartment. As usual, Mom wasn't home. He frowned. She seemed to be gone more often than not recently and it seemed she was growing a little distant from him as the days went by. Hopefully, with the coming holiday season, she'd be able to spend some time with him. The house was getting very quiet without her after all, and the days of warm home-cooked meals seemed to be memories now, instead of a daily constant.

The distant roar of a diesel engine jerked him back to reality. That was the bus! Seth hurried down to the bus stop, right as it pulled up and scattered the pile of orange colored foliage of the early autumn. He climbed up the stairs and made his way to the middle seats. As he sat down, his eyes momentarily made eye contact with gray eyes belonging to the gorgeous blonde in the back, however, she quickly turned back to her group of slightly less gorgeous friends. Seth sat down and settled into the cold fake-leather seat, furtively glancing over the seat and at the blonde again.
Her name was Dionne, and it was no secret that every jock in the school swooned for her. Well, scratch that, every male in their class (Class of 2005 - they were juniors) wanted a chance with her and some would even attempt to strike up a conversation with her now and then only to be met with a polite smile and nothing else. While Seth couldn't deny her beauty, he didn't feel the need to devolve into a drooling-blabbering buffoon in front of her like many others. Instead, he admired her from afar and turned his interests to constantly disappearing into the cyber realm of video games after school and on the weekends. Having girlfriends (or friends even!) could possibly take away from "Seth" time and Seth didn't feel that was worth it. This was perhaps one of the reasons why he never had a girlfriend (or close friend) to this day. He smirked as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "Seth" time was 24/7, 365 days a year.

Dionne was late, and she absolutely hated being late. “Didi, honey, come down for breakfast!” her father called from downstairs as the delicious aroma of blueberry waffles wafted up the stairs. Groaning, Dionne sidetracked from her path to the door to grab a waffle from the kitchen table.

“Thanks dad! See you later!” she said before popping the waffle in her mouth and taking off for the door again.

“See you, Dee!” she heard her father call as she closed the door behind her as she turned around and walked quickly towards the school bus parked at the end of the street. Practically inhaling the waffle as she walked, Dionne mentally went over her appearance. Eyeshadow and eyeliner still on point? Check. Foundation dried and set. Check. Lip gloss—Dionne grimaced, swallowing the last bit of waffle as she boarded the bus—I’ll fix that in the back. If only she could somehow resist her father’s cooking.

The old man had been preoccupying himself with the scrumptious craft for the past year, and even his picky daughter had to admit that he’d made some huge leaps and bounds forward in the culinary world. Having never really met her mother, Dionne didn’t feel much obligation to the stranger. Why should she occupy her mind with some woman that had left her behind at the start of her life when she had a perfectly good person to love right here at home?

Dionne made her way to the back of the bus and took her seat towards the left as she always did, waving to the people who were already there. “Dee!” her friend Ellie trilled, wrapping her arms around Dionne in a quick early-morning hug. Her embrace ended before Dionne could muster up a response, but it always did. “Okay so I heard that Samantha and Kendrick,” Ellie started, eyes very serious as she relayed to Dionne all the gossip that had spread during the weekend. Dionne nodded along seriously, jotting down a few mental notes here and there about who to talk to and who to avoid like they’d caught the plague—which they’d basically done in social terms—as she quickly reapplied her lip gloss. She’d considered switching to a more permanent liquid lipstick but had never really found anything that matched.

The bus was stopping again when Ellie finished her rant about the happenings, and Dionne made a few comments about what she’d heard before turning her eyes to see who was getting on. Her eyes connected with a dark-haired boy who looked to be in her grade, although she couldn’t summon up his name. It almost seemed to be at the tip of her tongue, and she was pretty sure she shared quite a few classes with him, but she couldn’t find the right syllables, the right consonants. “Seth Sterling,” Ellie said, shocking Dionne back into the present. “Resident loner. Gamer?” Ellie shrugged. “Dunno much about him. But, your eyes shouldn’t be lingering there. Instead, direct them behind the nobody to see the somebody.”

Indeed, there he was. ‘He’ being the resident heartthrob and varsity quarterback Cavan Maynard that is. Dionne grimaced internally at the wink he sent her, pasting a polite smile on her face as he walked over and plopped down in the seat behind her. “Hey Dee,” he said, crossing his arms on the back of Dionne and Ellie’s seat and setting his head on them. “Looking good.”

“Looking fine yourself,” Dionne replied, smiling. Ellie made googly eyes at Cavan, which he missed entirely—as always. Internally Dionne was grateful—boys like Cavan would make quick work of girls like Ellie, and she didn’t want her friend, however frivolous she might seem, to be on the receiving end of that treatment. “How’s football going? Excited for the last home game?”

“We’ll crush Everbrook, as always,” Cavan replied confidently, high-fiving his friends beside him that cheered in agreement at his words. Nodding, Dionne threw herself into a conversation that lasted until the bus pulled to a stop outside the school gates.

---

Dionne tapped her pen against her desk impatiently as the teacher took her time pulling up the necessary notes, a frown on her face as she waited. Even with her grades aside, Dionne’s track record wasn’t anything anyone could be proud of. Straight C’s and the unusual B here and there marked her transcript, and she wasn’t looking forward to applying to university. Her only solace laid in that she’d never failed a class, although that wasn’t to say she never came close. The only classes she’d aced—yes, aced—were PE classes, and those didn’t even count into her “academic GPA” or whatever they called it.

The teacher passed out the worksheets, and Dionne—being in the second row—dutifully received the stack of four, removed one, and turned around to none other than Seth Sterling, the boy on the bus. “Here you go, Seth,” Dionne said with a smile as she handed him the papers.

---

@DFA

He had been absentmindedly staring off at the back of the blonde's head before him when she suddenly swung around at him with a smile that could light up all of the Pacific Northwest. Yes, Seth sat behind her in most of the classes they both had which was pretty much all of them besides a couple. Where she broke off for P.E., he went to a computer class followed by Chemistry. Afterwards, they both finally finished the school day with English.

Right now was History with Mrs. Lovell, whom was rated amongst his peers as one of the stricter teachers to have. All was well as long as one did their homework and answered the questions she threw out every so often.

Well, that was the problem, Seth was known to never do his homework but still managed to remember enough to ace the exams easily. She hadn't picked on him for that yet, but he felt her stare as the rest of the class submitted their homework on her desk earlier.

Mumbling a silent "Thanks", he quickly grabbed the stack of papers and her hand. Seth cringed to himself, feeling awkward as he repositioned his hand and slowly grabbed the papers from her.

"Sorry, thank you, Dionne." He quickly apologized in a hushed tone.

---

“It's totally fine,” Dionne said, amused at the boy's reaction. Had it been Cavan or some other boy in her circles, they would have gladly taken the chance to smirk or gloat, and some courtesy was refreshing. She hesitated, wanting to say something more, but her thoughts were interupted by Mrs. Lovell's sharp voice calling for order in the court.

"Good morning, students," Lovell said, adjusting her horn-rimmed spectacles. "I trust you all had a lovely weekend? Please get your pencils or pens out and ready, and that means you, Mr. Blakes."

Dionne rolled her eyes, straightening the packet on the desk in front of her and testing her pen to see if it worked. It did.

This is going to take a while, she thought, thumbing through the pages in the lengthy print-out. Sighing, Dionne looked up and started taking notes.

---

After a long 45 minutes of mental torture that was History, the bell chimed and the class was quickly dismissed. Through all the shuffling Mrs. Lovell shouted, "Please don't forget tonight's assignment! It'll prepare you for the lesson quiz at the end of this week!" Seth groaned to himself as he stood up and began to leave the classroom. "Seth." Mrs. Lovell's voice snapped at him and he wheeled around, expecting a lecture on the importance of doing homework. Instead, he saw red eyes that seemed to gaze deep into his being. He felt warm and something in him wanted him to leap at the woman and beat her down. A nasty aura seemed to emnate off of her. He glanced around, Dionne was still in front of him but she seemed to be packing her things and was distracted. His mouth felt as dry as a cottonball. However, as soon as he blinked the world returned to normal and Mrs. Lovell no longer had the piercing red eyes any longer.

"I have high expectations of you. I'm no stranger to issuing remedial classes if need be."

Seth nodded quickly. He felt clammy as he pushed past Dionne and left the classroom.

---

Dionne watched Seth leave, surprised at his change in demeanor. Looking at Mrs. Lovell, Dionne flashed her a friendly smile and waved. “Bye Mrs. Lovell!” she said, picking up the last of her things and heading for the door. “See you tomorrow!”

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Dionne. PE was the usual, Ellie staring dreamily after whatever football player happened to walk by and completely neglecting to follow instructions. Break and lunch went by with an apple and a homemade lunch respectively, as did Dionne's French and math classes. Her aptitude for the former was markedly better than for the latter. Finally, after her biology class, the day was drawing to a close with just one checkbox left on her schedule: English.

Dionne entered her English classroom with a yawn, one hand covering her mouth and one supporting the surprisingly heavy textbook of various pieces required for the English class. A grin spread across her face when her eyes drifted to the teacher's desk and found a stranger sitting there--a substitute. Her giddiness faltered when she realized that the man was staring at her, eyes completely frozen on her person as she moved towards her desk.

Although unsettling, Dionne brushed it off and sat down at her seat, glancing left towards Ellie in the corner. And who but Seth Sterling was she to find in the corner next to her friend? Dionne sent both of them brilliant smiles before looking back to the substitute expectantly. His eyes were still aimed straight at her, his gaze unwaveringly flat.

---

After the encounter with Mrs. Lovell earlier that day, Seth felt frazzled for the rest of the day. As usual, lunch consisted of monday's fake lasagna and vegetables on the side. Though, he wasn't complaining. He didn't really have to pay for food thanks to the application his mom had filled out earlier in the school year. All throughout lunch, he kept thinking back to the scene in History. He had to have been imagining the red eyes and the evil features of Mrs. Lovell. He shook his head, spooning a forkful of lasagna into his mouth. Yeah...I didn't really get much sleep last night either. He thought to himself, convincing himself it was the lack of sleep. He felt his head, noting that he still felt warm and his heartbeat still quick.
Thankfully the rest of his classes proceeded without a hitch and he was able to calm down by the time English came around. As he walked in, he glanced at the substitute perched at the teacher's desk. His gaze was met by his and it seemed to follow him as Seth took his seat in the corner of the room.
The raven haired student sighed to himself as he sat down. Just another hour remained before he could get on the bus, get home, and dive into his video games. He felt a small glow of excitement upon this realization, right as Dionne walked in. Seth watched her as she seated herself and was considering asking her if she had happened to see what he saw, when there was a giggle next to him. It belonged to Ellie, one of Dionne's constant companions. He raised an eyebrow at her and she made a heart shape with her fingers.
"Crush?" She mouthed. "Oooh I'm so telling her, oooh~. I saw you glance at her this morning too."
Seth quickly shook his head, "No. No. No! I was thinking of asking her a question that's all." He quickly muttered.
"Oh? What is it?" She asked curiously.
Seth stared at her and turned away, "It's nothing...Just a personal question." He said, wanting to leave the conversation with that.
Right then and there, as they turned to their own devices, Seth caught her grey eyes once again. Dionne smiled at them but he couldn't tell if it was specifically directed to himself or Ellie. Ellie seemed to have a knowing look in her eyes as she returned the smile at Dionne. Seth looked down as the substitute, Mr. Argus as he introduced himself, spoke to the class with a deep tone.
"Yes, uh, I am Mr. Argus. I have an assignment which will keep you busy for the duration of this class. You may have groups or partners in this assignment, but please do not get too rowdy. If you do not get this done by the end of class, then it will be an automatic zero."
The tall man ambled around the room, passing out packets of classwork. His eyes seemed to linger on Seth as he passed by. Seth took the packet and started to work immediately. A lot of the questions were from previous lessons, so it was basically a recap of everything up to a couple weeks back.
Easy...
Unsurprisingly, Ellie had grouped up with Dionne, along with a few others from the football team. Go figure.

