Dark Passions at Death's Door

31 - On the Mount

Olympus

Pantheon Hall

Goddess Status: Active Pact

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Riora came out of her portal. Out of habit, she'd cast her 'normal' face on. She also schooled a bored expression over her features.

Inside the walls of her mind, she was a hot mess.

Had the other goddesses been made aware that Phenїx was MIA? It wasn't unprecedented, but for someone of her latent strength, the gaping silence in the wake of her disappearance had caused Riora to worry.

The original Mount Olympus had long ago been done away with, shortly after the Greek and Roman pantheons discovered the lean times that would be ahead for them. They'd relocated the realm and made Olympus the cathedral seat of the entire goddess pact. But rarely were all called to appear in its halls.

The goddess of impossibility, the Talisman's Hie, and all annoying chants during soccer games moved with a swiftness through the amphitheater foyer and over to a small side cottage that levitated free of a sheer cliffside. Her permanent quarters as a 'minor' goddess in the pantheon.

Said home also included a gingerbread wall for her. By the time she finished taking the time to nibble on a piece, she sensed the approach of several sisters. She squared off with the door, awaiting the customary barging-in that usually accompanied a visit.

The knock at the door made her notch an eyebrow. Hells, they are never that polite unless it's...

"Please come in!" she called.

The first through was none other than Skathi herself. She'd chosen her hunting attire. Never a good sign. Skathi's furs were swept up over her shoulder, revealing her accoutrements... a skinning knife, leather thong ties for her kills, and a quiver.

Her bow was unstrung at the moment, but that could change with a simple thought.

The goddess was choosing to show her frost giantess heritage today. Her long hair was no longer solid red, but instead streaked with wisps of white and grey.

Behind her, Hekate, Saroh, and the Great She-Bear also appeared. Riora looked them over. Hekate's pixie features were distracted, while Saroh, the goddess of the Jinn, was struggling with a jar of some kind.

"Stupid lids," she was mumbling.

Riora cast out a quick flick of a finger, and the lid popped off of its own accord. Saroh glanced up and sighed, "Thank you. I've been trying to open this for a month."

"No trouble." Riora nodded. "And welcome. Please make yourselves –"

"Have you heard from Phenїx?" The goddess of the hunt rushed out the question.

Riora looked at Skathi. No pleasantries? No introductions? She stilled slightly.

"No," she answered. "Why?"

"News has reached us of late that there might be someone who is hunting her," Hekate murmured.

"Hunting her." Riora blinked.

The very idea was ludicrous. Hunting a demigoddess was an incomprehensible and foolish endeavor under the best of circumstances. But to hunt an oracle? Even moreso.