Incantations of Hope

[deimos_dot_com]

He appeared in the apartment that they were sharing, had been, before he left. He'd thought he might find her here, but she was nowhere. There wasn't even a sign that she had been here in a while. Deimos worried that maybe she'd gone off to fight and he was too late. Too late to help her, to keep her out of danger

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[elpis_dot_com]

She was looking for Strife. She was in the Egyptian Quarter. She was distressed and stressed and trying to handle a very volatile sun god.

But that didn't matter.

Dei was home.

Bilocating without telling anyone, Hope phased into the apartment right at the front door and ran at Dei with everything she had, hurling herself into his arms. Without missing a beat, she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, kissing his cheek, his jaw; not a bit of his face went unattended. Then, she kissed his lips - fiercely, passionately, with a tinge of desperation. Being without him had been... bad. Really bad. With everything that had been going on, her anchor was back.

Once the kiss ended, she stroked his face, a slight smile on her face.

"Hi."

[deimos_dot_com]

He smiled, there was no way he could help it. The greeting was fantastic, and as she kissed his face, he held her tightly, keeping her feet off of the ground.

"Hey there." He said when she was done, not sure if he wanted her to be.

They could talk in a minute, currently, he was far too happy to give a shit about anything else that was going on. She was here, he was here, they were together and it was perfect.

"I've missed you. How have you been?"

[elpis_dot_com]

"I've been... ok." She slipped her fingers into his hair, stroking it while she talked to him. Touching him again was good.

"You know... things are a little crazy up there... weird. Quiet." She looked down. Strife's absence was weighing on her, and more and more she suspected it was connected to the political stuff that had kept Dei away from her for so long. It was weird, because normally, Dei would be the first to hear about anything that was bothering her, just like she would be for him. But now...

Now she didn't want to put Dei in a tough position. But she also didn't want Strife to be in danger. What if Dei knew where Strife was? What if Strife was hurt?

Hope hugged Dei tighter, resting her chin on his shoulder.

This sucked.

Instead of anything else, she whispered,

"I missed you too."

Shifting slightly, she murmured, "How've you been?"

[deimos_dot_com]

"Bored mostly. I've been sitting in the Underworld doing nothing. I got called, and then nothing happens. What about you? What have you been doing?"

Deimos, still holding her up, carried her to the couch and sat down. He pulled her into his lap and held her close to his chest. "I hate that we have to be apart. I hate it a lot. If I'd known that nothing was going to happen for a while, I would have stayed longer. Hidden away with you until they really needed me."

He sighed a bit.

[elpis_dot_com]

She shifted comfortably in his lap, nestled in his arms, and looked up at him with a frown

[deimos_dot_com]

Dei raised an eyebrow. He wanted to answer her, but her bilocation was throwing him off. What he had to do meant that all of her had to be in one place.

"You're there too, right now? Can you come back to me, all of you?"

Before she answered he answered her. "I can't promise, but considering I have no idea where he is, he might be safe. Maybe he figured that he should stay out of the limelight for a while and holed up somewhere. I'm sorry, but I can't promise no harm will come to him, it's not entirely up to me. I'm in this as a soldier. That's about it."

[elpis_dot_com]

And just like that, Hope was there, all his.

"I'm all here now," she said, her head feeling a little clearer. Bilocating wasn't the easiest thing for her - incorporeal was fine, physical was fine, but being physical in two places was just... weird.

She nodded, closing her eyes. "But look... I know... I know that he's at risk... just like you are..." her arms tightened around him as she said that. "And I'm not asking you to protect him... just... if it ends up you against him, straight on... just... you know."

She looked up at him. "I know you have to do what you have to do, but just please don't hurt him too bad."

There was no question in Hope's mind that Dei could take Strife in a fight. Dei was made for that kind of thing, and while Strife was no slouch, he was better at being sneaky than straight up hand to hand combat.

