007 | Clean Up Your Act

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Spring cleaning
When: All day April 15
Where: All around the Heavens
Summary: The Heavens don't like things being cluttered, so it's time to clean up a little bit.







Main Hall

While the main hall of the Heavens seems spotlessly clean at all times, that's not the case at all. In fact, it's been at least a decade since the last time they actually cleaned everything out properly. There are a lot of hidden closets and back rooms that have layers of dust and dozens of boxes filled with nothing but junk. Who knows, though! You might find something interesting and useful in there along with all the garbage.

Suprises

Unfortunately, some of the older temples on the Far Shore seem to have some interesting surprises tucked away, ranging from cursed artifacts all the way to magical creatures locked up in long-forgotten rooms. You are free to be creative with this as a way to get your characters into trouble while cleaning.

Complimentary Dinner

After all of your hard work, you deserve to have some tasty food and refreshing beverages. So the Heavens have provided that for you, so that you can wind down after a long day. It's not as fancy as the banquets they often put on, but there is a nice array of food and drinks for everyone to enjoy.

Counselling

As usual, there is a white-robed shinki bearing the gold chrysanthemum of Amaterasu sitting at a table in the Main Hall. There is a small sign that denotes her as the counselling shinki. Anyone is welcome to approach her, and she will smile serenely at anyone passing by as well.



In Summary:

• Clean up your home
• Help clean others' homes
• Get the main hall clean too!
• Hope no hidden magic jumps out
• Seek counselling if you need it
• Enjoy your complimentary dinner
• Have fun~

Comments

[ex_adept179]

Boring.

Ever heard of that one?

Nope.

Boring.

[Slaine shakes his head, and in contrast to Sheryl, he does bend to pick up an urn. He's dealt with this entirely too many times today, by now. The cats part to give him room when he straightens, and perhaps they were wise to do so, because he has to correct his balance over the course of a few paces]

Slaine Saazbaum Troyard. That's all I know of myself, so don't expect much.

[Said with the same sort of flat disenchantment one might experience when reading about a subject in which one hasn't any interest whatsoever]

Which one of you is this, the calico one?

[He hefts the pottery up a little more, peering at the remaining crowd]

[galactically]

Boring?

[Sheryl is just... going to give these cats a pointed look while she rests both hands on her hips. Boring?!]

All of you have obviously been living in those urns for too long!

[Speaking of urns, she rushes to Slaine's side and carefully looks over his shoulder, one hand resting on top of it for support. That name of his is quite long, almost like it belongs to a fancy royal.]

[ex_adept179]

Guess again!

[Slaine jostles the urn in his hands as though this helps him assess a nearly-bored hum sounding his his throat. It's apparently a game with which he's become familiar over the course of the day]

Is it... The black one with white paws?

It could be...

[He huffs out a breath]

Noncommittal.

[galactically]

[Is Slaine trying to send the cats back into the urns? That's what Sheryl wonders, darting her eyes around each cat that's peering at the boy next to her. There are far too many of those critters to go with the urns... perhaps if they speed this up..]

The tabby one!

[She points at the cat she described as though she just discovered a hidden treasure beneath all that fur.]

[ex_adept179]

Sheryl, that's-

Does she even know how to play?

[There's an impatient air about that question, and in a burst of smoke, the urn vanishes to reveal a black cat. The cats aren't inside the urns; they're transforming into the urns. Strange as it is, Slaine has seen it enough times throughout the day to find it rather unremarkable now.

So long as they don't pop up out of nowhere, that is]

[galactically]

[Sheryl, unlike Slaine, jumps in surprise at the sudden transformation, seeing this for the very first time. To think that a heavy urn is now a fluffy cat in his arms.]

How do they even do that?!

[Such troublesome creatures.]

[ex_adept179]

I'd imagine they're not normal cats...

[Or such is his assumption as the cat hops down to join its fellow felines. They're still chattering away, this time debating if some other game might turn out being more engaging, since somebody doesn't seem to understand the game.

For his part, Slaine can only shrug]

Though I'm afraid I'd never heard of two-tailed cats before.

[galactically]

What a shame that cute things can turn out to be so annoying.

[From the way her eyes narrow at the two-tailed fiends, it's clear that Sheryl's words are at their expense. The constant chattering like she and Slaine aren't there is frankly getting on her nerves, and it shows from the disapproval plastered all over her face.]

Come on, Slaine. Let's get out of here.

[ex_adept179]

[In a way, Slaine prefers being treated as though he's not there. It's a lot better than having his attention demanded for games he doesn't entirely understand the point of. He can understand the notion of being bored and lonesome, but he's spent the day trying to work and being interrupted by these strange cats...]

How do we leave though? They're rather...encumbering.

[What with the way the cats have crowded around them both from all sides]

[galactically]

[How do they leave, indeed. As much as she'd been spending her idle time with her phone, it's coming to a point where she'd rather start on her cleaning duties instead of dealing with these cats.

Even so, as irritating as these creatures are to Sheryl, she doesn't want to hurt them or step over them in case of an accident that might ensue to her or Slaine. What to do...?]

