He who aligned the stars

X

"Mmmmmmmm!~" This was as far from his expectations as he could possibly have managed, not least of all because the God - Goddess, he mentally corrected himself - directly to the right of him was currently gushing with an almost euphoric expression as she took another bite of the food they had gotten from a small fast food restaurant that still happened to be open at the time.

Pulling the spoon out of her mouth, she chewed the food for a few moments before swallowing and opening her eyes once again, rocking back and forth on her backside as though she was younger than she appeared. Not that he had a problem with it, there was a certain charm in the way she acted. Somewhat like Persephone but not quite, she seemed to be much more carefree than the other Goddess he knew, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. No matter how much she might act, this was still a Goddess and far above him in terms of power.

That being said, he could offer his own thanks for the food that she had been kind enough to pay for. Turning his eyes back to his own dish and pulling the spoon back, he never would have imagined that fried sweetcorn would taste quite so good as this but he imagined it also related to the spices as well. He was rather ashamed to admit that his knowledge of Mexican cuisine extended to things like tacos' and fajitas. He'd never heard of 'esquites' right up until Quetzalcoatl dragged him into the shop and ordered some for the both of them.

Which then brought them to the current location which was certainly rather out of the way, pulling him from one side of the city to the other and to the 'Park Espana' he believed the sign said on their entrance.

Giving his own pleased hum as he chewed his food, he could not help but notice that the atmosphere was far more casual than he would have expected. Again, he could not help but draw comparisons with Hades, they liked to get right to the point first and foremost and then, once the important matters were set aside, he would allow for more lighthearted conversation between the two of them. But even then, it certainly wasn't on the scale of taking him somewhere else to enjoy a quick bite to eat from the locals.

"Ah, you like it?" He turned his eye to Quetzalcoatl, the blonde giving him a rather enthusiastic look as her eyes danced between the styrofoam cup in his hands and himself, she had clearly been paying attention quite a bit if she noticed his subdued reaction. Still, if she was going to take him out here and pay for his food, then it was only fair that he be honest with her.

"It's quite unique, I will confess." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders, turning his eyes onto it and going for another bite. "Remarkably few ingredients but it still tastes very good. Certainly a case of broadening my horizons when it comes to the cuisine, that much can be said with complete confidence." he paused before taking another bite, glancing at her once more. "Are you a regular at that particular restaurant?"

Quetzalcoatl gave a faint shrug of her shoulders "Only when I come to visit the city and am in need of a small rest. I like coming to the little places like that, paying attention to the people who might not always get the attention." she paused for a moment, then sent him a proud grin. "I believe there is something in regard to digging for hidden diamonds, no?"

Hidden gems, but she was right enough. There was a novelty for the local places which only existed in a single spot, as opposed to larger chain restaurants, he supposed. Then again, he never made much of a habit of going out of his way to eat out. He preferred making his own food most of the time, purely for the sake of doing so. "I can understand the attraction, and we are benefiting from your forethought at the moment."

Making a show of bringing up the small cup for reference with a faint smile on his lips, the move went over well as the Goddess merely smiled a bit wider at him and then returned to digging through her own food. He supposed that he should get to the point, as calm as this was, it would be better if they did get to the heart of the matter of his being here.

"So then, might I ask what I did to gain your interest?" He quizzed with a raised eyebrow, that brought a halt to the Goddesses movements for a brief second, her eyes danced to the side and in his direction, her expression frozen. For a brief moment he was slightly puzzled and a touch nervous that he might have done something wrong by asking first. Then he watched as she turned her head away from him, her shoulders fidgeting up and down.

"Eh-hehe…to be put on the spot like this, oh querida yo, to say it out loud might be a bit embarrassing." Wodime felt his brows slowly climb up his forehead the longer the Goddess spoke, his eyes roaming over her posture that was as far from her performance during the fight as one could get. Though he liked to think he kept his expression controlled, he wouldn't be surprised if some of his shock slipped to the surface.

She turned back to him, flashing an almost abashed smile as she spoke. "You just caught my eye at first, when you were applauding the other one, I was very complacida that someone else was being respectful of the competition…" he could have sworn that there was a touch of pink on her cheeks. "Then when we made eye contact after Jaguar Kitten's attack, it was like you were challenging me to do better and…well…Hermana mayor couldn't help but feel motivated to try her best for you~"

That wasn't quite the answer he had been expecting in the least, not at all.

The smile disappeared, replaced by an almost playful pout. "Then when I looked for you in the crowd again after the win I saw that you had just vanished into the wind." her shoulders slumped. "That was rather hurtful for my feelings, si. I figured you would have at least stuck around for the end celebration given how you looked like you were really enjoying yourself during it, so I figured something might have happened and here we are."

"...Oh." He blinked, then turned his eyes away from her and looked straight ahead. "So then, it was not about the cloaking amulet I was wearing?"

"No." She replied instantly, he caught her shrugging out of the corner of her eyes as she took another spoonful into her mouth, chewed for a second and then carried on. "That was a bit strange but I figured you might have been a private person. Besides, I could tell that you were a human so I didn't see a problem with you being there."

He paused for a second, then inclined an eyebrow at her. "I suppose if I had not been human, we would not be having this conversation."

"Not at all." The smile did not change from her face, but there was now a sharpness to it that had been invisible before, a pressure exuded from her that left him with little doubt as to what she meant. He mutely nodded his head up and down, it did line up with the findings of Hades and his own conclusions. Evidently the Gods and Goddesses of this land very much did not like the idea of other elements mingling with them. Still, it was something of a surprise to find that she had no problems with him, in fact, the idea she had only followed him because of his early absence was rather ironic.

