Owner Pose
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Taweret's Realm...

One might expect it to be explosions of bright colors and cutesy figures, like a little girl's bedroom. They would be disappointed. Rather, her domain is... soft. Pastels, softers shades of white and grey. Like a constantly drifting down an expansive river in a comfortably-appointed barque. Soft-looking dunes of sand in the middle distance, with smaller river branches leading to the doorways of each of the other Gods' realms, so she can more easily keep up with her fellows, gaining and passing along that gossip she seems to thrive on.

The deck has been set for comfort, low couches with fluffy, silk-covered pillows and cushions with an equally low table between them, and a proper ancient Arabian tea set on a tray on the table. The kettle has steam drifting from the spout, waiting to be poured, and there's a nice selection of Arabic teas to choose from. A small selection of Ma'at's favorite tribute snacks are on hand as well.

The Hippo herself is fussing around with this or that, an excited expression on her face as she swans around from one spot to the next, making sure everything is -just so-. It's been FAR too long since this particular Goddess has been over for tea!
Jonathan Sims     Ma'at looks a little worn when she arrives through the door from her own realm, a thing of teal and red and gold. She is fairly unique among the gods of Kemet in having a fully human body save for the wings that sprout from her arms like a cape. She pulls them around herself as she walks through the dunes to the deck. No goddess would ever have dark circles under her eyes, but if it were possible Ma'at certainl would. As it is, her usually sunny countenance is somewhat dimmed.

    She smiles softly at seeing the tea service. "Bread and honey and fruit, hmm? You certainly put out a good spread." She goes in to greet her fellow goddess and sighs. "It has been far too long since I've visited, but there's just been... so /very/ much to take care of."
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly When the door opens, Taweret straightens from her hummingbird flitting about, her expression turning warm and welcoming, a soft smile on the hippo head as she moves to greet her most special guest. Reaching out to draw Ma'at onto the barque and signalling for it to be underway as she guides her friend towards the couches and sees her settled. "Hmmmmmmmmmm, yes, well, I thought perhaps you deserved a little pampering, my dear. You've been under SUCH a strain lately, and I know things have been souring with your Avatar," she tuts lightly and shakes her head as she settles on the opposite low couch, "I feel so bad for you both, truly. It seemed SUCH a good match to begin with, but I wonder if that poor boy hasn't been taking too much on himself in order to make things easier for others, and now it's coming back to bite him."

She looks over the tea blends and taps a digit to her mouth, "Hmmmmmmmmmm.. I think today calls for a base of chamomile, with some mint, and a touch of sage. Milk and honey to taste. Yes, I believe that will be most restorative and comforting." Nodding, she starts to mix up the blend while glancing towards Ma'at, "I do wish you would have said something sooner, dear. I could have sent Layla in much earlier. Especially since you know how IMPULSIVE Khonshu is. He never wants to listen unless its what he wants to hear."

Shaking her head, she sets an infuser into each gilded cup and pours the hot water over each before sitting back, "Give it three minutes to steep, then flavor to taste, dear." Smiling towards her guest, Taweret offers that warm, welcoming, sympathetic expression, "If you want to talk about it..."
Jonathan Sims     "That sounds lovely, " Ma'at replies with a smile as she settles in to sit down. She ponders the tea set a moment, looking over the beautiful patterns and bright gilding appreciatively. In fact, she waits long enough for the tea to steep and have added milk and honey and taken a sip before she speaks again.

    "The problem with Jonathan," she says slowly, "is not a problem of him taking on too much, or least, that is not /my/ problem with him. I have always been connected to those who take on more than their share, hmm?" She lifts a brow, smiling slightly. After all, for thousands of years the Pharaoh was said to speak for Ma'at; that's why she hasn't had a direct avatar for so long.

    She shakes her head. "No... I fear we are out of harmony, and I'm uncertain how to fix the problem. The core of it, I think, is that he was never really suited to be Archivist in the way Neith and my husband always envisaged the role. He lacks a certain ruthlessness every competent Archivist has always had. And yet... he survived the first six months, which the soft-hearted ones never seem to manage. From sheer stubbornness, I think." A smirk. "At any rate, the business of killing those I judge unworthy is eating at him, and he has... odd, rather /modern/ notions of justice and balance."

    She sighs. "I had thought the problem, if any, might stem from the self-deception they used to practice. Instead, I find myself faced with this stubborn, willful mortal who thinks they know better than I what the proper application of justice in the world is to be." She tosses her head, the beads in her hair clacking a bit as she takes another sip of tea. She /does/ tend to think her view of order and justice is the only right one.
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Taking the time to fix her own tea, Taweret seems content to let the silence linger companionably until Ma'at is ready to speak. She's always been one to pick her words carefully before opening her mouth. And when Ma'at does start to speak, she listens. Keeping her eyes on her guest, giving a nod here or there to 'mark' a place she has a question or comment about, but holding them until Ma'at has had a chance to have her say.

