.~Edelsteine~. Desiderio's Journal by Meepfur

[Meepfur]

RP #7
over 1k

Shop RP: --- pt.1
Alex/Rio, Byrne, and Revei

chaeval

Once again, it must have been longer than he thought. Time was as slippery as water was. Just not wet. Well...he wasn't sure about that fact, as he'd never been splashed by time, but he didn't think his fish would like to swim in Time, so therefore it must be a pretty dry thing.

Like...everything else all of a sudden.

Out of the recesses of his empty room, he stared at what was once a fertile garden. The green blackened and dead, the blues of the water now seething and red with lava.

The lava was an improvement, he thought...but he rather missed the flowers. And the bugs that buzzed about them. And the birds that sang amongst. And...there were no fish that could splish in lava...so maybe that was not such a good change after all.

He stared at the temple. The austere grimness of it through narrowed eyes.

He understood immediately what it meant.

Harmodious's colors had run completely.

Destruction had reared his head.

Flapping through the door, he called "where's my mop!?"

Meepfur

Alex had kind of gotten used to how things were around here...but then, she'd never seen it any other way, so she had nothing to compare it to. Although it was pretty damn weird, she had to admit, it got easy to take if for granted after awhile.

She was kicked back on one of the couches, her arms behind her head...just lying there, idle, not even thinking much. Even Rio was quiet, having finally given up on getting her to get her booted feet off the couch.

The call for a mop startled her alert though, and the vampire sat up, eyes narrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

chaeval

He twirled on the speaker in consternation. "My mop! Ill need it now!" His eyes darted about nervously, the cavernous depths, the coldness of it all. "I'll need it!" he repeated in a flurry of feathers.

Meepfur

"Uh...right. Whatever, dude." Alex scratched her head, looking every bit as confused as she was. God...looking for a mop. Desperately. Hey, umm, Rio...what the hell is up with this guy, you know?

Nope, he replied casually, before venturing, But you could be nicer. Help him look for it, maybe, if he's lost it?

Look, feel free to be as nice as you want, but it's not really my thing.

'Feel free,' hmm? Don't mind if I do, Rio purred, slipping into control of his host, who didn't know enough to know what was coming. She might b***h at him later, but well, he could only take so much of the attitude she had with others sometimes.

"I'm afraid my host isn't the helpful sort," he said after a moment, the tenor of voice changing just slightly as he spoke instead of Alex. "Have you lost it?"

chaeval

He blinked. "Lost? Hm." he considered this. "I don't think so. But maybe I did...did Harmodious's colors all run?" He seemed to recall the core problem all of a sudden. "Cause if they did, it's not good. It wouldn't be good at all. Very not-good. Bad." He nodded emphatically. "No bucket either..." he sighed.

Meepfur

Rio lifted one hand to cover a small smile. Whoever this was, though it didn't come to mind, was...kind of cute, really, if a bit confusing.

"If you mea-" he stopped, cut off as he pierced his..err, his host's..bottom lip with her fangs. He was definitely not used to this. Putting his index finger and thumb to it to stop the slowish trickle of blood from the accidental wound, he murmurred, "Oh, damn. Sorry."

"But if you mean," he continued, speaking much more slowly and with slightly muffled words, "If Harmodius has become Destruction, he has, but I haven't seen him myself."

"What do you need your mop and bucket for, if I may ask?"

chaeval

"Why?" he asked, with a confuse frown. "For...protection of course." why ELSE would one need a mop and bucket?

He stared at the wound with a frown. "I could make that better...but it'd prolly hurt more if I did." he flexed his fingers. "Fire hurts, you see."

Meepfur

"Oh, of course," he said quite seriously, but inwardly he was chuckling. The amusement was good-natured, though. "I should have known."

Taking fingers from lips and rubbing them together a moment, looking thoughtfully at the blood smeared on them, he grinned sheepishly. "Thank you, but it might not be the best idea...I suspect this body and fire don't mix well."

"If nothing else, this'll remind me to be more careful until I get used to it." He smiled ruefully, looking up at the bright god, whom he was quickly taking a liking to. "I'm Desiderio, by the way, Rio for short. Love."

chaeval

"I'm Byrne." he said, smiling sunnily. "Byrne for short." sticking out his hand, because he had seen others do so, he looked upwards. "I must have been in my room for an awfully long time. I don't remember seeing you here. And Harmodious was still just running colors a litle before..." he trailed off. "But of course, it has been a while since he ran all the way now. That's not good."

He sat down on the floor, arm still sticking out. "Where are you from?"

Meepfur

"Glad to meet you, Byrne." Returning the smile, although his was a bit bloody after his earlier mishap, he took Byrne's hand and shook it. "I haven't been around long, but I believe my host has been in and out for...a couple of months? I only recently fused with her, and Hunt has since taken her in for awhile."

"From?" Slowly, he swung his legs around and planted his feet on the ground, so that he could sit facing Byrne...and take care of his host's annoying habit of putting her shoes on furniture, for now. He smoothed out her skirt, taking a moment to consider just how strange it was to be in a woman's body. He didn't mind, per se, but it was definitely odd.

Looking to the other god again, he stifled a chuckle to see he was still holding his arm out. "If I was from anywhere in particular before, I don't remember."

Prolixity

"That seems a common thread," Revei drawled from the staircase. "The lost, the lonely, and those without a past. So few of the hosts have ripped themselves from full and loving lives to come to us." He paused and shrugged. "Someday, maybe," he said flippantly.

Masquerade II

"Oh!" Byrne laughed. "That's allright then! I don't remember where I come from either. Except I always was. But for a while I wasn't...before I was again." he shrugged, and gave a half frown. "Months? Those are moon cycles, right? Or was that seasons? Maybe mops?" frowning more he counted on his fingers. "How many fingers are a month?"He wiggled them.

At the new voice he leapt to his feet. "Hey! Hi! I remember you!"

Meepfur

"Revei." The name came from his on host's memory as he looked up, smiling. "Or...Iluzie, I think she labeled you." His smile slipped then, and he nodded. "The ones who have nothing to lose, or believe so. Maybe something to gain."

Looking back to Byre, he grinned. "Moon cycles, that's it. You'd need thirty fingers to count a month, though. Maybe 28 or 31, depending on the month. Too many even if you used your toes, too."

chaeval

That many? In dismay, he sat back down, hoding up feet and hands and looking at all his digits.

"Ow." he said with a sigh. "why so many toes and fingers in the moon? Who thought of those things anyway?"

Prolixity

"Are you awake again, then, Byrne?" Revei inquired. "How do you like the new decorations? I find them a little - perhaps - less relaxing," he mused.

"Yes. And you are - ? Please forgive me if I do not immediately recognize you. My memory is so very hazy, and you are no longer who I met, I do believe." Revei bowed to Rio.

Meepfur

"I don't know, I'm afraid. Maybe there's a Moon to ask?" he speculated.

"Nothing to apologize for. I'm Rio, Love," he answered to Revei, inclining his head politely. "Alex is still here, of course, but I thought I'd talk to Byrne myself. She was being rude."

chaeval

"Im awake." he answered soberly. "Harmodious's colors all ran. That's why it's all like this." he wiggled his toes and put his feet down. "I should have been around. Maybe it wouldn't have happened then. I promised I'd protect him."

Prolixity

Revei's expression closed slightly at the information that this new god was the other Love. He smiled a little coolly. "Welcome, Rio."

He folded himself neatly to a cross-legged seat on the floor beside Byrne, holding a hand out, fingers spred. "Between the two of us, we would have enough digits," he offered, amused. At Byrne's next statement, he sobered again. "We cannot choose when we sleep, Phoenix," he said quietly.

Meepfur

That cool smile made Rio frown inwardly, and almost outwardly as well. He touched index and middle fingers to his punctured bottom lip and nodded.

"Thank you," he said from behind his fingers, a touch of something like apology in his expression. He knew his other had come before him, and that she had not endeared herself to the other gods by any means, although he didn't know the specifics.

He smiled a little again as Revei offered to help Byrne count. He hadn't quite thought of that.

chaeval

"Oh hey!" Byrne's expression lit up. "We DO have enough for a moon!" he observed for a few moments and his face fell at the next comment. "Im not supposed to sleep. That's what SHE does. Alot. Not me."

Prolixity

Revei nodded to Rio, eyeing him a little warily. He seemed polite, seemed nice enough, but Revei had no memory of him. Was Love like Dream, forever at odds, or were they allied?

"Shouldn't, perhaps, but we are so used to it," he observed sourly.

Meepfur

Fingers lingering at his bloodied lips for another moment, he finally let his hands fall into his lap. It was hard not to keep toying, especially when it hurt, but poking wasn't going to help that at all. He expected Alex would have a good few things to say later. That thought, at least, made him quirk a smile.

"I can't remember sleeping," he added to the conversation, thoughtful. "For long periods of time, I mean. But maybe I did, or maybe I didn't. Hmm."

chaeval

Byrne had lost interest in the digit-counting, and was now on his feet, stalking about looking for the reason he had originally stormed in. Wigglign under the couch, he sneezed and waggled his tail.

"Sleeping's boring." he said, voice muffled and plaintive. "Much more exciting things to do. Have you seen my mop?"

Prolixity

"No, I haven't," Revei answered. "It wasn't with you when you woke? Do we have a divine broom closet? I am not yet quite so familiar with the rooms down here since it shifted." He rose and shook out his wings. "Come, o Rio, we will help the Phoenix locate his weaponry so he may drive back the forces of darkness with his flames and his mop."

Meepfur

So it was back to the mop, then. Rio grinned, leaning forward to look down and watch as Byrne wriggled under the couch. He couldn't help but think that might be an uncomfortable place to be, with wings and all.

"Always a pleasure to be of help," he said with a nod, also rising...a little too quickly, and he put a hand back on the arm of the sofa to balance himself again. He looked down at his host's choice of footwear with a sigh and a wry smile. "And I can make sense of how to walk in these at the same time."

chaeval

"Mmhphsefh!" came the reply from under the couch as it bucked and Byrne vanished beneath it. There was an uncomfortable few moments when the couch looked very unsteady, and then his head popped out at the other end. "Not here!" he announced. "Where could they have gone? I mean..."

He wiggled, got stuck, and then forced himself out the rest of the way, wincing as his wing cramped and his feathers got mussed. He was a bit dishevelled and cobwebby as he sneezed again.

