Everlight by ZoriStory

  As Alex stepped out of the massive bedroom containing the two gods, she stared at the elevator that was across the room. The door slid shut with a solid ‘click’. On the other side of the double doors behind her, she heard the sounds of Fortia walking away - loud, heavy weighted thumping behind her. The first few made her brace herself, before they grew distant. The further away they got, the clearer she could think–

The sound of someone munching on something crispy could be heard, as Alex turned to face the source of it.

“So!” Max stood there where she had last seen him, leaning with his back against the wall - a bag of fries within his grasp. He plucked at two to three at a time, bringing them to his mouth and taking a bite out of the fries with a slight crunching sound.

She stared at him, hair slightly messy, with a bit of a damp look. As if she had just gotten out of the shower, and had recently blown dry her hair. Her clothing was full of wrinkles, and the brown haired woman could feel how cold the floor was; with her feet clad only in a pair of somewhat dry socks.

“How was sugar and spice? Did they find you rather nice?~” The suited man asked her with a bit of a grin, with Alex finding herself scowling at him. Her eyes briefly darted down towards the fries. The taller man pushed off against the wall, strolling towards her in a laid back manner. Pausing roughly half a foot away from her, offering her the jumbo-sized container, with a number of lightly seasoned fries within. Although there was only half remaining.

“Fries?” He offered with a straight face, causing Alex to stare up at him. . .maintaining her gaze, as she slowly reached up to take a small fistful out of it, making him raise an eyebrow. “Sheesh, guess they worked you up enough to make you hungry again, huh? Well, once you’re ready, we’ll get you to your quarters and settle in.” The young woman merely nodded in response, shoving a few fries into her mouth.

Taking a moment to chew them up and swallow, the brown haired woman found herself remembering how to speak like a proper person. “Uhhh. . .” A pause as she coughed, taking a moment to gather up some remaining saliva in her mouth; swallowing to try and clear her throat.

“Is all that. . .normal?” She asked.

Max gave Alex a ‘clueless’ face, munching on a pair of fries, before speaking. “Is what normal?” He asked in return, in an almost ‘innocent’ manner.

A scowl split across the tomboy’s lips when he said that, gesturing with a free hand from herself towards the double doors.

“That!” She exclaimed, with Max glancing from the door, then back to her. Staring for a moment.

He reached for another fry, only for a hardened glare to make him pause and chuckle.

“It depends. Right now, they’re still high off the festival, so with most others they restrain themselves. Somewhat. Although, they were quite excited to meet you!” Max expressed, as he’d gesture towards the elevator, pressing a button on the side to call for it.

Alex frowned slightly when thinking about it, before looking up at him, asking him the big question yet again. “But, like, -why- are they excited about me?”

Max smiled when she asked that, deciding to fill her in as they waited.

“Because you’re different from the ones they had before. Almost all the others were what some called heroes. . .some villains. Members descended from royalty, while others came from extremely wealthy families. With you? You’re something fresh compared to all of them.”

Alex stared up at him, waiting for him to reveal something. That she did in fact have royal blood in her. Maybe she was secretly from a line of heroes and didn’t know it. She could be special and be born with magical–

“You’re normal.” Max exclaimed.

The shorter of the two looked up at him in an almost dumb founded manner, a beautiful chime heard as the doors opened, as the elevator had arrived at last.

“Normal? Just. . .normal?” She’d repeat back to him, as the two of them entered the elevator doors slowly closing behind them. Max took a second to let her get settled in, before pushing one of the many buttons, and they’d sense themselves starting to go higher. . .then it felt as if they had stopped and. . .were moving off to the side.

“Well, not TOO normal. I mean, if we went too hard on that, I think it’d sort of back fire. Your name was listed among a number of others, but you got chosen after they looked through the rest! I think liking both of them on a sort of equal level diiiid help you net some big points! Most tend to favor one over the other.” Max expressed to her, as Alex tried to process the reasoning she was here.

