#shibiru

Shibiru: I was only gone for six months...

Mario: Shibi-

Shibiru: Almost clawed my way out of my own husband's territory only to be ruled out to live there for 24 moons...

Mario: Mo-Mother-

Shibiru: Tut, tut, tut! Don't 'mother' me, child! I thought something went wrong with the universe because Haku keeps panicking about the dead being erratic!

Mario: Shi-

Shibiru: Only for me to find out my best friend gave birth to six children and whenever she went labor, the moon was quaking badly in the skies it affected the dead here, too!

Mario: [gulps] We...-

Shibiru: Disgraceful. You could have invited me to become their godmother as soon as I had came back.

Mario: Wait, what-

Shibiru: Come along, child. Bring me to the cave.

Mario: (Time in the Underworld may have or may not have changed her.) Actually... We have seven children now. Miharu is pregnant at this momemt.

Sayuri looked tensely at the approaching shadow of a man. A raven hood was over his head, hiding most of his face. His apparels were concealed by his cloak. He was but a moving shadow across the lively field of grass. 

But Sayuri, a knowledgeable wood nymph, knew immediately who it was. No wonder why it struck fear into her. 

When the shadow approached her, she stammered in terror, “Lord Zaiki...”

The figure did not answer. Instead, he looked down upon the nymph, as if scrutinizing her under his hood. When he realized this wasn’t Shirune nor Shibiru, he mumbled, “Take me to the garden.”

“Which garden?” The nymph inquired cautiously. For sure, she might be frightened but she had a stout heart. 

“The one Shirue-sama is tending.”

Sayuri shook her head in dismay. She answered, “My Lady isn’t here, my lord. Only her daughter, Shibiru-sama. But, unfortunately, you cannot meet or see her under the order and protection of Shirune-sama and her handmaidens, the nymphs, like me.”

Zaiki became disgruntled. He figured this arrangement would take him a day to complete it. Such a simple request, too much legwork-

“I am not here to see Shirune-sama or her daughter. I am here for the herbs Fuko asked me to retrieve.”

Upon hearing the Tatian’s name, a look of recognition and part relief flickered in Sayuri’s face. She knew who Fuko was; she’s a regular goddess who always came by to ask for herbs Shirune propagated in her gardens. Every now and then, she would pop by and even meet Shibiru, but only on certain occasions. 

“Oh... What kind of herbs would Fuko-sama want?”

“The ones for the burns.”

“Alright,” Sayuri promptly answered. She went back into the garden, Zaiki following her trail. It made her turn back and face the stone-cold god. Gathering courage to speak first, she said, “I would appreciate if you calmly stay back.”

Zaiki didn’t respond to that. Sayuri, figuring that she valued her life more, turned her attention to the plants around her, searching for those herbs. Much to her dismay, she couldn’t spot them anywhere. 

“Sayuri? Are you here?”

A feminine voice broke out into the garden as the nymph and god heard the wooden gate open and close. It was soft but it was loud enough for the two to hear. 

Sayuri’s eyes widened and internally panicked. She wasn’t expecting Shibiru to drop by at this garden! Giving Zaiki a once-over, she reassured herself that he won’t move and would stay in place. After all, what business would he have with her mistress’s daughter when she’s already dealing with him?

Sayuri traversed through the path and she met Shibiru halfway across the corner. She panted, “Shibiru-sama! What brings you here?”

“I am here to tend this garden as well? Why? Is there something that needed to be cleaned with? Pruned with?”

Sayuri shook her head and answered, “Oh, no, not that, Shibiru-sama. It’s just that I am searching for an herb that can treat burns caused by magic.”

“Wait, is Fuko here? Can I see her?” Shibiru excitedly inquired. She side-stepped and almost got past through Sayuri when her caretaker held her wrist. 

She was panicking, but she can’t afford to show that to Shibiru. She quickly said, “She looks like she’s in a hurry, my lady. Can you help me look for those herbs instead.”

Shibiru complied and went to the opposite direction, much to Sayuri’s relief. Peeking through the gaps of the trees and vines, she saw that Zaiki hadn’t left his position. It eased her mind but she hoped Shibiru return soon. Before something else happened beyond her control.

