Atreus found himself in a bind as he looked down upon, or maybe up upon? As he looked at his kill. And the merits of the grammatical quandary also spoke to the true crux of his problem. The boar had been angry, it had been murderous, it hadn't wanted anything to do with communication. It just wanted to murder. Maybe not even for the sake of food or territory, just for the sake of killing the small man-thing it found.

Ever since he had begun to awaken to his divine abilities... Mimir had hinted at what they might have been as early as the moment he found out he was a god. His gift for languages, it tracked with the other things he was able to do that Father had been so confused by. His ability to communicate with or at least understand beasts, and feel the echo of emotions of those around him like he had in Alfheim. He could sense and interpret the feelings of others. Atreus felt like it was a gift Mother would have loved to see him attain. And he knew how Father felt about it. Pragmatic as ever, finding the use in it and giving away very little else of his opinion, if he had one at all.

Another of Father's lectures flitted into his mind, appropriate to this moment. Ironically, so early in their journey together, Father had warned Atreus to close his heart to the suffering of their enemies. It was ironic advice for someone whose divine ability would be to sense the feelings of those around them. Atreus wasn't sure he even could 'close his heart to it' anymore. And yet, the point of that lesson remained valid through the nuance Father hadn't explained. Nuance that Atreus had only learned through harsh experience. Sometimes there was value in caring for others, helping others, showing mercy. Even if that value was only in protecting his own heart. What happened to Modi, what Atreus had seen in the visions Helheim had shown him... It still haunted him. It had been needless.

Atreus had learned that lesson through his own mistakes. Even the suffering of an enemy shouldn't be discounted simply for the sake of convenience. And certainly not for satisfaction.

And then on the other hand, there were situations where there was no value in empathy. For creatures like the ogres, trolls, and this boar. Creatures, monsters. Beings for which Father had been entirely correct. Creatures for whom Atreus' suffering was not only unimportant, but may well have been the goal. For some, hatred would never fade. Either for being a natural part of their existence, or for suffering so much that they could see nothing beyond wreaking bloody vengeance against those who wronged them.

But then... Father...

... He was doing it again, wasn't he? 'You are in your head, boy.' A single thought leading him on a tangent of self-reflection. No one here to snap him out of it. The point was, the boar seemed to be almost thoughtless. A pure engine of destruction and slaughter. He had no choice but to kill it. Not when it was a creature built for the purpose of running down its quarry to gore it to death. Running had not been an option.

But now that it was dead... "What am I even supposed to do with this now?" It was an animal, magical or no. It was a beast. It was food. It was hide. And Mother had been very deliberate in her lessons to not waste a windfall like this. Father hadn't been shy of his opinion to take everything of worth that he came across. But this had to be hundreds of pounds of meat! Yards of hide!

"Oooo?"

"I can't just leave it!" Atreus complained at Andvari the soul stone. "Mother would come back to life just to kill me for wasting the spoils of a kill like this!"

"What are you doing here?"

"YAH!" Atreus yelped, accidentally tossing the stone into the air–

"Ooooooo!"

Quickly, the boy god snatched the stone out of the air, hiding it in a pouch as he turned to face the source of the voice with an affected innocent smile on his face. "Um, I was just–!" His innocent expression faltered as he got a look at her.

The very first thing he noticed was her longbow. A beast of a weapon of fine craftsmanship, yet even as she held it in one hand, birds had seemed to find their way to resting on the limb. With just a glance he could see the powerful frame of a hunter under her pale skin. The bulge of muscles in her crouched stance on a tree branch made it clear she could sprint with explosive speed and certainly draw the enormous bow with little trouble. She wore a short dress of a green to match her weapon, her arrows, and her long braided hair. Her expression was cold, irritated and suspicious. An expression only enhanced by the paint that marked one of her eyes with a cross pattern. Also in green.

She clearly liked the colour green.

"Uh, okay!" he started speaking, hoping he could get her to stop staring at him like that if he could figure out why she was doing it. First things first! "If this was your boar, I'm really really really sorry, but it was trying to kill me! I asked if it belonged to anybody and it answered with what felt like 'kill kill kill' so–!"

"Why would it be my boar?" she asked, her expression shifting from suspicious to confused.

