"Speaking"
Individual thoughts/Mindscape talk with the twins
*Ability/Spell*
...
Dia woke up before anyone today, and that was because she had to deal with the influx of people entering Orario. The empty complex she had, not her home but the buildings surrounding it had occupants now. So, she was finalizing paperwork early in the morning when a knock on the door brought the emerald-eyed Goddess out of her cycle.
Her mind was still rolling with information. Denatus was today and she had to be ready in about an hour. The Loki Familia came back from their expedition, all members were somewhat injured, but nothing too life-threatening. When Dia opened the door, she did not expect Riveria Ljos Alf outside. "Good morning, Lady Dia."
"Good morning, Miss Alf, what might I ask, brings you to my doorstep?" Dia certainly didn't expect this to be the start of her morning.
Riveria was not holding her staff but was still dressed in her standard attire. She was wearing a green outfit with yellow borders, a white cloak over it, a black belt, a yellow sash, black leggings, and long brown boots. The outfit itself covered most of her, it being long-sleeve. Instead, she held out a scroll. "Please hand this to the Vlahos twins when you can. I wish to speak to them."
"Do you mind if I ask one question about this?" Dia asked, accepting the scroll, holding it in both hands. No, she is not able to read it, she respects her children's privacy. Riveria nodded, "What is it about?"
"My mentor, their grandmother, Sofia Vlahos," Riveria responded. The jade-eyed High Elf had questions of her own to ask them, and she suspected they had some too. It was not hard to notice how their expression and emotions changed when she mentioned her.
"I was unaware that you knew their grandmother," Dia commented, slightly shocked that the Nine Hell's mentor was her children's grandmother. Just the logic in that, and the sheer luck, were insane. No God's divine intuition could have predicted this.
"Believe me, Lady Dia, I was surprised when I felt Miss Vlahos' magic from her spell, and that was how I knew," Riveria explained before turning around. "I wish you luck at Denatus. I do hope your children receive a name not as embarrassing as some of the suggestions Lady Loki or the other Gods have put forth in the past."
Dia did not respond, because she realized that her chances of getting them a name they want was slim to none. As with any Denatus, it was for discussing matters of Orario and how to combat them, but it was mainly for entertainment value in the end. Nothing else really mattered to them.
With the scroll in hand and her paperwork forgotten, she closed the door and headed back upstairs where she was greeted by the sight of Isaac leaving his room, "Good morning, Lady Dia."
Dia quickly hid the scroll behind her. It wasn't that she didn't want to give him the scroll, but she knows all about elves and how they treat half-elves or lower. If a High Elf found out they were not pure elves, the oncoming insult barrage would surely breed resentment. "G-Good morning, Isaac. Is Irene feeling better?"
Isaac didn't notice the stutter, still a little groggy himself, "She'll be fine. We plan on taking it easy today, no Dungeon. Maybe we will finally get an actual map of Orario, just so we don't get lost." That has yet to happen, but it almost did in Daedalus street. Seriously, the second dungeon was no joke.
"Okay, be safe," Dia said, trying to get past him.
"What's behind your back?" Isaac said, side-eyeing her, much more alert. When she didn't respond, he said, "I've known you for most of my life, Dia. I know when you are hiding something that concerns us."
His tone was soft, knowing, and calm. So, she believed that he wasn't mad at her, "Once Irene gets up and is fully awake, I'd like to speak to you both."
"What about?" Isaac said, walking with Dia back to her office.
"Riveria came by, handing me this," she held up the scroll. "I assume she would like to speak to the both of you about-"
"Our grandmother, which is actually convenient, because we wanted to speak to her. We want some answers, and I'm willing to bet she does too," Isaac concluded. "Now, onto a lighter note, what do you want for breakfast?" He still had his own hesitations about the whole thing though.
Breakfast was very easy, and once Irene actually got up, they could have this conversation. The dishes were put aside in lieu of the topic at hand. "Wait, so you never spent time with her?"
Irene sighed, "We tried to, but she didn't want to see us, which as grandchildren to a High Elf, we thought she resented us as quarter-elves, but it's not our fault we were born."
