[IC] TTG Chapter 5: Wrath

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

Like with Princess, Grima sat in silence. There wasn’t much she could say that wasn’t already been said before. After all, they had already conversed about the reason she had come. The only reason she was still here was thanks to Aries.

 

But, when Princess asked her question, Grima visibly paused, having gone for another drink of the tea when it was asked. Then, after a few seconds, she placed her glass down with a sigh, her drink suddenly not feeling so appetizing anymore, “It’s a bit complicated, but the simple reason is that I owe Queen” she stated, pausing briefly again as she debated if she should continue, “I have a bit of a problem. Kleptomania, I always try to take things without thinking. Got me in a lot of trouble, obviously, but I Queen offered me a pardon if I helped him out. So, I am” Grima explained.

 

It wasn’t the best reason, but it was hers.
 

[Shamitako]

Tai

 

"You know, advice really isn't my thing, I just give people directions." Tejfidh said, "But my people had a concept called 'tejfrian' that I think might apply here." she seemed to be struggling quite a bit to figure out exactly what to say. "Literally it means 'the strength to restrain yourself,' but there's more to it than that. It's about responsibility, and how it comes with being strong."

 

Tejfidh picked up speed and got in front of Tai, walking backwards so she could look him in the eye. "Whatever your reason, you sought strength. But you lack tejfrian, and you were bested by those who understood the stakes that come with power. Gambling with the fate of even just one life shouldn't fun, and there are far more lives than one at stake here.

 

"If you want to have fun with your power, you first need to fulfill your responsibility. So long as that weight hangs over you, your strength will only be a burden."

 

For someone who claimed she wasn't very good at advice, Tejfidh had a lot to say on the matter. Something in her tone told Tai she had personal experience with these sorts of stakes.

 

Unfortunately, he wouldn't gee much time to reflect on Tejfidh's advice. As he neared the city, Tejfidh suddenly vanished, being almost immediately replaced by a different face that Tai would really wish he didn't recognize.

 

"You're quite tenacious." Chronos said as it blinked into existence in front of Tai, "This time I will have to be more final in my judgment."

 

But it didn't do anything, just stood there, analyzing Tai as if looking for something.

 

"Very well." It said finally, "If the strength to rend flesh has rescued you, then my exile must have been unfair. I shall see you safely back to the city." 

 

Chronos turned and waited for Tai to resume walking, apparently content that showing up out of nowhere didn't warrant any further discussion.

 

"Hey I'm still here." Tejfidh whispered, this time her voice coming from within Tai's mind like it had with Cardinal, "I don't like to show my face without a good reason, so I had to hide from the body the timeless guardian is wearing."

[IntSys]

Tai

 

Tai flinched at Chronos' appearance, and then at its sudden change of attitude, but the jarring feeling subsided as quickly as it had appeared. Tejfidh's words seemed to echo with what Chronos had said before, despite all the difference between the two. He resumed his steps, accepting its guidance.

 

What was his responsibility?

 

Chronos told him, his responsibility was to contribute to Cardinal's defeat, and it became his the moment he chose to join the tournament.

 

Whether he believed it was actually his responsibility or not, he ultimately ended up fulfilling it. It wasn't intentional, and it wasn't something to be proud of, but he, one way or another, caused Cardinal to die.

 

Any responsibility that had come with the naive decision to join the tournament should be no more. With the Tenth God gone, there wasn't a tournament to go back to. It was all over.

 

Yet, nothing had changed for him, because he had made another decision, perhaps even more naive than the one before it. And he gave up on the responsibility that came with it as well.

 

The true meaning of his power suddenly became clear to him. Every bit of Favor he gained in the thirty days before the tournament was not actually in the name of sports, but a different responsibility. It might have been to defeat Cardinal at one point, but the moment he decided to let her into his mind, it became her instead. Yet he believed in neither. He never believed that he was actually responsible for either, and so his power lost meaning. With power gone, there was nothing to be passionate about the fights in the tournament, no reason for an unyielding spirit to thrive, and no way to believe in what he was doing.

