Ambrosia and Nectar (preview)
Here's a preview of "Ambrosia and Nectar", which was published in Thurston Howl Publications' "Paw-ly Love" anthology, and is one of four short stories currently eligible to be nominated for the 2021 Cóyotl Award for Best Short Story. Wish me luck!If you wish to read the full story, then go check out "Paw-ly Love" on Amazon! And if you wish to support the cover's artist, go follow FA: thevale
My chariot danced from the stars down to Earth. Peeking through the clouds and shining just as brilliantly as any rainbow stood the crystalline palaces on the summit.
I gently landed the chariot at the courtyard entrance. One of Hephaestus' crafted servants graciously took the reins to guide my steeds into the stables (both my beloveds couldn't resist staring at the chromium and marble automatons), while another held open the gates for us. I did not even have to tell them Erastos and Alcaeus--mortals as can be--were guests and allowed admission. The deer and lion's awe did not cease however when we delved deeper into the grand hall. Statues of every mineral on Earth lined the corridor alongside some lit torches, while a brilliant skylight trailed down to the inner open courtyard leading to the other palaces.
"It is beautiful, Apollo," Erastos breathed at last. "Do you live here?"
"Heh, of course he lives here, Erastos!" Our beloved lion stifled his snickering to ask, "I think he meant if you live in this particular building?"
"I do not," I shook my muzzle, tousling the small cervine's headfur. This annoyed him slightly, much to me and Alcaeus' amusement. "No, each dweller on Olympus is given a palace of theirs to rule."
When we entered the inner courtyard, surrounded by a patterned marble floor, torches and blooming roses no doubt planted by Aphrodite, Erastos pointed to the largest castle of all.
"I assume that one is your father's?" he guessed correctly.
My smirk resumed. "He loves to show his extravagance."
In all honesty, I would have gone father to say Zeus had the Cyclops built his palace merely to compensate for his...inadequacies. Saying such things aloud would have resulted in one's instant demise, especially if spoken on Olympus let alone to his face.
"Hello, Son!"
I whirled to my left to find a familiar bearded wolf wearing the finest of white robes, his hairy chest comfortably exposed, and the eagle wings on his back draped back. Statues in the mortal world did not depict him as having the latter, but eagles were seen nevertheless as being one of his many symbols besides a bolt of lightning.
Both Alcaeus and Erastos breathed in amazement. "Y-You are..." the latter started to say.
I bowed in respect. "Good evening, Father. I have completed my daily task."
"Obviously," he chuckled mightily. When his eyes befell onto the two mortals standing nervously beside me, the lion and deer bowed their heads. "Oh, that is not so necessary, lads! You are guests in my domain after all!"
"A-Apologies, my Lord." Erastos muttered in fear and immense respect.
Meanwhile, Alcaeus wrapped his rope-like tail around mine, very protectively.
"We are honored to be here, my Lord," he greeted Zeus with bravery in his voice. "Your son has given us a tour of Mount Olympus, and thus far, it is a spectacular sight to behold."
A cocky grin etched itself onto the old wolf's muzzle. "Thank you, lad. And what are your names?"
My deer stepped forward first, placing a paw on his chest.
"I am Erastos of Dion, son of General Olysseus."
My lion then introduced himself next.
"I am Alcaeus, also of Dion, my Lord. Son of the Dionese poet Alexios."
"Hmm," my father glanced between them, then down to me. "I can see why you would fancy them both. They are handsome and cute. I trust you want some privacy while indulging in your carnal desires tonight, Apollo?"
Both my beloved blushed fiercely beneath their cheekfur, the lion visibly curling his tail and the stag trying to make himself smaller on the spot. Before I could even be given the chance to discreetly roll my eyes, Zeus patted my shoulder.
"May I have a word with you alone first?"
I normally would have objected, but the expression on his face was adamant, and his eyes gazing to them--knowingly curious--reminded me that he knew too of the Oracle's prophecy.
"You may." I smiled assuredly back to my beloveds. "I must speak to Zeus about something important, but it will not be for long. You both make yourselves comfortable in my palace in the meantime, okay?"
"O-Okay," Erastos nodded sheepishly.
I kissed him, then Alcaeus who, though uncertain at first, simply nodded.
"Okay, Apollo," he murmured.
A grin spread across my coy muzzle.
"Good kitten." He blushed and embarrassedly growled. "Heh."
I ordered one of the chromium servants nearby, a naked leopardess probably inspired by Aphrodite, to escort my beloveds as I followed Zeus into his palace. Like any other built on Mount Olympus, the walls were composed of the finest of crystals and gold. The statues inside, the largest of which depicted Hera and him during happier days of their marriage, lined up to a marvelous throne carved into the walls. And Zeus gladly sat atop of it to stare down at me.
"Apollo," he asked, "have they given you an answer yet? Do they desire to ascend to godhood?"
