So I decided to give the February mini-challenge for
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hc_bingo a go and this is the result
Title: Chance and Sufferance
Author: Yassandra
Fandom: Atlantis
Pairing/characters: Jason, Pythagoras, Hercules & The Oracle
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Not mine. BBC and Urban Myth Films own them.
Word count: 7254
Summary: Hercules with toothache is always going to be painful for his friends.
A/N This story has been written for the February Amnesty Challenge for Round 7 of Bingo on the Hurt/Comfort LJ Community to cover the prompts: toothache, destruction/natural disasters, nervous breakdown and headaches/migraines (wild card). I hope you enjoy it :-)
"For there was never yet philosopher
That could endure the toothache patiently,
However they have writ the style of gods
And made a push at chance and sufferance."
(William Shakespeare – Much Ado About Nothing, Act 5: Scene 1)
"You should not be here"
The Oracle did not turn as she spoke, still concentrating on washing off her sacrificial knife and extinguishing the oil lamps. It was late, very late, and she was preparing to retire for the night. This was past the hour when the Oracle could be visited on any normal day and all of Atlantis knew it.
All of Atlantis except Jason it seemed. The young hero was descending the steps behind the Oracle steadily.
"I know," he admitted.
The Oracle felt a momentary flash of irritation. If he knew, then why was he disturbing her? She was tired and required rest without the incessant questions of overly curious young men – no matter how important they might be to the future of Atlantis.
"You have questions," she stated, barely able to keep the exasperation out of her voice.
"No," Jason answered. "Not this time."
The Oracle blinked in surprise and turned to face him as he stepped off the last stair and into the chamber. It wasn't often that someone managed to surprise her (one of the many consequences of her gift) and she wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or worried.
"Then why are you here?" she demanded, coming across the cavern to him. "What is it? What is wrong?"
Jason managed to look a little sheepish – a little embarrassed – as he looked back at her.
"Actually I was looking for sanctuary," he replied.
"Sanctuary?" the Oracle asked. "Why? Jason, what have you done?" she added suspiciously.
"Nothing," Jason answered defensively. "Maybe sanctuary was the wrong word. It's more that I needed to escape for a little while and I didn't have anywhere else to go… which, now that I think about it, is actually kind of sad." He looked more sheepish than ever. "Can I stay and keep you company for a bit?"
The Oracle stared at him, thoroughly startled. She was used to odd requests from people coming to seek the benefit of her visions and wisdom but none of them ever wanted to stay for a chat once they had what they wanted. Still, the young man looked so hopeful that she didn't have the heart to send him back out into the night.
"Very well," she said. "I was clearing up for the night and preparing for the morning."
"Can I help?" Jason asked.
The Oracle blinked in surprise again. She couldn't remember anyone having asked to help her before. Even the priests left her to it when it came to tidying up her chamber – although they were endlessly attentive at other times.
"The wicks on the lamps require trimming," she found herself saying.
Jason smiled and moved around the room to gather them up, sitting himself on the bottom step of the stairs and beginning the task she had appointed him. After a moment, the Oracle stepped into a side chamber and fetched some cut herbs, bringing them back to sit near the young man and starting to tie them into bundles.
They worked in silence for a few minutes, the Oracle watching her young companion thoughtfully.
"I sense turmoil in your heart," she said softly. "Do you wish to share it?"
Jason hesitated for a moment.
"From my time in the other world," he said slowly, "there were stories of a city called Atlantis. Stories of a city that offended the Gods so much that they destroyed it; that it sank beneath the ocean in a single day… What is to become of the city? Of us all?"
"I believe you already know the answer to that question," the Oracle answered. "You know the fate that awaits us all if we do not manage to divert it as well as I do. Our feet are already on that path, although we have not yet taken our first steps along it. Only you can stop this. The fate of all Atlantis rests in your hands."
"I still don't understand why," Jason said. "I don't understand why I am so special. It doesn't make sense."
The Oracle smiled gently.
"It is as I have told you before," she murmured. "You are not like other men, Jason… one day you will understand that."
"You tell me that it is my destiny to save the city and its people," Jason said humourlessly. "But how? Surely that's beyond anyone."
"Anyone except you," the Oracle replied. "You are not like ordinary men."
"I don't know if I can do this," Jason admitted quietly. "I don't know if I can be what you want me to be… but the thought of what will happen if I fail frightens me."