Prolixity

"Where did you leave them?" Revei prowled around the room, looking for likely places that a mop might conceal itself. He hid a smile at Byrne's cobwebby state as the couch settled back into place.

"Why bother?" He threw a puzzled look at Rio. "Take them off, unless you have some use for them. They do not look comfortable."

Meepfur

As the couch bucked and Byrne finally reemerged, Rio decided he was very glad he'd just stood up. That would have been a strange sort of ride, to be sure.

"That would make sense," he said to Revei's solution, and grinned. "Probably why I didn't think of it." He set about following Dream's advice, although it he had to sit back down for a few moments to tug off the boots. He set them carefully to the side of the couch and stood again, wiggling his bare toes against the floor. "Aah, freedom."

Now that he was much more comfortable, he cast a look around, musing, "Where on earth would a mop get to with its wielder asleep?

chaeval

Byrne had not paused for the conversation, instead throwing himself at the other couch with gusto. This one was identical to the other, so he began to wiggle his way under it.

"I don't know." he answered. "I was sleeping."

Prolixity

There was a muffled snort of laughter from Revei's direction at that exchange; not derisive, though. It was a very Byrne sort of thing to have said. "Perhaps it has been possessed," he suggested.

Meepfur

Rio tilted his head as Revei mentioned the possibility of a possessed mop, a very strange image coming to mind. Something about..mops (or were they brooms?) marching along, carrying buckets. And there was...some sort of mouse? He wrinkled his nose, bemused. He'd have to ask Alex just what that was all about later.

"Well, if it now has a mind of its own, maybe it's gone to where it thinks it should be. Wherever mops ordinarily belong?"

chaeval

Byrne had made his way through to the other end, and stood up against the wall, twice as bedraggled and dirt ridden.

"If you were a mop...where would YOU be?" he asked them.

Prolixity

Revei, having no personal experience with mops, consulted the hazy, fading memories of his host, and found with some interest that the young feline had had none either. "Where does one store a mop?" he asked, laughing, and went across to Byrne so that he could use his sleeve to brush some of the worst of the dusty and cobwebs away.

[Meepfur]

Shop RP: --- pt.2
Rio, Byrne, and Illumin

Sosiqui

"Far away from this misbegotten place," came a somewhat sour answer from the stairs - the activity had attracted Illumin's attention. The god looked surprised to see so much activity, but he descended the rest of the way with a hopeful, if somewhat put out, expression. "Why do you need a mop, anyway?"

He hadn't seen Byrne in quite some time, but he did remember the phoenix-godling's animate fridge. Did he also have a wandering mop? Maybe he really is a secret god of kitchens.

chaeval

"Oh!" another face he...sorta knew. He thought. Squinting he turned his head almost as an owl would, and stared at him from a nearly upside down position. "Hm. Far from here?" he rolled the thought over in his head. "Where is that?"

Meepfur

"Hmm, let's see..." Unfortunately, Rio was just as much at a loss about the living places of mops as the others.

Hey, Alex..? he ventured. He could feel his host hanging back, observing.

I am SO not talking to you right now.

Come on, please?

Only if you promise you won't pull this s**t again without asking.

He sighed. Fine.

Try the kitchen, maybe a bathroom? Or just any old closet.

"Hmm...kitchen, closet, or bathroom, I'm getting," he relayed, before looking up at the sound of a new voice...again from the stairs. But Rio quickly looked away again from this other god, reaching a hand up to rub his eyes.

But despite this new drawback of his host's form, he grinned. "Why? For protection, of course."

Sosiqui

Illumin raised one eyebrow. "I didn't mean literally... did you try looking in the broom closet, or maybe the kitchen? Perhaps your little fridge stole it," he added, trying to be jovial but falling a bit flat.

Wasn't his fault the mood of the downstairs sucked all the humor out of everything. He did frown a bit, though, noticing the other figure turn away from him. Hmmm...

chaeval

"Hrm." he commented. That last hint about "away" had seemed promising. Fun. But Illumin apparently didn't seem to think it was a real place. Maybe it was...and he just didn't know?

He'd have to find "away" sometime.

"Butercup wouldn't have eaten my mop. She doesn't like taste of wood." he offered. "And besides, she likes my mop."

Fluttering, he started digging his way into the kitchen area, snaking in and out of the barstools.

Meepfur

As he listened, Rio's brow furrowed. "What, there's a possessed fridge, too?"

He laughed and crossed his arms...or tried to, anyway, but these things just didn't work the same way in a female body. After a moment of visible indecision, he settled for crossing his arms...under...and muttered, "Dammit, more trouble than it's worth."

He looked up again then, careful not to look directly at the god with the glow to him, and smiled a bit sheepishly. "Not quite used to this, I'm afraid," he explained of what he was sure looked a bit strange. "Forgive me, I should introduce myself. I'm Desiderio, although I prefer Rio."

Sosiqui

"Do you not enjoy the light, Desiderio?" Illumin asked, frankly. He didn't like how the other god had flinched away from him, new though he might be - the body had no touch of divinity about it yet, how freshly manifested was this one? - and the atmosphere was making him twitchier than usual. "I am Illumin, God of Light. Consider this carefully." Formal, and prodding ever so gently at the other god, in case he was something to be concerned with.

chaeval

Not having foudn it yet, oblivious to the other two having a non-staring match, Byrne went on his way to the next target, shying of the fridge, although it did not appear to be a god-killer...yet.

Tackling the closet, he was soon burined in the folds of items there, a clang every now and then heard.

Meepfur

"I don't have a problem with it, actually. But my host does, and looking at you hurts her eyes. I thought I'd save her one more ache when she comes in control again." He touched his bottom lip again, fingers tracing the smear of dried blood below.

"She's a vampire...perhaps not the most ideal host, but mine nonetheless." With a lopsided smile, he sketched a small bow, since the other was being so formal...but it was playful, not mocking. "I am Love."

"And I believe we've lost Byrne to the depths of the closet," he noted, glancing in the direction of the clanging.

Sosiqui

"Ah... my apologies," Illumin replied, dampening his natural glow some. Usually he would be grumpy at the very idea, but it was a natural failing - and one this god would surely mend, later. "Love, then? Have you met your... ah, counterpart?" His expression soured.

As if to hide that, he turned to the closet. "Byrne, have you found anything? Do you need some extra light?"

chaeval

There was a muffled banging from inside, and a loud crash. Then a subdued banging.

Meepfur

"Thank you," he said gratefully, venturing to look at Illumin finally...it was still not pleasant, but it was better. It bothered him not to look at someone he was speaking to.

"Khiviance? No, I'm afraid not, although I don't know just how much I care to, given the reputation she seems to have earned herself." He sighed unhappily, running his fingers through his host's hair - Too long, he thought of it absently. For all that he had hoped 'Vi might receive him well, he was beginning to doubt that very much, after what he'd heard.

"Oh dear." He winced at the crash from within the closet. Moving closer, he peeked inside. "Byrne, are you alright?"

Sosiqui

"I can tell you, if you want," Illumin said, promptly. How open was this kin of Khiviance to knowing truth? "It is true that there is, hah, little love lost towards Love in her other aspect..."

"Ah, turn your head... I will illuminate things," Illumin warned, then spun a low-light glow ball and sent it arrowing into the closet, where it brightened. "Byrne?"

chaeval

Tumbling out amongst the remnants of proud clothing and utensils came a rather bedraggled Byrne. His feathers drooped and shifted unsteadily, but he had clasped triumphantly in his hand a rather ratty looking mop.

"Look!" He exclaimed proudly. "Not mine, but it will do!"

Meepfur

Obediently, Rio turned his head away, laying one hand across his eyes before speaking again. "I would like to know, if you care to tell," he admitted. "Eamnonn's explanation was vague at best, and I may not like what I might hear, I think I'm better off knowing."

When he heard Byrne's triumphant exclamation, he fanned his fingers out to peek, and grinned. "A fine specimen! It'll serve you well, I'm sure."

Sosiqui

"Well done, Byrne," Illumin said solemnly, though he caused the light ball to fade off into soft sparks, that flitted merrily around the mop-bearing god before vanishing. "What will you do with it, now that you've found it?"

Then, he turned back to Desidirio, his expression sober. "You have seen Destruction? Harmodius was not always like that; when I came, he wore his Creation aspect and this place was alive with plants and other beautiful things." He took a deep breath.

"Lucius, an ascended deity, loved Harmodius and sought to have him whether Creation wanted this or not. Khiviance helped him, and with her aid he was able to wound our lord grievously. It was only through the great effort of many godlings that we were able to retrieve Harmodius - and then he began to change aspects, until he and this place are what you see now."

chaeval

"Hm" Byrne said with a frown. "Not sure...." He hugged the mop to him, listening to the explanation.

"His colors ran." He added solomnly. "Just like the colors of the land and sky bleed."

Meepfur

With the ball of light gone, Rio dropped his hand from his eyes as he listened attentively to Illumin. His frown deepened as the story went on, before it finished and he nodded, gravely. "I have not seen Destruction, myself, but he's very clear in my host's mind. He frightened her somewhat, I believe, and deceived her."

Tapping his chin, he leaned back with a sigh. "I'm sorry for what Khiviance has caused, for what little it's worth."

He understood now, somewhat, just what Byrne had been talking abot with his imagery of bleeding colors. He nodded to the Phoenix, although his understanding could perhaps never quite be full...he had not been present, nor seen the change at any stage.

Sosiqui

"It is not your fault," Illumin said, shaking his head. "Destruction leveled judgement upon them both, though I do not know what Khiviance's punishment was. We were, ah, never on good terms... though I hope to be with you?" He gave Rio an appraising look.

"It's okay, Byrne," Illumin continued, feeling a little awkward - Memi had been so much better at this sort of thing, but he moved to put one hand on his shoulder. "Pana is out looking for the solution to the, uh, colors running, right now... and she has help." He didn't mention who the help was, but hey. She had it, as odious as it might be.

chaeval

"Did she look "anywhere"?" he asked with sudden brightness at the comfort. "Perhaps it's there, right?" his tone was hopeful and concerned while mantaining it's sunny disposition. It was quite a talent...had it been intentional.

Meepfur

"Hunt said she cannot speak, but that's all I know." His frown stayed for a moment more before he shrugged it off and smiled instead. "It would be my pleasure, Illumin."

