A hound that is destined to always catch his prey. His next target is a sly fox that is causing trouble to the people to Thebes. No matter where she runs away to, he will always catch up to her. From "Chasing Sirius." 
Laelaps's Strongest Rival
Kaoruko:Laelaps — the hound who had been given a distinctive destiny by the gods. He would always catch his prey.
Kaoruko:Catching prey is pretty much what a hound does.
Kaoruko:So being able to always catch it makes him a perfect hound.
Kaoruko:What the gods had destined was set in stone in Greek mythology.
Kaoruko:Laelaps had been given such a destiny by Hephaestus.
Kaoruko:Hephaestus was the smithing god — he could create weapons, shields and even living things.
Kaoruko:He made the famous Pandora — the first human woman, for example.
Kaoruko:And Laelaps was also painstakingly created by his hands.
Kaoruko:Laelaps enjoyed a wealthy childhood and was full of talent — pretty much like me.
Kaoruko:He had been created for Zeus at first, who gifted him to Europa, one of his wives.
Kaoruko:She then in turn handed him over to her son, and then Laelaps was passed down to Procris, and eventually her husband Cephalus.
Kaoruko:Laelaps fulfilled his tasks under each owner.
Kaoruko:And that's when the Teumessian fox showed up on the outskirts of Thebes.
Kaoruko:This fox had been created by Dionysus to torment the people of Thebes.
Kaoruko:She was a messenger of a god as well as a dangerous pest.
Kaoruko:There are similar legends in Japan as well. Tamamo-no-Mae, for example, was a fox-demon believed to have been sent by the deity Inari.
Kaoruko:Foxes are present in both Greek and Japanese mythologies.
Kaoruko:The Teumessian fox was quite the cruel animal. She would attack the livestock, destroy the crops and even go as far as eat people alive...
Kaoruko:The people of Thebes had no way of stopping her.
Kaoruko:They even tried appeasing her by sending a child as sacrifice every year. Quite the story, no?
Kaoruko:And this is when Laelaps pops up in the story.
Kaoruko:You'd think he would end things, but it didn't exactly go as planned.
Kaoruko:No matter how many times Laelaps tried to catch the fox, he just couldn't quite get there.
Kaoruko:It's very strange considering his destiny, right?
Kaoruko:And that's because the fox had received a divine destiny from Dionysus. She could never be caught...
Kaoruko:In other words, both Laelaps and the Teumessian fox were two special beasts.
Kaoruko:...That said, the fox couldn't quite completely run away from the hound either.
Kaoruko:And that goes back to the fact that Laelaps would always catch his prey.
Kaoruko:Both divine destinies were absolute, and so the game of tag just never ended.
Kaoruko:No one could stop them — not even themselves.
Kaoruko:Quite the predicament, if I say so myself.
Laelaps's Fate
Kaoruko:A fox whose destiny was to never be caught, a hound whose destiny was to always catch his prey.
Kaoruko:What happened when these two animals started their game of tag...?
Kaoruko:Well, it just never ended. Their destinies clashed with each other.
Kaoruko:No matter how tired or hungry they were, their chase never ended.
Kaoruko:...It couldn't end.
Kaoruko:And so it went on like that, until the big boss decided to put a stop to it.
Kaoruko:By big boss, I mean Zeus — the ruler of all the gods on Olympus. Not even Dionysus or Hephaestus could speak against him.
Kaoruko:Zeus had been watching quietly for a while, but he decided he had had enough.
Kaoruko:The whole mess started because the clashing destinies were divine. Zeus probably felt responsible to a certain extent.
Kaoruko:After all, what would happen if either of the animals won?
Kaoruko:It would mean that one of the gods was weaker — their destiny not as powerful.
Kaoruko:That just couldn't be allowed to happen. Divine destinies were absolute. Zeus surely worried about that.
Kaoruko:And so he just...turned both of the animals to stone.
Kaoruko:They couldn't do anything anymore. Their chase had finally ended.
Kaoruko:Zeus went on to make Laelaps into a constellation, while the fox was left petrified.
Kaoruko:That constellation is what we call "Canis Major" — notably seen during our winter.
Kaoruko:To be honest, it's quite common for characters in myths to become constellations...
Kaoruko:But I think the fox wasn't all too happy about her fate.
Kaoruko:I understand that she had been violent and all, but when you think about it, it was partly Dionysus's fault. You can't blame the fox for everything she did.
Kaoruko:Couldn't Zeus transform her into a constellation as well?
Kaoruko:The star that Futaba-han and I made shine was Sirius — one of the stars in Canis Major.
Kaoruko:It's also called "Dog Star" from the name of its constellation.
Kaoruko:Many winter stars are bright, but Sirius in particular is the brightest. Quite fitting for the star that I made shine.
Kaoruko:Our performance this time didn't start well... Futaba-han was being overly chatty...
Kaoruko:But thanks to me, we combined our efforts and utterly squashed the two girls from Rinmeikan.
Kaoruko:Futaba-han can really be quite the messy type...
Kaoruko:I have to say that they managed to make us sweat, though.
Kaoruko:They seemed to have grown after the performance too. That said...
Kaoruko:I can vouch that we will win next time again.
Kaoruko:I won the performance with Futaba-han next time, but next time I'll be the only winner.
Kaoruko:"How?" you might ask...
Kaoruko:Well, for example, I'd subvert the myth and show that my Laelaps can outwit Futaba-han's fox and trap her.
Kaoruko:...I'm getting excited just thinking about it.
Kaoruko:Make sure you're ready for my next leading role, okay?
Kaoruko:I have quite the nose, you know? I'm proficient in kodo, the art of appreciating incense!
Kaoruko:Laelaps is known for his speed, but as a hound his five senses must have been really sharp.
Kaoruko:I should consider this when I'm performing his movement.
Kaoruko:That said, my sense of smell is unmatched, and my thinking is clear... I'm the best candidate for this role!
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