Grecian Urn...

Finally. Philotes could go out in public. With no offense meant to Gods Who Did That Sort Of Thing, Lotus was done with being the chaste homebody that she'd become over the last... well, however long it was. She could feel the need to touch, to interact, to BE. The urge to be in public, to talk to people, was overwhelming and she stood in front of the full-length mirror for the longest time. Boobs and legs and form fitting clothes were all on her agenda.

She left the house dressed to the nines and immediately saw the difference on Earth. Nothing was moving. Nothing was breathing or interacting or being. As she walked down various streets, her thoughts turned to other places she could go.

Like... a party. With a thought, she appeared in the middle of Eris' garden. A big smile and Friendship was ready to go. "Okay, who missed me?"

Awhile after he watched Thanatos stagger away, Neikos left his ennui inflicted brother Hori to raid the food table.

They had cake! Cake! He was going to kiss Ate next time he saw her, give her a big slippery wet one on the cheek because he couldn't remember the last time he was at any social function on Olympus and they had cake!

He wished the Ate and Styx punch-out thing would have kept going, at least until someone scored a TKO! Watching his sister punch another chick? Even if it was his aunt Styx? Was awesome! But then grand-dad had the "bright" idea to go stepping into the thick of the girlfight and whatever he said sent Styx one way and Ate another. He'd really bugged him because it didn't seem like anything interesting was really going to happen at this party.

Next to watching Ate hit Styx, the most interesting thing in his opinion was watching Thanatos getting plastered which he thought was kind of funny.

Strife decided he would have to ask Kia how she managed to get him that way because Neikos thought Thanatos was too uptight to really enjoy himself to the point of drunken intoxication. And that? That was kind of unfortunate he guessed because Death had an awesome job. Strife thought Death should enjoy it. In fact Strife wished he was Death, or rather he wished he had Death's job because he thought it was the most kickass job a god could have...being the redeemer; the reaper of souls.

He bet Thanatos enjoyed the perks of the job too. Like Blue Oyster Cult, "Don't fear the Reaper," perks...

Riiight! Who was he kidding? Thanatos was too uptight to take full advantage of any potential perks like seducing maidens.

Strife was actually kind of surprised he didn't have to run to Thanatos' rescue actually, rescue him from Kia---Hahaha. That sister of his was a pouncer. It was not that he really liked the spooky bastard that much, to keep him from falling into horny sisterly clutches, he just kind of felt oddly responsible for him after the peacock thing. Okay, he'd felt sorry for him too. Thanatos had reminded him of a lost puppy. Big soulful dark brown eyes...

Strife passed by Morpheus and Lethe who were dancing awfully close and he gave them a perplexed stare, almost walked into Limos while he was staring...

"Hey, sorry Twig---gonna get some foodage..."

And he completely lost his train of thought upon almost collision.

Now he as wondering what was up with Cousin Dream? Strife had never known of Morpheus as being into...Well anyone, or at least he'd never been known as a ladies man. So why would Morpheus be dancing with his sister? That was really weird.

He came upon the table and was making himself a plate, said a casual and abrupt hello to Kia, Nom and his grandparents when....

All the lights went out!

"Whoa! Who turned out ALL the lights?"

"Not at all. Not at all, niece."

She sniffed and looked down her nose at Ate.

"Simply that as a spawn of my sister, I doubt you know how to properly prepare anything, let alone how to wash your hands."

Oh, that felt good. Very, very good.

Girl? Did he seriously just refer to her as girl? She just smirked and offered a bit of a shrug.

"I do clean up nice every couple of years, I suppose. I trust you're finding everything ok?"

She was tempted to introduce herself, but didn't think it really worth the effort...

    All in all, She was rather dubious about the idea of family dinner. It wasn't that she didn't want to see people... She was rather fond of everyone she was related to. Her grandparents were quite lovely, so far as she was concerned, and she did have things she needed to discuss with certain  siblings.

