The Himalayas

[Apollymi]

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4334/36439654481_8d93a5f1f6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Xw3KJR)

An icy tall mountain range which stretches from near the desert all the way across connecting India to the major landscape of Asia. It is a cold and desolate place which seems to house only the heartiest of creatures capable of withstanding the great cold here. Liquids freeze and blood chills almost instantly and the cold winds are so vast they seem to cut people right down to the bone.

[Bloodedge]

After a departure from a place known as the Sands of Time, a boat containing the demigods Athos and Deianira moved across the shifting waters of the Himalayas. Much water had been forced into this location from outside, but it moved at such velocities that there was no worry of it freezing. Soon enough, the boat reached the land of the Himalayas, and Athos hopped out. He'd been silent on this trip for a day and a half, and he remained so even now. No hesitation came between him exiting the boat, and him walking away from it and his current traveling partner.

[Apollymi]

Deianira rode along the waters happily. Though her partner for this particular adventure was quite silent for the day and half trip it'd taken to get here, which she sort of expected given he was apparently upset for reasons she couldn't begin to fathom, mostly because he wouldn't speak about them. "Ya' know, I expected the silent treatment and all, but a day and a half is a long time not to speak." she said as she walked along behind him, knowing after their boat had come to a rather abrupt stop that he was likely going to leave. She'd gotten far to used to the boy's mannerisms not to know that he'd abandon ship swiftly after they arrived. "So how about this, truce, I'll drop it... just say something~" she said before thinking about it. "Preferably not a statement about me going anywhere~" she said, the cold of this area hadn't quite hit her yet but the different in temperature as they approached had been rather obvious.

[Bloodedge]

The daughter of Dionysus continued her annoying ways of aiming to converse. Even though she offered to stop speaking on the Gorgon topic from earlier, the simple fact that she knew about it bothered Athos to no end. Either way, he hardly had the ability to not speak at this time. "There aren't any snakes here. I can't get any information about the Minotaurs," he said. With that, he continued on a forward path toward unknown locations.

[Apollymi]

Deianira called the truce and it seemed it was accepted, though only out of necessity apparently. He said that there weren't any snakes around so he couldn't get any information, the mountain range wouldn't have reptiles given the temperature, but given this she'd speak on it while searching for what she was now looking for. "Of course there aren't any snakes, high elevations and decreased temperatures aren't really good places for reptile life~" she said, knowing at least that much given her own hunting experiences. "But..." she stopped walking at the bottom of a hill and began to make a noise akin to a cat purring. Something which likely could have gone unseen began to descend one of the mountains. Large paws and steel blue eyes soon emerged from the snow. A spotted coat would leave a large cat at the young woman's side and she reached out for it immediately. Soon enough Deianira was being affectionately pawed by a snow leopard which she questioned telepathically until she found the necessary information. It was quite strange to talk to an animal in such a way, and she made sure to give it a firm pat before watching it climb up the mountain again.

"So... Ice Minotaur is apparently bad news~ It went on a rampage a couple of months back and fell into a cavern on a mountain and has been trying to bash its way out. It eats anything that falls in there, and makes a ridiculous amount of noise. According to the Snow Leopard even the big predators don't seem to want to try and kill it... so the mountain which it is in is uninhabited and with a melted ice cap. There~" she said pointing to the place where their apparent prey could be found.

[Bloodedge]

Athos' stride continued as Deianira spoke with the snow leopard. Soon, she shared the information she'd received from the creature. Looking toward the location Deianira pointed out, Athos set himself on the most direct path toward it. "I'll kill it in its cave, then." This was the only other thing the son of Poseidon had to say on the matter. After this ordeal, all he had to do was somehow obtain the blood of a god. Compared to that, and the task ahead when all was said and done, this would be a simple walk on the beach during an early summer day.

