#Moon Knight AUvii

[therapardalis]

[Thing for @m-knightblogging.]

Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, UK ...

Thera's heels clicked on the footpath as she walked, her eyes shifting briefly to the glossy brochure in her hand and then to the street numbers she was passing by. Parking in London was rarely if ever fantastic, and her silver Mini was tucked into a spot a couple of blocks behind her - but she was never allergic to a bit of a walk.

The sign above the street caught her eye before the number did, the bookshop tucked between an empty, boarded up bar and an equally closed cafe. She pushed the brochure into the bag slung on her shoulder as she drew up outside. 'New and Used, Rare and Antique' ... it sounded exactly like her kind of place.

A bell chimed as she went in, though whether it was disturbed by the opening door or set off by a motion sensor she didn't wonder about; she was too busy inhaling the scent of books, old and new.

"Hi," She made her way over to the man behind the counter, giving a smile, "just wondering if you can point me to the archaeology section, please?"

[therapardalis]

Appropriate placement of poisonous flowers and the infringement of a deity on another's turf. How are those even within squinting distance of the same thing? Regardless, from Thera's perspective this is still all a joke - if she thought for one instant that Khonshu might actually gift her anything in his image she might be less amused, but she's certain they're just trading nonsense because neither of them likes to yield the last word.

That said, the fact that they are joking together and - respective height fetishes aside - fairly relaxed is enough of a gift on its own. Not that she's ever, in her wildest dreams, going to tell him so. "Well, that sounds kinda freaky. But they belong to you, so ..." A shrug, and almost a hiccup as she imagines Gaia casually swatting a small statue off the mantle like a cat, "I'm still not planning on smooching it, anyway."

He was just quipping about how discriminating against Gaia's different types of flowers was heresy to the Earth goddess, and now they're discussing the logistics of putting another god's statue in her guardian's home. Maybe he should be concerned about finding the entire floor of his temple in Egypt full of blooming poinsettias by some miracle of nature.

"Does it make a difference?" He cocks his head. "Small figurines to man-sized statues have all carried my image. In some worlds, my Avatars have removed my statue from its temple in Egypt and placed it at the foot of their bed. An example of what is possible."

[therapardalis]

[ @hearthoftaweret from here.]

" ... I see." An exhale, a settling of her shoulders, almost as if her last puff of hope had departed with the air. Not too far from the truth. In an ideal existence, she'd wanted Taweret to laugh, to dismiss this 'sun god' as a pretender and fake.

But ... you can't always get what you want.

Ohh, Thera had always known it was going to come to a fight, and a bad one at that - but she'd still been hoping for a slightly lesser threat than the actual god this new arrival was claiming to be. But he was, and all any of them could do now was deal with it.

Her gaze had drifted off for a moment, came back sharply, with a resigned and distinctly colder glint in her eyes. "Where has he been until now? Why now? He bitched to me about Osiris, is something going on there?"

Yes, she was peppering the distressed goddess with questions she might not know the answers to. But information was power, and right now Thera would take all the crumbs of it she could find.

[therapardalis]

[Comedic Relief Meme from @m-knightblogging.]

“Sorry I couldn’t hear you over my internal monologue.” ------------

"Well, is it at least saying nice things?" Unlikely, by Thera's guess - internal monologues tended to be bitches that way. "Because if not ..." She paused, eyed her phone with a wrinkled nose.

"Alright, I guess I don't have anything better, really. The app says buses are cancelled til further notice. Would you like to share a cab?"

[therapardalis]

[Moon Knight Starter from (surprise!! ;)) @templeofvengeance.]

"I am real justice." ------------

Don't disagree with gods. It was a maxim Thera had heard so often she'd lost count, both from outside sources and from her own internal voice making yet another grab for common sense. Don't disagree with gods. Especially when it didn't really matter, didn't affect much except the god in question's pride.

Don't. Disagree. With ... "I hope you're qualifying that statement."

Nah, it never really did stick.

"I mean, yes real, as in it definitely happens. But the thing about justice is it's always, always relative. And besides," A click of her tongue, "technically it's Jake who's the real justice, you wind him up and let him go."

