The Dream Catcher Cleaner

-Chapter One-

In Mount Olympus, a great celebration was being held. The whole town bustled with excitement, for the goddess of fortune, Sotrix, just had a son. He was the firstborn to her and Hypnos, the god of sleep. And even though their son was a minor god, the rest of the Olympians came to show their joy for them. The two parents radiated with pride looking at their son, and they decided to name him Zuione. (Pronounced Zee-own-ae.)

Sotrix took him in her arms from the elaborately decorated silver cradle, and thought that nothing could possibly make her happier than the sight of her beloved Zuione. And that no one was more fortunate than her right then-her and Hypnos.

Just then their good friend Hermes came into the nursery and beamed when he saw them.

"Congratulations Hypnos and Sotrix! I'm sure he has a bright future ahead of him!"

They looked up at Hermes with a smile, and thanked him warmly.

"If you all are ready, everyone is here." Said the messenger god.

"Oh yes, of course." Sotrix said and looked up at her husband. He kissed her forehead and they exited the room out into the great hall.

A banquet was set out on the long, polished, golden and spruce wood tables, and the Olympians were gathered there. Much noise was ringing throughout the palace, so Hypnos tapped his spoon against a wine glass, a sharp distinct sound that got everyone's attention.

"Fellow Olympians!" He started loudly in his clear, smooth voice. (A god of sleep must have a calming voice.) "I have gathered you all here today to celebrate the birth of my firstborn son, Zuione!" At his last words they clapped, filling Hypnos and Sotrix with all the more pride. Zuione was sleeping soundly throughout all the noise, which was to be expected. He most likely inherited his father's gift.

But little did they know it wasn't to be much of a gift to him in his lifetime.

Sotrix, being the goddess of fortune, tended to sense these kinds of things. Right then and there, she had a strange feeling. Everything was perfect, too perfect. She had seen it happen time and time again throughout all the years, even inflicted it upon deserving mortals.

Something in his life, or many things, wouldn't be so fortunate in the end. It troubled her greatly, and she looked down on his small, sleeping face. Hypnos held a toast, and only after he drank his wine he noticed Sotrix's expression.

"What's the matter my dear?" He asked her tenderly. She broke out of her trance and looked up at him, and smiled her beautiful smile.

"I'll tell you later." Hypnos hesitated to take that as an answer at first, but decided to focus for now on the celebration, and so did Sotrix.

Afterwards, when the day had ended, and Hypnos had quickly gone down to the mortal world to do his nightly duty, (of putting everyone to sleep) he came back home in no time-it wasn't a very difficult job to do. Hypnos entered the bedroom where his wife was looking out the balcony. The view provided a good spot for deep thinking, and he often found her there when something was on her mind.

He set down his godly cape on the chest and approached Sotrix.

"Would you like to tell me now?" He calmly prompted. He studied her profile, her big brown eyes, her flowing brown hair, and her pink lips set in a line. He loved her dearly.

"I have a bad feeling about the future of Zuione." She said plainly, as they weren't ones to sugar coat anything.

If a mortal would say they had a bad feeling about something, there was a 50/50 chance of it being true. For a god/goddess, it was almost always 100% true.

After a moment of silent thought, Hypnos said, "Would you want to see Apollo about it?" He was the god of prophesy, so they would surely get a straight answer.

Sotrix shook her head, already thinking that possibility over and through.

"No, that will only make things worse. I would rather not know for sure than know and not be able to do anything about it. People have done that before I've heard. They've either gone crazy or made other people crazy with their unnational actions. I don't want that for us."

Hypnos nodded slowly, it was reasonable. Sotrix herself was able to calm down about the matter; her husband's presence was extremely soothing. She felt sleepy.

She laughed and looked at him, playfully chiding, "Stop it!"

He chuckled too. "You know I can't help it dear." He pulled her into a hug and then exited the room. They didn't discuss it much after that night.