[Apollymi]

"You sure you wanna be in a confined space with a distressed, charging, man-eating bull human hybrid??" the girl asked as she easily caught up, moving so lightly and swiftly that she wasn't even leaving footprints in the snow. As she did she joined the boy along his path. She'd never seen one of these Ice Minotaurs but the idea that it was a man-eater didn't leave her to believe anything good could come of it. There was also the matter of the melted ice which wasn't explained if the creature was fully ice itself. Since creatures like Minotaurs and other beast like halflings were often human enough to use magic it could be pretty dangerous. "Also if that is your plan, you should be careful, Minotaurs are a bit higher intelligence and are usually a bit closer to human than beast aside from the rages... there's no telling what kind of skills it has~" she mentioned, not wanting to be a bad guide when handing out information. What she'd gathered from the snow leopard let her know that this wasn't as easy a task as she might have hoped.

[Bloodedge]

"I don't care what the conditions are," he replied. Even if the space he would be confined to left no room for movement between himself and the monster he was here to slay, Athos would dive in head-first to meet his goals. He also didn't care about the monster's skills and abilities; it would be felled, or he would be better off falling anyway. He was already mentally prepared to face the upcoming challenge, and by now, he had already started climbing the mountain in which it lived. The higher he went, the more he looked around for a cave the Minotaur might be found in.

[Apollymi]

A smirk came to Deianira's face as the young man spoke on his settled determination. "Alright, can't argue with you~ What with you being so set on it and all~" she said, unlike the last time Athos made his particular plans known, the young woman didn't stop following him. No she intended to be at his side the entire time, just in case. Soon enough though, the girl lost the ability to tease and carry on, mountain climbing was rather strenuous and to keep up with Athos she required a bit of concentration.

[Bloodedge]

Athos soon succumbed to tunnel vision of a metaphorical sort. He became so engrossed in the task at hand, the girl trailing behind him was erased from his mind for a while. This gave him the focus to scale the mountain and locate the hole which could only be the home of the Minotaur. Once there, he gave no second thought before dropping inside. The drop was a bit steeper than he expected, but it was no real issue for the lad. Even the darkness of this place was no problem whatsoever; the only problem was the location of the Minotaur in this hole. This issue, however, would surely resolve itself now that Athos was inside.

[Apollymi]

Athos seemed to have no trouble finding the hole which this particular beast called home. Of course, it seemed that all was quiet presently as Deianira followed his descent down this particular hole she landed lightly both feet touching the ground her knees bent her body remaining low as if she never fully intended to stand up in the first place. The darkness of this cavern was no problem for the Child of Dionysus who had all the visual prowess of a night time predator anyways. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness almost instantly and when it did she saw the glow. A faint one coming from below like a crack was in the floor. Leading forward her eyes then saw the two horns and light steam coming from the beasts nose. Her eyes widened as she realized something important both she and Athos were standing atop this beast. On a platform located on its back, a very low hiss left the girl's mouth a warning to the Gorgon boy. "We're standing on top of it," was all that was said as the girl barely moved. This was such a strange situation to be in, but at present the beast didn't stir.

[Bloodedge]

Athos' eye began to shift around the cave in search of something the size of a standard Minotaur, but he saw nothing of the sort. What he did see, though, was Deianira. The girl warned of the beast being below them instead of around, but Athos was more concerned with another matter. "What are you doing here!?" he hissed. He'd intended to use his powers as a Gorgon to deal with the Ice Minotaur, but he was no longer able to do that because of this lass being in the cave as well.

[Apollymi]

Deianira cut her eyes in the direction of the beasts head and spoke in the lowest of hisses. She'd expected many reactions but this boy's choice of thing to react to was the one which made her a bit amused. Here they were standing on top of a dangerous beast and his main concern was that the young woman was in this place with him and not that they were standing on their prey. "I've been behind you the whole time," she said as if the answer were truly that simple. "Now can we skip the you telling me to leave part because that obviously isn't anything I'm going to do, to the giant sleeping thing under our feet~" she mentioned seeming to hope this one could just be convinced to drop it. Of course, she wasn't truly afraid of this situation, and was in fact more or less amused by the entire situation her heart beating soundly beneath her skin as the thrill of this hunt consumed her. She moved forward to get a better look in the steep crack in the beasts body, it looked like it had simply cracked from the cold revealing some strange and ominous glow from within. It shuffled only slightly as it kept sleeping though it's breaths were becoming increasingly shallow, a sigh that its lack of consciousness would not remain for long.

