.~Edelsteine~. Akakios' journal by Zero Dream

[A Wandering Esper]

A Mysterious Closet

Zero Dream

It was still somewhat early, by mortal standard, when Akakios carefully opened and closed the main door to his parents' room in the pantheon to slide into the hallway. No one seemed to have noticed his sneaking out, thanks to his older brother - which was a scene straight outside oppositeland in itself. Sotiris covering for him ?

The irony had not been lost on young Lament.

He had a mission, however, and he was not about to let over-protective aoidei get in his way, not even Ianthe - he was a big boy, and he would do it on his own. He had to find some parchment...

Problem is, he had no idea where to start. His steps had started to lead him toward the library, but he stopped before the closet in the hallway as he often did, regarding it with open curiosity. The young god had never thought much about it... until he had met Karaskis again and she had told him about what was supposedly behind. Ever since then, he could barely resist the urge to knock on it and see if it was true, but he had been rather busy before.

And now... not so much, not with both parents accounted for. The parchment could wait... and maybe Mystery would know where to find some. It did seem like a mystery to him, at least.

He rose one small fist, and knocked.

Eftemie

She was headed towards the audience hall to dust it when she heard the knock. Unusual as most people thought it was a closet and simply opened the door to discover them. Excentrique moved quietly, feather duster in her hand to open the door. A smile crossed her face at seeing such a young person there but she knew it was a young godly by his appearance.

"And what may I do for you, my Lord?" she asked, opening the door wide so that Kios could enter fully. "Is it Lord Tajnevaki you seek?" There was a bit of amusement in her voice though she was entirely serious in her question. Few this age sought him out deliberately. "We do not often get knocks upon our door but visitors just the same."

The aoide knew that Taj was upstairs playing with his son. He would not mind the young godling coming up but would consider it an adventure for Maddie. The baby was growing like a weed and was now about seven months old, trying to crawl as well as stand sometimes. Madrigal was a happy child and seemed to love holding onto Siddhi's hair much to the amusement of everyone.

Taj sat on the floor with the boy, teasing him with a toy rattle he had made for him. The upper portion was a hollowed out globe of wood that he had placed a few rocks inside to rattle around. The handle was wooden and looked like a bird's claw. He had spent an entire week making the item for his son to play with. The globe itself was threaded to screw down into the handle tightly.

Maddie giggled as he reached out for it, but then crawled into his father's lap to get even closer. Sitting himself up, the child watched his father and then grabbed his hand to try to reach the rattle.

Zero Dream

Akakios straightned up a little when the door actually opened - he was half expecting it not to, to be honest, and peered up at the aoidei that answered the door.

"Erm..." Well, now that he thought about it, his reasons were a little silly. "Karaskis said I could drop by sometime ?" Yes, this was all he had to give as reason to be standing here right now, but perhaps he did not need any other reason. He stepped inside carefully as Excentrique moved aside, taking it as an invitation to enter.

...Well, this was one big closet.

Eftemie

Triq smiled warmly at the little godling. "Well, we enjoy company although most do not know. They think it is a closet or an attic door and that is what they see of course. The first time they open it. I'm sure that Lord Taj would like to see you. He's playing with his son, so how about I show you the way upstairs to his room?"

She started to turn down the hallway but then stopped a mischievious smile on her face. "Would you like to go the long way and see everything or the short way and explore later?" She was somehow sure the boy would want to go the long way and see it all but then again, children liked to explore also. Triq was prepared to take him either way he wanted to go. It delayed the dusting she really did not like doing.

Zero Dream

Hmmm, this required pondering. The shorter way would have him there quicker, to see that baby Fire had talked to him about and ask Mystery some questions he had. But on the other hand... the long way was an adventure. Unlike his elder brother, he did not embark such things often, and the prospect was thrilling. An adventure all on his own !

Well, not truly all on his own, but very nearly so.

"The long way." He answered after a few seconds, rather predictably.

Eftemie

"Somehow I figured you might pick that." Triq replied in amusement as she watched Kios. "This way, my Lord." The aoide indicated that they exit through the opening to the right. It led directly over to the fairy castle sitting in front of the small waterfall. "Those are some of the fairies that Lord Taj managed to save. They can be quite mischievious sometimes."

The castle was aglow with small lights or perhaps they were fireflies that had been coaxed into giving the fairies some light. The fairies themselves laughed and played as they flew through the air around and in the waterfall beside it.

She gave him a minute or two to see them before leading him on down the stone path. Triq could have taken him down the hallway and circling around to Taj's room, but somehow she was sure he would enjoy the outside more than the inside of the area. Leading him to the back corner, she stopped as several small childlike oni ran through teasing one another.

"Those are oni. The larger demons were terrible to them, but Hagenti and Anji managed to save some of their race. They seem to like being here and they do not cause too much trouble." Triq knew there were other things that probably caught the boy's attention. The mushrooms and moss that glowed lighting their path. The insects that buzzed and hummed from place to place. Even the small lizards that skittered away or hesitated and watched as they passed by.

By the time she led him to the large waterfall at the back, Triq had shown him nearly everything. The water cascaded down into the pond below while several fish glinted in the depths. "So what do you think?"

Zero Dream

Akakios followed the aoide, stopping in front of the small castle and waterfall, looking at the whole thing with wide, curious eyes, his expression in awe. He had read about fairies, but had never seen any for real - they were so tiny ! The books had certain said that they were, but he had still imagined them to be bigger than that. He certainly did not feel as small as he thought, now.

It took a few seconds for him to notice that Triq had started to move on, but a quick dash was enough to get back beside her once he had managed to tear his eyes away from the fairies. Lament certainly had the energy level of a child, though it was subdued most of the time.

He looked at the oni with a similar curiosity, perhaps even deeper since he had not read about them and knew nothing. They seemed happy now, even thought they had suffered in the past, as the aoide told him. Such was life, really, and he saw no need to pity them.

Out of all the other things, it seemed that it was the glowing mushrooms that held his attention, as well as the waterfall. That was nifty ! "Wow." That summed it all up nicely, actually. "That's very nice."

Eftemie

Triq laughed. "Yes, Lord Taj likes the sound as it echos, so lots of water. He likes the mushrooms for light also and I'm sure if you want to take one to study it, he would let you have one. Some of the insects glow also. He has alot of secrets laced here. Some I know and others I do not. I am sure he will want his temple underground and quite possibly with a labyrinth of some sort. He seems to like mazes and riddles even though he does not speak. I'm sure you will understand him though. You seem to catch on quick."

Leading him inside the back opening, she stopped at the kitchen. "Delphine, this is Lord Kios. How about a tray of cookies and tea to take upstairs? Maddie likes cookies and so too does Lord Taj have a sweet tooth. I'm sure he does also." It only took a moment to get the tray ready.

Delphine handed over the cookies as she bowed to the boy. "I'm Delphine. I just finished baking those. So they are fresh and still warm. Are you going up the secret way or the normal way?" she asked, trying to intrigue the boy further.

"The normal way. It's up to Taj to show him those secrets or for him to discover them himself." Excentrique replied, a smile on her face. "What fun would there be if it was all told instead of looked for? Don't you agree, my Lord? Half the fun is in getting there."

"I definitely agree." she replied, nodding emphatically. "Have fun."

Turning she moved towards the inner curve holding the tray firmly. "The stairs are this way. Lord Mystery's room is upstairs as is Madrigal. Rhys is nearby also with his guardian. That is Lady Karaskis' son. I think Lady Cosine was the last person to visit Madrigal." she stated as she moved further inward. Taj was sure to have fun with both Kios and his son.

Zero Dream

It was, perhaps, the word underground that caught his attention first of all. "Dad has a whole realm underground." That certainly beat a temple, and maybe his dad could help Taj with getting it just right. "Very very far down. He told me that someone alive could just dig, and dig, and dig forever and never get there." He said, sagely. "Ghosts don't have a problem getting there, through." He had not seen it for himself, certainly, but it was what his father had said, and the young god had no reason to doubt it.

He quieted when the two started to talk to each other, his expression turning to curiosity, then to a pout as they did not reveal more of those secrets. That wasn't very fair, to start talking about interesting things and not finish like that !

He said nothing, however - the boy knew better than complain in a place that wasn't his - and instead he followed Triq again as she went toward the stairs. Were Maddie and Rhys brothers like he and Soto were brothers, then ? No, that seemed wrong, Karaskis hadn't described Maddie at being like him at all. Not a god-child. A baby of all things. Akakios wasn't quite sure how to deal with something like that. "Cosine ?" He perked. "That's my aunt." He announced, with no shortage of pride in his voice. "She's very nice. And she teach me numbers."

Eftemie

"Numbers are important. And she is probably the best teacher of such and even better that she is an aunt." Triq agreed and nodded. "I would imagine before the fading that your father and Mystery were known to one another. With the underground returned, I would think that soon Lord Taj will be wanting to recreate the labyrinth again. And I would think that they would want it hard for most people to get there. It makes them more worthy when they do, no? I don't remember all of the maze but it was filled with lots of secrets that only Taj knew were there. And perhaps Lord Creation and Lord Nergal. They would know."

As they climbed the stairs she stopped at the door directly in front, knocking on it. Holding the tray to the side, she waited for a moment.

Taj glanced up from where he was sitting on the floor playing with Maddie. The baby was giggling as he knocked over the blocks they had been stacking. Opening the door, the god glanced at Triq and then winked at Kios, pushing the door wide enough they could both enter.

"We brought some cookies and tea, and Lord Kios is here for a visit, my Lord. Please help yourselves to the cookies and tea." Triq explained as Taj pulled his tablet from his pocket. Bowing politely to both, she exited quickly leaving the three alone.

<Most welcome, Kios. Mere play is at work here.> he wrote and then indicated the blocks and baby in the center of the room as the aoide placed the tray on the table nearby. With a gesture he indicated that Kios take cookies and tea as he liked, then wrote, < This is my son, Madrigal Araven, or Maddie as he is known. >

Maddie giggled as he placed the blocks on top of one another and then knocked them down again. Each action was the same but he giggled more and more each time they fell. It seemed as if he had his own little world to build and destroy. Then he noticed Kios and watched him closely for a moment. A block was offered and then stacked on top as the baby watched him.

Zero Dream

"Uh uh." The boy pondered this for a moment, and decided he agreed with it. Not everything could be easy, just the same as not everything could be bright and happy all the time. That was fine this way.

Akakios winked back, and stepped in carefully behind the aoidei, looking around the room with great interest, eyes finally settling on Maddie. He... he was so tiny ! Sure, he had been told so, but he hadn't expected this tiny at all.

Him and his siblings, they had definitively never been this tiny. How curious !

The young god moved toward the child, snagging a cookie as he passed and croutching near Maddie. "Hi, Maddie. Those are nice blocks you have. Did you dad find them for you ?"

It never occurred to him that Madrigal was too young to properly answer him. Lament observed the offered block with curiosity, taking it then starting to put another tower back together. It was probably going to be destroyed in seconds, but he didn't mind.

Eftemie

Taj grinned as Kios moved over to Maddie wondering what had prompted the godling to visit. Picking up two cookies, he sat back down on the floor near both boys. The cookies were soft enough that Maddie could eat them so he held one out to the baby.

Maddie continued to stack the blocks and then knocked them all down to the last one with glee. He shoved a block at Kios giggling as he pulled it back teasing the godling. Then he pushed another one at him, stacking his own block the next instant. He ignored the cookie. The blocks were far more interesting and made noise when he banged them together. His eyes were lit up in delight at the attention of someone new.

Taj wrote, < What brings Lament to my doorstep? Surely not the simple curiousity of babes and blocks. Or even cookies. Secrets abound here within whispers and reach. >

Zero Dream

Akakios pouted a bit at the teasing, but was mature enough to know not to let him get to him too much. But he took one of the blocks and held it high in the air, right out of Maddie's reach. Ah, two could play that game, really !

He munched on his own cookie thoughtfully as he peered over at the paper to read what had been written. The first time he had seen Mystery, he had not known how to read, so whatever he had written back then, he had not known. Writing was probably the accomplishment he was the most proud of. "Kara said I could drop by." He offered as explanation. "And I was wondering... do you know where I can find some parchment ? I really need some. It's really important." Sure, Nergal had said normal paper would be okay too, but it was really important for him. He had to at least try to find it first.

Eftemie

Taj grinned widely as Maddie teased Kios and then the godling teased him back. Maddie stared at the block suddenly out of his reach and wanted it. A moment later he was crawling over to Kios and suddenly in his lap trying to reach the block. Each action elicited a giggle from the baby.

Shaking his head, Taj simply let it continue as he took the tablet in hand. He frowned thoughtfully at the request for parchment. There had been various kinds of paper in the desk they had at the house. Everything in the drawers had been brought as had the piece of furniture. It now resided in his workshop the top of which he used to lay out the drawings and plans he worked on from time to time. Rhys also used it.

Pen in hand, he wrote < Perhaps an old desk hides such ancient secrets. When childish play is done and sleep nearer, then a search can ensue. > He knew that Maddie would need a nap soon. Siddhi would come from downstairs and see that he got such allowing them to freely move to the workshop nearby.

Zero Dream

Akakios looked over to Maddie with obvious amusement in his eyes, but the rest of his face did not quite follow suit. Lament teasingly moved the block away, pulling back further and further, eventually losing his balance and falling onto his back with a startled eep. From there on it would be all too easy for the baby so simply crawl his way to the desired block.

Clearly, he'd been outwitted­, and he probably could have gotten back up in time, but Maddie would have probably toppled over. He'd toppled over a few times, and that hurted, and he didn't want to hurt Maddie at all.

Akakios could not quite see the tablet from his unfortunate angle, which left him unable to answer Mystery.

Eftemie

Maddie giggled in delight as he clambored on top of Kios to get the block. Once he had it from the godling, he sort of rolled off and crawled back to stacking blocks. Just as they reached a nice height, he rubbed his eyes sleepily but then knocked them over. Only a portion fell but he did not seem to notice. Instead, he began to fuss shoving them away from him entirely.

Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs in the far corner. Siddhi carried some clean towels and clothing to the table nearby. "Oh, you have company, my Lord." Smiling, she bowed to Kios. "I am Siddhi and I take care of Madrigal."

Taj picked Madrigal up entirely, holding his son close for a moment. Then he handed him off to two of the four arms the aoide had. Glancing back at Kios, he smiled and added to the words he had already written, < A secret is waiting to be found. > Moving towards the door, he opened it, but picked up the tray of tea and cookies while waiting on Kios. They would simply move to the workshop.

Zero Dream

The godling-turned-play park remained still until Maddie rolled off, and it was only then that he moved to sit again.

And then... Maddie wasn't too interested in playing anymore, it looked like. He recognized it for what it was, having dealt with it often with his older siblings in their younger days. Now he knew that the middle of the night was not the best time for playtime.

He nodded when Siddhi showed up - she looked just like the one aoide that bothered Soto so much, and almost asked if they were sisters before he stopped himself and let her to take care of the little one instead.

Lament stood one more, glancing at the paper, then following with a curious glimmer in his eyes. "Where are we going ?"

Eftemie

Taj grinned indicating for the godling to follow him, but instead of going down the stairs in front of them, he walked towards the wall. With a twitch of amusement to his lips, he stepped through the wall entirely. A door was suddenly seen as soon as the god stopped within it and once Kios went through it, the doorway was entirely hidden again. One had to know it was there to find it a second time. Much like the god's room.

When he was certain that Kios knew the spot, Taj moved on straight across the bedroom. He stopped in front of the wall on the opposite side with a smile. A quick nod of his head to continue to follow him and he stood in a similarly hidden doorway which led into the workshop beyond.

The desk carved of dark wood stood against the curved wall just in front of them. The roll top was open revealing the drawers and cubby holes that had once contained whatever papers its owner had once considered of importance. Taj had done little other than refresh the wood with some oils to protect the finish and it shined with importance once more but to his plan of use.

Empty shelves lined the sides of the curving room that branched off. One or two oddities were carefully placed in various places. Taj had been tempted to put Pretzel there but had instead placed the staff in a hidden corner of the workshop nearer to his room where it remained unseen. And unheard. Pretzel was not impressed nor happy, but for now he remained silent about it while plotting some sort of revenge upon the god. Time would tell whether he got it or not.

Setting the tray on an empty table, Taj wrote, < An ancient desk where parchment lies fallow. > He was unsure if there was parchment within it, but if so then Kios should find something suitable for his use. Stopping, eyes amused, he waited on the godling to begin his search in the drawers.

Zero Dream

Okay, those hidden doors were something else. The boy's eyes went wide at the first sight, and he hesitated at each passing of such doors. Try as he might, he wasn't quite sure how that worked out. Was Taj hiding them like he had done with the coin, when he had first seen him ?

"How do you do that ?" Oh, yes, he was very curious, but beside those spots, he followed Mystery, taking in the surroundings as they passed, until they got to the workshop.

That desk was gorgeous, really. Much more so than the one he had, which was... well, moreso a table than a desk. He stared at it for a moment, then eyed Taj as if to ask for silent permission once more before stepping toward it and taking a peek in the first drawer.

Eftemie

Taj nodded indicating that he could look in the desk and the rest of the workroom. If he had parchment it was most likely here somewhere. The obvious place to look was the desk but Taj was seldom obvious and the parchment could be anywhere. It might even simply be rolled up and placed in the oddities room as a distraction from the things really there.

Tilting his head, he smiled taking his tablet into his hand. When the boy was finished, he would give him an explanation of the doors. At least as much as he gave anyone. With pen in hand, he began writing. < If one knows the path, then everything can be hidden. A step often goes over what hides it from view. Test what you think you see. > A riddle but he would let Lament search the doors to see if he could figure out what was there and why the doors were not. Then he would change it so that the next time the boy came, he could once more discover how it was hidden.

Sitting down after placing the tablet to side, Taj watched while the boy began looking though things. The things that would be harmful Mystery would carefully hide, obscuring their paths, so that few would find them if they even gained entrance here. Few would.

Zero Dream

Lament was not quite giving any attention to the tablet yet, peeking through the drawer. This first drawer had no paper, but it had plenty of curious things which made him look upon the contents with wonder. Pens, so many pens, and a few things like paperclips that he had yet to really see or use, and therefore caught his attention.

Everything could be a treasure, after all, especially to a young mind.

The second drawer proved to be more satisfactory - there was indeed paper in there ! Maybe,,, He started looking though the stacks, carefully moving small piles back so that he could see.

His fingers stopped onto something different and he paused. It looked like what his mother had given him - paper patterned like parchment - but it did feel a little different. Heavier, mostly. That had to be it. "I think I found some !" He exclaimed, with a grin.

Eftemie

Grinning widely, Taj watched Kios closely. The boy was excited. It was written in his expression that Kios liked the desk and was having fun searching through the drawers for parchment. Taj had no idea that there had been some there but it seemed the logical place to look for it. If there had been more oddities in his storage, he would have let the boy explore to his heart's content. But there was nothing there except a jar of eyes. There was still something about it that made him keep it. Though he was uncertain what it was. And Pretzel, carefully hidden for now.

Leaving the tablet where it lay for Kios to read, Taj moved towards the pens. Pulling out two that he knew worked well and still had enough ink, he held them out to Kios. Then he picked up several paperclips and handed them to him as well.

To the tablet he added more words to what he had written before, < Take what you will to write songs of beautious lament that those who give it all in sacrifice may be well remembered. It is their due and our debt to pay. >

Zero Dream

Lament observed the pens and the paperclips as they were offered to him, uncertain for a moment. He already had many pens, and he was not even sure what the paperclips were meant to do, but... Mystery seemed to want him to take them, so he did.

He pulled the heavy stack of parchment from the drawer and let it lay on his lap. It was indeed heavy... much more heavy than the paper he had encountered so far. Some sheets were brittle, but overall, the desk and it's contents had survived decay rather well.

He looked over to Taj's tablet when he saw him write, and nodded. This... was not exactly what he needed it for - he certainly would not dream on writing drafts on something like that, really, it was just so... pretty and important, too pretty and important to be wasted on draft, and he could see why his father seemed to like it so much now. "Yeah." He wasn't quite sure he understood it all, but he nodded. It was what he had to do. He felt it, deep within him.

Eftemie

Taj smiled widely as he indicated the tea and cookies still waiting for them. Picking one up, he bit into it as he moved towards a grouping of boxes that he had been slowly working on from time to time. Watching Kios from the corner of his eye, he moved towards one in particular. The size and shape would work well for the parchment. The boy seemed so delighted with finding it that perhaps he needed a special place to keep it and something that would inspire him so that when those final drafts were ready, the parchment was protected until then.

With a smile, he carried it back over, placing it in front of the godling. The box itself was a rich dark wood that was burnished lighter in some places. At one time it had been painted with deep purple and Taj had left some of that coloring in it when he cleaned and repaired the surface. Silvery metal bands had been hammered around the chest for support. And the latch was a dark silver nearly black latch that turned to lock the box up tightly. It could be carried easily without ever opening by accident. The parchment would fit perfectly inside with a bit of room to spare for a prized pen or two.

Picking up his tablet again, Taj simply wrote < Such a treasure needs to be protected. > When he had salvaged the chest, he had noone in mind, but it suited the young godling perfectly.

Zero Dream

Lament helped himself to another cookie, not moving from his position in front of the desk but his curious glance following Mystery's movements as he reached toward the box. It was only when Taj came back to him with it that Akakios understood, and he nodded. The box itself was unlike anything he had seen - the patches of purple where a little odd but it seemed to add to it, somehow. One could tell that it was an object that had seen and likely carried many things. The godling wanted to ask Taj just where he had found it to be able to know at least some of that history, but that seemed a little silly.

"You're right." He agreed with a small, almost shy sort of smile - as if he was unused to the expression - and he carefully placed the parchment, the pens and the paper clips within. It was like a treasure box, really.

"Thank you." Akakios inclined his head respectfully - something his mother had taught him. "Ill make good use of everything."

Eftemie

Taj watched the godling a moment, smiling. He would get some used from the box and take care of it. He did not tell him that it had been taken from things they had salvaged from the crates on the spaceship. What planet it came from, Taj did not know. All that mattered was that Kios could use it.

As he sipped his tea and indicated that Kios help himself, he noted that the boy liked the desk. He would keep watch for a second desk for the boy. It was not hard to see the wistful way he looked at it. Such a treasure would fit one who had it in them to write.

Taking his tablet in hand, Taj wrote once more. < Your father has returned? > He had heard a rumor that Nergal was created the underworld again. Faint images of a labyrinth had slipped down over him when he had first understood. His own realm was perhaps close to Nergal's or perhaps even a portion of it. Perhaps he should speak to him and see what the other deities thoughts were on it. < There was rumor of such and a new underground. >

As he waited on an answer, Mystery moved towards the wood nearby. Picking up one of his knives, he began to carve on a piece he had been working on. When he had the image worked in, the knife was replaced with bits of sandpaper to smooth the surface. He had begun this piece with nothing in mind and the shape of it reflected such, but it was an interesting design until he found what it would become.

Zero Dream

Akakios looked over at the tea when it was gestured toward. He had never really tried it before - he know his mother liked it, but his father drank something completely different, a pitch black liquid that he was not allowed to try, which only made him want to try it more, of course. He took one of the cups and sipped from it, making a bit of a face at the taste.

It needed more sugar. Definitively. There were some undertones in flavors he recognized, which probably was the reason he did not dismiss it outright after that first experiment.

"Yeah." He answered the question written on the tablet, after having observed what Mystery was carving for a moment. "He made his place again, and almost all the ghosts are there now." There was a bit of melancholy in his voice - he had grown used to the relative silence, but he still missed his 'invisible friends', especially late when everyone else was sleeping. "He comes and goes to see us and mom, but he doesn't stick around for long." His father was busy and... it looked difficult for him to remain here, somehow. It made no sense since he had no problem with it before, but it was the impressions he got from it.

"What are you doing ?" It was his turn to ask a question, expression eager. He had never seen someone carve things before. Sculpting yes, but not carving.

Eftemie

Taj nodded as he listened closely to the boy. He missed his father and he could hear it in the child's voice. Mystery briefly wondered if the boy would not be happier in the underground with his father than here, but he was sure Nergal had much to do having just made the place again. He would find more time for his children when things slowed down.

Taj stopped, picking up the tablet again. < Something lies within and wants free. Rabbit perhaps. Squirrel very likely. Blossom in full bloom. Maybe. A carver on another planet taught this. It will eventually shape itself when it tells my fingers what it wants to be. >

Catching the eagerness in Kios' voice, Taj grinned as he watched him. Picking up another piece of wood, Taj handed it to Kios. < What does Lament see within? Perhaps it wants out. > He had always studied the wood he used for other things seeing shapes and creatures within them. Carving was relaxing to him as he tried to bring out whatever it was he saw within. Perhaps Kios would see something he did not.

Zero Dream

Lament listened attentively, then blinked at the piece of wood that was offered to him before setting the tea cup aside and accepting it, plopping down to sit cross-legged on the floor. He wasn't really sure this made sense, but maybe it was something similar to him and words, and how they just sometime wanted out. So he could relate to the feeling at least loosely.

"Crys is really good with making things." He explained. "With clay. Im not very good at it." The boy then admitted, seeming a little embarrassed by the admission, looking at the piece of wood and twirling it in his hands. He was trying, at least, to figure something out about this.

Eftemie

Taj sat down beside the boy on the floor. The surface of the wooden floor was not uncomfortable and he watched Kios a moment.

< All see differently. All have their own unique gift that only they see. But as one carves, one writes, two sing, and another forges, domains overlap. It is in the doing that makes the differences stand out. >

To Taj and to Jaster both, this had been one of the truths they had learned well. A father belittled what he could not see while a mother loved with all her heart and praised. In the end Jaster had to decide to be himself no matter what anyone thought. Just because Lament was a writer- a songmaker- did not mean he could not find the beauty of carving or clay or even metal. He would simply have to find it for himself.

With enough time he would find something that helped him just as Taj had. Perhaps it would be wood also. Perhaps not. But if he did not explore such then perhaps it would be lost to him when he needed it most.

Picking up another piece of wood, Taj studied it for a moment. It was chubby and chunky and he could almost see the fur of a fluffy tail. A rabbit he decided as he picked up a pencil to mark the places where eyes and ears would be. With a smile he held it out to Kios to show what he had done and how the rabbit within it was trying to get out. Perhaps it would help Kios to see more in his own piece of wood.

Zero Dream

Akakios peered over when Taj held out the new piece of wood, leaning forward slightly so he could get a good look at it and the tablet. The pencil lines helped... kind of.

He returned his own gaze down to his own piece of wood, trying to see similar things in it. Drawing mental lines along the grain and swirl of the material. One part looked like a V, but that didn't help him much.

...Hm.

If he put it on the side, it wasn't a V anymore. But he'd seen the shape before, somewhere... the memory of a few, then-scatted black birds perching on the railing of his uncle's balcony when he still used to live there.

A beak, then ?

Maybe. A beak wasn't the only part of a bird, however, so he kept on looking, tracing shapes with one finger that would give Mystery hints as to what he was thinking.

Eftemie

Taj nodded, smiling suddenly. A bird of some sort. But what type? Writing on the tablet, he asked, < A bird fits very well. And one that has been seen before? >

A description would help him find what the piece of wood was and wanted to be. It always seemed easier to go with what was felt from it. The knives seemed to slide smoother and there were less mistakes. Each thing had a life of its own and knew what it was. Why not a carving brought to life by another's hands?

Holding the pencil out to Kios, he indicated that he should mark what he saw there. The markings did not have to be entirely accurate. The blades would do that, but it would give them more of an idea what needed to be shaped to help the bird fly free as it seemed to want to.

And once they had it in the padded vise on the table, they could begin. One this size would not take long and Kios would have it finished before he left. He was quite certain that his siblings would be slightly jealous at such and perhaps it would lead Kios to making some for them.

Zero Dream

Lament accepted the pencil as it was handed to him, and began to scribble shaky lines in truth. Much like his letters, his lines were still on the wobbly side. The boy still had quite a bit to learn about precision, even if he already had improved leaps and bounds over his initial first scribbling.

At first it didn't make much sense, but then it became a bit clearer. An eye there, the side of a wing there... It didn't look very much like a realistic crow, but it did look like a bird indeed.

Eftemie

Taj nodded at the markings though shaky they might be. They were enough that he knew Lament had understood what was needed. A bird was what he had seen there also, but he wondered what type of bird.

