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 Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 4:37 pm
((The following takes place before the Gehenna event, with Ivy's permission. Events in these solos will coincide with the weeks of the Gehenna, and will be labeled as much. Because this all takes place in a far away planet, it has no effect on what was going on in the cannon universe.))
[[--Earth, for All It's Worth--]]
Solo RP #1
The view through the transparent panelling of the star-cruiser was spectacular.
Earth.
He was a mere satellite just beyond the reaches of its astral pull, just an observer, a nostalgic lover. He could recall his awe upon their first meeting, the delicate mixture of land and sea. He remembered the unchained pleasure that had thrummed through every fiber when his ship had confirmed the presence of an organic subsystem. How exhilarating! To think this system had been theorized to be totally lifeless as of yet and here it was. Earth! A little oasis nestled in a cradle of dead siblings. Seventeen years unraveling it. He was so eager when he had begun his work, taking category of the waters that claimed the majority of the planet. And unknowingly he had followed a cycle of scientific belief as he crawled free of the sea and stalked the land. The variety of creatures to be seen was impressive- he hadn't been expecting it. There were miles of notes for each, and weeks of audio by the end of thirteen years.
His favorite natives, though, would always be the humans.
James, as he had come to be known as, moved about the outer cabin. He was a small, slight man, pale-skinned with dark, curly brown hair. With his mousy, soft features and thick-framed glasses, he was an unspeakably plain character. He was just one part of a featureless crowd, easily forgettable. He was perfect, as always, for the environment he had chosen to immerse himself in. His mind was going a mile a minute as he ran his fingers over the holographic control panel, checking the timer he had set up earlier with eyes as green as gems. These humans... they were clever things. In a few more minutes he knew that an illegal military satellite was going to come cruising by and undoubtedly pick up his presence. He had to be gone before then, with all his goodbyes sorted out as well as those things he needed to bring back with him. He would spend a brief time working on the former before moving onto the latter.
He packed his notes away into neat little crystalline casings, along with collection upon collection of visual captures. Specimens had never been his style. He had no intention of trying to take them on such a journey to a place so far away, only to be shoved into an archive and held captive until they died and were preserved. Others, many others, chose to do just as much, but he couldn't stand it. These things he'd assembled, they should be more than enough. He packed books and books away. Darwin, Origin of the Species. Numerous works of Freud. Marx, Nietzche, Ghandi, Machiavelli, Socrates, the Bible, the Koran, the Tora, and much, much more. He had assembled compact volumes of history and audio of which he would translate word for word later. His fingers would pause over the spine of a book clearly well-loved, filled with tabs that marked personal annotations. A pristine twin lying just beneath it. James smiled, weakly, and felt his core ache.
He was finished and he was back at the window. The count was fifty-four seconds. Misery, he thought to himself, misery was a concept that he had never been familiar with until he had come to this place. There were so many things that he could have never fathomed before he had first reached the planet, and now those things were every bit a part of him as his physiology, if not even more so. He had been caught unaware; he had let them in. He was a blasphemous, inferior subject to his kind.
Twenty seconds.
James should have been gone long ago. Not a minute ago, not an hour ago, four years ago. He'd done something he wasn't supposed to, and he had sullied himself because of it. He had stayed past the time necessary for his research, and at that time he couldn't have been more happy. Maybe what had unfolded had been his punishment for it. Maybe it was all his fault. He tried not to think of it in such a way, but because of what he was he was doomed to always consider alternate theories for every occurrence. The Buddhists had a force named karma, the Christians divine retribution. Who was to say that they were wrong? The hardest thing was that he would be living with it for the rest of his existence, and that happened to be very long yet.
Twelve seconds.
His insides are pounding and knotting. Panic sets in for a moment as James sets his eyes back on the Earth. He has nothing there, but somehow he feels as if he is leaving everything behind. It is oblivious to his plight. Oh, Earth, oh, humans. Love, anger, joy, grief, misery. It is a sparkling, muddy blue gem faceted within the stars. It is nothing and everything. He decides the last thing he'll ever need is to grieve for it. He's not supposed to grieve.
One.
Goodbye.
He's yanked off his feet as the ship propels itself away, his tiny and fragile-seeming body hitting one of the transparent observation panels. He doesn't struggle- he isn't really all that hurt. He just presses his cheek to the cool glass and watches Earth fade to a dull sapphire star. Then it's gone completely.
He's going home.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 4:39 pm
((Eight weeks have passed. It is the very day before the Gehenna event starts.))
[[--Interlude--]]
Solo RP #2
Things have settled within the cabin even as he is shooting miles and then eons into space. James double-checks that everything from his mythical world is trapped within the zirconium diamond cases before stripping bare and storing the clothes along with his glasses away with the rest. Moving to the correct control panel, he taps at the various runes and caresses out a confirmation. The cabin begins to fill up with liquid not unlike water.
It's a bit thicker, there is a certain glimmer among the various droplets, but the concept is near enough. The substance pours through vents in the ceiling, the walls, the floor, and is climbing fast. The brunette stands still, as content as a captain in his sinking ship. Enveloped, lifted up, he lets himself be overcome and washed about as the ship fills fully. He opens his mouth and breathes, closes his eyes.
He lets go.
The fibers of his arms and legs elongate slowly, followed by his neck and torso. Parts thicken, thin, stretch and grow webbing. The concentration on a human face is replaced with that of a serpentine maw and three rows of glossy eyes. Skin becomes turquoise, jaded, thick, and slick. A monster has replaced the man, sighing the pseudo-water through its gills as it notes all of itself returning to its proper place and length.
James then twitches the long whip of his tail and sails through the water easily, weaving his serpentine body among the diamond specimens that hang suspended about all the cabin. He swims and slithers freely. This is who he is. He doesn't have to pretend anymore. The water feels good on his itchy skin, soothing the flesh irritated by the change. It'll be this way for a while, him making laps around the ship, playing with the jewels that are scattered about. Eventually, though, it is time to head to the cryostasis tube.
It will take weeks to reach home, even at the highest speed. There are enough minerals in this water to sustain him for that time, but there would be little else for him to do. Best to just sleep. But James dreams these days, more often than not, and it has him hesitating upon the threshold of the container. With more memories than a human mind could comprehend, there are many things to drift through when sleep comes, but there's a year's worth of things he doesn't want to relive.
He'll have to take the chance. The Esarian takes his position and watches the door slide shut. He breathes in. He sleeps.
Down and down into the depths. He was only a boy, tossed to the seas in war, and now he's sinking. How beautiful, the downward descent, even if he is dying.
The Esarian has long decided that none of the creatures in the water are of the sentience he needs. They don't gawk and tell their friends as he glides past, and when he flares his great fins even the brawniest of beasts will keep their distance. For the sea, he may remain as he is when he is not following the pack, chasing the dolphins and mimicking the whales. He is in the right place at the right time when the ship passes. The weather above is turbulent at best, and the vessel above is in hysteria. A man has fallen overboard and the humans will not find him.
But the Esarian does. With its keen sight and superb sense for electrical current, it is attracted to the thrashing youth and reaches him about the time he draws his last breath, lungs full to the brim with saltwater. The alien catches him as his weight drags him down, cradling the body against itself like a child. What is this?
Long before, he has watched the sea-faring creatures with their hairless bodies and soft skin, always wondering how to approach them. And what luck! Its persistence pays off in the form of this supine youth, his features tanned and his dead eyes green. The Esarian turns him about, delicately strokes its long fingers over a cheek and through the matted hair. It imagines this fur would be very soft, were it not so starched with sea water, curly. A prize, to be sure. The next step forward.
The ship wakes him when they reach the star system that holds Esare. An injection of chemicals spreads throughout the fluid in the compartment and the alien placidly breathes it in. He rouses slowly, eyes opening a pair at a time to stare outside at the inky blackness of space. As he steps out into the main cabin, he feels the ship slowing out of hyper-drive. Something has told it to putter into an easy cruising speed, and outside he sees it; a fortress.
A ship of the Tzechlokzenzya armada is as large as a few major Earth cities, black as polished onyx and painted with rows of dark windows. On the intercom, it seems like white noise has filtered into the transmission. James knows better, however. That mechanical wheezing is not some skewed static, but a language, one he knows and must adhere. He hums low in return and the sound clicks and whirs for a moment before the intercom is humming back at him. It almost sounds like the real thing, he must admit, but he knows he is simply speaking to a Tzech translator now.
"This ship has been registered as lost in our databases. Are you--"
Here the transmission broke off to more of a song, and it takes James a moment to realize that this is his name. Not the one he is acclimated to, one he took on Earth, but his true name. Esarians have a song for their name, unique to the individual. However long or short it is, it is a tune all their own, often foreshortened to a few notes for the sake of conversation. Now he listens to the old melody, his head bowed in reminiscence of a life he could have almost forgotten. When it is over, he croons a confirmation.
"You have run over your allotted mission time with no prior verification. You will be brought aboard for confirmation, debriefing, and subsequent punishment if it is deemed fitful. You will leave your ship and relinquish all research."
By some magnetic force, the carrier reeled his tiny vessel into one if its hangars, setting him down gently before the doors were forced to slide open. This is not his ship, was never his ship, and now the owners have come to collect on the investment they made in him. James holds his arms out to either side of him, palms spread and empty, his fins flattened as close to his body as they could go. It is the Esarian sign of submission, or perhaps one that their government imposed upon them like almost everything else. Stepping out, he is greeted by the sound of metal rattling and two figures twice as tall as he is. Armored robots was what they seemed to be, hulking beasts of metal and artillery. These are the Tzech, or at least two grunt escorts. Inside the impression of inorganic bodysuits, there are tiny organic creatures with dystrophic limbs. James himself has never seen it -the Tzech do not expose themselves to anyone other than the Tzech and their harem- but he's heard tale of it among the others of his race. For a race so prudent over their facts, they did enjoy their petty gossip.
Despite what he knew, or what he thought he knew, the Tzech were an intimidating race nonetheless. They were a highly successful joint in the market chain that littered itself along the galaxy. With ingenuity and intelligence being of the highest priority, only rivaled by wealth, they were constantly fashioning new products to put up for sale ranging from health tonics to weapons. Because it was the Tzech who designed the mineral substance that the Esarians subsisted upon even today, it was a known fact that Esare itself had been created by the Tzech's iron determination. If any technology existed in Esare -barring what the researches brought home with them- it was made by the Tzech. It didn't matter who thought they ran the boundless expanse of space, to James and the other Esarians, there was no higher authority.
It had always been this way. Now James followed the path of his escorts, keeping his limbs as tight as possible. His eyes flickered about the large hangar, watching as machine built machine, tore down yesterday's model to construct today's. And soon enough, it would be onward, off to face inspection like he had four times previously, and whatever consequence he'd face for being late. It wasn't impossible that they would simply kill him; it had happened before, when an Esarian's work was judged sub par.
But all James could really think about was his research, committing a mutiny against all he stood for by worrying over it. He wasn't allowed possessions. If that information were to be destroyed or lost, he might very well just keel over and die.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:06 pm
(( Occuring the very same day as Interlude. ))
[[--Meciful is the Creator--]]
Solo RP #3
Confirmation is an adjunct room to the ship's medical hall. The androids there are multi-armed, multi-pronged automatons who have lived and died (figuratively speaking) within only this sector of the ship. James stands still while they sweep numerous scanners over him, evaluating his structure and chemical catalogue. He is commanded to perform relatively simple maneuvers with his own body, such as flexing his fins, using his second and third lenses to identify heated and irradiated objects, and contorting his serpentine form.
Finally, he is approached with a single vial of dark violent liquid. The timer starts on one of the droids and James shatters the vial in his webbed fingers. Uncorking the vial costs precious time, and he has something to prove today. Immediately, he absorbs the genetic material through his skin and sends it to the core, which in turn begins to convert cells and pull at his fibers. He shrinks rapidly, splaying and cracking apart, legs bulging as if suddenly filled with too much blood. In the end, he is a stumpy creature, six-legged, with plated skin, a beak, and no eyes to speak of. It takes him approximately one minute, twenty-three seconds. By the size and difficulty to synthesize the plates, this is exceedingly good. James' new legs threaten to give beneath him. His mind reels with the exertion; everything hurts. He has a moment to breathe while the droids check him over, tapping his plates, comparing notes.
The timer starts again. Twenty seconds to soften, elongate, put his fins back in place, and regrow his eyes. No comments are made. James crawls on all fours to the next transporter - luckily, this is an acceptable movement for an Esarian.
Debriefing is three Tzech Officiates; the Counsel of Alternative Research. Every time James has been through Debriefing, at least one of the counsel members has changed. He recognizes none of them today, but the Tzech are very particular about the model and individualism of their armor.
"You are Eoli," The translator hums from the central interrogator. He (all Tzech are male) is a towering twenty feet tall with black armor, rimmed in glowing blue and marked with several engravings that bespeak his station and achievements. "Speak."
"Yes, Excellency."
"I am SeesAll1192. To your left is my colleague, Grinder22, and to your right, ExcelOrbit. You will recall I sat counsel for your Fourth Term Debriefing alongside PlanetStomper21 and the lead investigator, CryCopiously. You may speak."
"I do, Excellency."
"You were assigned to Star Cluster 880-281, Planet 3. Does it have a native name? Speak."
"I cannot properly pronounce it in this state, Your Excellency."
"Very well. The Counsel will now refer to your Project as 880-281-3. We will begin with a summary of your Term. No protocol in this area has changed - you will summarize in quarters. Speak."
Speak, dog, speak, James thinks to himself.
"The planet is largely covered in liquid, My Masters. The ship was docked first within the deepest portion of the surface at high pressure. One of the two emergency pods was lost as had to transfer to a size too large to fit it in order to survive. There was no intelligent life worth noting in this area. I made my way into the core and had to abort as the temperature became too much to withstand. The rest of the quarter was spent studying the liquid, the geography, and the biology there.
Nearing my second quarter, I came into possession of a deceased land-dweller - this would become pivotal to my research objective. However, I went ashore many times as one of the simpler life forms to collect data at first. One of the species on the planet adopts simpler life forms as companions and they often come to certain shores for recreation. I replaced one of these companions and moved away from the sea.
During my third quarter, I left my adopted family and became an organism in possession of the ability of flight. This way, I recorded the geography of the land above sea level, carrying my equipment within myself.
Within my fourth quarter, I became the dominant intelligent lifeform and assimilated into the culture after the extensive research on their customs. I compared their notes to mine and comprised an evaluation from there. Records for the planet were kept by the inhabitants - it was helpful for understanding them."
"Very well, Eoli. Dictation?"
There was a chatter from the platform on which James stood.
"Grinder22, you may begin."
"Eoli," Grinder22 was, perhaps, the most garnished Tzech that James had ever seen. He had multiple implements, some that seemed active but most that were inert. A female, no doubt from his harem, rode upon a platform next to his shoulder. "I want you to know that considerable inconvenience has been brought upon me by your unscheduled arrival."
James' fins flattened further against his skin. He bowed until his snout touched the floor, baring his neck. The Tzech were not known for kindness, especially not where their research team was concerned. It was not considered cruel to break apart a toy for the sake of it. Fear surged strong through him -- the platform blipped, alerting the party to the change.
There was a collective wheeze from the counsel, chattering chuckles.
"Stand upright, Softskin. I need you to sing for me. Tell me more about the core. Speak."
James straightened once more.
"The core is made of superheated mineral, Excellency. This is largely what is responsible for the geography of the planet, for the volatile state causes the land to split and shift constantly, and creates it as well."
"You said it was too hot for you to endure. Speak."
"Yes, Excellency."
Another collective chuckle.
"Theoretically, could this core be used to manufacture land? Speak."
"A relatively small amount of it, Excellency."
"What of the metals, Eoli? Speak."
"Soft, Excellency, and scattered. There are other planets with much more concentrated stores."
"ExcelOrbit."
"I," ExcelOrbit was the smallest of the three, but considerably the most vibrant. He had some sort of augment to his armor that made it shift in color in patterns that fluctuated. James could not look at him straight on. "Would like to know about the intelligence offered by the planet. I read that it is a young planet. How long has this dominating species been apparent? Speak."
"Approximately 308 Terms, Excellency. History has only been recorded recently and still not effectively. Space travel is in its infantile stages, and the knowledge of it is 10% as per the scale provided to me at the time. The majority believe they are the only intelligence in the universe."
A raucous round of laughter sounds.
"How quickly do they evolve? Speak."
"At a rate of 20% by your scales, Excellency."
"And intelligence? Speak."
"Approximately 58% compared to mine, Excellency."
"Indeed. Ah-- we have received the mass of your research just now, Eoli. It is within regulation. Now, tell us - how useful is this planet to our consideration? Speak."
"That is for my Counsel and My Supreme Commandant Master to decide, Excellency."
"That it is. I am finished, Lord Investigator."
"Grinder22, do you have any further questions?"
"Get on with it."
"Very well. Eoli, you are aware that you have exceeded the allotted Term with no communication for extension? Speak."
"I am aware of it, Excellency."
"What excuse do you have to offer for this insubordination?"
"Your Exellency, I determined the time allotted to be insufficient for my analysis."
The platform blipped.
"You are aware that lying to your Counsel is punishable by death. Speak."
"Master, I am not lying."
"What did you do during your extension?"
I lived, James thought, but said, "I explored the dominating species' form of companionship and evaluated the species' progress of growth."
"For over half a Term, Eoli. And yet you report the intelligence to be 58% to yours and 10% of our outdated scale. I do not understand the significance of this research."
"I do believe we've dealt with slugs that have had more potential," Grinder22 made the translator practically shrill with mirth.
The platform upon which James stood shrilled as well, indicating a fluctuation of his electrical makeup, something truly substantial, considering he was standing still.
"My Counsel will note that the race is adopted as part of the Federa--"
"YOU WILL ONLY SPEAK WHEN TOLD, ESARIAN."
Pain, unfathomable pain, wracked James as electricity surged up from the platform. He screamed and flailed reflexively, but was caught by a pair of pronged manacles for the occasion, which pierced his thin skin with its jaws and clamped him to the floor. His neck was lassoed in by another formerly-hidden instrument, which squeezed until his vocal cords were clamped. Luckily, Esarians breathed through their skin, but his screaming was successfully stopped. James writhed in silence, could not so much as whimper as he was impaled through the torso by pikes.
Before this moment, James has only heard tale of the Tzech's torture implements. Esarians had one very major weakness - they were easily pierced and largely comprised of liquid, which was kept under pressure by proper management. Make a large enough hole, though, and they would spill everywhere without a hope of stopping the flow, much less in recovering. With this instrument, though, James was only leaking slowly, and very aware of the pain. If the Counsel chose, they could simply remove the pikes and he would feel himself bleed out in seconds, withering to nothing. The electrical current stopped, leaving him pinned in place like an insect. One of the prongs was not through him yet, but resting against his breastplate, which covered the Core - debatably his only organ in him aside from his brain, and just as important. A knick would cripple him for life. More than that, and it was possible his body would eat itself alive if it didn't immediately kill him.
"Oh my, it got rather upset, didn't it?" He could hear one say.
"A potential compromise. Send note to Annihilation and Foreign Affairs. See how much of a fuss our Managers are going to make if we n** this in the bud."
For all the technology the Tzech possessed, their problem solving was rather simple when things didn't go as planned: obliterate the problem. Earth's life would boil and die. The platform blipped.
"There it goes again. Eoli, do you care for this planet?" Snide. It was, actually, an unspeakable slander for an Esarian to be accused of emotions beyond fear for survival, curiosity, and pride in their work service, all of which they were bred and trained for.
"Eoli, this is a very important question. Think before speaking: Have you, in any way, disclosed the existence of Esare, the Tzech, or your objective?"
The noose loosened on James' throat, allowing him to speak. His vocal cords seized reflexively with the tension gone. For a moment, he was not capable of uttering a sound.
"No, your Excellency. The Project is secure."
Silence reigned a moment. Almost too long. The monitors and implements that held him in place were still.
"Counsel, switch to the encrypted frequency for judgement."
And more silence, while James lay bleeding out achingly slow. All he could do was breathe and think and be the nothing that he was before his creators. Regret (damning) threatened his nerves, but he employed his core to push calming chemicals. Self-medication, surely at its finest, numbing him to the pain, leveling out anything that might threaten his existence. The fight for survival was still strong.
Finally, the hulking machines stirred.
"We will hear any final statements from you, Eoli. Speak, knowing it may be your last time."
"I do not withdraw my statement proclaiming that the extension was a necessary one. The species I have described show potential, in my opinion, and it would be my greatest honor to present my followings to my Masters and colleagues. My results will speak for me."
"Very well."
James' head swam. He didn't care anymore. He felt nothing but the illusions of tender fingers playing across his jaw.
( Really, it's a little embarrassing. )
( Don't be embarrassed! I love it when you sing. )
( Really? )
( Especially when it's for me. No song for me, from you, can be ugly. )
( God. You actually mean it, don't you? )
( You know I do. )
( Where did they even make you? )
( Would you believe Hallmark? )
( I'd believe it. )
( Come on - please? I'll sing for you sometime... )
( Stop. James, that face--) Laughter spills. ( Fine. Fine. But you owe me. )
( I certainly do. )
In his mind, there was a soft lullaby, sung by a single voice that was sweet and occasionally off-key. He adored every mistake.
Tell me why the stars do shine,
Tell me why the ivy twines,
Tell me why the skies are blue,
And I will tell you just why I love you.
Because God made the stars to shine,
Because God made the ivy twine,
Because God made the sky so blue,
Because God made you, that's why I love you.
I really think that dear God above
Created you just for me to love;
He picked you out from all the rest
Because he knew that I'd love you--
Coherency crumbles as James' body burns. With his throat unhindered, the keen of pain makes itself known. The prongs are withdrawing, leaving three solid lines in his body.
"Eoli, you have been granted a mercy today."
James lays, prone and defeated, upon the platform.
"You will be permitted to give your presentation and inter your findings within the records. The Head Librarian is on its way to collect you. You will submit to its will, considering it as an extension of Ours."
The noose withdrew itself. That was it, then. He would live.
Time passes. He doesn't know much beyond the chill of the platform beneath him until there are fingers grasping him, pulling him into a half-hearted embrace.
"Salutations, Eoli," This hum is real. The first Esarian voice he's heard in years and years. Three sets of eyes stare down at him impassively. "I am Aeanna, the Head Librarian. I am transporting you to Esare where you will be permitted to rest while your research is transferred. You are not allowed to heal the Tzech Brand until commanded. I would suggest you compose yourself by then, but I am aware of your... circumstances."
Circumstances - a euphemism, a kindness... but not for him.
No Esarian wants to suggest a disgrace of their species exists.