[Bloodedge]

"This doesn't help! I can't fight around someone else!" Athos exclaimed while stepping away and looking around for some alternative. None were found. He was now officially stuck to face the Minotaur alongside a stubborn girl who refused to leave before even being told to do so, and he had no access to the powers he could have used to bring a quick end to this task. More importantly, his other powers were also not very good for using around others in such a confined space. As the Minotaur drew closer to consciousness, Athos drew further from an answer to how he could now deal with the beast. "Do you have some bright idea for dealing with this?"

[Apollymi]

"Oh, calm down..." the girl hissed. This boy's utter lack of faith in both himself and her was lightly astounding. She didn't need to look around to find an alternative she had a bit of an idea in mind. Of course, this would require the other demigod to be capable of something more if she had to do it herself. As she looked around she noted that the creature hadn't made any progress with clearing itself out of here. The mountain was still thick on all sides with no air coming in except from above. Her eyes looked down on the creature and she saw all the cracks in its person. "You got water powers too, yeah? Can you make it? Like a lot of it?" she asked not bothering to look in his direction but knowing it would likely be easiest if they took the passive route with this massive creature.

She didn't know if he'd immediately understand her plan for dealing with the creature, but even if he didn't it wouldn't make much of a difference as the stationary beast they were standing on began to move about. A growling yawn would escape it, and then it'd work its way to its feet. Once it was standing it rammed itself into a wall, then turned and walked a few feet before doing it again, leaving the two demigods to try and hold on for and keep balance to avoid falling, but something about the creatures movements were strange. It began creating ice, howling and causing frozen breath against the wall which had most recently offended it before it random its head into it again, trying to work its horns in and free itself.

[Bloodedge]

The question of his water-related powers initially went unanswered. This remained the case for likely far too long, but soon, something happened. The Minotaur woke from its slumber, and began moving around and slamming against walls in a way that resembled any wild beast trying to free itself from its confines during the early stages of entrapment. Due to these seemingly irrational maneuvers of the Minotaur, Athos was barely able to remain on its back. Such an annoying ordeal made the boy a bit more cooperative than he had been in previous moments. "If I wanted it to not freeze, I'd have to make a lot. There air is too dry here otherwise."

[Apollymi]

Deianira managed to maintain her balance, mostly by hanging on to a large protrusion which came out of the back of the creature. For all its movements it hadn't noticed the pair on top of it yet, but still it persisted. It seemed this particular setback was enough to make the demigod Athos work a bit more cooperatively as he'd gone a very long time without answering Deianira in the first place. "Freezing for a little bit would be a problem but, if you make a lot... I can make sure it won't freeze, and make sure this one actually drowns in it~" she said pointing down at the Minotaur. She could have poisoned it with arrows but that would have been a harder task considering what this beasts skin was like.

The beasts frustrations seemed to calm a bit, as it stopped picking at the walk it faced and turned around it began moving across the cavern, in a smooth but seemingly aimless manner. This would give the pair of demigods enough time to start work on their plan before after a few more moments of pacing the beast ran into the wall opposite of it. Shaking the pair on the platform and causing Deianira's eyes to widen slightly as she realized why this creature had yet to escape and how it'd ended up trapped in the first place. Slippery hoofs covered in ice beat against an already smooth floor as it was unable to make its way out of this place. It seemed to be working itself towards a more frenzied state, which wouldn't be good at all for the pair of demigods stuck here.

[Bloodedge]