“So, lottery winning, but they just liked the numbers I chose?” She said in almost disbelief, with Max closing one eye, head swaying from left to right briefly. “Mmmm, sort of. Last time they picked someone it was from a very wealthy family that had members from their lineage picked before. Howeeeever–” He consumed another fry or two.

“--there is a reason behind wanting someone like you. You see, when you start picking favorites that don’t really come from where the everyday person comes from? You tend to only hear a certain side. Do the -people- like them just as much? Less? Maybe even more! Being in an echo chamber, even if you do enjoy hearing people praise and talk about you, can be unwise. So, the two big gals decided to have a crack at something different! Less of a yes man, and more of a. . .well. . .someone like you.” He said, gesturing towards her with a free hand.

Alex held up a hand, trying to figure out how to word her next question; which Max waited for with a smile.

“Ok. So, they want to hear my thoughts on them? Like, my real thoughts and how people like ‘me’ feel too?” She said, with Max giving her a small wink, along an odd sound from his mouth. “Bingo-bango~” He declared with a bigger grin, with Alex rolling her eyes at him. “Nobody says that anymore. My -grandpa- doesn’t say that anymore.” She replied with a huff, with Max making a mock wounded expression on his face.

“Now -that- sounds like someone who doesn’t want any more of theeese~” Max gave a slight shake of his container that still held a number of fries in it.

“Ok, so–” She’d not react to the fries comment, something that made Max look almost offended by. “--how does all this work? Am I going to sit in on some meetings between, like, world leaders or something?” A small ‘pffft’ emitted from Max’s lips, shaking his head.

“What? Going to sit down, have a gal-pal talk, look over some magazines and talk about how cute the people are in it?” Alex said with a small laugh and amused look. . .though it shifted to an uneasy one, as Max gave her a grin.

Another fry was consumed by him, with the only sound heard in the elevator was a simple crunching while Maxed chewed it up.

“. . .you’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me.” She said with a dry tone.

“No ma’am, that’s the honest truth of it. Though you’re also going to be working a bit to earn your keep! Free ride is nice, but too much of it might make you lose your edge. That, and we’ll need to train you as well.” He said, with Alex giving him a curious look. “Train me for what?” She asked, with Max giving her a look.

“The type of ‘worship’ you’ve learned growing up is nooot quite the same here. You’ll be doing such a thing much more. . .direct.” He cleared his throat, ceasing his fry eating for the time being.

“Most of the time it’ll be just you, but other times they might call for you and a few others. When they want that group attention. When that happens, I’d urge you to pay close attention to how the others act. You’ll see what I mean when I say, normal.” He said in an off-handed way, causing Alex to look unsure after that.

“What’s that mean?”

Before he could reply, a soft chime was heard, as the elevator arrived at its chosen destination.

“Here we are, a bit of a walk to the next area!” With that, Max gestured for Alex to exit, following right behind her as she did.

It dawned on Alex within seconds that they were in a rather fancy looking hallway. The one might see at a wealthy mansion that was several decades old.

“Are we in the temple?!” Alex asked in shock, feeling the nice red carpet beneath their feet. With Max nodding as he waved for her to follow him down the hall. She followed, looking out the windows as she passed them. A massive green landscape was seen outside, but the stained-glass windows made it hard to see much beyond that.

There was a large pair of brown well polished oak doors at the end with a golden handle on each of them, as Max spoke again.

“It’s undergone a number of rebuilds. For now, they still favor castle stuff. Easier to get around, more color to it than what they had before. . .and you’ll be living here for the time being!” Max expressed, making Alex pause for a moment. A look of confusion written across her face.

“Wait, I thought I was going to live in that place we saw underground?” She questioned, with Max nodding as he stood in front of the doors, turning to face the favored one.

“Aaaand you will! Just not yet. See, you’re the new gal in town. It’d be a real hassle if you lived down there, as it’ll take longer for you to get to ol’ sun and moon. Trust me, the place down stairs is extremely nice, but everyone starts here. Hasn’t been used in about five decades since the last guy.” Max explained, making her give him an odd look.

