DIVINE NPCS.

“You keep aiming for the extremities. And up your voltage.” Her voice is matter-of-fact and precise. These gods could not afford to be soft in times like these, and with a new enemy on the horizon, their powers must be turned to the art of warfare. “You must be ready to kill, Amaya.” She throws a dagger, the hard thwack on the dummy, clean between the head. “But maybe I’m moving too fast. Do you wish to take a break?”

“Have you been exercising?” Atropos asks as she stretches, her face as stony as ever. A mangled training dummy lay beside her, finished with her daily workout. “Or have you been looking through the—” She curses in an archaic language, brow furrowing as she tries to remember the word. “The clues.”

“Hisako.” Her voice is steely and smooth, matching the knife she’s currently sharpening on the kitchen counter. Clotho and Lachesis had rules about this, but they’re gone, and she doesn’t have time to take the elevator. “Is everything... alright? To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“well, fuck you too,” he laughed, his face breaking into a delighted, appreciative expression he almost did not recognize by now. of course the words were meant amicably. but hell, if he wasn’t happy emily. “all this time? did you ever think of… i don’t know, reaching out? i know your patrons must’ve needed you, but… so did we. shit went down while you were away, y’know.”

“ Not especially, but it’s fine. ”  She smiles at Emily, accepting that this is what she’s going to get. It’s clear that the other is about as unsure as she is, or at least when it comes to communicating it. However, the conversation brings up the itch being down here causes. Alizeh  cannot  be trapped in the Underground.  “ How long do you think we’ll be visiting you ? ”  The words are meant to sound like casual conversation, but she perhaps gives herself away a bit as she continues,  “ Have the sisters said anything ? ”  She hadn’t caught them yet, busy with their own dealings, but perhaps Emily knew something. It was her domain after all.

               “Looks like we’re at a graveyard,”     Hisako shrugs.   It’s not aesthetically unpleasing,    but it is incredibly obvious that this is Hecate’s domain.    Stereotypes must have something to stem from,   she supposes.   

       “How did you get us here?   I knew you could open a doorway using an actual door,    but to make a portal from nothing?    The hell’s up with that?” 

“Hecate’s the goddess of witchcraft and crossroads. I worked it out after a while,” she replied, a small smile tugging on her lips. Emily was proud of her power, moreso than the others. “Goth aesthetic and all.”

“oh hmmmm.” amaya said taking a good look over everything around her. closing one eyes, getting down at a lower angel, then up against. another look then back to hecate. “nope. i think you did a wonderful job. too much black and then it becomes a little cliche don’t you think?”

•

“my sorry face? i thought reconciliations were supposed to be civil,” he laughed, feeling internally more relieved and pleased to see hecate back in the flesh than he let on. “the feeling’s mutual. though, i thought brigid’s would be the last baffling absence we got to witness before we got the chop, and yet… where the hell have you been?”  

“ It’s still a month, Emily.  ——  Are you okay ? ”  It’s genuine question, or at least it feels enough like one. She does care about them, it’s the mother in her. The ambition makes her care too, a want to complete the story. Alizeh is … complicated, and so are her motivations. There’s a pause and then another questions,  “ What changed ? ”  She had gotten out, gotten to them. Something must have changed.

“ Ah, ”  she nods, keeping a gentle smile on her features. She wasn’t exactly sure how to parse the look on Emily’s face, but she’ll accept it like she does. Liking the Underground is an entire other beast that she won’t tackle now.  “  Well you’ve been missing for a few weeks. ”

“ No, no — it’s a lovely place. Really, dear. Beautiful.  …  You’ve just been down here ? ”  There are so many things about this that frustrate her, not least of all her being proven right about celebrating early, but she’ll start with that question. Alizeh doesn’t feel she owes Emily answers regarding her own fears, not now.

               Hisako honestly can’t help but be amused.    She knows it’s a rough situation and all,    but boy is seeing the sisters fight something else.   Of course,   she doesn’t make it obvious,    but the small grin is still there.    “What are you drinking?”     Hisako raises her brows,   fully stepping into the room.   As always,    she’s got her hands shoved in her pockets.   “Senile,    though?    Is that one still about the same person?” 

svtekh·:

“Oh, I’m sure Lilith can do something fun to ensure we won’t be overheard,” Yousef drawls, pulling two chairs out.

He seats himself at one, a long, indolent sprawl, clearly no intention of moving from this cafe. Fortunately for them all, he’s heroically restrained himself from wearing what he wanted to (a tribute to Carmen Sandiago) and has instead gone with a camo scarf. You know. For camouflage when being sneaky.

“If not, I could blow everyone’s eardrums out with a well placed storm.” Yousef’s tone doesn’t shift, droll and friendly, armed with a knife’s edge smile. He’s healed, for the most part, but he’s sick of all this already.

              Hisako showed up on zero hours of sleep and zero food since sometime yesterday when she inhaled a cup of noodles,    so she’s as dazed as someone can be without the help of drugs.   She takes a seat in one of the chairs Yousef pulls out–    shoulders hunched,   hands in pockets,   staring at their surroundings like it all makes her head hurt–    the opposite image of Yousef’s sprawl. 

     “Huh?”    She glances at him when she hears her name,    then nods quickly.    “Oh,   yeah,    no one’s paying attention,”     she replies and abruptly looks away again.    They would’ve been recognized by now,    but no one batted an eyelash when they stepped into the cafe–    Lilith likes to go by undetected wherever she goes,    and even moreso with Yousef next to her today.    He’s gotten better,    but the event still has her nerves on edge.    It wasn’t exactly pleasant to watch him get shot.

     Just to be sure,    it suddenly seems darker in their little corner of the cafe.    “So,     what’d you want?”

It was unnerving, to say the least, seeing the shadows close in around her. Unnatural, was what she’d call it, but Aruna remembers that she was in close proximity to gods, and was trying not to freak out about everything. If only she had cameras now—her manager was going to have her head if he ever found out, but at the moment, she really didn’t care.

“The attempts at your life, Set. Few journalists are going for the conspiracy angle, trying to find out what’s happening,” she says, simply. Her hand holds the coffee, the heat grounding her to the moment. In, out, report. “I asked around, got some—some guy in the deep web to get police records, CCTV footage. Probably broke a few laws, if they found out, but I—”