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🧙 WHO: Thanatos & Zagreus
⚔️️ WHAT: Just two awkward af gods being awkward af
🕒 WHEN: Non-specified time in August
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot
⚠️ WARNINGS: None yet

***

[It's been a while since the mirrors, what his reflection had said, and what Zagreus had heard. He hasn't addressed it and, in classic fashion for himself, hasn't even tried to. Emotions are difficult enough without complicating matters. But it still bothers him. The idea that he's only doing what is expected of him isn't entirely untrue, though it's not because he doesn't want to do those things.]

Zag?

[When he steps into their shared home, ducking slightly to get through the door, he has a parcel in one hand which he very carefully places on the low table in the living area. He straightens up and looks at the bag, the contents carefully concealed with thin paper, and a tiny frown worries at his brow for a moment.

Not an unusual expression, to be sure.]

Zagreus! [He calls again, this time a little louder.

Mm... is he even home?]

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[Zagreus has tried to bring up those conversations from the hall of mirrors a few times, but Thanatos has been very clearly Not Talking About Them, so he sort of...gave up, for the time being.

At the moment, he's blinking blearily awake at the sound of his name being called.]

Wha? Hm? Than, what's - is something the matter?

[Wait, when did he even fall asleep? Curse this mortal body and its need for so much rest. He must have nodded off...he still hasn't gotten the hang of these cycles.

He wanders out of the bedroom, hair more of a mess than usual, yawning.]

Oh, there you are. What's that you've got there?

[He can't help the faint but very endeared smile when Zagreus finally appears, clearly shaking off the last vestiges of sleep. The prince is always so... cute when he just woke up, and he carries it with far more grace than Thanatos does. In his opinion, anyway.

There are a good many things about this relationship that Thanatos is uncertain of but what he does next is something he holds utmost confidence in. He crosses the room to give Zagreus a warm kiss.]

Oh, that--... [And suddenly he's anxious. He pushes the sensation down fiercely.] It's a gift. For you. It won't keep so don't wait to open it.

[Zagreus would argue with that assessment if he knew it was being made - Thanatos is positively adorable when he wakes up - but as it is, here's Thanatos kissing him and so everything else is secondary at best. He hums his contentment into it.

Hearing the answer to his question, his brows lift in surprise.]

For me? What for?

[Says the guy who gives gifts constantly to people he cares about...

Even as he asks, though, he's taking Thanatos' advice and picking up the bag, looking it over curiously.]

All right, then, what have we here...

[He opens the bag and peers inside.]

Edited 2021-08-30 22:36 (UTC)

For putting up with me.

[He manages to inject some humour into his tone. A smile, even. Thanatos is very keen to convey that he is in fact joking and doesn't need reassuring over that issue at least.

When Zagreus picks up the bag he would find it unexpectedly heavy, given there's a pot of dirt inside. The tissue on top carefully conceals the plant - a red proteus flower - and Thanatos watches quite closely as Zagreus unpacks the gift.]

I thought-- ... You might like something living, to keep in the house.

[Zagreus smiles brightly at the phenomenon that is Thanatos joking.]

Well, if putting up with someone is cause enough to receive a gift, I must owe you a closet full of them by now.

[He is clearly joking, too, in his usual sarcastic fashion.

He tilts his head curiously at the weight of the bag, and his eyes light up in something like wonder when he pulls the bag away and sets the pot and its plant down on the table.]

Than, I...don't know what to say. Other than, thank you. It's lovely. Sort of looks like a pom if you squint, doesn't it?

[He rises onto his toes to give Thanatos a grateful cheek kiss, then turns to study the flower again, one hand at his chin thoughtfully, only a hint of worry in his eyes.]

I get the feeling I haven't inherited much of my mother's talent with growing green things, or at least I've never had the opportunity to try...but I'll certainly do my best for this little guy.

[Oh good, he likes it. Thanatos sits down on the couch and looks at the plant for a moment, far more assured now that it was the right choice to make. He'd have to thank Aerith for her help.]

