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Entry tags:

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Characters: Esther and Anubis
Date/Time: May 1st
Location: A room in L'Hotel de Jeu Ancien
Rating: TBD
Warnings: none so far
Summary: Esther and Anubis meet under unusual circumstances

Anubis started to stir a little in his sleep. He rolled over in bed, turning, but was stopped suddenly by something as his arm didn't move with the rest of him. It wad enough to wake him the rest of the way, his eyes popping open. Right away, he realized something wasn't right.

"What?" He tried to sit up and again felt something restricting his arm. He began to process several things at once. He was wearing what he'd worn to bed, a black t-shirt and boxer shorts, but that was the only thing that was familiar. He was in a strange room, looking like a cheap hotel suite. He had a cuff around his right wrist, he was chained... and he wasn't alone.

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The exclamation woke Esther, and she glanced around before groaning.
"Again? Already?" she muttered.

She noticed the metal chain.
"Okay, that's a new tactic. They've never chained us before..."

Looking at the person beside him, he realized he was chained to her. Had she just said 'again'? None of this was making any sense to him. "What is this? How did we get here?" He glanced around the room again. There was a door to the bathroom and what looked like a door out of the room.

"I don't know this place, specifically, but Gaia... Well, every now and again she insist on kidnapping us to some pocket dimension. Last fall, we all were in a huge mansion to keep us safe after a number of attacks on our kind. And again in the winter so that the babies could be born in a safe place. The year before that, though, we got stuck in this old theatre and had to put on "A Christmas Carol." And as the one Jew in the group, I can tell you it was beyond awkward," Esther explained.

She shook the chain experimentally.
"I can't explain the chain. But there's got to be something we're supposed to do to get out of it."

Esther offered him a small smile.
"Hada Morgenstern, by the way. Slightly better known as Queen Esther of Persia."

Mason fidgeted with the cuff around his wrist, trying without success to slide it over his hand. He perked up when she mentioned Gaia. That explained all of this. This was part of the trials he'd heard about that the gods had been put through. And now he was apparantly a part of it too.

"That all sounds insane. Not that I'm doubting, I'm not." He glanced around the room again. He brought his attention back to her when she introduced herself. He suddenly realized that she was pretty and he was probably not making a good impression. Not to mention he was in his underwear.

"Queen Esther. Wow. I've heard about you. My parents made me go to church when I was little. I'm Mason Hall. Also know as Anubis of the Egyptians." It still felt weird for him to say he was a god, so he didn't.

"Nice to meet you in person, despite the circumstances," she said kindly. "Do you prefer your old name or your current one? I'm not too picky--both my names are fairly normal. Of course, my reputation goes over a little better among conservatives as Hada."

She was grateful that she'd spent so much time practicing her poise among politicians. Esther herself was dressed in a short, Persian-style silk nightgown, one that clung a bit more than she ordinarily would have liked when meeting young men for the first time.

Avoiding blushing, she focused on the chain connecting them.
"Looks like these need to be unlocked before they can come off. Do you happen to see a key anywhere?"

"Mason's fine... still getting used to the other one." Being 'Mason' made him feel normal, which he wanted, though it did leave him feeling vastly unprepared for the situation he was now in. Seeing she was looking at the chain, he did the same. "It's on pretty tight." He glanced around the room again. "I don't see anything, unless it's in one of the dresser drawers. Or who knows, I guess it could even be in a different room. If someone went to the trouble of chaining us together, it probably isn't going to be a simple thing to get out of it." Mason scooted closer, to move off the bed from the same side as her. "Guess we should start looking."

"If it's not in plain sight, we'll probably have to work for it, knowing Gaia," Ariadne sighed.

She checked the obvious hiding places--drawers, closets, envelopes, under the phone, etc. She even tried the door to try and see if maybe it had been hidden elsewhere in the building, only to find it stuck fast and finally shook her head in defeat.

"No luck. So... I guess for the foreseeable future, we're going to be spending some time with each other. Thoughts on what you'd like to do?"

Mason moved along with Hada, investigating the room. He did make a note that there were actually clothes in the drawers and closets. He tugged at the pictures hung on the walls, looked under the bed and furniture. Mason tugged hard at the doorknob, but it didn't budge. He did peek in the bathroom, but it also looked unremarkable.

"Damn", he muttered, frustrated by their situation. "So how long will this take? I'd better not miss too much school 'cause of this..." When she asked what he wanted to do, he answered, "I wouldn't mind putting on some pants to start."

"I don't know," Esther admitted, "The last two times, we were locked away for days and days. But before that... Turned out we'd only missed a second. Literally, just one second."

