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 Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 5:19 pm
Kikechum hadn't spent much time contemplating how she might overtake her host and become herself again, and as such couldn't say that she had expected it to go a certain way, but she had certainly not expected to simply flail awake after a midmorning nap that she hadn't even been the one taking...although, to be fair, she had been doing the dreaming. Regardless of which of them had been doing what, the timing was extremely problematic. Enekpe, being a small creature with a fondness for secure, den-like spaces (and for playing hide-and-seek only to fall asleep while hiding), had tucked herself into a cabinet in one of the teahouses.
Kikechum was not so small, and was consequently spending her first moments of rebirth trying to squeeze out of an opening she wouldn't rightly fit in in the first place. First, she had to turn and angle her head just so, thanks to the long horns she had apparently acquired. Slender forefeet were next, and that was easy, but her shoulders were just a bit too broad. Damn! She didn't want to break the cabinet by being too forceful, but neither did she want to be stuck here for the foreseeable future.
The goddess huffed. Maybe if she just wiggled a little...
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Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 5:40 pm
 Lament was indeed quite unaware of what he was about to stumble onto. He had sneaked out earlier, planning to comb the market to see if he could find gifts for his lovers - however, nothing had really caught his eye on this trip, so he was making his way back with a basket full of peaches when a sound coming from the nearby teahouse made him pause.
What was that ?
Of course, he would investigate, and thus see the poor goddess trying to squeeze herself from the cabinet. "...En ?" He asked, before his brain caught up on the fact that this was not Enkepe at all.
"I... I mean..." He had known this would come, of course, had known since he had seen that round blue gem in the little pooka's chest, but being faced with the very clear realization that his furry little friend was gone was another thing completely.
"...How did you get in here ?" Not exactly the best thing to ask, no, but it was what unfortunately came out.
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Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 5:57 pm
Damn again! She didn't need an audience for this.
Oh. The goddess ceased her attempts to free herself for a moment, blinking bright eyes at the young god. Well. Her situation would have been undignified at the best of times, but now it was just plain awkward. Awkwardness, however, did not particularly phase her. "Good morning, Akakios. Assuming it is still morning."
Morning or afternoon, this was a conversation she would prefer to have while not half inside a too-small cabinet. If only she were built more like a cat, then she could just...
Slip out. As she thought it, her clavicles became free-floating, and extracting herself from her predicament suddenly became much easier. Getting the rest of her body out could hardly have been described as graceful, but she managed it in short order. Kikechum stretched her cramped muscles and stood to her full height, which turned out to be quite something, considering her tiny host. Her shoulder was near to level with Lament's waist.
"We were sleeping. I woke up."
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Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 6:36 pm
It eventually occured to him that he should probably have been trying to help Kikechum squeeze out of her particular predicament from the moment he had set foot in the teahouse, but by the time he had finally gotten his body to move, the lady seemed to have managed to solve her problem on her lonesome.
The first thing that struck him was how colorful she was. The other was how big - the goddess was more the size of a very large dog than the tiny little cartable thing that Enkepe had been.
"Afternoon, actually." Conversation was good. Conversation forced him to unleash a little for the fact that Enkepe was gone and try to actually process the feeling rather than let it take him over. "Ah..." So it... probably had not hurt, at least.
Hopefully.
Even with the goddess' added height, he would kneel to look her over. "Are you alright ?" That was a lot of goddess to end up stuck in that small cabinet, but nothing seemed broken, thankfully.
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Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 6:50 pm
"Good afternoon, then." Kikechum, too, had turned an eye to herself, inasmuch as she could, and was rather intrigued by her own bright colors - not those of subtle camouflage, but of vibrant display. She approved with a flick of her feather-edged ears and a flutter of small wings, and set to smoothing out mussed fur.
"I am...ruffled, but none the worse for wear," she answered, looking up from her grooming. Lengthened tail swished behind her, long fringe skimming the floor. "Your concern is most kind, but I am well." Her tones were deep and rich, not at all like Enekpe's light and airy pitch.
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Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2013 7:31 pm
He almost reached out to help smooth her fur on reflex - it was what he would have done for En - but thankfully stopped himself. "Thankfully so. That is quite small a cabinet to end up stuck into." Even if it had not been Animals' wish to end up doing so. "At least you did not end up trapped in clothing alongside that ?"
Oh, he knew how that felt like. It was not pleasant.
"Are you hungry ?" He fished a peach out of the basket. The poor boy's body language basically screamed I have no damn idea how to deal with this. He had never dealt with this before, not at all, and it would be impolite to simply leave. He did not hate KIkechum, not really, but nonetheless the loss of his friend was tangible.
