The gods Next Door [IC]

[The Cyberiad Council]

Banner created by Forest State

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OOC | Roster | Theme | Discord

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A pair of ravens might not be too rare a sight in the forests surrounding Portland, nor would the seemingly ordinary man standing a few feet away. He looked to be past his prime, but his imposing stature still remained. What was unusual was the ethereal Futhark resting in the air between his palms. The runes shifted and flickered with supernatural energy as Odin worked Seidr magic. Kenaz grew bright as the others faded away, casting a blue light on Odin's features. The Hrafnagud held his hands higher and moved them apart, causing the rune to grow.

A sudden caw from one of the birds took Odin's focus and the rune suddenly vanished. "Huginn!" The old man yelled, turning to face the bird. The raven croaked and fluttered down to the ground and pecked at the ring of frost forming around his master's feet. "You're right," Odin sighed. He adjusted his hat and whistled to the birds who flew from tree to tree staying just ahead of Odin. After a short walk through the forest, Odin came to a beautifully restored Wanderer W24. "We're going home," he called to the birds who let out a small cacophony of calls before taking off into the sky.

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The drive back to the City was rather uneventful, a nice Wednesday drive. 'Wednesday.' Odin mused over the name yet again. It was always nice to have something named after you, especially something that was such a part of everyday life. Veering away from downtown, the god circled around, making his way to the wooded area to the west of town. He drove up the winding streets until he reached the Norse estate. 3130 NW Forest Ln. It was nice, not anything like Asgard, but very comfortable for human standards.

The ravens flew in through an open window while Odin parked the car. Odin's favorite thing about the house was its view of Mt. Hood towering over Portland. Not lingering on the scenery, he headed inside and walked down a few flights of stairs to the basement. It was as furnished like the rest of the house, but Odin ignored it all and brushed his fingers over a piece of wood paneling. Runes glowed in the wake of his touch and a portion of the wall swung inward. "Back so soon?" a voice called from the corner of the small room. "It wasn't worth looking any more. The Heaven Gate wasn't there."

"I told you it wouldn't be."

"Mímir. Enough," Odin commanded, turning to face the head resting on a table in the corner. "There's no need to be snappy," the head shot back.

Odin walked over to a map of the area and traced an 'x' over the area he'd returned from searching. The paper under his skin marked itself with a bit of magic. "I can't figure it out; I pick up traces of the gate seemingly at random. There's no pattern or concentration, its everywhere and nowhere."

"I'm sure you'll find it soon enough, lord Odin. After all, how can a simple gate hide from the gaze of the Allfather?"

Odin shot Mímir a hard look but returned to the map, and the sea of x's from fruitless searches...

[Chewion]

Grant Highschool, Portland, Oregon
Narfi Lokison / Jack Jorgensen

3:00 PM
Wednesday, July 25th
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Narfi or Jack as this version of him was called, had just finished track practice and was currently talking to a few friends. Narfi enjoyed making friends and always felt bad when he had to fake dying or grow old and watch them all die. That was probably the hardest part. well, actually the hardest part was when he ever had a wife or kids and had to watch them grow old and die. It really weighed on him. Of course, a side effect of appearing as a teen meant he had some of the mentality so he could easily blow off the burden.

Finishing up with his friends he saw, Alexandra Jackson walking towards her car. Catching up with her he gave a smile before asking her to a party Friday. He and she had grown close Junior year and were unofficially a pair. He planned on changing that soon. Smiling as she accepted his invite he leaned in and the two kissed for a moment before Narfi noticed a black and red 2018 Camero SS parked a few spots away. Inside was Hel, is older half-sister who was appearing as an early 20's girl this time around, was watching him with a smirk.

Saying goodbye to Alexandra he made his way over to the Camero and got in saying "Are you going to tell dad or grandpa?"

[Haedros 92712]

Home
Brandt Jorgensen/Tyr Odinson
5:09 PM

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Brandt opened the door to his house, a sizeable foursquare with two floors, four rooms on each floor. It sat somewhat isolated from the street it sat on, and had a rather overgrown front and back lawn. I need to hire a gardener... Brandt went inside. The house was empty, and silent. Brandt walked in and climbed the stairs. He threw himself down on his bed. Today had been purely exhausting. He had been assigned to defend an accused murderer/rapist with a criminal background that consisted entirely of physical assault, sexual harassment, and other various offenses. Gods, humans are a bunch of hopeless bastards, aren’t they? Brandt laughed a little at this. Who am I to say anything about humans being hopeless? I practically am one now. Brandt, or “Tyr” as he had been in a previous existence, was a god. At least, he had used to be. Now I’m just a mortal with some fancy powers. Odin help me, I might as well be human for all it’s worth. Maybe then I wouldn’t have some skinny as hell horned beast trying to hunt me down. Brandt pulled out his cell phone, and opened it to the contacts menu. He scrolled through the numbers until he found his brother, Bjorn, or “Thor” as he had used to be. He pressed the contact at lifted the phone to his ear. The phone rang.

[Bentus]

Helene Jorgensen – Hel
Grant Highschool

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Helene had her chair tilted most of the way back, allowing her to lean comfortably with her feet propped up on the dash by the steering wheel. She’d kept the windows down, enjoying the Portland breeze without even the slightest care for anyone who may have heard the music blaring from the stereo. The woman casually reclining in the front seat of the idling Camero drew a few occasional curious glances, the flashy red and black muscle car sticking out like a sore thumb in the school parking lot. Dressed in a pair of straight business suit trousers along with a matching jacket over a crisp white button-up, Helene looked like she had just come from the office. The truth was that she had, which only added to her irritation at the last-minute instruction to pick up her half-brother after his classes. Of all the things that she could have been doing after work on a Friday, this was far down near the bottom of her list.

