Holy High: Pax Deorum (IC/OPEN)

[Finsternia]

Aleator - Future and Past Are Both Empty
Day 8, Morning
Asheville - Abandoned Firehouse

"Toodaloo, kids! Always be nice to the humans! They're fragile, a bit dumb, but I promise they're nice!" Aleator waves goodbye to the diplomatic mission group, watching the overeager children run onwards as Athena could only watch in exaperation. He chuckles, walking beside Hecate in front of their own group. He fixes the shades on his face as he lifts his head to look up at the sky.

His hands are busy shuffling a deck, and Hecate sees him retrieved a tarot card. It depicts the image of Lady Justice, holding the mouth of a victim shut. It flashes with a brief light as a dome of silence covers the two teachers. "Saaaay, Miss H. You can see the past and the future, right?" Aleator places back the card back to the deck, and he continues to shuffle. Another card is pulled out of the deck, this time it's the same ID that he has given to Ganesha.

"...There aren't many who could obstruct your sight, right?" His eyes flicker to Hecate with a knowing gaze behind his sunglasses. "The same as me... I've seen all time and all futures. Every possibility is an open hand to me..." He retrieves another card from the deck, another custom design tarot card. The image of Lady Justice, her eyes bound by cloth as bloody tears run down her cheeks. "Tell me, how many beings can hide from your sight?"

Hecate - Open Wide Your Third Eye
Day 8, Morning
Valley Outside of Asheville, Near Pisgah National Forest

Hecate did not need a map of the woods of Asheville. She had a map in her head, an understanding of the layout of the area which stretched into Pisgah National Forest. She knew that a small population of humans lived in that area, and therefore wanted to keep Cerberus away from that area.

As she was thinking and calculating where to place the students, Aleator seemed to catch her as she was walking, and she turned to the newcomer. “I see plenty, yes. I am the Goddess of the Crossroads, and different paths are readily available for me to see.”

She frowned as she tried to determine why he was asking her such a question. She knew that the Fae did not have a particular respect for the boundaries of the other pantheons, as The Prince of the Summer Court had proven to her. However, she would be wrong and unwise to assume that Aleator was of the same mind. All of the Fae had their own manner of skidding around the Pax, but he had not done anything himself to garner her suspicions.

And so for now, she shoved them away in the back of her mind.

If anything, she began to pay more attention when he began to elaborate as to why he had asked such a strange question. “Not very many. Not unless I so choose to let them go their own way. But all beings who die pass through my crossroads, or through the crossroads of another pantheon. Why? Are you seeing something that my eyes have ignored?”

Aleator - When Fate is Blinded, and When Time is Obscured
Day 8, Morning
Valley Outside of Asheville, Near Pisgah National Forest

Indeed the Goddess of the Crossroads could see many things. She stands at the crossroads, at paths of intersecting choices and possibilities. She stands guard at the veil, where souls cross. What else could the last Titaness not see, when her three faces look towards the past, present, and future? What else could Hecate couldn't peer into, when she has seen all, and her torches illuminate the way through the dark?

The Lord of Chance draws a card for Hecate, its surface a shining silver. It doesn't reflect her face, despite how polished it is. However, Hecate watches its surface ripple, like a disturbed lake's, as it shows an aerial view of the city of Asheville. Poor Asheville, its buildings crumbling and its monuments shattered, its whole entirety cleaved in half by a raging river. It looks... peaceful, despite its ruination. Parts of the city have come online, built by camaraderie of humanity and the invisible guidance of the Gods. The Goddess of the Crossroads couldn't find a fault into it, and she would probably think that Aleator is playing a trick on her, until she notices something odd.

A certain street in the city becomes still. Absolutely stillness, where the wind seems to be the only one present. There are scavenging wildlife, foxes, wolves, coyotes, and more, and yet despite their hunger they pause... staring at empty space. Its like there is a presence there that they could perceive and yet these two august personages could not. Hecate watches as this odd stillness, of a crowd watching something enrapturing, pass until it, too, calms the raging river. The river stops its movement, becoming a stagnant stream, and its surface splits. The Goddess of the Crossroads knows what it is, as she witnesses the stairs that mystically appeared at the bottom of river silt. It is an Avernian Gate, a passage to the Underworld. Moments later the river swallows the stairs, and its rage returns in full.

It doesn't take awhile before the card's footage show the earth cracking, of fire, ice, and lightning rising, as Cerberus comes free with delight and joy in his newfound mission. The mysterious presence is no more... but Hecate feels an odd sense of frustration at the inability to even perceive what it was. The card flies back to Aleator's hand, returning to his deck as he playfully reshuffles it.

"...I have done reconnaisance, as you have seen. I can see all time, and all fates. What kind of being could hide their presence in time Hecate?" Aleator looks at her with a smile, and even with such disconcerning news he doesn't seem to be bothered at all. "Have you ever met the Buddha? Siddhartha Gautama was once a mortal man, and yet in his compassion for others and in his enlightenment he strove to teach mortals how to relieve themselves of their fetters. He Ascended and became free of sufferings, and have escaped Samsara and freed himself of Karma."

Aleator splits the deck and cuts the cards, smiling at the wondrous sounds of the cards flicking against one another. "And I couldn't see his Fate. Of course, you and I know great Magics that can bend and break that rule. But with the Pax on the table we can't just grab Chronos on the neck and wring the old man so easily, can we?" He smirks at her, knowing that they could but should not. "...What I'm saying is that even with my eyes I couldn't witness our suspect. I could peer into their secrets, but who knows who'll get angry? Clearly if they are this powerful, to free themselves from the fetters of Fate and from the annals of Time, they must have something, someone, backing them or that they themselves are that powerful. I wonder why..."

[Luminesa]

Hecate - The Goddess of Secrets
Day 8, Morning
Near Pisgah National Forest

Hecate watched the images unfolding on the card. She had no reason not to, even if she was still, of course, distrustful of Fae Magic. But the Magic she saw seemed consistent, and her brows rose a little as she watched the images. The rebuilding city, battered so badly by the dying, unbothered for years as it began its slow crawl back to civilization. Worse than some, but better than many.

But then there was the mystery of that particular gate.

It appeared for a split second, and the Goddess of Magic furrowed her brows as her eyes sought to absorb every part of the image. But the summoner was clever. Immediately, one’s focus pulled away from the strange gate, which the raging river in Asheville had quickly gulped down, and up arose the enormous three-headed hound, hungry for souls and for sustenance. But that gate. It was the key.

“And the group with Athena and Ganesha are right near that river…” Hecate murmured to herself, and she looked at Aleator. “The students might end-up being near that river as well, and they should be careful not to fall into it. I’ll send a message for Ganesha to look further. If our culprit is not in these woods, then they are there. Which means they still pose a threat to the population of the city.”

As much as she disliked the humans, she grit her teeth as she turned away from the keen-eyed Fae god next to her. She loved puzzles, certainly, but she hated when other deities decided to play uneven games. There was no way of knowing what the point was, or whether or not they even had a goal beyond creating chaos. Without identifying the source, the deity could be anything, or anyone, and starting a conflict within Asheville’s city limits would bring about the wrath of several pantheons.

“Ganesha,” she telepathically messaged the Elephant God, “I need you and Athena or Napi to look into a strange marble gate that arose from the river within Asheville. Make sure the students stay away from it.”

After she gave the message, she turned back to Aleator and sighed. “You’ve done well keeping an eye on our evolving situation. I have a fear that someone perhaps wants to lure us into breaking the Pax, or wants to force us to play some sort of game. How I hate playing games in which there are no clear rules. We all wrote and signed a Pax for a reason, to avoid one god causing so much strife like that ever again. But there’s nothing we can do now, except deal with what we can see and hear. And act first.”

She could smell the fire and brimstone in the air. Cerberus was not far. He was possibly stationary, as the students and teachers would hear a slow, steady rumble, a rise and fall of a huge hound’s chest as he might have been watching something, or sleeping somewhere in the valley. Regardless, the danger he presented was ever close.

“Alright.” Hecate turned and faced her group. “Cerberus is in this particular valley, and we do not want him to move through these woods and toward the settlements near Mt. Mitchell. Not only is Holy High at the top, of course, but there are small human settlements in the vicinity. Prometheus should also be nearby, but he most likely will not involve himself if he can help it.”

She gazed around at the group, her eyes timeless, cold stone. “We need two deities to block Cerberus’s way toward the northeastern end of Pisgah National Forest, and we need two to block the southwest. Aleator will block the border leading into Asheville, and I will guard the border leading toward Black Mountain and Chimney Rock. Do not leave your post, not unless I give the order. Do not interact with the humans without first taking a human form, and only interact with them if they are in immediate danger and need to evacuate. Do not interact with Prometheus unless he speaks to you first.”

“And finally, DO NOT attack until I give the EXPLICIT command to do so. If any of you cause damage to the humans here, or to their property, or to any mountains in the vicinity, you are explaining that to The Indigenous Pantheons of the Americas yourselves. Choose where you will go, and wait for mine or Aleator’s signal. Respect him as if he is myself. Understood?”

[Barum alliance]

Draki (she/her)
Day 8, morning
Team Hecate

Draki nodded to Hecate. “yes ma’am.” She turns to Azrael and takes his hand. “Come on azie let’s take the southwest.” She runs off to the southwest position dragging the young deity behind her. She threw an illusion over them to make them invisible and silent to outside observers. “So we should be pretty hidden both sight wise and hearing wise. Sorry for dragging you off but I like you and did not want to get left with that dickhead vadha.” She pauses for a minute before what she said just dawns on her. “Oh my titans, I didn’t just say that out loud…. I didn’t mean it like that. I mean you’re nice and…I should just shut up….” She looked away from him around a tree she was leaning up against, acting like she was looking for Cerberus while she tried to calm her burning cheeks.

[Mindhart]

Vix- Smells and sounds
Day 8, Morning
Team Hecate

Vix had calmed down almost as soon as she heard it; how could she not? Her ears swiveled, pinpointing the noise. She frowns, a look of concern crossing her face. "That's weird..." As they walk closer to the source, she smiles, nostalgic. "oh. It's..." Vix frowns. It's what? What was she going to say? It was on the tip of her tongue, right?

She was probably just nervous. "Deep breaths..." That's when she noticed the smell. It was a horrible mixture between burning matches, rotting eggs, and smoke, so strong she could taste it thanks to her enhanced senses. Something familiar tugged at the back of her mind, but she shoved away the feeling.

Vix had left behind the cub today. She was worried it might get hurt, or worse, if something went wrong. Nothing is going to happen, she thinks, Everyone is here, we have Hecate and... Some other dude. She tilts her head. Where did he even come from?

She rubs her temples, wondering if yesterday's headache would come back. She hoped not. Tha- Her train of thought is interrupted by Hecate. She nods, wondering if she should respond. How would she even say it? 'Yes miss Hecate'? Mistress Hecate? Better not to think about it.

She already had a good idea of how big Cerberus was. Judging by what she could hear, he was asleep. She thought. She hoped. It'd be a lot nicer if it didn't end up badly, but Vix knew that wasn't always the case; she'd have to make do with the role she got and try her best. Her ears twitch, and she jumps, startled. "Foxes?" That was odd. She could've sworn they weren't there days ago-but then again, she'd been busy trying to improve. "Weird..." She sighs, turning her attention back to Hecate.

[Nantoraka]

Coatrisquie
Day 8, Morning
Team Hecate
By the time the team of Hecate's various spirits had gathered and departed from the school, the elder wind spirit had not once attempted introduction nor socialization; he wasn't by any means an unfriendly entity, aggressive and prideful though he was. Rather, Coatrisquie simply felt that the best way for the students to learn was to avoid relying on him altogether; less knowledge of what he is, who he is, and what he could do is better, after all. The young, the meek, and the learning are all charmingly inexperienced, but exactly that, inexperienced. Coatrisquie was called here for a reason; to find, and if need be, to subdue, Cerberus himself. To do his job properly, he needed to avoid distractions, to avoid obstructions, and whatever else the students would unwittingly do through no fault of their own to mess with his concentration. As such, he lowered his profile. The students simply knew him as "that guy", and for all he cared, particularly after the riveting events of the one student that he couldn't quite remember the name, that's all they needed to know him as.

What could the warrior-spirit of lightning and storms offer in such a task? Though he thought himself as a powerful warrior and was by all rights that, Coatrisquie knew that his talents extended beyond just the physical. A wildcard he was, but he wasn't exactly unintelligent - he knew of the earth, the plants, the animals, the water, the rain and the wind and all that the planet itself offered. He was as in-tune with nature as all the other divine spirits, and even without his divine understanding, he still knew of these surroundings and of the spirits of the Cheyenne; after all, these lands were not particularly far from the same areas where the hurricanes of he, his twin, and his mother fell. Perhaps it was for the best that the Cheyenne spirits had not decided to join them here; after all, the talks may be...awkward.

Coatrisquie soared above, his form as inconspicuous as he could make it; in his current form, he was a mere turkey vulture, his shapeshifting powers coming quite handy here as he took advantage of the turkey vulture's legendary sense of smell. He flew in circles above the treeline, a lone vulture in the sky, to humans it was searching for carrion. Before the Great Dying, Coatrisquie hated doing something such as this outside of the Spirit World; the humans produced far too many smells, it was overloading, and far too many of those smells were fouled and disgusting, making every moment of time spent in the form of a vulture a gut-wrenching agony. It wasn't a problem that the storm spirit had prior to the settlement of the continent by the Europeans, and it was something he despised. But now, and perhaps it was far too macabre a thought, with the mass death and disruption of human society by the wrath of gods, the smells of humans was beginning to give way to the smells of nature again. Tracking was going to be far, far easier now.

It was particularly easy, even before Hecate began her speech, to pick up the smell of the being that they hunted. Fire, and an overwhelming stench of sulfur, was easy enough to detect for the teachers and the students, but to a vulture, it was overwhelming, filling the air like a thick miasma. He couldn't quite detect where the being was exactly, but Coatrisquie knew that Cerberus was incredibly close. Suspiciously close, in fact - he had only Opiyel Guabiron to compare to, but if Opiyel was attempting to hide, he would have done so far better. If Cerberus was intelligent or not, he did not know, but he knew that if a being like Cerberus was that close, they would have to be careful, very, very careful. Coatrisquie wondered whether or not it was just paranoia that was filling his mind with doubt and suspicion, but the storm spirit decided to allay these concerns for later. Safety of the students was enough to justify paranoia.