The time seemed to fly by and Seth managed to complete the packet about halfway through class. He sat there, continuing to reflect on the day.
For the first time in a long while, he intended to skip the video games tonight and sleep like a normal human being for once. Maybe he could avoid the wrath of the devil too if he did his homework.
Nah...that was pushing it. The day Seth would do his homework would be the day his world would end. A "normal" Seth would arise and take his place. The thought of that possibility made him cringe.
He casted his eyes to Ellie every so often, fearing she'd tell Dionne about his suspected crush on her. Well, as far as he knew Dionne, she'd probably just laugh about it and move on. Although, curiously enough, he didn't see her intimately close to any of the guys in the school. Was she really single? Seth had a hard time believing the thought. Maybe she had a long distance relationship going on?

Never mind that...Seth averted his eyes away from the group and happened to catch Mr. Argus' gaze one him. His stare was unwavering, much like a statue's. It was unsettling to say the least and had Seth fidgeting, checking himself to see if there were anything on him. Nothing.

The final bell soon rang and everyone turned their papers into the substitute.
"Mister Sterling, Miss Fontanne." His deep voice boomed out. Ellie glanced at Dionne and gestured she'd be waiting outside. The class cleared out, casting the pair curious glances as they walked out. For some reason, Seth was expecting to see a repeat of earlier. Fortunately, that never happened.

---

@Dusksong

Edit--10/26 19:52 PST, Edited post for consistency.

"Ahem. Mister Sterling, Miss Fontanne," Mr. Argus started, adjusting his tie while his eyes bored into Dionne's soul.

Fairly creeped out now, Dionne deduced that she must have done something to offend him somehow or the other. But then why was Seth here with her?

"I'd just like to say that you two... seem like very, very special students," Argus finished after a brief pause, a brilliantly white smile on his face to finish the thought off. "I'll be your sub for the next few days as well, so I'll see you both around."

Dionne nodded, a polite smile frozen on her face as the man dismissed the pair of students. "And remember," he called to them as they walked away, "I'll be watching! So don't get into trouble, you two!"

Once they turned the corner, Dionne snapped her head around to look at the boy beside her. “So, what'd you think of that? Creepy, right?” Dionne asked, pulling a face. “I think he was staring at me the entire time...”

Seth glanced at her, his brow furrowed. "Wait," he slowed his pace and glanced back to the classroom, checking to see if the sub was watching. The room was already darkened and Seth couldn't see the man anywhere. He sure got out of there quickly... Seth thought before turning his eyes to Dionne.

"I'm pretty sure he was staring at me the entire time. He wasn't even watching you. He was watching me and everytime I looked up from doing classwork or checked the clock, I would just..." he paused here, catching himself from losing his composure, and took a breath before continuing, "jeez, it was so crazy. I would make eye contact with him and we'd just stare at each other!" Seth shook his head. "The way he stared at me was..." Seth shrugged, thinking of words he could use to describe it, "I dunno. . ." he finished lamely.

Dionne frowned. “I'm pretty sure he was staring at me?” she asked before shrugging. “But I don't know. To be honest, he looks creepy enough to be staring at all of us all the time. Seriously, is he a pedophile or something?”

"Maybe we just remind him of a few people?" Seth suggested. "Oh yeah...Earlier, uh, in History class. Did you..." He wasn't sure how to phrase the question. Seth leaned back against the wall and clutched the textbook in his hands. "Did you happen to see anything unusual?"
He was certain she would look at him weirdly and laugh at him now. Seth was bracing himself for the humiliation to come.

“Other than Lovell being a total monster?” Dionne asked, laughing at her own joke. She stopped when she realized Seth didn't find it as funny as she did. “No, not really. Why, did you notice something?”

Seth glared at her as she laughed. When her laughter subsided, he sighed, "Yeah. Never mind, I guess it was just me staying up all night playing video games. For a moment I thought Mrs. Lovell turned into the devil." Seth stifled a yawn and cast his gaze to the exit and out to the bus ramp where a few buses idled. He checked his watch, they still had a few minutes to go before they were due to leave.
"It's a hard life living in the cyber world." he said, his eyes catching certain people casting their eyes around in search of someone. Dionne, most likely.
Seth gestured, "Your fan club awaits." He cheekily said as he turned away and started to walk in the other direction, so as to not be seen by her friends. But as he did so, a thought struck him. "Hey...by the way. I was wondering..."
If you were single? He almost asked her but he squished the thought. Instead Seth smiled at her and waved. "Nah. Nevermind. Have a good night!" Seth walked away and out the double doors.

However, as soon as he exited the building he remembered he rode the same bus as Dionne! Cursing to himself, Seth wondered how he could possibly recover from such a failure! He facepalmed and sighed. Well, good going genius! At least home isn't too far away...maybe I could drop by my friend's place and see if he has anything new?

Dionne waved to Seth, shaking her head in amusement. At times it almost seemed like he was interested in her, but she knew she couldn't leap to conclusions. Savoring the quiet before she started home, Dionne smiled. As odd as the day was, it seemed she'd made a new friend.

Under the afternoon's cloudy yet partially sunny sky, Seth walked a mile or so down the road and through a subdivision which finally led him to a single story green house. Oisin Oakwood was one of his recent acquaintances that he managed to make at the start of the year. So far, he was actually pretty cool as far as Seth could tell and his parents were never really around, just like his mom. It was only natural that he began to bond with the guy.
Ozzy seemed to be at the head of what was trending in the gaming world and so far this year, to this day, he managed to predict every video games' release date with a 100% success rate.
Seth made it a habit of swinging by Ozzy's place now and then just to hang out and see what was up with his friend. The ginger haired boy normally had something new every time he visited whether it was a video game or some cool gadget. As Seth knocked on his door, he couldn't suppress a wide grin on his face. It had been a while since he had swung by and he hadn't had the chance to talk to him in a couple of weeks. Ozzy attended the same school, but he was supposedly waaaayyyyy ahead of the class that he was already taking classes at the local community college already.

The door opened, the redhead peering at him from the inside. Once he realized it was Seth, he smirked and they both exchanged fist bumps. Seth pointed his fingers at him and leaned back in a weird greeting they shared. It was what the coolest kids were doing these days.
"Suuuppp dudee."
"Suuupp dduuuuuuddeee." Ozzy responded, and invited Seth in.

Seth stepped inside and his eyes immediately darted into the large room that contained all of Ozzy's video games and neat gimmicks and trinkets.
He walked in and crashed onto a comfy bean bag on the floor. Ozzy handed him a can of cola. With a thanks, he cracked the can open and gratefully guzzled the cool carbonated drink.
With a loud belch, he sighed and leaned back.
Ozzy frowned, noting the sigh, "What's up man? Rough day?"
Seth half-shrugged and shook his head, "Nah man. Just a weird day."

"Dionne talked to me..." He said, the words feeling heavy as they fell from his tongue. There was a small period of silence before Seth looked over at Ozzy.
"What?" He asked. Ozzy was gazing at him, shock on his face.
"S-she talked to you? Miss Gorgeous and Popular? You mean the Princess talked to a mere peasant as yourself! Get out of here!" Ozzy joked, disbelief in his voice.
Seth held his stare and as soon as Ozzy saw that he was actually being serious, he settled down.
"Oh. She did huh."
"Yeah, I don't know what this means, though! I was just being me and you know me, I like to look at her now and then..." he faltered as he saw Ozzy's amused gaze. "Well she's better looking than any other girl I've seen. Just look at her! She's a solid 8.5 in my book and that's a hard score to achieve!
And get this! History class, she was passing papers to me and I just so happen to gently caress her hand and look into her eyes as I grab the packet from her. We made a connection Oz! I felt the electrical shock when I touched her! It's a sign dude!" Seth laughed. Ozzy shook his head and grinned.
"Sly dog. Did you get her number?"
"Huh? Was I supposed to?" Seth frowned.
Ozzy blinked and gestured towards him. "All that and you never got her number? Dude that kind of interaction gets you N.U.M.B.E.R.S."
Seth fidgeted, "Oh...well, I think it'll take more work."
Ozzy groaned and crashed back onto the bean bag he rested in with a hand on his face.
"So that's not really what happened?"

"Nah...I think she was just being nice though. You know, like, girls get all sweet n stuff and you find out they're taken or they're just being nice and don't want to be rude but on the inside they're disgusted with your presence." Seth held a finger in the air. "My final answer is, all of the above."

Seth sipped on the soda again, his tone growing darker, "Yeah...and then there was Mrs. Lovell, you know, the crazy history teacher? Dude...I swear for a moment she had these crazy red eyes and I felt like I wanted to beat the crap out of her right then and there. I mean, I think I was just imagining things because I never really caught much sleep last night."

Ozzy's brow furrowed and he frowned. He looked at Seth with concern "Maybe you should get home and sleep? You do look pretty rough right now. Gotta stop playing those video games and get yourself some good shuteye."

Seth nodded, feeling a little drowsy. He yawned and stood up. "Mmm yeah. I guess. Just wanted to drop by and see what's up. Not much going on huh?"

A thought clicked in the ginger's head and he got up as well and started to rummage through the drawers. "A long time ago I received something pretty cool that used to belong to a friend of mine. It's a lucky charm for me and I think you should have it. Seems like you're gonna need it more than I do." He brought out a bronze chain bracelet and handed it to Seth.
"My friend believed it had some sort of power that protected him. Just give it a tap in times that you need help. But I assure you, with this lucky charm, you're gonna get NUMBERS."
Seth raised an eyebrow as he took it from him and put it on.
"Your friend sounds like he's superstitious or something."
Ozzy seemed to smile a bittersweet smile as he looked down for a moment. "Yeah...he sure was pretty crazy too." he said, as if remembering a memory.

Seth felt awkward as he saw his friend was wrapped up in his own world now. He nodded and pat his friend on the shoulder before walking out of the house. A few blocks down was his apartment and the sun was just beginning to set as he returned home and crashed onto his bed, gazing at the bracelet and feeling the cell phone in the pocket of his jeans.
"Maybe later...like two months later..." he murmured before falling into a dreamless sleep.

---

@Dusksong

Tuesday started like Dionne’s usual days: Dionne woke up a second or two before her alarm and was out the door several minutes before the bus was scheduled to pull up. Walking to the end of the street, Dionne pulled her phone out and checked her messages.

‘SCHOOL DANCE ON FRIDAY WE HAVE TO GO!!’ read the message from Ellie. Reading a text from her enthusiastic best friend in the morning always hyped her up for the day, and she quickly sent back a message citing her full agreement.

