life is short, to say the least

[selfconducts]

WHO: BAAL and LAURA WILSON.
WHERE: A cafe.
WHEN: Sometime post-Shimmer.
WHAT: In the face of even more imminent shit-hitting-the-fan, Baal and Laura meet up for coffee to regroup, take a breath, and talk some hypothetical strategy.
WARNINGS: Possible Wicked + the Divine spoilers, as well as canon typical mentions/references to violence and/or death. Anything else, will ETA as necessary.


[ Baal knows exactly what Cassandra would say if he were to speak his feelings on their current circumstances to her directly; he can practically hear her skeptical voice in his head even when he's just trying to add things up for himself, saying something like "It can't be the fucking Great Darkness, Baal. We still don't fucking know if that's even a thing, Baal. And even if it is, it sure as fuck has nothing to do with this Atropos situation. How the fuck would it have followed us here?"

The thing is, he just doesn't know. Maybe it's unrelated, sure, but there's been way too many red flags piling up in the past month or so for Baal to feel good about this. He doesn't like it. A world eater monster bitch called Atropos? Coincidence or not, it's too close. No, he doesn't like it at all.

He's overdue to catch up with Laura anyway; so much has been going on it's been hard to keep track and in touch throughout it all, and he knows she in particular has been through a few wringers recently. More than that, he also trusts her more than he trusts Cassandra-- at least he knows he can talk to Laura, can trust her to take him seriously and be honest with him about what she thinks of all this.

At this point that's all he cares about her being honest with him about, which is probably for the best for both of them. It's all right. If they can stay like this, stay okay, then maybe--

Well. Who knows what will happen?

He pulls out a chair to sit, frowning at the menu but too distracted to really read it over properly. ]

Comments

[pummelgranite]

The sandwiches are bad, the crepes are good.

[ Laura had beaten him there. A little surprising, but maybe not all that much as she's been delaying Persephone's official return. Neither of them really do "inconspicuous," but she's dong her best in a little mauve sundress and her hair braided back.

Less surprising is her crepe filled with every available fruit and drizzled with caramel sauce. Can't get too far off brand, of course. She's carefully loading her fork with the optimal ratios of pastry to fruit to whipped creme as he sits. ]

Hey there Tall, Dark, and Stormy.

[selfconducts]

Sandwiches bad, crepes good. That makes it easier.

[ Baal likes sandwiches more than he likes crepes, but he decides to get one of the savory ones and a latte; it'll do. He puts the menu down and looks at her, expression finally relenting from tense to-- well, still tense, but happy to see her. It's nice that she's back. ]

All right then, Queen of the Glammed? [ He smiles at her. ] You look good. Here's to nothing exploding again before they even bring our orders out.

[pummelgranite]

Yeah? You look tired.

[ It's not sad unkindly, just an observation. The whole Pantheon's seemed worn thin lately as one import-related series of bullshit after another took away precious performing and production time, or threatens the world, or temporally displaces them all, or tries to level her favorite town a-fucking-gain. ]

Try not to jinx us, yeah?

[selfconducts]

Right. I've had a lot on my plate this month with all that bullshit in De Chima.

[ If Baal were more the sort to admit doubts and regret to himself (let alone to anyone) he might express as much now, with regards to if it was a mistake for him to think he could do this Ambassador thing. He's doing his best, listening to what people want and working to make good on improving the city, as well as on his own goals, but maybe it was still a mistake. A lot of innocent people died or got seriously injured during the Shimmer, and he could barely do a damn thing about it.

Maybe that's just the bitch of things. Gods really are never meant to be heroes; what they want isn't important, nor is trying. They can only be what they are. ]

Sorry. But at least the two of us would be ready for it. [ A bit wry. Then he pauses, frowns, and asks: ] I know you've been here a while. How long was it again? Less or more than two years?

[pummelgranite]

[ It's almost surprising that he admits it. Maybe things are worse than she thought. Either way, her look softens as he thinks through his answer.