Even a few moments after, Taweret is quiet, still just slightly nodding her head as she thinks it all over, then looking to Ma'at, "You know, dear, part of the problem may well be that the two of -are- vastly different. You've not really ventured into the world much, the age of Pharoahs and swift, bloody justice are long past. And he is a modern person, with all the quirks and foibles that come with it." Sipping from her tea, she sets it delicately back into the saucer, then sets it on her lap. "You might want to take a look at everything he's been getting into and re-evalute how much pressure the poor thing is under, and how your insistence that he do things your way, might be adding to that. Even reeds will break if you bend them far enough, and that one is about ready to snap from the weight on them.

Taweret settles back and offers, almost coyly, "Besides, a break might do you some good. Last I heard, you and your husband weren't on the best of terms. Maybe some time apart from the Avatar will give you a chance to clear your head and work through things with Thoth, and also give Jon the space he needs to get his own priorities straightened. Then the two of you can sit down and has things out in a rational fashion." She lifts a shrug and adds, "It would certainly be better than pulling your feathers out from frustration. Look at you, I haven't seen you so stressed and worn the religious revolt of that upstart Amenhotep IV, from the... Thirteenth Dynasty, wasn't it?"

"Anyways. It sounds like you and Khonshu are having the same problems with your Avatars. You're dictating terms like a Pharaoh to their subject rather than trying to deal with them as... another being. We're all of us subject to rules, even us, and sometimes a dose of common courtesy can take you farther than all the power and authority in the deserts." She lifts a small shrug and smiles towards Ma'at, "But that is only my opinion, of course. Oh! Did you hear the latest about Hathor and her current infatuation? This one's a pilot! No.. wait... a... doctor? No! Okay, so there was the artist last month, he lasted a very long time for her... then after that was the doctor, for all of three days, then on to that... that... model! Yes, the model. That caused a scandal in the human world, didn't it?" She chuckles lightly before continuing, "Oh! And then of course there was the soccer player. Then the pilot was LAST week and this week it's the... songwriter! That's it! That songwriter that got all that acclaim lately in the human world? Oh surely you've heard of them... they had that song, you know the one..." And thus begins Taweret trying to hum 'that song', which wouldn't be too terrible, but she really seems to be mixing three songs together.
Jonathan Sims     Ma'at rolls her eyes. "Amenhotep IV, don't /remind/ me. That whole business... pfft." She makes a sort of 'poof' gesture with her fingers and then takes another sip of tea. "I still get headaches remembering him. Ugh."

    Then she takes in a long breath and lets it out. "The question of how all this works is not /entirely/ on me. I /do/ have to answer to Neith, after all, if some immortal I judge unworthy ends up running about making life difficult for mortals. That's why we /created/ the Archive, after all. And that child sees destroying a demon or New God as on the /same level/ as killing a mortal! What am I supposed to do, construct some kind of prison for the immortals who act up? Those upstart Roman Christians tried that, and see how well /that/ turned out. Demons just run about willy-nilly."

    She reaches over to pick up a piece of bread and put some honey on it, laughing. "I do wish Hathor would stop jumping from one to another. Just keep a few about and change them up week by week, it'd be easier to keep track of." She sighs. "And yes, I know the song. Sekhmet's youngling, Jonathan's daughter, has been listening to it /incessantly/, evidently, so he keeps humming it while we're talking."
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly Laughing lightly, Taweret grins at her, "How can I not? I honestly thought you were going to smite the poor, misguided fool hor his beliefs! And it wasn't even his fault, really, those invading Hyksos were really to blame. When they came storming in with their bronze weapons and monotheistic beliefs... clearly it made an impression on the boy." She shrugs and shakes her head, "The mortals are ever entertaining that way, though. Pity that so much time and effort was wasted in moving the capital from and back to Thebes."

Taking a sip from her tea, she turns a sympathetic look towards Ma'at and gives a nod, "I know. But perhaps you can give Jonathan the time needed to straighten himself out. I mean, realize, in the mortal world, he's really quite... overbooked? I think that works. He works for so many different groups or organizations that I'm amazed he can keep up with it all. So! This might be a good thing, this... break. For both of you. It seems like you both have some things you need to hash out for yourselves, and then maybe once your own houses are put to rights, then you can work on the house you're building together."

Flashing a grin, Taweret shakes her head and chuckles, "We would have to nail her feet to the floor to keep her in one place for more than a few moments. It's just her way! Like mine is to watch over all of you and see you arne't overtaxing yourselves." A pause for a sip of tea, and then the added, "Or your Avatars." There's a twinkle of mischief in her eyes for that light poke towards Ma'at. THen she's giggling and giving a nod, "Yes! Yes, that's it exactly!"
Jonathan Sims     Ma'at frowns for a moment, eating the bread and honey. "He's angry with me anyhow. He doesn't understand why I absolutely /had/ to declare the avatar of Ra. If I did not... well... I lose all my power. And given that we're only /just/ starting to bring the universe into balance... we can't have /that/." She heaves a sigh. "You might just be right, though. This /is/ your harmony, after all. We have a long way to go yet, Jonathan and I. I suppose I can give him some time. He has... many things to sort out anyhow."

    Her brow furrows for a moment. "I suppose," she murmurs, "with Jonah out of the way things might even have a chance to settle. /That/ one /vexed/ me considerably." She makes a 'tsk' sound with her tongue.

