The giant of a man looks over, a mirthful grin on his face when he sees Eris pulling him along.

His flat look does nothing but make the man chuckle, and considering his leather strap shoes are digging against the marble floor, Cheinten knows he doesn't exactly cut an imposing figure.

"Alcides, how are you? Your big sister has a request if you'll hear it." The lack of a question in her voice is obvious, but Alcides simply looks amused, rather than the normal reaction a man would to a demanding god or goddess.

"Yes sister Eris? What is your particular request this day?"

Huh, for a nine hundred pound gorilla, Alcides is surprisingly eloquent. Then again, aside from Disney, his main exposure to Alcides before he became Herk is 'accurate' old movies, and a roaring berserker that can't speak.

Blinking, he realises that Eris has stopped pulling him, appearing to think for a moment. "Well little Alcides, I have granted this one a boon. He interests me. I wish for you to erm." She twirls her hand slightly. "Put him through his paces, so to speak."

"Ah. You wish for me to see if he can survive long enough to make use of your boon. I understand."

The giant of a man turns to him, his grin just a touch eager. "And what is your name? You do not seem to have a figure for battle."

Looking down at himself for a moment, he nods his head. "I've been obsessively training for only four days. Cut me a break. I'm not like you demigod types that are blessed with the strength to crush stone with a flex of your arm, even when you're as skinny as a reed."

The man barks out a laugh, nodding his head. "This is true, I could crush stone when I was a boy, barely any muscle on my bones. I have slightly tempered myself, so I shouldn't unintentionally kill you. I make no promises about the state of your own bones though."

Out of the corner of his eye he spots Theseus walking back over, an eager grin replacing his earlier skittishness, dragging Aegeus with him. Ah.

"Ho, friends. If you two are to battle under the bidding of our lady Eris here, perhaps I could ask you to use the local arena? I'm sure a lot of the stuffier upper sort would like to make bets. We could make an event of it."

Oh joy. His beating will be a gambling retention, meaning people are gonna hate him win or lose. Ugh. "Yeah, fuck it, whatever. If I'm gonna get my ass beat, might as well be in front of an audience right?"

Alcides lets out another laugh, a few people stepping back this time if the clacking on the tiles are any indication. "Of course! How else can we be validated in the eyes of the people, and the gods, if it is not public?"

Rubbing his face, Cheinten nods. Today is going to be just fun.

Athens sure can set up a festival quickly. From the look of things they're going to be waiting until night fall. Considering the arena is a fairly sized stone area surrounding a dirt pit, that's not a bad idea.

It's well lit at least.

Eris is acting like a fresh maiden, eagerly dragging him to every stall she can, curious to what it is.

He's just glad the people are bending over backwards to accommodate her. He'd probably lose any money he had if he had to pay for everything.

The two of them finally reach a bench, Eris pulling him onto it happily before she begins to dig into her spoils.

Frowning in confusion, he looks at her for a moment. "You really seem to enjoy human food. I thought Ambrosia and Golden apples were supposed to be the best tasting thing ever?"

Taking a moment to finish the food in her mouth, Eris snorts afterwards. "Just because something is the best, doesn't mean you don't get bored of it. Now, please try to make sure your hips aren't damaged? I can work with your legs, but there always seems to be a problem with a broken pelvis."

Broken pelvis? "I'm not even going to ask. Anyway, do you at least have some advice for how I can even hurt Alcides? I could go for cheap hits, but I've got no idea if the crowd would care for that."

She hums, looking thoughtful with a strip of chicken on a stick hanging out her mouth. It's a weird look. "Well… You aren't allowed to forfeit without even trying. If you really can't hurt him, or your reinforcement doesn't do anything notable, I'd say go cheap. Say that it's what you've been asked by me if you have to."

"Oh yeah, because that totally won't piss off any other gods watching, who'll proceed to take it out on me. What a great idea Eris."

"Thank you, I thought so too. Now are you going to sit around and bitch, or are you going to enjoy a night on the town before you take a beating?"

…

Standing up, he rubs his face again, holding out an arm for her. "Just because you've got a good point doesn't mean you're correct. I've got two hours, make it last."

"Hmm, I'll find some way of entertaining myself. A shame you don't have longer."

He really doesn't want to take the time to actually think about what she's implying. Chaos is as chaos does.

"Alcides, Cheinten. I cannot thank either of you enough for what you're about to do. Alcides, please try not to permanently maim him. Cheinten, try not to cry when you're getting beaten around."

Aegeus' smile is in full view, causing Cheinten's eye to twitch. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence Aegeus. Also, this feels like it was planned in advance. You don't just set a festival up out of nowhere for one fight."

Alcides nods, his entire frame moving. "Of course. King Aegeus sent a letter to me a while ago, asking me to come to Athens to find and fight the best warriors the city produced. If it weren't for you, I'd likely be wrestling with Plato. For a poet, the man deserves his title."

"Ah, so this is just convenience. Alright, whatever."

Shaking his head, he walks down the stairs to his left. From the stomping he hears, Alcides is likely doing the same.

