Bonus Content - Pyri & Hermes

Hey everyone! The last of the 'ROs from another RO's POV' series is here, and we have Pyri from Hermes's. This one is set specifically in the part of FoA between the Chapter Five outing and the Chapter Eight fruit scene, and is best understood as being during Chapter Six. I had fun with these two; they're normally mostly being silly when they're spending time together onscreen, but they have their more serious moments as well.

Anyway, enough rambling. I hope you enjoy. :)

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Pyri hits the dirt, facefirst, and Hermes can’t help but laugh.

It’s not an uproarious one, but it’s no mere chuckle, either, burbling out from his chest in a rolling sound he rather likes. He’s never understood the point of being self-conscious of the way he expresses his joy, which is perhaps one of many reasons why he likes them so much.

They feel more joy than perhaps anyone he’s ever known, and at things other people would find blasé or merely mildly pleasant.

And some things most people would hate, like falling flat on their face. They roll over, laughing just as much as he is even as they wipe soil and loose debris from their nose and chin.

“You know the taste of the dirt is different now?” they ask, looking up at him with a gap-toothed grin. “I’ve eaten enough of it to be pretty sure, between Leks and this stuff.”

‘This stuff,’ of course, being their continued efforts to learn some mechanism or another for flight. Unfortunately for them, they were not blessed with an obvious physiological method, as he and Alekto were, and they aren’t what anyone would call gifted at magic, making the process rather arduous.

Still, for the relatively short time they’ve been trying—been a deity to try—their progress isn’t bad. They can jet along the ground with their flames now, pushing their top ground movement speed to well above what the average god could muster. Not that ‘top ground movement speed’ is a priority for most gods, but he likes that about them, too.

“Oh yeah?” he asks. “Tastier or more gross?”

“I dunno,” they reply. “I think it’s more like mortal realm dirt than it used to be. Maybe I’m tasting nutrients?”

Hermes raises a brow. “I know you think Sunshine’s pretty great and all, Pyri, but I don’t think he’s managed to make this into mortal realm dirt just yet.”

He offers a hand down and they grasp it, levering themself up and hopping to their feet. He’s not normally one for dirt, but he doesn’t mind so much if they leave a smear or two behind on his arm. He has no plans to taste it, though.

“Maybe not yet, but I bet he will eventually. If he stays, I mean.” The second part of the thought sobers their expression. “Do you think he’ll stay?”

“What, with you here? I’m surprised he hasn’t fled already.” He grins broadly when their expression screws up into annoyance, amused by the little flickers of heatless flame that spark in the air around them.

“Hey. I’m serious, here.” He knew they were beforehand, but they fold their arms over their chest, and he has to concede that the slight frown they wear is genuinely a bit troubled by the question, not breaking in favor of humor nor amusement.

“I know. But I don’t have the answer to that, Red. It’s something you’d have to ask him.”

Of course, he has his suspicions. Suspicions that Dionysus might be coming around to living in the Underworld after all, and that the oblivious little faceplanting disaster in front of him might have more to do with that than they realize. He wouldn’t want to put pressure on them, or confuse them too soon.

After all, everything he has is conjecture, and if Sunshine’s not quite ready for that to be known or explored, Hermes isn’t going to force the issue. He’s not above nudging it, but he’d only ever did that if he thought it would actually be helping.

Pyri hums, the sound a little dissatisfied. “I don’t want to bother him,” they say, wrinkling their nose.

A vision flashes before Hermes’s eyes: Pyri awkwardly avoiding the subject, leaving Dionysus be because they’ve somehow convinced themself that they’re annoying to him specifically. Probably because of that stoic face of his, which of course is a cover for sheer awkwardness rather than annoyance or anything like that. Sunshine has the ‘strong and silent type’ thing going for him, and in this case, also working against him. They’d mentally circle each other and never bridge the gap.

Okay. Maybe he needs to interfere just a little bit.

“I don’t think you bother him,” he replies, rolling his eyes a little.

“You don’t?” They visibly perk up, but a skeptical frown sinks onto their face a second later. “How do you know figure?”

Hermes lifts a hand, rubbing his thumb along the curve of his eyebrow. “Well, he didn’t seem annoyed to be going on a picnic with you, right? He won the javelin contest and everything?”

“Well… yes.” Pyri visibly grapples with this counterargument. “But everyone loves that lot, and winning things. You’d tolerate someone you were annoyed by to show everyone how great you are.”

Hermes pinches the bridge of his knows. Sometimes being known is painful. Like a little stab in the chest, with the twist of complete frank innocence. A smile tugs at his lips, but he suppresses it as best he can. This is meant to be a ‘serious’ discussion, after all, even if he finds it a tad ridiculous.

“I would,” he admits, “but exactly how many similarities do you imagine Sunshine and I share? Didn’t you remark, to my face, about how different he was from me, and how neat it was that we managed to be friends anyway? Did I not then, as now, wonder if your admiring tone towards him was therefore some disparagement of my character?”

“Er… well, yes. But it’s not a disparagement! Two very different people can both be great, you know?” Pyri wears an expression of genuine concern at that, and he has to suppress a chuckle. It really is difficult to be mean to them. At least for any length of time.

“I know. And luckily for you, I also know I’m incredible. But the point is, the fact that I would do something is not a good argument that Dionysus would do it. And I’m telling you, he wouldn’t. He went with you because he likes being around you. If you’re going to decide anything about your relationship with him, you should work from that assumption, and not the one that he finds you annoying, okay?”

Their eyes find the ground, and they expel a gust of air. “It’s just… I’m not totally oblivious, you know? I know plenty of people think I’m annoying. And it… really hurts when someone says it to my face.”

Hermes frowns. There had been a few incidents like that, most notably one with Styx. He can understand that it might be starting to wear on their optimism, and the lack of any really obvious (to them) signals from Dionysus could be honestly a bit difficult to know what to do with.

“Hey, Red. I understand that. But it’s not like you to just hide when you might end up with a good friend instead. So… don’t start now, okay? So what if you’re not for some people? There are plenty more who love how you are. I love how you are. And I have the best taste, so who cares what anyone else thinks?”

Reaching out, he ruffles their hair. “And if you need to cry or yell or whatever because Sunshine turns out to be the wrong kind of person for you, I’ll be here. I won’t even tell him if you say mean things.”

That’s never going to happen, but if the offer can give them a little confidence back, he’ll make it. Easily.

Pyri grumbles a little, but their lips are twitching as they push his arm away from their warm, slightly-frizzy curls. “Yeah, yeah. Fine. I’ll… talk to him.”

“Good.”

“Eventually.”

“Less good, but sufficient, I suppose.”