Athena looked at her daughter.
She was oddly having trouble with what to say. In fact, ironically, her godly presence was being all but ignored by her.
She never had to…try in such a way to bond with one of her children. Her children were always so happy and excited if she deemed it necessary to appear in front of them.
It was a gift, a reward, to get her attention.
Yet her other daughter didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"Nooo, big sis, stop pulling on my horns!" Arachne whined as Mordred held her down, pinching her horns.
"Ya gonna apologize brat?"
"I'm sorry for calling ya short!"
"Hmph." Mordred snorted. "Alright, brat. You wanted me to teach your friends something? I won't be staying here for too long, but I can show them a thing or two to start trying on their own."
"Thank ya, big sis." Arachne beamed, getting up off the ground.
"Sweet, what can I learn?" Percy asked.
"You're a demigod too; who's your parent?" Mordred asked.
"Poseidon." Percy called out.
Athena noticed that her uncle's eyes now turned to Percy now that the boy had called his name so openly. And they weren't leaving; it was as if he was eyeing her as well.
"So you can control water?"
"Yup! I just learned how to do it too." Percy lifted his hand up and pulled a ball of water from the lake.
"Well shit, you can probably learn Mana Burst then." Mordred put her hands on her hips.
Athena raised an eyebrow, having never heard that phrase before, but didn't interrupt.
"Really, Ya think Percy can learn it?" Athena perked up.
"It's easy with an element, y'know?" Mordred responded. "I think that crazy bitch said that once."
"Don't call Aunt Raikou that!" Arachne pouted.
Mordred rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You never met her before she got her head on straight." Mordred grumbled. "Anyways, just use the Authority you inherited, and make your Mana and Authority burst out from your Divine Core. Gives ya a boost in power temporarily, and lets you create water around you too."
"...I understood some of those words." Percy responded.
Mordred snorted. "Better than nothing, I guess. It's more instinctual than anything."
"Can I see an example?" Percy asked.
"Oh, me! A can show!" Arachne perked up. "Watch closely. Mana Burst: Destruction!" She held her arms up, and her Power of Destruction exploded out along with her mana in a torrent around her.
The others took a step back and even had to cover their eyes somewhat as the wind kicked up and made it hard to see.
Even Athena took a hesitant step back unconsciously, furrowing her brow as she watched wide-eyed at her young daughter.
Mordred just nodded. "Yeah, something like that. Though hers is a little different."
"W-what was that!?" Annabeth exclaimed. "That was…that was so much power!?"
"Were ye not listening? That's Mana Burst." Arachne put her hands on her hips as the effects dissipated. The Destruction around her disappeared as quickly as it came.
"...can I do that too?"
"Nah." Arachne said casually.
"What!?"
"Cause you ain't got a good Domain. What do ya expect your Mana Burst to be? Wisdom?" Arachne snorted.
"What does that even mean!?" Annabeth huffed indignantly. "Explain it better."
"Mana burst is exploding outwards with something more tangible. It doesn't really work with vague concepts. Elements are the easiest, of course. Though Father's Mana Burst is only an eruption of Mana and nothing else…but you won't be able to replicate that. Even I can't do that shit; Father's Dragon Core is insane like that." Mordred explained.
"But she can do it, can't she?" Annabeth pointed at Arachne.
"A use my other bloodline. A inherited ma Power of Destruction from me da." Arachne chimed in.
"You mentioned that before, what's that? Those cool black flames?" Percy asked.
Arachne's eyes lit up. "Ya think my Power of Destruction is cool?"
"Super cool!" Percy smiled brightly.
"Ah, well….." Arachne was uncharacteristically bashful. "....Me da calls it 'Conceptual Destruction'. It's the bloodline of the Bael Clan, one of the 72 Noble houses of Hell."
Athena nearly fell over.
It was bad enough to find out that her daughter was apparently a demon or devil of some sort, but she's some sort of demonic nobility!?
Of course, Athena, being as knowledgeable as she is, is more than familiar with the name 'Bael' and the Ars Goetia, as it's a popular written manuscript.
"Are you like a princess then?" Percy asked.
"A suppose…something like tha." She nodded.
"If I can't do that thing, then what can I do?" Annabeth pursed her lips, doing her best not to sound jealous.
"You got your battle cognition." Mordred answered easily. "Probably more practical than Mana Burst, and it doesn't use chunks of your reserves to use. Mana Burst uses a lot of your mana to use."
"...my what?" Annabeth was confused.
"Your, whatever the fuck you call it. How you can basically predict the future in a fight based on reading your opponent. Don't know what you call it around here." Mordred said casually.
"What?" Annabeth repeated, still completely confused.
"Do…you not know you can fucking do that?" Mordred was confused this time, confused at the utter absurdity of her not knowing. "Hey brat, are you sure that's a trait and not just something your mom beat into you?"
"Me mum said it came from my divine side." Arachne nodded.
"What are you talking about?!" Annabeth demanded.
