RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

By Sandman

I was going stir crazy in that cave. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with Hercules, but I'm not the kind of guy who can be cooped up for days in such a small place. The cave he found for shelter is cozy and warms up nicely when the fire is going, but after two days I'm feeling kinda restless. And hungry.

Herc could live on fruit and vegetables, which surprises me since he's so big and all muscles. Me, I like meat. Fish, boar, pheasant, I don't care how it gets around, wings, feet or fins, I like the way it tastes, I like the way it fills me up and mostly I like to hunt it. And I'm good at it too.

Today, though I'm kicking myself. If I was more like Herc, I'd be sitting by a warm fire gazing out at the rain and happily eating my vegetables. But no. Instead I take up his challenge and head out into the dense woods to find some REAL food.

The rain is pouring down and I'm soaked to the skin. My leather pants are so wet they creak when I walk, so being stealthy is out. And my senses are dimmed. The ground feels different. The trails are obliterated in mire and any crushed leaves have long since floated away in the sea that used to be the forest floor. I can't even smell anything, so heavy is the downpour. There is only the heavy scent of wet leaves and wet air and mud. I'd sit down and fume, but I think I'd be washed away as well. My stomach growls, reminding me that I need to refuel.

Alone and hungry my thoughts are drawn back to a time long ago, when I was married to Anya, a peaceful time, but one I try not to dwell on. Even after all this time I can still feel the emptiness surrounding those years after she died. And my son, my greatest desire in life, but also not to be. I know why I'm visiting this painful memory. Its winter Solstice this evening and I wanted to celebrate, forget pain and enjoy being in the company of a friend.

Back when I had Anya there was an old dog that belonged to a young boy living in our village. It was a scruffy small thing, sort of dirty and completely blind, but the boy loved it so his family let him keep it. I'd see the dog around and initially didn't realize that it couldn't see, so able it was to use its senses. On sunny days that dog trotted all over town, never lacking for food. He could smell food and track it like no other dog could. And he could chase and actually capture small animals by using sound and scent alone.

But when it rained the poor critter couldn't even find its own way home. All the scent trails were gone. The small scurrying sounds of potential meals were drowned out by the pounding of the rain spattering on the hard packed dirt of the village roads. Even the odor of the garbage tossed by the villagers was lost to this poor dog. I'd see him then hunkered down where ever he'd be caught, in a small shivering ball waiting for the rain to end. Sometimes I'd carry him home to the boy or give him a morsel from my pack. I don't know what happened to the dog, but at this moment in time, I could certainly relate to him.

There wasn't even decent shelter, I thought miserably. The trees were no more than gaunt skeletons, branches creaking and moaning in the wild wind as the rain whipped around me like angry ghosts. If I was a praying man, I would have thrown myself at Demeter's feet and pleaded with her to send some snow. At least I could track a meal in it. At this point, I hated to admit this, but only luck would fill my stomach tonight. And I'd so wanted a small celebration with Herc.

I leaned back against the heaving trunk of a young tree and scanned the forest. Where would I be if I was an animal in the rain? Surely not wandering out here, unless it was hungry. The rough bark was not smoothed by the pounding rain and my back was feeling raw, what with my vest being ground against my back. I knew that at least my prey would be warm and safe, even if I was stuck out here in a howling gale.

My hair was so wet it no longer soaked up any of the rain and consequently rivers of the stuff were pouring down my face. My vest clung to me, a dripping and sodden sheet of useless protection. My pants would be wet for days, then stiff and uncomfortable when they dried, chafing at my legs and butt with every movement. My boots would be no better and I knew I couldn't let them entirely dry unless they were on my feet. This was an altogether miserable hunting expedition.

Winter Solstice. I loved the change of seasons and the festivals they brought. It was a time of celebration, of reaffirming the cycles of life. Friends were brought together, wine was shared. And the food! Never was there such variety, and in such quantity. If a man was willing to work he could even eat for free. Well, Herc and I may not have made it to the festival, if they were even having one in this storm, but maybe I could bring the festival to him.

I scanned the soggy woods, standing more silently than the trees, quieter than the breeze on a long ago languid summer day, and simply waited. Somewhere out there was a critter stupider than I was, and I was going to find it.

The rain poured down, heavy and concealing as the curtains on traveling tents. The branches creaked and groaned like old bones. Above, clouds moved in grey swiftness, streaking across a sky that seemed more alive than an ocean. Without the sun tracking across the sky I couldn't even tell time accurately. The thought occurred to me that if I wasn't careful I could end up being too far away from the cave when night fell to make it back safely. Time could be shorter than I thought, I just didn't know.

I realized with a jolt how disoriented that blind dog felt in the rain. Suddenly I was glad that I'd carried him home, to safety and love and warmth so many times. Only he and I caught out on a rainy day. I remembered the smell of his wet fur and the feel of his tight little muscles shivering in fear and chill against my chest and suddenly the wish came unbidden to my mind that I was in the cave with Herc, leaning against and drawing warmth and love from him instead of standing outside in the pouring rain.

Perhaps a meat meal wasn't as important as sharing another turning point in a lifetime of seasons. If I hurried, perhaps I'd make it home in time to share the moment of solstice with the one person who meant most to me. Suddenly I wasn't feeling quite so hungry.

I turned my back to the deep of the forest and without hesitation headed back towards its edge, to higher ground, where the game I sought wouldn't be, but warmth and caring would. I left behind the darkness of the soggy woods and its swollen, muddy paths. I left the animals to solstice peace, no meal for me tonight at their expense. I left the moss on the tree trunks behind and headed south through the ever darkening skies and increasing pellets of the rain. My place was with Hercules, now.

***

"Hey Iolaus!" Herc greeted me cheerfully. He starred at my wretchedness and his grin flipped over into a frown of concern. "Glad you're back, I was a bit concerned." He reached for my shoulder and helped me tug off my vest. Next I divested myself of the pants which were almost adhered to the cold pale skin of my thighs. I eagerly took the blanket Herc offered and wrapped it closed around myself, losing finally the breechclout and boots.

It was when I finally settled with a sigh next to the leaping flames of the campfire that I realized what was so clearly in front of me. Set on another blanket was a feast fit for a king.

"Herc. . .how?" I couldn't keep the wonder out of my voice.

"Father," he answered simply.

"Zeus, but why?"

"You know," he puzzled, "He didn't really tell me why. Just said a little dog in Elysia put a bug in his ear. Whatever that means." He shook his head. "Gods, you never know."

December 2002