Even by demigod standards, Wendy’s dream is weird.

She finds herself in a place she’s never been before. She’s in a square courtyard in the middle of what seems like a house with curvy tiled roof, wooden beams, and stone walls.

Wendy’s not an expert on architecture but it doesn’t take a genius to assume that this place is some sort of an Asian historical site or something.

The house seems to be unoccupied but the sliding doors are open. It’s quiet. The courtyard is empty as well. Wendy wonders if her dream’s GPS broke and brought her to the wrong place or something. Maybe there’s an error. Some sort of a technical problem maybe.

Well, she’s already there anyway and it’s just a dream. Might as well sightsee.

Inside, the house is simple and warm. There’s a tea set on a low table surrounded by sitting cushions. Porcelain vases are displayed on top of wooden cabinets. Hanging scrolls of what looks like Chinese calligraphy and intricate tapestries of sceneries are on the walls.

Wendy traces her fingers along the of the Chinese characters and wonders what it means. Her Korean isn’t even that good in the first place, what more her Chinese? Plus, her dyslexia isn’t helping. The words swim around her vision and she wrenches her eyes off the calligraphy.

She feels like she’s walking through a museum as she inspects the porcelain vases and tapestries. The art steals her breath away. Seulgi would love it here. A pity she can’t take pictures and mental screenshots in a dream.

“Your highness?”

Wendy dives behind a potted plant in surprise. A middle-aged lady walks into the house with back ramrod straight and chin high up. She seems to walk with a pile of books balanced on her head.

“Your highness?” the woman calls again but nobody answers.

Wendy makes a split-second decision and follows her deeper into the house. They walk through a series of corridors before stopping in front of a certain set of sliding doors.

“Your highness? Are you in there?”

“Yes, aji. Come in.”

The woman opens the door. Wendy cranes her neck to see who’s inside but fails. The woman isn’t budging and Wendy’s height is pitiful plus the doorway can only fit one person.

“What are you doing?” the woman asks.

“Rewriting one of Xunzi’s books.” the mystery person inside says. She sounds familiar. Wendy attempts to push the woman aside but her hands passes through her like she’s a ghost.

Just a dream. Right.

She considers just walking through her but she thought it might be disrespectful, as if she didn’t just try to shove her away seconds ago.

“You are working hard. Reading and writing does not come easy for you.”

“If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no achievement.” there’s a sound of paper being crumpled and a sigh. “Did you get what I asked for?”

“Yes. But this will be the last time. Sweets are not good for you, Princess Joohyun.”

The woman finally moves.  

It’s…it’s….

It’s Irene.

Wendy gasps.

It’s creepy, how she looks exactly the same.

Her dark hair is braided back and adorned with pretty hairpins and flowers. Her features are just as it is now—the same multicolored eyes, glorious nose bridge, and pretty lips—except that she has no eye scar, no silver glow, and she’s actually smiling.

She looks…happier. And even though she technically looks the same, she feels younger.

Wendy rushes forward and closely examines this image of Irene—or Joohyun, whatever. She reels back, wheezing.

“Oh my gods, you look exactly the same!” she freaks out but nobody seems to notice. “Holy Hephaestus, you even have the moles on the right places!” she points at the girl’s face. Seriously, why aren’t humans made with a screen capture feature?

“Thank you, aji.” the girl says, calmly popping a taffy in as if Wendy isn’t all over her face.

The woman just hums and opens the windows. “What do you plan to do this afternoon, your highness?”

“Mother is visiting.” gushes Irene—wait, calling her Irene is weird. This version of her feels different. Joohyun. Wendy will call this Irene Joohyun. “She promised to bring me more Greek books. After that she told me we’d be practicing archery.”

“I see the queen is still teaching you Greek nonsense. But I guess it cannot be helped. It is your heritage, though how you came to be will forever be beyond me.” the woman sighs.

“I do not see what it is you find difficult to understand. Two people were in love with each other and had a child. What is it that is so complicated?”

“Two women, your highness.”

Joohyun frowns, like she still can’t see the scientific impossibility of it. “And what about it?” she crosses her arms. “One of them is a goddess. Suggesting that she cannot have a child with whomever she wishes is an insult.”

The woman sighs again. “You are stubborn, obstinate and set in your ways. You are just like your mother.”

“Which one?”

“Perhaps both.”

Joohyun chuckles and resumes writing. Or at least attempting to. Wendy can’t Chinese but she can tell the princess is having a hard time. Crumpled papers are everywhere.

Wendy looks around. Like the rest of the house, the room is simple too. Definitely not that of a princess. There are few decorations but one particular tapestry catches her eyes.

