son_of_counsel (son_of_counsel) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2010-11-27 10:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | cato jube, demeter, madeline scott |
Who: Demeter and Cato
What: Experiments
Where: The Grove
Warnings: None
It was the kind of day in rural southern Florida that called both man and beast outdoors. The weather was a pleasantly comfortable sunny day in the mid-70s, with the bright blue sky filled with fat white clouds that teased the imagination with vague, wild, fluffy shapes. A cool breeze wove through the air and through the Grove, seeming to invite all comers to the sun-dappled driveway that branched off of the main road. The Grove's mistress was in a good mood, and the woods reflected it.
Cato approached the gate to the Grove, hopping off his scooter. As he walked up to the gate, a vine stretched out to grace his cheek as if it were welcoming him back. He smiled and gave the little plant a pat before knocking on the door. "Demeter? Hello?"
A handful of flower petals traveled along a new breeze that made it's way down the driveway and toward the young god. As it passed through the gate, the lock automatically unlatched and the ornate wrought iron structure swung open easily.
A whisper of the goddess's voice could be heard on the breeze as the flower petals swirled around Cato affectionately. "The gate is always open for you. Come on in."
Cato froze at the voice but, realizing who it was, relaxed and pushed open the gate. Once inside, he took a moment to pause, looking about at the wild variety of life and greenery around him. Everything smelled so fresh... oxygen was thick in the air, a sweet scent to him. The young god sighed softly in pleasure, closing his eyes to enjoy it for a just a little bit.
While Cato's eyes were closed, the woods around him shifted slightly. Instead of the driveway going straight now and taking a sharp corner to the right, the path shifted to gently curve to the left instead. A few of the trees as well changed their position, moving as effortlessly through the hard packed earth as a fish through water. Now, it would be a short, easy trip for the young god to reach Demeter's home. She'd warned the Grove not to play with her children, and she as far as she was concerned, Cato was now one of hers.
The movement of bark and leaves brought Cato out of his meditation. He watched with fascination as they moved about and, once they were done, began to walk down the path. Smiling, he followed it as far as it would take him.
Despite the fact that she was rarely set foot outside her Grove these days, save for an occasional trip here and there, Demeter was not idle or completely left alone. In fact, though she was expecting Cato's visit, she had a couple of other visitors already at her home when he arrived. She was in the back yard, speaking with a pair of small, slender persons who had all the earmarks of a fae creature. They had long pointed ears, and sharp, well defined features, despite being only four feet tall. They were dressed in modern business attire, though, and one of them even carried what looked like an iPhone made just for their smaller hands.
Demeter, towering over them even though she herself was not that tall at just a little over five and a half feet, was busy signing some forms on a tiny digital tablet.
It was, all in all, a rather surreal looking scene.
At the sight of the other visitors, Cato paused in his path, waiting silently. He didn't want to be rude and interrupt his aunt if she had important company, or perhaps mortals who didn't know where they were. But that latter thought only last a moment before he noticed their ears and height. No... those weren't human at all...
"That should be about it," Demeter said with a note of finality. She handed the delicate device back to one of the visitors. "I'll take a look at those plant samples as soon as they arrive and see what I can do to make them stronger for next season's harvest. Can't have blight ruining another year's worth of crops with your short growing season."
She noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes and smile brightly at Cato. "Ah, my guest is here!" She waved him in before looking back to her other guests. "Do you have everything you need?"
The one looked over the digital tablet and nodded before speaking in high pitched voice with a thick Irish accent. "Everything looks in order, my lady. You should get the samples by the new moon." He and his companion bowed respectfully. "Farewell, lady goddess." Then they turned to leave, heading towards a secluded pathway on the opposite side of Demeter's yard and disappearing into the woods.
Once they were out of sight, Demeter made a beeline towards Cato. "I'm so glad you made it! How have you been. Hope you weren't waiting long."
He offered her a smile. "Not at all. I'm sorry to have come while you had company, though." His smile fell a bit, giving way to curiosity. "Though... they were fae, weren't they?"
