neutral_omens | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Date: May 1, 2000
Setting: The Manor grounds
Status: Public
Summary: The new year dawns for the pagan calendar, and you know what that means...

Hermes had been gathering wood all day, depositing it in a large pile in a very clear spot on the rolling lawns. He'd gotten up very early, and had spent most of the morning making little flyers. They were on plain white paper, decorated with a box of crayola markers that he'd produced*; still, Hermes was rather a good hand at doodling (he inherited some art in his blood from Apollo), and soon flyers were posted in the most commonly frequented places of the manor. The godling made it all the more mysterious and fun by simply disappearing the flyers off to their appointed place as he finished them. So he didn't even have to leave his room.

There will be a bonfire starting
at dusk to celebrate the new year.
Please come! There will be music
and other fun things!

All the rest of the day, Hermes was outside, running around with Dog and whatever other creatures were outside, and frolicking about the grounds, laughing and generally having what grown-ups would call 'way too much fun'.

As the sun was setting, he lay on the grass to watch it, hands behind his head. Sunsets always reminded him of his brother, and thus made him a bit serious.

"Someday we'll celebrate the new year in Hawai'i," he said, speaking to Apollo, Eros and Dionysus in the manner that mortals spoke to dead or far-away loved ones. "We'll have a big luau with drums and dancing and lots of fun...someday, I promise."

______________________________
*Unlike most people who could just make things appear from thin air, Hermes literally teleported them from somewhere else. He was the god of thieves, after all.

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One of the things Wednesday liked most about the modern era was the tradition of getting absolutely shit-faced at the New Year. Or any time of year for that matter.

Inebriation was a cause he could stand fully behind.

So, it was no surprise when he meandered out as the sun set, already far along in his cups. It was May Day, godsdammit, and what better way to celebrate than with a bonfire, music and a large quantity of booze.

He'd seen the fliers, of course. They had sort of become omnipresent. So, with a drink in his hand he walked over to the youth lying in the grass.

"Happy New Year, son," he said, louder than was probably necessary. "And who are you? I never was good with you Greeks."

Hermes looked up and, knowing from expirience that the man was drunk as a skunk, bounced up to his feet and bowed.

"Hermes, god of thieves," he said proudly. Today he was wearing his winged sandals, as well as a rather light tunic (England was never warm enough to go naked when one was outside). "And who are you?" he asked curiously, smiling. "Another Asgardian?"

Wednesday tipped his glass to the youth. "God of theives, eh? Well, you're my kind of god, then. Give me a no-good cheater and sneak-theif any day. And yes, I am part of the Aesir. I have many names, but right now I'm going by Wednesday. Grimnir Wednesday. You must have met my bastard blood-brother, Loki, though. I bet you two got along just fine. His fingers were always sticky, too. In fact, he has been known to steal the hair off of a woman's head."

Wednesday looked around the lawn, nodding approvingly at the pile of wood. "Its been a while since I partook in a good bonfire. Just watch out that Loki doesn't get anywhere near it. He's a pit of a pyro."

"Hi!" said Luna cheerily as she approached the duo on the front lawn. Then her expression soured (if it could be called that - compared to, ~~Severus Snape~~well, practically anyone having a bad day, she still looked positively cheery, if not a little spacey) a little when she made out who the larger one was. "Hi ...Hermes, right?" Luna turned to Hermes with a smile. "I heard there'd be a celebration of sorts here today? Is that right?"

Horus had watched with vauge interest as Hermes had played outside, he could tell that he was a good, and he looked vaguely familiar besides. He heard the quiet promise and felt a little sad, apparently this new god was alone, too. Horus had friends once...for a moment he tried to remember them, remember what their names had been before they changed them and became Jaquel and Ibis...but the memories were too jumbled and confused, they made his head hurt. Instead he turned his attention the unlit bonfire that had been prepared and wondered what it was for.

Hermes giggled, blushing at the complimentary words. "Wednesday...Then you must be Odin," he deduced. "I have met Loki. Is he well?" his pale brows knitted in concern, "When I met him he looked very wan."

"It is indeed!" he said. "Today is the first day of the new year, and it's tradition to have a fire, and dancing, and music--oh yes, music!" he materialised a lyre and plucked the strings fondly. "If you play anything don't be hesitant about it!" He looked so happy.

"Oh dear. Well, I've only ever learnt to play a little bit of a tune on the piano, and well, I might be a little rusty from disuse." said Luna, laughing a little, caught up in Hermes's enthusiasm.

"How are you with rhythm?" he asked, impossibly blue eyes sparkling now that he was really in the swing of things. In the back of his mind he wondered if anyone else was coming. He hoped so.

Bored, Crowley wandered outside, slightly intrigued by the fliers. He hadn't attended a good pagan festival in a while and it might prove to be entertaining, provided he stayed well away from the bonfire.

Unfortunately, the crowd who'd arrived so far kind of sucked. There was the crying, phone-stealing kid with the snakes, the spacey blonde, Odin, and the mangy hawk boy. Oh well. If it was awful he could always leave.

