Part 1 Part 2
Title: Earth Healer
Author: Fableweaver
Email: shinigamidawning1313@yahoo.com
Rating: NC-17
Fandom: Xena: Warrior Princess/ Hercules: Legendary Journeys
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife, Xena/Iolaus/Auto, Jace/Jett,
Disclaimer: Not mine. Everything belongs to Ren Pics. ;-;
Warning: Joxer abuse, serious angst, mentioned rape, graphic sex
Archive: Only if you tell me first.
Notes: I use the real mythology when I write these fics, so if you
see `Eris' spelled with an `A' it's because it
was actually
spelled `Aris' as the twin of Ares. Also some people have
parents
(Like Aphrodite – she's got a mother and a father.) so just
be
warned.
Summary ( Basic Overview ): Joxer once was one of the most feared and
respected men; he was an Earth Healer, an exclusive sect of people
that Gaea herself chose. That was when he first met Ares, when they
first fell in love. Only disaster struck in the form of an evil woman
with a hunger for power and a love spell. And when Ares was struck
in her anger and her last jealousies with a spell that would kill
him, Joxer gave up his life for his love.
One hundred years later, Joxer has been reborn, the God of Peace and
Infinity returned. Only, he has no idea about his powers or his past.
Now it's up to Ares to make him remember or the Twilight will
destroy
them all.
Earth Healer
Joxer was sitting in the middle of the barn on a low chest of
equipment, re-braiding and oiling one of the lead whips for the
horses, when he heard the crash. He looked up startled, that
wasn't a
normal `feed (pay attention to) me now, because I'm pissed
and will
do damage' horse noise. He silently slid from the chest and snuck
towards where the sound had come from braiding stick still in hand,
he stopped frozen when he saw what had made the crash. Instantly
dropping the stick he ran to the side of the man laying face down in
the bedding of the last stall, dropping to his knees beside the
heavily injured man.
He gently turned the man over and gasped, nearly dropping him when he
recognized the face of his father's Lord. Ares, God of War, was
laying – bleeding, unconscious, and skin in shreds- in the stable
of
one of his father's prized stallions. He cradled the god to him
and
brushed the hay and shavings from the man's beard and wild, inky
curls of obsidian; trying to think of what to do with the man in his
arms he jumped slightly when he realized that the god's eyes had
opened, and he stared into silver and gold flecked eyes so dark a
brown that they appeared black.
"Shh, I'm here to take care of you, Ares." Joxer
whispered
reassuringly, his eyes filled with his sincerity.
Ares' eyes closed and he relaxed into Joxer's embrace. Joxer
sighed
in relief then a determined glint lit his eyes.
He hefted the big man up onto his back and he carefully made his way
out of the stall, shuffling towards one of the wheelbarrows. He
spotted one filled with shavings and carefully laid his ward into the
barrow, covering him with a horse blanket. He grimaced at his now
blood soaked clothes, working faster because it meant he could save
the life of the damaged god even quicker.
Then he was off, through the woods with the wheelbarrow on a tiny
worn path that he'd made from his trek back and forth from his
home
and the stables. He was going as quick as he could without tipping
over the barrow, but he wasn't going fast enough, the shavings
were
quickly being stained red and he was losing all hope of ever getting
to his home in time.
`Please, someone…anyone! Help me save him.' He
prayed
fervently, to no one and everyone.
He heard the pounding beat of paws on the earth before he saw the two
giant wolves as they came to stop before him, making him stop with
shaky jerking motions. He stilled as he met the eyes of the lead wolf
that had sky blue eyes, shining with intelligence and worry.
"Well, I did ask for anyone." Joxer murmured, then carefully
picked
the god up and placed him on the back of the wolf, securing his hands
with a bit of rope in the bottom of the barrow, then used the blanket
to make a sort of sling beneath the wolf's belly and allowed the
god
to slip down into it his arms still around the wolf's throat.
