When On Olympus, Volume 4

[Yuki Akuma]

New year festivals are always interesting. And when it's the start of a new century, well, the mortals tend to go all out.

The first day of year 1200 is apparently very important as far as the mortals are concerned - at least, the ones who rarely live longer than one-hundred years. As such, most human cities are fully decked out with icons thanking the gods for another new year - all the gods, even the ones most humans don't particularly like. It pays suck up to those more powerful than yourself.

The gods themselves have been invited to a banquet, in their honour, held at the Tower of the Source, the only truly neutral ground in the world. Most of those in attendance are, of course, not mortal, but each deity's high priest is also there. Staying very far away from each other, in most cases.

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

Should I arrive as I am? Or how they believe me to be? thought Housheng, as she prepared to leave for the party.

I'm going to greet that creepy little boy again and my especially creepy cousins. I don't even know why he is still a child, there is no inherent strength from youth. I guess it doesn't hurt to appear a bit more presentable, however.

With a crack of her knuckle, she shifts her form from that of a blood-stained hunter and into that of a priestess with delicate hands and features.

"Come along, Lysandra. We don't want to keep anyone waiting, now do we?" Housheng scratches her pet tiger between the ears and teleports herself and Lysandra to the party.

"Hello everyone! How are you all doing this evening?"

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

"Eeny meeny miney mo, catch a mortal by the toe, if it hollers kill it slow, eeny meeny miney mo."

Opening his eyes Aetas grasped at the mortal he was pointing at and pulled it into his realm. It was an Elven woman, middle aged with tangled brown hair. She was one of his faithless faithful, those who worshipped him because they held nothing but apathy for existence on Ethernia.

Looking back he saw that her circumstances stemmed from exile after she had once made love to a Human to rebel against her father's orders, and looking forward he saw that she would die by his own hand. She would do fine.

Putting her down he rearranged his form so that it was a little less gigantic, but retaining his three eyed appearance.

"Congratulations. Since I have no interest in promoting one of you people officially you have been chosen to act as my High Priestess for the New Year's celebration, which for some reason I am being forced to bring one of you to. Your reward for doing well is a painless death in your sleep. Failure will be met with millennia of torture. Are we clear? Good."

And with that he infused her with the power required to survive the Divine meeting and garbed her in green robes and a ridiculous wide brimmed Wizard's hat. Then focussing his energies he transported the pair of them to the meadow where the celebration was to take place.

Seeing the other immortal beings gathered Aetas perked up. After having to deal with the mortal realm it always cheered him up to see his fellow Gods.

His "High Priestess" just stood there, completely petrified and immediately forgotten.

[Fishy]

Tulacea

In her youth, a massive windstorm struck Pulifolia's home forest and ripped her tree up from its roots, but through the power of the magical livewood, both the tree and the dryad survived. Given that the Tower of the Source was neutral ground, and so by definition was nowhere near any of Tulacea's forests, or libraries, or forest-libraries, the goddess had to bring a guest who was capable of bringing her own tree. Pulifolia was hardly the most powerful or renowned of the dryads in the employ of the Lady of Leaves, but she was rapidly becoming the most well-traveled.

Two fey female forms composed entirely of plant matter appeared in the banquet hall. One wears an elegant white gown, floor-length and high-collared, and the other wears a rather battered satchel filled with books and carries a stick.

"Of course you're not underdressed," intoned the goddess soothingly, picking the thought out of her timid acolyte's mind, "It'll be fine. Go on, observe the party, meet people. Have fun!"

[truemane]

Morduun

Morduun, the Deep Lord, had no High Priest. He solicited no clergy and received little worship. However, there were several ascetic orders dedicated to venerating his name and discerning his will. And so he brought with him one of the High Magistrates of the Order of the Ebon Lotus. A man of great discipline and learning and of deep wisdom and strength of will. Ularious was his name.

And so they arrived, the tall pale tattooed God with eyes the colour of the ocean after a storm and the slim and compact Monk with the ageless eyes. Both of them dressed in simple robes and both of them silent and observant.

[Yuki Akuma]

The banquet hall of the tower is decorated with statues of all of the gods, as well as much smaller statues of each high priest in attendance - which must be quite odd for the mortals, considering they certainly weren't there before today. Not that many mortals ever get to see this room...