Demeter nodded. "Yes. They were." She smiled at him. "But they're good fae, so don't worry."
Watching the Grove close up the path the fae had taken, Cato nodded. "Zeus knew a few, but that was hundreds of years ago. I'm surprised to see them in America... Friends?"
The goddess's eyes softened. "Yes. Very much so." Her gaze became distant. "They have their own civilization in upstate New York. Their goddess, Danu, helped to heal me after I lost..." She shook her head and sighed, not wanting to dwell on such thoughts today. "Well, let's just say I owe her and her people a great deal." She looked at Cato curiously now herself. "I didn't know that Zeus had crossed paths with the fae."
"He roamed Europe for many years before Britain established their colonies here, and I guess he fell in love with the country here, though he returned to places like France and Britain often," said Cato. "And... Germany, for a time. But after the War, he came back here." After a second of thought, he laughed. "He chose Florida because of the hurricanes."
Demeter chuckled. "He would, wouldn't he?" Then she glanced over to the hidden pathway. "Perhaps one day, we should take a short trip to the Otherland? It would be a nice vacation from the human world," she said thoughtfully.
Cato blinked, staring in surprise. "Otherland?"
"It's what the fae call their home these days." She thought for a moment, trying to find something familiar to Cato to relate it to. "In the old Gaelic, Celtic, and Scottish myths, the fae were said to live underground in fairy mounds on their native soil, but also it was said that they had lands beyond the western sea, in a world beyond the reach of humans. Well it so happened that they were right. Before most Europeans started colonizing North America, the fae's safest stronghold was established underneath the Adirondack Mountains in New York state." She laughed softly to herself. "The entire Adirondack range is actually a huge fairy mound."
His eyes went wide at the mental image of that. "Gods. And I thought we were doing well. That does sound like it would be a sight to see..."
Demeter nodded. "They are, and it is. Since the Fall of so many pantheons, over the centuries the main capitol city of Otherworld has somewhat like a parallel of New York City. The main populace are fae, but there are areas that cater towards other deities and their followers. Over the last few decades or so, though, they had sealed their borders and gateways with all the trouble being caused by the Egyptians and Subrosa. They didn't want to be found by either of them, understandably. But now, they are starting to open up again."
"That's wonderful news! I'd very much like to meet them. And the Norse; Zeus thought very highly of the--" He paused, catching himself. "Sorry."
A sad smile touched the earth goddess's lips. "It's alright, Cato. No need to apologize." She shook her head, as if trying to shake off the depressing emotion. Forcing herself to focus on happier things, such as the young god standing before her. "So, you said that you hadn't really had a chance to try out your powers yet?"
"Not truly," he admitted, glad that she had chosen to change the line of conversation.
"Well then, we ought to take care of that today." Demeter's spirit lifted considerably. Doing things of a divine, supernatural manner these days helped keep the melancholy at bay. She led the way more towards the middle of her yard, where there was plenty of space to move about and do things without damaging anything close to the house.
He followed after, remaining quiet as he did. He hadn't meant to mention Zeus. He would have to try harder in the future not to. It was hard, though; so many shared memories between Zeus and Demeter, it was hard not to talk about them. No, new memories would have to be created... they couldn't live in the old ones.
Upon reaching the middle of the yard, he looked around. "This looks good," he said, and put down his backpack to peel off his shirt.
While Cato started taking off his shirt, Demeter had gone back to her porch for something she'd forgotten. When she returned, she was carrying what appeared, at first glance, to be a slender wooden longstaff that stood about as tall as she did. "So what do you want to try first?" She wondered how many of Zeus's abilities his son had inherited, and if he had any unique ones of his own.
Folding up the shirt carefully and putting it in his pack, he turned to face her. "Wings. I can fly a little, but... not quite as well. But I've been wondering if perhaps this is due to me having lesser powers than Z-- him, or just not using them as much. What do you think?"
