Chapter 2: Attica
Flashforward of the time period of current LORE OLYMPUS episodes
A few lights of dawn slipped through the foliage of the Peloponnesian wilderness. Clouds created a blanket for the mountains. In mortal villages and cities, mortals would soon wake up to wonder which annoying rooster they'd kill for the crime of interrupting their sleep. Helios saw most mortals killing roosters by now.
He couldn't, however, see what was going on in the thickest parts of the Peloponnesian forest.
In a shrouded area, just by a clear blue spring, Silenus' retinue had set camp the previous day. Some satyrs were tired but loyally took turns standing guard. Nymphs slept by the spring and bushes; the slightest water ripple or snapping twig would alert them. Apart from those standing guard, hundreds of satyrs, nymphs, wild humans, and animals slept in piles underneath temporary huts of branches and leaves. Couples slept with blankets coating their private parts while the grass served as mattresses.
Silenus, being the leader, had his own hut by the spring's waterfall. A large bear, her cubs, and the wild girl she took in slept cautiously by the hut's entrance. In his hut, Silenus squinted at the light, alerting him of dawn.
His belly felt heavy.
That was a good sign. It meant the boys used it as a pillow again.
Silenus looked, careful to not wake them up. The boys were cuddling against him, sleeping with ease.
Many foundlings joined Silenus and his retinue, but these two, his sons, were his favorites. On his left side, Pan drooled a bit. Silenus almost mistook him for a regular satyr when he first found in trapped in a mudslide, but his entire crimson palette from hooves to skin and his unnatural speed, had convinced Silenus that Pan had some divine lineage.
On his right, Dionysus fidgeted in his sleep.
Silenus stroked the demigod's purple locks. Every time his fingers pulled out, small grape seeds got stuck on his skin. Achlys' gift of ecstasy frequently secreted within his hair, making the young boy sweat seed grapes.
"Mornin', boys." His other hand flicked Pan's horns while the first one flicked Dionysus' head. Both boys woke up in a startle. Pan shrieked in reaction. The sound coming out of the young boy woke up the whole retinue from its slumber. Vines and leaves sprouted out of Dionysus' hair and he jumped up. Silenus' laughed at the scene.
"NOT funny, Pops!" Pan stomped his hoof.
"A little bit…" Silenus chuckled. Outside his hut, the bear yawned and one satyr got caught in a moving vine. The wild child, covered in a coat of patched bear fur, poked her head inside the hut's entrance. Her mortal green eyes smirked at the scene.
"Up and early as usual, Uncle Silenus?" She asked.
"Not funny, Attie!" Pan pointed at Silenus. "He scared me!"
"Get used to it. You're the designated alarm clock!"
"Morning, Atalanta." The old satyr stretched himself. "I take it you and the bears caught nothing?"
"Just one of the new satyrs going a little unfriendly. I shot him with my eyes closed!" Atalanta crossed her arms proudly. A bear growl came from behind her. "Oh, and my bro Ursa cut his throat open!"
Silenus grumbled. Sometimes, there were a couple new bitches who just HAD to reinforce the mortals' prejudiced stereotypes. Then again, out of all the wild mortal children, Atalanta had been blessed with the protection of bears. Many of the mortals choosing to join the retinue were experienced hunters and Atalanta had learned quickly. By the age of six, she already hunted more preys than them. After a crazy encounter with an unruly boar that nearly killed their supplies, Atalanta had effortlessly shot it to death. An archery mortal prodigy and great fan of Artemis, Atalanta quickly became the retinue's future game hunter and the one child Silenus trusted enough to keep his boys safe.
"We still have plenty of meat left from yesterday's hunt to last us five meal breaks during the trip," Atalanta said. "Should I hunt on the way to Attica? Or wait until we reach our destination?"
"Atalanta," Silenus warned.
"What?"
"We can't hunt where we're going!" Pan piped up. "Ya know why we can't hunt there!"
"But we always go just outside the Eleusian Fields!" Atalanta exclaimed. "We never put our feet… or hooves, on the fields! Last year, I got pissed when a big stag passed us by the waterfall!"
