06-25-2015, 01:48 PM
Jacinda was in the library, of all places. It wasn't that she didn't care much about reading...well, ok, she really didn't care all that much about reading. Learning, sure, in an on the job kinda way. Mom and dad had been out-doorsy, off the grid, hippy like folks and had given her a lot of freedom when it came to what people might call schooling. They had wanted her to find her own way. And she had.
She smiled remembering her mom and the crafts that she made to sell at various festivals or fairs. And her sweet hearted dad. It made her whistful for her innocence and youth. They didn't know how ugly the world could be. In some ways, she was glad they never had to see what she had grown into. Then again. she wondered what her life might had been like if they had never been killed.
Different. Of course it would be different. What was the saying? If things were different then things would be different. Duh. It was what it was. And she was not unhappy.
In fact she was excited. It was why she was in the library, making herself read old stories about the gods and the god wars. It wasn't that Regan hadn't talked about them. But when you were a field hunter you didn't really spend a whole lotta time on old histories.
But now, well, she wanted to understand her quarry- actual gods, not poor shleps who accidentally touched the power. She needed to get into their minds. The myths and legends were the closest she had. So she read and read.
What struck her was how very petty they were. Despite their power, despite something that you'd think a person would at least use to better the world, they were just as petty and mean-spirited as anyone else. Worse, in some cases.
Like Athena. Goddess of wisdom and justice and all that. Fairness anyway. And crafts, like weaving. So in one version, this woman comes along- Ariachne- and is a great weaver, so much so that people are praising her to the skies about it. And in a very normal human fashion, she jokingly brags that she's better than the goddess herself.
Which made sense to Jacinda. You know how it goes, sitting around throwing a few back and you get to bragging on yourself a bit. Sure you say it, but you also kinda know that you are joking around too. Making fun of yourself a bit. At least, that's how she could see it, pretty easily.
But no, of course the "goddess"- and she thought of the name in quotations to emphasize how very far from a goddess she really was- was so insecure and bitchy that she comes down and challenges Ariachne to contest.
So what is Ariachne gonna do? Someone challenges you, well, you can't just back down. How would you live with yourself? You have to step up. And she did. Think about that. She did it. Stepped right up to a "goddess" and, probably terrified but not showing it, was willing to put her money where her mouth was. Win or lose, it was about stepping up.
Couple different versions of the outcome, but the one Jacinda felt seemed most likely was this one. Turns out Ariachne really is that good. Her tapestry or whatever just blows everyone away. What she liked best was that the thing had images of the all the shady crap the gods were always pulling. Zeus pretending to be some woman's husband so he could nail her- um, how was that not rape? Apollo chasing the nymph Daphne, who CLEARLY was not into him no matter how much of a god he was, and her crying out to her father to save her from this rapist-god. He answered by turning her into a tree. Jacinda wouldn't have been surprised if he tried to do her as a tree anyway. Maybe in another version. If so, she hoped at least he got some splinters in his junk. At least a little payback.
So Ariachne puts all these images into her work as an example of how unfair and uncaring the gods are. And of course her stuff if far better. And what does the "goddess" of wisdom and justice and all that crap do? Flies into a rage and tears it to pieces and then turns her into a spider. What a bitch! Petulant, weak, pathetic bitch.
Obviously a myth. And yet the core, the kernal, made sense to her. That was exactly how the gods were- uncaring, arrogant, petty. The fact that the Greeks recorded these stories about the beings they worshipped- to her anyway- told you that they really were like that. If not worse! If this was the disney-fied versions of their gods, what must the reality have been like?
So she read on, gaining perspective and trying to learn how the gods were defeated. It was going to be bloody and hard work. But it had to be done. She smiled to herself. And she was going to be a part of it. She'd show Regus. She'd do a good job. It was worth doing.
Her wallet buzzed and she looked. Barovsky. About damn time! She'd seen the videos. She'd had a hunch what would be the first prey. No, she checked herself. Barovsky was in charge. That was Regus' whole point. If she wanted to be part of this then she had to be part of an actual team. That meant trust.
Easier said than done, of course. But she'd at least watch and observe. She couldn't stay completely quiet, of course. That wasn't her nature. But she'd give Barovsky the benefit of the doubt. Who knew? He might actually be better than her. Or at least as good.
As long as she got to help kill these beings who would call themselves gods. With the memory of Athena in her mind, she made her way to the meeting place. The short Asian guy was there. That made her pause. Still, she was there for a reason.
