Something twitched on my head, drawing my attention to it. My hands wandered up, grabbing at it and then I felt something. It was as if someone was grabbing my ear only for it to be confirmed once I snapped my fingers close to it and suddenly I felt three ears twitching.
Great. So I had six ears, two pairs of horns, spikes on my head, claws and digitigrade legs. Not to forget the bone plates.
"Jackson. What the hell? Why are you so calm?" Ares asked, curiousity written on his face. I.....had to think. Chances are. once the dream is over, and based on the day I had it, this dream will likely be similar to the Rivers Child nightmare.
"No reason to panic. It's not the first time and you're forgetting what my father is known for."
"And what would that be?"
"Did you really forget, Ares? Poseidon is called the Father of Monsters for a reason. You couldn't possibly have thought that I was purely human, right? I mean you already saw me once, during our fight."
"That thing wasn't a sea creature? That was you? How are you even allowed inside the camp?The boarder should have kept you out."
"Some clever sealing magics."
Ares grew silent after that. But only for a time.
"So what now?"
I straightened out. Standing in the forest at full attention. "First, I have to use some magic to make myself look human. Or at least human-like. Once that is achieved, hopefully with complementary clothes, we find out where the closest human settlement is and then join the knight recruiter."
"Okay. That's at least some kind of a plan. So how will you do it?"
I didn't answer him. Instead, I walked around the clearing in circles, gathered a few stones and placed them on the grass. I found sticks to form a few small runes and then the base ritual was complete. It didn't sound impressive nor did it look like it. Even Ares was wondering what I was doing.
The ritual was not ment for something grand, but it utilized the few elements I was closest to.
First, the forest and nature. Runes made out of twigs that fell on their own, not being ripped or torn off. Nature, because I had never left the forest since I was born and had become a part of it by now.
Second, the stones which I had grabbed and placed. They were made to look like the stars in the night, distanced but familiar to me as they were my means of orientation during the dark hours. They were not taken from a riverbed, but just found.
The runes were of no particular meaning, to anyone but me at least. They symbolised me, my thoughts and intentions.
Then I whispered. My words were meaningless. Made confusing by the different tones I spoke. But the world reacted. Not quickly, nor obviously. But it did.
Soon the night grew cold and the stars came out. The pebbles on the ground began to glow and the twigs shimmered golden and silver.
My form began to shrink and warp. Legs grew increasingly human, still long and thin, but the fur receded. Hooves were replaced by feet.
My torso followed the change, becoming more and more human but still retaining the long and powerful limbs, if just proportional to my body. The biggest change was my head.
The skull disappeared, turning human with graceful features and elvish ears, just two of them. The hollow space of my eyes was filled with silver light and golden iris. My hair turned black as black as the night sky. My skin, previously pale, soon turned gold, almost mistaken for actual gold by Ares if the startled noise was anything to go by.
Then the twigs, stones and even the shadow beneath the trees moved towards me. Turning into shoes and cloth. Shoes that were sturdy and seemed reliably worn. The cloth separated into pants and shirt, rough in appearance but soft to my skin. Resistant to tears and the wear and tear of long running. The shirt was simple white as if freshly bleached and smelled faintly of lilies. Then the darkness accumulated turning into a leather jacket as black as my hair warm and featureless. The buttons seemed to be made of horn, ebony white. Splashes of colour began to appear on the clothes. The shoes, now boots, grey and with strong soles, pants of grey with black lining inside. The white shirt grew a flower pattern, roses and lilies (Spider lilies to be exact) and the jacket grew a hood the inside lined with a thin black veil covered in small sliver stars.
"Wha...How.....The....Jackson. What. The. Fuck? First you look like a monster, a demon straight from hell, 4 meters and then some and now? Now you look like you're straight from some high fantasy book. Elven ears. Really?"
I looked at him, still dressed in the drags of a peasant. "It's just a base ritual. One I gave control to the powers I invoked. My form, conditional and temporary at the same time, is not of my choosing. Nor are the clothes that I wear."
"That, Percy Jackson, is not how magic works. Believe me, I've been with Hecate once. That's not how magic works."
"Then Hecate had not learned how give up control."
"She is the literal goddess of magic, Jackson. How are you better than her?"
I glanced at Ares, shutting him up.
"Do you want to try yourself?"
"And how would I do that? Just pick up some stuff from the ground?"
I hummed in affirmation. "Pick what feels right and place it where it tells you to. Take not what hasn't been given already and do not force the issue. Say what you always wanted to say, no matter how stupid or meaningless. Once you do, let yourself go. Allow for the change to happen."
For a second he just.....looked. "Okay. So I will just do that. What about this rock? Think it would be a good one?"
I looked at it and then at Ares. "Does the rock mean something to you? Or would the rock only mean something if placed in a certain way?" I asked. His answer determined what the ritual would entail.
"No. The rock means nothing to me." he said, almost sounding sad. "Ares,...." I said, recognizing his voice answer for what it was. "....take the rock. Take it, do what you think is right with it and then go find the next thing you need."
"Oh." was the only response I got. Then he placed it on the ground, just like I had a few minutes before. This was soon followed by him gathering different things. Fallen flower leaves, a dead trees bark and more stones. He placed them, at first just wildly without thought. But then, after he had stepped back to look at his work, a glint entered his eyes. Almost as if he was disappointed and insulted by something. Then he went at it again. Flowers were rearranged, stones picked up and tossed while new ones werplaced at different points. Bark and twigs were almost all discarded before vines, more flowers and even some bones entered the circle.
"So what now?" he asked after looking at it for a while. "Stand in the centre and just say something. Anything. What ever you want to say however you want to."
And Ares did. The first step. He entered knelt on both knees and talked. I didn't listen. Not because I couldn't, but because I knew how personal some of those things could be. Eventually small laughter and cries, both of anger, pain and relief, maybe even some genuine happiness, echoes through the forest.
Ares didn't transform the way I had. His ears didn't get pointy. His hair changed though, even if only slightly. The shaggy mess with a dirty blond colour soon turned darker and darker, stopping once it had reached a dark almost black brown. His features grew harder, more angular but still human, still recognisable. The only thing that truly changed, were his eyes. The usual red became a soft hearty almost glowing green. Peaceful if you would, but also knowing.
The leaves, stones and even the bones within the ritual soon began to glow towards Ares. They began at his feet, slowly turning into combat boots barely disguised as "medieval". Then the pants followed, long dark brown. A turtleneck sweater formed, a dark but colourful violet. A jacket with ebony buttons and a pearly, maybe marble like colour hung from his shoulders. A small necklace with bird bones formed on top his sweater with a skull as the centre piece, maybe a sparrows skull.
It took Ares a few minutes to focus again and take a look at himself. "I look.....peaceful?" he said. I wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question but it sounded incredibly unsure.
"But you feel better, don't you?" "Yes." came the simple answer. I took some time to actually look at Ares. The way he held himself, his expression and breathing pattern. I tried to see if there was any tension in his shoulders or forearms. There was none.
Ares, the god of war, conflict and more, was....relaxed. He seemed easygoing and approachable. Entirely opposed to how he looked the first time we met.