Where all the silly mortals live, but Olympians can visit too. Pretty wide open for now, but this may need to be split into multiple cities eventually.

The Oracle of Delphi was the most well known in Greece, Apollo had truly outdone any other before him. Not that he had fair competition, no other God had so orchestrated the creation of an Oracle. As soon as other Gods cared enough to meddle in such a way as to create their own Oracles, perhaps it would lose its title. Still, in spite of this, it was a wondrous place, some said, and holding the blessing and involvement of a God, of course it garnered a lot of attention and care towards it.

It was a shame, then, that Thanatos wasn't at the Oracle itself. If he cared more, though, perhaps it would be a shame. The Oracle meant something to the mortals, but what would that ever amount to? Such short lived things could hardly accomplish anything truly significant, even with an oracle.

The skeletal visage of the Reaper stood on the crag of a mountain, looking out towards Delphi. He waited, and on such a quiet night, he had little else to do but ponder things. He did not wait much longer, though, as something unheard by any other caught his attention, and he turned. Within moments, he spread black feathered wings from his back, moving higher up the mountain.

"I would have sworn he was to die further down..." It was of no consequence, but it was odd. He would have been higher up already. He came to a stop near a cliff, looking down upon the world below from far above. Death folded in his wings, and with a pull of his skeletal hand, shadows covered him from the sight of mere mortals. Like clockwork, a man appeared, practically crawling his way along to the cliff.

He was obviously in pain. Cold, disheveled, and filled with a hopeless desperation. Something had gone wrong in his life, a situation where nothing would ever turn back. Loss wracked him, but what he lost was none of Thanatos' concern. He simply waited.

The man walked, slowly, injured heavily from his hasty climb up, for the cliff. He sought release, an easy end to how far south his life had gone perhaps.

... He stumbled, and fell. He groaned, beginning to pull himself to the cliff. His pulls became less and less effectual, until he could barely move his arms. The cold, his injuries, they were taking to him. Thanatos stepped forward, kneeling near the man. In that moment, near death, the mortal could finally see the God, feel the shadow of death over him.

He chuckled, half heartedly, and pointed weakly ahead. "Please, O Death, I do not wish for the cold to take me. Let me embrace the whipping air as I fall. It is... all I ask..."

"... Your desires are none of my concern."

Tears fell from the man's eyes, and his head slumped to the ground. He lost his strength, but he was not yet dead. It would be a slow, painful way to die...

...

What felt like possibly an eternity later, Thanatos stood, the soul of the man held between his fingers. "Onward, then." He stored the soul beneath his robes, and spread his wings again, descending from the mountain. On reaching the ground, his steed appeared in green light, and he started on a path to his next destination.

It wasn't long before his mount's walk led to a crossroads. He stopped a moment there, looking each way, pondering what to tend to next.

"How odd...Death himself struggles to make a simple decision as turning right or left? How...mortal of you." The voice that spoke was molten honey, laced with a slight touch of something one would struggle to place a name to.

Hecate leaned against the small altar left between the roads, having felt the call of his indecision from the nearby village. An amused smile graced her lips as she tucked a strand of hair beck behind her ear - appearing to him as not the Maiden or the Crone, but her usual Mother.

She toyed with a slender strand of smoke between her fingers, one of her own pairs of eyes lying dormant as she stood before the god. The amused smile only grew as she stepped towards him and his steed, amber eyes glistening with many thoughts.

"Do you require assistance, lost one?"

Thanatos glared at her, her remark plainly unwelcome in his eyes. He was quick to say, "Do not compare me to a mortal, Hecate." His voice came harshly, like a cold hollow, lacking any sign of compassion within. "You could make no graver mistake than to place Death besides mere men." He looked towards the altar, and internally cursed himself for not noticing it before hand. Of course he would catch her attention. He had little desire to deal with other Gods at the time, but there was little he could do about that now. Regardless, really, if he had been even the slightest lost anywhere, it was likely her eyes would have caught sight.

He stepped down from his steed, and the creature gave a soft noise in turn, walking over to stand near the altar. He looked towards the Goddess again, "I am not lost. Or, to be specific, I am not a lost one. I simply cannot decide which meaningless ending to which meaningless story I shall attend next, and find myself with the time to be picky about which part of Greece I would rather visit. If you're open to picking between one disappointing mortal settlement and another, then by all means, I'll share my options."

