A/N: You should know that you're a beautiful human being with value beyond anything else in this world. :)
Marlene chuckled at the shocked look on Sirius' face as his father disappeared.
"You think this funny?" He turned to glare at her. His eyes were grey, just like Dionysus, and his hair almost as black as hers.
"Yes, actually," Marlene laughed, "your dad is known for being funny and all…"
Moira smiled sympathetically at Sirius, "Your father means well, good Sirius. You and my daughter are to work together in this endeavor."
"Wait," Marlene turned with wide eyes. "I thought he was just riding to Athens."
"His destiny lies upon the same path as yours, my dear." Moira chuckled at her daughter.
"Looks like my parent isn't the only one with a sense of humor." Sirius chuckled as he climbed into the chariot.
"Marlene," her mother brought her arms around her.
"Please, please tell me this is all going to be ok." Marlene pleaded one last time.
"You will see me again." Moira squeezed her tightly.
"I love you," Marlene felt a tear escape down her cheek.
"I love you," her mother gently wiped the tear from her face, "Now go."
Marlene took one last look at her mother before turning and climbing into Helios' chariot.
Sirius turned to her as Helios gave her and her mother a cautious glance before taking flight.
Marlene beat him to his questions, "Yes we were speaking, no, it wasn't aloud, and I've only known about this task since yesterday." Her tone was bored.
Sirius stared at her, "And you can read minds as well?"
Marlene laughed incredulously at him. "No, don't you know anything?" She rolled her eyes. "I'm Fate's daughter! I can see a few moments into the future on more occasions than not."
Sirius groaned, "Great, not only do I get unceremoniously sent off to kill some man-eating beast, I'm saddled with a woman who's not quite Fate."
"And I'm saddled with a man who's just as insolent as the God of Wine." Marlene shook her head; two could play at this game.
"I'd like to think I have some of my father's better qualities. No mortal grows grapes and makes wine as well as I do." He smirked at her, "I can also shapeshift into a dog."
"Dionysus shapeshifts into a dog? This is news to me." Marlene stared Sirius down.
"Well no…" Sirius stammered, "But he could if he wanted to…"
"I was under the impression that he took the form of something rather more," Marlene smirked, "impressive."
"I see," Sirius grunted. "You wanted to do this mission alone, so you're trying to run me off by insulting me. That's fair, I could do the same. You have no idea what I may have inherited from my mother. I will tell you that it's nothing so merry as turning into a dog."
Marlene laughed loudly, "You flatter yourself. I could care less that you're coming along. And I know your mother is a mortal. I heard your father say so."
"A rightly vicious one too," Sirius bit back. "Scarier than Father, though perhaps less likely to send me off to a rather disappointing fate…"
"Are you suggesting that my powers disappoint in comparison to your… sometimes being susceptible to fleas?" Marlene stared at him in disbelief.
He smirked, "I don't think I suggested anything at all."
"Careful, I'm enough of Fate to curse you." She gave him a sly smile. "Would you like to vomit every time you smelled wine? That ought to be a right laugh for one of the sons of Dionysus to not be able to stomach the grapes he so desperately clings to."
Sirius' grey eyes were calculating, but Marlene was taken aback that he showed no sign of fear. He was, annoyed… But he was not afraid of her. There were lesser gods that feared her. But this demigod was simply bothered by her presence. Marlene felt like her world had been flipped upside down.
"As ridiculous as that would make me, I'm going to suggest you not do that. I don't know how far ahead you can see, but if I'm the God of Wine's son, I'm probably going to need to be able to prove that. Drinking mortals under the table is one of my many party tricks." He smirked at her and Marlene stared at how attractive the look was on his tan face.
"My curses only last till the sun goes down." She answered absently.
Sirius smiled then, and Marlene could finally see his heritage shine through, and it gave him a pull he hadn't had before. It made sense; Dionysus even smiled around her mother. Nothing dampened that god's enthusiasm. Sirius wasn't identical, but he'd put any human optimist to shame, she was sure.