So ironic, that he could not help but chuckle out loud, something that brought the attention of Quetzalcoatl back onto him. Her head tilted to the side in an innocent manner as she stared at him. "Forgive me for that, merely noting the irony…I had left to try and avoid getting your attention and in doing so, I walked right into your crosshairs."

He shot her a smile. "That is rather amusing, isn't it?"

"Fufufu! Si, si." Nodding her head up and down, she pointed her spoon at him. "You know what they say, a man meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." she lowered the spoon and sported a more playful smile now. "This is one of those moments, Si?"

"Quite." It was certainly amusing and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about it, for all intents and purposes the very action to avoid getting attention had ended up winning him attention in the first place. All of it stemming from a rather innocent interest in watching an evening wrestling match when he first arrived. Quite frankly, this first night have been something of a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, at least that is how he would assume it would be described. "Perhaps an even greater irony is that I was in Mexico specifically in search of you."

"Oh~?" It felt like something had gotten closer to him, a quick glance revealed that it was the case, with Quetzalcoatl now a few inches from the side of his head, having leaned closer to him and staring rather intently at him. There was something in her eyes, a mixture of intrigue and searching, clearly sizing him up for something. "I'm starting to feel special now, but if you were here looking for me, why did you leave early?"

There was little reason to lie. "At the time, I was rather ignorant of your identity. Working off of misinformation that denoted your gender as being male rather than female. Though I did suspect you have some relation to the Gods of Mesoamerica, your disguise was convincing but…hmmm. I am struggling to convey it in a way that would not seem offensive."

"You can speak honestly here, turista."

"My thanks, yes…I suppose you were too enticing." That might have been a different word than he had been intending, he dared a look at the Goddess and saw that she had retreated, her eyes slightly wide and a blank look on her face as she stared at him. He figured he would need to elaborate. "To make it clear, you were like a beacon, the posture, the confidence and the…well…you. It was almost as though my eyes were glued to you from the moment you stepped into the ring."

"O-oh?" Quetzalcoatl made a noise, clearing her throat and pursing her lips. "Did…oh my. That sounds rather something. Dios mío, being found out in such a way…" she glanced at him every few seconds, with each stare lasting longer than the last, eyes moving between him and her food. "That's very…oh, you're rather flattering, aren't you?"

Flattering? He was just stating a fact, surely she was aware of the pressure that all Gods exuded, like a natural force just demanding the attention of everything in the general vicinity. As though to ignore it was to commit some grave mistake, it was not something that could be explained easily, the way she was reacting was as though she was unaware of it. Something he doubted.

"Carrying on…" He cleared his throat and moved for another bite "When you pierced through the amulet to disguise my presence, I became somewhat alarmed though not overly so. Merely that I wasn't prepared for a meeting at the time and opted to retreat until I knew more about the other, namely you." he took a bite, noticing how the Goddess had gone silent, though she was probably just waiting for him to finish. "That way I could greet you in a less public environment and in a way that would have been more respectful than just following you in the aftermath of a victory."

There was a slight pause, then he thinned his lips. "Though, and I ask you not take this the wrong way, but did Jaguar Kitten truly have a chance of victory?" he frowned. "Not to disrespect you, but I feel as though I am obligated to ask, given the vast differences between a Goddess and a regular human."

Much to his relief, Quetzalcoatl didn't look insulted by the question, rather she now grew a look of understanding as her head nodded up and down several times, humming to herself as she did so.

"Está bien, está bien." Waving him off with her spoon, she continued on. "I know that there is a big difference between Gods and people but I do love the culture and the clash of skills. Anyone who met me in the arena could have just as easily beaten me as I beat them. It would be disrespectful to their skills if I cheated and used my existence as a Goddess to win." her lips pulled upwards into a faint smile. "But I can forgive you for asking such a thing, Si. It was on behalf of the losers to make sure I was not cheating, I can understand that."

He withheld an exhale of relief when she finished speaking, both for his own sake and for the sake of Jaguar Kitten, whom it really did look as though she had tried her best to win. To hear how it was just as much a chance for victory as it was for defeat made him feel much better about the entire affair. True, the Goddess could have been lying to him to appear better but there was very little reason for them to do that. Very little to the point of non-existence. Her words appeared genuine enough so he would take them at face value for the time being.

"Still…" Quetzalcoatl's tone shifted slightly, he raised an eyebrow at the almost forlorn expression she now wore on her face which was slowly shifting between what he could almost imagine to be guilt and embarrassment. He was rather bemused with the notion that he might have caused such emotions to occur in the Goddess in the first place, hence the need to examine her reactions much closer, but by all accounts those were the expressions she was showing. Awkwardly playing with her food as she continued on. "It's a shame, to think that I accidentally scared you away from the celebrations at the end…it was a rather exciting time for everyone involved."

He offered her a thin smile. "I would not think too heavily on the situation, in all honesty I have always been out of place with such celebrations in the past." much to his own great regret, now that he considered it. A shame that this had similarly been one such situation as well, he would have stayed if he was confident in his own safety but such was the way of things. "Besides, given that we are now sitting together in the company of one another and enjoying the pleasant conversation, I would say that it is a celebration in some capacity as well, wouldn't you?"

A single blink and then a beaming smile was his reply, for a brief moment he always thought that the Goddess was positively glowing, then he quickly realised that she was literally glowing. Given that she was a God of the sun, or a Goddess of the Sun rather, it did little to surprise him. On that notion, he was rather bewildered as to how they had managed to get the gender wrong for the Goddess. They would normally be very good at these things and even with her impressive musculature, she was still obviously a woman.