Though his hearing was good, it was not nearly good enough to hear Hecate as she stopped to brief the group on their orders and directions. The vulture dove to the ground, furling his wings into his body as he propelled himself from the sky to the treelines, and in a sudden blinding flash and a burst of blue electricity accompanied with the magically deafened sound of thunder, the vulture had transformed into a golden eagle, perched atop the branches above, tilting his head quizzically at Hecate's words. Coatrisquie stood perched in the treetops silently, his talons clasped tightly onto the branches.

As Hecate spoke and began to finish her words, the eagle surveyed the group of students and staff before him. Of everyone, one caught his interest; the fox demigoddess, Vixen.

Vix- Smells and sounds
Day 8, Morning
Team Hecate

Vix had calmed down almost as soon as she heard it; how could she not? Her ears swiveled, pinpointing the noise. She frowns, a look of concern crossing her face. "That's weird..." As they walk closer to the source, she smiles, nostalgic. "oh. It's..." Vix frowns. It's what? What was she going to say? It was on the tip of her tongue, right?

She was probably just nervous. "Deep breaths..." That's when she noticed the smell. It was a horrible mixture between burning matches, rotting eggs, and smoke, so strong she could taste it thanks to her enhanced senses. Something familiar tugged at the back of her mind, but she shoved away the feeling.

Vix had left behind the cub today. She was worried it might get hurt, or worse, if something went wrong. Nothing is going to happen, she thinks, Everyone is here, we have Hecate and... Some other dude. She tilts her head. Where did he even come from?

She rubs her temples, wondering if yesterday's headache would come back. She hoped not. Tha- Her train of thought is interrupted by Hecate. She nods, wondering if she should respond. How would she even say it? 'Yes miss Hecate'? Mistress Hecate? Better not to think about it.

She already had a good idea of how big Cerberus was. Judging by what she could hear, he was asleep. She thought. She hoped. It'd be a lot nicer if it didn't end up badly, but Vix knew that wasn't always the case; she'd have to make do with the role she got and try her best. Her ears twitch, and she jumps, startled. "Foxes?" That was odd. She could've sworn they weren't there days ago-but then again, she'd been busy trying to improve. "Weird..." She sighs, turning her attention back to Hecate.

Coatrisquie lept from his perch in the trees near Hecate, and flew through the air, his eagle-wings spreading wide as he flew above the head of Vix and perched himself within one of the low branches in a tree not too far from the fox goddess. The eagle grasped tightly onto the branches, talons digging into wood, as the eagle bounced gently up and down as the branch reacted to the force of his sudden landing.

The eagle spoke up, but the beak of the golden eagle did not move as he did so. "Hello. It seems you are closely tied to an aspect of the fox spirit, correct? Would you like to assist me in tracking?"

Abaguabana could not speak transformed, but Coatrisquie was old enough that he knew of the spell required to do so, apparently.

[Hallownest Eternal]

-{Things best left Unspoken}-

Ara had briefly quirked an ear as they sensed the zone of silence around Hecate and the Fae teacher before lowering it - if it was worth saying, it would be said to the rest of the students. As she listed the positions that required guarding, the Vessel hummed slightly as they thought, before nodding. ”I’ll take one of the northeastern positions. If you need Cerberus disoriented or distracted, signal me. Have fun~” they said, stepping away from the group. Focusing on the ingested knowledge, they crouched down, a dim circular glow visible on their back beneath the shirt before numerous shadowy tendrils erupted forth, spreading like wings as the brief afterimages of runes flickered in the air, before they slashed downwards and the godling took to the skies, soaring off towards their position.

-{Hoshiko}-

Hoshiko took measured strides, keeping up with the group so as to avoid drawing too much attention - of all the godlings present, he was by far the most conspicuous, even with his attempts to disguise himself. As Athena laid out the duties of the students, he tentatively lifted a hand. “Ah, I was thinking of actually laying down this rope on the outskirts,” the shimmering rope in question wrapped around his arms in loose coils - tight enough to avoid snagging, but loose enough to not be constricting. “They’re enchanted, and will keep out any malevolent spirits lurking in the woods around the city. And, it will keep me out of sight - I have experience working from afar with humans.”

[Luminesa]

Hecate - Battle Studies
Day 8, Day
Pisgah National Forest/Avery County, NC

The students did not take a very long time to pick their battle positions. Draki had grabbed Azrael’s arm and had yanked him toward one side of the forest. Coatrisquie had decided to follow them, and to act as a vulture scanning the skies as well. The Goddess of the Crossroads would never admit it, or at least not now, but she was always happy to have associates who were willing to do a little more.

She then watched Ara head in the direction of Holy High, toward Mt. Mitchell. In the deepest recesses of her heart, in a place she would never admit, she hated the idea of Ara-her creation-being by themselves against Cerberus. She flicked her eyes around, and she found Vix and Napi standing alone, seemingly dwaddling around the footpath. “Vix, go to the northeast with Ara. Do not stand around as if you have no purpose, you chose to be on this team. The sooner we get into positions, the sooner we can finish this mission. Now go.”

As she gave the command to the fox deity, she then turned to look and see if anyone else remained. She and Vadha were together, and Aleator was near the border moving toward Asheville. With no other students to move, and with Cerberus’s footsteps and stench rumbling not too far away, she began along her path with the younger blood deity.

“Get into positions. Cerberus is walking around looking for souls. Do not interact with him until I give the signal,” she said in her message toward all of the students and teachers in her group.

Athena/Ganesha - Tying Loose Ends
Day 8, Day
Downtown Asheville, NC

While surveying the damage, the two goddesses had begun to look for some sort of gate. Hecate had explained that it was in the river, and it was called an Avernian Gate. A strange contraption which was the key to finally solving the mystery of who had kidnapped Cerberus.

But one of the students had also made a suggestion, one which gave Ganesha a grin. He turned and nodded to Hoshiko. “Putting a rope around the city to keep away evil spirits, eh? Well, that might actually solve two of our issues. Not only will it help to define your city borders, but it might also keep Cerberus out of the city. And you get to learn about the layout of this place. Have at it, and hm…”

He decided that Hoshiko need not try to accomplish this task alone. Looking at the students who were still trying to figure what their tasks might be, the Solver of Obstacles looked down at Aemelia. “You made all of those little clones to assist with healing Astrid, hm? You did a marvelous job at that, by the way. Go help Hoshiko so he isn’t lugging around that rope all alone.”

In the meantime, Athena had grabbed Patriah and had tugged him back toward the group. She already felt more like a babysitter than a teacher.

“Wait! Wait! I want fish! Just one fish!”

“You can have your fish later. Stay away from the river and go help the citizens rebuild houses.”

“I thought we got to pick how we help people!”

“Go help with the rebuilding. You as well, Napi. Ganesha and I are investigating the river.”

“Fiiiiiiine.”

Patriah started away over the one functioning bridge in the crosswalk, narrowly avoiding another construction worker as he crossed. Once he had walked over the path and into the city, his teachers could see that several people were stopping to stare at the tall young man with black, almost greenish hair in his human form. At least the wind deity walked like a sulky teenager.

“Bana,” Athena suggested, “you can go help at the hospitals with bringing patients supplies, or you can go with Patriah and build houses. Turock, the choice is yours as well. Ganesha will wait here for Hoshiko, and I will go to the mayor and ask what else we need. If any of the rest of you need me, Ganesha will tell you I am here looking down the river or I am looking at the city hall.” She pointed to the white-domed building on the other side of the river, surrounded by a large, sprawling vegetable garden.

“We will communicate via telepathy with the rest of you, and we expect progress.”

[Mindhart]

Vix- Fox fur & Falcon Feathers
Day 8, Morning
Hecate's group

Vix turns, her ears going back against her head as her eyes dart around, looking for whoever spoke. She looks at the bird- a falcon, maybe? She didn't know, nor did she care; it seemed like the only reasonable explanation. She sighs. "Unless I can talk to birds now, I'm going to assume you're a god."
Her nose twitches. She hadn't heard the feathery predator land, and she was pretty sure she didn't hear it. She frowns. "Sorry, I didn't sense you." Her left ear swivels, listening to the breathing of their giant target. If it turned toward them, she'd know. "And I...Don't really know who my parents are, But yeah, I'd assume so." She glances at Hecate and nods respectfully. "Yeah. I'd like to help track." She winces; It seemed like her headache was back, stronger than before.

---

The foxes- To flee or not to flee
Day 8, morning
The camp

The youngest flicked his tail. "We cannot fight it." His fur was ruffled, sticking up in some places as though he had been woken suddenly with no time to groom-and he had. The hunting party had come back early, carrying a warning.

"Normally, I'd fight with you," ,growls another, "But this time there's nothing to dispute. We have to go." She gets up, pacing.

"We can't. It hasn't attacked yet; we do not know that it will." The eldest coughs, almost collapsing from exhaustion; he looked as though a light breeze could push him over.

"Even then, it's not normal. It seems like shift-kin. If we are to die, let us die in our dens."

They look at eachother for a moment, then nod. They walk out, settling the camp. The eldest pads to an old den, lays down, closes his eyes, and falls asleep for the last time...

[Tarnen]

Draki (she/her)
Day 8, morning
Team Hecate

Draki nodded to Hecate. “yes ma’am.” She turns to Azrael and takes his hand. “Come on azie let’s take the southwest.” She runs off to the southwest position dragging the young deity behind her. She threw an illusion over them to make them invisible and silent to outside observers. “So we should be pretty hidden both sight wise and hearing wise. Sorry for dragging you off but I like you and did not want to get left with that dickhead vadha.” She pauses for a minute before what she said just dawns on her. “Oh my titans, I didn’t just say that out loud…. I didn’t mean it like that. I mean you’re nice and…I should just shut up….” She looked away from him around a tree she was leaning up against, acting like she was looking for Cerberus while she tried to calm her burning cheeks.

Azrael barely had time to say goodbye to Hecate, before being dragged to their designated position. He chuckled, leaning against the tree as he waited for the Underworld's guard dog to appear. "While have not quite had enough time around Vadha to form an opinion on him. I appreciate that I have somebody I can count on at this school." He smiled at her before quickly, keeping an eye out for Cerberus. "You think he'll come quietly?" Azrael joked.

Turock nodded "I will help Patriah with the houses." He took off in a sprint toward Patriah "Mr.Fisherman wait up!"

[Luminesa]

Fire and Brimstone
Day 8, Day
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

The death of a single creature might have meant nothing to most denizens of the overgrown woods of Pisgah National Forest. These days, most creatures in the woods and smaller towns lived and died in a strange, quaint, primal silence. Animals decayed and gave food to strange new types of mushrooms. People buried loved ones in wooden coffins, deep in the ground, and used crude stones to mark their places. Then they walked away and continued their lives.

But Psychopomps had a great ear for that silence, and they did not walk away.

The three-headed Cerberus had not cared much for any activity in the woods today, at least until now. The death of the elder fox caught Cerberus’s attention, especially as the creature was mystical in nature. He sat upright, and he began to sniff the air. He then stood on his huge, tree-like legs, and the stomping in the forest continued once again. The scent of fire and sulphur filled the air once again, and a deep, bellowing, melodic howl filled the morning air. Any humans who heard it would have thought it sounded like a trumpet.

But the deities knew better.

“VIX.” Hecate telepathically communicated with the Fox deity. “WHAT HAPPENED ON YOUR SIDE OF THE WOODS.”

[Luminesa]

Open Wide the Gates
Day 8, Morning
Downtown Asheville, NC

Patriah did not enjoy having to turn from fishing, an activity in which he felt he was more useful, toward building houses. But the deities teaching the class wanted their students to have a variety of skills, and so he decided to obey even when he felt annoyed. He grumbled a bit, and then he saw Napi hurrying behind him. “Oh, you’re the new teacher. Good, I uh, I might need some help.”

He turned his head and focused on the many houses in the suburbs of downtown Asheville, which needed anything from minor repairs to complete rebuilding. “Man…fifteen years, and look at this. Just…” He sighed. He was not one to be overwhelmed, not when he felt there was a job or a task he could complete, but he had not seen much of the destruction that The Dying had wrought on humanity. Now it weighed on him, creaking against his shoulders as he walked to find pieces of slate on the ground.

“There’s a roof over here that needs mending,” he explained, turning to Napi and anyone else who had followed, “let’s see how much we can complete in an afternoon. Hopefully more than one house…”

As he led the group into getting started, Ganesha had decided to walk just a little too close to the edge of the water. His eyebrows knit together as he examined the sparkling surface. Not too far below, the shadows of both regular-sized fish and huge aquatic monsters rippled in the water, but he had to look even further down to see what he wanted to find.

“Do you see it?” Athena looked over his shoulder with a frown.

“No. And we’ve been walking along the river’s edge. There has to be something we can find.”

He marched closer, moving past a fisherman who seemed to not pay any attention to him. The Mover of Obstacles refused to let anything impede him, and at last, as he moved furthest away from the downtown area, more toward the post office, he could see a gleam of something deep in the water.

“Alright,” he called telepathically, his mental voice ringing with authority, “whoever you are who has summoned this gate, I’d like for you to leave a sign so I can meet with you. Outside of town. I won’t fight you on sight, I want answers. But if you don’t respond, I will assume you want a fight. Do you understand?”

The Goddess of Knowledge, who stood a dozen or so yards away, could only watch and wait while also keeping an eye on the rest of the students.

Attempting Bonds Again
Day 8, Morning
Holy High Campus, Infirmary

Thoth found himself suddenly confused, a condition which did not occur very often for him. The student in front of him had suddenly disappeared mid-conversation, as if he had never been there. The ibis-headed god rubbed his eyes with a hand and looked again, but he saw the same result. The same student was gone.

