Agathe had eaten half of the soup that was in her bowl, but
couldn't fit anymore. She heard the booming voice and it made her
jump, along with all the other birds. Once he had finished speaking
she stood up from the table and turned to face him, her arms
crossed. God or not, he had a lot to make up for. "How dare you,
sir. How dare you come back and insult Sasha after after being gone
for so long and not even returning to see your daughter, or her
daughter..." She was very angry, and whatever he would do to her
had to be better than what everyone else had done. "She had done
nothing wrong and yet she was cursed because you couldn't keep your
pants on." Very angry didn't cover it. "She told you to leave if I
heard right..."
Poseidon's jaw dropped and he stared down the strange blind woman
in the room. "Excuse you, mortal?" "Don't! Don't you dare speak to
her like that! She is right! When you attacked great grandma,
Athena attacked her!" Sasha yelled at him, darting for Agathe so
she could stand in front of her and protect her. She wasn't looking
at anything, terrified she would turn him to stone and bring down
the wrath of the other gods. Even if it was his own fault. "Yes,
yes, her famed God killing line," Poseidon said, waving off the
concern. "I am your family. You won't hurt me." "You are not
family. And I will. If you hurt anyone on this island, birds and
animals included, I will hurt you. Go away! You've done enough
damage in this place. I do not want you here," Sasha cried at him,
still wiping away tears from her eyes as her snakes thrashed,
hissing at him.
Agathe heard the movement of scales on stone, and then Sasha's
voice from in front of her confirmed that the gorgon had moved to
protect her. A few soft bird calls came from behind them as Agathe
stepped around to Sasha's side, Shaye on her arm. "I may be mortal,
and you may be a god, but that does not excuse your behavior! You
should heed the words of your great granddaughter, for this is her
home, and you have intruded against her wishes. Do what you will to
me, but you will not upset her further!" Shaye added in his own
screech, knowing the danger of angering a god, but Shaye would
stand with both women until either they or he fell. Agathe,
however, didn't care what fate Poseidon cast upon her.
Shaking his head, the god seemed to realize they were angry at him
and he had done something wrong in their eyes. Turning, he began to
set off. "You are still my great granddaughter. You are still apart
of my family if you want it or not." He left the girls, holding
back his anger. He would try again some other time. Sasha was quiet
besides her sniffles and hissing snakes. "...is he gone? Can Shaye
see him?" She asked softly, blindly reaching out her arm to find
Agathe's.
"I heard his footsteps leaving. Shaye, please make sure he finds
his way off the island." Shaye cawed, the other birds replied and
then they all flew out to keep an eye on him. "If he hasn't left
yet, he will." Sasha's hand missed its target completely since
Agathe had moved around in front of her to hug her. "God or not, he
doesn't deserve your love... Not after being completely absent for
so long..." She whispered, angry that Sasha was crying, angry that
she couldn't have done more, and she was angry at the other gods
for allowing this whole ordeal to continue.
Sasha hugged her tightly, her face pressed against Agathe's
shoulder. "He...he has never...he hasn't ever come here...I...I
was..." She shook, trembling with a mix of fury and shock. "Thank
you for being here...I think he may have tried to hug me if you
weren't...I would have turned him to stone then...and the rest of
them would probably have been called down on me." Her snakes, while
angry, were beginning to settle and rest agsint both woman.
Agathe's breathing was even and calm. "If he tried to hug you I
would have smacked him." The thought of her attempting to do that
to a god made her smile slightly, and she hoped it made Sasha smile
as well. "If that did happen, he would have deserved it. However,
if the others had come, I would have smacked them too." She let her
hands gently rub Sasha's shoulders, hoping to relax her and ease
some of the tension she could feel in the muscle and tendon.
Sasha giggled at the mental image of her strong, brave friend
smacking the gods around. "I think that would be highly
entertaining to watch if I wasn't worried they would hurt you. It
may not be much, as I literally have not other friends besides you
and our feathered friends, but you are my best friend, Agathe.
Thank you for looking out for me. Can you let the others know I am
thankful for their help as well? I wonder if there is some way for
me to learn their language..."
Agathe shrugged and chuckled. "If they hurt me, I highly doubt that
it would be any worse than what other mortals have done to me. The
same applies to you, Sasha. You are my best friend, and aside from
animals, my only friend." She turned her head towards the door as
she had heard something. "Speak of the devil," Shaye and the rest
of the birds had returned, and they all flew back to the chairs to
stand proudly. "Shaye, Sasha wants you all to now that she is very
thankful for your help." She looked up at Sasha and smiled. "I
mean, we could try, but it won't be something you learn quickly,
and I don't think you'll be able to reply... Human voices can't
make the noises that they make to communicate."