A car pulled up in front of the stop, causing Dionne to look up in surprise. Her father’s goofy grin awaited her as he waved her inside the car. “Get in, Didi! I’ll drive you. No pretty lady should have to wait for the bus!”

Recovering from her surprise, Dionne gave her father a exasperated smile and got into the car. “Dad, you know the bus is still going to swing by to pick me up.” On the way to school, Dionne shot a quick text to Ellie instructing her to tell the bus driver that Dionne’s ride was covered that morning. “Love you dad!” Dionne said as she exited the car, waving as Aland drove away. Spotting a few people from her usual circles, Dionne grinned and walked over. She had time before the bell rang.

---

History only got more and more boring, as evidenced by the packet Miss Lovell passed out. Dionne sighed as she propped her head up on a hand, staring at the text-filled page before her in concentration. The letters rolled around on the page into a blob of incomprehensible phrases and singlets, and for all Dionne knew the page could have been talking about flying pigs and she wouldn’t have known the difference.

Damn it, we’re not doing this right now, Dionne thought, sighing and looking back at the page with more concentration this time. The letters let up a bit, shifting closer to their original positions as Dionne relaxed in relief and began reading.

“Ahem!” Mrs. Lovell said, clearing her throat to get the class’ attention. The words in front of Dionne fled from the page, meshing themselves together into gibberish again as the girl swallowed a groan and looked to the lady who’d caused the mess. Mrs. Lovell was looking right back at her, scarlet eyes wide and angry.

Wait, Dionne thought, brain doubling back as she flicked her eyes back to the teacher’s face, scarlet? But the teacher’s eyes were their usual murky brown color, and Dionne shook the thought off.

“Today we read about the Lamia, class,” Mrs. Lovell said, slapping the paper onto her podium and crossing her arms. “Can anyone tell me something they know about the… Legend of the Lamia?”

---

@DFA

In the hallways, Seth passed the eye-catching signs announcing the upcoming school dance. Excited murmurs and gossip floated around the student body of Oak Harbor High. Who would be taking who to this dance? Who would be wearing what? Who would be breaking up because of such and such? What new relationships will spring up? And so on...
Seth smirked and looked at the bronze chain bracelet he wore on his right wrist. Numbers huh? He chuckled and shook his head as he walked past crowds of students hanging out before first period.

Dances took away from "Seth" time anyways. Moving around quickly and in an erratic manner in time with lame-o filtered pop music on the dancefloor? Totally not his style, and even the offer of free food and drinks could not even separate from his electronic wonderland.

--

The majority of the morning was calm, yet after yeserday's events, Seth remained guarded. He stayed wide-eyed and alert for any "glitches" in reality, especially paying attention to the behaviors of others. He didn't try to creep on others, but the way he stared at some of his classmates so intensely, raised a few eyebrows.

"Ahem!" Mrs. Lovell cleared her throat and shot an irate glance towards the blonde in front of him. Seth peeked from the corner of his eye, and thought he saw a flicker of red. But perhaps that was the red pen in the teacher's hand. She was perched at the podium in front of the class, looking out over them much like a watchful warden. She seemed much more agitated than usual.
Seth looked down at the packet in his hands with a small sigh. His body just wouldn't keep still and his fingers fidgeted with a pen cap, bending it every which way.
"Can anyone tell me something they know about the...Legend of the Lamia?"

The Lamia, a monster used in a games he'd seen before, was a myth dating back to Ancient Geece. The Lamia was known then to catch the eye of Zeus, the lord of the sky and god of thunder. Hera, his wife, became jealous and thus cursed Lamia with a snake-like appearance and was sentenced into eating children for an eternity, never again to sire her own.
The class stayed silent and Seth could practially hear a pin drop.
"Anybody?" She asked.
He cleared his throat and raised his hand slowly. Mrs. Lovell gestured to him, a certain anticipation in her eyes. "Go ahead, Seth Sterling." Please, humor me. Her tone seemed to say.
"Well, she was a monster...a myth dating back to Anceint Greece." Seth hesitated, "Legend has it that she'd eat children. That's all I know though."

Mrs. Lovell narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, thats a part of the answer. There's so much more that that however. If you'd all turn your packets to the second page and follow along as I read out loud..."

Seth silently groaned. Great, another textbook reading that'd put him to sleep. Reluctantly, he turned to the second page. Mrs. Lovell was already reading, but he wasn't really paying attention. His mind was elsewhere, imagining what it would've been like back then in Greece trying to defend one's self from a horde of monsters and terrifying myths. How would it have felt to be a hero like Hercules then? Or even the legendary Perseus?

@Dusksong

“The Lamia,” Mrs. Lovell started, “was once a beautiful queen. She was so stunning that she caught the eye of Zeus, the king of the gods, who descended to the mortal realm to woo her,” Mrs. Lovell said, a bitter smile on her face. Dionne guessed that the story held some personal value to the teacher—perhaps she’d been divorced and therefore disillusioned to the simplicities of love? “Soon enough she fell captive to his fanciful tricks and empty promises, and they ended up having a whole host of children. It didn’t take long for word to get out about the queen’s secret suitor, and so started the queen’s doom. Hera, queen of gods and Zeus’ wife, was jealous of the queen’s beauty and prosperity and transforms the queen into a monster, forcing her to—to—”

Mrs Lovell stopped, seeming as if unable to continue the thought. There was a silence as the class waited for the moment their teacher regained her bearings, but it didn’t seem to be coming.

“‘To devour her own children?’” Dustin asked, reading the line off the handout. Mrs. Lovell swallowed and nodded.

“Yes, that. All because Hera was jealous of her beauty that charmed the goddess’ unfaithful husband.”

“The paper doesn’t say that Hera was jealous of her beauty,” James, one of the resident smart alecks, asked when the teacher called on his raised hand. “It just says that Hera was jealous.”

“Of course she was jealous of the mortal’s beauty,” Mrs. Lovell said, scoffing. “That’s all the old witch does on her throne—stew in jealousy and act on impulse, dictating others to do her bidding and never lifting a finger for herself.”

The room grew silent again, and it became clear that the class had touched upon some sensitive subject that Mrs. Lovell held strong opinions about.

“Surely the queen of the gods has some redeeming features,” Dionne joked, just to lighten the atmosphere. Mrs. Lovell’s eyes seized on the girl, blazing scarlet orbs of fury.

“You say that as an ignorant fool, girl. You have no idea—no idea—what that witch is up to,” the teacher said, eyes flashing as Dionne shrank back into her seat under the intensity of the teacher’s gaze. In this moment, Mrs. Lovell seemed more reptilian than human—more monster than mortal. But, in a second the aura of malevolence was gone and the bell had rung to dismiss the class. “Finish the packet and continue reading about the ancient Greeks in your textbooks,” Mrs. Lovell said as the students packed up quickly, frightened into silence.

The silence remained, tangibly oppressive and demanding until it was interrupted by Mrs. Lovell’s shrill voice. “Dionne. Seth. I want to see both of you after school,” the teacher said, packing up as well. “Be here after your last period.”

“Mrs. Lovell—” Dionne started in protest, but the teacher was already gone.

---

@DFA

Seth exhaled a breath he had been holding the entire time, as the class packed up their materials and hurried out, not wanting to spend another moment within the room. Shouldering his bag, he glanced at Dionne before him who was busy trying to gather her things as well. Seth sighed. He wondered why Mrs. Lovell had gotten so worked up today. And the way she was describing the Lamia and bashed Hera...It was almost as if she experienced it all first hand.
That, or she's just downright cuckoo. I wonder she why she wants to see us after school anyways? We didn't do anything wrong. Slithering past Dionne, he cast her a glance. She looked a little shaken.

Seth smirked and shook his head at her, "Total monster huh?" He joked, trying to at least lighten the heavy atmosphere. "I wouldn't worry too much, worst she could do is give us an essay on 'how Hera is so dreadful'."

“True,” Dionne said a small smile. Her mind was still stuck on the aura of hatred the history teacher had emanated as she had left, and Mrs. Lovell's scarlet stare burned in her mind even now. Dionne looked at Seth with a frown as she zipped up her bag. “Why do you think she wants to see us after school today?”

Seth waved his hands around and shrugged. "Wish I had a clue. Maybe she wants to personally teach us about Hera or whatever. I don't really care much about either of them"
He felt a chill as he said those words. "Although...she's been acting so weird lately."

He huffed, "Totally cutting into my video game time."

"Really," Dionne said, laughing and slinging on her bag. “The fact that I'm not the only one hating on her makes me feel slightly better.” Exiting the classroom, Dionne waved to Seth. “See you in English, Seth. And then after school, back here.”

---

English with Mr. Argus was as it was yesterday--peculiar but not plain scary as it was with Lovell. The bell had rung before long--or at least it felt that way to Dionne--and she packed up quickly.

"Dee, we're heading downtown today," Ellie said, walking over. "You coming?"

“Not today,” Dionne said, grimacing. “Lovell wants to see me after school. Hopefully it's not detention.”

"Already? Damn girl, you a troublemaker," Ellie teased, waving goodbye to her friend. "I'll see you tomorrow then--bus?"

“Yep,” Dionne said, waving back as her friend disappeared through the classroom door. Looking to Seth, Dionne grinned. “You ready to go face the 'monster,' Sterling?” Dionne joked.

Seth returned her grin with a mischievous smirk of his own, "I'm not scared of monsters." He stood up and immediately walked to the door, waiting for Dionne. "Best to face her in the daylight, should go now before night falls. That's when they're strongest." He chuckled.

As they walked down the corridor together, he could not help but feel a slight sensation of worry and his other hand toyed with the bracelet on his wrist.

"You know, I'm not really one to get into too much trouble, I just don't like being told what to do...so that translates into me not doing my homework. If she gives us an essay or an extra assignment...I'm not gonna do it." He said to her before opening the door to the history class.

Mrs. Lovell was at her desk, scribbling a few F's on what looked to be pop quizzes on the Lamia from the other classes. She was furiously muttering to herself, and Seth could feel the anger building up in her. "These mortals don't know anything."

The raven haired teen casted a glance at the blonde before stepping up to the teacher's desk and politely cleared his throat. "Uh, s'cuse me, Mrs. Lovell. You wanted to see us?"

She looked up at him, her brown eyes locked onto him with an intense stare. Mrs. Lovell lowered her pen and stood up at her desk. "Yes, that's right." She slowly walked over to her podium, her eyes gazing at the two of them. "So, tell me...how much do you know about Hera?"

Seth was quiet for a moment before he responded. "....She's...queen of the gods in Ancient Greek mythology. She also cursed and transformed the Lamia into a monster. The Lamia ate her own children and then sought to feast upon other children as well."
He looked back at the teacher. Crimson red eyes stared right back at him. Seth felt his mouth go dry and his gut started to tighten. He gulped as he felt a malevolent energy wash over him.

The history teacher started to hiss. "Mortalsss...Ssso blind of the reality that liess before them." Mrs. Lovell began to morph and she grew taller, her skin now adopting a scaly green-brown texture. Her bottom now looked like the tail of a snake, yet she still retained her torso and face.

Seth felt the icy sensation of fear trickle its way down his spine and scrambled for the door, almost tripping in the process. He urged Dionne out as Mrs. Lovell screeched at him.