Joxer than promptly dumped the bloodied shavings over the edge of the
ravine that ran along the edge of the path, watching as they
disappeared into the inky darkness, shoving the wheelbarrow over for
good measure. He then looked to the green eyed wolf and silently
asked if he could climb up on to his back and so he could lead them
to his home where he could heal the god. The large head nodded and he
hefted himself as gracefully as possible onto the wolf's back
then
they were off, he was whispering directions into his wolf's ear
as
the other followed.
They made it to the small clearing where his cottage sat, but he led
the wolves to the mouth of a system of caves and waterways deep in
the side of the mountain he lived on. Joxer led them to a cave that
was cleanly swept and dusted, a bed and worktable covered in bowls
and jars, herbs and medicines. Shelves built into the rock covered in
much the same with herbs hanging from the roof. A large hole let in
sunlight from the roof, lighting upon the small fountain that poured
down a few rock protrusions from a hole in the cave wall. The water
fell down into a sparklingly clean pool that was a large hole in the
ground that served as bathing and drinking water, also fed from a
little crack in the wall where a small stream trickled through. It
lead to an old underground river far beneath so it didn't over
flow.
Joxer carefully untied Ares' hands from around the wolf's
neck, and
slipped him out of his carrier, hefting him over to the bed. He then
proceeded to strip everything from the god's body, laying his
bleeding form back onto the sheets of the straw and feather mattress
and sterile white sheets. He ran to his workbench and grabbed three
tools, thread, needle, and scissors. Then he brought a stool and a
small collection of jars and vials to the table beside the bed. He
then went to the large cauldron that hung over the fire pit in the
corner, vented with a man made hole to the outside, and poured water
into a basin beside it to wash his hands. He then put his apron over
his clothes even if it was a lost cause anyway, tying his hair back
into a loose ponytail, and went to his ward, unheeding as the wolves
laid down out side the door to watch him.
Rubbing his hands together to get the blood moving Joxer began to mop
up the blood and tie tourniquets to the wounds that wouldn't stop
bleeding. Once the skin was as clean as it was going to get, Joxer
began to smear poultices on minor wounds, and stitching the more
major ones, then smearing liberal amounts of poultices on those too.
Cutting off hanging shreds of skin bandaging the open areas and
covering them with healing oils and regenerating medicines, he sat
back and began to gently and carefully clean the deep and serious
wounds now that they'd stopped bleeding. He poured healing oils
into
the ones that weren't life threatening, and stitched them closed,
smearing them with more poultices and bandaging them.
But when Joxer got to the wound at the base of the god's head he
knew
he had to use more than poultices and oils. He cleaned his hands
again, and rubbed them together, more to calm his nerves than
anything else. Then he shaved the hair around the wound, he cleaned
it until fresh ruby blood came from it, he smeared oils and poultices
over the wound then placed his hands over it, hovering an inch or two
above it.
A gentle green glow surrounded his long hands, sparking silver and
running along his skin like flames that would never char his flesh.
He let the magic pour from his hands like water sinking deep into the
gash. He closed his eyes and followed his magic with his mind,
watching as it healed and regenerated the missing tissues of the
brain, the skull reformed in that place, the nerves and neurons
regenerating. The veins and cells all finished forming and the skin
healed over, with one last push, and everything came alive again, as
if the injury had never happened.
When Joxer came back to himself he gasped for breath, then ran to the
waste basin and emptied the contents of his stomach. Using his magic
always did that to him, and he'd never used it to that much of a
detailed healing before. He straightened and washed his mouth out
with a hand full of water and spat it into the waste basin, then
wiped his mouth off on a rag, washed his hands and went back to work.
He checked the minor wounds and noted with satisfaction that the
poultices and a little bit of magic from him were healing them quite
nicely, same with the more major wounds, but they would take a few
days.
Joxer changed the sheets and pillowcases of the bed with Ares'
still
on it as quickly as possible then laid a thick, feather comforter
over him to keep him warm. A cool cloth was placed on his forehead,
and Joxer sent magic into the god to assure a long, healing sleep.
Then he began to clean up. All his tools went into a bowl to be
cleaned, and all his poultices and oils were capped and stored away
in proper order again. When he finished cleaning his tools and
hanging them back on their racks, he pulled a piece of blank
parchment from a leather bound book filled with hundreds upon
hundreds of notes and recipes and healing techniques.