He looked down at the ground, almost ashamed of his own admission.
The Oracle put down the bunch of herbs she was tying. She reached out and took his hand, running her thumb lightly across the scraped and bruised knuckles.
"You are so much more than you believe," she replied. "Our prayers truly were answered when you returned to Atlantis."
"I have dreams sometimes," Jason said softly. "Nightmares. I dream of the city being destroyed. Of tidal waves and floods. Of seeing everyone I love die."
"And that is why you have sought me out this evening?"
Jason huffed a quiet chuckle.
"No," he replied. "I just needed to get out of the house tonight. My friends… well, we were all getting on each other's nerves a bit so I thought it would be better if I got out for a while. I came here because I couldn't think of anywhere else to go… which is truly pathetic."
"Surely you and your friends are still happy about recent events?" the Oracle murmured with a smile. "Ariadne is safe and Pasiphae has been exiled. It is a better outcome than any of us could have hoped for."
"It is," Jason answered with a small smile. "But it hasn't been a good day today. I think Pythagoras was coming close to having a nervous breakdown when I left. You see it all started this morning…"
"Argh!"
Hercules' bellow woke Jason up from a nightmare about Atlantis sinking. For a moment he lay there with his eyes closed, almost relieved that the dream had been broken. Then the sound of Hercules' hollering filtered through his sleep addled brain and he rolled out of bed as quickly as his body would allow, worried that they were under attack or something. The noise that the burly wrestler was making bore a startling resemblance to a bellowing bull and Jason was still too sleepy to work out why.
He stumbled across the floor.
"Argh!" Hercules hollered again, the sound coming from the direction of their covered balcony.
Jason headed in that direction. Everything seemed peaceful enough out here but clearly there was something very wrong if Hercules' yowls were anything to go by.
"I am sorry Hercules but if you had come to me sooner this could all have been avoided."
Pythagoras sounded frustrated and stressed.
Hercules' response was unintelligible but contained several loud groans.
"Since you will not let me examine you properly, there is little I can do," Pythagoras stated. "You will just have to wait for the tonic to take effect."
Jason relaxed. If Pythagoras was not especially worried then there was no need for him to be on high alert. He wandered out onto the balcony and plonked himself down on a stool at the table and reached out to grab himself a cup of water, blinking blearily at his friends. The sun was riding high in the sky, indicating that it was far later than Jason had been expecting; far later than he usually got up.
"So you finally decided to join us then?" Pythagoras said acerbically, looking at Jason. "I had begun to think you were planning on sleeping all day."
Jason blinked in surprise. It was rare for Pythagoras to be so sharp and generally indicated that either he or Hercules (or both of them) had irritated the usually kind mathematician.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't sleep all that well last night."
"I know," Pythagoras snapped. "You paced… incessantly."
Ah. So that was it. Too little sleep could make Pythagoras snappy at times – and clearly this was one of them.
"I'm sorry," Jason said again. "I did not mean to keep you awake. I didn't think."
"No," Pythagoras said sharply. "You never do."
Jason stared at him for a moment, eyes wide and startled. Even when he was tired and crabby, Pythagoras was never usually this scathing.
"And then, when you had finally stopped pacing about and making as much noise as a herd of wild horses trampling through the house, and everything had finally gone quiet – when I was right on the verge of sleep once more – he starts moaning and groaning loudly enough to wake the dead." Pythagoras gestured angrily towards Hercules. "I swear that the pair of you were conspiring against me last night."
"We weren't," Jason said hurriedly. "And I am sorry if I stopped you from sleeping. I wouldn't have disturbed you for anything. I was just having a bad night."
Pythagoras sat down heavily on the opposite side of the table from him and frowned worriedly.
"That has become a regular occurrence of late," he remarked. "Is something troubling you?"
Jason pulled a face.
"Not really," he said.
"Really?" Pythagoras demanded abruptly. "Because it seems to me that there is."
"His trouble is that he's never satisfied with anything," Hercules grumbled crossly.
His voice sounded muffled and he had one hand across his mouth, holding his own cheek as he glowered at both his friends.
"We rescued the Princess and survived to tell the tale," Hercules went on. "That should be cause for celebration – in spite of him being an idiot and turning down that purse of gold… which, might I remind you, would have come in handy around here – but is he happy? No! He wanders around the house at night, keeping everyone up when they should be sleeping, and looking damned miserable."
