Who: Huitzilopotchli and Open What: Sun God likes Sun When: Thursday afternoon Where: Central Park Warning: Aztecs (mentions of cannibalism, violence, etc), TBD
While, as a general rule, he preferred keeping himself busy he did find moments to do nothing. After the usual hunt and slowly carving out another block to add to his tiny empire, he'd turned towards the park. It was a nice day, a warm day, and the added sun would help in replenishing the strength he'd wasted in the hunt. Waging war was different in this new land and new times, and he still refused to use the weapons of this time. He allowed his warriors to go with the times, save for when they killed or took hearts for that was done by stone and dagger, but he still preferred weapons that allowed him to get close.
And it wasn't like the wounds he often got wouldn't heal, but for that he'd need his sacrifice, and right now the sun. He'd smuggled pieces of heart that had been preserved in a flask into the park, and from a distance it wasn't much different then any other meat, and used that and the heat to recuperate from the faint effort. All he'd sustained were scratches, and he'd honestly wanted the relative peace of the park. Even his perch in his home was tainted by the noises of traffic, and here the noises were negligible enough to pretend they weren't there.
A shadow of a shadow of home, but it worked. Closing the tin he closed his eyes but kept his guard up. He may enjoy the warmer weather, but he would not let himself be caught of guard. He lived in enemy territory, after all and sooner or later someone would take offense with how he was systematically eliminating anyone he perceived as a threat or with how he was slowly carving out a bloody empire.
rhodus 2012-05-03 01:09 am (local) (link) Rhode tended to enjoy sunny days more than others, not only because they put Helios in a better mood, but because they were just better all around, and she hated being cooped up inside. She liked taking walks around the city, just going where she felt like going, no particular direction or destination in mind. Some called it wandering, she simply called it exploring. For all that she'd been in the city since the 40's, she'd seen the entire face of her home change and grow over time, reinvent itself and all its secrets, and she liked rediscovering them.
But today was a day for going to the park apparently, wandering around the wide expanses of green, walking next to the little lakes and just watching as people went about their lives. There was a man on a bench with his eyes closed, he felt immortal, like her, but definitely not someone from home, and that was good for her, because she just didn't want to have to deal with Greek drama that seemed to just happen by Greeks being Greeks. If he acknowledged her, perhaps she'd speak to him, but he seemed to be enjoying the sun and the quiet, and she would not be the one to disturb his peace. (Reply to this)(Thread)
bluehummingbird 2012-05-03 01:57 am (local) (link) When he felt the twinge of immortal on his senses he opened his eyes and his fingers brushed along the hilt of his knife. She wasn't Christian though, which made him drop his hand. He couldn't take Christians, not yet, but slowly their church was crumbling and soon he'd stand a chance against them.
He studied her as he'd study any potential foe. That she was female changed nothing. All of his female kin could hold heir own in their own way. Sometimes they were even a more potent foe. Subtlety where he was nothing but forward and brash.
But she felt almost like water and sunshine combined. The sunshine part made him curious. Any other sun-gods were always greeted a little more friendly then usual.
So he raised his head in greeting, "hello." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
rhodus 2012-05-03 02:17 am (local) (link) Rhode lifted a hand in a greeting of her own, fingers trailing through the air. "Hello," she said, a slight smile on her lips. "I'm Rhode. Sorry if I'm disturbing you, I just couldn't pass up the beautiful day. I love soaking up the sun, and the park has so much of it." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
bluehummingbird 2012-05-03 02:35 am (local) (link) "I felt you," he shrugged. This park wasn't his and he could not deny anyone curiosity unless it meant harm to him. He'd have done much the same he figured. "And it is not my park." He rose, not content to continue sitting. It would be harder to spring into action seated if she intended violence.
"Huitzilopotchli," he offered in turn, already knowing she'd be unable to really pronounce it. Few outside of his own kin and followers could. "You feel like sunshine and water, why is this?" (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
rhodus 2012-05-03 02:45 am (local) (link) "Wow, that's a mouthful," she said with a little smile. "Huitz-Huitzil-". She broke off, laughing at herself. "Do you have a nickname? I don't want to keep mangling it."
