Legion of Dionysus

Chapter 16

A/N:  This is the first time I have ever posted a video link to a song within a story.  I'd recommend pausing reading, playing it to get a vibe for the moment, and then after hearing it continuing on.  Also, second Fae race reveal amongst the Legion occurs this chapter!  (Unless I miscounted...but I'm pretty sure it's the second.)

4750 words

Posted 9/24/21

I'm thankful when noon rolls around that no one has yet knocked on my door with news to let me know a meal was ready. I honestly felt that I just needed some time to myself this morning. Last night had shaken me up pretty badly, although I had to admit to myself that it wasn't entirely due to fear alone.

Sure, I quickly had compared the fiends outside the window to things that more than likely composed my childhood nightmares, and to a hefty extent I meant it. However, the truth was, those fiends were far more terrifying than I think even my childhood imagination could conjure up. I wasn't exactly frightened of them though, at least not as much as I probably should have been.

No, I was more unsettled by their physical existence. Where they were definitely beings I could wholly agree were made of nightmares, their presence had me feeling like I was just now waking up to the new world I was a part of, or technically should have been a part of since my birth. That I was only just now starting to understand what the dark side of it looked like. I might have considered myself a monster before learning about my demonic nature, but I also hadn't really perceived that what that meant was I wasn't the only one. Not only that but even if I were a monster that meant there were bigger and badder monsters out there than myself. Bigger. Like my fae demon roommates for example.

I took a moment to reflect on the battle prowess they demonstrated during the fights that occurred outside my window. There was no doubt after witnessing it for myself that all of them were exceptionally skilled, and I had to wonder if that was due to innate genetic abilities or if it was due to centuries' worth of practice and training. That thought had me diving even further and contemplating the possibility of what each of their fae races might be.

Of course I already knew that Namjoon was a Gryphon since he told me last night, but I still mentally replayed the vision of his shifted form in my mind. He wasn't gold like I had mentally pictured. Instead his form was as dark as the shadows, and I could barely make him out as he streaked through the sky unless he used his magical breath orb ability. When he did that the orb of magic he ejected forth from his hawk-like beak lit up his face. I thought I had gotten a sense of similar shades of color I found in my own natural hair tones. Mostly black, but also hints of teal, purple, and indigo mixed in at the tips of each of his feathers and shining off in highlights across the back of his fur coat.

I don't know for certain how many of the others are shifters. I was pretty certain that Yoongi was, however. After all, he was the only other one to shift while out on the temporary battlefield, but it was only a partial shift. I knew his hands became paws and that they must have been tipped with some deadly claws. However, other than the fact they were furry and black I had no true clue what animal he might shift into. It could be something from what I would have referred to as mythology only a handful of days ago, or it could have been a form that existed in my known reality. He didn't talk much, so I doubted he would willingly tell me. At least not right away.