Thanatos (Jules Stevenson) (deathbecomeshim) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2010-09-19 20:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | dahlia little, dante lot, demeter, hades, jules stevenson, madeline scott, persephone, thanatos |
Reunion #1
Who: Thanatos, Demeter, Hades, Persephone
What: Reunion #1
Where: (1st)Shadowlands of Miami, (2nd)Hades & Persephone's home
When: starting ~3am
Warnings: None
It had been a long time since the last time the god of death skulked the shadows of Miami at night. Dressed in a black trench coat, Thanatos silently walked the perimeter of a condemned hotel building in a semi-translucent state. He couldn’t be fully ghosted and still use the bluetooth earpiece that was connected to his cell phone.
“So how’s the hunting where you are, Deme?” he said as he tested the lumber blocking a large window. It held firm, though protested the rough handling loudly.
“I think I found the storage container the cryptid came into the city from” Demeter replied over Thanatos’s earpiece. “Don’t know what other cargo it held, but it was shipped in from Puerto Rico. I doubt that the chupacabra’s been coming back to the docks after it feeds. If it’s set up a den where it hides during the day, it’s somewhere further inland.”
Thanatos shrugged, despite the fact that he thought he was alone. “It was worth a shot. I’m over here in a pretty run down residential area. Lots of condemned apartments, abandoned buildings, and dark alleys for both the cryptid and its prey to hide in. Better make your way here. I’m gonna need some help searching them all before daybreak.”
“Understood. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
The death god found another boarded window. The boards on this one, though, were extremely loose. “Let’s keep keep this channel open, though, just in case we find something. I’m going to go silent for a few. I think I found a way into an old hotel. Gonna check it out.”
“Alright.” Demeter replied. “Good hunting.”
Now that he’d found a way in, Thanatos wrenched the wood completely off the window and crawled through the broken glass and twisted metal to make his way into the condemned building.
The rundown residential area was on the border of his normal stalking grounds of the Shadowlands... Hades had assumed the deaths of the homeless in the area had been the result of fleeing gangs taking up residence in nearby sanctuaries and he had ventured out this evening to make sure those gangs stayed out of what he claimed as under his protection...
However, it hadn't taken him long to find some ghosts of the homeless. It hadn't taken him long to realize that it wasn't gang members and drug deals gone bad... It was a monster stalking the innocent.
And getting close to where he knew children lived.
Cloaked in his invisibility, he clenched his blade of darkness, trying to ignore the chattering of the ghost at his side. She was upset... she was panicked... she couldn't believe she was dead... she could still feel the reptilian beast feeding off of her.
Hades felt sympathy for the ghostly woman and for the hard life she had lived before it had been snuffed out but he shushed her and ventured through a small hole she showed him in the back.
He didn't notice the other man in the room. All he noticed was the beast feeding off the woman's body still and quietly he stalked forward. Something crunched under his foot when he drew dangerously close... a bone from the woman's hand and the creature looked up but he was close enough.
Close enough to look the beast in the eyes before he brought his blade down and through the creature's skull.
Thanatos had been watching the chupacabra from the shadows, melded in so completely that he couldn’t have been seen. He’d been in the middle of materializing his scythe when he noticed the girl enter the room. Before he could react to the newcomer, the cryptid’s head was suddenly split apart with an explosion of blood.
“What the hell?!” he gasped aloud. It was about that time that the ghostly woman spotted the gleam of the scythe’s wicked curved blade jutting out from the shadows across the room, shining ominously in the moonlight from a nearby broken window. She shrieked in terror and scuttled backwards towards the farthest corner of the room opposite him.
Hades' eyes snapped up first at his gasp and then at the ghost's shriek. His eyes so attuned to seeing in the darkness easily caught sight of the scythe and the man wielding it.
He stood, flinging the blood off his blade, returning it to perfect invisibility like he was in a samurai movie before approaching closer, stepping over the beast's corpse, "If this was your beast, I am going to do likewise to you."
