#Artimus x human

[enigma-im]

Free Bird

Rating: Mature Relationship: Aarakocra X Female!Human Warning: Vulgar, minor abuse, backhand a woman, fluff, confrontation, friendly banter, bird and human relationship, established relationship

Word count: 2889

Sometimes parents don’t like the person their child is dating. in this case it’s a little bit more than distaste

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I try to snort back the blood dripping from my nose. It does nothing to help so Instead I wipe it away with my sleeve, no doubt leaving a gross trail on my face. I walk through the hallways, fist clenched, and shoulders tense. I try to make it to my room quickly without bumping into anyone. I know if anyone saw me like this it would get back to the prince. I didn’t want to explain to him how it happened, giving him ammo for any argument we have in the future.

I spot my door ahead and rush towards it. I grab the annoyingly bright handle and quickly get inside. I close the door behind myself and sigh. Now to go to the bathroom and get clean.

As I step further into the room I see my boyfriend sitting by the window at his desk. I freeze when I notice him. His back is to me so I assume I still have a chance to get into the bathroom unseen.

I don’t get what I want.

He glances over his shoulder at me before turning fully around. He looks me over then cocks a brow at my face.

"See a picture of me in the hall and got some adult thoughts," he smirks.

I glare at him as I walk towards the bathroom," No, I saw a picture of your cousin and figured I picked the wrong prince."

"Like Dearth could handle you," he scoffs," he can't stand the sight of blood anyway, faints like a child. Even does the hand to head and fall into someone's arms bit. Such a dramatic man." I smile to myself at his joke, imagining the dainty man falling into someone's waiting arms. I turn into the bathroom, still annoyed that he saw but appreciative that he made a joke against someone else for a change. I make it to the sink, turning it on and wetting a rag. As I wipe the blood from my face I see him enter the bathroom from my view in the mirror.

"What happened anyway, not every day I see you bleeding outside of bedroom stuff," he walks to the counter and rests his back to it. He watches as I scrub the smeared blood off my cheek and chin.

"I realized I chose to be with you and bashed my face into a wall to try to knock some sense into me," I tease.

"Hey, you had a choice. With sound mind and body if I recall. Though it wouldn’t hurt to get us a professional to look us both over. One of us is bound to be insane, my bets are on you," he pretends to ponder the thought. I bite my cheek to stop from laughing, not wanting to end the game yet.

I manage to get the blood off my face and switch to throw away papers to blow the rest out of my nose. He watches, crossing his arms as he regards me.

"Honestly, what happened," he asks. I finally turn and look at him. Seeing he is all serious.

"Honestly," I ask. He nods," before I do, you aren't allowed to tease me later for it. This will not be part of our game, understand?"

He chuckles before answering," Well now I'm very interested. Did you lose a fight with a door?"

I roll my eyes," Har-Har funny as always. No, I got into a disagreement with your father. You know how opinionated he is about me, about us."

"I'm aware," he answers tense. I ignore him, knowing to mention his dad is always a sore subject.

"Anyway, today got more heated and I underestimated the old fart. He backhanded me before I could react. I still got him in the leg, knocked him on his ass before he could spit out some insults. Still you would think those feathers of yours would be like being slapped by a pillow more than a bony hand," I glance over at Artimus, hoping he got a laugh out of that. He was anything but happy about the news.

"He hit you," he shouts as he steps away from the counter. He turns to me and crowds me against the sink.

"Yea, it's fine. Man hits like, well, how id imagine your cousin would hit," I try to joke. He still isn't having it. He grabs my chin and looks over my face. Looking for bruising or scratches I assume. I know I will have one over the bridge of my nose, where his knuckles popped me. Still, as I said, the man can't hit for shit.

"This is anything but fine, he should have never laid a hand on you," he growls. He snatches the rag from my hand and goes to cleaning my face. Scratching off dried blood near the corner of my nose, on my lip, near my ear. "He can hate you all he wants but this is too far," he says in the most serious tone I've ever heard from him. I stare up at his clenched jaw, noticing him grinding his beak. I've never seen him so angry.

Once he is satisfied with his care he throws the rag down into the sink. Then he turns and charges out the room. Confused, I rush after him. I just see him march out the bedroom door and into the hallway.

"Hey," I shout. I jog after him, catching up to his angry walk quickly. "Where are you going," I ask him as I try to grab his arm. He jerks himself out of my weak hold and continues forward.

"I'm going to talk to my father," he growls. His brow furrows more and a sneer poisons his face.