She stepped up and looked at both. "Jacinda Cross."
Edited by Jacinda, Jun 25 2015, 04:59 PM.
She smiled remembering her mom and the crafts that she made to sell at various festivals or fairs. And her sweet hearted dad. It made her whistful for her innocence and youth. They didn't know how ugly the world could be. In some ways, she was glad they never had to see what she had grown into. Then again. she wondered what her life might had been like if they had never been killed.
Different. Of course it would be different. What was the saying? If things were different then things would be different. Duh. It was what it was. And she was not unhappy.
In fact she was excited. It was why she was in the library, making herself read old stories about the gods and the god wars. It wasn't that Regan hadn't talked about them. But when you were a field hunter you didn't really spend a whole lotta time on old histories.
But now, well, she wanted to understand her quarry- actual gods, not poor shleps who accidentally touched the power. She needed to get into their minds. The myths and legends were the closest she had. So she read and read.
What struck her was how very petty they were. Despite their power, despite something that you'd think a person would at least use to better the world, they were just as petty and mean-spirited as anyone else. Worse, in some cases.
Like Athena. Goddess of wisdom and justice and all that. Fairness anyway. And crafts, like weaving. So in one version, this woman comes along- Ariachne- and is a great weaver, so much so that people are praising her to the skies about it. And in a very normal human fashion, she jokingly brags that she's better than the goddess herself.
Which made sense to Jacinda. You know how it goes, sitting around throwing a few back and you get to bragging on yourself a bit. Sure you say it, but you also kinda know that you are joking around too. Making fun of yourself a bit. At least, that's how she could see it, pretty easily.
But no, of course the "goddess"- and she thought of the name in quotations to emphasize how very far from a goddess she really was- was so insecure and bitchy that she comes down and challenges Ariachne to contest.
So what is Ariachne gonna do? Someone challenges you, well, you can't just back down. How would you live with yourself? You have to step up. And she did. Think about that. She did it. Stepped right up to a "goddess" and, probably terrified but not showing it, was willing to put her money where her mouth was. Win or lose, it was about stepping up.
Couple different versions of the outcome, but the one Jacinda felt seemed most likely was this one. Turns out Ariachne really is that good. Her tapestry or whatever just blows everyone away. What she liked best was that the thing had images of the all the shady crap the gods were always pulling. Zeus pretending to be some woman's husband so he could nail her- um, how was that not rape? Apollo chasing the nymph Daphne, who CLEARLY was not into him no matter how much of a god he was, and her crying out to her father to save her from this rapist-god. He answered by turning her into a tree. Jacinda wouldn't have been surprised if he tried to do her as a tree anyway. Maybe in another version. If so, she hoped at least he got some splinters in his junk. At least a little payback.
So Ariachne puts all these images into her work as an example of how unfair and uncaring the gods are. And of course her stuff if far better. And what does the "goddess" of wisdom and justice and all that crap do? Flies into a rage and tears it to pieces and then turns her into a spider. What a bitch! Petulant, weak, pathetic bitch.
Obviously a myth. And yet the core, the kernal, made sense to her. That was exactly how the gods were- uncaring, arrogant, petty. The fact that the Greeks recorded these stories about the beings they worshipped- to her anyway- told you that they really were like that. If not worse! If this was the disney-fied versions of their gods, what must the reality have been like?
So she read on, gaining perspective and trying to learn how the gods were defeated. It was going to be bloody and hard work. But it had to be done. She smiled to herself. And she was going to be a part of it. She'd show Regus. She'd do a good job. It was worth doing.
Her wallet buzzed and she looked. Barovsky. About damn time! She'd seen the videos. She'd had a hunch what would be the first prey. No, she checked herself. Barovsky was in charge. That was Regus' whole point. If she wanted to be part of this then she had to be part of an actual team. That meant trust.
Easier said than done, of course. But she'd at least watch and observe. She couldn't stay completely quiet, of course. That wasn't her nature. But she'd give Barovsky the benefit of the doubt. Who knew? He might actually be better than her. Or at least as good.
As long as she got to help kill these beings who would call themselves gods. With the memory of Athena in her mind, she made her way to the meeting place. The short Asian guy was there. That made her pause. Still, she was there for a reason.
She stepped up and looked at both. "Jacinda Cross."
Edited by Jacinda, Jun 25 2015, 04:59 PM.