Cedric pounded loudly on the Goddess's palace door. He had been at this for the last 20 minutes and his impatience was waning. When Lady Tuzi was still here, the door would be opened in a matter of seconds, and she would greet him with the warmest and most genuine smile. The Moon deity, alone by herself though, was another matter entirely.
Ah Tuzi… Cedric thought, shaking his head. Unfortunate soul, that one.
The God of Humanities let out a big sigh and rapped on the door loudly again. "Moon, I swear to god, if you do not open this door–"
His voice was cut off as the door flung open so quickly, he nearly fell over. "What the–"
The Moon Goddess was holding the door open looking haggard. Her hair was greasy and tangled, looking like it hadn't been brushed in days. Her usually piercing blue eyes were bloodshot and her skin has a grayish pallor to it. Her robes were wrinkled and unkempt, the same ones she had been wearing the last time he had seen her, weeks ago. She looked disheveled as hell.
Cedric's eyes widened in shock. The Goddess was a vision of beauty, always perfectly groomed and attired. But now she looked like she had been through a war zone. "What the fuck, Goddess. You can't let anyone see you like this."
He ushered her back into the palace and quickly shut the door before anyone could see her in such an unsightly manner. It would definitely create gossip and cause some vicious tongues to start wagging.
The Goddess groaned and rubbed her forehead, feeling a migraine coming in. "What do you want Cedric…?"
"What the fuck, Goddess?! Have you been drinking?! I haven't seen you for weeks and this–" he gestured frantically at her appearance. "What is this?!"
"No, I haven't been drinking," Moon growled. "What type of low-life would I be, going on a drinking binge while Tuzi needs my help!"
"Then how do you explain this?" His eyes scanned her appearance from head to toe.
"Boy, are you judgemental," the Goddess grumbled, as she slugged towards her sitting room and slumped down onto the comfortable couch.
She eyed the God of Humanities in annoyance. The man was dressed impeccably in a stylish suit, with his platinum blonde hair neatly combed and parted from the side. A little silver chained earring hung on one lobe. His blue eyes were sharp and bright behind his thin-rimmed glasses. She wasn't in the mood for being around someone so stylish and well-kept at the moment.
"Leave me alone, Cedric. I don't want to deal with you right now."
"Deal with me? You rude little–" He picked up a couch cushion and smacked her with it.
The Goddess growled in response.
"What have you been doing these last few weeks?! Ever since that scene–" He stopped himself before he went into detail about that unfortunate incident. "Look, I get it. That was a really rough thing to go through. But you can't hide yourself here forever."
"Why not?" she mumbled, closing her eyes. "I'm doing fine."
"You do not look like you're doing fine. When was the last time you bathed?" Cedric shook his head.
Moon sat up on the couch, crossing her legs as she tried unsuccessfully to tame the long strands of her hair by brushing her fingers through it.
"I mean, I can't go to her right now," she stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "Because I can't be there with her… I've been visiting Tuzi in her dreams and keeping her company."
"You can't mean…" The God of Humanities was taken back. "Were you casting her a divine dream, during these last few weeks?! Are you nuts?! It takes an incredible amount of energy for a deity to cast even one short dream to the Mortal Realm. But you've been doing it continuously for weeks?! Are you out of your mind?! Your celestial energy must be non-existant right now. That is insanely dangerous!"
The man wasn't wrong, she thought begrudgingly. "Yeah… But I can't leave her there by herself. When she realizes what has happened to her, she may panic. I need her to sleep well, and give her body time to rest and heal. If I'm there with Tuzi in her dreams, at least she's comforted."
"But Moon," he started, taking a seat next to her and patting her hand. "You can't hurt yourself like this. It's reckless. If you're not here anymore, who will advocate for her? What happened a few weeks ago, isn't the end of the world. There is time to change his mind."
Moon nodded her head slowly, indicating that she had heard him.
"And another thing," he said, his lips drawing into a straight line. "These last few weeks here… It must've been years in the Mortal Realm. If she was able to receive your divine dreams, it must mean she's still alive and well. But most importantly, she's safe."
She looked up at the God of Humanities, her eyes misting slightly, but she nodded her head in response again.
"We will find a way to rescue Lady Tuzi and bring her back here. The Creator was probably just having a really pissy day. We can give it a bit more time and approach him about it again in the future. As gods, we just need to ensure that she's alive when that happens."
The Goddess nodded her head slowly again, feeling the warmth of a teardrop spilling over her eyes and sliding down her smooth cheek.
"Ah, you poor thing." Cedric took her in his arms, letting her lean in on his shoulders. He patted her head. "Cry it out if you need to."
Moon didn't want to cry. She just wanted her best friend by her side again. These last few weeks, she was next to Tuzi at all times in her dreams, ensuring that her friend would have a peaceful and restful sleep. If she couldn't be there physically for her, then that was the least she could do for now.
"I'll be okay," the Goddess said, pulling herself up and wiping her eyes on her sleeves. "I'll be fine."
Cedric sighed again at her stubborn streak, but he let her be. "Here, take this. I was saving it for a special occasion, but I guess you need it more than I do right now."
With a flick of his wrist, a crystal decanter fell from thin air. He caught it effortlessly, without the liquid blue contents spilling.
He handed it to her. "Don't say your boy wasn't looking out for you. I want to see you drink every drop of it."
She took the bottle from him gingerly and took a sip from it. "Mmm… This is some good elixir. Where did you get it from?" Already, her skin was starting to glow again, with the dark circles under her eyes fading into nothing.
Cedric grinned mischievously. "The last fairy I fucked gave—"
"I don't want to hear it," she said, interrupting him with a hand up. "Please spare me the details."
He laughed. "Do my sexual escapades bother you? Probably 'cuz you haven't gotten laid in so long. I mean, I can gladly loan you my body–"
She flipped him off. "Nope!"
"Prude." He laughed and smacked her again with the couch cushion.
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Thank you guys for reading! Here are some character designs for the main characters, if you're interested in seeing. (Click on the comment next to each name to see)
- Tuzi
- Moon Goddess
- God of Sky
- Atlas