Sybell briskly walked throughout the city passing all manner of races. Some small and some giant, others had fur coating their bodies, others had scales, then some just had plain old skin. She knew it would have been quicker to just transform into her dragon form and fly, but then she'd just get into even more trouble.
This was a humanoid settlement, not that other races weren't welcome, it was just hard to accommodate races such as giants and dragons. Luckily dragons could transform into humanoid form so she could easily live there. But there were still rules to prevent a larger race from accidentally destroying buildings.
Looming in the sky was a large tower that reached into what seemed to be the heavens themselves. It was the home of the gods.
All races were welcome into it for shelter, if need be, and the subterranean floors were dedicated to that stupid game people were always playing. It was said that at the bottom was the realm of the gods. The place where they all lived together.
However she could just ask to speak with one, they lived amongst the people peacefully like that. They were considered a race like any other, albeit the rulers.
Sybell pushed through the astonishingly decorated, but exceedingly heavy doors that made her arms feel like they'd fall off just by opening them. She pulled her tired body into the first floor and had to take a seat in the lobby.
"Ahem." The receptionist coughed with a smile upon seeing Sybell's dead tired body.
Sybell looked over with hollow eyes and stared unknowingly. Eventually the receptionist's smile faded and was replaced by nervous sweat.
"Miss?"
"Ah!" Sybell had blanked out in exhaustion. "Sorry! I need to speak with the god of death!"
"He's the only god who doesn't accept visitors at all. Do you wish to see anybody else?" The receptionist asked with a calm expression.
"You don't understand miss! I've got to apologize!"
"Why is that, if I may ask?"
"I accidentally called the God of Death a bag of dicks!"
"…" The receptionist simply blinked in silence.
"I was drunk." Sybell admitted, her hollow eyes reappearing as her stomach sank like a rock.
"I see."
The two sat in silence awkwardly looking at each other. After a moment had passed, the receptionist sighed.
"Look, I can ask his brother Iyseuss to meet with you. You can explain the situation to him and see if he'll take you to see Vostus."
"Thank you very much!" Sybell gave the deepest bow she could muster, her pride would allow for nothing less.
The receptionist smiled and began praying in the lobby, emanating a holy glow. A moment passed and she opened her eyes slowly.
"He'll be heading here soon, he has some brief matters to take care of."
"Oh thank the gods." Sybell said in relief, practically melting into her chair at the same time.
***
"So you called him a bag of dicks?"
"Yes! I also called his name stupid!" Sybell said in horror while clutching her head.
Iyseuss couldn't stifle his laughter in time so he let out a sizable chuckle. He coughed when he noticed his mistake and apologized upon seeing Sybell's visage shrink in embarrassment.
"Miss Sybell, I can assure you my brother took no offense. He's not someone who cares about things like that, especially if the person in question is drunk."
"But I insist! I must apologize! My pride as a dragon has plummeted! W-what if he takes away my treasure pile as compensation… oh gods…"
She began mumbling on about something that Iyseuss didn't bother listening to as he made some tea.
"You do seem very genuine miss. If you really insist, I can ask my brother, but I won't make any promises that you'll be able to see him." He said with a smile.
"I'd really appreciate it sir!" She exclaimed with happy eyes.
"Please, call me Iyseuss. Would you like some tea while we wait for my brother to get back to me?"
"Wait, you asked him already?"
"Yes, it's very easy for us to talk together. Tea?" He lifted the kettle.
She blinked for a moment before nodding.
Vostus heard his brother's voice enter his ear and talk about someone wanting to apologize. He thought it was probably the dragon but didn't particularly care.
'Just tell her that it's fine.' Vostus told his brother.
'Nope.' Was the short and simple response he got back.
"What?" Vostus muttered aloud. He asked his brother properly in his mind upon realizing that, 'What?'
'No. You come here and say its fine yourself.'
'Brother, why exactly are you doing this?' Vostus asked, genuinely confused. His brother would normally just accept him saying no.
'You need to get out more. Here's someone wanting to talk to you, wanting to apologize especially. Staying cooped up in that temple is going to make you go insane, you know that? You need to get some friends, and I don't count.'
'Cleaning the spit, food, and drinks off of my clothes is what's going to me make me go insane.' Vostus retorted remembering all the stuff that had been thrown at him in the past.
'She won't do that.'
'How do you know?'
'She's being genuine brother, not every one hates you, you know?'
