refusetofight | For @messageforyou

For @messageforyou

Achilles arrives at the Temple of Styx well before the appointed time. This is equal parts because it’s so difficult to judge time in the Underworld and because he’s determined not to be late to one of the most important meetings of his afterlife. … Or his life for that matter.

He approaches the edge of the Underworld—as close as he can before he begins to feel the insistent tug on his shade. By now, he’s discovered the exact stones that mark the border—unassuming at a glance, but should he step past, he knows he’ll feel the pull, like a strong ocean current willing him back to the depths.

So he stands just clear of this invisible delineation, hands clasped behind his back, and gazes past to what little he can glimpse of the surface. The slash of sun is too bright for his eyes, accustomed as they are to Ixion’s lesser light. The wind shifts, and he breathes in the pungent smell of growth, the distant tang of the Aegean Sea.

It brings to mind what Hermes said about Lyra’s birth: she was formed in the ocean. Was she tucked away in the midnight depths? Swaddled safe in a forest of kelp? Or floating free in the tides, pushed and pulled in meandering currents until she was finally washed upon the shore?

He wishes he could have been there to receive her that day—to lift her from the surf and sand, as small and precious as the beach’s scattered shells and wet, jewel-bright stones. Achilles entertains himself this way: imagining her early days, her first steps, her child’s adventures, her clever eyes examining each new thing the world offers.

Each shifting shadow, each rustle past the temple’s gate stirs a fresh flutter in his chest. It’s not long before his impatience and eagerness is fit to rival Hermes’. He periodically paces to the opposite side of the gate, as if it might provide a better vantage to spot her approach.

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"Yup." Lyra nods, smiling proudly. "I paid the bards to sing for us while we worked. My foster parents thought it was a waste, but I always made sure we had enough for food, so they let me get away with it." And Lyra suspects that they themselves were rather delighted at the strange luxury of hearing stories and histories they never would have heard otherwise. Stories of the gods were still told over the fire by peasants, but not as beautifully and thoroughly as by a bard. "I still don't know my letters, but I'll learn."

Lyra says it with breezy confidence. She's yet to have the leisure time to sit down with a tutor and learn how to read and write, but now that she knows the future of her family is assured, then it'll be easy to find the time and money to learn.

Hermes wiggles his big paw in Achilles' hand, then the cheetah pops out of existence, replaced by a happy panting cloud.

Lyra squeals in delight, throwing up her hands. "It's so fluffy!" Completely forgetting for a moment that she's dealing with a god, she picks Hermes up and hugs him tight like a stuffed toy, rocking back and forth as she rubs her face into his fluffy, fluffy fur. Hermes, for his part, seems perfectly pleased to be manhandled and squeezed within an inch of his fluffy puppy life. "It has to be made up. This isn't real. It's so cute!"

“It is made up, after a fashion. People in the future breed dogs to look that way, or so Lord Apollo says.”

Achilles watches Lyra cuddle ridiculous-dog-shaped Hermes for a moment. Funny how Hermes probably isn’t anywhere close to ready for that kind of physical affection from Lyra in his normal body. A cheetah or a dog is safe, though. Then he remembers all the times Hermes has shifted into an animal when his emotions are too much and it makes entirely more sense.

“Hermes and I will arrange for more tutors. You’ll learn your letters and much more.” Even if they send her to Medea, he’ll make sure she has a well-rounded education. Maybe he can persuade Hermes to send her away for a few months with Chiron. He gives her a sideways look, as if sharing a secret. “You know, my own letters are quite sloppy. Heroes aren’t asked to write very much at all. I only had occasion to pick up a quill after I died.”

Maybe someday he’ll share the codex with her so she can read more about the Underworld. Or maybe it’s time to start a new one with her in mind.

Or …

“Even if you can’t visit me regularly, we can send letters to one another. And we have just the messenger to deliver them, assuming he ever turns back into a man.” Achilles gives the fluffy cloud a boop on his wet nose.

Being an animal is a welcome respite from the overwhelming pressure of godhood… or fatherhood, in this case. Hermes is grateful for his ability to hide in a less complicated state of being, because right now, he can’t be the happy, accepting father that Achilles is. He needs to warm up to her, needs to get used to the idea of being her father, but he can’t bear the thought of actually saying that to Lyra and risking her thinking herself unwanted and unloved. It’s easier to be an animal, to let her treat him like an animal, and make her laugh for now.

