Sunflowers and Feathers

The Herald and the General

  Eos looked positively radiant as she danced amongst the marble stones of the temple garden, her white blonde hair like pale gold in the morning light. She seemed pleased to see Hermes drop to the ground with Abelia in his arms, her laugh like twittering songbirds as Abelia came to her. Eos embraced the much smaller girl, smiling at the pale pink silk wrapped round her form.

  "The colors of dawn fit you well, little sister." Her rosy eyes glittered at Hermes. "Do you bring a message for us, dear Herald?"

  "Ah... That I do." He handed a scroll to her, but the seal of a small sun on it made her smile.

  "For Helios then. Come. Let us leave this in his chambers then, and we shall provide you with some breakfast."

  "It really is no trouble, Lady Eos." Hermes smiled at the Titaness. Eos's lovely compassion always surprised him. Zeus spoke of the Titans as being such coarse and awful beings but... The siblings of the sky were anything but. Then again... Zeus was not one that could be taken completely at his word. "It takes quite little energy for me to reach here."

  "Ah, but it is the least we can do for such a dear friend! Come. I insist."

  And so the two of them followed Eos throughout the halls, shining and glimmering now with the early morning light. The sun nymphs were up and about now, some going about their ways and others delightfully playing in the sunlight.

  "Oh Hermes!" Came a singsong voice from the arches above. Some of the nymphs lazed about in their crooks like little birds, but the dark haired archer Abelia remembered now hung down with a playful grin on her face. So Abelia had been correct. She gave Hermes a knowing look, giggling to herself. Of course he had already delighted in such a girl. She knew her stories well.

  "Oh hello there, little magpie." Hermes chuckled. "I'm afraid I cannot play today."

  "Oh but today is such a warm and sunny day! And I have a little message for you dear Herald!" She giggled, sliding down the curve of the wall to dance around him with light little footsteps.

  "Oh do you?" Hermes arched a brow, unable to resist despite himself.

  "Oh yes~ you see-" She hopped up to whisper something in Hermes's ear, making the god laugh quite happily. Eos simply shook her head with a knowing smile.

  "Is that no breakfast then?"

  "Hardly. I shall have to play with my little magpie later." The sun nymph pouted but was soothed with a kiss to her forehead, the little archer giggling as she pattered off. "For now... Let us enjoy the morning, hm?"

  Eos, who did not have to share the long trek of her siblings was wonderful company indeed. She and Hermes delighted Abelia with all sorts of stories she had never heard from her father... Stories that only the gods knew and that humankind had long since forgotten. Abelia, who had ate with Selene earlier, listened rather than ate, nibbling on cheese and drinking the sweet juice that Eos had set aside for them.

  After awhile Hermes and Eos fell into their own rythym of conversation, allowing Abelia simply to listen and to look. She sat back in her chair, pleased. She had not spoken so much since her relatives from Rome had visited, and even then she tried to be as quiet as she could. She didn't want to be noticed... Rather, she had always prefered to sink back into the shadows.

  But now she was finding she really did quite enjoy her new company... And that conversation was quite exhausting when one was not used to it.

  But the gentle lull of the day was not meant to last.

  As morning fell into noon there came a commotion as the quiet nymphs from the throne room led new visitors into the room. Abelia sat up as she recognized the faces of Ares and Athena, both looking rather worried. The question she had for them died on her tongue as Athena spoke, the goddess's words filling her own chest with worry.