Plants are Suspicious (Part 3 of Plants Are...)

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 When I got home, the first thing I did was rinse the blood out of my hair. It hadn't been that noticeable given my dark hair, but I felt way better when I wasn't bloody anymore. I would've showered, but I still didn't feel balanced enough.

I didn't survive an angry plant monster just to crack my head open in the shower.

I paused, looking into the mirror.

It hadn't just been the color of my blood that changed; my eyes, once a glorious brown that matched up nicely with my hair, were now a vibrant green.

I felt like a guy in a fanfic or something. Dark, curly hair and the greenest eyes to ever green.

Whatever. I stopped moping about my eye color and threw a towel over my head.

I needed to prepare for the meeting on Saturday, but I wasn't sure how. Get myself some plants to carry around in case I need to assault everyone's noses with mint? Training montage? Something else I couldn't think of?

I pushed the towel back so I could actually see where I was going. Didn't want to trip on a plant while trying to collapse on the couch.

I stretched, wishing that I could just go to sleep. I probably should've, but head injuries are a bitch and I didn't want to tempt fate. I did that enough already.

I put on some TV show I'd never heard of before today. Some guy babbled on about how humans had migrated from Africa.

Despite that fact that I probably had a concussion, I fell asleep.

Totally worth it, by the way. Except for, you know, the fact that I fell asleep on the couch. I was trying to work out a crick in my neck the whole time I was getting ready for work.

Besides falling asleep on the couch, each day up to Saturday was pretty normal. Go to work, go home, dick around, go to sleep, rinse and repeat.

I slept in Saturday, finally leaving my bed around noon.

Three hours.

Three, long hours until I could find out what the hell was going on.

I wasted all three of them with crime shows and trying to unlock more of my godly powers.

That last part wasn't even worth a training montage, because I learned jack shit and the only thing that came out of it was that I managed to turn some sap red.

I was not impressed.

As soon as three o'clock started rolling around, I made my way to Cloud Coffee. I hadn't been there much; it wasn't within walking distance of my apartment and therefore too much effort to visit.

The woman was waiting for me. She wasn't drinking any coffee, but she has a croissant. I vaguely wondered if I should buy something before sitting down.

I then thought about more and decided that I should. I sat down with a hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll.

The woman didn't move when I sat down. She kept an eye on the other people in the coffee shop. I wasn't sure why. It's not anyone would pay attention to our conversation, and if they did, why would they care about it?

When the shop was mostly empty, the woman started talking.

"How long?"

I had to wait to answer; my mouth was full of cinnamon goodness. She didn't seem patient, but whatever. She could wait until I finished chewing.

"What do you mean?" I finally said.

"How long have you been..." She trailed off, like the topic was too private for a little cafe. Paranoid much?

"'Bout a month." I shrugged and took another bite of my cinnamon roll.

"A month." she echoed. "What kind are you?"

I chewed and swallowed. "The cool kind."

"Be serious."

"Tell me who you are first."

She sat back in her chair, frowning. She was quiet for a bit, like she had to think about what she wanted to tell me. Well, two could play that game.

"Call me Callie. I am the leader of a pantheon millenia old." she spoke slowly, as if I would have a hard time understanding her if she spoke faster. "Now, who are you?"

"If we're not giving real names here, then I'm Drosera."

"Drocera." Callie echoed. I waited.

"What can you do, Drosera?"

"It's all in the name, Callie. What kind of goddess are you?"

"I won't answer that until you have?"

"Well, I'm not a goddess."

She shot me a glare. I rendered it ineffective by finishing off my cinnamon roll.

"I suppose there's nothing left to say if you're going to be this uncooperative."

"Hey, I just want answers. Like, why are we gods? Who's making us into what we are? What's the meaning of all this? Of life?"

She crossed her arms. "You really don't know anything, do you?"

"Isn't that the point of this whole thing? Just tell me stuff, okay?" I leaned back in my chair.

"Something turned you into a god. It's different for everyone. Deities get together in pantheons and try to be the most powerful pantheon. Whoever is the strongest gets to run the city."

"Doesn't the government do that?"

"The government knows nothing about our world."

"Of course it doesn't. Where do deities meet up?"

"Anywhere. Most commonly in the area in which I found you." She looked me straight in the eyes. "It's not safe without a pantheon at your side, however. You'll need one just to survive."

I crossed my arms. "I'll manage without one. I'd like to figure out what's going on before joining the first pantheon that pops up."

Callie frowned. I met her gaze. We stayed like that for a bit, just watching each other.

Finally, Callie stood up. "Well, Drosera, I'll be sure to attend your funeral."

I watched her leave, pretending that I didn't see her duck into an alleyway, followed by a brief flash. No one felt the need to investigate weird lights in alleys, I guess.

I sipped at my hot chocolate until I left. I went straight home, thinking that maybe it wasn't a good idea to go deity hunting without any kind of preparation.

Looking back, that probably would've the best idea.

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