“. . .and how long am I staying here?” She asked the blonde haired man, who merely held up his arm and tugged back on his sleeve, checking on his watch hidden beneath it.

“It differs for everyone, but for now? I think getting you inside and in a new set of clothes would do you some good, yeah?” Placing a hand on his hip, the other gestured in shoeless-one’s general direction; causing Alex to look down at herself. Wiggling her sock-clad toes as they stood out against the red carpet floor she was standing on.

“Alright, alright. That seems fair. . .” It wasn’t just her lack of shoes, but she was slowly starting to ache all over. Whatever had happened back with the two gods had started to fade, leaving only an aching body in their wake.

“Not feeling too hot? Guess it’s fading.” Max said, opening the door for her - as he led her inside where Alex found herself. . .

. . .inside what seemed to be a larger, better version of where she lived in her apartment.

“Uhhh. . .” Alex had a look of confusion on her. It was still made up of three rooms. A living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom. However, the space was larger, and while containing all of her stuff, they were all new and improved. She noticed her more personal belongings were in the places they had been before.

There was also. . .other things as well.

On the coffee table between the couch and television set was a number of gifts, all wrapped up like it was Alex’s birthday already. A small stack awaited her, different sizes and shapes. Dozens of wall papers and pictures were seen about her room. . .all of them either of both goddesses or one of them. They seem to be striking different poses, each one wearing a different outfit.

One showed Sophia and Fortia holding a globe of the planet between them in space, eyes closed and focused on something. Another showed Fortia lifting an entire skyscraper above her head with one hand, grinning at the viewer, with the logo ‘Never stop improving!’ under it. Then there was one of Sophia in a dark emerald dress with a slit up the side, just like in that butler and maid ad she had seen before. However, unlike the former it held no other person in it. She was merely laying on her side, one leg practically fully exposed up to her hip. Eyes half closed, and a devilish smirk seen on the god’s painted black lips.

There were a number of others, but what was begging her attention above all of these, was what was waiting for her on the couch.

Resting on either side of the couch, with a spot free in between, no doubt for her, were two large stuffed dolls that were made in the image of Sophia and Fortia. They were wearing the outfits they had been sporting during the midnight hour at the festival. Though they were more, what Alex knew as, ‘Chibified’. Smiling faces with buttons for eyes. Despite it being the type one would hope to win at their local fair, they seemed to be rather high quality.

Nothing was said for a moment, as Alex just. . .stared. The tomboy turned towards Max, who looked down at her with a smile on his face.

The young woman then spoke in a rather flat tone. “My room looks like I just won some runner-up prizes on a game show.”

The well dressed man merely flashed her a grin, before looking over at the large stuffed dolls. “I think many would be jealous!”

“It’s tacky.” She said without thinking, still sore all over and somewhat drained.

“Ahhh, come on! Who doesn’t want two lovely ladies looking at them; all day and night, for the rest of their lives? Could be worse!” He said in a rather happy tone, which Alex only found herself scowling.

“It’s corporate.” Alex declared with clear distaste slipping into her voice.

“Mmmm, not quite! I mean, I think they’d be hurt to know they took all these new and personal photos for you this morning, and only for you!” The Enforcer expressed, causing Alex to do a bit of a double take at both him and the objects within the room.

“Wait, all of them?” She felt an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach when hearing that, unable to pinpoint why she felt like that.

“Yuuuup! I watched as they had our people take them! That building was a tricky one, as they had to reinforce it so it didn’t crumble when she held it up and on its side like that! They even hand picked the gifts they wanted to give to you!” Stating that, Max gestured towards the gifts on the table, as Alex felt. . .nervous.

“They. . .did all this for me?” The dryness and distaste in her voice vanished, as a bit of a unsure, but somewhat excited one replaced it. It made her feel. . .special. It was also slowly dawning on Alex that this wasn’t a dream, and that she had in fact just had a first time meeting with both of the larger-than-life titans. . .and a ‘personal’ one at that.

