Ch. 7
Perseus lurched backwards narrowly avoiding being bitten in half by the monstrous maw of the Nemean Lion. It's rancid breath nearly made him gag but he had little time to think about his disgust as his flight trajectory took a sudden upward ascent. His arms and legs flailed wildly until he felt his back smash into a thick branch and he was sent end over end backwards into more branches before managing to grab hold of one and stop his less then gentle landing.
He looked down just in time to watch Heracles launch himself into a tree when the beast closed in for the kill. Just before crashing face first into it, his leg came out and he used the trunk as a launch pad to make a ninety degree turn mid air and shoot off to the right, the lion unable to stop itself and crashing headlong into the tree.
Rather than breaking its neck against the tree like Perseus had hoped, he could only stare stunned as the tree was the first to give way, snapping low on the trunk and crashing into the forest. The Nemean Lion skidded along its falling bulk before catching itself and spinning around. It roared menacingly in the direction Heracles had gone.
In the darkness of the night, Perseus couldn't see where Heracles was. The Nemean Lion roared angrily in the direction he was last seen. Then out of nowhere, three bronze arrows flew from the darkness and straight into its mouth before it could really put enormous lungs behind the thunderous roar.
Its stumbled backwards, whimpering loudly and shaking its huge head from side to side. The lion heaved and hissed, desperately trying to rid its mouth of the foreign objects.
Three more arrows flew at its mouth from the direction of Heracles but the beast had learned its lesson, and kept its jaws clamped shut, the arrows bouncing off harmlessly. Perseus felt a pang of terror as the lion's whimpering turned into a growl but rather than attack, it surprisingly turned and bounded off in the opposite direction, wheezing and hissing as it disappeared into the abyss of the night.
Perseus stayed in his little perch, unsure of whether it was safe to retreat to the ground again. After a few minutes, Heracles appeared underneath him and nodded that the monster was truly gone.
He navigated his way down to a few of the lower branches before dropping down the last ten feet. Heracles caught him before he could hit the ground and set him down gently. Perseus wasn't expecting the harsh look he got once he was back on the ground again.
"What in the name of Hades was that boy?" Heracles wasn't angry, more a mixture of worry and agitation, neither of which the young boy understood.
"What?" He asked tentatively, unsure what he had done.
Heracles just shook his head, "You slept through ten minutes of pursuit! You nearly got yourself killed!"
Perseus just stared back, trying to understand himself what had happened. His hand went to his chest where the small trident rested on its silver chain. Heracles noticed and the agitation melted out of his expression. He stared at the medallion resting on the boy's neck.
"Where did that come from?"
Perseus was caught a little off guard. He was still trying to comprehend everything himself. Meeting one's father for the first time was a lot for anyone to take in. And when that father happens to be the god of the seas and an Olympian God, well, that's just a lot to process.
"I... I... uh..." He was having trouble finding the words. "I saw my father."
Heracles was knocked onto his butt, metaphorically speaking.
He hadn't ever spoken to his father before. He, a man of twenty years and son to the king of Olympus, hadn't gotten so much as an acknowledgment from his father. But this ragamuffin child, one who he'd found one the very verge of death had met his father, the great god Poseidon. Furthermore, he'd apparently been given a gift before they parted company, whenever the Hades that was.
He felt a surge of envy towards his young apprentice. What had Perseus ever done that deserved acknowledgment from the gods!
Almost immediately that feeling was replaced by a wave of guilt for feeling that way towards young Perseus. He was like a little brother to him and loyal beyond count. Feeling envious of Perseus felt like a betrayal against him. He knew he should be happy for him. And he was. He was just having a difficult time accepting that Perseus was worthy of divine attention while he apparently was not.
"But how?" He finally asked, reigning in his wavering emotions.
Perseus played with his pendant nervously, "In a dream, he appeared to me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to almost kill us." He looked shameful at the thought of disappointing his mentor.
Heracles knelt down and put on a hand on the young demigod's shoulder smiling softly, "This is a good thing Perseus. A visit from a god is an event to celebrate. Your father recognized you as his son, for a god to acknowledge a mortal child means you are favored by the gods."
Perseus turned a little red at the thought of being favored by his father. He remained quiet, unsure of what to even say. Heracles looked at the pendant, "A gift from Poseidon? What is it?"
Perseus didn't understand the question. "It's a pendant."
The son of Zeus laughed and shook his head, "I find it unlikely that your father visited you just to give you a trident pendant."
Perseus looked down at it more closely. He wasn't really sure what he meant. Heracles patted his shoulder, "Whatever it really is, it will likely reveal itself when your father wants it to. Guard it closely my young friend."
Perseus tucked it in, close to his heart.
"He also told me some things."
Heracles raised an eyebrow at that.
"He said he helped us find each other."
