Work Text
Have you ever wondered what it would like to be immortal? To live in a world of impossible powers and unimaginable adventure? Well, Cyrus hadn’t. He was fine living a peaceful life as a shepherd in the small village in Greece where he had been born, enjoying his life with his two best friends, Andi and Buffy. But you don’t always get what you want. That’s what he had learned from Apollo. You know that trick Greek gods like to pull when they come to the land of mortals? You know, making themselves look old and feeble to see if anyone would help them? Yeah, that trick. And Cyrus couldn’t resist because he loved being helpful! When he saw a limping old man walking through town, he couldn’t NOT ask if he could give him a meal and a bed for the night. He wasn’t an animal!So Cyrus has taken the god Apollo, disguised as an old man into his house so that he could get warm. “Would you like anything to eat”, Cyrus had asked the god as he helped him into the only chair he had in his small house. “A bowl of soup would be nice, if you wouldn’t mind”, the god had said, barely hiding a grin from Cyrus as he went into the part of the house he used as his kitchen. He should’ve known then that something was up, but had ignored it to be polite. Cyrus got the man a bowl of the cold soup sitting in the pot from last night. He felt guilty at not being able to heat it up, but he had run out of firewood and Buffy wasn’t supposed to come around with some for a few hours. The man assured him that it was fine and started eating. And eating. And eating. The man had silently ate what was left in the pot from the night before(nearly three-quarters of a pot!) in the matter of a few hours. Cyrus had planning to have that last him all week, saving up his food for a meeting in town that Saturday, but he tampered down his irritation, justifying the man’s actions by telling himself it was what he got for bringing in a hungry old man inside the house. But then the man said, “Is that all you have?”Cyrus jaw dropped. He was about to say something when the small door opened. In came his two best friends, Andi with flower crowns and bracelets and Buffy trailing along with an armful of fire wood. “Cyrus—Oh. Who’s this?”, Andi asked, looking at the man curiously. Buffy frowned and raised her eyebrow, shooting a disapproving look in Cyrus’s direction. “Oh, um this is, um. Sorry sir, what was your name again?”, Cyrus asked the food-stealing old man in front of him, silently cursing that he was so polite. The man only smiled as stood up. As he raised himself to his full height, transforming into a blond, muscled young man with tan skin and golden eyes. He grinned at the three mortals in front of him, showing perfec shining white teeth. “I am Apollo”, Apollo said haughtily. “I had originally planned to visit this nasty old man who was bothering Demeter about something, but I stumbled into you instead.” He continued, his glowing eyes landing on Cyrus. “Ah, just as well, I was looking for an assistant anyway. And I guess I could give you two as Eros’s helpers, or maybe his mother would be more enclined for you two...”“Wait, excuse me?”, Buffy asked, incredulous as the god started trailing off. “I”, the god said, proudly. “Am giving you three the gift of eternal life!”His declaration was met with blank stares. “Why?”, Andi finally asked. “Why? Because I’m feeling generous! Anyone would love to become a god, even a minor one, so are you ready to become servants to the gods?”The three looked at each other. Gods? Immortal life? They could be working together for ever. The girls had excited looks on their faces, but Cyrus was a little skeptical. But seeing his friends faces, how could he say no. Besides, it couldn’t be that bad, right?The three mortals took one final look at each other and nodded to Apollo. Immediately they were swept up into a swirling vortex of golds and yellows and reds and then suddenly, they were standing in the courtyard of a magnificent palace, the building reaching higher than the three of them could see. All around them was beautiful homes and gardens and temples and they were overwhelmed. Then, they felt a warmth in their chests. They started to glow and they were heated from the inside out. The heat and the light came to its apex and then receded into whatever place it had come from. “There”, Apollo said. “You are know gods.”“That’s it”, Andi asked, but the god just rolled his eyes. “What are we supposed to do now?”, Cyrus asked. “That!”, came a thundering voice. “Is an excellent question.”In front of them appeared a young girl, about sixteen, shining like the moon on the darkest night. “My brother”, the lady Artemis said, “Who have you brought here today?”The three friends bowed to the lady as she approached, less surprised but still in awe of the goddess. “Sister Artemis! I’m glad you have come. I’m sure one of these girls would prove useful in your hunt!”One of them? They were being split up? He was about to raise the question when he saw the look on Buffy’s face. Artemis’s hunt was legendary, a place for young women to run with the awe-inspiring goddess. Buffy had grown up hunting with her brothers, it was something she had only dreamed about. For her happiness, Cyrus could stand not seeing them everyday. And if anyone deserved to be in the hunt, it was Buffy. Artemis seemed to agree. “You”, she said, looking intently at the newly-made minor goddess. “You have a strong heart and great skills. You would be a fine addition to the hunt. But I must warn you that you can not have any romantic relationship while you are in the hunt. Do you still wish to join?”Buffy looked into the goddess’s eyes, determined. “I understand, my lady. And I