Getting to his feet, he offered the boy a hand up before turning with a grin once they were both on their feet. The small vise in front of them was perhaps best for holding the piece of wood. The larger one would make it more difficult to shape such a small piece. Indicating that they place the fragment into the vice with the side up, he began looking at his tools to see which would work the best.

They were all sharp and he knew that Lament had never done so before. Showing him how to hold the tool itself, he indicated how to keep fingers back out of the way. Once he had made the grooves that marked the beginning, Taj handed the carving tool to the godling. All that really needed done was the curves of the body smoothed to indicate that there were portions that were round. Feather markings would come later and the blade that he handed him was slightly curved for such a purpose.

Writing again, Taj said < Thin long strokes to shave small slivers off. Merely to shape. > Once the body was shaped, he could change the angle of the bird in the vise and work on the beak, eye, and detail feathers in the wings and tail. It would be a proper bird when finished.

Zero Dream

Akakios took the offered hand and worked himself back onto his feet, following Mystery, unsure of what was going on. It was hard to read Taj sometimes, really, especially when he wasn't writing. Still, he eagerly followed, climbing up onto a nearby chair.

"Like... This ?" He asked, putting the piece of wood in the vice with the faint pencil markings facing upward. It seemed to do, and then he carefully settled it in place. Hopefully not too tight. He wasn't sure, but Taj would likely tell him when it was.

Lament watched, still with great interest, but then looked up when he was handed one of the sharp carving tools. Much like Crys wasn't allowed to use the stove alone, he really wasn't allowed to handle extremely sharp objects. But then, he had supervision, didn't he ?

He took it, and felt the weight of it in his hand for a moment before he went to try and mimic Mystery's previous movements, rather slowly.

Eftemie

Taj nodded as he watched Akakios begin to mimic his motions. A few times he indicated that the boy needed to change the direction the piece of wood was in the vise to make it easier for him to continue, but otherwise, Kios picked it up quickly.

Making sure that Kios kept his fingers out of the way was also a priority as the god watched him. Taj stopped him once or twice while they worked, indicating he keep his appendages back. Safety first as Taj had learned the hard way by injuring himself unnecessarily.

Studying the bird's form, Taj smiled. Kios could very well find this relaxing once he understood what he was doing. Perhaps he would even make a few wooden quills or writing utensils that he could use to shape his songs with. Or even simply for decorative purposes to shape his room.

As he watched over his apprentice of the moment, Taj thought about Araven. Perhaps he would one day be teaching his son also. They would both enjoy that when the time was right and it was something that Jaster would have done. Even gone, he was still included.

Zero Dream

This wasn't too hard, really, once one got a hang of the movements. He was indeed very careful, even if it did lengthen the time span spent on each detail of the wooden bird. He did not want to get hurt, and well, did not want Taj to get in trouble if he did hurt himself. His mother would worry again and that wouldn't do. So, instead, he was careful, and followed his mentor's instructions.

Eftemie

Taj helped Kios finish carving the bird, making sure that fingers were out of the way each time he switched things around for the godling to continue. When he was sure the shape was what Kios wanted, he showed him how to sand it to smooth out the edges and give it a more refined surface. The finishing touch was the oil, rubbed in slowly with a very soft cloth so that the wood ended up with a soft sheen to it.

Nodding when the bird was finished, Taj glanced over at Kios' face. The boy was enjoying this as much as he thought he might. Picking up his tablet, he wrote, < It looks a proper crow to me. Perhaps one day there will be more to keep it company. > Taj's way of inviting Kios to return whenever he wanted to do so.

Mystery was sure that there was a way to make a pen of some sort for the godling. He would have to think how to do so though. Something that a quill tip could be placed into and easily removed when there was wear to it. He might even talk to Eddard or Myles to see if such small pieces could be made, but in the meantime he'd have to look at various pens, quills, and other writing instruments to see what type to create. The details were what fascinated him and why when he stared at a block of wood, he just could not help to bring out what he saw. It would be interesting to see what Kios did also.

Zero Dream

Lament tilted his head slightly, looking at the carving when it was finally finished. He was familiar enough with crows - after all, wherever his uncle Ankou was, the black birds tended to be here as well, as if followed him or drawn by his presence - and... well.

"It does look like a crow..." Lament mused out loud. He would have to show Crys. She liked crows too, had even been given one by their aunt Cosine. It was still a tiny crow, last he had checked. "There's always a lot of crows around. He will have company." He said with, at last, a smile. Of course the carving wasn't alive, he knew that, could feel it in a way, and yet... well, it was part of the merriment that still made him a child, the ability to put aside what he knew and pretend.

With the crow carefully balanced on top of the chest, the godling looked around for a clock, but couldn't see one at first glance - probably hidden some place he wasn't thinking to look at, knowing Mystery. "I should probably go... Mom's gonna wonder where I went." He did not like it when his mother worried, and he liked it even less when she worried about him. "Can come back again later ?" He offered.

Eftemie

Taj grinned, nodding at the godling's words. Of course he was welcome to return.

It took but a moment to write an open invitation to visit he and Maddie. He was sure the child would enjoy visits from Kios. < Lament is always welcome and knows where Madrigal and Mystery live. >

One might say he was too trusting to reveal such secret halls and doors, but walls and doors could easily be changed if the need arose. Taj fully intended to take the boy the secret way because he knew Kios would enjoy it. It was also shorter and if Kios was worried about his mother, then giving him no chance to dawdle and look at things was best.

< The quick way so as not to worry mother. > Taj wrote before turning in the opposite direction.

Moving forwards, he led Kios directly down the hidden staircase to a secret door in the very front hall. Kios had definitely gone the long way when he arrived. With a wink, Taj opened the outer door to the hallway. Hopefully Echo had not worried about where the boy was.

[A Wandering Esper]

His End Of The Bargain

He had parchment, now, and had gotten it much quicker than he had thought he could, since he hadn't seen Gianfar for what seemed to have been so long, now. But Mystery had been able to help, in what turned out to have been an happy coincidence.

Lament sat at his desk, the wooden box laying in front of him, chips of purple paint still stubbornly hanging on the bare wood in places. He carefully pulled the top away, revealing the parchment and other objects inside. Just as carefully, he pulled one sheet out. It felt heavy, so different that the paper he'd known and used. Nothing like the imitation his mother had given him, out of good intent, just in case it wasn't possible to find the real thing. It looked similar, but felt completely different.

He definitively liked that feeling, that heaviness under his fingers. He was eager, so eager to get to work, but stopped in mid-motion just as he reached for his quill.

There were only a few sheets of parchment in the box. What if he messed up ? He would have to give his father something flawed. Or some of this paper-parchment. He didn't like the idea. He should practice, first, on normal paper, he had so many of that. Practice until the letters were perfect, until it was all nice and center. And then he could copy that.

Yes, he really should do that, and all he had to do was to pull open a drawer of his desk to reveal ruled paper a plenty. A sheet was pulled out, the loose sheet of parchment and the box carefully set aside further back on the long wooden desk, his book set aside so he could copy, and so he started to re-write what he had once wrote, what seemed like so long ago now, even if it hadn't truly be so. Part of him was nagging him, that he should reword it, rework it, that he could certainly do better now, but if he started doing that, he'd be constantly rewriting everything, and when would he find the time to write new things, then ?

No, there had to be a point where he had to call it done and leave it at that. His father would expect what he had been recited, after all.

Nergal....

Even if, to be honest, it was getting harder to ignore his father's constant absence. He did come around – rarely – and apparently never when he, himself, was around to do so much as simply speak to him. This was starting to grate on his nerves a little, making him more and more upset at time passed. How many days had he spent sitting in the garden, wanting nothing more for the door to open and his father to pass though ? He couldn't be that busy, right ?

There was a place for the souls of the dead now, wasn't that had been the most important thing to do ? Certainly dead mortals couldn't be more important than his siblings ?

More important than him ?

He stilled in his movements, ink pooling to stain the paper. Lament scrowled to himself, wadding the paper into a ball and throwing it as hard as he could, watching it bounce off the wall and ending up somewhere near his bed with only a small amount of satisfaction.

This was completely and utterly unfair.

It was a sudden impact that brought him back to reality, and he found a white kitten in his lap, who was now happilly pawing down his legs, as if trying to soften them like so many cats did, before laying down and looking up at Akakios with wide, green eyes, and Lament felt his irritation slowly melt away as the small creature purred. "How did you get in here ?

The cat, of course, didn't answer, and Lament simply shrugged, and returned to his work.

But still, Akakios had said that he would do this. His current irritation couldn't change any of that, and his pride did not allow him to produce and give out something that was below his own standard. Being, the best he could possibly do at the time.

And so, Lament started over.

And over. And over.

Again and again.

He sat at his desk, discarding one draft after another due to various reasons – uneven letters, uncentered text, ink blotches – until, finally, a few hours later, he was happy with what was adorning the blank sheet of paper.

It was a good thing he'd thought to practice first... There would never had been enough parchments for that many attempts. A good lesson learned, and a mistake only narrowly avoided due to having seen his mother do the same rough to final approach ever since he had been only a few days old. Lament was glad to have his mother, expecially now...

He copied the text, his first true work, on the parchment, carefully, slowly – that copy taking nearly an hour on it's own – until he was, finally, done. After the ink dried, he rolled it up carefully and tied it closed with a piece of black ribbon. He'd seen things done that way, in some of the books Knowledge had shown him.

Maybe, one day, his father would actually stick around long enough to receive it.

[A Wandering Esper]

A Peaceful Interlude

Cinderfae

She'd been inside for quite a bit of time. The work with the seed she knew was needed but it had left her feeling worn and more then a little drained. She'd been in her rooms for most of it but even with the variety that the rooms offered she found herself wanting to get out and about. Erzulie hadn't wanted her to go without an escort, the aoidei could feel that her goddess was drained from her current work, a few firm words had held the aoidei from following.

Settling in on one of the benches Karaskis' eyes went to drift over a nearby pool, the garden seemed relaxing enough for the time being. The peace she feared would be fleeting, there was still very much more for them to see to and to finish. For now though she rested back letting her fiery gaze drift over the quiet surroundings of the pantheon, once she had finished depending on the path she chose there may not be many more quiet moments.

Zero Dream

Akakios exited the main pantheon building from the front door, keeping ahead of his mother much like a guard or an aoidei might otherwise have, opening the path for her. They were going somewhere, Echo had said, but that seemed to be forgotten when Lament saw Karaskis sitting here... and then bolted to her. "Karaskis ! Look !" He was indeed, very eager to show her that his mother was finally back. He didn't have dad, who was always gone, but at least he had mom.

Echo, for her part, could only give a lighthearted laugh at her son's sudden excitement, and she walked off the path as well, but at a more leisurely pace. Fatigue clung to Fire's features, and her own brows furrowed in worry for a moment.

Cinderfae

Karaskis sat meditating for a time, attempting to gather her mind and energy for her task for the day when Kios voice drew her attention. Smiling she shifted her fiery gaze toward the child, the interruption was a welcome distraction to her current work.

"Hello Kios," turning some her gaze fell upon his mother that walked not far behind the boy. "And Music," she looked to the boy and then his mother with a smile. It seemed her small friend had found that which he had been missing. She might have stood another day but at the moment she let her lethergy settle in and stayed sitting on the bench. If it had been a more formal occasion perhaps she would have stood to greet the other deities but for now even that bit of energy she didn't dare exert. A part of her yearned for when her power would be more full...if it had grown her current task wouldn't have been nearly as draining.

"How is this day," shifting her gaze Karskis' voice held a hint of amusement as she looked to the perpetual grey of the skies, "find you both?" Although the blending of voices was present if only slightly the majority of Karaskis' voice was fully that of a somewhat worn goddess.

Zero Dream

Akakios kept on barreling ahead until he had closed the distance, and then the boy climbed up the bench to sit beside Fire. At least he did not try to tackle, or anything else that could be similar.

Karaskis spoke a little more evenly now. There was still a little variation in the voices he could hear, but not as much. This was a little odd, given how different her voice was before. Maybe it was odd, but he would miss it a little.

"Look, mom came back ! Dad came back too, but he had to leave. Again." He started, but then he paused, tilting his head slightly to look up at her. He hadn't really noticed at a distance, but Karaskis looked really tired...

Echo continued to make her way at a more leisurely pace than her son, and did not seem offended that the goddess did not rise to greet her. She stopped in front of Karaskis and nodded. "We are doing well so far... Enjoying some fresh air." The weariness clung to even her voice, which only fueled Echo's worry. "Are you well ?"

Cinderfae

Karaskis rested back again listening to the child a moment, "I'm very glad they are back for you...and it is nice to see you again." shifting her gaze Karaskis looked to Echo again as she spoke, "and yes I am just out for a bit of air... even with the expanse that our room has become at times it can feel stifling if I stay there too long."

At Echo's next question Karaskis paused it seemed her weariness was showing, she hadn't really bothered with primping herself before leaving the rooms either which likely didn't help. "I am, just exhausted. I'm working on something now that takes a great deal of my energy each day. But I hope in the end what is gained will be well worth it."

Zero Dream

"Really ?" Akakios paused for a moment, trying to think up what could have her so tired. Maybe she was making a huge bonfire or something ? It probably had to be something firey, wouldn't it ?

"What is it ? Can I see it ? Are you making little flames to put up in the sky so ill't look like stars again ?" ...Hey, that was another idea ! The young boy, ever so curious, just sent one question after the other without giving much thought to it.

Echo shook her head a bit, moving to place her hand on her youngest's shoulder. She could only hope that Fire would not be annoyed by her son's curious nature, but from their reaction to each other, it seemed like the two had met and conversed while she had been gone. "Slow down a little, dear ? You are not even giving Lady Karaskis time to answer your questions." That seemed to be a common thing, but it was gentle scolding at best.

Cinderfae

Karaskis went to answer and chuckled slightly after a moment letting the boy continue with his questions, giving him time to think up and finish up whatever he would ask. "Well I do believe the sky is being tended to...Lord Harmodius however has asked me for a bit of my power to aid in restoring somethings." Reaching within the soft silks that made up her clothing as of late she pulled out the fire gem and held it up, "careful now..." after working on it Karaskis liked to keep it close since it held her power within, "this gem is holding my powers, it's a container of sorts that needs to be filled. It takes up my elemental energies each day when I fill it..." pausing she considered her words she was attempting to make it more easily understood to the godling, "since I'm not at my full power yet it's taking quite a bit of time to finish it."

"The Fire Seed here isn't for the sky however...Harmodius plans to use it for aiding against our enemies." She didn't want to go into too many details of the threat of the grigori with the child as she wasn't sure what had been shared with him and what hadn't. If Echo asked for more information she'd of course share it, and hope that she could take hints from the goddess' reactions, she after all did not want to frighten the young god.

Zero Dream

A fire seed ? That was certainly nothing that he had ever heard about before.

And definitively something very, very, very interesting indeed. Karaskis definitively had his complete attention now, and he peered a little closer at the seed, even reaching to try and touch it, but he stopped in mid-movement and looked up at her in silent inquiry. Akakios wasn't quite sure about powers and all that, as it was the godling had yet to consciously invoke his own power - but if her power was in it, then that meant fire (because that was what his mom had said she was) and fire was hot.

He did pocess the presence of mind to think that just because the goddess of fire held it easily, it did not mean that it was safe for him to touch.

"Enemies ?" He knew that word, really, but not really of the fact that the gods had them. For all he really knew, the near-apocalypse he had been born into had been a natural thing.

"I see..." Echo turned thoughtful at she learned of the seed and it's intended use. Something would have to be done about them, of course. There was worries, of course, of Karaskis being outside alone in a weakened state... but well, Fire was not alone anymore, wasn't she ?

"Yes, enemies." Echo crouched down to be at eye level with her son. "We have such... Those who wish to end All That Is. But it is nothing you need to trouble yourself with, my dear. We are safe here." For now. She would tell her children of such thing in greater details, but... not yet. They were too young to be involved with the grigori directly other than by force. Echo could only hope it would not come to that.

Cinderfae

Leaving the greater questions about those that would wish to unmake that which the gods had put in place to Echo Karaskis tilted her hand slightly so that Kios could better see the seed. "You may touch it if you like, it is warming up but should not be hot enough to burn you." The pieces of her power contained within swirled like jewels of hot embers in a dark sky.

Looking up from Kios, Karaskis let her gaze drift to Echo, "so were you two just out for a walk or going somewhere specific?"

Zero Dream

Akakios frowned, but said nothing at first. He recognized the tone of his mother's voice as being the one with the 'ill tell you later' undertones, and he knew from experience that arguing it would do nothing to help him, and neither would causing a commotion. Echo was a rather loose-handed parent figure, especially as he and his siblings grew in experience, but on the things she did not want to relent on, Music was a forteress he had not quite figured out how to sway just yet.

Still, it made no sense. If these people wanted to destroy everything, wouldn't they die too ? What was the point then ?

Thankfully, before his young mind could continue down that path, Karaskis offered the perfect distraction, and his insatiable curiosity won out over his annoyance. He reached and put one palm onto the seed, feeling the warmth radiating from under the surface, watched the bright dots move in the darkness of their surrounding. "So you put fire in it ?" He looked back up to her at least. Maybe he could get some sort of explanation for this, at least. Being explained things always made him happy. "How does it get in ? There's no hole." He didn't see one, anyway.

"We were just going out for a walk. Get some fresh air. I have to get him away from his books somehow." Echo gave a light chuckle, watching over her son carefully, gauging his reactions. She did not wish to have Fire deal with an upset Akakios, but he seemed to settle quickly enough. Maybe he was starting to realize that the way he acted influenced the ways others saw him ? It would not surprise her. Her youngest had matured a great deal in the time she had been gone. Her expression turned thoughtful, then. "Do you wish to come along ?" She was not sure if it was a wise thing, with how tired Karaskis looked, but she figured Fire would tell her if she was too worn to do such.

Cinderfae

A slight smile came to the goddess' face watching Kios interest taken once again with the seed. His query caused her lip to twitch slightly in amusement. "Well instead of using my power to create fire each day I instead store it in the fire seed," musing Karaskis looked down at the gem in her hand.

"As for how it gets there..." it was a hard question, what she was doing was more feeling and instinct then actual systematic process. "Power doesn't need a hole to get from one place to the next." Pausing Karaskis held her hand out for Kios to take it, "feel the warmth of my hand, now pull your hand away. The warmth is still there, it was not poured into you to effect you. That is a lot like how I am able to feed my powers into this seed."

Lifting her gaze she turned to music considering the offer for a moment before speaking, "I wouldn't mind joining you, as long as you don't mind taking a route that ends up back over toward the doors. I need to head in and continue my work soon..." a slight smile played on her lips a moment as she continued, "if I tarry too long I'm bound to have a search party after me."

Zero Dream

Akakios did exactly as he was told - gently took her hand and then let go - well, that was right ! Of course, he'd felt it before, warmth linger on him, but he had thought it might have been different with it was a god's power. Karaskis was a great deal warmer than both him and his mother, this he could tell as he had touched her hand, and his expression turned thoughtful. Maybe she had fire inside her ? "I see..." He trailed off then, continuing on his pondering.

Echo offered an amused laugh at that, holding her hand out for Fire to take if she needed it. "Well, I wouldn't want for your own to fear that I have abducted you... Just tell us when you are tired and we will go back, will that be fine ?"

((rp in progress here))

[A Wandering Esper]

How Cute !

Zero Dream

Inspiration was not coming while being locked inside four walls today.

It was a rather odd thing, this. Usually the young Lament had no problem finding things to write about in the comfort of his own room (to the point that the aoidei probably made bets as to when he'd ever come out of it), but today was not one of such days. And so, the pale godling wandered outside. There was not much in term of sneaking needed, not of he was only going to the gardens outside - and well, if he wanted to go beyond that, he had Ianthe. Who would likely be following him even now, but he didn't care. He was indeed a little glad that his father hadn't asked for Ianthe back yet.

Maybe he would forget about it ? Dad was always so busy after all. That would certainly have been nice...

Now that he was in the garden, he headed toward one of the teahouses. The sky over his head was still empty - still yearning for what it had lost.

That was always inspiring, really.

Meepfur

As it happened, the teahouse was already occuppied. After exploring for the day, Enekpe had decided she was too tired to climb aaaaall the way back up the stairs right away, and had instead chosen to nap in one of the teahouses. She'd curled up on the comfiest-looking cushion and fallen asleep, and was still there an hour later, snoozing away. She even twitched a little occasionally, not unlike a sleeping dog.

Zero Dream

One peek did indeed reveal that the teahouse was occupied. By a kitty even ! Wait, no, not a kitty. They didn't have hooves.

Or maybe it just just a different kind of kitty ?

He should have probably ducked out and went elsewhere, but this teahouse was his favorite one. Nevermind that they were almost all identical, this one was his favorite.

Maybe if he was just really really quiet ?

And so, Akakios started to tip-toe his way in.

Meepfur

Kitties didn't have giant ears, either. En's picked up every little thing, and one of them flicked in the godling's direction. There was a time when she would have slept through so little noise, but thanks to the dangerous times she'd been through, she didn't sleep very heavily anymore. She lifted her head and blinked sleepy eyes at the purple-haired child, taking a moment to yawn before saying, "Hello."

Zero Dream

Kitties also didn't talk, either. Well, most of them. Unless they were shapeshifters like Annie. For a moment, the young boy was caught offguard, and then chewed on his lip like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Sorry. Didn't want to wake you up."

But then, he asked, hopefully : "Do you mind if I go over there ? Ill be quiet."

Meepfur

"It's okay," she assured him, yawning again and stretching her front legs out. The little creature stood and set to fixing her 'bed,' pawing (err, hoofing?) at it a little until she was satisfied that it was once again as comfortable as possible. The stone in her chest was clearly visible as she did so, at least until she circled and laid down again.

Zero Dream

Likewise, Kios settled over onto a pile of cushion, setting his notebook open on the floor and sparing another look to Enkepe, and noticing her gem.

He's seen gems before, of course. His father had one, and his mother as well. As did his uncle. He was also certain that the others probably had gems as well, but he hadn't seen them. This one kind of looked like his mother's really. But she did not quite feel like the gods he's met before. It was hard to explain. So maybe she was not a deity per-se, but... what has Karaskis called them ? Hosts ?

"You have a gem ?" He asked, unable to repress his curiosity.

Meepfur

"Mm-hm!" she answered, raising her head again so that it would be visible once more. It was really very pretty - not that she could see it very well at all anymore, given its location. "She's Kikechum, Goddess of Animals."

The goddess was relatively quiet, most of the time, unless spoken to. En could always feel her there, but k**e tended to leave her alone unless she wanted to talk.

Zero Dream

Ah ! Well, that made sense, that a goddess of animals would take one as an host. If he could judge by the other gods he saw, hosts were usually people.

"Im a god too." He announced proudly, puffing his chest a little. He was a little god, but a god indeed ! And why should he not be proud about that ? "I don't have a gem though. Mom and Dad made me."

Meepfur

Enekpe's frayed ears perked up. He was a god? Really? She hadn't realized there were small gods, too! The first one she'd met had been very tall, and the second had been a giant dragon...she'd started to wonder if they were all big! But here was a small one - a child, apparently. Maybe he would grow big?

Not necessarily, k**e chimed in. I think you have seen exceptions so far, not the norm. But ask him something for me, if you will - what is he the god of, and who are his parents?

"k**e wants to know what you're god of? And who your parents are."

Zero Dream

Thankfully, Akakios seemed more than eager to answer those questions. "'m Lament. My name is Akakios. You can just call me Kios." Barely anyone used his full name, beside the aoidei. Most often that not, the use of his full name meant he was in trouble.

"Mom is Music. And my dad is Underworld. He's really busy so I don't think I can have you meet him if you ask. Mom should be around though. I have a big brother and a big sister too."

He stopped, blinking, apparently realizing something. "What's your name ?" He asked.

Meepfur

"Underworld?" Enekpe blinked owlishly. "What's that?" She'd never heard of such a thing before! She could feel k**e's amusement at the back of her mind, but the goddess said nothing, content to let her host be answered by the young god.

"Oh!" She's quite forgotten to introduce herself, hadn't she? "I'm Enekpe, En for short."

Zero Dream

"It's a bigbig place." Kios started, pushing one purple bang out of his platina eyes. "Where all the mortals go after they die. I havn't been able to go see yet." Lament pouted - that was a slight to be remedied, such was evident. "Dad said he would show me, but I dunno when. Many people died lately so he's really busy. I don't see him much." There was sadness in his voice and, more apparently, in his eyes. He did miss his father greatly when he wasn't around.

Meepfur

"Oh." How weird! "I didn't know they went anywhere. I thought they were just gone. Do they all go there?" Recognizing his sadness, as someone who could sympathize with missing a loved one, Enekpe left her cushion and toddled over to take a seat in his lap.

Zero Dream

The boy didn't seem to mind - he let her settle in, and absent-mindedly rose one hand to scritch behind her ear like he did with the cats back home. They always liked it, maybe she would too ?

"After my uncle get them here, yeah." Kios had a big family, and it showed. "They're all supposed to go there, but sometimes they don't find their way. Or don't want to go. So uncle Ankou find them and take them to dad. Before that, they often linger around, but almost no one can see them. I can hear them, but not see them either. They're safer in the Underworld, and daddy can judge if they did good or bad in life." Granted, much of this stuff was still confusing to the child. "Those who do good re-enter the circle and are reborn, but they can't remember who they used to be."

Meepfur

That was very nice, yes! She hadn't had much in the way of scritchings since her human had died, and she'd missed it. She still missed Anna, too. But that was a long time ago, or at least it felt that way. She wasn't quite as sad anymore. "They don't remember? That's too bad."

Because Anna had been good, so she'd definitely be reborn, Enekpe determined.

Zero Dream

"It's probably better that way." Kios sounded rather certain of this, as he mused out loud. "It wouldn't be a new life if they remembered everything, wouldn't it ?"

And well... there were things that perhaps were better if not remembered.

Meepfur

"You think so?" Enekpe thought this over for a moment, trying to puzzle out why it would be better not to remember and not really grasping it. "But what about the people who miss them?"

Zero Dream

"They arn't the same people at all. I think. They wouldn't recognize them." Kios did not seem to mind her differing opinion. "Wouldn't it be painful, to have the people you love not recognize you at all ?"

That was an interesting concept. Well, he did find some inspiration after all !

Meepfur

"Well, that's easy," Enekpe decided after a moment of thought. "All they'd have to do is tell them! You know, remind them." She'd be overjoyed to see Anna again, whether she was the same or not.

Zero Dream

"I don't think it works as easily at that." Lament said softly, moving to scratch at her chin. She seemed a little... naive, really. Always the best case scenario. "Some people might not believe them. After all, they died."

...Really, he would need to ask Nergal how that reallty worked. He was more than curious now. "I know ghosts scare more people, and they're still the same person. In the mind of someone alive, someone dead is gone."

"The ghosts do long for their living relative, or their friends. Many told me that, but I didn't know how to find them." He sighed. "You might be right, but this is still how things are." Nothing seemed wrong in that idea to him at all, but he didn't want to discredit the pooka's opinion either.

Meepfur

"I'd believe them," Enekpe declared, stretching her neck and closing her eyes. Mm, that was nice! "Now that I know it happens."

"So how long does it take? For your uncle to find them and them to get reborn and everything?"

Zero Dream

Ah, just like a cat ! Kios looked pleased when she stretched out, but still did not quite smile. Even then, he still found himself thinking about her more like a person than an animal. The fact that she spoke certainly helped.

"I don't know." He admitted with a pout. "I've never seen it for myself." Oh, he wanted to. He really wanted to know, if only to sate his own curiosity, That fact that it was his father's work, so to speak, only made him want to discovers all the secrets of the process all the more.

Meepfur

"Hmm," she mused, poofy tail waving slightly. "Well, that's alright. There's lots of stuff I don't know how it works. I was too little for anyone to think to explain stuff to, and now that I'm not little there's no one to explain."

...'not little' being relative, of course.

Zero Dream

"Ill let you know when I figure it out." He promised. Not if. When.

But for now there was no rush howsoever. There were more pressing matters to deal with. Like the pooka in his lap. Some gods might have been upset by being used as a laying spot by a mortal, but Kios certainly did not seem to care much. He continued scratching, his previous reasons forb heading out forgotten. Or, at least, delayed.