He then strode forward towards the altar himself, looking upon it, and called back to her, "It's been a while since I've seen anything of you, to be honest. Not that that was a bad situation, of course, it simply was the situation I found myself in. I suppose we do keep ourselves busier than other deities, though."

Hecate gave a gesture of nonchalance.

"Our domains lie everywhere. My own in the ever-persisting crossroads, literal and metaphorical, and yours in your ever looming presence on the mortal conscience. Quite entertaining, to see a mortal to try and use my blessings to evade you."

Her lip pulled into a smirk as she vanished and reappeared on the small stone bench that was part of her altar, crossing one leg over the other. "For as far as lost goes, your indecision makes you lost. The fact that you ponder and do not have a clear choice in mind is what calls me to you."

She spread her arms, necklace glittering under the sudden shift in light. "So share away, lost one." She teased, knowing now just how much that irked him.

There was a grinding of teeth, briefly, as she referred to him as lost again, "Lost is not the same as undecided." He then tried to focus off of that, and chuckled grimly to himself, "They do try and avoid me, do they? How pathetic, that they think you have the power to spare them demise. Perhaps I should keep closer eyes on your altars, that might prove amusing for at least a moment."

After that, he he looked off in one direction. "In Athens, a woman will be beat to death within her home. Athena boasts about that place far too much for my liking, it's still a den of mortals trying hopelessly to be something more than blinks in time. So much about how those in Athens are well learned, treated fairly... This woman will die, and there will be no consequences on the man."

He looked the other way, "A cove, with the sea whipping up and trying to reclaim the soil there. A few young men will be sparring, and there will be an accident. One will be too injured to escape a sudden high tide, and the other will fall trying to save him. A silly thing, trying to save one another. They are young, and already required in the army. They would have died young anyway, so the attempt of heroism would accomplish nothing."

He looked back to her, and said, "It means nothing to me, which shall die first. So, why not. O Goddess of the Crossroads," He laced as much distaste into the words as possible, "Of which direction will I walk? Feel free to take your time deciding, neither shall happen until the sun has risen."

Hecate hummed, tugging on a stray lock of hair. "My priests know better. Some eagerly await your blade, the ones that wish to follow in my service for as long as I bleed ichor." Another hum. "Some of the lesser followers, however...they pray to me in hopes that I will guide them on the path that hides them from you the longest. I do not interfere with this...I seem to understand better than the mortal sort that all paths lead to a final destination."

Hearing his choices, she closed her amber eyes, hearing the beginning voices of the Maiden and Crone alongside her own thoughts.

Mother, Mother, how can a man hurt his wife so? Did he not wed her for love? And what of those poor heroes, they deserve more than to die in the cold embrace of Poseidon!

Hecate let out an annoyed huff, pushing the innocent thoughts of the Maiden aside and seeking the wisdom of the Crone - for while she was the balance of both, she would never outmatch the wisdom of Her.

Mother...the Crone whispered, Hecate lowering her head slightly as she listened closer. Mother, the heroes seek just that - to be labeled a hero even with their passing. They seek the Elysian Fields, something even you cannot guide them to. Athens, however...

The Crone's voice overtook her own as she looked up at Thanatos, her face flashing between the unnerving mortality of the Crone and the Mother most were accustomed to.

"Death-bringer, We guide you to the path of Athens." The Crone hissed, ageless amber observing him. "Take the woman, but We shall see to the man. He has made his decision, but We see the path he is destined for. You will need to come for him soon."

Thanatos took to paying the slightest bit more attention when another voice started taking over Hecate, the Crone showing through. If nothing else, he could listen to this one a bit easier, as she seemed to him to have a tendency to not waste time. After her words, he walked to the side of his mount, "Well, you sound determined, if that's the word for it. Very well. I shall ride to Athens." He mounted his steed, and looked down to the Goddess. "And by sunrise, I shall come to the cove for the others. I suppose we shall meet again there, from the sounds of it." He chuckled, beginning to move Apelpesia to the path. "What destiny does he hold, so close to the end? Nay, do not tell me. I do not care. He will meet with me soon enough."

