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'Dite's Decadent Delights, Sunday Afternoon

It had been a very quiet Sunday at the store.

For some reason the whole Island felt quiet, and 'Dite didn't like it. She'd put on some cheery music and lit the store as brightly as she could. Even Hercules was wearing bells, but he was looking sullen because she'd permanently locked the window he'd been using to roam at night, so he was no help.

Still, oppressive gloom or not, 'Dite was insisting that things be happy. To that end she'd created a display of books that she knew Karla and Raven liked to read and marked it as "Employee Recommendations!" with another sign that said they were all 15% off, and 25% off if you were a new student or just new to the island, period.

Hercules had an appointment to see a vet on the mainland on Wednesday. He was looking sullen and had torn open a box of rather racy calendars. 'Dite simply smiled at him and patted his head. Nothing was going to make her mad today.

Unless that horrible old woman came back in. "I'll get positively Warrior Princess on her butt."

As she waited for customers she perused a catalog, looking for new books. Decadent Delights is open!

(OOC: Open, but waiting for two, and after they arrive, the store will close.)

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If you want to talk to Dite or just buy something, tag in here!

This will not be pretty.

Dinah hadn't actually slept yet. Copious amounts of coffee were keeping her awake until she could catch her portal and be home tonight. But there was one thing she had to do before she left.

Copping out and letting Max do it alone would've been cruel.

"Hey, 'Dite."

Max came into the shop looking... not like his usual self at all. No cheerful greeting as he walked in the door or anything.

"Hey, Dinah! Twice in one week, to what do I owe the honor?" She was grinning, until she noticed the lack of a smile on her friend, and the solemn form of Max stepping in behind her.

"Oh . . . Oh, no . . . what's happened? I got a message from Karla that there was a problem, but she didn't say what, and -- Dinah?" She turned a troubled gaze to Max. "What's going on?"

Dinah's automatic smile faded after only a few seconds, and she shot Max a look of appeal, before swallowing. "We have some bad news, 'Dite. You should-- sit down. I think."

Max nodded in agreement. Sitting down was a good plan.

Without thinking about it, 'Dite zapped some chairs in so they could all sit comfortable. She dropped into one, gripping the arms. "Guys? You're kind of worrying me. Like, my-best-friend's-been-driven-crazy-by-the-Furies-and-is-trying-to-kill-me kind of worried." They wouldn't understand, but that was okay. "Just tell me what's wrong. I'm a goddess. I can take it." There was a half desperate chuckle. "Hell, I can probably fix it."

"Nuh-uh," Dinah blurted without thinking, then gulped, her face screwing up. "So. Uh." Breathe. "Raven's dad came back. And kinda ... kidnapped her. And her brain. Thursday night? Way after our dinner got over."

"We went to rescue her... Things... got complicated."

In the worst possible way.

"Well, why didn't you call me?" 'Dite folded her arms in exasperation. "Look, I can't fight like you do, Max, and I'm not trained like Dinah is, but I'm a goddess! You haven't even seen half my powers! I can do more than throw love bolts, you know."

She looked more upset about that than anything else. "Complicated how?" One perfect eyebrow rose. "You and she didn't fight, did you?"

Dinah scrubbed at her face with both hands, mind so fuzzy that she didn't have a good answer to that. She was quiet for a long minute.

"We knew it would be a fight. And maybe I should have thought of you, but I didn't." That... probably wasn't going to go over well. "I'm sorry."

The last question was addressed to Max, but Dinah said anyway, "There was a fight. Us against Trigon. Who was possessing Raven."

Couldn't put off the full truth much longer....

Might as well tear the band-aid off completely.

"We lost. Raven's gone."

For a moment there was a blank look on 'Dite's face. Then her eyes widened. "What do you mean, lost? What do you mean, gone? You mean, you lost and Raven's still with her father?" She looked back and forth to both of them. "Be- because if she is, that would be bad. We need to go get her, if that's the case." Another look back and forth, this time almost hopeful. "That's why you're here, right? You do want my help."

The last of Dinah's energy seemed to get sapped out of her with that question, and she looked away. Hand over mouth, shaking her head.

"'Dite... She, she died." Couldn't say 'we killed her, we were used as weapons to kill her body' yet. "She took her father out. It was all some... plan."

Max's face was completely immobile. He had nothing to add.

"Wha- die-" She looked to Max, finding his impassiveness suddenly frightening. Staring back at Dinah, she couldn't stop the confusion, and maybe a little fear, from showing on her face. "Pla- She stopped her father?" Maybe if she concentrated on that part, she wouldn't have to deal with the real news. "But -- that's good, right? You meant he died. And now Raven's safe."

It was a good, if useless, impression of an ostrich.

Dinah's voice cracked with frustration and exhaustion as well as grief. "No, 'Dite." Understood the denial. She'd wanted to stay stuck in that, when she'd snapped back to herself. Hadn't had the time, though.

"Trigon... I don't get it all. There was some plan of Azar's." She gulped. "Raven was a conduit, or something. Everyone in Azarath is dead too." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Raven had to die to make it work."

Please, please, please don't ask her how.

