In His Name

Chapter 39 - Lost in translation

The door leads directly back to the place they'd left from. Rosco had expected the way back up to be just as jarring and disorienting as the way down had been, but magic never makes sense so of course it's just as easy as walking through a door. 

It's about midday back in the mortal realm. The sun beats down from overhead, warming the grassy hills; the still cool spring breeze tugging past them. Rosco sucks in a deep breath of real fresh air, does a little spin, relishing the feel of gravity weighing on his shoulders. The spirit realm had been neat and all, but he is a mortal creature, and the mortal realm is his home.

As the last of the wildflowers that followed them pass through the doorway, Hayden swings it shut, closing off the connection between worlds. The wildflowers are ecstatic, practically vibrating with excitement. They say quick goodbyes, bow to Hayden, and eagerly rush off in every direction. Tansy breathes a deep, accomplished sort of sigh and settles in their place on Rosco's shoulder. A thought comes to the boy, he freezes, slowly turning to find the mountains in their place to the north. They loom tall and imposing as ever, but having met their spirits, Rosco sees them differently. They are living beings, with feelings, fears and hopes, so more than the massive obstacles he'd known them as.

"Oh," Rising up on his toes, "Hayden, I never got the chance to ask what game the mountain spirits challenged you too," Wrinkling his nose, "And why exactly you agreed to it."

Hayden hums, leading the way back towards the city, "They each chose a different game, the goal was to defeat them all, one at a time. I agreed because they made the challenge appealing to me."

"I, uh," twisting his ring, "Was pretty surprised when Dora told me you let her take me."

Hayden glances down, eyes the color of storms, "I believed you would be safest away from the spirits who obviously wanted something from you," watching the boy carefully, "I knew Manadora would take a liking to you and that she would cave and tell you everything. I was mostly wasting time, allowing for that to happen. What I did not expect," his tone going hard as iron, "was her being so proactive in finding a solution that best suited her aims."

"She didn't mean any harm." The boy mutters softly, keeping his gaze on his hands, "and everything turned out okay-ish," letting his voice trail off. Hayden hums an angry sort of noise, and they all lapse into silence. Anger makes Rosco nervous, always waiting for it to turn on him. Tansy's weight on his shoulder is a comforting presence though, allowing him a clear enough mind to remind himself the god is not angry with him, and he has nothing to fear. Even if Hayden was mad at him, the god is not likely to harm him.

Determined to inject some words into the quiet and lighten the mood, "She showed me some of the spirit realm." Rosco ventures, clasping his hands behind his back, "I saw her house and a city and your palace, from the outside, and she was pretty fun to talk to. She answered most of my questions without getting annoyed with me and even though she said a lot of really confusing things, it never felt like she was making fun of me for not understanding. She reminded me of you in some ways Tansy." Peeking over at the wildflower on his shoulder. Tansy wrinkles their nose in response, crossing their tiny arms apparently not amused by the comparison. Rosco grins, "Just in the way that I didn't mind her touching me and she was easy to talk to, I normally can't deal with girls, I get all weird and embarrass myself, or totally clam up and don't know what to say, which is really weird for me. I'm sure you've both noticed by now, but I almost always have something to say. She even touched my lips at one point, and I didn't feel weird or invaded at all!" Tansy snaps to attention at that, slowly turning to look at Hayden, whose eyes are already glued to Rosco with a murderous expression on his face. Completely unaware of the strange vibe, Rosco just keeps on talking, "You're like the closest thing I've ever had to a girlfriend before," wrinkling his nose, "well not girlfriend, but friend who's a girl," Rosco frowns at himself, "you're not even really a girl, are you?" pulling the little spirit into his hands to get a better look at them, "But you kind of are?" wrinkling his nose, "But you're also kind of a boy?" Tansy tilts their hand back and forth in a 'Yeah, sort of both' kind of gesture. "Huh," Rosco blinks, "I guess I just ran with it before, without ever actually thinking about it. "Anyway," he shrugs, "Dora said anyone can learn to summon those doors that take you places, does that mean you can do it too?" Tansy nods enthusiastically and with a mix of gestures and forcing Hayden to translate, tells him that the doors the small spirits make are proportionally small while giant spirits make really big doors, which Rosco finds absolutely fascinating. And since Tansy is already using Hayden to talk for them, the wildflower goes on to tell them both about their trip. Exuberant gestures and expressions punctuating the rather mundane details of their adventure with a lot more excitement than it had actually entailed.