"Well, there's no knowing until you look, I guess." Rio nodded, smiling with humor. "Anywhere is just as likely as somewhere else."

Then he shook his head lightly, grimacing. "I think maybe my time is up, for now, and I'd best get elsewhere so that Alex can have a fit without inflicting it on anyone else."

"I look forward to seeing you both again," he said sincerely, with a final smile, before taking his leave up the stairs...and forgetting Alex's boots, but that was probably a good thing - he might not have done well with them on the stairs.

Sosiqui

"Farewell," Illumin said, pondering as the other god headed up the stairs. What an odd duck... quite friendly, but with an air of maturity about him. Hmm. He made a note to speak with the other god again, before turning back to Byrne.

"There are places in 'anywhere' for her to look, I think, and that's where she's going," he said. Illumin actually wasn't sure where she was, at all, but perhaps Eamnnon could shed some light on that later. "I'm sure she knows how to find Aristogeiton."

chaeval

"Aristogeiton?" he asked, tongue working on the strange sounds. It was a fun sound...like Marmalade...but odd nonetheless. "What is that? Is it like a mop that cleans up runny colors?"

The image brought a smile to his face. He would love such a device.

Sosiqui

This time, Illumin laughed, a surprising and probably rare sound in the lower floors now. "Aristogeiton is one Harmodius loved - who is, apparently, the answer to restoring his colors," he told Byrne. "Is that what you wanted to use your mop for?" he added, gently.

chaeval

"Well..." he said, looking at the tattered and bedraggled utensil in his hands. "I thought maybe it might stop them from running more. Guess not, huh?"

His wings drooped a bit. "There's no fish outside now. Even if I don't like the water, I liked the fish."

Sosiqui

"I don't think it quite works that way," Illumin said, trying to let Byrne down as gently as possible. "But it was a good thought," he added, encouragingly. "Maybe if you show Harmodius kind and nice things, he can remember some of his other nature?"

It was worth a try.

chaeval

"You mean like...puppies or something?" he asked doubtfully. "Or Buttercup?" he got to his feet and looked at the mess at his feet with a frown.

"Or maybe..." he sighed. "It's not easy being grown up, is it?" there was a rather plaintive tone in his voice.

Sosiqui

"No. No it isn't." Illumin paused. It wasn't, really, though his only experience with it in this lifetime had been watching Memi. So many things in her had shifted when Medicine had pulled her into (near) adulthood far too quickly. "You have to think about things more," he said, slowly, "and if you get into trouble nobody will come and fix it for you. But, you can make your own choices in the good way, too?"

Okay, so it wasn't much, and it was awkward, but it was the best Illumin had to offer. Probably only Byrne could have gotten that kind of reaction out of him.

chaeval

"Thinking is hard." he agreed with a frown. "It seems alot of work to be an adult. Do you like it?" There was a rather toughtful look on his features, despite his comical appearance, surrounded by junk with a mop in his hands.

Why did people grow up anyway? It seemed a hassle, all told. If colors bled with age, as they did with Harmodious, why bother?

Sosiqui

"I... guess? I don't really remember not being one." The myth hadn't said anything about infant raging light and shadow. Maybe he'd never been a child.

The thought had never really occurred to him.

chaeval

"Oh." he answered. Then suddenly smiled and hugged him. "Well, thanks for finding a mop for me! Even if I can't stop the colors from running, you never know if there's a god-killer around, right?"

They might need it then. Who knew?

Sosiqui

"You keep your mop ready, just in case," Illumin said, soberly, though he was fighting to quit from grinning. "Good luck."

With that, he turned and headed back upstairs, stopping to wrinkle his nose at Alex's discarded boots - Well, that's questionable taste indeed, my my... - before going up the staircase, glow increasing as he went.

[Meepfur]

Solo #7
576

"I wanna feel just like before
Before the rain came in my door
Shook me up turned me around
Made me cry till I would drown
Stole the daylight, brought the night
So much anger I would fight
Lost my youth and the blue
Saw all the loneliness in you
Wanna help you give you love
Shine some light out from the mud
Fill the empty find a rhyme
A brighter day a better time
But I'm wondering where I'm gone
Can't find the truth within my song
And all I have I'll give to you
To let you know you're not alone."

The Corrs - "No More Cry"



Rio was very careful to hold onto control long enough to get to the lavender room of Eamnonn's that his host was staying in, but once there, he let it drop -

And Alex rushed to sieze it back, staggering as her body became her own again, falling to her knees on the carpet of grass. "Don't you ever do that again," she hissed out loud, "Not ever again. If you ask first, fine, sure, I don't give a damn, but take your own ******** advice and be polite, would you?"

There was no response at first, and the silence only fed her anger. Her fingers curled in the grass, and she almost pulled up fistfuls of it - until a distant corner of her mind echoed with the thought that it was Orin's hard work, that she shouldn't.

Stifling a cry so that it came out only as a rough sound from the back of her throat, she hit her fists against the floor again and again, before she let herself just fall forward, shaking.

It stayed quiet for a long time, while she shivered out the last of her anger.

When the god's voice came, it was almost timid. Are you finished?

"Yeah," she sighed, "I'm done."

I am sorry, Alex. I truly am. I thought you might be annoyed with me, but I never realized it would upset you so.

"Whatever, it's okay. It's just...it's scary, that's all." The vampire rolled onto her side, curling up.

Does it really frighten you that badly? But why?

"I...I'm not sure." Alex frowned, staring at the baldes of grass in front of her eyes. Maybe it's just...the losing control. And I can see what's happening, and I know what's happening, but I can't...I can't do anything about it.

And it makes you feel powerless.

Yes. That was exactly it. He eyes slid shut, and she sighed again. It's not that I don't trust you, I know you wouldn't do anything, I just...it's so hard.

It makes you remember what you did, doesn't it?

Her eyes flew open again, her whole body went tense. How do you know that?

I share your dreams now, remember? I'm sorry, though. I don't mean to, if it upsets you. I'm not sure if I can, but I can try and keep them from coming to me, too. But I'm no Dream, nor do I pretend to know the workings of the mind. I don't know if it will work.

It's...it's okay. I don't mind, I mean. I don't think I do, anyway. Alex relaxed again, but curled in on herself a little more tightly. If you're sharing my head, you might as well know, I guess. Besides, I..I do trust you, Rio. Hell, I like you.

Thank you, Alex. The god was pleasantly surprised, and touched. That's more than I could ask for, but it is what I had dared to hope.

She closed her eyes, and smiled. It's been a long time since I had a friend.

He was silent for a moment. Me, too.

Friends, then? There was something hopeful, and yet something fearful, to her tone. Something vulnerable, that feared his silence or his rejection.

More strongly than ever, it struck him that there was still so much child in this girl, no matter how deep she hid it or how furiously she sought to protect it.

I'd be honored.

[Meepfur]

RP #8
1474

Shop RP: Ah...women. XD
Alex/Rio and Illumin

Sosiqui

As much as Illumin detested the lower environs of the shop now, he was beginning to hate his room even more. Familiarity breeds contempt, it's true. At least downstairs there was some chance for excitement, like going out into the jungle in search of adventure with the solid knowledge that you could go back to a save haven any time you liked.

Illumin crept down the stairs carefully, intending to see if anyone was around. If not - well, he'd head out to the grassy areas around the town, where he'd met Eamnnon before. At least there the air would be fresh and clean, and a god could stretch his legs and wings.

Meepfur

Alex was sitting on an arm of one of the couches, scuffing at the floor with one booted toe. True to her usually inconsiderate form, the vampire was smoking, lit cigarette dangling from her lips despite Rio's protests that someone might not like it.

But hey, with all the ash and crap around down here, she figured it didn't really matter, anyway. And she was really terribly bored, and it was something to do.

She actually looked a little less trashy than usual, in black pants and t-shirt. She'd finally given up on the corsets, because they rubbed at where the god's stone was, and it really kind of hurt. She wasn't too happy about it, though.

Sosiqui

Ah, so there is someone here... Love? Illumin walked quickly over to the couch, on tiptoe as per usual in the 'dirty' parts of the shop. "Desiderio? Or, his host, perhaps?" he asked, coming up and tilting his head inquisitively. Fortunately, the smoke wasn't wafting towards him at this exact moment.

Meepfur

"Mm?" Alex lifted her head a bit, taking the cigarette between her fingers and exhaling a puff of smoke before actually speaking. "His host, actually." Judging by her tone of voice, she wasn't too thrilled to be assumed to be the god right off. "Name's Alex."

Illumin, came Love's cheerful voice in her head. Would you let me speak to him?

Later, maybe. If you're good.

Alex!

Hey, it's what you get for not asking last time.

Smirking, she ashed on the floor without a second thought, and looked at this 'Illumin' guy...only to look away again, muttering, "Christ."

Sosiqui

Illumin frowned, then remembered and dialed down the natural glow. "My apologies, I forgot... the deity you bear told me of your weakness." His manner, though, was much more formal and distant than it had been when it was just Rio. "Alex, then. I am Illumin, god of Light."

Meepfur

"Did he now?" She lifted an eyebrow, chewing a little on the end of her cigarette, but nodded. "Well, thanks...Illumin." At least he was nice enough to tone it down.

"Nice to meet you, I guess." Although she really was a little intrigued, the Light thing was a bit of a turn-off. Oh well.

Sosiqui

Illumin waited, a bit awkwardly. What did one say when you wanted to talk to the god? Pardon me, is Desiderio at home? Knock knock?

He settled for merely making a face as a stray draft pushed some of the smoke towards him. "Is, ah, Desiderio... awake, at the moment? I had spoken to him a few days ago. It is nice to have a Love around who is not trying to kill people," he added, with a slight frown.

Meepfur

"Awake? Yeah, he usually is." Awake and chattering away at her about not putting her shod feet on furniture and all those kinds of things.

Well, it's only polite. Courteous and all that.

C'mon, this couch has had a lot more than somebody's shoes on it.

...has it now? That distracted him sufficiently. Now he wanted - no, needed, with his curiosity - to know what that was all about. He might not try to kill people, but Rio did have a fault in that he was terribly nosy.

Wouldn't you like to know? And hey, what's this about killing people?

Maybe I'll tell you sometime...later. If you're good.

