[IC] Falling from Heaven {SinfulSkills ~ unfallenangel}

[unfallenangel]

Jo Ann Davis glanced across the lab in the aquarium, eyeing the pools containing injured sea turtles that they were currently rehabilitating. She reached into the tank that she was sitting beside and gently stroked the turtle's shell. The smooth surface was marred by three ugly gashes that were slowly healing from a boat propeller. "Poor baby," She murmured and dried her hand on her board shorts. She stood up and glanced into the mirror on the opposite wall.

Her sandy brown hair was tied in a loose ponytail and she was wearing a skin tight, black surfing shirt and pale pink board shorts. She was planning on meeting her friend Carla at the cove after her shift. Glancing over her shoulder, Jo noted the time. "I'm heading out!" She called to no one in particular. She reached for her phone. "Hey, C, I'm off. Wanna catch some waves?" She could hear her friend smile. "Of course! be there in 5!" Carla said and then line went dead.

*~30 minutes later~*

Jo and Carla were floating on the gentle waves, straddling their boards and making small talk. "SO..I met this guy," Carla giggled. "I'm meeting him for dinner tonight." Her cheeks heated and she shook her head.

"That's great, C!" Jo beamed and looked her friend over. Carla was pretty. Blonde, wavy hair, hazel/brown eyes, petite build, clear skin. "You deserve to be happy, but just remember. One slip up and Jo brings the beat down!" She splashed Carla gently. Carla squealed and leaned back on her board, back flush against the surface. Jo did the same and sighed. She loved days like to day. Spending them with people she cared about, doing the things that she loved.

[EasilyAmused]

The throne room of the king of the heavens held a mix of emotions. Shouting and arguing, sadness and stillness and one cocking smirking brunette, “And until you find the end to your marks you will not return to the heavens. The answers you seek lie in the eyes of the goddess.” A noble man raised his hand into the air, the room filled with a great light and the six individuals in front of him vanished. The King slowly placed himself back onto his gallant throne, propped up his elbow and rested his chin in his hand. “Oh little cub, let us see how loud your roar.”

As the Gods fell from the sky the conversation began. “The answers you seek lie in the eyes of a goddess?” The youngest god repeated his voice solemn and depressed.

“Yes Axel, that is what he said; judging by the King’s demeanor, he must know much more than he’s telling us.” The elder of the gods said as he crossed his arms during their fall.

“That trickster of a King knows exactly what he’s doing, and I have an idea of what he wants from me. I’ll be back in the heavens in no time.” The smirking brunette said laying back as the people fell from the key.

The goddess who was falling among the gods clicked her tongue in rage towards the smirking man. “Shut your mouth you worthless lion. You know nothing of the King’s plans.”

“Scorpio be still.” The black haired man with a professional presence said in an authority tone. “Leon knows as much as the rest of us. He is just making a guess.”

“Director Stick in the Mud knows nothing; at least I have an educated guess on what the King wants from me.” Leon said in a casual tone giving a shrug.

“I think we should split up.” The more mature looking one spoke up once again, “Finding the goddess that the king mentioned should be our number one priority.”

“I agree with Hue.” The silent one finally spoke up. “We’ll meet at the mansion and report anything that we have found. Despite the king’s rough treatment of us, he would never set us up to fail. The goddess we’re looking for must be in the city.”

“Curt is right.” Axel said speaking up, sounding much full of more hope than he had been when they first were summoned to the palace.

“I’m bored.” Leon announced before turning his fall into a different direction. “Do what you wish; I will be at the mansion.” Leaving the other gods, Leon changed his trajectory and headed towards the direction of the manor… however something showed up that he wasn’t expecting. “Oh shit!” He called out in surprise and bounced off the top of an airplane, his body tumbling as he fell out of control towards the ocean as he lost consciousness due to the impact.

His body tumbled through the air in his white suite with gold armbands, he certainly didn’t look the part of a normal guy and why wouldn’t he? He was a god! And the Director of the Department of Wishes from the heaven… and now he landed face first into the Ocean’s water and began to wash towards shore.

@unfallenangel

[unfallenangel]

@SinfulSkills

Jo and Carla were talking idly and lounging on the sand, soaking in the late afternoon sunshine. Jo leaned back on her elbows and closed her eyes. "I really enjoy days like today. Thanks for hanging out with me." She nudged Carla with her elbow. Carla looked over at her and smiled.

"I love hanging out with you. You're my best friend." Jo sat back up and stared out at the ocean. Carla pulled her knees to her chest and sighed. "I am kind of nervous about meeting this guy though," She admitted sheepishly.