"Uh... Well," he stopped, trying to explain in a way that would sound reasonable. "I was kind of in a situation like this before where I almost killed a boar. Then a witch came and yelled at me because it was the last of its kind so Father and I had to help her heal it." He looked back at the boar that had been so determined to murder him only a few minutes ago. "It's not exactly the same? This one was trying to kill me first. But still."

Her stance shifted, Atreus doing his best not to look at places that were revealed by the shift. Mother had taught him better than that. "It isn't my boar. And I don't especially care that it's dead."

"Oh. Well, that's a rel–"

"Well I suppose that isn't entirely true," she corrected herself. "I did release it so it was at one point my boar. And I did release it for the express purpose of hunting it myself, so it's a little irksome that you killed it instead."

"Um, sorry?" He didn't know what else he could say to that.

"But what bothers me more," she continued, uncaring for his apology, "is that I have no idea who you are or why you're traipsing through my hunting grounds like you own the place."

"Uh, well, it's kind of a long story."

"And now that my hunt has been cut unsatisfyingly short, I have nothing but time," she pressed in a tone that was anything but casual. "Talk. Why are you here?"

He was being given very little choice, and so he gave her a very much truncated account, beginning only when he met Odin and Rossweisse, being taken to Greece and being charged by Hermes to climb to the peak of Olympus.

The woman sighed. "And Hermes in his great wisdom elected not to tell me."

"In the Lord Hermes' defense, my lady," another voice joined the conversation. Coming from a red-haired woman who made no effort to hide her presence or approach. "The last time he tried to speak to you during a hunt you threatened to 'take his little winged booties and shove them-'"

"I'm aware of what I said, thank you Callisto!" the green woman cut her off sharply.

"Hello!" the redhead greeted Atreus with a cheerful smile. "My name is Callisto! Proud hunting companion of," she gestured at the green woman, "Lady Artemis, goddess of the hunt, the moon, childbirth and chastity. And you are?"

"Oh, my name is Atreus. And, uh, I don't really know what I'm god of yet, sorry."

There was a brief look between the two women, communicating... Hm. It was odd. He could figure out a little from Callisto, pleading for something from Artemis. But he got nothing at all from Artemis. Maybe because she was also a god?

Looking away from her companion, Artemis also failed to look at Atreus, instead seeming to stare into the middle distance for some reason. "Well at least I can say you're an adequate hunter, if a little desperate and unrefined. Not at all what I would expect from a child of Kratos. If he were to try hunting he would probably grab the biggest rock he could find and chase his prey with it until he could smash it over the beast's head. Then proclaim himself the strongest hunter or something equally–" A pointed clearing of Callisto's throat cut off the goddess' tirade of insulting the father of someone she just met. "That, err, that bow though!" she continued in a dramatic and desperate change of subject. "It's quite splendid, but a bit large for your frame, isn't it? Or do you aim to use a longbow like mine?"

"It was a gift from my mother. She said I would grow into it."

"Well!" the goddess seemed elated she had found a safer topic. "She sounds like a wise woman!"

"She was," Atreus confirmed with a sad smile.

It was quite something to see a goddess completely caught and stumped by such a simple thing. Artemis had begun the conversation suspicious and accusatory. Then moved to affected disinterest once she found out why he was there. Then... And now... Trying desperately to make and hold pleasant conversation. And judging by her reaction, the panic on her face, had decided she failed. "Well! I! Well! You... When you get older you'll certainly be strong enough to, to draw that bow with ease! After so long training with it it will feel like no effort at all, I'm sure! Goodbye then!" Suddenly, she turned on the branch and leapt away.

"Wait!" Atreus called out, reaching out toward her. "I... Sorry to keep bothering you, but I don't really know what to do with this boar and I was taught not to let things I hunt go to waste. So... Would you like to share it with me?"

"She'd love to!" Callisto announced without any kind of prompting.

"I can speak for myself, Callisto!"

"Of course you can, Lady Artemis! Please forgive me!" the spear-wielding redhead said with not an ounce of regret or apology in her words or expression.

The goddess of the hunt looked over her shoulder at the boy's open and hopeful expression. "I suppose... In the name of getting along, and in acknowledgement of your proper respect for wildlife and the true purpose of a hunt... I could help you with harvesting the boar. And it wouldn't be terrible to share a meal with someone beyond Callisto and the other nymphs once in a while."

