伊弉冉尊

She didn’t feel rage or grievance, however. She almost wanted to take him under her wing, and teach him the ways to distinguish true kindness and true evil, without relying on whatever superpower he had that was watered down by his humanity, his mortality. But if whatever happened between Shuhua and Osiris before taught her any lesson, it was to never meddle with the business of demigods unless they ask for it.

Only Hua had been able to bring down his defenses, to allow him to feel safe again. Maybe he was naive but he was ready to take the risk.

"I’m In-Soo" he announced as he came back into his office, depositing a mask, gloves and a plastic apron on his desk. "Are you a goddess ? I feel a strong aura coming from you." She was confusing too, her dark vibes contrasting with her luminous appearance. Maybe all what he thought to know about good and evil was wrong, maybe he was fighting the wrong battle after all. "Those are for you" he added, patting the pile he just brought. "I’m alone so I’d really appreciate your help."

He hesitated a moment, shuffling on his feet as he watched her fill the form. Guilt had seized him again and he gulped, looking for his words. "I… I’d like to explain why I reacted this way towards you. Would you agree to hear me out once we’re done with the cat ?" It was still hard for him to tell others what had happened to his family, especially to strangers, but she deserved an explanation for putting up with him.

“I’m sure she’s in good hands,” she murmured instead after a long silence, watching as the feline purred in discomfort that should end soon. “I’m not sure how I’d be able to help, but you can let me know what I can do.” Little did he (and many others, only judging her by her affiliation to the underworld) know that she was also a goddess of creation, and therefore could have done the healing herself in the blink of an eye. She watched, though, and let the cat’s fate fall in the hands of exactly that, and instead put her focus on giving her a new name. 

A hand rose to cover her small chuckle at the grave task. “I’ll name her Haruki. Because I found her under the shining sun.” A very typical name for a cat that would perhaps belong in a happy household full of laughter. Perhaps that was a blessing to this poor cat, and with that, she nodded in satisfaction. 

@mpxizanami

In-Soo pushed the doors of Stop&Paws and stepped out into the cold but beautiful day, taking a big breath of fresh air. He closed his eyes, enjoying the soft sun on his face. It was nice to leave the clinic, its smell of disinfectant and metal, the artificial lights. He came to care a lot for his colleagues and, of course, his little patients but, sometimes, he needed to step away, to be on his own. Even for only a bit.

He took the way to the Black Forest Bakery, already thinking about the delicious lunch he was going to buy for himself and the pastries he would bring back for the team. He walked slowly, looking at the different shops’ windows on his path, noticing a few items of interest here and there.

As he strolled, he suddenly felt a strange tingling seizing him and he looked around in alert. A woman was walking towards him and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. It wasn’t because of her beauty or even the cat carefully held in her arms, no, but because of the dark, shadowy aura surrounding her.

A cold sweat broke onto his forehead, ran down his spine and he felt his chest constricting, his heart beating fast. He felt like throwing up. Oh please no. No no. Not here, not now he kept repeating in his head, the woman coming closer and closer. As she was about to pass by him, In-Soo finally took action, readying himself to fight. He could feel his powers flow through him, triggered by the dark presence nearby.

Yet the black cat did look very pretty, and her breathing was quick but had strength. She sat with her instead, leaning against the tree and watching as dozens walk by to continue their routines. Who knows? One of them may just find themselves heading to the underworld today, no matter whose realm that may be.

It was when she spotted a figure wearing what looked like scrubs idly walking nearby did a spark go off in her head, thinking it was probably fate that this cat would not bleed to death slowly and in agony beneath this tree. She didn’t know how to hold her properly or to make sure she didn’t add more stress to her broken leg, and so she simply held her under her armpit by her belly and moved forward in brisk steps, blood dripping occasionally onto the green grass.

It wasn’t her style to just hand the creature over to the person, and she figured she would drop her at the door when she got to Stop&Paws. She may have been expecting slightly for the man to stop her in her tracks to ask if he could take a look at the cat, but never would she expect him to shout what began to sound like puzzling accusations at her. Calmly, she turned to watch him, his eyes almost twinkling with a kind of determination and energy that wanted to repel her own.