Jo closed her eyes again. "You will be fine! You are gorgeous and funny and talented and successful. You can stop me anytime." Jo grinned.

Carla laughed. "No. I think you should keep going. Just a few more and I think you'll have a complete list," she joked with her friend. She went silent for a moment. "OH MY GOD! JO! THERE'S A GUY IN THE OCEAN!" She shouted and jumped to her feet.

Jo rolled her eyes and looked up at her friend. "Yes, Carla, There are tons of guys in the ocean today. That's because it's summer time and it is very hot outside."

"NO! He fell! I think he fell from the sky!" She squealed and grabbed her board. "Jo, he may need help!" She darted toward the water.

Jo jumped up and ran after her, board in tow. She could see a small, white object floating gently on the waves as the tide drew him to shore. "Maybe he's stranded from a boat or something. There is no way he fell from the sky. You must be seeing things."

Carla nodded and started paddling against the oncoming tide. "Maybe," She agreed. as they fought the rising tide to get to the man.

@SinfulSkills

[EasilyAmused]

@unfallenangel

This… this is what the King had in mind? Branding the gods with the tattoos on their bodies and sending them to the filthy earth to ‘learn their lesson’. And now, here he was, Leon the god of Leo lying face down in the ocean with a throbbing headache. His hazel eyes closed as he laid there. That was… until he felt his body being pulled.

The young man stirred as someone pulled on his body and he was draped across the board until he was paddled ashore. The feeling of his body sinking into the sand was almost unreal to him. Shivering slightly he stirred, voices echoing over him but still in more of mumbles than anything else; but he was exhausted! Being on earth was taking a lot out of him… especially since he had landed on a plane before crashing into the ocean.

His voice began to groan as his fingers clenched slightly, gripping onto the sand. Oh man… he really was on earth, even the air smelled different despite being near an ocean! “Uuuggghhhhhh….” Leon’s deep voice echoed in a groan, his clothes feeling obnoxiously heavy thanks to being incredibly soaked and yet, he didn’t have the strength to snap his fingers just yet. His hazel eyes slowly flickered open before shutting tightly, the bright sun reflecting overhead was incredibly unpleasing to someone who had just regained consciousness.

When a shadow finally lingered over his head, he opened his eyes once more to see a pair of hazel eyes staring down at him. The stars of the heavens reflecting in the gaze of the woman above him, it takes a lot to silence the arrogance of Leon but her mere gaze rendered him speechless as he stared up at her in wonder, unable to take his eyes away. The stars were beautiful, but she had no godly aura to her… did… did he just stumble across the goddess he needed to find? But she was a human! And at that thought he began to cough hard and groan once again.

[unfallenangel]

@SinfulSkills

"Should we get help? Jo? What do we do? He nearly drowned? i'm going to go get help. No. They'll think I'm crazy. Is he alive?" Carla was frantic, and slightly comic in the way she was passing/stumbling back and forth in the sand and running her fingers through her hair. Sand was stuck all the way up to her knees and her hair was a tangled mess.

"C, calm down. Right now I think your crazy, and i love you. Stop it. Sit down!" She nearly shouted at her friend as she continued to pace. "You're making me nervous!" Jo nearly jumped out of her skin with the man lying in front of her coughed. She leaned over his face. His eyes flew open and she jumped again. Man, why was she so twitchy.

His eyes seemed to be the color of warm amber, and he gazed up at her in what she thought was wonder, she had to resist the urge to reach out and touch his cheek. His eyes closed again and he began to cough and moan. "Hey, hey," She urged. "Stay awake. you nearly drowned." She looked over her shoulder at Carla, who was anxiously biting her nails. "What's your name?" Jo asked the stranger and gently nudged his shoulder with her palm.

"And why are you fully clothed in the ocean? Are you suicidal? Did you jump from somewhere? What is wrong with you?" Carla is nearly hysterical again.

Jo rolled her eyes and tossed a handful of sand at her. "Will you stop it! Go somewhere else if you are going to have a melt down for Christ's sake!" She shooed her friend away and turned back to the strange man in front of her.

[EasilyAmused]

@unfallenangel

Leon was now groaning for more than one reason. The first one being at the obvious pain and discomfort he was feeling and the other… the other was that he had to deal with a human on earth in order to figure out how to undo his mark of sin. His groaning dissipated when he realized she was asking him questions and, thankfully, getting her squealing friend to shut up. The only problem is that she wasn’t here alone. Getting her to leave with him would be nearly impossible. Guess it was time to swallow some pride.