Meepfur

"I'd appreciate it," Enekpe said, grateful, and rolled over in hopes of a belly scratch. Some sentient creatures might be too dignified to act like a pet, but...well, she sort of was one. Highly intelligent, perhaps, but in many ways a housepet.

Zero Dream

The little pooka flopped over on her back and, from living around many felines for most of his young like, Lament knew exactly what this meant, and seemed more than willing to oblige. He would not have done so otherwise, but hey, she had been the one to place herself like that, so this was probably what she wanted.

He could see her jewel better from this angle, too. "It's really pretty..."

Meepfur

Ahhhhh! Enekpe sighed happily, letting her eyes slide closed. "Isn't it? I think it looks kind of like an eye. I wonder if that means her eyes are blue? Or were, I guess."

Zero Dream

"It does look like an eye." There was probably a reason for that, for the jewels looking like they do. His mother's was blue and her hair and eyes were blue, after all. But then, his father's was this kind of pretty gray-blue color and nothing of him was gray-blue. Hm.

But Crys had skin almost like that. That was worth thinking about. Had there been any photographic records of his parents before they had became wholly themselves, Lament might have likely not even recognized them. But then, thinking of his parents being anything other than... themselves was a little awkward. He had never known anything else in his family, only known them being as they were. His father had gotten all bigger, of course, but that wasn't so different.

"Maybe my jewel would have been purple, if I had one ?" That was also a little awkward to think about.

Meepfur

"Maybe," Enekpe agreed, opening her eyes too peer up at Akakios from her...rather strange current angle. "Or maybe the color of your eyes? They're really pretty. I've never seen anyone with eyes like yours before."

Usually people had white around their eyes, so it was a little odd when they didn't. Cool, though.

Zero Dream

Had he been some kind of furry creature as well, the young god would likely have started preening. It was evident that he rather appreciated the compliment.

"Maybe." He continued to pet her, his books and pens forgotten, and looked like he would not stop anytime soon if that could be helped. "Mom has prettier eyes, though. All blue. They move a bit with the sounds around her." It was a little hard to explain. It would be better if Echo had been right there for Enekpe to see. "Dad has normal eyes, though. They're gray." That was odd, now that it occured to him. Most gods had odd eyes, but not his father. "My big brother has like... little flames for eyes. It's really cool." He pouted a little - why didn't he get eyes like that, too ? "My big sister doesn't have eyes at all." This was normal to him, where it was likely horrible for others, and it seemed to only occur to him as an afterthought. "She's okay, through."

Meepfur

"All blue? That does sound pretty! I like blue. I like most colors, though." She stretched her little forelegs, as though to look at them herself. "I'm just plain red and brown. Mostly brown." Not particularly pretty or exotic, unless you counted that her red looked rather like dried blood, at first glance.

"No eyes at all?" Geeze! "I saw someone with one eye, once, but never anybody with no eyes."

Zero Dream

"I like purple." Obviously. "And blue is pretty too. I like your colors too, they're nice." That shade of red was pretty nice, though he did not link it with looking like dried blood.

"Hm-n. She hears things really really well, though. Better than me." He admited. "Unless it's ghosts. I can hear them, but I don't think she can. Dad can see them, but I can only hear them. I've never seen one."

"I dunno who hears the best, mom or Crys..." That was something to ponder. Echo had longer ears and seemed to be able to hear everything. But then, so did Crys...

Meepfur

"I hear really well," she said proudly, wiggling her large ears for emphasis. "I can smell stuff really well, too." Cue, of course, a little nose-wiggle. "I've never seen or heard a ghost, though - or smelled one, for that matter. What are they like?"

Zero Dream

"My mom has really big ears." He took the opportunity to scritch behind her ears. "But a tiny nose. I bet you smell things much better than she does." Smell probably, but hear better ? He doubted it. Echo heard so many things no one else did.

"They don't sound different from anyone else. I've never seen one, so I dunno." He shook his head a little. "They scared me a little at first because I heard things, but I never saw them. This was before dad made his place for them so there were a lot of them. Dad told me what they were and that he wouldn't let them hurt me, so it was okay. They were scared... and they stayed around dad a lot. They calmed down when I sang to them." He puffed up, proudly. "Then they could follow my voice and find dad."

Meepfur

Ahh, that was good too! At long last, she'd found someone who knew how to treat a cute thing like her properly! The only way this situation could possibly improve now was if her turned out to have food. Not that she was particularly hungry at the moment, but she was never one to turn down something to eat.

"You sing? I've never been very good at that. Anna always said I had a very...high-pitched voice? Something like that."

Zero Dream

"Sometimes. No where as well as mom." Ha, as if he could sing as good as his mother. The thought was downright ridiculous. "Im not very good at it, but the ghosts like my voice. It calms them most of the time. I like to write better, im good at that. I know all sorts of words." Thanks to Gianfar, for the most part. "I want mom to sing something I wrote, one day."

Meepfur

"I definitely can't write," Enekpe said with a giggle. Writing with hooves was impossible! "Can't read much, either. What sort of stuff do you write?"

Zero Dream

Well, yes. Given that she had hooves... and well, most books were about as big as she was ! How would she carry them ?

"Reading isn't hard." He said, softly. It was getting started that had been the hardest, once he knew all the letters it just kind of flowed down naturally. Maybe he could teach her ? "I write about sad things." Hey, he was Lament, after all. Writing happy things was hard, and most often was odd, if it wasn't outright bad. "Laments for people who died. It helps the living deal with the pain, and it calms the ghosts."

Meepfur

"I never really learned." No one had ever bothered to teach Enekpe how to read; she could recognize certain words, but didn't actually know how to read. Not that she understood the difference.

"That's good," she determined after a moment of thought, nodding, "To help people, I mean. Even ghosts, since they're still people, right? Or...used to be?"

Zero Dream

"They're still people." At least, Akakios thought so. He flopped back on the cushions, careful of the small pooka as he laid down, looking up at the ceiling. "Just not alive people anymore."

Just because you were dead didn't mean you weren't still someone, after all. At least this was what he had experienced so far.

Meepfur

Ooh, extra-comfy~! The little pooka curled up on top of Akakios, careful of her hooves. They could be a little pokey, she knew, which was considerably less than comfy for whatever person they were poking. She sighed happily and was quiet. Perhaps he was in the mood for a nap? He'd laid down, after all.

Zero Dream

Lament wasn't quite in the mood for a nap, more like in a mood to be lazy. The feel of her hooves was a little odd - especially as he was used to be pawed by cats in a similar fashion - but not really painful, thankfully.

The only thing really missing from this was peaches, but he didn't quite want to get up, at the moment. "What kind of things do you like ?" He asked, suddenly curious. He could sneak something out of the kitchen for her later !

Meepfur

"I like lots of things! What kind of kind of things?" she asked. There were food things, game things, TV things, all sorts of things that she liked...what sort did he mean?

Zero Dream

He smiled - very briefly, and it looked a little errie when matched with his eyes, before he closed them. "Food, maybe ? Or anything you like, really." He genuinely wanted to know more about the little pooka. He had yet to meet someone that friendly outside his family circle. (Adi was family, so she didn't quite count !)

Meepfur

"Oh, I like everything there is to eat! Except vegetables, really, the green ones. Those are really gross. Corn is okay, though. And tomatoes, but those aren't really vegetables. Did you know that? They're really fruit! I like fruit. My favorite is pineapple."

"And there's meat, of course, and that's all good, and sweet things! Pie is the best, but cakes and cookies are good too. Ice cream is kind of cold, though, and I get a headache if I eat it too fast." Kios had, apparently, hit upon a topic of great interest to the little pooka. "And breakfast! I love pancakes and waffles and french toast, and bacon and eggs and sausage and goetta..."

Zero Dream

Ahaha ! Well, she certainly was passionate about the subject. Her enthusiasm was hightly contagious, and he smiled. "Didn't know that !" Tomatoes were fruit ? Really ? They didn't taste sweet enough to be fruits for him..

"I like peaches." Lament nodded. "And... chocolate milk ! What's a goetta ?" He honestly had no idea. The rest of Enekpe's list of food items he had been able to recognize even if he had never tasted them, but this one was a mystery.

Meepfur

"Peaches are good, too!" she agreed, "And chocolate milk. Goetta's ummm...it's a breakfast meat! It's all ground up, like sausage, but it's got oatmeal in it. It's really good with eggs and toast."

Zero Dream

The boy blinked at that, tilting his head at that. That... didn't sound very good, to be honest. But then, he didn't eat a whole lot of meat. Not that he actually needed to eat much, being a god, and he'd been told to leave most things for the mortals. He still preferred fruit to meat, anyway.

"That sounds kinda weird." He admitted. But if she liked it, well, that'd be more for her if he was around when it was served ? Maybe.

Meepfur

"Does it?" En giggled. "Well, what do you like to eat?" Maybe he'd know about something she didn't! New food was always fun.

Zero Dream

"Fruits." The boys answered. "Did you ever had a mango ? There was one in the kitchen once. It was very good." Bet you Ishum still wondered where that mango went.

Or really... most likely not.

"And cookies. Cookies are good too." Of course.

Meepfur

"Mm-hm!" Enekpe said with a nod. "Anna used to get them sometimes. They're really juicy."

"I love cookies, especially homemade ones. With chocolate chips!" Not that there was anything wrong with the cookies that came in boxes, but nothing beat soft, warm, fresh cookies.

Zero Dream

Warm chocolate chip cookies... Oh, that sounded so good right now. He would need to complain very loudly about the lack of freshly baked cookies later. Someone would eventually cave in and bake some. He would take care of the matter himself, but... he didn't know how to make cookies. He wasn't allowed to use the oven either.

It was completely unfair, really.

"You're making me hungry." He did sound amused at that, poking lightly at her ear.

Meepfur

"You started it," she said with a giggle, her ear flicking away when Kios poked it. "We can go find something to eat?"

Zero Dream

The boy was silent for a moment, pondering. Well, he had someone with him, so technically he could go wherever he wanted. That fact that this someone could fit in his lap wasn't all too important.

In a way, he was just a little amused that he was taller than someone, but... Enekpe probably didn't count, since she looked more beast-like than human-like.

"We could see ? There's alot of fruit trees, but I don't reach very high." And neither did she. This could be problematic,

Meepfur

"Neither can I," said Enekpe, though that was probably pretty obvious. "Can you climb?"

Zero Dream

"Not very well." Tree-climbing was more in Soto's alley. Oh, he'd try, sure, because he liked Enekpe (who could dislike someone so small and fuzzy and adorable ?), but he was likely to fall down on his a**.

Something he was not very keen on doing in front of the pooka.

"Maybe if I stand on the tip of my toes." He shifted to stand, moving the pooka gently to hold her against his chest. "And hold you as far as I can..." Hey, that was a plan !

Meepfur

"That might work!" She'd never have thought of something like that! Enekpe wouldn't add much reach to such attempts, but it was worth a try. Maybe there was a short-ish tree somewhere around here?

Zero Dream

And with their clever plans in mind, pooka and godling left outside in search of fresh fruit. Which wasn't hard to find, mind, but finding something they could reach was another matter.

Lament had left his pens and book behind, in the teahouse, but that didn't matter. He could get them later.

Already, he held his arms up, holding Enekpe as high as he could. "Do you see anything ?"

Meepfur

Enekpe craned her neck as much as she could, her little forelegs paddling just a bit. "Yes~" she said, peering her hardest, "Something orangey! But I can't reach it."

Zero Dream

Poor Kios did try the best he could, standing on the very tips of his toes. Had he not been leaning against the tree, he would have likely face-planted, and the poor unsuspecting pooka would have gone down for the ride as well.

"What about now ?" As much as he tried, his little arms weren't stretching any taller due to sheer force of will.

Meepfur

After straining as fruitlessly as the purple-haired godling, Enekpe had to surrender with a sad, "No, we're too little!"

It was an unfortunate fact of life she was quite accustomed to by now, but it was still disappointing.

Zero Dream

He did lower her then, glaring up the tree as it is was the source of all of the worlds' misfortune. Then he looked back down at the pooka for a moment, expression thoughtful. It did occur him to maybe attempt to throw her but... He dismissed the notion quickly. He'd thrown cats before, when he had been too young to know better. It always ended badly.

He set her down, instead, leaving a pat on her head before reaching to grap one of the branch and pull, finally managing to lift himself off the ground, using the trunk to stabilize himself before pulling himself to another, higher branch.

He'd show them too little. Hrmph !

Meepfur

Back down on the ground, Enekpe had thought they were just giving up, until Kios set to climbing the tree. As he climbed, she bounced about around the tree, cheering her new friend on, "You can do it~!"

Zero Dream

It wasn't all that easy - definitively not as easy as his older brother made it look like - the bark was rough against his hands and bare feet, and trees were definitively not shaped like ladders. It did take a few minutes (and a few close-calls), but the purple-haired godling did manage his way high enough. He tried to reach the fruits proper, but he still couldn't quite reach.

Akakios, however, decided he hadn't done all this work for nothing. The branch shook, and one by one oranges started to fall in the grass with a soft thud.

Meepfur

...whoa! Enekpe scurried hastily out of the way of the oranges once they started to fall. Even a piece of fruit could give a creature as small as her a pretty good thump in the head. Still, once she was safely out from under that branch, she crowed with delight. "Ohh, you got them! Lots of them!"

Zero Dream

Of course he'd gotten them ! Kios did grin at her as he continued to shake the orange tree to make the fruits fall down. He'd never gotten this perticular kind of fruit before !

But when he finally stopped, it did occur to him that he had no idea how to get down. Hm. This could be a little problematic. Lament did try to scale down in a similar way than he's gotten up, but that didn't work out so hot, and he slipped and tumbled down. Thankfully he wasn't too far up the tree at all, so all that happened when he tumbled down was a sudden indignant outcry and the air being knocked out of his lungs on impact. "Ow ow ow ow... m'fine !" He called out, hopefully before the pooka could worry.

Meepfur

It was like it was raining oranges! Haha!

...raining Kioses, however, was a liiiittle less awesome. Despite his quick assurance that he was fine, Enekpe scurried over to see for herself. "Are you sure? That looked like it hurt!"

Zero Dream

"'m fine." He repeated in between breaths, trying to quell the pooka's worry. His head was spinning a little and the area of impact hurted a bit, but he was able to move just fine, as he proved by shifting to sit on the grass. "Just hurts a little. A little bit."

He was a big boy, after all, nothing he couldn't handle ! "I got them." He grinned.

Meepfur

Hmm. After a quick sniff, and once Akakios started to move, Enekpe seemed satisfied that the young god was telling the truth. That had been a little scary, but kind of cool too!

"You did!" En grinned. "Lots of them, too!" The pooka fetched one of the oranges, which she was barely able to hold onto, and sat next to her new friend while she gnawed at and pulled off the skin. She'd never actually peeled an orange herself before, and it tasted terrible!

Zero Dream

Akakios sat again, doing his best to repress a wince from the pain that shot up from the area where he'd colided with the ground, and started to peel his own orange. The young god did stop a few seconds afterward, however, to watch his companion struggle with her own fruit. That... couldn't really taste any good ! The orange part of the peel was tasty, expecially in the cakes Crys made, but the white part ? No so much.

He set his fruit down on the grass, and carefully slid the one Enekpe was struggling with away from her, and peeled away the skin for her. This was much easier with thumbs, after all. "There you go." He did smile, sheepishly and lightly.

Meepfur

Enekpe willing surrendered the fruit, her poofy tail wagging. "Thanks!" she chirped upon accepting it back. "That's harder than it looks."

Small, and with only hooves and paws and teeth at her disposal, there were many tasks she was ill-suited for, especially considering she was already used to having someone to do them for her. It was nice to have some help again!

Zero Dream

"I bet." It had been easy to see from her struggle. He did curiously touch her hooves lightly. Man ! These things were so hard, not like hands at all !

"What are these, anyway ?" He'd seen something similar on his parents' errais, but never thought to ask Ishum what they were. It seemed much easier to just have hands, really.

Meepfur

Even with the orange peeled, eating it was a messy job without someone to slice it into neat little pieces for her. She got juice all over as she gnawed away at the pulpy fruit, and soon her fur was wet and sticky. She was going to need a bath after this!

"Hooves," she answered, looking up from her snack. Then she paused, looking vexed, and started opening and closing her mouth and licking, trying to dislodge a piece of the orange's inside-skin from between her teeth.

Zero Dream

"They're weird." He didn't mean it as an insult, of course, and neither had his tone been mocking. But he told the truth as he saw it, as children tended to do.

He ate his own orange carefully, splitting the quarters and being careful to not get any juice onto himself or his clothing. Some did end up on his hands, but that really couldn't be helped.

Lament did look at her while she fought with the bit of skin stuck in her teeth, amused. "You're all sticky, En." He giggled.

Meepfur

Stupid...skin! Why did oranges have skin on the inside, anyway? It was silly! All it did was get in the way. Once she'd gotten it out from between her teeth, she regarded Kios with a thoughtful look. Sticky, hmmm~?

"Oh yeah?" she said, proceeding to rub up against him. Take that!

Zero Dream

Ahhhhhh !!!! NOOOO !!!! What was En doing ?!

"Stop thaaaaaaat !" He kind of squeaked, as the poor boy tried to scuttle away. This was completely and utterly unfair ! Of course, the fact that he could have likely caught her by the scruff of the neck and keep her at arms' length never crossed his mind. He just wasn't used to have the advantage of height.

And now he was all sticky. Ew. Why did everyone like to get him dirty, anyway ? Crys and her mud-thing, Soto with all the weird places he went to, and now even the little pooka.

"I should throw you in the fountain." He pouted. "And scrub you real good until your fur poofs out." Yup. Amazing threat right there.

Meepfur

Enekpe laughed and laughed, quite delighted by her little bout of mischief. She quieted, though, when the young god threatened to throw her in the fountain and scrub her down. Far from being deterred by such a threat, however, she looked quite...eager.

"Would you really?" she asked, tail wagging hopefully. She hadn't had a proper bath in forever.

Zero Dream

She was doubting him... ?!

Oh, this was so on.

"Yeah, really !" The boy crossed his arms, determined. For a split second, he looked almost just like his father when he refused to budge on something. Well, minus the height and the ability to scare people shitless.

Meepfur

Yessssssss! Enekpe spun around once with glee. Today was totally awesome! The pooka had long pined for someone to take care of her again, like the housepet she'd been raised as, and that included baths. Since, as with so many other things, she just couldn't do it right, thanks to her lack of hands. "Do it do it do it!"

Zero Dream

And do it he would ! Which left a problem - how to get her there ? She was all sticky, and he had to make sure she didn't scamper away.

...Not that she looked like she was gonna do just that, now that he thought about it. Looked downright happy, even.

Bah. Oh well.

He did finally bend over to take her in his arms, trying to ignore the sticky. He was already sticky anyway, and he'll clean up soon enough himself. Didn't make it any better, but hey.

Meepfur

Hooray! Always happy to be carried, the pooka rubbed her sticky cheek against Akakios, her tail wagging furiously. "I haven't had a real bath in forever! Do you have any shampoo?"

Not that people carried it around, but uh. It never hurt to ask? Shampoo was bubbly and awesome, at least until she got it in her eyes. Then it was a lot less awesome, because that kind of stung.

Zero Dream

She was rubbing herself all over him again. Ew. He wouldn't mind in the least, if she hadn't been so sticky. There was no need to share that, thank you.

"No." Well, he figured he could go get some if they winded up needing it. For now, his short steps had led him to the fountain, and Enkepe was carefully settled in the shallow water.

Meepfur

"Awww." That was too bad! Still, a bubble-less bath was better than no bath at all. The fountain was just shallow enough that she didn't have to swim, which was nice, and she ducked under the water for a moment to make sure all her fur was wet...and had a drink, too, before standing and waiting for the promised poof-inducing scrubbing.

Zero Dream

For all his upsetness at getting sticky, Lament seemed to have no problem howsoever getting wet - the young boy had followed in and sat, washing the evil, evil sticky feeling off his legs, hands, and face, and was just about to get to his tunic when the pooka started looking at him eagerly.

At least he'd gotten most of it off.

He did do exactly as he told, slowly and a bit clumsily, but he worked the orange juice out of fur as best as he could, careful not to pull any fur in the process.

Meepfur

It was so exciting, it was almost hard to hold still! Although the lack of shampoo was a little disappointing, a scrubbing was a scrubbing, and she still came out cleaner than she had been in...well, a really long time. She'd tried, of course, but soaking and self-grooming just couldn't cut it. Tongues were terribly inefficient cleaning tools.

Sighing blissfully, Enekpe shut her eyes.

Zero Dream

This wasn't so bad, really. It was kind of fun ! Her fur felt all funny when there was so much water in it. And she was so totally gonna poof into a little ball of fur when she came out ! Like the cats Ishum sometimes had to bathe.

But probably less angry and less likely to claw your arm off. Nonetheless, not many pets could say that they'd been personally groomed by a god, of all things.

She closed her eyes, and thus left herself open to attack. Kios was quick to see this opportunity by splashing her. Ha ! Payback !

Meepfur

Yes, much less angry, and totally lacking sharp claws. The pooka was very poorly equipped for self-defense - not that she needed any at this moment in time! She was one pet that loved baths. They were fun and bubbly and spl- hey!

Laughing, En reared up and brought both her hooves down on the water. It wasn't the most effective splashing technique, but she didn't have much else.

Zero Dream

A-ha ! Not so good at splashing as she was at making him all dirty ! Only a few droplets did reach him, and her laughter was infectious - he laughed himself, though it remained rather subdued.

"You can't splash me !" He was looking for trouble now, and he didn't care.

Meepfur

"Then I'll...I'll..." What would she do? It took several seconds for her to figure it out, but soon enough, she settled on a solution and shook. Ha! It was a much more effective method of getting someone else wet.

Zero Dream

Well, he hadn't thought about that now, hadn't he ?

"Hey !!" He tried to cover himself, but there was no helping it. Little droplets flew everywhere, but he was still laughing. "Allright, allright, you got me !"

Meepfur

"'Course I did!" Enekpe crowed happily, quite proud of herself for coming up with an alternative to her ineffective splashing. Now that she was clean - well, cleaner - the pooka clambered out of the fountain and started to shake, but stopped herself just in time. It would be a little mean to do it again. "D'you have a towel?"

Zero Dream

He didn't have a towel, of course - it wasn't like he'd gone out to get near water... ...Why had he even gone outside again ? Though, it didn't matter anymore, he had Enekpe and that was better, Lament quickly decided. "Hmm..." Nothing around him seemed to do, until...

Ha !

Carefully he undid the knot that kept the flowing fabric to his front in place, and warped the pooka in it. Carefully. He'd seen Ishum do this before. To a very wet, very unhappy cat. He could do this ! Totally pro ! "How's that ?"

Meepfur

"That's good!" Not as effective as a real towel, but certainly an acceptable substitute. "Could you rub me a little? I'll dry faster."

Zero Dream

"Kay." He picked her up and went to sit under one of the fruit tree, and settled the pooka in his lap before starting to rub at her fur gently, trying to get all the water out without pulling anything. It was a little slow as far as rubbing went, as if he was afraid to break her.

He was still dripping wet, and his mother probably wouldn't be so pleased in seeing him come back home all drippy and missing part of his clothing, but at the moment he didn't care.

Meepfur

Ooh, he was good at that! That he dried her off slowly didn't bother her, but it did make her a little sleepy. And following their snack and the minor excitement of the bath, well, it was a good recipe for a nap. In no time at all, Enekpe dozed off.

Zero Dream

Kios continued to dry off the pooka, noticing quickly how she went limp in his hold, and when he was done she was sound asleep, bundled and taking over his lap.

Which essentially meant he was trapped, but at the moment, he didn't quite mind his role of godly pillow. He leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, not to much sleeping than just relaxing.

[A Wandering Esper]

A Dragon And A Mournsong

Tsunake

The big building, the one with the green door. It was easy enough to remember, and Laurence wound his way through the gardens, taking a more scenic route while simultaneously plotting out his course of action in his head. He would compose himself here, take a few deep breaths, then quickly go to see Adi. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to convince her to take the small floox off his hands--even just for temporary.

Then, it would be time to go meet Him. It made him anxious to think about, and he rolled his shoulders slightly.

He loves All, Laurence. You needn't be afraid of Him. Shuo gently attempted to reassure the priest.

They both knew that the dragon was concerned too, however. Still, the priest appreciated the thought. "I know." He sighed, and found himself wandering towards one of the fruit trees. No one would mind if he took one, would they? It'd been a long time since he'd had fresh fruit like this...

Zero Dream

Maybe he'd hidden a little too well, Akakios was starting to think. Which was a shame. It had taken him a long time to bury all the way under the cushions, but now, no one was coming, and this was a little boring !

Well, that was enough for the young god to dig his way out of his cushion-fortified hiding place, and peek out of the teahouse as carefully as a child could. Ah, there was someone ! But it was not his mother. Echo certainly wasn't the best to play hide and seek with. He found her almost immediately whenever it was her turn to hide, and them mortals came all too often to distract her when it was his turn to hide. He should have totally asked Crys instead. His older sister was a fierce playmate when it came to hide and seek.

Lament walked out of the tea house, looking over at Laurence with wide, curious eyes. He didn't quite look like a god... but there was something about him he could not quite identify, which caught his attention. He stopped beside the priest, rocking onto his heels a few times. "Hi !"

Tsunake

What the...? Laurence blinked with surprise at the sight of the child scampering just out of the tea house, pausing in his step. "Hi." He began before he caught sight of those strange eyes. Was this another god...? Could that be? He seemed so small--but Enekpe's words came back to him. If the gods could raise families, would it really be so hard to imagine?

Oh! Mang was delighted. Laurence needed no further prompting.

"Shuo Huang Zhe, Mang, says 'hi' as well." Yes, it sounded terribly informal, but this boy somehow lacked that striking presence that Itztlac and Nergal had both possessed. "I'm Laurence." The pack mule, at this point.

Floox peeked around the back of the man's head to investigate this newcomer before making a happy little sound. To Laurence's surprise, he'd quickly scurry down the length of his body, pausing at the godling's feet to sit up on his haunches and peer at him.

"And that," The man said wearily, "Is Floox."

Zero Dream

"Dragon... ?" Akakios looked up at Laurence again, eyes wide and curious, though they seemed to carry sorrow in them for some reason. That look rarely ever left him. "My uncle is a dragon ! He's Tian Yue. Does that mean Shuo is my uncle too ?"

...Probably not, but hey. He had 'relations' to a whole lot of the pantheon, thanks to Echo.

The godling knelt down to pet Floox's head a little before standing again - doing his best to look as tall as possible. He was shorter than most everyone else - even Adi was taller than him !

....Well, he was taller than Enkepe, but that didn't quite count.

"Im Akakios. Kios' easier to most people." It certainly look like he didn't mind. He looked up the tree, and stood on his tip toes, doing his best to reach the apple - without much luck. "Nnn..."

Tsunake

Strange eyes, but somehow sad... The man found himself distracted by them until the boy spoke of... his uncle? This Tian Yue again! Maybe this time they could find out his official title, and then--

...Shuo wasn't even paying attention. Laurence resisted the urge to rub at his brow, understanding at once that the Dragon King was entirely flattered at the thought of being an uncle. I don't know, but perhaps maybe. Who are his parents?

"He's not quite sure, but he says maybe. He wants to know if he can ask who your parents are." Brows arched at the name, and a flicker of satisfaction passed over the priest's face. "Ah! Enekpe told us she'd met you. Underworld and Music--those are your parents? And you're Lament?" No wonder he looked so sad. Shuo pressed eagerly at his vocals, and Laurence let him speak.

"Ah! Yes, yes, I see the resemblance. How do you do, Kios? We met your father, not long ago. How is your mother, is she well?" Oh this was splendid!

Laurence absently lifted his arm, plucking one of the apples from the tree and holding it out to the boy. Very much like a child... This was so bizarre, but he felt a little better, a little more relaxed around a godling who was, technically (maybe?) younger than he was.

Zero Dream

Aha, this was much better ! Kios took the apple as it was handed to him, taking a large bite before finally looking up, a small hint of a smile crossing his expression. "Thank you~"

One had to wonder just what resemblance Shuo was seeing in between Akakios and his father.

"Hm-n." The boy answered after he'd taken another large bite out the fruit. "Mom is a bit busy, but she's fine. Maybe if you ask her she'll make Shuo my uncle too ?" That wouldn't be so bad. This also kind of explained that the relation was likely one born of friendship rather than an actual family link in between them.

