"Father, we've been doing this for a few days now. Once this game finishes, can I go back to doing my job?" I ask Him with a strained voice as I slip on a pair of bowling shoes.
"Kick his arse!" Father hollers at Iderim-Ovi as he stumbles about in a tiny football pitch as a child. Apothriox yaps away like the silly sausage he is, ignoring the ball and trying to go for my brother instead. I smile a little at it, but, I quickly find myself steadily turning to glare at my progenitor. A slight bit of His clothes in my vision, then Him entirely as my growls louden on the turn of my head.
I backhand Him with reserved force, getting His attention, "Father."
"Yeah, yeah..." He dismisses with a wave of His hand before He goes over to the game console. Pushing in the required letters, dozens more copies of Him do the same on all the other lanes.
"So you say, but we both know your word means nothing. Honesty is a concept you have entirely separated yourself from." I remark with a scoff and scowl. All of the copies stop and turn to me, they stare.
"Not sure why you would think that..."
"Not sure why you would think..."
"Not sure why you would..."
"Not sure why you..."
"Not sure why..."
"Not sure..."
"Not..."
They all go, turning away to hide their so blatantly obvious smiles. Raising a hand, I send out a blast of freezing air to change this repeating sentence into mild screams. They all start to complain at me and I scoff once again. The edge of my mouth ticks up as the joy soothes my worries, slightly.
"It's almost as if you have a history of it, imagine that. Dragging gods and goddesses away from their essential roles in creation and then you mess with what we look after!" I go, bringing my open, strained claw hands up. A series of flashes emanate from Father and He steps towards me, a lone individual.
"Messing around? Laughable, I just solve the issues because I am an adult and I want to." He shrugs smugly.
"No one here but Nin, a mortal, is an adult, we are all incompatible with the term beyond aesthetic." I sigh, annoyed. Clicking one of my hands as the other caresses my face, a hound comes up to me. Quickly finding his furry head, I stroke and rub it to get some of my frustrations out in a nice manner. Taking the hand off my scalp, I pat around for my pipe, only for Father to hand it over as He walks away.
He goes over to greet the members of our family arriving in the latest drove of bowling players. How many are here because they want to be, I do not know, Father has not been very clear as to why this is happening. I get our missing brother has returned, His son, but still. Would've thought He would be elsewhere, sulking into a glass of rum given what He also failed to accomplish.
I tsk at the fact we are likely going to be sailing this way again at some point after I go back to work. Shaking my head at Him, I walk over to my returned brother as he gets tackled. He laughs heartily as Apothriox licks away at him and I let it carry on. Whistling once my amusement dries up, I start to rub and scratch the shadowy, cylinder-bellied midget.
"You adjusting alright?" I ask Iderim-Ovi as he picks himself up, the last of his laughs parting ways with his mouth as my dog pants and wags.
"Yeah, Kyarverin's been kind enough to let me access my actual power so I can kind of cheat this whole thing about me being captured. To me, it's all a distant memory I am now struggling to remember. No nightmares keeping me up at night!" he cheers as I raise a brow at the way he detaches himself from Him.
Hearing the voice of my greatest current frustration, I am reminded, "So, how come you aren't taking advantage of the moment and talking to Nin? He's the one with the honour of saving you."
"The mortal?" he asks and I nod.
"Yes, he's not going to be around for much longer in any capacity as he's a departed soul..." I explain for clarification, trailing off as my impatience comes to the fore.
"I want to... But, that's also the thing, I've figured out he's a bargaining chip to keep you around. So, I've sort of come to the conclusion there's no point to it. Don't get me wrong, how can I not be forever in his gratitude, but, he's human. A dead one." Iderim-Ovi tries to explain as I gently chew the mouthpiece on my pipe.
Smirking a little, "Still hoping to genocide humanity from creation for the sake of your ddrai'och?"
Iderim-Ovi flinches and grows to peak out over the bannister-like wall. The lack of crackling thunder makes him slump down with a sigh and I gently laugh as he glares. An oversized football comes for me and I smack it back his way, striking him with a popping thunk. The ball gently rolls off elsewhere, mindlessly going out of view..
