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Zagreus was no stranger to the feel of being reborn in the Styx, but having experienced it multiple times didn’t make it any less pleasant. As always, he struggled to get his bearings under the crimson waters, attempting to swim up to the surface and out, just as he always did—
Zagreus froze as he felt a hand close around his own in the water. Even as he felt himself being pulled out, he heard the familiar peal of a deep-sounding bell.
…It can’t be… he mused.
But, sure enough, as he broke the surface, Zagreus saw Thanatos pulling him out of the water. As always, Thanatos’s expression was deadpan (a most befitting term for Death himself, Zagreus mused), and yet, he couldn’t fully conceal the concern in his eyes.
Zagreus cast a glance behind Thanatos; Hypnos, Thanatos’s fraternal twin, was sound asleep on his couch, and Zagreus had to wonder whether he truly had fallen asleep or was merely looking the other way while his brother intervened.
“Overstepping your bounds a bit, aren’t you, Mate?” Zagreus intoned, once he’d caught his breath. “You’re supposed to claim the souls of the dead, not hasten them to rebirth.”
“Perhaps,” Thanatos replied. “But you overstepped your bounds long before I did.” Nevertheless, he cast a glance over his shoulder, making sure no one else was nearby.
Aside from the sleeping Hypnos, only Dusa was around, and she was looking elsewhere, focused on her cleaning; if she was aware of Thanatos pulling Zagreus out of the Styx, she wasn’t making it obvious.
“…You can trust Dusa,” Zagreus assured him, sensing his thoughts.
“Mother doesn’t think too much of her.”
Zagreus didn’t want to be the one to say that Nyx couldn’t be right about everything, and he certainly wasn’t going to say it in front of one of her favorite sons, at that.
“Maybe so, but Dusa knows when to be discreet,” Zagreus said, after thinking about what to say. “Look, forget about her for a moment, Than… Why are you doing this? Helping me out there is one thing, but here… If Father should see…”
“He isn’t here,” Thanatos pointed out. He paused. “I can assume that’s the reason why you are.”
Zagreus grunted. Of course, that was, indeed, why he was here—his father had cut off his escape at the surface yet again with deadly force.
“Why do you keep trying when you keep obtaining the same results?” Thanatos asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
“Same reason why you keep helping me, even though you shouldn’t,” Zagreus replied, managing a smirk. “We’ve just got to. No other explanation for it.”
Thanatos nodded and looked away for a moment.
“It’s odd,” he commented. “There is a part of me that wishes that you succeed, for your own satisfaction and happiness. But there is a part of me that wishes that you will continue to fail, so that you will not leave.”
“I’d be lying if I said I won’t miss you if I do succeed,” Zagreus admitted. “And I can’t deny that I appreciate your aid, when you’re able to give it. I know that Death doesn’t forge bonds easily—I don’t take this for granted.”
“There are few who wish to forge bonds with me, due to the nature of my work,” Thanatos reminded him. “The mortals don’t build temples to honor me as they do for the Olympians—they fear me and wish for me to stay away. And even the other gods look upon me with disdain. I don’t take you for granted, either.”
“…And that’s why you resent the fact that I want to leave,” Zagreus realized. “Look, Than… It’s not to get away from you—far from it.”
“I know,” Thanatos admitted. “But it doesn’t change how I feel about you leaving.”
“Fair enough, Mate,” Zagreus replied. “But you’re able to travel on the surface, right?”
“In the course of my duties, yes,” Thanatos agreed.
“That’s good enough. If I ever do make it out of here… I’ll be expecting you to look me up.”
A ghost of a smile crossed Death’s face—if only for an instant.
“If you insist,” he said. “And now, I had best leave before your Lord Father returns here and sees what I’ve done.” He paused once more before leaving. “See you out there soon, Zagreus.”
“See you soon,” the prince echoed.
With that, Thanatos vanished.
Zagreus sighed to himself; indeed, he would miss Thanatos the most if he ever succeeded in leaving, but the knowledge that Thanatos would still be able to see him on the surface certainly softened the blow.
But, before that, he would have to successfully break away and make his escape on the surface.
It would soon be time to try another attempt.