He shook his head and sighed. “I’ve really been needing to get out of the library then…”

The campus was quite lonely, and quite tense with Zeus and Hera awaiting the results of the field trip. He thought they should have gone themselves, but as the librarian and a foreign god, the Greeks had not allowed him much of a say. Even if they respected Ganesha, they did not allow him to go without Athena, and he found such a condition almost degrading. But grumbling over the current condition felt almost as bad as believing he had hallucinated seeing a student, and so he decided instead of make himself busy.

The infirmary was even quieter, except for the occasional beeping of machines which tracked the vitals of a student or two. How strange, that such technology which had been so common in human hospitals was now a luxury of the gods, or at least a luxury of cities and towns which had not seen the worst of The Dying. But Thoth knew that having luxuries did not always equate to having the best care. Patience and a good bedside manner made all of the difference.

Astrid would hear a gentle knock on her door, and then a pause in the noise. After a few seconds, the moon god would open the door and wave, with a bowl of stew and a few rolls in the other arm as he waved with the free hand. “Hello? Astrid? It’s Thoth, I came to see how you were doing. Mind if I come in?”

[Barum alliance]

The cowardly dragon
Day 8, morning
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina
Draki (she/her)

After calming her face down to its normal shade she turned back to laugh at azrael’s joke “yeah I don’t think that-“ the growl from the forest cut her off as she yelped and grabbed onto azrael’s arm. Thankfully her sound barrier was in place so she didn’t alert the beast of their location. The Norse godling looked over at azrael and felt a wave of embarrassment. Her face once again turned bright red as she quickly let go, stammering. “I’m so…oh titans…I’m sorry I…fuck…I’m sorry.” Her brain turned into a malfunction potion giving her the vocabulary intelligence of a Neanderthal. She decided that talking wasn’t working right now so it was best to just stay quiet. She folded her hands in front of her and stared at the ground as the blood rushed to her cheeks flushing them red once again.

can we do it? Maybe.
Day 8, morning
Downtown Asheville, NC
Napi (they/them)

Napi followed the young deity quickly catching up. “Oh yes I will be helping Mrs. Athena at the school. To take some of the workload off of her plate. As for help from what I heard this is supposed to be a test of your skills not mine but I will get the supplies you need and help keep you all out of trouble. Just let me know if there’s anything you need to get started” the trickster god looked back in the direction of Athena and Ganesha up the river nervous but doing their best to keep that expression hidden. “Well anyway, let’s get started then shall we im going to start gathering supplies would anyone like to help me?” They looked around at the rest of the students that followed and patriah.

[Nantoraka]

Vix- Fox fur & Falcon Feathers
Day 8, Morning
Hecate's group

Vix turns, her ears going back against her head as her eyes dart around, looking for whoever spoke. She looks at the bird- a falcon, maybe? She didn't know, nor did she care; it seemed like the only reasonable explanation. She sighs. "Unless I can talk to birds now, I'm going to assume you're a god."
Her nose twitches. She hadn't heard the feathery predator land, and she was pretty sure she didn't hear it. She frowns. "Sorry, I didn't sense you." Her left ear swivels, listening to the breathing of their giant target. If it turned toward them, she'd know. "And I...Don't really know who my parents are, But yeah, I'd assume so." She glances at Hecate and nods respectfully. "Yeah. I'd like to help track." She winces; It seemed like her headache was back, stronger than before.

"Correct." The eagle spoke, briefly introducing himself as well. "I'm Coatrisquie. Spirit of lightning."

The eagle raised his wings and nodded, briefly tilting his head rapidly in the ways that birds did when sizing up whatever is before them. "The features of your head gave it away. I'm sure we'll find out the mystery one day. Let us combine our talents; I am a shapeshifter, I will use my eyesight, and you will use your enhanced senses. We will most certainly find the target." The eagle slowly crept to the edge of the branch, looking to the sky. "Perhaps we should get to know each other better after this. Until then, you will see me in the clouds. I have very, very good hearing, and I will stick close."

[Mindhart]

Cat on dog software - Vix
Day 8, morning
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

Vix nods. "Sounds good. I'm going to climb a tree; it helps me hear everything below."

---

Vix couldn't get off of it. She'd scaled a tree, hoping to get a look at the dog they were... chasing? Capturing? Her tail twitches in annoyance. "It doesn't matter." She couldn't see it, so she doubted it could see her. Only one problem: she was stuck. Vix had forgotten the one hiccup in her plan- Foxes could go up just fine, but not down. "Of all the reasons I'm getting a bad grade, it just had to be this. And, on top of that, it was for nothing. Just great." The godling narrows her eyes. The smell was back, stronger than ever. "I thought people are supposed to get used to smells over time."

Vix rotates her ears, listening carefully. She flinches. "Jesus. Sit quietly, will y-" then came the howl. To other deities, it may have been pretty, or just a howl, or melodic, but to Vix... It was bone-chilling. Every hair stood on end, frozen in place by the psychopomp's howl. It reverberated and echoed in Vix's head, grabbing hold of her in it's icy claws and paralyzing her in pure terror. She snapped out of it moments later, shaking so hard she almost falls.

Hecate's message came through, scaring her into transforming halfway back into human form and almost making her fall off the tree again. "HOLY MOTHE-" she pauses for a moment to shift the lower half of her body back and pulls out one of the enchanted pieces of paper. "Calm down, Vix. Hecate's asking for an update. That's all it is." She tried to reassure herself, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. She reaches into a pocket.

"Oh, crap. I didn't bring a pencil." She groans in frustration as she glances around before noticing a small twig on the branch that ended in a sharp point. She grabs it and snaps it off. "This better work." She begins scratching a message into the paper. "I... D.. o.. n.. t..." She trails off.

Vix folds up the paper into a crude airplane and throws it, watching It floats to the ground. "What di- right. Magical energy. How do I put magic energy into it?" She hesitates before grabbing another one. This time, the note is shorter.

Don't know, stuck in a tree. He's aktavactive again. Dnon't free me, I've got it, can follow soon. Sorry if it's hard to read, I forgot a pencil.

"Magic power. Magic thoughts. How do I think magic thoughts? Uh.." She thinks for a moment, then sighs. "Whatever." She glares at it and throws it again. This time, it soars off. Vix watches it, surprised. "Huh. I thought i was supposed to glow, or something." She sighs. "I could jump." She glances down, doing a double take. "...Or not." It was a good drop, about fifteen feet, maybe more. Defeated, she turns her thoughts to the psychopomp. Cerberus was hade's dog, right? He liked dead things. Did something die? Maybe she was thinking of something else, but she was pretty sure Cerberus belonged to hades, so he probably liked dead things... "Oh crap. This is a forest. Things die a lot."

---

Despite the council's decision, nobody was hiding. In fact, it was the last thing on any of the fluffy creature's minds. For the first time since it was formed, the sculk was going to fight.

"Keep digging! This is shift-kin, not a wolf! You, get back to the nursery! "
Middle screeched orders, directing the hunters.
Make it wide, and deep! We attack when it falls! "
"Kits and Vixen, follow me! We need to get as far as possible!"
"The shift-kin killed our Elder! We will get revenge!"

[Luminesa]

In The Doghouse Now
Day 8, Morning
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

Hecate found the little note, as nothing truly passed her eyes for long. She took a few seconds to read it, and as the Goddess of the Crossroads, she simultaneously sensed the approach of a creature’s soul. A dead fox, one of Vix’s companions, elderly and patient as he awaited his spiritual fate.

“Oh for the love of…”

A violet flame arose around her, and her eyes burned with the same fire as she stared up at the giant approaching shadow of Cerberus. He was roaring now, every few seconds when he thought he was moving in the right direction toward the soul. Enormous, bone-shattering cracks reverberated through the woods as he stepped over everything from large rocks to huge, stiff logs to anything that was above or below the undergrowth.

When she was finished looking, the Goddess now had all three of her heads present, and a sceptre decorated in adamantine and obsidian clenched in her right hand. Her own raven hair rippled in an angry flood down her back, and her eyes glowed awake with a crackle of enraged light.

“THE BEAST HAS EMERGED AND IS LOOKING FOR THE SOUL OF ONE OF YOUR FOXES,” she admonished Vix telepathically, “I TOLD YOU NOT TO WANDER. NOW GET INTO YOUR POSITION.”

When she had finished screaming toward the poor Fox deity, she turned her focus to the rest of the party. “CERBERUS IS AWAKE AND RAGING. DO NOT LET HIM ESCAPE THE WOODS. LEAD HIM TO THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS. IF HE COMES CLOSE, RESTRAIN HIM. DO NOT HESITATE. MOVE NOW!!!”

As the students and teacher in the woods heard Hecate’s booming command, so they would also hear the enormous hellhound howl into the sky, hellbent on finding the soul which seemed to have escaped his grasp. And if he could not find that one, he would find another one to bring to Tartarus.

[Mindhart]

Furious fox-Vix
Day 8, Morning
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

After Hecate stopped loudly thinking at her, Vix had already hit ground running. "Oh wow, suddenly I'm supposed to know every fox's age, name, illnesses, and ancestry for five generations back, as well as every life choice every fox has made and makes, ever. What a small task that I definitely have control over. What an amazing teacher!" She winces. She'd landed on her ankle and was seriously starting to regret it. On top of that, she was running towards a massive dog who lived in hell.

But he tried to steal a fox's soul, so she was going to make sure he would never walk again. She continues running, angling her ears. Now she could hear it; Cubs were crying. This meant it was serious. Fox kits didn't cry out, due to the risk it brought upon their families. Kit is crying, family's dying. She'd always hated that proverb, but now she realized it had a different meaning.

She burst into a clearing, a flurry of foxes around her.

"Hole is finished! Climb the trees! We'll bite it's legs off!"

[Hallownest Eternal]

-{Scion of the Forbidden}-

Whilst Vix and Coatrisquie were preoccupied, Ara was nestled in the crown of a tree, tendrils wrapped around its branches as they watched for the Hound’s presence. Their thoughts were abruptly pierced by Hecate’s commands as Cerberus howled in the distance, the spider godling lifting themselves from their perch with a sigh before dropping from the canopy. Though Vix was occupied, Coatrisquie’s senses may have been able to catch a brief glimpse of the godling plummeting into the undergrowth before vanishing, disappearing into the realm of Things Unknown, channeling power through The Hand as they called upon its once-owner.

”Lanuru, I apologize for the impropriety but time is of the essence. I request the power of Sleep, to aid in the task of binding the Great Hound Cerberus. In return I offer a favor, whether in your service or in the service of a member of your Court you deem in need of my capabilities.”

On cue, the Hand began radiating the power of The Guardian of Sleep, dreamforce crackling along its fingers as the un-flesh gained a waxy, molten appearance, flames alighting upon each fingertip as it morphed into a macabre sort of candelabra. Ara accepted the power, letting it flow into the magic constituting their Vessel as they surged towards the site of a recently deceased Soul…

In the clearing Vix and the sculk were preparing to meet Cerberus in, the undergrowth rustled, briefly shining from beneath with Witchfire Hues before Ara erupted out of it, reducing the foliage immediately in their way to ash as they came to a stop, still wreathed in the coruscating aura of nocturnal magic. Seemingly ignoring their fellow godling, they lurched forward, the cheery and playful countenance of the vessel gone as they were roughly dragged in a manner akin to a puppet, tendrils of un-matter carrying them along before stopping and piercing into the ground. Moments later, one of the tendrils retracted, towing with them the form of a ghostly fox as the Great Hound bellowed at his quarry finally in sight. With nary a word, Cryptid abruptly blasted back into the forest with spirit in tow, towards its center as they sought to distract and lure Cerberus away from the human settlements.

[Nantoraka]

Coatrisquie
Day 8, Morning
Team Hecate

It did not take long for the storm spirit to see exactly what it was that was happening in these woods. Perhaps it wasn't the absolute best form to use - certainly good all things considered, but the best eyesight did not belong to the golden eagle, and in truth the storm spirit only preferred such a form as he considered it the most majestic bird within the skies of the Caribbean - but it was more than enough to sense everything that was going on. Smell and hearing were good, perhaps not as good as a vulture or fox, but it was good enough to be more than useful in this particular situation. Watching the fox godling overestimate herself was particularly amusing; coming back to what he was thinking earlier, inexperience, but even in her own clumsy ways, Coatrisquie supposed she was doing her part.

The howl was easily the most alarming part of the expedition, to be sure. He felt the effects; it was loud and emitted an unbelievable presence of power, while carrying the ever-presence foul aura of death. But Coatrisquie had nerves of steel, strengthened only after what could very well be millennia of resisting the call of the hurricane god of destruction, and certainly helped by his familiarity with the Spirit World's Maquetaurie and his own death-dog. Spinning like a top in the air, agile moves fit only for a spirit and practically unnatural for any true eagle, Coatrisquie rapidly changed directions. He could tell the direction of the howl; he couldn't quite tell the exact area, but he now knew where the direction was.

The eagle looked down, hovering in the air, a gentle static current of magical spirit energy flowing through the eagle. Coatrisquie watched as the fox godling wrote down what seemed to be...notes? Strange to be writing notes in a situation like this of all things, the spirit god thought, but he wasn't about to start questioning her when there was chasing to be done.

Coatrisquie's beak and bones shuddered and clattered as the power of yet more roars were blasted through the air like a sonic cannon. What in the name of the Great Spirit is this thing? Was the thought that passed through the mind of the storm god as he attempted to pinpoint the exact area where the being was. It was difficult; he could certainly tell it was moving, but the power of these roars were practically disorienting to the senses of the eagle. After a few infuriatingly disorienting moments flapping about in the air like a loose napkin, concentration took hold and ultimately cleared the eagle spirit's mind of distractions and pain from the senses. As Coatrisquie returned back to a normal flying formation, he looked above the treeline, and there he saw it.

The enormous burning silhouette of Cerberus, moving unbelievably fast. Excitement welled up in the core of the Coatrisquie; he would love a battle against a being like that, but he made a promise. He didn't particularly like being bossed around by Hecate, but ensuring the health of the young ones and that the plans go smoothly went beyond any sense of warrior pride he had.

As the words of Hecate echoed and boomed throughout his esoteric mind, Coatrisquie pulled his wings together, summoning a powerful blast of lightning unto himself and surging himself with the spiritual power needed to burst forth as his full lightning-shrouded form as a massive hawk spirit made of storm clouds and lightning.

