InsaneJournal

Who: Hades & Charon
What: Winter sucks
When: Sunday evening
Where: Hades' house
Warnings: Underworld gods being grumpy and/or weird? IDK


Charon was rather happy to be living in Hades' home. The heat was reliable, there was usually someone around to talk to who didn't think he was weird, and it was, in general, one of the better places he'd lived.

But there was one thing. The Iron Queen. Even though she hadn't returned yet, Charon could still tell Hades was upset that Persephone wasn't all that thrilled about coming back, he knew how much Hades loved his wife. It spread a kind of mood over the whole house. So he left his room to seek him out, and see if he couldn't try and cheer him up a little, or be a sounding board, or something along those lines.

It took him a few tries, but he finally found him slumped in a chair. "Hey bossman," he said, coming in and taking the opposite chair. "How goes it?"


unseenone
2011-10-24 01:04 am (local) (link)
He promised Makaria to not drink as much, so he hadn't. He still indulged, but away from his girls and only when he was at his most morose. He'd done what he could to make everything ready for Persephone's arrival, and it never sat well with him. He'd sowed those seeds a long time ago, he just kept hoping she wouldn't keep being this afraid of him.

Especially because it tended to break his heart with how she saw him.

He gave Charon a tired smile when he saw his old friend. He answered the question with a sigh and a shrug, "as ever. Drink?" He rather liked having Charon around. It meant he had a reliable being around to help look after the girls, and one that didn't mind playing occasional chauffeur.
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ferryman_
2011-10-24 01:16 am (local) (link)
"Sure, thanks," he said, settling in.

"Also," he said, taking the glass when it was handed to him. "You cannot fool me, bossman, I've known you way too long. I can tell when you're pissed, I can-usually-tell when you're making a joke, and I can tell you're bummed now. So talk to me. If you want. I've added 'sounding board' to my job description in the past century or so."
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unseenone
2011-10-24 01:20 am (local) (link)
He gave a half chuckle and sipped from his drink, "it's what I get for hiring Di Nocti I guess." Sighing he looked to his glass. "It's the same as it ever was Charon. Persephone is scared of me. In the beginning it was less bitter. I mean I tore her away from everything and then in the end tricked her to stay with me."

He leaned back into the seat, "I'm not the most jovial of people to be stuck with but after all these years I wish it was easier. Or she had less fear of me."
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ferryman_
2011-10-24 01:46 am (local) (link)
"On the whole, we're a sharp bunch," he agreed, grinning. "I have my reservations about a few, but that's just kind of how it goes."

He winced internally. How was he supposed to respond to that without stepping on a metaphorical mine? But he'd try and make a go of it anyway.

"Putting that down as...perhaps not the best choice," he began, using as much tact as he could. "Perhaps you aren't Mr. Cheerful, but I can see how much you care about her. It might take a little while, but hopefully she'll start to see that too. When does she return?"
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unseenone
2011-10-24 02:03 am (local) (link)
"Family is not always something you agree with. You have met my brothers, right?" He glanced to Charon and sighed, "I'm aware I wasn't exactly thinking right. I just saw no other way. Which was stupid of me. She was just a girl. I proved to be no better then Zeus or Poseidon." He gave another sigh. "It takes a bit, and December. The girls will be happy. She's not afraid of them."
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ferryman_
2011-10-24 02:30 am (local) (link)
"Ugh, yes," he replied. "Had to ferry Poseidon's sorry ass across the rivers. Most unpleasant trip of my life. I only know Zeus by reputation, but that's quite enough for me."

He shrugged. "At least you're faithful," he said. "I mean, OK, sure, it didn't have the most auspicious beginning, but at least you don't sleep with everything that breathes."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see them too," he replied. "And hey, maybe winter will run long, like it did last year."
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unseenone
2011-10-24 02:36 am (local) (link)
He managed to chuckle, "how did you manage not to dump him in Styx or Phlegethon? I would have." Usually Hades was fair to whoever came into his realm. A bit cold, but fair. His brothers would always be the exception.

