askmenosecrets | Arcadian Forest Party

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Arcadian Forest Party

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!]

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It is on a bench that Hyacinthe ultimately sat, arriving much more quietly and by subtler means than the gods. He bypassed the bar and the dance floor, his feet now too clumsy for the latter they would only become less certain as the night wore on, particularly if he indulged too heavily in the former. But he could watch and would gladly do so. He was not anti-social but merely...cautious for the moment. He would gauge the tempers of those in attendance, learn how things were balanced among the gods at the moment and then decide with what or whom he would pass his evening.

Pan silently walked up behind Hyacinthe, retrieving a glass of deep red wine and lowering it in front of the boy's blond head. "Hyacinthe," he said simply. "I am glad you could make it." He looked uncomfortable, Pan thought as he sat cross-legged on the bench next to him. He'd see if that could be changed.

"Oh." Hyacinthe's fingers took the wineglass very carefully once his gaze had focused on it, so close to his eyes. He smiled when he saw that its provider was his host.

"It seems that your party has begun well." He remarked. "I am sure there will be many in attendance."

"There are already many in attendance," Pan said with a grin as he poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip. "But they're all quite capable of amusing themselves at this juncture, and I don't want to neglect the new arrivals."

He smiled. "Welcome to Arcadia, Hyacinthe."

"Thank you." Hyacinthe smiled graciously. "I am honored to be here." He said, resting his glass of wine on his thigh. "In such esteemed company." He blushed a little and bowed his head. "I would not like to keep you from your other guests." He said. "I plan to sit here awhile and consider the scene. I must acclimate myself to a multitude of divine presences once more."

Pan tipped his head to one side and considered Hyacinthe for a moment as he sipped his wine. "That might be wise," he finally said as he looked around. "We can be an overwhelming group." He rose gracefully and lifted an eyebrow. "But you should not sit alone all night."

"I am sure I will not be alone all night." Hyacinthe replied, raising his wine glass to Pan. "Inevitably, if all else fails, you will yourself have to come to me, to tell me the party is over and to dismiss me." He murmured. "But that is many hours from now and I am sure I will find diversions between now and then."

Pan grinned. "No, you won't," he said with certainty as he finished his wine and set down his empty glass, leaning in to murmur in his ear. "If I find you so, I shall have to remedy that personally," he said, and then leaned back.

"I'll leave you to god-watching, Hyacinthe," he said. "Have fun." His tone had something of a command to it.

"When you put it that way, it seems I have little choice." Hyacinthe teased, drinking his wine slowly. "Go!" He laughed. "I can amuse myself."

Pan just offered an impish grin and straightened. "The bar's in that direction," he said, waving a hand before turning in a graceful pivot and swaying across the forest floor to the music before disappearing back into the trees.

Well, now. That was definitely a familiar presence, wasn't it? As if caught by an invisible net, Apollo drifted over, half-full glass of Scotch still in hand, and leaned quite casually against a tree trunk next to the lovely boy.

A bit of closer speculation was definitely in order, so the deity examined his quarry a touch more closely, missing nothing. The scar on Hyacinthe's brow cocked a golden eyebrow, but the deity let it pass without comment.

As it was, he merely stood there, wondering how long it would take the other to recognize him.

The sign of recognition came when Hyacinthe finished his wine in one smooth tilt of his head, gently settling the glass down in the softness of the moss, tucked away from even the most wayward feet.

"Hello, Apollo." He said, quietly, gaze turning from the party-goers. "Enjoying yourself? It is really a fantastic party, I think."

Excellent. Straightening from his lean, Apollo smiled and shrugged a shoulder casually.

"I am, yes." He glanced about and chuckled softly. "Pan's done rather well. I admit I'm impressed."

Turning back to the youth, he once more felt that old familiar stirring, the same emotion which had coiled in his heart when he'd walked through green fields and golden forests with this beloved one in hand.

"And you, dear one?"

"Well enough." Hyacinthe replied, though I have only managed a glass of wine and a brief word with our host. Hyacinthe laughed. "He made me promise to enjoy myself and have some fun, or he would see to it forcibly that I did." He offered a crooked smile. "He takes his revelry quite seriously."

Apollo chuckled agreement. "That he does. That he does indeed."

Finishing off his Scotch, the deity flourished the glass away to reappear on the bar, he done with alcohol for the time being. He almost negligently procured a cigarette from thin air and lit it, inhaling a lungful of nicotine.

He gazed at Hyacinthe through the misty smoke and asked, "And have you plans for doing such, Hyacinthe?"

The youth shrugged.

"When there was more company, I thought I might join in dancing." He looked sheepish. "But I might need a few more drinks for that. If I am a little intoxicated, it excuses my poor attempts to dance." He chuckled.

Apollo smiled and held out his hand. "Come, love," he encouraged, "let's get you another drink, hm? What would you like?"

Hyacinthe got to his feet. He hesitated a moment before he slid his hand into Apollo's. In the firelight, perhaps for a half second, his brow furrowed and his lips tightened. But the emotion, whatever it was, was fleeting and he squeezed the warm, familiar hand.

"I am easy to please." He chuckled. "I could go for a cold beer or two, as nice as the wine is."

Golden fingers curved gently about the boy's hand and Apollo led him over to the bar, giving the acquiescing satyr their request, asking for another whiskey for himself.

Turning back to his companion, he gazed somewhat speculatively at him, as if seeking for something. After their beverages arrived, Apollo did not immediately pick up his, but instead asked quietly, "...what is it, Hyacinthe?"

"What is what?" Hyacinthe asked, picking up the glass of beer and examining it appreciatively before he brought it to his lips, looking at Apollo over the edge of the glass.

He was surprised at the scrutiny in the god's gaze and looked, perhaps, a little guilty.

"You seem...hesitant...with me," came the quiet answer, followed by the slight dimming of bright green eyes. The tumbler at his elbow remained untouched; all focus riveted to the youth before him.

"Oh. That. It was nothing." Hyacinthe said, setting his own drink down beside Apollo's glass. "It's just been awhile, that's all." He crooked a smile, though his gaze is less sure of himself. "Please, don't think too much of it." He glanced away, into the shadows of the trees, and reached for his beer.

Somehow Apollo wasn't so convinced. Seeing the youth look away, unwilling to speak further had him drawing back a bit, reluctant to push. He'd learned not to do so; it only led to heartache in the end.

"...of course." But a bit of his old spite refused to be bitten back and he added, "...if you rather I left you to more enjoyable company, you have but to say so."

"No!" Hyacinthe said sharply, though he kept his voice lowered as his hand reached out to rest on Apollo's forearm. "Please don't. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." He said earnestly. "Please believe me, I want you to stay if you want my company."

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