 

And in a way, it was too late. With one responsibility fulfilled and another failed for good, his power would forever be without meaning.

 

The biggest regret was neither joining the tournament nor accepting Cardinal's request, but rather failing to believe in the responsibilities that came with his decisions.

 

 

Tejfidh's words snapped him back to reality.

 

"Thank you." A mental response, welling with gratitude.

 

"But it is too late now. That responsibility can no longer be fulfilled."

[Chevaleresse]

That was less than promising. If Watcher was around (and Hiroki had a sinking feeling he was, given that he didn't seem to be the type that would have died without anyone hearing about it) then he was almost certainly going to show up. "We have, um, to plan for him." She tried to take a quick stock of who was on the plate. Slumbering Giant, whoever the Councilor was, Arcturus, Watcher, Princess, Supernova. Though she doubted they would field Supernova; she'd already beaten him fairly cleanly, even if the mere thought of that match brought a pang of guilt. Even if you were working with Cardinal, I'm sorry. "If Watcher appears, then, um, we have three matches we, um, could win." Saying that out loud visibly bothered the girl, and she looked at the table for a moment. I have to try anyway. "So, um, we have to be ready." She glanced back at Gryffin again. It almost seemed like he had something to say, but hadn't let it out yet.

[Shamitako]

Hiroki

 

Gryffin seemed reassured by Hiroki returning his look after speaking up, and cleared his throat to speak as well. 

 

"I think I know what their roster will be." Gryffin said nervously. It was a bold claim, and no surprise he was afraid to voice it.

 

"How could you possibly know that?" Queen asked, and the other gods looks repeated the question.

 

"We know that Arcturus, the Councilor, and Slumbering Giant will be involved. The other two won't be wildcards, Aries and Cardinal have been just as focused on the tournament as us." Gryffin explained, "I think we should expect Artemis and Supernova to be the other two."

 

"Artemis? What was that about no wild cards?" Bear said, "We haven't seen her in years."

 

"No, we haven't. But she does make sense." Lord said, sounding quite sad, "There's no question that if Aries found her, she would join him."

 

"This is a lot of speculation, but if Gryffin's guess is right, then I don't think we can win. We should take our chances with a siege." Queen shared his opinion, "I don't think any of our options can stand against her or the Councilor, and as much as I hate to speak against her determination, I don't think Hiroki can beat Arcturus."

 

"No." Seeker disagreed, "Even if we assume Hiroki will lose, and personally I think that judgment has been made far too hastily, I think we can at least beat Artemis. We should only assume a loss against the Councilor."

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki was feeling out of the loop. A lot of names were being thrown around that she didn't recognize - and there were more powerful people scattered around the plane than she'd previously imagined. The gods were starting to make this sound like a lost cause, and she wasn't sure whether to agree with them or not. They could probably win a protracted fight given sheer force of numbers (even if Aries - No, Cardinal - was pulling new allies out of the woodwork,) but that also sounded like it would give the opposing side more time to do whatever it was they were planning. "Who are, um, Artemis and the Councilor?" Artemis was apparently somewhat like Watcher, at least in regard to not interacting with the gods too much. "Is, um, the Councilor the one who. . . um, the reason I'm here?" She frowned for a moment. If he was, wouldn't that mean he couldn't participate in the battle? Since he would be the ruler of Envy, unless that didn't make him count as a god. "And, um. . . If he took over, um, Envy, how can he fight in the duels?"

[Shamitako]

Tai

 

"Um, actually..." Tejfidh started pensively, "I wasn't going to tell you because I don't like interfering, but I guess it's a bit late now. There's no way Cardinal is dead. I doubt she knows, but her method of travel must be one that doesn't actually let her leave her home, she's probably just projecting herself here temporarily. I don't know much about her circumstances, but I'm pretty sure if she actually left her world would stop existing entirely."

 

Whether or not this was good news for Tai was beyond Tejfidh, but she felt it was only right that Tai know the truth. If he truly wanted, there might still be a chance for him to save Cardinal.