would wish to join your ranks.”After that it was a flurry of goodbyes and promises that they would see each other plenty, from both the lifelong friends and the gods, and then Buffy and her patron were gone. Andi was about to ask about her role, when a woman dropped in flowers came down the path with a lady in a dress made of wheat. These two women were of course Persephone and her mother Demeter. The two women stopped in front of the new godlings. The flowers on Andi’s arms and head seemed to catch Persephone’s eye and they were suddenly discussing flower arrangements. It wasn’t long before Andi was also swept away, the new haindmaiden of the goddess of flowers and springtime. “What am I supposed to do now?”, Cyrus wondered aloud, forgetting about the god on his left. “Well I thought that would be obvious”, Apollo said, grinning. “You will be working for me.” And that’s what Cyrus was doing, only three hundred years later. Don’t get him wrong, he loved healing people, and inspiring plays and music, and even taking care of the sun horses. Apollo was annoying, but he wasn’t the worst patron. The prophecies, though. Those were trouble.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Cyrus!”The young god’s name echoed throughout the palace. Cyrus sighed and flew to the throne room. Air travel had taken some work, but eventually, he had gotten the hang of it. It was one of his favorite things about working for Apollo. Buffy, being a Hunter, only flew by pegasus or one of her birds of prey, and Andi only used air travel when she was going between the Underworld and Olympus with Persephone. The minor god arrived in the throne room. There were puncture marks everywhere due to the major god’s hobby of shooting several bows simultaneously when he was bored. Cyrus was used to seeing Apollo draped over his throne in a very dramatic fashion, complaining about having nothing to do in song, but today, the son of Zeus was nearly as bright as the star that he drove across the sky every day. That’s unusual, Cyrus thought. He’s only this happy when…Oh no. “There you are!”, Apollo cried when he saw Cyrus. “We”Don’t say it.“have”Please, don’t say it.“a prophecy!”, the sun god said gleefully.Cyrus stifled a groan. Prophecies were the absolute worst. They were always confusing and cryptic. And they were always, always dangerous. They were even more dangerous when humans tried to figure them out. And they always tried to figure it out.“Come, come!”, Apollo said, choosing to ignore his assistant’s obvious deflation at his news. “There.”Apollo pointed down through the clouds that shielded the home of the gods from earth. Where the god pointed, the clouds rolled away to show a castle in another of Greece’s many countries. Wind swept around Cyrus and Apollo, carrying them down to the earth. They stood in a courtyard filled with merchant stalls and vendors. Peasants and nobility alike walked around, observing the wares. On the far side of the courtyard, two wooden thrones stood on a stage. They were obviously temporary because they had nearly no ornamentation. On them sat a middle-aged man with smile lines around his eyes. He looked kind, for a king. On his right sat a beautiful lady with flowing blonde hair. She looked strict, but not cruel. Someone who liked order. Cyrus could respect that.Standing slightly behind the throne was a girl who greatly resembled the lady. Her daughter, the princess. But not only that, Cyrus realized. He could feel the power of Delphi within her. She was an oracle. In front of the stage, men in armor dueled with a variety of weapons: swords, lances, maces, whips. It looked like a melee tournament. One fighter was quickly outperforming most of the other men. Soon it was just him and another fighter, one who seemed just as skilled.Almost, at least.It took only a few well-placed strikes before the other fighter quickly yielded. The champion pulled off his helmet, revealing a grinning face, similar to that of the king’s. The prince, Cyrus understood quickly.As the prince turned to face his father, Apollo glided over to the stage. Cyrus followed behind, confident that no mortal could see him. Apollo walked up to the girl on the stage and stood beside her. As the prince was accepting his prize, the princess turned to glance at the god.The king, having awarded his son the win, had stood up to address his people, but he was interrupted by the collapse of his daughter. Guards rushed to catch her, but Cyrus reached her first, effectively losing his glamour. He cringed, knowing hundreds of eyes were on him. He pulled a stool from...somewhere and then sat the princess down. As soon as Cyrus released her, the girl sat up and green smoke began to flow from around her. A voice older than time poured from her lips. It said: The God of Death has been taken by iceSo spirits get to roll the diceFind him and return him safeOr the ghosts of enemies may take his placeTwo of royal blood, one sent to guard themOne god of light, one of bow, one of gardenMay this mission plant the seedOr three be lost to eternityWith the last word, the oracle once again collapsed and was rushed into the castle by the guards, Apollo close behind them. The king dismissed the people for the day and he, his wife, and the prince rushed inside. Somehow, Cyrus was allowed in unhindered, even without his glamour.Cyrus was already tired. According to the prophecy, he had to travel with a bunch of people to get Thanatos, the god of death, back from ice. He wasn’t certain, but he was pretty sure that ice was referring to Boreas, god of north wind. He didn’t have a clue about what the seed was, and that was to be expected. But the most confusing part was that the prophecy had not one, not two, but three different gods. Quests are supposed to be for mortals, not beings like himself. Cyrus was pulled out of his thoughts when he realized he wasn’t alone. The blonde prince stood before him, his green eyes questioning Cyrus’s presence in his castle. Cyrus knew he didn’t exactly look like a god, but he hadn’t learned how to change his appearance yet. Besides, he had just popped out of thin air! “Who are you?”, the prince asked. He looked about twenty, a little older than Cyrus was when he was turned into a god. His voice wasn’t mean, just curious.