He shrugged, "there was Minthe. Another dumb idea." he sighed and ran his hand along his eyes. "And I want it to be a long winter. While it proved to be a horrible idea to keep her, I'd do it again if my hands weren't tied. And then there's Demeter, who would rather see me hung then know I touch her precious daughter."
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ferryman_
2011-10-24 03:33 am (local) (link)
He rolled his eyes. "Because then I'd probably have been the one to fish him out again, and that wasn't really high on my to-do list. Besides, what did Styx or Phlegethon ever do to me? That would've just been mean."

"I hate to break it to you, boss, but you're not perfect," he told him. "I know it's shocking, me withholding this information from you for so long, but the time has come to share it." He hoped that would at least get Hades to crack a smile.

"I know you would, but at the same time, if you do that, our whole world gets thrown out of whack," he said gently. "I'm assuming that what you meant when you said your hands were tied. As for Demeter...I don't know. I don't really know her all that well."
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unseenone
2011-10-24 03:42 am (local) (link)
"Not necessarily. Could have left him in there." He smirked, "but yeah it would have been a mean thing to do to them."

He gave Charon a smile to the joke, "And you say my jokes are bad. And I know that. I just wish I could have done things differently. And I noticed that." He sighed, "I do. Or did. Before everything she was my favorite. We stood on opposite ends, but we understood each other. I hadn't thought of settling down but sometimes I thought to ask her. But she was bound to the upper world. I was bound Below. And then Persephone happened and she now hates me like she hates my brothers. And I miss the sister I knew. The woman knows how to carry a grudge."
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ferryman_
2011-10-24 04:03 am (local) (link)
"What, and have the guardians mad at me?" he asked. "I like them all at least a little, even Styx, though she can be a bit brusque at times. No one deserves to have Poseidon tossed in their river and left there."

"That's because they are," he said sagely. "I'm pretty sure that's written down as fact somewhere."

He tilted his head, listening. "Demeter was? Huh. I didn't know that before today. Though I imagine that might've done even more to throw the world off balance, but then again, I'm just the ferryman." He shrugged. "There's a host of reasons I like hanging out Below more than in the living world. And yeah, it seems like a lot of the Olympians are champion grudge holders."
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unseenone
2011-10-24 05:21 am (local) (link)
Smiling he sipped from his drink, setting the glass aside. He'd had enough for now. "True enough. He got what he deserved in the end. Damn sea-brained mongrel." He shook his head before giving a long sigh. "Isn't there a rule somewhere you're supposed to be nice to me?" But he had known Charon for ages. Charon had been Hades' way of getting information, and he could call the ferryman his friend.

"Sometimes I'm sure it's why Persephone came to be. She was Spring. There needed to be a purpose for that." He shrugged, "but that's me. And I'm biased as hell." He shrugged, "I have mu grudges, but at least I'm fair. I gave Orpheus a fair chance. And yet people still blame me for him looking back. Never got that."
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ferryman_
2011-10-24 05:53 am (local) (link)
"That he did," he agreed. "Never let it be said you aren't hospitable."

He smirked. "I think I missed that section on 'living in the Underworld training' day. Along with 'how not to give off a morose and/or creepy vibe when around mortals'. Stupid incomplete manuals."

"You are that," he agreed. "But we all have our faults. And sometimes I question the belief that anything in our world gets done with purpose, but I am A: Not Atropos and B: a cynic, so there you go."
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unseenone
2011-10-24 06:03 am (local) (link)
He smiled, "I don't decide that. I judge people. Poseidon got himself into that mess a long time ago. Tartarus does what it does. Always has." He chuckled, "yeah I meant to get on that. Things were a bit busy back then."

He shrugged, "What is, is. What will be, will be. That's how I tend to see most things." Then he smiled again, "Melinoe said I'd make a better king then Zeus. Wondered why I wasn't going after the throne. Said if Poseidon makes a go for it, I'll consider it. After I stopped him."
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ferryman_
2011-10-25 10:55 am (local) (link)
"I know I definitely didn't shed a tear when he wound up there," he muttered into his drink. "Tartarus was likely the most fitting place for him." He rolled his eyes with a smirk. "See, then that's on you, then. You get too busy to properly train your employees, then you wonder why they end up smart-alecs years later."

He groaned. "You sound like the Fates. Or they sound like you, whichever. Not saying you're wrong, just observing."

"Well she's not wrong," he said. "You'd definitely be a more level-headed king than him. Because if Poseidon tried to make a grab for the throne and succeeded, I'm pretty sure our world would crack like an egg."