Daedalus stretched his own wings out, shaking some loose white feathers down to the golden grass beneath them.

Varian copied his movements, finding it was quite literally the thought that counted. It only mattered what he thought, not what he did.

A couple more exercises allowed him to leap upward, into the sky. Varian followed after Daedalus, gliding slowly around the golden fields.

"There," the man gestured toward a smaller temple, "is where Artemis stays. You'll find your boy there."

"Oh, Dante," Varian whispered softly, nearly drifting toward the temple before pulling back. "Thank you, again."

Daedalus smiled, warmly, and waved him off to go to the little temple, drifting back into the golden fields.

Varian, however, landed loosely on the grass and let the wings fold and then vanish with a small misty puff of air. That was the strangest of it all. The vanishing wings. Also his shoes. It wasn't that he was terribly attached to the shoes... but they had been at least 90 dollars... so if he could, potentially, get those back? That'd be a great thing.

Still, he made his way forward through the grass and to the entrance of the little temple. Sure enough, he could hear the glittering laughter of Dante, his chirping giggling that floated through the still air.

A youthful voice echoed his laughter and belonged to a young woman. She looked maybe fourteen at most, with dark hair and silvery eyes. Her smile brightened as Varian stepped inside. "Dante, look!"

The golden haired child turned almost immediately and launched himself. He slid across the stone, sliding to give him a tight hug. "Varian, we've had so much fun!"

Varian scooped him into his arms, eyes bright. "Have you? What all have you done?"

"We went exploring in the forests, we helped a really nice girl find her pet snakes--she's still missing one of them--and we even found a card game to play. I'm not very good at it but Artemis is amazing."

The peace at least made it feel far less long to get across the rolling hills. The hotel-like structure was large, looking like a Parthenon itself, but with closed walls. Windows poked through only occasionally in what looked like potentially two floors.

But the biggest startle was the warm orange glow of lights. Lanterns dotted along the entrance, fountains burbled along a main foyer while rooms rested along the walls in two stories, just like he had figured. But it was only the two walls worth of rooms. There were no hallways.

But a woman with dark brown hair, rolled up to her neck in true Greek fashion with a golden headband around her hair. As she stood up from the fountains, a pleasant and warm smile drew over her face. "You must be Varian!" Her voice lowered as she noticed the sleeping child in his arms. "Ah, I've been hoping you'd come around!"

Varian, despite the sentiment, felt a warmth in his chest. It almost brought tears to his eyes. It was so gentle, so welcoming, he felt like he was at home already. His limbs felt so heavy however, even after shifting down to his human form.

The same tropical like foyer met his wandering eyes. With two large fountains that trickled with water. The fountains looked more like springs of water running down a rock or cliff side into the pool of water at the bottom.

Along the two large fountains, little pods of round tables and chairs sat positioned between a couple doors. Behind those were a pair of bubbling hot tubs. Or that was the closest thing he could compare it to.

The smell, however, was coming from near the entrance. The gilded entrance wafted food and a warm smell. The sound of a few people chatting caught his attention first and Varian hesitated.

Did... was he allowed to just... walk up like that?

"It's alright," a voice called to him, the dark silhouette of the figure blocked by the bright sunlight. "Come on and get some food."

The voice belonged to the golden haired Ganymede, who brightly smiled and offered Varian a golden goblet. "Don't worry, it's just water. A good cup of water in the morning can really help you get started."

Varian's smile was wane but when Hestia's eyes flicked over with a warmer--much more calm and fond smile--his own smile grew much more calm as well. "Thank you, so much. You really don't have to do any of this. I... should be headed home."

"Already?" Daedalus asked quietly, making himself known from behind Hestia. "Oh--I'm so sorry, I shouldn't ... that was rude."

"It's okay," Varian said quickly, waving his free hand. "It's just... I left something in the oven--"

"Lasagna, baking at 450 degree Fahrenheit for 15 more minutes, as the instructions said so," Hestia recounted dutifully. "Protector of the hearth is a protector of the home. Don't worry, I made sure nothing was wrong."

Varian set one hand on his chest and looked up. "Oh phew," he blew a short breath. "I thought I was gonna burn that thing down."

"Oh of course," Hestia chuckled. "It was the least I could do. You've done so much to help us."