As for Lyra, it doesn’t escape her that Hermes has been strange this whole time, but that’s not weird because gods aren’t supposed to act like normal people. And in some ways, perhaps a small part of her is grateful for him to be an animal, because it’s easier to get to know her fathers one at a time.

When Hermes’ nose is booped, he looks at Achilles upside down, panting with that big natural smile and rotating his head side to side. At the goofy show, Lyra laughs, scratching the dog behind the ears. “But he’s so cute like this! I bet a cheetah would be a really good messenger.”

She smiles bright and open at Achilles. It’ll likely take a while before Hermes warms up enough for them to connect on the same level, but she’s clearly connected with Achilles. “I’d really like to write you letters. I’ll learn how to make mine extra neat for you. I like learning new things.” She looks back down at the fluffy impossible cloud dog, at its happy face and wagging tail, and rubs its ear gently. “Like… I didn’t know gods could be silly. But Hermes is silly, and that’s fun to learn.”

He might not feel like her father yet, but he feels friendly, and that’s more than she would have expected.

It’s a quite a different thing, to grow up with a good father. One who makes the role something to aspire to. Something wonderful and rewarding. As a boy, Achilles wanted to be a hero, of course, but he also wanted to be like Peleus: a loving, protective, attentive father. While heroism has since lost its luster, the other goal remains, stronger than ever.

As much as Achilles would like Hermes to dive into fatherhood with the same eagerness, this is one of the rare things he can’t rush. Hermes needs to do this at his own pace, in his own way. Hopefully Lyra can understand that and not mistake it for a lack of love.

“We can both practice neater penmanship,” he says, giving her curls a playful ruffle.

“I didn’t know gods could be so silly, either, until Hermes showed me otherwise. Gods are much more like mortals than most people realize.” Achilles moves his hand to Hermes’ fluffy head to give him an affectionate pat as well. “Eventually you’ll meet some of your aunts and uncles. They’re all so very different.”

"I'd like to meet them. Most of them. Some of them don't sound very nice."

Lyra has heard her fair share of stories about gods losing their tempers and damning mortals to some unsightly fate for minor grievances. Hopefully, those stories are exaggerated.

And yet even after thinking that, as she leans against Achilles' leg and scratches Hermes' back, she says, "Are they all weird like Hermes?"

The brazen statement surprises a noise out of the fluffy dog, and then it loses shape. Orange sparkling light replaces it for the briefest moment, tumbling cheerfully in the air before Hermes reforms as himself, laughing loudly. His cheeks are gold with mirth, and he sits cross-legged in the air as if sitting on something solid.

"Oh, I love that nerve. You're going to be so much trouble." In his usual form, Hermes has put significantly more space between himself and Lyra--a solid foot at least--but he still props his elbows on his knees and smiles at her, mischief in his eyes. It's easier to face her when she makes him laugh with that blunt hubris. "The answer is yes. Weirdos, all of us. No one calls us out on it because they don't like the idea of being smote from the earth, but we are all weird." Athena always being reduced to helpless confusion when faced with romance or sex. Aphrodite obsessed with the stuff. Dionysus perpetually drunk. Apollo being a porcupine on two legs. Hebe being an absolute gremlin. Artemis avoiding family gatherings like a moody teenager. Oh yes, Hermes' family is nothing but weirdos.

A laugh bursts out of Achilles, similarly surprised and charmed. The nerve, to call a god—one who is her father—“weird.” Of course, it’s only funny because Hermes absolutely doesn’t mind. Achilles isn’t sure many other gods would take it in stride, but as parents, they can always teach her the importance of manners and respect around certain Olympians.

“Mortals grow quite peculiar with age. Imagine continuing that process for centuries.” Well, that, and having access to dizzyingly vast divine knowledge.

“But if your Olympian family is a bit too weird, I‘ll introduce you to your grandfather. He has odd stories from his time as an Argonaut, but he’s otherwise mostly normal.” Achilles smiles, remembering how elated Peleus was to hear about his granddaughter. Naturally, that was paired with ample surprise when he learned about Lyra’s other father. “And he’s quite eager to meet you, I might add.”