My mind drifted. It had been almost five years since I first introduced myself to Erastos and Alcaeus, two of the brightest and most wonder of mortals I ever formed a relationship with. Unlike my other conquests of love, not only had it lasted the longest (Hyacinthus only second) without much conflict or drama, but the feelings I held toward them each grew into passionate fires in my chest. And it would not cease, burning even brighter when a wondrous thought crossed my mind.
"Not yet, Father."
"It has been an entire year since you've last seen either of those mortals, Apollo," he sighed. "Those Oracles in your temple at Delphi said that if you gave them both a year by themselves, to contemplate if godhood was worth abandoning their mortality to be with you, then they would be by your side forever."
"I am fully aware, Father," my tail twitched as I stared down to the marble floor. "I just...fear if it means something else entirely. If one of us does not want to be together, then neither of us will. We agreed to that at least..."
"I could always speak to them alone if that is so," he suggested.
My eyes glared daggers at him. "Do not even think of harming my beloveds, Zeus."
"By Cronos, I would never do such a thing!" he cackled heartily, standing to his feet and descending to my level. "Surely, you would know better of me."
He reexamined my expression for a moment, then sighed once more. I sensed sincerity in his next lecture to me, something rarely witnessed.
"In all honesty, Apollo...I am fully aware that I'm the last god to speak to when it comes to true love. In truth, if I may be so frank, there is no Olympian on this mountain who is perfectly content in the relationships we've formed with mortals."
"What of Eros and Psyche?" I pondered aloud. "She was mortal once."
"You are correct," he nodded, "but the God of Love and Sex has never cared for and prized two beloveds at once, has he? No god has. What you possess with Erastos and Alcaeus is beautiful and equal, but...do you love them both, as much as they love each other?"
The most complete understatement of the current eon. Before I was able to retort his statement however, doubt crept in when I remembered the prior night. It placed an emptying depression in my chest, which grew larger the further I remembered how devoted Erastos was to his father. How he trained hard with the soldiers yet was saddened that the elder stag didn't allow his son to venture into any battle, and how victories in sparring were never enough.
"I must return to them now," I pulled my robes closer, still damp with water.
Zeus flapped his wings. "Good luck to you, Son."
The Palace of Apollo shined near the eastern side of the summit. Like the others, it was carved from marble and polished from crystals. A pavilion entrance led down a corridor to my main andron, displaying a statue of me between two short hallways. The right one led to the spacious bedroom where I had taken some mortals as lovers (tonight, hopefully two more...permanently), while the left led to where I found them in the balcony garden.
As a gift from Helios, I could keep a sliver of sunlight for my possession, keeping it as a decorative centerpiece on the pavilion. Compared to the rest of Mount Olympus bathed in torchlight, my balcony glowed like a miniature sun hovering above.
Any mortal would have been overwhelmed by such a sight, but not Erastos or Alcaeus. I had missed their awe, as they had already stripped off their clothes and hung them to dry on the branch of a laurel tree nearby. This left the mortals completely naked as they playfully wrestled on a patch of grass. I was momentarily distracted by Alcaeus' feline butt as it bounced behind him before finally speaking up.
"Hello beloveds."
Both froze in their stances, gripping the other's arms. My deer looked over our lion's shoulder to me, lowering his heated ears and growing an impressionable erection.
"We-We were just waiting for you," Alcaeus stammered shyly, distracting me once more at the way his half-erect sexuality swung in the air. The musk alone sent me back to when I first tasted his precum,
"Heh, do continue, will you?" I offered, sitting down to watch. "I enjoy this view more than the other one beside us."
"A-Actually," the lion continued, "A-Apollo...I..."
"May I watch you two, please?" Erastos asked for him. The deer stood beside our lion and, patting the shy feline's rear, licked his lips without tearing his eyes away from mine. "Alcaeus has talked much of how he missed sporting with you, Apollo. I have also missed your rivalry for dominance."
Mutual smirks suddenly etched across our muzzles, Alcaeus and I.
I stood back to my footpaws and promptly shed my clothes and trinkets. Erastos stepped aside and leaned back on the warm grass. Meanwhile, Alcaeus stretched his muscled arms as I merely waited for him to be ready.
"Today might be the day I finally beat you, Apollo," he chuckled, "Try not to cry like a girl when I beat you."
I played along with his boastful words. "You may try, but my oracles have told me by tonight, I'll be having you purr like a little kitten..."
Alcaeus growled and lunged for my legs first. I instinctively wrapped my arms over his back to stop him from making me fall, but the lion became persistent. He gripped my lower buttocks and tried to fight dirty by ticking my hole, and I managed to let out a low moan before using my strength to toss him over my shoulders. Our backs impacted against the dirt, making us gasp for air from the impact, yet Alcaeus was quick enough to shift back up and lock his arms around my torso.
