Mother Mother [Nyx]

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The witching hour.

Many people were still asleep when the door of the others cabin opened silently and a slim hand curled around it. Stepping out and closing it behind her, Desdemona looked left and right then let her bare feet lead the way through the campsite as she passed by the buildings. The shadows lurking around the camp followed her like a train as she made her way from the security and safety of the camp to the forest. Stopping at the border between the forested areas and the rest of the camp, she lifted a foot over the barrier and then passed through into the darkness of the dangerous forest. Turning back, she watched to make sure that nobody had followed her. Resting a hand against her white throat, she caressed it before continuing in as the light from the camp was swallowed whole.

She didn't fear anything that might come across her form this late at night, knowing that her powers would protect her from minotaurs, dragons, snakes and so forth. There was more at stake than being injured right now. Her black clad body shimmered in the darkness as she slipped through shadow after shadow, coming to a stop at the deepest point of the forest and turning her head to make sure that there was nobody watching. Her black eyes gleamed as she scanned, before she turned back and took in a deep breath. Reaching up to pull a thin, bladed hairpin out of her updo, she studied the silver edge and then closed her eyes. Dragging the sharp edge across her finger, she held it upside down as the blood dripped from it onto the ground and then began to speak.

"Nyx, hear my beseech and come to me. Heed this blessing and offering in your name and come to me. Goddess of night, mother of all darkness and dark things, blesser of those who bring destruction and death upon this mortal realm and bring the gods to their knees. Hear me, mother. Aid my cause and come to me, here, now."

Around her, the shadows started to stir and swirled around her form as if possessed.

[Gods & Goddesses]

Nyx was resting in her chamber when she felt the call. A demigod, her own offspring, needed her and offered the sacrifice of fresh blood. Begrudgingly, Nyx arose from her bed and disappeared from the Underworld to greet the call. She appeared in her human form before Desdemona and the drop of blood. Her skin was pale, but her hair and flowing dress was a dark as the night around them. One could see the family resemblance between the two.

"Who dare disturbs me from my slumber?" she hissed lowly as she looked at the girl in front of her. It wasn't until Nyx looked into the girl's face that recognition hit her. "Ah, Desdemona, my child," the goddess said with a slight smirk as she reached to stroke her daughter's cheek. "Time has been good to you and you are beautiful." She lowered her hand down as she looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What do you need, my child?"

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The hissing tone and obvious annoyance projected around her when her mother finally surfaced didn't phase the one who had called her, not one little iota. She wasn't afraid of her mother, had no reason to fear her bite or the lash of her tongue. No, little made Desdemona fear any more, after all the things she had seen and everything that had been done under the name of Nyx. Xenos may fear their lineage but not her. The dark eyes stared back unafraid and defiant, before pale lids closed over them as she felt the soft hand of her mother caress her cheek, a deep sigh escaping her lips at the long-missed touch.

"Yes," she softly spoke, indicating the black hair and unlined face with a slight tilt of her head. "As the years have been kind to you, mother. It has been...what, ten years since we last talked like this?"

Turning her head to make sure that they were not being observed, she turned back again. "I need information, Mother. Your passage across the sky every night collects whispers, yes? Information? I want that information. I have a great...foreboding, I suppose. This place, soon it will not be safe for us again. Your son, my brother, he has gone. Where, I know not. But you would know. You always know where we are. And soon, it will not be safe for him to come back. Or for me to remain here."

[Gods & Goddesses]

“Ten years?” Nyx muttered as a slight smile crept onto her lips. “Has it really been that long? It only seems like yesterday when we had that fun little trip of ours.” She brought her hands back as she crossed them across her chest and tilted her head to the side as she studied her daughter. “Yes, I hear many things when I spread my darkness across the lands,” she said with a hushed tone as she glanced off to the side before looking at Desdemona.