Carefully, In-Soo walked to her, keeping an eye on the dark halo around her. Surprisingly, he couldn’t feel any threat as he got closer and leant to examine the black feline. It was strange to be in the presence of this negative shadow and not feeling it wrap around his body to try to shatter it. 

"That poor cat was probably hit by a car but her paw is salvageable" he announced, reaching to take the animal in his arms, not asking for permission. The poor thing meowed miserably and snugged against him, In-Soo offering soft sounds and words in encouragement, not caring for the blood seeping into his scrubs. "I need to operate immediately though."

As she walked steadily with a slight strut behind him, she watched him carefully and assessed the glow that emitted from him. Those in the light always repelled the shadows, but do not realize that it is the shadows that let them shine so brightly.

He slowed down a little, letting her catch up with him. He peeked at her, her unwavering expression had a certain nobility to it. It reminded him a bit of what he had felt when meeting Eros a few weeks earlier. Was she a goddess ? Would she punish him for being disrespectful ?

"No, there’s no charge for strays but a donation is always welcome" he answered as they reached the clinic. He guided her to his office before handing her a patient file, leaving a few traces of blood on the page. "Please, can you fill this ? I need to know the circumstances in which you found the cat. I’ll be in the next room... if you want to join."

She didn’t feel rage or grievance, however. She almost wanted to take him under her wing, and teach him the ways to distinguish true kindness and true evil, without relying on whatever superpower he had that was watered down by his humanity, his mortality. But if whatever happened between Shuhua and Osiris before taught her any lesson, it was to never meddle with the business of demigods unless they ask for it.

{{ This starter is open to any and many a lady or non-binary friend! Come have a relaxed day with Kiki! }}

🌿

  The bright red and white gingham of the blanket she sits on is offset by the soft pink of the basket she’s brought. Kiki sits calm and focused as her hands work to wrap green pliant leaves against the pink dough like lump in her hands. It’s round shape wants to give in to the impressions her fingers could leave behind but she is so quick that it cannot transfer her touch to its surface. The leaf sticks well and she sets the pink blob down on a plate to join the other three she’s made thus far. Reaching into a cool thermal bag she withdraws another lump and another leaf that she works just as quickly on.

  “‘..But I’ve learn to love myself unconditionally, because I am a queen. I’m not the average girl from your video, my worth is not determined by the price of my clothes..’” she sings the tune to herself. An older India. Arie song that she was taught and in turn taught many around her, but most especially, the children that she watches over now when she babysits. It’s a rare day in which she is scheduled off of one job entirely, done early with another and not watching the kiddos of her friends!

  Many might spend a day like that sleeping, or relaxing at the beach, but she chooses to spend it wrapping these little sakura mochi. She had been delighted when she had heard that there was a wagashi and mochi shop in town, only to sigh in defeat when the GPS took her to a building with a glaring ‘For Sale’ sign on it. It was a beautiful place with what seemed to be living quarters behind it’s main building. Determined to have the sweet treat, Kiki had made her own the day before and took wrapping them now in their little leaves.

  She’s setting another down on the plate when the shadow of someone casts itself over her and she looks up blinking. “Oh hey friend! How you been?”

Kiki had asked her for a place where she could find traditional wagashi, and when the shop she once loved to visit happened to be closed down, a guilty Izanami passed over her very own recipe for a lovely Sakura mochi for Kiki to try out. She’d gladly make her some herself, but something told her the lovely lady might want to challenge herself to making her own treat.

@mpxizanami

In-Soo pushed the doors of Stop&Paws and stepped out into the cold but beautiful day, taking a big breath of fresh air. He closed his eyes, enjoying the soft sun on his face. It was nice to leave the clinic, its smell of disinfectant and metal, the artificial lights. He came to care a lot for his colleagues and, of course, his little patients but, sometimes, he needed to step away, to be on his own. Even for only a bit.