“I’m…” Cough, cough, “I’m Leon…” Cough, cough. Slowly and carefully he sat up, his clothes weighed so much it was to the point of discomfort but he couldn’t use his magic in front of so many people. That would just be annoying. “I… I was boating with some friends and fell off.” Boating… that’s a thing right? Humans always wished for boats so it would be understanding if he fell off of one right? Placing his hand on his head he held it there for a moment before turning his attention to the human-goddess. “If something like this happens… my friends and I made an agreement to meet back at the house… but I don’t know where we parked…”

His head turned as he looked around him. There were a lot of people on the beach and parked nearby were automobiles. Maybe this girl owned one of them. His amber-hazel gaze turned back to her as he covered her hand that was on his shoulder with his own. His natural power pulsating through him and sent tingles of desire, temptation and excitement straight to her heart, though he didn’t let it last long but gave enough to make her question the feeling and hopefully seek more.

“You seem so kind, thank you for helping me. I… I don’t know how far I am off course… and…everything of mine is on the boat. Can… can you give me a ride to our house?” He gave her hand a small squeeze but didn’t send any power to her but stared her down with his eyes. “I know it’s asking a lot but I have nowhere else to turn right now. I’ll make it worth your while.” Boy, that was an understatement.

[unfallenangel]

@SinfulSkills

Jo looked up at her friend Carla, who was calming down slightly. The sun was high, but starting to set. His name was Leon. "Hi, Leon," She said softly and sat back on her heels." I'm Jo. This messy of a lady is Carla." She pointed over her shoulder. His hand brushed hers and sent a strong electric pull deep into her stomach and made her heart flip. She pulled back and blinked a few times. Get a grip. you just pulled this guy out of the ocean. This is not the time or place, She thought and took a deep breath, trying not to seen so easily taken by Leon.

Carla stood up suddenly. "I don't have my car here because I walked. How far away is your house? I've never seen you before." She started talking without taking a breath again.

Jo glared at her. "I don't think he was talking to you," She snapped and pulled herself to her feet. "My jeep is parked over there." She pointed vaguely. "We can take you anywhere you need...The house, a hospital, a psych ward," She muttered under her breath. "Free of charge of course." There was something about this strange, beautiful man that sat soaking wet in front of her. "Here." She tossed him her towel and brushed the sand off of her back and legs.

She held out her hand to help pull him to his feet. "It's getting dark. We should get going, especially if you're taking us on some wild goose chase." She rolled her eyes upward and laughed.

[EasilyAmused]

She was snapping at her friend, maybe that wasn’t a bad thing since she seemed to be assorting her dominance of who gets his attention. Mentally smirking to himself, he figured she was more on his side than her friend’s. Hm… how could he make it so she was the only one to go and this ‘Carla’ wouldn’t.

“Thank you.” He said softly taking the towel from her, his hand brushing against hers and he sent another pulsation through her bloodstream and to her heart. The temptation dancing through her heart and to her soul, inviting her to walk on a dangerous side of live, take a chance at something that could turn out to be very fun. He took the towel from her and slowly climbed to his feet as well.

He pulled his white dress suite jacket off of him and finished unbuttoning his shirt since he always left the two buttons at the top undone to reveal his strong chest, large shoulders and solid abs. He dried off his body first before running the towel over his hair, and scrubbing his head dry.

The towel removed from his head and ran his hand through his hair before turning his gaze back to her and handed her back the towel. “Thanks, Jo.” He said softly as he rang out his button up shirt before he began to ring out his jacket. The psych ward… sigh, is that really how he sounded. Boy she was in for a treat when they got to the house, as long as they were alone.

[unfallenangel]

Good God almighty. Her mouth dried as he dried himself off with her towel. Another brief touch. Another pulse of electricity pulling her in. What in the world was this creature before her. She slung the towel over her shoulder and tucked her board underneath her arm. "To the jeep," she muttered and shook her head, trying to dislodge the feelings that were buzzing through her entire body.

She led them to an old, worn yellow jeep with the top and sides down. She stashed her board and turned to Carla, who was biting her lip and picking at a loose strand on her swim suit. She looked over at Leon and then back to Jo, worried. She leaned in close to Jo's ear and whispered, "I have that date tonight, and I need to go get ready. But I don't want to leave you."

Poor thing. She was such a big sister/best friend. On an impulse that Jo ha no clue where it came from she laughed and said, "it's fine. Go. I will call you when I'm home." She hugged her fiend and waved her on.

"You are the best. I love you! You're a goddess. I will tell you everything tomorrow." She looked at Leon on last time before dashing off.