[IntSys]

Tai

Tai's heart skipped a beat from hearing what Tejfidh had to say. His tongue shivered and his lips quivered, jammed with a deluge of thoughts. Was it relief, knowing that he had the chance to retrieve meaning to his power once again? Was it fear, knowing that with Cardinal still alive, the tournament would continue on as planned? Or, even worse, was it the dreadful confusion between two people who should've been dead?

 

His steps became disorganized, faltering left and right, but he was still doing his best following Chronos' footsteps. What would he do? With him still effectively out of the picture, the gods were bound to clash with Cardinal sooner or later, and then...

 

And then...

 

No. He wouldn't let that happen. There would not need to be a war... If he could just see her again. But how? She was stuck in the Sphere. There was no way for him to "visit" her. It would have to be her noticing him again, a man who, to her, may as well as be someone sealed in permafrost under layers of thick snow. There was just one way to do that.

 

He had to intervene the tournament.

 

Easier said than done, unfortunately. He had kicked himself out, so it wasn't like they would appreciate him trying to get in again. He had not gotten on the good side of any of the gods, and so there was little chance of them granting him audience.

 

The best thing he could do then seemed to be just trying to get into the spectators' seats. It was a start nonetheless.

 

With his thoughts cleared up slightly, he began to get a hold of his mouth.

 

"... We're going to Wrath," he told Tejifidh simply, "to fix a mistake."

[Shamitako]

Grima

 

"Ohhhh, so the glass..." realization dawned on Princess, "And here I thought I just spooked you so much you forgot you had it." she laughed at her own ignorance, "Well, I suppose that's as good a reason as any. I suppose I've been pretty negative, but Queen isn't so bad, his father raised him well. I do hope everything works out for you." she seemed to genuinely mean what she was saying, and overall seemed to have lightened her mood at Grima's response.

 

Hiroki

 

"The Councilor has taken over Envy, yes." Seeker answered Hiroki's question, "But he is not one of us gods. That would require him to earn the title, not simply throw Blink out."

 

"You're from Greed, yes? Then you surely remember my late father." Queen added, "He ruled the Plane while we had no god. Envy also had leadership before Blink became it's ruler, a centuries old group known as the Council who enforced a strict caste system. The Councilor was the head of that group. I don't know the whole story, but Blink apparently gouged out his eye, so it's safe to say there's a lot of bad blood between them."

 

Rather than let that mildly unsettling fact hang over them and cause another silence, Lord decided to change the subject. "As for Artemis, she's an old acquiantence of mine from when I was a child." she said in a sad tone, "My actions got her twin sister killed, she wouldn't hesitate to assume that I was in the wrong in regards to Cardinal."

[Chevaleresse]

That was quite a bit to unpack. It seemed that the gods had no shortage of feuds that had come up over the years. They were just people, she supposed, though from the outside it seemed like they were supposed to be above things like that. Of course, that only fed the curiosity that was starting to burn in her. The gods were just people. Yet, it wasn't simply a title that referred to the ruler of a Plane. There was something more to it than that. "What's, um, the difference, then?" She felt another surge of anxiousness at asking the question; it made the fact that she didn't truly belong here that much more. "Um, I mean. . ." It was hard to go back and fix her own question, but eventually her desire to know outweighed how awkward it felt to ask. "How, um, do you earn, um, the title?" Clearly gods could be replaced, and it couldn't just be by defeating a previous god; after all, the original gods had to have done it some other way. Was it something she could reach on her own, somehow? And then there was Nil, appearing and upsetting the balance. . . There was just so much she didn't know. 

[Shamitako]

Hiroki

 

"There's not really a specific way to earn it." Bearanswered, "Each of us came about the role in a different way. If godhood is your goal, then the plane, or perhaps some unknown entity behind the planes, may choose to acknowledge you and grant you the title. The only surefire way to acquire it, is to earn it from another god, either as a gift or by defeating them in a fair fight."

 

"That's not all we know..." Seeker started to add. 

