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

Re: The Lower Branches

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

Morpheus is usually quite low on the list of party guests. It's a side affect of keeping your affairs secret and being so low on the Parthenon totem pole in the eye of Zeus.

But a part of him had managed to give Phobetor the reigns for a night, and he had shimmered into the scene by walking through a rather heady fog. It was one of his favorite ways to make an entrance-not too flashy, and it didn't draw too much attention. But it also, according to his brother Phantasos 'was bitchin.'

Straightening his tie Morpheus takes a seat far from the crowd, if asked he'd be tempted to say he prefers to observe rather then participate. but is quite likely he was hiding.

Ohai~

[moonlitselene.livejournal.com]

After getting her fill of chocolate, Selene took to wandering the party... To see who she would find... Who could keep her company. She paused by the branches, a small smile on her lips, before continuing.

"That was quite an entrance, Morpheus," she cooed. A few more steps forward and looking almost hesitant.... "Do you mind if I sit with you for a spell?"

Hullo darling<3

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

Her answer was Morpheus swiftly scooting over and patting the cushion next to him. "Of course not dear, and by the way my brothers send their love."

[moonlitselene.livejournal.com]

Selene eagerly took the seat next to him, perhaps a little closer than absolutely necessary. "And I send my love to them... It's a shame that the three of you cannot be present at the same time."

She offered him the chocolate from her plate. "Dare I say, I'm glad at least my favorite is here..."

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

He smiled and took the offered treat with a nod of thanks. "You flatter me dear."

[moonlitselene.livejournal.com]

Selene shrugged her shoulders and set the plate of chocolate aside after he helped himself. "I'm just being honest..."

She tucked one ankle behind the other and glanced back at him thoughtfully. "Do you often attend parties and sit by yourself?"

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

He leaned over to her as if to tell her a great secret, but simply smiled and replied; "I don't often attend parties darling."

[moonlitselene.livejournal.com]

"Now that's tragic," Selene replied, shaking her head.

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

"Isn't it just dear? But I am used to it." He waved a hand of dismissal and sighed as he leaned further into the cushion he was perched upon.

[moonlitselene.livejournal.com]

"What a horrible thing to get used to," Selene sighed, leaning forward to grab a glass of wine. She offered him one as she did so, then took a long sip before settling back into the cushion.

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

Morpheus declined lightly, he had already enjoyed one glass and for him that was more then enough. At least when he was in Pan's back yard..." I hardly find it bothersome Selene."

[moonlitselene.livejournal.com]

"You also tend to overwork yourself, Morpheus," Selene countered, studying him over her glass. Sliding the shoes from her feet, she pulled her legs onto the cushion and tucked them off to the side.

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

Morpheus made a humming noise of acknowledgment as he ruffled his hair in thought. "Oh bull, I work just as hard as others-if it wasn't for us workers the little mortals would go mad."

[lovessweetbait.livejournal.com]

Oh, but he won't stay hidden for long in this crowd. Eros had spotted the unusual rolling fog and grinned sharply as he'd seen who had walked out. His shirt is still only half-buttoned from his recent...introduction to the lovely Freya, with a souvenir half-visible on his collarbone, and his grin is free and easy as he approaches from behind.

"Dreamer," he offers, no less flirtatious now than he'd been the last time they'd met, though he'd looked substantially different then. "Nice entrance."

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

If he wasn't so bloody old Eros may have gotten a jump out of him, but as it is Morpheus does an about face and smiles at the love god.
"I do try. After all have to keep my wits around this lot."
He tilts his head towards Freya's little reminder with a small smirk, "Been enjoying the view?"

[lovessweetbait.livejournal.com]

"I think the view may have been enjoying me," he murmurs, grinning rather wickedly and running a finger over it. "Dear cousin Freya from the Northlands is visiting. It would have been terribly rude not to introduce myself."

He's not done, not by half, not even after that blaze of lust, but he's sated for now and ready to observe the party he and Freya had fled almost immediately after laying eyes on each other. "I see you've taken my advice and sought out a night off."

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

"Phobetor has been asking me for ages. I just gave him some time to do as he wishes. Though this does mean there will be an influx of nightmares..."

[lovessweetbait.livejournal.com]

Eros' eyes flicker with a deep light as he watches the moving figures in the firelight. "Facing nightmares can bring about strength. And Phobetor will be grateful for the opportunity. It's kind of you."

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

Morpheus moves to sit down but leaves enough space for Eros to join him and stares into the flames.

"He deserves more credit then he gets. There's far more to nightmares then cheap thrills and long nights Eros.

They are just as beautifully constructed as any other dream, but built to make you face your fears and let your subconscious remember what it was to be a child and have that feeling of being the only one who could ever truly face the monsters under the bed.
Phantasos, too will get his day to oversee the majority of work. I may hold the title but without them, my father, or the others it would hardly be a kingdom."

[lovessweetbait.livejournal.com]

Eros' smile turns speculative as he moves to sit beside Morpheus and listens to him speak. His voice always turns deeper when he speaks of his work, the dreams he weaves for mortal and immortal alike. It sends a shiver down the love god's spine and he's almost sorry he hadn't chosen his newer female form tonight.

"Your admiration for your brothers' crafts does you credit, Dreamer," he murmurs as he watches the leaping flames.

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

"Hmmm?" He glances over at Eros as if he'd been lost in thought, which to be quite honest he had been. "My father...he taught us well. He may not have been the most exciting of gods obviously, as he spends most millennia napping but when we were born, he taught us and let us mold our own definition of how to heal a mortal's mind through the presence of dreams or prophecies even. When he divided the duties and gave me the title of King no one questioned it. I'm not quite sure why other then we had been doing the same dance for hundreds of years and all those in my realm knew it was hardly going to change because I was the one who got called to meetings."

Morpheus is proud of his family and his voice keeps that low, proud tone as he speaks of his father with utmost respect and a hint of amusement.

[lovessweetbait.livejournal.com]

Eros smiles and leans into the other god for a moment. "Meetings, hmm? Perhaps you're simply the most adept at bureaucracy?" he asks, eyes dancing playfully.

"You are always so serious," he adds, reaching up to run a finger down the edge of Morpheus' jaw.

[he-who-shapesus.livejournal.com]

"Or perhaps because I looked best in a suit." Morpheus watches Eros' finger with mild interest as he summons one of the Satyrs to get him a glass of wine. "It comes with the territory."

[lovessweetbait.livejournal.com]

Eros smiles with an edge of heat to it, letting his eyes roam over the white shirt and tie. "You do, at that," he replies with a quiet laugh. "I almost wish I'd dressed differently." He winks slowly, then drops his hand.

He knows - or he's fairly certain - that Morpheus would prefer his company as a her, though he'd hardly refuse him in either form.

"I'm pleased you've stopped by, regardless," he says with a good-natured smile, lessening any building tension.

[the_cupbearer]

"So formal for such a relaxed party," comes the light and unmistakable voice from Ganymede, settled into a cushion with a fair view of the party. Since returning from his dalliance with Pan, he's got his jeans back on and fastened, but no shoes and no shirt--it's tossed carelessly over the branch behind his head.

"But your entrance leaves little to be desired, as ever."