“Um..hi. I’m Cyrus, I work for Apollo. Apollo told me that the oracle was about to announce a prophecy and told me to oversee it”, Cyrus answered, hurriedly, trying to come up with an explanation. The prince looked doubtful. “You work for Apollo?”Cyrus didn’t try to hide his eye-roll. He knew this would happen. He looked around the room. Thankfully, it didn’t have any windows, so it was entirely lit with torches. That would make the trick more believable. Finally, he turned to the prince. Cyrus held his hand palm up and focused on drawing the fire-and the light that came with it-too his hand. One-by-one, the flames flew to Cyrus’s hand. The grinned proudly and looked up to see what the prince thought. The man was looking at the fire in Cyrus’s hand, astonished. Cyrus was about to say something smug and cool when the prince looked up.If Cyrus wasn’t immortal, he would’ve sworn his heart had stopped.The light shrouded the prince’s face, turning his eyes to green flame and his hair into a burning halo. The prince was glowing. He looked like Apollo when he rode his sun chariot, almost god-like. Cyrus looked down quickly, hoping to hide his growing blush. He shook his hand slightly and the flames returned to their homes. When he looked up again, the prince was smiling.“I guess your our god of light then, huh?”, he said with a laugh. “TJ.”Cyrus smiled and shook the hand the prince-TJ-had offered him.This prophecy might not be so bad.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Cyrus was still staring at the golden-haired prince when Apollo, now in his human form, came looking for him.“Cyrus”, the god called, coming toward them rather hurriedly. “What are you doing? We have to get the quest underway, come, come”. Cyrus and the prince glanced at each other before following Apollo out of the entryway and through winding corridors and up several sets of staircases. Cyrus was tempted to fly, not used to walking so much, but if Apollo wasn’t using any of his powers, he must be trying to keep a low profile. So he had to suffer alone next to the incredibly athletic prince and the most energetic god Cyrus had ever encountered. Finally, they came to a hall with an end and entered the only closed door. Asleep on a magnificent bed - by human standards - was the princess, the king, and queen seated beside her. When the three of them came into the room, the king’s head snapped up, but the queen continued to watch over her daughter.“What have you done to my daughter?”, the king asked Apollo, his voice threatening. If the words had been directed at him, Cyrus probably would have been trembling in his toga, despite the fact that even a low-level deity was still more powerful than any human king. But Apollo was the son of Zeus, one of the twelve major gods. No mortal could scare him.“I”, the god said slowly, like he was explaining something to a child. “Have done nothing. Your daughter has the gift of the Delphi, but I’m sure you knew that already didn’t you?”The king visibly paled at the sun god’s words. What Apollo was proposing was treasonous. When one oracle died, her successor was drawn to her and took the mantle of Oracle and the power of Delphi. Then, the successor would move onto the island of Delphi and give guidance to those who sought her out. These girls were usually eleven to twelve, sometimes younger. It was unfortunate that children had to take on this responsibility, but it was their destiny. If the king had hidden his daughter away, knowing she had the power of Delphi, he wasn’t just robbing his people of an oracle, he was stealing the literal property of Apollo, as he was the god of prophecy. “Father”, a voice said from the bed. Everyone’s eyes snapped to the bed, where the princess was slowly waking. “Amber”, the prince said, rushing to his sister’s side. The king turned back to Apollo. Cyrus could already feel the power struggle in the room, knowing he would have to be the mediator in that fight, but for now, he turned his attention to the girl in the bed. Cyrus went over to a small table that had a pitcher and a cup. He poured some of the water, highly aware of the eyes on him, then put his hand around the cup. He whispered a blessing and the liquid glowed lightly, turning into a soft amber color.He had learned some healing magic in his three centuries with the god of medicine. Specifically, healing magic to ease an oracle’s transition. By her condition, Cyrus knew the princess wasn’t used to her powers, even if she had probably had them for almost a decade.The thought made Cyrus sad. If the king hadn’t hidden her away, Cyrus would’ve been there for Amber and her prophecies wouldn’t cause her so much pain.Cyrus turned to the bed, TJ and the queen looking at him curiously. He handed the prince the drink.“She should drink this”, Cyrus said. “It will make her feel better.”The prince only hesitated a moment before helping his sister take a sip of the golden liquid. The queen looked like she wanted to protest, but she stayed silent. The moment the concoction hit her mouth, the princess looked more healthy. She quickly downed the rest of the drink. She sighed and turned to look at the young god.