6106/Visiting Death

Visiting Death
Date of Scene:	02 May 2021
Location:	Sanctuary, Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis:	Lady Sif pays Lady Death a visit in her Earthly abode and plans for future battle are hatched.
Cast of Characters:	Hope Svelgate, Sif

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Hope Svelgate has posed:
In Hell's Kitchen, NYC there sits an abandoned church. By any mortal city ordinance it should have been torn down long ago as the old makes way for the new. Certainly it no longer honors the Christian god and yet the Earthbound spirits that linger within continue to protect the place from prying eyes. It is these same spirits that have granted Lady Death sanctuary here while she dwells on Earth as she fights off the forces of both Hell and Heaven alike and even further afield Pantheons that might seek to co-opt the lingering spirits that dwell within.

This night finds Lady Death in her mortal guise as Hope Svelgage within the rectory, meditating as incense burns around her, reaching out with her senses as she seeks threats that might require the intervention of Death. While she may play at humanity among the daylight hours to take the fight from Lady Death would be an impossible thing and even when she has tried to seek peace war has found her in turn. So it is that she is resigned to her life of battle, a life of Death.

Though on this particular evening even as she extends her mystical senses out into the surrounding city, things seem quiet, a rarity among New York's harrowing streets.

Sif has posed:
It's called 'Hel's Kitchen' but there's nothing here that looks like the kind of food Hela would eat. Of course with that bitch a kitchen is probably overkill. She likes her souls raw.

Oh, isn't this cute. The spirits think they're going to misdirect her. She, a Lady of the Court of Asgard. What is this place they are warding?

Dressed in what her hasty research said would make her look neatly inconspicuous--essentially red strips of leather that wrap her like a partially-completed mummy, leaving glimpses of her bare, lightly scarred flesh in unexpected places--she pulls out of her pocket a gem and holds it aloft, frowning as she turns and ... THERE. That's where the ward is strongest.

So that's where she goes, only to see the abandoned temple to the humans' new god.

"Ah. How wonderful!" she said aloud, face splitting into a happy grin. "LADY SVELGATE! SHOW YOURSELF! YOU HAVE COMPANY!"

She proceeded toward the doors of the 'abandoned' building, whistling some ribald soldier's ditty to herself.

Hope Svelgate has posed:
With no eminent mystical dangers this eve tugging at her senses, the sounds from without quickly rouse 'Hope Svelgate' from her meditations. While the form of the White Witch is hidden behind the semblance of mortal guise at 6'4" and thick with muscle she still resembles one of the Valkryia more than any mundane human.

The doors to the abandoned church open, "Who invokes my Mother's name?" Asks the tall blonde clad in leather, "Or have you come seeking Death?" As she has referred to herself since her time in Hell.

Sif has posed:
Sif looked over the woman disguised as she was. The same gem that she used to spot the path past the spirits that guided souls away from the building came forth once more, flashing a baleful red. "Death. How lovely to see you again. It's been what, two centuries?"

Sif smiles pleasantly and walks up the grand, rotting staircase to the grand, rotting door. "'Tis I, the Lady Sif of Asgard." She grins widely in amusement, opening her arms to offer a good soldierly hug and back pat. "The one they call the Goddess of Death," she adds with a chuckle. "How that grated on you then!"

She glances down at her outfit. "Picture a red cloak, trimmed in ermine if it helps."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
Hope steps back from the door allowing Sif to enter, walking back towards the sanctuary of the rectory, the true sanctum of this place. As she does the glamour of Hope bleeds away revealing the white haired white eyed albino form shaped in hell that lay beneath. The form of the White Witch wanted by so many mortal authorities for the carnage that inevitably follows in her wake.

"Yes, I remember you Sif." The woman seemingly bleached of all human life replies, "What is it that brings you to my sanctuary on Midgard?"

Sif has posed:
"Fortune, good or bad at your choice," Sif says airily. "I like what you've done with the place." She doesn't like it. It's all over her face. But she's not going to be doing Asgardian Bitch for the Dead Chick anytime soon, so makeovers aren't in the offing.