He was direct, and she liked that. None of the Greek beating around the bush. "My father is Poseidon, god of the seas. I'm a nymph, goddess of the island of Rhodes. My husband, Helios, is the Titan of the Sun. So it makes sense that you'd sense sun and sea together." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
bluehummingbird 2012-05-03 02:53 am (local) (link) At least she'd admitted it. So he smiled and tilted his head. "Hummingbird." He allowed only one a true nickname rather then the rough translation, and she was not Xochipilli.
"Hm," he took that all in and while he knew of the Greeks he'd yet to meet one of them. He'd expected a lot more drama then he was currently witnessing and didn't mind. He'd have walked away from drama. "I am Aztec. God of Sun and War." She'd offered it, so he'd give it in turn. "I do not know you or your husband, as I expect you do not know me. But you aren't an enemy either."
So he sat back down and motioned she could do the same if she wished. "You are different from what I expected your people to be like. Less ego." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
rhodus 2012-05-03 03:05 am (local) (link) "Hummingbird," she repeated. "Alright then. And I can quit butchering your name."
"I have to admit that no, I don't know you," she said, tilting her head to one side. "But no one has ever heard of me, either, so it all sort of balances out in the end, I suppose. But you're right in saying that I'm not an enemy. There are only a few people I wish ill upon, and you aren't one of them."
She had to laugh at that, sitting down next to him. "We are rather famous for having a lot of ego, that's true, and chief among those is my father. I swore an oath to myself a long time ago that I would never be like him. He has enough ego for half a dozen people." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
bluehummingbird 2012-05-03 03:11 am (local) (link) "Most outside of my kin can do little but butcher my name. I stopped taking offense a long time ago." Now she was closer he could examine her better. Not in a way a man would appreciate a woman, but as a warrior looking to see her strengths and weaknesses. She seemed more build to speed then he was, but he couldn't be too sure.
"Few have. I intend to change that." He nodded, "you are not Christian. Old, a bit younger then me, so not enemy." he chuckled, "I do more then just wish ill."
He tilted his head, "so why tolerate him? I do not know my father, only that I have one. I would remove him and devour his heart if he was such an obstacle. But I see things differently then most." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
rhodus 2012-05-03 03:24 am (local) (link) She nodded, and simply bore his scrutiny as he looked at her. If he wanted to hurt her, there was little she could do, and she'd met enough warriors to know a threat assessment when she saw one.
"Knowledge is power, as they say," she replied. "In our case, literally. And yes. Very old. However, in my case, all I seem to be able to do is glare menacingly and make six-inch waves." She shrugged.
"Because he could drown me and send me to Hades if I tried to do anything to him," she said bluntly. "They know him. They don't know me. My myth is tied up with my husband, it's probably because of him I'm alive at all." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
bluehummingbird 2012-05-03 03:32 am (local) (link) He watched her, curious about this slight woman who seemed like someone he could kill without too much issue. But there was no cause for it either and he did not wish to gain an enemy in her husband either.
"There is always a chance. If he is a threat, eliminate him. If he makes you fear, remove him." He shrugged, "strength is not everything. You are small. Speed is your benefit, as is surprise. Or subtlety. More then one way to eliminate an enemy. If he need a lesson, nothing better to remind you of it when your last breath leaves you and the one you never suspect is smiling poison at you."
"But I was born in blood and death. I do not understand the complexities of a family such as yours. I eliminate threats, even if they are more powerful then me. And when he comes back he will be more wary and perhaps less full of ego. He does not expect you capable, am I correct? Remind him you are." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
rhodus 2012-05-03 03:45 am (local) (link) "I've thought about it," she sighed. "Sometimes I think he deserves it, solely for being the most enormous dick ever birthed. And he understands subtlety the same way I understand Japanese-that is to say, not at all. A few years after we were married, he trapped my husband at the bottom of the sea for centuries." She turned to look at him, a wry, dark smile on her face. "I probably don't need to tell you about how long someone can carry hate with them."
"No," she agreed. "No, he doesn't. He thinks of me as his 'little daughter', the one who married a 'sunspot', as he likes to call Helios. He can't stand happiness in others because he is so fucking miserable himself." She was getting angry now, gesticulating with both hands. "I would love for him to be more wary of me." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
bluehummingbird 2012-05-03 03:56 am (local) (link) He put himself in her position, although his own sire was less tangible then hers. His mother had never spoken of his father and belief wavered who it could be. So he could not fully understand. But he saw bloodlust in her, and he could understand vengeance. In her shoes, he'd have the man's head on a platter. And if someone would trap Xochipilli, he'd go through a lot to make them pay for the transgression.