'I'm not doing it.'
'Do it.'
'No.'
'Do it!'
'No!'
'Come on!'
'You're insufferable.'
'Come onnnnn….'
'N-O. No.' Vostus literally spelled it out for his brother.
'I'll just keep bothering you until you come over.'
'You know I can just block you out.'
'But you won't!'
'And how exactly do you know that?'
'Because I'm your lovable brother.'
Just like that, Vostus blocked his brother off from speaking to him.
He began pouring a drink for himself and enjoying the serene exterior of his temple. It was the same temple as yesterday but he had left before his brother to attend to some business. As such, his brother enjoyed the place a bit before leaving as well.
'Vostus?' The God of War suddenly spoke to Vostus mentally.
'Yes?'
'Your brother is annoying me. Go talk to him or something.'
Vostus rubbed the bridge of his nose in defeat before he got up. He slowly put down his cup and walked over to the bridge running over the creek.
He hated uninvited visitors so even the gods could only teleport from past the bridge, including him. After walking onto it, he vanished and appeared in his brother's small little office for talking to the various races.
"You're annoying."
Upon suddenly hearing the god she had insulted and thinking he was directing his speech towards her, Sybell choked on the tea she was drinking. She coughed and wheezed heavily as tiny spouts of fire and smoke came out of her mouth.
"Sorry miss Sybell, he was talking to me, not you." Iyseuss explained with a smile.
Sybell nodded with a pained groan and coughed some more.
"You wanted to talk to me miss?"
"Yes sir!" She said enthusiastically with a strained throat.
The room descended to awkward silence before Vostus waved her on.
"Sorry, I'm just nervous. I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I was drunk and I said some things I didn't mean."
"You sure seemed to mean them yesterday." Vostus said jokingly, but his face naturally made it seem like anything but a joke.
The result?
Sybell's soul looked like it was ready to escape her body.
"It was a joke. I really wasn't bothered by what you said."
"Really?"
"Really." He affirmed.
"Yes! I won't die! Thank you so much sir! I really didn't mean it though, but I'll get out of your hair now!" She said while jumping up from the chair she was given. She quickly made her way to the door, perplexing the two brothers in the process. She was leaving just like that?
"Ah! And sir?" She suddenly stopped and looked back.
"Yes?"
"You're not so bad! And Vostus isn't a bad name!" She smiled before quickly adding under her breath as if she had to speak the truth even if it killed her, "Although it's not that great a name either."
Vostus tilted his head in disbelief as she waved goodbye with a genuine smile on her face. Both brothers were staring at the closed door without a word being said between them, mentally or otherwise. Then Iyseuss tried to teleport.
"What's the real reason you annoyed me this much?" Vostus blocked his brother from leaving and asked with narrow eyes while lifting him up by the back of his clothes.
Iyseuss looked at Vostus with an extremely good poker face, "Whatever do you mean brother?"
However Vostus saw right through his brother. He put Iyseuss down and hit him on the top of the head without any remorse.
"Ack!" Iyseuss rubbed the point of impact with teary eyes. Needless to say Vostus' fist packed a punch.
"Come on." Vostus said firmly.
"You're no fun." Iyseuss genuinely sounded hurt. "My threads of life told me to do it, I was just listening to them."
Vostus looked at his brother with a blank expression before hitting him in the head again.
"Be serious." Vostus' tone was strict.
"I am!"
Then Vostus shut his mouth upon seeing how sincere his brother actually was.
Each god had their own threads of existence that worked according to their domain of command. Vostus' threads showed everyone's path in life until their death, it was referred to as the threads of fate. The god of war showed the links that formed to create wars, so it was simply the threads of war.
Iyseuss had the opposite type of threads of his brother; it was obvious considering that he was the God of Life. Instead, the threads he saw showed the threads of new life. So he'd know whenever new life would be created.
Meaning, according to the fates…
"You're gonna fall in love…" Iyseuss giggled jokingly until Vostus hit him again. This time he hit him hard enough to knock him out cold.
While his brother laid on the floor unconscious, his mind started panicking.
'What the hell?'
He was gonna fall in love with that idiot? He wasn't completely opposed to it since it was what the fates had in store, and it was his job to listen to them. But it put him off, especially considering now he would have to force himself into it.
It was something he wouldn't do. He started thinking silently before sighing.
"I need to speak with dad." He mumbled as he vanished.