this is less of a oneshot, and more of a collection of scenarios exploring various characters' relationships with each other :D
after reading up on banquets (briefly glancing through an article abt them) I feel I should preface that banquets in the Ether are just lively gatherings with other pantheons - where two or more species' pantheons can hang out w/ one another and chill after a few weeks of preparation.
most banquet schedules are rotated throughout pantheons (i.e., one banquet is hosted by the Ire pantheon, the next is hosted by the Mystic pantheon, etc)
another aspect of Ether banquets are, sometimes, when a pantheon member's relative or someone dear to them has a large achievement, they will be invited to a banquet held in their honor!! the banquet will also be themed after whatever the loved one wants/their achievement (a wedding, retirement, mastering magic, etc). and other times the loved ones are just invited to say hi to their deity's pantheon and have fun :D
this also gives them an excuse to wear rlly fancy clothing-
this banquet is very specifically a gathering of the pantheon's loved ones to share achievements, meet the other deities, etc.
these scenarios will end abruptly and flick from deity to deity, so watch out for that lmao-
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[ gathering ]
...
tap
tap
tap
"I'm nervous," Xena stated bluntly, tapping her heel on the marble floor.
"you'll be fine, dear," hummed Altalune, lightly patting the blonde's head.
"I haven't seen Daedalus and Duvessa in months," the sun deity continued, "what if they're mad at me? I don't think they even replied back to the invitation...what about Dusty and Dana and Lynette? are they mad at me too...? I did forget to call Dana a few days ago..."
"we'll see."
"that's not very reassuring..."
Altalune chuckled a bit, putting her hand up to her chin. at the sound of rapid footfalls, she tilted her head to face the approaching Deity.
"hiiiii Alta, Xena~!" Maribelle chimed, fixing her hair. "the angels have finished with the decor and stuff. the others are just waiting for us, now~"
"oh? do you have someone you're waiting for, as well?" Altalune asked with a tilt of her head.
Maribelle paused. "no," she admitted, "everyone I would have invited are dead or don't talk to me anymore. the price of being semi-immortal, I guess~"
"mmh. I understand."
"how many people have you got coming, Xena?" the time deity chirped, leaning past Altalune to look at the blonde.
"huh? oh -" Xena paused, then quietly counted on her fingers. "um, t...ten? ten people. if most of them show up, at least - they're almost all introverts.."
"aaah, so you're the kind of extrovert to adopt introverts left and right, huh~? cute! you know, you probably have the most relatives out of all of us, heh~" Maribelle hummed, leaning her head back on her hands. "I think the only runner-up is Bayu, with his spirit pack n all~"
taptaptaptaptap
"ah, speak of the devil~"
"hi, miss Maribelle!" Bayu greeted, waving as he ran over. "miss Xena, miss Alta, do I look okay? I tried doing my tie by myself but I'm not sure if it's right.."
Altalune bent down, straightening out his slightly-crooked tie, before lightly patting his shoulders with a pleasant smile. "there."
"you look wonderful," Xena chimed, earning a huge smile from the young deer.
..
taptaptaptAPTAPTAPTAP
"XEEENAAAA~!!"
"eh - ?"
Xena let out a short yelp as she was promptly tackled by two large figures. the long-haired one picked her up, squeezing her half to death.
"aaa~ we're so sorry we didn't reply to your invite~" she cried, "we were so excited to see you that we forgot...~"
"we're here now, at least~!" chirped the short-haired one, waving his hand. "it's been so long since I've visited the Ether, it looks just as pretty as I remember~ hey, did the archangels do anything different today??" he immediately walked off to go look at the intricate walls and decor surrounding the Gates, followed by Maribelle, who immediately struck up a conversation with him.
"ah - Alta, Bayu, these are my siblings!" Xena chirped, voice slightly muffled. she let out another yelp when the tall woman abruptly set her back down.
"Duvessa Lawless, at your service~" she hummed, bowing at the waist. "the spiky-haired dork over there is Daedalus. pleasure to finally meet you, miss Altalune~ Xena never shuts up about you when we talk!"
Altalune chuckled, shaking the shapeshifter's hand. "I've heard plenty of good things about you, Lady Duvessa - the pleasure is all mine~"
Duvessa hummed happily, before directing her attention to Bayu, who stood with his hands clasped nervously, almost hiding behind Altalune.
"oooh, is this Bayu? what a cutie!" Duvessa chirped, bending down to eye level with the boy. "I haven't seen many New Age Mystics around, it's so cool to see one in person~! nice to finally meet you!"
"ah - uh - n- nice to meet you too!" Bayu stammered, fidgeting with his gloves. Duvessa hummed a little, then straightened, smoothing out the skirt of her dress.
