ic Community Gatekeeper

[Gizmo]

Ocean Heights Amusement Park
August 22, 2015

"But I do not carry mortal firearms," Sekhmet pointed out with rapidly growing irritation, crossing her prodigiously toned arms across her chest and glaring at Set with the smoldering golden eye not covered by her asymmetrical hair. It had been hard enough to convince the warrior goddess to waste time at a location so frivolous it was literally called an 'amusement park' and so far the shorter Heliopolian hadn't done much to convince her otherwise.

Sighing theatrically, Set lifted the novelty tank top higher to make the text more clearly visible. "I sometimes suspect you are in truth She Before Whom Metaphor Trembles, Sekhemt," she clucked, meeting the glare with stormy grey eyes full of amusement. "Your arms are the guns, you see, and being a solar deity the sun be forever 'out' in your presence! Eh? Eh?" When a positive reaction was not forthcoming, she jutted out a brown-black painted lip in an exaggerated pout. "Fine. If I cannot persuade you to don the hilarious and I dare say flatteringly fitted garment, at least hold still whist I take a self portrait." Without waiting for permission the chaos goddess produced her smartphone from somewhere in her cross halter and held it at arm's length, artfully managing to get the tank top, Sekhmet and her own broad smirk into the frame all at once. Tossing the shirt back on the rack she tapped away quickly, uploading the photo and tagging it appropriately. "Now! Corndogs! I am positive you shall enjoy corndogs!"

[alderwitch]

Phantom's mood had not been good when the day had started with her eldest's opening salvo of, "Are you sure you can send me off to school? You didn't even know there was an Egyptian god on twitter. He has a ton of followers. Er, she. I'm not actually sure which pronoun they prefer. Look, do you want me to show you how to turn the computer on and google it for you?"

Muttering to herself about how she had earned two degrees while pregnant with the little smart aleck, Phantom had spent much of the day floating in her library and staring balefully at her cell phone. Know how to use a computer. She knew how to use a computer. She also knew how to contain a Chaos demon with whatever she had in the back seat of the van. Did her son know how to do that? No. No, he did not.

By the time the phone chirped an update - with a photo and helpful location, Phantom was in a fine mood. That was probably rather than the softer, gentler sort of inter dimensional guardian, Phantom just appeared in the middle of the amusement park, floating in front of the two gods and scaring some of the innocent amusement park goes half out of their wits as she floated insubstantial in front of Set, who bore the brunt of her baleful white gaze.

"So. I hear you have claimed godhead. Would you like to talk about your intentions for the citizens of Prime."

That. Did not appear to be phrased in the form of a question.

[Gizmo]

"Ra's buttocks!" Set screeched in alarm, the brick red dreadlocks clasped behind her head with a golden circlet cackling with crimson tinged electricity that exacerbated the frizziness of the day's humidity. In a wide-eyed panic she swept her arms forward in a broad arc, summoning forth a surge of sand the poured out of every nook and crack nearby to form a tidal wave of pristine white silicate that crashed harmlessly through Phantom's immaterial form. In the seconds it took the ill conceived distraction to dissipate the godling wasted no time in grabbing Sekhmet's wrist and hauling her in the opposite direction largely through sheer force of will. The shapely legs protruding from beneath her shendyt fluidly shifted to add an extra joint in the service of a particularly speedy retreat.

Bemused, Sekhmet looked over her shoulder at the cloaked figure, having little trouble keeping up with Set even in her conventionally human form. "Who--?"

"Heshem's Hound!" Set interrupted, still sprinting. Amusement park attendees jumped out of the way as they rushed past, making quite the spectacle of themselves. "Pact enforcer! Dirty Harry with a spellbook! Less exposition, more running! All the running!" She looked back and forth for a suitable shadow to step through but in the midday sun there was barely anything that even qualified as shade.

[alderwitch]

Phantom watched the sand wash through her body with an impassive expression, magnified by the hood and mask that covered all but the stern line of her mouth. Her frown deepened slightly and she dropped below the pier as the crowd continued to make startled exclamations about the sand and the sudden vanishing of the dark heroine. She flew after the retreating Egyptian god, her cloak a streak of midnight against the wooden dock.  

