Most would believe Hermês to be jealous as he watched how quickly Leaneíras drew close to this Ethan and Alabaster. They firmly established themselves as her chosen companions—not friends because she refused to get close to anyone in a place that she deems a prison, though that was better than her spiteful words of the camp being a sex trafficking ring.
Still, the two boys were people that she went to when she had questions about the camp and the actions that she partook in. The sacrifice upon the hearth had been met with a grimace and she made a point to mentally thank Father and Hestia as the leaders of Theoi tou Ktesioi before going on an entire spiel against the stereotypical looks of each of the cabins starting and finishing with Aphroditê because if they were gods as they claimed—though she made a point to say she also thought they were aliens or interdimensional beings—then surely, they could have found a material that made the Tenth Cabin appear to as the embodiment of beauty in the eyes of any that looked at it.
Something that Aphroditê had taken into account and spoken with Hêphaistos and Athênê as the leaders of Theoí tis Agorás alongside the Kharites and the rest of her retinue with a petition to Poseidôn to get some of the reflective material that the sea used.
Leaneíras was quickly drawing attention in a way that her brother was not. While they were watching him and his feats also—thought he was currently trapped with the Lotus Hotel—they were quickly drawn to the child that was raging against the traditional aspect of the camp even if she refused to acknowledge it as a safe haven. She made a point to write nearly every god that the books he had left her made reference of and to sacrifice to at least half a dozen of them for akratisma, ariston, and deipnon.
It was something that Ethan and Alabaster had taken to doing also and with them came those in the Eleventh Cabin.
The respect that they were garnishing for the Olympioi Minor—and even those of Ouranioi, Halioi, Khthonioi, Nomioi, Georgikoi, and Eleusinioi— had Father contemplating adding mayhaps not cabins, but at least places for the children to worship their parents within the camp. It was something Hermês too had considered whenever he peeked over at Camp Jupiter and saw the worry that Trent and Medea had for their friend as they reacted to the news from the only mortal station available and made prayers to Trivia.
Alas that was another thing that was capturing attention, as the god of guile in its many aspects, the god that preside over this simple form of rustic divination and the Guide of Dead Souls who was invoked in offerings to the ghosts of the dead & necromancy who presided over the dreams of omen and birds of omen— he had a special relationship with Hekatê, most would assume that she was his consort in his duties as a Khthonian god, so he had been had been able to tell there was this discontent within her treatment and being reduced to a mere minor goddess when she was a Titanis.
With Leaneíras being so connected to her children, both Greek and Roman, and pestering Alabaster on the powers he received from his Mother, Hekatê was finding herself more and more secured in her connection to the gods especially one as important as she since even the demidivine seemed to have forgotten that Hekatê was a child of Persês and Asteria, making her the first cousins of both Artemis and Apollôn through her Mother, and a connection to the sea through her paternal grandmother, Eurybiê. In a way, she had a connection to the three great realms as she too was a Khthonian goddess alongside being a part of the retinue that belong to Persephonê and third of the great goddesses of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
It made Hermês want to cheer and shout aloud as twas simply another reason as to support Leaneíras continued survival.
(Though it was still amusing to note that the girl was still very much in denial about them being gods.)
She had all but fallen over herself the night that she read of how the Mousai were also goddesses of knowledge, who remembered all things that had come to pass, especially Kleiô as the goddess of history and their Mother, Mnêmosynê as the Titan goddess of memory and remembrance yet the Mousai were treated as nothing more than a divine choir. The Mousai had been very intrigued by her passionate words in their name and Terpsikhorê, herself, had been considering blessing her with the bewitching abilities that her children, the Seirênes, had as it would be an easy shift due to Leaneíras' own heritage as a child of the sea.
It would also be an easy skill to learn to control with the help of Alabaster and the children of Aphroditê; the latter of whom were struggling with their fascination with the beautiful demidivine who was commandeering both respect and envy due to her parentage and her mark while also dealing with their rather illogical rage of the mark tearing apart their "OTP" in a way that neither he nor the demi divine offspring of Peithô could garner.