Dia noticed that Isaac gritting his teeth, "The number of insults we took as children were too many to count, even in our own forest, pretty sure that's where I had the desire to defend myself, and of course, Irene followed me." Through his sentence, Dia detected a hint of fondness in there. His soft spot was Irene, and Dia found that adorable.
"Who would've had your back otherwise?" The younger twin quipped with a smirk, her hair out of her normal braid, cascading over her shoulders.
"I would've learned," Isaac retorted.
"Anyway, before we get too off-topic, do you want to read this now or when I leave for Denatus?" Dia gave them the option in case they still wanted to be private about their lives in the Far West.
The twins discussed this mentally. Irene first, I'm afraid to look at it. What could she have possibly written in there? There could be insults, slander, and lies in there.
Isaac made no facial expressions that disputed her claim, but he still was curious, What if it contains information about Grandma? We still are missing many pieces of the puzzle, and this could be that piece that allows us to put the rest of it together.
Dia, noticing their mental conversation, stood and silently went to her room to change for Denatus. The dress she picked out was fairly simple, it was an emerald green gown with black floral accents. The skirt cut off at about her knees, and the straps were thin. Paired with two-inch heels, she looked pretty happy about her choice.
She wasn't a Goddess of Beauty, but she felt pretty in this, while she prefers comfort over fashion, this was a rare exception. When she descended the stairs again, she still found them silently debated. Their facial expressions constantly changed. Approval, distaste, grimacing, brief bouts of anger from Irene no less, to eventual acceptance.
"We'll read it when you leave. Oh, and don't worry about getting a perfect name. From what we can guess, the naming has always been a joke," Irene said before turning to look at Dia. "Oh my, Dia! You look so adorable!"
Isaac turned his head with a grin, "She's not wrong. You look pretty!"
Dia pouted as she felt her face heat up, her hands on her rosy cheeks, "Stop it, you two."
Irene was next to her Goddess in a second, "Do you want me to style your hair?" One of Irene's hands gently moved Dia's bangs out of her face, seeing both of her eyes.
"A braid of some sort?" Dia questioned. The next thing Dia knew, she was sitting on the couch with Irene's hands fixing her hair.
In only about five minutes, did Isaac hold a hand mirror up to his Goddess. Dia gasped, it looked amazing. The braid ended up being an off-center one, focused on her left side before it draped over her shoulder. Dia turned to Irene, who had an expectant look in her eyes, "S-So? Do you like it?" The younger twin was fiddling with her fingers.
Dia pulled her head and left a kiss on the younger girl's forehead, "I love it, thank you."
With that, Dia stood and headed for the door, "If you read that, please try not to overreact. If what I think is in there, then do not go off the rail."
"Do you want us to escort you to Babel?" Isaac asked, almost forgetting to be a gentleman.
"No, that's not necessary. No one messes with a God on Denatus. This day is actually when people are fearful of us," Dia shrugged. "Take it easy today, please?"
"Understood, Lady Dia," the twins said in sync. The door finally closed and the twins were now left in an awkward silence as they stared at the scroll.
"Am I opening it? Or are you?" Isaac asked, his eyes now transfixed on the scroll.
"How about together?" Irene suggested, sitting next to her brother.
Both twins reached out for one end of the scroll before slowly undoing the seal on it. A detailed message in beautiful cursive greeted them. Writing they have seen only one other time before.
...
To my grandchildren,
You both are probably wondering why you are receiving this now, and not years ago. You also think I resented you, but that was further from the truth. When your mother told me she fell in love with a human, I told her to pursue what made her happy. Outside of your father and mother, I was the first one to hold you. You both cried anytime you were separated and it does my old heart good knowing that you are reading this.
As such, Riveria may have mentioned this, if you had met her already, but if you have not, Riveria Ljos Alf was my apprentice decades before you were born. She did get to meet you when you were children, but you may not remember it. She knew you were not pure elves, but she still found a kinship with you, and considering what she was like years ago, that was a relief.
Isaac, I hope you are looking out for little Ira. Irene, make sure your older brother has his head on straight. I would love to explain more, but this scroll only has so much space.