A pair of sunglasses kept the afternoon Sun’s glare from being too irritating, and Helene had wasted no time in going to whatever efforts she could to make herself comfortable. Her heels had long-since been kicked off of her feet, and she had tossed aside her tie after unclasping the topmost button of her shirt, finally feeling like she could breathe again for the first time all day. All in all, the relaxed young woman hardly looked like the sort of person you would expect to see sitting, evidently bored out of her mind, behind the wheel of a bright red sports car. But, Helene was also far from the normal mid-twenties college graduate. Her real name was Hel, the Norse Goddess of Death and the Daughter of Loki. A few millennia ago she could have also laid claim to the Queen of Helheim – not that that title had ever really meant much considering how little anyone ever visited – but she hadn’t set foot in her realm in longer than she cared to remember.

The din of approaching conversation could just be heard over the country rock booming from the car’s speakers, and Helene opened her eyes and glanced towards the building’s entrance, waiting impatiently as the humans all began to filter out. Scanning the crowds, she eventually saw the unmistakable figure of her younger half-brother. Bringing her legs down from the dash and re-adjusting her seat for the drive back to the family house, Helene scowled as she saw her brother hanging back with a girl. The pair seemed to be on their own, and going by the colour that had spread over the human’s cheeks, Helene figured that the younger Jorgensen was making a move. Her suspicions were confirmed when the pair leaned in for a kiss. Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Helene waited until her half-brother had finally, eventually, about-damn-time stepped into her car.

“Are you going to tell dad or grandpa?” Jack asked sheepishly, clearly nervous about the answer. Helene offered a sigh in response.

“If I can stop myself from being sick, we’ll see.” And with that, she gunned the car into motion, the Camero's engine letting out a roar as she floored the accelerator the moment they were out of the parking lot.

[Chewion]

[quote="Chewion";p="34402543"]

Grant Highschool, Portland, Oregon
Narfi Lokison / Jack Jorgensen

3:05 PM
Wednesday, July 25th
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Narfi, sitting somewhat uncomfortably next to his sister as they drove home piped up saying "Thank you for getting me. My car is in the shop and teleporting might alert...... it." Clearly fearful of the it he mentioned. Looking out the window for a moment he looked back at Hel before saying "Do you ever miss it? Asgard or even Helheim? I barely remember you in Asgard but I remember you would take me down to the river just outside Valhalla and we would mess around with the animals and pick flowers and stuff for dad....... I missed you when you were....... forced out, you know. Dad did too." Giving a small chuckle as he stared into the far-off horizon he said "I use to blame myself for you being sent away. Thought it was because we would pull too many pranks together. I looked up to you..... still do. At least we get to spend time together here on Midgard." He felt a tear or two roll down his face before he wiped them away hoping she hadn't seen.

"Sorry to bring this all up. I was just thinking today after I heard Leo McCaffery talking about a song about Uncle Thor by Sabaton." pausing for a minute clearly thinking over his next words he somewhat quietly said "I love you, sis. Our family doesn't say that enough."

[Okayanos]

Seamus Gallagher / Lugh Lamhfada

Edge of the Willamette River

It was almost a painful cliche, how much the king of the Tuatha de Danann enjoyed his time out in the few natural parts of the world close to his family's place of hiding. There was still a pulling at his soul, a craving for the endless, rolling green hills and deep, magical woods of his homeland. But it was eclipsed by the pull he'd felt towards this place- Portland, Oregon. He could be thankful for it, really. The more natural regions of the state have some hints of the old magic in them, and it was enough to make the Celtic gods feel more at home. But then, the pull of an unnatural power had tugged at their hearts once more, and they'd moved from the coast to the city. Lugh felt an ambition of the same kind that had filled him when he'd led his people to rise up against their Fomorian oppressors. He'd told Morrigan of it in the night, as they'd embraced.
"It's enough power that we'd be returned to our proper glory." He'd said, carefully phrasing it in the kind of way that would be most enticing to a goddess of war and fate, known for being a woman with a healthy appreciation for power. She did say that it was his prowess in battle that had first lit a fire of attraction in her. Her words, not his.

Lugh's lips curl up in a smile at the memory of the nightly activities that had followed the exchange, and, in hindsight, how happy he is to have made a wife of the Raven Queen- not a submissive one, though. She's an untameable sort, that one. He loves her all the more for it. Failinis whines and tugs at the leash, returning Lugh from his thoughts. The Irish Setter's greying around his muzzle, and seems to be wanting to return home and lay in front of the fireplace rather than staying by the river. Lugh gives the dog a scratch behind his ears, and Failinis' feathery tail swishes from side-to-side happily. Dreams about rolling hills would have to wait, it'd seem- Lugh's plan is to drop the dog at home, and then take his wife and legal-aged family out for some good old Irish entertainment- that is, a bit of drinking and fun.
"Come on then, Failinis. Let's not leave our minds sober longer than necessary- perhaps we'll even figure out more about that mysterious old power source while we're out enjoying life."

[Wulf Da Guy]

August Anagnos

Who'd expect the God of War and Destruction to 'Sworn to Protect and Dedicated to Serve' the people of Portland. He'd done many things since his fall, fought in wars across the world, including both Great Wars which were interesting to say the least. However, now he'd taken on a new name and an occupation he'd never thought he'd see himself take.

Lieutenant August Anagnos, a hardworking man who'd refused his last two promotion offers. He'd made sure the people within his precinct saw him as a kind officer, who'd do everything and then some for justice to be served. Hell, he'd even made a few friends along the way.

In all honesty, Ares wasn't sure if August was just another form of himself. Just as Ares and Mars were or if August was just a false face. But how August acted and felt was different from how Ares felt inside.

Ares could not smile, but August always did. Truthfully, he couldn't tell where August ended and Ares began. Some of his living kin might have been able to do so. But to him, he felt as if the real him was fading away every day he lived as August.

Maybe that was a good thing, he'd spent his money on his new life. His nice apartment, a new car and a closet full of beautiful clothing.

Ares could have asked for so much more.....but for now, this would do.

