Chapter Text
“Hypnos.”
The booming voice of Hades shouts out, muffled. Probably beckoning him awake. Fine, fine… five more minutes?
“Hypnos?” The Son of Hades shouts out, even louder this time. Okay. Fine. He stirred in his coat, mumbling sleepily, ignoring Zag’s footsteps like he always does.
Distantly, Hypnos can hear Thanatos’ grating voice. He tries to sigh out a response, because surely he’s just trying to help Hypnos keep his job. Still exhausted in his makeshift cocoon, he again hears his brother shout frantically, which immediately gets his eyes to open. He smacks his lips, ignoring the breeze and pulling his eye mask away from his face. His eyelashes fluttered open to be met with bright, bright flashing lights. Dare he say lightning? It was too fast for him to even guess. All he knew was that it hurt. It nearly burned his pale skin. He pulled his coat over himself, tangling his lanky limbs as he fell.
He scrambled, gasping and trying his best to regain composure before forcefully pausing abruptly in the air. He was winded, hair scrambled and sticking up in places it shouldn’t- He heard the familiar groanings and grumblings of his older brother, his hummingbird heart slowing just slightly.
He nearly sighed in relief as he floated over, rubbing his tired eyes. “Charon.” He said, a small smile decorating his features.. Always nice to see him. “What’s going on? Where are we?” He looked around to take in his surroundings. Everything looked white, and clean, and.. Pretty. Better than how the house was kept. It looked much better taken care of. “Dusa has to be the cause of this, I just bet you.” He said pridefully, sticking some astray hair down. “If I could just find Than...” He mumbled, clearing his throat and regaining as much composure as he could.
Distantly, Hypnos could… smell something. Something.. Familiar. Zagreus came back to the House smelling of it sometimes, but other than that.. It really was out of the ordinary. He wandered off, almost forgetting about Charon. When he looked back, he seemed to be.. Unbothered. Setting up shop, maybe even waiting for Zagreus. Good. He just had to hold on until then.
Looking around, there wasn’t.. Much. Maybe a few noble shades that respectfully bowed to him, but other then that-
“Heeeyy, man,” an unfamiliar voice spoke. Oh, Gods. This truly was the last thing he needed. He perked up, forcing that homey smile on his face. “You don’t look like you belong here.” Hypnos whipped his head around, only to find a tall dark man with purple hair standing right next to him which, okay, wasn’t that bad. Nonetheless, he pretty much just sat there and listened. He nearly fell asleep as the man just droned on and on and on.. At some point, Hypnos was lost in thought and gazing into the man’s eyes. I mean, if he were here, and looked like.. that.. he had to be a God. And judging by the looks of him, maybe- an olympian? His eyes widened as he scratched the back of his head. “Uhm,” He interrupted the purple man’s rant about something irrelevant to everything. “I-I’m not supposed to be here. I’m sure of it, in fact,” He chuckled nervously, breathing picking up as he thought about everything.
I mean, consider it. He had no idea where he was, the only thing familiar around here was his brother, Charon-
.
Where did Charon go?
Hypnos’ head whipped around once again. Then he turned to face the purple man,who was drinking out of a golden and overflowing cup. “My brother, Charon, I-I just saw him there! what-” He stammered, looking around like his life depended on it. He could’ve sworn he just saw him. Zagreus was just there, he was about to get on the boat, and-
“Hey, whoaaaa, breathe, little guy.” The purple God slurred. Hypnos made a face at the large hand on his shoulder, looking up with an unintentional sneer. “What’s your name?” He asked, voice soft and smooth as whatever he was drinking. “..Hypnos.” He said, as simple as breathing. He doubted the fine-smelling fellow knew who he was, but he was known for taking chances. “My name is Hypnos.” He managed to chirp out. Another blessing with how shaky and unfocused his voice was.
“Okay, man. I need you to listen to me.” The purple God crouched down. Felt a little demeaning, but Hypnos felt he just had to listen. “You’re the God of sleep, yeah?” He continued, Hypnos’ one little wing perking up. The God must’ve noticed too, the way his expression softened. “I want you to do just that, man. Sleep. Can you do that for me?” He asked while Hypnos stared blankly into his eyes. Not like he could really disagree, he was already about to collapse regardless of what God said.
He quietly dozed off, leaning into his coat like second nature. He muttered sleepily, a.. New kind of sleepiness consuming him. His last thoughts were wow, I really wouldn’t mind seeing that man again. Though, he doubted it.
Didn’t look like he would anytime soon, though. The next time he opened his eyes, he was alone. Nothing he wasn’t used to. It was still bright, almost blindingly so.. regardless, Hypnos looked around, yawning and pushing his eye mask up to rest above his halo of curls. He sniffled, nose searching for that sweet scent of wine- only to be met with something faintly.. Metallic. Blood, maybe? He hadn’t smelled that in a while. He hated it. Just reminded him of what his life used to be like. He knew it was better to just.. Ignore it.
He strolled around for a while, turning his head to look over an edge. He looked nearly angelic, almost fitting in with his beautiful surroundings with the breeze flowing through his hair as he gazed down upon everything. It was.. Peaceful. Shades around him muttered and whispered, and he could tell they were talking about him. He took a deep breath before continuing his search. Had to find Charon. Or Zag. Had to laugh it off with them on the way back to the house, had to sit through Hades rattling on about staying awake and aware.. Just had to be done. He debated sleeping on it, to be honest.
Nonetheless, he walked some more. Through some doors, humming hymns to himself in the quiet. Okay, he’d admit.. He wasn’t really watching where he was going, and without even realizing, he bumped into a figure adorned in white and gold armor. He hummed, looking up to find that he had white hair, similar to Hypnos’. He smiled softly, [and almost accidentally welcomed him to the “House of Hades,”. Good thing he caught himself.]