She glanced around.
"The dresser or the closet will probably have clothes available."

He gave her an alarmed look when she mentioned days and days. The look turned to confusion when she said it had really only lasted a second. "How is that possible?" He had come to terms with the past lives thing, and even the being a god thing (sort of), but he still didn't know what to make of supernatural forces toying with them, and being so powerful that they could bend space and time.

He moved back to the dresser, giving her time to move alongside so she wouldn't get yanked. He pulled open the bottom drawer, finding pants, his size, black skinny jeams like he tended to wear. "Well, that's really odd... Not that I'm complaining. Bear with me, this might be a little awkward."

"As near as I can figure, these places exist outside of ordinary space and time. A pocket dimension, if you will. Seals us off from contact with the outside world, for the most part, just because we're no longer part of it while we're in these areas," Esther explained.

When he pulled out the jeans, she just chuckled.
"Well, if this is anything like that house, I'll really blow your mind here in a second."

It was a bit awkward, having to bend when he did to put them on, and she nearly lost her balance, the hand put out to steady herself being the chained one, brushing up against his leg.
"Sorry about that," she said, and then eyed the chain. "I guess this is going to make putting on shirts kind of impossible. That's ok--I don't mind you being barechested, as long as you're comfortable."

"That is... crazy." He'd been using that word a lot lately, to describe himself, others on the message board, the revelations about gods and past lives. It seemed to apply to this situation too. He gave her a quizzically look, not sure what she meant about another house or blowing his mind.

Mason tried to move carefully as he started to pull his pants on, feeling especially self-conscious as he pulled them up around his waist and zipped them up. They felt a little tighter than they should, but he attributed it to nerves.

"I'll just keep on the shirt I have on now", he told her, "though that might eventually be a problem if we're here for real long." He hoped they wouldn't be here for real long.

"Which we very well could be, I'm just saying," she said.

"But, yes. This is crazy. I'm not sure what's being expected of us in all this."

"I hope not. No offense", he added, "but as awkward as this is now", he said, rattling the cuff, "it could get worse."

He thought on what she'd said. "Since we are cuffed together, the goal might be to get uncuffed. Or.... maybe we're expected to do something together. Cooperate, act like a team somehow, or even get to know each other. Who knows?"

"Knowing what little I do about the Powers keeping an eye on us, I'm going to guess the latter on that," Esther said.

She gave him a bit of a grin.
"Although, all things considered, this actually isn't the most awkward situation that I've been in thanks to the Powers."

Mason smiled back, interested by her comment. "Oh yeah? What happened that was worse than this?"

"How does being forced into larceny sound?" she asked, "About two Hanukkahs ago, Lilith and I had to recover an artifact necessary to get into our epicenter. Well, it just so happened to be in a museum, and we pretty much had to steal it and smuggle it across state lines to get it into our possession."

"You had to steal something out of a museum?" That was impressive. "And you actually managed to do it? Wow... Yeah, glad we don't have to do anything like that."

He glanced over at the bed. "Wanna have a seat, since I guess we're gonna be here for a while?" He hadn't been sure if she was going to attempt to change clothes or not.

"We did," Esther said, taking a seat beside him, "And we smuggled it from Ohio to Maryland to Florida and back to Maryland. And somehow didn't get arrested. Lilith and I just happen to be talented at... distracting guards. She had to help Ogma get an object for the Celts out of Disneyland."

"It's possible your people have already done their share of stealing. Nearly every pantheon has at this point. Stealing from landmarks, trying not to break international antiquities laws digging them up overseas... Oh, and the occasional waking up in bed with handsome godlings you don't know. One thing is certain--our existences aren't dull."

"Oh really?", he said when she mentioned the other Egyptians, getting an amused smile on his face. "I definitely wouldn't call this dull." And it wasn't alarming anymore either, at least not as alarming as it had seemed at first. Having a thought, he asked her, "Do you think we're all here? Everyone from the board?"

"That I don't know. I'd think so. But that might depend on what all is included in "everyone." I mean, except for when they were born, the children generally haven't been included in things. But only one time can I recall any of us being missing when they've done this," Esther explained, "Of course, both of them are now entirely disappeared."

The idea that others were here gave Mason a mix of feelings. He'd love to see Javi again, as well as finally meet his Egyptian bretheren, though there was one who he'd rather not meet if he could help it.

"There've been some people who've completely disappeared?" Mason frowned. That was concerning to him.

Esther nodded sadly.
"Several, actually. Some I considered to be very good friends, too."

"I'm sorry to hear that", he told her. He reached over and set his hand on hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Thanks," she said quietly, curling her fingers around his. "Arthur was one of the most recent losses. I think Apollo and I took it even worse than the Celts did."