Pulling his quill from it's holder at his workbench, and dipping
it
into the ink he began to write what poultices and oils were used and
where, the output of energy he used magically, and the physical state
of before and after the healing. Physical characteristics he gained
from looking, measuring and a general checkup garnered him were also
written down. He put up his quill and blew on the ink to make it dry
faster than carefully placed it back into the notebook.
Joxer sighed tiredly, then removed his apron and hung it back up. He
stripped off his tunic and vest, dropping them in the corner then
took off his boots, setting them next to the clothes before going to
fill his washbasin with hot water and cleaning up. A quiet yip
alerted him to the fact he still had visitors, he turned and noted
the identical stares of concerned and protective eyes.
"He'll be alright with time and care. I'm worried about
infection,
though, he is mortal at the moment or his godhood is repressed,
because I can't sense his godmark." Joxer told the two
guardians of
war, as he'd named them in his head. Getting up and walking
towards
the chest next to where he threw his soiled clothing, getting a clean
tunic from it and slipping it over his head.
: What is your name, healer? : came a deep voice that sounded
suspiciously like it had come from the blue-eyed wolf.
"Joxer." He answered, looking slightly more sure when he saw
the wolf
nod in acknowledgement.
"May I ask your names?" Joxer asked, looking between the two
wolves
as their eyes met briefly.
: My name is Rom. : the blue-eyed wolf rumbled.
: And my name is Rem. : the green eyed wolf said with a softer
rumble.
"It's been a pleasure to meet you. So do you guard him or
were you
just in the area when I called out?" Joxer asked looking back
over to
his ward.
: We don't guard him, but you. : Rem said before Rom could
silence
him with a yip.
Joxer looked at them startled, they protected him? But from what or
who? He studied the two wolves with intense eyes for long moments,
and then looked away with a sigh.
"So that's why you came," he murmured, then got up and
moved towards
the bed where Ares lay, tossing fitfully.
"Shh, I'm here to take care of you. Rest peacefully."
Joxer murmured
as he kissed Ares' forehead, pushing sleep magic into him. The
restless man calmed instantly and settled back into his healing
sleep.
Joxer looked back towards the wolves, Rem had an openly anxious look
in his eyes, Rom tried to keep it hidden. He kept his face
emotionless as he walked to them, standing before them for long
moments before sinking his hands in the thick fur around Rom's
neck
and kissing his muzzle in acceptance. He looked deeply into surprised
but pleased blue eyes and smiled warmly. He then turned to Rem and
did the same, garnering a happy yip and a lick from the other large
wolf, making Joxer laugh.
Joxer knew something was wrong immediately when he returned to the
cave the next morning. Joxer looked towards Ares suddenly and gasped,
he could feel the heat from the man from there, he ran and threw on
his apron, then gathered a large wood and marble basin filled with
cotton and linen sacks, from beneath the workbench and set it beside
his stool next to the bed, then filled it with the icy water from the
pool. He quickly washed his hands, and tightened the ribbon in his
hair.
He then threw off the covers and started to fill the thin leather
lined linen sacks with water, freezing them with a little bit of
earth magic, and packing them in around the god's body to bring
the
fever down. Wiping sweat and stray water from the man's skin ever
so
often, refilling or refreezing the packs. He also used his little bit
of earth magic to dry the mattress beneath the god, and re-wrapped
soaked bandages with dry ones, putting the wet ones out by the fire
to dry.
Rem and Rom watched as those processes repeated themselves for hours,
and then the hours turned to days. Four days had passed when the
fever finally broke, the minor wounds had all fully healed with
minimal to no scarring, but a few of the larger ones had been
infected. So Joxer cleaned them out and used his healing magic to
heal them before they could get worse, there had been six of them
like that and when he was done, he'd had dry heaves for an hour.
When the infections and the fever were gone, Joxer cleaned up the
mess; washing, drying and hauling things around until the space was
clean and organized again. He was exhausted but had a cheerful
disposition, which he explained, was because Ares would heal nicely
now and would wake soon.