"Ahem." Athena interrupted, as everyone looked at her, almost forgetting she was there. Perhaps it was more insulting than just directly throwing scolding words at her, but she pushed those thoughts down. "It's a more…advanced application of your gifts. Something that takes years to learn and master. With careful learning and coaching—"
"This idiot learned it in a few months when she was like seven." Mordred jabbed her thumb towards Arachne.
Athena's words died in her throat. She was going to carefully explain to Annabeth that it took time and dedication to learn something so advanced, but that seemingly went out the window.
"...she is very talented then." Athena settled on.
Mordred rolled her eyes. "Just fucking fight a lot; it isn't that hard. That's what this idiot did. Fucking battle maniac, she is."
"...Mom?" Annabeth hesitantly looked towards Athena. "What are they talking about?"
Athena's lips thinned, but she decided to explain despite not wanting to. Mostly, the gods didn't like overly explaining the gifts their children received. It was something like a test to see if they could master them properly.
"When you hone your combat instincts enough, you can enter a state where, from analyzing your opponent, you are able to predict their movements and actions." Athena didn't overly explain despite it.
Annabeth just nodded absentmindedly. "If you can basically see the future when fighting someone, then how would you ever lose?"
Mordred snorted again. "You got a lot to learn, kid. That's hardly an invincible 'technique' or whatever you want to call it. Hell, if someone figures out you're doing it, it's pretty easy to fuck you over if you don't know how to respond."
Annabeth furrowed her brow almost exactly like Athena did before, seemingly not knowing what to say back. Mostly because she was completely ignorant of the subject being spoken about.
"Oh, is that what you did in your fight before?" Percy asked, looking at Arachne. "I saw you moving before what's-her-name was."
"Ya huh." Arachne nodded. "You saw that?" Surprised at his admittance.
"Yeah?" Percy scratched his head. "Was I not supposed to?"
"What fight? Who'd you fight already, you stupid brat?" Mordred reached over and grabbed Arachne's ear.
"A didn't do nothin!" Arachne whined under her sister's bullying. "A got challenged! I fought some stupid girl, but her da helped her, so a fought Ares, and it was fun!"
Mordred redoubled her efforts. "Did you seriously get in a fight with a god on your first day here?"
"A did nothin wrong! And it's okay cause Uncle Ares was having fun too, and a want to fight him again!"
Athena, exasperated, then noticed another set of divine eyes turn their way. She noticed Ares' gaze land on Arachne.
Athena was expecting some kind of response, perhaps Ares expressing his annoyance at her daughter's so blatantly disrespectful behavior, but her mouth slowly opened as she saw the God of War's symbol appear over Arachne's head.
"Wa da hell?" Arachne looked up at the glowing sigil above her.
"Did you just get claimed?" Percy asked.
"That's the symbol of Ares!?" Annabeth exclaimed.
"Ares!" Athena hissed, looking up to the sky. She could hear his laughing from Olympus. "Ignore it; that's just Ares making a joke. It means nothing."
The sigil poofed out of existence, but Athena's anger didn't abate.
"Aww, I kinda liked it." Arachne pouted. "Uncle Ares, since a have your cabin, can a have your symbol too?"
Athena's glare towards the sky snapped towards her daughter, and before she could utter a word, a small pin fell down into Arachne's hands.
It was Ares' symbol.
"Thank ya, Uncle Ares!" Arachne waved upwards and gently pinned it to her collar.
Athena's eye twitched.
No one noticed; she was thankful, but she hadn't felt this level of annoyance and anger in a very long time.
The commotion had attracted several other people who came marching on over.
First and foremost was Chiron.
"Lady Athena, I wasn't aware of your visit." The centaur addressed her politely first.
"Chiron, I was simply…conveying the Council's message to my daughter." Athena said vaguely.
Chiron, of course, didn't question her; he knew better than to do something like that.
"Children." He looked at the others. "I heard a commotion from the Big House. What's going on?"
"Just training." Arachne replied.
"Yeah, Mr. Brunner, they're teaching me to use my powers." Percy nodded enthusiastically.
"...Well alright, just…checking." Chiron blinked, not sure why that sounded sort of ominous. "Regardless, Percy, we need you to come—"
"There you are!" A shrill voice cut him off. Zoë Nightshade came marching over with a not-too-happy expression on her face. Though she paused when she saw Athena and all but collapsed to the ground. "Lady Athena?"
"Don't mind me, child." Athena gestured for her to basically not bother her, if slightly more polite than saying that outright.
Zoë was more than willing to follow the word of the goddess. "Ahem, I have been searching everywhere for you!" She pointed at Arachne.
"....the fuck ya want?"
"I - " Zoë nearly stumbled over her words, still not used to the blunt responses from Arachne. "Thou art a danger; thus, I was entrusted by my lady to watch thee! Wherever thou go, I shall follow to make sure thou dost not cause any more problems!"
Athena, surprisingly, didn't argue or say a word against it. If anything, she approved of the idea, as it would help keep her daughter out of trouble.
