Fateful Gathering

	ST In short order, the survivors are all gathered: Moe summoned urgently from Dis, drunk, red-cheeked, and having to hastily tidy herself up, Angela yanked almost kicking and screaming from her work, Lisa roused carefully so as not to wake the boys, and so on. They all gather together, cramped in a room. Sasha is practically vibrating with excitement as he waits for everyone to get there, unable to stand still. There’s a dull, hazy murmur among the gathered group. Moe crosses her arms and leans against a wall, rolling her eyes. “I swear to the gods, if this is because another person ended up getting pregnant, I will quit everything forever.”
	Dovile “It’s me.” Dovile says drily, twitching for ciggarrettes despite the fact that they are in-doors.
	Sanura Sanura walked in just in time to catch Moe and Dovile’s exchange.. “Is it mine?” she questions with a grin as she walks over to Dovile and breaks the no touching rule, arm around her shoulders.
	Dovile Dovile hands Sanura a cig and turns her attention to her brother.
	Sanura Sanura blinks and then gives a faint giggle. “Cigars eh, I guess it is” She tucks the smoke behind her ear and holds onto it to give to a friend that might be hard up later.
	ST Moe throws her hands up in exasperation. “Ugh. I told you guys to be careful, didn’t I?” She scoffs and crosses her arms again. “Whatever. You’d better not name it after me.” Lena simply stares, completely unused to conversations like this. Sasha looks around, his warm hands pressed together, waiting for things to settle down before he makes his announcement — apparently he’s too distracted to partake of the joking.
	Sanura Sanura smirks softly and takes a seat near Moe whispering, “you’re next” then louder “So what’s so important?”
	Dovile “Okay, shut up, sit down.” Dovile says, as people take longer then thrity seconds to do so on their own. Her normal stoic patience has deserted her.
	Sanura Sanura sits up straight and smiles as she folds her hands on her lap. “Yes ma’am”
	ST He opens up, his mouth, his motions, and his expression. Then he stops, not quite certain where to begin. He looks over to Lena. She pales and shrinks, hiding behind her hair. Then he grimaces a little, hesitates, and sends a look to Dovile.
	Sanura Sanura frowns slightly as she notices the girls unease. “Ok.. really guys.. what’s going on?”
	ST (( By the way, Sasha’s dressed in this sans hat, coins, and glorious mustache.His vest is teal blue instead of red. He likes to dress nice for family, it seems. )) (( Oh, and he’s not wearing a tie. ))
	ST Sasha opens his mouth again, a grin growing across his face. “We found them!” He pauses expectantly, then realizes that nobody’s on the same page as him. “Ah, the gods, I mean.”
	Sanura Sanura nods .. smiling faintly at first, glad he’d found.. someone? She the gasps and her jaw drops a moment as she rises to her feet. “Where? How.. Where are they now? Did you find them all?”
	ST There’s a similar reaction from the rest of the survivors gathered there. Moe quickly uncrosses her arms and pushes away from the wall. Angela clenches her fists, her knuckles quickly turning white. Sofia’s face slackens and her shoulders drop. Brendan and Aida share a look. Lisa rises too, pushing her glasses farther up her nose, then glances at Sanura as she voices the questions before everyone else. Sasha puts his hands out in a pacifying manner. “It’s… not quite as you think.” He pauses, formulating his words. “Doviluze and I were honoring the Bogovi. Nothing. But!” He glances at Lena again, thinking of how to cover the important things without mentioning her. “Then we did it again, invoking the names of the saints, praying to them, thanking them. Saint Paraskeva Pyanitsa for Lady Mother Mokosh,” he nods to Dovile, then pauses, his eyes dropping to the ground. “God for Lord Svarozhich.” He looks up to everyone. “And something happened! The blood we offered, it turned to sap for Mokosh, and caught aflame for Svarozhich.” He clenches his fists, shaking them briefly for emphasis. Then he looks to Dovile. “Dovile… ah… Asked about it. And she got some… interesting answers.”
	Sanura Sanura blinks softly at the interesting results, her brow furrowing faintly. “Oh.. who else knows about this then.. can we trust them?” she questions with a concerned expression as she walks over to them. Trying to figure out whom of the Saints her own mother might have.. transformed into if she was in fact sharing that fate. [Int+Occult?]
	ST He nods to Dovile, urging her to explain with his expression. He wasn’t entirely clear on her experience himself, and it felt wrong coming from him anyway. He wasn’t allowed to even witness the ritual, so it felt a little heretical to be the one to talk about it.
	ST (( Int + Occ might work. Or maybe Int + Aca? ))
	ST (( I think Int + Aca might be more appropriate. ))
	Sanura [8]
	ST (To Sanura) The lists of saints is… overwhelmingly huge. Saint Gertrude of Nivelles is considered the patron saint of cats… but also of travelers, gardeners, and wards against mice and mental illenss. That doesn’t really sound like your mother… but then again, Fate seems to be in a pretty bad way.
	Dovile Dovile shifts forward a little bit, thinking for a moment about the best way to explain what she experenced. “The gods are affected by what people believe.” She starts. That appeared to be the biggest peice of the puzzle anyway. “The dead are part of this. They, hold the gods in place.” She thinks about that for a couple of seconds, and then moves on. “All the dead are out. They are trapped, near the titans. This means they are not… not beliveing right. If we take them back to where they belong then they will hold things in place again.”
	Dovile “It is like a tapestry.” Dovile continues, aware that her explination is not exactly being clear. “With all threads of people’s life and belief making picture of world, including gods.” She makes a snapping gesture and throws an invisible something away. “Take most of threads out, you move the others, there is no picture anymore.”
	Sanura Sanura wrinkles her nose softly at the name and her arms cross over her chest, though still listening. Her lips purse faintly and she frowns. “So it’s like the fate bonding got just… screwed up to the point it changed their very beings.. that’s wretched” she nibbles her lower lip and then questions “The dead are .. near the titans?” she shakes her head slightly. "Did they have any advice on getting to .. where they are? Or exactly how we’re supposed to sort them.. " she looks to Brendan and Aida her brow furrowing slightly more. “Do you two sense anything that might support this discovery?”
	ST Brendan shakes his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. There are spirits everywhere.” He spreads his arms apart to indicate the sheer number of them, though he knows no one else can see them. “Think, Brendan,” Aida says. “None of them were wearing traditional clothing. And they speak modern languages. Every one we spoke to talked about deaths by Titanspawn, or some kind of freak natural disaster or something.” She pauses. “Those people died when the world ended, or sometime after. And if Fate was…” She looks between Sanura and Dovile. “… messed with that badly… where do spirits go if the Underworld has been… taken from the tapestry?” Her keen golden eyes move to regard somewhere beyond, to her thoughts a thousand yards away. The muscles in Brendan’s jaw shifts as he considers this, drawing for the memories of the countless dead he’d seen. Angela stands suddenly, her brow creased sharp. “So the Titans have the dead, then?” Her question is almost a demand. “How are we supposed to fight Titans?” Benji asks, despair thick in his voice. “As best as we fucking can,” says Moe, sharply. “With everything we’ve got,” Carmen adds, quietly, staring at the floor. She squeezes Lance’s hand, and he squeezes back. “Dad found Grandma,” Sofia says. “And he didn’t have to fight any Titans. So maybe we can… avoid fighting them. Until we… fix Fate enough to bring the gods back.”
	Sanura Sanura takes a deep breath and glances to Sofia “We can most surely try.. and that would be the first approach to take.. however.. we really must be ready willing and able to fight too” she murmurs thoughtfully. Her attention on Aida “We should try and see if your dad will show up if we can figure out just who he is.. he could have more insight into the situation.. with his past specializtions and so on..” she looks to the others. “What do you lot think?”