The banquet table is a rough ring, designed so that there's no 'head' of the table. Each deity's seat is placed directly opposite their statue, with their high priest sat directly in front of said statue - meaning each priest is sat between two deities who aren't his own. This is meant to allow the mortals to learn the value of other deities' teachings, although they tend to be very silent and try not to catch anyone's eyes.

The Keeper has a place at the table as well, of course - being what amounts to the high priest of the Source. None of the other denizens of the Keep get to eat with the gods, though - their meal is located in the Hall of the Source, along with other important mortals.

Naturally, the gods could eat in there - or, really, anywhere - but it's traditional for the gods to eat within the Hall of Statues.

[Kaiser Omnik]

Ulara

The Eternal Guardian appeared at the banquet in a whirlwind of autumn leaves. She took the shape of a female orc. Her hair was wild and here eyes were a deep green. Ulara was always dressed as a warrior, even at formal occasions; it was her nature. She wore no weapons except for a ceremonial kris. She was tall and intimidating, but that was nothing compared to the times she got angry. Even gods feared her when she was in that state.

Ulara brought an orc chieftain with her. The man was not a high priest, but he was powerful and wise. He commanded one of the largest orchish hordes in the world, yet he found time to visit various holy sites.

The Wild Queen bowed to the Keeper, whom she respected greatly. She then addressed her fellow gods:

"I am happy to see you, Housheng, Tulacea." She frowned and simply stated the names of the others present. "Aetas. Morduun."

[The_Snark]

Eridani

A brief gust of wind preceded Eridani's arrival. The goddess of storms wore a flatteringly cut dress that rippled periodically between shades of grey, blue and black, giving the impression that the tailor had woven it from a storm-stossed sea rather than fine cloth. Her brown hair was neatly combed despite the breeze she had arrived in (which had done its best to upset everyone else's). It was not the vision of loveliness she usually showed to mortals—everybody here who mattered would have seen through that—but she had clearly made an effort to look presentable.

The effect was rather spoiled by her expression. She swept a critical glare across the banquet hall, the set of her mouth telling anybody who cared to look at her that it wasn't at all up to her standards. Finally, she gave a short nod to the assemblage as a whole—the only greeting she planned on giving—and sat, pointedly ignoring her brother-in-law a few seats down.

Her priest was considerably less obtrusive, and considerably more courteous. Alexander Petraios had been the sole survivor of a ship lost at sea when he was only a boy, and he had been taken in by the Church of the Three, who considered such a child favored by Eridani. He had blossomed in his new life; today, he was hailed as Blessed of the Winds, Lord Commander of the Church's small navy and scourge of pirates across Ethernia. This was the first time he had ever met his goddess in person, and although it was a great honor, he was slightly disconcerted. Quite aside from the wonder of meeting all the other gods, she was not quite what he expected.

But three decades at sea had ground discipline firmly into the Lord Commander's soul, and mind-boggling startlement was not enough to unseat it. He bowed to the deities as a whole and strode around the table to his assigned place, bowing again to the deity next to him once he was seated.

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

"I'm happy to see you too, Ulara. I must say, my statue doesn't look like me. It's rather odd. I don't remember ever having that third mouth by my hip. I guess it must be some sort of artistic license."

She then kneels down and pets her tiger.

"Lysandra, go make sure Reginald is well."

On the opposite side of the table is Reginald, Housheng's head priest. He is a man of nervous disposition, constantly scanning the room for any problems or things to worry about. His dog is by his feet, sniffing about the room and looking at whatever its master is not. Reginald does not appear to be enjoying himself and is chewing on a piece of meat slowly and deliberately. While Reginald used magic to nourish himself, he still felt the need to chew on things.

Housheng walks around the room and waves to Eridani.

"Oh, hello Eridani. May I hug you or do you simply wish to scowl at me?"

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

Claiming the seat next to Ulara's Orcish representative Aetas seems upset.

"I'm hurt. I've never done anything to you and still you treat me with contempt, while you welcome this fellow along with you without concern. Ah I'll never understand you lot."