"... Fine." While using his right hand to balance himself atop the beast's back, Athos reached into the satchel granted to him by Hermes with his left hand. He soon removed from the satchel a conch shell with a mystical glow about it. By channeling his power into the shell, Athos caused it to immediately spew a great torrent of water with the ferocity of a pressure washer. His own manipulation of this water allowed him to spread it in a way that cut the danger factor, while still beginning to flood the cave at a very rapid pace.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Athos would be fine with the plan that Deianira had thought up. Though it wasn't necessarily what he would have been going for before it was at least something which would likely not get them both killed. As water began to fill the cave, the beasts pacing began to reach new stressed heights. Beyond this it began ramming itself into things. Finally when none of its other abilities worked it began charging the beam in its chest, about the time its feet wouldn't have been enough to keep its head above water. Deianira took this as an opportunity to stick both of her hands into the rising water from the platform. Doing so allowed her to channel her abilities directly into the water at their maximum potential spreading a rather addictive golden liquid throughout it until this was what the cabin was seemingly filled with. The beast still struggled but being atop it in the water made it easier to not feel the full thrashing. As it released the beam from its chest, it found that the water wasn't freezing and it panicked splashing about as if trying to teach its rather sturdy legs how to swim. But that wouldn't be allowed either, as Deianira soon moved forward jumping on the creatures head to cause it to taste the liquid created beneath it. Whether the water continued to flow or not it was already too potent. The moment the liquid hit the beasts open mouth it would no longer be able to stop itself from consuming. Its head was under water drinking down the contents more and more, not breathing not pausing just drinking until it could drink no more and drowned. The beast died the magical light within it fading, Deianira looked around and frowned. 'What a waste...' she thought to herself at the wasted liquor used specifically to kill a Minotaur and not for the making of merry.

[Bloodedge]

Athos could only wonder what the lass Deianira intended to do with the water he'd produced. The result was the production of the lass' liquor within the water. Athos looked into the golden fluid with much curiosity. He wondered what this could possibly do to the Minotaur, but he soon got confirmation. The Minotaur's constant consumption led to its untimely demise. The pair of demigods were then left standing atop its now floating corpse, roughly thirty feet below the surface above. Water continued pouring from the conch for the sake of raising the Minotaur, and the demigods by association, to the top of the cave. "Why did it not stop drinking?" Athos wondered aloud while leaning over the Minotaur's back and scooping up liquor with his hand to taste.

[Apollymi]

Deianira felt the sensation that they were rising likely because the lad was still filling this place, which was good because it was the only way they were going to get out. As this happened Athos finally spoke of his own accord again, and when he did, it was a question of why the beast didn't stop drinking, the girl then saw the lad scooping at the liquid as if he wished to drink. "Don't drink that!" she said running her hand over her face. "It didn't stop drinking because it didn't want to, that's what it does when I don't control it. It becomes so addictive that beings, man and beast, will drink themselves to death. Just to keep tasting it..." she finished seeming to think nothing of this, but she knew it to be a frightening thing that most people didn't really understand. "The same is true of me, well in the general sense. I tend to be addictive for people because they feel blissful around me and thus are inclined to constantly be in my presence," she said as they rose.

[Bloodedge]

Athos heard Deianira's warning to not drink the liquid, but he had already poured some of it into his mouth and swallowed it. Her explanation about the liquor was confusing to him. He continued drinking, but in no way did he feel like he needed to have more than what he was already drinking. He drank all of four handfuls of the golden nectar, then stopped when the water level reached the surface of the cave. At this time, the liquor overflowed, washing the beast they were upon ashore. "I don't feel blissful or addicted. I only drank it to warm myself. I still want you to go away from me."

[Apollymi]

Deianira likely wouldn't have stopped the boy from attempting anything he wanted to do. Given this she was more than a bit surprised when the boy and drank and kept drinking, she was surmising that she might need to stop him herself, but after four handfuls he stopped of his own accord, causing the girl's eyes to widen slightly. After this though a smile settled on her face as he went on to say that he didn't really understand what she meant because he didn't feel blissful around her nor addicted to her. As he kept talking he went on to say that he still wanted her to leave which made her smirk just a little. "Aww, Come on. I'm not that bad, and totally I thought we were past that by now~" she said seemingly amused by the whole situation. In truth she was quite relieved the boy still wanted her to go away, because it meant that she could properly become his friend.

His tolerance for her presence though was a bit curious, only the strongest of the New Olympian children seemed to be capable of such a thing, and only the ones with other passive abilities showed a great resistance for her mood altering. Though it was nice to meet someone normal who was immune it only served to spark curiosity. They were now pretty much free to go, and she was left but to wait for the boy to claim his prize. Her feet moving lightly over the snow as she wrapped her arms around herself in the hopes of retaining a bit of warmth, she was freezing in this place. 'What a strange thing, gorgon kid immune to me... I wonder why?' she questioned her eyes wandering over the lad as she tried to consider what strange combination of beings would create someone like him, but coming up with nothing which made any sense.

