Chương 78: Day Seventy-Eight

Dear Diary, Sometimes I really am the most clueless human on the planet. But once in a while? I get it right, I think. If not, I'm too dumb to notice, which is almost as good, right? So we sat there staring at each other for a bit. Okay, I stared at my wireframe view of Saffron, she just kept her eyes open and pointed in my general direction. Eventually, she said, "well, what did you want to talk about?" I sucked in a deep breath, then blew part of it back out.

"A couple things. A lot of things, maybe? But one main one. But I'm too chickenshit to just spit it out, so I'm waffling and talking about other things." She smiled, a tiny thing of affection and amusement in equal parts, "and now you're talking about talking instead of talking about any of them." That got me. I laughed, then started in with, "do you know why I wore that dress tonight?"

"I'm going to assume it's not because you wanted to look hotter than the sun in Coal?" Heat crept up my neck, but I rallied.

"Uh, thanks? I mean it. I don't know that anybody's ever called me pretty before."

"Oh, no, I didn't say pretty. You are pretty, and beautiful in your own wonderful way, but I said hot and I meant hot. Your Patron has excellent, if somewhat erotic taste. Wait, is that what you needed to talk about? Is he making advances? Or have you already 'just happened' to him, too?" Her question could have been angry, but I heard laughter barely confined behind her words. I shook my head, then realized she might not see it.

"No. No, and definitely no, he's married, and I don't think she really likes me all that much." Saffron blinked.

"How would you know if Sigyn likes you or not?"

"We met. He introduced me."

"You've met Sigyn?" She blew out a lungful of air in a long, silent whistle.

"Just when I think I've got a handle on how weird you are, you go and take it to an entirely new order of magnitude. Are there any other Gods you've met?" I tilted my head, trying to shake all the bits into some kind of order.

"I mean, I met Artemis, sort of, on the day she disavowed me and I, y'know, replaced her with Loki. I met a couple Asian gods; one of them I guess is a goddess of seamstresses? The other one is a short hairy dude. I've got no idea what their names are."

"I've no guess at the seamstress' deity, but the other... Asia, you're certain?"

"Yeah?"

"Son Wukong. Tales of his exploits have made it all the way to Atlantis. He is... unique."

"Okay, cool. Um, met a really scary Smith dude. He's the one who made the boots." Saffron froze the moment I said 'Smith'.

"He didn't have a silver mirror and chair, did he?"

"No idea about the chair, but yeah, I saw the mirror. Kinda needed it to make sure The Dress matched the boots." Her voice rose like three octaves, "You looked in the Weyland Smith's mirror? How are you alive? How are you sane," here she stopped and held up the hand that wasn't occupied with Isnomi, continuing in a much more normal tone, "wait, strike that. You've never been sane. Interesting defense against insanity, that."

"Hey!" I squeaked in protest. Before I could say anything else, she leaned over and kissed me, just a quick peck on the lips.

"I wouldn't have you any other way, love. Insanity and all."

"G... I so hope you mean that. That you won't change your mind," I whispered. With no other noise in the room save Isnomi's suckling, she heard me anyway. She looked down at Isnomi, then back to me.

"I really doubt it, love." I smiled, "You know, you keep calling me that, I'm gonna start believing it someday."

"You'd better. It's true." Okay, the blush came rushing back.

"Okay, so, um... There were a bunch of others I met at, uh, Heracles' party? Only I didn't really 'meet' them so much as 'literally waltz around the party with you-know-who snubbing everybody'." Another blink, another moment of adjustment racing through Saffron's face.

"You attended the celebration of Heracles defeat of the Nemean Lion and snubbed everyone?"

"Yeah, although I think most of them took it in stride. I mean, I keep kinda weird company. A few of them weren't all that happy though." I cudgeled my brain to try and put IDs on the ones I'd seen.

"I think one of the pissy ones was Zeus, another Ares, maybe? Couldn't see his face with the helmet. Some blond surfer dude in leathers, didn't look local. Oh! I'm pretty sure I saw Hera and Hel there too."

"You..." she paused, another bit of brain-lag as she took in my statement.

"You angered Zeus, Ares, and some other God whose name you don't even know?" She shook her head, trying to come to terms with my determined idiocy.

"You did that and lived? I mean, sure, your Patron is a Trickster, he spirited you away before they could harm you, I'm sure, but," she stopped again.

