New Dawning

“Where’d Arkonel go?” Ari asked sleepily as she walked down the stairs to join her mother at breakfast.

“Well, I’m not entirely sure.  Did you have the strange dream that I did, last night?”  Her mom asked, looking up over the newspaper.

“Not a dream.”  Arkonel’s voice echoed through the kitchen.

“Apparently so.”  Ari sighed and sat down next to her mother.  “Hey, when you talk, can you like appear or something?  That kind of freaks me out a little more than it should.”

“Sure.”  Arkonel said as he walked through the kitchen door in his usual form.  “I trust you two slept well?”

“Sure did.”  Ari replied.  “What time is it, anyway?  Someone unplugged my clock.”

“A little past two in the afternoon.”  Her mom commented.  “I got up, late too.”

“I unplugged the clocks.”  Arkonel admitted.  “May I sit?”

“Hey, do we have to call you by a title or something?  Like ‘godly one’ or ‘master’ or something?”  Ari asked him, laughing.  He shook his head.

“No.”  He glared at her.  “This is why I didn’t reveal what I was.”

“And the fact that we would have written you off as psycho unless we had seen you in action?”  Ari asked.  Ari’s mother completely ignored their bickering and continued to read the newspaper.

“That, too.”

“So, tell me…”  Ari’s voice held a hint of bitterness.  “Do you gods have emotions?  Like in the stories?”

“Yes.  We all feel.  Anyway,”  Arkonel said, trying to move on, “I went through the task of unplugging your bedroom clocks because you had a trying night and it’s a proven fact that humans sleep better with no indication of time around them.”

“If you feel like us, how come you refer to us as humans?”  Ari asked, getting up, avoiding Arkonel’s eyes, and going to get her breakfast/lunch.

“We are different, you and I.”  Arkonel shrugged, even though Ari couldn’t see his movements.  “I perceive differently than you.”

“Oh, really?”  Ari reached for the cereal on the top shelf and watched in distaste as all of the other boxes began to fall onto the floor.  They stopped midair.

“You’re angry at me.  You weren’t last night, but you are now.”  Arkonel said mildly, watching Ari back away from the cereal boxes that had fallen and were slowly rising back to the top shelf.  “A little scared, too.”

“You’re a friggin’ genius.  I was last night, too.”  Ari argued with him, ignoring what had just happened and retrieving a bowl from a different cupboard.

“No, you weren’t.  You were thankful, and curious.”

“Ari, will you shut up and eat your goddamned breakfast?”  Gena said from behind her newspaper.  “He obviously feels bad about what happened last night.”

“As he should.  Did you know it was his fault, mom?  You could have been hurt, and it would have been his fault.”

“Now, Ari.”  Gena lowered the newspaper so she could see her daughter.  “Did Arkonel send that man into the house to rob us?”

“No, but…”  Ari trailed off as her mother interrupted her.

“Case solved.  Arkonel did not directly cause us pain and suffering, and dealt with the problem when it arose with surprising ease, efficiency, and kindness.  As a pagan, you know the god energy.  Zeus would have killed the man, no questions asked, and then impregnated both you and I.”

“Now wait a minute!”  Arkonel protested.  “He hasn’t gotten anyone pregnant in 400 years!”

“Really?  Isn’t that like, a minute in god time?”

“We experience time the same as you do.”  Arkonel said.  “He decided to try the whole chastity thing.  Hera and my father – Zeus – don’t get along any better, but she’s stopped trying to trap and murder all of his illegitimate children.”

“He’s your father?  Interesting.”  Gena smiled and went back to reading her newspaper.  “Now stop arguing and eat, Ari.  And Arkonel, don’t kiss the ground that she walks on.  You’re the god, and she the lowly mortal.  She has no right to be angry with you for protecting us.  If you two are going to argue, do it outside, after she eats.”

“Yes ma’am.”  Arkonel said as Ari echoed a similar response.  She sat down sullenly to eat her breakfast.

Arkonel watched Ari chew for a moment, and then requested a piece of the newspaper from her mother, who obliged.  He had never actually read a human newspaper before, and after several moments of the newspaper crackling loudly in the otherwise silent room, Gena looked up and smiled.

“It takes a bit of practice.  Its easier to put it on the table and read it.”  She went back to her section of the paper, then flipped the page with ease.

Frustrated, Arkonel gave up on actually holding the paper.  Using a cushion of air, Arkonel directed the paper to float above him and then leaned back into the chair, looking up to read it.  Ari looked up from her cereal, choked back a smile and turned back down to her cereal.  She couldn’t stay mad at anyone if they couldn’t even figure out how to hold a newspaper.  But she would still act angry.  He had been trying to sleep with her.

“Done.”  Ari announced a few minutes later, after another bout of awkward silence.  “I’m going to take a shower.  Will you keep an eye on him?”  Ari pointed at Arkonel and then stalked upstairs, leaving her bowl empty on the table.

“Wow, she’s really upset.  Is there something going on that I should know about?”  Gena asked Arkonel as she rose to take care of the bowl. He looked down.

“Don’t worry.  I can get that.”  Without moving, Arkonel made the bowl travel to the sink and soak in the soapy water awaiting it.  “I think she’s upset because the club last night was a date for us, and she can’t quite get it through her head that I wasn’t trying to sleep with her, only spend time with her.”

“Maybe she wants you to want to sleep with her?” Gena asked, setting the paper down.  “Teenage girls are not usually the most self-assured people, you know.  I think this is one of those times where you’re screwed if you do, and screwed if you don’t, if you know what I mean.”

“I think so.  Any advice?  I’ve never dealt with humans for such an extended period of time before.”

“You mean you haven’t been around a female long enough to establish more than a one-night-stand  relationship?”  Gena asked, amused, and Arkonel nodded sheepishly.  “And if Zeus was your father, you definitely didn’t have a female raising you.  I may not know much, but I know that he wasn’t exactly good with children.  And there were several incidents involving Hera and Zeus’ bastards.”

“Something like that.”  Arkonel admitted.  He had never realized that he would need a special…method… for dealing with females.

“My advice is to just let her cool off.  Stay invisible for the day, unless she calls you, and try not to get in her way.  I doubt she never wants to see you again.  If you were a human male, I’d suggest bringing her flowers.  I’m sure you can hook something up with your friends in Olympus as a make-up gift.”

“So…” Arkonel paused.  “You’re not angry with me, as well?”

“No, I see it for what it is.  I have been a devout witch all of my life.  I prayed for company to come along for my daughter, and it was manifested.  Maybe in unusual terms, but still manifested.  The fact that you would offer your energy to protect myself as well as her gives you my stamp of approval.  We are blessed, very much so.  My daughter just can’t see it right now.  She’s scared of that which she doesn’t necessarily understand.”

“Wise beyond your years.”  Arkonel told her.  “Thank you for your advice, and for your kindness.”

“I’m not sure its kindness.  I don’t think that Ari quite understands you.  I have an idea – and I know that if you’re still around, and have been for at least four hundred years, chances are that you have a certain power over life and death.”

“You don’t have to be frightened.”  Arkonel said as he stood and pushed the chair in behind him.

“I know. But I respect that power, and authority.  She doesn’t, quite yet.”

“I think I’ll turn invisible now.  If you have any questions for me, just call out my name, I’ll be right there.”

“Sure, you know I will.  This is going to make an awesome novel.”

With that final comment, Arkonel rose and turned invisible once more.  He traveled up the stairs and went inside of the bathroom door.  He would respect the girl’s privacy, although he knew she wouldn’t be any the wiser if he snuck a peak.  He had seen it all before.  But she was his job, and her mother, his secondary duty.

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