With love from your Grandmother,
Sofia Vlahos
…
Below that message, there was another set of writing. One that was not their grandmother's. The name at the bottom surely identified who wrote it.
...
I know you two want to know more, and you'll be pleased to know that this is not the only message I have. If you are interested, I personally invite you to Twilight Manor. Lady Loki is at Denatus and presumably Lady Dia as well. Show this to the guards and they will let you in. I await your response.
-Riveria Ljos Alf
...
The letter was signed with her seal of approval below her signature, so that was official. Both twins didn't realize they were crying until they felt it drip off their cheeks and onto their hands. It was such a relief that she didn't hate them. It eased a large burden on their hearts. "So, what now?"
Isaac put the scroll down and wiped his eyes, "Well, we wanted to know more about her, and what better way to find out than from a second-hand source?"
Irene nodded deep in thought, "Are we going immediately?"
"Not if you don't want to," Isaac said. Personally, he wanted to go immediately, but seeing Irene's hesitation, he'll wait. "We can go before Denatus is over, because Lady Loki might tell us our nicknames before we're officially supposed to know." He added, "I just feel like I will be the one to get heated when asked, so please reign me in."
"Sure thing. So… what should we do now?" Irene asked, seeing as there was nothing else to do.
"Well, we do have options."
Dia arrived at Babel within five minutes. She, of course, got a few double-takes. Some even mistook her for a Goddess of Beauty, which Dia was unsure how but she brushed it off. As she entered Babel, she traveled up to the thirtieth floor where they were above the clouds.
Right before she was about to enter the room, "Dia, is that you?"
Dia turned around to see Hestia and Takemikazuchi conversing. "Hestia! Take! Oh, it's so good to see a familiar face here!"
"Woah, you look beautiful, who did your hair?" Hestia asked.
"Irene. Turns out she's a really good stylist. This took her five minutes," Dia said, messing with her braid. "So Hestia, it looks like my children were right, he leveled up?"
"Indeed, but I'm worried about what name he'll get."
"Hestia, the three of us know that getting the name we desire for our children is difficult to obtain," Takemikazuchi said.
"So, which child of yours leveled up?" Dia asked.
Takemikazuchi gave a small fond smile, "Her name is Mikoto, and she's been with me since our times in the Far East. Ouka and Chigusa are excited for her."
Dia smiled, "Well, let's get this over with. The faster we do this, the faster I can comfort my children."
"Still being the older sister?" Takemikazuchi asked with a slight chuckle.
Dia rolled her eyes as she entered the room, "I never stopped."
This was the first time Dia has seen the Denatus room, but the room had a great view of Orario from above. The center table seemed to be just for show, or it had other uses that have yet to be revealed. The outer edges of the room had pillars lining the walls. The clouds covered the windows, so it made it feel like they were back in Tenkai.
"Is that you, Dia?" A voice who was revealed to be Loki, genuinely smiling at her. Dia was good friends with Loki back in Tenkai, usually because Dia had to clean up Loki's pranks. While their relationship is weird, they definitely have some sort of mutual respect.
Dia turned her green eyes to Loki, who was wearing a suit. Not surprising. "Indeed, Trickster. This is my first Denatus."
"Then you're in for a surprise, most Gods come for the entertainment, unless they do have a reason." Loki's expression turned to a smirk as she laid eyes on Hestia, "Hey Itty-Bitty, should you even be here?"
Dia intervened, just from that remark, that things could get ugly if they got out of hand, "Can we please not start? I'd like for this to go as smoothly as possible."
Loki grinned, her vermillion eyes opened, "No promises." She immediately went to go sit across the room and leaned back in her chair.
Someone appeared next to Hestia, "It's nice to see you have started to clean up your act."
Hestia's ponytails jumped for joy, "Hephaistos!"
"Greetings, Hephaistos," Dia said politely.
The Divine Smith smiled, "Dia, I see you've made it to Orario in one piece. Well, is it to your expectations? Hestia, be on your best behavior."
