PHILTATOS // Foolish X Reader

11

Technically, you hadn't been lying when you'd told the guards that you were going to the agora. Did you take Foolish there in the most roundabout of ways? Perhaps. But the whole point of this endeavor was so that he could see the city, and see the city he did.

You brought him down to the residential areas, stepping your way over family encampments in the road as you chased after him. He was like a little boy, excited over the most menial things - in your opinion anyway. Watching him run his hands over the stone of the buildings made you smile, and when he tried to lick the dusty residue off his hands you laughed. The questions he asked were things you would have thought were obvious - it was painfully obvious that he didn't belong here.

You brought him to the docks after showing him through the homes, and weren't surprised at all when he gasped at the boats, pointing out to sea at the fishermen going about their days. Originally, you were just going to stay on the docks themselves, but Foolish begged to go down to the beaches, so reluctantly, you found yourself down at the shore. Even though you told him not to, he dove face-first into the ocean.

His robes were soaked, but he didn't seem to mind dripping all over the streets as you continued your little tour of the city.

It was pleasant, walking around with Foolish. His questions were never prying, only curious, and you did your best to explain how the city worked. With anyone else, it would have been draining, but Foolishs' energy was contagious - showing him around was like seeing the city through a new set of eyes, fresh with childlike wonder.

For a moment, as you toured him around, things didn't seem so bad.

When you did finally make it to the agora, Foolish was immediately enraptured by the intricate mosaic tiling of the floor.

"Wow! Y/N, look at this!"

He stopped right at the edge of the first mosaic - a depiction of Amartia and Vryo lounging under a pair of flowering trees - and peered down at the arranged tiles. "That's Amartia and Vryo!" He said, looking back up to you.

"It is." You agreed, coming to a stop next to him. It was a scene that you knew well, from one of the most popular tales of the gods. "It's a scene from the story of Thymoetes, before he stumbled upon-"

"I know." Foolish interrupted you, grinning back down at the mosaic. "They got it a little bit wrong though - 'Martia's hair wasn't quite that long back then."

You looked back down at the mosaic. Amartia's hair wasn't all that long to begin with in the picture, and you would have never picked out something like that to even be wrong in the first place. But of course Foolish would - he knew the gods on a personal level.

"Oh- there's more!"

You barely looked up in time to see Foolish scurrying away, heading over to the next mosaic - now a picture of Nkri, holding the steel scales that symbolized justice. You hurried after him, ignoring the looks of the guards stationed in between the agora stalls - as long as he didn't look like anything more than an excited tourist, it was fine.

You let him wander around for a while, trailing in his wake as he discovered each of the mosaics. It was amusing, watching him critique the depictions of the other gods. He was full of criticism - Logios hair was more blue, not purple; Floga wasn't that tall; Man'nko didn't even have a physical form, what did the artists think they were doing? Above all though, you were waiting for him to discover the mosaic at the end of the row.

The depiction of himself, and his brother.

When he did, Foolish stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at the ground beneath him. You folded your hands behind you, watching his face of any change in expression. "Well?"

"That's me." Foolish said, his eyes tracing over his own likeness down on the tiled ground. "And Sof."

"It is." You agreed. Of course, the likeness of Foolish in the mosaic bore bright golden skin and wore the skin of a shark - more accurate to the true form described in the stories. There were some similarities though - the striking emerald green of his eyes, for one, and the boyish smile that was a staple of Foolish imagery.

Glancing up at him, you were surprised to find his eyes on Sofos' likeness instead of his own. As far as twins went, Foolish and his brother looked almost nothing alike - where Foolish was built like a powerful warrior (as most of the gods were) Sofos was leaner, more angular. His eyes glittered the same green, but it looked more sinister paired with silver skin.

"I didn't think there would be anything of me." Foolish said, his voice quieter than it had been all day. "I thought... since people don't pray to me all that often..."

"You're still part of the pantheon." You said.

"I guess." Foolish said. "It doesn't feel like it, sometimes. I mean, I didn't wasn't even able to see out into the city until you actually took me to see it. Sof - he's got all these people praying to him for wisdom all the time, and he's all intimidating and omnipotent and important and I'm literally the god of fools."

For the first time all day, suddenly, that giggly feeling faded. You'd thought Foolish would be excited to see himself represented, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect you wanted.

Leaning over to knock your shoulder into Foolishs', you drew his attention to you. "If it means anything, I think you're pretty all-powerful and intimidating."

Foolish turned to face you, green eyes wide. "Really?"

Smiling, you nodded. "When you appeared to me, I was so terrified I had to go sit down outside for a bit and think it over."

Foolishs' grin grew on his face again.