Edited 2011-01-17 03:56 (UTC)

Max didn't say anything. But he did stand up and reached out for 'Dite's hand. Words weren't really going to help now anyway.

'Dite pulled her hand away. "Had to -- No. No." She stood, walking away. "No, you -- she. No." She leaned against the counter, hands flat on the panes of glass. With her back turned to both of them, she said, "Are you telling me Raven's dead?" 'Dite shook her head. "You said she killed Trigon. If that's true, who killed Raven?"

Trigon. Azar. Life. Destiny.

For a second, Dinah actively hated 'Dite for asking that question.

But she wasn't going to be the last person to ask this week... And the sooner she could say at least part of it. The better.

"We did." She closed her eyes. "We ... Trigon possessed us. Made us his puppets. Azar took over the strings. Turned us on Raven."

"....her body died from her injuries." Her eyes were leaking again, and Dinah's voice was flat. "Her soul and the rest of Azarath's killed him. Or something." It really hadn't made any sense.

"And that was it."

Could she just check out now? Somehow?

Edited 2011-01-17 04:37 (UTC)

It didn't take much thought before Max shifted slightly, placing himself between Dinah and 'Dite. Just in case.

"There wasn't anything anyone could do."

At Max's quiet confirmation, reality set in. Raven was dead.

'Dite screamed, even as the glass under her hands shattered, and the case collapsed. Heedless of the sharp fragments, she dropped to her knees, her jaw clenched as incoherent sobs came from her and she wrapped her arms around her middle.

Part of her was angry that she'd even let herself get close to mortals again, remembering the way she'd cried at the death of the bard so long ago. The rest of her mourned Raven and all she could have been.

'Dite's grief hit Dinah like a hammer-blow, guilt and horror rising again, and she stumbled forward a few steps, feeling helpless. "'Dite... I'm sorry. I wish... I'm sorry..."

Again Max was silent. He knelt by Aphrodite, wrapping his arms tightly around the goddess. That was all he could do, really.

And he knew it wasn't nearly enough.

"No!" Aphrodite pulled herself out of Max's grasp, slapping at his arms and hands, and eventually at his face before standing and turning on both of them.

"No!" Her angry gaze took in both of them. "You're sorry? You're sorry? Raven's the one who's dead, you helped kill her, and you're telling me now you're sorry?" She glared at Max. "How dare you?" And back at Dinah.

"I would have come, would have helped you! Why didn't you call me?"

Edited 2011-01-18 01:35 (UTC)

Because you couldn't help. Because you're not a fighter. Because there wasn't time. Because I didn't think of it... All true, all sounding like excuses, and 'Dite didn't want to hear how sorry she was again.

"I'm asking you to understand. And ..." Forgive? How could she ask for that? Dinah wiped at her eyes again. "I don't know what else to say."

Max wasn't about to force 'Dite to take the hug, but he didn't step back.

But Dinah had been through enough, and didn't need any more yelling at the moment. "It wasn't her call," Max said. It wasn't his, either, but he wanted to deflect 'Dite's attention before getting into it.

"Then whose call was it?" 'Dite whirled on Max, glaring and stabbing her finger into his chest? "Whose? Yours? Mister Empath extraordinaire? Mister Big Strong Warrior? Was it your call? Did you decide to just let her die? That if you couldn't have --"

Hearing in her mind what she was about to say out loud, 'Dite closed her teeth hard on the last of the words, though they burned like bile in the back of her throat.

Turning away from both of them she wrapped arms around herself and stood there silently, tears rolling down her face.

"Stop it. Can't you just be sad?" Dinah demanded, her voice raspy with too much effort, screaming, crying. She turned away. "Why does everyone have to make it worse? Trigon's dead. And it's all this blame and anger and... Raven is never going to be eighteen. She's never going to live in Gotham, never gonna be superhero, never going to get to live a life without being afraid of her father..."

And that was it, no more talking, she didn't have anything left in her, because it was such a cheat and a waste and damnit, she didn't have anything left in her to keep her standing up. She curled over her knees, hair in her face, just crying.

Max lay a hand on Aphrodite's shoulder. He was hoping she'd take Dinah's point to heart, but if she didn't, he'd be a target if she needed it.

"Go ahead and say it," he suggested. If she needed to lash out, it might as well be at him.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to lash out again and again. Wanted to scream at Max, slap him over and over.

For just a second Aphrodite had a vision of doing just that -- and Ares smiling in approval.

And her anger drained away.

Turning, she took Max's hand for a moment, holding it to her face, then stepped closer to Dinah, kneeling down beside her to hold her.

"I'm sorry." She pulled Dinah gently against her, wrapping her arms around her while her gaze rose to rest on Max. "I'm here. I'm so sorry, Dinah. I'm here." The tears still spilled down her cheeks.

Dinah sagged against her, and found she couldn't stop crying now, didn't want to, and couldn't say anything else. Just held onto 'Dite, and sent, We tried. We failed. It hurts. Everything's messed up.

Max's hand returned to 'Dite's shoulder. He had never been good at the grief thing, but at least he could be there in case he was needed.

Somehow.

Cause I've been told I gotta.

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'Dite's Decadent Delights, Sunday Afternoon

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