Temporary Repose (open to gods and/or mortals)

[Multi-Facets]

The stream of souls that crossed the five rivers had come to a temporary halt; Charon had become fed up with the seemingly endless arrival of new dead, many of them without coins under their tongues, and had paddled to the other side of the River Styx without passengers. The pole he used to steer had been jammed into the earth and his boat tied to it, and the ferryman had thrown himself to the earth for a good, long sleep.

Once the last soul had been sent off and word of Charon's break had come to their ears, the three judges -Aeacus, Radamathus and Minos-, had silently departed for their own quarters, not wanting to disturb their lord, who had dozed off in the middle of a hearing. Now Hades sat still and quiet, his two-pronged staff loose in his hold, head against the back of his elaborate black marble throne.

The judges would say nothing of the fact their lord had fallen asleep on the job; they were exhausted as well. None of them had slept well in some time. They would rest now, and take whatever consequences there would be when Hades roused and found them gone.

Therefore, no one was in the silent forecourt of Hades' manor when Persephone slipped into view, a black shawl over her hair and shoulders. She passed by her throne, pausing as she realized only her husband was still there. What in Gaia's name is- Persephone stifled the question when she noticed Hades was asleep. Of course.

The maiden went back into the manor for a few moments, returning with a blanket of black wool, which she gently laid over her husband's lap and feet. It was true Persephone was only passing fond of the brooding god, but she was not above compassion. Over the centuries, even she could forgive the outcome of her kidnapping -after all, she had been the one to eat the pomegranate seeds- and appreciate that outside the incident and their mutual infidelities, Hades never once mistreated her. And as his queen, Persephone could certainly appreciate how much effort it took to keep an entire realm running smoothly.

She gave the blanket a soft pat and turned to go, only to be stopped again.

"You are leaving?" Hades asked, barely above a whisper.

"I am sorry; I did not mean to wake you," the dark-haired girl apologized, also keeping her voice low.

There was a brief time of silence. "Come back soon," her husband requested, and drifted to sleep again before she could answer.

Persephone nodded to herself and departed.

When the weapons of man turned the world into a supposedly endless cold season, something even her fate could not fix, the geas keeping her bound to the underworld had become exceedingly weak; Persephone found she could leave any time she desired, as long as she did not stay away for more than a couple of days. That was fine with her; indeed, the queen of the underworld felt a little guilty that her measure of freedom was obtained by man's folly. But there it was. With no changing seasons, there was no difference made by her passages.

Persephone wrapped her long shawl more tightly around her body as she stepped into the gloomy sunlight. Soon she would go to Olympus, but for now, she simply walked.

[Tuyet]

(Hope you don't mind me sending someone. )

Raido's wandering had brought him to the war-torn Europe. Looking around, the man sighed and was about to mutter something unpleasant about his surroundings, but he spotted Persephone and followed her for a while instead. After a few minutes he called to her, "I didn't know there was anyone like me left... Wanderers are a bit of a dying breed, 'specially after the war."

[Multi-Facets]

(OOC: 'Course I don't, it's an open topic. ^n_n^)

Persephone looked over her shoulder at the man. She had not been aware she was being followed, lost in her thoughts as she was. She nodded to him. "I do not believe we are quite the same, but I would not mind walking with you for a while," the goddess told him, exerting a little of her power. It wasn't likely the man spoke Ancient Greek, so Persephone addressed the language center of his brain to make it easier to communicate.

And it was true; she wouldn't mind the company at all before she went to Olympus. Busy as the underworld was, Persephone had no one to talk to but the three judges and her husband.

[Tuyet]

He picks up his pace a bit so that he's walking beside her. After glancing over Persephone, Raido frowns slightly then remarks, "That's a unusual for just walking, isn't it? Are you headed to a costume party or something?" He chuckles. "If so, I like your taste in costumes. Dressing like a goddess in morning suits the state of the world, but doesn't suggest much beyond that even those who can't die are aware of how badly us humans screwed up. Did you know that there are a lot of people who believe that the immortals died, or abandoned this world at the start of the war?"

He seems chatty, and amiable enough, if having a morbid sense of humor and changing topics without warning can be overlooked.

[Multi-Facets]

Costume party? The man had a vivid imagination, or perhaps he was referring to his own experiences from before the wars. But who had the time, money or desire for costume balls in these days? Persephone smiled to herself, though the man's next words sobered her. "Yes," she said simply, "I knew."

Many, many scores of the dead had cursed her and Hades, spat and screamed the most vile of blasphemies and obscenities upon appearing in their presence, demanding to know why nothing had been done when the bombs fell. Others had sobbed and begged them to answer why humans had been forsaken.