[******** you. She grimaced, breaking the spacy look she'd had going for most all this internal dialogue. Fine, fine, I'll take the goddamn hint. Go ahead, just don't be stupid and bite yourself again, alright? That hurt.

I'll try, he purred, taking the control she willingly gave. Looking at Light, he formed an easy grin. "Evening, Illumin."

Sosiqui

Illumin visibly relaxed when the deity took over, and inclined his head politely to the other god. "Love. It is good to see you again... do apologize to your host for me, but I..." He hesitated. "Do not wish to deeply enjoy the presence of those who will soon be gone," he said, finally. "It is painful."

Illumin fidgeted, a bit. "I was wondering, Rio, if I could speak to you about a matter in your domain, as Khiviance is no longer able to speak - and I would not trust her, even if she were," he added with a scowl.

Meepfur

"No worries," Rio assured, "It spares you her attitude problem, at least." Despite the serious nature of Illumin's words, Rio remained deliberately cheerful. He ignored the resulting Hey you, I heard that! from the back of his mind. The curious god very nearly asked what had brought Illumin that revelation, but he was headed off (fortunately) by Light's request.

"I don't see why not," he answered, "Although how well I'll speak on it, I don't know. So many things are terribly fuzzy, if not gone entirely." There was a touch of regret in his voice, but he soon quirked a smile again, even with the mention of his counterpart.

I still wanna know who this Khiviance b***h is, Alex put in.

Sosiqui

Illumin smiled with an odd shyness - really, this was a tremendous amount of trust to be placing in a new deity, but if Khiviance was so treacherous than surely this incarnation of Love must be the opposite. That was how it worked, wasn't it?

"It is a matter of the heart," he said, finally. "A... shall we say, a younger goddess confessed adoration to me before the turn of the year, but I was most unsure, and she left on a quest. Lady Medicine, of whom we spoke last time... but now, now that she is not here, I find myself vexed most days by thoughts of her!" He scowled a bit. "It is... most unusual."

Meepfur

Rio only now realized that he was still holding his host's cigarette, and that it was continuing to burn and drop ash on the floor. His gaze darted around for a moment as he tried to figure out what to do with it, before he settled on putting it out - on Alex's boot.

Hey!

Oh, hush. This is serious, and you're distracting.

Like that ever stops YOU from talking at me.

Pointedly ignoring his host's complaints, he listened carefully to Illumin, and smiled. It wasn't condescending, or even knowing, really...it was just happy, because his domain made him happy. Quite simply, Desiderio was quite in love with love. Granted, this could be something as simple as a crush, but these things were just so nice.

He steepled his fingers thoughtfully. Light and Medicine, hmm...how very interesting. But Illumin hadn't asked for commentary on the 'match.' "Well, that's not so hard. You miss her, I'd wager...and far from being unusual, it's only normal to miss someone you care for when they've gone away."

Sosiqui

"It's... complicated," Illumin said with a sigh, sliding down to sit on the couch near Rio. "The host - Memi... she was only twelve. Obviously, I didn't care for her like that," he said, quickly, waving his hands in a gesture of negation. "But she was special to me, and I was... very angry when she morphed, as the goddess seemed unfeeling and cold. A short time before her change, the goddess used her power to make her body grow, and the changes made... I guess, her mind change too? I'm not sure how it works..." He shook his head. "But she developed a, ah... crush." The word was snatched quickly from one of Sosiqui's memories, and put to use.

"The two of them, the goddess and host, merged thereafter when Panacea attempted to destroy Memi's pysche and was instead destroyed in return, and a new personality came to be - a kinder, gentler medicine. Who wanted... she said..." His face, colored. "That she... ah..."

Meepfur

Ah, so his earlier curiosity was satisfied without having to ask, but the initial tale was..tragic, really.. Rio felt a pang of sadness, which he very quickly tried to shoo away. Being sad simply wouldn't do, not for him. And besides, the possible ending was looking quite a bit brighter than its beginning. Happy endings were always the best kind, and Love quite ferevently hoped that that was just how things would turn out.

Mostly, what Illumin said were things he could only listen to, and let him talk it out. Consolation for things lost, Rio couldn't really give him.

"That she loved you?" he guessed. "But so far, you've told me very much of her, and yet...very little of you." He smiled, good-naturedly. "The question is, Light, what do you want?"

Sosiqui

"Her to come back so I can figure that out," Illumin burst out, then quickly quieted. "My apologies. It has been, ah, singularly frustrating, and my servants are no help. Eibhilin merely titters and gives me this... this female look..." He shrugged, helpless before the secrets of Eibhilin's feminine intuition. "But, as we have said, she is far away performing a most important mission - and I am here, rattling about my chambers like a creature in a too-small cage."

This was the sort of thing he should be telling Sosiqui, really - but in her now-permanent absence, Rio would have to do. He gave the other god a calmer smile, pleased that he hadn't been mocked or otherwise made to feel foolish.

Meepfur

"No need to apologize." Rio waved a hand, grinning. "Ah yes, women are very good for giving looks, especially when they know something. Or want something, or..anything really. But at least they are good to look at, as well." He laughed, quite aware that he was rambling, but completely unashamed of it. A little lightheartedness couldn't go too far wrong, anyway.

"As for your rattling about, perhaps you could find something to busy yourself with? Even something silly, it needn't have any lofty importance." Rio was not, however, a god of idle occupation, so that advice was far from authoritative...a fact he acknowledged with a shrug and a sheepish sort of smile.

Sosiqui

Illumin frowned, slightly. "The atmosphere here is... not conducive to silly pasttimes," he said, gesturing at the imposing dragon statues, and not least at the flame-backed throne. "I have busied myself with certain tasks, but there is another very large thing I wish to pursue that I cannot deal with now either, and the weight of the two is most damning." He raised one eyebrow at Rio. "Though, that last task is not in your domain, so I will not bore you with it."

"But - when she does return, then... I wonder on a path of action...?" Illumin wasn't sure he'd had a... what were they called, anyway? Girlfriend, surfaced from a Sosiqui-memory, but he dismissed that term as far too silly. Consort was much more fitting for the amorous escapades of the gods.

Meepfur

He followed Illumin's gestures and nodded, conceding, "Some things can't be helped, I suppose. Still, it was worth a try." He shrugged, and though he was curious about this 'large thing,' he didn't pry. "And as it isn't, I won't pester you with questions about it."

"Well, that depends, I suppose," Rio said then, thoughtful. "If nothing else, simply spend time with her, and perhaps that will clear your uncertainty some. And though I doubt you would do such a thing intentionally, do be careful not to lead her on while you vacillate. It wouldn't do to hurt the fair lady's heart."

Tapping a finger against his lips, an idea lit his eyes, and he broke into a slow smile. "Perhaps, while you wait for her, you could occupy yourself - and get yourself out of this 'atmosphere' - by finding something you could gift to her?"

"Women do so like presents."

Sosiqui

Illumin looked thoughtful. "Do they? And gods enjoy offerings... yes, perhaps that is an excellent idea. A gift. I had given Memi one, but I never had the chance to give a gift solely to Pana, as the new entity calls herself."

"But..." He frowned. "What makes a good gift?"

Meepfur

"Well, that depends on the woman, really. Most seem to like pretty things, jewelry and the like - oh, whatever you do, I'd advise against actual clothing, as they're often touchy about such things - but there are some who prefer more practical things, and might be offended by such a frivolous offering. Others would cherish some little pet, something cute and sweet to mother, or maybe something scaled or feathered or not 'cute' at all. The list goes on and on, and changes from woman to woman. Some are quite surprising."

"But you know Medicine far better than I, and I can't say what her tastes might be. It's quite likely you'll 'know it when you see it,' all it takes is a little patience and a willingness to search." He smiled again, encouraging. "Besides, whatever it is you find, I'm sure it will please her, because it would be something from you. So don't worry so much about whether it should be this or that."

Sosiqui

"Hmm. I will have to consider carefully, but such a task should indeed keep me occupied for a while." Illumin gave Rio a wry smile. "So I will thank you for that, at least - but, I don't really know Pana. Oh, I knew Medicine and I knew Memi, but this new creature is something I really barely understand..." He shrugged. "Well, we shall see when she returns, I suppose. Once our Lord is taken care of and, hopefully, Creation's glory restored. I do get so very tired of the choke of ash in the back of everything I smell or taste."

Meepfur

"You may know her better than you think, in some way or another." Rio leaned forward a little to 'tap' his index finger in the air near Illumin's chest. He mgiht actually have tapped more than air if it hadn't struck him at the last minute that he had no idea what effect actually touching Light might have on his host...and while it could be nothing at all, finding out the hard way didn't seem like a good idea.

"Even viewing it from my host's mind, I'll admit that this place is tiresome, with the only brightness- excepting your presence -" he grinned "Being of flame...and not a merry one, at that."

Sosiqui

Illumin grinned. "Now, now, you're forgetting Byrne. He radiates cheer like a tiny star." He stood up, then. "Thank you, Rio. You have given me much to think a bout beyond how very slighted I am by circumstances," he said, with a tone of genuine gratefulness in his voice.

Meepfur

"Such a hard one to forget, and yet it seems I did, in that way...but yes, so he does, even in a place such as this." He smiled, not failing to notice that Light had shortened his name. "You're more than welcome, Illumin. It is a pleasure, especially after so long in silence."

[Meepfur]

Solo #8

Alex

Rio's asleep. I guess that's what you call it. I think its because taking control makes him tired somehow. Its almost weird though, its so quiet when he's sleeping. Different from when he's awake and just being quiet. I can still feel him, but not as much or something. Its weird.

I hope he doesn't want to take control everytime we meet someone though. I won't let him if he does. Its okay with Illumin though, he can talk to him if he wants. At least he's figured out how to talk right so that he doesn't catch my lip or anything. But I still like making fun of him for it.

You know, I think I'm glad I did this. Even if it has to end at least it won't be a bad end. I think liking him makes it easier because I want him to live.

I think he's waking up again though, so I'd better put this away.

Alex blew on the ink to make sure it was dry, before carefully closing the diary and tucking the pen in the gap between the page and the spine...or the spine and whatever, she really didn't know how books were put together.

She'd just unzipped her backpack to put it away when Rio came aware again, just in time to get a glimpse of what she was doing...and with what.

Y'know, Alex, I never figured you for someone who'd keep a diary. He was clearly, but fondly, amused. Much less one with butterflies on it. Isn't that a bit girly?