"I bet he was surprised," Hermes muses, smiling with a twinkle of amusement at Achilles before looking to Lyra. "I like to keep my affairs private. Peleus didn't even know we were together before yesterday."

He's almost sorry he didn't get to see Peleus' face, but also Hermes has met his quota for family drama to deal with for a while and has to dedicate the rest of his energy figuring out what fatherhood means.

"Weird isn't bad. I'm pretty weird too," Lyra says with the prim air of a child who's far too sure of herself considering her life experience. "But I'd like to meet Peleus. I never thought I'd have a grandfather to meet before."

Then she frowns in thought. "Should I call him Peleus? Or... you Achilles, and you Hermes? Should I say granddad and dad and stuff?"

Hermes holds up his hands with an opaque smirk. His feathers tense, but they don't pin. "Take it at your own pace, darling. At least for me. No need to jump into calling me something if it doesn't feel right to you yet." And also, maybe it wouldn't feel right yet to Hermes either, but he doesn't want to say that. That sounds too much like rejecting her as a daughter, and he can't bear the thought.

“He thought ‘Thermusa’ was her mother. I suppose that guess wasn’t too far off the mark, was it?” Achilles huffs a laugh. Naturally, his father had lots of questions about Achilles’ relationship with Patroclus, and Achilles explained the ongoing tension. Peleus was sympathetic and offered ideas for how to help things along with Pat; he knows Patroclus like a second son, after all.

Achilles cocks his head and gives his own thoughtful frown when he realizes both of them can’t exactly answer to ‘father.’ And … it’s such an odd thing: a child asking what to call her parents. Usually that comes about so naturally. “I’m sure Peleus would love to be called ‘granddad,’ but you should call him—and each of us—whatever you like, my dear.”

Hermes huffs a laugh as well, smiling. "Well, he's not wrong, if you look at it a certain way."

Lyra cocks her head at the conversation, gathering pretty quickly that 'Thermusa' must be Hermes, just disguised. But she hums when her question is answered, rocking back and forth as she thinks. She has similar restless energy as Hermes, like thought requires movement.

"I'll think about it," she says. She needs to consider different names for fathers, after all. They can't both be 'father'. But as she puts that at the back of her head to consider, she looks at Hermes curiously, leaning her head against Achilles' leg.

"Is it weird being a girl, when you're usually a boy?" she says. Hermes rocks back and forth in the air as he considers her question--neither of them notice how they mirror the other.

"No weirder than being a dog, or a cheetah, or a bird," Hermes says. "It's not what I usually am. But it's not not me, either. And sometimes it's more comfortable to take a break from what I usually am and slip into something else."

Lyra looks up as she thinks about the answer. She's not sure she understands, but that might just be because she can't turn into other things like him. "Could you turn me into a bird some time? I'd like to try to slip into something else."

Hermes' brow goes up in surprise. "I could. But I'd recommend trying an animal that doesn't fly, first. It's hard to learn how to move in a new body, much less one that can have you fall from great heights if you don't learn it well."

Watching those mirrored movements brings on a fresh swell of affection for both of them. They truly look like family. Achilles smiles fondly and continues rearranging Lyra’s curls, putting them into a semblance of order.

“Changing shape … It must be a bit like changing clothing,” Achilles muses. “Some days I felt such tremendous relief when I removed my armor. I could stop being a hero for a moment.”

Achilles pauses in working out a tangle. “Not to mention my time hidden on Skyros. What a simple thing it was to become a girl.”

But parental caution instantly kicks in at Lyra’s request and he gives Hermes a pointed look. “Yes, small, easy animals to start, please. A rabbit, perhaps? Or better still, a tortoise. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Yes, something sturdy and slow-moving sounds about right for a start.

Lyra doesn't really understand that either, mainly because she doesn't have a wide variety of clothes to change into. It's her tunic, and whatever else her elder siblings might grow out of. But that just makes the idea of changing into an animal more enticing.

But Hermes puts up his hands with a sheepish smile at Achilles' Look, and it's clear that Achilles is the one who gets to decide if Lyra turns into an animal or not. Lyra looks up at Achilles with a scrunched face. It's supposed to communicate her displeasure, but all her baby fat makes her look a little like a frustrated puppy. "Being a tortoise sounds boring. Like crawling while wearing a box."

