#goldenlightofhope

[ever-winter]

@goldenlightofhope continued from [X]

"Do you truly believe that all are capable of dealing with the truth? Do you not think that there are those who will be unaccepting of such things?". He sighed lightly. Of course she wasn't to know of such a thing as forbidden knowledge and what occurred to those who sought knowledge beyond what the 'Gods' allowed, but he wouldn't hold it against her. Many before her had decided to follow the truth, to ignore his warnings. Perhaps it was a lesson they just had to learn for themselves.

[arcgeminga]

♛┊ When he heard the young girl say that she would stay, Defteros only huffed behind his mask. He knew what it was like to hide away from those damn sentries. Perhaps she suffered under their whips like he had... If she didn't want to get a beating by getting caught, he wouldn't force it.

"There's enough space for the both of us," Defteros simply said. He didn't move from his stone seat, but he crossed his arms over his chest. He had been content with her turning around and admiring the statue of Nike or the flowers or some dumb shit... but he didn't expect her to share her name like that...

♛┊ Defteros chose to not share his name. The silence lingered for a while after she had sat down. Yet, he couldn't think of an alias. With a slight furrowing of the brow, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Call me whatever you want," he threw out, casually. "Yes, I often do. It's quiet and calm. Almost like a Little Sanctuary from Sanctuary. There isn't much to this place, however. Just flowers, dilapidated buildings, and a good view of the night sky. And Canon Island, if you want to climb the walls of this garden."

He turned his blue eyes to her. The reflection of the moonlight made the blue stand out in the darkness.

"And you, Sasha? Do you run away often?"

@arcgeminga

“Oh.” The stranger didn’t seem to mind at all. When he gestured to the semi-collapse tunnel entrance, she looked through the tunnel. It was dark but if what he said was true, she could continue going straight until she left this place. She was about to leave when he mentioned that there were sentries patrolling the area. She didn’t want to get caught by the guards. If she did, the Pope would be worried and upset that she tried to sneak out of her room. He would definitely lecture her about the dangers of sneaking out and she might not be able to sneak out again.

“Thank you for showing me the way. If you don’t mind, I will stay here for an hour. Until the sentries leave, then I will leave.”

That must have sounded suspicious to him, didn’t it? He assumed she was a servant so perhaps she did not have to be worried.

“My name is Sasha. What is your name?”

She decided to make herself comfortable and sat down on a rock.

“Do you come here often?”

[arcgeminga]

"Aspros, please stop watching and help me stop Kardia and Manigoldo from fighting again." (Young Sasha)

♕┊ "It's fine, Athena," Aspros smirked as he watched the Scorpio and Cancer Saints about to throw fists. He won't admit that men fighting their little petty fistfights was eye candy to him.

"They won't kill each other. Let them fight."

[imaginaerum]

Another fate

[Starter for @goldenlightofhope]

In a blink, energy flooded the ruins of Sanctuary like a tidal wave and the world vanished. Thea felt Ovelia’s limp form disappear from her arms. She reached out, clawing at the darkness in attempt to find her mother, while she felt herself falling.

Thea landed hard upon marble floor. Pain exploded throughout her body. A scream died in her throat as she struggled to breath in air.

Oddly, it reminded her when she had first been placed under Ovelia’s care after she was brought to Sanctuary. Thea had been training on tall poles, attempting to improve her balance when she had fallen. She could almost hear Ovelia’s words of comfort before her teacher…mother…demanded she get back up before fear took root.

Ovelia wasn’t here now and Thea was afraid.

Thea slowly tested her body, flexing muscles before lifting limps, and moved into a sitting position. She took in her new surroundings. It appeared that she was still in Sanctuary but not the ruins of it. Smoke no longer darkened the sky and the suffocating cosmos of specters and enemy gods were gone.

Then, from the corner of her eye, Thea noticed someone move nearby. She got to her feet, almost collapsing, and moved into a defensive stance. The colors of purple and white caught her attention.

