Of Wine and Metal: Depression and Repression
Winfrey walked into Malakai's workshop, there was a waterfall of lava that sat at the end of the workshop surrounded by a thick impenetrable glass.
"I love that lava lamp." Winfrey thought to herself happily.
The smells of sulfur and metal filled the air, but all the same it wasn't unpleasant, well at least to her. When you walked into Winfrey's home you swear somebody spilled two thousand golds worth of wine by the smell, so she really couldn't complain. It appears that He was working on a giant metal arm the size of a horse.
He was wearing goggles and a mask that covered his nose and mouth. He sat in a black chair, Bright orange sparks was flying off as he continued to mend the arm. His eyes a bright and firey orange. His dark black skin blending itself with his black clothing.
His strong, muscular arms from decades of making weapons and armor, He was wearing a short-sleeve black shirt along with a black tool apron. his Scraggly black hair that was all over the place but it look soft to the touch. He usually wore a hood that obscured his face with a dark shadow, which was gifted to him by his brother.
"He seemed so focused." The Goddess of Wine thought as she look around his workshop. The first thing that caught her eye was a large picture with a golden frame around it. It depicted Eris, the Goddess of Discord along with a younger Malakai and an even younger Cheelege, the God of Chaos. She was hugging them with a wide Cheshire grin. Next to it, The flag of MotoCin that was tastefully draped on the wall, a maroon red flag that showcased a lion made entirely of mechanical parts. That land is where Malakai and Androcien, The Goddess of Knowledge was revered and worshipped.
Winfrey smiled at the picture, The Malakai in the picture actually looks happy. Completely different from the sullen God that sat not too far from her. She could also swear that whatever she turns that Eris's eyes was following her, along with Cheelege's. She decided to ignore that for now.
She was always curious about this family picture. Malakai didn't talk much about himself or his family. On the very rare occasions when he did, he would have such a big smile on his face as he recounted the crazy things Eris did or what adventures Cheelege took him on, It was hard not to feel happy for him.
For what seem like a brief moment he found himself courting Aphros, The Goddess of Love."The outgoing, egotistical Aphros and the insecure, shy Malakai." She thought to herself, amused.
She haven't seen a more odder pairing than Bartholomew, the sweet, good natured chef and Krania, Goddess of war. Surprised the hell out of her when the two got married, she supplied the drinks and planned the wedding out for them.
"Then again Me and Thermes do have a child together so what do i know?" Winfrey thought as she made a note to herself to visit her daughter Mori in the Underworld.
She remembered a conversation she eavesdrop on, not intentionally of course, but she wanted to check in on Malakai after he got his revenge on Aphros, The First Goddess of Love for cheating on him. So she went to his house and she brought with her a bottle of her special whiskey, something that would go down easy but leave you in a stupor for a good awhile. She saw them in the living room, the door was open so it wasn't her fault!
"Malakai, you're a genius!" Cheelege said laughing to the sullen Malakai who stood there motionless, staring into the abyss.
"Apollo and Aphros didn't know what hit them!" Cheelge said, rolling on the floor. He was extremely happy that Aphros and Apollo got what was coming to them, he wanted to deal with them personally for plummeting his brother into the deepest pit of despair but Malakai convinced him to help him with an plan to publicly humiliate the two cheaters.
"Oh, how is it going Winfrey?" Cheelge said, standing straight up, his laughter completely stopped but still had an amused smile on his face. He knew that she would be here eventually.
"She good for his mental state." Cheelege thought as he watched Winfrey walked up to Malakai, a awkward smile on her face.
Winfrey gave Malakai her special bottle of whiskey, which he accepted gratefully.
"Just thought you might want this." Winfrey said sympathetically.
"Thank you, Winfrey." He said, mustering with his willpower, a small smile. It was a pathetic, sad smile, but a smile all the same.
"May i do the honors, dearest brother?" Cheelege asked, placing a hand on Malakai's shoulder. Malakai nodded numbly.
Cheelege touched the bottle which turned into three tall glasses which landed in Malakai's,Winfrey's, and In his own hand without difficulty. Malakai almost dropped his but caught it and Winfrey caught it between her fingers.
"A toast to my brother for having the mental restraint not to kill Apollo and Aphros, can't say anybody would've blamed him if he did." Cheelege said, raising his glass to which Malakai and Winfrey reluctantly did the same.
Hi!" Winfrey said, greeting Malakai with a smile.
"The joint seems a little rickety, i can fix that." Malakai mutter to himself.
