Achilles, Best of the Greeks (
refusetofight) wrote2022-12-11 10:51 am
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For @messageforyou
“Achilles!”
“Yes, Lord Hades.”
“There are visitors at the gate. See them to the audience chamber.” Hades sets down his quill and pushes up to his intimidating height to head to the chamber in question—an austere and drafty room reserved for private conversations with his fellow gods and artfully designed to honor xenia, while still uncomfortable enough to encourage brevity. Mortal shades and house staff are rarely allowed entry. “And send my wife along as well.”
Achilles bows and strides off to do as he’s told. After his brief infusion of Hades’ power in the arena, he can well imagine the clarity with which his master sees his realm and all that stirs within it. Particularly divine guests at the threshold of his halls, toeing the invisible boundary he placed to prevent gods from entering without his approval. (Shades and other lesser creatures can more or less come and go as they please; he could care less.)
With the grinding scrape of cold iron and stone, Achilles pushes open the House’s gate to behold ...
“Lady Athena, Lord Hermes. Please, come in. Be welcome,” he says after a very brief, shocked pause. He leans on rigid formality to hide his relief at the sight of Hermes safe and well after two months and only one brief letter. This is short lived, quickly replaced by a fresh bout of apprehension; why have he and his sister come to see their uncle?
Once they’ve been ushered to the cavernous audience chamber, Achilles finds Persephone in her garden—with Zagreus—and summons her as well. She smiles, dusts the dirt from her hands, plucks clinging leaves from her peplos and asks her son to continue weeding. Zagreus looks chagrined as he works at a particularly stubborn patch of crabgrass.
After two more short detours—one to task Dusa with preparing guest chambers, another to request food and wine from the chef—and Achilles finally positions himself outside the imposing double doors, ready to receive orders and steer away would-be eavesdroppers. All while he’s desperately straining his own ears to hear snatches of conversation.
“Yes, Lord Hades.”
“There are visitors at the gate. See them to the audience chamber.” Hades sets down his quill and pushes up to his intimidating height to head to the chamber in question—an austere and drafty room reserved for private conversations with his fellow gods and artfully designed to honor xenia, while still uncomfortable enough to encourage brevity. Mortal shades and house staff are rarely allowed entry. “And send my wife along as well.”
Achilles bows and strides off to do as he’s told. After his brief infusion of Hades’ power in the arena, he can well imagine the clarity with which his master sees his realm and all that stirs within it. Particularly divine guests at the threshold of his halls, toeing the invisible boundary he placed to prevent gods from entering without his approval. (Shades and other lesser creatures can more or less come and go as they please; he could care less.)
With the grinding scrape of cold iron and stone, Achilles pushes open the House’s gate to behold ...
“Lady Athena, Lord Hermes. Please, come in. Be welcome,” he says after a very brief, shocked pause. He leans on rigid formality to hide his relief at the sight of Hermes safe and well after two months and only one brief letter. This is short lived, quickly replaced by a fresh bout of apprehension; why have he and his sister come to see their uncle?
Once they’ve been ushered to the cavernous audience chamber, Achilles finds Persephone in her garden—with Zagreus—and summons her as well. She smiles, dusts the dirt from her hands, plucks clinging leaves from her peplos and asks her son to continue weeding. Zagreus looks chagrined as he works at a particularly stubborn patch of crabgrass.
After two more short detours—one to task Dusa with preparing guest chambers, another to request food and wine from the chef—and Achilles finally positions himself outside the imposing double doors, ready to receive orders and steer away would-be eavesdroppers. All while he’s desperately straining his own ears to hear snatches of conversation.
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Strong opponents fought to the last of their strength, pushing their flesh to its limits in the slim hope of dragging Achilles to the gates of Hades with him. Less hardened men wailed and pleaded for mercy—their flesh and its continued place in the beautiful, painful world were more precious than their dignity in death. Powerful or weak, vengeful or afraid, when Achilles cut them down, their eyes grew dark. Fathers, sons, and brothers all became meat for the hungry dogs and circling birds.
Here, death is a mild inconvenience. A shade returns to the Styx, reforms itself, and carries on with eternity. Nothing at stake. Nothing to lose.
Usually. Achilles has plenty to lose.