He let out a breath as he looked off into the distance. He seemed like his mind was far away for just a moment. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad. Until today, since I found my father, it's been one long party. I could do with a break." He chuckled.
Marlene laughed in spite of herself. "You're as ridiculous as your father."
"Oh, so you're a friend of his?" Sirius lounged idly on the bench and gave her a knowing smirk. "How intimately do you know him?"
Marlene laughed at the absurdity of his suggestion. "Today is the first time I've seen your father, but I live in Zeus' palace and word gets around."
Marlene pushed her cloak back off her shoulders and smiled as she watched Sirius' eyes scan her shoulders twice. It was a strange feeling, to be with someone who did not fear her and was not her father or mother. Though one couldn't exactly say that he was friendly or pleasant company for her, she couldn't help but find him refreshing. He seemed fairly nonplussed by her? He was neither all that impressed nor terrified. That was… Different? Bizarre? Nice? She wasn't entirely sure yet.
"Ah, poor Father, his reputation precedes him." Sirius laughed.
Marlene watched as Sirius looked out over the land below them.
"We're almost there," she answered as he opened his mouth.
"I'm not going to lie, that's annoying." He frowned at her.
"Imagine living with it," Marlene shrugged.
"Can't you control it?" He waved a hand dramatically in the air and Marlene chuckled. The more she watched him, the more she could see the subtle signs of his father.
"So far, no, but I won't have to worry about it much longer. I'm going to find my destiny here and then I'm going to give this all up. My father has promised my hand in marriage to a lovely mortal man, and I plan to be mortal myself by the time we wed. I'm doing this for my mother, one last thing to help with the populous' feelings towards her." She sighed.
Sirius tilted his head at her, "I don't think I could do that. I've only known who my father was for the last few weeks, but I've always known that I had more sway with vines and whatnot. I don't much care to leave that behind."
Marlene was about to reply when Helios brought the chariot into a dive, setting them down just outside of Athens.
"We need to find lodging for tonight." Marlene started towards the city and its docks after they'd thanked Helios.
"When does our ride get here?" Sirius stepped next to her.
"Tomorrow at sunrise. Then it leaves sunrise the next day. It's a two-day journey before we make it to Crete. They send us down to the Minotaur whenever they're ready after that. Sometimes it's a week, sometimes it's that day."
"But you'll know beforehand?" Sirius was playing with the vine around his neck, making it grow and shrink as they walked.
Marlene sighed, "That is undetermined."
"I'm just going to go ahead and hope we get lucky." Sirius chuckled. "I really don't want this to be our doom."
Marlene nodded, "Me either."
It was quiet for a moment when Sirius groaned,
"This is so slow."
"Do you have a faster way?" Marlene rolled her eyes.
"Actually," he smirked at her before shimmering into a dog. The dog barked and then took off at a run.
Marlene shook her head, "Jackass."
She took her time after that to walk to the ocean's edge, stopping to lunch with a blind woman who invited her into her home. It was late in the day when she did arrive and found Sirius laying on the beach napping.
"Your father didn't give you any money did he?" She chuckled as he bolted awake.
Sirius yawned and stretched and looked mildly... adorable? "No, Father doesn't think very far ahead. Are you going to punish me for leaving you in the dust further by making me sleep outside and starve?"
Marlene sighed, "It's tempting, but as we're traveling together I suppose I'll relent and be the adult."
"Does that imply that I'm the child?" Sirius looked on incredulously.
"You're one of Dionysus's offspring, that's all the implication you need." Marlene rolled her eyes.
"Really? Just because I enjoy a good party? Or a good party enjoys me, more accurately. Either way, I'd think you'd be able to see more than that." He kicked sand at her.
"Come on, my charge," she kicked the sand back at him. "Let's get a room and a meal."
"How about a meal, then a room?" Sirius stepped up next to her and Marlene noticed how he towered over her. "I haven't had anything to drink since before the sun came up this morning."
Marlene shook her head, "Don't be a baby, we have Zeus for that."