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:40 pm
(( The day of the Gehenna event start. ))
[[--Homecoming--]]
Solo RP #4
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:46 pm
(( The Week of Envy ))
[[--Earth, and What it's Worth--]]
Solo RP #5
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:50 pm
[[--A Fool's Errand--]]
Solo RP #6
[[--Epilogue--]]
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:52 pm
[[--Salvage--]]
Joint RP #1With Arden/Bazyli HereNinetailedNightmare With the return of Creation, the world was beginning to replenish itself. It took back what it could in small measures, and what couldn't be broken down would be covered. The ship lay still in the wasteland that broke its fall for weeks, then months, crying weakly for a calvary that would never come. The rotted remnants of the plants that came from the week of Decay covered the hull first, making Tzechlokzynza's finest camoflauging systems obsolete as the debris outlined the ship for any who cared to pay mind to it. The throes the land took to split for the demons knocked the attribute out entirely anyway, and the ship was as helpless as a battered victim as its weight sunk it just that much farther into the earth. Grass etched its way slowly after the trauma of the Gehenna's coming subsided, then weeds. The ship stuck out like a sore thumb among the onslaught of greenery and flowers, even half burried, but no one came. It had managed to plant itself far enough from any real civilization that, in the commotion of the universe ending, it was overlooked. This was a problem. Of course, things happened the way they were supposed to, but none of the parties involved -or that would become involved- would see it that way. It was a standstill for the ship and its owner. It could be years until someone discovered the ship. Or never. And the one harbored inside would never be the wiser until the chemicals ran dry. While the ship was no longer functioning at its full capacity, it could stay in stasis forever. --- He wanted to wake up, desperately. There were so many aspects of himself that were controllable, but sleep and dreams were not one. How many times would he be forced to sign the papers? How many visits would he relive? Sit across from her and make idle chatter, all the while knowing and not being able to do any different. A prisoner, was what it made him. It was when things faded that he was thankful, and when he lived a life in another world. But he never remembered those for long, just the ones that made him writhe and know, bitterly, that his real body had not so much as twitched. There would be no breaking glass, no reprieve until he had reached his final destination. How long...? ...wake up...In his dreams, it may as well have been his voice. He was begging for the same thing. Wake up, damn you...Tsunake The signal was weak, and sometimes sporadic. Like a flickering, feeble pulse, the distress call waxed and waned as he methodically turned his head from side to side, trying to pinpoint the general location of the obviously downed vessel. His progress was slow, but certain; though it was much farther away from the Pantheon then he first assumed, there was no mistaking the ship for what it was, despite its sorry condition. His breath washing up against the interior of his helm in slow and steady breaths, Arden gripped its base and pulled it firmly from his head in order to squint more clearly at what it was. Not a ship of the Federation, not of any model or make that he'd been taught to recognize. He circled the craft meticulously, eyes flickering over the damage and overgrowth that had overtaken the thing; clearly this wasn't a recent thing. Hell, whoever it was might have left long ago, hoping that someone of their own species would sense the signal, and come to their aid. Not that such a thing was possible anymore... His lips thinned quietly at the thought. You plan to just leave it? From the cynical tone, the god clearly was at least curious enough to know what may or may not be inside. Slowly slipping his helmet back on, Arden forced the sputtering systems to scan the ship until the entrance was found. If it was locked... well, the Federation could no longer provide backup to help him crack open the electronics, but there was still enough power left within his suit to issue a powerful, sudden burst of silent signal. If he was lucky, hell, it'd open. But if not, there was no way he could try to pry open the thing without the proper tools... NinetailedNightmare Many of the ship's operating systems had overheated or were otherwise destroyed in the crash. Its inner programming told it, despite its failing power, to keep things locked tight until help arrived. If no signal came, it should simply wither away but, under no circumstances was it to open up to the outside world without the proper coding. For all the owners of the technology were concerned, they would rather the inhabitant rot than be exposed to the eyes that weren't classified to lay upon it. Except the ship wasn't discriminating between electronic signatures anymore- it couldn't. So when the command came to open, the ship flickered online momentarily to comply, albeit weakly. The slab covering the entrance jutted open with a small hiss, and suddenly, there was liquid. What looked like water gushed free of the cracks as the door made a feeble attempt to move aside, spilling in torrents across the grass. It seemed the whole compartment of the ship must be flooded, but there was no water to speak of anywhere close. The door, impeded by the molding that covered its surface, would only open a few feet before it ground to a halt. Though it twitched weakly, it was clear it wasn't going anywhere without a decent shove, or else Arden was going to have to slide sideways into the unknown. The ship, perhaps surprisingly, was not dark inside. It was filled with the light from the outside world like a wall made up of windows, made dusty from the soot and other materials clinging to the hull. Tsunake Something that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle whispered through his otherwise empty mind as he struggled to register the door had acted like a sluice; whatever had come roaring out had been a clear fluid of some sort. Toxic? He didn't know. His armor would protect him temporarily, at least enough to let him know he was in mortal peril. So it had opened, then. The soldier wasted several moments peering through the partially open door to check out the interior, scanning for any signs of life with his badly malfunctioning helm. From what he could see, there was nothing. One blocky shoulder was inserted between the inside and the door, and the man grunted as he shoved hard up against the thing. It moaned and reluctantly allowed itself to be cracked a bit further, the plant life snapping and ripping under the abuse. Soon, there were only the sounds of his armored feet clanging against the inside of the ship, grateful for the light that filtered in through filthy windows. What else was there to do but explore? Both mortal and god were silent as they quietly picked over the interior, and Arden was careful not to touch anything. NinetailedNightmare The inside had been left pristine, both because of the fluid that had once been contained within it and because of the lack of influence from the outside world. The walls curved in a gentle sphere around the central dock, which seemed to be the only metalic part of the ship on the inside. The floor itself was paneled with clear tiles and below one might be able to catch a glimpse of objects, shrouded mostly because the windows below showed the earth it had been burried in and not the sky. Probably the cargo hold. Panels that looked like glass jutted out all around the ship, looking as if they might serve some sort of purpose but there was nothing upon them of any sort. It was a small craft- definitely a personal vessel. There seemed to be more space running below than there was where Arden was walking. In the middle was a tangle of metal chords for the most part, but there was one exception, should the man continue one. There was a break in the machinery at one point in the shape of a large, crystalline container, more than twenty feet high. It glowed with soft light, but even with just the light of the outside world, it was very easy to distinguish that something was being contained in there. Fourteen feet of serpentine monster was what it was. Head bowed in a delicate arch of sleep, it floated within the clear liquid like a lab specimen, totally unaware that there was an intruder upon the ship. Three rows of green lights seemed to glow faintly within its great head, but upon further inspection, one would see a film-like substance that suggested eyelids. Aside from slender, slick appendages, there were ribbed fins that decorated the sides of its head, the length of its spine, and the tail. At the base of the tube, there was a clear panel that projected the condition of whatever it was, written in a foreign script. Tsunake The interior might have fascinated him at another time, but Arden was looking for things that could be potentially useful--scavenging, one might say, or at least looking for any sign of who might have once commandeered the vessel. All foreign materials and equipment, from what he could see. So one being dwelled here, or at most, only a few. He kept his steps light, unconsciously wary of invading another's ship, seemingly deserted or not. More than one hostile encounter had started this way, and he wasn't soon to forget it. There. The god pointed out so casually that Arden turned without expecting much. Hell, at most, maybe it was a corpse. But to see the massive, suspended life form drifting soundlessly in stasis... The marine stiffened before he could help himself, eyes narrowed behind the faceless mask of his helmet while he rapidly sought to take in details. Aquatic? The thin eyelids suggested it, as did the webbing. Whatever it was, it was clearly alive. You aren't thinking of releasing it, are you? Bazyli clearly was not amused at the thought of losing his host to some alien, but the man stepped forward without heed to his words. A brief pause, a glance over his shoulder to reassure his escape route if the thing proved to be hostile, and his plated palm pressed experimentally to the panel that seemed to show the vital signs. He couldn't read the script, and didn't bother to scan it; there wasn't a database for him to refer to, anymore. NinetailedNightmare Arden's hand would go through the writing to the panel, and the machinery would blip and hum at him as if in protest as the writing went static around his wrist. There was a whirr from inside the machine as it injected an invisible chemical inside the water as a panic method. In a matter of seconds, the adrenaline was absorbed into the beast's system and those eyes shot open. James was rudely pulled out of his dream state, but he couldn't have been more thankful. His vision swam as he realized he was in possession of all his eyes and not just the two, and from the lasting effects of the cryogenic drugs. He opened his mouth to breathe in, gill slits glowing at the sides of his neck as he did, and unconsciously exposing an innumerable amount of sharp teeth. It took him a second to realize he was staring back at someone, and if he could have looked surprised, he would have. Instead he just tilted his head back to stare at the... human? What was a human doing on the vessel and... His panic faded as he decided that he didn't care. It was no longer his prerogative to keep secret the presence of his race. If there was a human on his ship, he had been commandeered or there was some sort of problem. The Federation suit also helped to settle him- that meant this was a good agent and not some sort of pirate. Humming quietly, he sluggishly stretched one hand to the inner panel and tapped in the manual command for the cryotube to drain. As it did, he turned his head back to look at Arden, studying the man with the keen interest. He raised his hands to show the empty palms, trying to somehow project that he didn't mean any harm. Despite the gesture, however, it seemed pretty clear he was armed enough to do so if he so chose. Tsunake Projection? He studied the crackling language for a moment as though trying to figure out what that meant before a definite shift in gears made his head snap up reflexively. Six pairs of gleaming eyes unexpectedly met his own, and he was painfully reminded of a certain Dragon King who had an equally unnerving gaze. I would suggest you back up, if the notion hadn't already crossed your mind. Bazyli snapped as his host unexpectedly found himself staring down a tooth-lined maw in what could be perceived as a less than friendly motion. The soldier did take a step back, and the beast studied him with open intelligence; that didn't mean it necessarily wasn't considering him for breakfast, but it was better than nothing. His legs jerked without warning, and he almost smashed face first into the tank of sorts. Now. The god snarled, and Arden reluctantly obeyed. Seeking distance to place between him and the now awakened alien, he watched warily as it seemed to issue some wordless, humming command, and the liquid instantly began to drain from the containment chamber. The universal sign for peace, it seemed, was offered up in the form of bare, slimy hands revealing themselves to be empty, but neither deity nor man was convinced. If it is intelligent, it could very well be feigning; it doesn't need a weapon to deal with you. Came the grim thought. "I know." He muttered unconsciously aloud, wishing not for the first time that he had his assault rifle fully functional for situations exactly like this. Useless against parasitic gods? Perhaps. Against aliens, not so much. Still, he waited; he had a few more tricks up his sleeve (quite literally, in the case of his right arm), should things go badly. Still, the god-thing in his mind was less than convinced. NinetailedNightmare He wasn't offended when he saw the other stepped back- he knew good and well what he looked like. Once the water was drained, the glass door of the front of the tube slide aside. Glistening, the beast took a slow step free of the small compartment, staying near the tube as it slowly made to stretch its limbs. No muscles to cramp, but he was checking to make sure messages were reaching his extremities alright. Fins flared and relaxed slowly. He was keeping an eye on the soldier the whole time, hoping the man wouldn't flee. He would love to get some sort of information from the man before that happened. He could see that he was grounded now, somewhere that looked a lot like Earth. Knowing Arden wouldn't be able to understand him in this form, he held up a webbed finger to signal 'one moment' before he took long strides toward the control panel. He paused as he saw that it wasn't responding to his approach, as it normally did. And now he could see better the depth that the ship was burried in the ground. There was an unconscious churr of surprise and grimness as he assessed, clinically, that he must have crashed here. Reaching for the panel, he found it unresponsive, shaking his head. This would have been so much easier if he could have turned on the translator. So instead, he began to write upon the panel with his fingers, choosing to go with English as he had thought that was what he had heard the man speaking to himself. His fingers left trails of black slime as he chose to use some of the more excessive chemical compounds that he had stored in his body. When he was done, he stepped far away, and gestured to Arden empathetically to come and see. It was written rather large, so perhaps he could see it from where he was. Hello, soldier.
My name is James. I know what I must look like, but I mean you no harm.
Is this the "god world"? Tsunake Sinuous and graceful; if the creature could function this easily on land, he loathed the thought of being trapped in the water with one. Those barbed fins held his wary respect for now, and it was hard to not be aware of how at least one of those gleaming eyes seemed to remain focused upon his person. How long had it been cooped within this ship? Somehow it'd gotten enough nutrients to its body in order to survive--clearly the stasis played a hefty role in that. Tension briefly rippled through his armored frame as the alien held up a single finger towards him, clearly asking him to wait. But for what? He watched soundless as it shifted away from him, the strange sound it unexpectedly made clearly one of displeasure. From the way those webbed fingers tapped on yet another panel, it was clear that the ship had lost most of its power a while ago. It was a wonder to think he'd even managed to get the door to open as much as it did. Something dripped from the strange, long fingers, and the soldier found himself squinting from where he was despite the fact that the creature wanted him to come look. After a moment, however, he would indeed take a step forward, eyes flicking quickly over the somewhat sloppy writing. So it knew English--that helped put him a little more at ease. It also knew him to be one of the Federation, or so he assumed, and Arden had to wonder what species this thing was. Nothing immediately sprang to mind, but it could be saved for later. The last bit, however, had him stiffen. "...Arden Valkov." He started with hoarsely, introducing himself. Bazyli had started to stir with interest, but the man continued on before the other felt compelled to interject. "...There are... gods here, yes." But how did... James, know this? That was the unspoken question. NinetailedNightmare The headfins twitched with polite interest at the marine's introduction, just one new thought among the many swimming through the Esarian's mind. Arden Valkov. Well, there should be time for questions about the man later. Right now he bowed his head slightly to the answer, then gestured that it was going to begin writing again. Thank you. You must have saved me.
I can speak if I make a change. Will you wait for me? He could tell the man must be suspicious-- afraid, perhaps? It was entirely possible for him to facilitate a change here, but from his experience among their kind, no usual human would have stomached it very well. Even someone who must be accustomed to aliens and other shifters. Tsunake Saved... So it would have been stuck in that stasis had he not come along? A grim fate, that, but likely more peaceful than the one he'd been assigned. His eyes ran slowly over the rest of the ink splattered words, and his brows furrowed faintly with confusion. Was it a shapeshifter, then? Or did 'change' mean something he couldn't comprehend? Either way, after a moment, the man offered a curt nod. He'd wait. This alien had finally sparked his interest, and there was little point in fleeing now; it surely would have blocked his exit with its size alone if it had truly wanted to prevent him from going. Besides, his own mind was swimming with questions now... How did this creature know about this world? NinetailedNightmare The alien's many eyes stayed upon Arden for a moment, as if scanning him for honesty. Then the Esarian moved away, sliding onto all fours with an effortless grace as it went to a nearby tile in the floor and physically shoved it aside, opening up the cargo bay below. As it made to descend head first, its slender body slowly contorted itself around the opening not unlike a snake's, disappearing to shadow as it went below, shifting among the various boxes and whatever else was down there until it was gone entirely. James took his time with the change, which meant all of about five minutes for Arden to wait. He found his clothes even in the dimness, checked to make sure every part (or no extra parts) was accounted for before he made to climb the ladder back up. The change was, needless to say, not all that impressive. The mousey-looking human male hauled himself up onto the upper floor, idly soothing out the wrinkles of his sweater as he made his way back to Arden. "Sorry about that," He said, somewhat strained, clearing his throat and humming a few notes beneath his breath to better get in tune once more with his human figure. A singular pair of green eyes now peered up at Arden through a mess of brown curls rather than down. He wasn't even six feet tall anymore, and was dressed like he was ready for a rigorous game of chess in the park. "A little embarrassing, actually. Can I get you a chair? Although... those panels there are very sturdy, and equally useless at the moment." He looked tired, and felt it, too. His lips, however, were making a valiant effort at a soft, almost shy smile. Tsunake The marine watched as the creature slipped off into the distance, prying open the floor tiles and all but diving into whatever space was underneath. He vaguely recalled studying said space when he'd caught glimpse of it, thinking it little more than a cargo hold of sorts. From the way it was designed, however... Well, he had to wonder what its real purpose was now. Clearly it was a storage of sorts, from the way it rattled around in there, but the silence that quickly filled in its wake told him that the creature had seemingly vanished for good. It'd have taught you a lesson if you'd lost one of your legs. Came the quip as time seemed to stretch on for far too long. "You say that now." Arden murmured, and could have been amused when there was no reply, but found himself focusing on the sudden appearance of what seemed to be human. Armored fingers lifted briefly to his masked temple, and the helmet sputtered as it quickly ran an internal scan. Not human. He had to marvel at the brief image of what seemed like a hollow cavity roughly where the torso was, and it seemed as though every organ had been lodged in there. A skeletal structure, but it was vastly different in make, and a large brain. Then the helm threatened to die on him completely, and he allowed his hand to drop. A hesitant pause, then the hand returned with its brother, and he slowly tugged his helm free with a hiss of compressed air. Shaking his head lightly, the man now took in the seemingly ordinary man. To think all those coils of sea serpent could be compressed into such a simple package... "James," He tested out the other's name for a moment before he went on, his long face tired and strained. "How much do you know about what's been going on here? This... god planet?" His normally quiet, almost awkward tone was now firm with authority, reassuring without crossing the line of pushy or overbearing. This had been his job once, after all. Taking control of a bad situation was something he could say he was used to. NinetailedNightmare The brunette studied the other man with what seemed polite curiosity as the helmet came off, taking a mental picture of the marine. A rugged man, he thought, with what looked like scars tickling bits of man's throat from what he could see above the armor. He wasn't surprised- Arden looked like your standard-issued human soldier down to the toes of his boots. His eyes would snap to meet the hardened gaze as his name was spoken. "I don't know anything," He said simply, honestly. "My initiative for coming to this planet is to research it to the best of my capability and gather data. When I was assigned here, I was told that there were creatures supposedly like those of deific lore. This is my first time waking up in the world, as it is suggested a journey over a week's time be spent in cryogenic suspension. ETA from my planet is eight weeks. However, I assume something must have gone wrong, judging by my ship's condition. It's supposed to wake me up when we've reached a safe place." Tsunake It was an interesting sensation, having one's jaw go slack as he forced his mind to become re-accustomed to a way of speaking he hadn't heard for months. "Assigned--what is your species, exactly?" Researching for data; sounded as though information was prized highly, wherever James had come from. Clearly that wasn't his real name, so why did he introduce himself with it? A puzzle; sudden pressure against his mind made him hesitate, balking against the feel of the god. Normally, Bazyli would relent, but to his surprise the god fought so strongly that his knees buckled, and he felt as though his mind was being split in two. When had he built up such strength? Their conversation with Harmodius had left the god feeble and tired, so why-- "I assume you arrived during the time of the Gehenna." The god mused, though his host's body was still struggling to regain control of itself. "The destruction of life as you know it... Lucky." Arden's lips curled slowly into a smile that contrasted sharply with the almost furious look in his expression, a vein pulsing above furrowed brows. T"he connections between space are gone now, as my host was slowly getting to. Even if you could repair this sorry state of metal, you are stranded here. To put it less eloquently, Universe is dead."NinetailedNightmare Lips pursed themselves as his species was questioned, his instinctual response being to shut up. Not even a Federation soldier would be allowed the information he had without just cause. But, he thought reasonably, he did owe Arden his life. Not only that, but he had no intention of going back to where he'd come from, thus he would face no punishment. He knew very well what the purpose of sending him to this out-of-the-way planet had been. Esare didn't want him back. Before he could muster an answer, however, he was being spoken to. There was a new voice in the air, but it was Arden's lips that were moving. The contrast of expressions was not lost upon James, and he blinked once at the information that began to spill from the soldier. He was still so tired, though, that he could not manage to make his face as surprised as he felt. He didn't really feel like it would be appreciated anyway. "Well," He said thoughtfully, "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, so I won't be needing to leave anytime soon. The concept of what you're saying, as I understand it, is a little hard to comprehend, however... Excuse me, may I ask who I am speaking with now? You said host..." The brunette tilted his head slightly, trying to figure out if he had actually come in contact with someone who suffered from Multiple Personality Disorder. He had only read about it in books, but supposedly the different characters of a person could assume different voices for themselves. Granted, the new vocal pattern was kind of stretching it for what James would have assumed Arden could manage, but... On top of these thoughts, the other things that had been said were being twirled about. Gehenna, the end of the world... Lucky. Universe. He'd said Universe like a name, not as in "the universe". Hm. Too bad he could only say one thing at once, really, or else he'd spread out multiple questions. It seemed most polite to ask who he was talking to now, though, before trying to wrench any information out of them. Tsunake "The Hollow Mouth. Famine." Came the languid reply, and clear the god had no intention of making things more personal between the two of them for now. It was just as well, for his body was threatening to seize up, furious at being quelled so. Still, he forced his will, still seizing control of the man's ability to speak; to try and control the whole body would drain what strength he'd managed to snatch, but this was an excellent time for more of his influence to wriggle forth, pushing demandingly into the cracks of the soldier's mind. An armored hand dared to lift itself, fingers flexing aggressively for a moment before the entire appendage suddenly clamped itself around Arden's throat. Bazyli sneered a little at such defiance, felt the body beginning to choke as the windpipe was compressed more than it should have been. So he wasn't bluffing, then. A dry chuckle spilled from the soldier before the god idly withdrew his influence, making sure the point was made that he had much more control of the situation than Arden knew, and it was only by his will that he was letting the host regain it. Not to mention that much longer of that would have wastefully whittled the strength he'd so carefully siphoned. Doubled over for a moment, the man wheezed to himself, his throat feel raw with indignation that he'd mistreated it so. Mental defenses furiously hiked themselves up further, attempting to box the still-amused god into a corner so he couldn't pull a goddamn stunt like that again. It was rare that his temper spiked like this, but he'd been caught unprepared and put into a situation that could have turned ugly very fast. "Those are your creatures of deific lore." He spat, trembling slightly with violent emotion that he was keeping carefully repressed. "Parasites." NinetailedNightmare "A title?" James began, and then Arden proceeded to strangle himself. For a moment, he was frozen in place, watching as the man's body seemed to work against him (or for him, as the case really was). He would feel horrible later for the spark of curiosity that came from being too far from human contact for too long. When it finally struck him that he was concerned for the soldier's life, he started forward, making a startled, wordless noise. When Arden looked up, he was very close, poised to try and grab the man. It then turned to a concerned sort of hovering, as James realized he wasn't really sure what he was doing. Try to save the man's life? From himself? His brows pinched as the voice returned to the original timbre he'd heard, albeit more scratchy with strain, and also from the cryptic information it supplied. "Are you alright?" He asked, hesitating a moment before he decided he shouldn't touch the relative stranger. Males usually took such gestures to be offensive, and Arden already looked very angry. Swallowing, he took a polite step back from the man, but still retained his concerned posture. "Would you like me to find you something to drink?" Tsunake The man stared at him wordlessly for a moment, refusal roughly snapping his head from side to side before he hesitated, and then nodded. All right, yes, he could use a drink, it would help ease his throat at least somewhat. Better than just sitting here and... His face eased into a more uncertain expression as he realized he'd likely just alarmed the other, with that little display. "I'm sorry." He said awkwardly, almost as though bewildered by what had all just taken place. "They're... gems, these creatures. Their souls... have been, trapped inside." The marine arched his neck for a moment, baring the sickly little sphere currently burrowed within the mass of scar tissue. "...They need a body, to rebirth themselves. The True Gods." He still wasn't sure if they truly were, but their meeting with Harmodius had helped solidify his belief, if only a little. "...It's a little hard to cope." The man admitted, however reluctantly. NinetailedNightmare What a conflicted man. James just had to watch as the other softened and went on, far too polite to just leave him when the man was delivering vital information. He nodded as if he understood, even if he really didn't yet. "Alright," He said appeasingly, "Well, you just... Sit over on that panel there, maybe? I'll go get you something. I hope you don't object to telling me a bit more when I get back..." With that, he stepped back and hurried along back to the cargo hold, coming back soon after with a large, clear tube in his hand. "It's um... it's a little thick, but it's good for you, assuredly." It looked a lot like what had come out of the ship when it first opened, actually. Water that seemed to have an extra sort of shimmer to it. James would twist aside the metal cap of sorts before he offered it to the man. He'd been thinking about what Arden had said on the way down and his eyes now sought the gem in the man's neck. "So, this god is... possessing you? Forgive my crude terminology..." He implored mildly, "Why do they need to do something like that, if they're deities? It was to my understanding that it was mortals who were dependent upon them. Thus, the worshipping." Tsunake He couldn't help but feel as though James now thought him mentally deranged; Arden watched him go a little unhappily before he sighed and eased himself onto the panel, metal joints squeaking in protest. This must have been how Delmin felt when he was trying to explain, came the bitter thought, and that only made him feel worse. His tired eyes flickered up as the not-man reappeared before falling suspiciously to the liquid he held. 'Thick' did not sound promising. Reluctantly reaching out to take the thing, he hesitated, then took a swallow. His first reaction was to spit it out, admittedly, but he forced himself to swallow without making a face. "What is it?" Came the awkward question; he probably should have asked before simply chugging some foreign, possibly toxic substance. "...In a manner of speaking." Arden would nod, rolling his shoulders as he strained to remember what he'd been told. "...Something called, 'The Fading'. All the gods... died. Somehow, their souls were saved and implanted into these gems, but they couldn't regain their true strength without a host. ...I guess they... become their host, in essence, use their body and energy to return to their former selves somehow..." But not at all. Not if their host could change them somehow, influence their rebirth. But that was something he'd yet to figure out right away, and he kept silent for now. NinetailedNightmare "It's a manufactured supplement liquid. It's like... Earthen vitamin water, if you will, only over a hundred percent more potent. My species... we can live off of this alone." His lips quirked up a little, "I know it probably doesn't appeal to your tastes, but it's good for you. I promise I wouldn't poison you." He hopped up onto the dead control panel a few feet away from the other, folding his hands in his lap as he listened to the other with great detail. As far as he knew, this was all the truth. As a researcher, he was inclined to believe the man whether it was scientifically stable or not. The simple solution would be to just do some inspecting himself to see if those words were true. "How does one kill a god, I wonder..." He mused, and made a light gesture that Arden was not expected to answer him. "I admit, it does sound parasitic. Do they do anything for you in return? And all gods are this way around here?" Tsunake He absorbed that with a slow nod, wondering. Sounded like it'd be a real kick in the rear if one was badly in need of some energy. "...Thanks." The man offered after a moment, realizing belatedly that he hadn't said so in the first place. Perhaps he was embarrassed that maybe his thoughts had been read so plainly, though his lips did attempt to quirk and failed. "People stopped believing in them." He recalled quietly. "No more prayers, not enough faithful worshipers to keep them alive. I don't know the details." It might have been a fantastic story, but it only served as unfortunate and grim reality for him. "I don't know. As far as I know, you die... but some consider it a great honor, being used to help channel the rebirth." And had it been another, more benevolent god, Arden might have seen it in such a fashion. "...I don't know. I think the process, is the same... but some are more kind towards their hosts, I've been told." From how flat his tone was, clearly he was not implying that he was one of the lucky few. NinetailedNightmare There was a simple nod in return to the other, as if it were not at all a problem. True, he didn't know how long the rest of his stores would last him, but just one wasn't going to make all that much of a difference. If he were that sort of character, he could have considered it trading for valuable information. But as it was, he was simply not the type to see anyone suffering, especially not someone who seemed like they may be a good person, potential scavenging aside. "My, I suppose that makes sense. Not a nice way to go, is it?" He murmured about the fading, and would blink at the horrible truth of what happened to the hosts of the gods. "You are to be Famine." At least, that was what he thought he had gleaned from all of this. James was silent for a little while, before he inquired, "Where are the rest of the gods? I can only assume I've landed in a more rural area. If there are hosts, there must be other people, which means some sort of village or metropolis... correct?" Tsunake Arden didn't particularly want to dwell on what was slowly happening to him, and a stiff shrug was offered by means of answer. Clearly the question had been rhetorical, but regardless. Another nod to the question--he himself wouldn't survive that long, he figured, but that was to be the general result. "I don't know." He offered simply. "...There is a place where the gods and their hosts gather, but I've met no other civilians. They call it the Pantheon." And that was all he knew, really. After Creation had assigned them--or, rather, the god--a place to dwell, he'd admit he'd felt more at ease, knowing there was a place to retreat to when it all got to be too much. NinetailedNightmare The brunette would nod as well. Well, it wasn't as if he could expect Arden to tell him anyway- that'd be far too easy. Besides, he wanted to go and have a look himself. Even if he wasn't going to be reporting to anyone, researching was truly a joy for him to do. Perhaps it was ingrained in his very DNA, and he was the optimal Esarian aside from his one damning flaw, but that didn't matter now, and he would make no steps to change himself. "I would like to go to this Pantheon," He told the other candidly, and his eyes seemed aglow with eagerness now. The upside, or downside, of being what he was was that things that should disgust a human did not impact him as much. And it certainly did not stop him from wanting to learn about it. "Do you think I, as I am now, would fit in alright? And would you be willing to take me there? These gods and their hosts... would they be hostile toward a civilian?" Tsunake Only a rapid blink would hint at his surprise, and the soldier drew himself up as though to study the other a little more closely. The Pantheon would be safer than remaining out in the open, surely, but if supplies vital to James' health were here... "It will take nearly a day." He cautioned, hesitating briefly before he continued. "...If you need nutrients, or a way to keep yourself hydrated, then it'd be wise to get that in order." The last thing he wanted was for the alien to get himself stranded out where he couldn't care for himself properly. Too many had died already. "...They bore no issue with me, when I took refuge there." His tone was a little stiff, suggesting that he'd remained in the Pantheon before becoming implanted with the gem. His own fault, and he berated himself for it even now. "It's safer there, than here. ...You're welcome to stay with me, for a while, when you grow tired." It was easy to assume that James wanted to explore the place, and though Arden couldn't blame him, he wasn't sure that he felt like accompanying the man. Still, should something happen to him, he'd be wholly responsible. The marine shifted a little before he jerked his head towards the door. "...I'll be outside, when you're ready. Gather up what you need, and we can head out." He turned then, treading carefully until he could squeeze past the door once more, heavy boots sinking into the soft soil around the vessel.
