The Legend of Perseus: The Labors

Ch.2

Ch. 2

Perseus did not sleep that night.

He laid out beside the fire but was certain to keep one eye open the entire night. He had agreed to accompany the older man on his journey for a bit but that in no uncertain terms meant he trusted him.

An adult seeking the company of someone his age… Well he simply knew better than to let his guard down.

As the sun began to rise, Heracles stirred almost as if the sun were shaking him awake, letting him know it was time to begin another day.

He glanced at Perseus, who quickly shut his eyes, before stretching his arms, legs and back, getting out all the aches a night spent on the ground gifted him with. He rubbed some of the sleepiness from his face and began to walk towards the forest deciding to let his young companion sleep a little longer.

Perseus waited until Heracles was completely out of sight before starting to stir himself. He got up and tried to rub the weariness from his eyes. Despite how alert he felt, he was exhausted. The events of the night before and being on the run so much meant he rarely got a good night’s sleep and it seemed to be catching up with him.

He glanced around, making sure there weren’t any unfriendly eyes on him before he made his way back to the log he had sat the night before. He picked up a stick and poked at the coals of the fire which was down to just embers. Once he had it stirred up a bit, he threw a few sticks on it, deciding a small fire wouldn’t be the worst idea with the chilly morning air sending a shiver down his spine.

Within a few minutes, the fire was back to its small but strong size from the previous night. He glanced at the pot still hanging over the side and couldn’t help but smile when he saw it was still filled with some of the stew from the night before. His stomach seemed to grumble in approval at the mere sight of food.

He stirred the contents a bit, waiting for it to heat up but before he had a chance to try any, a booming voice spoke behind him.

“A fine idea. I was just thinking about breakfast.”

Perseus instinctively stiffened but Heracles just sat down on the other side of the fire, a piece of wood in one hand and a knife in the other. Almost immediately, he began using his knife to shave down the wood.

Perseus kept silent as he stirred and watched over their breakfast, though his curiosity kept one eye on Heracles as he worked. He wasn’t sure what he was doing but it was obvious the older male was doing something he knew well based on the speed in which he worked.

Once the stew was back into a gentle simmer, Perseus scooped out two bowls and set one down a few feet from Heracles before sitting back down at the farthest possible point away without making it painstakingly obvious.

Heracles ignored his food for a while as he continued to work. Perseus decided against waiting and immediately began to appease his growing hunger.  Once he had finished, he set the bowl down feeling better than he had in a while.