The God Within 6/?
Title: The God Within 6/?
Author: Wildannuette
Fandom: Xena/Herc
Email:auxilary25248891@aol.com
Rating: FRT
Summary:Mischief and Malapropisms run wild where ever Joxer is.
Warnings: mpreg
Notes: Thanks Jo you're a star!
Joxer tried to ignore the loud debate behind him and concentrated on getting to the tavern; he was sick and tired of listening to the high minded opinions of Hercules and Gabrielle. Nether one of them seemed to actually have anything good to say they both just wanted to be right and currently both of them were wrong. They were both ‘discussing’ Cupid’s actions the week before; Gabrielle’s version of events was rapidly becoming more and more embellished; not only did Cupid attempt to throttle her but now he also flung her around and growled in her face before ‘borrowing’ Joxer for an hour of so and bringing him back. Gabrielle had also forgotten to mention that she’d antagonized the God by making a rude comment about his murdered cousin; she was too interested in portraying herself as the innocent martyr- something even Hercules wasn’t falling for. Apparently despite his dislike for the Gods he was Cupids favourite Uncle and was trying to defend said nephew by insisting another God a.k.a. Ares had to be behind it. With Iolaus as the useless voice of reason they were getting nowhere fast, in fact all Joxer was getting was a headache. He rubbed his head and let out a low groan as Iolaus interjected another comment in the hopes of getting the two to stop arguing, not only did he start with “Before I start speaking, I'd like to say something” but he just aggravated the two by explaining how since Cupid was Ares son both of them could be right.
Xena offered Joxer a sympathetic look from her perch atop Argo but didn’t offer to switch places apparently the arguing was wearing thin on her nerves too. Joxer just wished they could get onto another topic; not only was he worried his headache was rapidly becoming a migraine but he wanted some time to collect his own thoughts and reflect on the confusing time with Cupid the week before, not to mention the strange dreams he was still getting.
Joxer had had seven strange dreams so far and in all of them he’d seen himself as Strife. It was like he was starring in a play of his friend’s life- a very unpleasant play. In the first dream he’d been fireballed by Ares and upset by Discord who had made some digs about a newborn Godling whom Joxer had to guess was Bliss (that in itself confused him even more). In another dream Aphrodite had given the Mischief God several threats about curses and rendered him impotent (something Strife had been more embarrassed about then upset). A dream that had had him waking up in a cold sweat at the intensity of Strifes bitterness and hurt was one where Cupid had ignored him and paraded a young woman in front of him who Joxer had learned was Psyche. The latest few dreams seemed even odder; various Gods and Goddesses, some Joxer only recognized from statues had treated Strife as if he was some kind of criminal, they seemed to detest him and made it clear he was nothing to them. Joxer sighed, he was getting far too little sleep to have to listen to the stupidity behind him, and he wanted nothing more then to curl up in a little ball somewhere quiet and get some peace.
But he couldn’t; both Asyinnitos and Cupid had made it clear he had to stick with his friends and though Joxer wasn’t sure why he listened to them, he had. He felt a hot flush come over him and he loosened his tunic wishing for the unteemth time that Hercules would get a life.
Xena leant down to him, holding tightly to the saddle and as if guessing his thoughts whispered conspiratorially “He's a legend in his own mind.” Joxer shook his head slightly wondering if he heard right as she went slightly pink “I didn’t mean that to come out like that.” The Warrior Princess straightened up in the saddle and looked ahead an expression on her face that made Joxer wonder if she was torn between laughing and being embarrassed.
Joxer suppressed a smile and kept walking glad for the brief distraction and no way inclined to argue with her “You always cease to amaze me Xena.” He blinked at her sideways glance and blushed slightly “I mean you never, erm, never mind” he blushed deeper and concentrated on the road ahead not aware of the mischievous wakened Godling inside him.
**********
Asyinnitos rubbed her temples tiredly as she surveyed the grim faces around her, Hera, Zeus, Ares with Bliss asleep in his lap, Anteros trying to soothe a tearful Psyche- the list went on. Any and every God directly related or associated to Cupid aside from her was present preparing for an intervention. Cupid was acting a little too true to form; he was dutifully taking the attention from the mortal world to stop anyone from recognizing Strife’s power signature inside Joxer but in doing so he was causing chaos and stopping Asyinnitos from checking up on Joxer as much as she would like. Currently most of the Gods had barricaded themselves inside their temples in an attempt to ride out the problems on Olympus and Aphrodite had hidden herself in Hephaestus forge, currently unscathed by Cupid’s rampage.