 

"I wasn't going to bring up mere theories." Bear interrupted, though it didn't seem especially rude, "But since you've said that much, Hiroki may as well hear the rest."

 

Seeker nodded, "You're right, I've been a bit hasty." she apologized, "We don't actually know more, but we think it may have something to do with surpassing the limits of your humanity. Each and every one of us who earned a plane has done something that would have been considered impossible before us." 

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

"Well, you weren't entirely wrong" Grima admitted, "But thank you, I'm just hoping everything turns out fine as well" she quickly added, knowing deep down that, considering the circumstances, things would most likely turn out the opposite of fine. Still, it was good to have a bit of hope. Regardless, she picked up her glass again, taking another sip before putting it back down, "I'll be honest, I don't actually know what Queen's father was like. I've never been that good with keeping up with the history of the gods. But... Actually, may I ask a question of my own, Princess?"

[Chevaleresse]

That. . . was a fairly high bar. It made sense, though. If being recognized as a god meant being something other than human, beyond human, then turning the impossible into the opposite certainly made sense as a qualifier. "What did you, um, do, then. . .?" Fortunately, she got the question out before she could consider whether it was rude. She still felt painfully out of place, and the way the girl started to trail off at the end of the question accentuated that. Nevermind that all of this was largely irrelevant; the hopes of the Councilor or any of their other foes being forced to concede or withdraw were already dismissed by what she'd heard. 

[Shamitako]

Grima

 

Princess hesitated to answer Grima's request. It wasn't that she was unwilling to discuss herself, but she was fairly certain she knew what was about to be asked and it wasn't a particularly pleasant topic. "Go ahead, but I don't promise to answer." she said eventually.

 

Hiroki

 

Seeker laughed, a hearty guffaw that she failed to contain. Despite Hiroki's clear nervousness, to ask such a thing so directly, even the stony Seeker couldn't help but smile.

 

"I'm sorry for laughing." Seeker apologized as she calmed herself, "It's just that most people aren't brave enough to ask that sort of thing, so you caught me off guard. As for your question, I killed myself. My ability lets me alter fate, and I wanted to see how far that could go. Turns out it goes as far as defying death, and defying death was earned me the right to be God of Lust.

 

"I'm the only one who did something that drastic though, and most of them are more impressive. Blink earned her spot by overcoming her blindness, for example."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

"Sorta expected that" Grima admitted, "I was just wanting to ask about that man in the photo... Your husband?" Grima began, pausing for a second before quickly adding, "I don't need to know everything, I was just curious as to he was" she added, bringing up a hand as she did so. She realized too late that it was a pretty insensitive question, but the floodgate had already been opened.

 

Might as well see where this new wreck went.

[Shamitako]

Grima

 

"Victor wasn't anyone, just a man I fell in love with." Princess brushed off Grima's question, "A lovely man, but not special to anyone but myself. He liked to pretend he was a tough guy, but he was the worst fighter I've ever seen." Princess got a wistful look on her face, and continued on despite her claim of insignificance, "We actually met because he tried to protect me from a group of bullies. I ended up being the one to protect him, but he made sure to milk that black eye he got for all the pity it was worth. I think I'd just gotten so used to fighting my own battles, the mere fact that he was willing to stand up for me had me smitten from the start.

 

"Not that I let him know that, he was way too much of a flirt and I had too much pride to give in to such obvious advances. It took a couple years of me getting him out of trouble before he finally got me to admit I had fallen for him." 

 

Princess stopped there, seeming uncertain whether or not to say more. She loved talking about her husband, but she wasn't comfortable going deeper into such personal territory with a virtual stranger.

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki couldn't help but let her eyes widen a bit as she nodded. Dying and being able to tell the story afterwards was pretty far beyond what a normal person could do. She couldn't help but feel like it highlighted her lack of belonging even more; she hadn't overcome much of anything except other, regular people. The one chance she'd had to overcome a god, and she'd been crushed. She glanced at Lord at the thought, the sting of defeat rolling back into her mind for a moment before she attempted to shove it backward. Attempted being the operative term; they still needed to figure out what to do about the challenge, and with that thought came considering a fight with Arcturus. Coupled with that was how unfamiliar this territory was; she was used to keeping her strategies to herself, for fear that her opponents would learn of it and counter it. 

