[centre][img]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/divinus-mk4/images/3/3b/Afc6efa58bae4f9c3be8ed679a7ac131.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20200229065521[/img] [h2]Gibbou, Cadien and Fe’ris[/h2] [/centre] [hr] [colour=lightblue]“H-hello?”[/colour] cooed the frightened moon goddess through a number of sobs as she collected herself off the stoney ground. Behind her, the portal back to the dark side of the Moon hummed faithfully and unmoving, as if beckoning her to return - to forget about this place and to remember the safety of her home and-- She completely ignored those thoughts, desperate and starved for attention and contact. She almost clawed herself forward before she realised she could, in fact, stand, and proceeded to run forward, waving her hands wildly while shouting, [colour=lightblue]“Hello?! Is anybody out there?! It’s me! Gibbou! I exist again! Anyone?!”[/colour] Then suddenly, Cadien landed directly in her path, having leapt from the other side of the arena to meet her. [color=violet]“Hello th-”[/color] he began to greet her, before she collided into him and sent both of them to the ground. Gibbou shook her head wildly to shake off the dizziness, then focused her eyes forward to see Cadien. Without even thinking, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around his torso with a squeal. [colour=lightblue]“OH, SISTER! A FAMILIAR FACE!”[/colour] she screamed victoriously as her hands nearly clawed up his back, weeping giddy tears like a waterfall. Cadien looked at her in confusion, then slowly returned the hug. [color=violet]“I’m not your sister,”[/color] he said gently, [color=violet]“but everything should be alright now. Do you still remember my name?”[/color] Realising how she probably came off, Gibbou tossed herself backwards as quickly as she had attacked him, then hesitantly tried to reach out to him again before sitting herself down for good. [colour=lightblue]“Mhm! Of course I remember your name!”[/colour] There was a pause, during which Gibbou’s face twisted around awkwardly. [colour=lightblue]“... Carl, right?”[/colour] [color=violet]“Cadien,”[/color] he corrected, [color=violet]“but I suppose you were close, so you’re better off than some. Don’t worry. I remember you, Gibbou.”[/color] He smiled. [color=violet]“I see that time has done nothing to diminish your beauty.”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“Cadien! Right… And, uh… Thank you… For the compliment, I mean… And for remembering me.”[/colour] The moon goddess’ face turned a shade of pinkish purple. [colour=lightblue]“You’re still just as, uh, just as handsome, I think.”[/colour] Dusting himself off, Cadien rose to his feet, and extended a hand to help her up. He then remembered the bat god, who was standing off to the side, nervously tapping his claws together beneath the gaudy cape he wore. Cadien wasn’t a love god, but he definitely knew shyness when he saw it. [color=Maroon] “H-Hello, Gibbou,”[/color] stammered the extraordinarily red god, [color=Maroon]“You’re as lovely as your moon ever was.”[/color] Gibbou looked up from Cadien to spot the bat-like humanoid behind him. Her eyes went wide with wonder as she was helped to her feet, shuffled over and took the bat god by his clawed hands. [colour=lightblue]“You are the coolest, cutest thing I have ever seen - what’s your name?!”[/colour] She was skipping giddily at the end of the sentence. [color=Maroon]“I go by Fe’ris,”[/color] squeaked the god, all pretenses of dignity gone as he burrowed down into his cape, eyes barely peeping out. [color=Maroon]“And if my memory serves correctly, you created me. Or rather, you created the bat which went on to become me.”[/color] The giddiness faded and Gibbou’s face lost all colour. Her grip loosened and she raised one hand to cover her mouth. [colour=lightblue]“You mean… You mean you’re…”[/colour] She stepped back a little and once again, her eyes welled up with tears of quartz. [colour=lightblue]“... Oh, sister, the first life didn’t die.”[/colour] [color=Maroon]“Goodness, please don’t cry!”[/color] He took a lurching step toward her, then stopped himself, not sure how to comfort the teary goddess, or even if he should. [color=Maroon]“It’s perfectly alright. I quite enjoy existing! Your shaping gave me purpose and direction. Really, it’s a good thing that I went through what I did.”