"Still working out what my expectations are, Hephaistos," Dia replied. "I feel overdressed." They ignored Hestia's cry of 'I'm always on my best behavior!' to continue their conversation.
The crimson-haired Goddess shook her head, "I wouldn't say that, in some cases, they would feel underdressed. So, I heard you have two children who are going to receive nicknames?"
"That's the plan, but I'm worried about what some of the suggestions will be," Dia said nervously, fiddling with her braid.
The door opened again and the last person that anyone expected to come to Denatus was Lady Freya. She doesn't make many public appearances, so this sent a shock to every God in the room. Being a Goddess of Beauty, she made all the men blush and the women clear their throats and look away. The only ones unaffected were Dia, Hestia, and Loki.
Loki was nonchalant like she normally is. Hestia was glaring at the Goddess, murmuring something about 'keeping her grubby mitts off my Bell', and Dia just kept an eye on her. The fact that her captain told her children to get stronger made her be wary of Freya. Who knows what scheme she's got cooking up?
One of the other Gods cleared their throat, "Let the One-Thousandth Denatus commence!"
Dia mostly tuned out as she realized that they were just sharing stories. While some of them certainly drew an explicit picture, Dia wanted to get the worst of it out of the way.
This is how it went for the next two hours, at least until Loki stood and said, "Okay, now what we've all been looking forward to, the naming ceremony!"
Dia almost jumped out of her chair at the level of excitement that the Gods displayed. Freya opened an eye as she gazed upon all the Gods. She too, was looking forward to this.
There were forty to fifty adventurers that leveled up to two or higher. At every level, they have an option to get a new name, but usually, they stick with one, unless it's really bad. So that's what the next hour was filled with, naming adventurers with names that mean something completely different. The children are none the wiser.
Loki read off the first name, "Ceti Selty of the Seto Familia, let the ideas commence!" From there, it was chaos. The Deities that are first-timers receive poor treatment, and their voice is only one of many. So, Dia was dreading the worst. They finally ended Seto's pain with the name 'Burning Fighting Fighter' and some Gods laughed while others lamented their turn.
As for how the Gods know which adventurer is from which familia, the Guild provides them with the paperwork of the adventurers in question. "Oh, a Far East girl, Yamato Mikoto. She's a pretty thing," a God commented while they licked their lips. Takemikazuchi grit his teeth and clenched his fists. He was understandably angry.
Of course, Dia was shocked at seeing this kind of perverted behavior from a Deity who should be a little less unclothe. Hephaistos grimaced in sympathy.
They hit Takemikazuchi's child with the name of 'Eternal Shadow', which didn't sound too bad, but from the way Takemikazuchi winced, it meant something else. Then, they went to Hestia. To which Loki immediately called her out, "There's no way he hit level two in a month, Itty-Bitty. That kid's either cheating, or you lied about it."
Hestia and Dia froze in her seat, but a soft, velvety voice broke the tension, "Loki, you know we aren't allowed to pry into each other's business, Hestia has not violated our laws. If she did, then she would have been sent back to Tenkai. It's taboo to reveal the inner workings of a Familia. If the Cranel boy did indeed level up, then he did and we should leave it at that."
No one refuted the Goddess of Beauty, as they were too lovestruck to argue. Loki narrowed her eyes at Freya but dropped the subject. However, she wasn't done, "I've heard from some of my children that this boy defeated a Minotaur at his level, but it must have meant something to him. The excelia he gained pushed him over the barrier." Everyone looked at the Guild's paperwork and found that Freya was speaking the truth.
"How about Pynonkichi?"
"Some smith already used that for armor, which is actually what the boy was reported to be wearing," a cynical laugh from the God, "Ironic."
Loki ended up right by Hestia and Dia's side, "Watch your back, Shorty."
"What?"
"If it wasn't obvious, she just covered for you, so watch out for her," Loki said, a serious tone not often heard from Loki, at least, not to Hestia. Dia was just as surprised. However, she didn't get to have time to think as the Gods and Goddesses all shouted.
""""""""""""""IT'S DECIDED!""""""""""""""
Hestia gulped, then sulked at her Bell's name.