[deimos_dot_com]

"If it makes you feel any better, I've been told not to kill any of the gods." Deimos tried to smile, to lighten the mood, but knew that it wasn't going to happen until he'd gotten out what he needed to.

"Now that you're all here, there's a reason I came back." He looked into her eyes and chewed his lip a bit, knowing she might not like what he had to say. "I want you to go somewhere nobody can find you until this is over. Things could get really messy, they promise to actually. I've already told Erebos that you're not to be touched, but there are still so many other things out there that I can't control. I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want to lose you. I couldn't stand it if there was even a scratch on you."

[elpis_dot_com]

Hope dropped a kiss on Dei's neck when he said he wouldn't kill any of the gods.

"Good enough, then..." she said. It shouldn't be, but it had to be. This was so hard.

Then he said that he wanted to keep her in one place, that he wanted her to hide. It wasn't that she'd planned on getting into the battle - Hope fought when she had to, and not over kingdoms and politics. But...

"Hide?" Hope didn't like hiding - or at least, she preferred to hide in plain sight. She didn't like being confined.

She looked up at her love. "Dei... I know you're worried about me... but I'm not exactly helpless, you know? And... well... the last place I was that nobody could find me was a jar, you know what I mean?"

[deimos_dot_com]

"I don't mean that." He ran a finger along her jaw. "But somebody could use you against me, Hope. Somebody could try something. It's not hard to figure out that you're the only thing that could alter the way things go for me. I don't want that to happen. And you don't know my father like I do, I have no doubt that he would do something like that, or tell somebody about it. I don't mean this to sound like it's going to, and I hope you know that. You're my weakness. My only one. And a big one."

[elpis_dot_com]

Every time she looked at him, she melted. Rough edges and wariness that had been a part of her for so many years just smoothed away into safety and comfort with him. She knew that what he was saying was true - she knew that if anyone could turn the tide against him, it was her.

She just couldn't let that happen.

She nodded slowly, putting her hand to his as it touched her face, pulling it to hold against her cheek and nuzzling it.

"I don't want to do anything to put you in harm's way," she said softly. "If what you need is for me to hide, it's what I'll do..."

She hesitated. "I won't fight - you know I don't like to if I don't have to. I'm still gonna have to work on Earth though. But I promise I won't be, you know, in my body anywhere, and I'll stay away from Olympus."

She paused.

"Also... I really want to make sure Strife's ok, at least, before I go into hiding."

[deimos_dot_com]

"I only have a day to make sure you're safe. Then I have to go back. So." Dei cocked his head a little.

[elpis_dot_com]

Hope frowned. She couldn't just sit back while Strife could be out there somewhere, really messed up or even worse...

She looked at Dei, torn.

"Baby..." she began softly, "I can't just leave him out there. I don't even know if anybody beside 'Te and me is looking for him... he could be hurt, he could be in trouble. He didn't say anything. He won't come when I call. I can't feel him."

Her fingers threaded through his hair again, and she said,

"I promise... I swear, I'll stay out of trouble. You know how good I am at being invisible," she reminded him. "Even if I do stumble on something, nobody'll even know I'm there."

[deimos_dot_com]

"I'm sure that every Greek in the world would feel it if Strife was suddenly awash in....strife... it would be a throwing of balance. He's somewhere. But." Dei shook his head. "If you have to, please do it fast."

He couldn't say no to her. It was impossible.

[elpis_dot_com]

"I love you, Dei." She kissed him again.

It wasn't that she needed permission - and it wasn't that he thought she did. It was that she didn't want to upset him, or make anything in his world any more difficult than it had to be right now.

"Where do you want me to go once I'm done?"

[deimos_dot_com]

"Somewhere nobody will think to look for you. Not even me. I can't know where you go." He softened and smiled at her, pulled her close and nuzzled her cheek a little.

"I love you too, Elpis." His hands brushed her hair away from her face and he took a long moment looking at her.

"You should get started looking. The sooner you find him, the better I'll feel."