Arrival *Open*

[Leta Raz Hades]

The sunshine beat down on Leta as she looked upon the heaven of her heart. The great gates of Shangri-La, place of legends and home of her fore-fathers. Once, not so many moons ago, her parents and her parents-parents had guarded these gates, had worshipped these gods and served on them happily. Now, after many days of travelling she stood before the big beautiful boundaries.

Leta wet her lips, and slowly lifted the cream scarf from around her hair. It had dressed her red hair like a halo, and now she laid it against her shoulders, staring up at the world before her with a look of sheer joy and wonder. She had found it finally, this place which she had been looking for. Like a diamond in the rough, like a pearl in clay, it sang in her heart and filled her with a complete euphoria.

Leta swallowed on a dry throat and brought the water skin from her hips to her lips. She was a gorgeous woman, all curves and perks. Her eyes sparkled like sapphires and her lips like cherry slices. Leta was a gift from the gods, trapped in her disguise as a human, with a lion and eagle creature desperate to get out. That is why she was here, to ask forgiveness for her father’s sin, to be granted the beauty of her true form. To be allowed the freedom she craved, to walk amongst the humans not only as one of them, but as her true self; a noble, loyal, proud Sphinx.

Finally, with courage on her side, she stepped up to the gates…

[Varos Talantos]

Forgery sat rigidly with his legs crossed and arms dangling from his sides. Five feet above the ground was a comfortable place to be and the feeling of air flowing through every crevice of his body and about his form was a comfortable one. It was a shame that most mortals would never understand the simple pleasure of floating in place and feeling the movements of the wind invade every crook. No matter how close they came, there would always have to be some part of their bodies touching something. Shame.

But a visitor had arrived and Forgery no longer had time to savor the sensation any longer himself. He floated forwards, pushing through the wall that encompassed the city of the Gods to see a young female at the door. An attractive Human to the untrained eye, the Sphinx before him appeared to be waiting for permission to enter. An odd thing, considering Sphinx defended the walls. She must be one of those who had elected to leave for Earth. Still cross-legged, he dropped down into the earth and phased through the ground to rest under her before calling up to her. "What is it that you seek, child?"[/color]

[Leta Raz Hades]

Entrance. But there was more to it than that. She wanted so much more. Truths, acceptance, answers, and reminder for the nobility she once possessed. She gave a low sweeping bow that took her down to the ground before she straightened again. She found it almost impossible to even answer his question, she did not know how to answer it, she did not know how to speak to him without finding herself sounding stupid or embarrassed of herself. But something about being near him, something about his presence made her resort back to the person inside- even if her form; the beautiful half lion half eagle form – even if that was locked inside of her, Leta still felt the cat like curiosity, the eagle like sharpness in her every day waking moment.

“My Lord, interrupting was not my wish,
Your time is not mine to blemish
With my trivial presence.
But I find myself in reverence
And my request in absence.”

The words were beautiful, as lush as her sapphire eyes, as dark as her hair and as seductive as her lips. It was the beauty and duty of being a Sphinx, the golden tongue of rhymes and riddles, of poetry and puzzles and Leta; having never spoken like this before, found herself in gentle surprise

[Solemn Creed]

Click. A small nerf dart was shot from a futuristic, plastic cowboy pistol, landing far short of either of the two figures. A small, slightly pudgy hand held the toy firmly. Dat fired, the toy was lowered to the ground, dangling for several moments before being dropped with a dull clack. A toddlers half lidded eyes stared at the woman and blinked drowsily. The small mouth was slack and soft little lips were open just a tad.

He, for yes, the child was indeed male, was dressed in a small cowboy outfit, complete with a small, brown cowboy hat fit for his head. The hat had a little string looping down under the toddlers chin and, from how his head kept swaying about, surely would have fallen of without it. His feet did not even touch the ground from where he sat on a small boulder, and instead rocked back and forth as children tended to do with their feet.

Face smeared with chocolate, the child looked entirely unthreatoning. In fact, he looked just about ready to fall asleep as most young children do when they've tired themselves out. But azure eyes, seeming almost as if they would glow when viewed in the dark or dim lighting, looked out at them, a certain gleam of intelligence within.

"Do you..." Sol's words seemed to trail off, little lips still moving as if retracing their steps. "Do you have any chocolate?"

[Leta Raz Hades]

Leta knelt; aware now of the small boy, she was not confused by his disguise. She had met him before, in the open plains of the world and there he had disguised himself as an old man, there he had threatened her more than once but always she had not questioned his actions. It was not her place to question the Gods, no, her place was below them, to serve them and their ever action, need and whim. She lusted for the thought of taking her place as a true guardian but knew she would never be granted that, doubted it, for her father had shown hunters their true nature, her father gave her race over to many humans, had left them for his treasury and his obsession with gold. Her mother had told her that they had been punished, and that the Gods had been merciful then; that they had been cast out and caged in human form never to realise the beauty of the powerful creature that lay in blissful captivity inside them. Like a split personality she felt the Sphinx’s presence always, but Leta would not access its true being.

Her eyes were gently and she smiled to the toddler from her place on her knees. Leta took up the toy dart from the ground and turned it over in her fingers, then she straightened once more to her full height, tall and enchanting. Her eyes glanced between the two Gods, this was more than she could have hoped and gently, with the grace of a cat, she moved to the child’s side.

