Lily glanced down as she sensed Finntello nearing her, taking his hand she moved their arms in an exaggerated swing for a few steps before letting them hang normally. A sigh huffing out from her chest as Lily tilted her head to look up at him.

“I just hope they sort out Renissa. Well..and that they aren’t at each other's throats by the time we come back.” She offered her tidbit of information, swivelling her head to look over at Alma. She let the quiet hang in the air for a minute before she couldn’t help but begin to ask her questions.

“Do you remember being here, Alma?” Lily decided to start lightly, she certainly didn’t want to get on her bad side even before she knew about this godly side of Finn’s adoptive mother. On that matter, she was now crucially aware of the fact she was holding his hand rather brazenly in front of the group. Not that they hadn’t done that before, but now it felt even more…strange to be doing it with Alma being what she was.

“Nothing special to really remember about this place, it’s just a bunch of pompous people pulling the strings of others' lives.” That was Florence piping up, not giving one look back towards the group as she led them away from the cottage, over a rise to where they couldn’t see it anymore.

–

Callisto tapped his fingers on the side of his mug, nodding his head but his eyes flickered to the floor keeping quiet as he walked to the kitchen. He placed his free hand on the back of the chair and leaned his weight onto it, peering back over at Xevon he offered a sad smile.

“Whatever you think is best.” He wasn’t exactly sure how to offer any help. He couldn’t magic away the terrible things that were likely swirling around Xevon’s head, he had no cure all to administer. All he could do was be there, which was difficult when the person you wanted to help would rather stew over things in their head on their own.

Lily tipped her head back to look at Finn, trying to give him a scolding look but clearly fighting back a bark of laughter at the unexpected comment. To keep herself in check, she looked back over the Alma. She couldn’t blame her for wanting to escape this place, the way it looked at the moment was depressing enough. Maybe it had been nice once, but now it was not somewhere she wanted to live forever.

“Got along or tolerated?” Lily tried her chances with a nervous laugh.

Florence finally looked back the group, still blatantly not looking at Lily, scanning between Alma and Finn. Skimming her eyes over the top of Lily’s head.

“Onas is not a tolerant person, you’re either someone he likes or someone he hates. Hates with a fiery passion.” Florence explained before a mischievous grin began to form on her lips. “He doesn’t like me.”

–

Callisto couldn’t help the almost pitiful look that had risen to his face, hearing Xevon talk like that was so saddening. He flexed his hand on the back of the kitchen chair before leaning back and placing the mug of tea on the kitchen counter with a small clink. The catch of Xevon’s eyes was enough to make him walk back over to him.

“If what you think is not best, then…perhaps being alone is not what you need.” That sentence alone felt like he was overstepping some boundary. Almost immediately, Callisto pushed his hands into his front pockets, shaking his head lightly.

“You cannot take on the burden of other people and their suffering, it will only anchor you to your past instead of help you process it. We will help Renissa, but you should not feel responsible for ending her suffering. It is not your responsibility, you are just kind enough to help her.”

Florence let out a soft snort of laughter, clearly darkly amused by Alma’s comment.

“You were both a little..argumentative about it, from what I have heard about it.” She commented, giving her shoulders a large shrug that pushed a huff of air from her chest.

“Not that any of you could have known just how demented my father truly was.” Florence admitted, they weren’t all knowing creatures, no one really saw what Veles was going to do eventually. Twist the whole realm to his bidding and break those around him into a million pieces just so he could have some entertainment.

“I think he could’ve killed my father rather easily, fire and feathers don’t particularly mix very well.”

Lily tipped her head, trying to ignore the well, ignoring of Florence. At least she was talking in a general manner to all of them, even if Finn’s tightened grip let her know he was probably more annoyed about it than she was.

“I’m glad he’s dead, no offence.” She spoke matter of factly, keeping her expression neutral even as Florence shot a short look over her shoulder at her. It seemed the other woman suddenly remembered she didn’t want to look at her and whipped her head back around.

“Not a big fan of people that quite literally kill the people I care about.”

–

The wince that came couldn’t be hidden, Callisto wasn’t exactly sure what to do with himself. It seemed like Xevon was switching to needing company and a sympathetic ear rather than seclusion, he wasn’t good at comforting.

“The past is haunting, it is worse for those like you that have suffered like that. The others spoke about the..the war. I am not going to say I understand, because I do not. However, I do know that it takes time to piece yourself back together. You were taken away from that trauma and thrown into a new kind of torture, you have not rested yet.” He took up position in front of Xevon, eyebrows curled upwards in concern.

Hesitantly, Callisto lifted a hand and pressed it softly against Xevon’s chest, feeling the rise and fall that was reassuring him he was in fact alive again. “You are not alone now, you have support. You would be silly not to try and use it.” He tried to offer a smidge of amusement, a tiny, rocky smile on his lips.

Florence scrunched her nose up, refusing to turn around as they spoke about her. This man was full of questions, wasn’t he? Eventually, after letting him ponder on his own questions for a minute, she piped back up.

“I’ve been here since the nineties. I wasn’t born in the nineties, genius.” She rolled her eyes, keeping her head trained forward. “I’m a demi-god, kid. I’m a lot older than I look, just so you know, but you never ask a woman her age.” Only now did she throw a look over her shoulder at him. “Veles found my mother in the early nineteen hundreds, you do the math.”

Lily took a small look at Finn, she wanted to know the answers at wall, but she had to agree with Alma ever so slightly. They could infer a lot of this information themselves.

“As for how I got here, I just can. Well, could. If I wanted to, I could just send myself here. Veles let me do that, but he cut me off. He found out about my existence and well, let’s say he wasn’t exactly happy about it. So he trapped me here. Without another god to help me gain the ability again, I’m stuck here just like you lot.”

–

He felt his arm tense as Xevon landed his own hand over his, he made sure he didn’t move, worried he would spook whatever was going on here. However, at the next words that came from Xevon, Callisto couldn’t help but frown up at him, losing the small smile.

“Burden?” He repeated, almost shocked by his words. “It would not be a burden. You could never be a burden to me.” He refused to let Xevon think like that.

Beneath Xeveon’s hand, Callisto gripped the front of his shirt. “I cannot make you talk about it, but you are not allowed to bottle it up. Not allowed.” He reiterated, expecting a confirmation as he stared defiantly up at him.

Florence rolled her eyes at his continued questioning, this man just didn’t shut his mouth. The assumptions he was making were things she had never thought about, just took it with a grain of salt and got on with it. No reason to dwell on the fact if she couldn’t change the outcome, so why bother.

“You talk an awful lot. Does he always do that?” She took a second to look over at Alma, raising an eyebrow.

Lily let out a soft sigh, shaking her head before looking up at Finn. Giving his hand a quick squeeze, she tried to draw his attention over to her and offer a smile.

“It’s alright.” As much as it was off putting, what Florence was doing wasn’t exactly…harmful. Just kind of rude, she had dealt with enough rude people to not be too worried about it. What she was concerned about was the looks from people back at home, baristas, cashiers, children. They would all give her second glances, a flash of shock and then pity. That would be the painful part, and that part wouldn’t end.

–

His hand was pulled free of the fabric when Xevon lifted his hand upwards, almost dragging his entire arm with him.

“It is worth it. It would not be doubled, it would be halved. But if you do not want to talk about it, we do not have to.” Callisto’s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, his eyes moving from his own hand and up to meet Xevon’s red eyes. He was never really put off by them, they had always been there and they meant familiarity and safety