#letheslept

And still, Zagreus felt an irritating sense of foreboding.

It's a night of fun, he had told himself, over and over, a pretty chest of carefully crafted floral gifts for the group they had organized, and still he was beside himself. Not for any particular reason, he supposed - even if the whisperings of shades in his ears lately, as well as those of his friends, had plenty of reason to give him pause. He just... wanted to be sure that they would have a good time. Even if he didn't get along with all of them, all the time, they were still good people. Important to him in some form or another.

It certainly wouldn't do if he stood and worried himself sick, he tried to remind himself, bouncing nervously from foot to foot as he waited for the rest of his companions to convene. Only a touch more formal, and still entirely his energetic, lively self, he put on his best smile, and worked to convince himself that thing would progress just fine.

"Let's do this."

“Hello there.” 

"Honestly, Hypnos, why don't you tag along with Ker and I? I mean, as far as we could tell, we weren't going to..." He trailed off, feeling rude. It didn't feel right to talk about Keres in that fashion. "Anyway! We've decided we'll just go and people watch. Eat food. Enjoy a drink or two. We'd love to have you tag along."

something in his heart breaks. he had just wanted to comfort the god, let him know that he did deserve better. that the way people treated him was wrong. but the way hypnos replied, the confusion, the fear that someone, either hades or perhaps worse, nyx said something... the way his question became a rambling, blaming himself... for what even? 

it took zagreus back. back when he had been a child, after every fight with his father he would cry. ‘it’s my fault that he hates me’. he’s mostly outgrown those thoughts, or perhaps he just learned to cope with it. the prince had found his reassurance somewhere else. in the encouraging words of his teacher or the soothing words of mother night.

a mother that hasn’t talked to her own son in... how long? only addressing him if she had to? nyx didn’t yell like hades did, he had never seen her and her sons argue the way zagreus and his father did. perhaps it would be even good for hypnos to talk to her that way for once. ( but that’s not how hypnos is, isn’t he? ) he’s sleep incarnate, a gentle touch to ease people into their dreams, similarly to how thanatos could never bring violent death, even charon, despite an appearance that may frighten humans, could be reassuring. simply bringing the shades to the house, not judging what they did in life. the brothers are gentle, each in their own way.

but hypnos... even when zagreus rolled his eyes at sleep’s advice, even if he sounded tired in his banter, he appreciated the other. to be greeted with that grin was refreshing, especially when he had to talk to hades afterwards. though it makes the prince wonder if he should have said something earlier, make sure hypnos knew that zagreus appreciated him.

“hypnos. hypnos calm down for a moment. nobody said anything, and even if, why would I care?” zagreus sighs and brushes back his hair. “you’re not at fault for anything...” it’s not as if hypnos work had an actual end, people always died and would line up in the house. and people would always need sleep. 

“hypnos, I am saying this as your friend: you need a break. and I mean that” he especially needed to get out of this hall, away from people either nagging him or ignoring him. “...wanna come with me?” he suddenly asks, slightly surprised at his own suggestion. “I’ll just say I want to test something... I’m sure mother could help me convince father.” besides, it’s not as if he escapes fully by himself, considering he had the boons and even other forms of help. and hypnos wouldn’t need to assist him, just follow him.

“is there complicated affection?” there shouldn’t be, right? though he knows what hypnos actually means. and it’s such a simple statement, such a normal wish and yet, the prince cannot help but find a bit of melancholy in it. how long has hypnos not received any form of affection to just crave it, even just little bits of it?

zagreus makes quite a show out of yawning and stretching. and then he simply drops on the lounge he recently commissioned for the god and with a grin, he pulls the floating form with him. hands ruffle through soft hair, still keeping hypnos in his hug. “it seems I might still be under the influence of some boon” he says, loud enough for others to hear “if I want to properly test our security I probably should rest and it would be much easier to do here” there. that should be enough to have most people not question this and leave him, and most importantly, hypnos, alone for a bit.

» @letheslept​ requires an answer for actions.

DEATH APPROACHES  .    —  they are younger here, not quite godlings anymore but not yet gods : thanatos has not yet asked lord ares to remove his hair, nor is his disposition so stern and uptight. death and sleep seek comfort in their mother still, and active twin does not ache in anger at the slightest sense of being touched.

his hair moves while he is studying, watching the shades move around tartarus. mother nyx says the worst of the worst are to move around the lands of eternal punishment : one day, it will be THANATOS’ WORK to retrieve them from the realms of the mortals and bring about their judgement day, and one day it will be HYPNOS’ WORK to be sure that everything is in order, keeping the house efficient and working smoothly. ( young thanatos believes , at the time , that he is jealous of his brother : he does not look forward to their separation, to his separation from nyx , from charon. )

flowers always grow behind mother nyx in her position at the house : they do not know why those flowers grow there now that the gardens have been sealed and the young prince wreaks havoc on the house, much to the lord’s discontent, but it is in a matter of moments that young hypnos has joined his brother in the wing. their young hands wrap around the iron bars, gazing onto the city of the damned, and thanatos experiences a love he has not yet felt before this moment. it is the love he has for humanity : if he did not love them, he would not work so hard to end their suffering when they ask. ( the first time he took a human soul, it was a bleeding and messy affair, and thanatos ran to his mother and sobbed in apology : he FAILED in his task, and a soul suffered because of it. she pressed him against her breast and waited for his tears to stop, only to comfort him and say that HUMANITY WOULD FORGIVE HIM. they would heal after this, and so should thanatos. )

» @letheslept​ requires an answer for feelings.  

DEATH APPROACHES  .    —   “ look at you like what , exactly? ”  for all intents and purposes,  THANATOS believed he had been trying. there had been begging, pleading, demanding that the death god’s emotional issues be resolved. GREECE was not built in a day ( or so the saying would say, when he is no longer thanatos but instead MORS , and it is rome they are struggling to build ) , and neither was the comforting expression of a brother.

DO NOT LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT , sleep commands, and so death turns his gaze, finding something to be more interesting around the corner of the hall where sir achilles usually kept watch. he is grateful in this moment that there is no one to listen to the blunders of twins : even gods desire kinship. even gods are victim of its inadequacies. 

NOTHING IS EVER EASY , IS IT ?  not when you are clinging to some semblance of normalcy, after all that you’ve known and everything you have ever been is no longer what you’ve known. does hypnos not find instability knowing their princei s absent, that the house of hades is in SHAMBLES ?  is it not hypnos’ job to keep the list and check them twice, be sure that each of the active twin’s work is carefully sought through ?  is it not enough to worry silently, to bite one’s tongue when the master of the house selects your BROTHER as the victim of his rage? is it not enough to fail in standing one’s ground when MOTHER NIGHT IS SILENT, expecting little more than submission and obedience from both of her sons? 

( how he envies charon. how he seeks such freedoms of the mind. )