WELCOME

[+Ruri]

It was magnificent, books upon books upon books, shelves beside shelves beside shelves; any bookworm would’ve found it heaven… If they could read half the books; the study mainly consisted of spell books, ancient writings and scripts left of a lost demonic language only the Gods of Death… And her gatekeepers. Luxuria, fluent, Invidia, still learning the basics.

Her tongue tasted the air as it stuck out while she concentrated. She was interested in a new gift for Luxuria and to possibly discover a new weapon for Invidia. The demonic chains would sooner or later break, the metals used by gods would surly break them if someone got a hold of any of it. Following that, a ridiculous chance of it breaking itself was possible. If there was nothing stronger, the only thing that would break it was a metal of that exact type and same enchantment. Another thing she had been searching for throughout the day was history book, perhaps it could contain lessons other goddesses learned that she could learn. Perhaps. The celestial cloth grasping her body like a skirt danced about as conquered a ladder to the top shelf. Usual that a goddess with levitating powers would choose to foot it, but it made it more fun. Her hair was pulled back, part braided in a circle around the tight bun to keep from any possible disaster.

As she peered over the top shelf, she took in a breath and released a gust which sent a storm of dust flying. Chocking left her as her hands waved the storm from her face, this study had been here for who knows how long, it didn’t surprise her that the top shelf would be hogging the dust from the lower shelves which were often treated to a dusting from a maid. Now living in the Immortal realm, Ruri found more spare time to take to the Study, yet she realized it was more boring… She missed visitors.

[-Invidia]

She wanted company? She got company. Invidia stared up at her deity, fiddling with books and starting hurricanes of dust which seconds latter would settle and drift down to her level. She had finally gotten Lust to stay in her position, it was her turn to venture out, and this was one of the first visits she had treated Ruri to. Unusually, she threw a smile up and the goddess. Ruri was one of her favorite people to see, along side the new god she craved to see as often as she breathed. For once, someone other than Ruri was on her mind and it was a romantic interest. She hadn’t been very positive since their first visit together if he felt the same way after their ‘play time,’ but she surely felt an instant attraction to him from sharing such a special thing… Whether he didn’t care about her anymore or did, she was in love with him. …How would she tell Ruri though? Would she need to know? No… But she felt unusual keeping something from Ruri, she always shared everything and now she had a secret to hide from her… How would she react…? She found her head lowering and her hands entwining, pulling into a prayer as her nerves started up. Should she be here after all?

[+Ruri]

“I’m glad to see you taking a break for once!” Called Ruri down to the precious being below her, not even a look and Ruri had sensed her. Ah, the power of being a god. After she finished the observing the shelf, she lifted one leg from the stair and rested it on the inner side of a bookshelf, then launched off. The ladder slid from the shelf and to the next one with ease. Turning to look down at her gatekeeper, she smiled brightly at her, lifting one hand to wave before gracefully jumping and landing with out a sound. “I’ve been looking for a new weapon for you, you never know but… your chains could break someday!” She noticed the guilty look on her face and it stirred concern within her. She couldn’t think of what could be bothering her. Invidia was rarely bothered by something for herself; she was often bothered for other people and Ruri knew this almost as well as she did. Whenever she was upset, she’d notice Invidia was upset, it was a little sweet. She reminded her of a puppy who was deeply connected with their owner… That was the case in a sense.

[-Invidia]

She knew better, her new crush had the armor powerful enough to break the chain if he used it as a weapon… Hell, it wouldn’t have surprised her if he could remove it by just his hands… But how could he? Ruri couldn’t even when she tried. “Yes…” She answered with a weary nod. “I noticed on your table, you had… A spellbook?” As she entered, she read the cover of the book, or tried to. It didn’t exactly read spell book on it, but the words she put together did sound awfully close to the title of Lust’s book. She was not too familiar with this ancient language, she had yet to be taught as fully as Lust had, she was far more interested in learning to fight physically rather than depend on magic… Apparently it would’ve been a good idea. Fighting against the god, she felt weak in every aspect, too weak, one would have a feeling of a twig of power, possibly a sliver, but she felt none… It was a bit upsetting. “I’d… like to learn to use spells…” She mumbled, yet just enough for Ruri to hear… Maybe she’d have a better chance if she did when she went against a god again.

