Title: The Great Quill Napping
Author: Brae
Rating: Teens
Feedback: brae_tms@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters and sadly am making no profit from their use.
Fandom: Xena/Herc.
Pairing: A/J with a bit of C/S implied.
Status: Complete
Series: War's Quill's
Archive: Yes to all.
Website:
Warning: Umm, can't think of much beyond having a mean Gabby and an equally mean Xena. Very AU in the fact that it strays far and wide from
canon and myth both.
Notes: More in this series of short stories will likely be coming eventually, but I only work on it when I need a break from the longer more 'angsty' fics
that I'm working on, so it may be a while. In the meantime if anyone has any bright ideas they want to share on what to do to them for punishment,
please feel free to contact me off list at the address listed above anytime.
Beta: Thanks Kerensa!
Summary: A period of punishment begins, and a thief is ‘born’.
The Great Quill Napping
by Brae
"Joxer? Are you all right love?"
The young man looked up from his hunched posture on the forest’s mossy ground, startled. He blinked furiously to clear his vision of the tears
clouding his eyes and smiled shakily. He tried to nod 'yes, fine' but found himself shaking his head 'no,' frantically and launching himself into his lover’s
strong arms. He was caught gently and held close on his lover’s lap as the God settled down onto the forest floor. The big and tough God of War sat
there on the earth soothing him like a distraught child, rocking and gently petting him as he sobbed and gasped for breath, heartbroken at the latest
cruelties inflicted by his 'friends'. An hour or more passed before he was finally calm enough to realize that his love was anything but.
'Uh-oh.'
"Ares, love, please don't hurt them."
"Why not," he grated out, striving for a calm reasonable tone. "They hurt *you* often enough."
"They're my friends; I don't want them hurt because of me, just because they hurt my feelings--"
"That's debatable. And they didn't *just* hurt your feelings Joxer, or is this not a ‘big honking lump on your noggin' to quote Dite? Hmm?" Ares
tenderly sent a wave of energy through the mortal’s body as he ran his hand through Joxer’s hair, speeding the healing process. "They aren't going
to be hurt because of *you*, Joxer, but because of *them*. They did it, have been doing it, and *won't* be doing it ever again!"
"But--"
"No, Joxer; I will not change my mind this time. I've let you sway me too long on this. They deserve repayment in kind and more besides, Joxer. It is
my right to give it, both as your lover and as their god. Yes, I know they don't acknowledge me as such, fight 'against' me and all--but they still
fight! That makes them mine and you of all people know so, so don't argue with me on this anymore. You are *not* the only one they mistreat, love.
They do so to many people, they place themselves above others and mistreat and regard with contempt any they feel are inferior. What is even
worse is that while they do it *knowingly* to some--like you--more often than not they do it completely obliviously to others, not even realizing that
they have made such an unthinking, cruel judgment. And they are only growing worse; they do it so often now! All of the time. No one has stopped
them, no mortal has been *able* to stop them... They will not learn better if they are not taught, Joxer. They *have* to be punished."
He held a gentle hand under the downcast chin, raising a pair of brown eyes to meet his own. "I promise to start off small and go from there. They
will be given chances to change, opportunities to test their behavior. If they respond appropriately then the punishment will ease. If they respond as
they do to you--among others--then the punishment will gradually increase until they *do* learn. I will try to stay out of direct interference with
them, for now. So you can relax, I'm not planning on killing them." 'Yet...' "If they don't eventually take the hint I will have to step in personally,
however. Joxer, they are going around claiming to be heroes. Heroes are supposed to not only protect those that cannot protect themselves but be
an example to people (especially children) on how to treat others by their very behavior. Not be an example of how *not* to treat others! I can not
have my heroes behaving as they are--it's bad for the whole...uhm...'hero' image." He grinned, "and wouldn't that just bite their butts and light their
tails on fire--to learn that as the God of War, I'm also automatically the God of Heroes?" He effortlessly lifted a knee up and down, teasingly jostling
the body curled on his lap so trustingly. His ploy was successful as Joxer chuckled.
"I can see the totally gob smacked looks now; after all of the times Xena has told you she would never serve you again, to find out that she never
left! Oh, Ares, promise me if you ever tell her I get to watch?"
Ares grinned, dropping a kiss on the pale forehead. "Deal."
*^*
One Week Later
"Xena, what are we doing here again?" Gabrielle cringed, the words sounded whiny even to her own ears, she could only imagine how it must have
sounded to Xena. Her friend’s heavy sigh in response seemed to say it all. Gabrielle couldn't for the life of her figure out what her problem was lately,
nothing seemed to be going right for her these days. She couldn't write; all her quills kept breaking. The cost of replacing them all of the time was
growing ridiculous, or so said Xena when she forbid Gabrielle from ‘wasting’ any more money on them.
