< A Basket For Elora | Logs | Meet Ahlat >
Elora Elora has asked "Venus" to meet her in the Plaza of Igniting Stars, one of the many intersections where unusual fountains and elaborate benches line parks of unearthly plants in the heavenly city of Yu-Shan.
Elora She waits, dressed in one of her more practical travelling outfits, a raspberry Chiaroscuran soda in a paper cup in one hand.
venus{A} arrives dressed as per usual. She doesn't really have any more sensible outfits, and she's a little embarassed about that. She'd compensated by wearing two, one over the other. She runs up, breathless, and about 3 minutes early.
Elora looks at Venus' outfit with... surprise, though she allows only a single eyebrow to freely express that reaction. "Hello, Harmony. You're early! Did you want a soda?"
venus{A} "A what?"
Elora blinks. "A... so...da." She holds up her cup helpfully. "It's bubbly and sweet."
Elora waits for a second, thinks about what she said, and blushes.
venus{A} grins, then coughs and forces a solemn expression on her face. "I would like to try one."
Elora picks up a second cup from beside the bench and offers it to Venus. "This one is mango."
venus{A} takes it and tries a sip. She sneezes as the bubbles fizz in her nose. "It's.. very nice. Thank you." she chokes.
Elora suppresses a chuckle.
Elora "You, uh... don't want it to go up your nose."
venus{A} wipes her nose surreptitiously, and tries again, holding her breath this time as she drinks. Surprised, she smiles, "Oh, that IS good."
Elora nods and sips her own soda. "So! Shall we, uh, get started?"
venus{A} takes another sip and sets down the glass. "Yes ma'am."
Elora leads Harmony over towards the center of the plaza, where a few minor gods -- officiants of such tiny sub-sub-bureaux as Freshly Mown Grass or Rocks of Between Eight and Twenty Feet -- have gathered at Elora's request (and, perhaps, the very slightest of monetary incentives.)
venus{A} , seeing she has an audience, makes an effort to look confident, and sexy as she walks
Elora looks back and forth for a moment, then makes the proper introductions. "Venus, this is Jelzari-Many-Toed, Nine Sundroplets Asunder, Kindling-Ascent, Kibbun Also-Snails, and... Filbic?" Elora isn't actually sure who the last god is.
Elora "Everyone, this is Venus."
pigeon The god looks askance. "TRIL Lbic?."
Elora "Oh, right, right. Trillbic."
venus{A} starts to greet them as she would other people, then catches herself and tries a reverant bow. "Hi..."
Elora continues. "I think Autumn has been giving you some... inaccurate descriptions of what Yu-Shan is really like, so... I thought you could talk to some peo..." Dammit, had to break that habit. "Well, they all know how to get along around here without getting in anybody's way."
venus{A} looks back at Elora, "Okay, um." she lowers her voice, "but they're gods, aren't I supposed to like pray or something?"
Elora looks a little surprised at that statement. "Oh, no. They just work at the offices. Plus, your dad's a god, right?"
venus{A} "Well yeah.. but I've been praying to him every day."
Elora "Oh, well. Don't do THAT any more!"
venus{A} "What?" she says, appalled, "But then he won't recognize me!"
Elora "What?" Elora is a little surprised by this. "But you're his daughter. He'll recognize your Essence or something. And..." She gets a little fired up. "And what did he ever do for you anyway?"
venus{A} takes a step back, startled, "My God makes me strong." she realizes that her skittish reaction sort of belies her statement and steps forward again. "Without Him, I would have died a long time ago."
Elora "What? Why?"
venus{A} "Have you ever been to Nexus?"
Elora chews on the ice from her soda. "Well... sure. What does Ahlat have to do with that?"
venus{A} shifts from one foot to the other, glancing over at the gods near them. "I knew a lot of people who weren't as strong as me. I might not be anything compared to you, but there, I could stand up for myself... When there weren't too many. My family wasn't rich, we didn't live in the good part of town." she adds defensively.
Elora crunches down on her ice and blinks. "Oh. Um. That's... well, that's... good that you were able to... stay out of trouble." That sentence was clearly very difficult for Elora. "But... I mean, he's just your dad. You'd still be able to do everything you can do now if you told him to suck a sheep."
Elora points. "That's all YOU."
venus{A} "Yeah, I'm obviously real good at staying out of trouble." she replies sullenly. "I don't want Him to take away the only advantage I have."
Elora swallows her ice so as not to embarrass herself when her mouth gapes open. "Oh, who told you that, Venus? He can't do THAT."
venus{A} "Everybody knows that Gods take away their blessings when you screw up." she replies. "That's why the Anathema are back." she looks sideways, making a warding gesture and lowering her voice again, "Because people started worshipping the Gods again, and not just the Great Dragons."
venus{A} "I mean.. the ones.. that aren't you guys."
Elora "Oh. Uh." Elora kind of nods back and forth for a second. "That's... not actually true. I know this... I work in heaven. Gods can't take back things like that. Isn't that right, guys?" Elora gestures to the assembled deities.
pigeon "'iunno."
Elora sighs.