“S-sophronia?” Thea whispered, almost certain the person in front of her was one of her hallucinations if her surrounds weren’t.  

[crownshattered-moved]

@goldenlightofhope​ {Athena}~

And just who was this? Lyudmila didn’t know, nor did she really understand her significance. Her attire was strange, unlike any Lyudmila had ever seen. She seemed to be someone of importance, but Lyudmila didn’t know her. She had never seen this girl before in her life... And a girl indeed. She looked like nothing more than a child.

The Tsaritsa stared down at the girl from her place on her frozen throne. “You requested an audience with me? You have my attention. Speak. I do not have time to waste on silence.” Icy blue hues glanced to the side at her guards that lines the walls of the throne room. With a small wave of her hand, her guards were all dismissed. Something told her that she would need privacy for this... Besides, it wasn’t as if she couldn’t defend herself. 

[cosmicdreamt]

"You must be Regulus' friend. I am Sisyphus, his uncle. Nice to meet you." (Sisyphus to Neff)

"Oh!"

Part of Neff hadn’t expected Regulus to keep his word about having the two of them meet, thought truthfully she’s not sure why. She didn’t at all lie about wanting and agreeing to meet the man, but maybe a part of her thought there wouldn’t be much time for it.

“Yes, I’m Nefeloma, but please call me Neff. He’s told me a lot about you.” Including jokes about how the two of them should date, but maybe she’d leave that part out in case that was never mentioned to him. That would be embarrassing. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” She’s unsure exactly how to greet him between a handshake or a bow or if there was anything else, so she settles for a gentle bow/nod of her head.

[arcgeminga]

♕┊ ‘Oh, you’re right. This isn’t funny. It’s hilarious’, were the words the Gemini so desperately wanted to shoot back at his comrade. But the man expertly occupied his mouth with another grape before the words could form. 

Aspros pretended to be too occupied with the task of chewing through his sweet treat, and he ran his tongue over his teeth before he replied.

♕┊ “Yes, yes. He is very good at hiding,” Aspros chuckled as he plucked another dark-purple sphere from the clutch in his hand. Unlike the Sagittarius saint, Aspros has some experience in finding people who were exceptional at hiding... But it’s not like the man knew that.

Before Aspros could put the next grape in his mouth, he rose his brow as he rolled the morsel against his bottom lip. “I think the most dangerous thing that you told me about the kid is the fact that he can hide his Cosmo completely. But, nonetheless, you could call to the Leo Cloth... if that was an option.” Of course, perhaps the Leo Cloth itself wouldn’t reveal the kid’s location either. After all, it also went dead-silent during the years following Ilias’ death.

This kid was so similar to Defteros... the types of annoyances that easily faded into the darkness of the background and stay there even when you need them...

“Well, I guess we should walk around the parameter of the trainee quadrant and announce that the game is off, no? You know how kids are. They always want to play,” Aspros suggested with another entertained chuckle. He (finally) threw the grape into his mouth - his words slightly muffled as he chewed on the delight as he added, “Maybe he’ll come finding us instead. Who knows what kind of dangers are lurking in the shadows of Sanctuary after dusk.”

@arcgeminga xxx

sisyphus sighed. he was not in a mood to humour aspros.

“this isn’t funny.”

he was not offended by his friend’s comment about talking with nature. unlike his brother, he had still yet to fully understood what his brother meant whenever he said he spoke with the earth and wind.

 “i know it is against the rules but i need to find him soon. i am concerned for regulus’ safety and regulus is the type to never appear until i find him… he is very good at hiding.”

perhaps it was the boy’s time living in the wild that taught him to be so good at hiding. even aldebaran could not find him in the past and his friend felt immense guilt for not being able to find regulus and thinking the boy was dead.

“i tried to find his cosmos but couldn’t. i only taught him how to use and control his cosmos and he had mastered it so well to the point of being able to hide his cosmos completely.”