 

The girl took another deep breath, glancing at Griffyn for a moment, if only to reassure herself. At the very least, she wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable. "So, um, how much do we, um, know about how Ares's, um, team fights?" It was an awkward and rather heavyhanded subject change, but perhaps it would go unnoticed for bringing the meeting back to its actual purpose. 

[Shamitako]

Hiroki

 

"We know what Giant and Supernova's skillsets are." Bear answered Hiroki's question, smiling ever so slightly to indicate that he picked up on her awkwardness, "Arcturus is completely unknown and Artemis may as well be unknown. The Councilor's ability allows him to use spectators to control the fight. No doubt he'll rig his fight with a crowd that's already on his side. Whoever faces him doesn't stand a chance."

 

"Wait." Gryffin spoke up. His voice decided that was a perfect time to crack, and he immediately went silent again out of embarrassment.

 

"Well, go on." Seeker prodded, "Is there someone at our disposal who can win in a match that's rigged against them?" 

 

"I think Nastasia can. Fighting isn't the only thing she's good at, she runs a business and is excellent at persuasion, if anyone can fight against an entire crowd, it's her." Gryffin seemed pretty confident in Nastasia, despite his own lack of confidence.

 

"You're right." Seeker agreed, "No one else has any chance at all, so we should take the slim chance she provides. We'd planned to use her against Aries, so we need her along anyways, in case this turns out to be a trap."

 

"That's two settled, and I think I have a suggestion for the third." Queen took his turn to speak, "I brought up Princess earlier, that's because I have an asset meeting her. Now I hav-" 

 

"You. Have. WHAT?!" Lord didn't keep her rage in check at all this time, her hands slamming down on the table as she jolted upright, "You sent someone to recruit my mother and you didn't even think to consult me?! What the fuck made you think that was acceptable?!"

 

Everyone except Bear visibly shrank in their seats. This outburst made Lord's anger towards Blink seem like a calm lake.

 

"Perhaps this is an issue to be discussed privately between yourselves." Bear attempted to diffuse the situation, somehow uneffected by Lord's explosive rage, "Right now we have more important, less personal, things to discuss." 

 

Lord didn't sit down, still glaring at Queen, daring him to respond. 

 

"Victoria, now isn't the time, sit." Bear's tone became more forceful.

 

Lord kept standing.

 

Bear sighed, "Vicky, sit. Save your anger for a more appropriate time." Bear had started to edge out of his own seat, preparing to forcibly put Lord back in her seat if need be.

 

But luckily, Lord sat down this time. "Fine." was all she said as she crossed her arms and started pouting.

 

Queen waited a bit before continuing, just to be safe, and his voice was clearly very tense when he did resume. "I haven't heard back from my asset, so I doubt they succeeded, but I'm sure Princess will return them in one piece, so we can use them. I think we should run them against Artemis. Even if we don't know exactly how she fights anymore, I think it's safe to assume she'll be aggressive, my asset is a professional when it comes to avoiding trouble, she might be able to wear Artemis out."

 

"I like that plan." Gryffin said, seeming desperate to merely be included after Lord's outburst had practically knocked him out of his seat.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

At Princess's explanation, Grima nodded, giving all of her attention despite the fact that she was both taking another drink, and how she had mindlessly pulled out a coin, beginning to flip it between her fingers rapidly. It was better than accidentally stealing something without thought, at the very least.

 

"I see. He sounds like a great man" she commented at the end, still flipping her coin as she leaned back into her seat, "My apologies for prying, I just get a bit curious sometimes" Grima added, repressing a slightly wistful sigh. Wouldn't that be nice, to have someone stand up for you when you were in under attack, even if you didn't need it. Grima couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like, she was always the type of girl that faded into the background, that no one really cared about until something happened. Some people cared now, at the very least.

