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 Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:12 am
The young girl yawned as she stuffed a handful of books and papers into her backpack. She had no intentions of using said supplies, but the least she could do was keep up appearances. Sophie had no doubt that the school had called the apartment a few times about her absences. However, as Sophie's mother was generally too distracted to notice any changes around the house, she had not yet found out that the answering machine had been unplugged for weeks.
Ruffling her tousled hair, Sophie bit back another yawn and stepped out of her room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She slung the backpack over to her shoulder and walked down the hall to her mother's room. She knocked, quietly at first, but then louder until she heard movement on the other side of the door.
"Wuh?" came from the bed as she opened the door.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving for school, Mom," Sophie said.
A hand wave and an affirming sound was her reply. With that she shut the door quickly and left the apartment, using her own key to lock the door. She jogged down the stairs, her hands in her pockets. She nodded to a neighbor who waved, avoiding eye contact.
Finally. Mission succeeded, she was now free for the day.
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:46 am
With Loki officially confirmed as wreaking havoc, Anubis should have known it was only a matter of time before the All-Father got involved. Odin had come to him last night and told him of a girl, a sweet little thing, a descendant of his people, who would fight for him in the face of the Game. He gave Anubis a strange chain with a stranger charm on it, directed him towards the proper neighborhood, and was gone.
So that was where Anubis was now. Drinking coffee in a sidewalk cafe, waiting for a lead on the girl. Sophie. Blonde haired and blue eyed. Hadn't he seen another one of those recently? And Loki's prophetess as well. Strange. Perhaps these gods all had something for the same genetic hallmarks as Adolf Hitler.
He mentally shook himself away from the gallows humor and looked up and down the street. He sensed her coming and watched her pass, looking, for all the world, like a child on the way to school.
But he knew that the school for this neighborhood was in the other direction entirely. Anubis rose to his feet and followed her. He gave her a tap on the shoulder.
"Shouldn't you be heading the opposite way?" he asked quietly.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:29 am
Though Sophie kept her gaze close to the ground, so as to avoid unwanted eye contact, she kept her other senses open and aware. She knew of so many kids who walked around town with their headphones on and their music blaring. How could they do that?! What if someone were to sneak up on them? They would barely notice!
So Sophie kept her ears open for any strange sounds. Most days went without mishap, save for the occasional businessman or soccer mom bumping into her, too busy in their own little worlds to notice the young child in their path.
Today wasn't destined to be one of those days, however. A million businessmen and soccer moms would have been preferable to the feeling of a tap on her shoulder and the sound of someone inquiring about her.
Despite her deep desire not to, she jumped forward and whirled around to stare at the stranger, her brain working furiously to come up with a response. Luckily, she had planned for someone to ask her this question at some point, though not under this amount of surprise and stress. Her brain shifted into auto-pilot.
"I, excuse me. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," she said quietly, her gaze on the ground. She backed up a few steps and turned, stumbling to start and walk away again.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:12 pm
Anubis was taken aback for a moment before he realized that oh, right, he looked like a pimp. But she was already walking away! He picked up the pace and followed her. "Well, then, allow me to introduce myself," he said quickly. "And then we won't be strangers any more. I'm Anubis, Egyptian guard of the underworld and referee of the Game."
There was something to his tone that indicated he was completely serious.
"And you," he continued, "Are Sophie, and a very old god named Odin has given me something for you."
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:45 am
Oh boy, she had bagged herself a loony. And a real nut job by the sounds of how serious he took himself. The man's outrageous statement did have one probably desired effect, as Sophie stopped walking and looked at the strange man, though still avoiding direct eye contact.
"How did you know my name?" she asked accusingly, her gaze flitting about the empty streets, praying there was at least someone there who would notice if this weirdo decided to carry her off and drag her down an alley.
She wanted to roll her eyes and run away, but curiosity kept her planted. It left her feeling terribly helpless as her brain and feet fought for control.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:49 am
"I'm a messenger," shrugged Anubis, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small triangular charm on a chain. "Odin bade me give you this," he explained, "And he told me your name when he gave it to me."
"What do you know about the Game?" he asked. This was always a good place to start the questions.
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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:56 am
As much as she just wanted to run very far away, she forced herself to stay planted. She had to admit, she was curious and this was a good opportunity to improve her communication skills, even if she didn't see it as such right now.
"Er, the Game?"
What was that? An online game? She didn't own a computer, as they couldn't afford one. She was pretty sure she had read a book by that name, but she doubted that was what this guy was talking about.
"I don't know anything about any Game. Why? Should I?"
She hated to admit not knowing what he was talking about, but she was determined to at least try and hold the upper hand in the conversation. As long as she asked the questions and he answered, she'd be okay.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:53 pm
"The game is possibly the most important thing going on in the City," explained Anubis. "It is a great honor to be invited to participate."
He offered the chain to her. "You play with your wits and your strength and your speed," he continued, "...And a little divine intervention."
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 7:49 pm
Sophie looked at the chain the man was offering her. It looked like something a gang member might wear. Or a rockstar. It was a simple metal chain with a strange symbol on it, a group of three triangles. Sophie was unsure what exactly it meant, but she assumed it had something to do with this Odin.
She was rather torn. She was interested, despite herself. But everything she'd been taught about not talking to or taking anything from strangers kicked in. So instead of reaching for the chain, she crossed her fingers and spoke again, still avoiding direct eye contact.
"Divine intervention? You still haven't explained what this game is. And if it's such a great honor, why haven't I heard of it yet?"
Granted, she didn't exactly sit and watch the news each night, but it this 'game' was as important as he said, wouldn't she have heard of it by now?
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 7:04 pm
"We go to great lengths to keep it secret," explained Anubis, who hated it when the kids got analytical. "We're gods," he added. "We can do that sort of thing."
"Odin is a god," he explained, "From Scandinavia. You might know it, you might not. It's a place. It doesn't properly exist anymore. And for reasons known only to Odin, he wants you to be his prophet in the City. His Player."
He offered her the chain again. Third time's the charm.
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