#kea baker

Brendan, Gene, and my oc Kea for the gods au!

Hymn to Lord Zane of the stars, Lady Nana of the rising sun, King Gene of the Underworld, and Queen Kea of the Dual Planes.

Many long years ago, long before any living mortal could remember, there once was a foolish king who ruled over a desolate kingdom. Arrogant, prideful, and selfish, this king ruled over his kingdom with an iron fist and an empty mind. His people suffered under the tremendous taxes put upon them. Their land was sick and what little food there was the greedy king swallowed up to feast on in his palace with his equally greedy friends. And any good thing within the kingdom was taken to be given to the king far away in his splendorous palace.

But despite the terribleness of King Damien, he was not ignorant - in fact he was quite the opposite. Although he was quick to anger and often rash in his decisions as monarch, he was not unobservant to the other royals around him. For it seemed to King Damian that every king in the land had wed himself to a maiden more fair than the last. Envy filled the foolish king's heart with each passing wedding for Damian had no queen to confide with. And when he tried to turn to the women of his kingdom, he saw none for whom he could take for a wife. For King Damian did not want a queen marked by her intelligence or her wit. No, King Damian wanted to have only the most beautiful queen. In fact he wanted to have the most beautiful queen in all the realms mortal and immortal. He would not settle for less. And he was not interested in waiting for long for such a woman to appear.

After many weeks of stewing in his own bitterness and envy, one of King Damian's many servants approached the angered king. But this was no ordinary servant - this was Michi, the Mistress of Discord - who had been lured to king's envy and so disguised herself to trick King Damian. With a cunning plan and coy grin, she approached the king upon his throne.

"My benevolent king," the disguised Michi began, bowing so low to the floor her forehead touched the marble floor, "I see you are troubled, but I may have a remedy for your troubles! I have heard of a meadow not far from here where a woman bathed in the splendor of the dawn roams each and every morning. My sister, who has visited this meadow many times has seen her for herself! Perhaps it is this woman who may be beautiful enough to be your queen!"

Hearing this, the king became elated at this news. So, King Damian took his finest horse, his enchanted golden lasso - which he'd stolen from Laurance of the Winds - and set off towards the meadow which the servant spoke of. It was a moonless night shrouded with a dark canopy of clouds. Not a single star peaked through the dark cover. Although this made it difficult to see, the desperate king pressed on.

Finally, he came across the meadow the servant had spoken of. And while waiting in the tall grasses, he spotted the woman he'd been told of. Surrounded by her golden butterflies, the goddess radiated the beauty of the dawn itself. Bathed in pinks, blues, and oranges, the meif'wa peacefully walked through the meadow towards her friend - another meif'wa and another goddess - who shone with the freshness of blooming flowers. And for a moment in time, King Damian was frozen in awe of the goddesses' beauty. For they both were indeed the most beautiful women he'd ever laid eyes on! Mounting his horse, King Damian rushed forward, and captured the goddesses in his golden lasso. The butterflies which had surrounded the first goddess scattered as they had been startled by the attack. Tying the lasso tight, Nana and Kea were unable to escape and a tie around their mouths gagged them into silence. The nymphs and mortals of the field could not hear their cries for help. Atop King Damian's horse, the goddesses were stolen away to the king's palace.

Nana's butterflies remained in the meadow, unsure where the king had taken their goddess.

As it just so happened, Travis god of festivals and winter came through this meadow, accompanied by his followers. And as he passed through, the horned god noticed the golden butterflies in the meadow. And when he did not see the goddess they belonged to, he began to worry. Momentarily halting the festivities, Travis asked his followers to search the meadow and the forest around it for the missing goddess. And when they could not find her, Travis began to worry. Leaving his followers in the care of some nearby water nymphs, he set off to see if anyone knew of the goddess's whereabouts. And when no god above or below could answer where Nana had gone, the other gods also began to worry.

Without the dawn goddess, the sun could not rise, and without Kea, the greenery of the earth could not begin anew - so the world was plunged into an eternal night and an eternal winter. When Zane - the god of the stars and prophecy - heard his wife had vanished without a trace, he fell into a deep sadness. And his work was left unattended which threw the mortal realm into further chaos. No one aged, no one was born, no one died. The mortals began to panic, fearful they'd angered the gods.

