Dying Ichor

THIRTY-EIGHT

It turns out that horsemanship was never an option for Elias. He thought he was doing well for a while, but Hades' mount proved him wrong.

The thing went so fast he nearly lost his grip and fell of the horse, but the fear of plunging down into the abyss was far greater and so he managed to hold on tighter and squeezed his eyes shut as they made their way to Hades' palace.

By the time they arrived on the large platform of black marble, Elias was a mess. His heart couldn't stop beating wildly and he had to pause and catch his breath, too in shock to say a single word. The creature paused for a while, allowing the boy to take a moment for himself and sneakily tried grabbing some treats that were in his bag. When Elias was able to compose himself, his bag was completely open, and Hades' horse already ate most of his food.

Elias chose to ignore that. He snatched his bag away from the horse quickly before it could eat anything else. When it became displeased, it was angry and made loud noises. Elias backed up, not really knowing what to do. Mounts that belong to gods were something he didn't dare to get close to because of their nature. Poseidon's hippocampus liked him just fine, so he wasn't worried about that, and even Ares' own horse was okay with him. But this one? Elias didn't want to go near it at all until he stopped and slammed down its right hoof.

It raised his head up high and lightly whacked Elias' shoulder before turning around, whipping its tail to make a cracking sound and disappearing into the darkness. Elias released a breath he didn't realize he held.

He'll have to bring it lots of food next time as a peace offering.

Lugging his things over his shoulder, Elias painfully walked across the shiny black marble. Having to cling onto that horse for his life sapped the strength from his legs. Everything was aching, and he was sure there were probably bruises on his legs and especially his thighs.

He hoped he didn't get chafed from it.

Before he could push the large doors open, they abruptly opened themselves, revealing a god with messy attire. Hades sucked in a breath at the sight of Elias standing in front of him. He was quick to push back the strands of misplaced hair, but he clumsily put his crown back on his head as he ushered Elias to come inside.

The God of the Underworld had been so busy trying to complete his duties that he barely had time to clean everything up, including himself. Almost all of the interior of the palace had been rearranged into something much lighter, something more easy-going on the eyes of mortals who'd probably shiver at how gloomy and desolate this place was. Hades wanted to make sure everything was perfect just in time for Elias' arrival, so that's what he's been doing for the past couple of days.

Even now, he was picky about the clothes he wore. Ignoring the how it was messily thrown on, he chose a simpler attire than the flashy one from before and only wore blood-red rubies as earrings. When he saw Elias looking over at him, he preened at the attention and greeted him, still out of breath.

"W-Welcome... back," Hades awkwardly said.

Elias offered him a polite smile and allowed himself to be escorted in and through the halls. He looked around, noticing a subtle change inside the palace. It was warmer here than before... and he doesn't see those creepy statues anywhere. He wondered if they moved by themselves.

Hades fought the urge to smile when Elias saw the different interior. This was exhausting work, so he was glad Elias paid attention to his surroundings.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Elias questioned. "I know how busy you are, so I don't plan on staying any longer than I need to."

"No, no... I-I actually completed my work. I'm free for a while, just until the next batch of souls are sent down here. I'd..." Hades grew quietly, seemingly timid as they passed through numerous doors. "Y-You can stay longer... here with me. But only if you want! That's alright, too! After all, the Underworld is no place for mortals like yourself, and after what you went through in Tartarus, I can only imagine how hard it was to step back here. I mean, I should be the one to say sorry, I practically forced you to come-"