Interwoven
IV.
"Hey Raph, I didn't think you would be back so soon!"
The Soul Collector was slumped in his throne, trying to reconcile what had just happened on earth when his friend, and newly appointed god of matter and world creation, meandered causally into the hall. Zephyr's silver eyes for once weren't full of their usual mischievous twinkle and instead held genuine concern for the god before him.
Raphael examined the green-haired, fey individual. Although Zephyr could now take any shape he wished, most often he stayed in his original form. He had a slender, pale-skinned body, similar to the Fair Folk described in old Irish tales. He even dressed the part with gauzy clothes that looked like they were composed of butterfly wings and cobwebs.
After a moment of silence, The Soul Collector sighed, "Things went well enough with Casey and Splinter. My brothers on the other hand…" His glowing emerald eyes narrowed at the memory, "Are a whole other story."
"What about the redhead? What was her name again?" Zephyr tapped his forehead for a few seconds before snapping his fingers in recollection, "April, right?"
"April." Raphael nodded in affirmation, "I haven't even gotten to her yet. She still doesn't have her memories back."
"Fair enough." The fey individual looked up at the large glowing being before him. Zephyr was not perturbed by Raphael's appearance in the slightest. He had had plenty of time to grow accustomed to The Soul Collector's true form. Afterall, almost a year had passed in the Soul Nexus since the day the god regained his full strength. "Dare I ask what happened with your brothers?"
"Things were going well until I accidentally revealed my true form to them. Understandably that freaked them out a little but then when they tried to remember how my whole being The Soul Collector started, they realized they had a gap in their memories. When they questioned me about it – falsely assuming I had withheld some of their remaining memories – I let slip that along with those memories I was responsible for them losing their chance at immortality, which didn't go over so well."
Seeing Raphael pinch the space between his eyes in frustration Zephyr tried to comfort his friend, "But that wasn't really your fault, Raph. Did you tell them you basically had no other choice?"
"I did…" The Soul Collector exhaled forlornly, "But they didn't really believe me."
"Well, that's rude." The fey individual folded his arms, "I mean what reason is there for you to lie about something like that?"
"Shell if I know." Raphael continued to sound dejected, "I could have gone digging in their thoughts, but I didn't want to make things worse. They already don't really trust me. Feeling me picking at their brains would only add fuel to the fire."
"Ah, good point. So, what do you plan to do now?"
"I don't know." The Soul Collector looked up at the ceiling almost as though hoping the answer would be written on the stone far above, "That's why I came back here. I needed time to think."
"Well," Zephyr unfolded his arms to tap his chin in thought, "Way I see it, you have three options. One: you can continue to mope here for the next year or so, two: you could go back to your brothers and try and win them over again but giving them a bit of time to think through things themselves might do them some good, or three: you could go see this April girl and finish what you set out to do. So, what will it be?"
"I don't mope!" Raphael snapped in response.
"Uh huh, sure you don't." Silver eyes had regained their impish glimmer, "You still haven't answered my question."
Regarding his friend for a few seconds, The Soul Collector sighed as he rose to his feet, "May as well try my luck with April. Then I can always go back to my brothers after."
"That's the spirit!" Zephyr clapped his hands together, "Do you want help remaking the weaving to obscure your lightbulb form?"
Rolling his eyes at Zephyr's reference to his current shape, Raphael returned, "Sure, why not?"
Between the two of them, the gods had The Soul Collector back looking like a normal mutant turtle within minutes. Afterall, they had spent close to a year working on perfecting the weaving. Concealing the god's true form was no easy task, but they had still made remarkable progress. As long as Raphael kept his feelings in check that is. As soon as the god became too emotional, whether from anger, joy, or sorrow the weaving would start to break down. It would likely take them several more months before they could make a weaving more resistant to such pressures.
Quickly taking a moment to admire his newly regained turtle form, Raphael finally nodded in approval, "Not bad. Should hold up at least as well as the last one."
"It's better than anything you could make on your own." Zephyr teased.
"Haha, very funny." The Soul Collector rolled his eyes before calling, "Castorea conpono come to me."
Emerging from a nearby wall, appeared one of Raphael's many soul familiars. These beings were strongly connected to The Soul Collector and were as loyal as they were reliable. Originally, much of the Soul Nexus stewardly duties had been allocated to Velox Umbra; however, with the rabbit familiar's promotion to the new god of time, a replacement had been chosen. Castorea conpono was both organized and industrious. Her shape resembled that of a beaver, and she had a luminous soft aura of a yellow-orange colour. Raphael could not deny he much preferred the colourful auras his familiars could now display far more than their smoky ones that had been a result of the original High Council's silencing spell. As soon as the beaver was in front of Raphael, she respectfully bowed before sitting up on her haunches, pulling out a notebook. "You summoned me, my Lord?"
Although Raphael had never been a fan of being called "Lord," "Master," or any such formal terms, it was something he long ago had stopped fighting with many of his familiars. He refused to let any of his friends call him by anything but his name, but almost all his familiars were uncomfortable acting so causally towards The Soul Collector. As a result, Raphael did not bother to correct the servant as he responded, "I am hoping to bring some of my mortal friends and family here within the coming days. I need you to get the living quarters ready for at least six individuals ready before tonight. I also want to ensure the kitchens are fully stocked. We may not need it, but they will have to eat at some point. I also want this place spotless before they arrive."
"Really Raph? Zephyr leaned causally against a nearby pillar, "This place is already as sterile as they come."
"Well then," Raphael addressed Castorea again, "Try and make this place as welcoming as you can then."
"Wow, you are nervous." The fey individual commented again from where he stood, "You've never tried to make this place 'welcoming' before."
Ignoring him, The Soul Collector waited for Castorea to respond, "Yes, my Lord. We shall get to work right away!"
She bowed again before scurrying out of the hall, set on ensuring her Master's orders were followed. Turning back to Zephyr, Raphael sniped, "Must you make constant commentary on every order that I give?"
A fiendish grin lit up silver eyes, "Of course I do! How else would I spend my time?"
"You could try doing your job for once." The Soul Collector responded flatly.
"Do you want me to give you a full report of the latest planet I made now to hear about it again at the next council meeting?"
Zephyr had him there. The fey god knew that Raphael hated talking shop outside of those meetings and trusted the others to do their part without his constant supervision. Of course, if one of them came asking for help at any time, The Soul Collector would willingly offer it. However, he had enough to deal with constantly managing all the souls in the universe that the last thing he needed was to start doing all the work his High Council members did as well. He had to delegate; otherwise, he would go insane from the workload.
"You're lucky that I trust you so much." Raphael retorted.
"More like I'm lucky you're lazy." Zephyr instantly countered back.
Raising an eye ridge at his fey friend's brashness Raphael returned, "Careful Zephyr. You are wandering onto thin ice."
"Meh," Zephyr shrugged nonchalantly, "I can swim. Plus, even though it's not my main job anymore I can still control the weather. I'll whip up a blizzard so fast that the ice will thicken in no time."
"It was a figure of speech! I didn't mean literal thin ice!"
"Oh, I know, but I choose to interpret it as literal."
"You're impossible!"
Silver eyes continued to shine mischievously, "Just got to keep you on your toes, chief."
"Whatever, I'm heading out." Raphael began plucking at his heart's harp.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to be extra thorough on my reports at the upcoming meeting."
The Soul Collector rolled his eyes as he began to disappear, "Bye Zephyr."
"And I'll be sure to include all the minutia that you love so much!" The fey god continued to tease.
"Goodbye Zephyr." Raphael emphasized each word as he vanished. He made a mental note to prank his friend the next chance he got.