Tsunake

Laurence was attempting to figure that out, himself; the boy looked fairly normal, compared to the menacing stature of his father. "You're welcome." Polite, though. Good manners--not that such a thing was necessarily inheritable, but hey.

Making me an uncle... I wonder. We'll have to seek out Music soon, don't you agree? The dragon was utterly amused, and quite taken with Underworld's son. He liked children, that was decided almost immediately.

"We could do that." The priest agreed with a bit of a grin, Shuo's good mood being a little infectious. "Do you have brothers or sisters at all?" So when Underworld met Music, it formed Lament... It made sense, in a sad sort of way.

Zero Dream

"Hm-n ! A big sister and a big brother." Well, technically, the three of them were born at the same time, but it didn't change much - only if the two were older by only a few minutes at most. "Soto is the oldest. He's Guardian. He find shinies and bring them back." Clearly his brother's ability for finding treasure were unmatched in all the pantheon. "Crys is in between me and Soto. She's Grief." Not that one could think so when first seeing her, unless they saw her eyes. Many people were bothered by his sister's lack of eyes, but it did little to bother her brother.

"She plays in the mud alot. I don't like it when she throws it at me." He wrinkled his nose a bit. "She shapes it into alot of nifty things. Like cats." Maybe she could make a dragon if he asked her nicely ? Shuo would probably enjoy that.

Tsunake

Two more? Laurence was trying not to stare a little, wondering how long ago these children had been born. Did concepts of time even comply to the gods? "I see." Guardian, and Grief... Sounded, well, depressing. Guardian... guarded things, perhaps? "Sounds like a useful talent, to be sure." Shuo was intrigued, and it made him wonder if the myth about dragons and hoarding treasure wasn't exactly unfounded after all. "Crys and Soto... " Two more young ones to look out for, perhaps.

"Most people don't like it when mud gets thrown at them, I think." He snorted under his breath, but paused a little. "Mud? Like clay?" He was a little confused, but still interested. Sounded like a natural gift, if he'd ever heard of one. "Pretty terrible at art, myself." The priest reflected belatedly with a frown. Never ask him to draw you a picture, that was for sure.

Zero Dream

"She loves it." For some reason. Lament couldn't figure it out for the life of him. "Hm." Another bite of fruit was taken as the boy pondered the question, expression thoughtful. "Maybe ? It's like mud but less... liquidy." And it dripped around alot less.

"Im not good at it either." Well, nowhere near as good as his sister, at least. They could be companions in lack of artistic talent.

Tsunake

"Could be clay." Laurence decided, watching the young Lament for a moment. He liked kids, sure, but that didn't mean he had much experience talking with them. "So, Kios... Were you also reborn from a gem, or...?" Was he something new entirely? Was such a thing possible?

"Well, then we can be bad at it together." He sounded amused, if thoughtful. "Is there anything you're particularly good at?"

Zero Dream

"Ill have to ask her." The young boy sounded equally thoughtful, one finger tapping against his chin in a rather adorable thinking expression. He would, he decided, if only so he would know in the future.

Ha ! Well, this question he knew the answer of. Everyone seemed to be very curious about that. "No." He shook his head for emphasis. "Mom and dad made us." Well, duh ? "There isn't many like me or Crys and Soto..." He knew of Una, and Nergal had talked about another divine child named Caolan, but he had never met her. Adrienne didn't quite count, since she wasn't a goddess. She was... well, he didn't even know.

"Im good at writing ! He announced, puffing up with pride. Maybe Laurence would get interested and he could read some things to him ! That would be nice... if only he had his books with him. Which, for once, he did not. Drat.

Tsunake

His lips would quirk at the childish expression, but he kept himself quiet, feeling as though it would be rude. Last thing he needed would be to offend Kios--sometimes boys developed a sense of pride way earlier than one would expect.

So they had been born, perhaps like humans? No, maybe not quite so, but... They hadn't been present for the Fading, if he was understanding right. He touched at his brow for a moment, deciding there'd be time later to puzzle this over. "Makes you special." That was what it sounded like, anyway, and what kid didn't like to be special?

He finally grinned at the pride he could hear in that tone, leaning back a little as though to evaluate that. "Writing, huh? Not too good at writing myself either, to tell you the truth. What sorta things do you write?"

Zero Dream

"Of course im special." The boy seemed certain of that. He was a god, after all. They were all special in their own way.

Even if he was a rather small one at the moment, but hey.

"I write laments." Double duh. "'n sad things. Crys loves it." Of course Grief would like sad stories, one could think. "Ill'd show you but... I left my books inside." The boy gave a pout.

Tsunake

Laments. And sad things. Well, while he couldn't necessarily say he was surprised, he did offer a small nod, trying to keep it in perspective. Though Kios was a child, he was still a god, and a god of Lament at that.

"Oh. Well, another time then, huh?" He shrugged it off, as though there'd be no doubt he'd be seeing the younger again sometime soon. "Does Crys ever help you write stuff, or you just read it to her?"

Floox was beginning to silently beg for a fruity treat, staring up at the boy with big, dark eyes. He was cute, right?

Zero Dream

"I read to her all the time." The boy answered the question gladly. It was rare indeed when he did not read to her. In spite of being his sister, she was always honest with weither or not she liked it or if it needed work, and he appreciated that. His mother... well, his mother always liked everything he did, and therefore wasn't a fair critic. Maybe later she would realize this was what he was looking for, and he would be.

He crouched down to offer a bit of apple to the floox. He couldn't remember having seen something like that before... How curious. It looked just the slightest bit like a cat, but cats didn't like apples. He'd tried that. They didn't seem to like alot of things beside meat, which Kios didn't have much of. He preferred fruits. And milk. And cookies, of course. Any kind of candy was usually a hit with him. "What is it ?" He asked, looking up at Laurence again.

Tsunake

It sounded as though there was a good relationship between them. Better than the alternative; sibling rivalries on the scale of gods... That could get messy, particularly if it turned into more of a spiteful sort of relationship. "Bet she likes that." Kids liked stories, didn't they? "Does your mom read to either of you? Or your dad?"

Floox practically crooned at the offering, taking it delicately between his little paws before beginning to nibble away. Clearly the creature wasn't picky about what it was fed, so long as it tasted good!

"He's a floox. Named Floox." Laurence snorted slightly. "An Immortal, I was told. Pretty smart, too. ...He's a good companion." It was true, no matter how he tried to act like the small thing was nothing more than an irritation. He wasn't good at acting.

Zero Dream

"She really likes it." Akakios puffed up a bit again, visibly very proud of that - trying to look just a little bit taller than he actually was. He was a big boy, after all, and was to be taken seriously. Thankfully most people did. "She's blind, so I can't teach her to read." This did not seem to echo sadness in him - Crys was the way she was, she had been born that way, and that was that. "She's way too good at hide and seek through. She wins all the time." He pouted.

"Mom read to us alot. Soto can't even stay still so he doesn't really stick around long." He always brought back treasures, however, so he could forgive his brother for that. "Dad is really busy so... not recently." He did remember Nergal reading something to them once or twice, not long after they had been born. "He always take care of my hair when he's around, through." And ohhh did Lament like it from the sound of it, pointing at his braid for emphasis. "Dad showed me how to do it myself but... it's a little hard."

A floox named Floox ? "Mom told me once that Ishum kept bringing cats back to Dad, and cats don't usually like Dad, they just start hissing when he's near for some reason, so he gave them all to Mom to take care of. That was a long time ago, before me." And back when Echo and Nergal lived separately, from the sound of it. That era was foreign and curious to him. It was hard to imagine his mom and his dad not, well... together. He reached out his free hand to pet Floox.

"There was one who was called Cat for a long time because no one could think of a name for him." He'd found that hilarious. A cat named Cat ! "Then they found him a name but he was so used to be called Cat that he didn't answer to it. I think he died though." Did cats go the Underworld ? He would need to ask Nergal.

Tsunake

Blind. Laurence tried to keep his features composed, but couldn't help himself from blinking just a little bit. How on earth... "It's good that you read to her, then." He said once he felt he'd recovered enough to sound normal, and it was easier once Kios pouted about his sister apparently being good at hide-and-seek. "Yeah? Good for her." It was said with a bit of a grin, though he had to wonder if the girl had some other way of being able to find her way around, whether it was by enhanced senses, or some... extrasensory crap, he didn't know.

His brows furrowed for a moment when it was mentioned that Underworld was busy. Considering how many had died... Well, though grim, it was hardly surprising. Of course, the mention of the braided hair (and he could still vividly picture those braids, held in with... bits of bone, if he remembered right) made his lips quirk somewhat. "It looks good, though. Looks like your dad's, what I remember of it." Not as thick, surely, but it was a start, right?

So cats didn't like Nergal, huh? It shouldn't have amused him, but it did, and he watched the creature close his dark eyes to sigh against the thoughtful hand. That felt very nice, from the looks of it, and the man would watch for some time.

"And Cat is a perfectly lovely name. I keep trying to tell Shuo that, but he doesn't believe me." The priest snorted. His good humor faded a little at the mention of Cat's death, and he nodded some. "Mm. Well, it sounded like he had a good life. Your mother sounds like a good person to have taking care of things."

He was thinking he'd need to find Music, one day, just to see just what sort of person she was for himself.

Not that his opinion mattered much, in retrospect.

Zero Dream

If Lament had noticed the unease, he spoke nothing of it. He seemed rather comfortable with it, at any rate. After all, this was normal for him. Just the way things were.

"I thought it was funny. Cat probably thought they were talking about it whenever they talked about a cat." And a little silly. It was a little like if his parents had named him Lament. He still didn't quite identify to being called by his title yet. "There's not a whole lot of cats from before I was born left, I think. They almost all died. Vertigo's still here, through..."

Tsunake

Laurence got the feeling that Cat probably didn't give a damn if they were talking to it or not, but that was something he kept to himself. He'd straighten up again, stretching his legs out, and letting himself watch both floox and boy for a moment. He'd linger here for a little more before he'd excuse himself, and let Kios get back to whatever it was he'd been doing.

"You like cats?" And did they like him, he wondered? If they reacted to Nergal poorly, would Music's influence soothe whatever unease that Underworld struck in them? Personally, Laurence didn't know much about cats, not enough to like 'em or dislike 'em. It was safe to say that he was neutral.

Zero Dream

Lament nodded at that. "They're warm and fuzzy." Cats had never minded him, per-se. He wasn't really scary to them, at least he didn't think so. Some liked him less than others, but he just busied himself with the one that liked him and ignored the rest. "There's one, a tiny one, she stays in my lap alot while I write." He liked that, the feel of the warm fur against him, and the low, gentle purring of the kitten.

Tsunake

"Animals are much more sensitive than people." The priest murmured by means of reply, and though it might not have made much sense to Kios at the moment, he continued, "That's probably why they like you. They can sense you're a good person. Probably make that little one feel awfully safe." A tired smile pulled at his lips for a moment, and, as though eternally determined to spite him, Floox (with one last cuddle into Lament's hand), latched onto his pants with surprisingly deft paws and scurried up to perch on the man's shoulder.

His lip curled for a moment as he eyed the rodent-like creature, and with a fond churr, Floox rubbed his head just underneath the man's chin. "Ridiculous." Laurence sighed exasperatedly, but there was no bite to it, and grudgingly gave the creature a pat.

You are glad you pulled him out of the rain. The Dragon King could not have been more amused, and Laurence visibly winced.

Zero Dream

Lament let the little floox go, and smiled - some kind of shy, subdued smile again. "That must be why he likes you too." He did sincerely believe what he was saying - Laurence had given him no reason to think otherwise. "Ishum told me Dad scares cats because they can actually feel ghosts, and it scares them." He added, before Laurence could think that this made his father a bad person. He wasn't a bad person, as much as things sometimes left Lament upset.

"Ishum said I could name that one kitten since it likes me best, but... I don't know what to name her." All the names he could think of was ones that had already been taken, and his kitten needed to be special.

Tsunake

He knew that would come up, and for whatever reason, it embarrassed the man, leaving him rubbing at his forehead with a grunt. The Dragon King was laughing quietly, and the priest did his best to steer the conversation away from that particular comment, in no mood for Mang's teasing.

"Your father is..." How did he want to phrase this? "...impressive, to say the least. Intimidating, but, from what I've been hearing, Lord Harmodius needs more like him." Underworld, at least to him, fit the title of 'god'. Powerful, terrifying, and yet, after he'd gotten over his shock, Laurence never had felt as though the other would bring him harm. "Sensitive, like I said. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was the reason. Guess they don't like what they can't see."

Naming... Laurence bit back a frown, but he wouldn't try to sweeten things. "I don't know what to tell you there. I'm no good with names." Floox was an example of that, right? "But. It should be something that means something to you, I think. You said she was just a kitten now, mm? She might grow into her name later, so keep that in mind too. So it might not seem so special at first, but when she starts to grow, it'll fit her like a glove."

He almost sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

Zero Dream

Thankfully for Laurence, Akakios seemed more than willing to follow on the train on conversation that he was laying out for him, and the matter didn't come up again.

"Mom says Dad isn't very good with people that are alive." He sounded amused, tilting his head to look at Laurence again. "But he tries anyway." If only he could actually be around when he was... That was extremely frustrating, but the boy said nothing of it.

"That makes sense." Lament replied, pensive. The young godling was a strange mix of wise beyond his years, and of childhood innocence. "They scared me too, the first time I heard them. I can hear some of the ghosts, but I can't see them at all. Dad said I can only hear the strongest ones."

"Hm... You're right." Akakios decided, on the matter of naming. He'll find something soon enough.

Tsunake

That was ironic. And there was a remark on the very tip of his tongue, but Laurence remembered himself at the last second. "He fell in love with your mother in this lifetime, right?" It made at least a little sense, then; someone as reclusive as Underworld, having children? Talk about a shock.

He was still going to be good and not say a word, he swore it.

Again, the priest was mildly surprised by Kios' perceptiveness, but perhaps it wasn't that odd after all. This wasn't just a child, after all, but a god child. "You can hear them..." Another surprise, but then again, he was Lament. Laurence decided to refrain from asking if the spirits were grieving or not when he could hear them, and only nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe in time you'll hear more of them, when you grow older." Or not. What did he know?

"It'll come to you." He advised a little wryly, glancing at Floox as though wondering the same thing for himself.

The priest seemed to blink after a moment, shaking his head. "Forgive me. I'd come out here with the intention of finding Lord Harmodius before I got sidetracked. Do you know if... he's around?" Or rather, had the boy seen him in the area?

Zero Dream

Apparently, the irony of the situation flew miles over Lament's curly purple-haired head, and it was probably better that way. "I think so, yeah. Mom and Dad don't really talk about how they got together." This might be worth asking about, one day, and now that it had dawned on him, the curiosity was gnawing at him.

"I dunno." Akakios was the first to admit, with no shame howsoever, that he had no idea if that particular talent of his would develop with time. So far, it hadn't, not really. He'd grown in many ways since he was born, physically and mentally, but none at all in term of godly power. Thankfully, he was too young to really care much about that.

"Harmodius..." The boy pondered out loud, looking around him as if it would somehow make Creation take form in his field of vision. "He was in here when I saw him with Mom and Crys." He pointed at the larger building. "If he's not here, then... I dunno."

Tsunake

First there was a blanch. Then, an ill-suppressed shudder. Underworld courting... That would have been a truly terrifying experience for any woman, or so he thought. Music, he'd been told? Perhaps... well, hell, there was no way he'd seek her out and ask, that wasn't any of his business, but he at least wanted to grow acquainted with her in some way.

And Shuo was still stuck on this uncle business. He'd never hear the end of it.

His gaze cast itself to the building for a moment, thoughtfully, before he gave a slight nod. "Guess I'll check there, then. ...If you ever..." Well, hell, what was he supposed to say? If the kid ever needed anything? He had his parents, and the man felt awkwardly as though he was intruding. "...Well, I'll be around, if anything. I'm with Illisia, and Xun Jiang. Big, wooden door shaped like a tree."

Yeah, entirely too awkward now. With a slight nod, Laurence made to go, but not without a few parting words. "See you around, Kios. Lemmie know what you end up naming that cat, all right?"

And you like children. For all the cool layers you've wrapped yourself in, you do not hide your true colors very well at all. The dragon noted warmly.

"For Christ's sake, worm, if you have any more goddamn comments to make--"

And so the tirade went on for a while.

[A Wandering Esper]

Boredom And A Name

Today was another of those days where Akakios was at short of things to do. It was one of those odd days where he couldn't seem to pin down his inspiration, and where nothing he wrote ever came out to his liking, and so he'd given up for the time being and decided to do something else, but annoyingly enough, his brother and his sister were nowhere to be found, his mother was tending to a guest, and his father, of course, was nowhere nearby.

Hrmph.

He'd watered the garden this morning, amusingly beating Concerto to it. The aoide's face had been priceless, and that was more than worth doing it again simply because of that. Lament had found that he liked taking care of the garden – it was soothing and mostly easy, and he had learned mostly by watching the servants do it. Cut of wilting leaves, water the ground until it's moist, make sure not to p***k yourself on the thorns of the rose bushes... Really, it was planting and messing in the ground that didn't sit so well with him. It always got him dirty, and Akakios really didn't like getting dirty. Water was okay, but earth ? Urrrgh.

As long as there was someone else to do the planting, he was fine with watering the flowers. And he felt like he had to be doing an okay job, really, since nothing had died yet. Though, little did he know that Ianthe actually trailed after him every day, taking care of the spots the young child inevitably missed.

He wasn't allowed to carve alone, since knives were sharp, and that was bad because that had been his second idea. Hrmph.

Far from being undaunted, he had hauled one of his notebook, settled down on his belly in the comfortable grass, and started to read. He has recopied many of the poems and short stories that he had liked into this notebook, as he usually wasn't allowed to take things out of the library, just in case anyone else needed them. There were the easy stories, not the older words with many big words that he still had issues grasping completely.

And read he did, until there was a small paw pushing down the paper in his line of vision, and a little meowing face looking back at him.

”Hey.” He called out to the small white kitten, snatching her and shifting to sit, settling her in his lap. ”Stop that, you'll put hole in the paper.”

The kitten certainly couldn't care less – she learned into the petting and started purring in a loudness that would make the adult cats jealous. It reminded him about his meeting with Laurence a few days ago, and how he still hadn't found a name for the white-furred, green-eyed creature that was now contently taking residence in his lap. Lament moved to scratch under her neck and those green eyes closed contently.

Maybe he ought to ask just how Crys had named her crow so quickly and easily, but some part of him insisted that he could do this on his own. Maybe something from a book or a poem, like his older sister had done ? Poe, for the author of that poem she loved to have read..

And so, quietly, something finally seemed to click in his mind, as he regarded the little ball of fluff. Alice in Wonderland was a story he really liked, so much that he'd gone and tried to find every tidbit of information that he could about it – which unfortunately there was too little that was left of. He'd been lucky to find a more simple, childrens' version to be able to understand it, but there was a fact that always stuck on him – that the mortal author apparently had based the main character on a little girl that actually existed.

Alice Liddel. But then, his kitten needed to be a bit different, at the same time.

No one would get it, probably, but he didn't care. “How do you like Liddell ?” Yes, that second l was very important.

The kitten didn't answer, but Lament was more than willing to interpret the soft purring as a yes. “I finally found a name for you, Liddell.” He smiled, proud of himself. It meant so little in the grand scheme of things, he knew, but... it had been important, for him.

[A Wandering Esper]

The Witching Hour

Thabara

"Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out"

Shakespeare - Hamlet, Act III, sc. ii

The Signs of just Who was to pay one of his occasional visits to the Pantheon were telltale: The faint wisps of Fog floating just above the ground, the unusually Cold Air – His Realm, His Domain, bits and echoes of it bleeding into this side of the Veil, due to His Presence.

His Breath and His Flesh, after all.

More obvious, however, were the ghostly flames floating mid-air, erratically flitting here and there as if trying to dance to an arrhythmic tune, or playing a strange game of tag without any apparent rules. The Smallest Souls, those of the children.

Some always were part of his entourage, and always sent back last – way after the 'official' members had left, the engineers and architects he'd brought along to oversee the construction of the new Temple. His realm … it still lacked, and he knew the children enjoyed being here.

At the very least, to any ears but his (or his brother's, possibly), they were quiet.

Oh, he could hear them cheering and laughing alright, but usually no one else did. So, eventually (hopefully!) this did mean they would not draw any attention, and he would remain unbothered by gods and mortals alike, thank you.

Silently, Nergal's bare feet crossed the threshold from soft grass to cold marble floor, some part of him unconsciously breathing a quiet sigh of relief at the fact. The lush abundance of greenery, of life, it always made him feel highly at unease, reminding him of Her. The touch cold stone underneath his soles, however, was soothing, and comforting.

He seemed to have picked a good time though, something akin to Night. Close to the construction site of his new Necromanteion, they'd erected a bell tower, measuring the time with an hourglass, the massive bronze bell sounding every full hour. He appreciated it muchly, this attempt to bring Order back into the overall Chaos. It had been striking the hour before Midnight when he'd left, so now … He glanced back over his shoulder. Geisterstunde, the Witching Hour. A fitting time for his being here.

In any way, the marble halls of the Pantheon – at first glance at least – seemed abandoned, so Nergal relaxed some. It saved him from bearing a grim expression in hopes that no one would dare to approach him (usually, it worked fairly well). Unlike Echo, or Glyph, or even his children, he still clearly was far from being a social creature. The exposure he'd had to mortals and their woes and worries today had been enough for this round, thankyouverymuch. Now, the only company he yearned for, before it was time to return, was that of his lover and their offspring. Already, just being here was beginning to drain his powers, and he was never quite able to truly forget about the sheer amount of Work To Do he'd put at hold for sake of his occasional visits.

Rare, they might seem, to those who knew his beloved dwelled in these halls, and their children he'd sired a little more than a year ago.

Surprisingly frequent, on the other hand, to anyone who'd remember him from Before. Back then, there'd not been Weeks in between his visits, but Years. Centuries.

It was of little importance to him now. Nergal gave a glance over his shoulders, dark lips momentarily pulling up into a smile. Here, the wisps – mischievous as they could be at times – would probably not be able to cause harm any more than luring unsuspecting mortals into the icy waters of the brooks or ponds abundant on the Pantheon grounds. A cold and rather wet surprise, but no real harm done … – so he left them without orders to behave.

Instead, he carefully gathered his thick braids, one by one, to avoid the bone ornaments woven in from causing even a single sound, before he advanced, heading straight for the stairs. It was way below his dignity to actually be tip-toeing, but … Yes, basically he was very much trying to Sneak His Way In. If there was anyone, he thought, he'd just ignore them, pretending to not have noticed.

Ivynian

Sitting in the curl of one of the great tail turns of the massive relief sculpture never ceased to provide the finest vantage point while remaining unseen. Residents and visitors would come and go, rarely looking up. It was natural to look around themselves, to look down at the floor if they were shy, but up...it was not natural when indoors. Not even when in a forest. It was strange habit, particularly since predators often came from above and behind. It was a preferred hunting method of many great cats.

And here presented to the Eldest was a fine prey. Underworld walked in the silent halls, or perhaps snuck, hoping to avoid detection or trouble while he crept to his family's apartments.
Creep from the crypt

For Creation, sound was not hard to avoid as he dropped down to the floor in a crouch. Soft, downy feathers coated his hands and feet for the task, and he stole along the ground and up the stairs behind the stolid god. Matching silent footfall to Nergal's slow paces, he let the feathers fall from his palms to leave them smooth flesh again. Hands which closed and gripped firm on Nergal's waist from behind.
" You could not ignore all advances, I think, BoneLord. "

Zero Dream

The amusement wasn't quite over, it seemed, for the scene of the father's thwarted entrance was beginning to mirror at the other side, where the stairs to the rooms were, in the more noisy steps of the youngest son.

Akakios hadn't quite yet mastered the fine art of walking silently. But he liked to think himself shealthy indeed - Soto had been the one to teach him how to pull this off, after all ! - walking on his tip toes, barefooted. He wasn't supposed to be outside at this time, when everyone else was more or less asleep, but being inside alone was a little boring. He'd actually started to come out of his shell, as Echo would say, and did not spend as much time walled up in his room to write.

Which wasn't to say that it never happened. But now the stroke of genius had hit him - maybe if he got to the market, he could get some cookies for his family and Enkepe - he'd quite adored the little pooka, and if he got them cookies all by himself ? It was the perfect plan !

At least it would be if the market had actually been open at this time, but this was where his lack of foresight became apparent.

Of course, to be able to pull this off, he would have to get out of the pantheon unnoticed, or else someone was likely to warn his mother. He could easily wriggle his way out of nearly any punishment, or at least he thought so, but it was just easier to avoid the whole thing.

It was with the sight of Harmodius' swift decent that he realized that he wasn't alone and bolted to hide behind one of the statues in a small cacophony of multiple wooden pencils and gold pieces hitting each other in a pouch, the finer art of stealth apparently forgotten.

That the other person in the room was his own father, well... Lament hadn't quite noticed yet.

Thabara

Nergal was the last who'd have bothered looking up of all things, so he remained blissfully oblivious of the fact the elder god was creeping up on him – until it was too late. There was no way he could ignore this, of course.

The unexpected touch served well to bring him an abrupt halt, the transparent feathers of is wingspan momentarily bristling with surprise.and shock. Another might have jumped out of their skin, but he rather seemed frozen on the spot, with the sole exception of his thick braids slowly slipping from his grasp; whereas his mind was struggling desperately to process that his personal space had been invaded like that just now. And just who would be brazen enough to dare … ?!

At long last he recognized the voice, bristling feathers smoothing to some small degree. “True,” he replied, voice tense. He was at a complete loss just how to properly react to this. As it was, he opted to remove the other's hands from his waist first, and then himself from his vicinity, quickly backing away a step or two. “I wish, however, you would not do this again.” He was flustered, embarrassed, and – to some degree – even angry.

Ivynian

Creation laughed, a rich and easy sound that echoed softly over the marble.


"By 'this', I will assume you mean touch you? That may well come to pass, Underworld, but you would be sorry for my life to withdraw from you. I am always within you, all of you, and always in contact. "

"Though if you mean for me to never again startle your person, I'm afraid I cannot comply. It is natural for a parent to enjoy jest here and there, and Father I am to you whether you recognize the station or no. But I will remember your chastening. I will trouble you not again for a long while. " The last was more reserved, the smile fading to a neutral, stony draw of lip and jaw. He turned on heel gaze following the noise of unconsidered trinkets.

" Your family finds you sooner then your steps, anyway. Akakios. "

Zero Dream

Caught.... ?!

What, what ?! He'd totally backed behind the statue like Soto had told him to ! Clearly, someone had cheated and this was completely unfair.

Hrmph.

That his father was the other present there was also a bit of a problem. He really, really wasn't supposed to be out all alone like that at night.

It seemed rather silly and useless to keep on hiding when he'd been called out, and one pale, purple-haired head peeked out from behind the statue. "So you're my..." He paused, trying to recall the word. He's heard it once or twice among the mortals as he had followed his mother. "grampa... ?"

Nothing drew Lament out like a question to ask, anyway. "And was dad like." He held up his hand roughtly his own height, visible from his hiding place. "Small like me, once ?"

That seemed downright impossible. That children grew to become adults hadn't quite entered his train of thought, not completely anyway. It was weird to think of his parents as being anything other than that - his parents.

Thabara

“I do know that ...” he admitted, a bit defensively, having still not wholly regained his composure. “Otherwise I doubt I would have come as far as I did in restoring my realm. Still, to be startled like that, or to be touched with out warning, I just … I really do not like it. Your understanding is much appreciated.” He gave a small, informal bow, ignoring the burning heat upon his cheeks. The flush was no longer visible anyhow. He hoped, at least.

'Natural for a parent'? Well, yes, that certainly might be the case with Echo, but he himself … “I do not think I ever did something as si-” He interrupted himself (which was probably for the better), when the name of his youngest son fell, his eyes following the direction of Harmodius' gaze. Indeed, Akakios. Out and about at this time, and on his own? Well, the boy required little sleep, he knew full well, and the Pantheon grounds were safe. That the little godling might have ventured way past these, did not even remotely cross his mind.