Heracles nodded and stood back up, towering over the younger boy.
"I had my suspicions. A son of Zeus and a son of Poseidon do not just run into each other in the middle of the woods. I assumed it was fated to be and now I am sure of it."
Perseus didn't say anything. He thought about the other things that his father told him; about Hera driving Heracles mad and causing him to murder his family; and that she was still trying to punish him further, and wanted to turn him against Heracles.
He decided not to say anything about it though. He wasn't going to keep it from him but now didn't seem like the right time to talk about that. They were facing an impossible task as it was, bringing up what he learned would only distract from that.
"You injured the Nemean Lion," his voice held a bit of surprise in it as he decided to change the subject from his visit with Poseidon.
"Yes," Heracles walked a few yards away to the spot where he had shot the beast. He knelt down and dragged his finger through the cool grass. He picked it up and held it close to his face, staring at the golden substance covering his fingertip. The sun was beginning to rise and in the first rays of the sunlight, Perseus saw the look in Heracles eyes. It wasn't happiness or elation like he might have expected, it was a different look, something that hadn't been there in days.
It was a look of hope.
Line Break
They didn't bother setting up another camp.
As the day rose and Apollo carried the sun across the sky, they went back to their campsite and gathered all that they could. The Nemean Lion had trampled through their camp as it tried to ambush the two heroes in the night and destroyed their remaining food along with anything else left in its path.
Perseus walked all over their small little encampment, his searching becoming more and more frantic as the morning grew older. He was nearly in a panic by the time Heracles called over to him from a few yards away.
He was knelt down in a trampled part of the earth, looking apologetically at his young friend. When Perseus reached him, his worst fears were confirmed. His bow lay broken in multiple pieces in the crater of a paw print the beast had left behind.
He had to choke back a sob. He felt like he had disappointed his only friend. The beautiful bow that Heracles had carved him shortly after they'd met was destroyed. It had been left on the ground when Heracles carried him away in the desperate run for their lives.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered softly. Heracles smiled sadly at him and shook his head.
"It's just a bow my boy, I will craft you another once we're done with this wretched beast."
"But now I'm weaponless against the lion," Perseus said dejectedly.
Heracles knew this was the time to do it. He also knew this wasn't going to be easy but it had to be done.
"This is a sign my friend." He began gently. "This is no place for a child. It was a selfish mistake for me to take you with me. You are too young to face a creature this dangerous."
Perseus stared up at him in shock. He couldn't understand what he was being told.
"You want me to leave?"
Heracles sighed, knowing this was not going to end well.
"My friend, I don't want anything to happen to you. It would be better if you returned to Cleonae. Find Molorchus and wait for my return, please."
Perseus stared at Heracles for a moment. He wanted to say no. He wanted to tell him his place was at his side, helping him complete his first task. But the words wouldn't come to him. He couldn't find his voice to plead to be allowed to stay. So he reverted to his most deep rooted instinct that he used anytime he found himself in situations he didn't know how to handle.
He turned, and ran.
Like he had done every time he was in a situation out of his control, Perseus just ran. He tried to outrun Heracles' words like he used to outrun anything he thought might be a danger to him. Whether it was a monster or someone who'd caught him stealing or scrounging through their garbage, this had been the one instinct yet to fail him.
He ran until his lungs burned and legs were on the verge of giving out on him. He had outrun the forest and came to rest on a hilltop, leaning on a large piece of granite as he greedily sucked air into his lungs.
He looked around, trying to gauge his location but the area looked unfamiliar, one they hadn't passed over the past day of their hunt. The forest was a good ways back in the direction he'd come from. He looked but saw no sign on Heracles. He pressed his back to the slab of rock and slid down to his butt, giving his legs a reprieve after the punishment they'd just endured.
He closed his eyes and tried to push out the feeling of rejection that he'd been dealt by Heracles' words. For months they'd been inseparable. Even before the quest began, he told Perseus the choice was his but that if he didn't choose to go with him, they'd have to part company. Now, at the apex of their journey, he'd been told to walk away, that the danger was too much for someone his age.
He cursed out the older demigod, his bitterness coming in the form on his words. When he slowly opened his eyes, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. It was mid morning and the sky had been bright in a cloudless sky just moments before. But now, it seemed the sun was covered in clouds, its rays dim and weak.
He looked ahead and his confusion only grew when he saw sun's rays reflecting on a small stream he'd jumped over before coming to a stop.
Then the hairs on his neck stood up and he felt a chill of utter terror pass through his body. He looked above his head and found the monstrous maned head of the Nemean Lion looming over him, looking down at him with razor sharp teeth barred.
A.N: Not as long as I was planning but I'm away at a tournament and writing this in my hotel room bathroom. Plus, this is a fun place to stop... More to come ;)