Clearing his throat, he tilted his head to one side "Forgive me for being blunt on this matter and on this change of subject…but I cannot help but note a discrepancy…namely that Quetzalcoatl is known to be a God and…" he pointedly looked her up and down before offering the most innocent smile he could muster. It was more of a curiosity whether this was a recent development or not.

"Ah~" An understanding hum rippled from the throat of the Goddess as she rocked back, then her eyes turned half lidded as she gestured to herself. "We all change every generation or so. Namely creating bodies such as these for us, some of us mix and match while others remain the same." she slouched, a flat look coming upon her face as she blew out an irritable breath. "Some pendejos can be boring like that."

"Hmmm…another thing, I'd cast a spell of translation upon myself before I arrived and yet I've noticed that it has since been…disrupted." It was a much more delicate way rather than actively accusing her of sabotaging his efforts, and he imagined there was a very good reason for it. Though he noticed that immediately after he finished speaking the expression on Quetzalcoatl's face froze before her lips slowly started to roll inwards, her head gradually turned itself away from him.

Squinting at her, he leaned to the side in order to follow her expression, something that prompted her to further turn her head away from him. It was almost childish in the manner in which he was chasing after her face, though he wasn't quite so desperate as to stand up. "I can allow this mystery to remain unsolved if it troubles you so greatly." he commented after a few seconds, leaning back to his original position and placing another spoonful of the food in his mouth.

He could have sworn he caught her letting out a breath of relief, which - in spite of what he had said - only further compounded his curiosity. The only thing he could imagine is that the Goddess wanted some of her words to remain untranslated, perhaps she preferred the mixture of spanish and whatever other language she might have been speaking at the time.

"Anyway~!" She virtually sang as she whirled her head back around, he noticed the flash in her eyes only a moment before she was directly in his face, so jarring was the movement that he flinched purely on reflex, blinking twice as she was now well within his personal space. Her eyes staring directly into his own with an unflinching gaze. "Not that I'm against tourists coming to visit, because it is a very maravillosa country, but when one says they came all the way to see me…I'm a little curious as to the reason behind that."

That was fair enough, and he did wonder when she was finally going to get around to addressing that. Swallowing his latest mouthful, he nodded his head up and down before he replied. "I suppose, first and foremost, the question would be why you allowed humanity to flourish under you without interference?"

An odd look entered her eye as she retreated from his face, placing her cup to one side and resting her hands on her lap, her fingers drumming along on her knees for a few seconds before her lips twitched upwards. "I love humans. It's a simple answer, not just me, all of us love humans. Sometimes you love something so much you just want to see what it can do next…" she shrugged "So we decided to let you all do whatever you wanted while we watched. It's been absolutely magnífica!~"

That…that had not quite been the answer he was expecting, he knew in some way that all Gods relied upon humans for something. After all, a God without worshippers wasn't much of a God, even if the religions had long since lost most of their lustre in the past, they were still allowed existence upon the world for the simple reason that they had been the pillars of civilization for centuries. That was a fact pressed upon the planet, avatars of the functions of the world. Yet they had never really ceased in their presence, not in the way the Mesoamericans had.

Yet it now made a surprising amount of sense.

"...And the exclusion of the other races." He mused for a moment, placing his spoon into his cup and then bringing his hand up to rub his chin. The flicker of something passed through the eyes of the Goddess as she watched him expectantly. Evidently she was waiting for his conclusion, he almost felt as though she was waiting for his answer so that she could grade him for it. "Your interest lies solely in what humanity can achieve by itself, there is little reason to disregard the religions…so long as they remain matters of faith without solid fact. Proof of existence, as it were."

Though that came with something else, another connotation that he couldn't quite ignore. It was not that the Mesoamerican Gods had a preference for humans, they simply loved humanity and the way they moved forwards. Through the logic of Quetzalcoatl, this was a love of what humans themselves were capable of, turning his eyes to her he watched as she slowly nodded her head up and down at his latest answer, he wasn't sure if she knew what he was thinking, but he suspected she might have some inclination if the slightly saddened look was any implication.

"Si. We love humans." She replied slowly, turning her attention away from him and towards the city that surrounded them, letting out a slow and measured breath. "We don't play favourites either. If humans wish to destroy one another, then that is a matter of their own opinions and differences. We can be grateful for their reverence and worship, we can lament their passing…but so long as humans remain, we shall still love them."

Even at the cost of their own worshippers, it would seem. Naturally, there was nothing they could have done to prevent the Spanish conquistadors and from what she described, they arrived purely by themselves without the support of God. It would have likely been a different turn of events if they had come with the assistance of the angels, but it was simply the way of humans making their own way through the world. In a way, it was the ultimate in observation, letting the 'control' continue to exist without the influence of external factors and seeing what final shape it would take.

It was as detached as it was caring, though perhaps not quite as detached as the Goddess implied, given that she likely did lament the deaths of her own worshippers, she had done nothing to prevent their deaths and nothing to avenge them, but she had also prevented this section of the world from falling under the direct influence of the Abrahamic factions, rather successfully as well, given that the influence of the divine was waning in this texture.

And yet…

"This lack of influence also includes yourselves, why is that?" He inclined his head to the side, earning a hum from the Goddess which elected him to elaborate. "The other factions, even those who are no longer being directly worshipped, are still retaining much the same degree of their power as they had. Forgive me if this is blunt but…for what reason did you elect to completely detach yourselves from the mortal world? Why not do as the Asgardians or Olympians did?"