Her knees started to buckle, as she felt a gentle hand press against her arm; as Max would guide her towards the empty spot on the couch. Once she was seated between the Sophia and Fortia dolls, Max stood up a bit to the side; so as to not block her view of the presents.

With a glance given to the tomboy, Max would stroll off into the kitchen - opening the fridge and viewing was inside. Reaching in, he pulled out a simple bottle of water, before closing the door to the fridge, and returning to Alex’s side. Without a word, he offered her the water. Accepting it with a small nod, as she took off the cap and guzzled down half the bottle at once. A small trickle of water dripped down the corner of her mouth.

For a moment, nothing was said - as Alex just. . .took a moment to rest. With Max standing off to the side, waiting.

Silence hung in the air, until after a few moments of it, the man cleared his throat, causing Alex to look up at him from her position between the large dolls.

“How about we open the gifts, yeah?” He urged her, with an unsure look on her face again, as the tomboy looked down at her current attire.

“Well, I’m for it, but it’d be nice to change first.” She noted, with Max grinning at her all of a sudden. “Oh, I think there’s a few things in here you can wear! In fact, double-trouble told me to tell you that they expect to see you in -all- the things they’ve given you!” Max alerted her, causing her to give a wary look at the gifts now.

“What, like I’m some sort of doll?” She asked with a huff, with Max peering down at the boxes, poking around as if looking for one in particular. “Let’s seee. . .” He’d muse to himself, with Alex grunting a ‘Don’t you ignore me. . .’ under her breath at him.

Max placed within her lap two small boxes. One was a simple square that was about as big as her hand, while the other was a bit more taller and lean than the first one. “I thiiink these two go together. Smaller one first!” Max urged her, with Alex giving the box a somewhat annoyed look, slowly unwrapping it. . .

. . .only to pause as she saw a hint of what it was, and quickly tore open the rest of it.

“Woah, woah, wooooah!” Alex exclaimed, feeling as if she had gained a second wind, as she held a simple black box within her grasp; with a picture of a grinning cartoon Seagull on it, wearing a baseball cap. Behind the seagull was a white baseball, with a ‘1st edition’ seen on the bottom right of the box. She wasted very little time in opening the box, as she’d find said baseball inside. . .with a number of names scribbled about on it.

“Oh crap, oh crap! No way!” There was excitement in her tone, as she held the baseball like it was made of glass. Slowly, she turned it over between her hands. Noting all the names on it. . .it was the entire Seagull’s baseball team!

“This must have cost a fortune! Is this legit?!” She asked, as if expecting it to be some cheap knock off, with Max shaking his head - a light-hearted laugh emitted from him. He’d reach over to nudge the other gift in her lap towards her. “Noooope, all legit! Made sure to see to the signing of it myself when we got it! This goes with it.” With that being said, Alex placed the ball within her lap and against her stomach, opening the next one.

It held the same mascot on the front of the black box, just taller and thinner in size. Behind it was the picture of simple silver bars crossing over each other, with brown wooden bottom holding them together.

Making sure to take care in opening it, Alex noted there was a small gold plate at the front of the board. . .with it reading; Property of Alex Fae.

“This is FIRST. EDITION.” Alex exclaimed, showing it off to Max - who gave a somewhat comically ‘Impressed’ face, nodding as he did so. “Veeery nice!” He said with a grin, causing Alex to scowl at him. “Oh my goddesses, this is just. . .hoooo. . .” She was clearly trying to not over react, though it was hard. “Want me to put it on your desktop next to your bed?” He asked, holding his hands out to her, only for her to recoil and grip both the ball and stand closer to her; as if he was about to steal it.

“I prooomise to treat them like my own child~” He said in a teasing tone, earning him another scowl from Alex. . .who slowly relented and handed them over. Picking them up, Max stood up in a slow manner, gripping each one in his hand. . .as he started to ‘sing’ some off-beat fake ‘hymn’ of sorts. First he placed the stand on the desk, then, gripping the ball with both hands, he lowered it onto the stand as if he was a holy man crowning a king; causing a snort to emit from Alex in response.

