Hermes (
messageforyou) wrote2024-12-20 06:06 pm
For
refusetofight
"I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it! He's not going to die, is he? I'm sorry Mistress, I'm sorry, please go help him, he didn't mean it--"
"Hush, girl." Medea doesn't like writing out runes of a summoning circle under pressure, but time is of the essence. The lamb she'd seized from the pasture hangs from its feet, bleating pitifully as she paints the circle with its blood. Lyra is shaking, her hair loose, her bright yellow curls smeared with her brother's blood. Her bracelet rattles with her trembles, and she rests a hand on it to stop the sound, and perhaps to check that it's still there. Her eyes are red and her face blotchy and swollen from tears, but unhurt. Medea made sure she'd be unhurt. "If you want a chance of repairing this, you'll be quiet until I summon your father."
Lyra sobs, scrubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands and trying as hard as she can to be quiet. She didn't mean to. She didn't think he'd recognize her. She just heard him talking about his new wife, and she wanted to ask questions, and it'd seemed so nice at first, he'd seemed so nice, he was just answering her questions and treating her like a curious little girl, he even showed her his spear, but then she moved too fast and the bracelet rattled and he saw it and--
How dare you, witch? She's mine!
He'd sounded so scary, like if an angry, wounded lion could talk.
She's Lord Hermes', not yours. Now leave before I take your head.
He'd been bleeding really badly. The comb wouldn't let him go. It just kept sinking more into his hand like a burrowing rodent. And his eye was all wrong after Mistress struck him, and he looked ready to eat them all alive--
Medea finishes the circle, barely taking the time to wipe the blood from her hands before putting them together. Her inner sanctum isn't as put together as usual, rushed as she was to grab everything she needed, and she breathes, "Achilles, father of Neoptolemus, father of Lyra, I call your shade to visit the land of the living once more. Right now. Do not keep us waiting."
Where previously her call was a firm but polite tug, now it's like she's trying to yank Achilles out of the Underworld by his hair.
"Hush, girl." Medea doesn't like writing out runes of a summoning circle under pressure, but time is of the essence. The lamb she'd seized from the pasture hangs from its feet, bleating pitifully as she paints the circle with its blood. Lyra is shaking, her hair loose, her bright yellow curls smeared with her brother's blood. Her bracelet rattles with her trembles, and she rests a hand on it to stop the sound, and perhaps to check that it's still there. Her eyes are red and her face blotchy and swollen from tears, but unhurt. Medea made sure she'd be unhurt. "If you want a chance of repairing this, you'll be quiet until I summon your father."
Lyra sobs, scrubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands and trying as hard as she can to be quiet. She didn't mean to. She didn't think he'd recognize her. She just heard him talking about his new wife, and she wanted to ask questions, and it'd seemed so nice at first, he'd seemed so nice, he was just answering her questions and treating her like a curious little girl, he even showed her his spear, but then she moved too fast and the bracelet rattled and he saw it and--
How dare you, witch? She's mine!
He'd sounded so scary, like if an angry, wounded lion could talk.
She's Lord Hermes', not yours. Now leave before I take your head.
He'd been bleeding really badly. The comb wouldn't let him go. It just kept sinking more into his hand like a burrowing rodent. And his eye was all wrong after Mistress struck him, and he looked ready to eat them all alive--
Medea finishes the circle, barely taking the time to wipe the blood from her hands before putting them together. Her inner sanctum isn't as put together as usual, rushed as she was to grab everything she needed, and she breathes, "Achilles, father of Neoptolemus, father of Lyra, I call your shade to visit the land of the living once more. Right now. Do not keep us waiting."
Where previously her call was a firm but polite tug, now it's like she's trying to yank Achilles out of the Underworld by his hair.

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Ignoring the servant’s discomfort, Achilles shifts to take Pyrrhus’ injured hand in the hopes of examining the damage. The shell bracelet on his own wrist shifts incriminatingly. The anger emanating from his son is almost palpable.
“Only I am to blame for this. Stay your rage at Lady Medea. She was only performing her duty to Lord Hermes and myself.”
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“Lyra is your sister, yes,” he sighs. “Neither Lord Hermes nor I knew about her until she stole into the Underworld. This was not long ago.”
None of Achilles’ children have been planned and he’s not optimistic that will change. “As much as I dearly wanted to, I couldn’t tell you because I needed to know you. For her sake and yours. She’s my child, but more importantly, she’s the child of an Olympian.”
The first and only of Hermes’ children, Achilles wants to add, if only to drive home the risk, but he stops himself. Most mortals assume Hermes is as prolific as his siblings. Best to keep it that way. Instead, he simply warns, “Any misstep will be harshly punished.”
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“In truth, yes. She convinced me to speak to you,” he says, approaching Pyrrhus again. Any progress he made in the dream visits is completely ruined, he’s sure of it. The walls are back up, perhaps twice as thick now. “She made me realize that I judged you unfairly. Meeting you confirmed it.”
He unstoppers the vinegar and smells it, judging its strength. Good enough to flush the bite.
