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 Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:56 pm
 Tien lay stretched out on the side of a fountain, with her arms up behind her head, just staring up at the stars that were just beginning to appear in the twilight sky. It was private and peaceful out now that it had gotten dark. Most of the mortals who had taken to roaming the gardens had gone home for the evening lest they catch a cold. She wore no guise because there did not seem to be a need, however, her wings however were vanished since laying on them was less than comfortable.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:32 pm
Aska rather... enjoyed the gardens outside the Pantheon, which felt weird to even think. He hadn't thought he'd venture back again, but the presence in his head of the healing god had... well, hadn't nudged. Hadn't pestered. Just it was a very light voice in the back of his head, it was very polite about it: Aska, if you don't mind, I'd like to go see the Pantheon gardens. Back where you met the Dragon King. Do you mind that? Aska had found that, put that way, he didn't mind. The presence in his head was going to take over his body and then--
And then what?
Ooh! Stop just here, ordered the excitable voice of Althai; Aska stopped, peered around, and when he spotted the girl he grinned a little. Sure, maybe he was going to die, but that didn't mean that he didn't appreciate the lovely women he met. "Excuse me," he said, pitching his voice to carry to the woman on the edge of the fountain. "Aren't you cold?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:50 pm
The voice startled the goddess, breaking her from the small trance stargazing always seemed to put her into. She sat up, looking for the sound of the voice and spotted Aska a short distance off. She eyed him critically as she answered; something about him felt vaguely familiar, but she couldn't pin it down, not yet anyway. "Not at all, I prefer to be out at night." She smiled and made a beckoning gesture, determined to figure out why he felt familiar.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:56 pm
Oh I know who this is!! Aska! Say hi to her! Aska winced, one hand going to his dark curls. Why did he have to be so loud about things? And so self-satisfied, it was just odd. And like having a Psion in his head full-time--but he'd known that it would be similar. "I don't," he said, smiling a little bit ruefully. "Except, I know this is hard to believe, but."
This was going to be hard to explain. If you're not going to say hi, at least tell her I do, said the god in his head with some asperity. "There's a god in my head," he said obediently. "He says he knows you. His name's... Althai?" No, no! You said it all wrong!! Althai. "Althai," Aska corrected, looking quite put-upon.
"So... are you a... goddess?" The term was unfamiliar, but Tian Yue had used it, and Aska figured he might as well get used to it.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:10 pm
"It isn't so hard to believe as you might think." Ah, a host then.
Green eyes went a bit wide behind her mask when Aska offered the god's name. It was a name that rang a bell, certainly. "Althai...Healing?" It took her a moment to compose herself enough to answer Aska's inquiry.
"And, yes, I am." Her wings reappeared then, fluttering lazily behind her.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:26 pm
Aska winced again when Althai's voice went too loud, bright and excited to hear the voice of the orange-haired woman. I told you I knew her!! "Yes, healing," he said, holding up both hands at his sides. "So... who are you, then? If that's not... rude, my lady."
Oh, nooo. Was the voice in his head embarrassed, seriously? He scowled, darkly, and then schooled his face into a straighter expression. Aska jumped at the wings' appearance, and said, "Where did those come from?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:39 pm
"Tien, the Commedia Dell'Arte. Just call me Tien, 'my lady' is hardly necessary." No one had called her that except for aoide and even then it made her uncomfortable.
At first she wasn't sure what had startled Aska, but then it dawned on her. She grinned. Such a little change was nothing, the man would probably panic if she used the full extent of her gift. "I usually always have them, its just not comfortable to lay on my back with them there." She stood, smoothing her clothing. "If the cold bothers you, perhaps we can take refuge in a teahouse for a while. Certainly wouldn't do for you to freeze."
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:47 pm
Aska nodded, and brushed the dark curls out of his face. If he wasn't to call her 'my lady' he probably wasn't to bow, either; he'd only just thought of that when he'd begun, and for that the nod had been a bit more than a tip of the head. That was a bit deeper than it had to be! But you'll be a hit with some of the others, I bet. The God of Healing: moonlighted as Captain Obvious, Aska supposed.
"It doesn't bother me, Tien," he said, tugging on the hem of his jacket. It was a comfortable thing, made of coarse wool; he had bought it when he'd arrived in this world, two and a half years ago. "It's much colder, where I come from. But if you'd like to go to a... tea house, I wouldn't mind." Although he didn't even like tea. It'd been more of a... Psion drink, really.
So subservient. I'm not keeping that trait, I promise you.
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:09 am
"Well, at the very least there would be some light so I can get a better look at who I'm talking to. Speaking of, what may I call you?" She couldn't call him Althai, even if it was technically half correct; he certainly wasn't that one, not yet anyway.
The goddess motioned for him to follow before she headed off in the direction one of the teahouses lay.
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:48 am
He didn't have to think for the answer to this question: "Aska. Er... Aska Kapanen." The harsh, staccato syllables of his surname felt good to say--it wasn't something he'd often had cause to say, since here it seemed people leaned more towards greeting others by first name, no matter how unfamiliar they were. Even with, um... goddesses. The dark-haired man folded his hands behind his head as he followed Tien towards one of the structures he'd seen. Actually, didn't it look like...
"Oh," he said, looking at the wooden platform. "These are tea houses?" They didn't look like anything back in Heimgard; he'd been curious about them, from a professional standpoint, and also from a... personal standpoint, if he were honest. "...Huh."
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:34 am
"Aska Kapanen." His given name was simple enough, but she had never heard a family name quite like that one. Clearly he was not from around here, though not many were. "Aska, then unless it really bothers you. I'd hate to mangle your family name more than I likely already have."
"Mhm...though if rumors are true they get used for a lot more than that." She laughed, knowing in the back of her mind at least one or two of the situations she knew of was true. It likely meant more were as well. Once her laughter subsided the goddess glanced back to Aska, wondering what he seemed so intrigued by.
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Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:10 pm
He smiled, a small smile but a noticeable one that had Althai chortling in the back of his head. "That's fine. Most everyone here uses my personal name." Besides, who was he to tell a goddess no? Not exactly anyone. He might play host and chrysalis to a god, but he wasn't one, and that made him entirely inferior.
"Oh, well," he said. "Most standing structures do." He tapped his fingers on one of the supports, pushing on it gently. "I'm a carpenter by trade," he explained. "We didn't have much construction like this where I'm from. It's always winter there, so we constructed things for... well, permanence, and to be wind-proof."
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Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:51 pm
A carpenter, hn? That was a useful tidbit to file away for later, she might have work for him at some point if he was willing and still able to do it.
"Always winter...where are you from?" She asked, genuinely curious, while settling herself comfortably on a pillow.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:11 pm
He settled himself nearby, on his knees, and smiled a bit overbrightly at her. "It's a land called Heimgard," he said, rubbing his chin. "We never really named the world, it was just home. I know most worlds have a name, but this one, not so much." Aska shrugged, lightly, forcing himself to be cheerful about the whole thing. "Are you from… around here? I'm sorry, my lady, that's probably rude."
Probably, Althai huffed. She's a goddess, she's from everywhere.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:20 pm
Heimgard...hn? "Sadly, that name doesn't ring any bells for me."
"And, it's fine. I live in a town a few hours from here, so that is pretty much home. My host however was from a place called Earth, an interesting world with all sorts of contradictory people." He need not worry really there was very little if anything that Tien would find rude or offensive.
There was something about his smile though, it didn't quite reach his eyes. "You miss your home, don't you?"
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