Loki was still not done though. "Now this is quite nice. Dia, you didn't tell me you had twins in your familia?!"
"It wasn't obvious?" Dia replied, nonplussed. That was a cover, she was downright terrified at what names they could be bestowed. It was a very stressful game of try not to reach across the room and slap the one who suggested it.
"Wait, is that actually their last name?" Loki's eyes read the paper over and over again, having actually opened them to peer at the paper. "Oh…"
New questions started flying around, "Descendents of that adventurer?" "She had children? After what happened to the Zeus and Hera Familias, we thought she died."
"That cannot be true, fifteen years ago she was reported missing."
Dia's mind was picking up this information, and Loki looked directly at Dia. "Well, with a revelation like this, we better name them something that isn't a mockery." All the Gods now leered at Dia to which she allowed a twitch of her lips to be seen.
Takemkizuchi looked at their information, noticing they were from the Far West, joined Dia's Familia when they were eight. Loki was right, that last name was once important, and judging from it, it still carried weight.
"Okay, let the ideas begin," Loki opened the floor to anyone. What shocked most was the fact that no one spoke up. Even Freya didn't speak. She was hiding a gleeful smile behind her hand, making her want those two even more.
"Loki, I request that you and I speak further after Denatus concludes," Dia suggested. The vermillion-haired Goddess nodded. "Privately," she added with a concealed glance at Freya.
They spent the next half-hour coming up with names, and for once, the Gods put their heads to the grindstone and came up with names that would make their children jealous. This shocked Dia as she expected to be treated harshly, and it made her wonder, what made her children so special to warrant this kind of attention to detail?
Isaac and Irene ended up leaving the house a half-hour later, the scroll in hand. "Are you sure you're ready?" Isaac asked Irene. She still seemed hesitant, just as she was before, but it was much more pronounced than before.
"Will you stop asking me that?" Irene snapped. Isaac raised an eyebrow at her. She put her head in her hands, "Sorry, I'm just nervous."
Isaac said nothing, save for putting his arm over her shoulder, guiding her down the roads to Twilight Manor. Denatus was just starting, and many adventurers—the ones who leveled up—were praying for a good name. However, the twins know differently. So, they chose to ignore them as they headed down North street. The walk was nothing special, but their nerves were slowly rising.
They reached a fever pitch when they arrived in front of the very intimidating gate and guards. "What business do you have here?"
"We came to see Riveria Ljos Alf, we have questions for her and she has questions for us," Isaac said.
"Right, like every other person who comes through here looking for Nine Hell," the guard said, clearly not believing him.
Isaac showed the scroll with only Riveria's handwriting showing. "Then tell me, mister smartass, does it look like I can fake her handwriting?" When the guards gazed at the scroll, they paled. "Yeah, now you believe me. Allow us entrance."
"W-Would you like us to have someone escort you?" they said. They were shaking, and Isaac realized why. His intent was abnormally high, making them shake in their boots, or so he thought. Irene was glaring at them with such ferocity, that he was lucky he was holding onto her.
"Sure." He gripped Irene's shoulder hard, "We should move now, shouldn't we?"
Irene dropped her intent, and the guards breathed a sigh of relief. The gates opened and the two twins headed inside, the doors opened and there were two people that they didn't expect to greet them.
"Hey!" Tiona's voice cheered. "Whatcha guys doing here?"
"Remember Riveria was getting a lot of things ready and she's been stressed over the past two days?" Tione asked arms crossed under her breasts. "She was Mama Riveria like all the time. You noticed that she wasn't as worried about everyone else?"
"Yeah…"
"She was preparing for these two to visit, said she had something about their family," Tione explained before looking at the twins, "Am I right?"
The Amazon twins were then shocked at the amount of intent rolling off them, "Just take us to Riveria," Irene said. This time, Isaac did nothing to stop her. "We finally get some information on her, but please do not spread it around."
"Got it," the Amazon twins agreed. They led them through the entrance of the Twilight Manor, but neither elf took the time to look at the decor. They followed the Amazons up the stairs to what looked like living quarters. Tione said, "I think this is the most frazzled we have ever seen her since Ais joining the familia."