“Thanks”, Amber said, not quite trustful of Cyrus, yet. That was okay. He would earn it soon enough. Cyrus gave her a small nod. He turned to TJ, the look on the prince’s face a mix of gratitude and awe. And maybe a little something else.Cyrus ignored the feeling in his chest and turned to the next problem. Apollo and the king had been locked in a staring contest, both daring the other to back down. Cyrus didn’t like to get in the middle of things, especially when they involved powerful gods, but he knew if he didn’t say something, there was a pretty good chance Apollo would kill the king where he stood.Cyrus cleared his throat. “We should probably, uh, get ready for the quest. The longer Thanatos is in captivity, the greater the chance of souls escaping from the Underworld.”Both of them looked at Cyrus, but the small god was staring at his patron. Apollo was impulsive and wild and carefree, but he was powerful and could get angry like any of the gods. But Cyrus knew that Apollo took the mantle as the god of prophecy even more serious than any of his other responsibilities. He knew that a prophecy would happen either way, and it was better than work with it than against it.Finally, Apollo gave a silent nod. “I leave this to you then”, the god said. Cyrus bowed and made sure the others closed their eyes as the sun god turned into his true godly form before returning to Olympus.When the god had gone, Cyrus turned to the prince, finding that he was already looking at him. Cyrus fought down a blush, reminding himself to stay on task. “The prophecy mentioned a guard. Do you have one in mind?”, Cyrus asked TJ.TJ nodded without any hesitation. “I know just the guy.”“Okay”, Cyrus responded, turning toward the princess. “Are you okay to travel, or do you want to wait a few days?”“I-I think I’m good. That medicine was great”, the princess said, more alert than ever. Cyrus was about to continue before he was cut off.“Wait!”, the queen cried. “Why does Amber have to go?”“Well”, Cyrus said calmly. “The prophecy said that two of royal blood have to go. Unless you have a cousin, that’s either the king, the princess, or you. I’d think Amber is the most likely.”The queen looked as if she was about to protest again, but Amber was quicker. “He’s right, mom”, the princess said. “I’m meant to go on this quest, I can feel it. I-”“No”, the king interrupted. “No, absolutely not. I will not put my daughter in danger, no matter what powers you may have. Oracle’s aren’t even supposed to participate in quests! This is just that imbecile Apollo trying to take you away from me. I will-”The king was cut off by the torches in the room flaring up significantly. The royal family all turned to Cyrus, who was now glowing slightly, his anger becoming a physical force. Cyrus hated physical confrontation, but his powers tended to flare up when he was angry, and boy, was he angry.“I would not speak that way about a god, if I was you”, the young god said, trying to tone down his powers. “When I was a human, it would mean quick and extremely painful retribution.” Cyrus finally stopped glowing as he turned back to the king.“Yes, it is unusual for an oracle to be a hero in a prophecy”, Cyrus continued a little softer, embarrassed by his outburst. “But it is also unusual for gods to actively participate in a quest, and your daughter’s prophecy called for that as well. This divination may be an atypical one, but it is one brought on by the power of Delphi and will come to pass whether you like it or not. So, gather anything you need and get this guard and prepare to leave at dawn.”With that out-of-character proclamation, Cyrus turned to leave the room. Before he could make a quick escape, however, a voice called from behind him.“Wait”, the prince called. Cyrus looked back at TJ’s worried face. “Where are you going?”Cyrus thought for a moment. “I’m going to send a message.”~“Hey.”TJ looked up to see the cute god from yesterday standing on the other side of his packed horse. The prince had been starting to wonder if he would see him again, even though he said he would be there.“Hey”, TJ replied, unable to keep a smile from breaking out across his face. The boys continued to stare at each other before a voice broke the moment. “Hey”, TJ’s best friend Marty said. He had ridden up beside them without them noticing. “You must be the god that TJ’s been talking about. Cyrus, right? I’m Marty, the guard.”Cyrus smiled and shook the new man’s hand, unaware of the glare that TJ was giving Marty. “So”, Marty said, ignoring TJ. “Ready to go.”“Yep”, came a voice from the stables. Amber rode out atop a purebred Andravida horse, dressed in riding clothes instead of her normal chlamys. The medicine Cyrus had given her seemed to have fully taken effect overnight. Amber looked even better than she had before she spat out that prophecy yesterday.“Okay then, that just leaves your horse”, Marty said, turning to Cyrus. “We could give you one...”Marty trailed off as the minor god shook his head. “I got it”, he said, before looking up towards the sun. Cyrus gave a sharp whistle and then continued to stare at the sky. A moment later, a ball of flames came hurtling towards them. As it got closer, TJ could see that the ball was actually a horse. The horse came down and landed softly, stopping in front of Cyrus. As the god petted the horse, the flames died down, until it was just a horse with golden fur that occasionally shot fire from its snout. Cyrus’s companions stared in awe, Amber and Marty at the horse, TJ at the god. “This is Eoin, one of Apollo’s sun horses that can ride even when the sun is down”, Cyrus explained. He easily climbed atop the golden stallion. If you asked Amber or Marty, it would’ve looked a little clumsy, but TJ found it incredibly graceful. Amber narrowed her eyes. “That’s quite a gift to give an assistant.”Cyrus laughed lightly, “Trust me, it’s not a gift. He only let me borrow it for this quest specifically. I think he’s particularly invested in it because of you, princess.”