apollo

The sky isn't normally that color.

Slowly, he starts to wake, but all he can see is this iridescent sky. It's more the color of water than it is the sky, but the golden clouds floating on the breeze tell him it's not the sea. He's never seen it that shade. The sky in the Garden is always pastel colors, easy on the eyes. This sky is vivid, luminescent, entrancing. He admires the color for as long as he can, his mind blank and body numb.

In the distance, he can hear music. The singing is paired with a gentle sort of string instrument, and Cloud frowns. Suddenly, everything hits him at once - his body stirs slowly, the gears in his mind gathering speed until he can process his surroundings.

This isn't Radiant Garden at all.

He snaps upright, eyes trying to take it all in at once. His head spins from whiplash, his neck aches in protest. He's in a back alley of some sort, in a pile of hay. The city even smells foreign, though not entirely unpleasant. He attempts to stand, his head swimming; his joints object, throbbing like mad, but he eventually manages to struggle to his feet. Woozy is the only word he can think of using to describe his current state. Cloud staggers, leaning against one of the brick walls. He's gasping, the weight of this new discovery refusing to process.

He pats down his pockets, only to find that his potion pocket was shredded. He's still got munny, sure, but what good will that do him here? Cloud closes his eyes, but regrets it immediately. Visions of the night before swim to the brim of his mind - all he can see in the dark is glowing yellow eyes and the red emblem branded all over the crumbling castle. The vertigo is almost overwhelming.

When he opens his eyes again, there's a man standing there. "C'mon, kid, get a move on!" he grunts. There's a raven sitting on his shoulder that squawks in a very similar manner. "That's my hay you're standing on there."

Cloud hesitates, but steps out of the way before asking, "Do you know where we are?"

The man snorts; the raven copies him. "Why, kid, this is none other than Thebes!"

a/n; this fic is entirely written, one section for each major god in greek mythos, so the grand total of chapters is 14. those that are short will be paired with another chapter when i update.

i'd love feedback on this, so if you feel compelled to review, please do so!