The voice was familiar. Too familiar. Thanatos’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice in his ear.
“Than? What’s going on? Did you find the cryp--?”
“Not now,” he whispered back before ghosting backwards through the wall into the adjacent room where he solidified just enough to get the wireless signal back. “Got a situation. Don’t approach yet.”
“Than, don’t you dare play the damned overprotective--”
The god of death dialed down the volume of his earpiece so that Demeter’s voice wouldn’t distract him as he tried to get his bearings on what was going on. He took on a defensive stance with the scythe, trying to sense where the invisible being was coming from. He was nearly completely translucent save for the weapon he wielded in his hands.
The former of the lord of the dead had watched as the other ghosted backwards through the wall and then returned in a similar ghostly semblance, only with his scythe to give away he was not a simple spectre. Hades frowned.
A man with a scythe around the scene of a violent, sudden and recent death?
"[Thanatos? It has been centuries since I saw you go so easily through walls...]" That fact immediately brought him back to a more readied position. "[If it is you, prove yourself and do it well. I know shapeshifters and telepaths exist...]" He was already flooding his mind with a Buddhist mantra to prevent and mind-reading.
As the invisible man spoke to him, the pieces of the puzzle finally started clicking into place. “[My lord?]” he said reflexively as he slowly brought down his guard. “[Prove who I am?]” Thanatos thought for a moment about something only the two of them would be privy to. Then he sighed as a particular memory popped into his head. He dropped his stance completely set the butt end of his scythe down onto the hardwood floor, leaning on it like a walking staff. “[Remember Takshi? You know... the native bunny girl spirit you used to tease me mercilessly about? Will that memory do, or do I need send a plague of butterflies to infest your offices, just for my own amusement, my lord?]”
“[I believe you’re Thanatos.]” Takshi wasn’t something he could look up on google after all... But Hades neither returned to visibility or even lowered his weapon. “[My threat stands if this beast is yours.]” He would have had clearly lost his mind and become a threat to all around him.
“[Technically, it was our assignment to kill the thing, but since you already...]” Thanatos’s voice trailed off as he suddenly remembered something very important. “[Oh shit!]” He turned up the volume on his earpiece “[Hey! Are you still there?]” But he was greeted with a monotonous dial tone. He pulled out his cell phone and flipped it to the last call and saw that it had disconnected just a few moments earlier, about the time he started talking to Hades directly. Than swore at length under his breath as he realized that his plans for Demeter probably became ten time more difficult than they were already going to be.
An idea crossed his mind before he fully gave in to the concept that this situation was going to turn into a potential cluster fuck. Ignoring Hades for the moment, Thanatos ghosted himself almost instantly to the nearest street-side window, blinking out of visibility in the middle of the room and blinking back in at the far wall. He rubbed away the dirt and grime of the still intact glass and peered out.
It was just as he’d thought. His partner had just arrived on the scene. Demeter was staring at the building with a tense expression, her cell phone clutched tightly in her hand. Though her hair was tied back, and she wore a very uncharacteristic dark colored coat herself, she was still recognizable to any who saw her.
Thanatos was about to blink outside to the street to try and talk to the goddess, but she seemed to be in no mood for company. Taking a few steps backwards, she began her own process of teleporting away from the scene, her body dissolving into a vortex of small leaves that scattered to the winds as soon as she was completely transformed.
Hades had another threat upon his lips but Thanatos moved once more. He kept grip on his weapon, readied... Thanatos was acting strange and any/all mentions of organizations tensed him as it was. But it wasn’t hard to follow where he was, mundanely even and look out the window.
Wind and leaves.
“[For a man who has known me long enough to understand my rightful bouts of paranoia, you are doing nothing to make this reunion pleasant,]” He muttered then, “[What is going on?]”
