Chapter Text
Gaia knew of all of the Chrysos Heirs Phainon called his friends ever since she was born. But he figured since she was older now, around three years old, it would be best to reintroduce them.
So Phainon took Gaia to Marmoreal Palace, where everyone usually spent their time. As they arrived, Gaia couldn’t take her eyes off the water. Phainon smiled as he guided her to the Hero’s Bath.
“You can play in the water soon Gaia,” he told her.
“I’m just taking you to a special bath that people like us can use.”
She nodded and let herself be led away from everyone else. Soon, they reached the elevator to the Hero’s Bath and took it up. As they arrived at the top, Phainon’s smile widened as he saw several people waiting there. Without waiting for the go-ahead, Gaia pulled herself out of Phainon’s grasp, forgetting about even wanting to go swimming. She ran over to Mydei, who was leaning against a wall.
“Uncle Mydei!” she called out.
A small smile crossed his face as he knelt down to catch her. Gaia practically flew into his arms, and he rose to his feet, carrying her. Phainon couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
“Well there’s no introductions needed here,” he said with a grin.
“You already know your Uncle Mydei very well.”
Mydei shot Phainon a glare.
“Gaia can call me that. You can’t.”
“I knew you had a soft spot for her.”
“Just because she’s your daughter doesn’t mean she’s as insufferable as you, Deliverer.”
“Ugh, so mean.”
Gaia laughed and patted Mydei on the head with her tiny hand.
“Don’t be mean to Dad!”
Mydei couldn’t help but laugh when she said that, but he gave her a smile.
“Alright. If you say so.”
A lie, both Mydei and Phainon knew, since that was just how they talked to each other. But they also both decided to tone it down, at least for a little bit. Mydei then handed Gaia back to Phainon and walked over to where Aglaea and the three were sitting. Aglaea greeted them with a wave while the three all got up from where they were sitting to flutter around Phainon and Gaia. As they did so, Phainon continued to talk.
“Gaia, this is Tribbie, Trianne, and Trinnon. Don’t get them confused now.”
Gaia looked between the three of them. She squinted, trying to take in the details of all three of them. She pointed to Tribbie.
“Tribbie…”
She pointed again.
“Trianne…”
Then one last time.
“Trinnon!”
The three of them applauded and began flying around excitedly.
“You got it, little Gaia!” Tribbie said.
“We knew you were smart!” Trianne added.
“We’re so proud of you, little Gaia,” Trinnon finished.
As they continued to flutter around, Phainon walked over to Aglaea and introduced her.
“This is Aglaea. She’s the one who basically runs Okhema and the Flame-Chase Journey.”
Gaia looked up at her with awe, seeming to take her in slowly until she spoke.
“Your eyes are very pretty, Miss Aglaea.”
Phainon could feel himself flush a bit, knowing what exactly Aglaea’s eyes meant. He immediately tried to apologize for Gaia and quickly explain everything to her, but Aglaea just held up a hand, asking him to stop. She then drew her attention back to Gaia.
“Well thank you, Gaia. I’m quite glad you think so,” she said with a smile.
“What was Dad saying about them?”
“Oh, he was trying to tell you that I can’t see.”
“You…you can’t?”
She shook her head.
“I use a different sort of sight to guide my way through the world. My golden threads allow me to ‘see’ everything.”
“Wow…”
“Alright, one last person to introduce you to,” Phainon cut in.
He then walked over to that last person, standing a bit further away from everyone else.
“This is Castorice.”
Gaia smiled brightly and waved.
“Hi, Miss Castorice!”
With a small smile, she gave Gaia a nod of greetings.
“Hello, Gaia.”
“Why are you standing away from everyone else?”
“Oh, uh- It’s-”
She looked away, her expression falling, as she was now a bit disheartened. Phainon was about to cut in again, before she answered.
“I have a certain magic that makes people very…sick…when they get too close to me.
“Oh. Well then I’ll just talk to you from here!”
Castorice gave her a tiny smile, seeming content with that. But before the conversation could continue, Aglaea got everyone’s attention.
“Now, introducing Gaia wasn’t the only reason I brought you all here. We do have some matters to discuss.”
Everyone began to gather around Aglaea, and Phainon, realizing this really wasn’t the conversation for Gaia, put her down.
“Just stay close by, we’ll be done soon, alright?”
Gaia nodded, knowing she couldn’t stray too far. As Phainon and the others were talking, Gaia began to wander around Hero’s Bath, considering whether or not she wanted to go in the water. But as she was thinking about that, she heard a voice, a giggle. She looked to where it was, yet saw nothing. The voice continued to giggle at her, and she kept trying to follow it. Confused, she kept looking around herself, yet still didn’t see anything.
“Who…?” she asked quietly.
“Peek-a-boo!”
A strange cat girl in a black hood then appeared seemingly out of thin air. Gaia let out a small gasp and started back a bit. The cat girl laughed.
“Don’t tell me I scared you, little one.”
Gaia tried to hide her surprise by scrunching up her face and shaking her head.
“N-no! I’m not scared!”
Another laugh. The girl then strode around Gaia, taking her in from all angles. Before then settling herself in front of her.
“So you’re the kid of that Deliverer boy and that stuck-up scholar.”
“Y-You’re talking about my dads, r-right?”
“You bet. And I’ve heard quite a lot about you! A child of two Chrysos Heirs, that’s not something seen everyday.”
“Are you one of Dad’s friends?”
“Eh…you could say that. After all, I am a Chrysos Heir like him. But I’m even better than that.”
She leaned down and whispered to Gaia.
“I’m a demigod.”
Gaia’s eyes widened in awe.
“Wow…so what does that mean?”
“It means I have powers from a Titan.”
“That’s so cool!”
“It sure is! Hey, tell ya’ what. You ever seen Okhema from the rooftops?”
“No?”
“Perfect! Then let this serve as your introduction.”
The girl scooped up Gaia and placed her on her shoulders.
“You got a name?”
“Oh yeah! It’s Gaia.”
“A pleasure to meet you, little Gaia. You can just call me your Auntie Cipher.”
She then turned around and called out to Phainon.
“Hey Deliverer boy! I’m just going to borrow her for a bit. Cool? Cool.”
Phainon whirled around to see who was talking. Only for his eyes to widen in shock.
“Huh? Cipher?! Cipher, wait!”
Without warning, before Phainon could finish his thought, Cipher flipped her coin, and took off at top speed.