"Waaaah, you can see me?!" the utterly adorable little girl asked, practically tumbling over herself. If you'd told me a few universes back before I met Skuld that this little thing was a goddess, I'd have probably laughed in your face.
And verified afterwards. Deities are crafty like that.
Nonetheless, she seemed harmless by divine standards, which was to say that the clumsiness and general well-meaning towards humans seemed to be genuine rather than an act. If not for the small horns, one chipped on the tip, and the occasional moments when I caught her not paying attention to me and could see the age gap between her appearance and the ancient being that lurked under it, I'd almost have considered myself paranoid for keeping an "ear" open around her. In fact, as I watched, she glanced back at me, her face falling slightly.
"You're afraid of me, aren't you?" she murmured. "And you don't even know the legend yet. Why?"
I blinked, having not thought I'd been that obvious. "Well...it's not fear, exactly. More like...caution. I've run into others like you who aren't so nice, and it's a hard habit to break."
She tilted her head to one side, before tapping her forefingers together. "You don't have anything to be afraid of from me, really. I'm really just a powerless god, this is so."
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
And verified afterwards. Deities are crafty like that.
Nonetheless, she seemed harmless by divine standards, which was to say that the clumsiness and general well-meaning towards humans seemed to be genuine rather than an act. If not for the small horns, one chipped on the tip, and the occasional moments when I caught her not paying attention to me and could see the age gap between her appearance and the ancient being that lurked under it, I'd almost have considered myself paranoid for keeping an "ear" open around her. In fact, as I watched, she glanced back at me, her face falling slightly.
"You're afraid of me, aren't you?" she murmured. "And you don't even know the legend yet. Why?"
I blinked, having not thought I'd been that obvious. "Well...it's not fear, exactly. More like...caution. I've run into others like you who aren't so nice, and it's a hard habit to break."
She tilted her head to one side, before tapping her forefingers together. "You don't have anything to be afraid of from me, really. I'm really just a powerless god, this is so."
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."