Fantasy Hades's Wife

[ManofManyRoles]

He took a soft breath, hand going into his pocket. "Of course..." He fell silent at the question of whether Demeter knew, a thin worried frown on his face. "She does not, not yet. Zeus knows, as does Hecate and Dionysus as I told you...we're doing everything we can to right what's happened. But I fear if I tell Demeter, she will lay the blame on me and work behind our backs to do it 'right', as everything we'd do would obviously be 'wrong'...Demeter hates the very air I breathe if I told her anything she would go her own way as opposed to cooperating with us. I could 'bully' her into cooperation, but you know that is not my way...so no, she does not know. I intend to tell her when we have more pieces to work with...I cannot risk others getting hurt, and Demeter can be...brash. Even if she hates me, I do not want harm to befall her."

 

[Deathkitten]

"Here's to hoping that she eventually gets over herself and stops hating you so much," Persephone muttered. She was silent for a long moment, just watching Hades. If she didn't have her memory, then how long had he been without her? Was he taking care of himself? Was the house any different? She allowed herself a small, sad smile. No, the house wouldn't be different. Hades always appreciated normalcy. If he didn't have to, then he'd have no reason to change the house around. She reached up and gave him a kiss on his cheek, "It will be alright, my love. My Father is on your side in most things you do, and my mother will have to come around eventually." She ran her fingers through his hair when suddenly the dream ended.

Hecate was beside the couch with her book open to the side, watching her carefully. "She should wake up soon, Hades. Was all well in her dreams?"

 

[ManofManyRoles]

"One can hope" he calmly replied, watching her in turn. He missed her so dearly..and even though the situation that had caused this was poor, it was...nice to see her again. "Hopefully..." And then he was out of her dream, back in his seat where he was, glancing towards Hecate. His eyes widened for a moment before relaxing. "...her dreams were fine. I was speaking with Persephone, not Kana...She requested I be more cautious and take better care of her...and she's fully confident this will all be fixed at some point..at some point, I will need you at my side so we can explain more to Kana. If I'm to have that discussion, either you or Dionysus should be present...and frankly you're better suited for it." He leaned back in the chair, running a hand over his face. "Do you have all the materials I left here, so you can try to find who was the cause of this? I dislike no longer being able to send people out directly for the search, but I will not risk another."

 

[Deathkitten]

"Of course, just try to stay calm for the moment. Zeus is out right now trying to gather information from where the packages were found. He has told Hermes to come to him with any and all packages of the sort that might come forth from now on," she explained, closing and setting aside the book, "Unless you'd prefer they go to you instead. If you tell Zeus that you'd prefer that instead, he'll likely listen."

Persephone awoke with a start, shooting up into a sitting position as her form changed all at once to that of Persephone. Her reddish hair partially covered her face as she looked around in absolute panic. It took only a fraction of a second before she consumed herself in petals and greenery and disappeared. Hecate looked on startled and just looked at Hades as if to ask what he wanted to do about whatever that was that just happened.

Having teleported herself, she reappeared by the river Styx and collapsed to her knees, trying to calm herself down from her panic. Her head felt like it was about to explode and she just wanted to run away from everything. She vaguely knew that Charon was probably around here somewhere, but she didn't care right now.

 

[ManofManyRoles]

He took another slow deep breath, nodding. "I'm as calm as I can be in this situation, Hecate...Zeus can handle the packages alongside Hermes. If he needs help, I will give it. But for now, my main concern is her safety, and now ensuring nothing happens to her again...or anyone under my domains protection for that matter." An uncomfortable feeling settled on him at the thought of one of his hounds having been killed or taken while they were out trying to do their duties. His attention snapped to Persephone as she sat up with a start and poofed away. "...I'm going after her. Get in touch with me as needed."

Standing up from the seat the shadow washed over him like a wave and consumed him. After a brief moment he rose out of the ground nearby Persephone, breath hitching in his throat for a moment. She was...real. As real as she had been in a while. Unless it was Kana stuck looking like her again...but no, he felt certain this was here. "...Kore?"

 

[Deathkitten]

She scrambled onto her side, pushing away from where he had just appeared, her fingers digging into the dirt at the banks of the river. Her eyes assessed him, looking like she was on the verge of breaking into tears. Her head was pounding. Gods her head felt like it wanted to implode! Persephone brought a hand up to the side of her head as though that would help anything and shuffled to her feet. She was shaking like a leaf, like she would blow away at a moment's notice. She looked at the river as though she was looking for an escape, then back to Hades.