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:53 pm
[[--Path to the Pantheon--]]
Joint Rp #2With Arden/Bazyli HereNinetailedNightmare As they walked the wide and mostly desolate terrain to the Pantheon, James kept looking through the corners of his eyes. He had been saved and given a brief introduction to the world he was to examine, even spoken to a god, however brief the encounter was. His savior, however, this Federation soldier who called himself Arden, was still a mystery to him. Oh, sure, anatomy-wise, he could give a more than suitable guess as to what the other man had. Humans were all manufactured the same way, after all, unless afflicted with an unfortunate mutation, like any other species of animal out there. The personality and the history, though... That was where everyone differed. He knew little to nothing about this human male, what drove him, or why he was even out here in the first place. Arden didn't know him at all, or even what he was capable of, and yet he had trusted him enough to stay around while he changed, was allowing them to walk side by side to what had been proposed to him as a safe-haven. He had even offered to let James stay in his quarters! It was all very curious indeed. "So Arden," He would begin, a few minutes or so into their journey, "How did you come to be here? Did you have an assignment on this planet?" He shifted his shoulder bag lightly to a position closer to his neck, turning his head to regard the other man more candidly. From his peripherals, he could see his ship still behind them. He had done his best to shove the door back in place when he came out with supplies, which meant it was closed up once more. Hopefully it would deter anything else out here that may be looking for some place to stay or scrounge through. The door was heavy, and no human hands were going to be able to pry it open again. He'd brought his gun, but it still wouldn't be pleasant at all to come back here and have to deal with some creature running amuck in his ship. Tsunake Call it a gut instinct. He'd tangled with bigger and nastier things than James before, things with tempers and things that had less than passable intelligence. The other was a whole new species he didn't think he'd ever encountered before, but there was no way of checking the database now to make sure. Regardless, there was one basic and simple fact; the other hadn't attacked him in his 'first' form, when he clearly had the power to do so. While his armor provided him some protection, well... It'd have been an easy thing to crunch him up like a tin can, get to the fleshy good stuff inside. Bazyli had been quiet since his earlier stunt, and that was just fine with the marine; he was still seething from the attempt, the successful attempt to take over. They were moving now, tentatively back in the direction where he knew the Pantheon to be. His suit, though feeble, still had its tracking systems intact. It was the question that made his eyes tiredly slide to their corners, observing the deceptively ordinary man. He honestly didn't feel much like talking. It was more of a chore each day, trying to remember how his tongue worked, hearing his own gravelly tone. The memories, to, were painful, but the marine only reflected quietly on the events that had stranded him here on this planet. Talking kept him human, too, after all. "...We were attacked by Space Pirates." Came the bland statement, hoarse, but devoid of real emotion for now. "...They must have had some sort of weapon, something... Blew out the engines of our ship. Their first ram had knocked me out, so I don't remember what happened, but I should have been dead. The ship crashed. I managed to get out, but it was too late then. I was dying." He was no storyteller, pausing briefly to remember the heat of the flames, his own frustration that he couldn't even save himself. "...A local here saved my life. I had a spare energy tank, so that healed the nerve damage and the broken bones. He was the one who brought me to the Pantheon." A moment more of reflection before he lightly shook his head. "There's no going back now." NinetailedNightmare James would be lying if he said some carnal part of him wasn't satisfied with the taste of meat, but the habit of actually indulging in it was something that had been bred out of his race centuries ago. It was barbarism, survival, to consume anything other than the mineral concoction that came supplied to him. Besides, fighting was so crass a function to him when one disliked even having to impose any physical strength against another, necessary or otherwise. Arden was safe when it came to the possibility of being consumed. Being analyzed, however... Green eyes flashed briefly as the soldier relayed his tale. How exciting. Space Pirates... Yes, he knew of them and their kind. They were the scourge of the universe, after all, although he had never personally come into contact with one in all his years researching. He knew others that had, though. He had simply been fortunate. "No," He agreed, thoughtfully, "In all likelihood, the main Federation bases have been annihilated with the rest of space. And from your tale I can only assume you were the sole survivor of your convoy. That's... quite frankly, amazing. You were lucky, at least in terms of the odds." After he'd said it, he had the good sense to realize that it may have come out a little more blunt than he expected it to be. Humans, even men of Arden's creed, could be delicate, and sometimes required some gentle handling. "I apologize, if that offended you," He said quickly, a bit softer, "I... I haven't interacted with a human for a little while now. I don't mean to sound callous." A hand lifted to fiddle with his glasses somewhat, sheepish before he asked, "Did you have anyone waiting for you at home, when you left on your mission...?" Tsunake A creak of tired metal was the only sign that the man within the suit had stiffened at how the other so easily dismissed the death of hundreds of thousands of lives; those people had selflessly devoted themselves to guarding the sanctity of space for everyone, keeping trade established and keeping war from breaking out between the various planets and galaxies. Was it really something so insignificant? Although he was weary, Arden wasn't prone to losing his grip on his temper, and only continued on in silence without acknowledgment to his "luck." "They did not deserve to die. And I cannot say I would have been opposed to dying with them, rather than deal with what fate planned for me." The man eventually spoke, his words not unkind. The other didn't sound as though he was attempting to deliberately to rile him, so there was no point for needless aggression. Many would die for the honor that comes with acting as a host, regardless of the Domain. You cannot tell me you would not be content if you were host, to say, Peace? The man seemingly had no reply for that. "It's all right." Arden only said, shrugging faintly to better emphasize no harm had been done. "...That makes two of us." He paused at the question, reflecting for a moment before he only shook his head. "No. I was an only child, and my parents had long accepted that war would claim me one way or another. We did not keep in touch. ...Did you?" NinetailedNightmare As the other stiffened, James felt guilty for having not picked his words more wisely. He was ready for the other to be mad, but was relieved when he wasn't. At least, not as visibly. The words were more than enough to chide him, despite any of Arden's intentions. "I see. No woman?" He would roll his shoulders somewhat as the question was posed to him as well, shaking his head. "Not a one. Not in the way I meant for you. I have colleagues who will await my results, if indeed my planet still even exists. Personal, though... no. I never knew my parent. It isn't a practice my planet follows, familial relations." Tsunake Arden found himself clearing his throat in embarrassment as the questions grew more personal; there had been times when he'd dwelled on a relationship, but in the end had decided that it would save much heartbreak for everyone when things fell apart. That wasn't to say there weren't old flames, certainly... Just thinking about it was bringing all sorts of awkward memories to mind. "It was never important enough." He finally settled for, knowing that wasn't what he meant but unable to think of how else to phrase it right now. Thankfully, James steered the conversation in another direction--one he was all too willing to follow up on. "...I see." A brief pause, an attempt to console. "...If this planet still exists, I don't see why the others wouldn't." Unless Creation's presence had something to do with that. Arden didn't know. "What... exactly is your species? I've seen similar, but nothing like your true form..." Shapeshifters, he meant. NinetailedNightmare "Ah..." He could sense the awkwardness, and though his lips quirked minutely, he got the cue. They could leave it, for now. Except the line of questioning was now on him, and in a place where he became instinctively quiet. He recalled that Arden had asked him before, and that he had decided to answer his questions, but had been interrupted by the one who called himself the Hollow Mouth. "My planet is called Esare," James told the man, the name a mere melodic sigh from his lips, "My species, Esarians. Very few know of us, even those within the Federation, and even less have seen what you have. That is my species' original form... Were you anyone else, my mission would have already been compromised. And, I suppose, anyone else might have killed me or left me for dead. I'm aware of how monstrous I must appear." There was a faint smile there, delicate when considering how toothy he had been not an hour or so before. "When we get to this Pantheon, would it be too much of me to ask that you call me human?" Tsunake Esare... No, he couldn't place it in his mind, and though he wouldn't make any boasts about his memory, the syllables should have at least jogged some sense of familiarity. "Because I am a marine?" He questioned, brows furrowed faintly. So they spent their lives living among other species? And if they were caught--what did he mean by compromised? He mulled over it as they continued to walk, glancing over to the man when he spoke again. "I've seen worse. ...You'd have been within your right to lash out, within someone unknown on your vessel." Not the brightest thing he could have done, surely, but it had all worked out for the best. "...Of course. But, there are many," A pause, and he struggled to search for the right words. "Different species, from what I've encountered so far. ...I doubt it'll come up." He finished lamely, not exactly sure what point he'd been attempting to make. Regardless though, he'd nod at the other. "I'll remember." NinetailedNightmare He nodded, "Agents of the Federation are authorized to be aware, usually on a need-to-know basis, but... I trust you, too. You seem like an honorable man." There was a small, but sincere smile there. Indeed, he wasn't really used to working on feeling alone, but it only seemed fair if Arden trusted him enough to welcome him in his own shelter, he owed the man the benefit of the doubt. Arden would gain little to nothing from this union, or so he believed, and even if there was, it wasn't likely the human knew about it. "It may not be necessary," The alien mused, "And I'll let you know. To be honest, though, I like this form. And if gods are the natives here, it would do well to make myself as humble as possible so that I may move more easily around here. Thank you." Speaking of moving about, what were the habits of these people? "What do you normally do around this place? Do you often go so far from the Pantheon?" Tsunake There was a faint blink at that, and the arm wrapped around his helmet shifted a little against his side, unconsciously stifling his own awkwardness. Still, his shoulders pulled back some as well, not unlike a dog unused to praise. His lips felt wooden, but they would twitch in a feeble attempt to return the expression. The intention was there and genuine, and Arden carefully lead them around what seemed to be a field of withered, ruined bushes; their scraggly limbs would undoubtedly be sharp, and though he wouldn't feel a thing, he wasn't sure how stable James' body was. "...So you've used it before?" He questioned, quite frankly curious. There was an urge to ask more, but the marine held his tongue. Wasn't his business, really, especially if this was a race who held their secrecy in high regard. A curt nod was offered to the thanks; James, it seemed, was taking this all very well. Then again, he wasn't staring his own death in the face, day after day. "I was pretty badly injured after the crash... and the world was falling apart." Arden hesitated for a moment. "...I picked up your distress signal, and I came to see if anyone needed some help. Normally, before, it was safer to stay inside. I don't know what to do with myself most days, now." NinetailedNightmare Well, it was something, at least, and James was pleased to have gotten a positive reaction, however stifled. He'd follow the soldier curiously, eying the bushes as he passed. No, with soft skin like this... it wouldn't do well to put himself near anything that could cut him. "My last project was on the planet you know as Earth..." Those memories were bittersweet for him, and he reached to fiddle with his glasses, recalling his dreams briefly before Arden was speaking. Then he focused on the marine, nodding to show that he understood. "You're still young, for your race. How old are you, mid-thirties? There must be something... What interests you? Have you ever given it any thought?" Tsunake His attention was instantly pricked at the mention of the blue planet, and he turned his head fully to meet the man's gaze head on. "You were on Earth?" The soldier's tone was even despite his notable interest. He'd never been the planet--standard protocol--but had seen it, been taught about it. It was where his forefathers had originated from, after all. The technology granted to the humans of the Federation was something Earth had never seen, and probably never would so long as it and its solar system remained isolated from outside influence. "Thirty-five." Arden replied obediently, giving the second question more thought. "Weaponry." It was a serious answer, and he rolled his shoulders a little. "Our... our group of men were one of the 'front lines' so to speak. Normally shuttled from one planet to the next. Didn't have much time for much else. ...I've never thought much more about it." He finished awkwardly, realizing he was rambling. NinetailedNightmare "I was." James confirmed, his lips taking on a curl that was all too curious. The Federation, though they had human recruits, had left Earth untouched. It was refreshing to see the civilization there prosper by its own devices, so content to believe that it was the only living entity within the galaxy. So primitive that it was charming in its backwater ways. He doubted that Arden had been there himself, but perhaps the man had some sort of questions to ask him? Considering the information the marine had so generously shared with him about this world so far, he would have been all too willing to appease. Perhaps a later time. Weaponry, said the man. It wasn't unusual, all things considering. Even a man who spent his life pushing papers could have been interested in devices capable of rendering another place or being obsolete. There was just something so phallic about a gun- weapons, therefor, were quite manly. "I see," Was what he said, "Well, that's understandable. In a place so rural as this seems, though, I can see how such an interest might suffer. My race did not produce any weapons." He sounded a bit apologetic at that. Though he carried a gun of sorts with him, he did not find it prudent to forfeit it to the man to look over. Aside from what his body could manage, it was his only other defense. "But I think it's good for everyone to take a hobby. Now that you're here, perhaps it would do you well to broaden your horizons? So to speak. If nothing else, perhaps there would be raw materials around here that you could collect. With a world so full of power, you could find an alternate energy source, I'm certain." Tsunake The man listened quietly, and he would be a fool to deny that his own interest had roused up questions about the blue jewel that was the planet of their origin. This wasn't the time or place, however, and he was alert to their surroundings in case they were set upon; either by hostile locals, or by predators. They might as well have been one in the same. His gaze slid back as the alien admitted that his race did not create weapons, and there was a look in Arden's eyes that suggested he was curious; the galaxy was too dangerous to roam about in unarmed. Then again, his natural form had been rather impressive. Maybe he didn't need mechanical weapons to defend himself. "I don't have time to establish a hobby anymore." It was flat, but not unkind. A blunt truth, and nothing more. There was a faint, rather grim twitch to his lips, and an armored shoulder shrugged itself as though agreeing. "Maybe." But there was no time anymore...and what time he did have would be better spent focusing on how to control the deity that was now attempting to inhabit his body. "Could be something for you to focus on, while you're here. ...The people need it." This world needed it, all the help it could get really. His stride lengthened a little, focusing on the pull of the muscles in his legs in order to distract himself from all negatives. They weren't helping to solve the problems, therefore, they were distractions. "...What's your hobby, then?" He didn't glance back this time. NinetailedNightmare James' features drew a little at the other's words, the melancholy in that voice weighing on him. He decided to address the question first, his own voice a little brighter as he told the man his personal passion, "I like to research. It isn't just something I was made to do. When I lived on Earth, I posed as a novelist and I thought that was rather fun. I also... used to collect. Fish." So many fish. Whole rooms of the house were dedicated to tanks of both salt and freshwater denizens. He'd even had a small shark and a few eels on top of the colorful collection of fish. When he had been left alone in the old, large house, he filled it with aquariums. "I had quite a lot of hobbies, I suppose." He quieted as he went on, and perhaps some of his worry was apparent as he glanced to the other man. "So, what will you do?" Tsunake Fish. It was something so simple, so not what he expected to hear that the broad-shouldered marine seemed to relax a little more. A researcher, a novelist, and a fish-collector. It sounded almost normal, as far as human standards went, he supposed. "I see." Arden said quietly, and would stay silent until the next question came. "I was told that a host influences the god, in some way. If my will was iron... I could change him for the better." Somehow. Whether by fighting him, or cooperating with him; he remembered Creation's words well. It was the mantra he held onto now, the driving force that hardened his mind and refused to let him falter against the seeming impossibility of the task set before him. "...I'll do what I have to." He finally would answer the question, glancing to James once more. "What I need to." NinetailedNightmare There was a sense in finality in Arden's words, yet still James took the time to mull and pull them apart. That time was only a few seconds. From how the other man spoke, the outlook of his life seemed bleak. Against his will, he was to be sacrificed to bring a god to whom he clearly held some enmity into the world. He thought that if he was harsh and strong, then there would be a chance something would last in the god, some trace of him. "That is quite noble of you..." James said at last, but there was something to his tone that suggested that he would not simply leave it at that. He was about to argue, setting Arden up with a more mollifying phrase before he did. But his green eyes grew a little steadier on the man when he said, "But you should also consider that these will be the last days to yourself. Surely you do not think trying to enjoy them will make you weaker? If I may ask, what is it of yourself you wish to leave in him, that you must focus so belligerently on it?" Tsunake For a moment, the soldier would look to the being beside him, attempting to decipher if he was simply mocking him, or if he meant it. The latter seemed to fit the situation better, and so he accepted it. James, however, kept talking, and the man felt himself growing exasperated even if only pressed his lips together a little to keep himself from being rude, or snapping. A deep, steadying breath was all he needed before he trusted himself to speak. "...My last day to myself was the day before I found the gem. Eats at your mind, this thing. It's there, all the time." He just sounded weary at this point. "I don't know. ...If I don't try to stop him, millions of people..." If there were even millions left on this planet, "...might die. His domain is Famine; what's to stop him from sucking this entire planet dry if he's allowed to do what he wants?" I assure you, I am not quite so stupid. Your lack of intelligence will not hamper mine.Arden ignored that. "If I die without trying to do anything, knowing what he's capable of..." The man trailed off, and shook his head. He didn't know how else to better explain it, how it was eating at him to know that he might be responsible for unleashing this thing upon the remaining inhabitants of this world. "I don't know." The man repeated again, after a moment. "I don't know how I'm supposed to do anything. I was told I needed to do it, somehow... I just..." There was a shrug of his shoulders. How was he supposed to shape the personality and desires of a god? NinetailedNightmare He didn't know. James didn't know what he had been expecting, so that answer seemed to suit. He knew better than not to pay close attention to the worries of the man that had saved him from a probable never-ending slumber. Not only would it serve him to better get a sense of what was going on around these parts, but it also seemed as if Arden needed to explain it to someone. Had his concerns gone unvoiced or unheard, here in the world where the coming of a god must be natural? It must be hard. Hard to know you were dying, harder to know it wasn’t for a cause you could believe in. His throat felt tight all of the sudden and he didn’t know quite why. It only took a thought to adjust it, a chemical buzz to get the skin to soften once more and even out the flow of the lifeforce beneath. “I understand,” He would say eventually, and he did. While it didn’t seem possible for him to empathize, he could sympathize for the man and his plight. He could comprehend it. His dark emerald eyes searched the man’s face for any ease and it looked so remarkably human, pursing his lips into a concerned line. “You’ll do what you have to. I know I cannot offer you a resistance by any means, but I owe you my life, Arden. If there is anything I can do to help you, do not hesitate to ask.” It was a poor consolation prize, to be sure, but that's all he had to offer. He was not a god- he could not will the other's fate onto anyone else. Perhaps, though, the former soldier could find some use of him in the future, even if it was someone to bend an ear to him. He could be that person. Tsunake Brown eyes would flicker to their corners at the simple statement, not offended so much as he was... well. Curious, he supposed, perhaps confused. He knew James couldn't understand having a so-called god sucking the life out of him slowly, so what did he mean? The marine eventually decided to simply take it superficially; the alien was offering sympathy, and he accepted it with a silent, curt nod. "Yes." He was struck by the sincerity of the other's expression, and it was impossible to tell if it was truly genuine or not. Whether James was humoring him or not, it didn't matter. It was nice having someone... well, to talk to. For once. Someone who didn't already know what all this business was about, and saw it as a perfectly normal way of life. "You don't owe me anything." The marine said quietly, and he did his best to offer a faint smile. "It's my duty, to help others. ...But I'll keep it in mind." And he appreciated it, truly, tired and frustrated with his own lack of control over his own body. That incident back on the ship.... No, he didn't want to think about it. "If you don't have any other place to stay," He began somewhat awkwardly, casting his gaze back out towards the horizon. The Pantheon was in the distance, but they were drawing steadily closer to it. "...You're welcome to stay in the room that was given to me." To Bazyli, really, but the god could only use it through him. NinetailedNightmare He tilted his head as the other began to make him a proposal, curious about how the man seemed to be grinding it out. However, it did seem genuine, and he was indeed a little surprised. "You really are quite dedicated," Came the eventual response, followed by a soft, throaty chuckle. "The only shelter I have is my ship, for now. If you wouldn't be overcrowded with me in your home, I'd be delighted." In the spur of the moment, he reached up and clapped the man on the back of his shoulder, a wayward attempt at what he perceived as a gesture of male reassurance. "Thank you." In the distance, there was the shape of the Pantheon, and he became absorbed on it just as Arden did, not wholly aware that he may have just put the other man in yet another awkward position. He was too busy eating up the scenery that didn't consist of scrub or the occasional tree. Tsunake The soldier only tilted his chin down a little, silently acknowledging. It was his duty. A faint frown creased his face when James spoke of his ship--that was too far away for the other to be truly safe, should anything happen. "Of course." He felt obligated, to say the least. Bazyli sighed wordlessly in his mind, though he could do very little to prevent what would eventually be his personal space from being given away so freely. A blink came at the sudden thump to his shoulder, slightly bewildered, but he offered an awkward nod. It was fine. Luckily, James seemed to be quickly distracted by the massive structures that lay before him, and they continued the rest of their journey in relative silence. The Pantheon was truly a beautiful place, with its gardens lined with elegant statues and the like. Arden would linger whenever the other seemed particularly taken with a certain bit of scenery, but would eventually gently urge them on by beginning to walk once more. Up one of the raised platforms, down into the enclosed area... It wouldn't be long before they reached the silent, menacing snarl of teeth that marked the entrance to Famine's domain. With a rasp of mechanics, not unlike a sigh, the fangs would draw apart and allow them passage. Arden entered somewhat stiffly, but wouldn't hesitate to step past the maw. There was an elegance to the place, however small it was in comparison to the abodes of other gods, the sloping ceilings adding an eerie elegance to the place. Artifacts and antique vases lined themselves on dark furniture, some of them bearing resemblance to space technology, while others were clearly of Famine's choosing. "There's a room, behind the staircase," And he gestured to it, a spiraling thing that led to a small sleeping space upstairs for Kiania and Phaaze. "That's where you can stay... If it doesn't bother you." He would trade places with the other, if he so wished it. To the left of the staircase was a slightly larger room, intended for host and god, clearly. With Harmodius still freshly reborn, things would remain moderate. There was no sense in taxing him too greatly on comforts that even Arden himself wasn't quite used to. NinetailedNightmare James had many things he'd like to look at, but he knew it was something he could dwell on later when he didn't have Arden's patience to test. He soaked up the atmosphere with a critical eye, noting the structure of the gardens and the shape of the architectures. Most of it seemed so Earthen that he was almost, but not quite, disappointed. If there was a place he was particularly fond of, it would have been Earth. There just wouldn't be a whole lot for the records. Into the Pantheon they went, a structure far too perfect for human hands to meld. He let his eyes cast along just so far as they were allowed while his legs kept pace with the taller man, and when they came to the door of teeth, he paused. How could a structure like this be present in a place so archaic? And yet, there was a hiss of mechanicals as each part of the serrated structure slid apart for Arden. Were he more prone to indulging paranoia, he would have entertained the notion on the great maw snapping him to bits just as he tried to pass. Just the same, he let Arden get a certain distance inside before he quickly stepped past the barrier, the soldier's voice far away in his mind for a moment as he turned to admire the framework now that he was out of harm's way. He turned his head in time to see the man pointing to a section of the hall which would, indubitably, be his quarters. "Of course not," James replied amusedly, his lips quirking, "I hope you didn't already forget where you found me." As much as he would rather not sleep again, the lasting effects of the cryogenesis coupled with the walking they did made him feel as if he could rest for a year alone. However, he would not surrender quite so quickly. "May I have a look around?" Tsunake The teeth would quiver for a moment before they ominously slid shut, as though sensing James' gaze and keeping him from slipping past if such a thought had even crossed his mind. He was trapped now, seemingly, but should he approach them with the intention of leaving, they would reluctantly part to grant him passage once more. "I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable, out of liquid." The gruff tone sounded faintly apologetic; cultural awareness was important when interacting with another species, and he was fairly terrible at it. A wordless shrug was offered for the question; the marine certainly didn't mind. "Not upstairs, though." It was more of a warning. "Keeps his servants up there." Arden was still very uncomfortable with Phaaze, the little creature having relocated himself up with Kiania some time ago. With that, the man would step to sink quietly onto the bed with a soft sound of whirling mechanics, mulling to himself. NinetailedNightmare "Ah, it'll take a while yet before I dry up," He returned assuringly, another faint flicker of closed lips before James realized Arden was lurching off to go lay down. Poor man- this really must have been quite the day for him. The Esarian's green eyes flickered up the spiraling staircase curiously, but the other's warning brought no figures for him to inspect. He should like to have a look at these servants, he thought, but it could be left for later. James drifted to the door as Arden sat down on his bed, armor and all. Was he planning to sleep in that? How curious. He hung there in the doorway a moment, trying to gather what he should say and condense it so he could leave the man to his own thoughts. "Thank you again, Arden," Was what he finally settled on, soft and vaguely humble with a subtle dip of his head. Any more might have been awkward for the human, and after he was done looking around, there was work to be done. He slipped off wordlessly afterward, going to inspect his room then look around. Eventually, though, he would be back to where he was assigned, making a point to leave the door open in case his host needed something of him. Tsunake That finally earned a soft snort from him, a sound that could easily be taken for amusement. Dry up... That was a possibility he hadn't even considered, his armored fingers rubbed briefly at his temple. He'd glance up again at the thanks, and shook his head some. "Just glad you're all right." Was the only thing he'd say, but the other was already gone. Slowly, he hauled his legs up onto the bed and stretched out, staring at the ceiling. He didn't plan on sleeping, not in this suit, but he was thinking about what had happened back on the ship. It unnerved him. James was welcome to come and go as he pleased. Should he linger, he might see the scantily clad, crimson Aoide make her way down from the staircase, observing Arden if only to make sure he was still there and in one piece. Otherwise, the marine was quiet. It wouldn't be long before, despite himself, he'd have drifted, his sleep light and uneasy.
