[center][h1]A Strange Neigh-bor[/h1][/center]
[center][h3][i]Myrtu & Anath Homura[/i][/h3][/center]
[hr]
As far as the new deities went, Myrtu was likely the hardest to track down, seeing as he rarely stayed still for long. Anyone seeking the Unicorn would also likely find it frustrating that he tended to sprint off at random or completely derail conversation. So when it was that Myrtu instead found others, then initiated conversation with them, it was like… well… seeing a Unicorn.

He'd spotted the massive metal horse from a distance and used quite the enthusiastic pace to catch up with it. Now, he was running about beneath it, shouting up at it with a very excited, [color=#b7c9f5]"GREETINGS FELLOW EQUINE! Would you care to partake in a fine bit of prancing?"[/color]

[b][i]“The colossus cannot speak, but I have no specific destination I am going to now. If you wish to prance beside me, then so be it.”[/i][/b] The voice of Anath Homura echoed from above, where she stood atop its crown, as the colossus itself continued to canter onward with a strange and ethereal whirlwind left in its wake.

At the sound of the voice, Myrtu kept into the air, their winds expanding into a brilliant multitude of lights behind them. He flew to hover alongside the crown and its passenger. His head chanted in confusion, [color=#b7c9f5]"Then it is you I sensed and not the Colossus itself?"[/color] The disappointment in his tone was heavy.

[b][i]“Indeed.”[/i][/b] The red goddess replied, her voice remaining neutral akin to her impassive visage as she stared at Myrtu with her sole eye, before she spoke again with an otherworldly authority. [b][i]“I am Anath Homura, and I come to offer you peaceful greetings and the bestowal of gifts.”[/i][/b]

[color=#b7c9f5]"Anath Homura- ah! Twas your voice which called out through space as mine comet did venture close enough to hear it- finally, we have met,"[/color] Myrtu danced about in the air rather gaily for a moment. [color=#b7c9f5]"Thine greetings peaceful are welcomed and returned in kind! However, I am at a disadvantage- for I've no gifts ready to offer in exchange."[/color]

She whom once called from across the cosmos simply raised her hand in an attempt to alleviate his concerns as she endeavored to speak cordially. [b][i]“Hmm… your amusing antics are an equal exchange for these gifts then. Or otherwise, you may merely consider my gifts a charitable act, as the world would flourish with more mortals.”[/i][/b]

Myrtu gasped, [color=#b7c9f5]“Mortals? Then truly-”[/color] their eyes went to the massive form of the colossus, [color=#b7c9f5]“- they shall be as grand as that which I see before me? Tiny ones made of metal with hooves that many a road would pass beneath effortlessly?”[/color]

[b][i]“You are free to shape and sculpt the humans you receive, as you wish.”[/i][/b] Anath Homura answered, before she gestured to the colossus itself and solemnly asked of Myrtu: [b][i]“Do you accept my gift then?”[/i][/b]

[color=#b7c9f5]“Humans?”[/color] The confusion in his voice was palpable, [color=#b7c9f5]“I– before me I see a great and mighty horse- are there not horses which this one shall create? And is not the horse itself an item which could be copied?”[/color] A beat of pause, [color=#b7c9f5]“Are Humans a type of horse? If it is so then I shall graciously accept. Though,”[/color] as the logistics of the situation bounced around within Myrtu’s godly equine mind, their eyes swirled with a myriad of colors, as the endless possibilities poured in, [color=#b7c9f5]“From what has been presently explained, if they are not, then horses they might become! Therefore they are already a type of horse!”[/color] Tossing his head about so that his mane shimmered unnecessarily, Myrtu doubled down, [color=#b7c9f5]“Tis a fine gift indeed! A vast herd of horses!”[/color]

The red goddess slightly arched her brow while she replied to each and every question. [b][i]“Indeed, humans currently reside within this colossus. I am the one that created the two, and the latter shall not further reproduce, though as an artifact itself - its mechanism and function could be replicated.”[/i][/b] She idly stepped forward, leaning over the edges of the large crown she stood upon, and glanced at the landscape below her where the process of transporting the slumbering humans from the interior of the colossus to outside had begun. 

Thousands of statues resembling the shape and size of Anath Homura were laid upon the earth once again, but they were pale and lacking any distinguishing features among them. They stayed in a state of dormancy, however a hint of life flickered within all of them, and sought the attention of the Divine. The primordial vessels were seeking to be given a new form and function - to be finally awakened. Without halting in her speech, Anath Homura continued to converse as her gift was arranged into a multitude of intricate spiral rows scattered across the land below both Myrtu and herself.[b][i]“In this scenario, it would be more accurate to assert that horses are a type of human, though vice versa is equally true should the coming changes be enacted in reverse. Since you have accepted, you shall have your vast herd of horses.”[/i][/b]

Tilting his head back and forth, Myrtu took in the given information, with what seemed to be mild disappointment at first, which was swiftly swept away by the sheer curiosity at the emergence of the primordial humans- those formless statues calling for influence. To say that Myrtu’s attention was absolutely captured by both the form of the beings emerging from the horse and the manner in which they were laid out, would be an understatement. Already, it seemed that the Red Goddess was becoming an afterthought. The further proof of this was in how abruptly Myrtu landed among the spiral formation. As if in awe of them, he stalked among the formation with a series of leaps and bounds, skillful precision to see the forms at different angles. After such a lengthy pause, finally he looked up, then declared with a full heart and inspired voice:

[color=#b7c9f5]“By the nameless, glorious, and swirling  cosmos, they are [i]Hideous![/i]”[/color] With a muted leap back up, ending in a spiraling corkscrew for flourish, Myrtu was once again level with Anath Homura, as he said, [color=#b7c9f5]“Deeply, I am grateful for such creatures- for this disgusting form shall serve as excellent indication for their coming venture into spectactacularity! It is one I shall keep always in mind as I usher them undo their truest, freest, most GLORIOUS selves.”[/color]

[b][i]“So it shall be. Now, I must continue my travels, and then I will be returning to my realm once I have greeted the other gods and goddesses that are willing to speak with me. Myrtu, I ask that you please visit my home, and share the gift of your mirth with me again.”[/i][/b] Anath Homura said after she had allowed herself to sigh aloud with seeming content, and afterwards bowed respectfully towards him.

Returning the bow as it was given, Myrtu asked his last question, [color=#b7c9f5]“And how does one find thy realm?”[/color]

[b][i]“Ask the Archai after the celestial celebration, and my messengers will show you the way.”[/i][/b] She answered, indicating with a wave of one hand towards the shimmering stars in the sky that had continually illuminated the land with their bright and boisterous festivities. There was a pulse of otherworld power, as the colossus heeded an unspoken command and continued its cantering onward.

Myrtu watched her depart for only a moment before descending rapidly, excited for working with those primordial humans, and shaping them into beautiful and glorious forms! Beneath his diving hooves, something crunched- or was it more of a pop? Squished?  Myrtu looked down, then back up to Anath Homura’s departing form, then moved a few steps to the right to conceal the crushed protohuman from any over the shoulder glances, trying their hardest to maintain an air of innocence.

[hider=Summary]Myrtu finally meets Anath Homura, who stands upon the crown of the colossal horse, which harbors the proto-humans. Greetings are exchanged. Myrtu asks a lot of questions and is given protohumans. Just as Anath Homura departs, almost immediately, Myrtu crushes one of the proto-humans accidentally.[/hider]
[hider=Might]
No Might was expended.
[/hider]