"How about... Mmm, a snake, perhaps? Very different from being human, but hard to get yourself into trouble." Hermes, ever the diplomat, smiles as he glances between Achilles and Lyra. Lyra seems pleased enough with the suggestion, but Hermes is more concerned with getting Achilles' approval.

"Could I pick the color of the snake?" Lyra asks.

"Oh, absolutely. Any color you want," Hermes promises.

Yes, Achilles is quickly settling in as the responsible parent. That said, he hasn’t had a chance to develop an immunity to Lyra’s adorable petulance. He tries not to look affected; he keeps his face as stern as possible and considers the offered alternative. Snakes are still a bit too fast and vulnerable.

“So long as you promise not to slip away and get stuck where we can’t reach you. And that you keep clear of any places with hawks about.” Not that he doesn’t trust Hermes to keep her safe, but it’s better to not put her in danger in the first place. She’s a mortal changing shape, not a godling like Zagreus.

“And I want you to change my shape first, Hermes. I want to know what Lyra would experience.” Is it painful? Disorienting? Scary? Maybe it’s not something a child should go through.

Lyra keeps her face scrunched and casually perches her chin on Achilles' knee, just in case he doesn't realize that she's displeased about this. But she'll think later that she really ought not to complain to have a father who wants her safe.

"Oh, if anyone's trying an animal form for the first time, they're staying on my arm until they figure out how to move. Going from two legs to none is an adjustment, I promise," Hermes says, holding out his arm as if to illustrate. "So is having senses you've never had before. Most snakes don't see very well, but they can taste the air to tell what's around them. They can taste so well they know what direction it comes from, like a human knows the direction of a sound."

Snakes can even taste temperature, and some can see heat. All very disorienting changes for a human that a Bronze Age Grecian can't possibly anticipate, given snakes' limited ability to communicate their experiences or why they flick out their tongues so much, but Hermes knows perfectly well will be A Lot to take in at first.

But if anyone was hoping this would deter Lyra, they're sorely mistaken. Her scrunched indignation gives way to bright excitement and curiosity. "I want to see what it's like to taste in directions!"

Fun facts about snake senses aren’t exactly reassuring Achilles. If anything, that sounds overwhelmingly strange. Maybe even similar to when Hermes has opened up his expansive senses to Achilles—amazing, but disorienting.

“Just be very careful. And make certain there’s a way to signal if something doesn’t feel right.” Achilles rests a hand back on her shoulder, signaling his seriousness. “It sounds as if it might be very fun, but I don’t want you to feel trapped or uncomfortable, my dear.”

It’s as much about her safety as ensuring the success of the activity—that it will help their bond and make a good memory for the both of them. If the opposite happens, Achilles worries that Hermes’ confidence as a father might take an hit.

“But that’s an adventure for another day. Are there other questions you have for us, child? Anything that worries you?”

Lyra's childish petulance smooths from her face as she thinks about the new question. It feels like there are so many questions that they're stuck in her head, unable to pick just one to come out first.

She picks one of the many questions that seem more immediate than the others. She takes the edge of Achilles' cloak between her fingers, fiddling nervously.

"How often will I get to see you both?" She looks to Achilles, then to Hermes. "I can come to the Temple a lot while I live here, but Olympians probably are very busy."

"Not too busy for this," Hermes hastens to say, crossing his legs midair again and hiding his concern behind a smile. "You'll see me as often as I can manage, my dear. I might not always look like this--mortals get very uncomfortable when gods pop up out of nowhere--but I'll visit."

Maybe as a tomcat to start. Then he can work his way up to just appearing as a mortal man.

She asks that and Achilles’ heart feels a sinking ache. In a perfect world, they’d share a home. They’d sit down to meals together, he’d carry her to bed after long days, tell her stories until she falls asleep. He’d take her to festivals, they’d travel all around Thessaly and beyond, to Athens, to Corinth ... But the world is far from perfect. They’ll have to make do with these tiny, precious visits.

“My duties find me here at the Temple quite often. Choose a regular day, a time and I’ll meet you, I promise.” Achilles cups her round face in his palm, and says, with all the sober certainty of a hero: “Death won’t keep me from you.

“And someday, perhaps, you’ll learn the spells to summon my shade, wherever you are.” At least, part of it. Enough to speak, if not to touch. His brow furrows and he blinks back the sting of brewing tears. “I’m sorry, little one. I wish we could live together as a proper family.”