Oh, go back to sleep, she answered irritably, blushing. She shoved the diary away. Don't you dare tell anyone.

I wouldn't dream of it.

[Meepfur]

Solo #9
1056

"Well I know
That in letting go,
I'm learning how to live
Through a life I have to give."

Lifehouse - "The Beginning"



It was early evening, and already Alex had found and had her nightly...meal. Not that she wouldn't mind a little something extra, if she could find it. There just weren't enoguh people like 'frumose' walking around. Mm, yeah...she could really use someone like that right now, bonus if they were wholly male. Nothing wrong with a tail, but...

You know, I'm almost disappointed I missed that little episode.

You would be, wouldn't you? Alex grinned, throwing her arms up and back to stretch while she walked, boots falling steadily on the concrete pavement. Mm, I totally need to find something to do tonight, before I go crazy.

Don't you mean someone? Rio corrected, chuckling.

Same difference, really. Something to do, with someone to do. Sounds like a plan to me. She hopped over a crack in the sidewalk, into the light of a streetlamp. Problem's actually finding someone, tho- hey, what was that?

Passing by a narrow alley, the vampire's sharp ears picked up a rattling, metallic sound. After standing there for a moment, head tilted to the side as a rustling followed, she shrugged and moved closer, peering into the darkened dead-end.

Huh. I don't see anything. She frowned.

Well, that was definitely something - hey, there it is again!

And it sounded like it was coming from a trash can. Probably just a rat or something.

Most likely, Rio agreed, disappointed.

What, hoping for something different?

Hey, you went to look before I even said anything. What were you hoping for, that 'someone to do'?

Maaaybe. But since he's not here, let's go and see if we can find him. Just as Alex turned to go, though, there was further rustling from the trash can, before something tumble over the edge and out - and instead of the rat she was expecting, it was...well, it wasn't rat, that was for sure. She'd never heard of a pink rat, before. "Huh?"

Stepping towards it, she crouched down to get a better look at the small, bright animal. "It looks kinda like a cat," she noted. "Except it's...kinda spiky?"

The creature lifted its head, blinking wide, inquisitive baby-blue eyes at the woman. Before she could help it, Alex let slip with "Aww, it's a kitten." Slowly reaching out with one hand, she wiggled her fingers. "Hello there."

Rio would have teased her for being soft, simply because it was so unlike what she tried to be, but he was too busy doing some aww'ing of his own. Oh, Alex! It's so cute! Try picking it up?

The curious-looking feline craned its head forward to sniff at Alex's fingers before giving them an experimental lick with its sandpaper tongue. In response, she giggled, and very carefully reached to pick it up, if it would let her.

Only to hesitate, realizing she had no idea how she was supposed to do that. She didn't exactly have any hands-on experience with animals. Uh, Rio? How do I...?

Just a moment, let me try something. I don't know if it will work, but maybe there's a way we can share, neither one more in control in the other. Umm, scoot over?

What do you mean, scoo- oh. Right. Give him more 'room' in her to fill. She wasn't sure how to do that, but...shutting her eyes, she let go somewhat. And after a moment, she felt some sort of internal shift, then a brief, dizzying period where soul and soul, mind and mind, jockeyed with each other for space, before finally they slipped into place, as close to half-and-half as possible. If anything, Alex still had a little more room than the god, but it was enough.

And it was weird, almost a sort of double-vision, although when she - they? - opened her eyes again, the picture was clear. It was just two people seeing the same thing, at the same time, with the same eyes; not one through the other's eyes.

Here, his voice seemed somehow closer, like he was talking into her ear, Together.

With Rio guiding, they reached out, gently scooping up the strange kitten, cradling it carefully as it mewed in surprised, wriggled in that frustrating way only young animals could. Bringing it in close to Alex's body, they kept hold of it with Rio's deft, remembered skills of how to hold the fragile creature, and whispered, "Shh, little one, it's oka-"

But inwardly, their grasp fumbled, and they lost the tenuous hold on shared control. Things shifted again, sliding and finally clicking back into place as they should be, with Alex holding the kitten.

She swayed, but she was careful to keep her hold on the kitten gentle, and after a moment her balance was back. "Whooa. Holy s**t, dude."

That was...interesting.

"Yeah, but I don't think I wanna do it again. That was some crazy s**t."

And even with a cute little thing like that in your arms, you still manage to swear.

"Hey, it's habit. Not like it's some kid I need to watch my language around, anyway." She grinned, scratching behind their new friend's ears. It had settled down now, deciding that maybe this wasn't so bad.

She, I think.

"No way in hell I'm checking. Is pink, though, so I hope it's a girl." Slowly, she stood and straightened. "Well, if it's a girl, I guess she needs a name. Your call."

Oh, I have to? Fine, just let me think...hey, what did that sign say?

Sign? "Oh, you mean the street sign." Ducking out of the alley, Alex peered up. "Dina...n? I can't make out the last letter, it's all rubbed off."

Well then, we'll just have to improvise. Pick a letter.

"To go on the end? Uhh...I dunno, what's wrong with just Dina?"

It doesn't look very pretty, though. Hmm...I know! We can put an 'h' on the end. Dinah. Doesn't sound much different, but it looks nicer. It's prettier.

"Fine, Dinah then." She laughed, looking down at this new pet of theirs. "But umm...I hope Ea doesn't mind."

I'm sure he won't, Rio assured smoothly. He wasn't really sure, but he chose to gloss right over and ignore the possibility that maybe the Hunt would mind. Besides, who could say 'no' to something so...so adorable?

[Meepfur]

RP #9
1387

RP with Sesostris

[Meepfur]

RP #10
1171

Shop RP: Sparks fly...and not the good kind, either. sweatdrop
Alex/Rio and Khiviance

Johnathan

Khiviance opened the door, peering around a moment. She really still was not very fond of coming here, but somehow she felt the need to drop by. Maybe just to test the waters, see what was around, and maybe Destruction would have a change of heart and remove this blasted mark and all that went with it.

She laughed inwardly to herself at that, smirking as she strolled in. Requient was with ehr today, Vindicate remaining at their other home for now. Her purse bounced a few times against her hip as she made towards the kitchen, her mood somewhat pleasant.

Meepfur

Alex had been curled up at the end of one of the couches, tucked up against the arm and lettng her mind drift. She was bored again, but she couldn't be bothered to get up and actually do something. Bored and lazy was an awful combination.

But hearing the door open, she lifted her head...and couldn't quite see much of anything that way, so she very slowly uncurled and pushed herself up on her elbows. She arched her back at the same time, stretching, then had to pull the torn camisole she wore down a bit.

Blonde chick. Right. Hey, Rio, any idea?

I..think maybe so...

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" she muttered, then shook her head and said simply "Yo."

Johnathan

She nearly jumped at the sound, having not onoticed the other person. She turned, an even pace despite her now racing heart, fixing her blue eyes on the figure.

She was rubbing at her left shoulder unconsciously, the sleeveless shirt exposing the mark that she half-covered in ehr efforts of massaging the aching spot.

She had figured this was also anotehr hsot - or host-to-be - and figured some sociality wouldn't hurt. After all, it was good to know future allies and future enemies both. She flicked a thought to the mechanical looking purple bird on her shoulder.

"The lady says hello," it intoned in a gravelly sort of voice. "She would like to introduce herself, since she hadn't met you before, and did not expect any to be here like normal. This is the Lady Khiviance, of Love. She would speak for herself but can't right now, and uses myself - Requient - to do so for her." It clicked a moent, bobbing it's head just then.

Meepfur

The purple bird doing the talking for her was...more than a little weird, but Alex shrugged it off, answering with a bit of irreverence, "I'm just Alex, no 'lady' here."

Then she paused, struck by a late realization. Whoa-ho, wait minute, this is that chick?

So it would seem..

Hey, dude, I'm not sure I want to, umm..

Just like you to lose interest when you're meeting a woman, and not someone attractive and male.

That's not what I meant! But really, with you getting the way you do when someone talks about her, I think I'd rather let you do..whatever. I don't wanna be relaying messages or some s**t.

Well, since you asked.. With the switch came a change in posture, carriage; still easy and self-assured, but stronger...something not exactly suited to a short skirt. Rio swung his legs over the side of the couch and leaned forward, resting forearms across thighs, and smiled. "Hello, 'Vi."

He wasn't much more certain about this than his host, but it wouldn't do to let that show.

Johnathan

She stiffed immediately, knowing only one person in all of existence that woudl have called her that, including down to the change in posture and everything. Only one.

Oh ho, do I sense problems? Johnathan's tone was quite amused as her very definite change of emotions nearly threw him helter skelter. Once aware of it however...

Shut up! she snarled at him inside, squelching him out for the moment. OUtside hwoever she remained mostly calmand put on a smile that was somewhere btween plesant.... and 'hello I'm going to kill you' evil. She threw a though to Requient, keeping ehr eyes fixed on the other.

"The lady says hello to Alex, ...." The corrupted dream shifted, a bit uneasy. "She says hello-" a slight intonation of flatness to the words, although not quite perfect- "to yuo, Rio." The ngihtmare was focused on Rio as well now, wings folded primly to the sides, and watching, watching, watching.

I'd have been perfectly happy if you'd remained gone. She lowered her hand from her shoulder, placing it on her hip while standing there, waiting to hear it form him. He may not have been here for the latest events, but there was plenty of past he could blurt out here and now.

As if it was her fault.

Meepfur

"I was wondering when I'd see you." His voice was steady, even fairly pleasant despite that...unpromising smile, and the flatness of tone the bird sort of managed to indicate.

"I'd heard you'd beat me to coming back." He stood, the movement smooth even though the body didn't quite belong to him. Inwardly, he was grateful he'd gotten over the speaking problem his host's fangs had presented at first. Crossing his arms, he grinned. "Can't say I'm surprised you did."

Johnathan

One side of her lips quirked up at the comment, her expression more then amused. Her left hand fingers tapped against the purse as she debated a fairly good retort and reply to this.

Once having one, she sent it along to Requient.

"The Lady says of course, as the lady should have that right, being gone first." It gave a slight disdainful snort, lowering it's head slightly as it looked at Rio. "Do you have a problem with that?"

I could have gone a whole eon without seeing you, Rio. It was all your fault anyway thigns went bad. Calico was a mistake, you were the cause though.... it was you. And you and your damn problems.

