Virgin, Messenger, and Trickster
"Tell me again why you had to come with me?" Hestia steps through a large gate with drooped shoulders, glancing at the lanky man beside her with lazy eyes. Her small white boots click against a stone path surrounded by a perfectly trimmed lawn, and the Twilight Manor reaches to the sky before her.
"You know what they say; two heads are better than one..." Hermes says with curled lips and a puffed chest, "...And I find myself missing my dear friend Loki."
Hestia sighs, glancing at the lanky messenger god as they approach the double doors of the mansion, "Where is Asfi?... She does a better job of keeping you in check," she asks.
Hermes keeps that same smile, meeting the blue eyes of Hestia before his vision returns to those double doors, "I had my little Asfi head to the guild and replace the mission posted to find Bell with a mission to find Atreus. She shouldn't have a problem getting the job done" he says.
"I thought you were gonna do that?" Hestia responds with furrowed brows as the duo arrives before the doors with a light knock.
Hermes looses a nervous chuckle, a glove-covered hand rubbing his nape, "I was... But when I heard you were gonna be visiting Loki, I couldn't help myself," he says with another guilty chuckle.
Suddenly, one of the doors swings slowly, and long blonde hair is revealed as Ais stares at the two gods with a stone face, "The Sword Princess! How is a beautiful woman such as yourself doing on this fine day?" Hermes bows slightly with a hand over his chest as he speaks.
Ais pauses, her lips pursed as her eyes linger on Hermes, "I am alright," she mutters quietly as she gazes down at Hestia, "...What do you need?"
Hestia furrows her brows and sets her hands on tiny hips, the sight of Ais leaving a sour taste on the Goddess' tongue, "Hello, WallenWhatsIt. We need to speak with Loki, please," she says.
Ais nods, leaving the door open as she steps through the lavish lobby of the Twilight Manor. The Godly duo follows the Sword Princess through carpeted hallways until they arrive before another door minutes later. The door swings open, and Ais holds the knob as Hestia and Hermes step through the threshold, "Ah! Loki! You're looking as beautiful as ever!" Hermes exclaims with open arms as he notices the Trickster God relaxing in the back of the room.
Loki rips her gaze from the window to meet the visitors as a mischievous smile forms on her thin lips, "If it isn't Hermes and the Shrimp! What have I done to earn the honor of this visit?" she says, gulping dark liquid from a glass before setting it down on the round table before her.
Hestia growls as she steps up to the table with Hermes, puffing her chest out as the Goddess suddenly grins, "It's nice to see you again, Ms. Washboard. We wanted to talk to you about something," she responds.
A vein nearly bursts from Loki's temple as she stares up at Hestia with those slits for eyes, gesturing towards two chairs around the table, "...Please, sit. I wouldn't want you to pass out from carrying those milk jugs around all the time," she hisses.
The gods take the offer, and Hestia's feet swing from the chair opposite of Loki while Hermes sits to the side, "Please, can you two just have a civilized conversation? We're all friends here!" The God says as he relaxes in a wooden chair.
"We are not!"
"We are not!"
The Goddess' respond with a yell simultaneously, and Hermes chuckles despite his attempt to stop the altercation between flat and busty. Hestia and Loki exchange killer looks for a moment before the latter suddenly sighs, "What did you want to speak about?" Loki asks, picking up the glass again and chugging like there's no tomorrow.
Hestia pauses with pursed lips, and she's met with a shrug from Hermes before her eyes return to Loki, "We need your help finding someone. I'm sure we could probably find him ourselves, but if you and a few others are able to spare some hands, then it would go a lot smoother," she says.
Loki scoffs as her eyes drift to Ais. She raises the empty glass and the Sword Princess nods, turning to exit the room. The Trickster Goddess looks back to Hestia with a grin, "What? Is the rabbit boy still lost in the dungeon?" she says with sarcasm leaking from her words.
Hestia furrows her brows, "No... Actually, Bell was saved. The one we're searching for is the son of the man that saved him," she responds.
"Well... Who is it then? I can't help you if I don't even know who I'm looking for," Loki responds, a dainty hand cupping her chin as she speaks.
