The Seventh Heaven

"Ugh!" it was rare to see Mixcoatl lose his temper.

But when he did, most everyone was sorry.

The God of the Hunt roared again and stopped his feet through the temple.

"What's wrong this time Mixcoatl?" Ixtlilton asked, clasping his hands in his robes.

"Don't speak that tone to me, Joker!"

"I still resent that name-"

"I don't care what you resent!"

An angry silence followed and resounded through the halls of the War temple. The dark granite walls and cold sandstone flooring echoed the God's last roar. Even the throne was of stone, covered and layered in fine silk cloth and overstuffed pillows. And on the throne, though usually in his hand otherwise, was the God's Choca double-bladed spear. (The weeping spear) Called so by its ability to carry and disperse poisons from both its blades.

The God of the Hunt moved toward his spear and gazed down at its silver-laced glory.

"They were meant to be Hunters. They were NOT meant to carry slave girls and to become soft-hearted freaks!" the God turned and hissed through his sharp teeth.

"The species themselves have not become soft-hearted. And maybe Mayahuel means for the good of them if this all comes out the way she had planned. She's a powerful little Demigod." Ixtlilton shifted on his feet a little.

"I will not bow to her for much longer, Joker." And with the final word, he disappeared behind the massive throne and toward his own chambers.

"I am not that much of a game God." Ixtlilton muttered to himself as he vanished with a wisp of robe and flutter of light.

The Goddess of the Moon smiled to herself. She was the most beautiful thing in the universe. And had been for millions of years. The Goddess ruffled her silken gold hair with a wave of her hand. Then she laughed. And the sound echoed through her halls and to the space in the front of her temple.

"I am beautiful!" she sighed into the floor as it served as her mirror.

"Yes my lady you came up with the word." Nelli was back and full of light.

The experience with the hunter had given Nelli a shred of hope in her heart. Perhaps one day someone would love her, not just for her body but her soul as well. The star could smile at that thought.

"No, I created that word, dear star."

Both the star and the Goddess whipped their heads around for that word. Before them, or rather behind them, stood the Goddess of beauty herself.

"Well, certainly you meant it for me." Coyolxauhqui smiled and fluffed her hair again.

"Actually Vanity would be a better word for you."

"It would not!"

"One of the Seven Deadly Sins."

"No!"

"The only thing that can truly kill a Goddess….or God for that matter."

"Stoppit!" Coyolxauhqui said the word so fast it sounded like one word by itself.

Xochiquetzal frowned at the Goddess and then replaced the frown with a smile. She had come to think of the Goddess of the Moon as a delinquent child. She would never grow up. The Goddess of Beauty smiled to herself as her Vain Goddess sister shouted and cried for help. The Seven Deadly Sins were the only things that could kill the Gods and Goddesses. The more sin they committed, the more they grew weak and helpless. Xochiquetzal hissed through her teeth at the Moon before her feet. She was vain as could be. And it would only be her undoing.

Inside the Temple of Mixcoatl, room of an Amini

Xochiyotl frowned as she stirred. Everything on her still body hurt. Her limbs and even lungs felt as if they were lead, she didn't want to move in the slightest. But when the small teen did move, when she stirred only a little, she could tell something. She was nude. The girl freaked and writhed a little more in her bed and she noticed another oddity. Not only was she nude, but she was sleeping in a feather down bed with silken sheets! She had never felt silk in her life before, and it interred her to know now that someone or something had carried her here. Then a horror popped into her head. Everything hurt on her…except between her legs. She moved her hands sluggishly between them and felt nothing but smooth skin. No one had ravaged her sleeping body, thank the Gods. Xochiyotl closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep again in the silk sheets of the feather bed.

The deep burgundy of the sheets ruffled some time later that week. Xochiyotl huffed a little and stretched her sore limbs under the sparse covering. She noticed vaguely that she had been moved to one side of the bed, but pushed the thought out of her mind sluggishly. Pushing the sheets off her body and standing, Xochiyotl whimpered a little and remembered she was naked just as the last ruffle of cloth hit the bed. At first, she fell from the bed and onto the cold stone floor with a loud thud. Then, as she regained her balance, the Aztec girl noticed a few more oddly colored ruffles of fur at the end of the mattress. And she remembered she was nude. She held up the obsidian fur and noticed its odd shape and amount. Clothing.

