@denieddeath - Tumblr Blog

She remains quiet, STONE of face as she watches the other woman with brow furrowed. In the grand scheme of things she knows it's NOT really her fault. This was her taking the orders as an agent of another deity. Her eyes watch before she finally speaks.

"You thought incorrectly."

Admittedly she shouldn't really be surprised, she has a sinking suspicion that her first encounter wouldn't have been their last but after a moment hands fold together with a quiet huff, watching her as she furrows her brow with discontent.

"I will be brief considering the fact that I feel as though we have LARGELY spoken of this already and say that you are going to need to DESIST. Otherwise I will be forced to take action."

AND SHE would much prefer not to have to do that, especially given the fact that she was acting on orders of another deity, however with a quiet breath she speaks.

"If you desist now, we will be able to move past this and no one will have to go further with this."

"I won't do you the disservice of lying." It comes to her mind that Rosalie has no idea what to call this woman. She calls her own mistress grandmother; it is something that does not fit quite here. And while she bends no knee, she does not try to disrespect.

"These people are lucky to have your affections but they are unworthy of it. I can promise I will leave. But if I leave without having done my duty, then I can promise I will return." Though she spun no magic, she knows when there is opportunity to deal. It's clear, however, the other, the more powerful one between the two, will not be easy. The shadows cover half of the striga now.

"I say we both speak with food in our bellies. And your country is famous for its wine, correct? I'd like to offer a bargain beneficial to us both."

deathmaidened

Most people rousing her from sleep would only ever do so at their own peril; she is not a woman to be trifled with, even less a woman willing to give up something so precious as sleep. But she feels the familiar sensation of Rosalie's fingers against her skin, and she hears the labored sounds of her breath, and she wakes without question or hesitation, eyes flying open to meet her lover's.

"Easy, sweet thing." Astoria sits up at once and she reaches forward, smooths Rose's hair back with a tenderness she shows only to her. "I'm right here. We're both safe, and whole, and alive." A little spark of magic flickers at her fingers, only enough to warm her skin.

"Tell me about it." Nightmares are nothing new. She's had plenty. "Tell me everything about it, and I'll chase it away."

#' my love '#softersinned #astoria has given rose more character growth thAN ANY other muse ive written her withhhhhhhhhh tbh

"I don't deserve you." It isn't out of her chest yet. A few more sobs purge themselves from her throat and she hides them, poorly, in the curve of Astoria's neck. The vampire has no appetite. She craves only familiar warmth.

"My matka, she meant well." It had taken years to reconcile with the knowledge. "My brothers were so handsome." A wild hair grabs her, makes her laugh twice and then her pink lip curls in grief again. "And you, moja kochana, always here." She slips pale arms around Astoria and squeezes her tight.

"I wanted love." She whispers into the curling abundance of the witch's hair. "In my nightmares, I don't, but I've had it. I have it. Thank you."

She catches the last sentiment, but she has a sinking suspicion it wasn't meant to have a response, NOT THAT Daphne planned on giving one anyway. Her eyes focus back on her work, THE POOL in the center of her chamber SWIRLING until the image of the woman returns before her. Suffice it to say PRIOR to their conversation she likely wouldn't have thought anything of it, but now she's just keen to see WHAT BECOMES of this little esapade.

The SCENE plays out, BLOOD, VISCERA, everything imaginable as the man whose life she takes is FORFEIT the moment he opens his mouth. She makes a mental note of him, he's a HUNTER Karthisius had been actively trying to deal with. Suffice it to say he's UNLIKELY to be entirely pleased, but in truth she knows he will likely move past it.

BUT THE SOUL becomes the point of contention for her. It's being swiped and she can ALREADY feel discontent filling from Hades in the deeper pits of the Underworld. She'll need to act if she's to ensure this doesn't continue. She glances over her shoulder, ALLOWING the one moment more of the BLISS before she steps out into the field she'd been gazing upon before.

Hands fold in front of her as the WOMAN now turned PREDATOR seems LOST in her own moment before the WITCH GODDESS finally makes her presence known.