"And that was because for the past decade, Demeter was in the Eleusian Fields." Silenus stepped out of the hut. Satyrs were starting to disassemble the huts while some nymphs began passing around the retinue's morning rations. "I have a respected agreement with Persephone. We don't step into the Eleusian Fields and THEY don't step by the waterfalls while we're there. The satyrs don't touch Persephone's nymphs and they don't approach us."
"Yeah, but!" Atalanta ran after him.
"Trouble, Lord Silenus?" Some of the hunters getting their rations from a nymph had noticed Atalanta pestering Silenus.
"None. Atalanta still needs to understand that we can't hunt by the property once we get to Attica." The hunters lowered their heads after the leader's last words were spoken. "Don't tell me all the meat was cooked!" Silenus scowled.
"We only cook a sixth of the meat!" The nymph serving rations protested.
"We're not out of meat, Lord Silenus…" One of the mortal hunters hesitated. "But…"
"But what?" Silenus firmly asked. "I'm not some man-eating lion. You can tell me."
"Well…" One of the hunters, and one of the rare few to be a satyr, dared to speak. "We've had delays in the retinue's run around the world. Ideally, we should return to Nysa in a few weeks, but now it might not be until a month… If we're lucky."
Silenus bit his lip. "Out of meat THAT fast?"
"No… We reach Attica tonight and the outskirts of the Eleusian Fields at tomorrow's dawn…"
"Tomorrow…" Silenus frowned.
Then it hit him.
"Gaia forgive me! Tomorrow is tomorrow already?"
Dionysus had finally stepped out of the hut. The small boy still yawned from the early wake.
"Shit…" Silenus cussed. "Demeter's back on her turf… and we'll be at our rest stop for Dionysus' birthday!"
"And he's turning ten!" Atalanta nodded.
"We just thought… we could hunt meat for a good feast…" Another hunter hesitated to say.
"We could just hunt right before we approach Demeter's borders," another hunter said. "Maybe we could hunt for a deer or a boar."
Silenus stroke his beard in thought. Gaia, he hadn't thought this through! The stops in Egypt and Asia Minor had been longer than anticipated, the retinue had spent too much time sharing their ecstasies with the Celts, and Silenus DID NOT want to think about the thing with the pirates. He usually made it the goal that the retinue would return to Nysa for his son's birthday.
He turned to check back at the hut. Unsurprisingly, Dionysus and Pan had snuck off. Fortunately, their footprints (or hoofprints, in Pan's case) led to the river.
"I suppose you can look for any big game you can find… AS LONG as you don't attract attention," Silenus sighed.
"Neat! I'll pray to Artemis that we get a big, fat boar!" Atalanta squealed. Before she could run off, Silenus picked her up by her patched bear fur outfit.
"Atalanta," he said. "What do I mean by 'don't attract attention?"
Atalanta pouted and nodded her head grimly. When Silenus said 'don't attract attention', it meant 'don't start getting Olympian butts in our business and they find out about Dionysus.'
"Chin up, kid," a female hunter they picked up from Egypt patted Atalanta on the bear. "You can join me in praying to Bast for a good hunt. She's also a hunting deity."
"But Bast's SO BORING!" Atalanta whined after Silenus let her go. Even after he made his way to the river, he could hear the small child piping about how her divine hero was like, THE COOLEST, and rode a bear and did archery, which made Atalanta want to grow up just like the goddess. It wouldn't surprise the old satyr if the girl grew up to be the goddess of crazy fans.
He found Dionysus and Pan at the river. Many members of the retinue were taking the opportunity to bathe or clean some sheets. A clever trick the nymphs liked to use was squeeze the essence out of flowers or place petals onto the water to give it some fragrance. Satyrs took the opportunity of polishing their horns and hooves while the children played.