[therapardalis]

[Bingo Card from @templeofvengeance.]

In the name of Godly One-upmanship ...

"Try cooking as in 'doing it yourself'. I mean you can try mine, but it's a bit of a dice roll sometimes. That said, you did tick more than your dad.

Although ... wasn't that Steven's suit?"

[therapardalis]

[ @templeofvengeance in the box!]

"You have joined forces with Taweret?" It's barely a question, the idea that the two of them were going to make a move against Ra. Well, make it three. Khonshu is... sufficiently moved, ridiculous as it is. He was used to gods and god-adjacents leaving him to deal with his problems alone, never-mind if those problems were other gods trying to usurp the world.

"Your previous queries are making more sense. I am prepared to offer whatever is required." Taweret's barge going up in flames was... incredibly troubling to say the least, though it was good that both she and Thera escaped unharmed.

Rewinding time in the Duat to restore the barge may be possible... ------------

Thera hasn't challenged Ra directly as yet. She has no illusions about her own power, or her lack of it in comparison to the Sun God; the coming battle may be her last, but she will not die foolishly. Not when she can find another way. Clever and troublesome Ra called her, and did so without mistake. Not so his thinking that her fire came from his star; in that he'd forgotten magma, volcanoes ... the very heart of the Earth. The 'Lady of Dust and Bones' has some fight in Her yet.

Thera chuckles, and though it's aimed at Khonshu there's little mockery; in fact, if one particularly squints, it might be bordering on fond. "What did you think? That I would ask those things and then just ... jot your answers down?"

A pause, and a breath. Gods have little need for strategy, but in this conflict it's the strongest suit she has. "I fear, my friend, that you will be his main target. But perhaps the rest of us can drain his power, and enhance yours." She lowers her voice, "While the Sun Barque is in the Duat, night remains. Yes?"

[therapardalis]

She hasn't time for anger. That will come - that will come, when the expected truth becomes real and a stand must be made. But for now there isn't room for feelings, only instinct, intuition and information; her sharpest weapon sits between her ears, and she's honing the blade.

"I know of god-eaters," Murmured low, contemplating, adding that to the simmering pot, "and I think I know where to find one ..." That trails off, eyes and jaw shift as thoughts dart off on a tangent. "That's very interesting indeed ..."

And of course Ra won't stop at one Pantheon. That's his threat and his weakness. The others may all hate each other's guts, but there's nothing like a common enemy to band them together. Damn, they may need them to band together.

"Has there been any word from your side?" The other Egyptian gods, she means, "Hathor, perhaps?" For once that isn't meant as a tease - if anyone will break covenant on Khonshu's behalf, it will be her. Then, in a drier tone, "Sekhmet?"

There's no use to holding back information now, no matter how much he hated to speak on his 'family.' "He's made his intentions clear. He seeks allies, and an Avatar. As I have my Moon Knights, he crowns Sun Kings. It is good that he lacks one. There is time."

Seeking allies from other gods wasn't because he needed an army, Khonshu thought. It was just trying to take pieces of Khonshu's board-- and anger him in the process. It was a call-out. Though Thera was right, it did also spread the 'good word' of his existence to potential new, modern followers.

"... Amon-Ra differs from the rest of the pantheon. He is both god and god-eater. I have witnessed his horror." He's only bothering to tell Thera because she's already mixed in with gods, and he hopes it's obvious that Ra would absolutely not stop at his own pantheon.

[therapardalis]

Yeah, buddy, your excuse. Thera didn't exactly have her hackles up so much, but she'd traveled from surprise through the flinch of being caught to becoming, of all things, territorial. Whatever semi-clandestine activity she'd been up to after hours (and really it was someone else's secret she was looking out for), she was supposed to be there. On first glance this guy was a trespasser, and glib answers weren't convincing her of anything else.

At least until he stopped chuckling and got into ... still riddles, but ones that turned her frown puzzled rather than annoyed. Little birdie? Was that just a throw away line, or ... she gave a snort, distracted, at the offer of a frisk, "You should be so lucky!"