"Can they understand or learn to understand some of my human
responses? We could listen in the opposite tongue and answer in out
own?" Sasha offered, making happily at Agathe. She had relaxed
enough to not be too on edge but she still feared Poseidon
returning.
"Probably. What do you think Shaye, would you be willing to help me
teach Sasha some of the more easy to understand phrases? The common
ones... And would you be willing to learn some of our language? Or
rather, how she speaks?" Agathe asked with a smile, having felt
that Sasha had relaxed a bit, but she could still feel a decent
amount of tension, and it didn't sit right with her. Shaye replied
with a series of high pitched chirps. "He said he would, but not
today, he's a bit tired out. He and the others will head out for
the night, but will be back tomorrow. Shaye says that he is pleased
to be a friend of yours, and that you're one of his." She tossed
the thought around of offering a better shoulder and back massage
to soothe and unwind some of the knots that she felt starting.
"Oh, yes! After trying to find us a rabbit for dinner, then just
flying with us and his friends, and ending with..with...well, that
catastrophe of a family reunion, I would imagine that we all are
feeling drained. Goodnight, all of you brave, handsome protectors.
Sleep well. If you should ever wish to sleep here, feel free,"
Sasha told the group, still seeking comfort from her friend.
"Would...um...is it too much trouble to ask if we could sleep close
together, Agathe? As in the same room. Just so that if he were to
come back, we can look out for each other?" Sasha felt safe next to
her friend. The woman was blind but she certainly was not feeble,
weak or incapable of looking out for those she seemed worthy. And
Sasha was feeling a bit weak and incapable. But mostly worried
about the woman she had met.
Agathe was about to relay the message, but Sasha's next request
made her pause for just a moment before she answered. "No, it
wouldn't be too much trouble. Plus, I was going to ask if you'd
like a back massage. It feels like you have some knots starting
back there..." She turned her head in the direction of the birds
and then relayed the message exactly as Sasha had said it. All of
them ruffled their feathers at the handsome compliment before they
all made their calls and flew off. "They all say good night to you
as well. Shaye said that the others have nests so won't be likely
to stay here, but he said that he probably will once he's built a
nest to sleep in."
"That'll be good. And a back massage sounds absolutely wonderful.
Would you like one too? I could try my hand at giving you one as
well," Sasha offered. She was feeling almost a hundred percent
again. Life was strange but manageable.
"I, I've never had one really, so I guess I'd like to try one."
Agathe finally let go of Sasha fully and smiled. "Is there a mat I
could sleep on since I'm sleeping with you? I don't need a real bed
since I'm not used to one." She could tell the difference in
Sasha's tone that she was feeling better, and that made her happy.
"If you insist on sleeping on the floor, then I will too. I don't
have a bed bed. I have more like a nest in my den. We could sleep
in one of the bigger activities rooms. Put down some mats, blankets
and pillows. We could even make a fort," Sasha offered, smiling as
she remembered times her mother and she had done just that.
Agathe gasped and couldn't have been nodding more enthusiastically.
"A fort sounds amazing and like a lot of fun! I've had some
experience building forts! I can't say for sure if they looked
good, but they've worked as a shelter." The first ones she had
built weren't very good, and those sleepless nights encouraged her
to build better and learn what makes a good shelter and what
doesn't.
Sasha doubled over laughing. "Fort it is! Shall we go gather our
supplies?" She asked, the little kid in her eager to get it
started. She had plenty of ideas and with her strength, she was
sure they could get a few of the bigger furniture pieces placed
just right to get a big enough fort.
"Yes! The only things I'm used to building with were scraps of
fabric I found, sticks, trees, and if I was lucky I had rocks to
hold things down." Agathe was grinning, happy to hear Sasha
laughing. "Where shall we start?" She was excited to help make a
good fort, and to keep Sasha's mind off of the visit of the god.
Sasha was only egged on by Agathe's clear excitement. "First, I
think building a good base is in order. There are some poles we can
use and some bigger furniture, including actual statues. They are
of the gods. There are a couple that have survived and a re not
bashed in. Like the one for Ares. Personally, I think it is because
the artist made him too handsome but that is just my theory."
Don't have an account yet? 
