Ἡφαιστίων

“I’d love nothing more than to stare at your bones.” Atlas mused, he shifted his position from the desk to Xander’s lap, thoroughly placing himself between the other and the man’s desk. The whole point of arguing was the time they spent making up afterwards, his arms found their place across Xander’s shoulders, “Half the fun of fighting is-” Atlas didn’t get to finish his thought though before Xander was spitting out their impending wedding. “Very presumptuous of you, who said I wanted to marry you.” There was a brief moment of sadness as he thought about the people who’d never get to see it back home. “I wish you’d gotten to meet my parents. Aegon will be thrilled though.” Atlas smiled, he pressed his lips enthusiastically against Xander’s lips, committed to spending every moment of whatever eternity laid before them, this life and the next. “So, where we doing this then? Egypt? Athens? Maybe we should see it all and then decide.”

-

He grinned, wrapping his arms around the other’s waist, “Is me fucking you senseless after?” Xander finished the sentence that Atlas had been too busy to, seeing as how the fury had more important words to use. “You’ve said it. About...twenty or so times?” The shifter huffed out a laugh, pushing his hands up beneath the other’s shirt. It wouldn’t be eternity if he didn’t have Atlas to argue with in Elysium, too. Alexander was going to give Atlas a run for his money, most likely, and Hephaestion would sit in the middle of it. “We can make a detour to North America.” He hummed into the kiss, one hand coming up to thread through Atlas’s hair. “Wherever you want, Atlas. We leave this place, and get married wherever it is you decide.”

“Hence the wedding question,” Atlas teased, “there’s no point in planning for your death if I’m not going to get anything from it. My friend at the library got married recently, he said never sign a prenup.” The fury was mostly joking, “I was there, but I didn’t stay long.” He could go on and on about the sights that had rolled over golden hills and homes made of old stone, but that wasn’t why he’d brought this up to Xander. “I wanted to get back to you and tell you the good news,” Atlas said instead as he lifted the folder from Xander’s hand and set it off to the side. “also, we should go on vacation.” He furthered, still not done talking. “Not to Elysium, but I mean while I was there I was thinking about the pyramids, and about your home in the UK. We’ve never been anywhere together but here- I want to see more.” 

-

Xander huffed out a laugh, “Your friend has a point. But there’s no need – I’ll die, you’ll get stuck with all my shit.” He thought for a moment, “Which is about...twenty houses, all crammed with artifacts, and – the location of my tomb. Want to go visit it?” The idea of vacationing around the world was a definite idea, and he had to wait to get a word in between Atlas’ sentences. The truth was, he’d been sifting through his stuff anyway, finding the item he was looking for. Manipulating it into the version he wanted was a whole other story, but he’d have to get through the other’s sentences first. “Why? So we can have an argument and fuck in every country?” His grin spread a bit more across his lips. He liked the idea and tapped his fingers on the desk after a moment. The truth was, the doctor was surprised his body was still functioning. At 34, he’d suffered plenty of trauma from swords, arrows – all things he’d been questioned about. He didn’t want to waste whatever time he had left – yet as a shifter, there was a now longevity that those human wounds wouldn’t be able to touch. “Let’s go, then. You can tell your brother that we’re having a destination wedding, too.”

Atlas playfully rolled his eyes, if Xander didn’t make it soon then Atlas would have to forge the wedding documents himself. How difficult could it really be for a fury to fake a marriage? Alter some minds, cheat on some documents. They’d been together long enough, who would question it? “Elysium.” Atlas said simply, “There’s a fissure in a wall in a cavern, I think it opened after the veil went up again.” He thought about how the gates of Tartarus had been opened as a result, it wasn’t that far from the realm of possibility that others were affected. “It’s big enough for me to get through, and there’s no rules that say I can’t be there.” He was never going to get tired of fighting he didn’t think, at least not with Xander, he wanted to do this forever. If Xander died, he wanted a way to see him, maybe even a way to stay with him. What was one more soul in Elysium?

-

Xander crossed his arms over his chest, studying Atlas for a few moments as the fury spoke about what he’d found. “So a new pathway between the Underworld and Elysium.” The notion was there, and he managed a smile, “So you’re planning for my death already?” He sat up now, putting his arms on the desk, “Did you try it? Slip into Elysium. Alexander is there, go say hi.” The idea that Atlas could still slip in and see him daily, or perhaps every few days – time in Elysium was apparently fake news – was far better than waiting around for eternity. Whether or not Atlas even died one day was another story. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t want more than to see you after this life, too. You know that.”

