The trees stood like phantom sentinels, their vibrant autumn foliage highlighted by the bright glow. Despite countless twists and turns, Johnny managed to keep up with the mysterious raven. A spark of anxiety began to bloom in the young man's pounding heart, fearing that he may never be able to find his way back to the village, but his fears put at ease as they reach a clearing that securely brings Johnny back into the heart of Oaktown. Thankfully without being noticed by any guards or small families who would see him in his state of undressed.
For God's sake, he was only wearing a gold fleece to cover his naked body, possibly gifted to him by the king of gods himself.
Johnny kept his garment pulled close to his naked curvy body as he moved through Oaktown's back alleyways, attempting to stay out of sight. The young brunette frowns, realizing he has lost sight of the wise raven who has been guiding him. Although he was concerned for the raven, he had a stronge sense this would not be the last time he saw his feathered companion.
Johnny then makes his way up the marvel stone driveway leading to the back way of the modest repair shop. The yellow grass was as dry as the dead tree roots beside the red brick wall.
He was so close to getting inside and safe without being caught. However, Johnny's hopes for fulfilling that goal were dashed when he discovered the ancient wooden door was locked with a single rusty silver bicycle chain.
His manager must have finally caught on and discovered how the other employees were slipping into work late and utilized the cheapest method available to prevent others from entering. There could be no other explanation.
Johnny wanted to shout to the sky to vent his sorrow and rage. Yet, he holds himself back and instead bits his bottom lip and clenched his hands at his sides, attempting to hold back his tears of defeat. Then slowly, he took a few long breaths and managed to soothe himself.
He couldn't afford to lose himself after coming so far. There must be another way. The obstinate young man gazed around the backyard, hoping to find another entrance inside the workshop or maybe a tool of some sort.
His pupils are gleaming when he observes a familiar-looking bird perched on a dead tree root near the brick wall. Insects can be seen crawling along the surface of the dry wood just below where Johnny was standing. As he looked closer, he realized that it was indeed the same raven that had assisted him in the woods before. Johnny slowly made his way towards the raven, extending his hand to gently stroke the elegant bird's beak. He spoke to the raven in a playful and affectionate tone, as if reuniting with a long-lost friend, "Well, well, look who's here. I never expected to see you again."
The young man briefly caressed the raven before it spoke with its sleek black beak, "the pleasure is all mine. However, You seem to be under some pressure."
Johnny's jaw practically drops in utter amazement. Did he simply envision it? He peered around the backyard, as if to see whether anyone had said something. To be fair, he did sleep with Zeus only yesterday.
Nothing should surprise him at this point.
The black bird stared intently at Johnny, seemingly waiting for a reaction. "Um...yeah. I'm kind of annoyed because I can't get my clothes since I'm locked out," the young man stumbled over his words, attempting to remain polite. After all, he hadn't ruled out the notion that the raven might be a god.
The raven waits for a time, its little black eyes roving over Johnny as if evaluating him for his lack of clothing, before answering by drumming his claws against the dead wood. "It appears like you are in a deadlock. Then again, you humans have always preferred the simple way of doing things"
Johnny gave a frown as the raven stated the obvious. He placed his hands on his torso and asked, with a huff, "Well, what other way is there?"
The raven delicately bends down and plucks a worm from the ground while explaining, "Oh my dear, come now. Be a little imaginative. Maybe you'll get to the root of the problem."
With that, the haughty yet intelligent Raven rises from the dead root taking flight. Then lands on the window sill on the top floor, where Johnny's rented space was located.
If only he could reach the window. Johnny sighs frustrated as he mutters thinking out loud while kicking a rock, " that bird must be crazy. How is thinking more like a god going to get to the root of my...."
Johnny trails off as he looks like he was struck with inspiration as everything seemed to connect when the young man realized what the bird's play on words entails. It was a hint. Johnny needed to think more creatively, or consider what the gods would do in this scenario. He begins to explore whether he can turn the dead root into a massive tree. It wouldn't be the oddest thing he'd done today.
He placed his delicate hands on the ground and concentrated on the lifeless plant where the Raven had been perched moments ago. Whispering a quiet prayer for it to grow, "Please, Grow little one…"
The roots of the tree, once without any sign of life, suddenly started to grow rapidly in size, showing signs of vitality and transforming into a fully grown tree that stood at a towering height of over ten feet. Rad, taken aback by the remarkable transformation, gazed upwards in awe and was struck speechless by the sight before him, uttering only one word in response: "incredible…"
With no time to waste, Johnny began climbing the new tall tree like a Tower. Johnny lifted up, ready to thank the raven for his assistance once more, but the raven had vanished by the time the young man reached the top window.
Johnny's starting to suspect that the cocky raven has a tendency of disappearing a lot.
The young man crawls in through the window, which leads straight to his humble rented space. It was hardly more than a mattress and pillow on one side and a wardrobe full of work clothes and equipment on the other, yet it felt like home.
Johnny had been renting the space since his father died years ago from working in the mines or so he was told, and this was all he knew. At this moment, he was an adult orphan with no other family just trying to survive in the world while coming to terms with the fact, he may have powers.
Back in the present, Johnny is hastily getting dressed with his new work clothes before folding the golden fleece and burying it under his worn-out mattress.
To be honest, Johnny remained uncertain whether Zeus had truly entrusted him with the fleece but he wasn't going to waste it either. It was a gift.