	ST Lisa looks at Sanura. “Assuming they’ve retained their memories. Which I’m not entirely certain of, because they don’t respond to their old names.” She nods towards Dovile and Sasha, to indicate their story. Then a thought occurs to her, a thought spurred by a dream from long ago. “Saint Joan of Arc. Of course. That makes so much sense now.” “We could ask how Dad did it,” Sofia offers, uneasily. “Or maybe Ulcer knows.”
	Sanura Sanura hmmss softly to Lisa’s words and nods. “The might not have their memories but as twisted as fate might be, I think the strings still sort of go from a to b that is to say I think that they’re going to still be… umm sort of connected to their abilities .. after all why repurpose them entirely that wouldn’t serve any purpose would it” she rubs her chin “So even if he’s not exactly up on his old life he still may have his finger on the .. not so active pulse of the dead, might in fact have some observations that may help us.” She looks to Sofia.. “I don’t know that Ulcer would be much help I mean he does know about your dad.. but hmm well it wouldn’t hurt to ask him.. though I’d much rather ask your dad if we can get him.. straight from the jaguars mouth and all that..” She paused a moment “Joan of Arc?” she questions
	ST Lisa nods. “In my dream. Joan of Arc visited me and warned me about ‘Snakes in the grass.’ She didn’t seem quite sure why she was warning me.” Lisa smiles a little, wan and dry. Her hand goes up to the scarf around her neck. “She liked my scarf. The one that Athena made for me.” After considering Sanura’s words, Aida shakes her head. “It might work. But it’s a shot in the dark. Even if we could find him… would he even want to help us? Would he be able to help us?” She looks at Sofia. “I think we’d have a better shot with Tlilocelotlpilli.” “Or we can go to Mag Mell or Hades or Mictlan or somewhere and take a look for ourselves,” says Brendan. “That sounds like our best bet. Observe, assess, gather intel, and then form a plan of action.”
	Dovile Dovile shifts here. “Yes. Is plan I like.” She thinks for a couple of seconds, about answers she’s gotten from the earth before, then says, “I do not think Panaretos is done. We also should look for what he does next.”
	ST Angela nods sharply. “The Order of Divine Glory sure as shit had a hand in this. We need to find out how. If we do that, then we can figure out how to undo it.”
	Sanura Sanura purses her lips and nods to Lisa “well it’s good to know that one isn’t it.. female warrior saint.. female warior theoi” she nods faintly as it seems to confirm her thesis at least a little. She nods to Aida and then smiles sheepishly “I suppose I just wanted to make sure our family was still alive and kicking as well” she admits before she looks to Brendan and Dovile. “If the dead are loosed who’s to say there is a place to go to visit.. what if you .. go and then there is nothing there to .. catch you.. like you know teleporting into a wall or a black hole would be more what I’m picturing.” She grits her teeth “yeah I’m pretty sure you’re right about that” to Dovile and Angie. “Still if we can start to get the Gods on their own footing we screw up their well of power and learn more about who and what we have to actually defeat in the long run.”
	ST Lena gives Angela a very puzzled look, but remains silent.
	Dovile ((…. you know what we could do? We could talk to the dream gods we rescued.))
	ST Sasha lifts his hand up a little sheepishly. “I visited Nav, after the world ended. It was still there. As far as I could tell, anyway.”
	Sanura Sanura nods faintly to that and then her brow arches “well at least we know one underworld is still there… now.. what can you tell us about it?” She questions Sasha as she walks over to regard him. “Had you been there before.. what was different?”
	ST “Mokosits wasn’t standing at the gate and… it was… empty. The parts I saw of it, at least. Well, except for Bat. Poor guy was so lonely. And Liver. It seemed right, otherwise. But I haven’t been there before, so I can’t say.” He pauses, remembering the tale telling they did not a couple hours ago. He looks at Dovile. “Doviluze has, though.”
	Sanura Sanura nods softly and looks to Dovile “You two talk right.. so.. can you think of anything that stood out?” she questions as she bites the inside of her lower lip. “Who are Bat and Liver?” she questions as her brow furrows "did they know what had happened.. " it was unlikely since she was sure Sasha would have asked but she herself had to ask him to make sure.
	Dovile Dovile looks brefily to her brother.
	ST “Bat is… ah…” He pauses briefly. “A guardian of Nav. A bat with 777 eyes. And Liver is… was Dovile’s cat. Who died.” Sasha considers a moment longer. “Of cancer,” he adds helpfully, then shakes his head to re-focus his thoughts. He looks back at Sanura. “I’m afraid I don’t speak Bat or Cat, so…”
	Dovile Dovile closes her eyes for a moment, thinking through a welter of impressions an images. Then she says, “All same, only souls everywhere. And Jarilo’s bones gone.”
	Sanura Glances to Sasha.. “Can you bring me that cat?” she questions with her brow furrowed. Her attention on Dovile again. “Jarilo’s bones, what are they? a totem or some being?”
	Dovile “Half-brother. Lady Morena kills him and makes a house of him in the winter.” Dovile says shortly.
	Sanura She quirks a brow “So.. hmm they really picked up stakes then.. perhaps had a moment to prepair..”
	Dovile Dovile shrugs. “Or it was summer. He is probably saint too.”
	ST Sasha opens his mouth, then closes it again. He looks at Dovile, pain and reluctance crossing his face. Then he turns back to Sanura and speaks. “Sure, I suppose I could get back to Russia… get to Nav again… find Liver and come back. If it’ll help.” He hesitates a moment longer. “It’ll probably take me a few years, though.”
	Sanura Sanura grimaces faintly "Nono.. we don’t have that sort of time.. " pausing “where are the pegasi?”
	ST Susan sighs as eyes flick to her for an answer. She tosses her head a little and sighs. “Los Angeles, probably. I sent them ahead of us, before we left.” Lena stares at her, all sorts of questions cropping up in her curious young mind.
	Sanura Sanura taps her chin lightly and considers. “Well.. Angie.. could you run all the way to LA? Safely?”
	ST “I could try,” Angela says. “It wouldn’t take long.” “No!” says Moe, stepping forward suddenly. She looks steadily at Angela, and then indignantly at Sanura. “Are you fucking kidding? Why is that even on the table?” “You have any better options?” Angela demands, stepping in front of Moe and gazing at her directly.
	Sanura Considers how stubborn cats are and self absorbed she scratches her cheek. “Ok let’s shelve that.. the likely hood a dead pet holds the key to this is slim anyway.. for now I think we should try and get ahold of Alejandro.. for one to let him know what we’ve found out.. who knows what he sees doing his job after all.. something could stick out next go round that he didn’t even notice before..”
	Sanura Sanura is damn curious though how the cat managed to hang around.. when everyone else went poof.. “Do all your pets go to the underworld.. thought that was much more a thing from my family..” She looks once more to Sasha and Dovile. “was he a companion like Crook a guide or guardian?”
	Dovile “No.” Dovile says, rather curtly. “He was Morena’s pet.”
	Dovile She appears to realize that she was a bit sharp. “She fed him. So he stuck around. Cat, jo?”
	Sanura Sanura gives a faint snort to that and files it away for later. “So.. Sofia.. can we go see your dad orrr do you just talk to him.. I mean how much interaction can we have while he’s so.. occupied?”
	ST Sofia shrugs one shoulder. “I visit him when I dream. I don’t really know how. But… um… I don’t think I can take you all along with.” Then her eyes widen and her face slackens again, this time in realization. She tenses suddenly, smiling. “We could ask Morpheus to help!”
	Sanura Sanura hmms softly and smiles a bit "well I didn’t figure to need to call in that favor so soon.. but we could do… " she nibbles her lower lip softly. "How do we contact him.. though.. perhaps some drug induced haze like the oracles or an offering.. or.. "Hey Morpheus, you awake buddy?’ She smirks softly as she walks to Angie and gives her hand a squeeze, just as an aknowledgement of her willingness to step up.
