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He would never forgive himself and he would never give up again.
Zagreus had fled, leaving his friends, his saviours to their fate and it couldn’t have been good. He’d found himself past the sandbanks and rocks, in the wide deep ocean. He could barely remember his escape. Flashes of memory of the past days, maybe weeks, blurred together. Of avoiding ships he saw, but always checking if any vessel might be the Styx, although the very one was in a whole other direction. Of resting on the sea-ground, half-hidden in algae, his body and mind demanding him to sleep, forcing him to close his eyes. When he woke up, there was no way to tell how much time has passed, how many days gone by. Maybe the sun was still up, so he had only slept a few hours. Or maybe it had been a whole day. Or maybe more. He couldn’t remember the fullness of the moon, his usual method of measuring time. But as he finally felt truly awake, his wounds all healed and his body strong again, he returned.
He swam through the area of sandbanks, shores and rocks. No ship was seen, no one daring to steer through, no sign of the Styx left. He found himself abandoning his cautions, calling out for Thanatos time and time again. It felt strange to reach the spot where he had last seen the Captain. Where the very one had urged him to flee. There was not a single living soul to be spotted now, no ship and no one answering his calls. His heart sank once more, hope he didn’t know of gone again. The sea was vast and wide, the area unknown, but Zagreus had never felt as lonely as he did now. His lips quivered. A sob escaped his throat. He was so utterly alone. If it wouldn’t be for him, Thanatos would still be Captain, wouldn’t he? What happened after Zagreus had escaped? Did Theseus kill Thanatos? Were Hypnos and Charon still alive? Clenching his hands into fists he gulped down his sorrow. He’d sworn himself to not give up. He had to stop being a fool. He needed to search the area again. If that wouldn’t help, he had to make his way to the city they intended to sail to. Not that he could enter, but maybe he would be able to spot the Styx and find his answers and friends. Mind made up and bravery found again, he resumed his calling and searching.
The island was small, mostly out of rocks and sand.
Some natural caves could be found and a few trees, unhealthy looking, grey-ish crooked branches almost dried up. Algae and moss covered the rocks where the high tide would reach every few hours. In the heart of the island rainwater had built some ponds, the only fresh water source available, although dirty and shallow. The last rain had been some days ago and the ponds were endangered to dry up. If so, the three souls on the island would die. They all knew, but speaking of it would make it real. So instead, Hypnos tried to make their sleeping place as comfortable as possible, only keeping his sanity because he constantly talked to Charon, who tried to keep a fire going, drying moss on the flames edges so it could fuel the fire soon. Thanatos had been collecting everything edible, mostly crabs. They looked rough. This seemed to be their end. He sat on some rocks and threw a few pebbles in the water, deep in his thoughts. Had it truly been mercy that Asterius had convinced Theseus to bring them safely to the next island instead of killing them? It had come close to the latter possibility, Theseus had been more than ready to bury his spear in Thanatos’ heart. Instead he had taken the captain’s hat and command over the Styx. Thanatos sighed. He knew every plank of that ship, every inch of red sail’s cloth, every nail and wood wormhole. She was a part of his soul, a part of him. He hoped the brute knew kindness towards her. He sighed again. Did Zagreus flee? Was he safe, somewhere in the seas of this world? Surely. Thanatos knew the merman was fast, could dive deep. Surely he had understood the danger to his life and turned back, never to trust a human again? He hoped so. He hoped Zagreus would be with his kind, safe and sound, forgetting the agony humans brought and never nearing them again. But he longed to see him again, maybe a last time before he would die, the lack of water sooner or later inevitable.
His hearing was fine, registering the faint callings of his name, although they didn’t get through the dark clouds of his mind right away. He turned towards their little camp when he finally noticed the voice, but it came from the opposite direction, from the sea-side. Turning back, recognition came to him, but he dared not to hope yet. Or to fear. But there, still far away, he saw the silhouette of Zagreus’ head and shoulder above the surface of the water, waves sloshing over his broad shoulders every few seconds. The merman hadn’t noticed him yet, head turning from small shore and sandbank to another rock.