[Rarkasha]

Fate Weaver

It almost looked like the priest was leading the god. The Fate Weaver was only about 4 and a half feet tall, after all. She was dressed in a pink shirt with a white shawl, and a dark red skirt, and appeared in her usual human girl form. Her priest was dressed in red with gold trimmings. His name is Averem, a relatively young human priest. The natural assumption for most gods who know the Lunatic Princess is that she picked him solely because he was interesting to her in some unique way. Still, he seems composed enough to be in such an unnatural position. He does have a reputation as being a powerful but somewhat flaky leader, always leading the head church to travel to new places. He is known in many places as a compassionate person, acting in many places as mediator to different countries, in addition to more fantastic adventures. He somehow finds time in between these adventures to manage the church into a disorganized whole with little infighting. The current state is an open, connected set of churches, but in hard times they might turn to self reliance.

"Eminence, I think I should be fine from this point on. You can stop leading me around," says Averem, as he looks at his surroundings, absorbing every detail. There's a palpable mix of fear and excitement from him.

"Hmm... I wanted you to meet Uncle Xandalor. I bet he's sleeping in today."

"Oh? Speaking with a contraction. I guess you are much more relaxed here?" Averem says this with a polite grin while publicly goading her. She switches from looking relaxed and distant to haughty in a split second in response.

"Idiot. Trying to show off in front of the other priests with your understanding? I could always ask you to be a footrest," she says, though with a smile, " You know why you're here. Have fun, and don't forget to mingle. Though you probably would even if I told you not to." The Fate Weaver's mortal-to-mortal style dynamic is well known, despite her being born as a god. But her behavior is hard to predict, in that sometimes she does something drastic at these gatherings, and at other times she watches patiently in the background. Either way, some kind of plan is likely, simply because she likes causing mischief. Even more confusing, she is just as likely to let her priest follow his own agenda to see what he does.

The god and priest split up to start greeting the other guests. The Fate Weaver starts by greeting everyone " Haaah, that was a short year, wasn't it? Everyone in the mortal realm seems to be partying so earnestly, it's too bad I can't be present. But then, how could I miss a chance to see my family again?" If there's one thing you can always count on her to be honest about, it's celebrations. She genuinely enjoys being around her always interesting brothers and sisters, though she has her favorites. She went around to see them personally, as she never took her seat until she had a chance to see everyone up close at least once.

Among the current deities assembled, she greets Tulacea first, as she would a favorite sister. She knows they have some disagreements about what to do during mortal calamities, but Tulacea's emotion about mortals is as genuine as hers. This common thread makes them stand out to the less attached gods. Speaking of which, she hadn't talked to Aetas yet. As in, not since she changed her mind about how to act in the mortal realm. But there were yet other obstacles. She politely greeted Ulara, who she didn't always see eye to eye with, but treated her as an equal nonetheless. She greeted Housheng in the same manner. They had some similar ideas on how to handle matters, but her personality makes her occasionally difficult to get along with. Morduun she handled quickly, like a distant cousin. He rarely did anything she took interest in, but she didn't want to irritate him either. For Eridani, she decided to take the polite approach. She teased the Spiteful Lady when she could get away with it, but generally just watched her to see what she did. The Lunatic Princess was always prepared for the possibility one of her precious (and interesting) mortal cities might irritate her somehow.

Lastly, she went to Aetas. She liked him in the sense that he always made things more interesting, and that he sometimes caused a rush of emotion in people just by the mention of his name. At the same time, while she liked to play with mortals, she did so because she liked them. The feeling of apathy he generated was still something she opposed on principle, and of course no one who believed in her would get along with someone who believed in him. Even if it would cause her to lose face among other gods, she still had to talk with him. He was fascinating, regardless of any difference in belief.

"Aetas," she said, smiling at him, "done anything interesting recently?

[Fishy]

Tulacea

Tulacea greets the Fate Weaver with a quick hug, and a demurely offered hand to her priest, and then moves to take her seat around the banquet table. The traditional ordering of the pantheon puts her between Ulara and Housheng- which of course strands Pulifolia between Eridani and Aetas. "Um. Hello," she manages to say, thereby fulfilling her divine obligation to 'meet people'.

Tulacea, for her part, politely acknowledges Alexander's bow, and then takes a moment to more deeply observe the mortals on either side of her. A brief but comprehensive scan of their histories, their secrets, their thoughts, their hopes and their feelings reveals precisely nothing about the future plans of the unpredictable deities they serve. Which she had expected, but it was worth a look anyway.