"What, why? Seriously, you don’t have to do this. I can fight my own battles," I step in front of him, pressing my hands to his chest. He grabs my hands and pushes them aside before walking past me. "Damn it Artimus," I snarl as I chase after him again.

He makes it to the main office before I can stop him. Without pausing he slams the double doors open. Marching into the room with clenched fists. I turn into the room just in time to see him grabbing his father by the feathers. He pins the man to the wall and seethes near his face.

"Don’t you ever fucking touch her again or so help me I will kill you," he screams at his father. The man holds his son's hands near his neck with a tight grip. He quickly rips Artimus' hands from his collar, pushing him away. He smooths his feathers and adjusts his clothes before glaring at his son.

"You do not talk to me that way young man. You may tolerate such disrespect from her but I will not allow it from you," His father growls out.

"You do not touch her, do you understand me? I don’t care what your feelings are for our relationship, you will show restraint," Artimus gets back into his father's face. I walk around the desk and stand a good distance away from the two.

"Excuse me for not enjoying the idea of my son sullying himself with a human. Sleeping with some degenerate as well as that, some peasant whose novelty will surely wear thin," his father spits out. I don’t take his words to heart, not really caring about the man's feelings for me.

I just barely react in time for when Artimus lunges at his father. I bolt over and step between the two. I press my hands to Artimus' chest, stopping his forward momentum. He tries to grab me and push me aside but I wrap my arms around his waist. He attempts to slide me around him but I stop at his side.

"You know nothing about us, do not pretend you do," Artimus shouts at his father.

"I understand you use her to get back at me. Flaunt this insufferable child around like a beacon for people to see my lack of control over you," his father snarls back. I hold tight when Arti tries to lunge again.

I understand his father's words, even recognize them as my own fears. I'm not exactly top tier picking for someone such as Artimus. I'm everything a royal shouldn’t be; loud, impolite, human, and vulgar. So trying to wrap my head around Arti being interested in me is boggling. Still, I enjoy his company despite our differences. I will take this time as short as it will be. I figure I'm not a lasting thing, I'm just a passing fetish. I'm fine with that. At least I think I am, it will still hurt when he tosses me aside for some royal to wed.

"Again, you understand nothing," Arti keeps trying to lunge. Trying to break from my hold.

"Then explain it to me. Why do you spend your time with this lesser when you can have anyone you want? Then to touch on your relationship, you two bicker worse than an unhappy married couple forced together by a diplomatic union. I can't imagine you are even happy with her," his father says. He pretty much lays it out, sure he is missing some stuff like our late nights. We are kind to each other, teasing the other in friendly banter. The sex is great, the aftercare is soothing. Still, we debate like crazy.

"She gives me something you others don’t, honesty. She is refreshing to this hosh posh lifestyle that I loathe. Then at night when we are alone is my favorite time. Holding her as we both go to sleep is calming. Talking to her beneath the sheets is like living in our own little world," Arti relaxes in my hold and looks down at me," She is my world because I love her. Our arguing is but conversations only we understand. Her vulgar personality is like looking at the world with new eyes. Her softness that rivals our own, her humanness is all the more appealing. I know others don’t see it but I know this diamond in the rough. The most beautiful gem." I don’t notice when I stop breathing. I don’t remember when he wrapped his arms around me. I can't recall much of anything besides his words. The thoughts running through my head pause, holding onto his rant with purpose.

"What," I find myself gasping like an idiot," you love me?"

"Of course, my precious spit-fire. How could I not," he tilts his head with a grin.

"I-I," I stutter, not used to this much feeling. "I thought I was going to be just a phase, a chapter in your life." he drops his smile and regards me concerned. He lifts his hand and cups my jaw.

"You could never be just a passing fad, I promised you I wouldn’t make you just another notch in my bedpost. Did you not believe me," he asks. I take a second to collect my thoughts, still really not believing him.

"Yes- no. I figured I'd just be a really big notch," I answer.

"Then why did you agree to be with me," he furrows his brow. He almost looks pained at my answer, it pulls at my heart.

"Not every day you can bag a prince," I try to joke. Stomping down the emotions rising to the surface. He doesn’t find it humorous, scolding me.

"Be honest," he chides.

I sigh," I wanted to take what I can get. If it is a couple months or weeks, I just wanted to be here."

"So you only want me because of my status," he drops his hand from my face. It feels like a stab in the chest, worse when I look at his betrayed face.