Every creature which tread the earth, swam in the sea, and flew over the sky was commanded to find the missing goddess.

When Lady Aphmau, the eldest and Queen of the gods, saw that her beloved humans had fallen into despair, she paid a visit to the god of prophecy.

"Zane!" the creation goddess exclaimed with great worry when she found the weary god in his palace, "Why have you done this? You have burdened my humans with no fates and no destinies! They cannot continue their lives without your work! Why have you stopped tending to your loom?"

The god of ravens sat on the floor, cradling his beloved wife's obi. "Leave me," he croaked out solemnly. To no one in particular, he wept, "Why must I be a god with the heart of a mortal man? What have I done to deserve this torment?"

Seeing her friend's grief, Aphmau invited him to come with her. Travis had announced he would host a small feast to help cheer up the worried and mournful gods while they searched for their missing friend. Zane agreed and went along with Aphmau to this festival. On their way to the party, the pair happened across King Gene, who had fallen into an equally deep grief for the loss of his beloved wife and queen. Aphmau too invited the saddened king to the celebrations and he agreed to come. As the three gods journeyed to the small festival, they happened across a small pond where they found Michi who had corralled some water nymphs into hearing her brag about herself.

"I must be the greatest goddess of them all!" Michi proclaimed pridefully to the party of miserable nymphs, "For I was able to trick a mortal man into stealing a goddess for his wife! And not just one goddess, but two! What a fool he is and how clever am I! This must make me the most clever goddess in all the realms!"

Hearing this, Zane made himself known and appeared behind the prideful goddess.

"Who was the mortal man who has stolen the goddess of the dawn and the goddess off the spring?" Zane asked Michi, his inky black wings spread out wide on either side of him. His piercing eyes - like a pair of stars amongst the night sky - bore into the goddesses' terrified face.

"Oh lord Zane Keeper of Stars!" Michi cried, feigning shame as she fell to her knees. Although the terror she felt at the god's sudden appearance was very real. "For it was King Damian who has taken her! What a terrible fate it is that has befallen the goddess of love!" Michi wept her crocodile tears into the wilted grass beneath her to seek pity from the god of fate. But Zane was not so gullible or quick to forgive.

In his fury, the lord of prophecy roared, "You have tricked a foolish king into stealing my wife as his bride! You are the reason the mortals suffer through a harsh winter without the sun, and why I toil without the presence of my wife! As penance for your actions, you are to be banished to the mortal plane for one hundred years! Your power shall be stripped of you, and you shall toil upon the earth as a mortal being!"

In great terror, Michi fled from the god, but her fate was inevitable. As she ran, she grew tired and lethargic. Each step melted away her immortality and so she became mortal. As the god of stars had commanded, it was only after one hundred years was she allowed to have her powers restored and she could leave the mortal plane.

But the Keeper of Stars was not yet done. On swift wings he flew to the palace of King Damien while Aphmau went to tell the other gods of what she'd learned. Taking on a mortal disguise, Zane and Gene entered the king's home. There they found their wives: Nana and Kea. They sat beside Damien on his throne, still tied down by the golden lasso. King Damien was growing impatient because the wedding festivities had not ceased.

"I'm afraid we cannot go to your chambers just yet," Nana explained with a feigning smile, "For as you know, a new day has yet to start! And by mortal law a wedding's festivities must last until the sun rises. Only then will we consummate the marriage."

Bound to the law, Damien grumbled and sulked miserably on his throne.

Upon hearing Nana's clever trick, Zane and Gene entered the palace disguised in dark cloaks. The other guests grew perturbed by his presence, not aware that before them was the Keeper of Stars. Upon seeing the haggard stranger amongst his wedding party, King Damien angrily stood from his throne and demanded that the stranger reveal himself.

"Who are you who has entered my palace without my permission? Reveal yourself to me peasant strangers!"

The gods feigned innocence. Zane explained, "Oh but you are mistaken, your majesty. For we are no stranger. I have come from very far away to bring you a gift greater than anything you have received before to congratulate you on your marriage!"

The king was confused. For he was certain he had not miscounted any of his wedding guests. But too intrigued by the mysterious gift, Damian smiled. "Then tell me oh strangers from a far land," Damien said, "What is this gift that is greater than any I have received before?"