    Then she smiles at Tawaret. "You and Layla certainly seem to be doing well. You've really never had a single problem, hmm?" She raises a brow, still smiling.
Layla Abdalla El-Faouly "You mean he's thinking like a mortal and not a God? My, how utterly strange and not at all expected of him!" Taweret laughs lightly and shakes her head, smiling towards her dear friend, "You both suffer the same problem but from opposite ends. You, my dear, lose the sands for the desert. And he is so focused on each grain of sand, he can't see how much of it there truly is still to go." She reaches for a piece of the fruit and pops it into her mouth, chewing leisurely on it before adding, "Perhaps at some point during this break, I'll pop in and talk to him myself. See if I can't help to at least bring the two of you a few step closer."

She doesn't really have eyebrows perse, but that brow ridge lifts up into a fold of soft grey flesh as she watches Ma'at, "Oh. You think this is over? I wouldn't be too hasty. Apophis is a cunning one, sneaky too. He'd make an excellent ally if he weren't so..." She trails off, waving a hand around indicatively. "Anyway, I'm not ready to rest on my laurels just yet. If nothing else, there's still a whole rest of that cult of his out there, and you know how he operates. Independent cells, no intercommunication, they don't even know the other exists. Even if it isn't Jonah himself, we've not seen the last of Apophis. Not by a long shot." Taweret sips from her tea and looks faintly troubled.

Blinking, her attention swings back to Ma'at and she's laughing once more, "Oh my yes! We might be thick as thieves now, but belive me, Layla was NOT happy to be an Avatar at first. It wasn't even me in particular, she wanted to be the... how did she put it? Captain of her own destiny. Well, she put it much more crudely, but the poor dear was understandably upset at the time." Taweret titters and smiles, "Oh, she was like an angry kitten at first. All hisses and claw swipes, always on the attack, rebelling at every chance she got." Shaking her head with amusement, she takes another sip of her tea, "Eventually though, she calmed down, stopped taking umbrage at everything I said or asked of her... and I learned to deal with her less like a servant or underling, and more like a friend. Humans need that, you know. They need to know they're on level footing, even when they aren't. It helps them to feel more secure. And it costs us nothing to put on a smile, and soften our tone, and ask instead of tell. Besides! She's got this -wicked- sense of humor, and a deep love of Egyptian history. Very proud of her heritage. Knows all of us by heart, and she's even started following some of the old ways. Not because I asked, but because it interests her, and brings us closer together." She gives a firm nod and looks quite pleased in her first choice of Avatar. "Really, I don't think I could have done better."
Jonathan Sims     Ma'at rolls her eyes. "Yes, yes," she says, sounding remarkably like her avatar though she might not quite realize. A sigh, and then, "I think he could benefit from your advice, however. They could use some fussing over, and who's better at that than you, hmm?" A smile hovers around her lips as she sips some more tea. "I'm quite glad to hear things are working out with Layla. She seems like a lovely girl."

    "It sounds as if they all take some time to settle in. It makes sense, I suppose. It's a change from what they're used to. And I'm sympathetic. Goodness knows Jonathan's path to this life was /quite/ different than most. And he's already at the 'following the old ways' point. I suppose it could do to be more... friendly."

    Then she quirks a brow. "I hardly think Apophis would /ever/ be a good /ally/." She says it stiffly. Well, he /does/ represent everything she is against, after all. "Set makes a perfectly fine ally on that side of things. As for Jonah, did I ever tell you that story? Because it is a doozy, as the mortals say."

    She sits back a bit, because she /knows/ Tawaret's going to want the story. "He was probably the best Archivist since the fall of Alexandria, you know. Saved the Archive from the Napoleonic Wars and moved it out of Europe. Pulled it away from the Church, and after they translated the Rosetta Stone he started reviving the old ways. And was /excellent/ at the judgement piece of the thing, he took down some terribly dangerous threats. Thoth even considered taking him on as avatar, but Jonah turned him down." She shakes her head.

    "But then, well... we were /so/ busy. You remember how it was back then, people flocking to Egypt, trying to find the tombs, taking the dead to parade around parlors. When we weren't fending off looters we're dealing with an influx of curious mortals. Thoth got distracted, and Jonah was doing his own thing, and then..."

    She frowns, her expression growing dark. "Jonah Magnus died trying to sacrifice Thoth's last avatar in 1867, in a ritual that we /think/ was meant to elevate him to godhood. Instead, he wound up in the body of one of his cousins. He killed another cousin--the next inheritor of the Archive--to try to force the Archive to go back to him." She sighs. "/That/ was a difficult business. We had to re-formulate the whole mechanism that passes the power on the Archivist's death so it /cannot/ go to a dead or possessed body. Ever since, he's been hopping from body to body trying to get the Archive back. He very nearly had Jonathan in hand--I think he intended to possess the poor child /after/ the Archive had passed on--but fortunately they escaped."

    She sips her tea. "The Apophis connection is new, but not terribly surprising. I wonder if he gave up on the idea of getting the Archive back and just... turned to Apophis entirely."