The Centrality (6-21-17)

> Greet them.



There was a voice in Elli's head telling her not to comment on their height, but nevertheless the first words out of her mouth were "Wow, you guys are short."

As her foot was not sufficiently far enough in her mouth, Elli followed up with "Why is everyone grayscale?" It took a moment for her mind to catch up, and when it did, she slapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide, and muttered a "Sorry. Hi."

She was pretty sure that guy in the black glasses, the one from before, was trying not to laugh.

The one with white hair smiled. "Hello. My name's Dia."

"Mine is Diza," the one with black hair continued. "And our colleague here is Tukha."

"Well met, friend," Tukha said. "It certainly is nice seeing a new face." Elli could hear him winking, which she considered an accomplishment.

"Er, yes," Elli said. "I'm, uh, Elli. Elli Alakrit."

Diza held out his hand, and Elli began reaching to shake it. But at the last moment, a paper appeared in his palm instead, and he began looking it over. "Ah, yes, we have your intake form right here. Well, welcome, then, Ms. Alakrit."

"Um," Elli said.

"Yes?" Dia said. "I'm sure you must have questions."

Elli spread her arms, gesturing at the room around them. "Where...?"

"The Centrality." Diza tossed the paper into the air, whereupon it disappeared. "The domain of gods, goddesses, and deities." When he saw the confusion in Elli's eyes, he continued. "Dia and I are the god and goddess of judgment, for example. Tukha is the god of odds and ends. And you, Ms. Alakrit, appear to be the goddess of fear and... food." He exchanged a quick glance with Dia. "We certainly have stranger combinations of domains here."

"I'm a... goddess?" Elli felt, in some detached way, that she probably ought to have been more surprised by that.

Dia patted her on the shoulder. "That's right. And you're in good company. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to get up to speed."

"That said," Diza continued, "we, ah, weren't expecting you, which was, in and of itself, unexpected. All we've managed to set up is your room."

"And the Centrality takes care of that on its own," Dia said. "Oh! And we also have this for you." She reached up one sleeve and pulled out a small rectangular device - one that Elli found familiar.

"I actually have--" Elli started, but she bit her tongue when she saw Tukha subtly shaking his head. "--one more question," she finished after stumbling for a moment, the steam gone. "What... what exactly do I need to do?"

Diza grunted. "For now? There's nothing required of you until we finish processing your paperwork. So you may familiarize yourself with the Centrality and its inhabitants for the time being. Rest assured, you will be aware when something will be expected of you."

"And welcome!" Dia said as the two of them turned to leave. "We're very happy to have you here!"

"Even if we don't know why you're here at all," Diza muttered under his breath.

Elli watched them go. "Tukha, was it? Why'd you..." she started, but then she realized, a moment too late, that Tukha, too, had disappeared.



So that was that. She was a goddess. Elli figured she would probably have felt more strongly about that if she could remember what she was before she was a goddess.