Chapter Text
Hermes was out of breath; he was flying as fast as he could across the skies, leading towards Olympus. Zeus had given him last-minute messages to deliver, again, apology letters or something. He didn’t really care about the king's drama anymore. All he knew was that he was late for his monthly meeting with his brothers. He wasn’t too far away, though, as he could see Dionysus' house take shape across the horizon.
Once they landed in front of the door, the god took a moment to steady their breathing, readjust their hair and clothes and then knocked on the door. The god of wine opened; he was nearly as broad as the entrance, draped with a purple chiton and a panther skin on his shoulder, his hair was messy with grapevines and leaves, and a smile formed on his face as he recognised his brother.
“Hermes! You came, I thought you’d forgotten”, he enthusiastically exclaimed, taking his sibling in a warm hug. “Come on in, Apollo and I just sat down in the living room.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world Thightny”, they teased. “Though, isn't Ares there yet?”
“Nah, you know how he is, he’ll be there in an hour or so”, he shrugged.
As the messenger entered, Dionysus closed the door and led them to this beautiful dome-shaped living area. Half of it was connected to the rest of the house through carved arch doors that led to different rooms, while the other half opened onto a beautiful, flowered garden. His brother really had a green thumb; he wondered if his sibling had asked Demeter for advice. At the center of the room stood a sort of round couch where Apollo sat, with a coffee table in the middle.
“What got you late this time, little brother?” Apollo casually teased with a grin, facing both of his siblings from the other side of the room. The sun god had their blond, slightly curled hair, in a messy bun attached by a gold ornament representing the star, and they were softly playing their signature lyre.
“Our father’s newest affair!” The trickster exclaimed with false enthusiasm, “With a certain… eh… what was her name again…” He paused for a moment, “Ah, yes, Alcmene” He resolved, rolling his eyes.
Apollo sighed and answered him with an all too knowing look. With how many affairs Zeus had had, they couldn’t be bothered to be surprised anymore.
“And how is Hera taking it?” hesitantly asked Dionysus as the two younger siblings sat down next to their older one. “Not good, I imagine.” They completed.
“Well…” the messenger hesitated, “she sent two giant snakes… But eh, the kid beat them up!” he applauded.
“Wait, I think I heard about it”, Apollo intervened, remembering an earlier conversation with his father. “Zeus came up to me, offended that I would ‘let one of my prophets spread this information’” they said, mimicking the king’s voice.
Hermes giggled, “Well, this prophet of yours sure seems like fun”
***
During their conversation, Hermes had implored Apollo to tell him where this seer lived so he could pay him a little visit. Their brother had eventually agreed to do so, but not before the messenger swore not to harm the mortal. So that was where he was heading now, Thebes, city of the descendants of Cadmus and the Spartoi, those born from dragon’s teeth.
When he saw the city’s walls, Hermes discreetly flew down and disguised himself as a shepherd. He hid the wings on his head and calves, removed their helmet, and instead dressed in more humble clothes fitting their persona. Once he entered the city, he decided to wander around the central place for a bit, looking at the shops’ stands, before asking for directions.
A man by the name of Amphitryon answered them. He indicated that the home he was searching for was located near the town's outer walls. It was a small, modest house with a small stone well outside, along with a pen for the cattle to rest at night. Furthermore, it was said to have a beautiful, well-maintained garden filled with a variety of herbs and flowers, many of which attracted birds.
The fellow also mentioned its proximity to the temple of Apollo, whom he said was recognizable from its two statues of the god guarding the entrance, one holding a lyre, representing the joyful and protective side of the deity and the other a bow, representing his wrathful side.
With that in mind, the trickster headed outside once again, crossing houses and citizens, some more curious than others, as Hermes caught some of them giving him interested looks. Maybe his disguise wasn’t as good as he thought. They tried to ignore the looks and act nonchalant as they quickly crossed the city’s entrance.
He checked that no one was in sight and decided to change his appearance a bit again; he traded his normally neck-length hazelnut-brown curly hair for short, messy black hair, and on his eternal youthful face, made some wrinkles appear. They also swap their previously chosen clothes for some resembling the ones they’d seen in the city. He supposed he might have been slightly out of fashion, which was truly unacceptable.
