Hestia's Temple

Kai walked into Hestia's Temple quitly. There were a few days before training officially started, but she had nothing else to do and wanted to get a prayer in before the Eisodos Ceremony.

She lit some lavender and thanked Hestia for bringing her here... almost a year ago, Her safe place, her Haven. She thanked her for taking her in when no one else would. And she prayed for a good next year, for the courage and strength she needed.

((My first time role-playing, did I do that right?))

((So far so good (; ))

Mnemosyne leaned in the doorway of Hestia's temple. She'd gone to check on the temple attendants to make sure the preparations for the Ceremony of Eisodos were on schedule. To her surprise she found a little Charis instead.

Being the high priestess meant that she was one of the few people allowed in all the God's temples, and was quite familiar with them all, but Hestia's always had a special place in Mnemosyne's heart.

"Kei, am I right?" Mnemosyne said softly in an attempt not to startle the girl.

Such a soft voice, and yet Kai jumped up and twisted around. She almost got off the ground with the combined movment and muscle twitch in her wings.

It was the High Preistess Mnemosyne.

"Oh, uh well Kai actually..." she murmered, not able to look her in the eye, she stared at her own feet.

"Oh, my apologies, you must forgive me, there are so many students and staff under my wing, sometimes it just gets a little mixed up in here," Mnemosyne lightly tapped her head.

She took a few steps into the temple, bowing quickly in acknowledgement of her goddess, and turned back to Kai. "So how do you do, Kai? Are you excited for the new year?"

"That's fine," she said and smiled shyly at her mentor. Slips of the tongue happened to everyone. It was close enough, besides she didn't even know what her name was, Kai was something she had made herself.

"I'm very excited, I can't wait for my magic classes." She admitted, one of the only things that made her feel good was fire. "Are you happy to be teaching some new students?"

"Ah, I can see the magic radiating from you, you'll be a great pupil Kai," Mnemosyne smiled genuinely. She could see why Hestia chose her, even if she was a Charis. The magic of fire simply radiated from her! Perhaps she'd even be one of the only Charites to ever win the tournament. But her thoughts were getting ahead of themselves, that was a long way off after all.

"I am incredibly happy to teach new faces. Each year comes with more talented warriors leaving their mark on this place, and I am delighted to contribute to their growth."

"Thanks you, I do love Hestia." Kai said and for the first time looked into Mnem's big azur eyes. Her cheeks turned a little pink from the complement.

"That's good. I think that... that the only people who should teach are the people who love it." She grinned at the MEntor, she could tell she was one of those teacher's who would help their students in any way she could. She was glad Mnem was her mentor.

((complement fest XD ))

"She's easy to love, isn't she? I think it's because she loves easily as well." Mnemosyne turned toward the statue again, bringing her hands together and then slowly pulling them apart. Between her hands a small purple violet formed itself. "I believe you should never enter a temple without a little gift of appreciation," she explained as she put the little flower next to Kai's burning incense.

"That's a wise statement, Kai. However, for some of us teaching is more to relieve the boredom that any. Most of the teachers are immortal, and eternal life can be a bit uneventful. Although I suppose everyone in this place has their own story and reasons, you included."

Kai smiled as she watched Mnem place her flower on the altar.

"Immortal?" she asked incredulously. "Forever without change... it does sound a bit boring."

Kai's reasons for going to the Athenaeum were less complicated, simply put, it was her only option other than living on the street in the hostile mortal word.

"Without a purpose, it can be extremely dull. That's why I suppose some return to mentor, it is never seems to be quiet around here," Mnemosyne smiled again, not uneventful to say the least. "But we can disband the immortality if we choose. And it's only physical immortality, we are still quite able to get mortally wounded."

"Do you have blood or ichor?" Kai asked, curious now about her Mentor who had gained immortallity. The gods had ichor instead of blood, but if you were born mortal...

"Do your wounds heal faster?" she thought of another question. "An-and how do you get rid of immortality?"

"I can assure you, we're quite full of blood. Ichor is only reserved for the Gods, and we're not quite there yet at all," she laughed softly. "And we heal just as fast and just as painfully as one fully human would."

"As for disbanding immortality, it is not an easy job i can assure you. Many simply choose to take their own life when they think the time is right. You see, we'd have to get permission of a God," she sighed, begging a God to be mortal never did go over well. "It all depends on who your mentor was, your mentor is the one who blesses you with immortality."

