Chapter 15:
The sun was just rising, casting the first rays of light across the quietly bustling early hours in Tegea. As the sun peaked above the horizon it looks dull and lifeless in comparison to how the colours had painted the sky for months. As the city began to fully awaken, for some it was with a dull throb to their hearts as they recalled the events that had so recently unravelled.
The royal family shared a sombre meal, free of the presence of the arrogant prince who was sleeping off a head splitting migraine, the family reflecting on their luck, having been blessed by the protection of the god. Despite this both the women at the table were stuck within their own minds, being unable to free themselves of the memory of the kind-hearted, seemingly young, man who had departed them with little notice, already craving the joyful light his smile lit the room with upon the rare occasion that he broke out of his formalities.
Similarly, Callie woke with an aching heart, craving the presence of her lost brother, although not wanting to hold him back by praying for his presence, knowing in her heart that he would come as promised if she ever called. She mindlessly made her way through her usual routine and was only broken from her depressed thoughts momentarily as she lifted the silver blade from the table and cradled it in her hands reverently, it immediately becoming her most prized possession and definitely her most expensive. Furthermore, as she read the letter, she couldn't hold back the tears that slipped from her eyes and joined the dried ones on the page as she was overwhelmed by both sadness and joy, for the connection she both had, and lost. She quickly placed the note and knife away beneath her bed where she stored the few prized possessions she had, then moved on with her day, preparing herself for her future and always waiting for the return of her brother.
Antheia on the other hand had far less restraint in her emotions and when she awoke, recalling her memories and racing out to her father who told her it wasn't just a dream, she bawled into her father's chest, weeping for her lost friend. It took a long while before she broke away and as she did, she made a promise to herself that she would never break. She would live her life in a way that would make 'Percy' proud and wait for the day he returned.
-----
As the sun rose, for the first time in months, Perseus awoke laying in a tranquil clearing on soft grass, surrounded by nature as he had been for the greater portion of his life. Perseus had left the city the previous night, travelling out through the forest and spreading his senses out into nature as he hadn't done for so long having been cooped up in the palace.
As he travelled through the forest, he fuelled it with life, especially where it was damaged closer to Tegea and some of the small outer villages he'd passed so far, causing life to fill the surrounding, plants to grow and natural colours to bloom and brighten.
Perseus was uncertain of what it was that he would do next, although he had decided that it would be best to travel for some time to reconnect with nature and explore Arcadia.
As he got up, he decided to transform into his wolf form, placating his longing for the feeling of freedom that running through the forest in this form gave him. As the transformation was completed with a sharp flash of light a huge almost 7-foot wolf was revealed, with fur blacker than the darkest parts of the night sky and silky fur that caught the early morning rays of light.
At his appearance, many of the animals that had surrounded the clearing after following him when he was rebirthing life within the damaged forest, scampered for cover at the sight of the predator that was deadly even when at a normal size. After a short while they re-emerged, staring at the huge creature curiously, after a few seconds a small fawn stumbled towards the wolf, obviously having left it's mothers supervision.
The deer had been drawn to Perseus as all wild thing were, acknowledging him as a lord of the wild even in his current form. As the fawn got closer its mother came out from the edge of the clearing, concerned for its safety but fearful of the wolf, the fawn the stumbled near the wolf and was about to fall before Perseus moved to steady the young deer with his snout, shocking all the surrounding animals.
After almost an hour of calming the mother of the young fawn and appeasing the awe-filled animals, all curious to know more about him and eager to be close to their lord, Perseus was able to leave and raced off into the trees. Reaching unreal speeds to the point where anyone to see him would only witness a large black blur, Perseus raced through the forest.
Over the day Perseus found many towns across Arcadia, being careful to stay out of the sight of any mortals as to not cause a fright. As day became night Perseus also encountered many wolves, joining a few in their hunts and being unable to convince them to not call him 'Milord' despite his insistence.