	ST While Sofia gives her rundown, Moe motions to her pointedly, keeping her gaze on Angela, as if saying ‘See? Better idea!’ Angela clenches her jaw and steps away from Moe, facing Sofia and hanging back to cross her arms. She glances at Sanura as she’s squeezed. Her flesh is just a step beyond feverishly warm. Lance pipes up, a knot between his brow. “Um… sacrifice something to him?”
	Sanura Sanura quirks a brow at that and tries to recall what she can about that particular diety and what would be a proper sacrifice. [int+occ?] “We can try that.. I mean since he’s freed up and so on he’s gonna be able to answer and he at least seems to remember who he is..”
	ST (( Yeah, Int + Occ ))
	Sanura She worries faintly “I hope that hasn’t changed since he was released”
	Sanura [7]
	ST (( Nothing seems to come to mind right away. ))
	Sanura Purses her lips faintly and frowns “I’ll have to look it up or.. something” she grumbles softly “Hey Angie” she holds out the cigarette. “Have a smoke and dash to the library for me?” offering her a way to get some air for a moment, and to hopefully find her a book that will help.
	ST Angela nods sharply. She takes the cigarette and heads out, politely not running because that would probably buffet everyone violently with wind and break any and all glass. Sensing a growing lull in the conversation, Sasha speaks. “Um. Not to interrupt, but I think we’re leaving someone behind in the dust here.” He looks over at Lena, stooping to meet her gaze. “You’ve got questions written all over your face, little mouse. It’s okay, you can ask them.” She looks at him, then looks around at everyone, her eyes lingering on Dovile and then Lisa. Unsure of who exactly to ask, her eyes drop to the teddy bear in her hands. “What’s… the Order of Divine Glory?”
	Sanura Sanura looks to Lena and smiles encouragingly as she voices her question. She’d allow one of the survivors who know a damn sight more than she answer.
	Dovile Dovile looks at Lisa. She’s the one who knows stuff.
	ST Lisa glances around at the people gathered briefly, then moves next to Sasha, so as to regard Lena directly. He scoots a little, to make room. She takes Lena’s hands and gently guides her to the floor to sit, seating herself in the process. “It’s an organization that took boys and girls like you, and drugged and brainwashed them. Almost everyone here was taken by the Order of Divine Glory, but they were rescued by Sanura, and… Malif and Harry before the end of the world.”
	ST She glances once more at Sofia, then Lance, then Brendan. “And they also kept and probably bred… Hellspawn. Though for what purpose is a little un—” Lisa straightens suddenly, her eyes snapping to the door. She says, “Excuse me,” to Lena and rises quickly, heading outside the room.
	Sanura Sanura scratches her cheek "and this guy named Mike.. " she notes quietly as she looks around them for a place to set up an alter of some kind, her brow furrowing as Lisa rises and heads out of the room quickly. She gestures for one of the others to follow her to keep her safe. Meanwhile she clears a space. “anyone know where they keep the salt?”
	ST Aida rises too, then pats Brendan with the back of her hand. He rises, and they start off. From down the hall… “Mom?” “Come here, it’s okay.” Her voice is very calm, steady. Soothing, in a way. “Mom, I woke up and you weren’t there. No one was.” “It’s okay, just a late night meeting. Ruben, you can put the bat down. You too, Galen, put the knife away… Senbast, where did you find that?” “Dovile’s room.” “Come here, we’re all in here. You can sit with us. It’s okay.”
	Sanura Sanura blinks faintly hearing the wee ones. She quirks a brow as apparently her little brother pulled no punches even knicking other peoples things in an ‘emergency’ Shaking her head a bit though she does wear a faint smile. She tries to recall then what she can about Morpheus.. [like would she remember his flower is the Poppy?]
	ST (( Probably. ))
	Dovile (( Imean, opium, dreams…. pretty easy.))
	Sanura [yeah just wanted to check though so as not to be a dirty cheater.] “Benji do you think you can get a poppy plant for this.. it’s not exacly a sacrifice but it can’t hurt I’d imagine..”
	Dovile “There are some in the garden.” Dovile says blandly.
	ST The hall conversation gives Brendan and Aida pause, and then they part as Lisa returns with the boys, weapons in hand, but not brandished. A smile breaks out on Lance’s face as he leans over and ruffles Ruben’s hair, a little proud. The boy offers a little smirk, tinged with equal parts sheepishness and pride, but still stained by the fear that had gripped him before. Carmen just shakes her head, looking upward to the ceiling. Senbast is the first to part from the rest of the group, going over to Aida and pausing, leaning against her, not quite in a hug, but certainly asking for one. She readily obliges. Galen sticks mostly by Lisa, but Sofia puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder and gives him a light squeeze. He offers her a little wan smile, tempered by relief. It’s not long after that the boys have a seat.
	Sanura Sanura smiles faintly as she look to see if the lights can be dimmed. “Dovile, you were in the dream as the preistess.. was there a reason for that, do you know much about calling on the dieties?”
	Dovile “No.” Dovile says. “Can ask the Earth things though.”
	Dovile ((Dovile has Mystery.))
	Sanura Sanura gives a bit of a nod and rubs the back of her neck. "Anyone else have experience, if not I’ll do my best.. "
	ST Lisa returns to Lena. “Sorry, sweetheart. Did you have more questions?” The girl looks down from her intent observation of the prior scene, trying to formulate her question. “Why does the Order of Divine Glory… do things like that?”
	ST “We don’t exactly know why,” Lisa explains. “We’re trying to —” Angela steps into the room, shaking her head. “Nothing.”
	Sanura Sanura listens to the conversation but meanwhile walks over to Sen, suggesting gently that he return Dovile’s property and say sorry for borrowing without permission. “Good to see you boys don’t cower under beds though” she notes with a small smile. Her gaze moving to Angie as she returns and she nods “was worth a try at least.. what about the gods that were with him.. his brothers, they’re all rather intertwined maybe there’s some.. overlap of symbols or something..”
	ST Senbast regards Sanura, puzzled, but doesn’t respond. He looks briefly to Dovile, but offers neither apology nor moves to return the weapon. “Senbast,” Brendan says, his a tone of warning. Senbast looks up at him. “But how am I supposed to ask if she’s not there? And what if you really were gone because something bad happened. And there were Titanspawn nearby?” He looks at Sanura. “But I guess I could just die instead.” Aida hides her smile behind her hand, trying not to validate his sass. “When did the midgets get here?” Angela asks. Lena’s eyes flick to Senbast, and back to Lisa. “What’s Titanspawn?” “You call them Hellspawn,” Lisa explains patiently. “We call them Titanspawn.”
	Sanura Sanura smirks faintly and purses her lips to hide it. “Yeah ok but then I wouldn’t be askin’ you to say sorry, since it wasn’t a real emergency I thought it’d be the nice thing to do.. I mean.. gosh I know I wouldn’t want to be on Dovile’s bad side..” she pokes his nose. “Might die after all”
	Dovile “Senbast has permision to take my weapons whenever he thinks he needs them.” Dovile says coldly.
	Sanura Sanura quirks a brow and gives a faint nod of her head. “Well then permission granted after the fact still counts in my book” Glancing at Dovile and shaking her head a bit with a faint sigh, man she was never gonna win this one over. Still allies was good enough she supposed, one couldn’t be friends with everyone.
	ST “Why?” Lena asks. Lisa begins to explain about the Titans. Senbast falls silent, knowing that, when Dovile speaks, it’s probably best to keep one’s mouth shut. Sasha steps away from Lisa and Lena, seeing that he could be helpful elsewhere. “What, he hasn’t gotten his own weapon yet?” He clicks his tongue disapprovingly. “But that’s an easy fix. Doviluze is good at weapons. And Sanura, you have yet to give him a birthday gift, right? Maybe you two could work something out.”
