It would be her fate, the first person Marlene meets who isn't terrified of what she is would also be cantankerous towards her. What business did he have, asking after her betrothed? But as much as she tried to be angry at Sirius, she couldn't help but see where his comments were getting to the heart of everything. With Kyril, she'd have been able to answer all of Sirius' questions and go on for hours about him. She could have told him every little thing that endeared her to Kyril and the silly things that bothered her about him too. But those little things had been little. She'd have walked the Earth with Kyril until she found his arms around another woman. He had ultimately feared her too, she just hadn't seen it until it was too late. At least she knew Giannis feared her from the outset.

But she would be lying if she didn't admit that it killed her to think of a life of complacency. A life where she would be mortal and tolerating her circumstances made her chest ache and her breath come in gasps. But her feelings of isolation were no better. Thinking of spending her life completely alone brought tears to her eyes, and made her heart ache for those precious months where she thought Kyril loved her. And she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she had given up her powers he would have been faithful. If maybe then he could have truly loved her.

Giannis' face came to mind, specifically how his smile changed, and how much it had hurt when it did. His whole demeanor with her after discovering her parentage was cautious, and Marlene was scared it would always be so. She was unsure if she could be happy with a husband who feared her, whether that fear stemmed from her powers or from her mother. After all, the gods who feared Marlene feared her because of her mother, not really Marlene personally. The masses didn't distinguish, they all believed her to be the same person in essence. If the gods couldn't get past her mother, could Giannis?

Marlene noticed Sirius come back up on deck. He was taller than Giannis, and his face was softer, less angular. He had a lightness to him that Giannis lacked as well. His heritage was apparent in how he could always find a reason to laugh. And what was more, he didn't fear her.

Anyone else being treated to Sirius' childishness and attitude would probably have dismissed him and walked away. But Marlene couldn't. She couldn't get past that although he treated her poorly, he did not cower at her. He made her feel normal, something not even Kyril had managed to do. He was a thorn bush, but he was also the only shade Marlene had ever encountered in the desolate desert of isolation that was her life. And though she knew he hated her company, and she always came away with pricks from the sharpness of his tongue, the shaded comfort of knowing she wasn't entirely alone was more than worth the small moments of pain.

And it didn't hurt that, despite his obvious dislike, he looked at her like she was Helen of Troy. She'd grown used to it, her whole life had been that way, even as a very small child, but Sirius followed her every move, and he never seemed aware of the fact he was doing it. His eyes never carried that possessive quality she saw in most men. He watched her more out of devotion than desire. He seemed to find her captivating, and no one, mortal or divine, could deny the warmth that came from being so openly admired. She found her sight worked more easily around him as well, and she took a bit of childish joy in playing him like a lute. More than once since they'd landed at the outskirts of Athens had Marlene allowed Sirius to put his foot in his mouth, or do something ridiculous specifically so that she could laugh at him.

As if thinking about it triggered fate, her sight saw Sirius stare at her and walk directly into the main mast. The spectacle brought laughter bubbling out of her chest.

Sirius turned to look at her perplexed, "What, pray tell, is so terribly amusing?"

Marlene laughed harder as she saw it play out a second time. She briefly wished she could pull images from the past at will and replay them in her mind's eye. She could watch this for eternity and never tire of it.

Just as it had played out in her mind, it played out in front of her eyes; Sirius stared at her as she doubled over in laughter and allowed his feet to carry him right into the ship's mast, knocking him off balance and causing him to trip over himself onto the ship's deck.

Marlene was laughing so hard she could barely keep herself off the deck as she clung to the ship's railing. Sirius rubbed the side of his head that hit the mast as he sat up and glared at her.

"You knew!" The tone behind his accusation seemed more shocked than angry. "You knew and you deliberately didn't warn me just so you could get a laugh out of me looking like a fool!"

Marlene gasped for air, "You always look like a fool." She wiped her eyes and laughed as he stared at her. The feeling of it was almost familiar now. "After all, your father flails about with less grace than a sapling tree and moves more erratically than the leaves blown in the wind. The fruit does not grow far from its vine."

"You still deliberately manipulated me into walking face first into this damned pole!"

This time he seemed even less angry, and not even shocked but rather impressed. He was very clearly fighting back a smile. It was almost cute when he tried to be mad. Dionysus was incapable of holding grudges, and it was becoming apparent that no matter how much Sirius wanted to, he had too much of his father in him to stay mad at anyone for long. She rolled her eyes and still chuckling walked to where he sat on the deck.

"Are you hurt?" She knelt next to him.

"I'm half-god," he shook his head and gave her a half-hearted glare, "of course I'm fine!"

She'd never tried it before, but everything was worth a try once, and she felt she owed him something. These last couple days of feeling less isolated had been the most comfort she had felt in more than a decade.

Concentrating very hard she blessed him, and a goblet of wine appeared in her hand.

"Here," she handed it to him. "Drink it all before the sun goes down, it'll disappear at nightfall."

He took the goblet slowly and smelled it before bringing it to his lips. A slow smile crept onto his face. "You've been holding out on me? I knew you were more of a party goer then you let on!"

Marlene chuckled, "That's the first time I've ever tried it. Technically I blessed you, but I knew you would appreciate a more tangible object than a couple hours of good fortune."

Sirius looked dumbfounded.

"Don't waste that," she smiled at him, hoping maybe she had somehow thanked him for something he probably didn't even realize he was doing. Then she stood and walked back to where she had been sitting by the railing, watching the twilight sneak into the sky. One more day at sea till Crete, one step closer to destiny.