In a more hilarious twist of fate, the one that may have proven to be a threat to Leaneíras was rumored to be blessed by khaos as the mate of Ethan.
And as much as he wanted to look over her, he had far more duties to attend to as the constant pulls of his divinity demanded. And while he did make time to see her within the Land of Dreams, where the tribe of Oneiroi attended to him and now, she too, he did make a point to visit Ethan, Alabaster, and some of his own children to help smooth her stay within the camp.
Not that Leaneíras seemed to be comfortable with that when his children introduced themselves as such though, he supposed that had more to do so for the fact that she was unofficially regarded as their mitryía until they consummated their bond in which she would officially assume the title.
(Though of course Poseidôn had made it quite clear that regardless of tradition Leaneíras was expected to keep her maidenhood long until she became of legal age according to the mortals of today's age. It mattered not to Hermês what was two additional years for her to be eighteen than the age of sixteen in which had been the legal age in time of the ancient.)
Once he deemed her as safe as she could be and under the watchful gaze of both his Mother and maternal aunts alongside those of the sea, he turned his attention back to not only his deliveries but also his search of his Father's symbol of power as it would be unwise of Zeus Amboulios to not look at alternatives for his stolen weapons.
Mutterings of a love grown old rang through his head and he found himself invoking the power of the Litai, the ministers of Father, whose anger followeth unrelenting pride with vengeance, and the Erinnys executes their wrath.
He had not had the time to visit the dreams of Luke; his son not showing any sign of the skill that Hermês employed as hêgêtôr oneirôn so Luke could not reach out either. If Hermês was being honest, currently only Travis seemed to have the skill and extreme talent for it as the god had made countless trips to the dreams of his son to keep him from causing mischief in the demos oneiron. It was something that Hypnos and Morpheus had both commented on, wishing to give the boy proper training.
Truthfully, Hermês had considered it, but he had also not wanted to show favoritism to his children after the scornful words befell on his person by Luke. He, mayhaps, should allow it though he also knew that Connor was able to view psykhai as they truly were. Something that only children of the Khthonioi were able to do. He was merely surprised that it actually manifested in one of his children as his domains of thievery seemed to prevail the most though Luke showed skill moreso in his role as the god of travellers and roads.
(A skill that he knew haunted his son and festered resentment in how much they had gotten lost travelling to camp and thus, the loss of Thalia had been felt deeply.)
Even his child — oh, that reminded him; with but a thought he laid claim to his son Chris? Yes, Chris. His mother was the spanish translator that had used her bilingual status to trick her boss into a pay raise— had shown more skill with his domain of trade and crafty wiles, something that the protege of Athênê felt deeply and sometimes resentfully. Chris did tend to use those skills to acquire better deals for the Eleventh Cabin alongside the Seventh and Twelfth Cabin as Hermês was rather close with both Apollôn and Dionysos.
Hermês found himself pausing in his tracks. He had just claimed one of his children; something that he always tried to do but admittedly the thought did tend to get lost behind by the various duties that he had. A feat that had only grown when he brought forth Hermês Express and sponsored the STOLLen Treasures founded by his sons. With Iris, Peithô, and Triton focusing more of their attention onto their respective leaders, most of the heralding fell under his purview keeping most on the backburner of his mind.
And yet— Hermês turned his gaze over both camps, smiling to himself at the gasps of wonder and awe that came through the minds of his children and legacies as he claimed them and branded them with his mark. He wasn't even the slightest bit surprised that after a mere moment's hesitation that Apollôn and Dionysos followed in his actions, sparing more room within the Eleventh Cabin. The suspicion in the eyes of some of his proteges ached, he could admit, but he figured he understood a bit.