In that moment, the disguised gods revealed themselves for all to see. A vicious darkness consumed the wedding hall, and blew out all of the torches in the castle. The light of the full moon crowned the god of stars in a white glowing halo as he approached the throne angrily.

"An eternal punishment in the deepest pits of the underworld," Zane explained with an unnaturally calm fury. Using both of his powers, the god of stars cursed the mortal king to the Underworld and stripped him of his life where he stood. In that instant, the floor ripped open and Damien's soul fell down into the Underworld. He was eternally cursed to an afterlife of perpetual darkness. For all eternity, Damian was forced to chase images of a golden butterfly and glowing pink flower which he always swore he saw out of the corner of his eye. Beneath his feet, sharp rocks ripped into his bare feet with each desperate chase he gave after the two lights.

"I said it's fine, Kea; I insist," Gene said calmly as he continued walking over the dark gray wet sand. "We'll get you back to the house, you can rest on the couch, and we can ask Lucinda for a quick healing potion."

Kea gently swayed slightly with each of Gene's confident strides. Her arms cling to his shoulders around his neck, while his hands held her up to keep her on his back. She did her best to keep her throbbing ankle steady. At least it was bandaged, and had some stability. Not thirty minutes prior, she'd stupidly tried to show off - to Gene of course - while playing volleyball with the pack. After missing the ball completely, she'd landed wrong, hit the sand face first, and ended up with a twisted ankle. She sighed tiredly, and watched the gentle foam of the waves lap back and forth as the wet sand, and Gene's sandals. Her face was the same shade as Kiki's hair as the fresh embarrassing memory ran laps through her mind.

The little hints of the stubble along Gene's throat tickled the skin on her forearms. She tried to focus on the feeling of his partly unshaven neck while his scent consumed her senses. Cinnamon, a rich bourbon, brandy, and the lingering sourness of cigarretes; that was Gene's scent. And by Irene, it, and the salty taste of the sea were the only things on her tongue and in her nose.

She nuzzled her nose into his hair, and let his soft dark blue curls tickle her pales lashes and freckled cheeks. His strong, calloused hands were so warm against her thighs. The meif'wa felt her cheeks warm quickly as she realized how close his hands were to her butt. Irene, Gene's hands on her thighs... and all she could think about was how nice they felt. She briefly wondered what his hands would feel like in other places. Her neck, her shoulders, her hair... Or what their hands would feel like intertwined together. Or maybe instead of his hands, what about his lips? What would they feel like against the palm of her hand. Or maybe her lips...

Kea swallowed hard as she quickly tried to shoo such indecent thoughts away. No, Gene was a friend... nothing more.

"You're awfully quiet." Gene's calm voice pulled her out of her terribly romantic ideas.

"Oh... am I?" Kea stammered quickly. Irene, how long had she been daydreaming?

A deep laugh rumbled from Gene's chest. Kea felt is reverberate through her chest, and her heart. Her thundering heart skipped a beat as his laugh faded out.

"Yeah, just a little. You're always so chatty. Got something on your mind?" He asked with a lilt in his voice.

"Oh! I'm just, kinda preoccupied with uh.. my ankle." Kea lied. I mean, it was a half-lie. Or a half-truth. Maybe that sounded less bad. Her ankle did hurt, as it ached with even the most gentle of movement. But she'd never tell him the whole truth. 'Hey Gene don't mind me I was quiet because I was having really embarrassing thoughts about kissing you!'

Because that wouldn't be super weird at all Kea, the meif'wa reprimanded herself.

"I'd believe it, you took a pretty bad tumble. You sure your head is okay too?" Gene asked, peering back at her.

A soft breathy laugh escaped Kea's lips. "Yes I'm fine. I already told you, I hit soft sand, the worst thing I got from that was probably an un-Irene-ly amount of sand in my fur."

"Oh maybe I could help you wash that out!" Gene offered with a smile.

A bright and very hot flush bloomed over Kea's cheeks. And her hands suddenly felt sweatier than before. She prayed to whichever of the Divine that was listening Gene would think it was just the summer sun making her sweat.

"Oh n-no! That isn't- You don't- I I'm perfectly capable of washing my hair myself!" Kea squeaked. Oh Irene no no no no NO seeing him like THAT was the LAST thing she needed. Or Irene forbid him seeing her without clothes (which was admittedly rich coming from the girl currently wearing a bathing suit).