"I have never noticed you being kept awake by anything," Pythagoras sniped back. "You snore like a strangled pig."
Jason was beginning to feel distinctly uncomfortable at the more bitter tone that their usual banter had taken this morning. Both his friends seemed to be remarkably bad tempered this morning and he had to admit that the lack of sleep coupled with the sudden awakening because of Hercules' howling was making him decidedly cranky too.
"Guys, come on. Let's not do this," he murmured, trying to calm everything down. "I'm sorry I kept you up last night," he went on, looking straight at Pythagoras. "It was just a bad dream… nothing for you to be worried about."
"Truly?" Pythagoras asked.
"Truly," Jason confirmed.
Hercules let out a loud groan.
"What's wrong with him?" Jason asked.
"He has toothache," Pythagoras replied, irritation creeping into his tone once more. "He has a tooth that has been bothering him for some time now but he has never allowed me to examine him. Last night he ate a honey pie and nut pie that I told him would do him no good but he did not listen and now his tooth is worse than ever… and he still will not allow me to examine it. So he will just have to sit there and suffer until the tonic he has taken takes effect."
"I'm sitting right here," Hercules mumbled.
His voice definitely sounded strange coming out from behind his own hand.
"Yes Hercules," Pythagoras responded sharply. "I am well aware of that. I have been only too aware of it ever since you came out here and interrupted my work earlier. I was on the verge of something – some realisation – I could feel it… and then you appeared bellowing like the Minotaur and refusing to give me a moment's peace."
"But it hurts," Hercules muttered plaintively.
Pythagoras' expression softened.
"I know," he said, "and I wish to help... Truly I do. Will you let me examine you to see what may be done?"
Hercules mumbled something unintelligible but he did take his hand away from his face. The side of his jaw that he had been protecting with his hand was swollen and misshapen; it looked horribly sore.
Pythagoras tutted and stood up, moving over to his old friend and placing both hands on Hercules' shoulders as he peered at the older man's swollen jaw.
"Could you fetch a spoon please," he threw over his shoulder to Jason. "And you will find a long needle in a cloth roll in the trunk at the end of my bed." He thought for a moment as his younger friend plodded back into the kitchen. "Oh, and two cups – one of water and one of wine," he called.
Once Pythagoras had the things he needed, he carefully cleaned off the wooden handle of the spoon with the water and then dipped it into the wine, shaking off any loose droplets under Hercules' disapproving glare. Then he approached the big man once more.
"Open," he instructed. He hesitated for a moment and grimaced. "I need to ascertain whether it is only one tooth that is causing this or whether there are others which need attention too," he explained. "This may be a little uncomfortable."
He began to gently tap the handle of the spoon against Hercules' teeth, working methodically around.
"AAARRRGGHHH!" Hercules' bellow would have put the Minotaur to shame.
He tried to clamp his teeth closed, only to find that Pythagoras hadn't removed the spoon yet. Hercules wrenched himself away from the young genius and clapped his hands back over his clearly throbbing jaw, staring accusingly at his old friend.
In the background, Jason winced sympathetically.
"Right," Pythagoras said briskly. "You have been fortunate in that it appears there is only one tooth involved; the back tooth on the bottom right-hand side of your jaw. I need to look at it properly to see what can be done for you."
Hercules shook his head sharply, still glaring menacingly at Pythagoras.
Pythagoras sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I will not touch you for this part," he promised, "but I cannot help you if I do not know the full extent of the problem. You can either let me look or stay in pain… the choice is yours Hercules."
Hercules glowered at him but nodded once.
"I will require a little more light," Pythagoras said. "Let's go over there where the light is better."
He guided his larger friend to the edge of the balcony, positioning Hercules so that plenty of light fell on his face.
"Open your mouth as wide as you can," the young genius instructed the burly wrestler.
Hercules complied.
Pythagoras peered into his mouth for several minutes before pursing his lips and glaring at his friend.
"For goodness sake Hercules," he said sharply, the frustrated note coming back into his voice. "Why did you not come to me before now? If you had, I could have packed the tooth with a small piece of linen soaked in medicine. That would have prevented food getting into the hole and festering at least. Then when the pain was gone I could have heated a wire and cauterised it… But because you have left it and tried to ignore it there is nothing left to do but to remove the tooth."
Hercules closed his mouth and glowered darkly at Pythagoras.