Winfrey chuckles to herself. Malakai was in his own little world, she could relate as she get the same way when coming up with new drink concoctions. It all good in the hood.
"Hey there Malakai, tomorrow is very important, do you know why?" She said, making a grand gesture with her arms, like she was performing in front of a crowd.
Malakai turn around in his swivel chair and look at the Goddess of Wine and Patron Saint of Parties. Her short hair that was purple at the top but then blended into a red like wine color at the bottom. Her soft eyes the color of red wine. Her body was in shape despite the amount of alcohol she consumed daily.
She was curvy, but fit like a dancer. Her outfit the same palette as her hair, kinda reminded Malakai of a toga outfit a little bit. He felt happier whenever he saw her and he couldn't find the words to explain why.
Was it perhaps her joyful demeanor? Her bombastic way of thinking which had you on your toes because you could be enjoying a stroll with her one minute and then swimming in a tidal wave the next?
He remember that fondly as they ended up separated. He washed up on the beaches of Poramany. She was nowhere in sight except for the sounds of her woos and laughter. The next thing he heard was that Winfrey became a pirate and fought a Kraken. He offered to fix the broken pirate ship for her but she politely declined, already moving on to better things.
"Oh! I'm sorry Winfrey, didn't hear you come in!" Malakai apologized, stopping work on the arm in front of him and turning his attention to Winfrey.
"So why is tomorrow important?" He asked.
Winfrey skips over to where Malakai was sitting and plopped down in his lap.
Malakai got extremely flustered at this turn of events. Winfrey gave him a sweet drunken smile as she leaned her head against his muscular and warm chest.
"Because you and little ole me are going clubbing!" She said excitedly.
"O-Oh i don't r-remember ever planning that with you." Malakai stammered, his face heating up, which Winfrey could tell because of the steam rising off his face and his pupils glowing a bright orange. The number one sign that Malakai is flustered, she noted this whenever Aphros would on the rare occasion hold his hand back when they were dating.
She wrapped her arms around him.
"Oh come on, it would be fun!" She said, still smiling.
"Winfrey, i don't think that a good idea." Malakai admitted.
"Can gods suffer human things such as heart attacks?" She wondered as she snuggled into the warmness of Malakai's chest. Feeling his heart beating rapidly. Malakai closed his eyes and try his damn hardest to relax.
Winfrey was well-known for her brazen drunken displays of affection, she almost like Aphros in that regard. He ignored the bile that came in his throat afterwards.
"You're cute when you're bashful, you know that?" Winfrey teases him, sitting up, but still in his lap.
"Cu-cu-cute?" Malakai stammered, not moving an inch.
One of Malakai's mechanical automations walked up to the two gods. The automation look like a Spartan solider, It eyes glowing a bright purple and It skin made out of pure gold.
"Sir, here that metal you wanted." The automation said which reverberated as a echo through out the workshop as he handed him a packaged box.
Malakai mentally thanked the automation as he gently lifted Winfrey up and set her on her feet. Winfrey gave him a little wink , swaying around. Malakai blush a little and grabbed the box and set it on his work desk.
"Thank you, Jag, you're free to go." He said.
Jag nodded and headed out the door. To do what, who knows? Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Almonda, the automation for organizing his files and Rickter, the automation he just keeps around to have conversations with in the past two days.
He created these companions to help him out and admittedly keep him company a few years ago and they have become some of his closet friends, it might be weird to some but he didn't care, that how he feel. Well he didn't have to worry too much, that why he gave them those defense mechanisms.
"Sorry Winfrey, I'm going to have to take a pass tomorrow." Malakai said apologetically.
Winfrey squeals and claps her hands together. "Oh, you're improving your slang! You took my advice!" She congratulated Malakai and gave him a big hug. Malakai blushed and reluctantly returned the hug back, he hugged her tightly. Winfrey could tell he was clearly uncomfortable with this type of affection yet didn't reject it.
"Damn my boy is touch-starved." Winfrey thought to herself as she held on for a little longer, enjoying the increasingly warm feeling.
Hopefully inviting him to this party will help him get past his social anxiety. Plus, she enjoys having him around, she needs somebody level-headed and smart around her, to keep her grounded and from doing anything too insane. Like the time she became a pirate and tried to fist-fight a kraken. Good times.
"But it not just because of clubbing, there another more important reason i wanted you to come with me." Winfrey say, pulling out a bottle of wine and taking a swig from it. Winfrey offered the bottle to Malakai, but he shakes his head.
She gave Malakai a laminated card. The card was the color of golden honey and considering the name of this specific nightclub, that made sense.