He squeezes the fig to crack open the skin and turns it inside out before finally popping it in his mouth. He chews thoughtfully, unbothered by the wasps that mysteriously disappear inside.
"What if I was no longer your uncle's house guard?" He licks the juice from his thumb and index finger, then reaches to fill Hermes' cup. "What grounds would he have to object?"
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But he has no taste for endless tournaments, and even with Patroclus and regular visits from Zagreus and Hermes, he knows he'd succumb to boredom. His pent-up need to be useful might even drive Patroclus mad enough to consider drinking from the Lethe.
Achilles would miss his part in the Underworld's smooth function: looking after the queued shades while they're most vulnerable, assisting Dusa with the yearly House deep clean, taking dictation for Zagreus' security reports, fending off Chthonic vermin in Persephone's garden, and helping half-drunk Olympians stagger to their guest quarters after a feast (even if it meant enduring a handsy Aphrodite). There's always plenty to do, so much of it well beyond his original job description.
"I could adjust," he says, lamely.
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And then the full idea tumbles out and Achilles cocks his head. He quietly works at a seed between his teeth, thinking.
He usually sees the shades of children after they've suffered Charon's well-meaning, but ghoulish presence and the scrutiny of the judges. Sometimes he'll observe another kind shade caring for the child—often aged grandmothers and grandfathers who eased into death with no qualms, and see their own grandchildren in these orphaned souls. But more often, a child might be left alone, finding no comfort among those elder shades who are too absorbed by resentment or numbed by grief at their own misfortune.
In those children, he easily sees Zagreus when he was small, or even his own infant son, so full of promise. They'll still carry signs of their fate: blood on their tunics, rumpled bedclothes and wasted limbs, or hair still heavy with sea water ...
"It's a good idea," he finally says, slinging an arm around Hermes' shoulders. In fact, he'd happily take on the work even if it wasn't Hermes he was partnering with. "I would be honored by such a responsibility. Do you think you could convince Lord Hades to allow it?"
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He means any raiding warrior so armed and girded, but it could very well be one of the descendants both Zeus and Apollo had used as effective barbs against him.
It was as if they knew his deep regret: that he wasn't a good father in life—didn't even have the chance to enjoy fatherhood at all. He exhales the weight of that grief and lets his head loll against Hermes'.
"I've only ever told this to Pat, but ... When I imagine the other path I could have chosen, it leads to a home lively with sons and daughters—my own, and perhaps Pat's brood all under one roof. I would grow as old as Nestor and see the births of grandchildren and great-grandchildren." There's a hint of color to his face, a hushed softness in his voice—some vestigial shame at admitting a preference for a peaceful, domestic life. One he only formed after he slaked his deep thirst for violence and sealed his fate.
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Achilles doesn’t say it aloud, but he wonders what Zeus might do to Hermes' children, either as penance for Hermes' own missteps, or if his offspring became too powerful and threatened Zeus' sovereignty. Maybe if this bid to put Athena on the throne is successful, another one of Hermes' worries could be put to rest.
"I think you would make a fine father. You're still quite like a child yourself." Achilles tilts his chin down and adds, "In all the good ways. Energetic, curious, amusing. Your children would never grow bored with you."
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Achilles reaches for the hand on his knee to twine their fingers, and he shifts himself to better notch Hermes against his chest.
"That's one reason why I love you." He rubs a palm in a slow circle over Hermes' back, then settles at his waist. "You remind me of a time when I could be curious and silly, before everything swallowed me up. You give me hope that part of me hasn't withered completely away."
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It takes a massive amount of trust for people like them—gods and heroes—to relax. But it's important. Patroclus provided—still provides—that safety for him: someone with whom he can set aside his role as a hero, a demigod, a prince, a commander, the Greatest of the Greeks and simply rest. He returns to Elysium just as he would return to their shelter at Troy: he removes his armor, and lays bare his fears and uncertainty. He's often wondered if this is a heavy burden for Pat to shoulder, but now that Achilles is here, doing the same for Hermes, he knows it's no trouble to listen in sympathy and provide a warm embrace.
The chair creaks under Achilles as he draws Hermes into his lap. It's a terrible risk in his master's house, but after the two months behind them and everything that now lies ahead, he's feeling greedy. Achilles closes his eyes and ignores the tickle of feathers and the ambient hum of cosmic power—only focuses on the press of Hermes' wine-warmed cheek at his neck and the thrum of his words. Hermes may be a god, but Achilles knows there's a core of him that's imperfect and fragile. Human.