She starts toward it, magnetized. She knows nothing about weaving but she doesn’t need an expert eye to recognize that it’s made with immense skill and effort. Colorful threads were weaved together seamlessly, the light and shadows perfect, the colors in impeccable blend. It’s a work worthy of Athena, she’d dare say.

The image is of a woman in white Greek chiton, sitting on a rock by the sea while looking up at the starry night sky.

Wendy is in awe of her beauty, of the intricate details put into this work of art. The sky looks so real that the stars seems to twinkle. The woman looking at the sky has a faint look of mischief on her face. Like she’s deciding which constellation to make fun of next.

Until she suddenly moves, facing her. The woman winked and blows a kiss.

Wendy wakes up screaming and hitting the cold hard floor.

“Ouch…” she groans.

The cabin is empty. Judging from the bright sunlight outside, it’s probably pretty late.

Wendy stays down on the floor, spacing out. What the hell was that woman all about?

And did she just dream of Irene?

Okay, it sounds weird when worded out like that. The details of the dream is already escaping her and getting foggy but three things remain in her memory: her smile, her name, and the weird woman in the tapestry.

“Joo...hyun.” she mutters, testing the name on her tongue. It tastes strange—a name of a person she doesn’t know.

“Why are you on the floor?”

Joy, Seulgi, and Yerim have entered without her noticing and are now looming over her.

Wendy doesn’t budge. “I just had a weird dream.”

“What dream?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did you hit your head when you fell or something?”

“Maybe.”

They manage to get her moving after putting up with her drama for a little longer. Wendy meets them at the stables after washing up. It’s their schedule to clean the place and Yerim is there to watch them suffer.

“So how did last night go?” Joy asks Wendy, leaning on a pitchfork and looking like the devil herself.

Wendy scrunches her nose, shoveling wet beddings. “Uh, bad.”

Seulgi is scraping the unsoiled ones to one side. “But both of you survived so it can’t be that bad right?”

Wendy replies with a noncommittal hum. The mention of last night reminds her of the bright white flash and Irene’s weird behavior and her promise to explain things.

“Hey, uh, Yerim, do you know what Irene’s schedule is for today?”

The Hunter is sitting in the corner, making a wooden stool look like a throne. She raises a brow. “Since when were you curious about that?” a smile creeps on her face.

Wendy rolls her eyes. “Before you get started, no, it’s not what you think.” she says. “I just need to get something from her.”

Yerim’s smile drops. “Oh. That’s boring.” she says. “I don’t know for sure but she likes hanging out at the beach.”

Wendy makes a mental note of that. “Say…did you guys notice something strange last night?”

“I was fast asleep.” Seulgi answers without thinking about it.

“Other than Seulgi’s snoring being heard all the way to our cabin? No, not really.” Joy says, laughing when the girl glares at her.

Wendy turns to Yerim who seems to be spacing out. “Yerm?”

The Hunter smiles at her. “Hmm…I’m not sure. What exactly do you mean by, ‘strange’?”

After cleaning the stables and washing up, Wendy headed to the beach but Irene’s not there. She tried asking other Hunters but they only narrowed their eyes at her suspiciously before saying they have no idea. For all she knows, they just don’t trust her but she can’t blame them. They have good reason not to. She and Irene have, after all, gone for each other’s throats each time they meet.

She heads to the arena after an hour of fruitless search for sword fighting with her siblings and the Ares cabin. Her folks aren’t fond of swords so it doesn’t really go well most of the time. Today, Johnny is teaching them a new maneuver on how to disarm an enemy. Wendy isn’t very keen with these barbaric swords so she barely tunes in to what he’s saying.

“Can’t you at least pretend you’re trying?” Seulgi tells her as they try to follow Johnny’s instructions.

“It’s heavy. Just carrying it exhausts me.” Wendy complains, being disarmed by Seulgi without much fight. “Can’t I use a dagger or a knife instead?”

“Practicing with swords might be useful too, someday. Come on. Pick it up. Let’s try it again.”

Begrudgingly, Wendy obeys. They exchange blows, blades clashing loudly. She struggles to keep up. Between them, Seulgi had always been the better swordswoman. Wendy prefers daggers and knives aside from classic bow and arrows because admittedly, she’s small and fast.

She attempts to execute the move Johnny just taught them, parrying Seulgi’s strike and abruptly pushing against it, twisting her wrist. But Seulgi notices and pulls away.

Their swords meet again, cutting, ing, parrying. Seulgi is on her guard now and when she’s not smiling, her sharp eyes give the scariest looks. Such duality.

