True Heroism! The Olympian Way! Session 7. Period 3

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

For today's final, Hercules again directed the class into the Danger Shop.

"We have done many things, fought dragons, rescued kittens, designed outfits. But this class is also about the Olympian way, so today we go to the great deeds of Olympic heroes. And I don't mean those of Jesse Owens, whose deeds were that of legend as well."

He grinned as he gestured to what lay ahead of them. In front of the class was a big wooden door, the kind one would normally expect in front of a dungeon. But surely they'd done a dungeon already?

"Ahead of you lies the mighty labyrinth, that which Theseus conquered," Hercules said. "Ah, but you are thinking, 'Hercules, why not one of your own triumphs?'. Those I am saving for my fall class. This... this is a classic. You should be happy I did not pick Icarus! Though... Warren here would be at an unfair advantage, there." He laughed.

"The task is almost sheer elegance in its simplicity," Hercules said. "Get to the center of the labyrinth, where there is punch and pie."

He pressed open the doors to the labyrinth.

"Oh, and there is a minotaur in there. And some trolls. And a few goblins. Just to make it interesting."

He laughed, and gestured for the class to enter.

"I shall see you at the center!"

[ooc: OCD first, por favor Open class! Woo!]

Comments

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

Oh, there was slim chance of that.

But Raven was trying very very hard not to giggle.

And failing miserably.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

And now Warren was turning just as red as a few of his primaries seemed to be. He was technicolor, not deaf, after all.

"It's not really that funny, is it?"

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

"I have just never seen you look so colorful before," Raven said, trying to be as diplomatic as she could. "It is a very interesting look for you."

She was fairly certain she couldn't heal dye. Besides, it would turn the netherverse psychedelic for awhile.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

"I've looked worse," Warren decided, lifting his chin a little and giving his feathers an indignant ruffle.

Rainbow featherdust everywhere.

"Besides, a little color never hurt anybody, did it?"

Even he didn't sound like he was buying it.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

Raven took a step back. She did not want rainbow dust all over her lovely black clothing, thank you very much. (Except that Joni seemed to possess the ability to selectively shed white hairs on her black clothes, sigh.)

"How did this happen?" she had to ask. This is what overindulgence in mind-altering substances gets you, Warren! "It should grow out eventually, should it not? I am uncertain if bleach would be a healthy solution."

And most importantly: "Has Karla seen you yet?"

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

"Feathers don't work like that," Warren replied, about one grumble shy of a flat-out pout. "Hair grows out. Feathers fall out. Annually."

He was still living in the vain hope that the dye wasn't really, really permanent. But with the money that they'd had at their disposal to throw around on Wednesday night, of course they'd aimed for quality.

"I can't even remember what exactly led to this, but I haven't shown Karla yet. I'm kind of thinking maybe I'll just go into hiding in Kilimanjaro or something until this goes away, first."

He would never live it down.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

"You would make Karla very sad if you did such a thing," Raven scolded gently, though she knew he likely wasn't serious. "She may find some amusement in your appearance initially, but she loves you and will wish to soothe your pride." Once she stopped laughing.

"Perhaps her Craft can vanish the colors, or she may be able to find some sort of herbal wash that would remove the color without damaging your feathers," she said. "It would be safer than just pouring bleach on you."

Better smelling, too.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

"Yeah," Warren sighed. "I'm pretty sure bleach would completely ruin them, and I've been grounded more than enough already this month."

Infection. Pinfeathers. Panem. Having rainbow feathers that could still get him into the sky was better than most of the alternatives so far, this August. It was embarrassing, but it wasn't actually hurting anything, either.

And he was sure that it had probably been funny at the time.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

Raven didn't know what had happened in Panem -- she'd gotten the impression from Karla it had been bad, however -- but she did know how hard the infection had been on him.

"It is not wholly unattractive," she said soothingly. It was festive! Like he was going to a gay pride parade. "It is not what I would ever expect of you, so that is why I laughed. I apologize if I have hurt your feelings. And I do hope that you had an enjoyable time the other night and that you were not too ill afterward. Karla and I were preparing remedies to relieve your hangovers upon your return, if they were so needed."

