Heathens

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Why did it seem he always found himself in Philadelphia? It wasn't even his favorite city. He had had the pleasure of watching most of the East Coast cities rise from the ground over the years. From the first lonely settlement of Jamestown to the now sprawling metropolis of New York. He did like New York. It was busy, filled with people and possibilities. There was always something for him to do. Philadelphia, on the other hand, was just lukewarm.

At least it's not Detroit or, Helheim forbid... Anywhere in New Jersey.

The small black cat shivered at the very thought. Fjorlagg, The Lord of Death, the New God who's very name means "Death", padded along a concrete walk way, his small paws barely making a sound as he walked along. His whiskers twitched a bit and he sniffed the air. He was getting hungry. Where was he exactly. He looked around and recognized a few buildings. He couldn't miss the young ones walking all around him with their bags on their backs. Some seemed happy, others depressed, still others simply absorbed in there books.

Ah yes, college. Not quite what the Greeks had in mind, I think, but it does the job.

Continuing to follow his nose, Fjor wandered about the campus. The smell was getting stronger. It smelled like... No... Could it be? He sniffed again. Yes! It was tuna! Wonderful, wonderful tuna! Fjor absolutely hated it when his form's urges overtook him like this, butting could not be helped. He began to sprint towards the intoxicating smell.

He approached a large, square building with many windows, still following his nose, he hopped up on a window ledge and there it was. Sitting inside some young girls bag was a beautiful tuna sandwich. Fjor licked his lips. He stared at the girl as he plotted a way to get his lunch, his black tail swaying slowly back and forth.

Nomina was stressed out beyond belief. She bent over the computer she was using to calibrate one of the laser printers and tried to clear her thoughts. "Just calm down Mina... Just calm down... You're away from the hallucinations...... I'm sure the cat will be fine...." she thought to herself, breathing deeply. She didnt want memories from the past to start rearing their ugly heads again in her panicked state...

"Running isn't going to help. Over the years I've gotten quite good at following people. You should consider yourself lucky you even caught my attention. You make... Oh, what is it... Ten people after all these years? The milk definitely helped your case."

"PYAAAAAAA?!?!" Mina gasped, startling several people around her. "Uh, sorry. I thought I screwed something up..." she attempted to lie apologetically. The others just shrugged and went back to work. "Shit, I'm hallucenating again..... What do you want anyways, hallucination? Milk? Sorry, I gave it to a cat who probably needed it more than you...."

Fjor rolled his eyes. Humans were so difficult sometimes. He sighed and continued to walk towards the girl. Honestly, these people had devices that sent words from their mouths, into space, across the world, and then into someone else's ears. How is it that you show them one talking cat and all Hel breaks loose?

Annoyed, Fjor pounced up onto the desk, settling next to the computer. He then took a quick probe into the girl's mind. He wouldn't invade her privacy, he simply wanted a name for the face. His consciousness quickly slipped into her's. She would certainly feel some of Fjor's mind now, but perhaps that was a good thing. She would need to get used to that feeling. He wasn't going to hold back the feeling of his mind like this every time they talked. It made it infuriatingly hard to function.

For a moment he kept his thoughts to himself. Nomina? Pretty. Last name, last name, where's the last name? Ah there we are!  

Now he thought to the girl. Nomina Torres, is it? A very pretty name for a very pretty girl. Now, first things first, as you people say. I am not a hallucination. Watch.

Fjor set his right paw down on the key board and watched at a jumble of symbols spread across the screen. He turned back to Nomina.

Could an illusion do that? I think not. I'm the exact same cat whom you gave milk to earlier. Many thanks, by the way. It's been such a long time since I've enjoyed milk. The last cold glass was... Oh, at least twenty five years ago. You wouldn't be able to imagine how hard it is to get the stuff.

But I digress. I don't want more milk, at least not at the moment. No, what I want is you... I'm not going to explain here. You'll make yourself more of a spectacle than you all ready are. Do you have a home? I do hope you don't live here...

As always, he stared.