"Arthur?" Did she mean the Arthur? He gave her a curious look. "You mean like, King of the Britons, Arthur? It sounds like you must have been very close", he observed.

Esther nodded.
"The same, yes," she said and paused for a heartbeat. "He and I were lovers. At least, one a casual basis."

"Oh." He studied her expression for a moment. "I've heard of others being found, rescued. Maybe he will be, too?"

"There's a chance, but... I hope you'll understand that I'm not exactly holding my breath for it," she said wryly.

"I suppose I should just be glad it didn't jeopardize our agreement with the Celts. Not that new alliances aren't nice to have too."

Mason was interested in what she might have meant by agreements and alliances. "Can you explain?", he asked, a curious look on his face. "What agreements and alliances? Between the different pantheons, you mean? Are they all allied now?"

"I wouldn't say they all are, no, but there are many interpantheon friendships in the group. My group and the Celts, though, we've taken it further. We're both small pantheons, and so we have a formal alliance established, at least so long as it remains mutually beneficial," Esther explained, "Of course, to a certain extent, even if the legal one dissolves, Lilith and Ogma have made it necessary for our two groups to get along."

"I guess it'd make sense for us to all get along, or try to, since we're all in the same situation, all being played with by the same sources." He was still having a little trouble adjusting to this and going with it, as their specific situation came to mind once again. It was a bit alarming to be trapped in a room and chainrd up, even if the company was quite pleasant

"Could you tell me more about your group?", he asked, curious. "I grew up being made to go to church, so I have some familiarity. But I can't help wondering who else I've heard about who is actually alive and around."

"I'm sure I can at least tell you a little. Right now, our group numbers three. Myself, Lilith and Goliath. We... did have Legion, but he's... gone now," she explained. "If there are more, we haven't found them yet. Or, rather, they haven't found us. In part, our group so far has been able to largely stay under the radar of the rest of the world. We don't have showy abilities or obvious marks of being... special. Lilith does more than Goliath or me, just because she's a demoness."

Esther did quirk a bit of a smile.
"Of course, Lilith's children are another story. Cian is immortal, and I imagine her daughter will be as well once she's born."

"Abilities?" He cocked his head, curious at that mention. "But some of... us do?" It was an interesting thought. Kind of hard to believe, but then again they'd been spirited away to some mystery location, so maybe some of them having some kinds of special abilities wasn't too farfetched.

"I've heard a few mentions of immortal children. Are all our children immortals?"

"Some of the godlings have very obvious abilities, depending on who they are," Esther explained, "I've always been a human, so I just have particular knacks for... certain things. I don't have superpowers or anything like that."

"As for the children... Well, some of the men in the group already have children from well before we all came together, and as far as I'm aware, those children are entirely mortal. But last year on the Winter Solstice, we had seven godling women all give birth on the same day, and all but one of those children were full gods. The exception was Erato's child--his father was demigod, so he remains mortal."

"A knack for certain things?" He wondered at that and tried to remember what he knew of Esther. "I don't think I have much anything like that myself, unless not fitting in is a superpower." He laughed a little self-derisively.

"So there's new gods? For all the pantheons, or only some?"

"Just for the ones who've had babies," Esther said, "So it's possible that there may yet be more down the line as other godlings start or add to their families."

She looked at him curiously.
"Oh, I'm sure you've got powers. You said you're Anubis, right? One of the gods. So, there must be something special you can do," she assured him. "Beats me out, in any case. The reason I became queen at all is because I happened to win a nationwide sex contest. And I managed to prevent genocide by persuading the man I was married to to allow certain things for the Jews--which probably succeeded at least in part due to my natural charms."

The thought of being able to create new gods was a shocking one to Anubis. It was definitely enough to make him even more aware than ever of the benefits of safe sex.

"I am, yeah." She thought he must have powers? He thought on anything unusual, but at the moment couldn't think of much. Her description of herself made him grin for a moment. "Alright. And what do you do for a living again?"

"I'm a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. Still using my charms to try and sway the lawmakers, as it were," she said.

"How do you get a job like that?", Mason asked. That sounded interesting to him.

"Get involved and work like a dog for it," Esther said. "I lost my parents very young, and it wasn't that I wasn't cared for by my foster family, but... I wanted more. So I got involved. Did a lot of volunteering. Had a good internship, and eventually made my way onto K Street and the Hill."

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Gee, helps if I put down the right name. THIS IS TOTALLY ESTHER AND ONLY ESTHER.

No worries, I knew who you meant :-)

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aaaand he is wearing a shirt btw. :-)

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