Elora Elora is about to attempt to wrangle something more helpful out of the Gods, when part of her mind clicks back. "....wait. What did you say about Anathema?"
venus{A} makes the warding gesture again. "It's what everyone says." she replies, cautiously. "The Anathema are back, because the Dragons took the blessing that kept them away... away. Along with the Empress." She pauses, then says in a rush, "But from what I heard, they're punishing the people that deserve it anyway."
Elora "Harmony... just... what... exactly... do you think that... I am?"
venus{A} fidgets, "...An Anathema. But Autumn said your kind were fighting the evil ones."
Elora is completely silent for a minute, but then bursts into uproarious laughter.
venus{A} jumps, startled and on guard. Clearly she is tense, and expects violence, eventually. She doesn't drop her wary look, even when she realizes she's only being laughed at. "What's so funny?"
Elora "Oh, nothing... Just... that's really... funny... for some reason..." Elora manages, between chuckles.
Elora "But... really... Gods can't do that."
venus{A} scowls.
Elora "Really."
Elora smiles.
Elora "Would I lie to you?"
venus{A} "Yes." she says flatly. "Probably."
pigeon The gods are kind of like, "what the hell are these people's problems," but also too polite (and afraid of Elora) to do anything, so they kind of...mill.
Elora crosses her arms and makes a cross face. "Why in the dogshit would I do THAT?"
venus{A} "How am I supposed to know? Most people I meet lie. My own mother lied to me. Why wouldn't you lie?"
Elora "Because... I am... EXTREMELY nice."
venus{A} shifts.
venus{A} "Sometimes nice people lie too. Are you saying my mother wasn't nice?"
Elora "Wha....? No! No. Nnnnno."
Elora "I am JUST saying...."
Elora gestures to the clearly hideously impatient Gods.
Elora "I work with these... " Still absent a good word, she skips it and carries on. "So I know a lot more about them than 'most people.' And I had you come over here today so I could help you out."
Elora "So!" she says, conclusively. "There's absolutely no way Ahlat can take away your gifts, even if you stop praying to him."
venus{A} "Then... I guess... I have no reason to be in Heaven." she sags. "I wanted to prove my worth to him. I thought he would... I guess it doesn't matter."
Elora looks over at Venus. "Harmony. You've got worth no matter WHAT Ahlat thinks." She pauses for a second. "After all, you... found... us.... to hang out with...." She trails off.
venus{A} attempts a smile, "Good luck, that. Huh. Getting pushed around, threatened, dragged off to Ahl... to gods know where, and I don't even know why."
Elora "Well." Elora searches for something to work with here. "You got to try soda."
venus{A} stares at her for a second, then laughs.
Elora laughs too.
venus{A} "So.. will you at least tell me what's going on with all these trips you want to make? Lookshy? Halta? Something about the far North?"
Elora looks back and forth conspiratorially and then waves off the Gods.
pigeon The gods grumble and mutter as they wander off. Trillbic is especially annoyed-looking.
Elora "Okay, so," Elora whispers.
Elora "I'm in charge of the Convention Concerning the Pole of Earth. That means that it's my job to make sure that everything in the center part of Creation has the right things happen to it to keep fate happy."
venus{A} nods, seeming to lose a little of her tension as curiosity comes out to play. "That sounds very impressive."
Elora nods. "So... We get hints about things that are going wrong, and we have to fix them. Or..." She makes two fists and spreads out the fingers rapidly while mouthing the word "BOOM"
venus{A} 's eyes widen. "Really? It would all" she mimics the gesture.
Elora nods very seriously.
venus{A} "What's wrong with Lookshy? I've heard they have magical devices that could destroy an entire army. Is that it?"
Elora "I'm not... actually sure what's wrong with Lookshy." She emphasises the following words carefully. "That was the Bishop's idea."
venus{A} "Oh," she rubs her arm nervously. "So... if it's the Bishop's idea... does that mean that we are going there to hurt people?"
Elora "I hope not. I don't like hurting people either." Elora scratches the back of her head in embarrassment over that unfortunate incident with Autumn.
venus{A} looks solemnly out over the plaza, "Sometimes, you have to hurt people. Like if they'd hurt someone else if you let them, or, sometimes to keep them safe from worse things... and sometimes..." she trails off.
Elora nods. "I know." She looks upset, and gazes kind of far off, into the distance, when she says it.
Elora After a second she gets her composure back together: "But if I don't need to, I'd really prefer to avoid it."
venus{A} "That seems impossible, with your friends."
Elora sighs again,.
Elora "There must be some way to keep the Bishop on a leash."
venus{A} 's hand reflexively slides up to her collar, "Maybe you can find one he likes."
Elora laughs again.
venus{A} smiles, getting a mischevous look on her face, "Sometimes, with the right person, it can be fun."
Elora blushes again and rapidly reaches for the remnants of her soda.
venus{A} "Have you ever been in love?"
Elora snarfs her soda, and then shuts her eyes tightly as the bubbles painfully shoot up her nose. A second after her sinuses clear, she opens her eyes wide again and responds. "What?!"
venus{A} ducks away rapidly, and by the time Elora has recovered, is a good distance away "What was THAT?"
Elora "I... snarfed my soda."
venus{A} reapproaches slowly. "You what? Is that stuff dangerous?"
Elora "What? Oh, no no no, just... it went up my nose because... you surprised me. That's all."
venus{A} lowers herself onto the bench, glancing over at elora, "So have you?"
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