Holy High(Reboot)(IC/Open)

[The H Corporation]

The Departure
- Azcóatl
- Tlaloc
- Coatlicue

Azcóatl was meditating in the middle of the backyard, he could hear the sound of every drop of water falling down to the pond behind him, the sound of the breeze touching the grasp of the leaves, grass, and water, the sound of beautiful jaguars roaming around his own backyard getting closer and closer as he calmly and slowly grabbed the Macuahutl that was behind him. As the roars of the jaguars were closer so was his hand on his weapon, then suddenly a storm around the backyard haunted the jaguars away, the peace and quiet of his environment changed drastically around him, as he could only hear the roaring sounds of the storm as he felt the peace was getting ruined he stayed calmed and with deep breaths, everything slowly came back to normal

"Father, I know you are here" he said while slowly opening his eyes, seeing only his own backyard, a massive jungle with a waterfall behind him, he was sitting on a rock in the middle of the river, the bright colors of the jungle are astonishing, as flowers were opening their petals and dance with the wind and catch the sun rays, but the landscape was interrupted by the presence of some grey clouds around Az, which Tlaloc dissipated and appearing in front of his son. "Was my presence a nuisance for you Az?" he said in a deep voice, looking down at his son as if he wanted to clarify who was in charge, to which Azcóatl responded by staying put in his place not trying to challenge his father, and calmly looking at him and saying "Your presence is never a nuisance, it is an honor to be interrupted by the god of water and rain" followed by a bow from Az to appease his father, which was followed by a smile from Tlaloc.

"It is my pleasure to have a chance of meeting my own son, and the future of our pantheon" followed by a bow from Tlaloc, Az stood up and looked at his father straight in the eyes, he knew he came to visit for a reason and he did not want to waste his father's time, "I know you came to visit me for a reason, what is the reason of this unexpected but welcomed visit?", Tlaloc putting his hand on Az's left shoulder leaned down to his ear to tell him something in whispers, "Everything is ready for your departure to Holy High, so I advise you to visit Coatli", Az based on the tone of his father knew he was serious, he felt the menacing eyes on his neck advising him to do what he was ordered to. Az stayed calm, kept his composure, and responded "Of course father, I will please my mother with my visit", Tlaloc let a smile slip through his face and pat the head of Az, "Good to hear we are on the same page", Tlaloc then with his hands manipulated the water around the river, getting himself slowly engulfed until he disappeared, a magnificent way of leaving the backyard.

Az turned around and looked at the waterfall, closed his eyes, and with his hands, he stopped the water from falling down to the river and revealing a cave illuminated by torches. He went into the cave and finally let the water follow its course as he walked deeper into the cave, he walked for about 5 minutes until he finally found the door to his room, he opened the door and saw the sun rays fill his room with bright colors, as he stepped into it. His room was made by himself, and he put a lot of effort into it, it was a house inside a tree where he could be one with nature, the floors were just the trunk of the massive tree, the walls were also part of the trunk with a few stems coming from them giving it a more natural look to the room, everything inside his room was all made out of the same tree, which he grew himself.

It did not take him long to figure his bag was on one of the tables in his dining room, he had everything he might need for school and in case things went south and he needed to defend himself and other classmates. He fixed his hair, eat something and brush his teeth before visiting his mother. He walked outside of his house and slide his way to Coatli's place which was waiting for him with open arms, Coatli seeing her son quickly gave him a hug which was corresponded by Az.

"My son, I have heard the news of your departure and could not hold my tears, please pardon me for caring too much about you" Coatlicue said in a sad tone, Az hearing the words of his mother made him feel a little bit sad to leave her. "Mom, we can leave the honorifics here. I wanted to say goodbye in the most humane way possible, so I can leave without feeling depressed for leaving you this way", he said accompanying the sentimental tone of his mother as they both hugged each other tighter. "Of course Az, I just wanted to say that I am so proud of you for taking this big step on your own" she said proudly and now ended the hug and looked at his son in the eyes, "I hope you have a great day on your first day. Remember to be careful and to make lots of friends on your way okay?", Az had no words to say, he was always left without words when he was with his mother, an aura of calm and fresh breeze coming from her would always leave him enjoying the moment, he just nodded in agreement as his mother said "I don't want to take more of your time, you may leave", Az gave her mother a hug before leaving, he could express what he felt in words but what he did was more than enough.

---

The Arrival
- Azcóatl

Azcóatl was nervous, this is the first time he would have to be in a different environment from what he was used to, from a very calm place to a very busy one, thought the experience could help him earn very important social skills and more knowledge about his powers it is always welcome, the traveling was really peaceful as the clouds could let him feel a slight breeze of the sky, he did not want to have a very elaborated entrance so maybe a lightning strike will do.

As clouds were gathering around the entrance of Holy High a thunder strike shook the ground and so Azcóatl appeared, he made the clouds disappear and walked towards the entrance with calm and deep breaths, he was finally here and he wanted to make the most out of this experience, "I hope I meet really nice gods around", he said as he entered Holy High

[Nantoraka]

Abaguabana, Making Friends
Having absolutely no idea what Hyperion is going off about - not a particularly large fan of modern shows or culture - the spirit simply turned his head away from the titan and slowly tuned him out, his bombastic personality not necessarily getting on his nerves, but merely going far enough over his head that it could hit a bird. The moment the light struck the spirit and the fey prince, however, Abaguabana immediately demonstrated a lack of any noticeable reaction to it, though he did find the sudden wave of heat that was washing over the room somewhat pleasant, reminding him more of the heat of the Spirit World, compared to the somewhat cooler temperature of the Mount Mitchell area. He did, of course, step back once the wave began. He couldn't help but notice the irony of what seemed to be a God of Sunlight using sunglasses.

This did, of course, afford Abaguabana the time to actually notice the sudden affliction Lanuru came down with. He raised a somewhat concerned, and equally puzzled, eyebrow as Lanuru changed to the light. He understood very little of the Unseelie, but he could connect the dots that they seemed to have a vulnerability to sunlight. He gently let go of Lanuru's hand, making sure not to make any sudden movements while Lanuru seemed to be weakened. "Thank...you. I took the time to familiarize myself with Greek etiquette, I suppose I should apologize for thinking that Unseelie would use the same. We ourselves don't, after all."

The spirit noticed further of Lanuru's lethargy, and gestured towards the right of his hip. Attached through cloth and leather belts was...a conch? To be specific, this was a horse conch shell, and it was of a surprisingly large size as well, easily large enough to fit within the average hand like a football, and it glistened with what seemed to be fresh moisture that never seemed to drip to the ground, or otherwise leave its surface. "I can tell the light must be uncomfortable."

Abaguabana gestured to the other gods. "I'm not so bold as to do so without their knowledge, but I can summon enough clouds to block that light. That fatigue of yours does not seem to be particularly fun."

The spirit was briefly interrupted by the arrival of two new deities. The first was the older-looking man clad in dark, black, almost Egyptian wear, and while his physical age would surprise others as he looked to be older compared to the others, Abaguabana understood that deities do not age the way men do. He himself was centuries old, but to the untrained eye, he seemed to be a young adult. Abaguabana released his hand from his conch, and waved towards Anup, beckoning him to come join him and Lanuru in their little area of the room, away from the rather vengeful Astrid.

The second was much more surprising than Anup, however. The arrival of a thunderstorm and the subsequent lightning strike was all it took for Abaguabana to shift his stance right towards the source; Azcóatl. He took a closer look at the new god that appeared, and narrowed his eyes, a slight smile as he did so. The first thoughts were clear as familiarity struck him I recognize those cloths, that outfit...he's an Aztec! A member of a neighboring pantheon, Abaguabana was somewhat glad at his presence; until now, he was the only deity native to the western hemisphere, and seeing someone so close to home was a benefit he didn't know he wanted. This wasn't no regular Aztec either; the spirit could sense the influence of Tlaloc on him; his distant uncle and Tlaloc's equivalent, Boinayel, knew of him well, and he was very familiar with the Mesoamerican pantheon.

Abaguabana smiled towards Azcóatl, and shouted to get his attention. "I recognize your wear. I'm from the Caribbean, it is good to see a neighbor here!"

Raising a free hand, while offering the other to support Lanuru in the case that he would have a sudden fall, Abaguabana slightly focused. A small thundercloud gathered above the hand of the spirit; dark clouds coalescing to a single point only a few inches from the palm, as rain and thunder coursed through the miniature, almost model-like, thunderstorm, the rain crashing from the cloud and being absorbed in the palm of his hand so as to not make a mess on the floor. Closing his fist, the cloud vanished as fast as it appeared, and he smiled. A taste of his recent storm powers, the ones he was sent here to learn to control.

"Another god of weather, too. Let's hope Zeus and Hestia don't force us to water their plants, yes?" Abaguabana joked, with a light and friendly smile on his face.

[The H Corporation]

Socializing

Az walked inside Holy High taking a look at his surroundings, it was an outstanding view, but it seemed really busy. An environment he is not usually comfortable with, but still did his best in getting used to, closing his eyes and letting all the sounds dissipate in his mind, breathing in and out slowly as he sorted his thoughts out, "There is nothing to be afraid of" he thought, "I wanted a new experience of my own, and to make this whole idea to work", he opened his eyes sat on the floor and looked at a young adult shouting to him and waving his hand at him.

He was not sure if he knew him until he got closer, he studied a lot about the neighboring pantheons but he never expected to find one right here, he was unsure about how the pantheons felt around each other since none of the gods ever talked about it. He was a little bit nervous since he never expected to bring the attention of such a god this early, "H-Hey" he said in an awkward way as he got closer enough to have a conversation.

Azcóatl looked at the hand as he showed the powers that he possessed, which was astonishing, not only has he found a neighbor but they had the same powers, judging by what he saw, "It is interesting how the coincidences are piling up" he thought, he was getting nervous now that they were close, he sure was not ready to have an interaction with a fellow god, but a god that comes from a neighboring pantheon and has the same powers as him, "This is too good to be true right? It almost feels as if it was written" he thought. It was surely a surprise, but a welcome one.

Az chuckled after hearing the joke, though he couldn't think of anything clever to follow it up, so without saying anything he closed his eyes and showed his palm freely, took a deep breathe and use his powers on a very small scale, as small clouds would appear above his hand and let it thunder in it until it slowly calms down and the lighting became a rain. As it rained above Azcóatl's hand he absorbed the drops of water so he didn't make a mess on the floor, and then let a flower grow on the palm of his hand, with its petals showing a light yellow as the clouds dissipated and show the beauty of the flower.

Az grabbed the flower and offered it to the god in front of him, "I am Azcóatl, nice to meet you" he said with a calm and a sincere smile, he liked flowers and one of his powers involved them and his strong connection with nature made it possible, though the coloring of the flower could have been better, he supposed this was because he did not drink a bottle of water after arriving at Holy High.

[Danceria]

Foregrounds of Holy High
Bozhidor & Svarog

---

Many of the Slavic Deities nearly jumped out of their skins when Astrid pulled her little "prank", Bozhidor himself yelped and actually jumped a few inches off of the ground. A few even prepared to strike or rebuke the Norse whelp for her impudence, for her maturity was well and truly lacking-but Svarog raised his left hand, and all stopped. All of the Belobozhi knew that Svarog's wisdom was unquestioned. It wasn't taken by sipping some strange mead, mutilation, or trickery. It was a long cultivated plot from the grandfather of all gods, the one who helped forge the very firmament of reality, who saw the first conflict and set in motion the cycles and rhythms of the world. He had helped personally raise every generation of deity that came after him and his wife, and a rather impetuous Half-Elf would be nothing. His eyes were sad for he and Dola knew more than they revealed.

Bozhidar's eyes, however, quickly recovered and laughed merrily at Astrid. "Good prank! Good…and she's gone."

With her long ears, fair hair, skin, and eyes, Bozhidar would have thought Astrid would be akin to a Corsac fox. But due to her rather solitary and aggressive nature, he now equated her with a lynx. But as she walked away to speak with Athena, the Slavic godling noticed that the "lynx" had a rather nice "tail".

He was roused from further observation by a grumble from his great-grandfather to "keep your eyes up", and Hyperion's…arrival. Along with the slow trickling in of other deities. Hyperion was, as far as Bozhidar knew, a Titan-a being older than even Zeus, someone of Grandpa Perun and Dazhbog's generation! Though the Titan seemed to be more "gopnik" than god, a blazing drunk who's shimmering light pulsed a hangover-like symptom into his mind. Even the young teen-god couldn't help but feel his compassion being worn away by the "loathsome Hellenes" as Grandpa Perun and Uncle Radegast had often grumbled about the Olympian pantheon. Save for Hestia.

“Didn’t Hyperion get sealed in Tartarus with the rest of the Titans?” Bozhidar inqured to his great-grandfather, though the elderly Smithing God shrugged. “Why don’t you go and introduce yourself to the others.” Svarog suggested in a grandfatherly tone, and before Bozhidar could protest or insist otherwise. “I’ll be leaving shortly, after I speak with Astrid-you’ll have time to introduce yourselves later. She did try to insult me after all.”

With that, the two diverged, the elderly man popping a literal squat near the young Norse berserker goddess. He did not regard her initially, but simply ate beside her until she was comfortable-or uncomfortable-enough around her to speak.

But back with Bozhidar, there were plenty already mingling with one another. There was a strange, blond haired and golden-eyed godling talking with a bronze-skinned and tattooed man who smelt of the sea, who noticed someone who looked slightly less tanned but smelt like his great-grandma, rain…though was there a bit of electricity? Could just be Astrid. Turning his eyes and nose elsewhere, there was another dark haired young man who arrived just recently-but his eyes turned to the first students he saw when he came here. Tall, metallic, imposing, and so…alien to most other auras of deities that he knew. Like Chernobyl but somehow with legs and oranger. Plus robots are so cool!

With as much fear as he had called out for Astrid’s name-which is to say negative amounts-he approached the hulking machine with a plate of buttered bread, black tea, and an affably beaming grin, he acknowledged the entity with a “Hello! You’re rather cool looking! Let me guess, deity of smithing and manufacturing?”

[Finsternia]

Lanuru - Forging Alliances

The Fair Prince lets the Ocean God break their hand shake, mindful to take notes on the gesture. His droopy eyes mark the appropriate skinship, the right grip, and the right way of shaking. The Fair Folk and their Gods have their own set of etiquette, and while handshakes are not part of such traditions they are not offensive in any way. It's simply new to the young Godling, and it's refreshing and less of a stark culture shock than what the other deities have shown at the very least. The young future Chieftain continues to offer his hospitalities to Lanuru, offering the respite of rain clouds and the shade of mist and thunder. "It is... most inappropriate for me... to impose... You are far... too kind... I shall leave the decision to you... good friend... The Elder Titan's presence is simply... too radiant for my liking... It is of no... dire consequence... But your benevolence is much... noted and appreciated..." The dark ecliptical halo that hangs behind the Unseelie Prince's head trembles as he speaks, and like a gaping maw it devours the sunlight that comes close to him. The phenomenon enshrouds him in a shadowy curtain, save for the corona of light upon its edges and the glimmer of gold within his eyes. The dark mantle relieves the Prince of the Solar Titan's presence for but a tiny bit, but the lethargy upon him still grips like a slowly tightening vice.

More Gods seem to arrive, with one who smells and tastes like death and the otherworld and another who carries the sharp bite of ozone and the soft caress of rainfall about him. It seems that the thunderous God is from a neighbouring Pantheon to Abaguabana's as both Gods introduce themselves with a small drizzle and flash of lightning, remarking some joke about being given custody of the skies to water the gardens of this divine establishment. "It seems that the two of you... were brought together by fate... Greetings, good sir Azcóatl... You are most fortunate... to come at a time after... some recent difficulties... We are simply bidding time... to wait for the others to arrive... I am Lanuru... of the Tuatha Dé Danann... I am the Prince of the Unseelie... and it is a pleasure to meet you..." Despite the onset of his lethargic state, Lanuru still presents himself in a formal capacity as he tries to replicate the handshake that he has just learned from Abaguabana. With his right arm outstretched in a greeting, Azcóatl could see a dark God towering over seven feet tall dressed in luxurious black silks that seem to be woven from the night sky. Silver metal adorn his clothing of choice like decadent armor, serving as pauldrons, finger guards, and the like. A shadowy halo of divinity hangs behind his head, which seems to depict a solar eclipse as of the moment. It trembles and shudders every now and then, as if the corona of light that it suppresses is struggling to survive behind the gloom.