Thanatos sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “[Believe me when I say that I had not intended our reunion to be so...]” He struggled to find an appropriate word. “[... random.]” He turned away from the window and leaned against the wall. “[I wasn’t planning on announcing our presence until the chupacabra was taken care of.]”
Which reminded him that he had a cryptid body to take care of. He quickly sent out a pre-made text message that stated simply “CLEAN UP ON AISLE 7”.
Hades was quick to snatch the cellphone right out of Thanatos’ hand; if it hadn’t been a pre-made text, it might not have made it at all with his speed. It disappeared as he tucked it in his own pocket. Was that how annoying it was when he texted people in mid-conversation? At least he didn’t do it when speaking to ever-suspicious madman with a blade that cut diamonds like butter. “[Believe when I say I am this close to disbelieving your identity again.]”
“[Hey!]” Thanatos exclaimed when his phone was spirited away, so to speak. His own frustrations were starting to rise up. “[I promise explain everything as best as I can, my lord, but can I at least take care of that poor woman’s soul without fear of you cutting off my head with that invisible sword of yours?]”
“[It might help regain my faith in who you are, so sure...]” Though Hades wouldn’t admit vocally the exclamation kinda already had. Even with a different face, the expression had been the same. “[I should also add at this point, I have a zero tolerance policy for organizations that give assignments so... if you are now part of one, the second they threaten my family’s safety, it’s on. I learned my lesson from Subrosa.]”
“[I understand that, sir,]” Thanatos said simply, confident in the knowledge that the people he worked for weren’t a threat to the Greek pantheon in Miami. He willed away his scythe as he went over to the terrified ghost and put on his most disarming smile. It took about five minutes, but by the time he was done, the girl was sufficiently calmed enough be encouraged to move on into the next world. She really was a good girl, despite her hard life and the circumstances of her death. He bade her farewell as she vanished into the light, though his gaze lingered a touch too long on that inviting glow before it faded away into non-existence.
Then he glanced at his watch. “[The people I texted should be here shortly to take care of the creature’s remains. Would you like to stay and watch, or would you prefer we go somewhere else to talk? Either way, I’m going to need to need a cigarette.]”
Hades ignored either question and replaced it with what he actually wanted to ask, “[Have you returned to Miami or are you just passing through?]”
Thanatos paused in the search of his pockets for the cigarettes he knew he had in one of them. “[Staying for awhile,]” he said simply.
Hades returned to looking out the window, not that Thanatos could tell, “[Are your people outside? You were looking for something or someone...]”
The death god almost breathed a sigh of relief. So Hades hadn’t seen who was standing out there. Maybe this unexpected reunion wasn’t a huge a disaster as he’d thought it would be. He’d need to try calling Demeter soon, to make sure she wasn’t completely freaking out, but that could wait for the moment. He knew she could take care of herself.
“[I was working tonight someone else, but they’d already left,]” he admitted. “[The cleaners should just arriving shortly....]”
About that time the cell phone Hades still held started pinging. The call was from someone named Mr. Clean. Since he still had his headset, Thanatos answered the call. “[The chupacabra is on the second floor, along with the remains of its last victim. Careful when entering the building. It’s condemned for a reason.]” Then he disconnected the call. A pair of dark vans were approaching the building from down the street.
“[Shall we head out?]” Than asked. “[My business is done here.]”
None of that had put Hades at ease. Not one bit. The only facts that restrained his paranoia and protectiveness was that it was Thanatos before him, a man he had always been able to trust, and the distinct knowledge he wasn’t unbiased about organizations... He let out a breath. “[Good.]” Opening the window, and amazed that it functioned, he simply slipped out it, “[Let’s get away from here... I have other places to be tonight.]”
Thanatos saw the opening window, the corners of his lips quirking at the fact that Hades was still cloaked in invisibility. He ghosted through the window. “[Busy man?]” he asked as he gave a passing glance over the team of eight people who were stepping out of the vans. Though dressed nondescriptly, they clearly were organized as they set up a perimeter before moving inward.