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“I’m so happy you exist!”[/colour] Gibbou sobbed through the tears and shuffled almost zombie-like over to Fe’ris, arms presented to embrace him. [colour=lightblue]“Imshoreliiiiiiiieeeeeved-uhuuuuuuuuh!”[/colour] He held her awkwardly, every part of his shape too sharp or too soft, too stiff or too flexible, but his eyes were shining as brightly as Gibbou’s moon. [color=Maroon]“It, it is, wuh, rather nice, to finally meet you,”[/color] he managed to get out, as he patted her on the back, not wanting to let go but also not knowing what to do. [color=Maroon]“Have you met Cadien before? A rather charming fellow, I must say.”[/color] Cadien, who had been awkwardly standing off to the side, perked up at the sudden mention of his name. Gibbou turned her head around, regarding Cadien with swollen eyes. [colour=lightblue]“Uh-huh… He tried to kissh me shome millennia back.”[/colour] She ran her forearm under her nose with a long snort.[colour=lightblue] “Oh, sheesh, sorry…”[/colour] She distanced herself a bit from Fe’ris and sniffed. [colour=lightblue]“My, uh, my manners have kinda… Died… Over the last millennia or so. Weird how that happens when you’re alone all the time, y’know.”[/colour] She gave another snort. [colour=lightblue]“So what’s up?”[/colour] [color=violet]“Well, none of us are alone anymore,”[/color] Cadien remarked. [color=violet]“And… I am sorry again for that incident,”[/color] he said, his cheeks reddening slightly. [color=violet]“I’ve been a bit starved for social contact myself, but that also gave me time to reflect on things, I suppose. Had plenty of time to remodel my realm, too. You’re both welcome to see it, at some point.”[/color] [color=maroon]“I should love to see it,”[/color] hissed Fe’ris through gritted teeth, still hung up on the “almost kissed Gibbou” thing. He took a step closer to the goddess. [color=maroon]“I’m sure it’s perfect.”[/color] Cadien raised his eyebrows. [color=violet]“...Is everything alright?”[/color] he asked after a moment’s pause. [color=violet]“Have I done something to offend you?”[/color] Fe’ris sniffed, relaxing his fluff in a bid to make his jealousy less apparent. [color=Maroon]“Oh, nothing, nothing. Live in the moment, as the mortals say. Or will say.”[/color] He tapped his chin with a thoughtful claw. [color=maroon]“Do they say that yet? I am rather curious as to the state of Galbar. It really is such a shame we can’t bid it a visit.”[/color] [color=violet]“I think I said that a few times myself,”[/color] Cadien shrugged. [color=violet]“Anyhow, I know a bit about Galbar’s state, as I can sometimes hear the thoughts of mortals who try to speak to me. They seem to be doing fine, I suppose. They still exist. I’ve tried to offer advice where I can. The occasional blessing. I hear they’ve developed some new methods of finding food, but I didn’t have a hand in that. Some areas seem to be a bit troubled, though. But maybe now that we’re all in one place we work together on trying to return, hm?”[/color] “That seems a wonderful idea,” nodded the bat god. “The more deities lending strength to this task, the better the chance of us succeeding. Gibbou, what say you?” [colour=lightblue]“I mean… I’ve tried lots of times, but portals always seem to end in knockbacks or pain, or, or…”[/colour] She hung her head. [colour=lightblue]“I miss Twilight…”[/colour] Cadien nodded grimly. [color=violet]“It’s been the same for me, but maybe there’s something we haven’t tried. Say, who is this Twilight?”[/color] Gibbou blinked and suddenly looked to be sweating. [colour=lightblue]“OH! Uh, uhm… He’s, uh… A g-guy. Yeah! A guy. One who I definitely didn’t kidnap two millennia ago - and if I did, he’s the only one. You can’t prove anything!”[/colour] She slapped her hands over her mouth. [colour=lightblue]“Sorry, I haven’t slept well lately.”[/colour] [color=Maroon]”Kidnapping?”[/color] [color=violet]“Ah. There was a mortal in your realm?”[/color] Cadien asked. [colour=lightblue]“NO! I mean, yes - yes, there was,”[/colour] she replied while prodding her indexes together. [colour=lightblue]“He’s, uh… He’s not there anymore.”[/colour] [color=violet]“Hmm. Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t mean to pry, but can I ask what happened?”