Aidan William Stark ♚ Menelaus (avaliantman) wrote in mythologs, @ 2012-08-23 09:29:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !zurvan, menelaus, raven |
[completed/closed]
Characters: Raven (goquothyourself) & Menelaus (avaliantman)
Date/Time: August 20th
Location: Niflheim, the streets
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mild violence (aka strangling)
Summary: Nothing was planned but that's how life is.
Raven was in good spirits as he walked through the city of Nifleheim, his ginger hair unbound and swaying with each step. With each day that passed, he was feeling more and more like this was home, and that he and Hebe had succeeded in getting away mostly scot-free. He knew that her parents were probably angry; he outright feared Menelaus; but it had been a good little while and there was no sign anyone was looking for them yet.
Mind you, that didn't mean he wasn't being careful, checking any and all posted notices to confirm that they weren't about him or Hebe, and keeping himself aware of who anyone skulking about. Today was different though; today he was out trying to find the perfect present to cheer up his Hebe, and as such wasn't paying attention as he rounded to corner to enter the marketplace.
It'd been some sort of luck that, after some considerable panicking and swearing, that Menelaus recalled Hebe mentioning Raven having a brother in Niflheim. No, it'd been really more than luck that he remembered it all considering how he had completely missed the relationship between his daughter and that boy.
And then he saw that familiar head of hair round a corner and it was like a bull seeing red (har har). Everything sensible and right seemed to just flutter out of his head as he stomped his way over, hands itching to grab the kid who'd taken his daughter. He thought he'd gotten through to Raven, thought that their talk hadn't gone badly and now he was in Niflheim and who knew where Hebe was and if they'd--
The thought was cut off just as his fingers wrapped around one of Raven's arms to bring the boy's attention to himself. "So this is your idea of proving yourself to me?"
Picking out a present was never easy, and although he knew she'd love whatever he got her Raven still wanted to get something truly noteworthy for his bride to be. Jewelry perhaps, or new stationary since he knew she loved to write. Wait... maybe not stationary; it might make her think of her parents.
Neatly sidestepping over a cat, he was reminded that they needed more food for Hebe's kitten, so he'd have to get that as well. If things kept up like this Raven was either going to need to improve his thieving skills, or get a real job. For now though, he was making due providing for Hebe and himself with his savings. He would have smirked at how things seemed to have come together for him, but as he felt fingers close around his arm it became apparent that his luck had just about run out.
Unable to stop the grunt of pain at how tight Menelaus' grip was, Raven stared up into the mans' angry face in shock. "Prove myself? I tried to warn you she had her mind made up," he stammered out, eyes wide with fear.
Luck was just funny like that. Menelaus maneuvered him off the streets and into an alley not just for the sake of keeping out of everyone's way but to also keep others out of their business.
"And you didn't think to change her mind? You didn't think that if you stayed your ground, she wouldn't be able to run off like that and worry myself and her mama?" Menelaus demanded, unable to keep the heat from his tone. The anger at having felt betrayed and cheated wasn't letting go of him or dying down. "Is this what I needed to see? That you'd let my Hebe make a bad decision and go with it?"
His free hand went to that pale throat of Raven's closing around it firmly but not so much as to prevent him from speaking. "What else did you do, Raven? Demeter isn't here to stop me and my daughter isn't even to convince me to let you go. So you're your only hope here and I advise you that the truth's going to less painful."
There was nothing funny about this as far as Raven was concerned, but had he been outside of the situation he wouldn't have even felt bad for himself.
"She had her mind made up, you should know better than anyone how hard it is to argue when she pou..." he started to say, realizing belatedly that probably wouldn't help his case. Clearing his throat, Raven straightened up as he continued. "She didn't even want me to try talking to you, she knew you would never listen."
Again, not the best choice of a rebuttal, as Menelaus' hand closing around his throat confirmed. "Nothing! We've done nothing else!" he squawked, an edge of worry in his tone. "We're staying with my brother, helping out around his house. She's happy, mostly, misses you, but made up her mind and has decided this is what she wants." And Raven would never argue with her.
Menelaus knew the power of his daughter's expressions even if he wanted strongly to believe she was sweet, angelic and would never dream of being naughty. And those were all things that he really didn't want to hear.
Unwilling to believe that this was all, his eyes narrowed and he leaned in, abusing his height advantage as well as strength over the teenager. "You ran away my daughter. Do you know what people will be saying? And she's not even married? And she's living with two men? Where the hell is your brain?" Not that he wanted her married. But, dear lord, the backlash. He could just shake all the red out of Raven's hair for this.
Raven just couldn't win, and yet that damnable survival instinct of his urged him to keep trying. Not because he felt like there was any getting through to Menelaus, but because he didn't want to die.
Unsure of how to respond but aware he had to say something, he stared up at the taller man as though he wasn't concerned that this could be the last thing he ever said. "Yeah, I ran away with your daughter, because I love her and it was what she wanted to do. I don't know or care what people'll be saying, and if you care more about that than the fact that she's safe, among people who care about her, and doing what she felt was best then kill me now. Then go and explain to her how you were so worried about what other people think that you killed her boyfriend and see how she feels about that," he hissed, eyes flashing with anger even though he knew he was no match for Menelaus.
