"We need to cover some ground rules."

Gathered in the living room, the three of them crowd around the space. Remy and Kardala sit on both ends of the couch while Nadiya stands in front of them. The coffee table acting like a wall between her and them.

"I do not see the point of this." Kardala all but smiles, slouched similarly to that of a bent oak tree on the cushion she's in. It's not the best thing for her, but it's all that Nadiya has. It was also the cheapest thing she could find when she rented this place, getting on in years too.

"There is a point," Nadiya states with a finger, and lays down a page of printer paper onto the table in front of them, scooting it forward. "There's always a point for things, and if we're all going to be living here, rules need to be made."

"RIDICULOUS!" Kardala says, "The great goddess Kardala does not need any rules!"

"Okay, one inside voices please." Nadiya holds a finger up, "And two, you definitely do and that is why I'm implementing them. Besides, its only four little rules, that's nothing. "

"Plus, we don't even know what they're going to be yet," Remy points out. He pulls the paper towards him, squinting at the details. "We should see what it's all about first before we judge."

"Implying that there's anything to judge is ludicrous." Nadiya grumbles, and Kardala leans forward.

"Why would I need to judge when I already know they will be stupid?" Kardala reasons, shaking her head, the swish of her white coat swaying as she does. "Any rules that are laid upon will be restrictive on Kardala's freedom and therefore useless."

"I doubt it, but let's see." Remy covers his mouth with a fist, clearing his throat and begins reading the list over. "Rule number one: Do not make a mess of the house."

"You see? It limits me."

"It does not." Nadiya says, "It's a pretty straightforward rule."

"And more directed at me than you.", Remy mumbles to himself, thumbing the paper. He continues. "Rule number two, do not take food that isn't yours."

Kardala snorts comically, "A ridiculous rule." She huffs, crossing her arms and Nadiya sputters.

" How is that one ridiculous? It just means don't eat what isn't yours."

"What you fail to understand, Demon, is that I am a goddess with a large metabolism, I must eat large quantities of food if I am to sustain my energy, you know this." Kardala says, matter-of-factly, like the statement was common knowledge.

"What does that even have to do with ownership of food?" Nadiya says, but Kardala just gives her a shrug and she sighs, crossing her arms.

"Rule number three, Keep things under low profile and stay out of trouble."

"I do not see how this relates to Kardala, but Kardala will not complain over such a matter."

"And rule number four, to make things fair, we should include Irene in things, so as to not leave her out."

That gets a loud and indignant fist to the table. "I absolutely refuse!"

"Well, that didn't take long for a response." Remy mutters, Nadiya just sighs.

"Listen—"

"I most certainly will not!" Kardala says, pushing back into the couch, the cushion squeaking with every movement.

"I know it's not something you particularly care for, but it's something we have to consider," Nadiya says. "Irene is something we have to put into consideration."

"Plus, she kinda deserves to know what's going on. I mean she lives with us too, I feel like it's only necessary that we allow her a chance to come into this." Remy inputs, scratching the back of his ear.

"But that is unnecessary. I am the one who should decide things! Seeing as I am in control more I should have the freedom to decide what's what. Why should I comply with this silly demand?"

"You're only in control when the both are us are around." Nadiya stresses, "What about every where else? What about when we're not near you?"

"Those times don't count."

"Kardala, come on—" Remy starts.

"No."

Nadiya pinches the bridge of her nose, massaging the area. It's as she expected this to go, terribly and with no good room for agreement or a reach in accord. Honestly, who knew setting boundaries would be this difficult? She takes a deep breath, then another, and another, careful in considering her next words.

" Listen, I may not know a whole lot about Irene and I wouldn't exactly consider myself very close to her in a way—"

" I think she's fun." Remy says, and Nadiya gives a nod to that and continues.

"But if I were to say, choose between having a seven-foot goddess handle the menial things of life as opposed to a five-foot-five early thirties HR lady, I feel like my choices would linger in the latter's direction rather than former."

The both of them stare of her, Remy with his brows quirked and Kardala's head tilting.

"Wait, you figured out her height? How you come to that?"