"...I always viewed it as raising a child." Quetzalcoatl replied with a faint shrug of her shoulders, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "You can teach them things, you can watch them grow, you can cheer alongside them and you can remain a part of their life forever…but there comes a time when every child leaves home. After all, one might remain a parent forever but a child will never be that forever. They all grow up and leave home…" turning her head to him fully, she presented him with a small smile. "I would say that humanity…has long since grown up."

"...An interesting analogy and one that…I had not considered before." He replied to her after a moment of silence, turning his head away from her and looking up towards the sky. Perhaps if one thought about it, they were not entirely wrong to consider it that manner of relationship, there were certainly enough similarities. Most of human civilization had emerged from the teachings of the Gods but he had never considered it something along those lines.

Perhaps it was because he lacked the imagination of it, merely that the Gods themselves were just no longer necessary for the function of humanity anymore. Hades had described it as just being unnecessary to the world, just as they no longer needed humans, humans no longer needed them. The partnership had ended but he wasn't prepared to leave them to the Devils or Fallen Angels.

"Hmph." A small breath shot through his nose as the metaphor bounced around in his mind for a few more moments, then gave a slight shrug of the shoulders. "Certainly an appealing metaphor and certainly far more respectful for all involved. A coming of age story, so to speak."

"Really?" He paused at the surprised tone of voice from the Goddess, sparing her a look and then tilting his head at a faint angle as she looked at him with a touch of intrigue. "I would have thought you might have taken a bit of offence to the idea that I view humans as little more than children trying to grow up."

"Perhaps if I did not see the wisdom of your words." He replied to her with a faint smile of his own. "In the grand scheme of things, when one looks at the progression of humanity as a whole, our great leap forwards into the advancement of technology and away from the times of waiting for miracles and acts of God as a first resort are only recent developments. Human history spans over ten thousand years from the early days of tribes near rivers. We have certainly made leaps and bounds since then but it has only been around a hundred and seventy years since the invention of the first electromagnetic disk to generate power."

He paused, then released a small hum. "Advanced we might have become, but I shall not deny that it is rapid…if I were to equate it to your analogy of humans being children, I would say that we have started to enter our teenage years?" he felt his lip pull itself upwards into a faint smile as he considered the connotations with it compared with what his end goal was. Rebellious phase, indeed.

"Ah, you have that funny little spark in your eye there." She teased, pointing to him with a smirk on her lips. "You're looking very fresca there, turista!"

He quickly wiped the expression from his lips, though that might have been the wrong move for him given that the smile of the Goddess faded away no long after, replaced by an almost disappointed pout as she folded her arms over her chest and continued to stare at him with that same look of forlorn disappointment. It was rapidly becoming clear to him that the Goddess seemed to prefer far more casual conversations. As such, he felt the smile slowly return to his face.

Almost immediately, the pout on the face of the Goddess inverted back into a pleased smile and her arms unfolded themselves. "There we go! You have a very hermosa smile." he wasn't sure what that word meant but he could infer that it was a compliment.

"Thank you." He gave an honest nod of the head "And if you are curious about why I seemed to have that look in my eye. I suppose the reasoning would be that it was a rather apt description, referring to humanity as entering the teenage years, so to speak." he made a small noise of mirth. "Though, as pleasant as this conversation between us has been thus far. I am afraid that I shall have to cut it short. I believe that it has long since been time that I arrived at the true reason for my being here and why I sought you out."

That brought a certain glint into the eye of the Goddess as she faced him fully, suddenly standing up from where she had been sitting down and walking forwards a couple of paces. She abruptly came to a halt and then whirled around, staring down at him with an unreadable expression on her face. Hands placed on her hips.

Neither one of them said anything for a short moment or so, it might have been a second that passed them by or it might have been more, the otherwise pleasant atmosphere suddenly felt far heavier than it had been before. An important reminder that he was still speaking with a Goddess at the end of the day, these were beings that broke the basic laws of physics through their mere existence.

Closing her eyes, Quetzalcoatl let out a nearly imperceptible exhale before her eyes opened again and her lips pulled themselves down into an almost saddened frown. "I get the sad feeling that if we start this conversation, then the nice atmosphere that we've had going for us will get arruinada."

He didn't need a translation spell to inform him of that, all the same this was something that he wasn't about to back down on. With a deep breath, he brought himself up to be eye level with the Goddess - they were more or less standing tall as equals, in body if not in reality - and looked dead into her eyes. Keeping his expression cordial as he spoke.

"All the same. This is something that I feel needs to be spoken of, else I shall never have a definitive answer." He did offer her an apologetic smile, he could feel much the same that the mood of their evening was about to change in another direction once he did this, but there was no going back now. "I'm something of a perfectionist like that, I am afraid."

Quetzalcoatl matched his gaze, looking deep into his eyes with a swirl of emotions that he could not even possibly comprehend swimming about behind her orbs. The silence between them was broken by an exhale of breath from the Goddess that sounded rather pleasant, coupled with the twitch of her lips upwards as she took a single step backwards, rocking back on her heels. "If you look at me like that, I can hardly say no, can I?~"

The teasing grin returned as she brought up her right hand and poked a finger at him, swirling it around in a circle as she did so. Eres muy peligrosa."

He wasn't sure what she said but it seemed to be spoken in a rather light tone, so he would assume the best. "My reasoning for coming here is simple. I wished to ask for your help."

"Help?" Quetzalcoatl blinked, then lowered the hand, the smile replaced by a look of confusion. "Help with what, might I ask?"

"Teenage rebellion." He paused for a moment after he made the joke, then internally sighed that he was trying to make light of the situation. "What you have achieved in South America and Mexico, it is something that I intend to achieve across the entire planet. Creating a divide between humanity and the mystics."