"That was him behind Diana, wasn't it?" At my nod, she continued.

"Most believed him to be dead, or nearly so. I heard he attended your trial, defended you, but I scarce believed it." She tilted her head, as if trying to see me from a new angle." Why did Loki show up to defend you at your trial?"

"Ah, couple reasons?" At her frown, I continued quickly, "I mean, part of my deal with him is to spend Mondays with him. I mean, I don't usually spend the whole twenty-four hours, but he visits and we chat every Monday."

"Is he likely to show up suddenly today?" She huddled a bit, as if suddenly aware of her nudity.

"No, he told me he'd ensure our privacy and not listen in. I have to go see him before noon, though. I think he and Sigyn want some more alone time while I distract that fuckin' serpent." She raised a hand to her face.

"I find my own sense of incredulity completely overwhelmed. Loki is taking you to see his actual physical form. Which, if I recall correctly, is bound helplessly by the intestines of his own son?"

"Oh, shit, that's whose those are? Who the fuck did that sick shit to him?" She shrugged.

"Most of the Pantheon, if I'm remembering correctly. Definitely Odin and Tyr."

"Might need to pay them a visit at some point then." Her jaw dropped; apparently I'd done it again.

"Did I just understand you correctly? You are planning to go and express your displeasure with not one god, not even just two, but the Patriarch of a Pantheon?" I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess?"

"If I had not seen what remained of Diana, I would think you daft. As it is, I wonder if you have a death wish."

"Nah. Been there, done that, didn't even buy the tee shirt." That got her, she giggled. Isnomi complained as she lost her grip on the teat, and Saffron shifted her around to her other breast.

"I halfway suspect you're planning on trying to get me to swear to Loki." I shook my head.

"No. I mean, if you want to, I can hook you up. Might need to wait until tomorrow, since he's apparently ignoring me right now like I asked him to."

"Ignoring you. Are you telling me you're not just a, what's that word you used? Devotee of Loki, you're a Priestess of him as well?" I looked around the room before I realized she really couldn't see me anyway, so I met her eyes and said, "uh, High Priestess. Above all others, not that it really means anything, since apparently I'm the only one." I paused, and before she could say anything else, "also his Champion, and The Dress is my official Champion and High Priestess getup."

She sat there, a little stunned, the scent of relief rolling off of her in waves.

"That would have been nice to know yesterday." She raised a hand, forestalling my response.

"No, I quite understand there were other things going on, but knowing we had a High Priestess and Champion looking for Isnomi would have perhaps made me less frantic." She paused again, a thoughtful look chasing its way across her face.

"It does explain why you could stand against Diana's incarnate might and not fold like paper, though."

"Uh... Not exactly." Her gaze narrowed.

"Explain how that isn't exactly why you could face a wrathful Goddess incarnate and not wind up a stain on the floor?" Before I could reply, Isnomi interrupted with tiny baby snores.

"I'm gonna need you to have your hands free. Are you okay with putting Isnomi in her cradle for the moment?" She huffed out a sigh.

"Up until a few minutes ago, I would have been offended at you for even suggesting I let her out of my arms for even a moment. Seeing as we have a High Priestess and a Champion in the room should someone intend mischief, not to mention a Trickster God ensuring our privacy? I think I can cope with her on the far side of a rather small room."

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to talk to you about the room and cohabitating too, but this is, like, way more important." I stood, and she handed Isnomi over to me. It struck me in that moment how much she trusted me. Moving as carefully as I could, not only to be sure I didn't drop her, but because I didn't want to wake her either, I crept over to the crib and settled Isnomi there. My left arm let me know on no uncertain terms that it burned in effigy in protest over its continued use, but fuck it.

I pulled a blanket over her as she snuggled a tiny stuffed bear. When I turned back around, Saffron stood in the middle of the room waiting for me. I took her hand and led her to the bed. I sat down on the side of the bed, but stopped her before she could join me.

"I... I think you're going to be angry with me, and I get it. I think you might be really angry with me. You might want to hurt me."

"I would never..." I cut her off, my voice harsh.

"Yes. Yes, you might. I need to tell you something. Something no one else knows."

"Oh, I'm sure your Patron knows." I shook my head.

"No. No, I'm sure he doesn't. I mean, he might have guessed at some point, but I've never told him, and part of the secret is, I think, why I can keep secrets from him. But it's a secret, and I should have trusted you with it, and I didn't, even when I told you about how I got here. When I should have told you this, but I didn't. So along with you wanting to kill me when you find out my secret, you'll want to hurt me because I kept... Because I didn't trust you like you trust me."