	Sanura Sanura smiles faintly recognising Sasha’s attempt for what it is, she’d tried it enough herself after all. Her brow quirks a bit and she smiles to Dovile, just cause the woman was sour at the moment didn’t mean she needed to be after all. “I’d be happy to, though hmm I don’t know what Sen has been trained with..” she’d glance to Bren in question.
	Dovile Dovile will aknowledge Sanura’s smile with a sort of nod, then answer her question in a more casual voice. “Staff, knife, hands. And the pistol.”
	Sanura Sanura quirks her brows “geeze you could beat me up” she mutters softly as she looks to Sen “What’s your favorite.. what are you best at?”
	ST Senbast shrugs. “I like the pistol, I guess. But I’m not very good at it yet.”
	Sanura Sanura hmms and looks to Dovile “does he show promise with it? As someone that’s taught him would you suggest that as his main like of defence?”
	Dovile Dovile looks at the boy for a moment, face blank. Then she looks back to Sanura. “Pistol would be good for him.”
	ST Senbast smiles a little, that enigmatic, mild, catlike smile.
	Dovile “Think maybe that is Lisa’s choice though.” Dovile adds, drily.
	ST Lisa is currently wrapped up in answering Lena’s questions.
	Sanura Sanura nods her head slightly and then looks at the very young boy and to Brendan and Aida.. “You two are .. his guardians pretty much.. and you know this world better than I, what do you say?”
	ST Both of them look at each other and then look away, considering. “If we end up going to the Underworld…” Brendan looks at Senbast. “He’ll have to stay here. Which means I won’t be around to protect him. So he’s got to protect himself.” Aida nods. “You still should practice the stuff I taught you, though,” she says, directly addressing Senbast. “Bullets run out, eventually.” She looks up and nods respectfully. “Unless you’re Dovile, but that’s the exception, not the rule.”
	Dovile Dovile snorts. “True!”
	Sanura Sanura smiles a little glad they’re all in agreement. “Lovely.. so Dovile and I will make .. find.. or otherwise produce a pistol and holster.. that you will keep clean as I’m certain Dovile has taught you and only use responcibly.. and without that shit eating grin” she remarks dryly. “Agreed?” she holds her hand out to shake on it.

The Ritual

	ST It takes a few hours to get everything cleared out, to gather together the materials, and to set up the ritual in the room. It’s not anywhere near the traditional ways of doing the ritual… but then, perhaps that won’t work anymore, in this new world. In any case, the symbolism is largely the same. The children are returned to bed, and the meeting is mostly dissipated as many of the survivors return to what they were doing. Though this is important business, there’s little they can do at this point but to wait for the information that will arise from this. It’s the wee hours of the morning now (some might say the witching hour), dark but for the flickering of the candle in Sanura’s lap. The cold night breeze blows gently through the window at Sanura’s back. Though opium won’t do the trick for a Scion, Moe was able — with her powers, naturally — to induce the required altered state in Sanura. Flanking her on either side laterally are two mirrors. She is to stay looking straight ahead at the blank wall. The candle must not go out, and she must not face either mirror or behind her. If, after one hour and one minute, Sanura does not rouse, Dovile is to dump cold water on her head to snap her out of it, lest she broadcast her vulnerable subconsciousness to any waiting predators…
	ST (This ritual only works when one is by oneself, by the way.)
	Dovile ((So, is Dovile out in the hall with a bucket of icewater then?))
	ST (( Pretty much. Sasha would probably keep her company. But it has to stay quiet. ))
	Dovile ((We can do quiet! :D ))
	ST The flickering of the candle is a strange combination of calming and alerting with its smooth motions casting up a frenetic interplay between light and shadow on the blank wall. The interplay is mimicked in each of the mirrors, though Sanura is protected from the maddening glimpse into infinity by her forward gaze.
	Sanura After a moment of enjoying being inebriated again for the first time in a while she settles into her seat and focuses her gaze. After what they’d managed to come up with this was the best chance they had to get a hold of the God.. and he did owe them one so he shouldn’t make it too difficult she reasons before she’d empty her conscious mind of thought.
	ST All at once it seems to take an eternity and yet not so long at all for Sanura’s vision to tunnel and the blank wall to blur and dim. Only the flickering candle remains in Sanura’s senses… the flickering candle and the tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock of a clock to her left… “I think you’re ready to try again,” says a man’s voice, faint but steady, spoken with confidence.
	Sanura Sanura’s brows quirk slightly as she questions mentally “who’s making that suggestion?” She takes a slow breath. Still thinking the words she’d state “I seek audience with Morpheus shape shifter and Lord of the Realm of Dreams.”
	ST “Here. Look at me,” says the man’s voice. “Remember, I’m here to help. But I need you to focus right now.” The mirror to the left brightens a little, almost as if it were reflecting a different room, with different, non-flickering light.
	ST The man’s voice sounds familiar somehow. But it’s almost as if all sound is distorted, warped by the endless reflection of mirrors, by the fog whirling in Sanura’s mind, by the flickering of the candle.
	Sanura Sanura takes a breath and releases it before slowly turning her head enough that she can look to the glass with her peripheral vision. Trying to discern who is speaking to her.
	ST (( Gonna need a Wits + Integrity roll, diff 11 ))
	ST (( Sorry, it’s diff 10 ))
	ST (( Not 11 ))
	Sanura [9 v.v ]
	Sanura so close
	ST (( Okay. You can spend a Legend to reroll. ))
	Sanura not much chance but worth a try]
	Sanura [holy fuck]
	ST (( Nice! ))
	ST “Don’t!” hisses a feminine voice to Sanura’s right. It’s enough to set Sanura straight again, break her free of her curiosity. This voice, too, is familiar, although complete recognition is again seemingly out of reach. “Don’t let him rule you.” “I can’t help you if you don’t cooperate.” It’s the voice to the left. It’s a little fainter now, but still present. Its tone has gone from soothing to firm, with the slightest underlying frequency of frustration.
	Sanura Sanura’s lips twitch ever so slightly. “So Help.. I seek Morpheus” She states simply though her own tone is firm while still managing to remain placid.
	ST “Please focus, or else we won’t be able to proceed. This won’t work unless you look at me.” The man again, his voice returning in strength. It’s becoming tempting to look at him again. The woman: “Don’t say a word to him. He will pull you from the sun, send you falling to the earth, clipped and stripped of your crown. It is Your Grace who rules, not he.”
	Sanura Sanura gives a sort of growl “I didn’t come to be tugged like a bone between two curs.. Bring me to the God of Dreams or tell him that I wish an audience. Stop waisting my time.”
	ST (( Cha + Command ))
	Sanura ¹⁸
	ST “The perils of sitting between two inward-facing mirrors,” says a new voice, from behind. Its clarity is startling and sharp, compared to the other two: it’s clearly, undeniably, unarguably Morpheus. The left and right settle and fall silent instantly. “You are brave to court me thus, with a serpent stalking in your mind like Apep stalks the starry sky, waiting to swallow its prey.”
	Sanura Sighing softly she relaxes a fraction but is still wary. “Fortune favors the bold does it not?” she smiles as she keeps her gaze forward. “Greetings Morpheus, I hope you are well and enjoying your freedom.” She sort of tilts her head to the side a bit. “Don’t suppose you can afford us a bit more privacy than my current state would allow?” she questions. “Though I suppose it knows what I know already hmm?” Her lids half lower. “I need your help reaching an ally. He would see the Gods restored, as would my company.”
	ST The tunnel vision, the blurry wall, the candlelight… none of it changes, but for a new shadow on the wall, still at the whim of the flickering flame, but distinct… the silhouette of a man, with wings. “I… am unsure. The dreams of mortals are not… what they once were. Or perhaps… I am not what I once was.” A pause. “Yes… the nature of the ocean never changes… it is those who would try to navigate it that can lose their way. And the seas now are… rough.” Another pause. “Thank you, my North Star, for guiding me. How is it can I help? Whose dreams do you seek?”