He almost departed, but stopped again, and said back to Hecate, "And, of course, you know not to interfere in my work. So long as you do not try to stop me, I care not what happens to them. Also, I should hope your followers, those so 'eager' to meet me, they would do well not to bring that blade to their necks themselves. I won't be happy dealing with mortals making more work for me of themselves." With that, he lifted reigns, and with a yell of, "Forward, Apelpesia!" He charged off to Athens.

(I can set the scene at the cove for you, if you want, or I'll leave that to you. Whatever works best~)

The all thre voices let out a laugh, before Hecate closed her eyes and focused her mind on Athens.

Death was hasty, she mused. He had hardly let her speak the truth.

The man she spoke of was the woman's killer, not the man of the cove. And he...he would play a larger role in the scheme of things, eventually.

(Nah, Athens works. Don't exactly know your plans for that'll I'll leave it up to you...?)

(I'll make le post then. Here you are~)

Athens was quiet, little more than murmurs rising up. Servants, slaves and others were starting to move about so early in the morning, their long duties beginning. Thanatos rode through the streets, unseen by the few he passed by. Before too long, he slowed, until stopping, and stepping down from his mount. Apelpesia vanished, and Death walked to the door of the home where soon, the woman would die. A servant ran out, muttering and in a panic, as yelling echoed out. Thanatos slipped into the doorway, and looked about.

The home was well furnished, and it looked well cared for. The servant from a moment ago would attest to that, likely. Those that lived here were rather well off. Thanatos picked a bench out, and took a seat, waiting for things to unfold.

Yelling echoed again, from another room. A man, and a woman. The woman appeared soon, barely clothed aside from something she rushed on. The shadow of the man was following after her. "I will not lay with you! Not this morning, and never again!" She screamed back, her anger and confidence rather high for what Thanatos knew was coming.

"I did not wed you to be neglected, woman! Come back here now!"

He started to move further along down the hall. It wouldn't be long now, then.

(This work?)

(Yes it does. Apologies, I fell asleep last night.)

Hecate tsked softly, giving Thanatos an amused smile as she stood beside him now - concealed in the shadows of the room as the shouting increased.

"My, my, Thanatos, you never cease to surprise me. Quite hasty of you to ride off without giving the Crone an opportunity to finish." She straightened her chiton slightly, nodding towards the woman before them.

"This one sought my guidance not long ago. Her marriage was loveless, but she had come to care for another - and while my priest warned her of the consequences, she took a chance with him." Her amber eyes wander over to the shadow behind the woman, a light sigh escaping her. "Her lover comes for her tonight, aware of what her husband does to her. He plans to take her away, run away together, but he'll be too late."

She turned that amber gaze on Thantos, a wry smirk on her lips. "I am here for her lover's choice upon finding her dead. If you're lucky, you'll have many souls to collect on this day."

Thanatos felt an anger welling up within him. But, instead of showing it, he said, "I apologize if I was glad to avoid you for even a time. Regardless of what happens tonight, it matters not. It changes nothing if I chose to hasten myself. She still dies. I suppose what her lover does after is... of your concern, more than mine, until someone else dies."

Their yelling intensified. Screams of love lost, of betrayal - From both ends.

"... They were to elope? To where?" Thanatos questioned, "Her husband ranks highly among the city guards. He could have her sought out. Perhaps not quickly, but find the right people, and they would search to no end to resolve a love that, in his eyes, she betrayed."

The man tried to deny his own betrayals, his abuse, but every time she needed a definitive answer - There wasn't one.

She tried to deny that she was with another, had been with someone else, but just as with him, she could not answer commitedly.

"This is why I do not concern myself with the reasons. They are, so often, foolish. To what end would any of this had gone? Their plan to elope would not have affected this death, but it will amount to nothing. Perhaps nothing is too much on my part, for her lover will make a decision yet."

And the first strike occurred. It was followed by another, and another...

Her screams were shrill, and loud at first. Blood began to spread, and soon, her screams began to weaken.

Death stood. "Yet, look, it has amounted to nothing. Everything they wanted has been dashed aside. How... tragic." He looked down at the woman as she was beat, waiting for the approaching moment of her final breath. If she could open her eyes, she would see the Reaper waiting for her.

