Cupid's Karma | ONC 2024 ✔

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Eros was in a much happier mood when he returned to his world.

He had little hope for getting Ayra to agree to his offer but their trip around Italy went much better than he expected. She even agreed to accompany him again which felt like a huge accomplishment.

The reason he had made that offer wasn't just to prove that he was good enough for his job and it wasn't his fault that her relationships didn't work out. Instead, he wanted to give her an opportunity to see for herself what being in love entailed for other people.

Perhaps then she would realize that she was still better off than most.

The spring in his step and the smile on his face were proof of his good mood, however, he stopped in surprise to see Ares waiting for him at his door. It had been long since he had seen him around so it took him a moment to think why he had shown up right then.

"Eros," he addressed him, his sharp features breaking into a smile as he pulled him in for a warm embrace, "how are you, my boy?"

"I'm good. Didn't expect to see you here though."

"It's been long since we spent some time together," he replied, handing him a quiver full of hunting arrows, "I thought it would be best to check your shooting skills."

Eros relaxed since it was a very Ares thing to supervise his children and their shooting skills. He accepted the quiver with a wide grin, "I have not missed my targets in years now."

"A little practice never did one any harm."

Ares had an entire gymnasium built specially for athletics and warfare training. He trained little Olympian fledglings there until they were capable of standing their ground in an onslaught. He had gotten the idea from watching people hold training classes in the mortal world. It kept him busy in times other than wars, utilizing all his restless energy to good use.

Eros knew he would take him there for practice as it happened once every decade or so. Ares called it their bonding time. True enough, the gymnasium loomed in sight, an enormous Roman-style coliseum divided into multiple sections for each sport.

A series of targets awaited them in the arrow shooting section. Eros never used his own bow for shooting hunting arrows as those required sturdier bows, like the ones his father had in plenty. It was slightly harder to wield them but then he was a child of the god of war, he couldn't let his father down.

"Fix your posture, young man," Ares remarked, pulling back the string of his own bow to shoot first. "Those fuzzy arrows you use have made you forget how to strike a real one."

"My arrows are very much real, thank you," he answered but the best way to prove his point was to strike.

Each target now had Ares's arrows striking the bull's eye. So Eros had to be very cautious as he took aim, then let go of his arrows to strike the center too.

One by one each arrow struck the bull's eye, piercing through the arrows already landed there by Ares.

He had a proud smile on his face as he nodded appreciatively at his son. No wonder shooting arrows was his forte. Eros seemed to light up at that gesture, his eyes sparkling with glee.

He was still childish in many aspects, and could easily get happy at the slightest of things. That was an attribute neither Ares nor Aphrodite had; they were both flamboyant and quite hard to please. Their son, on the other hand, was the opposite as a simple but thoughtful gesture could delight him instantly.

"I heard you've made a new friend in the mortal world," by the time they were leaving the gymnasium, he finally came to the topic for which he had initiated the whole meetup.

Eros's smile faltered, "Oh... Who told you?"

"Your mother, she was in quite a state when I met her," he replied, a teasing smirk taking over his features, "makes me curious who has the honor of being turned into a pitiful creature by the goddess of love this year."

"Please don't let her do that!" Blue eyes shifted in panic and he blocked Ares's path, urging him to listen to him. "She'll only ever listen to you and you must make her understand that it's nothing to get angry about!"

He chuckled, seeing his boy get fraught with worry not very unlike how he had seen Aphrodite earlier, "Funny how I'm known for being a riot yet both of you look up to me as a mediator."

"Dad, please... There's a reason I approached Ayra and it's nothing like what Mum fears."

"Ayra... Pretty name. Would hurt to see her as a frog."

He could see that his father was having a laugh at his expense. So all his panic from earlier turned into a slightly ticked-off expression, "You think it's funny..."

"I think the girl is terrible at aiming arrows, but then who am I to talk? If she aimed well, we would be standing at your funeral by now."

Eros shook his head, knowing if he said anything in reply, he would only be humoring Ares further. Seeing his silence, he had to stop teasing him and be serious for once.

"Why did you approach her though? Granted us gods don't have any statute of secrecy but still... Letting a mortal know we exist isn't something we do often."

He took that as a cue to explain the situation. He told her about how her name was regularly turning up in the Love Ledger as none of the people she fell in love with stayed long enough with her, which led to a wish over a shooting star, Eris's involvement in drama, and an arrow striking Eros in the arm.

"Long story short, I simply want to show her that there's more to love than what she assumes," he concluded, knowing his father had a short attention span and if he explained everything, it would end up boring him, "so I offered her to see how not shit I am at my job and then decide for herself what she needs from a relationship. I also promised I won't interfere in her love life again, she'll find someone destined for her without my help."

Ares shrugged, "Sounds like a lot of unnecessary effort on your part."

"No, it's not! And on the bright side, I get to have company for a few days."

"And your mother gets to have superstitions," he interjected but then patted his back, "she thinks you have tied your fate to her."

"No, I haven't," Eros replied defensively but the subconscious act of hiding his hands behind his back was enough to tell Ares that Aphrodite's suspicions were true.

"You know I can't see those strings," he remarked plainly and Eros's face turned red at being caught.

"Well, I... I didn't tie it myself. It just happened," he gave in, "I'm not the god of fate, you know. I don't have any control over it except being able to see it."

He could cut the string too if it turned too dark as he had done so for many mortals. The Morai who weaved fate were furious at him for that and perhaps that was why they played a trick on him. But he kept that fact to himself.

"Alright... As long as you promise not to do anything stupid, I'll convince Aphrodite to stay out of this," Ares offered.

"Of course, I promise!" He readily agreed, gratefully accepting the suggestion.

"Good. I'll be off then. Keep your promise in mind."

"Certainly. Thank you," he gushed, making his escape shortly after.

Ares observed the haste with which he had vanished as if avoiding further questions and pondered over his son's words for a minute.

"I'm not the god of fate, you know. I don't have any control over it except being able to see it."

He had never heard about there being a god of fate. Perhaps Hermes would know who it was, he thought, deciding to go see him.

Little did he know that there was no god of fate. Three sisters called the Morai were responsible for threading and weaving those strings, cutting them off when the time was ripe. But not many knew about their existence as they had kept themselves hidden from most of the bothersome immortals.

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