Poseidôn, despite the protective wrath bound in love for his children, had only laid claim to Perseus due to being backed into a wall and a need to avenge his honor.
Still, he thought as he made quick work of the deliveries that Martha and George were informing of, he hoped that it would pass soon.
Leaneíras was waiting for him within demos oneiron. A quick look at her physical body showed her curled into the corner of the cabin that she made from herself. It was thankfully still within view of the window so his Mother and aunts were able to glance about her whenever they looked down upon earth.
There was a stubborn frown on her face, and he knew that if she could, she would have brought a notebook alongside her. Though, he also knew that it was more so for her paranoia and her plans to escape that made her interested in finding all that she could on the gods.
He figured it would not be long before she decided to begin her training in weaponry in the case that she may need to fight for her escape.
"I am not a stepmother," was the first thing she greeted him with. "I am a child and I'm not going to raise a child, especially not one as old as me or older!"
Hermês smiled, stepping as close as she would allow him too. "I would not dream of asking you too." She eyed with a huff before she stepped a bit closer. Her eyes moved down his chest, lingering onto where she knew his khaos-mark lingered. She turned away with a small flush on her cheeks.
"Why were so many of the kids shocked today? They were all moving to different places and everything!"
"They were claimed. Two of my brothers and I laid claim to our children now they know to whom they belong."
There was judgment in Leaneíras' eyes; disappointment too and how strange that it caused a deeper ache than when he saw it upon the faces of his children. "From your old stories, both gods and children loved telling everyone about the connection. Every other sentence was always son of this god and daughter of that god or child of these gods. And now you don't claim them?"
If his Father was to ask him why he was breaking ancient laws speaking on this, then Hermês would just point out that it was a part of his plan to woo his mate as twas his right and ruling from Father himself.
"Tis not like how you may think. For a long while, the gods never mated with mortals. We may claim them as psykhai or well souls, but we do not have souls like you mortals do. Still, Eros or Phanes as the stories call him. The Protogenoi of procreation and Aphroditê may be different, but they work the same. Eros guided the arrows of the erotes that bore his name and accompanied golden Aphroditê, who stirs up sweet passion in the gods and subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in air and all the many creatures that the dry land rears, and all the sea: all these love the deeds of rich-crowned Kythereia. Once that happened, there was a sort of connection involved. The demidivine or well half-blood—"
"Don't call me that," she interrupted even though he wasn't talking about her, but he supposed he was in a general sense? Twas confusing. "Every time I hear that I feel like you're calling me a mudblood or something."
"You read Harry Potter?"
"Cliffnotes," she shot back. "And Alabaster hates it and tears into it though that may be because he hates the author more than anything. My friend, Trent, said it had good world building, and that he hates that simp Snape and the headmaster dude. Plus, the movies put me to sleep."
Hermês calmly moved anything to do with that out of potential date ideas.
"Ah I see we move off topic. When demidivine children started to be born, some of them connected more to their divine half than we thought possible. Not in the way that powers went." Like her Brother whom Hermês sensed even now within the Netherworld. "Khaos and Eros pushed their powers within the wreathed spindle of Anankê, into the threads of the Moirai! For Love was eternal, the aspect may change, but not the essence. They took our–us gods—threads and bound them to the demidivine. For mortals we found ourselves enamored by could never be our blessings but those with the blood of the gods?"
He shook his head. "Father tried to fight against it. We all did. Tis why he punished Aphroditê for mating gods with men and thus ordered for the age of the half-divine to end. But we cannot run from Fate."
Hermês sensed a foreboding horror flash through him when he sensed Perseus and the other two nearing the entrance to Tartara. With barely a thought, he bypassed the spell that had been placed onto the shoes and a part of him breathed a sigh of relief when the shoes gave way to his order and flew off into the pit.
He felt his stomach churned sensing his Father's symbol of power around them, and a suspicion tinged at his mind.
