Simply Divine - Part Two: Bek

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Bek materialized in a clearing within eyeshot of a bustling city. He ducked behind a tree and used his ability to disguise himself to conceal his crimson divine invocations, or markings covering his body that represented his divine abilities. Once his skin was clear of any hint of his divinity, he changed his hair to a tightly clipped haircut, and removed the red. Now he appeared as a heavily muscled, scantily clothed human man with short black hair and red eyes.
Still needs work, he thought.
He made his eyes look brown, and changed his clothes to a simple red tunic and black leggings. The red tunic was bordered in gold, and both garments were made of the same fine, silky material as his usual black loincloth.
Satisfied with his disguise, Bek ventured towards the town, practically shaking with excitement. This was the first time he had dared to actually enter a human settlement. All he normally did- all Rex allowed him to do- was spend time in an isolated spot away from anyone who could possibly spot him. Even that was rare.
But today was different. Today Rex was visiting his hostage wife on the moon, and would likely be gone for most of the day. Bek's younger brothers would probably not even notice his absence, and would surely not mention it to Rex if they did. They all had made their own trips to Al'terra or Earth at one time or another, and there was an unspoken agreement not to mention their respective outings to the eldest among the seven.
That meant Bek was free to explore civilization for the first time. He couldn't wait  to see all the amazing things humanity has to offer up close and personal.
Bek, newly clad in clothes that he'd gleaned would be appropriate for this city from his observations, finally reached the first scattered houses. He continued past them with a bounce in his step towards a cluster of more tightly packed buildings. Around and between these buildings were carts and stalls and tents, each with a human doing their best to entice passersby.
Bek wandered through the crowded streets with an eager grin on his face. He marveled at how far humans had come since the last time he had seen one.
He stopped by a cart with an irresistible smell emanating from it. The cart was loaded with sweet-smelling foods Bek knew were called pastries.
He walked up and flashed an excited smile at the vendor. "Hello! May I please have one of those..." he struggled for the word, then gave up. "Please?" He finished lamely.
The baker, a rough-looking, burly man with a sweat-stained apron, scowled. "You got money?"
Bek faltered. "Oh. No, I'm afraid not. I forgot that... people have to pay for things here." At the weird look the shopkeeper gave him, Bek realized his folly. "Uh, I mean... sorry to bother you, sir. Have a nice day."
"Yeah, whatever," snorted the man.
A bit put-off by the baker's attitude, Bek wandered through the crowded streets. He marveled at the variety of the humans in the fray, and the occasional half-blood towed along behind a noble. Bek frowned.
Suddenly, he noticed three men approaching him from out of the crowd. To his right, a tall and skinny man with a red bandana over his hair slapped a stick against his palm. To his left, a shady-looking, black-haired fellow held a knife and wore an unsettling grin. And directly in front of him, a freakishly muscular man with a missing tooth and a ripped grey tank top that probably used to be a shirt swaggered up to Bek and, before he could react, shoved him backwards. He tripped over a fourth man's leg, stretched behind his heel, and fell into a dim alley between two tall buildings.
Someone gasped behind him, but Bek paid it little mind. He was too busy trying to figure out why the man had randomly decided to push him down. As he climbed to his feet, someone laughed, and it sounded like sandpaper on crushed glass.
"What- what was that for?" Bek asked, dismayed.
The man with the scar laughed.
"Well, well, boys, what's this?" He planted his foot in Bek's shoulder, pushing him back down. "You look well off, pretty boy. Got any gold coins stuffed away in those fancy clothes of yours?"
"N-no," Bek said, and with a sudden burst of anger at these thugs, replied, "and even if I did, I wouldn't give them to you!"
All four of them laughed. The leader stepped forward and squatted to look him in the eye.
"That's okay. We prefer to take anyway."
With a two-fingered gesture, they descended on him.
Punching and kicking and clawing, all Bek could do without revealing himself was curl into a ball on the ground. Though he was not as prideful as his brothers, the action filled him with helpless anger. Their attacks did little to his divine body, but as one caught him in the side and another sent pain shooting through his face, his control on his power and emotions began to slip. He scrambled to the left and jumped up.
He tried to leave the alley, but the men cornered him with his back to a wall. The flame in the oil lamps on the side of the buildings began to flicker a confused, lightning-bright blue. As Bek held his arms out defensively, hints of his invocations became visible with hints of red light. Bek squeezed his eyes shut as the men closed in, growing overwhelmed, until-
"HEY!"
A punch stopped a foot from his nose. Bek peeked through his eyelids to see a young woman standing at the opening between the two buildings, her mouth still open in a shout. Her short, choppy brown hair was messy, and she wore a blue linen tunic and simple leather pants.
"Just what the hell are you doing to that man?"
The scarred one growled. "That's none of your concern, sweetheart, unless you'd like to join him."
Rage marred the girl's olive-toned features. "Were you robbing him?"
"Mind your business, lady. Hasn't anyone ever told you not to talk to strangers in alleyways?" The muscular one said, taking a threatening step closer.
The girl's eyes sharpened with fear, for which Bek was grateful. He was worried the well-intentioned girl wasn't aware of the danger she was in.
But she simply snarled at him. "Don't you have better things to do with your life? Let him be!" She exclaimed, throwing a hand in his direction.
"And how, exactly, do you plan to make us?" the skinny man simpered.
A devious smile appeared on her face.
She looked out of the alley to where a well-groomed man of about 50 with blonde hair and a beard was walking by. The girl turned and shouted out of the alley, "HELP! CONSTABLE!" Turning back to the thugs, she planted her hands on her hips. "I'd get going if I were you. He'll be here in a couple seconds..."
The four of them looked at each other, rage growing on their faces. They approached her, hands out to grab her-
But she ducked under their outstretched arms, grabbed Bek's hand, and pulled his arm. He didn't move an inch.
She looked back at him, incredulous. "Come on!"
Bek allowed her to think she was pulling him as she ran with him to the neck of the alleyway. As they passed the constable, she didn't stop, but yelled as they passed him, "they're down that alley! Tried to rob this guy! Okay bye!"
His baffled gaze followed the pair as they dashed away.
Bek stifled a laugh. Running with this human girl was kind of fun. As they raced through the streets of town, the girl's breathing quickly grew labored. When she sneakily checked to see if he was tired too, Bek copied her wheezing breaths. Apparently satisfied that she wasn't the only exhausted one, she slowed to a walk and let go of his hand.
"I think we lost them," she said. She stopped next to a street lamp and offered her hand to him. "I'm Aspen. They/them pronouns. Are you okay?"
Bek considered. "Yes, I'm unharmed. What... what are pronouns?"
Aspen looked a mixture of unsure and exasperated. "They're, uh... what someone wants to be called. So like, you've probably been calling me she in your head, but I would like it better if you called me they. I don't identify as a boy or a girl, so..." She looked at him appraisingly. "Yeah."
"Oh!" Bek nodded understandingly. "I've heard of that! Sorry if I got them wrong. My name is... Bekket. It's very nice to meet you."
They tilted their head. "You too. So were those guys trying to rob you, or what?"
"I think so. But just so you know, I could have handled them. I just didn't want to hurt them too badly."
Aspen laughed. "Right. Right after they finished beating you to smithereens."
Bek laughed. "Hey! They just caught me at a bad time. Trust me."
They nodded, smiling. "If you say so. Well, what were you doing in the alley anyway?"
"Well, they sort of pushed me in." Bek needed to get back home before his brother noticed he was gone. Time was running out. "Look, I'm sorry, but I kind of have to go. Thank you for helping me," he said.
"Oh, okay. Do you need help getting anywhere?" Aspen asked, looking slightly put out.
"No, I know where I'm going," Bek said quickly. Already at the end of the street, he looked back at Aspen, who stood there rather confused.
"Alright, well, have a good day! And don't get beat up?" Aspen called. The human waved a hand adorned with a thin golden bracelet dotted with stones as Bek hurried away.
"Thanks! I won't!"