Perseus travelled like this for over three days before settling back into his human form and deciding to travel like any other mortal for a while in order to better familiarise himself with mortal people. Emerging from the forest to a nearby town, Perseus entered the small market area that resided in the centre of town, mostly selling food for locals and a few travelling supplies for passer-by's. Talking to one of the locals whilst purchasing an apple with some of his remaining money he kept in his bag, Perseus found that the town was called Myrleia and that there was a plague passing through the city, thought to have been sent by Demeter, accompanying their poor harvest.
Perseus doubted this and sent a prayer to his aunt, "Aunt Demeter, is this plague being inflicted by you?" And he was almost immediately met with a response, "No, I am not like my brothers on Olympus, I don't wish harm on Greece, it seems that their crop is suffering a disease which is harming the elderly and caused the poor harvest."
"I didn't wish to accuse you Aunt, thank you for your assistance, is there anything I can do about the diseased crop to assist this town?" Perseus replied silently, "I know dear, and I am glad to be able to help you, I will bless their crop to be purified of the disease but there is little I can do for those already sick."
"Thank you aunt, I love you." Perseus answered appreciatively, "Of course dear, I love you too and wish you well."
With that Perseus requested the young lady, at the stall where he had gotten an apple and this information, to show him to the sick, telling her that he had some knowledge of the healing arts.
The woman was excited at the possibility for the help that was unavailable to the poor town and hastily guided Perseus to one of the larger buildings that was close to the centre of the town and led him in. As he entered, Perseus found the place filled with around 12 sickly people, most were quite old other than a young boy that couldn't be more than 3 and his mother that sat at his side, also suffering from the disease.
After being shown in Perseus turned to the young lady, "I'm sorry, but I will require some privacy in order to do my work." Perseus told her sincerely, only for her to nod and exit the building, closing the door behind her. This surprised Perseus as he possessed a tall and imposing figure and had yet to draw down his hood, keeping his face concealed within shadows, other than his piercing purple irises, but he passed it off, realising it was the effect of his mothers powers which caused him to exude a calming and peaceful aura when unconcealed.
Approaching the mother and her child, Perseus explained that he was a healer of sorts and inquired as to the symptoms that accompanied the disease. As his observation showed, the symptoms were confirmed to include; nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, chest pains, inability to consume food, fever, chills and the skin adopting a yellow or green pigment. Perseus had also found out that 3 of the eldest people in the town had already passed and the lady assumed that it was only a matter of time before the entire population fell ill as she had whilst caring for her son.
Perseus knew that he had to do something about the illness, but of the medical knowledge that he had obtain, he knew of no way to naturally treat such an illness and that treating the separate symptoms would only prolong the suffering. Perseus knew what he must do instead but had very little practice to go off of, only having remembered his mother telling him that the flames of the hearth can heal, just as it can harm.
As such Perseus requested the woman to step back and was able to get her to move away from her son's side for the moment after a great deal of calming and reassuring. Perseus then warned her that what he may do was in order to heal her child and that any interference could hinder his actions. He then turned back to the young child who was still in an uneasy sleep and almost constantly squirming, probably suffering from a fever induced nightmare.
First, Perseus softly placed his hand on the boys head, spreading the calming nature of the hearth through the child and inducing a peaceful sleep upon the ill boy. He then held a hand on the boys bare chest, which covered its entirety, closing his eyes he channelled the power of the hearth as he would when wielding fire as a weapon, but instead of harm and destruction on his mind, he focussed on healing and destroying the illness. As he opened his eyes that now glowed brighter with flecks of orange appearing throughout the purple, Perseus' hand lit on fire, flickering like a warm and peaceful hearth.
The mother was shocked at what she was seeing and moved with the intent to get the man away from her son, but upon remembering his words and then seeing the green colour of her son's skin receding around the man's hand and spreading to effect his entire body, she stayed still. After a few more moments Perseus lifted his hand, sweating beginning to trickle down his forehead at the strain that using the hearth for healing for the first time was putting on him.
As he removed his now normal hand away from the boy and moving off the boys bed to sit on the empty one next to him, the boy's mother hastily made her was back to her son's side and wiped the sweat that remained on his face from the fever away with a wet cloth. After placing the cloth back next to the bowl of water that was on a table nearby, the mother brushed her hand across her son's forehead and gasped with tears welling in her eyes as she found his skin at a normal temperature, confirming for herself that her son was truly cured as his appearance had presented. After confirming this she quickly rushed around the bed and embraced Perseus in a tight hug, thanking him for what he had done, over and over.