Inwardly Demeter's heart skipped a beat, but she tried not to entertain any lingering thoughts about seeing Zeus's wings on Cato's body. She focused her mind on the task at hand, reminding herself that this was too important to let her silly, trivial emotions get in the way. "[Could be six one way and half a dozen the other,]" she said with a shrug. "[Certain powers and abilities need to be exercised, just like muscles, or else they won't work as well when you need to use them.]" She looked up at the blue sky. "[Even baby birds, who are born with wings, need to strengthen them before they can actual leave the nest.]"
His eyes followed her for a moment. "[Yes.]" He closed his eyes and concentrated. Then, slowly, unfolding out of the air as if they'd been there all along, his wings came into view. Much like Zeus' they were built like an eagle's, muscle and bone clear. But they were sleek and gold-white, not the mottled brown and gray of Zeus' wings, though patches of the color remained near the bases between his shoulders. These were clearly his, coming into their own.
The earth goddess's breath slipped away from her as she watched the wings unfurl, and returned as a small sigh of relief. Though similar to Zeus's, they were clearly not the same. It made her feel better, and it showed on her face. "[They look wonderful,]" she said admirably.
The blush was clear on Cato's face. He mumbled a shy thank you. "[Would you like to see your grove from above?]"
Demeter paled considerably at the thought of flying, just as she always did whenever Zeus had tried to take her into the air. "[Oh no... That's quite alright...]" she said with a wave of her hand. Flying terrified her and made her so ill. Nope. She was perfectly fine with solid ground beneath her feet.
He smiled a bit, teasingly. "[I won't drop you~]" he said with a bit of a laugh, but let the matter drop. Crouching for a second, he launched himself up into the air, in flight within seconds. He quickly became just a spot in the sky, wheeling about the house and grove like a bird.
Watching him as well as she could, Demeter was quite impressed with the height he was able to attain. She wondered if he'd have the stamina to stay airborne for very long, or if he would need to come down soon to rest. She also wondered how he felt, high up there in the air above the whole world.
His flight wasn't long; almost as soon as he was back up, he came back down, landing hard on his feet. Imbalanced, his arms swung about trying to restore his position, but it failed and he promptly landed on his behind. "Oof." He rubbed his slightly grass-stained butt with care. His exposed skin glistened with sweat, his hair plastered to his forehead; clearly, though short, the flight had been a bit of a push. "That was a little harder than it was at first..."
At his hard landing, Demeter rushed over. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern as she reached his side. His landing looked like it hurt a bit.
"No no no!" he quickly said, making sure to stand up quickly to ease her worries... despite a painful jab in his tailbone. Owie. "I'm fine. Just, not used to flying. And it felt... I'm not sure. Difficult. Like the air didn't want to obey me."
Demeter listened to him closely, her head tilting slightly to one side before she lifted her chin to look skyward. "That's definitely different," she murmured thoughtfully. "Was it easier the last time you flew?"
He nodded. "I've only done it a few times since I, um, arrived. Maybe I'm just tired, though. We're testing right now, and I've been staying up to study," he suggested.
"True true. That could have something to do with that." Demeter shrugged. "Still, for a short as you were up there, you were flying wonderfully."
The flush on his cheeks deepened. "Not that well," he stuttered.
The earth goddess smiled reassuringly. "Here. Let's get you something to eat and drink before you try anything else. Maybe that will help give you a little more energy."
"I'm a little hungry, now that you mention it," he admitted.
Demeter happily led the way back into the house. There was a large bowl of fruit and a basket of muffins on the small dining table in the kitchen. "What would you like to drink, dear?"
Before he could even think it, Cato reached for a muffin. Only once he had taken a hungry bite out of it did he catch himself. "Wadder," he said, mouth full of pastry. Oops. "Sorry."
She couldn't help it. Demeter giggled at Cato's antics, covering her mouth with her hand. "No need to apologize," she said, a smile still playing on her lips as she poured him a cool glass of water from the pitcher that was in her fridge. She poured herself a glass too and took a piece of fruit from the bowl. It was a different sort of thing. It looked like a peach, but the outer skin peeled as easily in her hands as an orange. Inside the flesh was white and in one piece, like an apple.