" She's shorter than me by a few inches and it's not that hard to tell." Nadiya says with a shrug. "What, you didn't know?"

" I mean, I knew she was shorter than me, but I didn't know the exact deets." Remy plays with the corners of the paper in his hand, folding it then tearing at the bend. "Guess Irene was right. There really are a few things we don't know about each other."

" We are straying from the subject." Kardala bangs a fist onto the coffee table, alerting the other two. She brings her fist back up and unclenches, pointing a finger at Nadiya. "What is this that you speak about, demon? What is this 'menial' thing you talk about?"

Nadiya blinks. " Right, we're talking about that." She moves a bit backwards and crosses her arms. " When I say menial, I mean menial as in boring, you know, dull, minimal things that people do to go about their day."

Kardala squints. "I do not understand."

"Well, think of it like this." Nadiya says, an idea grabs at her head and she seizes it. Rounding the table to the couch, she reaches for Remy pulling the paper from Remy's grasp. ( Who of course responds rather nettled) Then pulls a pen from her pants pocket and begins drawing on the table.

First comes the head, then body, arms and legs. It's not the best drawing of Irene and Kardala she's ever done and she's no artist, far from it but it's something and for this demonstration, useful. She sets the pen down and turns back to them, holding up the paper. One hand points to a figure on the left. "This is Irene, right? This is her."

Then she points to the other, much bigger figure, two dots and a grinning face—all teeth and lightning. "And this one over here is you, Kardala. Now what are some things that Irene's good at?" She asks, free hand waving in circles. Just off the top of your head."

" Oh! Oh!" Remy jumps at the question, raising a hand like an eager school kid in a classroom. " I know, she's real good at helping people."

" Helping people." Nadiya gets the pen and crouches low to the table. She writes that next to the smiling figure. " Okay, what else?"

" Being an obstacle to Kardala's freedom." Kardala inputs.

" She's a joy to be around, very nice—"

"She does not understand that I as a god am beneath the laws of man—"

"Likes tea with honey, she can make a good coffee—"

"Has too many rules—"

"She's got a lot of HR-experience, knows how to handle heavy situations, a people person, really."

Nadiya writes it all down, reviewing some suggestions more than others and taps the pen on the table. " Okay, now what's some stuff that Kardala's good at."

" Ah, now this is easy." Kardala says, with a triumphant grin. " There are many things Kardala is good at, for example, I am good at punching stuff."

" She's a great fighter, kinda goes in line with the first one." Remy points out, and Kardala nods.

"I am a mighty goddess, feared and adored, a protector of the people of the North, and captor of the grand King—"

"Technically, that was all of us."

" And claimer of the Darigold."

" Mm-hm." Nadiya writes that all down, then compares the list. "So, with that all out the way, we can now say there's a clear difference between the two."

" But of course there is." Kardala says, with a scoff. "I am a god and Irene is not. There would, of course be a difference between us."

" But that's my point," Nadiya says, "You both have different things that you excel at, while you are more good at fighting and punching things. Irene is more people inclined. She can handle things like work, and all the other menial stuff I went on about."

This quiets the goddess who sits back and tilts her head forward, considering this. The look on her face so scrutinized and thoughtful.

"So think of it as taking turns. Where during the day, Irene can do the boring, menial stuff, and when she comes home and we're also here, you can come out and do…whatever it is you want." Nadiya says, then thinking. " Well, maybe not whatever but, basically you can do the fun stuff."

" Yeah, it's kinda like a break of sorts, if you think about." Remy interjects. " And you wouldn't wanna have to go through all the effort of going to work every day, and making tea, right? That would be things far beneath your strengths."

Kardala gives this a considerable thought. " Hmm, perhaps you are right. I suppose we could make this work, as my status as a god puts me well above those skills."

"So you agree with it, then?" Nadiya stands, looking up at the goddess. She crosses her arms and quirks a brow up. "You agree that the compromise is good?"

