He could vaguely hear the argument happening on his doorstep. Words like “Greece” and “Game” and “War” and “Egypt” flitted in particularly cuttingly. Ares was looking forward to this. He could already smell blood in the water and the worse they fought with each other, the more energized he became. Peaceful atmospheres were toxic to him and the more passion that filled the air, whether due to anger or other avenues, only served to excite his blood. What he did not want to do, however, was end it, which he felt his presence might do. So he stayed right where he was, affecting an air of complete nonchalance, and watched as a thread of fire tore across the heaves towards him.

Terror had beaten Panic to the javelin. Tail wagging and ears perked, the dog dropped the weapon into his mater’s lap and waited, tongue lolling out the side of his open jaws. “Who’s a good boy?” Ares cooed. He ruffled his dogs ears and scratched under his chin. “You are! Yes you! What a plague you are! Yes! Yes!” This was a bit more attention than Terror could possibly take calmly. The dog leaped into Ares’s lap and licked him. That shut Ares’s cooing up and he flung the weapon again just to get his dog off him. Not being distracted, Panic was the one tearing after it first. Terror bounded straight after his brother, their two black bodies disappearing into the swirling clouds.

Ares wiped his mouth. “Yuck...right in my mouth…..” He needed wine to wash that taste out. There was dog love and then there was dog love. Too much. That was when he heard the whisper of fabric and the light tapping of feet. Then soft hands cupped his face and he looked up into the eternally lovely face of his mother. ”My darling Ares,” Hera purred and pressed her lips to his forehead in a motherly kiss that had him closing his eyes and smiling. There was nothing quite like a mother’s pride to give him those warm fuzzies he’d never admit to anyone. He didn’t need parental approval….but he liked it.

She was pushing his hair back away from his forehead and he had the sudden concern that she was going to tell him it was too long and he needed to have it cut. ”How is my son?” She asked as she summoned a kline for herself. Before he could answer that, two flaming black blurs slammed into the portico, tumbling over each other. Each dog had hold of the javelin and they were now playing tug of war with it.

“Uh,” Ares reached over and wrenched it from them. They didn’t want to let go and it came away bent at the handle and the end. He stared at it and threw it back to the ground. Terror and Panic pounced on it, growling goodnaturedly at each other. “Fine?”

”Is that silly war keeping you so busy that you can not visit your own mother?” There it was. He felt a tiny squirm of guilt.

“It...I mean kind of. I’ve been busy with-” his eyes lifted and he tried to think of where his current persona was at the moment, though he had others. One of which, a highly disposable one, was in the thick of battle. “You know. Messing with the Taengean king..sailing...fighting…” he left out the ‘bedding women’ part. That wasn’t something you told your mother, even if she knew. To get the conversation he turned, looking for Athena. “I thought I heard Buzz Kill with you?”