[Ceystile]

Ao Chao, Holy High
Chao's entrance wasn't particularly flashy or magical like many of the other young deities that arrived, with all the flashy fae princes and ocean spirits and fire deities about, the young sea goddess actually looked quite out of place amongst this more conspicuously godly group. She seemed to be simply a young woman of Chinese descent, wearing a fairly modern blue dress embroidered with pearls and other ocean symbols but besides that nothing too remarkable. But it was this lack of remarkability that seemed to make her stand out. Well that, and she was followed by a group of four men and having a heated debate with one of them.

“Baba (Dad)! I haven’t done anything wrong in sixty years, can I just please have my Astra back?!” Ao Guang, Dragon King of the Eastern Sea seemed to be radiating his full godly glory even in an Armani suit. “If I just simply handed it back to you now, what would the point be of sending you here?!”
“Exactly!” the young goddess replied. “I know I have to meet the other gods, but…” she dropped her voice to a whisper. “They’ll make fun of me if I’m not at my full power.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re still formidable enough! You’re my daughter, and if someone has an issue they can take it up with me. Or your brothers. You’ll be fine, as long as you conduct yourself as a Princess of the Eastern Sea.” He put a hand on her shoulders, correcting her posture with a huff. “Stand up straight, child. You’re representing me.”

“I should probably go, Baba. I think they’re having orientation already.”
“Remember. No cheating off tests, no running up your credit card bill because I’m not sending you more. And…”
“No mortals” the two said in unison.
“But why don’t you like mortals?!”
“A mortal husband is not fit for a daughter of mine.”

[Nantoraka]

Abaguabana - Waving Shells

Smiling, Abaguabana took the flower and inserted it between his belt and his clothing, securing it in place. "Charmed. I am The Great Sea, but you'll find it easier just to refer to me as Abaguabana." Turning back towards Lanuru, he nodded. "Then my decision will be made. I don't intend to keep you in this...miasmal" Lanuru's sudden usage of his halo to "eat" the light caused Abaguabana to raise an eyebrow and watch the process. He was surprised at the sudden consumption of the light by the halo, and took a small step backwards, both in alarm and to get a better view of what he just did. He wasn't particular fearful of the dark, given that he enjoyed sitting within the abyssal zones of the oceans, but he was alarmed at the consumption of light. Such a thing felt impossible, but he supposed he should be expecting the impossible. "That's certainly something...impressive, in a way."

Deciding to indulge his own origins, he turned to Azcoátl and Lanuru, and gestures to the shell. "My relative, Boinayel, fashioned this for me. I'm here to train as a weather god, so I sssukr he put his weather powers into this shell. It's about to do you some good, Prince." Brushing his hand past the flower, which was placed ahead of the shell, he began the process of unwrapping it from its bindings and taking it out gently. He raised his thigh and turned his torso for easier access to the shell, but got interrupted by the sudden shouting of a woman he could not recognize. Looking up, he saw the new goddess and her family entering the fray, and briefly paused to see what exactly was happening. Normally he would've ignored her, but the calling of the word Baba was enough to call his attention due to the similarity of its sounds with the latter part of his name, Bana.

The secondhand embarrassment of hearing the Chinese Ao Guang say the last of his words caused Abaguabana to blush from hearing it, but he immediately coughed and repressed it. He could tell she was also an ocean god(dess), much like he was, and he smiled. Calling out to her to attempt to gain her attention, he cheerfully called out; "Did I hear right? You're also from the ocean?"

Briefly taking time to pull the shell from its restraints, Abaguabana raised it to the air, and shouted at the Slavic gods and Hyperion to get their attention. "HEY! I'm going to summon a storm to block the sun, the Prince may be having some...trouble with the sunlight. I don't mean to inconvenience any of you, may I?" Abaguabana shook the shell even harder than before as emphasize to his question.

[The H Corporation]

Expanding Friendships

Azcoatl kept its smile as Abaguabana looked back at the seven-foot man that walked behind him, the sudden appearance of this dark entity made him feel chills all around his body, he nervously kept the smile and not wanting to be rude in front of him, he closed his eyes going back to its inner peace. "Remember, don't judge a book by its cover" he thought as he opened his eyes took a deep breath, and with the same sincere smile accepts the rather weird handshake he was proposing, ignoring the fact that the halo he had was devouring the sunlight, "Despite his dark aura, I doubt that he has dark intentions" he thought, remembering that he had to deal with someone similar back at its pantheon.

The God of Death, just as the name says, it is a god whose powers guide the souls of the deceased into a new realm far different from what the mortals usually know as "hell", Az would usually call him Mictlan as it was far easier than saying its complete name. He had a dark aura but not necessarily bad intentions or evil doings, Mictlan would sometimes share a little bit of his philosophy with the young god "The mortal lives its life to the fullest because their lifespan is limited, it gives them the meaning of life" Mictlan said before the war of the gods started.

"Lanuru, nice to meet you" Az said to Lanuru still showing a bright smile, "It does almost feels like fate that I found a distant relative of mine", it was nice to see another god willing to have a good time in here and that shared the same thoughts about the situation, "The pleasure is mine, to have a chance to meet someone like you fills me with great joy" Az says in a very polite way, despite saying all of that the rest of the words slipped from his mind as he nervously was thinking of adding something else and not leave the conversation like that, but the only thing he could think of was to repeat the same thing he did with Abaguabana.

Azcóatl let go of his hand and showed Lanuru his palm, and let a beautiful flower in a dark purple color and offered it to Lanuru as a kind gesture of him. "If things keep going out like this I might be nicknamed the florist instead" he thought mocking his lack of social abilities to interact with someone decently, "Maybe this was the reason Tlaloc agreed to this idea of mine" he pondered, "Things can only improve from here" and finally stopped thinking too much about it and let every negative thought out of his system

Az turned his attention to Abaguabana as he unwrapped his shell, "That is certainly interesting Abaguabana" he said focusing on the shell until he started to look for something that caught his attention. Az closed his eyes for a brief moment and started to concentrate, and felt the aura of a new god or goddess, he felt the power of the oceans and seas in the god/goddess being that just arrived, "More and more coincidences" he thought, it was something that started to become repetitive, "Surely this is written as Lanuru said".

Az followed Abaguabana to where he was going, stopping before leaving the entrance of Holy High and ignoring the conversation the goddess was having, he didn't want to be a nuisance to others or be rude in a way. Az was feeling nervous when Abaguabana was asking to block the sun by moving his shell around, probably in a way to emphasize that he is going to do it if there was not a response, "This is just my first day and there are already storms circling around" he thought, "The difficulty of my task has raised it's difficulty", Azcóatl from his cloud grabbed a bottle of water to hydrate himself, "Hopefully I don't have to use my powers this soon" he thought

[Nantoraka]

Abaguabana, defusing tension
Raising an eyebrow at the conduct of Azcóatl (and raising his shell even higher, to make sure he got everyone's attention), Abaguabana took a few seconds to silently wonder whether or not Azcóatl was used to contact with other gods, was awkward, or otherwise. Not that it was a bad thing, of course, and not that Abaguabana himself would judge; he of all people knew self-isolation well. His preferred company was that of the spirit animals of the ocean, and he rarely spoke to others that were more his equal such as mortals or other godlike spirits. He himself was isolated enough that he had a tendency not to pick up on certain cues or moods, but he was quick to learn at the very least. Still, Abaguabana was more than happy to help Azcóatl open up more here; any decent person who make an attempt of course.

Taking an eye at the Factory in particular, he'd certainly make an effort with that one. Taking another eye at Astrid...he'd make less of an effort, given that interacting with her was about as likely as interacting with a honey badger, but the effort mattered nonetheless. His ears perked up at Azcóatl's comment about his own commentary of his shell, and somehow, he knew that he could feel the signature of Ao Chao as well. "You feel her as well?" More than that of course, he could also tell Azcóatl's own body language; a slight tension it seemed, at his shell raising. Abaguabana smiled, mainly to add a disarming undertone to his voice. "...Don't worry about the shell."

He lowered the shell, presenting it at eye level for a closer look, for both Azcóatl and Lanuru to see. "It's a focus. I only plan to summon a rainstorm to cover the sun. I'm not summoning a storm, or a...hurricane, or anything of the like." There was a slight tension behind his mention of the word "hurricane", but he allowed it to melt away. Tension wasn't much of a concern for a spirit of the ocean, who's concerns and whims appear and flow away like the waves of the open water.

Boinayel and Marohu, Overconcerned Guardians
As if on cue, the explanation of Abaguabana's plan with aguamobagua was underlined by another rainstorm, arriving as suddenly as all the deities who have came to Mount Mitchell. And predictably, this rainstorm was...off. It congealed in the air, the clouds rolling and bursting in the air as if appearing through magic than any natural process, before being dragged through the sky and focusing onto a central point. The rain onto this central point grew, and grew, and grew, the light rains dripping onto the field becoming a torrential downpour onto a single point only a few feet wide, drowning the dirt and grass below it underneath a flowing river of rainwater. But just as quickly, the rain stopped, and the water stopped flowing- in fact, it not only stopped flowing, but it now seemed to be flowing backwards. The water seemed to solidify and congeal, liquid becoming solid, as the waters drew itself up and defied the forces of gravity to gradually form itself into a masculine, humanoid form. This water soon solidified entirely and the clearness of the water gave way to color, form, and texture, as the water became a body.

This body began to walk towards the door, turning into the figure of a huge, 8 foot tall man, with orange skin resembling the metallic sheen of chrome, and with cut, smooth black hair that was tied in a bun atop his head, two red feathers poking from atop the leather bands that held his bun together. His face was concealed with that of a stone mask, multiple spokes forming outwards and giving a resemblance of an artistic expression of the sun, his mask having carved eyes and a mouth, but seemingly no slots for his eyes to see through, and of his face, only his mouth and chin were visible. His body was marked with shining blue tattoos covering the entirety of his body, these tattoos extremely similar to those of Abaguabana, and the face of his mask covering his torso in tattoo form. His body was almost bare, but the being clearly took care to look somewhat appropriate for the class. Though shirtless, he had what was more of a modern leather vest and blue canvas jeans, tied to his body with a belt, and the more traditional parts of his outfit contained stone gauntlets and shin armor with green leaves and multicolored feathers protruding from these accessories. Unlike Abaguabana, who wore a cape, this particular being did not. Once he drew close enough to the door, he turned around, and crossed his arms, facing the field once more. He was clearly waiting for someone else.

The sun seemed to grow slightly brighter and hotter with the new presence; normally not noticeable, but with Hyperion's influence already there, the effects of the two deities seemed to stack. This was not to last however, as the effects this being had on the sun suddenly were cancelled out by the presence of a new arrival.

A collection of blue, dappled lights, glimmering like white gems atop blue, moonlit water, appeared all over the school's field and slowly clustered together. The clouds were forcefully diminished, the sun cooling so very slightly to cancel out the first god's effects, as the lights grew closer together and merged to form once single brilliant blue beam shining down onto the field. Emerging from this beam was another deity with arms crossed, and this one was very similar to the first. They were the same height, the same build, and shared the same style of hair, though with this new deity, there two strands of hair on both temples freed from his own bun that drifted over his face to form more of an independent style compared to the bun of the first, and the feathers of the leather strap tying together his hair were blue instead of red. Much like the first, his eyes, nose, and temples were obscured by a stone mask, but this one was markedly different in style. The mouth was placed upwards, as if the face was upside down, and the many spokes were replaced by three ridges, one large placed on the "forehead" of the mask, and two smaller ones on the side, resembling an artistic depiction of a crescent moon facing downwards. The most distinguishing feature of this new deity was his skin; this one was a brilliant sapphire, gleaming with moonlight and markedly better than the first. They wore the same outfit, but by skin alone, it was easy to tell the difference between the two. They were obviously not humans. The second deity walked towards the first, and once they met up with each other, they exchanged some silent words and headed on into the room.

This was Boinayel and Marohu, the twin spirits of the Cycle. Boinayel was the fiery yet good-hearted spirit of the sun and rains; the rain-giver, and Abaguabana's closest relative outside of his immediate family. The two shared many domains, with Abaguabana being taught in the usage of his weather powers by Boinayel for many years, finding the time spent with his distant younger cousin, first removed, being quite pleasant. Boinayel was many things, but first and foremost, he was the god of sun, and one of the foremost and eldest authorities in the Spirit World for his age. He was secondly a rain god, who dragged the clouds along with him as he tended to the Cycle, giving rain to spirits and men who asked and prayed for it, ensuring the watering of crops and the collection of drinkable water.

Marohu on the other hand, was the much more reserved yet no less good-hearted spirit of the moon and good weather. The clear skies were his domain, and although he was not as famous or often seen as Boinayel, he was no less respected. Much like Boinayel, he was a foremost authority in the Spirit World. He and Boinayel were twin brothers, born during the creation of the earth by Yucahu, and they manage the balance of the sun and moon, rain and drought, storms and clear weather, harvest and blight, as the Spirits of the Cycle, the ever-lasting dance of the sun and moon.

The two, walking through the halls side by side, eventually reaching the room where the orientation was going on. The two exchanged more silent looks and messages, and it was unclear whether or not they were telepathic, communicating through another method, or simply knew each other well enough that they didn't need words to understand each other. Marohu gestured towards the Slavic pantheon, paying them little more than a glance and a wave of the hands, while Boinayel nodded and continued on towards Lanuru and Abaguabana. Marohu, ever the quiet on, simply stood in an area behind everyone else and crossed his arms, observing the session without interacting with anyone. He was a watcher; perfectly comfortable with social interaction, but preferring to stay out of the limelight. His brother, the other spirit, crossed his hands behind his back and smiled towards Lanuru, Abaguabana, and Azcóatl, the rest of his face concealed behind his stone mask.

Abaguabana and Boinayel, Embarrassing Family
Abaguabana's quick conversation with Azcóatl was interrupted with a sudden pause, as he felt the encroaching presence of another deity. But this one was far more powerful, far more familiar, than the godlings, like a full god from one of the pantheons was arriving. As Boinayel grew closer, he recognized the auras; that of Boinayel and Marohu, his "cousins, once removed", but more to him like an extended uncle. The fairly taller deity smiled and opened his arms, grabbing Abaguabana in a hug tight enough to cause him to quickly cough and squirm, before dropping him. Abaguabana rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort, not in pain, but more of embarrassment. "Did you have to do that...in front of everyone?"

Boinayel smiled, and crossed his arms, understanding his embarrassment but entirely unfazed by it. "Of course I had to. What kind of question was that?"

Abaguabana's facial expression turned to near-disinterest, though he was glad to see Boinayel here. But he still felt the presence of Marohu. "Where's Ma-"

Boinayel cut him off, knowing he'd ask the question. "Over there." He gestured towards the back of the room, where Marohu was leaning his back against with his arms crossed, though he did spare a single wave towards Azcoatl, Lanuru, and Abaguabana. "He doesn't like to mingle, but you know this."

Abaguabana shrugged his shoulders, not sure what else he was expecting. "...Why are you here, again?'

Boinayel gestured with a loose hand towards the Slavic deities, and despite the reason for his attendance, there was absolutely no measure of frustration, hate, or otherwise displeasure with the deities. "Yucahu informed us that the Slavic pantheon was in attendance. The entire pantheon. He assured us you were fine, but I wanted to check in regardless. I was taught by the War in Heaven to never assume that a pantheon gathering was never a particularly good sign. Perhaps I'm being overprotective, but I was still concerned." Boinayel smiled at Abaguabana, before turning towards Azcóatl, crossing his arms again. "You're the son of Tlaloc, aren't you? I'm very familiar with the works of your father."

