The Prey of Truth

Goodbye?

Waking up slightly earlier than usual, Atticus was surprised to see Dianthus already awake, sitting on a chair in the kitchen, stirring his tea anxiously.

Atticus noticed he looked tense, "Good morning. Is everything okay?" he gently asked.

Flinching, Dianthus turned to Atticus and murmured something close to, "Letter from Hades,".

"Okay... what does it say?" he prompted further.

"Hades wants to see you, to discuss your future," he disclosed.

Atticus gulped, seeming to have contracted Dianthus' gloominess.

'Wait,' he thought. 'Didn't I want to leave this place?'.

"Okay then," Atticus replied. "Let's go,".

Dianthus shook his head, "No, he just wants you, not me," he paused. "I'm not allowed to come.".

"Can you at least walk me there?" Atticus uncertainly, not wanting to journey through the Underworld alone.

Dianthus nodded, curtly, "Yes, Hades explained in the letter that I will walk you there, and he'll walk you back.".

Atticus nodded, "Can I have breakfast first?".

"Yes, of course," Dianthus said, standing up to prepare breakfast.

Breakfast was cinnamon toast and hot chocolate for the both of them. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, and every attempt to break it was made by Atticus, though the answers he got were short and the bare minimum from the older male. Atticus glanced over to Dianthus, who was staring at his hot chocolate, stirring it anxiously, similar to his tea earlier, and barely touching his food.

Atticus cleared his throat and said, "You know, it's going to be okay. He just wants to talk to me about future possibilities.".

But as the words came out of his mouth, Atticus felt increasingly anxious.

Dianthus nodded and started nibbling on his toast, "Sorry," he said. "I'm being childish.".

Atticus shook his head, "There's nothing to apologise for.".

~

Finishing breakfast, they started their journey to Hades' main meeting room, and, similar to breakfast, the walk was filled with silence. Once again, throwing an anxious glance at Dianthus, Atticus noticed him nervously scratching his hand. Atticus observed him from the corner of his eye for a bit, before deciding to take his hand, preventing him from doing any further damage to his hand. Breaking Dianthus out of his trance, he briefly glanced over to Atticus, brow slightly furrowed, but continued walking without a word. As they got closer and closer to their destination, Atticus felt Dianthus' grip on his hand tighten, as if he was scared that Atticus would take off at any moment. In what felt like a few fleeting seconds, they arrived at their destination. Dianthus let go of Atticus' hand, the warmth leaving Atticus' body, even though it was stifling out.

"I'll see you later, hopefully," Dianthus said quietly.

Atticus replied with a simple nod, as he opened the giant doors leading to the meeting room.