"are Kozbi and your kids coming? I haven't seen them in forever," the shapeshifter chuckled, looking down at her sister.
"I think they are," Xena replied, tapping a nail to her chin. "I did send them invites. maybe they're just running late...?" she began to mutter to herself, looking away from the others.
"mooooomm~! sorry if we're late~!"
"hi, aunt Duvessa...!"
Xena startled out of her thoughts, immediately lighting up, before running forward to greet the approaching duo. "aaa perfect timing~!" she chirped happily, catching her eldest son and daughter in a bear hug, "we were just talking about you!"
Odessa squeezed her mother back, purring loudly. "ah, that's great to hear! Dusk accidentally cast the sigil to purgatory instead of the Ether..."
"I panicked for five minutes trying to re-cast the correct sigil..." Dusk sighed, scratching at his temple.
"like a dumbass~!!" chimed the inky-black manifestation above his shoulder. it let out a sharp squeal when Dusk promptly batted it away with an exasperated, "sorry about her.."
"aunt Kozbi and the others'll be here in a few! Mitsuaki and, um, Juju I think, aren't coming though - they said they're...banned from the Ether and every other celestial plane? oh, and Oreo's sitting this banquet out," Odessa explained, clapping her hands, "she said she hopes the pantheon doesn't mind."
"not at all," Altalune hummed with a wave of her hand.
Odessa smiled back, before turning a bit to look at Bayu. he was in the middle of trying to walk away, ears pinned in anxiety. unfortunately for him, Odessa was completely oblivious to this.
"ooh, is this our new brother, Bayu?" the lion-girl chirped excitedly, suddenly picking the deer-boy up. "you never mentioned he had animal ears! cute~!"
"oh, I didn't?" Xena muttered, looking over in the middle of fussing over her son's outfit. "ah, my bad...~"
...
|
...
"uh, hey mom? ah, I hope we're not too late, someone couldn't decide on an outfit..."
"shush."
smack
"OW??"
Xena looked up from her conversation with Altalune, eyes brightening. "ah - Alta! these are my other kids, Jilaiya and Daeva!"
Altalune could barely look up before Daeva was in her face, shaking her free hand. "hi miss Alta~ mom's told us a bunch about you! you're super pretty in person - are you wearing actual stars as earrings??"
the moon deity chuckled, lightly touching her earrings with a smug smile. "thank you for noticing...~"
"auasgfsdv that's so cool!!"
just like that, the duo began chatting. Xena hummed happily, hugging Jilaiya - who seemed just a bit more tired than usual.
"oh god," he breathed, sounding absolutely exhausted, "there's two of them now..."
Xena snorted laughing, covering her face with her hand. "I see that Daeva's been getting on your nerves a little more than usual lately~" she chuckled.
"oh my god you have no idea."
the sun deity laughed, before looking over his shoulder. "hi Kozbi, hi Zuzu~!" she chirped, waving the duo over. the zombie girl ran over, immediately jumping into a hug with the deity. her mother followed, greeting the others present with a kind smile.
"it's a pleasure to see you again," Kozbi hummed, giving Xena a greeting hug, "it's been a little too long...~"
"that's why I invited you!" the blonde chirped, squeezing her. "now come on! I want you to meet the rest of the pantheon!"
///
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[ people-watching ]
"God," Duvessa muttered, a hand to her face.
"why is everyone so pretty," Daedalus mumbled, a hand also to his face.
"who're you eyeing, particularly?" Duvessa hummed.
"mmh." the other glanced about the ballroom, swirling his glass. "nobody specific. pretty much everyone in Xena's pantheon is attractive."
"true. I, personally, have my eyes on that pretty peacock boy...~" the other purred, taking a large swig of her drink. "his hair is pretty. I'm tempted to just steal his look."
"I wouldn't blame you," snorted Daedalus. he inhaled, leaning back against the pillar the duo were propped up against. "you know, Xena mentioned there were 12 Deities and one honorary Deity now. I haven't seen them yet."
"I believe the Force Deity is missing. Xena mentioned that she wasn't exactly the type to miss parties."
"interesting...~"
a few moments later, a small, white-haired figure ran out from behind the fifth Throne at the edge of the ballroom, promptly followed by an absolute tower of a woman, hurriedly chasing after her.
upon noticing this, Daedalus straightened, pointed ears pricked.
"I changed my mind. her."
"her?" Duvessa looked over at where her brother was looking at the Force Deity, paused, then nodded. "her."