If he had thought this through, maybe he hadn’t stood up. He would have deemed it better to hide, break the young heart so the merman would abandon contacting humans. But he was not as driven by logic as he wished to be, finding himself standing and waving. Thanatos still couldn’t quite believe it, ready to realise this as a game of his desperate mind, as he called out “Zagreus!”
Their eyes met again. Technically, they couldn’t be sure of eye contact, way too far away. It was rather facing and spotting each other. But there was a tug in their hearts, a bloom of hope. Zagreus was sure he spotted golden glimmers and Thanatos felt a pierce of mild green and intense red. In the flash of a moment Zagreus was right before him, nearly stranded, hands steading his upright torso on the rocks, waves sloshing over the mesmerizing red tail, reflecting the sunlight in hundreds shades of red, the most beautiful spectacle the former Captain had ever seen. And Thanatos boots got wet, his knees sank into the water as he crouched before the merman, one hand on Zagreus’ shoulder, another softly cradling the side of his face to make sure he was real, whispering his name like a prayer. Zagreus looked healed up, skin glistening wet, dark hair framing his young face.
Thanatos had always been so well put together. His poet shirt had always been a clean white, metal ornaments of his long coat shining, hair falling down straight and well-kept. Now he looked tired, eyes sunken in, grime and dirt covering him and his clothes had some tears. Zagreus wanted nothing more but to take care, as cold hands caressed his always-hot skin.
“Zagreus what are you doing here?”
The merman huffed, almost offended, though he couldn’t take offence in Thanatos words, not ever.
“I was searching for you! I’m so sorry I swam away, Than, I should have stayed with you. How did you end up here, are you hurt?”
A small smile came upon Thanatos’ face. Seemed like their roles were kind of reversed now. Sighing, he told Zagreus how Theseus had claimed the position of captain. Hypnos and Charon had been the only ones not accepting the new captain and Charon had defended Hypnos as the situation threatened to escalate into a fight, although Thanatos swore to not fight back and accept the end of his commando. Asterius had spoken to Theseus. That his first command and act as a Captain should not be murder of former mates and Captain, especially because not all of the crew seemed to fully back him up. So a boat was lowered, Asterius himself rowing the three onto the nearest island before rowing back. They had watched them search for Zagreus and not finding him, then sailing onward to the harbour. They had watched the Styx get smaller and smaller as she distanced herself until she wasn’t visible again. And that was it. They were left to fate.
“And fate wanted me to find you and a way to save you, “ Zagreus was sure.
He had a number of ideas. Or actually he wished he had. Thanatos, Hypnos and Charon could built a boat, right? Well the few trees wouldn’t even be enough for a raft. Even if they could build one, the chance to make it through the sea safe and sound was small, even with the help of a merman. The discussion got more heated, with Zagreus ideas getting less realistic and Thanatos feeling a bit insulted, because he already thought of all that. Because of course, he didn’t want Charon and Hypnos and himself dying! Hypnos and Charon themselves came by, happy to see Zagreus too. It was Hypnos who put a stop to their fighting.
“Can the two of you just stop it? I don’t know how many more nights we got but I would like to get some sleep now. Thank you very much.”
With that Hypnos turned around, shuffling nearer to the little flame Charon kept lit.
In the following silence, Zagreus and Thanatos looked at each other apologetically. “I’m sorry, Zagreus.” mumbled Thanatos exactly in the moment Zagreus said “I didn’t want to be like this I am so sorry Than.”
Thanatos took a deep breath, awkwardly tracing his hand through Zagreus’ hair. Zagreus flashed him a small smile.
“Let us talk no more of misery, Zagreus, nor for tonight.”
The merman nodded, relaxing against Thanatos on the shore. After a few deep breaths he cast his look upon the sky, whispering: “Look, our stars are still shining bright.”