The rulers of the underworld had always borne the insults in silence. It was not their place to intervene in the affairs of mortals, not directly. But they never explained. No one would have wanted to hear.

"What do you think?" Persephone asked cautiously. "Have the gods abandoned this world?"

[Tuyet]

"Me?" Raido chuckled then; he's starting to give the impression of being rather odd, if not slightly insane. "No, I don't think so. I just think this is all a game to them: they can do whatever they please, and create whatever desire within someone they wish whenever they want. It must be fun to be able to create any situation you want, and have no obligation or need to interfere in the course the creating leads to. They've not abandoned us, we're just their play-things and need to stop being so bitter about the fact the gods don't have to do anything they don't want."

[Multi-Facets]

Ouch. Persephone hid a wince. "What if it was not a game?" she questioned. "What if the gods are powerless to do anything but their jobs?" She paused. "That makes u- them sound horribly like mortal folk," she mused. "Does that make them simply mortals with infinite lifespans?" She would have to ask Zeus about that, if she could catch him when he wasn't chasing skirts.

[Tuyet]

"You asked me what I thought, and I answered I think this is a game to them. If it isn't, then I guess I'm just wrong and will have to learn what it really is." Raido shook his head, then continued, "Haven't you ever seen how those performing- though not the same- only their own jobs mesh together and create a sort of synergy? I can't judge the motives of the gods, since I don't know any; but since the legend is mortals were created in the gods' image, I can't help considering the possiblity that the resemblance is in mind as well as body."

He reaches out to pat Persephone on the shoulder comfortingly. "I'm a bit tactless, so don't take anything I say too hard. Your questions sounded like I'd said something you didn't want to hear. If it would make you feel any better, I could tell you an interesting secret- sometimes learning something others wouldn't cheers me up."

[Multi-Facets]

Persephone shook her head. "No," she denied. "I did ask what you thought, and you answered honestly. That is more than most humans would have the courage to do." She gently and un-insultingly brushed off his hand. As a married woman, such contact wasn't allowed. Old-fashioned, yes, -in fact, anciently old-fashioned- but that was how she saw things.

"A conversation would not be a conversation if both parties kept their mouths shut, isn't that so?" The goddess studied him. "What is your secret?"

[Tuyet]

Raido lowers his hand, and smiles slowly then says more quietly than before- as if Persephone is the only one supposed to hear-, "If my mother told me the truth, then my father is the Angel of Night- Leliel."

It's true that his appearance bears an uncanny resemblance to Leliel with the greatest differences being hair color and the wanderer's lack of wings. Raido couldn't offer any show of divine power to support the claim; he has only his looks, his mother's reputation of honesty, and the sincerity of his expression as proof that can be given without sampling his blood.

[Multi-Facets]

Persephone's eyes widened. The man was a nephilim? She had heard of such things from the Italian folk who happened to be Christian. It would explain how he could wander unharmed and retain his physical health.

"Then we are both of divinity," she said, meeting Raido's eyes. "I am Persephone, goddess of the underworld."

[Tuyet]

Raido looked both puzzled, and surprised. He'd not thought that he was speaking to an Immortal, much less one who had a domain which wouldn't usually draw them to the living.

"Oh really? I really didn't think I was speaking with a goddess," he replied, fidgeting with his collar. "So, what brings you? Somehow this place still doesn't quite look like what I thought the underworld would look like."

Suddenly, he stopped fidgetting before adding, "Before I forget to tell you my name, I'm Raido the wanderer."

[Multi-Facets]

Persephone inclined her head far enough to indicate respect for someone who was angel-born. "Well met, Raido. Rest assured, this is not the underworld. It is Greece, though much diminished, so be at ease," she said, beginning to walk again. "I am here simply to have a rest from my duties as the queen of the underworld before I go to visit my mother in Olympus. And what brings you here?"

[Tuyet]

"I know it doesn't sound like much, but I've been wandering from one country to the next as a profession since the war started and never found a place I wanted to stay in." Raido gives a quick, self-deprecating laugh before adding, "I guess you could say I'm looking for a place to call home, and a deity to follow who wouldn't mind having me. Does that sound strange to you? The last person I answered who asked what brought me to where I was seemed to think that."

[Multi-Facets]

"No," Persephone responded after some thought. "A place to belong is important in this world, especially after the wars. I wish you luck in your endeavor, Raido." She smiled slightly. "I am sure any god you choose to follow will be glad for your patronage. Many of us have lost a great deal of worshippers over the centuries, and thus lost power."