At any rate, the boy was quick enough to bring forth his curious inquiries before Nergal had a chance to question him, and for the time being he was too distracted anyway eying Kios' little side-braid with a slightly thoughtful expression. Secretly having tugged the tie loose once, to have an excuse to re-braid the adornment … Certainly didn't fall into the same category as sneaking up on unsuspecting Death Gods? Certainly not.

“I cannot possibly imagine,” Nergal said wryly upon his son's last question. He couldn't, really. What little he remembered of Before was … just him being himself. He crossed his arms, and – with a sinking feeling – cast a sidewards glance at the First. The years past, ever since his rebirth, seemed filled with enough embarrassment for a lifetime. But it hadn't quite occurred to him, until just now, that there might be embarrassing tales to tell of his youth, his childhood even (if there'd been one) as well. And if there was anyone able to …

Ivynian

"The closer truth is that I am the grandfather of all of the gods that now live. rebirth through stones is not so different as the remove of parents. "

"And for you, as a new blossom in the flower of what Is, your actual parents are the one remove. "

He beckoned with a wave of his hand.
" You should follow Lord Nergal to your family's apartments. It is not frequent that he visits, it is wisest to make use of all that he affords you."

Zero Dream

Remove of parents ? That made no sense. At least the young boy didn't think it made any. Even if they were gone, that didn't make them any less one's parents.

He also didn't feel particularly flower-like.

Erm.

The boy did made his way out of hiding, his pouch of trinkets hanging from his side, looped around his waist, amusingly, by golden string. He still had to get those cookies, but unlike his older brother, he hadn't quite mastered sneaking away from dad without outside help. Not that he particularly wanted to sneak away if dad was here, since Harmodius was right - he didn't get to come around often.

Dillemia !

He did make his way to Nergal, standing on the tip of his toes to reach upward (which meant he wanted to be held, thank you). "What did you make ?" It seemed like an odd question to ask Underworld. But every time his father came, he brought with him the tale of just what he'd done while he was away, and since he couldn't quite go see yet, it was the next best thing. Maybe it would be his library this time !

Thabara

His son's confusion was plain to see, and Nergal more than happy to offer an explanation – it was a good opportunity to steer away from the possible threat of further embarrassment for himself, too.

“He is talking of relationship degrees, Akakios. The difference in generations, that is referred to as a 'remove'. Now if Ankou were to father a child, that would be your first cousin. And if their child had a child again, that would be your first cousin once removed. If you are interested … there are inscriptions in some tombs, detailing the heritage and relations of those interred. Lists of generations of kings and nobles, oft resembling a tree, the way they are drawn up. I could take you there, some time,” he offered. It did, admittedly, sound rather boring, even to him. He doubted anyone but Knowledge would possibly be interested, but he had already misjudged Kios' interests previously, so, who knew? It had been Gianfar tutoring him.

Obediently he picked up little Lament, shifting the boy's weight to rest against his side while holding him with one arm only, as if he barely weighed more than the small wisp of divine essence he'd once been. “I made little, this time around,” he admitted. “Mostly I have been looking for souls fit to aid me in my tasks, but that is going slowly. I tried making a nice place for the Smallest Souls, but …” Yeah. That one had turned out to be yet another failure and scrapped. The 'place' bit of it had worked out, the 'nice' … well, not so much.

“I try to make time for my family as much as I can,” he admitted towards Harmodius, “not as much, probably, as I should. It is hard to keep track of time, down there. Every time I stop by, my children seem to have grown in leaps and bounds.”

Ivynian

"Your words sound less like an explanation and more like an excuse. Or an attempt of justification, Judge of the Dead. "

"Hell was paved with good intentions, of fore days. " He turned away and started down the stair again, to return to his seat and perch on the great wall.


" If they grow so much while you cannot find the effort to tell time, have you given though what you have missed? What will you do when you return some day and they are already full grown, and see to heed you likewise to what you afford them. "

" My child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you." He sang softly as he walked.

Zero Dream

"Should ask mom." Dad really did seem to struggle with that place for the lost thing, and he kept saying he should just ask mom. She was good at making nice things.

He said nothing else, really, simply laying his head against his father's chest, eyes half-closed as he listened to the echoes and whispers that just barely reached his ears. He did look rather downcast and put-upon for the moment, letting out a small sigh. He already had to live all this, did they really need to talk about it on top of it ?

It had always been his dad who had understood him best, really. Crys came close, but... not quite. Not completely. He wished everything could back to the way things were before. Not when everyone was so scared, but the period in between that day with all the flowers and his father's departure. What had been so wrong about it ?

He didn't like to think of it more than he had to, but it was hard not to think about it when it was being talked about in front of him.

Thabara

Creation's words struck home, in a way Echo's never could have, not ever; as she was always so demure, so resigned and accepting to the fact that he had More Important Things to do than to care for their family. He knew not the full lyrics of the song, but he could guess at the outcome well enough. Overall, this was just as effective as a slap straight in his face. “I …”

Seconds ticked by as he just stood and stared, ears ringing, not really able to comprehend anything the boy said to him. Finally, a tremor went through his massive frame, and he moved, swiftly enough to outpace the Elder and take a stance right in front of him, jaw set.

“This,” he snarled, his temper clearly much closer to the surface than it had used to be. “Do you imply that I do not value my family enough? That I do not love them enough? This … is not true. It will not come to pass that way.”

This … This wasn't fair, not from his perspective. This was the first time he'd fathered children, the first time he could remember at least, and unfortunately his offspring hadn't come with a manual attached. That, and there was just so much to do now that his realm had been restored. How could he possibly be expected to do everything right, right from the start?

Never mind the fact he'd just received a perfectly good piece of advice, from an experienced father. It was beginning to dawn on him, though – albeit a little late.

Zero Dream

Akakios did not expect his father to start moving, especially so suddenly. He did end up sliding from his father's grasp sometime before his large steps reached the stairs, small feet hitting the marble with a soft thud.

This kind of atmosphere was not one he was quite used to, direct arguments. Echo avoided them as much as she could. And he'd never seen his dad so... angry, really.

In a way, even he was getting angry. He wasn't even listening to him, really.­ Did he only listen to him when he felt like it ? Come when he felt like it ? Had he really ever been around when he needed him ?

What did the dead mortals have that he didn't, to keep his father's attention so easily ?! Now that he'd started to think about it, he was upset again. Lament said nothing, but he turned and dashed out of the building, toward the garden.

He certainly didn't care about cookies anymore, but he did not wish to be where he would be easily found either. And he certainly didn't want to deal with this. Maybe it would just all fix itself on it's own.

[A Wandering Esper]

Runaway Boy

Thabara

This … This visit hadn't gone as planned, not at all. Not like he'd had planned anything, really. Observe the construction of his temple, for some time, then spend some time with his family, until it would become too tiring for him to remain on this side of the Veil – in that order.

And now … Harmodius had meddled once more, first giving him a scare for a life time, and then easily upsetting the routine he'd comfortably settled into with his remarks. He left the marble halls of the Pantheon behind, hands still clenched to fists as he stalked across the grass. His anger wasn't as much directed at Harmodius anymore, but rather at himself. Because, no matter how he turned it, from which direction he looked upon it, Creation had been right. And in the end … “My father too, eh?”

He flexed his wings some, the ghostly appendages completely useless in this world as always, and slowly his fingers uncurled. It had to be a hassle, to have a son as stubborn and set in his ways such as him. But the ability to see and accept his errors (once they'd been pointed out to him) was there now, and the will to make the according changes just as well.

“Kios?” he called out into the twilight. Where had he run off to? It would be easier to find him if he could raise himself into the air here as easily as he could in his own realm, but, unfortunately, he remained grounded. Tsk, gravity. “Akakios?” he called once more, louder this time. People might feel disturbed, but for once he did not care. He had the expression upon the boy's face …

The tea houses, he'd try them first.

Zero Dream

Akakios was not in the teahouses, and wouldn't be found there even if his father bothered to look under every cushion to make sure he wasn't hiding underneath. These cushions had been one of his favorite hiding places when playing hide and seek.

Not that Underworld would ever have seen this for himself. All knowledge of this that he processed would be Echo's own words.

No, no matter how hard Nergal looked around the pantheon garden, he would not find Lament there, for the very good reason that he wasn't anywhere nearby. Akakios had ran out, as fast as his little legs could allow him, which had given him a very comfortable lead into the city proper.

Which would certainly complicate matters.

He'd slowed down now, out of breath and tired, but he had managed to make it quite a bit away in his short sprint, and in the time his father would be looking for him elsewhere. So far away, actually, that he was not quite sure where he was anymore. This wasn't the direction of the market. He hadn't been looking, or even thinking, about where he had been going. Akakios hadn't cared as long as it was away. To tell the truth, he still wasn't caring much. He certainly didn't want to go back just yet.

He hadn't expected it to be so dark, through. There were lanterns, that made up for the lack of daylight in a way, during the day. But those lanterns were gone now, at least most of them. That they were turned off at night so that the mortals could sleep had never quite occurred to him. There was enough light left so that he could at least not bump into things, but that was it.

And everything was empty, silent. A little scary, but he was too upset to care. So the young god walked in a straight line along the road, eyes narrow, getting further and further from the pantheon. He would have started kicking at the rocks that littered the sidewalk, but he was barefoot and his feet hurted so much from running on pavement as is.

Stupid day. Stupid ghosts. Stupid dad. It never really occurred to Lament that his father was actually looking for him - no, he was quite certain he'd most likely stormed off to that place of his. That place he'd never seen and that took away all of his father's time. He was starting to hate it on principle, really. All it did was keep his father away for so long.

Thabara

He did look underneath the pillows, and – after ducking out of the last tea house – he scoured the shores of the ponds and brooks as well. But it was starting to become evident now, that the boy was not to be found anyhere within the Pantheon grounds proper. Or, perhaps, he had returned to their rooms in the meanwhile?

Minutes later, the massive doors to his family's quarters slammed open, and Ishum looked up in surprise, paling a little at seeing his Lord so … upset. He had been expecting for him to be back from the construction site quite a while ago, wondering if he had returned to his realm and his duties without the usual visit to his loved ones for some reason. But now … if Nergal hadn't been a god, the aoide could have sworn he was out of breath.

“Kios,” Nergal blurted, tone urgent, “has he returned?”

“I had no idea he was gone?” Ishum replied, his tongue swifter than his brain, as ever so often, and the glare it earned him caused him to instinctively back away some. For a moment it really looked like Nergal might strike him down.

“Useless,” he snarled instead, “I should hand over my children to the grigori on a silver platter myself rather than have your lot watch over them.” He wasn't being fair, he knew it, especially not to Ishum, who'd been at his side for most of the time since his arrival. For a moment, he looked over the commons, quiet and dark now. '... but the laughter of children makes a home.'

“I presume Sotiris and Lacrymosa at least are where they sh- Nevermind, I will go see for myself. In the meanwhile, get the hounds.”

He strode past the stunned aoide, but not without hissing a “Move it!” as he passed him by, when it seemed as if Ishum was frozen on the spot. The beast master nodded, turning on his heels and rushing off to the kennels.

His other children at least were safe and sound asleep – Crys curled up in her little den (which he'd actually never before seen from the inside) in the willow's hollow, and Soto sprawled out and snoring quite noisily on top of a … was that a trunk he'd chosen for his bed? Echo seemed asleep likewise, and after a moment's hesitation, he decided to not wake her.

He did rouse one of her aoidei, however, to leave a message at least. “Akakios is gone,” he said, seeming as calm and collected as ever on the surface, “I will be looking for him. If she wakes, tell my beloved there is no need for her to worry. I will find him.”

He did not even bother to look if Harmodius was still about when he left once more, striding through the large hall to meet up with Ishum. The heavy braids were tied back at his neck, and he'd shed most of his ceremonial robes except for what was practical. Three huge shadows were prowling the twilight nearby. He was no Hunt, but he did have hounds of his own – Cerberus.

They came to meet him immediately, their massive heads almost at the height of his chest. They had grown, it seemed, with the full return of his own powers, albeit still not re-united into One. If the legends had actually been right about that in the first place – three hounds, or a three-headed hound, it did not make much difference. Which reminded him … Shima, where was she? He had not seen her anywhere in the quarters. Maybe she was already out and about as well, looking for her charge on her own. She'd better.

“They've missed you, Lord,” Ishum at last dared to remark.

“You should have told me,” he murmured, caressing each of the large dogs, tracing the sharp spikes which protuded from their backs.

The aoide rolled his eyes. “I've been trying to. Just as I've been trying to tell you ab-”

“Find him,” the Judge of the Dead ordered his Hellhounds, following them immediately as they picked up the trail.

Ishum sighed. He wasn't listening. Again.

Zero Dream

As if anything with any sort of bestial hearing could have slept though Hurricane Nergal. She'd nearly... No, she'd never seen him so angry. She'd seen him go completely insane, she's seen him howl and mourn, but never quite angry like this.

Shima favored Sotiris. That much was apparent, had always and would always be. She had been, in fact, curled around the trunk, a shadow among many, then the door opened, and only moved when it closed again. But yet she also was his, and there was no doubt her young charge would have been equally upset with her if he had learned she had been aware of the situation, and yet did nothing.

And so, the large black shape stood, stretched, and took back on an human shape before exiting into the brightly-lit area, carefully dipping under everyone's radar as she made her way out, Nergal and Ishum too busy with the large three hounds to really notice the scarred, slender shape of the dark-skinned woman, or even the sound of the many chains that betrayed her current appearance.

She'd certainly never thought she'd be trailing after this one, really. Sotiris, well yeah, sure. Part of the job description. Lacrymosa, she could have seen her throwing a tantrum and running off, but not getting too far if she got into someplace she was not used to be. But Akakios ? The boy had always been.... hell, boring. Shima hadn't really imagined it could ever happen.

And given Nergal... well, something had most certainly happened. Something had somehow managed to upset the pale boy, and he'd set of. It was, at least, the most likely think she could think of.

She'd set of dashing into the streets well before the hounds were released, following that one intuition of her. Upset people didn't tend to be deep intellectual thinkers. So, straight ahead she dashed. Even in her human form, she was a very fast runner. She was bound to catch up with the boy quickly.

It was too dark and too quiet both, and it was finally starting to dawn onto Kios that this might not have been the best idea he'd ever had. Sure, now he was nice and alone and no one knew where he was, but the fact that he didn't know where he was was a little counter-productive.

Maybe if he just hid somewhere in a nook or cranny until the lamps came back...

There was a sudden sound, sharp and unexpected, and in his panic, Lament bolted again.

Thabara

Heavens, just how far had the boy gone? The hounds, as they followed Kios' trail, led him way past the boundaries of Pantheon's lush gardens. Only few people were out and about, but those who were, cast him bewildered glances and were smart enough to stay clear of his path. They'd seen the pale god before, of course, but never in a hurry. And never in the company of those scary black dogs.

However, it made questioning them if they'd seen a small, lavender-haired boy about a tad difficult, to say the least.

“No one's seen him,” Ishum panted, as he'd caught up with his Lord. Nergal … wasn't running, but with his built, his strides were so great he might as well have been. “But the Cerberus, they found his scent for sure. He should be nearby now, I can't imagine him having run much further. Not in this darkness.”

Nergal nodded slowly. Even for him, who was quite used to the ever-twilight of his own domain, there was too little ambient light to properly see where he was going. It made sense the mortals would attempt to recreate a rhythm of day and night, and it was easier on the still precious resources too. Still …

“He is a god, Ishum. Still young, but not diminished in his powers by being bound to mortal flesh. It would be better not to underestimate … The matter of lighting, however, that is fixed easily enough.” He called forth the wisps then, which had been following their trail until now rather than advancing before them, part excited by this new 'game', part confused. He wondered, had any of them been among Kios' 'invisible friends'? He had no idea.

Zero Dream

There was someone, something, close by, he knew it. What he didn't know was what it was. And that certainly was worrying enough when he had no idea where he was even going, and where he could hide.

"Kios !" The shapeshifter called out. She was also very well aware that they were not alone, and that whatever it was, it... wasn't the hounds, that she could hear nearby. The boy couldn't hear her, and kept on running, causing her to dart again while cursing under her breath.

She dashed then, scooping up the confused boy instead, and leaping out of the way, jumps much greater than most humans could perform, and ended up on a rooftop.

He'd certainly hadn't expected this, and let out a bit of a startled scream as he was suddenly snatched and carried up

"Shhh !" Really, this whole voice thing sucked. ******** demons. "Quiet."

It did finally occur to Kios that he knew this voice, and this tone, even if he hadn't heard much of it. He'd heard it distorted from a maw, but... "Shima... ?"

Shima wasn't a puppy.

Uh.

"Quiet." She said again, eyes locked on the street below. There was something down there, but she couldn't quite make out what it is. Only that in this form and without a weapon, she was ill-equiped to take care of it.

Better leave that for the hounds.

Thabara

The scream, though stiffled quickly, was heard. Not only by the Cerberus, whose heads perked up immediately upon the familiar voice, but Nergal as well, shock and terror creeping their way upon his face. It didn't matter that the outcry seemed startled, surprised rather than an utterance of fear, or pain. If there was anyone, anything, threatening his child, they would not live to see the dawn of the next day.

The hounds required no further encouragement than the sudden jerk of his head, and he followed them, as swiftly as he was able, finally breaking into a run.

When he arrived where Kios had been mere seconds before, the boy was nowhere to be seen, but one of the hounds had pinned down a … a man, it seemed like. It was hard to figure out just what kind of creature lay hidden underneath the layers of cloth. The other two identical 'dogs' were sniffing the ground, tails wagging with excitement, finally settling down each with loud park, as if to say: “Found him!”

“My son,” Nergal hissed, crouching down next to the trembling humanoid, “where is he?”

It was impossible to make sense of the miscreant's mindless frightened stuttering, but when he raised his hand to point (with the Cerberus looking as if they'd be all to happy to seize it for a snack), Nergal followed the direction with his gaze. Up?

Nonsense, Akakios couldn't fly.

But there was the roof.

Zero Dream

With the hounds having taken care of the intruder, Shima saw it fit to jump back down, landing swiftly beside Nergal with the thud of combat boots on pavement. She could have dealt with it herself, most likely, but that would have meant letting the godling down. He could then just have started running off and started the whole circle anew.

Really, Shima was just eager to go back to bed. "Heard you lost something, sir ?" Akakios was hanging from her left arm, unable to quite touch the ground, but otherwise unharmed.

Unless, of course, one counted wounded pride at that. Lament did not like being carried like a sack of potatoes, and was doing a fairly good imitation of Nergal at his most insulted. "Let me doooooooown or im gonna tell Soto !!!"

Thabara

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief at that, though just before he recognized her, for a moment there he looked ready to strike down Shima with everything he had (his bare hands).

“Shima,” he said, with surprising calm, rising to his full height. “It has been a while since I last saw you in this shape.” He hesitated for but a moment, but then ran his hand through her unruly green mane tenderly. Of their household, only he had even remotely an idea of what she'd gone through, and – in the widest sense – he'd been the one to blame for her cruel fate. “You have done well. Thank you.”

“Kios. I would like to talk with you. Now, if you wish, or later. But now would be much preferred. Also, if you please would not run away again, once Shima lets go of you? It … I …”

In the background Ishum rolled his eyes, as Underworld seemed to be choking on his own words. “Is it so hard to say that you were worried, Lord? That you are sorry?”

Zero Dream

She did let him, where she would have liked let no one else beside Sotiris do the same thing, most likely. Likewise, she bore the burden of his capture having been a success to begin with.

"It has been awhile." She admitted and then, finally, she did let the boy down. If he tried to run off again, well, the shapeshifter doubted that he could dart away from her fast enough to not get caught again.

He gave a rather indigned huff when he was finally put back on the floor, arms crossing as he glared up at his father. At least he didn't run away again. This... was scary and he wouldn't be able to find his way back on his own anyway. Not with the streets being so dark.

"Why do I get the odd feeling that this is all part of the problem ?" Shima seemed to agree, shaking her head. "Come on, Ish. I think these two need... alone time." With that, the shapeshifter turned and started heading back toward the pantheon.

Thabara

“That … is none of your business,” Nergal remarked coldly, but the shifter was smart enough to leave on her own, after that. Ishum, however, required a major glare before he caught the hint and turned likewise.

Nergal watched them leave, until they seemed out of earshot, and then turned, relieved to see Kios had stayed put.

The thug, still pinned to the ground by the heavy weight of an honest-to-God hellhound, was pretty much ignored.

“Well,” he said, “it seems you may have something to tell me. I am listening.”

Zero Dream

Lament had indeed stayed put, but still looked none too happy about the fact. He still didn't want to deal with this, thank you.

"He's still here." He gestured toward the man pinned by the hounds. Maybe if he just waited it out...

Thabara

“That is not a problem,” Nergal pointed out. “We only need to move away from him. Walk with me.” Of course, he could remove that man in an instant. But, and here he was Judge again, there was not yet proof he'd done anything. In fact, he realized, he might just have been some clueless bystander – being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

“Or,” he thought better of it, we could go someplace really far away, yet closeby. Just … very deep down.” He cast a sidewards glance at his youngest, wondering if he'd take the bait.

Zero Dream

He might have taken the bait, some time ago. No, not might, he [i­]would have taken the bait. Undoubtedly so. But now, well, it wasn't really the right time to offer this. Lament only huffed and turned on his heels, arms still crossed tightly.

"No. Don't want to see it." He muttered. "It keeps you away all the time."

Even if he did end up unwittingly showing part of the problem. He started to walk off, not once bothering to see if his father was following.

Thabara

Nergal blinked, stunned once more. This … this wasn't how things were supposed to be going? He was used to this sort of behaviour from his oldest, and – admittedly – had shrugged it off because he was a child and, well, Soto. For Kios to act that way, however … It was like yet another slap to his face.

A cold seemed to start forming within his guts, and he quickly joined his youngest son's side. “You have looked upon it,” he said softly, “countless times, but from the Outside only. I am that place.” Had he even ever attempted to explain this to his children properly? He wasn't sure. His memory was infalible when it came to confessions and testimonies, but about this … “If I were to try and explain, would you hear me out? Or would you rather speak for yourself first. I … It is not as if I do not care about what you think or feel, but you do have to tell me. Unlike the Twin Crown, I cannot pick up upon one's thoughts.”

“I will listen, I promise.”

Zero Dream

"You never listen unless you want to." Lament still wasn't looking up at his father, and unfortunately was quite unable to outpace him.

...It did at least look better than usual though.

"You're always away. Down there." He muttered. "Always down there. With the ghosts." When had he started to prunounce ghosts without stumbling on it, Nergal could wonder. "You like them more than me."

Not a question, but a statement. Uh oh.

Thabara

“But I don't?” He did sound honestly surprised. Ghosts, the souls of the dead, that was … his calling, his domain, what he was about. 'Bussiness', if you so wanted. It didn't necessarily mean he liked them.

“It is … sort of complicated,” he admitted, trying to figure out where to start, exactly. “Do you know, about the Fading?”

Zero Dream

"Some. Everyone died." Well, not everyone, really. Everyone but Harmodius. "That's why everyone has stones." Again, not everyone, but it was simpler than to begin to name the exceptions.

"They get almost all your time." Well, at least he did say almost. "And you bring things back all the time, but I don't care. I don't want them." He sniffed. Was Akakios.... crying... ? "I want you, not anything else. YOU."

Thabara

“Yes, everyone … died. And not only that – those who had realms oft their own …Their domains crumbled, fading into nothingness as well. For Ages … for a very, very long time, the dead had no place to go to.”

He stopped, crouching down to be at eye's height with his youngest for once instead of lifting him up. “When I was reborn … I could hear them, like you could hear your 'invisible friends'. I could see them as well. But unlike you I did – and still do – not only hear those close by. Sometimes I think I do hear them All.” He closed his eyes momentarily, as if listening to them now. “They were hurt, confused, distraught … I heard their laments and cries and screams, day and night. And for the longest time, there was nothing I could do about it – or so I thought,” he added, bitterly.

“When I figured out that I could … I could have done it for quite some time, but I was putting it off, waiting to get stronger still, instead chosing to spend time with you, and your siblings, and your mother. So, in the end … I guess I am trying to make up for it now? For having abandoned them so long.”

He reached out, to wipe those tears from the boy's face with his cold, cold hands. “And I did not realize I abandoned my beloved and my own children over that. I am … truly sorry about that,” he offered

Zero Dream

He hadn't heard about realms, really. But then, his dad was the only person he knew who had a place. It sounded like a really complicated story.

Maybe he'd truly understand it some day, but now, the only thing that he really understood was that his dad was putting everything above him. It was normal, in a child's mind, to feel like the center of the universe, after all.

And that had been taken from him with little explanation. And that seemed to be it - Akakios all but launched himself at his father, brawling his eyes out in a fit that would likely have had Crys mighty impressed.

Thabara

He … did not quite know what to do about it, except for what seemed to be the most reasonable course of action. To embrace his son, to hold him.

Zero Dream

"Y-You actually mean it." He managed in between sobs. "R-Right ?"

Even in his mind, he knew having his dad all the time was impossible. Kind of like he didn't have mom all the time, or Crys and Soto all the time. They went and did stuff on their own too. But well... anything would be better than what there was now, pretty much.

Thabara

“I do mean it,” Nergal nodded. He just … might need an occasional reminder, but he'd rather not mention that. Perhaps he would understand later, as he grew enough into his powers to be carried away by writing his compositions. Though that might be the day and time he craved to spend time with his son, he realized. “I will try,” he emphasized, “and if I seem to slack off, it will be your task to remind me. Alright?”

Zero Dream

"O-okay."

Something did seem to dawn on him, though, as he finally looked up, eyes still wet with tears. "...How ?" It wasn't like he could go down there and scream his father into submission whenever he wanted...

Through, that would certainly be a nice thing.

Thabara

“Erh.” He blinked. Admittedly, Kios got him there. “I will think of something? A Door, mayhaps, or somesuch. Or some sort of messenger to send.”

If a Door could be worked out, in some way, that would be very favorable indeed. Because, truly, he wished there was a way for his beloved and family to visit him as well, instead of always ever the other way around. It couldn't be helped, but most of the times he stopped by at least one – if not several – of his family members were bound to be absent in one way or another. Even if they were merely sleeping.

Zero Dream

"Kay." Well, at least, Lament seemed willing to give him the benefit of doubt. That was more than could be said a few minutes ago.

He did finally detach himself from his father, instead slipping his tiny hand in his own. "Should go back."

Thabara

“We should, indeed.” Nergal nodded slowly. “Your mother and your siblings might be worried as well, you know? No matter what it may feel like at times, you are beloved,” he added softly, running the fingers of his free hand through the child's fine hair.

He rose, making a few awkward steps alongside his son, before he figured this wasn't quite working. “You are too short,” he remarked (not like he wanted for him to grow up anytime soon after all that had been said and not-said tonight), lifting up the boy to sit on his shoulders.

Better, he decided.

He had already quite some distance, when he finally seemed to remember something – motioning for the Cerberus to follow, the great beasts finally released the hapless mortal to follow him.

[A Wandering Esper]

Somewhere In Between

Akakios had skittered to his room the second he was actually able to, avoiding the questions of the aoidei (even Ianthe, which was a rare thing) in the process before finally being able to close his door. He had been somewhat tempted to smash it closed as loudly as he could, just to drive his point across some more, but his siblings and his mother still, as far as he knew, slept, and it was the only thing that had really stopped him from doing so.

He then sat on the beanbag that made office of his bed, and sighed. The events of that night – him sneaking out, wanting only to go to the market to get cookies, and all that had followed – still swirling in his head. That... That had been scary. Most of it. And he'd never seen Shima look like that before – did Soto even know ?

He just let himself slump face down. That was all too much for one evening, really. Entirely too much, but... maybe, just maybe, it had been worth it. Dad had listened. It had looked like he'd actually been listening, at least. At least, he hoped he had... which kind of was a rare thing. Sure, he listened, but then just did things his way anyway.

He'd heard Ishum complain about it a lot, after all, and that was what had somewhat discouraged him. If Dad didn't listen to Ishum, then why would he listen to him, really ? Many people didn't take him seriously because he was a child, and it annoyed him so much.

So he could only hope that Nergal had taken him seriously.

He listened, but couldn't hear anything going on outside, just the small meow of the small white kitten who now rarely left his room. He lifted her on top of the beanbag, and she settled there, curling into a little ball and purring.