"I don't... I don't understand what's going on...," she whispered, panic in her voice as she could barely stand, "I need to... I need to find my mother... or... or I need to... I don't know... Aïdōneús, I feel like my head is on fire." Her other hand went to the other side of her head, gingerly touching her temple. She backed off a few steps and looked around again like she was trying to decide whether or not to teleport away.

 

[ManofManyRoles]

He slowly raised his hands up on full display and surrender, taking a gentle step towards her. "Love...deep breaths and try to calm down. If you go to Demeter, we're going to send the earth into an ice age or something of that sort...please take a deep breath." Another gentle step forward, a deep breath. "Please don't flee from me. I want to help you and give you comfort, but I can't do that if you run off..." One last step and he held his hand out in front of him, palm facing up in silent offer to take it. "Please...come here Persephone."

 

[Deathkitten]

He was right. She couldn't go to Demeter. Her mother would freak out. She was already freaking out. They didn't need two. She pressed her eyes closed and rubbed her eyes hard as if she was trying to rub the headache away. She opened her eyes again and stared at his hand. He wasn't going to hurt her. He'd never hurt her. Her fingers touched his palm as light as a butterfly's wings before she slid her hand into his. "I am not well," she whispered, fear in her voice, still staring at his hand. The pain was making her dizzy. Was this what mortals called a migraine? It was wholly unpleasant and made her shake like she was ill. It amazed her that humans survived such unbridled pain that had seemingly no cause. A cut, you could dress. A migraine you could only nurse.

"Who has caused this?" she asked, eyes finally flitting up to meet his. Her brow looked so tightly knit in concern and pain that it appeared glued that way. Her petite mouth had a firmly planted frown, "This is a heinous offense. They must know they'll see the inside of Tartarus for such an unwarranted attack."

 

[ManofManyRoles]

Taking her hand he gave it a gentle squeeze, carefully pulling her into an embrace and wrapping his arm around her. "My dear...I'm sorry this has all happened. I am doing my best to right it, I am sorry I have not done enough yet." He slowly ran a hand up to the back of her head, cradling it with care. "I have a much more deserving place than the Pit I will be placing whoever did this to you...I am not one for wrath and such acts, but this I will not abide. Please let me help you...you cannot stand by the Styx all day. You should lay down and rest, perhaps drink something. I could have Hecate brew you something for your head?"

 

[Deathkitten]

She nodded, a motion barely perceptible. Her body relaxed as much as it could in his arms, like a piece sliding into place. It was where she belonged, even if she was scared or uncertain, even if she was in pain. They were a matching pair. "I guess I can't stand here all day," she whispered, repeating his words, "And I need something to take this pain away. I cannot stand it." Persephone leaned against him, her head tilting down to rest against his chest, taking strength in his strength for she did not have any right now. "I don't want this person to get ahold of me, Hades. I'm scared."

Once back at the house, Hecate was quiet, not wanting to say anything to disrupt whatever it was that was happening. Even if it was temporary, which it likely was, she didn't want to ruin this for Hades. Instead, she just got to work making something for the headache. It wasn't surprising she'd have one. The sleep itself could cause it... let alone this forced change. She feared for the land around this person whenever Hades found them.

 

[ManofManyRoles]

He gently pat her on the back, happy to hold her once again...have her near and hear her voice, feel her in his arms. "Don't be afraid, please. I promise you...no harm will befall you, not again. No one will lay a hand upon a hair on your head." He had to be more careful...no matter what, he had to protect her from whatever this person had planned. And once he found this person...once he had wrapped his hands around their throat and throttled the life out of them, he was tossing them into the void. A shadow slowly coiled around them both before collapsing over them, sending them back to Hecates abode.

Back at Hecates, Hades had taken up a seat nearby as Persephone was given a chance to lay down on the couch. "Are you feeling alright, besides the headache? Can I get you a drink of water perhaps?" He leaned forward on his knees in silent concern, watching her with a slight frown. Part of him wanted to be angry and do something about what had been done...but what was there he could do? He couldn't risk sending anything or anyone out, he had to play his cards more carefully...no, he would show concern for his wife now, and address the rest later.

 

[Deathkitten]

Persephone was quiet with eyes closed as she laid on the couch. She looked like a beautiful corpse until she moved, every now and then shuffling, rubbing her temples, or opening her eyes for a moment to look at Hades. He was beyond worried. She let out a slow sigh and forced herself into a seated position. Her hand reached out and touched his knee, "I feel awful and extremely confused. My head feels like it wants to burst, and I don't think I could think straight if I tried. The thought of thinking hard hurts." She chuckled, the sound sweet, "I think you need water, Hades. You're more freaked out than I am, now."