“Me?”Cyrus nodded. “When your predecessor died without a successor, Apollo was...distressed, to say the least. Now that he’s found you, he’s taking every precaution to keep you safe, including sending me.”“You don’t usually accompany heroes on sudden quests?”, Marty asked. “At most, I watch on them from afar, making sure that the prophecy plays through, but this prophecy specifically called for me, so, I’m here”, Cyrus answered. “And let me assure you, rarely are quests ever not sudden.” The four of them sat in silence for a moment before TJ took charge. “If everything is ready, we should head out. Where are we headed?”, he asked Cyrus. “The prophecy said that Thanatos, the god of death, was taken by ice. I’d say our best bet would be to head towards his palace on Mount Haemus in Thrace”, the god said. The four of them looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. “Lead the way”, TJ said.The four heroes headed out of the courtyard, ready to begin their quest. Unbeknownst to them, there were two more companions with them.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Jonah and Walker had pretty much mastered the art of hiding from mortals. The two boys had both had many failed relationships, neither of them catching a break. Eros had turned Walker first, but it wasn’t more than a century later that Jonah had been recruited. Walker had been Jonah’s mentor in all the messing-with-people’s-love-lives thing. They were both cautious in the beginning but after some arguments, two loud confessions, and lots of tears, they had found someone to entrust their hearts to. They didn’t really like messing with people, but something told them that this time was special. It was their friend, Cyrus, after all!Cyrus had been working for Apollo for a little over a century when the couple had met him and his two friends. They had seemed nice, but it took a while before Buffy trusted that the to boys weren’t going to mess with their love lives, and the promised they wouldn’t! But when Walker and Jonah had seen the interaction between their friend and the handsome prince, they took it upon themselves to be the matchmakers.So that’s why they were following the four heroes at a distance, swerving in and out of trees to keep from being seen by the younger god. It was difficult to maneuver their large wings in the dense forest, but Jonah thought he was doing a pretty good-SNAP!Cyrus’ head snapped around, searching for the producer of the loud sound. After a moment, he and his companions resumed their trek through the woods. Behind the wide trunks, Walker was holding Jonah to his body, pressing his wings down as he kept both of them aloft. When Walker was sure the party had gone far enough away, he let go of his boyfriend and setting them both softly on the ground. Walker looked at the younger boy and folded his wings away.“Come on”, the older said. “Let’s walk. Don’t want to snap off another tree branch.”“How was I supposed to know that the branch was going to be there”, Jonah grumbled, though he was given away by the small smile on his face. Walker laughed and gave his boyfriend a quick peck on the nose. “Come on. We got to catch up.”~Cyrus was worried. He knew he could be unlucky, but if Eros or one of his agents got involved, then he had pissed off the wrong god. When he had seen a flash of white feathers out of the corner of his eye, he likened it to a bird or paranoia. But when he had heard that tree branch break, he knew that he was-“Hey”, a voice said, breaking Cyrus out of his thoughts. The god turned to look at his companion, the prince smiling brightly. Cyrus promptly forgot what he was thinking about. “Hey”, Cyrus replied, returning his smile. TJ seemed to glow. “What’s up?”The golden-haired boy shrugged. “You seemed tense. Is everything all right?”“Oh”, Cyrus said, surprised at the concern in TJ’s voice. “Well, the situation isn't great, but we’re fixing the problem quickly, so I say things are pretty good.”The prince nodded in agreement. “You know, there is one good thing about all this”, TJ noted after a moment. “Oh yeah?”“I got to meet you”, TJ said, flashing another heart-stopping grin. Cyrus couldn’t help the blush that dusted his cheeks as he turned back to the path in front of us. Cyrus still hated how flustered he got around cute guys, especially ones who were flirting with him. That was something that hadn’t changed once he had become a god. Cyrus was about to risk another glance at the gorgeous boy next to him when Amber and Marty came riding up beside them. “So, Cyrus. How did you end up working for Apollo?”, Marty asked. “Well, he was walking through my village, disguised as an old man, when I offered to feed him. He ate all my food and on a whim, turned my friends and I into gods. My friend Buffy joined the Hunters after meeting Lady Artemis, and my other friend Andi became the handmaiden to Lady Persephone.”“And Apollo just, what? Claimed you?”, Amber asked. “Pretty much.”“What’s it like?”, TJ asked. “Working for the sun god?”“Well”, Cyrus began, wondering why he was so open to talking to people he just met. Maybe it was the kinship of all being in the same prophecy. “It’s pretty cool honestly. Apollo’s usually off chasing after pretty men and women, or arguing with another god, or getting into some other form of mischief. Mostly, I just watch over humanity and take care of the Oracle, though I have a bunch of other smaller tasks.”