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Hecate roared, clenching her pillow in her teeth. She wanted to scream from the pain, but unfortunately there was a small chance someone might hear her and come running to help—which was not needed. Titania growled softly again, pressing herself harder into the sweat-soaked bedding. She was shaking, her head buzzing. Conflicting animal urges mixed inside her, and the woman didn’t know what to do.
She hadn’t realized right away that this nightmare was approaching. After sealing the Titan of Time there had been so much work that the goddess of crossroads had completely forgotten her own needs. She sensed something was wrong while speaking with Melinoë. Then Hecate quickly told her student not to bother her and ran off to her tent far away.
The woman simply couldn’t put the girl in danger, because during the rut her thoughts were too chaotic, guided more by instinct than reason. The goddess of crossroads only hoped that Melinoë wouldn’t try to check on her mentor, because otherwise… otherwise Hecate would never forgive herself.
After that clash with Kronos in the distant, distant past, her body had been badly damaged. It was unclear what had happened, but a period that used to be pleasant and relaxing had turned into a real horror with pain and rapidly shifting urges—from the desire to mark someone to the urge to tear the aching organ out of herself.
Titania could already feel herself slowly losing her grip on reality, and didn’t even notice when an outsider entered her tent.
“My gods. Melinoë looked worried, of course, but I didn’t think the reason was your nature.”
Angustias’s voice sounded. Hecate, trembling slowly, opened her eyes and looked at the visitor with a hazy gaze. In her hands was a bag filled with various things.
“Wha—”
The woman wanted to ask something, but only a growl came from her throat. The witch rolled her eyes and calmly approached Titania’s bed. She slowly sat down beside the makeshift cot, placing the bag nearby. The goddess of crossroads tried to push the uninvited guest away, but only managed to weakly drag a hand across Angustias’s body.
The woman quickly took Hecate by the jaw, lifting her face.
“If you keep clenching your jaw like that, you’ll break your fangs. They’ll grow back, of course, but it’ll add more pain.”
Titania tried to growl something else, but the witch pressed harder on her jaw, forcing it open. Seconds later, the goddess of crossroads felt a strange object in her mouth that settled comfortably between her teeth.
“Bite. This is one of the amulets I got from the south. They’re often used in various… unpleasant situations.”
Angustias said this while continuing to rummage through her bag for something. A minute later she pulled out a northern set of clothes—apparently a nightgown. Carefully but quickly, the witch sat Hecate up on the cot and removed her sweat-soaked clothing. When the rut began, Titania had simply forgotten to take it off, and the fabric had been rubbing almost painfully. Seconds later, the northern garment was on her, surprisingly cool.
“It’s so hot here, and I wasn’t going to give up my habits. I had to soak a couple of outfits in special solutions to cool them. This will at least calm your fever a little.”
The goddess of crossroads removed the amulet and rasped:
“But it’s my size.”
She remembered perfectly well that she was much larger than her companion, like all the Titans. The woman only shrugged.
“I thought maybe someday you’d stay overnight at my house. Though it’s more likely it’ll rain on your Olympus than that will happen.”
The witch answered the sufferer’s question. After that, with quick movements, she removed the wet bedding and replaced it with cleaner linens from her bag. Hecate exhaled, continuing to clamp the strange, bone-like amulet in her teeth, and fell onto the clean pillow. The coolness and the smell of clean clothes felt so good.
Angustias pulled out another item and a small bottle. She began quickly pouring something into the object.
“It’s amazing that an ancient being like you never figured out how to deal with all this.”
The witch said this quietly, closing the item. Titania narrowed her eyes slightly and realized it was one of the heating pads the woman had once used when going to bathe in one of the crossroads lakes. She quickly lifted Hecate’s nightgown, slid the heating pad under her stomach, and lowered the fabric again.
“And this is for your pain.”
she said. With a trembling hand, the woman pulled the amulet from her mouth and murmured softly:
“How… why are you here?”
Angustias raised an eyebrow, pausing in her rummaging.
“Did you think that running off somewhere, breathing hard and holding your stomach, would make everyone pretend that was normal? Melinoë nearly burst into my house, worried, babbling that you were dying. Putting together your scent lately and your symptoms, I immediately understood what had happened.”
She took a jar from her bag, opened it, and set it on the nearest table.
“To at least lessen, as I understand it, the acquired scent of gold. I think it’s causing part of the pain, since it isn’t yours.”
After that, the witch placed a hand on the choker at her neck—the kind northern omegas usually wore to hide their scent—then removed it and tossed it into the bag. Hecate immediately put the amulet back between her teeth so the Moirai forbid she might accidentally bite her companion. Angustias lay down on Titania’s cot and arranged her more comfortably against herself. She rested a hand on her hair, slowly stroking it.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you had disruptions with this? It’s basically one of the symptoms of your injury. Do you realize this is slowing your recovery?”
the witch asked, pulling the woman closer. She removed the amulet from her mouth again, pressing her nose to Angustias’s neck and breathing in the pleasant scent of herbs.
“This… isn’t a topic I’d like to discuss with you. Besides, I’ve somehow gotten used to the pain.”
she answered quietly in a hoarse voice. Angustias only clicked her tongue in annoyance.
“Getting used to the pain doesn’t mean the situation will improve or become normal. Gods, why are you alphas so proud?”
she said with a heavy sigh. Hecate only huffed in response, closing her eyes.
“You do realize you put yourself in danger. What if my rut had been worse and not so painful? What if I’d attacked you and…”
She clenched the witch’s dress in her hands. The other woman only shrugged.
“Well, then I’d have a more respectable reason to grumble at you.”
Angustias replied calmly, closing her eyes as well. Titania only snorted.
“That sounds even worse than me getting used to the pain.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
the woman huffed. After that, they fell silent. The witch because she was trying to rethink the plan for Hecate’s further treatment, and the goddess of crossroads because the pain had receded a little and she could finally relax.