She had finally resorted to searching for any stray feathers along the roadside so that she could sharpen them into some of her beloved writing
implements. There just didn't seem to be as many loose feathers lying about as usual. And most of the ones that were...were damaged or covered
in...some form of standard roadway style excrement or another. She wasn't quite that desperate yet and so had only managed to find two that were
suitable for use. They didn't seem to last any longer than the other bought ones had unfortunately.
Then this morning, she had spilled her bottle of ink all over her scrolls and their foodstuffs when she had taken it out of Argo's saddle bags. Xena
hadn't been impressed. And to make matters worse, she couldn't even compose stories in her head and tell them to Xena! She just couldn't seem to
concentrate, kept tripping over her own two feet every few minutes, landing in miscellaneous mud puddles from the recent storms and even an odd
pile of...standard roadway excrement or two along the way. And every time she opened her mouth--another whine seemed to escape despite her
best efforts otherwise. At this rate she'd be lucky if Xena didn't bean her over the head and leave her to sulk beside the road. The Warrior Princess
wasn't really well known for her patience. And the older woman had been having her own share of troubles distracting her and wearing on her
patience as well.
"I'm sorry Xena, I don't mean to whine, I just... Well, I haven't had the best week, you know? I thought for sure after we ditched Joxer I‘d be in a
better mood but--" and promptly found herself once more face first in one of the bountiful mud puddles.
"I know, Gabrielle," Xena forced a tight smile for the bard. Urging Argo to walk a bit faster she mumbled, "believe me, I know. If I didn't know better
I'd swear I *was* still traveling with Joxer," under her breath. Gabrielle's sigh told her she hadn't said it as quietly as she'd thought. In apology she
answered the bard’s question as patiently as she could manage. For the sixth time that hour.
"I have a...personal...question to ask Dite, Gabrielle. It won't take long and then we can be on our way again." A sudden unexpected move from her
'trusty steed' resulted in Xena landing unceremoniously on her backside in the mud puddle beside Gabrielle.
Xena glared at her horse, gingerly picking herself up and warily approaching the now placid looking animal happily munching on her bit. Cautiously she
mounted once more, careful of her bruised backside as she settled in. Nudging Argo forward she muttered, “I don’t know what has gotten into this
stupid horse lately,” sotto voce to Gabrielle. “Makes me almost wish Joxer was here, bumbling inept fool that he is, he does have a way with animals,
you do have to admit there‘s one thing he‘s useful for.” Gabrielle nodded and quickly bit back a smirk as Xena once more joined her in the puddle.
Slamming her fists to the earth in frustration, Xena growled, splashing the bard and herself afresh with the odorous slime. Wisely, Gabrielle decided to
hold her peace as her friend lurched to her feet and stomped to her recalcitrant horse, roughly grabbing the reigns and leading her quickly down the
road on foot.
Damn this was getting old.
*^*
Why were they here again? What could Xena possibly have to talk to *Dite* about?! It’s not like they had much in common...the Warrior princess
and the Goddess of Love...chatting? The mind boggled. Xena insisted she had a question only Aphrodite could answer but I mean...about what?!
What was so important that she couldn’t discuss it with her best friend...but could with Aphrodite? Gabrielle sighed, shook her head in disgust. Not
only was Xena ‘talking’ with one of the enemy but she had left her in Dite’s office while they went off for a private chat in another of Dite’s
rooms...one of the soundproofed ones. “Hmph!” How was she supposed to listen in and find out what was going on with her friend if they were going
to be so darned sneaky about it? And as if that wasn’t enough she had left her here...with all of the...pink. Pink, pink, pink. Everywhere she looked
was varying shades of pink or...gold?
Was that? It was. A light sort of creamy golden colored feather...with threads of shiny silver, and a darker honey colored gold running through it was
laying beside the open scroll on Aphrodite's desk. She edged closer and spotted a small crystal vase holding several more of the unusual quills, some
more silver than the varying shades of gold--they were breathtaking! Each one was slightly different from the others and they were so beautiful and
bright. She reached out a finger and traced along the lengths of each, one by one. They were so soft; she had never felt the like! They gave off
such a feeling of warmth, of peace and she felt better just for the touch of them. Truthfully they made her feel like she was wrapped safe and snug
in a pair of strong loving arms. It was wonderful! She wondered why they felt like this, how they could, but then rationalized that they were too
perfect to be anything but made by a god, so what did she expect.
"Gabrielle, I'm done here, let's go. I want to get to Java by nightfall! The weather’s starting to cool and I have this weird craving for that warm brew
they make there," came Xena's voice calling her attention from the desktop as the warrior passed by the door to Dite's office.
"Coming, Xena!" She looked back at the desk, head tilted, considering.
'Must be because Dite is Love that they feel like this... Hmm. I bet these quills won't break; I honestly can't see Dite making anything this perfect
and it not be made to last. I really shouldn't...' She had to have these quills, just think of all the wonderful stories she could write with such fine
implements of her craft! She nodded to herself. 'Yes, this would be a good thing in the long run, now to leave Dite an offering. A thanks of sorts...'