"Who's this dumb cunt?" Mordred asked towards Arachne.
"What!?" Zoë raised her voice, looking at Mordred incredulously.
"A don't remember, some idiot from before, forget her name." Arachne shrugged.
"Doth thou not remember me!?" Zoë was genuinely starting to become furious now. "I am Lady Artemis's lieutenant!"
"Oh, is she in that weird lesbian cult thing?" Mordred asked.
"Yeh, they want me to join too, said it was for me own good or somethin dumb like that." Arachne shrugged again.
"It is not a lesbian cult!!" Zoë raised her voice. "Who art thou? How dare thee insult the Lady's Huntresses so! I shall have thy head if thou dost not give a proper apology! You and this disgusting creature will both kneel and apologize before my lady!"
"Hey Water Boy, you asked for an example before, you saw the idiots. I'll show you mine now." Mordred said calmly.
Despite her calm tone, Arachne's eyes widened, and she shot towards Percy and pulled him away.
Mordred's grin grew wide, and suddenly a mix of red lightning and mana erupted out of her like a hurricane.
Chiron grabbed Annabeth, jumping away, and Athena likewise had teleported dozens of feet away.
Grover let out a cry and ran as fast as he could while Mr. Blueberry just floated over towards the water, excited about whatever was going on.
Mordred used her power to stomp on the ground, causing a mini earthquake in the area around them, sending a spider web of cracks through the earth and causing it to rumble and shatter as lightning arced out of every crevice.
The Huntress had her world turned upside down; quite literally, she was flung up, then down, she was hit by rocks, and her sense of direction got completely flipped before she got blown away by the earth erupting.
It ended with a loud plop, as the Huntress hit the lake about twenty or thirty feet from the shore.
"Calling my stupid sister a 'disgusting creature.'" Mordred scoffed. "Dumb bitch must have a death wish."
[Line Break]
Mordred whistled, her hands behind her head as she followed along with Chiron and their little group.
"As I was saying before….." Chiron eyed Mordred. He didn't say anything about what happened, mostly because no one was actually hurt. Other than Zoë's pride, that is. But Chiron also felt like their pride was a bit inflated and could use some blunting. "We felt like it might be appropriate to see if you could trigger a quest, Percy."
"Why?" He asked.
"The…erm, situation about Lord Zeus's missing Lightning Bolt. Your presence is an oddity, enough that it may be leveraged here. A son of Poseidon appearing at a time like this—it's no coincidence, Percy. There are bigger things happening than you may realize."
"Can't ya just be like, 'Go on a quest, find the magic thingy, and come back'?" Arachne asked.
Chiron's lips twitched. "It's not quite that simple. And campers aren't allowed to just leave camp without a good reason or go on unsanctioned 'quests.' That is, quests are supplied by the Oracle of Delphi by giving a prophecy. Though, technically, the gods as well can issue quests, but it's not quite the same thing. Regardless, I want you to see the Oracle, Percy, and maybe a quest will come out of it."
"Can a go too?" Arachne's eyes lit up with curiosity.
"That…" Chiron was about to reject her. Seeing the Oracle was something someone was supposed to do alone, but he also recognized her…unique status. "Alright, you can go with Percy as well. But no one else."
Mordred rolled her eyes. "I'll wait here then; you brats go have fun with whatever." She waved her hand dismissively.
They went into the Big House, the building where Chiron and Dionysus stay when not handling camp matters, way at the top of the biggest hill.
"Go up to the attic; that's where the Oracle is staying." Chiron pointed to a specific flight of stairs that had a rather dark undertone to it.
"Why is the Oracle living in the attic? That's kinda weird." Percy noted.
"Some people are just weird." Arachne barely registered it as she followed along with Percy and Chiron stepped back.
There was nothing magical about it, no entering another realm, no ascending to some strange domain.
The floorboards creaked like they hadn't been replaced in years, and there was a strange smell coming from inside.
Immediately, the dust hit their faces, and they saw all the boxes and stores of discarded items. All things you might find tossed in an attic, but…Greek in nature.
Arachne's hoarding sense tingled, but she pushed it away for now.
There was a silhouette at the far end, barely visible, as the only line was from the octagon-shaped window next to it, but the light seemed to shy away from the figure.
The figure seemed to slowly shamble up from whatever stool or seat it was in and held out a hand, pointing at Percy.
It came fully into view. Decayed flesh, visible bones, hollowed cheeks.
"Approach and—" It began to rasp but was quickly cut off.
"Zombie!" Arachne yelled, throwing her spear at it.
Gae Bolg pierced it, carrying it out through the window and off the side of the cliff.
"..."
"....."
"....a didn't do it." Arachne said bashfully.
"Don't worry, I didn't see anything." Percy immediately responded.
Arachne decided from this moment forward that she and Percy were going to be friends forever.
[Line Break]
A/N
More Arachne shenanigans are happening, and canon starts to expand outwards, or tries to at least.
If you want to read 4 Arachne chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / asotryforone
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