I petered out, trying to build up my courage.

"How do you know I trust you?" She raised an eyebrow, giving me an arch look.

"You handed me Isnomi just now." She got such a cute little huffy look at that I couldn't bear that I might never see it again; tears welled in my eyes before I shook them away.

"Fine. I do trust you. So before you reveal this incredibly important, incredibly secret, incredibly difficult to say secret to me, I have exactly one question for you."

"Anything."

"Did you intend to hurt me?" I shook my head convulsively, "NO!" Isnomi grumbled, and I winced. We both froze until we heard her snoring again.

"No. Never that. Myself? Maybe. But never you, Saff. Never." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Tabitha Diaz, you are not going to distract me at this point with sex. Out with it." I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then lowered my Blend. All the way down; despite everything I knew about him, I trusted you-know-who not to be spying on the down low. It took more effort than I thought, like unclenching a fist you'd had gripping something for hours. Saffron just stood there, arms folded, her only sign of impatience the quiet drumming of her fingers across her arm.

"Okay. Inspect me." It took her a moment, but she raised her hands to go through the Spell's motions. I sat on my hands. I couldn't bear to live with her angry at me. I'd seen what Mana Blades did to that bitch Artemis, if Saffron wanted to hurt me, to kill me, she could. I wouldn't stop her if she did. She completed the Spell, then blinked a bit.

"Huh. I did not know I could see a Status screen without light. Fascina..." She fell silent, her eyes going wide and a little wild as she saw my Status screen. In part to see her in the light one last time, in part to cover my vision should she want to end me, I pushed my own Status out of my cheekbone. As I did, she blinked a little as she saw me in the light.

"You're... fuzzy. Furry. Like the Maids, only black where they're white." I finished my Status. NAME Mimic RACE Mor AGE J Err v Err n Err l Err ATTRIBUTES STRENGTH 13 AGILITY 19 ENDURANCE 19 REASON 6 MEMORY 4 PERSONALITY 15 AFFINITIES Water (56. 25%), Air (28. 125%) PATRON Loki SKILLS Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

SCENT 9 ARCHERY 24 RACIAL SKILLS MIMIC 16 MIMIC (Attack) 4 MIMIC (Attribute) 4 MIMIC (Defense) 8 MIMIC (Size) 16 MIMIC (Skill) 8 BLEND 32 I stared at it for a moment while Saffron made little choking sounds in front of me, then banished it so I could see her. I didn't care if she decided to end me right then and there; if she did, I deserved it. If the last thing I ever saw was her about to kill me, so be it, the last thing I would ever see was her.

Her head twitched in little aborted shakes, and her whole body trembled. After a moment she stepped toward me, and I tensed, but I kept my hands beneath my thighs and just stared up into her unseeing eyes. She turned and paced away from me, still arguing silently with herself. Back and forth she walked, four or five steps to pad silently across the room, another four or five to stand before me again. Eventually, she leaned on my shrine to steady herself.

She jerked a hand away from my blood soaked dress, then froze. Her trembling stopped as if cut off with a switch. For a moment she stood there, leaning against my shrine, then she turned and walked back to me, resolve filling her eyes, her posture, her whole self.

"Tabitha?"

"Yes?" Without warning she swung at me, her fist connecting with my cheek hard enough to throw me sideways and backwards onto the bed. As I lay there stunned I heard metal hit the floor. I pushed myself back upright, eyes tearing. If this is what she wanted, this is what I deserved.

"Tabitha?"

"Yes, Saffron?"

"That was for hiding this from me. I fully understand why you did. You were right to do so. But it still hurt to know you kept it a secret from me." She paused, her hands sliding to her hips.

"Tell me truly now, do you have any other secrets you've held back from me?"

"Nope. Nothing. If there's anything I haven't told you, it's because I honestly forgot." She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Fuckin' Goof." Then she went to one knee in front of me, bowing her head.

"Tabitha Diaz, who is Mimic Reborn, I do, may I be lost to Nyx forever more should I deny you, take you as my Patron, now and forever." She looked up at me, sudden shock and surprise almost entirely overwhelmed by the reverence in her eyes.