This brought a raised eyebrow from the twins, their intent dropped considerably, and they looked at each other before shrugging. "So, she's been worried about this?"
"It's not every day her mentor's grandchildren just appear in her life again," Tione said factually.
"Fair point," Isaac had to agree.
They ended up right outside a door that had an elven decoration on it. "Riveria?"
"What is it, Tiona? I'm busy," they heard a voice, frazzled just as Tione described it.
"They're here," Tione said flatly.
The elven twins heard the first elven curse in a long while. "Wow, she's really pulling out all of the stops."
Tiona turned to the twins, arms clasped in front of her, "You think you can handle this from here?"
"Sure," Irene said. Once the Hiryute twins left, Irene knocked on the door. "Is it safe to come in, Miss Alf?"
The door opened and inside the room was a container full of scrolls. The High Elf in question entered their line of sight. There was a silence that passed between them before Riveria broke character and brought the two of them close.
In a hug.
Riveria Ljos Alf, Nine Hell of Loki Familia, a High Elf—the species of Elves that had the worst aversions to touch ever, and only if they felt like someone was worthy did they get to touch them—was hugging the Vlahos twins in a vice grip. The two of them were stunned into silence, or that was the level difference speaking, "Oh, it is relieving that someone of her family survived."
Isaac was the first to ask, "Is this a test?"
Riveria broke the hug shaking her head, "Come inside, we have a lot to discuss before Loki gets back, because if I'm right, then she is going to be… enlightened."
"Enlightened?" Isaac asked as he stepped inside, Irene clutching onto his sleeve, so much so, her knuckles were white as quartz.
"Loki will realize that she walks amongst the descendants of legend, but unfortunately, so will all the other Gods," Riveria said, shutting the door, gauging their reactions.
"If anyone tries to poach us from Lady Dia, they will not see the light of day," Isaac said, one hundred and fifty percent serious. No one will take Irene, nor him, away from Dia. Not from the one person who saved their lives.
"So, what are these?" Irene asked, only eyeing the container full of scrolls. Her knuckles were still white. The High Elf noticed but didn't comment.
Instead, Riveria stood on the other side of the bin, pulling out a scroll, dated years back, possibly before Isaac and Irene were born, "These are messages and farewells from your grandmother, Sofia Vlahos. She wrote these in her spare time, and she had told me it pained her to write them, but not for the reason you may think."
Isaac was skeptical, "What reason? She didn't care enough about us to even see us? We thought for years, hell, our entire lives that she hated the mere thought of us?! The number of insults and shit we've been through pales in comparison. How do I know that you aren't just going to insult us because we're quarter-elves?" His rant was filled with the anger that has brewed for many years, and it was approaching a climax. "You don't know how many times I've seen Irene cry and I hated that sight, I despised it, and I want to make sure it never happens again! So, Miss High Elf, you better have a gods-damned explanation for this!" Isaac, that's enough.
His eyes snapped to Irene, who was smiling with tears in her eyes. I know you want to be strong for me, but remember I've seen you at your weakest. You don't have to put up a front for me.
But-
Isaac, it's okay.
The elder twin turned back to Riveria, stood up, and bowed at the waist, "I apologize for my outburst Lady Riveria. That was uncalled for."
"Do you feel better?" she asked, her lips curling up ever so slightly. Isaac nodded and sat down, Irene now curling into him.
"Yeah, I just want nothing to happen to the family I have," Isaac mumbled.
"Believe me, I would rather not have a family be torn apart, but I must ask you one thing before we begin discussing the real reason why I wanted to see you both," Riveria fidgeted with her fingers for a moment before coming out with it, "I need your word in the Elven Language, and I know you know it. If your parents had taught you anything about elves, it was this."
"The Elven language… you mean…"
"Yes, those words."
Dia ended up walking out of Denatus with a bewildered look. Now, some of the gods looked at her in reverence, others with much less hospitable ideas, but they did not mess with her. Dia noticed Freya smiling coyly about the entire thing, and that made things clear, she was after her children. She wasn't going to let her steal them. Once everyone left, even Hestia, Takemikazuchi, and Hephaistos, did Loki walk beside her. "You know what this means, right?"