"Oh.. thank you, for answering all my questions." Kai laughed a little self-conciously. "Sorry, I must be a little bothersome."

((just like real life XD ))

"Oh no, not at all. Curiosity is a thing of nature, Kai, don't ever be ashamed about it." Mnemosyne chided a little, but in a light-hearted way.

"But now it is my turn to ask something in return," she thought, wondering what she should ask the little Charis. "I don't suppose you're from Haven's populace, so where are you from?"

Kai smiled up at her, then went back to staring at her feet.

"Well I'm from the human world... and I don't really want to go back." Ah the memories, non too good. Sure there were those little bright spots, like Jack, and Hestia, but other than that....

Mnemosyne could sense it was a touchy subject to the girl, a guess that wasn't quite such a hard one. Then again, she did suppose the history of most students were tough ones .

"The human world? How curious, it isn't often that one of Haven ends up there, though I do suppose it happens from time to time. If it is not something you wish to talk about I'll be happy enough not to," she said gently. "Though when, or if, you do, you can always talk to me."

"Oh no it's fine, you're supossed to talk about these things, right? Being a being of Haven in the human world isn't... nice. They take advantage of you, use you to state their own greed. I was in a traveling show, I juggled fire." She summed up her life with humans, she didn't hold anything against them in general, most of them couldn't be like that. Or at least she knew she shouldn't. Her friend Cosette was human, and she was nice.

Kai smiled at her mentor, she was a kind woman, and talking did make Kai feel better.

"Yes, that's right," Mnemosyne smiled and patiently listened.

"Haven folk were never meant to be in the human world, it never quite went well. Even back in the Greek times when they did mix the humans couldn't quite let them be. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but events in our past make us who we are." She thought a moment of what Kai had said. She was quite sure she knew what the girl meant with circus, though it was only something she'd read about, she could imagine it not being a good place.

"But your events did bring you here."

(I commented with the wrong character XD now I see why you say THREE NO MORE)

"I do like it here," Kai said happily. "And I'm very grateful to Hestia..."

"Besides I can't imagine me being me anyother way, because then I wouldn't be me ... if that makes sense." She tried hard to put her thoughts into words.

((Yeah no kidding, more than three becomes a chaos and you'd be bound to at least neglect one of them (totally speaking from experience xD) ))

"That makes plenty of sense," Mnemosyne said reassuringly. "One of the reason's I chose to return to this place was because it helps warriors so much, it's an asylum for those who need it most. And as mentors we receive as much rehabilitation as the warriors do, though I suppose it's my turn to ask if my words make sense now," she laughed shortly, always having a way of voicing the string of thought in her head.

((I only neglect Cosette because people don't post back to her D: (I wouldn't rp wiht her as Mnem... she might not take the fact that you have a kid with Apollo well) and Eos is an attention hog))

Kai chuckled with her Mnem. "Yes that makes sense, you Mentors have it rougher than I thought..."

((I can't think of anything D: uhm...))

"Mnem, if you don't mind my asking, what happens if I don't win the tournament? I... I don't want to go back."

In a bit more serious mood, Tahi walked down towards the temple without really looking where she was going - and for once, blocking out the voices that usually came to her on the winds. She had other things to occupy her mind with.

Like the fact that she was a mentor now. A mentor. With all the responsibility that that entailed. Could she really do it?

In the days before the tournament last year she realized that in all of her life, she'd never really been prepared to do anything... She hadn't even trained that hard for the tournament - and well, even though losing to Severa smarted a bit, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been expecting it. But she had placed high enough that she could stay at the Athenaeum, and really - where else did she have to go? Back to Egypt? There was nothing there for her there - her mother's family having long since moved on and her... what was she supposed to call the man who she had grown up believing to be her father, but who was actually cuckolded by a Nephelae? - Tahi had know idea.. But the general had remarried - and his property was held by his actual sons now. If she were to return to Egypt - which she did love - she'd have to fend for herself - something Tahi wasn't quite sure she could do.