"Pray tell, how exactly this, IS NOT CONSIDERED meddling & disruption of the order of things?"

She isn't angry. IN FACT there is very little emotion in it at all. She's hardly going to blame the woman, IT'S unlikely this was PURPOSEFUL against other gods, but her MASTER––the same cannot be said of her.

"You know those SOULS do not belong to her...yes? And the very notion that they will be swiped from who they are rightfully due to is GOING to mean you will be the consequences of her crime."

Her head snaps toward the voice. The noise goes from nothing to blur to woman in seconds. "We all have our duties. You were supposed to be vapid. " The vampire hisses and coughs twice at the annoyance in her throat. Daphne - this new god - had been harshly misjudged. It will be enough, she thinks, to make Baba go slipping back into her hut for now. She should find that fact complimentary.

The ground is now uncomfortable. It would be stupid to stay so vulnerable, so she pushes herself to wobbly feet. They'll firm up shortly and she can retreat. For now, the blood runs in her, so her shadows comes to her fast.

"And silly me thought I had escaped your sight. You smell of fall flowers and delicious herbs; I assumed you too preoccupied to care." Filthy, her skin absorbs. It is slow as drop by drop is sucked from her clothing and the bloody ground her bare feet stand in." "Don't tell me you call that meddling? Where's your sense of fun, of spontaneity?"

#viridanira #yesssssssssAHHHHH

" ᴍʏ ɢᴏᴅᴅᴇꜱꜱ, ᴀʀᴇɴ'ᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʀᴇᴛᴛʏ? " The woman is covered in moonlight but the stars do not dare to sparkle. Her shadows have wrapped her into their ever-creeping void. "It's too bad, really, canine. i've always been a woman who favors cats." @viridanira

" I'm surprised. Up close they're even greener. Defying the dark."

kurjaks

"... take a step forward, you say," because that's what he's taking it as. and that's what he does. testing his luck, isn't he?

#kurjaks #she said #oh my dear god i may kill him already

" — I bet you think you're the whole meal, don't you, baby? " she could eat him dry, suck the marrow from bone, and rose believes he'd smile.

it is a rare thing, to see rose so weak. but when it moment comes, it's always in the dark. she was curled into herself, knees near to her chest, on the left side of the bed. her side: a designation wordlessly assigned by assumption and time spent in this bed, in this room, by this woman. this woman, her woman, a title granted with whispered phrases and naked moons and promises neither are sure they can keep.

but even the witch cannot stop her lover's dreams. sometimes, they are happy things, softer memories. others, she wakes with tears streaming, a scream caught halfway in her throat (and leaving the rest sore.)

rose tries to catch her breath, all while one hand reaches, pleading with tight fingers, for @softersinned astoria to wake.

#THEM THEM THEM THEM #softersinned

She watches quietly, LETTING the woman speak her peace. But she remains watchful. There's something she can't quite SIT with herself in good conscience about. Clearly there's more to her crusade than that, and thus Daphne has every intent on watching her, but as the woman speaks again, the Witch Goddess quirks a brow.

"I assure you, HER SUCCESSOR is far less amicable given the right circumstances, were I you, I would be thankful it wasn't he you were faced with, otherwise this conversation would have ended QUITE some time ago."

She pauses momentarily, her head shaking. There's further curiosity. She serves a master, she knows that much, but her KEEN sense remains. She won't let her guard down, but she WISHES to better understand. So despite her WATCHING, she wonders perhaps what it might be that DRIVES this woman.

"As aforementioned I will grant you passage, but if you meddle rest assured I will be seeing you again."

THOUGH the sound of her statement is ominous, SHE would not punish someone serving an OTHERWISE deceitful master. She had a sinking suspicion that this would not be so easy, however she keeps that tidbit to herself.

"How confusing your hierarchy must be." The woman shrugs and turns on her heels, stepping through the bumpy area without limp or trip. Inhuman grace keeps her afloat until the sun has passed and the moon shines with her reflection. It takes weeks for her to find the perfect prey. The shadows grow around her. A tree's branches cast darkness twice their size from the sparks of stars. Finally.