"Well," Jo said and climbed into the jeep. "Where to, cast away?" She smirked at herself and her corny joke. She would take him home and that was it. End of story.

[EasilyAmused]

As he walked behind her he couldn’t help but grin. She was muttering to herself and obviously frazzled; this was going swimmingly. His gaze turned upwards for a moment towards the heavens. Stupid king, he’s getting what he wants that trickster that he is.

Ugh, a vehicle. He couldn’t let his hesitancy show despite his complete distaste for human stuff but he stood outside the jeep waiting for the friends to finish up their conversation and continued to ring out his jacket. Dumb plane throwing him off course... then again he did find the human-goddess he was looking for. That was one perk he couldn’t deny but it still was an inconvenient way for him to go about it. But, this whole thing was just a giant inconvenience for him.

When her friend called Jo a goddess his head popped looking at them in a bit of a surprise. Humans couldn’t see the stars in her eyes. No way. Shaking his head, he focused back on his jacket before slipping it back onto his large shoulders and button back up the jacket. Climbing into the jeep he buckled himself up and placed his arm onto the window, his gold insignia glistening in the sunlight. His gaze turned to her as he gave her a small smile showing his bright straight white teeth.

“As a cast away you are my mermaid savior.” He began to guide her in the direction of the house.

The mansion soon came into view, as they drove up the driveway. It was hard way to get there and it was a good thing she had a jeep. Once they arrived he unbuckled and reached over. Placing his hand gently on her shoulder he gave her a grin. “Thank you for your help Jo. But I do need your assistance with one more thing.” With that he brought his hand up and snapped his fingers.

They were instantly transported into a luxuarious living room. Leon’s clothes were completely dry when they appeared inside and they were sitting on the couch. “Tell me goldfish, what do you know about gods?” He asked, a cheeky grin on his face as he closed the gap between them, his large hand sliding up her arm, the sensation of thousands desires rushing through her body. “The king wants me to remove my sin, simple enough. Give in to your desires goldfish and you’ll enjoy every moment of it. Then I’ll be out of your hair and back in the heavens.” His large hand traces long her arms to her neck feeling her pulse. Through that he used more of his power, the tingling session of arousal flew through her from the tips of her toes to the end of her hair on her head. A mix of comfort, pleasure and intensity rolled through her body like flames in a burning building, her imagination would momentarily begin to run while with her inner most desires playing out in the front of her mind. This should be fun!

[unfallenangel]

Holy Moses where does this guy live, Mount Everest? She thought as she urged her jeep up the steep, winding driveway. "Oh wow," she gasped when they finally arrived. It was amazing. The mansion was almost like something out of a fairy tale. Prince charming. She laughed out loud at herself. He may be gorgeous, inhumanly sexy, and have a killer smile; but he doesn't quite fit that prince charming characteristic.

She rolled her eyes when he mentioned mermaid savior. Really cheesy. Her eyes met his and they danced with defiance. She wanted to make some snarky remark, but her words died before they reached her limps. His smile was breathtaking. He had said something. Come on Jo stop staring. BREATH! what did he say? He needed her help with something else? "What else you you possibly-" She never finished her question. He snapped his fingers and suddenly they were inside on the couch. Both were dry and he was grinning this Cheshire Cat grin.

“Tell me goldfish, what do you know about gods?”

She jolted to her feet, her head a whirlwind of thoughts. "What THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" She nearly shouted at him and ran her hands through her messy hair. She took a deep breath. "Not much I guess since there are no such thing." She retorted and sank back onto the couch beside him. Her brain was swimming. Okay, say this was actually happening. It would be pretty epic. Could he be a god of some sort?

His strong hands traced light lines up her arms and neck and into her hair. HOLY HELL. She felt wave after wave of desire wash over her. Kiss me, she thought urgently and closed her eyes, leaning into his hand. WAIT. Reality pushed its way to the surface and broke her trance. Who the heck was this guy. I'm not letting some complete stranger do this to me! She pulled away from his touch and leaned back, nearly falling off the couch because she was so out of sorts.

"WHO the HELL are you?" She asked accusingly. "Do you really think I'm letting some complete stranger in my pants when I just met you an hour ago? I didn't even do that in college! You have got to be joking! What do you think I am?" She stood up defiantly and crossed her arms across her chest. Anger and desire danced in her eyes.

