[quote=@Thanqol]These crustaceans do not have divine favour yet but they are, ominously, trying.[/quote]

Alexa stares at the smoldering ashes, and does her best to resist the urge to light another parchment.

That's [i]not[/i] the result she was hoping for. Neutrality is better than Athena favoring the crabs, but that little flare-up at the end? How could that be anything but Athena's interest being piqued? Surely Alexa's not so far gone that even Athena would turn her back?

The precious scrap of parchment gives a nervous flutter in her breast pocket.

Maybe they have time for Redana to attempt the augury instead? The thought pains her but, as someone yet in favor with the gods, maybe--

[quote=@Tatterdemalion]“So what is [i]up[/i] with you and Molech?”[/quote]

Alexa freezes like a child caught with a hand halfway into the cookie jar.

Ah. Yes, [i]that[/i] book. He never let anybody but himself near it, you know--it was his magnum opus, his legacy, and he'd be damned before he let lesser hands dilute his masterpiece.  Alexa has read it cover to cover over a dozen times, looking for--looking for something. She's not sure what. Some hint? Some mention of her? Some idea that maybe, under all the bluster and distance, he might have--

That's not important. It's done with. He can't hurt anybody again.

She stands, not looking at Redana. It's not a snub--there are crabs, see? That's what she's looking at. Definitely. 

"Zeus-touched Highness, I would crave a boon. I shall answer, but in doing so, I may tell a different story than your mother. May your wrath be brief at this?"