Sliding back over to her, the Enforcer took a seat on the floor to the side, searching for the next gift to give his companion. The next several gifts didn’t quite spark the same feeling as the first two had. Ranging from nice shirts and pants, the type of clothing she wore on a day to day basis.

A few, however, made her pause and question them.

“Ok, I -have- to ask you something. . .uhhh, just between us.” She said, sounding a bit unsure as Max leaned forward. She was holding in her grasp a pair of black socks with orange tips on the toes and heel section. On the sole of the socks was the letter F. Clearly standing for Fortia.

“Real talk, when I was in there, I noticed she sort of. . .” She paused, wondering if it was wise to question it out loud, with Max merely giving her an eager curious look. “When I was–do you even know what happened?” She asked with a judgemental look, with Max glancing off to the side. . .then looking back at her with a thoughtful look on his face.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ve heard of others getting it way rougher, but go on?” A hand gestured for her to go on from him.

“Ok, ok. . .does she have a thing for these?” She’d wave the socks at him, as he gave a mock confused look. Glaring at him, the brown haired woman pointed towards her sock-clad feet, with Max looking down at them as well.

“I mean, I would hope someone enjoys every part of themselves.” He said with a straight face, with Alex merely groaning as she shook her head, causing Max to laugh.

“Sorry, sorry! Anyways, all I’ll say is if you think that? Can’t hurt to talk to -her- about that, and see if it’s true! Remember, part of the meet and hanging out experience. Be wrong of me to ruin that for you two. Although, I am sure she’d love to see you wearing those next time you meet up!” He reassured her with a smile to boot, although the tomboy wasn’t quite sold on it.

A few more gifts were opened. A new baseball jersey, a hat with the Seagull logo on the front. . .then it started to move away from Alex’s favorite baseball team, and onto–

“What in the FUCK is this?” She was NOT impressed by what she was holding up in front of her.

It was pink, frilly, and large.

Everything she hated.

“It’s a princess dress!” Max said with a smile!

“It’s a mistake.” She shot back at once, as Max took it and held it up in front of her as if they were choosing outfits at a store. It was a one piece princess gown. The one most expected to see on a doll for young girls, causing Alex to scowl at it as if it had offended her in some manner. “I am -not- wearing that. . .which one even WANTED me to have THAT?!” A finger pointed at the pink outfit, wishing she could just burn it then and there. “And don’t you try to weasel out of this with a ‘Ask them yourselllllf~” She said in a mock version of his voice.

“Oh, Fortia got it for you!”

She looked over at Max, as if expecting him to finish a joke. . .only to find there was no punch line.

“This seems waaaay more like Sophia’s thing, not Fortia. . .why’d she want me to WEAR this?” She asked again with a look of disbelief, with a sigh emitting from Max.

“Fortia has a thing for them. Was very fond of wooing them all the time, back in the ye’ olden days! I mean, you’ve seen the place. Castle era, she’s big and strong–” Max was cut off by Alex suddenly.

“Wait, am I in a tall tower?” She asked, looking towards the window which she hadn’t gone to peer out of yet.

“Ahhh, funny enough, yes, BUT–” Max held up a hand, as Alex was about to say more. “--not because of that, but because that way it’ll be easier to speak to you whenever they want while they’re outside.” As he spoke, Alex was already marching towards the window, pushing away the ache her body was feeling from what the two gods had done to her earlier. Throwing open the window, she felt a fresh breeze blow in as she gazed at the outside world.

There was a great deal of green outside, with a number of massive trees with odd paths cutting through them. Large massive paths, which Alex could only assume was meant for Sophia and Fortia to walk about on. Much further away was the mountains, as it dawned on Alex that the temple was inside a valley of sorts. A waterfall and lake seen far off in the distance, with a number of other things seen further away.

When looking down, she found herself feeling taken back for a moment, flinching away from the window itself, before peering back over the edge, trying to judge how high up she was.

