GOATS

[blackgoat]

"Do you have children?"

The voice seemed to come before the lady, as if the question summoned her, rather than was actually spoken.

Small, demure in appearance, lovely in a way that quickly extended itself into the realm of disquieting. She seemed doll like, unliving and not quite made of flesh.

Little hands resting on a heavily pregnant belly, the woman draped in heavy Victorian dresses of stone grays, off whites and dull sky blues, with that porcelain skin and wild snow white hair, she'd almost look like she was trying to blend into the snow.

"If you do not, do you want them?"

Ah, so it was her speaking, the voice soft and sweet, if... off, in an odd way. A tone that crept up the spine and settled into the neck and base of the skull, like cold fingers pressed against the nape.

Comments

[blackgoat]

Now what was that feeling? She's watching, not from under those dark lashes, but directly now, unblinking, that gaze like a galaxy and as piercing as a sharpened, white hot needle.

Adia might not have wanted to stare, but clearly someone here didn't much care about being polite.

"If you wish to help others, there is no greater blessing you could give to the world than new life."

Moving, closing in now, her heavy skirts dragging through the slush and snow.

"Do you require marriage, to create?"

[chiron_survivor]

Even without looking, she knows that the other woman(?) is staring at her. She keeps her gaze low out of respect and a robust unease. "New life is a blessing, but so is preserving the life of others. I help make vaccines. There aren't a lot of us with the skills to do that, currently..."

She takes a few steps back when the woman approaches, keeping a healthy distance between them. "Um... no. Not technically. But it's the order that things are typically done." She pauses, fingers twisting at the bottom of her scarf. "Why do you ask?"

[blackgoat]

"Does one keep you from the other?" Of course it would never occur to her that a human child was... considerably different in its needs, to her own children. The idea that the child would need so much care and attention was a strange one, to her.

"It is... tradition, for your species." As she recalls, for a lot of them. "The reproduction of all races that harbor my worshipers is important to me. I should know what they require."

[chiron_survivor]

If she wasn't already terribly aware that this woman wasn't human, that question would have been a big clue. "Well, yes... at least for a little while. Babies need constant attention when they're so little and helpless." It makes her wonder what's inside this woman's swollen belly, but her mind rejects that line of thought immediately, a protective measure against her own sanity.

"Yes, tradition." Her gaze flicks up into the woman's unrelenting stare at the mention of worshippers. Ah, she's a deity. That would explain the endless chills up and down her spine. "Oh, that's... wise of you. To want to know about your worshippers."

She can't maintain eye contact. It's a lot like staring into an unfathomable chasm. Look too long and your brain starts whispering, jump.

"My name is Adia," she offers politely. "What's, um... what do you prefer to be called?"

[blackgoat]

"Your children require it." Hers, however... That massive stomach moved, just slightly.

"They serve me, and in return, I serve them as well. I impart the gift of life upon them, and to understand how they create is necessary. I cannot serve them in turn without it. Humans are... simple. An easy, direct process. The few upon earth that look to me as Mother care little for marriage, but... I shall remember this." Expansion, after all, was always a goal.

Even looking away from her, the All Mother's gaze wouldn't leave, as if trying to see past flesh and bone to the rune buried inside Adia's mind.

"I have so many titles. Your kind refer to me, however, as All Mother. Shub Niggurath."

[chiron_survivor]

She's not sure what this deity means by humans being simple. Simple to procreate, simple in their desires, simple in general? Likely all three. And Adia would be no different, if not for that curious little rune tucked into her gray matter. Where did such a simple mind acquire something so profound?

"It's, um... it's nice to meet you, Shub Niggaruth." She's never heard that name before, but she's determined to memorize it, if only to text Loki about it later. She had promised the god that she'd alert him to anything that triggered her rune, and this certainly qualifies. She kind of wishes that Loki were here right now. She'd feel a whole lot more secure. "I don't want to assume, but... to your worshippers, are you a fertility goddess? Or something else?"

[blackgoat]

It was curious, to say the least. The only thing keeping her from trying to peel apart that skull like an onion to better assess the situation was... well, even an entity like her was bound by the laws of this place. That anti-violence barrier was impressive, to say the least. She'd not missed it's presence here.

"I am. The ultimate source of life, from which all Gods are spawned, my children innumerable and powerful beyond compare. Worshipped by billions across planes and galaxies, so many, many races look to me as protector, and mother.

Through me, eternal life is not only possible, but promised, dearest child."

[chiron_survivor]

If not for the anti-violence field, Adia wouldn't be able to stand here at all. Even if this ancient goddess wasn't interested in picking apart her brain, her aura alone would be enough to cause some sort of lasting trauma. Adia can feel it, knocking against her mind like a relentless solicitor. She really should go, now that she knows the deity's name and what she's about. But her words keep her rooted to the spot, at least for the time being.

She's curious, too.

"Eternal life?" she questions softly. "In what way? I've heard of gods who transform their followers. Do you do that, too?"