“You need to lift the curse.” Asyinnitos started out of her daydream and looked towards her scowling Uncle, “No” she answered simply with a shake of her head ignoring the anger in his eyes. She would be a fool not to be at least slightly frightened of him as he was King of the God’s but he had no power over her and couldn’t make her change her mind. It didn’t hurt that she knew Zeus was scared of her mother; just before Asyinnitos was born the King of the Gods had learned the hard way that you don’t order your hormonal pregnant sister to reveal the father of her baby.
“Now Asyinnitos,” Zeus ordered pompously sitting upright as if trying to tower over them all. It was slightly laughable as in the position she was in Hera appeared the taller one. Asyinnitos suppressed a smile at the action but the idea of speaking in front of everyone terrified her. Most of the Gods in the room she barely knew and only Hera really knew her. With no option, Asyinnitos swallowed hard and shook her head again focussing on what she was protecting to give her the strength to win the argument. “No the curse stays. If most of you in this room are rendered barren or impotent,” she dared look her Uncle in the eye despite paling at his furious look “then you need to reflect on why that is, until you make amends the curse remains.” She looked around the small gathering; the only ones not scowling or glaring at her were Ares, Bliss and Hera. Hera looked smug as she glanced sideways at Zeus, focussed more on him then the issue of Cupid, Bliss was asleep and Ares looked…. contemplative. Asyinnitos wasn’t sure if that meant she could expect a dagger in her back soon or if he agreed with her.
On some level he had to agree with her, as their eyes locked the War God spoke “This is something that affects all of us but it’s not as important as Cupid we should stop focussing on it and think of a way to help Cupid before I muck it all up’” he shot a glance at Anteros no doubt quoting the sheepish Godling “And tie him down till he see’s sense.” He shoots a look at Zeus that clearly translates as ‘start thinking with your brain’ and eases the tension slightly and everyone tries to avoid smiling.
Asyinnitos smiled slightly at Ares glad to have backup, though she was confused why. Even the War God was not exempt from her curse, Ares had his own issues with his treatment of Strife. She had heard rumors that Ares had seemed ‘abnormally despondent’ (according to Athena) over Strifes death but she’d assumed from his actions in the aftermath, that the Goddess had exaggerated. Asyinnitos herself held her own shame over Strifes treatment and the claiming of his body but at least she was innocent of trying to continue as though she had no contrition.
Feeling a slight tingle along her link to Joxer Asyinnitos frowned and tried to concentrate on the mortal, something was going on, something strange. She started and glanced at Zeus, in her attempt to find what was wrong with Joxer she’d mentally tuned out the entire conversation and she had no clue what had been said. *Zeus wants to know if your curse had anything to do with your mother releasing the bonds on Cupid* Ares resigned voiced echoed in her mind and she blinked coloring slightly as she spoke aloud. “Maybe. Not really,” she blushed deeper as she contradicted herself; she was having trouble concentrating having to multitask between checking on Joxer (and the extremely active Strife) and answering the questions. “The answer is very complicating,” she blinked trying to clear her head as her face went from pink too scarlet at her own mistake. “I mean no, it didn’t. She chose to do it, we should have addressed what happened between Strife and Cupid sooner instead of disbelieving one of our own children and turning our backs on him.” Blocking out her link with Joxer, she lost the dark pink allure and spoke calmly drawing strength from the knowledge she was right. She wished she could get Gaia involved but the powerful Goddess was still far too angry to want to face the other Gods yet. “When Psyche was conceived Strife insisted he’d never been unfaithful yet we chose to believe that he had rather then look to see if he was telling the truth. Oh I know that there is no doubt that she is his but we have no idea if he fathered her or if he fathered her without his own knowledge.” She focussed mainly on Ares as she spoke seeing an agreement in his eyes, and more surprisingly for her, no shock at the suggestion. Clearly he’d had the same thoughts at some point though she was unsure why he hadn’t acted on them. There was a flurry of denials and indignant comments from the other Gods, which she ignored, her eyes boring into Ares’.
“I’ve often wondered so myself,” the War God admitted stroking his beard and checking that the winged cherub in his arms was still asleep “That’s one of the reasons I took Strife back, that and he’s like a son to me.” His brief sweep of the congregation waylaid any comments at his words and he continued “but that’s not even up for discussion yet. We need to find an outlet for Cupid’s grief, whether we remake those bonds that I’m guessing won’t happen.” Ares glanced at Asyinnitos as she nodded “Or we just wait for him to calm down and then help him.” He rolled his eyes “For an intervention we are getting nowhere fast.”