"No!" he growled stubbornly.
"Hercules there is no choice." Pythagoras sounded exasperated. "If you do not have the tooth removed it will fester even more and you will become unwell. I will not see someone who I regard as a close friend lose his life to something so simple as a toothache when the remedy is so readily available. Remove the corrupted tooth and the source of the problem will be gone. You will be rapidly free from the pain and able to return to eating pies with impunity… As things stand I know that eating will be difficult with the pain in your jaw. Surely it would be better to get it all over and done with now? I will be as gentle as I can."
"No!" Hercules growled again.
"Fine then," Pythagoras snapped, throwing up his arms. "Be in pain. See if I care. But do not come running to me when it grows worse."
He turned and stalked away, muttering under his breath.
Jason watched these proceedings in surprise. He had seen his friends bickering before (like an old married couple, his mind unhelpfully supplied) but he had never seen them really argue about anything. Pythagoras was a born peacemaker after all, so to see him frustrated to the point where he washed his hands of Hercules' behaviour was startling.
Hercules threw a look at Pythagoras' retreating back that would have seen the mathematician six feet under if looks could have killed.
"I need wine," he muttered. "Take the pain away."
He lumbered towards the kitchen, hand covering his swollen face once more.
Jason followed him.
"I doubt wine will actually fix it," he murmured. "Why don't you just let Pythagoras do what he needs to do? It'll be over quickly enough and you'll feel a lot better for it."
"He's not going to practice his butchery on me!" Hercules declared, volume rising (as it so often did when he was even slightly irritated).
"Oh come on," Jason answered. "Pythagoras isn't a butcher… and he usually knows what's best where medical things are concerned. You know he wouldn't do anything that wasn't necessary."
"He's still not pulling my teeth out," Hercules insisted.
"I said tooth… as in one tooth… not teeth plural." Pythagoras' voice snapped from the balcony.
"You say one now," Hercules yelled back, "but it's a slippery slope. You might get a bit excited and decide to go further; take more. I mean one day you could be walking along happy as anything with a full set of teeth and the next: Bam! Someone who thinks he knows a bit about physiciany things has you flat on your back with all your teeth out… and it's no more meat or pies for you. No, it'll be mush and liquids only from then on." He shook his head morosely.
Jason grimaced. He didn't feel comfortable in Pythagoras' usual role of chief comforter and peacemaker – especially when he hadn't long got up and was still half asleep.
"Stop overdramatising things!" Pythagoras retorted, storming back in from the balcony. "Why must you always be so melodramatic? You are my friend and I do my best for you – for both of you," he added, gesticulating towards Jason too, "and what do I get in return? Histrionics and insults."
He was shaking with anger and appeared to almost be on the verge of tears, his usually pale complexion red and blotchy.
"What did I do?" Jason muttered defensively to no-one in particular.
Pythagoras ignored him and continued to round on Hercules.
"You are the most ungrateful, selfish man I have ever met," he told the burly wrestler. "I have only ever tried to help you and you have thrown it back in my face. Well no more! I am sick of it. From now on you are on your own!"
He turned and stomped into his bedroom, yanking the curtain across the doorway so hard that it was in danger of coming down. Jason was fairly certain that if he had had a door in the opening, Pythagoras would have slammed it.
"Well that was uncalled for," Hercules sniffed. He downed a cup of wine in one long gulp.
"Was it?" Jason asked sharply. "He was only trying to help… and actually you were pretty nasty, suggesting that he was going to pull all your teeth out for fun. Pythagoras would never do anything to deliberately hurt you, you know that."
Hercules winced as his jaw gave a sharp throb.
"It's none of your business anyway," he snapped at Jason, the pain in his face making his short temper shorter than ever.
"It is my business when you are upsetting Pythagoras," Jason retorted. "But you know what? Pythagoras is right! If you won't accept his help then you can deal with it yourself."
He marched over to the main door to the house and yanked it open.
"Where are you going?" Hercules demanded.
"Out," Jason snapped.
He stepped through the door and pulled it sharply closed behind himself, letting it bang shut with a satisfying thud.
"You can always trust Hercules to make a fuss about the smallest things," Jason said, rolling his eyes.
"Perhaps," the Oracle replied, still tying bundles of herbs, "yet to lose any teeth is something that most people would dread."