"That was not a question, godling." Her voice boomed and she floated up once more through the pier to block their way, the long tattered edges of her cloak flung open wide. Behind her body, the interior of Phantom's cloak was no mere fabric but rather a window to the black and eldritch lightning expanse that was the Void. "And you are trying my patience."

She paused and then added, "Which is not, I fully admit, one of my strong suits to begin with. You will not enjoy when it runs out."

[Gizmo]

"Would you believe, tis a sentiment frequently expressed in my vicinity?" Set replied breathlessly, not missing a beat as she pivoted ninety degrees and vaulted over the chain link fence bordering the enclosed dining area to her left on shapeshifted digitigrade legs. She maintained her grip on Sekhmet's wrist, the leonine goddess saved from being yanked face first into the metal barrier only by her own formidable reflexes, planting a sandaled foot in a gap and following the godling over the fence.

"If she be an enforcer of those accords, why should we flee?" she demanded as they sped over wooden picnic tables, knocking over soft drinks and condiment bottles amid surprised shouts. "We have nothing wrong."

Set noted with some annoyance that the taller woman didn't even have the good grace to sound winded. "Aye, well, I expect she disagrees!" Finally she spotted a sufficiently deep shadow between a vendor selling overpriced meat tubes and the public toilets. If they could teleport away even a short distance they had a chance of loosing Heshem's Chosen and regrouping. Changing course she continued, "If nothing else we cheated the rules quite brazenly and we're in no shape to--"

"An Eye of Ra does not cheat," Sekhmet snarled, finally yanking her hand free from her charge's grip and coming to a graceful stop on top of a table. "Nor does she run."

Skidding to a halt and letting her legs resume their original state, Set gave her a wide-eyed, pleading look. "Sekhmet--!"

Ignoring her, the statuesque warrior turned back to face their rapidly gaining pursuer. "Ho, champion! If thee would have words, speak them quickly, for whatever lack of patience marks thy character it pales next to the ire of She Who Mauls!"

Set looked between Phantom and the shadow with a stricken look before screwing up her mouth as though she'd swallowed something sour. "Should she allow us to reincarnate afterward, oh Sekhmet, we shall ample words regarding what led us to be slain atop watered down tomato paste and cast off meat leavings." She moved to stand beside and slightly in front of her companion on the table, gathering what power to which she could lay claim, thunder rumbling in the cloudless, sunny sky in response. "Not the way I envisioned today going."

[alderwitch]

Phantom made an annoyed noise as the gods shifted and turned towards the other direction, "Always with the running..."

Still, it was better than outrage, Phantom supposed. She turned her head, nonplussed to watch as they vaulted over the fence, with the long shadows her cowl cost keeping her face in shadows but for the firm set of her mouth. It seemed like she was unaware of the panic of the crowd until she raised one hand, and with a gesture righted a patron that had fell down in their effort to escape, "Please return to your festivities. There is nothing to be alarmed over."

Phantom's dubiously comforting words rumbled through the air as she floated after towards where Sekhmet went to make her stand, passing ephemeral through the chain link before she floated up to be eye to eye with the reincarnated Egyptian gods, hovering like a baleful specter as the clouds rumbled with the warning of Set's power. 

Eyeing the gods once she folded her arms in front of her chest, "So. Would you care to explain your cult?"

Her scowl deepened and she boomed, "On the twitter!"

[Gizmo]

"Well, I'd hardly call-- wait." Set began with the fingertips of one hand placed daintily on her clavicle in a picture of innocence before Phantom's specific phrasing sunk in. "'The' Twitter...? Oh. Oh, ha! Hah ha!" The subjective teen nearly doubled over in giddy laughter than was part genuine amusement but mostly just a rush of acute relief. She had to place and hand on Sekhmet's muscular shoulder to support herself at first but eventually manged to get herself under control.

The taller goddess frowned and looked Phantom up and down trying to spot whatever jest she'd missed. "I... do not understand. She speaks of thy followers bound by the electronic nets?"

Set nodded and gasped for air, trying to school a grin into something more serious as she adjusted the straps of her cross halter. "Aye, aye! I assumed our general presence to be cause enough for her wrath but she be not angry, nay, merely old!"