The god of death turned to where he assumed Hades was. “[Where do you want to go?]”
Away from any perimeters. If Thanatos had been telepathic, he would have heard the thought and the desire as loud as a gong. Men in black vans surrounding building... he had watched too much television in his immortal life. But he put his unease away, allowing it to be tempered by earned trust. “[Have I ever not been a busy man?]” he asked casually, purposely taking up the tone as he walked backwards invisible. He wanted to keep his eyes on the death god, “[I would have gone home to my fiancee’ arms but that’s a touch awkward with you in tow.]”
“[Fiancee’?]” Thanatos, in his fully ghosted form now, though still visible to Hades, followed the sound of his king’s voice. “[Who are you engaged to?]” Honestly, the death god wasn’t certain. In those last few months before he took his extended leave of absence, his lord’s love life was certainly disorganized at best, on top of all the other usual family drama that swirled around the various Olympians...
Hades smiled, and enjoyed the fact Thanatos couldn’t see it. It just struck him as ironic when the death god had spent his spare time trying to ease his sorrows in the past, “[To our Queen.]”
Instead of showing some semblance of happiness at the announcement that Hades and Persephone were reuniting, Thanatos’s expression was more pensive than anything else. Though a part of him wanted to assume that this was a good sign, he knew better. His pace slowed as he tried to think of the words to start the conversation that he knew had to happen soon...
It didn’t help that he was walking with the eternal judge of the Greeks. No part of his reaction read correctly to Hades’ eyes. He let out a heavy sigh, “[What’s wrong? Something is, so let’s just cut to the chase.]”
Thanatos knew better than to beat around the bush with Hades. It just wasn’t good for anyone involved. So he screwed up his courage and spat out his news before he could second guess his decision. ‘[It’s about Demeter.]”
Hades stopped dead. The name alone made his heart begin to race. Perhaps he had finally had his dream come true and she was horrible dead... but then he would have to tell her children. Perhaps she... He couldn’t especially find any thing with her name that was good for him. “[What about her?]”
About that time, Thanatos paused as well, though he did so in order to light up a cigarette. The smell of burning cloves filled the air, and he inhaled deeply before speaking once more. “[She’s here, in Miami.]”
Of course. Hades shook his head and accepted what he had heard without further interior argument. Of everything Thanatos could have said, this was the best answer... it only hurt him. Those he loved would rejoice, possibly insensitively in front of him, but they mattered more than him. “[C’mon, my car is a few blocks away. I’m bringing you home.]”
It took a moment for Thanatos to process Hades’s response. The death god wasn’t quite sure what he’d been expecting from his lord upon the delivery of this news, but it certainly wasn’t something as... subdued... as this. Maybe it was because he was getting married to his queen again? He wasn’t sure. As they approached Hades’s car, Thanatos spoke up once more. “[Sir... There is something more to her return,]” he started hesitantly. “[Well.. more complicated.]” Oy, this was going to be difficult to explain. Perhaps it would be better to explain with Persephone, so he wouldn’t have to repeat this tale twice?
“[Everything involving that bitch is complicated.]” Hades didn’t even catch his own words, they came out too fast and naturally and he pulled out his car keys to both start and open the black jaguar. Now he would really need to get his SUV fixed. It was officially a pressing issue. “[Just get into the car. Unless she is a ghost and in Miami... then give me a second to get my laughter out here before we get near that house.]”
Ah, there was the type of response Thanatos had been expecting. It actually made him feel a little more reassured. More normal. He stepped into the car and closed the door. “[My apologies, but she’s still very much alive.]” he assured Hades.
Hades sighed, “[It’s probably better that way...]” For everyone but him. He settled into the driver’s seat and looked around one last time before shimmering back into existence. The police really did look down upon phantom cars.
His home wasn’t far. Not in the light traffic of the Miami evening. And when he parked his car in his garage, he sighed again, “Try to be quiet when we go inside. My children are asleep.”
