"Is he up yet?" Megaera stepped into Zagreus' bedroom, only to find her answer. Zagreus was still on the bed, moaning in pain while Thanatos was trying to get him to eat something. "Guess not. It's pretty rare for a God to get sick. Do we know what's wrong with him?"
She was expecting him to come running back to fight her after his latest death, but he never showed and she waited for hours. At first she figured he was taking a break or maybe forgot to tell her he had other things to do. But Thanatos didn't know anything either.
Worried the two visited his room and found him feverish and in pain.
"He wasn't like this when he came out of the river! Something wrong!" Thanatos immediately began fussing over him, throwing his scythe and robe aside and asking Zagreus what happened. The Prince himself wasn't sure. He was feeling fine up to a point, and then he got sicker and sicker before he had to drag himself back to his room in shame.
"Have you informed your father?" She asked as she touched his forehead. He was burning hot. Zagreus groaned and shook his head, of course he didn't say anything to his dad. The last thing he needed is for him to give more reasons to quit. "Very well then. Since we don't know what's wrong just yet I suppose we have to treat it carefully."
Thanatos was inclined to agree. When it came to their boyfriend Megaera could show a rare soft side, so he knew she would try to make him feel better.
"Have you thought about dying again? Perhaps it will cure whatever ails you, Zag." She pulled her whip taunt, making Zagreus grow even more pale. Usually he welcomed the pain she gave. The fact that he was refusing meant he was really sick.
"Meg, we can't kill him. What if it makes things worse? Let's try and figure out what's wrong first. I'll go get some food and you go ask around. Without telling his dad. Sound good?" Megaera crossed her arms, angry that she can't do more. But she agreed. "That okay with you, Zag?" Zagreus could only nod painfully.
"I feel like I'm gonna puke." He moaned, every would sounding pained.
Try as they might he didn't want to eat, and he was constantly feverish. How can they heal him?
"What can we do if don't even know what's wrong with him?" Thanatos ran his hand through his hair as he set the bowl of soup next to Zagreus' bed. He was death itself, yet he couldn't figure out how to help his beloved Zagreus. "Meg, what if he got something really bad? What if... the resurrection process got messed up and he never gets better?"
"Shut up, Thanatos!" Megaera snapped at him. It was then that he lifted his head and saw how she was shaking while holding Zagreus' hand. "Don't say such things. He will get better. He always does. He's Zagreus."
And what can she do to make him feel better? She brings pain, not heals it.
"This kind of pain... I don't enjoy seeing him go through it. If only we knew why..." They had to think! Zagreus hadn't been acting any different when either of them saw him last. Now he was feverish, in pain, throwing up, refused to eat... it sounded more like a human illness. A human... illness...
"Thanatos... is it possible that he has what the humans call a flu?" The two looked at each other than at the struggling Zagreus.
"A flu? Him? is that possible?" It seemed like too much of a common thing. Especially for a God.
"I don't know." Truth be told she was grasping at straws here.
It wasn't a perfect explanation, but it was at least something. A cold could be treated. But... how exactly. They forgot they didn't know how. It was rather comical to see two of the most feared denizens of the Underworld go around asking to cure a common human illness.
Warm food, sweat, cold baths, honey, lemon, plenty of rest.
Were those things all that it took?
Little by little Zagreus was getting stronger, better, until one morning when he was already running laps.
"So, how exactly did you get sick? Not a common thing for us." Thanatos had to admit that as Death, he was curious about what could make a God sick. It was natural curiosity, mixed with worry.
"I... must admit I'm not too sure. Although usually in between fights I take small breaks, but I thought I could set records, goals for me to beat. A speedrun." He laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"A... speedrun... you worried us half to death for a silly thing like that?" As Megaera sat up she was already grabbing her whip.
Zagreus sensed that he messed up somewhere. He didn't have time to think where as he was chased by Megaera, who was in turn chased by Thanatos, urging her to calm down.