    On the other hand... she had a finite, short amount of time with Morpheus, before everything got all messed up again. She wanted to be irrational, and think up all sorts of ways to avoid what was going to happen... but she voiced none of them. She wasn't even sure he'd want that, if it was possible... and wasting time on theories and ideas seemed... well, a waste.

    She paused in front of her mothers house and listened, hearing the sounds from the back, and turned to face him, offering a smile.

    "It sounds like everyone's in the back. Sure you want to go? We don't have to..."

She was in the kitchen, finishing a few final touches on dinner as she heard the door swing open.

"I know I'm not dressed yet..."

She looked up, a grin forming a she saw it was Kia, and not Eris as expected.

"Ahh... it's you. Disregard that. You early?"

“I was hoping for a nice sit down dinner…”

“Well, Eris, You are rather certifiable.”

“Cheeky. That's no way to talk to your mother."

Ate laughed, and looked at Eris. “Oh, right… like any sane person would want to figure out the seating arrangements for this dinner, if they were hoping to avoid bloodshed? We’re doing a buffet. Listen to your caterer.”

“Caterer?”

“Mmm. You’ll get my bill. You’re sure you want to unleash this sort of crazy?”

“I just want everyone to get along.”

“You invited the wrong family for that.”

Eris lifted a brow at her daughter’s retort, and shook her head. “You're a horrible daughter. So, here in the garden, you think?”

Ate glanced around her mother’s garden, and smirked as she nodded. “You’ve got what... Venus fly traps, yellow trumpets, cobra lilies, hemlock, belladonna, fox glove, white oleander… I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to dine amidst the carnivorous and poisonous, but it’s not like you can uninvite the family now, is it?”

“You’re in a foul mood.”

“Gee. Considering I’ve been shanghaied into cooking for a dinner I don’t want to be at for people I don’t want to see in a place where I’ve been officially banned… and the easiest bit since it all has been convincing Hori that Curry with Sprinkles really wasn’t the thing to make… Yeah. I’m in a mood.”

“Bah. Away with you.”

Eris shoo’ed Ate toward the kitchen, and surveyed the garden. Ate did have a point… there was a lot less that needed doing if they were going to have it out here. She manifested some bistro chairs in various groupies around the garden paths, as well as some wrought iron chairs, and watched contently as a string of Chinese paper lanterns hung themselves along the privacy hedges and over the garden. Rather then candles, each one produced an orb of darkness – her parents would be bright enough for anyone.

Along the side of the temple near the kitchens she conjured a long buffet table, then moved it toward the pool, Thwarting any plan Ate might have of hiding in the kitchen all night. If forcing your child to mingle with relatives at a family party wasn’t part of parenting, she didn’t know what was. Pleased with the way the garden looked, she moved toward the kitchen, watching as Ate did her thing.

“Need help?”

“I’m good.”

“What have you made?”

“Fried chicken, baked ziti, potato salad, ceasar salad, pasta salad, Shish kebab… plus crudités and an olive tray for starters, and for dessert, svinghi and kataifi.”

“Impressive.”

“Eh. You taught me how to make most of it…”

“Ahh.. and that school in France had nothing to do with it?” Eris smiled as she saw the look on Ate’s face. “You didn’t think I knew about that.”

“Didn’t think you’d care.”

“I pay more attention than you think.”

“Any attention is generally more than I think.”

“Am I really that horrid?”

“Eris… I have a lot of stuff to do. Won’t people be here any minute?”

“So that’s a yes.”

“No, it’s… no. You weren’t. We don’t have time for this conversation right now.”

“Your sister thinks this is a good time to bury the hatchet.”

“There is no hatchet. We’re never going to have some deep mother/daughter bond you seem to want lately.”

“But we could be friendlier. We could both probably benefit from that.”

“Probably. You’re beating around the bush about something… spit it out.”

“I’ll spit it out if you tell me why you’re in such a bitchy mood.”

“Will it get you to leave my kitchen? Fine.”

