Apollo was forcing Dionysos back, and the wine-god seemed about to succumb, when Apollo set his foot down on a pebble and the tiny rock slipped out from under him, taking the god's balance with it and Dionysos tossed the son of Zeus to the ground. A moment later the wine-god was upon him, twisting Apollo's arm back and forcing his head into the ground. The pain was unbearable and Apollo submitted, begging his half-brother to let him up. Dionysos did just that, helping the sun-god to his feet.
"You cheated," Apollo proclaimed, wiping at the dirt on his face. "That wasn't fair, I slipped on the rock."
"Perhaps you think we should try again, eh?" Dionysos replied, smiling pantherishly. "Well, if you're ready. . ."
Apollo was tired, and sweaty, and dirty - none of which he liked. And as it was, he didn't think that he could take the wine-god again, so Apollo conceded defeat. "You won, you bastard. I give you permission to perform your sacrifices here. . .though you may want to wait until we've repaired the temple."
"What are you talking about, brother bastard? I beat you, and fairly at that. I think I deserve a better reward than being allowed to sacrifice here. . .which you wouldn't be able to stop me from doing anyway."
"What, then, do you want? To ravish all of the virgins in my temple? To hold a drunken orgy in the temple's inner sanctum? To demean me before the assembly of Olympos? What?"
"I want to officiate here at Delphi."
"What? You can't do that!"
"Yes, I can. I give prophetic inspiration, and I do it better than you if I do say so myself. And it would be returning the temple in a small way to its rightful owner."
"I will not give up Delphi."
"I'm not asking you to, except during the winter months when you're not here anyway."
Apollo nodded, conceding the wine-god's point. When the winter months grew cold and the sun proved reluctant to climb the sky, Apollo was known to leave Delphi for the mysterious Hyperboreans, who were the God's favorite people.
"Well then, let me rule here during those months, and you can have her the rest of the year. It will be like Peresephone, or that boy-man Adonis, and we'll have joint custody."
Apollo thought about it for a moment, stroking his bruised chin. "I don't suppose I have much choice in the matter, do I?" He finally asked.
"Well, we can always fight over it." Dionysos offered, and his smile suggested that Apollo wouldn't like that option.
Copyright Sannion, 06/25/02
All Rights Reserved
Posted with permission
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