Luckily, Shibiru knew the grounds like at the palm of her hand and she returned carrying all sorts of herbs meant for the burns. She exclaimed, “I got them, I got them!”

The youthful cry made the caretaker look at her in delight. Sayuri thankfully received them and told the bud to look for some plants that needed care since she wasn’t able to do it herself. At first, Shibiru asked if she could see Fuko now, but Sayuri told her the goddess can’t stay and have a small chat. She added that she might be itching to go back home to do whatever she needed to be done in her cauldron. 

Shibiru, though slightly dejected, nodded in understanding and walked off. Sayuri rushed back to Zaiki. Even if she’s glad to know he hadn’t move, he literally didn’t move an inch. It made the nymph suspicious. She cautiously walked over the hooded figure and when she held his cloak, dust was emitted and the whole apparel fell to the ground. 

Gasping, the shocked and bewildered nymph dropped the herbs and frantically looked around. Her heart pounded, the worst coming over to her head. She thought, Had he or had he not seen my mistress’s daughter?!

Rika is quite surprised by how much protection Shirune heavily implemented for Shibiru’s safety. It seemed that her ‘protection’ nearly rendered the girl in naiveness about the whole world since the world she only lived in is just in her mother's domain. 

At least Rika could credit Shibiru’s vast knowledge of herbology and botany. But for the most part, Shibiru is quite very much unaware of the happenings beyond the borders that circle the hidden valley of the Fukuoka land. So, it’s no wonder Shirune has asked her to teach her daughter the ways of the world without actually getting out of her domain. 

Rika, at first, found it heavily compromising. But once Shirune gave her reason why, Rika agreed, though not wholeheartedly since she knew her work won’t cut for her. 

The goddess of wisdom entered the valley. She walked on the stony path Shirune instructed her to take as it will lead her straight to her daughter in the garden she usually takes care. Shibiru has accumulated and owned many gardens, but she loved one that is found at the center of the valley. It is her first and the one she looked after the most.

Upon arriving at the garden, Rika is impressed by how much life is found there. The vividness, the brightness, the colorfulness - all blended well. She noticed that the arrangement of the garden is not similar to the way Shirune would organize.

For Shirune, the garden would be organized by which type of flowers is which. There would be a divided group of big flowers and small flowers. And it will be divided even more by contriving them in petal size, petal color, leaf size, leaf color, stem height, stem thickness, etc. In short, Shirune would have a neat and tidy garden. 

But for Shibiru, from her observation, the garden isn’t organized at all. Instead, there would be a mix of bushes and hedges, trees with an assortment of aerial plants thriving around their branches, herbal plants mixed with the flowering plants, fruit trees being winded by vines of all kinds, shorter plants surrounding a taller plant, etc. The garden is a compound of disarrayed splendor and Rika is loving it. 

She found the spontaneous spots in certain groups of plants as “a funny little thing that could have given Shirune a migraine”. 

Walking inside the garden, Rika went for a little search for Shibiru.

“Shibiru? Are you here?”

A rustle is emitted from the western side of the garden and Rika suspected that she might have attracted Shibiru’s attention. 

“I’m here!” 

Yes, Rika suspected as much. She walked over to the source of the sound and found Shibiru hanging upside down from a branch of a tree. 

“Good heavens!” Rika exclaimed, surprised to see the state of Shibiru. “Whatever you are are doing, Shibiru-sama?”

Shibiru grunted as she sat up. She answered, “I am... Tending to the long roots of the hanging plants. They’ve overgrown but they’re all trimmed now. Um, who are you?”

“I am Rika the Athena. Your mother sent me to school you.”

“School me? About what?”

“The world beyond the borders.”

This caught the young goddess's attention and she perked up. With no time at all, Shibiru gracefully got herself down from the tree and approached the goddess.

“Really? You are?”

“Yes. And I am a very busy woman, Shibiru-sama. I am only doing this because your mother promised me an exchange of valuable knowledge about extended herbology and botany regarding the plants she discovered herself.”