Seulgi pushes her hard. Wendy grits her teeth and tries her best to counter each strike.

“Excuse me, do you mind if I borrow Wendy Son for a moment?”

The voice and the mention of her name breaks her concentration. Seulgi parries her from below in a forceful semi-circle. The impact sends her sword spinning up in the air and landing straight into Seulgi’s hand.

“Hey, why are you suddenly so out of—oh.” Seulgi’s eyes had travelled behind her and she breaks into a slow smile. “Someone’s here for you.”

Wendy turns. Irene is walking towards her. Everything is suddenly quiet and she realize everyone is watching them. She catches Johnny’s eye and he gave her a slow wink followed by suggestive wiggling of brows. Ugh.

“Come.” Irene grabs her wrist and drags her off. Inquisitive eyes follow them as they go.

“You know, you could’ve talked to me after Sword Fighting Class.” Wendy grumbles, “Or maybe before. When it was actually my free time.”

“I heard you were looking for me.”

“I see that the Hunters tattled. Where were you anyway? And where are we going?”

“Someplace quiet.”

“Is that your answer to the first or second question?”

“How well can you row a boat?”  

They reach the lake and Irene tells her to get on the canoe boat. Wendy just gives her a disgruntled look so she gets shoved inside instead. Irene settles across her but Wendy doesn’t budge.

“Why am I the one rowing?” she complains.

“Do you not know how to?” Irene taunts.

“Of course I do!” Wendy grabs the oars and starts paddling furiously just to prove her point. Irene snorts. Wendy glares at her. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m not.”

“You were about to.”

“You looked ridiculous.”

Wendy splashes water with an oar. Irene wipes her cheek and scowls at her.

“Sorry about that,” Wendy says, trying hard not to laugh and failing, “I’m not really used to rowing.”

Irene glowers at her. Then she starts rocking the boat side to side so hard Wendy had to stop rowing to grab the sides of the boat for balance.

“What are you—”

Irene stops. “Sorry about that,” she drawls, “I’m not really used to riding a boat.”

Wow. Wendy had no idea she’s this childish. She resumes rowing.

Irene looks at the sky and Wendy is reminded of her dream. If Irene really was Joohyun, then what made her join the hunt? Where did she get that scar on her eye? Should she tell her about it? But admitting she’s dreamt of her is kind of annoying.  

“Here is fine.” the Hunter says.

Wendy stops paddling. They’re floating in the middle of the lake now. “Why are we here?”

“So no one can overhear.”

“Are you sure we’re not here so you can drown me to death? Because I’m not really fond of the water so I’d have to plead for a different way to go.”

Irene rolls her eyes. “Do not be silly.” she says. “We are here to talk about last night, as promised. Lady Artemis had specifically told me to keep quiet about this. However, since you have witnessed it and also because I have a feeling you will be annoying if you’re kept in the dark, I will impart to you what I know.”

“Okay?”

“But it is imperative for you to see that when I do, the secrecy then extends to you. You are not to tell anyone about this. Unless we agree otherwise. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Do you understand?”

“I understand! Sheesh. Why so serious?” she grumbles, disgruntled.

“Because it is a serious matter.” Irene snaps. “If you think of this as anything less, then forget it. I will follow through the plan on my own.”

“Whoa, wait, plan? What plan?” Wendy asks but Irene just continues staring her down. She sighs, raising her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, fine, I’m serious. So what’s the tea?”

Irene is still looking at her, reappraising, before finally speaking. “Last night isn’t the first time this happened. Three nights ago, the same occurrence took place. Lady Artemis sent a group to hunt down a monster and we did. It turned out to be a Nemean Lion. However, there is something odd. Its tracks shimmered and its fur was glimmering with colors of purple, blue, and pink.”

“What, like, a galaxy?” Wendy asks.

“Exactly. The disturbing part is, on its fur was a pattern of gleaming gems—the pattern of the constellation of Leo.”

Wendy takes it in. “Wait. So you’re telling me…”

Irene nods grimly. “The constellations are being set free upon this world.”

Wendy leans back, processing this information. That doesn’t sound good. There’re a lot of dangerous monsters imprinted on the skies. “But if that’s true…then Hercules…Perceus…all these dudes….can come to life?”

“Yes. But the problem is, they might not be on our side.”

“But not all of them are bad guys, right? I mean, Perceus is pretty decent. Hercules seems cool.”

Irene scoffs. “A common misconception.” she says. “Wendy, they are not actually in the stars. Constellations are mere tributes. It is a mere piece of what they used to be and the legacy they left behind. A memory, if you will.”

“Then why won’t they be on our side?”

“Because there is a lord over the stars and constellations. A lord over them.”