"That I have to watch my children like a hawk?" Dia questioned.
"No, you have to watch other Gods and Goddesses like a hawk, because they know what their name implies," Loki said, stretching her arms behind her head as they exited Babel. They kept their voices low to keep it casual.
"However, they don't know what they've gone through. I plan on keeping it that way. If anything, your High Elf, Riveria, requested to speak with them. If my guess is correct, they are at Twilight Manor right now," Dia said. Loki didn't outwardly react to that, but she did wonder what she knew about them. "I hope you have no plans on poaching my children from me, Trickster because this will be a mess I am not cleaning," the petite Goddess's voice carried a promise that spelled a much more sinister intent. Her familia was weaker, yes, but Dia knew a few secrets that Loki did not want coming to the public eye. Not that Loki knew that.
"Nope, the only ones you really have to worry about are Apollo and Freya. You found them first, you claimed them first, and that's all I need to stay away. If they were to convert, it would have to be agreed upon by all three parties," Loki said seriously.
"Well, it's a good thing we never plan on converting ever," a deep baritone voice called out. Both Goddesses turned to see Isaac and Irene, the former carrying a container full of scrolls.
"Isaac, Irene!" Dia chirped, happy to see her children like she always is. She gained a little skip in her step as she approached her children. Loki looked dumbfounded as the personality whiplash stunned her into a momentarily shocked silence.
"Lady Dia, Lady Loki," the twins said in sync. Loki was looking at them in a new light. Now that they discussed what their names mean and what their aliases are, Loki knows that these two will progress far… but not farther than her own familia because come on, no one can surpass her Aise-pooh. Despite there being a few exceptions, her point still stood in her mind.
"What are those?" Loki asked, pointing to the container.
Irene smiled, but it was a pain-filled smile, "You could call them memoirs, but they are what is left of our Grandmother. Lady Riveria gave them to us as they were always meant for us to have." Loki will definitely have to talk to her familia's vice-captain. "We are bound by the Elven language, so we are not allowed to discuss what transpired. So, Lady Dia, if you ask us, we will have to lie to you."
Isaac thought she was going to be upset about it, but she instead nodded in understanding, "Then I will not ask, but please, if it does get to be too much, then come bother me. I'd be hurt if I didn't have the opportunity to ease your pain."
"We very much appreciate that, Lady Dia," Isaac nodded. He turned to Loki, "Lady Loki, Lady Riveria wished for me to pass on a note that she wants to speak with you, privately. While she cannot tell you everything, she can tell you the basics. So please, do not be upset if you ask her a question and she avoids it."
"Hmph, alright. Since we're here, your aliases have been named, but the Guild will post them sometime tomorrow at Pantheon. The crowd will be dense, so good luck. Dia, we will have to continue this another time," Loki said. "I'll be knocking at your door as soon as I'm available. Loki maneuvered herself to the twins, "You've got good heads on your shoulders, both of you. Dia is fortunate to have you both, don't let anyone tell you differently."
They didn't respond to Loki's serious words of what could be considered gratitude or respect, but they went with it before bidding Lady Loki farewell. The twins turned back to Dia, "So, how was Denatus?"
"Hazing for most, but when my turn came around, it was interesting," Dia said cryptically.
"How so?" Isaac asked.
"You'll find out tomorrow, as Loki had said, but I think you'll like the symbolic nature of your aliases," Dia said. The twins didn't push it and waited until tomorrow. However, it didn't go unnoticed the multiple sets of eyes now on the two of them. Thankfully, their attention was split because a certain rabbit was going to have most of the attention and new trouble will arise.
...
So we have some mystery with Riveria and the twins. I wonder what was discussed? Purposefully left it that way.
So, there be some things that happened. I wonder what their aliases are going to be... I will warn those who are through in mythology, I know you may not like it, but it works for my purposes. Remember, this is a story, not meant to be taken literally.
Hope you enjoyed.