"The owner of this nightclub asked for assistance with fixing the effects machine he smuggled in from Earth, i figured that right up your alley. Probably should've led with that first." Winfrey said finishing the bottle of Merlot and tossing it into the trash.
"Oh, and quite possibly some mech bouncers as well, it's gonna get crazy tomorrow." Winfrey stated as she pulled out a small bottle of White Zinfandel from behind her ear.
Malakai consider it for a moment. It wouldn't take much time to make the mech bouncers, he gotten efficient at making automations so he could probably have the base done by tonight and the finished version by the morning. The effects machine was child play, he could have it done in a minute.
He wanted to do this because of Winfrey. She was his only friend that wasn't related to business unlike Garwik and Krania. She was everything that he wishes he could be. Confident, knows her self-worth, not burdened by crippling feelings of inadequacy. He questions at times why would she out of all the other gods chose to befriend him especially.
He remember asking himself a similar question when Aphros at the time took an interest in him. And he know all too well how that turn out. He was stupid to think that they would have a fulfilling relationship, She a Goddess of love, she was not meant to settle down. Especially to someone as worthless as him-
"Hey Malakai, i think you should really stop getting so lost in thought when other people are around." She teases, close to his ear. Malakai jumped a little, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry Winfrey, that was rude of me, but of course i do it." Malakai said with a slight smile. There was more that he wanted to say, but he decided to to save it for now.
Winfrey gives him a pat on the back. " It okay, and thank you! I promise this will be the most exciting night of our lives!" She said, cartwheeling towards the door. He once remember Cheelege referring to Winfrey as one of the few gods that make everything brighter when they walk into the room and he couldn't help but agree with him.
"Tomorrow, Meet me at the club by 3 PM, Wear something nice, and bring your A-game!" With that Winfrey left out his workshop leaving a Confused yet happy Malakai. Winfrey was a bright spot in his life. She was like a strong air balloon lifting the dead weight that was him with her. He really need to start getting better with analogies.
In about a hour, he was done with the gigantic metal arm that laid before him. The Arm itself was of a coal coloring, reinforced to take damage and lift up to 500 pounds. The Client who prefer to stay anonymous will send someone over to pick it up. That was usually how it work between the two as this wasn't the first time the God of the Forge fix this person's arm for them.
He didn't find it strange that person wished to be anonymous as it was no of his business and honestly...it because he can relate to wanting some privacy.
Malakai sighed, to keep negative thoughts at bay he preoccupied himself with his work. He was a little worried about Rickter and Almonda so he sent them a message from his mind. He and all automations he created are mentally linked.
"Are you two alright?" Malakai said worried.
He got a response from Almonda.
"We're alright! We're just at the market, do you want us to pick up something for you?" She asked in a sweet tone remensicnent of a office secerutary.
Malakai breathed a sigh of relief.
"No it fine, just be careful. Alright?" He told the two.
"Same to you, ok?" Almonda advised worriedly.
Malakai wanted to slap himself for forgetting that his automations are also in linked to his emotions as well. While they don't feel the same way he do, thank Eris, they know when he wallowing in a pit of self-hatred. They shouldn't have to worry about him like this, but what could he say? He was just a useless parasite emotionally draining everyone around him. He stared into the lava for what seemed like a eternity,
How was he going to drag himself out of this pit? They deserved better than to deal with him, the one who couldn't see sunshine even if it was melting his face off.
"That might actually improve my looks." He chuckled darkly to himself.
His friends voices brought him back from the abyss.
"Malakai? Do you need to talk about anything?" Almonda asked, very concerned.
"Hey uh, you good?" Ricker questioned, worried.
"Perhaps you should get started on those automations." Jag suggested gently. He knew that his creator was having one of those...what did Rickter call it? An episode? Yes that it. He knew that working on something was the one thing that can keep Malakai from falling into the abyss.
Malakai nodded slowly, he remember something that his mother said once.
"Being alone may be nice, but there nothing better then being around friends, imagine all the hijinks you can get into!" She said tossing Malakai onto the bed which became a colorful ball-pit.
"You're right Jag, i should get started." Malakai said, mustering a small smile.
"We be back home soon!" Almonda said happily.
"Try to focus on your work until we get back." Rickter said.
"Alright you two, but don't rush home on my account. Take your time, enjoy yourselves." Malakai said.
"Will do!" Rickter and Almonda both said at the same time which cause Malakai to laugh which startled the automations because they never see him do that unless his brother Cheelege was visiting.