“You mean Krio—”

“Do not utter names so carelessly.” Irene snaps. “Seriously, what do they teach you here in camp?”

“Oops. Okay, sorry. But you mean, like...K-R-Y…I mean, C-R-I…ugh.” she gives up. “You mean that freelancing platform?”

“What?”

“You know…Joy’s great-grandfather in the mother’s side? You know Joy, right?”

“You and your friends are all Yerim talks about these days. Of course I know Joy.” Irene says. “But yes, you’re right. Her great-grandfather. At least that’s my best guess.”

Wendy takes a breather. It’s a lot to take in. This never happened before. At least as far as she’s aware. “But why? I mean, he’s been pretty low-key so far. Why act up now?”

“That, is what we are yet to find out.” Irene sighs in frustration. “Artemis might have answers but she refused to tell me anything.”

Of course. The gods are almost always never helpful. Even cool ones like Artemis. Wendy shifts in her seat. “So what’s the plan?”

Irene thoughtfully chewed on her bottom lip. “I figured we should tell Chiron. Demand for a quest.” she restlessly twists with the jade ring on her thumb. “I don’t know but…I’ve been having this dream…”

Wendy waits but she doesn’t say anything more. It’s the first time she’s ever seen Irene this troubled. Demigod dreams aren’t always sunshine and rainbows. She thought of teasing her but quickly decides against it. Should she tell her about her dream? No, no. Over my dead body.

“How are we going to convince him?” Wendy carries on with the conversation. “It’s high likely he’d be pretending that all is well just to keep us out of trouble.”

Irene’s expression is quick to turn into determination. “We need evidence.” she leans forward and her voice drops, as if anyone can overhear them in the middle of the lake. “I would rather do it alone but I’m not a fool to think it would not be dangerous. If I must bring company, I would rather have a Hunter with me but since you are the only other one who knows about this, I have no choice. Tonight, we are heading to the woods. You are going to help me hunt down that constellation.”

“Uh…but what if that was Hercules?”

“Good then. We have a score to settle.”

Wendy’s jaw falls. “You lived that long? Wait, no. Don’t answer that.” she massages her temples, feeling a headache coming up. “Anyway, I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t even know what kind of monster it is and there are a lot of monsters in the woods. How are we even going to find it?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.”

“What do you mean?

Irene lifts a brow, “You’re talking to the best tracker in the Hunters of Artemis, after all.”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Yerim was minding her own business, hanging out at the empty amphitheater and spending the much needed alone time, brilliantly doing nothing when she sees two familiar figures going on a boat ride on the lake.

Hmm?

They’re. Or at least that’s her guess because there’s a lot of glares and frowns being exchanged. She won’t be surprised if someone gets thrown overboard. If they get freaky freaky, she won’t be shocked too. It’s always either of those with these two.

Yerim have known Irene all her life. The girl basically raised her and that expression she’s wearing right now is for when she’s serious. Which means it’s also the face she wears all the time.

She has a pretty good idea of what they’re talking about. Yerim props her cheek on her knuckles. Something strange last night, huh?

Sleeping at night is a task Yerim can’t easily get over and done with. She spent last night perched by the window of their cabin, polishing her crossbow and sharpening her knives after being awakened by a nasty dream—gunshots, blood, and screams of agony and rage; the usual ghosts of the past.

Then there was a sudden bright flash—brief, but blinding. Just like last time.

Yerim isn’t a fool. When that bright light flashed three nights ago, she had caught Artemis making a three- gesture over her chest. That occurrence caused the goddess to embark on a hunt with a selected few which landed the rest the Hunters in Camp Half-Blood. Meaning, that galaxy-themed Nemean Lion was a big deal. Its appearance meant something, and a lot of similar monsters will continue to appear.

Irene and Wendy seems to have reached a consensus. There’s a lot of grim nodding being shared.

Yerim had known Irene all her life and if she really does know her as well as she think she does, then she can already guess what her next move will be.

Which means she will have to make hers.

She takes off to look for allies and finds them at the strawberry fields.

“What’s up? Yerim joins them.

“All is well, all is Chile.” Joy answers, popping a strawberry into .

Seulgi groans. “I just finished sword fighting and Joy here dragged me into strawberry picking.”

“I’m telling you, it’s therapeutic.”

“I’m telling you, I’d rather sleep.”

Yerim chuckles and strawberries grows rapidly around her, flowers blooming like crazy. “Where’s Wendy?” she feigned ignorance.

“Heard she got ‘borrowed’ by Irene. Campers spotted them in a canoe ride. Miraculously, they’re both still alive and not dismembered.” Joy answers.