[Cyric]

The God of Life traversed worlds and dimension to come back to the immortal landing, leaving his crusade back on the mortal world in the hands of another for the time being, and he came back for one purpose and one purpose only. Yes, the Goddess of Death had disrupted the balance of things by returning souls, and though he had been furious at the time, he only further disrupted the balance by stealing them back for himself. Cyric stared down into his hands at one of the small globes he had created to house a soul he had stolen away from the Goddess and he exhaled softly, his warm breath crossing the void between him and the orb and fogging it up softly. It was not in his nature to intentionally disrupt the balance of life and death, and so he would return these souls to her. Begrudgingly. There was still a tinge of anger for her having crossed the boundaries in the first place.

“Make me be the better… Eh.”

Grumbling softly to himself, the God stomped up the stairs leading to Ruri’s temple atop the high, black mountain peak. There was no reason to walk, other than the fact that he wanted to buy time to think, to grumble to himself, and really, to avoid seeing her. There was something within her that repulsed him, and it wasn’t the fact that she was the Goddess of Death, he realized he needed her, but instead it was the fact that she seemed to begrudge him simply because of what he was. Raising a hand to scratch his head with the metal claw, his mask off within the confines of the Immortal landing, he took another step and disappeared from the spot. No more walking. With a suckling and a pop, the God appeared within the temple, nearest the closest sources of power. The study. Before him were walls upon walls of books, and it had a shocking effect on him. The Goddess was not in his immediate line of sight, but he knew she was in here.

“Nice place you have here. All the books, though they probably collect dust an- Oh.”

As he spoke, he motioned to all the books and slowly spun in place to face the Goddess, and the moment his eyes fell on Invidia, he stopped dead, arm going slack, jaw hung loose, paralyzed. Of all the people he could have met in this room, this was the last one he had expected to see. She was supposed to be guarding the gate, or so he thought, and though his heart ached to see her… Well, he simply wasn’t prepared. So there he stood, in the study of the Goddess of Death, a trapped soul in one hand, a confounded stare draped across his exposed face, and he suddenly felt very foolish. On one hand, he wanted to drop everything and cling to the girl before him, on the other, he wanted to deal with the Goddess and be gone from this temple. A nervous twitch plagued his left eye with movement as his face slid into a stupid, foolish grin, and while completely ignoring Ruri, he spoke to Invidia,

“Fancy meeting you here.”

[+Ruri]

“Gladly! It’s helpful to have a variety of abilities, you know. You might find yourself in deep shit without a weapon, so magic will be very useful in times like that. You’ll need a lot of spare time, you know, but you have the gate to guard… And Lust isn’t very trustable in my opinion…” She mumbled and passed a shifty glance to the side. Though Invidia was supposed to be the attention of her world, she felt a tweak in her temple, another power, a power she naturally recognized and hated, yet she made her best attempt not to appear perturbed. It was coming to them, she wouldn’t have to leave. Before anything more could be said, there he was. It was rude of her to disregard his compliment, but she could care less, he was her enemy… But when he paused she was interested. He was surprised… At Invidia! She wracked her brain for any reason that he would know her… But then she remembered.

”I made love to her.” Was what she remembered, and her eyebrow ticked, only Invidia’s reaction would tell the truth, but what bothered her almost as much was the fact that he suddenly ignored her!

“Excuse me.” She interrupted.

[-Invidia]

Ruri was right, they needed more guardians… More responsible ones, Lust was responsible, just distracted. She nodded constantly at Ruri, expressing the fact that she was listening closely. She hated being ignored. But when Cyric came in, she found herself in complete shock accompanied by absolute joy. Looking at him, her heart ached with desire for his love, looking at him she found herself overjoyed to have another look at him, he didn’t have his mask on! A soft smile appeared upon her pursed lips.

“Fancy meeting you here too.” She replied calmly, yet inside her emotion side was bouncing around like a love struck school girl. A blush lightly dusted her cheeks as she looked at him, she felt a tad embarrassed, she was experiencing little flash backs of their time together... She wanted to stare at him all day, better yet she wanted to say something to him about her little crush, but she found herself doing the exact opposite. “What are you doing here?” She was asking him his reason so he could get it over with and possibly leave. That was the opposite of what she wanted.

[Cyric]

Oh, so many things could be said to answer his new found attraction’s question, how he had searched her out and travelled all this way for but one glance upon her face… But that was both stupid, and cheesy, along with an utter lie, and as amused as he would be to over dramatize it and act it out, he thought better of it and simply smirked, and glanced her up and down. The chains upon her wrist were still there, and though he fantasized of using them as a … Toy, he also found them to be rather unnecessary. One could play with chains without them being permanent, surely. Making a mental note to remove those chains sometime soon, he shook the thoughts away and tried to clear up his mind, shaking away the fogginess. Instead, he opted to answer her question as truthfully as he could, and with a smile and a soft step closer to her, he did so,

“Well, I had come to see the Goddess of this temple, but I think I found one I like more.”

