PHILTATOS // Foolish X Reader

6

He was real, and he had been in the temple, and he had talked to you.

Your heart was pounding in your chest as you made your way back along the path, unsure of where you were going. Your feet were moving on their own as your mind reeled - just when you had been beginning to think it was all for naught, he had appeared right in front of you. Not just a sign or an omen, no - the actual god himself.

And what was the most surprising, was that he had been nice.

You'd heard plenty of stories of old - back when the gods were more active and humans were still new - encounters with gods that had gone horribly, ending up with the humans in those tales horribly disfigured or dead. It was a lesson to all humanity to be wary - gods were fickle creatures, and while inclined to be helpful and good, that did not mean that they were incapable of being malevolent or evil.

Then again, maybe you hadn't had to worry about that so much with the god of fools.

You found yourself heading towards the south side of the hill, slowing your steps as you came across a stone bench you had passed many a time before. It was a favorite spot of some of the older worship members to relax in the later hours of the evening, but it was empty now. You sat down, taking refuge underneath the olive tree the bench sat beneath, and catching your breath.

He had been real, and he had been nice, and he'd said had considered you a friend.

That had been the most confusing part - that he knew who you were, and he listened to your prayers, but had done nothing to answer them. He had said something about a test of faith, but people were dying. You couldn't understand it - you now knew that the gods were hearing your pleas, what were they waiting for?

Your primary concern at the moment though, was getting your hands on some sweet berries.

You leaned back, gripping the smooth stone you were sitting on to tip your head back, peering up at the sky through the branches of the olive tree above you. You had never heard of something like this happening before - the most recent encounter with any of the gods (in their physical forms, at least) had been recorded almost a hundred years ago (and had not ended well for the priestess who had the misfortune of meeting who she was devoted to).

You didn't want to think about what might happen if you returned with no sweet berries.

Though, you were unsure of where exactly you stood with Foolish. He had called you a friend - and said that you were the only person who bothered paying him any attention in prayer. What exactly being a 'friend' meant you were unsure - in the stories, gods' ideas of friendship were... interesting, to say the least, and not a position you wanted to be in, if that was what Foolish had meant.

You sighed, resting your head in your hands. It was all so confusing - and slightly terrifying. Perhaps you had been too bold in asking for a sign - you had no idea what to do now. You had never thought you would be dealing with a god in corporeal form, the most you had wanted was some sort of signal or omen. You weren't prepared for something like this - you doubted any of the worship members would be.

The more you thought about it, the less you were sure what had even happened. You had been so confused, and Foolish had said a lot of things in a very short span of time. With other parts of the practice, there were written precedents to follow - prayer books and altar rituals and sacrificial documents. With this, there was nothing but stories, and those were more warnings and lessons, not guidebooks.

You desperately needed some guidance.

But where would you be able to find something like that in a time where the gods had been silent for so long?

You supposed you could always look back over the ancient texts, but that would take hours. What you needed was someone with more experience in the practice, who might have some insight as to what happened now...

You needed to talk to Anello.

Surely, as the leader of the  entire worship, he would have some sort of advice or guidance to offer. He had always said that you could come to him in times of insecurity or confusion, and this certainly qualified as one. His calm demeanor was exactly what you needed right now.

Well - first it might do to calm yourself down.

Closing your eyes, you took a few deep breaths, focusing on the gentle scent of the olive tree above you mixing with the light salt of the sea that splashed against the side of the hill not too far from where you were sitting. Things were going to be fine - you had a plan now, and surely Anello would know what to do.

Successfully having calmed yourself down, you got up from the bench, brushing off your robes and stepping back onto the stone path that would lead you back into the acropolis proper. Hopefully, Anello wouldn't have disappeared into his own business yet, and you could catch him as he came out of Sofos' temple.

Staring off towards the east side of the hill, one hand came up to clutch your prayer beads. Things would be alright - a god appearing in corporeal form had happened before, even if it had been hundreds of years since the last recorded instance. And Foolish, even in the stories of old, had never been particularly malevolent.

Things were going to be fine. You would talk to Anello, and he would have some advice for you about what to do next. You would find some sweet berries for Foolish to bring tomorrow when you stopped in, and things would be fine.

Everything was going to be alright.