War Mantle (Dancing with Death part 3)

That Darn Cat

"Do we have any idea what this rivalry is about?" Tyler sat on the floor of the Artemis cabin.

Ali was across from him, leaning against her bunk. She was surprised her mother let the son of Apollo set foot in her cabin, but it made meeting to talk strategy a lot easier. "It'd be really petty, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was still about me, which would make sense since I have to go back." 

"'Go back'?" Tyler almost laughed. "You've been to the Realm of Dreams before?"

"Yep." She replied bluntly. "I kind of pissed of Morpheus." 

He gaped at her. "You met the god of dreams?"

Ali shrugged. "And one of his brothers."

Tyler threw his hands up. "The next thing you're gonna tell me is that you met Hypnos himself; or you battled Night; or some other crazy outlandish thing that's just another Tuesday for you." He slumped forward, sliding along the floor.

Ali suppressed her laughter.  "Trust me. It's not as nice as you make it sound."

He raised an eyebrow. "It is if you want attention."

Ali scoffed and laid her heads back on the bed. "I don't need anymore attention." She stared at the mural of her mother running across the ceiling. "Sometimes I wish they'd all just forget about me."

Tyler furrowed his brow. "You don't mean that." 

"YES! I do!" She met his gaze. "I've been the victim of jokes, rumors, and... ghost stories since before I was claimed; and it only got worse after the fact." She groaned and flopped back against her bed. "I never wanted to make a name for myself." She dropped her gaze and fiddled with her beaded necklace. "The only thing I have ever wanted is continually taken away from me."

Tyler sat there in silence, seemingly unable to form a coherent sentence.

Ali glanced up at the window and noticed a midnight black cat sitting on the sill. Its fur seemed to ripple and change to a deep blue, then purple, then back to black. She cautiously pushed herself to her feet, careful not to scare it away.

The cat met her gaze and stared with big black eyes that seemed to twinkle with stars. It held her stare, it's fur bristling along its back.

Ali took a slow step forward. "What are you?" She lifted her hand ever so slightly and the cat leapt from the window and disappeared.

Tyler stared at the spot where it had been sitting. "You guys have cats?"

Ali relaxed her stance. "No. The barrier keeps out a lot of things, including a surprising variety of animals."

"So, how's the cat get in?" He pushed himself to his feet.

Ali stared out the window. "I don't think it's a cat."
                                       *   *   *
"You're telling me you've never seen anything like it?" Ali asked Chiron, astounded.

"No, Miss Breck." Chiron replies cooly. "I haven't."

"But you're... Chiron." She knew it sounded stupid, but it was true. She'd never asked Chiron a question he couldn't answer.

"Look." He sighed. "What you saw could've been some ancient monster, or a creature in another form, or just a normal cat. Right now, I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"Fine." Ali bit her lip and turned to leave.

Tyler followed her as they walked away down the hill. "So... back to the cabin?"

"No." Ali veered left. "To the beach."

"Uhh... why?" He rushed to catch up with her.

"Because," she explained. "If there's one person who knows more about Greek mythology than Chiron, it's Annabeth."
                                        *   *   *
They found Annabeth and Percy sitting on the end of the dock watching the sun dip towards the water.

Ali felt a stab of pain rip through her heart, but she forced it down and marched across the wood planks. "Sorry to interrupt." Her voice made them both jump. "Could I borrow your girlfriend for a minute, Jackson?"

He cleared his throat and tried to hide the fact that she'd startled him. "Uhh... yeah. Sure."

Ali smirked at him coyly. "Thanks." She turned to the daughter of Athena. "Can I pick your brain about monsters?"

"Sure." Annabeth pushed herself to her feet. "May I ask why?"

"We... saw something earlier." Ali replied vaguely.

"Okay." Annabeth glanced from Tyler back to Ali. "What'd you see?"

"This is gonna sound weird." Ali bit her lip.

"We're half-bloods." Percy reminded her. "Our whole lives are weird."

"Fair enough." She relented. "We saw a black cat. But it didn't stay black. It's fur kept changing. It almost looked like a galaxy. And it's eyes were solid black, but every once and a while they... looked like a night sky. Remind you of anything?"

Percy's eyes widened. "Yes!"

They all faced him.

"Our first summer together. When we had to deal with whole 'Zeus' Stone Thing'. I saw a cat just like that." He recounted. "I was scouting the ritual site alone and... it just showed up. It let me pet a few times then it scratched me a ran away." He looked from Annabeth to Ali. "Afterwards, I wondered if I'd just been seeing things, but.. this proves otherwise."

"So this is the second time it's shown up." Ali thought out loud. "Both times were after I received a prophecy. Both my prophecies have had to do with the Realm of Dreams and..." She fell silent, gears turning in her head. "No way." She muttered.

"What?" The others all said in unison.

"I know what the cat is." Ali replied. "Or, rather, who it is."

"Say again." Tyler stared at her in disbelief.

As if on cue, something meowed behind them.

They all turned to find the cat sitting at the other end of the dock.

It eyed each of them and hissed.

Ali took a step forward, glaring at the feline. "Hello again, Morpheus."