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“He-... He dumped me!”[/colour] Gibbou burst out. [colour=lightblue]“Opened a portal and just ran off! Oh, I’m so easy to fool, it’s insane!”[/colour] She hunkered down and placed her face between her knees. Cadien stepped forward and knelt to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. [color=violet]“There, there. If he dumped you, he must be a fool. Anyhow, if you don’t mind me asking, how did he open a portal within your realm? Could you not have stopped him?”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“W-well…”[/colour] she sniffed, [colour=lightblue]“I, uh… I didn’t want him to die, right? That had already happened to other mortals-- I, I mean! Other creatures that I totally haven’t--... Anyway, I didn’t want him to die, so I gave him a bit of my soul to make him immortal - the moon’s a harsh place to live. Also, it would be nice if he could make stuff by himself, so that was an added bonus.”[/colour] She shrunk ever tighter together. [colour=lightblue]“... But first thing he did was walk out on me. Uuuugh…”[/colour] Cadien had many questions. Firstly, had Gibbou truly been kidnapping mortals out of loneliness? Secondly, why would she give part of her soul to a mortal, when there were other ways to make him immortal? Thirdly, his eyes widened… [color=violet]”You’re saying that this mortal, with a portion of your soul, sent himself to Galbar, and the Lifeblood didn’t spit him back out? Not only that, but he can… create things? Like we can?”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“I know, right?! It’s so unfair!”[/colour] whined Gibbou into her forearms. [color=violet]“That… that…”[/color] Cadien was astonished. At a loss for words. Then suddenly he leaned forward and threw his arms around her from his kneeling position. [color=violet]“That’s brilliant! I think… I think you just found our solution!”[/color] Fe’ris seemed less thrilled than the situation would warrant, given the revolutionary news. He had been quiet for a while, only slightly following the conversation while lost in thought. [color=maroon]“Gibbou,”[/color] he said softly, [color=maroon]“you’ve been kidnapping mortals? To your moon?”[/color] Gibbou squealed as she was hugged, and now it was her turn to awkwardly pat at Cadien’s back. She rolled her eyes over to Fe’ris meanwhile, then looked away somewhat shamefully. [colour=lightblue]“I, uh… Only once. It was only once. I had a really bad day and just wanted to protect everyone.”[/colour] She gently pushed Cadien away. [colour=lightblue]“I didn’t know I’d be sitting two thousand years later with a zoo on my hands.”[/colour] She offered them both a small smile. [colour=lightblue]“Glad it was of help in the end, though. It’s nice that something good came out of that fiasco.”[/colour] [color=violet]“Indeed!”[/color] Cadien excitedly rose to his feet. [color=violet]“If we can repeat what you did with Twilight, but solve the issue of loyalty, then we may be able to once again hold direct influence over Galbar.”[/color] Then his excitement died down a bit, as he looked to Fe’ris, then he turned back to Gibbou. [color=violet]“Sorry to hear about those other mortals though. I can’t say I agree, but… the Separation was hard on us all, I suppose. Just don’t do it again, yeah?”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“I won’t! De-definitely,”[/colour] Gibbou swore and smiled sheepishly before looking at Fe’ris. [colour=lightblue]“I really can’t stress how much I like your form, by the way. Have you, too, been spreading bats all over the world?”[/colour] “Not quite. I never did get the chance to spread bats themselves, though I did have a hand in creating bat-like creatures.” He flushed an even darker shade of red, not meeting her eyes. “My realm is full of them though, if you’d ever care to visit. I can’t say no to the cute little things.” [colour=lightblue]“Yay!”[/colour] celebrated Gibbou and giggled. [colour=lightblue]“Oh, by the way, Cadien - how would we solve the loyalty issue?”[/colour] Cadien stroked his chin. [color=violet]“Hmm. That has yet to be determined. Perhaps instead of taking a mortal from Galbar, we could create new ones from scratch, with minds and personalities that are loyal to us. Or perhaps we could just make someone who is more or less an exact copy of ourselves - sharing our ideals. I’ll figure something out, I’m sure.”