Breath of Life [Ende, Tsu, Ithums] Edel PRP

[Ithiltari]

The world had been much quieter lately, Jin Haung mused. It had been much settled after the restoration of the Crown, of course, and yet this was something different still. There was not the same sense of indrawn breath, as though they were all waiting for the other shoe to drop. In this case, that other shoe would have been the Grigori, and they had not been in evidence at all. Indeed, one would be hard pressed to prove their existance to one who did not already believe.

Which was, he supposed, a sort of ironic coincidence. That was the same sort of thing that could be said about the returned members of the Pantheon. But that was what they were supposed to be doing, in this calm. Finding mortals and leading them back to belief, to return strength to them all.

Which was what had brought him out of the Pantheon today. Jin Huang had never felt particularly comfortable with worshippers of his own, preferring to remain in the background, in service to the Crown. But there was a need, and so he would address it. Mortals gathered here, and he had spoken to a few who had not seemed uninterested. Perhaps they would come seeking him later, and perhaps they would seek another of the gods. It was all, to him, rather the same. What strengthed one, strengthened them all.

It was while walking that the dragon noticed something unusual among the crowds and people gathered, something that piqued his curiousity. He began edging over towards it, hands in his pockets, a picture of deliberate nonchalance.

[Tsunake]

Laurence had never done well with sitting idle. Though a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders after speaking to Harmodious and, for the first time all month, he finally felt content, he was still restless. Shuo was still gathering strength daily, but whenever the priest made to awkwardly inquire about the state of him taking over, the dragon could not supply him with an answer.

It had been the Dragon King's request that they were here now, and Shuo was delighted with the mortals milling about the Pantheon. Laurence was less so, but he put up a good front about it, weaving through the masses without calling attention to himself. See how their faith has at last been restored! If only I could speak to them and reassure them--why, they might-- "No. They'll figure things out themselves. I want nothing else to do with it." The host snapped, bristling at the mere thought.

Then you can speak with my brother in the meantime. I sense him nearby...

Brother? The man glanced to his side and practically cringed when he laid eyes upon a somewhat familiar face. It was a brother alright--one of them that associated very closely with demons. The thought made his skin crawl, but he couldn't very well walk away, not with Shuo practically beaming. There was an awkward nod of acknowledgment, but Laurence wouldn't voice a greeting. Not even with the dragon nagging at him about politeness of all things.

[Ithiltari]

And so one of the things that had grabbed his attention noticed him. Jin Huang returned the awkward nod with one that was much less so, although he felt a little relieved that none of his demonic entourage had followed him outside. Of course, that was by his request, but the emotion was still valid.

Quickening his pace, the dragon made his way over to Laurence and more importantly, his brother. "Laurence, Shuo," he said in greeting, smiling slightly. "A pleasure to see you again, especially after our..abrupt parting." That was one way to put it, certainly. If he'd known about Laurence's...aversion to demons, he'd have found somewhere else to put the man. Hopefully he'd eventually forgive him, but more likely was that his brother would assert his dominance. Jin Huang did not often hope that people died, but hosts were an odd category of people to begin with. "What brings you out today?" he asked, continuing to smile and murmur words of welcome to the crowd that moved around the stationary pair.

[Tsunake]

"Jin Huang." Was the automatic response, and Laurence bowed his head briefly in respect for the other's position as something of god-like status. There was a brief flicker of emotion across his face at the mention of his leaving, but the priest carefully controlled himself before responding. "I've had some unpleasant experiences with your choice of servant." He finally allowed himself that mostly-neutral response, rolling his shoulders once. Of course, he'd met other, less revolting demons since that time, even if their natural behavior had been enough to make him break out in a sweat.

Sensing the dragon's desire to speak, Laurence carefully used his strength to temporarily bolster the other, granting him the power to speak through him. "Jin! It is so good to see you well once more. Isn't this wonderful? So many people here to pay homage to our Lord." There was a happy sort of sigh. It was probably good that he hadn't assumed control yet, or his brother would have been on the receiving end of a hug.

[Ithiltari]

He waved the remark away. "I understand, truly. My own host was less than fond of them as well." Overall, the demons that served him were fairly decent sorts, more concerned with the workings of a celestial bureaucracy than with anything so crass as stealing souls. Or whatever demons did that made them so terrifying to other races; Jin Huang suffered from an occasional case of tunnel vision regarding certain subjects.

When Shuo spoke, a more genuinely happy smile wreathed the dragon's normally dark and dour face. It was always good to speak with his siblings, even if they did insist on hugging and pouncing and whatever else Zhijian enjoyed doing to his unsuspecting kin. "It is good to see you as well," he replied with another slight nod of his head. "And yes, this is magnificent indeed. Even if they are not all here to worship the Crown, as long as they are eventually capable of belief in one of the Pantheon, that is something to be pleased about."

There was a flash of color beyond Laurence's head, something that drew attention to itself among the drab colors that still remained the default mode for those who gathered. Simple clothing, easily made, and yet in the midst of all of that was something brighter. "Have you talked to them much?" the dragon asked, focusing his attention back where it was more important.

[endejester]

Lost, utterly disoriented and confused, it wasn't truly a new state of affairs but it was certainly frustrating. Drab colors and curious faces moved around him in a veritable sea of people, many of whom had shoes where he lacked any, frustrating and a little painful on occasion he moved trying to reach the fringes of the crowd but kept getting pushed deeper in.

His hair an improbable but consistent bright blue rather stood out amid the crush of people. Likewise the colorful feathers, robes and skins he wore. So many strange faces and unfamiliar things it was dizzying. He turned and turned again tugging at the heavy wool blanket that hung over his shoulders and the small wings hidden there as he was shoved again by a distracted if apologetic soul.