He didn't seem to disregard the presence of Lanuru by any means, but Boinayel seemed to spare Lanuru very little thought for his present fatigue.

[Finsternia]

Lanuru - Descent into Dream

The two young Godlings continue to present their own kind intentions for a being they barely knew for just moments ago. The offering of shelter and the gift of a flower for a first meeting seems to elicit a smile from the Prince, his heavy eyes curling with appreciation at the gestures of friendship that these two are giving to him. "Please... worry not... The sunlight does not hurt me... in any way, shape... or form... There is no need to... trouble yourself... I am not hurting... Sir Abaguabana..." He does, however, take note of the expressions of the two as he calls upon his powers as a God of Eclipses to ease his suffering under the sunlight's gaze. Such dark power might seem unnatural, and many cultures and Pantheons see the darkening of the sun and the bleeding of the moon to be grand evil omens. Lanuru doesn't show displeasure, however, but there is a momentary glint of enjoyment in his eyes as he tastes just a tinge of worry and fear from the two.

The Prince executes the handshake as he had experienced and observed from his prior engagement with Abaguabana, with almost robotic timing and execution for the grip and the shake. He lets go at what he believes is the appropriate time, and he watches as the Aztec God conjures another flower within the palm of its hand. It was a gorgeous one, of a deep purple in color that sways with the wind. "Your hospitality... is most appreciated... Such a beautiful creation... fit for a being whose rains grace the earth... Please... allow me to return the favor for the two of you..." Power wells within his palms as a sparkling pink smoke, reminiscent of bright nebula in deep space, swirls and intertwines with shadowy essence. Thorned stems sprout from the mixture of powers, growing into vibrant roses with brutal thorns that defend them from harm. The two roses are different from one another, but their petals carry a feeling of ephemeral quality. To Azcóatl the Fair Prince offers a glimmering blue-green rose where water drips from its petals. Each droplet evaporates into a blue-green haze that condenses back to more droplets on the rose's petals. For Abaguabana the Fair Prince offers a shimmering crystal blue rose, its petals seem to pulse as if waves are breaking on its surface. "A gift from I... Prince of the Dreamlands... to you two esteemed Lords... They do not carry the splendor... that you two do... but these roses could aid your dreams to be... a bit more vibrant than before... A good night's rest is what they offer... and vivid dreams of your domains..."

More Gods come for the orientation, first among them is a group that accompanies a young lady into the hall. She seems to be arguing with her Lord Father, who calls her Princess. Royalty, they seem to be, carrying the refreshing breeze of the sea with them. Lanuru takes note of their presence, thinking of ways to approach such personage. He does hear the last bit of their bickering, with the Dragon King's remark that mortals are of no good standing to be with his daughter. That he could agree with. Mortals are frail, pitiful, weak and with no grace. Despite being interesting every century or so the mortals are simply... smarter monkeys in the eyes of Unseelie Prince, and at worse great offenders to their Old Gods with their vile technologies and progress. Two more deities enter the scene, this time the two seem to be related to Abaguabana. They come to check on his behalf, a send off before the ceremonies kick off. Boinayel's presence though brought additional pressure upon the Fair Prince. There are now three Solar Deities in attendance, and their combined might is slowly but surely wearing down on the Unseelie Prince. Marohu's cancelling power seem to be easing the suppression, but even a fellow Lunar God cannot help with Lanuru's plight. The Prince had enough strength to nod his head towards them as they made their entrance, before his eyes finally close shut. The dark halo behind the Prince trembles once again, and some force moves his body towards a corner where the shadows engulf him like a cocoon. The only light present is the faint outline of the corona of the Prince's halo, and the Prince's figure seem to just stand there motionless. Abaguabana and Azcóatl does hear a voice from the roses that Lanuru has gifted them, a simple whisper of assurance. "...There is no need to worry for my wellbeing. I simply need to be away from such august presences. I hope that your relative does not find offense, Sir Abaguabana."

[The H Corporation]

Calming Waters

"I-I did sense the uh.. characteristic aura of the ocean gods" he said nervously, despite the looks of the goddess he never underestimated any gods or godlings since he was always cautious about the gods surrounding him since he has never interacted with other pantheons before, one could guess that he was put in a self-isolation environment in his own backyard, and the reason for that was to find inner peace with himself since that incident he had with his powers once. Azcóatl could not add anything to his observation of the young goddess, since he did not want to sound rude and say something that might cause some stir, "Better to stay quiet if I am not going to add anything useful" he thought.

Azcóatl hearing the disarming words of Abaguabana made him realize that his own body language was revealing his true feelings, so in response, he slowly accommodated his posture so no one would be bothered with what he was probably thinking at that moment, "I-It's fine, it was bold and disrespectful of me assuming.. otherwise" Azcóatl said, letting the tension slowly slip away like the flow of a river following its course until he recovered his normal posture.

Azcóatl always found interaction with other gods a little bit hard, he was naturally quiet when he was roaming around the pantheon experimenting on what being a god was, as such young age he would use his time to learn about such powers that he inherited from his father and mother, asking whenever he had the chance to. Tlaloc would spare some time to teach him one thing or two about what being a god is, of course, being as harsh as possible to try and teach Azcóatl that with great power comes great responsibility, Tlaloc would often be a little bit aggressive so Azcóatl could understand the idea.

Outside of training Tlaloc and Azcóatl would have their wholesome moments, Coatlicue would often be jealous whenever her beloved son shared a lot of time with his father. As Azcóatl grew up, he would be taught how to be a gentleman and noble, he had to show respect to his elders, but he never interacted with other pantheons because of his quiet nature and his introverted attitudes toward other gods of the same pantheon, which raised some worries from his father and mother for quite some time and it got worse when Azcóatl decided to self-isolate himself to find inner peace before and during the war of the gods.

Azcóatl was impressed with the flowers that Lanuru created, such beauty that carry with them and not necessarily just the flower itself, but the intentions of Lanuru showing some appreciation for the flower he just gave to him, "Your gesture is appreciated and welcomed" he said with a smile, "I will make sure to use the flower whenever I can't close my eyes at night", he said in a calm tone, he made sure to put the flower somewhere safe, as he finished drinking his bottle of water.

---

More visits

Azcóatl felt the presence of more visitors, at first he thought that there would be more ocean gods coming right where they were, and he was not wrong but as their auras felt closer he could feel something else in them, something similar to the aura that Abaguabana could show, so he wondered if these gods had something to do with his distant relative, nothing he particularly disliked, he was just nervous of meeting new people and giving how introverted he was it was no surprise, "Remember to not let your emotions take the better of yourself" he thought as he felt one aura coming closer and closer while the other one stopped somewhere behind the other god, he managed to stay calm and to not show any particular body language that could unmask his feelings.

It was wholesome from his point of view seeing the god having a very good relationship with Abaguabana, he himself had something similar in his pantheon, thinking of Coatlicue would make him feel peacefully excited and radiating good and bright vibes around his environment. He would not feel embarrassed of showing his mother a little bit of love in front of everyone, he always thought that love and friendship are what bring everyone together, though he understands why anyone else besides him would feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.

Azcóatl was expecting to be greeted by the god, though he was not particularly waiting for it to happen a nice waving hand would have been enough for him since he did not want to drag too much attention, though his definition of "too much attention" is different, as the god turned towards him Azcóatl was preparing himself internally to be able to complete a sentence without shaking his voice, "You are on the correct, I am the son of Tlaloc, god of the rain and thunder" he said in an orderly and calm manner, "Tlaloc has talked to me a little bit about you, and I can only say that it is a pleasure to meet you" he said executing a small bow to show some respect to the deity in front of him.

Azcóatl turned to Lanuru when he realized that he was in a corner, he was surprised and confused at first until the flower that he gave him whispered to him that he was fine, Azcóatl was still confused but glad that he was okay. "And I was just about to introduce him" he thought, for a little bit he thought about leaving the possible conversation he was going to have but it would seem rude of him casually walk away from the conversation, "Those are no manners of mine, Tlaloc taught me better" he thought, turning towards the god again with a smile.

[Zei-Aeiytenia]

Astrid
The Princess of Morons

Co-Written with Danceria, Starring Svarog.

A rebellious huntress rested against the wall, quietly using a power borrowed of the sky to tend to a wound which would not heal, whose biting pain was as much physical as it was mental and spiritual. Slowly by way of the coursing charge, it began to fade, and with each passing moment the clouds which had choked out the mind and thought began to fade. It all rushed in now, as the waters path was liberated, the things her senses had picked up but which her beleaguered consciousness had been unable to deal with at the time.

None of it was particularly surprising. Athena was a Goddess of War and Wisdom, her sheer calmness and blunt candor were of no shock. Hestia seemed to hold up well to the many tales which made their way even into the Norse Heavens. Though, Hyperion, one would suppose, was perhaps a bit surprising. One does exactly suspect an ancient titan to be a struggling addict seemingly on the verge of public meltdown. She couldn't help but wonder what form of mental acrobatics had been participated in to arrive at the decision to include the likes of Zeus and Hyperion as he is now.

The students contained nothing of particular interest in their behavior at all. The Greek Virgin who smelled of Death yet had never drawn blood reacted with a mix of shock and vague innocence to go with his mild delinquency. He had a conversation before as she stormed in too, something to do with the Fae Prince. As hearing recalls the giant was rapidly displaced and sent into hurried retreat by the simplest, and some of the dullest, words she'd ever heard. At the very least he certainly posed no real threat, it seemed he rather blatantly lacked the mental acumen to be as such at all.

Then there was the matter of the Fae Prince. His prim and properness had graduated spectacularly from its already considerable annoyance and obnoxiousness unto a new plane of most supreme irritation, as it seemed the shadow dweller began to fray at his seems from just a bit of sun. All have their weaknesses, she supposes. Indeed, had she any less strength or control, it's almost certain her visage would be as ardently displayed with suffering and injury as his was. His shadowed halo was glowing now, voraciously consuming the light into an endless abyss of darkness. A fact, which, for some reason beyond her understanding, seemed to cause even the slightest bit of unnerve to anyone at all.

The first Ocean God, so he said, he said as well his name... 'Abaguabana', and his origin, the 'Carribean'. She'd never seen such a place nor heard much of it, though knowing what a map was, she had a rough indication of where in the world he hailed from. Yes, that one had a rather smart comment he seemed fond of with the Virgin Delinquent. Unfortunately he immediately betrayed any positive indication of himself thereafter. Mediocre storm craft, check. Foolish, worthless, contemptable and cowardly placation of the world to do what you feel is necessary, is just? Ohhhh, so many checks indeed. And alas! What unexpected turns the events have taken! The hesitation has once more resulted in the burning, crumbling situation of the world to deteriorate a step beyond. She could not help but glare, though while her mind was gazing at him, her eyes shot their daggers only at the floor just below her.

Now there was a second God from his parts of the world as well. He seemed to have a connection with nature itself, well, that was at least a deviation from the odd norm of the room as... yet another Ocean Deity entered. Chinese, this time, and a Goddess, finally more than one female student. However the most interesting, or, better said it would be - mind numbingly baffling thing - about this student was her apparent intimate appreciation of the mortal humans. Finally, entered an Egyptian, something she could recognize easily. He had not done much else than exist and be called by the Fool of Hesitation though. Further, there was the continued existence of the peculiar sentient iron suit.

To make matters all the more exasperating, there were now three families here! The, as she has aptly nicknamed the Goddess, Mortal Lover, entered with hers in tow, in the midst of an argument about... what else would it be. Now to add on, the Fool of Hesitation has been visited too.

Speaking of families, what had those Slavs, the only ones to actually bear enough heart and courage to turn thoughts into words towards her, there was something off with them... what was it? The immediate thought that returned to mind was of no consequential importance to this question, but instead resulted in the processing of the delightful information that Bozhidar had been giving her a 'Looking over' as it were. One put an end to promptly by the old man, the same one who had raised his hand in a calming call to stand down when she approached the boy... that was the oddity. The same old man who... was now walking over here and... squatting just a couple feet away, paying her no heed as he ate. Her eyes continued staring straight forward, now in a momentarily widened expression as she quickly took her hand from her wrist and gentle trickling of lightning across her body ceased.

What. The. FUCK. Was he doing?

She calmed her facial expression, trying to think quickly before the clouding pain returned, his motion. He had held up his arm when she appeared and gave the boy a spook. The boy had a mild fear response, no shock. The family had responded as expected as well, increases in heart rate, breathing, stress and adrenal response, muscle tension, and hundreds of tiny visual bodily signals she could detect indicating anger, aggression, and possible action. All of them, except for the old man... and the near equally older woman. The two outliers. The woman in particular, she looked... sad. That was the way the Goddess' eyes had regarded Astrid during her active debut. Sadness. Everyone else displayed responses ranging from mild fright, to anger, to completely shock and outrage, to mediocre smart ass jokes, and the calmness of Athena and hospitality of Hestia. This woman however, and the man to a lesser extent, it was none of the above. Sadness, genuine empathetic responses, even pity.

... The only reason to feel pity for her, especially when no one else gave anything within the same postcode... was if you could see or sense what few could. Empath and emotional detection? Perhaps they can witness the memories, or fate, or perhaps they can sense curses. She wasn't certain these wounds were cursed, but, reality would put more money on the answer to that question being "Yes" than "No.", could be any number of abilities able to simply detect suffering. It didn't matter which of them it was in the slightest, the point of absolute importance was that they could see right through everything, far beyond what even Athena could've parsed by. Of course, if that was the case, that meant the old mans jabbing was...

Her hand rapidly gripped her wrist again, and the literal shock therapy resumed, with a gentle roaring of thunder outside the school once more as she did. A moment after this, her freed hand soared toward the sky! Right. To. Her own forehead, of course. "You. Absolute. Fucking. Moron." She had whispered the words, of course, but there was no doubt the old man heard it, "Little bit of cold and suddenly my brain is slush." She relaxed her arm, dropping it by her side, and sat upright against the wall. For a moment, she stared straight across the room, taking the occasional deep breath as she relaxed once more.

"So... old man. What else can you see through. Both of you, at that." She sighed heavily, rubbing her wrist a bit, no longer trying to hide what she was doing from Svarog, seeing as, well, it was entirely pointless. Her quiet talking voice drifted off as her sight telescoped in on Dola, looking for any clue as to what exactly she was able to sense.

—-----------------------------------------------------


Svarog coolly observed the young goddess, as well as her observation of her peers-though he couldn’t be sure if Astrid had even considered them her “peers”. Judging by how she jolted herself, as well as the use of her own powers to create a faux electric blanket around herself. He was not his firstborn daughter, he couldn’t fully peer into the hearts and minds of men-or tried not to, it was out of politeness at this point and a habit of the War, and the Slav’s bloody history. History he had hoped, would be put behind with this current generation. Upon her inquiry, the aged Godsire hmph’d, as if to indicate he hadn’t right heard her. For the briefest of moments, he would have thought of teasing her for lowering her braggadocious demeanor as quickly as she had conjured it. But he wasn’t as young as he’d like to be anymore-though the Firmament had long been laid, there were still opportunities for change.

“As much as our eyes permit us.” He answered sagely, and Astrid may note the disgusting parallels between Odin and this Svarog. Both were old, both were considered “all-Fathers” of their respective pantheons, the only difference was that Odin had a longer beard and one less eye. Also, the damn cryptic answers. “For instance, I note that there is most likely going to be a sunshower-where it is both sunny and raining at the same time. This of course is for the sake of the Fae-child.” he nodded at the godling from the British Isles. “As he doesn’t like the sun.” He spoke with an atypical elderly Slavic brogue, his tone not rumbling, but like a blanket over the body and the world at large. “I can also see you bear a cold from without.” He spoke with sadness in his eyes, though he attempted not to show this emotion to Astrid as he gathered together the disparate items from Hestia’s table and created a steaming bowl of beef. Offering it to the young Norse girl, Svarog allowed a ghost of a genuine smile. “Good food-and good company-will help stave off the cold within.” As if on cue of the second part of his cryptic ramblings, the Caribbean deities had arrived. With this, he would shake his head and sigh. “Is the presence and support of family so rare in this world?” He seemed to ask no one in particular, but drawing conclusions that this Elder God was similar in demeanor to Odin, it was no doubt directed at her. Some literal “food for thought to chew on” as he began to rise. “With your leave, Miss Astrid? I believe that the unofficial-how you say-PTA?” He nodded at the Ocean Dragon and the now newly arrived celestial twins. “The meeting of parents has begun, the first since the treaty. Boz always said that I needed to move around more, I’m an old man after all!” With that, he would hobble along with his cane to address the new arrivals, both the Taino lad’s and the prestigious Ao family.