Cato picked one up as well, muffin forgotten. "I've never seen one of these before. Is this a creation of yours?" he asked, curious as ever as he ran his fingers along the skin.
"Yes," Demeter confirmed, offering him one from the basket. "I... needed to get my mind off a few things, so I started experimenting with new fruits. None of those in the bowl are what they appear to be." She glanced over the lot of them. "Though... I should warn you... Some of the flavors might not be.. exactly... pleasant." She frowned at the bowl. "And I don't really remember which ones are which."
Cato blinked at the warning. But, as it is wont to do, youthful curiousity overrode his common sense or fear. He unwrapped the little fruit -- the one in his hand was red as pomegranate rather than white -- and he took a bite. As soon as he did, he let out a cough as the overpowering sour taste filled his mouth. Whoa! Wasn't expecting that at all. But he swallowed, once he had a moment to get used to the taste, and quickly took a drink of his water. "Wow," he said, voice rasping, "it's-it's like wine in a fruit."
"Ah. So that's which one that is." She picked up that little fruit's sibling from the bowl and set it to one side. "I should probably write down which ones are which." Demeter picked up another one, a purple thing that looked like bumpy eggplant. There was one fruit in the basket that she knew she created to taste like fried chicken.... It was more an experiment in proof of concept, just to prove to herself that she could create a fruit that tasted like it, than to actually make something good.... Which it wasn't. But she couldn't remember which one it was. She smelled the one in her hand curiously, though this one smelled of a combination of apricots and cranberries.
Cato put the wine-fruit down. He could feel the alcohol burn in it, even, and didn't want to test its strengths if that was true. Picking up another, small brown and fuzzy, he looked it over. "Kiwis," he murmured, smiling fondly with memory.
Demeter heard the word and looked at Cato with a surprised expression. Then it mellowed fondly. "You have that memory?" She certainly did. It was a long time ago, before The Fall, before she even had children, but after the war with the Titans. She'd been playing around with creation and her powers, so newly discovered, and had just created a small brown fuzzy fruit filled with green flesh and black seeds. And she had only one person in mind for taste-testing her newest creation.
The godling shook his head, turning the small fruit over and over in his hands. "Yes and no. I don't remember when you and him tested your new fruit and vegetables. But whenever he saw kiwis, he thought of you. They were one of his favorites, I think."
Demeter smiled fondly. "It took forever to get him to taste the first kiwis I'd ever created. It was before even Persephone was born. I had been learning how to create plants and fruits and had been experimenting. Unfortunately, Zeus was the guinea pig for many of my earlier experiments." Too sour... Too salty... Too bitter... Too bland...
He chuckled. "That must have taken a lot of time. Not that I'm sure he minded. He liked new things, and food too." A bit of a glutton, he thought to himself, for power, for women, for love... of course food would fit right into that mix. "But it's kiwis I remember him thinking of the most." After a moment, his expression soured and he looked up to her with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, I'm doing it again, aren't I? I-I don't mean to..."
Demeter shook her head. "No no... It's alright..." Though she there was a touch of sadness to her smile, there was more fondness to counterbalance it. "It's nice to be reminded of happier times with him today."
Even with the happiness in it, Cato saw the sadness. Putting down the fruit, he reached for her hands, holding them among his thicker fingers, giving them a squeeze. "I'm glad for that, at least..." Looking up from their entwined digits, his blue eyes met her brown ones. "He did have fond memories of you. I promise."
She moved from her seat and went to Cato's side. She wrapped her arms about his neck and hugged him warmly. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear gratefully. Hearing that from Cato's lips made the aching that had been in her heart since the unfortunate encounter with Hera finally start lessening.
He returned the hug just as tightly, his nose pressing into her hairline. She smelled like wet earth and dry leaves... The memories it induced were intoxicating, warm and good. A gesture in many of those memories came to him, one used to comfort and reassure. His nose grazed down her forehead for a moment before he pressed a kiss to the skin, giving her a final soft squeeze before releasing her.
