Disclaimer: I do not own DanMachi or any of Omori's original characters, nor do I make any profit off of my writing.
Bell let out a sigh as he watched the last of the boxes (which only amount to about five in total) made their way through the door. He still didn't get why he wasn't allowed to help them move the stuff, sure it wasn't much in the first place, but he could help!
But noooo, he has to get three different stern looks that have him all but sinking down into couch cushions. He was glad his goddess and.. the.. two random women with her got a new house. His goddess deserved the best, and now it looks like she was getting a little closer to that.
It wasn't a home for a familia, that much was clear. They didn't have any rooms besides the two bedrooms in the small apartment, but it would work for now.
He still needed to recruit people for her before he passed so that she would have more support, but he still had a bit of time before then.
Probably.
He hoped.
Still, the place was really nice and if the basement of the abandoned church was anything to go by, Hestia would work wonders in it. He was curious if she somehow managed to use her arcanum to make their last home so nice, her being the goddess of home and all. It was just unfairly perfect when you were inside, the temperature was always just right and there was no reason for a ruined building to smell so normal.
Even when he lived with his dad back in the village and their neighbor came over to help clean, the air in the cabin was always too dusty or too thick or too something. He could only really get any amount of comfort when he was sitting out on the grassy knoll beside their home.
He and Harper would sit out there for hours sometimes, simply taking in the nice weather.
Winters were always the worst it would seem. He wouldn't be able to go outside, and his lungs would be extra irritable when the cold air scraped along the insides. Like icy daggers stabbing into him from the inside out.
He can't really say he was a fan.
Being in Orario wasn't much better, the magic crystal factories and smithies polluted the air with smoke and the lack of trees prevent it from being cleaned. Then there's the trash that is piled in the alleyways. Rotting food, bloodied rags, and enough emptied aphrodisiac to make the world blind with lust.
No, Orario wasn't great for his lungs, but that was alright.
Living with his goddess always seemed to make up for that, even now he felt more at ease, and his breathing was coming easier, far less painful.
Bell's eyes startled open when a weight crashed into the seat beside him on the couch, he looked over to see the red-haired woman regarding him with a critical eye.
Maybe.
He couldn't really tell, they looked very much closed.
He blinked at her in confusion.
She grunted before bringing both of her feet up onto the couch and crossing her legs in front of herself, "you have no idea who I am, do ya?"
A shake of the head was all the confirmation she needed to move on, "I figured as much, name's Loki, I helped shortie over there," she jabbed a thumb toward where Hestia was already weaving a.. was that a wicker basket? Where did she even find the materials for that? Loki paused as she lost his attention and drummed her fingers across her knee as she waited for him to listen, huffing in amusement as she did. "Ya' with me now? Good. I helped 'Tia give ya' yer falna, and 'ave been helpin' her pay for a few things to keep ya' goin'."
".. why?"
He didn't mean that in a rude way, not in the slightest. Maybe, if he had known what the goddess was typically like he would have been more skeptical of her good nature, helping people just wasn't in Loki's name. Now though, he was merely just curious because everybody had written him off up until this point, so why is she helping? Her familia had outright rejected him before, so why?
"Ya' want the long story 'er the short one?"
".. short?"
".. cuz' I wanna."
.. I wouldn't even consider that a story..
"Look, kid.. there's," she rubbed at her eyebrow nervously, the short red hairs shifting against the side of her index finger as she did, "there's something you deserve to know, so just listen until the end and you can decide what to do from there okay?"
".. okay? I don't know what– "
He cut himself off as she held a hand up.
"Just listen, please."
He couldn't really ignore a plea from a woman like that, his father raised him better than that. So, he merely nodded and gave her a small smile and a nod to encourage her.
The goddess slumped backward against the armrest and let her face turn toward the ceiling. Her hands wrung one another nervously in her lap, betraying her inner feelings.
"How much do you know about your parents? Your mother and father?"
"My mother was kind; I have her hair and her lungs, I have my dad's eyes."
Loki nodded, "anything else?"