—------------------------------------------------------

Astrid listened to the Elder God carefully and quietly, though not without having to suppress a subtle feeling of rage. Something about most Elder Gods being too reminiscent of a certain ones plan to shatter her entire existence like the ice she was imprisoned within. He had kept the nature of their abilities intentionally vague, what ones eyes permit has as many meanings as there are stars. The eyes of the many gathered Fools here see little, compared to Astrid's own sight which, at times using Magnetism with the rings Rune gave her and the information he had on it, could see magnetism itself. Rune had no idea what she was talking about, of course, but this sight is the only reason she became as good at it as she did. Svarog had kept himself vague again as he spoke of the Fae Prince, all information she could hear and see herself.

Though, for a brief moment, he did reveal just a tiny sliver of his sight. 'A cold from without' it wasn't a massive leap of thought or perception by any means, but many here would likely have lost the thought entirely before it had even begun to take shape. He had noticed the lightning coursing over her, and paid close attention to her self-debasement, and concluded rightly, she was somehow feeling extreme cold in a heated and insulated building, and the sadness in his eyes clearly implied he had some idea, even vaguely, of it's cause. Just a tiny little sliver, he was sharper than she had shown to be lately, a fact Astrid was unhappy to accept.

Svarog then stood, casually collecting a number of items from the feast Hestia had prepared, he took his time, carefully creating a dish of his own, though she did not recognize it. He returned with the bowl, offering it to her. For a moment she hesitated, before lifting the one free hand to take it. As the Elder turned around once more, the sight of more families pouring in, he asked a question, seemingly to no one, if the sight of supportive and loving families was truly so rare. Of course, the question was not to the world as he had left it to sound, he was speaking to her. Like his jab about morality, he was quietly and vaguely telling the world what more he knew, to anyone paying attention.

He had kept the manner of his sight secret, but now it was clear he had at the very least some idea of her past. For once, as he walked away, Astrid did not feel the need to speak or respond to something said. What more was to there say to a man whom she could likely only tell what was now old news? With a deep breath, her hand left its station at the wrist and retrieved a single iron ring from her bag. She turned away from where everyone was gathered, as she slipped it onto the middle finger of the hand holding the bowl. She couldn't risk relenting on the cold pain, not now, but eating would surely help too. It's just, nobody needs to see this, and she'd prefer if they didn't.

As she took a few slow, gentle steps further a way, the lightning blanket intensified slightly, the new energy focusing upon the ring. Once again, she could see magnetism appearing before her, alongside the particles and the air currents and all the many things. Very gently, very carefully, she manipulates them, until the fork began to lift and levitate. Gently she encouraged a small wind to blow across the now floating forkful of stroganoff, it was nothing she had ever tasted before... and it would, admittedly, be somewhat of a shame if it were to never be something she tasted again. All her senses now maintained alert, as off alone in the corner, where the stalking hunters are oft found, she rested, and ate, and waited.

[Finsternia]

Co-Write between Finsternia and Luminesa

Lanuru and Patriah - Dragons of Different Scales

The wait continues for the rest of the student body to arrive, and the Prince finds himself cocooned in a corner far away from the three Sun Gods who thought it be best to proclaim their divine holiness upon the hall. Despite his own reservations, it is the nature of solar deities to shine brighter than those in the same room as they do. The fleeting nature of dreams, and his great domain over the night makes him an abject antithesis to the waking light of the sun. The God does not find pain in this endeavor but rather a calling to his domain: to sleep, to slumber, to rule, and abdicate the waking world. Thus Lanuru finds himself in a corner, wrapped by tendrils of shadow that plaster themselves to the walls like an impenetrable barrier against the blinding light.

There is nothing to be gleaned inside the dark splotch except for the faint corona of a solar eclipse, the Prince's mark of divinity and royalty. It shudders for a moment before a golden silver light separates from it. Dark powers come at his behest; a shadowy purplish smoke filled with glimmering starlight encompases this light as it exits the Prince's isolated corner. A small creature steps out, wreathed in shadow and the glamour of nightmares, with eight spindly legs and eight beady golden eyes. It skitters on the walls, down to the tables filled with feasts of all tastes and cuisines. It crawls towards the closest deity, that is the other giant of the students who is now busy stuffing his face with an entire watermelon like a ravenous void. Patriah feels small but sharp legs crawl up his arm, and he sees a little spider made out of starry dreamstuff and black ichor stare up at him from his shoulder. "...It seems that you have used the confusion of all these interactions to hog all the feast for yourself. I am, quite honestly, impressed. And it seems that I misjudged your earlier statement. You are simply, how should I say this, an appreciator of food? Is that right, Patriah of the Deathlands?" The little spider hisses and clicks its mandibles, and its unnerving language seemingly claw and crawl in his ear as it transforms into Lanuru's own voice.

Patriah was a simple man, or simpler than many. As long as he had food, many different types and lots of it, he was rather content to just watch his classmates and their shenanigans. More storm gods had entered the building, something which made him chuckle. He was hoping to get a roommate of sorts with one of the chiller guys, maybe Boz or Ag. He already had nicknames for them. Of course, if Boz brought his whole family to the dorm rooms then they would be a little more than crammed.

For now, anyone interested got to see him bite through the impossible shell of a watermelon and crunch it between his teeth, along with the sweet, juicy fruit of the watermelon within. He alternated between eating the fruit and also downing a cheesy potato bowl of soup with one hand. Everything Hestia made was hearty and happy, and he could feel himself regaining his nerves.

At least until a rather large black spider began to skip along his arm.

Staring down at it, he was not as afraid as he was unnerved. He had first heard a shrill, otherworldly voice, which then became that of the Fae Prince sleeping in the corner. He stared over at him for a moment, and then looked at the ink-like spider.

“That is correct. I uh…I do like food. And if you snooze, you lose the food, so you gotta stay awake for it. So what’s he sleeping for?”

The spider seems to have been distracted by the fact that the Wind God is holding an entire watermelon in one hand and a bowl of soup like as if both are simple snack and goblet. It took it a moment to gather its thoughts before it could relay the Prince's words. "As the sun rises from the horizon, so too does the moon fall from across the firmaments. Sunlight breaks through the canopy of night, and stars run to escape its tyrannical rule. For what can the moon and the stars do before the sun, but to hide as its brilliance devours the night sky?" The spider replies in a poetic manner with the Fair Prince's voice caressing Patriah's ears. "Thus I find myself here with you in this corner to get away from three august Lords of the Heavenly Light. But worry not I am not injured in any way, shape, or form. It is simply a minor inconvenience, and I didn't know that there would be three Sunlit Lords that would attend this ceremony."

When Lanuru mentioned the moon and stars hiding from the sun, Patriah raised a brow. He had finished his bowl of soup, and now he was moving to something that looked like a bowl of ramen in a beef broth. He drank it, noodles and all, before continuing to bite into the rest of his watermelon. “…But the sun’s a star too. We don’t…” He paused, mentally reminding himself to not say anything possibly offensive around Lan. Anything could make him angry, and so he tread carefully. “In the Underworld, we don’t really have the sun down there. But uh…nobody really falls asleep when Apollo decides to come down and say hello. And…”

He gave a look toward Hyperion, who was drinking something that was very much not water and biting hard into a large leg of fried chicken. “Well it’s all Greek gods and uh…almost. And at least two of them are sun gods. I dunno what you expected. But uh…do you need a blanket or something while you lay over here? Because I think Hyp is just gonna be jamming over there to music and being drunk for a while.”

Spiders really don't have much for facial expressions to denote any emotional changes, nor do their eyes shift focus with the sign of irises moving across the white backdrop. However Patriah could feel a degree of a judgmental gaze from those beady eyes as he downs one soup and moves to another. Slowly the spider chirps and trills its mandibles once again, its noises transforming into Lanuru's hypnotic voice as it reaches Patriah's ear. For once it sounds like it is strained, not by exertion rather by psychological restraint and trying patience. "Have you ever been taught the sorcerous arts, Sir Patriah? Have you learned of the mystical powers of symbols and truths?" The spider pauses as the shadowy corner of the Prince sees movement, his halo trembles once again. "...I will not divulge too much of myself. Our kind wields the power of words and meanings with great passion, thus I cannot give you too much of what makes me... Lanuru. But simply put just like how the moon falls as the sun rises, I too feel the lull of slumber before its morning glow."

Patriah's talk of the Underworld's lack of solar presence did pique the Prince's fancy as the spider slowly settles on his shoulder. Dark starry purple force engulfs the creature once again, and Patriah hears the subtle sound of squelching and bones cracking. Spiders... don't have bones, as far as he knows, but the creature that now sits on his shoulder does. It is a crow, about the same size of a normal crow, but it has three eyes on its face. When it opens its beak, it breaks open into four distinct parts like a horrid flower and within is a fanged maw. "The great realm that I am from, Tír na nÓg, is quite similar to your Deathlands. We do have suns and moons, but all of them are suspended in twilight. They never knew the glee of rising into the heavenly expanse, nor the restful fall into the horizon beyond the mountains and seas. Perhaps it is what makes our realm... eternal. The Land of Eternity, as it is called, with its Gods being crowned as the Eternal Ones." It is Lanuru's voice that is now transmitted from the nightmarish crow's beaks, his songlike voice jarring when produced by such a creature. "My physical body is safe and secure, to which nonetheless am I appreciative of your concern. Though you can surmise the inconveniences of my situation." The crow turns its head towards the shadowy cocoon, as if giving him a hint that Lanuru is immobile in such a state.

Lanuru’s words did not entirely hit a deaf ear as he talked about sorcery and symbols. He did not care to read texts about them, but he had once heard about the Persephone’s rituals, which even the Underworld had buried long ago. They could not trust for humans to hold onto them, and so now they only sounded in whispers and echoes.

“Some spells are stronger when you use the right words. And the right mood,” he responded. He then slurped down the rest of his ramen and grinned. “And my magic word is MORE!” He grabbed a chicken leg, and he tore into it. His teeth were strong enough to take some of the tendons with the skin and meat, and he just chewed through everything.

He stopped mid-bite as he watched the spider twist, turn, and break into the form of an eldritch crow. It spoke not with its mouth, but with a “mouth”, a flower-like split of sharp teeth and tissue. He did not find himself as unnerved by this transformation, as he had seen Than use far more disturbing tricks and spells.

“Uh…I don’t have a blanket. Here.”

He walked over to Lanuru’s cocoon, and he removed his long, thick scarf. He wondered if Eurydice would be angry at him for using it as a blanket for his classmate, but did not think long on the matter before he dropped it over the cocoon. “Sleep tight, little caterpillar?” He pat the cocoon and stared at the crow on his shoulder. “…You’re not actually a caterpillar, just to let you know. Uh…my dad likes butterflies.”

The crow Avatar of the Fair Prince remains silent for the half of their conversation, simply observing the obnoxious way this giant eats and speaks. He is simple, simple beyond measure, only thinking with the desires of his gut. Hedonism and the pursuit of desires isn't frowned upon the Fair Folk and their capricious divinities. Lanuru can nod towards such simplistic life. Patriah may not fare well in the intrigues of the backstabbing courts, but at the very least he follows his heart's desires. Though his mind's alacrity... needs a bit more sharpening, the Prince bemuses. He doesn't know fear as well, at the very least he doesn't feel the same for the usual fears of others. He doesn't fear what is unnatural and monstrous but he fears disappointment and severe social pressure. Lanuru thinks to himself to make a note of such a thing.

The cocoon accepts the offering of the scarf, its surface actually rippling like water as the fabric hits the surface. Patriah sees something break from the cocoon. It's arms, multiples of them, reaching for the scarf with surprising gentleness and care for its wellbeing. It slowly disappears within the cocoon, but within it Lanuru holds it with a careful touch. "This... garment. This scarf. I can sense that it holds great importance to you. Why do you lend me this article, Sir Patriah? I am flattered by your kindness but... this scarf is heavy with intentions for you and not I." Since Patriah is now beside the cocooned Prince, he could hear Lanuru's voice clearly from the cocoon but with a tinge of etherealness like he is beneath water. "...And you are not wrong with your observation... But I am not a butterfly. I am another sort of creature."

“Eurydice made it. It’s warm and it was…our compromise, for me not wearing a shirt. And uh…I’m still not wearing a shirt, and Than is not gonna make me.” He chuckled, giving a toothy smirk in the process. He could not help but keep grinning, though he had raised an eyebrow at the arms taking the scarf. “I just hope she doesn’t get mad, because I gave you the scarf. Maybe I can message her and she’ll send me another one. I know at least that she won’t be super-happy.”

"Eurydice? Is she a Goddess in your realm as well?" He stares at the fabric before him, his eyes still closed but still aware within the darkness of his enclosure. He feels the warmth of the hearth, and the familiar smell of damp earth and the richness of autumn from the scarf. He feels familiar power from the scarf, beyond the breeze that is still fresh from Patriah's ownership of it. It thrums with care and love, a powerful bond resonates between its owner and its maker. Found family it seems. The Wind God's latter words does make the Prince's halo shudder and the crow on Pat's shoulder freezes. Slowly it turns to him with what's clearly a face of astonishment. "P-Please wait for just a moment. You're... You're gifting this to me? Why? This is clearly an important item for you. Why would you give this to me?"

“Nymph. Well…she was human, she died, something happened with her lover, she stayed in the Underworld. Now she’s kinda like my mom.” Patriah’s explanation wasted no time, not out of a lack of sentimental feeling but more out of a lack of words to describe those feelings. Eurydice had indeed put love into making this scarf, and Lanuru could sense it. So much, that he had seemingly forgotten Patriah’s stupid joke from half an hour ago. “Uh…to keep your cocoon warm? You can’t exactly move around in that thing, and Hyp’s not leaving the room. So uh…blanket.”

"...Ah..." Patriah hears the Prince fall into a brief silence, before a soft chuckle greets his ears. Genuine, it seems. A genuine laugh from the severely grim and uptight Unseelie Prince. Lanuru forces his eyes to open, golden eyes briefly flickering to life within the pitch black darkness to look upon the warm scarf that is in his hands. A gift given by a mother to her son, lovingly woven to keep him company and to keep him warm, is now within his hands. If only Patriah would know the meaning of such a gesture for the Fair Folk, then perhaps he wouldn't have given it without any thought. The Prince closes his eyes. Of course the young Wind God wouldn't know of such a thing. Lanuru would bet with certainty that he is the first of his kind that Patriah has seen and met. But he couldn't help but slowly smile, even for just a moment. "...It seems that she cares for you quite deeply... I shall return the scarf to you if it is on burrowed time, I promise. And I will return the favor as well. You might be... simple, Sir Patriah, but you are an honest man with a giving heart. You have acquired my respect." The crow on his shoulder transforms once again, but this time the smoke that encapsulates it is not purple but a pastel pink. Its eerie form is shaped into a butterfly, its wings like a frescoe of many glowing colors. It sits on his shoulder like a beautiful piece of art made from sparkling jewels, gently fluttering its wings every now and then.

Pat could not quite understand the implications which the Fae Folk held for given gifts. He especially did not have the incredible gift of empathy, sometimes of a dark sort, which followed both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. So when Lan started stroking the scarf lovingly, his eyes widened a little. He could see the spindly arms from the cocoon, but not Lanuru himself. He wondered how his face looked.

