Hypnos

“Hypnos…” He breathed out, smiling as the God waved over his hand. “You’re right. I am not even sure what she looks like but I know I will recognize her when I see her. The same then should apply to me. It might take a moment but we’ll know.” He beams, reaching out and gently squeezing his shoulder. “Thank you my friend. I should get back out there now. Give Learnie a piece of my mind and maybe run into Thanatos.” It sounded like they needed to talk about some things anyway.

If it was one thing Hypnos was good at, it was giving advice. That’s why he did it for free! The smile was returned with a lazy one of his own, letting Zagreus put a hand on his shoulder; though the action did cause the floating God to tilt slightly.

“Sure! Give it your best. I’ll be here whenever you die again, with some more advice. Or maybe I’ll be asleep, you never know!” With that, Hypnos stretches himself and yawns. Time for a nap.

“We get it Hypnos. It would be very very bad.” Zagreus grumbled, looking about to ensure no one was listening and only then telling him the truth. Though his reaction was not the one he had been expecting. “Yes, she is helping me. She is the one who told me where my mother is and got the other Gods to help me. None of this would be possible without her.” He whispered, smiling as he nods his head. “I hope so. I am admittedly nervous. She hasn’t seen me since…I don’t even know.” He muttered under his breath. Would she recognize him? Only one way to find out.

This was probably the longest conversation he’d had in a while! After all, the prince was often on his way after a greeting and a small chat, but this was kinda nice. Hypnos was a little on the sleepy side, but when wasn’t he?

Zagreus thought about it for a moment before he spoke. “Like feeding Cerberus snacks with my father’s Bident while drinking Ambrosia, all while sitting in his throne.” There. That summed up the seriousness of what he was about to tell him. “Very well then.” He takes a breath. “I have no intentions of going to Olympus. At least, not yet. It,” he licks his lips, “it’s my mother. Not Nyx but my…my birth mother, Persephone. Queen of the Underworld. I know where she is and I am leaving to find her. To get answers and maybe…I don’t know.”

“Wow! Sounds serious! Like, you would be punished and forbidden to leave your room for millennia kind of serious; having to learn the art of sewing and rock grinding, talking to yourself in the mirror because you’re kind of lonely, sort of serious.” Hypnos nods, leaning in close as if that would assist in keeping the secret a secret.

the song of achilles does pat the greatest disservice ive ever seen an adaptation do a character, just read the iliad instead. as a writer of iliad characters i have the biggest beef with tsoa,

The more Hypnos explained how they felt the more that knife twisted in his stomach. That was…a lot to take in at once. That the fact he was leaving, potentially forever, effected even the chipper and cheery God of Sleep, was he really doing the right thing? To keep this all secret was starting to feel like a boulder in his stomach. “I can understand that. It’s just…something is missing. Something important. Vital.” He steels himself and then pins the floating God with a hard glare. “Listen, Hypnos. If I told you a secret, as in there could be huge repercussions if people knew, secret, could you keep it?” He asked, thinking harder on it. “As in ‘swear to throw your favorite sleeping pillow into the flowing lava rivers of Asphodel if you speak a word of it’ secret.”

Oop! What a glare on that guy!  If Hypnos hadn’t known how basically forever, he’d had been spooked! Honestly, he was, just a little bit. After all, Zagreus never really made faces like that, not to his friends, anyway, and obviously Hypnos was his friend, so he’d never seen a face like that up close.

“Like.. being caught with Ambrosia, repercussions? Swiping your father’s bident, repercussions? Feeding Cerberus too many snacks and paying for it later, repercussions?” He knew where the Bident was, if Zag asked, of course, and he’d gladly tell him but only because he liked him and they were buddies.