“[Silent as the grave,]” Thanatos assured him as he ghosted through the car door. Though it was reassuring to finally be able to see Hades, Thanatos was far too comfortable in his semi-corporeal form to relinquish it yet, so he welcomed the further excuse to remain within it. He looked around Hades’s home, silently taking in what might’ve changed, and what hadn’t.
What had changed was the three-headed Great Dane that leapt to his feet at the minor sound Hades entering the house with the jingling of his keys and then growled at anyone, even Thanatos, following behind him. Hades shushed him though. At a later date, maybe he would explain to Thanatos how the hellhound had returned to his side, maybe at the same time he would question some of things about Thanatos, but now was not the time.
He led him to the bedroom and paused him at the door so he could slip in himself. Lightly, he touched Persephone’s hair and shoulders, “Love, wake up. Wake up... Thanatos has something to tell you about your mother.]”
“Mmmm?” Persephone asked groggily, shifting a bit violently at the sudden wake up call. She blinked rapidly a few times, letting what her husband had said process. Why was he talking about Thanatos? And... “[My mother?]” She sat upright, rubbing her eyes even thought she was much more awake now. “[Thanatos is here? Thanatos he’s...why would he know anything about...huh?]” She was sixty kinds of confused, but at least awake enough to realize that maybe she should listen a bit harder.
Though he greeted Hades dog warmly, not taking it all personally when the hulking canine growled at him, Thanatos became more focused as he was led to doorway of his lord and lady’s bedroom. The door had been left open a crack, so he could here some of what was said inside. At the sound of his lady’s voice, the death god felt a weight settling in the pit of his stomach. The return of her mother ought to be good news to her, but with the situation the way it was...
With a gentle touch, he brushed her hair from her face and nodded. She was going to be so happy when she learned it... assuming whatever complicated issue didn’t get in the way. Her joy and Zale’s joy would be his comfort... “[Yeah, he is....]” It was then he glanced to the door, “[Come in and tell her.]”
Thanatos took a measured breath and exhaled it slowly before moving silently through the door and into the bedroom. Once he was a few feet away from the foot of the bed, he stopped and bowed respectfully to her. “[My lady,]” he said before raising his head back up. “[I have come bringing news that your mother has returned to Miami.]” He paused a moment, then continued. “[I’m not certain where she is at this precise moment, but I do know she will most likely be spending her daylight hours in the home she and her son had in the country outside the city limits when she last lived here.]” The death god then paused again to let this information sink in. Best to give his queen a moment of happiness before sharing the sadder, more complicated news that was attached to Demeter’s return.
Persephone was happy to see Thanatos. Even though he looked different from the last time he had been there, she could sense it was him. She smiled as he walked in, sitting herself up on the edge of the bed. As he spoke about his news, she could feel her heart clench with emotion. Her mother was alive and well. Not only that, she was in Miami, and she could go see her mother whenever she wanted. However, she had to wonder why her mother had not come to see her or Zale. She had a million questions for her guest, but she assumed that if he had more to tell then he would. The first thing she had to do was remember her manners. She stood, pulling the other god into a hug. “[It is good to see you, Thanatos. Thank you for bringing me this wonderful news.]”
But as Persephone wrapped her arms around him, the death god’s face didn’t reflect any semblance of happiness or warmth. Instead, he wore a stoic mask more fitting for his other moniker, the grim reaper. He felt an uncomfortable sensation of dread settle in his chest, and as he pulled away from his lady’s embrace, he kept his eyes cast downward, unable to meet her gaze.
“[There... is more,]” he said hesitantly, with the tone of someone about to deliver bad news. “[It’s... about the child that your mother was carrying when she left...]”
