InsaneJournal

all this noise
Who: Alice [Uke Mochi] & Isobel [Persephone].
What: A spring goddess finds herself meeting a food goddess in the middle of a forest.
Where: Here and nowhere.
When: Every time.

As she had many times before, Persephone found herself in an unfamiliar landscape.

There was a strange duality about it; the forest grew thick around her, its knobby trees twisting and turning toward the sky. Branches created a wide canopy, speckling the ground with soft sunlight. Further down the same trees' trunks were jutting branches bereft of leaf or needle, poking out like spikes to warn off intruders. The path her dress trailed on was covered in moss, except where footsteps had gone before her to carve a semi-well used path. Bushes with olive-shaped leaves covered nearly every inch that the path did not take back, roiling up beneath the trees like waves about to break; but for all of this, there was nothing but silence. No wind, no rustling. Even though she knew she was no longer below the earth, there was something about this calm, pristine place that reminded her of her husband's kingdom.

Striding forward, slowly and purposefully, Persephone left a small trail of flowers in her wake that sprang up and died as soon as she drew too far away from them. The tiny arc of life they presented made them stand out all the more amid the other greenery, but she paid them no mind; instead, she found herself distracted by the sight of a tall, moss-covered arch, flanked by two pagodas. Beyond it, more pagodas—perhaps once lit with candles, now empty and as cold as the stone they were made of—lined a long path climbing upward toward a small, stone house. Pausing for a moment to consider her actions, Persephone began to climb, each footstep creating a burst of color around the edges of her blue robe.

Uke Mochi had found herself in this beautiful place with tea already prepared. She had been waiting for a guest, it seemed, although she had no idea who the guest could be. Perhaps the glowing man from before or her friend Eris whom she had not seen recently. Perhaps she would meet the human counterparts, her dear Alice or her friend Rafael. Either way, she ensured the ties of her robe were secure around her form of grain and upon hearing footsteps moved toward the entryway to smile down at the stranger climbing the steps.

“Hello!” She called down, happy to see it was a woman and feeling immediately safe.

Persephone looked up, her hands holding fistfuls of her robe to keep it away from her feet as she climbed. The woman—rather, creature that looked like a woman—that greeted her caused a smile to draw across her mouth.

"Hello," she responded, gathering her resolve to finish the last few steps. She rose slowly, panting a little, until she was on an even level with a humanoid she had never met before. Taking a moment, she caught her breath, glancing down the way she'd come before pulling her gaze back to her hostess. "You do like your steps, don't you?" She laughed, meaning no offense. "Is this your home? I'm sorry to intrude if it is, but I've just found myself here, and I don't even know where here is... It's beautiful, though."

“It isn’t my home, actually,” Uke Mochi replied as she turned toward the wide and spacious room that lacked walls but at least held a roof. The tea on the floor in the center steamed gently and the scent of jasmine filled the space. “But it would be a place of worship from my home. Like you, I’ve found myself here and not quite sure how I’ve arrived. But there’s fresh tea, if you’re interested.”

Persephone's smile widened, incrementally, and she nodded, releasing the handfuls of robe so that it fell to the floor. Her sandaled feet crossed the small space to the sitting area, but there were no chairs.

"Are we just...do we just sit on the floor?" She glanced down at the table on which the tea rested, then back to her hostess. Her eyes remained on the woman's face, though it was obvious they strained to look elsewhere; up and down the figure's form, trying to suss out every bit of her.

“You can kneel,” Uke Mochi offered, moving a hand to the ground. “Normally there are pillows but apparently, we are lacking those.” She moved forward and could sense the woman’s curiosity, she gestured to her form, partially covered by the robes she wore. “This is not my normal body, but one I was given upon my death.” Her voice wasn’t offended but kind and purely offering information. “I can take another form if it suits you? It’s only a recent discovery…”

She shook her head, as if shaking her hair out, and in the place of wheat it turned into red stands and shortly after she stood in the form of her human, mortal counterpart, Alice.

Persephone went to deny any discomfort by the other woman's form, but was stopped before the words could even emerge from her mouth. Her eyes rounded, surprise writ on her face to see a familiar person.

"I know her," she said. "At least, I know her because my vessel knows her. Alice, is it?" She bit her lip, leaning back as she shook her head. "My apologies, I'm being so very rude. My name is Persephone, but it feels like we've already known each other for some time." Moving closer to the table, she took up a kneeling position as Uke Mochi had described, motioning for the other woman to join her. Then her hand wrapped around one small mug of jasmine tea, pulling it closer to her person. "How long have you known that we're inside of mortal forms?"

Uke Mochi sunk to her borrowed knees on the opposite side of the table and lifted her own cup with Alice’s hand. “It came to me gradually,” She explained in. “At first I began to dream, or so I thought, after so many years of stillness. And then this world seemed to change. I was no longer living day to day as I once did but going from place to place; then I found myself being able to control more in Alice’s world. Finally, I was able to enter it, and now I am able to go between the form I greeted you with, and this.”

