#chp7

Chapter 7: Under Watchful Eyes

Zeus had been flying around in eagle form for several days, watching over all of Greece and it's inhabitants. He had seen there had been indeed strange occurrences throughout the land. To his unfortunate luck, he could see it was indeed the return of Lycaon. His only mission now was to find where Lycaon was, it did not matter to Zeus why or how he was doing this, all what mattered to him was to end Lycaon before he succeed.

From Athens to Sparta and everywhere in between, there was always some persistent problems revolved around wolves. Yet deep down everything knew these weren't wolves...or at least not entirely. The local gods and demi-gods had become aware of these attacks but as all powerful as they were, it always seemed they couldn't catch a glimpse of the creatures.

Flying through Athens on this fine morning, he planned on meeting with Athena to see if she had any issues with the beasts. Athens being a more metropolitan city, it would be impossible for such attacks to occur. He glided through the city to the Acropolis where he would have a little privacy with Athena. She always busy, even when she would be at home in Olypmus. Zeus flew to the main hall of the temple, and landed in front of the Statue of Athens. He looked around, hoping no one would see an extra large, white talking eagle. "Athena my child, this is your father. I need to talk to you." He spoke in a low whispered voice.

The statue eminated a light blue aura, as the stone around the statue's face began to soften into flawless skin, the blank marble irises shift into a dark deep brown eyes brimming with knowledge, and the statue's stoic expression came to life. "Greetings, father." Athena spoke. The statue looked down at the eagle, from Zeus's point of view even as an eagle, she dwarfed even any of his current temple representions.

"My child, are you aware of what has been going on in the countryside? I visit you in hopes.....that these events have not encroached into your lovely city...has it?" he asked. A deep sigh of concern escaped from her lips, she knew what Zeus was inquiring.

"I'm afraid so, although not in the same frequency as the occurrences in the country side. It is not of my concern on the matters of borders of the land. If what is happening is part of nature, I can not change it.", she proclaimed, the matters of the metropolitan area of Athens were Athena's jurisdiction. " What ever may be happening in the countryside, I assure you father, these are merely just criminals who have decided to be bold enough to desecrate my city. Justice will prevail, even if it mean I shall have to strengthen law and order." She sternly declared, although she was not as empathetic in an emotional sense, she was determined to make Athens a city of order, culture and a safe haven for its citizens.

Zeus, ruffling his feathers a little, felt it odd that she would be dismissive of Athens's rural lands. "But surely my dear, are you not concerned about the common farmer? After all, they do contribute to the Athens.", he argued. "....do you remember that fairytale I once told you when you were younger, the one about Lycaon?", he affectionately asked.

Athena stared at Zeus unamused, "You mean when I freshly arrived into existence? If your memory failed you father....I was no child when you told me that story.....why are you wasting my time with nostalgia?" she harshly replyed, she felt that every second Zeus was talking to her was a second wasted of her time. Time that she could be vigilantly be helping her city.

Zeus lowered his head a little, his fatherly affections weren't always well received by Athena. Unlike the majority of his offspring, Athena was born from his head fully grown, so she never really learned how to be empathetic to anyone, even her father. She was born with ambition, wisdom and a head for progress, why would she ever need to have such silly emotions as empathy and compassion? Zeus felt as if he may have irritated her, he had the most patience with Athena inspite of her cold responses. "I ask, because I wasn't being fully honest with you...it was not merely a story I told to you.....it is entirely true... everything....the only part of the story I left out....was my inaction to kill him...I'm afraid he could be still alive. These animal attacks have something to do with him....I can feel it my gizzard.", he warned.

Athena was visible unamused at his pun, but she was more offended at the thought her own father thought she would be as naive is the rest of his offspring would be to assume every grand tale of his past was just "merely stories". "Hmf, you honestly believe that I did not know? Do you forget where I came from?", she scowled. "If what you ask of me originates from the countryside, go and inquire Hermes of such things.....I have no time for such matters.", feeling undignified at her father's questions.