@xander-amyntoros​

Working with Aegon was a dream, Atlas’ other half handled the books and Atlas did all the real work. But it was seasonably warm, and oddly sunny for fall. Everyone had the day off, Woven was closed for the day. Corinth had been his home for years now, he loved it here, loved the adventures, the people, and to some extent he loved the danger too. Atlas had always needed purpose, he was once a witch born with the gift of sight - he divined meaning from clouds, dreams, birds, stars. Anything he could get his hands on had a hidden lesson etched in its underbelly. Now, Atlas was a fury. He’d have centuries of time alongside his immortal other half, the things they could do together, the places they could go. The stories they would someday tell. It all excited Atlas a great deal more than Aegon, Xander least of all Atlas thought. Because the former vampire knew something that Atlas did not yet, a fact that was too painful for Atlas to admit outloud: someday the fury would tire of eternity, and all that would be left was heartache and the people who punctuated the bright places in between. Xander, too, might someday become such a punctuation. 

“My brother keeps asking me when you’re going to propose.” Atlas stated simply as he stopped in at Xander’s office at the museum, his boyfriend the relic was older than at least half the things the Corinthians had on display here. The fury set a pair of coffees down between them before he took a seat on the corner of Xander’s desk, “I don’t think I can tell him that I’m not interested in marriage anymore because he knows I’m lying. So, what should I say?” Not done talking yet, he didn’t let Xander answer before he spoke again. “I found something in the Underworld the last time I was there, you’ll never guess what it is.” 

-

Xander’s newfound powers had given him a higher purpose, and after speaking with Dreki, he understood where the lineage arose from, and how his ability to survive would come into play. He’d gone to the doctor for the first time since his human death after he’d been cured as a vampire, though nothing had really been shared. He was sitting at his desk, a folder in his hands as he went through the itemized list of artifacts that were on loan. Kyon was laying under the desk, mostly asleep until she heard Atlas. The dog got up from her nap to greet the fury, and Xander put the folder down with a half smile as the other began to talk a mile a minute. He picked up the coffee, grateful as he took a sip, “Mm, well, let’s start with the Underworld before I touch that other subject. Let’s hear it – I have no idea what it could be. A sword? A helmet? I haven’t seen the Underworld.”

“He has the ability to mute the powers of others. If Hektor’s power is castrated, then he can be contained. Maybe even killed.” Atlas offered, “Patroclus can’t come into contact with Hektor he-” The fury stopped short, unable to say anything further on the original vampire, unfortunately even to the vampire. But if the rift came in contact to try and reverse Persephone’s hold over him, it wouldn’t end well for Patroclus. “He just can’t.”

-

Perhaps Xander hadn’t understood the full capabilities of Patroclus, but the rift was someone that he mirrored in life, and would most likely mirror in death, as well. He kept his arms crossed, leaning against the wall now even as Kyon sat patiently at his feet, waiting for her daily walk. Risking Patroclus’ life wasn’t something Xander wished for either, but if anyone understood the chilling presence that Hektor had, it was Xander. Even being compelled by him was something that haunted his waking dreams, and the old promise that one day he’d help push forward Persephone’s cause. No matter that those words had been spoken nearly two thousand years prior, they’d rang true, and he knew Hektor had taken a sick pleasure in it. “Then we’ll find another way.”

“No, I still died. I was just a vampire, and if I recall correctly you were there when it happened. Some help you were. Now, have you any other grievances you want to air out or are you about finished being a fucking prick?” Markus asked before Xander carried on with his answer, “No, still not done? Right.” The witch said, even when the other had supposed good news he still managed to be sour. “If the person you’re with makes you so unhappy, then you should end it. It’s that simple.”

-

Xander debated finding this incubus and asking him to take away all of Markus’ ability to talk. Or at least form a thought. But he instead waited patiently for the other to give him some biting remark, “It’s not unhappiness, Markus. But I’ll leave the one-dimensional thinking for you and your relationship.” If the other wished for him to be a prick, then he would be. “Best of luck.”