”Why are things so complicated, Liddell ?” Couldn't they just go back to what they were before ? Well, not the world almost ending, as he had been blissfully unaware of at the time, but... everything else.

The cat, of course, didn't answer him, and Akakios laid back down on his bed. His small fingers slid though her mass of fluff to pet her, absent-mindedly. He couldn't help but wonder if Dad was still here.

He really hoped he was.

And then, eventually, he finally fell asleep, carried over by the soft purring of a tiny white kitten.

[A Wandering Esper]

Clear Air After The Storm

Thabara

Amazingly enough, he was still around, the next morning – Nergal, that was. Not where one might expect him though, holding court on his seat in the commons, but rather having joined his young daughter in the kitchen. He rarely ventured into that room, usually not unless he fancied preparing his own coffee. Which was what he was doing now, while listening to Crys in all earnesty as she explained to him the finer details of preparing proper pancake batter.

Zero Dream

Echo had, amazingly and perhaps somewhat predictably, slept through the events of the night before - only to awaken now, lazing a bit and sliding into one of her dresses before coming out of the bedroom. A small horde of cats followed, mewing and purring, rubbing at her ankles, before they did suddenly disperse when she came close to the kitchen.

Uh.

Poor unsuspecting Echo continued forward, entering the kitchen proper, looking very much like someone who had just woken up and not taken a shower yet.

She did, however, stop dead when she saw the scene unfolding in front of her. Well, that was unusual.

She did blink, once, twice, almost comically, as if her mind was still trying to process the fact that Nergal was in their kitchen in a time where there wasn't usually a Nergal about, and even less in their kitchen.

Thabara

As soon as she heard her mother had gotten up (it was hard to miss, really, what with her furry little horde of 'followers' expressing their joy to see her so vocally), Crys eagerly tried to convince her father that he just had hide behind the door. .

“-and then,“ she was just about to finish her instructions, when Echo stepped into the kitchen, “you come out and say: 'Surprise!'” She flung up her little arms energetically, heedless of the wisk dripping with batter she was still holding, causing it to end up pretty much everywhere.

“Good morning,” the Lord of the Dead greeted his queen, wiping a small drop of pancake batter from his nose before he proceeded to pour himself a coffee. He thought for a moment, and then offered the cup of steaming black brew to her. He knew she very much preferred tea, but really, she looked like she could use a coffee.

“It's 'surprise',” Crys insisted, waving around her whisk. “'Surprise'. You're doing it all wrong.”

Zero Dream

She did accept the cup wordlessly, still puzzling as to just what was going on right here. She had a nice steak of pancake batter on her cheek thanks to her daughter, but she did not even seem to notice.

"Good morning." She did finally reply, proving that she at least was some resemblance of coherent. Echo... had never been much to behold in the first hours of the morning. It took at least a good half hour before she was more... normal.

"Well, you see, my dear." She did step forward, careful not to step on any batter. "It often take multiple explainations for your father to understand things. You will need to keep at it and hope for the best."

...Or maybe not.

Thabara

Too true. It was meant to tease him, just as well to amuse their daughter, but remark hit somewhat of a sore spot after last night. Whatever he'd say, it would likely be just the right thing to utterly cause the current nice mood take a plunge straight to the greatest depths of hell. He was remarkably good at it, he'd noticed at least that much. So he wisely kept his quiet, only taking a sip from his own coffee as he carefully watched over his blind daugher balancing the bowl with the batter to the store.

“Maybe the dead people are making too much noise,” Crys argued, “so he can't hear what we say.” It did make sense, from her point of view. Even living people made an awful lot of noise as soon as there was a large group of them, and there were so many dead people within her dad … She climbed the stool in front of the stove, under the watchful eyes of her parents.

Zero Dream

"That might be possible." Thankfully for Nergal, Echo's attention was currently on her daughter, and she did not seem to question his sudden silence. "Blueberry or strawberry today ?" She asked, taking a peek over the child's shoulder to look at the bowl of batter.

Echo had been quite adamant on that - no using the stove unsupervised for ANY of them, thank you. She was a poor cook, really, but at least she knew safety.

Thabara

“Blueberry.” The A and O for Crys was to be prepared when cooking, and she'd gotten quite good at that. She knew exactly where she'd previously set up the butter, and the ladle, and – most importantly – the frying pan. She'd had her dad help her with the latter, because it really was quite heavy.

Nergal, who'd never seen his daughter cook (oh, he knew full she liked making a mess of batter and dough, but that was about it), watched with amazement. Not once did she spill, or – much more importantly – burn herself, and he found himself wondering just how she could tell when it was time to flip them over. The smell, probably. He wouldn't been able to tell.

His host, Aislin … she'd not been a morning person at all, so her breakfasts had usually been savory, serving as her lunch as well. He would likely be able to pull off somewhat decent fried eggs and bacon, but definitely no pancakes. He didn't have much love for sweet things anyway, and a cup of good coffee had always been enough of a breakfast for him.

For the time being, it was all quiet in the kitchen, except for the sounds of Crys' cooking, and – of course – Echo's wings. But it was a comfortable silence for once.

Zero Dream

Even with that, Echo did watch like a hawk, through. Just in case Crys even needed just the slightest bit of help. She didn't impose herself, but she stood at her daughter's side like a silent (well, as much as Music could actually be silent) guard, absent-mindedly taking a sip from her cup and making a face - only now realizing it was coffee.

She could brew some tea when Crys was done. Or raid the sugar. Lovers they were, but they definitively did not share tastes in hot drinks.

It was starting to smell pretty good in the kitchen right now - so much that some of the most daring cats did have a peek in the kitchen, in spite of the presence of Underworld. But perhaps, more importantly, the smell lured a much bigger kind of cat out of his den. Lament was peeking in as well, quite curious and so far unnoticed.

Thabara

Almost unnoticed. “I'm making pancakes,” Crys announced, without turning her head. She'd heard those bare feet shuffling among the cats' paws. “And I made papa help me,” she added proudly. Why, she didn't even have to tie his braids to the chair this time, as she'd tried the last time her father had been around.

Zero Dream

Indeed, almost. Akakios did pout a bit. It was impossible to slip under Crys' radar. He had managed Echo a few times, when she was distracted, but his sister... it was just plain impossible. Maybe because since she couldn't see she had one less sense to focus on to distract her ?

But then she did continue, and it was a good thing that she couldn't see him, and that no one else seemed to pay attention to him, because he grinned. Just like the cat that ate the canary, and definitively like someone who knew something everyone else didn't. "Can I have some ?" He asked, as angelic as possible, scooting over to sit in one of the chairs.

Thabara

“Of course,” Crys invited him generously. “You never eat much anyway.” That was compared to Soto, of course. She tilted her head slightly, ears flicking a little, but her big brother was nowhere to be heard.

“And papa can set the table,” she decided. After all, he was tallest, and could easily reach even the top shelves of the cupboards.

Nergal looked up from his coffee, seeming a little startled. And, truth be told, except for the cups, and the coffee plunger, he had no idea where anything was, in the kitchen, really.

Zero Dream

"Well, isn't that a nice idea~" Echo was, clearly, completely unreceptive of Underworld's plight. After all, she still was overlooking Crys' cooking. She did look like she was enjoying herself, though. More so than his previous visits, where he had showered her with all soft of gifts.

Akakios, however, did notice, and the look on his father's face was probably one of the most amusing things he had ever seen. One hand went on his mouth in an attempt to stiffle his giggle, and the other started pointing at cupboards. He couldn't say what was were without Crys hearing it, but he could point and hope he'll deduct the rest.

Dad was so silly sometimes.

Thabara

Crys blinked, wondering what was so funny. Clearly, she was missing out on something here, and no one bothered explaining it to her. Hmph!

Nergal gave a grateful nod at his son's wordless hint, beginning to lay out the dishes with as much dignity to it as possible. Which didn't save him from having to look through three drawers before he'd find the cutlery. He put down a plate for himself, though he admittedly wasn't really hungry. But to deny his daughter tasting her pancakes, he knew where that would end. He considered Soto as well, just in case his firstborn would chose to make an appearance.

“Cups,” Crys remarked, deadpan, as she flipped over the last batch of pancakes. The first would have already cooled down, but that couldn't be helped. She didn't want to stand at the stove while everyone else was eating! “You forgot them.”

Their parents were already having that stinky bitter brew Nergal liked so much for some odd reason (and she didn't think tea was much better), but she and Kios needed something to drink too!

Zero Dream

Crys did indeed have a point, even if Kios did eye his father's cup of coffee suspiciously with a look typical of scheming children, but he didn't get to make his move before his father was facing him again. Foiled !

"Don't forget the juice too." Maybe if he was quick enough while dad did that...

"Do you want me to carry the plate ?" Echo asked as the last pancake was flipped. It might be a little heavy for her, and holding a plate while holding a platter full of pancakes... yes, that was a mess waiting to happen.

There was already batter everywhere, no need to add pancakes to that.

Thabara

“Mh,” Crys nodded, hopping down from her stool and dutifully turning off the stove. “Is heavy. I want milk!”

Nergal nodded obediently, resigned to his fate for now. This was … a task for servants, really, but – oddly enough – right now he didn't want for anyone to intrude really.

He fetched two earthen mugs – glassware was still a rarity after the remaining resources had been plundered by Glyph and Glaucon as they sought to fulfill the Crown's request – and filled them according to the kids' wishes. Was there something else … ? He glanced into the fridge, pondering. There, that looked quite like syrup, didn't it? He wasn't entirely hopeless.

Zero Dream

Ah, there ! Lament lunged a bit forward, reaching and sliding the cup toward him. The mystery of what was it that dad always drank was finally going to be solved !

The boy took a sip.... and very, very nearly spit it back out. But he was much better behaved than that, really, so he made himself swallow it. It was all bitter and..... EW ! How did dad drink this ?!

In all his attempt to look like nothing happened, he did forget to return the cup to it's rightful place, still trying to somehow make the taste go away.

Echo took the plate of pancakes and followed her daughter, looking rather puzzled by her son's strange expression.

Thabara

Nergal noticed the expression immediately as he turned, wondering at it but only for a moment, before he took note of his cup's changed position. Wordlessly he put down the juice in front of his youngest, and just as wordlessly he slid his own cup back to its original position.

Zero Dream

And, just as wordlessly, Kios took his cup of juice and almost downed it in one shot.

Echo stilled at watching this, blinking... and then she just started laughing, thankfully after setting the pancakes on the table. Otherwise, she would have been the one to make the mess for once. "I think." She whispered in Crys' ear, so softly that it looked as if only her lips were moving. "That your brother just not realized coffee didn't taste very good..."

Thabara

“Ew,” Crys made, as she climbed onto her chair, saying it more out of principle rather than because she really thought it tasted bad. If Kios didn't like it, she'd sympathize with him. “Be glad you didn't taste the grounds,” she announced, making it quite obvious she'd apparently given both of it a try a while back.

Nergal was slightly startled by Echo's laughter, quite unaware he'd done anything … funny. But he enjoyed the sound of it, like the chime of a thousand silver bells. It had been some time, since he'd last hear her laugh like that, so he didn't question it. With a small, hesitant smile upon his dark lips, he settled down upon his seat.

Zero Dream

Taste the what ?

But then, Crys tasted everything. Better not to ask. At least the apple juice had washed the foul, bitter taste away. Why did anyone drink this willingly ? He had no damn idea.

With her daughter settled and her own laughter subsided (mostly. She still had a giggle every now and then as she remembered the face her son had made), she started to serve up the pancakes. She did fill Sotiris' plate as well, through she was fairly certain the boy was still snoozing. It was a bit early for her little green monster to be wrecking havok.

Thabara

Despite the fact Crys gave pretty much everything a taste at least once, from flowers to crayons, spiders and fungi, her cooking left nothing to be desired – the pancakes were delicious.

[A Wandering Esper]

What is a C-I-R-C-U-S?

Reyna Crelos

The Lord of the Dead’s eldest child had quickly developed a talent for evading aoide and other various gods and goddesses that were charged
for looking after him. Even at times he found the presence of his siblings and beloved mother suffocating. He was, without a doubt, his father’s son to the utmost degree.

Even if his father did drive him crazy and vice versa.

He did however find that when he spent too much time wandering, exploring, and generally avoiding his family, he began to miss them terribly. He found this to be rather inconvenient, but it was a situation quickly remedied if he were to hunt down his siblings.

Which was exactly what he was doing currently alongside his Shima. He had the most fantastic thing to show them! He was also fairly certain that his little brother would be able to read whatever it was on this piece of paper he had found. He had made out the dates and some of the words which he had gleaned from listening to, and otherwise watching, Akakios read.

He had taken great care to carefully smooth out the crumpled piece of paper, and he had traced out the words it had spelled in the dirt next to where he had found it. He just wasn’t so sure what this ‘circus’ thing was, and he was all but about to burst from curiosity. Surely his brother or sister would know what this thing was. The brightly colored illustration on the flyer seemed interesting enough.

Sure, he could ask one of the aoide or one of the elder gods, but what if they took his paper from him?

He had decided quite quickly that it would be best to avoid any such troubles, and so he had carefully folded his piece of paper and stuck it inside his satchel which currently held a small jar of dirt containing earthworms. He had almost forgotten about them!

He hoped his sister would like them. And he hoped his brother would be able to read the flyer. All he needed was to find the both of them before any aoide or other troublesome guardians distracted him!

Zero Dream

And apparently Shima didn't fall under the troublesome guardian category. Oh, if the pup only knew...

But now there was no distracting her young master from his current mission. She hadn't really got a good look at the paper - Sotiris wasn't staying still long enough - but she figured nothing too bad could come out of it.

Yet.

So she simply let it be and followed her master silently, having shifted her claws away so that she would be able to paw about silently like a cat rather than the large canine-like form she assumed most of the time.

Good thing that Akakios was never too hard to find. There were about three different places he could be if he was to be inside their parents' rooms - his own, the garden, or the kitchen.

Today it was the garden, where he was spawled all over the grass next to the rose bushes, his nose deep into a book as he was often seen doing, legs kicking back and forth as he continued reading.

Thabara

Crys was where Kios wasn't - in the kitchen, learning a fabulous new thing to cook (or bake rather, once they got to that stage) from Ishum: Pizza

She thought it sounded fantastic - it had to be rolled out like cookie dough, but then all sorts of stuff would be put on top before backing, most importantly cheese. Which then would melt, and could be pulled into long strings, and-

Right now, though, she was still gleefully kneading the dough, enjoying very much how it had gone from being stick to just ... very fun to knead. And knead. And knead.

"I think that's been quite enough," Ishum said, "it's time to let the dough rise now."

"But!" Crys protested. "I want to knead more!" She 'looked' at him with her empty eye sockets, tears welling up in them already, her expression and whole demeanor heart-wrenching.

"No," Ishum said firmly, fortunately quite used to her using her powers on him now, be it on purpose or by accident. "It is time to let the dough rise now. It'll take about an hour or so, I'll tell you when it's ready, okay? So now go, play."

"Mmh," she made, a little bit miffed. She liked cookie dough better, she decided, it never had to 'rise'. Though the interesting thing about this dough was it had little critters living inside, called 'yeast'. She thought that was quite fascinating.

Reyna Crelos

Sotiris caught sight of his sister first as he entered his family's quarters. She looked rather put out, but he was fairly certain he could cheer her. He nearly always could. He grabbed her gently by the arm with a small chuckle and bent down low to whisper in her ear.

"Have you seen Kios?" he murmured ever so softly so as to avoid the prying ears of any lurking aoide, "Have something for Kios to read to us both. I found a fancy paper."

He smirked broadly, quite amused with himself. "Also brought you a present," he sing-songed as he danced and skipped a few steps away from her just out of reach. He giggled despite himself and idly leaned into Shima with a playful shove. "Can help us find Kios, Puppy?"

Zero Dream

It hadn't even been that long ago that Shima would have felt rather insulted to be treated like a pet. But... things had changed. So many things had changed, some for the best and some for the worst.

This was still way better than being enslaved by demons, so she couldn't really complain.

"I don't think he's very far." Shima sometimes did not speak at all, and sometimes a little more, depending on her mood. Apparently she was feeling talkative today, even if her hushed words were distorted slightly by having to speak through a maw. Oh, she knew where the child was - she could smell him from here, along with the whiff of greenery. The gardens.

She rubbed her head against Sotiris' side and would stay put long enough for Lacrymosa to pet her if she wished before padding off toward the garden.

Thabara

“In the gardens,” she murmured quietly, her pale blue fingers fondly stroking the Shima's rough fur. At least she supposed Kios was still there, as she hadn't heard him leave. The doors were wide open, so her little brother would have had to be very, very stealthy to do so.

“A present?” she inquired, a hand trying to grasp the arm of her teasing guardian-brother, but he was already out of reach. Damn! “What present? What did you bring?” There was little interest, if any at all, for the 'fancy paper' he'd brought.

Reyna Crelos

"Something you will like!" he chirped happily as he let go of Shima and otherwise danced, skipped, and hopped his way over towards the garden. "Come with me, and I shall give it to you!"

He chuckled good naturedly and padded his way into the garden. He quickly spied his little brother and all but threw himself down next to him with a look of mischief. "I found something," he announced proudly.

Zero Dream

Akakios was indeed where everyone said he had to be, and he only looked up from his book when Soto crash-landed beside him. He was good at toning out the hustle and bustle of people coming and going, but this was a bit harder to ignore. Not that he wanted to to begin with. "Something ?"

This was curious. It was rare that Soto found something and came to him. When he found things, they usually went to Crys. Or mom. This alone was enough for him to close the book with a soft thud and sit. "What did you find ?"

Thabara

“I want my present!” Crys pouted, her hand still resting on Shima's back. She knew their quarters inside out, and certainly did not require a guide. It was more of a comfort thing that she would keep physical contact with the shifter. “Don't tell me you have something, if you wont give it to me. That's mean.” Her chin moved forward in a way akin to Soto's, or even their father's, whenever they felt insulted.

Reyna Crelos

Sotiris snickered quietly despite himself. "Okay, okay!" he conceded,

"You can have present. Told you would give it to you if you came with me to find Kios." He sat up cross-legged and dug into his small satchel to retrieve the small jar and handed it over to her with a look of pride. He had spent most of his morning digging in the ground the find those particular worms!

He then turned to his brother and retrieved his paper which he had neatly folded. He handed it over to him and peered over his shoulder as his youngest sibling looked it over. "What's it say?" he murmured, "Found it outside."

Zero Dream

Akakios was indeed quietly amused, though he was careful not to laugh or otherwise show his amusement in any audible way as Soto gave in all to quickly to their lovely sister.

The irony that he would probably have done the same thing completely escaped him.

"What is is ?" He asked Crys, so that his interest would come across. He had a good idea what it had to be, given the jar full of earth and wriggly things, but it always seemed better to ask anyway.

He took the paper as it was handed to him, peering over. "Circus..." What's a circus ? "Festival. One night only. I think that's today's date." He pointed out the string of numbers for his brother's benefit. "Dunno what a circus is. But a festival is like a gathering of a bunch of fun things. Mom told me she went at one a long time ago."

This seemed interesting, and his own expression turned to mischief. "We should go check it out."

Thabara

Crys promptly sat down with an expression of glee, the small jar hugged to her chest momentarily before she flipped open the lid and went to explore it's contents with her nimble fingers. “Squiggly~!” She announced, quite obviously pleased with her gift. She didn't mind now to listen what that strange paper Soto had brought was about. She didn't say anything, but at the mention of a “festival” her ears perked visibly. “Festival” usually meant getting interesting things to eat that strangely weren't available otherwise. Like … cotton candy. Or burnt sugar almonds.

Reyna Crelos

Sotiris leapt to his feet with a small noise of excitement. The noise would have been a joyous shout but he had enough sense to cover his mouth lest any of the other servants overhear. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go to the circus!" he announced to his siblings.

He danced around them both before settling himself back down to the ground. He idly pet a spot on the ground next to him to indicate that Shima should sit next to him. "Does it say where it will be?" he asked his brother. He hoped it wouldn't be too out of the way. If they ventured too far they were sure to be caught by an overly worried aoide or worse yet – Dad.

Zero Dream

Shima laid down in the place that was indicated for her, listening to the children plot idly. She knew what this would mean, really - mischief. But for now, she did not intervene, content to serve her role as loyal puppy. She'd follow to make sure all would be well and safe, however.

Akakios looked back down at the paper when asked where it was, and folded it open. "I think..." He wasn't an expert address reader, but... "I think a little bit further than what the market is ? It says." He pointed at the word - apparently this was just as much a lesson than anything else. Maybe one day he'lld get to tie Soto down for something more, but for now one word there and there was about as much his elder brother could really take before his attention wandered elsewhere. "Outskirt... Which is like a little bit outside of town."

Thabara

“A skirt is what girls wear, and women,” Crys divulged her knowledge randomly. As Soto and Kios were both boys, she didn't think they'd know much about girls' clothes. She'd tried both, skirts and pants, and found that she preferred skirts very much, as long as they weren't too long. So, did that mean the town was female, as the circus was just outside its skirt? It didn't seem wholly unlikely – Universe had been both, a place and a person, and their dad was too. “I know where the market is,” she added. “I go there often, with Ishum. People there give me gifts all the time. I can find it?” she offered, generously. She wasn't quite sure yet if she herself wanted to actually go to that “circus” place, but it was obvious both her brothers wanted to, very much so.

Reyna Crelos

Soto clapped both his hands to his mouth and lolled to the side as he attempted to restrain both himself and contain his excitement. He giggled despite himself. "Yeah! Yeah!" he declared joyously, "Sis knows the way! Sis knows!"

He looked at his sister and then back at his brother, puppy dog tail wagging in ancitipation of the adventure at hand. "We can take Puppy," he said slowly as he looked over at Shima, "For keeping safe."

If she went along with it was certainly less likely that they would end up in trouble.

Zero Dream

"Ah..." Apparently, this hadn't really occured to Kios at all. He knew what a skirt was, of course - his sister and his mother had many pretty ones they liked to wear - but he'd never heard of a town wearing one. Curious.

His book was all abandonned as he shifted to stand, brushing a few stray grass and leaves away from his tunic. "We're going, then ?" Even he sounded rather excited. All three of them with Shima, and no adults ! This was ACE, no matter what this circus thing would be about.

Shima, for her part, said nothing, but quite distinctively looked as amused as a canine beast could look like.

Thabara

“Only to the market,” Crys tried to dampen her older brother's enthusiasm some. She'd rarely ever been any further out than this, only once, when she'd been away with Ishum and aunt Cos to search for Fin. “But we can ask people there,” she added with a nod. People on the market were nice, they always gave her gifts. She was sure someone would be able to tell them the way to that 'circus'.

Ishum observed them quietly as the children snuck out, having overheard most of their conversation – seriously, it wasn't like Crys or Nergal had the sole monopoly on moving about almost soundlessly. Well, Shima was with them at least, and while he did have a good idea of the role she'd played in his Lord's abduction, he also had a gut-feeling that he could trust her. Perhaps it had to do with her beastly side … That, and Poe would no doubt join his mistress once they were outside. The children would be watched over.

Still … Ishum eyed the pizza dough, then sighed and wrapped it up to store it in the fridge, before he went for the kennels to fetch the Cerberus. Lunch would have to wait for now.

He knew where the children would be going, to catch up with them would be a cinch. His presence probably wouldn't be required, but if anything went wrong, Nergal would have his hide.

Quite literally, he had no doubt about it.

Reyna Crelos

Soto danced every few steps that he walked, albeit silently. Or at least as silently as he could. He was quite capable of containing himself when it came to important-sneaking-around-things, but the entire prospect before them was just so exciting! He had escaped the Pantheon, and his family's quarters specifically, often enough that it was almost too easy.

"Where to now?" he asked his siblings once he deemed they were a safe distance away from all interfering adults. He looked up at his puppy before patting her side and burying his face into her furr with a contented look. "Puppy could take us? Would be faster?" He looked up at her expectantly, tail wagging.

Zero Dream

'Puppy' remained silent for the most part, if not a little resigned. To be used as a mount, of all things... If it had been anyone else, they sure could have walked.

But it was her young master, and thus she would comply. There were certainly worse things... Still, she paused for a moment, looking at the three. They were pretty small still, though they had grown and matured much since she had come to the pantheon. There was no denying.

But they were still small enough that..­. yes, she would be able to carry the weight of all three of them. Little more than feathers for her. She barked once, and laid down to let the three godlings climb on her back easily.

Akakios, for his part, said nothing, and clutched his bag lightly. He wasn't sure this was a good idea... what if they fell ?

But like hells he would look like a crybaby in front of his sibilings !

Thabara

Crys let her fingers run along Shima's furry ridge before she hesitantly climbed on her back, her thin arms hugging the beast's neck (as far as they reached) quite tightly. She didn't like to ride, or to be carried, because it massively cut off her sense of where and how far she went. But her brothers were quite eager to go to that “circus” place, that much was quite obvious, and to slow them down would make her a big meanie. She didn't like to be mean. That was something she liked to leave to their dad, kthx.

Reyna Crelos

Sotiris happily clambered his way atop Shima and wrapped his arms about his sister so as to keep her safe. He idly glanced behind him and reached for Kios and gave him a reassuring pat on the head. "No worries, will keep safe," he told both his siblings. "Hold on tight," he instructed Kios as he motioned for him to sit behind him.

Once settled Shima took off and Sotiris howled with laughter at how gloriously fast she seemed to run. What fun this was! And to think of the exciting new place they were to see. He quieted down after a short time, but he couldn't help but cheer when the large tent that had been on the flyer soon came into view.

It looked amazing! There were spotlights and fireworks, and all sorts of strange colors and smells. He could not wait to get down and investigate the strange world that presented before him.

"Circus, circus!" he chanted victoriously with another peal of laughter.

Zero Dream

Shima has remained still to a fault, like a good puppy - shifting slightly on-the-fly in order to allow Lacrymosa to get a better hold on her neck, which meant mostly thicker fur. She waited until all three were settled correctly before rising from the ground. She'd been right, the three of them weren't all that difficult to carry, light like a trio of little feathers. She started slowly, in hopes to not startle the blind child too much, but then broke into a full run after a few meters.

They were quite the little circus themselves, this hulking black beast running down the streets with these dissimilar triplets perched on her back. Perhaps, once upon a time, she might have been embarrassed to be caught in such a degrading situation, but right now she did not care about the looks she was getting from the unsuspecting mortals as she ran down the streets in search of this circus.

In retrospect, it wasn't hard to find at all - the music carried well beyond the circus' physical location, being well-audible from miles away - or so it seemed to Kios, who had ended up forgetting all about this 'not looking like a baby' and started clinging to his brother for his dear life when Shima had reached top speed. His eyes were wide, just like they always were whenever he saw something interesting that he just had to know more about. While less enthusiastic than his older brother, his excitement was nearly just as evident.

Thabara

Oh-oh-oh, she was going so fast! Crys pressed her face into Shima’s neck-fur, and kept her eyes tightly shut, her fingers holding onto the shifter in pretty much a death grip. She didn’t like this, not at all!

It was only when Shima finally slowed down after what seemed like forever that she’d notice the music, and the scents. The girl rose her head, flinching slightly at the sound of fireworks exploding, and sniffed the air. It smelled a little like the market, yet not.

The closest comparison would probably be the carnival held during the day of the dead. There certainly was candy about, and burnt almonds and the like. But there also were people, and animals, and strange-strange scents she’d never smelled before.

[A Wandering Esper]

Wandering The Circus

It turned out that the three godlings were not the only people that decided to check the circus out. It was crowded ! Full of mortals, for the most part – many children, just like them. Had Akakios been younger, the crowd might have been intimidating enough for him to turn around and go home. But now it wasn't the case anymore, and beside, he had his siblings with him ! He didn't need to fear anything. Nope.

Akakios had been following his older siblings like a pale shadow until something caught his attention –what looked to be a booth that carried brightly colored notebooks, at the first glance. Turn out they'd just passed the circus' small gift shop, and this seemed to interest Lament much more than the circus proper.

One always needed more notebooks. Or at least that was what he thought. What Akakios hadn't noticed was that while he had stopped to stare and eventually make his way inside, his siblings and Shima hadn't, and had kept going on their merry ways, not noticing the absence of their mostly-silent younger brother.

Akakios himself hadn't noticed that fact until it was much too late – after he'd gone through most of the stand to point out a funny looking figurine to his brother, only to turn and see that his brother... wasn't there.

Whoops.