Shibiru quipped, “How about I do that in her place? Mother is quite fairly new to the role and she admitted she’s finding some difficulties in handling a number of major conflicts.”

A goddess for fifty years... Well, understandable. Even olden gods who have lived for millennia still find a hard spot, Rika thought. 

“I understand that,” Rika said, smiling at the goddess. “Even those who came before her have difficulties themselves. Erm, aren’t you a goddess, too?”

Shibiru chuckled and answered, “A minor one, I suppose... I am not a full Fujian deity by any means but I am related to one, which is my mother.”

“Well, since we both settled those tiny matters aside, shall I school you now?”

So, for the whole day, Rika taught Shibiru what she basically needed to know about human civilization and, in turn, Shibiru taught Rika about the extended knowledge of herbology and botany, some of which are never known to Shirune herself.

They continued this routine until Shibiru grasped the concepts and aspects of the human life that existed beyond her protected home. And once she is capable of knowing the human ways of the world and how the world goes under the eyes of the Fujian deities, Rika stopped going to the garden and finally let Shibiru graduate. (This lasted for almost a year and a half since Rika has a lot to teach Shibiru.)

After her time of schooling Shibiru, Rika felt a little bit of loneliness seeping into her as she spent the next days inside her library where her undead scholars are working and studying, too. But when she thought this lingering loneliness would only last for a couple of moons, Ichika the Iris delivered her something she never thought she would receive.

It is a package. And the package contained scrolls. Everything written on the scrolls regarded is about the wild flora and fauna life Shibiru has found in the vast valley where she lived and around the valley itself - mountain ranges, hills, plains, brooks, streams, rivers, lakes... 

Shibiru documented all these and Rika could tell some are old - as old as the time when she is taught how to write by Rika herself.

mario, a seven-year-old mortal, accidentally finds himself in the garden of shibiru the persephone.

Shibiru is tending to one of her gardens when she heard distant footsteps from one of the small hedges around the edges of the place. Standing from the ground, she walked to the source of the slight rustle of leaves and found a little boy, no more than the age of eight, cowering. 

Firstly, she looked around her, making sure none of her caretakers are in sight. When she didn’t spot any of them, Shibiru turned to the boy and asked him, “Are you lost?”

The little boy is shell-shocked and didn’t utter a response. Instead, he nodded his head. Shibiru smiled and told him to walk out since it is safe. No one is around to spot a lost boy. 

It took a while to coax him to come out of the hedge but putting a little bit of trust, he followed Shibiru and he’s finally out in the sun. 

When he stepped out of his little hiding spot, he saw a multitude of flora before him. He is awestruck and his eyes couldn’t concentrate on one flower. They are basically bouncing from one color to another, from one shape to another, from the least to the greatest, from the thinnest to the thickest, from the most vivid to the brightest. 

Shibiru saw how his eyes sparkled and silently giggled behind her hand. Facing the child, she knelt down to his height and looked at him straight. She asked the mortal, “What’s your name?”

He answered, “Mario.”

Shibiru smiled and pinched his chubby cheek. She commented, “Mario? That’s awfully like a foreign name.”

Mario giggled and answered, “My momma likes it, though”

“And I happen to like it, too.”

Letting his eyes roam excitedly around her vast garden, Mario shyly asked the young goddess, “M-May we... Um...”

Taking his dainty hand in hers, Shibiru complied and she took the youngster for a tour. She pointed and taught Mario the flowers humans commonly see. Mario is eager to know the secrets that are being held within the common blossoms. Even though he is still basically a child, he has shown interest in the art of flowers.

On the way, Mario thought it is okay to pick and gather some flowers. So, by the time the small tour ended, he has his arms full of flora. Shibiru didn’t show disdain. In fact, she event helped picked out the freshest, biggest, and most vivid flowers they could find. 

“How do they smell, dear?”

“Like flowers.”

Shibiru chuckled and said, “Then it is as it should be.”

By now, they are walking back to where Mario has come from because the tour is over. 

“What do you dream to be when you grow up, Mario?”

“I want to be... To be a merchant! So that I can help my family!”

“A merchant? What’s that?”