She smiled and sipped the tea, humming with pleasure; Persephone followed suit, bringing her cup to her mouth and tasting it. “I must say, tea tastes much better with a human body than one of grain.

“But what of you? I’ve never met you before, but I recognize you somehow. Who is your mortal?”

"A woman named Isobel," Persephone answered, after swallowing. "She's friends with your Alice. I believe they spend quite a bit of time together, even after..." She paused, but then shrugged lightly. The goddess was not at all ashamed of what she had done. "Even after I removed some of my vessel's memory. They're fragile little things, aren't they?"

The other woman made a small “oh” with her mouth and nodded. “I know of her, yes, Isobel,” she replied. “They are such fragile things, but also so resilient. Both girls, really, for all that we have done to them as well as the world, they’re still themselves.” For Uke Mochi, this meant so much, because she had lost herself due to the cruelty of another. She was endlessly proud that Alice managed to keep herself despite it all. “Your Isobel is sweet though, Alice cares for her greatly and I admit I do as well. All of those Alice cares for I can’t help but feel maternal.”

Persephone nodded, her hand raising the warm cup of tea to her lips once more.

"It is our wont, is it not," she agreed. "We are their caretakers, as much as they are ours. The roles are not so reversed as they might seem." The cup descended, placed on the table. Persephone's hands rested on her thighs.

"And now... Now it all seems like a long wait. What are you hoping your vessel might do?" Curious eyes lingered over Alice's stolen face, wondering at the figure she'd seen in its place only moments before.

Uke Mochi shook Alice’s head and frowned. “I’m not sure. I suppose become stronger than she already is, or rather, understand how strong she is. Perhaps for her to also not be as frightened of me and to truly believe I mean her no harm. She bakes, as you may know, and that brings me joy. I want her to continue to be successful. What of your vessel? Will you allow her back her memories?” Alice’s green eyes turned to the woman with interest.

Persephone licked her lips, nodding.

"Eventually," she replied. "When she's ready. I have another helping her; the man I believe is the vessel for one of my own." A sad expression played over her face, drawing her brows together. "My husband. I miss him; we've been apart for so long." She fell silent for a moment, then reached for her tea once more, looking . "I'm sorry, I certainly didn't come here to cry on your shoulder. I'm sure there must be many people that you miss, as well. Have you met any of your family, yet?"

Alice’s brow knit with sympathy but Uke Mochi’s cadance still laced her voice. “I’m sorry that you’ve lost your husband. I hope he’s found again, although I feel that’s likely since you already know he’s near.” She touched the table with the tip of her pale fingers, it was a gentle motion, offering comfort without physically touching the woman. “And I have not met anyone from my home yet, but all for the better. The reason I am of this form in normal circumstances--” she easily shed Alice’s form with this statement, opting for her natural body of grain, “is because my first form, my human form, died many years ago. I was killed by a man and this is what my body became.”

She held up a hand and sighed as she looked over the patterns that made her nails and the length of her fingers before looking at Persephone again as she returned to Alice’s form. “It helps to keep me hidden from him, as I’m sure he still lives, but Alice’s form is helpful as well.”

The spring goddess' brow knit together in worry. "That is certainly frightening," she said, empathy swirling through her words. "If we are reborn, certainly the one who harmed you has been as well. I'm glad that he's not made a reappearance yet, and as far as I know, everyone has been too busy figuring out where and what they are to make any kind of attack on one another." The goddess thought briefly of her vessel's mortal worries, which were just as much of a threat as these supernatural ones. Persephone reached forward with her right, threading her fingers through Alice's (Uke Mochi's) raised hand.

"If you need any assistance, if he does appear, you have my help."

Alice’s expression softened and Uke Mochi caused the lips to curl up into a smile. “You’re kind. I’ve been so lucky to meet such wonderful people thus far.” She squeezed the woman’s hand and leaned forward. “Believe me, I’ll alert you if he appears. Even if it’s Alice who has to take the message to your Isobel.”

Persephone smiled in return, her grip tight on Alice/Uke Mochi's. Then she withdrew, cupping her tea to lift it to her mouth once more.

"I think my vessel will be more than ready to help deal with anyone or anything threatening your Alice. She's been responding well to the task I've laid upon her; I certainly hope, though, that the future for ourselves and our people is brighter than it has been." She sipped her tea.

“I agree and can drink to that,” The redhead replied with a smile, one that wasn’t quite Alice’s but Uke Mochi’s own twist to joy. She raised her cup and took a sip of the flowery tea.

Persephone joined her in the motion, the liquid somehow tasting sweet for their agreement. She put the cup down in the same arcing motion as the goddess sitting across from her; meeting the other woman's eyes, she smiled so that her next question would be offered in as soft a manner as possible.

"Now, I would love to learn more about you... Where I come from, we usually turn people into plants, and not the other way around..."