Zeus again felt the vinegar in her words, using his wing he rubbed the top of his head, remembering the terrible pain he had felt birthing Athena that very faithful day. "No....I assure my dear...I have not forgotten.", he spoke in the traumatic tone. One would too speak of such a memory with contempt and fear if one had to experience having the top of their head split in two. "Well, I see that I have....taken more than enough of your precious time. I shall take my leave..... goodbye child. I hope things go back in order to your standards." he turned around, trotted to the top of the Acropolis's stairs, took a leap into the air and sored to find Hermes.

Athena without any further interruptions, loosened her powers over the statue, and it had returned to it's normal state. Unbeknownst to both of the gods, a spy was amongst the temple walls. She looked very much human, but her glare was wild and her grin was sinister. Armed with the knowledge that Athena, Athens great and wise patron goddess, had no intentions of even looking into the countryside, she ran down the Acropolis's stairs, down to the quite streets and down towards the shadowy alleyways where a black market of sorts was underway. The spy looked for a marker of her master, she looked until she stumbled on a craving she made several days prior of claw marks. She pushed the carvings like a button, opening a small passage way, into the underground catacombs of Athens. She crawled in and closed the opening. She escaped the city limits, to the open trail back to Delphi. She walked none stop and didn't break a sweat. After almost a full day of walking, she had found a gate, gaurded by two unidentifiable gaurds whom wore no emblems of any Greek army. She walks to the opening to speak with them to let her in. At the first the gaurds were reluctant, thinking she was an intruder, until she growled at the two foolish gaurds for thinking otherwise. The gaurds sheepishly move aside, letting her in, obviously she did not need a password. Entering into the void of the gate entrance, she turned around, "and if I catch you two QUESTIONING me ever again, I'll have BOTH your hearts served to your highness on a gold platter!" she shrilled at them, from that point on, she walked down the path.

The spy continued the long, dank passage, the walls slowly transitioned from cobblestone, to excavated bedrock and finally to a natural stoney cavern. She was almost home to New Lycadia, where she and several other converted citizens, gathered information from the surface.

As she walked, she felt her skin crawl and itch, her joints hurting, and her teeth feeling as if they were being pulled out by the roots. "Hehehe, the sun must be going down" she growled gleefully. Her face burned as she felt everything stretch and pull, her nails grew into strong claws and her posture huntched over. Fur grew throughout her body, she shook and readjusted much of her own clothes so that the fur didn't grow through the textile making an already uncomfortable transformation worse. The change ended with a surge of dopamine and adrenaline, she let out a howl and started to run faster down the cavern with her regained agility.

In the King's Throne room, King Lycaon was inspecting some intruders that had somehow found their way through the cave entrence near Delphi. He glared down at the three Roman soldiers whom apparently had stumbled upon A DIFFERENT cave entrence farther from Delphi. "Hhhhmhmmhmmm.....far frrrrrom home.... aren't we?" He snarled. The Roman soldiers were shaking, chattering their teeth and regretting the very thought that tempted them into the cave. ".....you two" pointing at a taller soldier and the one next to him, "will make wonderful additions to my army....as for you." he points to a more portly soldier, "will make a fine meal for my court..... slaughter this one for the kitchen....as for those two, convert them...and....give them a taste of what's to come from their new lives down here." he ordered. The two soldiers screamed for their lives while their comrade was taken to another room....never to be seen again. Lycaon sat back down, "play something sweet...for tonight I shall have Italian for dinner." he chuckled, a small group of converted bards began to crudely play on flutes and lyres, unfortunately for Lycaon, these bards were having a difficult time adapting to their claws and lack of dextrous lips to play. He groaned after a few seconds, "Never mind!.....send those amateurs to practice....it would be a terrible shame to waste their potential as musicians." he gorwled, he was correct in his statement though, it would have been a waste of wolf venom of he converted a Delphian band of bards for nothing.

He sat on his throne, frustrated at some lack of surface world necessities, he couldn't wait for some good news.

A scout scampered towards him, "Your majestic one! Amara is back from Athens with good news my lord!" the scout announced.