[alderwitch]

...Why you little...I don't even turn thirty until later this year!!

It was perhaps... not the best of things to have said to Phantom - too reminiscent of her latest struggles with a surly teenager that she often felt under equipped to handle. There was a glint of warning from the eye at Phantom's throat, a flash of eldritch light along the dark surface of the eye of Heshem, almost as if the closed eye squinted open. There was a soft creak of leather as Phantom's hands tightened into fists. It was not unlike the quiet before the storm. 

"I understand how the internet works, godling," Phantom said through clenched teeth, her body flickering like a picture with bad static, too furious to stay anchored for any length of time as she flickered between insubstantial and solid. "I have come to talk to you about your use of it and the body of followers you have gained. It is not impossible to draw power from worshipers, even through a different medium. I have come to see if you intend to violate the pact."

She glowered from beneath her cowl, her next words almost hopeful, "But if you don't want to have a civil discussion there are always... other methods."

[Gizmo]

But now that Set had gotten over her initial bout of panic and was picking up momentum there seemed to be no putting the fear of reprisals back into her. "Did you mean 'worshipers' or 'whippersnappers'...?" she asked sweetly, managing to affect a casual pose even standing atop a picnic table.

"I do not believe her to be physically capable of civility," Sekhmet sighed, looking less combative now and more embarrassed, giving Phantom an apologetic and commiserating look before remembering herself and resuming a stoic expression. "You stand in the presence of Sekhmet, Eye of Ra and She Before Whom Evil Trembles. I apologize on behalf of my charge, champion."

"Nay, nay, I meant no disrespect," Set insisted, waving her hands disarmingly in front of her. "Do I look as one who be siphoning power from tens of thousands of mortals?" The question was self-depricating but it was hard to miss the emphasis she placed on the number of followers she'd accrued across social media platforms or the way she preened slightly as she did so. "I may not have literal temples any more but I be not so proud to deny that I enjoy attention for attention's sake. Surely you can relate? One assumes showing so much thigh serves no immediately practical purpose!" With a cheerful laugh she gave Phantom's legs a nakedly appraising look and her sandals melted and shifted to become a replica of the sorceress' boots in white and red to match her shendyt. "I do genuinely approve and good for you! Truly forty be the new thirty, eh?"

[alderwitch]

Phantom gave Set a truly disgruntled look, both mollified and infinitely disturbed by the backhanded compliment about her legs even if there was another 'old' crack buried in there. Trickster gods, man. They were always - always - a pain in the ass. She sighed and it was purely for effect since she clearly didn't need to draw in air to even speak but, since there was one polite goddess there, Phantom would deal with that one first. She was not unaware of the history of the Egyptian gods nor their legends. 

"I bid you welcome and greeting, Oh /Mistress of Dread/," Phantom's command of Egyptian was as flawless as her English and she gave the title its proper due in old Egyptian, lifting one hand in front of her chest in respect, "Your compatriot, unsurprisingly, bends the terms of the Pact which does not bar your presence - although it is frowned on - but it is a thin line between worshipers and followers. A matter, which if it should prove... problematic becomes my domain to see dealt with." 

The fact that Set had made contact with tens of thousands of mortals made Phantom cranky, even more so since it was a decidedly grey area. As a keeper of the balance, grey areas were a perpetual headache. Having dealt with Sehkmet with respect, she turned her gaze to Set and took in the facsimile of her boots on her posing form. 

"You might be surprised what sort of benefits my costume has provided in the past. It is not without its uses. Or advantages." There was a flash of white teeth under the hood of the cloak. Was that a joke? Humor? Perhaps even innuendo? Who knew. Before she gave Set time to parse her words, Phantom's voice echoed once more, "I do not take issue with your need for attention. I expect it from gods. But what you do with that devotion is a matter of more concern. My concern. It should be yours as well."