"Is this how you see the world?" She swept her gaze around the room. I wanted to reply, but my mouth wouldn't work right. The moment she made her declaration? My arm stopped hurting. Entirely. Then it hit me, what she'd done, and I broke down. Tears leaked from my eyes, my nose ran, and I couldn't speak through my sobbing. She scooted forward and reached up, pulling my head down to her, making comforting noises as I blubbered into her hair, trying to stop, trying to catch my breath, trying to explain.

"It's okay, Tabitha. I'm here. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm here." I blubbered some more, trying to speak, nothing but, "buh, buh, buh," coming out. I don't know how long I sat there sobbing, but eventually I managed to get control over my mouth, although my traitorous eyes kept weeping.

"But, I love you." She ran her hand over my hair, moved it in small circles around my back.

"I'd hope so, Goof. I literally Worship you, you realize."

"Yeah, buh," I sobbed again, once, before I cut myself off.

"But how can I know? How can I know you love me, and aren't just afraid of me? Aren't afraid I'll disavow you, or take advantage of you, or, or, or..." I trailed off, horrified at the thought that I might very well take advantage of her without realizing. She chuckled, her smile clear in her voice.

"A literal Goddess, and yet still my Goof. Had you been anyone but you?" The light of a mana blade, far thicker than the ones she'd made previously, slid out of her index finger. She hummed a moment, and then pain lanced through my shoulder. I bit my lip, tasted blood. A moment later the light winked out, and the pain vanished. My arm, my split lip, my cheek where she'd hit me earlier, all gone in an instant.

"Mine. All mine. Mine." A laugh burst out of me, and she pulled herself across me. She ran her tongue over my shoulder where she'd poked me with her Mana Blade, then giggled out another, "mine. Mine forever. Mine." My worries nibbled at me, and I asked, "but how can I know you're not just doing what I want because you can't tell me no?"

"Did you worry about that before?"

"Well, yeah. Kinda." She'd managed to climb onto my lap, and she pulled me down to her breast, holding me there as she said, "the one time I've told you no, it took everything I had to do so. You didn't force me. You could have, and I'd have had no more defense against you than I do now. But if you need any more assurance?" I nodded.

"Uh huh."

"I guess you'll just have to let me take the lead the way you do with Marie." She paused for the briefest of moments while that truth brick smacked me in the forehead, then followed it with, "oh, wait. You already do that." She shoved me backward, twisting me as she did, and I flopped backward onto the bed. She didn't stop moving until she settled with her knees hooked over my shoulders, her hands braced on the wall while she held herself just above my face.

"Now, I think you were about to try something nefarious the other day when I told you no?" I glanced at the cradle, where Isnomi still snored.

"But... Isnomi."

"Is sleeping, so I'll have to be quiet."

"What about me?"

"Oh, I think I can keep you muffled well enough." Then she did. I didn't respond, because it's rude to talk with your mouth full. A long, excruciatingly quiet while later, we lay cuddled on the bed, listening to Isnomi's quiet baby snores from across the room. The memory of Saffron kneeling in front of me before declaring me her Patron flashed in front of my eyes. Entirely unrelated to her kneeling in front of me a bit later, really.

I chuckled and said, "y'know, when you took a knee in front of me, for a second I thought you were about to propose."

"Propose what?"

"Marriage. Duh." She let out the cutest little chuckle-snort. When she'd caught her breath she deadpanned, "oh, no, not marriage! Whatever will my Patron think?"

"I think she'd be surprisingly okay with the idea," I drawled, then added, "enthusiastic, even." I kind of surprised myself with that latter, but I realized I meant it the moment I said it. Saffron just nodded.

"Consider yourself proposed to then."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." I lay quiet a moment, memories of the world of Eastside coming back with painful clarity.

"Are two women even allowed to get married here?" She shrugged.

"So long as their Patrons don't mind. From what I've heard, yours doesn't. What about mine? Does she accept such unions?" I hugged her to me.

"Yes!"

"Yes, women who worship Mimic are allowed to marry women? Or yes, you'll marry me?"

"YES!" I squealed. Funny, I never thought I'd get excited about getting married. I mean, I still wasn't super excited about a wedding, because I have an allergy to formality, but actually being married to Saffron? That ground gears I didn't even know I had.

"What do we need to do to get married?" Isnomi, woken by my squeak, grumbled. Saffron detangled herself from me and walked over to lift her from her crib and let her nurse. Man, there were times I envied that kid. Isnomi settled, Saffron said, "well, first we'd need to find a Priestess..." I interrupted her with, "fine. You're a Priestess." She stopped, one arm on her hip, one eyebrow raised.

