(Un-)Holy Fishy Encounters 2
„Then I suppose my arrival was announced?” Asmodeus straightened his posture and his robes, displaying the dragon insignia emblazoned on them.
The high-priestess nodded: “Indeed. Visitors claiming to be higher dignitaries arrive with a notice in my domain. The assumption of more meaningful sacrifices is, naturally, implied”
Demanding. Also cold. There was no warmth in her eyes or demeanour. But wouldn’t it be interesting to thaw that a little bit.
“Certainly. Ao Gang only loans his domain to his most loyal servants, I am sure,” Asmodeus said, smiling pleasantly.
Her eyes narrowed only for a fraction. But she did stand up a little straighter and said: “Well, of course. The ceremony pointed unambiguously to my person as new head of the temple”
“And you do hold this position for five months now, admirably so, too. It must be a worthy deity to serve, the restauration of the temple was done with a great deal of dedication,” he indicated the basins of Kois in the walls, the crystal clear water, the columns, polished to the point of mirroring – it certainly was impressive.
After a moment of silence, she nodded, curtly: “Certainly. Every higher being should receive the care and, yes, dedication it deserves. But that means we are not talking about me. So, do you have an offering, Mister Ashton King?”
She still looked down on him, but she used his ‘first name’ now. Progress. Arrogance was so boring. His smile turned slightly lopsided: “Yes, of course, there are a number of ways I can support the cause, miss-,” he stopped, then tilted his head and raised his brows, “I believe you have me at a disadvantage, I believe we skipped the formal introduction”
There was a twitch back. The ornaments in her hair jingled and she said: “I do apologize, of course,” the noise rose in volume when she curtsied, stiffly: “My name is Eva Shuang, head priestess of Ao Gang in this district, formally appointed and representative of theirs in all matters regarding this mortal realm”
What an interesting way of phrasing. What a very nice way of phrasing. How very… exploitable.
But they were playing nice. Right?
“Greetings, then, Miss Eva Shuang. I will gladly offer you, as the representative, the time and skill of my people. As impressive as the temple already is, five months is a very short time to completely restore it to it’s former glory. Is this an acceptable offering?”
Her chin raised, appraising his offer and, apparently, him, when she said: “So they will dedicated their body and… spirit to Ao Gang and, by extension, in this case, me? There can be no doubt they are help to further not your, but this temple’s, glory”
Not exactly playing nice, then. Well. Good.
“Oh, they will have strict orders to familiarise and dedicate themselves to this particular task, indeed. But you don’t need to take my word for it. I might have an offering of a more… personal nature, if you would allow me?” He bowed the slightest bit, breaking the eye-contact for this moment, inclining his head to show his… sincerity.
Her clothing shifted audibly, the greens and blues glittering where he looked at them, then she said: “…certainly. I am a representative of my deity, I could hardly refuse an offering made towards them in good faith”
Asmodeus… smirked. It certainly wasn’t bad faith.
He stood up straight and took one step forward. A hand slipped under one layer of the robes – very easy, it was merely thrown on to add a layer of colour, no sleeves hindering him. The quality of fabric was soft and exquisite, he noted pleasantly.
His voice dropped: “There are older, and highly regarded, forms of worship. I will gladly show you how dedicated I can be”
Her temperature rose under his hands. To her credit, her blush was barely visible when she made a step of her own – still staying one step above him – possibly out of necessity, for the first time he noticed she was… maybe five foot three.
She put a finger to his chin, to lock eyes again: “Well, I certainly hope this will be impressive, then”
Oh.
Ohhohohohooo.
Interesting day indeed.