Melinoe, Goddess of Ghosts (shadedmelinoe) wrote in history_dot_com, @ 2012-09-13 18:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | ~melinoe, ~thor |
Inception [2002, Than's Temple] (tag: Thor)
Jobs always came with pros and cons. On the positive side, Melinoe got to have all the ‘children’ that she wanted, traveled, met some absurdly fascinating people that probably would have never given her the time of day otherwise and the work was easy. Babysitting was what it was when one boiled it down. Grab a few shades, pop out into the world, let them visit a few relatives, maybe take them to places they had always wanted to see when they were alive but never had a chance to.
Occasionally she collected a few shades from Tartarus and took them to places they most desperately wanted to forget, as much as it was their punishment to remember it all. That was more of a con except that was simply another aspect of her job, one she did impartially. Punishments were meted out for a reason, and if she was to enforce some, then that was only normal.
An actual con that did bother her was that animals did not like her. Even the friendliest of house pets refused to come near her, hissing and attacking if she attempted to come closer. Animals were not fond of ghosts and she’d carried them for so long with her that animals were able to detect that, sense death on her skin. There were some exceptions but in some ways it only made it worse. The only animals that seemed to like her were the corpse scavengers. The carrion eaters. Buzzards, coyotes, even a Komodo dragon had once tried to snuggle with her legs, much to her awkward reaction since everyone else at the zoo had been panicking. So much screaming and crying over a friendly little guy who’d only wanted some attention.
Generally, though. Animals and Melinoe? Not a good combination. She accepted it with the resigned grace of someone who’d tried to make friends with various stray cats and dogs throughout the centuries and come out the bleeding loser. Animals liked Makaria. Not Melinoe. Plants liked Melinoe, sometimes a little too much, but plants weren’t fuzzy and warm. Not unless they were actually deadly and the warmth and fuzziness was to attract unwary rodents and insects. Somehow cuddling those was a special level of pitiful and bizarre that she wasn’t entirely willing to sink to just for a good snuggling.
So it was a rare and blessed occasion that she found something cute and lovable that didn’t fight tooth and claw to get away when she was near. Which was why, at that very moment, she was nonchalantly strolling into Than’s temple despite knowing the odds of running into him there were about as good as the odds of reality TV being outlawed. If anyone asked though, she was there to ask her Uncle if he wanted to go to dinner. Perfectly valid.
She wondered how it seemed sometimes that she was always sneaking someplace. Had never thought of herself as a sneaky person. Obviously she needed to rethink that.
Once inside she cast a quick, anxious look about. Empty, jagged silence. The temple had never truly been lived in, and the hollow silence reflected that. She took a deep breath and reached into her jacket to pull out a baggie. Underworld creatures were different from the ones that lived in the mortal plane but all salamanders shared the same weakness for slugs. Thank the Moirae that maintaining her garden meant she had a fresh supply of them. She wasn’t sure pet shops sold them.
“Heeeeeeey lil’ guy.” Melinoe’s soft voice echoed as she started to go through the rooms, not sure where Than’s pet salamander was. It tended to go places. Not much else to do when it was left by itself for who knew how long to wander the temple. She was wearing a short layered chiffon dress with a sweetheart neckline underneath the jacket, not intending to spend long in the Underworld. She never did on these particular missions. Faster she came and went, the least possible chance Than would realize why his salamander never died. Her heels clicked absurdly loudly in as she traveled in a circumjacent route back to the main entrance. “Fish, where are you?”