"Not even a High Priestess?" I rolled my eyes and let out an aggrieved, "oh-kay, fine, you're a Priestess Most High Above All Others. Now, what else do we need?" She laughed, "normally? At least two witnesses for the ceremony. We might have a bit of a problem there, unless you want me to tell people I'm now a High Priestess?" I shrugged.

"Why not? Just don't tell them who. I'm pretty sure they're not gonna guess."

"Fine, as you have said it, so mote it be. When shall we set the date?"

"No time like the present." She dropped her free arm to her side.

"It's... It's the middle of the night."

"I guess we'll have to wake a couple people up."

"So eager. You still don't trust that I'll stay with you?" I shook my head.

"No, I'm just deathly afraid of the kind of structure and commitment getting married implies. If I put it off, I'm gonna keep putting it off, and I don't want to do that." She just stared at me a moment before shaking her head and facepalming.

"Fine." She walked over and handed me Isnomi, then walked back to the armoire. Of course Isnomi took that opportunity to drop an enormously stinky load in her diaper. Good to have one point of stability in my life, I guess. I changed her while Saffron dressed, complaining in baby talk about the show I was missing while I changed her.

About halfway through, I thought I had her clean, but realized I couldn't really tell with the whole wireframe thing, so I stood up and slid the light on, then returned to finish cleaning her off. Saffron froze when I turned the lights on, then stood there blinking and looking around the room.

"Oh, thank... You, I suppose. I wondered if my vision would stay like that."

"Nope. Just when it's too dark to see otherwise." She chuckled while she pulled her clothes on.

"Here I thought you just had an excellent memory for where the things in your room were."

"Nope. Just as clueless with that as everything else." She finished dressing, and I got a bit of a shock when I looked at my hands in the light. Fine pitch black fur covered every part of me I could see. I pushed my Blend back up, and it disappeared.

"Aw. I kind of enjoyed the fuzzy look. Really liked the fuzzy feel, too."

"Yeah, well. I don't really blend when I'm like that."

"Is that what that skill does?"

"Yeah, among other things. Honestly, Loki really knows more about it than me." I finished cleaning Isnomi up; I handed her and a clean diaper to Saffron so she could do her Mommy Origami magic while I got dressed. We left the room and headed for Angel's room. She didn't reply when we knocked, so we headed over for Bill's room and knocked. Saffron looked up at me.

"You know they're both stuck in their room for Devotions, right?" Instead of answering her I just opened Bill's door.

"Oh, noes. I might offend Artemis." She rolled her eyes and leaned in to look in the room. Bill was nowhere to be seen. I looked up and down the hall; light leaked out from a couple of the doors on the far side of the hall, including the Infirmary. Saffron tugged me toward it, and I hesitated.

"Sister Siobhan kinda creeps me out since the trial." Saffron shot me a lopsided grin.

"She literally Worships you, Goof. Hero Worship, but a bit more literal in your case, because reasons." I blinked.

"Is that what that is?" She just nodded.

"Now, come on, if she's there, she can be one of our witnesses, and Grandma can be the other." I let her lead me into the Infirmary. When we got there, we saw Sister Siobhan and Grandma Aetos each kneeling beside a bed filled with a still body. Bill and Angel. I ran over to the beds, Saffron right beside me.

"What happened to them?" I asked, my heart sinking as I realized the answer before Sister Siobhan spoke. They'd both been stripped to the waist, blackened lines scored across their fronts like they'd been grilled. Angel's arms ended just below the shoulder. Bill looked a little less grilled, just a few lines starting below his chest and ending just above his waist.

"Someone attacked the Equinox celebration at the Moon Temple. Bill dragged Angel back here before collapsing."

"Are they... Dead?" Sister Siobhan shook her head.

"No. They're in Healing Comas."

"Can't you Heal them?" She shook her head again.

"I already have. The damage... Horrific. I poured every ounce of Mana I had into them, but this is the best I could do." I looked at Angel.

"Her arms?"

"Bill brought them back. He'd Stabilized them, and Angel herself. I've put them under a Stasis spell, but..." I looked her in the eye.

"Bring them here." She didn't ask, just stood, walked over to a cabinet, and carried back two lumps of meat, one end of each flayed into ribbons. I took them from her, then looked at Saffron.