[Bentus]

Helene Jorgensen - Hel

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A silence had fallen over the pair of deities as Hel kept her eyes on the road. She had turned the radio down slightly once they'd started to move, but was content to pass the trip without any unnecessary conversation. At first Narfi seemed to be similarly inclined, leaning against the passenger side window as his gaze took in the scenery as it screamed past. But the young trickster god eventually turned to look at his older sister, shifting uncomfortably as he did so. Hel raised an eyebrow at the initial offer of thanks, shrugging in response.

“Hey, don't sweat it.” The Goddess smirked. “Besides, It's not like Dad gave me the chance to say no anyway.” She remained mute on the mention of the slayer, although she noticed the fearful glimmer in Narfi’s eyes before he turned away.

As if regretting ever having brought up the beast that had slaughtered so much of their family, Narfi hastily continued onto another topic. But what started out as a simple question soon transformed into a steady stream-of-conscience that saw Hel’s brother put his heart on his sleeve. Left speechless, Hel blinked in surprise at the sudden emotional outburst. Glancing away from the road for a second, she met her brother’s gaze as if to try and figure out where this was all coming from all of a sudden. She was surprised to glimpse a few stray tears that Narfi quickly wiped away, her brow furrowed as she realised that her brother was speaking both sincerely and honestly. Turning her attention back to the road, she couldn’t help but wonder if this had anything to do with that girl from earlier. There was an uneasy silence for a few seconds following Narfi’s outburst, as Hel tried to collect her own thoughts on what she’d just heard.

When she finally responded, her voice was quieter than usual. “It’s hard to miss a place that you hardly know, Narfi.” Asgard, the home of the Aesir and the glorious land set aside for the Norse pantheon. It was a place of splendor and luxury, with towering castles and a grandeur matched only by its inhabitants, and yet Helene’s memory of it was faded even before the Slayer turned it into the site of a massacre.

Odin had barred her from Asgard when she had been banished, tossed aside like the trash until she landed in Helheim. She had been alone back then, abandoned in the cold and the dark of the underside of the World Tree. The irony of her place of banishment had not been lost on her, and Odin had made damn sure to throw her to the literal end of the world, as far as possible from the glistening halls of Asgard as even he was able. It had been an act of spite and retribution, punishment for an act that she was foretold to commit. But at least Helheim became a place that she could fashion as her own, until Odin came and took her from there as well.

Pushing aside her self-pitying thoughts, Hel rolled her eyes. Grinning as she threw a quick punch at Narfi’s shoulder, her fist connecting with enough force to hurt, the woman scolded her younger brother. “Come on, quit bumming out my Friday. Asgard was always a bit uptight for my tastes anyway, and Helheim was just straight up depressing.” Flashing a mischievous grin, Helene decided to prod Narfi further. “Besides, I doubt you would have been able to woo any of the Asgardian women as easily as that human back there. Midgard does have its perks, after all.”

[Chewion]

Narfi Lokison / Jack Jorgensen

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Narfi rubbed his shoulder for a moment after the slightly hard punch as he gazed out the window. Responding to his sister he gave a weak smile saying "I could it just wouldn't be as easy." His smiled faded as he stared out the window and thought more on Asgard. Slowly the thoughts turned to the day of slaughter. He remembered waking up to the sounds of screams and smell of blood thick in the air. Then the rush to flee. And in doing so stumbling across his mother who lay dead, gruesomely shredded in areas by... it. Snapping back to reality he realized they had just gotten home. Taking the opportunity he turned to her saying "I need to show you something. Something that has been haunting me for two thousand years.

Biting his lip in nervousness he closed his eyes and, using his powers, pushed the memory of that day into his sister's mind playing it back for her like she was there. The sounds, smells, his emotions and thoughts at the time all presented to her like she was watching a playback of it in 4D. Finally finishing, Narfi couldn't help but start to break down in tears despite him trying to hold them back. For two thousand years every night almost he saw this memory and it terrified him. Made him feel small and weak like he was then. Mostly it made him feel pain at finding his other so destroyed by it. Nearly trembling he whispered out "Sorry, I just couldn't keep it on my chest anymore."

[Eisen]

Blood. Sweat. Spit. Mud.

He watched as a one armed man walked up the hill towards the army of Anglo-Saxons. The enemy chuckled until a hand axe was thrown into one of their faces by the man with a single arm, who drew his sword and then roared with fury and passion, bringing the rest of the Norse-men to roar with him as they ran up the hill, readying their swords and spears and axes and shields for war. He, himself, ran alongside with them, welding an axe in one hand, a shield in the other. The wetness of the rain from the thunderstorm cooled his face while the blood of the men he slaughtered warmed it as well. Fury and rage and passion and love fluttered about his mind as he slammed his axe through heart and head before...

... before he came back to reality. The present. The harsh life offered by the horror of something beyond himself.

Thor, son of Odin, son of Borr, son of Buri, God of thunder and lightning and war, of strength and fertility, protector of mankind, and would-be Slayer of the Midgard Serpent Jormungandr, tried his best to keep his mind from the dread of the early extinction of his kind. These were the kinds of thoughts and memories that kept him tired in more recent times, but he no less liked to keep a jovial attitude when he could. There was a lot of things he missed back in the good old days, and plenty of regrets to go with them, but, he supposed, fate was a fickle mistress, and he would muster on as hard as he could, through thick and thin. There was little left of what the Aesir and Vanir used to be. But, perhaps, a new life was what they needed. Especially to rekindle bad blood and broken bonds. None of this was foretold, but this was their Ragnarok, now. And he would do everything he could to protect his family... to protect their existence.

When not at work, doing odd jobs for his father, or relaxing, Thor could often be found at Portland City Boxing, a gym and boxing place in the Downtown area, on North West Glisan. It was often a sight to see, a man who stood head and shoulders above most lifting the equivalent of five large, grown men off the floor, somebody who could often be seen showing off his strength by lifting people above his head, or bench pressing them, all with such relative ease. And here he was shoulder pressing away for reps. At least, until his phone rang. He checked the time and supposed it would be all right to call it a day. He had spent four hours on his day off working his shoulders. He answered his phone as he headed outside towards his motorcycle, a rather large Boss Hoss with a V8 engine.