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:55 pm
[[--The Macroparasite--]]
Solo RP #7
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:56 pm
[[--Pint-Sized Powers--]]
Joint RP #3With Una and Akakios HereNinetailedNightmare Now that he was here, James was eager to explore the world in and around the Pantheon. He had promised to come see Arden again, but right now it was time to begin fulfilling his curiosity of the planet to which he had been delivered. The architecture around here was simply stunning, though he had expected no less of those proclaimed to be gods. Everything around here seemed rich and flowing, and he felt quite humble walking along the vast stretch of green between the various archaic buildings. There were some orbiting structures in the distance that he could see, and he planned to investigate as to what they may be. Unbeknownst to the brunette mortal, he was approaching one of the Pantheon's teahouses. He moved slowly with his head on a slow and constant swivel, green gaze peering intuitively at the world through the lenses of glasses as if he expected the sedate field around him to change any minute, or present something he hadn't noticed before. When he got to the tea house, he was hesitant about entering right away. What if this was someone's home? But he did begin to circle the building, looking for any windows he could simply 'glance' into before he tried another method of seeing. Una Daughter of Water  Una had found her way out of her father's rooms. With the change in the world things were really starting to grow excitable. She had sat down and talked to Yaxha some about the new changes...now that the world was alive or starting to be what mortals had come to living within her father's rooms could start branching out. Una's attention didn't stay on such matters long as she was still young and would prefer to be playing or listening to Baxter's stories. But such times as those of Gehenna, and learning of independence taking charge at least some...hadn't lead to such quiet and carefree paths.
Grinning slightly Una walked through the grass she was enjoying the slight tickling feeling she got from the grass blades running over the sides of her feet and wasn't really paying much attention to where she was heading. After sometime of her meandering her gaze went toward a grouping of flowers, pausing she reached for one of the violets it was a very similar color to her skin she mused a moment over that when movement off to the side caught her attention.
There was a man peeking into one of the tea houses. Blinking slightly Una stood up, plucking one of the violets as she did. Starting over toward the man she paused with her head slightly cant to the side, "Hello...are you looking for someone?" she wasn't speaking overly loud but her voice would likely carry to anyone close to the window of the teahouse.Zero Dream  There was, indeed, someone in that building, though it likely would not be what James was expecting.
There was a young child inside, who could have been considered normal, was it not for the curly purple locks framing his face, and those eyes, platina and gold with no white or black.
Those eyes... soulful and sorrowful, unbelievably deep keeping in mind that they belonged to a child.
He was sitting, calmly, small hand reaching for the pen down on the table - he prefered quills, but they where not practical to carry - and slid it to touch the paper of one of the many notebooks that had once belonged to his mother.
The sound of Una's speech, however, seemed to catch his attention, and he looked forward to the open door. There were, of course, other children, beyond him or his sibilings, but he had rarely ever seen any of them that he sometimes forgot. The girl's voice, however, was familar...
The book closed softly, and Akakios let himself slide down from his perch on the rather tall chair to his bare feet, padding his way outside.NinetailedNightmare The mortal would straighten slowly at the sound of a voice, trying not to look too much like a child with his hand in the cookie jar. What his eyes found when he looked around gave him a pleasant surprise. There was a child, or that was what it appeared to be, with lilac skin and wispy white hair. Was this a native of the world? A mortal? "Just looking," He admitted honestly, giving a small smile. Children seemed to know the truth, in his plain experience with them, and he wasn't really sure just how much there was to hide in a world like this. No, he thought to himself, she must be something more than mortal. The more he looked at her, compared to the collection of flowers she held to her chest, the more radiant she seemed. She complimented them, not the other way around. "What is this place?" He sensed another presence, having a rather keen sense of vibration even when he was in his human shape. Faint, maybe he imagined it, but it was a whisper of disturbance nonetheless. Soon another child appeared, and at first it seemed like a female as well from the delicate motions it took along the way. "Hello." Una Daughter of Water Una blinked once curiously, shifting her gaze to the teahouse. "Well...Yaxha told me that was called a teahouse. There are a few of them on the grounds," pausing she beamed for a moment, "but if you are wondering what the overall place is - it's the Pantheon." Wrinkling her brow a moment she watched James, "where did you come from?" Most of those in the area had been at the ritual and knew at least to some degree what was going on.
Movement behind James then drew her attention, smiling she waved seeing another child, "Hello!" he seemed familiar. She was guessing from the ceremony, many people seemed familiar from that; she'd just been very very tired after calling the water and didn't remember it all very well. Zero Dream Lament only nodded in answer to Una at first, though he made his way to stand beside her - taller, but not by much, as little boys tended to be at this age. He seemed to study the man for a moment, silent, soulful eyes locked on him. He... was no one he knew, he noticed, and lacked the 'feel' gods had.
A mortal then.
"Are you lost ?" He asked, his voice light and even, more curious than accusatory. If he did not know where he was, perhaps he was lost indeed ? His mother had helped the mortals when she was still around, and now that only left him to do it.
Well, him and the purple skinned girl at his side, familiar yet unknown. NinetailedNightmare "Far, far away. My friend brought me here," He would tell the little girl, thinking carefully on how he should reply, watching the other child approach from the corner of his eye and taking his question into account. "He said it was a safe place. Now I'm just looking around and trying to get myself acquainted." His eyes flitted over to regard Akakios, and there was something about the boy's eyes that... touched him. Somehow. He was more surprised by the feeling than he was the appearances of the children. He had seen some pretty odd things in his life. James turned his gaze back to Una as soon as he could remove it from the pale boy's. "My name is James Dionysus. May I ask your names?" Una Daughter of Water Una watched him thoughtfully at the explanation wondering to herself just how far away he really was from. It sounded as if he was one of the few survivors from outside of the pantheon, frowning to herself she wondered how many were out there attempting to find their way...like when she helped with the people at the church; maybe they needed help.
"Where there others that needed to be safe too?" she wondered more to herself then to the mortal but spoke her mind before she knew it and just adjusted her gaze to look to him questioningly.
Una considered a moment on the question of names, if he was like the people from the church was she decided she should use her name and title...like her father when he introduced himself.
"I'm Una, the Maiandros Riparia." She smiled slightly after speaking not just to the two with her but also because she was able to say it without stumbling over the wording as she once had. She knew that she was only a little goddess...but had come to realize that still at times that was very important. Zero Dream Ah, so that was the girl's name - Una. But wait... Mailawhat now ?
Hm.
"Akakios." He answered in turn, hands clutching the notebook he carried with him. "Lament." Unlike Una, he had no fancy way to refer to himself, rather than to plainly what he was. Though he preferred to be called by name rather by influence. He was simply unusued to be referred to by any other way than the name his father had given him. NinetailedNightmare "I was alone when I came here," James told her, carefully, "So I don't think so. If there was anyone else around, I would have helped them myself." It was noble of her to ask about others, and it made him wonder if she could do something about it, had he told her there were others out there. It was also possible that she might be curious as to whether other strangers like him were going to be out, lurking around the teahouses. Because she was a child, he considered the latter the more likely intent. She gave him a name, and then a title. James' lips thinned somewhat with thought, but curled into an amused smile. "That's Latin, isn't it? A meandering, winding... river bank, is it?" His eyes seemed to wander off a moment as thoughts, one after the other, were pulled up in connection with the last. There was an Una river in Earth, in Brazil, he noted, in correlation to the title. He resurfaced as the boy spoke his name and title as well. "You're deities," He sighed, a little wistfully, the shine of his eyes only dulled by the lenses of his glasses. He had suspected as much, but due to their age and... well, he didn't see a gem on them anywhere, he had withheld judgement. Many questions buzzed in his head now. What a curious world! "Una, Akakios... Would you mind if I asked you a few questions? About you and the other gods?" He seemed bright and curious, and in fact he was eager to learn more about this new discovery. Also, he hadn't had the chance to speak more than a few words with a god so far. Una Daughter of Water Glancing over curiously she looked to Akakios, she wasn't really sure what lament was all about but maybe he'd tell them. Looking over to James she nodded slightly still looking rather curious.
A bit of a smile came to her face as he realized they were deities, considering his request a moment she gave a bit of a nod. After all Yaxha had told her that many of the mortals were curious and well she saw at the ceremony that the humans were important...so answering his questions she decided would be alright, "well, it depends on the question but I can try to answer." Giving a bit of a nod she glanced over at Kios wondering how the other godling would respond. Zero Dream For his part, the lavender-haired boy tapped his fingers against the spine of his book in thought. Mommy often did just that, answer questions for mortals, talked to them, kept them company - she always told him that these things were important. But now she was not here... But it didn't matter, he and Una would do just fine ! He knew many things, after all.
"What do you want to know ?" He asked, tilting his head to the side while looking up at James, clearly as curious as the purple-skinned girl at his side. NinetailedNightmare "I think they're fairly simple questions myself. They're mostly about yourselves." He mused. Just how much about this world could children tell him, after all? What was more interesting to him at the moment would be the mannerisms of the godlings. How did a deity think? How did they act? "I suppose my first question is... did you two originate from gems? The last god I met, he had a stone set into his neck." It was a lot more sensible than asking them if they had hosts, to which James congratulated himself. He was slowly beginning to get back into the swing of being subtle, although he didn't know how necessary it was when it came to gods. Were they not beyond possessing the bodies of children? Or was this something entirely new...? Zero Dream Akakios tilted his head at the question. "No. Mom and Dad made me." Duh. "They have gems, through. But I don't have one." He'd pondered about this for some time, but simply let it go.
"My big brother and big sister don't have gems either." He thought to answer before the man could ask.
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 3:58 pm
[[--Native Cuteness--]]
Joint RP #4With Adi HereMeepfur "You need a bath," Adrienne informed the floox perched on her shoulder. "I need a bath." Phlox had just had himself a spectacular, impromptu mudbath, and the result was a fairly unpleasant smell. Not that she was never the origin of 'wet fur' smell herself, but her little companion had an exceptionally bad case of it...which was currently oozing into her shoulder fur. It was a little fishy, she decided, which meant he'd probably been in a creek.
She'd just been visiting her tree, and Phlox wandered off and come back a terrible mess - and promptly shared it with her. She didn't mind being dirty, but smelly-dirty was another matter entirely. Being part werewolf, she was rather sensitive to smell, and didn't want to be carrying around any gross ones. At least she didn't have much in the way of clothes for her passenger to get dirty, and what she did wear was black and wouldn't stain.
"I don't know why you couldn't just walk," she complained teasingly as they neared the Pantheon. "It's not like you don't have four good legs."
Phlox huffed and curled his tail around her neck. NinetailedNightmare Now that he had established a base of operation, James' work had become fairly routine. Well, seeing as he'd only been living at the Pantheon a week or so, would it be correct to categorize it as that? In any case, he had developed a sort of pattern, making a slow but purposeful patrol around the perimeter of the large temple. He'd explored the terrain as much as he felt comfortable, enough that he was back inside of the Pantheon when dusk fell to record any relevant observations. He was beginning to run out of pertinent things to say. Nothing happened quickly here in the realm of timeless deities- the terra was still patching itself up and everything seemed very, very quiet. With the sky gone, even a creature lacking the propensity to feel knew it was a very disconcerting time to be living in. When he saw her, the Esarian was leaning against one of the vast pillars that held up the Pantheon, idly polishing the lenses of his glasses on the front of his shirt. He was considering entering the nearby river to see just how far it traveled. Walking was a tedious affair, but swimming... he could really get around in a liquid environment. True, he could also fly, but wings were a structure he was not particularly talented in making himself. And they hurt quite a lot besides. His mind was still rattling away as his eyes registered movement in the distance, coming from the dark shapes of trees. He blinked an opaque green lense over his eyes and the vision was amplified for another few yards. It looked like a human woman; bipedal stature, ample curvature in the hips and bossom, and thin shoulders. She was half naked, though, and her hair was a wild frazzle over her shoulders. Someone new! James didn't quite prance down the stairs, but his steps were longer than the short legs of his human form should be allowed, taking two at a time. She didn't look like a goddess, but who knew? Perhaps she was one of the servants, like the ones he had seen in service of Bazyli- a goatish woman and a cadaver. Better yet, perhaps she was a native? As he got to level ground, James lengthened his step but slowed himself purposely. If this was a feral woman, he did not wish to present himself as a threat. He raised a hand in greeting while the other slid his glasses back over his nose. To Adi, he'd look little more than an unremarkable, short brunette human. In his mind, he was hoping the addition of the tail and the furry shins didn't mean the aggression of an animal- he really was hoping to pursue a conversation. There was, though, the chance that he would have to turn tail and run if his curiosity proved to be less than welcome. Meepfur Fortunately for James, the young woman was anything but aggressive, despite her scattering of lupine features. Once she spotted the waving man, her features lit up with delight. Someone new! She, too, loved to meet new people, regardless of how remarkable or unremarkable they looked - there was something to be said for remarkable, of course, but in the end, a person was a person! And even if they didn't look remarkable, a person could always be a host. This was the Pantheon, after all.
Adrienne returned his wave with an enthusiastic one of her own, and practically skipped over. "Hello~!"
Phlox, who was quite used to being bounced around after all this time, simply endured the ride. NinetailedNightmare At her call, his features visibly brightened, mostly for her benefit. There was a smile now, soft and close-mouthed, but he was clearly very pleased. It was very possible that she was acting, but there was something so charming about the pep in her step that did wonders to disarm suspicion. Despite her rather mature figure, he was beginning to receive a very childish vibe from her demeanor, and so he smoothed himself out accordingly. "I haven't seen you around," He greeted her, much like an lost friend, "Is this your first time coming to the Pantheon?" Meepfur Adrienne couldn't help but giggle at his assumption. Her first time here? She'd been born here! It was, consequently, amusing to her in a delightful way. Of course, the Pantheon now was very different now than it had been when she'd come into the world, but it was still the same place. Sort of. "Oh no," she answered, "I live here! Do you?"
There was no act at all to her friendliness, a fact supported by the exuberant wagging of her pink-ribboned tail. From her shoulder, Phlox peered curiously at the stranger with his little black eyes, his own tail waving slightly. NinetailedNightmare Her giggle was quite endearing, though it could have been taken as some sort of ridicule on his behalf. However, if she was laughing at his expense, he was either unaware or brushing it off, simply eager for her response. She lived here? That was promising. "Well, yes, actually. I do live here!" The bookish man pushed his thick-framed glasses further up his nose. "Are you, perchance, a goddess? Or one of the hosts?" He did not think she was the former- she simply did not have that sort of aura to her, but it was not his intention to offend her if she was. Perhaps it would flatter her, nonetheless. That was a positive. Something moved at her shoulder, somewhere in the vicinity of her fluffy, feathered appendages, and he obligingly looked over to see two inky droplets studying him in return. "Hello." He greeted the rodent-like floox. Was it her pet, perhaps? Meepfur "Neither," she answered, grinning. The subject of what she was inevitably ended up confusing everyone she told, which she also found rather amusing. "I'm the God of Love's daughter. Are you a host?" If he lived here, that meant he was most likely either a host or a follower.
The muddy floox returned the man's 'hello' with a yip, presumably a greeting of his own. NinetailedNightmare He obliged her with a blink and a bemused curl of his lips, as if expecting her to explain. She did, to some extent, and he was intrigued to hear the deity of Love was, in fact, a male. He wasn't aware of the different aspects that existed for the gods yet, never informed of the duality. "I see," A nod, before he shook his head at her adjoining question. "No, miss, I am a researcher and an explorer! I've come to speak with any god who would give me the time of day. I'm sort of writing a book, after all that has happened, you see." He said this with a bit of a humble bowing of his small body. Curious indeed- the rodent at her shoulder almost seemed to have responded to him! Were the animals here all sentient? It was an interesting concept to consider. Meepfur "An explorer? Really?" Her tufted ears perked with interest. And he was writing a book! That was so cool! Not that she was very good at reading; although her physical and mental maturity were well into teenager by now, she was only two and a half years old, and certain things took some time to learn. "You can talk to Rio! He'd love it." NinetailedNightmare "Yes indeed. I've been a good many places, though I only reached this place recently. I still have a long way to go, now that the world is so different." He noted her ears, which seemed to move with her mood like a true animal. "Rio? Is that your father's name?" Like Nevada? No, that was absurd. "I would be honored to have an audience with Love sometime, if you would introduce me. My name is James, by the way. What is yours?" Meepfur Many places? Ohh, she'd have to ask him about them! Her own little world was limited to the Pantheon and the surrounding area, and though she'd never had any desire to leave and go haring off on some adventure, she was still curious.
"No," Adi answered with another giggle. It wasn't truly meant to be at his expense, she was just...very happy, and very easy to amuse. "Rio's my mother. His host was a girl, you see, so he was too, for awhile. He's not anymore, though."
"I'm Adrienne, but you can call me Adi. And this," she added, shrugging the shoulder on which her companion had perched, "Is Phlox."
He whuffed. NinetailedNightmare Even for James, that was... a little weird. Perfectly probable, when one thought about it, but to consider the emotional ordeal... He did not dwell long on it. Where he was from, he would have been expected to bare a child upon his return, but after his ordeal with Earth, his contribution to the race had been judged... Unnecessary. To put it nicely. It wasn't quite as odd, however, because he was no more male than he was female, in all reality. This was a form he was simply fond of, and it made the chances of sexual harassment considerably slimmer. "So gods may choose a host opposite their gender." This was more to himself than Adi, and it was definitely something worth noting once he was around his recorder again. For now, he simply stored the tidbit away, not able to think of any further questions that wouldn't make him seen wholly overt. "Adi, Phlox. A pleasure to meet you both! And, if I may ask, just what manner of creature are you, Phlox?" Meepfur "Mm-hm!" she confirmed, "A few of them have, it just means they're a little in-between for awhile after they take over." Rio had told her of a few others, and she knew Illisia, who's god was male. For Adrienne, it was all quite normal.
"He's a floox," Adi answered for her pet, who nodded. "We have another one too, Dogwood." NinetailedNightmare "I see." Intriguing, yes, intriguing indeed. He stared at the floox a moment more before his eyes flickered back to Adi. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions, Adi? For my book." Meepfur "Sure!" she said brightly, "I don't mind at all!" Adrienne liked to talk about, well, just about anything with anyone, and if it was for a book? That was just all the more awesome! She could say she'd helped. It was definitely something she'd have to tell her brother about...it was really too bad he didn't live at the Pantheon, too. He probably didn't get to meet as many new people as she did. NinetailedNightmare "Okay!" He didn't quite chirp in response. The girl's attitude was infectious, even if he was inclined to be a construct of whatever attitude he happened to run across. "Well, it will be quite a few questions. Is there anywhere you'd like to go, perhaps sit down?" Meepfur "How about one of the teahouses?" Adi suggested after a moment of thought. She could have invited him up to her and Rio's rooms, but he could go visit Rio later! She got to be first. NinetailedNightmare "Alright," The brunette consented with a nod, his mind pulling up the nearest teahouse in the vicinity as he stepped forward. "I think it's this way." He said aloud, leading her under Illumin's skylights toward the structure. All the while, he was content to produce an amiable chatter with her, the thought of simply using her to get to Rio not even crossing his mind. In truth, everyone in this world would be important, at least categorically. Who knew what sort of things were running around? Flooxes, humans, gods, and the children of the gods- so far that was all he knew of. It was always exciting to work from the ground up. "It's been a few years since I last had tea- do they really serve tea in there? Does it cost anything?" Adi was not only a potential interview, but also an acquaintance, which would be good to have if he was going to be living here for the rest of his life. Meepfur "Well, it's self-serve," she answered with a giggle, "But no, it doesn't cost anything. Nothing here does!" Adi had never bought a single thing in her life, although she had been to a restaurant with Rio once, when things like that had still existed and operated. Did they again, now? She'd never actually thought about before, and she didn't spend any time in 'populated' areas...well, except the Pantheon, of course. NinetailedNightmare "Oh, dear... I'm not very sure how to make tea, I'm afraid. You won't laugh at me if I make the attempt, will you?" As they reached the charming structure on the outskirts of the Pantheon, James took a chivalrous step forward and opened the door for the female. He'd follow her lead after that. Meepfur "Of course not," she assured him as she stepped inside. "I could teach you how, if you want?" NinetailedNightmare "That's kind of you, thank you." He assented, "We should make the kind that you like, then. I don't have a particular preference." And he'd drift nearby if she decided that was what she wanted to do, absently admiring her wings which, upon closer inspection, did not appear worthy of flight at all. They actually seemed to be of some sort of plastic, how slick they were. "I guess the first thing I would ask," He said as they moved about, figuring they could talk while they worked, "Would be how you feel to be living at the Pantheon? You're mortal, correct? How do you think the gods here treat you, not being a host?" Meepfur "I like Lady Grey best," she decided after a moment, nodding to herself. "If you don't mind that it has a little bit of lemon flavor to it?" There werewolf first set Phlox on the floor, then went to wash up.
