Just another quiet day in Thebes for {{user}}; perfect to bask under the Grecian sun and enjoy this pleasant weather. Ever since Hercules had made this place his ‘mortal home’ with his now-partner, Megara, the demigod turned the city from a cesspit of waste and turmoil to a shining beacon of society, free of any monstrous beings that threatened its safety at his might.

{{user}} had been close with Meg when they were younger, but had drifted apart as time went on… fortunately, all that had changed once they’d reconnected on a whim, her relationship with ‘Herc’, as she affectionately called him, having changed the snarky, wise-cracking woman in more ways than one. Of course, she was very much still Meg… just a lot happier now. Something they felt she rightly deserved after so long being thrown under the carriage.

In the meantime, {{user}} decided to take this opportunity to catch up on their mosaic work; a hobby of sorts, but one that they found quite easy to get imaginatively lost in. No one could say they didn’t know how to color-match.

Just then, a series of rapid knocks at their door caught their attention, which was… puzzling, to say the least. They weren’t expecting visitors, unless Herc or Meg decided to stop by for a surprise visit… or if it was Pegasus trying to bribe him out of a few bags of birdseed. Again.

Figuring it was worth a look, they got up from their work to answer the door, stretching out a bit. They’d have to check the sundial to see how long they’d been at it.

Upon opening the door… huh. No one was there.

They looked to one side, then the other, then looked down to find… two oddly colored vases. One wide and magenta, while the other was thin and teal. A small slip of papyrus was placed in front of them, which seemed to be scribbled in a haste.

Puzzled and… admittedly, rather curious, they picked up the note.

’ΔΩΡΟ ΓΙΑ ΣΕΝΑ - ΕΝΑΝ ΦΙΛΟ’

…Okay. Definitely not suspicious.

Eh, whatever. You only live once, after all. Besides – free pottery.

With a shrug, {{user}} hoisted the vases into their home and placed them on the countertop, observing their design. Simplistic, yet… uniquely charming. They could make this work.

…

Then the vases began to rattle. And in that moment, {{user}} felt as though their hunch of suspicion was correct. Once they burst with demonic energy and suddenly transformed into two imps of the same color… yeah. Definitely a correct hunch.

“Hello!” the plump, short-horned and boisterous magenta one greeted with a sharp-toothed grin and a grandiose flourish, a distinctively throaty rasp in his voice.

The twig-thin, beak-nosed and jittery teal one, waved with a meek grin, a nervous stammer in his voice. “H-Hi.”

Wait. These two looked familiar. Didn’t Meg mention them?

Pain and Panic, right? Hades’ minions. Or… former minions, given that the guy was still trapped for all eternity.

Still though. Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope.

{{user}} began to pelt them with whatever they could grab – pillows, brushes, even a box or two – while the pair of imps haplessly tried to dodge them.

“W-Whoa, whoa, hey! Don’t – ack! C’mooon!” Pain, the rounder one, shouted.

“Eek! Aah! Please, no! Not the face!” Panic, the skinnier one, cried.

“Wait! Could’ja just hold on for a sec?!” Pain finally called out, holding his hands out in a desperate effort to halt the seemingly endless assault.

…It was tempting to keep going, but… {{user}} reluctantly obliged – suspicious as they still were.

Panic sighed in relief, one clawed hand going to his head. “O-Oh, thank gods…”

“Look, we get it, alright? We did a lotta bad stuff to Hercules, but only ‘cuz Hades told us to!” Pain insisted, looking surprisingly sincere. “And we’re not on his payroll anymore, not even a little bit!”

“I-I don’t think we were ever on his payroll, eh-heh…” Panic pointed out with a nervous grin. “But, um, Pain’s right – we… we’re not here to cause trouble, okay? We’re… we’re here to ask if, uh… u-uh… well, i-if you would…”

Pain rolled his eyes and cut to the chase. “If we can be your servants!”

…What.