After a moment, Hecate returned with the remedy and gave it to her. She was feeling better almost instantly, a testament to Hecate's work. The goddess looked on at Hades with concern, like she wanted to say something... anything she'd say would simply be the obvious though and would hardly be of any help. She cleared her throat and spoke to Persephone, "Perhaps you and Hades should head home for now. He can keep you safest at his house... though if anything else pops up, please, let me know. If this... if she's alright... once she's alright, then we'll have to think about telling Demeter... but for now, you're the focus."

Persephone nodded, another small motion. She was still clearly out of it, but at least no longer in pain.

 

[ManofManyRoles]

He forced a small smile onto his face as she touched his knee and spoke to him. "I'll be fine, I'm simply concerned. I'm not thirty at the moment anyways." Eyes followed Hecate as she returned with the remedy and handed it to Persephone, giving a nod to her. "Right...I'll keep you in touch Hecate. I appreciate your aid...depending on how it all plays out we'll...have to speak to my sister." He heaved a small sigh, the idea of having that conversation with Demeter about as appealing as jumping headfirst into the Pit to speak with it personally. Standing up he offered his hand out to Persephone, helping her up slowly and pulling her close again. "Let me know if you have any developments, Hecate." The shadow wrapped around them both before they were gone.

Back at the estate, he rose out of the ground with her back in the main room, right next to the couch. "How can I make you more comfortable?" He asked calmly, black eyes regarding her silently and searching her own. He wasn't sure how long she would..be but he couldn't help but enjoy every moment of it while she was.

 

[Deathkitten]

"By getting me something I can work on," she said and kissed his jaw before turning and sitting on the couch, "If someone has done such a thing to me, then it is an affront to not only myself, but you as well. I'd like to help catch them just as much as you would." She let out a soft, bedraggled sigh, hoping Hades would not notice how unwell she was. She wanted to be useful. Persephone reached up into her hair and tied it back with a weave of flowers, "So what do we have so far? If... if we have some sort of location, we can work from there." She looked up and gave her husband the sweetest little smile. She was such a stubborn queen, strongwilled like her mother, but a thousand times more understanding.

"I guess I wouldn't mind some pomegranate juice though... if you're offering."

 

[ManofManyRoles]

He rested a hand in his pocket, a warmth collecting in his chest at that sweet little smile of hers. Even with the conditions of this meeting, it felt so...right to see her and see her smile again. It made him feel...alive wasn't a correct term he supposed, it made him feel correct. Like his existence was righted and all would be fine. "I'll let you know what we have after I get you something to drink." He held a finger up as if to say 'one moment' before heading off to the kitchen, only to return with a wine glass of pomegranate juice which he handed to his wife, seating himself beside her on the couch.

"What we have isn't..much. We know the location of where you...were...where you were..." he fell silent, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Where you were murdered. He took a deep breath, trying again. "We know where the packages were picked up, Zeus and Hermes are addressing that themselves. Hecate suspects a god, a titan, or a demigod as the suspect that has tampered with your mind so thoroughly...I also have two messages from my brothers, one each. It's unlikely they're too important, but I may as well read them anyways." He opened up each letter, reading them respectively.

 

[Deathkitten]

She nodded and leaned against him, sitting side-saddle with her legs up on the couch. The location of where she was what? ...and what packages? She had a little bit of a confused look on her face, but she said nothing, just going along with it. She'd pick up on whatever he was going on about eventually. She just wanted to know why she had had such a horrible headache, and why she felt so thoroughly confused. "If it was another god or a titan, then this will be rather messy," she said, taking a sip of her glass as she looked over his arm at the letters.

The one from Posideon was a... less than cordial request to hang out. It basically shouted at him to stop being a hermit and come have some fun. Sounded about right for Poseidon. The second was from Zeus, and was far more curt and serious. It detailed his progress with whatever these packages were they were talking about. That he had reached a bit of a dead-end, but that Hermes thinks he has an idea of where to look next, and that if he wanted mail delivered for the next day or so, to ask for the messenger goddess Iris instead. Made sense. It was unfortunate how vague he was... and if Hermes gave these to Hades, then why didn't he simply tell him this himself? Hermes was such a strange god. Someone running on all cylinders at all times, which sometimes made conversing with him difficult.