"Oh, I love it here! It's my home." Adi paused both her movements and her speaking for a moment then, considering. "Well, I'm not really sure what I am, technically. Rio's a god, obviously, and my father's an aoide. I might be mortal, or I might be an Ageless Immortal. Anyway, it doesn't really matter! I'll be an aoide soon, once I find a god to serve."
"But everyone treats me just fine! Nobody at all's ever been mean to me or anything, and a lot of the gods I know are like family." NinetailedNightmare "Lady Gray it is, then." If he ran his hands under the water, it was mostly for his own comfort, allowing some of the moisture to soak through his skin and into the long channels of fluid routing themselves along just beneath the surface. He kept an ear attentive to her the whole time, however, a soft breath through his nose as he considered it. "Like family, hm? That sounds pleasant. But really? All of the gods here, in your experience, are nice? Even those with a more negative aspect of domain? I guess what I'm trying to ask is: do you think a mortal could hold a conversation with your acquaintances without due harm?" Meepfur "Well..." Again, Adrienne had to think for a bit. She knew, of course, that less-than-friendly gods existed, much in the same way that bad people existed, but she'd never actually met one. "I know they're not all nice, but all the ones I've met have been. Even Plague! And when I first met Harmodius, he was Destruction, but he was still nice to me."
The werewolf giggled as she fetched the proper tea. "I even put one of his tails in my mouth."
"...I was pretty little," she added as an afterthought. Something like that probably needed clarification. "So yeah, I'd say it's pretty safe." NinetailedNightmare "I'm sorry. Harmodius?" He inquired. His charitable roommate of a sort, Arden, hadn't been as gracious with information about this world as James would have thought. "Destruction? Who are they?" Meepfur "Oh!" He didn't know? Well, maybe he hadn't been doing his research very long. Either way, she was more than happy to enlighten him, although Harmodius was rather hard to describe. "Harmodius is the Twin Crown, Creation and Destruction. He's the Emperor, the...the first god. The most important." NinetailedNightmare He'd only been there about a week, and thank goodness he had run into her! This was exactly why one perspective in research was absolutely no good. "Oh, my, well. That would be excellent to know. Thank you... And he was good to you. I see." James took a moment to peer at the type of tea she had garnered, what type of leaves they appeared to be. It might have been strange to come upon, an older man watching over the youth's shoulder much like a child would. He did his best to stay out of her way, of course, and give her her own space, but he was eagerly attentive. "Perhaps one day I shall meet him as well, then. I imagine he must be very busy. But tell me, Adi, what sort of things do you find yourself doing around these parts? You don't serve anyone, I'd suppose." Meepfur Adrienne nodded enthusiastically. "He's Creation now, though, so he doesn't usually have tails, and not as many when he does."
The leaves were black tea with bergamot, with some bits of lemon and orange peel added in, although the werewolf had never paid much attention, herself. It smelled and tasted good, and that was enough for her! "Well, I spend a lot of time outside. I especially like to garden, and hunt - my papa's a gardener, you see, for the God of the Hunt."
"I don't serve anyone, not yet. I will, but I haven't decided who." She did have a few possiblities in mind, but...she hadn't quite made it up yet. And of course, it depended on whether or not they'd want her! NinetailedNightmare "I see," His smile was a tight, if somewhat bemused one. He wouldn't press her on the details, if only because he wasn't sure she could give him the exact answer he needed. By now he had figured out that, despite her looks, she was a youth, and excitable at that. Simple, but still so charming in her own way. As far as the tea went, he'd know better when he drank it. For now, he simply noted the aroma, which was sharp even to someone whose sense of smell was dull at best. "And what do you like to hunt the most?" This seemed like a conversation now, but just what sort of animals were to be had around these parts? He had not ventured very far, to be sure, and all he'd witnessed were insects and the occasional bird. "What do most of the gods in your acquaintance do, then? Could you give me a few examples?" Meepfur "Anything, really," she answered, fetching a mesh ball in which to put the loose tea. Tea was significantly less tasty when the leaves were actually floating around in it, so she much preferred to contain them somehow. "I took a deer once, to take to my Uncle Ea, but I don't usually hunt stuff that big. Mostly small stuff like rabbits, sometimes birds."
"Well, Ea's the hunt, Echo's Music, Calico's Insanity, Glyph's Forest, and Kishara's Gaia - that's like the earth and things. Then there's Caolan, she's Ea's daughter, and she's Suffocation. And Kios and Crys, they're Echo's kids, are Lament and Grief. There's another one, Soto, but I've never met him and I don't know what he is. Oh, and Una! She's Rivers, and she's the Water God's daughter." For Adi, what they did was...well, they were their domains! "I've never met him either, but Rio doesn't like him very much."
"And I know the hosts of a couple of Dragon Kings, but they're a little more complicated. They don't have domains quite like the others gods do." NinetailedNightmare Deer, birds, rabbits. These were the names he knew of creatures that had made a living on Earth. Once again, the two worlds had transcended, and now he had to wonder who took from who. Were rabbits, birds, and deer of Earth or of the god realm? Where did the similarities end, if ever? Respectful, he would not interrupt her, gathering names as well as domains as she rattled them off graciously. He knew a few of those names- Akakios and Una. Hadn't they met him outside of this very teahouse? Child gods, unlike Adi, who would grow into dominion later in life. "Yes, I understand they have their domains but... what do they do? I apologize if I sound obtuse, but do they pursue any sort of particular activity or do they simply exist here? It's alright if you don't know. Really, I suppose it's more of a question for a particular god." Another part of her tale piqued his interest. Aside from the fact that Love didn't much like Water. "What could you tell me about the Dragon Kings?" Meepfur "Oh. Umm. Well, they stopped everything from Ending, and now they're working on rebuilding." It was pretty vague, but it was the best she could do. She'd never thought to stop and ask any of the gods she'd met what, exactly, they did."
"Hmm." Once again, Adrienne had to hesitate, thinking while she set water on to boil. "I know there are nine of them, and Harmodius made them specially to serve him. Illisia - she's Ti Lung's host - says he's called Lifewater of Worlds, that he's some sort of combination of water and earth." NinetailedNightmare "Were you there?" He inquired curiously, "I mean, how did they stop the end from coming?" James had noted her procedure up until now, and had taken to fiddling with the mesh ball of tea leaves, rolling it from one hand to the other with delicate and graceful motions. "Nine. I wonder if there is any significance to that," He mused, not really expecting the girl to answer him. "That is intriguing. If I stay near here, then, perhaps I will meet one myself one day. Speaking of hosts, Adi, what do you think of them? Do you find it odd, say, that they would give their body to serve a stranger?" Meepfur "I was there," she answered. "I was there when it started, too. But how did they stop it? I don't know much about the details, or why it worked exactly, but there was a huge ritual, with all these people, and lotuses, to give Harmodius a new name, because his real one was taken."
While she waited for the water to boil, Adi retrieved a pair of cups. "It's normal to me," she said then, "I grew up with it. My mom, Alex - she was Rio's host." NinetailedNightmare Lotuses, real names. "It sounds like it was a beautiful ceremony, although with the pretense, I know it wouldn't be. It must have been a trying time." He almost felt guilty, watching her bustle about with nothing to do to help. If he was needed, though, he assumed she would let him know. "Did you ever know how your mother felt about it? Being a host." In all possibility, Adi was probably still too young to know or remember, and he wouldn't be disappointed if that were the case. "I have met... one who isn't dealing with it so well. Do you suppose most hosts are that way?" Meepfur "She liked being a host," Adi revealed. Her bustling ended for the moment, as all there was to do now was wait for the water to boil. "She wanted to do it, and she and Rio got along really well. She was happy. And she still is - she is Rio now, a part of him."
"Well, I've only met two hosts, Illisia and Laurence, and they're...dealing with it just fine. It depends on the god, I think, and what they're like." NinetailedNightmare "A part of him, you say? You mean that in the way of nostalgia, correct? She is dead?" James didn't mean to be so blunt- it was simply the way he was and he didn't mean any harm by it. Meepfur "No." Adi shook her head. "They became the same person. The god can consume the other soul if they want, but they don't have to. They can embrace it, merge with it. So he's...mostly Rio, but not completely."
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 4:44 pm
[[--Edelweiss--]]
Joint RP #5With Echo HereNinetailedNightmare The Pantheon had a garden, and somewhere along the slow motions of time, he found himself lost among the hedges and various flowers. It was a splendid set-up, the likes of which he had not seen since he played as an ermine in Versailles. Of course, there would only be the best for the All-Gods; he was simply fortunate to be a transient in this world, watching as it slowly but surely climbed again to the glory he had imagined it should be. He had taken a break from recording his thoughts that evening, and his recording device as well as his notepad were near him as he found a place somewhere between the azaleas and edelweiss. On his back, the humanoid man sprawled against the carpet of lush grass and let his thoughts wander. Above him, little orbs of light littered the sky, not quite stars but a good imitation of what the universe had once been. Much like a child, he had the obscene desire to try to climb the heights and touch them, but had thought better of himself somewhere in the course of his musing. Now he simply admired them in the absent manner of a daydream, except he was very much alert to his surrounding. It was dim outside, and the grass had the sort of dew that soaked you to the knees. Still, he was running, and she was laughing. He caught the young woman, and they went spinning around until they tumbled pell-mell into the grass. The dampness seeped through his clothes instantly, and he was chilled to his core. A flash of white teeth, and the weight rolled off and next to him. A hand landed on his belly, soft.
"Do you ever wonder if there's something bigger out there?" She asked him, a conspiratory whisper against his ear.
"All the time," James whispered in turn, and set his hand over hers. The warmth of her palm chased away the chill, and he wasn't aware until then that he had minded it.An old familiar ache started up in his chest, and he unconsciously set his hand over it, pushing his fingers against the cloth and skin beneath. Nothing internal had ruptured, but it felt as if he had momentarily joined something volatile and upset his core. He shut his eyes and breathed slowly, in... out... Zero Dream And then there was a melody.
It was unlike any instrument James would have ever heard. Kind of like a flue, a violin, and windchimes all mixed in one in an harmony so perfect that it would have been simply impossible for separate players to pull of. Light footsteps in the grass, in the distance, and then... there she was.
The woman walked almost as if she was dancing, with an elegance rarely seen. She carried a small harp with her, but the sound did not come from the instrument. No, the sound, crystal clear, came from her wings - at least, this was what the waves that followed her looked the most like.
In, out, in, out... She stopped from her path, one elven-like ear perking slightly in his direction, mobile as if it had been at animal's. And then, she tiled her head to look at him. Her eyes.. Her eyes moved, pools of blue on blue, irises shifting, gently, with the tune of her wing.
"Are you allright ?" Her voice was as clear as crystal. NinetailedNightmare He almost thought he was imagining it at first, but there was music. At first it was a thin trickle, and then it built upon itself. Where had it come from? Then there was a voice, and he opened his eyes, finding himself staring up into impossibly blue eyes. His breath caught, hopelessly, for a moment. "Yes..." He managed after a moment, somewhat hoarsely, "I'm not dead." He had the presence of mind to realize he was in the presence of a goddess. There could be no other explanation for the otherworldly light that shone beneath her skin, and the impossible arch of her wings that held no real connection among their fragments. James slowly pushed himself to a seat to face her, almost fumbling. "Am I blocking your path?" His eyes scanned over her behind the frames of his glasses, not quite able to help himself as a researcher of all things. Zero Dream "An, no, no..." The goddess answered, voice soft like a whisper. "You looked like you were in trouble, so..." So she'd stopped by to make sure everything was fine.
Was he an host ? No, she could not feel the faint energy of another of her kind around her. The follower of one, then ? Mortals who remained so close at hand often were one or the other. NinetailedNightmare He would just have to take her word for it. What had he even been thinking about? His body was buzzing hot and uncomfortable, not unlike a human smitten with nausea, which meant it could be only one thing. "I'm fine," He assured the female with a hesitant sort of smile, reaching to gather his recording devices in his arms, "I just came to look at the garden, and I got tired, that's all." Unlike the children he had met some time ago, this goddess was clearly quite mature. Could that mean that she was one of those who had been fulfilled to her former station by using a host? A small thrill trickled through James at the thought- after all, she had shown an act of kindness by coming to look at him, which may indicate that she might not take hostility to being spoken with. "Are you, perchance, Music?" He inquired, the constant trickle of melody soothing him some. Zero Dream Well, it was not like it was hard to figure out just who she was. There had been many such guesses given out before, and the goddess did not seem surprised in the least.
"Do you want to sit for a moment ? There should be a bench nearby..." She looked around, before finally answering his question. Clearly his wellbeing came first. "I would be Music, yes. You may call me Echo." If some deities did not wish to be refered to by their names by mortals, Echo was not one of them. Not that she would complain if he decided to tack a 'lady' in front of that. NinetailedNightmare The alien posing as a man gathered his legs beneath him and obediently stood at the suggestion, baring his recording instruments in his arms. His eyes lingered a moment, but he would relocate himself to the indicated bench, a stately construct of stone upon which he slowly sat. "Echo... like the nymph?" He had mused under his breath along the way, again turning to look upon the goddess. "My name is James Dionysus, or James. I'm a researcher of, ah, a sort. Would it be too much of me to ask to accompany you this evening, Echo? If you aren't too busy, and you wouldn't mind." Zero Dream Echo eyed the recording instruments in a way that betrayed his curiosity - not so much in her eyes, alien as they were, but in the way her ears perked, and in the way she leaned slightly in that direction.
A nymph ? Hm. "I was not aware there was a nymph bearing that name..." Or perhaps she had, but had forgotten. Perhaps it had been her's, in the past. She might have to research this a little.
A researcher ? That was certainly... different. "I wasn't heading anywhere in particular." The goddess seemed apologitic, somehow. "I play in the gardens, every now and then." NinetailedNightmare "Ah, it's just a story," He told her with a slight smile, "An old tale, just one of the many the humans have passed among themselves. It's probably nothing more than a coincidence, as it ends in tragedy, I'm afraid." Echo and Narcissus, origin Greek, versions countless, three popular. These thoughts and more ticked away simultaneously in his mind even as he took her response as acceptance toward his presence. Splendid! "Then I really am in luck," James might have noted the way she was looking at his tape recorder and writing devices, but the only motion he made was to move aside in case she'd like a seat, "Why here, if I may ask? Is it the peace or the charm of the edelweiss?" He was teasing, if gently, but he really was curious. Why would Music play where an audience may not be present? Zero Dream "As so many tales." Much of what her son wrote ended that way. It might have worried her, had she not known it was simply within his realm of influence to do so. Laments, sad poems and the such... She could not force him to go against his nature, after all. He was still happy, in his way, and it was all that counted.
Echo did not look like she was going to sit just yet, taking a look around. "Edelweiss ? Is that what the flowers are called ?" Hey, she was Music, not Flora. She knew certain kind of flowers, but not all of them by names. "But, I like it here. It is calm and peaceful, and it's a little easier to compose when it is calm around. Much like writing, I assume ?" It was her turn to tease, apparently. NinetailedNightmare Unbeknownst to Music, James had crossed paths with her scion once before. Surprisingly, he had not yet made the connection, though the eyes of Lament had struck a chord as deep with him as his mother's had. "Edelweiss is there, the white flower with the yellow spore. Leontopodium alpinum. They are commonly mistaken for daisies and are of the sunflower family," He informed her dutifully, though dwindled a little, "At least, I think that is what they are." Her retort earned an amused glimmer from his eye and his lips. "Indeed. Although, to be precise, I was transposing what I had recorded to this device onto a record, should one or the other be compromised. When in the field, it is much quicker to take a note down verbally than script it upon paper. I came for the atmosphere- these days, all seems quiet." James wasn't really sure why he was explaining all of this to her, as if she really could be interested with the meddling of mortals. He didn't know how else to speak, though. So far, he had not retained any definite etiquette for speaking with the gods. "Echo... I hope you will not think it crass of me ask, but I have met very few deities in my time here. May I assume you are like the ones who have been reborn from the stones?" Zero Dream Definitively some kind of scholar, she had to admit. The man seemed to know so much information what most other mortals would not worry themselves about, expecially in a time like this when there were still so many things to do.
Again, it was her body language that truly betrayed her interest, first to his methods of recording, and then to his lasy question. This... usually was not something more people knew. Perhaps he had met with an host ? "I have." Pretty early on, as far as she could tell. She'd seen little come before her (Beryl, Illumin, and Revei came to mind, as well as Lucius, but other than that...) and many come after her. NinetailedNightmare A scholar would be about right. The Esarian's mind was a storage facility for a wide array of subjects and otherwise useless facts. Where humans tended to only use a certain percentage of their brains come adulthood, the alien did not have that sort of limitation. And just as Echo betrayed herself by her actions, James may have very well damned himself from a few of his statements so far. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly certain what he wanted to be to this world and these gods- human or Esarian. So far the policy simply seemed to be don't ask, don't tell. It wasn't like he ever planned to leave this place, even if the space between worlds did reappear. "I see." This was a little exciting, then, but James showed no outward appearance of being overzealous. "Well, I wouldn't want to take up much of your time, but as I've said before, I am doing some research in this area and I'd particularly like to receive some insight from a deity's point of view. May I ask you a few questions?" As he shifted to face her, reaching for his recorder, the device went spilling off his lap and onto the ground before them. There was a click and hiss as the sensitive controls of the alien technology came to life, letting free a very thin sound. A hum, or at least it seemed so, the keen of an alto slowly joined in harmony by that of a base. James very easily leaned and scooped it up, cutting what sounded like a song off with a casual flick of his thumb over the smooth surface. "Pardon me," He told her apologetically, winding the recorder to a clean place on the memory. Zero Dream "Certainly. But." She did frown a little, remebering from experience that certain things were better kept to herself. If his questions got a little too intrusive... "But I might not answer all of them." And he certainly couldn't make her.
When the device fell down, both ears stood nearly straight. That sounded almost like... No, it had been ! She could have sworn on it.
"What was that ?" Oh, James had her complete, utter attention. But probably not in the way he had hoped. "Can I hear it ? That sounded amazing."
That had been a song, she'd bet on it. Well, maybe not a song, per-se, but come mean of communication though singing. And she definitively wanted to know more about it. It had been familiar and invigorating in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time. NinetailedNightmare Her response gave James room for pause, at least enough to go over what exactly he wished to ask. He didn't think any of the questions would be asking too much, but he didn't know Echo, or any other god for that matter. "Of course..." Sometimes, things didn't go as planned in the field, and he simply had to work with what he had. It stood to say that if he couldn't get the answers he needed from Echo, he might be able to get them out of another. Of course, most of the questions he did have were personal. When she asked after the recording device, the brunette was still for a moment. Looking at her proved that she was rapt with her attention toward him now. Amazing, she'd said. James' lips quirked a little at that- she'd unknowingly flattered him, and while it wasn't enough to truly get him flustered, he was convinced by her sincerity. "Alright," He agreed, "Just a bit." Expertly fiddling with the device, sound soon floated through the air again. It was a song, but not in the more modern sense of the word. There was no set tempo, no set meter, but it was a melody all the same. The song lilted along, including up to what seemed three voices at a time, winded slowly and occasionally included a churr or sigh. Indeed, it sounded like communication, the closest comparison to it being whale song, but it was much more complicated than that. Zero Dream Enraptured was the right word. Echo had crouched down, gathering the fabric of her dress in a bundle in order not to trip and fall on her face later (it did not quite work at making one look graceful and elegant, after all), the golden strings at her back wagging back and forth just as if they were a cat's tail. She peered a little more toward the device when it played again, and for a split second it almost looked like she was about to try and poke it. She held some very basic knowledge of things like tape and cd players (put the disk in, push the button, and music comes out ! Amazing !) but the alien device was way beyond her knowledge.
Being able to hear a longer snippet did confirm what she had thought - it was a song, but not at the same time. The instruments were not familiar because they were not instruments, per-se, but voices. It did not surprise her as much as it would have most - she could certainly hit those tones and ranges if she tried, but probably not speak it properly. The goddess could not understand a thing of what was being said, but she could appreciate it nonetheless. "Is that how you record your notes ?" Just because something looked human didn't mean it was, after all. NinetailedNightmare To James, it was nothing. This was a language he had been brought up to use, and if Echo knew how truly lifeless the words some of the aria translated, he doubted she would like it quite so much. Esarians did not compose poetry- they did not dance or entertain one another. This music seemed to be nothing more than an echo of the past, something beautiful and rare which their overlords allowed them to keep for once. It was efficient and subtle, as Echo proved with her mystified demeanor. James let her keep it; he didn't wish to feel any more ashamed for what he was. "...Yes, that's correct. That is me." He admitted. It was hard to imagine this man, barely taller than Echo, could sing three voices at a time. Either he was lying or he wasn't being wholly truthful with his appearance. "It has been quiet where I am staying. The man I was staying with... he left, so I've been more inclined to record this in privacy. It's quicker for me." This was a small lie, and why he made it, he didn't know. Some instinctual part of him was still trying to protect his race. Zero Dream "I see.." The goddess seemed pensive for a moment. This language.. had she influenced it ? Had the people who spoke it once worshiped her ?
Her memory refused to give any answer to that. Whatever the answer was, it was long forgotten.
"I have not heard something like this in a long time..." If she did not believe him, she said nothing of it. Things were not always as they looked - it had been one of the things she had learned, as well. Even if she had not understood any of it, it had been enjoyable to hear. It made her happy, in a way, to see such a language still used to this day. "Is it hard to learn ?" Now she was just plain downright curious. Apparently she had forgotten that he had be the one who had questions to ask to her NinetailedNightmare "It is my primary language, the one I was taught at birth," He informed her dutifully, though he was curious. Did Music think she could replicate the language? Well, if anyone could, it would be her. He supposed on some level, it could be replicated by multiple notes on an instrument as well as some sort of device to make the sound effects that weren't of the voice. "The hardest part, for most of my... people, are the inflections and keeping a steady sound. Sometimes it all seems to run together. There is an informal shorthand, not much different, but I have not recently been in a stressful environment that limits my time." If James minded the jump in subject, he didn't show it either. Conversation was conversation. Whether she knew it or not, he was still gathering some information on her. "Do you know how long it's been since your rebirth, if it has indeed been a long time? Granted, I haven't seen any time-pieces around here that might help, and with the sky gone... I suppose that is not a suitable question." He propped his chin up on a hand, "Admittedly, you would have to go a long way to hear their voices. Then again... your influence is not limited to this planet, is it?" Zero Dream It was all extremely fascinating to Music, really. She had no intention to try to replicate the language, per-se, only sheer curiosity. She did pause on her own questions to ponder his', satisfied for the time being. "It is a little harder to keep track of time with to cycle of day and night..." She admitted. "It was... before things started slowly going wrong, if you can remember that." Not Gehenna, but Destruction's influence spreading. Surely it would have reached far enough for him to have been able to feel the effects as well, even if they were not as drastic as the near end of all. "Smaller things, not the recent waves."
His last question caught more of her interest. "If they sang to me... prayed to me... Yes, I would hear them. No matter where they are." She could remember the first time she had heard a prayer in this new life - it had been an electric feeling, almost like a surge crossing though her, but in an extremely pleasant way. "Otherwise, I would need to go there myself. I can cross the boundaries of worlds, but I still require to know where I am going." She was still rather clumsy at that, but James didn't need to know that.