Regrettably, her eyes were no longer in a state that she could open them. Perhaps that was a saving grace, though, so the last thing she saw wasn't Death itself.

A young man stood, horrified, beyond the door as his lover's screams reached his ears - though her cries were already weak. He reached for the door of the home, intending to shove it open as quickly as he could in hopes that he could reach her in time.

Hecate chuckled in her three voices, opening her palm and sending forth one of her ghostly priests.

Boethus...be a dear for Us and show the young man inside.

The door burst open at her priest's beckoning and the young man rushed in, a cry of despair escaping his lips as he saw the state of his beloved on the cold floor.

Her name fell from his mouth like a mournful prayer, and he set a hand on his blade before rage overtook him and he moved for the husband.

The three-faced goddess sighed and glanced at Thanatos, invisible to all but her as he prepared to take the young woman's soul.

"You will take three on this day, Death-Bringer." The Crone hissed, and the Maiden's sorrowful sigh escaped her lips. "Such a shame, for love to go to waste..."

The husband looked to the young man as he came upon him, a flash of fear in his eyes, before rage overtook him as well, and he grabbed a vase nearby, swinging it at the youth. He yelled as he did, losing sense of all else.

As he left the woman on the floor, she creaked open her eyes, as much as was still possible, and drew her last breath. Thanatos reached down, putting his hand over her, and soon enough held her soul in his grasp. He stood, and turned to watch the ongoing fight. "Then two more I will take. I suppose we would have met here regardless, then." It wasn't an uncommon situation, really, that he ended up crossing paths with Hecate at the death beds of many. Death was often a life changing thing, leaving many lost after it.

Hence why he tried to put up with her presence more than other Gods.

"I do not see how you can remain so involved in the lives of mortals so. A story of love lost like this happens almost every day. Surely, it must get boring to watch them make the same mistakes, over and over."

It was the Mother that spoke then, a wry smirk touching her lips as she watched the youth lunge for the man and draw his blade.

"It does grow tiring, We will admit." The vase shattered against the young man's blade, hardly slowing his advances. "But We cannot ignore the call of those who pray for guidance through a difficult time. We hear their voices, crying out louder and louder until we answer in even the smallest way possible."

Hecate snorted then and glanced at Thanatos's blade. "I can't tell you how tempting it is some days to seek you out and drive your blade through my skull for all the nagging. Half of it is children praying for the Maiden, and she can't ignore a single cry of desperation. It could be an infant crying between one sweet or the other and yet she'll rip into me incessantly until I let her overtake Us."

The husband yelled as his vase was broken, grabbing a shard and immediately lunging upon the youth, no longer caring for any injury that would befall himself. Thanatos laughed dryly, pulling his blade from his side.

"It might silence the others for but a moment, but would they not eventually just devolve into bickering to find out why you drove my blade through your head. Unless the intent is to die," He admonished, watching on as the husband started trying to strike for the neck of the youth, "Then it is at my discretion whether you die. If you even can die. I won't blame you, regardless. To be plagued by the voice of an eternally incessant child."

He turned his sword over in his hand several times, before placing it back. "Such death wrought in this home. I would feel bad for the slaves, if they were worth something. The death of their own master, though, will not be looked on lightly. I might be returning here for their executions before long."

The goddess huffed slightly at that, biting her lip lightly as she watched the youth draw his sword and attempt to land a strike at the man's stomach as the ceramic nicked his shoulder.

"If only I did have an escape. The Maiden is thankfully very quiet in your presence, however." An amused grin touched her lips. "Perhaps you intimidate her? If so, I may seek your company more often."

Her gaze shifted to the empty room, just hoping some of the slaves were smart enough to choose freedom and run before it became too late.

The blade was driven into the man's stomach, and he screamed, bringing the ceramic back to try and get the youth in the neck at all. Thanatos chuckled, "If you will, avoid seeking my company just to drive one of your voices quiet. Our time together, as sparing as it is, is still more than it needs to be."

He started to walk closer to the fight, the shadow of death beginning its decent on the husband. "He might ask, one day, while in the Underworld, where he went wrong. And to that, I would say that his faith in any other member of his race was his mistake."