"Twas not long before we found ourselves coupling with the mortals once more though not as frequently as before. And we learned to deal with it as you mortals say. We made peace with it, accepting the pulls of Fate and the Protengoi leading us to the mortals that would sire blessings for the deathless. Some have never met their mates as they have not been born and some have when we were at the height of our power and worship. And me? I have met you."
The flush returns full force in Leaneíras' cheeks before she manages to control her expression. "Some of the others are really bitter."
Hermês knew that. It was something that he would have to soothe when he visited his newly claimed children on the morrow.
Leaneíras was quiet, gaze trailing over the god's face before turning to look about the world. "Do you—" She paused, and seconds passed. "Do you think it could have been different? If you all made different choices in how you reacted to being soulmates to mortals?"
"Possibly. Time moves differently for us," Hermês smiled a little sadly, eyes turning to the heavens. "A year to mortals is a decade for us. Centuries pass by us in a blink. You can now just fall in love and yet—" He turned to her, tilting her face to his with a finger. "And yet, a god will have loved for hundreds of years in a second and grieved for a thousand."
His thumb brushed across her cheek. "With that in mind, tell me, Leaneíras Halosydnê, why should we get so attached to you all; children in the face of our grace and watch you die long before you depart to domos Aïdao." His forehead pressed against hers, speaking so concisely that she could have no chance to misinterpret his words. "Mere mortals with your lives as fleeting as it is. It drives us mad and Dionysos can tell you all of what madness does to the mind. You hear our stories. You have read the tales of our rage, made notes upon them, and you want us to apply that love to our children?"
His laugh was almost cruel. "I thought you all wanted the children to be safe. You know how far we will go for what we claim as ours? Apollôn loved Asklêpios and murdered the cyclops when he was struck down knowing he risked Father's wrath. Lêtô bore the Divine Twins despite the trials that she faced when mocked? She sent forth her children to avenge her name, and they brutally wiped out the entire family. Arês murdered your brother, Halirrhothios, for his attempt to rape Alkippe and stood without fear when Poseidôn made he to be the first to be put on his trial for the shedding of blood. When Odysseús blinded Polyphêmos, your Father actively tried to murder him by sending a storm to scatter and wreck the hero's fleet. My own Father invoked great fear within Pallas on the worry that Athênê, deathless as the day she was borne, would be felled which led to your brother's daughter's premature death. And Thetis bathe Ahkilles in fire and washed with the waters of the Styx in her attempt to prevent his foretold death."
His eyes were burning with divinity as he looked at her intensely. There was fear in her eyes hidden by stubbornness and a part of him was startled to see how much she resembled her brother, Perseus—not just in looks, but in spirit too. "So, I ask again, do you want us to apply that love to our children? Our neglect as you call it harms you but soothes us. Even the bare minimum can destroy the world if we so will it. For a god to know you is to love you and lose you in the same breath. And as you always say, love can bring even the gods to their knees. Where would the world be if they could see how far the mighty have fallen?"
And she met his eyes, not flinching from the sheer power, the burning divinity that she could no doubt feel from the searing of her mark as it glowed upon her skin. The fear was still there, but she tilted her chin almost definitely as she looked at him.
Hermês did not want her to fear him.
"We are demidivine, right?" Though it was clear from her tone of voice that she still did not believe them to be deities of grant power that helped shape her world. "That means we're half of you. Those kids still love you even when you neglect them. But there's a thin line between love and hate."
And it was almost ominous the way her voice dropped at the same moment her brother returned to the surface world. "Where would the world be if we met the intensity of your love on near equal terms?"
"Those words are treasonous," he told her. Leaneíras scoffed. "I don't bow to foreign entities. I don't even bow to local entities; federal and state."
The god hummed thinking of her words, the mutterings of a woman now lost to her mind, and a prophecy nipping at their heels. He chuckled lowly. "You'd destroy the world in the face of your love."
Her green eyes sparkled like the fiercest waves of the sea. "I am my Father's child."
