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ii. a pretty boy with a staring problem
gale grace has had his share of weird days, too many to count, actually. the day where jason woke up with neon green hair? weird. the day when hannibal the elephant almost destroyed the fifth cohort barracks? weird. the day when gale got doused in ectoplasm from two lares brawling? weird. but nothing could top today.
finding out that a regular guard duty resulted in gorgons attacking a pretty boy holding an old lady, said pretty boy telling gale he knows him from somewhere, and said old lady turning out to be gale's dear old stepmother that had a thing for smiting her step children for simply existing, was definitely, definitely weird.
pretty boy. yeah, he, or percy, as juno called him, was pretty. gods, he was gorgeous even. his skin was tan, probably from being out in the sun. his body was muscular and lean, like wherever he came from gave him the physique of a hero. his hair was dark and messy, ebony strands resting idly on his head. his eyes were the color of the sea, a beautiful green that seemed to hold a million thoughts at once. his fingers were long and nimble, though gale noticed some small little scars on his hands. gale liked scars. added character, he thought.
he glanced at percy to find that the other boy was staring back at him as they walked. although it may have been kind of creepy, gale didn't sense any ill will in it. it made him feel quite fluttery in all honestly, heat rushing to his cheeks as he looked away.
as they walked through camp, gale, arcana, hazel, and frank flanked at percy's sides and reyna leading, gale noticed the lares acting differently. at the site of them, they almost immediately stopped what they were doing and gave percy evil stares, like he was an enemy from a foreign land they didn't trust. percy laid low, looking slightly uneasy as he followed along. even the little ghost boy chasing a ghost dog looked surprised at the sight of percy, shrieking, "graceus!" before disappearing.
"am i seeing things?" percy asked. "or are those—"
"ghosts?" gale finished for him. "guess that's close. they're lares, house gods."
"house gods," percy said. "like... smaller than real gods, but larger than apartment gods?"
gale couldn't help but let out a small laugh, one that was light and airy but grabbed percy's attention almost immediately. the son of neptune's cheeks couldn't help but warm up at the sound.
"they're ancestral spirits," frank explained. he removed his helmet, revealing a babyish face that didn't go with his military haircut or his big burly frame. he looked like a toddler who'd taken steroids and joined the marines.