It's late afternoon when the trio finally approaches the city gate. All three quickly realize something is amiss as there is a significant increase in the number people trying to enter and leave the city. Tansy presses close to Rosco's neck, holding tightly to his ear to keep from getting lost in the shuffle while Hayden takes hold of Rosco's hand. The city guard doesn't bother to speak with them as they pass, too busy keeping the flow of traffic moving through the gate. Inside, the people are also acting strangely. Normally at this time of day this area is bustling with happy shoppers, people enjoying an evening in the taverns or cafes. But today, many shoppes are closed up, the street is still busy, but the tone is nervous and somber, a hint of fear to be found in every eye. Slave to his curiosity, Rosco pulls free of Hayden's grip, grabbing the first person who presses by him. Hayden lunges to catch him, but not even a god is faster than Rosco with a question on his lips.

"What's happened?" the boy interrogates the stranger, "Why is everyone so nervous?"

"You didn't hear?" the man whispers, as if speaking too loudly will bring disaster, "The god of death has returned to punish us all!"

"What?!" Rosco yells while Hayden sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. The stranger shushes him, anxiously glancing around them as if the scary god of death he so fears will pop out of nowhere and eat him. The actual god of death rolls his eyes at the absurdity.

"it's true!" the man goes on whisper yelling, "He's angry the new gods have called on us to worship them and has killed the great mountain God Manarow in vengeance! He returned half the missing children and stole the souls of the rest as a warning to any other new gods who dare oppose his leadership! People have been flooding the city from the neighboring villages to see if any of their loved ones were lucky enough to make it back. And many more are trying to flee, believing the god will curse the city for our willingness to follow the new gods."

Rosco's blood begins to boil, "That's not how it happened!" Shouting at the unsuspecting man, "Who told you that ridiculous lie!?"

"That's enough, Rosco." Hayden interrupts, ending what was about to be a very colorful rant by slapping his hand over the boy's mouth, "We'll be going now." Pulling Rosco into an alleyway. Hayden sighs heavily like he's preparing for the worst and then releases him.

Rosco immediately spins around, throwing his hands up in the air, "What kind of bullshit was that?!" he demands, positively fuming, "Who's spewing that nonsense! Is it the mountain spirits?! Why would they do that after you helped them with Row? 'Punish us all'" he huffs, mocking the panicked tone the poor bystander had used, "What kind of god do they think you are?! And why didn't you say anything?" poking Hayden in the chest, "And what was that exit about? Huh?"

Hayden cups the boy's cheeks and Rosco instantly deflates, caught like a fly in honey by the very warm look Hayden is giving him, "It's alright Rosco," the god soothes, his tone soft and tender, "I knew something like this would happen, there's no need to get so worked up over it. Though in retrospect I suppose I should have warned you before we got back."

"You knew this would happen?" Rosco asks dumbfounded.

"Things are often lost in translation when communicating between humans and supernatural beings, that is a large part of the reason we choose priests, so we have a trusted person to act as a liaison between our two very different ways of thinking," letting his hands fall from Rosco's face, "And news of my return was bound to be met with fear and suspicion. I am rather accustomed to being seen as the villain. I am death. The living will always find me unpleasant," glancing to his feet, "and it's not as if I left with my best foot forward," Rosco frowns, looking to Tansy to back up his outrage, but the little spirit is only able to offer a little shrug and an incline of their head as if to say 'it is what it is'. Huffing, Rosco runs his shaking hands through his curls. The anger is starting to prick at his eyes. Stupid tears threaten to spill over and run down his face, making him look like an idiot. He isn't sad, he's pissed. But he still can't stop the sniffle trying to clear his clogged nose. He hears the heavy fall of Hayden's boots moving closer, "Rosco," the god begins.

Rosco cuts him off, meeting the god's concerned gaze, "Make me your priest." He demands, lacing his voice with the conviction of a decision already made.