If the climbing of Quetzalcoatl's brows was any indication, it certainly wasn't the answer she had been expecting. Then again, he was aware of just how ambitious it sounded but the proof of concept was something he was standing upon right this moment.

"Not merely between humanity and the Gods, but humanity and all else. As you say, there comes a time when children must leave their parents and I am of the opinion that now is that time." Thinning his lips, he continued on. "I am neither foolish nor arrogant enough to believe that it can be achieved with human strength alone, nor am I wholly convinced that every faction will think as you do. For one, I very much doubt the Devils will be willing to rescind their claim to humanity."

Spreading his hands slightly wide, he gestured to the Goddess. "That is my objective laid bare to you. I intend to forge the path for humanity separate from the mystic…and am asking for your help in this goal."

It couldn't be exaggerated how quickly his heart was beating in his chest at this very moment, he wasn't sure of the expression he was making but he hoped it wasn't displaying just how nervous he felt. This truly was the make or break moment, there was little guarantee that Quetzalcoatl would be interested in what he had just said, the best case scenario in that case would be that she just let him go and he had to go home empty handed.

When Quetzalcoatl finally moved, it was when she turned away from him and started to walk away. Initially, he feared the worst and gradually lowered his hands back to his side without saying a word. The only sound to be heard was of her footfalls against the stone path as she continued to walk, bouncing around in his ears like hammers to the ground.

Then she stopped moving, her hands placed themselves on her hips and she hung her head a little lower. He wasn't sure if she said anything, he didn't hear her back any noise, and then suddenly she was back in his face without even so much as a gust of wind or a rustle of clothing that she had even moved. Merely that she had been in a spot one moment and then was directly in front of him in the next.

He didn't blink, but it did set him a little on edge, more so when she reached up and grabbed the side of his head, leaning forwards and then pressing their foreheads together as she fixed him with a long unblinking stare. One that he matched to the best of his abilities, even in spite of the mounting pressure he could feel in the back of his mind.

It wasn't from her hands, he found her grip to be rather gentle, rather from the aura she had been exuding the moment she started looking him in the eyes. There was nothing different about her, merely that looking at her now felt as though he was staring directly into the sun. He could feel the prickling sensation seeping into his eyes, the subtle burning the longer he matched gazes with her.

Neither of them said anything but perhaps they didn't need to.

When she finally released his head, it felt like days had passed, the breath he didn't know he had been holding threatened to immediately rip itself free of his throat. He contained it, instead letting out a sudden hiss from his nose while keeping his eyes firmly locked on the Goddess as she took a single step backwards.

Gradually, her left hand moved up and pinched her chin between her fingers, rubbing her index finger over the emerald piercing she had underneath her lower lip, an indiscernible look on her features but the nearest he could approximate was that she was evaluating him. Eyes lingering on his face and then up and down the rest of his body, making a clear show of leaning from one side to the other before a faint hum pulled itself from her mouth.

"...You believe what you are saying and you didn't back down." There was something appraising in her voice as she spoke, as though she was hiding a smile. Her eyes, which he only just noticed were incredibly green, flickered over him once more before her head gradually rose and fell. "Then again…that could just mean you're a bit Loca~"

Wodime felt only marginally put off by the accusation of insanity, then again he was confident that his proposal didn't sound wholly sane given what he was advocating for and who he was advocating it to. So some questions as to his mental state could well be expected, all things considered. Regardless.

"While it might sound somewhat ambitious-" The Goddess in front of him snorted at the word, folding her arms over her chest and levelling him with an expression as though to say 'really?' though it still remained a touch playful. "-I would like to remark that I consider myself of sound mind. I am also convinced of the rightness of my actions."

She remained silent, then nodded her head up and down. "Well, I don't think crazy people think of themselves as crazy." she pointed out with a raised eyebrow aimed towards him, only partially joking it seemed. Then she brought up her right hand and waved her index finger towards him. "But you're right that you certainly seem convinced. I see a lot of alma in your eyes. It gets me all tingly." she shuddered for a moment with the smile remaining on her lips.

Turning side on, she paced back and forth in front of him with slow steps, much like the prowling hunter she was named after. Lip quirked upwards in a thoughtful capacity as she looked him over. "Wanting to change the world but smart enough to realise you can't do it yourself…and you're coming to me because you want help, naturally under the belief that I would be willing to help you."

"That would be preferable, yes."

"Hmmm~" Tilting her head to the side, she slid closer to him and leaned forwards slightly so that she was now looking up at him. "I'm sure it will be. Though suppose that I wasn't interested in wanting to help you, what would you do?"

"...I'd probably be disappointed and then go home."

"But you wouldn't give up?"

"No." He didn't even need to hesitate with that answer. "I would consider it a setback but little else."

Just because Quetzalcoatl rejected him didn't mean he was suddenly out of options, she was just one of many that he had come to consider. He still had faith that Hades would find more allies for them in the future, it was merely that the Mesoamerican Gods seemed to have interests that aligned with his own, if that was not the case then there was very little he could do about it beyond express his disappointment and then leave.

The Goddess in front of him blinked once, as though his answer had surprised her, and then straightened herself out once more. Lips pulling themselves tight for a few seconds, then smacking them together. "Hearing you recover so quickly hurt my feelings, just a little."

He wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

Taking a half step backwards, the Goddess inclined an eyebrow at him. "But you are right that what you're aiming for will probably be unpopular. Not just with the Devils but very likely a great many others as well." she gave him a curious look. "You're going to make yourself some muy grande enemies."

"I am aware."