"Why?" Jason asked. "I mean, I know nobody likes going to the dentist but it's sort of necessary… and if you're in pain then surely it would be better to fix it? Even if that does mean taking a tooth out. It happens all the time where I come from."
"What is a dentist?" the Oracle asked curiously. It was not often these days that she came across something she did not know – one of the consequences of her gift.
Jason looked momentarily startled.
"Oh… erm… it is sort of a doctor for teeth," he muttered.
The Oracle blinked owlishly at him.
"Ah," she said. "The thing you must remember though," she added delicately, "is that this world and the world that you journeyed from are very different places."
"Trust me, I know," Jason grumbled.
The Oracle reached out and gently took his hand once more.
"I wish I could have made it easier," she said softly.
"From the moment I first came here you have always been kind and always tried to guide me," Jason replied. "I could not have asked for any more."
With one final pat of his hand, the Oracle returned to her task.
"I do not know what it was like in the world that you grew up in," she remarked, "but here in Atlantis there is a stigma attached to losing teeth. Most people will try to avoid it at all costs."
"I understand that," Jason said, "but there was no need to take it all out on Pythagoras. He was only trying to help Hercules. He did not deserve it."
"Perhaps not but when you are in pain it is all too easy to lash out at the people closest to you… particularly if they are telling you something that you do not wish to hear," the Oracle murmured.
"Hmm," Jason responded. "Maybe you are right."
It was late afternoon when Jason went home. He had spent most of the day aimlessly wandering, a little too cross with Hercules to want to be near him. Then it had occurred to him that that meant he was leaving Pythagoras to deal with the big man's whinging on his own. It was unfair of him to abandon the mathematician that way so he had headed back to the house.
Pythagoras was sitting at the kitchen table, scraps of parchment and writing equipment laid out before him, squinting at something he was working on as the light from the setting sun faded and the room became darker. From his slumped posture and the way he kept massaging his temples with a pained grimace, Jason could tell that Pythagoras didn't know anyone else was there; he would undoubtedly have made more of an attempt to conceal the fact that he was in pain if he had.
"Are you alright?" Jason asked softly.
Pythagoras' head snapped up at the sound. He winced.
"Oh, it's you," he said ungraciously. "Yes I am fine," he added as an afterthought.
"Really?" Jason asked, coming over to sit opposite his friend. "Because you don't look fine to me."
"Well I would be fine if everyone would just leave me alone to work in peace," Pythagoras snapped.
He glared at Jason for a moment but broke off with a slight wince, almost visibly deflating.
"I am sorry," he murmured. "You do not deserve to be the recipient of my bad temper."
He rubbed his temples with his fingers.
"I have a Hercules induced headache," he admitted.
"Ah," Jason replied. "Where is he anyway?" he added, looking around.
"I neither know nor care," Pythagoras retorted impatiently.
He tried to ignore the 'don't take it out on me' look that Jason gave him, the brunette's hands spread out, palms up in a gesture of peace. After a moment, though, he relented.
"I believe he is at the tavern," he muttered. "He informed me that he was going to 'drink away the pain' since I was 'unwilling to help him'."
"Pythagoras," Jason began.
"I am perfectly willing to help him," Pythagoras went on, ignoring the fact that his friend had spoken. "I always have been and I always will be… but he does not wish to accept the help that I can give. There is only one course of treatment that I can see but Hercules is not willing for me to do it. He… well you heard him this morning… he thinks that I am a butcher." His tone had become bitter.
"I am sure he doesn't really think that," Jason tried.
"Yes he does!" Pythagoras snapped. "He cannot see that I have his best interests at heart and is not willing to listen to me… and yet all day… all day he has not allowed me a moment's peace. He has followed me around complaining that he is in pain and demanding that I do something about it, but when I told him again what I would need to do he shouted at me. Then finally, finally, when he goes out and I get a moment to myself to try to settle and work, here you come."
"I'm sorry. I can go out again if you want," Jason offered.
Pythagoras sighed.
"No," he replied. "You should not feel that you are not welcome in your own home."
He pressed his fingers to his forehead once more and scrunched his eyes shut, wincing slightly.
"Have you taken anything for the headache?" Jason asked. "One of your herbal tonics?"
He knew Pythagoras' herbal tonics only too well; had taken them on far too many occasions to take the edge of his aches and pains. They were surprisingly effective most of the time – even if they did sometimes taste foul.