Mina blinked as the jumped up onto the desk where she was working. "Wait, so... The voice was coming from you all along...?" she asked curiously. "That means... Well, that's a relief." she sighed with a small smile. "I thought I was hearing things that weren't there..." She muttered. Realizing that people were giving her funny looks again, she waited until they turned away and snuck a Bluetooth earpiece in her ear, then placed her phone on the counter next to the cat.

A strange, dark feeling like a shadow covering her mind began to develop in her mind, causing Mina to reach up and run her temples gently to try and relieve it. "You can always just call me Mina." Mina shrugged tentatively, speaking downwards to make it look like she was talking into her phone. She really wasn't sure what she was doing... She had never really talked to a cat before... As she was distracted, the cat reached out and put it's paw on the keyboard before she had a chance to react. All the parameters on the screen changed and the printer started to beep.

"For the love of... I just programmed that." Mina grumbled, canceling the screwed up printing request the cat had just requested. "Paws off the keyboard." she added as she shook her head and began to reset everything. "And no, I don't live in a laser printing lab. Animals aren't allowed in my apartment complex... They're not even supposed to be in school. Which reminds me, make sure my instructor doesn't see you. I'm in class at the moment."

Mina, as she wished him to call her, expressed her worry over him being caught. Fjor rolled his eyes. He had been at this game for literally thousands of years. The idea of some half-witted college professor catching him was absolutely absurd. Still, to calm her nerves he would hide himself.

Quickly, he jumped down from the desk and slid inside her bag.

I'll wait then. Carry on with whatever it is you're doing. When you are ready to do things of actual importance, speak with me again.

"Actual importance...?" Mina thought to herself. This project would count for 40% of her grade... That felt pretty important to her.

---
LATER, ON MARKET STREET
---

Mina exited the URBN Center and Started walking in the direction of Millennium Hall, which was near where her apartment was located. She had a large Manila envelope containing the plexiglass pieces she had cut earlier that day, and she also had her shoulder bag which now contained a cat. It was a typical city night and the moon was now in the sky, and of course, no stars were visible.

Mina made no stops on her way home that evening; just walked straight home. The black cat she had met earlier had been in her bag since he trip to the laser printing lab trip, and she was sure he probably wanted out by now.

After traveling a few more blocks and then going up a few flights of stairs, she finally arrived at her front door. She pulled her key out, her hand brushing against the lump of a feline being, and then unlocked the door. Before entering her little home, she removed her shoes and set them just inside the door.

"Well, this is my home." she commented as she replaced the key and shut the door behind her (making sure to lock it) before allowing the cat to escape her bag. "You can stay the night for now... Just please don't shed on too much; especially my project." Mina begged. She wouldn't lie; it was a bit unnerving to be letting this cat home. She had felt uneasy the whole walk home.

Fjor yawned and stretched. He had no clue that a bag could have been so comfortable. He had fallen asleep and was only awoken by the crisp night air. Of course there had been no stars in the sky. There never were in cities. For all the excitement they offered, Fjor hated the cities because they blocked the stars. It had started slowly. With the introduction of streetlamps, the stars started to dim. Now, with giant megaliths to illumination like Times Square, the stars were lost in these areas. It was sad. Humans had such a poor track record with the planet. Sometimes Fjor wondered if they were a good idea afterall.

Soon, he was inside Miss Nomina's apartment. It was what Fjor could only politely describe as cozy. Still, there was something to be said for the utilitarianism of the place. As the cat was let out of the bag, literally, he stretched once again.

"I assure you," he said through a yawn, "I don't shed. I'm a shorthair. Always have been."

Not wasting anytime, Fjor hopped up onto the sofa situated in the middle of the room. "I suggest you take a seat as well. You'll want to be sitting down. They all do.

"Now, I have your name, but you do not have mine. I believe that would be the best way to start this anyway. My name, in full, is Drottin Fjorlagg Vardmader. It's from Old Norse. The translation is a bit iffy when wrought literally, but it essentially means 'Lord Death the Watcher.'