"Lord Commander," she says with a smile, without bothering with the mundanity of actually asking his name or title, "Thank you for coming- It's a pleasure to meet someone with such a distinguished and colorful history."

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

"I'm afraid not. I promised to be a good boy until after New Years, lest the mortals think I was hailing the apocalypse."

Looking between the Orc on his one side, and the Fey on the other, Aetas seemed to notice the empty space opposite him. Looking for his "High Priestess" he saw his semi-stunned compatriot lurking just outside the banquet hall door.

"Aiya ferdoien clamasqa." He spoke in a randomly selected mortal tongue, possibly Sylvan as he motioned with his hand and drew her into the room, the millions of interlinking symbols that made up his clothes rattling together musically. "Do try and cheer up. It could be worse after all." While his voice was jovial, there was a tinge of a threat attached to it.

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

"Oh dear, this party is already getting boring."

"Somebody play an instrument! I want to dance!"

[The_Snark]

Eridani

Eridani gives Housheng a flat look. Which, she realizes an instant later, is almost the same as admitting the latter is true. Damn her. "I wasn't aware they'd suspended our custom of being polite. Someone really ought to have told me if that were so, don't you think?"

At least she doesn't actually have to sit next to Housheng, who is often irritating and always too phlegmatic to bother much. She gives Tulacea's priestess a single seconds-long glance and then ignores her; this is nonetheless more than the orc chieftain on the other side of her receives. But despite her apparent scorn, Pulifolia has caught Eridani's attention. Most high priests are irritatingly rooted in their faith—if she has to talk to somebody, the shy-looking dryad might be the best choice.

On the other side of the table, the conversation is a little more lively. "Thank you, ma'am," the Lord Commander says, defaulting to a naval honorific since he's not sure what the goddess prefers. "It's an honor to be here. But I'm afraid you have the advantage of me—I am ashamed to admit I haven't spoken to many people who profess to follow you." His silence is a polite invitation to fill in that gap in his knowledge.

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

"I do not prescribe to social customs people do not benefit from and neither do you."

"I miss how you used to be. Back then, you would have pretended to put on a smile at the very least. Now you are just upset all the time at everybody in some bizarre attempt to make people feel they're not wanted in the universe."

"And sure, you do not like me, but at least show a little bit of compassion towards the people you do not hate."

"Which is probably nobody, now that I think about it."

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

In response to Houseng's demand Aetas conjures three Lillends, creatures with human torsos and heads, a serpent's tail 10ft long, and feathered wings that shifted between all shades of blue, green and red as they moved. Two held harps wrought of purest gold, while the third possessed a 3ft long wooden flute.

"The God's demand a performance. Prove to us that you deserve your existence."

Whether from fear or an inherent desire to perform, the trio each took a stance, and began to play. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCiL9tZMMB4)

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

"Thanks for the music. Now to dance!"

Housheng grabs Aetas by the hand and drags him into an impromptu dance floor. Housheng performs a very fast step and leads the steps the entire time.

[Fishy]

Tulacea

Now that the 'argument' has been defused for the moment, Tulacea waves one hand, and a glass of feywine appears in the other, along with a few more scattered around the table based on who she thinks thinks they will want some. Pulifolia (prone to seasickness and vertigo, falls ill and withers when away from her staff, persistent feelings of social inadequacy) practically jumps at hers, although she does seem a tad more relaxed with Aetas away from her and on the 'dance floor'.

"Indeed you haven't, but there's nothing all that mysterious about me," the semi-omniscient goddess says to the sea captain. She turns slightly in her chair, looking through the Lord Commander in an infinite stare-

"... Do you remember three summers ago, when you escorted the Ambassador across the straits during the stormy season, and you looked to the horizon and saw certain signs, and you and your men prepared their your ship and prepared yourselves, and the storm broke and no one was harmed?"

She looks away, helping herself to a sip from her glass and addresses the air in front of her and between the two mortals. "What if you could live your entire life like that?"

[Yuki Akuma]

"Please don't convert others' high priests to your own worship, my Lady," comes a voice a few seats away from Tulacea. It's the Keeper, of course. "...Not that I wish to insinuate that you were, of course, but it pays to keep that in mind," he backpedals hastily. It must be odd to see a young mortal boy almost reprimanding a goddess.