One day, Lyra will understand what she'll never have, and she'll mourn it. One day she'll understand what it means that she'll never be able to live with her fathers, never be put to bed by them, never be able to crawl into their bed after a nightmare, never be able to share the important moments in her live except secondhand or through letters.

But right now, all she sees is what she's been given, and how sad Achilles seems. She holds his hand to her face, frowning at him.

"Don't be sad. I'll visit a lot, so we'll see each other much more than we did before now." She considers for a moment, as if making a decision. "If there's magic to summon you, I'll learn it. Then I'll be able to talk to you even when I go on adventures. No one else can do that with their parents."

There, a narrow silver lining of their situation. She may one day be able to travel the world, and still regularly speak to her father face to face.

Hermes, for his part, aches in his chest. He knows that there's something Achilles desperately wants--a living family, a normal family--that he can't give. Even were Achilles alive, Hermes wouldn't be able to give it. Hermes closes the distance between himself and his family (what a weird thought) and sits down on the marble next to Achilles, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll figure something out." Hermes gives a conspiratorial wink to Lyra. "The nice thing about being Olympian is that we tend to get what we want. And I want to figure something out that makes all of us happy."

Lyra smiles up at Hermes, and the vision of looking up and seeing both her fathers together is something that will be indelibly engraved on her memory forever, then--

"Lyra! Lyra!" in the distance, an older, feminine voice calls from the woods. Lyra perks, looking towards the sound before wincing sheepishly.

"That's my foster mum," she says with a grimace. "I'm probably in trouble."

It doesn’t even occur to Achilles that simply having parents who want her is an amazing gift to an orphan. Living in a home together—that’s just a bonus. But Achilles only knows his own idyllic childhood as the norm, as the pinnacle of what a child is entitled to and what a parent should provide.

… And here is his child, comforting him. That show of kindness, her soft skin pressed against his calloused hands, makes the knot in his throat even bigger. He smiles tightly. A tear slides down his cheek, following the hard angles of his face.

“Thank you, Lyra,” Achilles says thickly. He rests his free hand on Hermes’ and leans into his side with a sigh. They’re both so warm. “Thank you both. I’ve nothing to worry about—not with people as clever as the two of you working at it.”

This will work. Somehow. It won’t be how he envisioned his family, but it has the chance to be something even better.

The woman’s voice tugs Achilles from his reverie, he sits up straight. That’s another thing they need to address, and he hasn’t had time to think about how to approach such a potentially delicate conversation. Lyra’s foster parents love her, surely, even if she’s another mouth to feed. Will they be sad or relieved to know she has parents?

“We should let her know that you’re safe.” Achilles glances at Hermes, trying to get a read. Should they mention that Lyra was born to two fathers? That one of them is a god and the other is the ghost of a hero? “… And introduce ourselves.”

It's a lot easier for Hermes to forget his own discomfort when he sees Achilles in pain. Achilles so rarely weeps that it always twists Hermes' heart. "Oh, my love." Hermes slides his arm around Achilles and wipes the tear from his lover's face. "Nothing to worry about at all. We'll figure it out."

And then everyone's attention is drawn to the sound of Lyra's name. In a moment, Hermes is running different factors in his head. The value of telling the truth to Lyra's foster parents versus the risk of the wrong attention being drawn.

Hermes doesn't trust mortals to keep secrets. Even when they do their best, they often speak where prying ears can hear. But they should know, because he doesn't trust Lyra to keep the secret either and doesn't want her restricted from seeing them. But he also doesn't want her to attract attention. Rumors of godly heritage are common enough, both rooted in truth and vain lies, and the worst sorts of men are unlikely to investigate rumors of a demigod unless news of her youth, beauty, and prowess travel with those rumors. She's too young to bring in kings and men clawing for her hand, but should Neoptolemus learn he's rumored to have a sister, he'd likely come regardless of how old she was or how unsubstantiated the rumor. For curiosity's sake, if nothing else. And perhaps it's cruel to think poorly of his lover's son, but Hermes doesn't trust Neoptolemus to leave Lyra unharmed.