“I’m glad you like it. And uh…you know what? Keep it. I’ll just ask Eurydice for another one. If she knows why I gave it, maybe she won’t be so mad,” he answered, sounding a little more coherent than usual. Somehow his fears had slipped away. Lanuru was no longer angry at him, and he had even left a butterfly on his shoulder. Pink too.

“Huh.” He turned and pet the butterfly with two fingers. Even two fingers were a little too big for the tiny, fragile construct, but he was slow and careful. “…Than would like this. Thanks.”

There he goes again. The same simple thoughts of kindness thrown into the wind. Patriah seems to be as carefree as the force he represents. Carelessly giving away gifts of such heavy meaning without knowing or even thinking. The Prince shakes his head, dispelling such thoughts that invade his mind. But try as he might, the impact has already left a crater there that will continue to grow as time goes on. He just continues to hold the scarf within his cocoon, as if it is some holy relic within his hands.

"...This... Than... You seem to call your Lord Father so informally. I'd assume that this is a way of affection for you and your culture?" Lanuru tries to shift the topic towards Patriah's lineage for quite awhile. "You say that he is Death. A claimer of lives he is then? It is quite unusual for such a being to produce an heir of your... power. Does that mean you are the breath of life?" The butterfly slowly crawls on his hand and rests there. Patriah sees that its wings are composed of the colors of the rainbow, like miniature glass windows that shine with beauty.

“I’m a breath that makes him irritable a lot, I dunno if that’s life. But yeah…” Patriah scratched his temple, grinning a little more, before he finished his watermelon. Seeds and all. Wiping his mouth, he continued, “I don’t remember how I was born, I just know I’m here. And he lets me call him ‘Than’. He’s just glad I’m not currently sitting in detention or having to run laps because I made Hades angry. But he has worse punishments than running laps, believe me.” His eyes widened at the thought, and then adjusted. “But yeah. He’s Death. Kinda taught me some things about death too. I’d like to have a scythe like his one day, but he says I’ll cut my own head off. Like I can’t handle a sword or a scythe or something.”

"...I do not think that a scythe suits you. Reaping lives doesn't seem to fit you, as far as I could see. I've talked about it once, about the power of symbols and meanings. Perhaps you'll find your fated weapon one day, perhaps you already have it with you now. We are all represented by truths that resonate with us, and will be led to them by fate. Your winds do not seem to be life-taking. But it is too premature to say such things. After all, I haven't faced you in combat yet." The Prince laughs from within his cocoon as he falls silent for some time, simply listening to Patriah talk about his life. It seems that the other God had a strict life as well, less strict than the rules the Courts would have their nobility and followers uphold. Nevertheless, Patriah sees a hint of golden glimmers in the dark as Lanuru tries to open his eyes for just a moment. "I do wonder if you are a formidable warrior as you believe you are."

“Hey now.” Patriah smirked, with the impish air he had trained to keep quiet during this conversation. “I am not a lot of things, but I am definitely a good fighter. And if we face each other in combat, you can guarantee that I’m going to show you that wind can take as much as it gives. So don’t get too cocky.” He snickered, showing his sword. A proud handiwork, with an emerald, scaly hilt and a long, steel blade. “This thing can chop down a forest if it wants to!”

"Is that so?" The butterfly moves in his hand to face him, its wings fluttering for but a moment. The Wind God's bravado is not unaccounted for. He does indeed wield quite the wicked blade, as large as he is tall and is strapped behind his back. The Eclipse God could faintly sense its magics, certainly a fine and worthy blade for a God. "I am no warrior God, but I am not a deity of peace either. We will see if that wondrous power is yours, or simply the power of your great blade. As for my own weapon, I believe you can see it through this darkness already." As if responding to the Prince's statement, his halo trembles within the cocoon with its faint corona pulsing and struggling amidst the dark. "We seem to have started on a rough pace but... I believe we can find some common ground, Sir Patriah. You are not too bad."

“You’re kind of a cool guy yourself. But uh…yeah, keep the scarf. Once Hyp leaves, it doesn’t matter. I’ll get another one. Plus it’s more cozy to sleep with a blanket than in a cocoon.” Patriah’s grin softened a little, as he realized he might have finally broken the ice and made a friend. He would not have as much trouble with the other students, except for maybe Astrid. Yet with Lanuru, he could revel in what he hoped was a job well-done.

"Then... Please keep the butterfly. It may not be of the same value as your beloved scarf, but it holds some of my power. To us, butterflies are guides and stewards in our glades. With my power within it, it will guide you in your dreams with vivid clarity. I will repay your kindness and your scarf sometime soon with an appropriate gift." Within the cocoon the Prince also breaks into a smile. That is one ally gained, perhaps even a friend. An unlikely ally and friend perhaps, but a step towards the correct path. He is doing as he is told: to represent the interests of the Unseelie Court and forge relations with the young Godlings of this school. It wouldn't hurt to bear the curse of the gift that rests within his hands, would it? "...You are not that bad, Sir Patriah. It has been a pleasure knowing you."

[Nantoraka]

Abaguabana and Boinayel
Boinayel watched as the fey retreated in the presence of his sunlight aura. He sighed in a tone that belied a sense of sorrow, or regret, at it. He seemed to fully understand exactly what was causing him to retreat, and in response, that brilliant aura slowly died down as Boinayel muttered apologetic remarks. Staring down at the flower on Abaguabana's belt loops, he softly spoke and apologized. "...Sorry, night one. Though I am old, very old, controlling the power I throw out simply by existing is still fairly hard." Boinayel spoke in a way that was noticeably different than Abaguabana's. Though Abaguabana had a good grasp of the English language, he still struggled to convey emotion, and thus had a "posh" and rigid method of speaking. It seemed Boinayel had a far better grasp, and spoke in a much more chalant and relaxed tone. Boinayel took a few steps away from Lanuru for good measure, hoping not to disturb him further.

Abaguabana nodded towards Boinayel, silently thanking him for turning off the aura, and making sure that his new friend would be a fair bit more comfortable. He still didn't fully understand that Lanuru wasn't uncomfortable, at the very least. Once Azcóatl spoke up to Boinayel, the elder solar deity turned his head and attentions to the younger Aztec god, and listened. He smiled at his greeting, backed away for space, and returned the same small bow to Azcóatl. Turning once more, the orange gem-hued spirit faced Abaguabana and gestured towards Azcóatl. "I'm going to intermingle with the other pantheons. I'm sure you have all manner of stories to tell of Tlaloc's training, as I'm sure Abaguabana has many stories to tell of mine." Before walking away, he put a hand on Azcóatl's shoulder and smiled. "If you ever find yourself in the Spirit World, I'm more than happy to help out a son of Tlaloc. I'll tell all the stories I know of your father." The sun spirit suddenly began to hover in the air, the kick of heated wind below him, as he quickly floated over to Hestia's tables.

Abaguabana coughed, and scratched his head. He talked lower, but made sure to speak with a voice loud enough for Lanuru to overhear as he spoke with Patriah. The younger spirit figured that introductions were in order if he was going to appear more, especially if his presence seemed to be antithesis to that of Lanuru. The last thing he would want is his own relatives causing others harm; he knew that experience particularly, and uncomfortably, well and endeavoured to make sure that those that were close to him didn't end up harming others. "...He's my uncle. In the Spirit World, he and Marohu both manage the sun and moon." Putting a finger up to a lips, he corrected himself. "No, actually. He's my 'first cousin, once removed', but he's closer to an uncle, and I see him more than my actual uncles anyways." Abaguabana turned to Lanuru, as his spider warped, cracked, and twisted into a crow, sounding to him like bones being forced into place. He muttered under his breath. "That must be very painful." His own shapeshifting was far, far more elegant than what just occurred. The realization slowly came that his new Unseelie friend may very well be the most alien deity he has ever met. Moboyas wasn't even alien, just an asshole.

Well, except for the Factory. But that particular deity was silent this entire time. He was waiting for a chance to make conversation with it.

Boinayel and Marohu, "Cultural Exchange"
Boinayel made his way to Hestia's myriad tables, surveying exactly what was before him. He called with a finger out to his twin, who uncrossed his arms and began making his way through the hall to the banquet before them. Marohu crooked a finger up to his chin, in thought. The quieter moon spirit made a few steps across the stools and benches, trying to ascertain exactly what it was he wanted. He spoke up, his voice softer than that of his sun spirit brother, but carrying no less authority and power behind it. "Hestia certainly didn't hesitate, did she?" Marohu was clearly visibly impressed with the sheer size and diversity of dishes and foods before him, like browsing through a supernatural supermarket. He was more inclined towards the pursuit of knowledge than Boinayel, and even though he spends much of his time learning of the outside world, there was very little he could recognize on this table. It even made him somewhat excited!

Boinayel nodded in agreement, bending over for a slightly closer look himself. Many of the fruits were simply outlandish, in fact, some of them could barely be called fruit themselves. Marohu bent over and picked up an orange between his fingers, lightly squeezing it, enamored by it's color, scent, and fullness. He turned to his right, showing the fruit to Boinayel. "Look at this. Have you ever seen a guava fruit so...orange?" Marohu tossed the orange to Boinayel, who caught it with both hands and checked it out with both eyes. Boinayel was much more inclined towards travelling than Marohu, who simply preferred to stay in the Spirit World. He, in contrast to his twin moon spirit, was a fair bit more familiar with some of the fruits and cultures of the world. He split the orange in half with ease, swiftly and precisely tore the remainder of the peel and unappetizing white pieces off of the orange, leaving surprisingly clean slices. He tossed the other end to Marohu, who was visibly bewildered at the innards.

"Not a guava. That's an orange, very common out here in the North-East. Nowadays one of the most popular fruits. Surprising you hadn't known sooner." Boinayel corrected him. Marohu was slightly embarrassed at the prospect of misidentifying an orange as Boinayel went further in his correction. His twin promptly noticed, adding another comment on top of his other one. "You need to get out more."

Marohu couldn't help but agree, and sighed. "I suppose I do." The blue sapphire-like moon spirit continued to journey across the tables. There were many cooked yuca roots, but he was bored of them. Wanting to try something new, he picked up a platter of stuffed bao buns, and ignored the chopsticks they were presented alongside; though he knew of them, he hated the usage of them. The most ungainly and difficult utensils devised by mortals was his opinion. He instead opted for a fork, grabbing a simple cup of water, and walking away, waiting for his twin to finish browsing the table. Boinayel, a much more well-traveled spirit who enjoyed walking among mortals, was a fair bit more selective in his choices. He was very familiar with the culinary culture of many mortal nations, though he preferred the cuisines of the Asian cultures than anything else.

Boinayel took a plate himself, and on it, placed a scoop of rice, a collection of roasted anchovies, kernals of maize, and various filets of various salmons. It's said the sun is the source of all energy, but also consumes the most energy, and it was no surprise that Boinayel was thus a big eater himself. He took particular interest in the Roman garum that Hestia supplied; it was considered an extinct recipe, and he rarely got to try it. So of course, he doused his fish in the sauce, grabbed a drink of chocolate milk, and walked off towards his twin. He enjoyed what the Europeans did to chocolate, and chocolate milk was certainly a favorite of his. The two walked towards the Slavic deities, Boinayel taking the lead, and took the closest seat. Boinayel coughed, smiled, placed down the plate on the nearest table, and waved. "Once, your presence was alarming, but now, it's a gift. What brings you all here, and who is the young godling you have brought with you?"

Marohu said nothing, not a particularly social individual himself. He simply quietly pierced one of the many bao buns with his fork, and took a bite; a filling of meat and vegetable filling his mouth. Absolutely delightful. He couldn't help but notice a slight shift in air current going on in the corner of the room; an old and powerful spirit of good weather, he felt the shift like a pleasant flow over his senses. Detecting such sudden anomalies was required, after all; untold millennia of battles with Guabancex, Abaguabana's mother, relied on the ability to sense the slightest changes in the air. The safety of mortals relied on these senses; if Guabancex disturbed the Cycle before Boinayel and Marohu could intervene, the Hurricane would form, and many would die. Banishing these thoughts to the back of his mind, he took a look at Astrid in the corner of the room, shrugged, and kept eating. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd prefer a chair, instead of eating like an animal on the ground.

[The H Corporation]

Friendly Relatives

Azcóatl nodded to Boinayel as he left him and Abaguabana, Azcóatl was amused by the politeness of the god, not that he hasn't seen anyone doing it aside from his own relatives. Putting that aside he felt calmer now that the conversation was over, not that he hated to talk with others but he still feels uncomfortable talking with other gods and especially with the elders, actually he did not feel uncomfortable he just feels nervous when he talks to other gods, and it was still surprising to find such distant relatives here, but still, what else could happen today that might surprise him? I think he has seen a lot just for being the first day.

Azcóatl turned his head towards Abaguabana a little bit worried about Lanuru, which then he turned his head towards the cocoon in one corner of the room, it was something quite scary but he coped with it as a spider started to crawl to where another god was eating, he could have said something about it but he was very nervous, not because of the spider, he has seen a couple of beings like those somewhere at some point, he was just scared to have another interaction with other gods. He turned his head again towards Abaguabana to hear what he was saying.

"W-Well he looks like a nice god to hang out with, it makes sense why you have a... strong c-connection" he said a little bit nervous, like his confidence faded away and revealed what he was feeling during the conversation with Boinayel. Azcóatl still remained in the same posture as he was and finally turned his body to face Abaguabana, "I-I've only interacted with Tlaloc for my training, soI only had Mictlan and Coatlicue as my caretakers for some time.." he stopped before saying too much, he knew too well why Tlaloc only came to train him after a couple of incidents that involved him. He turned his head to the spider who was transforming into a crow and then turned his head back when Abaguabana said something about the transformation being painful.

"More than just.. p-painful it must be tiring to transform from a spider to a c-crow" Azcóatl said looking at the very fancy but weird transformation, but after hearing the bones cracking he stepped back a little bit "M-maybe just.. p-painful" as he walked closer to Abaguabana with a face that showed concern. Because he had nowhere else to hide and why not, having a relative to which he could rely on maybe was a good idea, despite the coincidences he found himself lucky in finding a distant relative right here.

[Luminesa]

Co-Write Between Lumi and Nantoraka

Teaching a Storm

Hyperion, in true stoner god fashion, had grabbed several tacos to go with his alcoholic beverage. Somehow, he managed to balance a taco in his mouth, the bottle in one hand, and the boombox on his shoulder. Clearly he had done this before, both due to his ease at multi-tasking and the stares Hestia gave him from a few yards away. If she had been any less kinder than she was, she would have at least rolled her eyes, but all she could manage was a sigh of disappointment as he took a loud crunch of his taco. Of course, their being Hestia’s tacos, they were still excellent, made with entirely fresh ingredients.

He had two more in the same hand, and he smirked behind his sunglasses. All the while, “Santería” blared over his boombox from across the hall. Even if some students could not hear it, Sublime’s ska-grunge vocals, drums, and swaying guitar danced in the air with all the grace of a cheated-on boyfriend finding the man who took his girl.

Márohu could not help but notice the ruckus caused by the Titan, drawing his curious eyes away from the Slavic deities and towards Hyperion. He placed aside his plate of buns, taking a napkin to tap his face and remove whatever crumbs he picked up on his stubbled face. The stubble was unusual for a spirit, but Boinayel grew one and enjoyed it, so Márohu followed suit. He actually stylized his, and ended up enjoying it.

Taking the napkin within his hand, it only took a small amount of focus for the napkin to immediately crystallize into some odd ice-like form, and then shatter into infinite tiny specks, which dissolved in the air. Whereas his twin was far more involved with fire and heat, he was much more involved with ice and cold, an element of their duality. Crossing his arms, he simply watched as Hyperion "danced", if he could even call it that. He turned to Boinayel and muttered into his ear; "I'm going to talk to Hestia and crazy over there. He's supposed to be Abaguabana's physical education teacher. Have fun with the Slavic pantheon.

In response, Boinayel nodded and reached his hand up for a fist bump. Márohu gave it, took his plate, and walked up to Hestia. He gestured with a swift rock of the shoulder towards Hyperion. "Does he always do that?"