Mario stopped and looked at Shibiru, eyes wide with disbelief. He asked cautiously, “You never... You have never met a merchant before?” Shibiru shook her head. “How about saw?” Shibiru, once again, shook her head. 

“I’m sorry, dear, but if I have to tell the truth, I am confined in this forest so deep. I am not a prisoner, no, not at all. But let’s say I am never to go beyond the borders my guardians had set. For... For my safety.”

Bless Mario’s innocence and acceptance. He took the reasoning in such an innocent stride and explained to Shibiru what a merchant is. Gripping the understanding of such a person, Shibiru came about and finally said, “Well, I think you’d make a fine merchant someday. But don’t you think life would be simpler if you work around... Nature?” 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, money, gold coins, silver coins, bronze coins - they can all be gone in a flash. You implied they’re like basic needs. But what you really and actually need is all around you. Nature provides what you really require to live. All you have to do is observe. And perceive.”

Mario’s little mouth formed a small ‘O’. He asked, “Then what do I really need? What shall I become?”

Shibiru pointed at his arms and said, “Your answer is right over there. In your hands. The one you can easily reach.”

“A... A gardener?”

“Well, what else would it be?” Shibiru smiled. “It’s all up to you, dear. But remember, nature is wealthier than wealth itself.”

Mario looked at all the flowers he held in his hands. Most are common flowers. A few are rare and uncommon. They seemed to attract him more than coins. They have his attention more than merchant goods. 

Maybe..., Mario thought. 

“Can you take me home?” 

“Alas, I cannot. But I can show you the way out.”

That night, the little boy can’t sleep. The flowers he gathered are all in the vase his mother gave him. It is a bit cracked around the edges, but clay is still strong and water is inside, so that’s what really matters to him now. He’s staring at them, pondering about what the goddess has said. He is intrigued by her statement and though he is barely old enough to understand, he got the gist of what she said. 

For her, maybe... He’ll try.

But it isn’t before long when Mario is lulled heavily by sleepiness. His thoughts drifted away as soon as slumber hailed him over. 

shibiru never really met all of the olympians before her time as zaiki’s bride & wife.

the only olympians she ever had contacted with are her mother, shirune the demeter, kinako the artemis, rika the athena, and aoi the poseidon. 

for minor gods and goddesses, she is known to miharu the selene, taiyu the helios, asu the eos, and yoru the erebos. 

shibiru the persephone, ten years old, gets a little fieldtrip from aoi the poseidon (who nearly got her lost at sea).

With Shirune gone for a while, Aoi the Poseidon took her daughter, Shibiru the Persephone out to the sea. Mentally, he promised himself that they won’t be out long in the sea. That way, nobody would know where he and Shibiru had gone off to. 

It isn’t before long trouble stirred and Aoi has a moment of panic. 

Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, I lost Shibiru! Oh, gods, she’s going to kill me!, Aoi mentally panicked, looking around the sea the surrounded him. Apparently, he has taken Shibiru literally out to see and let her ride on a piece of wood as he ventured to the sea on the surface level. 

When he realized there is a child, he should be looking out for, Shibiru is gone and nowhere near plain sight. 

Aoi is about to resort to calling the dolphins for help when he heard... Distinctive blue whale calls.

“She... Is... Here... Swimming... Please... Hurry...“ the call went as it reached the god of the sea. 

Not wasting time, Aoi surged through the waters, to the direction where the whall call has come from. True to their word, the sea god did found her niece swimming. He observed she has trouble paddling her feet, but her arm movements are accurate and sharp. When Aoi retrieved her, Shibiru spluttered out seawater.

“Gods, Shibiru, don’t do that again!” Aoi said worriedly, patting the child by the back. 

Shibiru cared less about what Aoi said and she told him, “I saw many beautiful things down there! Rainbow fishes, colorful sand, shells... Gardens! I saw beautiful sea gardens!”

Aoi sighed and nearly pinched his nose. He then realized what the nymphs, Shirune, and Miharu meant that Shibiru can be a bit handful and can’t really listen to any words of advice seriously. Nonetheless, he still felt gratified of the compliment Shibiru gave to the reefs.

