techalaniani. [cw: dr...ugs...]

[fursuit]

[ It’s about two weeks after the chaos that’s hit Highstorm and Springstar both. The dust has had time to settle and people have started to pick themselves back up. And in that busy time, the Shard-Bearers of Kenos are touched by someone new. It’s a mind that gives the impression of vastness in the way that other gods and similarly supernatural creatures have. There’s dark, fragrant smoke of copal, and the humid heat of a rainforest. It probably feels faintly familiar to some, since there’s just a hint of that warmth that feels similar to a certain sun god(dess)…

But as it focuses, that warmth seems to be coming from a campfire, perhaps oddly. The logs around it offer you a “seat”, whether proverbial or not, and it’s only if you take one that the speak themselves will come into more focus. But the introduction that comes with it is much cooler (in both senses of the word) than the bubbly Quetzalcoatl. ]

Yo.

[ …Is that how the newest god is greeting the masses? Yep. Apparently so. ]

I talked to enough people when Kenos was jerking me around [ no, that was me, the player, ] that Communion is just more efficient. So, for those I’ve met and for those I haven’t, consider this a more formal greeting. You’ve removed my brother Quetzalcoatl and allowed me to descend in his stead.

[ And even though he’s identified Quetzalcoatl as his brother… The smirk in that statement is unmistakable. He’s pleased that Quetzalcoatl is dead. For those that know the mythology of the Aztec pantheon even faintly, this wouldn’t be a surprise at all, since Quetzalcoatl only has one enemy that would be glad to see the feathered serpent fall. ]

Name’s Tezcatlipoca. Tloque nahuaque. [ The Nahuatl is spoken with a sense of power that’s subtle, but still raw, even though there’s no one that would understand it. Still, it conveys the idea well enough—this is no minor god of that pantheon. ] If you know me, great, and if you don’t, well. Met your god Set one of the times I was stoppin’ by, and our whole deal is similar enough. I am conflict, so in the spirit of fairness, I’ve thrown my lot in with Zenith. Can’t have two gods that oversee war and conflict on the same side, yeah?

[ There’s humor in his tone that makes it seem like it’s a joke, but… No. It’s not. That’s a pretty significant part of his rationale for picking Zenith. Thanks Set!/Don’t worry about. ]

Anyways. All that formal shit aside, easy one to follow it all up. Ain’t often that I got a human body to enjoy getting fucked up. So, if you’ve got a preference for weed, hit me up. Workin’ on somethin’ artisanal there, but I wanna know the poisons of preference for the locals. Let me know what you get fucked up on, and I might even make it worth your while.

[ …So. You know. That’s one way to introduce yourself. ]

Comments

[fursuit]

Oh, sure, when it comes to the battlefield, you don't want to be out of your mind or anything. I mean, unless you're goin' for the berserker kinda feel, I guess, but you don't strike me as that.

[ Too uptight. However, he'd be thrilled to be wrong. ]

But even I take breaks. A god of conflict is better suited to withstand war than anyone, but can't be all that. I encourage every warrior to find their comforts when they can. Never know when it'll be the last fight.

[ He laughs ]

...Well, normally, anyways. You get extra lives here, so doesn't apply the same way, but I also figure most people would find the dying traumatic, so. Same idea.

[a_noble_flame]

[No, he's pretty right about that. She's uptight about herself though and frankly could use some untightening before she cracks one day. Though that's probably a little too late now.]

... I suppose I have lost control now and then.

[She seems a little mollified thinking of it though. It's rare but as of late those emotions of hers have begun breaking free, her anger leaking out alongside her sadness.

She does nod firmly though at his one point!]

The comforts of life are what make the battles of it somewhat easier.

[fursuit]

[ If it were simply a matter of phrasing, he'd tell her that letting loose and losing control every once in a while is a good thing, but he can tell that she means something a bit more serious. In that case... Well, no. His advice ends up being the same. ]

Ain't nothin' wrong with that. You're only— [ He catches himself mid-phrase with a laugh ] Well, I'm assumin' you're human, since that's how the saying goes. But just in case that ain't the case, we'll just say "mortal", which is the real point.

[ There's a little grin, and it's just a little cheeky. ]

Lose control every once in a while, relax when you need to. You never know what battle's gonna be around the corner where you don't want the burdens of not doin' so.

[a_noble_flame]

[He does have a very good point. Alice can acknowledge others need breaks, time to recoup and reassess the situation, time to figure out how to approach it after. Everyone else, that is.]

Of course. Rest can be very important when it comes to refreshing one's fighting spirit and will.

[Then she gives him a light smile, not as cheeky but just as friendly.]

I'm completely mortal, unless this place has changed me significantly more than I thought.

[... Though there is the fact that death isn't quite that permanent, shard destruction notwithstanding.]

[fursuit]

Ha, well. Kinda. Wouldn’t say it changes you, exactly, but more an addition. Weird new facet of what you are.

[ That’s how he sees it, at least. ]

As my brother proves, puts us all on a more even playin’ field. I was immortal, now I’ve got some mortality. You were mortal, now you’ve got some immortality. Either way, gotta protect that Shard with all your might.

[a_noble_flame]

Mm, I see. Thank you, I hadn't looked at it that way before.

[Now she turns a little sheepish.]

There are quite a few things I'm learning about here that are entirely new to me. Magic certainly isn't a thing in my own world. Or this business with our Shards. Though I suppose that might be new for everyone.

[Maybe? Possibly.]

[fursuit]

Far as I know, the Shards are new, yeah. It’s a weird idea, makin’ the soul somethin’ physical. At least to me, and far as I can tell, I’m likely to be one of the resident experts.

[ Maybe Set, he guesses? But he doesn’t think that’s quite something in Set’s domains. ]

…’Course, gotta be extra weird for you if you’re from a place that’s real normal, so far as you know, anyways.

[a_noble_flame]

It's been very ... unique, I will say that.

[That said she tilts her head.]

You're an expert in souls?

[fursuit]

You bet.

[ It'll always be a little strange that people don't simply know this kind of thing about him, but at the very least, he's had a few centuries to get used to it. His pantheon just didn't get quite as famous as some others even within his own world, after all. ]

One of my duties. I greet the souls of the dead. Well, some of 'em, anyways. Lost of places a soul can end up in our afterlife. I'm just the first stop for people that had a real hard time of it. [ life, he means ] Let 'em rest a bit, talk out their feelings, all that good stuff. Then they're onto the next.

[a_noble_flame]

Oh.

[Huh. Forgive her for taking this so blase in a way but ...]

I'm afraid I still have a difficult time wrapping my mind around all the people here with abilities and the like.

[... Er.]

Gods in your case. Pardon me.