No, right now, Neoptolemus is the most likely threat for Lyra to face should the truth come out. And Lyra can't be expected to be savvy enough to defend herself against her brother, should he arrive. The news of Achilles' fatherhood is far more dangerous than news of Hermes'.

Hermes looks to Achilles, his mouth in a grim line.

"If news that you're her father gets out, Neoptolemus will investigate." And he'll either kill her for her perceived lies, or he'll do far worse if he believes her. Lyra, for her part, scrunches her face at Hermes, but instead of petulance, she's scrunched in consideration, following his invisible train of thought. "Can you be her mentor, so she still has cause to visit?"

Hermes knows he's asking a lot right now. Achilles is already so in love with the idea of being her father, and to deny her publicly even for now will hurt. But Hermes sincerely thinks it's the best way to keep her safe.

This is what Achilles hoped for. As always, his instinct is to be straightforward, to tell the truth, but he can count on Hermes to consider all the angles. The simple truth might have complex consequences.

“You’re right, unfortunately.” Achilles pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales sharply. Neoptolemus is going to learn someday, best not to hasten that along. Give Lyra time to grow stronger and smarter. “Styx, there must be some way to deal with him …”

Not kill him. Achilles doesn’t want to do that. If there was just some way to set him straight. Break him of his malice and violence … It’s something to discuss later, when Lyra isn’t present.

“Her mentor, yes,” Achilles says, rising to his feet. It’s an easy enough lie. He is that, isn’t he? Still odd that her mentor is a shade, but there’s no hiding that. He offers his hands to Hermes and Lyra. “And you, Hermes? Who will you be?”

"Lyra! Lyra!"

The voice is coming closer. Hermes frowns in thought, and Lyra watches him in fascination even as she takes Achilles' hand in hers and stands. There's something cleverly prying about her eyes, almost like she can read his thoughts if she tries hard enough. Hermes is so lost in thought that he doesn't notice Achilles' hand, still sitting on the marble.

"Hm." Hermes nods to himself, looking to Lyra. "For now, my dear, you're Apollo's child instead."

"Apollo?" Lyra furrows her brow, cocking her head curiously. It's not what she expected, which means Hermes knows something she doesn't. "Why is that better than you?"

Hermes has a matter of fact way of answering her, quick and precise, and it's clear she's taking mental note. "Because Apollo's known to curse whole armies with plague over one kidnapped priestess. Any mortal with half a mind would be afraid to harass his daughter, and anyone who tries to raise any support from an army or kings would risk mutiny."

Plenty of people messed with Zeus' children because it was widely known he didn't intervene on their behalf, and Hermes doesn't have the same fearsome reputation as his big brother. No one wants to risk angering him, but they don't know what happens if they do. Apollo has made the consequences of crossing him abundantly clear, and his history of collective punishment means few people would risk serving someone they think might anger him. It'll frighten Lyra's foster parents, but given their position in society, Hermes is pretty sure that knowing he was her father would have frightened them just as much.

"Won't he be annoyed about someone lying about being his child?" Lyra says, because she's heard enough stories to tell that Apollo doesn't seem the sort to have a sense of humor.

"Yes, but I'm his little brother and I can get away with that sort of thing," Hermes says, giving her a wink and a smile.

It all makes sense, but it still doesn’t sit right. Achilles doesn’t like to hide behind lies, and he doesn’t want his child to, either. His eyes flick to Hermes with an edge of unease. He wants to ask how long they’ll keep this up, but that’s another discussion to be had later. Not in front of Lyra.

“Come along, let’s put an end to your foster mother’s search.” Achilles ushers his daughter back towards the gates of the Underworld, where the surface looks like a vibrant, sunny painting framed by heavy stone. He stops just short of the threshold, kneels down, and rests a hand on Lyra’s shoulder.

“You understand what Hermes is asking and why?” She’s Hermes’ daughter. He expects a certain amount of insight and guile, but she’s also still a child. She may not fully grasp the danger she’s in. “Don’t speak of us as your fathers until we tell you it’s safe to do so, understood?”

Lyra allows Achilles to guide her, leaning against his side as they go. As he kneels in front of her, she holds eye contact, nodding solemnly.

"I understand. You're scared people might want to hurt or use me. So I shouldn't tell people you're my dads."

"That includes your siblings." Hermes puts his hands on his hips, all too aware of the temptations of sibling rivalries. "No bragging to them about your parentage."