Carrying Shibiru in his arms, Aoi said, “Those are the reefs, Shibiru. They are the homes of the rainbow fishes you saw. It’s where they thrive. I made sure they are cleaned and maintained because I care a lot about my domain. And because I care, I love everything in it.”

Shibiru drunk up his words and nodded in understanding. They remained in comfortable silence for a moment. Aoi felt that higher ground is near, so surged quicker.  

Shibiru looked up to him and said, “Can I visit the sea again?”

Aoi chuckled but shook his head after. He sadly said, “I’m afraid not. I’m only doing this because Seiko the Glaucus dared me to.”

“Oh, I see.”

“But it’s best if no one knew about this little trip. This is just between you and me, alright?”

where shibiru the persephone, four years old, stumbles into miharu the selene’s cave, high in the sendai mountain.  

Miharu drove her carriage to the opening of her home; a cave with a hole in the ceiling so that moonlight can cascade down in her resting place. Steering her flock of flying sheep, Miharu parked her carriage at the corner of the cave and freed the sheep from the harnesses. Yoru followed up after Miharu’s arrival. He seemed to be smiling from ear to ear and it made his relative wonder why.

“Brother, why are you smiling?” Miharu asked.

Yoru, who has his hands hidden around his back, grinned only at her and prompted, “Can you guess?”

Miharu answered, “Another cloud baby?”

Yoru laughed but shook his head. He answered, “No. It isn’t a cloud baby this time. Though, I saw a nice form of it earlier. But, no. Guess again.”

Miharu said, “Star dust?”

Yoru, once again, chortled and told her, “Gods, no. Taiyu is a bit allergic to the dust.”

“Then what?”

Yoru brought his hands to the front... Revealing a very fascinated, starry-eyed Fujian child, Shibiru. 

“Yoru...”

“She followed us, sister. More likely, she followed you.”

Miharu took Shibiru from Yoru’s arms and looked at her in disbelief. Shibiru, for a four-year-old, found her expression more amusing than worrying. She took advantage of her face and started to pull different expressions with her hands. Miharu sputtered and tried to pry her hands away from her face.

“Shibiru, stop-! Hey, hey! My face is not to be toyed with!” 

Yoru could only chuckle and comment, “She’s very taken with you. I wonder why, though.”

Shibiru settled down after a few moments. She stopped playing with Miharu’s face since she found a new thing to play with: Miharu’s long and luscious locks. She draped them across her own hair since her own hair is shorter compared to Miharu’s tresses. 

Miharu scoffed and tried to pry her grubby hands once more from her hair. The moon goddess sternly said, “Stop it, Shibiru.”

Be it her obedient nature or she’s just plain attentive, Shibiru also stopped playing with her hair and lets it go, letting it cascade down to Miharu’s back. Having no means to play with, Shibiru behaved. And decided to stare.

Shibiru is awestruck by how round and expressive Miharu’s eyes are.

She seemed to behave as she kept staring deeply into the eyes of the moon goddess. Seldom does Miharu’s eyes held any emotions. She is neither emotional or emotionless (but she has the capacity to feel, nonetheless). Often, her emotions are controlled and her feelings suppressed so she’s not withheld by something so strong while she’s working or while she’s dealing with godly matters. 

Head over heart in all things (with a few exceptions). 

What is the child searching for?, Miharu thought, staring back at the child.

Shibiru looked so spacey and dazed that she comfortably leaned down on the shoulder of Miharu while her gaze is still focused on her. While her eyes may have no emotion, to Shibiru, she can see the moon moving across her eyes, floating from one place to another. She can see how the stars circle the moon and dance around it, forming a garland of shining flowers around a gleaming pearl. 

Miharu appeared shocked herself as she witnessed how Shibiru is gaping at her in wonder. No later than seven minutes, Shibiru started to drift her eyes closing as sleep began to lull her in. Before they knew it, the child is already peacefully slumbering in the arms of the moon goddess.

Yoru retrieved his hood from the branch where it is hanging. He wore it over his shoulders and said, “You should express your feelings more. It might make the moon illuminate brighter. Not for the whole world, but maybe for Shibiru who is a world herself.”