Hades had gotten up off the bed in silence when Thanatos had begun to speak... He didn’t want his presence to hamper his fiancee’s joy. It was her mother. Off to the side, away from her, he could wrestle his own interior thoughts on his own... He had to keep repeating, “It’s her mother” in his own mind to keep back the beginning of ancient fears that she would always choose Demeter over him.
This wasn’t about him and at the Grim Reaper’s last trail off, he realized it wasn’t about Demeter either. His attention was perked, “[What’s wrong with the child?]” Thanatos wouldn’t be so somber if something was right with the child, he assumed...
Persephone’s heart sank. To have something wrong with the baby...her father’s last child...the child her mother had run away to protect. Part of her couldn’t help but feel that it was in line with the recent train of tragedy their family had been experiencing, but her heart still hurt for her mother. She gripped the edge of the bed tightly, as if bracing for the blow.
Thanatos shook his head. “[The child was lost before it could be born,]” he said solemnly. “[The soul required my attention when the time came.]” Memories of that horrible day flashed through the death god’s mind. Never had he been called to care for so young a lost soul before. Souls that young, when they died, usually knew exactly where to go. It disturbed him still to this very day.
Hades sat down on the bed. He wished eternal hell to Demeter, but... he was uneased with this. A soul young... It would be fine, especially after being assisted by Thanatos, and yet such a young baby dead and lost before it could ever be held. He felt his soul in conflict between compassion and something crueler -- something that blamed Demeter for it, as if she did stuff like this to make it hard for him to treat her terribly. His eyes slipped shut as he sighed... He shoved such a thought away with the somber knowledge that he would have to tell Zale about his deceased sibling soon. For now... “[And her?]”
Persephone’s face fell immediately, and she brought her hands up over it as if that might mask the pain of the news. She knew now the joys of being of a mother, but she had thousands of years of experience in not conceiving. In loving and wanting a child that would never come to be. She wouldn’t wish it upon her worst enemy, let alone her beloved mother.
“[After losing her child, Demeter was as badly affected as you could possibly imagine,]” Thanatos said. “[Once the child’s soul was taken care of, I didn’t feel it was right to leave her alone in that state. So I took it upon myself to look after her. She fell ill soon afterwards, but refused to return to Miami. She... didn’t want to burden anyone here with her grief. So we travelled northward, by train usually, in the guise of a brother and sister.]” Hence the appearance change. In this visage, he did bear a stronger resemblance to Demeter than when he looked like a native Jamaican. “[By the time we reached New York City, she became too ill to travel. It was in Grand Central Station that we were approached by ‘people’ who knew of her illness and offered to help her.]”
Hades held his tongue between his teeth, behind his lips to not only stifle the sigh that again tried to escape him but also any and all curt comments. Now... it certainly wasn’t the time. It wasn’t at all the time to say how he was glad she had been sick, how he was disappointed that Thanatos had been there to help her and that whatever secretly funded super group had convinced them to enlist had bothered to heal her. Though, he did glance over at Persephone... And she had thought him believing he was a super hero was silly....
Focus and stop it. This isn’t funny... Well, this isn’t funny for her and Zale. You? Hilarious that she suffered from emo-itis. Hi-larious. Keep it to yourself and look somber. You’re good at that, Hades commanded himself and stared down at the floor to keep his gaze low. “[Go ahead, love,]” he murmured, “[You know you want to ask all a thousand questions about her.]”
“[I don’t have a thousand questions,]” Persephone replied, perhaps a bit too sharply. “[Just one: can I go see her?]” If her mother was in pain, she wanted to help. She would do her utmost to help, and she didn’t really care what her fiance's feelings were on the matter, though she had some idea that they weren’t exactly on the same page where her mother was concerned. “[I can go now, if it’s alright.]”
Thanatos looked to Persephone and nodded. “[I would hope that you would.]” he said. “[I know she would welcome a visit from you... and your brother, when the time is right. I’m not sure if she’s at her home right now, but I’m relatively sure she’ll be there by daybreak.]” Then a thought came to mind. “[I wouldn’t call ahead though. She’s been extremely nervous about seeing any of your family, especially certain individuals... If you want to see her, it’d be best to just go to her.]”