[featherchan]

Stepping up the many flights of stone stairs. Entering and exiting the 12 Zodiac temple gates. With each step, the Lioness took, she felt a little more anxious and curious as to why the Pope wanted to see her personally. After obtaining the Lionet Cloth, people began to recognize her by name and not another nameless soldier. She began to be assigned to more missions, a little more challenging and dangerous than her previous ones. Yet, through it all, the Lionet Cloth protected her. And as crazy as it may sound, she could sense her armor had a voice. But one thing that did concern her was the weight of the armor, it felt heavy. Yet other Saints swore they felt one with it, making it feel as light as a feather. 

Looking up at the temple and finally reaching her destination. She decided to put that thought aside. Before presenting her permission slip to the Saints who were guarding the entrance. One of the guards let her inside before leading her the way. Walking closely behind them. She finds herself looking around and is in awe at the temple deco. But immediately returned to her usual cold stone expression, upon reaching the Pope's headquarters door. 

Taking in a deep breath. She wore her mask over her face before knocking on the man's door and announcing her presence. "Sir Pope..." Nervousness rang in her voice. "...its Lionet, Kanako. May I come in?" Along with an awkward tone in the mix. Meeting the Pope in person for the first time. The raven has been rehearsing her lines. And narrow down carefully a selected sentence, aiming to be polite and professional. Once she received her permission to enter the room, she carefully opened the creaking wooden door. Soon, the Lioness's imaginary ear perked up while her tail puffed up. Frozen. As her sights found not only the Pope but a gold Saint too. 

[ starter | @goldenlightofhope​ ]

[ever-winter]

@goldenlightofhope continued from [X]

The flinch was rather noticeable, but if this creature wished to pretend to be the human that it was not, well, it wasn't his place to insist on otherwise. He did have to wonder if perhaps he might prove to be a future test subject, or if he might be as boring as he first seemed. From experience, he knew better than to judge a book by it's cover though - but non-humans tended to produce exceptions. And exceptions weren't always welcomed.

"I see, I must have been mistaken. There are many who roam these lands and you seemed a little out of place", a small shrug, his slight annoyance hidden behind the safety of his mask, glancing around for any signs that they may be travelling with others, "A lone traveller? Those tend to be rather rare these days".

[ever-winter]

@goldenlightofhope continued from [X]

Hmm. This one was different, enough to grasp hold of her attention, which was never a good thing for them. "You're in graveyard of the local church...are you not from around here then?", she asked, tilting her head a little as she pulled her jacket closer around her small frame as though to protect herself from the cold, when in reality it was to help mask the excitement at a potential new plaything. It could be so boring playing her part as a Priestess, even if she did so love her beloved Queen. "A local Inn - hmm, I mean you could take shelter within the Church. There's a shelter for those who get lost - in these frozen lands, it's important to offer charity to those in dire need, would you not agree?".

[eternalstarlights]

I deleted the old eternalstarlights blog now. If you try to find it, you won't.

Only the starlightofdream and goldenlightofhope blogs remain as archive.

[arcgeminga]

"Aspros, Aldebaran, I need your help with something. Taste this and tell me what you think?" Sisyphus showed them something that looked like food but anyone can see it looked inedible. "I know Regulus doesn't allow me to cook but I want to learn. I haven't burned down the kitchen! So taste this and let me know." Aldebaran immediately made some excuse that he remember his students needed him for something and left. The only one left was Sisyphus who was still holding his food out to Aspros, expecting him to eat it.

♕┊ When Hasgard left in such a hurry, Aspros had a few mental curses to fling at him. Aspros looked at the food items that Sisyphus made... and he tried really hard not to let his disgust show. 

He’s... He’s survived Klotho’s cooking... this shouldn’t be that bad.

♕┊  “Fine,” Aspros grumbled. He was a little hungry and the sight of an open-faced omelet was more than enough to entice the starving Gemini. Taking a fork that Sisyphus brought, Aspros began to make a meal of the offering.

...

...

...

He took a very long time chewing the first bite. And when he finally finished it, Aspros stared at Sisyphus with what almost seemed like pity.

