#Autolycus has Chione’s (his mother)

[nightmarearian]

Odysseus (& Anticlea) has Hermes’ laugh

[spacecadetspe]

A snippet from Last Year…

Jan. 24, 2023

Almost immediately following my interaction with the bounty hunters, an incursion group arrived from the UFU. Cure, who was onsite at the time, felt a malicious presence with them and took them out. So I had to resurrect them and get them to tell me what's going on.

As it turns out, they were from a unit headed by Charon. They're in frequent contact with the head of the repository, Baidar, who regularly helps them piece souls back together if they're too damaged to be processed. And, in a sense, Cure's empathy was spot-on: they brought nine corrupted hamingja (soul shards) from one of the dudes I made an example of in my apartment.

While they collaborated with Baidar, Morpheus took me aside and introduced the idea of using my aspects to infiltrate the black market, maybe cause a little ruckus, and do some minor espionage. I called upon Benzaiten for the mission, and she seems like she's up to the challenge.

In the mean time, I've been staying at Nyx's temple. Other than going Home, it's one of the few places where no one can find me. I can safely hide my presence from... just about anyone. I've been able to travel without being accosted, and that's helpful, although her magic does make me sleepy.

I followed Morpheus through a routine night, and watched how often he got yelled at. I wasn't aware of how stressful it was, being him, arranging everything. At the end of the night, I reached out and took him by the hand to try to comfort him. Damn empathy. As soon as I did, Nyx's umbrakinesis spell broke, and a stabbing pain hit my solar plexus. Apparently someone is still watching my apartment, and they shot me with a crossbow bolt. Morpheus responded quickly by pushing me back into the shadows, but by then it was too late. My solar was ruptured again, and that stressor had triggered something new and painful.

The majordomo, Lucas, has been very kind and caring in lieu of me being a bit fragile. He seems to be able to tell when I'm feeling Benzaiten's wounds, and brings me remedies for my aches and pains.

Benten, for her part, has sent a few bits of information over our telepathic link. The black market is an unfriendly place, and even though there was a fairly civilized auction, the deciding factor of ownership was nearly always violence. She suggested I speak with the disgraced Hermes about how to handle this.

It seems he overheard her, and sent me a little dream, himself: some dark goon holding his severed head. An indicator that he's less than willing to participate. No great surprise.

I spoke with Queen Athena (long may she reign), and I told her I wasn't sure of the dream's origins. She assured me Hermes was alive and (mostly) well in Corinth. After the death of his father, I removed his powers and his godhood. It's what happens when you side with the enemy.

Honestly, Hermes and I have a mixed relationship. An Olympian through and through, he once led the thieves' guild, headed commerce and message systems, and partied as hard as he worked. That wasn't always a good thing. In case I hadn't mentioned it, he fathered my son, Autolycus. That was not a fun union, and my aspect, Chione, was only 14 at the time.

But if Mother and Benzaiten still think he's useful, I'll give it a shot. And that's what I did. I took a little trip to visit him (Melinoë insisted on coming with me) and spent the day trying to figure out what to do next. He was prepared to give a little advice, but currently seems content to mope around and let the world go on without him for awhile.

Melinoe, on the other hand, had a favor to call in. She wanted the torch of Eubuleus back, since it's been missing for some time. Hermes didn't have it, said the bounty hunters would know where it was, and probably expected us to go off on some fetch quest to retrieve it. That's just not how I do things. So I got the torch back (pulled it out of thin air, which always amuses Fortitude), and tried to convince Hermes to join me.

I got a little emotional, I'll admit. I was still triggered from that night following Morpheus around, and being pushed away was just the final straw. So I snapped at him. After I calmed down, I mentioned I could feel Benten's injuries and needed to get out of the open. Melinoe gave me the torch and said she'd stay to talk to Hermes while I went back to Nyx's temple.

Nyx welcomed me back, and informed me that I had someone waiting for me. Hades, as it turned out. The one who had lost the torch in the first place. I gave it back to him, and we had a short conversation about what had happened. He said I could handle Hermes however I liked, and called him a "vicious little shit." He recognized I was injured and helped me into bed, and waited with me until Nyx called a healer.

I need to do something soon, but anxiety will get me nowhere.