Alex awoke to the sound of birds singing just outside his window, a sound he didn’t get to hear that often back home in Los Angeles. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up in bed, letting out a yawn before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He pulled the covers off himself, exposing his mostly nude body to the cool morning air.
“God damn…haven’t slept that well in a long time,” Alex said to himself, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting up to start the day. He glanced over at the digital alarm clock on his dresser. 8 AM…a bit earlier than he usually gets up, but that wasn’t a problem. After all, he had a busy day ahead. Orion was going to be showing him around the valley.
Alex moved over to his suitcase and opened it, pulling out a new pair of clothes to wear: a red t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. Nothing too crazy, since he’d be moving around a lot. The young man took his clothes into the bathroom and (after locking the door) took a quick shower. When he was done, he dried himself off and began to get dressed. He had put on his boxers and shorts when there was a knock at the front door of his villa.
“One sec!” Alex quickly opened the bathroom door and began putting on his shirt as he made his way over to the front door. He opened the front door to find a young man standing there. He looked to be in his early 20s, wearing a pair of running shoes, a pair of gray shorts, and a light blue tank top with the resort logo. The tank top definitely showed off the man’s slim and athletic build, as well as his biceps. His most noticeable feature, however, was his shaggy, snowy white hair. The man grinned at Alex, and it didn’t take long for him to figure out who it was from there.
“Holy…Orion?” The man nodded his head. “Can’t fool you, can I κουτάβι? It’s been quite a while since I’ve taken this form. Does it look good?”
“You look…wow…” Orion laughed and walked inside as Alex stepped out of the way. Once the man was inside, Alex closed the door behind him.
“Not a bad place you’ve got here,” Orion said, looking around the villa. “Haven’t seen the interior of many of these villas before. It must have cost quite a bit.” Alex nodded in agreement.
“I’m honestly still shocked that I even get to be here,” Alex admitted. “Normally, I’d never be able to afford something like this, but one of my close friends from high school managed to pull some strings and get me a month-long stay here. I still don’t know how he managed to do it.”
Orion chuckled. “Must be some φίλος. I assume he knows what the resort really is, since you said that he ‘pulled some strings.’”
Alex simply shrugged his shoulders. “I know for a fact that his brother does. He said that his brother worked for the resort’s parent company and has been working to make sure things are flowing smoothly. But even if he doesn’t know about the true nature of the resort, I’m glad he booked me a stay here. This place is absolutely incredible! My dad would absolutely kill to be here and learn about my mom’s heritage.”
“You have Greek heritage?” Orion asked curiously. He took a seat in an armchair in the living area, looking at Alex with an intrigued look.
“Yeah, I’m Greco-American. My mom was Greek, and she moved to the states when she was little. She later met my dad, they got married, and they had me. Of course, mom insisted that I’d be named after her great grandfather, whom-”
“Wait a second,” Orion interrupted. “‘Alex’ isn’t a Greek name…is that a nickname or something?”
Alex sighed. “Yes, it’s a nickname,” he said. “I’ve never been a big fan of my birth name, so I’ve always gone by Alex. My legal name is…Alexios.”
“Alexios…” the man repeated, mulling over the name in his head. “A powerful name; one you should not be ashamed of. Do you know what it means?” The young man shook his head, which made Orion sigh. “You have a Greek name, and you never thought to look up what it meant? You disappoint me, κουτάβι.”
“It never occurred to me that my name meant anything,” Alex said defensively. “Can you tell me what it means?”
The man let out another sigh. “It means ‘πολεμιστής,’ or ‘warrior’. Your mother must have wanted you to grow up and become a strong and independent young man. I expect that she raises you as such, correct?”
The smile on Alex’s face disappeared upon the mention of his mother. “Raised,” he replied in a quiet voice, looking away from the other man. “My mother died about five years ago.”
“Oh…I’m so sorry,” Orion said, looking away in embarrassment. “Had I known that she had passed, I would have never brought her up in our conversation.”
“No, it’s alright, really. There was no way you could have known about my mother’s passing. You were only asking a question, that’s all. Now, enough with this depressing conversation. What kind of activities around the resort did you want to show me before tonight?”
Orion nodded in understanding before reaching into the back pocket of his pants and pulling out what appeared to Alex to be a map. The young man’s suspicions were confirmed when the man unfolded the piece of paper and revealed that it was, in fact, a map of the resort.
“Since you neglected to grab a map when you arrived, I stopped by the front desk and grabbed one before coming over here.” The man set the map down on the coffee table and leaned forward in his chair to point at it. “If you want to visit some of the basic areas of the resort, there’s the gym, the pool, the sauna, the lounge, et cetera. Of course, I would personally advise against those.”
“Why’s that?” Alex asked. “Is there something wrong with them?” Orion shook his head.
“Oh there’s nothing wrong with them,” he explained. “It’s just that, in my personal opinion, there are far more interesting places to visit here. You are at a magical resort in Greece, so why would you choose to go to a regular pool over visiting the winery or touring the ruins?”
“When you put it like that, I suppose that does make a lot of sense,” Alex said. “Wait, you mentioned a winery?”
“Yes, the Tityroi Vineyard. The satyrs who work there have been brewing wine for generations, so when the resort was being built, they advocated for a local vineyard and winery. Of course, they didn’t have to persuade anyone, as everyone was on board with the idea. Why do you ask?”
A blush appeared on Alex’s face. “Well…I won’t lie…I kinda want to check out the satyrs. I don’t think I want to become one or anything, but I’m definitely curious, especially since…you know…yesterday’s incident…”
Orion stifled a laugh as he remembered what Alex had told him about the satyr scaring him in the shower. “I understand κουτάβι. And don’t worry: if you’re scared of any satyr's humping your leg or something, the front desk at the winery gives out little pins for people who aren’t interested in any of the sexual aspects.”
“Haha. Very funny,” Alex replied sarcastically.
“Alternatively,” Orion continued, “We could also visit some of the local ruins. There are some werewolf cultural sites that I would love to show you.”
Alex considered his options in silence for a minute. While it would definitely be cool to go an check out the winery and the satyrs that ran it, the young man couldn’t help but still feel a little unsettled by the fact that a satyr had gotten into his bathroom and tired to fuck him while he was taking a shower. That, and the fact that if he wore one of those supposed ‘non-sexual tour buttons’, Orion would likely never let him live it down.
“Why don’t we check out those cultural sites you mentioned?” Alex suggested. “Learning more about your culture actually sounds like it could be a lot of fun.”
The man smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “Then I know exactly where to take you.”