She shook her head slightly, and rubbed at her shoulder again. The mroe she got agitated, and the more she wanted to actually speak, the more it bothred her. SHe hated this situation, especially with him. It was a weakness he could exploit if he wanted.

Meepfur

"Of course not." And he didn't, really...not that he was liking the way things were looking. "Should I?"

It was a challenge, with an almost playful hint, as he stepped towards her...careful in his host's boots, but he was getting used to them. He stopped just in front of her, one hand out...as though trying to decide if he should touch her, or if he'd cost Alex a finger to that bird.

Johnathan

She watched him very carefully, unsure of every action of his. COnsidering their last times in each other's presence it was hard to tell - and Rio had always been a hard one to read even in his angriest.

She at least was obvious, even if accused of being almost one-dimensional at times with her moods - but at least she was usually obvious when she had a set mood. She ahd never learned to read him like she could so many others.

She kept her expression even then, looking at him with a slight aloofness and distachment, even a slight dare to touch her.

Requient fidgited a moment, wary of the hand should it come towards her. However, Khiviance showed no signs of having a problem and thus she did not react. She would only attack if her dreamer was threatened.

"She says no, not at all. Seemed like might be problem since brought up." A pause, and then, "she wonders how you have been."

Meepfur

Mostly, he was testing, trying to fgure out where he was...where they were. For all he knew, he was going to get slapped...or maybe yelled at, by way of Requient. He didn't particularly care for either of those options.

"How am I?" Rio shrugged. "I'm alive again, after a fashion, and happy to be."

He finally did reach out to touch her - he couldn't resist her dare. Brushing his fingers under her chin, he tilted his head. "And maybe..I'd be happy to see her..."

"But I get the impression she's not happy to see me."

Johnathan

She allowed the touch, and even though a large part of her still hated him for what happened ... there was a small aprt of ehr that still longed for him, wanted the past - before things went to pieces - back.

As his last words rang, her expression broke slightly, letting through some fo the sadness, the despair. Not completely - but enough broke through in her gaze, and the slight fall of her lips to a slight pout. She reached up carefully to touch his hand a moemnt and drew back.

I can't ... I just can't do it. I can't possibly.... it's not my place, and I'm not the one who started this all. I can't put it behnd me, the fading away hurt to much, to lose all that ahd been dear to me.... and losing him .... that hurt more then anything. And everything.

I don't see how he can be happy to see me, after all we went through.

She flicked a thought, subdued somewhat, to Requient, but kept her eyes on him, somewhat steeled even though parts had broken through, raising her chin slightly.

Requient shifted, spreading wings a moent and resettling. "The Lady says it is not easy... to persay be glad to see you. After all, the past and all, and the Fading... yes yes, not easy. In honest words would have prefered to be only one of domain for some time yet, but then..."

The nightmare trailed off, as though the thought itself had been as well.

She was rubbing at her shoulder more now, feeling a slight sting form it. She ahd gone and reminded herself of her own stupidity in the name of love. In her domain. As if she deserved sometimes to have that domain, that place, after what she did. Maybe it was better he was back, so she would be left alone in peace.

Left alone to sort things out, and left alone out of everyone's afairs before she was sent back to the dark and unmade.

She clenched her teeth sligthly, prepared for anything. If she could have faced down Destruction, she could deal with Rio. And deal with those emotions of hers later, lest they betray her now and show weakness before the enemy.

Meepfur

One her hand had touched his, he let his own drop. "But it's the past. How long ago, now?" He thought for a moment, then shook his head, grinning helplessly. "I don't even know."

It bothered him, to think about then. He really didn't want to, even with Khiviance standing right in front of him. He almost envied the Hunt, who'd said he had no memory of before...even his name had been lost to him.

So Rio didn't want that extreme, but dwelling on the past was uncomfortable, and hard for him to do. It wasn't something he'd do of his own accord. It actually made him fidget, just a little.

"To be the only one?" He smiled ruefully. "And here I'd kind of hoped maybe you'd missed me, 'Vi."

Johnathan

That stung a little, to be told that, when she already felt that. She swallowed slightly, bottling it up. How could he let the past go so easily? But then, he hadn't been the one stung, the one to feel the pain of it all coming down around you. He outlasted her by who knew how long. So why shuold it bother him?

Then, too, he was more carefree, tended to let nothing bother him. Of course he could let it slide. She shook her head slightly, looking down as she sent something to Requient to say.

"The past is why we're like this now," the dream said solemnly. "Is reason why we need reborn. Fell away, into dark. Painful, yes. Other things which always remain in thought. Perhaps if had been forgotten, would be better, but.... both good and bad carried over." A bit cryptic, yes, but it made it so she wasn't admitting anything directly.

She let her hands fall to her side, her eyes staring more just below his eyes then directly at them now.

Meepfur

"We all fell, eventually. And now we're all stuck trying to become something again." He tapped the gem in his host's stomach, fingers lingering on the blackened skin around it. Alex had a right to complain, he had to admit...it did hurt.

But he was getting distracted, struck by his short attention span when it came to things like this. His mind kept looking for something else to think about. "And who ever said being the one to hold on longer was a good thing?"

Johnathan

She smirked slightly then, a hint of ehr old expression returning as she looked at him. Yes, they'd all fallen, but being one of the early ones meant a lot got to laugh at your misfortune and dismiss you as nothing.

And it left you longing a lot longer, and having more time to hurt. At least being around longer you got a better view of the picture, and thigns were more serious. And people cared likely more then when the numbers swelled.

"Better then forgotten so easily, better then disaarded so quickly." A sigh then, and the dream shook her head. "Few cared then when it began, made mockery of the few to go first. Seduce was there, hearing the laughter from the likes of War and such dismissal of it being a problem even then."

Khiv shook her head then, runnign fingers through her hair. It hadn't been easy to receive any of the foolishness, when she was weakened. She wanted to lash out but couldn't then. And now? Would it really serve to hodl age-old grudges?

But couldn't the same fallacies and failures then come back and be repeated, their same feelings echoed so easily back? She was branded now anyway, marked. Of course they'd still pas her up, look oer her, mock her place. Why bother with ehr when there was Rio - the perfect one everyone could handle.

Yeah, of course there was bad blood still, and that wasn't easily let go even when part of her wanted nothing more then his love and affections again.

It's easy for you, since people never jduged you as they did I. No one looked to you to help them, and get marked for it, either...

"Not easy, even in return, Rio.... not easy at all. As it was, as it is. Forever drawn into the complexitis of others and lead into the same misfortune with greater consequence. Perhaps better second, then to be first returned, andnot suffer through what has already come."

Meepfur

"I cared! Maybe I didn't believe it would spread, but I never laughed. Do you think I liked it? I missed you, 'Vi, and hell, Cali too." He shook his head, eyes narrowed. Even Rio could only take so much before he was rattled, and Khiviance was good at doing that, whether she meant to be or no. She was forcing him to think about what he didn't want to, about everything that had happened, provoking guilt over things that hadn't been his fault.

"Drawn, led...and who ever forced you to do anything? You chose." Past, present...he could be talking about one as easily as the other. Maybe it was both. "Do you like to suffer, or just wallow in it when it's done?"

Johnathan

Johnathan sighed, settling in for the coming storm. If he could tell her he said so, he wuold.

She ahd hoped this would have remained civil, but once again, thigns took a turn for the worst - whoever's fault it was. And with that, he'd pushe dher buttons once mroe, as he was always good at. And she did the first thign which came to mind at such insulting, hurtful attacking words - she slapped him, hard.

The anger and hurt was evident in her expression as she stepped back, a few tears already falling free before she even had a chance to do anything about it. Her thoughts were already streaming a mile a minute to ehr voice, and she was cursing mentally at the damn mark that was upon her arm preventing her form saying this all directly as she shook slightyl with her anger.

"The Lady says," the dream hissed, feeding on the emotions coming from them both and took wing then, "that she is NOT appreciative of all of such a comment at all, and thinks that she was very right after all in wishing you'd stayed away despite some doubts." It circled the pair, clicking a few noises of some unplsant tone and hissing at both of them ebfore continuing on, "Perhaps, she thinks, that you should reconsider some things before spitting such, or find the facts first before making that accusation. Perhaps," in a very hissed tone of anger Requient could manage, "that you shoudl suffer judgement at the hands of Destruction before you open your mouth again at her and find out how bad it can be and stop traisping in your own litlte joy-filled world and look at the other half. She didn't ask for what came, because she had little choices in the matter on what to DO about it. Cry a river, do what you will. Enjoying sufferment is for the likes of Oblivia and Lunara and Calico, not her."

She dove between them, and rose again, hovering a moment ebfore hsising once more. "Missed or not, from either side, think watching tongues should be done first." And with that, Requient took a landing up high, out fo reach of BOTH of them to make some noise and preen, obviously pissed at both of them now.

Khiv turned her back slightly to Rio to scowl at the corrupted dream for that. Since when was she to be scoleded like that?! She was pissed enough at him, she didn't need someone ELSE on her case now too.

Wasn't the scorn of half the others already here enough?

Meepfur

He should have been expecting that, but somehow the slap still caught him off-guard. And hurt, driving the inside of her lower lip against a fang. He brought a hand to his face, looking back at her with his host's inhuman eyes.

That b***h, Alex spat, bristling and angry. And between her anger and Rio's momentary shock, she managed to come back into control even without meaning to. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, but maybe you should ******** come down from whatever horse you're on, Lady."

Alex!

"I don't know why the hell you did it, but from what I hear it sounds like you deserved what it is you got." The vampire growled, hands curling into fists. "No, he shouldn't suffer, and he won't, because he's not idiot enough to try and pull some ******** stunt, and because he's too damn worried about that stupid joy of his! At least he's worried about something that might do some kind of good!"

Alex, enough! Stop it, this isn't yours to get involved in!

She smirked, shaking her head. Friends, don't you remember? And besides, that slap ******** hurt.

Johnathan

As Alex went off on her her eyes narrowed, and at the end of she looked about ready to snarl. Oh, that's real fine, lectured by a damned mortal no less, sticking their nose into business that wasn't even theirs! WHat was the world coming to, when mortals thought they could just smart off to the beings who held their lives in some form of control?

Maybe this was doomed form the start, al thigns considerred.

