SCION

[Yonni]

Bose had tumbled past Lith and Karim, after his attempt to stifle the attacker's downward strike, and the world spun madly around him. He'd fallen on the asphalt—that much was clear. His palms stung with gravel, as he'd shot his hands out to keep his face from meeting the same fate. Time felt as if it froze, slowing down to a trickle. Like a drop of water dragging down a pane of glass, excruciatingly slow. There was a pulsing in the back of his head, beating in time with his hummingbird heart. Forget-me-not's and thyme bloomed at his temples, unfurling into his red curls.

All at once, the world seemed to come alive around him once more, as if someone had pressed play. This time, impossibly fast and alarmingly loud. The city around him was a blur of movement. His eyes, too slow, far too slow to understand what was happening around him. Footsteps beat against the pavement past him and there was shouting. It made him want to clap his hands against his ears to block it all out, keep everything quiet. Still the spinning world. He couldn't even draw in a breath to get his wits about him. To keep him steady. Anchored.

He clamped his eyes closed against it and then, against all odds, heard hoof beats. A familiar voice, cutting through all of the noise. Aisha's rambling was a comfort here, so out of place among the chaos. He clung to it, pushing himself back to his feet with the help of the nearest brick wall. Guess the other side's keen to get the war started, huh? His head pulsed once more, a dull throb. He probed at his forehead with fingers, and they came away slick. Wet. Dropping his hand back down gave him his answer. Rouge tendrils, mixed with the rain, dripped down his wrist.

Must've hit his head on the way down. An embarrassing way to hurt yourself. Real Scion-like, that. Big goddamn hero. His mouth twisted into a frown. Before he had a chance to investigate further, he was being drawn into a tight hug—along with Melody, and he puffed out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. And then, was promptly released. He didn't really know what to say. They were attacked by fish-men, in an alleyway. They were being watched. They weren't safe, and if he had any inclinations against working alongside these people, it'd been promptly squashed.

At the mention of eating and washing up and generally just not standing exposed in the streets, Bose was in accordance, "Anything to get outta' here." His voice was weak to his own ears, but he doubted they'd blame him. How the hell were they supposed to swallow any of this?

 

[Kitti]

The bustle came to an abrupt end, so suddenly that Tsurue instinctively turned on the voices behind her and a whole lot of muscle made as if to follow suit before the realization washed over her that these were friendlies. With the sudden lapse in tension, the delicate threads wrapped around her fingers seemed to slip away. Fluttering over the side of a ravine and out of reach, she couldn't draw them into focus again.

It felt as though the only thing that had been keeping her on her feet was adrenaline and it was dissipating fast. A sudden painful pulsing in her temple reminded her that she'd been given a stern warning while writing her thesis that she'd need a mouthguard if she couldn't stop clenching her jaw. Other muscles began to heave a collective sigh and a gripping sensation of bonelessness nearly sent her to her knees. It was hardly anything to complain about, she'd made it through the fight otherwise unscathed thanks to the others.

She directed a glance and a wave of appreciation in Aisha's direction, scribbling a hasty mental note to thank her properly when the time was right. She could do it now, she reminded herself, but the many pairs of eyes scanning the scene made the thought of it embarrassing and oddly exposed. Such emotion didn't belong in the middle of a grimy street with a fresh smattering of blood underfoot. Well, maybe. If she were dying, perhaps... Tsurue gave her head a little shake to refocus.