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 4:45 pm
[[--A Proposition--]]
Joint #6Tsunake It was time. His nerves were shot, his mouth dry, his hands shaking a little. He could feel the dragon wrap around his quivering soul in silent support, both uplifting and strengthening his resolve. I will be here. Mang promised, and though the intention was kind, Laurence snorted sarcastically. Being babied by a formerly dead Dragon King. These past few days, weeks, whatever they'd been, couldn't be any weirder. Still, for all his cynicism, he grudgingly appreciated the support. They were both going to need it. His long legs carried him through the Pantheon, the sound of his shoes against the stone almost helping to soothe his frazzled thoughts. It was rhythmic, not unlike a metronome, and he sighed for a moment even as he began to make his way down the steps. The gardens, he'd been told. That was one of the places Lord Harmodius chose to roam. The priest would pause for a moment when his feet hit the grass, bright eyes flickering over the grounds. Nothing, so far. He'd take another few breaths to compose himself first, getting ready to go. "You ready?" He'd quietly ask. Of course. There was no denying the subtle eagerness to Shuo's tone, and the man would chuckle, despite himself. It was hard to believe he'd been patient for this long. NinetailedNightmare James had been doing a lot of soul-searching these days, if one could really call it that. The Esarian hadn't seen hide or hair of Arden in what seemed like forever with no semblance of time to help him recognize the passing days. It was just as well, because he'd been out more than he had been 'home', making observations and taking notes. It was curious- so many things on this god world resembled things on Earth, whether it be the local flora and fauna or the things that fantasy was made of. He had met a girl, half wereworlf, half demigod, and they had chatted over tea as if it were the most commonplace thing in the universe. By all means, it was ludicrous, at least in the sense of how mixed her genes had appeared, assuming for a moment lycanthropy truly existed. Then there was Echo, the Goddess of Music, and the young godling pair outside of the teahouse to consider. Even one like him, so dedicated to science and reason, could not deny the radiance that shone from within their bodies and emanated the evidence of of their respected domains. And they had all been kind to him, if a little perplexed toward his drive. They were almost human. Almost. Each god that was reborn into the world had a reason specific to themselves when it came to choosing a host- that was what Echo had told him. The hosts did not have to be remotely human, but it was the popular form to take. And when the god rose to power, it could choose to break the host's soul -the soul!- for good or meld along with it. His mind traveled afterward to Arden, as he thought it all over; the marine had mentioned something similar, only with the intention that he was going to leave some sort of impression on the deity that possessed his body before he was gone for good. If that was true, if the Hollow Mouth was so unkind to Arden to warrant, then why had he been taken as host in the first place? Surely there were weaker souls -oh, now they had him believing in souls!- out there to consume and break than the soldier. Was it Arden's body? Yes, he truly was a fit man, but James had seen bigger, stronger. What did Famine want? Puzzling, it was all very puzzling. One thing was for certain, though: Arden was wanted, no matter how willing to the attention he was. That was a lot more than James, who had his freedom and an innumerable amount of years of life ahead, could say. Earth had nothing left for him, and Esare didn't want his taint walking down their prestigious halls. In his exile, he was just going to have to learn to appreciate this god world, which still had no native name for him to refer to. This would have to be his home now. James was just beginning to head back to the Pantheon from his time spent in part of the garden, speaking with Echo. Overall, he was feeling very thoughtful, as if there was something he was somehow missing despite the interview going over relatively well. His recording instrument, a pen, and pad of notepaper were cradled lovingly in his arms, full of notes on all he'd learned so far or thought particularly interesting. Cutting around one of the larger hedges, he was greeted with the sight of the Pantheon and a shadow detaching itself from the steps. Was it someone new? Highly probable, seeing as he'd only met a handful of denizens so far! Soon enough, the subject of his interest passed under a light and -yes!- it was someone he didn't recognize. It was a man, he was certain, though his hair was beginning to get rather long for the general norm of the gender. Human. Well, James still had space in his books, and it would be a waste to turn down this opportunity! "Hello!" He hailed the unsuspecting man and dragon, taking the initiative to turn and make a bee-line in their direction. "Hello, sir? Do you have a moment?" Tsunake The sudden greeting was enough to make him glance over, mildly surprised. Of course, the sight of the young man with all his notes immediately reminded him of some sort of reporter, lip curling before he could help himself. The forwardness of the guy struck chords with him, rubbed him the wrong way, and he had to work at keeping himself composed. What's wrong? Shuo was curious, if not intrigued by the sight of the newcomer. So friendly! Still, he would leave the decision up to Laurence, of course, even if there was a chance the mortal needed help or something of the like. Just tired. Laurence dismissed it. Stressed. An amber eye fixed itself on the earnest face, taking in the curly hair, the glasses, the state of his clothes. He looked like an ordinary, enough, surprisingly so for all that had gone on here these days. God, he'd kill for some clean clothes, now that he was thinking on it, but eventually shifted his attention back to the other. "No. Not really." He didn't mind his curtness, letting his eyes slide away from the other as though almost bored. "But I'll hear you out, anyway. What?" No sense of tact. The dragon admonished lightly, sympathetic for the stranger, but still somehow endeared towards his host. For all his blusterings, he had a good heart, and refused to let himself stray from that path if he could so help it. NinetailedNightmare The negative response had the Esarian pausing a beat, only a blink betraying his surprise. So, this would not be quite as friendly as an encounter as he would have suspected. That was alright, though! He was nothing if not adaptable, and in his time, James had dealt with more than a few bad tempers and flat-out enmity. At least the humanoid had not attempted to attack him, or demean him. Until the former happened, he still had a chance of getting something out of him. "Ah, well. What I have to say could just as easily be made in motion. I'll accompany you to your destination," He said brightly, giving the amiable sort of smile that seemed to speak of honey and hope. He wasn't asking, but it was far too friendly to be demanding in a way. After all, he was trying to make an allowance for this man's oh-so busy schedule, "My name is James, James Dionysus. I'm fairly new to the Pantheon and I have been interested in reviewing the local activity in the interest of knowledge. I'm making an effort to get to know any new faces I come across and, well, I've never seen you before! Are you in some sort of association with the gods here, or have you simply come seeking shelter after the atrocity of the Gehenna, mister...?" Tsunake The guy was going to be willing to walk with him, huh? Laurence didn't mind that, not in the least. Wouldn't slow him down then, and he could entertain whatever it was this stranger wanted. His long chin tilted downward only briefly in assent before he started to move, continuing his way down the rest of the steps and into the gardens. "Laurence Pershary." Was the first answer in response to all the chatter, like he was picking and choosing the bits he wanted to answer first. James Dionysus, huh? Sounded Greek, he thought. He was probably way off the mark, but whatever. "I'm a host." Came the second answer after a time, his trench coat briefly flicked away so James could get a look at the dragon gem embedded just above his heart. "Did me a favor, which I don't feel like talking about, and so it's the least I can do, to help him out." He rounded his way past one of the statues, eyes sliding to their corners for a moment. "You a reporter? You know an awful lot, for being fairly new." That wasn't necessarily a compliment. NinetailedNightmare "Laurence." For some reason or another, his lips quirked a bit at the name. He perked, though, as the other mentioned that he was yet another vessel for a nameless god that faded long ago. This was new, though. Apparently the stone had somehow managed to save the man, if his attitude was any indication, from a sticky situation. James, for all his seemingly obtuse mannerisms, got the message. Not many personal questions regarding this Laurence fellow then. Alright. "Heavens, no. Not by your definition, I would suppose. A reporter tends to gather then garnish facts to suit an audience. No, Laurence, I am a researcher. It is pure knowledge I seek, for the pure sake of knowledge itself. Science stands to learn a lot if a faith be proven true, you see." A simple and honest explanation for him, but he was honestly still a little skeptical. True, he had seen these supposed deities, and they most certainly seemed different, but could they really muster much more than what a mortal could manage? He had met Music and her wings that hummed with voice he couldn't explain on simple sight alone, and while she was full of grace, he had yet to be impressed into faith. Was that callous? Perhaps. He still liked them, though. They were beautiful creatures, and aside from the Hollow Mouth, he had heard good things in their name. "May I ask whom you are host to?" He quite obviously oggled the stone in the meantime, leaning over somewhat to get a better look. He wanted to touch, and it wasn't inconspicuous, but for one reason or another he refrained. Tsunake He was hard pressed to sneer at the mention of science and faith, glancing to more fully take in the little mouse of a man. More people didn't believe in religion than those who did these days, or that was how it seemed. "Science stands to learn a lot, period." He said frankly. "You know these are gods, and yet you're trying to tell me you still are trying to prove they're real? That God exists?" He resisted the urge to yank irritably at the cross around his neck, and didn't think to perhaps explain he was a priest. Better not, really; then, of course, the guy'd just assume he was biased. Which he was. But this was real. "Shuo Huang Zhe. Mang. The Dragon King." The man said shortly. He could feel said dragon's interest, but he was staying quiet for now, allowing Laurence to converse. "They're different from the gods. I know there's... nine Kings, I think Shuo said." Of whom they'd met two, so far, and knew of the existence of a few more. NinetailedNightmare The smaller man tilted his head slightly at the verbose statement, a small, bemused tugging at his lips. "In comparison to what, Laurence?" He would have to agree that human science had made impressive, but overall paltry advancements from what he'd studied, so James didn't fault him much for his statement. He was clearly treading on precarious ground with the host, who seemed to think that James was threatening everything he believed by asking questions. So he bowed his head a bit, pushing his glasses further up his nose in a humble gesture of dismissal. "I am not trying to prove or disprove anything. I am simply gathering information and composing a report from my experience. It has very little to do with my personal opinion." The mention of the Dragon King was enough to warrant a small shift in the man's posture, his green eyes dropping once more to the stone in the other's chest. "I've never heard of these Kings," He said softly, his arms tightening a little around his materials, "What do they do?" Tsunake The priest drew himself up a little more, unable to tell if the man was goading him or not, and settling for the former. "Don't play games with me." The cross was tugged on for real now, letting the chain bite into his neck as though to remind him to not lose his temper entirely. In his mind, the man knew exactly what he was talking about, and he wasn't about to rise to the challenge though his teeth had clenched themselves a little more firmly together. "I think it's safe to say you aren't a big believer in faith. Understand that I'm not very inclined to spew bullshit for you so you can scribble it down in some notepad to evaluate later." The man snapped, and when the other's attention seemed to alter immediately to the stone, he had to physically keep himself standing in place so he wouldn't just turn and walk away. What did they do? He could feel Shuo stir a little, clearly quite happy to answer such a question, but he refused to relinquish his voice. "No? Isn't that a shame." The priest clearly wasn't feeling charitable with his limited information. Tsunake The priest drew himself up a little more, unable to tell if the man was goading him or not, and settling for the former. "Don't play games with me." The cross was tugged on for real now, letting the chain bite into his neck as though to remind him to not lose his temper entirely. In his mind, the man knew exactly what he was talking about, and he wasn't about to rise to the challenge though his teeth had clenched themselves a little more firmly together. "I think it's safe to say you aren't a big believer in faith. Understand that I'm not very inclined to spew bullshit for you so you can scribble it down in some notepad to evaluate later." The man snapped, and when the other's attention seemed to alter immediately to the stone, he had to physically keep himself standing in place so he wouldn't just turn and walk away. What did they do? He could feel Shuo stir a little, clearly quite happy to answer such a question, but he refused to relinquish his voice. "No? Isn't that a shame." The priest clearly wasn't feeling charitable with his limited information. Tsunake The priest drew himself up a little more, unable to tell if the man was goading him or not, and settling for the former. "Don't play games with me." The cross was tugged on for real now, letting the chain bite into his neck as though to remind him to not lose his temper entirely. In his mind, the man knew exactly what he was talking about, and he wasn't about to rise to the challenge though his teeth had clenched themselves a little more firmly together. "I think it's safe to say you aren't a big believer in faith. Understand that I'm not very inclined to spew bullshit for you so you can scribble it down in some notepad to evaluate later." The man snapped, and when the other's attention seemed to alter immediately to the stone, he had to physically keep himself standing in place so he wouldn't just turn and walk away. What did they do? He could feel Shuo stir a little, clearly quite happy to answer such a question, but he refused to relinquish his voice. "No? Isn't that a shame." The priest clearly wasn't feeling charitable with his limited information. NinetailedNightmare James had quite large eyes for a man his age, and they blinked expressively behind his glasses at the retort, eyebrows raising slowly to reflect surprise. Oh. In a way, he did feel guilty for what he had said, for the man had obviously had taken it as an unjustified affront to whatever he stood for. It would be a lie to say that James didn't enjoy a good debate, that he didn't pose questions that fished for more than one answer. But his words hardly ever held malice, and while he had been making the suggestion that science was the source of all knowledge, he'd hardly intended to put the human in a lather. And oh yes, he did seem mad, tugging at his charm and introducing expletives into his uncourteous speech as he standoffishly suggested just where James could put his curiosity. By nature, James was not a confrontational creature. He bowed his head somewhat beneath the stream of ire, not from fear, but grace. Grace to accept that he was approaching this from the wrong angle, that he would need to humble himself if he wished to get any further. "I apologize," He told the other, a shy glance of emerald beneath his lashes, "It has never been my intention to offend you, Laurence. I am here to learn, nothing more and nothing less. I'd like to find any truth I can, and if you were to help me, I would be grateful. I... I had never wished to seem as if I did not respect your beliefs. I do." He raised his head again somewhat, his eyes homing in on the cross that Laurence had taken as some sort of pacifier. Faith was so strange to him and yet... "You are... a Christian, perhaps?" He hazarded. Tsunake In truth, Laurence would have welcomed a fight, a reason to further spit in the little man's face before he finally left him with a bruised ego to nurse and think on. But for the other to be humbled so was enough to neatly puncture his anger, and though it could not be quelled entirely, the priest was able to reel it in. Now he was cold, stony almost, and intended to remain that way for as long as James was in his presence. Further apologies, and though his lip curled brazenly into a sneer, he said nothing to disparage them. Slow breaths were taken, seething ones, but James didn't need to know that. "Yes." Though curt, an answer was an answer. All his life, mostly, since he'd been a young boy. His faith had been the only thing to hold onto in darker times, and he guarded it jealously even now. "There are nine of them." Came the sudden snap. "Nine Kings. They protect..." The answer was supplied for him by the dragon when he faltered. "...the Crown. The Twin Crown. God." Though the cross still rested against his fingers, he no longer yanked at it so. "They serve Him without question. That's their purpose." He was short again, no longer so distant as he remembered whom he was speaking to.
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 4:46 pm
[[--Many Meetings--]]
Joint #7Ivynian  There had been the sound of trickling echoing through the alleys. She followed it though some display windows, past the security desks and turnstiles of the mall admittance, through the shopfronts into the back bowels and maze of plywood walls and cement floors that only employees once saw in their meanderings to take out trash of get a smokey treat. She thought it was a janitor's closet, red vinyl logo on the rust-bolted push-door, probably a leaky faucet to some sink that by some miracle was connected to the only line in the whole ******** city that still managed to have water running to it. How had no one heard it? Camped it out and made it their niche and kingdom. At least with all the rotted clothes and displays and mannequins the place would have a creepy, if effective line of defense and assured warmth of bedding. She walked into the dark room and instead walked onto grass? Dim open nothing sky and the scent of fresh flowers. More sound of water. Her stomach flipped like she'd dove from a cliff top and plunged into water, but she was just standing there. No, kneeling now and trying not to hurl bile and not much else on this ....grass. The door closed behind her with a faded metal clink. Through the screen of her bangs, there wasn't a door there at all anymore. Just open columns. White stone and marble in the dim. A fountain. No, more then one. Where was here? Sosiqui ((Hell, I'll bite? I assume the setting is the Pantheon? XD)) Phaedra had been lounging idly; the fountain's soft babble was more soothing to her ears than the endless silence of her own chambers, which of late had been reminding her only of her lack of a court. All vestige of the Throned Glory that her dear Emperor had exalted seemed gone now, smoothed out under pale marble and cool water.
Which were nice in their own way, but the way Creation did it just felt sterile.
Her ears perked as she heard sound, unexpected - footsteps suddenly sounding against marble. Suddenly, as if the one making the sounds had just appeared, not approached. That was interesting enough to draw the goddess to her feet, to come around a pillar and raise one eyebrow at the figure standing there.
"Hello?" she called out, affecting a calm and welcoming pose; the benevolent goddess at rest. "Who is there? Don't fear; I won't harm you."Ivynian ( setting is indeed the pantheon ) Hjava did not whirl on the voice. She did bring the back of her hand in front of her mouth as a precaution and looked around again. A black woman with BI-ZARRE eyes and ears. She had a tail mod. Really nice one. Either a pleasure model cy, synth, or maybe just some douche who'd had waaaaay too much money and freetime and a furry fetish. Who the hell started off with a line like that anymore unless that was exactly what they were going to do in this day and age? "Where is this?" "Is this yours? There's water here. Plants. That's impossible." Sosiqui "It is indeed, in a sense." That was as far as she was willing to go; there was one authority even Phaedra wasn't entirely willing to usurp. "I am Phaedra. You came seeking water? Greenery? There is plenty here for all. Plenty of other things, too, should you desire them." She extended tendrils of power, wondering - what did this woman want? She looked exotic enough, tough enough, to have desires beyond the pithy horrors of shelter and a good life. Ivynian Want was just as easily mixed with anger in her. She'd had what she'd wanted in life, had in it hand and it was stolen away. She'd had a job. Pyrotechnics on the road, living prefect to prefect and concert to concert on tour with the band. She'd had love, five bandmates who got along and shared perks and friendship as well as beds. She'd had fame, any asking price she could think up and still deny all the rest to keep with her crew. Oh, she'd been loyal. Then there weren't any concerts, no money, no music. No nothing except running from place to place looking for food and waiting for everyone to die off, psych out, starve or sweat to death in fever. She wanted it back. She wanted friends, fame, fortune and glory. She wanted fans and a band, and to make s**t blow up for thousands. This cut-and-run survival crap was grating and dull. She'd cut, and do it damn fine. She'd find a city and people to wow with art again, and she'd find it standing. "Greenery is a good start. Food. There's gotta be a lot of people here, right? There's no coven I've found of survivors that have found some stash that there wasn't a rat's nest of them. " "What's the catch? There's always some initiation to get the goods. I'm not in the mood for staying if I've gotta hitch up to some cult; you don't look a whole lot like a scrapper. I don't have much to trade, but I can get s**t done. " There didn't look like a bodyguard was about either. Not that this one looked like it was worth roughing up. She had nice curves; luxurious like leather interior and a cashmere throw in a car with its own pool. Sosiqui "Indeed, there are many people here." Phaedra smiled, her eyes half-lidded in delight. Yes, yes, this one would do nicely. "There are gods here, but no cults - I'm sure you won't believe me on that score, not yet. In time you will, perhaps. Or you won't. Either way, you can prove the truth of what I say easily enough. Just look around." She shrugged, then grinned again.
"As for me, I revel in Greed. In the hunger and adulation of the crowd, the glories and debaucheries of civilization. Something that's so lacking these days, wouldn't you agree? But here there is a seed of rebirth. A new beginning, something that could turn back into that wild and tumbled world we both loved. If only it didn't take so damnably long!" Eftemie ((I'm sewing too, but I'll jump in for a bit. ))  Taj slipped down the stairs, Madrigal in his arms. It was time for an outing for the boy and he was planning to enjoy it. Lisana's critters were in the green nearby he planned to try to teach Maddie a few things about animals. Perhaps even play in the fountain a short while. It was meant to be a quiet day for both of them. At the very least one away from the forge for Taj, the god was quite certain that it would be interrupted in some fashion. Something was always happening. Maddie giggled clinging to his father's shirt tightly with one hand. Continually he tried crawling up over Mystery's shoulder to get to the wings and feathers, small fingers reaching. Taj would let him get so far before pulling him back with a smile. It was becoming a game. As he rounded the pillar, Taj suddenly stopped at the sound of voices. Neither one he recognized but there were enough people here that he doubted he would know but a few of them. Still, he stopped just to the side, watching them as Madrigal tried once more to reach his wings. Perhaps they'd not play in the fountain. He was suddenly quite certain neither would like being splashed with the water. Ivynian Well, she certainly came off half-raving like a diva. She spoke of crowds, and civilizations. "You don't look like a who lotta rock, but I'm pickin' up some of what you're putting down." "You know where there's a city near here then? Where one was? " Finding anything more then three-stories that was still standing anymore had to be the work of some primeval almighty anyway. Tsunake He wasn't best pleased with the new acquisition to their duo; it seemed like they'd gotten rid of one small, chittering creature only to pick up a larger, man-shaped one. Truth be told, he knew he was irritable and it would probably be better to not take it out on James. That was why he was silent, stonily so, and allowing Mang to do the talking for him. Everyone was happy, that way. All he had to do was move his feet, and let his eyes scan over the gardens for... well, God. The priest prayed he'd sense Him, or that if they stumbled upon Him by mere chance, He would be recognizable. He knew his luck wasn't that good though, but kept the grumbled comments to himself. "I assure you, our Lord will be able to clear things up for you. There are many gods and goddesses still trapped within their gems, and they will need strength and faith from potential supporters, such as yourself." Shuo was quite taken with the energetic mortal. Voices carried, soft, but definitely feminine, and the priest unconsciously veered around one of the many columns, drawn by the sound and the constant trickle of water. Two women--one decidedly not human, while the other looked somewhat more normal. The dragon cut off in mid-sentence to pause, evaluating the situation for a moment. Another of my kin. You feel that sensation of want, in the air...?The priest did, and he didn't like it. Dark eyes slid to James, as though seeing what he thought about the situation before he'd step forward. Maybe they knew where Harmodius was. If not, he knew Shuo would be pleased to introduce himself to another god or goddess... He'd keep himself at a respectable distance, once he caught glimpse of yet another man--god, from the wings--and the child in his arms. So many gathered here. It made him feel like maybe they were close, at last. "They might know where Lord Harmodius is." He muttered for James' benefit, finally speaking to the man. Sosiqui "A city? Koiso, but that's a good way away. Achai is in ruins, last I heard. This area was hit badly when everything went wrong. There are only small groups left. They may be living in city ruins, but broken buildings don't make a city alone." Oh, this was fun; she was starting to adapt, to understand the delightfully odd way of speaking this woman had. Slang and patter were all part of blending, a skill she'd had all too little time to play with as of late.
"If I were you, I'd stay here for a while. It's safe, as long as you don't cross anything pissier than you are," she added, with a nod and a grin, acknowledging the woman's tough nature. "Avoid the doors upstairs unless you want to find out about divine power close and personal."