" Yes, Yes I agree that this compromise is good!" Kardala stands up from the couch, the whole thing wobbling as she goes. Remy makes a squeaking sound and clings to his side as she grins and places her hands to her hips, arms out akimbo. " Yes, this is a good plan. Kardala agrees with it very much!"

" I'm very glad." Nadiya says and nods, Remy following.

After a hardy laugh, Kardala makes her way for the kitchen. " Yes, and as I am the one to draw this decision to a close, I think it prudent of me to acquire some snacks to rejoice in this gracious compromise."

" Well that went better than expected" Remy says as Kardala walks by.

" It's a start." Nadiya says, getting the paper and folding it up in her hands. And only just that: a start.


It takes less than a month and a half for half the rules to be broken.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Nadiya purses her lips and glares down at Irene standing in the kitchen.

The woman in question, leaning halfway into the counter, reaches into one of the cupboards for something. Her short stature makes for getting things from the shelves harder so she's practically on her tippy toes pulling out a plastic bin. There's a half drunk cup of some dark liquid and an orange box by her elbow. Irene pulls away from the cabinet and blinks. "What is it?"

" That," Nadiya points a finger towards the offending drink. The other hand is holding her purse close to her hip, keys jingling off the chain. "Is my tea you're drinking."

Irene blinks again, then looks at the tea box on the counter. " Oh, is it?"

" Oh don't play dumb Baker. You know exactly what kind of brands I drink and what the boxes look like," Nadiya's hand comes back to her hip. "We also don't share the same cabinets so none of my stuff should be anywhere near yours."

" Well, I'm sorry." Irene huffs. " I guess I just didn't notice. I've been exhausted all week from work, and we're all out of milk for Kardala, so I settled for some tea."

"So? Drink some of you own."

" I'm all out of my usual stuff."

She can't believe what she's hearing right now. It's already so early in the morning that she knows she can't let out the frustrated noise she wants to let out. So she kisses her teeth and pinches her nose instead. " I can't believe this…"

" Look, I'm sorry." Irene says. Normally she's not one for arguments, but for a morning like this and for all the tiredness she carries, her reaction is taut, glaring back at Nadiya. " I wasn't trying to be up like this, but Kardala was bugging me all night about wanting a glass of milk and so I woke up and went to go get some. Realized we were out and so I went for the next best thing. I promise this won't happen again and if it will make you feel better—"

" Oh no, you're not gonna pin this on your super-alter-ego." Nadiya spits, she steps into the kitchen. " That's your excuse for everything, 'Oh Kardala needed this so I got it, Oh Kardala wanted that so I ate it.' You can't keep using that as your go-to reasoning every time!"

" It's not like I have any control in that!"

"You do when you're like this!"

"It's not that simple though it's—" Irene sighs, then deflates, the means of quarrel leaving her. " Why am I even trying to explain this right now, it's too early for this." She takes the glass off the counter and goes to grab her small thermal cup from her side of the cabinet and pours the rest of her tea down its mouth. " Look, if you're gonna give me anymore misgivings about this, take it up with Kardala, and try labeling things better?"

Labeling, really? She could've wrote a sign as big as a billboard over the walls of their kitchen and living room not to make messes or eat people's food and it would still somehow fly over their heads. " We have a whole rule system for this, remember?"

" I know, but that alone doesn't always help. Regardless, I'm sorry okay?" Irene is scooting past Nadiya, thermal clutched in hand, clearly irritated. " Just, lemme get my things ready for work and I'll be out of your hair."

Nadiya lets her go, already tired from this. She sighs and goes to stand by the cabinet Irene was at. " Unbelievable." She mutters under her breath. The box is still out on the counter, she goes to pick it up, jostling it. It feels empty and very likely is, that was probably the last of the orange pekoe they had.

She lets out another frustrated groan. Great, now they're all out of tea. Just wonderful.

She's starting to really regret letting these two boneheads room with her.

Light footsteps move past the hallway into the kitchen again. " Um," Irene says, looking abashed, her wallet sits in her hands now looking up at Nadiya. "I'm going to stop by the store later for some things, if you want I could get you some more tea and maybe a few of those biscuits you like?"