"Rest sounds very good now. Did any of you receive injury?" she asked, suspecting that she knew the answer already as she eyed Lithiuna. Her first aid capabilities were mostly limited to bandaging kitchen burns and cuts but they'd do in a pinch. Hopefully, however, someone else had a little more knowhow or ideas for a clinic that might not question why they seemed to have been in a violent altercation with what smelled to be a fishmonger's market stall.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Aisha is brushing herself down, having drifted back over to the ragtag assembly gathered outside the New Orleans Historical Museum of Voodoo. Her hands are slightly blackened, the tips of her fingers blistered and sore. Having stuck one finger in her mouth to suck on, she's now resorted to shaking it ineffectually and frowning at the injury. She perks up suddenly at Branna's words.
"Restaurant? As in food? I could sooooo go for food right now. I was doing this vegan detox thing until like a month ago, but right now I could just eat a whole village or something--"
"Well you sure as shite can't stay here," Linus interjects, before the girl can really get going, "leave the clean-up to us and get clear of the area." Yone, meanwhile, has already begun with the process of 'cleaning up', dragging two bodies of either dead or unconscious thugs towards the door whilst muttering under her breath in Japanese. One of them seems to stir as his head is knocked against the asphalt, and he begins to curse and swing at the woman.
"Vengeance for the Mother!" the man snarls, right before Yone slaps his hands away and grips him by the head. Her arm seems to arc like a pendulum as she drags his upper torso up before slamming it back down into the road.
"Damare..." she sighs, like a cat that's been forced to move out of the way and is doing it's utmost to make it everyone else's problem.

Staring between each of the Scions in turn, his expression never changing from a blend of mild amusement and irritation, Linus eventually fixes his sights on Lithiuna and strides towards her. "Here," he grunts, slapping a cheap cellphone handset into her hand before she can object, "Loa city, so way I see it that makes you nominally responsible for this lot. I'll give you a call if anything comes up, or if any of your attackers decide to come to in time for questioning. Get somewhere else, get to work, and if you start another bloody fight please do hesitate to contact me." He then begins to make shooing motions at the assembled Scions. "Go on, off you fuck. Before you all get jumped by more goons that I gotta clean up, yeah?"

- - -​

Half an hour and what feels like half a city later, the Scions are now thoroughly drenched from the warm afternoon downpour but have managed to tuck themselves away inside the booth of a small diner just outside the French Quarter. Aisha has been studying the menu intensely for a good few minutes but finally looks up just as the group is beginning to settle and the adrenaline of the fight they've just been in has run it's course.
"Sooooo... do you guys know what we're doing now? Linus kept saying 'get to work', and stuff. I guess that makes us, like, God cops now? Gods who are cops? Or cops who work for Gods? Either way, I'm majoring in Art History and I totally skipped Criminology as a course choice, so I'm kinda out of my league here."

A waitress has drifted over to the booth, giving the bizarre group a slightly quizzical for a moment before writing them up as tourists of some sort and smiling broadly.
"Get you folks anything to drink, to start?"

 

[Gands]

Branna leaving the little group hug did hear the Japanese girl asked about anyone being hurt. Branna too remembered the Voodoo girls' blood on her shirt. Seeing Tsurue already heading that way, the Irish girl pulled out a small first aid kit, handing the other girl a rolled-up cloth bandage and first aid antiseptic ointment. She meanwhile has noticed Aisha waving her fingers around. She approaches the young redhead and gently grabs a hand while Linus starts to speak. Outside of a name, she still doesn't know who in the hell Linus is, aside from him looking Greek.

Hold still Aisha, let me get some burn cream on your fingers and some bandages. "

Branna proceeds to do just that. It doesn't take much time, hopefully Tsurue is done with Lithi by now.

She goes over to Melody, answering her question quietly.

"Let's go and get food first, isn't there an all-night diner not far from here? You take Lithi and her baggage in your car and I'll walk there with the others. "

So, Branna, tells everyone that there is a diner not far from where they are. She tries to walk near chatty Aisha and lead them that direction.

"Aisha, can you tell me at least what pantheon your godly parent is from? If not exactly who they are?" Like Bose, Branna has taken a liking to Aisha's constant chatter. While walking, her new friends can see Branna regularly moving her arm, especially stretching her shoulder out.

Once at the diner, Branna will join the line to the ladies' room to get a bit freshened up. Back at the table, she orders hot chocolate and water to start, eventually ordering chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes

 

[Phi Chisym]

Some of their team members were excited about their first victory and others not so much. Even though she didn't know Bose, she could tell his attitude about his actions in the fight was not to his liking. Perhaps, he felt like she did at the start – that his skills were incapable of aiding in a fight. But, in her eyes, he's proven himself through courage alone. That's more than most.