She heard others now, moving about, perhaps attracted by the sound; normally she'd welcome company, but she was having such fun alone... "What's your name, anyway? Told you mine. Fair's fair." Eftemie Taj's lips twitched upwards as he listened for a moment. Greed she had said. A goddess he had not met yet. One of many of those he had yet to meet. His eyes caught sight of the others as they stopped nearby also. The voices had drawn them as they had him. It was obvious the woman had just arrived. Avoid the doors upstairs.. snagged his attention. Shifting Madrigal, he pulled his tablet free to write on it. Did Greed not know of the mortal hallway upstairs for those in need? < A plain door next to bubbles will shelter mortal needs. > Moving forwards, he inclined his head to Greed before holding the tablet out to both. His lips twitched wondering how she would take the interference. She could continue to play afterwards with the girl if that was what she wished. Ivynian More BI-zarre names. Nothing she remembered off the positioning systems of charts. Footsteps behind her too slow and obvious to be an ambush so she casually turned to the side so that neither of these were at her back and ready to donkey-punch her in the back of the skull. "The planet ain't equitable, and I don't have my ex-position. World isn't fair, but if you want a name, I go by Hjava. Sur's are for pussies who need more then one. Glad you do the same. Faydra...It's got about five golden rings to it, maybe a ringtone even if communications get up and running. " No cities. Well, that was a strike for this area. But people, shelter, info and food were a home run to at least take the advice and stay for more then the minute it took to refill canteens and walk to the border. She looked back, all while slipping a hand into her pocket to put on the tour rings of all her mates...impromptu brass knuckle stand-in, at the newcomer walking and standing there waiting in Captain Obvious vision. Then there was some freak just prancing upto her like a pony with some pet on his arm, "Speak it up, if you're gonna live it up. I have no problems at all making your face greet the green Earth if you get outa line, so lets start it straight. You keep your kindly distance til I know you're not a inpatient on outpatient status." She back-stepped at the approach and lifted the glinting fist in warning and pugilist preparation. NinetailedNightmare A Dragon King! When the little tidbit had been revealed to him, the researcher had been near ecstatic, unable to quite comprehend his luck. Well, truth be told, he didn't know quite how lucky he was, but apparently these Kings were a rarity among the gods, whose numbers seemed as numerous (by tale, not by his own observation) as stones along the riverbed. This was why it was important to question everyone when you had the opportunity in a more open society- you never knew just what sort of observation you could be missing if you stopped for a moment to consider caution! Not that he hadn't been cautious enough, mind you, but he did consider himself somewhat an expert on the human species and their Earthly abilities. Laurence, from the outside, had not seemed like a man who could brutalize him easily. If anything, he looked drastically underfed. But the priest had shown he had a trick up his sleeve yet. Or, to be more correct, a godly presence. Another host. They had spent some time meandering through the garden, not simply content to wait for their Godot, and they had conversed on whatever the Esarian felt fit to bring up. Shuo was quite charming, something James was beginning to think was inherent of all gods. The subject had come up pertaining to hosts, and James had inquired innocently as to what Shuo thought really made a good host to a deity. He had gotten an answer before, but he it would be folly to hold one opinion over another in his line of work. Could anyone, a seemingly ordinary Joe-Schmoe like James, for example, be a host? And understandably, Shuo had taken it as an offer. The resulting conversation was promising, however, and now James turned it over in his mind as he walked side by side with Dragon King and host. A follower? Well, perhaps. He was not opposed to servitude, so long as he was allowed some life of his own. Worship, though... Worship might take some getting used to! Suddenly, the other paused in his phrase, and James dutifully looked over to him, then followed his eyes. Off in the distance, there were three. Two were strange, feline-featured humanoids and one was what looked like a human girl. Were these servants, the aoide? How naive he was at the time to suspect as much. As Laurence made the aside to him, James perked a little, giving a nod to indicate he thought it'd be a good idea. "My lord," He said humbly enough with a hint of a wry smile. It was the first time James had granted anyone the honorable the whole duration of his stay. Shuo could lead the way. The group looked a little busy, besides, and James was shameless enough to let the god be his escort. His cover story, in a sense. Meepfur Enekpe's day so far had been uneventful, as most of her days were now - and which, in her opinion, was a very good thing! She much preferred lazing around or playing with Ari the floox to the way things had been before. Who wouldn't? Every now and then she might get a little bored, but that was easy enough to nap away, or else she could talk to k**e. Today, all she'd done so far was go for a swim. As the still-soggy pooka set off in search of a snack to follow her bath, she caught wind of a vaguely familiar scent, and decided to follow it and save eating for later. She wasn't that hungry; food could wait when there were friends to see! Soon enough, she caught sight of the priest - and there was someone with him! And some other people nearby...? After a quiet chuckle to herself, she made to creep up behind Laurence with a mischievous little "Boo!" Sosiqui "Hjava, is it?" Phaedra nodded, a smile on her face. "Noted. My door upstairs is marked with gold and jewels, with a brass knocker. Ostentatious, but who has use for even shiny rocks when you can't trade them for moldy crusts? It was a kindness. You will be welcome there, should you choose-"
She couldn't ignore this other god's intrusion any more. As she turned, she gave the offered tablet a cursory glance. "Don't worry, Hjava. None here will harm you, and if they try... I'm sure between the two of us we could drop them." She grinned ferally back at the woman before turning a scowl to Tajnevaki.
"Your knowledge is appreciated, but this is hardly the time," she hissed. Tsunake Hjava, she said, foreign and certainly nothing he'd heard of before, followed by what sounded like 'Faydra.' The goddess' name? Perhaps. He was content to watch for now, as when the man stepped forward as held something up to the pair... well, the following conversation seemed tense, at best. "Calm the ******** down." He snorted at the girl with her multicolored hair, not impressed and irritated by her, though he shouldn't have been. They'd all gone through trying times, undoubtedly, but he was not in the mood. James' words made him snort again, not so much at the respect due, but by the way the dragon swelled with pleasure. "Perhaps it would be best, if we simply observed." Shuo spoke aloud for the mortal's benefit, though would extend his voice, notably deeper than Laurence's. "She is right; we mean you no harm, and apologize for the lack of introduction--" The dragon was cut abruptly off as the priest practically jumped out of his skin, whirling about for his assailant with narrowed eyes and curled lips before, realizing, his gleaming eyes dropped downward. "Enekpe." He grunted, feeling pissed off and stupid, but also not about to take it out on the pooka. "Scared the hell outta me, don't do that." Turning his back on the three, he crouched to better look at the small creature, patting at her head for a moment. "You holdin' up all right?" A pause. "Enekpe, this is James. This is Enekpe. She's a host, too." He grunted at the other man, clearly going to at least introduce them. Eftemie ((G'night Ivy. I hope you feel better. Sorry it took me so long. I keep getting dced. Going to have to call the cable office tomorrow I think.. -_- )) Mystery blinked in surprise. Her speech was so strange and she spoke of things he had not heard of. He did however recognize an inpatient on outpatient status. She thought he was crazy? Or perhaps uncertain? Most likely the second option. His lips twitched upwards into a cheshire grin. Shrugging he glanced over at Phaedra, amused by her words as much as the others. Writing again, he penned, < Dear Greed, continue your play. A fountain and mad raven await Mystery. > The tablet was only held long enough for the goddess to see before he bowed, turning towards the fountain nearby. Madrigal tried to climb his shoulder again but then giggled as his father put him on the edge letting him kick his bare feet in the water. NinetailedNightmare The alien disguised as a brunette man was simply content to observe as Shuo's host snapped at the pretentious female, only offering a blink in response to his tone. His eyes admittedly wandered as Mang himself perked up to speak, acknowledging the statement inwardly while he took a study of Taj and his brood. Only when he heard the 'boo!' start up from somewhere beside him did he whip around to see Laurence's body in possession of a new, fuzzy growth. What in the worlds...? "A... A host?" James echoed, his brows hitching up in surprise as he considered the little animal. "You're sentient, then? How curious. Enekpe, indeed, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance! Do you have a moment? I didn't know non-humanoids could be hosts." Meepfur "Hehehehe," Enekpe giggled merrily. "Sorry! But it was fun." She hadn't had anyone to do that to in ages! She'd spent quite some time avoiding people entirely, given that she was small and potentially edible, but now she had friends she could play games with! Even if they weren't necessarily as amused as she was... She wagged her tail happily at the head-pattings, answering with an "Mm-hm! How're you?" before peering up at the man she was introduced to. "Hello, James!" Her look turned briefly puzzled, however, as she didn't have a clue what 'sentient' meant. "Sentient? Nah, I'm a pooka!" Tsunake "Yeah, yeah, yeah." The priest grumbled, and while the female was temporarily distracted with James, he muttered a prayer for forgiveness under his breath. Too much swearing and bad temper, and though they'd been rightly used in the heat of the moment, he was still working on trying to curb those particular vices. "I'm well. Shuo says hi." He relayed dutifully before snorting slightly at her denial that she wasn't sentient, but a pooka instead. She was really rather endearing, despite himself. "Went to Adi's place to drop off Floox, for a bit. Gonna recollect him one day." As in, whenever he felt like it and whenever he had a place to keep the little creature. Illisia's room was enormous, true, but he had a feeling the little creature would vanish into the wilderness in a heartbeat, if allowed. "Where's yours at?" He would pause to watch Taj and the newcomer for a moment, his gaze pointedly unfriendly, and Shuo would rebuke him a little, but to no avail. Laurence just wasn't in a good mood right now. NinetailedNightmare If James spared the childlike newcomer a glance, it was brief, and he dutifully chuckled softly at the little animal's response. "Sentience is a state of mind, indicating a state of perception, generally of the self. Many animals act upon an instinctual basis, thinking of survival and procreation only. Sentient beings hold the culpability of reason, in the most base of my perception of it. That you speak with us and retain a recognition beyond safety and potential food source makes you sentient." Laurence was speaking, and he paused to allow the man to relate to the creature while he pondered over her very existence. A pooka? That name meant something to him, in terms of mythology. Irish origin, dealing with fae creatures who took the form of a horse or mongrel, always shadowed. Somehow, he had always gotten the impression that they were much more... sinister. Despite the lore that said they were, ultimately, benevolent tricksters. In this manner, Enekpe fit the bill. But perhaps there was another creature, such as her, that called themselves the Pooka... It was not unlikely in the least. "Adi?" His senses perked at the familiar name. He had met her, hadn't he? And her floox, Phlox. "Hmm." Was the additive, meant to suggest Laurence not mind his interjection for now. Meepfur "Hi to you too, Shuo!" En chirped back at the dragon. "I dunno where she's at. She didn't come swimming with me." ...hmm. Enekpe listened to James' explanation with her head tilted, and a comical look of half-understanding concentration on her face. Sentient she might be, but her education, could it be called such, was very limited. What she gathered, more or less, was that being sentient meant she could talk. There were a couple of words in there she didn't know. Since he was obviously willing to clarify such things, she asked, "What's procreation?" Tsunake "Just as well." The man muttered to himself; he didn't need the floox giving him doe-eyes because Floox wasn't around. My, you thought I could be confusing. Shuo chuckled at the man's description of sentience, and Laurence just rubbed at his brow for a moment. Then, of course, Enekpe had to focus on that "procreation" term, and the priest could already see the wheels turning in James' brain. Before the man could answer, Laurence would hastily interject, shooting the man a venomous stare that dared him to try and talk over what he was about to say. "It basically means having kids." The dark-haired man said gruffly, shaking his head slightly. No need to get graphic with the pooka, thanks. He didn't even know if her species could procreate, though there was no reason he saw that said she couldn't. NinetailedNightmare Indeed, he was about to dutifully inform her of the mechanics that determined procreation (after all, he was always eager to please when it was a subject he knew of) when he was suddenly affronted with a harsh look from his happenstance companion. His lips thinned, instinct telling him to sink into a defensive stance should the vicious thing strike for his throat. What he did do was clear his throat, reaching up to fiddle with his glasses as if they weren't straight enough on his nose as it was. "Yes, essentially, Laurence is correct," James agreed passively. "Enekpe, if I may ask, who do you serve host to?" Meepfur "Oh." Well! For a mystery word like that, it wasn't terribly interesting. Not to her, anyway, since she'd certainly never be involved in any sort of...procreation. "Pooka don't have kids." En paused to shake some of the water from her shaggy coat and sat, making herself comfortable. There were other words she would have liked to ask him about, but he asked her a question first, and so she answered, "Kikechum! She's the goddess of animals." Tsunake "They don't?" He asked before he could catch himself, blinking for a moment. "How did you start... well, existing, then?" Surely there was some method to it. Unless she told him she and her kind simply appeared in a puff of smoke--or better yet, she was the only one of her kind. While Enekpe spoke to James, Shuo privately saw to addressing his host's irritation. We will find Him soon.I know. The man replied, curt but not unkind. He'd wanted to get it over quickly, that was all. Now he was being forced to slow down--but he could and would deal with it. Besides, seeing Enekpe again was nice, and certainly not something he regretted. NinetailedNightmare "I see." From the pouch at his hip, James drew a pad and paper and began to scribble down information. Without looking up, he said, "Laurence does pose an valid point. If you would enlighten us, Enekpe...?" Meepfur "Nope," she confirmed, shaking her head. "We're made! Evolved pooka, anyway. I'm not sure how the normal ones start." After a moment, she added with one of those shiny new words, "They're not sentient. But for us, they get a couple of regular pooka and put their influences together, and then there's an egg!" En, truth be told, only had a very vague and not an entirely accurate idea of how she'd come to be, and didn't know much more about her parent species. "And we bond to somebody when we hatch, and that's our person." Tsunake Made... And what they were made from--they couldn't talk and process thoughts, like she could? "That sounds complicated." Laurence rolled his shoulders, somewhat thoughtful. Influences--did that mean the parents... were more or less used up, in the creation of a child of sorts? He wasn't quite sure, and didn't know if he wanted to dwell on it. "Ah." Yes, she'd told him about her person--and how her person had died. So clearly, they didn't need their bonded to survive, though clearly Enekpe was still quite sad over it. He was satisfied with the answer, and saw no more reason to pry, but knowing James... ...Well, James was James. NinetailedNightmare "...Astounding." The Esarian would say, his eyes moving to study Enekpe anew. The process she was describing was not like anything else he had ever heard, which was saying something for James. It was possible, given her current intelligence, that she wasn't exactly being true to whatever the process actually was. Still, he took the notes down exactly as she had said them, thinking it over. As far as the growth of her species went, the 'evolved' pooka she called it, well, that could simply be a type of metamorphosis or maturity. "You mentioned a person..." Laurence had hit the nail on the head, despite the fact that they had known one another for all of about an hour or so. If there was anything predictable about James, it was his tendency to ask questions, even if those might be things a human might term rude or personal. "After you received your gem, did you leave them? Where is your bonded?" Meepfur "She died," En answered sadly, her ears falling back and her feather-crest flattening. "A long time ago." It seemed like a long time to her, anyway, though how long it had actually been escaped her. She'd been through a lot since then, and her carefree life as a housepet seemed at once very far away and as though it was only a few days behind her. "That's when I left. I didn't have k**e then." Ivynian Did no one ever speak here that breaking the silence brought them out of the corners like a hive of bees? Well, she'd wanted people and apparently that was easily granted. The conversations fragmented between sources, traveled here or there and left. She just listened for a moment, jaw set firmly. Well, asylums usually did have open spaces and gardens. This one had necessities of life. No cities nearby, the door to the mall was gone... So where did that all leave her? Well, the cat-girl with the crystal eye had given her a clue-in on a place to go at least. Specifics were good. Kitty had fangs too. Preferable to mimes with kids and dudes who talked to stuffed animals. So there was an upstairs, however that worked in a building that looked like it came from ancient ocean-side pinnacles. She could kinda see the stairs inside, craning. "As long as everyone is copacetic keeping more then arms length, I'll gladly keep it on the DL." "Where is here? I was in the Eastgate Mall at Tovaugn I....but this isn't there. " If she new star-charts like Belly Robbers, which she didn't, it wouldn't even matter for telling where this was. The sky was all black here except for the ambient light pollution of lamps and weirdo unattached globes. Sosiqui Phaedra mostly ignored Tajnevaki's retreat, a swish of her tail the only outward acknowledgment of his written words. He knew who she was, at least; that was enough for now.
Gods would always be here, mortals would not. The goddess nodded at Hjava. "There's nowhere near here by that name. This place is called the Pantheon. Make of it what you will." She arched one eyebrow at the mortal, amused. She hardly expected this one to take the name literally, not with the healthy armor of cynicism the mortal seemed to cultivate.
"I assume you came here by unknown means?" Tsunake Astounding. Was it really? His gaze slid across the gardens, silently taking in their surroundings and searching for any new faces besides the four. As it were, two of the men--gods?--seemed to be going, and Laurence felt a little more at ease with that. The sadness of the pooka had his eyes narrowing a little, and though the priest sad nothing, there was a notable tension framing his shoulders, his face, like taut strings. Should James pull them too much, they'd snap, and that wouldn't be fun for anyone present. "A lot of people died." He said curtly, less to En and more to his nosy companion. Then, perhaps unexpectedly, he left them to their conversation again, removing himself by taking a few steps so James could continue without a sneering shoulder angel monitoring his words. The women were still there, but unless they addressed him, he wasn't much in the mood for initiating conversation. Ivynian "Unknown to me at least." Didn't mean it wasn't known to someone. " I followed the sound of water and walked out here. " Pantheon came across to her as 'every god' ...taking that whole shindig further down the river. Why not? If you had food and shelter and living green stuff, standing buildings and a population, you may as well call yourselves gods. Maybe there was an opening for god of L'oreal. If there was something she'd been able to pick up plenty of and stuff into her knap it was an unhealthy supply of makeup. Useful for tours, not for eating. "It isn't really a problem about getting back. Nothing much there. Best policy is to keep on wheelin' " The term was a little lost without actually HAVING a ride, but there wasn't gas to be had either. 'So this place is free range?" Basing assumptions on people just walking about and tripping over them. Sosiqui "The rooms upstairs are privately owned. Some will welcome you, some won't." Phaedra grinned. "Best not to go up the other stairs. The Lord lives there. He'll come to you if he wants to. The common areas are free, I suppose, though if you go too crazy the Lord might have something to say about it. Beyond here.... there's compounds, temples. Up to you if you want to poke your nose in or not. Most groups are so friendly they'll rot your teeth. The ones that'd kill you for them have gone further out by now."
The two extremes were so frustrating, really. Gray areas were much more fun. Ivynian " 'Lord' ? " She was serious from her tone and stance. It just came out natural as 'Chinese Laundry' and just as out of place. "Are we having feudal play along? Alright." Hjava's mouth curved into an exaggerated frown but she gave the slow nod of diggin' it. "I can play along. " So she adjusted her pack and started to the 'other' stairs. Sosiqui Phaedra's grin widened as she realized where Hjava was going. "Bold, aren't you? I wish you well of it." She liked this one, indeed. It would have been so very entertaining to see her go up against Destruction; would that mercurial lord have delighted in her contrary nature, or would he have found her overconfident?
Such delights, alas, were likely not to be seen with Creation. "Remember what I said about my door, Hjava," she called, making absolutely no effort to follow her. NinetailedNightmare "I see. That is unfortunate. I'm sorry." James told her, allowing his voice to soften a little from its normal, curious beat. He didn't miss Laurence's input and his tone, but he gracefully ignored the man's attitude for the most part. The pooka had nicknamed her goddess, something James found a little curious being it was so... familiar a mannerism. One might have thought a deity would prefer their full name spoken unless given the permission otherwise. Perhaps it was one of the host's rights. He was about to speak more when he heard the nearby conversation pick up to words of 'Lord' and 'Pantheon'. Were they speaking of the Creation god, Harmodius? The brunette turned his head distractedly, "Laurence, I think that hipster is looking for Harmodius as well." Ivynian "I won't forget it, Fay. You've got a good chic." She lifted a hand of recognition and thanks as she walked. A small wave that stopped when she got into the actual building and was staring at the biggest relief sculpture she'd ever laid eyes on. She just stood there for long moments, panning over the shapes and forms gawk-mouthed as a tween at her first concert. It was amazing, but who even came up with stuff like that? WIth some redecoration, this place could make the most heinous concert hall, especially with some beast like that up on the wall. Meepfur Enekpe blinked owlishly after Laurence when he stepped away a little. He seemed unhappy. Had he lost someone, too? The pooka sighed, and conversation moved away from its focus on her. Which would have been okay, except now she was sad, and at times like that, being so small and on the ground felt rather lonely. "Can someone pick me up?" she inquired. "My neck is tired." It wasn't, really, but it was a passable excuse. Tsunake James' use of the word 'hipster' was enough to earn him an exasperated glance for a moment, before the true value of what he was saying would sink in. She was going to see Lord Harmodius? "Lord Harmodius." He corrected automatically, then jerked his head after the woman's retreating back in the universal sign to follow. Don't forget--The priest stuttered to a stop, turning back to the man and pooka to kneel and gently scoop En up into his arms. "C'mon." The pooka would be tucked closer to his chest before he headed after the woman. Hopefully James caught the hint and would follow. A narrowed glance was spared for Phaedra before he'd politely shifted past her. Laurence didn't feel much like addressing the strange youth, and instead lent his voice to the dragon. He was better at smooth talking, anyway. "Excuse me, miss? Might you be in search of the Lord of this place? I'm not one to eavesdrop, but if our goals coincide, well... I am Shuo Huang Zhe."It felt like an appropriate time to bow, but the priest stubbornly kept himself upright, letting his eyes wander with a bit of awe over the sculpture before them, only shifting to make sure En was comfortable in his arms. NinetailedNightmare James was puzzled for a moment by the correction -what had he said?- but let it pass. Laurence was already beginning to walk, and just as James had turned to acquiesce the pooka's plea, the priest swept in and saved the day. He was the taller of the males, and the more familiar, so it was just as well. James, secretly, may have liked to touch her fur, though. As he passed Greed, the mousey little brunette man nodded politely, giving her a soft "Good day." before he hurried after Laurence and Shuo, the latter of which seemed to be in control now. "And I'm James," He would pip up after the dragon had introduced himself, coming to stand somewhere behind and off to the side of Laurence. They both seemed to be captured by the relief on the wall, which James had studied some time ago. He didn't spare it too long of a look. Ivynian "Well then, gents, its good to meet you." Sho and Jimbo, the tweed team from the kingdom of stick-up-butt. "Aren't you a little...white for a name like that?" Maybe he was raised on the fly by interstellar monks and taught the intimate secrets of wuuwongfu or such. They provided enough distraction from the layout of the place that she started up the stairs again. The door and walls at the top were total celtic revival, a whole lot gag. Maybe it could liven up with a deathDruid motif. "Knock Knock, and I'll huff and I'll Puff and I'll blow your house in." She kicked the door, stacatto thuds, leaving black smudges from the soles of her boots. Meepfur Hooray, it had worked! She had had her doubts for a second there, but Laurence came through and scooped her up. Being picked up in and of itself was always sort of fun, like a little ride, although the best part was just being close to someone. The still-damp pooka snuggled close, her short tail wagging happily as her sadness evaporated. She peered curiously at the colorful woman they went to meet, glad to have a good view from being carried. This was so much nicer than staring up at people all the time! "And I'm En!" she added cheerfully to the men's introductions, though the lady had already begun to continue on. Syrie Sharp words and sharper knocking sounds on the door found their way into sensitive ears. Yu had been curled, half dozing at his Lord's feet when the racket began. His eyes slowly opened only to narrow in the direction of the sound; a low growl began deep in his chest and rumbled up through his throat much the way any dog would respond to an unwarranted, impatient 'guest'.
Slowly he uncoiled himself from the base of Creation's throne, looking to Him with an annoyed expression on his bestial face. "Company..." He pricked an ear towards the doorway again, "Female and impatient." Up on two legs instead of four, Yu would stalk to the door and open it with something of a snarl - unless his master called for him to heel. Of course, Xia Lu Ling would not turn anyone (that wasn't a Grigori) from His door...but he certainly could give them a little pause - maybe impatient wenches would learn to be a little less...abrasive, coming face-to-face with a Monster.((DOGGIE: BARK BARK BARK BARK)) SkieBorne Glyph had descended from the level the gods' room were located with a ceramic bowl full of blackberries and a leafy companion about his shoulders when he heard the thunk of booted feet against the door. Furry ears perked forward then as he paused at the corner to peer at the group that had gathered, their voices drawing his gaze first one way then the other. "Mn?" He blinked, wondering if he'd missed some sort of summons in his preparations to go out for a stroll around the gardens.
The mimic reached out then and snatched the blackberry from his fingers with a mischievous chirp and he frowned at the creature, "Hey." Holding the bowl a little further away to keep the ivy lizard from snatching more, Forest padded towards the group.