"Fools! Mortals are all fools! Myth was never myth in the first place, it is all reality!" Seth sprinted for the first set of double doors he saw - the exit to the courtyard. He depressed the lever, but it wouldn't budge! He felt dread sink into his gut as he spun around. The set of doors at the end of the empty hallway were now closing before them, locking with an audible click. The students walking past the doors never seemed to take notice to the events taking place.

Seth's eyes fell upon the snake-like teacher. Her arm stretched out to the doors as if she had cast a magical spell. "The Lamia..." He croaked as he fell to the floor. The doors were shut and there seemed to be no way to escape this nightmare.

Dionne was half-frozen with fear beside Seth, eyes wide and mouth slightly open as she stared in both awe and fear at the half-snake, half-woman creature in front of her. What was previously Mrs. Lovell met her eyes with a piercing red glare that seemed to bore into Dionne's soul.

The Lamia gazed at them, triumph written all over her face. "She told me she'd undo the curse if I killed you. My flawless beauty will be granted to me once more and many will look upon me with envy." She stretched her fingers, or rather, talons out to them. "I will resume my rightful title as the most beautiful woman to walk this land. I promise a quick and painless death."

The Lamia flashed a mouth of dagger-like teeth before lunging and the pair of students with a roar. Dionne recovered her wits just fast enough to pull both herself and Seth out of the way.

The bracelet on his wrist became hot to the point it practically burned his skin and as he dodged the Lamia's attack with Dionne's help, he ripped the bracelet off of his wrist. Seth felt a weight in his hand and looked down, his eyes widening.

A bronze sword had appeared in place of the bracelet.
Just like in a video game...This has to be a dream! Seth thought, locking eyes with the Lamia.
He didn't have time to question where the sword came from or how the bracelet even transformed before the monster struck at them again.
Strangely, he didn't feel as scared as he was a moment ago. Instead, he felt a defiant anger in his chest as he raised the sword and stepped into the Lamia's attack. The was a clang! and sparks flew as her talons met the blade.
Now dodge! He told himself, avoiding her lethal jab at his torso.
Seth stepped out of her attack range, holding his sword at the ready. He would have to cripple her before he could subdue her...But how?
Maybe I could sever one of her arms off. Would that cause her to give up? He caught his breath, his heart hammering in his throat as he glanced at Dionne. Luckily she had been largely out of harm's way so far but he knew that as the Lamia grew more impatient, she'd be in danger should the Lamia turn to her.

Gripping the large sword with two hands, he began his charge at her. He got closer and sliced at one her arms. Once again, talons met bronze, but Seth made the mistake of gazing into the Lamia's eyes for too long! She quickly chanted a spell out loud and he felt a lull wash over him.
"No!" He shouted, realizing he was slipping into a daze and tried to roll out of the way before he felt a hot ripping sensation tear through his side.
The sheer force of her strike was enough to propel him into the double doors, his body slamming into them before collapsing into a heap, the bronze sword slipped out of his hands and onto the floor with a resounding clash of metal.

He was in shock, his hand shaking as he felt his side. Seth looked at his scarlet stained hand with wide eyes before feeling the pain erupt in his side. He whimpered in agony for a few seconds, hot tears blurring his vision. The white tile floors were now smeared with blood, his blood.
"Dee-" He gulped and reached out to her, his hand tremoring. Was he going to die? Were they going to perish here?

"Seth!" Dionne cried, eyes wide. She dashed to his side but was unsure of what to do with her hands. Were they too infested with bacteria to place on the wounds, or not as much of a threat as that of blood loss like that she was seeing?

Realizing that she didn't have the comfort of sitting and thinking the dilemma out, Dionne stripped off her jacket and pressed it onto the blooming red blossoms on Seth's side, pushing his hands onto it with hers. With the immediate danger of her friend bleeding out momentarily stalled, Dionne risked a glance to the angry Lamia watching her fret over Seth with amusement.

"Foolish girl. You have better things to worry about than the boy bleeding out," the monstrous beast of a woman said, slithering over. Her scales brushed over the tile floor in a hideous whispering melody of doom, approaching the pair of helpless students on the other side of the hallway. Just as the Lamia was about to strike, the double doors burst open to reveal none other than the substitute English teacher, Mr. Argus, who was wielding a spiked bronze club.

"You shall not hurt them anymore, monster!" he boomed, charging towards the half-snake. The Lamia backed up in alarm, scarlet eyes flashing.

"Argus! You dare defy your queen?" the Lamia hissed, baring her teeth as she circled the substitute teacher. No, Dionne realized, eyes widening, Definitely not a teacher.

Indeed, for now that the shroud of the mist had been lifted by the shocking appearance of the Lamia, Seth and Dionne could clearly see the hundreds of eyes that covered Argus' body, some blinking and some not. Dionne's mind whirled--how could she not have seen them before?

"You have no right hurting innocent children," Argus boomed back, looking just as capable of destruction as the monster circling him. "Leave at once!"

"You!" She hissed angrily, "if the Queen doesn't kill you first, then I will! You have not seen the last of me!"

With that, the Lamia crashed through the wall beside her, disappearing through the hole in the concrete. Dionne watched with open amazement before realizing the problem at hand.

"Mr. Argus!" she called, eyes wide and distraught. "Seth's hurt--bleeding!"

The large man lumbered over, over ten eyes swiveling to train themselves on the pair of students. Another twenty eyes flicked up to the doorway from which Argus had entered. "Oisin! Bring the ambrosia!"

Oisin scuttled in quickly, a bulging leather satchel slung around his head. "Here!" He unwrapped a square that resembled a caramel or peanut butter dessert. "Gods, what did you do to yourself?" Ozzy, the satyr, murmured to Seth as he craned his head in his hands to feed him the ambrosia. "Oz...what're you doing here?" Seth whispered, confusion evident in his tone. The satyr shook his head, shoving the square into Seth's mouth.
"Chew on it, ask me questions later." Seth chewed on the square, surprised at the rich and warm hot chocolate flavor, laced with a hint of mint. The wonderful warm sensation he felt when drinking hot cocoa started to replace the coldness he felt in his body. His side tickled as the wound closed itself and his china-white pale face returned to its normal tan complexion. He breathed in big gulps of air and closed his eyes.

"I thought we were goners for a moment there." He murmured. It took a few moments before it was realized that he had fallen asleep, tired from the chaos of their reality being shattered. Dionne also looked exhausted as well.
"It is best to let them rest for now." Mr. Argus softly spoke, gazing at Seth and Dionne. "We can go over the details and answer your questions later."
Oisin nodded, "I'll take her back home, and Seth can spend the night at my house." He heaved and carried Seth on his shoulders, also recovering his bracelet.
"Very well. I bid you all a good night, please get home quickly and sleep well." Mr. Argus waved his hands and their surroundings began to repair themselves. All was normal and one couldn't even tell a battle had taken place. Fortunately, the school grounds were empty already as the trio made their way out and into a beat-up silver four-door sedan.

There wasn't much conversation during the ride home. Seth was soundly snoozing in the back while Dionne was riding shotgun, her mind lost in deep thought.

In no time, they had dropped Dionne off and the sun was beginning to set as Oisin tucked Seth in for the night, smirking at the drool on his cheek.

Needless to say, Dionne’s father was less than ethused to have his daughter dropped off by a strange silver sedan much later than she’d supposed to have been home. “Who was that? What are you doing home so late? Why were you at school so long?” he asked as Dionne walked into the house unceremoniously, rubbing her temples as her father continued assaulting her tired mind with questions. “Did you get into trouble? With a teacher? Or even the principle? Young lady—”

“Nothing like that, Dad,” Dionne said with a sigh, walking into the kitchen and opening the cupboards in search of something to help with her aching head. Whatever the miracle cure Oisin had given her was, it was wearing off.

“Dee,” Aland said, a frown on his face as he walked over to his daughter, “what are you looking for?”

“Tea,” Dionne said without a thought, her exhausted mind focused on the single task.

“Second to last, upper left,” Aland said immediately. Dionne followed the instructions, her hands returning to her with the correct box of tea bags.

“Chamoline,” she mused, thanking her father as he handed her a mug of steaming water. The pair sat at the kitchen table, quiet.

“So,” Dionne’s father started, breaking the silence. “You okay, Dee?”

“Fine,” Dionne said, her mind flashing back to the afternoon when she’d nearly seen Seth Sterling bleed out in front of her. “Fine,” she repeated with another sigh. Aland’s brows knitted together in concern.

“Dee, maybe you should head to bed now,” he suggested, rising from his seat. “Why don’t I get you some Advill and meet you upstairs? You can go get ready.”

The protest on Dionne’s tongue went no farther than her lips, and she nodded silently, succumbing to the now-biting headache that was coming on. Ten minutes and two Advills later, Dionne was fast asleep in a deep— though not peaceful — slumber

---

---

Dionne never liked animals much. Sure they were fascinating and interesting to study, but they had always seemed to be missing something. Something that was quintisentially human and irreplacable with any of the glamorous horns and luxurious patterns that adorned the fantastical beasts. None of their fancy decor made up for their lack of sense, and Dionne would take a dull human companion over that of a completely blank-minded animal any day. Today, however, Dionne seemed to have picked the short straw as she was currently surrounded by a large flock of peacocks that were all staring right. At. Her.

“Nice birdies,” she cooed, looking around for an escape route but keeping her actions slow so as to not startle the birds. There was no such escape route.Just as Dionne was preparing to charge through the flock, she realized that there were a pair of chairs beside her — one of them occupied. “Good evening, Miss Fontanne,” her school principal, Mrs. Sloan, said, adjusting her horn-rimmed spectacles. “Won’t you take a seat?”

Dionne surpressed a shriek of surprise at the woman’s sudden appearance, sitting down in the adjacent chair and scanning the scene. Definitely weird.

“You’re probably wondering why you’re here,” Mrs. Sloan said, examining her nails with a flourish. “Why you’re currently in the midst of a flock of peacocks, sitting next to your principal.”

“Er, yes, actually,” Dionne said, frowning. “Do you—”

“I do know why,” Mrs. Sloane said, cutting Dionne off and setting her hand down on her lap. Her eyes flicked up, glinting in the light. “But, I don’t intend to tell you. Everything will be revealed in due time.”

“What does that mean?” Dionne asked, brows knitting. She looked around again, uneasy. There seemed to be signs with shapes of animals on them scattered about, pointing this way and that. “Where am I?”

As if they could sense her rising panic, the peacocks all shifted in unison, the sound of their tails moving in sync sounding like the ominous beginnings of a thunderstorm. Goosebumps sprung up Dionne’s arms, and she clutched the arms of her chair tightly, preparing herself for anything.

“Now now, calm down Miss Fontanne,” Mrs. Sloan said, sounding amused. Now focused on her principal, Dionne felt even more uneasy. Somehow nothing about the greying lady felt right — not her glasses, which seemed a little too outdated; not her hair, which seemed more black than grey today; not even her smile, which was more viscious than kind like how usually associated with the woman that governed over Dionne’s school.

The woman must have sensed Dionne’s uneasiness because she sighed, adjusting her glasses again. “Well, I guess that’s enough for today. I’ll be in touch, Dionne.”

“Wait,” Dionne said, standing up, “who are you?”

But the lady was already gone.