“Watch over the Oracle?”, Amber asked, hesitantly. “Yeah”, Cyrus said softly, knowing this was a sore spot for her. “I take care of the Oracle when their transitioning and I’m usually there until they start taking people’s questions regularly, just to help them settle in. I’ve been the personal helper of all the Oracles for the last three hundred years.”“How did you get that job?”“Well, I’ve found I’m pretty good at taking care of people and advising them. The person who did it before me was glad to give it up because they had responsibilities of their own domain, while my powers are just a subunit of Apollo’s, you could say. Plus, people trust me”, Cyrus explained, proud of the honor he had. And if the last sentence was a barb at some people who might’ve been flying around trying to mettle, well, that was up to him. —“I did it once and it just sort...stuck”, Cyrus finished with a shrug. Marty looked at the young god. He appeared younger than them, but he talked with the wisdom brought about by many lifetimes. Though, that seemed more like his personality than the fact that he was over three hundred years old. Marty has never really trusted gods. Sure, they were okay, but they treated humanity the way humanity treated sheep. Something to be watched and used and sometimes used to play tricks on. He didn’t enjoy it. But Cyrus seemed like one of the better ones, and by the way TJ had talked about him, Marty could tell that the minor his already had his prince’s trust. Now this was a hard thing to accomplish. It took Marty nearly five years of fighting beside TJ to get where they were today. Marty had been left at the palace guard station when he was two. He had been taken in by the master of the guard and her wife. Marty had seen people doubt the capabilities of his adopted mother as the captain, but Marty had learned quickly that a woman can defeat someone in a fight just as well as a man can. Sometimes even better. And the fact that she was a woman married to a woman didn’t seem to matter to the king either. Being the adopted son of the captain of the guard meant that he was always getting into fights with the other boys in the yard. He didn’t mind a brawl, but Marty had learned how to dodge and get out of one, which was sometimes the better option. He had soon became the fastest one out there, both in running speed and the speed in which he handled his sword. Marty had met TJ when he was sixteen. Yeah, he had seen the prince around and at feasts sometimes, but they’d never been formally introduced or anything like that. Marty had thought he was a pompous arrogant loudmouth, and he pretended to be on the surface, but it wasn’t long before Marty saw the real him, the side of himself he tried to hide away. In the beginning, it only came out when they would duel against each other, but as their missions together became more frequent and the time they spent together not training grew longer, TJ started to let Marty in more. Now, here they were six years later, on a quest with a light god and two more expected to arrive. They were going into what may be their last battle, and TJ had trusted Marty to come along and protect him and his sister. A far cry from the two boys who had punched it out in the courtyard a year after they met. “Hey”, TJ called out, kicking at Marty’s ankle to break him out of his reverie. He raised his eyebrows, a silent question in his eyes. Marty nodded and showed a reassuring smile. TJ still seemed a little unsure, but he turned forward where Amber and Cyrus were talking quietly in front of them. They seemed to be deep into their conversation. Marty hoped Cyrus could help the princess. She had always struggled with her gift and if Cyrus was as good as he said he is, than maybe she would become more comfortable with it. Marty, about to be lost to his memories once more, was snapped to attention a loud roar cut through the forest. The traveling party was immediately on edge, Marty and TJ both drawing their swords. Cyrus was rigid straight, scanning the forest as if seeing something the others couldn’t. The four of them were on edge for severally heart-stopping moments. As Marty began to relax, a hellhound landed in front of them. The hellhound has several bleeding wounds, all from different forms of attack. It had broken off arrows protruding from its hide and claw and teeth marks from wolves and birds of prey. It was easily three times the size of their horses, teeth and claws as long as Marty’s forearm. Sensing the new enemy, it turned to glare at the four of them. A low growl escaped from its maw, but before it could attack, a barrage of arrows fell on it, followed by a pack of wolves. The animals and arrows were soon followed by a brown-haired girl who jumped on the back of the hellhound. The monster tried to buck her off, but she held on fast. She reached behind her and pulled out a dagger, careful to keep it away from herself or the wolves. Finally, she plunged the blade into the monster’s skull. The monster dropped and the girl rolled off, effectively pulling the bloodied blade from the monster’s head. The hellhound lay still and the girl slowly rise to her feet. As Marty’s eyes fell on the girl’s face, his heart stopped. She was beautiful, and for a moment, Marty just sat there in shock, wondering who could possibly be so incredible. “Buffy!”, Cyrus exclaimed as he jumped off his horse and ran to hug her. Oh, Marty thought. That’s who.