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 Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:50 pm
Anubis felt awfully out of place in the Greek neighborhood that housed Persy's shop. His mortal body was very large and very dark, with jackal ears that never seemed to go away and Kohl eyeliner that never washed off. The people passing him on the streets were small and pale, and Anubis didn't like standing out at all.
After an agonizing five minutes of walking, he arrived at the plant-covered storefront and stepped in, ducking to avoid hitting his head on both the door frame and a trailing vine.
"So, it's starts," he said, closing the door and smiling cordially at Persy. "Kind of like last time - are you old enough to remember that? I think my Family might have a chance this time, since He's not playing."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:03 pm
There were perks that came with being a goddess in mortal form.
Being able to sense power of catastrophic porportions was not always one of them.
Persy tensed as she felt the presence of another god entering her domain. This was no godling: this was one of the few that had chosen to come see the Game in human flesh. Which considerably lowered down the list of people it could be, but all the same it made her uneasy any time someone with that kind of status came to her. It never usually meant any good.
However, her alert look turned into a frown as her business associate of sorts entered the room, and she crossed her arms somewhat like an insulted child.
"Of course I remember the last time the Game was played: you're not that much older than I am." Persy scowled: every plant in a small radius around the other god was beginning to die.
"Is there some way for you to, y'know, maybe turn off the death for a little while? You're killing my plants," Persy added somewhat sarcastically, touching a hand to one of the withered leaves. Slowly, it revitalized itself, only to begin withering once again when her attention left it, her concentration currently on Anubis.
"What are you doing here, anyways?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:25 pm
"Oh, right," shrugged Anubis. Suddenly, he seemed more compact, like his aura had shrunk. The plants around him un-wilted a little bit. His expression turned sour.
"Last night, Morrigan tried to rape me and then sent me out to find her brat. The night before, I was carting Shamash's kid godling around The City until two AM. Now, is this a limited phenomenon, or are you getting kids in the shop, too? And other gods? Do they come attack you? Morrigan is some crazy Celtic b***h. I'd never heard of her until last night."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:35 pm
Persy glared at the boarded up wall that had once been a window. "What do you think? First my carnations are destroyed by this clumsy idiot of his boy, who's got a trickster god helping him. Then his god finds it amusing to squirt me with water, because he says I look like a plant." Just speaking of the past few days was starting to make her fume, and any of the plants that had withered suddenly began growing with new resolve, fed by her anger.
"And you know what else? This tentacle monster has the balls to directly interfere with the meeting I had with his godling. He thinks he can just come in here whenever he feels like it and-ARGH!" With a shudder, all of the plants stopped growing, but the buzz of vitality still seemed to hum about the room like electricity.
"All I need is one excuse, Anubis, and I'm gonna get sent back to Olympus for 'disqualifying' one of these brats without practical reason." From the glare she was giving to the other god, it was easy to see what she meant by disqualify. "I'd almost say it's not worth it, but I don't want to push my luck."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:59 pm
"I got kicked in the balls by an angry goddess with hooves," replied Anubis with an 'and you think you've got it bad' sort of tone. He wasn't too sure how many others like he and Persy there were in the City, but she was frightening him. He needed to calm her down, and fast.
On the subject of disqualification... Anubis blanched. If Persy got it in her head to end a player's turn in the Game, there was nothing he could do. She was an Underworld Goddess just as surely as he was an Underworld God. The best path, he decided, was to change the subject.
"How many more like us are there in the City?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 4:15 pm
Persy scowled, but her aura slowly collapsed in on itself, leaving what appeared to be just another mortal woman, tired and weary. As much as she'd like to say she wasn't, the Game was already beginning to fatigue her mortal self, and even if she hadn't needed certain things as a goddess, she was having a hard time adjusting to them now.
"As far as I know, there's only the two of us that are involved in the Game," she responded, nodding her head. She hesistated, then added, "But, there is one other in the City who used to be a god. However, he no longer has any memories of his past life, and if I have anything to do with it, things will stay that way." Persy glowered, then looked away: Anubis knew better than to ask such a question. Just what was he getting at?
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 4:24 pm
Anubis smiled slyly. He hadn't heard this confirmed before, but there had been rumors. "Is that what happened?" he asked, not expecting an answer. "I'd heard something of the sort."
He leaned back against the nearest counter, being careful to not knock any of the potted rose bushes on it. "You know what I'm curious about?" he said. "How you did it. I mean, I got here because Him and Ra volunteered me, and frankly I prefer judging games to playing them. But how on earth did you get here before the rest of Us even knew we were going to play this side of the century? Did you have some insider's info? Or was there something else?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 4:37 pm
Persy glared viciously at Anubis: so that's why he was here. All this small talk, and as it turned out he was only here for gossip. Had it been anyone else, she would've told him to do some interesting acrobatics with certain sensitive body-parts, but as he was older and could probably overpower her, she decided to concede for now. After all, he was mortal, and he had to sleep sometime.