He took the way to the Black Forest Bakery, already thinking about the delicious lunch he was going to buy for himself and the pastries he would bring back for the team. He walked slowly, looking at the different shops’ windows on his path, noticing a few items of interest here and there.

As he strolled, he suddenly felt a strange tingling seizing him and he looked around in alert. A woman was walking towards him and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. It wasn’t because of her beauty or even the cat carefully held in her arms, no, but because of the dark, shadowy aura surrounding her.

A cold sweat broke onto his forehead, ran down his spine and he felt his chest constricting, his heart beating fast. He felt like throwing up. Oh please no. No no. Not here, not now he kept repeating in his head, the woman coming closer and closer. As she was about to pass by him, In-Soo finally took action, readying himself to fight. He could feel his powers flow through him, triggered by the dark presence nearby.

Yet the black cat did look very pretty, and her breathing was quick but had strength. She sat with her instead, leaning against the tree and watching as dozens walk by to continue their routines. Who knows? One of them may just find themselves heading to the underworld today, no matter whose realm that may be.

It was when she spotted a figure wearing what looked like scrubs idly walking nearby did a spark go off in her head, thinking it was probably fate that this cat would not bleed to death slowly and in agony beneath this tree. She didn’t know how to hold her properly or to make sure she didn’t add more stress to her broken leg, and so she simply held her under her armpit by her belly and moved forward in brisk steps, blood dripping occasionally onto the green grass.

It wasn’t her style to just hand the creature over to the person, and she figured she would drop her at the door when she got to Stop&Paws. She may have been expecting slightly for the man to stop her in her tracks to ask if he could take a look at the cat, but never would she expect him to shout what began to sound like puzzling accusations at her. Calmly, she turned to watch him, his eyes almost twinkling with a kind of determination and energy that wanted to repel her own.

Carefully, In-Soo walked to her, keeping an eye on the dark halo around her. Surprisingly, he couldn’t feel any threat as he got closer and leant to examine the black feline. It was strange to be in the presence of this negative shadow and not feeling it wrap around his body to try to shatter it. 

"That poor cat was probably hit by a car but her paw is salvageable" he announced, reaching to take the animal in his arms, not asking for permission. The poor thing meowed miserably and snugged against him, In-Soo offering soft sounds and words in encouragement, not caring for the blood seeping into his scrubs. "I need to operate immediately though."

As she walked steadily with a slight strut behind him, she watched him carefully and assessed the glow that emitted from him. Those in the light always repelled the shadows, but do not realize that it is the shadows that let them shine so brightly.

Izanami’s eyes lowered to pick up her snippers, sensing the palpitations in the air that came from Amaterasu. Old habits die hard, and Izanami didn’t know whether she was the one who chased after her brother and ex-husband, or he who chased after her.

Snipping meaninglessly here and there at stray locks that distracted her, she knew that they were both aware of this being the last event on their minds. She simply didn’t expect the sun goddess to come to her for any sort of interaction, if not one that would end with a full-on battle.

"I merely wonder..." She hesitated to ask, watching as Izanami sashayed away from her, the slight height of her vessel doing nothing to appease Amaterasu of just how dangerous she was. The ring that had so easily devastated the sun goddess now sat so idly on her hand after all.

She stepped out of her counter and slowly stepped towards her, heels clicking against the marble floors and head tilted high to watch the taller vessel. “As I said, the stone is mine. I lost it, and I just found it not long ago.” She added a small chuckle at the end, as she pointed this fact out not to clear her own name or to clarify the origins of this stone.

“In the Chinese pantheon, Hou Yi shot down nine of ten suns to stop them from scorching the land,” she began, eyes never leaving hers, hooking Amaterasu’s eyeballs firmly to her own. “Is that why the suns are always so paranoid of getting shot down again?”

@mpxizanami

In-Soo pushed the doors of Stop&Paws and stepped out into the cold but beautiful day, taking a big breath of fresh air. He closed his eyes, enjoying the soft sun on his face. It was nice to leave the clinic, its smell of disinfectant and metal, the artificial lights. He came to care a lot for his colleagues and, of course, his little patients but, sometimes, he needed to step away, to be on his own. Even for only a bit.