He shook his head, "no names?" Another shake. "Relatives?" Another. "What about– "
"Lady Loki, I've lived with my adoptive father all of my life. My parents are gone, they may be watching from Tenkai, they may not, I have no idea. My dad never let go of them, it was hard for him to tell me as much as he has."
A moment passed between them before Loki shook her head, her frown disappearing with it, "fine then. Would you like to know a little about them? Great, we'll start with your mother. Her name was Meteria, a level one non-combatant member of the once-great Hera familia. She was admitted into the familia because of her sister, who at her best was a level seven, one of the strongest adventurers ever within these walls."
Bell blinked.
He hadn't expected that.
"Meteria was, from what I've heard, just as kind as you said. She'd do anything to help others even as she was shackled by her body, you take after her a lot in that way, I suppose."
Bell nodded, his eyes drifting away from the goddess as she explained, instead finding purchase on the two women who have paused in their work to listen in. Hestia's basket looked to already be done, something he's not entirely sure how she managed–
It has to be arcanum!
–and the elven woman had already finished putting most of their foods away in cold storage. Now though, she was leaning back against the counter, her eyes closed and her lips downturned ever so slightly as she waited for what's to come.
"Your father was Cranel something or other, honestly no idea. A level one supporter of the Zeus familia, he was killed by the One-Eyed Black Dragon."
".. "
".. "
".. you haven't said anything to warrant you being as nervous as you were."
"I haven't, you're right."
".. "
".. so?"
Loki didn't want to tell him; she never had wanted to. She needed to, but the idea was so much easier than actually forcing the words out of her mouth, and even then, it was harder than she was willing to admit. How was she supposed to tell his boy that she may have been an indirect cause for his mother's premature death?
She turned to face Riveria who was unapologetically ignoring her, taking a special interest in her nails.
She couldn't really blame her; it was under Loki and Freya's orders that the Zeus and Hera familias were forced into exile. Riveria had enforced those orders and she hadn't questioned them or put up any resistance, but she hadn't been the one to give them.
She shut her eyes (even more so than typical) and sucked in a breath. Her nails dug into her palm as she tensed up before exhaling shakily, "your mother and father's familias went on a series of great quests, tracking and killing the calamities that have plagued the surface world for millennia. They succeeded in striking down the King of the Earth, Behemoth, and the Overlord of the Seas, Leviathan. It was on the third and final quest, against the Lady of the Skies, the Black Dragon, where they failed. They were significantly weakened by their defeat, only non-combatants who stayed in the city surviving. So, two rival familias took advantage and used their destabilization to force them into exile."
".. "
"Freya and I.. we forced them into exile, including your late mother."
For a while, Bell didn't move from his spot on the couch, simply mulling over the information in his head while the three women stood by and stewed nervously.
".. "
".. "
".. "
".. "
Hestia slowly tried to begin weaving a lid for her basket, the thin strip of bamboo screeching hollowly throughout the room as it was pushed through a gap. It sounded similar to a poorly made flute whose musician had never been properly trained to play. It was a grating noise, but luckily it was enough to break Bell of his internal musings.
".. okay."
Loki blinked.
Riveria blinked.
Hestia paid them no mind; she had a home to decorate.
"That's it? Just, 'okay'?"
"Yes?"
"You're not mad?"
"Did you make my mother sick?"
Loki shook her head.
"Would she have lived any longer or happier here in Orario when everybody else she knows and loves was either dead or in exile?"
Another shake.
"Was she your responsibility to care for?"
Another negative.
"Then her death is not on you, she would have passed, either way, she died in childbirth, that would have happened regardless. She spent her last days among the last of her family, I doubt she could have asked for much else."
Loki frowned, that seemed too easy. Why wasn't he made at her?
How could he forgive her for what she did so easily? She'd yet to forgive herself, so why?
She continued to watch skeptically as he dragged himself to his feet and shuffled over to the last of the boxes in the entrance. The top unfolded easily enough and he reached in to begin sorting through the last of their belongings. He ignored Riveria's protests as he moved around the kitchenette, tucking away a few of their spare tableware in the stained cabinetry.