Naturally, Dionysus turned bath time into a whole scene. Many watched him rise a floral bud from the waters. The stop at India had influenced the demigod to bloom a large lotus, its fragrance spreading everywhere. Pan's gurgling shriek underwater caused bubbles to pop everywhere. The other kids got excited when river bath time turned bubbly. Ivies balled up in Dionysus' palm and he threw it at Pan, who threw it at the other kids. Some nymphs giggled at the scene of the children playing.
Unable to resist his playful side, Silenus jumped into the water. The children laughed as his splash spread waves. Dionysus' lotus retreated back into the water and he and Pan tried to swim for it. Silenus emerged from the water below and caught the boys in his arms.
"Well! What did I catch for breakfast today?" He chuckled.
"No! Don't eat me!" Pan freaked out.
Silenus felt Dionysus slip off.
"EEEH!" A little girl began to scream.
That's when Silenus and Pan noticed the green-and-purple snake swimming out of the water and quickly shifting into a rabbit.
"Hey! Dio! You're cheating!" Pan waved his arms in frustration.
"I got him!" A satyr jumped in and pounced on the rabbit. The small creature shifted into a purple furred leopard with green spots large enough to roar at the satyr. Silenus was quite sure the satyr's yellow fur gained a deeper shade…
He sighed and walked out of the river, putting Pan on the main ground.
"Dio!" Pan shook himself dry. "You cheated! We said no morphing at bath time!"
Now the demigod was a purplish green lynx who tuck its tongue at his family. Fortunately, Atalanta snuck behind him and hit the lynx with a pot. The back-to-usual demigod rubbed his head.
"Ouch," he said.
"I hit him first! It's official, we're hunting boars! Oh, and polecats!" Atalanta ran back in victory to her bear family.
Dionysus scratched his hair. An exasperated Silenus grabbed his ankle and lifted him up, forcing the demigod to look at his father figure upside down.
"You're a little too early for rebellion, Dionysus," Silenus chided.
"Creative nonconformity!" Dionysus poked Silenus' nose. "Rebellion is for losers!"
"Uh, huh. I'm amazed you know the word 'nonconformity' yet don't know it's the same as 'rebellion'."
Yet again, Dionysus morphed into a snake that slithered over the arm of an unphased Silenus. He was himself again once he could sit on Silenus' shoulders. "Yeah, but ANYONE can rebel, Pops! I'm the pure embodiment of nonconformity!"
"I thought you were the embodiment of ecstasy?" Pan dumbly asked.
Silenus dropped Dionysus. The latter had no trouble sitting up on the dirt and Pan sat next to him.
"You're a good nonconformist, but you need to tone it for now." Silenus sat down in front of his boys. "So… I guess you both know whose birthday it is tomorrow."
"MINE!" Dionysus raised his hand.
"Are we gonna travel super fast?" Pan stomped his hooves on the soil. "I might get sore hooves, but I'll have enough energy to party tomorrow night back home!"
Silenus lowered his head. "Boys, we had so many delays on our trip… We won't be making it in time to Nysa for your birthday, Dionysus."
Dionysus's enthusiastic energy decreased.
"I'm sorry… I know you love Nysa…"
"I'm not gonna meet Mum at last, am I?"
It pained Silenus, but it was the reality. Unlike Demeter with Persephone, Silenus swore on the River Styx to not make the mistakes. Even while shielding the demigod since infancy within the Mortal Realm's wilderness, he'd been straightforward with Dionysus. His heritage as a demigod son of Zeus. Achlys' blessing. The danger he could be in if power-hungry Olympians found out that a small child was a new type of fertility deity within their pantheon. That until he was ready, Dionysus could never see his mortal mother Semele. Not even his aunt Ino. Silenus and the Hyades allowed a small correspondence: sketches from Dionysus and homemade gifts from Semele. Dionysus, like any kid in the retinue, loved presents but it was torment. His maternal family was basically neighbors with his wild family and he couldn't see them.
Silenus knew Dionysus loved him, Pan, and the rest of the retinue. Frankly, it was only once a year that the demigod would encounter someone he truly loathed, so he was good with most people he met. They found him to be entertaining. But despite the number of foundlings, there were still kids who had their parents within the retinue. Every year, he hoped to be allowed to meet his mother on his birthday. At every birthday, he wasn't ready.