He was drifting in and out of consciousness, snatches of words and
images playing across his brain. He was steadily shifting upwards
through the darkness, and it was getting lighter, he was waking up
and it hurt like a bitch. Ares groaned, his head was pounding, and
his body was aching. He'd only ever felt like this when he was
mortal
that one time, and he'd hoped to never repeat the experience.
He found he was laying on a firm if rather comfortable mattress, and
he was snuggled into clean sheets and a plush blanket. He smelled
rock, fire, and water, realizing he must be in caverns of some sort.
He tried to sit up but found his ribs had been bandaged tightly, his
arms and his legs too. He wondered idly how badly Zeus had fucked him
up this time, and who had the balls to defy the King of the Gods by
healing him.
"Oh! Good, you're awake. I was beginning to worry that you
wouldn't."
A gentle voice sounded from the other side of the room.
Ares looked over to see a tall, slender man with pale, grimy skin and
a longish ponytail on his knees scrubbing the floor, or at least that
was what it looked like the man had been doing. A large tub of soapy
water and a scrub brush were his tools his trousers and sleeves
rolled up and he was barefoot.
Joxer stood and wiped his hands off on his apron as he made his way
over to his ward.
"How's your head feeling?" he asked, checking the mortal
god's
pupils.
"Thro-throbbing." Ares croaked out after a moment.
"Good, then the medicine is working." Joxer nodded then went
to his
worktable and rattled around for a vial of pain reducer.
"Take a mouthful of this and you should be alright pretty
soon."
Joxer told Ares and watched as the god obeyed without thinking. He
placed the bottle on the table beside the bed and then pulled the
blankets back to check bandages.
"Good, you're almost completely…what in Pluto's
name?" Joxer narrowed
his eyes as Ares' skin.
Ares looked down and they both watched as new lacerations and gashes
began to appear, ripped and jagged and becoming infected too quickly
to not be a god's work. They both looked up at the door when Rem
came
sliding to a halt before it.
: Joxer! Your father is on his way to your cabin, we need to move him
and get you to the cabin. Now! : Came the panted warning.
"Shit." Was all Joxer said before looking around wildly.
"Um, I'm gonna need help." Joxer said aloud before
dropping to his
knees in a praying position. Ares tried to keep a hold on his
consciousness.
"Dear great mother of the Earth I am aprat of, I call for your
dearly
needed assistance. Great Gaea that had names me her Healer of all the
Earth, your loyal servant needs you. Now."
Dear great Mother of the Earth I am apart of, I call for your
dearly needed assistance. Great Gaea that has named me her Healer of
all the Earth, your loyal servant needs you. Now.**
Joxer's voice came out like many voices together, and strangely
metallic, making Ares wonder who he was. A subdued flash of green let
the War god know who exactly the healer called though.
"Grandmother," Ares croaked.
"Ares, we must get you to the haven chambers. All will be
explained
later." Gaea had a gentle, elderly voice that sounded like she
knew
everything and wished she didn't.
Joxer smiled gratefully and nodded, "The haven has just been
restocked and cleaned for this spring. But I have to go now, and I
will return as soon as I can, Mother. Please guard him. Come on
Rem."
Joxer ran from the room tossing his apron to the floor as he dashed
out, hopping up onto the wolf's back with ease.
As they raced from the caverns, Joxer had the feeling that he would
be in for a very long haul with healing that god.
Gaea smiled affectionately after the healer, then turned to her
grandson and grinned.
"Well lets get you hidden away, Res." She said and he smiled
before
slipping into unconsciousness.
Joxer had just sent the two wolves to hide in the brush until needed
when his father, two brothers, and his father's special soldiers
came
galloping up to his cottage. He looked out the kitchen window and
sighed wondering what in Gaea's name they wanted.
"Joxer! Come out here you great disgrace!" Jonas called out
to him.
Joxer stepped out onto his stoop and closed the door behind himself.
"Why does my Lord Father come calling?" Joxer called out
evenly.