“I have more than you now, settle in.” Dreki said simply as he gestured towards the other seat, his story started near the beginning. When mankind was still young, when the Egyptians were first learning to move their stones across the desert, before the founding of Babylon, and a time when the wars of giants made mountains, valleys, and seas. He started as he said, at the beginning, when he was but a man who needed to become more powerful than he was, born with an inherent magic that was still new to the world. When Borr Burison had only recently fathered Odin, future King of Asgard. He spoke of the people he gathered together, his wife, and his three children. Then came the time which signified the beginning of the end, when he traveled South and met a young Goddess, Artemis. She along with the daughter of a Titan gave him the power to make more of his kind, and so he did. “This is where your power comes from, this period when I was finding warriors suitable of carrying my gift, the Aesir feared this - feared you. So I was killed, and sent to Niflheim where the name Nidhogg replaced what I was known as before. They stripped me of my mind, made me jailor over a shore of corpses until one day I met Hel.” Dreki explained that the daughter of Loki was only a child when she came into the realm that would soon be her queendom, and that through her magic he remembered his old life. His humanity. “It was she who sent me here, with the knowledge on how to awaken my line. So, now that you’ve heard my tale, you might guess what I have planned here, no?”

-

For Xander, the history of the North was one he knew enough about. He’d visited it of course, when warring Viking kingdoms were prevalent, and the community in what was now Iceland grew strong. Even his name, Hephaestion, had its origins rooted deep into the cult of Hephaestus. But it was always said that perhaps the Greeks had gone further north than many thought, that its culture and runeology were embedded far North. His only answer to Dreki’s question was maybe a bit too telling. Or perhaps a little too obvious that he was already confused to whether or not he was right. And he was always right. “Ragnarök? But how? Wouldn’t that be the end of your gods’ world?”

Atlas doubted that Alecto would let him weaken Persephone and Hektor’s connection directly, but if there was a rift in the city with such capabilities then it was something to consider. He thought of the names that had been spouted off by Anastasia at the party and the inherent knowledge the fury had of each of their gifts, useful maybe, but it was hard to know where their allegiances lay. “Patroclus,” Atlas said, “the man who made you mortal. You met him at the temple, right? Was he just there waiting for you or did you… Did you contact him somehow ahead of time?”

-

“A bit of both,” he answered after a moment, looking at Atlas once more. “But he told me if I needed him, I could find him. Why, do you think he has the ability to do the same thing to Hektor that he did to me?” Xander wasn’t sure what the limitations on these abilities were. He was still wrapping his head around the fact that some of these figures were no longer myth.

“I’m sorry my goose tried to attack your dog.” Coffee was easier to do than a whole dinner, and it was just the two of them and said pooch on the floor. “And you, when you got between them.” Winter’s smile is sheepish over the rim of her coffee cup as she eyes the once vampire. The once vampire, the once human, there was something else about him now, they hadn’t gotten a chance to discuss such a thing. Dinner hadn’t really seemed the time, though she’d wanted to bring it up to distract him and Atlas from sniping at one another about their salt intake. “What’s new?” @xander-amyntoros​

-

“I’m more worried the dog will eat your goose,” Xander looked at the dog, who didn’t seem to think she was doing anything wrong – ever. The shifter told her so, quite often, but he didn’t voice that at the moment. “Kyon doesn’t usually have a temper. She usually just tries to play but – I think she forgets her strength.” He looked over at the witch with a small smile, though her question made him huff out a chuckle. “You mean Atlas didn’t actually tell you?” he pressed, though he only waited a few moments before he shrugged, “I’m a shifter, now. Apparently a ritual was done, and I had the gene from ages ago.”

“It’s an involved story, a long one too.” Dreki offered, he appreciated this one’s cheeky candor. It was possible that he’d misjudged him initially, though he admired the man’s independence just the same. “I could start at the beginning, if you have time.” The wyvern’s smile broadened, he imagined this man had a few stories of his own. “Old man.” 

-

“Apparently we both have plenty of time,” Xander pointed out, though his curiosity would always win out. If there was any bit of information he didn’t know, he just had to learn it. He’d read thousands and thousands of books, but this was something unwritten. “I think I deserve to know this – considering,” he motioned to himself as an explanation, “I shift into something that is supposed to be long dead.”

“I don’t miss what I don’t remember. Worry yourself less about my problems, I can take care of myself.” The witch didn’t see why Xander cared so much about this, he was doing fine without the memories that were taken from him, getting them back would be a risky endeavour without any real reward. But clearly the newly-made shifter was sensitive. “What’s up your ass anyways, trouble in paradise?”