This... could be bad, and part of him wanted to panic right away. He was alone, with no one he knew, in a foreign place. This wasn't something that happened often – he usually had at least one aoidei close by. But the young boy forced himself to calm down, to breathe. He only needed to find his siblings. They'd notice that he wasn't there eventually, and they wouldn't leave this place without him. This was something he was completely certain of.

And then, suddenly, it got exciting when he looked at it from another angle. This was like an adventure ! All on his own, like a grownup. Or like Soto !

Ha. Maybe he didn't need to find his siblings that quickly after all !

So, with worry shoved aside by child-like eagerness, Akakios set out to do something he rarely ever did on his own accord – explore. The stand was looked over, leaving nothing unexplored – he did leave it with a a nice, pale purple notebook and pen set. It had butterflies on it ! He wasn't sure what to think of the owner asking money out of him (maybe he just didn't realize what he was ? Hrmph.) but his want of the item had outbalanced the affront and he'd handed over the few coins he had been given by some mortals to collect, after having been explained their uses. He could get more, he figured. No harm done.

From there on he started to wander, carefully making sure not to be run over by all those silly adults who weren't looking where they were going. The circus was an interesting place, full of bright colors and amazing smells and sights, but some part of him couldn't help but feel just the slightest bit out of place amid all that laughter and merriment – but it didn't keep him from enjoying himself. It rarely did. He'd started to slowly understand that not everyone thought the same as he did, or saw the world the same way.

He couldn't help but think that clowns were silly and over-the-top, but the other children, the mortal children, were delighted by the bright makeup and silly antics, and that was probably the whole point of the circus – laughs and merriness after long, harsh times.

Cotton candy, while sticky, was delicious – delicious enough for the neat child to put up with his temporary stickiness. And ponder bothering the aoidei to make some. Surely they'd know how, right ?

He enjoyed the animals shows, but didn't like them being in cages. All the cages seemed so small, too small. He wanted to set them free, but no one wanted to let him close enough to the cages. He'd have to return later, with Soto. He'd figure something out.

Corndogs were downright gross, and he had no idea how everyone else ate it – even less seemed to like it !

The jugglers were amazing, and he was reminded of Tajnevaki for some reason. It just seemed like something Mystery might do – and he wondered how he was doing, remembering how long it had been since he'd last seen him.

He wandered like this for hours, until finally he saw a familiar face – Ianthe ! He hadn't seen the other two godlings, but had come to fetch them. So, after looking and finding both Soto and Crys (thankfully together still, as Akakios did not like the idea of his sister on her lonesome in this crowd), the whole family left.

He'd have to ask Soto about the animals after Ianthe was out of earshot, or so Lament had planned, but he quickly forgot about it - as he busied himself retelling his circus adventure to his mother.

[A Wandering Esper]

Mutual Support

Zero Dream

Ianthe had, for all explanation, started to become increasingly restless over the span of the last few months. It was also noticeable that he'd started to feel, in some ways, better. With the clothes Alto had made for him, he looked almost normal, even, had it not been for the still sickly hue of his skin and hair. All bones were covered, beside his face, but... no, he refused to wear a mask, never had to, and would not do so. Certainly there was a more practical way to hide his dead eye, but it hadn't occurred to him yet. He'd put on some weight, even, and there was a light in his alive eye that hadn't been here before. Overall, he was less like a broken shell and a bit more like what he used to be.

It wasn't whole, but it very well never might be again.

At first, he'd been content to wholly latch onto Akakios' attention and follow the young boy and his wishes almost neurotically, like a constant shadow, but as he slowly recovered, so did most of his awareness and focus did return. He could even multitask now, something that had not been quite possible a year ago.

With this awareness, however, came the fact that Akakios... did not require a whole lot out of him. It was nothing bad, nothing insulting - Lament was simply not the age where he truly needed servants in the way he sought to serve. That would come, in time, and perhaps sooner than anyone would expect.

And so, for the most part, he had nothing to do. At least, he finally decided to do something for himself, almost as if afraid that he might lose all that he had regained should he do nothing with it. Today, for example, he had hit every rooms that he had access a little like clockwork, a little slowly but methodically, leaving everything clean and in order beside him. Now he'd ended up in the kitchen, carefully slicing apples and other fruits so that the children would have something to snack on when they returned from wherever they had scampered to this time.

It was slow, but it was something. His hand trembled lightly still, movement jerky, but he got things done. That was motivating in itself, really.

Thabara

Voices could be heard from adjacent audience chamber, both of them easily recognizable for those who were regular members of this household: Nergal's, sonorous and deep, calm to the point it seemed almost monotonous, never changing its inflection. And Ishum's, irritated and edgy, louder than anyone who knew the kind aoide would ever have guessed he could be.

It wasn't hard to take an educated guess what the argument was about, once again.

"Oh, just when will he finally get it into his thick skull?!" Ishum ranted, the kitchen door slamming into the wall with a deafening bang.

It took him precious few moments to realize that he wasn't alone, and when he did, he closed the door behind himself, quietly and carefully, resting his back against its dark wood. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, his head hanging low and the long bangs hiding his gaze. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

Zero Dream

He hadn't been listening to the voices, not really. He knew there were others nearby, but wasn't listening. Handling sharp objects still needed most of his attention, even if it was mostly his boney fingers he managed to nick. Still, he certainly didn't want to end up being locked out of the kitchen...

Ishum's emergence and reaction did surprise him, and he dropped the knife when the door banging startled him. He did stay stuck for a few seconds, but eventually shook his head, tossing his bangs away from his eyes, and picked up the knife again.

"Don't worry about it." He kicked at the stool next to his a little clumsily, enough to push it away from the table, indicating him to sit. He was no stranger to Ishum's irritation, and what exactly caused it, lately. "Again ?"

Thabara

"Again." Ishum confirmed grumpily, taking the offered seat after a moment's hesitation. "My words enter through one ear, and leave through the other without ever registering their meaning." He slumped forward, his forehead resting against the surface of the kitchen table, his hands burrowing into the dark strands of his hair. "I don't think he's listening at all. All he ever says, is, that he needs me here, because I'm good with people, and that I'm much more valuable to him that way, blah-blah-blah." He turned his head to the side, gazing up at his fellow aoide. "Not like I'm telling you anything new ... Do you need help with that?" He pointed at the knife and the fruit, hoping he wasn't insulting Ianthe by offering his assistance.

Zero Dream

Ianthe hadn't even looked at Ishum the whole while, not really, but he had been listening, as he tended to do. Sometimes it was hard to tell, but the nod of his head was hint enough.

"No." He answered, not really seeming insulted. He was starting to get used to it, sad as it seemed to be. "Ill be fine, I think."

He did pause a moment, still, his expression turning thoughtful. Ishum probably wasn't presenting his point in a way that would make Nergal listen, but who the hell was he to tell something like that ? Ishum knew more of Nergal than he did, at this point.

"Well," He started again, clearing the cores away from his board before taking another apple. "At least he acknowledge your existence ? Not that it really change things..." Ianthe made a bit of a face. He'd never been the best at comforting people, better at thinking up solutions, and even then...

Thabara

"Great way to cheer someone up, buddy, really." Ishum mumbled, deadpan.

"Don't you want to go back, ever?" He rose his head, pale hands pushing back the dark hair from his face. "It's strange. I thought that realm was so cold when I first arrived there, like trying to suck out your will to live. But it's become my home ... And I do miss it." He fell silent, his voice almost heartbroken at his last words.

Zero Dream

"I've never been very good at that." Ianthe did sound apologistic, and shook his head again. Dealing with people, certainly, he could do that. That was easy most of the time. Dealing with people's feelings ? Cheering them up ? He'd certainly always had been the last thing you ever wanted in this case.

Ishum's question, however, seemed to catch him off-guard. "I..." He wanted to be useful again, certainly, wanted nothing else but that. And yet...

And yet at the same time he was back there, alone, dark, dark everywhere, nothing, nothing left at all, nothing to answer him no matter how hard he screamed, everyone else long gone, dead, his fault his fault, nothing...

Ianthe looked downright haunted for a minute, before he forcefully locked those thoughts and banished them out of sight. It still took another minute before he could banish the tremors in his mind to speak in an even voice. "I want to be useful again. I... want to be aoide again, not a broken doll kept around due to some kind of sympathy by... I don't even know who keeps me around, truly, who initially took pity on me." He did sound bitter, before he managed to lock even that out of his voice. "But to go back, I... don't know if I could bear it, even if I do know that... it is not the same."

Thabara

Hm? That certainly wasn't what he'd been expecting to hear, that haunted look not what he'd been expecting to see. He'd touched upon something uncomfortable, so much was clear. And ... he couldn't fathom what it must have been like, to be captured in this nothingness which had been their Lord's realm, for all that time. Just as Ianthe had no way of understanding the tremendous guilt he felt, for having fled the very same realm when he was told to do so.

"There's no sympathy." He murmured. "Not from him, at least." Kios, on the other hand, seemed quite taken with the broken- What had his rank been, anyway? Sometimes it was so hard to remember. Still, that Ianthe didn't want to go back, it took him by surprise a little. He'd thought that all of Nergal's aoidei would feel that longing, to return to the realm of the dead. Then again, Priya and Anekbah seemed to be quite content to stay in the realm of the living. Hm.

Zero Dream

He didn't expect any, really. Not from Nergal. But everyone else... Still, he wanted nothing else than to prove himself - if only in his own eyes. Because if he was not fit to serve, not fit to be aoide, then what was he good for ? Why was he still alive, then ?

"Maybe one day that'll change." He spoke, softly, almost as if he had read the beastmaster's mind. "But... the events are still too fresh, in my mind. The wounds too raw. I still feel responsible for so many things... But that might subside in time. Heal." He'd recovered this far, after all. Given time...

Time. He wasn't used to keep count of time. It had never meant anything, in a realm that had been unchanging. "I am not sure how to re-assert myself... or if I even should. I am... broken in many ways. There's no denying that. Unfit, some would say." There was melancholy in his voice. "If I had obeyed, this would never have happened... Perhaps this is my punishment."

Thabara

"Hm?" Ishum looked a little surprised at the sudden revelation, about how Ianthe felt about all this - Underworld's rebirth, his long time in the limbo ... They served the same God, but even though they shared their room, they were not exactly close now - and they hadn't been before either, if he recalled things correctly.

"You're not responsible for anything." He said softly, at the very least. "If there's anyone, it's him, and I know he feels that way. He's trying to change, little by little, but it's hard for him ..."

"So. Serving Kios doesn't fill you out?" There was the hint of a smile upon his lips. "You can have my job, if you want." He added jokingly.

Zero Dream

Ianthe didn't elaborate further on that, at least not directly. It wasn't so much that he didn't trust Ishum, but, for the most part, he hated to think about it. It laid better set aside, for the most part. Out of the way, where it couldn't affect him too much. He needed all the focus he had on the here and now.

He did smile on that, though. "He's still young." The last apple was cut, and he set it on the plate with the rest of the fruits. "There's little use for me beside a ladder to reach high places." A chuckle, then. "That'll change, though. Eventually. Then, who knows ? Maybe ill never have a moment for myself again."

And yet, in a way, he still felt responsible. An Underworld new and raw, so many gates, no wards, no guardians that he knew of, was this really wise... ?

...Guardians... ?

Then, just like that, the idea was clear as day, as if it always been there. The thing he'd been looking for.

He froze again, for a moment, but then spoke. "You know... I do overhear you two sometimes. These seems to be so many gates, and yet so little to guard them." He acted just like if he was simply having small talk, gathering his tools to be able to carry them to wash in one go. "And with beasts like Cerberus, so attuned to the mana... Maybe going down there would re-combine him ?" Okay, now he was stretching it. He knew nothing about all that. "But even if it doesn't... That'll be protection, sorely needed at this point. Should anything happen now... But then, my... certainly our Lord would be much too busy to care for his hound..."

Ianthe had the smile of the cat that ate the canary.

Thabara

"You may want to trickle some lemon juice on that." Ishum pointed out. "Or else it'll brown soon and not look very appetizing." There were a few things you learned, running a bachelor's household for the longest time. "And I'm sure Kios will manage to keep you busy before long." The children were growing so fast, after all.

The smirk faded from his face before soon, though. "I guess it can't be helped." He admitted. "Overhearing our arguments. Not like he's ever getting loud ..." Nergal, always so calm and collected, so damn sure of himself and that he was right.

The aoide's ears perked up though, and his expression grew quite attentive as Ianthe continued. A little hopeful, even. Guarding the gates, he'd never thought that far. Sure, there was little Sotiris, but it would be quite some time until he'd be powerful enough to fill his role.

Ianthe was quite right in that regard - as it were, the Underworld's borders were entirely unprotected, its Gates fully opened to welcome the flood of the many souls of the dead which had accumulated over millenia. If the Grigori were to ... No, he didn't even want to think about it. Even if it wasn't the Grigori, but 'merely' a fellow deity, like that b***h Avaritia ...

Zero Dream

"Oh ?" He hadn't thought of that. At all. Still, Ishum knew better than that, and Ianthe slowly managed to slide out of the stool to bring cutting board and knife to the sink. It was hard to get his body moving, sometimes, much like it was hard to stay standing for more than a few hours if he wasn't constantly moving.

He did get a lemon from the fridge, though, after being done washing. Ishum hadn't thought about that angle at all, that much was evident from his reaction to the words he had spoken. He had thought so, and that was exactly why he had spoken them.

Still needed a little work to be an advisor, but Ishum certainly couldn't do worse than he had... Not that he remembered much of what he had - and what he hadn't - done. Those memories were all muddled together, so mashed up that they had became undistinguishable from one another, and what remained clear was scarce. Anything that wasn't the very core, the him and his duty, and how to do it. But still, given how it had all ended... Ishum couldn't do any worse.

Juicer, juicer.... where the hell had that gone ? Ah, here it was.

"You see, the way things... Well, at least the way things used to be." He started, making his way to his stool again. "You can't appeal to him with wants. Or feelings. That never worked." Should he keep the zest ? Hmm. He had no idea how it was used in cooking, but he knew that it was used. "But you have to look for things. Tiny things. Thing he'll overlook. Sometimes ill't be in line with what you want. Sometimes it won't be. Sometimes it won't be what you feel is right, sometimes it will." A careful slice, and the lemon was cut in half. He still wasn't looking at the beastmaster, but trusted he was listening. If he wasn't, well, he never liked to repeat himself. "You have to go with what's ultimately best, even if it doesn't always feel right. You present him with facts. Things he can't dismiss because they're hard and true, not abstract. He'll listen to that."

Thabara

"Mh." Ishum made thoughtfully. He didn't offer his help, not now that it had been declined once. He knew the other was peculiar about doing things on his own, despite- No, because of his handicaps. So he simply watched. "It works sometimes. But your name needs to be Echo for it." He grinned, but otherwise he was deep in thought.

"You know ... He'll still argue that he needs someone here, to deal with the mortals for him. Amazingly enough he knows he sucks at it."

Zero Dream

"And since your name isn't Echo, you need to go straight to the point."

"Oh, he will." There was definitively a smirk on Ianthe's face, as he juiced the lemon. "I have no doubt about that. But... he needs someone down there too. Might as well be you. Someone else can keep watch here... Priya, maybe ? Concerto, even, he seems to keep up to date with what is going on rather easily." Music's aoidei certainly never refused to serve her other half, unless it would go against her direct orders.

And why should it ?

"He trusts you, you know. Your judgement. You only need the arguments to back it up, to make him listen."

Thabara

"Nah, Priya is much to inconsiderate. She's a cat." He added, as if that explained everything. But he knew she was terribly bored ever since Nergal had decided he no longer required a personal bodyguard. "Anekbah might do a fine job, but we all know he doesn't trust her." It seemed that feeling useless and out of place was a common streak among Underworld's aoidei nowadays, really.

"How about you?" He suggested, not wholly serious about it. But not wholly joking either.

Zero Dream

"Me ?"

Ianthe seemed surprised, and had, in fact, almost dropped the half-lemon he'd been squeezing juice from. Him ? Really ? Ishum had to be joking. "I am probably the last thing he'd even think about, to be honest." Really, he'd taken Anekbah over him a few times. He could understand why, but it had still rankled a little. He simply wasn't fit for most physical tasks. While Ianthe himself held nothing against the demoness (hell, he barely even remembered a thing of her), that had still been...

Well.

Thabara

"I think he may be the one trying to act considerate for a change in this specific case. He knows full well little Mournsong has taken a liking to you, and you're good at teaching him in fact. Just think about it - he trusts you with his children." Anekbah still got the deathglare treatment whenever she got too close to them.

"Given, you might have to go through quite a bit of a trial time."

Zero Dream

He couldn't quite deny that, not really­. "...You're right." If he'd even been remotely been thought of as a possible danger to Lament... he wouldn't be where he is now.

Still, that required some thought, and the second lemon half had it's juice squeezed before he spoke again. "I just... put that on evenly ?"

Ianthe was not a born cook.

Still... "Ill'd consider it. I would be happy to, and I think I could handle it."

Thabara

"Just trickle it onto the fruit." Ishum nodded.

"Well. Good for you. And one more argument for me to bring up, the next time I try. Whenever His Highness graces us with his presence again." Ishum sighed. Though Nergal was quite obviously making an effort to be around more often now, that much could not be denied.

[A Wandering Esper]

A Fairy In The Gardens

Vesale

For the longest time she had traveled, searching for any sign of nature, her forest home, destroyed, had long since been forgotten. Plants, trees, grass, there was nothing, everywhere she'd looked was dead, barren. The lack of anything green had the fairy in pain. It wasn't right, this was not right. Desperate for any sign of plant life she began her quest, not sure of her direction but always moving forward, passing through desecrated towns, deserted villages and valleys that had been reduced to harsh deserts.

Then one day she saw it. A small wildflower, all alone, partially covered by an animal carcass, it's purple flowers a stark contrast to the dark red of the land. She'd touched it with her hands and felt it's pain, she offered it some of her magic, and the plant grew, only slightly, she wasn't capable of much. The plant had thanked her and her spirits were renewed. She continued in her unknown direction every so often a piece of greenery catching her eye, appearing in higher concentrations in the direction she went. She offered them what she could, intent now on finding their start.

After a while she noticed a small path of grass, it's edges dotted with different flowers, intrigued she followed, the width of the path growing, until she finally came to a door, standing upright, surrounded by plant life. The fairy approached, cautiously, checking behind, but there was nothing, to her all it was was a door. How strange. Curiosity getting the better of her, she moved her hand forward, gently grasping the knob and turned. What she saw was astounding, and, without thinking, she stepped through the doorway and into the place. Once through, the door closed and vanished behind her. The fairy, shocked, now found herself in what she could only think of as a garden. It had ponds, structures, plants. Overcome, her legs buckled, she fell to a seated position on the ground and stared around in awe.

Zero Dream

Thud.

It was the sound of something falling on the grass that made the young boy perk up from his book. It was a very thick book for such a small boy, really, and it made it own thud sound itself after he had marked the page and let it fall closed again.

He peeked out from the side of the teahouse, then, and saw... someone ! Someone he'd never seen, eyes wide, sitting on the ground. She had wings, even ! But, she looked so lost. Too lost to be a goddess. An host, maybe ?

Hmmm. At any rate, no one else seemed to be around to notice her.

At last, Akakios let himself fall down his seat, and he approached her, slowly. "Are you okay ?" He asked, once he was right in front of her.

Vesale

Nissa, still flustered, almost missed the young boy speak. She looked up from her position on the ground and gave a weak smile. He was different than any young one she'd seen before. Admittedly she'd only ever seen young fairies, but still, he was an unusual site. His eyes in particular had Nissa entranced, she'd never seen anything like them before. So much so that she nearly forgot to speak. "Oh, I... I think I'm okay. I think I'm lost though." The fairy blushed. Of course she was lost, she had no idea where she was.

Her wings lay listless against her back, a sign of her obvious distress. At least there was someone around. Perhaps the child would be able to help her. Wait. Her brain, regaining some of its functionality, had finally processed the fact that she was talking to a young boy. A boy who, to her eyes, looked far to be young to be out on their own. Instantly she was up, a hand on his shoulder, worry in her eyes. "Are you lost too? Where are your parents?! Aren't you too young to be out alone?" All the shock of her current situation was lost when she realized this young boy might be in trouble.

Zero Dream

"Im fine." He was used to these kind of reaction, but not so extreme. There was something odd about how he barely smiled to her, more as if it was for her own benefit than anything else, but yet he did not seem harmed. There was only the vague feeling of saddness, faint, lingering. But the boy didn't seem truly sad, either ?

"Im not lost." He finally said. "And you're not lost either - you're at the Pantheon." There ! Now she wasn't lost either ! "What's your name ?" She asked, curious. He'd heard of mortals winding up closeby for no apparent reason, hosts or otherwise - perhaps she was meant for someone, or to serve someone.

Vesale

"Oh," she said simply, with not having to worry about the boy, she was back to worrying about herself. Her lost self. Where was she? Why was it so... green?

"The Pantheon? But I don't even know what that is..." The boy said it like it made all the difference, but it still didn't help. She had no idea what the Pantheon was, or where it was, or anything else about it. The fairy was looking even more distressed than before.

"My name? I'm Nissa." She replied softly, still troubled as to her current whereabouts to think to ask the young boys name.

Zero Dream

...Apparently this wasn't doing it. But then, Lament had never been the only one present to try to calm someone down. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, pretty much.

His mother made it all look so easy !

"Well, I didn't see how you came in." He admitted. "So I dunno where you came from... ? But, I know you're safe here." He nodded, trying to instill his own confidence onto her. Mom did that all the time with mortals. She nodded at them, gestured at them, stayed calm. "There's many different people from many different places here. Some just kind of... come here, all of sudden. This is the pantheon, and there's many gods and goddesses here." Akakios hadn't learned much about being subtle yet. "Im Akakios, Lament. You can just call me Kios." He offered her another smile, then blinked, apparently thinking as to what else he could possibly do to... ah !

"Your wings are very pretty." Aha ! A point for him. "Are you some kind of fairy ? I read alot about fairies in books. But I've never seen one."

Vesale

"I... I came through a door. It was over there." She pointed to where the door was before it had vanished into thin air. "I really came from my forest, well what used to be my forest. It's gone now. Dead, everything was dead. So I left, to find something... and I saw a flower. It kept me going, them I saw another, and another, and suddenly there was a whole bunch! It was beautiful. In the middle of the flowers was a door. I opened it, and this is where it went." Nissa sighed.

"Nice to meet you Kios," she smiled briefly, before returning to her disheartened state, though she wasn't as bad as before. At least this place was safe. Supposedly.

She perked up when he spoke about her wings, stretching them out to their full glory. She'd always been proud of her wings, all the others had been jealous. Not that there were any around anymore to be jealous, but still, she was quite fond of her wings. "Yes, I'm a fairy." She smile again. "A forest fairy, though not a very powerful one." She scowled, she'd always disliked the fact that she'd never developed any strong powers.

Wait. Did he say gods? "Gods? Here?! Why I... must be dead then. Dead!" At this thought the fairy looked to be on the verge of tears.

Zero Dream

"A door ?" The boy looked just as perplexed as she was - there'd never been a door here, as far as he knew ! "Hrm... People do end up here like that. Something about this being a place where all the worlds kind of go together." He scrunched his nose lightly - if she wanted an factual explaination, she had hit the wrong god.

But then she panicked again. "Ah, no no no !" He hadn't meant to do that ! B-But !!!

One breath... Another...

"You're fine." He finally said. Then, he tugged at her hand lightly, hoping it would make her look down at him. "You're not dead. I can't see dead people, I just hear them. I can see you just fine." He kind of hoped it wouldn't just make her freak out worse. "You're just... in a different place than your forest. Im... sorry about your forest." He added, having completely forgotten about that when she had panicked. "There's a god of forests, though, so if we go and ask him nicely, he'll probably make it all green again." He'd never met him - Crys had, though, and had told him much about him. But... he had no idea where to find Glyph. And he didn't want to leave Nissa all alone.

"Do you want to sit, a little bit ?" He asked her, looking back to the teahouse he'd come out from.

SkieBorne

A certain someone's ears had been burning as he walked through the gardens surrounding the Pantheon, taking solace in the greenery and tranquility found in the quiet, winding paths. In his arms were a few sacks of seeds he'd gathered up after perusing the environs, hoping to use them during his travel to the Silent Forest.

Pausing when he rounded a bend and the pair came into sight, their voices drifting in the air, he remained still long enough to hear of a forest dead and hope of greenery once more. He sighed, mourning the death of so much and added a mental note to invesitigate this mysterious place with the door in the flowers - another place for him to heal. The more he heard, he more Glyph realized there were countless things to do.

Shifting the sacks in his arms, Forest cleared his throat as he approached, "I assure you, fairy, that Forest is alive and well and that you are not dead. I am leaving soon, to assist a friend, but don't worry. Forest isn't dead and neither will your home remain if I have a say in the matter." He smiled at the girl then nodded to the boy, "Greetings! Is everything alright?" From the worried expression on the youth's face and the tone of the girl's voice, he suspected they might need a little help.

Vesale

"I'm not dead?" The fairy couldn't have sounded more relieved when the young boy had told her this, her sorrowful expression turning to overwhelming joy. Although her home was destroyed and all her friends and family were gone, she had never once hoped she would die, only for things to get better.

The comment about hearing, not seeing the dead was discarded, Nissa was too happy at the thought of being alive. "Thank you, my forest was a good place. I'd been there for a long time, to see it destroyed was terrible. Everything that has happened is terrible, yet here, everything seems perfect." It was strange. Everywhere she had traveled looked apocalyptic, yet here, it was beautiful.

"Please, a seat would be nice." Her head was spinning, all different emotions were coursing through her, all wanting to come out, Nissa felt as if she might explode from it all. She gave Akakios a nervous smile.

Before they could move, a new figure appeared. Nissa turned her gaze to look. He seemed familiar, yet foreign at the same time. It was a strange feeling. His appearance reminded her of a dryad, or maybe a wood sprite, but she could tell he was neither of those. How strange. She listened to his words. At first she thought he was talking about her home, and was going to interject, her forest was gone, she was sure of it! But then he did speak of it, was he referring to himself as Forest? What did he mean.

Nissa blinked, her face slightly confused. "Umm, hello. I, I'm not sure. I think I'm lost, but this young boy, I mean Kios was helping me." She shifted her gaze to the ground. Something about him made her feel uncomfortable, yet at peace at the same time. "You can help me with my forest?" Her words were hopeful, yet skeptical at the same time, there was so much to rebuild, the task would be nearly impossible.

Zero Dream

The sudden appearance of someone else did surprise Akakios a bit - he'd been so focused on Nissa that he hadn't heard Glyph come by at all. "Everything's fine." He had it covered now, really ! See ? Smooth operator and all that.

Though he realized, a little bit late on the uptake, that he was exactly who he'd just talked about. Uh. That was handy ! He seemed to be more than happy to let Forest explain for himself, though, as he started heading toward the teahouse to sit on the step, his small hand still slipped into Nissa's, leading her where she could sit for a bit.

It was a bit of an odd sight, a child walking an adult, and not the other way around.

SkieBorne

"Kios?" Glyph echoed, following along behind them, "Nergal's son? Crys had much to say about you." He grinned at Lament, "Good to see you caring for people." Sinking down into the grass near them, he stuck his toes into the grass and set the seeds down at his side to regard the girl, a gentle smile playing across his face.

"Can I help you with your forest? Of course. I'd not be a very good Forest if I didn't, would I?" He leaned forward, one long-fingered hand outstretched in greeting, "I'm Glyph, Silvim Illustirre. It's a pleasure to meet you. Where are you from? What it your forest called? I ask because it's important and a name will make it easier to find."

He glanced to Akakios then, "I hear you're quite the author. Do you have a quill and a piece of parchment handy?" While Glyph might be a god, he was hardly infallible and did not want to forget this forest fairy's home. It was one of his wards and a strong sense of responsibility bid him at the very least note it for when he might be strong enough to do some good.

Vesale

"You can? Really?" She directed at the taller one. Her voice had changed now, she no longer seemed skeptical, she was still hopeful, and now, slightly excited. She'd traveled so long and so far, hoping for something to make a change, not sure if she would discover anything. And yet here she was, with another who was sure he could help. Perhaps things were on the up.