Unfortunately, she had to back away as her body was racked with violent coughs and she was guided to lay on the bed that Perseus had risen from. Perseus then repeated the process on the poorly woman after using the hearth to lull her back to sleep. He then went on to repeat the process on each of the surrounding people until all the residents within the room were cured and laying in peaceful rest.
After this, Perseus summoned a ball of flames from the hearth, using a similar method to that of when he used the hearth to heal and let it drop to the floor where he controlled it to spread across the floor in a ring and continue to spread in a ring until it had travelled through the entire room across each surface and collected on the roof before dropping back into his hand where he dispersed it, the room having been cleansed from the presence of the disease, preventing it from spreading through the rest of the town's population.
After doing so, Perseus heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the edge of the bed closest to the entrance that was unoccupied. After doing so, the only noise that grace the room was the quiet snores of a few of the cured patients and the sounds of the village and surrounding nature that came through the windows that were covered with tattered cloths and allowed thin streaks of the midday sunlight into the room.
After a while Perseus was able to collect himself and evaporate the sweat off his body that had drenched him as he went through the process of healing everyone. By the time that he had finished with the patients he had been able to complete the task with far greater efficiency and was more used to the process, resulting in him using less energy, but he had already exhausted himself on the other patients.
After recovering enough energy, Perseus rose from his place on the bed and turned to leave the building, only to be interrupted in his actions by a soft voice. Turning to identify where it had come from, he saw the young mother with her head turned towards him and eyes open, trying to get words out, but restricted by her loss of voice that hadn't recovered full form the illness yet. Moving back to her side, Perseus sat on the edge of her bed and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Take your time, don't strain yourself, I won't go anywhere until you've said what you want to say." Perseus said softly.
The woman nodded at his words and laid her head back down on the pillow and took a few deep breaths before attempting to speak again. In a soft and smooth voice that a normal person would have to strain to hear she spoke, "Th-thank you for he-," She had to stop for a minute before beginning again, "Thank you for helping my son and I, as well as the others. He means the world to my husband and I and he will be so happy when he finds out we are ok." She once again took a short break before continuing, Perseus waiting patiently with a reassuring smile on his face, "We don't have much to offer, no one does. Out town is not a rich one and especially with the poor harvest we have little to spare, but I am in your eternal debt and if there is anything you wish for, I will do whatever it takes to get it for you." The woman spoke, eyes filled with gratitude as she teared up thinking about how she almost lost her child but that he was ok now.
Perseus wiped the tears that had leaked from her eyes away softly before responding, "There is nothing you must do for me in return. I am glad that I could help everyone here and I my only hope is that you will be ok and that your son will grow up to be a fine young man." Perseus answered with a comforting smile.
The woman let out a little sob and gave Perseus a tight embrace, quietly mumbling thank-you's into his chest before he softly put her back down so that she could rest. After a few moments where she collected herself and cleared her eyes of tears she spoke again, this time more clearly, "W-who are you? What you did, it was by the hand of the gods."
"I am nobody important. I had a gift and used it to do what I could to heal you all." Perseus answered, deflecting the real question.
The woman was unplacated by his response and looked him in the eyes pleadingly, "Please, tell me who you are. I must know who to send my prayers to for saving my son and I." She spoke with desperation lacing her voice.
Perseus didn't wish to cause her further distress, so he decided to answer honestly, "I am a godling. I was taken from my mother and cast away, only to be found by another goddess far later. She then adopted me and helped me to escape my confinement. Now that I am free in the world, I wish to do good with my power and help those I can unlike many of the other gods. The problem is if people were to find out about me it would put me and my mothers in danger, so I need you to not tell anyone about my true nature."
To say that the woman was shocked would have been an understatement. It took several moments before she seemed to regain control of her body and when she did, she started stuttering before scrambling from the bed in a rush to kneel. Perseus though didn't let her do this, softly pushing her back down onto the bed. "There is no need to bow or kneel, I'm no different to who I was before I told you."