I quickly snatch his hand," No, never! I would never do you like that, I wanted to be with you. You know I don’t care about this lifestyle, I'd be content living in the middle of the woods. I've told you that was my plan before I met you. I never needed or wanted to be part of the higher class. I'm here because I want to be around you," he stares down at me, looking between both my eyes as he thinks. He drops the hard look with a sigh. Going back to cupping my face before resting his head against mine. I look up at him awaiting his next action or words. Sitting on the precipice of stress and panic. I watch as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Do you love me," he squeezes his eyes tighter. My brain doesn’t even let me think about it. I know all those shared nights after some rather feverous sex are treasured in my mind. Sometimes I stay up just to watch him, pecking him on the face before snuggling back in his arms. I know what I feel for him, clear as ever.

"Yes, I love you," I huff with a smile. Feeling my eye water as I finally say the words that sat buried in my heart for the longest time. He chokes on a laugh as he smiles. Opening his beautiful blue eyes to me.

"Then that’s all I need, never stop being yourself or loving me and we will be just fine," he nuzzles my cheek," Keep being the disgusting troll I know you can be."

I roll my eyes," And you keep being the pompous snob with more money than sense."

"With the undeserved large cock," he raises a brow. I hit his chest as he laughs.

"As long as you never disappoint," I lean down and bite his neck. Kissing it soon after.

"You know first hand I won't," he rubs his beak to my head. I pull him close and pepper his jaw and cheek with kisses. He chuckles as he pets down my back, reaching for my ass.

A throat clears making my eyes snap open.

"Please refrain from spreading your 'love' around my office," Artimus' father calls from behind me. I quickly let go of Arti and turn to face his father. Before I could step away he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close to his chest. Resting his chin on my head.

"Do you understand now that my love will not be disrespected in this house," Arti growls at his father.

His father regards us both with a bored expression," I still do not approve of your relationship, it is a burning ship in the middle of the ocean. It cannot be saved and it's doomed to sink. Still, I will respect your choices and refrain from striking her as long as she agrees to stay in line with visitors. I can only tolerate so much," His father glares down at me. I sneer back at the crooked old man.

"Hit me again and I'll do more than have you on your ass. Expect an equal payment next time for the bruised nose," I snap.

"Again with that foul mouth, your mother should have beaten you harder," the trashy man growls.

"And yours should have loved you more, maybe you wouldn’t be such an insufferable tyrant," I shout back.

"Alright, we are getting off track. Father you ever even think about striking her again, I will have your head before any rebels can. She will agree to put on a kind face for visitors on the account that you two barely interact with each other, deal?" Arti cups his hand over my lips before I can snap up at him for putting words in my mouth. I lick at his hand but he just wipes the spit across my face before covering my mouth again. I wince at the saliva on my cheek and the feather stuck on my tongue.

His father watches us with a barely contained smirk," Deal. Now leave my office." The man turns away from us and walks over to his chair by the hearth.

Without a word Arti drags me out of the office and into the hallway. We stop a bit of way away where he pushes me against the wall.

"I don’t want you ever for a second doubting my words, do you understand," he rests his forearms on either side of my head. Our noses just barely touching as he stares down at me.

"No promises, you tend to say a lot of bullshit," I smirk up at him.

"Nothing I say regarding my feelings for you are bullshit, my love," he traces his beak over my nose," you stubborn dragon." I reach up and grab his collar, pulling the fabric in a tight grip.

"You are an ignorant twat who has my heart in his hands. You threatened your father for me, therefore, I demand you take me to our room and make rough nasty love to me," I kiss the corner of his mouth," I'll even let you be on top this time." He growls, his chest rumbling against my own.

"As you wish," he grins. I pull him down by the shirt and kiss him. He grabs my thighs and lifts me. I hug my legs to his sides as he whisks me off to our room.

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Anyone notice the name of lover boy is the drummer from Lynyrd skynyrd? not the one who did free bird but we ignore that bit cause i will not name him something like ‘Gary’. i already have too many generic names for characters, like Ben or Daniel.

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[the-ghost-king]

wait Apollo isn’t originally greek? thats so interesting 👀👀

Where ever did you hear that? /ij

Definitely putting all of this under a read more, it’s a long one!

Cw: Greek statues, they're naked :/

But yeah, Apollo was actually an inherited god, it’s likely that because of this as well he was a blending of multiple different gods to some extent. It’s also good to note that Apollo’s name is unknown, meaning that nobody really knows what exactly Apollo means, which is pretty weird all things considered about the Greeks who placed such importance on the god’s forenames (ie, phoebeus, acestor, age’tor, etc). 