The hunter stood no chance. He played predator, hunting far beyond what was needed. A filthy excess that left decay in its wake. Rosalynn tells him just before he dies: there will be nothing left of him to identify, unlike the carcasses of butchered dead he left. She silences his screams quickly with a crunching twist of his neck.

She devours him and bathes in the blood that she does not drink. It soaks into her skin, absorbed, renewing cells, stealing life as if she were just a thief with the code to a simple safe. Rose knows she is filthy - as is the first kill in every spree. Death painted hands coax her throat and she gags and lunges her shoulders forward. A sliver of translucent silver light is pulled, bloodless, out of her neck and mouth.

The strzyga is aware, all too quickly for her tastes, that she is not alone, when the soul leaves her. Even though wet, black eyes cannot see just yet.

She laughs, manic, euphoric even when expecting pain. "The warmth. I had managed to delay her commands for just long enough to almost forget how warm it feels to have a soul."

She has a MOMENT of clarity that almost makes her wish to scoff. OTHER THINGS...WORSE THINGS...she is warned they'll darken her door as they have her brother & cousins. Suffice it to say she is prepared all the same.

A moment comes and she cants her head to the side. THE REQUEST is certainly an interesting one. She was no less the QUEEN of Crossroads than she was QUEEN of the witches. Her predecessor would likely warn her of the potential ramifications, but she is wise enough to know she will be able to bear them all the same.

"I've SEEN worse darken my door as it stands–you are hardly something that is cause for concern. More...A CURIOSITY if you'll find that word...less offensive."

A PAUSE COMES before she turns her attention to a DOOR behind her, almost like a portal as it illuminates the room.

"If you are asking that I IGNORE your travels you will find your request denied, but I am not one to interfere so long as you don't interfere. You will remain...UNINTERRUPTED so long as that stands...should that crone master decide she wishes you to meddle...that will be a different story."

#bldrdsh #rose: ok bye gorgeous im going to kill about thirty to forty of ur people now

Rose is taken aback but silent. She does not know if she should be offended or delighted, and the latter for two totally different reasons. Tripled confusion steps further into the other's territory. Around her are remnants of old mixing with the new. Here, some still celebrate at the temples. In her homeland, all the castles and their alters fall forgotten. All except for one, and even it has crumbled, despite memory.

"You have not offended me. It is I who have caused offense. Forgive me." Her head - and only just - bows to the goddess. Rose knows that her duties must be carried out despite this woman's wills. Baba Yaga demands Greek souls. She had said something about a new dish with olive flavored marrow and freshwater skin that she would tug from the striga's throat. Rose had tuned her out after that.

Though her power great, it would be foolish for Rose to assume she is the larger threat. "They spoke of Artemis, not her successor. Pity. I would have come more prepared had I known you were as smart as you are pretty. Maybe I'll see you again sooner rather than later. "

She crosses her arms over her chest, A BROW QUIRKING. It was certainly an ODD way of answering such a statement, but she can only assume the woman's qualms GO FAR beyond her reach. Beyond what she could reasonably see. SOME were not KEEN to know what godhood felt like.

WAS IT BETTER TO BE BORN DIVINE OR TO HAVE IT THRUST UPON YOU?

She could really definitively say if there was a right answer. One could see merit in both but when she speaks again, her inquiry spoken out, the young goddess cants her head to the side before speaking.

"A long story–but the ABRIDGED version comes down to the Queen of Witches sought to abdicate her mantle as many of her fellow gods & goddess did, now myself amongst OTHER members of my family hold seats of power in the pantheon."

She gestures vaguely. Not visiting Greece wasn't exactly a SURPRISE. She oft found that UNLESS travel and adventure was in one's blood they NEVER elected to do so.

It surprises her and the woman who is still as stone is just as silent. ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴍᴏᴠᴇ. A woman as emboldened, as gifted, as deadly, as Rosalynn Hass has made a statement she did not intend to make.