"Nomina, I am a God. The Lord of Death, above Hades, Hel, or even Lucifer. I have been imprisoned in this form for at least three thousand years. You are now my Mortal Partner. You should consider it an honor. As I may have said before, only ten before you have earned it.

"As for you're duties, they include three simple tasks: Protecting me, Sheltering me, and above all, Aiding me in my endeavors to return to my original form."

He paused a moment.

"I am not the only one, however. There are a few more of my kind. We are the Old Gods, imprisoned by the New Order in these forms for having the "hubris" to think we could both create you humans and expect to be your shepherds. The New Order, the Gods you have always heard of, wanted you all to themselves. And so, they tricked us into the life you now see. As for where the others are, I don't know, though it is my hope that I may find them all soon, for at this time, I have discovered a way that may JUST free us from our imprisonment.

"I'm sure this must be a lot to take in, even believe, but I assure you it is true. So, Nomina Torres, will you accept the role fate has chosen to give you and aid me in this? I assure you, the rewards will be substantial, should we succeed. Besides, who wouldn't want the favor of a God?"

Nomina did what the cat told her, confused by the whole situation but rolling with it anyways. She plopped down on the couch that she had been studying, living, and occasionally sleeping on for possibly the most shocking news she would ever receive in her entire life.

""Nomina, I am a God."

Mina blinked again, leaning a little closer to the strange cat. Was she hearing things right? Her full attention was now the cat's (newly-proclaimed Fjorlagg) and his alone. She tried to absorb everything he was telling her, finding it curiously fascinating. She nodded her head occasionally, but stayed completely silent until the end of his monologue.

"This is possibly the strangest day I've ever had." Mina commented thoughtfully. "I mean... I can't exactly argue with a talking cat who tells me he's a god. I just can't. It's kinda exciting anyways; a lot of me wants to believe that it's true." Mina took a closer look at the cat. "...And anyways, I don't see any speakers or anything like that on you anywhere so I can't really argue that either."

Mina bit her lip. "You know, though..." she started, trying her best to swallow down and hide some emotion that was welling up. "...After what happened through high school, I've just been trying to live a normal life... Well, my definition of it anyways. I mean, sure this is extraordinary, but that's just it. I've tried so hard t-" she stifled back a sob as a few tears rolled out of her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and forced her normal composure to come back. "Sorry, but I'm just so worn from... past years, I don't know if I can handle being out in another turbulent situation. I don't think I want any part of this, Fjor... Can I call you that?"

Fjor tilted his head, and this time he wasn't being cute. He was genuinely confused. He had expected her to be startled, shocked, appalled, something! Instead, he got tears. He did not deal well with tears. Straightening himself out, he said, in a soft but firm way,

"Well, I can see that this is clearly an issue for you. I wont force it on you, but I urge you to think it over. Afterall, this is a once in a lifetime sort of thing."

He pounced down from the sofa. 'For now, however, I'll be staying in your house. It's the least you can do. Afterall, I DID have a hand in creating your race. Besides, you have a mice problem. I can hear them in the walls. I'll get rid of them for you and once that is done, be on my way."

With that, he stalked off hide behind something. Disappearing mysteriously was not as glamourous as it was made out to be. The girl obviously needed some time. He would spend some time with her, build up some sort of relationship, and then ask again. He needed this human if any part of his plans were going to work.

Though he had given her the illusion of choice, "No" really wasn't an option. Fjor did truly like the girl, but in the end, he needed her.

Besides, this one is actually cute... I knew the Japanese were a good thing as soon as they began to settle that island.

As Fjor jumped off the couch and ran off someplace, Mina curled over and put her face in her hands without a sound. Memories she didn't want to see all came flooding back. She stood up and clenched her fists.

"I just need to calm down." she sighed. "There's no use overreacting like this." she scolded herself, then went into her room and shut the door. "I need to think..."

It was just so hard, giving up the life she had always wanted and worked so hard for. She didn't want to come of greedy in front of this Fjor... person... cat... but it was still just a lot to take in. "Maybe I need hot water to calm my nerves..." she considered as she fiddled with her phone to set her morning alarm, but she ended up crashing after she flopped into her bed for a moment to think.