Asyinnitos could see acquiescence on both Zeus and Hera’s faces, both looked more thoughtful then she remembered seeing them before but she guessed being by your own children was enough to humble anyone. Sensing a sudden flurry of activity pushing at her link with Joxer Asyinnitos focussed on it and seeing what trouble the mortal was in, quickly stood up and made her excuses “Problem pregnancy, mother needs help. Cupid…we should try to help but we have to remember Thebes wasn’t burned in a day.” She groaned mentally at her words and flashed out before the smirking War God could comment.
*********
“It’s just wrong.” Joxer groaned trying to block out the strident tones of Gabrielle who was checking through her scrolls, he wasn’t sure what was wrong but the scowl on the woman’s face told him she wasn’t pleased. He was just glad she wasn’t scowling at him, poor Xena was catching it now. The Warrior princess couldn’t get a word in edgeways; not that it appeared she was trying too, Joxer was almost completely sure Xena had tuned out before they even entered the Tavern. Gabrielle shook the scrolls in Xena’s face and Joxer had to admire the woman’s restraint. Joxer figured himself partly to blame, he never should have wished for them to loosen up especially as now Hercules and Gabrielle were both drunk and not very nice drunks at that. They’d passed the ‘I love you’ stage almost an hour ago and now both were trying to get their opinions across by shouting and (in Hercules case) glaring people into submission. Joxer couldn’t understand it; he could see neither Hercules nor Gabrielle had had more then a tankard full of the rich ale. Whilst Xena had claimed it was strong Joxer knew both of them had consumed much more before and been less inebriated; Iolaus and Xena also had ale and had drunk two glasses each but they were both still sober so Joxer couldn’t work out why the other two were so hammered.
Joxer was drinking goats milk since the smell of the alcohol now made him sick to his stomach he was a little embarrassed about it but had been more annoyed then such when Hercules had decided to challenge him on it leaving Joxer feeling like a child and wishing Hercules would feel humiliated. Unbeknownst to him the tiny foetus of Strife picked up on his two wishes and unconsciously granted them; had Gabrielle of Hercules been paying attention and not being so high minded they would have noticed that anything they drunk from their tankard was instantly refilled. Instead of consuming less then one glass Gabrielle had drunk five, Hercules nearly nine so it was unsurprising they were intoxicated. Joxer sipped his milk feeling warmth constantly rush through him as the foetus used it powers and accidentally emitted mischief energy.
“Killing is mortally wrong!” Hercules bellow froze almost everyone in the tavern except Gabrielle who giggled maniacally. “One day everyone will see that and no one will believe in the Gods” an expression of distaste cross Hercules face as someone hidden at the back (and making a quick exit) shouted at him “Blasphemer!” The demigod stood up thumping the wooden table and cracking it “Hey, I resemble that remark!” He glared around the room at the absolute silence…before the mortals all burst out laughing.
Hercules sat down with a thump, moodily chugging at his cup; his face was like thunder and bright red from the tips of his ears down to his chest. Joxer couldn’t suppress a smile especially as Xena seemed to be almost hysterical with laughter; not caring that Hercules was embarrassed. Iolaus thumped Hercules angrily on the back,
“And you lectured me on drinking? “ his eyes were narrowed as he sat down next to the demigod “You’re drunk or is it just a fiction of my imagination?” he asked sarcastically causing Xena’s giggles to increase tenfold.
Joxer couldn’t help but join her as Hercules tried to protest his innocence. Things were rapidly descending into chaos as most of the people at the tavern seemed to be becoming more excitable then normal, he noticed even Xena had given up on keeping Gabby under control; the bard was now searching through her scrolls and quoting erotic poetry much to the poor bartenders embarrassment. As Gabrielle sprouted on about bulging loins and burning crotches making Joxer wonder what possessed her to become a writer in the first place. Unfortunately for her the barman’s wife did not appreciate Gabrielle’s comments and before long the two became embroiled in a massive argument. With only the slight hint of mischief energy somehow Gabby ended up knocking over a barrel of ale and the fighting started. The barman was trying to avoid looking smug at two women fighting ‘over him’ (as he saw it) even if his tavern was being wrecked. Hercules had Iolaus clinging to his back trying to calm him and pull him off the mortal he was pounding who had done nothing more then accidentally bump the demigod. Whilst Xena was trying to get to Gabrielle and pull the two women apart Joxer sat calmly in the center of the fighting unsure whom to help; his answer was swift in coming when one of the masses accidentally caught him in the eye with their elbow knocking him to the ground.