She ignored the little voice screaming that she shouldn't take them, she should wait and ASK Aphrodite if she could have one. She certainly shouldn't
take ALL of them. But...she so wanted them, she had never seen anything so beautiful before in her life and it wasn't like Dite couldn't just zap up
more, right? 'Right,' she told herself firmly and placing a suitable offering on the table in their stead, she swept them carefully into her shoulder bag
and left to join Xena. Again, she ignored the warning voice telling her to put them back and retrieve the offering.
She really shouldn't have. She *really* shouldn't have, but the thought of how much she wanted those quills had grabbed hold and refused to leave.
And it didn't even have anything to do with the invisible, suddenly wide-eyed and nervous deity that had been following her so relentlessly for
several days. As she left with the pilfered items, the young god’s eyes narrowed and a knowing chuckle filled the air. Aunt Dite was going to be so
pissed! This was too perfect! Not even all he had done could compare to the punishment an outraged love goddess was about to inflict. 'Couldn't
happen to a 'nicer' mortal,' he thought maliciously.
He flashed out as silently as he had entered, wisely deciding that he was almost done for today. He’d only follow the pair until they were out of
town, it wouldn't do to be around the temple of love, or the two doomed women, when his aunt discovered the missing items--he didn't want to
catch the blame for this one! Spending the next decade as an earth worm, right after he and Cupie had actually managed to hook up, couple-like,
was not something he wanted now, thanks.
He paused. Okay, so it was never something he *wanted*, but it was something he really, really, *really* didn't want now! It had taken too long for
Cupid to notice him for him to be willing to give it up just to see the look on Aphrodite's face when she discovered the loss from her desk...and
the...addition...to it too.
~*~
Ares looked up at the Flash that lit his temple and nodded a greeting to his nephew. "Strife. How goes that special project I gave you?" His lips
twitched, amused and pleased at the sound of his nephew’s infectious giggling. Not his manic, designed to strike fear into the heart of the bravest
mortal giggle, but his genuine humor, happy with life and pleased with a job well done, full out belly laughter. "I take it that it went well then," he
asked dryly.
"Oh, Unc, you shoulda seen it! I have been having a blast! Shoulda seen them--they don't know what to make of it all. Xena's about ready let
Blondie have it for all the whining and the bard; she's about ready to snap. It's great! OH! OH! And wait till you hear this! Things are about to get
really interesting. You know how Aunt Dite keeps a supply of quills from you and your kids? How she only uses them when she needs to write,
refuses to use any other, like ever?"
"Hmm-hm. Of course I'm aware of that, Strife. Why?"
"Well...you know how protective of them she is, especially the ones from *you*, since you don't wear your wings all that often, so she can't just get
more? Well, Blondie saw her stash on her desk, when they were at her temple today. When Dite wasn't looking, off with Xena in another room, she
snagged some--all of *yours*--and left an offering in their place. She doesn’t realize that they're anything special--well not really. She was going on
and on to Xena about how beautiful they are when I left them." He waggled his eyebrows at his uncle teasingly. All the gods knew Ares wasn’t too
fond of his wings being called beautiful. ‘Beautiful’ didn’t fit his idea of how a big, tough war god should be perceived; to have such beautiful wings
might clue the wrong people in to the fact that he wasn’t...well, as downright ’evil and bad’ as he worked so hard to be seen as by the mortal public.
Ares gave him a halfhearted glare, winning another giggle. "Right. So she knows they ARE special, I mean she snagged them from a goddess, but she
just thinks they're something pretty that Aphrodite whipped up. She don't know they come from you *or* that they have any powers *or* how dang
important they are to Dite! She doesn't have a clue that she's about to face the wrath of a pissed off Love Goddess for taking them either! I
mean--Dite don't let *anyone* use those quills--not even Cupie! And the Gabster didn't just borrow them, she TOOK them. Without asking first. Just
left her an offering like they were for sale or something. Aunt Dite's going to be like, soooo pissed when she finds out! And it's not going to help the
Harpy's case any that the offering she left was, get this--fish."
Ares' eyes went wide. His jaw dropped and he just stared at his nephew in surprise. He hadn't thought that there was anyone left in all of Greece
who didn't know of Dite's aversion to fish anymore. Strife was right; Aphrodite really was attached to his feathers for her quill’s--that’s why he had
given her a few in the first place. To replace them with...fish... If Gabrielle had any sense locked up in her puny little mortal mind whatsoever she
would start running now and not look back.
"Fish? Really? How...interesting. Couldn't happen to a more deserving person." A slow, sly smile formed and was matched by his nephew. Aphrodite
on a rip would wrap up their planned first stage of the punishing/torment of the bard and warrior princess nicely. They had hurt Ares' lover one to
many times of late, he wasn't prepared to look the other way anymore, no matter how tenderhearted Joxer was. A duet of satisfied laughter, with a
more than slightly wicked edge, sounded throughout the hall for quite some time to come.
Fin~