He's expected to put up a good showing against a giant meat wall. He'll give them a show alright. First rule of a fight. There are no rules, it's not a spar.

The dirt under his feet is deeply packed. Solid from all the hours men have spent throwing each other into it. The stone is well polished, the few cracks in the walls looking to be impact cracks. He's feeling nervous again.

Well, there's no sand for him to use, so that's right out. Alcides is confident, swaggering around the court like he owns the place. Considering the few betting odds he saw, not to mention how much the people are going crazy for him, he might as well.

They want blood. That much is obvious. The air is thick with the need to see it, to watch it splatter on the ground.

He's like a lamb to the slaughter, but at least the lamb will have the good fortune to die before the end.

Fuck it then. Dirty fighting it is.

Loosening his shoulders, he starts to stretch, feeling his knees click before the muscles smooth out. Funnelling reinforcement around his body, he doesn't activate it yet.

Aegeus speaks up as he stretches, Cheinten looking at him from the corner of his eye. Meta, Theseus, and Eris are all watching behind him, smiles on their faces. "Friends, my people of Athens. Today, we have a grand spectacle. Alcides, son of Zeus, and the strongest man in Lerna, versus our very own man of the sky, Cheinten. This is not a deathmatch, unfortunately. I want that to be made clear. Other than that, you may fight to your heart's content. Begin!"

He doesn't have time to wonder what the hell Aegeus means by that 'unfortunately', as Alcides speeds towards him like a freight train. Without even thinking, his body tenses, moving to the side and bringing his arm up, his fist being reinforced, before being launched underneath Alcides ribs in what feels like slow motion.

He barely has enough time to even do a cursory glance, as everything speeds up again, him dodging to the side as Alcides plows through the dirt, stopping before the wall with a wince.

The crowd roars, Aegeus' voice booming out. "And the first hit goes to Cheinten, the man of the sky! Is this the first of many, or will that be his only hit!?"

Alcides turns, staring at him in a unique way.

"That… Actually hurt."

Oh shit.

Alcides grin widens, his body tensing again. He barely has time to even start dodging before the man speeds towards him, trying to twist his body out the way of the meat wall.

He technically succeeds, bouncing off the man's hand and slamming into the ground instead of the wall. If it weren't for reinforcement, he'd probably have had the wind knocked out of him.

'Okay Cheinten, keep it together. You're just fighting Herakles before he gets anything from the twelve labours. He doesn't have godhand, or nine lives. So you can at least hurt him.'

Pushing himself back up, He sees Alcides staring down at him, making him feel particularly small.

'Okay, in this situation, where you've already resolved to cheat. Go for cheap shots.' He's thankful that the weird slowdown effect is happening again, it's making it a lot easier to think.

Tensing his body, he notices when it wears off this time. Alcides puts his foot forward again. What is it with this guy and charging?

The man explodes forward, his legs kicking up dirt. Activating reinforcement again, Cheinten waits until the man is closer before diving between his legs, grabbing them with his arms and pulling up.

While he's successful in tripping Alcides, he didn't factor in that he'd be launched into the air over the man's head. The impact of their heads has him seeing stars for a moment, Alcides grunting into the dirt.

Groaning, he picks himself back up, his head spinning. There's laughter in the audience now, but the noise just makes his headache worse.

Channelling reinforcement to his head, it doesn't do much but remove the dull ache, the spinning still there. He can tell he's stumbling around, but Alcides is still planted in the dirt if the lack of shaking is any indication.

He takes a deep breath, moving his hands off his head and turning around. The spinning slowly gets more manageable, like he was only spinning for a minute compared to being spun around.

Alcides slams a hand against the ground, pulling himself out the dirt.

"Oh no you don't!" Sending the reinforcement to his legs, Cheinten feels the ground under him explode as he jumps forward, driving his fist into the giant man's face as he stands. The impact seems to do nothing for a moment before the rest of his momentum catches up, knocking the man back down to the ground in a small spin.

Not the launching into a wall that he was hoping for, but he'll take it.

There are gasps in the crowd, though more out of excitement then being scandalized. That's good at least. Alcides finds his footing a lot faster this time, jumping from the ground to his feet in one go.

'How did it go again? The basics of pankration is… destroy… your opponent?' Bringing his fists up to chest level, he watches Alcides do the same.

A one to one fight, instead of charging around the arena. His odds have both increased, and plummeted.

Alcides laughs, his grin plain for everyone to see. "So there is a warrior hiding underneath that flabby body! I am glad I was incorrect!"

At the end of his sentence, Alcides rushes forward, thrusting a hand out. He's starting to figure out how to actually force the flow state to activate, moving forward to wrap his arm around Alcides own and pulling him back.

His leg comes up, forcing Alcides to move the way he wants him to, throwing the man over his shoulder. He realizes his arms would probably snap like twigs if he tried this without reinforcement, but the satisfying sound of an impact against the ground makes him not care too much.

Flipping himself over, he's already straddling the man's chest, throwing punches into any spot he can reach. Jugular, collarbone, cheek bone, forehead. Anywhere the giant's hands aren't guarding.