The former captain followed his gaze, gazing towards the firmament. For the first time since that fateful night, he felt some tension leave his body. He put an arm around Zagreus and refused to think about it, not wanting to blush or stutter. This was how they spent the night, gazing into the sky, until Thanatos fell asleep, weary from the former days, and Zagreus looked upon his sleeping face, cheeks reddened as he swore to himself to find a way to save them, before he rested his head on Thanatos’ shoulder. The tip of his tail was still in the water, gentle waves reaching mid-tail in the current tide. It was a good night in the midst of tragedy.
On the next day, Zagreus brought them food from below the waves again. He hoped it would rain, so his friends could have more fresh water meaning more time, but the sun was a garish disc without mercy. He spent the bigger amount of the day swimming around to find anything helpful, anything for the rescue, trying to have a plan. If only he would find a mostly intact wrack of a boat, good enough to fix.
The second day wasn’t much different, but the radius he covered was bigger and he was slightly on edge. On one shore he had seen a small, dried up bush and he tried to get some sticks for the fire, but had to retreat when he nearly landed himself fully out of the water, panting and all alone under the sun. Would be no good to die and he wasn’t sure how he would bring the sticks back without getting them wet anyway. In the end he called it a day to witness the loss of Hypnos’ bickering, how Charon struggled to keep the fire lit and how Thanatos kept up his silence, cause there seemed to be nothing left to say.
The third day began with a misty and chilly morning, the dew in the moss at least provided some drinkable water. Still, Zagreus resumed his search for solutions with dread, determined to not give up, but his failings let his stomach ache and his jaw tense. The fog made it hard to see, but by now he knew his way through the shores and sandbanks, some hundreds of metres away where he ended his search yesterday. Only a few moments later a chilly breeze carried voices over the water, stilling his swimming immediately.
Carefully Zagreus followed the sounds through the mist, cautious to only stick his head out of the water enough to hear them. There were a lot. He made out frustration and anger, panicked calls and furious commands.
Must be humans.
Through the fog he could make out a large shade in the shape of a big ship, sturdier than the Styx, the issue hard to overlook. The ship, three-masted like the Styx, but heavier looking, the name Tartarus written on its side, was stuck. Her front rammed into rocks and shores and the crew could be lucky the wood didn’t burst, letting her sink. Instead she was slightly leaning onto the left side, making walking on deck funny if it wasn’t so grim, and no one could manoeuvre her. Still, if a ship could be intimating, the Tartarus certainly was. Her sails were a ragged white, almost ghost-like and she was decorated with ornaments of copper, her name written in the same material, but it was old and the once shiny metal had taken a green colour, edges blackened.
“You should have steered more carefully! Dammit, I should have just done it myself. It was crazy to choose this route at all!” cursed someone on deck, probably a woman.
Zagreus was near enough to touch the wood of the ship, but he didn’t, staying for a moment to listen and weigh his limited options.
“Youu were the one saying we could make it!! Alas, whatever, if Tis wouldn’t have distracted me with her noises I would have seen those stupid rocks!”
“She was distressed! Tch, it doesn’t matter. No one can see any dumb rocks in this fucked up weather.”
Someone else called out from the belly of the ship “No leek! No holes! No breach!”
Some relief seemed to follow. Still, being stuck could be their death.
“We can let down our small boats and some pull the Tartarus out!”
The woman from before answered: “Yes we’ll do that when the fog lifts. Makes no sense before, we’d just mount the next sandbank. The high tide should help along soon.”
Zagreus was so invested in listening and trying to find the right way to tie a solution to this mess, he didn’t notice that someone was looking down from the railing, right unto him, calling out a weird screeched word he didn’t understand. Suddenly a lot of people were standing at the rail, all looking down, spotting him. He could have easily ducked, could have returned, dive back to Thanatos.
But what good would that bring? He felt frozen to the spot anyway.
Above him the crew was discussing and calling out, but so far nobody had thrown a spear or a net, so he guessed it was a good sign.
He made out some shouts about sirens, until the woman from before called out: “Tch, it’s not a siren if there’s no singing. Sirens would have eaten us an hour ago if there would be any here.”
