The Scared God [ManXManXMan]

Chapter Thirty: Замутить - Zamutit' ~ Part One

~Chapter Thirty: Замутить - Zamutit'~

When I first met Perun, there was not a single thing I could say about him that was bad. He was an amazing king that truly cared for his pantheon and his people. He went out of his way to make each god and goddess feel welcome, whether it was by playing a game with them, discussing everyday things, or including them in some wild activity he came up with on the spot. And, for that, I admired him greatly.

However, after my first death and from then on, my opinion of him went downhill. For a while, I tried to justify his actions and believed him to still be a good king god. And though that last part never actually changed, as he really does take care of his pantheon, I stopped seeing him as my king god, and he became nothing more than the king of my pantheon – the cruel bastard who continuously cast me down into the underworld for some unknown reason. I hated him.

Now, though...now I am not sure. He still betrayed me and cast me aside too many times to count, but he is also a very different god than the one I learned to hate. Or, perhaps, the one I hated was different, and now he is once again becoming the god that I so greatly admired all those centuries ago. Only, I am not sure if admiration is the exact word for how I feel about him now. Everything feels...different than before. Perhaps that is because my admiration is no longer tainted by naivety, or maybe it is not admiration at all but something new.

If it's not admiration, though, I'm not sure what to call it.

"Good morning, Veles," Hors greets as I enter the kitchen, only pausing his cooking long enough to plant a kiss on my cheek before he continues stirring whatever amazing concoction he has made for breakfast today. My skin grows warm, and something light and fuzzy settles in my chest, though I cannot help but watch him for a moment to make sure there are no lingering symptoms of his injury, even if Mokosh said he is fine now.

When nothing is made apparent, I head for the table. Perun, who is seated at said table, looks up from whatever he is reading – it looks like a report of some sort – upon hearing Hors' greeting and smiles when he sees me. "Veles," he greets, and though he does not stand up, he does lean over and grab my arm to pull me closer when I sit down so he can kiss my other cheek. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," I mutter, scooting my chair an extra few inches away from him, face aflame.

It's like a modern television family with the loving married couple...but with a threesome.

Rather than dwell on that any longer and risk fainting, as the heat rising to my face is starting to make me a little light-headed, I try to change the topic. "You're having a meeting with the Dagda today, right? Can I come?"

Perun does not even pause to consider it. "I'd rather you stay here with Hors and Jarylo."

I immediately open my mouth to argue, disappointed at the idea of not being involved when it comes to an old ally, only to snap it shut when that last part registers in my head. "Jarylo?" I ask, leaning back a little, as if it will help me see Perun's expression better than I already can. It does not, though I do take note of the little smirk the king god is sporting and narrow my eyes. "Jarylo is coming?"

"He visited me yesterday with the intent of having me deliver a letter to you," Perun says, almost smugly, though I am not sure what he is smug about. I would not be feeling very smug if my son came to me to have me play messenger to another father figure. Maybe he is feeling smug because he managed to surprise me, in which case I will need to work on hiding my reactions in the future; no use letting it get to his head. "He can't stay for long, but a few hours will not hurt so long as his magical presence is hidden."