Home Sweet Home

   "Does it fly?" Asked Susan. She figured since the skeletal horses had wings there was a chance the carriage could fly.

    "Not yet." Jim said. "We don't have any wind magic.  After the fairy realm is open it will be able to fly though."

    "So we are going to ride through hordes of undead for a hundreds miles with a horse and bogie?" Susan asked, not amused at the prospect of dying.

   "Yes, don't worry according to the book I got this spell from it actually makes us invisible to the undead as long as we are riding it. It may be slow but it is safe!.. I hope. I mean it's not like this spell has been used before… It was in a throaty crafting book of magic. But Hey it worked so that is a good sign, right?" Jim said while trying to contain his nerves.  "I'll drive you and Astros get inside and we will be there before you know it!"

    Susan just sighed, hoping that Jim knew what he was doing and got inside the carriage.  Astros remained quiet and just got inside without saying a word. Jim got in the driver's seat and they were off! Those winged skeletal horses could move! They were at least traveling at thirty miles an hour. "I love magic!" Jim yelled to his own surprise. Before the apocalypse happened he always considered magic a burden thrust upon his family.  Something they had to constantly sacrifice for. Something that was more of a chore than anything else. Now Jim was actually enjoying magic, at least one good thing came from the end of the world, he thought to himself. 

     Meanwhile Astros just stared blankly as Susan inside the carriage. After an hour of uncomfortable staring Astros finally spoke. "Fairy girl… I need your help."

     Susan looked stunned, "You need my help?" Susan asked

     "Yes fairy girl, rejoice! This is a day in which you can repay my kindness for pledging to bring back your children." Responded Astros with a smile.

     Susan thought to herself and decided she had no right to refuse, after all she was going to get her children back. "Ok what do you need Astros?  You have my attention." Susan said while maintaining eye contact.

     "How do you…" Astros seems lost for words and pauses for a moment. "How do you seduce someone?" Asked asked. "In my realm all the gods just do as we please, since I am the most beautiful of the gods I have always been wanted.  I have never had to pursue anyone. I do not know how. How can I get Jim interested in me?"

     Susan's face went blank.  She thought and thought before finally coming up with a response. "So in your realm, is it common for men to have sex with other men? I mean is it something that all male gods are into?" She was genuinely curious at this point.

    "I don't really understand the question fairy girl.  All of the gods are male. There is no such thing as a female god." Astros answered Susan.

    "I had no idea, in our folklore we have many many goddesses, I just assumed that there would be some in the realm of the gods." Susan was stunned by that revolation. "So how do you, you know reproduce?" Susan was puzzled.

    "Gods just are fairy girl. We are not born into the universe we have been here since forever.  We are immortals and do not need to have children." Astros was still awaiting Susan's answer on how he could win Jim over.

    "Wait, wait, wait. You said Jim was part god, right? That means at some point a god reproduced with a human. Right?" Susan was struggling to wrap her head around all of this.

    "I did not say we could not reproduce, I just said it was unnessary to do so." Astros turned to Susan again. "Can you answer my question now?" He asked impainently.

    Susan just stared trying to process everything she just learned. "I feel like I should explain mortals to you." Susan said, snapping out of her stupor. "In the mortal realm where there are multiple genders, not everyone likes every flavor so to speak." Susan trying to put it into words. "Not every person will have sex with just anyone, they only like certain types.  I believe Jim is what we in the mortal realm would call a heterosexual, meaning he only is attracted to women." Susan pauses to a moment to let Astros process this information. "Look I don't know for sure if Jim would never go down a different path, but I do know you are going about it the wrong way." Susan said to try and snap Astros out of his deep thinking.

     "What do you mean fairy girl?" Asked Astros.

     "Well for one, you flirt way too much. We get it you think Jim is hot and want to jump his bones. We do not need a reminder every time you open your mouth." Susan was starting to let Astros have it.

     "It's not every time." Said Astros.

     "No it's every time." Susan responded. "Don't interrupt me I'm trying to give you advice. So one stop flirting so much, just do it sparingly when you see a perfect opportunity.  Second you need to honor personal space, no one wants to feel like they are being harassed. Harassment just causes fear in people and causes them to avoid any contact at all.

     "When Have I…" Astros started but Susan cut him off.

    "This morning you were holding on to Jim naked. In the bed. Against his will. That's harassment, like the literal definition of harassment. Third try to be more helpful, I know your going not bring my kids back, and I truly thank you for it, but thats helping me not Jim.  Try to find some way you can contribute and lighten Jim's load, if you want him to change his opinion about you." Susan continued. "Next you should use his name more, or at all really, constantly using nicknames gets old unless you are in a relationship, which you are not. Finally I give you this advice, Men always want what they cannot have. You make yourself super available to Jim and he is not interested, yet Jim is something you cannot have so you want him even more.  It works both ways."