"Are you?" There was a hidden edge in the tone of voice that had not been there before, he felt himself go on edge instantly as the posture of the Goddess changed. Whereas before she had been someone loose, he now saw the tension in her being and the faint narrowing of her eyes. "Tell me, have you ever fought a God before? Have you ever tried to match your power against theirs? I admit you have a lot of heart in you, very impressive coraje, but that alone isn't enough. Not nearly enough."

Had he ever fought a deity before? No. He had not.

Taking in a short breath, he shook his head from side to side. "I confess that my experience in fighting divine beings is non-existent. Though I have briefly engaged with Devils and Grigori before in the past, however I shall not insult you by claiming them to be equal to the likes of the Gods."

"See?" Quetzalcoatl shook her head from side to side "That's a big problem right there. You have courage but without experiencia a lot of what you're saying is just empty words." turning away from him, she slotted her hands into her pockets and started to walk away. "I had fun tonight, turista but you should probably go home. At the moment, you're not all that different from a crazy person. Talking about fighting the Gods is cheap when you've never really dealt with them before."

Well then, there was only one thing he could say. "And if I were to fight one?"

Quetzalcoatl stopped walking, keeping her back to him, though he could sense a rising heat from her general direction, as though he'd entered a greenhouse on a summer's day. He remained unmoved during the silence, the Goddess making no attempt to do anything else, then he heard it.

A low chuckle coming from the direction of the Goddess.

"...If you were to fight one, you say?" She commented, seemingly to herself, then gradually turned until her head was side on to him, a lopsided smile on her face as she stared at him from across the short distance. "That's a very funny thing you just said…it could almost be taken as a challenge."

"And if it were?" Goodness, he had never really done something quite so risky since he decided to walk through the underworld and right to Hades doorstep. Still, there were times when one needed to just throw themselves into the deep end. It certainly went against his usual way of doing things but at the same time, he was confident he knew enough about the personality of the Goddess to gauge the correct response.

In this case, she seemed to hold a decent amount of respect for human skill and ability, else she would never lower herself to a point where she could be bested by a human in combat. She was the one who claimed to love humanity, it was all about showing her the prowess of human spirit at the end of the day. He just needed to show him.

The smile widened a fraction, just enough to show her teeth that were very pointedly sharpened, the grin of a shark. Fitting as he currently felt like a seal. Still, it was much too late for him to back down now and really, it would only be a matter of time until he eventually fought the likes of the divine. In this location where they had been weakened, this was the best chance he was going to get of a control scenario.

"As you said, talk is merely that. Talk." He continued on, keeping his tone light almost in contradiction to the mounting tension between the two of them. Yet there didn't seem to be a degree of hostility. "It would be rather embarrassing if I were to make grandiose claims as my own without the strength to back them up. Indeed, such a thing would make me no greater than the fool you accused me of."

A throaty chuckle rippled forth from the Goddess as she turned around to face him fully, her posture loosening up as she lowered her head and gave him a rather half-lidded look. "You don't mean something like Lucha Libre do you?"

"I am afraid my skill at that sport would be non-existent." Shaking his head from side to side, he saw it for what it was. She just wanted confirmation that he knew what he was getting into. He didn't, entering into combat with a God or Goddess was never something one could guess but at the end of the day, it was just one of those 'winging it' situations. "It might be rash for a first meeting, but I am fully willing to support my words in a less civilised manner if that is the cost of your support."

Quetzalcoatl kept herself silent, then took slow strides towards him, slow and meaningful. Ensuring that each movement was as silent as could be, not even hearing her steps against the floor. As she drew closer, the pressure mounted higher and higher, soon getting to the point where he was certain he was feeling sweat on his brow. Yet he kept his expression cool, ensuring his eyes remained locked onto the Goddess.

That only spurred her to smile even wider, showing up the full row of sharp teeth as she lowered her head, shadowing her eyes just enough that he could see the emerald glow of them, what looked to be fire dancing around in her pupils as she advanced on him.

"Well~" She purred as she came to a halt in front of him, then chuckled once again. "If you're going to look at me like that…you're going to push all of my buttons." her hands slowly slipped out of her pockets and moved themselves towards her hips, placing them flat against them and leaning on one side before she spoke. "It's only fair that you asumir la responsabilidad~!"

He felt the pulse of magical energy in the split second before he felt the environment shift, the ground beneath him became slightly uneven and the surroundings which had once been sparse trees in front of a cityscape became a thick sea of green surrounding a clearing of dirt sand, the moon shining down upon him and granting him just enough view of his surroundings that he could actually see fairly clearly.

All of which paled in comparison to the fist that was now rocketing towards his face, his circuits hummed, the pattern flashed across his skin and he barely just managed to turn his head to the side as the fist moved past, he could feel the force as it whipped up the air around the, throwing him off to the side in a staggering motion. Mana flooded his legs, he kicked off the ground with enough force to crack the earth beneath his feet at the same time he chanted the spell through his mind.

Within the span of two seconds he had launched himself back five metres while unleashing a dozen blades of wind onto the Goddess. Weaponized air which had enough pressure to turn the average man into little more than a bloody pulp on the floor granted him little more than a flutter of the Goddess hair in the split second before they whipped up a dust cloud around them.

He landed and instantly threw himself to the side as a shadow flung itself through the debris field, he heard the crunch of stone before his eyes snapped towards it, seeing the fist of his attacker buried up to the elbow in the ground and a great many spiderweb cracks running through the dirt beneath his feet as a result.