Even Pan didn't know how to comfort him. On Dionysus' previous birthday, Pan had tried to comfort his foster brother by saying how fortunate Dionysus was to still have a mother waiting for him whereas Pan was abandoned upon birth. For some reason, Dionysus had been pissed by Pan's attempt.
"I need you boys to be cautious tomorrow when we reach Attica," Silenus said. "Our next stop is just outside Demeter's property and she's back. A horrible hen, that one, so here's the deal. NO troubles when we're there. NO breaking into the property. NO fertility powers. NO craziness. We can do a quiet party when we're there and throw a better, belated one at Nysa."
"Hm." Pan looked mischievously. "Don't know, Pops. It might be REALLY hard. Dionysus loves chaos and nobody likes Demeter."
"Yes, and I don't want hundreds of satyrs to lose their hides when Olympians find out we hid a fertility god." Silenus ruffled Dionysus' hair while the boy kept pouting. "You'd be miserable on Olympus. You know that, right? Well, right now, you'd be. Maybe when you're ready, you'll…"
"I want nothing to do with Olympians," Dionysus said. "All gods in our pantheon are jerks!"
Well, he's not wrong, Silenus thought.
He hoped he didn't regret what he'd say next.
"I know this doesn't compete with what you really want, but… how about, at our next stop and as a last-minute birthday gift, you get to meet a god of your choice?"
Dionysus looked at Silenus in confusion. "But… I thought you said we had to stay clear of Olympians."
"Yeah… but as far as I'm concerned, the goddess who allowed us our spot isn't an Olympian!" Silenus pointed out. "And things will get REALLY ugly between her and her mother. Maybe your cute little face will cheer her up."
This perked the demigod's interest. "You mean it? I could meet her?"
"Well, she's very similar to you. Not as crazy, but similar. But yes, I'll see to it that you two meet… as a birthday present."
"Oh, thanks Pops!" Dionysus hugged Silenus. "I can't wait to meet Auntie Persephone!"
The next day
Attica, a lush green region that surrounded Athens. In the western part were the Eleusinian Fields, where history traced the Eleusinian Mysteries since Antiquity for its worship of rebirth after death if you were worthy. In the modern era, a site of ruins and Lake Marathon.
But in THIS era, it was the region where a new family tiff was brewing.
In Demeter's property, Persephone stormed out of her mother's house, her eyes reddened with wrath. Her boyfriend Hades followed along.
The trip to the Mortal Realm was a disaster following the secret temple of fertility goddesses. Persephone and Hades (disguised as a moth) had gone to Demeter's house the past night. Persephone had some spring matters to discuss with her mother, along with bringing up her upcoming coronation. Instead, Hades spent nearly an hour in a jar until Hestia released him and Persephone had been publicly shamed in her childhood home by the same mother she wanted to talk to. The same goddess who HAD to insist that her way was the right way and who had just tried to coerce Persephone into ditching being queen of a realm to go back to being Demeter's 'pure, virginal' second-in-command.
"Hestia! Do something!" Demeter yelled.
Hestia did do something by heading back to Olympus, leaving Demeter alone to run after her daughter.
"Kore!"
"DON'T!" Persephone turned to confront her. "I can't believe I ACTUALLY thought I could deal with you, Mother! I can't believe you JUST did that to me! In front of everyone I grew up with! In my childhood home!" She wiped away her tear. "I'm really stupid…"
"You know that's not what I said!"
"No, but you sure as Tartarus did!" Persephone felt the red thorns grow in her hair. It took Hades' calming hold to tone her down. She inhaled and stared at her mother, her wrathful glare fading. "I guess you haven't changed even after ten years as a mortal. You pretty much raised me like one. I'm just a flower out of the thousands in your fields to crop off, huh?"
"Persephone…" Hades shook his head.