She wanted to thank him for his quick action at the end of the battle, but Tsurue's words about injuries caught her attention. When the woman's eyes met hers, all Lithy could do was nod positively – respectfully. "If you have any means to sterilize and calm the pain, I would be grateful."

As the two worked on her shoulder, Lithy was – curious. She wanted to ask the woman about her soul-puppet ability, or whatever it was that she did to the corpse. Truly, she was impressed, because in her studies she's heard of those who could manipulate corpses like that, but never has she seen it personally until now. Would it be possible for her to learn such a skill? That would give her a break from sharing her form with the living and the dead… The skill can be quite unpleasant, and to be honest, she was tired of being a tool for the dead. Too many prets believe they have the right to just step inside of her whenever they wanted a human puppet to manipulate. And manipulating others from within is the worse thing ever.

Lithy was in her thoughts, not paying attention to her surroundings. When one of the injured enemies began to cry out, her eyes shot up in alarm.

"Vengeance for the Mother!"

Was that a war call, or a vow? Who do they pledge to, I wonder? Quiet ponderings began to rack her brain. She could not recall within Papa Legba's quick course about Scions and Titanspawn that mentioned anything about the spawns being connected to a Titan. But, if Scions are naturally attached to a God, born into it, then it's possibly the same for Titanspawn… We just fought a bunch of brats who didn't like are Yo Mama jokes! So, who's their Mama?

Um, will have to do your research, Ti Se. Amos stood on her boots again, watching Tsurue with a keen eye as she helped his charge. I'm unaware of any fishy Titans out there… Well, unless…

Are Poseidon and Amphitrite Gods… or Titans? Lithy knew who to ask, but before she could strike up her question, Linus had made his way over to her and slapped something small and cool in her had. Confused, she quickly scanned her hand to find a flip-phone settled in her palm.

Flip-phone! Who uses these anymore? Apparently, out-dated Gods...

"Loa city, so way I see it that makes you nominally responsible for this lot."

"What? Fine, but…"

"I'll give you a call if anything comes up, or if any of your attackers decide to come to in time for questioning. Get somewhere else, get to work, and if you start another bloody fight please do hesitate to contact me."

"Fine, no calls, but one question…" Her words took no heed.

"Go on, off you fuck. Before you all get jumped by more goons that I gotta clean up, yeah?"

Seeing no way to gain Linus' attention, since he was clearly dead-set in them leaving the area, Lithy decided to resort to bringing the topic up to her fellow fighters. They're going to have to figure this mystery mess out themselves – obviously.

It seems as if all the Gods prefer teaching us through trial and error, rather than just telling us what we're stepping into.

Brenna was the first to come up with a game-plan for dinner. "Let's go and get food first. Isn't there an all-night diner not far from here? You take Lithi and her baggage in your car and I'll walk there with the others."

She wasn't thrilled about dealing with her rolling bag at the moment, so gratitude bloomed through her expression when it was mentioned that someone had a vehicle for her to place them in. If she knew she would be dealing with a street fight and an investigation after that crazy meeting, she would have stopped at her hotel first.

- - -​

Feeling the effects of being drenched, battered, and now starving, Branna leads the group to a nice little diner near the French Quarter. The place looked quite nice and had a variety of food – and vinyl seats they couldn't soil with their war-torn, soaked-to-the-bone fashion that evening.

"Sooooo... do you guys know what we're doing now?" Aisha was the first to question. "Linus kept saying 'get to work', and stuff. I guess that makes us, like, God cops now? Gods who are cops? Or cops who work for Gods? Either way, I'm majoring in Art History and I totally skipped Criminology as a course choice, so I'm kinda out of my league here."

Lithy couldn't do anything but smile. Aisha was correct – the only professional here was the cop. Everyone else was out of their league – even her. Sure, her profession as an interpreter has placed her within various criminal investigations and such, but she's never used her hidden talents fully in this capacity before.