He took the way to the Black Forest Bakery, already thinking about the delicious lunch he was going to buy for himself and the pastries he would bring back for the team. He walked slowly, looking at the different shops’ windows on his path, noticing a few items of interest here and there.

As he strolled, he suddenly felt a strange tingling seizing him and he looked around in alert. A woman was walking towards him and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. It wasn’t because of her beauty or even the cat carefully held in her arms, no, but because of the dark, shadowy aura surrounding her.

A cold sweat broke onto his forehead, ran down his spine and he felt his chest constricting, his heart beating fast. He felt like throwing up. Oh please no. No no. Not here, not now he kept repeating in his head, the woman coming closer and closer. As she was about to pass by him, In-Soo finally took action, readying himself to fight. He could feel his powers flow through him, triggered by the dark presence nearby.

Yet the black cat did look very pretty, and her breathing was quick but had strength. She sat with her instead, leaning against the tree and watching as dozens walk by to continue their routines. Who knows? One of them may just find themselves heading to the underworld today, no matter whose realm that may be.

It was when she spotted a figure wearing what looked like scrubs idly walking nearby did a spark go off in her head, thinking it was probably fate that this cat would not bleed to death slowly and in agony beneath this tree. She didn’t know how to hold her properly or to make sure she didn’t add more stress to her broken leg, and so she simply held her under her armpit by her belly and moved forward in brisk steps, blood dripping occasionally onto the green grass.

It wasn’t her style to just hand the creature over to the person, and she figured she would drop her at the door when she got to Stop&Paws. She may have been expecting slightly for the man to stop her in her tracks to ask if he could take a look at the cat, but never would she expect him to shout what began to sound like puzzling accusations at her. Calmly, she turned to watch him, his eyes almost twinkling with a kind of determination and energy that wanted to repel her own.

Izanami’s eyes lowered to pick up her snippers, sensing the palpitations in the air that came from Amaterasu. Old habits die hard, and Izanami didn’t know whether she was the one who chased after her brother and ex-husband, or he who chased after her.

Snipping meaninglessly here and there at stray locks that distracted her, she knew that they were both aware of this being the last event on their minds. She simply didn’t expect the sun goddess to come to her for any sort of interaction, if not one that would end with a full-on battle.

"I..." Amaterasu hesitated, fingers clasped upon the clipboard that had become a lifeline to her with her council work. It seemed utterly ridiculous for Amaterasu to ask advice from a deity that didn't want to have anything to do with her. But the chaos that lingered after the snowstorm had thrown the council into hypervigilance. It seemed only right to Amaterasu to explore every avenue.

"I need a trim." Was what came out of Amaterasu's mouth instead and she hid the grimace that threatened to spill out.

Out of all scenarios, a heavy snowstorm hitting the island right on the morning he came back from the mainland was Seok’s worst nightmare. 

But the blizzard was indeed there, in its flawless white and howling winds, and the snow looked like it would not stop falling until it buried the tallest building in town. When he noticed the warning message from the council on the phone, it had already been too late to drive back out of the island, as his car was just one block away from the Banshee apartments. 

The road was almost blocked by a thick layer of snow, and the violent cold was probably the culprit that kill his car’s engine. Seok cursed under his breath as he turned the key off and on for any responses, all done in vain. As the temperature inside was dropping fast, Seok guessed it was a sign to temporarily abandon the car and seek shelter in the convenience store around the corner. 

After zipping his jacket up to cover half of his face, Seok pushed the door open and darted out into the cutting cold. With the blizzard storming on, visibility was down to just about five feet, making it unexpectedly difficult for him to navigate. The growing layer of snow had covered a half-open sewer manhole, which did not keep someone from falling down into it. And on such a special occasion, Seok had to be that ‘someone’. 

