Right, first thing's first. Your friend has just had another heap of stress-inducing badness laid on her; she needs to know that she isn't going to have to deal with it alone. And the quickest, easiest way to ensure that is a hug - so you pull one of your hands away from hers, and wrap that arm firmly around her shoulders.
"Ack!" Cordelia yelps as you effectively trap her against the couch she was reclining on. "Alex, what the heck?"
"It's called a 'hug,' Cordy. You know, one of those things a friend does when another friend is having a bad day?"
"Hugs don't pin people to the furniture, you dummy!" she snaps, hitting you as best she can from her awkward position. "And ew, you stink! Get off! Off!"
Frowning, you do as requested by Her Majesty, pausing to raise one arm and sniff. You glance at Altria and Briar.
"I was not going to say anything," Altria replies. "I hardly smell like a bed of roses myself."
"And it's not like it's that bad a smell," Briar adds.
"Speak for yourself," Cordy says, from where she's sat up and scooted away from you.
"It's just sweat, Cordy. You want a real foul, eye-watering, lose-your-lunch kind of stink, try sniffing a Redead, or a Moblin encampment." Briar shudders. "Bleeech."
"What's wrong with Alex's dog? I mean, sure, he smells like a dog, but..."
"Briar's talking about the forest goblins I named Moblin for," you clarify. "They're about as mutt-faced and bad-tempered - and yeah, they're not big on cleanliness." You shake your head, make a mental note to take a shower at some point, and get back to the matter at hand. "Anyway, about this curse?"
Cordelia raises a finger of warning. "If you're about to suggest that I talk to that jerk wizard-"
"Honestly, I'm not eager to have another chat with Ambrose myself," you interrupt. "Not this soon, at least. He's already mentioned something about 'checking up' on me in the future, which would probably involve him making a trip to Sunnydale - so if you want to talk to him then, after we've both had a chance to get over how much of a dick he is and maybe do some private investigation beforehand, that's something we can think about down the road. What I was going to suggest," you continue, as Cordelia nods slowly, "is that since this is a divine curse, you might want to give serious thought to taking up religion."
Miss Chase frowns. "You're telling me I need to start going to church to get rid of this thing?"
"That's one option, although you'd need to do a lot more than just go through the motions. As it happens, though, that particular religion wasn't the one I was thinking of"
The two human girls blink at you.
"Alex," Briar says slowly, "are you suggesting that Cordelia ought to try praying to one of the Goddesses?"
"Din did come to mind," you admit. "Unless you think it's a bad idea?"
"I think it's an idea that would take a lot of work to carry out safely," the fairy replies. "As in, 'establishing a whole new religion with actual priests and followers and temples.' I mean, sure, Din could break the curse, but unless she wanted to start a war with the local gods, she'd have to do it in a way that abides by their rules - and from what I can tell, one of those rules is that most divine intervention is supposed to be done through mortal agents. Din hasn't got any of those here. And you don't count, Alex," she adds, cutting you off before you can speak. "Not yet, anyway. You'd need to go the priest route or get the whole 'chosen one' thing going to be able to qualify. Or Cordy would."
The way the fairy raises her right hand at that point, back turned towards you, makes it pretty clear what the qualification for being the Chosen of Din is. And may you say that the idea of Cordelia Chase armed with the Triforce of Power is just a wee bit alarming?
"I've never been the religious type," Cordelia says. "Though I suppose that's part of the problem, isn't it?"
"Gods curse the followers of other gods all the time, Cordy," Briar replies. "But you're right; it's harder for them to do, and easier for the soul under the curse to find help. On that front - do you know if you were baptised?"
"I'm not sure."
"You'll want to find out before you make any permanent choices about which faith you want to follow," Briar tells her seriously. "Gods generally don't mind stealing new worshippers away from their rivals, but they absolutely HATE losing their own. You don't need to deal with being an apostate on top of being cursed."
Cordelia nods, looking a bit lost.
"If I may interrupt," Altria says then, "who is this 'Din' you are referring to? I have some knowledge of mythology, and it is not a name I can recall ever hearing before."
You and Briar trade looks.