"Though Apollo was the most Hellenic of all gods, he derived mostly from a type of god that originated in Anatolia and spread to Egypt by way of Syria and Palestine." (X)

There’s a couple of different things which point to Apollo being a Anatolian god (or being of, coming from him) named Appaliunas, and it is said they were on opposite sides of a war most beloved of their people during the fight. It’s important to note that it’s believed Appaliunas means “father light” and that he shows some level of importance over drafting peace treaties (which Apollo has some reputation in as the bringer of civilized order). We don't know too much about their connections however, because the documents are incomplete.

This theory also makes sense, because the name Leto (Apollo’s mother) is Lydian in origin, and there’s decent connections to her having been worshiped on the coast's of Asia Minor. And it is known the Greeks have adopted Anatolian gods into their religion before, see Cybele (sometimes called Cybele-Rhea), and the origin of Kore (later Persephone). There's stuff which points also to an Anatolian goddess called "Artimu" (Artemis) who is often confused to Cybele for some reason, and again this bears connections to the Lydians which worshipped Leto. There's information which points to Hekate being a goddess from Anatolia as well, which shows significance considering she is Apollo and Artemis's cousin (leading to my personal question of was Phoebe Anatolian in origin?). Apollo's divine number being 7 shows Babylonian or at least Mesopotamian Origin.

The Geographical location of these two places also bears similarities, they are close to one another, and it's known the Greeks had decent travel capabilities over water. There's also the fact that both of these lands border Troy, which is shown to have significant values in Greek culture and mythology, as well as the Greek belief that the Anatolian gods were present at Troy as well as the Greek gods.

(It's also notable the similarities in naming traditions, Alaksandu for one such example, does not sound too far off from the later Latin name Alexander, which came from the Greek name Aléxandros).

The other possible origin given for Apollo is Aplu (Apulu), a Hurrian god (of people who lived in Anatolia, Syria, and Northern Mesopotamia). Aplu and Apollo bear semblance to one another in more than name, Aplu was the god of plague (bringer of the plague more specifically) and he bears a large amount of resemblance to Apollo Parno'pius/Smitheus and Aplu's main story provides reasoning as to why Apollo may also be the god of healing and Medicine.

The story of Aplu involves the idea that the individual which brings the plague, must also be the one to banish it. This makes Aplu both bringer of plague(s) but also, protector from plague(s). From this we learn Aplu's name means "son of" (please note here Apollo's iconographic connections to "youth" and "sonship" among the Greeks, as the god of kouros), but the connection of "the son of" was a title granted also to the god Nergal (worshiped by many different people(s) across Mesopotamia) who is at least in part someone who holds power over the sun, and holds connection to Shamash (Utu).

Aplu is also often depicted naked (ya know) but wearing a laurel leaf, and part of a cloak... It's funny how these images are Apollo though:

Aplu is also symbolized by a staff and laurel a twig(s), while we know Apollo to be associated closely with the laurel because of Daphne, and Apollo having iconography related to staffs involves him giving his away to Hermes- which perhaps has to do with the caduceus being interpreted as the symbol for medicine, or the connection of Apollo to Asclepius and the rod of Asclepius.

Aplu isn't isolated necessarily either, there is also the Etruscan goddess Aritimi (Artume, Artames, or Artumes) and she oversees animals, human assemblies, and is considered a hunting deity. As well as scrolling through this list, you'll note more than one Greek/Roman mythological figure.

There's also a ton of stuff from Etruscan mythology (Hurrian mythology is just a subsect of Etruscan mythology) which overlaps with Greek mythology, some sources even state Etruscan -> Greek -> Roman mythology (I wont comment on that because I don't know well enough).

There's some other places Apollo's name might have come from, but those are probably the two most likely under the assumption that Apollo is a collective of many gods.