Just as Xochiyotl was finished tying the last knot over her black and blue body, an Amini opened the door with a hiss and grinding of stone.

Cit'lal-i was surprised to see her up and about. He was even more surprised to see she had found her clothing. It seemed to fit her right. He hissed and growled at the shock of seeing her bruised and beaten. She looked horrible but despite the bruises, cuts, and scratches, she was beautiful. He noticed her looking at him for moment, and then she frowned and lunged. The noise started just as her little fists hit his chest for the first time. She squealed, shouted, and wailed as she pounded his chest uselessly. Cit'lal-i did not smirk or hit her. He knew she was scared and depressed. He had taken her from the slave cages for God's sake! She had been beaten and disgraced more than once by his people and had been abandoned by her family. The Hunter thought about the girl for a moment before she began to calm down.

Xochiyotl shouted as she realized who this particular Amini was. She shouted at him at the top of her lungs and launched herself into the Amini's arms. Or it looked like she did from the way she tripped and fell into him. As he caught her, she continued to scream and banter him as loud as she could. It was almost comical for him to see her beating her tiny fists on his chest in anger. Soon her energy began to run out. The small girl felt herself begin to slip away. Before she could even think of falling asleep, she had to say one more thing.

"Aic mopopolhuilia."

(I will never forgive you.)

The creature looked down at her and nodded. His reply was quick and short.

"Quema"

(Yes)

He seemed to brush it off, and then he did something she defiantly didn't want him to do. He slung his arms under her legs and, with much protest, dropped her in the bed. He clicked at her a moment and simply told her to stay. Then, the creature turned and fled from the room with his weapons clanging at his sides.

When Cit'lal-i returned, the small girl was sound asleep. He laughed a little and smiled as he set a tray on the table in a corner of the room. The scent of the food wafted from the silver tray and made his mouth water. But he had other business to contend to right now. The Hunt was imminent for him and four others of his kind. They were to travel around the world and Hunt in another continent. He knew the human in his bed would not let him off so easily, therefore, Cit'lal-i laid some more clothes out and left her a small note in her language. The Amini paused at the door and looked backward at his room. The sun was setting, painting a beautiful picture through the heavy cotton curtains. He roamed his eyes over to his large bed. She lay in it, sprawled out much like a starfish, and was sighing every now and then. He smiled a little at her innocence and then turned and stomped out of the room.

Cit'lal-i stopped again outside the door. Something felt wrong.

"Goodbye" he whispered to the floor in front of him.

And as the Hunter walked to his ship, he felt a weight hit his chest. He would worry for her. Yes, he would worry, but he would not give up the Hunt.

On the Ned'tes'eie, Cit'lal-i's room

Cit'lal-i frowned into the ceiling of his bunk. Word had gotten around that he had 'saved' the human girl and that he wanted her as a mate. What a laugh. The simple thought of what his comrade had been doing to Xochiyotl was disturbing at the least and it made the Hunter's blood boil to think of it. The Hunter narrowed his eyes at the ensuing silence that echoed around the metal room. He was used to the silence on the ships. The ship was gliding among the atmosphere of the blue planet like greased skates on ice. There was no sound from the engines or rudders or any mechanical parts on the ship. It was designed to be silent as an owl and deadly as a serpent. The species after all was reptilian. Cit'lal-i found himself dozing and for a second he thought he saw… Xochiyotl? Why would she be on the ship? He shook his head to clear her vision from his sight. Standing, the Amini decided that some training was needed. He growled to himself as his sore limbs shifted from the bed. The floor was cool and hard under his four-toed feet. It helped to clear his mind. There was a shift in the ship's gravity for a split second. Something was wrong. Why would the ship do that? He growled again as it shifted once more and then he smiled, turning. They were close to their destination. Training, Cit'lal-i reminded himself. Training. The Hunter hissed a long note of a sigh and then turned toward the door to leave. The Ki'cit'pa, the fighting ring, was loaded with Hunters ready to shed blood. Cit'lal-I was reminded of when he had been an Unblood, a newborn pup. The scent of aggression and bloodlust was heavy in the room. As the door slid shut behind him, Cit'lal-I growled and moved to one of the rings.