[Gizmo]

"Ooh, story time!" Set crooned, clapping her hands together and letting the boots melt back down to sandals. "Come on, Auntie Hound, tell us!" When it quickly became clear that Phantom had little intention of being distracted from her more serious line of questioning the godling groaned and threw her hands up in the air before hopping off of the table to sit on the attached bench, swinging one leg over the other with a theatrical high kick. "Tis hardly a secret. My brother was the mortal plane's greatest, most beloved champion in an era of champions. You may have heard, my elder incarnation was a rather less pleasant sort and everything rather unpleasantly for him. My intent be to follow the former example and be counted alongside Horus."

She puffed out her cheeks irritably, obviously chafing under that much plain speaking all at once but aware enough of to whom she was speaking to avoid dissembling for a brief time. "I dare say we've made significant progress! Foiled a theft by the Five Most Fearsome! Routed the black market of wolfskin belts! Struck down a parasitic spirit of bigotry!"

"All with considerably aid from mortal warriors and mages," Sekhmet interjected flatly, stepping off of the table as well, though she remained standing.

Set waved off the detail, outright pouting a bit. "Tis not as though said exploits be hidden arcana! I spent not inconsiderable time honing the craft of search engine optimization to avoid such conversations!"

[alderwitch]

Phantom's hovering lowered to the ground until her booted feet touched down, her cloak spread out around her on the ground. Standing, even in her boots, Phantom was only a little over five feet. The cloak really added volume to her presence that deflated somewhat when it was no longer writhing around her. She fixed Set with her burning gaze and she would have the sensation of her words being silently weighed. So young. They are so, so young.

Internally, however, as Set's posturing deflated, she reminded Phantom of her son's would be defiance to be the sort of hero his parents were - and some of his despair of never measuring up. It was that memory that finally softened the echo of her voice to something that was at least not booming, "It takes more than combat to walk the path that Horus the Avenger took before you. It takes a dedication and a depth of understanding of what it takes to be a hero that one can learn only over time."

Phantom sighed, the sound soft and echoing. "Hero - or god - be careful how you use your platforms to talk to people. For the gods that abandon their godhead to serve mortal and heroic - it is a delicate path that most of those born mortal don't share. And won't understand entirely."

Apparently plain speaking had gained Set a measure of respect from the cowled figure in front of them. "You may one day find yourself torn between those two worlds. It is not easy. For that, I am sorry."

[Gizmo]

Set bristled at the well-intentioned advice far more than she had at the thinly veiled threats, static rippling through her dreadlocks with a faint crackle. "Appearances aside, Set be no child in need of moralistic lessons," she snapped back haughtily. That was more than a little debatable from Phantom's point of view; on one hand the godling was technically beyond ancient and Sekhmet only very slightly less so but Taylor had enough experience with more conventional teenagers to recognize that the redheaded girl's youthful sensitivity and mulishness were no affectations. "That sacrifices I have made are my own business. Moreover, you mistakenly see proselytizing where conversation lies instead." She crossed her arms under her cross halter and tilted her chin upward at Phantom from her seated position. "Can you truly claim to know the heart of the common man, woman or other so well, oh Chosen One? Methinks one of us be far closer to mortal now than the other."

"Set..." Sekhmet growled warningly from her position nearby, glowering disapprovingly at her charges tirade. For her part the warrior goddess didn't think much of Phantom's flippant dismissal of the importance of combat prowess but she wasn't about to start an argument over it. Scholars and mages would always have their little foibles, after all.

The shorter young woman ignored her in full. "Remember that among myriad glittering facets I be patron to the othered outsiders, the strange and foreign, and upon the internet they have made their home as in no other age. I shall be a champion because I talk to those I serve and I make no apology nor accept any pity on that point!"

[alderwitch]

"You're right. You're closer to human than I am now." Phantom's response came, her features unchanged at least from what little could be seen of her mask and with its unnatural echo, her voice was usually more difficult to read but these two were used to voices that didn't touch the range of human. It sounded, perhaps, a little tired. Maybe even a little sad, "I was mortal once but it's a memory - one that grows ever more distant. That was the choice I made. Very different, I think, from yours."

"All that I've said is that it is hard to choose. Remember, Set, I know of the laws that bind your kind. Those are a more heavy burden when you care for those that are not - cannot - be what you are. You might be closer to mortal at the moment but you are not mortal. Eventually, that will catch up to both of you. I have expressed no doubts in your capacity to be a hero - indeed, I believe you capable - only that I hope the price that you pay is not too high a cost."