She spoke up again, "If the two of them are handling that, then perhaps we should go check out this other location you spoke of? Would you like me to teleport or you? Although... I suppose you know the location, so you'll have to." Persephone gave him another smile, giving his arm an affectionate squeeze.

 

[ManofManyRoles]

Hades gave a slight huff at Poseidon's letter, tossing it onto the table to be disposed of later. He spent a few moments to read and re-read the letter from Zeus...at least it was progress, if meager. Putting that on the table as well he glanced at Persephone, kissing the top of her head. "We could...but if the one who harmed your mortal form is there, I cannot lie and say It will be a pleasant visit, let alone a silent one. If you're willing to go however, I'll take you so we can look about." Persephone answered in kind. "Of course I'm willing... though I must admit. I'm a little confused. A... mortal form? I don't recall much of anything after our last argument and my mother being a bit... aggressive. Though, I'm not angry about it. I fear that my mom would have made me do something stupid. If I don't remember it... then... I suppose she did make me do something stupid," she sighed, "A mortal form. I can only guess she convinced me to try to give someone other than you a chance? I swear I need to stop giving her the chance to get in my head like that...I'm sorry."

Hades nodded slowly, arm wrapped around her. "...Correct. You took a mortal form and were...abused and killed...Please don't apologize to me. Come now, let's get this done." He slowly stood up with her, a shadow washing over them both and sending them on their journey towards the place of her death...what he would find there he wasn't sure, but if the one who had killed her was there, he'd had plenty of time to devise a punishment for them in the Pit, of that he was certain.

 

[Deathkitten]

The house was simple, in suburbia. Persephone was quiet as they appeared, looking at the place with a renewed furrow in her brow. She didn't like this place. She didn't like whatever happened here, and more than that she didn't like that her choices had hurt Hades. Whether or not her mother had convinced her... she was still at fault. He said not to apologize... but... he must be angry with her. Disappointed.

The house looked lived in. A little messy. The yard had died to the point of crunchy brown grass. What was once a tree was now a glorified twig. She stared at the poor plants, wanting to grow life again here... but no. She had to focus. She cleared her throat and grasped Hades's hand, trying to pull him from whatever dark thoughts he was surely having, "Perhaps we should take advantage of your helm? I don't want to scare the mortals too badly. Even if the person responsible is here, I don't think the neighbors would deserve the fright."

Inside the building was much the same as the outside. Houseplants lay dead. There was a bit of mess, but nothing too horrible. The faint sound of a television emanated from a room downstairs, but no one was there right now. "Perhaps the owner of the abode went to the shop?" she offered, more than a little afraid of a particular closet. She couldn't articulate why, but she stepped to the other side of Hades, away from it, "If we wait, perhaps they'll come back. After all, this place looks lived in."

 

[ManofManyRoles]

Arriving at the house, his eyes regarded everything with silent disdain. Dark thoughts danced in his mind's eye, and he wasn't sure if he was grateful or not that the person who lived here was missing right now or not. What he would do when he found him- his mind cleared as he felt her hand in his, her voice cutting through the dark fog in his mind. "Right..of course. Don't let go of my hand. If he comes home, I will handle him." He held his hand out in front of him, shadows pulling from the room and nowhere to form what looked like a simple flat cap. Say what one would about Hades, but he could keep with the times to an extent..and that included changing his attire and helms appearance. Sliding it on top of his head he gave her a calm nod. "We are beyond the sight of all now."

Following her gaze to the closet, he frowned to himself...this entire place was awful, and he doubted he would let it stand forever...no, as soon as it's owner was tossed into the Pit, he was going to cause a fissure to open and swallow the damnable house whole. No one should live here again, not with the memories that existed here. "Alright...let's get to work looking around then..." keeping his hand on hers he slowly walked about, attempting to search through for anything of use.

 

[Deathkitten]

She felt better knowing that she was invisible. It made her feel even safer than having her hand in his. Beyond that... he was always so much more... commanding? Intimidating? He was so hot with the hat on, damn it. It was terrifying to pretty much anyone else, but seeing her mate be so powerful was always attractive. She let her eyes look to him instead of the closet. He was much better to look at anyway.

