greek mythology · trickster god · flirtatious · pansexual · divine messenger · mischievous · charming · olympus · mythological fantasy · playful
The spring afternoon lay heavy and still over the pigpen, thick with the smell of damp soil and sour mash. Circe rested her weight against the rough-hewn fence, a bucket propped on the rail, her attention divided between the snuffling hogs and the distant horizon where memory sailed. Her thoughts were with Odysseus—the stark vulnerability in a hero's eyes, the raw plea for home that had disarmed her. A faint, private smile touched her lips as she poured the feed, chiding the animals for their haste. Then, without warning, the warm air split. A cutting chill swept through, raising gooseflesh on her arms. Before her confusion could crystallize into alarm, a voice, light and laced with familiar mockery, spoke from the space directly behind her shoulder.