When it came to bad tempers, Menelaus certainly had one. It had been Agamemnon who had always been more calm with cool rationale, the brains behind things. His older brother had used Menelaus' wife as an excuse to go into war, to take the gem that Troy was, had disapproved of Polyxena's death, had insisted on respecting the gods at the end of the war, something Menelaus should have done but had ignored spitefully. No one was perfect, as Menelaus himself had manipulated his clever brother at times but when it came to who had the hotter temper, Menelaus would always win. Something the back of Raven's head would lean when the older man forced it back against the wall behind Raven. Lips peeled back over his teeth in an feral manner, he responded with fury.
"And because I love my little girl, I want her safe from all the wagging tongues of the world. I want her to be looked, admired and respected. I want my daughter to sit on top of everything and be happy rather than have mud smeared across her name." After he had so failed her when she was very small, had been unable to even bring himself to deal with her, Menelaus made all the effort to make up for that.
"So if you love her at all, you better start caring about this brutal world that can make you or break you. Love's pretty and fucking great when you're a starry-eyed teenager but it doesn't put food on the table or get you to rise up and give your family the comforts they deserve." Long fingers then squeezed, the temptation to end Raven rising. It wouldn't be so hard and Hebe was so young. She wouldn't even have to know the truth (he'd never be a saint, never be perfect).
"At least you said boyfriend," he added, eyes briefly moving to where he could see the street. "If you'd have said husband, this conversation would end right here."
Part of Raven's problem was that he never knew when to leave well-enough alone. He was clever, and quick-witted, but far too often he just had to keep pushing even when he knew it could end badly for him, as anyone who knew of his history with Grey Eagle could attest. This was why, although he should have tried using that silver tongue to get himself out of trouble, he remained silent and allowed Menelaus to take out his rage on him. There was a part of Raven which believed that when all was said and done love would find a way, which was a completely naive thought on his end, but he'd love Hebe for as long as he could remember and he had faith that even a man like Menelaus wouldn't sink to murder. He could be wrong, but either way he'd find out eventually.
He was pretty wrong. Accepting silence as an end to their talking and deciding that the best way to manage this was to sweep this kid under the rug, he put his other hand on Raven's neck. It was unnecessary but it didn't hurt him any. Somewhere in his memory, he knew of ways to kill men with spears and swords, knew how to take them down and make a certain war god pleased with him.
It was strange for him to even think that, he mused, fingers pressing down on that windpipe of Raven's, wanting to watch the life bleed from him in a sense. For all the trouble he'd caused Menelaus and to satisfy that rage in him. But those thoughts of war gods and skills that belonged best to a soldier, they were so very odd...
And then something clicked and Menelaus' hands ceased to squeeze. Something uncertain lingered in his eyes and, slowly, his hands began to loosen up.
What am I doing?
The more Menelaus tightened his hand around Raven's throat, the harder it got for him to breathe, until his vision started to dim. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, his hands coming up to try and pull the other mans' fingers away from his skin but failing miserably. Oh, what he wouldn't do to just sprout wings and fly away, maybe build a nest somewhere and hide for a bit.
But he couldn't do that. He knew that he couldn't fly, and that despite being named Raven he was no more a bird than he was a creator or destroyer. Those days were long past, so long ago that he could barely even remember what he looked like then. All he could remember was darkness, and the a single light, like a star in the sky.
Or even, like the almost silvery blonde of Hebe's hair. Hebe, who Raven had only come to know recently, and yet was willing to die for. Memories of the girl in New York who he charmed over tea were blending with ones of the young woman he laid in the grass with and talked of running away. His eyes fluttered shut as he coughed, silently apologizing that he couldn't tell her that what he felt remained the same.
The cough was enough for Menelaus to take his hands off Raven's throat completely, moving to rest on the shorter man's shoulders. An urge to ask if he was alright came and went. Considering he had been the one who nearly strangled the redhead, maybe that wasn't a question he had to ask.
Slowly, things were pieced together in his mind of what had happened to him, of both of his marriages, his children, the resistance to get involved with matters that did not concern him and his family. His brothers and his sister had been two Trojans and that fucking Aphrodite (Aeneas was going to enjoy that when he realized who he was).
And then there was the mystery of Helen. "Fucking hell." Hands abandoning Raven, they covered his face just as a headache began to build in his skull. "Fucking Khaos, fucking gods, fucking everything."
Though it took only a few moments for his breathing to resume as per normal once Menelaus stopped squeezing, Raven had to take three gasps of air before he felt able to react. At first, all he did was stare, waiting to see what the taller man would do next. He didn't trust that this was over yet.
Carefully, he opened and closed his mouth, testing his ability to speak. The urge to point out that back in New York his relationship with Hebe hadn't upset anyone, but they weren't in New York at the moment, and he was only starting to comprehend that. The brothers he'd had here weren't Famine, the only true brother he had, and the calluses on his hands seemed out of place considering Raven had never done a day of hard labor in his life. Well, until this happened.
He rubbed at his throat, watching Menelaus warily. "Fucking hell is right," he mumbled, shaking his head. "You gonna be okay, man? You need a drink?" Raven needed a drink. Actually, he could use a few.
For a man who had nearly been killed, Raven was clearly feeling affable by Menelaus' point of view. There was still a noisy little urge to finish the job (Hebe was still his daughter) but it passed when a blessed whisper of common sense trickled in. This was a game. One big fucking game. There's no point in going overprotective-daddy-who's-just-missing-a-s
"A drink sounds good," the older man replied after a moment, disregarding the first inquiry. That he had no answer for. A brief glance was made at Raven's throat but he passed on apologizing for that just yet (too soon and his feelings needed settling - or to be drowned in liquor). "And you'd better write to Hebe and Brie about joining us. No doubt they'll need one as well."