Hermes hadn't noticed Horus' presence, but Crowley's made him turn and bristle in instinct before he calmed, and even managed to give the demon a genuine smile.

~"Welcome,"~ he said quietly, looking more god-like now. His skin shimmered bluish-silverish, and his body had a sort of glow to it, which especially showed now that the purple light of dusk was upon the world. ~"Melantha and Phaedra are off playing, if you'd like to join them."~ Spring was a time for play, so the offer--to Hermes at least--didn't seem all that odd. Indeed, the only reason Hermes wasn't running around and rolling in the grass was because he had to play host.

"Rhythm? Is that like drums and things? If it is I guess I'm quite alright. I like jazz and stuff, and syncopation's fun as well."

"I'll go say hi," said Crowley dryly, "but I'm really not the frolicking type." He wasn't too surprised by the glowing skin. The kid was some sort of god after all. With a brief nod, he wandered in the direction Hermes had indicated in order to talk to the snakes.

Ellie had been debating attending the celebration since the flyers started showing up.

She had lost most of her edginess about being seen; a good many people now knew she was at the Manor and there'd been no untoward incidents yet. Still, this party was outside, at night, and John's recent misadventure had reminded her that she had reason to be cautious, especially outside the confines of the Manor proper. Just because Beelzebub or Triskelle or their ilk hadn't appeared to haul her in for interrogation was no guarantee they never would, and even if Adam could prevent her actual capture, he probably wouldn't appreciate the ruckus it would cause. So she'd waited until the last minute to make up her mind.

It was the promise of music (and perhaps dancing?) more than anything that finally drew her out to the site, where she was relieved to see Odin and a slender silhouette a bit further off that she was fairly certain was Crowley. The slightly spacey young girl she'd seen the night Mictain had Fallen was only a young witch, not much help if the worst should happen, but no real threat either. Sweet Hermes had his godly mojo working, too, by the looks of him. She should be safe enough.

"Good evening," she called as she strolled toward the wood heap. "Lovely night for a bonfire."

Hermes lit up in a smile when he saw her, running across the grass and attacking her with a hug. "Miss Ellie!" he cried, "Welcome! I'm so glad you could come!"

Looking around one last time, he decided that he couldn't wait any longer, and went over to the torch he'd made to light the fire, tugging it from the soft ground to light the end with a snap of his fingers. He seemed delighted that he'd been able to, but made no comment and touched the flames to the tinder at the bottom of the pile. It went up in wonderful moments, crawling and dancing up the mountain of wood.

Hermes laughed giddily. "Three cheers for spring!"

Wednesday clapped the young god on the shoulder. "Odin, Wednesday, Grimnir, High, anything will do. As for that good-for-nothing brother of mine, I assume he's well enough. He always manages to get himself in scrapes of varying seriousness, but it always turns out OK in the end."

Ellie laughed and hugged him back, then watched the lighting of the fire with vast amusement. "Hooray for our team," she said wryly, as though the odd assortment of beings gathered here could ever constitute any sort of cohesive unit. "What are you on, honey, and where can I get some?"

The lighting of the bonfire caught Crowley's attention and he turned to see Ellie by the light of the flickering flames. Hissing some charming goodbyes to the snakes, he edged around the pyre until he was at her side.

"Some evening, huh?"

Ellie turned to smile at the other demon. He looked more inscrutable than ever with his dark glasses in the fading light of dusk, with the firelight reflecting off the lenses and dancing softly over his black-clad form. "It should be a beautiful night. I'm surprised Aziraphale isn't out here to enjoy it."

Crowley shrugged casually, looking into shadows. "He's probably working or something. I can't imagine that he's too keen on big fires now, anyway..."

"Of course," Ellie murmured, feeling stupid.

To cover her embarrassment, she dropped down on the soft grass and patted the spot next to her invitingly. "Well, all the same, it should be a nice time. I can't remember the last time I went to something like this. If I ever have..." Demons, lesser gods and wizards hadn't often mixed openly in the past, as far as she could remember.

Sitting gracefully on the ground next to her, Crowley stared into the heart of the fire, his arms wrapped around his knees.

"It has been a while. I wonder if the kid's going to go all the way or if we're just out here to toast marshmallows."

"He's Greek," Ellie said drily, "I don't think they had marshmallows back in his heyday. The bonfire's probably just the beginning." She smiled mischievously, not at all averse to the prospect of carrying this celebration to its logical conclusion. There were some damn fine specimens out here that really deserved to be shown off to their full advantage.

The melody of a lyre floated through the air, and Hermes sat down on Ellie's other side, smiling as he plucked the strings in a soft little song, the fire reflecting in his eyes.

"Does anyone play any instruments, besides me? Or dance?" He looked at Ellie, the only person here he actually felt comfortable with. "Or are we all too grown up for that?" The tone was playfully mocking.

"Hermes, darling," Ellie answered in a similarly facetious, haughty tone, "my sisters and I were devising dances that would scorch your pretty eyebrows off when no human had yet laid eyes on the land that became Greece. I don't play any instrument that would be appropriate here, though."

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