Gene laughed again, and said something Kea didn't understand. Her stomach flipped as he chuckled something in Spanish under his breath. Why did her heart and stomach have to flutter everytime he spoke Spanish?

"I meant you'd sit in a chair and I'd have a bowl of soap and water on a table behind you." Gene explained, half turning his head to glance back at her, a Cheshire grin tugging at his lips. "What were you thinking of?"

Kea's pale brows furrowed, and her ears flattened against her hair. The corners of her mouth turned down, and her opaline eyes darted away as she tried to ignore how dry her mouth went and how uncomfortably hot her face and neck were.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Aw c'mon gatito, what were you thinking about?" Gene purred, a devilish grin on his pierced lips.

Kea's head fell into his hair. "Asshole." she muttered under her breath.

Gene barked out a loud, hearty laugh. Kea quickly grabbed back onto his as his shaking shoulders almost knocked her off his back.

"Hm, I know you don't mean that corazón."

Corazón.

Kea wasn't quite sure what it meant, although she was almost certain it was another stupid nickname he used to tease her - like gatito; little cat. She'd managed to bribe Dante with free icecream for a week if he told her what it meant. Unfortunately, the cerulean haired duo of brothers seemed absolutely Nether-bent on making sure she couldn't understand what they were saying to her.

Although, I could just look it up myself. I should probably learn some Spanish insults to get back at Gene and Dante, Kea briefly thought.

"Maybe I do." Kea retorted with a pout.

Gene only laughed in response. A comfortable silence fell between the pair as Gene trekked over sand and seashells to reach the beach house. The hissing of the gentle ocean waves, and the shrill cry of the gulls flying high in the sky lulled Kea into a comfortable trance. She rested her chin on his shoulder, as her eyes began to droop. Children laughing somewhere lulled Kea back to her childhood, and the memories of visiting the beach when she was young.

Ever since she was a kid, Kea had loved the beach. She loved absolutely everything about it. The cool animals, the soft sand, the salty waves that churned and played with her as she swam, and of course, going out to catch ghost crabs with her big brothers and her dad. Of course, when her younger siblings were old enough, they'd also joined in on the tradition of catching the little white crustaceans in big sandcastle building buckets before letting them go as their bedtime inched closer. She remembered how most of the other meif'wa children at the beach stayed clear of the ocean while Kea had been the first to race her brothers and sisters into the salty water to play. Looking back, Kea figured it was probably because she was raised by lu'pine parents, who got her accustomed to water from a young age.

Kea's cheeks turned up as she smiled at the sweet memories of her family vacations.

"We're here."

Kea's eyes gently peeled opened. She hummed softly as she looked around. She quickly squinted as the harsher evening sunset poured golden light into the beach house's living room. The soft and familiar fabric of the white couch rubbed against her back and arms. She must've fallen asleep while Gene was carrying her. Kea prayed she hadn't snored.

"Here, I managed to hassle a healing spell out of Zane - Lucinda wasn't here so he was my best option." Gene explained as he showed Kea the piece of paper. Intricate circles and sigils were scribbled into the off-white parchment in a neat and orderly manner.

"Oh right, I keep forgetting you know magic." Kea mumbled as she rubbed the sleep out of her pale lashes.

"Yeah, not much though, I'm still learning. I still don't have any runes or sigils memorized." Gene rambled as he looked over the spell.

"Still, it's cool. I wish I knew magic. I didn't get lucky with my genetics though." Kea laughed.

"I dunno if it's 'genetic luck' that I'm a quarter witch." Gene replied with a small chuckle in his throat. He set the paper down on the coffee table, kneeled down, and gently began to undo the bandaging around Kea's ankle. With one hand, he carefully lifted her ankle, and with the other, he began unwinding the long strip of cloth.

"Still, it's cool. I wonder if maybe I'm part witch somewhere. Although it's probably unlikely. I don't know much about my biological family. Although, after meeting my mother... That's probably for the best." Kea's smiled turned into a cringing scowl.

"How did that go by the way? That uh.. meet up with your bio mom?" Gene asked. His deep cerulean eyes never left the bandages or his moving hand.