Hestia sighed-again-as she turned and looked toward Hyperion. The music would have been bearable, maybe even good, at a normal volume and in a semi-normal setting. A concert, a prom, someone’s house-party, but here it just felt out-of-place. Then again, Hyperion himself seemed out of place on several levels.

“…He just seems to enjoy human culture, including their music. Of course, many humans are incredibly talented, no doubt blessed by any gods of music and the arts. Just…Hyperion likes to believe he is a human…what does he call it…’stoner’? The word itself sounds terrible. A man in the Underworld spends all his time rolling a stone up and down a hill. I couldn’t possibly imagine why Hyperion would want to compare himself to such a thing.”

Márohu shrugged at the mention of Hyperion and his love for human culture. Many had a spite for mortals because of their fleeting lives and what may seem like an inherently selfish nature, but in truth, he though they were charming, in a way. He and his twin were both assigned by Yucahu to ensure that they never left the primordial cave during the day, tasking his own son, Mautiatihuel, to herald his and his brother's cycle at the dawn. The time he spent watching over humanity as they left the primordial cave at night to gather food made him somewhat attached to the little beings.

"I don't blame him. Their little lives are always so short, but they are always so inventive." Márohu shrugged, turning his face to Hestia. "My brother could tell both of us more about human culture than I ever could." He reached his hand, unoccupied by the plate in front of him, over his waist as an offering to Hestia. Much like Abaguabana, he also made sure to know Greek handshakes.

"My name is Márohu. I'm Abaguabana's uncle. My brother and I came here to make sure he didn't get it any trouble with the pantheons." A not-so-subtle nudge of the head towards the Slavic pantheon indicated that they were the reason he was here.

“Ah yes, there are some human musicians I do enjoy hearing from. Many of them make…classical music. But I do like one, ah…what does she call herself. Tori Amos? Ah yes, she has an odd-but-beautiful sound. And a pianist…Norah Jones? I listen to her music while I’m cooking.” Hestia smiled and shook his hand. “Lady Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth and the Home Economics Teacher. And ah, I see.” She nodded in her knowing, auntly way. “It is good to see the families of deities here. We all hope to recover and to make new friends after that awful, awful war. So many of us need the peace that this place hopefully shall bring.”

Hestia knew that any sort of “hope” had to be labeled with an asterisk of sorts. That “hope” was dependent on many factors, and on several different gods both young and old behaving on this very diverse campus. At least she could tell that Patriah and Lanuru were now interacting in a more relaxed way, and one of the Slav students was trying to talk to Astrid of all people. “And we want our students to lead us into that future.”

“HESTIA! THFF TKOS AFF AMMZING!”

Hyperion suddenly appeared next to her, never shaking her focus, though she did find herself jolting from the sound of “What I Got” playing very loudly next to her ear. After the softest possible groan, she clicked on some buttons and turned the music down quite a bit. “Would you like to properly introduce yourself to a student’s family?”

“Oh! Yeah. Uh…” He swallowed his taco, and he reached them around until he held three tacos and a bottle of tequila all in the same hand, with his boombox still on the same shoulder. “Hyperion, Sun Titan and the PE teacher. Your kid’s gonna sweat a lot. What’s your name again?”

Márohu smiled, withdrawing his hand once the handshake was done with. "Home economics? Can't say I'm all too familiar with that subject.". He couldn't even parse the definition from the name. Regardless, he continued to listen in on her speech about the war, where his smile faded back into his usual stoic, neutral expression, until he banished the memories of the war back and retained the smile once more. He was a spirit; he wasn't afraid of death. Spirits are difficult to destroy as it were, and the moon doesn't fear anything, but that's not what concerned him.

It was the deaths of mortals caught up in the pantheon's engagements against the Incan, Mayan, and in some moments, even the Aztec pantheon neighbors. Many mortals felt the aftermath of these conflicts, and he deeply regretted the idea of so many perishing to divine hubris and hostility.

Sticking into a bun with the fork his formerly-free hand now held, he nodded in slight agreement. "I'm a spirit, I don't die. But mortals do, and that's taken a toll on us. We're guardians, not warriors. This school will do the future good. That being said..." Márohu lifted his fork, pointing his bao bun at Lanuru, Azcoatl, Abaguabana, and Patriah off in the distance. "...I agree. I couldn't imagine Abaguabana hitting it off with such a dark presence like that. Our own god of darkness is..."

Biting into the bun, he looked upwards, visibly thinking of his next words. "...As Hyperion would say, an asshole. He's an asshole." Márohu spoke with a slight smirk and a humorous undertone. Moboyas got along with nobody, and typically spent his days within Coabey, the shadowy underworld of the Spirit World that lay underneath the oceans.

Placing his bao bun down, Márohu smiled and nodded towards Hyperion. "Sun Titan, isn't it? What a coincidence. I'm Márohu, the Moon Spirit. My brother over there..." Márohu looked over at Boinayel, and gave a small nod towards him, but he was distracted by the Slavic deities. He somehow switched out his chocolate milk for hot cocoa in the timespan it took for Márohu to reach Hestia. "...is the Sun Spirit. I'm sure you two would get along fine. I'd give you a handshake as well, but..."

Márohu gestured with a wave of the head towards his hands, filled with a plate and an occupied fork. "Do us both a favor and make sure Abaguabana works hard. He's the Ocean Spirit, so if you want to make him work harder, keep him away from water. You'll be surprised at the sudden ease of physical activity if you give him physical contact with it."

“Oh I’m gonna make all the kids sweat in the gym, they’re gonna WORK!” Hyperion was pumped, at least before he almost vomited on the floor. Again. But while he was next to Hestia, he did try to make an effort to look professional. And so he smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it’s cool to see another sun god. You guys are alright, just…I wish my headache would go away. Seriously, if someone could hit me with a crowbar I’d greatly appreciate the effort.”

Hestia nodded, and smiled at Márohu. “Home economics teaches the…domestic skills of a young god. Cooking, sewing, caring for children…any god or goddess can learn such things, and we certainly need more gods and goddesses who are loving and devoted parents. As for the makeup of our students…”

She followed his bao bun and looked at the students who were talking near each other. “Abaguabana seems like a lovely young man, as does Azcoatl. Patriah sounds like an…interesting young man, but with a good heart. And Lanuru, as with many Fae children, seems very shy to the ways of other pantheons. We will make sure all of our students feel at home here.”

“Careful, you’re starting to sound like a cruise-ship advertisement,” Hyperion murmured. She gave him a look that pleaded for him to behave, however, and he took a massive, crunchy bite of a taco which proceeded to end with him swallowing it whole, beef and veggies and hot sauce alike.

Márohu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He pointed a finger to his side, where the faint outline of a macana war club was tied to his waist. Apparently his night magics were keeping it concealed, and it was likely that he was doing the same for Boinayel who was incapable of such a feat. "I could hit you over the head, but something tells me your head would feel worse than it currently is."

He turned back towards Hestia, continuing on the conversation. He was never much of a conversationalist but he did enjoy the talk. Hestia seemed nice enough of course. "Too bad you couldn't handle additional classes." He took another bite of his bao bun, pointing the almost-finished bun towards Boris. "The girl that accosted that one could certainly use your influence whenever possible.".

He took another bite, taking the time to savor the taste before swallowing and finishing it in its entirety, placing the fork on the plate. "As for Abaguabana, I'm glad you noticed, we certainly have. His mother is a belligerent sort, and my brother and I constantly fight with her. To see him so...disconnected from her and his brothers and so, how you say, 'at peace' with the wider world does my heart peace."

Márohu shuddered at the memory of Juracan's first attack on him and his brother that nearly destroyed them both. To see Abaguabana not fall to Juracan's influence like his immediate family was an infinitely positive blessing.

Márohu called out to Hyperion. "Make sure you catch Abaguabana doing his shapeshifting. Running won't help him much if he cheats and turns into a seagull." Lowering his face to Hestia's ear, his voice dropped down, a tone of seriousness crossing his voice as he endeavored to make his coming point well-heard, with the gravitas it deserved.

"...Between you and I, my brother and I would appreciate it if you helped Abaguabana." He put his plate aside on the nearest table, finished with the food, and crossed his arms. "We brought him here to learn how to control his powers. Within that body lies the potential for one of the most powerful storm gods to ever exist. But at the same time..."

Márohu pointed a finger at Abaguabana. "...within him lies a piece of Juracan. Please make sure Abaguabana overcomes any temptations and stays on the right path. You're a good goddess, Hestia. You'll have the greatest influence on our children, so I trust you."

“And I have quite a lot of experience with gods and goddesses with tempers.” She nodded to Hestia, but even more so to Zeus. She then looked over at Abaguabana. He seemed to be a much calmer god than many of his classmates, but his guardian was correct. Even the calmest gods could produce the strongest storms, and a single fit of anger was the only fuel they needed. “We will be sure to make sure he controls his powers well. Right, Hyperion?”

“If he turns into a seagull to get out of running or exercise I’m throwing a beer bottle at him,” Hyperion muttered. Finally, Hestia bonked him over the head with what looked like a wooden soup spoon, and he yelped in sudden pain.

“OW!!!”

“Please take the nature of our children’s struggles seriously, will you?”

“Yes yes, of course I will! What, I can’t make a joke?”

“Not about throwing your cheap alcohol at the students.”

“Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. But yes.” He turned to Márohu and nodded, a little more respectful. “We’ll watch your kid closely, and we’ll make sure he doesn’t become a big evil storm. And uhhhh…we’ll watch over the angry girl too.”

Márohu nodded in response to Hestia's reassurances. "I'm sure you both absolutely will." He pointed towards Zeus, the oddly quiet headmaster. "Zeus has a direct line to Yucahu. If anything comes up, tell him and I'm sure he'll get Yucahu on the line. He's the one who sent Abaguabana here, so I'm sure he'll be able to do whatever my brother or I could not."

His smile grew wider when Hestia smacked him with the soup spoon, finding some actual humor in the act. It wasn't out of place for the moon spirit, but he was very stoic in general, so smiling wasn't something he engaged in too often. He simply shrugged at the remark. "If that's what it takes, throw all the bottles you want at him. He can take it."

Márohu's sentence had a small yet noticeable, and somewhat sinister underline to the latter comment. His own training with Abaguabana was...rough, to put it lightly, but necessary. Throwing some similar shade at Hyperion, he simply shrugged and had a small, sarcastic smile at the corner of his mouth. "You're more than welcome to deal with the 'evil storm'. Better you than my brother and I." He muttered and cursed under his breath. "...I'm still nursing the bruises."

Though it was more a figure of speech, it wasn't particularly untruthful; Boinayel and Márohu's cycle remained somewhat damaged since their first battle with Juracan, and they've been unable to retain their full power since.

"Zeus is many things, yes," Hestia answered, with a nod and a knowing stare in his direction. Astrid was not wrong in her critiques, but the Pax was too important to lose over one girl challenging Zeus's actual strength. She sighed deeply and stared at him. "One thing he is good at, however, is using his connections to make sure to avoid wars. Most of the time. But I imagine that with this venture into leading a school of new gods, he will make it a priority to avoid any more wars. And we will not need to throw bottles at the students."

"But we WILL make obstacle courses, and if they don't manage to push past them without challenging themselves to evolve, well..." Hyperion paused to consume his third taco, nodding to the Taino god as he swallowed his food.

"They have to deal with the consequences without losing themselves. Gods can die, gods can change, gods can sacrifice themselves for humans or sacrifice humans to fuel their own rage. Gods can be happy breezes or they can lose themselves and blast a hurricane over a city. These are realities the kids will need to learn, and that they will need to...move around. Now if you excuse me, I need to grab another drink before I start talking more sense. Good meeting you?" He smirked, and he hurried away to get another bottle. In the meantime, he turned his boombox back on, now playing "Margaritaville" in a rather mellow change of tune.

Márohu simply nodded, though he was legitimately surprised at the sudden coherence of Hyperion. He nodded and smiled towards Hestia, turning, and heading back to Boinayel.

[Luminesa]

Orientation - Day 1

Ganesha had not spoken very much yet, as he was one of the few non-European deities present among the faculty. The elephant-headed god was still quietly eminent, dressed in silks of crimson, gold, blush, and ivory. Dozens of gold accessories-necklaces, rings, bracelets, and even a few nose-piercings-bedazzled his tall form. Yet the jewelry did not look cheap, and his quiet nature as he watched the rest of the party made him seem sorely out-of-place with beings such as Zeus and Hyperion. Yet he could not help but chuckle at the image of Hyperion shoving tacos down his throat, or at Boris and Astrid's antics.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself?"

The elephant-headed god turned and faced an elegant goddess, with heavily-lidded eyes and robes of violet, plum, and black. She gave a toothy grin, which would have been seductive for quite a few gods and mortals. Yet her fellow teacher was not the most impressed. "Hecate. Ah, yes. I forgot you had joined the faculty."

"How could you forget about me, Lord Ganesha? Aren't I quite lovely?"

"I am the Lord Over Obstacles, and your beauty would simply be one more to overcome. And I overcome all obstacles." She was not pleased at his answer, but he raised his eyebrows as he drank a sip of tea.

"You're lucky we're under a Pax," she murmured, her face set in a gentle scowl. Even when she scowled she was gorgeous, but in a more vicious manner.

"Ah, well. The Pax is good for all of us. And soon, it will be the inheritance of our student-body. Peace is good, yes?" He walked over to Athena, from whom he received a long scroll. He then walked back to Hecate's side. Even if he was not the most fond of her, taunting her casually made for good conversation. "Such is indicated in this document."

Hecate gave it a perusal, before she raised her brows and looked at him. "A waiver of sorts?"

"A contract! The waiver came before the students enrolled, remember?" He gave a hearty chuckle, and nodded to her before walking back to Athena's side. He nodded for her to join, and Hecate shrugged her shoulders as she followed. She was still the Goddess of Contracts, or at least a goddess of contracts. Even ones she considered foolish. Yet she had to obey her fellow teachers, unless they did something to threaten the Pax. Nobody truly wanted the Pax to be broken anymore than it had been. To do so was to invite true horrors back into their existence, which they had finally settled into something they could call "calm".

At last, the group of teachers stood before the class, and Hestia and Ganesha walked forward to stand alongside Zeus.

"As a part of this meeting between parents, students, and teachers, we have been glad to invite all of you into feasting and spending time with us. However, we do have serious concerns to discuss," Hestia began, as she nodded to Ganesha holding the contract. "Our goal is not only to teach your children, but to make sure that they hold to the Pax. As a part of doing so, we would like for all of our students, and their available parents, to sign the contract below. The students to hold to their obligations while among this campus and beyond, and the parents to hold them responsible any time they return to their realms."

The contract read as followed, written in a special ink which allowed it to be understood in any language:
Before this assembly of Gods and Divinities, I swear before Heaven and Earth and upon my name and authority:

• To foremost uphold the peace of this newfound era born from war and conflict; students shall adhere to the rules handed down by teachers, but are open to always bring their knowledge and understanding before their professors and staff.
• To represent the Powers That Be in this endeavor, the Elders who stand behind me; students are expected to bear witness to the best of their pantheons, as representatives of many faith traditions.
• To support what Holy High stands for: the creation of new bonds and relations between other divine realms of existence, and a testament for the founding of the new era
* To not threaten other pantheons with intentional violence, malice, or wickedness, up to and worse than death.
* To act with justice, wisdom, and courage against all threats which attempt to break the Pax.
• With these binding words and promises I swear upon my name to not bring harm to these ideals, lest in the name of preservation and peace. I shall be duty bound to stand in defense of these oaths, to be a founder of a brighter future for both mortal and divine, and be an inheritor to the legacies of old.

"When you are ready, please step forward to sign this contract. Hecate, the goddess of crossroads, will watch you for your truthfulness in signing," Ganesha added.

