Scribbles and Drabbles

Notebook Drabble 48 - Mercy of the Chaos God

- Keiynan is a cult survivor. Ish, the cult is not quite gone, but it's under new management. It left Keiynan with a third sight and a little too observant.

Liumei floated on the wind, a whisper of his power winding through the night. Keiynan slept, mind-linked and able to see through the spirit's awareness as it swept through the city. The late hour did nothing to hide the events unfolding below: the late-night parties, the midnight fights, the crime deals and the lonely souls wandering lost. Liumei hungered, a tug of spite in his stomach for fates to consume.

Teeth grew in Keiynan's mouth, long fangs that hurt from the size, ready to bite. He stole a soul from a reaper, leaving a gold coin in payment. The reaper hissed but did nothing to soul him. The reapers guided souls; they did not fight if greater things took their charge.

The snack whimpered as Liumei absorbed it. A sensation was akin to someone running their fingers through his hair, pressed to Keiynan's soul. The snack blinked out with a hint of peace to the soul. Liumei stretched, muscles ripping under his scales and jumped into the sky again, riding the current into the blanket of stars in the sky. It didn't take long before Liumei attached itself to Keiynan's balcony.

Keiynan's skin pulsed, and the windchime in his window sang despite the lack of wind inside the house. His soul returned to his body, the shadows hissed and shifted out of the way as the door slid open, and the spirit made himself home.

"Good evening, sir," Keiynan said as he sat up and moved to his knees on the floor. He rested back on his heels, not quite as formal as if he'd been in the temple, but on his knees regardless.

The creature didn't seem to notice and sat at his desk chair. He shifted unhappily as the thing creaked under his weight. He tidied his robes and shook his head as he failed to get comfortable.

"Evening, child," Liumei's voice hovered soft and gentle. It rarely wavered from the tone. "You need better furniture. This is," he paused and wriggled. "Unstable."

"Yes, sir," Keiynan said, his lips twitching. "I'll look into finding one of better quality.

"You are well?"

"Yes, sir," Keiynan ducked his head. "My life is good."

"You have a job. You have a home. You don't have a family yet," Liumei judged. His words flicked against Keiynan's skin. Liumei was kind and gracious. He also knew little about humans and used the basics to judge whether their words were true. Children grew up, got a job, got a partner and had children. Society's pressures were amplified when a lesser god declared them as Guidestones to a good life.

That was the condition of his freedom, of all of his companions that night. They were free as long as they lived a good life.

"I'm gay, my Lord. A family is a harder goal and certainly not one that appears as quickly as the others," Keiynan said.

"Ginger has a family," Liumei said, the chair squeaking. He frowned, glancing down, not trusting the thing not to collapse. "The others are on their way. You should have a partner at least, shouldn't you?"

Keiynan grimaced but nodded. His aunties were also keen for him to find someone. They'd like him to wise up and find a girl, but they'd take anyone at this point. The Ginger situation was more complicated than he cared to explain to Liumei. "I had someone. They left me. I have to find someone new, which is setting me back. It's fine; it's under control." It had stopped hurting.

"I could," Liumei drew a circle of magic in the air but let it fizzle out before it became anything; his eyes gleamed promising.

"I'd rather wait a little longer," Keiynan ducked his head lower.

"I wouldn't make a deal with you," Liumei said, not pouting but unhappy. "I don't with my children."

"We know, my Lord," Keiynan said, smiling to reassure the god that he didn't expect anything untoward from him. The balance between God and benefactor blurred when Liumei wanted his powers to help the people under his care. It didn't change the fact that his powers came with a sharp edge. Careless people made deals with the Gods. Careless Gods used their magic without impediment.

"Then why do you flinch back from my gift?"

"Ginger has a family because it was forced on her, not because she wanted it," Keiynan deflected, sending a silent apology to Ginger. Not that any of these words were lies, but implying that she thought it was Liumei's magic behind it was on the line. She didn't, but some of the others disagreed. Keiynan was in the camp of it not being directly caused by Liumei but a result of his wish to have them all happy. "She is scared that you will not accept it and will intervene a second time."

Liumei's powers fluttered, and his eyes glittered. "And the rest of you are nervous by this, too."

Keiynan chose not to speak.

Keiynan is a cult survivor. The cult was a supernatural cult that worshipped a demon of fate and fortune. Keiynan was supposed to die. They were sacrificing Keiynan to the demon when the demon manifested and stopped them from killing any more children. He killed the people insane enough to kill children and then reorganised the cult to stop killing children and instead worship him in different ways.

The demon keeps a grip on the children slated to be his sacrifices and makes sure they live good lives.

One of the side effects of this is Keiynan can see beyond the mortal veil and spots things usually missed.

- Reynard is a grim reaper. Ish, he collects the souls of the damned but does so by assassination. He can turn into a ghost and works without caring.

- Keiynan likes to watch him work from afar, using his skills to spy. His cult might not be active, but they encourage their members to keep up their skills. Reynard catches him one night and is furious. People around Keiynanaim start getting into accidents, but no one dies, yet.

"I'm glad you and the kids are ok," Keiynan offered automatically. Three times, three people and this time, his nieces almost got hurt. This had gone too far now. He hung up after a few more greetings and slid to the floor. Lowes and Emmeline were adults. Lowes had his own enemies, and Em wasn't as innocent as some assumed.

Reina and the brats were as clean as they could be connected to him. No one should go after them. He'd work hard to keep them disconnected. Home left Reina alone, too, investing in her being a good mother.

Then Keiynan annoyed a ghost assassin. Why could he have left alone? There were other ways to practice his skills. What made things worse was the lack of demands. With no deaths, this game was set until the Ghost got impatient with him. How much longer until Ghost stopped warning and went for a kill? He didn't know what Ghost wanted! Keiynan kept away since their confrontation. Ghost knew who to target - he knew who Keiynan was.

Stopping wasn't going to be enough.

Ghost wouldn't give in until he got what he wanted. Keiynan escaped before too much could happen. Ghost could appear in front of him at any time, but Keiynan escaped once; he could again. There was a scary logic to make Keiynan come to Ghost. Doing under his power meant Keiynan knew to stay put and listen to Ghost's demands.

- They move in together, Reynard claiming to want to keep an eye on Keiynaniam. The cult is amused.