For a moment, the words that came to him bit by bit were stuck in his throat again as he looked up to the woman.
She was clearly the Captain of this ship, with blue hair reminding him of a more gentle sea, muscled arms that could probably lift and carry him just like Thanatos could and a piercing gaze that seemed to reach all the way through his soul.
But he found his voice again.
“I’m not a siren, but maybe I can help you back into water. If you give hand me a rope I could drag you out.”
Another woman, the one who had talked to the Captain, laughed, a shrill alarming sound, uncomfortable in Zagreus ears. “Why would we trust a talking merman?! We should fetch you out and eat you, I’m hungry anyway!”
“Shut it, Alecto. You complain about eating fish all day anyway. Why would you help us, merman? What do you want in return?”
Zagreus had flinched, the recent betrayal of Theseus still fresh in his mind, but he tried to return the Captain’s gaze equally strong.
“I would pull you out for free. But if you want to resume your route through the sandbanks, well, it’s difficult. In exchange for a favour I could safely navigate your ship. Also… umm call me Zagreus.”
She seemed to think for a moment, probably waging if they would have the upper hand if he was intending anything harmful, before giving a slight nod.
“I’m Megaera, Captain of the Tartarus, this nuthead is Alecto, my right hand. I agree to you trying to pull us out, although I doubt you’ve got the strength. Then we can talk about your favour. Prepare the ropes!”
Zagreus nearly gave a cry of relief and happiness. Finally, he found their rescue. And finally, he really had something to do. He wasn’t worrying about how hard it would be at all, determined to just succeed. A rope was tied around the ship, he wasn’t sure if it was tied around the masts or just one mast or just a piece of rail but he guessed they had given it some thought so he would be able to have effect on the whole ship, not just break off a piece of wood. While they worked the rope, Zagreus made his way to the stuck front of the ship. He managed to pull free some rocks pressed against the wood and deterred which way he would need to pull so the Tartarus would just glide back into the water.
Then he made his way to the back of the ship, noting how it was wider and heavier built than the Styx, probably not as fast but easily fitting more cargo and cannons. Megaera herself threw the rope down to him and he caught it easily, nodding to her in a weird feeling of a shared mission. He saw some crew members almost grin at him, probably thinking of this as a waste of time, but it wasn’t their time because they’d have to wait for the fog to dissolve anyway, so why not watch a merman struggle for nothing? But Megaera looked serious. She gave a short nod back and Zagreus felt a twitch in his chest for some unknown reason.
At first, it was like pulling on a rope that was directly tied to a continent, nothing gave away. The rope was pulled tight, forming a straight line, while Zagreus gave strong movements of his tail in the water, his hands gripping the rope tight, his teeth gritted. He wasn’t sure how long he tried without any result, but he felt the little movement of water. High tide. The water was coming back, slowly rising, very much to his advantage. Some members of the crew already seemed bored as the ship creaked, deep sounds emerging from the old lady, before the whole vessel gave away suddenly, moving back only a few inches. It was so abrupt, some nearly lost balance, while a shrieking sound from the wood of the ship scraping over the rocks underneath accompanied the movement. Surprised yelps and shouts were heard, the man who watched over the orlop, the lowest part of the ship, again reporting no damage and no water inside.
Just those few inches changed the mood, as Zagreus pulled again, strength returning from joy. They were cheering on him now, motivating him. Like he was a part of them for the moment. He made out Alecto’s voice, shouting at him “Pull, fish! Don’t let this go to waste!” And he heard Megaera say “You really want to show us you can do it all on your own, huh? Then come on, Zagreus.”
A shiver went over him, his neck and shoulders were covered in a thin layer of sweat, washed away by sea salt waves, and he pulled the rope over his left shoulder, so he held it in his fists before his chest, back turned to the ship, breathing in deeply and putting all his remaining strength into another pull, strongly jerking his tail in a forward movement.
There was creaking again, the rope pulled into his flesh, blood dripping into the water, the skin of his shoulder raw. The moment of pure pain and labour was followed by more creaking, movement of a ship gliding back into freedom, splashes of water hitting him as the vessel swung back and forth. The following cheers were so loud, for a moment he forgot his caution and weariness, pleased to have caused their happiness, relief washing over him.
