Arcadian Forest Party

[askmenosecrets]

This was more work that he usually bothered to put in, Pan thought, especially here, at home, but everything was set.




At first glance, it appeared to be a forest clearing, beautiful and wild but nothing different than a hundred other clearings spread throughout the woods of the Arcadian mountains. But when you looked again, Pan thought, you saw something quite different. Hidden in the trees were a series of structures suspended in air, hung with ivy and dew, and through the mist-shrouded branches you could see the faint glow of light, and you could smell the scent of fire and food. There was the fire pit, a circle suspended in the arms of a large oak with a crackling golden fire, a roast, and bowls of marshmallows, chocolate and crackers waiting. There was the bar, stocked with a rich variety of wines and alcohols and staffed by two of the satyrs. And then there was the forest floor itself, bare now, but waiting for the dancing. On all sides of the floor, there were cushions on the low branches and benches of fallen logs, each accompanied with wooden buckets full of wine and beer bottles and glassed suspended with vine.

"Well," he said to Zaffre, currently wrapped around his neck, "I think we're ready." Pan flicked a leaf off his forest green turtleneck and looked around with approval before pausing. "We're almost ready," he corrected, and pulled his pan flute up to his lips.

The forest filled with music as he played, music that began as the mystical songs of the flute, but transformed as he let the instrument fall to his side - transformed into thrumming, sensual rhythms and intricate guitars that would encourage the party-goers to...well, Pan thought with a sharp grin, to be bad. Very bad.

"Let the games begin," Pan said.

[Notes: Everyone in fortuna_invicta is invited, the more the merrier in Pan's opinion. If anyone needs directions to the right section of the forest, let Pan know on the SWS post. Mingle! Get drunk! Stuff your face! Find a secluded tree and do naughty things! Pan approves highly of all these pursuits. Format = narrative third person, if you please!]

Comments

[everyblackdog.livejournal.com]

"There will always be dead," the young man agrees, and simply speaking the word 'dead' seems enough to inspire a low smolder in his black eyes. There is no question the black dog is a creature of darkness, birthed from the feared Father and Mother of Monsters; that his companion for the evening is the matron of shadows seems to suit him as he watches them entreat her silently only to be shooed off again to dark places. He pauses long enough to watch them go and then turns to her again, mist curling from the corners of his gleaming eyes. "My master and mistress have much responsibility. Their numbers increase up above and so does the harvest down below in kind. Their work is thankless, but I know of their efforts and serve them all the more faithfully for it.

"You would do them grate honor to greet them. They have long gone unacknowledged." The thought gets that lip of his to curl again, though her touch would easily soothe it away once more.

[madethenight.livejournal.com]

"Aye," she agreed calmly, "there will always be dead."

She found it curious as to how the great god Zeus had split up his father's kingdom amongst his brothers. Most perceived the governing of the Underworld a slight, an insult, but Nyx knew it to be anything but; the caretaking of souls was a very, very serious business indeed. Had Zeus known he and Poseidon unfit for such a duty? Granted, such was more chivalry that she was willing to give the thunder-god, but it was a question which considered a bit more merit; later, perhaps.

For the nonce, she was content to sit and watch the party unfold, her casual touch upon the dog's head cool and nonchalant, but soothing nevertheless. She was truly fond of Hades' beast; he was a necessity much as she, and his devotion to his duty and his master was noteworthy. So she continued her gentle petting, allowing tendrils of darkness to hover about them both, almost tangible in the light of Pan's forest.

[everyblackdog.livejournal.com]

All of Nyx's attention and silent companionship is not lost on the beast; he seems almost humbled by the touch of her pale fingers, the occasional brush of one her shadows. Very few gave consideration to those of the Underworld -- its keepers, its masters and its denizens. And although Cerberus would bristle with pride in the face of insults and disdain, there is part of him that has come to accept this badge of ignobility as part of being from down below.

He returns her soft affections with attentiveness, sneering away any that would look to bother her without her consent. Occasionally with a hand he touches her arm just there, where it loops into his. After a long stretch of silent observance, he turns to her and asks: "When you slept, did you dream?"

The Black Dog himself does not dream, though he has heard much about them.

[madethenight.livejournal.com]

All of those which walked the darkness were hers in some way. Although they might indeed serve other masters whims, nothing passed through the shadows without Nyx's awareness. Thus she was comfortable with Hades' beast; he seemed akin to a mortal grandchild, perhaps, a beloved companion with whom to share events like these.

To his question, she smiled softly and shook her head. "No, child. Morpheus would not dare interrupt my slumber." Although she loved her children, none of them would cross their matron. None.

"I did, however, watch as the world passed by, never waking, never sleeping, but suspended within time," she mused almost to herself, thinking back over those long, long years. "Watched many be born and many die, empires rise and fall, watched my kingdom expand into nearly infinity."

Nxy chuckled, a dark sound, shaking her head gently. "But curiosity has brought me into wakefulness once again, it seems."