---

---

Dionne groaned as she slapped around her bedside table for her alarm, sighing in relief when she successfully struck the snooze button. What a strange dream, she thought, frowning as she slid off her bed. Twenty minutes later Dionne was waiting at the bus stop. The bus was just pulling up when Dionne realized that she’d unwittingly stuck a peacock feather in her hair.

Seth gasped as he woke up in a start. Sitting up in his bed, cold sweat dribbled down his face and looking down, he realized his shirt had been taken away. Instead it was replaced by long strips of white bandages that weaved across his torso and back. His jeans were tattered and ripped in a couple of places but at least they were clean.
Images of that afternoon’s battle flashed through his mind and his hand went to his side, gingerly feeling where the Lamia’s talons had ripped him open. He shuddered as he recalled the sensation of his flesh being ripped apart like a hot knife through butter. Her red eyes seemed to bore into his being with a look of extreme malice. Seth could almost hear her scales clicking against the tile again— He grabbed his bracelet and summoned his sword, the Celestial Bronze blade springing out into the air as he rolled out of bed at the ready.
Stop it He told himself. She’s gone now… Seth breathed and exhaled a deep breath, slapping a hand against his face and dismissing the creature from his mind. He touched the tip of his sword and it changed back into the bracelet.
He glanced at the clock. It was early in the morning. Seth walked into the bathroom, flipping the lights on, and inspecting himself in the mirror. His hand went to his side again, this time he slipped the bandages down so he could check on it. Yet, all that remained was a jagged white scar that ran down from below his armpit to his ribs. Seth unwrapped the bandages, disposing them into the trash, and stretched and twisted his torso experimentally. The scar didn’t split open. It seemed he had recovered quickly.
Seth sighed and returned to his bedroom, picking out a shirt and putting it on before walking into the living room, standing in the entry way to the kitchen. The light of the moon shone through the window, the stars twinkled faintly in the horizon. He found Oison on the couch, snoring softly. Seth still couldn’t get over the fact that Oisin had hooves and horns, almost as if he were half-goat! He shook his head, knowing his world wouldn’t be the same again. He wondered how Dionne was coping with all of it. Seth had a feeling that he wouldn’t just wake up the next day and everything would be back to normal.
Feeling peckish, he poured himself a bowl of wheat squares and sat in the living room, thinking and chewing slowly on his cereal as if he were also chewing, or digesting, his thoughts. Seth sat there for a few moments before he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, the intensity of his thoughts proving to be way too overwhelming for him right now and made his head pound the more he thought.

When he reopened his eyes he found himself in a garden.

Peacocks seemed to fill every inch of the garden, flowers and hedges were lined up, creating a maze. The peacocks didn’t seem to mind him as he started to carefully stroll through them, his eyes taking in the scene. Ahead was a white pavilion and three desks, identical to the ones that occupied the classrooms at Oak Harbor High. The school principal, Mrs. Sloan as he recalled her name, was seated in front of two others. With a start, he realized it was Mr. Argus and Mrs. Lovell. A tea set kettle on a glass table and the smell of chamomile wafted in the air.
Mrs. Sloan seemed to be in the middle of a stern lecture with both of them, judging from her facial expression. He could barely catch her words from where he was standing. Something about sparing the boy? He inched closer.

“It was a mistake to deal with such a lowly creature as yourself.” She said to Mrs. Lovell, tapping a ruler against the glass table. “I gave you a second chance, hoping you could perhaps redeem yourself yet you can’t even follow simple instructions. Your mind has been clouded with jealousy and blood thirst. I have no more need for you.” Mrs. Sloan tapped the ruler on the Lamia’s head before she could protest and she dissolved into golden dust which dissipated into the air.

Her horn-rimmed spectacles trained on Argus, her tone becoming softer. “I understand the two have started to awaken?”
“Yes, my Lady, they have. Their protector is keeping close watch on them. The boy…I can feel the power of one of the elder gods in him. The girl herself…I am unsure of her. She can see through the Mist. I know this for sure, however, I cannot determine if she has power in her. Perhaps she may be just a clear-sighted mortal. I have also given their protector guidance on what needs to be done.”
Mrs. Sloan nodded, “Very well then. I believe he can handle it from here. I have an assignment for you. Your talent is urgently needed elsewhere. Camp—“
All of a sudden and before he could even approach them, the world began to spin and he found himself falling through the ground and into darkness.

---

Skreeeeeeeeeeeeee! His alarm rang throughout the house. Seth shot upwards in the chair and quickly shut it off. He must’ve fallen asleep, even though it felt like he hadn’t sat down for long. He quickly got ready for school, choosing to dress lighter with a red tee shirt and a fresh pair of jeans. On his way out and grabbed his hoodie and scanned around for Oisin. He wasn’t around, but left a note on the door saying he’d see him at school later today. Hopefully the satyr could explain yesterday’s events.
Seth grabbed his bracelet and ran out to meet the bus, barely catching it in time. Breathless, he embarked the bus and sat down before twisting around and catching Dionne’s stormy gray eyes amongst her friends, noting the blue peacock feather in her hair and wondering if it had any meaning or if it was just purely ornamental. Once he made eye contact, he flashed her a small smile and waved to her, gesturing beside him, a movement not unnoticed by her group of friends.
Join me? His sea green eyes asked.

@Dusksong

Dionne hesitated, eyes darting to her friends. Still, she got up from her seat. “I'm going to go sit by Seth -- carry on your conversation. I'll talk to you later, Ellie,” she said to her friend. Their eyes met, and a silent message was communicated: You'd better spill later.

An amused smile on her face, Dionne slid into the seat next to Seth. “Good morning. How are you?” she asked, remembering the battle -- the injury -- the day before. “How's the injury?”

"Just a clear sighted mortal..." Seth recalled the words Argus spoke earlier as he greeted the blonde.
"Hey, surprisingly I feel refreshed actually." He gestured to his side, "It's gone for the most part. I've got a pretty wicked scar though which I think should give me +5 bonus points in flirting. I hear women dig scars." He joked, a cheeky grin on his face.

“Only if they can see them which -- by the placement of yours -- would entail a flash of your midsection,” Dionne said, laughing.
"Well yeah! Exactly!" He said, almost a bit too excitedly, waking the neighboring bus rider from his brief sleep. He ignored the guy's glare and cleared his throat.
Sobering up, Dionne pulled a peacock feather out from her hair. “Seth, what's going on? What's going to happen to us?” she asked, rubbing at the fringes of the feather so that they started to come part.

"Well, I don't really know for sure, but..." His tone became serious as he attempted to recount his dream from this morning. "..I had a crazy dream this morning.I saw Mrs. Lovell vanish. Mrs. Sloan was talking to her and she said something about not needing her anymore and then poof!. She was gone. Mr. Argus was there too and I think he was ordered to go somewhere. A camp or something." He squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers as he tried to recall more.
"He said the two have started to awaken. Something along the lines of a girl being clear sighted and the boy having the power of one of the elder gods in him." He looked at the peacock feather in Dionne's hand.
"Peacocks. For some reason there were a lot of them in my dream." he mentioned.

Dionne's eyes widened. “There were peacocks in my dream too!” she said, waking up the boy in the next seat again. “Schools in five minutes. You should probably just give up on sleeping,” she sniped to him with a shrug, turning back to Seth and lowering her voice as to not be heard again. “I had a dream too. I was sitting in the midst of a flock of peacocks, and Mrs. Sloan was sitting across from me. Well, Dram-Sloane, because she definitely wasn't normal. And then when I woke up, I realized that I was holding this peacock and stuck it into my hair.” Slightly panicked now, Dionne glared down at the feather. “What does this mean? Does Mrs. Sloane have something to do with everything? And what about the peacocks? It was just a dream, but what about the feather?”

Seth shook his head. "Beats me. Maybe you had it somehwere? I don't even know how you could find a peacock this far North anyways. Could it be a symbol though? You know, like how Batman has the searchlight in the sky, the uh...Bat-Signal?"
He cast a glance out the window, looking at the passing scape. Orange and brown leaves dominated the sidewalks and ditches in massive swept piles. Soon stands selling pumpkins, pumpkin pies and maple flavored treats would take over and as tradition (in Seth's case), he'd pay a visit to each one and eat all of treats they had to offer. He absolutely loved fall.
"Maybe I could talk to Ozzy. I'm sure he has some answers. Probably gonna have to swing by his house afterschool though." he finally said, turning back to her.

Dionne smiled at Seth's joke but was too shaken to laugh. Somehow their dreams had overlapped -- the same animals, the same people. Well, almost, Dionne reminded herself as she put the feather into her pocket. Mrs. Sloan is a single person.

“Is he not coming to school today?” Dionne asked with a frown, remembering the Satyr's hoofed feet. “How did he hide his feet before then? And Argus is at school -- we should drop by his class during break and ask about the dreams.”

"Hmm, well Ozzy's a pretty smart dude. Shy with other people but smart as heck." He said. "He's actually dual-enrolled with the college, so he goes there to take classes some days. He comes to school in the afternoon I think, but normally I just catch him afterschool at his place."
"But you know, I still have yet to ask him about that." Seth motioned to his legs, [color=MediumSpringGreen]"the deal with his legs. Oh that reminds me!" He suddenly perked up, "Remember Argus? He had like a billion eyes all over his body! We have to ask him about that when we catch him! We should meet during lunch, maybe next to the library." Seth suggested to her.

The bus slowed as it entered the bus ramp and the students onboard started to stand and gather their things. Dionne parted ways with Seth at the gate, heading in the direction of her first period but mind still on Argus, the mysterious Mrs. Sloane, and her newfound dislike for peacocks.

---

Dionne was out of the room before the bell finished its first ring to signal lunch, and she walked briskly towards her English class where Mr. Argus was subbing for Mr. Fletcher. When she got there, however, Dionne found not the kindly man from the day before but rather a new substitute who -- judging by the name scrawled across the board -- went by Mrs. Bingley. Freezing in the doorway, Dionne hesitated briefly before turning to leave. Clearly Argus wasn't subbing for this class today.

"Can I help you?" the graying lady calledout . Dionne turned around with a polite smile.

“Oh, I was just looking for Mr. Argus,” Dionne said. “The substitute yesterday? I was hoping to continue discussing an idea I had about my... Science project.”

"Mr. Argus was unavailable as a substitute today, so the school called me," Mrs. Bingley said with a kind smile. "However, I'd be more than willing to help you with any brainstorming you need."

“Thanks, Mrs. Bingley, but I was planning on meeting with one of my friends for lunch,” Dionne admitted with an apologetic smile. “I'll see you later today for English.”

"Alright, bye dear," Mrs. Bingley said as Dionne exited the class and almost smacked into Seth in the process as she whirled around the corner.

“Oh!” Dionne exclaimed, eyes wide as she abruptly halted.

"Yikes!" He sidestepped and nearly stumbled, catching himself on the white walls, his balance intact. Seth looked at Dionne with raised eyebrows.

“Sorry about that -- wasn't looking where I was going. Oh, and Argus is gone,” she added, waiting as Seth took a look into the classroom. “What do you think this means, Seth? Our dreams, and now this?” Dionne asked, a worried frown on her face.

Seth found the lump in his throat hard to swallow. "Wait...Who is that? he asked, peering through the window. He craned his head to get a better look at the unknown teacher. Seth abruptly pulled his head away when he saw the teacher turn towards the door. He scurried back around the corner and planted himself next to Dionne.
"No...we were supposed to ask him about our dreams...about yesterday!" He sighed. "Oh he can't have just left like that. What if he's really headed for this camp thing?" Seth shook his head.