"My forest is, was called Silaera." She said, a touch of sorrow in her voice. She'd watched over the forest for nearly her whole life, and to see it all gone heartbreaking. Although she wasn't quite sure how he could help her with just a name. Surely he would need her to lead them back?

"It's in Gaia, that's where I'm from." She nodded. Although Gaia was a large place, she'd always been content with her forest, but other had told her stories of all the things you could find there. Now, she supposed, they were all destroyed as well, just like her home.

Nissa didn't seem to mind she was being led by someone so young, she was still feeling out of sorts, and Kios had been kind and helpful to her. Plus he knew his way around, so she followed along. She listened to the taller male speak to him, her interest showing when he mentioned writing. To Kios she said, "You write? I'd love to hear something." She smiled down at him. She'd often had bards, poets wander into her forest, hoping it's beauty would aid their muse.

Zero Dream

Akakios only nodded in answer to Glyph, at first, his full attention clearly on the fairy. He waited until she was settled, and only then did he look up at Forest. "Crys told me about you, too. Just a second..." And then he entered the teahouse proper. Akakios had learned, with experience, to carry at least a blank notebook and a pen with him, as there was no true way to know when inspiration would strike. And by the time he had found paper and pen... he might very well have lost his idea.

He came out with those two items, sitting beside Nissa again. He liked her, he decided - her wings were so pretty, and he could swear the smell of flowers and greenery still clung to her.

He started to note along, and looked out again when she spoke to him. "Hrmmmmmm..." Did he have something in there, though ? Pages started to flip, back and forth, and then... Ah, he did, but... "It's not done yet." It might have been sitting in there for awhile, forgotten - he could not remember when he had wrote that. "It's sad, though." He, at least, thought to warn her. "I only write sad things."

"Dreams long forgotten
The stars in your eyes faded
Im lost, I don't know where you are
Where are you
I miss you...

I look at the empty sky, and
I wonder, will I ever see you again
No matter how hard I look
You're not here anymore
I can't find you..."

Then, he stopped. "That's all I have." He didn't usually share incomplete writings, not to anyone that wasn't his sister, but... it was the only thing he had. And he liked Nissa.

SkieBorne

Glyph nodded at her question, "I can, in time. The Forest of Silaera in the realm of Gaia?" He echoed the name and tucked it away, glancing at Kios as he took notes, thankful the boy was so obliging. Glyph carried no paper or pen any more and his Host's journal remained tucked with his other treasures in his quarters at the Pantheon, safe.

Glyph leaned back, hands splayed in the grass as he propped himself up and crossed his legs, bare feet dirty and soil-covered. He closed his eyes as he listened to Lament's work and smiled when it was done, letting his head loll to one side, "A very good start. I would like hear that dirge when it is finished, if you would be so kind?"

He remained silent for a moment before he sat up once more, fished in a bag and pulled out an acorn. "Everything has to start somewhere, so take this. When it grows, you'll know I've found your home and am healing it. For now, though, I must be going. I promise I'll restore Silaera -- I don't know your name. Forgive me. What is it?" He'd risen and had offered the seed when he realized that the name of the fairy had thus far eluded him. He glanced at Akakios then, "And might I steal that page of notes you took? I'll need it. In the mean time, take care of her? And if either of you need anything, my door displays the Golden Grove. You'll find shelter there if you require it." His eyes spoke of earnest intent and promises he intended to keep. Forest was no liar and wanted very much to help this newcomer but his current tasks lay incomplete as of yet and Endiovar would likely be waiting.

Vesale

Nissa listened intently as Akakios recited his unfinished piece. She was impressed that one so young was able to create something that good with words, and it was not even complete. "Very pretty. It's quite sad, but I liked it. You'll read to me again once you're finished?" Nissa nodded in agreement with Forest and smiled, this young boy had helped her, and that made her glad. "I wish I could write. I was never good, I always tried to observe the poets, I had quite a lot come into my forest, and yet I was never able to understand how to craft words like them."

"Oh! I'm so sorry." The fairy blushed, she normally would have introduced herself straight away, however with her current situation her mind was not entirely in the right place. "I'm Nissa." Something clicked and before offering her hands to receive the gift she turned to Akakios. "Is he a god?" She recalled what the young boy had said about gods before, and there was something about the other that seemed, different.

Zero Dream

"Thank you." He did smile, a little wider than usual, before carefully ripping the sheet where he had written what Nissa had said about her forest, handing it to Glyph. "I will." Of course he would take care of her ! That's what he was doing right now, right ?

"He is." He did say, before trying to look as tall as he was able. (Unfortunately for him, it still wasn't very tall). "Im a god too, you know." He didn't look offended, thankfully for her, but people tended to overlook him because he was, well... small. And certainly much more normal-looking than his siblings.

SkieBorne

Glyph blinked as he deposited the seed in her hand and laughed, letting Kios answer the question. Bemused, he nodded his agreement with Lament, "Forest, to be precise. And he does not lie, Kios is the son of Underworld and Music, Nissa, the God of Laments." Winking at Kios, he grinned, "A very inspired domain if you ask me. Now, I must be going. Take care, hrm? Good day. I don't know how long I'll be away from the Pantheon but asking Ankou to send a crow should be enough to contact me easily."

Moving away then, he waved his farewell.

Vesale

Nissa didn't quite know what to say. Gods? Both of them? The fairy was slightly overwhelmed at this new piece of information, and also perplexed. For Gods, they certainly seem godly, in fact, they didn't seem to be any different from the array of species that one could find on Gaia.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't realise!" She was quick offer an apology. She'd never encountered a god before, let alone two, so she added in a bow for good measure. She clutched the seed close, feeling incredibly honored to have been given a gift from a God. She looked up and watched him leave, "Goodbye!" she shouted as he left, feeling a burst of hope. If he was the God of Forests, then he would definitely be able to help her.

Zero Dream

"See ya !" He called after the retreating Forest, and then focused his attention on Nissa fully, once again. "It's okay. Most people don't really think about it, because im still a kid." He pouted. Some part of him did wish others could take him a little more seriously when he had something important to saym though... the fairy seemed to be doing just that, and it made him happy.

Akakios pondered for a moment, before asking. "Do you want something to drink, or something to eat ? I know where all the best peaches are."

Vesale

So she'd just met the God of Forests, she could understand his domain, but she wasn't quite sure about the Kios', Lament seemed like such a minor thing to her, did that mean there might be a God for everything? "So what does it mean to be the God of Lament?" She asked, generally curious.

At the mention of food and water the fairy's stomach couldn't help giving a little grunt. She'd travelled for so long and so far in such a wasteland that food had been scarce, and being in the new situation she was in had made her temporarily forget her hunger. "Food and drink would be nice." She said, smiling at the young boy.

Zero Dream

The fairy's question seemed to catch the young god off-guard. He was certainly a little young to have explored those things ! "It's like..." He trailed, as he got up and started to head off in the garden, certain that Nissa would follow him. "It's like..."

...

"...Mom says ill understand when im older." He blurted out, suddenly sheepish, and certainly a little bit embarrassed. "That I should just be what comes naturally to me." He was thinking, and hard at that. What did it mean to be him ? "...When people are grieving, I... help them ?" It's what he'd done for Tian Yue, after all. And, he hoped, for Harmodius too. "Like... closure ?"

Vesale

Nissa rose and followed the godling as he talked. It was definitely interesting to hear him talk about his domain, it was something she would never had considered before, thinking that gods were only for the more prominent things, such as the elements. What is this place, that she could encounter gods.

"That makes sense," she nodded, encouraging him. "Certainly a noble domain." She smiled.

Zero Dream

Well, at least there was comfort in the fact that she hadn't laughed at him, in spite of his cluelessness. If anything else, it demonstrated that she should likely wait for someone else to come along to answer the more complicated questions.

The praise made it all better, a soothing balm on his young ego, and he looked up at her. "Of course it is."

He stopped by a tree - and it was easy to see the ripe fruits hanging from the branches, ready for the taking. But, Nissa would have to serve herself, since her companion was on the short side, unable to even reach the lowest-hanging branches.

Vesale

"Here, let me." She reached up to the lowest branches and picked two peaches, one for each of them. She handed on to Kios before sitting down at the base of the tree, leaning against the trunk.

"It's so pretty here." She sighed in awe, this truly was an oasis. Then, she sunk her teeth into the juicy fruit, glad for some food.

Zero Dream

The boy at least did take the time to chirp a quick 'thank you' before starting to chow down on the fruit, carefully making sure no juice dripped anywhere on him. Akakios sat then, back against the tree's trunk.

"It's pretty." And he liked pretty things - it suited him just fine. "Harmodius made it like that. It wasn't so pretty before." The lava (though, back then, he hadn't known what it was called) had scared him, and he rarely ever went outside because of it.

Vesale

Nissa nearly dropped her peach. "Someone made all of this? That's... incredible!" The fairy couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of power it would take to create something like this from scratch.

Her ears perked at the mention of another name she didn't know. "Harmodious? Who's that?"

Zero Dream

"Creation." He answered in between two bites of fruit, as if that somehow answered everything. And then, he remembered what else he'd been told. "Oh, and Destruction, too." He forgot, often. He's never seen Destruction at all, and it was hard for him to remember the fact that Harmodius was in fact two... influences ? People ? It was hard for him to understand that.

Vesale

"Creation and Destruction?" She said between bites. Did he mean that as an influence? But that would mean... Nissa nearly dropped her peach. Was there really someone so powerful? But then, she supposed, she was here, and she'd already met two gods. And the boy said it so casually. This really was a strange place. She took another bite out of the peach.

Zero Dream

"Hm-m !" Akakios was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, so to speak. All of this was normal, made perfect sense, and was in a way a little comforting. Everyone and everything had its place, in a way.

"Maybe we'll see him ?" Or maybe not. Who knew ?

Vesale

Nissa continued to nibble away at her fruit until it was all gone, and she was left with nothing but the stone. The fairy let out a small yawn before realizing she hadn't had a good sleep in a long time, but even here she didn't have somewhere to stay. Perhaps she could make a make-shift bed at the foot of this tree. It certainly seemed welcoming enough.

"That peach was delicious." She said, although there was a clear drawl on her voice, one of the many effects of tiredness. Nissa could feel all the lost hours of sleep catching up. She wondered if Kios would know somewhere she could stay.

Zero Dream

Akakios blinked, a little confused for a moment, until he recognized what all those little things meant. He'd seen them displayed by his mother and his sibilings, and very seldomly displayed by even himself.

"Are you tired ?" He asked her. "There are... rooms in my mom's room. Guest rooms, she call them ? You could sleep there. Ill make sure no one bother you."

And if anyone had anything to say against it, well, they'd need to go through him ! His mom and his dad both had mortals, so why couldn't he ?

Vesale

"I am, very." She said, stiffling another yawn. Nissa smiled with relief when the young boy offered her a bed.

"Really? They wouldn't mind?" She didn't want to barge in on someones home unannounced, but if his parents were as kind as him she hoped they wouldn't have a problem with her.

"A bed would be great." She nodded.

Zero Dream

"No one'll mind !" Well, his mom wouldn't. His dad... well, how was Nissa being here being any different from Falcatta being there ? There. Perfect logic.

He'd just wail until he gave up on arguing about if it it happened.

He stood then, brushing grass away from his clothes and replacing his tunic. "Come with me, ill show you."

Vesale

"Okay then!" She smiled and rose from the ground. The fairy complemented getting another peach but decided against it. It's never good to sleep on a full stomach her mother had always told her.

She waited for the young god to clean himself up before following him.

Zero Dream

His hand slipped into Nissa's again, and he led her toward the biggest building. From there on, he led her upstairs - and upstairs, there was only a very, very long hall with many doors on each side, each with different designs on them. The boy continued, stopping before a rather complex door and opening it without even bothering to knock.

"Here. This is..." He wanted to say his place, really, but that wasn't entirely true. "Mom's place." And it was massive indeed - much more massive than the outside hall would have hinted - with an interior garden to boot - but then Akakios was moving again, to the left, opening one more door to reveal a large, and currently unoccupied, room. "You can sleep here." He announced, apparently very proud of himself. "You come get me when you're awake again, kay ? My room is the second to last down the hall."

Vesale

Nissa knew he was just a child, but he made her feel safe, and she was glad for that. Perhaps this place wouldn't be too bad to her after all. Nissa walked wide-eyed, hand clasped to the young godling as he took her to his mothers home. The building was huge, and the stairs, and then the doors. The doors! There were so many, and each unique. Nissa attempted to have a look at each but soon got them all muddled up. When they stopped she knew she must be at an important door, and this she did memorize, in case she ever was alone and needed to find Kios again.

The fairy was stunned when he revealed the inside of the room. How was it so big? Her jaw hung loosely as she took it all in. Yet another wonder to add to her list in this strange place. Normally, being the type of fae that she is, she would have dropped everything to take a look at the garden, but, being as tired as she was, merely glanced over it, making a mental note to observe it in more detail, after she'd regained her energy.

"Thank you, Kios," She said as he showed her to the empty room. "You're very sweet, and I wouldn't dream of exploring this place without you around!" She gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head before making her way to the bed, too tired to bother closing the door.

[A Wandering Esper]

Where's My Kitty ?

Zero Dream

Well, it had to happen one day - the door stayed open just a little too long, and a curious white cat had darted out in between an unsuspecting aoide's legs.

Knowing that it was bound to happen didn't make it any better, and now Lament was outside in the gardens, searching for his lost kitty. He couldn't help but hope she hadn't gone far !

Then he would need to go get someone to find her, and the city was so big...

"Liiiiidell !" He called out. "LIIIIIDELL !"

Meepfur

Adi was having herself a fabulous nap in one of the garden's many trees, balanced on an accomodating branch, when her sleep was interrupted by a loud call that startled her awake. She nearly fell out of the tree, but swift reflexes kept her in it.

She held to the branch with a scrabble of paws and hands, and once sure she wasn't going anywhere until she decided to of her own accord, peered down to see who'd disturbed her.

...oh. It was her cousin! The werewolf hopped down from her perch, landing easily on her large paws. "Kios!" Her tail wagged. "What're you yelling for?"

Zero Dream

Oh, where was she ?! Usually, Liddell came when he called her ! Oh, no !

Something landed beside him, and it was his turn to nearly jump out of his skin - until he realized just who it was. "Adi !" She'd always been taller than he was, but he could swear that she was even more so - but then, so was he - taller, and a bit less baby-faced than the last time she'd seen him. "I lost my cat." He sniffeled. "I don't know where she went !"

Meepfur

"Oh no!" That was terrible! They'd lost Dinah before, and it was always scary. "I'll help you find her! What's she look like?"

Zero Dream

"She's tiny." And that was the scariest part ! Liddell was just a little baby kitty, still ! "All white with a big fluffy tail, and green eyes. She darted out when the door opened earlier and I didn't see where she went."

Akakios was upset, that for certain. His bottom lip was quivering and he looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. He had to find her !

Meepfur

Adi had never been on the receiving end of that look before! It was a look she had a lot of practice giving, but this was new. She pulled her cousin to her in a quick hug. "Don't worry, we'll find her. I'm a werewolf, after all! I can find anything."

An exaggeration, to be sure, but she really didn't want him to cry. Still, she new very well what cats smelled like, so...as long as there weren't a bunch running around, it'd be fine. Right?

Adrienne sniffed tentatively.

Zero Dream

There was still some pouting and some dangerious lip-quivering, but it seemed like the crying fit was avoided for the time being, as he was pulled into a hug and clung loosely to Adi's fur. "Kay.."

It would be okay. Adi would find her.

There was definitively something feline in the air, to the werewolf's sensitive nose. A cat had been here not too long ago, but who could say if it was Liddell ?

Meepfur

"I think I might have something..." Adi inhaled more deeply, and padded in the direction of the scent. She really hoped this was the right cat!

Zero Dream

Akakios followed after his cousin the best he could, through at a distance that wouldn't have him tripping all over her should she decide to stop suddently.

A cat suddenly bolted out from under a bush, frightened by the approaching werewolf - but it was a large, orange tabby - nothing like the tiny white kitten Lament had just told her about.

Meepfur

"Damn," Adrienne muttered under her breath, ears flattening unhappily. Why couldn't it just be easy? She sighed and had another sniff, trying to pluck another feline scent from everything else.

Zero Dream

It wasn't exactly easy for Adrienne to pinpoint any specific feline scent, as the presence of such easily obtainable food had lured in quite a few strays with the time... to say nothing about the horde of felines a certain aoide had the habit to bring back home.

However, there was a tiny little mewling, coming from one of the nearby trees.... And Akakios perked, suddenly. He knew this mewling ! "Liddell ! Where are you ?!"

Meepfur

Adi's ears perked right up again, and she flicked them this way and that, trying to home in on the kitten's location. Thank goodness it hadn't gone far! This might actually end up being easy.

Hopefully.

Zero Dream

"...Uh-oh."

So much for that.

Akakios had wandered off to the tree said sound came from, and had figured out the unpleasant part. That is, Liddell was up the tree, in classic cat-like fashion.

Climbing trees was hard ! Sure, he'd done it once, kind of, but he had crashlanded on his face before long, and this one tree had no low-hanging branches for him to lift himself with Lament was honestly stumped. "Liddell, why did you get up there ?!" He whined, then turned to look at Adi. "Can you get her ? I don't think I can !"

There were the watery eyes again.

Meepfur

"I'll get her!" Without hesitation, Adi headed right up the tree; she was, as it happened, much better at climbing than at kitten-tracking.

Zero Dream

!!!

Adi was, from now on and for a long time to come, Akakios' personal hero. "Be careful !" He let out from the ground level. He didn't want Adi to fall ! If he was big and strong like his dad, he could easily catch her, but he was all but that.

Liddell, for her part, watched the advancing werewolf with wide eyes - letting out a pathetic little scared mew. Clearly she wasn't so sure about this.

Meepfur

Adi had been climbing trees for...well, for as long as she'd been coordinated enough to climb them. Her favorite method of coming and going from Rio's rooms was still the tree outside their - just his, now - window. She looked forward to the day when her tree was big enough to climb.

She scaled the tree easily, and as soon as she was close enough, quickly reached out to try and snatch the kitten. Certainly not the nicest 'hello,' but she didn't want to give it time to do something silly like jump.

Zero Dream

This tree was so high and ohhh, Adi please don't fall ! It was the only thing he could think about, looking at her assent with wide eyes. He would have fallen off the tree a long time ago, but Adi was so good at it !

As for Liddell, she watched this strange white-furry lady head straight for her, fidgetting on her branch as she tried to find an escape route. She couldn't get that because, ultimately, she was a tiny little scared kitten and the werewolf snatched her quite easily.

Meepfur

Woo! Adi held the kitten carefully, hand securely wrapped around it, but not bringing Liddell in close to her body. She didn't want the scared little thing to claw her. And since climbing down one-handed could be a little hard, and the tree wasn't all that tall, the werewolf settled for simply jumping down.

Her digitigrade legs and broad paws absorbed the shock of the landing without issue, allowing her to proudly present her cousin with his kitten. "Got her!"

Zero Dream

Kios very nearly screamed like a little girl when he saw his cousin jump - no way ! - but Adi seemed to land just fine. It was a good thing she'd thought of keeping Liddell away from her, too, because the scared kitten was all claws and fidgeting after that. This didn't keep him from taking her when she was offered back to him - Liddell's claws clamped right through his shirt, but didn't reach in enough to get to his skin.

"Why did you do that ?" He asked the cat - didn't get an answer, of course, so instead he looked up at Adi. "Thank you ! I never would have gotten to her like that."

Meepfur

"You're welcome!" Adi wagged her tail, happy to have helped...and maybe because she'd been able to show off a little. "All it takes is practice," she said, grinning. "I could teach you sometime, if you want?"

Zero Dream

"Maybe ? Im not very good at it." Woe.

But that day wouldn't be today - Liddell didn't look like she would let go anytime soon, and Kios sat back into the grass and petted her in an attempt to calm her. "Silly Liddell... don't climb up trees if you can't get down..."

Meepfur

"That's what practice is for." Adrienne grinned and plopped down opposite her cousin. "She alright?"

Zero Dream

"It doesn't look like she's hurt." He wasn't an expert, but he listened to everything Ishum had to say about kitties - and that was a lot ! - and nothing seemed to stand out. She wasn't meowing in pain and there was no open wound on her. "She's just a little scared, I think."

Meepfur

"Good, I'm glad." Adi was a little tempted to try and pet the kitten, but decided it was probably better not to crowd her. Kios might think her a hero, but Liddell was probably a little more...on the fence about that. "Should we take her inside?"

Zero Dream

"I think she'll be fine here." There was nothing in the garden to spook her, after all. He was still sitting in the grass, his cat in his lap, with her ridiculously fluffy tail hanging out to his left, and he was cooing and petting her to calm her down.

He took a pause in his cooing to look up at Adi again. "Have you been up to something interesting lately ?" He asked her.

Meepfur

"Oh, lots of things!" Adi answered, and was quite excited to do so. "I'm learning to be a druid, and I'm going to be an aoide, and I serve Glyph now." Even though none of this was particularly 'new,' her tail still wagged with the excitement of it all. She was very busy lately, and all in very good ways!

Zero Dream

"Oh, Glyph is nice." Well, from what little he'd seen Forest, this was the impression that he had gotten. Secretly, he was glad that she hadn't been chosen by his mother - that would have been horribly awkward, wouldn't it ?

"What's a druid ?" He asked. Liddell wriggled inside his hold, and he looked down to whisper soothing words to the still panicked kitten.

Meepfur

"He is," she agreed with a happy nod, before going on to explain, "Druids take care of nature, basically." That was the most straightforward way to put it, really. "They help things grow, and even heal them. And Illisia - she's my teacher - she can shapeshift! It's really cool. I'd like to learn that too someday, if I can."

Zero Dream

Oh ? Well, that was definitively up Adi's alley, wasn't it ? Kios, however, was clueless for most nature-ish things. He thought flowers was pretty and knew enough to know to water them to keep them alive, and that was about it.

"That sounds fun ! Shapeshifting sounds fun too." He knew what the word meant - and of a few people who could do it. Himself, through, no dice. "I'd show you how if I knew how !" Which he unfortunately did not.

Meepfur

"Doesn't it? It would be so much fun to fly, don't you think? Or run on four legs instead of ust two!" Adi sighed wistfully. "Can gods shapeshift, do you think? Or just some of them? It sort of seems like something a god would be able to do..."

Zero Dream

Ah ! That was more like it ! Now he could show his knowledge. "They can, I think ! Creation did." He'd turned into a kid ! That had been pretty mind-blowing at the time. "And he said uncle Ankou could, but I never saw him. He was talking like every god could, but they didn't all... remember how ?"

This was odd territory for him, more so than to most - he was a completely new being, not the rebirth of someone who had existed once. Had there been another Lament before him ? He had no idea. He'd looked, but he had never found anything. Which was one of the reasons he always dug deeper and deeper into the library. His father and his mother and his uncle had all seemed to just know that they had existed before, but it was no such case for him.

Hmmm.

Meepfur

"Really?" Geeze, was it possible for Harmodius to get any cooler? He'd showed her he could be a little Destruction-y when he wanted to, but turning into totally different things was even more awesome. "So you mean, like, Rio could do it if he remembered how? Or your parents? But how do you remember something like that?"

Zero Dream

"I think so ?" His free hand didn't leave the back of his kitten, stroking and petting back and forth, and now the small animal had noticeably calmed down and was thoughtfully enjoying the attention. "Mom says there a lot of things she just doesn't remember. Maybe you just need to ask Rio ?"

Yeah, he had no idea, and he wasn't even about to pretend he had.

Meepfur

"Hmm, I'll have to do that! I'm sure if he remembered, he'd have done it by now. Maybe he doesn't remember that he could?" Adi's brow furrowed in thought. "Can they turn into anything, you think, or just certain things?" Nevermind that her cousin probably didn't have an answer, she was mostly just thinking out loud.

Zero Dream

"I really have no idea." Akakios admitted, pouting a bit to himself. Clearly, Kios didn't like not knowing, and this wouldn't be the last of his research on the subject.

"Well, my uncle Tian Yue turns into a dragon... but he's a Dragon King, so maybe they're the only ones that turn into dragons ?" Now he was the one musing out loud. It would make sense for them to be called this way if it was the case. "And Dad is a place and a person at the same time." Which was another whole new level of complicated. "So I dunno ?"

Meepfur

"Probably," Adi agreed on the subject of Dragon Kings. But ohh, that was a very interesting tidbit about Kios' dad. "He's a place? How does that work?"

Zero Dream

"It's... kind of like.... Uh." Kios scratched the side of his head. Really, he had no damn idea how that even worked. He'd just taken it as truth and accepted it. "I think it's a god thing." Duh. "Creation said some things about that when I met him. How gods can be everywhere at once and yet not if they want to. I guess it's like that ?"

Now free, the kitten slid out of Kios' lap to sniff at Adrienne's tailtip.

Meepfur

"Huh, weeeeird." She could grasp the everywhere-at-once thing, mostly, but a person also being a place was sort of mind-boggling. Although it was probably kind of like the thing with Universe...

Oh, hello kitty! Adi giggled and twitched her tail.

Zero Dream

"It is weird." Akakios had to admit. He couldn't imagine himself being everywhere at once, even less so being a place ! He really needed to ask dad more about that whole thing, he decided.

Ohhh, it was moving~ ! Liddell was eying the moving appendage with wide green eyes, and then wriggled her own butt a bit before pouncing her makeshift 'prey'.

Meepfur

With that subject seemingly at its end, Adi offered another, "How are your flowers doing?"

Adrienne, as it happened, was used to using her tail as 'bait' for playful cats, since she and Rio had one of their own. Granted, she wasn't a kitten - or even an ordinary cat - but Dinah quite liked to hunt Adi's tail and its bow. As long as Liddell didn't get too enthusiastic with her claws, all would be well, so the girl swished her tail a little more.

Zero Dream

"They're doing good !" Kios answered, puffing up a bit with pride. "I made sure they stay watered... and stuff." Clearly his knowledge of botany was a little... lacking, but as long as it remained as simple as 'keep watered', Adi's roses were under good hands.

However, that reminded him of something... An idea he'd had when he was younger, but had more or less abandoned thanks to finding little on the subject in the library.

"Hn... Do you know how to make different colors of flowers ?"

If she didn't, it wouldn't be a big deal - he'd forgotten about the idea like children tended to do, and would likely forget again if nothing roused it once more. Unless Adi knew such things, of course...

His mother would certainly love a blue rose bush, or even a single rose. Thankfully by now, Kios had figured out that flowers were probably not the best gift to give to his father. But his father had his first lament written all fancy on parchment that he had worked hard on for hours, so certainly that was okay for a little while.

The white kitten mewed in surprise, then went darting after tail and ribbon. She apparently did not even think about using her claws, but instead just chassed it back and forth, multiplicating pouncing attempts.

Meepfur

"I'm glad to hear it! I'd love to see them sometime." It absolutely thrilled her to be able to share flowers and her love of them, and her tail wagged even as Liddell chased after it.

"Well, you breed two different colors, basically." The details of how it all worked were complicated, and something she had only a fuzzy understanding of herself. "So you could breed a white flower with a red flower and get a pink one maybe. It doesn't always work, there's a lot of really complicated stuff sort of um...inside the plants that determine what the new one will look like."

"Like....how you and Crys and Soto are all different colors." A rather sketchy comparison, but it worked. Maybe.

Zero Dream

"Hm." Was the only vocalization Akakios made for a moment, a noise of thought rather than hesitation. Clearly this would require a little more research...

"I could go look in the Library." He said, still thoughtful. "And ill let you know if I find anything interesting ?" Adi would love to know more about plants, right... ?

Meepfur

"Oh, the Library! Maybe we could go together sometime? I promised Endiovar I'd help him clean some. We could clean and look for things at the same time?" For all the friends she had, she was usually with them one at a time, and couldn't help but think how fun it would be to have them in a group - even just a little group.

Zero Dream

Ohhhh ! It was so rare that he had people interested in going to the library with him ! Crys had no interest in books at all, and Soto no interest in a old, dusty place where quiet was the norm. "We could go !"

Kios perked a bit, through, when he heard his mother's voice in the distance. "Oh, I think mom's looking for me." He scooped up his kitten carefully, the little white cat mewing a bit in protest - she wasn't done with that tail yet ! "Thank you for the help, Adi !" Lament was quite certain he would have never found Liddel had it not for his cousin's expert skills.