Nomina had quickly fallen asleep after their exchange. Fjor didn't blame her. After everything she'd been through today, she deserved some rest. Still, what was up ahead, he was certain would be much more taxing than what today had throw at her. Would she be able to handle it? Fjor hoped so. She would have to.

He slipped behind a warm, chushy couch and fell into a light sleep. Things would get underway in the morning.

~That Morning~

Nomina flopped over, some time before her alarm was set to go off. She had fallen asleep rather quickly, but she hadn't stayed asleep. The chronic nightmares were still in full swing, probably from the extra pressure from her most recent project and... Oh. Right. Cat gods of death. Was that actually a thing that had happened? It was almost too much to believe. She lay there with her arm over her face, just thinking about what had apparently happened the day before. She had met a cat, but... there was no cat? If that had really happened, then where had the cat gone? Wouldn't the cat want to sleep in a warm, soft bed as opposed to the stale carpet? Mina was suddenly a little concerned. The morning grog in her mind took a backseat to her curiosity as she pushed herself out of her bed, eager to be rid of the dreams she had woken up from.

Gently, Mina opened the door that separated her room from the main body of the apartment. She peaked into the space, but there was no one around. The took a few cautious steps in, feeling like perhaps she wasn't still wasn't completely alone despite the empty looking room. She crept over to her bag as silently as she possibly could, avoiding all the places on the floor that she had identified as creeky with grace and ease. There was only one other way to confirm the presence of a cat without an actual cat present - smell. She leaned the plexiglass against a wall silently and opened the already-unclipped messenger bag. She leaned into the bag and inhaled deeply.

"Oh, yeah. Wow. There's definitely some cat going on in there," Mina deduced, withdrawing her head from the bag. She looked around at the room, singling out all the best places for a cat to hide... Honestly, there weren't many. The couch was her best bet. Mina creeped over and began to look around. Removing the cushions yielded no cat. Looking under the couch produced a few socks Mina had considered long gone, as well as a dark figure pressed against the wall in the waaaaay back of the couch's underside. "Aha. So there you are. Guess I should have expected a cat to go looking for a hiding place to sleep in.

Mina crawled onto the couch's topside and peered down at the cat called... erm, "Fjor." She watched him breathe, waiting for any other signs of life or concious movement. Watching him breathe was... oddly calming. She was mesmerized for just a moment, smiling a small smile unconsciously.

Syrian stared blankly at the front of the classroom, the professor's lecture going in one ear and out the other. She was supposed to be taking notes; after all, there was a test coming up later this week that she really needed all the help she could get to study for. But seriously, in the light of the tragedy that made up Syrian's entire existence now, she was ready to just stand up and yell out 'fuck Chemistry!'

She almost did; she was that annoyed and depressed at the moment. It had been two months -she could hardly believe it had been that short of a time, it felt like forever- since her twin sister, Genevieve, had died in that horrid accident. In that time, Syrian had prayed practically every day for some miracle to happen; that maybe this was all some terrifying dream and she'd wake up and her sister would be there, comforting her from the nightmare.

As the lecture continued on, none of the words really making any sense to the distraught girl, she found herself praying once again.

I don't know why I'm still doing this. It's getting pretty obvious there's no God or gods out there listening to me. But I've got to. I owe it to Genevieve... I need her. I can't keep living my life like this, every moment expecting to turn around and see her, hearing her in my dreams at night and thinking every flash of long black hair is my twin... Please... please, if there is a god out there... anyone, anything willing to help me... I'll do anything; anything int the world... I just want my sister back...

"That's it for today, guys. Class dismissed."

Syrian broke out of her prayer just in time to hear the professor dismiss them, and she sighed. Another class gone by without a single thing sinking into her head. At this rate, she was going to flunk out of college within the first month.

'Now wouldn't that be a stain on the family honor,' she thought cynically. Ever since her sister's untimely death, the stress her parents had always put on her to be the best had suddenly jumped ten-fold, now that she was the only child to prove her family's worth.