Yerim hums thoughtfully, picking a flower. It continues to bloom in her hands.

“Say, I have something fun in mind.” she grins. “Wanna join in?”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Time, it seems, runs faster when you’re dreading something.

Dinner came before Wendy knew it. She ate sparingly. Every now and again, her eyes would go to Cabin 8’s table and would meet Irene’s. The Hunter would send her a nod and a look that says, you’re coming with me later whether you like it or not which she just replies with a squint that says, I really don’t like you. 

Irene’s preposterous idea of hunting down the constellation isn’t something she’d agree on. But when she refused, the Hunter merely says she’ll do it on her own and she finds that doesn’t sit well with her either.

She scrapes most of her food into the brazier, praying to all the gods. Wish us luck. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.

During campfire, she’s too distracted to enjoy herself. She keeps looking up at the sky, trying to see which constellation is absent so she can have an idea of what they’re going to face. She sighs in relief when she sees Hercules still in the sky. Leo is there too. It must’ve returned after they slayed the Nemean Lion.

She feels eyes on her. Yerim is sitting across, roasting marshmallows on the gigantic flames between them. She gives her a smile when their eyes meet. Wendy tries to return it.

The sing-along soon ends and little by little the campers are returning to their respective cabins.

“Hey, Wen. Let’s go.” Joy says, all ready to go with Seulgi.

Wendy shakes her head. “You go on ahead. I’ll, uh, just be here and um, like, wait until the fire is completely out? Yes, that. It’s dangerous. And stuff.”

How eloquent.

They give her a weird look. Seulgi then looks at the Hunters’ seats where Irene is sitting all by herself now as the others are already on their way back to Cabin 8.

“Got some business with her?” she her head to the girl’s direction. “What did she want with you earlier anyway?”

Wendy doesn’t like lying to her friends but she’s sworn to secrecy. She forces a shrug. “Oh, you know. The usual threats on my life. No biggie.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Joy narrows her eyes. “…right.”

They finally take their leave, leaving Wendy alone with Irene. For a while, neither of them moves a muscle, staring at the dying embers of the central hearth. Then Irene stands, dusting her pants.

“We should move. The harpies will start roving soon.”

“Do we really have to?”

Irene gives her a hard look.

Wendy jumps to her feet and starts moving. “Yup! Of course we have to! To the woods! We love danger!”

Irene walks with her. “You can back out if you want. I did not expect you to agree anyway. I only offered to be polite.”

Wendy scoffs. “Now that’s depressing. But you really think I didn’t already know that? Why do you think I agreed?”

“…to annoy me?”

“Bingo!”

Irene groans and walks faster. Wendy follows close behind, laughing.

She’s only been to the woods during Capture the Flag and other war games and knowing that they’re on their own makes the place a lot creepier than it already is. Faces appear on the tree barks, nymphs frowning at them for the disturbance. Monster sounds can be heard in the distance. The darkness seem to be closing in on her, making her feel claustrophobic. She inches closer to Irene, thanking the gods she comes with a glow in the dark feature, only to bump into her.

“Hey, watch it.” Irene hisses.

 They forge deeper into the forest.

Wendy can barely see anything but the girl seems to know where she’s going. She’s apparently the best tracker among the Hunters and right now, Wendy has no choice but to trust that.

Irene suddenly stops, causing Wendy to bump into her again.

“Hey, why are you—”

“Shh.”

O-kay…Wendy stands there awkwardly, wondering what’s wrong when Irene says, “Duck.”

“Chicken?—oof!” she’s pushed to the ground. Irene is firing an arrow and Wendy turns just in time to see it sink deep right in a cyclops’s eye. He let out a confused eung? and turned to dust.

“Come on.” Irene slings her bow on her back and it magically disappears into thin air. “Try not to make any noise. We do not want to attract the wrong monsters.”

“Show off.” Wendy grumbles.

They resume their trek and by now, Wendy’s sure she wouldn’t know the way back anymore. Going through twelve shrubs, crouching under seven low hanging branches, and tripping over four tree roots later, Irene stops again. 

“Admit it. We’re lost, right? We’ve passed this tree, for, like, the umpteenth time. We’re already acquainted. Right, Pine? That’s his name, by the way.”

Irene ignores her, touching something on the ground. Then she gets up and starts moving again.

“Irene, we should just head back. Maybe—” she walks face first into a branch. She swats it away. “Maybe it was just our eyes playing tricks on us or something.”

The Hunter halts. “What do you call this then?”

At first, Wendy didn’t understand what she’s talking about. There’s a cow in grazing in the clearing. So what? Then it stepped under the moonlight and she caught her breath.