She began to climb back over the ropes, slower and more graceful than she might have been a few moments before - frown deepening. 'Little birdie' again, more specifically this time. Dots spun behind her eyes, approached each other but didn't quite connect before there was a burst of displaced air and the answer delivered itself into plain sight.

Even if it really shouldn't have been. Wouldn't have been, to practically anyone else. Thera sighed and finally relaxed, rubbing fingertips to her brow. "Of course." Long ago Ahkmenrah had told her how the Tablet came to be, and now like the artifact itself, the pieces finally aligned.

" ... Jake, right?" That dot had linked itself up as well, the question answering his that yes, she could see and hear. "Yes it's been pinched, but I don't think it was from here. My first guess says the real one never got off the truck."

"My excuse?" He said around a laugh, like he wasn't the way shadier person between the two of them. "Mi excusa is that a little birdie told me some shit was getting yoinked tonight, and I'm makin' it my business. Frisk me if you want lady, I'm clean." He flapped his jacket open to show he didn't have a tablet stashed there.

"That same little birdie wants the real tic-tac-toe board back where it goes. If you're clean then I'm here to help out."

"The Tablet of Ahkmenrah is no mere tic-tac-toe board, and I am no little birdie." Khonshu finally stepped in, unable to take it anymore. He was perched near the ceiling, looking down at the pair. "It is an artifact that was forged in my temple and blessed in my light. Neither of you are guilty of its theft, and I will not hear more squabbling while the thieves remain free. I demand them be caught and punished!"

"Oh, ain't that great," Jake muttered under his breath while Khonshu thumped his staff against the wall... before realizing that Khonshu had gotten Thera's attention too. "... You didn't hear that, did you?"

[therapardalis]

What brings you here?

She knows that voice, but doesn't. It's his, but isn't. Not yet. It rings from the stone around her, everywhere at once. One day it will hold an edge, a simmering anger - a slice of bitter fruit snapped in a beak of bone. But now, swirling around her, it is the voice of both god and child.

And just for a second as she looks up, the sweat of a far more primordial sun than even she has known drying on her skin, her heart aches for the child.

What brings her here? Stubbornness. Desperation. No stone, be it carved and stacked, lying bare or molten within Earth's core, left unturned. A shard of the Kronos Gem, currently in other hands for safety until she's ready to return. She had ventured into the Temple in the hope it would be unoccupied - but of course, to the young god of Time she stuck out like a hitch-hiker's thumb.

"Forgive the intrusion, young Lord," A sweep of a bow, both for manners and in the hope that Chons had not yet fallen into the disbelieving scorn she recalled. "I seek knowledge ... to read and to learn ..."

"🐣" [I love that it's a little chick 😁]

Send "🐣" to meet my muse as a child.

The young moon god is tilting his head at his guest-- a person who clearly shouldn't be here, from the manner of dress to the features of her face in general. A lady from the future, relative to where Chons stood now-- he could detect that much.

His temple is different-- it's not his own. A shared temple dedicated to the Theban Triad, honoring Amon-Ra, Mut and Chons the child. The latter is the only one here now, strongly resembling Ra as a falcon-headed god littered with jewelry. His head is adorned with a lunar disk instead of the solar one, and his whole form appears drained of color, moonlight drowning out everything except stark whites and blacks.

"What brings you here?" It's still Khonshu's voice, deep and echoing, but quieter. Lacking the irritated edge, seeming to stand before Thera with cautious curiosity.

[therapardalis]

"Yes, but ... does it drain his power? Not having the sunlight?" A pause - she's speculating, burrowing ... this may be a hopeless fight, but she's digging for anything, however small, that they can turn to their advantage.

If she loses, it won't be because she gave up.

" ... Does he power the sun, or does the sun power him?"

Thera had been quiet for some time - not a peaceful quiet, if the glint in her eyes and set of her jaw were any sign. Then, abruptly, "Question." She lifted a hand, index-finger raised like a point of order. "What happens during an eclipse?"