"No, she'll hear me," Persephone stood her ground. "That crap worked when I was 19, but I'm fucking 30! Mother, if you keep behaving like this… we might need to cut ties. For good. I'm sorry, but as much as I love you, I'm reaching my limit!"
Dark rain loomed over the Goddess of Harvest. How dare her child talk to her like that? Everything she built for her creation, and she rejected her birthright… to be some trophy wife? To ZEUS' greedy, death-breathing brother?
Rumbling was heard, but it wasn't thunder. Hades looked up in curiosity.
"That wasn't an earthquake… or a volcanic eruption," he said. "And Zeus isn't here."
Just outside the property, a trail of dust could be seen in the horizon. It was far away from where the gods were, but the rumbling continued. Soon, animal sounds were heard. People were whooping.
Some of Demeter's nymphs came running out of the house. "Lady Persephone! The retinue's here!"
"It's today?" Persephone looked at the direction of the dust cloud.
"YOU LET THOSE SAVAGES NEAR US?" Demeter shrieked, turning the grass under her feet gray.
"Retinue…" Hades' eyes widened. "Silenus' retinue?"
"Yeah, they travel the world once a year on their trails." Persephone nodded. "Silenus extended the trails during the divide, visiting wild lands other than those in our pantheon's Mortal Realm. A few years ago, a flood took over Attica."
"Wasn't that around the time Poseidon fell in a coma?"
"Without him, the oceans' lost control. That dried-up part of Attica got flooded and the nymphs and I struggled to patch it so it wouldn't spoil our crops. Silenus contacted some Gegenes giants to fix it, and they turned that part into a multi-tiered waterfall. I thanked Silenus and offered him that waterfall as a rest stop for the retinue."
"A rest stop NEAR MY PROPERTY?" Demeter raised her arms.
"It's outside your property, so there's no issue!" Persephone snapped.
"Did you get influenced by Silenus' wild, barbaric gang of troublemakers? Those satyrs are vile, disrespectful thieves!"
Persephone just ignored her and kept talking to Hades. "Silenus made an agreement. His retinue uses the waterfall strictly as a trail spot. Our nymphs don't approach them and his retinue doesn't place a foot in our property. The retinue leaves at dawn."
"They only stay the night?" Hades frowned. "I thought Silenus took longer breaks during his trails. Two thousand years ago, he and his retinue spent the whole winter season in Egypt!"
"I don't know, Hades. I guess Silenus gets homesick easily." She briefly forgot her previous anger. Demeter was getting ticked at being ignored. "You know, Silenus is the only god who has zero issues with me since the divide. He's been really cooperative. Why don't we quickly shoot hello?"
Hades pondered. "I suppose ONE quick hello won't be the end of the Underworld. Wild satyrs get nervous of my presence."
Persephone gave a dry look at her mother. "Silenus' not a big fan of Olympians… but maybe you can PRETEND to be friendly with them until they leave for Nysa tomorrow. Unless, you know, I really mean nothing to you."
Demeter felt a vein pop in her head. She crossed her arms in frustration.
"Well… Hestia had prepared some baklava for your botched intervention. I SUPPOSE those barbarians could use at least one cooked meal."
…
After fetching that baklava and Hades summoning Cerberus to bring a bottle of ambrosia, the trio (undergoing severe family issues) had located the retinue at the waterfall just as it was finishing up camp.
Persephone didn't make it her business, but Hades and Demeter were very baffled by the sight of nearly thousands of satyrs, nymphs, and humans securing their wooden caravans with blankets of leaves and twigs as camouflage. The retinue's wild beasts immediately went to drink at the waterfall. Garlands of vines and grapes were being hung up on poles and tables were lined up to make a semi-circle. Rations were being piled in large platters while hunters dragged a boar, seven polecats, and ten stags as part of their game. Those who weren't working were having a pool party at the waterfall. Some satyrs were playing wind instruments while sitting on rocks.
"Uh… did I miss something since the last time I saw Silenus?" Hades was baffled.
"Why are there so many people?" Demeter questioned. "He had enough savages back then! Did he drag everyone living in Attica?"
