9807/Of Offerings and Doubts

Of Offerings and Doubts
Date of Scene:	28 October 2019
Location:	Breakstone, Westchester County
Synopsis:	Shannon finally meets Poseidon in his full majesty, with doubts laid to rest, and the beginnings of trust restored.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Poseidon

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Nightingale has posed:
     In the several weeks since the last time a certain winged healer had encountered 'Percy', a great deal had transpired. Some good, but unfortunately, some of it not good at all. Though her usual morning greetings were still offered in lieu of a prayer, they contained notes of trouble, and caution in their tone. A few times, they had been a little later than usual, and she also had not been in the park where she had last encountered the Earth-Shaker. What could have gone wrong?

     With the weather changing, however, the opportunities for contact had been fading. Or so it seemed. In the wooded areas a little ways off campus, she'd managed to find a small brook, with no sign of anybody anywhere near. It seemed a pleasant enough place for her to leave a simple offering of incense, left safely upon a rock where it could do no harm. She settles down on the ground near the brook, fallen leaves and twigs crackling beneath her. A lake or ocean it was not, but it was moving water and would have to do. Watching the incense smoke rise into the morning sky, she thinks back on recent weeks. The healings she'd helped perform. How she'd been badly tricked by the Trickster into one of them. A light sigh escapes her, as she tries to formulate her thoughts. Was it even real, her encounters with the sea god? Was it another trick? How could she know for sure? Trust had been badly shaken, and could it be repaired?

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon has been somewhat busy as well in the latest weeks, with several things to manage in his palace, and even a couple of magical disturbances under the seas to investigate and deal with. He's noticed the change in Shannon's praying habits, sort of, but with so many things to deal with he honestly didn't pay it much attention. Until now, at least, when a more, serious, offer comes to him on her part? Luckily, he's not doing anything too difficult, right now, just sitting on his throne examining the ocean around him with some spells, and so it is that when he receives the offer, he decides to actually stand up, reroute some of the magical energies currently used for the scrying, and build up a teleportation spell which, after a couple of minutes, sweep him from his throne room to deposit him not more than three metres away in front of Shannon herself.
Instead of having more mortal looks, today, Poseidon looks as he should, with his ageless face, his long white hair, and a blue scaled armour wrapped around his body, with a golden cloak hanging from his shoulders.

Nightingale has posed:
     You'd think Shannon would know better by now than to think that an offering would be paid no heed. After all, this had not been the first time she'd encountered Poseidon. But it was the first she'd had such doubts about the previous encounters, and such things did not sit well with her, being uncertain who or what to trust. Still, when the rather imposing, ageless figure of the ancient god appeared so close by, it caught her by surprise; surely he had more serious matters to tend to? Old tales of those who dared look upon the gods in their full majesty spring to mind, and she is quick to avert her gaze, not keen on being burned to a crisp. "Hello..." What else could one say?

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon stands there, motionless except for the cloak that moves gently with the wind's help, and his eyes look at Shannon herself. "good morning, Shannon..." he then tilts his head slightly, eyes still focused on her not looking at him "I swear I won't drown you if you look" he admits, actually grinning a bit "what brings you to this place, burning incense in my name?" he asks then, assuming a more relaxed posture now.

Nightingale has posed:
     "More doubts than I should have, that I can't seem to wrestle with on my own. But you've got the whole world to look after, and I was reluctant to bother you." The girl's face flames as she realizes her thoughts have been caught out, and she glances up. Something about that grin is a bit on the reassuring side of things. She scoots over to make a little bit of room nearby, where the ground is a bit more clear. "Weather will be turning soon enough, and at least this place is close enough for me to leave an offering without too much trouble."

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon walks closer, lowering himself to take a seat next to the girl "no no, not all the world. Just two thirds of it!" he comments with a grin "but now that I have less followers, each of them actually gets more of my time, if it can make you feel any better... Plus" he winks cospiratorially "that's what minions are for, they get the dirty work while you go take care of those who actually deign to leave offerings!" he smiles, glancing around briefly, now maybe noticing well for the first time the place and the looks of it "well, this is, a nice spot for sure!"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods to the little brass incense burner, with its little bed of sand within, and the small bit of charcoal burning on top. From it rise the distinct smells of a mixture of frankincense and myrrh. "Seemed a good place to start." The soft babbling of the little brook is the only thing to break the silence for a few moments, as she tries to gather her thoughts in the least offensive way possible. But sometimes, being direct was the only way to go.

