[center][h1][@Rtron] [color=92278f]and[/color] [color=00a651]IrishAngelQueen[/color][/h1][/center]

Vestec appeared in front of Roxan, his usual chaotic mix of colors back in place. “Roxan, dearie, give me back his soul and his sword. I have plans for the both of them..” He said, before chuckling. “And for the record, I have always cared about you. It was just wiser to not show my affections publicly...yet. The other gods might have decided that you were the perfect target, and at least two of them wouldn’t have had the decency to say they did it just because they dislike me. Escre would have claimed it was in the name of balance and Vowzra would have claimed fate. Do you know how tedious it is to listen to him justify everything he does, even if it’s as bad as me, by saying fate willed it?”

She glared stubbornly. [color=00a651]“I want the sword, at least,” [/color]she replied, tilting her head in consideration of his words. [color=00a651]“I’ve seen that happen often enough, true. Just give me one reason why you care about me, and proof that you do. Other than using me and my powers,”[/color] She tightened her grip on the wraithlike soul. [color=00a651]“And I might, give you the soul, [i]father.”[/i][/color] She almost spat the last word.


“You’re my daughter, I need no better reason. You want proof? Rather than the respect you deserved, people viewed you with contempt and fear and disgust. I couldn’t do anything, lest I draw attention to you by the other Gods. So I had to watch and wait and plan as you were disrespected. This man,” he gestured to the soul in her hand, “didn’t disrespect you. This man honored you, respected you, even loved you like his daughter despite you being the child of a woman who tried to kill him, and your touch being death. I don’t care about my followers. If they do good I give them power, if they fail they die. Pretty simple. But this man did what few mortals dared, and what I could not if I wanted to keep you alive. For that I am going to bring him back to life. Because of what he did for you and what he means to you.”

He shrugged. “You may hate me, and from your perspective I can’t blame you. But I love you and this man loved you and meant a lot to you. If you need even more proof, I’ll help you fight off any God you manage to irritate over the course of your life.” Vestec chuckled. “You are my daughter after all. At some point you’re going to irritate some God. Now can I have the soul to bring him back to life? And then you can request the sword from him.”

She was shocked, and honestly? She believed him. She knew whenever was lying, and this was not one of those times. She looked at her feet for a moment, struggling with her emotions. What he had said about Viscardi was true. He had done all those things and more, he had crafted the gloves she always wore on her hands, and had never once shown fear of her company. Finally, she looked back up at her father, seeing him with new eyes. She took a deep breath and sighed, her spine relaxing, her anger gone.

[color=00a651]“Alright, Father, I believe you,” [/color]she said. [color=00a651]“Aye, they did treat me this way, with all those things. I never knew you cared. I know mum didn’t. Not really. But I have just a few questions, why have him killed at all? That mortal, Ialu, he killed Viscardi because you told him to challenge him.”[/color] She suddenly grinned wolfishly. [color=00a651]“I’ll give you the soul and the sword, but my last question is this; do you object to...”[/color] she hesitated, her smile fading a little. [color=00a651]“I’ve never known what it’s like, to be touched without poisoning someone, would you...?” She trailed off, not wanting to sound pathetic.
[/color]
Vestec’s colors pulsed in a decidedly relieved and happy fashion. “I’m so glad you do. Otherwise it’d be very awkward whenever I give you my help.” He tilted his head to consider her next question. “Ialu? He’s going to be a force of quite a bit of Chaos in this world. But first he needs an empire, not a mob. His ‘Mighty One’ wouldn’t have just given him Garakai, so he needed to fight for it. Viscardi was the chieftain of the empire, so he was the one he needed to fight without trying to attack it with his rabble and failing. Given a little bit of time and pushing from me he’ll help bring about some fun times for the world.”

“Of course. You’re my daughter. I’d do anything for you.”

Roxan stuck the sword into and empty sheath on her belt and stepped forward, shyly.[color=00a651] “I like Chaos,” [/color]she said, her tone somewhat gentler than it usually was. [color=00a651]“It makes things more exciting.” [/color]she stepped forwards until she was close enough to touch his shoulder and handed him Viscardi’s soul before taking off her right glove. She stretched her her fingers, enjoying the cool wind that made them less clammy. Vestec was a full head taller than she was, but that was how it’s supposed to be, she mused.

She looked up at him, her silver eye seeing his spiritual form, a mess of colors that made up who he was, while her gold one saw his physical form, the one of a god sized down to be less intimidating. Not that she was. For a man, he was alright, she supposed.