He looked from Persephone to Hades. “[Is there anything else you wish to know?]” he asked, perhaps a touch curtly himself. There was more to the past than he had revealed, though he wasn’t certain if he wanted to share it with present company. Keeping secrets from these two was not something he wanted to make a habit of, but some of these memories were very personal.
His black eyes slipped shut. Hades had heard the curtness from both of them and it had uneased his very soul. He expected it, yet dreaded, from Persephone. From Thanatos was new and different. He stood up. In the end he wasn’t surprised, he was always punished for his thoughts even when they were unspoken and had been thoughtfully kept to himself. “[There’s plenty I wish to know but it can wait. I...]” Am clearly aren’t allowed to ask or say anything right now anyway. Or think too loudly even. He walked over to the window, with Thanatos’ cellphone still in his pocket “[When daybreak comes then, please take her to see her mother.]” It was still the summer... They still weren’t married. He pushed aside the lingering concern about whether this would be the one reason for her to not speak her vows in a week. Glancing over his shoulder to them both, he addressed Persephone, “[When you come back, we can figure out what to say to Zale and how.]” Another thing that unnerved him and he dreaded.
Persephone glanced at Hades, knowing full well that they would need to speak with Zale. It was good that he would give her a chance to speak to her mother before taking action. As far as the wedding was concerned, she considered this a wholly separate issue. Her mother’s well being had no bearing on if she would say her vows to Hades in the short few days left until their wedding. Which reminded her...
“[Thanatos,]” she started, standing and taking him by the hand. “[I do not know if Hades has yet mentioned we are to be married again. I do hope you will come to the wedding.]” Whether or not the invitation extended to Demeter relied on her mother’s mental state. She offered the death god a charming smile. “Pleeeeeease?”
Thanatos looked at Persephone first and nodded. ”[He did mention it earlier, and I would be honored to attend.]” He managed a small smile, the first that evening, all told. “[I hope all goes well with you and Demeter.]” Then he looked to Hades. “[I should probably make my way out now to take care of some errands before the evening is out. Mind walking out with me?]” The look he gave his former lord told him that if there was anything more Hades wanted to ask him about, then they could have some time to talk on the way outside.
Hades went over to his dresser and quickly pulled two small envelopes from the top draw, tucking them into his pocket before nodding then. “[I would ask you to just stay the few hours until daybreak but you probably have things to do...]” Professional matters, keeping Demeter from fleeing into the night... He could imagine a lot of things. He began to lead him out, “[This way.]”
Thanatos bowed to Persephone once more. “[Good luck with your mother, my lady]” he said before following Hades out of the bedroom. Once a fair distance from the room, Thanatos sighed with relief. He felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Hades couldn’t help but hear the sigh of relief, “[Everything okay?]”
The death god looked wearily at his friend. “[It’s been a long couple of years,]”he admitted. “[Some good, a lot not so much.]”
“[Suppose I can say the same.]” Though he would use the words “wonderful” and “beyond terrible”, but Hades shrugged a little and handed the death god his cell phone back along with the two invitations, “[For you and her. You’re both invited. The one with the stripe on the envelope is actually written out to] Madeline [in the first place].”
Thanatos looked at the envelopes with surprise, though in hindsight he figured that it wasn’t so much a surprise. Much as his lord might dislike Demeter, she was still Persephone’s mother. He accepted the invitations and the cell phone with a nod. “[Thank you, my lord. I’ll see that it gets to her.]” He slipped them into his coat pocket. “[So when is the wedding date?]”
“[September 23rd.]” The first day of Autumn. Ironically, it had been his second choice for the date but he simply couldn’t wait for the first day of Spring. His impatience had won out in the end. “[It’s all in the invite. You can bring Takshi, too, if she still travels with you.]”