Lyra scrunches her face at Hermes in childish petulance. "That's no fun."

"Pinky swear you won't tell them," Hermes says, holding out his hand.

"Pinky swears aren't really magic," Lyra says, face still scrunched.

"Pinky swear."

Lyra sighs, shoulders slumping before she hooks her pinky with Hermes'. "I pinky swear. Even though it's no fun."

"Good girl." Hermes winks with a smile before gently ruffling her hair.

"LYR--oh!"

A woman with steel gray hair, deep wrinkles on her face and hands, and swollen, arthritic knees and finger joins stumbles out of the woods to just outside the mouth of the temple. Her tunic is dirty and ragged, her sandals worn and thrice repaired, and her back is hunched from many years of long, hard work with little rest. She looks at the scene, a ghost knelt before her foster daughter, a god towering above them, because the glowing winged man could be nothing else. Eudokia breath shakes as she drops to her knees, bowing her head and averting her eyes, her hands out in supplication. Her whole body shakes with bone-deep terror, the sort that a deer has just as it spots a hunter, but she forces herself to stay rooted in place, gesturing for Lyra to come to her.

"My apologies, my apologies, Lord, for her trespasses, but she's just a child, I beg your mercy--"

The poor woman is so terrified that she sounds like she might cry. She is dead certain that she's about to be turned into a frog for daring to even look at a god and a noble shade, because she's no hero or queen or warrior. No one important, no one that any god or hero would find consequential. She's just a poor farmer, praying that her foundling hasn't pissed off the gods so much that they won't let her go home.

This is a familiar sight. Standing guard at the House of Hades, he’s watched plenty of shades prostrate themselves before his Master, begging for mercy, for a return to life. It was common enough in life, too: his weaker-willed enemies fell at his feet, begging to be spared.

Achilles can’t stand to see it again. Nor does he want Lyra to see her guardian this way.

“Please don’t be frightened. Not for yourself or Lyra. She’s done nothing wrong. In fact, she’s come at our invitation.” He stands, but his hand still rests gently on the back of Lyra’s curls.

“You must be Eudokia?” Achilles inclines his head and offers a reassuring smile. He opens his mouth to introduce himself and his name almost tumbles out by reflex. Naturally, he doesn’t have a false name ready. Pyrrhus? Sullied by Neoptolemus. Demetrius? Might do in a pinch. But then his gaze sweeps downward to Lyra’s eyes, glittering green as the sea, and a fine name springs to mind. “I am Pelagios.”

A smile comes to Lyra's face as she makes the connection with the name, gently leaning against Achilles' leg.

Eudokia doesn't dare to meet Achilles' eyes, but she does incline her head slightly so she's not just staring at the dirt and can instead see Lyra at his side. She doesn't dare even glance at the god at her side, too paralyzed by fear that even her unworthy gaze might incite wrath.

"Eu-Eu, it's okay," Lyra says, sounding a little exasperated in the sort of way only a hero with no conception of mortal terror can be exasperated in this situation. "They're not going to hurt us. They're really nice."

"Oh, be patient with your foster mother, my dear. She's just trying to keep you safe."

It's almost like Hermes has put on a new face, even though he doesn't shapeshift. His body language becomes loose and comfortable, his smile becomes his usual opaque smirk, his eyes grow gentle yet clever. It's the persona he always keeps with strangers and mortals in need of his services. He drops down to a crouch before the woman, wings comfortably fluffed and the warmth of his aura falling on her as she's forced to look at him.

"Hermes, god of messengers, at your service, boss. Your piety is admirable, but no need for any more genuflecting. Can't be good for the knees."

Lyra watches with fascination as Hermes offers his hand to Eudokia. Hermes had allowed Achilles to take the lead talking to her, but now he seems different, more in his element, and it's interesting to watch from the sidelines. Eudokia, trembling, takes Hermes' hand, allowing him to help her to her feet as if in a dream.

"You called me boss?" she says faintly, like she's not sure if she's about to pass out or not.

"I live to serve." Hermes does a playful little flourish of a bow to her. Lyra watches, noting that this must be what he does with shades, too. Acting a bit silly and making them feel special so they don't feel so scared coming with him to the Styx. "And you've done Olympus a great favor, though you don't know it, and we like to pay our debts."

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