“I admit, you’re more than capable. What’s the favour for your navigation, Zagreus?”
He turned around, the rope not in his hands anymore, just floating in the water. Zag gave Megaera his small usual grin, maybe a tad wavering, excitement bubbling in his chest whenever he looked at her for some unknown reason.
“Taking three more passengers on board and safely bringing them to the next harbour. You would have to bring them on board from a shore not far away.”
“Human passengers? We can do that. You’ve got yourself a deal, merman.”
He knew it. Hope was worth it. The fates could be cruel, but they followed it with kindness.
His position was now before the ship, sails were hissed, Megaera herself stood at the wheel. Zagreus gently pulled the Tartarus away from the sandbank, through the passage, nearly shivering while adrenalin raced through his body.
Thanatos was beginning to get worried. He didn’t want Charon’s and Hypnos’ death, alas, he himself wasn’t keen on dying on that shore, but what worried him more was Zagreus being left behind, alive but not ready to just go and live his life. It was the third day he spent swimming around like a solution would just float in the sea. Than was walking on the shore, a storm of a thousand thoughts raging in his head, one more troublesome than the next, when he came to a sudden halt. There was a ship. A familiar, large ship with copper décor, so old it turned green, giving the whole vessel an eerie vibe, makings its way right towards them through the slowly lifting fog.
The stuff of other people’s nightmares made Hypnos smile dreamily, chirping: “Huuh? So kind of Megaera to visit me in my dying fever, always knew she was as much a fan of me as I of her.”
Charon made a rumbling noise and gave Hypnos a slight slap on the back of his head for his stupid words about dying.
There, before the ship, Thanatos could make out Zagreus. Small, hopeful, crazy, eager Zagreus.
He really did find a chance of rescue.
Megaera couldn’t quite hide her surprise when Alecto came back after descending on a small boat, rowing to the shore and getting the three lost souls, coming back aboard with them and Zagreus, who wanted to make sure everything was alright and his friends really save before descending back and fulfilling his part of the deal.
“Thanatos! Never would have thought you would end up saved by me! Caught yourself a lovely fish, huh?”
Thanatos stood on deck with Zagreus in his arms. He wasn’t wearing his hat and there was no sight of the Styx, Megaera growing curious to know their story. She also appreciated seeing Zagreus up close, but her pink, piercing eyes gave away no fascination nor interest.
“You know each other?” asked Zagreus, a bit intimidated by seeing Megaera this close. Everything about her was just… impressive. She looked as badass as her ship.
Thanatos nodded, “Yes. Good day to you too, Megaera, long time no see. You have my thanks for saving us from this predicament. We’re both… pirate captains. Or were… Anyway, we came across each other a few times.”
“Don’t worry Zagreus, there is no bad blood between us. Anyway, I might be a pirate but I’m somewhat true to my word this time and will fulfil the deal. Thanatos, Hypnos, Charon, welcome aboard the Tartarus.”
Thanatos felt a bit uneasy as he heard Megaera talk so casually to Zagreus, slightly tightening his grip on him. Worried glances traced over a scratched shoulder and cut hands, until he found Zagreus looking right back at him with a smile. A blush crept up his face.
Zagreus half-grinned at him: “I told you I’d find a way! Guess no one’s gonna die any time soon.”
Than could only nod, the heartfelt thanks dying on his lips as Alecto interrupted them: “So flop him back in the sea and let’s get out of here, this place stinks.”
Once again Zagreus had a rope and was positioned before the ship for navigation, only tugging in the right direction. He shivered as they passed the spot where Theseus had betrayed him, occasionally turning around.
The elegant bow of the Tartarus had a figurehead of what looked like some kind of tormented person, tortured or at least in great pain, with wings emerging to the ship’s side, skilfully carved, looking both terrorising and beautiful. Above, at the top of the deck he could barely make out Megaera and Thanatos. It calmed him a lot, knowing Thanatos was still looking out for him. He wasn’t able to see their expressions from this distance, but just the familiar speck of colours and shapes was reassuring.