“My kitchen… but yes. Very well… Apollo’s asked me to marry him. I told him we needed to talk to family first.. especially Elpis. But I’d like it if the rest of you were ok with it.” She canted her head as she watched her eldest’s reaction, a bit surprised at the total lack of response. “ Your turn.”

“The only thing bothering me currently is the fact that I’m going to have very little time to get changed.”

Eris frowned, a bit perturbed at the reaction, or lack there of, and was about to argue it a bit when she heard something in the front of the temple, indicating someone had actually arrived on time.

“Yes.. do change first. I’m going to see who’s here. Yell if you need anything…”

She swept out of the kitchen, leaving Ate to finish whatever it was she was doing with various bowls and trays, making her way to the main hall, a smirk growing slowly across her lips. Oh, her parents were going to just love this… she knew it.

The world felt right again. Oh, Styx knew it wasn't going to last, but while it was still coursing through her veins, she was going to take advantage.

She knocked on her sister's door with the firm knowledge that Thanatos wasn't going to be able to stand after she was done with him.

And she was so looking forward to it.

She left the Underworld the same way she had come, transporting herself from the courtyard to her temple, directly back into her temple, making her way quickly through the halls back toward her chambers, both surprised and impressed with herself for not running into any others on her way back. She smiled as she spied the still sleeping form of Apollo in her bed, and moved to sit on the edge of the matress, fingers lightly stroking across the smooth skin of his shoulder.

She shucked her shoes, curling lightly beside him as she waited for him to awake.

Apollo was asleep, and it was really no wonder... he'd had a rough day, and a rather active night. A lovely, incredible active night. And for some reason, she was unable to sleep...though she was content to blame this on her parents for now. She had committed to this party, and had told Hori she'd take care of everything here... And it seemed like there was no time like the present.

She could feel various people in her temple, and threw a ward up around her chambers to keep them from entering - last thing she needed was her father coming in and finding Apollo there while she was gone. Making sure she was looking her best (She'd need every bit of confidence boost she could conjure) she teleported out of her temple, to a courtyard in the Underworld. It had been..... eons since she'd been there, and it took a few moments for her to get her bearings. And her courage. She could probably have gotten Thanatos to do this... but he hadn't been back to her temple yet.. maybe he knew who was there.

Once she got a hold of a sense of direction, she made her way a short walk toward her brother's temple, finding the place mostly unchanged since she'd last been here. She almost walked right in, forgetting for a second that her days of free access were most likely over long long ago. Instead she knocked, waiting impatiently until the door was opened, offering a simple smile.

"Eris to see Momos..."

With luck, she'd have this over with before Apollo awoke....

Hori waited standing wide-eyed and silent as he mouthed silent protest to his grandfather's harsh words to Eris. And then her own confession? His heart sank a little as he frowned, looking on to his mother silently for a long moment. Waiting for his grandparents to leave.

"I don't think you messed everything up." He said quietly after a while, moving closer to his mother with a sympathetic smile. "And I don't think Sunshine is all that arrogant. Not when it comes to you..." Hori did have a knack for hearing a lie in someone's words, and that was something he had never heard from Apollo's lips. At least with Moms concerned.

Reaching out, Oath took his mother's hand and squeezed it lightly. "Ate, Gramps, Grams, everyone out there that wasn't around here, they don't really know." Alright, so Ate did, but still...this was about cheering Moms up. "They didn't get to see it all, did they?"

For a moment, Hori wished he could make his Grandparents really understand. Not that it was going to happen. Mortals thought changing a sixty year old's mind was heard...try sixty billion year olds.

Eris smirked as Kia left... Naked hula dancing? Not very likely. Luckily, there was little to no chance of that being required. She did look forward showing Apollo her newest bit of art... he was fond of art. She was worried about him, that she hadn't heard from him yet. Still, she was unwilling to go to his temple, knowing he'd know where to find her. She could only hope that if he was hurt, she'd come here, and not go to his sisters. There was little to do but wait.

Sighing lightly she took a seat on a chaise, fighting the automatic urge to take a nap. It was funny... she actually was starting to miss the idea ofpeople being around.