With the compliment to Invidia, Cyric grinned madly, completely forgetting the reason he had come here and even more so forgetting that Ruri was in the room, he had little patience for her anyhow. Not after the stunt she had pulled earlier, and though he wanted to reconcile their differences, thus the diplomatic mission into her home, something far more important was waiting for him within. Invidia. For a moment, though, he hesitated and the smile that seemed strapped to his face since the moment he laid eyes on her quavered slightly. Even for the briefest second, it seemed like she… Was pushing him away? A cold distance seemed like it fell between them, and though her cheeks flushed a light rose and she smiled back at him, he felt as if he was stepping on something he shouldn’t be, a private matter in which she wanted him to right well butt out. Then the grin came back.

Too damn bad, he was here now.

[+Ruri]

Ruri was not amused. The two were staring at each other as if they were deep in love. Wait they were. It was obvious and Invidia confirmed it. She was shocked, upset, angry, but she was too shocked to express it. Her emotions were always painfully obvious; she would fail if she needed to have a poker face for anything. Catching herself, she growled at the two. He came in here just for her, didn’t he? He knew she was here and was coming to take her away, wasn’t it?! Her nerves were riling up.

“Hey,” she interrupted stronger, possibly they’d notice this time?

[-Invidia]

She was deeply distracted from Ruri and was excited. Here he was! She thought she wouldn’t see him again! His grins, his smirks, they charmed her and her shyness grew, along with the blush. Though he was shaven, he was still very attractive, nay, extremely. What excited her even more was that he was interested her… Her heart fluttered, and she shyly smiled at him. What a compliment~. A random tick clicked in her mind for a bare second… Was he just being nice to get more sex out of her? She begged it not to be, but maybe he wasn’t just after sex, maybe he was romantically interested in her. Oh how she hoped so. It amazed her how quickly she had fallen in love, but she didn’t mind it… Usually it’d take forever.

As she stared at him, her eyes would flick to his lips then back to his eyes. She wanted to kiss them; just a little peck would be fine… But she wanted a reminder of how passionate his kisses could burn. But Ruri was here… Sadly she looked away at Ruri; she looked distressed at her, one that forced all faults on her just because she was here. She wished she’d look away even for a second…

“This is the God of Life… As you know,” She spoke quietly, “And...” She paused. She wanted to call him a lover, she wished she could, but was she a one night stand? She didn’t know… What was that night to him? She looked at him, her expression asking him to help when she didn’t mean to…

This post has been edited by Invidia on Sep 7 2008, 06:53 AM

[Cyric]

“Cyric.”

He corrected with a half-smile on his face, realizing only now, far later than he should have, that he had never given the girl his name, the woman he slept with new nothing more than his title and yet they had shared such an intimate experience together. A soft wave of sadness washed through him, this was probably the worst way to tell her his name, and he was feeling stupid he hadn’t done it earlier, because now Ruri could comment on how… Apart they were, despite sharing such a moment. It could be used as ammunition against him. Sex wasn’t everything he was looking for in Invidia, and though it was a lovely, lovely perk, he… Felt for her. Love? He couldn’t tell. Not yet. But he thought of her, often, and his heart rose when he saw her. Definitely, there was a positive attraction indeed.

“And I already told you, Ruri. We’ve met.”

Turning now to the Goddess, he smiled, his teeth flashing white beneath pale lips for a mere moment, knowing he had told her the exact truth when they had met before, and that she hadn’t believed him. Well, that was her choice, and now that she was confronted with it? Nothing to deny now. Though he did feel slightly off for having been so blunt about it, sex being a private thing, but at least he hadn’t gone into detail about it. Hell, all he had done was acknowledge that the act had been performed between the two… Surely that would not infuriate Invidia? He hoped not. Shrugging softly, he decided he wouldn’t waste any more of the Goddesses time, or at the very least no longer delay what he had come here to do, and he reached into a small pouch attached to his side and plucked out a series of orbs and rolled them onto a table, the small balls tapping softly against a book edge. He did this twice more until all the souls were relinquished, and he looked back up at the Goddess.

“I know my place. Perhaps you should learn yours.”