	Sanura Sanura heaves a soft sigh “I wish to travel in the dreams of another, to visit the overworld and the God who has kept the sun in it’s travels, I would have two others join me in this meeting. If the fates are with us perhaps we can learn more of what has become of our kin and how to restore them to their former prominence in the minds of mortals.”
	ST “Three, seeking another god who has been freed? Hmm.” A pause. The elusive shadow moves its head a little, as if nodding. “If this god’s dreams burn as brightly as the sun… it is still nighttime yet… I may be able to do this. But you and the two others… must dream as well. I will await you, then.”
	Dovile Dovile rose up from the floor of the hall way, swept up the bucket of still cold water and opened the door. Sanura was seated, legs still crossed and back still streight, between the mirrors. Dovile walked up to her on quiet feet and dumped the whole bucket over the young woman’s head, not even pausing to savor the moment.
	Sanura Sanura’s smile is brilliant “Grand, I knew I could count on you.” she pauses "Morpheus.. can you tell.. what is coiled in my mind? Offer any hint on how I might expell it.. " her lips twist lightly “I can’t exactly invite Saint Patrick to do an Irish special can I?” She muses though.. hmm perhaps she might.. that could be a good idea. Squeaking as her words are cut off at some point she’s not sure of. She shudders and sits with one eye closed and twitches a bit. “Good Morning America! That was Cold!” “OK .. we’ve got some help .. now we just gotta return to that mind set and hope for the best. He doesn’t seem certain he can do it but I’m willing to take the risk if you are..”
	ST Sasha follows not long after, putting a polite hand over his not-as-polite smile as Sanura’s snapped out of her trance. “Are you okay to do this now?” he asks, once he’s managed to school himself. “I mean, diving from one thing into another takes its toll. Ah…” He motions to the bucket with the towel in his hand, before giving it to Sanura. “No… ah… reference intended.”
	Sanura Sanura snirks softly “Well is it something you two want to wait on.. Morpheus doesn’t seem to be at his best.. I don’t know that I would want wait for his power to perhaps wain further still..” she accepts the towel with a smile and a quiet thanks, using it to try and get dry.
	ST “Am I invited on this trip?” Sasha asks, glancing at Dovile. “I mean. I don’t mind. But I was under the impression it was you two and Sofia.”
	Sanura Sanura chuckles a bit “Uhhmn well no probably not, but I do want your opinion on the venture..” she notes
	ST He shrugs. “We have to do everything we can to put the gods back, get the world right-side up again. There’s no question about it. And the less time we spend doing it, the better.” He pauses, almost joking that, then again, after ten years a couple days doesn’t make much of a difference, but the joke is too irreverent even for his own boundary-pushing tastes in humor. His air of mirth fades a little. “If this works, we’ll know where to go, what to do next. We need this, more than anything else.”
	Dovile Dovile nods her solemn agreement.
	Sanura Sanura nods her head. "My thoughts exactly.. I know we have a few other items on the table however if we succeed in this then our ability to help in everything else will be greatly magnified and the balance of the universe may set many troubles to right as well.. " she glances to Dovile “So.. ready for a not so road trip?” a faint smirk as she wonders where they’ll find Sophia. “Where’s the driver of this bus anyway.. Alvero’s place?” a faint grin turning her lips. “oh… ah by the by.. before I forget.. there is something eeehh stalking me” she points to her head so if we’re going to share mental space .. sort of like.. warning a partner of an STD I think…"
	Dovile “Your snake?” Dovile asks drily.
	Sanura Sanura grumbles softly “It’s not my snake.. I didn’t put the freaking thing in there..” she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. “Anyway .. we need a Sofia I think..”
	ST “Last I saw, she was playing cards with Susan in the lobby,” says Sasha. “Here, I’ll go get her.” At that he leaves. Crook saunters in, hopping on the bed to gaze directly at Sanura, his tail whipping briefly at the covers. Symbols appear above his head. I don’t appreciate being left out.
	Sanura Sanura chuckles softly and smiles to the feline “Sorry darling I didn’t know you were adept and dream walking.. shall you come along?” she questions with a faintly arched brow before she sighs a bit. "I really didn’t know this was going to occur .. " and then laughs a little “besides I see you were observant as ever and managed to find out when and where the party was” she gestures to him as he sits there.
	ST He sits, and the gesture is followed by more symbols. There is nowhere I can’t walk. I am a sacred guardian.
	Sanura She blinks a few times and then grins “Well that’s pretty great then, I’d really appreciate your guardianship to follow through on this mission, Gods know it’s needed!”
	ST Sofia pokes her head in, looking around. “So we’re good to go?” She’s strung a little tightly with excitement. After all, the last time she got a chance to speak to her father was months ago. Sasha appears just beyond the doorway, on the other side of Sofia. “You need me to sit guard?” he asks, poking a thumb over his shoulder to where he and Dovile had been waiting.
	Dovile Dovile nods to her brother.
	Sanura Sanura also gives a nod to that question. “I’d feel much safer if you would” to Sasha and then to Sofia. “mm yes I think though to warn you.. my passenger is awake” tapping her head again. “And the god of dreams isn’t positive he can pull this off.. so all cards on the table it might now work.. also if you hear something hissing at you.. tell it to fuck off” her crude words giving a hint perhaps to her frustration with the current situation. “Morpheus says he awaits us so.. I think perhaps we only need sleep this time and not to dull our minds..” she offers though it’s clear she’s unsure.
	ST Sofia says brightly, “That’s all? Okay!” She pauses, once she catches Sanura’s uncertainty. “Well, it makes sense. Morpheus is the god of dreams, so in order for him to help us, we ought to be… you know… dreaming.” She looks around the room. “Um, mind if I borrow a pillow, then?”
	Sanura Sanura nods and gives a faint chuckle. “Hey we can try it at least and if it doesn’t work we’ll be more well rested for our next attempt.. have at any pillows blankets.. whatever to get comfy.. I think we may be in for a very long nap..”
	Dovile Dovile slips off and is back in a few moments with the thick blankets and the pillows scattered about her and Sasha’s rooms.
	ST Sasha, meanwhile, offered one last nod and ducked out of the room at Dovile’s and Sanura’s confirmation. Sofia gathers up her own collection of bed stuffs… which is, really, just a single pillow. The young woman generates a lot of heat all on her own. As she settles into it and stares up at the ceiling for a moment, she says, “You know… this is weird. It’s like we’re having a sleepover. Except without the… movies and the pillow fights and the scary stories.”
	Dovile “Could tell you scary story.” Dovile says, voice dry.
	Sanura Sanura laughs softly “Hey we can do that next time, have smores and spiked hot chocolate” she chuckles hearing Dovile and then settles on her side. She’d pat the place next to her and smile. “Well Guardian come guard”
	ST Crook flicks his tufted ears backward briefly then pads forth, moving past her side and curling up on her pillow before she rests her head upon it. He’s too large for it, comically engulfing the entire thing under him. It hardly seems to faze him, however, as he rests his chin on his paws.
	Sanura Sanura gives a softl laugh and as any feline might assumes it’s just fine to rest her head on her ‘brother’ feline, or at least half on him and half on whatever he leaves her of the pillow.
	ST Sofia grins. “And Carmen could paint our nails and Moe would start the pillow fight.” There’s barely-held laughter in her voice. Crook doesn’t move, seeming content with his position regardless of Sanura’s head.
	Sanura Sanura gives a soft little giggle “Camo polish for Dovile” she smirks before she rubs the smile off her face. “ok ok ladies time to sleep” she settles and starts taking slow calming breaths.
	Dovile “No.” Dovile says. “Carmen says I am fall. It will be orange.”
	ST In the quiet, Sofia’s pillow-muffled giggling can be heard. She quickly gets a hold of herself, though, and, after the shifting of cloth, settles in once more.