"Clear the room. Wait in the hallway." Saffron didn't hesitate, and she bullied the other two out of the room with the same kind of Mom voice she'd used on me a time or two. Once they closed the door, I walked over and shut off the lights. the wireframe helped me keep enough detachment to set Angel's arms up against her stumps, lining up all the bits. I glanced over and said, "sorry, Bill, I'll be with you in a moment." I gathered Mana.

I pulled it like I'd never done before, forcing more and more of it into the Shape I formed. I pulled so much it burned me from the inside out, and the Heal Injury Shape itself glowed so brightly it lit the entire room before I released it. It poured down across her like a waterfall, receding until every blackened bit of her glowed like molten iron. Her eyes shot open, glowing nearly as brightly as her injuries. She drew in a sudden, sharp breath. Then she pushed herself upright, her breath coming in gasps.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit..." I reached out, and she unthinkingly grabbed my hand. I pulled her out of the bed, then said, "hallway. Now."

"The fuck, Diaz? Where the fuck are we?" The wireframe had returned. I led her to the door and shoved her into the hall. If she'd tried to resist, I probably couldn't have, but she still reeled from the healing, not to mention her last traumatic memories from the Temple. I walked over to Bill, repeated the process, and helped him stand up.

"Why's it dark in here?"

"Needed to focus on my Shaping." Not the whole truth, but not a lie either.

"Diaz? What the fuck?" He wobbled a little, and I lowered him onto the bed.

"Wait here." I put the lights up and retrieved the others from the hall. Siobhan stared at me, and the faint leftover burn I'd felt from channeling too much Mana tingled and disappeared. Grandma Aetos, ever practical, asked, "how?" I shrugged.

"I've got a stupid amount of Mana to spend. I spent it. All of it." I paused.

"Well, all I could push into the Spell, at any rate." Sister Siobhan shook her head.

"When did you..." I cut her off, saying, "we came in here hoping you two could be witnesses." It only took Bill a moment to catch on, and he barked out a brittle laugh as he said, "I wondered when you two would get around to it." Grandma Aetos got it next. She walked over to me, pulled my chin around until I stared her in the eyes. She stood there like that for a while, then walked over to Saffron, took Isnomi from her, grabbed her by the hand, and pulled her over to me, placing Saffron's hand in mine.

Saffron looked up to me and said, "Tabitha Diaz, do you take Saffron Aetos as your Wife, to have and to hold, to nurture according to your nature, to love and never leave, no matter the trials and tribulations, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And I, Saffron Aetos, take you, Tabitha Diaz, as my wedded wife, to have and to hold, to nurture according to my nature, to love and never leave, no matter the trials and tribulations, for as long as we both shall live." She looked up at me, a twinkle in her eye, and said, "it's customary at this point to kiss your bride." So I did. When we came up for air a long while later, she still hung onto me with both arms around my neck and said, "I now pronounce us married." Sister Siobhan broke the tableau.

"Saffron? Did I miss something? When did you become a Priestess?" Saffron giggled and turned her face toward the Sister.

"Shh. It's a secret to everyone." Sister Siobhan stumbled over and just kind of collapsed into the bed Angel had occupied before, alternating between giggling and shaking her head. Eventually she glanced at Bill, then at Angel, and decided on quietly grinning at me.

"Hey, Grandma? Can you take care of her, make sure she gets to bed all right?" Grandma nodded, handing Isnomi back to Saffron as she dropped off my neck. I nodded the other ROTCs out into the hallway and closed the door. Angel turned to me, frowning.

"I'm grateful for the healing and all, but what the fuck, Diaz?" I didn't quite know what she meant until Bill asked Saffron, "the High Priestess didn't ask for your Consent, did she?" Saffron shook her head, her eyes fierce.

"She had Isnomi kidnapped. They nearly killed Grandma when they did. Left her lying in an alley next to a dumpster." Angel let out a low whistle.

"Okay. Yeah. I can see that." She looked over at me.

"I'm sorry, Diaz. I get why you did what you did, but I... I'm not sure I can trust you... Trust myself near you. At least not for a while."

"Yeah. I get it. If it matters, I wasn't really seeing faces at that point. The only thing I could see, the only thing that mattered, was Isnomi. She's my goddaughter." I took a deep breath.

"I know you probably don't believe this at this point, but I'd do the same for either of you." Angel shook her head.