The woman nodded slowly in response, still shocked by the revelation and trying to comprehend the fact that a god had saved the life of everyone in the room including her son and herself and was now seated on the bed next to her. Soon she regained her voice, "I promise not to tell anyone who you are. Thank you so much for what you have done."
"As I said before, there's no need to thank me." Perseus spoke with a soft voice and a soothing tone. The young woman smiling at him thankfully as she heard him.
"Who are you really? What's your name." The woman inquired.
"My name is Perseus. What is yours?" Perseus responded.
"I'm Danae, it is a pleasure to meet you Perseus." The woman said with a slight blush, unsure of whether she could speak to the god like she did.
"likewise, lady Danae. Now I believe it is time you got some rest and I must be off." Perseus spoke softly, Danae blushing at being called a Lady by a god and having to avert her gaze from the vibrant purple eyes that she could see through the shadow cast by his hood.
At this Perseus rose from the bed and turned to leave but was once again stopped in his actions as a hand delicately grasped onto his own, causing him to turn back to the young mother. Upon Perseus turning around, Danae spoke again, "May I see your face before you go? I'd like to know the face of my saviour." She spoke in a pleading tone that Perseus couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Reaching up, Perseus slowly lowered his hood onto his shoulders, revealing his face and upon seeing it Danae blushed heavily and averted her gaze for a few moments before looking back at him, still blushing heavily. "You are very handsome Milord; I didn't believe that even the gods could look so beautiful."
Danae must have just blurted it out not realising, resulting in her blushing even more and looking away to regain control of herself. Despite her skin being deeper red than a tomato, Perseus didn't notice as he also blushed and looked away at the compliment before recovering and responding, "It's Perseus, not Milord or anything of that sort. And thank you for the compliment, you are too kind."
"I'm sorry Milor-, Perseus. And if anything, it was an understatement." Danae responded, blushing less this time as she met his eyes.
"It is okay, goodbye Lady Danae." Perseus answered.
"Goodbye Perseus." Danae replied to which Perseus gave her a soft smile and left the building, pulling his hood back over his head before he opened the door.
Exiting the building he discovered that he had spent many hours within the place healing the patients, finding the sun to already almost have met the horizon. As he re-entered the town centre, he found the same lady from before packing away her stall, who raced over to him when she noticed his approach.
"How did it go? Were you able to heal any of them?" The woman asked, voice filled with hope.
"They are all healed and only require some rest to regain their energy. The pestilence has been removed from your town and you should be well from now on." Perseus answered with a cheerful smile, enjoying the woman's reaction as her face lit up with joy. She then hugged him and thanked him before taking a step back and apologising for her forwardness.
Perseus brushed away the apologies and told the woman that he would have to be on the way now. "It seems that you were gifted to us by the gods themselves and that we have regained their favour, it would be the greatest disrespect if we weren't to feed you and give you shelter for tonight at the least. Please, you are welcome to stay with my family and I, I live with my sister, her husband and their son. I'm indebted to you for saving my sister and nephew after all." The woman answered his announcement that he would be leaving.
Perseus smiled realising the connection that this woman had to Danae who he had been so recently talking to, and he could see the relation quite obviously now that it was revealed. Despite this he wished to be on his way, not wanting to stay anywhere for any permanence given he would have to move on eventually anyway. "I'm thankful for your offer but I really must be going now, I wish you the best and I hope your sister and nephew can re-join you at your home soon."
The woman nodded in acceptance, realising that Perseus wouldn't budge on his insistence to be going and instead gave him one last embrace and wished him good fortune on his journey. As Perseus walked out of the town, he re-entered the forest, going away from the road that ran through the village and likely on to the next.
Once deep enough into the forest, he returned to the huge form of a wolf and began running through the forest, exploring more of Arcadia and the wilderness that spread across the lands. As he ran through the woods, he soon felt his energy being restored and the feeling of calm power that filled him as the warm rays of the beautiful sunset were cast across his silky black fur through gaps in the trees.