Her smile tightens again just a bit with his question. It's an uncomfortable topic, sure, but an important one. There's no reason to bullshit here. ]

Got here early October, 2016. Was Persephone at home about- what, six weeks? Then I'm missing a little time here so- [ her spoon swirls around in caramel sauce and fruit syrup, and she shrugs ] soon. A few weeks maybe.

[ She takes another bite, giving the answer time to soak in. It's not that she's afraid of it. No, she's been through way too many wringers to be afraid, but it is certainly vexing. ]

[selfconducts]

[ Vexing indeed. Baal is sorry to bring it up, but it does seem important, increasingly so-- even if the things going on lately, the Shimmer, Atropos, any and/or all of it, have nothing to do with them, it's hard to ignore the very distinct possibility that some of it might.

They don't belong here. To Baal, that there might be a reaction between this world and their own because some of them are here instead of there seems completely believable. The Pantheon is all about chain reactions. ]

However the fuck the time works between there and here. I don't understand it much either. [ His fingers drum the table idly, but he owes her some honesty as well. ] 9th of August for me. That's coming up too.

[ He'd been so hopeful at first that between the difference between worlds and being assured that the Great Darkness didn't exist here, all their respective deadlines might be rendered meaningless, or at least they might have more time, but being this close to the end makes it harder to stay confident through all the uncertainty. ]

[pummelgranite]

Hey, look at that. At least you're still the oldest.

[ The comment is dry, knowing that likely little comfort that he has less time to live than her. She's never believed this place would spare them a single misfortune. But they have resources now, options. ]

Do you know what you're going to do? Have you talked to Inanna about it?

[selfconducts]

No. And no. It's been hard to find the right time for it.

[ That's not untrue, but it's not the whole truth either. There's a lot Baal hasn't talked to Inanna or Persephone about, and he's still not sure when he will. Or if he will. He turns it over almost daily in his mind, but still hasn't come to any definite conclusions. ]

And I wasn't sure. I'm still not sure. But now not taking the possibility seriously seems too much like playing with fire.

[pummelgranite]

You could crash at Hades for a few days. See how you're feeling.

[ You know, come onto her home turf with wonky exits and Lucifer creeping around. It'll be a great time!

She sighs, and now its her turn to tap on the table. ]

I can't just let it happen, not again. My fans don't deserve that. My friends don't deserve that.

I don't deserve that. You don't either.

[ To most people, "I don't deserve to lose my mind and melt to death," may seem self evident. Laura had not always been one of those people. ]

[selfconducts]

You don't.

[ That much is easy enough to agree with. The rest, including the Hades offer, Baal doesn't address for the time being. He sighs too, then continues slowly, almost hesitant to bring up what he's about to say next. But it's Laura. She's maybe the one person here it makes sense for him to say this to-- even if she hasn't lived it yet, he knows the two of them are at least capable of being a team on this.

Inanna too, maybe. They were gone long before these conversations started happening back home, but Baal knows (by now, at least) that they certainly know how to take things seriously. But Urdr...

No, there's a reason why it's better to start with Persephone. ]

I've been thinking about this Atropos thing ever since Urdr and Inanna found out about it. Sometimes I don't know what to make of it. Then other times it sounds too much like the Great Darkness is trying to follow us here. Maybe this Atropos is the Great Darkness and has been all along.

If any of that is true we're fucked six ways to Sunday. It would change everything.

[ He still doesn't know what it'd mean for them here and now, entirely-- no more than he knows what being here means for their lifespans or imperial phases or any of it. Even if those things don't or can't happen, that still wouldn't make them safe from the Darkness, which Baal isn't even sure of how to fight properly without his original powers. ]

What do you think it means?

[pummelgranite]

[ The offer was made without expecting an immediate reply, but don't think for a minute she missed him saying "you" and not "we."