"Plenty of causes for retribution." He did not look upon such things as bad. He'd killed his own sister without remorse, and would do it again in a heartbeat. "And it has been generations and I hate the Christians still. I understand hate very well." He tilted his head, "so, make him wary."
He took out his knife and after a moment he passed it to her. "Obsidian is remarkably sharp. Do not slit his throat. If he is strong enough he can get through it." He raised his hand and hovered it over her for a moment, seeking permission, before setting it on the back of her neck. "Right there, where head meets spine, you feel that? Strike there. Instantaneous kill."
He removed his hand and motioned to her chest, "heart too. If you have a longer blade pierce here," he motioned to a spot under his heart. "Direct contact or from the front right here." he placed his hand on a spot of his chest. "Quick, easy, kills. Then there is poison. Natural things that cannot be traced and in enough dosage can kill. But I would not suggest slow methods. Stronger immortals can shrug poison off. You can stab him through the eye into the brain or at the temple." He tapped his temple, "right there. Another direct and quick kill. He'll come back, but knowing you are capable of killing him. It would put him on edge and make him less likely to harm you or yours." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
rhodus 2012-05-03 07:58 am (local) (link) "I'd have to get in line," she muttered angrily. "But I kept that hate burning over the long haul, because in my family, it's eat or be eaten. Power is the only thing he respects."
She took the knife, a thrill of adrenaline making her heart speed up. She touched the tip oh so carefully, feeling how very sharp it indeed was. She nodded at his unspoken question. "Yes," she answered, committing the spot to memory. "Such a fragile spot, it seems like."
She looked down at her own chest, thinking about how very easy it would be to surprise him, to catch him off guard, because she was the last of his children he'd suspect something like this from. She nodded, listening intently as he spoke. "Helios is the only thing in all of time I've ever wanted to keep completely for myself," she said at last. "When I think of me and mine, he and I are what come to mind. My father's attachment to me borders on the unnatural at times, I look so much like my mother. When I got married, he was so angry that I was handed off to a Titan, and worse, that I dared to be happy." She turned the knife over and over in her hands. "The irony of stabbing him in the heart is that I'm not sure he has one." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
bluehummingbird 2012-05-03 04:13 pm (local) (link) He nodded. He wasn't sure of the rules of her pantheon, but it seemed in her interest to break them. If it was him, he'd already done so and not regretted the consequences.
"He has physical form so a heart is there. Consider it. If he is truly such a blight on your existence then do it. You will not get a second opportunity, but as I stated then he is wary and you have proven your power." He offered her a shrug. "I am very blunt and direct. I remove hurdles in my path rather then find ways around it, and even if it takes ages to destroy a hurdle I am patient while doing so." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
rhodus 2012-05-03 09:46 pm (local) (link) "Blight," she said with a bitter laugh. "That's a good word for it."
She waved a hand. "No, no, it's fine, in fact I appreciate it. My pantheon likes to twist words and tell half-truths, and you end up more confused than when you started. No one is ever what they seem, everyone's got an agenda. And I've been waiting over two thousand years to find some sort of way to pay him back, maybe it's not coincidence I met you today." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
bluehummingbird 2012-05-03 10:06 pm (local) (link) Smiling he nodded, "Gods we may be, but fate has plans for us all. All of us have a path to follow and yours intersected with mine for a reason. Either way, keep the knife. I have others and it's served me well so far. We can consider one another allies if need be. I've adapted enough to realize I may need them. And perhaps one day you will be able to offer me advise in a similar manner."
He shrugged, "but I do not count in favors. Allies is enough. Perhaps next we meet, you can bring your husband. I always find it amusing to meet other sun gods." (Reply to this)(Parent) (Thread)
rhodus 2012-05-04 11:08 am (local) (link) She had been halfway through handing him the knife back before he told her to keep it, curling her fingers around the hilt and slipping it into her bag. "Thank you," she said. "And yes, I would like that. I've found that it's never wise to turn down an ally."
She smiled a little. "I will," she replied. "I think you two might get along, or at least have things in common. And it couldn't hurt for him to meet some new people."