Over time, the young man realized that he needed his landlord's permission to have anything he desired. Any inheritance left by Johnny's father mysteriously disappeared without a trace. On the one hand, Johnny suspects the landlord's involvement but always lacked concrete evidence to prove it.
So until then, he would have to cope with hiding all his treasures.
After ensuring that the fleece was securely hidden, Johnny locks his door and manages to reach the foot of the steps that lead to the back office of the tiny repair shop where he worked. Johnny came quite close to clocking in.
Stopping at the door, Johnny noticed the red-headed faun bent over his desk, smoking his daily pipe and tapping his hoof impatiently in time with the ticking of the grand father clock on the shading vomit green wall paper. A ring of smoke could be seen towards the lamp shade on the oak desk and vanished in the room's darkness.
Monsters and mutants walking among humans is not uncommon these days.
It had become the social norm throughout the apocalypse. However, this did not imply that mutants were considered as scum. Quite the reverse. They are classified as second-class citizens, whereas humans were seen as the weak or possibly trash.
Johnny could already feel a pit dropping in his stomach. Despite the hurry the young man has once been, he remained rooted at the spot. He realized he couldn't avoid what lay ahead forever. He cleared his throat, bracing for the worst before entering the room. "I'm sorry I slept in so late," he began, avoiding the faun's gaze.
However, Johnny's boss, Peter, would not even allow him to finish as he abruptly stood in front of his young employee, taking slow and deliberate strides with his hooves scraping against the cold hard floor. The scent of chewing tobacco scorched Johnny's nose. However, like with many things, the young man eventually learned to cope with the scent.
Correction, He had too, if he wanted to work and survive another day.
The half goat guy seemed stoic, but a little smirk surfaced briefly before fading just as soon, "I was so worried when my favorite worker didn't nearly show up." Peter's voice was laced with phony enthusiasm, and his green eyes had a predatory sparkle as he offered passive aggressively, "Would you like to sit down and have a chat?"
Johnny felt a shudder down his spine as he forced himself to make eye contact with his boss, knowing he was in serious trouble. He tries so hard to excuse himself; "I can't, I should really-"
Any other rebuttal the young human might have had, was stopped short as Johnny felt his employer place a tight palm on his shoulder, caressing his thumb between his shoulder blade and neck in an inappropriately friendly manner. Peter forced their eyes to make contact as he says point blank in a demanding tone," have a seat, Johnathan"
The fact that Peter said his real name in that tone indicated that this was not debatable. The next thing Johnny knew, he was seated in a small wooden chair in front of his boss's desk, squirming anxiously in his small chair because the tension was so uncomfortable and nerve-racking.
The faun leaned back in his chair, crossing one arm over his massive hairy chest while examining the young mortal with his piercing dark eyes. "It appears that sleeping habits are not something we can trust with our employees, and not to mention, you skipped work yesterday," he commented coolly, amused by Johnny's nervous expression under his stare.
"Now, look I can explain skipping work-" Johnny hurriedly stands up but pauses, realizing he cannot. What was he expected to say? He skipped work to assist a white bull and ended up having raw sex with the all-powerful Zeus with just a golden fleece and a mark to indicate that it occurred.
Even if his boss has faith in him. It would be reported back to the government officials, most likely hidden, and in the worst-case scenario, Johnny would suffer at the hands of Hera, the queen of the gods.
Johnny began to sweat as he appeared increasingly apprehensive as he tried to explain his case, knowing business policy and his boss's reputation for firing individuals for far less. " Okay, I can't explain but I'll put in the effort and even go above and beyond to make up the hours" Johnny couldn't believe how terrible his own voice sounded in this situation.
His father would be so disappointed in him if he could only see Johnny begging so pitifully because his job, which he loved and where he ate and slept, was now in jeopardy.
Peter leaned forward slightly and focused his full attention on Johnny's yearning and pleading eyes. As he noticed the young man's obvious uneasiness, his lips formed a predatory grin. "Maybe, your right," he purred menacingly. He enjoyed watching the voluptuous, attractive man beg and squirm for his job. It merely proved to the faun that all humans were slime of the earth, which fueled the faun's ego even more.
The goat man immediately up and stalks over, stroking his bread as he continues, "Not to mention, your my favorite worker and I find myself rather intrigued by you, perhaps I could over look this mistake. If…" The faun trail off at first keeping Johnny on edge. Johnny was relieved at first but hesitated to let his guard down around his boss, " If what?" the young employee hesitantly yet curiosity asked. Peter's tone clearly sexual now, and to emphasize the point, he stretched out and tucked a curly stray hair behind Johnny's ear, "If you agree to be my lover"
Johnny's eyes widen as he hearing the offer that made him sick. His cheeks flush crimson red with embarrassment when he hears the sexual tone and his body freezes in place when Peter reaches out and tucks a stray hair behind his head. The young man expresses surprise and humiliation, "Y…you want me to do that? Just to keep my job?!"
There it was again – that delicious mix of terror and curiosity on Johnny's innocent rare gold eyes that he had always craved.
Johnny was the spitting image of his father but in Peter's opinion not as beautiful.
His cool manner faded as lust burned through his veins like wildfire. Sensing weakness, the faun went closer until their bodies pressed together. The warmth flowing from him was nearly real in comparison to the chilly air that had surrounded them only moments before. He slowly and painstakingly massaged Johnny's lower lip before gently pushing it against the fuller ones below, "Don't be so surprised. You should have seen it coming."
Peter's voice becomes more husky as he leans in closer, staring deeply into Johnny's terrified golden irises, "After all, you do have his eyes"