Demeter felt a rush of warm comfort wrap around her heart, and if she kept her eyes closed, she could almost believe that it was her lost brother that was giving her that kiss. And yet, even though she knew it wasn't, that was alright too. Although she knew that Zeus's place in her heart could never be filled, the place of nurturing love and affection that would have been reserved for her lost child, that gaping wound, was slowly being healed as she spent more and more time with her beloved's last son.
As she stood back, she looked over Cato with contentment and not a trace of melancholy. She was simply happy. "So would you like any more to eat, or would you like to go back out and try some more practicing?" she said.
"I'm feeling more than ready if you are."
The goddess smiled and clapped her hands together before grabbing the glasses and the pitcher of water to take outside with them. Once outside, she set them on the table on her patio before leading the way to where they had been practicing earlier. She also grabbed her wooden staff as well on her way to the field.
He eyed the staff, wondering what use she had planned for it, as he followed her back outside. "I've never attempted shape-shifting... I did lightning once but, um, the results were poor."
The staff was a just-in-case item she wanted to keep handy. They were experimenting with mostly untested powers, and Demeter thought it good to be in a better-safe-than-sorry frame of mind. "Shape-shifting... hmmm...?" She thought for a moment. "Do you have a general idea of how that works? It does take quite a bit to do that skill if you've never attempted it before."
"Not really... Zeus never even had to give it a thought, he just wanted to be something and it happened," he said with a shrug.
"Well then, let's see if you manage without too much trouble," Demeter said with a casual shrug. She planted her staff in the grass and leaned on it comfortably.
Cato opened his mouth, but realized he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. What was he supposed to turn into? A bull? An eagle? No, those were things by his father, his symbols... using the forms of a dead man seemed thoughtless at best. He closed his eyes, arms to his side, as he thought and wondered. As he did, gathering what power he had What felt right. What felt...
Felt...
Demeter watched Cato as he concentrated, curious herself as to what he might turn into. Just like him, she figured there might be a chance he'd transform into one of his father's symbolic creatures. She wasn't sure how she would feel seeing him do that, but it made logical sense of he decided to go there. A part of her hoped, though, that he would choose something different... Something that was distinctively... Cato.
Light and shadows bent to cover the worst images around the young god as his form began to shift, twist and turn. His face screwed in concentration as he tried to think of what he should be. No, not what, who he should be. It wasn't just a form, it was an extension, a representation of himself, his power, his kin. Limbs shifted and weight was lost, going wherever it went when gods changed until... finally...
An eagle chick, all brown-white fluff and over-sized beak, bounced slightly as it tried to escape the pool of clothes that had fallen down around it, making squeaking noises of distress as it did.
It was a good thing that Demeter had been leaning on her staff when Cato finished his transformation. If she hadn't, she might've fallen right over in her surprise, most likely doubled over with laughter. As it was, she had to clap her hands to her mouth to stifle the bubbling giggles that threatened to burst forth. He was just so... so... cute!
"Oh Cato," she said fondly as she finally regained enough composure to make her way to the tiny eagle chick. Gently she helped untangle the baby bird of prey from the clothing that had it trapped. Then she lifted him up in her hands so that she could get a better look at him.... and perhaps give him a few affectionate, snuggling kisses, just because he was that very cute.
The little bird squawked and flailed, not from distress but complete lack of knowledge as to how the body worked. Once he had gotten a sense of how to sit up properly, wings outstretched to give his butterball body a way to stay up, he glanced up at her with round yellow eyes.
I did not expect this, came the words, in Cato's voice, to Demeter's mind. At all.
"That would make two of us," Demeter said, adoring smile still on her face as she looked him over. Then she balanced him in one hand and stroked his head and back with the other. "You're so fluffy!"
The crooning noise came out of his throat without a thought. My brain feels fuzzy, he stated curiously.
"Well you are in the form of a baby eagle, love. Their brains aren't that developed yet." She looked around. "Would you like to see what you look like?"
Cato glanced down at his stubby wings and then back up to his aunt. Though eagle chicks have no facial expressions, this one could have been labeled as 'disappointed'. Horrible, I think, but okay.