There was no visible slaves or servants anywhere, a few windows broken open in other rooms. It seems they had ran off when they saw all of this transpiring.

The ceramic caught and sliced through the soft skin of the youth's neck as he withdrew his blade. He began to choke, blood filling his throat as he collapsed not far from the long cold body of his lover.

Hecate stepped back slightly, avoiding the burst of blood that painted the wall for the most part. "Humans are fickle, and far more likely to betray than most other mortal beings. Faith has proven to be the downfall of some, however, the fuel of others."

She smirked slightly, returning her priest to his home within the selenite beads of her necklace. "Such a morbid mentality, even for death, to avoid any sort company. I am surprised you don't even share the same inkling of a desire for an immortal woman like the rest of the Olympians." Hecate chuckled, tugging her hair free of its bun to redo the style. "But perhaps it's necessary for you to maintain that unfeeling visage you wear."

Thanatos was silent a moment, his anger building from Hecate's words, and her insinuations. As he watched the youth fall near his love, life leaving him, he began to approach, kneeling near him. "What you call morbid is naught but normal to me. I'd say the same of you, and ask to why you have yet to take a companion among the Gods for your own. I do suppose, though, that the constant bickering of a child and a hag, would make it hard to keep anyone interested for long."

He reached his hand over the youth, and before long, he held his soul in his grasp. He barely moved it anywhere else, and it seemed to rush to be beside the woman's soul. They seemed to care not to be in Death's embrace, as long as they were there together.

Was this worth what they went through?

He stood then, walking towards the man. He was barely clinging to life, blood pouring out everywhere from his wound. He had attempted to, in a panic, move the blade. He barely pulled it from his body, but wrought more damage in his pained state. He glanced up, and terror filled his eyes. He could see the Reaper's approach. "Please, please no, no, I... I've done no wrong! I was..." He lingered, as if the next words were hard to speak. He finally said, after coughing up copious amounts of blood, "... I was faithful..."

Death leaned down towards him, and said, "I don't care."

The man got angry at that, perhaps misinterpreting what Thanatos meant, "I wasn't faithful! Fine! I was tempted! Used! But... But she alone held my heart! And my harlot of a wife bedded a -" He coughed again, violently, and continued yelling, really doing little more than hastening his own approach towards death, "Bedded some damn child! And he's killed me! He's... He's killed her!"

"... He killed her, did he? I saw otherwise. But, again, I don't care."

The man was losing energy fast, now that he was expending it so violently. He started to slip further on the floor in his own blood, and said, almost begging in a hoarse whisper, "Please... you... I have heard stories... of heroes, indebted to you... send your heroes, Thanatos, that they might kill my mistake... That they might rid Athens of... of my son..."

That alone illicited a chuckle from Thanatos, as he reached a hand over the man's face. "You did ugly, ugly things, didn't you? I must reiterate. I do not care. Of your wife's fate, I did not care. Of yours, I do not care. But I won't lie, the Judges will. To bed a beast, to have another beast born of such a union, to beat the one you claim to love to death... Whatever comes for you next, others would say you deserve it."

The man coughed up blood, one last time, and barely choked out, "... She... promised me... so many things..."

He finally died, his soul in Death's hand. It did not leave his hand, either, as if it knew what waited deeper within Thanatos' embrace. "You can't confront them now, can you? This is your last chance to, as well, most likely. Such a shame." He finally stood, and turned back to Hecate, "Where were we? Ah, yes. Perhaps, once, this was a visage. A mask. But I've worn it such an immeasurably long time, that... how does the saying go? Wear the mask long enough, and your face grows to fit it. I feel nothing. Except, perhaps, the slightest bit of amusement, that a dying man thought he could ask me to slay his monster." He glanced Hecate over, and then said, with anger to his tone, "And frustration at certain people, of course."

Hecate sighed softly, stepping towards the young man and kneeling down beside him - blood soaking into the edges of her crimson chiton, but unseen with the color. She gently swept her hands over his eyes, closing them before she moved to do the same to the woman.

"You have chosen not to feel, Thantos. I have been around long enough to remember that day." She straightened, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest. "You closed your immortal heart off to the rest, and now this is where you stand."