A waitress has drifted over to the booth, giving the bizarre group a slightly quizzical for a moment before writing them up as tourists of some sort and smiling broadly. "Get you folks anything to drink, to start?"

Everyone places their order and then the booth sat quietly for a spell, which – with this group seems odd. Feeling Amos' pull on her spirit to speak, knowing he was just adding a confidence supplement to her daily dose of anxiety, she cleared her throat. "We've been – deputized - to deal with this mess; we're the only ones qualified to be so, if we believe it or not." Taking a sip of her drink when it reached the table, she sighed. "Well, we should get to know one another, since we'll be working together for a while, it seems. I'm Lithiuna Malorram, or Lithy, if you can't pronounce it. And yes, my appearance is quite – unique for some, but it is also why I'm known as one of Papa Legba's own."

Once everyone had a chance to express who they are, she popped out the one question she had held for hours. "Does anyone know if the Gods of the Sea, Poseidon and Amphitrite, are Titans… or Gods on our side? If you recall that one minion crying out Vengeance for the Mother… that made me wonder which Titan they're loyal too. Perhaps, that might help us out on how to fight them – if we know what we're really dealing with."

 

[Michale CS]

I have this music in my mind

( That says everything will be all right )

During the ride, Melody acted very concerned for Lithi and her health, but, to be honest, she was just as conerned about the health of the upholstery in her little Astin Martin as she was about the woman. She knew how fast a Scion healed.

Once at the diner and settled in, she listened to Aisha prattle on and then the serious question from Lithy. "My own exposure to investigating is murder mysteries on the telly, and... a lot of anime. But, as far as the Greek Titans go... Titan offspring of Uranus and Gaia were Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys and Cronus. Tethys married Oceanus, and both are gods over water. But Tethys had a lot of children, the river gods and the naiads. I don't know if the daugher or son of a Titan is powerful enough to create Titanspawn, but that's what I know of the Greek angle of it. And to be honest, Tethys isn't known for being anything other than the mother of all of the children she had..." Unless stopped, Melody would go into a more detailed bit of Greek Pantheon history.

At whatever part of her diatribe she's stopped at, she'll shrug and look at everyone in turn. "Eh, they usually start at the scene of the crime in detective stories, but maybe since we have people who can talk to dead folks, we should start by interviewing the victim? I'd say split up but after what just happened I don't think that'd be a good idea..."

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[Kitti]

It shouldn't have surprised Tsurue that someone who seemed like they might have a tendency to get a little rowdy would have first-aid equipment readily available. Then again, every one of their number had contributed to stealing some stars from the sky today in one way or another and from this side of the fight it would seem as though Branna was right to be prepared. It wouldn't hurt, then, to ready herself for next time.

Si vis pacem, para bellum.

With a grateful incline of her head, Tsurue took the supplies and had set to work on Lithy's wounds. They were no longer actively bleeding but the whole area was streaked with drying testament of her exertions. While she could tell that the injury wasn't so deep as to be cause for emergency, it was certainly more serious than most burns and cuts in the kitchen. Most. There was that time, with the finger... she pushed that thought back to where it belonged and began a probing application of antiseptic that was no less thorough for its speed. Before the bandage could be properly tied, in the absence of tape, however, a meddlesome interruption reared its head and the previously quiet recipient of Tsurue's absentminded ministrations was in an instant on her feet.

"Cho uzai..." Before she can so much as roll up her sleeves, the creature is again still and no longer in a position to be making declarations. Intent on finishing her work before the restless Lithy makes off for good, Tsurue gave the bandage a few more wraps and tucks, finishing off with a cute bow in lieu of tape. Not a moment too soon as Lithy began to take the deputizing quite seriously. Perhaps no one will bleed in the restaurant, or cause a scene before they can find something warm to drink.

--

Trying to picture Aisha's brain led Tsurue to the mountain paths she'd tumbled down in youth. Sometimes a trickle, others a rush that bounced off of rocks to change direction but constantly flowing down and out of sight, the beginning and the end equally mysterious. It didn't bother her, she decided, chin propped up on one hand as she listened to the exchange between her and the answering Melody.