As he drew near, the god noticed the woman kicking and frowned. She must be new to the area then... or just exceedingly rude. Coming up behind behind the others, he offered a wave of greeting then popped another berry into his mouth. "Is something the matter?" Interest was plain upon his features and his ears pricked eagerly forward. Tsunake A little white. Irritation throbbed in the back of his mind, low and seething, but he bit his tongue even as the woman began to climb the stairs again. ”My host’s name is Laurence—“ The dragon continued patiently until her heels smacked into the door, marring the beautiful surface. There was no hope of even pretending he could calm Laurence now, and the priest would turn to, as gently as he could, push En into James’ arms before he stalked forward, not about to grab the woman, but definitely crossing the lines of personal space. “You have hands, knock with them.” He told her frankly, not about to stand for desecration. “Keep it up, and—“ And whatever he’d been about to say would never be known, as the door opened. God wasn’t there, probably his polar opposite, really, and Laurence found himself craning his neck back to meet the multiple eyes of a horned, fanged beast that certainly met the description of a demon. He sensed nothing but threw his arm out anyway, not caring if he caught Hjava in the gut, just wanting to get the woman behind him even as he stepped forward to face the beast, openly bristling. One swipe of those hands would probably knock the wind out of him, but if he could get a prayer off, boost his strength and speed—There was really no time for words as he started to react, ignoring the words of Shuo echoing through his mind. Laurence, he's not an enemy--!Ivynian "I also have other body parts I know how to use. Can you say the same?" But the door was open and the biggest furry in the universe was on the other side. It didn't actually look like a fur-suit. It made noises like the real deal. But then she was getting ushered around like a damsel and really she wanted to kick the guy in the nuts for discourtesy. It'd be easy enough, from behind. But if you had something snarling at you, it was usually better to be the guy in back then the dope in front. "Is the Lord in, Handsome?" She mosh-yelled it over Sho's shoulder. NinetailedNightmare James' eyebrows shot up a bit as the female began to kick the magnificent work on the door. Now, there was absolutely no necessity for such a stunt in his mind. He didn't know how she treated her things where she was from, but she was just asking for trouble. When Laurence handed the pooka off to him, the brunette didn't spare a word of disapproval though he knew completely well what the man was going to do. His arms delicately pulled En to his chest, and while he wasn't as warm as Laurence he at least made an attempt to pet his fingers along the crest of her brow. And then the doors opened, filled not with the face of beauty that he had come to find typical in this realm. It was a monstrosity. Though it was symmetrical, it was beastly and not at all what any of them had likely been expecting. The punkish girl had, indeed, summoned the Big Bad Wolf to the doorstep. James bristled automatically in defense as well, keeping Enekpe in one arm while his other moved for the stungun in his bag. But then, Laurence was throwing himself in, and the gaudy girl back. What did he think he was doing? And the girl was shouting at the thing, prompting it to come along. James, who was behind her like any sensible beast that thought their hide worth keeping, gave her a stage-whisper. "It might be prudent to ask yourself if you're willing to take on the door-man to see him." He was about two seconds from running himself. But what about Laurence? And Shuo? If the thing seemed rabid, he'd have to do what he could. Meepfur ..whuuuh. Suddenly, there was a really big, really ugly thing with lots of eyes at the door, and the next thing she knew, she was getting passed around! En tucked her face in James' arm, trusting that, somehow or another, she'd be protected. She hadn't gotten this far just to be eaten! I don't think there's anything to be afraid of.
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 4:47 pm
Syrie As usual, Yu's monstrous appearance had the intended effect; the motley group before him - was that tiny thing...edible? - behaved just as many before them. Save for the girl - she looked like she wanted to spit nails at whomever it was that had stepped forward so gallantly.
Blue eyes narrowed at the person in front of him - a very familiar tingling came from this man! A Brother! Xia Lu Ling would have spoken directly to him in greeting, but...that woman was a harpy, shouting demands at his ears, never mind that the man-with-God was moving to do some...whatever. Presumably to save the "lady" from his claw and fang.
He cracked his great jaws open, skinning his lips back from sharp teeth a moment before answering any of those before him. "Cease your motions, you will not be harmed."
"He," Yu put great weight on that single syllable; intoning awe, reverence and also a sort of "you should know better than to be mocking, young lady" lilt to it. "Is in." Black furred body moved away from the door to gracefully (where monsters graceful?) allow entrance. "Come. All His children are welcome." Tsunake The housewife-gone-retro didn’t seem inclined to swagger around him to confront the beast herself, and though her words were loud enough to make him feel half-deaf. Yeah, he knew she was perfectly capable of using other body parts. Her mouth didn’t count though, and had he not been focused on the behemoth before them, he’d have snorted as much. Black lips had peeled themselves back, though the priest had seen too much teeth in his lifetime to flinch. Laurence, I believe he is a Dragon King. Shuo sounded oddly pleased, delighted to have found another of his brothers, and in such magnificent form! It was enough to make the dark-haired man pause, wary, uncertain, but trusting the dragon’s words. Then, the goliath spoke of Him, and his shoulders tensed again as the black body slid back smoothly to allow them entrance. Wary, but silent now, Laurence would glance back, ignoring Hjava to search for James and En. Still there, still in one piece. He moved, satisfied, and unconsciously found himself starting to tremble. One hand clamped over the gem underneath his coat, feeling the cotton of his shirt framing the cool metal. Was He here? Truly? Wordless reassurance pulsed through his mind, and he felt Mang attempting to relieve some of his resurfacing anxiety. He straightened his shoulders in turn, took a silent breath, and searched the room as he moved deeper into the interior. SkieBorne Glyph had hung back as the door open and the flurry of movement followed, the dark-clad man putting himself between the pale-haired woman and the rest of the group. None of them had familiar faces and they had all reacted strongly enough to Yu that he wouldn't be surprised if it was the first time they'd met the dragon king. It amused him, really. Yu was intimidating, yes, but he wasn't that bad!
Drawing nearer, he slipped around to the outer side of the group, "I don't think he's going to eat you." Glyph remark with a smile, nodding a greeting to those nearby, wondering if they'd notice him this time - he was short, and soft spoken, but it was hard to miss the horn and fuzzy ears and hallmark twigs. The mimic about his shoulder took the opportunity to pinch another blackberry or two and chirped at the strangers. "Hello Yu. I was going out to the gardens when I saw you lot. Is something the matter?" If he could help, he would but as of yet he was in the dark about this group. NinetailedNightmare And the thing could speak to them. James swallowed a little thickly looking over Laurence's shoulder at the furry behemoth, his anxiety slowly but surely slipping into wonder. What kind of creature was this? So many horns it bore in so many different styles must make for a heavy head but it sure was impressive. Feeling the minute tremble of the pooka on his arm, he reached to run a soothing hand down her spine, scritching very lightly at the fur in an attempt towards comfort. They were going to be alright! And, it seemed, the Creation deity was here in the throne. Most fortunate, seeing as he and Laurence had been prepared to scour every corner of the wide gardens looking for him! Somewhere behind, another approached them. He also bore a horn, but a single one in the center of his head, ears tufted. He almost seemed to wear a crown of sticks in his hair. "We're alright," He said kindly to the man, not yet aware he was speaking to Forest himself, "Thank you." But he could not linger- Laurence had started forward into the room. Impatient man! But it gave him an excuse to move. As he meekly slipped by Yu, he gave the Dragon King a soft 'thank you' and pointedly did what he could to hide the fuzzy En against him, as if sensing the creature's intention. To Harmodius, then. Would that loud-mouthed girl follow them? Ivynian These creeps jumped at everything, and sure enough, here was no need to worry. The doorman was probably also the bouncer, so keep on the better side of the establishment and it'd be cool. The inside that was revealed by the hulking furbag stepping out of the way was a greenhouse on the greatest LSD trip known to mankind. She didn't even know what a fraction of the plants were. Another gawker crashed the party, sure enough, adding sugar smiles that Fay had warned her about. Wasn't everyone just so damned nosey and helpful here! She had business to attend that didn't involve the greenhouse tour. She side stepped around Sho, Jimbo, and Twiggy and strode in with a nod a the wall-of-fur. Being at the back of this line was a nuisance. "Won't be a minute. Lord of the Realm, right? Well, I know how knights and vassals work, gotta present and get permissions to pass the grounds. " She walked as she talked, not patient enough to carry on a conversation with Slaver and remain in the company of her taggers-on. Not like she'd invited them anyway. >
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> Creation sat throned in living, writhing mana, less like to mortal seeming in stature then normal. The plants nearby had ceased to be single entities, wyld forms infused and sentient which moved to fence newcomers some ten feet from the base of the strange seat. Words came down in majesty, not the tongue of men or beasts, not tongued at all for his lips did not move when it sounded. " You'll find I'm less of an absolute monarch then that, Hjava."Meepfur ...it wasn't going to eat them? When it seemed safe, En peeked out to get a better look at the much larger creature. Was it another god? 'Yu' seemed to ring a bell with Kikechum, at least a little bit. And there was Harmodius again! She certainly hadn't been expecting to visit him today, not that she minded. She was pretty much just along for the ride, as it were. And oh! That new man had twigs in his hair, and a funny little ivy-covered thing! The pooka turned in James' arms to peer at it. Syrie Glyph moved past the Dragon-host man and the other male holding the tiny, delicious-looking Pooka and greeted him; he dipped his head and rumbled out a greeting in kind to Forest. "No, nothing wrong, these people...wished to see Creation." Bodies moved warily past the fur-covered sentry to approach Him; once all were through, Yu closed the door and slipped back to coil his hulking form about the throne again.
Creation address Hjava, Yu closed two sets of his eyes and waited. The mortals were kept away from Him, but the wyld things let him be; Yu belonged at Creation's feet. Tsunake Yu-- He caught the name, understood its significance, and turned his head to take in the newcomer, was rewarded with a glimpse of twigs and something like a horn, and long, furry ears-- --but none of it mattered. He sensed Him before he saw Him, felt ripples of peace settle across his conscious, and the priest sighed before he could help it. Greenery was everywhere, life was everywhere, and though he couldn't even begin to understand the throne that He was seated upon, Laurence didn't look long enough to truly puzzle it out. Pale skin, a flash of bright, brilliant hair, and what looked like a sanguine stain of a tear tracing down one cheek... Overcome, the man had sank to his knees, bowing his head slightly and trying to keep his shoulders still so they wouldn't shake with joy, with sorrow, with disgust at himself, even being here, in His presence. Likewise, he could feel Shuo aching, burning, needing to lay at his Lord, his Master's feet, to be in his services again, to beg for forgiveness. The sound of fur sliding against surfaces made him look up, startled only briefly, but it was just... what had Shuo said, Yu Five Claws, coiling about the throne as though to support and protect it. Let the woman talk all she wanted. Both dragon and host could only look on, their pain both terrible and beautiful as they were finally able to gaze upon their Lord. SkieBorne "Oh." Glyph responded with a nod, having surmised as much in the sort interval between outside and inside this door.
The mimic felt the gaze of another on it and turned to peer back at the pooka, it's nose twitching and long tail flicking with interest. Idly, Glyph held out an arm so the leafy lizard could get a closer look as his gaze swept from the woman with the attitude to Creation himself. Forest dipped a bow of greeting then but started forward to go investigate the plants that ringed the throne with great curiosity.
He hadn't meant to get involved in anything in particular but these interesting little plant-creature intrigued him and that made this worth while. Crouching at their perimeter, he let the mimic slide down to the ground and go back to investigate the pooka while he offered fingers to the plants and hoped they weren't carnivorous. "Good day my Lord. You keep interesting company today!" Might as well say hello to Creation and his entourage, he hadn't dropped in for some time - was too preoccupied with his own projects in a nearby forest. NinetailedNightmare Creation's quarters were (aptly, James thought) covered in lush spires of vines and more types of flora than he could count. It was indeed more of a greenhouse than what you'd expect of a throne room. The plants were the tapestries, the drapery, the carpet. James half-expected the hum of bees or the sight of some sort of critters to peek out at them from the thick collection of plants, but he did not look for them. Naturally, his eyes were drawn up and up, to the pale figure that sat upon the formidable structure of the throne. Lord Harmodius, wasn't it? His breath drew short, never having laid eyes on a being more radiant and now having a picture to which all else would fall short in the future. He was a being of scientific intrigue, but for a moment, he found his thoughts fumbling. And yet, he was calm. Nearby, Laurence sank to his knees. James sensed the motion more than he saw it, his eyes still attracted to the various colors that composed the deity's hair and the aura that seemed to surround him. Of course, his first thought toward the mana was radiation, and perhaps it was, but there was no going back now. He didn't want to. He did fumble a moment before he too, more awkwardly, slid down to a kneel near the priest, figuring in this situation Shuo and Laurence were going to be his model for courtesy. His arms uncurled and Enekpe was delicately placed down upon the thick carpet of clover-like structures, allowed to move off after the ivy dragon as she wished. He, in the meantime, honed in on the conversation that went on between Hjava and the Lord Harmodius, bowing his head enough as if that would truly cause him to become invisible to all. He was a normal-looking man thing and knew there was just as much value in going unnoticed as there was having the attention of another. He was serenely patient. In this time, he took to exploring everything in the room with his eyes, having to tear them away from the Twin Crown with some effort. Undoubtedly, he was exquisite, but he was also stationary and the alien did not need his eyes to listen. The fuzzy-eared, horned man spoke to Harmodius as if he were a friend, he noticed, and secretly awaited for a response to build a further judgement upon just what sort of a god Creation was. Ivynian  IT KNEW HER NAME. Wait, no, that was definitely a guy. Freakin' four stories tall guy packing more then this whole road crew, even doggie woof-woof there, combined could ever want for. The gloow and sparkles s**t throwing off little fairies and plants and who knew what else meant someone must've slipped her a good one at some point. No one just SAW this kinda stuff unless they'd shot a frisco speedball. "Uh...yeah..." She couldn't look away, but her eyes were blurred up with tears, so it all got fuzzy anyway. And she sounded like an a**. "I......" Where had she been going with all this anyway? >
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> " You wanted to humor a farce about presentment. You are accepted here, and may come and go at your leisure. The resources of food and shelter are yours to share in. Trouble no others, and no judgment will be brought on you. This is the dwelling land of the Gods. Heed the advice that they are perilous, wise and wicked both. If you seek guidance, Aris can answer questions for you. "
"Will you guide her? Of similar cloth you are both cut. Mankind's finest gather to start the journeys anew to far kingdoms under the eyes of the gods. "A man stepped forward, untroubled by the plants, from a side archway of pallid roses. "Hjava, follow me." Syrie Yu watched the ivy-creature and the other small-and-delicious one for a moment before returning his disdainful gaze to Hjava. She was irreverent, brassy and brazen - but even she was struck dumb by Creation's splendor; her sharp tongue stilled...those toxic green eyes wide with awe. The Dragon King shook his head a bit and turned to watch Aris coming forth.
"Our Lord has managed to still her sharp tongue, Aris, but beware. It may not last long." He chuckled a bit and then fell quiet; a little part of him wanted to follow Aris and Hjava - the woman was quite an oddity and it piqued his interest...but a deeper, bigger part was most content at Creation's feet.
Plus, sticking around meant he could see what the others wanted. Maybe eat one of them. Maybe. SkieBorne Glyph looked up when Hjava stuttered and stumbled about her words, mildly amused by the awe that Creation's presence had struck into the visitors. He was majesty and life to look at and for Glyph, at least, it was a pleasure to do so - a reminded of hope and renewal. It seemed she was being welcomed into the fold and so he offered a smile of welcome as Aris stepped forth to guide and answer the mortal's questions.
She probably had a few... once the stun wore off. People normally had a great many questions after spending a little while in the Pantheon.
Glyph caught Yu eyeing his lizard and in turn moved to intercept that gaze with a frown, "He's not edible. I have some berries if you want those instead." Indeed, this small bowl was still mostly full and he arched a brow as he proffered the snack, "Nor are any other of my mimic lizards, thanks."
For his part, the ivy lizard skittered over to where Enekpe was and stopped just far enough that it could extend its neck and sniff at the curious creature without getting too close. A moment later it chirped curiously, cocking its head to the side. Something was different about this one... it took a step closer and chirped again, flicking its leafy tail. Tsunake The priest was attempting to keep his breath slow and steady, the sound of Hjava’s voice slowly filtering in through the blood roaring in his ears. From the sound of it, she was dazed now, and he was too overwhelmed to even feel the slightest bit of satisfaction. None of that mattered anymore—nothing but Him. Amber eyes flickered to the mortal that He called forth, watched him beckon to the woman as though to lead her away. It was the young mortal that captured his attention, and Mang felt a horrible twisting of guilt that he could not quite place. It felt somehow familiar, a scene like this, but there was that name again, just on the tip of his tongue. Aristo...? He had failed his Lord, he knew it--and that failure extended far beyond being given this second chance.Jarred out of his slight stupor by the dragon’s puzzled tone, Laurence refocused on Lord Creation, wanting so badly to say something to Him, to confess his weaknesses, but words still wouldn't come. And somehow, that was all right. It was enough to merely gaze upon Him for now. NinetailedNightmare His eyes drew back to the conversation at hand when he heard the female stumble for words to say. She'd been quite the bigmouth up until now, even daring to snap back at a creature who could probably snap her when she swaggered right on past him. She had the gall to kick the door of not just a god, but supposedly that of the God. And now that she was before him, he had but to speak her name and she quelled. James didn't see her tremble, but there were tears in her throat. Something in him softened a little, satisfied but in some ways confused by her change in demeanor. Was it her nerves finally caving in on her? Or had she truly been stunned by the visage the deity presented, the aura that seemed to exude from him from on high. The first Harmodius seemed to tell the girl was that she could cut the tough-girl act, not quite threatening to 'judge' her if she continued to act out. He hailed a man he had not noticed from nearby to help her further, which seemed a dismissal of sorts to him. But what did he mean, similar cloth? Both human? Surely not related. What stuck with him the most, though, was Creation's statement about the gods- perilous, wise and wicked both. This was not the standard of most Earth religions, who held their gods as perfect and above all human fault. If these gods could be wicked, then... the closest he could equate them to would be the theology of the Greeks, the Romans, or the Africans. There were other religions he had heard of that would fit the category as well, but they were not of Earth and this place seemed to be so very similar to that planet that he did not dwell on it for long. Green eyes slid to their corners to observe Laurence, quite obviously stunned and reverent. He looked like he wanted something, but was too polite to say yet. Creation seemed, at the moment, very formal to James. He had ignored the words of the twig-bearing man, though he wasn't certain if that was because he was trying to address someone else at the moment. Get the upstart out of the way, as it were. Perhaps the twig-man simply was not worthy of attention, but when he looked over to him, the aforementioned humanoid did not seem offended. Perhaps he was used to it, or afraid to. Where he came from, his lords were tyrants. They would ignore or praise as they pleased, offering no respect to anyone but themselves. Even the leader they had assigned to represent his race was a toy. One moment they could dote on it, bolster it, and in the next just toss it aside in a fit of impatience. The Tzech, unlike the Esarians, could be moody. In a way, they were gods with how much they had accomplished. Everyone handled power individually, and it seemed to him that if these were indeed gods, they were power. What had that Yu creature said? That Harmodius welcomed all of the ones he created? But how did he welcome them? Certainly not equally, if the hierarchy of species and the distance between this world and the next was any indication. As Hjava was ushered off, he lowered his gaze again to his hands. What would happen now? Ivynian " So it must be, unfortunate but true, that in this untimely hour I must turn away my children whose eyes and minds should not be profaned by too raw a sight or sound. Here in this sanctum I am less bound. So it is, fair sons reborn of scales covering second flesh.....you come unto me new again and hale. "
"And in good company of strangers who study of our names and ways and would not in truth be whole unmanned by sight of Us. "Creation stood from the striving mana flows and laid his hand down and out to Yu, palm up in beckoning, " Pillar, it is by my side I must entreat, that I can stand as even my strength flows in this time outward to the many. "
"Welcome, Glyph, and good morrow to you as well. My company is ever strange and wondrous, but no complaint will you find on my part. And you, sirs, kneel so and do not speak. Speak, else I will have no knowing how better to attend you then to hobble as I might to find you softer surface for your joints." Syrie Though the Dragon was watching the two small-potential (but not really) food-sources in the room, he was finely tuned to Creation and the mana coming off him. "Always, Lord." When He called for Yu, he moved, swiftly, to His side. Support called, support given in the guise of a thick, furry head rubbed against the beckoning hand and a solid form that would serve it's purpose beautifully.
The raw mana zinged about the Dragon King and made his fur crackle in a pleasant but distracting manner so that one set of his eyes slowly narrow closed - the other set first turned up to gaze at Creation, then down again to Glyph and the other, kneeling hosts. Yu smiled, fangs bared in a non-threatening way. See? Good doggie. SkieBorne "Nor will you find complaint in me." Glyph replied to Harmodius with smile, "I think I shall visit more often. My travels take me beyond the Pantheon often of late... the walls can be too confining even in these airy halls. I prefer the wilds, but I think perhaps I should return more frequently. Apologies." He nodded his head, though his tone spoke of an earnest interest to visit Harmodius more, especially if he kept such delightful plant creatures as company - anything of that sphere intrigued the god - and he would not deny that being near such raw, creative essence improved his mood and energies greatly.
Turning from them, then, he looked to the newcomers and bowed slightly, "Welcome! I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Glyph. Forest. I pale in comparison to Lord Harmodius but I have food and shelter to offer if you need it. Leave word with my aoidei behind the door with the golden wood on it." He ran a hand through his hair then, "Just, ah, not the single tree. That's right beside mine and belongs to Xun and I don't speak on his behalf." Another smile then as he met their gazes, "Pleasure to meet you!" Tsunake A silence had filtered through the gentle atmosphere of the greenhouse, if it could even be called as much, but Harmodius soon broke the silence. Laurence hung onto every word without realizing it, struggling to understand, to comprehend. Less bound? Was that the reason He had sent Hjava away—as a sort of protection to herself? And fair sons reborn of scales—was He referring to Shuo? And studying strangers could have easily been James. He called for Yu then, spoke something about His strength, and man and dragon observed with varying degrees of awe as the black behemoth complied and his sleek fur seemed to crackle just from being so close to Him. Words still failed him as his eyes flickered to the one called Glyph, and Laurence immediately remembered being told about him. The Forest god, just as Illisia had said. He knew his judgment was too clouded to tell whether or not the other was sincere, but he trusted the elfin woman, and would silently bow his head to the Forest. Later, perhaps, when he was a little more focused, and a little less overwhelmed. If he was right next to Xun and Illisia’s door, then it would be a simple, effortless thing to find and meet up with him. Sensing Laurence could not yet speak, Shuo would lend his voice, and the deep, sonorous tone did not hide the joy he felt. “My Lord.” The dragon breathed, and Laurence tilted his head down a little further, as though to hide both of their shame. “I have come before You to announce my return, to lay myself at Your feet. I am Shuo Huang Zhe, now, Mang. I do not... remember, my Lord, but I feel—I know that I have failed You, in more ways than one.”“I wanted to beg Your forgiveness.” The priest suddenly rasped, his voice rough with emotion. “For being weak. I never doubted You, Lord, but I couldn’t—“ He broke off, hatefully staring at the floor for a moment until he could compose himself, speaking in more level, almost monotone notes. “I never lost my faith. ...I’ve taken your dragon, and I’ll help him, but only for You. I’ll prove myself to You, again.” NinetailedNightmare Unbeknownst to Shuo and the others who had gathered in the presence of Creation, Harmodius' first words seemed to eerily reflect some of James' own thoughts. The Esarian blinked with mild surprise, trying to decide whether or not it was truly just a coincidence. It sounded like it could be a statement that simply went with the departure of Hjava, and very well may be as simple as that. Was it possible that a god could read his mind? Yes, he decided, it was not impossible to decipher a mind if one had the proper abilities or equipment. He had known of a species who read the brain waves of one another to communicate. He had a brain, ergo it was possible that Harmodius could read it. Was it likely...? No, not really. Who would want to bother reading his brain? But then, he did mention something about a stranger studying them, and if that wasn't James, he didn't know whom Harmodius was referring to. Just how much did Harmodius know, he wondered, how boundless was his knowledge and how did he come by it? Had he been told of them or, more strange yet, had he been expecting them? Did Creation's power go so far as to shape every part of their existence? It seemed improbable. Was he like the Christian's God, where he was all-knowing and all-powerful? Or was he merely limited to his title, just creating something and letting it go free from there? James wasn't sure and almost wished he could have more distinct proof for either way. But then, all gods he'd ever read about disdained showing their powers upon request. Oh, they would use them to prove a point more than once, but never when specifically challenged. The god went on to address them all in turn, first Forest, who introduced himself as Glyph. James dipped his head in acknowledgement to the leafy god, mulling over what he divulged to Harmodius. If Glyph traveled a lot, perhaps he could be of some assistance to someone who had travel considered as an option, as well as the intrigue to get started on some sort of geographical map. Perhaps Glyph could also tell him what he knew about certain flora and fauna before James got around to going out there himself. It was something to consider later, so he tucked the god's room location into the depths of his mind and made a note to bother him some time when he was free. The Yu-creature slunk over to Harmodius in haste, bypassing the plants that had once made to block their passage. Pillar, he called him, and the canine-like creature put his head obediently in the pale hand. So gods could be like furniture to one another? Or just to Harmodius. Interesting. It suggested a hierarchy of gods, then, aside from just Harmodius and the other gods. He'd have to ask someone later. James perked a little as Harmodius addressed them, his lips drawing thin with wan amusement at the god's statements. Hobble indeed. For them? Perhaps for Shuo, who would mean something to Harmodius as a Dragon King, but not for him. To back the thought up, Shuo and Laurence began to explain their situation to Harmodius and their concerns. It was something he hadn't been told, and something he tried quite hard to keep his curiosity from now. "Assuredly, Lord Creation, the shape of my joints and my reason for coming here are not so pressing. Suffice to say, my name here is James and I'd rather see Sir Shuo and Laurence taken care of first. Should it suit you, of course." He said carefully, keeping his tone level and demure even as he offered a slight, humble smile.
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