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Cyrus ran to his friend who was now standing in front of her prey as it dissolved, the hellhound disappearing back to Tartarus. Cyrus nearly tackled the Huntress, though Buffy was more than able to hold her own against the other god as she hugged back just as tightly. Even though it had only been about five years since they last saw each other, it felt like an eternity to the young gods.“Hey, Cy”, Buffy said. “I got your call.”“Oh did you?”, Cyrus replied sarcastically as he pulled away. The rest of the party had dismounted and were standing a distance away from the two gods. TJ was considering interrupting and Marty was staring at Buffy as if she had just created the sun itself when a group of about twenty girls broke through the foliage Buffy had just appeared from. They were dressed similarly to the other goddess with bows and arrows strapped to their backs and knives hanging from their belts and sticking out from inside their boots. The hunters aged from, as old as 24 to as young as 11 or 12. The hunters looked at Cyrus, TJ, and Marty with disgust, living up to their names as eternal maidens. A girl of about sixteen, seemingly the group’s representative, stepped forward to address Buffy. “Slayer, why have you brought us to these”, she turned to throw a look of loathing at the three men, “males”.“Selene”, Buffy began. It sounded like they had had this argument before. “I told you that I would be traveling with Cyrus in order to fulfill a prophecy. An endeavor that Lady Artemis has fully supported.”“Surely she must not be aware that your party would consist of men”, the girl rebuked.“Selene”, Buffy retorted, trying to get the girl off her back. “You will have full reign of these Hunters while I am gone. Do you truly wish to keep me from going because of your distaste for men?” The girl considered this. She came to a decision and signaled for the Hunters to move out. They were gone as soon as they came, the animals following them. One wolf, however, stayed ready at Buffy’s side.Now that the other Hunters were gone, both Cyrus and Buffy both visibly relaxed. “Come on”, Buffy said. “I know a better place where we can talk.-- Jonah and Walker followed the group to a small clearing. Both of the boys were visibly excited. They didn’t usually like forcing love on people, let alone Hunters, but they had been trying to find Buffy love for over fifteen decades. And they knew just who to set her up with. They could both tell the guard, Marty, had already felt the initial force of their persuasion when he first saw Buffy, and they knew that if they got Buffy open for it, the two would fit together better than an arrow in a Hephaestus-crafted bow. But messing with Hunters was tricky and dangerous, especially if you had to deal with their patron goddess. And now with the boys having to avoid the detection of both Cyrus and Buffy, they were going have to work fast. The mortals were the easier part of the two pairings, the two men more than happy to fall in love with the gods. Cyrus and Buffy, on the other hand, guarded their hearts closer than precious nectar.The two sat in a tree on the outskirts of the clearing, watching the party as the settled in the middle of the glade, constructing a fire as the last embers of sundown fell upon them. The horses were allowed to graze as Buffy’s wolf patrolled the perimeter. Walker had a staring contest with the wolf, but the canine eventually decided they weren’t a threat. The ragtag assortment of gods and guards and royalty slowly settled to discuss the prophecy and their next plan of action.“So”, Cyrus began. “Buffy, let me introduce you to Princess Amber, she is the oracle that gave us the prophecy” the minor god examined the oracle before giving her a small nod, which Amber returned. “Next, there’s her brother TJ. He-”“TJ”, Buffy interrupted. “Does that stand for something?” The Hunter and the prince seemed to have some sort of silent staring contest before the prince answered. “Yes. And, no, before you ask, I’m not going to tell you what it stands for”, TJ responded, seeing Buffy open her mouth to ask just that.“And finally there’s-”“Marty”, Marty interrupted, still seemingly in awe of the goddess who looked even younger than him. Cyrus raised his eyebrows but didn’t comment.“Okay”, Buffy said. “Your call mentioned an important quest, but you left out a few choice details.”“Yes”, Cyrus began, turning back to the goddess. “As you know, Amber gave us a quest that called for six people: three mortals and three gods. The gods were of light, bow, and garden: me, you, and Andi.”Buffy seemed to come to the same conclusion Jonah, Walker, and Cyrus had. “Cy. Where are we going?”“Well, the god of death was taken by ice”, Cyrus answered softly. Buffy groaned and put her hands in her head. None of the gods were looking forward to this mission. Jonah thought back to the first (and only) time the five of them had all gone to the same place. Even though they were immortal, Jonah had been sure that they were going to die. They almost had, but it’s to be expected when facing more experienced gods. Some of the other gods had chalked it up to the fact that the five of them weren’t born gods, which had made all their blood boil. For Jonah and Walker, it ended with them getting together. For Cyrus, Andi, and Buffy, though, it only seemed to be the first step towards becoming like all the other gods. Buffy had quickly earned her way as the head of her regiment, Cyrus had become the official protector of the Oracle, and Andi...well, she hasn’t left Persephone’s side in a while. The gods had displeasure and fear rolling off them in waves. It had taken them a while to realize that, as gods, their emotions can directly correlate with those of their domain. The evidence was clear as Buffy’s wolf rolled up and laid down, whining softly. The light seemed to