If these cats aren't normal and can transform into things...

[Slowly, she pulls out her golden microphone from her purse, glancing at Slaine with pursed lips.]

[ex_adept179]

[Slaine eyes the microphone speculatively. Does Sheryl intend to serenade the cats...? He's seen her use that trick on kids, but it seems different with two-tailed cats, or he has to imagine so]

Can't gods just teleport?

[It seems simpler than putting on a concert for felines, but he's not exactly an expert on what it's like to be a god. Maybe it's draining to move from one place to another instantly like that.

Perhaps he ought to ask Hope about it sometime]

[galactically]

[... Thanks for bringing that up, Slaine. Sheryl has become so accustomed to facing monsters through the power of song that she sometimes forgets about her other godly abilities.

If he pays close attention, he might be able to detect her cheeks turning a shade of pink.]

I know that! Now hold on to me.

[And she huffs. Putting the microphone back in her purse, she tucks an arm around his and with a blink of an eye, they disappear... and then reappear outside in the hallways. Take that, cats.]

[ex_adept179]

[It's always disorienting, disappearing from one place and reappearing in another. He half-stumbles when they arrive, trying not to feel as undignified as he's sure he must look in that moment.

At least, it seems, they're free of the cats]

They were following me around all afternoon.

[And he can't begin to imagine what the fascination was, unless they were simply that bored]

[galactically]

[Upon seeing a nearby room, thankfully devoid of any magical two-tailed, urn-shifting cats, Sheryl drags Slaine inside it, then closes the door afterwards. Inside the room contains a couch, a few tables and chairs, and a vanity set.

Yes, he looks undignified, hence some chuckles come out of Sheryl's lips.]

You must be really popular with cats! They probably sensed a cat lover in you.

[A pause. Now that they're talking about cats...]

How is Lily doing these days?

[ex_adept179]

[Slaine wonders if a door would actually keep those sorts of cats out, but he supposes it's better than standing about and waiting for them to catch up. And fortunately he'd finished his work in the temple, so at least it's not a dusty mess anymore]

I don't know about popular...

[With anyone really, because he's just himself here]

Lily has been doing well. She's quite active, and growing steadily.

[galactically]

That's good. I'd love to see that adorable kitten of yours again.

[Sheryl misses petting Lily's soft white fur, okay? And even better when she gets to see how far she's really grown under Slaine's care. Her eyes linger on his shoulders for a bit, lips pursed.]

You've been holding those heavy urns for the annoying cats. How are your arms?

[ex_adept179]

[Slaine is about to tell her she can visit Lily anytime, well aware a cat needs socializing and she should get exposure to more people than just himself and Hope. But the question derails his thoughts, leaving a curious expression on his face for a long moment]

My arms...?

[As though it doesn't logically follow that lifting heavy objects would affect them, go Slaine]

They're fine. It wasn't that heavy.

[He's stronger than his lean build might suggest, perhaps]

[galactically]

But you told me they were heavy!

[Slaine's answer only prompts confusion from Sheryl's end as she closes the distance a little between them, checking out his shoulders in disbelief. Sure he's a shinki and looks can be deceiving, but she's noticed how he had some difficulties with the urns.

Also she considers him a friend of hers, someone worthy of her concern despite how he annoys her at times.]

What about your shoulders? [Suddenly an idea forms in her head. He might not like it, judging from the way she squints at him.] Aren't they sore?

[ex_adept179]

[It seems to Slaine that Sheryl alternates between being frustrated with him and being worried over him. And on special occasions such as this, perhaps it's a little of both at once]

I've been cleaning all day, it's nothing worthy of concern.

[Sheryl please, he's perfectly fine... At least he thinks so]

[galactically]

[Sheryl rests a hand on his shoulder, then uses her free hand to point at the couch.]

Sit down, Slaine! I'm going to give you a massage.

[So remember the part where he might not like the idea she came up with? Yeah...]

[ex_adept179]

[For this there is only startled staring, at least at first.

And then Slaine recovers, shaking his head]

No need. [He waves the notion off, just like that] I've still got work to do.

[galactically]

Oh no, you don't! Even boys like you need to relax!

[Slaine will received a pointed look for that before she grabs him by the shoulders to nudge him towards the couch, gently shoving him to the seat.

And then sits on him.

Take that, Slaine.]

[ex_adept179]

[Slaine's surprised that Sheryl muscles him into this...and then sits on him.

His only recourse is to cover his face with a hand]

This is unseemly.

[A goddess is sitting on him, of all the things]

[galactically]

[Sheryl's going to get comfortable using Slaine's lap as a chair, gripping his shoulders for support. So what if she, too, is blushing from the ridiculousness of this situation?]

I don't do this for just anyone, so be grateful! [A pause] And don't think too hard about this!

[With a huff, awkward movements from her fingers like this is her first time doing this... she tentatively starts kneading his shoulders.]

[ex_adept179]

[Slaine, thinking too hard about this?]

...You're acting like a cat.

[No risk there, he's too caught on the image of her behaving like a kitten might]