King Lycaon gave a side glare mostly for the brazen audacity of this petulant scout to just SIMPLY come in unannounced himself, but even the King couldn't resist giving a toothy sinister grin. "Well well well, better brrring her in." he sneared. Amara was a mystery woman, she wasn't from Greece but neither was she from the Mediterranean inspite her name. Rumor has it she was from far up north, where the infamous "Norse men" were raiding and pillaging villages. Her platinum blonde hair had turned into a dark brown when she changed. Due to such a drastic side-effect, she's used it to her advantage, during the day she looks like a regular Greek woman, by night she was a wolf. At the moment, she was King Lycaon's best spy.

"Your highness! I have news from those pompous Athenians! Hehehe, it seems their glorious patron.... doesn't care for the little people of the countryside." She relayed. She was rubbing her claws together in anticipation to Lycaon's reaction.

The king's smile slowly grew from ear to ear. "Wonderful news.......so...the countryside is open for attack?" he questioned.

"Oh yes yes my Lord! Even the great Zeus couldn't convince Athena to even glance to the countryside! Foolish greek gods!" she chattered away.

Suddenly the tooth smile Lycaon was sporting, melted into a snarling growl. "ZEUS??! HE KNOWS OF MY PLANS?!?" he crawled towards, looking at if he was going to lunge at her throat, he grabbed her by the neck. "WHAT DOES ZEUS KNOW OF MY PLANS?!? SPEAK YOU WRETCHED EX-WHORE!" he roared.

Having a tough time even breathing, she struggled to speak. "He only asked to w-watch out for you mm-my lord. He doesn't seem to ~~mn* she was about to pass out as Lycaon was actually squeezing her throat with every word she spoke. Let her go, coughing for air on the floor. He had enough of this, what was supposed to be good news really turned out to be a sign that he was slipping into complacency. He was too soft, he wasn't being serious enough, first the intruders now Zeus of all gods was on his trail.

"GgggrrrrRRROOOOAAAARRRRR! GATHER THE WARRIORS! STRENGTH THE BARRACKS! Make sure there are no mistakes! Tonight, we strike Athens.......Once Athens falls, it shall be the surface entrence of New Lycadia....with Athens out of the way....I shall have one of the strongest armies in all of the world....such a shame the great goddess herself would turn a blind eye on such a blatant weak point.", he declared. He was again inturped by the same scout again, this time he was tugging on Lycaon's robes. King Lycaon slowly turned around, this time astounded at the scout's legendary disrespect. "....what....do you want?" He growled.

"sir, I'm not sure of you'd like to know, but something is happening with the Delphians. They're active again.", he cheerfully told. He had this vapid smile on his face, completely not reading the situation correctly.

King Lycaon turned around to glare even more deeply into the scout's eyes, in attempts to show him why no one embarrasses the king as he did. "....and....why is THAT important?" he asked with teeth fully bared.

The scout's ear shaked with something irritating it and scratched the itch. "Because word on the street is that the god of wine and the god of war is going to fight!" he literally had no idea that this wasn't truly important, but he just wanted to share.

Lycaon raised his claw at the scout, unblinkingly staring at him, he was about to land a killing blow to his face when the cogs in his head started turning. He realized that if in some way, he could use this spectacle to his advantage. He started to laugh, triggering the scout to laugh with him, Lycaon then put his claw on the scout's shoulder and stopped laughing. "Next time.....please do announce yourself. If you disrespect my authority again." He paused, "I'm going to cut you open." He finished with a grin, and patted the scout on the head, turned him around and kicked him. The scout yelped and scampered away back to his post.

End of chapter 7

Yuuri leaps into action immediately, spurred on by the fact that Makkachins tiny body is going lax under the weight of the pit in her throat.

Yuuri gathers the tiny pixie into his hands, looking on with panic in the back of his mind as she wheezes around the pit that he can barely see as he tilts her head back. It’s lodged right in the back of her throat -

1. As the apparent officer in charge, you get to make the rules. I promise no one off this island ever needs to know you saluted a pirate AND got to eat dinner

2. Woo! I know its several arcs away but grand line here we come!