another Hecate bit
May. 25th, 2008 11:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aithneShe seems to like giving me interstitials where she drops little bits of her history my way....
"Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronos honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods.... The son of Cronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea".
--Hesiod, Theogny
The little dog grumbled, growling deep in her chest. “Prissy bitch,” I muttered to her. “Stand still.” I was scrubbing her with a wet cloth, which was red with clotted blood; both the dogs had been busy today.
The desert bitch shifted, farting. She’d had her turn earlier, and I’d tended a long, shallow wound down her side. She was not as careful as she had been of old. She, too, grew older, and more fretful. Finally, Order was clean, and I let her go to shake herself and execute crazed spins and turns and rolls, trying to get all the clean off of her.
Light lifted her head, and her single growl of warning raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I stood, turning smoothly, to see who approached.
“Hey, doggie. Nice doggie.” Light thumped her tail once and laid her head down, unconcerned. I gritted my teeth. A shape loomed out of the darkness, firelight clearly playing across broad Nordic features. “Hey, Hekate. Oops, Matilda. Good work today. Didn’t know you could use a sword.”
I shrugged with one shoulder. “The sword is an old friend. We have an…understanding.” The only thing left of Hades, this sword with a piece of his being and his power lodged in it. My shoulders are not a blacksmith’s shoulders, but it will work for me when my magic fails. It’s a heavy thing, this blade. I don’t think Thor is capable of understanding.
If nothing else, he was capable of grinning at me, and he did. “Makes me wonder what else you’re hiding. Like those.” I’d forgotten I’d stripped my shirt off, and was naked from the waist up except for the band that restrained my breasts.
I rolled my eyes. Why was everyone always so surprised to learn that I was, in fact, female, and had the usual complement of breasts? “Did you want something, Thor?”
“Brought you a drink.” He held out a cup to me, sloshing full of something that smelled a lot like Goibniu’s mead. “Brought me a drink, too.” Under his other arm, he had a cask, probably of the same. “Come on, sit with me. We can tell each other true stories, and you can give me a chance to charm you.”
I picked up the blade of Hades. “Sit. I’ll find my shirt, and come join you.”
“Why would you want to put your shirt on? Just one more thing to take off later.”
I brought up my chin sharply, reflexively preparing to tell him he could take himself off to whatever underworld he favored for his presumption. Then I glanced down at the sword in my hands. The feeling of Hades’ laughter rippled through me. You like them big and blond and not bright, I remembered him saying to me. I might be your match, Hekate, but we’re too much alike. His mailed hand on my arm. Be who you are.
True enough, old friend.
Without comment, I walked over to my things and buried the sword under a bag or two. When I returned to my little fire, its green flames leaning towards me as I approached, I nudged Light with my toe. Order came hurtling out of the darkness and threw herself at my feet, grinning. “Go find Doña, the two of you. Make sure she’s not getting into any trouble. Keep her occupied.” Because the last thing I needed was my precocious magelet deciding that now was the time for more instruction.
Doña was bothering me; not anything she was doing, precisely, but instead everything. She was systematically becoming a specialist in every single school of magic I threw at her; she was easily outstripping me in some very narrowly defined paths of power. She was reminding me more of Persephone every day. I wasn’t even sure she was human, now.
“Long face,” Thor commented as I sat down and he handed me the cup, pulling the cork out of the cask with his other hand. “Drink, it’ll make you feel better. So, what other secrets do you hide?”
I snorted. “Can’t get them out of me that easily. I’m going to make you work for them.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Just one. Tell me one.”
I considered, raising the cup to my mouth, wetting my lips with the liquid that tasted like a mad recollection of summer sunlight. I lowered the cup, flicking my tongue out to catch the drops on my lips. “One secret. You know of Zeus Sky-Shaker, husband of vengeful Hera? I thought you might. Both of them dead and gone now, of course.”
“What about him?”
I slapped my free hand on the earth three times, slowly. Then I lifted my cup to my mouth, feeling the night breeze stir on my bare shoulders. I smiled over the rim at Thor. “Only one affair did Zeus ever truly hide from Hera. Only one goddess did he ever think might be a threat to his marriage bed.”
“You?”
“Only one secret at a time,” I said. “You want the rest of the story, you’re going to have to give me more to drink.” I drained my cup and held it out to him. “I hope you brought another cask for yourself. This could be a long night.”