[Bloodedge]

"I've been putting up with you being around. I don't want to be around anyone," he said. Even though it had never been the case that Athos hated people, he simply could not be in the presence of others for his own reasons. He was, very much, a recluse by choice. He intended to stay that way. With nothing more to say immediately, he hopped off the front of the Minotaur, and turned to reach out for its horn. A quick test pull let him know that it would be impossible to remove the horn, even with the strength of his tail. The method he'd used to retrieve the Basilisk's fang would also not work, as he'd be incapable of piercing this particular Minotaur's flesh around the horn. His options seemed very limited, albeit not nonexistent. There was only one thing he could think to do, but... it was the last thing he'd want to do in the presence of someone who knew of his Gorgon blood.

[Apollymi]

"Obviously," the girl said of the boy's more than apparent desire to be alone. After all, he'd gone weeks without talking to her, and had only done so because he'd needed a bit of help. Knowing that he was pretty much a lost cause she'd almost left him be on the mountain. But his state of sadness and disappointment upon his failed trip to Hephaestus had made the girl want to help him reach his goal, regardless of his lack of desire to have her help. "Also ouch, that's unreasonably harsh considering," she teased though the statement was rather serious. "Don't worry, you'll be back to your hermit-ness soon enough, and ya' won't have to put up with me anymore," she stated rather simply.

She then went on to watch as he tried out and thought out different possible methods to remove the horns from this Minotaur with no obvious answers to how it could be done. To be honest she didn't have an immediate answer for it either, she'd figured it would be easiest to try and remove the head of it but that was simply her hunting experience speaking. There was the rather simple fact that they couldn't just keep a rotting beast head in a small row boat for an extended period of time. She spoke aloud about the beast since points of their actual work were easily discussed. "So, any ideas to remove the horns, 'cause I figure it'd be pretty easy to take its head off, but that doesn't do much about the everything else..." she said, there was probably something which could be done but the way this beast had been exposed to weathering made it a bit more like freezer burned meat than a flesh and blood creature.

[Bloodedge]

Athos was struck with a bout of minor depression when he realized there was literally only one thing he could do to get this Minotaur's horns off. If there was anything else he could think to do at all, he'd do it in a heartbeat. Now, though, to achieve his goals... he had to do this. He took a few steps away from the Minotaur, and utilized his conch shell once more to create great amounts of water in the area surrounding him. His control over said water allowed him to swirl it around himself as it was produced, forming a cyclone of water climbing high in the sky until he focused on the Minotaur. His right hand willed the water forward in a jet stream, at such an incredible velocity that it began to grind away at the Minotaur's body, eroding it over time. Even the powerful hide of a Minotaur proved to be an incompetent defense against the power of erosion by water, and as the son of Poseidon, Athos boasted such an incredible mastery over the water itself that he was able to grant it such strength to begin doing this. His aim was simple; he would use water to destroy everything about the Minotaur, bar its apparently indestructible horns.

[Apollymi]

Deianira was a bit surprised that no words came from the other lad at all, and he instead began to work. "Or ya' know, go back to the silence," she said most sarcastically. But soon enough that surprise was replaced by something else entirely, 'No...' she thought as the young lad began a bout of water manipulation which was well beyond what she'd expect of the son of a Nymph and any Gorgon. No this lad had something else going for him entirely and Deianira knew and understood it as she watched a beast's body get washed away. As this happened her eyes widened an extreme amount as she began piecing together the possible existence of this lad and now understood his abject secrecy. "Oh, I get it..." she said aloud at the end of her pondering and of course she didn't mean to so she immediately clapped a hand over her mouth as if she was confused by the utterance. Still to avoid any confusion she spoke again this time in her usual light tone. "So, just so we're clear... any questions I have about this will also get me the silent treatment?" she asked seeming not to care much about the answer one way or another. "I'm just saying, I didn't initially think your dad would be higher up on the Totem pole than mine. I figured you were just a really timid almost bestial..." she finished before holding her hands up in surrender. "Sorry, didn't really mean for that to come out that way but... what the hell man?" she asked excited by the prospect of this lad's powers and abilities being so strange, though now that she thought about it, there was something of a thing about Poseidon and one of the Gorgons and she imagined Athos' existence was probably something of an issue for someone, if it was actually the case she was thinking of.