"Bjorn Jørgensen," he answered the phone, a usual statement when he didn't check the phone number, as usual. Even with his dad, he never used his real name over the phone. You never know who might be listening.

[Haedros 92712]

*Snip*

Brandt Jørgensen
5:15PM

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Brandt heard his brother answer the phone, and he grinned a little. “Hey Bjorn! I was wondering if you’d like to go out drinking tonight. A new bar just opened up near my house, and it seems like a pretty nice place. You think you’d be interested?” Brandt would always asked Bjorn out for drinks after work. After all, one of the two men’s shared interests was getting drunk and having a good time. “And, by the way, when’s the last time you heard from father? I haven’t spoken to him or Alexander in a while.”

[Andsed]

Owen Anagnos-Poseidon

Commonwealth Lake Park

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Poseidon sat on the bank of lake at Commonwealth Lake Park fishing. His chair had a little umbrella sort of thing on the top to keep him in the shade. Next to him were three boxes one the largest one is where he held the fish he caught and would sell. The second was where he kept his bait and fishing supplies. The third held drinks and snacks.

Fishing was something Poseidon enjoyed to no end. Sure it brought him to close to water and was a good way to make a decent amount of money. But that was not the main reason he enjoyed it so much. He loved it due to the peacefulness and how it gave him to reflect something he had never really had when he was a god up on Olympus. He had always been busy with something and rarely had any time to relax. The slayer attacking may have been a blessing in disguise he humorously thought to himself.

But his mind then drifted to the actual attack of the slayer and the slaying of some of his kin. He thought of the moment where he and the other gods charged to do battle with the slayer. He rode in alongside Zeus in Hades throwing his trident and using the full power of the sea upon the slayer. Despite his and the other god enormous power the slayer was just to much for them. He remembered how chilling it was to see all their power do basically nothing against the slayer and as multiple of the other gods were struck down and the despair he felt as he fled.

He quickly shook himself out of that mindset as he knew that could easily throw him into some kind of depressed state. Kind of like what happened to some of his kin. The slayer's attack had a large effect on the remaining gods. Ares had become quiet and reserved very unlike the god of war. Dionysus had become more the like his stereotype a party animal. And Zeus had become aggressive and not very pleasant something he was like before the Slayer attack but to Poseidon it seemed to be cranked up.

All of sudden he got a bite breaking him out of his thoughts. He quickly stood up and began reeling and then grabbed it. It was a 26 lbs so a decent catch. He but it in the box he stored caught fish in and then checked his phone. He had been there for around 4 and a half hours and he had caught enough fish for now so he decided to head back to his apartment.

He grabbed his stuff and placed it in his car a green Renault Express van. He drove to the local fish store and sold his catches then he drove back to his apartment and walked inside. He laid down on the bed looking around at the apartment. It was averaged size with a bathroom, twin bed, closet, and a kitchen. His closet was filled with a decent amount of cloth a lot of it meant for fishing. He had moved into the apartment after a couple of centuries living in Portland. He had been living with the other gods and was working in a office job. But the arguments and boredom of a office job made him decide to move into this apartment and quit his job to fish seeing as he had enough money to do so.

Poseidon being tired from sitting out in the sun all day decided to take a quick nap and then maybe head to the bar to get a drink or two.

[Ralioskener]

Persephone / Nika Anagnos

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The goddess brushed a strand of her brown hair aside. A stack of books lay on the table in front of her, most of them having occult symbols adorning the covers. A Vsauce video was playing on her Ipad across from her. For the past few days Persephone had been studying up on the supernatural, the mystical, in hopes of finding atleast some way, some information, anything, about that thing that destroyed her life.

She remembered the Slayer. And the battles at Olympus. And Hades. She remembered helping her husband put on his armour, she remembered trying everything she could to help, and she remembered wishing she weren't so weak. She remembered how they retreated from Olympus, and looking back and thinking 'This is the last time we'll see this place in a long, long time.'

Persephone wished she hadn't be right that time.

Dropping her head into the pillow she had placed beside her books, she hugged it and sighed, wishing she was in the arms of her beloved Hades. Even after the fall of Olympus, their arrangement of switching from his place to Zeus' still continued. The goddess wished it weren't that way, but it's not like she had a say in the matter. Such was the way of the gods.

Burying her head into her pillow, Persephone counted the days and months in her mind. It would be about a month before she returned to Hades' place. Her thoughts wandered.

[Aghrabia]

Dionysus - David Anagnos
Naxos Bar and Grill

Sitting out back from his restaurant, the ex-god was trying not to be sick- joint in one hand, glass of red wine in the other. He was still feeling slightly tipsy from the all-night drinking session he had started the evening before (despite the fact that it was now 3PM), and he was trying desperately not to lose the feeling, attempting to dodge the monster of a hangover that he knew was coming. It didn't help that he hadn't slept for 4 days straight. It was just one of those days that he felt like shit- he was sure it would pass eventually (the alcohol helped with that). David took a few more minutes to stabilise himself before going back inside, snubbing out the joint before throwing it into the dumpster next to him.

The restaurant wasn't too busy at the moment, with only a couple at one of the corner tables, a family with young children in a booth at the opposite side of the dining area, and some guys drinking at the bar- the main rush of customers wouldn't come for another 3 or 4 hours yet- so Dionysus was more or less completely free. Sitting down behind the bar, wine glass still in hand, he considered his options: it was a nice day, so perhaps he could go to the park; maybe he could go to his dad's house and see the members of his family that were there; then again, he could sit down on his ass the rest of the day and continue his current drinking session. The latter option sounded especially appealing. It was a nice day, but the police weren't exactly fans of public drunkenness- even if he did have a brother on the force; going to the main Anagnos compound was out of the question, as well- it was unlikely that anyone besides Zeus or Persephone would be there, and he didn't find dealing with his father to be an exactly fun experience, and Persephone's "research" depressed him too much for his current state. So staying put and drinking it was. Reaching for the bottle of wine under the counter, he let his dark thoughts sail down the river of alcohol he was currently focused on sustaining.