But that's fine. They can circle back on that topic, there's pleanty more bullshit to sort through first. She stills as she listens to him, then takes another long moment before replying. ]

The Great Darkness. You know, I've been here so long, I was starting to think that was just something else she pulled out of her ass. Like "Lucifer is always difficult" and "Persephone is the Destroyer."

You're really that sure it even exists?

[selfconducts]

[ Baal nods slowly, expression going a bit more grave. It's probably time to have this talk again, anyway-- once again, they return.

He waits for the server to come and go before he says anything further, thinking about how to proceed. How to explain this to Laura in such a way if things come down to a vote again here at some point down the line, he can count on her to have his back. But... ]

The Black Eyed One-of-Three might still think I'm full of it, I don't know, but I've seen it. I've fought it. I've lost... [ He pauses. Maybe now doesn't feel like the time for that. ] She always told us the sun has to defeat the darkness. "It's a sky god thing."

[ He's not intentionally quoting Amaterasu, but that's just the best way right now to put it. ]

So like I said-- fucked. Unless maybe we can outsource this time.

[pummelgranite]

[ She regards him quietly, especially after "I've lost." Lost what? Or worse: lost who? ]

There's a lot of fire power here. And I mean a lot of fire power, yeah? Luci and I went all-out against Blue Beetle and they almost broke a sweat.

[ She'd be more annoyed about admitting it if Jaime was just so god damn nice. It would be like getting mad at Inanna for being too beautiful. They just can't help it.

She pauses, and her mouth does a little downward tug. Baal likes to be involved, in charge, and on top. Telling him that the whole Pantheon was only medium high on the power scale wasn't exactly the way to settle his mind. ]

What I mean is: she said a lot of shit, and she's not here now. Don't let a ghost make you think you have to face this alone.

[selfconducts]

[ Fire power. Baal doesn't assume Persephone means it quite so literally as he'd have meant it, but either way, she has a point. There's other sun gods here -- Apollo, for instance -- but also just far, far more people with powers altogether. Even if back home only the sky gods, the sun gods, could hope to stand a chance, there is proportionally a much larger arsenal at their disposal here, possibly large enough for the specific powers not to matter.

It's a little comforting to hear. A little, but not completely. Baal isn't a control freak, exactly, but he's certainly been conditioned enough into considering the Great Darkness his responsibility-- and his alone, at this point. Even if Amaterasu or, hell, Sakhmet were still alive, they aren't here. They can't fight alongside him.

And there's a lot more to fighting the Great Darkness than he can let on, even now. Even to Laura.

He exhales slowly, but glances back up at her, silent for a few more moments because he simply doesn't know what to say. Don't let a ghost make you think you have to face this alone.

Maybe things can be different now. Maybe. ]

You're right. I must be overthinking it. It's so easy to tell yourself one day that the same rules don't apply here, but then believing it once we're down to the wire... [ He shakes his head, putting his hand over hers almost without thinking. ] It's a headfuck. All of this is. I don't know if I'll ever be used to it.

[pummelgranite]

[ Oh. Oh??? She ducks her head a little when Baal's hand comes down, and turns her palm up. ]

I know. I'm pretty sure I'm getting spoiled here with all the backup and do-overs.

[ A small smile plays across her face, but lingers on her lips longer than she can keep it in her eyes. ]

Or I was anyway. Assuming the world doesn't end.

[selfconducts]

[ Hand in hers now, Baal squeezes lightly for comfort-- hers or his own or possibly even both. He's not sure he wants to ask what exactly she means here by "do-overs."

But at the same time, he can maybe understand what she means. That's how he feels about being reunited with Inanna, and maybe Laura feels the same way about Lucifer. For everything they've been put through so far, there have definitely been some advantages to this place. ]

Assuming the world doesn't end. [ He smiles a bit too, in a wry sort of way. ] But if it does, better here than there. At least we wouldn't be dying alone.