Arachne

[wardercloud]

Viola reminded them of Mneme. Somehow, at least. Maybe the elf was looking for pieces of her in anything, but she was gone and they were still here. They had to get used to that. Viola sure as hell talked more than the aspect ever did. That wasn't really a hard task to accomplish though. Still, they nodded their head and looked at the demon. They really wondered how demons came to have the personalities they had. Most were expected to be cold-hearted and uncaring. She seemed to be the complete opposite. Maybe that was a good thing for them. They needed that kind of thing around right now. "I do. It started off as something I was pushed into, but I care a lot about the people around me. Friends or not. I'll come to care about you quickly, too. I already do. I'll...take you to meet Aegnor. I'm tethered to him. You're tethered to me. Seems like the logical next step."

[violadives]

Viola liked them, Cloud had the sort of disposition that the demon most often seemed to lean towards: lost souls in need of a guiding hand. They were resolved to linger in this cave, to hide and to grieve, but Viola certainly was now. If nothing else then Cloud would have to pull themself up for these people they claimed to care for so easily. "I think you and I have a lot more in common than I initially thought." Viola left it at that and took her privacy to finish getting ready for the wedding, the demoness had very few firsts left, a royal wedding among elves wasn't something that the prideful creature had any intention of missing.

[valentinagaius]

Valentina had a couple of tricks up her sleeve, alcohol was good for bringing oblivion and so she had done a single drop of the river Lethe to cause a disembodied effect but one had to be careful and rumor had it the Inferno had collapsed. She also ran the black market and kept an eye on any useful ingredients that got brought in. "There's a new bar called the Arches that I'd love to take you too, maybe they could even mimic the taste of Gin." It was the cheapest spirit to make and so it was everywhere during the bootlegger era, she was nostalgic for it. An arched brow and a tease of a smile on her lips "Are you calling me moody?" The lights that had flickered in nerves earlier, had shone brightly nearly bursting in their sockets in demonstration of the Wraith's empathetic gifts. Arms encircled her and she knows the demon does not normally give affection easily and so she steals what she cans and buries her face in Viola's shoulder, its the familiar scent of smoke and cardamom that lingered when she woke from a dream. "I've missed you.."

[violadives]

"Sounds like a party." The lights flickered and Viola made no gesture towards them save for the shift of her eyes as if to point out that Valentina had just proven something. "Only saying that you seem to like me just fine, and I've been known to have a temper." Naturally, it was never directed towards Valentina, but Viola did enjoy it when someone saw fit to provoke her. It fed the baseness of her ego to be underestimated and to watch with grim satisfaction as someone learned far too late the error of their mistakes. Valentina wasn't as warm as Viola remembered her, but the memory was enough for her to remember for the both of them. The demon knew better than to pity a spirit, instead she'd just be grateful for whatever time the Gods would see fit to leave them with once again. "Does this mean you have time to sit down and catch up?"

[kilgravejones-blog]

— trish: Still looking out for me, huh? — jessica: I can protect the one or two people I care about.

[celebratingwomen]

Claire Holt for WhoWhatWear, 2013

[ericscissorhands]

“The niece of the great mongol leader, Kubla Khan, Princess Khutulun was described by Marco Polo as the greatest warrior in Khan’s army. She told her uncle she would marry any man who could wrestle her and win. If they lost they had to give her 100 horses. - She died unmarried with 10,000 horses. ”—sandi toksvig’s top 10 unsung heroines

[atenasowl]

I swear on my sainted mother’s grave

[wardercloud]

"I do have standards. I just, you know, haven't acknowledged them for a bit." They paused before continuing. "You know, they have orgies in my court. Very exclusive. I'm always invited. I hate it." Hate was probably too strong of a word. Really, Cloud had just been reluctant to go every single time because they never participated. It felt awkward sometimes just standing around. However, their reasoning had never been to be involved. It had just been a support thing. For Laer. Their chancellor was their closest friend and the last thing they ever wanted was the disappoint someone like him. Not that they thought it was even possible. If there was one thing Laer was fond of, it was all of his friends. "I wouldn't get myself killed. I can defend myself. I just don't want to hurt anybody. That's what I'm more worried about." They were supposed to protect people. That was why they had trained to be a warder. Well, that was what the reason had become after their mother forced them into it. "No Crocs. Got it. Shall we then?"