With a bright flash of green Asyinnitos appeared the tiny Goddess completely out of place amidst the affray and Joxer struggled to pull himself off the ground, worried for her safety, he was confused when she laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him and glowered around. The diminutive Goddess looked tiny in comparison as she grabbed Hercules arm and pushed him to the ground like a naughty child, Iolaus tumbling off of his back to land dazed on the floor. She patted Iolaus apologetically before moving on. Hercules antagonist seemed intent of hitting the hero whilst he was down but something about the small glaring Goddess made him back off. “That’s enough now” Asyinnitos spoke firmly and when getting no reply she clapped her hands sending a bolt of green power into the nearest ale barrel which exploded drenching everyone with cold ale. Gabrielle flopped to the ground blinking and licking her ale soaked hand as her opponent scurried off. The Goddess of Pregnancy and the Unborn concentrated feeling the mischief energy erratically leaking from Strife and she smiled. The foetal God was rapidly coming into his powers and was accidental letting out residual power after he used them. She could sense Strife had benefited from the fight but he needed to learn his boundaries and as Joxer wasn’t a God he couldn’t teach Strife them.
Walking over to Joxer, she ignored the sheepish patrons as they began to tidy up and placed a hand on Joxer cupping his face “This may feel odd Joxer just bear with me” she spoke gently as she connected fully to Strife through him she could sense the need within the developing Godling to please his ‘father’ and be loved. Though foetal Strife only had a vague recollection of his adult memories, Joxer having a better one through his dreams, the foetal Godling felt the sharp needs Strife had had; to be loved and make people proud of him. Strife was to young to understand so Asyinnitos soothed him and bound down his powers slightly; the Godling would still have access but not enough to cause the mayhem he had today.
Joxer was frowning at her, more confused then ever. His original suspicion he’d thrown out because it was far too preposterous but now he wasn’t so sure. Something nagged at him as he tried to tie the Goddess into his new theory making it seem more plausible. Joxer wondered if Strife had done something to him before he died; not in a bad way he knew his friend never would have but somehow h was different- Joxer felt different. He was calmer, less clumsy and accident prone then ever before. The Gods seemed more interested in him then ever before and thanks to his dreams he was getting new insights into them; not to mention his body seemed to be going through some kind of change, his chest was sore and swollen, his stomach rebellious and alcohol just repulsed him. Joxer didn’t like any of the ideas his mind threw at him but he kept them to himself as she finished whatever it was the Goddess did to make him feel all warm and tingly.
Asyinnitos smiled and patted his cheek “It won’t be long now Joxer I promise.” She knew unless the mortal was constantly watched over by herself, her mother or Gaia they would have to arrange for him to stay with a deity like them to keep an eye on Strife. The foetus had just finished its critical development stage and was now entering an erratic period; its powers would fluctuate unless moderated which could possibly change Joxer and despite her slight binding someone needed to be there incase the foetus adapted or had a growth spurt. She leant up to kiss his cheek and murmured in his ear “I’ll come for you tonight, to explain.”
With a decidedly unimpressed look at Hercules, who was blustering in an attempt to appear in control despite being stuck to the ground, Asyinnitos turned to Xena smiling slightly at the suspicious look on her face. “I’m not here to hurt you but my business here is not of your concern.” Her tone softened slightly, as Xena grew more guarded “At least not in present company.” She added watching the demigods eyes flick to Hercules and back before she nodded. Asyinnitos smiled “All answers shall come in time.” She raised an eyebrow at Gabrielle who managed to stand up and stagger over to them leaning on Xena,
“She’s evil, one of them Gods,” she whispered far too loudly and poked Xena who promptly shrugged her shoulder displacing the woman’s balance and sending her to the floor. Asyinnitos managed to swallow back a laugh and flashed to her mother’s temple to collapse in hysterics.
Joxer rubbed his nose as the bright green died away, now he was gong to find out what was going on he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He knew enough to know whatever it was, was Godly and from what’d he’d seen they could do many fantastically unbelievable things.
Gabrielle stared up at the vanishing green and frowned “Do our senses deceive just as our eyes could deceive us?” she asked unsure whether the Goddess was truly gone or not, her eyes widened almost comically, “she could be watching us, invisibly watching us!” she hissed staring around the room in suspicion “What if she’s the Goddess of Deceivement? Or Ares in disguise?”
Joxer caught Xena’s eyes and the two both bit back smiles and shook their heads as they listened to Gabrielle’s paranoid rant. When it finally finished Joxer vowed never to let the woman drink again and Xena tried to humor her to get her to go to bed; talking to her as though she were a child they left behind the still stuck Hercules and supported her until they got to the rooms they had rented. Giving Xena a sympathetic look Joxer left her to deal with her delusional girlfriend and managed to wait till he got into his own room before he collapsed with laughter on the bed. He was so swept up in releasing it, it was a few minutes before he realized he wasn’t alone and raised his eyes to meet those of a very grim Ares.