“...Sisyphus, how did you fuck up omelets?” Aspros wasn’t a good cook himself, but at least he knew how to season and not burn a couple of eggs...! It wasn’t as bad as Klotho’s cooking, no, but it was close...

“The underside is completely burnt... How long did you leave it on the fire??? Did you even watch it??? Sisyphus...” 

[arcgeminga]

"Aspros, I am sorry that you are covered in candy like that. Regulus can take his fun a little too far sometimes." Sisyphus had heard that Regulus was putting bags of candies on doors and many people had been covered in candy so far. While nobody was offended or upset by this prank (if anything, most were amused), Sisyphus still felt embarrassed by his nephew's actions.

♕┊ Aspros was just cleaning up the unfortunate mess, dutifully recovered from his shock. The surprise left him in a bit of a disarray, as he wasn’t expecting Sisyphus to march over. When he did catch sight of the man from the corner of his eye, a bit of his hair was coming undone from it’s bun. He tightened his robes a little more a bit before Sisyphus apologized for what occurred.

Oho... So, it was Regulus who did this?

The Gemini Saint grinned, but the warmth was lost -- however one could assume he was taking the matter in good faith.

♕┊ “Oh? This was his prank?” Aspros crossed his arms over his chest as he pondered over the words with falsely weighted consideration. “...Well, he is a child. Every child has their mischievous phases... Very well. I can forgive him for this.”

Oohoh, he’ll get the kid back next year.

[arcgeminga]

After Regulus did an imitation of Aspros in front of him, Aspros, Manigoldo and Kardia, Sisyphus couldn't help but laugh even when he was trying to hold back his laughter. "That is impressive. Should I also try to do an imitation of you?" (Sisyphus to Aspros)

♕┊ Aspros was... perhaps the only one in the group that was less than impressed at the boy's impersonation ability. It was extremely humiliating -- and Aspros would be a liar if he said he wasn't a lick irritated at the display. The laughter of Manigoldo and Kardia around them just fueled the agitation.

Laugh it up now, ignoble mongrels...

His expression was cold. His eyes narrowed slightly at Regulus as danger sparked in his blue eyes... but that only lasted a moment since Sisyphus came up next to him and said his piece.

Aspros couldn't fight against the flow of the conversation, or else he would be exposed for being anything less than pleasant.

♕┊ "Oh?" Aspros smirked at his 'friend', but Sisyphus could have possibly overlooked the dangerous aspect of the smile. "No offense, but you do not have the ability of imitation, but I would love to see you try."

[arcgeminga]

@goldenlightofhope​ -- Athena Sasha to Gemini Defteros

“Defteros…”

Everything has happened so quickly. Just a few months ago, Aspros had tried to assassinate the Pope, however, the Pope and Asmita knew of his plans and stopped him. She was only told about this a few days after. Defteros who was unfortunately controlled by his brother got free and killed his brother to save the Pope. Since there was no Gemini saint now, Defteros was the new Gemini saint. He was immediately given the title and cloth and he quickly left to Kanon Island before Sasha could even speak with him. Now that he was back in the Sanctuary temporarily, she could finally speak to him.

“I hope you have been well.”

♛┊ It’s been the first time in a couple of months since the last time he came out of Kanon Island. As soon as he defeated the Specter residing in the volcano, he took the role of the ‘Demon’ and lived in the wilderness of that island for a little over six months.

It was an extremely rough adjustment, living alone in the wilderness... but after being coached by Regulus a few times, Defteros was thriving.

...well, “thriving”. More like surviving. Or barely. He may have had just a few little escapes after he found several mushrooms on the island. Especially on his birth month. If he could hallucinate Aspros with him, he would do that every day if he could. Too bad Dégel severely scolded him after that fiasco of a ‘birthday’ that first full month of isolation. He had to keep off those things for nearly two months to avoid another scolding (and, plus, he was rattled with the threat of Kardia’s Scarlet Needle. Like hell he’ll suffer that...)