Demeter went over to the patio area, where a birdbath rested beneath one of the trees nearest the house. She held Cato over the water's surface, uncertain if he would even have the coordination to sit on the lip of the stone basin himself. The still, calm surface and the dark color of the basin made it a very nice impromptu mirror. "There you go. Can you see ok?"
Cato glanced over, tilting his head to get a, for lack of a better term, bird's eye view. After a moment, he groaned. This... this isn't what a god is supposed to look like! he wailed in her mind, flapping his wings with frustration. Not a son of Zeus and Metis! I mean, come on, at least a grown up bird, honestly...
He squeaked, attempting a 'harrumph', but it didn't quite work out. It only added to his sharp disappointment.
"Oh sweetheart, it's alright. I think it's a very good show for someone who is trying to transform for the first time," she tried to comfort him. "Besides, you said it yourself earlier that you've been using a lot of energy for studying and such recently. I'm sure that if you were to do this again later, when you're relaxed and fully rested, you'll be able to become a fine strong bird of prey." Although she would never say it aloud, Demeter was quite enamored with Cato's adorable baby bird form. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to put him someplace comfy and just start feeding him till he passed out with a full stomach of contentment like so many other baby birds she'd cared for in the past.
Unaware of Demeter's evil plans of stuffing him, Cato let out a mental sigh. I suppose. Can I turn back now, though?
His aunt sighed. "Oh I suppose." She gave him one more little kiss on top of his fuzzy little head before setting him gently down upon a nearby lounge chair. Then she went to go and fetch his clothing.
If he had the capabilities to, he probably would have blushed. But instead, he gave a feeble squawk as she put him down -- oh gods, she was so tall! -- and watched her walk off. But the strain of staying in such a tiny form was already catching up to him. By the time she was walking back, he had begun to quiver and, all at once like a balloon popping, returned to his normal form, nearly falling out of the chair as it sank under his regained weight.
"Oof."
Demeter blushed as Cato returned to his normal, albeit nude form. She kept her gaze averted as she gave him his clothing. "Ah... Here you go. I think I'm going to do a few things over there while you dress..." Being in the presence of a nude man, especially Cato, was more than a little awkward. The last time she'd been with any man in such a clothless state was with his father... whose memories he shared... and well... it left the earth goddess feeling a little flustered. She turned to move off a little ways away from her nephew and distracted herself by fiddling with a few of her plants, playing with the shapes of their leaves and the colors of their flowers.
The blush was shared and, perhaps a little more quickly than needed, he snatched the pants out of her hands. Once she was turned, he went about getting dressed. Ack, everything was covered in grass, ack! But everything seemed to be in place, aside from one little feather he had to pull out of his shoulder. Once he was sure he was fluff-less and all together, he approached the goddess, carefully tapping her shoulder so as not to spook her.
"Decent now," he promised.
Demeter turned to look at her nephew with a small smile. Somehow, she'd managed to give her morning glories climbing up the trellis of her patio the leaves of a fern, and the colors of the blooms were a multitude of colors, despite growing from the same plant. She looked far more relaxed now that he had his clothing on.
"So how do you feel? Are your thoughts still fuzzy?" she asked curiously. Then she stood back and looked him over appraisal. "How are you feeling energy-wise? Do you think you have enough in you to try anything else today?"
The look up and down made something flutter in his gut. Pride, maybe, but it wasn't something he was used to and, thus, couldn't put a name to it. "I think I may be good for today... I'm a little tired. It felt good, though!"
His aunt smiled warmly at him. "I'm glad. I think things will get easier for you the more you practice them." She stepped up to him and gave him a warm hug. "You did really well, Cato. I'm proud of you. Now why don't we go inside and I'll make you something to eat. You deserve a good meal for the work you've done."
Source: Cato takes Demeter up on the offer for a safe space to try out his untested powers as a god. It goes swimmingly, minus a few flukes, and the two bond over shared memories of the dead king with promises to look more to the future.