 

... But that was a thought process for another time.

 

"By the way, Princess, how long do you need before you're able to do that little trick of yours again?"

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki visibly shrunk back in her seat, again fighting back the urge to summon her mech to give herself that layer of separation she wanted. It was almost reassuring to watch the other gods do the same, even if that also represented a clear issue. She felt her feet drift back toward the ground; she'd drawn them up toward herself without realizing. This meeting was giving her mixed feelings on the gods; on the one hand, doing things as impressive as defying death itself certainly seemed to elevate them above simple humans. . . but this bickering was maybe a little too human. At this point, her image of the gods had completely fallen to pieces - but it occurred to her that this was a good thing. You couldn't deal with an opponent if you only saw what they projected. They weren't her opponents (even if Lord seemed to be searching for one,) but the principle was the same. Still, she stayed quiet for the moment, simply glancing between Griffyn, Queen, and Lord, with the occasional look spared for Bear.

[Shamitako]

Grima

 

Princess looked over at her swords, her face clearly puzzled. "Probably about three minutes, it depends, but that should suffice for the distance I cut earlier." she answered. It had been almost twenty minutes at this point. Two of the blades suddenly vanished and reappeared in the woman's hands, much like the one that struck the table before, a third Grima found in her own hand, replacing the coin she had been toying with.

 

"If you're ever in real danger, stick that dagger through your palm, it will bring you back here." Princess explained, "And before you ask, it works like that because I want to make sure you're actually in danger, also so you can teleport dangerous people here if that would solve things faster, I could use some exercise." 

 

With her rather inadequate explanation finished, Princess turned and used her pair of swords to cut a complex pattern in the air, creating another portal, this one back to Greed. 

 

"Off you go." Princess directed her cheerily, "Once all of this is over, feel free to come by again, it gets lonely out here. Oh, and tell Vicky I said hello."

 

Lord (a long time ago) 

 

Lord glared at the dagger in her hand, as if she would ever use such a thing. "Keep it." she said, making no attempt to hide her anger, "I won't accept this worthless trinket, if you don't want to stay with me, then I don't want to see you again."

 

Princess shrugged and took the dagger back, but Lord knew her mother well enough to recognize that the woman was hurt by the refusal. "Suit yourself." was all Princess said as she opened a portal, "but you know, you're going to need to learn to let things go. That girl isn't out to get you, she's just stubborn. Reminds me of someone I know." 

 

"I got it from the best, didn't I?" in her desperation, Lord invoked his memory, and the callous look she got in response made her regret it immediately.

 

"Goodbye, Lord." with that final blow, Princess entered the portal, leaving Lord behind to seethe over her mother's choice.

 

Lord couldn't understand it, was their home meaningless? So long as this brazen little upstart insisted on challenging Lord's authority, their home was at risk, so why did Princess abandon it? Lord made a vow to herself: she would defeat Blink no matter what, she didn't need Princess's help, she was the God of Pride and she always won in the end.

 

Hiroki

 

Gryffin caught Hiroki's eye and gave an apologetic look. He then shot that look towards Seeker

 

Seeker seemed to get the message. "Assuming we're right, that leaves Supernova and Slumbering Giant." she said in a final attempt to bring this ill-fated war council to an end, "Since Strider has already one against Giant, it only seems reasonable to have them fight again. The conditions may be slightly different, but it's better than betting on unknowns."

 

"Which leaves Adam to fight Supernova." Lord stopped pouting to ensure that her statement sounded like a demand.

 

"What? No, did you miss the fact that he's only gotten worse?" Bear asked, for once his info ire calm disrupted by actual shock.

 

"I did not." Lord responded forcefully, "I am fully aware that I screwed up. I put him in this tournament to teach him a lesson, but he onyl caused trouble. But that changed, after his fight with Aries he's owned up to his mistakes and I'm confident that he's learned his lesson. It won't undo the mess he's made, but he is ready to fight, for real this time."