Rex stared his brother down. Bek had conveniently left out the part with the bandits, electing to tell him that Aspen had given him directions out of the city when he had gotten turned around. No one deserved the wrath Rex would rain upon those thugs for their behavior, even them.
Rex pinched the bridge of his nose. "So not only did you go to earth, not only did you enter a human city, but you got lost?"
Bek nodded sheepishly.
He unleashed a sigh that sounded more like a growl.
"That does sound like the human I encountered," Rex admitted. "So their name is Aspen. I don't suppose you got a last name?" he asked his brother, voice dripping with disdain.
"No!" Bek exclaimed. "And even if I did, you can't hurt them."
"Can't I?" His tone was dangerous.
Bek forced down the wisps of defiance curling around his heart. "I just meant that I believe her assistance- I mean their assistance- outweighs the minor inconvenience they caused you. They did me a service. Yes, they were rude, but I don't think it was anything against you in particular. I think it's just their personality!"
"They called me a wife-kidnapper. I believe it was." Rex's face was unamused.
Bek blanched. "Oh. Well- look, can't you just leave this one alone? They didn't have to help me."
Rex looked like he was about to argue. nowhere, Daz popped out of the blackness and slung an arm around his brother's shoulders.
"What's one mortal to you anyway, big bro? Did they really get under your skin that much? Can't be that thick, then," he sang.
Rex shoved his arm away with a snarl. "This conversation is not for your ears, brother," he growled.
Daz laughed. "They did! Shit, I haven't seen you this worked up since that moon chick!"
"You will not mention her!" Rex roared.
Rex's hair was left smoldering with the force of his outburst, and twin flames still kindled in his eyes. Daz and Bek both froze, Bek with a wary expression and Daz with that of a sadist watching two cars collide in slow motion.
"Whatever," he chuckled. "Have fun obsessing over your human crush." With that, he disappeared in a flash of yellow light, leaving Bek to face the brunt of Rex's fiery rage.
Alone in his personal quarters, Daz allowed his mind to drift to the mortal that had drawn two of his brothers' attention. A plan (or what passes for one in Daz's frat-boy mind) began to take shape in his head, and he grinned to himself.
Note: Poor Bek, he's trying. Pronouns are kinda new to him, but he's doing his best! Now it's time to throw a third divine into the mix. The Chad Banana himself...
Daz!!!
(Hold your applause. What? What's that? No applause? I don't blame you.)

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