Author: Wildannuette
Fandom: Xena/Herc
Email:auxilary25248891@aol.com
Rating: FRT
Summary:Mischief and Malapropisms run wild where ever Joxer is.
Warnings: mpreg
Notes: Thanks Jo you're a star!
Joxer tried to ignore the loud debate behind him and concentrated on getting to the tavern; he was sick and tired of listening to the high minded opinions of Hercules and Gabrielle. Nether one of them seemed to actually have anything good to say they both just wanted to be right and currently both of them were wrong. They were both ‘discussing’ Cupid’s actions the week before; Gabrielle’s version of events was rapidly becoming more and more embellished; not only did Cupid attempt to throttle her but now he also flung her around and growled in her face before ‘borrowing’ Joxer for an hour of so and bringing him back. Gabrielle had also forgotten to mention that she’d antagonized the God by making a rude comment about his murdered cousin; she was too interested in portraying herself as the innocent martyr- something even Hercules wasn’t falling for. Apparently despite his dislike for the Gods he was Cupids favourite Uncle and was trying to defend said nephew by insisting another God a.k.a. Ares had to be behind it. With Iolaus as the useless voice of reason they were getting nowhere fast, in fact all Joxer was getting was a headache. He rubbed his head and let out a low groan as Iolaus interjected another comment in the hopes of getting the two to stop arguing, not only did he start with “Before I start speaking, I'd like to say something” but he just aggravated the two by explaining how since Cupid was Ares son both of them could be right.
Xena offered Joxer a sympathetic look from her perch atop Argo but didn’t offer to switch places apparently the arguing was wearing thin on her nerves too. Joxer just wished they could get onto another topic; not only was he worried his headache was rapidly becoming a migraine but he wanted some time to collect his own thoughts and reflect on the confusing time with Cupid the week before, not to mention the strange dreams he was still getting.
Joxer had had seven strange dreams so far and in all of them he’d seen himself as Strife. It was like he was starring in a play of his friend’s life- a very unpleasant play. In the first dream he’d been fireballed by Ares and upset by Discord who had made some digs about a newborn Godling whom Joxer had to guess was Bliss (that in itself confused him even more). In another dream Aphrodite had given the Mischief God several threats about curses and rendered him impotent (something Strife had been more embarrassed about then upset). A dream that had had him waking up in a cold sweat at the intensity of Strifes bitterness and hurt was one where Cupid had ignored him and paraded a young woman in front of him who Joxer had learned was Psyche. The latest few dreams seemed even odder; various Gods and Goddesses, some Joxer only recognized from statues had treated Strife as if he was some kind of criminal, they seemed to detest him and made it clear he was nothing to them. Joxer sighed, he was getting far too little sleep to have to listen to the stupidity behind him, and he wanted nothing more then to curl up in a little ball somewhere quiet and get some peace.
But he couldn’t; both Asyinnitos and Cupid had made it clear he had to stick with his friends and though Joxer wasn’t sure why he listened to them, he had. He felt a hot flush come over him and he loosened his tunic wishing for the unteemth time that Hercules would get a life.
Xena leant down to him, holding tightly to the saddle and as if guessing his thoughts whispered conspiratorially “He's a legend in his own mind.” Joxer shook his head slightly wondering if he heard right as she went slightly pink “I didn’t mean that to come out like that.” The Warrior Princess straightened up in the saddle and looked ahead an expression on her face that made Joxer wonder if she was torn between laughing and being embarrassed.
Joxer suppressed a smile and kept walking glad for the brief distraction and no way inclined to argue with her “You always cease to amaze me Xena.” He blinked at her sideways glance and blushed slightly “I mean you never, erm, never mind” he blushed deeper and concentrated on the road ahead not aware of the mischievous wakened Godling inside him.
**********
Asyinnitos rubbed her temples tiredly as she surveyed the grim faces around her, Hera, Zeus, Ares with Bliss asleep in his lap, Anteros trying to soothe a tearful Psyche- the list went on. Any and every God directly related or associated to Cupid aside from her was present preparing for an intervention. Cupid was acting a little too true to form; he was dutifully taking the attention from the mortal world to stop anyone from recognizing Strife’s power signature inside Joxer but in doing so he was causing chaos and stopping Asyinnitos from checking up on Joxer as much as she would like. Currently most of the Gods had barricaded themselves inside their temples in an attempt to ride out the problems on Olympus and Aphrodite had hidden herself in Hephaestus forge, currently unscathed by Cupid’s rampage.