[Fishy]

Tulacea

"I wouldn't dream of it, dearie. Just idle philosophical chatter," Tulacea replies, perhaps too quickly. "He did ask, you know."

"Or, he was thinking about asking."

"If you want to be technical."

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

Not the most prolific dancer in the almost-world, Aetas falls back on his secondary mentality and cheats (his primary mentality is murder, but that never ends well when other Gods are involved).

As Housheng's dainty hand grasps his, Aetas silently casts a Foresight spell upon himself. The constant stream of information conjured from a second into the future allows him to keep up with the nature Deity's steps without treading on her feet.

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp.

It's cute how he's just trying to get out of my way rather than actually dance. I just want to eat him up! Except he'll taste like vomit and poo. I should deep-fry him instead. Everything tastes better deep-fried.

"You should really get someone to teach you to dance. Members of the opposite sex appreciate a good dance, regardless of species."

Reginald Anderson, Head Priest of Housheng

Housheng appears hungry, but he isn't attacking anyone. He probably wants to leave the impression that this place is safe, seeing as he sent his cat over to me.

"Hello little guy." he says as he gives a piece of meat to the tiger.

Reginald starts to walk around a bit, the two beasts trailing him. He stops when he sees Pulifolia.

"I haven't seen you in a while. Why are you here? I thought you retired a number of years ago."

[The_Snark]

Eridani

Eridani seems taken aback slightly at Housheng's reply. By the time she's collected her thoughts into a proper retort—you liked me better when I was pretending to be happy for your sake? Excuse me for not caring, I'm sure—the nature goddess has moved on, leaving her without anyone to voice it to.

And they wonder why I hate these parties.


Across the table, Lord Commander Petraios is a step or so behind the others present in the conversation. His eyes flick over to the Keeper without recognizing him, but the boy's comment at least. "I apologize if I gave the wrong impression, ma'am," he says formally. "On the high seas all blessings are welcome, but I am content with those my goddess has given to me. I was only..." He manages to check himself before he says only being polite to a goddess, then chuckles. Of course she would know what he'd almost said. After many formal dinners with the dignitaries of foreign nations, it's oddly liberating to know that it hardly matters if you misstep in conversation!

"Ah! You know what I mean. I am interested," he concludes with a smile, "but you must understand I'm already taken."

[Fishy]

"It is good fun, isn't it?" Tulacea beams at Alexander, cheerfully taking part in a conversation that isn't actually happening. "And that's the important thing- we're here to have a good time, and not to listen to me prattle." She raises her glass in the vague direction of the Keeper- "As our gracious host has been so kind to remind me," she adds, for the Lord Commander's benefit- and for Aetas' priestess, if she can be bothered to pay attention and cares to educate herself.

Across the table, Pulifolia eyes Reginald's companions uneasily, having no desire to be used as a territory marker or scratching post. "Oh! Um. Well, that wasn't so much a 'retirement' as a break, really. My Lady was kind enough to let me have some time to myself after recording all of that nasty business with the..." Out of the corner of her eye, the Dryad catches Eridani pulling herself into a full-on divine sulk, and becomes dimly aware of what she may or may not be getting herself in to. "... With the Shells. And all that."

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

Housheng releases Aetas from her grasp and grabs Eridani for the next song.

"You're a much better dancer than he was."

"Now, don't get me wrong. I'm fine with being unhappy – if there is a reason. But now, not only are you unhappy, you're not trying to find happiness for yourself. You just want to see others suffer to bring them down to how you feel about yourself."

"Just try to relax and have a good time before the world ends."

"I sort of missed when you were human. I knew you were destined for great things. Not necessarily good, but very large in quantity."

Reginald

Oh dear, this again.

"Hey, look at this cute little bird!" Reginald uses his magic to call forth a set of doves and hands them over to Pulifolia.

"Don't worry about the animals. They've been tamed and housebroken."

[Fishy]

Pulifolia examines the dove for a moment, a little bit put out at being transparently coddled... but it is a cute bird. She transfers it to her head, where it promptly nests in her leafy 'hair'. "It's lovely, thank you. And that's certainly good to know," she adds, with a sheepish smile at the big cat, and then at her fellow priest. "And it certainly has been too long. Have you been keeping well?"

