"Stupid Finn and his stupid strategy meetings," Loki muttered under her breath. Taking another bite of her meant-on-the-bone, Loki pushed open the doors to the theater where everyone was already waiting for them.
It's not like she didn't mind the occasional group pow-wow with her kids, but come on. Did he have to spend almost two hours going over every little detail of the last four chapters?
Forty-five minutes alone were spent on those silly self-moving carriages, and she knows Riveria would agree with her that they didn't need to spend as nearly as long as they did trying to find any kind of significance to that disgusting mortal's pigsty.
Honestly, that kid.
Finn was smart, let's not get that wrong. She should know, she's the one who taught him strategy. But he could also be very stupid at times. He just can't seem to get some things through that tiny skull of his.
She's been telling him for years to stop trying to fit everything into his little puzzles and to start learning how to improvise. That no matter how much he plans, how many minute details he accounts for, there will always be an unknown variable to fuck up all your hard work.
But does he listen to her, the literal Goddess of Mischief and Trickery? Nooo.
That prideful, blasphemous son of hers thinks he is so much smarter than her, thinking that being mortal lets him see things differently from her. Telling her that "Improvised planning was more on luck than planning" and that "Only Gods could afford to be so reckless."
Boy, if she weren't such a laid-back Goddess, she would have smote him just for thinking that he knew better than she.
What does he know? She's been planning and scheming since before that little reincarnated soul in him was ever a spark in their ancestor's eye. And even she doesn't believe that she can make a foolproof plan.
Once, when she was bored, she used her Domain over Lies and charted the entire course of the world's future. But what did that give her? Nothing.
Sure, she used that knowledge to find the most talented kids, brought them under her wing, built them up into becoming one of the most powerful Familia in all of Genkai, all so that she could have enough money to buy wine whenever she wanted.
But she hadn't been able to see Freya's rise. She hadn't been able to see Hestia or that little rabbit that she keeps so close to her. And she certainly wasn't able to plan against the deaths of all of her children over the years.
Plans were like graffiti on a wall. When they're in your head, you can make the most beautiful picture that you can imagine. But if you ever actually put it on a wall, then sooner or later, some little shits are gonna come up with their own bright ideas and mess up your whole day.
When you're painting with children, you can't predict where they'll throw paint. You can only paint around their mess, using it to your advantage as you paint your masterpiece. And all without them ever knowing that they helped.
You don't make one plan, you make thousands, millions, billions of plans built around every interaction. A simple hello from a stranger, a nice gesture of free food, a push in the right direction. All plans that can be left to grow like a flower in a greenhouse until the day you need it.
Or that's what she's been trying to teach him, and not to waste all their time planning when they should be eating!
"Look Loki, see, everyone has been waiting on us." Riveria pointed out.
Yeah? So what if everyone was waiting for them? They're the ones who got to eat Mama Mia's fresh cooking and not the cold leftovers that they were left with. She didn't even get to finish her second plate before Reveria was dragging them out of the cafeteria and towards the reading room.
Scowling Loki angrily took another bite of meat. They're lucky that Mama Mia's food still tastes good even when heated up. And also that they had that weird box with the spinning plate inside.
Just stick the food in, press a few buttons, and presto, instantly heated food. Loki had no idea what the hell it was, but thank heavens it was there. Cause if it wasn't and she had to eat cold food, then oooh boy would she have given it to her little Captain.
Walking behind Riveria, they made their way back to their seats. On the way there, Loki noticed that a couple of Shorty's little brats were hanging around their area, chatting up a few of the girls of her Familia.
Loki frowned.
She didn't like to think that she was a jealous Goddess. Her kids could talk to whoever they wanted. It's fine. What wasn't fine though, was how that tiny rabbit was making a couple of her girls blush.
Tiona, Lefiya, even Ais, her little emotionally stunted child, had a bit of pink on her cheeks.
This was unacceptable! Not her girls! She hasn't even got Ais to blush before, and believe her, she's tried.
Anyone, anyone else! Just not with one of Hestia's brats! Especially not that stupid rabbit! That weak little boy who, for some reason, has all the pretty ladies wrapped around him!
~Crunch~
Grinding hard bone between her teeth, Loki was so angry that she didn't even notice that she had bitten clean through the bone of her meat-on-the-bone. All she could think about was that she wanted to bite this little ingrate's head off.
No, No, No! She wasn't gonna let this happen!
*
~~~* *~~~
You know, thinking about it, Bell thought, this wasn't the strangest thing he's ever done. And he doesn't know if that's sad or weird.
"Oh my Gods, you guys did you check out that ball and hoop game?"
"Ah, no, we were at that mole hitting one."
"Oh, Oh! I saw that! It looked fun, too bad Tione said I'd break it."
"You would've, just like that one with the sledgehammer."
"Nuh-ah, I figured out how much strength I got to put."