What a broad question. Though he understands what she's getting at.

"Oh. I'm already considering it." His voice is low and scheming. There's a reason he signaled the gods in that matter before-- invoking imagery of war between the sun and moon to get them off their asses. "When the moon stands between the Sun and the Earth, engulfing its light. When I call one, that's when the real fight begins."

He can empower his Knight even during the day with that move, and hold the moon there for... as long as his power holds, in the face of Ra's inevitable fury.

[therapardalis]

" ... Possibly." Who knew, piped up a small voice within, maybe (just maybe) she was worrying unduly. Maybe (just maybe) Amon-Ra was not the murderous tyrant his pomposity, threats and manipulation made it seem.

And maybe that thought was only an inner child's hopeful whimpering, a timorous whisper that wanted to avoid ... whatever was coming. A hopeless war. Her last battle? That second possibility had already been considered and accepted, but she would rage against that dying of the light.

She was the Guardian for a reason - even if she tackled that fight in her own way.

"I've been studying the Pyramid Texts since they were discovered, and what I'm seeing is nearly three-hundred spells designed to keep a god-eater locked up. You feeling me here, Mr Khon?"

"What are your thoughts on the Cannibal Hymn?"

"Hhmgh."

The noise alone gives it away that his thoughts aren't good. That text hearkens back to a time mostly forgotten, better off buried in history-- even if it is somewhat metaphorical. Not enough, though.

Ironic for him to object to him being portrayed in glorious violence. He can already hear his Avatar-- any of the three-- guessing it's because he's cutting the lords with his own hands instead of ordering a mentally ill man to do the dirty work for him. Do it yourself. Hmph.

"A messy affair that made it into mortal text. The gravity of what was written not understood then or now." His beak turns to face Thera, considering if that's too much or too little to say to her. "The look in your eye suggests you've gleaned something from it."

[therapardalis]

" ... Huh." Thera pauses, shifting her jaw as if she's chewing that answer over. It's reassuring in a way that ought to dismiss the vague worry bothering her back teeth and mostly does. She clicks her tongue, head bobbing sideways in the equivalent of a shrug.

"I had someone outside my window singing about the sun," Shoulders join the movement, if barely. "At the time I thought it was a busk - a street performer, but it's been bugging me a little since."

"Um ... does your father know how to sing? Just curious ..."

... He can't even fathom what this is about, but it does force him to draw back further into his memory than he usually cares to go. What could loosely be considered his 'upbringing,' any time when the sun god was so gentle or kind. Using his voice for anything other than booming declarations. It's few and far between, tainted by what he knew now.

Amaunet sang. Sometimes he still heard her whistle on the wind.

"Is there a point to this?" Khonshu asks impatiently, though his voice softens a bit after. "I have no memory to prove either way. Perhaps."

[therapardalis]

Another pantheon already had. Gaia rumbled in Her ocean depths, in crust, mantle and core; in the lands where their pyramids sit, where the mortals they call upon for worship and then abandon breed and reside. Egypt's cities, its temples and tombs, the mighty Nile, all marked Her skin.

Let Ra think of Her as only dust and bones. The look on his face will be priceless.

Thera took a long breath, studying Taweret with a fondness in her eyes that traveled into a gentle tug of lips. "I know you won't." Not voluntarily, at least ... but she meant to see it didn't have to go that far. "I'm a woman and a traveler of the night. That puts me under both you and Khonshu, don't you think?" A dry joke, and a struggling one, but they needed any humour they could find.

"I might be able to call in help, as well."

That last was a murmur, barely heard as she looked both ways through the summoned portal before stepping into it, with the ease of someone for whom this was definitely not new.

Sand crunched under her feet and different air filled her lungs as she made a quick survey of her new surroundings, waiting for Taweret to follow.