That Hermes shares such a tender part of himself is a blessing.
"Even if you were a mortal—a shepherd, an athlete, a cutpurse—I would love you just the same."
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Achilles gives Hermes' waist a teasing squeeze, then turns his head to collect a kiss. After he's enjoyed the taste of wine on Hermes' lips, he withdraws, and says with a weak smile: "My novelty will wear thin before a century's passed. Your eternity takes you anywhere you desire. Mine is bound to the Underworld. It changes very little—and slowly, at that—and leaves me little to discuss besides my duties."
A hand moves to Hermes' chest, tracing the loop of his necklace and each of the charms strung along it. There's no jealousy or resentment in his voice when he says, "You'll find other lovers in a hundred years' time."
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But he sees how Hermes took his words. Achilles wraps both arms around him reassuringly and he tries to explain himself. "I was only granting you permission to see less of me, or to move on someday if you wish. I'll be sad, but I won't be hurt. I'll always treasure the time we've shared and what you've taught me."
He presses his nose to Hermes' and gives him a pointed look. "And if you never tire of seeing me, rest assured I will always be happy to see you."
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"My father used to say the same. Time moves faster the more years you have behind you." He looks up at the vaulting ceiling, still discolored with water stains and rushed patch jobs from the downpour months back. "I must at least be as old as he was when he told me that. Approaching sixty? Thereabouts?"
It was hard to tell with the former Argonaut. He was a sturdy, lively man, but still scarred and weathered by voyages and warring. Achilles suffers a brief pang of sadness at the thought of him.
"Maybe Lord Hades and Lady Persephone will have another child to tutor. Or Zagreus will have his own." Achilles shifts his posture, as one might when he's given up hope of moving from underneath a well-settled cat. "In the meantime, I'll take you up on your offer. I've need of a lyre ... or whatever curious things you come across. So long as they aren't obvious contraband."
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Of course, all of these possible futures hinge on Hermes' success in the short term; if he fails to oust Zeus, it could all be reduced to wishful thinking. But there's no harm in optimism; Achilles hopes this happy talk will help steel Hermes' resolve and improve his chances against his father.
Achilles' shifting jostles the table and he realizes they've totally ignored Dusa's request; the food still sits mostly untouched. Looking at it, what's there shows the head chef has learned about Hermes' sweet tooth: there are honeyed cakes topped with pomegranate seeds, dates stuffed with goat cheese, and fried dough sprinkled with chopped pistachios, to name a few.
He plucks one of the cakes from the spread and offers it to Hermes. "With all the new ingredients from the surface, the chef has never been happier. The only challenge is that surface food doesn't keep as well in the Underworld.
"The queen is experimenting in her garden, though—trying to acclimate plants." He frowns. "The results can be strange. I brought her water from the Lethe to cultivate a crop of tomatoes. When I tried one, it was uncanny ... The next hour felt as if I'd lived it all before." Déjà vu, the feeling might be called one day.
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His sister must be somewhere else in the palace, sampling a tray of food specially selected for a refined palate. Achilles imagines her seated prim and restrained like the patient herons she uses as her messengers.
"You can guess how your uncle agonizes over visions of that exact scenario. If Persephone and Zagreus didn't stand in his way, you'd be served Stygian water and half-stale bread. Maybe a bit of cold barley porridge if you're lucky."
For the most part, Achilles doesn't mind the thought of more Olympian visits. It might break up the monotony. There are a few exceptions, of course. He could do without Zeus or Ares, and Apollo is a definite maybe.
But he can see why Hermes might like to keep the Underworld free of his family; it's a place he can escape to for some respite. Still, Achilles takes the chance to tease him with a wink: "I thought you liked a bit of healthy competition?"
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He steals Hermes' abandoned cup, refills it, and helps himself to a sip. He visibly grimaces, not at the taste, but because his thoughts linger too long on sleeping with the likes of Ares. How miserable. Especially if he shares glimpses into his domain like Hermes does. "I suppose if I ever want the very worst sex of my life—or death—I'll seek out Ares."
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*groggily emerges from the maw of the holidays*
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