It means courage and diversity. [He says then, having learned a little of the 'language of flowers' from the very helpful florist. From what he can recall, it's actually named after one of Zagreus' cousins, but he declines to mention that.]

I thought it fitting, considering everything you've done. [The first time he's outright approved of Zagreus' acts of rebellion...

Thanatos clears his throat.]

I'm sure you've inherited more from your mother than you think.

[Zagreus stays there at the table to inspect the plant - first from above, then crouching and resting his chin on his folded arms on the table to peer up at it. In a moment, though, he's turning to look at Thanatos with interest.]

Plants have meaning? I wonder what all those beautiful bright things in Mother's garden meant...

[He blinks, quiet for a moment. Diversity he can understand - Zagreus certainly has always been...a bit different, among the other Underworld gods, so to speak. But...Thanatos thinks he has courage?]

I...have to admit, I didn't think I'd hear you say anything like that about what I've done.

[He stands again, running a hand through his hair.]

...well, you might have a point there. Did I ever tell you about Achilles' Codex?

[While he's crouching down like that, Thanatos resists the urge to reach over and bury his hand in that soft dark hair to give it a gentle ruffle. He might have done it after all, had Zagreus not got up again so quickly.

Thanatos leans back slightly on the couch, resting one arm over the back of it. It's a simple, negligibly open gesture that shows enormous measures of how comfortable he is in this scenario. Just he and Zagreus, with no demands or expectations being pushed on either of them. Something they could have never had in the House.]

Codex? Mm. No. [He hasn't spoken to Achilles in a while either, though the shade is almost always there when he makes his brief visits. A nod of acknowledgement and nothing more. More than most get from Death Incarnate. Having him in Avalon, even for a short time, had been... welcome.]

What about it?

Edited 2021-08-30 23:31 (UTC)

[Zagreus smiles to see Thanatos so much at ease, crossing the room to sit beside him on the couch, very convenient for sliding that arm around him if Death were so inclined.]

It's a sort of journal he was keeping to record his observations and thoughts on all kinds of subjects. Places in the Underworld, creatures, people he knew, even things on the surface. And that included all of us gods, of course. He gave it to me when I started my, uh...journey, to fill in everything that was fated to be written there, since he couldn't go wandering about anymore.

[His brow furrows.]

You know I've always thought I'm not the god of anything, and Father certainly never even made an attempt to dispel that notion. I don't have dominion over anything. Or so I thought, anyway. Achilles' Codex had a...different opinion.

[He does feel so inclined, and sets his arm loosely around Zagreus' shoulders.]

Hm. I'm not surprised he does that.

[Achilles did seem the type. Quiet and brooding, but intelligent too. That he'd hand over such knowledge to Zagreus was also not a surprise - of course he'd want to help him achieve his goals. Thanatos wouldn't have thanked him for it.

Thanatos shifts so he can look at Zagreus' face, his own expression curious.]

Are you going to tell me what that opinion is?

[Zag frowns, pensive.]

Achilles seems to believe I'm the god of blood. And, by extension, life. Which...would make me sort of the opposite of you, wouldn't it? Or counterpart, maybe. I normally can't survive on the surface at all, though, so I don't see how I could possibly be the god of life. I don't quite know what his reasoning is, but I imagine it has something to do with the color of my blood and my refusal to stay dead.

[His lips twist a bit, wry, but before he can say anything else, the burning skull that calls itself his familiar drifts into the room from...somewhere.]

The oft-denying Prince has once again failed to recognize the potential for subtle nuance, thus fulfilling every expectation of him quite well.

[Zagreus makes a shooing motion with one hand, glaring at the skull.]

Is there nothing I can bribe you with to keep your damned opinions to yourself, old man?

Edited 2021-09-12 23:16 (UTC)

The god of--?