Maybe only because you're too damned blind, Johnathan managed to snap at her.

Shut up already! She was facing Alex now, glaring, and if clooks could have killed, Alxed would have been dead on the spot. And since when did joy matter at a time like this with Desctruction reigning? Who the hell was the blind one here, did no one see the seriousness of the entire situation they were in right now? Was she and possibly Lucuius the only ones who could see this was not going well at all in the face of thgins, damned be it she was at least partly responsbile for rushing this?

She'd had enough fo this - not so much Rio, but the mortal host of his and shot of a curt reply to Requient, also throwing in the dream coudl stay for all she cared, she was going home now. She'd ahd enough fo both of them at this point.

The dream sighed, fluffing up a moment. "She says that perhaps this is why mortals are stupid, in that they can't seem to respect the ones above them, and figures this is already preemptively dmaning the raising snince mortals obviously don't seem to care enough to midn their own. Aside this, she's had enough of both of you, and bids you both a farewell until another time. Perhpas thinking on thigns would help."

During this tirade being delivered, she had already begun heading for the door and was about three-quarters there by the end of it. He pace was neither hrried nor slow, but she was still angry and hurt, as evidenced by the nervous twitching in her wings. She didn't entirely want to leave, but... she couldn't remain feeling like this, and not with that damned mortal.

Sorry Rio.

Meepfur

"You're not ******** above me, and you haven't done anything to get my respect," Alex snarled at Khiviance's back, stomping her foot.

Alex, enough. Please.

"But she's- fine, whatever. Have it your way." She crossed her arms, her own nails digging into her forearms while she watched the goddess go, glaring.

Rio would have liked to take control back again, to say something, but his host was firmly grounded now, in stubborness and anger. He wouldn't get anywhere.

Johnathan

Just like a damned child. She ahd hoped at least to hear somehting from Rio, but denied that, she finished her walk to the door and threw up open ,catching it in time. She glanced back, striaghtened, and headed out, with Requient finally trailing along before she knew KHiv would stap the door shut.

And she did, with a loud resounding slam. She took off runnign then, to get as far away as she could - a block to two, before she stopped to catch her breath, and wipe away the tears that refused to go away despite her forceful willing of them to be gone. She snapped out a cigarette from her purse and lit it it one fluid motion, trying to calm her nerves as her wings still twitched. SHe began her long trek back to Morpheus' house, to escape the insanity and stupidity thatw as coming the place the gods were reborn.

Shouldn't have to earn the respect of a mortal, it should be a given to the gods. Maybe that's Destruction's plan after all. Come back, get some of us to make a ruse and then let everything finally go with us properly as it should have been to pay them back.

He wasn't Destruciton then, Johnathan shot off, and you seriously need to learn some diplomacy, if you ever intend to resolve your own issues. Now quit sulking like a whiny little drama whore b***h, and get your a** back home before you get US run over by a truck being lost in thought. I'm still here, I don't feel like being offed before you're in ccontrol.

She huffed out smoke, thinking a few sour thoughts at him but he was partly right, considering they'd just crossed on a red light and could easily have bene flattened. She'd been too busy cursing at Destruction and mortals mentally to pay attention.

If she wanted any hope of having the last word, she needed to remain alive and intact still.

Still doesn't mean you're right.

Love you too.

Oh, shut up.

"I don't know if it felt like
I wanted you here, the way that I wanted you last time
We're not on the same page, you don't even know me
Cause you never took the time

I'm not sure that you hear me
I'm not sure that you look at me the same
I will always be attached to you
But I'm never gonna feel the same

I don't know if it felt like
I wanted you here, the way that I wanted you last time
We're not on the same page, you don't even know me
'Cause you never took the time
No, you never took the time."

Shinedown - "Some Day"

[Meepfur]

Solo #10

Hey, would you tell me why
The cat fights the dog?

And if our fates have all been wrapped around your finger
And if you wrote the script then why the troublemakers?

How do you do?
How does it feel to be so high
And are you happy?
Do you ever cry?

You've made mistakes
Well that's OK 'cause we all have
But if I forgive yours
Will you forgive mine?

Hey, do you feel our pain
And walk in our shoes?
Have you ever felt starved
Or is your belly always full?

How many people die
And hurt in your name?
Hey, does that make you proud
Or does it bring you shame?

And if our fates have all been wrapped around your finger
And if you wrote the script then why the troublemakers?

Shakira - "How Do You Do"




When Khiviance had gone, Alex let herself sink to the floor, back up against the bar. Her head tipped back against it, and she closed her eyes. Now that the goddess was gone, the anger collapsed in on itself, leaving her tired and strangely empty.

It wasn't like just being pissed at someone...it had dug up an old, buried anger, and with it fear, or the memory of fear; the bitterness she still felt towards the God of her childhood. So sure, so far away, so high. Infallible, perfect.

And everyone else, wrong. Doomed from the start, writhing and helpless in the hands of an angry god who had power over them all, over everything, and yet changed nothing. Who let it all go on, and why? What was the point?

"Why..?" She buried her face in her hands, shaking. It had never really left her, the fear she'd pushed away, when she'd told herself she'd stopped caring. That a god who gave a little girl nightmares about hell didn't deserve her attention, her adoration born from nothing but fear.

Because if she didn't, if she didn't believe, if she didn't live to please his impossible demands...

"Why?!" Alex hit her fist against the floor, choking back a sob. "It's not fair! I'm not stupid, I'm not...I'm not nothing!"

Alex.

"So what if I'm ******** mortal? So what if I'm damned? That doesn't..make me...wrong. It doesn't mean anything! It doesn't make me less than anyone!" It all came spilling out, the old frustrations and fears, the old accusations.

"I hate you! You've never done anything..but make me hurt..." She curled in on herself, sobbing into the ash on the floor. "I'm not yours, I don't belong to..you can't make me..."

Alex. Alex, shh. It's all right. He was still reeling himself from the encounter with Khiviance, but not the way his host was...and he'd had absolutely no idea she'd be so ready to defend him, and especially hadn't expected this kind of backlash once it was over.

If she heard him, it didn't register. She actually started to laugh, choked and delirious. "For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory..."

He wished at least that he could offer her comfort with more than his voice and words, but she wasn't sleeping, so he coldn't even use her dreams. Alex, hush. Please don't be afraid. You're no one's but mine now, and I promise you're safe.

"Amen."

I promise.

[Meepfur]

Solo #11
508

"Is it still me that makes you sweat?
Am I who you think about in bed?
When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress?
Then think of what you did, and how I hope to God he was worth it
When the lights are dim and your heart is racing as your fingers touch your skin.

I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better ********
Than any boy you'll ever meet, sweetie, you had me
Girl I was it, look past the sweat, a better love deserving of
Exchanging body heat in the passenger seat
No no no, you know it will always just be me."

Panic! At The Disco - "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"





By the time she woke up the next night, Alex was back to her normal self, which meant griping about the encounter with Khiviance. That the other Love had slapped Rio (and her with him) pissed her off to no end. It wasn't right for her to treat them that way, even if she was a goddess.

"She's got some real balls, doing that. I wonder if she treats everyone that way." The vampire scratched idly behind their kitten's ears, cradling her in her lap. It took away some of the tension, distracted her. "If she does, she's bound to get herself slapped one of these days. She's lucky it was you in control then, otherwise I would've."

"You should have, you know," she added.

I would never strike a woman, he protested, offended. And especially not her, no matter what she does.

"You're too damn nice for your own good sometimes."

No. As it was, I shouldn't have yelled at her.

"Oh, please. She was being a b***h, and she was hurting you."

Hesitation. That doesn't mean I had a right to hurt her.

"Bullshit, Rio. There's not a damn thing wrong with how you are, there's nothing wrong with being happy and trying to give other people some of that, too. And what's she done, huh? Went and ******** everything up for everyone, and now she doesn't wanna face up to it. If she's not happy, if she doesn't want to be happy, then it's her own damn fault she's not."

Alex...she's sinned, she's been bound. That can't be easy.

"And what am I? I'm damned, and not even because of something I did." She paused, looking down at the grassy floor. "Not saying that I wouldn't be, but even if that hadn't happened, I'd still be damned. I could live like a ******** saint and it wouldn't change a thing. But I've never gone around taking it out on other people. You just have to get on with it, for chrissakes."

"It's just...what I'm saying is, ******** her. Forget about her and just do what makes you happy. You don't owe her anything, especially the way she's acting. She didn't want you back? Fine. You don't need her back."

But I'd like her back, if...

"If..?"

If she weren't so bitter, if she weren't so stuck in the past. I can't understand that, and I can never be that way. But...

"Oh no, don't you even. You want to try and help her, don't you?"

...Yes. I don't like to see her this way, it hurts almost as much as anything she could say. I know you don't like her, Alex, and I can understand why, but I've at least got to try.

"And if it doesn't work?" Clearly, Alex didn't think it would.

Then I take your advice and leave her to herself. He paused, and then added smugly, And leave her to think what it could have been like again, if she had only let it.

"Her loss, you mean."

Exactly.

[Meepfur]

RP #11
1010

RP with Eamnonn

[Meepfur]

Solo #12
629

"Fall on me,
Tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you
Forever in me
Ever the same

Call on me
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me
Forever it's you
Forever in me
Ever the same."

Rob Thomas - "Ever The Same"




After Ea had gone, Alex went into the main room, sitting herself down in the corner by the snapdragons Orin had planted. Almost without thinking about it, she reached for them, gently squeezing the base of a bright red flower between her thumb and forefinger to make it open up. She smiled to herself as she did so, popping her lips. Pook, pook.

You really do like the plants, don't you?

"Of course I do," she answered. "They're pretty. I really would like to learn how to take care of them."

Because they're pretty, or because they were Ea's?

Alex thought for a moment. "Both, I think. Besides, it would be weird here without them, and I really wouldn't want Orin to have to take them out. That seems like it would be cruel, somehow."

You really are a nice girl, you know.

"Like hell I am."

Then why do you want to keep the flowers, and why did you hug the Hunt? And say thank you without being told to? If you weren't nice, you wouldn't care about them.

"That's different." She fidgeted, switching over to a yellow snapdragon, not wanting to squeeze one over and over to death. "They're kind to me."

And it's been a long time since someone was. But that doesn't mean you've forgotten how to be - some people would've, you know.

"I'm going to miss them" she said abruptly, changing the subject. "It's kinda weird already."