With the space and freedom to utilize the extents of his spirit magic, Coatrisquie closed his eyes, attempting to send a telepathic message to Hecate; I will move to intercept and redirect. Say otherwise should you find a better use for my talents.

Flying rapidly overhead, carried upon the rapid winds that he summoned - and couldn't help but notice the spider godling who's name he failed to catch plummeting into the ground - the distanced closed at a considerable pace. He would deal with the spider godling later, but age has taught him that cowardice does not always manifest where it was expected. It would be far more likely that the spider godling was plotting their time...perhaps making plans? The being was very, almost unnervingly, difficult to size before this expedition, and Coatrisquie wouldn't even begin to try and assume he knew anything of how the godling worked.

As Coatrisquie soared over head, he came across Vix who was moving far more rapidly than he expected. It was actually pretty impressive. The massive hawk spirit soared overhead, a large shadow cast on the ground as he dove into the ground in front of Vix in an attempt to curb her movement to plan ahead. The force of the enormous hawk spirit was enough to topple more than a few trees and a large indent in the ground. He turned around, looking at the various fox animals on the ground; beings of flesh, the earthly counterparts to the spirits.

Oopsies. Coatrisquie slowly recovered himself from his rather hard landing, ensuring that he did not unintentionally injure the foxes. Spirits were always adverse to needlessly harming the bounties of nature, after all. The thunderous voice of the spirit of lightning was carried firmly and powerfully, but with no hint of aggression or frustration.

"You and the other students are too young to be charging headlong into a fight against beings as old as we." The hawk spirit furled its wings and pulled his lightning-like talons from the ground, shaking them and clearing them of dirt. "There's an infinitely fine line between courage, and brashness, and believe me, I would know."

[Tarnen]

The cowardly dragon
Day 8, morning
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina
Draki (she/her)

After calming her face down to its normal shade she turned back to laugh at azrael’s joke “yeah I don’t think that-“ the growl from the forest cut her off as she yelped and grabbed onto azrael’s arm. Thankfully her sound barrier was in place so she didn’t alert the beast of their location. The Norse godling looked over at azrael and felt a wave of embarrassment. Her face once again turned bright red as she quickly let go, stammering. “I’m so…oh titans…I’m sorry I…fuck…I’m sorry.” Her brain turned into a malfunction potion giving her the vocabulary intelligence of a Neanderthal. She decided that talking wasn’t working right now so it was best to just stay quiet. She folded her hands in front of her and stared at the ground as the blood rushed to her cheeks flushing them red once again.

can we do it? Maybe.
Day 8, morning
Downtown Asheville, NC
Napi (they/them)

Napi followed the young deity quickly catching up. “Oh yes I will be helping Mrs. Athena at the school. To take some of the workload off of her plate. As for help from what I heard this is supposed to be a test of your skills not mine but I will get the supplies you need and help keep you all out of trouble. Just let me know if there’s anything you need to get started” the trickster god looked back in the direction of Athena and Ganesha up the river nervous but doing their best to keep that expression hidden. “Well anyway, let’s get started then shall we im going to start gathering supplies would anyone like to help me?” They looked around at the rest of the students that followed and patriah.

Azrael stayed quiet when he heard the growling of Cerberus. He looked down when there was a pull on his arms seeing Draki hang onto to it more then likely out of fear. He gave her a warm smile and tried to offer some words of comfort. " It's ok." Giving her a pat on the shoulder. Trying to find some words of encourgement. "When I was young and on my first hunting trip with my caretaker, he used ot say that all men have fear in their hearts. But what they do with that fear separates men from cowards. Er, not to say that you are a coward--point is I think we have all the strength to reign in Cerberus." He scratched his nose in embarassment before watching the trees for the gigantic dog.

[Luminesa]

You Ain't Nothing But A...
Day 8, Morning
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

Even if he was not as sharp-thinking or omniscient as his handler, Cerberus had sensed a change in the atmosphere. Something was in one place, and now it had moved. No, even worse. The spirit which he had sought, near the location in which he had sought it, was running from him. He could tell that some sort of Magic was pulling it along, but he did not recognize it. His six eyes turned to the left and right, his sweeping movements shaving the tops of trees and sending numerous branches, big and small, tumbling down to the undergrowth below. Another howl, and he was enraged.

As soon as he had sniffed the direction of the fox spirit, he whirled around and sent the whole top of a tree flying. Gaggles of crows and songbirds fled in a chaotic melody which carried away from the turmoil. Meanwhile, the Three-Headed Hound headed in the other direction, his huge paws drumming the earth into a fine powder as he chased after Ara, not knowing that Ara was with the spirit, but sensing as he got closer that something alien was the cause of the sudden turn.

"ARA! IT'S COMING FOR YOU! KEEP RUNNING!" Hecate commanded, as she continued to monitor the other students and assistants. Vix was now chasing after Cerberus, a move she had not expected the young fox deity to attempt. Noble, nonetheless. Ara was running, Vadha and Aleator were holding their stations, and Coatrisquie was flying to help the fox deity, most likely while dodging flying branches and tree-trunks. Azrael and Draki were seemingly cowering in their corner, and their huddling made the Goddess of Magic angry. "DRAKI! AZRAEL!" she called, "HOLD THAT GROUND, DO NOT LET CERBERUS ESCAPE."

Everyday Disasters
Day 8, Morning
Biltmore Village, South Asheville, NC

Patriah had decided to lead his group a ways outside of the downtown area, which had less damage than some of the surrounding areas. The community of Biltmore Village was one of those places which had suffered more, given it was almost directly south of Downtown Asheville and now had a huge river running in the front of it. In the process of running in front of the little artistic village, however, it had destroyed several shops and hotels, which now needed replacing.

The students had not received a lot of direction as to this task, something which bothered Patriah. They were told to build houses and buildings, and had already done repairs in the downtown area. But when they finished one place, he did not know if they simply needed to cover as much land as possible. Whether or not there was wisdom to Athena's decision to send away the students, he could not tell. So he decided to simply carry forward where he saw fit.

"I'll tell you what, Lucille, these young men, I don't know where they were ten years ago when we needed to rebuild my shop."

"Mhm. Well now they're here, aren't you happy they're helping?"

"Oh definitely. If I had better joints, I'd go right over and help. But they gotta do all that roofing work, and then they gotta rebuild that entire hotel. Maybe then we can get business back out here again."

"Gotta build back the economy somehow."

As Patriah ordered his group to come help, Lucille Abrams sat on a rocking chair in front of her house, about 50 meters from the raging river. Just a couple of yards away on her own porch, Myrtle Hebert rocked in her own chair, sometimes looking back from the boys' work toward her own antique shop next to her house.

"Maybe they'll be interested in some antiques."

"Oh, Myrtie, you know these young boys don't have an interest in old stuff."

"Oh you never know. What, we find new antiques every day, with all the dead people we've got."

"You're a verifiable antique yourself."

"Well so are you!"

The old women laughed, and drank their coffee, and ignored the howling coming from deep in the woods. This was life, regardless of age, and they really only hoped that this sunset of their lives that these young men would come to talk to them about how the world once was. If not, maybe they would indeed buy something. The melancholy nature of living only with things they could control.

[Luminesa]

Credited to Lumi, Fin, Nant, Hallownest, Barum, Mindhart, and Tarnen

Obedience Schooled
Day 8, Morning
Pisgah National Forest, NC

Raising his enormous wings and lifting a talon, the lightning spirit places a foot in front of her and bats his enormous wings, creating a supernaturally powerful gust of wind. ”Cease that. I assume he’s as likely to eat you as he is to splatter you under a massive foot because he couldn't see you. I am a spirit myself. I will not allow another spirit to be taken.”

Vix skids to a halt. She had been so close to catching up when Coatrisquie blocked her path. She growls. "I could not care less about courage or brashness. That oversized dog could be twenty times as powerful and I'd still attack it right now. He's going after a fox spirit, and I won't stop-and if they didn't want students to take him on, they shouldn't have brought us here." She shifts into a fox, attempting to run under the thunder god.

Now,” the enormous hawk folded his spectral wings back against his body. “Instead of risking becoming a delicious fox steak, assist me in keeping him confined to this area and away from…what I assume are your fox friends.”

She digs her claws in as the wind hits, eyes rapidly flicking from side to side as she tries to formulate a plan to get around him. The pain in her ankle rolls over her again and she sighs, turning back into a human. "Fine. I won't try to fight him, but I swear to gaia if any more cubs get orphaned-" Her ears twitch, and she is filled with a new fury. Her teeth become sharper, nails elongating into claws. " Someone just dragged the fox back here from dying as bait. I'll corral Cerberus, but if I find who had the grand idea to rip him from the underworld, he'll have a soul to take back." She winces again, taking a deep breath. "Where do you want me to go?"

As Vix and Coatrisquie argued, the dull rumble of Cerberus' charge only grew closer, overlapping growls and barks mingling with the sound of toppling trees and fleeing animals.
And, soon, a peculiar noise - like gas being repeatedly released from a rapidly opening and closing valve, staccato hisses punctuated by a strangely metallic clank as something distinctly not Cerberus approached, the faint presence of Fox beneath whatever was propelling it.

Soon enough, the source of the noise was revealed - a mass of writhing magical energy, of flittering Dream and Unmentionable Darkness. As it soared overhead, the combined magicks of the Feywyld and the abyssal void beyond creation - Eternity and Oblivion in one, as paradoxical as it seemed, as it briefly stopped in tune with another clank, before blasting off at a slightly different angle, zig-zagging between trees with the fox's soul in tow - and an increasingly enraged cerberus in tow as well.

"...Well, aren't they enjoying themselves?" A suit wearing young man peeks down from the cloud that he is on, where he is setting up a chessboard before him. The pieces are moving on their own, moving in trajectories that do not follow the rules of normal chess. Aleator holds the black King piece and raises it for a moment, before slamming it in the middle of the board.

"Heaven and Earth as a Chessboard."

Tremendous power surges down into the Pisgah National Forest, creating nigh invisible lines and squares that causes space to lock itself down. Silhouettes of towering chess pieces lurk in the horizon, half real and half phantasma, as the Lord of Games puts down the rules.

"AAAAAATTENTION little godlings! Here's Mister Aleator giving you a heeeaaads up! Pisgah National Forest is now under lockdown, as our quarry is on the move! Think quick, act fast, and take the initiative!"

His voice is broadcasted into the forest, as if through several loudspeakers during a game match. Every student finds something above their heads: stat bars detailing their health, mana, and energy levels, and a mini map floats above them. Each finds a small icon of themselves on the map, reaffirming their positions.

“Happy hunting everyone, don’t die!”


Draki sighed and relaxed a little sitting next to azrael and listening to his words “ thanks I needed-“ her thoughts were cut off by Hecate’s voice screaming in her head “fuck ok…” she grabbed her head wincing in pain. “Can all Greeks do that? Titans that’s invasive…. I’m good now, I was just spooked a little. I need to get some perspective on what’s happening give me a minute.”

She shifted into her half-draconic form and unfurled her wings shooting to the top of the trees. Her draconic eyesight made it easy to spot Ara with the fox spirit and the rest of the chase line behind them. She fell to the ground next to Azrael. She gave a nervous smirk. “We’ll that’s a shit show…I have an idea but it’s really reckless…hop on….”

She shifted into her full dragon height and used her tail to help azrael onto her shoulders. Her purple scales seemed to pull in the shadows from the surrounding area as she dashed forward stepping in between Cerberus and his quarry, dropping her illusionary cloaking. Black smoke billowed from her nostrils as a purple light made its way up her throat and purple and black flames flitted from the corners of her mouth.

The hawk stopped for a moment and looked upwards towards the sky, silence coming from the spirit, who then looked downwards and through the thick forests. A few slow seconds passed while the spirit began to think of something, and once these seconds passed, the hawk looked back towards Vix.

"Go-" His beak opened for a quick second before he quickly fell silent after the massive display of power by Aleator; something that was actually impressive enough to silence the somewhat arrogant warrior god. He looked around in confusion as he sensed the massive power spike, but the telepathic words of the god seemed to allay the concerns of Coatrisquie...until the hawk looked back at Vix, and saw the floating bars above her head.

The lightning spirit was very, very bewildered, and just could not find the words. The titanic hawk leaned closely to Vix as he attempted to get a closer view of whatever was floating above her head, beak practically in front of her and glowing yellow eyes practically piercing through her as the static electricity no doubt caused the hair of the foxes in the area to stand on end. "What...is that?"

"What is what?" She looks upwards and nearly has a heart attack. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT HAS OFFENDED ZEUS-" She falls onto her butt, and scoots away. The bar follows her. "...Whatever. I'm guessing it's health or.. something? That would explain why mine's down a little. I'm going to help herd Cerberus. Try using moves and see if the bar changes? I dunno." She speeds off, once again closing in on Cerberus, shouting. 'HEY! CERBERUS! WAIT UP!'

Cerberus would continue chasing, pacing, looking for the spirit which had escaped his grasp. If he could not find that spirit, however, he was sure that he would go find the being who took it away. They were close, he was certain. He could sniff something foreign and unnatural, at least to his understanding, perfuming the air. And he paid no attention to the health bar which now appeared unceremoniously over his head, very long and menacing despite its cartoon-like appearance. The giant dog had almost as much health as Hecate, who now stood with Vadha on her side of the woods conducting combat against the giant dog like an orchestra. Cerberus did not listen to the small deity running under his feet. He was glaring down a shadow, a flick of some sort of Magic. Something that others could not see, but something he could feel. It posed a threat, and he devoured any and all threats.

Now he loomed maybe 15 meters behind Ara, and almost thought he could spot the deity through the trees.

Vix swore. "Didn't want to do this, but..." She jumps, latching onto the psychopomp's leg and scaling it. She ignores the pain in her ankle as she scampers onto his back and makes her way to his second neck. "HEY! CERBERUS! HADES IS LOOKING FOR YOU AND HE'S WORRIED! I CAN GET YOU PLENTY OF SOULS IF YOU SIT! SIT!" She grabs on to some of his fur, hoping she wouldn't be shaken off.