And so, with nothing left for her in the outside world, Tahi had consented to stay at the athenaeum and, as her lady had put it "Try to Actually give Mnemosyne a break from having to deal with my students, unlike other nephelae I could mention." And, Tahi supposed, that if she was good at anything, it was doing Kal's job for him. This way it was official - and he could spend more time off doing his various things, while she stayed and looked after the students. That is unless he needed her to come with him. Then Tahi didn't know what was going to happen. She secretly suspected that Auntie Mnem would be doing most of the actual counseling, but then again, that's what Auntie Mnem was best at...

But staying at the Athenaeum was more than the fact that the only thing she seemed to be good at (besides having an excellent fashion sense and a mind for gossip) was keeping her brother in check, and deep down Tahi knew it. The Athenaeum was her home - ever since she was seven - and to be here was to be with Kal and the only family she could claim as her own, bound not by blood, but of a kind of kinship that went much deeper.

And even if she would die eventually - it would be a life among family and friends - and who could really ask for more than that. As long as I don't screw it up by failing as a mentor - Tahi thought cynically. It was a little out of character for her, but the nervousness had been getting to her.

So that was why now she was heading down to the temple. Tahi realized that she had been truly blessed - and she wanted to thank the gods for that - her Lady, and the gods of her mother's people, and also to ask for guidance in the coming year - in her first year as an official mentor. And then she was going to find Auntie Mnem, who was usually around the Temple area - being high priestess. There was another thing bothering her besides her nervousness. Kal had been acting funny lately - and the winds weren't telling her anything, which meant he was actively blocking her. There was something he didn't want her to know. Something that had him shifting guiltily every time he saw her. He was avoiding her too. Something was up. Tahi just didn't know what. But Mnem usually knew everything important happening at the atheneaum, and she probably knew something about what was going on. Hopefully Tahi could get her to spill.

Walking into Hestia's temple, Tahi looked up to find Auntie Mnem and what looked like a fire Charis talking before the altar. She hadn't met the girl before, but she knew of only one Charis that would be lingering in Hestia's temple (since, let's be honest here - most of them were far too romantically minded to stray from anyone but Aphrodite). That meant that the girl was the Charis Hestia had taken in - Kai - one of her new students. Unsure of what to do, she lingered in the doorway. Maybe she should come back another time?

Mnemosyne smiled sadly at the girl. "I can't be certain. You're a Charis, which means that you belong in Haven, I may be able to argue that point with the Gods which means you'd be relocated somewhere in Haven, probably in a Charite community. If the Gods are especially kind they may be able to find your true parents for you, lost Havenfolk are usually not born there, you know. But it all depends on the moods of the Gods and how they see you. The Gods are whimsical beings, you can never be certain what they would do."

"But I will plight your case with them when, and if, the time comes. Until then I'd advise you to train as hard as you can, perhaps the ordeal isn't necessary at all, if you do well enough in the tournament you'd earn your spot here fair and square," just then Mnem's eyes fell on Tahi, who'd lingered in the doorway.

"Kai, this is Daria Tahirah, your Mentor," Mnemosyne noticed the look on Tahi's face. Worry. She had a mind of what it was about, sometimes Mnemosyne wished she had more power over the warriors, power to refuse. But the gods had absolute power, Zeus had absolutely power.

"Tahi?" She looked from Tahi to Kai. "Do you need to speak with me under private eyes?"

"Thanks you Mnem," Kai said and smiled at the high Priestess.

"Oh Hello," she greeted Tahi, and gave a little bow. "I'm Kai, second year Charis, pleased to meet you."

((Why are all of you making me want to change Eos to someone elses Mentor? Zeus was my only option D:))

Tahi smiled nervously back at the girl - doing her best to sound mature (but probably not doing a very good job at it). "It's nice to meet you too Kai. I'll be honest with you - this is my first time mentoring, but I want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to, or to ask for advice you're always welcome to come and find me." Tahi winked. "I am renowned at the athenaeum for my good fashion sense, too."

See that wasn't too hard... But then Tahi remembered why she had come here, and her smile faded to a more somber frown. "Actually Auntie, there is something I'd like to talk to you about, if you don't mind me taking her away for a little bit Kai?"

((We've all pretty much made Zeus the bad guy... That's not to say that Eos can't be against his ways (morph's not to happy with Dion I'm pretty sure) - but Zeus wasn't that nice of a god anywhere in mythology - so he's easy to vilify. And the last Zeus mentor was nonexistant so we could kind of do what we wanted with him....))