The taller man- God leaned down and scoffed at him. Hypnos opened his mouth to speak, getting cut off by a rough grab to his’ jaw. “Hey, uh-” He tried to speak. “Silence.” The God’s voice boomed. Hypnos nearly sneered and replied with something snarky before he remembered his place. “What are you doing here.” He spoke, sounding more like a statement than a question. “Olympus isn’t made for things like you.”
Hypnos pulled away, pushing the God off of him. Instead of speaking, he just…furrowed his brows, fixing his hair then folding his arms. He stared for a few moments, tilting his head. The God seemed.. So shocked. And almost familiar. Hadn’t Thanatos brought him around? Maybe? Or maybe he saw him through Than’s dreams? Hypnos hummed, in thought, making himself look like a damn fool- he was completely oblivious to whoever the god was’ ranting. He snapped back when they barked an insult, sneering once again. “How- DARE you.” His voice boomed, he ran a hand through the unshaved part of his hair, then settled for storming off. Literally storming off. Little red spirals followed his feet as he walked out of sight. Hypnos perked up, as if to apologize.. Damn it. Just too late. Ah well. Maybe some sleep would help him remember whoever that was. He was damn sure he knew him. Or of him.
After a while or so of walking, the air grew cold. He shivered, eyelids growing heavy as he nodded off. He walked over to a dark corner, letting himself pretend he was back in his own corner. He let out a quiet exhale, curling up. For once, despite it all, he wasn’t tired. He just wanted to go home. To see Dusa again, or bug Zag one more time- Hypnos sighed again,floating into the air and falling asleep. His eye mask floated onto his eyes, and he fell into a dreamless sleep. How, he didn’t know. When he woke up, he could barely recognize himself. What he did recognize, though, was a familiar purple God’s voice. Leaning over him was that fellow from earlier. He couldn’t really make out what he was saying because of the blinding, heavenly light right above him, but he was there!! Hypnos wasn’t alone anymore. That’s what he tried to focus on.
After nodding along for a while, his tongue still too heavy in his mouth to agree politely or argue rudely, Hypnos interrupted whatever rant the drunken God was going on about. “Yeah, right, that’s great and all, guy, but.. I never actually got your name?” He said, his deft fingers reaching for his clipboard that he knew wasn’t there, as if to write it down. He played it off though, instead reaching for the edge of his coat. “Oh. Uh, Dionysus.” He spoke, waving his hand like it was no big deal. Still, Dionysus looked back like he expected a reaction. Hypnos hummed, looking back at the God. At Dionysus. Of course, Hypnos wasn’t stupid. He knew who Dionysus was. He just wasn’t expecting… this.
“Okay, Dionysus.” Hypnos repeated with a polite grin, ignoring the butterflies it gave him in his stomach to say his name. “I-I need you to tell me where I am.” He looked around again, sighing silently. “Here, man?” Dionysus chuckled. “This is, ah, right..” He looked around, clicking his tongue in thought. Did he- even know?? Hypnos wouldn’t be surprised if he was too tipsy to know. Nervously, he picked at the pale skin around his dry fingers, his legs twitching with well hidden anxiety. Something Than taught him when he was younger. Guess he took pride in that. Water under the bridge. If anything, Hypnos would happily jump back into that water if it meant he’d see his brother right now. He snapped out of his sleepy thoughts when Dionysus perked back up. “Ah, I’ve got it, man. This is- just above Elysium, see?” He chuckled, pointing to a blinding light in the sky. Besides the flames of Hades, it had to be the brightest thing he’d ever seen. “..Yeah. I do see.” He said, still picking at his fingers and looking up. He could practically feel his retinas burning while he stared. ..Long way up, long way down. The thought made him exhausted.
“What?” He furrowed his brows, chuckling along with the other. “Nothing, nothing. Well, actually man, none of the other Gods are so-” He bit his lower lip, searching his tipsy mind for the right word. “...Interested by everything. Not that it’s bad. I-If anything,” he continued slurring, watching Hypnos conceal a snicker. ”It’s good. Really good!” He finished with a grin.
“..You’re not from Olympus, are you?” Dionysus asked. Then, Hypnos couldn’t help but laugh. He looked down at his pale skin from years of not seeing such sun, his bright white curls to match, his peplos, chlamys.. It should’ve been obvious to anyone that he was from somewhere far off. He scratched the back of his neck, opening his mouth to speak- “Now, man, correct me if I’m wrong, but.. You’re- chthonic, huh?” He looked into Hypnos’ eyes, his own softening. Hypnos starred up, a small sneer on his face.. “Are you only just noticing?” He laughed, face relaxing. He was.. Expecting something a little meaner then that.
The pair walked together for a while, learning more and more about each other. Well, more like Dionysus spoke of Olympus and Hypnos listened. He swore up and down he was taking Hypnos the right way back to the underworld, but as they passed through big, golden doors.. He didn’t really know what to believe. But, this wasn’t his place. He didn’t know anything about.. Elysium, was it? And it also didn’t hurt to listen to Dionysus talk and talk.. So he let him. The further they went, the less Hypnos responded. Damn it, he was starting to get motion sick just from walking. The light was just getting brighter and brighter by then. Hypnos squeaked quietly as he heard a quiet sizzle, pulling his blanket halfway over his head. Dionysus’ strong arm supported it, practically holding it up for Hypnos as they walked. Quietly, he thought Cthonic Gods were surely never meant to be here. Then again, as the light hit his skin once more, he wondered if anyone was supposed to be here. Something was off. Surely he’d get to the bottom of it. It had to be done.