"It's... been a while since the last time I saw you. There's been a lot that's happened. A lot of it's made me question and doubt more than I should, especially given how kind you've been." She nibbles her lower lip, considering for a moment how best to phrase things. "Suffice it to say, another god not only tricked me into healing him and put me into immediate danger by doing so, but it could well have endangered a lot of my friends as well. Ever since... I've had doubts, and it's difficult to trust. And I feel awful for it, because you have been incredibly kind and understanding."

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon sits there, quietly, waiting for Shannon to collect her thoughts, and when she speaks calmly listens to her. "what you mean is, you've discovered that there are also the bad gods?" he asks, one of his eyebrows twitching slightly in mild amusement "the ancient lore is full of those examples, Shannon. The truth is that some of us are not good, and, well, as you have thieves and murderers and robbers among mortals, you have the equivalent among gods... The difference is, that some gods actually see mortals as pawns, as, uhm..." he tries to think of a suitable example, finally saying "if you need to rob a bank, you grab a gun and go in... If I am a god, and need to rob a bank, you are my gun."
After a brief pause, and a sigh, he adds "after saying why you shouldn't trust gods, I will also say, judge people by what they do individually, if you want an advice. To me, and to several others, you humans are a bunch of ungrateful arrogant people who thought to be at the center of everything for ages without knowing any better, that fight for stupid things and generally speaking don't consider the tomorrow for the joy of living in the today... Yet, I still consider each human as a separate person, so that I may treat everyone as it deserves, and not based on the general concept of your, well, being human... Do I make any sense?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "All I saw was someone who was suffering, and it was within my power to help heal them. The worst part is... I can't just leave someone in pain if there's anything I can do about it. Even if it frequently puts me in need of a healer myself--and it often does." Shannon falls silent to listen, the red roses blossoming in her cheeks brightening in hue at the rather frank assessment of humanity and its failings and arrogance. "So... if people should be judged individually, so should gods, by the same token?"

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon nods, both at the first and the second affirmation "and that is admirable, you're a kind soul, and I personally do respect it and approve..." he states about the first thing, about the second, then, he smiles "well, with gods is probably actually easier, cause we're less, and mostly different. Like, me and Ares, would you think us too alike? Or Ares and Aphrodite, and we're not even going out of olympian gods!"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon laughs a little bit, shaking her head. "Thanks, I'd rather not run into Ares to make the comparison. There's enough war and fighting in the world, without tangling with him, too." Glancing over briefly, that smile seems to warm her heart a little, prompting her to return it in kind. "Can you understand why I had such doubts, though? The one who deceived me... he looked mortal, too, like you had before. I really had no way of knowing differently till after the fact. And it feels horrible now to have even been thinking such things of you. I'll be very glad for the day when doubts can be sent to the deepest pits."

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon shakes his head rather vigorously, his white hair whipping left and right "no, no... It is counterproductive for me to say, but actually useful for you to hear. Don't stop doubting, nor stop trusting. Just analyze each situation as it is! There's no way you could've known it was a god if it looked mortal, I could appear to you as a swan, you would think I am a swan and nothing else!" he winks a bit, recalling an earlier episode of his life perhaps? "think of it though, if he's a god, or an alien, or a mortal with superpowers, what's the difference?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon tries not to laugh--and fails. Miserably. "A swan? Here, in this season? That alone would have me questioning whether or not it was really a swan." The last has her falling silent and raising her eyebrows. "Wait, you'd put a mortal with superpowers in the same realm of being as a god? Now -that-... that would definitely be presumptuous on our part, to even think that of ourselves." Indeed, she looks mortified at the very idea. "We're just mortals with a little something extra. Nothing more, nothing less."