	Sanura Sanura makes a shushing sound that could have been on a show call the Cat whisperer and then resumes trying to fall asleep …. though with being under the influence she’ll probably have an easier time of it than the others.
	ST Inhale, exhale. Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale… While the idle ponderances, urgently whizzing thoughts, and lurking memories surface and flit across the mind and onward seemingly to oblivion… that’s what waits, the steady, slow breath in and out, always there but never noticed until at the cusp of consciousness. Even that, too fades. Crisp, clean, 90-degree angle after 90-degree angle, sharp and unyielding, found in every last inch of the architecture, filled with large glass panes. This was pre-apocalypse modern deco, with its sharp contrasts, its shades of warm and cool gray in the carpet, the furniture, the technology. A flatscreen TV, and a staircase, constructed so as to look almost free-floating. This was Alejo’s apartment, before the world ended. Though Sofia looks around, turning slowly, it’s largely idle. She’s familiar with this part of the dream, but it’s still a nice memory, like a cleansing sigh after a poignant story. She’s taller than the massive TV now, even with it standing on its low glass platform.
	Dovile Dovile reaches for her rifle, scanning the quiet appartment.
	ST The rifle is readily available. This dream is much better than Sarah’s.
	Dovile Dovile lowers her shoulders, releived, and finishes her scan of the incredibly fancy living quarters.
	Sanura Sanura doesn’t know this place right off and a frown turns her lips before she notices Sofia’s expression.. “We’re on the right track then?” she smiles uncertainly as she takes a few steps through the room she’s in and looks to see if Crook was indeed able to come along.
	ST Sofia looks at the other two ladies. “Yeah. Usually Grandma Silvia picks me up here.” The young woman looks around, walking through the whole place for a brief scan. She disappears behind the wall that separates the TV and the kitchen. Then there’s a crash. “Crook!” Sofia chides, her voice carrying through the residence. “Stop knocking things over in my subconscious. It’s rude! Um… I think.” On the staircase balcony overlooking the whole penthouse, a woman emerges. “Sofia? ¿Está todo bien?”“Sofia? Is everything all right?” “Agh, get back here, Crook!” The woman wearing a hospital gown, and she smells of blood. It trails her footsteps. She stops once she spots the other two women, her expression growing wary. “Quién es usted?”“Who are you?” she asks, her voice tight.
	Dovile Dovile sinks quietly into a corner, eyes on the woman, trying to keep Sanura and Sofia in sight as well.
	Sanura Sanura sighs softly “how embarassing” tsking but she’d smirk faintly at the ‘I think’ Sofia tacked on. Her attention is drawn to the woman and she bows her head in a polite nod of greeting. ~~Spanish~~ Hello ma’m, We’re friends of Sofia and her father.. we want to have a word with Alejo if it’s possible." She walks forward and extends her hand slowly. “I’m Sanura daughter of Bastet.” Feeling being open and unthreatening was her best option.
	ST The woman examines Sanura, still wary. Now that Sanura can get a better look at her, she can’t be too much older than thirty — her mid-thirties, perhaps, though she does bear faint lines of stress around her eyes and mouth. “Sofia?” she asks, craning her neck a little to get a better look at the young woman. “Hah! Gotcha!” Sofia emerges from the kitchen, with Crook seized by the scruff of his neck in her flesh hand. They’re both coated in flour. “Está bien, Abuela,”“It’s okay, Grandma,” she says, grinning broadly. Her next statement is in English. “This is Sanura and Dovile.” “Oh,” says the woman. She looks again to Sanura and finally shakes her hand. “Encantada de conocerte.”“Nice to meet you.” After some scanning, she finally finds Dovile, lurking in a corner. “Nice to meet both of you.” Her English is heavily accented. “Sofia has… said somethings about you.”
	Dovile Dovile gets out of her corner a bit and nods a greeting back. “To you too.”
	Sanura Sanura smiles as the woman has her vetted and then gives the hand shake. “Crook.. really come into dreams and and act like a naughty kitten?” she chuckles and clicks her tongue lightly before she glances to Sofia. “Oh.. if they were about me I hope they were good things.” she gives faint teasing glare to the younger woman before returning her attention to the woman who is apparently her grandmother. “You help Sofia find her father for their visits?”
	ST “I take her to see him, yes,” says Grandma Silvia. She looks over Sanura’s shoulder briefly. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” She pauses, furrowing her brow, then regards all three women. “Is… bad news?”
	Sanura Sanura chuckles a little and shrugs “It can go either way really.. but I think we can make the best of it and that’s why we would very much like to see Alejo.”
	ST Grandma Silvia raises her chin. “Good!” She looks over at Sofia. “If you come so soon just to give Papi bad news, I have to go find my friend La Chancla, si?” Sofia snifles her smirk. “No, no, Abuela. I wouldn’t give Dad any bad news.” She nods once, satisfied. “Usted tiene noticias acerca de su zagal, Alvaro, sin embargo, ¿no?”“You have news about your young man, Alvaro, though, right?” Even under the flour, Sofia’s pink blush can be seen. “Si.” “Dime, dime!”“Spill!” “Abuela… I want to, but we’ve got business,” Sofia says. “We found the other gods. Kind of. We need to tell Dad and ask him some questions.” Grandma Silvia falls silent for a moment. “Oh. Why didn’t you just say so?”
	ST “Come, come, take my hands,” says Grandma Silvia, waving the ladies forth.
	Sanura Sanura gives a faint snort laugh and then covers her lips and clears her throat, fixing an expression of calm polite patience on her features as she walks forward to take the other womans hand as it’s offered, extending the other to either complete a circle or chain depending on how she’s guided.
	Dovile Dovile also moves forward, her free hand going to Sofia’s.
	ST Sofia examines Crook briefly, then sets him on her shoulders. Grumbling, he remains there. She reaches for a hand, but stops briefly. “Oh, I just want to warn you… it’s gonna smell. Really bad.” With that she grasps the hand. A shadow passes over them, a shadowed shaped like a man with wings. Suddenly, it’s dark out, and the night air is filled with the night sounds of the jungle, the buzzing, clicking, croaking noises of life both familiar… and not so familiar. The four ladies are on the lowest platform of some kind of massive, stone pyramid consisted of 13 concentric square layers, each layer appearing to be two storeys high. Though it’s night, there is a brilliant spot of light just east of the ladies. It’s painful to look upon, but it’s not high up enough to stain the black sky blue yet. Sofia wasn’t lying about the smell. It’s rotten and bloody and charred all at once, the worst mixture of putrescence and thick iron.
	Dovile Dovile immedently begins scanning the horizion for enemies. She’s heard what the god of the fifth sun drags it through everyday.
	Sanura Sanura gives a faint nod before they’re suddenly transported. She grimaces faintly at the scent and can only pray her senses adjust accordingly.. and soon. She clears her throat and allows herself to take a look around perhaps partly for distraction. She chuckles at Crooks pose and then feels quite bad for him as.. no matter how bad it smelled to them it must be worse yet for him.
	ST Crook grimaces in a very catlike manner, his eyes nearly shut and his top teeth bared, and he hops off of Sofia’s shoulders, darting elsewhere as if he could hide from the smell. Grandma Silvia hardly seems fazed. She moves over towards the light, engulfed by it briefly. She speaks again, but this time it’s neither in English nor in Spanish. Instead it’s in a more ancient language, filled with sounds like a drop of blood falling in flame, or the wind sighing between jungle trees. And then… a deep shadow is cast, growing over the three. The source is hard to see, at first, in the brightness, but it grows easier and easier to spot him. Skin blacker than shadow, but for the bright glittering of black-stained ruby trailing down from various rents in flesh, the pristine white foot made of marble, and the tanned right arm tattooed with ancient tribal sigils. He’s garbed only in blood-soaked cloth, wrapping his waist and draping down between his knees, and a blackened jaguar skin that sends black ash flaking down with every movement. The upper half of the jaguar’s head rests over the upper half of his own head, its glowing golden eyes covering his eyes, its canines flanking his lips. He’s huge, like only a god can be, standing upright with the singular confidence afforded only to divinity. His steps are smooth and silent like a jungle cat’s, but his shoulders heave with breath that was only just being caught. “Hey Dad!” says Sofia, (flourless now) rushing forward to give him a hug.