“Sit down,” Achilles says firmly. “Your wounds grow worse.”
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His son’s emotional wounds are severe, but his physical injuries are grave. Pyrrhus already suffers enough challenges with his headaches—losing a hand and an eye will only make his remaining life more miserable.
Maybe he should never have approached his son. That was more hubris. Everyone he loves is doomed to suffer. I’ve only caused him more pain, Achilles thinks. And now Lyra will hold herself responsible for her brother’s suffering, too.
“Let’s treat your wounds, then we can exchange words.” He waves the cloth and vinegar towards Lykos. “Your man can see to it if you prefer.”
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He sees the stubborn rage in Pyrrhus’ eyes and if it’s half as potent as his own, there’s no return from this. There’s no hope of winning his trust.
“Your sister is more caring, more compassionate than I am. She wants you to be safe and loved, even when she heard the same tales that I had.” Achilles watches the vinegar run through the wound, glistening in the moonlight. The smell cuts sharp through the cool air. “Hate me all you please, but know that she is blameless.”
He rests his hand on his own shell bracelet. “She is the one I mentioned before. The one who loves you.”
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Pyrrhus reminds him of a wild horse ready to rear, to bludgeon him with hooves. Furious, hurt … perhaps afraid. Achilles stands his ground. “But I warn you, don’t look to imperfect men to measure your worth. Not to me, not your grandfathers, not Agamemnon or Menelaus. You will always be disappointed.”
He remembers sitting stubbornly in his shelter at Troy, waiting for Agamemnon to fold, to soothe his wounded pride and return his geras, to acknowledge his worth. Meanwhile, those he truly cared for suffered and died in his absence.
“Look to Molossus and Ophelia.” Achilles’ eyes flick to Lykos. “The people who rely on you for protection. Their admiration and respect is worth winning.”
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He waves a hand broadly at the dark harbor, “Who else would come to your aid?”
“And as to the matter of Lyra’s guardian—Lady Medea was chosen explicitly by Lord Apollo after he observed the threat that looms in her future.” Achilles puts extra weight on the god’s name; an Olympian far more terrifying than Hermes has eyes on Lyra. “It’s not my place to doubt the wisdom of a god.”
There will be heroes with temper problems, Apollo had foretold, and that exactly describes the man standing in front of Achilles right now. He’d always imagined Lyra would misplace her trust in a lover, but those aren’t the only dangerous men in her life.
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He huffs again, shaking his head and crossing his arms tight over his chest. “Hubris, lad.”
As much as Pyrrhus’ arguments wriggle under his skin, that eye still worries Achilles. He amplifies Lykos’ timid concern. “Clean your eye if you hope to use it after tonight. You’ll struggle in battle with only the one.”
A blind spot and a lack of depth perception may rob Pyrrhus of his fighting talent or, at the very least, drop his skill closer to average. On top of that, there’s no telling how or if his hand will heal.
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Achilles gathers a nearby amphora, testing its contents. More fresh water loaded up for the last stretch to Corinth.
“I want to see that your wounds are tended. Enough splashing. Turn your head to the side and keep your eye open while I pour,” he commands, hoisting the amphora in the crook of his arm.
“Once that’s done, I would know what you intend to do next.”
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Achilles pauses the flow of water, giving his son a chance to blink and test the effect. “You cannot be her guardian, lad, but Lyra still wishes to know you. What I said is true: she cares about her brother.”
He doesn’t want this to be Lyra’s only memory of Pyrrhus, but can he trust his anger to die down enough to make better ones? Would letting him near Lyra again simply be tempting fate?
Achilles cocks his head. “Do you want to know her?”
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“All Lord Hermes and I can do is arm her as best we can.” It doesn’t help that Hermes is a busy right hand to the new queen of Olympus and Achilles is a shade, almost entirely bound to the Underworld.
And soon Pyrrhus will be, too.
Achilles grimaces. “I haven’t told her of your fate. She’ll be sad to hear it, but she’s the child of a psychopomp; the inevitability of death doesn’t disturb her. I know she’ll cherish any time you give her.”
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He’s failed both of his children.
“I don’t want to lose you,” Achilles says thickly, neck bobbing, “but I don’t want to hurt you.”
Pyrrhus’ wounds were mostly invisible before, but now the ruin of Pyrrhus’ right eye and the bloodied bandages wrapping his hand are a grotesque indictment of Achilles’ poor choices.
He bows his head. “I leave the choice to you: say the word and I’ll not speak to you again. I’ll see that Lyra does the same.” He swallows again and his mouth draws tight before he raises his gaze to add, “And if you have a change of heart, send word and I will come. I promise.”
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“You’re right,” he breathes, still knelt and staring at the tiny cracks in the pottery. “I wish I could be your father, but … I don’t know how. I’m sorry I hurt you, Pyrrhus. I hurt you again and again.”
He rises and scrubs his hands over his face, hiding a few tears that have rolled down his cheeks. “I hope that someday—perhaps in the afterlife … if I can’t be a father to you, I can at least be a friend. Someone who loves you.”
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