"Oh yeah? Then what about that game with the spinning wheel?"
"THAT WAS YOU!"
"...I put it back."
"Tiona, the wheel was torn in half."
If you had told him way back then, when he was leaving his village, that some day he would be sitting with the Loki Familia, one of the top adventurers in Orari.
Talking and joking with them like old friends, about a mystical room with games and prizes that only the heavens would have in a Theater out of time and space, after being invited by a goldike being called the Watcher.
He might have thought you were crazy, or at the very least part of one of his Grandpa's pranks.
But now, after battling monsters, Gods, and even a Giant Goddess-Devouring Scorpion. It just seemed like another Friday.
Well…..Maybe not the theater out of time and space part, but something that he can't even comprehend, he wasn't even gonna count it. Just trying to think about it hurts his head.
Either way, Bell didn't think he would have it any other way.
"Well…It's ok Tiona, at least you still got a prize." Bell said, pointing at the newest member of the Loki Familia on Tiona's lap.
"Oh! Do you like it? It was really hard getting enough of those tickets to get it."
Excited to show off her prize, Tiona lifted the giant toy off her lap for everyone to see.
It was nice, Bell thought, though he didn't know what kind of animal it was. Grey skin, curved white tusks, big ears, and the most eye-catching, the long nose hanging in the front. Big enough to almost be as tall as Lili, it struck an imposing figure as it was held in the air.
"It's an animal from Telskyura. Kali says they're called Ellifants, but everyone else just calls it a Stomper." Tione explained.
"And isn't he just the cutest thing EVER!" Screaming, Tiona hugged the Elifant against her chest, swinging it back and forth as she did. "I always wanted to ride on a real one, but Tione never let me. But now I got this little guy."
"Tiona, we were kids the last time we saw a Stomper. That thing would've swallowed you whole." Tione signed like she's had to say this a thousand times.
Which, looking at Tiona happily throw her Elifant in the air, she just might have.
"Well, Bell-sama got Lili this." Cheekily smiling at some of the girls, Lili held up the little dog toy that he had gotten her.
The little brown dog was smaller than Tiona's stuffed toy but was just as, if not more cute. With its little tongue sticking out and its big, round eyes that seemed to light up whenever you looked at it.
And it was absolutely the wrong thing for Lili to say.
"He did, did he?"Ryuu said darkly
As one, she, Lefiya, Tiona, Harumime, and even Ais all turned to look at Bell. Their eyes seemingly covered in shadows as they stared down at Bell with the intensity of the sun.
Shrinking into his seat, Bell blushed under all this attention.
He didn't see what the big deal was. It was just a toy. After getting a few of those tickets as prizes, he went over to the counter to see what was there and picked the dog.
It looked as nice as all the other prizes, so he just got it.
He only gave it to Lili because its ears reminded him of her Thintrope disguise, and she seemed happy to get it.
Bell had wanted to get something for everyone, but by then it had been too late. Asfi was calling everyone to go back as they were getting ready to start back up again.
"How nice of the little rabbit." A sickly sweet voice cheered behind him.
Bell blinked. Who-?
"Grk!"
Around him, he heard people gasp as a slim, pale arm shot out from behind him and wrapped around his neck. They looked shocked and a little bit scared. But he couldn't think about them right now. Caseu right now had his own problem.
Like the deceitfully strong arm that was slowly choking the life out of him.
Grasping onto the pale piece of iron around his neck, Bell struggled to pull it away, but it was useless. He would have had more luck wrestling with a Goliath than overpowering whoever was behind him.
"Urk." It was getting harder to breathe as the arm tightened against his windpipe, drawing him further into a… soft chest?
Bell blushed. Well, at least he knew the gender of whoever was choking him. And besides the choking, it was kind of-
NO! Snap out of it, Bell! He screamed in his head! Now wasn't the time for that!
Looking up Bell, out of habit, tried to apologize for feeling up his captor when he froze. He knew that blood red hair anywhere. And though that evil grin on her face was new, there was no way that he could mistake Ais's Goddess looming over him.
Loki.
"Hey there, Rabbit, I see you're having fun with some of my girls….Whatcha talking about?"
"..A-Ah…Loki-sama! We-We're j-just …talking about the G-Game room."
"Y-Yeah, the Watcher set it up for us if we ever get bored." Welf said, trying to come to his defence and distract the obviously enraged Goddess.
"Oh,Really?"
"A-Ah…..L-Loki-sama….Can't breathe."
"What?.. Oh you're fine. Just relax right there since you seem to like it so much." Her grin widening Loki pulled him deeper into her chest.
Unable to watch this anymore her children finally stood up.
"Loi-sama, you're hurting him." Lefyia pleaded.
"..Let him go." Nodding beside her, Ais reached out as if to grab Bell from Lokis' grasp.