“For you, My Lord, I have everything.” Leta whispered; true to her word she took from the satchel around her shoulders a small bar of chocolate. Her words were like the song of a lark, gentle and spoken with such a romantic rhythm. This was not intentional, as with the rhyme she had spoken before she was a little surprised (and unnerved) with what this place brought out within her. Just being here made the presence of the darkness inside her stronger, just being here filled her with the curiosity of a nine-lived cat.

[Varos Talantos]

Forgery growled angrily and erupted from the earth, sending rock, dirt, and dust everywhere. He grabbed the boy by the throat before he could accept the chocolate and growled something angrily into his ear before flinging him through a suddenly-appearing portal to Earth. The God, in his raw appearance, turned to face the Sphinx at the gates. "Forgive him," he said. "He will not trouble us here for now." Forgery paced about the female, eyeing her up and down, listening to her thoughts discreetly. After making a lap around her, he stopped before her with his arm supporting his other arm as he rested it thoughtfully on his chin. After a moment's pause, "Why have you come here? You want to know the story of your father's betrayal? You would like to hear of it again?" Forgery's eyes narrowed, "No, you want to reclaim your family's honor." Nodding to himself he made another circle about her before crossing his arms and looking at her blandly. "Why should you be given that opportunity?" he questioned plainly. "What makes you so special that you should be back here again? Doesn't your father's traitorous blood run through your veins as well?"[/color]

[Leta Raz Hades]

Something was coming to pass here that she did not understand, that she did not question. Curious though she may be, she was not stupid enough to ask for a death wish. As one banished the other, she just watched, rising from her crouch and straightening her position once more. Her eyes sparkled with tints of lime as he circled her, as he questioned her and she remained deadly still. Leta could feel the God in her head, she did not press against him, but let her into the thoughts she possessed, the loneliness that controlled her heart, and the inquisitiveness that beckoned her towards this place. She hid nothing from him, had no reason too for he was far more beautiful and important than her. He was far greater and she feared and loved him in an instant.

“My father is dead.” She spoke, the rhyme and riddle gone from her voice as fast as it had appeared. “I killed that honourless man on the eve my family was banished from these gates.” Her eyes became more dangerous as she spoke of the blood she had spilled; it had been the start of her self-proclaimed task, the start of the killing she endured to restore balance to the world. She righted the wrongs of others in blood. “He is not the reason I am here.” Leta finished, but he knew that, didn’t he?

Slowly she wet her lips, slowly her eyes followed him as he circled her and finally she allowed herself to turn to face him, to look on him directly. Leta went to one knee, her head bowed, and the amber of her hair tumbling over one shoulder as she bent in complete servitude unto him. “I am yours to command, my Lord…I belong here, amongst The Gods, their servant.”

[/blockquote]

[Varos Talantos]

Forgery looked at her blankly as she kneeled for a long second before a sudden hearty smile broke it's place. "Great! You're accepted! Welcome!" He extended a hand for her to grab and waited for her to reach for it. When she did, however, he quickly pulled it away before she could grab it and placed the hand on his chin. "Oh, on second thought, there's one small thing you could do. There's this young thing the Gods want to ascend to a position similar to yours. Some mortal speck named Tayva Aschaund. Of course it's up to all of the Gods and to lie about it and say it was my doing would only be a temporary fix. Eventually she would discover the mistruth and more harm than good would come of it all. So instead, make her believe I proposed her ascension and only through my deliberate nagging did the pantheon of Gods decide to bring her in. That lie could be hidden for eternity if played properly." His smile stayed strong on his face as he nodded to himself musingly. A few more moments of awkward silence prevailed between them before Forgery's eyes snapped back to Leta as he seemed to remember the guest. "Right, is there anything else you should need?" he asked the Sphinx.

[Leta Raz Hades]

He played with her, childishly, with his handshake offer and Leta watched him, cautiously, tipping one head to the side. He had a task for her, a challenge and her eyes glinted with excitement and joy at his words. Wasn’t that her purpose, to be used by the Gods to fulfil their bidding? Sure, her ancestors had been protectors of the Gods, but Leta had other skills as well as being a mean, cold-blooded warrior, she loved the game of life and she played it very well. Biting her lip, almost seductively as she was filled with glee at her newest task.

“Are you sure?” She asked, carefully. Not double-checking or double-guessing his command, no, she was prepared to follow that to the letter, but was ensuring she knew what she was supposed to be doing, ensuring that she had every single detail in place and that this wasn’t another of his tricks. “I mean, I’m sure I’d love to meet this mortal-“ though her words sounded devious even as she spoke them; “Maybe I’ll take her out for dinner- fatten her up a little bit first?”

[Varos Talantos]

Forgery raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Sure, I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be sure? Are you sure you're sure you can make this happen? No, don't answer that. I don't care. Hey," Forgery stopped talking suddenly and looked about from side to side suspiciously, as if checking for prying ears. Satisfied that no one else was there, he turned his attention to her again and continued, "Scare the hell out of her and let's bring our own candidate to Shangri-La, yeah?" He grinned mischievously at her and continued, "Anpu Thutmose, an Anubis. Bring him here and we'll make him a Demigod, right?" Forgery nodded at himself in answer to his own question. "Yes, that sounds quite good. And you're off, goodbye." The oriental sat Indian-style and remained utterly still, eyes gazing straight ahead and stopped speaking. He had said his piece and now had nothing more to say.[/color]