dim, and Amber wrapped her arms around her knees, tears in her eyes. Marty and TJ were very on edge and looked ready to fight to the death. The emotions were starting to boil over, and Jonah knew this mission wasn’t going to end up well. -------TJ felt like his vigilance haad increased ten-fold. He felt like danger was coming from everywhere, like, everything was out to get him. It was a feeling he wasn’t used to, he was always more trusting than not. He looked at his party members to see that Marty and Amber were in similar states of distress. He looked to Buffy and Cyrus and they seemed, wrong. Like they weren’t exactly there. TJ tried to focus through the alarms going off in his head. Then he realized why the gods were looking a little less corporeal. “Stop”, TJ demanded, his voice coming out a lot steadier than he thought it would. At his voice, the gods form shot away from their natural state. Slowly, TJ felt the tension in his head dissipate. Marty and Amber seemed to be looking better as well. Buffy and Cyrus looked to TJ in shock.“How did you--”, Buffy’s question was cut off as a scream rang through the glade. Everyone except Amber jumped to their feet. They stood at attention for a bit until another shout rang out. Marty and TJ immediately took off in the direction of the sound.Buffy was on their tail almost instantly and the three shot through the forest. Buffy was more experienced in the terrain, but the knights kept close to her. They eventually broke through the trees to see a woman kicking and screaming in the grasp of two men. Marty was about to intervene, but it was already over. Two arrows protruded from the men’s chests as they crashed to the ground. The girl looked at the men in shock before turning around.“Thank you”, she said.“Not a problem”, TJ replied. He went over to the girl to make sure she was okay, but he didn’t miss Buffy’s eyes staring daggers into his back. They’d had the same idea, but they had done it at the same speed and precision, which shouldn’t have been possible. “What’s your name?”, TJ asked the girl. She was wearing many fabrics ranging from fine linen to rich silk. Though she looked haggled and dirty, she was obviously rich, possibly even noble, with the same dark skin as Buffy, clearly from much farther down south.“...Anna”, the girl said hesitantly. “Anna, I’m TJ”, the prince replied softly, trying not to scare her. She looked frightened but defensive, not sure whether to trust him or not. “Where are you from?” “Athens”, she said, a little less hesitantly. “I was traveling with my family to Lathos when we were attacked.”“You don’t have to worry anymore”, Buffy assured her. “We’ll take you to your family.”The girl still looked a little suspicious, but she nodded. Marty started to lead her back toward their camp. TJ was about to follow when a hand grasped his arm.“We need to talk”, Buffy said, her gaze intense. TJ turned toward her and nonchalantly asked, “What about?”“Back in the glade”, Buffy hissed. “You kept Cyrus and me from reverting to our true forms.”TJ shrugged. “How am I supposed to know? You guys are the first gods I’ve ever met.”Buffy gave him a hard look. She didn’t think he was lying, but she could tell he wasn’t telling her something. They stood there a moment longer before she grunted and marched after Marty. TJ let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding before following as well. ***Cyrus watched Buffy, Marty, and TJ race after the sound. He was worried--about the scream and TJ getting him and Buffy to stop freaking out--but he had a higher priority. He turned toward AMber and studied her. She looked relatively fine for right now, but he knew how much the moments before had probably hurt her. He knelt down in front of her. She was looking to where the others had run off, but her gaze slowly settled onto Cyrus’s.“Are you okay?”, Cyrus asked, willing to perform the necessary healing if the answer was negative. Amber gave him a tired smile.“No worse than any other day”, she sighed, which didn’t really tell Cyrus anything. She started to get a faraway look in her eye when she asked, “What was that before? With you and Buffy?”“Oh”, Cyrus said, moving to sit down beside her. “Well, Buffy and I have only been gods for a few hundred years. Sometimes, when we get too distressed or excited, we can automatically revert to our godly forms. This can have a pretty negative effect on mortals.”Amber nodded, considering his words. Cyrus thought that was going to be it when she said, “TJ did something.”It wasn’t a question, but Cyrus answered anyway. “Yeah. He told us to stop and we basically just...did.”“He does stuff like that sometimes”, Amber stated. Cyruswhipped around at that, but she just continued to look out into the trees. “How--What do you mean?”, Cyrus asked.“When he was little, a lot of stuff would happen. Arrows being shot perfectly if he was around. The sun seemed to get brighter when he stepped outside. Instruments would play without being touched. He once yelled ‘stop’ when I was having a vision, and it was like the glass that played in my head shattered. When he hit sixteen, it started happening less and less. Like the power was evening out.”“Or like he was getting better control of it.”Amber slowly turned toward Cyrus. Cyrus felt like he was used to Oracles, but he had never felt this before. Like he was the one who had given the prophecy, even though she was the one to have the vision. She turned away again and so did Cyrus. He sat staring at his hands until he heard footsteps. He turned to see his group mates and someone he didn’t know break through the trees.Buffy looked like she was having a silent argument with herself.And TJ...TJ looked scared.