Vix would feel her body swinging back and forth, as Cerberus could hardly hear her. He was still roaring, and now he lifted his middle head and released a heaving breath of fire into the air. The scorching sound it made was deafening, roasting anything living that flew in its path.

Down the way, Hecate shouted to the poor fox deity. “VIX! IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN INCREASE IN SIZE?!”
"Oh holy Tartarus... I DON'T THINK SO! I RUN FAST, JUMP HIGH, AND I TRANSFORM INTO A FOX BUT I'M KIND OF WEAK AS FAR AS I'M AWARE!" She climbs onto the second head, shouting into his ear. 'CERBERUS! HEEL! HADES IS WORRIED ABOUT YOU!'

Coatrisquie soared overhead, his massive stormy wings carried further on a summoned wind, as the hawk spirit stared down at Cerberus. Coatrisquie dove downwards towards the ground, before rapidly angling himself up and spreading his wings to stop himself before he landed; flapping his mighty wings, the spirit stayed still in the air above as he attempted to hover in front of the enormous three-headed god creature. "Alright. Let's calm down now, Cerberus. You're needed elsewhere."

Ara continued bolting ahead, blasting through trees as Cerberus stampeded after them in hot pursuit.
...and then, an even hotter pursuit as the Great Hound began to spew flames from his mouth, scorching the forest ahead as he bounded along in pursuit of the Vessel. Although Ara was safely ahead of the flames, if Cerberus managed to catch up it would be an object of concern. Of greater concern was the forest fire forming in Cerberus' wake, even as he was slowed by the efforts of the other gods. Snagging the thread of Hecate's telepathic magic, Ara produced their own, sending it out for the gathered gods and godlings to hear:

"FIRE! FIRE! CERBERUS IS SETTING THE FOREST ON FIRE!"

They continued their onward course, cutting the evasive maneuvers for a straight bolt directly ahead of the Hound, continuing their course towards the center of the forest as they blasted directly through the trees.

A blood red comet streaks through the sky, flying at a frightening speed towards Cerberus. The vague shape of a humanoid body is within the bloody star, sailing with murderous alacrity.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL DOING?!"

Vadha shouts as he summons ribbons of blood, striking Cerberus on the snout. The ribbons snap close around one of its mouths, and the God of Slaughter pulls the titanic beast down on the ground with his prodigious strength. His stat bars show a steadily decreasing HP bar, used to fuel his power and magics.

Draki saw the fire forming in Cerberus’s mouth just in time to bring her wings up like a shield wall over Azrael. Her draconic form splitting the flames like a fork in a river away from Ara. A moment later Vadha’s ribbons gave her an opportunity which she took full advantage of. She pounced on the beast pinning him down as runes made of her purple and black flames started to form a spell in the air.

Plant, metal, to shape, stop.
The trees around them began to turn to metal wrapping around the large hound like chains helping to relieve the strain on Vadha. Draki’s magic bar depleted entirely but started to regenerate quickly indicating a cool down before they could use another spell. Next to the three headed dog her health bar was nearly equal in her current form but she was unsure how long that would last if the beast didn’t calm down.

Chaos reigned, as Cerberus faced the gaggle of young gods surrounding him on all sides. Vix was swinging back and forth from the ear of his third head and screaming into his ear, but she was too small to get his attention with so many other noises around him. Coatrisquie flew in front of him, also shouting, and then two voices were screaming at him.

“THWACK! THWACK!” The sound of the blood whips cracking against the hellhound’s noise echoed even against the sound of a crackling, growing forest fire. And then down went the dog, with a mighty pull from the God of Bloodshed, as Vadha bound his muzzle and tugged him to the ground like a fresh log.

The thud was so powerful, it became a small earthquake. The ground echoed for miles, shaking trees down to their roots and knocking some of them over into a burning pile of rubble. But Cerberus was down, even if he was rolling and pawing, struggling to get to his feet.

If he did, he would of course have to deal with Draki, who now had pinned him to the ground.

“If one of you knows how to put out some fires, I’ll be over in a few moments to assist. KEEP CERBERUS DOWN!” Hecate decided not to berate the students. Rather, she just gave a command and began making her own way to the middle of the woods, traveling in a heavy cloud of violet stardust.

Meanwhile, the huge hellhound snapped its two other mouths frantically in the air, and one breathed fire into a nearby tree, trying anything to get away from this crowd.

The great hawk spirit pulled his wings together, gathering power at the response of Hecate's request. Blue lightning charged and thundered throughout the hawk spirit's body as Coatrisquie's form shuddered under the strain of his gathered power. An immaterial shard within his chest made itself known and glowed bright red as power was drawn from within, and with a dramatic spreading of his wings powerful enough to blast out air from the surroundings - and indirectly causing the wildfire to spread slightly from the wind - the lightning was discharged in a massive KRAK-THOOM into the sky. The moment the lightning struck, the sky rapidly gathered storm clouds that manifested seemingly from nothing, and many of the white clouds already present rapidly began to grow darker.

It was not long before the first drops of rain began, and it slowly but surely began to intensify.

"AH SHIT! WHO TURNED ON THE DAMNED SPRINKLER?!"

Vadha shouts in anger as he sees the incoming rain, and the whips of blood that he has made is being washed by Coatrisquie's deluge. Bloodied rivers are flowing down his arms and down his feet. The blood muzzle on one of Cerberus's snout is being dissolved by the summoned rain, and the God of Slaughter lets go of the whips in frustration.

He stomps on the ground, and the earth breaks from the godling's strength. "Come out and help here, you dead things!" Vadha calls, and the countless bones of dead creatures heed his command. Animals from years long gone, humans who perished in the forest, and even monsters who fell in the Dying, all their bones move in a rushing wave.

The bones join to form a gigantic hand, and it clenches around the same head of Cerberus. "DOWN!" The God of Death roars, and the bone hand slams the Hound of Hades once again.

Once the Great Hound was brought down, Ara's course rapidly shot upwards, arcing over itself like a comet of impossible colors before slamming into the ground near Vadha. Hopping up from their landing, the Vessel focused the magic surging through them, generating a spell-circle in the air around them crackling with Dreamforce as The Hand of The Sentinel thrust forward into Cerberus' field of view. Tendrils of Dreamstuff burst forth from its palm, phasing into Cerberus' heads as Ara channeled the Sleeping Spell bestowed upon them, intent on bringing the Hound to rest.

Vix goes crashing down with Cerberus, her health bar decreasing. "OW!" She yelps as she is thrown against a tree. She holds on for dear life, watching the chaos below. "CAN WE NOT BE VIOLENT TO A DOG? HELLO?"

Hecate appeared in a cloud of violet light as she reached the clearing and found her students and Coatrisquie. She had heard the thunderstorm which the Eagle god had summoned, and the pouring rain began to extinguish the fire. Everyone underneath said storm was also drenched, but that was a much more manageable problem.

Cerberus, however, was still struggling, and as he jerked and pulled while still on his back, poor Vix would find herself swinging wildly in various directions as he tried to pull away from Vadha’s servants’ attacks. Luckily for the poor Fox deity, as Ara’s spell began to work, the hellhound started to calm himself.

“Well then. I see you’ve at least gotten him on the ground. We need for him to be just a little calmer, and then we can return him,” Hecate spoke, finally using her normal volume as she was reunited with her class of students.

She then looked up at Draki and nodded to her. “If Cerberus gets up, help Vadha to hold him down. Otherwise, guard this group with Aleator.”

She then hurried over to Vix, and she raised a hand. A soft cloud of fuchsia stars blinked, and lifted underneath her to unhook her from Cerberus. “Alright. Time to come down. So we can check your wounds and those of everyone else.”

Vix hesitates for a moment. "I'll be fine, thank you. Although, I really have no control over foxes- they have sentience, and I can only communicate with them, and even then I have trouble when it comes to them listening to me. I don't know where every fox in existence is, and I can't control when they die. So please, with all respects, please don't yell at me when foxes die." She lets go, accidentally putting weight on her injured ankle. She lets out a hiss of pain as her face twists into a grimace. "I'm fine. Just bruised." She clearly was hurt; her ankle had swelled up and she was cut up from being thrown against a tree.

Hecate frowned as she listened to Vix’s explanation. The poor young deity was a lot more fragile than the bravado she had tried to display earlier in the week. She had done her best, and had been over her head trying to deal with Cerberus. She just nodded, and she knelt down to look at the girl’s leg. “Let me take a look. And how are the rest of you?”

Ara kept The Hand outstretched, the Spell continuing its work to make Cerberus tired enough to be safely returned to the gates of Hades. Abyssal and Fey magicks whispered along their limbs, forming gaelic inscriptions and eldritch geometries that floated idly in the air around them as they worked to keep the magic going. In contrast to Vadha's massive but depleting health bar, Ara's own hp was miniscule, even in comparison to the more fragile godlings - but their mana and energy bars were massive, barely tapped by the efforts of the spell - the icon of a Dreamborn Moon by their mana bar indicating the presence of outside aid. They looked over to Hecate as she checked Vix's leg.
"I'm fine, and I can heal any injuries here once we get Cerberus back to Hades."

"I'm... fine here!" Vadha grunts as he keeps the bones in their joined states, pumping more of his life energies into the bone hand. Bloody rivers crawl up the skeletal amalgamation, strengthening its form and power. The bone hand keeps its tight grip on Cerberus, making sure that the Hound stays down. His HP bar depletes once again, but the Blood God has more to spare.

Around Ara, moons and starlight float about. Phantoms of dreams unrealized appear here and there. Fading texts, laughing and crying masks, and figures of eyes in every single motion and angle swirl around the Scion of Tartarus. However the Abyssling sees an odd display on their bars: the Dreamborn Moon symbol on their mana bar has a blue-pink eye and it seems sentient and watching.

Vix sighs dejectedly as she lets Hecate look at her ankle. "It's fine, just bruised. I've had worse, don't worry about it." She seems slightly defensive.

“Oh don’t be like Ares and tell me a little dirt and spit will fix it. If you’re hurt you’re hurt.” She then nodded to Ara. “Very good. We’ll be meeting back with Athena and Ganesha’s groups soon.”

Overall, as she watched Cerberus’s howling become grumbling, and then almost snoring, she felt a tidal wave of relief fall over her. Most of this battle was over. Even if they had still not found Cerberus’s kidnapper, they had competed at least one objective.

“We’re going to wait for him to fall asleep, and then Athena and I should be able to put him to sleep. We’ll go from there once we’ve gotten him secured. I’ll have to talk to Hades, but that is nothing any of you need to worry about.”

She then turned back to Vix as she continued to hold her hands over the wound to soothe the swelling. The Goddess of Magic looked up at her face, and she gave a slight smile. “Good job.”

Vix's expression changes almost instantly when Hecate praises her, almost proud for a moment before she looks at Hecate, confused. "Thanks, but... I didn't really do anything. They did all the work." She gestures to the other godlings, somewhat envious of their power. "The difference is Ares knew his parents," she jokes, "while I'm just sitting here with no clue except for my ears and tail."

“There’s quite a number of Greeks and other deities who don’t know their parents. You’re not alone.” She frowned over the inflammation a little more, and once her Magic had healed it she nodded and looked back to the girl. “This was your first major mission, all of you. During your first week of school, when you should have been learning the basics. That you were able to do anything at all was a welcome surprise, and that all of you managed to restrain Cerberus was a miracle.”

She turned her head up toward the rain cloud that Coatrisquie had summoned, and she waved a hand. The rain cloud would dissipate, and the sun would emerge once again. Meanwhile, Cerberus’s three sets of eyes were closed, and the almost-comforting rumble of the giant dog’s snoring echoed throughout the woods.

The sound of a job well-done.

The glimmering eye caught Ara's attention, the spidery godling looking at it for a second before realizing the watcher's identity and smiling. "Enjoying the show, Your Highness?" they asked, raising one hand flowing with inscriptions. "I have a body now, courtesy of Madam Hecate. I'm afraid the use of this spell is at an end, though, so farewell. Safe travels!" With a wave of their hand, the spell ended, the tendrils of dreamforce retracting from the slumbering Hound and into the Hand, which quickly shed the waxy covering and returned to its skeletal, abstract form. The magic of the otherworld faded, leaving only the Abyss as Ara rolled their shoulders before noticing Vadha's depleted..."health" bar. With a silent sigh, they conjured a streamer of healing magic, offering it to the godling. "For being a God of Blood, you are terrible at not running out of the stuff, huh?" they asked, with a note of mischief and confusion in their voice.

Coatrisquie, the massive spirit hawk, flew down to the earth from his perch in the air, the force of the hawk's mass moving as quickly as he was causing a considerable gust of wind to blow throughout the trees; the grass that wasn't stomped and burned shook and danced rapidly, but as the hawk slowed his descent to the earth, the wind began to die down and the grass returned back to stillness in the quiet of the aftermath. Once the hawk was only a few meters above the ground, the spirit furled his wings and channeled power; lightning, light, and energy coursing throughout the body of the immaterial storm spirit before he rapidly began to shrink and reassume his humanoid form dressed in regal red and purple fabrics and reddish-golden jewelry. Somersaulting in the air, the spirit - now in human guise again - landed on his feet in a rather graceful, if dramatic, manner.

The spirit, still sharing many of the same physical attributes as Abaguabana, if still possessing a considerably more muscular build, rubbed the back of his neck as the brightness of the glow of his tattoos slowly began to die down in the aftermath of the transformation.

"I expected much more of a fight," The spirit spoke, hand idly rubbing the axe on his hip, "But we can't all get what we want, I guess. Is everyone alright?"

Vix nods. "Yeah, true. But they all had traits that led then to their parents; My best guess is Apollo, but even then it's a stretch." She hesitates again, moving her ankle. "Thanks." She gets up and walks over to Ara.

Hecate watched the group convalesce and interact, taking a break from the panic and the storm. She then turned her eyes to Cerberus, who was now finally soundly asleep. "You stupid dog," she sighed, with the dry affection of eons of watching this dog gather souls for Hades. But now the battle was won. All that was left was for the kidnapper to reveal herself.

Whoever she was.

