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[makemywayhome.insanejournal.com]

Who: Lyra & Hypnos
What: Hi, I'm Sleep!
When: Wednesday afternoon
Where: Park


Hypnos had hoped that hanging out with him had done Thanatos some good, if only through him being a listening ear. He'd thought about dropping by to see if he was still doing alright, but realized he didn't know if he was home or not, so he went out for a walk instead.

He let his feet choose the path, mostly on autopilot, and wound up in a park not far from Thanatos' home after all. It was pretty quiet, most people in school or at work, and he was just enjoying the nice weather and not really watching where he was going.

So it was totally his fault when he ran into the girl walking the other way. "Oh god, I'm sorry!" he said, snapping out of his reverie. "You alright?"


gardhouse
2011-08-17 01:24 am (local) (link)
Since Saturday night Lyra didn't know what anything meant anymore and every time she closed her eyes she saw him.

She had trusted in Thane and he had turned out to be... Lyra didn't even know. So she cut herself off from the people who called wanting to do things with their last week of freedom before the return of classes, and she mostly spent her time curled up in bed feeling depressed or terrified or often both at the same time.

Walking through the park she felt exposed and unsure, as well as messy and puffy-eyed from crying. It was little wonder she didn't spot the man before running into him. She flinched, wrapping her arms around herself. She shook her head when he asked if she was okay. No, she wasn't okay, not even a little, but it hadn't been him bumping into her to blame. "It's fine," she told the man, although she sounded the very opposite of that.
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 01:35 am (local) (link)
The young woman looked kind of crumpled, drawn in on herself, her eyes red. Hypnos didn't really want to leave her by herself, she looked almost fragile.

"Look, maybe it's none of my business, but...did someone hurt you?" he asked. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I have a friend who works as a counselor. Maybe she could help."
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 01:42 am (local) (link)
Lyra shook her head and almost laughed. "Trust me," she said a little bitterly. "You can't help me."

He looked familiar though, but she couldn't place his face. A fellow student, one she'd never spoken to? No, not that, but someone...
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 01:52 am (local) (link)
"Try me," he said easily. "I've been told I'm very helpful. Like a Swiss army knife, me."

He bore her scrutiny, wondering what it might mean. All things in time, he supposed.
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 02:02 am (local) (link)
"No," Lyra just said again. "You can't- I know you from somewhere," she suddenly said, unsure of why his familiarity was worrying her so much. It wasn't comforting.

Then her confused expression was replaced with one of fear and she drew herself backwards. "Oh god," she whispered, because she remembered now. He'd been in the photos of Hawaii. He was one of Thane's brothers.
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 02:06 am (local) (link)
Hypnos tilted his head, looking at her. "Really?" he asked.

Then he watched recognition dawn on her face, followed by fear. It took him another few seconds to get it. "Lyra," he said. It had to be her.
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 02:11 am (local) (link)
With her name on his lips she backed up another step, terrified tears already blurring her vision. She held up a hand. "Don't you touch me!" she ordered him, although not that she could imagine that would do much. "I've seen what you are!"
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 02:16 am (local) (link)
He held up both his hands. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said, trying to project calm into the immediate area.

But he had to correct her second statement. "No," he said firmly. "You've seen what my brother is. And you've only seen a part." He concentrated, calling up his black wings and horn of opium. "He is Death, but I am Sleep. Hypnos, actually. Like the Pokemon."
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 02:22 am (local) (link)
Lyra covered her mouth in horror and turned to look around them, trying to see who else was nearby. But they were off the path and surrounded by the trees. It was just them.

Despite the fact that he had wings and was telling her that he was a Greek god, Lyra felt calmer than she had a few moments ago. Which seemed wrong and she didn't know what that meant either.

With her hand over her mouth and tears spilling down her cheeks she spoke, her voice a muffled whisper. "Why are you doing this to me?"
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 02:28 am (local) (link)
Hypnos just looked at her. "You say that like either of us set out to hurt you in the first place. We just...are what we are. We take aliases and hide who we are so people don't cart us off to asylums." He made the wings disappear. "Case in point: that's why I don't bust out the wings willy-nilly."

He sighed, brushing his hair out of his face. "Finding out really freaked you out, didn't it?"
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 02:46 am (local) (link)
The way he talked made it sound like Lyra was the crazy messed up one here, but she wasn't the one with wings, she wasn't the one who thought- no, said- no, was Death. Because Thane obviously wasn't crazy. She'd seen that much, and even if she'd tried to deny it she'd now seen it happen again.

Twice. So either things were really really fucked up, or Lyra had actually lost her mind.

Crying, Lyra sat down heavily on the grass and buried her face. "This isn't happening," she said, wanting so badly for that to be true but knowing, even more as the moments passed, that it wasn't. This was happening.

