#sterimor

[solvalry]

"Please tell me that this is all a practical joke you all collectively decided to play on me, as revenge for something small I did that I absolutely won't remember until you monologue it at me. That all of us aren't actually supposed to live /here/."

not for the first time, aion was glad that he was no longer in a position of leadership. it had been an almost natural shift, an unspoken one. thalassa had been the one to move heaven and earth to bring them back, thus she was the one everyone looked towards in this confusing, confusing time. a part of him wondered if right now, chaila’s antics were born from his confusion, but then he reminded himself that the other god had always been like this, and that it was difficult to tell.

‘‘ if you ask me, ’’ he began solemnly as he had to suppress the tiniest trace of a grin, ‘‘ erida and thalassa made good points — we have to stick together. we cannot let helani run wild, we cannot let arche disappear into the woods … and we cannot have you reform your old cult. unless you think we should create a neon sign — a lacrima-powered sign that can be seen from far away due to its brightness — to inform chaldene where we are. ’’

this was not to say that aion himself was terribly thrilled about living in close quarters with everyone else. it only meant that while he wished for a home that afforded him more privacy, he understood the necessity. he also understood that he would likely never get through to chaila; he had never been good at handling the other and if his memories were accurate, neither had leo ever figured out how to deal with cancer.

squaring his shoulders and letting his lips curl into a polite smile, he sighed quietly. ‘‘ now, please excuse me — i’m supposed to help ayse today, i’ve been appointed to teach her how to pass for a human, ’’ he said as he began to turn away from the other god. ‘‘ and i believe that erida was asking for you earlier. ’’

[seaternal]

"I literally think I'm going to fucking die. This is it. This is the end of me, for real this time."

erida wished, not for the first time, she could touch his forehead and plant the tiniest seed of wisdom within the other god. whereas touching his forehead would not be the impossible aspect, the fact that she could not bless other gods were the limitation she could not overcome, no matter how tempted she was.

leaning against the door, she briefly closed her eyes and sighed. arin had never, never tried her patience as much as chaila could. sometimes, she questioned whether her son ever wondered if cimeria, ayse and he truly were the youngest; chaila’s dramatics certainly bore similarities to a toddler’s tantrum, sometimes.

‘‘ you caught a cold, chaila, ’’ she said patiently. ‘‘ this is not the sort of illness that should have you writing your will, dear. ’’

[selenitii]

"I have been betrayed for the last time, Ayse." chaila declared, holding up the novel that had promised an angst ridden love story, but concluded with happily ever afters, "I need more drama in my life, or I'll probably perish right here and now, and none of you are providing. You're young, you're beautiful, go break someone's heart and report back to me - since I can't do it myself without Caprian dragging me back here."

‘‘ i— ’’ 

she had never met chaila, before. she had heard about him as her father had mentioned him, but she had never met him. she had been a child, then she had been wearing her father’s cloak and trying not to trip over it.  ( it had been too long, too heavy. it no longer felt like this. )  she had been thalassa’s ward, she had been the ever-serious moon demi-goddess, she had not had time for the idle follies chaila inspired in others.

( even if her father had not died, she did not think he would have … encouraged a friendship with the god of beauty and love, of all people. )

she did what she always did when she was overwhelmed — pulled it apart, wrapped it into portions she could handle. it was perhaps not the best strategy one could use when dealing with chaila who seemed to have perfected the art of being a bit too much. she wondered how the others dealt with it, not that their strategies would help her.

realising that he was waiting for some sort of response, she blinked owlishly. ‘‘ —you say i’m pretty? ’’ she asked with a light frown.

[sacrecean-archived]

"I don't think you understand - this is one of the most important moments of my entire LIFE."

‘‘ chaila. ’’ 

thalassa — had been patient. she had been understanding. she understood that she had had more time to warm up to this strange new world than anyone else, she had taken this into account whenever she had made a decision. but he was pushing her, and as many lost names could tell him: thalassa did not take kindly to being pushed.

she turned her head, levelling a cold glare at him. she was not going to lead through fear, she was better than that, but she needed him to listen and do as she said for the sake of them all as opposed to letting him run wild. she had almost forgotten how exhausting it could be to keep chaila from merrily skipping into the general direction of the greatest chaos imaginable.

‘‘ let me tell you this as clearly as possible: i let you reinstate your holiday, and the next time it comes to pass, you’ll be celebrating it from within a key. ’’ she stopped, pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned softly. ‘‘ i am not doing this to annoy you, i am doing this because everything else would be … short-sighted. we all have to go without certain things — and worship is, frankly, the last thing we need right now. ’’