 

"I don't know about that. But I don't have an alternative, so I suppose he will have to be ready." Bear relented. 

 

"It's settled then, this is the plan we're going with?" Queen asked, edging back as if to stand.

 

"It is." Seeker agreed.

 

"It's our best option." Was Lord's response.

 

"We can win this way, we have to." Bear.

 

"Oh no, we're absolutely fucked." Gryffin said with a laugh (and a glare from his mother), "Let's show Aries and his little rebellion that we can beat the odds no matter how high they're stacked in his favor."

 

The gods all turned to Hiroki, awaiting her input. It seemed like they had settled on a course regardless of what she said, but they still wanted to hear from her for some reason.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

Just as the swords vanishes, Grima had flipped her coin into the air, still not paying attention to it as her hand waited for it to fall back down. She only noticed she was doing the act when, instead of a coin, a dagger falling hilt first into her hand, causing her to tilt to the side in surprise. But, before she could voice her surprise, Princess began to explain why she gave her the dagger, causing Grima to nod, slipping the dagger through once of her pant's belt loops, seeing as she didn't have actual pockets, "Makes sense, wouldn't want to bother you too much" she commented as she walked around the table, just as the portal was created,

 

"I'll make sure to say hello to Lord for you, and Princess... Wait" Grima paused, turning to Princess before she stepped through the portal, "I don't think we ever actually introduced ourselves before. I'm Grima, Hansen" she pointed out, placing a hand on her collarbone as she actually introduced herself.

[Chevaleresse]

The silver-haired girl resisted the urge to shrink back again as the assembled gods all turned their eyes to her. Waiting for her to speak. Somehow, she felt like that should feel better than it actually did. Hiroki took a deep breath while trying to make it look like she wasn't bracing herself for speech. Really, it shouldn't actually be that big of a deal - the decision was all but made, all that remained was for her to agree to it. Yet, it still felt like it all rested on her for a moment. 

 

Hiroki nodded once, then spoke as firmly as she could manage. "Let's do this."

[Shamitako]

Grima

 

"Min-su McKay." Princess responded with her own proper introduction, "Now get going, before it closes you have to wait three more hours and drink tea until it spills out of your ears.

 

The woman smiled. Regardless of earlier tensions surrounding motivation, she'd really warmed up to Grima. Maybe she just welcomed any break from her rather lonely existence. Even if that was her reason, she did hope to see Grima again sometime. 

 

Hiroki

 

At Hiroki's affirmation, the gods all started to stand up. It seemed the meeting was adjourned.

 

"I'll see about contacting Aries." Queen volunteered.

 

"And I will inform everyone of the change in plans. I assume you'll also handle you own 'asset', Queen?" Seeker asked.

 

"I will, yes. Don't worry."

 

While the rest of the gods started to file out of the room, Gryffin made his way over to Hiroki. "Hey, thanks." he said, "I don't really belong here, I didn't do anything special to deserve it like my mom, so it helped a lot to have someone else to speak up when I couldn't." he laughed nervously and didn't stick around enough for a conversation to start.

 

Soon Hiroki found herself shuffling out of the room as well, leaving only Bear behind her. The God of Sloth had closed his eyes as soon as the meeting had ended. He didn't actually seem to be asleep, he remained upright and his breathing was very controlled. Meditation wasn't a common practice anymore, but it seems like that was what Bear was doing. It certainly made sense, anything to calm the mind after such a stressful meeting.

 

There was still much to do, so Hiroki didn't have time to stay and ponder about Bear. The remaining contestants would have to be gathered, and they still had a cramped boat trip to take. It wouldn't be easy, but Bear's peacefulness was surprisingly contagious, and even Hiroki couldn't help but feel a little like maybe things would work out. 

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

“Right, right. I’ll see you another time, McKay” Grima replied quickly, giving Princess a quick wave before turning back to the portal, stepping through without hesitation this time around. Like Princess, Grima had sort of warmed up to her host, despite having come close to death earlier.

 

Hopefully by the time this was all done they could sit around without the threat of the Planes over the horizon.