"Do you yield, pup?" he teased.
"Not yet..." I giggled between gritted teeth. "Not yet, little kitten!"
My elbow struck him in the abdomen, and I reversed our positions. Now my hardened cock grazed his backside as I gripped paws around his torso, pushing him against the grass. Alcaeus gulped beneath me, especially from the way my phallus curved along his crack. I nearly expected him to yield when my focus drew to the deer watching us nearby.
Erastos intently watched without pulling his paw away from his erection. Blushing and panting, the deer stroked his slick length up and down, slow, steady, and fast as Alcaeus and I continued to wrestle. Normally, I would have looked away had Erastos not flashed a hazy smile, pumping his shaft amid a high theatrical moan. It certainly made me leak further.
Alcaeus flashed his fangs. "Thank you, love!"
He used the opportunity to fall backwards, this time pinning me down with my back against the dirt. The lion did not wait to shift his body and lock my wrists above my wolfish ears, his erection now slickening my stomach with his precum. I tried not to moan too at feeling his balls touch my sheath.
"That was dirty of you, Erastos!" I groaned.
"I am not sorry, Apollo!"
How could he be ashamed, masturbating at the sight of two powerful men pinning each other down for dominance?
Our Erastos and I connected through our interests in the arts and some history. The young stag's fondness for archery always heralded days spent practicing in the woods. Of course, he could never compete with my bow and arrow's divine accuracy, but when I gifted him a finely crafted bow I commissioned from Athena, the lad's precision with an arrow rivaled that of mine.
Meanwhile, Alcaeus and I connected through our interests in sports such as this. Especially without any strip of cloth to obstruct our physical limits. In spite of being a head taller than I, the lion's large body did not crush me. It could not crush me, but I still tried my best not to use all my strength or stamina to end the match quickly. I wanted to make this last as much as possible. I also wanted to prolong Erastos' climax for tonight.
An hour into the match, the lion had yielded twice while I did once. Our furry bodies had grown damp from sweat, to the point our tails wagged like weighed paddles. Even strong Alcaeus had begun to complain about his sore legs yet did not surrender.
Could not, more likely.
"How has the past year been for you, Alcaeus?"
We began circling each other once more, our arms outstretched and ready for any offensive.
"Busy," he answered, staring between me and our deer (I would not be distracted again!). "It is surprising how much time one must devote to athletics and poetry. Father is very interest in having me follow in his works..."
I curiously grinned, "And what of you, Erastos? Have you and Alcaeus been having fun while we've been away?"
"It has been challenging without you," he exhaled breathily behind me, "but we have endured..."
"By the way, Alcaeus interrupted upon some realization, "my father is aware of my relationship with you!"
That certainly gained more of my undivided attention.
"And he believes you?" I raised an eyebrow towards the feline. "He believes his son is the beloved of an Olympian God?"
"So long as I bring you back and allow Mother to cook dinner after tonight," he laughed, "He would want me to prove to you, but he will be even more impressed when I finally win more matches--"
I did not give him time to finish that lone statement. Seconds later, I made the lion lose his footing, and held him once more on the ground, his arms held in a vice as I ground my peeking sheath into his backside. All as I heard Erastos' hitched breathing and mindful strokes nearby.
"Mmm, do you yield again, Alcaeus?"
"N-No..." he answered, so I replied by nibbling his round, heated ear, inflaming our aching desires. "Ahhh! Y-Yes, I yield!"
I released his arms and helped the large mortal to his footpaws, then teased his member prior to sniffing the air.
"Dinner is coming, beloveds," I announced. "To the dining room."
"Wonderful!" Alcaeus healed quickly from his beaten pride, wrapping am arm around my torso, "Come on, Erastos! I believe I smell roasted boar!"
"Please let me release myself, Apollo," he whined, his member stiffly throbbing when he walked beside us.
"Control yourself, love," I whispered hungrily into his ear, "Let us wait until after dinner before we cum too. Hehe."
That only made the youthful deer's cock even harder, much to our yearning entertainment. Erastos though, not as much.
True to the mortal legends, gods did not consume regular food. Instead we dined on heavenly ambrosia bred and nectar thick enough to rival honey. A single drop of the latter could wash away any defilement of an ethereal being, while a mixture of both would retain any immortality. However, I did employ some of Olympus' chromium servants to cook some mortal foods for my starving beloveds.
"Ahhh, fassolatha...with sardines," Alcaeus' maw watered as we sat down together. "You remembered my favorite!"
"And mine..." Erastos practically drooled over the bits of meat mixed into his fassolatha and salad. Around the table, the chromium servants also baked some gastrins and loukoumades dipped in honey, which I assumed to be tasty as well. "By the gods, they smell so delicious..."
"Dine then," I laughed. "Nothing is stopping either of you."