She never really thought of cows being anything else other than the source of hamburgers but this one makes her think that cows are cool. It’s bigger and bulkier than any other cow she’s ever seen (not that she’s seen many). Its sharp horns gleamed and ripped muscles rippled beneath sleek, sparkly hide with splashes of black, purple, pink, and blue.

“Holy cow.” she mutters.

“That’s a bull.” Irene corrects.

“Oh. Bull then.”

Irene just gives her one of her classic what-is-wrong-with-you look.

“So what are we going to do?” Wendy asks.

“What do you think?” 

“I’m thinking patties and sausages. Is it me or is that thing looking really appetizing right now?”

“It’s you.” Irene assures her. She draws her bow and notches an arrow.

“Hey, no, don’t. It’s just a bull!”

“It is a monster.”

“It’s peaceful!”

“You do not know that.”

“Irene—“

The Hunter fires as Wendy simultaneously shoves her. The arrow zips through the air like a streak of moonlight and sinks into the bull’s rump. It bellows in agony.

“What have you done?! You—oh my gods.”

The bull turns on them, snorting and pawing the ground. They may or may not have made it very angry. It charges, sharp horns ready to skewer them.

Instincts kick in. Wendy and Irene jumps out of the way. The ground trembled as angry livestock stormed past. Wendy balks at how huge it is. It’s so much bigger up close. Holy cow, it’s taller than them.

“See? It is not peaceful!” Irene yells from the other side of the woods, notching another arrow.

“I won’t be peaceful if I have an arrow sticking out of my either!” Wendy retorts.

The bull swats Irene’s arrows aside with its horns and charges at the Hunter. Irene sidesteps like a veteran matador. It focuses on her, snorting and angry mooing, probably cursing her out in Moo language. Irene looks ridiculously tiny facing it. The bull can easily trample her down.

“Hey!” Wendy yells, “Over here, you smelly three-thousand pound ground beef!”

The insult worked. Becoming ground beef must be every cow’s darkest nightmare. The bull’s dark eyes locked in on her.

“Yes! Come here, big fat cow! Sirloin! Brisket! Marbling! Steak! Medium-rare!”

The bull’s got enough. It bellowed and charged.

Wendy rolls out of the way at the last second. “Too slow, Burger King! You know what? You’re full of bull!”

Hey, that rhymes. Perks of being a daughter of the god of poetry.

“What are you doing?” Irene demands.

“What are you doing? Seriously, do something! I’ll distract him!”

Wendy’s mistake is she got distracted. The ground rumbled and only then did she realize the bull is rushing towards her again in full steam. Fear paralyzes her for a moment as she watches the gigantic heifer closing in.

“Get out of the way!”

Irene’s voice wakes her up like a splash of cold water. She dives aside but she’s a second too late. A nasty riiiip rings in the night and down feathers bursts like snow. Cool air blows on her behind.

The bull’s eyes dripped with hatred.

“I’m wearing red underwear, aren’t I?”

Holy cow.

She runs as fast as she can. The bull is close behind her. She can feel it. She runs past Irene who’s gaping at her stupidly and jumps off a boulder, using it to propel her to the air, and she lands on the bull’s back with a painful grunt. If she survives this, maybe she should try being a cowgirl.

The bull aggressively bucks. Wendy hangs on to its horns for dear life. She feels like she’s on a rollercoaster but there’s no safety belts and she’s falling only to bounce off the hard ground with an intense jerk.

Irene is aiming an arrow but it’s impossible with the bull wildly thrashes around. “Hang on!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” Wendy replies, meaning to say, ‘I’m already doing that, aren’t I?’ but she can’t do anything other than scream if she doesn’t want to bite her tongue off. Heck, she can’t even say YEE-HAW!

Nausea makes bile climb up . This is making her really dizzy. Maybe if she vomits on this cow.

“Taurus, stop.” Irene commands.

Of course, the bull continues bucking.

“Stop.”

Is she crazy? She really thinks she can talk to this? Did she hit her head or some—oh, it worked.

The bull stays still, leaving Wendy’s eyeballs spinning in her head.

“Calm down. We mean not to hurt you. All is well.” Irene says and Wendy actually relaxes. That’s right. It’s fine. World peace is possible. 

“At the count of three, all this will be over. Do you understand?”

Irene locks eyes with her and Wendy rapidly blinks. She’s trying to tell her something. Wendy realizes Irene had been charmspeaking and she’d been a total goner for it.

All this will be over on three? What?

“Do you understand?”

