"Defying Olympians is something I would rather avoid. What would I have to gain releasing an Olympian prisoner, much less into a pure domain? Do you know just what you ask of me?" she only shrunk further into herself, avoiding eye-contact.
"You may earn favor with Artemis, and with her Apollo. I would also offer this," she meekly shoved her hands towards him, and revealed a small coin purse, "It's not much, but you should be able to afford a drink or two. Please, just see him before you say no."
He looked her over again, quietly nodded, and followed the hopeful nature spirit to Olympus' dungeons.
The boy was awake, if you could call it that. Coated in sweat and trembling on the stone floor, he made a pitiful sight for Actaeon. He understood the girls comment when he noticed the auburn hair and the silver thousand-yard stare. He slowly frowned while the boy trembled.
She drifted through the cell bars and kneeled beside the boy, gathered him up in her arms, and started humming.
He only sat and watched, for far longer than he planned, watched as she soothed the child until he relaxed and his breathing evened. By the time she drifted out of the cell, he had made his decision.
"Get him in the garden, tonight. We will need to be careful." He ignored her beaming smile and left the dungeon. He had to prepare.
The life in Olympus' gardens overflowed, both old and new. Elk and wolves more than twice her height, with branching antlers and razor-sharp fangs to match. A chorus of bird calls buzzed in her ears, owls mixing with falcons mixing with parrots.
She tightened her arms around the boy when he stirred, taking longer and faster strides.
The deeper she got, the… older the inhabitants grew. Iguanodon weaved through the trees, while archeopteryx bounced along the tree tops. Ren froze to watch as a baryonyx stomped through the trees past her, ignoring the aurae and the squirming boy in her arms.
At last, she had reached her destination.
The clearing carried a soft emerald glow, a small pond settled in the center. Actaeon squatted by the water, eyes closed and hands pointed palm out to the water. He quietly beckoned her closer, and cautiously lifted the boy from her arms when she drew near.
When he lowered the boy to the water, he jolted awake, silver and forest green eyes meeting. In a flurry of movement, he forced the struggling child under the glowing water by his shoulders. The power in the air thickened, loose materials swirling to the pond and vanishing within.
Ren could only watch in frozen horror as they struggled in the whirling energy, winds tearing at the loose fabrics of her chiton. When she took a shaky step to interrupt the combat, a blazing light forced her to shield her eyes with her forearm.
By the time the light died down, Actaeon stood beside the pond, heaving for air. The clearing dimmed slowly, and the garden of Olympus returned to its original state.
"We were never here," he finally said, "You were in bed and I was in Dionysus' bar."
"What of the boy?"
Actaeon sighed, "If his origins are as we believe, let us hope we never need to find him again."
Perseus was a blur of brown and red, darting through the trees. Every step matched the pounding pulse thumping against his ribs. He leapt between the forest floor and the treetops smoothly, each stride as quiet as a raindrop.
Wherever he was, he didn't care to find out. He never felt more alive, more powerful, than he did now. These seemingly endless expanses of wilderness around him showed no signs of human inhabitation, much to his glee, and the fauna reflected that.
Towering deer and timber wolves only stared when he dashed by. Alongside them where inhabitants far… stranger. In place of fur were scales. Towering lizards that seemed just as indifferent to his presence as the towering city he left.
With an exhilarated whoop, he threw himself down a steep hill that led to an unending prairie of grain stretching for the beaming sun. When he stilled at the base of the hill, his bellows of laughter made the surrounding wilderness flourish.
Finally, he lay still, chest heaving as he caught his breath. Even when he recovered, he just lounged on the ground and relished the feeling of the sunshine above and dirt below. The smell of soil filled his nose, as he drifted to a peaceful sleep.
Apollo glared at the cushioned seat across from him, lost in deep thought. Prophetic visions were a common thing for him, and his oracles, and demigods as a whole. It was cruel irony, that as soon as his sister left for a solo hunt that she refused to explain he would get one. He wordlessly flagged a waitress to refill his drink.
Of course, he probably couldn't change the future, not that he had tried before with the Fates so close to breathing down his neck. And that idea only faltered further when it came to convincing his sister, of whom he had an unfortunately distant relationship, to abstain from this hunt.
He forced those thoughts away when the waitress arrived again, and gave her an appraising look. She was pretty, though not far above average, very mortal in his eyes. Well, he could drown his regrets in more than mortal alcohol, hopefully.
He grabbed the bottle and downed its contents quickly. With a flirtatious wink, that caused a blush to cover her face. Maybe, just maybe, this could turn out fine