…
Bell turned to look over his shoulder when two pairs of footsteps across the floorboards behind him, one exiting from the master bedroom and the other from his own room. His hands paused over the various buttons and switches on the front of the blender as he looked at them with a raised eyebrow.
Hestia was wearing a far less revealing (and far cleaner) white dress and a small, lilac cardigan to go over top it. She hadn't done much at all to alter her hair from its typical style (and by that he means it's the exact same) but all in all, she looked far nicer than usual.
Loki on the other hand was looking far different from he'd grown used to in the – he glanced over at the clock – four hours he's known her. She had traded out her short shorts, tube top, and weird sleeves with the hood thing she had going on for an obsidian ball gown. Her hair was down up in a bun as well, one he couldn't help but wonder where all the hair in it had come from. It seemed to be much larger than the small ponytail she'd had before could supply the material for.
He blinked at them in confusion, his finger still precariously placed on 'on' button of the blender.
".. was I supposed to dress up for something?"
His eyes flickered over at his soon-to-be pureed amalgamation of fruits, vegetables, and juice. He really hoped he hadn't been supposed to dress up for something, he was kind of looking forward to this smoothie.
Luckily, his goddess shook her head with a smile, "nope! Loki and I are just going to a ball for us goddesses, I expect no news that you ran off to the dungeon, am I clear?"
He nodded slowly, his finger ready to flick the switch and deafen any of Hestia's typical mothering before it started up if the need arose.
"And another thing– "
He nodded his head as her mouth moved and her arms flung about wildly, he could only assume the gestures meant something, but he couldn't quite tell over the sound of frozen strawberries meeting their maker. Loki was snickering into her hand to Hestia's left, not even considering informing the girl he wasn't paying attention. She already would have to put up with her for an entire night, sue her for taking some joy out of something so harmless.
The blades whirred to a pause as the rant about the dangers of unprotected sex (don't ask Loki how she even made it to that) came to a close. Bell waved to them as they moved toward the door, wishing them a good night.
He was already neck-deep into a cabinet when Loki knocked on the refrigerator door to get his attention. He backed up, momentarily postponing his quest for a straw, to look at her.
"Mama will stop back by later tonight to talk with ya 'bout some things, 'kay?"
Bell nodded silently and returned to scouring the kitchen. He yanked a drawer open and stuffed his arm inside, far enough to his fingertips brushed the back.
No straw.
He pulled his hand back out and tapped a finger on his chin.
Where would we have put the straws?
And, more importantly, who the hell is 'Mama'?
As it would turn out, the elf from before that nobody thought to introduce him to was 'Mama'. It would also turn out that she was not named Mama at all.
The high elf had blinked at him with flushed cheeks and a blank face for several seconds before grumbling to herself something about 'Rei Laevateinn'. A delicate hand came up and rubbed at her forehead, leaving a red mark on her pale skin as she frowned.
"My name is not 'mama' it is Riveria Ljos Alf, you may simply call me Riveria, okay?"
He didn't really know how to respond, having mistakenly called an elven maiden the baby equivalent of 'mother' thinking it was her name. He settled for blushing and nodding his head frantically, hoping to not anger the woman any further.
Her stern look softened as he did, instead settling on something more akin to fondness as she crossed the small apartment and settled on the couch with several large (and rather boring looking books). He really hoped she wasn't expecting him to read those.
She turned to look at him as she pat the spot beside her, "come, come. I wish to make sure Eina is teaching you properly."
Curse my thoughts!
…
Loki and Hestia ignored the way the ballroom quietened as they walked in together. They were two women on a mission, and the paltry gossip of the other lords and ladies meant nothing to them.
In unison they marched across the room toward the tables placed off to the side, Hestia's eyes wandered from their target to the delicious-looking food. Her mouth water and her stomach let out a war cry as the aroma wafted over her.
It smells so good!
But she can't!
But she wanted to!
But she shouldn't!
In the end, she decided to ignore the primal urges that yearned to ravage the buffet. Loki was being kind enough to slow her walking pace down so Hestia could keep up without looking like a fool, the least she could do was push off eating herself into a coma.
For now.
Besides, this was bigger than her.