Nadiya huffs under her breath, using all the strength in her not to roll her eyes. " Throw in some more of those muffins you bought last week and we're even."

She can't see it, but she knows Irene's smiling even if small and goes to get ready. " Sure thing."

The door closes gently behind her and Nadiya's all alone in the space again.

She drops her head and looks to the time on her phone, only an hour left before she has to leave. She guesses she'll have to get something else on the way out.

She signs again. Unbelievable.


They're sitting in the living room one lazy afternoon surfing the TV channels when they land on the local news.

"—There's been several countless debates over the bizarre broadcast that took the country by storm a month ago." A newscaster says, behind her there's a clip playing some scene from the broadcast, while a ticker at the bottom reads something about new developments.

"The well known and critically acclaimed humanitarian organization—the Do-Good Fellowship has been mostly absent from the press at large since its "disappearance" from the Gulf and many of its unidentified workers are still unaccounted for. Folks have put in all kinds of thoughts on the situation from staged government coups to outright suggestive marketing schemes. But nothing that has been found so far seems accurate enough to support anyone's theories." The shot changes to a blurred out picture of them escaping authorities, dust and debris falling everywhere. The glow of blue in Kardala's eyes are the only things to gauge out of image but nothing concrete itself.

"Police are advised to be on the look out for these four individuals who made quite the mess in the downtown area of DC but have otherwise still been unaccounted for. Authorities are not sure of their threat level, but are advising themselves to look more into this matter as the case continues."

"Hm." Nadiya says.

" Well, it could be worst," Remy sits up from his side of the couch, tapping his fingers on the arm. " Worst case scenario is, they come knocking down our doors with guns and grey suits like something out of an action movie."

" They would be wise not to," Kardala grumbles. There's a deep frown to her face, accented by the dim pale blue light of the TV. She crowds her hands together. "Kardala would not allow them the chance."

"Considering it's been what, a good month and a half since we been here and there's been no men in grey suits breathing down our necks, I've elected to say we're in the clear for now." Nadiya leans off the couch to grab the laptop off the coffee table. " And I don't think anyone so far actually believes any of this. I mean, would you?"

"You mean before I got powers or after I got powers?"

" The former."

"Probably not." Remy flips the remote in the air. "I'd probably think it was a marketing stunt for a Kingsmen movie or something."

"And nobody's bothered you about this, right?" Nadiya's pulling the lid of the laptop up but her eyes are on them now. " Either of you haven't been bothered at all about this, have you?"

" Nah, not at my job." Remy shakes his head.

"And you, Kardala?"

The goddess frowns a bit. " No, no one bothers Irene. Irene is…almost invisible there, except when asked about other things. People leave her be."

"Good." There comes some relief in that, even if she won't say it out loud or show it. But it's good that her statement holds some form of weight to it now with evidence. " I guess that means we'll be fine."

" I grow tired of the news. Little man, change the channel. I fear it is nearing three o'clock, and you know how much I enjoy watching the show with the blue whales." Kardala looks over to Remy.

"Your wish is my command." He says and gets to flipping through the channel again. It's a lazy Thursday afternoon and there's not much on TV today. Though the channels that they frequent the most have been Syfy, the cooking channel, and the Animal Planet one—a casual favorite of Kardala. Ever since they've gotten here, she's been pretty hooked on the stuff.

She's never really explained it to them, but Remy always figured it was because she got a kick out of seeing all kinds of animals on screen and something about it felt entertaining to her in a way. So she continued watching. She's even picked up on a few movies and even caught on to the WWE. (They've admitted to her that most of the stunts done are more for acting than actual stunts, but she finds it funny watching people chuck each other around like rag dolls all day) and hasn't really let go.

They're settling in well so far, making a decent home for themselves. As decent as it will get. There's still problems here and there and a few arguments to boot, but aside from it, a calm has started to form. It's slow, and it's gradual, but it's getting somewhere. Even if Nadiya likes to think it isn't. She could get used to it after a while.

Has that spark hit there yet? Hard to say, but if it ever gets there, it'll be surprising if this thing lasts for another month or two.