[hr][color=bf4f51][sup][h1] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/hAL5bU4.gif[/img][/center] [b][center][color=bf4f51]PARVATI[/color][/center][/b] [/h1][/sup][/color][indent][sub][COLOR=bf4f51][b][I]SEATTLE UNIVERSITY, HOME OF THE REDHAWKS[/I][/b][/COLOR][/sub][/indent][indent][sup][right][COLOR=bf4f51][b]MOOD:[i] KINDA CONFUSED AND SLIGHTLY ANNOYED[/i][/b][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][hr] [indent][indent][color=darkgray]The barista looked around, drink in hand. [color=forestgreen]"I have a venti chai latte with three shots of blossoming rose syrup for..."[/color] The tell-tale pause was always there, although it was getting better in recent years. [color=forestgreen]"Shiv...Shivvvannie?"[/color] It was close enough. The young-looking Indian woman rose from her seat and headed towards the counter. She had heard enough different pronunciations of her most recent name that she could usually figure out which drink was meant for her. [color=bf4f51]"You almost got it! It's Shivani. Not like the orphan. But next time!"[/color] She cheerfully picked up her beverage, gave a nod and headed out towards the door. Starbucks was ubiquitous in Seattle, and there were plenty of locations near the university. It wasn't hard to find one. Plus Parvati could use a little taste of home. Even if the blossoming rose syrup couldn't hold a candle to the hibiscus syrup that Hecate... [color=bf4f51][i]Tessa. Got to remember she's going by Tessa here.[/i][/color] that Tess was holding like nectar over her head. No other place had it. Not that it made any sense for any other place to have it. Tessa just knew what Shivani liked. What Parvati didn't like was conclaves. Conclaves were never good. Not that being bound to a specific geographic area without any of her powers was great to begin with. However, conclaves were always worse. It usually meant someone was dead. Like dead, dead. It was one of those conclaves in the Byzantine capital that resulted in her being somehow widowed at the age of infinity plus 25. There were bad moments in her lifetime, but at least most time they were confined to fights with Shiva. But those weren't happening anymore. Parvati didn't know if they would ever happen again. But at least if they did, they would be on her terms now. She was a new goddess now. Not one of those fake ones that try to hawk fake healing gems. Humans could be so clueless sometimes. It made sense how Artem... Selena built her compounds so quickly. She did need a month or two at Moon River in the summer though. It kept her from going all... Kali. Which is what these conclaves also reminded her of. It took the Ottoman Empire seizing Constantinople for two months to get her out of her prison so she could get the righteous vengeance out of her system. And it was goooooood righteous vengeance. But it didn't bring Shiva back. It took her another 500 years to really get over that. Still hated conclaves though. But as the only member of the Hindu community invited to this shindig, it wasn't as if she could bail. Their interests still needed to be met. Even if Lakshmi was busy with her law practice and couldn't make these at the moment. So she had to hop on her electric bike, come all the way to the university and hear another reminder that their situation was growing more pointless by the century. At least from a pantheon standpoint. Being a teacher/radio DJ had its perks. Even if people couldn't remember how her name was supposed to be pronounced. Shivani was one of the early arrivals. She did take her duties seriously, when she had to do them. Other deities were here, even if the names and faces were slightly different every time. Kore has even been on the show a couple times to help the students learn how to do live production on acoustic sets. Plus the remixes were starting to get a bit of traction. She would have to ask her to come back on for another set. At least she could offer better accommodations than the ones here. There was way too much plastic for her liking. Still, at least she had her latte. She gave a wave to the rest of the gods and took her spot at one of the tables. Hopefully, this would be quick. [color=bf4f51][i]I wouldn't mind getting back home to tidy up the place a little bit.[/i][/color] [/color][/indent][/indent]