[UglyPanda]

Reginald

"Relatively. I've been spending the last month exploring the wilderness and trying to figure out which plants and mushrooms are edible. It's truly disgusting work."

"But it is far better than having to fight in pointless wars for people you don't know over land you'll never own."

Reginald takes a breath before continuing. "So, what have you been doing?"

[Fishy]

Pulifolia

"Watching the grass grow, essentially," the dryad replies with a grin. "We're working on a new orchard design- if it works, it'll be very efficient, and if it doesn't, it wouldn't do to clutter up somebody's tree. And it's the kind of work the Quick Ones don't have the patience for, and I've needed a chance to slow down and think things over anyway. So."

"Not as much fun as mushrooms, though. I suppose you already have someone along to catalog your findings? Wouldn't want to have to do that twice."

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

"I'll be sure to remember that for next time" he says, bowing to Housheng before setting about wandering round the room looking at the various statues.

[UglyPanda]

Reginald

"No, it's only me. My magic protects me from dying of poison. Getting sick from it is a different matter."

"Of course, my work would be over a lot faster if I had access to Tulacea's writings."

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

As the three eyed Deity reached the statue of his own "High Priestess" (how the Source managed to make it on such short notice impressed even him) he pulled out a golden inkpen and drew a long looping moustache and goatee beird across her face.

Turning as he heard a whimper, he saw that the drawing had indeed created an identical amount of facial hair on the Elf, and laughed.

Apparently this though was too much for her, and seeming to snap she threw the enormously brimmed hat to the floor and screamed at him. "I'll not suffer such indignity any longer. If death is what it takes to be rid of you then do it already! Maybe then I'll get some Gods forsaken peace!!"

The Lilends fall silent and Aetas looks genuinely surprised at the outburst for a moment to fast for any of the mortals present to catch, before a slight smile creeps onto his mouth.

[Fishy]

"Oh, you're welcome to browse them, they're just not terribly portable-" Pulifolia manages to say before the room is interrupted by the mortal outburst. She whips her head around to look, out of reflex, prompting a disturbed coo from her new hat.

Across the table, Tulacea turns in her seat, and looks directly at Aetas' priestess for perhaps the first time the entire evening. "This may come as a surprise to you," she says, with thorns in her voice, "But some people occasionally have to deal with the consequences of their actions for more than five minutes at a time."

[The_Snark]

Eridani

The goddess is surprised for all of a second before settling into the dance—and she is a better dancer than Aetas was. There's something about being the only one dancing while others do not, about being the center of attention, that brings out a certain vivaciousness in her. Her partner's current gender doesn't seem to faze her at all, and she dances aggressively, whispering in the other goddess's ear as the dance brings them closer. She even smiles, with an amused glint in her eye as she listens.

"Housheng, dear," she purrs, "have you considered that I might enjoy that? That I might find it amusing to see people stumble and fall? There is a wonderful mortal word—schadenfreude. You should look into it."

Then one of the high priests starts screaming; the music stops jarringly. Eridani shoots an annoyed look at the one responsible—Aetas, predictably. "Why do we invite him again?" she asks. Maybe she's addressing Housheng, but she makes no effort to keep her voice down; even the mortals can hear.

Over on the other side of the table, the Lord Commander does his best to keep from frowning, looking between the distraught high priestess and her god.

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

"I know the word, I don't like to speak in Elvish. The Elves don't like me and I only like them when cooked with a light wine sauce."

Housheng notices the commotion and simply doesn't care. Housheng turns back to Eridani, staring deep within her eyes. "I don't think we are in charge of the guest list and it is the purview of that ageless child. Of course, if we didn't invite him, he would have just invited himself and made a big ruckus about it."

Housheng continues to dance with Eridani, not minding that the music has ended. With the rhythm existing only in their heads, the dance becomes increasingly intricate.

"I'm having trouble remembering. Do any of our kind happen to have children? I'd rather like to study them. It's the only reason I bothered keeping tabs on your sister and she turned out to be a huge disappointment."

Housheng puts extra emphasis on those last two words, trying to earn Eridani's favor.

Reginald

"That would be quite nice. If they aren't portable, then I would surely like to visit. I wouldn't mind having someone watching over me in case you are afraid I'll do something."