[color=00a651]“I know that you’re supposed to be divine and all,” [/color]she began, grinning. [color=00a651]“But even deities need physical proof of affection, yeah?”

[/color]“Chaos is fun. Chaos stops things from stagnating, no matter how much others dislike it.” Vestec replied, taking the soul and tucking it somewhere safe. There would be time soon after this to resurrect the man.  Right now he was making up for lost time, no matter how necessary it was, with his daughter.

“If I acted like a divine was supposed to my life would be very, very boring I assure you. Vowzra and Escre can be distant and regal. I prefer to be more...hands on with my followers. So yes, even deities need physical proof of affection.” Vestec chuckled. “Especially fathers.”

Roxan grinned. [color=00a651]“You’re probably going to be my new favorite god,” [/color]she chuckled. [color=00a651]“Once done here, I need something to do. Even with my soul-escort duties, I have too much time on my hands.”[/color] She leaned into him boldly, leaving the choice open, daring him to make the next move. She looked up at him with an assessing eye.

[color=00a651]“Why is it that I’m your only child, I wonder,”[/color] she said. [color=00a651]“I’m sure the other gods have more than one, although I've had to hunt them down and escort a few of their souls here.”[/color] She studied her hand. It was covered with a black spiderweb tattoo that she had been born with, earning her the nickname of Black Widow, when the village boys had seen it.

Vestec took Roxan’s hand and hugged her to him. “I can assure you, you’re my favorite child. As for things to do, well, there is a human named Zerabil I’ll be visiting soon. Vowzra had abandoned him, and I’ve decided to take the Time God’s place. He’ll need someone to help guide him, and it will give you something to do and certainly give you a steady supply of souls to escort. Maybe, if what I have in mind works, even give you a chance to help kill Ialu.”

“As for why you’re my only child...well...that’s because of Astarte. Goddess of Magic. She didn’t necessarily approve of your creation and your mother certainly doesn’t want to try again so I just stopped, though I’ve never regretted it or you, irritating Astarte is at the top of my ‘things to not do’ list. Technically, she’s the only thing on that list.” Vestec flashed briefly pink, before returning to his normal swirl of colors.

Roxan felt her defenses crumble as Vestec hugged her. So this is what it felt like, to be touched without fatal consequences. Her eyes gleamed. [i]Kill Ialu?[/i] [color=00a651]“It’d be my pleasure to help with all those things, Da,” [/color]she dropped the formal title of ‘Father’. [color=00a651]“Especially with Ialu.” [/color]She couldn’t help the malicious grin that appeared on her face at the thought.

[color=00a651]“I met Astarte, once. I rather liked her, even if my creation wasn’t approved,”[/color] she raised an eyebrow.[color=00a651] “Gee, I wonder why mum won’t give me a little sibling.”[/color] Her tone was wry, and at the same time, amused. She’d never thought that he’d ever be embarrassed. She grinned again, eyes dancing.

[color=00a651]“I must admit, though. I’m beginning to like being an only child-Mum won’t like that,”[/color] she scowled. [color=00a651]“Probably get drunk again and call me demon-spawn. Crazy bitch.”[/color] She had a certain bitterness for her sweet-again-bitter-again mother.

“A taste for violent vengeance seems to run in the family. Don’t worry. You’ll have your shot. ” Vestec chuckled. “Ialu has his uses, and putting him against Zerabil will ensure lots of chaos for a good long while.” 

“I’m glad you like her.” Vestec said, flashing pink again. He shrugged as she spoke of her mother. “What you do to deal with your mother is your business. I won’t be visiting her any time soon. It’d be best for all of us if I didn’t.” He let her go, regretfully, and reached into his jacket again and pulled out a small black rock. “Take this. I have an island that’s largely left alone, and I’ll resurrect Viscardi there and start establishing an Order. You can use it as a safe place to call home, teleporting to it with this rock. Viscardi will doubtlessly make any additions you require. Now, I have to go. Heroes to visit, Gods to chat with, chaos to cause. Have fun while I’m gone dearie.” With that, he was gone.

Roxan smiled, taking the rock from him. [color=00a651]“Farewell, Da,” [/color]she said softly. She tucked the rock into her pocket and pulled her wings out. She also had business to attend to; souls to escort, weapons to deliver to a special ally of hers, and she also had to see a man about a dog, so to speak. She spread her wings and disappeared from the Astral Home with a silver-gold flash, reappearing above a broad forest. The wind ruffled her feathers and her hair streamed out behind her like a black mane.

Her smile was feral as she sped off towards her old village to deliver the weapons she carried. She decided, that after she was done with her errands, she’d go check out that island Vestec had talked about.