[Finsternia]

Holy High, Main Hall - Promises of a New Age

"I am pleased to see that you are well, Lord Ganesha. As jovial and as wise as always. I look forward to speaking with you and debating philosophies once again." A rare smile graces upon the face of the Goddess Athena as she hands over the scroll to the elephant headed God. It is always a joy for her to speak with fellow Gods of Wisdom from other Pantheons, who have seen vistas and gone through experiences different from her. The Lord of Triumph is a worthy adversary for the Iron Goddess, their own wisdoms a clash of unstoppable progress and indomitable will. She procures a golden scroll from thin air, from which an aura of desolation is exuding. She turns to Hecate as she questions its existence, gesturing towards the scroll for her to administer. "It is an oath written with the waters of the Lady Styx. If you could become a witness in her honor, Lady Hecate."

The last of the teachers stream into the hall, each a colorful figure on their own. One of them is a man of African descent, dressed in bright orange and violet silks. Gold earrings decorate his ears, shining necklaces of pearls glimmer like stars around his neck, and golden bracers grace his wrists. He looks like a mortal at first glace if not for his shadow showing his true nature; a gigantic spider's shadow is cast by the man as he strides before the crowd. Anansi gives a bright and friendly smile towards the other teacher Gods as he takes his place amongst them. "Greetings everyone. I am pleased to be writing this new chapter of peace with you all." Another figure joins the podiums, who manifests as a nebulous cloud of stars and dusklight. His toga is formed by the white flow of the Milky Way, and his thick long beard trails about as its nebulous form disappears into wisps of starlight. He beelines his way to the loud Solar Titan, wrapping a massive arm around his shoulder to turn off his stereo. "Heeeey there, Uncle. How about we keep it chill for a bit, yeah? I can help with that hangover and your reeeaaaally bright face." Astraeus squeezes Hyperion in his embrace as stars revolve around them. The Sun Titan's blinding light slowly receeds with the Dusk Titan's help, which would bring some relief to Hyperion's aching head. There is one absent God in the roll call, however, and the Greeks would know that the absentee would be Hephaestus. Knowing him he would have despised this kind of gathering, and would have preferred to stay at his designated place to continue his work of forging whatever godly artifacts the divine want and need. Holy High is still in development, after all, and the Smith God is the chief architect for the place.

The announcement of the signing of the contract stirs Lanuru within his cocoon, and Astraeus' help and Boinayel's grace has lessened the burden upon his being. Ink black arms break the cocoon from within, from which the Fair Prince steps out of the opening. The shadows slowly drip down like liquid and are absorbed by the halo hanging behind his head. Patriah could now see that Lanuru is wearing his scarf over his shoulder and across his torso like an honorary sash. The Prince smiles towards him, then to Abaguabana and Azcoatl. "I shall go forward then, friends." He goes forward before the crowd to sign the contract, standing before Ganesha. A silhouette appears behind the elephant headed God, a river of souls that flow around him and towards the golden contract. Its illusory waters drip down as ink to write the contents within. Lanuru pauses to inspect the contract, and in simpler terms it binds the student body to uphold the peace. They become representatives of the Old Gods, and are held responsible in keeping peace. This contract also holds a hidden knife wherein the Elder Gods would be responsible for their godlings' mistakes, and Holy High shall be held accountable of such offenses as well. The contents seem iron tight with offenders needing to be more innovative if they do need to oppose the peace. Nodding to himself, Lanuru opens his palm as he runs a silver claw across his palm. Black mist intertwined with pink and purple starry nebulae spews forth from the wound as a silvery liquid pools within his hand. The Prince dips his claw within his silvery blood in order to sign his name. "I, the All Eclipsing New Moon, swear upon my name and titles to uphold this contract and the Pax that it brings forth. As Prince of the Unseelie Court I represent Autumn and Winter, and the Lands of Eternity, in this endeavor!" The silhouette of the River Styx shudders from behind Ganesha as it pours out black ink to enforce the oath that Lanuru has made with his blood, sealing the promise into perpetuity. The halo of the Dark Prince shudders as its grim presence acknowledges the pledge, and a figure appears behind Lanuru. A snowflake, its six jagged points dripping with frozen blood of mortal and divine, floats behind the Dream God. The center is that of a black crystal which shines with a cold light. From it a voice of a woman explodes outward, the power behind it heavy with heartless everwinter and impartial cruelty. The solar Gods, in particular, feel winter's chill within their bones as the figure appears to reinforce the Fae Prince's oath.

"Do not disappoint me."

With a cold shiver, Lanuru falls to his knees. "Yes, Queen Mother..." The snowflake lingers for a moment as if it is looking at the faculty and the student body. For one moment its attention is drawn towards the colorful sash upon the Prince's clothing, interest bubbling as the cold bears down on the Prince. Queen Mab does leave after a moment, leaving her progeny shivering with snow upon his shoulders and taking the cold of winter with her.

Lanuru shakily stands up, bowing towards the faculty and crowd. He then walks back to the corner where the three Storm and Wind Gods lie waiting. The trio could see sweat on the Prince's forehead as he clasps his hand, the wound healing into smooth skin. He still has snow over him, as if he doesn't want to take it off his person. "...Good sirs... You may take your turn now..." He smiles at Abaguabana, Azcoatl, and Patriah as he stands by them. The most perceptive among the three could notice the slight shiver on the Prince, as if not expecting that the Queen of Air and Darkness would come to bear witness.

[The H Corporation]

Sign the contract

Azcóatl looked to where Hestia was starting to announce everything he needed to know about the contract, it was as expected that this sort of thing happen so Holy High was not involved in some sort of mess plus they really wanted to make this work. "I guess this is the part where I..." he was thinking when he saw Lanuru going straight to sign the contract, he nodded at him looking closely at how he was going to sign the contract, you need some courage to go there and be the first to sign the contract, something Azcóatl did have but he was nervous knowing there was a large crowd of gods around looking at the younglings signing the contract.

As Lanuru walked away he started to step forward and sign the contract, he felt the eyes of the crowd making him nervous as he walked to grab the contract, at first when seeing it, it was blank until word by word it started to become clear of what it was and what it meant. "I, the god of water, thunder, and nature, swear upon my name and in representation of my pantheon to not bring harm these ideals in the name of peace and prosperity", he said as he surrounded himself with clouds that were forming quickly around him, everyone outside could see lights flashing inside the clouds as inside Azcóatl was clenching his right-hand until drops of blood started dripping on the contract to finalize the contract and swear with his blood to abide the contract.

After signing the contract, the clouds slowly dissipate, and Azcóatl started to walk toward Abaguabana as he was cleaning the wound, "I-it is your turn" he said shivering. He was not shivering because of the wound but because he could not get over with the countless eyes focused on him, plus he was the second to sign the contract as the others were just observing how it was done, he was so nervous he did not pay attention to Lanuru as he walked away from the group, so he sat on the floor and close its eyes as he lets a small gold-colored flower appear on his left hand, as the flower started to show its petals a light was being produced by it and Azcóatl slowly let it illuminate his wound on the right hand, as the wound was slowly getting healed.

As the wound finally closed itself he stood up and opened his eyes, he grabbed a bottle of water and started drinking it since he used part of his energy Azcóatl seemed a little bit tired, not as much to be yawning constantly but he was certainly not as energic as he was earlier when he came right in Holy High, "Father would probably be glaring at me and my mother would look at me worrying" he muttered, as he waited for the next godling to sign the contract in front of everyone, maybe he next one would make everyone's attention shift from his performance he thought.

[Luminesa]

Day 1 - What’s In A Name?

Patriah hated writing, or doing any sort of schoolwork which required lifting a pen and not a sword. He was not looking forward to any such assignments which would no doubt be in his future. Signing his name, however, was easy enough. He did not like that Hecate would be representing the goddess of contracts, but mostly because he simply did not like Hecate.

Her smug, alluring persona was only a small show of her power, that which she held over other gods and even some Titans. She had remained quiet while the orientation had commenced, only talking to Ganesha and a couple of other teachers when necessary. Now her eyes were on the class, and she watched them with all the vast foreign nature of a distant nebula.

“Great. Alright. Just great.” Patriah sighed and walked to go sign his name. He could not help but wonder on his classmates, including Astrid. The contract obligated for the students to behave. Yet he could not even really guarantee his own reckless nature would not make him do something to break the rules. He had already almost gotten into a fight with Lanuru, which he had luckily rectified and then reversed. He would not be so lucky every other time.

Speaking of Lanuru, the room then seemed to quake with cold, furious energy, the breath of a sharp winter, as Lan walked to sign the contract himself. Notably, he had written one of his Titles, and not his actual name. Thanatos would have told him about the importance of Titles and their powers over the Fae, but Patriah mostly thought the act was pretentious. He would have written “Pat” if Hecate was not standing next to him, waiting to slap him for such an act.

As he thought about this act, a single violet snowflake had dropped into the room. “All that power…and it’s a snowflake?! That’s it?!” He would have been terrified by Mab’s presence sooner if he had not seen the snowflake, but he could hear that cruel, freezing voice which brought the Fae Prince to his knees, and he almost fell alongside him. He was even sweating when she had left.

Yet many other students had brought their deity families with them. Many were equally as terrifying, and he respected them without falling off his feet. He nodded to Lanuru and even helped him off the ground with a jerk of his arm. “Yeah. That makes three of us now, I guess. Now let’s stand a little further away from Lady Hecate or she’ll turn us all into snowflakes,” he murmured both to Lanuru and to Azcoátl when he joined them.

[Zei-Aeiytenia]

Astrid
The New War

The gentle hum of porcelain against the hard wood of the tables was a pleasant reprieve from the endless babbling of fools and nincompoops this tiny world over. Though, she supposed, an exception would be made. Just this once, for the old Slav himself. Of all the needlessly running mouths, he had actually had something worthwhile to say, even if he would give only the slimmest of glimpses to it. Well, the alien, but otherwise delicious dish he offered, may admittedly have played its own role in her begrudging advancement of a merciful judgement. Her careful, short steps continued against the wall, inching the huntress ever further from the rest of the room. It would do little, of course, in mitigating the omnipotent irritant of their presence for her. What it would do is obscure their own senses from her activities, which were, quite firmly, none of their fucking business whatsoever.

Distance between the exiled Goddess and the attendees of this gilded hall of opulence now at an acceptable level, her right hand stirred under the green cloak, still grasped securely by the left which dutifully administered the rapidly pioneered shock therapy keeping common sense about the fractured entity of ethereal space she would call a mind. From a petite pouch on her belt emerged a cyan blue crystal, standing three inches tall and half as many wide, its jagged and angled faces the home of ancient runes carved long ago. Taking careful and precise stock of her surroundings, she ensured her back to the world and face in the corner. Surely, no one would think twice of the delinquent putting herself in the corner without being asked, no?

With a gentle glow, the the crystal unfolded into a old book of yet sturdy appearance. It's gray cover left an image like that of a mystic stone tablet bound together by magic... an observation that was not entirely wrong. On it in large font read "War Plan A", a simple name for a simple task. Beneath this, in far smaller type, was a runic inscription, reading "ᚹᚨᚱ • ᛈᛚᚨᚾ • ᚨᛊᛏᚱᛁᛞ". It did the same task as the larger font, though, it was more accurate to the true contents and purpose of the magical keepsake, and harder to discern by the denizens of this literally mountainous heap of nonsense she'd been thrust into. With tender care and fidelity, a minute breeze most serene blew open the pages of the floating magical book. Flipping past years of drawings, schematics, entries both 'Official' and personal, equations to outright battle plans, arriving finally on the latest blank page. There wasn't enough for all the detail she need keep, but notes taken of a timely manner were always important.

To the right was a page designed to extend, its use for maps and the like, to its left were spaces and columns for data and official notes and instruction. For now it need only be brief... could only be brief. A voltaic energy surged across the ferrous implement around her finger once more, from the same pouch as the crystal sallied fourth a simple pencil, itself adorned in the same jewelry of its owner. Levitated by the same forces of the silverware before, it began to deftly dance and scrawl across the page, as her mind began to race rapidly across a grand and ever changing map of the battlefield within the mind.

It has been two years since the Battle for the Stormlands and the capture of Astrid's Host. Current intelligence indicates the Host remains unharmed and within enemy captivity. Moderate autonomy is enjoyed. Aina and Rune Erikson are reported as its current leaders. All units are presumed accounted for and in survivable condition.

Unit Astrid has been released from maximum security bonds. The exact reasoning is yet unclear. Initial information suggests enemy movement to eliminate threat through pacification and non violence. Trust in this narrative is minimal. Enemy course of action suggests attempts to manufacture a violent end of "justified" means. Unit Astrid has been placed deep within enemy territory under conditions of extreme stress. Desired outcome of the enemy is believed to be the breakdown of competence and restraint in Unit Astrid to justify a mass violent response. Furthermore, Unit Astrid has suffered significant long-term damage severely inhibiting Operational Capacity.

At this time, Command is entrusting the leadership of the Host to the Lieutenants Aina and Rune Erikson, from which all communications remain severed. Unit Astrid is to adopt a purely defensive and evasive stance and avoid all enemy movements and provocations. Gather survey data on landscape and combatants, keep distance at all times, bear weapons only in the objective of opening a window for immediate withdrawal.

By Grace or by Fate, the War has started once again. Destiny is all.

The last words fell from the tip of the pencil as the contract announced. It was less than she had hoped, an official report, at least. She had desired the opportunity to put entry into the personal log as well. There was more that needed to be said which did not yet belong in official documentation. In particular, more about these scars... and about these, ostensibly, enemy combatants. That may have been too generous to them. Infact, she tried her hardest to ignore the tallying of quickened pulses and jolts of fear that came at the appearance of... one haughty and bitchy sounding snowflake.

Who, it seemed, was the Fae boy's own mother. Queen of the Unseelie or not, to say that Astrid found the immediate groveling and shaking to be a display of pathetic cowardice so grand and spectacular that it's mere comprehension brought forth a feeling she assumed must be the closest she had ever felt to the pitiful throbs of fear, on the off chance that such unyielding spinelessness may not find itself morphed into a spiritual contagion most sinister and lay upon her one final curse she would truly prefer death of bearing would be... spot on, actually. She would have to remember this one well for the Commander's Log later, such a free insight into these 'Classmates' could not go unheeded.

With a deep breath, the slim frame of the wolf in sheep's clothing pirouetted in the corner, and began a quick and determined stride towards Hecate and Ganesha. She remained without any notable expression, simply a bored look on her face, and a cold glare from crystal blue eyes that threatened upon any who met them a brutal and deliberate demise at the behest of the frost of Niflheim. Behind the deep swirling death stare, remained a tamed and quiet curiosity. Namely, that she, blatantly still a prisoner in all but name, was expected to sign a contract. The book returned to its crystal form, pencil in right hand, and arms relaxed at her sides as she thought.

As if she had right to her own will and destiny at this point? Another pointless charade to keep totally worthless appearances. Her steps came to an abrupt end, feet side by side, facing forward still, an eternally deepening cerulean gaze of empty hate aimed at the opposite corner from where she had stood - aimed directly at every other student. Ganesha and Hecate were now to her right, and just behind her, their contract at precisely arms reach.

Astrid did not move, blankly leering into the distance, though in her minds eye she carefully read each and every bullet point. As expected... a worthless boilerplate of worthless appearances and empty words. That she was expected to sign this was laughable. That any of the people she was, right this absolute fucking second, silently communicating her dream-like desire to harvest their blood into many unfathomable goblets from which all the delicacies of a warriors feast could be enjoyed in proper form, soaked in the weeping blood vessels of her enemies, should believe a word of what her signature implied, was absolutely hilarious, if it weren't so preposterously sad that they would all quietly and meekly accept such a blatant lie at the behest of their masters.

The idea, further, that 'Hecate will ensure your truthfulness', was simply beyond. Even the thesaurus of a Goddess struggled to find the language to express the absolute shock and contempt felt for the incredible heights of sophomoric thought on display here. She could buy spineless, obedient little.... pets, more than people, believing this shit. But Hecate, seriously? What exactly happens if Astrid is not believed, which, of course, she won't be. No one with even the barest of knowledge of her, hell, no one who saw her enter the damned room would believe it. What was the point of having a prisoner with no agency lie to your grazing pen of sheep? Near certainly to encourage the sharpening of their daggers when feeble minds espouse immense shock that an obvious future should come to pass.