“You need to lift the curse.” Asyinnitos started out of her daydream and looked towards her scowling Uncle, “No” she answered simply with a shake of her head ignoring the anger in his eyes. She would be a fool not to be at least slightly frightened of him as he was King of the God’s but he had no power over her and couldn’t make her change her mind. It didn’t hurt that she knew Zeus was scared of her mother; just before Asyinnitos was born the King of the Gods had learned the hard way that you don’t order your hormonal pregnant sister to reveal the father of her baby.
“Now Asyinnitos,” Zeus ordered pompously sitting upright as if trying to tower over them all. It was slightly laughable as in the position she was in Hera appeared the taller one. Asyinnitos suppressed a smile at the action but the idea of speaking in front of everyone terrified her. Most of the Gods in the room she barely knew and only Hera really knew her. With no option, Asyinnitos swallowed hard and shook her head again focussing on what she was protecting to give her the strength to win the argument. “No the curse stays. If most of you in this room are rendered barren or impotent,” she dared look her Uncle in the eye despite paling at his furious look “then you need to reflect on why that is, until you make amends the curse remains.” She looked around the small gathering; the only ones not scowling or glaring at her were Ares, Bliss and Hera. Hera looked smug as she glanced sideways at Zeus, focussed more on him then the issue of Cupid, Bliss was asleep and Ares looked…. contemplative. Asyinnitos wasn’t sure if that meant she could expect a dagger in her back soon or if he agreed with her.
On some level he had to agree with her, as their eyes locked the War God spoke “This is something that affects all of us but it’s not as important as Cupid we should stop focussing on it and think of a way to help Cupid before I muck it all up’” he shot a glance at Anteros no doubt quoting the sheepish Godling “And tie him down till he see’s sense.” He shoots a look at Zeus that clearly translates as ‘start thinking with your brain’ and eases the tension slightly and everyone tries to avoid smiling.
Asyinnitos smiled slightly at Ares glad to have backup, though she was confused why. Even the War God was not exempt from her curse, Ares had his own issues with his treatment of Strife. She had heard rumors that Ares had seemed ‘abnormally despondent’ (according to Athena) over Strifes death but she’d assumed from his actions in the aftermath, that the Goddess had exaggerated. Asyinnitos herself held her own shame over Strifes treatment and the claiming of his body but at least she was innocent of trying to continue as though she had no contrition.
Feeling a slight tingle along her link to Joxer Asyinnitos frowned and tried to concentrate on the mortal, something was going on, something strange. She started and glanced at Zeus, in her attempt to find what was wrong with Joxer she’d mentally tuned out the entire conversation and she had no clue what had been said. *Zeus wants to know if your curse had anything to do with your mother releasing the bonds on Cupid* Ares resigned voiced echoed in her mind and she blinked coloring slightly as she spoke aloud. “Maybe. Not really,” she blushed deeper as she contradicted herself; she was having trouble concentrating having to multitask between checking on Joxer (and the extremely active Strife) and answering the questions. “The answer is very complicating,” she blinked trying to clear her head as her face went from pink too scarlet at her own mistake. “I mean no, it didn’t. She chose to do it, we should have addressed what happened between Strife and Cupid sooner instead of disbelieving one of our own children and turning our backs on him.” Blocking out her link with Joxer, she lost the dark pink allure and spoke calmly drawing strength from the knowledge she was right. She wished she could get Gaia involved but the powerful Goddess was still far too angry to want to face the other Gods yet. “When Psyche was conceived Strife insisted he’d never been unfaithful yet we chose to believe that he had rather then look to see if he was telling the truth. Oh I know that there is no doubt that she is his but we have no idea if he fathered her or if he fathered her without his own knowledge.” She focussed mainly on Ares as she spoke seeing an agreement in his eyes, and more surprisingly for her, no shock at the suggestion. Clearly he’d had the same thoughts at some point though she was unsure why he hadn’t acted on them. There was a flurry of denials and indignant comments from the other Gods, which she ignored, her eyes boring into Ares’.
“I’ve often wondered so myself,” the War God admitted stroking his beard and checking that the winged cherub in his arms was still asleep “That’s one of the reasons I took Strife back, that and he’s like a son to me.” His brief sweep of the congregation waylaid any comments at his words and he continued “but that’s not even up for discussion yet. We need to find an outlet for Cupid’s grief, whether we remake those bonds that I’m guessing won’t happen.” Ares glanced at Asyinnitos as she nodded “Or we just wait for him to calm down and then help him.” He rolled his eyes “For an intervention we are getting nowhere fast.”
