unknownballad | Hybrid Kingdom PSL

(( Anubis isn't the only early riser amongst them. He may have noticed Ianuaria also at the cafe for the last few mornings. She's certainly noticed him and his quest to try different things. This morning, she noticed that he ordered something she herself tried earlier in the week. As she walks by, she pauses near his table, her own items in hand. ))

That's good. I had it a few days ago.

[He's been meaning to introduce himself to Ianuaria, he really has. Even he's not sure why he gets so quiet whenever she arrives, except that he's never seen a girl that looks quite like her and it makes him feel extremely shy. Maybe the first inklings of a crush?

When she suddenly stops to talk to him, his heart jumps into his throat and he finds himself touching the back of his hair to make sure it's all neatly in place.]

Oh! Really? I'm glad! But I haven't had anything really bad here yet, so I'm not surprised...

[After a brief, uneasy silence, Anubis finally works up the courage to ask:]

Would - you like to join me?

(( Come to think of it... She hasn't had anything bad here, either! Perhaps that's to be expected in a place as fine as this. It's certainly as fine a place as she's ever found herself. The circumstances could be better but, he skills will be useful here if things go as darkly as many of them suspect they may.

That's a distant thought at the moment, tucked away in the back of her mind to focus on the much more pleasant experience of meeting someone new. Someone who, like her, seems to be more of a morning person than most. She smiles brightly, nearly diving into the chair across from him before stopping herself. ))

If you don't mind?

Of course not! I've been hoping someone'd start getting up at the same time as me but it's not really a human side thing, I guess... anyway, please pull up a seat!

[Once she's comfortably seated, he'll wipe his hands with his napkin and then extend one across the table in greeting.]

I'm Anubis, by the way! Osiris, the sorta leader of this whole thing, he's my dad. I usually live in our afterlife.

(( Of course she matches the gesture, reaching across to take the proffered hand. Her own are warm and soft, not unexpected of hands that needn't do labor. Even the bulk of her healing is done via magic (though she's capable of making potions and poultices and even stitching up a wound). ))

Anubis.

(( There's a musical quality in the way she speaks, but especially in the way she repeats his name as if trying it out. ))

I'm Ianuaria.

(( Yan-yu-ari-ah. Almost like January, in some languages. ))

What do you usually do in your afterlife, Anubis?

[Oh... his name does sound prettier the way she says it. He smiles down at his breakfast for a moment, suddenly feeling shy, but then she says her own name and and realizes he'll have to do the same thing - try it out, make sure it fits on his tongue. Hopefully he won't mess it up too badly.]

Ianu - ari - a. [The soft name gains a few sharp edges when Anubis says it, but he's got the gist.] That's so pretty. I've never heard a name like that before.

Oh, I... well, not much, these days. No one new really comes to our afterlife anymore. But I used to help with the funerary rites and judgment of the dead, and now I'm its guardian when Osiris is away. [After a pause, he rushes to add:] But I've got people watching it now! It's still safe! This is just more important.

(( Ah, he's so adorable! He must be shy! That must be why they haven't spoken before!

He expression warms when he's quick to assure that he didn't leave his domain unprotected to join this battle (not that one could blame him terribly if he had. This is a terribly important thing happening). He takes his responsibility seriously even if it's diminished over the years. ))

I have no place anymore. It was razed ages ago. May I be a little envious of you?

[Anubis is a very shy, very silly boy, but his expression immediately grows solemn when Ianuaria mentions the loss of her home. It's such a common story among the old powers and gods. Anyone without a gathering place in another dimension has been scattered to the winds... and she's one of them, huh?]

I'm so sorry. Of course you can, but - you can come visit too, if you want! When all this is over and I go back. You don't actually need to die if I grant you passage.

[It's not much of an offer, but he's glad he can offer something. That's such a sad situation.]

My cousin Sobek was guardian of the river that our entire civilization was built around, and it's really hard to go back there now because of - political things, I honestly don't get a lot of that stuff but it's really closed off. I know he misses it a lot.

Hybrid Kingdom PSL

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