“It's just a coincidence that your dream seems to have come true, right? No way our dreams are all real, right?” Dionne said, eyes wide in distress. “Because if the dreams were real, then Mrs. Sloan...”

"...Obviously has something to do with all of this if it's really happening.. Also, did you remember history earlier? There was another teacher in there instead of Mrs. Lovell. I was really dreading coming into her class but she's not there anymore! It's crazy! I asked the teacher after class, whom by the way is really boring and monotoned in my opinion, and he mentioned she had a death in the family and wouldn't be back for a very long time." He let out a breath. "All of this...yesterday...they're all connected somehow, I think."

Seth checked his watch, noting the time. They still had a little while before lunch was over.
"Gotta grab lunch. I'll see you in English." He stepped away from her and rushed the other way towards the cafeteria.

Confusion written across her face, Dionne watched Seth leave in the direction of the cafeteria. Huh. Haven't ever had a boy ditch me for food that quickly. This is new, she mused to herself.

"Dee! Are you skipping lunch or something?" Ellie called, waving the blonde over. Laughing, Dionne jogged over.

“Where are we off to? Not the bagel place again?”

"Nope. Feeling like burrito bowls today -- Cavan's driving. And don't think I'm going to forget about interrogating you."

“Lead the way. We can talk and walk.”

After English, the bell rang and Seth grabbed his things with a sigh of relief. Today just seemed to drag on at a snail's pace.
"Jeez, they sure love their packets." He cast a glance at Dionne who seemed to be engaged in a pretty interesting conversation conversation with Ellie. Not wanting to interrupt, or be interrogated by her friend, he packed the thick textbook and spiral notebook full of doodles and short stories into his bag. As he stood up, he paused and checked his flip phone. His mom had left him a text message.

Off today and until next Monday! See you at home! \(^o^)/

Seth smiled. It definitely had been a while since she had been home, this period had been longer than usual and caused him to worry for her sake. Sometimes he felt she was pushing herself too hard and sometimes he found himself silently asking "why?"
But everytime she came home, she always brought home gifts or something cool such as the Playstation that sat in his bedroom.

Okay! Cool, I'll be home soon Mom. Just gonna swing by Ozzy's house real quick.
As he stood there fiddled with his phone, he realized he hadn't asked Dionne if she'd be accompanying him to see the satyr. Seth sighed to himself, he should've asked her earlier! It was likely she'd be leaving school with her friends.
Oh why do I suck at talking to people?

Dionne exited the classroom with Ellie, laughing at a story she was telling when she realized that Seth was still inside the classroom. Hadn't he said something about meeting the half-goat -- satyr, she reminded herself -- after school?

“Oh, I have to go talk to some teachers. Go on ahead? I'll catch you again tomorrow,” she told Ellie with a brief hug.

"Sure," her friend said, looking briefly uncertain before shrugging and heading towards the bus stop.

Entering the classroom, Dionne spotted Seth packing up. “Hey,” she said, walking over, “you're going to meet Ozzy, right? Mind if I tag along? I have a few questions myself.”

Seth slung the weighty bag over his shoulder with a grunt and pocketed his phone.
"Yup! He has some pretty cool knick knacks too, maybe a bit nerdy for your tastes. Well, really he just likes to collect stuff I guess. That's where I got the sword." He gestured to his wrist, the bronze chain glistening in the white fluorescent light.

“That's a sword?” Dionne asked, skeptical. However, considering everything that had happened in the past few days, she wouldn't be surprised if Oisin Oakwood, the ginger satyr-disguised-student, was actually a secret arms dealer that sold transforming weapons. “I'll take your word for it,” Dionne said with an amused smile. Maybe she'd get a teddy bear that transformed into a chainsaw, unless Ozzy didn't carry to modern-day weapons.

They passed another colorful poster advertising the school dance on Friday, which was actuallly a couple of days from now. It seemd a lot of his classmates where going to this one from all of the conversations he had overheard from the previous days. Apparently the school was trying for a fancier location than the past dances or even last year's prom!
He paused at the poster, scrutinizing at the words.
"Oh wow...They're doing it at a manor this time? That's not too far from my place." He murmured in surprise. "No wonder people are excited about this dance. It seems classy. Jeez, there's even catering too and you've gotta dress up too....Gosh, admission isn't even that much. I wonder who's funding this one?" Seth pictured tables of food lined up in one of the wings of the multi-story building.

“Huh, price is rather low this time around,” Dionne said, eyes glossing over the poster before turning to Seth with a grin. “All the more reason to come!”

He shrugged and shook his head. "I can't dance though."

“Party pooper,” Dionne teased, pouting. “Have you ever been to any dances?”

"Nah. I just never thought of going to one. It doesn't jive well with my loner persona. Besides, who'd go with me anyways? I don't hang with anyone and I think if I just turn up by myself, I'd probably leave after the first five minutes." He sighed, [color=MediumSpringGreen]"Okay look, I've been to one before and I tried dancing with a classmate. I ended up tripping over her and falling face first into the fruit punch. So embarassing! This was like, middle school, I think." He facepalmed and his face reddened. "Gosh my mom was there too. She's been me urging to go to another one since then."

“What! How come I don't remember something like this happening?” Dionne asked, grinning. “But please, you think that's bad? Freshman year, Sadie's, I think a fight broke out -- something about this guy who went to the dance with a girl other than his girlfriend?” Dionne said, laughing, “Comedy gold. But,” she said, calming down, “I won't push it on you. Just know that the offer's there -- maybe I could introduce you to all of my friends. They don't know you, but it's cool. They'll come around.”

The offer? What? She's offering me to go to this dance with her!? He felt very warm all of a sudden and awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Uhm--yeah. Sounds great. But, you know, I-uh, don't know you too well. And, we..." He fidgeted and touched his fingers together.
Seth took a deep breath and exhaled. ...Look, we only just met! We haven't even had dinner together and now you're asking me to do these things!?" His tone of voice oddly higher than normal.

“Well if you don't wanna go with me, you can always go stag,” Dionne said with a grin. “But no pressure. Just -- you won't know what's fun and what's not if you don't try, right?”

Wow...this is magnificent! But wait-
"Wait but, aren't you already going with someone else? I mean, a girl like you, obviously very attractive just going with a group of friends? Aren't you going with a boyfriend? What if he gets jealous or something and starts a fight with me? I mean, I'd be worried for his safety and he should get jealous anyways..." he blurted out.

“Seth please. If it bothers you that much, we can just go as friends. Or we could even go stag -- that's probably what I'm going to end up doing for the dance anyway,” Dionne said, sighing. “Well then, to Oisin's? Sit on the dance a little more -- I'd hate for you to convince yourself out of something you might like.”

Seth opened his mouth as if to say something, but decided to hold his thoughts back. He felt as if he had cheated himself out of a golden opportunity. They calmed down and exited the school, walking past the bus ramp, the yellow buses revving as they roared ahead and onto the road.

---

Knock! Knock! Knock!
"I always knock, he knows it's me." The raven haired teen said. He smirked as an inside joke crossed his mind.

“Huh. Polite. Most people I know just barge right in,” Dionne said as the door opened to reveal Oisin, ginger hair haphazardly arranged in the telling image of a bedhead. “Afternoon, Oisin. You weren't at school today, so we took the liberty of coming over in person to ask some questions.”

"O-oh okay!" he fumbled around before opening the door wider. "Pardon the mess, I was just looking for something earlier." Oisin sheepishly said.
The small house looked as if a tornado had swept through. Clothes spilled onto the floor from an open dresser. Various electronics and novelty toys were scattered about on the floor. Seth stepped on a pink whoopie cushion as he carefully tread his way through piles of papers, magazines, and binders. Brrrrrrrrttt!

"Hahaha! Haven't seen one of these in forever!" He giggled as he picked it up, tossing it onto the sofa nearby. "So...what the heck were you searching for?"

“Looks like a tornado swept through here or somthing,” Dionne added, stepping over a fallen stack of papers to get into the living room. “Er, do you need some help?”

Nope, nope nope! Perfectly fine!" The young satyr said, bustling around the living room. "Here, have a seat!" He swept off a few action figures off the sofa.
"This is the largest safehouse we have in the Northwest. It's full of weapons and hazardous devices." Oisin seemed very flustered as he sat down at a chair. Brrrrt! Seth fidgeted and held in a giggle, a guilty smile on his face.
"I'm sure you have many questions, both of you. But first, Seth, the cellphone please." Oisin gestured to Seth with a serious tone in his voice. Seth pulled it out, a puzzled expression on his face. He gave it to the satyr.
Oisin pulled the battery out of the phone and placed it on the table.

"What...are you worried about us recording you or something?" Seth asked.
"No. Worse." Oisin's tone darkened. "You're already are aware that there is more to the world than meets the eye right? The monster you fought. The dreams." His red-rimmed eyes flickered between both of them.

“How did you--” Dionne paused. Of course the satyr knew about the dreams -- he probably knew that her mother wasn't in her life as well. This entire situation was ridiculous. One step at a time, she told herself, sighing. “Yes. I had a dream about Mrs. Sloan and peacocks, and I wake up with this,” Dionne said, pulling the peacock feather out from her coat pocket. Staring at it for a brief moment, Dionne grimaced and looked back up at Oisin. “What does it all mean?”

Oisin nodded, leaning in a little closer as he scrutinized the feather. "I'll get to that later, please let me explain." he hastily said and leaned back, crossing a furry leg over another.
"Greek mythology is real, it never was a myth to be precise. It's an integral part of this world but normal everyday humans can't. They are mortals and cannot see past the Mist. However, both of you can see it because the two of you are demigods, Greek demigods -- the offspring of a god or a goddess. In ancient times, the biggest heroes were all demigods. Hercules, Achilles, Jason, Perseus, Odysseus, and so on.
The jittery sensation you feel, the dyslexia. Your mind is constantly on alert. It's a battle reflex and it'll save you one day. You can read ancient Greek, better than you can read English."

"Unfortunately as there are benevolent gods and beings who maintain the world's balance, there are malicious beings that aim to topple the gods; monsters that can sense you and pursue you, Titans, who vie for control over the world again. If you study your mythology, you'll be more aware of these threats. But you won't find that information in school." Oisin procured a piece of paper. Greek lettering was hastily written in red ink.

Κατευθυνθείτε στη βιβλιοθήκη και να βρει το πεπρωμένο σας.

"Argus wanted me to pass this instruction to you."

Seth peered at the paper, his eyebrows rising in surprise. He could actually read the words!Head to the library and find your destiny.

“How,” Dionne started as the strange symbols started drifting around the board, forming words that she could recognize. “You said Argus wanted you to tell us this? Do you have any idea why? It just says to head to the library and 'find your destiny,' whatever that means.” She paused frowning in thought. “And what do you mean by us being the offspring of gods? Both of my parents are human!”

“That's what you might think. Tell me, Dionne, do you live with both of your parents? Godly parents rarely stick around after they've conceived or 'given birth,' in your case,” Oisin said. The shocked look on the girl's face told him that he was on the right track. “Since your dad is pretty famous and all, I can guess that your mother probably left a while ago, right?”