Asyinnitos could see acquiescence on both Zeus and Hera’s faces, both looked more thoughtful then she remembered seeing them before but she guessed being by your own children was enough to humble anyone. Sensing a sudden flurry of activity pushing at her link with Joxer Asyinnitos focussed on it and seeing what trouble the mortal was in, quickly stood up and made her excuses “Problem pregnancy, mother needs help. Cupid…we should try to help but we have to remember Thebes wasn’t burned in a day.” She groaned mentally at her words and flashed out before the smirking War God could comment.
*********
“It’s just wrong.” Joxer groaned trying to block out the strident tones of Gabrielle who was checking through her scrolls, he wasn’t sure what was wrong but the scowl on the woman’s face told him she wasn’t pleased. He was just glad she wasn’t scowling at him, poor Xena was catching it now. The Warrior princess couldn’t get a word in edgeways; not that it appeared she was trying too, Joxer was almost completely sure Xena had tuned out before they even entered the Tavern. Gabrielle shook the scrolls in Xena’s face and Joxer had to admire the woman’s restraint. Joxer figured himself partly to blame, he never should have wished for them to loosen up especially as now Hercules and Gabrielle were both drunk and not very nice drunks at that. They’d passed the ‘I love you’ stage almost an hour ago and now both were trying to get their opinions across by shouting and (in Hercules case) glaring people into submission. Joxer couldn’t understand it; he could see neither Hercules nor Gabrielle had had more then a tankard full of the rich ale. Whilst Xena had claimed it was strong Joxer knew both of them had consumed much more before and been less inebriated; Iolaus and Xena also had ale and had drunk two glasses each but they were both still sober so Joxer couldn’t work out why the other two were so hammered.
Joxer was drinking goats milk since the smell of the alcohol now made him sick to his stomach he was a little embarrassed about it but had been more annoyed then such when Hercules had decided to challenge him on it leaving Joxer feeling like a child and wishing Hercules would feel humiliated. Unbeknownst to him the tiny foetus of Strife picked up on his two wishes and unconsciously granted them; had Gabrielle of Hercules been paying attention and not being so high minded they would have noticed that anything they drunk from their tankard was instantly refilled. Instead of consuming less then one glass Gabrielle had drunk five, Hercules nearly nine so it was unsurprising they were intoxicated. Joxer sipped his milk feeling warmth constantly rush through him as the foetus used it powers and accidentally emitted mischief energy.
“Killing is mortally wrong!” Hercules bellow froze almost everyone in the tavern except Gabrielle who giggled maniacally. “One day everyone will see that and no one will believe in the Gods” an expression of distaste cross Hercules face as someone hidden at the back (and making a quick exit) shouted at him “Blasphemer!” The demigod stood up thumping the wooden table and cracking it “Hey, I resemble that remark!” He glared around the room at the absolute silence…before the mortals all burst out laughing.
Hercules sat down with a thump, moodily chugging at his cup; his face was like thunder and bright red from the tips of his ears down to his chest. Joxer couldn’t suppress a smile especially as Xena seemed to be almost hysterical with laughter; not caring that Hercules was embarrassed. Iolaus thumped Hercules angrily on the back,
“And you lectured me on drinking? “ his eyes were narrowed as he sat down next to the demigod “You’re drunk or is it just a fiction of my imagination?” he asked sarcastically causing Xena’s giggles to increase tenfold.
Joxer couldn’t help but join her as Hercules tried to protest his innocence. Things were rapidly descending into chaos as most of the people at the tavern seemed to be becoming more excitable then normal, he noticed even Xena had given up on keeping Gabby under control; the bard was now searching through her scrolls and quoting erotic poetry much to the poor bartenders embarrassment. As Gabrielle sprouted on about bulging loins and burning crotches making Joxer wonder what possessed her to become a writer in the first place. Unfortunately for her the barman’s wife did not appreciate Gabrielle’s comments and before long the two became embroiled in a massive argument. With only the slight hint of mischief energy somehow Gabby ended up knocking over a barrel of ale and the fighting started. The barman was trying to avoid looking smug at two women fighting ‘over him’ (as he saw it) even if his tavern was being wrecked. Hercules had Iolaus clinging to his back trying to calm him and pull him off the mortal he was pounding who had done nothing more then accidentally bump the demigod. Whilst Xena was trying to get to Gabrielle and pull the two women apart Joxer sat calmly in the center of the fighting unsure whom to help; his answer was swift in coming when one of the masses accidentally caught him in the eye with their elbow knocking him to the ground.