-----
Over the next year Perseus had travelled across the entirety of Arcadia and a large amount of the rest of Greece, even travelling to nearby islands, although trepidatious when entering the sea on any vessel, treating the ill and aiding the less fortunate. After having done so in Myrleia, Perseus found that he could truly make a difference by using his powers to aid these people and was always happy to see the smile of one's family who didn't lose their kin or children who gained a meal when they wouldn't have had one for multiple days straight.
The impoverishment of some people whilst others feasted like there was no tomorrow and threw away leftovers as scrap caused Perseus great anger although he settled on trying to benefit those within poverty rather than knocked down rich and greedy fools.
Unfortunately for Perseus in his goal to remain entirely unnoticed, he couldn't restrain the words that travelled across Greece. None other than Danae had ever seen his face or had a proper conversation with him but that didn't stop the rumours and legends. Across Arcadia many poor people idolised Perseus as the God of Nature, a traveller who brought about miracles by the gods hand, curing towns from illness and filling food stores from thin air and more.
As such when Perseus completed his deeds almost everyone would bow or kneel before him in thanks upon realising who he was and seeing what he had done. In some places he had been things got out of hand where a pompous king was enraged by the talk of some god who had aided his people and not met with the king himself. This king had demanded that anyone who spoke a word of him to be executed, wanting to quell the whispers of him that filled the city.
Perseus had been fortunate enough to hear of this from one of the neighbouring towns and met the people once again and convincing them to stay quiet regarding who he was and not get themselves killed trying to honour him by telling tales of his good deeds. After doing such the whispering quietened and whilst they still talked of him it didn't reach the ears of the king or those serving him, and the king calmed down and the situation was lost in the past.
As Perseus helped people across Arcadia he also made it his goal to help as much of nature as he could and so as he raced through forests in his huge wolf form he spread life into the forest, also having the benefit of strengthening his powers and ability to use them.
As a result, he had also been spoken of throughout nature yet in this case they knew who he actually was as Perseus, a young godling who was a lord of the wild. Due to this, instead of animals all around, other than wolves, running at the sight of the massive predator he appeared as, they approached him and were honoured by his presence, wanting to see their beloved lord for themselves. Word had also spread amongst wolves and by now every wolf across Greece knew of his existence and howled to the sky at night in their form of prayer to him.
When Perseus hadn't been within towns or cities trying to help people, he also spent a fairly large amount of time training further and refining his skills to practically unachievable heights. He had also encountered a few monsters although upon seeing him they smelt him and realised that he was a god that was concealing their aura and therefore ran in fear other than the few brave creatures who quickly fell before his might.
Currently, Perseus was travelling across the northern part of Arcadia, just having left Patras, the northern-most city in Arcadia, after having treated a young boy who had fallen off the walls steps and lost the use of his legs, now with fully functioning legs after Perseus' assistance. As he travelled down across the state of Achaea, Perseus was walking through forests in his human form unlike usual deciding that he would like to walk after having been shocked at the young child who had so almost lost his own ability to walk himself.
As Perseus walked through the forest many animals approached him, soon realising from the connection they felt that he was the human form of their lord of the wild that they had heard about from animals across Greece. As Perseus walked, he was cradling a young bear cub in his arms that he found wounded by a trap set up by humans near a river and was heading to its mother who it had wandered off from. The young cub had a pure white fur, the likes of which he had never seen before and must be extremely rare. He also had many animals surrounding and following him such as deer, a variety of birds, squirrels, foxes, lynxes and more, all talking and listening excitedly as Perseus told them about some of the places, he had been that were fa away.
It was another few hours walk before Perseus finally made it to the cave that the now healed bear cub had been leading him to, making Perseus admonish the young cub for running so far from home. When he arrived, he said his goodbyes to many of the surrounding animals that were still with him, all who ran off after showering him with affection and appreciation. Entering the dark cave quietly with the bear cub still safely cuddled up in his arms, Perseus found the mother and was horrified as he saw the blood splattered walls, with paintings made from it depicting the hunt of the bear that was bleeding out with a spear still impaled in her side curled up in the furthest corner of the cave.