The ground shifted, he changed strategy and unleashed a single pulse downwards, the air ruptured around him like a canon. The loose flooring which he suspected the Goddess had intended to upturn was instead shattered towards her, unleashing a wave of rubble directly into her face, at the same time he used the force of the wind to propel himself backwards to grant him some additional space, though his mind was working overtime at this point.

His hands flew skywards, chanting the spell faster than a normal human could comprehend and snapping his finger once it was finished. The pattern above him formed, light twisted and bent as it formed the shape of an arrow-like constellation and unleashed a single blast towards the rubble, impacting the ground and catapulting more lumps of rock in every direction. Minute adjustments to the wind sent the worst of the debris away from him, though he suspected that wasn't going to be nearly enough.

The clouds burst, something rushed through them at high speeds and snaked around him, leaving behind a trail of dust as it moved. His head whirled around to follow it, already generating magical spells for when it slowed down, though he really doubted it was going to work. Still, better safe than sorry.

Constellations burst to life in front of him, spreading over the front of his body like a pattern and instantly formed a golden shield of light. In the very next moment, perhaps the mere instant it had been formed, Quetzalcoatl smashed into it with the force of a freight train, fractures spread across the shield from the very first strike, parts of the aegis outright shattering and flaking away from the main body. Then the fractures widened as the Goddess shunted her fist forwards and completely disintegrated the shield.

Wodime ducked to the left, a stream of luminescent blue light rushed over his body and slammed straight into the Goddess, forcing her back perhaps an inch, though he did hear her let out a slight gasp of surprise before she brought up her arms and crossed them over the front of her chest in a blocking motion, protecting her from the stream of magical energy.

Once more, he pushed himself back as he snapped his eyes to the space above the Goddess, the chant flung itself from his lips as the Goddess swung her arms outwards, the stream of light shattered and ended the assault, she snapped her eyes to him with a wide smile before they halted and shot upwards, just in time for the orbs of light that had formed above her head to unleash a dozen pillars of light straight down onto her head.

Her body was smothered with the offensive, Wodime slowed his retreat, his shoes scraping across the dirt as he did so and narrowing his eyes. He knew the effectiveness of his own spells would be affected by the texture of this land but he hadn't thought it would be affected so greatly. Then again, given that the stars would not hold the same weight in this land it was a given that his magecraft would have been affected.

A stream of fire shot skywards, effortlessly surpassing the strength of his own attack and destroying the points of impact. Like a shooting star, Quetzalcoatl emerged from the flames unscathed from his attack, reaching the climax of her ascent, she flipped herself around and then unleashed a rather powerful explosion that formed him to squint his eyes briefly.

She rocketed downwards like a meteor straight towards him in the next moment, the constellations forged around his body once again though this time with a different goal in mind, he was never going to block that so he just needed to dodge it. His speed massively enhanced as he kicked off the ground and blurred away from the impact site, though not quite fast enough to escape the blowback of the impact.

The shockwave very nearly bowled him over, as it stood he had to throw his hand down and claw it through the dirt to keep himself upright. The rippling flames from where the Goddess had landed parted for just long enough for her to leap forth, rotating her body as she did so and very clearly going for an axe kick. Mana pulsed through the ground where he was standing and then pushed himself off to the right.

She landed and then the ground exploded beneath her, she let out a small noise of bemusement before he unleashed another two streams of light into her from either side, sending her into a slight stumble as she brought up her hands in the direction of each strike. He narrowed his eyes for the brief intermission. He could see the tiniest patches of red on her body from where she had been hit, which meant he might have been having some sort of effect.

That was good enough.

The wind picked up around the Goddess, swirling faster and faster until a vortex formed around her, sucking in all of the loose bits of gravel and debris into the rushing winds as it climbed higher and higher into the air. Wodime kept his eyes narrowed as he focused on maintaining the storm, keeping his eye on the centre where he could see the shadow of Quetzalcoatl illuminated by the light.

Thus he started to intermittently cut them out and attack from completely different angles, ensuring that she wasn't quite able to predict where the next attack was coming from. It served as a suitable distraction, though he could only assume she was hampering herself just to see what he was capable of. Especially considering that earlier display of fire. Well, he wasn't going to complain if she didn't do that, it worked out in his favour.

He focused on the vortex for a moment, the winds halted for barely a second before he collapsed them. With pressure equal to the crushing depth of the mariana trench, the tornado rushed inwards to the Goddess, the explosion that followed staggered him backwards and forced him to bring his hand up to protect his face. He knew the dangers of explosive decompression and he knew well enough that if they were weaponised, they were remarkably dangerous.

Another pulse and he fired forth another air cannon, this time far more powerful than the others, the blast front ripped across the surface of the ground and upturned everything that was in its wake. The shockwave struck the location of the Goddess a moment later, blasting apart the cloud of dust and revealing her in full - looking a little disoriented - and taking a half step backwards. The shattering of wood heralded the explosion of trees as the blast decimated the small section of the forest behind her.

Quetzalcoatl blinked rapidly, this time looking a little worse for wear given that she had perhaps a couple bruises covering her exposed sections of skin. Shaking her head from side to side as she reached up and clapped at the side of her ears for a moment.

It was enough time for him to-

He blinked, suddenly finding himself watching the world turn sideways.

Only one thing for it then.

He clenched his eyes shut as tight as he could muster, yet even though that, he could feel the light of the next spell burn through his closed eyes, the spots where his cornea were getting melted, it lasted for a fraction of a second but it was briefly brighter than the sun. His eyes opened up and revealed spots in his vision, but compared to Quetzalcoatl who was looming over him and blinking rather fiercely, her foot buried into the ground about an inch from where he had landed.