Persephone hissed at her mother to silence herself.
To answer Demeter's question, if Silenus had dragged anyone, it was certainly anyone who lived near the Mediterranean Sea. You could tell when the mortals cooked their food and set it up on the large table. Nettle soup and gyros from this part of the world. Loukoumi and Lavash from Turkey. Tabbouleh and Jallab from Syria. Moussaka and feta from Lebanon. Challah and mint lemonades from Israel. Hawawshi from Egypt. Harissa and couscous from Libya. Merguez from Tunisia. Shakshouka from Algeria. Mint tea and briouat from Morocco… Honestly, just listing any of the dishes they saw was giving the fanfic's author a migraine!
Hades blankly stared at some leopards proudly walking around with glasses in their fanged mouths.
"OK… either I lost it or Silenus created a whole new cult."
A clearing throat caught their attention.
When the three gods turned, numerous satyrs held up spears towards them. Dozens of nymphs wielded daggers and looked ready to slit throats. Humans outnumbered the supernatural and had their arrows pointed at the gods. A small mortal girl in bear fur had her own bow pointed at them as she rid a large she-bear.
"Get out! Olympians aren't welcomed within the retinue!" The mortal shouted. The others grumbled in agreement.
Usually, any god would retaliate from the act of disrespect, but after the previous events of the past 10 years…
"We just wanted to say hello to your Lord Silenus…" Hades began.
"Don't care! Leave! We said 'No Olympians!'"
"Wait…" A satyr paused. "Only Demeter's the group's Olympian! We should kick her back to her property!"
Demeter gasped in shock.
"What if the other two are Olympians in disguise?" The bear-riding brat insisted. "I bet the blue one's Zeus in disguise. Lord Silenus made it clear that Zeus was on the blacklist!"
"Wait a minute!" Persephone raised her hands up. "Hades and I aren't Olympians! I negotiated with your Lord to use the waterfall!"
The retinue lowered their weapons. Well, at Persephone anyway. They still mistrusted the others.
A human put away his quiver and pulled out a papyrus scroll to unroll and read. "Let's see. 'Persephone, aka Kore the Maiden, aka Bringer of Death. Goddess of Spring. Slayer of anti-eco-friendly mortals, in need of serious family therapy, and Queen of the Underworld following Kronos' second defeat. Considered friendly until further notice. WARNING: extremely wrathful, so ask your local flora in advance if they are the natural embodiments of nymphs.' We're good!"
"What about Hades?" The girl asked.
"'Zeus and Poseidon's brother. Lack of respect. No records of needless erotic activities like the other two. Not disliked, but seriously advised against if you don't want to die early.'"
"Just because they claim to be Hades and Persephone doesn't mean they might be the gods' themselves!" The mad distrust grew.
"Yeah! Like that bitch with the thick muscles who has this loony mom who claims that Zeus disguised himself as her husband and banged her!"
"Or that pedo from Athens."
"Ugh, Theseus? Don't get me started with that guy!"
"Mom gets banged by Poseidon pretending to be her husband, the demigod goes waltzing around like the creep he is!"
"My Gaia, remember when he almost got too close to the kids?"
"Ugh… Poseidon, why…" Hades groaned.
"Look. I can tolerate your distrust. I'm very defensive myself," Demeter finally spoke up. "So, we'll just drop off this nice baklava."
"Keep your baklava to yourself!" The bear-riding girl snarled. "You probably poisoned it with your piss!"
"I'm not ready for STD!" Some female cried.
"Wait a minute… If she poisoned the baklava, we can just ask our poison detector!"
"Great idea!"
"We kick them out if the baklava's alright!"
"If it's poisonous and Dionysus fixes it, we'll eat it while he chains them to Prometheus' rock, has the eagle eat their liver, and the Titan can finally party with us!"
"Yay! Baklava party!"
"You tell them, Larry!"
"LET'S GET DIONYSUS!"
That was the one thing the retinue's defense could commonly agree with.
"What did I get dragged into?" Hades asked.
