Welcome to Gaia! ::

(this takes place a couple of days before the Blood for the Blood for the Blood God orp)

It had been late July when he had given Liryn his promise that he'd take the little tabby bobtail on a visit to his asteroid after rescuing the small cat from an Atë who had been out for the tabby bobtail's blood, but it was September by the time that Athene finally kept the promise.

Oh he'd planned to do it earlier, not least because one of his New Year's resolutions had been to visit his asteroid at least twice this year and had even come close to doing so just a couple of weeks prior - well okay, more he'd contemplated doing so a couple of weeks prior until, along with Liryn, he had ended up getting caught up in a purification attempt that had ended up turning into something of a mess.

Surely the fact that he'd contemplated it had to count for something though, even if it was the resolution that he'd made the least progress with, with least reading as pretty much zilch.

It was quiet tonight - or at least so far it had been and even though the two of them had been on the beat for a bit, there had been neither chaotic auras nor phone pings to interrupt their night. Mayhaps that was why when they stopped for their latest break Athene looked over at Liryn who had sprang up on the wall he was leaning against and asked quietly "Hey Liryn, do you fancy taking a trip to Athene?" Continuing "We could go now, given that it's been pretty quiet so far" before adding quickly "At least we could if you want to."

Athene blinked, Liryn had been so quiet that he had figured that mayhaps tonight wasn't a good night, that mayhaps the little cat would prefer some other time, but his response had certainly been decisive - even if it had been voiced in the tabby bobtail's generally cheerful voice.

"Ah okay" he said, adding as he carefully reached down "Although you'll probably want to be on my shoulder for this." He kind of remembered holding Polaris' hand when he had taken the Princess and at the time team leader with him on his first visit to his asteroid, or at least he thought he may have - given that it was more than two years ago it was hard to be certain. Holding hands or in this case hand to paw, would probably be awkward in this case besides Athene was pretty sure that the only requirement was that they both needed to be touching in some way and in that case a shoulder perch would most likely do as well as a hand hold.

Athene took stock of his surroundings - their chosen stopping point had been an alleyway in the middle of abandoned buildings, a lone street light hear and there providing lighting that didn't really stretch beyond it's own particular radius. It was mayhaps not the prettiest of surroundings, but at least it afforded a sense of some privacy.

He summoned his senshi phone and looked through the apps for a moment to work out which was the likely one to use, before settling on the star app and then did his best to concentrate, as he tried to listen out for the wisp of melody that he had listened for and heard just once before, in another alleyway two years back.

Despite the cat purring in his ear, it had felt surprisingly easy to catch the wisp of melody - not an immediate thing no - but much easier than the first time and as Athene selected the star app, a part of himself couldn't help but wonder as he had on that first night, why the melody sounded so sad.

Their surroundings shifted suddenly, the sounds of the city fading away to silence as the night time sky of Destiny City was replaced with muted daylight and the alleyway changed to a dusty path beneath his feet.

"Welcome to Athene, Liryn" he said quietly, feeling that he should say the words, despite his conflicting feelings about his asteroid and the fact that it was pretty obvious that the two of them were no longer in Destiny City.

For a moment Athene had to think it over, as he did his best to remember what he had found on his first trip - something which may have been easier to do if not for the fact that the relevant memories were over two years old, however at last he said quietly "Well there's that building over there" he pointed to the building in the near distance, before gesturing to the circular structure that could just about be seen from their current position. "And up there are the ruins of what looks to be some sort of city."

He thought about it some more before adding "If I remember right it's a bit of a trek to where the city is, but I think the path was a pretty straightforward one if you want to check it out."

True to form Liryn had wanted to explore absolutely everywhere, however Athene knew that they weren't really equipped for that. For a start their trip had been an spur of the moment thing and for a second (and probably more importantly) no one knew where they were.

In the end Liryn had decided on the city ruins, which is why the pair of them were making their way up the path, although he had somehow ended up promising the little bobtail that they could make another trip. Athene shook his head ruefully, as Liryn (who had finally abandoned his shoulder) bounced ahead. Despite the fact that Liryn didn't seem to have mastered the begging cat rountine that ********* had got down pat, his sad face was nearly as effective - although he wasn't going to let the little bobtail onto that little tidbit.

Just as last time, the only living beings around appeared to be himself and Liryn, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. Well okay it wasn't really silent, not with Liryn's chatter filling the air but although he couldn't really explain it, Athene found himself feeling peaceful as he followed behind Liryn - the general sense of tiredness that he'd been feeling lately as a result of poor sleep and long nights gone - even if just for the moment.

On reaching the arches, Athene had reached out to rest his hand against the nearest arch. His intention had been to rest for a moment or so, but he had heard a sudden rumbling sound coming from behind him as his hand touched stone and on turning...

The wagons of the caravan rumbled their way towards the arches of Varϊsvaara, winding their way towards the walls of the city. They were just one of many such carvans heading towards the city and the large open gate that even from this distance stood shining in the afternoon sunshine.

A boy walked by the side of one of the caravans, the beads braided into his curly hair clicking and clacking together, a trailing unadorned white sash at his waist. His eyes seemed wide as he looked on the city below and the man walking besides him looked down with an indulgent smile, his voice teasing as he said "You look like you've never seen a city before lad." His own sash was red and much more elaborate to that of the youth by his side.

"I have too" the young voice was slightly indignant. "It's just that this one's sooo big."

"That she is" a laugh. "Varϊsvaara is the capitol and gem amongst cities, home to the Grand Market and the Athene." Another laugh "It is said that if you can't find what you seek in Varϊsvaara, then it can't be found on Athene."

"Do you think we'll see him?" Eager curiosity. "The Athene?"

"No that's not for the likes of us. This lot is" and at this the packed wagon was indicated. "Is headed to South Quarter and you're headed to the Weaver's Guild to start your apprenticeship."

"But I've heard that the new Athene is merchant born and..."

The older cut the younger off before he could finish the sentence, his voice firm as he said "Be it as it may, but it doesn't change the fact that the Athene, whatever his background is now the Athene, nor does it change the fact that he's still not for the likes of us. Now come along daylight's a wasting."

The pair continued on, as the wagon rumbled along with them and....

"Athene?"

Athene started at the sound of the voice near to his feet, his head full of the sounds of rumbling wagons as for a moment he looked down at the little tabby bobtail disorientated, however at last he blinked as he asked "Liryn?"

"I'm okay" Athene said quietly. "I..." he hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I saw something - about the city down below." He let his hand fall from where it had been touching the stone. "It was called Varϊsvaara" he pronounced it Va-ris-vaa-ra, the syllables sounding right on his tongue as he spoke them. "And for a moment the ruins were gone" his quiet voice got even quieter as he continued "I could see the city walls and they were whole, the city was whole."

"I don't know" there was a frown on Athene's face for a moment as he considered the other's question. He shook his head, before turning to look at Liryn. "Do you mind if we go back? It's just..." For a moment he bit his lip before adding. "I kind of just want to think on stuff for a bit, and I want to do it back on Earth."

Of course if Liryn wanted to stay a little longer, then Athene would, after all he was well aware that he'd agreed to take the other his asteroid and although he had done, they hadn't really done much.

However the vision of the unbroken city walls and the snippet of conversation that he had overheard had left him with things to think on and it was thinking that he'd prefer to do once back in Destiny City.