With her brows still furrowed, Hestia huffs, "That's what I'm getting to Washboard!" she hisses, and another vein pops up on Loki's temple, "His name is Atreus. He's the son of Kratos... And I'm sure you've heard that they just created a new familia with Kratos as the god. Someone kidnapped Atreus, but no one knows who it could be."
Loki sits with a stone face, her fingers wrapped around that glass as she stares at Hestia. Her brows furrow suddenly, "Say that again..." she responds.
Hestia huffs once again, "Oh, come on! Are you that drunk!?" she exclaims with hands set to hips, "Atreus! We need to find a boy named Atreus."
Loki nods, her eyes wide as they drift to the table. Silence falls as the God's mind runs a thousand miles an hour, and suddenly the silence is broken by a chuckle, "Why the long face? It's just a kid, which should be no problem for your children," Hermes chimes in with his palms facing the ceiling.
Loki glances at Hermes, "...It's nothing..." The Goddess responds as she attempts to halt the grin begging to make its appearance, "...Alright, I'll help," Loki says as she gazes at Hestia with her best innocent smile.
"Well, it's not like I expected..." Hestia shrugs as her words trail off, but the Goddess suddenly slaps her hands on the table as raised brows gaze at Loki, "...Wait, you'll actually help us!?" she asks.
That door to the side suddenly creaks, and Ais walks up to the table, a bottle in hand as she stares down at Loki, "Ah, just what I wanted! Thank you, Aisy-boo," she teases with a grin, earning a sigh and a bruised cheek as the Goddess reaches a hand to Ais' backside.
"Ow..." Loki mutters as she rubs her cheek, that I-am-not-a-threat smile making its appearance again as she stares at Hestia, "Yep! I'm afraid I can't spare Ais or any of my other top members though... We're getting ready for an expedition as soon as Finn wakes up," she says.
"Any help would be much appreciated, right, Hestia?" Hermes responds with a smile, his hands clasped on the table as he glances between the two Goddesses.
Hestia nods, "Yes..." a tiny thud echos as the woman hops from the chair, and she looks back to Loki with a grin, "Well, Ms. Washboard... We won't take any more of your time! I can see that you're..." her blue eyes glance at that glass nearly overflowing with alcohol, "...Busy."
"Of course, Shrimp!" Loki responds, "I was just feeling down, but the sight of you always reminds me of how much worse it could be!"
"Yeah, yeah..." Hestia says, swiping a hand through the air as she turns to walk away, "...You coming, Hermes?" she asks.
Hermes turns in his chair to meet Hestia's blue eyes, the smile that rarely leaves his lips still present, "Go ahead without me. I still have something to speak of with Loki," he responds.
Hestia furrows her brows as she glances at Hermes with her body half-turned, but the Goddess shrugs as she turns once again, "Okay... I don't know what has possessed you to still wanna talk to that demon, but suit yourself!" she says as those long pig-tails sway and bounce past Ais, "Bye, Wallen-Whatsit!"
"Bye, Hestia," Ais returns a goodbye to Hestia as the tiny Goddess disappears through the door again.
"What did you need to talk about? Don't tell me this is another one of your peeking schemes," Loki suddenly says, and despite her disinterested words, the woman leans over the table with an ear facing Hermes.
Hermes scoffs, "No, unfortunately not..." he responds, pursing his lips as he tilts his head in a gesture, "...Could we speak in private?" he asks.
Loki cocks her head back with furrowed brows, her eyes lingering on Hermes as she opens her mouth, "Ais, will you check on Finn for me?" she says.
Ais nods with her hands folded at her waist, "Yes," the Swords Princess opens that door again, disappearing a second later just like the Goddess before her.
"Alright, we're alone... What do you want?" Loki asks as that nigh overflowing glass meets her thin lips.
Hermes drapes an arm over the chair like he's visiting family, a smirk plastering his thin lips, "…If I didn't already know you, I would actually believe that you're a good person. Isn't that crazy?" a genuine chuckle of amusement leaving the God's lips.
The glass clanks against the table, and Loki gazes at Hermes with a wrinkled forehead, "What is that supposed to mean?" She asks as those slits reveal crimson eyes.
The Messenger God raises his palms to the ceiling and clicks his tongue, "You may be able to fool Loli Boobs, but I'm not that much of an airhead. The names Kratos and Atreus mean something to you… I wonder what what it could be?" Hermes answers with an aloof bravado.