Baba's games are never amusing. The old crone preferred stupid little riddles over demanded answers so the enslaved flower stopped searching for them. "You are new divinity. Not of the same standing as the old. You will find worse than I at your door." This foolishness had put her in danger. Nearly a century's worth of knowledge and Rose could never see the old woman's plan coming.

"I am to travel your dominion and prefer to do so unencumbered by your watch. Do you object to my little vacation?"

There was a high number to retrieve.

She listens, and though the first sentiment MAKES logical sense it almost makes her laugh. In her divinity she'd become more stoic, NOT UNLIKE her moon blessed cousin. She has to admit it's INTRIGUED her at least and as she answers she's mindful of her words.

"The difference of gods is trivial in the grand scheme of things. We ALL do what we must to maintain the universe, but some have more leeway than others."

SHE SUSPECTS Hades is probably not pleased to know that a BEING whose soul he has no claim over walks freely & unburdened in LANDS belonging to the Greeks, but she ignores that fact.

"Most gods do not give gifts for free–but you seem to know LITTLE of this new age of Greek Gods who sprang from MORTAL COILS. It is a sight to behold indeed. Myself among them."

"Mortals ascended to godhood? Now there is a tall tale. It was often told to either inspire little ones to be good, to honor and obey, when I was small." She remembers the stories of her mother and father and how her brothers would pick blood-red poppies to put in the braids of her blonde hair. Innocence incarnate, was she, but doom fated.

"I was dutiful as a girl child and followed in the footsteps of my mother until I couldn't. I didn't want to be like you." Rose scoffs. The truth of her now blackened hair and beatless heart is that she longed for love and freedom. She begged for it as she ran through the flowered fields, chasing older brothers with their longer legs and louder laughs and shorter lives.

"I confess I know very little. I have not visited Greece before." She came here to fulfill her contract to Baba Yaga, but having the eyes of the gods did not bode well. "How did you become - Hecate? The queen of witches? "

@denieddeath / daphne kane

She folds her hands together, regarding the woman with a hum as she eyes her momentarily.

"It is not often I see BEINGS who have managed to defy Hades as you have...I am almost impressed..."

SHE PAUSES.

"...But I suspect that there is...MORE TO THE STORY than that."

She'd only been a goddess a short time, but her mortal life was RIFE with study, so while she suspected her cousins & brother needed adjusting when they ascended, Daphne was HARDLY the same.

"Do you come seeking a boon?"

#bldrdsh #DARLINGS ....#rose already hittin on her ....

"I seek no boon from a god that is not mine, no matter how beautiful she may be."

Though silver tongued and mindful enough to appease those with greater strengths, Rose still lends her own beauty to favor. The years of toying with hearts and lives of mortal men have manipulation easy, though she loathes the use of the skill. The strzyga would not do so here.

"And Hades has no claim on my soul; neither does his equal, Veles, in my own belief. I suppose — " A pause is taken and the wicked little grin on her features stays stagnant, if just barely curled at its edges. " You would, were I of your people. "

Rosa dare not give further information. Witches are always too clever for their own good. "And gods do not give out their gifts for free."

anxident

#polish poppies.

it's just kristen, smiling at rose. green eyes flickering across her features. the smile is even... a little goofy. "would you lie to me and tell me you aren't getting used to the smell?" @viridanira

the woman's eyelids narrow and heave a cutting glare at the wolf. there are days when she tells herself that all other beings must bind themselves together, for protection and the continuation of their species. other times, she scoffs at her own naivety. it does not matter to her that the world is losing its magic.

" lie to me. tell me that you do not look at me like you plan to ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴜʀ me when the moon rises. " but, she wonders, is it hunger? does kristen seek to gnaw on her bones and sinew and lap up the pieces of a flower torn to shreds? or is it thirst, and if rose admitted the truth to the other's question, what would she do about it?

#viridanira #YES YES YES .#kristen : am i your dream girl? ( you think of me in bed. )