	Sanura Sanura looks up and follows the progress of the figure as it approaches wondering breifly where Crook had gone.. but he was a big boy she was certain he could care for himself. She’ have to be sure to collect him though once they were ready to leave. She flashes an uncertain smile to the dark shadow of a Alejandro, not sure but feeling that his existance could only be pain when in such condition. She schools her features to a more cheery expression and gives a little wiggle of her fingers. “Alejo” she greets him wincing faintly as Sofia delivers what she imagines to be a very painful hug of greeting.
	Dovile Dovile bows her head brefily in aknowledgement of the god. The smell of burning flesh washes over them, and she schools her face into carefully respectful nutrality. Memories come dancing back with the smell and the heat. She puts them aside, like the worry about her Grandfather’s sun.
	ST Though her approach is quick, Sofia’s hug is actually very gentle, given with tenderness. He returns the hug gingerly, his blackened and tanned arms crossing around his little girl. No: young woman. His golden eyes scan over Sanura and Dovile. Even in the brief scan the gaze is piercing, as if it jabbed straight through everything to get to the darkest parts of one. “How were they allowed into Acopa?” he asks, his voice wheezing through his throat as if it had been lost due to overuse. “Are they dreamers, like you?” “Yeah. And Morpheus helped.” He snaps a look to his daughter. “You found another god?” Sofia nods. “And more. Maybe even all of them.” She pulls away, motioning to Sanura and Dovile. “That’s kinda why we’re here. We need help.” Tlilocelotlpilli snaps a look at Sanura and Dovile, his manner demanding some kind of confirmation, and elaboration.
	Dovile Dovile keeps her eyes resectfully down, but she responds to the unspoken queary. “The gods are bound by fate to others. They are hidden, different.” She pauses a moment. “The dead are missing. Held by the titans, maybe.”
	Sanura Sanura smiles faintly and strives not to shrink back from the probing gaze. She clears her throat softly “it seems they are still around but.. clearly not themselves.. it’s quite confusing to say the very least. I do think though that .. if peoples hearts and minds can be swayed to learn the old stories perhaps we can return the balance and divinity to their proper stations and powers.”
	ST At hearing this confirmed not once, but twice, Alejo’s shoulders drop and his head lists a little to one side in a relief so deep that it’s almost stolen the strength from his knees. The golden glow fades almost to darkness. But suddenly, the glow flares back to life and he straightens, tensing so suddenly that it causes Sofia to jump. “No,” he snarls, his white teeth almost painfully bright against his blackened skin. “The old gods deserve their Fate. They shouldn’t have quieted when the Titans did. They shouldn’t have grown complacent, stagnant, glutted themselves on luxury! If they hadn’t, Fate wouldn’t have been so easily twisted against them.” He snorts in utter derision, looking upon the two ladies with contempt so strong that it almost seems to well from within them. “You are foolish to seek to restore the old ways. Better to let this Sun go, to let this broken World die! Then I will rebuild it, from the flesh and blood and bone that piles useless on the steps of Acopa.” Sofia sets her face, that same expression that she had when she had to put the goblin out of its misery. “Dad…” Tlilocelotlpilli’s gaze focuses, full-bore on Sofia. She pales but stands strong underneath it. “How dare you. You are no get of mine. You have no right to call yourself my daughter.” Sofia’s expression hardens and she clenches her fists. “How dare you?” she asks, her tone just as firm as his. “You have no right to call yourself the Black Tezcatlipoca. You’re not even one-third of him! And there’s no way you’re powerful enough to remake the World. You can barely even keep the sun going across the sky! You’re the fool.” For a moment it looks like the god is going to strike Sofia. And then he laughs, deep, menacing laughter. He bends over, collapses onto his knees, and quickly dissolves into rasped sobbing. “Ay dioses, Sofía, perdóname, perdóname por favor… I didn’t mean it… I didn’t…”“Oh gods, Sofia, forgive me, forgive me please… I didn’t mean it… I didn’t…” Sofia stoops, putting a soothing hand on his back. “I know, Dad,” she murmurs.
	Sanura Sanura clenches her jaw slightly at the derision and scolding her only further movement being an aborted step towards father and daughter when he moves as though to strike her. Yes Sofia would fair much better against such a blow.. and yes Sanura would still very foolishly take it in her place. She frowns as her gaze follows him to the ground.. “this.. acidity.. is part of your fate?” she questions softly with a sadness in her gaze. Fate was cruel indeed if the man who’d been so well controlled and gentlemanly if cool previously could be changed to someone with so little hold on his words and actions.
	Dovile Dovile watches the exchange with the same respectful reserve. If Svarozhich wanted to take issue with the words of the crazy, mad-man god of suunspots, he could let her know when she’d gotten him back. Even when Tlilocelotlpilli raised his hand to strike Sofia she held her peace.
	ST After several moments of sobbing, he manages to calm enough to sit up. He pushes the jaguar skin off his head, revealing that the upper half of his face has yet to be blackened like the rest of him. “It’s Fate’s punishment,” Alejo says, empty now. Grandma Silvia finally approaches again, bearing a shallow bowl full of some kind of dark liquid. “In my hubris I tried to defy it, to trick it. But I only ended up making it worse. And now…” He looks at his tanned arm turning it over as if it were foreign to him. “And now I’m becoming that which I hated the most.” “Not really,” Sofia says. Her tone is mild, but reminiscent of her old cheer. “You might slip sometimes, but, well…” She taps his marble foot with a marble knuckle. “There’s one part of you he won’t ever be able to take.” “Beber, mijo,”“Drink, my boy,” says Grandma Silvia, presenting the bowl to him. After staring at Sofia for a moment, he looks to his mother, then accepts the bowl, tilting to his lips and gulping deeply, thirstily.
	Sanura Sanura watches with something akin to pity at least for a split second. She doesn’t allow the expression to linger as she doesn’t want to anger any of the family gathered. "So.. by your reaction I take it you haven’t seen any of the old ones yourself?.. Even with your beyond a birds eye view.. " she’d question once he’s done drinking. She wonders if the bowl contains what she thinks and glancing to Sofia she questions sort of from the side of her mouth. “Is that.. what I think?” Stereotyping all over the place.
	ST Sofia waves her hand dismissively, as if saying ‘Later.’ The god finishes off the contents of the bowl and hands it back gratefully, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Many of his wounds close and heal over, but still many remain open. He looks to Sanura. “No, I haven’t. I don’t get much of a chance to observe the World, much less anywhere else.” His voice is clearer now, though still painfully raspy. He looks around, scanning the landscape. “This is the quietest it’s been in a long time. I don’t like it.” He looks back to her. “How do you plan on untwisting Fate, then?”
	Sanura Sanura grimaces faintly and glance around them “Crook?” she calls out questioningly. “Update Guardian..” that requested she’d return her attention to Alejandro, glad to see some of his wounds eased. “Well .. firstly we’re going to retreive our best means of transport.. that said the only thought we’ve been able to come up with at least thus far is to begin with the most conspicuous issue of the missing dead. Hopefully that will give us another crumb along the terribly obscure trail. We’d hoped you’d have some help for us.. but even though you don’t, it’s really good to see you again Alejo, I’m glad you’re still you know.. in existance someplace..” she smiles ever so slightly but her words are heart felt. After all she owed him much even if he was apparently full on nutters at times..
	Dovile Dovile looks around causually at the darkness around them, taking the god’s comment about silence to heart. She knows the feeling, after all.