Whilst Perseus understood the need for people to hunt and hunted himself, he could never condone the hunting of a mother or child, and especially not for sport like this where they didn't even harvest the meat or fur for use. Added onto that, the fact that they didn't give the whimpering animal a peaceful or relatively painless death once captured and even painted its own death, using its blood, in front of her still dying form, Perseus was disgusted and enraged.
He quickly made his way to the poor animals side and placed a hand that was alight with the healing fires of the hearth that came naturally and easily to him after all this time and practice since his first use of it, soothing the creatures pain away so that it could die peacefully as despite his power, Perseus knew that he couldn't revive something this close to death.
As he knelt beside the mother, her whining quietened at his ministrations and the young cub slipped from his embrace and cuddled next to her mother where she whimpered quietly. Knowing the mother was too weak to do anything herself, Perseus softly stroked the small cub, calming her and quelling her quivering. It was then that the mother amounted the strength to speak, "y-You're t-the f-father of the W-Wild?" She asked hopeful and weakly.
"I am, there is no need to worry. You may pass in peace; I will make sure that your daughter is safe."
"Y-you will?" She responded in disbelief, "You truly are as kind as the wild speaks of you being. My other children all passed very young and my daughter is only still a few weeks old, I am afraid that she too may pass. When I saw fur, I feared how she would be hunted, my beautiful daughter, my other two sons weren't blessed with such pelts but maybe it was destiny as you, the great lord of wilderness, take her in." She said, voice filled with love and adoration of her child.
"I will take her in as my own and she shall be a fierce princess of nature" Perseus spoke as he gently stroked the dying mothers head, further easing her suffering, "Now rest, be at peace now and forever more."
She spoke one last line before letting out her dying breath, "Her name is Erimia"
The cave remained silent for a long while, no occupant could tell exactly how long but by the time any realised, there was no longer any sunlight being cast into the cave. Perseus gently lifted Erimia from the ground and the young cub snuggled up in his arms, an aura of sadness still thick in the air.
That night Perseus for once didn't know where he was headed, didn't follow a sense or feeling, rather he wandered for some time before settling down at the base of a large tree with a now dozing cub in his arms. As he drifted off into the realms of Hypnos one thought sounded loudly in his resolve, he would hold his promise and keep Erimia safe.
-----
Since the woeful day in the cave where Erimia's mother was put to rest, Perseus had stopped his self-appointed goal of helping those he could across Greece and rather set his goals on the wellbeing of Erimia. Whilst she may have been a bear cub, they shared a strong relationship regardless, a bond that wouldn't be broken regardless of the trial.
It had been at least 3 months and young Erimia remembered little of her mother or what had happened as is common for the young, although she had grown quite significantly in the short time. Perseus, spending the greater portion of his time took great care of his daughter as was made clear when a large wolf came for her when she had wandered for a drink at a nearby stream.
Whilst that wolf may have been large when standing at his height of 3 feet, he immediately backed up from his predatory stance as Perseus at 6' 7" even as a wolf and at a length of around 12 feet. The wolf sensed the presence of an alpha unlike any other and immediately recognised this as the father wolf that was whispered of throughout the wilderness. Trembling in his presence as the young, pristine white bear cub timidly hid behind his massive figure, the wolf laid on the ground in fear and reverence, killing intent plain to see in Perseus.
Whilst Perseus had shown the mercy not to take the wolf's life, he had not been left in a great condition with large gashes across his face that would fade into scars yet never go away for good.
Erimia had only then just gained the courage of some independence since having gotten stuck in the bear trap and was once again sent into a state of great anxiety that kept her from leaving her fathers side. Whilst Perseus didn't mid too much, he did eventually coax her back up to gaining some more confidence, and that she had.
She never did stray too far, but she was no longer fearful and through some playful wrestling when Perseus decreased his size in his wolf form, she had gained some skill to defend herself. Erimia had grown largely and was now around a third of Perseus' size as a human.
They had recently taken to travelling again as Perseus had done before, yet they kept to the wild as to avoid any mortals, Erimia enjoying the journey and almost constantly talking excitedly which entertained Perseus to no end as he had a respite from the loneliness that had followed him previously.
