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Breakfasts with Mercutio have been slowly happening earlier and earlier; Dionysus wakes up sooner in the spring than he did in the winter, generally speaking, especially now that he has a garden to tend to, and isn't flitting around from one party in one city to another party in a different city every night. Mercutio seems to be getting used to being woken up early now too -- at least, he has stopped complaining about it incessantly, and has switched to only complaining a little. That's a win.
They're having oatmeal with blueberries mixed in this morning, and Mercutio is telling Dionysus all about a time when he, Romeo, and Benvolio were out causing chaos -- it's a very good story -- when Dionysus suddenly hears, in the back of his mind,
Are you hearing this, Dionysus?
Claudius.
Dionysus is about to get up and excuse himself, when he hears Claudius let him know he's not in trouble, he doesn't need to show up. Mercutio gives Dionysus a look, asking if he's alright.
"Oh, yes, don't worry. Sorry. Did he have a plan for what he was going to do with that statue, or...?"
"Nay. I did."
It's a peculiar thing, being a god, and hearing prayers and worship. Dionysus doesn't have the strongest attention span for things he's physically present for. But everything that comes through to the god-part of his mind, that bizarre sense of his that grew and formed during the months he was carried by Zeus, it's distinctly different. It has to be, he wouldn't have needed Hera to curse him with madness otherwise, it would have happened naturally the moment people began to worship him. He can be fully aware of everything going on "back there" without anyone he's physically with knowing or suspecting a thing. Every time someone is putting on a play, every time someone prays to him, pours an offering, shows up for a rehearsal, all of those moments, happening simultaneously, and he's cognizant of them all, but on the outside he's still going like nothing is happening out of the ordinary.
It's been quiet here. It warms his heart that Claudius trusts him enough for this. And it's not even, Dionysus realizes as he listens to the prayer, a request for something for himself. He's worried about Galahad and Magnus. Precious, darling, sweet Galahad, who never had sweets back home and wants to be painted and covered in glitter. Kind and thoughtful Magnus, who made a point to warn Dionysus about Laertes when they first met, and who opened a shelter back home, and who apparently is carrying the weight of this world on his shoulders.
But Magnus ... hasn't been behaving like himself.
He and Magnus are getting much closer these days. Their little one-act in the closet helped, of course, but spending time with him in the garden seems to really be doing the trick. But he has seemed... tired, perhaps. Grief causes a lot of pain, but if everyone is stuck in some limbo of 'maybe if we figure out the right things to do, he can come back' there's not really any time for grieving. Dionysus doesn't know what all of that is, it hasn't seemed right to press for answers. He told Nina and Magnus to let him know if and when he can help, Magnus surely knows by now what Dionysus' powers are, he trusts if something comes up that he is able to assist with, they'll let him know.
"Waaaiiit, so they didn't even know you were the one doing it?" he asks Mercutio, laughing.
Claudius cares so much. He cares so much. Dionysus has so much affection for him, for this man who asked a stranger to officiate his wedding, who thinks Dionysus hadn't noticed how his hands twitch before their acting lessons, who performs a song he just learned acapella in front of an entire party because he heard it would make someone else happy, who is learning that it's okay to express your emotions even when they're upsetting, and who prays not for himself but for those he loves.
But thank you. For listening.
"--hanging upside down, by his foot, an thou wilt believe it--"
He's sure he'll run into Claudius soon, they can talk with each other then. He'll have to be a little more insistent with Magnus that the kid start taking care of himself better, maybe that'll help too. Everything's going to be alright. Dionysus can believe that, for both himself and for Claudius.
They're having oatmeal with blueberries mixed in this morning, and Mercutio is telling Dionysus all about a time when he, Romeo, and Benvolio were out causing chaos -- it's a very good story -- when Dionysus suddenly hears, in the back of his mind,
Are you hearing this, Dionysus?
Claudius.
Dionysus is about to get up and excuse himself, when he hears Claudius let him know he's not in trouble, he doesn't need to show up. Mercutio gives Dionysus a look, asking if he's alright.
"Oh, yes, don't worry. Sorry. Did he have a plan for what he was going to do with that statue, or...?"
"Nay. I did."
It's a peculiar thing, being a god, and hearing prayers and worship. Dionysus doesn't have the strongest attention span for things he's physically present for. But everything that comes through to the god-part of his mind, that bizarre sense of his that grew and formed during the months he was carried by Zeus, it's distinctly different. It has to be, he wouldn't have needed Hera to curse him with madness otherwise, it would have happened naturally the moment people began to worship him. He can be fully aware of everything going on "back there" without anyone he's physically with knowing or suspecting a thing. Every time someone is putting on a play, every time someone prays to him, pours an offering, shows up for a rehearsal, all of those moments, happening simultaneously, and he's cognizant of them all, but on the outside he's still going like nothing is happening out of the ordinary.
It's been quiet here. It warms his heart that Claudius trusts him enough for this. And it's not even, Dionysus realizes as he listens to the prayer, a request for something for himself. He's worried about Galahad and Magnus. Precious, darling, sweet Galahad, who never had sweets back home and wants to be painted and covered in glitter. Kind and thoughtful Magnus, who made a point to warn Dionysus about Laertes when they first met, and who opened a shelter back home, and who apparently is carrying the weight of this world on his shoulders.
But Magnus ... hasn't been behaving like himself.
He and Magnus are getting much closer these days. Their little one-act in the closet helped, of course, but spending time with him in the garden seems to really be doing the trick. But he has seemed... tired, perhaps. Grief causes a lot of pain, but if everyone is stuck in some limbo of 'maybe if we figure out the right things to do, he can come back' there's not really any time for grieving. Dionysus doesn't know what all of that is, it hasn't seemed right to press for answers. He told Nina and Magnus to let him know if and when he can help, Magnus surely knows by now what Dionysus' powers are, he trusts if something comes up that he is able to assist with, they'll let him know.
"Waaaiiit, so they didn't even know you were the one doing it?" he asks Mercutio, laughing.
Claudius cares so much. He cares so much. Dionysus has so much affection for him, for this man who asked a stranger to officiate his wedding, who thinks Dionysus hadn't noticed how his hands twitch before their acting lessons, who performs a song he just learned acapella in front of an entire party because he heard it would make someone else happy, who is learning that it's okay to express your emotions even when they're upsetting, and who prays not for himself but for those he loves.
But thank you. For listening.
"--hanging upside down, by his foot, an thou wilt believe it--"
He's sure he'll run into Claudius soon, they can talk with each other then. He'll have to be a little more insistent with Magnus that the kid start taking care of himself better, maybe that'll help too. Everything's going to be alright. Dionysus can believe that, for both himself and for Claudius.