You'll still see them, though. Ea did say you could go and visit, and Orin will be by.

"I know, but..." Just then, she noticed Dinah had tottered into the room and over to the corner, batting her paws at a purple stalk of snapdragons. "Hey there, careful now!"

Plucking her up to a mew of protest, Alex set her down a little away from the flowers. "You can play around them all you want, but don't hurt them. That would be sad."

"Anyway, I just mean it'll be weird getting used to them not, y'know, being around and all." Dinah had worked her way back again, and was trying to give the blooms another smack. Alex thwacked her lightly on the nose with one finger. "Don't you do that."

Maybe she saw you playing with them. Rio chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just a bad example." Alex stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth.

Really, though, you'll get used to it. You might still miss them, but that's because they're your friends, and you're attached to them. It's nothing to worry about.

"I guess maybe I'd kind of forgotten what it's like." Coming to the flowers' rescue again, she shook her finger at the playful cat. "Come here and play with something else, silly." With nothing else immediately on hand, she took a bit of her hair between her fingers and swished it at Dinah.

Suitably distracted, Dinah scampered over to bat at those long and tempting strands of hair, getting a giggle out of Alex. "Hey, Rio.."

Yes?

"Did you really...mean what you said, that I'd...be around for as long as I want?"

Of course, I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't meant it. Don't get me wrong, though, I'll still need...to take you over, but you'll still be here. Like the way I am now, you see? For as long as you want, even if it's forever.

"I understand." She smiled, steadying Dinah, who'd clambered into her lap to take a leap at that bunch of hair. "Thank you."

I'd miss you too, you know. I want you here, Alex, and I want you to be happy, whatever it is that makes you happy. Anything you want, anything I can do. Even if it's just silly flowers.

[Meepfur]

RP #12
892

Shop RP: Shattered
Alex and Frank

maskedquerade

The man was thin, and scruffy, and holding a whisky bottle. Holding wasn't precisely the right word, since it seemed adhered to his hand despite all his attempts to shake it off, which mostly involved shaking the contents into his mouth. He grimaced and wiped his mouth, peering shakily at the obsidian temple and its columns that inspired despair in every mortal.

The people on the street shied away, both from the stench of alcohol and the Temple of the Gods Reborn, but the man roughly shoved open the gate, and took another chug of his liquid courage before letting it clang shut behind him.

He was going to give those bastards a piece of his mind.

Meepfur

Alex had perched herself on the arm of one of the couches again, just sitting there and swinging one leg, cheerfully humming something to herself. The vampire was a little bored, but not the kind that drove you crazy...just a thought hanging at the back of her mind that maybe she should do something.

Or maybe not. Just sitting around was doing something. Sort of.

maskedquerade

The man, who fuzzily remembered that his name was Frank, pushed open the door with a bang and looked around imperiously--and woozily--before taking another swig. His gaze slipped and fell on Alex, almost entirely by accident, and his cogs started to turn. "No wings," he muttered sloppily (but rendered intelligibly for your convenience), and stumbled toward a surface horizontal that wasn't the ground.

Maybe a chair? A table? Bah, who cared, the world was tilting and standing wasn't a good option anymore.

Meepfur

When the door banged open, Alex started, hopping off the couch and onto her feet. That...was definitely no one she'd ever seen before, but she knew the smell well enough. She sniffed, wrinkling her nose. And what was that he'd said? Even with her sharp hearing, she couldn't quite make it out. She hadn't been paying enough attention.

Putting her hands on her hips, she frowned. She doubted he 'belonged' here, he might well just be someone stumbling in off the street with no idea where they were - considering the pools of lava out in the garden, that probably wasn't a good thing.

Smoothing out her skirt, she stepped towards him. "Uh...hey dude, I think maybe you've got the wrong place.."

maskedquerade

The surface he's stumbled upon was hard, but servicable for leaning. "Ish got collums and gods innit, innit? Wheresh m'daughtrrrr?" he slurred and drooled a little more than was strictly necessary, but he was generally a mellow--if sloppy--drunk, and without the anger-focusing god about, he was more content and remembered less of why he'd come here in the first place.

Meepfur

"Columns, yeah...gods, check." Alex scratched her head. "As for your daughter, though, I haven't got a damn clue. I haven't seen any girls but me around here who aren't gods. Are you...really sure you're in the right place?"

Umm, Alex. I could be wrong, but he sounds like he knows where he is.

But what the hell for?

I hate to say it, but...maybe not everyone who comes here hasn't got anyone left.

She was a bit slow on the uptake, though, and she didn't quite get what he meant yet.

maskedquerade

"Isha right place," Frank insisted. "Sh'came here. She..." He paused and concentrated, the bottle slipping in his thin fist. "A rock, a blue rock. And then she left. I wanter back!" He gesticulated with the the bottle toward the entrance. "And we can g'home, and Barb will come home, and e'rything will be good. And... and..." He peered at the bottle, seeming to be near tears.

Meepfur

Rock, waitaminute. Now she realized. "Oh, s**t."

His daughter must have become someone's host, but I don't know whose. That's what this is all about, it has to be.

"Uh." Alex rubbed the back of her neck, trying to think what the hell she was supposed to do or say. "Sir, I don't think you can...have her back."

maskedquerade

"Why? Why?!" Anger suppressed by months of drunken stupor began to bubble to the surface. Adrenaline cleared his head slightly, restoring his sense of balance from horizontal and spinning to only slightly skewed, and he staggered upright. "She'sh my daughter. She wush jush el'ven. Elevun! Her whole life! You had no right!" he shouted, bringing up the mostly-empty bottle as a weapon.

Meepfur

"Whoa!" Alex's eyes went wide. Drunk was one thing, angry drunk was entirely another. She took stepped forward cautiously, light on her feet and ready to spring one way or the other if she had to. "Look, maybe you shouldn't be here. She's not yours anymore, I'm sorry."

Alex, I don't think I like this.

maskedquerade

"I want my fam'ly!" Frank growled, lunging at Alex with the bottle in a wide, uncoordinated arc.

Meepfur

Alex wasn't any sort of trained fighter, and what she did know was almost all geared towards getting hold of someone she'd snuck up on, or was at least already close to. Still, if nothing else, she did have one hell of a strong sense of self-preservation.

She sprang back, hopefully far enough not get herself hit. "I don't have your damn family!"

maskedquerade

Frank took another wild swing, stumbled, then recovered. He wasn't a fighter either, and he was drunk, but he was also angry, and desperate, and really, really drunk. Another easily dodgeable swing had the bottle and wall connect in an elbow-jarring collision, and break into several large, irregular pieces, the neck a twisted glass claw in his hand, and the small amount of remaining whiskey a hazard on the floor.

Meepfur

Distantly, Alex found herself wishing Ea hadn't left...the Hunt would probably do a hell of a lot better with this thing than her. But much to her dismay (and especially Rio's), she was stuck, and this had just gotten a lot more dangerous.

What was left of the bottle was bound to hurt like hell if she got hit with it, but she couldn't just keep avoiding it forever, and besides, now she was pissed off. She hadn't done a damn thing thing to deserve this!

In what was probably one of the stupider moments of her life, she rushed him.

maskedquerade

Reflexes slowed and mind dulled, Frank stepped to the side, one foot in a alcoholic puddle. Unable to dodge any better than a side-shuffle, the two collided, and Frank slipped, one foot flying high in a sadly comical manner. Twisted around, he started to fall, the broken bottleneck skittering from his hand and sliding under one of the couches.

That broken glass on the ground glinted in the split second before Frank's back connected with it.

Meepfur

With the momentum she had going, combined with the terribly impractical boots she always wore, Alex didn't stand a chance of keeping her own balance when she ran into him. She fell with him, landing on top of him, her knees on either side of his stomach - and bare, with the glass underneath grinding into her skin with the force of the fall.

Flinching, she hissed, but otherwise did nothing...she didn't exactly know what to do. She was mostly hoping he'd just stop.

maskedquerade

Bereft of his weapon, and suddenly in a whole lot of pain, Frank scrabbled frantically to sit up, embedding some smaller shards of glass in his arms. The smell of blood beginning to ooze from his back and arms was overpowered by the alcohol on his breath, the alcohol on his foot, and his body odor. "...Guh..." But the blood was definitely there, and his attempts to rise were making odd reddish arcs on the floor.

Meepfur

The alcohol, even the body odor, Alex could deal with...the blood was a problem; with her confused, angry, and half on top of someone who'd just attacked her, it became even more of problem.

And he was struggling. Hissing again, this time in something other than pain, she tried to keep him down - she didn't weigh very much, though.

maskedquerade

Frank didn't weight much more, with all his money going to spirits rather than food or rent, his struggles were more spastic than powerful. He did manage, in a panicked flurry, to connect one bloody hand with Alex's face, but was unable to follow up with any sort of assault. Attempting to pull himself backward got glass in his palm, but he was barely feeling anything at the moment.

Meepfur

Alex fell back away from him, mouth open and a hand to her face where she'd been hit. There was blood there, some of his and some of her own, from her lip. In a slow, almost calm moment, she wiped it off on her hand, and then licked it off.

When she looked up, her red eyes were sharply focused, but there wasn't anyone really home behind them - except maybe for the god, but he was stuck watching while she pushed herself up into a crouch, one hand flat to the floor despite the glass there. With a quick shifting of her position and weight, she launched herself at him.

maskedquerade

Frank reacted to the sudden motion, battering at it ineffectually with his glass-studded fists. Sure, he got a few good hits in, but he was bleeding badly from several cuts, was more drunk than four pledges at a kegger, and had come to the Temple wanting to die.

He knew there was no chance of Memi coming home. No chance of Barbara forgiving him for accepting that. Resigning himself to it. His life didn't flash before his eyes, but all his choices did, the ones he regretted and the ones he wouldn't change for the world.

Maybe Memi wouldn't forgive him for regretting his decision to let her stand on her own choices, but that wouldn't matter much now, would it? He was gone, too.

...

Meepfur

The hitting only served to provoke her, to make her rougher as she struggled back, meaning to pin him, or at least to latch on hard enough that there'd be no dislodging her. She was lightweight, but also unnaturally strong...and she was so hungry.

Beyond that, there was nothing in her mind but distant shouting she couldn't quite make out, as she sought to sink her fangs into his neck.