Springtime 1681 CE, Paris
It was late evening, and the City of Lights was, as always, teeming with life. Nyx was at a grand masquerade, poking subtle fun at Hera, who though not in attendance, might have scowled at Night bedecked in a glorious peacock colored dress. The deep greens and blues of the silk shimmered iridescently by design, rather than divine will, which only
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Perhaps he strutted a little more when she reaffirmed his beastly status. But when she mentioned the guests, he looked at her with the patented "By Creation!" look.
"Wife," he whispered back to her. "They are mortal. If we stripped completely of their trappings and copulated on this marble floor, they could still say that it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. And they would be right."
Let her think on that a few minutes.
Courting. He knew something of what mortals did for this. Mooning at someone's window in the moonlight. Picnics in the park on Sundays. Cakes shaped like hearts and chocolate confections. Writing poetry -- bad poetry -- and publishing it in little flyers that you dropped all over town, with your lady's name listed only as 'N---' or 'M---' or 'L---'. Foolishness, all.
He gave her a baleful look.
"Correct me if I am wrong," he said blithely. "But is not the act of wooing a method of manipulation? A method of persuasion? Is not the act of wooing the attempt to convince a lady to be with someone that she would not have been with without it? Tell me, my sweet wife," --- and they turned, twirled, turned --- "Why should I so disrespect you in the manner of mortals? Especially since - as you are so quick to point out - you are already mine?"
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This time, Nyx's mouth did open into a little "o" which she promptly shut again as a flush swept over her cheeks, and she raised her fan as they danced, opening it and fanning herself rapidly to hide her reaction. No matter how much of the world she saw, no matter how cultured or sophisticated she might become, her husband - and only her husband - could still make her blush.
It was a bit maddening at times.
Recovering herself quickly, she whispered,
"Don't be scandalous, Ere!" Though the amount of time that had passed before she said it would indicate that she had at least briefly considered the prospect.
But no! There was a point to be made here. And her husband was being so insufferably male about it, of course.
She refrained from rolling her eyes as he spoke, knowing that he must be being deliberately obtuse.
She had the most difficult husband in the Universe, and well she knew it.
"Ere," she began patiently, "you are not even missing the point. You are gleefully stepping over it and kicking dirt onto it as you depart into the land of sheer nonsense.
"Just because I am yours," she emphasized, still whispering as she moved her body very, very close to his for a moment, then twirled away to a respectable distance again, "does not mean that you should not continually put forth your best effort to win my heart! It is sweet. It is appreciative. It is romantic."
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But damn. If she wasn't cute.
Glancing around him, he noticed more than a handful of men suddenly find great interest in the cuffs of their sleeves, in the lace that they wore, in the companion they had beside them, and even in the mosiac marble tile at their feet. He glared at them. But at least they stopped looking at Nyx. Damn their eyes!
With resignation, Erebos started to lead his wife to the door. "Then perhaps a walk in the moonlight, Darkling?"
He imagined, if he put his mind to it, he could be very good at wooing Nyx. But he did not understand the purpose behind it. Did he not give her enough attention? Yes, he answered, he certainly did.
She wanted more.
He would do his best to give her more, then.
Women.
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It pleased her to be His.
When he returned her gaze to her, Nyx looked up at her husband as he took her from the room. At first, she gave him only a small smile, though pleasure suffused the gaze she cast upon him. Once they were out of view of the other guests, moving through the shadowy corridor, she offered him a beautiful, brilliant smile, and kissed his cheek.
"That sounds delightful, O Most Dashing and Charming Husband."
Well Nyx knew that Erebos doted on her; well Nyx knew that he devoted all the attention to her that any reasonable woman could desire. And in truth, he kept her Very, Very Happy, always.
But Nyx was Nyx, and Nyx enjoyed circling around things, sometimes, rather than just walking through them; Nyx appreciated dancing back and forth, lightly twirling just out of reach, and then coming back, only to twirl after what she wanted again.
In short, Nyx liked to play.
Courtship to Ere, she knew, seemed pointless, for just as he said, she was happily, contentedly his. But he simply failed to see the bigger picture - that this would be great fun.
Silly beast.
Once they arrived outside, she removed her mask, and dissipated it for the moment. Then, under cover of Darkness, out of view of any prying mortal eyes, she took the opportunity to lean against her husband slightly as they walked.
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"Hm," he said, frowning, then shook his head and tucked her hand back into his arm again.
He led them subtuly towards a darker area of the garden, without looking like he was. He didn't care what any observing mortals might think, but he didn't want NYXIE thinking he was doing it on purpose.
Innocent.
That was Ere.
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Oh yes, she did.
She smiled at him fetchingly when he plucked one from the garden and set it in her artfully arranged curls, and her fingers went to skim silkily across his before he withdrew his hand.
But then he stopped, and looked at her, and frowned, of all things. She became distracted from the path they were on.
She looked up at him as he put her hand back in the crook of his arm again, and gave him a quizzical look.
"And what are you frowning at, my husband?"
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