Her right hand raised, though her infinite gaze remained, and leveled itself upon the signature line. There she hesitated, what exactly were the consequences of her being forced to tell a lie everyone already knew? An obvious trap betting its success on actions which the target has no choice in. The only time an obvious trap is ever useful, that pulsing fear that comes with marching into an inevitable end.

Of course, if you wanted inevitable victory... you shouldn't have sided against the War Goddess. The tip of the pencil touched paper, and for a moment the vision of drawing an 'A' crossed her mind. If consequences exist for lying, and Astrid cannot possibly be honest or believed, but also cannot possibly refuse, there was a hidden second option. The literary spectre vanished, and in its place, her hand moved deftly to write out her name. In the form of the Old Runes. Sacred writing of the Norse gods, only vaguely ever understood by man, and ever worshipped for their inherent power and meaning. If she had to swear a false oath no one would believe in, she could at least deny the enemy objective and achieve her own, evading the forced trap by making her lie in sacred magical letters.

To fools as vain and full of themselves as this... that would likely be enough for them to at least vaguely imagine some real possibility of her 'reform'.

ᚨᛊᛏᚱᛁᛞ Scrawled across the page, lifting her hand and returning the pencil to its origin, without ever looking away. Once more, a silent pirouette, and steps taken away from the much reviled 'peers'. Another of which, seemed coming down the call right now...

---

Aemilia
The Grace of all an Empire

The Greeks had certainly done well for themselves. A new school agreed upon by all the gods to be the center of a new beginning for the heavens, made in the image of Greek architecture, staffed primarily by the Greek deities. Being so similar, it was of little surprise the Romans had faired much the same. Still, it was without question, that her presence would... unsettle a few here. Perhaps mother had a point when she insisted that showing up in her most beloved ceremonial Legionary armor, in pristine and ornate white and gold, gladius at the hip, brilliant violet cloak at the winds, and a most unexpected gift upon her head, the Civic Crown of Caesar himself. The original. Julius, of course. Who else? Of course, from any Emperor it would have been an honor. But from the legendary Caesar who conquered gaul? Most especially!

Alright, so maybe she had gone a little overboard. Maybe. Just a little. Was it so wrong to? She loved her people and her Empire, was it so outlandish that she insisted upon absolute assurance that she should bear the weight of all its grace and majesty upon her shoulders on a day where destiny shall erupt whence forth? Surely not! Aemilia couldn't be expected to make such a meagre impression on all the god realms, not like this, not on this day, for this reason, for this occasion!

By Gods it was already bad enough that she'd fallen upon her own sword. Her own lavish encouragement of great feasts and celebrations had resulted in a very late Roman Goddess. She could hear it too! She was nearly to the end of the hall, and already it seemed the introductions were coming to an end. As if this all weren't bad enough, you say, well. She had skipped two days of meals! Why? Stupid question! Isn't it obvious? Hestia is here and anyone with common sense knew that meant there would be a feast. How could anyone expect such a worldly and loving soul as Aemilia's to do anything BUT fast in preparation for such a divine delight? Sometimes it really did feel as if mothers wisdom was, perhaps, a... few millenia outdated. How did she not understand this?

So now she has to enter, and not just enter but with the grace of a Goddess and an Empress, introduce herself properly, ask forgiveness, and then maintain her discipline in the face of what is, to be blunt, the greatest thing she could ever have dreamed of happening to her, to sign a contact, and then hope beyond hope there was enough time to avoid further starvation.

Deep breath, Aemilia. Just a few more steps. Beyond this door is a room not only full of your many peers - and future friends - but elder deities from all the heavens, even titans, and the person you have to introduce yourself to is literally fucking Zeus. Seriously... how did mom not understand the need for the ceremony? Now, time to nail the entrance. This is your true first impression, it must be perfect. Eyes closed, stride long, swift, disciplined. Hold your cloak over you with your right arm. Now, as you cross the threshold, taking your first steps in, throw it out and behind you. You must carry yourself with the grace of a Goddess and the authority of an Empress. Nothing less.

Her presence now announced by authoritative cadence and the magnificent grace of a flowing tide of violet in her wake, open your eyes. Stare straight ahead. Stoic, calm, nothing more, nothing less. Arms at your side, fists closed but not tight, maintain the appropriate sway and cadence. Annnnnnd stop. The heels of her shoes clicking together loudly as the young Roman came to a stop before Zeus, meeting his eyes with a calm gaze. Silently, her right arm wraps across her stomach, and she bows with incredible grace.

"Hail, noble Olympian. I am Aemilia of the Romans, daughter of Janus and of Minerva. Please, forgive my tardiness, my people - my family, were lament to see me leave. In truth, i was lament to leave them. Though..." Without a single missed beat, she stood at attention once more, returning to her stoic visage, "Do not think me unhappy to be here. I have spent every night since my confirmation in dreams of this day, it is the greatest honor yet of my life to be here in your hospitality, and in noble service of my people, and of all the gods. My thanks to you all." She bowed her head gently, placing right toe behind left heel, and turning in a perfect about-face. Hands now permitted to rest at ease, clasped behind her back and under her cloak, she made her way to Ganesha and Hecate.

As she comes to a stop once more, her head bows once again, "Lord Ganesha," and twice, "Lady Hecate. I am honored." With a quiet deftness, her right hand emerges to sign Aemilia, bowing her head once more as she executes yet another perfect turn, this time in the direction of... well... the feast. Hestia was here afterall, so of course, there was a feast, and she was very, very hungry. Despite this, she must maintain her discipline and appearance. Even if she can feel the unsettling glare of a predator across the room drilling holes into the back of her head. How incredible, she thought, that the gods had such generosity to allow that... improvised nuclear device?

She had seen and felt the latent energy of Destruction in people before, of course. But that... that was an amount typically reserved for soon to collapse empires who would throw their entire world into cataclysmic disarray. The fact it was emanating from a single person was... both alarming and endlessly fascinating. No matter, there'd be plenty of time to go analyzing the local high explosives depot later. For now, there was table after table of bounty. A gentle, warm smile crossed her face, the first sign of any emotion she had yet shown.

"And my thanks to the Lady Hestia for this bounty." Soft spoken words, she was unsure if Hestia could hear the, but nonetheless, a lively glow of radiant green rose from beneath her, and from it came arms bearing the same color. With haste, they set upon the table, gathering and mixing and portioning dish after dish after dish in a fashion of such precision and grace, it was beyond evident this was far from her first time. Well of course, one does not simply make a feast worthy of the Glory of Rome, afterall.

After a few short minutes, dozens of different bowls and plates have been assembled, much to the pleasure of the smiling Roman. "Aha, and now we have arrived. A welcoming meal fit for any Empress upon any earth i have seen." And, at last, without any further painful blocking of her own stomach of the necessities of conduct and discipline, she could now eat. With... grace and discipline, of course. Appearances... and also, she is wearing white. It is leather, it stains, you know. Better make sure the life energy arm constructs are the only thing getting dirty, preferably not those though.

It may not matter to the Norse whom she was clearly the epitome of everything the half-elf hated, but surely the others here would take note. The tall Ionian, the gentleman from a land she did not recognize, over there was china, the slavs even made it! An entity of metallic suffering, and lastly was...

IS THAT A FUCK MOTHERING FAE!?!?!?

Aemilia paused, frozen in place for a moment, now exercising all the willpower she'd ever known to maintain composure. Every cell of her body was currently demanding she explode into a ball of melting happiness and introduce herself to not merely cultures and peoples her own never got to know BUT AN ACTUAL FAE which she only had limited and very old books on! Well, every cell except her stomach... and they might just kill her if she ignores them. Well, it's not like they're going to disappear, right? Afterall, it is a school, and they do all live here now. Time, yes, yes there will be time Aemilia, time when you are not starving and not having to make an impossible choice between Hestia's food and the tales and beauties of wondrous lands and peoples you can scarcely imagine the shimmering glory of.

Just shutup, be normal, and eat. Okay? Ok.

[Nantoraka]

The Family

Boinayel and Márohu both stood at attention once the collection of teacher-deities began their public speech. At the mention of "available parents", Boinayel shrugged and strutted forth. He wasn't the parent, but was a guardian, and was a better role model in general for the younger ocean god. If anyone was good at holding Abaguabana responsible and keeping him disciplined, it was him. He motioned towards Abagueybana with a "come here" motion with his hand, who quickly nodded, apologized to his new acquaintances for the interruption, and came forth to his uncle to sign the contract. "This contract will keep you bound even in the spirit world. Make sure you uphold it."

Abaguabana nodded and bowed in respected. "Absolutely." Secretly, Boinayel still cringed at the name of "Holy High" much like his own uncle Yúcahu, and like him, thought such a silly name was unbecoming of beings that could rewrite physics to their whim. Still, he stomached the name like a bad aspirin, and kept any discomfort away from his face. Abagubana on the other hand, didn't really care about such small things. As he read through the contract, he had no problems with it at all; he represented the highest spirits within the ocean, and he was adverse to fighting. He would have no problems signing this contract.

Boinayel called forth Márohu, who stood next to his twin brother. Together, the two raised fingers, and placed them upon the contract in lieu of a pen. From the finger of Boinayel came a symbol of the sun, written in soot that stuck to the page like an ashen ink. From the finger of Márohu came a symbol of the moon, written in a blue, ethereal almost water-like ink that ingrained itself into the parchment. Between the two symbols came a symbolic representation of the sky, written in standard ink - the mark of Yúcahu, who wrote on it from the Spirit World. Seems that he was watching. Abaguabana didn't quite have these abilities yet; he worried that if he tried, he'd just end up soaking the parchment with water, so he simply drew a picture of a wave with a utensil from the closest container.

They didn't have a written language, of course, and instead communicated in symbols. Boinayel elaborated to the teachers in case if there was confusion. "These symbols will act as our signatures."

[Ceystile]

“You know what? I don’t have time for this right now, Baba. I have to go greet the other students.” Chao straightened up to her full height, giving her dress a once-over before striding over toward the ever-growing group of young gods that seemed to be gathering. She noticed a young blue-skinned god clad in sparkling black and another god with tan skin and long black hair glancing her way. Giving them a friendly smile and wave, she scanned the place as more gods both faculty and students gathered for the feast.

“Hey, mooncakes!” Chao squealed like a young girl, going immediately toward the traditional Chinese treat while Bing gave her a fondly exasperated look from underneath his bangs. “Maintain some godly dignity.” he clucked in Mandarin. “You’re also here representing our house, not merely to go to school and socialize.”
“Well I must do something since you took my Astra.”
“You know very well the reason I took it…you know what Chao, I’m not going to argue with you.” With that, Ao Bing straightened up and went around to introduce himself to the parents and faculty, may as well rub elbows with the other senior gods while he was here.

….At the mention of the contract, several gods took their turns signing the Pax and Chao conjured up an ink brush from water in a nearby vase, holding a half-eaten mooncake in one hand while neatly writing the characters for her name in bold, shiny black ink. Her father and brothers had seemed to already sign, their signatures already halfway dry.

[The H Corporation]

Eating at the corner

Azcóatl just nodded at Patriah and continued watching as the other gods were signing the contract while seeing a god taking so much time signing a very important piece of paper, "It shouldn't take this long just to sign that" he thought, the initial glare before walking to sign the contract was taken as a possible threat and he wanted to stay away from trouble as much as possible. It was best to leave and do other things than just watching the same thing over and over again right? Well guess there would be something interesting but he thought the first 3 did take the show on their own, not that it mattered right now, it was all for the sake of leaving a good impression.

As Abaguabana walked to the front he proceed to look back at the Chinese goddess that waved her hand towards him, so he just follow awkwardly not wanting to really talk with this godling after what happened earlier, so he let the clouds surround him so he could float away from there and actually eat something, as far as he knows he hasn't eaten anything besides drinking water, but drinking water is not going to fill his stomach, so he sat near the corner so he could be alone and not to be bothered by anyone. Too many interactions for now, right now it was best to get his own belly stuffed so he could have energy for the rest of the day.

He grabbed the food he wanted, eating a variety of vegetarian foods, he was not a vegetarian himself but right now he was not in the mood to eat meat, besides he ate a lot of that before leaving home and made the travel here, he thinking too much about the food and home he did not felt the presence of a god nearby, he was focused on his own business to care about another godly being, that is in the same room as him. He grabbed his bottle of water and drank it all, he was feeling a little bit thirsty after leaving in a very weird way.

Now that he remembers why did he do that? I don't think it made any sense now that he was thinking, he probably made himself more noticeable by doing that. He could not stop thinking about it and could not brush that thought away until he finally came back to his senses and kept eating. "Remember to breathe Azcóatl, remember to breathe", he thought, and eventually kept eating, hopefully, no one interrupts him eating or says something about his sudden disappearance.

[Luminesa]

The Gods Hate Orientation Too

Zeus greeted the students as they arrived, though he had to admit, the chaos which had started due to Astrid and Lanuru, among others, had been partially worrisome and partially entertaining. He was glad to see that they all seemed to be finding their place among the crowd, however. Sure he was a problem parent among the Greek gods, and he did not appreciate being screamed-at by a student, but she made a point.

“Hecate, do you remember the last time I tried to run a school like this?” he inquired, as he quietly watched the students write their names into the book.

She rolled her eyes, threatening to shush him with an unspoken spell of sorts.

“Massive failure. I know. And Hera punched me into a wall-”

“Most likely for something you deserved.”

Zeus paused, looking a little sheepish. The world felt as though decades had passed, and yet how much time had truly gone by was a mystery. One he did not care to build an altar around. He smiled at the students as they finished dealing with the bureaucracy of the school for now, and he chuckled. “I think this go around will be better. I have the credentials to be a principal, after all, now I just need to be a good one! With some good PR moves and some reform I will be…hip and cool with the young people now.”

“As long as you’re not a full elbow,” Ganesha joked, looking upon both of their droll faces with glittering glee as his belly bounced to the tune of his laughter.

Patriah stood next to Az now, though rather than eating veggies, he was now devouring a chicken leg as long as his arm. Cooking a large piece of meat to retain its seasoned flavor would be a task for most home-cooks, but for Hestia this task was just Tuesday. The meat was baked with a perfect, crunchy skin, and seasoned to a spicy perfection. He wiped the juice with a couple of napkins, in order to retain some semblance of decency. “I don’t even remember what I wrote. Did I write ‘Patriah’ or ‘Pat’? Eh. Who cares. I hate writing.”

Zeus chuckled at the comments he heard from around the room. All of the students were congregating with their parents, Boz with his entire family, and others with newfound friends. The way a school should be. Hecate occasionally checked the book for the names of students, as she was skeptical that one or two of them could actually write their names. She was pleased to see Aemilia’s marvelous handwriting, while Patriah wrote his name as if he was holding a spaghetti noodle and not a pen. She was certain she had watched him inhale a bowl of pasta a few moments ago.

“Students! It has been a wonderful morning seeing all of your glorious faces!” Zeus greeted, his voice as loud as thunder. He immediately commanded attention with a grin that was a little too excited, and Hecate nodded for Athena to pinch him if he said anything stupid. “And as we phase from this wonderful event soon, we will be making sure that all of you have your dormitories! Your rooms have a beautiful view from any side of the island, and I will be glad to see all of you no matter where you so choose to room. But you do all need roommates! My only rule-”

“Lock the door if you don’t want a random drug test. They get you every time.”

Zeus rolled his eyes toward Hyperion, who was now standing next to Patriah and eating a chicken leg of his own. Both gods looked toward Patriah with only mild concern as he bit into the actual bone and crunched through it, before the Chief Olympian continued his address.

“…Um. We are not going to prioritize that, Hyperion. My only rule is that you are respectful of your roommates and that you settle disputes in a way which honors the Pax. After all, what better way to practice diplomacy than to decide which young god does the dishes and which one vacuums the rug? So we in our wisdom will help you to decide your roommates and record this, and then we shall move to the rest of your day! MOVING IN!”