There wasn’t a need to instigate a further problem, but there was still the tiniest inkling of irritation within him, and he couldn’t stop the comment before it came out. Fortunately, it wasn’t … TOO insulting. Then again, it wasn’t meant as an insult, just a suggestion that she stay away from his territory. The Goddess of Death should deal only with the afterlife of the souls, not with providing life. Such was the way things worked. In the same way that, if he chose, he could simply remove all the life essence granted to this planet, granted from HIM, he would not, because although the death of the planet was his goal, he had to go about alternate means. He would not overstep his boundaries.

Never again.

[+Ruri]

Ruri snorted. 'Cyric' what a pig. After returning home, the true meaning of ‘making love’ had been discovered and she had been furious for hours and only angry for a couple days. Someone she felt a purely natural hatred towards was in love with her best friend; she found it perfectly just to be upset. The sound of the orbs coming in contact with the table caught her attention and her head perked. The souls! Instantly a smile drew on her lips as she slid down from the ladder, dropping the books on top of the lone one resting.

“Thank you for returning those.” Her teeth grit from his comment, but she flashed him the best smile she could. She knew her place, the vampire slime didn’t though. He thought he had the right to steal souls rightfully belonging to her.

“Think…” She began strongly, yet abruptly stopped for a minute to think about her next decision… Yes, she really needed it to happen. “We should set aside – I should set aside my foul attitude towards you and form an alliance against that scum you witnessed before with me. The soul stealer.” Perhaps he would accept her offer? She wanted him put to justice… Yet she didn’t really need his help. She just wanted the creature dead and she had the power to do that, but it was his life that he created. "It needs to be put to justice."

[-Invidia]

“Cyric.” Invidia repeated softly, yet was interrupted by Ruri’s dropping of the books. A frown formed on her lips. Returning? Did he steal something? She passed him a sour glare, her lips puckering. She was not pleased at all, but at least Ruri was. She pinched Cyric’s arm, announcing to him her anger then passing Ruri a small curved smile, the usual one she only gave people. It was peculiar she wanted to form an alliance with him, Life and Death forming one, it sounded right, but then funny at the same time, they were opposites… With the tilt of her head, she glared back up at him, checking for his reaction.

[Cyric]

In the case of many things, nothing good ever truly goes right, and trouble reared its ugly head soon enough, the very moment Ruri asked for an alliance between him and Invidia softly pinched his arm Cyric knew that there was no way to leave this room in the same mood that he had arrived in. Closing his eyes, he began to breathe, and took time to think. His new found attraction was looking at him as if she expected something from him, a soft flush of anger within her features, and his heart felt like it snapped in two. The world would be purged, the slime she was talking about was working for Cyric, and there would be no alliance. But how… How to say this without stoking the flame in Invidia’s heart and turning her against him? Shaking his head softly, he looked up at Ruri, regret in his eyes. His crusade was more important than flesh, and as much as it would kill him to lose her now, he could not turn back.

“I can’t do that. I came to return the souls to you because I acted rashly, emotionally, that is all.”

Details were unnecessary. There was no need to divulge his plan here, surely the Goddess of Death would find out soon enough when the souls flocked to her. And he didn’t need Invidia to know, at least, not more than she could already deduce on her on. Yes, his chances might get ruined… And the world? The pureness of the entire world? It was almost not worth the chance. Almost. But it was his world, and he had to keep it clean, and alive. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to look at himself, let alone another person who he had failed. With a sigh, and a shrug, he looked to Invidia with sorrow in his eyes and an apology on his lips that simply would not escape.

[+Ruri]

Ruri glared at him harshly as he declined. What a waste of time, she should’ve realized it was an impossible idea. She was upset with his answer, extremely disappointed, and frustrated at the thought of what to do with the troublesome vampire. She’d have to take everything in her own hands then. Perhaps she would find someone to kill him; of course a handsome reward would be deserved. She wasn’t going to dirty her hands with this. Disgust still coursed from deep within her as she recalled kissing him, fury building inside of her when she hadn’t been returned what he stole. How fine it would be if he could suffer for all eternity, how fitting for one himself. There would be nothing he could do to atone for stealing from a goddess.

“Fine, I should’ve expected that answer from you. Get-” She paused for one minute and looked at Invidia, her glare fading. She recalled the happiness she held when she looked at him, she wanted to see him. He could see her other places… But though she was currently upset with him, she was positive she still wanted to see him. Without a word, she scoffed and turned around, returning to her shelves. Distracting herself from her frustrations.