Finally, it appeared that the pup was starting to remember his manners, not that Calliope had expected him to. So many whom she had crossed paths with before had been too eager to reject her advice, tossing it aside like a piece of rotten meat without ever realizing the true weight of the information she had offered them. But that only reasserted her point; give a fish a diamond, and the mindless creature would never appreciate its worth. Gods and mortals came in all shapes and sizes, but, simply put, there were some who were deserving of godhood, and some who would never be able to actualize the full extent of their gifts. Brutes may have the upper hand in contests of strength, but life was about so much more than that. In reality, intellect took one much farther than brawn did, and while she still doubted the pup’s ability to look after himself, she was satisfied to see that his skull was not bone all the way through, that it did, indeed, house the semblance of a brain within.

No, the pup still had no chance of surviving alone. Even he knew that, if his desperate plea wrapped up in false promises were any indication. But, if he were to play his cards right, Calliope was aware of a collection of other mortals in the area. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to charm one of them, to beguile them with his naïve expression and pitiful backstory, and they could act as a surrogate parent until he was finally able to strike out on his own. Calliope made it a habit of hers never to trust others with her own wellbeing, for you never knew when even a dearest friend could turn and strike you in the back. But, there was once a time when she, too, relied on her mother’s milk for nourishment, and would beg at her father’s feet for scraps. It was hardly a memory she wished to relive, but the truth of the world was that all life began in the same way: under someone else’s thumb. And the pup didn’t seem opposed to the idea at all.

At his proposition, the otter snorted loudly, impetuously. “You? Stay with me? Ha, don’t make me laugh! You can ’ardly swim with those twigs you call legs. What, do you think the fish will just wait around for you to catch ’em? A little furball like you can barely pass for a wolf, much less an otter! No, what you need is the company of other wolves, and you’ll find those big lugs wandering around the area like braindead flies. If you sit here long enough, I’m sure at least one of them will want to take on a little doofus like you.” Scoffing still, the otter yawned widely, for it was still the dead of night. Remember its exhaustion, it turned to disappear into the depths of the lake once more, to submerge itself into the crystalline waters, as dark as the midnight sky above. Striking out with a powerful stroke of its tail, it stuck to the surface, but swam far away enough from the shallows that it could dive if it wished. Then, suddenly as if remembering something, it turned to call over its shoulder, voice carrying through the stillness. “Oh, and I suspect that once you figure out what kind of power you have, you’ll be wanting to talk to a real god about how to grow it. When you get to that point, make sure to call for Calliope, God of Trickery. She’ll come if you summon her but brush up on your manners first. Me, I’m a rough and tough kind of guy, but she’s a real majesty, a real piece of work if you get me. Be careful what you say and make sure to introduce yourself first. Otherwise, well, let’s just say you’d rather be on her good side.”

Content that she had finished telling the pup all that he needed to know, Calliope had the illusion duck beneath the water and disappear from view. In a few moments, the ripples left by his descent also stilled, and so all traces of his existence as well as hers were wiped clean. The pup, with his hardworking imagination, might not even remember this meeting come morning, suspecting it to have been somewhat of a fever dream instead. But Calliope hoped he would not forget, hoped that he would heed her wisdom and take full advantage of her aid. For, no matter how she behaved around others, she truly could not deny that she possessed a soft spot for pups.


tags: Keldo
words: 779
notes: annnnnddd she's gone. let me know if you want to post Keldo's reply of if I should just lock the thread instead!