[Futrellia]

Zeus / Leo Anagnos
1600 SE 28th Avenue
July 25th, 11:36am

---

Zeus watched as the dark steel rolling clouds moved in over the Anagnos estate. Sitting upon a white rocking chair on the front porch of the 6 bedroom home, Zeus watched as the lightning flashed from the clouds, loud thunder following close behind. It was almost as if it were taunting him, screaming to his face that he was no longer it's owner, which had been the case for the past thousand or so years, Zeus no longer kept track. As the former God sipped on a Rum Club Daiquiri, he reminisced about the past. He remembered the days of old in Olympus, enjoying the company he kept, the fruits of his labor that had flourished into what was Olympus. He had loved what his family had become, even if those on Gaia no longer worshiped or believed. He still had a small following from the Hellenic reconstructionists, but those were few and far between.

He had remembered the days when he first arrived on Gaia. He and his family had fallen like comets in the night sky, slamming into the Gaian soil. It took many years for Zeus and his family to re-adjust to human life and it hadn't always been peaceful. He had his share of fights and close encounters with death at the hands of those who didn't believe him when he called himself Zeus. Hundreds of years had passed, he had been a stonemason, baker, fisherman, woodcutter, so many others he didn't feel like naming off. All before he came to America. Simple Greek refugees, they had helped build America, contributing to construction, fishing, woodcutting, anything that could have been done, was done by the Anagnos family.

A flash of white lightning filled Zeus' eyes as a bolt had struck only 25 yards away from him. He could feel the electricity in the air, absorbing into him, dispersing itself through his fingertips. He let out a small laugh and smile as he felt the storm's power.

"Cheeky bastard." He called out to the storm, quite drunk now as this would be his fourth Daiquiri today after completing three shots of whiskey. Prior to his day of drinking as had been the case for as far as this year had been concerned, he drove along the perimeter of his estate and acreage in his John Deere XUV835E Crossover Utility vehicle, replacing old 2x4 beams on his fence that had been worn down from the weather and giving the fence line a good fresh paint of sky blue, which was also the color of his home, while his garage and storage shed were white. Many of his family didn't enjoy the color, but because of his domain, it seemed appropriate.

This was to be his last Daiquiri for the day as he wanted to head into town to go grocery shopping, giving him something else to take his mind off of current events. And because he had several hundred run ins with the law in the past and drinking while driving was always frowned upon, even when it came to horseback and carriage drawn.

He tipped his glass cup up, gulping down the rest of the contents as the rain poured in, shrouding the small pasture and long white gravel driveway in sheets of rain. The light darkened as the clouds covered his property and beyond, signaling the automatic exterior lights to click on.

He had to admit. While losing Olympus, losing to the Slayer, the rough times his family had been through since the Olympian Exodus, he was reaching a time where he was comfortable with where he was. Surrounded by family, surrounded by the works of his labors, he was beginning to feel content. He was beginning to realize that he would never regain Olympus, never retake the mantle as God of Sky and Thunder, never again witness the Slayer's death at the hands of the Olympians over and over again, before releasing him to his brother Hades. He could give all of this if it meant returning to Olympus, there was nothing he wouldn't do to see the beautiful waterfalls, the familiar stone pillars, the stunning golden gates of Olympus again. He pictured the Slayer sitting atop Zeus' Throne, laughing as all of Olympus descended into a darkness that would make Hades' Underworld seem sunny. The thought of it made Zeus snarl a bit before shaking the thought from his head. His time would either come or it wouldn't. Zeus has had plenty of time to think about the Slayer and what he would do to him had he had the chance.

Zeus stood from his chair, leaving his empty cup atop the table next to it. He looked out at the rain as it came down harder than before, before returning to the interior of his estate.

[Bentus]

Helene Jorgensen - Hel

---

The conversation died down for the remainder of the drive, Hel offering her younger brother a curious glance every once in a while to see that he was still enveloped in his own thoughts. The younger deity’s brow was furrowed, his gaze fixated on the scenery outside the window even though she knew that his attention was anywhere but. Sighing quietly to herself, Helene once again returned her attention to the road, allowing the sound of the car stereo to fill the silence. She wasn’t one to pry into the thoughts and concerns of her family, either never particularly having a reason to or just not caring enough to warrant the effort. It was a courtesy that she expected them to extend to her as well. She’d grown up just fine with minimal contact with the rest of the pantheon, and that separation suited her just fine. Even now that they had been thrust closer together by the Slayer, Hel was content to mind her own business in return for her family keeping their own noses out of her affairs. They lived together in a house, she didn’t see any reason in pretending that their relationship was anything other than that.

By the time they pulled into the driveway, the Sun was already only a hair’s breadth away from the horizon and rapidly approaching the end of its descent. Twisting and removing the car keys, Hel sat for a moment as both the engine and the radio fell silent. Realising that she had stayed motionless for a few more seconds than what would have been considered normal, she made to step outside when Narfi stopped her. Raising an eyebrow at his strange request and his suddenly serious tone, Helene opened her mouth to ask her brother what he was on about. But before she could even get a single word out, a memory thrust its way into her mind. It was a memory filled with fear and death, pain and loss that struck so deep it cut into the heart. In the space of an instant, Helene was thrown into the chaos of Asgard in the midst of the Slayer’s assault.

