Sun & Moon

~1~

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Amber jump out of her laying position on the soft carpet. The movement was so sudden that it caused Holly to let out  a small noise, and Noah almost dropped his popcorn.

"My arm started burning out of nowhere, and then I got a big shock." Amber said, holding her arm to her chest.

Without looking up from his book, Declan sighed, "it's called static electricity, Amber."

I looked up, and judging by the reaction and the pained expression on Amber's face, I could tell that it was more serious than Declan said it was.

"Roll up your sleeve and I'll take a look." I say, standing up from my spot on the bed and walking over to Amber. I grabbed her arm gently, looking all over to see if there was any damage, when I saw a small area that was glowing.

I gasp and lightly touch the glowing spot. "Amber, you're glowing."

"I don't think people can glow, Madel-" Noah cut himself off with a gasp, also clutching the side of his arm.

I look at Holly and Declan, seeing the same pained reaction before I feel a sharp sting on my own arm. Once the pain died down, we all looked at the spots where it originated from, to see a scar-like mark.

"Does everyone have the same thing, or are they all different?" Declan asked. I look around at all of our marks. I had a serpent and a spear, Declan had a skull, Noah had a flame, Amber had a bow and arrow, and Holly had a heart with a dove.

I glance down at the small yet intricate marking on my arm in disbelief. "Parental claiming marks..."

"What was that, Madeleine?" Noah asked, rolling down the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"They're parental claiming marks," I start, fixing my shirt and examining the rest of my friends, "we have godly parents, and they just claimed us."

"Are the marks the same for every god?" Holly asked.

"They can be different for different kids. Things like gender and whether it's Greek or Roman can change the symbol. Generally the symbols don't change much."

Declan picked up the book he was previously reading and turns to the middle of it. "There aren't different abilities for the same gods, so, Amber can heal and create balls of light, and obviously she's good with a bow and arrow. I can shadow travel, apparently I can use the Helm of Darkness, and I can control the dead. Holly, you can use charmspeak. Noah, you're good at metal working, you can have fire and sparks come from your fingers, and you can withstand any heat and not get burnt. Madeleine, you're extremely smart-" Declan was cut off by Noah, "No duh, she has all the brain cells of this group."

"She's a daughter of Athena, I kind of hope that she's smart, because if not, we're in big trouble." Amber laughed.

"As I was saying," Declan glared at Noah, "Madeleine is extremely smart and knows the logical side of war tactics."

As we were about to sit back down, I heard a few taps on the closest window to us. I brush it off, thinking it's one of the others, until I hear it again. I walk over to the window to see what was there, when I see an eagle dropping a rolled paper before flying off.