She toyed with her necklace, watching the god a moment with her bright amber eyes.

"And I have chosen to not bed anything that moves, unlike some of the Olympians." She sneered, gripping the selenite tightly in her hand. "My distaste for comparing myself to them is the same as yours for being compared to mortal kind."

Thanatos watched her give what respects she seemed compelled to give, and waved off her statement. "If you remember that day, then you remember why I chose to feel no more." He cast a glance at the ground, then looked back to Hecate. "They die so easily. We have witnessed that, time and time again. They die for the most meaningless of reasons, and they die for nothing to change. I will show no care for things that prove so meaningless."

He looked towards an open window, broken open by a slave from earlier likely, and raised a hand. Birds called in the distance, and began approaching. He chuckled at her latter statement, "Fair enough, Hecate. I will give you that, to be compared to an Olympian is a rather wretched insult. The idea seems to anger you so." Ravens flew in through the window, and to them, he departed the souls currently in his possession. A swath of lights, more than the four that Hecate would have been aware he had at the time, left him and went to the Psychopomps. "To the Underworld with them, and make haste."

The animals wasted no time, departing once they held the dead in their grips. He turned back to the Goddess, and said further, "But, as I said earlier this morn, I've not heard of you for quite some time. You are busy indeed, but sometimes, I can only guess as to where you might be spending your time. Have you been mingling with the Olympians? I know they have a habit of losing track of... hours, days, who knows how long, up there."

Hecate shrugged slightly, tucking a shorter curl behind her ear.

"Many things happened." She said softly, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. "The Trojan War, mainly. It kept me very busy. I'm surprised you noticed, with all of your reaping."

A grin crossed her lips as she stepped closer, pinching the fabric of his robes and raising a brow as she looked up at him. "Why do you ask? Did Death miss me?"

Thanatos pushed her hand away, "I did not miss you. It was a lovely reprieve. Now that I know, I'll know to orchestrate a war when I next need peace and quiet." He looked down at her, and chuckled, "You flatter yourself too much, assuming I would have missed you in the slightest."

He had simply grown used to her appearing occasionally as he worked. He reaped many during the Trojan War, so back and forth that he hardly noticed anything else. "If you think I desire the company of a Goddess with three conflicting voices..."

"Admit it, your reaping would become such a boring task if you didn't have me to nag you incessantly." The goddess teased, smoothing out a wrinkle in her chiton with one hand.

The selenite necklace glittered in the early rays of light as she turned, Hecate starting to hear the commotion of guards outside the home.

"And perhaps you do not desire the company of all of us, but one of us." She smirked as she looked back over her shoulder at him, stepping around the carnage of the bodies on the floor. "You have to bear some feeling for us, if you used even half a thought to know that you hadn't seen us in quite a time. Hatred, lust, it doesn't matter. You still took note."

Thanatos stepped around the bodies himself, beginning to move towards the exit. "I cannot admit as much because it would be a lie to do so." A green light flashed outside the window, and his steed appeared, hidden from the sight of gathering guards. The guards began entering the home, the doors flung open.

"... I will give you one victory in that statement. I took note because of the nuisance you've proven yourself capable of. You act like reaping with no one over my shoulder would be a horrid thing. You wouldn't know the joy of peace and quiet though, would you?"

"No." She said simply. "But peace and quiet is unattainable, at least for me, until I give up my immortality and give myself to your king's Fields of Asphodel."

She stepped out with him, a slight smile on her face. "But perhaps I have grown to love the whispers that fill the silence."

"To hear incessant, endless whispers... as much I would not stand for." Apelpesia approached, and he mounted the steed, yells beginning to echo. Screams started shortly after. "Would you even avoid them in death, though? Would your companions not seek you out? I would not think they could function without you." The steed started to walk away from the home, into the streets.

Hecate shrugged, following Thanatos out of the home. "I would choose the river Lethe, to become a shade that has forgotten all that came before her time in Asphodel. And with such, the Maiden and Crone would fade until became one again."

But that was more than she needed to divulge, and she smiled lightly at Thanatos as he mounted Apelpesia.

"Farewell, Thanatos. We will cross paths again soon enough."

And with that, she let the shadows embrace her as her mind turned to the city of Elusis - duty called her, after all.

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