Finding herself standing in a courtyard, Helene’s brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She hadn’t seen Asgard since her banishment, Odin had been particularly crystal clear in that regard, but the devastated ruins under the smoke-filled sky - illuminated a sickly orange by the flames that consumed the city - were unlike any of her memories of the glistening towers and palaces. Pushing down the deep-rooted sense of unease in her chest, Helene began to make her way forward, some instinct urging her not to linger in one place for too long. Bodies littered the plaza, the warriors of Valhalla lying with looks of agony and shock on their faces. The stench of the dead and the dying struck the Goddess, but she forced herself to repress a gag, instead eyeing the dead. A shiver ran down her spine as she could pick out a few of the faces, some of them being of her kin rather than the departed souls of Odin’s chosen mortal favourites. What was happening? Why was Asgard ablaze and coated in the thick air of death? Helene’s thoughts of the present and her time following the Slayer’s attack were buried under her brother’s influence, and she stared wide-eyed at the devastation.

Suddenly, there was a sound of movement nearby.

Clenching a fist nervously, Hel twisted around to look in the direction of the noise. She could see a figure crouching over one of the corpses, shaking as tears shook his form. “H-hello?” The goddess managed, only to freeze at the voice that escaped from her lips. Looking down at her hands, Helene was shocked to see that they were those of a child - with one of them devoid of skin and revealing the flesh underneath. Isn’t this how I was when I was last in Asgard? Swallowing her nerves, Hel forced herself to take a few cautious steps towards the sobbing figure.

“Hey, who are you? What’s going on?” There was no response, even as she continued to approach. Stopping close to the weeping figure, Hel bit her lip as she tried to think of what to do next. Again, that gnawnig sense of danger ate at the back of her mind - urging her to move, to not stand idly in one place. “Who did this?” Reaching out, the Goddess placed a hand on the figure’s shoulder, only to have Narfi whip around and meet her gaze with his tear-filled eyes. Lying in front of him: the dismembered corpse of his mother, her eyes staring blankly at the smoke-obscured heavens.

Suddenly, Helene’s eyes burst open and she was at once back in the present, sitting in the driver’s seat of her car. Sitting motionless, her mouth agape, she said nothing as her mind struggled to process the memory that Narfi had communicated to her mind. Glancing down, she saw that she had been gripping the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles had turned white. Slowly, and realising that a thin sheen of sweat had formed on her forehead, Helene removed her fingers from the wheel.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t keep it on my chest anymore.” Narfi spoke weakly, his gaze wavering as he looked at his sister. Trembling in fear, he had acted in an effort to reach out, to find someone who could sympathise with the horrors that had been gripping at his soul. Helene sat in silence, her eyes looking over her brother as she her heartbeat still pounded from his memories.

Eventually, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set itself in a firm line.

In one fluid motion, and without a word, Helene forcefully opened the car door and stepped outside, slamming it firmly behind her in frustration. Narfi was quick to follow her, exiting the passenger-side of the car and making to say something, but she was determined to hear none of it. With clenched fists and an agerred expression, Helene stormed around the front of the car and kept going as she slammed Narfi into the side of her car. Pinning him down painfully, she scowled at her younger brother.

“Never screw with my memories.” The goddess practically scowled, venom laced in her words. “My thoughts are mine. I don’t care what you and the others do out here or deal with your own problems, and I’m sorry that you had to see that Narfi. But if you ever mess around with my head like that again, I will make you wish that Odin had sent you to Helheim, got it?” Making sure that she had been clear with her threat, Helene released her brother and stormed towards the house, refusing even to offer him a backwards glance.

[Chewion]

Narfi Lokison / Jack Jorgensen

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Narfi rubbed his chest where Hel's arm had pushed hard against him. Hrad enough to leave a bruise most likely. Collecting his emotions and thoughts he shed one or two tears before just sitting down, leaning on the car's tire. He sat there for a moment wondering what to do. He remembered her saying something about going out after she dropped him off. Maybe he could.... no that might make her mad. But maybe it would help. Making his decision, Narfi got up and opened the driver side door popping the trunk before gently closing the door. Going to the trunk he slides in and tried to get comfortable before slowly closing the trunk. Now he would wait.

Loki Odinsson / Alexander Jorgensen

Loki was watching TV when his oldest, Hel, came storming in apparently in a mood. Sighing he got up after taking a sip of his Dr. Pepper and made his way over to her door knocking and saying "Helene, you ok?" Loki, while the god of trickery and mischief, did have a soft spot for his kids. It had practically torn his heart up when Odin banished Hel. He had tried to plead for her to stay but Odin would have none of it and Thor refused to get involved even though he was maybe the only one besides their mother who stood a chance of changing stubborn old Odin's made up mind. Coming back to the present time he leaned against the wall awaiting her response.

[Ralioskener]

Persephone / Nika Anagnos

---

Getting up, Persephone decided to go to the local bar, which was owned by her half-brother Dionysus. Her research could wait, and the only ones currently at home were Zeus and Poseidon, the former not exactly friendly and the latter an acquaintance. She decided her clothes were fine, putting on a light coat over her white t-shirt and black skirt. Creaking open the door to her room, she stepped into the hallway, and made her way to the exit.

She stepped out, but paused before closing it, half-talking and half-shouting, "I'm going to Naxos!" to anyone listening.

3PM, July 25th
Walking the streets of Portland, Persephone glanced up at the cloudy sky. The wind blew softly, pushing her hair back a bit; it was a windy day, most likely due to it having stormed earlier. Eventually she reached the front of the restaurant and welcomed herself in, walking up to the bar.

"Hey David," she smiled "A glass of Champagne please." She had always thought of Dionysus as her younger brother, and in all respects he was, being a fellow child of Zeus. However in the human world she was his aunt-in-law, because apparently marrying your uncle was weird in human society.

[Aghrabia]

Dionysus - David Anagnos
Naxos Bar and Grill

The storm from earlier had left Dionysus in a dark mood, with the only distraction from this being alcohol, so he poured himself drink after drink- only stopping occasionally to consider whether or not he would be able to put his own bar out of business with his drinking habits. So he was glad when a distraction walked through the door: Persephone. Or, at least, the mortal that was once known as Persephone. Using some of his remaining godly energy to clear his head a bit, he responded warmly to her greeting- he may have disliked some of her more occult interests, but she had always been one of his favourite siblings (even if they weren't technically related in their mortal forms).