-

“You can’t. Because you’ve already died once, and only survived because of me, didn’t you?” Xander didn’t want to think about much else, now. His lack of caring was what worried him in the first place, and now he was apparently just doing too much. Letting out a sigh, he waved his hand again, “No, that’s the same. It’s hard to stay calm with someone who runs head first into death. But worry less about my problems, Markus.”

“Dead and bitey, just how I like them.” She gave his shoulder a squeeze, wishing that her smile could have been something serrated— instead it was just sweet. The dogs all but tugged them along; they were well trained but her hold on the lead was slack, letting them choose the destination that the two traversed down. Zehra snorted, “If you’re shy about the nakedness, I promise it’s nothing I’ve never seen before. I’ve got stories for you, but these days I’m playing demure.” She gestured towards her sundress, and the smooth curls that cast down her spine. “I’m here for the same reason that everyone else is. There’s something happening here,” the cubi gestured. “I don’t like feeling left out.”

-

“Mmm, if only I was worried about you seeing me naked. It’s what comes after, really.” He should’ve figured out a better way to say that – that didn’t sound as pervasive. Yet he knew her past, so it didn’t even bother him. "I spent so long as a vampire, that when I became human, nothing felt like it would complete me. I wasn’t needed – at all – unlike when I was first a human. I felt like I was going crazy in my own skin. Now, there’s something else I’m supposed to be doing, but I can’t figure out what it is.” He looked at the succubus, finding it amusing that he was now the one thing that could kill her, yet he would die before letting someone harm her, “Too much is happening here. Where do I start? Hektor is here. Maybe his whole cult, too.”

“I never suggested we do anything without a plan.” Atlas could concede a little but as always he was prepared to argue, though he was glad at least that Xander had suddenly decided to be helpful. “There are a lot of rifts in the city.” Though the idea of working with any of them, or going to any of them for help or advice didn’t exactly sit well with him. Still, he could set his emotions aside for the sake of the people that he ultimately wanted to help. “At least a handful of them are as old as he is.”

-

That was debatable, but Xander saved that argument for another day. At least this was something Xander was good at; war and strategy may have been Alexander’s thing, but Hephaestion was just as knowledgable. “Despite the fact some of them wanted the veil to fall, there were others who didn’t. They may know how to slip past Hektor, or weaken Persephone’s protection. Because that’s all this is. Her influence keeps him safe.”

for: @xander-amyntoros​

“I still think I liked you best as a vampire,” Zehra pointed out, licking hazelnut gelato from the spoon that she had dug into the cup in Xander’s hands. “Fewer worries about accidentally stealing a little bit of that soul of yours.” Still, she beamed up at him— he was someone golden, no longer something as humiliating as a human: he was a wyvern now. It was ancient, and still, brand new. It seemed that despite her age, there was much about the magic world that she had yet to discover, every page was something new and unturned. Greece had been a good place for her, and it harboured many old and new friends. Remus and Romulus tugged at their leads and she cast an annoyed look at them, before sighing. “They’re eager to go to the dog park. Shall we?”

-

“So what you’re saying is...you preferred me when I was dead?” Xander grinned a little, turning to look at his friend. The succubus hadn’t changed a bit, not from what he remembered, at least. She was still full of mirth, and full of chaos. Back when Xander had been angry at the world, he’d reveled in it as well. Death and madness was the easiest way to ignore his depression, and his angst at the idea of having to stay trapped on earth while the other half of his soul was in Elysium. He wrapped his hand a little more around Remus’ leash, easily going with the dog as he tugged, “Listen, I already said I’d show you my dragon form when we’re somewhere safe. Not only do I have to be naked, but it’s not something everyone actually needs to know about. But enough about me – you’re here. Why?”

“And now met me you have.” Dreki commented, his tone mirthful and dark. Blue eyes scanned the young wyvern - he could see the dragon’s maturity already, he’d managed to shift on his own which was more than the others could claim. Vasilis, Ari, each required a push. Not this one though, he’d done it all himself. He reminded Dreki of his eldest. “Go on then, let’s get a good look at you.” He clapped him on the shoulder and screwed the man’s gaze towards as he looked into his eyes, “You’re an old one-” explained the independence.

-

Xander could read the foreign magic from the other, but he was more than surprised when the other could tell his age – especially due to his mortality. “Who are you calling old?” He managed a half smile, but all things considering, Xander felt older than he had in years. Being mortal did that to a person, apparently. “Something like that. You wanna tell me what you did all this for? Also – my name is Xander.”