These are the specifics of the Anatolian god's Apollo may be born of/from, but there's a variety of things which point to him and mythology around him being of other origins as well (Minoan, Dorian, and Proto-Indo-European... yeah)

You may have heard one of Apollo's sacred animals is dolphins, Apollo Delphinios/Delphidios, this is because of a Minoan god named Paiawon (Paion) who was worshiped on Crete and also originated in Delphi. In the second part of Homeric hymn to Apollo, Apollo would transform his shape into that of a dolphin and carry the new priests to Delphi for the transfer of religious practices:

"Phoebus Apollo pondered in his heart what men he should bring in to be his ministers in sacrifice and to serve him in rocky Pytho. And while he considered this, he became aware of a swift ship upon the wine-like sea in which were many men and goodly, Cretans... Phoebus Apollo met them: in the open sea he sprang upon their swift ship, like a dolphin in shape, and lay there, a great and awesome monster, and none of them gave heed so as to understand but they sought to cast the dolphin overboard. But he kept shaking the black ship every way and making the timbers quiver. So they sat silent in their craft for fear, and... so they kept sailing on; for a rushing south wind hurried on the swift ship from behind... They wished to put their ship to shore, and land and comprehend the great marvel and see with their eyes whether the [dolphin] would remain upon the deck of the hollow ship, or spring back into the briny deep where fishes shoal. But the well-built ship would not obey the helm, but went on its way all along Peloponnesus and the lord, far-working Apollo, guided it easily with the breath of the breeze..." (X)

Apollo Delphinios was largely only worshiped by people of Crete and surrounding islands, but this is also largely where Paiawon was worshiped as well. There's also many things from early Grecian history which simply state Apollo to be Paiawon or of Paiawon, or at least doesn't bother to specify which god is being talked about.

In the earlier parts of Greek history, seventh-sixth century, there was distinctions made between the pair:

"and in Solon's opinion it is Apollo who makes a man a μάντις (soothsayer) but healers do the work of Paion" (X)

The whole thing with Apollo being descended from Paiawon however, is that Paiawon may not be Minoan but Mycenaean in origin, which means even if Apollo is originated in Minoan culture one of the gods who has influenced that origin wasn't even necessarily Minoan but taken in. Others believe Paiawon was Minoan or Aegean in origin but very far in the past, since his songs used a meter of pre-Greek origin.

You'll also not the commonalities between Paion (a spelling of Paiawon) and Paean (also spelled Paian), Apollo's original name according to Homer. It could mean a variety of things but "who heals illnesses through magic" and "pre-greek" are the most common translations of the word Paean, but it is also associated with music (most specifically a song sung by Thetlas who cured the Spartans) and is said to denote hymns for Apollo.

"PAEAN, that is, "the healing," is according to Homer the designation of the physician of the Olympian gods, who heals, for example, the wounded Ares and Hades. After the time of Homer and Hesiod, the word Paian becomes a surname of Asclepius, the god who had the power of healing. The name was, however, used also in the more general sense of deliverer from any evil or calamity, and was thus applied to Apollo and Thanatos, or Death, who are conceived as delivering men from the pains and sorrows of life... From Apollo himself the name Paean was transferred to the song dedicated to him, that is, to hymns chanted to Apollo for the purpose of averting an evil, and to warlike songs, which were sung before or during a battle." (X)

In regards to the possibility of Apollo having been of Minoan origin, one must consider not only his origins but the origins of the gods and goddesses around him and how they may have developed over time.

In this case Britomartis (Diktynna) is of particular interest, she was the Minoan "mistress of animals", she was a goddess (or sometimes nymph, or oread) of the mountains and the hunt. There's points to the name meaning "sweet maiden" or other similar things, but it is debatable.

Eventually Britomartis would become the goddess of nets in Hellenic myths, and would simply be closely identified with the goddess of Artemis. However, to the Minoans Britomartis wandered alongside a bow-wielding male hunter who's name has been lost, it is likely that aspects of this hunter were absorbed into Apollo; when the introduction of worshiping Artemis was brought to the island of Crete where Britomartis was also worshiped they were compared and quickly said to be of one another.

It is also said in some variations the myths of Britomartis that she was taken to the mainland in the nets of men after fleeing Minos, this seems like a euphemism for her as a goddess of worship being brought by fisherman to mainland and taken into their culture and worship, more so than it sounds like a goddess's story. Perhaps this led to her becoming Artemis, although most myths seem to agree Artemis gave Britomartis immortality... So who knows, but it's a point of particular interest for me.

Also I know I mentioned proto-indo-european origins for Apollo and I could analyze gods and goddesses relating to Apollo being a Minoan god like Aphaea, but I am not going to lie I am rather sick mostly of sourcing everything and I don't like to talk about stuff without stuff to back me up because I don't want to come across like I'm pulling information or ideas out of thin air because that's how misinformation spreads... But yeah, here's a somewhat simplified piece on Apollo's possible origins as a pre-Hellenistic god, and I hope you enjoy because I know you sent the ask a bit ago <3