	ST Alejo offers a dry, humorless chuckle. “No, I don’t think it was good to see me. But… I appreciate the sentiment. Sorry I couldn’t be more useful.” Grandma Silvia straightens once Sanura mentions the missing dead. “Are you going to save them?”
	Dovile Dovile nods to the young woman.
	Sanura Sanura makes a slight face at Alejo and pokes her tongue out at him, so much for respecting diety. “Oh hush you” she then glances to Silvia and purses her lips. “Well we aim to try of course… we surely wouldn’t leave them lost or in the control of titans if we can do something about it..”
	ST She looks at Dovile, her eyes wide with urgency. “Oh, gracias a los dioses!”“Oh, thank the gods!” She rises, starting forward, but stops. “Por favor, you must take them out of the… of the…” She searches for the term. “Underworld. It… they are crumbling. Los muertos, they…” She thinks a moment. “They forget. The Titans call them, and… and… the closer you get, it gets…” She thinks of the word again, making circular motions with her palms around her head. “… fuzzy.” She shakes her head. “I was lucky. I was at the, ah, edge of it. I see Alejo, and I go to him. But… I don’t know what the Titans do. I saw, but… it’s… fuzzy still. Is no bueno, whatever it is.”
	Dovile Dovile nods deeply, listening intently.
	ST Tlilocelotlpilli looks at his mother, also listening.
	Sanura -spanish- Please m’am, we can translate.. tell us all you’re able in your native tongue, perhaps it will be more clear to us and we may find some tidbit to jog your memory.."
	ST The Spanish falls from her tongue quickly. She doesn’t have much else to add, just that it felt like some kind of fever dream, whose images she could barely remember — and the ones she does remember don’t make any sense. It was as if she were losing herself, until she saw Alejo, dragging the corpse of the Great Coatl up the first step of the pyramid. That was a part of herself she could remember, and, seeing it clearly, could hang on to. It allowed her to recall her duty to the gods, and her loyalty to her son.
	Sanura Sanura nods slightly and considers “No others around you seemed to come to themselves then?” she ponders “do you remember what preceded this mass exodus?”
	ST Grandma Silvia pauses, considering. “Fighting. Chaos. Titanspawn everywhere… Huitzilopochtli grew bright, until I couldn’t look at him anymore. And then he was gone, and Acopa started… being swallowed up.” She motions to the jungle around the pyramid, which would be encroaching upon the platforms but for the sun burning them away.
	Sanura Sanura hums softly and looks around them.. still not sure where Crook was she frowns and calls out for him again before returning her gaze to Silvia. “so ah… your version of Gaia is pretty much planting her fertile backside right here and trying to devower even this last little bit and probably would succeed, save for the sun?” Sanura would speak in spanish and translate for Dovile as needed.
	Dovile Dovile nods to Sanura in apprecaition for the translation, keeping at least one eye and one ear focus on the world around the pyramid.
	ST The woman nods.
	Sanura Sanura hums softly and considers" I wonder if you could use the help of a few scions of nature to… reverse some of this growth.. though being able to get them here might be to difficult and enrange the titan around you.. probably not the best idea" she muses all this aloud. “Shaking her head slightly.” So.. it seems like the dead were taken.. their memories of the old ways and gods stripped.. I’m sure that shook the dieties.." she murmurs softly as she tries to peice it together.
	ST Again she nods. “Bring back los muertos and you’ll bring back los dioses.” She pauses. “I think. After all, there are much more dead than living, si?”
	Sanura Sanura gives a slight nod of her head. “I agree.. and perhaps once that is settled this .. resistance placed upon the adults still living will subside.. it’s very frustrating that they don’t retain any knowlege of the old gods.. I can tell them a myth and a moment later it’s flitted away from them.. I wonder if that is part of the cause or part of the effect..”
	ST Crook appears, grooming himself nonchalantly, but immediately grimacing and waggling his tongue as if it would help rid him of the taste of the putrid air. Tlilocelotlpilli rises, sighing heavily. “Would that I could help you.” He pauses, considering. “Even if I could, though, maybe I shouldn’t,” he muses. His eyes flick between Sanura, Dovile, and Sofia. “My sister can, though. I can send her a… a sign. She’ll… cooperate.”
	Dovile Dovile’s face twitches slightly at that.
	Sanura Sanura nods faintly “Well you do have quite the .. job um.. your sister?” she questions with a furrowing of her brow.. she manages not to crack up at Crooks .. expression if one could call it that.
	ST Alejo nods, putting the jaguar skin over his eyes again. “Alejandra.” His wry, humorless smirk is all that can be seen of his expression now. “The Queen of Fallen Angels.”
	Sanura Sanura pauses and then grimaces “Ug.. really Alejo.. you are a massive.. total … jerk face for that one.. and.. I dislike your sister verily” she grouses. “Still.. if she’ll help.. and not you know evicerate or zombiefy anymore of my mortals I suppose we do need all the help we can get.”
	ST He pauses, his grin fading. His mouth twists a little, though it’s hard to tell if it’s a sneer or not. “No, she certainly won’t.” He pauses. “Her… shadow has been… torn from her. Her teotl… divided. I don’t know how. I didn’t know it was possible. It’s not natural.” The god straightens. “Rest assured, she’ll help.”
	Sanura Sanura pauses and looks from father to daughter. “Ok I can’t pretend I quite get that .. Sofia.. you can explain it to me later?”
	ST Sofia looks very puzzled at this. “I’m not sure.” She thinks a moment. “I can try, anyway.”
	Sanura Sanura groans softly and then looks at Alejo… “Summerize, quickly please and I promise you a blood offering when I return to the mortal realm.” She felt sort of guilty for dragging him from his duty and she also thought it might help someone she considered at worst an ally still.
	ST Alejo heads over towards the sunlight. “I’ve lingered too long already. Sofia will be able to explain.” “But it doesn’t make any sense, Dad,” Sofia protests. “I know,” he replies. But he doesn’t offer anything else.
	Sanura Sanura nods and then points after him. "She better be .. or.. you know.. some vengence.. in some way… " Sanura’s threatening skills need work. She turns to the others and heaves a sigh.. “Bloody hell.. Wanker Gods”
	ST Grandma Silvia looks at each of the three women. “Are you ready to go back?”
	Sanura Sanura nods “seems like there isn’t much else for us to do here at the moment, thank you for your help though..” she calls after Alejo. “Don’t drop the ball” yes.. she verbally taunts and tortures the ones she loves. “Sofia.. any questions?”
	Dovile Dovile nods to the young woman and prepares to re-take Sofia’s hand.
	ST Sofia sighs. “Too many. But they aren’t gonna be answered here.” She looks at Grandma Silvia. “Ready.” She scoops up Crook with one arm and takes a hand with another.
	ST Alejo’s faint laughter can be heard at Sanura’s taunt, deep, raspy, and… menacing.
	Sanura Sanura nods lightly and prepairs for the return trip. “It was nice to meet you ma’am if in trying circumstances, I’m glad you’re here to help” she nods towards the direction Alejo had gone.
	ST Grandma Silvia tilts her head, offering a little wan smile. It wasn’t much of a choice. He was her son, after all. But she says nothing, instead offering her hand to Sanura.
	Sanura Sanura takes the offered hand, knowing that her words wouldn’t stack up as much in the situation but she felt even small gestures can shed some light on a beings existance.
	ST It’s dawn. The golden sunlight filters through the window, lighting the blank wall. The day is already quite warm, and promises to get even warmer. Sasha’s steps can be heard as he returns to his post from his brief venture outside to thank Svarozhich and Dazhbog.

Campaign of the Month: February 2017

God-Touched

In which there's more than one meeting about the whereabouts of the gods

The Ritual

Comments

The After-Party

The Road To Hell...

The Journey Continues

Honoring the Absent

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