"I believe you. It just... It just doesn't matter right now." I nodded, and she turned and walked away. I turned to Bill.

"You too?" He shook his head.

"I've known you could straight up kill me any time you wanted to from the moment I saw you take apart the Golden Children in the Practice Yard. You're not any scarier now than you were then."

"But you're still scared of me?"

"Yeah. You're scary." I shook my head, still not quite able to believe it, despite all the evidence.

"I get it if you don't want to hang any more." He shook his head, stepped forward, and pulled me into a brief hug.

"I still want to, but I think Angel's going to need me for a while." I nodded, and he scampered off after Angel. I turned to Saffron and Isnomi, who by now had gone back to sleep, baby snores leaking out of her.

"I think she's got the right idea." Saffron smirked up at me.

"You mean after all that, you don't want to consummate our union?" I took her hand, spinning around so she held my hand behind my back.

"Oh, oh no, you've twisted my arm and forced me to agree to your wicked plan!" She just snorted, pulled me around, and hopped up for a quick kiss before leading me back to our room. Quiet shenanigans ensued before both of us fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. When I woke up, I jostled Saffron just awake enough for her to hear me say, "time for me to go do the Devotional thing."

"Mm'kay. Have a nice day." I smiled at her, then went over to the armoire. I stood in front of it, staring at my uniforms, then turned and looked at where my dress had dripped blood down my shrine. Loki? No response. Loki! Still no response. Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Loki! Around the end of my display of childishness, grumpy Loki responded, I suppose you're ready for me to bring you here now? D'you mind if I wear my school Uniform?

My dress got a little bit soaked with blood. He chuckled. I'm painfully aware of that fact, although I'm not really displeased at all by it. A warm glow enfolded The Dress. There. Do please wear it. It's the kind of thing that makes old men feel young again. My wife's passionately possessive responses to seeing you wearing it in no way influence my decision. I slipped into The Dress, pulled her boots on. Neither had so much as the slightest hint of dirt or damage.

I reached out my hand, felt Loki's in mine, and stepped forward. Loki and Sigyn's cave reeked of Blood and Power, so much it stunned me for a moment. Trying to ignore the smell, I walked over to the divine couple.

"So Sigyn, I'm guessing that part of the reason you lose if I kill Mister Slither or free your husband is because they check up on you now and again, right?" She nodded. I stepped up to Loki's chains, noting that they were in fact a single chain that looped around him multiple times, then pulled out a single link that lay nearly under him.

"Hold on, this might sting a little." I popped out a Mana Blade and slid it through one side of the link. When I tried to twist it around until the neighboring links slid through the gap, I scorched my fingers.

"Uh, yeah, I guess you'll know what to do when that cools down. Then, without warning or telegraphing, I stepped onto Loki's chest, right where the links lay the thickest, and launched myself at the fanged menace. I took it by surprise, getting an arm around it and pulling it to the floor of the cave before it could do more than splash venom onto my arm.

That arm went numb, blackening briefly before feeling returned, but I now had the serpent pinned to the floor, my knees to either side of it, my hands leaning on the top of its head.

"Okay, Mister Slither. I know you understand me. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to pick you up and we're going to have a nice little sit down over at the other end of the room. Maybe we'll have a nice convo, maybe we'll play a couple word games to pass the time, maybe we'll just sit and vibe. But do you know what won't happen if we're doing that?" The snake slowly shook its head from side to side.

"If you join me over there for a nice sit down, I absolutely will not ram a Mana Blade so far up your scaly cloaca that we have to glue you to the ceiling and hope nobody notices. Do we have an understanding?" The snake nodded as much as it could with me leaning on its head.

"Okay then." I stood up, and the snake hissed and jerked away from me. I slid an extra large Mana Blade out of the back of my wrist, the blade as wide as my hand, the point extending at least two feet beyond my fist. Mister Slither took the hint and hissed something I mentally translated as 'fuck, I just work here, I'm not paid enough for this bullshit' as he slithered to the other end of the cave. I looked at Sigyn.

"Okay, unless you guys have need of me, I'm gonna be over there with our new snake friend ignoring anything and everything that happens at this end of the room. Don't forget to put the link back when you're done." With that, I turned my back on them and followed Mister Slither to the far end of the room. Turns out he's surprisingly good at Tic Tac Toe and Twenty Questions. Better than my dumb ass, anyhow.