Backing up, Loki tightened her grip on Bell, taking him with her as she looked at her children in disbelief.
"What?! Girls! I'm trying to save your purity."
"WHAT!!??" All the girls blushed at Loki's insinuation.
"Yes, don't you know what guys like him think about. I bet he's got a bunch of dirty little thoughts swimming around in that noggin of his. And as your Goddess, it's my job to protect you from guys like him…Especially those from Shorties Familia."
Looking down at the little boy in her arms, nicely placed, velvet cheeks smushed against her chest, Loki stared into his eyes and knew that she had to protect her girls.
"I mean, just look at him. Blushing like that just by being smushed against my divine body. With those little pink cheeks..that little button nose…this soft hair…" Loki's voice got softer as she absent-mindedly started caressing Bell's hair. "..And those big innocent eyes.."
"LOKI-SAMA!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WASHBOARD!!!"
"U-Uh?..AHH!" Shocked Loki woke from her daydream, realizing that she was still holding Bell. She quickly shoved him to the ground.
"SEE! SEE! What'd I tell you?! That boy is an enemy to all women kind, He was even using his wicked powers on me! With those eyes and feminine body!" Loki screamed, pointing at Bell, sprawled on the floor.
"..Hak..Feminine?!..Huff" He asked confused.
"Bell are you ok!" Picking him up off the floor, Hestia hugged him against her superior body. Hoping to wash away the trauma with her love.
"L-Loki-sama n-not that I disagree with you..But you can't be grabbing people like that, especially Bell." Lefiya said
"Disagree with her?!"
"Loki-sama…Bad." Ais nodded.
"Yeah, Loki, you're going too far." Hugging her Stomper Tiona agreed.
"W-What?! Has he affected you this much that you're even going against your lovely Goddess?"
"Lovely?" They asked.
"I-I see now… It's all his fault." Loki clutched her head. "His powers are too great, if I don't stop him now, he'll take away all of my girls. Yes, this is the only way."
Looking up, Loki glared at Bell.
"There's only one way to stop this."
"Bell, it's ok, just breathe Hestia-chan is here for you - Loki, what the hell is your problem? How dare you do-" Trying to comfort Bell Hestia, glared at the approaching Loki
"The only way to stop this is to make him fall madly in love with me." Loki declared.
"HUH??!!"
Taking him out of Hestia's shocked hands, Loki lifted Bell up till he was almost standing.
"If he only looks at me, then all of my girls will be safe." Loki had tears streaming down her face as she smooshed Bell's cheeks together, making his lips pucker. "It's a sacrifice, but a sacrifice I'm willing to make…for my girls."
"A-A Sacrifice?! Loki y-you better let my Bell go right now!"
"Yes, Loki I think you should release little Bell before you do something that you regret." Coming out of nowhere, Freya glared down at Loki with a threatening look.
"NO! This is the only way I can protect my girls, so you two better not top me!" Loki screamed
"LOKI!!"
"LOKI-SAMA!"
And just as a fight was about to break out a light shined on everyone.
Looking down on everyone, The Watcher tried to make sense on why a crowd had formed around two individuals against the side of the room.
<..Is this a bad time?>
Ouranos sighed. He had been quietly watching the chaos unfold before him for some time, not really knowing if or when he should interfere, he had decided to let them sort it out themselves.
Thankfully, The Watcher showed up when he did, or else there might have been a three-way Goddess fight unfolding right in front of him.
Again.
Honestly, nothing so childish or inane like this has happened since Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite had that fight a few centuries back.
In fact..Wasn't it about a mortal back then as well?
Either way. "I take it since you have shown yourself that the ones above you have made a decision concerning our last meeting."
"Meeting? Ouranos, what are you talking about?" Hermes asked. Curious to know when their Head God had meant this strange entity alone.
"During the lunch break, Fels and I met with the Watcher in the Library, where we had sought to find some answers to a few of our questions."
"Most of the information on the Gods was hidden unfortunately. That's when we asked The Watcher if he could release some of that information to us before the next chapter's readings, to lessen any confusion we might have." Fels continued
"..What?"
"What the hell does that mean? It shouldn't matter if we learn this shit now or later its all the same." Stepping up, Loki crossed her arms.
"Huh?"
< If I were to tell you everything you wanted you wanted to know then the lesson itself would be meaningless. Instead of building on a stable foundation you would instead be trying to build on the air with nothing to support you. Your reasoning would jump and leap to your own conclusions, many of wich could lead to disastrous consequences. >
"So when do we get answers to our questions then"
With the message delivered, The Watcher faded away again, leaving everyone once again staring at the ceiling, waiting for more answers.
Scoffing, Loki kicked the ground in frustration.
Looks like there was nothing to it but to finish the book then.
"Fine, where's that stupid book?"
Not wanting to mess around, Loki just wanted to get her chapter down and pass it on to the next person.