///
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[ mistaken encounter ]
Erys wandered aimlessly around the banquet table, messing with the edges of her new coat. for once, she was genuinely bored.
that is, till a crown of large black horns caught her eye.
she froze up, staring directly at Jilaiya, who was unfortunate enough to accidentally cross her path.
he muttered a quiet, "excuse me," as he walked past, only to be a bit startled when Erys jumped into a defensive stance, hair puffing up.
"god-eater," she hissed under her breath, summoning her grimoire. Jilaiya simply stared, confused.
"NO."
Erys squeaked, being abruptly yanked into the air by a much bigger figure. Bojiro grabbed her grimoire as well, dismissing it by force, before sighing and tossing Erys onto her shoulder.
"sorry about her..." she muttered, "she hunts god-eaters for a living, so she isn't used to seeing passive shier whia..."
"oh." he blinked, then chuckled. "ah, no issue...!"
///
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[ sweet reunion ]
"hey, Fionn, yeah? haven't seen you in, what, weeks~?"
a low groan rattled the older man's chest. "hi, Sorrel..."
Sorrel hummed happily, leaning in a bit too close to the ice deity. "pleasure to actually see your face clearly for once!" he chirped. he smelled like dandelion wine - a little too much dandelion wine.
as if saved by the bell, Fionn felt his phone buzz a few times in his coat pocket. he quickly scooted out of his chair, getting up to leave. "apologies, but I have to greet a guest," he muttered, before walking off.
Sorrel watched him disappear out of eyeshot, before he leaned over the table to get within earshot of Avi. "am I annoying or something??"
"it's probably the age gap," Avi mumbled into his drink.
...
perfect timing. he arrived to the Gates just as the gray-haired girl materialized. she took a few seconds to readjust to her environment, a hand to her head, before she focused on Fionn. her tired face lit up with a smile.
"hi dad."
"pleasure seeing you again, Dust."
Dusty gave a gentle smile, before rushing forward and nearly tackling him in a huge hug. he picked her up, squeezing her back.
"you look amazing," he hummed, smiling faintly.
"as do you~" the girl chirped, face buried in his shoulder.
the duo stayed still for a few moments. the Gates were quiet around this time.
"I'm still getting used to this," Dusty whispered into his coat. "so much stuff has been happening. it's a bit jarring to think that you're...actually here."
Fionn made a quiet noise of acknowledgement, nodding a little.
...
"do you want to join the pantheon? your friends are there," he finally spoke, setting her down. "I'm sure Xena misses you."
Dusty paused, fidgeting with her gloves.
"I miss her too, but...we've been friends for, what, 20-30 years now? she'll understand if I want to stay in the dark this time."
"should I steal some wine and snacks for us to talk over, then?" he half-joked, messing with his coat sleeve.
"please."
///
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[ wingwoman ]
"hey~ Avi, was it?"
"mmf?" Avi mumbled through a mouthful of cake, before swallowing and taking a deep breath. "um- uh - yeah! yeah - you're Duvessa, right? Xena's big sister?"
"in the flesh~" the shapeshifter purred, leaning her head on a bent wrist.
"nice to meet you, then!" chirped Avi, completely oblivious. "I love your dress!"
Duvessa blinked, before smiling. "aw - thank you! I actually made it myself.."
"really? you make clothes too??"
"mhm! it's a fun thing to do when you're immortal and need to kill time~!"
"that's so cool! you have great taste," the thunder deity hummed cheerfully, "the white fur on the collar really compliments the white in your hair - speaking of which, is that dyed?"
"not at all! is your hair dyed? I've never seen someone with hair like yours before, it's so pretty!" Duvessa replied, waving her hand a bit.
"I've dyed it before," Avi admitted, "but it's completely natural at the moment!"
"so cool~!"
the shapeshifter paused for a moment, remembering her original intention.
'ah. that's right. i'm supposed to be flirting.'
"you really are a walking art piece~" she added, trying to recover her usual flirty tone.
"thank you!" the peacock chirped happily, beaming. Duvessa smiled back, before readjusting herself to face him better.
"so," she hummed, "I hope this isn't too blunt, but are you single?"
Avi paused mid-drink.
"ah - I am, but I'm not into girls," he replied. "and I...kind of have my eyes on someone else."
"oh?"
'forget the flirting, i'm intrigued.'
she leaned forward. "pray tell?"
Avi blinked again, before clearing his throat, relaxing. "ah - uhm, do you...see the red-haired boy over there?"
Duvessa straightened, looking around the table. "the wine-drunk one with a bunch of freckles?"
"wh- he's drunk already!?" Avi leaned closer to Duvessa, looking directly at the flora deity. "oh my god, he is. how is he already...whatever -" he waved his hands. "the point it, I'm...kinda into him."