“It’s just tall enough that they’ll be able to sit down, and talk to you face to face.” Max said, as if knowing what she was thinking as she looked back at him.

There was more she wanted to ask more, while also curious what other gifts were awaiting her in the remaining packages. Yet, she felt herself grow more tired with each passing second. Despite the small bursts of excitement at the gifts and learning more, the day had already taken a toll on her. Wincing as she rolled her shoulder, placing a hand on it. A motion noticed by Max, who stepped closer, gesturing at her jacket.

“May I?” He asked, making a gesture as if he wanted to help her take it off. Normally she’d balk at such a gesture and remove it herself, yet she was starting to feel weak in the knees; as she shifted to sit down on the bed near the window. With Max reaching out to steady the somewhat tired looking woman with a hand placed on her back, before removing the jacket–

“What the hell?” Alex was surprised at what she saw on her arms once the jacket was removed. Bruises had started to form, and odd dents that were rather large seen on her body. She felt confused, until Max spoke.

“Even with the magic they gave you, it seems they got a bit more rough than they meant to.” He expressed, causing the tomboy to frown. “. . .they’re bite marks?” She said in a dumb manner, not quite understanding why it was taking her so long to notice that; despite knowing what happen to her not too long ago. Her mind felt fuzzy, as if trying to reboot.

“Yeah, buuut they’ll heal quickly! I think a few days of rest are in order. Give it time for everything to sink in.” A brief glance was given towards the rest of the gifts, before Max went on further. “Why don’t we stow the rest of the gift opening until after you get some rest, yeah?” He almost seemed. . .apologetic.

Alex wanted to say she was fine, but with each passing second, she felt her energy draining. Slowly, everything was starting to set in during that moment of processing. She felt weak in the knees. Nervous. Excited. Both in awe and. . .and. . .

There was another feeling, but it was hard for her to describe, more so due to her current state.

“Yeah. . .yeah–I think I need to sit down. . .” Alex remarked suddenly, as she stumbled a bit to the bed. Max was already there to lend her a hand and help her get settled in. The young woman felt her vision fading in and out, as she got settled into her new bed. Max had brought her a bottle of water, and a few pills, to help her get some rest.

Max stayed by her side for a time, watching as she drifted off to sleep. As she fell into a slumber, he grabbed the blanket and covered her up. Looking down at her for a moment, a frown slipping across his lips. . .then, he turned to leave. . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

Tick. . .tick. . .tick. . .tick. . .tick. . .

Alex felt herself fading in and out of sleep, unsure of what was causing her to wake. All the lights in the room were turned off, with the only thing enabling her to see was the moon light pouring through the window nearby.

Tick. . .tick. . .tick. . .tick. . .tick. . .

She slowly gazed around, trying to locate the odd sound. It was akin to an old grandfather clock, but only hearing it partly. . .the rest of the sound lost to her. . .just out of reach. She tried to turn her head, but was unable to. Her body felt heavy, as she was made of stone. Yet, she felt a tingle up and down her spine. Goosebumps broke out across her skin, as she felt her heart beating faster than before.

Something was wrong. She couldn’t move–

The sound stopped.

Just outside of view, something shifted. Even when trying to turn her head, unable to, all Alex could do was see movement out of the corner of her eye. Unable to look around properly. She tried to say something. Anything. Shout. Move her hand. Anything, even a finger–

It moved closer to the bed.

The moonlight shined down on her bed, almost as if it was acting as a shield against whatever was just a few feet away from her. It stared at her, no noise made. Dead silence hung about the room.The only sounds Alex could hear were the beating of her own heart, and the shallow breaths she was taking in fear.

Time was lost to Alex. Restricted from doing anything, as whatever shared the room with her remained there.

Then, what happened next was not something she saw. . .but somehow just. . .knew. Staring at where the things head should be.

She knew it was looking at her. . .

And. . .

Her heart felt as if it was going to burst, staring right at it.

It was smiling at her.