"Well, we'll see..." he says quietly as he continues to listen out for Thurnmourer even though the hatchet should be buried at this point.
"Your kind still comes to me, so you are aware. They're still around." I explain while the topic is relevant.
"Yeah, Thurnmourer's mentioned that they're still alive." he mutters with a half-attempted fist near his mouth.
"I don't see them often, but, they're around." I somewhat repeat as I bring in some mouth-drying smoke from my pipe.
My brother nods, "I want to try and focus on them, help them how I can. I did not make them, they made me, even with my capture, I am living on because they have not forgotten me. I need to return the favour. I am hoping Kyarverin will let me take an active role with them, bypassing the rules he put in place when..."
"Mmm, that'll be tricky. But, if me and Waionr can manage, I'm sure you can." I comment somewhat truthfully.
"I'm not the god of death, unlike you, though, Undwote, I'm me. The singular god for a nearly-extinct species." he slumps over.
"Father tends to be occupied, sprinkle in some relics and equipment and answer prayers from behind the camouflaging book and you'll be able to help. With or without His agreement." I reassure my worrying brother as I move forward to shake him by the shoulder.
"Oh... Can I have my dead back as well, please?" he asks and I purse my lips and tightly knot my tongue.
"Looks like the bowling is about to sta-"
"Undwote! They're my dead, I handled them before I was captured, you have no right!" Iderim-Ovi rightly goes and I groan.
"Fine..." I moan as I bitterly chew on the mouthpiece some more. Already have enough issues with Waionr's lot of the dead but now I have to give Iderim-Ovi a chunk of them too!? Well, I guess it's a better deal than what I have with Waionr anyway. Ddrai'och dead have been in short supply for a while now.
In a strange way, Father's Sunk Cost Fallacy benefited me and I am not sure how to feel about it. My brother being imprisoned and locked away, out of our hearts and minds was a cruel boon for me alone. An entire species, one once powerful and mighty, their souls in the afterlife became my responsibility. Even if these souls always put up a fight.
Ddrai'och really do not like most of this pantheon.
"So, anything in particular you looking forward to once we are all allowed to get back into what makes us, us?" I ask as I eye Nin eagerly in a way that reminds me instantly of Aahtha on the prowl.
"I guess I want to see if the sub-species are all still there. Crimson scales were always the most common so I have no worries with them, but, the whites, blues and golds concern me. I hope they're still around." he says, looking at himself with a chuckle initially.
"Fair dues." I say, nodding along as he starts to slobber a little.
"I like to watch the colour contrast when they intermix and mate!" the little pervert can't help but let out.
"Ah, there's the mortal you were based on." I huff amusedly before I set aside his lechery.
"White goes together so well with the darkest sha-"
"Any idea where they currently are? Has Father given you the ability to begin searching for the ddrai'och?" I ask him with a mixture of curiosity and practical intent. With him back, I need to retrain my hounds to not sniff out the souls of this species. A rough no-go area would work for a little while, but, the tedious act of making them ignore the smell and aura of ddrai'och souls will be much harder.
"Not yet, no, but, I am guessing they're still around Thunlanann as that is where they had mostly settled prior to my bout with Thurnmourer. Either there or the other continent, across that bridge-like thing in his old forge." Iderim-Ovi theorises, leading to me having a bit of a chuckle. He has so many mortals who agree with him in regard to that innocent little descriptor. Current power in the region even made a whole city named after it!
"Well, here's to you getting it all started soon." I tell him as my head turns back towards the human soul as he idles about. He can't help but glance Aahtha and Motrtha's way for whatever reason, something is on his mind. Maybe he's just confused at how Aahtha has changed form for the first time since he arrived.
More so a red-headed punk than the sexually weighty woman she was before. Iderim-Ovi peeks over at the bar and groans disappointedly, I raise my brow at him. Aahtha spots us and winks and Iderim-Ovi giggles to himself with a right cheeky grin. My expression widens in realisation, she's actually dressing for the tastes of one of us?
She can do that? I don't recall ever even hearing of anything like this.
Pondering over a huff of smoke, I quietly remember as I glance to Father's lovable yet intolerable head, "Riiiiight... Based on an old mortal friend."