[Luminesa]

Credited to Lumi and Fin

The Responsibilities of Freedom
Day 8, Morning
Pisgah National Forest, NC

Ganesha and Athena are met by silence for quite some time. The sound of the rushing river is conflicting: does it give peace, with its continuous flow and waves, or does it irritate them, with its constant reminder of flowing time? A couple fishes jump out of the water, catching stray insects flying over the water's surface, and the shadows of aquatic monsters lurk even far deeper within the watery ravine.

Something breaks this constant scenery. A white feather falls from the sky, with no bird to shed it. Another one falls, light and soft, followed by another. A rain of feathers begin to fall around the two Gods, and they begin to exude a soft and comforting light. A voice speaks, gentle and kind, in the feather rain.

"Friends and comrades, fellow compassionate ones, please I invite you to speak with me. I am with Prometheus, and we are in the forests close to the city. We mean no harm, only camaraderie and peace."

The voice fades slowly as the feathers stop falling, and all the feathers on the ground vanish in motes of light.

"With Prometheus?..." Ganesha muttered and turned to Athena. He did not like what he had heard, especially since Hyperion had returned a couple of days ago without any sort of a fight from the other Titan. Now this woman-potentially an enemy-and Prometheus were together. "I'm going to go into the woods to go see what this is about, stay here and watch the kids with Napi, huh?"

Athena nodded, and the Elephant-Headed God walked cleanly past the crowds, who seemed to not notice him at all. Perhaps something about his almost-Primordial status gave him that ability. Or perhaps people truly had seen stranger things, as much as the teachers had wanted everyone to look as human as possible. Regardless, as soon as he walked out of the city, he knew where to go.

And he heard the roar of Cerberus at the same time, and knew that the situation with Hecate's group had been compromised.

"Curses..." He moved toward the outskirts of the woods, but no further. "My students are on an active battleground. If you wish to speak, you and Prometheus can approach me here, closer to Asheville. Is that agreeable?"

In the meantime, Prometheus had indeed heard the voice, and he had missed the Angel who had been his savior. He ran to the edge of the woods, toward Ganesha's location, and he stood out of the Elephant-Headed God's view as he looked for Eleos before approaching. "...Angel? Angel, where are you?!" he called.

"My friend!" The flapping of wings calls to Prometheus, and the image of Eleos descending from the sky fills the Fire Titan's vision. She is still wearing the simplest of white togas, with nothing of opulence on her. A pair of large white wings flap behind her, and two halo like horns adorn her shaved head.

"Are you injured, Prometheus?" She smiles as she lands before him, taking his hand and checking on him. "We will have company soon... How did you find the mortals? The children of this new age?"

“My Angel…” Prometheus turned to her, with something sounding quite like veneration, and a little like affection, and he smiled at her. “It is good to see you again. I am not injured. As for the mortals, it seems they have rebuilt their own lands, and I am here watching over them. The other god you are seeking is not far away, it seems.”

Ganesha walked a little further as he heard the duo’s voices, and he stopped as he saw the woman dressed all in white. For a moment, he thought he was seeing Saraswati, but when he blinked he noticed that she was another being entirely. She also had horns, which branched together to make a halo-something his fellow Hindu deity did not have. “…Are you the Goddess who responded to my call by the river?”

"That is good, Prometheus... They are small and fragile, but they are wonderful creatures with so much to give and so much to make." She smiles back at him, showing kind compassion and understanding. The 'Angel' turns, responding to Ganesha's call with a bow.

"Greetings, Lord Ganesha. It was indeed me who has responded to your call. You may call me Eleos. Once I was called the Avenger. I wish I could be called something else, now that everything has changed." Her smile doesn't falter, showing no fear but rather a great desire to embrace and welcome. "Let us talk, good sir."

The Remover of Obstacles stared at this woman with a raised brow. She seemed kind and well-intending, and yet she seemed as if she might have been the cause of many of the issues the school had faced. He took some cautious steps forward, and placed a pair of hands on his hips. "Eleos, ah...I don't know if you are a Miss, a Mister, or neither...did you free Prometheus, and did you also free Cerberus?"

"There is no need for caution, Lord Ganesha. I will not harm you." Eleos raises a hand, and the earth obeys. Stools made of simple rock rises, and a stone table is formed for discussion. She gestures for the two deities to come and join her, to sit and talk.

"It was indeed I who freed both Prometheus and Cerberus. However I freed Cerberus not to wreck havoc, but to free him of his idleness. He is much more needed here, above ground, where he could take the souls of the departed and aid the Cthonic Lords."

Ganesha was never opposed to sitting down to discuss matters, and even was willing to ignore the roaring of Cerberus in the background. Prometheus also joined them, and he sat opposite of both of the other deities as the Hindu god apparated a cup of tea. "I don't know how you like your tea, so feel free to serve yourself. Sugar, spices, lemon, milk, the works." He started to make his own cup, and invited Prometheus to do the same. Only then did he begin to listen to Eleos's explanation.

"You see, I'm not sure if you're aware, and this is not necessarily a fault, everyone has been very busy post-Dying," he started as he poured milk and cardamom into his tea, watching it bounce as he heard stomping nearby in the woods, "but he was already doing those things before you were involved in any capacity. Hades runs a tight ship. And he was gathering souls at a pace which...worked for him, if I might say."

"Lord Hades is already swamped with work, Lord Ganesha. I should know, as I have worked with the House for many milennia. Even with the combined efforts of Lord Thanatos, Lord Hermes, and Lord Charon, there are still many souls awaiting at the banks of the Styx and even more here wandering as ghosts."

She sighs, and she also brews her own tea. Black tea with sugar and milk. "I understand Cerberus's job. He is the guardian of the gates of Styx, but you have seen the state of the world. Soon enough, if these souls do not find rest, we will have a new apocalypse before us."

"Well, my question then is, why did you not approach Hades directly, instead of simply taking Cerberus out of his home? Because now, as you should be able to tell," he continued, as he waved a free hand toward the woods, "he is now possibly entangled with our student-body, which is here to try and help the mortals."

"Because I know that he would not allow it, as it would be another bureaucratic mess on his desk." She says as a matter of fact. "...And even if this incident would be a mess on his desk for the next month, he will have the souls of Asheville on his ledger to show for it."

Ganesha shook his head and sighed himself. "I know that the Greeks are complicated. Nothing is easy with them. They have to follow all of these rules and traditions that do nothing to alleviate their own problems or those of the mortals, and they caused a huge part of that mess themselves. I doubt their contrition most days, and a lack of contrition is as much of a stumbling block as any other obstacle. But..." He added more of an emphasis to that pause, taking a drink of his tea for a moment as well. Prometheus seemed pleased himself by the rant, but did nothing except listen, as he knew this conversation was largely between the Elephant-Headed God and Eleos. "But, we have to communicate the way the Pax outlines, if we want to have any chance of making it last. And if that means getting other pantheons to back you in any sort of effort to make the gathering of souls an easier task, then so be it."

"...Have I broke the Pax? No, I did not. I did not personally come to destroy the sanctity of their lands. The Gods of this continent are already focused with the preservation of their own people." She whispers behind her cup, her eyes staring back at Ganesha. "And there was no edict to keep their souls imprisoned in the mortal plane. I am simply alleviating the illness before it becomes incurable."

“I see that was your intention. But I’m…” He tried to think through his words. “I’m worried that other pantheons will see this as a breach of the Pax, if they don’t already. We need for you to return Cerberus, and if you do, then we can perhaps handle Zeus together. Wouldn’t that be more feasible?”

"...Zeus..." She sighs as she looks at her cup. "Very well. I shall come with you, and I will return Cerberus once his duty is over. Let him send the souls back to rest. Will that be amicable for you?"

“Well, Zeus and Hades, I should say. Hades will be harder, but Zeus might require some of what the mortals call ‘Tylenol’.” Ganesha nodded. “Very well. If anything, we need to control exactly how many souls he is taking at a time. That is the main issue. But once he is done, or the students have restrained him, then we will go talk to Zeus. Because that is what is happening right now.”

"I only see it as a learning opportunity for the children." She shakes her head before smiling. "But I am indeed willing to come and speak with them. I am not here to sow discord, only aid and heal this land."

“Very well then. I am assuming and hoping you will respect the Pax in the case of our students and their safety, then, as we go to them together.” He nodded and rose from the table. “But I do have one more question, for professional reasons as Hecate will want to know. What pantheon have you come from?” He asked the question with a certain heaviness beneath his more genial response.

"...What Pantheon am I from?" Eleos looks at him for a moment, and she takes a long time to consider. "I was once... a servant of Her Supreme Retaliation, the Primordial Nemesis. But perhaps the sheer brutality of the Dying... has made my heart falter, and question the basis on what Divine Justice is truly based on. So here I am, on my own, trying to fix the grief and misery we all have inflicted on humanity."

Something in her tone made Ganesha suspect something. Not a lie of malice, but of a painful memory. Something she did not want to truly discuss. But telling lies to Hecate was playing with fire. She could see through almost any deceit, and he was not one to make obstacles. “A servant of Nemesis…” He clicked his tongue in his mouth. “Hopefully Hecate is fine with that answer. Well, then, it is time for us to go. Prometheus?”

“Yes?” The titan turned to Ganesha, as he had been patiently listening and seemed to have some respect for the Hindu deity.

“If you do not wish to see Hecate, you do not need to follow with us. We will leave you to your own devices, and if you can stay close to the human families, that would be a tremendous service you’ve rendered onto them, if not for us. We…” His eyes flickered to Eleos, being careful with his wording, “do not ask for you to serve us, only to do what is good for the Pax as a whole.”

“Yes. I understand. I will go my own way for now. Farewell, my Angel.” He bowed to Eleos, as graceful as a wild and huge titan could be.

"Stay safe, Prometheus..." She smiles at him, whispering her own goodbye. She watches him get up and leave, off into the wilderness and to continue his vigil over these poor and struggling families. "...Thank you for your consideration, Lord Ganesha... Prometheus has suffered enough..."

“And so have the mortals and their souls.” Ganesha agreed solemnly, before he looked out toward the woods. Another roar sounded, and he frowned. But even so, he kept his voice as positive as he could. “Ahhh into the mighty, mighty woods we go, shall we?”

[Finsternia]

Co-Written by Luminesa, Finsternia, Barum Alliance, Mindhart, Tarnen, and Hallownest

A Misunderstood Shepherd
Day 8, Morning
Pisgah National Forest, NC

Ganesha walked with Eleos toward the clearing, expecting to see that a battle was still raging in the woods. Cerberus was a powerful creature, and he was wild and angry. But when he walked into the clearing first, letting Eleos know to wait behind him, he saw the aftermath of a battle. "...Wha?...Oh. Oh goodness."

The students were standing together, talking, bantering, and healing. Hecate was next to Vix, finishing her little talk with the fox deity, when she realized that the Elephant-Headed God was looking at her. And then there was Cerberus, lying on his side, snoring loud enough to rumble the foundations of more than a few houses within a couple of miles.

"Kate! You're all done already?"

"The students did most of the work, believe it or not," she answered. She stood and adjusted herself, her clothes and hair drying themselves with a flash of her Magic. She then snapped her fingers and dried the clothes and hair of the students nearby. "Who do you have with you?"

"Ah..."

Draki crouched down as low as she could get so that azrael could climb down from her back. She swallowed the flames still crawling out the corners of her mouth and let out a cloud of smoke that seemed to drain any warmth left in the air around her.

Vadha sighs in relief as he feels the warm and gentle flow of healing magic into his body, rejuvenating his lost life force. The God of Bloodshed could afford to spill more rivers of blood, but such treatment is still absolutely a welcome sight. He was about to utter his thanks when the Abyssling sputters out their jabs, to which Vadha's face sours. "Y-You! It's literally in my job description!"

Soft footfalls make their way towards the slumbering Cerberus, and the rainy skies seem to be pierced by shafts of heaven's light as the former Avenger walks towards the Great Hound. The burnt foliage returns to life, the broken trees that Cerberus tore off the earth now sprout into full health in miraculous fashion. Vadha and Ara hear the sound of wings unfolding, and gentle light bathes the two. "...Are you two hurt, children? Has Cerberus been rough with you all?"

"N-No, Ma'am?" Vadha awkwardly looks up at this angelic figure, who only smiles at him with the same kind gaze that he sees with his aunts. Eleos continues onward, and her healing touch suffused the Great Hound. Holy light pours into him, healing his injuries at a visible and rapid pace.

"Hey! He'll wake up and rampage again!" Vadha gets up before Eleos raises a hand. "...Be still, child... Cerberus has a kind heart... He was simply too eager to play. He is one diligent boy." The Fury smiles as she gently pets the slumbering Hound. "And it seems that he is quite tired as well..."

The Shepherdess turns, finally gazing at the assemblage. "Thank you all for your concern for Cerberus. However, it was never his intention to harm. He is simply as workaholic as his Master."

Ara smiled cheekily, their fangs barely visible as Vadha made his flustered comeback. "That's your job? To bleed out and keel over? I'll keep that in mind next time I see you wounded~" They let the last of the magic flow into their classmate before terminating it, their attention grabbed by the shepherdess. Something about her called to a deep part of the Hidden God's heritage, something that resonated with their bones. When it finally clicked, Ara couldn't help but grin a little wider. "Well, well, if this day doesn't get more interesting by the minute..."

Draki rolled her eyes in exasperation before shifting back to her human form and catching azrael in her arms. “Just so you know I can’t speak in my dragon form so when I bend down like that it means get off” she set him down and glared distrustfully at the newcomer. She leaned over to azrael whispering to him. “Are we just trusting them? I mean the teachers don’t seem worried but still.” She walked up to Ara, not taking her eyes off the angelic being. “hey you ok? I tried to make sure you didn’t get burned. Nice move with the sleep spell.”

"Oh, thanks for the tip." Azrael dusted himself off before continuing "Well I'm sure the teachers have got a handle on things if they get out of control. And then there's us. If we can handle a giant 3 headed dog from the Underworld, we can at least hold off a god I'm assuming." He gave a quick wave to the gathering crowd.