"That sounds wonderful, Lady Artemis! I'll get started on a firepit!" Callisto volunteered, giving the goddess and young god some space.

"That woman can be such a busybody sometimes. I know what she's doing," Artemis complained, before a long lull in the conversation commenced. "So... Err... A-Animal familiar magic!" she suddenly exclaimed. "That's pretty neat! Always able to call the creatures of the forest to your side! Do you have any others than wolves?"

"A few others, yeah!" Atreus confirmed with a smile. "Crows, falcons, an elk, a squirrel–"

"A squirrel? That one doesn't sound as useful."

"Oh, he can be the most useful sometimes! Only problem is putting up with his sense of humour. He isn't as funny as he thinks he is," the boy grumbled. "Oh, and also boars but uh, not as big as that one," he added looking at the boar. "Shouldn't we...?"

"Oh, right, of course!" Artemis exclaimed, having forgotten the reason she had stayed in her panicked failure at conversation.

Atreus was starting to get an idea of what kind of person she was, at least. The kind of person that didn't deal with other people much, and by choice. He could tell that much by just how bad she was at it. Atreus was also someone who spent all of his time alone in the woods until fairly recently, but it seemed his powers were letting him cheat social interaction a little bit. On top of being someone who wanted to learn about and talk to all kinds of people.

Well, at least she had Callisto who seemed to be looking out for her! That was nice. Even if Artemis wasn't the most social person she still had a friend, and one who understood that.

"So," Atreus spoke after a brief, not unpleasant silence as they worked on skinning the boar, "I'm supposed to go meet everyone at the top of the mountain. But I don't really know anything at all about... Well, anyone. What are they like?"

"Oh, they're all different varieties of awful. Aphrodite is a shameless slut. Athena is a know-it-all busybody, Dionysus is always drunk, Demeter is frigid, Uncle Poseidon pretends he's two thousand years younger than he is and Father–" Her systematic evisceration of every member of her extended family halted as she saw Atreus with his eyebrows nigh unto his hairline. "That is, ugh. I... Suppose they might have their good points, I just prefer dealing with them as little as possible. If I can offer a bit of advice though, don't get caught in the middle of their feuds. It's never worth it."

"Do they fight a lot?" Atreus asked, worry creeping up on him that this version might not be all that different from the one Father knew.

"They bicker a lot," Artemis corrected. "They generally don't fight among themselves. Usually they get some poor unsuspecting fool and use them as a means to settle a dispute. Only they never settle it and someone undeserving suffers for getting caught in the middle. It's awful."

"Oh. Well, I'll do my best to not take sides. But I'm glad the first goddess I met isn't someone who would do that, Artemis!"

The green goddess' eyes flicked sideways, away from Atreus, toward the boar, then away again from anything she might have had cause to look at. "Yes. That is a true thing you just said. I would never."

Oh. Well. That wasn't a good sign.

-(-)-

So far as Atreus was concerned, he may have been tasked with climbing the mountain, but they didn't give him any particular timetable to do so. They didn't tell him to hurry, so he was free to spend the evening and night in the company of his... Cousin? His cousin and her friend. Artemis was fumbling and awkward in conversation, but Callisto was more than willing to help smooth things over. Even if Artemis acted like she didn't appreciate it, Callisto seemed to take the criticism in stride. Sharing stories of some of their more eventful hunts, and pushing Atreus to share stories of his own.

It was nice. Sharing a meal like that under the stars. After spending so much time with Father and Mimir, it was nice. And Callisto and Artemis were both fun and nice and pretty. Well... Artemis wasn't that nice, but she was doing her best. Or maybe it was truer to say she was actually nice but was more of an actions speaking louder than words kind of nice. Because her words were... Well, she tried.

But as the dawn arrived, Atreus saw his momentary companions were already gone when he awoke. As was what was left of the boar. Well that was sad. He didn't mind that they took it. He had said himself he didn't really have much use for it beyond eating it as they had done the previous night. And he didn't have a way to take it with him. Still... It would've been nice if they had at least woken him up to say goodbye.

