Inner and Outer Struggles
Waking up that morning was not something Perseus expected as he expected Damon to be off work so he could get ready to leave the island. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Damon right now but he already knew that Damon's wife was upset with Perseus. He couldn't help but feel bad that Damon came over to wake him up. Yeah, his wife probably wasn't going to like this as he could already feel that she was going to say Damon was becoming his nanny. He ran a hand through his hair as he got out of bed and went over to the bathroom to splash a bit of water on his face.
He turned around and saw Damon and Cephalus giving each other a heated glare. Well, he can safely assume that the two were not going to get along anytime soon. Since Cephalus couldn't leave, he'd have to shoo Damon away. He really didn't want to be rude about this, but for their sake, it was better to do this. "Damon, can you... head out? No offense, but your wife is going to get upset if she finds out you are over here after how she acted yesterday." He had a feeling this was going to feel like a low blow but it would have been even worse if he said something like, 'oh hey, could you head out so you and our new arrival do not start fighting,' Yeah, that would have gone over smoothly with how hard-headed Damon could be.
Rubbing the back of his head, Perseus felt like he made things worse with how smug Cephalus looked when he said that. Damon looked like he had lost a battle, even though Perseus doubted he would have won given the obvious statement he gave. Shaking his head, he glanced at Damon with a small frown. "Maybe when things cool down between your wife and I, we can hang out before you two leave the island." It was the only consolation he could give Damon since he truly did not want to end up on Athena's bad side.
The day Athena and Perseus got along seems farther away than Damon and him thought since Athena could be hard-headed herself when she gets fired up. She was just extremely protective of Damon and Perseus could understand her thoughts on this. What he did was considered reckless and he should have thought about the repercussions before bringing in Cephalus. Then again, Cephalus was injured pretty badly and it is hard to tell how long he's had this injury so treating it was the best option since he did not want an innocent person to die. Honestly, only his mother and Damon understood why he acted like he did. It surprised him that Damon was acting so aggressive and cautious towards Cephalus regardless of knowing Perseus's abilities.
The blonde male hoped that Damon was just acting like this to be safer than sorry. It was the only reason he could think of that Damon would be acting this way. He will just have to ponder about this another time. He pushed Damon towards the door as he tried to make excuses why he shouldn't leave. Eyebrows twitched in irritation at Damon's insistence on staying even though he should know that Perseus wasn't going to let him stay regardless of what he said. "Will you leave already? I am trying to be nice about this but your stubbornness on this is starting to irritate me. I already have a lot to deal with without you adding more wood to the fire." He knew that was harsh but he really needed to get his point across otherwise Damon would never leave at this rate.
Damon looked like a kicked puppy now and Perseus almost felt bad about his words. "I already said we can hang out later before you leave but right now, I have a lot of things to deal with. This isn't like the time when my father was alive and we were kids playing around in the fields before the harvest festival. Things can't go back to that time even though we want it to." Perseus spoke with a bit of pain in his voice at bringing up his father. Those wounds were still fresh as no one expected the death of his father.
Only Perseus knew what happened to him as he didn't have the heart to tell his mother the truth and he couldn't bring himself to talk to Damon about it yet. He said it was an accident to avoid a mass panic. Perseus's father was in no accident as he was killed. He didn't know who and he had no right to accuse anyone in the village without any evidence behind his claim. He could remember that day like it was yesterday. The sorrow and anger he felt still lingered in his chest like a burning flame that refused to go out. He couldn't set out on revenge without putting the island at risk, a side effect of his family's curse.
The person that killed his father was a talented alchemist. Alchemy isn't a popular talent so most that use it are sent to Rhodes for their alchemy schools without any need of charge. Once they graduate, they usually become court alchemists. If Perseus were to accuse an alchemist, then he'd be challenging the court alchemists as well. He didn't need that kind of panic, especially now, and he most definitely did not need anyone knowing about this. Anyone else who knows about the fact that Perseus's father was killed by an alchemist, it may start in a war that Dasia would not be able to win. That and they could be accused of treason as well if they acted recklessly on emotion.
"Perseus, I-"
Damon's voice cut through his thoughts like brittle glass. He blinked his eyes to focus on Damon before he shook his head, closing the door. Still feeling unfocused, he was startled as Cephalus came up from behind him with a hug. Brown eyes widened but he wasn't terribly bothered by it. Welcoming the hug, he leaned back into the warm embrace only for it to leave too soon for Perseus's liking.
"You looked like you needed a hug..." Sympathy showed in his green eyes as Perseus turned to look at him. A faint smile showed on his lips as he nodded, grateful for the comfort that the darker haired male provided.
"Thank you. Honestly, I needed it. The burden I hold is a lot to take in over the course of the few full moons since my father passed away. It hasn't even been a full year and I struggle grasping what he passed on to me when he died. The leadership is overwhelming and sometimes I would like a break from it all. It seems impossible sometimes, especially right now when everything is chaotic with the harvest festival coming up in a few more days." He shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. When was the last time that Perseus had the chance to relax?
It was probably right before his father passed away on Damon's matrimony towards Athena. Events like that were a rare, but welcomed, occurrence that everyone took part in. It was almost an entire moon cycle after last year's harvest festival. A beautiful ceremony and everyone was happy until they announced that they would be leaving the island after the next harvest festival, the one that was going to be coming up in a few days. It was a sad announcement for everyone, especially me since Perseus was being left behind by his best friend. He couldn't blame Damon and Athena for wanting to move on and leave Dasia. They had a lot of potential and Perseus was willing to support them no matter how much of a toll it placed on him.
"Maybe we could go out and do something before this festival?" The suggestion surprised Perseus as he turned his head to look at Cephalus in surprise. "I know it's not much consolation but it may help you relax a bit in order to focus. My side doesn't really hurt that much and you look like you need to talk to someone. Right now, the situation with your friend isn't that great so maybe I can provide something to ease your troubles." The offer was sweet but Perseus wasn't sure what to say to that. He knew he shouldn't be out alone with the arrival but some relaxation would be nice for a change.
Perseus closed his eyes as he thought about what he should say. Should he actually go with this guy he barely knew or should he stay and try to focus on what needs to be done? Honestly, everything was being prepared already and there really wasn't much more that Perseus could do except wait for a couple days to see if there was anything that needed to be fixed. Everyone already knew what to do from previous harvest festivals. This one wasn't anything too special except for the fact that it was Perseus's first harvest festival since becoming the official leader of Dasia.
Shaking his head, he turned his gaze towards Cephalus before tilting his head as he looked up at him as the male was only slightly taller than him. He blinked his brown eyes at the stunning green eyes that still amazed him. "Cephalus..."