"One of my men is sick, you shall heal him. As an Earth Healer
you
must, it's in your code." Jonas ordered snidely.
"As it is, I shall never refuse a ward as long as I'm an
Earth
Healer, now bring him in, and be quick about it." Joxer ordered
curtly, opening the door and leading the two men carrying the sick
man into the sick room of the cottage.
All of the men except the captain were outside with the horses;
Jonas, Jett, Jace and the captain, were all in the antechamber of the
sick room waiting.
Joxer threw on his apron, and quickly washed his hands before going
over to examine the obviously sick soldier. He touched the boy's
forehead and shuddered slightly, closing his eyes and drawing his
hand away.
He opened his eyes to meet the frightened brown ones of his ward, he
smiled sadly and shook his head. Tears welled in the brown eyes and
Joxer touched his forehead again in a gentle caress.
"You have a choice, either you let this disease run it's
course and
you suffer it's pain, or I can put you to rest now. But there is
no
way I can heal you of this malady without you paying for it in the
long run." Joxer told him truthfully but gently.
"Put me to rest, I don't wish to suffer pain-madness, and I
wish to
go to my little one." The boy said softly.
"Little one?" Joxer asked as he nodded.
"My baby brother, he died when we were little and I can't be
without
him much longer." The boy whispered, and Joxer understood.
The bond of twins, of womb mates, was a strong one that even reached
out beyond the grave. This twin should've died at birth as well,
but
a god spared him for some reason. But the fates have cursed him to
right out their weavings, so he should go to his little one.
"Close your eyes and sleep peaceful." Was all Joxer said and
he felt
the life go out of the boy.
He smiled sadly and covered his face and head with the blankets,
standing up and going back out the door with a defeated sigh.
"He's dead." Joxer said with a flat tone.
"Did you do nothing?" Jonas asked violently.
"He was gone before I could do anything, Father." Joxer told
him.
"Well, bring him back! He was one of my best-"
"I am a healer of the Earth, Father, not Pluto. I can no more
bring
that boy's soul back than I could've healed him. He was half
past
dead when you brought him to me in the first place." Joxer cut
his
father off curtly, forcefully, raising his chin and staring hard at
the warlord.
They glared at each other for a few long moments until Jonas grunted
and swept out, followed by the captain. Jett and Jace waited a few
moments until their father left until they looked back to their
brother's sagging posture.
"What really happened?" Jett asked as the wrapped their arms
around
Joxer.
"His twin was calling him. He was destined to die, and would have
sooner or later had I healed him. I can't save the dead, and like
I
said, he was half past dead when he got here. He should have died
seventeen years ago with his brother, only he didn't by godly
intervention alone." Joxer explained softly.
His brothers understood and left soon after that. He sighed heavily
before making his way out to where Rem was waiting.
Title: Earth Healer (2/?)
Author: Fableweaver
Email: shinigamidawning1313@yahoo.com
Rating: NC-17
Fandom: Xena: Warrior Princess/ Hercules: Legendary Journeys
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife, Xena/Iolaus/Auto, Jace/Jett,
OC/OC, OC/Joxer/OC
Disclaimer: Not mine. Everything belongs to Ren Pics. ;-;
Warning: Joxer abuse, serious angst, mentioned rape, graphic sex
Author's Note: I'm so glad you all actually like the detailed
descriptions, mostly I get people telling me to leave it all out.
Anyway, I'm not sure how many installments this will be, but I will
finish it. Eventually. Thank you all so much for the positive
feedback!
Installment II ( Finally. )
When Rem got him back to the caves, they ran swiftly along corridors
of stalagmites and cold, stonewalls. When they reached the haven
chambers, Joxer sighed slightly in relief that Gaea was still there.
Rem settled down beside his brother and noticed the room was bigger
than the workroom, and was designed for more than one sick person.
Two beds were settled against the far wall, and two huge cauldrons
were filled with water over fires with a natural vent over them
drawing the smoke up and out of the room. A tiny waterfall poured
from a large hole in the wall, down into a bottomless pit of sorts
below it in the ground; cracks in the ceiling let fresh, cool air was
fill the cavern space.