With a bright flash of green Asyinnitos appeared the tiny Goddess completely out of place amidst the affray and Joxer struggled to pull himself off the ground, worried for her safety, he was confused when she laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him and glowered around. The diminutive Goddess looked tiny in comparison as she grabbed Hercules arm and pushed him to the ground like a naughty child, Iolaus tumbling off of his back to land dazed on the floor. She patted Iolaus apologetically before moving on. Hercules antagonist seemed intent of hitting the hero whilst he was down but something about the small glaring Goddess made him back off. “That’s enough now” Asyinnitos spoke firmly and when getting no reply she clapped her hands sending a bolt of green power into the nearest ale barrel which exploded drenching everyone with cold ale. Gabrielle flopped to the ground blinking and licking her ale soaked hand as her opponent scurried off. The Goddess of Pregnancy and the Unborn concentrated feeling the mischief energy erratically leaking from Strife and she smiled. The foetal God was rapidly coming into his powers and was accidental letting out residual power after he used them. She could sense Strife had benefited from the fight but he needed to learn his boundaries and as Joxer wasn’t a God he couldn’t teach Strife them.
Walking over to Joxer, she ignored the sheepish patrons as they began to tidy up and placed a hand on Joxer cupping his face “This may feel odd Joxer just bear with me” she spoke gently as she connected fully to Strife through him she could sense the need within the developing Godling to please his ‘father’ and be loved. Though foetal Strife only had a vague recollection of his adult memories, Joxer having a better one through his dreams, the foetal Godling felt the sharp needs Strife had had; to be loved and make people proud of him. Strife was to young to understand so Asyinnitos soothed him and bound down his powers slightly; the Godling would still have access but not enough to cause the mayhem he had today.
Joxer was frowning at her, more confused then ever. His original suspicion he’d thrown out because it was far too preposterous but now he wasn’t so sure. Something nagged at him as he tried to tie the Goddess into his new theory making it seem more plausible. Joxer wondered if Strife had done something to him before he died; not in a bad way he knew his friend never would have but somehow h was different- Joxer felt different. He was calmer, less clumsy and accident prone then ever before. The Gods seemed more interested in him then ever before and thanks to his dreams he was getting new insights into them; not to mention his body seemed to be going through some kind of change, his chest was sore and swollen, his stomach rebellious and alcohol just repulsed him. Joxer didn’t like any of the ideas his mind threw at him but he kept them to himself as she finished whatever it was the Goddess did to make him feel all warm and tingly.
Asyinnitos smiled and patted his cheek “It won’t be long now Joxer I promise.” She knew unless the mortal was constantly watched over by herself, her mother or Gaia they would have to arrange for him to stay with a deity like them to keep an eye on Strife. The foetus had just finished its critical development stage and was now entering an erratic period; its powers would fluctuate unless moderated which could possibly change Joxer and despite her slight binding someone needed to be there incase the foetus adapted or had a growth spurt. She leant up to kiss his cheek and murmured in his ear “I’ll come for you tonight, to explain.”
With a decidedly unimpressed look at Hercules, who was blustering in an attempt to appear in control despite being stuck to the ground, Asyinnitos turned to Xena smiling slightly at the suspicious look on her face. “I’m not here to hurt you but my business here is not of your concern.” Her tone softened slightly, as Xena grew more guarded “At least not in present company.” She added watching the demigods eyes flick to Hercules and back before she nodded. Asyinnitos smiled “All answers shall come in time.” She raised an eyebrow at Gabrielle who managed to stand up and stagger over to them leaning on Xena,
“She’s evil, one of them Gods,” she whispered far too loudly and poked Xena who promptly shrugged her shoulder displacing the woman’s balance and sending her to the floor. Asyinnitos managed to swallow back a laugh and flashed to her mother’s temple to collapse in hysterics.
Joxer rubbed his nose as the bright green died away, now he was gong to find out what was going on he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He knew enough to know whatever it was, was Godly and from what’d he’d seen they could do many fantastically unbelievable things.
Gabrielle stared up at the vanishing green and frowned “Do our senses deceive just as our eyes could deceive us?” she asked unsure whether the Goddess was truly gone or not, her eyes widened almost comically, “she could be watching us, invisibly watching us!” she hissed staring around the room in suspicion “What if she’s the Goddess of Deceivement? Or Ares in disguise?”
Joxer caught Xena’s eyes and the two both bit back smiles and shook their heads as they listened to Gabrielle’s paranoid rant. When it finally finished Joxer vowed never to let the woman drink again and Xena tried to humor her to get her to go to bed; talking to her as though she were a child they left behind the still stuck Hercules and supported her until they got to the rooms they had rented. Giving Xena a sympathetic look Joxer left her to deal with her delusional girlfriend and managed to wait till he got into his own room before he collapsed with laughter on the bed. He was so swept up in releasing it, it was a few minutes before he realized he wasn’t alone and raised his eyes to meet those of a very grim Ares.