She turns to regard Death. "Ah, yes. That's the form I best like. The times we've had. Positively sanguine as we together exsanguinated masses." She pauses to place the derailed train of conversation back on its tracks. "Right, fortune. I've taken it upon myself to get back in touch with Midgard since so many of my fellows are coming here and life is getting tedious. Brÿnhildr was last seen here, but she appears now to be dead." Her lies aren't as good as Loki's, but she negotiates Court. They're pretty good. "Prince Thor has his mayfly romance bringing him here to slum, and now Prince Loki spends a great deal of time here. It's positively lonely in Asgard, and that latter point concerns me as well, so I thought I'd come see what the fuss was about and perhaps keep my eye on the Crown and Clown Princes. You know, make sure they're not getting into too much trouble."

"So anyway, yes, fortune. I'm getting a feel for this place. So much has changed in the veritable blink of an eye. So I started taking a tour of various places, both to learn the lay of the land and to flush out Prince Loki, making just enough noise that he will know I'm here and looking for him. That way he can stalk me and I'll pretend he got the better of me when he finds me. And while I was walking in this place that, for some reason honours Hela with its name, your wards caught my attention."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
"I didn't make them," Lady Death says with a shrug, "The Earthbound spirits that made their homes here, unable to move on, hide it from prying eyes. Our goals happen to align so they do not object to my presence here." Though with Lady Death's considerable necromantic ability it likely wouldn't make that much difference even if they did object. Some would say she is a match for Hela, though somehow the two have never met.

"This realm seems popular with all sorts. Some say the Judgement Era, Ragnarok is coming and so all sorts of gods and others are drawn here. It is hard to say. Though Prince Thor hardly keeps a low profile, galavanting around as one of the ones called Avengers. There is little doubt this world will become a battle ground between many powers in the coming days." She doesn't seem to feel any special need to go into the differences between Hel and Hell, having spent more time in the latter than she'd like.

Sif has posed:
"Well if there's battle coming, there's even more of a reason for me to be here!" Sif enthuses. "It's getting a bit boring in Asgard. A few border encroachments, easily thrown back. Most of us are falling into courtly works, but that's tedious. It's nowhere near as fun as slaying Jotun."

She shakes her head. "If battle is coming here, then this is where I should be. And I can't think of many more people I'd enjoy at my side than you. So, consider me at your beck and call, my dearest Death."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
The briefest of smiles crosses Lady Death's expression hearing Sif's desire for battle. Which for her is a lot, positive emotions are not exactly her strong suit. She stops and considers for a moment before saying, "There have been disturbances among the damned recently as well, someone has been distributing tomes with the means to summon demons to those stupid enough to use them. I still have not been able to find what hand is behind it and to what end, but it obviously is not for the betterment of this world."

Another pause, "I have little love for humans and what they do to each other, but even they do not deserve what awaits in the various Hells. I doubt it is connected to the Judgement Era but it is something to watch out for all the same."

Sif has posed:
"Then I shall keep a watch out for that, and you keep an eye out for Ragnarok. We should get together..."

Her face scans over the place and her nose wrinkles.

"...maybe not here, though. We should get together and compare notes regularly. Band together, as it were, and pick our battlefields well for eternal victory!"

Sif pauses and grins.

"Or just to have some good ale and reminisce. I'm fine with either, really."

Hope Svelgate has posed:
Lady Death nods her head in seeming agreement, "If nothing else I do enjoy a good drink. Battle is never far though. You know where to find me and should the need arise, I have the means to find you as well. Battlefields seem to eternally follow in my wake though, it won't be long." A part of her seems so tired of it all, while another part of her clearly revels in it.

Sif has posed:
"What's ever in your wake is why I adore spending time with you, Lady Death," Sif says, laughing. "Never forget that!"

She offers her hand for the forearm clasp and shake. "I must be off with my baiting of the Clown Prince's hook. It was good to see you again. When I get my bearings, I'll have an invitation to somewhere good to drink delivered." She makes a bit of a face. "It won't be a place called Noonan's. That was tedious and even the brawling was half-hearted."

After the farewell clasp and shoulder grab, Sif made her way back to the door, stepping down into the street, continuing wending her way through the streets whistling a merry tune of slaughter and heroism.