Vix looked at Eleos apprehensively. "If you're here for a fight, then you seriously need to work on your timing. Seriously, this is the worst time you could have picked for anything unless you're going to tell us that this was all planned, we passed some grand test, and now we get cake, but I highly doubt that, seeing as we're not in a movie." She glares at Ara, seething. "Then again, if you're here to tell me I am absolutely allowed to slap them as hard as I can, that's very welcome as I'm going to do it anyways."

“Nobody is going to be slapping or fighting anyone, I think,” Ganesha interrupted, as he walked next to the newcoming deity. “It looks like Cerberus is tied up, so there’s no need. No, I brought her here because she said she was the woman who freed Cerberus, and I wanted to give her a chance to explain herself.”

“You?! You caused this mess?”Hecate demanded, marching to the front of the group and staring Eleos in the face.

“Kate, hold on-”

“If you’re going to explain yourself, then do it. We’re waiting, but not for long.” The Goddess of the Crossroads looked more than angry, but she was willing to hold back some punches for now.

Draki transformed back into her dragon form a deep rumble in her throat as she stood protectively over Cerberus with a look in her draconic eyes that said ‘just try something. I. dare. you.’ rune shaped flames started to reinforce the dogs restraints while her illusions wrapped around the dog’s multiple sets of ears making sure they could yell as much as they wanted without waking the hound.

"...Hecate, dear." Eleos smiles down at the Goddess of Witchcraft, and she goes to embrace her. Soft gentleness engulfs Hecate's senses, as if she is being embraced by a cloud. "It is good to see you again. Are you still teaching these children?"

The ex-Fury holds her at arms length, and the Goddess's mind begins to piece things together. Where there should be a halo of fire, there's two halos overflowing with light born from her horns. Where there should be jagged armor there's simple robes, reminiscent of the priestesses that Hecate once had in her cults. Where there should be a scowl and a frightening visage there is a motherly gaze, joyful to see a friend.

Eleos the Avenger is changed into something... born from Elysium rather than Tartarus.

"You must be wondering why Cerberus is out and about... I freed him." She lets go of her to gaze at the Hound. "I simply wish to aid the Underworld with its duties. We both know that poor Cerberus here is a gentle, but diligent boy. He will never harm a soul, and he hasn't harmed a single mortal in the city. In fact..." She touches the Hound's snout and phantoms of light apparate around him. "He has done his job well. He is close to finishing the gathering of souls for this vicinity."

Vix raises her hand. "So... what are you, then? god? dryad? some nightmare ama-' she glances at the actual nightmare amalgamation that happened to be her peer. "Nevermind, you're not. also, Are you going to. like... I dunno, Undo the massive damage to the forest? because you've messed up an entire ecosystem that may or may not recover, and frankly, my chips are going towards the bad option." Her tail flicks in annoyance, eyes still locked on ara as if the fox godling was trying to bore holes in her.

Ara's eyes creased at Vix's stare. "She's a Fury, Vix. And the damage here is easily reparable by the Forest itself, I may add - Cerberus only knocked over a portion of its trees and scorched a little more. The forests of the World have survived much worse than that." The Vessel tilted their head, a knowing smile gracing their lips. "But you're not eyeing me like that for my looks nor my knowledge, I gather. Worry not, I'll release the soul." With a wave, their shadow came to life, a boiling mass of nothing that finally expelled the elder fox's soul, none the worse for wear. The shadow settled back to its inertness, the godling turning towards Eleos. "And speaking of jobs...why the change of looks, Fury? I've heard of wolves in sheep's clothing, but it takes a special sort of cunning to disguise oneself as the shepherd instead."

Vix only got angrier, her suspicions confirmed. "Alright, you obviously don't see the problem here. The problem is you thought it necessary to risk a fox's soul to take down a dog." She lunges at Ara, swiftly closing the distance between them as she pulls her hand into a fist, attempting to punch her.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Hecate got between Vix and Ara, grabbing the fox deity by the arms and jerking her away from Cryptid. She then held the girl deity's arms and stared down at her. "We're not having a fist-fight in the woods! Stay by my side and do not leave. Now." She turned back to Eleos, who had hugged her a few moments ago. "You...say you know me. But you have still not told me your name. You look familiar, but if you were familiar...you've certainly changed enough that I don't exactly remember who you are."

"It seems that you are right... I've indeed changed drastically." Eleos turns towards Ara, but there's no hostility in her eyes. She smiles as she spreads her wings. "Do you remember the name of Eleos? She is I. Your student is correct. The former wolf is now a shepherdess. I've forsaken my bloody work."

Draki stared in amazement at the amount of souls gathered and seeing Hecate calm, at least towards Eleos, she took on human form again. She began chanting the incantations for her sedir magic calling on plant life to spread out into the forest slowly repairing the damage done to it. With that her magic and stamina bars depleted and she started to feel feint and stumbled against azrael. “Oops that was a bit much…sorry Azie…I’m…I’m just gonna sit down for a minute….” She slid off his shoulder to the ground before losing the energy for even that and just laid down. “I mean lay down…yeah laying down sounds good…fuck that was a mistake….” She rubbed her face and groaned as the magic she wasn’t ready to wield exacted its price on her energy.

"Poor godlings..." Eleos sighs in pain as she sees the godlings come down from their brief battle. Her eyes gaze at the odd electric holographic displays upon their heads. She looks at Vadha's HP bar, Draki's heavily depleted MP and energy bars, Vix's own energy bar, and Ara's MP bar. "It seems that you've all worked hard, children." She smiles, before her wings unfold.

A great blast of holy light washes over all the combatants, and instead of searing pain they feel... relief. In a blink of an eye, all of their statistics fill up to the brim as if nothing happened. Their bodies feel great rejuvenation, even the exhaustion of the mind is gone in an instant. In the wake of the wave of light new life sprouts, and Vix's own worries of the forest come to rest.

Before their very eyes saplings grow at incredible speeds. From the fire of Cerberus grows grass, flowers, and mighty trees in a blink of an eye. The Shepherdess's mercy is granted to all, from the lowest of grasses to the mightiest of gods. "...Do you feel better now?" Eleos smiles towards Draki, the ex-Fury showing no hostility in her motherly gaze.

Vix stands frozen as this happens, amazed at the miracles that were happening before her eyes. She just nods and backs away.

Draki sat up right. “Huh?!” She looked around, her spell being overwhelmed by the ex-fury. “Fuck….” The dragon godling stood up dusting herself off. “Whelp I feel insignificant now….” She sighed to herself dejectedly. “Yeah I feel fine….”

Hecate and Ganesha were both glad to see that Eleos was at least willing to heal their students. But while the latter was happier just to see the students well and healthy, and was sending a message to Athena to let her know what had happened, the Goddess of the Crossroads was still not happy.

“I hope you realize that just because you’re being kind and giving hugs to the students does not mean you get to escape questioning. You’re a former Fury, and you’ve tossed aside the job you had before of punishing trespassers into Tartarus. Now you’ve decided to simply make our jobs more difficult. Prometheus was an easy fix. Cerberus could have killed half of our students if any of them had gotten separated. What was your master plan, little Fury?”

"...My vigil with Lady Nemesis has come to an end. For countless eons, before you were even born, I've served faithfully. Perhaps it was my own faith that failed me, and now... I do what I believe is right."

She looks towards Cerberus with a frown as Hecate accuses her of playing a dangerous game, and she only responds by petting one of the Great Hound's snouts. "...Cerberus is a gentle child... He is enthusiastic, hard working, but he is never one to harm others. Stop others, perhaps, from interfering with his work, but he was never a murderer. Or do you see Cerberus as a mindless monster, like his father before him, Hecate?"

Draki’s eyes looked from Eleos to Hecate with a look of painful expectations as she awaited a response to that question. Memories of her parents flooded her mind. She slowly backed up to the edge of the group. Odin’s words to her father echoed in her head ’I banish this beast to holy high, until they are able to do their duty correctly they shall not return to our halls!’

“He is not a mindless monster. Far from it. But his gathering must have a method, and he must obey Hades, for his own sake and for the sakes of all souls. Your infantilization of the Psychopomp of the Underworld shows me that you do not truly understand what freedom means.”

Hecate folded her arms, unperturbed by Eleos’s accusations. “He has frightened the humans and angered the gods, and we cannot afford either if we truly want peace. If you truly want to show that you desire such peace and freedom, you will come with me as I escort Cerberus down to the Underworld. There you will introduce, or re-introduce, yourself to Hades and explain your conduct. And you will not waste his time. Understood?”

"...Angered the gods? For what crime? Tell me, Goddess of Ghosts, do you see the souls within Cerberus right now?" Eleos looks at her with disappointment. "These souls have been wandering for many many years. They were at a level of saturation where their combined resentment could have easily triggered a rampage of a ghost army. If I did not allow Cerberus to take them all in, Asheville's mortal population would be gone by next month."

"And if my act angered the gods, then so be it. I've seen their anger, for crimes as petty as running away from their advances. If I need to commit the crime of making sure that their assets are not wasted, and is instead allocated where a hound such as Cerberus could do good, then I'll face Tartarus a thousand times."

Hecate rolled her eyes and looked at Ganesha, but the Elephant-Headed God just shrugged. “I think, personally, she makes something of a decent point.”

“What?!”

“I mean, no, she went about it in a way that rather endangered all of us, but if nothing was done, we would lose the population of Asheville and some ten years of progress from after an apocalypse. Listen, why don’t you go with the kids, I’ll go with Eleos to Tartarus.”

The Goddess of the Crossroads blinked in shock. “You want to go to Tartarus?!”

“To make sure her judgment is just and fair. She might have caused most of our problems over the last few days, but those are fixed! It’s the problem of actually rebuilding a large city that’s going to be harder. Now let’s get these kids back to Asheville and back to safety, eh?” He grinned and winked at the students. “I can tell Athena you’re coming and you can go finish with building and medical assistance for the day. Much less dog-catching.”

Hecate frowned, but she could not argue with him. He was perfectly strong enough to approach Hades. Whether or not the God of the Underworld would appreciate a god from another Pantheon approaching him was another story. “You better not come back missing your head.”

“Well if I don’t have a head, Kate, then I certainly won’t be missing much of anything!” He laughed at his own joke, and he nodded to the students. “Come on. Go with Hecate to Asheville. You all did an excellent job!”

Draki relaxed at Hecate’s words about Cerberus. Her fears subsided and the echos of her past rolled away like a fog lifting from a valley. She walked at the back of the group. When they passed the large dog she stopped by one of his heads and nuzzled in next to one of his ears. “Goodbye Cerberus please don’t be too mad at us….” She whispered and then wandered off to join the group at azrael’s side. She was silent and retracted from the world.

Cerberus continued to sleep. He was finally at peace, not agitated by anything yanking him from the Underworld or by itinerant spirits floating around his head and teasing him. No, his enormous arms and tail stretched the way a dog’s body did, even if he had three-heads and breathed fire. He was exhausted, and would be happy now to go back to the Underworld.

And all Hecate could do is watch him with just an exasperated shake of her head. “The trouble you’ve caused us, you dumb dog…”

[Luminesa]

Dogged Around
Day 8, Midday
Downtown Asheville, NC

Hecate did not quite like the city as much as Ganesha seemed to like it. He thrived around people, and let very little about their quirks and idiosyncrasies bother him. But Hecate walked into town to find Athena, and she immediately felt irked by everything. The noises of people building, talking, commuting, and being rather loud all gathered to stomp inside her skull. Fortunately, as a goddess, she could move away from the scene once she was done. But first she needed to bring the students.

“Hecate! There you are.” The Goddess of Wisdom had been watching Patriah and Napi’s hard work, but when she saw her fellow Greek goddess she turned her attention to the Goddess of the Crossroads.

Hecate nodded, as she walked ahead of her brood of students. “Ganesha told you everything, I presume?”

“He did.”

“Well he’s gone to the Underworld to sort things without our interloper and Hades.” She rolled her eyes. “Good luck with that, I suppose.”

Athena frowned but nodded. “And the students collected Cerberus without causing him any harm?” She turned and looked at Hecate’s group as she spoke.

“That is correct. I’m surprised, pleasantly so. Very few injuries, except for Vix’s ankle. But our little friend healed all of the students.”

“Hm! Very good.” She turned her attention to the class with a satisfied smile on her face. “Excellent job. The ecosystem of souls in Asheville will be grateful that you gathered Cerberus safely. Now, since we’ll be here until sundown, Patriah and Napi have been working on building, and have gotten a couple of buildings done. Abaguabana has been helping the farmers. There is still fishing to do, so I’ll let Patriah go, and one or two of you can help him. More buildings need to be done, and there is still the hospital. Decide where you want to go, and that will count for your work for today.”

“WAIT.” Patriah immediately came running, as he had been taking a quick break and had heard a mention of fishing. “NOW I can go help fish?”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Yes. Someone will take over for you with the building.”

“YES!!!”

He immediately ran toward the river, and Athena just shook her head. At least he was enthusiastic. She hoped the other students would be as well. “And yet somehow I think this will be the easiest part of the day…”

[Barum alliance]

Co-write credit: Barum, Tarnen, and lumi

Visions for the Sick
Day 8, Mid-Afternoon
UNC-Asheville Hospital, Downtown Asheville

Draki bumped into azrael’s shoulder shyly “hey would you mind joining me at the hospital?”

Azrael gave Draki a warm smile "Sure! To be honest, I'm tired of sitting around.I need something to do." He chuckled as he began to walk to the hospital.

She gave a small laugh and walked with him. She was silent for most of the walk. As they got close to the hospital she finally spoke up. “That…that was a lot…and uh…thanks for coming with me, I really appreciate it.” Draki’s cheeks reddened and she pulled on a lock of her hair twirling it around her finger as her other hand drifted at her side between them.

Azrael had his hands in his pockets as they arrived near the hospital. "You're uh.. very welcome." He looked pretty much everywhere expect at Draki, if to just avoid turning red. "Us psychopomps got to stick together." Azrael was feeling a bit awkward. "And I'm glad I got you as a roommate..heh." He let out an awkward chuckle before turning to the hospital. "So...the hospital...You're not afraid of needles are you?"

