#mphecate;

Susanoo faked a scowl, looking up from the bourbon glass in his hand to meet the goddess' eyes. The amber-coloured liquor had just begun to ease its twirl, dazzled in the little hand trick of the god.

"What made you think I am heartless, dear Hecate?"

He propped an elbow on the bar counter's surface, wanting to keep a serious face, but oh lord, Susanoo had never been good at staying serious for long. Even when just a few minutes before the goddess' comment, he had just made a heartfelt confession about how he missed his estranged wife sometimes.

"I give credit for your bravery to ask me that."

Moonlight outside the window unveiled the smirk on the god's face, adding to it a thin coat of insidiousness. His voice, low as the night and velvety as the duvet they were lying under, inched closer to her ears, as intimately as two secret, unbound lovers could be.

"That's true, and would effectively do so with a little bit strategy."

Alice said while carefully re-arrange her white chess pieces on the chessboard, setting up a new game. It was a nice surprise to find some public chessboards in the central park, and even better to have Hecate as a willing partner for the game.

"Will saving myself count as well?"

He looked up at the goddess and offered her a simple smile, before looking back down on the sketch he was perfecting. It wasn't usual for him to talk while working on art, but he could not expect to be the only one in this park, and Hecate seemed to be a chatty goddess who knew how to hold an interesting conversation.

On the deserted beach on a full moon night, Susanoo was playing his little game with thunder, having fun in their typically bombastic, annoying way. Knowing the deities on this island and basically everywhere else they might bless with their presence, it was only a matter of time until someone started dishing out complaints.

Dozing off on the bench in the park? It was really unlike Lio, but that was what exactly had happened. From the earbuds, the soft male voice was still reading, the storyline had got to the part that in order to comprehend, Lio realized he had to go back to the beginning of the previous chapter.

His disoriented gaze finally got its alert glint back on once he registered the owner of the hand on his cheek. She looked stunning, that was obvious, yet her features were unfamiliar. Or at least somewhat unfamiliar. It could be the vibe that brought hints of acquaintance, but Lio couldn't get himself to remember if he had ever learned her name.

"My humble two cents on that is, normalcy isn't meant to be protected nor enjoyed, professor."

Lio looked up at the goddess from the open page lying on his lap, a smile blossomed on his stoic face, soft enough to be deemed friendly, yet not too soft to possibly be misunderstood. Of course he heard about her, the divine mother of the three sisters of HEXED that he had always been a fan of. He also got a chance to befriend, or sometimes more like a frenemy of Cassandra while maintaining a civilized acquaintanceship with Claire and Charlotte. So of course, he knew about Hecate, and he found it interesting to get into such a conversation with the goddess.