It was what it was. Shouldering his bow and quiver again, he returned to his trek upward. Trudging up the mountain slope. Another long day of marching, thankfully without being accosted by another monstrous animal. But as the day wore on, long after the sun had reached its zenith, the forests gave way. Revealing what could only be his destination.

Marble. Marble and gold. What could it be but the palace of the gods? Majestic and ostentatious in a way he had never witnessed before. Great columns of marble supporting palaces decorated with intricate mosaics that seemed to depict great events of history. Like the jotnar triptychs he and Father had seen. Atreus looked forward to studying them more closely if the other gods would let him.

Smoothing out his tunic as best he could, Atreus approached the enormous bronze doors that were clearly the main entrance. But even here he found himself distracted. The doors themselves were also decorated with reliefs, symbols. Symmetrically decorated with thunderbolts, crashing waves, animals, owls and elks, a single burning sun halved by the doors. Spears separating the grandeur of above and what lay below. Men engaging in revelry as they seemed to celebrate a bountiful harvest.

But as he was studying the reliefs and making notes in his journal, the doors opened without warning. "Having trouble with the doors there, Nephew?" asked the man suddenly appearing through a crack in the doorway. Olive skin, bulging muscles, long hair and equally long beard with the appearance of flowing water in both colour and style.

"Oh, sorry, I hadn't– I was looking at these sculptures."

"Ah I see, an eye for craftsmanship, have you?" the clearly water-based god asked with good cheer. "Yes, Hephaestus did some excellent work here, didn't he? I especially love the detail work on the sea foam from the waves!"

"Uh, yeah, it's really nice."

"Indeed!" Somehow the god had taken the uncertain agreement as filled with enthusiasm. "Well, come along! Everyone is waiting. It's not every day we get to welcome someone new to the family, you know!"

The god vanished behind the door, not even stopping to properly introduce himself and giving Atreus no choice but to follow him inside.

Beyond the doors was a wide open plaza, floored by mosaic patterns, decorated by a central garden that was dominated by a water feature. A multi-layered fountain that contained sculptures of various men and women in various states of reverie. An old, bearded man standing proud above the water holding aloft a thunderbolt. Atreus was starting to get an idea of who might be in charge of this pantheon.

And seeing those sculptures in the fountain, Atreus' keen eyes matched them to those filling the plaza. And– "Artemis!" he called out, seeing the anti-social goddess standing off to one side. "You're here!"

"Well, of course," she responded as though it were obvious, though she didn't look his way. "I thought since you're meeting everyone you should at least have one familiar face. Even though it's not that familiar."

"Yes indeed!" The old man who was clearly also the one standing atop the fountain declared. "What a splendid occasion this is that it even brings reclusive Artemis back from the wilderness to spend a little time at home!"

"The wilderness is my home," Artemis grumbled, "But thank you for the warm welcome, Father."

"And welcome to you, Atreus!" the bearded god declared, not noticing or not caring about his apparent daughter's sarcasm. "It has been thousands of years since someone last joined our illustrious family! I, as you of course already know, am Zeus, King of the Gods! Come! Let us introduce you to everyone! You have already met Artemis, evidently. As well as your great uncle Poseidon, god of seas and storms!"

"Welcome again, little Nephew!" the jovial man who brought Atreus inside the palace said from behind him.

"And–"

"Come on, Dad, surely you'll let us introduce ourselves!" another man suggested, swaggering forward with a goblet in hand. "Hey there, Attie, you don't mind if I call you that, right?"

"Uh, I guess–?"

"I'm Dionysus, god of feasts, wine, revelry, all around good times!"

"Not all good times, Dionysus," a woman's voice interrupted. And as Atreus tracked the source he found his eyes widening, staring, before he remembered himself and looked away again. Even if the image had burned itself into his brain. "I am Lady Aphrodite, goddess of love. Oh, why do you look away, little godling?" the naked goddess asked.

"Maybe he has a little too much dignity to stare at desperate cries for attention," Artemis muttered.

"Oh, Artemis, this is why you'll forever be alone, being all judgemental like that. Why I've seen you aren't above a little naked frolicking from time to time~!"

"You've been spying on–?!" Artemis blurted out, only to flush as she realised what she just admitted to. "I mean! I don't! Ugh, this is why I never visit home!"