If anyone noticed her, they didn't say anything. She didn't stick out in the crowd of miscreants that had crowded the court room in support of their rapist friend. She sat in the back, behind them and waited, patiently, sending all of her power towards the deliberating jury. This was the best part of the entire trial process, if you asked her.

Getting juries to let off rapists was one of the biggest injustices one could create, if you were going for that sort of thing, and Adikia usually was. A hobby? You could say that.

Soon, the jury was back and the tension in the courtroom rose to catastrophic levels.

"How does the jury find?"

"We find the defendant...GUILTY on all counts."

The room went up in cheers and jeers. Each side yelling at one another. The judge calling for order. The bailiff's and security guards rushing to separate the opposing sides and Adikia sitting in the back row, her mouth wide open, shock pouring from her in waves.

Her thoughts raced. What the FUCK? I put everything I could into this fucking case! He was supposed to have gotten off! We were supposed to party TONIGHT! WHAT THE FUCK! Why? Why would it have gone so wrong? What happened? Something is off, something has to be off. What the hell is going on?

Confused and shaken she left the courtroom, easily by-passing the fists being thrown, there really was only one person she could seek out that would know what the fuck was going on. After all, this was her kinda deal, wasn't it?

Adikia transported out of the mortal plane and ended up in front of a temple, shoving open the door, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"MOM? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"

"Wow, Momos... the excitement is just.... rolling off you. Off the fucking charts. We'll go. Maybe Mom has apple pie waiting for us at home..."

She smirked a bit as she moved toward the door, keeping her arm around Thanatos', her words lacking the normal snark that would accompany them... she didn't really feel like fighting, but form seemed to dictate at least some snippy remark. Did form stand even after so long? She hadn't seen him other than in passing since before The Box, it seemed... She had the urge to try and get along, but was almost certain it was the pesky harmony inside her.

She walked out beside them both, blinking a bit at the sun... it felt like they'd been in there forever.

(Continue the meeting here. )

Apollo pushed past him, his arms around Eris as he laughed at Hermes. They all left him in the entry way alone, Dite's voice in his head as he tried to make sense...

Everything felt wrong. His hands were shaking as he reached out for the the door, only to pull back a moment later and look away.

It is all wrong Dite, he said softly, Apollo...

He drifted, stumbling back as groaned. It was wrong. It was all wrong. He moved from the entry way, and through Dite's more private quarters. A servant came running toward him, and Hermes jerked away, surprised and startled as he pushed her away.

"I know you were behind it, just fix it all." The girl hissed it at him as he back away, "Die...Die....Poor little Hermes."

"Get away from me!"

She stopped looking at him Maliciously (or that was what he saw) before she turned an ran out of the room, Hermes falling to the floor and crawling into a corner where he hide, curled into a ball and rockin'.

Its all wrong...I didn't do it....I...

Only he wasn't so sure anymore.

Chin up and full of confidence, she walked out of her salon into the main audience chamber, escorted by Deimos. She paused once inside, taking a quick inventory of those there... some were expected of course, and others posed quite the surprise. She pat Deimos arm lightly and released it with a smile.

"I'm going to make the rounds... if you'd like to rejoin your brother, that'd be fine."

If he wished to go with her he was of course welcome, but she doubted he was really in the mood. Seeing as how she already felt a pang of guilt for what she'd asked of him, she saw no need to torture him further. She decided to start at the back, moving to each group of individuals quickly, greeting each deity in turn, offering each a welcome of some sort, stopping only for a moment with each.

"Iris, thank you for coming."

"Anteros, please stop scowling... it's hardly flattering."

"...Flidais. What a surprise.. welcome to my home."

"Artemis. It's good to see you. Thank you for getting the ball rolling with the refreshments... There may have been riots. It's appreciated."

"Hephaestus..." To him she said nothing, just smiled as patted his cheek lightly, thumbing away the lipstick mark left by Artemis' kiss.

She moved closer to where the bulk of her children were gathered, and a small stand off seemed to be happening.