It was an interesting angle, this murder mystery, when the dead weren't so far from reach. Could Lithy quiz her dead... cousin, was it? on the circumstances of his death. Clear it up. Would it be so clear? If the answer was "the Titans", which well felt like it might be the case, it seemed like the beginning of a much bigger problem.

"I am not sure if six people are needed to make one interview, though I understand that there is danger. Still, we cannot remain in a three-legged race always. We could check the body for clues that the spirit didn't know or forgot?"

 

[Phi Chisym]

Lithy listened intensely at Melody's Greek mythology summary; attempting to understand just how those Gods might connect to the Titan they just fought - if there was one. It was a dry idea, one that needs more info to understand fully; the strange warcry was irritating her. She had no idea why, except for the fact that their lives might rely on their understanding of it. Her mind continued to muddle over this one clue, forgetting that the majority of their questions could quickly be solved with one simple trip.

"Eh, they usually start at the scene of the crime in detective stories, but maybe since we have people who can talk to dead folks, we should start by interviewing the victim? I'd say split up but after what just happened I don't think that'd be a good idea..." Melody ended, awaking Lithy from her thoughts.

Tsurue intervened, "I am not sure if six people are needed to make one interview, though I understand that there is danger. Still, we cannot remain in a three-legged race always. We could check the body for clues that the spirit didn't know or forgot?"

Nodding, Lithy searched within the faces surrounding her. "If we split, it would give us the chance to gain more information - from Gabrial, as well as from the spirits surrounding the scene of the crime. But...the danger... If one of our smaller groups run into a Titanspawn and their entourage..." She didn't have to say more. "Or, we just go to each place together - safer in numbers."

Regardless of their decisions, she knew she was going to be the one to speak to Gab. "I feel we should attempt to visit the morgue soon - after we eat, of course." She was anxious...

As the waitress returned with their meals, Lithiuna ate with a sense of purpose, an urgency that seemed to her quite unnecessary. But, after what they've gone through, the first hour on the job, it just didn't feel right sitting at the diner like a bunch of old friends meeting up for a wild night down Bourbon Street. She knew Gabrial's spirit had a while before being called to move on - if allowed, but again... Papa and his games...

 

[Gands]

At the Diner

Branna listens quietly at first to Melody's dissertation on the Greek gods and their extended family. She eats quickly and quite a bit, including main course, pastry, soup and a considerable amount of hot chocolate. It almost appears as if she were in a hurry to devour her meal. She hadn't before used such power of her own under any condition, so at the table she felt as if she were starving.

At the end of Melody's speach, with the interludes by Lithy and Tsurue, she started to speak her peace. Her accent was odd in a way, a medium strength Irish accent mixed with an up state Louisiana drawl.

"As I said before, my mother is The Morrigan, for those of you to whom this means little or nothing, she is a goddess of War, Death, Fate and Prophecy. For myself, I was Military Police in the Marines. I was badly wounded in an attack on our base. This is where my Mother came to me, announcing that this was not to be the time and place of my death. I am convinced that I was snatched by herself from the jaws of death. I was medically discharged from the Corps, but several months later, my body was completely healthy. I am not a detective by nature. At the moment I run a dojo, teaching martial arts to young people. I was warned that there might be trouble of some sort tonight, so I came prepared to fight and to mend afterwords. I think for tonight, I'd prefer we all go together, even if we aren't all in the Morgue room with the body. I'd rather be at hand, at least for tonight. It was too convenient that these things new exactly where to find us. "

She pauses to gulp down more hot chocolate, having asked the waitress to keep it coming for now.

"As for the gods of my Mother's people, the Tuatha De' Danann, there was one Sea god, Manannan Mac Lir. A very old God, definitely on our side. My Mother's enemies were called the Fomorians, creatures of Chaos and Destruction, it was held that they came from the Sea. But this seems a long way for them to come ? They are our version of the Titans. "