[/color] [color=maroon]“You could create a puppet some sort, perhaps. A hollow vessel for your soul, and a direct extension of yourself. It wouldn’t be a perfect copy, however- I believe the Lifeblood would be able to tell if you stuffed all of yourself into a single receptacle.”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“Huh. It’s that smart, huh?”[/colour] [color=violet]“Well, it was able to keep us all trapped for two thousand years,”[/color] Cadien shrugged, [color=violet]“but maybe if we only send a small part of ourselves through it doesn’t notice?”[/color] Gibbou shrugged. [colour=lightblue]“Thoughts, Fe’ris?”[/colour] [color=maroon]“The Lifeblood is more intelligent than many of us give it credit for. You said it yourself, Cadien: It was able to trap us for two thousand years. If we are truly to return to Galbar in any way, shape, or form, it requires wits, not force. I fear that, even if we all attempted to return at the same time, it would still be able to push us back out. This vessel, or representative, idea has merit.”[/color] Cadien nodded. [color=violet]“We are in agreement, then.”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“... Toooo?”[/colour] [color=violet]“We are in agreement on how we are to return. To attempt what you did,”[/color] Cadien said. [color=violet]“How exactly did you remove a piece of your soul, anyhow?”[/color] [colour=lightblue]“Oh! Uh…”[/colour] Gibbou gave her head a scratch, then her chin, and finally, the side of her nose. [colour=lightblue]“Don’t get mad, buuut… Oh! Wait, actually--... No, no, no, that couldn’t be it, I-... No wait! Yes!”[/colour] She pointed triumphantly at Cadien and declared, [colour=lightblue]“I just imagined that the mortal should acquire divinity!”[/colour] [color=violet]“It was… that easy?”[/color] Cadien furrowed his brow. [color=violet]“Hmm… I thought dividing one’s soul would be a more arduous process. Well then. I suppose that’s good to know. Thank you, Gibbou.”[/color] [color=violet]“Now,”[/color] Cadien said looking around. [color=violet]“It seems that more of our kind have emerged,”[/color] and indeed, a number of other gods had already emerged from their own portals. [color=violet]“I suppose we ought to introduce ourselves, and… wow, that has to the be the brightest goddess I’ve ever seen.”[/color] He looked past Gibbou’s shoulder, at someone on the other end of the arena. Fe’ris audibly winced, slapping a claw over his eyes. [color=maroon]“Do pardon me, I suddenly have business to attend to… elsewhere. Somewhere very, very dark. We ought to reconvene later. It was a pleasure.”[/color] He hustled away, to a shadowy spot in the stones, whispering [color=maroon]“ow, ow, ow”[/color] under his breath. Gibbou immediately turned her eyes to the light, regretting it instantly, but also being terribly thankful she did it. In an explosion of movements, she charged at the light as though chased by a maniacal beast, screaming, [colour=lightblue]“ORAELIAAAA!”[/colour] [hr] [hider=Post Summary] Gibbou emerges from her portal and blindly charges into Antiquity screaming and yelling. Cadien leaps in front of her and they collide. She’s excited to meet a familiar face and they exchange some words before Fe’ris catches up. Fe’ris introduces himself and they exchange a tender moment as Fe’ris reveals his origin. Anyway, Cadien ends up back into the conversation, and eventually the topic shifts to the possibility of returning to Galbar. Gibbou mentions missing Twilight, and out of curiosity Cadien asks who Twilight is. Upon further questioning he finds out that Gibbou tied part of her soul to a mortal, and said mortal went to Galbar without being kicked out. Cadien thinks this is a big deal, so he overlooks the fact that Gibbou accidentally let slip how she had been kidnapping mortals. Fe’ris however, noticed, and was a bit disappointed in her. Cadien brushes it off and they go back to discussing the possibility of creating avatars. They all agree that it’s a pretty neat idea. Then Oraelia emerges from her portal. Her light makes Fe’ris uncomfortable, so he leaves. Gibbou, meanwhile, freaks out and goes running toward her. Cadien is once more alone. :( [/hider]