Ravenna ~ Mines of Umi ~ Aozora
"Why do you...Are you hurt?" asked Demeter. No, not Demeter. For a flicker of a moment - a moment so brief it might not have existed at all - Persephone's emerald eyes appeared aqua. An aqua as never-ending in its sadness as the very bottom of Hell; for a moment, Ravenna watched. And then the moment was gone. Persephone laughed, her green eyes smiling at her mother's concern.
"Of course not, mama," she said. "Do you really think your Queen of the Underworld can be harmed so easily?"
"Murmur?" Demeter asked. Persephone raised her brows, then proceeded to fret endlessly. Did her mother know of her affair? How had she come to know of the Earl of Hell? Which of her servants had betrayed her? Would her mother tell Hades? What would her mother do? Was she angry? Why wasn't she angry? And why on Earth was she covered in crayons?
Persephone's eyes flickered towards the dark haired mage who'd yelled before destroying the lights of the cave. Why was he still there? Who in Hell was he? Then, Persephone narrowed her eyes upon closer inspection. No, it was not a boy but Pandora, the very first human woman to have been made. Well, that explained it. Pandora was an idiot. "What are you doing there?" she called out towards 'Pandora,' who was really Sikes. "Your very existence is a crime towards Godkind." Persephone rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth before giving Aphrodite vague eye signals that she assumed the Goddess of Love and Beauty would understand. Of course, she wouldn't.
"Persephone, at this pace, you might just break Demeter," chastised the greatest voice of all Hellkind. Persephone furrowed her brows before releasing Demeter with an "Oh." not having realised she was still holding on to her mother. Persephone smiled sheepishly before kissing Demeter on both her cheeks. "Sorry, mama. You're becoming terribly fragile. How can the Goddess of Harvest be so starved?" Of course, she knew the answer. Her mother was obviously worried for her, as she always was, and could not bring herself to fertilise the Earth. "I'm here now, mama," she said, rubbing her mother's bony shoulder.
"Do you think it's possible that these two have a pure enough soul to release the Aozora?" Lord Murmur asked, his voice as all-comsuming as the galaxies beyond, as heart pounding as a split of thunder in a silent night, as masculine as he who was the embodiment of testosterone, as...
Zeus.
Persephone's eyes widened as she stared at Zeus. Zeus. Her father. God of Gods. Zeus.
Oh. My. Freaking. Zeus.
The Queen of the Underworld stumbled backwards, staring at her father in all his mighty glory. Although he seemed to have shrunk... Just a little. Why was everyone shrinking and why did Aphrodite have chest hair? Still, Persephone could see the power radiating from his grey and white head of hair; the muscles rippled beneath his strong arms. He could break her with a flick of his paw. Wait, paw? Persephone squinted before shaking her head and shrugging. Clearly, there was something wrong with her eyesight. You must cut down on your intake of trees, she chastised herself.
As if she'd suddenly noticed she'd been gawking at her father the entire time, Persephone quickly dropped to her knees, glaring at everyone else - especially her two reckless children - to do the same. "My liege," she said with a respectfully bowed head. Her forest green hair fell over her shoulders to shield her face; she pressed her palms to the dirt to still their trembling. "Father, what do you wish of me?"
"Forgive me for my disobedience, greatest of Gods, mightiest of Kings. Your ferocity inspires every artist of every kingdom to sculpt your beastly shoulders and perfect face," she said, trying to keep the fear from her voice.
"Meow."
Persephone yelped as she jumped to her feet and flattened herself against the wall of the cave, clinging to it for dear life as she hid behind Murmur. But not even Murmur could stand against this... This... Beast. "What do you mean, my lord?!" she gasped, trembling as she stared at the epitome of perfection, of horror. This was the creature of her nightmares. This was the creature who could make Hell freeze. What did he mean? Was Meow a summon? A spell? Was she soon to die? Why had he uttered such a barbaric word? What did this mean? She had to protect Murmur from her father. Yes, she had to protect her love.
"If you must punish one, punish me. Leave him," She looked at Murmur. "Unharmed. I beg of you father."
"Meow."
"I don't understand! What do you wish of me, oh mighty Zeus? Please, tell me and I will do!" she begged, dropping to her knees before the God. "Do you need your fur combed? Your whiskers teased? Your claws painted?" Persephone paused. Why did Zeus look suspiciously like a cat...?
Persephone clasped her hands to her mouth, as if she'd uttered her thoughts aloud. Surely, her father would punish her for such a disrespectful thought! The mightiest Zeus? A cat? Never. Oh Hell, she might as well have killed herself for the atrocity she'd committed in thinking such thoughts and for seeing such lies.
"Meow."
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"
Freya Hirane ~ Mines of Umi ~ Aozora
The strangest thing was happening. Freya watched, dumbfounded, as the Queen of the Underworld dropped to her knees before Stamps. Stamps. The cat. Persephone then proceeded to beg for forgiveness and throw herself at a wall when Stamps did what all cats did: meowed. Freya stood frozen, her jaw nearly falling to the floor as the woman who'd just decapitated another bowed down to a cat.
What in the Heavens...?
Then, it clicked. Slowly, because shock made one weak in thoughts but slowly, Freya understood. Persephone thought Stamps the cat was Zeus. Crimson Blade's master's - Death's - greatest fear was a cat.
"Uh... Zeus has a sore throat," Freya said slowly.
"What?" Persephone asked, half fearful, half shocked, half relieved. Wait, no, that was a whole and a half. Well, close enough.
"He, umm... Spoke too much. Commanding people and... Stuff," Freya mumbled. "He uh, wants you to help us."
"How?" Persephone asked, eager to please Zeu- Stamps.
"Umm..." Freya thought.
"I know!" the beautiful green-haired woman gushed, racing towards the blue gems that was embedded to the cave. "A gift!" Closing her eyes, the Takeover glowed, her emerald light intensifying until Freya had to look away and shield her eyes with her arms. Then, the cave was dim once again. "You and Demeter are capable of opening it." Persephone beamed.
Freya furrowed her brows, staring at Sidney incredulously. Them? How? Why? Persephone took Freya's hand, ushering her towards the eerily beautiful crystal and placing her hand on it. The blonde mage shut her eyes, expecting a shock of electricity to slither up her arm but feeling nothing but a slight, warm tingling trickling up the length of her arm. A strange euphoria filled her, until she was almost dizzy with joy. Freya's lips tilted into the smile of a drunk - well, she was always drunk but now more so - as her head rolled on her shoulders. Forcing her head to stay still, she reached towards Sidney. "You should try this," she slurred. "So... Happy.
"Unicorns. I want to be a unicorn."