“Darling, we have [i]got[/i] to do something about these trust issues of yours.” Vasilia sagged against her cushions, worn down by the cruel barbs of her own crew, and coincidentally giving her the last few inches she needed to flick her tail at Dolce’s ankles. “I’ve neither reason nor time to lie to my own crew. If you don’t believe me, at least believe the Princess. And if you don’t believe either of us, you can ask Hades and believe him instead.”

“Gambling’s no fun if you know you’re already going to lose.” Dolce paused, then frowned. “...probably.”

“Perhaps the gods do it differently than we? We ought to ask them sometime.” She mulled it over another long sip. Gods, she was parched today. She’d have to get Dolce to secret the bottle away before long, but oh, how she’d rue its absence. Perhaps a little longer… “But there you have it; Hades tasked the Princess with this trip to Gaia, and the lot of us along with her. Satisfied?” And leaving, perchance? [i]Some[/i] of us had more important things to get back to.