She bumped into him again. “I’m glad you’re my roommate too and no needles are fine.” She looked over and smiled sweetly at him. She stared up at him dreamily. Her eyes studied his face taking in every part of him. When she caught herself staring at him she skipped ahead of him, her face burning with heat. “Come on Azie!”

Azrael stood there watching Draki move ahead of him. He felt his face go red, and cracked a quick smile. For once Azrael felt different, and he was started to see Draki in a different way... he snapped out of it when Draki was getting to far away, and ran to catch up. "Wait up!"

UNC-Asheville Hospital was sizable, especially for something built in only five years. It served so many people, and on a margin of supplies which often made the doctors and the nurses nervous. They somehow always had just enough supplies, though they did not know why. But Dr. Benoit always made sure to let the other staff know, never let anything go to waste.

He had gotten a call from someone earlier in the morning, a teacher working at a school outside of Asheville. “Mrs. Minerva” was the only name she used. He frowned and nodded, and decided to entertain the idea of student-volunteers. Any help was good help, as long as the help did not waste any supplies or their precious time.

He found the duo walking in the hallway near the lobby, however, rather than at the reception area, and so he looked confused and almost baffled. “Excuse me, are you two patients or visitors?” he called, as he walked into their path and looked down at Draki.

Draki smiled at the doctor. “Hi we’re with the group of students volunteers here today. Just let us know what you need and we’ll get to work” she reached out a hand in greeting, waiting for him to take it so she could use her magic to subtly revitalize his energy with her magic.

“Ah. So you must be here from Mrs. Minerva, as she promised. Very good.” Dr. Benoit smiled and shook her hand. “We have some patients who need simple things. Something to drink, food from the cafeteria, a cold pillow, a fresh blanket. If you find someone who has had some sort of accident, please get a nurse or one of the doctors. But most of all?” He looked from Draki to Azrael, and he showed a smile. “A big smile, kind words, good manners. Our people have seen a lot, I don’t think I have to tell you that. If anyone is rude to you, feel free to let me know. Now.”

He turned and looked at Draki and Azrael. “We have a young man who has been complaining that he has been having visions, mostly he just needs water and a warm blanket. Nasty foot wounds. He’s in Room 15. Got a man who had heat stroke while working outside, he’ll need lots of water and ice. He’s in Room 9. Got an old woman who has been having chest pains, she’s in Room 7. That’s where you can start. Follow the nurses, they’ll tell you where to go next.”

Azrael volunteered first "I'll take the first one, doesn't seem like a too difficult task. Especially after..." He stopped after realizing that they're not on campus. "Having a very fast pace beginning of the school year." Big understatement! he blurted in his own head. He went to the nurse, taking a quick look back at Draki with a smile.

“Alright. Go with Bethany, she’ll show you to him.” He nodded to Azrael, and waited with Draki. In the meantime, a young nurse with long blonde hair pulled in a ponytail hurried over to grab the young deity. “Hi there! I’m Bethany, I’ll be showing you what to do for our patient.” She was not the most trusting with the idea Dr. Benoit had presented, but this kid seemed friendly enough.

In the room, Tom Samuelson continued laying in his bed, reading a book someone had brought him. He had demanded, over and over, the Foxfire Books, and someone had gone to a local library and had found some copies. He was flipping through the books when he saw his nurse enter with the newcomer. “…Who’s this?” He inquired, looking at the young man with a little suspicion.

As draki left with Bethany Dr. Benoit would soon feel like he had a full nights rest, full meal, and a cup of coffee but it would feel more like a second wind. “Hi Bethany I’m Alex, Can you show me where rooms 15 and 7 are? I’d like to see if they need anything. They’re the only one the doctor didn’t say on and then after that I can start grabbing supplies to take to rooms.” She pulled a small notepad out of the side pocket on her bag and started writing stuff down lest she forget or get mixed up.

The doctor paused for a second as he started to walk down the hall, and he stared down into his coffee cup. He had not been too tired yet this morning, as no patients had arrived yet with catastrophic injuries. No, still mostly the same old bunch. But now he felt as though he had gone on vacation in the Bahamas, and had returned happy and well-rested. He had to smile to himself, wondering if he was just relieved to have more help around the hospital.

Bethany looked down at Draki and leaned over to look at her. She could already tell that Tom was agitated by sudden strangers coming into his room. “This is Room 15. Room 7, walk 6 rooms to the left around the rooms down the hall.”

Tom put his book on the table and stared at the nurse. “They look lost. I ain’t never seen them in my life. They training at this hospital?”

“No, no, give me a moment. This is…” She looked down at Azrael and asked him for his name.

Azrael waved at the man in the room before stating his name "Hello there my name Azz...uh...Zee. Just Zee pleasure to make your aquitance. The lovely nurse here has allowed me to volunteer and help out people in the hospital." He gave him a warm smile, while on the he felt embarrassed almost letting his name slip out.

“Zee? Well shoot. Name’s Tom. Tom Samuelson.” He looked down at the book, and then back to Azrael. “I walked from the holler to get here, 22 miles. Almost bled to death cause my feet were so full of sores. I didn’t hardly feel it until the nurse told me.”

Bethany rolled her eyes with kind exasperation, and then looked to Azrael. “Tom mostly needs company, and for someone to make sure he’s comfortable and has his meals on time.”

“I’m hoping to get out in a few days. They said I darn near destroyed my feet, but I can get back.”

“No you cannot. You’re staying here.”

“Well I dunno how you’re gonna reach my Pa, cause our house don’t got a phone, just an address.”

“We’ll find a way. Anyhow, Zee, if you’ll sit with him for a bit and let me know when he needs a meal, I’ll bring Alex down the hall to see a patient.”

Draki smiled “I’ll meet back up later Zee.” She had to fight to hold back a snicker at his on the spot name. ’that dork…he has no right being that adorable….’ she thought to herself on the way out. She made her way down the hall with Bethany to room 7. “Anything I should know besides the chest pains to just generally to be careful of?”

“We’ve been keeping an eye on her, giving her the medications, taking her vitals and making sure that she’s not having a heart attack. You just need to sit with her, bring her water, and ring for one of us if she needs food.”

She walked her into the room, and the old lady turned and smiled. Another nurse was attending to the woman, and she nodded to Bethany. “Hello! Who’s this?” the other nurse asked.

“This is Alex. She’s with another student coming to volunteer at the hospital.”

“Oh good. Nice to have more hands around here,” she answered.

The old woman, named Annette Daly, sat and looked over at the newcomer with an inquisitive eye. She was a small-but-round little lady, maybe in her early 80’s. “Well aren’t you a little dumpling. Come sit, come sit. This hospital’s terribly lonely.”

Draki smiled and slipped her backpack off laying it on the floor. “Hi ma’am. You might’ve heard but my names Alex, what’s yours?” She pulled up a chair and sat down.

“I’m Annette, dearie.” The lady looked at her, and then at her backpack. “Oh goodness, did you skip school to come see me? I’ve got grandchildren in school right now, though their parents mostly teach them. Homeschooling just got more popular these days. Where do you go to school, dear?”

Draki gave a small laugh. “Oh no I didn’t skip school we came here on a sort of field trip to help out. We’re kind of a nomad group now a days. So we’re kind of group homeschooled. We’re camping out in the woods not far from here. The supplies in my bag are my calligraphy set and drawing supplies. I take them with me everywhere because they’re therapeutic.” She smiled sweetly. “How old are your grandkids?”

Azrael or Zee, as he had to remind himself, took a seat next to Tom listening to his story. "Wow, 22 miles that's quite a ways to walk." He paused before continuing "What brought the need to walk so far?" He have his full attention to Tom.

“Oh, my grandchildren are 12, 15, and 21. They’re all big now. One of em’s bout to have a baby.” Annette grinned. “My first great-grand baby.” She pulled her wallet off the nightstand, and she looked inside. She then pulled a big picture of her family, all at some sort of picnic. “This is Ellie, this is David, and this is Scottie. All my babies. And then that’s Julie, Chrisanne, and Samantha. Sammie’s got a big belly in this picture. I bet she’ll have that baby next month.”

She then looked back to “Alex” and smiled. “What about your family? I bet your parents must be very proud of you for being part of this volunteer program.”

In the other room, Tom was a little less friendly. He glared over Zee for a few moments, as though he was not entirely trusting. He only talked once Bethany was out of the room. “Listen, the nurse doesn’t believe me, but I saw a giant dog, it had three heads. Pounding and puffing through the countryside, way over the treetops. He was making smoke out of his mouth!” He waved his hand in the air. “Smoke so far it woulda blocked the sun. It was incredible. And I thought he was over here. So I ran from home to see him. You musta saw him too, did you?” He had an almost crazed look in his eyes, as though he was begging Azrael to believe him.

“Ohhh well I’m glad you’ve got someone taking good care of you. You look good and healthy. And it’s alright.” She gave an understanding smile. “My grandfather was adopted, his birth parents left him at the firehouse when he was a little bitty baby. And my great-grandmother found him, and she raised him. And then he and my granny had my mom, who had me.”

She pat Draki’s arm and looked at the picture. “Now as for baby names, Samantha is thinking of a couple. She likes Kay Lynn, after my sister. Emmalynne, Crystal, Annemarie…I think she found a bunch of names she really liked from a baby book at random, but you know if she’s happy, then I’m happy.”

“Oh such lovely names.” Draki put up an illusion to hide what she was really doing. She laid her hands over the woman’s chest and cast healing magic over her and added a blessing of good fortune on top before sitting back down in her illusion’s place. “You are such a sweet lady I hope everything gets better for you soon so you can go see them.” She smiled with compassion. “Do you want me to get you any water or food while I’m here?”

Azrael paused for a moment. "I've seen big dogs before but a giant 3 headed dog with smoke coming out it's mouth, would be hard to miss." He chuckled embarrassingly trying to find the words to comfort Tom. "But I believe you. Still people have been through alot. The last thing I'm sure people want to hear is a 3 headed hellhound from the Underworld on the outskirts of town." Zee gave Tom a smile.

“You’re a sweetheart, dear,” Annette answered, “if you could get me some apple juice and some of the grilled chicken and corn from the kitchen, I’d be quite happy.”

Tom’s room, in the meantime, was not so sweet and peaceful. “You actually believe me or you’re just trying to make me feel like I’m going crazy?” Tom questioned bluntly. “I don’t need anyone to feel pity for me. I’ve helped my Pa run his farm since I was old enough to walk. I got a baby sister at home, I help take care of her. So don’t you patronize me, understand? I know you maybe came from one of those nice private schools, but I ain’t stupid and I don’t make stuff up!”

“I’ll be back shortly sit tight.” Draki slung her bag over her shoulder and headed down to the kitchen to get the food. On her way she stopped by azie’s room, waiting until a break in the yelling. “Hey I’m heading to the kitchen to get some food for the patient down the hall is there anything you’d like sir?” She smiled sweetly pretending she didn’t hear a thing.

“Uh?” Tom turned and looked at “Alex”, and his eyes went wide. “Hey, you were with him, weren’t you? Tell me, did you see a giant three-headed dog in the mountains? Cause I know I saw one, and I’m not crazy!”

Draki feined confusion. “No sir… we’ve been camping not to far from here with the rest of our nomadic group and we haven’t seen a thing outside of some cute foxes”

Azrael nodded to Tom, backing Draki's story. "Yes. And like I said we would have seen a dog. I'm not saying that you are crazy, or making things up. It's just without proof, there isn't much to go on."

“You want proof? I saw the smoke! I have the smoke on my clothes, go smell them! I told the nurse not to take my backpack, it smells like smoke and sulphur. Like perdition!” He pointed angrily and got out of the bed, only to scream in pain as he got out the bed and realized that his feet were still raw. “OW! OW! JESUS HELP OW.”

Draki leaned out the door. “Nurse! Help in here please!” And ran back in to try to help the man back to his bed “please sir lie back down you’re not healed yet.” She said with a calm vocal level but a panicked tone.

Bethany ran into the room, and as soon as she saw Tom out of his bed, she groaned. “Oh goodness. Tom, get back in bed.”

“They came in here to mock me! They’re teasing me!” He felt enraged, gaslit, and he almost wanted to hit someone, but when he tried to take a step forward he screamed in agony again. “GAH!”

The exasperated nurse hurried over to him, and grabbed his shoulders. She then whispered slow and stern into his ear. “Get back in the bed. Now. Do not attack the volunteers or we will throw you out.”

He stared at her, but as he saw that she did not flinch or indicate that she would back down, he slowly moved back, and with her assistance he got back into the bed with a huff, and he looked back at his book.

The nurse turned to both students and frowned, before she walked them out of the room and gave them a long, hard look. “Tom is…traumatized by something. I don’t know what. But he has talked about his ‘three-headed dog’ several times in the last day. Do not entertain his rambling. Change the subject, or don’t stay in the room with him at all. Dr. Benoit is worried he might try to hurt himself, but really I just think we need to find a way to call his family and send him home once his feet are healed. As for other patients…”

She pointed to Draki. “You were with Ms. Daly, go do what you need to do for her. And you.” She looked at Azrael. “Go see about Mr. Wilford in Room 12. He’s going to need water and lots of ice. He’s recovering from heat stroke. We’ll try again with Tom later once he’s had time to himself.”

Draki held up her arms in surrender “Yes ma’am, sorry I just thought he might want some food or drink since I was on my way and walked in on him yelling at my friend.” She turned around and left with azrael and once they were out of earshot she whispered to him. “We should tell the teachers about that. Either I should go after I’m done bringing my patient their food or you should go now.”

Azrael got up from his chair his face turning red with frustration. "I hope you get better soon back to your farm sir...It would be a shame if I had come back for your last breath" He took a deep breath when he exited the room. He breathed out and smiled at Draki. "Sure, that sounds like a good idea." Making his way to the next person in need.

Tom was not sure if “Zee” had meant those words as a threat. All he knew was that he hated being in this hospital, he hated being alone, and he had found comfort in knowing that he possessed such a great and dangerous truth. But that comfort was dashed, as long as nobody believed him. He turned away, and continued to read his book, hoping somehow his father would find him, or he would go out and find his father.

And the two student-volunteers went out to continue their good work, as well as they could for other patients who had not had such marvelous visions, and who had not come so close to the truth.