[Hmm. Interesting. He doesn't make any further attempt to interrupt and instead lapses into a pensive silence. The opposite of him? He thinks he likes the idea of being his counterpart better. It sounds better, anyway.]

Life and death go hand in hand more than many other things I could name. [Thanatos muses softly. He'd never given much thought to Zagreus being the god of anything, but he had never needed Zagreus to be the god of anything.

But then the floating skull speaks, and he rolls his eyes.]

Ignore it.

[Easier said than done, no doubt.]

Achilles has always been perceptive. He sees more than anyone might expect. What do you think?

Oh, hand in hand, you say?

[With a little grin, he reaches over to take Thanatos' free hand into his own and lace their fingers together.]

You're right, they do.

[It's an extension of his joke, yes, but there's warmth and sincerity in it, too.

He takes Than's advice and tries to ignore the old man, who for the moment seems content to go drift around the room.]

Don't you dare touch that plant.

[With that warning given to the burning skull, he turns back to Thanatos, pondering.].

I think - well, I thought he must have been wrong. I asked my father once, you know. What sort of god I am. And he used it as an excuse to belittle me, to absolutely no one's surprise, so I figured there was no answer. But...

[He looks down at their entwined hands, rubbing a thumb along Death's knuckles.]

Now I think that maybe whatever happened between him and my mother might have driven him to keep this from me, too, so he didn't have to associate me with her. Or her with me, I don't know. And I think that when I first spoke with Achilles about it, I didn't know how to accept it. Maybe didn't want to. After all, if I'm the god of something, then I've got a job of some kind to do, don't I? But hell if I know what it is or how to do it.

[He leans his head back against Thanatos' arm and sighs.]

If I am the god of something after all, I'm sure I'll make as much of a mess of that as I did of my last job.

Edited 2021-10-25 06:18 (UTC)

[He looks down at their hands as their fingers intertwine and his expression visibly softens without need of a smile to smooth the sharp edges. And he listens, because how long had it been before they arrived here since he had simply sat and listened to Zagreus talk? Thanatos had called himself Zagreus' friend, but had he really been that good of a friend?]

Zagreus...

[Thanatos shifts, moving the arm the prince is leaning against and wrapping it snugly around his shoulders.]

Do you know why I'm so good at my job? [He says, pressing a soft kiss to the side of the younger god's head.] Because it's what I was made for. Whatever it is that you're destined for, Zag, you'll excel at it... because it's what you are made for.

[And... he hopes that sounds reassuring.]

And it means you can make of it whatever you wish. I have complete faith in you.

[Zagreus frowns. It unfortunately doesn't actually sound all that reassuring.]

I know it's true, that your job is what you were made for, but I can't say I like the implications much. You're good at your job because you're dedicated and responsible, Than, not because destiny said so. But that aside, I think it's different for me anyway. My parents are both Olympians, as it turns out. They have their domains, sure, but they don't embody them like you and Hypnos do. Which means it's probably only too possible for me to govern it poorly.

[His tone turns rueful and just a tad sharp.]

In much the same way my father governs poorly, in fact.

[For Thanatos, a primordial deity almost as old as the concept that he was brought forth to represent, the idea of destiny and fate not being a part of who he is isn't something he ever gave much consideration to. Acceptance of your destiny is a hero's act, while battling against it is only cowardice. At first he had thought that Zagreus' attempts to break away from his role in the underworld had been nothing more than childish pique, a rebellion against what he perceived (incorrectly) as a prison, but as he has had more time to think about it...

Well, he doesn't think that anymore.

He frowns softly at the change in Zagreus' tone, knowing it isn't quite aimed at him but feeling the barbs of it regardless. He doesn't agree with the prince's assessment of his father's rule, but - perhaps wisely - decides that now isn't the right time to say so.]

I... [It's difficult to know what to say. He doesn't know what Zagreus wants from him, here... His frown turns faintly troubled as he averts his eyes.]

I don't think that's true. That you would do it poorly.

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that's protea* thanks autocorrect

whups lol

phone taggin

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