The Merits of Worship

PixelatedGlory · Sep 2, 2018

His advice seemed to have been the right thing to say. From the way she had reacted it didn't seem like she had expected him to say something like that and the blush was very endearing. "You're very welcome Rory. I think the way I treat people is just as important as my domain's actual focus. I continue to be a god because people love me and enjoy the products of my domain," he said happily. He couldn't stop smiling. Erione felt like he couldn't ask for a better first worshiper on the island.

They both sat there in silence for a little bit. Erione's mind was racing too with the exciting promise of a new shrine and a worshiper. The feeling of the new shrine being activated was going to be amazing. It was one of those things that couldn't really be described. The closest he could get would be to say it would feel like just pure joy and exhilaration. He floated his glass of orange juice over to him and took a sip. A little unnecessary but he did it without even thinking too much about it.

Eri chuckled at Rory's eagerness. "I would like to be there and help out as much as i'm able to. I'm afraid you'll have to be in charge and do most of the heavy lifting but I wouldn't dream of making you do it all on your own. Really though, don't apologize for being excited. I'm very excited too." Indeed he was finding it a little difficult to sit still without something to occupy himself with. He absently rearranged some of the glass hairclips in his hair. The ones that didn't really seem to serve a purpose.

"Just take a breath and then we can talk about all your ideas. I'm very fond of hearing people's creative ideas and plans. Though, are you sure you don't want anything to eat? You could even just have some of my pancakes or bacon," he offered. Funnily enough it was right at that moment that the waitress came over with the plate of blueberry pancakes and a little side plate of bacon. Almost like divine intervention- except not at all. Erione might be a god but he wasn't quite that good. Just a happy coincidence.

Sarrain · Sep 2, 2018

Rory nodded, way more than necessary, as she listened to him explain how the shrine was going to be taken care of. It was about what she expected, but she hadn't wanted to presume.

"I'm fine with heavy lifting, I'm stronger than I look." Here, she flashed him something of a cocky smile (put on for show more than the actual feeling).

"No. I'm fine. Thanks for the offer. I just, well, don't like eating in front of people until I get used to them." It felt about as stupid to say as it probably seemed.

But, the shrine and its focus. That was something Rory could focus on wholeheartedly. She'd always had a creative streak. Whether it was finding ways to work around a difficult fight, testing her skill in makeup artistry, or crafting a project for school.

"Awesome! Okay, here's what I'm thinking. Either a small stained glass window or some decorative colored bottles for you to port through. Naturally a small alter. The alter is most likely going to be painted wood or metal, but if we can find someone to get some marble or carved stone that would be ideal. Curtains. Maybe something for the knees. I think most people kneel at shrines and altars."

Rory paused to hear any suggestions of his, or even to see his expression at the suggestions she was laying out for him. Jude had always been the better planner and when this was such an important project, it made Rory a little nervous she'd somehow manage to screw it up and hurt another one of her friends.

PixelatedGlory · Sep 2, 2018

Erione giggled at Rory's cocky smile. Not so much because he doubted her but because her enthusiasm was great. He had very little doubt that with or without his help the shrine would be well built. It was pretty clear that Rory was someone who did what she said she was going to do.

"Ok, I just didn't want to sit here eating and not have at least offered," he grinned and then immediately began pouring syrup on the pancakes with one hand as he made the glass fork and knife begin cutting the stack into pieces. He was definitely not shy about eating in front of anyone.

Though Erione happily dug into his food, honestly not being super neat about it but at least doing his best not to spill too much or be disgusting about it, he returned his focus to Rory. He carefully considered her ideas. In reality the shrine could be any size or shape she wanted it to be but the things she brought up were great ideas. "You have a lot of really great ideas. I would say metal isn't the best option but painted wood or something stone could work. On one hand wood is more comfortable-feeling but on the other my father is the god of stone so it's kind of poetic. I don't think I should make that choice. If something is too hard or expensive to get, don't worry too much about making it super fancy."

He seemed to stop and think as he crunched on some of the bacon. A little orange juice to wash it down and then he spoke up again. "I do have one idea for the focus of the shrine. I think I like the idea of using colored bottles arranged in some sort of artistic way. How do you feel, though, about me making a huge pane of glass and you breaking it? If we find a large cool-looking shard in the broken glass I could smooth the edges and it could be a neat centerpiece for the altar."

Sarrain · Sep 5, 2018

Rory watched as he ate, relaxing as far as she could into the booth. She found her eyes drifting to the large window again, staring out into the world. It wasn't the view she was used to, this wasn't the diner she was used to, and that wasn't the man she was used to.

When Erione spoke up about her ideas, she honed in on the father thing. Knowing about Erione wouldn't only help with building a shrine to him, it'd be good for friendship too. She looked at him, and canted her head to the right.

"Really? I didn't know that. Uh, do you mind me asking about your mother? Actually, I'd just love to hear more about you in general. We're friends — or getting there, plus it'll help me with creating your shrine if I understand what best represents you."

And then his request. Wasn't the strangest request Rory had ever gotten, not even by a long shot. In fact, Rory took a second to mentally search for a reason she'd not be okay with the request. It obviously wouldn't hurt him, and she couldn't really be harmed by anything of this dimension.