“Your brother is trying very hard to hide, but the fool doesn't know he can’t hide from his mother.” Nyx chuckled as she shook her head. “He’s in San Francisco with that fiancee of his… I don’t really like her anyway… but that’s not my business.” She lifted a hand to fling away the thought before she continued. “They’re planning on moving back to camp, but it’s not going to be safe. Camp has never been safe since the Usurpers have been attacking our beloved children. It’s a matter of time before everyone goes up in arms again.”

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Desdemona smiled faintly as she watched the gamut of annoyance and irritation drift over her mothers face at the thought of her long-absent brothers...fiancee, was it? She could just imagine the fright that the girl would get if Nyx ever came a calling unexpectedly one night. Around her, the shadows finally settled down into harmony with the surroundings except for two of them that formed flickers of shadow-flame behind her, to show her emotions when she could not. "Boys are more accustomed to thinking of themselves," she neutrally answered her. "But sometimes parents can be a little...self-absorbed themselves sometimes." There was a slight barb in her tone directed towards Nyx, one of the flaming points faring up stronger to show her idle annoyance.

The mention of the Usurpers made the whiteness of her skin flush darker for a second.

"That is why I need information, mother. I do not want war again, not after all the things that the last wars brought to our door. But I can understand in a way, why the enmity is there. And I feel the legacy every time I set foot outside my cabin, the anger and the hurt. I just want peace. And you want it too. Fighting the Olympians is not in our line's best interests. The Usurpers want to wipe out everyone. Olympian, Primordial, Gaea herself. We no longer can afford to be at war with Olympus."

Her black eyes blazed with passion.

[Gods & Goddesses]

Nyx raised an eyebrow at her daughter as she noticed the hint of poison in her words. Such words wouldn't be tolerated by the goddess and she wasn't above acting with such cruelty. She had a servant in a magical coma for four months before she dismissed the girl from her dormant. A slight thought ran through her head wondering if that girl survived making it out of the Underworld alive. She shook her head as she dismissed those thoughts. There were more important matters at hand.

"None of the gods want a war, my darling," Nyx spoke softly. "We know what the Usurpers want, but it would only be history repeating itself. There is a history of people wanting to overthrow the gods, but it's usually the other gods. This is one of the first cases where demigods have made quite a forceful attempt at doing so." She took a deep breath as she shook her head again. "I've been trying to make amends with the Olympians, but with so many centuries of history between all of them... some of them still don't let go of grudges quite easily." She looked at her daughter with urgent eyes. "Be careful, my dear. The Usurpers are in camp undercover. Not even we know who they are. They are tricky and I have no doubt they would use our children as bait to lure us out. Limit who you trust and maybe we can avoid a war.... maybe..."

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"Well, can you blame them?!" Desdemona answered back, the two balls of shadow-flame disappearing to reappear at her side. She knew that Nyx was unpredictable when threatened and that she was presuming a lot by snapping at her mother, but she doubted that her mother would truly harm her. "Your divine children have been snipping at their heels for millenia, waging wars and proving to be more than just a nuisance. Heavens, Mother, you flicked your hand and sent the Ruler of Olympus and the Gods running away with his tail between his legs. Did you really expect that they would just fall over and bow down to you? Listen to your every word like gospel?"

Turning away, she took a deep breath to calm herself before she schooled her features back into their pleasant facade. "I'm sorry, Mother. I should not have snapped at you like that. I'm on edge, tis all. Couldn't you persuade my brother, nicely of course, to come back? I would feel much safer if I was not the only child of your blood to be here. Strength in numbers is best, I think."

"And I don't trust easy, Goddess," she added blandly. "I think that came from your side of the family."

[Gods & Goddesses]

Nyx narrowed her eyes and glared at her daughter as the young girl decided to snap at her. "How dare you speak to your mother like that," she hissed at the girl as a small shadow ball formed in her hand as she raised her palm up. "I should smite you for the tone. I know other gods would have done it without a passing thought. Maybe I'm just better than them to do such a thing." She closed her hand and the shadow ball disappeared as she brought her hand back down to her side.