Since the issue with the wolf trying to attack his daughter, Perseus believed it was time and had adopted the cub as his own, blessing her with greater strength and greater healing capabilities as well as the power to somewhat control Perseus' own powers to a minimal extent. Hestia had been watching him regularly as well as Demeter, both finding out about Erimia early on and had been fascinated by her.
Hestia often came and played with Erimia when she had time as well as spend time with her son since he was staying away from civilisation and had quickly fallen in love with the adorable cub. Demeter had also visited, though far less than her sister and had gotten to know Perseus better than she had before, similarly to her sister, she fell for Erimia quickly and spoiled her with different berries and fruit she would grow wherever they were when she visited.
When Perseus had adopted her and she gained some of his powers as well as being strengthened by it, both his mother and aunt had been fascinated as something like this had never happen before and after much discussion they decided it may have been possible due to Perseus' wolf side and role as the Lord of Wilderness, or so he has been titled by the wild as a collective.
Right now, Perseus, in his human form, was sitting by the fire alone with Erimia curled beside him with her head in his lap as he stroked her softly and she grumbled happily at his ministrations. They had just eaten a deer, the catch of Erimia's first hunt that took place that day and Perseus was proud of her, not many bears became so independent and skilled at such a young age.
As they sat by the crackling fire Perseus watched as the fire was caught by Erimia's fur, the white coat adopting the colours of the crackling flame, a magical array of light that likes of which were comparable to the beauty of the most magnificent sunsets.
Perseus sighed softly as he thought of his future, he couldn't bare the thought that one day he may see the young cub on his lap come to pass and had to curse his own immortality for it. He also knew that he couldn't completely remain in his newly adopted lifestyle which was completely ostracised from society as he longed to help those who needed it like before.
He decided to wait until Erimia could fend for herself before he made such decisions though and upon this decision, he laid her head on the ground before shifting into his wolfen form and wrapping around her as she cuddled into his side.
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The sound of a bowstring being released, and a projectile being launched through the air was accompanied by loud footfalls and the scrambling of something through the dense foliage of a vibrant forest.
Soon to accompany these sounds was the dull thunk of the arrow burying itself into something, these noises being repeated again and again as the ground and trees in the area were becoming riddled with arrows. To trained ears it was simple to identify the sounds of 5 people and due to their swiftness in the dense forest it could also be derived that they possessed some skill as hunters.
Despite these hunters skills the area was soon filled with pained screams before an almost deafening silence before the previous ruckus was reignited with similar heightened vigour. Perseus observed these hunters from the trees as he listened to everything around him and whilst prepared to act at the slightest notice, he was not moving to take immediate action.
Along with the blurs of brown that flitted between trees identifying the hunters by their common clothing, flashes of pure white also were identifiable although any who saw such a thing would be led to question its reality due to the speed and grace of whatever it may be.
More screams shortly filled the air as another of the hunters met their demise and Perseus smiled slightly in acknowledgement. Whilst Perseus had rarely ever outright condoned violence and especially murder, he did not have any qualms with the events unfurling beneath him on the forest floor.
It had been over 2 years since Perseus coming to have a daughter and those years had been merry and free of the loneliness Perseus had grown akin to but for the past year had also been filled with joy of training his daughter to fight for herself, both against humans and other animals using his two forms. Whilst Erimia surely could stand up against Perseus due to his immense skill and power she was a spectacular fighter and as Perseus sat in the tree, he had little fear for her safety beyond that which he had constantly possessed since she came under his protection.
The reason for his complacency with the acts unravelling was the nature of the hunters or those who really were the prey and are only now finding that out. These foul men were tracked down by Perseus in the last few months from the questioning of many people across his travels and he was able to determine as the killers of his daughter's mother. The foul men had made now move to better themselves and were even on another hunt for the joy of the sport and desecration of nature when he located them.
Perseus already decided those few months ago when he began his search for these vermin that they would be his test for his daughter, she had exceeded all his expectations as he trained her and whilst she was still growing an had more to learn, he believed that she was ready to accompany him as he returns to what he did before he met her. He wanted to be sure that he could be comfortable with her being by his side around mortals and on his old journeys, with her being capable of defending herself, not that he would let anything harm her regardless.