"No," Pythagoras answered wearily. "I should. I would make you take one after all."
"And stand over me until I had finished every last drop," Jason responded with a slight smile. "No, you stay there," he added as Pythagoras went to stand up. "I'll get it for you."
He rifled through the shelves for a few minutes before realising that he didn't actually know which tonic he was looking for; there were several small stoppered bottles that it could be.
"Third bottle from the left on the second shelf up." Pythagoras' voice sounded weary and strained; highly stressed.
Jason grabbed the bottle and hurried back to the table, slightly embarrassed that, despite having lived here for the best part of a year, he still didn't know exactly what was on the kitchen shelves or which of Pythagoras' concoctions was which. The thing was that usually Pythagoras was the only one who touched the bottles of tonic; was the one who looked after both his friends when they were hurt or ill. Jason suddenly wondered who looked after Pythagoras when the mathematician was unwell – and was ashamed that this was the first time he had thought about it.
Pythagoras took the bottle from him with a grateful look and a slight upturning of his lips. He took the stopper out of the bottle and downed the contents in one.
"How long will that take to kick in?" Jason asked softly.
"It should not take long at all to take effect," Pythagoras answered, turning back to his work and picking up his stylus once more.
Jason bit his lip and grimaced.
"Maybe you should give that up," he ventured. "Just until your headache is gone I mean," he added at Pythagoras' dark look. "I'm not trying to nag or anything but you're my friend and I'd rather you weren't in pain."
"And that is how I feel about this whole situation with Hercules," Pythagoras replied.
"I know," Jason said. "But if Hercules isn't willing to help himself then there isn't much we can do."
"No," Pythagoras agreed. "There is not… but I do not have to like it."
His eyes strayed back to the scrap of parchment in front of him and narrowed in thought. He wrote a couple of quick figures down and frowned as he made a calculation. After a while he looked up quizzically at Jason.
"Why do you do that?" he asked.
"Do what?" Jason sounded slightly confused.
"Watch me while I am studying," Pythagoras answered softly. "I have seen you do it before. You are usually more subtle about hiding it – you sharpen your knife or appear to be looking for something on the shelves – but I catch you watching me when you think I am not looking… and, unless you have a secret love for mathematics that you have not told me about, I can see no reason for it. I am only too aware that what I am doing can hardly be described as fascinating to anyone but myself."
"I wasn't bad at geometry in school," Jason muttered. "You are right though – I don't have your sort of passion for mathematics… but your theories and your triangles are going to be remembered for thousands of years – they are going to bore children all over the world for generations to come – and to be here to see you discover them… well that is pretty special."
"Do not mock me," Pythagoras said sharply. "It is both cruel and unkind to make this sort of joke at my expense; to taunt me. I have never believed you to be capable of such unkindness. I know I am not as physically capable as you or Hercules and that my interests are of little importance to anyone other than me but it is hurtful to have attention drawn to that fact. It is one thing to have a light-hearted joke at one another's expense, as we have often done… it is quite another to be deliberately spiteful."
"I'm not," Jason protested earnestly. "Pythagoras, there are hundreds of guys out there that can run fast or use a sword… and most of them will be forgotten in the long run. What you can do – your thoughts and your theories – that's what will really be remembered; what really matters."
Pythagoras stared at him.
"I actually think you believe that," he remarked.
"I do," Jason replied.
Pythagoras snorted and shook his head.
"There are times, Jason, when I am forced to believe that you are quite mad," he said. "You say such strange and random things that I fear for your sanity."
"Now who's being unpleasant?" Jason retorted.
Pythagoras paused for a moment.
"You are right," he said quietly. "Forgive me my friend. It has been a difficult day and I am tired and anxious. I am afraid that it is making my disposition less than pleasant."
"Don't worry about it," Jason shrugged. "We all have bad days and I probably haven't helped by leaving you alone with Hercules all day. It was just that I was coming very close to losing my temper with him and I wasn't sure that would help so I went out."
Before Pythagoras could reply the front door banged open, startling both young men. Hercules practically fell into the room and reeled towards them, careening off any furniture in his way. He lurched into the table and nearly landed in Pythagoras' lap.
"Urgh!" Pythagoras protested. "You stink of wine!"
"I may have been forced to have one or two small cups of wine for medicinal purposes," Hercules slurred. "To dull the pain since my friends have deserted me in my hour of need… but it hasn't worked."