[EasilyAmused]

During his hands travels from her arm, to her neck and into her hair; he couldn’t help but notice how small she was in comparison to him. His hands were large and muscular while she was small and dainty. Not to says he was weak but with his larger build, six foot tall height and overpowering demeanor, she was little. Were all humans this little? Or just this one? As she leaned back into his hand he found himself captivated, nearly forgetting the job he was supposed to do as his hands trailed through her soft hair. For being a human… she wasn’t bad to look at.

Her sudden drop back from him and nearly stumbling off the couch caught him off guard; a small look of surprise moved across his face as he watched her jump to her feet. Uh… well, that was weird. She’s fighting against her own desires and winning. Impressive. A smirk moved across his face as he rose to his feet, “Little Goldfish, I am a god.” His aura pulsating around him as he stepped towards her and took her chin his hand, tilting her face upwards to look him in the eyes.

Again he used his powers, sending the intense waves of passion through to jaw and to her very core. The smirk stayed on his face as he brought up his other hand. “You dare to defy a god? The situation is simple enough for you to understand goldfish, you spend one night with me; I will make all your fantasies come true then I go back to the heavens.” Tilting his head to one side he brought his lips to her ear and whispered, “Despite my detest of proving myself I shall.” At that, he snapped his fingers and the bottom of her shirt began to rip, crawling up her stomach. “It’s one night of pleasure, pleasure you will remember for the rest of your life; no attachments required. Let us retire to my room… or we can stay here. But I won’t stop when the others arrive.”

[unfallenangel]

His touch was intoxicating. She was losing herself in something that she couldn't quite name. Desire? Lust? She didn't know, and the warm feeling of his hands on her made her not even care. She wanted to melt into his arms and lose herself. But there was a dark ugly spot dancing around the edges of her bright fantasy. You don't know this man. He is a god. He is making you feel like this. This is not you. The voice in her head nearly shouted at her, but is was being drowned out by the sensations. Everywhere. She felt desire everywhere and it was blooming hotter and hotter. STOP. NO. She opened her eyes and met his golden amber stare.

He was cocky. He knew what he was doing to her. He was doing this to her. The thought broke through and she nearly let tears rise to her eyes. Jo shook her head and closed her eyes. The bottom of her shirt started to rip. This is my favorite shirt! When her eyes opened she met his with anger and hurt. "Stop it." She said through gritted teeth. He smirked and the rip continued to travel upward. "I SAID STOP IT!" She shouted.

SMACK!

Her palm connected with the right side of his cheek and she took another step back, fists balled at her sides. "Do. Not. Ever. Touch. Me. Again." She said slowly, enunciating each word. "I don't care who or what you are. I will not simply bow to you and offer you my body like some ultimate token! You are sick and despicable!" tears rose to her eyes. "DAMMIT!" She turned away. She had always been wired a little funny. She hardly ever cried, unless she was angry.

This big, beautiful man standing before her didn't want her because of her, he wanted her because she was his ticket UP. The thought made her skin crawl and her blood boil. She turned back to him face slightly flushed. He was holding his cheek, stunned.

[EasilyAmused]

She was meting like butter in his hand and he couldn’t help but smirk. The sooner she gave in and enjoyed herself the sooner he could go back to the heavens. Despite his magic working its way through her, he didn’t feel his curse being lifted. What, that’s wrong… why isn’t my mark going away? Why don’t I feel my strength returning? Why am I not going back to the heavens?. Leon was getting lost in his thoughts until he felt the impact of her hand against his cheek.

The hit was so hard that it moved his head involuntarily and his hand that was holding her chin instantly moved away from her to find his own cheek as he stared at the ground in shock. The first person to ever hit him, the first person to ever tempt fate by walking in the path of the Wild Lion of the Heavens was a miserable human girl with the eyes of a goddess. “Oh goldfish…” He said, his voice chuckling as he rubbed his cheek and turned his amber-hazel gaze to her. His aura filled the room, pulsating with power and strength unmatched by any earthly presence. “You’re a brave one.” With that he rose his right hand once again and snapped his fingers.

Silence. Nothing happened. Not giving it too much thought, he snapped his fingers again. Silence. Again, nothing happened. “Hm….” A man of simple yet arrogant phrases was silenced as he stared down at his hands. “You sly devil…” He said aloud.

“Leon!” A voice echoed through the mansion as the heavy front door flew open. The other five gods came in through the door and slammed it shut behind them.

The first person in the room was Scorpio, the woman in a black suit with silver bands around her biceps. “A human.” She said in disguise. “Even I didn’t think you stoop this low.” Her voice was showed she was irritated at the presence of a human and Leon when she first walked in.

“Scorpio be still.” Another person in a black suit, this time a tall broad shouldered man with jet black hair; clean cut and professional entered the room in haste. “Leon, what have you found out?”

