— !𝙈 𝙏3𝙍𝙍1𝙁𝙔!𝙉𝙂.

@l1lxth·

“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?”

               Standing at the entryway,   Hisako shrugs.   She’s her usual hunched,   undemostrative self.   Bored,   almost,    except for the downturn of her lips that’s lower than usual.   She steps further inside.

       Atropos is never around.   Lilith has only met her a handful of times,    and each time it comes with the surreal feeling of knowing Atropos will be the end of the pantheon.    When the time’s up,   she’ll be the last of the sisters they see. 

@l1lxth·

“What I wouldn’t give for people not to perceive me every time I go out and get coffee,” he replied, floating down, clutching everyone’s drink orders. Or what he assumed was their drink orders—it was a hit and miss. “The amount of photos, paps and anyone wanting a blessing makes me want to scream.”

                “A blessing?”    Hisako,    distracted by the coffee,   takes a moment to remember what Percy is the god of.   She often finds herself forgetting,    never calling him Eros.   It didn’t take her long to figure out that he dislikes getting the two identities mixed,   so he’s always just been Percy to her.    “Oh,   gross.”    She makes a face,   then washes it down with a reluctant sip of extremely hot coffee.    She sticks her burned tongue out,   setting the cup down to cool off. 

@l1lxth·

“You like my place, Hisako? To be fair, it’s more ostentatious than I’d thought, but getting people here is a pain and a half. Greek statues and gothic architecture’ll never go out of style, I guess.”

               “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.   

“where were you before the attack?” amaya spoke up out of the quiet both of them had been happily sitting in. it was nice to having someone she could be totally comfortable with in silence yet also be comfortable within a loud and chaotic atmosphere she often found herself in. her foot nudging her friend next to her as she laid herself out on a couch. “you almost left me stuck with everyone else. can you imagine me stuck here with just them?”

@l1lxth·

               Hisako had been chain-smoking outside of the venue and then a little bit more inside the venue,    but she’s sure Amaya can smell it on her.   

@l1lxth·

“You know, I thought about doing a duo performance with you, once?” Percy sits on a sofa, staring up into the inky-black ceiling, “Thought about travelling here before my hiatus, getting you and Tiago and Em to—I don’t know. Do an Underground tour or something. You think you would’ve bit?”

               “We don’t tend to share stages down here,”    Hisako responds back quietly.   She’s not certain why--    perhaps it’s because the miracles of the underground gods have the potential to literally drive a crown insane if performed one after the other,    or that things are more territorial down here.

@l1lxth·

“This is what it’s like ? ”  she asks, looking around Hecate’s … place, if it could be called that. The crawling feeling on her skin has subsided somewhat, but there’s still a general unease. The question isn’t meant to be a confession, that the Underground is a place the acting  ( self proclaimed ? )  Queen has not ventured to.  “  All of it ? ”

              Lilith shakes her head.    She’s bent over another pile of books,   idly flipping through each one and not really paying attention to any of the contents.   Ever since she saw the video,    she hasn’t been able to sleep well.    Now that they’re in the underground,    though,   Hisako feels like she could sleep for a thousand years.  

@l1lxth·

though it had not been that long, the monotony of the search seemed to stretch out the time spent browsing through dusty, forlorn tomes. a yawn escaped the god’s mouth, followed by a short sigh. it also did not help that he had yet to come across a single significant finding. 

   “how’s it going? have you found anything in any of the books that might be of help?” 

               Hisako,    who had been secretly napping,   lifts her head up in mild alarm when Tiago’s voice suddenly cuts through the eerie silence.   She grunts a few times,   blindly reaching for the book she was using as a pillow to give Tiago some useless information so that he’ll go back to being quiet.   In the process,   however,   Hisako ends up knocking over the tower of books next to her.    They fall in a flurry of flying pages,   waking her even more.

Penny had never really had a best friend. She’d gotten close many times, but after three months most of her relationships fizzled out because the other person got annoyed with her or she felt them getting to close to asking less than fun questions, and she bailed. Driving people away was just what Penny was good at. But Hisako actually had claim to be one of her longest lasting relationships, other than Yousef. There was something undeniable and significant about her relationship to Hisako. For the first time Penny didn’t feel afraid of scaring her off. 

“Huh, noted. Threats of arson aren’t usually my style but I’ve always been a fan of improv. Maybe I should get more creative with my evasive maneuvers now that the paparazzi is on the prowl,” she would never threaten violence towards someone, even jokingly, it just wasn’t in her nature. “Have they been bugging you much outside of phonecalls? Or is making you sick of your ringtone their primary tactic?” 

She shrugged, “For the week at least.” 

               “It only works if you’ll actually do it,”     Hisako responds,    “there needs to be some credibility to your threats.”     

       She shrugs at Penny’s question.   Hisako has mostly had her phone off and has only answered one call.    It’s the same person who has been bugging Yousef with similar frequency,    so they’ve agreed to see if there’s any merit to following up on it.    “So far,    yeah.    But we’ll see.    Yousef and I are gonna meet one of the reporters,    but it might just be bullshit.” 

“I don’t swing that way. And I’m not threatening their dead grandfather too, if that comes down to it.” he replies, rolling his eyes. “It’s the one you had a spat with on the red carpet, ‘Sako. The mouthy one. Actor, nice teeth, bad suit.”

Percy looks at the thread, and the argument in the replies, before pinching the bridge of his nose. “How about ‘I’ll give you erectile dysfunction next time I see you.’ Seems like a gas.”