That the same would happen to Asedri was suddenly a very real - and terrifying - thing.
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Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 3:41 pm
"Quite," Kikechum agreed, glancing back at the cabinet in question. Unpleasant, certainly, but she was out now, and itching to do something. To be outside in the sun, rolling in the grass or running through it, or perhaps swimming...
Was she hungry? She considered the question for a moment - she'd been much too preoccuppied until now to give any thought to hunger - and shook her head. "Not especially, no, but thank you. I would rather stretch my legs. You may come, if you wish."
The goddess did not feel...sorry, precisely, but she had no desire to alienate another god if it could be helped, so she would attempt friendliness.
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Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 4:02 pm
The peach was returned to the basket, then, with the god who offered it not offended by the refusal. "Not a bad idea at all... It is a lovely day out."
He did not expect the goddess to be sorry, or even apologize. His feelings were his own, after all, and for all that he was Lament, he had never lost anyone in a way that was so... definite.
It made him understand why mortals were so scared of death. It was not the same thing, no, but for all they would understand...
That it hit so close to home - that eventually Asedri would be gone in such a way - did not help, but that was not k**e's problem - and Lament knew better than to drag her in it.
He rose once more and walked back outside, carrying his basket with him.
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Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 6:35 pm
"A lovely day, indeed." Kikechum followed Lament from the teahouse. Though she remained composed, there was an eagerness to her steps, an impatience to be where she belonged...more or less. The garden was not quite a wild space, but it was a vast improvement over anything indoors. Her host had been a housepet, but she most definitely was not. What traces of that domestication might linger, only time would tell.
"Mm, that is better," she said with a sigh, closing her eyes and turning her face towards the sun. Two-toed forefeet kneaded at the earth, and - to hell with appearances, she was Animals (and had just been stuck in a cabinet, besides) - she dropped and rolled in the grass.
Ooh, yes, that was very nice.
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Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 6:45 pm
This was not completely unexpected, really. Akakios would not quite join the goddess in her rolling, but he would sit carefully in the grass, pulling up layers of silk and lace so it did not get tangled or crinkled too badly.
There was some genuine want to know the goddess, in spite of the pain that Enkepe's loss created in him. He knew surprisingly little about KIkechum herself - En had done most of the talking, at least when he was involved.
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Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 7:11 pm
Eventually, after wriggling about on her back in a rather undignified manner, Kikechum righted herself and shook the grass from her fur. Some remained in her mane and wings, but she didn't care enough to pick it out. Being clean and tidy was not the point - in fact, that was quite the opposite of the point. A little roll in the grass wouldn't go very far in ridding her of the clinging scent of mana, but it was a start. And, more importantly, it felt good.
The goddess stretched and looked herself over yet again, still intrigued by the many changes to Enekpe's body, and by the changes she could apparently make, if her 'escape' from the cabinet had been any indication. Curious, she regarded her left front foot until it became a more paw-like appendage.
"Interesting," she murmurred, flexing the claws. "That will be useful."
"But as fascinating as all this is, I have been remiss, I think." Sapphire eyes tracked back to the god beside her. "I am pleased to meet you for myself, Akakios."
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 10:49 am
Watching the goddess stretch out her wings, so to speak, and see what she could and could not do, was interesting in itself. He had not noticed the first time as she had squeezed herself out of the cabinet, but this one was harder to miss.
"So am I. I fear I do not know you as well as I should." Akakios admitted. Time to start working on changing that, perhaps.
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Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 4:21 pm
"There is little to know, thus far." Kikechum allowed her limb to return to normal and began to walk again, assuming that Akakios would follow. "What I was once like is inconsequential. Much of what I will be remains to be seen. I will have to...get back to you on that, I think is the phrase."
She would be herself, whatever that was now, after being eroded by time and Fading, then influenced by her host in yet-unknown ways. And she would survive.
Survival, always.
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Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 2:47 pm
This was a concept he had only recently come to understand, and the goddess might be able to spy the small smile that formed under the veil, though it would not reach his eyes. It rarely did, and it was even less likely to do so now. "So I shall."
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Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 3:38 pm
"In the meantime, I am certain I will not lack for things to do. Speaking of which, thank you for your assistance in finding information on my Tympanum. Information that will no doubt be invaluable, once I have managed to pinpoint the location." Which, hopefully, would be soon. It was hers, and she wanted it; she might not be exactly the same goddess she had once been, but the artifact could still be a valuable tool.
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