He took a long look at me, and the jumped up to collect more mead.
I smiled into my empty cup.
"Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronos honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods.... The son of Cronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea".
--Hesiod, Theogny
The little dog grumbled, growling deep in her chest. “Prissy bitch,” I muttered to her. “Stand still.” I was scrubbing her with a wet cloth, which was red with clotted blood; both the dogs had been busy today.
The desert bitch shifted, farting. She’d had her turn earlier, and I’d tended a long, shallow wound down her side. She was not as careful as she had been of old. She, too, grew older, and more fretful. Finally, Order was clean, and I let her go to shake herself and execute crazed spins and turns and rolls, trying to get all the clean off of her.
Light lifted her head, and her single growl of warning raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I stood, turning smoothly, to see who approached.
“Hey, doggie. Nice doggie.” Light thumped her tail once and laid her head down, unconcerned. I gritted my teeth. A shape loomed out of the darkness, firelight clearly playing across broad Nordic features. “Hey, Hekate. Oops, Matilda. Good work today. Didn’t know you could use a sword.”
I shrugged with one shoulder. “The sword is an old friend. We have an…understanding.” The only thing left of Hades, this sword with a piece of his being and his power lodged in it. My shoulders are not a blacksmith’s shoulders, but it will work for me when my magic fails. It’s a heavy thing, this blade. I don’t think Thor is capable of understanding.
If nothing else, he was capable of grinning at me, and he did. “Makes me wonder what else you’re hiding. Like those.” I’d forgotten I’d stripped my shirt off, and was naked from the waist up except for the band that restrained my breasts.
I rolled my eyes. Why was everyone always so surprised to learn that I was, in fact, female, and had the usual complement of breasts? “Did you want something, Thor?”
“Brought you a drink.” He held out a cup to me, sloshing full of something that smelled a lot like Goibniu’s mead. “Brought me a drink, too.” Under his other arm, he had a cask, probably of the same. “Come on, sit with me. We can tell each other true stories, and you can give me a chance to charm you.”
I picked up the blade of Hades. “Sit. I’ll find my shirt, and come join you.”
“Why would you want to put your shirt on? Just one more thing to take off later.”
I brought up my chin sharply, reflexively preparing to tell him he could take himself off to whatever underworld he favored for his presumption. Then I glanced down at the sword in my hands. The feeling of Hades’ laughter rippled through me. You like them big and blond and not bright, I remembered him saying to me. I might be your match, Hekate, but we’re too much alike. His mailed hand on my arm. Be who you are.
True enough, old friend.
Without comment, I walked over to my things and buried the sword under a bag or two. When I returned to my little fire, its green flames leaning towards me as I approached, I nudged Light with my toe. Order came hurtling out of the darkness and threw herself at my feet, grinning. “Go find Doña, the two of you. Make sure she’s not getting into any trouble. Keep her occupied.” Because the last thing I needed was my precocious magelet deciding that now was the time for more instruction.
Doña was bothering me; not anything she was doing, precisely, but instead everything. She was systematically becoming a specialist in every single school of magic I threw at her; she was easily outstripping me in some very narrowly defined paths of power. She was reminding me more of Persephone every day. I wasn’t even sure she was human, now.
“Long face,” Thor commented as I sat down and he handed me the cup, pulling the cork out of the cask with his other hand. “Drink, it’ll make you feel better. So, what other secrets do you hide?”
I snorted. “Can’t get them out of me that easily. I’m going to make you work for them.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Just one. Tell me one.”
I considered, raising the cup to my mouth, wetting my lips with the liquid that tasted like a mad recollection of summer sunlight. I lowered the cup, flicking my tongue out to catch the drops on my lips. “One secret. You know of Zeus Sky-Shaker, husband of vengeful Hera? I thought you might. Both of them dead and gone now, of course.”
“What about him?”
I slapped my free hand on the earth three times, slowly. Then I lifted my cup to my mouth, feeling the night breeze stir on my bare shoulders. I smiled over the rim at Thor. “Only one affair did Zeus ever truly hide from Hera. Only one goddess did he ever think might be a threat to his marriage bed.”
“You?”
“Only one secret at a time,” I said. “You want the rest of the story, you’re going to have to give me more to drink.” I drained my cup and held it out to him. “I hope you brought another cask for yourself. This could be a long night.”
He took a long look at me, and the jumped up to collect more mead.
I smiled into my empty cup.