"I found a way to exploit the rules of mortality, and I used it," Persy said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I didn't want to be bound by certain rules I'm forced to adhere to as a goddess, so I'm taking a temporary retreat. Acting as a judge for the games is only a bonus." Crossing her arms, she offered her own sly grin. "I guess the Egyptians are out of the loop, huh? Everyone on Olympus has known for months."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:18 pm
"News is slow in the Middle East," shrugged Anubis. "Forty years of Nuclear Warfare can do that to a region, so We all just found out the games were starting up. Sure, some of Us picked Godlings years ago just to get ready, but we didn't know when it was going to be. I mean, last time, when He won, weren't all the major players thirty or so?"
He frowned, "Playing so soon really makes Our jobs harder. Is there something big coming up? Like, the impending doom of all human civilization?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:37 pm
"Children grow quickly, Anubis: you'd be surprised," Persy said, shrugging as well. "And as for the apocalypse, I wouldn't really know. I haven't had access to any of that sort of information for a few years now. I'd ask Hades, but the last time I checked, he was pretty mad that I left." Persy grumbled again, then looked away. "I have a feeling this might be the last one, though, you know? This last Game, and then it's over. Even if a benevolent god wins, they'll have a lot of work, and personally, if it were me, I'd rather reset it all."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 5:52 pm
Anubis felt a little misty for a moment. "The last one? You mean, destroy everyone and start over? Has anyone done that before?"
If they had, he certainly didn't remember. Maybe resetting it all meant that the gods got reborn as well. For a moment, whatever part of Anubis was still Divine felt positively Mortal. Had the world reached a civilized peak once before, as well?
"Do you think anyone can bring them back from this? And who do you think might be able to? I mean, He got them pretty far, but after a while they got out of control and He lost his power over them. I think its a good thing, that We can each only pick one player this time."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:02 pm
"I don't know if anyone's done it before, but with the state that the Earth's in, I know I'd sure as hell start over," Persy grumbled, being her usual grumpy self. "I mean, c'mon, Anubis, what this place needs is a fresh start: everything's mutated, dead, or some freakish combination of both. I can't even hardly grow plants outside of the store, and the only reason I can even do that is because I have Demeter's help. She's got it almost as hard," she concluded, nodding her head somberly.
"I just hope that the tentacle thing...Cthulhu...I hope he doesn't win. Because if he does, I doubt it'll be just the Godlings that he disposes of." She looked up to the Death God, her green eyes wavering and showing weakness for once. "I don't like him at all: he's younger than most of us, but you wouldn't believe the power he's called together. He could win if his godling played his cards right...and I fear for all of Us if that happens."
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:19 pm
"Cthulhu," nodded Anubis, tasting the syllables. He didn't recognize them. They seemed alien to him, not like any language he'd ever encountered. "He's never played before, has he?"
Persy looked honestly terrified of this creature, whoever he was, which meant it had to be something big. Nothing scared Persy, Anubis knew. Death Gods were all rather good friends, after all. He recalled numerous visits to her and Hades.
"This Cthulhu fellow, he's not a Death God, is he? Those are the ones you have to worry about. I know Izanami is playing this time, but she's never been a strong competitor in the past, and do you know if your husband plans on playing?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:25 pm
"No, I don't think he's played before. If I'm correct, he came into being somewhere in the middle of His reign, in between Games. He's strong, though, for being so young. Really strong, and he has no consideration for the rest of you. I don't think he's a death god...dreams, that was it. He's a dream god." She nodded, but hesitated when Hades was mentioned.
"You...you haven't heard, then, have you? Hades...I doubt Hades will be playing. He's been incapacitated for quite some time now." She didn't want to continue on: hopefully, Anubis would catch what she was trying to say.
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:44 pm
Anubis frowned, trying to pick up on what she was saying, and suddenly understood. Well, that was that. "There must be chaos back in his underworld. Hell, there must be chaos in my afterlife."
This Cthulhu business was disconcerting. Gods didn't just come into being in modern times. All this seemed very fishy. "I haven't met him yet, but if I see his player come my way I'll do what I think is best."
"Shamash is playing," Anubis continued, mentioning his old friend, "But something's happened to his player. He was rather reluctant to join the game, even if he had four sets of horns growing out of his head. I think the boy has been abused. Could this bode ill?"
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