Make it Frosty

The mysterious woman standing before them was not Kemuira or even a yokai. The slayer senses within the tanuki only screamed that she was a god, a deity of sorts. The realization put the silver bakedanuki on edge. Her fur standing on end and her fangs bared in a snarl, the tanuki glared with suspicious crimson eyes at the violet-haired woman. At her first words, calling Oras her ‘son’, more red flags were raised. Gods typically only used such words in two instances-- they were referring to a biological or adoptive child, or they were referring to a person they had chosen to train in elemental powers, thickly infused with darkness and made to kill their rivals.

Oras’ tizzy of questions was not unfounded, but further unnerved the tanuki, who leaped from his shoulder to the voidlike ground below, somewhat shrouded in smoke. Tail sticking straight up in frustration, the bakedanuki listened, ears stiff and fur still ruffled. She knew just how problematic these gods could be, along with how quick they were to harm or deceive for their own entertainment. They had no consequences or rules holding them back, so they did as they pleased. Was this whole mother and son thing just some trick of a chaotic goddess? Stepping in between the two, in defense of Oras and still in her tiny tanuki form, Izayuki glared up at Atia. “Back up and don’t touch him, goddess,” the canine ordered. She knew she was in her small and seemingly vulnerable true form for the most part, but the bakedanuki was strongest in her birth form, despite not appearing as such. Besides, a part of her enjoyed the reaction of the humanoid beings looking down on the small critter when she spoke. It made it so much more pleasing to rip them apart and kill them slowly while in her tanuki form, the opponents’ faces in twisted shock.

When the scenery switched, an audible growl could be heard rising from the back of the tanuki’s throat. It was typical of gods to show off their range of power with large visual displays like this, manipulating reality to fit what they wanted in the moment. Such displays often did not spell well for someone unfamiliar with how the deities operated. Nevertheless, her words seemed reasonable even for the angered and unnerved bakedanuki. Deities often swore off godhood or hated other gods and goddesses, but even when they did that, they were all alike. They had no reason to trust or agree with the goddess no matter how logical or reasonable she presented herself. They were crafty and malicious, thus Izayuki held onto her tension and her guard, remaining standing in between Oras and Atia as the goddess sat down.

“Fine, I’ll hear you out,” the silver tanuki grumbled, her fur still spiking in irritation. There was no realistic way to easily leave the area without trouble, and both her and Oras’ curiosities likely were getting the better of them. Still, she would prefer to have nothing to do with the goddess if she could help it. “Just don’t touch me or him. Keep your distance,” Izayuki demanded again, still standing protectively in front of Oras. She knew that a single touch from a deity could prove devastating. They had mysterious powers and could completely rearrange a person, their place in time and space, or their mind with just a bit of physical contact.

The bakedanuki kept silent at the observations. There was no fruit in cursing the being out so quickly, especially after they bothered to ask to explain themselves. She did not trust the goddess and doubted that she would even if the story seemed good and accurate. “Who said I hate you?” the tanuki growled, remaining stiff in where she stood. She had never once eluded to the fact that she hated gods, after all, despite the fact that she did indeed hold a deep grudge, fear, and anger against them after her many negative encounters with them. From what she could see, the goddess was quick to make assumptions and take aggression somewhat personally, likely from past experience.

Izayuki listened intently to her story, unsurprised at the details. From what she could gather, Oras was at first treated like nothing more than an experiment, much like she herself had been treated by past deities. The only difference was that this deity had formed an attachment to her project, nothing more and nothing less. Regardless, she never bothered to step in when the going got tough, like she would have done for her own daughter, Astrid. The thought annoyed the bakedanuki, who knew she could have expected nothing less from a goddess. She would keep quiet for now, however, and await Oras' response and questions.

The bakedanuki gave a low growl at the goddess’s words towards her. Deep seated hatred was not an accurate term-- while she did not trust gods at all, she did not truly hate all of them. Hate was a strong word, one that meant she would prefer to see them all drop dead if she could. Her anger was not quite at that level, but there were a few gods she would like to see killed off of course. It was quite pathetic, with how many demons she knew were nicer than gods. In silence, Izayuki listened to the goddess’ long sob story about her life. She maintained her stoic pose and no emotion fazed her one way or another other than the desire to protect her guildmate from the shifty chaotic being.

Oras was finally asking the right questions as she ended. Izayuki herself was still not convinced. Almost everyone had a shitty life of betrayal in one form or another, yet they did not rampage on revenge sprees-- there was no excuse. The origin of her guildmate was equally curious, as she basically stated that he was nothing more than a soul she had messed with to a point he was something akin to a relative of hers. If there was anything the bakedanuki wanted to call bullshit on, it was that.

“‘Genuinely love someone’” the ayakashi repeated, a scowl on her muzzle. “Bullshit.”
The tiny tanuki took a pawstep forward, clearly unhappy with the situation. She herself was a mother, and at least tried to put forward her best effort in protecting her daughter. The fact that this goddess could not even do that despite having the power and opportunity to do so, out of something as small as a prick of fear… it was inexcusable. “If you actually loved him, you would not have left him to that tragic life he lived. You would have at least delivered him to the hands of some other parents who would love him, after he lost his birthparents, if you were too scared to raise him yourself.”

The yokai paused for just a moment, before the blistering words continued. Her tone was even and low, but a serious fire burned in her crimson eyes. “‘First priority’, enough of your lies. That is the shittiest excuse I’ve ever heard. Your first priority was saving your own face-- don't blame it on him or his ability to make friends with you around. Quit pretending that you’re a parent who cares; your excuses won’t work. You gave up that role a long time ago.”

The reaction of the goddess was certainly satisfying. Izayuki had not witnessed a deity’s anger in a while, and thus it almost felt refreshing to see that her words had triggered it. She was right, after all, everything about this situation was wrong. Deities were tricky beings, they could not take this one’s words as full truth so easily. Such words would need to be tested. Oras suddenly shouted for the tangent to stop. His impatient gaze met Izayuki’s dauntless and blazing rose colored eyes.

“Funny how you suddenly care when forced to face us thanks to Kemuira,” the bakedanuki commented with a huff and daring taunt. It was not said as an intentional jab, but rather just in the act of laying the truth on thick. Everything about this situation was fishy and likely false. To the deity, her guildmate was nothing more than an experiment from what it seemed. Why else would she have waited this long to reveal herself. The story was all just in a futile attempt to cover her ass and Izayuki could only hope that Oras saw that. She still stood defensively in between the two, refusing to allow any physical contact to be made if she could help it.