Irhaboggle Pride (2023) I Saw the Signs and Symbols

Labrys

"Zeus must be angry!" Iason was half joking and half serious as he raised an arm to shield his face from the cold, wet wind racing by. It was unusual for storms this intense and frigid so late into the year.

"Not this time!" His companion, Lydus, wore a smirk that was almost sadistic. While Iason squinted against the torrential onslaught, Lydus reveled in the thunder and lightning. What a symphony!

As a native of town, Lydus knew more about the local lore than Iason, even though they both would've said that Iason was the more bookish one. Zeus controlled the weather, but if Iason looked closer, he would notice that it was raining harder in the field they were passing than anywhere else, including the town they were returning to. That implied divine intervention, but what would Zeus want with such a small, unassuming town like theirs? This was also a phenomenon that had occurred for years, and it was unusual for Zeus to allow a calling card to go ignored, intentionally or not, for so long.

ooo

"Oh, come on, wake up, wake up!" Kataegis growled, striking the ground again and again and again. Her arm weakened with every blow. In the beginning, it looked like a lightning bolt, long and white and crackling with power. Now, some of the light was dimming into a soft yellow-gold and a humanoid arm could be see through intermittent flashes of lightning.

Thunder rolled overhead, as if to accentuate the spectral figure's frustration. She hovered over the field, her head a ball of pure, blinding, electric charge as it looked this way and that. Rain was pouring for as far as the eye could see, the occasional gust of wind blowing the droplets across and into every inch of the field. Never had it been watered so thoroughly by mortal hands.

After several minutes, the glowing white figure raised her golden arm again. The next lightning bolt she called down struck right at her feet, and in the flash, a white-and-gold outline of her arm was briefly visible. She wielded a double-bladed axe, a labrys.

"I'm the one who always oversleeps! Not you! Remember?" Kataegis continued to demand impatiently. Another rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. Kataegis' figure sparked and sparkled as she levitated through the field, supervising the icy wind as it aided the rain.

As soon as she was satisfied, Kataegis again raised her labrys. It was visible for a fraction of a second as she charged the ground with more electricity. Despite the double-bladed axe's wicked appearance, it was more tool than weapon. For Kataegis, it was used in gardening, more specifically, waking Kataegis' partner from her dirt nap. The faster Kataegis could work, and the larger the harvest that she could create, the faster her flowering companion could be reunited with her. Kataegis' partner wasn't helping matters by sleeping in so late this year.

As Kataegis said, when they were both still mortal women, she was the one to sleep in all the time while it was her overeager partner's job of dragging her out of bed every morning.

Although, she's certainly dragged me into bed just as often! Kataegis thought, and if she had a mouth, she would've smirked.

Oh, how cruel were the gods, granting them an eternity together on Earth, but only as literal elemental avatars of what they once were.

Ah well, it's not like we didn't know they were going to try SOMETHING. All divine deals were devilish bargains, no matter who they were from. Even though they hadn't known what would happen, they knew it was going to be something. And I suppose, compared to every possible outcome, this is one of the more... simplistic ways of paying back my dues...

Although, perhaps her partner sleeping in was a form of cosmic karma for how Kataegis behaved in life. Right before she could strike the ground again with her glowing, golden labrys, a small, purple bud finally poked its head up from the soil.

"One of these days, Iris, I swear that you're going to make me have to flood all of Greece just to wake you up!" The tip of Kataegis' head sparked as she shook it, but had any mortal been able to understand, they would've heard the relief and happiness in her voice.

Her glowing specter finally lowered itself to the ground and her figure again became more human, and more visible. With piercing blue eyes, she stared at her feet, at the little purple flower bud.

"Well?" she demanded. Several seconds of silence later, the dirt slowly shifted as the bud continued its journey up and out, worming through the ground. A green stem snaked out of the soil, other purple buds sprouting from it.

More and more stems joined the first, and as they expanded and grew, so too did the buds blooming on them. Every color of the rainbow was present, and by far the most prominent was purple. At the heart of it all, where the purple was the densest, a human hand shot up. Kataegis rolled her piercing blue eyes, but she set her labrys down to offer a hand. Around them, the wind and rain dissipated, and the sun slowly reemerged.

"It's about time!" Kataegis sighed and shook her head as she pulled Iris up out of the ground.

"Morning, love!" Iris grinned, throwing her arms around the taller woman and kissing her cheek playfully.

"This won't get you out of anything," Kataegis deadpanned, but her arms were wrapped tight around Iris as Iris clung to her.

"As long as it involves you, I'm fine with that!" she replied, pulling away so that her purple eyes could meet Kataegis' blue ones. They both knew she was still teasing Kataegis, but this time, she was aiming for the heartstrings.

Another part of their current condition was that although they were free to enjoy a life of indefinite length on Earth together for as long as they could hold out, there were tight restrictions placed on when and where they could be. They weren't perfect at it, but every year, the couple did their best to make the most of the time given to them. Kataegis narrowed her eyes. She knew Iris was trying to get to her! But... Her arms tightened around Iris even more. It was effective, though she would never admit it.

"I just don't like when you sleep in. That also lessens the time we have together," she reminded Iris.

"True," Iris sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry. I just thought it was funny. Like you said, you were always the one to sleep in when we were still alive."

Technically, they still were alive, they just weren't fully human. Another condition of the deal was that Storm always had to be the one to wake Iris. That much never changed. What changed was how hard it was to wake Iris on any given year.

"Stubborn, petty, just the same as you ever were," Kataegis teased. Iris decided to be nice and let her have one victory, so rather than offer a sassy reply, she only chuckled and nodded, resting her head on the other woman's shoulder. As she did so, she caught sight of the bronze labrys resting against Kataegis' leg and she smiled at it in silent gratitude.

AN: Yes this IS an Ancient Greek myth/AU of my two main OCs (Iris and Storm), thank you so much for noticing! LOL!

(Fun fact, "Kataegis" is "Storm" in Greek)