Reginald hears the shouting and swiftly responds "Take it outside! I'm sick of being told not to get blood on this building's floor!"

"Pulifolia, I forgot to mention, Master Housheng has expressed an invitation for you to visit his newest garden. You may visit any time you give advance notice."

[Yuki Akuma]

The Keeper takes a sip of wine - it's a taste one of his previous incarnations possessed and he hasn't been able to shake it - and then sighs slightly. "...If you must fight, please take it outside. That's sacred ground as well, of course, but not quite so sacred that a little bloodshed would be bad for it."

He pauses for half a second. "Not fighting at all would be preferable, of course... Hm. Shard." There's a faint inrushing of air next to the Keeper's cheek, as a small, catlike... thing... appears out of thin air. It's vaguely humanoid, and seems to glow faintly from within. "I think Aetas' high priestess requires some... cheering up? Go talk to her." The Shard nods. "Okay."

The cattish creature zips through the air, passing over heads and zooming over to the distressed elf. he takes one look at her, and with admirable self-control manages not to laugh - although the amusement is evident in his eyes. "...Hi!"

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

"If one of them dies, would anyone mind if I ate the corpse for dinner?" said Housheng without a hint of humor.

"Who is in charge of cooking the food for this banquet? I have some recipe suggestions for the next time."

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

"I do apologise, I forsaw this when I chose it, but I didn't realise it would be so soon. Come with my dear."

Aetas will walk over to the Elf, erasing the moustache as he bowed to the Keeper.

"Excuse me a moment sir."

And with that the pair vanish, only for Aetas to reappear all of a second later, looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Oh good, I didn't cross myself. Sorry Housheng, but you will have to satisfy yourself with one of the entertainers for your supper, I'm afraid there wasn't enough left to make a satisfactory hors d'oeuvre."

Taking a large gulp from a goblet, he wished that there was another present that would understand the pleasure he took from the six years of torture he had just inflicted on that insolent Elf.

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

"You could have at least saved me a few bones for my dogs."

"Or maybe soup, if I have the right vegetables at home."

[Fishy]

Tulacea

The plant goddess gives Aetas a wooden look.

"Who gained from that, cousin? That woman could have been someone. She could have become something- she chose not to, but she could have, until you took that away from her. And for what?!"

An edge of anger creeps into her voice, and she forces it back, taking a long, deliberate drink from her wineglass and bringing it down to the table, wrapped in a fist.

"I am, of course, being unfair to you, Aetas. I should instead ask the real question, that I hope our mortal guests will ask themselves. What has anyone gained, from anything that any of us has ever done?!"

Across the table, Pulifolia's white bark seems to turn two shades paler. This is not anything resembling normal for her.

[Kobold-Bard]

Aetas

"You know I don't like correcting you; mostly because you're usually right, but it would never have become anything. When I picked it I read every possible future. No matter my action or inaction it would die alone and miserable. In reality I've probably done it a favour."

Finishing his drink he stood up and faced the Keeper.

"Thank you as always for the excellent meal, but I am afraid I must be off. Things to do and undo, and I think I may have worn out my welcome for another century." He glances back at Tulacea and Eridani before bowing.

[UglyPanda]

Housheng

"If anyone has gained anything from my kindness, then it is unintentional. I only help those who have earned it." Housheng says calmly and deliberately. She doesn't really care what goes on with Aetas. All she cares about is his nutritional value.

"Are there any fried urchins? I suddenly have a craving."

Reginald

"I think your master really really needs a drink." he says to Pulifolia.

"Can you get drunk or does it just pass through your body like regular food?"

[Fishy]

"Do you honestly expect me to believe a word of that?" Tulacea snaps at Aetas, by now thoroughly out of patience.

Across the table, Pulifolia suddenly becomes incredibly fascinated by the contents of her wineglass. "I can," she mutters, "Though I didn't think that she could."

However, as Aetas prepares to depart, Tulacea somewhat composes herself. "I have been thinking," she announces, arguably to the Lord Commander beside her but loud enough for the rest of the room to hear, "About ecological efficiency. Our niche, as it were, is to feed on Potential and render it into crude matter- and to complicate the lives of mortals. Personally, I see no reason why the latter could not be left to yourselves..."

"Or why the former could not be accomplished by... oh, let's say some sort of... plant."