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon shrugs, shaking his head again "and so what? We're just creatures different from you, with different powers, a different lifespan... It was you mortals giving us the title of gods..." he closes his eyes for a moment "say, there are mortals that wield magic almost like me, there are mortals that are as strong, or as fast, as me and as durable as well... I am, seen by today's standards, someone with superpowers!" he actually lifts his right arm, flexing his muscles "the difference, perhaps, is that probably that man dressed in red with a lightning bolt on his chest will dye in a century or less while I won't, that the mage living in the tower here in new york will probably meet the same fate, and so will that man with that starry shield... Or the one with the armor... Do you see my point?"

Nightingale has posed:
     The mention of the mage in his tower actually gets a distinct scowl from the young winged girl, and something of a growling sound in her throat. "Now there's one Doctor that needs to work on his bedside manner!" are her very curt, sharp words. It was plain that her encounter with him had been less than pleasant as well. The mention of the one with the starry shield, however, actually brings something of a smile to her face, her expression softening from that unpleasant scowl it had been a few moments before. "Don't get me wrong here. My mom and dad will always be my heroes. But, so is he. There is someone who is a blessing, and I wish I could be a bit more like. And... the armor...? You don't happen to mean the red and gold, do you?"

     Shannon smiles a bit as she continues to listen, and considers what has been said. "So you are saying there is less difference between us than there might seem to be, is that it?"

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon chuckles at Shannon's reaction when speaking about the doctor, and shrugs at the armor comment "I don't know there's so many I am getting confused..." he admits "perhaps, yes..." he adds, shrugging again and nodding in approval at the conclusion "that is what I mean, yes! There is actually less difference than you might think. In powers, and, most of all, in personality. We're people, humans, gods, aliens, we think, we act, we do stuff good or bad..."

Nightingale has posed:
     "It feels very strange, to think of one's self as even close to possibly being on equal footing with a god," Shannon muses, shaking her head slightly. She glances down at her hands, flexing her fingers slightly. "Never thought of myself or any of my friends quite that way. It just... never really occurred to me. Most of us are just kids. Maybe some a little older than that. Some a -lot- older." She holds her hand out, looking at her palm before closing her fingers. "I suppose to some of the ones I've healed, I might seem like a goddess. But I'm not. I'm only human. Suppose that's why I've liked some of the old tales... it was kind of a comfort to think that the gods are like us. Just never seemed the other way around."

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon grins slightly, extending his left hand to actually trying to ruffle Shannon's hair "if gods are like you, then you are like gods... It's just as things are, Shannon! I may get pissed off if someone acts all arrogant in front of me with nothing to back it off, I might then start acting arrogant myself and then, maybe, smash them with a trident, or turn them into a frog... But, after all, I'm just a living being with some powers, such as you, such as your friends... And yes, as you said, to a regular human, one that you healed perhaps, you look like a goddess... To a beetle, a human looks like a giant allmighty creature, everything is relative, Shannon!"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon can't help a bit of a smile, leaning in a bit as Poseidon ruffles her hair. "Maybe it's as things are, but even us young 'lesser gods' find it nice to have those we can look up to." At the remark about the trident and turning someone into a frog, she giggles softly, eyes twinkling with mirth. "Ribbit!"

Her smile widens somewhat, and she looks towards the incense burner, letting the wisps of smoke with their bitter, citrus-like notes capture her attention for a moment. "Maybe someday you could meet some of my friends. They've become very dear to me since coming to this state. There's two that share the same name, both are called Sam. One's a bit older than I am, he's become like an older brother to me. There's another, just a shade younger than me, he's become a very dear friend. I tried telling the older Sam about you once," she confesses. "Not quite sure how he took it, but he's... well, both of them are protective of me."

Glancing up at the sun, Shannon sighs slightly. She has to reach over and take hold of the chains on the little incense burner and stand, carrying it with her. "As much as I hate to do this, I probably should be going home. I'll not make it as long in between visits this time." Smiling, she sketches a bow--and hugs Poseidon just as she would any of her friends. "Thank you so much. You're as much a blessing as all my friends are. Hopefully we'll meet again soon." With that, she is off into the air, strong downstrokes of her wings carrying her skywards, bearing the incense burner with her to be dealt with on her return home. Perhaps some doubts had been laid to rest, and trust was slowly being restored after all.