Unfortunately it's not to last, Alcides' hand snapping out to grab his own, before bodily throwing him across the arena. He barely has time to activate Reinforcement before he slams against the wall, still landing with a very loud crunch.

He's starting to actually notice a dent in what he can only call his mana reserves. Maybe he won't explode after all, if he survives that is. He's reasonably certain Alcides wouldn't purposely kill him, but dying of his injuries wouldn't be a surprise.

Still. The people want a show. Pulling himself from the stone, he ignores how his back aches in pain and turns to the giant with a smile. "Was that it Alcides? I've pet kittens with more bite than you!"

The crowd goes crazy, but he misses Aegeus' commentary, focusing on the giant man picking himself off the ground with a wild smile on his face. Maybe taunting him wasn't the best idea, but he can't claim he has any good ideas in the first place.

That should've been apparent when he mouthed off to a goddess after finding out she was an actual one.

"Ha! Bold words! Let us see you speak them with a broken jaw!"

This time he meets Alcides in the middle, swinging under his guard directly into his stomach. The fist hitting his shoulder jolts him, but he still gets another swing off before falling, hitting the man in his jaw.

Laying on the ground, he barely has enough time to acclimate before he has to dodge out of the way. He can barely activate flow at the moment, panic flooding his body as the giant looms over him.

All he can do is roll and hope to get back on his feet. But Alcides kills that hope quickly, putting a foot by his head and laying a knee on his chest. Slowly beginning to force his weight down.

Hacking, Cheinten can only beat at the man's leg, driving his fist into the knee rapidly. Alcides shuts that down too, grabbing both of his arms and pinning them, driving his weight further into Cheinten's chest.

It's all he can do to keep the reinforcement up so it isn't instantly crushed, but the pain still leaks through easily.

"Where is that bravado Cheinten? You cannot escape this hold? I thought you were stronger then that!"

Aegeus' commentary blares out, but he can't hear it. He's starting to black out, blackspots appearing in his vision.

As he's about to pass out, he sees a tiny golden light. Trying to reach for it, he watches it bloom, surging him with energy, and the feeling that he could make anything happen.

Forcing his body up, he dislodges Alcides for a moment. His flow state is back, and using that moment, he slips between the man's legs, pulling his arms along for the ride to flip him onto his back. Alcides doesn't let go, but now his legs are free.

Putting his feet onto Alcides' face, he uses his arms as a winch, pressing down with as much force as possible. With the way the man lets out pained grunts, it's working.

Cheinten lets out heavy breaths, even as he grinds his feet into the man's face and neck. The giant tries to crush his hands, but the level of reinforcement in them just makes it painful rather than debilitating.

His 'mana reserves' feel half empty, but that's only for the constant usage. He can still feel it trying to draw on the oily feeling in the air.

Is it smart to get distracted by your own thoughts mid fight? Maybe, but considering how slow everything else is, he's probably got plenty of time to get his thoughts in order.

Removing the foot on Alcides' face, he puts it into the crook of the giant's arm, putting force onto his elbow. The man splutters, gagging as his sandal is pressed into the man's trachea.

'C'mon, just fucking pass out already you big bastard!'

His thoughts are unheard by anyone bar Eris, but yelling inside them makes him feel better. He's unsurprised that Herakles is considered a juggernaut if Alcides was this strong in his younger years. Having a foot planted into his throat, and another bearing into his arm, and he's still conscious, and trying to crush his arms.

Cheinten just knows he's going to be aching all over in the morning.

Focusing less on freeing his arms, he digs his foot further into the giant man's throat, knowing the only way he'll win is either a submission hold, or making him pass out. The crowd is screaming, braying for blood, a victor, or the fear of a lost bet.

He ignores all of them, staring into Alcides' eyes with a deep determination. Even if Alcides releases his arms, he's going to stop choking him.

"No words now. Only dreams."

Alcides goes limp underneath him after a gruelling minute, but he doesn't let down reinforcement, not yet.

It's only when nothing happens, and he's called the victor, that he passes out, losing consciousness the second he hits the ground.

The silence in the arena is dumbfounding, only broken by the barking laughter of Eris. Her mirth is felt by all, and the excitement feeds back into the crowd, yells of joy, and despair, for lucky and unlucky betters alike.

Theseus is torn between excitement for his friend, and dismay that one of his cousins was actually beaten. Turning to his father, his face is a confused frown. "Does Cheinten still win?"

His father simply nods his head, letting out a belly laugh at the unconscious forms on the arena floor. "Yes my son, it does. Though considering the times he nearly lost are in the double digits, I believe we should step up his training. He needs to learn to fight, or he might not get lucky a second time."

Meta is silent for a moment, walking over to the edge of the box. "He looks surprisingly peaceful like this. Usually when he's sleeping he's frowning, or snoring from his mouth."

Aegeus huffs out another laugh, a grin on his face. "Yes, I'm sure you know all about how he looks when he sleeps while you rummage through his clothes. I'd wonder why he's frowning when he's already shown to be a prude."

Lady Eris joins them soon after, peering into the arena herself. "I knew I'd made a good choice. He'll be making waves, I'm sure of it."

The only question on their minds, is what kind of changes.

[End.]