Son of the Moon (On Hiatus)

My Name is Dante... I Think

"The pesky little fool doesn't even know what he is."

"I can't believe he exists!"

"The curse I bestowed upon him should put tons of misery on his shoulders."

"Like that went so well with that Jackson boy!"

"A barbaric child, he is."

"Now now, let's be wise--"

"Be quiet you know-it-all!"

"YOU ALL BE QUIET!  THIS IS OUR FRIEND'S SON WE ARE TALKING ABOUT!"

I glanced around the room.  There were tall, women around the room, with an aura as if they were divine.  

As if.

I was unable to talk.  There was a beautiful lady in the corner of the room comforting a crying brunette.  A quiver full of arrows and a bow lay on the ground.  A woman with long, wavy brown hair walked to them, murmuring quietly.  The blondie was glaring at them.

"Don't worry, I sent a demigod to protect him.  Don't worry, Art," the brown-haired lady whispered.

The blondie picked at her nails, scowling.  "Athena, though I admit you aren't stupid, this will be the plan that fails."  Athena glared at her and joined her friends.

That woman scares me.

I moved to the crying lady, feeling some sort of recognition through me.  I think-

My eyes flew open unexpectedly.  What was I going to say in that dream again?  

I was laying underneath a canopy of leaves.  With a start, I realized I was sleeping, in a forest.  I don't remember anything at all.  Nothing about myself, my heritage, or stuff like that.  My brain came with the basic knowledge that I didn't know how to use.

You are Dante, you are fifteen.  Don't ask how I knew that.

"I am Dante, I am fifteen?" I repeated (though it ended up sounding like a question).

I looked around and picked up what I supposed was my belongings.  A bow and a quiver full of arrows.  It felt so natural.  I slung it over my shoulder after some hesitation.

What if it wasn't mine?  What if I was stealing?

"I am Dante, I am fifteen.  I am Dante, I am fifteen.  I am Dante, I am fifteen," I whispered.  "I am Dante, I am fifteen--"

"Hey, you!  What are you doing out here?  Where are your parents?" a guy yelled.  He was in a uniform with a golden badge on.  

I cursed mentally, surprising myself with my language.  I waved, trying to look casual, but I'm pretty sure I failed.

"I am a Dante, I am fifteen days, I mean, fifteen months-- I meant that my name is Dante and I am fifteen years old."  Haha, nice going there.  Yep, totally convincing.

The deputy gave me a doubtful glance.  "I'll let you off this one time, all right?  If I see you at these ungodly hours again... Now go home, young buddy."  The deputy watched me as I walked towards a few houses and turned the corner.  I peeked over the corner to see the deputy still glaring at me.  I gave him a thumbs up and pretended to walk away.  I waited for ten minutes and looked back.  He was gone.  I "stealthily" crept back into the forest.

Brushing the dirt off myself, which was useless as I lay down on the ground of a clearing.  I counted the stars while my eyes refused to shut.

One, two, three, four, ok, too many stars for me.  I give up.

I couldn't stay still though.  Then I counted imaginary sheep.  Finally, I succumbed to the darkness.

I woke to the sound of someone, uh, talking?  Once I got my bearings, I realized they were reciting a poem.

"Idiot," she said as she saw me move.

"Uh, who are you and how did you find me?" I asked.

"Well, I can only answer one question at a time, sorry," she said very unapologetically.

"Who are you?"

"F.G.," she answered.

"FG?  As is Fairy Godmother?  Are you my fairy godmother?" I asked.  Again, where did I get this information?

"No!  F.G. as in Faren Grey, idiot."

"Oh.  How did you find me?" I asked.

"Well," she said.  "you did leave a trail that's easy to follow, and you weren't exactly hard to miss with a bow like that."  Faren gave my bow a pointed look.

Dread filled me.  Was this her bow?

She laughed as she saw my face.  "Gods, no.  My bow is right under that tree."  She pointed to a tree that I had DEFINITELY not noticed before.

A feeling like we're being watched washed over the clearing.  Somewhere nearby, an owl hooted.

"Do you feel like we're being watched?" I asked.

"Huh?  No, of course not!" Faren laughed it off.  But there was something she was hiding.  "I'm... going to test something, all right?"  She held up a piece of paper, which said something.

"Oofd."  I squinted.  I'm pretty sure that's what the paper said.  I watched as she wrote something beneath that and shoved it in my face.  "Oh!  FOOD!"

I watched her as she nodded and jotted some notes down.  

"Good, I got the right person," she breathed.

Huh?  Was she looking for someone?  I fingered my arrow subconsciously, taking in everything around me.  The forest was oddly peaceful, even the squirrels didn't somehow annoy me.

Faren held out her hand.  "C' mon, cousin.  We got to go somewhere."

"Cousin?" I asked, confused.

Faren shrugged, smiling.  "Figure of speech."

When I didn't move, she frowned.  She reached down and pulled me up, putting me on my feet instantly.  I grabbed my stuff and Faren tapped her foot impatiently.

"Well?  Are we going or not?"

"Uh, should I be following you?  I don't even know you and yet here you are acting like you were sent to find me-"

"Shut up."

I wonder who was watching them?

-Αθηνά