The television was on a news channel. All mortal news anchors looked the same... it was strange. They looked like they wanted to be plastic. There were alcohol bottles on the table and various places. They clearly needed to clean up. A cat walked out of a different room and Persephone squeed. She couldn't help herself. She looked to Hades with the wide-eyed, "Can we keep it," plea in her eyes like she had forgotten for a moment where they were. Cats were cute damn it! ...pretty much all animals were cute. She spoke up again, "We can't leave the cat here. Especially if we're taking care of business. They'll need a new home~" She kept a grip on his hand but crouched so she could look at the cat better. It was all black with bright orange eyes, "Oh he's so cuteeeee. Cerberus could have a friend. They maaaatch!"

 

[ManofManyRoles]

He glanced over his shoulder at the news channel for a moment before turning back to his searching efforts, quickly losing interest in the mortals news. His attention snapped towards Persephone when she squealed, prepared to do something only to realize it was a small cat, his readiness to do something drastic dissipating. "...I suppose we can keep it. It wouldn't be fair to the poor creature to be left here alone." He studied it in silence before speaking up again. "It's going to have to stay in the garden with the rest, you know it wouldn't fair well outside of it." He fell silent for a bit, a small smile working its way onto his lips. "But yes...we can keep the cat. But...can you focus less on it and try to help me find anything of use?" He looked around slowly as he spoke, silently desperate for anything of use. Was there anything here to begin with, or was it just a cesspit for a drunken mortal?

 

[Deathkitten]

"Bah. It can be in the house. It just has to stay within the walls," she said back, smiling at the cat, who of course couldn't see them, "Fine fine. Sorry. I can't help it when I see such a cute little kitty. Couldn't help it when I saw you, after all." She grinned at her teasing comment before letting out a loud sigh. Right. Back to focusing. It was hard to focus when your head felt like it was made of fog. She looked at a door off to the side and opened it with a wave of her hand. Inside was a veritable shrine of globes. Big and small, there were maps and globes of the world. She pursed her lips, "Um... well... someone likes the planet a little much... That's strange. I wonder where they were thinking of going." She scrunched her nose a little. Atlas, perhaps? Of course, the titan himself was a bit preoccupied to do anything... but... who else could it signify?

 

[ManofManyRoles]

He gave a short laugh and shook his head a bit at the teasing comment. "Stop, you're flirting is distracting." Eyes moving towards the door she just opened he frowned a bit, starting forward and gently pulling her along behind him. "Certainly has an affinity for traveling and the world at large...I wonder if Gaia knows she has such an avid fan club these days." He fell silent as he slowly started to sift through the globes and maps, trying to think of anyone significant that could be tied to this. Atlas came to mind of course but he was too occupied with his labor to do anything at all. Perhaps his offspring but...that wouldn't make sense, Persephone had done no one any wrong, including them. "See anything else of use?"

 

[Deathkitten]

She shook her head, "Not really... We still need to check upstairs though. Maybe it's not got to do with Atlas or Gaia, but a child of theirs? You did have a hand in the Titanomachy, after all, and though I and most people hardly would blame you for it, perhaps a direct descendent wasn't so keen on the affair? It's a stretch... but at least it's something to go on. We can just query them, see how they're doing, and check if anything is amiss around them at the same time. It wouldn't hurt to say hi, even if it's a far shot." Persephone still had her one hand in his and used her other to brush against his upper arm, an affectionate gesture. A sound upstairs made her jump a second or two later. Someone was home.

He was a handsome man, if you could get past the fact that he was drunk as a skunk. He threw his jacket onto the arm of the couch and tossed off his shoes. Persephone gripped Hades's hand more tightly, looking up at the ceiling. She whispered, "Don't lose your cool. You'll take out this whole area if you're not careful." She bit her lip, a nervous feeling crawling through her like anxious electricity. She didn't want to go up there. It was a silly feeling. She was a goddess. She should not be afraid... but she was. The man drifted from the living room into the kitchen and tossed a few things into the fridge, knocked a couple of empty bottles into the trash with a loud, sharp sound. He was humming to himself.

 

[ManofManyRoles]

He nodded slowly. "That's true...It'd make sense. I did play a few roles in that entire situation, and I doubt anyone who viewed it in the wrong light would look kindly upon me for that. And the best way to get back to me would be to get to you..." he trailed off in thought. He was going to have to get into contact with quite a sum of people then...wonderful. His attention shot towards the upstairs, eyes narrowing slightly. A deep breath in and a low exhale out. "I'm not going to lose my cool...I'm not going to take out an entire city block. I'm going to be very tactful about this...Can I go upstairs and handle this? You can stay here with my helm, but I would very much like to take care of this...and then we can get back to this." He turned his attention to her, a hand reaching out to stroke her cheek.