The goddess took deep breath before she spoke again. "I shall try speaking to your brother, but that boy is stubborn as ever. I think he takes after his father, that fool. He is coming back if all pans out. The most I can do is persuade him to move a little faster." She chuckled a bit at the comment Desdemona made. "Definitely runs in the family," she muttered underneath her breath.

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"So does stubbornness and a quick temper," she reminded her softly with the tiniest of chuckles. "But I'm sure you can convince that boy to do your will, like he has so many times before. But I would suggest, when he comes, that you remind him that his eldest sister is holding the reins this time. I would not have thrown our best defense plans away on a hotheaded plan to strengthen our lines power at the cost of our supporters' strengths. Possessing people with barely a whisp of power like Xenos did, it was obvious to fail. It was sloppy and stupid and people here wont forgive easily. If he had thought ahead, and with his higher brain, we would not be having this conversation, Mother. I will be in charge of our family now, and our plans, not him."

Her smile faded. "Of course, in order for us to succeed, you will need to give assurances that you will do your best to continue to mend things with the Olympians. We cannot be a divided force, especially when all we know for sure is that the Usurpers are hiding. I am sure the Goddess of all darkness and dark things can add her power to the cause, even if only temporarily."

[Gods & Goddesses]

Nyx had to hold back a sly smile as her daughter decided that she would take control over the family affairs. "I shall remind your brother that you are in charge, but whether or not it goes through his dense skull is not my problem. Unless I get that little finacee of his into this..." She shook her head and chuckled. "Nonetheless, I will talk to him. I do not like, along with you, how he's sullied our name. I might sanction more punishments on him if he doesn't listen."

"I will do my best to mend bonds between us and the Olympians, but these things need time." She sighed as she shook her head. "The bad blood between us has ran for centuries and my words sometimes find themselves on hallow ears. But I will make progress even if it becomes the death of me."

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"Good," Desdemona replied firmly. "I may not have taken a side during the war, but if I had, his thick skull would have been at least bruised and at worst caved in. A blind person could have seen that his idiotic idea of manipulating the darkness to possess people was bound to implode. For a start, I am the one who controls fear and paranoia, not him. I am also older and therefore better. If I had done it, it would not have failed. Frankly, I am still picking up the pieces, Mother, and I should not have to be. Xenos is stupid and immature and if he does try anything again, you can tell him that I will quite happily cave in his skull. We of the Nyx bloodline are better than this. We plot and manipulate better, we plan better and we do not screw things up."

Approaching her mother, she smiled and then leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her mothers white cheek. "I am glad that you are willing to be the better deity, mother," she spoke softly. "Those Olympian Gods should take a leaf out of your book and follow suit. They are sometimes childish, yes, but not stupid. After all, both you and they care about their children."

[Gods & Goddesses]

"Xenos was never the brains of the family," Nyx said quietly. "He is the bronze. That's why I brought him back after his death and made him stronger. You are the brains. You two need to work together. The both of you will be a powerful team and you'll help camp defend against the Usurpers." She took a deep breath before continued. "Just don't be each other's enemies. A house divided does not stand."

Nyx heard a rustle in the forest and she glanced over before turning back to her daughter. "I'm afraid it's time for me to leave, my daughter. I know I will not be in Zeus's good graces if he finds out I've personally interacted with my offspring, even if I've been called." She gave Desdemona a curt nod before smoothing out her dress. "Until next time, my child." She disappeared just as quietly as she appeared.

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"Yes, mother," Desdemona replied softly, watching her go without trying to stop her. Black eyes followed the trail of shadows leading back into the nether world and a smile slowly spread across her lips before she turned head head to see if anybody was watching her. Narrowed eyes scanned the forest, before she turned back and breathed out. Bringing the pricked finger to her lips, she sucked it slightly out of habit and then turned away. Her soft skirts slapped against her ankles as she walked back to camp.

There was much to think about, after tonight. The most important thing being her brother, and how to find him.