Re: Hades, Than, Bast, Phobetor, and open
When the goddess had greeted Thanatos in that fashion, Hades had been surprised. Hades didn't know that Thanatos was involved with anyone. He'd never witnessed Than in a serious relationship, but Hades didn't think Than was the sort who liked big public displays of affection like that either. Then again, Hades also hadn't thought Than was the sort who consorted with Eris and brought home lions in crates. Hades was really starting to question Than's taste in women.
He was also starting to question if the death god had an entire secret second life that Hades didn't know about. This was the second time in a short while that Hades became aware that Than was keeping things from him. Thanatos had stood by Hades side since the beginning of the silver age. Hades thought he knew him. Hades trusted him. He'd told him things. Hades was starting to doubt that he knew who the person who'd stood that close behind him for all those years really was.
Hades brushed aside these thoughts for the moment when surprise quickly turned into alarm. Not because the goddess had decided to strip. That put him in a very awkward position, but it wasn't the most awkward situation he'd been stuck in the middle of during one of these parties. Hades was alarmed because Than's eyes had gotten that wide, and Than had started to stutter. If the goddess actually did remove everything, he might faint.
Hades was too busy trying to figure out if he should intervene to notice that Phobetor finally showed up. On one hand, it was none of Hades' business. Than might not appreciate meddling. On the other, the goddess was being shamefully disrespectful and immature. The histrionics grated on Hades. Than was fumbling with buttons, and if it didn't stop soon, there'd be one naked death god standing next to an angry childish goddess lacking self esteem wearing a vest and a shirt that wouldn't do the body that Hades wasn't looking at any favors. Because Hades was so preoccupied not looking at her body, his eyes were towards Thanatos, and he caught the panicked glance immediately.
What Hades wanted to do about all this couldn't be done, because he had a feeling that this was Anubis' sister. Hades' eyes darted left and right. His standing position didn't change, and he kept looking the other direction, but with a rapid flick of his wrist, Hades reached over and removed the tablecloth from the drink table without disturbing any of the drinks. He had odd hobbies. Hades looked at Phobetor, then took a step forward, and put the cloth around Bast's shoulders. This seemed less awkward than grabbing her by the hips when she was topless. “That Thanatos is notoriously unreliable, but we will get him your message if we can find him,” Hades said with carefully controlled syllables. “This Thanatos, however, is only here in an official capacity. If he wants to respond properly after he's no longer on duty, he can call on his own time.” Hades was willing to try and be the bad guy and take the blame for whatever this was. Thanatos had only come in the first place, because Hades had given him a look that was probably too pointed. As far as Hades was concerned, unless Than asked for off time at this party, Thanatos was on retainer. Ares could make someone die of natural causes any second. “In the meantime, if you want to give your message to someone else with a slightly different tone,” Hades said, “Phobetor seems like he might be receptive.”