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

Warren considered the apology for a moment, and then decided that he had too much on his plate right now already to add 'holding a grudge over laughter because I look ridiculous because I was an idiot,' to his list of priorities. He relaxed a little.

"I didn't," he offered. "I had to work pretty hard just to get drunk. A hangover the next day isn't really that much of a big deal. I slept it off."

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

"I imagine your ability to heal yourself would make that easier on you," Raven said. She'd never had a hangover herself, but she'd taken them from others more than once, so she knew how they felt. "How did Bobby and Tony feel the next morning?"

She was tempted to ask if they had rainbowed themselves as well, but she held her tongue.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

"They felt like..." Warren paused for a moment. How to even explain it? One had felt like he had a mouthful of feathers, and the other was freaking out because he couldn't find his shirt. "... Like two guys who just woke up in the nastiest hotel room in Madripoor."

So, probably not so great.

"We had to barricade the door shut that night. I have no idea how we wound up out there."

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

There were some things Raven was better off not know. Bobby and a mouthful of feathers was likely on the list. She wouldn't want to know just how the two had come together.

And if they were rainbow feathers or the usual white.

Her eyes widened at Warren's words. "I am very glad you are all right then," she said. "And Bobby and Tony as well." She made a note to check on Bobby just to make certain he was fine.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

Warren nodded a bit, shrugged, and then looked very interested in his toes.

"Tony called Mr. Rogers for a pick-up, so we got out of there safely and everything. I think it'll probably be a while before any of us do anything quite so stupid as that again."

Or until the next major trauma. Whichever came first.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

"I do not even know where Madripoor is," Raven said, searching her memory of the name and finding nothing familiar. "Is it far from here?"

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

"Wherever here is? I don't think so," Warren replied, with a small, slightly apologetic smile. Different realities, fine. He'd never heard of Gotham before coming here, it stood to reason that other people who shared places like New York might still not be aware of some names on the map that he took for granted. "In realities like mine, at least, it's near Singapore."

Hopefully Raven knew of Singapore.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

She'd studied the world of her mother's birth while growing up in Azarath, so she had a basic grasp of its history and geography. "That is on the other side of the planet, is it not?" she said.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

"We took a portal, I think," Warren replied, by way of explanation.

He totally couldn't fly that far, over the course of one night.

"To the Madripoor in, of all places, Mr. Rogers' reality."

The cooking teacher, not the friendly guy who wanted to be your neighbor.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

That Mr. Rogers probably wouldn't be hanging out in Madripoor. It'd be an entirely different kind of neighborhood.

"Well," Raven said, "I am merely glad, as I said, that you are all back and all right. And I am certain Karla will be eager to see you."

If she was mean she'd want to be there to see Karla's reaction.

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

"I still owe her a picnic," Warren noted, keeping a sigh out of his voice. He was already bracing himself for the inevitable howls of laughter. "She'll probably be seeing me soon enough."

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

It was the price you paid for drunken shenanigans, Warren. Next time he should douse Bobby with various sno-cone flavorings and see how he liked it.

"Enjoy your picnic," Raven said. "And do not feel too upset about your wings. They are lovely once you become accustomed to the surprise of seeing them that way."

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

Come to think of it, waking up with a sno-cone shoulder in his mouth the morning after would be slightly less weird than a mouthful of feathers. Maybe.

"Thanks, I guess," Warren replied, blushing just the slightest bit all over again. "I still think colors like this are better suited to tropical parrots, but so long as they're not hideous," grey, featherless, infected, infected, infected, "and they still work, I think I can live with it until it fades."

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[trigons_child]

"Birds often display such magnificently colorful plumage when they are attempting to attract a mate, do they not?" Raven said. What? She had to tease a little!

"Perhaps Karla was on your mind when you decided to have this done. She might be flattered to learn that." She wasn't suggesting Warren lie, of course, but it was a possibility, wasn't it?

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves/Prepare to Set Out

[wwiii]

Warren bit back the knee-jerk protest of 'I'm not a bird!' in favor of blushing a little more, scuffing a toe against the floor, and taking Raven's suggestion into consideration.

"... That sounds about as likely as any other theory I've managed to come up with to explain this," he admitted, finally.