[violadives]

"I suppose that's where I come in." Protecting them was one thing, but she couldn't be tied to someone who wouldn't acknowledge their own worth. She'd struggled with that with Vinny for ages; she could put in the same amount of effort with this one. Cloud seemed likable enough, at least to her. "I've heard the sun elves are fond of their... traditions." Viola had been around long enough to catch wind of these antics, so many bodies and people; honestly, it sounded like far too much work. "As good a reason as any," Viola didn't feel the need to argue that if they killed enough people in front of an audience it wouldn't matter how good of a fighter they were. Still, their nature spoke to something Viola didn't know about them. Then again, the two were still getting to know one another. "you must care a great deal for people."

[violadives]

I have tried in vain Evermore to call your name When you left you broke my heart That will never make us part Every hour in the day You will hear me say Baby won't you please come home

w/ @valentinagaius

Playlist xx

[valentinagaius]

"What good is a bar owner who can't even get drunk?" The retort comes with ease, piquing an eyebrow as her old familiar breezed through the door.. of all the gin joints in all the towns she walks into mine. She didn't process at first that it was Viola, that she had returned, a natural banter that was easily to fall into as if she had never died and her familiar had never left. Placing the pen down that she was doing inventory with, she turns to face the demoness, a warmth curling around her old bones that she thought she had been dead too long to feel again. The lights overhead burned more brightly.

"What brought you top-side?" She keeps all that she wishes to say to herself, the apologies for their time apart, Valentina had burnt the life inside of her out like a candle going out in the wind. Her ritual and death had severed the bond between witch and familiar, spirits couldn't keep familiars and so Viola was sent back to the Inferno. Once she had regained steady ground, she tried to scry for her but there was no call line to hell and so they were robbed of a goodbye. "Should we hug or.." It's words spoken in tease, they were never ones who wore their hearts on their sleeve despite how empathy kept the Wraith strong and her bond to the Narcissus coven kept her tethered.

[violadives]

"The elves have an assortment of drinks that'll do the trick, even for the dead like us." Viola offered she would need to drag the spirit elsewhere; poor, broken Valentina. She could only imagine what had befallen the blood witch's soul; this remaining specter was Viola's closest mirror to the woman with whom she'd once been bonded. "I've been summoned, again, this time I've made a contract with an elve. They're a moody sort. You'd like them." Viola leaned forward to embrace Valentina because the demoness didn't know what else to do. It had been Viola's pride that had seen her life ended, and had she learned to stem it sooner, then maybe she could have saved Valentina from her fate. "It's been far too long, far too long, my dear."

[pelcrus]

Untouched by time was one hell of a way to put it. Pelorus felt like time had never truly been on his side. As much as he could say he was alive and still standing, it was not without its scars. The spartoi seemed to have more than a handful due to his ability so he was sure he looked more worn down than she could have ever seen him before. Then again, maybe he'd always looked that way. Regardless, it wasn't as if Arachne had ever done anything but respect him. She was her father's daughter, but she was so much better than him in every way. But then they also had that same confidence that often got them into trouble. That was how Arachnee was even still here in the first place. Big fucking ego.

"Hello favorite daughter, how I've missed you, my world has been incredibly dull and dreary in your absence," he repeated back to her with a hint of a smile. It was a true statement or else he wouldn't have even jokingly said it at all. Pelorus squeezed her hand within his own and kissed her knuckles. "It's even better to see you. You have quite a lot to update me on. It's been...well, let's not get into the mathematics of it all. It's just been a very long time."

[violadives]

"Even longer and more confusing when you take the Inferno into consideration." Viola said, "So yes, best not to complicate things any further." She wondered if it was possible to summarize the centuries that had divided them in a few short sentences, but the truth was that she had stories that would bring him to tears, others that would split his sides with laughter, and more that would send him into a rage. Maybe the demon would share each of these in time; for now, she toiled with the present and set her organized mind to unravel her way through that alone. "Love, loss, death, rebirth, and more. It's a lot to take in, my girlfriend owns Fates', the elve who holds my contract drinks blood and lives in a cave, and the witch I helped raise is a robot now." Viola wondered if Pelorus would even know what that is, "Sorrows sorrows prayers." Her father had spent fifteen years at the whim of some God, so her next question was spoken with a measured cadence "Entertainment aside, are you well?"

