GODS AMONG US

[Kuno]

THOTH

---

|| a.k.a. Professor Abbasi||

Thoth was running terribly late.

Moving as quickly as he could without running, his footsteps echoed hollowly throughout the East Wing's cavernous halls as he practically jogged down them. It was rather frustrating being surrounded by imperfect beings, he mused to himself. He could control much of his environment, but the lackadaisical approach of most humans often threw unexpected wrenches into his plans. Most of the time it merely amused the god. Other times, not so much.

For instance, when a student showed up at his doorstep crying over her low grade.

Hannah, you never turned in your homework, he had reminded her quite gently.

She hadn't been in the mood to hear that. Crying hysterically, she'd held him hostage for a full thirty minutes pleading her case. As always, he'd tried listening sympathetically; never let it be said that he reveled in the misery of others. But as her reasoning for failing became more and more clear, it dawned on him that she was just an incredibly lazy student. Unfortunately for her, he absolutely detested laziness.

It was some time after four when he had finally finished their impromptu meeting. Which, of course, made him aware of the fact that he was twenty minutes late for his scheduled meeting. Turning around a corner neatly, he curved around a gaggle of students talking. One of the girls visibly perked at his approach, and waved her hand at him to get his attention.

"Professor Ab-"

"I haven't forgotten!" He threw over his shoulder hurriedly. "Have a good day!"

The girl looked bewildered by his rebuff. Given time, she would understand. But he had neither a spare moment nor the patience to deal with her.

He was sure he was a comical sight, speeding around the corner with his glasses askew and his tie flapping to the side. But he didn't care; the klop klop of his polished shoes continued until at last, he reached the door to his office. Bracing himself, he rapped on the door before walking in.

"Cora? Are you in here?"

 

[MaryGold]

Cora Nimr

my self worth is not determined by others

To accept personal tutoring lessons had been a painful thing for Cora to do. It was accepting from another, which made her feel a little more than embarrassed. Needing and taking help was essentially showing her weaknesses, which she truly wished to hide away from the curiuos and judging eyes of others. However, she had no choice, it was either that or fail her history class, ancient history, and fail as becoming a history teacher. And that was th one thing she absolutely refused to do.

Unfortunately, Cora could not say the only reason she was failing the class was because of lack of sleep, though true it may be, she was having a hard time focusing. And easily got lost on the subject no matter how hard she worked, she never was able to cement what learn in her mind when it was always other places. Things had gotten so bad that she had don't done the unthinkable, she prayed to an Egyptian God. Something that seemed beyond ridiculous, but Cora was running out of options. She wanted - no - needed to believe that he was real. So, she planned to hold on to that little string of faith.

Sitting in the Professor Abbasi's office, Cora had her arms folded over her chest, legs crossed, her foot tapping mid-air. He was late and admittedly, that frustrated her. Time was not something to be wasted, time was money. Especially for Cora Nimr. Despite failing her class, it was rare for her to be tardy or absent, and when she was, most of her professors got on her case about it. So, she only expected as much from, to be on time.

And while she could spend the waiting time to catch a few Z's, because the Gods knew she needed it, she could not. Not when she was in a professor's office, a history professor's office. Cora stood up, examining every detail of the room. The many books on the shelf, the desk and the chair itself, for one day she would have one of her own, and the trinkets and history all around the room. She recognized most of them as Egyptian an ironic fact.

The curly haired girl snorted at the sight of them all before reaching out to pick one up. That was when the door opened and shocked her into knocking over everything on his desk like dominos. Her eyes resembled a deer caught in the headlights when glanced at him then back to his desk.

Clearing her throat and plopping back down in her seat, she answered. "I - I'm here." She coughed again before reaching out to arrange the desk back as it was. "You're late." She wined at her attempt to make small talk or any talk that lead away from the mess she made.

 

[Kuno]

THOTH

---

|| a.k.a. Professor Abbasi||

Thoth's eyes drank in the sight before him.

His once clean desk was now cluttered with the overturned items of his collection. Sumerian idols leaned drunkenly against Egyptian wood carvings. His coffee mug of pens and supplies spilled out haphazardly across the wooden polish. And in the midst of them all was one very small and very flustered student, who whipped around the minute the door opened. Cora Nimr-- a bright young woman with ebony-dipped curls and dainty features. She used to be one of his most promising students for the Ancient History course. That is, until her grades plummeted from the last exam. He took in the nervous energy radiating off her, the slight bags marking her undereye, and of course, the messy gift left on his desk.

But that's not the first thing he noticed.