A large table much like that in the workroom was settled against the
wall beside the beds, chests of clothing, linens and tools were
underneath it. He also noticed the natural shelving that had various
items in them, one particular shelf had a medium chest in it with
complicated locks on it, from the slight glow and the vague nectar
scent, Rem guessed it was Ambrosia.
Joxer rushed to the washbasin and washed his hands before throwing on
his apron and tying it behind his back. He rolled up his sleeves as
he made his way to Ares' bedside and where Gaea stood tending to her
godly grandson.
"How bad is it?" Joxer asked softly, gently caressing sweat-soaked
locks off the bronze-skinned man's forehead.
"He'll die if we can't break the curse on him," Gaea told him
solemnly.
"What kind of curse?" Joxer asked, a bad feeling settling in his gut.
"A non-healing curse." Gaea said simply, looking at the ceiling.
"Gods," Joxer breathed.
He knew that if they couldn't break the curse than when ever they
healed Ares, the wounds would come back doubly worse than the last
time, until the god was simply no more. Joxer sighed heavily and
closed his eyes thinking.
"Is the curse designed only for Ares, Mother?" Joxer asked eyes still
closed.
"Yes," Gaea replied, looking wearily at her little one.
"Then, our only choice is for me to draw the curse into me, then have
you destroy it there. It would be easier and less dangerous than if
we were to go into Ares and try to break it." Joxer said, opening his
eyes to glance at Gaea's stricken face.
"But you know that if you should fail…"
"Yes, Mother, I know."
"Alright then, little one. When I place my hands on your shoulders,
begin to take the curse." Gaea said softly, settling her self behind
him as he sat on a stool beside the bed rubbing his hands together.
Joxer nodded, then breathed in deeply, exhaling deeply, then
repeating the process a few times to ground himself, then reached out
to allow his hands to hover over Ares' heart.
The soft green flames of magic licked across his skin, pulsing with
silver swirls as the flames grew brighter. Cupping his hands as if
holding water he allowed the magic to pool there then began to allow
the magic to trickle through his fingers down into Ares' chest and
into his body. Slowly Joxer's hands placed themselves on Ares' skin,
Joxer's consciousness following the flames to the source of the
curse; gnarled, twisted, dripping black vines of hate and malice that
were surrounding the god of War's heart. Joxer was so repulsed by the
evil in the magic before him he almost drew back, but the fear of
losing Ares was stronger.
Reaching through the swirling malicious hands and thorns that tried
to stay his movements, he grabbed hold of the roots of the curse;
pushing tendrils of his own magic deep inside the god's heart to pull
out all traces of the curse. Malevolent twists of the magic reached
out for him, and Joxer absorbed the grasps, pulling the curse into
him as he pulled it away from its victim. He pushed healing magic
deep into Ares to heal all his ailments, making sure that he had left
no traces of the curse in Ares as he pulled back from the body it was
in. He pulled the dark flames within himself, and gave a brief look
to Gaea before the blackness claimed his consciousness.
Ares jerked awake with a gasp, sitting up sharply with a wince and a
groan as the sore, tenderness of muscles, bone and skin healing
seeped into awareness. The faint trickling sensation of magic in his
blood, he knew to be Earth healing magic, the sharp smells of herbs
and exotic oils told him what was under the bandages that he was
covered in. He looked around the space noting the fact he was in a
healer's domain still, then looked to the body in the bed beside him.
He recognized the figure as the male healer that had been taking care
of him earlier. As Ares was wondering why the man was in his own
healing bed, Gaea came into the chamber and walked over to them.
"Ah, so you have awoken 'Res. Good. How do you feel?" She asked,
briefly touching his cheek and forehead in a caress of sorts before
turning to the man in the bed next to Ares'.
"Sore, but I'll live Grandmother." Ares replied gruffly.
"Good. You'll be sore for a while I would imagine, one doesn't have
the Earth Healer taking curses for them everyday you know." Gaea
chuckled, looking over at Joxer and hiding the sneaky grin curling
her lips.