“We can’t use our powers, we were lucky we could fly here.” Another young man entered in haste behind his fellow coworkers in black suite, this man was much younger than the rest in the room with his curly hair and big green eyes. He seemed to be the first to show a look of surprise at the woman in the room with Leon, lucky for the woman, her shirt had stopped ripping. “A human?”

“You act as though you’ve never seen a human before. Please calm down.” A brunette haired man with facial hair said, this time this man’s outfit matched Leon’s with the white suit and gold bands. Behind him was another gentleman wearing the same outfit; though this one remained silence observing the scene.

“Miss, I’m sure this must all be very confusing for you…” The brunette said softly as he slowly stepped towards her, the rest staying behind. “I’m Curt, please… If you will give us a few moments of your time we need… to talk to you. Hear us out, and if you think we’re nuts I understand and will let you leave without any hesitation but…” Curt looked around at his fellow gods, by this time all of them had realized she had stars in her eyes. The only one not staring at her was Leon, he was too busy looking down at her hands. “We need your help.” Curt said finally finishing his sentence and gently gesturing for her to have a seat.

Leon on the other hand curled his hands into fists before walk to a nearby chair and began to lounge in it, his chin in his hand and his elbow propped up on the arm of the chair as he watched Jo closely. Boy… she just became fascinating.

[unfallenangel]

Silence. She stared at all of them in utter, dumbstruck silence. Gods. It did make sense now that she thought about it. They all seemed...different. For lack of a better term. Not human. Jo looked at all of them in turn, her eyes still dancing with anger from what had unfolded before they got here. The brunette stepped forward slowly, cautiously it seemed.

"I guess you owe me an explanation," She snapped and looked over at Leon, who had sat down in one of the plush chairs. "Fine." She tucked her messy hair behind her ears and sat on the edge of the sofa. She made a point to not sit right next to Leon. It seemed that he could manipulate her by his touch. Maybe manipulate isn't the right work. overpower may be better. However, the air was still electric and it seemed that he was still affecting her now that she sat far from him. Or was that just her? Was it just her own desire for him?

Jo chanced a peek up through her lashes at the golden god sitting across from her. He was staring at her intently, curiously. Her cheeks flushed when she realized that she had been caught staring at him. One of the others cleared their throats and Jo jumped slightly, sitting back. "Well...What the hell is going on here?" She demanded and pulled a pillow into her lap, covering the rip in her shirt that had managed to creep up about her navel.

[EasilyAmused]

Curt continued to approach her with caution. Judging by her mere stance along and the air of the room said that Leon had already placed a hand on her and didn’t exactly leave a positive impression.

However, as the gods sat down around the girl; Scorpio kept standing. Her arms crossed under her chest as she glared at the human woman in the room. “What is the king thinking? This is a waste of time. Sending us to deal with this Goldfish and now we can’t even use our powers…” Then her eyes quickly flicked to the god lounging in the chair staring at the human. “Lion, what do you know?” She demanded clicking her tongue in his direction. “You know something. I can tell.”

A smile moved across Leon’s face, his gaze never breaking from Jo as she sat bewildered over what was happened.

“Quiet Scorpio we’ll address that at a later time.” Alexander said in his sharp voice filled with authority as he sat down next to Axel who seemed almost timid to do so.

“It’s a bit… difficult to explain.” Curt began as if searching for the words, his chocolate eyes shifting back and forth as he stared at the floor.

“We’re Gods, casted from the heavens; each branded with committing their own individual sins.” The silent one in white finally spoke up, his voice was clear and clean as if he knew exactly what to said, despite how blunt it is. The bluntness of his statement caused Curt to wince. It wasn’t fun getting reminded of their sins but he was hoping to go about it a bit more… tactfully.

“Yes, thank you Hue.” Curt said, his voice sounding annoyed as he glared down Hue before turning a soft expression covered face to Jo. “Yes, that is a blunt way of putting it. And our king said that we would find a goddess on earth and you…” He gave her a gentle smile. “You are that goddess…” The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“Miss…” Axel, the youngest with his curly hair spoke up. “I know this is probably a lot for you to take in but please understand that we don’t want to be here anymore than you want to be in this situation. We’re just looking for a way home and apparently…the way home lays with you.”

Every god besides Leon nodded, by his casual demeanor it was obvious that Leon had figured that out to begin with. He knew what the king had in mind and he wasn’t shocked at all. “We can’t use our powers without touching her.” Leon finally spoke up watching her closely ignoring everyone else’s reactions.