He looked mournfully (if more than a little blearily) at Pythagoras, covering the swollen side of his jaw with one hand.
"I have told you what it is that I need to do," Pythagoras retorted. "But you will not allow me to treat you properly."
"No!" Hercules exclaimed, stumbling backwards and tripping over a stool. "I'm not letting you butcher me!"
"Hercules, I am not trying to hurt you," Pythagoras protested, sounding more stressed than Jason had ever heard him. "I am trying to help you."
"What exactly is it that you need to do?" Jason asked.
Pythagoras turned his head to look at his younger friend.
"I need to remove the damaged tooth," he said firmly. "It will be unpleasant but necessary and I have a tonic that will temporarily partially numb his mouth, which will help. Then once the tooth it out I need to pack the hole with healing herbs and scraps of linen soaked in medicine. Once the mouth runs free of blood and puss, and the swelling has gone, I would remove the cloth and allow the gap to heal over. After that there should be no more trouble… But Hercules seems determined not to allow me to help." He shot an irritated look at the burly wrestler.
"There is no way you are coming near me. You are not going to steal any of my teeth," Hercules slurred.
"How about if I hold him down and you do what needs to be done?" Jason offered.
"Just try it!" Hercules growled, although the menacing effect he was aiming for was somewhat marred by him lurching unsteadily to one side.
"Jason, be serious," Pythagoras hissed.
"I was being," Jason protested.
"Forgive me, but I seriously doubt you are strong enough to hold him down for as long as I would need," Pythagoras snapped.
"I was only trying to help," Jason muttered.
"Well it is not helping," Pythagoras barked. "And unless you have a sensible suggestion to make, please keep your ridiculous ideas to yourself."
He ignored the stab of guilt he felt at Jason's hurt look. His headache had come back with a vengeance and he felt like he was about to fly apart.
Hercules swayed on his feet and blinked owlishly at Pythagoras.
"I need annuver drink," he mumbled.
"Here," Pythagoras replied, handing him a flagon. "With luck you will be unconscious soon and then I can treat you as I need to," he murmured under his breath.
He failed to spot the quizzical look Jason threw in his direction, underestimating the sharpness of his younger friend's hearing.
Hercules drained the flagon of the last dregs of wine and looked around for more, swaying even more than he had been before. Part of Pythagoras was impressed with how much wine the big man could drink and still remain conscious, although he knew it should not surprise him; he had seen Hercules drinking heavily on far too many occasions really. He hurried over to the shelves to find the flagon of wine he had hidden there in case of emergencies.
As he did, Jason moved purposefully towards Hercules and stopped in front of the burly wrestler. Hercules blinked blearily at him.
"I'm not letting you hold me down for him to attack!" he growled.
"I am not even going to try," Jason assured him. "Although I am sorry about this," he added with his friendliest smile.
"Sorry about what?" Hercules slurred.
"This," Jason said.
He drew back his arm and punched Hercules as hard as he could in the face, catching the left side of the burly wrestler's jaw. The surprised look on Hercules' face was almost comical. He gave a very un-Hercules-like whimper and toppled over like a felled tree, landing flat on the floor. Pythagoras turned and stared in consternation.
"What did you do that for?" he demanded, hurrying over and crouching down next to his old friend, his eyes wild.
"You said you wanted him to be unconscious," Jason replied. "It seemed like the quickest way."
"I meant him to pass out from the alcohol," Pythagoras objected forcefully. "It would have happened soon enough. There was no need for you to attack him!"
"I thought…"
"No you didn't! You didn't think! You never think! Neither you nor Hercules think… and I am the one left to pick up the pieces!" Pythagoras yelled.
With some effort, the mathematician rolled Hercules onto his back and began examining him, before standing and scurrying over to the shelves, muttering incoherently to himself as he grabbed the things that he thought he might need. He scuttled back over, nearly dropping his armful of supplies in the process.
"Here," Jason said. "Let me help you with that."
"I think you have already done quite enough to 'help'," Pythagoras hissed, sidestepping his friend and dropping down beside Hercules once more.
He swore as a bronze instrument he had been carrying escaped his grasp and fell to the floor, rolling just out of his reach.
Jason scrambled to grab the tool. It looked like a fairly gruesome set of long handled pliers. The young hero shuddered and held them out wordlessly to Pythagoras, who snatched them back with a dark glare and started to mutter incoherently to himself once more.
