InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Nimins, Belly."

Will Stutely (sly_stutely) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2020-09-17 13:34:00

Entry tags:

artemis, will stutely

WHO Will Stutely and Artemis
WHEN Wednesday, during this, after receiving Clio’s messages
WHERE The street outside Clio’s brownstone
WHAT Hell of a way to meet the family
WARNINGS None

Will was loitering in the street outside Clio’s brownstone, doing a bad impression of somebody enjoying a casual, non-suspicious stroll.

He had a folding knife concealed in his boot and a second tucked in his waistband and he didn’t know what the fuck use either one of them would be in the event that it came down to a fight, but he’d brought them anyway because as stupid as it was for him to come here, it felt stupider still to come unarmed.

He knew that Clio had already reached down to some trusted family members, actual gods who had an actual hope in hell of making Hermes break his stride for more than a second. She’d said she was okay, and that she believed she was safe, and if her people didn’t hear from her for twenty minutes they’d be breaking down the door.

So there was no logical reason for him to be here, wearing a hole in the sidewalk, continually glancing up at the building like he had any damn way of discerning what was doing on in there.

Except she’d told him about Hermes and what he’d tried to do to her, and she’d said that she didn’t want to be anywhere near him, and now here the bastard was muscling in on her space.

Except that twenty minutes was a long lead time if something did go wrong, and he’d been too late to stop Sloth from getting to Much and the Sheriff from getting to Tuck and maybe he was too late now, but, fuck it, if there was trouble he needed to be here.

Fact was, Will Stutely was a Merry Man and sitting around twiddling his thumbs waiting for the all-clear just wasn’t in his DNA.

He felt the warning buzz of divinity at almost the same instant the woman’s voice cut through his roiling thoughts.

“Alright, bro, I don’t have time to screw around, so why don’t you state your business.”

He whirled, cursing himself for a fool. He’d been so focussed on what might be going on in the brownstone, he’d forgotten to watch his own six. The movement brought him face-to-face with a goddess he didn’t know, tall and lean, with wild hair and a predator’s grace to her. She’d come up on him silently despite her heavy boots, and the look she fixed him with was hard and lacking in patience.

He took a flailing guess. “Are you… Bia?”

This earned a faintly incredulous laugh. “What?”

Will hesitated. Right… not Bia, then. But he thought he had the right of it otherwise. Be too much of a coincidence for another, uninvolved god to turn up at Clio’s door right now. So he explained, “She said she told Bia and Kratos and… a few others. In case things went south.”

The goddess who was not Bia raised a skeptical eyebrow. “So why did she tell you?”

Her stare skewered him, and Will had the uncomfortable feeling of being a lumbering boar in a hunter’s sights. “W— I’m her— we’re... together.” He stumbled over the words and even he could hear them fall flat. What right did he have to be here, anyway? He’d known Clio for, what, a few months? This woman had known her for centuries longer than he’d been alive.

“Huh. Right.” The goddess appeared summarily unimpressed. “So then, she told you she had it under control and you, what, thought you could swoop in and save her cuz you know better?”

“No!” It came out a little more forceful than he’d intended, her words hitting a nerve. That was exactly the man he didn’t want to be, because he didn’t know better than Clio and she wasn’t some helpless damsel in distress, even if instinct was screaming at him to go, get in there, what the fuck are you waiting for. “I— I just— I know I can’t do shit against Hermes, alright. Even if she wanted me to, and, like you said, she’s got it under control. But he hurt her before. And she told him to stay away and yet here he bloody is, and… well, look, if I can’t actually do anything useful, least I can do is be here.”

The goddess pursed her lips, studying his face appraisingly. The silence stretched out between them unnervingly. “What’s your name?”

“Will Stutely.” She frowned faintly at him and he recognised that look, the where-do-I-know-that-name look. Sometimes that relative anonymity worked in his favour with other immortals – it could be useful to be underestimated – but right now he wanted to engender trust, so he sighed and added, “Merry Man.”

Surprised recognition flickered across her face. “One of Maid Marian’s boys?”

And that got his attention, because invariably people’s first point of reference for the Merry Men was Robin Hood, and that’s not where this woman had gone. “You know Marian?” he asked.

“We’ve crossed paths. She’s cool.” She shrugged loosely, and Will’s eyebrows shot up.

When did Marian cross paths with a Greek goddess?

He eyed the goddess questioningly, waiting for her to elaborate, but she didn’t seem inclined toward idle chatter. At least she’d stopped looking at him like he was prey.

“Nice to meet you, Will Stutely,” said the goddess, and she stuck out her hand.

His skin prickled, old instinct hissing a sharp warning, but there was no way to refuse the handshake without being insulting, and it didn’t seem like a good idea to piss off Clio’s sister, especially one of them who’d actually cared about her enough to come running to her aid.

So he clasped the proffered hand, and at once her fingers closed around his in a crushing grip that sent pain jolting through the recently healed bones. She yanked hard, pulling him in close, and though a moment ago both hands hand been empty, Will was suddenly aware of the tip of a knife pressed against his belly.

The goddess smiled. No— smile wasn’t the right word. When predators showed their teeth, it wasn’t a gesture of friendship, it was a threat. “I’m Artemis. Clio’s my sister. You even think about messing her around, I’ll hunt you down and gut you like a fish. We clear?”

The knife pressed closer and Will nodded, hardly daring to breathe. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Cool.” And just like that she was pulling away, releasing his hand, the knife nowhere in sight. Will staggered back a step, staring. The goddess — Artemis — held his gaze unblinking, and the corner of her mouth curled in an expression of something like amusement. “Guess I’ll see ya round.”

And with that, she turned from him. He had a feeling she wouldn’t go far.

Will stared after her, rubbing the fingers of his right hand.

Artemis. Jesus Christ.

He supposed it was still better than getting The Talk from Hermes.