At that point, he did something a little silly but the fact it worked was something that surprised even him. Scrambling backwards, he swung his legs out and wrapped them around Quetzalcoatl's own legs. Clearly she was just as owlishly surprised as he was judging by the noise she made before he pulled and pushed at the same time, she made a small noise as she tumbled backwards and landed on the ground.

The moment she touched the ground, he'd already loosened his hold on her and made the attempt to roll away. Barely making it an inch before he suddenly felt a weight on his back, realising that Quetzalcoatl had literally managed to reverse the situation and pin him flat against the ground a moment later. Her arm snaked around his neck and pulled him tight into a headlock, reversing them around so that he was now facing the sky.

Her legs swung around and looped across his own, stopping him from being able to bend them as she held him tight, he was aware of the closeness purely because of the fact he could feel her breathing against the back of his neck. The tightness around his neck was just barely loose enough that he could draw in oxygen, but that was about the extent of it.

"That was very fun~" She whispered into his ear, he felt the tightening embrace kicked up a notch as she clasped the wrist of his left arm and dragged it to the side, leaving him with only one hand to make a futile effort of clasping at the forearm of the Goddess. Another chuckle rippled from behind him, at this point he idly noted that she actually sounded a little winded. "But I think that this little game of ours is about to come to an end…you can tap out now if you like!~"

She punctuated the sentence by tightening the hold around his neck further, now reaching the point where he was all but certain she was going to choke him out. All the same, this was hardly the moment where he could give up. Not when there was still one card he had left to play.

The orb of light sprung into existence above the both of them, he felt Quetzlacoatl stiffen behind it as she recognised it, the orb drawing in more and more power as it grew in size, doubling and then tripling. He knew the yield of the attack by this point, it would most certainly be enough to kill him if it fired. Whether it did anything against Quetzalcoatl was anyone's guess.

"What are-nope." Quetzalcoatl confident whispered in the back of his neck, he could practically feel her pressed up against his ear at this point. "You should really just tap out now, amiga."

She sounded a little on edge, though he knew she'd definitely survive.

He remained focused on the spell as it grew in size.

"You've done a good job so far, I'm very impressed but this is going a bit far."

He made no effort to tap out.

"What's the point if you end up killing yourself?"

Still nothing from him.

"You're not that loca-"

It was in the instant she was distracted, the miniscule gap between her back and the ground expanded rapidly as the air around them surged inwards, rushing through every gap to the point where the ground beneath her exploded with a buckshot of debris. The moment he felt her hold on him loosen from the sudden shift, he lurched his body forwards, the air rushed in between the pair of them and straight down into her chest, the updraft freed him from her clutches in the same moment she was rather violently flung back into the ground.

As he was propelled through the air, he released the beam of light straight down onto the Goddess, consuming her and everything around her in a three metre radius with pure light. He only saw it for a brief moment before he crashed shoulder first into the ground, coughing out rather loudly as he rushed a hand to his throat and rubbed at it, drawing in greedy gulps of air as he sputtered.

He turned, on his hands and knees, and stared at the spot where the Goddess had been forced down, keeping his focus on the titanic beam of light before it started to dim, the moment it fluttered out it revealed the Goddess lying flat on her back, staring up at the sky.

The next second, she righted herself up at a ninety degree angle without even making it look like it took effort. Her eyes fell upon him and all he could do in that moment, aside from cough, was offer her a faint shrug of the shoulders and little else.

She seemed to understand the gesture as her lip wobbled for a moment before she threw her head back, a boisterous laugh deep from the belly echoed around them as she fell backwards. Hands grabbing at her sides as she curled over, continuing the rather infectious display of amusement which he likely would have joined in with if his throat didn't currently burn, even with the sudden priority on healing her choking him out.

Though he did manage a twitch of the lips, falling down onto his backside as the sound of the Goddess laughter echoed out around them.

He wasn't sure how long their little bout had lasted but he knew it was fairly quick-

"Okay, intermission over~" Quetzalcoatl's voice rang out, she let out a final wheeze as she rolled onto her front and then did a push up off the ground, rolling her shoulders until he heard several cracks go off before she shook her arms, then swung around to face him once more. He couldn't quite help the sigh of exasperation that escaped him as he shook his head. The Goddess noticed it, then placed her hands on her hips with a rather heft pout aimed towards him. "Hey! Don't be like that, I'm still having fun here, I know you are as well, else you wouldn't be smiling!"

Well, she had him there, he supposed. He didn't consider himself the type to enjoy battles but there was something oddly exhilarating about this engagement, he would privately confess.

Clearing his throat, he pushed himself back up to his feet and then offered a strained smile at the Goddess as he shook his head. "I'm afraid this time around I shall be aiming for what they refer to in boxing terms as a knockout."

"Oooooh!~" Rather than seem intimidated, he noticed the flash of Quetzalcoatl's eye with very clear interest as she almost danced on the spot, then squared her posture as she looked him dead in the eyes. "In that case, de frente it is!"

He could guess what she meant, taking in a deep breath he allowed the mana to floor through his body once more, feeling a sense of weightlessness overcome him as he slowly but surely levitated off the ground, keeping his eyes focused solely on the Goddess, he eventually extended his left hand straight up towards the sky, this time the words flowed from his lips freely and clearly so that she could hear him.

This was, after all, his single most powerful attack.

"O' Pillars of Order!"

The attention of Quetzalcoatl shifted from him to something behind and above him, her eyes widened ever so slightly and her lip parted just a touch. He supposed he could take it as an achievement already that he was managing to 'wow' a Goddess, so to speak.

Well, with what was to come next, he could only hope he lived up to those expectations of hers and exceeded them.