Though their reactions were of shock. Curt, feeling the bravest of them all stuck out his hand to her. “May I borrow your hand?” Despite her hesitancy, when he had her hand he snapped his free hand and a flower appeared in it. “Well I’ll be darned.” He said in surprise as he looked out the flower. Turning her palm over he placed the flower in her hand and nodded. “For you.”

“The heavens will find out about this soon enough. If we can use our powers we can work.” Alexander spoke up, his posture perfect in his black uniform.

“I am not touching a human…” Scorpio tried to object only to be shot a look of ‘shut up’ from her superior.

“Human;” Alexander said, “Do you have a name?”

“It’s Jo.” Leon spoke up only to receive a dirty look from Alexander, to which he smirked in response.

“Jo.” Alexander repeated looking back at the girl, “I am Alexander, God of Libra. With knowing you are the window to our abilities once again we will be put back on normal tasks and to that we will need your assistance. Without your help the world will fall out of balance for the work that our departments do it vital. Will you assist us?”

[unfallenangel]

Groaning inwardly she thought this must be a dream. Some sort of freakish nightmare. People, no, gods couldn't do their work without touching her. "That's ridiculous. There has to be someone else. I can't stay here and be at your beck and call all day. I have to work! And I don't think I ever want to be alone with any of you after what just happened!" She glared at Leon and pulled her knees to her chest, hugging the pillow tightly. She wanted to go home. She wanted to curl up on her own couch and watch her own tv with her cat.

Jo looked around the room once more, almost helpless. What to do, what to do? She felt sorry for them, but at the same time...What had they done to be cast down like this? Should she even dare ask? Did she even really want to know? No. She didn't want to know. She bit her lip and felt a small tug on her heartstrings. She peeked up at Leon again from under her lashes. She still felt that electricity.

The flower that Curt had given to her was twirling in her fingers. Did she believe them? Yes. there was no doubt in her mind that they were what they say they were. She sighed. "What do I need to do anyway? If i agree to this. Because I haven't yet," She stated bluntly.

[EasilyAmused]

Hue was the first one to speak up to her question considering most of the gods were still in surprise that she was willing to even listen to them… except for Leon who just seemed to be giving a small closed mouth smile towards the human. Everyone was exchanging questioning looks about what happened before they had arrived. “There isn’t a specific pattern we follow like earth workers with your 9am-5pm shifts. We are assigned work that must be completed before the day’s out.”

As she played with the flower, Curt couldn’t help but smile.

However, as Leon watched Jo, his gaze flicked over to his Vice-Director and glared at him as he smiled. Once Curt looked in his direction he turned his attention to Jo.

“Miss Jo, we can work around your schedule.” Alexander spoke up as the other gods nodded in agreement. “We can summon you to the mansion since you know how to get here; the vehicle outside is yours I assume. Or we can come to you.”

Running his hand along his chin, he watched the girl sit on the couch and knew full well he’d rather not hear from her at this time and chose not to speak. However he was ever watchful and found her interesting to observe.

“Miss, I can do my work on earth. If you would feel more comfortable around the other humans I wouldn’t mind doing my work in public.” Axel said, his voice sounding excited like a young child on Christmas.

“I too would enjoy doing my work in the human world instead of through the reflecting pool.” Curt said with a happy grin on his face as he clapped his hands together. “I’ve always wanted to visit earth; I’m excited to be here.”

“I’d rather be here.” Scorpio said quickly sounding more like she detested the idea of being on earth more than touching a human. “I will work out of the reflecting pool.” A shiver shook her small body as she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off her hands. “Earth is disgusting.” She muttered to herself in disappointment that she was even on earth but, then again, they were all sent for a reason.

“Whatever gets my work and the pesky lion’s work done.” Alexander said shaking his head and running a large hand through his hair. “Will you help us Miss Jo under the condition we do not interfere with your job?”

[unfallenangel]

Her head was still swimming. It felt like she had just held it under the waves of the ocean for some insane amount of time. She looked from one eager face to the next. Well, everyone seemed eager except the woman in the corner and Leon. Let's see...I can deal with Curt and Axel in public. IT's fine if I help the woman here. What to do? Her eyes landed back to Curt. He seemed nice and sincere, and his smile was contagious. "I guess I could help out some."

Her shaky fingers pushed her hair back out of her face as she stood up and tugged on the edges of her shirt. "But," She hesitated. This seemed to be a sore subject. "If I help you guess do your jobs, that makes sense, but how will you guys get back to the heavens?" She asked and kicked at the rug under her feet. The helping made sense, but she had remembered something that Leon had told her before the others arrived.