"Harmonia.. Do sit up straight, please.:

"Strife" She offered him a wink. "You're still here and sitting still? Wonders may never cease."

"Ate - It's been a very long time since you've graced my temple."

"Elpis. Welcome."

"Zelos... You already know I'm glad to see you."

"Limos.... my, you've grown up quite handsome, haven't you?"

"Lethe, a pleasure."

She bent down to kiss Phobos,the only one of her children present she'd not seen recently, on the cheek lightly. "You're plotting something, darling... I hope it waits till we're done here."

She straightened and smiled at everyone again, surprised at hose she noticed were missing.. Hermes, most obviously, and Thanatos - though she expected he'd return. Hermes, though - one could never be sure about. He could be dealt with later, though.

"Thank you all for coming. I do appreciate your patience. I wanted to say first that I realize everyone is being affected by this... and I kno no one is very happy. I do not know what has happened - but I plan on working hard to find out what it is, and restore everyone to their rightful selves. I know we're all anxious for answers, and while I can't promise any today, I do hope that maybe collectively we can perhaps pool our knowledge, and see if together we might be able to discover anything."

Hermes appearing before him was not a complete surprise. The two brothers standing at odds with each other, while still completely at easy in the other’s company was the strangest of sights, and yet… The silence was like a blanket laid over them, and the whole temple. The usual glow of light was dark, and even the open spaces seemed to have settled with an unearthly gloom.

“What did you do?” Hermes asked boldly, breaking the silence of the dark audience chamber.

“Do?” Apollo raised a darkened brow, shaking his head slowly as he stood from his throne and stepped out into the open space. His arms were thrown wide, and his blonde curls much more manageable than Hermes’, clear of his eyes as he regarded his brother. “Hermes, whatever are you talking about?”

( I'm talking about... )

Lethe was quiet as Eris spoke to Iris... so quiet that Eris was startled to see her still there when the messenger goddess left.

"Eavesdropping?"

"No... seems you just forgot about me. I'm used to it."

"Used to being on the other end of the forgetting, I suppose."

"Usually, yes. Right now though... I remember everything."

"So you knew about this switch up? Delicious idea... wish I thought of it. Anything happen that's even worth remembering since this happened?"

"No, mother... I mean I remember everything."

"You say that like it should mean something."

Lethe shrugged, just watching Eris with wide eyes. "It means something to me, I guess. If Iris is right, and it's because everything's all messed up... I'll probably forget it all again in the future. I just don't think some things should be forgotten."

"Lethe... do you have a point with all this?"

"Look.. I know we're not close, right? And... I get it. Most of my siblings probably forget I'm part of the family, those who stick together... and the ones who do remember me assume I'm kinda dumb. It's ok.. it's just who I am, right? So not having any real bond with people? It's ok. And the fact that people assume they can take advantage of me and use me...that's ok too. They sort of can. But... not everyone's like me. Some of us need that bond, Eris. Or need something. And you should probably work on that."

"So.. what, you think while I'm apparently in charge of all that's balanced and harmonious in the world, I should set about turning us into the brady bunch?"

"No. It's just... I know why you did what you did, OK? And... I think maybe you owe her an explanation."

"... Oh. That."

Lethe nodded, moving closer to Eris, and took in the aloof visage her mother held, the facade she wore even in her own home. "We all lost something, then. And most of us are ok with it... because we had what we needed when we needed it. And when we lost it, we had each other... or, most of us did. I'm just saying... if it's something you want... it might be time for it, you know?"

Eris watched her as she spoke, one brow creeping increasingly northward. The girl made sense. It wasn't sense she liked, or sense she wished to admit to, but it made sense all the same. "You're not nearly as dumb as you look, are you?"

"My momma didn't raise no fool."

"Have you met some of your siblings?"

Lethe just smiled at her mother, then reached to hug her. The older goddess stood stiff in her arms for a long moment before patting Lethe lightly on the back.

"Are we done bonding now?"