"Yeah..." Seth spoke. "My dad's not around either. But you would think, well if he is a god, he'd at least visit now and then instead of just leaving us hanging out to dry." He grumbled.

“Well it's not as simple as that you see,” Oisin said. “For one, gods can't very well spend all of their time with a single human. For that reason, most of them leave their children in childhood.”

Oisin fished out a pair of tiny metallic ear cuffs, one of them silver and the other gold.
"If they did, then that would show favoritism and that would not bode well with their other offspring. Favoritism has incited wars in the past. That's why you must learn to protect yourselves and it's my job to keep you guys safe until you do." He placed them in front of Dionne.
"Arm yourself with these...Sqeeze them...I think."

"Uh...earrings?" Seth asked.

“Ear cuffs,” Dionne said, recognizing the metallic bands. “Proof that you're a guy,” she said, winking at Seth as she slipped the gold one onto one ear. Dionne gave the silver one an experimental squeeze, watching in astonishment as it lengthened into a black-bladed dagger in her hand, a shard of light dancing across her face as Dionne stared at the blade lying in her hand.

"Cool..." Seth whispered in awe as he watched.

“Stygian Iron,” Oisin supplied. “The other one is Celestial Bronze, like Seth's weapon.”

Dionne didn't say anything, instead reaching up and sliding the other cuff off her ear, watching it transform in her hands into a gold-bladed dagger of similar design and length to the black one. “Both are metals that can be used to harm beings of magic -- which includes both of you, thanks to the blood flowing through your veins. Use them well and to your advantage.”

---

After Dionne played with the blades and nearly lopped an ear off of Seth, Oisin finally returned from his bedroom, a backpack strapped onto him.
"Guys ready? We'll head to the library and get back before it gets dark." The satyr said.
The trio hopped into the silver sedan and Oisin hit the road. Dionne had taken shotgun this time, leaving Seth in the backseat as he stewed over his thoughts. The ocean sparkled orange in the afternoon sun. As Dionne and Oisin chattered, he couldn't help but observe that the satyr seemed a little nervous -- tense, even. Was he nervous about the future maybe?

Back at the "safehouse", he felt a little bitter to find out about the real reason behind his father's departure. His mom had never mentioned anything about his father being a god. He was a hero in her eyes, brave and courageous as he partook in the war. Did she even know his real identity?
Even to this day, she still awaited for his return ever since he went missing years ago. The government had initially provided her with weekly updates on their search for him, but now their letters in the mail came only annually with the bold black typeface - STATUS: UNKNOWN, MISSING.

Dionne found Oisin quite refreshing. Having been confined mostly to light, frivolous talk and overplayed drama in her circles, the satyr's down-to-earth sense of humor was rather new, and she could see why Seth liked him. While their small talk stayed mostly around school and how life worked for Oisin disguising himself as a human, what she'd learned about her parentage earlier that day bothered her as well.

Dionne had become accustomed to thinking that the woman had left her lover and child -- abandoned, more like, but Dionne wanted to give the woman the benefit of the doubt -- for some greater calling. However, as the years went by without a single word from her biological mother, Dionne developed a sense that the woman had never really cared for her anyway. If she'd really cared, wouldn't she have reached out by now? Dionne had kept hoping that she might have received word on some special day -- her fifth birthday, then tenth, then perhaps the summer before high school or even her sweet sixteenth -- but nothing so miraculous had happened. Life went on without the woman, and now Dionne's life was being rudely interupted because of her "mother" that'd never even been a part of her life.

Looking through the rearview mirror, Dionne saw a disgruntled look on Seth's face and figured that the boy was probably trying to process the new information as well. "You okay back there?" Dionne asked.

Seth glanced at her in the rearview mirror, "Yeah...I'm okay. I'll get over it." He quickly muttered, the scowl on his face refusing to soften.

He sat in silence as the car pulled up in the parking lot in front of the beige colored library.
They got out of the car. Seth sighed and put the thoughts in his head to rest, for now. If he ever met the old man, he'd be sure to have a long chat with him.

The library itself was a beige two-storied building located at the city center, just next to the town hall. Students went to and fro from the library, with their faces scrunched into masks of concentration.
"Someone must be assigning essays right now." he remarked as they stood inside, close to the librarian's massive desk up front.
"Indeed. Mrs. Sloan's english paper is due tomorrow." A perky lady, who looked to be in her early twenties, looked his way. Her blue eyes seemed to bore into him and a certain knowing light twinkled in her eyes.
"Anything I can help you with? We'll be closing pretty soon, and I've got to do inventory on what we have back in the romance section," she said.

“Yes, um,” Dionne paused, eyebrows furrowing when she realized that she didn't really know what to ask for.

Seth backed her up, "Yeah, we're here to find our destiny--.".

Oisin interjected, gesturing to both of them. "They're the two Argus was talking about."

The blond librarian raised her eyebrows. "It's been a while since that day." She nodded at the trio. "Come with me, to the back room, please. I've been expecting you"

As they followed her, Seth could feel anticipation welling up in his gut, eager to be privy to the details to his currently uncertain future. She led them into a study and shut the door behind them. She gestured to the leather sofa and sat in her own chair, facing them.
"Now we mustn't waste time. Argus told me that when you two would show up, there wouldn't be much time between now and until the time you must prove yourselves as demigods. Monsters will soon invade this quiet town in search for you. They will hunger when they smell your scent and perhaps will stop at nothing until you are theirs."

The raven haired teen sat quietly, trying to calmly process the information. Yet, her words kept circulating in his mind. Monsters? Like the Lamia? They'd invade the town in search for them, maybe even killing innocents along the way.

"Can't we fight them?" He asked.

"You can, but you'd die in the process," the librarian said, opening the door to the empty study room in the back of the library. "Go on -- there's nothing in there. Just some tables and chairs."

“What are we doing in here then?” Dionne asked, stepping into the room. The light flickered on, illuminating the empty desks. “Is there a secret passage or something?”

"No. But there are answers," the young librarian said, stepping into the room behind them and closing the door with a soft click. "All right, let's see if I can still do this properly."

“Do what, exactly?” Dionne asked, eyebrows knitting as the woman closed her eyes. The librarian's age seemed to melt away before coming back all at once in the form of a soft glow that spoke of lost wisdom and ancient experiences.

"Consult the gods," she answered simply, gently. Her voice seemed to take on a silent echo -- or maybe it wasn't so silent. Dionne wasn't sure anymore. But when the librarian's eyes opened again, they glowed. Her mouth opened, unmoving, but the thunderous echo in Dionne's ears said differently.



Then all at once the echo was gone, leaving Dionne wide-eyed and frozen in her spot as the librarian slumped over, hands reaching for her head as if to support it.

"The prophecy is delivered," the woman gasped, covering a haggard cough before looking up with somber eyes. "My dears, I'm afraid your future is a lot worse than I imagined."

"Eastward lies the haven you seek..." Seth quoted. Could it be the camp mentioned in his dream?

"Camp Half-Blood" Oisin clarified. "A haven for demigods. By the sounds of this prophecy, we will be travelling there. But twelve trials...?"
Seth looked to Dionne, "Twelve trials huh...the only thing that comes to mind is Hercules and his twelve labors. What do you think of the first line Dee?"

Dionne paused, mind flashing back to the dream earlier that week -- the chairs, the peacocks, the woman... The feather. Shaking off the slight tremble in her hands, Dionne retrieved the feather from her coat pocket, holding it up. “I think,” she started haltingly, “the 'peacock queen' might be Mrs. Sloan.”

"She wants us? What for?" Seth said, a little incredulous.

Oisin and the librarian exchanged looks. Oisin in particular, paled and shuffled his feet.
"I thought something was up with her...I just couldn't figure it out. She concealed herself very well. The fact that she takes interest in both of you might not necessarily bode well for either of us. This gives me an uneasy feeling, even when I saw the feather before." He said to no one in particular, his hands shaking.

It seemed the satyr seemed reluctant to share what was on his mind.

"Ozzy...What do you know about her?" Seth asked apprehensively. The satyr looked at him with wide eyes.

"Seth, normally the olympian gods and goddesses don't interfere in the lives of their offspring too much. But the fact that she -- I mean, Hera" he murmured her name as if he was scared he'd be overheard by the goddess herself. "--Look Seth...When she wants something, let's just say she gets it. Whatever she wants!" Oisin exclaimed, his voice a few octaves higher than normal.

Like some sort of Mafia Queen? He thought, picturing Mrs Sloan in a black dress and ordering men in pinstripe suits to do her bidding.

“We're dealing with a goddess?” Dionne asked, eyes wide. “What chance do we have then? We're just humans!” she paused, frowning. “Half-gods... Does that mean our parents — our godly ones, that is — will help us?”

“You may try to seek help from your parents, once you do figure who it is...but I’m afraid I cannot guarantee that they would be able to help as much as you would like. The gods are bound by rules imposed on themselves in order to have checks and balances, the lack of which resulted in epic clashes between themselves as well as the demigods. When two gods go to war against the other, their children are expected to support them and wage war against the opposition. A classic example would be World War II where Zeus and Poseidon battled against Hades for control of the world. I don’t think I need to go too much into detail as you know the outcome, but the massive destruction and death toll the war caused resulted in the three eldest of the gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, to form a pact. This pact would prevent them from siring any further children.” The librarian explained. Seth could see pity in her eyes as she glanced at them. She cleared her throat.

“There is not much time, you will come to realize this in the near future. The clock is now ticking and a great stirring has begun. Dark forces are trying to awaken once more after centuries of slumber to oppose the gods--” The ground shook beneath them and the light fixtures above rattled, paint chips fell on their heads. Seth gingerly picked white paint from his hair and nervously glanced out the window.

“--A dance…” The librarian spoke with urgency now, “you will find the infamous Nemean Lion there. You mustn't let it rampage through the town. After you deal with it, you’ll find the way.”

Seth sputtered, ”A dance? He glanced at Dionne.

“The school dance, then,” Dionne said, sighing. “That’s the only ‘dance’ I can think of. I’m already going. Seth?” she asked, looking over at the boy beside her. “If this isn’t a sign from god — the gods, rather — that you should go, I don’t know what is.”

Seth smirked. ”Yeah, I guess you got me.” he said, leaning against the table. ”Sorry, I got nervous the first time around...I was gonna say yes back there…” He felt cotton-mouthed as both Oisin and the librarian looked at him with raised eyebrows. Seth cleared his throat, his face feeling a little warm.
”I should probably let my Mom know too…and outfits?” He looked to the blonde. ”Should we go shop for outfits?”

“Yep. Just…” Dionne trailed off, finding herself feeling rather unsteady — on her feet, in the world, in her existence. But, at the same time, it was thrilling — all that was happening, although intimidating and perhaps dangerous — was more interesting than anything that had happened in her life. “Off we go then? The mall would be fine for this — I have my credit card, and you can take on a mental IOU if you need. Do you want to call your mom before or after?”

---

@dfa

The library itself was a beige two-storied building located at the city center, just next to the town hall. Students went to and fro from the library, with their faces scrunched into masks of concentration.

"Someone must be assigning essays right now." he remarked as they stood inside, close to the librarian's massive desk up front.

"Indeed. Mrs. Sloan's english paper is due tomorrow." A perky lady, who looked to be in her early twenties, looked his way. Her blue eyes seemed to bore into him and a certain knowing light twinkled in her eyes.