[Bloodedge]

More and more of the Minotaur's body began disappearing while being pummeled with Athos' water torrent. It became a much easier task to accomplish once the outer shell was destroyed, but Athos' focus remained through and through. His eye glowed like the water reflecting the moon's light as all this occurred, and when the Minotaur was nothing more than a pair of large horns, Athos returned to normal, and his manipulated water returned to the conch shell. At that moment, Deianira's words met his ear, and his head sank. He looked away, and reached out to take up the Minotaur horns. Only one statement would be made before he began making way for the boat. "Poseidon wants to kill me."

Little did this pair know, there was another demigod ready to climb the mountain from below. It was a male, and another resident of New Olympus. He sported a rare armor gifted by the gods; coincidentally that of Poseidon. Sweeping crimson locks out of his face, he glanced up the mountain with crystal-blue eyes, as if wondering. "Huh. Nothing like having your job done for you," he mused.

[Apollymi]

Deianira expected no answer from the lad, in fact she was almost counting on it. So when he finished his task and reached for the Minotaur's horns only to speak a sentence she was well and truly shocked. The words themselves and their content seemed to strike her in a very odd way, and even she seemed to sober up a bit. "That's..." there was a pause from Deianira like she couldn't settle on the right words. "Fucked up, I'm sorry..." she said truly feeling apologetic for the boy's plight. She dealt with her own father's antics and found them annoying, but she knew the man had her best interest at heart, it was a wonder this boy was able to keep his life together knowing his own father wanted him dead. Even so, this wouldn't deter Deianira from the task at hand, now more than ever, she intended to help the lad as much as he could until he found his way back home.

She'd follow him back to the boat somberly not really knowing what to say for the first time in ages. She also had no clue of the other individual in the area, until of course he came into her line of vision. Her eyes widened as she saw crimson locks and golden armor. "Oh... what are you doing up here?" she asked coming to a stop on her way down hill, meeting a pair of crystal blue eyes with her silvery grey ones.

[Bloodedge]

Athos' head rose slightly, but also turned away from Deianira as he descended the mountain. Since she knew who and what he was now, he had shared this information regarding the situation with his father. He continued down the mountain silently, stopping only because Deianira had spoken to another individual at ground level. He did not know this individual, nor did he wish to, but it was apparently strange that he was here. "Really? It was you?" the red-haired male questioned. "I'm here visiting my father. There's been a Minotaur making a lot of problems for the area, so I agreed to deal with it on my way out. But... it doesn't look like I have to do that. So, thanks to you guys for dealing with that. You must be going to see Hephaestus, having those horns on you," he said, looking toward Athos, but garnering no form of response from the lad.

[Apollymi]

For once, Deianira was well and truly speechless and didn't know what to say to the demigod presently with her. Of course, this silence would only last a little while between them as soon enough a young man would come forth causing the child of Dionysus to speak. "Oh, Boreas hangs around here, why?" she thought about it for a second and supposed that the chill in the air and these ice covered mountains were likely exactly the kind of place that the God of the North Wind would enjoy. "Never mind, makes perfect sense~" she said a wide smile spreading across her face. As the boy went on to explain that the Minotaur had been causing problems around the area Deianira nodded. "Yeah, I know... I talked to a snow leopard who mentioned something like that," she said seemingly amused, it seemed that Athos wasn't going to speak very much but this was fine, Deianira looked to the red haired young man and nodded. "He's... not really into people that much. Don't take it personally," she said of Athos, more than willing to act as mouth piece for the young lad. "Which is why I'm here before you ask~" she finished up thinking about it more there was one thing which was missing from the lad's list and it was by far one of the more daunting to get, perhaps their good deed here could be rewarded. "He's headed to see Hephaestus but there is something missing from the list. Is your dad the kind of guy to be nice, to a demigod who did a solid coincidentally?"

