Sirius was quite sure by the last day at sea that Marlene didn't hate him. She wasn't going to hate him. He'd been as awful to her as he could stand and she still sought out his company whenever possible. It was strange, but it was a clear sign that his tactic had failed.

He wasn't over fond of losing, but who is really? He could dust himself off and find some other way to deal with his problems. Well… this problem. The problem being that she was graceful and charming to the point that he's made an idiot of himself more than once. Well… that was the beginning of the problem.

The problem was ever expanding. He would have to get it in check. There was no other way about it. That was just his fate…

He'd been in his own head, zoned out for too long. He was only vaguely aware that there was noise. He came to very quickly when Marlene shook one of his shoulders, repeating his name until he opened his eyes.

"You look like you had a close encounter with Medusa. What's wrong with you?" She looked concerned.

"Didn't really sleep. Something about the boat or perhaps the imminent doom." Sirius looked away, she really needed to stop looking at him like that; as if she genuinely cared about him. "I'm… not myself."

"You know we may not be doomed. We could take the beast down." She chuckled, "You could try to annoy it to death, and I can't say I'd bet against you."

The softening in her eyes as she spoke to him pulled him like a hook straight through his stupid heart. He had to fight the impulse to reach out and touch her. He knew he couldn't… it was idiotic to think of it. Even if he had to accept that he'd go into that maze, not with a clear head and an objective to get out alive, but with eyes full of stars and an aching heart, he still had to remind himself that he couldn't really let this happen. She was betrothed. She was meant for someone else. He wasn't supposed to fall for her.

"I'm going to be a dog now. I can't be a person."

Without ceremony, he turned into a dog to avoid the object of his affection. His father would be so ashamed. But his father wasn't nearly human enough to feel like this. Which was an absurd thing for him to think while in a dog's body.

She stared at him in surprise, "Oh. I guess that's," she took a deep breath. "I'll leave you to it then?"

Before she left she knelt down and patted him on his head. This was extremely odd as he still had his usual mind, but was definitely being treated like a dog. A dog that she wanted to befriend, but still a dog. Perhaps that's sort of how she saw him all the time, so maybe he'd just need to get used to it.

"You make a very charming dog, you know." She smiled as she ruffled his ears. "Perhaps consider making the change permanent? I would feed you scraps from my table any day. I've always wanted a dog. I never thought of gaining a dog in quite this fashion, but I'm loathed to question Fate."

She'd never touched him when he was in a human body aside from gaining his attention moments ago, and that had been a shove more than anything, but apparently, she thought kissing the top of his shaggy black dog head was perfectly appropriate. Sirius was not sure how to feel and decided to reserve his judgment. He'd probably rather be her dog than forced to bid her farewell forever when she married what's-his-name.

Had she even told him his name? Did she know his name? Did he have a name? These were the questions that lingered with him as he curled up on the floor, which was somehow much more comfortable as a dog.

His hearing was quite sensitive in this form. He could hear Marlene as she attempted to speak with some of the tributes. She sounded… less alive somehow. The notes in her voice when she spoke to him sounded free flowing and easy, even if she was slinging insults at him.

With the tribute, on the upper deck, she spoke stiltedly, but with purpose. She was clearly forcing herself to endure this perfectly mundane-seeming interaction. He thought he heard trepidation underneath the layers of steely strength? Perhaps that was ascribing too much power to his dog hearing. He couldn't really know what she felt. He certainly hoped the inverse was also true. She needn't be subjected to that horrible storm of feelings.

It occurred to him that she didn't actually sound different with the tributes. He thought back on it carefully and concluded that she was like that with everyone he'd seen her interact with, save himself. He wasn't sure why. Was it a demigod thing? Or just a really strong affinity for dogs?

"Please," the tribute pleaded, "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Dreadful Daughter, please don't hurt me!"

Had the girl just assumed Marlene would hurt her? What a strange thought. Marlene didn't even have it in her character to really bite back at Sirius when he'd been as antagonistic as he could muster. How could anyone think she would cause harm to a distressed sounding stranger?

"I'm not going to hurt you. Tell me what's causing you such grief." Marlene's voice sounded so foreign to him. He was overcome by his own curiosity and decided he had to try to get a peek at this strange interaction. He got up on his four legs and made his way up to the upper deck.

"I do not want to die, Dreadful Daughter!" The girl wailed. "Please, please change my fate!"

Sirius looked up in time to watch the girl flinch away as Marlene reached a gentle hand towards her. "Take comfort little sister, your fate is not yet known, but Fortune smiles upon you this hour." Marlene looked deep in thought for a moment and then he heard the voice of a woman singing.

"Mother?" The girl looked around her.

"It is only her voice, little sister," Marlene smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

The girl closed her eyes then seemed to relax a little. When the song ended, Marlene patted the girl's arm and stood. Then she walked to the far end of the bow of the ship, the girl's still frightened eyes watching her all the way.

Sirius knew it was a dumb idea but it's not like that had ever stopped this son of Dionysus before, so he went ahead and shapeshifted back to his usual body. Marlene still hadn't seen him, up to that point, but she must have pulled her annoying foresight trick and turned around as he was approaching.

"I thought you were going to be a dog for a while?"

"Yeah. I was but…" he couldn't get the words out. He couldn't tell her that he'd been listening and he'd been watching in awe as she treated the terrified girl with kindness. He couldn't tell her a lot of things. That was just the way of it. "I guess I decided that I wanted company. Being a dog was boring."

"So you're here to regale me with more stories of the gods doing strange things?" Her eyes were dull, lacking the luster they usually carried.

"If you want?" Sirius came to rest his arms against the railing of the ship.

"You know," she smiled at him and it finally reached her eyes, "yeah. I do. Go on."

He had no control over the puppy-like excitement that she'd elicited with this response. He probably looked like a complete idiot, but for a moment he just let the warmth and happiness wash over him.

The Minotaur might not kill him, but he was so thoroughly doomed.