"Anything I can help you with? We'll be closing pretty soon, and I've got to do inventory on what we have back in the romance section." she said.

“Yes, um,” Dionne paused, eyebrows furrowing when she realized that she didn't really know what to ask for.

Seth backed her up, "Yeah, we're here to find our destiny--.".

Oisin interjected, gesturing to both of them. "They're the two Argus was talking about."

The blond librarian raised her eyebrows. "It's been a while since that day." She nodded at the trio. "Come with me, to the back room please. I've been expecting you"

As they followed her, Seth could feel anticipation welling up in his gut, eager to be privy to the details to his currently uncertain future. She led them into a study and shut the door behind them. She gestured to the leather sofa and sat in her own chair, facing them.
"Now we musn't waste time. Argus told me that when you two would show up, there wouldn't be much time between now and until the time you must prove yourselves as demigods. Monsters will soon invade this quiet town in search for you. They will hunger when they smell your scent and perhaps will stop at nothing until you are theirs."

The raven haired teen sat quietly, trying to calmly process the information. Yet, her words kept circulating in his mind. Monsters? Like the Lamia? They'd invade the town in search for them, maybe even killing innocents along the way.

"Can't we fight them?" He asked.

"You can, but you'd die in the process," the librarian said, opening the door to the empty study room in the back of the library. "Go on -- there's nothing in there. Just some tables and chairs."

“What are we doing in here then?” Dionne asked, stepping into the room. The light flickered on, illuminating the empty desks. “Is there a secret passage or something?”

"No. But there are answers," the young librarian said, stepping into the room behind them and closing the door with a soft click. "All right, let's see if I can still do this properly."

“Do what, exactly?” Dionne asked, eyebrows knitting as the woman closed her eyes. The librarian's age seemed to melt away before coming back all at once in the form of a soft glow that spoke of lost wisdom and ancient experiences.

"Consult the gods," she answered simply, gently. Her voice seemed to take on a silent echo -- or maybe it wasn't so silent. Dionne wasn't sure anymore. But when the librarian's eyes opened again, they glowed. Her mouth opened, unmoving, but the thunderous echo in Dionne's ears said differently.



Then all at once the echo was gone, leaving Dionne wide-eyed and frozen in her spot as the librarian slumped over, hands reaching for her head as if to support it.

"The prophecy is delivered," the woman gasped, covering a haggard cough before looking up with somber eyes. "My dears, I'm afraid your future is a lot worse than I imagined."

"Eastward lies the haven you seek..." Seth quoted. Could it be the camp mentioned in his dream?

"Camp Half-Blood" Oisin clarified. "A haven for demigods. By the sounds of this prophecy, we will be traveling there. But twelve trials...?"
Seth looked to Dionne, "Twelve trials huh...the only thing that comes to mind is Hercules and his twelve labors. What do you think of the first line Dee?"

Dionne paused, mind flashing back to the dream earlier that week -- the chairs, the peacocks, the woman... The feather. Shaking off the slight tremble in her hands, Dionne retrieved the feather from her coat pocket, holding it up. “I think,” she started haltingly, “the 'peacock queen' might be Mrs. Sloan.”

"She wants us? What for?" Seth said, a little incredulous.

Oisin and the librarian exchanged looks. Oisin in particular, paled and shuffled his feet.
"I thought something was up with her...I just couldn't figure it out. She concealed herself very well. The fact that she takes interest in both of you might not necessarily bode well for either of us. This gives me an uneasy feeling, even when I saw the feather before." He said to no one in particular, his hands shaking.

It seemed the satyr seemed reluctant to share what was on his mind.

"Ozzy...What do you know about her?" Seth asked apprehensively. The satyr looked at him with wide eyes.

"Seth, normally the olympian gods and goddesses don't interfere in the lives of their offspring too much. But the fact that she -- I mean, Hera" he murmured her name as if he was scared he'd be overheard by the goddess herself. "--Look Seth...When she wants something, let's just say she gets it. Whatever she wants!" Oisin exclaimed, his voice a few octaves higher than normal.

Like some sort of Mafia Queen? He thought, picturing Mrs. Sloan in a black dress and ordering men in pinstripe suits to do her bidding.

“We're dealing with a goddess?” Dionne asked, eyes wide. “What chance do we have then? We're just humans!” she paused, frowning. “Half-gods... Does that mean our parents -- our godly ones, that is -- will help us?”

“You may try to seek help from your parents, once you do figure who it is...but I’m afraid I cannot guarantee that they would be able to help as much as you would like. The gods are bound by rules imposed on themselves in order to have checks and balances, the lack of which resulted in epic clashes between themselves as well as the demigods. When two gods go to war against the other, their children are expected to support them and wage war against the opposition. A classic example would be World War II where Zeus and Poseidon battled against Hades for control of the world. I don’t think I need to go too much into detail as you know the outcome, but the massive destruction and death toll the war caused resulted in the three eldest of the gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, to form a pact. This pact would prevent them from siring any further children.” The librarian explained. Seth could see pity in her eyes as she glanced at them. She cleared her throat.

“There is not much time, you will come to realize this in the near future. The clock is now ticking and a great stirring has begun. Dark forces are trying to awaken once more after centuries of slumber to oppose the gods--” The ground shook beneath them and the light fixtures above rattled, paint chips fell on their heads. Seth gingerly picked white paint from his hair and nervously glanced out the window.

“--A dance…” The librarian spoke with urgency now, “you will find the infamous Nemean Lion there. You mustn't let it rampage through the town. After you deal with it, you’ll find the way.”

Seth sputtered, ”A dance? He glanced at Dionne.

“The school dance, then,” Dionne said, sighing. “That’s the only ‘dance’ I can think of. I’m already going. Seth?” she asked, looking over at the boy beside her. “If this isn’t a sign from god — the gods, rather — that you should go, I don’t know what is.”

Seth smirked. ”Yeah, I guess you got me.” he said, leaning against the table. ”Sorry, I got nervous the first time around...I was gonna say yes back there…” He felt cotton-mouthed as both Oisin and the librarian looked at him with raised eyebrows. Seth cleared his throat, his face feeling a little warm.
”I should probably let my Mom know too…and outfits?” He looked to the blonde. ”Should we go shop for outfits?”

“Yep. Just…” Dionne trailed off, finding herself feeling rather unsteady — on her feet, in the world, in her existence. But, at the same time, it was thrilling — all that was happening, although intimidating and perhaps dangerous — was more interesting than anything that had happened in her life. “Off we go then? The mall would be fine for this — I have my credit card, and you can take on a mental IOU if you need. Do you want to call your mom before or after?”

---

The local mall, although not the biggest in Washington, was home to a few formal clothing boutiques, but many more informal ones — which were precisely the stores that fit the mood of the dance. Seth and Dionne arrived shortly with the help of Ozzie’s driving skills, and Dionne took up the wheel from there, leading the trio into the first store.

“Boys are on the right, and girls are on the left,” she said, already making her way over to the left side of the room. “If none of these work, we can try out another. This one’s a bit more laid back.”

On the left, Dionne was systematically scanning, judging, and ruling out one dress after another. Some were too conservative, some too not, some cut to generously, and some with frills — a style that she had enough of during junior prom. Finally, she settled on a navy mid-thigh cut dress with a lace design. This’ll do, she thought, walking over to the other side of the store to check on how Seth was doing.

“Ozzie, you pick one out too. It’s informal, but even slacks can hide your hooves,” Dionne said, cocking her head. “I think.”

”B-but I don’t like slacks!” Oisin groaned as he turned to the khaki and black colored bottoms..

Shrugging, Dionne turned to Seth. “How’s the search going?”

Seth looked at the navy blue colored dress Dionne brought with her. He had picked off a pair of midnight black slacks, but that was the extent of his effort.
”Jeez, that was quick.” He could’ve sworn five minutes hadn’t even passed before Dionne had reappeared, dress in hand. Did girls have this super sense when it came to shopping for clothes?
”I’d like to see you in that.” Seth said and then caught himself. ”I mean, you know try it on, the style...I’d like to match too.” He gestured to the seemingly endless sea of dress shirts.
”Actually! Here, I’ll go try this on!” He grabbed a dark blue dress shirt and a black bowtie and made his way to the fitting rooms without a backwards glance, hiding his flustered face.

“I'm going to hazard a guess and say that he doesn't have much experience with girls,” Dionne said, watching the boy leave with some amusement.

Oisin nodded, "Yeah...let's just say before you, he's had bad luck with girls in general. Maybe you could teach him a thing or two?" He whispered, his eyes on Seth as he scurried away after his latest blunder.

Once Seth turned the corner, Dionne directed her attention back at the unwilling satyr who was now sniffing the pair of slacks she'd handed him suspiciously. “They're not of high-quality material, considering the store we're in, but they don't bite either, alright?”

“Mmm...I don't know, dressing up isn't really my thing...I prefer all natural in the woods but that's just me.” The satyr said, inspecting the slacks in his hands with a frown. "Is it even biodegradable?" He murmured.

Dionne sighed. “Come along. They might not even fit anyway,” she said, herding Oisin towards the fitting rooms. “Also, do you want a date? I could arrange something — if you cleaned up nicely enough.”

Oisin shook his head, "Nah, I'll be alright, just going to enjoy the shenanigans for that night and watch Seth make a fool of himself. Plenty of laughs there, he's sooo clumsy in these kinds of environments." He grinned as he split ways with Dionne and walked into the men's fitting rooms, picking a stall for himself.

Meanwhile, Seth was having a bit of trouble in the other stall...

"Darn it, left over right, right over left and then..." It was finally until his umpteenth try that he managed to tie the black bowtie around his neck, though it was a tad bit too tight and looked a little crooked.
Now was time for the slacks...He carefully undressed and slipped into them, careful not too slip and fall on his behind.
Well..Not too bad at all. He studied himself in the mirror, making adjustments here and there. Seth gave hiself a small pep talk. This is a pretty rare opportunity. I should make the most of it. Stop beating around the bush and just say you wanna go dance with her. Maybe I could also get a gift too, but what? Seth nodded at himself in the mirror.
Think I'll be classy about it too. Maybe, we'll have a glass of fruit punch and she'll drink and then find the gift in her drink? He shook his head. What if she chokes on it? I mean, I am CPR qualified after all...it's been expired for a while but I still got the technique. He raised his hands in front of him. Chest compressions and mouth to mouth. Easy!

Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Seth, are you done yet?" Oisin knocked on the stall.
"Uh, yeah man. Just gimme a moment here." The teen quickly dressed back into his clothes and exited the stall, holding the slacks and dress shirt.
"I'll get these, they fit perfectly." Seth said, casting furtive glances around for Dionne before leaning into Oisin's ear.
"I gotta get a gift for her. It's perfect timing tomorrow. Dance and all, atmosphere might be a little romantic maybe? I decided I wanted to dance with her too." Seth whispered.

“Well best of luck, man. Just go for it,” Oisin said, patting Seth on the back. “Dionne's a much better girl than the last few, although I wouldn't have thought it.”

“Talking about me?” Dionne asked, rounding the corner with a shop attendant. “Oisin, you're getting the suit, period. Here's my card,” Dionne said, handing over her credit card before flashing the boys a grin. “This is going to be a blast.”