[Tsunake]

"Not yet," Shuo admitted regretfully, and the wistful tone probably looked odd when paired with his host's immediate scowl. "But there will be plenty of time for that soon, I'd imagine. The more pressing matter here is ensuring that these mortals invest their faith within Him." It was not far off to claim that the dragon sounded reverent at the thought, but before Laurence could dwell on it too long, a flash of color caught his eye.

What in the hell was that?

The priest found himself staring at the strange being just a bit away from their current location, eyes trailing from the hair to the strange... everything. It looked somewhat human, but there was no way... It was unfortunate that Mang noticed his attention straying. A good chance for you to investigate, hm? You know it could be beneficial!

Damn the dragon for playing on his faith. It was enough to make him bristle resentfully, instead turning back to Jin as though determined to ignore the stranger. "...More than just humans gather here?" He phrased the question cautiously, not sure if he was about to be mocked or not.

[Ithiltari]

He nodded somewhat solemnly; in retrospect, it was rather obvious that it would be harder for a still gem-bound god to communicate efficiently with anyone other than their host. "That is certainly true," the dragon replied with a more thoughtful look. It wasn't as though the tide had appreciably slowed, even after all this time, so whenever Shuo was able, well. There would still be those around to converse with.

Apparently, however, the same flash of color that had caught his eye, had attracted Laurence's attention as well. "Oh, certainly. There are all sorts who to the Pantheon. Elves, humans, dwarves, demons, angels, centaurs," he listed off, naming just a handful of the races who came seeking. "Shall we investigate this curiosity, then?" Jin Huang hardly waited for a reply before generating a little push of his power, his nature to create a sort of smooth path against the crowd.

It was something rather terrifying to most, to learn that the gods not only could walk among them, but did so on a fairly regular basis. Which was why he seldom asserted his god-hood at any given moment, when wandering. It was useful in certain circumstances, like now.

[endejester]

It was hard not to notice when you'd just been pushing your way amid strange faces and ...things, that suddenly there was an opening. In fact it was such a clear opening that it was rather 'creepy.'
More creepy than that was the fact it seemed to lead right -to- him, which made him wonder first and foremost 'what had he done wrong'

Needless to say he was not often optimistic.

He glanced around to either side as though hopeful that the path really lead to someone else, or that maybe he could sort of push his way back into the crowd. Yes...that seemed a very good idea.

"Excuse me...pardon..." He stumbled over someone's boot and hissed in frustration.

It was also not exactly easy to 'escape' when you were wearing beads, bells and feathers around your ankles...particularly the bells.

[Tsunake]

The skepticism that had settled across Laurence's face was threatening to permanently make its home there, but he managed to keep an undoubtedly scathing reply in check. Of course, angels made his brows furrow, and he'd just been about to inquire what exactly the dragon meant (unless he was just cleverly implying he knew more about the priest than he was letting on), when the entire crowd seemed to part on a whim. Even he felt the urge to step aside, but Shuo gently pushed him forward, and he followed behind Jin's footsteps with vague traces of uneasiness.

He could see the other a bit better now, and from the looks of it, he was attempting to burrow back into the crowd. With hair like that, he had better luck trying to throw that blanket over his head, but Laurence had to wonder why the stranger was so keen on running. Sure, it could have been because he was simply unnerved, but his mind immediately leapt to darker places.

"Hold up," The priest put an edge of command in his voice, bluntly ignoring how the dragon sighed and tsked at him.

[Ithiltari]

The dragon hadn't meant anything by the comment; he'd simply been stating a fact. Laurence was, actually, of very little importance to Jin Huang, and he only managed to be a blip on his radar by dint of the fact that he was the host to one of his brothers.

Futs Lung might, in fact, have something of an ego problem.

An eyebrow crept upwards to arch at the host's tone, and the dragon attempted to ameliorate any panic it might have caused. Likely a futile gesture, as the subject of their combined curiosity had clearly figured himself a marked man and was already attempting to flee. "If you wouldn't mind," Jin Huang said urbanely, continuing to cut against the flow and press of people simply by being himself.

[endejester]

"Err..." The man said hesitantly drawing to a halt. "I'm quite sure... I haven't done anything... rather I don't believe I have... I'm... lost... I didn't do anything..." Feathers rustled nervously and he tugged at the heavy shawl. Bells and tassels and ornaments tapped nervously in small chimes as he shifted foot to foot. One at least seemed less hostile than the other... he glanced between them leaning slightly towards Jin Huang and asked nervously. "... did I offend him? Does he not... like...snakes?"

[Tsunake]

Snakes? Laurence felt his lips curling for a moment, but he had already figured out that Jin Huang had much better people skills than he did. "You didn't do anything wrong," The priest said grudgingly, a silent yet underlying his words. "Never seen anything like you before. And if you're here with the rest of everyone else, there's nothing wrong with talking, is there?"

And there was the hostility. Shuo sighed in his thoughts--loudly. It was fortunate that Futs Lung was present, and could hopefully mend the situation.

[Ithiltari]

Jin Huang held up his hand, to reassure the man in front of them as well as warn the host of his brother. "No, you have done nothing wrong," he said calmly, trying to keep his body language neutral to avoid further excitement. A brief chuckle escaped him at the mention of snakes as his tail waved slowly behind him. A Dragon King, have a problem with snakes? Hardly. "It is as he said. We simply wish to speak with you." He lowered his hand and offered a small bow of introduction.

"My name is Jin Huang. My companion is Laurence." Well, kind of. Best to keep things simple for the moment, and that usually involved not mentioning the whole god and host thing. A slight raise of his eyebrow indicated that the dragon was waiting for an introduction from the man.

endejester