"Why me?" Hermes sulkily asked his father. "Is it your legs?"
Daringly insolent, perhaps, especially when Hermes knew perfectly well that
it /was/ his job to run errands... but that didn't mean he couldn't fight
every step, (or flap) of the way..
"Because I told you to," Zeus announced sternly. "Now scoot, and find that girl before everyone on Earth starves and stops worshipping me."
Hermes pouted as he made his down from Mount Olympus, grumbling about ankle pain and stupid errands. "Just because /he/ has those shiny lightning bolts doesn't mean /I/ should have to do his damn dirty work... "
The god summoned the sun, and sat, polishing his hat and caduceus while he waited for the celestial being to grace him with his illustrious, luminous (pardon the pun) presence.
"My feet are killing me," offered the sun, Helios, by way of greeting when he arrived, clad in a sparkly gold dress. "And what's with the American Medical Association symbol-stick-thingy?"
Hermes glared. "WHAT IS the American Medical Assocation? THIS is my caduceus. See, two snakes, not one..." how many people are going to ask that before I give up and hang a damn sign around my neck?"
The sun shrugged, "Whatever. Did you want something? You did, after all, call me here..."
"Demeter's brat is missing... Zeus commands the winds to search the earth for her."
"Demeter's brat? Isn't Persephone your sister?" inquired Helios, brows arched quizzically.
"Half sister," amended Hermes. "But then again, Athena, Dionysis, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, and a slew of mortals are all my half-siblings as well... doesn't mean I owe them any special loyalty. We're /all/ related by some way or another because Zeus can't seem to keep his unit in his pants, err, robes. It's lucky we're gods, or we'd be so damn inbred we couldn't stand up." Hermes eyed the ankle braces on both his feet.
Helios wasn't listening. "My head piece is heavy. And ugly." With that, he bid Hermes farewell. "Time to borrow the Winds from Aeolus, neh? Wouldn't want Lightning-Bolt-Wig-Man to get irked."
"You want to me to do what?" Hermes scowled at Helios.
"Go tell Zeus. I did /my/ part. Persephone's nowhere to be found on Earth, and someone's got to tell Zeus. You're his messenger."
"Right. His messenger, not yours," pointed out Hermes. "Besides, if she's not on Earth, she must be in the Underworld. You cannot /begin/ to comprehend just how little I want to be caught up more in this unfolding Demeter/Zeus/Hades conflict..."
Helios grinned a bit. "Not my problem, now is it?
Hermes was lost in the woods. Dead woods, specifically: Demeter had been quite thorough in her destruction. He was looking for that same goddess, in fact.
Zeus hadn't lost any time informing Hermes he was to tell Demeter of Persephone's whereabouts.
Hermes hadn't lost any time sulking. There are few things worse than being the bitch of the gods, he reflected.
That was when he remembered he could un-lose himself, so to speak by simply flying out of the forest. Distracted from the task of being sullen, he decided to focus completely on the task of finding Demeter and telling her what had become of her daughter.
He finally found Demeter in a clearing, picking dead flowers and methodically shredding them to tiny... flower-bits.
She had the look of a mad-woman, eyes bloodshot and half-crazed.
"Your daughter..." Hermes began, trying not to stare in morbid fascinating. "Hades took her to the Underworld - to make her his Queen."
Demeter narrowed her eyes. "You tell that bastard that if he doesn't make Hades return my daughter - /our/ daughter - to me... I will make certain that everyone on Earth dies."
Hermes cleared his throat. "Err, may I assume you mean 'that bastard' to mean Zeus?" He wondered if Demeter would mince him like the dead blossoms if he refused. "Err, certainly. My pleasure."
Hermes fled.
"Because I told you to," Zeus announced sternly. "Now scoot, and find that girl before everyone on Earth starves and stops worshipping me."
Hermes pouted as he made his down from Mount Olympus, grumbling about ankle pain and stupid errands. "Just because /he/ has those shiny lightning bolts doesn't mean /I/ should have to do his damn dirty work... "
The god summoned the sun, and sat, polishing his hat and caduceus while he waited for the celestial being to grace him with his illustrious, luminous (pardon the pun) presence.
"My feet are killing me," offered the sun, Helios, by way of greeting when he arrived, clad in a sparkly gold dress. "And what's with the American Medical Association symbol-stick-thingy?"
Hermes glared. "WHAT IS the American Medical Assocation? THIS is my caduceus. See, two snakes, not one..." how many people are going to ask that before I give up and hang a damn sign around my neck?"
The sun shrugged, "Whatever. Did you want something? You did, after all, call me here..."
"Demeter's brat is missing... Zeus commands the winds to search the earth for her."
"Demeter's brat? Isn't Persephone your sister?" inquired Helios, brows arched quizzically.
"Half sister," amended Hermes. "But then again, Athena, Dionysis, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, and a slew of mortals are all my half-siblings as well... doesn't mean I owe them any special loyalty. We're /all/ related by some way or another because Zeus can't seem to keep his unit in his pants, err, robes. It's lucky we're gods, or we'd be so damn inbred we couldn't stand up." Hermes eyed the ankle braces on both his feet.
Helios wasn't listening. "My head piece is heavy. And ugly." With that, he bid Hermes farewell. "Time to borrow the Winds from Aeolus, neh? Wouldn't want Lightning-Bolt-Wig-Man to get irked."
"You want to me to do what?" Hermes scowled at Helios.
"Go tell Zeus. I did /my/ part. Persephone's nowhere to be found on Earth, and someone's got to tell Zeus. You're his messenger."
"Right. His messenger, not yours," pointed out Hermes. "Besides, if she's not on Earth, she must be in the Underworld. You cannot /begin/ to comprehend just how little I want to be caught up more in this unfolding Demeter/Zeus/Hades conflict..."
Helios grinned a bit. "Not my problem, now is it?
Hermes was lost in the woods. Dead woods, specifically: Demeter had been quite thorough in her destruction. He was looking for that same goddess, in fact.
Zeus hadn't lost any time informing Hermes he was to tell Demeter of Persephone's whereabouts.
Hermes hadn't lost any time sulking. There are few things worse than being the bitch of the gods, he reflected.
That was when he remembered he could un-lose himself, so to speak by simply flying out of the forest. Distracted from the task of being sullen, he decided to focus completely on the task of finding Demeter and telling her what had become of her daughter.
He finally found Demeter in a clearing, picking dead flowers and methodically shredding them to tiny... flower-bits.
She had the look of a mad-woman, eyes bloodshot and half-crazed.
"Your daughter..." Hermes began, trying not to stare in morbid fascinating. "Hades took her to the Underworld - to make her his Queen."
Demeter narrowed her eyes. "You tell that bastard that if he doesn't make Hades return my daughter - /our/ daughter - to me... I will make certain that everyone on Earth dies."
Hermes cleared his throat. "Err, may I assume you mean 'that bastard' to mean Zeus?" He wondered if Demeter would mince him like the dead blossoms if he refused. "Err, certainly. My pleasure."
Hermes fled.