     "So I should act like I am not interested in him?" Astros was puzzled, this went against everything he was trying.

     "It's called playing hard to get.  Women have been using it to get men for thousands of years." Susan smiled.

    "Thank you fairy girl, you have done a god a service." Astros said proudly.

     Just then the carriage came to a stop. "We're here!" Jim yelled.  The old neighborhood was completely destroyed, there was only ruins where houses once stood. "Damn, looks like I lost the resell value." Jim said while looking at his house, trying to lighten the mood. They stop in front of Susan's former house. "It's ok Susan Astros and I can go get your children's souls if this is too hard for you." Jim told Susan with his hand on her shoulder.

    Susan started to well up with tears.  This is where it all started. Flashbacks of that night started playing in her head. She could hear your children screaming, She could still see you husband being ripped apart.  She relived every moment of that night. "I'll Just wait out here." Susan said as she collapsed on the ground in tears.

    Jim and Astros make their way into the ruins of Susan's house. "I think the kids rooms were down the hall, if I remember correctly." Jim told Astros.  "Susan's husband Greg was my friend, when he was alive." Jim looked somber as he made his way back into where the kids' rooms were. As he entered the room he could see their remains on the floor. "How horrible, they were just children." Jim said.

     "Their souls should still be in this area, I will try and trap them now." Astros said as he stood in the middle of the room.  He raised his arms and closes his eyes. The ring that he had sat on the ground in front of him began to glow and floated into the air. The cries of children could be heard as light flew around the room like a vertex entering the ring. The room shook harder and harder as this went on, then as suddenly as it began, it all stopped and the ring fell to the ground. "I have them." Astros said with a smile. "Lets leave this place godling." He said while looking at Jim.

     "Godling?" Jim thought. "Not darling or some other flirty name?"  Jim smiled as he followed Astros out of the ruined house. As they left the house they find Susan still sitting on the scorched ground lost in thought. "We got them Susan, we can leave." Jim said.  "Let's go back to the temple."

     Astros and Susan re-enter the carriage and Jim gets back in the driver's seat.  Jim takes starts to take them back to the temple. Inside Susan and Astros were sitting across from each other. "Would you like to talk to them fairy girl?" Astros asked with a smile.

     Susan immediately snaps out of her depression and raises her head towards Astros. "What, Talk to my kids how?!" Susan asked excitedly. 

     Astros hands her the ring then speaks. "Put the ring on your finger and place them gem to your head."

     Susan does just that and her mind is transported to another place. It seemed as if it was just a void with her floating in the middle. "MOMMY!" A voice was heard yelling. "MOMMY IT'S YOU!" The voice yells again. Another voice is heard "Momma!" Just then two ghostly children appear in front of Susan.  It was Matthew and Jacob, she could see them.

      Susan bent down and held out her arms. "My babies! Momma is here, Momma loves you." She said while crying. "It's all going to be ok, momma is gonna take care of you."  She embraced their spirits until she felt a hand pulling her out of the void. It was Astros.

    "We are back fairy girl. Did you get to see your kids?" Astros asked.

    "Thank you… Thank you so much…" Susan said to Astros unable to contain her emotions.

    "This is nothing for a god, fairy girl. Rest assured I will bring your children back into physical forms as well." Astros said proudly. "I hope this means you will start treating me a little better now." Just then Susan jumps onto Astros' neck giving him the biggest hug she could muster. "Can't…. Breathe ..."  Astros struggled as Susan was hugging him too tightly. The door to the carriage opens and Jim is looking on as Susan is choking Astros with her love. "Help… Me…" Astros said to Jim.

     "Susan!" Yelled Jim, getting her attention and ending the hug. "I think you were killing him."

    "Oh I'm sorry I was just so happy." Susan said while wiping the tears from her eyes.

    They all walk back into the temple and have dinner in the mess hall as usual.  As they were getting ready for bed, Astros pulled Jim aside. "I won't trouble you in bed tonight. I am sorry for any grief I may have caused you." Jim was in shock, did Astros just apologize? "Do you have a plan to become the leader of the mortals?" Astros asked Jim.

     "At the moment I do not, no." Jim said while rubbing the back of his head.  "Do you have any ideas Astros? I could really use the input." Jim asked.

     Astros smiled, this was the moment Susan had told him about. The moment to be useful. "Don't worry young godling, you shall have the assistance of a god in your conquest of the mortals." Astros said with a smile. "We shall discuss it after breakfast in the morning.  Until then good night."