She had spent so much of her life hoping to find some proof of God or Gods, something that would make her believe completely or make her lose what still lingered. Her parents had believed so strongly in the Gods of Lyra's homeland and yet here Thanatos and Hypnos themselves stood in front of her and she couldn't accept it.

(Foggy childhood half memories kept biting at her to remember them properly, but there were things that children saw that needed to be pushed aside to grow up. And so near-death impossibilities were wiped away - by months in hospital, by kind doctors who said things like 'you'd lost a lot of blood' and 'the mind plays tricks', by mourning family.)

She looked up, but the man was still there. "This isn't real," she said, but her tone was pleading. If he would just tell her that this had all been a joke, one with elaborate special effects and cruelty, then she'd just accept it, she promised.
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 03:03 am (local) (link)
Hypnos folded himself down onto the grass, not next to her, but close enough so that he could still speak without shouting. His smile was lopsided and soft. "You're not the first person to react like that, believe me," he said. "It's a lot to take in, and people are always thinking that we're crazy, or that we are, or both."

"It is," he replied, a bit more firmly. "I'm Sleep, and Thanatos is the personification of peaceful death. When it's someone's time, Atropos cuts the thread and Thanatos takes them to Hades. Like if someone dies in their sleep. Or of old age. He's my twin brother, pretty much the best I could ask for."

He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and passed it to her. "If you want," he said.
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 03:10 am (local) (link)
Lyra just sat on the grass silently as he spoke, feeling exhausted and sick and scared and alone.

She took the offered handkerchief and wiped her eyes slowly, unsure of what else to do. (Besides, refusing something given to you by someone who could be a threat seemed needlessly dangerous, and Lyra was never one to be considered reckless.)

"My parents prayed to Olympians," she finally said after a long time, because it was what happened to come out of her mouth. Her brain wasn't really following at all. "You're not meant to be real. You're supposed to- you're supposed to be comforting thoughts for people who need something to believe in outside of themselves, like God or... Allah or something. You're not supposed to be real." Although her voice was still obviously trembling, it appeared that Lyra was dealing with her crisis by falling into talk about metaphysics.
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 03:23 am (local) (link)
"Did they?" he asked. "And, for the most part, I'm sorry to tell you that most of them are around. I'm sorry because most of them are giant assholes. And also very real."

"And that's the rub, I think," he replied, settling into the discussion. "We're still alive, in this modern day and age, because of belief, because of 'worship', in a way. It was a lot stronger in ancient times, obviously, and that was the height of our power. Then came Rome, and then...". He shrugged. "The world moved on. And we took what we could get, as far as belief goes. And Hollywood keeps mining the myths for movies and TV, so I don't think the more well-known gods are going anywhere anytime soon...and I'm not really helping, am I?" he asked, looking over at her.
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 03:33 am (local) (link)
Lyra had never had a panic attack in her life, but she suspected that this might be what the beginning of one felt like. She just shook her head quickly, gripping the handkerchief in her hand like it could keep her safe.

Lots of gods.

All over the place.

Everywhere.

Just... walking around with normal people.

Lyra sniffed and looked over at him. "I'd like to go home now please," she told him, her voice wavering as she tried to sound like she wasn't about to scream for the rest of her life.
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 03:37 am (local) (link)
Hypnos tried to project more calm, wishing like hell that Pasithea was around. She was better at relaxation, and if he didn't watch it, he was going to put Lyra to sleep in the middle of a park. Which wasn't going to help at all.

"Oh. OK," he said, standing up. "Do you want me to walk you? I know it's a shock, and I'm probably the last person you want around, but I'd feel better knowing you got there OK."
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 03:47 am (local) (link)
Lyra felt too tired to argue about that. So she just nodded numbly up at him and then slowly climbed to her feet, not bothering to brush the grass off her trousers. "I live that way," Lyra told him without much feeling behind the words, looking off to the right. "It's not far. I can make it by myself."
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 03:58 am (local) (link)
Crap, he was probably overdoing it. He eased off the sleep mojo. Pasithea was so much better at this.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You look like you're about to fall over. I honestly don't mind."
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gardhouse
2011-08-17 04:01 am (local) (link)
"No, please," Lyra said helplessly. "Please, I'd just like to go home." One she was out of the park she could just run the rest of the way and then lock her doors and never come out again.
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bringerofsleep
2011-08-17 04:11 pm (local) (link)
"OK, OK," Hypnos replied, retreating a few steps. "I'm sorry if I've upset you," he said. "Take care of yourself, OK?"

He turned to go, sticking his hands in his pockets, feet shuffling along the path, debating whether or not to tell Thanatos.