The Oracle felt her mouth twitching in spite of herself. She sternly schooled her own features into an impassive expression; she had an image to maintain after all; a reputation for being aloof and untouchable; unflappable. Yet she was finding it hard not to laugh at the story Jason was telling her of himself and his friends and their antics.
"What did you do?" she enquired calmly.
"Since Pythagoras seemed almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown and me being there seemed to be making it worse, I left," Jason answered. "I walked around for a few hours and then I came here. I didn't really know where else to go and I don't think either of them will want me to come home for a bit. God knows what Hercules is going to do when he realises what happened."
He looked down at the lamps he was working on and trimmed off the last wick.
"All done," he said.
"Thank you," the Oracle murmured. "That has saved me both a job and some time… although I have to say that it is growing very late. Much as your company has not been unwelcome, Jason, it is time for you to leave now."
Jason looked down at the floor.
"Of course," he said quietly. "Forgive me. I should have thought."
"Do not concern yourself," the Oracle answered. "Your presence here has not been undesired." She looked hard at the young man. "You are still troubled," she said.
"It's nothing really," Jason replied. "I was still thinking about what we were talking about earlier… about saving Atlantis and about whether that is even possible." He looked at the woman beside him. "Is it possible to change the fate of an entire city?" he asked.
"Only you can prevent the fate of Atlantis from coming to pass," the Oracle responded. "But I see that you do not fully believe that yet."
"I try," Jason answered, "but it still feels like it's too big for one man."
"You will not stand alone," the Oracle murmured. "Others stand at your side. They stand ready to aid you as you require. Some are known to you and others stand as yet in the darkness, waiting to step into the light."
She reached out and grasped her younger companion's wrist.
"Your destiny is a heavy weight to carry, but the Gods would not have given it to you if you were not strong enough to bear it."
"I can't help but worry every time there's a storm," Jason admitted. "I know it is ridiculous but it does not alter the fact that I keep thinking of the city being destroyed and everyone in it drowned. Since I killed Circe it has been worse than ever. At least while Circe was alive I had something else to think about."
"The dreams will settle down," the Oracle stated confidently, "and I will guide you as much as I can." She smiled softly. "Do not fear the future, Jason," she added. "After all you have already won significant victories that you would not have believed were possible. Your destiny is already unfolding before you. You must embrace it."
She looked over her shoulder and up the steps.
"Now, though, I believe there is someone waiting for you… so I will bid you a good night."
She stood in one graceful movement and gathered the bundles of herbs she had been tying, before gliding silently back across the cavern to a doorway on the far side and disappearing through it.
Jason raised his eyebrows in surprise at the speed of her departure. He pushed himself to his feet and turned to look up the stairs.
Pythagoras was hovering near the top.
Jason grinned and jogged up the steps to join his friend.
"I thought that I might find you here," Pythagoras said softly as Jason joined him. His voice was far calmer than earlier.
"Hmm," Jason agreed. "Pythagoras, I am sorry," he added awkwardly. "I was trying to help."
"I know," Pythagoras replied, "and I may have overreacted slightly. I had had a very bad day and it was just the final straw." He levelled a serious look at Jason. "That being said, I should point out that I am still not happy that you hit Hercules… although I suppose you are now even. I believe that this cancels out Hercules hitting you over the head with that metal pan when you were cursed."
"I'm not sure Hercules will see it that way," Jason said with a grimace as they began to cross the Temple towards the great doors.
"Oh I would not worry too much about that," Pythagoras answered. "After I extracted his tooth, I managed to wake him enough to get him into bed where he passed out drunk. When he wakes in the morning I will tell him that he drank too much – as he usually does – and fell into the table, hitting his face on the floor and knocking out his rotten tooth in the process. He is drunk enough that he will not remember the truth and will be happier with the version of events that I give him. Were he to know the real story he would be distinctly unhappy with us both."
"You think it will be as simple as that?" Jason asked.
"Yes I do," Pythagoras replied. "Hercules will be far happier if he never knows the truth… and as long as we can keep the secret he will never have to know." He looked significantly at Jason. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked.
If only you knew, Jason thought.
"Yes," he said. "I can."
"Then there will be nothing to worry about," Pythagoras said with a smile. "Now tell me, what are these bad dreams that have been troubling you all about?"
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