It comes into her at once. She unsheathes her dagger and nods at the same time as the bull mooed. Why does she feel like she just stooped down to the level of ground beef?

“One,” Irene counts.

Wendy adjusts her grip on the leather hilt.

“Two,”

She poised her blade to strike. 

“Three—”

“No!”

An arrow knocks the dagger from her hand. Yerim emerges from the trees, lugging her crossbow. Seulgi and Joy follows behind her.

The bull nervously shifts, probably as confused and surprised as Wendy is. She feels him shift, as if torn between continuing his tantrum and pleasing Irene by behaving.

“Yerim. What are you doing here?” Irene demands.

“You can’t kill him.” Yerim approaches the bull fearlessly. Wendy holds on to its horns just in case it goes on rampage again. But curiously, it remains still. The Hunter puts a hand on its forehead.

“Yerim,” Wendy tries to warn her, “I wouldn’t—”

“It’s fine.” Yerim assures her before turning to the bull. “You’re Cerus, aren’t you? My name is Yerim. I’m a daughter of Persephone. You know her, don’t you?”

The bull’s moo is affectionate as he leans into Yerim’s touch. The Hunter giggles and starts making baby noises.

O-kay?

What’s happening?

“That girl on your back is my friend. She wants to go down. Will you let her?” Yerim asks gently and the bull moos in response.

“You can climb down now.” Yerim tells Wendy.

She’s never been on a six foot tall bull before but dismounting it is similar to dismounting a pegasus. “Uh…you guys know each other or something?”

“Or something.” Yerim answers, still petting the bull she called Cerus.

“Is he your relative or what?”

“Wendy, that can wait.” Irene interferes.

“Right. Sorry. Easily distracted.”

Irene shifts her glare to Yerim. “What are you doing here? And why are they with you?”

“’They’ can also be directly spoken to, Barbie Girl.” Joy spat.

Yerim steps between them. “I saw what happened last night and I knew you’re going to go after it. I got worried so I put up a small rescue operation team. Fortunately, the constellation is Taurus. Now, shouldn’t we head to Chiron?”

Irene looks like she still wants to spit out some scathing words but she ends up sighing wearily. “You and I still have a lot to discuss.”

Yerim grins, saluting, “Yes, ma’am.”

They head back to camp with Irene on the lead. Seulgi gracefully lent Wendy her jacket which she tied around her waist to cover the shameful rip on her pants. Yerim trails behind them, perched on Cerus. The bull had allowed her on his back without going wild. Apparently, he and Persephone go way back and perhaps the friendship extends to her children as well.

“So this is what you’ve been up to, huh, Wendy?” Seulgi says.

“I can’t believe you kept this from us.” Joy adds.

“Look, I’m sorry. Irene made me promise not to tell anyone.” Wendy tells them.

“Did she make you swear on the river Styx?”

“Well, no…”

“Then she’s got nothing on you.”

“But she said—sigh, never mind. Anyway, did Yerim tell you everything?”

“You mean the theory regarding the constellations? Yeah, she did.” Seulgi is visibly shivering without her jacket. Wendy grabs her hand and stuffs it in her pocket.

“Apparently, it’s real.” Joy glances at the walking Taurus constellation behind them. “Yerim said it’s going to be fun but we obviously missed the fun part of you running around, flashing your red clad to that giant cow.”

“Joy, I really shouldn’t blush with a bull behind us right now so please, embarrass me later.”

“As you wish.”

They reach the camp without any interruptions, though Wendy did spot monsters in the shadows as they pass through the woods, warily eyeing Cerus. They were probably wondering where the bull got his sick paint job.

At the Big House, Chiron is at the porch in his Centaur of Attraction offensive neon green t-shirt and fake wheelchair. Instead of being surprised, he looked like his worst nightmares have come true when he sees them. He puts a three- claw over his heart and pushes outward.

“I was hoping my dreams were wrong but…” he sighs wearily. “Come. Let us discuss inside. And as for the bull…you can let him return to the woods. I am certain he will come to you if you call.”

They obey, following him inside. Grapevines crept the walls and ceiling of the living room despite it being winter. They sit on the leather couches by the fireplace and the warmth makes Wendy sigh in satisfaction. Joy takes out a packet of Snausages and tosses one to Seymour the stuffed leopard’s head. He snaps it up and purrs.

“Why do you have those in your pocket?” Seulgi asks Joy.

“It’s for every starving dog I might bump into.” Joy retorts defensively.

Chiron rolls beside the fireplace, facing them. He looks stressed. The shadows casted by the flames makes him look older, though not as old as he actually is.

“Tell me.” he starts. “What is it that you’re trying to say when you brought that creature here?”

