fh_adventures | Outside the Labyrinth

Outside the Labyrinth

It seemed the time for research and planning was through. In Jareth's address to the island, he gave them twenty-four hours to traverse a Labyrinth that seemed to change on a whim in order to take back the friends that he had stolen.

Team Distraction was entering first. Anyone with as much power as this Jareth seemed to would probably have some nasty surprises in store. They'd go in ahead of the second group to spring as many traps as they could while the other team ghosted in and headed directly to the castle.

Well, that was the plan, anyway. Let's see how long things went as smoothly as our would-be heroes would like.

[For the members of Team Distraction, please! If you want to RP out how the teams were formed and decided, there is a place to do so here! ~~Wait for OCD or the biting fairies will get you~~ OCD ready to go!]

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"I think so." 'Dite nodded, leaning back a little. "Not just what ties us to people, but how we feel about them, how much we care. And not just individuals, but -- people." She waved at the people around them. "I would bet that at least a few of these people don't actually know anyone who's been taken, or they know them just by sight or by name. But they're here. Because they feel. And that's the big thing." She shrugged. "Keep a connection with the world and you'll keep yourself just that much farther from the edge."

She looked around, nodding again.

"Our humanity," she said. "The bits that make me Rinoa, not just The Sorceress."

She frowned. "Is that rude to say 'humanity'?" she asked. "If you're a goddess -- I don't mean that insultingly. I don't know a better word for the term."

'Dite laughed softly. "No, no, that's fine. Humanity is okay." She paused. "Now, if you had said 'mortal' we might have had some words."

Cause, really.

She tilted her head to Rinoa. "You're pretty smart. It took me a long time to learn that it was 'Dite I needed to keep connected to people. Not just the goddess. Then again, it's kind of hard not to be the goddess when that's all people are looking for." Her smile, though, was soft and sincere. "But here on Fandom, I'm just Aphrodite, shop keeper. And that's . . . really cool."

Sadly, Rinoa wasn't from this world, and so the name itself meant nothing to her.

"Do you have followers?" Rinoa asked. "Are there ... churches and temples for you? That would be amazing. And I guess a little intimidating."

Which might be why being a shopkeeper was such a relief to her.

She smiled, again. "I have a mentor," she said. "An older, wiser Sorceress who can tell me what I'm supposed to do. It was her who told me I needed a Knight."

"I do have followers, though they're very few in number these days." She put her chin on her fist. "A long time ago, though, I had lots of temples. More than any of my sisters." For a very short time. "My whole family was . . . glorious."

She sighed. "But it was a long time ago, and people don't need gods as much today. So, I'm just a shopkeeper." 'Dite winked. "Nothing intimidating there."

Of course, Rinoa hadn't seen the store.

"It sounds like it," Rinoa said. "That must have been interesting growing up. Do goddesses grow up?"

It might be a rude question, but she was curious.

"We had a god, once," Rinoa said, "but it was a long time ago. No one's sure if that's just a myth or not."

Hyne had given out half his body. It certainly sounded like one. That didn't mean it might not have happened.

"Well, some gods and goddesses grow up. I didn't, but my son did, and so did his son." A slight smile crossed her lips at the thought of Cupid and Bliss.

That . . . sounded familiar, that no one was sure if it was a myth. 'Dite nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Once upon a time here, there were lots of gods. But mortals decided they didn't need them anymore." She sighed. "And now there aren't."

She regarded Rinoa. "What does the myth say about this god? Was he good? Did he take care of his people? If he was still around, would you worship him?"

"No, I wouldn't," Rinoa said, shaking her head. "He made people as tools. He went to sleep, and then realized the tools had made more of themselves. He was frightened, by how many there were, so he set the little ones -- the children -- on fire. That was what started the war."

The thought of a god doing such a thing made Aphrodite feel sick. Yes, Ares would sacrifice thousands for a war; yes, she'd accidentally started a war with one love bolt, but -- being a god was a sacred trust, and the one time Zeus had thought about destroying mankind there had been strenuous objections.

"That sounds more like a monster than a god." Her voice was soft. "No one's perfect, even gods make mistakes, but -- to destroy a creation because it grew greater than you made it?" 'Dite shook her head. "That's obscene."

"I hope it's not real," she said, simply. "Or if it's real, then ... it was all tangled up in the telling. Who knows what Hyne's version of the story would be."

She couldn't think of much that could justify killing off children. Even if Hyne hadn't thought of humanity as more than simple tools.

"They say the Sorceress power comes from Hyne," she added. "I hope that's wrong, too."

'Dite hoped it wasn't real. If it was, this Hyne gave gods a bad name.

She and her family could do that all on their own, really.

"You know, Rinoa, it doesn't matter if the power you have comes from him or not." She tilted her head. "What's more important is what you do with it." 'Dite raised her sword. "I used to think I'd never hold a sword, but -- it doesn't matter. As long as I'm using it for good, does it matter what the tool is?"

"So ... you're saying I'm a tool?" Rinoa asked with a laugh.

Sorry. Had to go for the rude joke, before she could take things seriously.

Edited 2010-12-11 04:52 (UTC)

They were about to go into a creepy labyrinth and face who in Hades knew what. 'Dite was absolutely going to laugh at the bad joke.

"Oh, absolutely. To us gods, all you mortals are tools."

And she gave her new friend a very broad wink.

Rinoa laughed. Always helpful to keep your sense of humor about you. Even when -- no, especially when you were about to take on crazy amounts of danger.

"To be used, and then tossed aside like tissue?" Rinoa said, putting a hand to her head melodramatically. "Wait, does that make my ex a god?"

No. Seifer just thought he was one.

"An ex?" 'Dite hid a grin and put a surprised look on her face. "You're old enough to have an ex?"

Then she winked. "Nah. Exes are the ones you need to toss aside. After all, men are like tissues; soft, strong, and disposable." Another wink, a giggle, and then 'Dite sobered.

"Seriously, though. The sorcery -- that's the tool. Mortals?" She glanced around, then leaned forward conspiratorially. "Don't tell anyone, but mortals can be amazing." It was why she lived among them now.

"Yeah," Rinoa said, blushing slightly. "Not all men are like that. You find some good ones now and then."

Like her substitute knight. And like the one she was hell-bent on rescuing.

Not that that wasn't, in itself, rather complicated.

'Dite raised an eyebrow. That was an interesting blush, in her opinion.

"Sounds to me like you think you found a good one." She nodded. "Good for you."

Rinoa glanced down, scuffing at the ground with her toes. Still blushing, and looking awkward.

"It's ... messy," she said. "I found a good one. And ... another good one. You really don't want to know."

She was making a complete mess out of things. She could only hope no one got hurt. It was probably too late for that.

"Ooh. Two at once, huh?" She shook her head. "It happens. Sometimes it's just bad timing." 'Dite tsked for a moment, then looked around them. "Well, it's probably not a good time to be dispensing with advice and having a deep conversation, so . . . when we get this over with and get everyone back, you have Karla bring you down to the shop sometime. You and I will talk. Okay, Sweet Pea?"

"You ... don't mind?" Rinoa asked, fingers playing with her rings. "I didn't mean to. I guess I did, kind of, but ... you're right. This really, really isn't the time. Sorry. We ... should be going. Right?"

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Outside the Labyrinth

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