The lines between mortal and immortal realms tended to be thin and sometimes inscrutable. In moments like those, it was more about what you felt, rather than what you saw. What he saw was easily explainable: an aura of magic, so light that the girl could have easily gotten it in passing. But what he felt was his own power, radiating ever so faintly from the mortal. Which meant…which meant

"You're late." The tinny voice of Cora snapped him from his thoughts. The god, old as he was, was not immune to a wayward mind. Recollecting himself, Thoth fixed his attentions back on the woman. She seemed annoyed. He stifled a smile.

"Yes," Thoth agreed, his expression thoroughly amused, "You're quite right, Cora. I am very late."

Closing the door behind him with one hand, he maneuvered around the young lady and settled his briefcase on the mahogany wood desk. It was a small office; suitable enough to use alone, but having company made the size of the space ever more noticeable. The many books and articles he had crammed the two in even more. Squeezing past a book-laden shelf, Thoth finally settled into his seat with a soft sigh.

"Forgive me for the tardiness. I was attending to--ah, don't worry about that!" He suddenly interjected, swatting away Cora's attempt at rearranging his desk. "It was bound to be disorganized sooner or later. No need to waste fixing an already dirty desk, yes?"

He leaned back into his chair, fixing his lion-like eyes on Cora. The aura of magic surrounding her was faint, but steadily brightening in his presence. So it was just as he thought; she had prayed to him. Or at least, done an act of worship. It was getting harder and harder to tell these days. Last night he'd felt a draw on his powers, but had had no idea where the small drain had come from. But I now I know. Taking in the petite woman before him, Thoth's eyes sparked with interest. This changed everything.

"So!" He declared, rousing himself, "We are here because your grades have been a little...lackluster this semester, no? And with midterms coming up, it is imperative that you pass, if you are serious about passing this course. The midterms serve as a buffer to your final thesis, which will determine whether or not you will pass onto the next level. But you know this already. So why am I repeating it? Well."

"I have a proposition for you." Thoth leaned forward in his chair, folding his arms firmly on the desk. "Under normal circumstances, I would dismiss a student of your status to failure. But, given that you are an exceptional student, I have an exceptional opportunity. A little project, if you will. Well, half project, half experiment...but I digress. First, a question for you."

The deviousness of the old god truly knew no bounds. All his previous plans were trumped by this new, spontaneous one, given her background. As his own clever machinations began forming in his mind, he could not help but smile a bit. Things like this never got old to him. A gleam in his eyes, Thoth regarded the human with keen interest.

"Cora, what do you know of the old gods? The Egyptian gods, specifically. Do you believe in them? Or do you consider them a figment of imagination, relics of days gone past?"

@MaryGold

 

[MaryGold]

Cora Nimr

my self worth is not determined by others

Cora had managed to at least pick up a mug and shove the writing utensils scattered across the surface back into it, yet, she wasn't certain whether the cup was one for drinking or for storing the utensils. She didn't ponder or wonder over it for even a moment as her hands moved swiftly, setting back up dolls, even as the professor moved sit as desk. Even as he spoke, she was too focused on arranging the mess of his desk, only the swatting o his hands and the insistent of his voice stopped her. She would have liked to fix it, or at least keep her hands busy, in truth she wasn't too excited to hear what he had to say, as she already knew her grades were flopping and Abbasi wasn't too keen on failing students. Something she currently was, not that she was happy with the status either.

Sitting back in her seat, Cora crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't radiating her usual exuberance and instead acted apathetic. A poker face, just in case. Truthfully, she was feeling rather standoffish too, it mainly had to do with her pride being hurt, her independent streak being ruined, marred. Everyone needed help every once in a while, but Cora Nimr refused to have that apply to her any way possible. It was unrealistic of her to have such a mindset, but it was what it was. And it wasn't changing anytime soon even as she listened to the professor speak.

Proposition. That one word was enough to rouse her. Her eyebrow twitched, anticipating his next words and taking them in carefully. More than accepting help, she refused to repeat the same class, halting her progress even further rather than advancing. The simple idea of it was loathsome. So, taking the tutoring lessons did happen to be the best option, even if it wasn't the most likeable one. Whatever question was asked, she was more than prepared to answer.

Except for the very question he asked.

"Huh?" Cora blinked, poker face broken as she straightened in her seat, arms uncrossing. "Do I?" Sharply inhaling, Cora looked away as if to ponder his question, when in reality she was she was quite frazzled, debating whether to be sincere. Not long ago, she had, in fact, prayed to one. The coincidence in this inquiry wasn't abnormal though as the class was Ancient history.

"You mean the mythological Eypgtian Gods?" Answering a question with a question would suffice. Shifting in her seat, Cora pursed her lips. "As silly as it is ... I do." She briefly closed her eyes and sighed. "When you grow up learning about them from someone who does, it's hard not to. Of course, I could be totally wrong, but, hey couldn't we all be."