"Not even a single day," a dark-skinned goddess sighed. "I am Athena, goddess of wisdom. A pleasure to meet you, young Atreus."

"Indeed," agreed another man with a dangerous air about him, wearing white war paint across his eyes. "I am Ares, god of war. And from the way you carry yourself Atreus, I can say I'm glad to see one so young who also has the experience of combat. So disappointing that the times have rendered mortal men so soft."

"Or above such base and destructive pursuits as slaughter of their fellow man," Athena countered.

Ares laughed. "Oh, sister, they're certainly not that! They're just happy to do it from a distance instead of spilling the blood of their enemies up close by blade or spear. A tragedy, really. So many wars, so few warriors, wouldn't you agree Atreus?"

Both god and goddess stared at him expectantly. All while the others seemed to watch on as though this were primed to be entertaining.

Oh. This was what Artemis had warned him about, wasn't it?

"Uh, I don't really know about any of that." The wrong thing to say, the moment the words came out of his mouth he could tell it only irritated both of them. "I mean, I've seen people do horrible things just to survive so I don't think I like the idea of killing for the sake of killing."

"Well said and wisely spoken, Atreus," Athena praised him as Ares frown grew deeper.

"But I've also seen people do incredible things, fighting for what matters to them. Even if it wasn't for the best reason, they were willing to stake their life on it." A pang of regret once again struck him as his thoughts returned to Freya. "I think... If you have to kill someone, you should at least look them in the eye." An unblinking stare of a dead man, of a man who had been driven to the ends of desperation. "To understand what you're taking away."

Ares' frown shifted in such a minute way, from disdain to contemplation. "An interesting perspective. You have killed before. I can hear it in your words."

"... I have."

"A tragedy for such a burden to be lain on one so young," Athena commented with... What was probably meant to be sympathy but felt far more like pity and condescension.

"Now now," Zeus interrupted, "There'll be plenty of time to chat and get to know the boy as we feast! You'll be glad to know, Grandson! Artemis was kind enough to deliver unto us a feast worth of boar meat for this special occasion!"

"Actually, Father, Atreus was the one to take down the beast," the goddess of the hunt corrected him. "He wanted to offer the meat and hide as a gift but had no way to move it. And so I brought it for him."

"Ah ha! How magnanimous my grandson is! Offerings are for mortals, Atreus. But one should never turn down a gift!"

"Oh ho, such a well-mannered little godling," Aphrodite praised him.

Atreus looked back at Artemis as the other gods led him further into the palace. She looked away, affecting disinterest.

... Yeah. Definitely preferred actions over words.

"Ah, my boy! I thought I told you we were greeting Atreus in the plaza!"

"My apologies, Father! Apollo wished to challenge me and what could I do but oblige him?"

"Ah, not to worry, you're here now," Zeus assured as Atreus attention returned to where they were going. Or rather, to the person who was suddenly blocking their path. "Atreus, I am proud to introduce you to your father. Kratos, meet your son, Atreus!"

The moment he heard the word 'father', Atreus' perception of this reality tumbled into a jumbled, incomprehensible heap of nonsense and ill logic.

Wrong.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.

The man before him was... Was... What even was he?! There were some superficial similarities maybe. But... No! Tanned, oiled skin, wearing a sleeveless shirt with a neck so open that most of his pectorals could be seen. Shorts and bare legs made up of thick, corded muscle. A square, beardless jaw. Vibrant blue eyes. Long, flowing locks of golden blond hair.

Hair!

"Son! My son!" the muscular man who was apparently Kratos declared. "Come here, my boy!" Crouching down, Kratos grabbed Atreus, lifted him and pulled him into a crushing hug that made the boy god's spine pop in concerning ways.

Not that Atreus had room to worry about such a thing. His mind was far more concerned with uncomprehending horror.

'AHHHHHHHH!'

And lots of internal screaming.

-(-)-

A/N: So. Been a long time. That would be for two reasons. First, I'm not exactly encouraged to post on this site with reviewers being kind of jackholes (not so much for this story. Even the people who don't like this one whether for discomfort or dissatisfaction are polite enough about it. But on other stories). Second is that thing the site decided to do where they don't send e-mail alerts unless you opt in. A very stupid policy from my perspective but... Whatever. I don't run the site. I don't know the details. Maybe it made sense to them

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