"It went... okay?" Kea shrugged, her voice following in pitch with her shoulders. "She was... I dunno. I mean I know she's the woman who gave birth to me and all, but she was just... weird? She drank a lot. Like, an unholy amount. I was worried the restaurant staff would be forced to cut her off. And she complained about her recent bum boyfriend, and how he'd gotten himself thrown in jail. But she also was kinda.. nice? Like she'd tell me stories about her family, about their memories. Although... a lot of those family members are apparently either in jail, dead, or they stopped talking to relatives."

Gene whistled. "I wonder why."

Kea laughed awkwardly. "Yeah... I don't blame them."

"Have you found anything about your bio dad?" He reached for the paper, and placed it over Kea's ankle. He whispered something in another language Kea didn't understand, but she knew it wasn't Spanish. The palm of Gene's hand began to softly glow, and the paper quickly burned away into a few soft bright lights. The lights congealed over her ankle, wrapping around it in a similar pattern to the bandages that had once been there.

"No. And Marissa wasn't helpful either."

"Marissa?"

Kea sat up slightly. "Oh! That's her name; my bio mom."

Gene mouthed an "Ah" as he continued to manipulate the spell until it covered Kea's entire foot and ankle.

"Yeah she uh... told me in uncomfortable detail about the night of my conception. She apparently slept with... at least four different guys that night, so it's anyone's guess." Kea sat back into the couch with her hands resting over her stomach.

"I guess the whole thing made me more appreciative of my mom and dad..." Kea's voice fell away as her mind quickly began to think about her relatives.

"How so?" Gene asked, quickly cutting off Kea's wandering mind. Gene rested his hand over Kea's ankle as his thick pierced brows furrowed in concentration.

"It made be appreciate the life they gave me. The love they've shown me, and even their mistakes. I'm starting to think they're nothing compared to Marissa's." Kea was quiet for a moment, her opaline eyes watching Gene work to heal her ankle. She knew enough about healing spells and potions from Lucinda after she'd watched her heal a small sprain Garroth had given himself while trying to hang something up on a wall. Healing had to be done slowly so as to avoid a sudden rush of pain. Healing could in theory be done quickly, but it would often cause severe pain for the injured person.

Kea blushed slightly as she realized Gene was being careful to not work the spell in too quickly, so as to avoid discomfort. It was a sweet gesture, even if it wasn't super obvious.

"Is it weird I sometimes wonder what I'd be like if my bio mom had kept me?" Kea blurted out.

Gene, never looking up, said, "Nah. I don't think it's weird. I mean, I'd probably think the same thing. What I'd be like, who I'd be friends with, where I'd be in life. That kind of thing."

Kea chuckled. "Oh, okay. Maybe I just overthink too much..."

Gene laughed softly. His hand began to move over her ankle, gently guiding the mass of light over her skin, to ensure the spell covered every injured part of her ankle. "I don't think so. I like it actually."

Kea cocked one of her brows. "You like that I overthink?"

Gene's blue eyes widened, and he almost fumbled with her ankle. "I- I meant I like how imaginative you are. You're always trying to come up with different things, and I think it's a good skill to have. Like cheering people up, or when helping people, you always have these unique and personal ideas. It's... it's nice."

Kea didn't miss how Gene's deep voice softened as he continued to compliment her. It was an odd thing about to compliment, but Kea appreciated the sentimentality nonetheless.

"Thank you," she hummed. Her ears fell back as their gazes met.

Gene quickly looked away, and finished the spell. He retracted his hand, and the light on Kea's skin faded. He cleared his throat and stood up. Before Kea could get up, he put a hand up.

"Stay on the couch for a few minutes, your ankle might need a little bit to let the spell sink in." he explained gently.

Kea nodded, and smiled. "Alright."

Gene's relaxed smile tightened, and he stood up taller. He grinned a bit nervously before he glanced towards the direction of the kitchen. "Here, let me get you something to eat. Do y'all have popsicles in the freezer? I'll go get you one."

"I think we do. But I think they're Zane's..." Kea explained with a lopsided smile.

"Even better!" Gene exclaimed, clapping his hands together. He quickly zipped around the couch, and up the steps and into the kitchen while Kea laughed.

In his brief absence, Kea smiled softly. He glanced down at her foot, and flexed her toes to check how her ankle felt. She swore she could still feel Gene's fingertips lingering on her skin, and the thought made her blush softly.