                That’s news to her,    but then again,    whenever Hisako is out with Percy,    they always end the night together.    Barely crawling out of it and completely shit-faced,    of course,    so she has never really seen him in action.

“It’s whiskey, neat.” She pours a drink for herself, and another for Lilith, setting it aside and giving her a knowing glance. “And it is. Clotho is… sentimental. I had thought the ages would have made her more pragmatic, but alas, she insists on wanting to stop the event.” There’s an uncomfortably long pause, before Lachesis looks at Lilith, the face of exhaustion on her. “Do you agree with her? That we should stop? Hide away?”

               Hisako plops down on the armchair beside Lachesis and takes the drink.    She continues to listen to her rant while she takes a sip,    making a face as the alcohol burns down her throat.    Then,    when Lachesis turns to her,    Hisako blankly stares back.    Lilith has always liked being in the shadows,   but it’s not the same as hiding away.    In the undergound,   she wasn’t hiding...    she was simply home.   

@l1lxth·

penny had forgotten how much she’d actually missed hisako. she’d repressed the slight ache in her chest throughout her time away. it was easy enough to abandon a cause, but to abandon the people was all the more difficult. perching herself on the arm of a nearby chair, she wiggled slightly; making the sound of her cassette tape earrings jangle, as a way to alert them of her presence. “so, you’re a god but also a glorified secretary?” she laughed, the sound turning into a snort, “i shouldn’t judge, i never know how to answer the phone.” 

               She’d heard Penny was coming.    It filled her with excitement,    but she’d also felt a strange sense of separation when she found out that the goddess had locked herself away;    like she had somehow locked Hisako out of their unlikely relationship,    driving her away along with the rest of the pantheon.   No word of warning,    no explanation--     she’s just back,   and Hisako has to work over that feeling of estrangement.    It isn’t personal,    she knows that,    but she’s always had the feeling that Penny will eventually leave when she realizes Hisako isn’t the kind of person she wants to have around.    Hisako thought that had been it,    but apparently not. 

divinitynpc·:

@svtekh· and @l1lxth·

She had been waiting in the coffee shop for a good couple of minutes, and Aruna felt cold, even under several layers. Maybe it was nerves, or maybe it was what she knew—either way, she had to tell someone. “I was afraid you might not show. Is there anywhere we can… talk?”

“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.

@l1lxth·

‘  I think you should take them,  ’  Alizeh gives her unasked for, and possibly unwanted, advice about the various media outlets that have been doing their best to contact Hisako. If she had anything to do with it, they would all continue as normal, and to her normal included any and all media functions she could spin in her favor.

               Her phone has been turned off since last night.   It’s either a blessing or a curse that she hasn’t been on twitter,   but it may only be a matter of time until she’s bored enough to charge the device.   Regardless,    Hisako has already talked to Yousef about one particular call.    

@l1lxth·

“Myopic, soft, senile—” She lets loose a stream of words, ancient words that sound like a curse, and turns back to her scotch, drinking it in one fell swoop. “I—ah. Child. I was not aware I had an audience. Would you like a drink?”

@l1lxth·

“You get the shitheel’s Twitter rant, or did he block you yet?” Percy’s scrolling through his phone and hovering, in no small part to some sort of godly magic, and his iridescent wings. “You think I should reply or something?”

                “I’m blocked,”    Hisako isn’t sure which shitheel,   in paritcular,   Percy is referring to,    but she’s blocked by mostly everyone in the entertainment business,    so it’s safe to assume that this one blocked her too.    Curious,    she steps up on the couch--    boots and all--    to peer over his shoulder.   

@l1lxth·

“That’s certainly… one way to end a fucking party,” he tells Hisako, figure way too composed for the amount of nerves zapping through his body right now. “I need a drink. Several. If we haven’t used the vodka to disinfect, would you care to join me?”

               Hisako follows Percy without a word and doesn’t speak until she’s drank down half of her glass.   She’s usually quiet,    but instead of her bored demeanor,   Hisako is looking around more than usual.   She’s on edge,   frowning a lot and then suddenly smiling to herself about the situation.   It’s all absurd.   

[ open starter ]

“Turns out getting shot is the worst,” Yousef moans, radiating pure melodrama not just in tone but in the way he’s sprawled out on the ground. There’s no clever outfit on display – there had been, but after the first shot, Yousef had acted on instinct, turning himself into a much smaller target. It hadn’t helped; the second bullet had ripped through the meat of his shoulder, and now he’s not sure he should turn back in case, you know, he makes the bullet hole bigger.

So here he is, on the ground like one of those sulky husky videos, all ambiguous and sort-of-canine shaped and paws in the air, long ears mashed awkwardly into the carpet. Just draped out, dramatic Hollywood starlet style.

Also, he’s bleeding. At least it’s mostly stopped since someone haphazardly wrapped a Dior scarf around his shoulder, which was very thoughtful of them.

“Who the fuck shot me.” There’s thunder rumbling in the distance. “And can I legally shoot them in revenge?”

                    “Not legally,”     Hisako is crouching next to Yousef with a big deal of gloominess about the whole situation.   Her head is hung in his direction and there’s not much else she can do besides make them harder to spot in case the shooters are still watching from somewhere.    Her face seems to be casted in shadow.    Lilith might be making the atmosphere all that more unbearable;    making feelings overflow within the surrounding human’s chests,     but it’s not like she’s trying to tap into the power of influence.    She’s pissed off and it’s bleeding out on its own.