So, aside from the visits from Regulus, Dégel, and, rarely, Sisyphus, Defteros was left to himself on Kanon Island. Which was fine. After sobering up and actually looking after himself, Defteros became accustomed to life in the wild. After all, humans were an extremely adaptable species.

Which is why it was extremely weird to be surrounded by humans again. Like a wolf prowling unsafe grounds, Defteros found himself keeping a close eye on the men around him--untrusting and ready to defend himself. Deep inside, though, he knew that it was silly to be on the defensive. He was above all of these foot solders in regard to sheer strength. Only the foolish would charge at a beast. And, luckily, they recognized that he was the newly appointed Gold Saint even if he left the Gemini Cloth in Kanon Island to self-repair. Some of the soldiers stared as if they never saw a shirtless man before... (Pathetic whelps.)

Defteros avoided going up the temples to the Papal chambers. He followed old underground and hidden routes when he found one of his favorite entrances and quietly exited it from a double-sided mirror somewhere within the Pope’s chambers. He’s been to the top of the mountain once--when Aspros had controlled him with the Demon Emperor Fist... Once was all he needed to map out the temple.

After passing the grand alabaster doors into The Hall, the beast of a man strutted across the crimson carpet until he stopped to offer a brief bow to the sitting Goddess.

♛┊ “I pray the Goddess Athena is in good health?” Defteros’ voice had alarmingly roughened from his constant roaring in attempts to intimidate poachers. He has been trying to keep his screeching to a minimum since the day Regulus harshly scolded him and then nursed him back to decent health after the kid walked into the volcano during a very unflattering moment a month ago.

To relieve the scratch, the Gemini Saint turned his head and coughed into his hand before he returned his attention to Sasha. “I’ve been in questionable health in the beginning of my isolation, but I’m fine. Is there any urgent reason for the summon?”

He wasn’t against idle chatting--after all, socialization help keep the death-harboring loneliness away... However, Defteros really couldn’t talk for too long unless he wanted to be forced to keep his mouth shut for an entire week again...which he didn’t, honestly. Those poachers back home were annoyingly persistent if there was no one to scare them.

[arcgeminga]

“Defteros, I want to say thank you for being a good friend to Regulus.” Even though there were a few things that Sisyphus disagreed with and wondered what kind of trouble Regulus got himself into because of Defteros but this was not the time and moment to interrogate him. “Happy Birthday.” Sisyphus gave Defteros a wrapped present which was a heavy book about money matters. “Regulus has been telling me that you were not good with money and that you were getting ripped off by the villagers in Kanon Island. If you need any help regarding money, please let me know and I will be happy to help.”

♛┊ Defteros glanced at Sisyphus with a raised brow. He knew that... Sisyphus knew that Regulus was friends with him... although, he didn’t know if Sisyphus knew about that friendship extending quite a few years back -- a bit before Aspros had taken it upon himself to go and attempt a coup.

♛┊ “...huh,” was all the man could say. He wouldn’t call himself a ‘good friend’, but he wasn’t in the mood to correct people. Besides, he could tell that the man wanted to question him about the details of his interactions with the boy...

When he was given the present, Defteros couldn’t help but raise a brow curiously at the object. It was a hefty book, Defteros wasn’t going to lie, but such weight was nearly nonresistant to the man as he held it with ease with one hand.  “Thanks...?” 

When he heard what Regulus has been telling Sisyphus, the man’s face turned a bright shade of red from embarrassment. The boy really didn’t have a filter!! He’s going to give that kid a good spanking the next time he sees him!! (but, where’s the lie though?)

The ‘demon’s upper lip twitched, then he smiled a bit too forcefully as he replied, “I... can assure you, I don’t need help with that stuff.”

...Sisyphus wouldn’t know that, later, Defteros sold that book. Or, maybe, he thre it into the magma of the volcano... or, maybe, it was floating in the deepest parts of Another Dimension, collecting dust...

Economics wasn’t a part of the wild, and Defteros was too flustered to accept such a gift.