Taweret watched Thera as she marched across the space, recognizing the glint in her eye. She had the beginnings of a plan, a target to focus on, and... a purpose. The goddess had seen it many times, in many warrior's faces. The hippo followed behind her, considering what Thera was saying. "Yes, I'd imagine most of his rage is towards Khonshu. He and his allies, that is to say, us stand to be the only opposition he has." Unless one or more of the other pantheons took offense to Amon-Ra claiming the Earth all for himself. Or Earth's own heroes gathered their own might together to make a stand. Somehow, she hoped so, if it came to needing them... "Tea later then," Taweret stopped behind Thera as she gathered the last of her things. "But Thera, dove... I won't let you face Ra on your own." She pulled herself to her full height. "We're in this together. I won't let him hurt you." The matter settled in her mind, the goddess lifted a hand and made a circular motion. A line of sand was drawn, swirling around in the shape of a portal. Slowly the image in the middle came into view; the ruins of Heliopolis, in Egypt. Taweret smiled, "After you, dear."

[therapardalis]

"I need to get some things." Thera's eyes stayed narrowed, but their slant had moved from Taweret to ... nowhere, really, the open space in front of them as her focus retreated inward instead. Her pulse had sped up, something sparking in her chest to replace the sense of hopelessness, complement the brewing anger. But she was too cautious to rely completely on might work.

" ... Khonshu is likely to be his next target." Which could be a blessing, in its way, as he was also one of the best equipped to fight. Thera turns on her heel, moving with purpose - finally given a purpose to move for.

Her battle-bag has been packed for days, armour, weapons ... other small items that may just turn the tide.

"Any ounce of the sun's power we can take away will give the old bird an advantage." Any shadow, any hint of night. And if they were discovered, perhaps Ra would hesitate for a second over destroying his own barque? Though probably not for long.

The bag was slung over her shoulder, a comforting weight, a black and gold staff in her other hand. "Maybe the tea should wait until Heliopolis?" A deep breath, looking up at the goddess again.

"And if he finds us ... leave him to me."

Taweret lifted her chin, casting her thoughts back to the earliest days of Amon-Ra's kingdom. The sun god would have used the solar barque to survey the land at his whims, from sunrise to sunset.

"Some control," she provided after some thought. "Ra could use the barque to empower solar rays for propulsion. Its... Entirely possible that it could be used to weaken them."

It was a guess, and the best one they had, but it was a strategy they could work with. It was something to grasp on to.

"If we could control it, we could use it like a siphon to draw some of the sunlight away. And sailing it to the Duat would give us a safe place to do it! ...Well, relatively safe. If someone can keep his attention on this plane."

The excitement was building, and for the first time since the attack, Taweret was starting to act like herself. "I think this might work. Actually work!" she squealed, clasping her hand together.

"Now we just need that tea! ...And to get us to Heliopolis, but I think I can manage that."

[therapardalis]

One of these days, she was going to have to lure Khonshu into Trafalgar Square and wait for him to perch on one of the statues - that would be hilarious! Or perhaps the Tower of London among the ravens, but he might find the torture exhibition a little too interesting.

"Oh yes," She called, a clearly false note of sadness in her tone, "I'm completely heartbroken." Making her way to the door she stepped outside far enough to see him - with a silent hope that no-one else was around to overhear her talking to apparent thin air. She thought about pointing out her lack of interest in kissing the giant bird anyway (except perhaps a peck (pun not intended) of the platonic kind), but not doing so made it funnier.

"What size statue are we talking?" Together with the ongoing question of whether he was keeping an eye on her by proxy, which ... would be kinda sweet, and therefore most likely out of the question. "It might get bored sitting around waiting for me to pucker up."

Hmph! Not his first time being called a bird species he does not even remotely resemble. He refuses to acknowledge the pigeons he now perches among, that his Avatar(s) love to compare him to. Of course he resents being called a coward for any reason, even if this one was ridiculous.

"Hmm. Your disappointment is noted," he replied, calling the bluff in a way that didn't require him to immediately teleport back down. "Perhaps I shall gift you a statue of mine, in the spirit of the holiday. One that you may offer kisses to whenever your heart desires, not just with greenery present." A statue of a god-- in his pantheon, at the very least-- was nothing but a stand-in for the god in question, so it would achieve the same effect. Not that he was making a serious suggestion.