The death god’s relieved, neutral expression shifted to something else. Something more troubled. Sadder even. He tried, unsuccessfully to replace the mask that had fallen away.
The death lord however was a frequent wearer of such an expression. It was no stranger to him and he saw it immediately. He paused, frowning, “[Is she hurt?]”
Thanatos shook his head. “[I don’t know,]” he admitted. “[When Demeter’s child was lost, it wasn’t me who took the soul into the light. It was her.]” He closed his eyes. “[The little one didn’t want to come near me, and she’d helped me with children in the past... She said she would return as soon as she could... but...]” He sighed. He hadn’t spoken of Takshi since she disappeared from his life, though she was ever-present in his mind most days even now. Tonight, though, was the first time in a long while where he’d actually gone over the memories of that last shared night.
Hades put his hand on Thanatos’ shoulder, “[I’ll check the Underworld. If she’s there, I’ll try to drag her back and if not... I’ll tell you. Then you can at least have that comfort.]” He had made fun of Thanatos for months, months for the rabbit spirit sharing his life and home with him but there were no jokes now. None.
“[Thank you,]” Than said gratefully. “[I truly appreciate it.]” Only Hades would likely ever know how much his rabbit truly meant to him, no matter how many jokes were made at his expense back when they first came together. By now they were finally outside, and he turned his head upward to look up at the night sky. In another hour or two the sun would start to peer over the horizon. He looked to his friend. “[Was there anything else you wanted to ask me about tonight? I’m sure there’s more I can share with you, though it might be best shared over copious amounts of alcohol.]”
“[There’s plenty I want to ask you but tonight...]” Hades looked up at the night sky as well. He could begin to make out the sky lightening. The last few hours of night always disappeared so quickly. ‘[There’s enough to process for now. I just want to know one thing and you have to swear it on the Styx.]”
Thanatos looked at Hades curiously. “[What would you like to know?]”
“[Swear that this Agency or whatever truly is no threat to my family. My whole family.]” Hades extended the term further than he usually did. There were many in his family he disdained but he would not have another Subrosa incident involving any of them if he could prevent it.
At this, Thanatos managed his second smile of the evening. “[I swear on the Styx that the Agency is no threat to any of your family here or elsewhere. They are not connected to either the Egyptians or the Subrosa. There is more I would not mind telling you about them, but too much for the little evening we have left.]” The way he spoke of the Agency and the people who managed it told volumes of how comfortable he felt with them, which was no small feat considering all that the death god went through along with Hades here in Miami.
Hades didn’t have to remind Thanatos that he would be held to that oath, but now it was the death lord’s turn to let out a sigh of relief. His whole frame was wracked with unnerved tension but at least... at least... that much was off his shoulders He brought his eyes back to the sky, “[It’s good to have you back.]”
“[It is good to be back, my lord]” Thanatos echoed. He gave a sharp whistle and a few seconds later his bone-white horse, Mortis, came galloping in from the shadows. The horse looked well, and was decked out in new tack of a slightly different style than the last time he was in Miami. “[We’ll see each other again soon,]” he said after he hoisted himself up into the saddle. Then he offered Hades a mischievous grin. “[Maybe I’ll stop your offices and scare a secretary or several for lunch.]”
“[You did that already, Thanatos.] Not that his atheist personal assistant hadn’t been able to justify the whole event away... somehow. Hades lowered his gaze back to Thanatos, “[And knock if off with that ‘lord’ stuff with me. Did you forget me telling you that two years ago?]”
“[No, but under the circumstances tonight, it felt better to fall back on old habits.]” Thanatos gathered up the reins. “[Have a good day, Hades. I’ll be in touch.]” Then with a tap of his heels, he set Mortis into motion, disappearing into the fading night.
Summary: Thanatos and Demeter start off the evening hunting for the chupacabra in two seperate locations, but ultimately the evening ends up with Thanatos reunited with his former lord and lady.