…
Pan finally caught up to Dionysus on the tree he was sitting on.
Perched on top of a hill, they had a view of the waterfall several yards beneath them. The mountainous range of Attica picked up the inaudible echoes of the retinue's commotion. Birds flew above the leaves, potentially heading towards the direction of Athens.
"Man! First birthday outside of Nysa! That will be so cool for you!" Pan dusted his legs' fur. "Maybe next year, we could trick Pops to delay at the stops! 11-years-old in Egypt, eh?"
Pan heard nothing.
"Dio?"
Dionysus wasn't even paying attention to his foster brother. His eyes were more focused on his latest craft, a string braided from the nearby wildflowers and loose branches he'd picked up.
"Gaia to Dio!" Pan waved his hand in front of Dionysus.
"I'm mad, not deaf." Dionysus focused on his string. Once he finished his makeshift weaving, he cupped his hands together, string resting in his palm. After the green and purple glow disappeared from beneath his fingers, Dionysus opened his hands. Pan saw the green star-shaped adder stone the demigod had created. Its surface was jagged, but its floral carvings were amazing.
"You think she'll like my star from Attica?" Dionysus passed the stone to Pan.
"Sure. Along with the stars from Corinth, Gibraltar, Gaul, Jerusalem, Istanbul, and every single star you've made since Crete." Pan looked through the stone. The auras of every living being could be seen through it. Shrugging off the sight, he passed the stone back to Dionysus. "When are you going to tell Pops about Crete?"
"Pan, that was just after the pirate accident! You think Pops wants to hear about Crete?"
"Well, maybe… Or he'll start thinking that you're turning into a lady's man like Zeus!" Pan chuckled. Dionysus scowled at him. "Or a men's man!" Pan corrected himself. "You could be a ladies and men's man! How many cards did the others send you to show their blind devotion?"
"She isn't blind." Dionysus threw the star-shaped adder stone as far as he could. A seagull's beak caught it. As the bird flew off towards the sea, the stone it carried shined like a fading star the further it went.
"Ya know you're ten, right?" Pan asked.
"Duh." Dionysus bounced from one branch to another until his bare feet hit the soil. On the ground he landed, small vines grew. Once the first grapes started to sprout, he plucked a grape off and chewed on it. Pan watched the demigod's hair get wilder and curlier.
"Ya know your name?"
"I'm not THAT crazy, Pan!" Dionysus got angry.
"Just checking!" Pan jumped off the tree. "You always hate your birthdays for, like, half a day…"
Pan's ears twitched. He looked apprehensively in the forest that separated the waterfall's plains from the mountains.
The small grape plant vanished once Dionysus picked up the same thing as Pan.
"Can we outrun them?" Dionysus asked.
"I can. But if they see ya…"
"There's a hollow in the tree."
"Dude, just morph into a nymph!"
Dionysus stretched out his arms. Vines of lights coated his body. The purple-haired demigod of hazel skin was replaced by an entirely purple nymph in lilac drapes and reeds sticking out of her locks.
By the time the mortal hunters they'd spotted had stepped out of the forest, the predators thought they only saw a red satyr and a purple nymph. Both were young and the satyr was the most hopeless.
"Oh, Syrinx! My love!" Pan exaggeratedly kissed the hand of the 'nymph'. "Please, love me! I will love you more than the richest king!"
"Good tidings, young spirits of the wilderness!" One of the mortal hunters spoke up.
"What's this? Armed mortals? You think you can charm me with fake bravery? I'm off to be a maiden!" 'Syrinx' spat at Pan's hooves and stormed off towards the waterfall's direction. "Males!"
"NOOOO! Syrinx! Come back! I'm a poet, not a fighter!" Pan chased the nymph. The mortals watched them disappear into the grasses. They commented on how that was probably one of the gods' transformative one-sided paramours before resuming their hunt far off.
"That was close!" Pan caught up to Dionysus, who still had his feminine features despite returning to his demigod form. "You think they were regular hunters?"
"With me around? Never!" Dionysus kept running. "Let's not tell Pops!"