PHILTATOS // Foolish X Reader

24

The city was a wash of color as you meandered through the streets. Choirs of people sang Sofos' praises as crowds danced around them, throwing their arms up to the sky in praise. Processions of masked people marched through the streets, trailing silver flags behind them as they made the pilgrimage through the city. You were sure at some point, things would move to Sofos' temple, but for now, you were content to watch as the city celebrated and cried out for help at the same time.

It was strange, to see things you had associated with festivity used to cry out for help and wisdom from above.

You found yourself detached from it all, in a way. Now that you knew the real reason behind the festival, you couldn't help but be a little amused at the entirety of it. You couldn't deny that Anello had played his cards well - a festival in the honor of the god of wisdom could be easily spun as a way to plead with the gods for help in a time like this. Especially if the caesar had been running low on hope - who more to need wisdom from above than him?

You had no doubts that Anello didn't even care about the drain on the city's resources. After all - unless the city faced entire collapse - he was guaranteed safety, as the head of the worship. The people wouldn't riot against him like they would Vesapasian - he was connected to the gods, feared and revered amongst men. No matter what happened, his security would be constant. He didn't have to care about any of it - and he didn't.

And he'd had the gall to call you the selfish one.

You chuckled to yourself mirthlessly, sliding your hands into the pockets of your robes. Your fingers brushed against something small, and you grabbed it, pulling it out to see what it was.

A piece of orange sea glass. A gift from Foolish.

Instinctually, your other hand moved to brush across your prayer beads, only to find the fabric of your robe. Right. You dropped your hand back down, empty. That was going to take some getting used to.

It hit you then that you really couldn't go back. Anello had actually removed you from the worship - all of the people you had known were off limits to you now, and anyone that would have been able to help you wouldn't dare be seen with someone who had broken one of the fundamental practices. Every comfort that you had been offered, no matter how small, wasn't available to you anymore.

All of the stones and pieces of glass and little things Foolish had given you that you had kept in your quarters would no doubt be thrown away. All of his gifts - save for the one still in your hand - were gone.

Tears began to roll down your cheeks. You had lost everything.

Hand still curled around the piece of sea glass, you wiped the tears away from your eyes enough so that your vision wasn't so blurry, and kept meandering, trying to lose yourself in the festival and forget about the panic and despair beginning to flare up in your chest. Around you, you could hear the city shouting out to Sofos in joy, praising him for his wisdom and crying out for him to bestow some divine premonition.

Even as you wiped away the tears from your eyes, you couldn't help but laugh. Amidst a city in celebration, you were crying in the streets.

With red eyes, you meandered around the city some more, the sea glass in your hand causing you to gravitate towards the places you and Foolish had seen together. That day when you had explored the city with him seemed so long ago now - almost like a different time. A time when you had believed that maybe, the gods would do something about the state of things. Things had been so hopeful then...

You hadn't realized what you'd had until you lost it in more ways than one.

You hadn't realized where the crowd was taking you until you got there. The pillars of the agora were draped in silver, and the whole place was alight - both from the shop lamps and the altar that had been erected in the center of the area. It seemed that this might be the busiest altar - the crowd of people around it was thick enough that you could only see the flames coming off the top.

You weren't really interested in the altar though. You found yourself hovering on the edge of the crowd, your attention drawn to the floor beneath your feet. The mosaic tiles were semi-obscured in the darkness of the night, but the emeralds inlaid in the eyes still glittered up at you.

The mosaic of Anoitos and Sofos looked a little different in the flickering light of the altar fire.

Though tonight was supposed to be about the silver brother, your eyes still found gold immediately. Foolish was portrayed as he always was - the hulking gold warrior, his helmet fashioned after the head of a shark. To anyone else, he was just another one of the gods - great and terrible.

Looking at the mosaic though, a pang echoed through your heart. You missed him - terribly so. He was more than just the fool of the heavens - he was kind and genuine. He'd made you laugh more times than you could remember, and most of all, he'd treated you like a true friend, even though he was quite literally a divine being, and you were, well, not.

You lifted your hand to your mouth, pressing the sea glass you had been carrying with you to your lips. "Please come back." You whispered. "I need you now more than ever Foolish - Anoitos - please."

A shout echoed out from the crowd nearby.

You turned to see what the commotion was, and the sea glass dropped from your hand, falling to the ground.