She nodded. "Sure, I'd love to do that for you. Not the weirdest thing I've ever been asked or even asked someone else." And her grin became more real just thinking about it. This was all manageable.

PixelatedGlory · Sep 5, 2018

Erione put down his fork and grinned at Rory when she asked about his mother. Well, actually the fork was floating but he stopped using it for a bit while he talked. He wasn't going to be rude. "Sure, I can tell you about my mother and me. Even if we weren't friends I don't really have anything to hide."

Erione grabbed a napkin and wiped at a spot of syrup on his face. "I guess i'll start with my mom. Her name is Kodea and she's the goddess of light. She's the brightest, most cheerful person. It's like she could cheer anyone up with just a warm hug and a smile. She's also been a goddess for a long time and she kinda always knows just the right thing to say," he beamed as he talked about his mother. In many ways his own personality was fairly similar to how he was describing hers.

He had to think for a bit about what he wanted to say about himself. That was a lot tougher than talking about his parents or his domain. Where did he even start? Eri decided to just keep it simple. "About me? I don't know what you want to know but I guess i'm really into artistic things. I like being able to work on things that people will enjoy, especially if they didn't expect it. It's kinda why I liked your idea about the bottles or why I suggested the broken glass. Someone else might just see trash but we see something that could be used in another way with just a little bit of creativity."

After all that he took a sip from his glass of orange juice and looked over at Rory. He had already decided she was a friend as soon as she was willing to just offer to help- even if she had declined in the end she would have been a friend. As she had hinted though, learning about each other was part of being friends. He wanted to learn more about her as well. Especially if Rory was going to be his worshiper and his friend. "What about you? What are some things you really enjoy doing?" He wanted to leave it pretty broad since he wasn't sure what she was willing to talk about. He just didn't feel right only talking about himself.

Sarrain · Sep 7, 2018

It sounded like Erione took after his mother. Warm, bright, reliable. It made Rory wonder if she took after her mother as much. No, she didn't think so.

"You know, I was never a big fan of artistic pursuits. I can appreciate the work it must take to do them, but I was never very good... I guess besides makeup. Even in drama class, I took a more technical approach and art class was always my least favorite."

Of course, that last one could be contributed to bad teachers.

Then he asked about her. Rory couldn't remember someone ever directly asking about the things she liked. She'd always assumed it was just something people didn't really do — or she was too intimidating (that was Kaiju's theory, anyway).

She looked out the window again, running her tongue over her teeth as she thought about what she wanted to say.

"I like helping people," she said after too long a pause and in a voice that sounded almost ashamed. After a moment, she smiled. "But not like police officers do. I don't appreciate all the red tape or even the recognition. I just want to make people feel hopeful and beautiful. It feels like too many just don't. They don't believe in themselves or the world. So I wanted to prove that anything was possible, even the seemingly impossible."

She scratched the back of her head and laughed a tad nervous. "It's stupid but... Part of being a hero was just the danger of it. I spend, uh, a lot of time wearing a mask in my real life. I was just a good, reserved kid doing everything she could to make her mom proud and get into a good college. Then I got into hero work and I felt like me. And being here? I kind of feel sick at the thought of being normal again...

"Sorry, I went on kind of a tangent there."

PixelatedGlory · Sep 9, 2018

It was a somewhat familiar story. Not everyone who enjoyed Erione's domain were actually artists. They were the most common just because Erione was very arts-inclined but he welcomed anyone. And Rory sounded like she was actually pretty creative, just maybe not in the traditional art class ways. He nodded at her talking about how she was more technical. "There are all kinds of ways to be artistic. I don't think I would be able to do makeup properly but I could visualize and sculpt pretty much any idea I had. Even fighting can be a sort of art. If you decide you want to do more artsy stuff i'd be happy to keep you company and try to help you."

Erione resumed using the floating glass knife and fork to eat his food, but slower and with more care. He was focused on what Rory was saying but he wasn't going to make her uneasy by staring at her as she tried to think about her answer.

She had paused quite a while before answering the question about what she liked to do. If she had replied with a quick answer that would have been great and he could have helped her do the things she enjoyed, maybe share in the fun. Since she didn't, well that just meant that the question was probably even more important.

"As I said earlier helping people is great, and since you mentioned making people feel beautiful and hopeful I think maybe that's a good reason to help," he smiled warmly but he was noting that she had yet again focused on other people and not herself. It didn't sound like she did many things for just herself. Erione decided to try to see if he could find a way to help her with that. He didn't yet have a plan though.

"Trust me, I don't mind tangents. We're here to talk anyway and i'm sure you just quietly watching me eat food wouldn't be a whole lot of fun. Besides it's interesting to hear the things that are on your mind. For sure, none of it is stupid. It kind of sounds like maybe you were doing the things you were expected to but not really the things you wanted to do before being a hero," he said thoughtfully as he took another swig of his orange juice and thought it over for a little bit.

After mulling it over he had one more thing to say. "Who says you have to be normal here, or even what 'normal' is? Sure you won't be fighting supervillains but you also don't have to pretend to be anyone you're not"

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The Merits of Worship

PixelatedGlory

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Sarrain

The Salt Sea

PixelatedGlory

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PixelatedGlory

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Sarrain

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PixelatedGlory

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