"ohoho? I can see why. he's quite pretty~"
"it's not just that," the thunder deity muttered, leaning his chin in his hand. "he's kind, he's romantic, we have similar interests, he's secure in himself and he's not afraid to be vulnerable. he once cried because a flower looked too pretty in the sun."
"what a king," Duvessa chuckled, taking a swig of her own drink.
"the thing is," he sighed, stretching his arms, "I'm not sure if he's into guys too. I have...a sneaking suspicion he's bi, but -"
"he's bi. 100%."
"what? how can you tell?"
"I'm bi," Duvessa replied. "I can sniff out another bi a mile away. also the colors of his rings are arranged to look like the pride flag."
Avi blinked, then squinted a bit.
"fuck, you're right," he muttered. "how did I not notice that..?"
"say, I'll make a deal with you~" the shapeshifter hummed. "I'll help you get together with that cute fox boy -"
"deal."
Duvessa paused to look at him, then snorted, stifling laughter. "that was fast...~"
"what's your price?" Avi continued.
"friendship~ I don't have many friends in the mortal realm, and you and I seem to have some stuff in common. I think this could be the start of something nice~"
"deal!" the thunder deity chirped.
///
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[ like it was back then ]
"Dusty?"
the gray-haired girl startled a bit, looking up to see who called her name. the sun deity stood a few feet behind her, holding two drinks and smiling faintly.
"you looked a bit lonely over here," Xena hummed, sitting beside her. "I figured I'd grab you a drink." she offered the lighter-colored glass to the girl.
Dusty stared at it for a moment, before quietly taking it, tearing up. "thank you..."
"anytime...~" Xena purred, looking down into her own glass. "I, um, I remembered that you don't like wine, so I grabbed you some honey tea. you used to make that for us when we hung out at your place."
the gray-haired girl sniffled, taking a sip of her tea. "right," she muttered, "when we were teens. then we only ever hung out at your place because it was easier~"
Xena chuckled, leaning on her friend's shoulder. "remember that time we stayed up till 5 in the morning watching shitty horror movies and doing each other's hair?"
"oh, I remember," Dusty hummed with a smile. "what about when we watched the sunrise on some rooftop in Brooklyn?"
the sun deity nodded. "it was your idea. we had to parkour to get up there. it wasn't very easy...~"
"god," the gray-haired girl laughed, "jumping up fire escapes and air conditioners while holding grocery bags was..."
"annoying?"
"exactly."
the duo burst out laughing, leaning on each other.
"you know," Xena hummed, "we should start doing that more often."
"what? getting into trouble with the cops for jumping on apartment buildings?" Dusty chuckled, taking a drink from her glass.
"yeah!" the deity chirped. "I wanna spend more time with you, like we did when we were stupid and young!"
"you sound so old~"
"oh, shut -" Xena snorted, lightly headbutting the other. "you're just as old as I am. let's suffer together."
Dusty hummed happily, eyes closed. "what do you wanna do later? to, like, feel young again. wanna run around downtown and buy a bunch of stuff we'll never use?"
"that sounds like fun! as long as we can jump fences and run through fields in the middle of nowhere like when we were 18~"
"oh, I remember that! do you think we should visit that really secluded beach area, too? I visited it last week for the sake of nostalgia and it looks the exact same!"
"oh my god, it does?? I thought it would've grown over by now..."
"making plans without us, guys?"
Xena made a small noise of surprise, leaning back to look at the tall woman standing over her. "hiii Ly~! hi Dana!"
"hiiii~" Dana chirped, mouth full of a presumably stolen cake slice, plopping down next to Dusty.
"we were just talking about getting into trouble like when we were kids," Dusty hummed, "feel like joining? there'll be snacks~"
"count me in, then," Lynette smiled, sitting down beside Xena.
"ooo~ are we gonna go parkour-ing like when we were teens??" Dana chimed, leaning forward to look at Xena. the blonde nodded with a cheerful, "mhm!"
"it's settled, then," Dusty hummed, setting her glass down on the steps of the Gates, "how does this weekend sound?"
"perfect!"
"it's settled then~!" chirped Xena, clapping her hands lightly. "let's be absolute dumbasses this weekend!"
///
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[ 3,029 words ]
mmmmkay I think that's enough writing for today-
on another note, happy early Halloween!! it's October 29th rn, and I am currently going through art block, so unfortunately I won't be releasing a Halloween art chapter on time :[
I will be releasing one, it just,,, won't be on Halloween lmao-
but I hope you liked these vignettes~ I'm gonna take a break from writing for these guys for now, lol~