When the messenger arrived at what he assumed was Tiresias’ house, he spotted cows roaming around and no one in sight. Most of the herd was gathered in the same area, grazing or resting in the sun. But they noticed two young cows walking away from the group; they’d be perfect for their plan. He summoned ropes and headed in the direction of the animals, tying the cords loosely around their necks. He then guided them to the edge of the forest and attached them to a tree so they wouldn’t escape. On their way back to the seer’s home, the god took care to erase the animals’ tracks. There was no way he was going to get caught because of them this time.
As the night started to fall, Hermes noticed a man leaving the house. He was wearing a dark, nearly black, birrus with the hood on, but despite that, the god could still deduce the mortal’s long, silk-like white hair and his eyes that were covered by bandages. He was walking towards the pen with the help of a wooden staff, calling back his cattle, counting them as they crossed the entrance. When he felt no more cows were coming back, he frowned, and the trickster heard him mumble to himself, “Where are they?”, irritation in his voice.
Hermes took that opportunity to jump in and asked, “Did you lose something?”
The prophet turned his head in the god’s direction, clearly surprised to hear someone’s voice. “Two of my cows, if you must know…”, he answered hesitantly, “and might I know who you are?” he added, with a hint of suspicion.
“I am but a humble shepherd who was heading to the town when I heard you”, they replied with a formal tone, hoping to lower the seer's doubts. They felt Tiresias observing them through the fabric of his bandages; on one hand, it was disturbing, not being able to tell what he was feeling, but on the other hand, the god was relieved that the prophet couldn’t see his face. He wasn’t going to get caught already, was he?
At this point, Tiresias was practically certain that the being standing in front of him was of divine origin, but considering his history with the gods, and that, for some reason, this one didn’t seem to want to hurt him, so he decided to entertain the idea that he was oblivious to it all.
“Then might you consider helping me find them?” he inquired, imitating the god’s tone.
“Of course, what could I do to aid you?” replied the god, relieved that his cover hadn’t been blown.
“You could guide me through the fields and tell me about any signs from birds that you would see”, simply replied the Theban, stretching his arm in invitation.
The god took the seer’s arm in his, and they started walking side by side, arm in arm. Tiresias thought about this a bit more; the deity didn’t say anything to betray his identity, and appeared to be a pretty good liar, maybe he was even responsible for his cows being missing. With all of that in mind, the most plausible answer was that this god was Hermes, the messenger, and well-known trickster.
“Are any birds around?” The prophet inquired.
Hermes looked around for any signs of feathered creatures, “Oh, there! An eagle is flying from our left to our right.”
“Hummm… No, it isn’t linked to my cattle.”
They continued walking side by side; maybe this prophet wasn't as good as Apollo mad him out to be. “A crow is sitting in a nearby tree,” The god proposed. “It’s looking up and down.”
“Hum, a crow looking up towards the skies and then down on the ground…” he started, his face contemplative. “Yes, yes, that’s interesting”
“Oh really," the god commented, a little doubtful, "what’s it saying?”
“That crow is swearing by both Heaven and Earth that I could get my cattle back…” he started, “if you were willing to cooperate, Lord Hermes.”
The trickster was speechless; the seer couldn't possibly deduce their identity and that they were the thief just from that bird nodding? The god hadn't left any traces, had he? Was it something he had said? It didn't matter, he wasn't gonna lat a mortal throw him of.
"Well", he giggled, "my brother was right, you're quite good at this darling~"
Tiresias' face was completely neutral, simply waiting for what the god would do next. This made Hermes wiggle uncomfortably, people would usually smile or chuckle or have any sorts of reaction, but no, he really just stated there. How interesting, he thought.
"I out to go now, so", he started, summoning the caduceus from his necklace. The god teleported both of them back to the house and then the cattle. "Here you go", they exclaimed, handing out the rope that attached the cows. And as soon as Tiresias took it, the god had disappeared.
"That was weird", Tiresias mumbled, leading the two remaining cows inside.
***
“Mom?” a soft voice asked. “Who was that?”
“No one important little star, just some lost shepherd”, he reassured her.
Despite what her mom was trying to make her believe, Manto knew better. She sighed, he still tried to protect her like when she was a kid; it was sweet but also getting a bit old, she knew her mother well enough to tell when he was lying.