[Bloodedge]

"Well, becau-" The redhead intended to answer Deianira's question legitimately, but before he could, she came to the conclusion on her own. She also went on to mention a particular snow leopard which shared with her the information about the Minotaur's widespread effects. "Yeah... that. I hope that leopard isn't the same one that very recently resorted to eating the nomads in this area." Since Athos had not responded, Deianira spoke to the other male instead, addressing the fact that Poseidon's son simply was not into people. The young man shrugged in response; he didn't find such a personality all too strange at first impression. He did, however, find it strange that Deianira asked about the potential kindness of his father for the deed they'd done. He looked toward the daughter of Dionysus with curiosity in his eyes as he gave his response. "Well... my dad's not the worst god I've ever encountered. I mean, he's maybe not as cool as Poseidon was when I earned his favor," he said. This statement brought something akin to a nervous tick from Athos, which went unnoticed by the other male. "What exactly do you guys need?"

[Apollymi]

It seemed he knew what some of the animals of the area had reverted to doing when they couldn't find their food because of the antics of the Minotaur. She chuckled then and shook her head from left to right. "Not at all. This one was female and a kitten barely old enough to be on her own. She said she thought about it, but couldn't find the right time to sneak up on the caravan," she said of the Snow Leopard. As they exchanged pleasantries they eventually came to the point where the young male would try and answer a question posed by the child of Dionysus, it was about the nature of his father and he went on to explain that his dad wasn't the worst but wasn't as cool to him as the god he was champion of. The mention of Poseidon's name brought a nervous tick from Athos which seemed to go unnoticed by the redheaded male but Deianira caught out of the corner of her eye, as such she moved it right along. "Well, it isn't like we got the kinda time it would take to champion someone new," she said allowing the sentence to roll right along. "Hephaestus said he needed a god's blood in addition to the other things he's already collected, since a good deed was already done, and we know one to be around here, it seemed like the easiest method," she said.

[Bloodedge]

"Oh, good. My old man told me to wipe out any who managed to eat a person, if I came across them. I'd hate to kill a cub," he said of the leopards. As far as he was concerned, the entire group local to this area would be fine regardless of what happened during the time of the Minotaur, but that was another matter. He now knew why Deianira asked about his father, though it was a baffling topic to address. "... God blood? Hephaestus... wanted god blood? That's gotta be some intense weaponry you guys are looking for. Never heard of him asking for that. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask dad about it. He'd probably think it's just as weird, but... that Minotaur was a pretty big problem. Follow me," he said, turning to walk toward the palace in which Boreas resided, while beckoning the others to follow.

[Apollymi]

When told what his father wanted him to do with all the beasts who'd managed to eat people she could only nod her agreement. "He's right, Man-eaters are problematic and disturb the natural order of things..." Deianira agreed. In fact, if she'd known the beast she was talking too had devoured human flesh she also would have killed it without hesitation. It seemed that the golden armored male was also a bit floored by the requests of the Smith God. "I know, I've had the same thought at least a hundred times since he said it. But, it's definitely what he said, so here we are~" she said, choosing specifically not to mention what manner of weapon the lad with her was seeking as it was rather obvious he was prone to secrecy and less likely to trust this individual if only because he associated freely with a man who wanted him dead. Of course, in this particular case Deianira couldn't really blame him for his caution and as the young man said he'd lead them back to his father's place Deianira turned to Athos and whispered her thoughts on the matter in snake tongue. She did this while remaining stationary allowing the crimson haired lad's steps to put distance between them. "I know this is probably not pleasant for you, but it seems like the easiest option, so you can go for it if you want. Camus isn't a bad guy or anything so there isn't anything to worry about while we're here..." she said. Though as was the case in all things, she left the decision to take these steps forward to Athos. This seemed like an easy method but if he didn't want to deal with this person she'd respect his wishes and try something else instead.

[Bloodedge]

The other male had already begun moving, but Athos did not seem so quick to follow. He only began moving as Deianira did, which was paces behind this newcomer. He had some immediate distrust for the redhead. Such was the likeliest of scenarios in the case of this one having the armor of Athos' own father, Poseidon. However, Deianira spoke in Snake Tongue to the half-Gorgon, sharing some reassuring words, as well as some encouragement toward going with this method of obtaining a god's blood. "A... alright," he hissed back. "If you say he's alright, I'll go with it. I don't know how else I could get a god's blood."