Jo looked at Axel, then Curt, Then Alexander, Hue, The woman named Scorpio, and the her eyes landed on Leon. He was still sitting in the chair, chin in hand with his elbow resting on his knee. He was still watching her closely. She felt her face heating up even more. She closed her eyes. "What are your jobs?" She thought for a moment and then a small smile spread across her face. "If you guys want to look around, the sun is almost done and you can come to the pier and watch the humans there." She suggested. She could really use some pier nachos, or a corndog, or hotdog, or just some food. Her stomach suddenly growled loudly.

[EasilyAmused]

The fact that she agreed to help all of them caused the group to exchange looks of relief. Then she asked the question that they were all wondering. The groups exchanged looks with each other and Hue was the first who chose to speak up.

“None of us really know what to do Miss Jo.” He said before his gazed move to Leon. “We might have some ideas but we’re most likely wrong.” To that Leon broke his gaze away from Jo and looked in another direction. “Bare with us Miss Jo, we are all lost and confused right now.” At that he turned his dark gaze back to Jo and gave her a small smile, “Maybe not as confused as you are right now but still, we are rather lost. We’ll most likely jump to conclusions from time to time or make random and unreasonable guesses but we’re not doing it out of ill-will.”

“We have situations we need to take care of here at the mansion there will be no playing around. Work comes first.” Alexander said in an authoritarian tone looking over at Axel who’s face dropped in disappointment.

Axel’s gaze turned to Jo before giving her a gentle smile. “Well I’m Axel, god of Gemini. And she…” Gesturing over his shoulder the God in the corner. “That’s Scorpio, she is the goddess of the Scorpio constellation. Alexander is the head of our department. We are from the Department of Punishments. I know that may sound scary but our job really isn’t. What’s the phrase human’s use for ‘when you do something bad, something bad will happen to you’?”

“I think they call it ‘Karma’.” Curt spoke up, his knowledge of the human world seeming to be more vast than the others.

Nodding, Axel gave Curt a smile before turning his attention back to Jo. “Yeah, karma. I like to think that what we do really helps humans turn their lives around.”

Scorpio chuckled at his statement but she chose not to speak after Alexander threw her another ‘shut up’ look.

“This is Hue, god of Aquarius.” Curt said gesturing to him and then pointed nonchalantly to Leon who had returned to his lounging. “And that is Leon, he is the god of Leo. Also… he’s the director of our department. We work for the Department of Wishes and our job is to grant the wishes of humans that are strong enough or passionate enough to reach us in the heavens. Some wishes aren’t strong enough to reach us but the ones that are we make a priority to grant.”

The pitter patter of little feet soon echoed through the emptiness and stillness after Curt spoke. At this pitter patter, Leon was instantly to his feet, showing the first sign of movement in quite a while as he stared at the entrance into the sitting room.

A small figure rounded the corner, a little blonde girl in a white dress appeared in the doorway. “My lords!” She called out before dashing inwards with excited glee. Her bubbliness filled the room and it seemed to brighten with her mere presence. “Lord Leon!” The little girl made a beeline for the open arms of the smiling Leon.

“Isi!” He said with excitement as he scooped up the girl about the size of a five year old into his arms to give her a big hug. The other gods around them either gave small smiles or big smiles but it was obvious they were generally happy to see the little girl. “Why are you here?”

“Oh Lord Leon the heavens are not the same without you.” The little girl exclaimed as she hugged him around his neck with glee. “No one else plays with me as much as you do.” Alexander muttered something about Leon’s lack of getting his work done but the young girl ignored him. “News spreads fast to the heavens, the king sent me down to bring you work.” At that she hit the floor with a THUD, Leon dropped her instantly hearing the phrase from her mouth. “Ow… My lord…” She said as she stood up rubbing her butt. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“You brought work…” Leon said sounding exhausted as he fell back into the chair and rubbed his forehead with his hand. “And here I thought I’d get some peace and quiet.”

The young girl pulled at his other hand. “But work is backing up already Lord Leon, we need you and the other God’s work in order to keep everything in balance…” Her small face turned into a pout as Leon looked back at her. He muttered something that sounded like ‘fine’ and sent the little girl into a giggle of glee. “Oh wonderful I’ll go get the paperwork!” The little girl turned and was about to dash back out of the room before her eyes landed on Jo. “Oh! You must be the human-goddess!” She skipped to Jo before taking her single hand in her small little ones. “I am Isabelle. I’m the messenger for the gods. What’s your name?”