Syrian headed outside, pushing through two sets of doors to emerge into the crisp afternoon air of Iowa's autumns. Her college was a community college stationed in the boring town of Council Bluffs -on the very edge of Iowa along the 'Big River,' the Mississippi. "Home of the Black Squirrels!" proclaimed every tourist banner for Council Bluffs, ever. That was literally the most interesting thing about Council Bluffs -the fact that it was the one place in America that Black Squirrels lived natively.

Speaking of, one of the said black squirrels ran across Syrian's path, causing the girl to shriek and tumble backward, rather than trip over the precious rare-colored squirrel. She tumbled over and fell to the ground, backpack first, causing a nasty crunch sound to emit from the squashed pack.

Syrian groaned as she laid there for a moment. She was sure to have destroyed the art project she'd been carrying around, not to mention busted open the can of Pepsi™ in there.

Prayers, prayers, prayers. This woman seemed to just make one prayer after another didn't she? Sure humans seemed to pray a lot, but this particular one she was following was persistent with this single prayer. She was grieving, desperate, perfect to take advantage of.

Rhea swallowed, looking down and kicking rocks hiding her nose behind a scarf. She had come with intentions to take advantage of this person's sorrows to gain a follower, but she found that she just couldn't go through with it. It wasn't her style. She took a deep breath, she could just try again like the last few hundred, hopefully this person would actually stick around and listen..or not die. That would be useful.

She was alone, a backpack on her back as she practically waltzed around on the college campus. Great security here, huh? She had a filthy dark jacket with dark clothing, the jacket was thick, meant to protect her against the cold nights. She hard a dark beanie with a red and black scarf wrapped around her neck and dark gloves. She wore pants as well, having stolen stocked up on the necessities for surviving the cold nights a week or two ago. Unluckily for her, the nights would just get colder.

She was here to find the mortal that reached out to her, it was not her in specific, but she just could not ignore this pained cry for help. Rhea heard yet another prayer from the same human, a nearby building. She was almost there!

She was weary, tired from the walking and the hitchhiking. She could not remember the last time she slept under a roof, and churches weren't exactly the best choice of shelters for a god-in-hiding. She peaked around a corner as the class was released, there. That woman. The dark hair and light tan. She's the one who calls for Genevieve.

She followed the older appearing woman, getting a bit away from the crowd of students as they were released. Rhea was surprised when the one she was following suddenly fell backwards, avoiding a squirrel that dashed across her path. The girl collapsed, and Rhea could hear the crunch of the modern day can.

Rhea flinched, tightening the grip on the straps of the backpack before relaxing a bit. She approached, deciding to keep the secret on the down low, at least until she gets to know a bit more about this person other than she's rather desperate.

"Are you okay?" her quiet voice spoke up, looking down at the fallen woman.

Syrian was about ready to just start crying. She was having quite the awful time as it was and now her artwork was ruined; and her back hurt! And her sister was still dead! Tears welled at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall in front of everyone.

"Are you ok?" The voice was soft spoken and kind. Syrian swiped at her eyes before looking up into the eyes of a young girl -she could only be about ten or eleven- with quite the dirty-looking outfit on.

Syrian pushed herself to her feet, dusting herself off, and abandoning her backpack on the ground for the time being.

She looked back at the kid, and worry of her own creased the woman's forehead. "I'm alright, thank you for asking.... but... kid, where're your parents? You shouldn't be wandering a college campus alone..." she said in concern.

His eyes fluttered open then shut. He had dreamed of fish, yarn, chasing mice, and Odin's head on a pike. What a wonderful night!

He purred as he stretched out his body across the carpet. It had been some time since he had slept indoors and this was a special treat. He sunk his claws into the carpet, kneading the floor as he slowly shook off the grogginess.

He rolled over on his back, leaning on the wall for support. When he opened his eyes, he saw Nomina above. Staring.

He blinked.

"Awake already?" he asked out loud, "Good, you're an early riser. That will help." He flipped over and padded out from behind the couch. He leapt up on the arm of the couch and looked at the girl.

"Would you happen to have any kind of breakfast?"