[steveleonw]

[wardercloud]

"Right. Aren't demons usually encouraging hedonistic behavior?" They guessed this one was different. She already seemed that way anyway. Cloud was always pessimistic though so they were somewhat side-eyeing Viola at the moment. Not much, but they always had to watch their back. That was how they had gotten into this predicament in the first place, wasn't it? "Both?" They looked towards where they kept their clothes. Well, what little of them there were anyway. Of course there was a wedding and a party. They had heard about the wedding. The party was an entirely different thing though. "I'm sure you'd have better taste in clothing than I could. The last time I went somewhere, I wore Crocs and nobody told me that people thought those were ugly."

[violadives]

"I'm a demon of pride, we have standards: you should too." Cloud was powerful, that much was evident; anyone with sense could feel it radiating off of them. Though it was quite clear that the other hadn't really come into that aspect of themselves. Both a sun elf and something else entirely, bound and written in blood their contract together was sealed. "Besides, if I let you go off on a rampage you'll only get yourself killed, then where would I be?" Something as common as lust, gluttony, greed, or wrath would have seen this one drenched in blood already. Viola had greater designs, longevity and legacy for one. "I'll find you something to wear, crocs are absolutely not on the agenda."

[vincenzodives]

"Good. I'd make you swear it, but..." Vinny was just really glad that she was back. After she had gone, it felt like his entire life had fallen apart. Whatever had transpired after they had been separated felt like some cruel joke. It was as if he wasn't meant to live without her. People called that platonic soulmates or something. Right now, he was some immortal being and she was... "How are you here right now? Who summoned you?" The warforged reveled in the way her hands gently held onto his face. She had been his one anchor to this world for so long that it felt like he was no longer lost anymore now. "I don't even know where to start. I died twice. Some guy put me back together." He shook his head because it sounded unbelievable even as he said it out loud. "But yeah, it's pretty fucking empty in here. I didn't...I guess I was legally dead."

[violadives]

"How awful." That Vinny had suffered at all felt like a knife twisting in her chest, she didn't want to think about him in anguish but it wasn't as if the demon had any choice in the matter. Viola would see to it now that it didn't happen again, that he was safe, and that he was protected going forward. "Their name's Cloud, they're an elve so I'll be nearby if you ever need me." That was a promise that Viola intended to keep, Vinny was always going to hold a very large piece of her heart. "Sounds like someone was looking out for you, a shame though they didn't refurnish your place. Almost rude, actually." Viola smiled at that, "I'll help you find something nice."

[violadives]

Viola Dives ll Saturchella

You never liked the way I said it If you don't get it, then forget it 'Cause I don't have to fuckin' explain it

[wardercloud]

Cloud wasn't sure what had tempted them to bring this demon into their life, but they had. Maybe it was the fact that they had been feeling quite alone for a long time. It wasn't like they were really all that lone, but it felt like it sometimes. Even with the amount of people they had around them, it could feel like they were the only person in the room. And then they kept losing people, too. Maybe, with this manifest he'd come to know as Viola, they'd have her for as long as they were alive. That was sure to help with the feelings that seemed to not be going away. They looked up at Viola as she wandered around. Maybe the two of them shouldn't have been stuck in here, but what else were they supposed to do? The elf was sure to drain someone if they stepped foot in the mortal realm. "If I leave, I'll kill someone. I don't want to do that. And I..." They paused for a moment. "Yes, this is all I do all day. Sometimes I go outside and train. Sometimes I go check on Aegnor."

[violadives]

"You won't kill anyone, I'll make sure of it." That had to be half the reason why Cloud had summoned her, she understood what it meant to want to crawl under a rock and simply disappear. She'd done her fair share of it in the frigid fields of the ninth circle, then again and again as she was taken away from the people that she loved. Viola would not pretend to know the elf's pain, but neither would she tolerate a life of stagnancy, for either of them. "Well, get up and get ready, there's both a wedding and a party happening: we'll be attending both." What did this bloodied creature have to wear? "Do you have anything appropriate to wear? You'll have to show me some options, coordination between a demon and their partner is a necessity."