After parting ways with Hermes, Iris wandered off to start the task of locating everyone to have them head over to Dite's temple. Deciding it would be easiest to start with those on the Mount she transports herself to her first target's home.

Walking toward Eris' front door she hopes that she'll get a lucky break and find some of the Goddess' children here as well. Upon reaching the door she knocks twice and then waits, hoping that all inside will be willing to go meet with Dite so that they can attempt to get a handle on the situation.

Eris frowned as she wandered through the gardens of her home, wanting to just...not be in her temple. She had two of her children currently in attendance, and didn't know quite what to do about it.They weren't being particularly bothersome - Hori was sleeping, and Lethe was reading, both which seemed a tad out of character, but she wasn't the most attentive sort. It could easily be the norm. Ate's appearance had also struck her as odd- it had been eons since her daughter was on Olympus, and she hadn't even realized she could visit. on one hand, the fact that Ate was banished had never overly bothered her save for the insult it offered, on the other, if Ate could visit, She was almost insulted she never did.

It wasn't that she didn't like her kids, of course.. they were all quite good at what they did. But their constant in and out was always a bit disconcerting, and she wasn't sure why she was expected to fix all their issues. Other than Horkos, they'd all left the nest ages ago, and did so on the assumption they could take care of themselves.

Ate's new... theory that she was supposed to mother them all and dealing with every minor thing that occurred was also a bit absurd... Really, if Horkos wanted to nap, wasn't he allowed? Naps were... refreshing.

She sighed, lounging down on a bench and glanced over the various plants she grew, the night shade, the oleander, the hemlock, the fly traps... and noted with a bit of disdain that everything seemed rather orderly. She kicked a pebble towards a small ant hill, waiting for the disarray it usually caused, and instead was greeted with an orderly army of insects working together in perfect harmony to fix their problem...

it was kind of sickening.

Eris had been pacing restlessly when the tremors first traveled across Olympus, and it was only with a bit of luck she managed to keep her balance in anyway. Idle thoughts made her wonder what had annoyed Poseidon so that he sent earthquakes to Olympus, the thought instantly dashed with the sobering memory that Poseidon was no longer the one to make the earth shake. She was on her way out the door to look over the Mountain when three of her children burst in her door, Lethe looking particularly alert, Horkos looking decidedly less so, and Ate, of all people - who had not entered her mother's home in eons.

"Ate... what's this?"

"Did you feel it?"

"Yes, but what is this?"

"We were with Memory. Something happened... Hori hit his head, and Helios went all crazy, and i hate this fucking mountain."

"Something happened to the sun?" Helios was connected to Apollo, and if something was wrong... Eris moved towrd the door again, to be stopped by Ate's grip on her arm. "Ate."

"No, Eris. This is your first concern."

Discord's eyes blazed bright for a moment, and she looked at her daughter, then her two younger children, before sighing with a smile, She shook off Ate's grip, and stepped closer to Hori, lifting his chin with her fingers.

"Hey there, baby... what's wrong?"

He hadn’t been hiding, but Apollo had been no where near eager to face his brother or Aphrodite. Zeus help him, but a month ago he would have gladly torn into them, rash and boldly…

And promptly joined his father in whatever dark hell he occupied. Apollo, the lord of balance and light, and everything that seemed to fall under that branch and train of thought, was well aware that alone he was no match for Ares. At least, not in the sense of strength. There would be a certain amount of secrecy needed, and there were truly very on the mount that could so underhandedly manipulate others…

As luck would have, one was his dear sweet brother.

“Hermes,” Apollo called out, hidden from prying eyes behind wards and shadows, his dim glow smothered so that it simmered in a pale rage. “Brother, have you never learned to come when called?”

When Hermes did appear, though, the younger god was giving him a look of untrust, eyes narrowed as he walked slowly toward the golden one. “So, you speak again…I’m surprised…”

“Shut up,” Apollo snapped, eyes flashing with a golden brilliance. “You, you I wanted to speak with because you destroyed this pantheon.”