Ares stared slightly slack jawed at his grandmother for a moment
before shutting his mouth with an audible click and sliding his wide-
eyed gaze to the form in the bed beside him.
"What kind of curse was it and who put it on me?" Ares asked.
"A curse designed for rotting away a little more every time we healed
you, it was specifically for you. And Zeus placed it on you." Gaea
told him with serious eyes.
"Ah, shit." Ares sighed, looking over at the healer.
"Will he be alright?" he asked suddenly, and bit his lip as his own
stupid curiosity.
"He'll be fine," Ares cursed himself for his sigh of relief, "He just
needs a lot of rest, good food and not to do any really major healing
magic for a while. See instead of just pulling the curse out like
we'd planned, Joxer decided to heal everything while he was coming
out. Foolish, but effective judging by the zippy way you're healing."
Gaea sighed softly.
Then two forms came scrambling in, twin teen boys by the looks of it.
They stood on the other side of Joxer bed and slipped arm around each
other. They both had rather wild white hair pulled back into a low
ponytail, one had the most startlingly bright cerulean eyes and the
other had the bright colour of jade. They had almond brown skin and
were wearing simple breeches and tunics, running around barefoot.
What Ares noticed was that they had wolves' tails and ears, he
blinked, and then remembered the large wolves from before.
"Ah, Rem and Rom, you're back. Joxer should wake soon and I need you
two to take care of him and Ares now alright?" Gaea told the young
boys, whom Ares guessed couldn't be a day over sixteen.
"Yes, Grandmamma Gaea. We'll take care of them." They assured her in
unison, grinning wickedly.
"Now boys, remember, he wont be up to that for a little while. So
don't strain him to badly until then, alright?" Gaea told them,
looking at them in a knowing, grandmother way.
The green-eyed wolf-boy blushed scarlet and ducked his head while the
blue-eyed wolf-twin just grinned cheekily.
"Behave." Was all she said before vanishing.
Ares wondered what he was in for when the two boys looked at each
other and grinned.
Joxer woke up with a groan, sitting up and clutching his head.
"Did anyone get the number on that chariot? And does anyone know how
many horses actually ran me over? It feels like hundreds." Joxer
moaned eyes tightly shut.
He heard three soft snickers and felt a vial pressed under his nose.
He grabbed it, sniffed quickly before gratefully downing the horrid
tasting stuff in one gulp.
"Gods, I need to find a way to make that stuff taste better." Joxer
grumbled as he threw off his blankets and swung his legs over the
side of the bed.
He ignored his body's protest at the movement and stood, stretching
and listening to the satisfying pops down his spine. His eyes snapped
open when he felt cool air touching his body in places that should be
covered.
"Okay, next question. Why am I naked?" Joxer couldn't help the faint
flush colouring his cheeks as he moved to the other side of the room
to get clean breeches and a clean tunic.
Oblivious of the three appreciative stares at his naked backside, he
bent down to grab a tunic. When he heard a whistle he jerked up
startled and spun to realize there were three people in the chambers
with him.
"Ah, Rom? Rem? You have human forms?" he asked when he saw familiar
eyes and the wolf tails and ears.
"Yup." Rem said happily, his tail flicking back and forth
contentedly.
"So is there a reason you are all watching me get dressed?" Joxer
asked as he pulled on his breeches and laced them up, arching an
eyebrow at the twin's pouting looks.
He pulled the tunic over his head and pulled his hair back into a
ponytail to keep it out of his face. He then shooed the twins to sit
on his recently vacated bed then began to check Ares' wounds and
vital signs.
"Well, you seem to be healing up rather well. That's good, when
you're strong enough I'll be able to give you ambrosia and let you
go. That should be in a day or so." Joxer smiled lightly then looked
around with a slightly put upon look.
"You two and Gaea make a mess when your healing people, you know
that?" Joxer gave the twins a sideways glance before rolling up his
sleeves and going about cleaning up.