As such he had tasked her with the hunting of the hunters, telling her that if she succeeded then they would begin to venture through Greece and return to his original journey helping those he could as she had been pleading for them to do for some time.
Erimia had first waited after identifying the men and scouting out the area unnoticeably, then as one went to the stream for water, she was at the other side drinking from it before noticing him and scampering off as if afraid. The intent of which was quickly successful as the hunter ran back to his group and told them of the glorious pelt that they would make their own before setting off in their hunt of her.
Whilst it had taken a great deal of his will as well as the soothing of his mother in his head, he had been able to restrain himself from obliterating them then and there, and it was worth it. Now he watched as his daughter was put to the test but handled it with ease.
Purposefully drawing their attention and appearing frightened she lured them into a false sense of security before they ended up trapped in a dense area of the forest where she could move just as fast and gracefully with her connection to the wilderness whilst they were slowed and trapped. She had then split them up by giving them glances of her through far away trees and luring them out before ending them with brutal swiftness.
In little over an hour since the hunters began their hunt, one remained as Erimia darted through the trees around the clearing that he had been led into, the man left as little more than a bumbling mess in his fear. After some time of taunting, Erimia entered the clearing, slowly prowling towards the man who now laid, propped up by his elbows, staring at her in fear and backing away into a tree at the edge of the clearing.
She then stopped and waited, what for the man didn't even have the functionality to wonder. It was then that Perseus dropped from the tree and came to Erimia's side and he couldn't help the chuckle he let out as he saw that she had used her control over water to clean herself whilst she hunted. She let out a happy grumble when he got next to her and she shoved her head into his chest which he caught and rubbed lovingly whispering to her, "Great job little one, I'm so proud of you." To which she laughed and mumbled a, "Thanks Father." Before stepping back to where she was before.
She was a sight to behold as she stood at three and a half feet even when on all fours and not fully grown with the mystical beauty of her pelt, but the most fascinating part of her appearance were her eyes. Unlike a bears usual brown or black irises, Erimia bore similar vibrant purple irises identifying her as Perseus' daughter although lacking the orange flecks Perseus gained upon being adopted by Hestia.
The quivering man let out a squeak of a noise, a mixture of his fear and confusion finally manifesting into some sort of sound. Perseus then turned to the man with his daughter by his side, then, as he approached the scum, he shifted into his full-sized wolf form, which despite his lack of growth in human form, now filled out a full 7 feet in height at the shoulders. If the man could be any more scared, he definitely was now. Pushing himself back against the tree, he vainly attempted escape but froze as Perseus stood where he was face to face with the man, lips drawn back to reveal his teeth that were sharper than the sharpest mortal blade.
He then spoke in a deep, gravelly voice causing the man's eyes to further widen and for him to shrink in on himself, "You have harmed the mother of my daughter and your hunting has tainted and harmed the wilderness I reside over. Your friends have paid your penance for now but you, you shall serve a purpose yet. You are to make it known that the wild will not accept the harm of mortals, hunting is nature, not sport and you shall not make it so. If you stray from this one task or do anything that enrages me..." Rather than say anything, Perseus bared his fangs.
Perseus then raked his claws, that were as sharp as his teeth, across the man's chest, burning the wounds into his skin with the searing power he imbued them with to mark him forever, before turning around and leaving the clearing with his daughter at his side.
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That night Perseus and his daughter enjoyed a delicious meal that he and his mother prepared, Demeter also sharing in the merriments and he for the first time since Tegea felt the sense of a true home as he was surrounded by true family. He knew this wouldn't remain the same forever as everything progresses, but for what was to come, he was ready.
Upon waking the next morning, Perseus and Erimia headed out to continue the journey Perseus had started, together, beginning the tale of one of the first myths that few that didn't witness it believed true. That was what the mortals made of him and his daughter, telling of the God of Nature and his companion, a bear as white as the heavens themselves.
Hey amazing readers,
I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'd love to hear what you thought of Erimia.
Also thank you to all of those who have reviewed as the support has been great.
Anyway, Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time :)