The last flocks of mist still remained as the mighty Tartarus passed the last shores and sandbanks and reached back into the deep sea, safely guided by the merman.
It was evening time when Zagreus was pulled on board again.
He suspected Thanatos on the other side of the railing, ready to hold him. Instead it was Megaera. She had pulled the sleeves of her shirt up to her elbows, Zagreus noticing once again how strong she looked.
“Alright if I hold you?”, she asked, in her usual calm manner of speaking, with her cold voice that left a tingle upon Zagreus’ body. He appreciated her asking while nodding. She swept him up in her muscled arms- and oh- she really was every bit as strong as she looked, holding him steady.
He had barely noticed just how exhausted he was, muscles slightly trembling. He couldn’t restrain himself from leaning into her, although feeling very awkward and blushing while doing so. But Megaera just smiled as she carried him over the deck.
There were no call-outs, no jokes, no treacherous whispers. Megaera must have a different commanding style.
There was a hammock on the deck, right next to a tub filled with water, prepared just for him. Thanatos must have talked with Megaera so they would arrange it just like they did on the Styx. The very one was already comfortably seated in the hammock, a worried little smile on his lips. Zagreus was still dripping water when Megaera eased him next to Thanatos surprisingly gentle.
“Hi,” he croaked out, voice strained.
“Hey. Are you alright, Zagreus? You look worn out. You should have let us fetch you sooner.” He put an arm around Zag, worried frown increasing as the latter slumped into him.
Megaera had grabbed a plate of food before sitting down on Zagreus’ other side, pulling his tail, which was kind of in the way, casually into her lap, making him blush again. It was surprisingly comfortable.
She looked at him “Is he always so hot to the touch? I was prepared for cold skin, you know, like a fish. Kind of slimy, maybe. Just wet and cold and slick.”
Thanatos raised one brow, one hand wandering to Zagreus’ forehead. He was not feverish. “That’s his normal body temperature.”
Zagreus wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, but obviously Megaera and Thanatos were more comfortable with each other than he thought. Although he barely knew Meg he felt himself relaxing between them.
He had saved his friends.
It was all kind of well at the moment. So he could have some rest. He wore his stupid smile on his face, cheeks reddened from Than’s casual touch to his forehead, looking up at his companions and into sky.
“I’m fine, just a bit exhausted. Thank you for saving us, Meg… Everyone’s okay, right?”
Thanatos felt his heart ache -saving us- he had only saved them, he himself was in no danger. His grip around Zag tightened affectionally for a moment.
The soft wet hair, his tired and dreamy eyes, this pale perfect skin, toned muscle, the fiery red of a glimmering tail… The cuts on his hands from the rope were almost healed, as well as his shoulder. Once again he couldn’t believe how blessed he was to get to know Zagreus. The loss of the Styx, his home for many years, was hopefully no permanent one. It didn’t sting too much with the hope of regaining her while being in the best of company.
The tales of monstrous merfolk were washed-out memories as Megaera gazed upon the being next to her. He had proofed how strong he was and she’d never be fooled into thinking those shiny sharp teeth could not bite. But compared to her, or just most people, he was small. In this tired relaxed state he looked almost vulnerable. On her thighs rested the heavy tail, blood-red in colour, hot enough to warm her skin, smooth to the touch. In some ways she did feel enchanted by him, like he was drawing her in, letting her guard fall down and becoming so unusually caring. Not that he didn’t deserve it. There! Since when did she care what anyone deserves? She refused to think about it, meeting a green and a red eye.
“Yes, Charon and Hypnos are sleeping below deck, they’re just fine. Thanatos here didn’t get a lot of shut-eye, but we all already ate. Stop thanking me, we had a deal and are both holding on to it. This platter’s for you.”
“Oh…” He reached out and took a dried fig from the platter, rich fruity taste soon filling his senses.