He stripped the linens from his own bed and gathered various healing
linens that had been piled into a corner and then dropped them into
the basket by the door to be taken down to the river and washed. He
went to his work table and hung up his apron on the peg in the stone
beside the table then set about righting bottles, storing ones away
and setting empty ones aside for reuse or refilling. He washed
various utensils in a basin of hot water and then set them out to dry
before placing them back on their racks or in their boxes.
He put fresh linens on the bed he vacated then moved Ares to it,
striping Ares' bed and throwing the linens with others. Then he
grabbed a broom and began sweeping the cold stone floors, he swept
the dust into the little pit that surrounded the fire.
"I have to go wash these linens, watch over him." Joxer told the
twins then picked up the basket and headed out of the caves and down
the rocky steep to the roaring river, following it a little ways
until he came to the place the river split into a calmer stream. He
pulled a soapstone he made from his pocket, one he'd grabbed on the
way out, and set about separating the linens and washing them. Once
they were washed he laid them over the bramble bushes and hung them
over low limbs of trees to dry.
"I wonder what really happened to him," Joxer murmured to
himself, "I've never seen anything that could do that on this earth,
it had to be a god. But the only gods really out for Ares would be…
every one of them. Except: Eris, Strife, Cupid, `Dite and obviously
Grandmother. Well that narrows it down a bit." Joxer muttered
sarcastically.
"So you're the healer who actually has the balls to heal Ares after
Zeus punished him, hmm?" a woman's voice came from behind him causing
him to jump with a rather unmanly squeak and fall into the stream.
"Ah, and you are?" Joxer asked pushing wet tendrils of hair from his
eyes and looking up at the woman before him.
She was tall with severe features and long hair pulled into a rather
uncomfortable looking braid. She wore simple, conservative robes and
had the crest of Intelligence on her belt. A sword hung at her waist
and two scrolls were tucked into the crook of her left arm, the other
hand was on her cocked hip; her dark, intense eyes were staring him
down and sizing him up.
"Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, War Stratagem, and Valor. Ares' younger
sister." Athena told him in her monotonous voice.
"Um, nice to meet you Lady Goddess, how may I help you?" Joxer asked
not moving from his position in the water. He began to quietly and
untraceably gather energy from the stones and water swirling around
his hands.
"I want you to tell me where Ares is." Athena told him.
"I'm afraid I can't do that Lady, I have no idea where he is." Joxer
lied, a sinking feeling settling in his gut like a leaded weight.
"Liar." Was the cool fact and then a sword came down just as his
shield went up.
The clang of metal against magic sounded through the suddenly
abnormally silent area.
"Ah, so you're the vaunted Earth Healer of great grandmother's?" She
sneered and he nodded, slowly rising to his feet more steady in the
swirling and loose eddies of water and pebble than she was on the
flat ground.
"We'll see if the healer can fight then." She said a snarl marring
her rather cold beauty.
He felt his magic rise up and change, shifting around until it fit:
flooding out and swamping her, stopping Athena dead in her tracks
with her arms and blade frozen above her head. Her dark eyes wide
with a real fear and absolute recognition.
"I am more than the `vaunted Healer of the Earth' as you say Lady, I
am a God. A Titan. And you will obey your elders." Joxer's voice had
become layered and strange – metallic, woody and rich and very like
the earth he protected.
A silver line shot from his forehead to hers and in a flash of
blinding white light they found themselves with a reversed role – she
sprawled on the ground with him towering over her.
"You should be dead! There was no way you could've survived!" Athena
gasped.
"I am Peace, I am Retribution and Justice, and I am the Earth on
which you lay. I will never die. Now go run back to your gaudy palace
and tell daddy that grandfather is very angry. Do not come looking
for Ares again, girl, or you will live to regret it." Joxer told her
in his calm unwavering voice, then he dismissingly flicked his wrist
and she vanished in a shimmer of silver sparks.
Then the power vanished leaving Joxer trembling on his knees beside
his wet and soiled laundry. He looked down at the Earth with a
betrayed look then slowly moved back to his task, his mind staunchly
refusing to accept what had just happened.
He didn't see the dark eyes watching him with awe or the twin
guardians behind the god watching them both with sad, lonely eyes.
tbc