"Anything for you, Nika," setting aside his own glass to grab a champagne flute from under the bar, before filling it with some of the more expensive champagne from the wide array of alcohol behind him. "Family is everything, after all." He smiled before handing the drink over to her. Searching for something to say, David snatched his drink rather violently from the where he had placed it beforehand. "So how's things with you? Dad? Nick? Haven't seen either of them in a while- Nick especially. Too busy," he gestured at the building around him. "Here."

[Futrellia]

Zeus/Leo Anagnos
5523 SE 28th Avenue
July 25th, 4:05 pm

---

Taking a nap and allowing the alcohol to wear off, Zeus went for a drive for groceries, seeing how his fridge and pantry were quite empty, besides for a half full carton of eggs, a few slices of pasteurized cheese, and a bottle of ketchup. He pulled his 2014 Ram 1500 out of the garage and give it some drive time. Leo pulled off of the road towards a podunk little produce shack called the Berry Good Produce store. While it was a small family establishment, it had some of the best produce Zeus could find. Fresh cabbage, bananas, apples, oranges, eggplants and grapes. Especially the grapes. He parked his truck on the side of the building and shut the engine off, grabbing a short burlap sack, large enough to carry enough produce to keep him satisfied for a few weeks.

Leo entered the stand, picking out fruit and vegetables, determining which were best and which were not quite ripe yet. He picked out more than a few bananas and oranges, a few cabbages, some eggplant, a dozen strawberries, beautiful asparagus stalks, and two heads of cauliflower. He dropped them onto the counter where the cashier rang them up. He paid the amount that was owed, and even gave the cashier a $5 tip. He knew it was hard to make a living in this day and age, and he gave money to those who needed it where he could. While $5 wasn't much, he also wasn't the Zeus Bank and Trust. He understood the value of hardwork, and processing tender for a produce shack wasn't it. Zeus climbed back in his truck, tossing the back into the back seat, cranking the engine and heading closer into town for additional things, such as bread, more condiments, milk, etc.

5:46pm

---

Stacking the last items into his fridge, it started looking more like someone was living here and not just one of those show-homes with fake food sitting on the tables for people to marvel at. Walking from the kitchen to the large open living room decorated with old Greek artifacts such as ornamental plates, plaques and head busts of his many family members. He collapsed down onto his dark brown leather sectional after throwing his leather jacket off onto the edge of it, he relaxed his two thousand year old spine onto the soft cushions of the leather material. He thought of what he should do now, now that he had silence within his grasp. He thought of watching television, tuning into some Fox News, watch the pitiful excuse for human politics at it's finest. Zeus honestly didn't know what to think of this new President, this Donald Trump. He didn't much care because he would outlive them all. Zeus supposed he liked a few of this man's policies, his no-nonsense attitude, his apparent disregard for the protocol of his predecessor. It would be interesting to see how it pans out in the next few years.

Zeus eventually decided against it, rather standing up and walking to his Ermenegildo Zegna Pelle Tessuta Master & Dynamic Turntable, setting a custom record of different Greek songs. Listening to the initial light scratching and eventual low tones, he found peace in the music as he walked back over to his couch, laying down onto the seats, staring up at his paneled brown and white checkered ceiling. It brought him a clear mind without using his Godly influence to do it for him. He closed his eyes, gently allowing the tones to take him in, enjoying a few moments of peace and quiet before the next problem would raise it's ugly head.

[Ralioskener]

Persephone / Nika Anagnos
Naxos Bar and Grill

---

"Well, you certainly run the place nicely. And thanks," Persephone smiled, taking a sip of her drink. She knew she could always count on Dionysus to serve the best wine in town, being the god of alcohol after all. Gently setting the glass down, still clasping her hands around it, she replied to her brother's questions.

"I'm good as always. Dad's still Dad," She chuckled a bit. "Probably doing business or out buying stuff. I haven't met with Nick in a while; he's probably busy as well, teaching's a pretty stressful job. Kinda worrying that we haven't texted in a week or two though. But I'm moving back to his place in a month, so no big deal." Nika brought the glass up to her mouth, taking another sip.

[Bentus]

Helene Jorgensen - Hel

---

- Narfi and Loki -

After her argument with Narfi, Helene was in no mood to feign any pleasantries and she stormed through the front door and straight up the stairs towards her room. She didn’t pay any effort to looking to see if anyone else was in the house, all the better to avoid any unwanted to awkward conversation with the rest of her family. Pulling the door shut behind her, Helene wasted no time in pulling open her cupboard and proceeding to throw a change of clothes onto her bed. Although she enjoyed her work, sending an entire week cooped up in a suit still felt suffocating and she was itching for the chance to blow off a little steam over the weekend, especially considering the train wreck that had been her Friday evening so far.

Flicking on the radio that sat by the sink in her ensuite bathroom, Helene stripped out of the stingy office wear and proceeded to have a quick shower to freshen up. The warm water was a welcome respite from sitting at a desk all day, and she could feel her millenia-year-old muscles stretching themselves out. It would have been a nice chance to relax had her mind not immediately drifted back to the memories that Narfi had shown her earlier. Scowling, Helene went through the motions before stepping out to dry and get dressed. What had he been hoping to achieve with that little stunt? Seriously, she wasn’t some shoulder for him to cry on over a tragedy from nearly two thousand years ago. Stepping in front of the mirror to apply some rudimentary make-up, Hel paused as she looked at her own reflection, her mortal features staring back at her. She stayed motionless for a few seconds before frowning at herself.

Sheesh, why’d he have to go and do this on a Friday? Such a pain.

A series of loud knocks on the door sounded over the music coming from the radio, drawing Helene’s attention from her reverie.

“Helene, you ok?”