"Zeus has been the source of numerous babies. Some of them he birthed himself, I hear!"
"You are causing me a headache comparable to the terrible pain that Zeus felt the moment before Athena emerged from his skull, a fully grown goddess in a suit of armor."
Sirius stared at her, "I'm waiting for you to be struck by lightning."
Marlene rolled her eyes, "Zeus knows better than to cross my mother. Now come on, the sooner we find a room the sooner you get that drink."
"Mine tastes better," he set his goblet down on the table. They had found an inn near the wharf and rented a room with two cots. "They didn't let the grapes ripen long enough."
"Riveting," Marlene shook her head and finished her last bite of food. "I'm going to our room. The ship normally arrives at sunrise so don't be late."
"You assume I'm going to find a party?" Sirius chuckled.
Marlene shrugged, "Isn't that what you do?"
"Amazingly enough," Sirius leaned back in his chair, "I do have more substance than all of that."
"Sure," Marlene rolled her eyes.
"You need the party more than I do, Miss Fate." He grinned at his play on words.
"We're both misfits," Marlene sighed, "in case you've forgotten who your father is already."
He laughed, "Alright, go be old and timeless and boring and sit in our room. I'm going to check in on Father's followers and be back later."
Marlene huffed but chose not to respond as she headed towards the stairs.
Sirius returned to the room a few hours later and was up before the sun with her. They stood on the dock as the black ship came into view.
"You didn't mention the ship was all black," Sirius commented as they watched it approach, eyeing the black sails.
"I'm not overly fond of it," she shrugged.
The ship finally docked and when the captain climbed down the gangplank, Marlene stepped in front of him.
"You will only collect 12 Athenians this trip," she stated calmly, bracing herself for his anger and then terror.
"I'll throw you in for fifteen if you're not careful, girl." He pushed past her.
Marlene grabbed his arm and held him in place. Being half divine had its perks. "Fate declares that two of your fourteen will be the Daughter of Moira and the Son if Dionysus. If you choose to disobey Fate, you will not see your home again. If you give me any more insult," she glared at him, "you will not see till the sun sets this day."
The fear in his eyes came quickly and Marlene steeled herself as he looked at her like she was the Minotaur. "Forgive me, Dreadful Daughter of Fate."
Marlene released him, "We will see you tomorrow at sunrise." And before she could lose her calm and stern exterior, she turned and walked away from the dock.
She was vaguely aware of Sirius following her.
"Be honest with me," he stepped next to her. "What would you do if I called you 'Dreadful Daughter'?"
Marlene sighed, "Feed you to the Minotaur?"
"I'm wounded!" Sirius threw his hands over his heart.
"You're ridiculous," she grumbled. She hated having to stand in for Fate that way. She hated having people look at her like she might bite them in two.
"So we have the day then?" He asked.
"Yes, we board the ship tomorrow." Marlene suppressed a shudder. "It's two day's journey to Crete. Then we're at the mercy of King Minos as to when we go to the maze. He might delay in an attempt to stop us."
Sirius groaned, "Then I'm going to enjoy some freedom today. I suggest you do the same. Sounds like this might be our last taste of it." He shimmered into a dog again and went running off, most likely to his father' cult.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, Sirius was probably right. And so Marlene did what she loved doing more than anything else, she went around blessing people. Children were her favorite, and it didn't take long until she was surrounded by little faces as she told stories and bought treats and caused Fortune to smile upon them all throughout the day. She wasn't sure how she was going to cope with losing this. She told herself that having her own children would fill the gap, but part of her knew it wouldn't.
The captain was the soul of courtesy as she and Sirius boarded the next morning, though he insisted on calling her 'Dreadful Daughter' which Sirius found hilarious.
She walked to the side of the boat and looked out at Athens as they sailed away. Her thoughts pulled back to a life without her powers, a life as a mortal when all of this was done. She felt that familiar isolation as Athens faded out of sight.
It was a little thing, but Sirius came to stand by her and for the briefest of moments, Marlene didn't feel completely alone.