KING OF BEASTS (Hiatus)

"Ah, oh, ow. Runar, enough, enough! Papa can't handle any more!" Ares winced as Runar head butt his chest a final time. He reached up and then pinched a horn so she could no longer assault him. "Jeez, you can't keep bullying papa like this."

"Papa?" Lana asked.

"What? What's wrong with papa?"

"Papa is father?"

Ares nodded. Lana gave Ares a peculiar look, as though she had seen something she had never expected.

Runar squealed and reached over to grab Ares' arm.

"You just can't understand the maiden heart of a father," Ares said as he let go of Runar's horn as the little girl then hugged his arm. He pulled her close and embraced her.

Lana watched Ares as he bonded with his daughter. Ares hadn't been able to face anyone, the potential conflict had been too much. It was growing late and he knew that tomorrow he would need to see to the Reptai and the Storm Lord, but tonight he wanted to spend some time with his family.

Runar head butt him.

"Ah, sorry." Ares kissed her forehead. "Papa is all yours for now." He then tossed her up into the air and caught her, repeating the action several times. Once she was tired her carried her out and began to walk around the city, though he couldn't help but feel the nerves take him.

'Relax man, no one's going to say anything. You're just a-' Runar head butt him out of his thoughts.

He continued to walk with her until she grew heavy with slumber. He returned her to a milk mother, though the moment Ozar and Ozri caught a glimpse of him, the pair grew restless.

Ares carried the pair along into the cool air. "Seriously, you guys are so troublesome." Ares smiled. He remained silent for some time as he walked. He heard the footsteps of another. He turned to see the Storm Lord.

"How troublesome…" Ares said.

"Am I bothering you?" Xan asked.

"Not in particular. Though I can only assume that not many others know you're around."

"It just happens that way."

"Right, right." Ares led the Storm Lord towards the nearby river.

A few Roaring Tridents made their presence known to the two of them.

Ozar and Ozri seemed to be wary of the stranger who looked more like their father than any other being so far.

"We can talk freely here," Ares said.

Xan threw a look back towards the Roaring Tridents.

"Is it important that we are alone?" Ares asked.

"I would prefer it."

"I'm not sure if I have the capital to ask for such a thing anymore…" Ares threw a look towards the Roaring Tridents. They seemed to wait for Ares' orders. "Well… Ozar and Ozri are here with me, I think I'll be just fine. If there's lightning about or shouting, please do return."

They didn't move, though when Rori appeared to see the situation, the matter at hand changed. Rori asked, with a much calmer tone, for them to leave before he approached the four.

"I had heard there was a stranger who accosted our King," he said.

Xan did not reply.

"This is Xan, I hear he's called the Storm Lord. Xan, this is Rori, my Counsel. He holds the other half of the powers of Rivea."

Xan threw a look to Ares before looking back to Rori and nodded a greeting.

"The other half of the powers, but nearly all the responsibility," Rori said.

Ares chuckled. "Well, you know, I'm warring and all that."

"Bringing back strangers and wounds."

Ares winced. "I didn't expect you to be so savage."

"Even I can become frustrated with you."

"Yeah, jeez… I'll keep that in mind."

Rori remained fixated on the Storm Lord. There was a long and awkward silence.

"Is it true?" Rori finally asked.

Xan remained staring at Rori.

"Your story?"

"I don't know what you've heard, but more than likely most of it is true."

Rori remained silent for some time. It was as though there was more within those words than Ares could catch, and when Rori took the children from Ares' arms, much to their chagrin, Ares realised Rori had been answered well enough to leave.

The children cried as Rori left Xan and Ares alone.

"What was that all about?"

"Your Counsel is shrewd."

Ares puffed up his chest and smiled.

Xan looked as though he was going to say something, but stopped.

"We're all alone now," Ares said.

"It would have sounded like a threat," Xan said as he looked at the path which Rori had used to leave.

"Well, I suppose I can understand that."

"You are not from this land."

"No."

"You are the kin of Zeus, though you are very different."

"My world from that time, it's different."

"Different?"

"Different enough that this world here would be more recognisable than my own if someone from Zeus' time arrived at either point."

"Can you return?"

"I don't know."

"Do you wish to?"

"I don't know." Ares then looked out to the path that Rori used to leave. "I don't think I do though."

"Your family?"

"I don't know what's happened to me in the other world, but if my family has mourned me, then I have no right to take that away from them."

"What if you had no family here?"

"Then I don't know how willing I would be to remain on this planet?"

"Have you ever…"

"What?"

"Have you ever stopped willing?"

Ares looked at Xan. "Almost."

"Why didn't you?"

"Family."

Xan did not reply.

"What about you?" Ares asked.

"I stopped a long time ago."

"Are you immortal?"

"Yes."

"A curse."

"Yes."

"I can't blame you."

Xan turned to look at Ares. "Would you do the same if you lost your own family?"

"I think if someone… let's say the humans, if they took my family away from me… I don't know what I would do."

"To them or yourself?"

"Both."

Xan nodded. "What if I killed them?"

Ares looked over to Xan and smiled. "I thought you said you didn't want to threaten me?"

"I'm not. I just simply want to know."

"Well…" Ares looked up at the sky. "I think the lack of knowledge will be quite painful. There are a few things I could do, I would pick whichever was most painful for you."

"I don't feel pain."

"Not right now, perhaps."

"I wonder which of our threats is worse."

"Mine."

"Is it?"

Ares turned to look at Xan with a smile. "You don't want to find out."

Xan nodded. "That's not why I came to speak with you."

"What a shame. I quite like such bantering."

Xan remained silent. He looked up. "Let's speak tomorrow."

"Why not now?"

"I think the lack of knowledge will be quite painful."

Ares shook his head as he walked back to his home, motioning a hand towards a Roaring Trident.

“Thanks for leaving us in peace. Would you be so kind and accompany Xan to some accommodation and just in general treat him like a guest of ours? Have a group of six Roaring Tridents protect him too, in the same vein as King Abdan.”

The Roaring Trident bowed her head and then left. Ares returned to Lana.

“Hey, sorry about that,” Ares said.

“Papa has finally returned, hmm?” Lana said.

Ares snapped his head to her. “Don’t call me papa,” Ares said as he turned red.

“Why not?” Lana purred towards him. “Why can’t I call you pa-”

Ares smothered her mouth with a hand, pinning her down. Her eyes flashed with mischief at him and Ares squirmed under such an intensely beautiful gaze.

“Seriously…” Ares leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I’m a little too weak to resist you right now, so don’t.”

Lana wrapped her arms around him and began to mumble something into his hand. Ares could tell that it was just her saying the forbidden word repeatedly. He sighed and understood that tonight he would have to make sure she didn’t feel lonely. He melted against her.