Loki stood patiently outside the door, genuinely concerned for his daughter’s well being - even if he felt like they’d hardly had a decent conversation in years. The music stopped emanating through the wood of the door as Helene switched off her radio. The God of Tricksters could hear her footsteps before she opened the door, revealing a woman dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a red plaid over a black tank top. But it was the irritated expression that drew Loki’s attention rather than his daughter’s chosen outfit. Seeing her father, Helene rolled her eyes in exasperation, stepping outside and forcing Loki to move out of her way as she closed the door behind her.

“I’m going out. Probably won’t be back till later.” She stated bluntly, not even pausing as she made her way to the main entrance, her car keys dangling from a hand. “I think Narfi had a bad day at practice or something, so you may want to be a parent and check up on that.” Helene didn’t wait for a response as she stepped back out into the driveway, leaving as swiftly as she’d arrived.

---

The Camero screamed down the highway, its headlights illuminating the way ahead as Hel swerved in and out of the traffic with a practiced ease. The Sun had set just low enough for the street lights to flicker on midway through her drive, although the orange rays of Earth’s local star still offered more than enough illumination to see by. Inside the car, Helene tapped to the beat of one of the newest additions to her playlist, the heavy vocals and country guitar filling the cabin as she sung along to the chorus. Her eyes scanned the road ahead, looking for any openings to dart ahead of the pack or to veer around any car that took the speed limit a bit too seriously for her liking.

A beep came from her phone as Waze instructed her to take the next exit, her destination quickly approaching. Helene had heard about the place from a couple of her work colleagues, some Greco-European fusion restaurant that doubled as a pretty interesting club and bar if word-of-mouth was to be believed. The atmosphere was meant to be good, and she’d heard that the owner sometimes even liked to make appearances. It seemed like as good a place as any to spend her Friday night, and she could use the excuse to come to this side of town anyway and stretch her legs. However, a sudden and unexpected sound caused Helene’s eyes to narrow.

Had she misheard something on the radio? No, it had definitely sounded like a sneeze from somewhere. Reaching out, the Goddess turned down the radio as she pulled into the exit and onto the slower moving lanes of the city streets. Narrowing her eyes, she listened carefully when suddenly she picked out the slightest sound of movement coming from the back of her car. Almost immediately, the dots connected themselves in her head and she slammed on the breaks as she pulled onto the curb, the movement causing the whole car to bounce around - a hopefully uncomfortable experience for her unwanted passenger.

“That little…” Helene muttered to herself, half in disbelief at the audacity but admitting that she could see how father-and-son bore some similarities. Popping the trunk, Helene stepped out of her car and walked around to the back of her car. Traffic continued to drive past her stopped car, a few curious eyes glancing at the sports car that was now sitting with its hazard lights flashing half-on the sidewalk. As she got into a position to look into her trunk, Helene’s eyes narrowed, her expression doing nothing to hide her anger. Folding her arms, she glowered at the culprit.

“Get out. I hope you’ve got enough for an Uber, cause otherwise you’re walking home.”

[Chewion]

Narfi Lokison / Jack Jorgensen

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The jerking of the car caused some discomfort to Narfi especially when his head hit down on the floor nearly knocking him out. what was worse was the brakes being applied. Narfi felt his heart stop as the car halted and moments later his clearly pissed off sister stood above him. Gulping Narfi slowly climbed out and fumbled for the words before saying "I don't have a job to get money." Looking around nervously he nearly whimpered saying "Please just let me come with you. It... could be out there. Please. I will be silent the whole time I swear." He made his eyes look as pleading and pathetic looking as he could hoping she wouldn't leave him out here where it might be lurking waiting for him to fall into a trap.

[Wulf Da Guy]

August Anagnos

August finally had a day off in who knew how long. While he did want to mingle with his kin, he hated the 'Anagnos Compound'. While the place was beautiful, what it and some of his family made him remember worked against him. It made him feel things he'd rather keep dead and buried away. However, that didn't mean he wanted to simply keep himself away from his kin.

No, August loved his most kinfolk. For the most part, some he liked more than others of course. Nika being chief among them followed by his brother David, but of course, with love came to hate.

Namely his hate for his father. It was a known fact that Ares and Zeus never really loved or even liked much about one another. And within Ares this hate that had lasted since well before their fall. For the divide in their relationship, August knew he couldn't simply put the whole blame on his father. Both of them weren't the kind of men who'd openly admit their faults.

And both needed to find ways to channel their anger. August took a liking to keep everything bottled up, especially the few things that had made him who he was. Or who Ares was. As best as any single person could, however.

Every once in a while, August wouldn't be able to hide how he felt. And when Ares showed his true feelings, anger engulfed him. Enough pure rage to destroy the earth ten times over. But thankfully he'd kept his calm for some years now.

And on a day off, he knew he'd need to keep his mind preoccupied if he were to keep it that way. And with that, the God of War sent a few texts off to his family and a few of his friends as he made his way out of his apartment and into his car.

Hoping someone would need some help.

[Aghrabia]

Dionysus - David Anagnos
Naxos Bar and Grill

He thanked Nika for her compliment, continuing to demolish glass after glass of expensive wine. He chuckled along with her at the reference to Zeus, or Leo, as he was now known. But hearing Persephone talk about Hades like that made Dionysus suddenly acutely aware of his own feet. While it wasn't exactly common knowledge among their pantheon, Hades' infidelity was a bit of an open secret. David had never been close to his uncle, and was therefore much more interested in Persephone's well-being, so he was rather unsympathetic towards Hades. He understood, and even identified with, the hedonistic lifestyle that he had embarked upon as a mortal- but his wife did not deserve that. He made a mental note to confront him about it- this note joined the metaphorical pile of notes in his mind on this very subject: he just never had the heart to follow up on it, at least for Persephone's sake.

"Honestly, Nika, you should force the issue. Stressful job or not, I don't think teaching takes up so much of his time that he can't respond to his wife's texts, you know," David grumbled. "He should look after you better."