“But I have to thank you, Zagreus. You didn’t need to stay and keep looking, yet you did not refrain and ultimately had to work so hard. I will not forget what you did, I promise.” Thanatos’ words were like soft, sun-warmed waves engulfing him.
Zagreus hadn’t felt so comfortable in a while, although he wasn’t even in the water, “I suppose we’re even, considering you saved me from some merchants back then. Let’s all just… not be in need for saving for a while, yeah? I could use some rest.”
He nibbled on some food, content with the situation, while Meg had a comforting hand on his rail so it wouldn’t slip from her thighs and Thanatos gently stroked his hair, mind absent for the moment.
“What happens now? You will reach land, right?”
He didn’t want to think about them leaving him behind, couldn’t imagine roaming the sea alone like he did some weeks ago.
Megaera nodded: “We need supplies and will sell our goods. Then we’ll see if the Styx is anchoring in the same harbour. If not, we can still gain some news of her.”
“I do not plan to give her up that easily,” Than agreed, “although it was merciful to not kill us, it was also Theseus’ mistake. I don’t want to believe the whole crew prefers sailing under his command, but they should choose freely. As for the Styx, she is mine, and I will plan on how to take her back. Theseus can search for another vessel.”
“We agreed on working together for the time being. I cannot stand that blonde guy and it would be a shame to see any harm come to the Styx while someone less skilled than Charon steers her. If you want, you can come along too, Zagreus?”
Megaera had made it sound so easy, he couldn’t grasp the weight of this question. Astonished he looked upon Thanatos, who smiled back sheepishly.
“While we’re in the harbour you would have some free time roaming the sea, far enough to not endanger yourself. We agree on a meeting time and then we’ll…. Travel together. Like before, after you healed. I would make sure nothing happens to you this time, Zagreus. I promise.”
“We’ll make sure. No one will harm you,” added Megaera.
Zagreus felt like his head was spinning, thoughts and feelings mixing to swirl chaotically, too fast to grab a single one. His mouth was slightly agape in silent surprise, but no tone left his lips.
He hadn’t expected Zagreus to make an immediate decision. Even if this bond wouldn’t have to be permanent, it was still a great change, surely going against the natural distance between their species. Also he still didn’t know if Zagreus had any family he’d rather return to. Still, Thanatos couldn’t deny the pang of disappointment. It was unfair towards Zagreus, he had asked too much of him. Swallowing the lump in his throat he almost whispered: “Take some time to think about it.”
Being alone has rarely been lonely before to Zagreus. Roaming the vast sea where others saw cold waves and cruel storms was a pure adventure and he could always go back to meet friends and family. But then, after Than had saved him by forcing him to swim away, he had gotten to know loneliness, like she greeted him before he saw her approach. Thanatos had taught him what loss could mean. He had gotten to know the hollowness of loneliness, like she was a mysterious magical mist you breathe in after someone leaves and before you know it it’s everywhere, settled in your lungs, your gut and your mind, blocking your senses, thoughts and actions.
And now it was gone. Just blown out. Now he was in company, couldn’t quite grasp how wonderful it felt to just be there, in that cotton hammock, loving every bit of this closeness. Thanatos and Megaera, although he just got to know the latter, felt like they anchored him. And they had asked him to travel together, at least as close together as possible. He was sure the fates wanted to make up for the torment of the last events, granting some extra kindness and luck. Would it be dangerous to be this close to civilisation? Yes. Could they really make sure no one would betray them again? No. But it would make him oh so happy, so of what matter are danger and threat? He’d go against the highest stakes, endure the most hurt and proof to be capable of facing anything in their way.
“No I don’t need time, I’m coming with you. Let’s get the Styx back and roam the seas.”
Meg huffed in amusement, “Always in such a rush, huh? Tch. Let’s do it then.”
Thanatos smiled so softly at Zagreus he felt like something in him melted to the bottom of the sea, grinning back a bit awkwardly when their eyes met.
Megaera had her eyes cast upward, whispering: “Huh, look how bright the stars are shining tonight.”