His heart almost jumped out of his open mouth as he let out a yell, loud enough to catch someone’s attention if there was still anyone out to witness. Seok tried to climb out of the hole himself, but a shooting pain from his right ankle informed him that it was probably twisted, and while his two hands were still above the ground, they alone weren’t strong enough to pull his body up, especially in slippery snow. 

Izanami has had enough of the council’s warnings bombarded throughout town over the past few days. With her phone long turned off to avoid receiving such messages, she watched as lights began to flash in her apartment then eventually turn off altogether, and that was when she determined that the storm was at its harshest. Maybe a field trip would be fun.

In the forest, now covered in thick, fluffy snow, deceivingly beautiful and dangerous, and the tree branches frozen and outstretched like wintry monsters, she found her secret haven, binoculars in hand as she watched a swirling storm from afar approaching like a death warning. Who would be caught up in this fiery course of fate this time?

Snow boots firmly pierced in the snow, she eventually made her way downhill, her raven locks blowing in the wind and sending any living organism caught in the path on their way to afterlife. Was she that frightening, that anything that she came across shook in fear of death, or stepped straight into that trap altogether?

A yelp from a hole not far away shook her out of her thoughts, and she almost laughed at how her predictions always came true. She normally wouldn’t go out of her way to alter the path of life and death for anyone, and she almost went on her way past the pit to the convenience store to buy herself a hot cocoa, when she felt an aura so similar to her own; death fighting for life.

❛  i know we only just met but i already feel like i’ve known you my whole life.  ❜ ❛  umm, is this seat taken ?  ❜ ❛  don’t be alarmed now but there’s someone following you. pretend you know me and come with me. i’ll get you somewhere safe.  ❜ ❛  my friends ditched me here and now i could really use a ride home.  ❜ ❛  i don’t think we’ve met yet but you looked like you needed someone to talk to.  ❜ ❛  can you please pretend to be my boyfriend / girlfriend for a moment so my ex will leave me alone ?   ❜ ❛  are you always this straightforward with strangers ?  ❜ ❛  here, i noticed you lost this earlier.  ❜ ❛  i’m sorry, i must’ve mistaken you for somebody else.  ❜ ❛  so, what brings you here today ?  ❜ ❛  hi, my name is [name]. it’s nice meeting you.  ❜ ❛  you’re cute. how about i buy you a drink ?  ❜ ❛  can’t you watch where you are going ?!  ❜ ❛  i just moved into the apartment next to you, so i guess we’re gonna be neighbors now.  ❜ ❛  oh god, you’re [name], aren’t you ?  ❜ ❛  here, let me help you.  ❜ ❛  is there a reasons you’re here on your own ?  ❜ ❛  apparently we’re going to be working on this together now.  ❜ ❛  you look like you could use a hand with that.  ❜ ❛  what do people around here do to have some fun ?  ❜ ❛  looks like this will take a while, huh ?  ❜ ❛  oh god. please tell me you haven’t just heard me talk to myself.  ❜ ❛  excuse me, i think i’m lost.  ❜ ❛  i just wanted to say that i really like your outfit.  ❜ ❛  do you come here often ?  ❜ ❛  do you mind if i join you for a bit ?  ❜ ❛  you looked lonely so i got you a drink.  ❜ ❛  i don’t think we’ve met, i’m [name].  ❜ ❛  what the hell just happened there ?  ❜ ❛  have you seen this anywhere ? i must’ve lost it.  ❜ ❛  can i please use your phone ? i have to call someone to get me out of here.  ❜ ❛  seems like we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together.  ❜ ❛  come with me, and don’t ask any questions. it’s urgent.  ❜ ❛  i heard strange noises coming from your apartment and just wanted to make sure everything is alright.  ❜ ❛  i have a spare ticket, you wanna come in with me ?  ❜ ❛  you don’t know me but will you be my date for tonight ?  ❜ ❛  we’ve got some time to kill so why don’t you tell me a little about yourself ?  ❜ ❛  i don’t usually just walk up to strangers but my friends set me up to it.  ❜ ❛  i think our orders may have gotten mixed up.  ❜ ❛  do i have something on my face or why do you keep looking at me like that ?  ❜