Hermes held up his arms, dancing back quickly as his eyes narrowed and his lips grew tight. “Woah, no. I didn’t do anything, Golden Boy. I might have made a mistake, but I didn’t drop the ax ok?”

“Might as well have,” Apollo said moodily, his hands clasped at the small of his back as he flexed his fingers. He had been neglecting his duties in favor of brooding, and it was time to find a new outlet. “And now…now you will help me restore order.”

“Has it occurred to you that maybe what this pantheon needs is a bit of stability.”

“So you sided with him? With Ares!”

“More like I sided with her, and say fuck him.”

Apollo scowled, before advancing Hermes with a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Hermes,” he scowled as his younger brother rolled his eyes. “You ow—“

“I do not owe you anything, Apollo. I do not owe this pantheon anything. If you recall, you tried to kill me the same day. So don’t give me the ‘you owe me’ speech. You, you of all of us knows what it means to oppose Zeus. You tried and failed years ago, and now your pissed because Ares did what you couldn’t!”

“He had no right!”

“Well neither do you!”

They stood there, glaring at each other for a long time. Apollo slightly taller, and heavier than Hermes, but never doubting that the slighter god could hold his own in a fight if need be. Hermes always seemed to have a trick up his sleeve…

“They have too much power, Hermes. Power they do not have a right to.”

“Oh yeah? Well who has that power if they don’t? Who do you trust to rule?...Athena? Art? Yourself? Heh, I don’t want it…I’m not that stupid, and you shouldn’t be either, Apollo.”

“Hermes…”

“What? What do you want? You want me to…tell you, ‘sure kill them all! No big!’ what? Sorry, bro, no can do. See, Ares? He is half dense, but he isn’t very trusting right now. And top that off, no one here deserves as much power as you are suggesting one god takes over. If you want Ares and dumple-boy out of power, you’d do best to bide your time. But Dite….Dite’s off limit, Apollo. She’s more on your side than you might expect…” At least, for now.

“I need help, Hermes…I need help to be rid of Ares and Hephaestus.”

“No…No! I’ve had my hand in the cookie jar too much of late. I’m not ready too stick my neck out again…”

“I never took you for a coward, Hermes.”

“News flash, bud, I’m not the bravest…”

Apollo growled, hand snaking out to grab a hold of his brother firmly and shake him a little. Eyes wide and perhaps a bit dangerous. “Did you loyalty to our faith mean nothing to you?”

“Hey!” Hermes hissed a little, eyes narrowing as Apollo pulled the guilt card, making him scoff. “Of course it did, asshole. But kids grow up, Apollo. Eventually we all learn to move on. Like you should be doing…”

“Hermes!”

“What?!”

“Swear to me….Swear to me, Hermes, that you won’t stand in my way when I seek vengeance for our father…Swear it!” Apollo’s grip was like in iron vice, Hermes eyes wide as he hissed.

“I swear it!”

“On the Styx, Hermes, swear it on the Styx…”

“I swear it, in the name of Styx…I won’t stand in your way of vengeance against Ares and Heph!”

Apollo pushed him away before disappearing, leaving Hermes standing alone and frowning with no small amount of concern…

Apollo, in his professional opinion, had lost it.

Flidais had gone home when the trouble started, not wanting to be caught in the middle between anything but being home had quickly become lonely for her as she had gotten quite use to socializing with all types of Gods and Goddesses on the mount. So after a few days of debating her decision she decided it was time to go back and check things out on her own. Of course she was still cautious since she hadn't settled anything with her husband either and she couldn't take the chance that he was lurking in the shadows waiting for her to drop her wards and make his move. So that is why she returned to what had become her second home under the cover of night, carefully slipping through the woodlands on that formed a natural property line and then using the larger privacy hedges as cover as she made her way across the yard and into her house.

Once she was inside, she re-secured her grounds, ensuring that the only immortal presence who could not enter would be her husband, then with a thought her gardens were weeded and her fountains became active again signifying that she had returned and was ready for any visitors.