[pelcrus]

The first of his children had been Arachne. There were quite a few that came after, but none more important than her. People often spoke of not choosing your favorite child, but Pelorus was not some normal man. He was a spartoi, a demigod. If there was one of his children that he would have wished to have forever, it would have been her. However, she had been torn from him at her early age and thrown to the Inferno below. It wasn't like he would have been able to drag her back. Even if he would have been able to try, he wouldn't have had the time with her he wished to have. Just as he had lost her, she would have lost him. It was better this way, he guessed.

Pelorus had never thought he would see Arachne again. She was mortal and there was no way of giving her immortality like he would've wished without making her into something that he despised. Then again, there was a new spartoi roaming about so maybe he could've done whatever that one had done. Some little sovereign that wasn't even a child of him or his brothers didn't deserve to be one of them. Arachne though? She deserved everything because she was everything to him.

Still, here they stood four thousand years later. He hadn't even expected to be here himself, but seeing her was even more surprising than that. Someone had summoned her. That had to have been it. She still looked exactly as she had that day he had lost her. His hand lifted to her face, a smile on his own. "Ah, but you see I was not cut down, my little weaver. I'm still standing." He dropped his hand. "As are you. It seems neither of us can truly be cut down. Not even by the gods."

[violadives]

Surviving the Inferno had been a task all on its own, for all the demons that existed in hell there were far fewer than most assumed. The nature of the pit was to consume or be consumed, it was predictable after a time, the strong survived and the weak did not. Viola's father had raised her to fall in line with the former, cursed by a self-proclaimed goddess or not, she had scraped, crawled, and done whatever she had needed to do in order to make it out the other side. Time and time again, even as her humanity had been stripped from her, Pelorus' faith in her had still sung through the very core of the woman's being.

"Just as I said then: my father couldn't be cut down, and here you stand. Alive, untouched by time." Viola raised a brow, though it was only done playfully. "Quite rude of you to be gone for as long as you were though - and this is how you greet me? I could leave, come back, and you can try again. I'd much prefer something along the lines of: hello favourite daughter, how I've missed you, my world has been incredibly dull and dreary in your absence." She smiled as she took her father's hand in her own, "I... Cannot tell you how good it is to see you again."

[vincenzodives]

If there was anyone that truly knew him, it was always going to be Viola. Not his mother, not August, not Emory. Just Viola. He’d pulled her from the Inferno when he’d felt lost. It had been before he had even really been aware of what he was doing. She was his only friend before he’d met anyone else. Actually, she’d always been more than a friend to him. Family was what he would consider her. Not by something like blood, but by choice. And she had been taken away from him. He hadn’t fully comprehended she was gone until it was too late. Then he was lost again. He’d always been lost without her. Dying twice probably seemed a bit dramatic though. But here she was, wasn’t she? He wasn’t sure who had pulled her from where she had been, but he didn’t care to ask as long as she was here.

Vinny hadn’t said anything, just listened as she spoke to him. When her arms wrapped around him, he’d felt as if he would fall apart right there. He could barely produce tears, but he swore he would’ve if it was possible. Instead, he held onto her as if she would disappear from his grasp again. “You’ve never had to apologize to me. I’m sorry I…” He paused and pulled away for a moment, his hands resting on her shoulders. “You’re really here.” He pulled her in to hug her again. “You can’t leave again or I’ll drag you back myself. I don’t care if I can’t summon you. I’ll figure it out if I have to.”

[violadives]

There was a limit to how many times a demon could escape the Inferno without much detection, Archfiends rarely liked to let go of their things, Viola reached her limit sooner than she would have liked. Had it been possible then she would have crawled her way from the pit, through the nine levels of Hell, and clamoured back to the sweet child she'd left alone. News of his death had been lorded over her, another cruel appointment that the emissaries of hell delighted upon. Vincenzo's poor, mutilated soul, and then its entire disbursement as if even the Inferno had conspired to keep her from him.

"I'm not going anywhere, not this time." There weren't many places to go, and part of her arrangement with the elf had been made because they were sufficiently immortal. Powerful in a way that was too mysterious to most to see Viola's binding undone. She returned Vincenzo's embrace with some gratitude, anchored herself against him and let the child she'd known for so many years ground her to this realm once again. Viola withdrew but only enough to look him in the eyes, her hands on his face, "Tell me everything, have you-" she looked around the apartment that was half barren and picked over, "looks like we need to get you some more things."