This was for Bell.
Two hands clamped around Hephaestus's elbows as the two goddesses worked in tandem, they continued walking in their original direction, keeping true, and not straying from their course.
"Loki? Hestia? What are you doing?"
They ignored her.
The goddess of the forge squirmed and wiggled and tried and failed to escape their grasps, the two kidnappers were steadfast in their convictions and did not let her leave. They continued dragging her into the distance.
Past the amused gods bustling about and watching.
Past the tables of delectable food.
Past the confused guards.
Past the heavy oaken doors and down the shadowed halls.
Past the yawning familia member as they tiredly rubbed at their eyes after a nice catnap.
And into a restroom (not the one open to the party, of course, this was for a very private conversation).
Hephaestus simply shut her mouth and let herself be dragged along by her two former friends. She'd reevaluate their friendship status after she figured out what they were dragging her along to say to her.
Or maybe they were just going to kill her.
It wouldn't be the smartest thing, way too many witnesses, but there's always a possibility.
She might as well accept her fate.
So, she let the tension in her body go slack and smirked as the two stumbled with the new weight. Her head rolled back to his over her shoulders and she watched as Hestia and Loki walked over the ceiling as her world flipped upside down.
"Alright, stand up now. Yer way heavier than I thought."
The goddess's eye twitched under her eyepatch and the corners of her mouth twitched down.
"If you wanted something from me then I don't think calling me fat will help your cause."
Loki rolled her eyes and gestured for her to stand. Under different circumstances, she may have been inclined to do so. Now, though? Now, she was feeling more than a little smug and more than a lot vindicative.
So, instead of standing as she was not so politely asked, she continued to let the two girls carry her even as their arms shook with the weight.
"Yer options are stand or be introduced with whatever is on these bathroom floors."
Hephaestus merely smirked, "as if I would be afraid of the ladies room fl– "
"This is the men's room."
Hestia had never seen somebody move faster than her friend did just then, in a blur of movement and girly squeals the red-haired goddess was already back up on her own feet and dusting off her matching red ball gown.
She crossed her arms underneath her bust and stared at her two fellow deities with thinly veiled contempt. Of all the placed to drag her, they chose the men's room? That has to break some sort of law.
Certainly, they could at least be considered war criminals.
Biological warfare perhaps?
Loki was right, she didn't know what had been on those floors, and if she was lucky she would never find out.
And to think she had considered these two bimbos her friends (granted she would always consider Hestia her friend but that was beside the point).
".. "
".. "
".. why am I here?"
Hestia nudged her coconspirator with her elbow, unable to get the words out. Loki let out a sigh before meeting Hephaestus's gaze evenly, "we need your services."
"My services aren't all that secretive, I'm a smith, Loki. There are a thousand of them in my familia alone. You didn't need to kidnap me to ask for them."
Hephaestus was fairly certain Hestia muttered out a soft 'told you,' but she couldn't be certain, it was too quiet for her really to know.
Loki opened and closed her mouth several times, floundering for a suitable answer. She really hadn't considered that.
"Well, this was more fun. Don't'cha think?"
"No."
Loki nodded.
".. tha's'fair."
".. "
".. "
".. "
".. "
".. "
".. oh, for heaven's sake! Will one of you just tell me what you need? And for that matter, why are you two even working together! You two have never once gotten al– "
…
"Oh."
"Mhmm."
"So, will you help us?"
Hephaestus sighed as she leaned over the small boy as he slept, gently moving his hair from his face, and tenderly brushing the side of her thumb along the skin of his forehead. He was clammy, but she couldn't find it within herself to care.
She nodded slowly, not trusting herself to speak.
Of course, she would help.
He was a child!
He shouldn't have to be dealing with any of this! He shouldn't be fighting to survive. He shouldn't be in constant pain. He shouldn't be suffering like this.
She hated this.
Maybe it was because the kid was just too young.
Maybe it was because she saw a little bit of her own story in his.
He was cursed from birth to live in nothing but pain. His time in Gekai would never be pleasant no matter what he did.
One of her fingers traced idly around her eyepatch, her own curse.