Irene doesn’t miss a beat. “We need a quest.” she says. “You saw it yourself. Constellations are being set free and if we do not stop it, it might be too much for this world. Eventually…” she trails off. “I know you know what it would entail. Prevention is better than cure. You are a healer. You should know that better than anyone else.”

Chiron stares at her intently. “Do you know what I know?”

She returns his gaze steadily. “I think I have an idea.”

They engage in a staring contest and only the cackling of the fire and Seymour chewing the occasional treats Joy throws his way can be heard.

Chiron sighs in distress and does the gesture of warding off evil once more. “You are right. Things are indeed stirring. We need a quest.”

He looks at the rest of them for a reaction but gets none. No questions, whatsoever. He raises a brow. “I take it you’ve been briefed about this?”

“Yeah.” Joy answers. “This thing with the constellations is a bad sign, isn’t it? It’s signifying something worse that’s about to come.”

Chiron looks grim. “Let us pray that it does not come to that. If it does… No, I’d hate to think about it.” he says. “We should discuss this tomorrow with the head councilors. About who should go on this quest and whatnot.”

“I should.” Irene volunteers. “I…had a dream last night.”

“What is it that you dreamt of?”

“I do not think it would be wise to tell you about it here.”

Something about her tone rubs on Wendy the wrong way. She huffs loudly, annoyed. “Look, if you don’t want us here, then you should’ve just said so. We’re losing sleep for something we’re not even invited to. What a waste of time.” she stands to leave.

“I dreamt of falling stars.” Irene speaks, freezing Wendy on her spot. “And by falling stars, I do not mean the pretty ones. There are too many, falling here on earth, raining fire and brimstone and causing panic and pandemonium.”

That doesn’t sound good. Wendy’s knees buckles and she returns to her seat.

“Did you see someone?” Chiron inquires. “Did you hear a voice?”

“No.” Irene answers almost immediately. “No, I did not.”

Chiron studies her. “I see.” he laces his fingers together. “But we still need Mr. D’s approval for a quest—”

“Just do it. I couldn’t care less.”

Mr. D is suddenly at the corner, playing Pac-Man. He looks up, noticing the attention on him, and waves a dismissive hand. “Oh, please. Don’t mind me. I’m just a random god playing Pac-Man in the corner wishing for your deaths—oops, did I say that aloud?”

“Mr. D,” Chiron asks, “Are you sure?”

“If Miss Aileen—”

“Irene.” she corrects.

“Yes, yes, Ingrid. Now, if Miss Hunter here thinks she must go on a quest then let her be. It’s easier for us gods when heroes volunteer to do our chores. Less hassle if you ask me.”

Wendy balls her fists. Mr. D really has a knack of irritating people.

“I swear, him being here is more of a punishment for us than him.” Joy whispers. Seulgi and Wendy nods in agreement.

Chiron sighs. He turns to Irene, features grimly set.

“Then, it’s time for you to visit the oracle, child.”

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

“Can we go sleep now?” Joy asks, slumped in the leather couch. She has ran out of Snausages to feed Seymour and is now bored to death.

It’s been a little more than an hour since Irene left to see Taeyeon. Chiron told them to return to their cabins but Yerim isn’t letting them go anywhere. Apparently, they’re all in it together. Mr. D had vanished without them noticing and Seulgi and Yerim replaced his seat at the arcade machine. Wendy found a guitar and plays a random tune to pass time.

Wendy stops playing after a while. “What’s taking her so long?”

“Dunno. You think Taeyeon k-worded her for disturbing her sleep?”

“I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case.”

“If she takes any longer I’d strangle myself with those grapevines.”

“I’d seriously pay to see that.”

She glances at Chiron who had been sitting by the window since he served them cookies, muttering ‘It can’t be...I hope not…oh gods’ which isn’t doing anything helpful to Wendy’s anxiety levels.

Is it supposed to take this long? She’s been in a few quests herself. Mostly, it’s her father making them run errands for him like retrieve his lyre and guard his cattle and whatnot. But she’s pretty sure a trip to the oracle would take around twenty minutes tops. Unless time actually ran differently in that cave.

Finally, after what feels like forever, they hear the front door open. Everybody whirls around as soon as Irene walked into the living room.

She looks a little pale but her stoic expression hasn’t changed. Overall, she seems pretty okay for someone who just received information on how she would ultimately fail and die but in a vague poem so it’s extra annoying and creepy.

“And?” Chiron inquires when she just continues to stand there. “How did it go?”

Irene heaves a sigh and looking constipated, she points to Wendy and says, “First of all, I’m afraid I’d have to do this with her.”