It wasn't a fair comparison, she knew that. She would take her position over his any day.
She would trade places with him even sooner.
They were both cursed for no reason other than the cruelty of the world. There were no gods that ruled over either of their fates. No malicious deity looked down on them derisively before enacting punishment.
They simply were.
It was a fact of life.
Hephaestus was deformed.
Bell was dying.
But, the goddess was able to live on her own terms. She could put on her eyepatch and for a moment she could forget. Bell didn't have the luxury of that.
Hephaestus could live on her own terms so she would make damn sure Bell could die on his.
She smiled sadly down at the child as she rose and exited the room without another word, bypassing the two quiet goddesses with little more than a nod of farewell.
The cool night air was jarring as she stepped outside. A silent, righteous fury was building just under her skin, heating her body up as she lost control over her arcanum.
She was a goddess of fire and she ran hot.
The wind hissed against her skin as she tried to reel herself in. The space around her on the patio of the apartment thrummed with power, colors reminiscent of solar flares darting throughout.
She took a deep breath in and swiped away the tear that slipped down her left cheek. She didn't need anybody to know she'd been crying. She was a strong goddess, and tears would do her no good.
She needed to take this rage, this pain and put it into something more constructive than crying.
She let out a shaky breath and stalked off to her forge.
Most people steered clear of the enraged goddess, too afraid of the consequences for crossing her. Of course, she already did away with the evidence of her tears (even if she needed to duck into corners between lamp posts to wipe more away as they fell nobody called her out for it).
And, if Tsubaki noticed the damp spot on her eyepatch when the front door jerked open, she didn't mention it.
…
Loki and Hestia watched the blacksmith leave as they leaned against the fence that enclosed the porch, her red gown becoming smaller as she walked down the residential street and turned the corner.
The goddess of the hearth turned her gaze to the heavens.
To the heroes of olde.
She remembered many, many years ago – long before the first gods ever descended to the lower world – she remembered the stories Zeus used to tell the others in heaven. Most of the other goddesses tuned him out, but not Hestia because while she was a woman and hated being leered at, she was a goddess first.
It was her duty to preserve her domains and most often she watched over the children of the lower world.
Most of the lords and ladies of Tenkai thought her lazy and unproductive (which she is, don't misunderstand her words) but that does not mean she was always that way. She may have spurned more than a few of her duties in the end, but she always made time for the children.
The children were why she would listen to Zeus; because Zeus would look to the stars and he wouldn't random specks of light millions and billions of light-years away.
He'd see the stories behind them.
Orion.
Gemini.
Taurus.
Ursus Major.
The constellations were memories of the past, put there by the lord of the skies himself. They were meant to commemorate the great deeds of heroes past.
She found on odd comfort amongst the stars even now when she knew no child would benefit from her retelling their stories. In Tenkai, that may have been different. She would have had her arcanum and could have done more..
".. do you think we made a mistake?"
Loki blinked and shifted her head from the moon to glance over at her, "why'd ya say that? There's no way Phae-phae won't make him some gear."
"No.. not that. I mean coming down here."
".. "
"I can't help but think that we're responsible in part for his fate. We're not watching over our domains anymore, not as much as we should and– "
"No."
".. "
"No, Hestia. We didn't make a mistake. We did it for the wrong reasons, sure, but in the end, people are safer with us in the lower world. Some.. some just slip through our grasps, and it sucks but we're not all-powerful. Were just not. No matter how much we wish we were."
Hestia nodded solemnly before turning back to the stars.
She knew Bell was raised by Zeus. She knew Zeus probably told him the same stories he told her.
She really hoped that wasn't how they ended up where they are now: with Bell shooting for the stars even if he may never quite reach them.
With a sigh, she pushed herself away from the fence and stood to her full height, "I'm going in to get some sleep, you're welcome to stay if you don't have anybody coming to escort you."
"I'll stay out a little longer, sleep well, Tia."
Author Notes:
Fourth mother acquired! Or is the fifth? Do I count Meteria? Absolutely. Five mothers.
Who will be the sixth?
Up Next: Monsterphilia!