Phantom had expected the anger and defiance in a way. Why she thought these teenagers might listen when she couldn't even manage that with the one at home, Phantom had no idea. Silently she extended one gloved hand, fingertip out towards them. At the tip, a card appeared, fluttering down to the ground slowly. "If you have no use for my concerns, then I offer this instead. I have little doubt that I would be the last person called on but I know of a few young magi who are just as passionate about proving themselves and perhaps, if you do find yourself in the sort of trouble that you need more than your stalwart companion's aid..."

Phantom inclined her head then to the figure of Sekhmet then, "... and before I must step in in a more... official capacity."

On the card was the sigil of a snake eating its own tail on one side and held Ouroboros' number on the back without any further writing. Personally, Phantom found the very idea of a calling card absurd, and it seemed overly cryptic and dramatic in her opinion to have had them printed in the first place but since Huang had them, she might as well give one out rather than just write the number down on scratch paper. She, of course, had summoned one from Huang's messy desk in the Void. 

Phantom was reasonably sure that putting her son and these teen gods in direct communication was one of her absolute worst ideas but she didn't think, somehow, that Set would ever contact her before things had well and truly hit the fan. Sekhmet might. There was that slim hope, but... Huang was ever on about how she should just 'trust him'. 

[Gizmo]

Set's slim fingers flashed forward and nimbly plucked the card from the air, slipping into wherever in her top her smartphone had disappeared to and grinning broadly, her demeanor having abruptly changed. "Silly indeed, worrying Set might offer repentance too thorough! A kind sentiment even so. Now!" The godling clapped her hands together and swiftly rose from her seated position, quickly enough that her dreadlocks bounced across her bare shoulders. Phantom was getting the distinct impression that the conversation had somehow been steered exactly where the chaos deity had wanted but it was difficult to say if that was due to actual planning or just a symptom of Set's mercurial mood and attempt to retroactively shift the narrative in her favor. "You speak as though your distance from mortalkind were irrevocable! Just look were we find ourselves!"

Waving one arm in a broad arc that took in the whole of the park, Set hooked the around around Phantom's now corporeal elbow and began dragging the sorceress unceremoniously out of the dining area back toward Ocean Height's attractions in what seemed to be becoming a habit. "Come along, Auntie, I'm sure we shall find your misplaced humanity around here somewhere. I was just about to introduce noble Sekhmet to the corndog! I don't eat them, obviously, that would be disgusting."

[alderwitch]

Chaos gods. Phantom really should have known better. She let out an undignified squeak that certainly sounded odd in her usually sepulchral tones. Her gloved elbow was warm under the leather and the cloak billowed out behind her. Phantom came to the conclusion rapidly that she had a very small list of options in dealing with this curveball. Really, she should have expected the curve ball but now it was too late. She could risk offending the pair of gods - very likely with their pantheon if she cried off from an invitation. Also, it would prove that she was too old and crochety for amusement parks which was hard to admit after all the ribbing. 

She could be drug through the park looking absurd in her costume. And distinctive. 

Or, she could go along willingly and hope that there weren't any more curveballs ahead. 

"I am sure my humanity is not in a corndog." It was the same voice but without the commanding boom of Phantom's tones. The leather under Set's fingertips faded like so much mist as the costume became shadow that was quickly sucked into her amulet before they stepped foot back onto the fair grounds, leaving her holding onto a bare arm as without her costume, Phantom had dressed for summer days. 

Without the cloak and cowl, she was a small woman with distinctly asiatic features and her sleek black hair pulled back into a simple pony tail. She blended in much better this way with the crowd and tugged along by Set, especially as she didn't appear all that much older in her shorts and tank top. Except for the Eye that remained a glittering dark presence at her throat and the worn wedding band on her finger, Phantom could have been any college student out visiting the amusement park with friends.

She cast Sekhmet a look of mute commiseration at the plans to introduce her to corn dogs, "They're not good. The funnel cake is better. At least, it used to be."

In for a penny.

[Gizmo]

Even a manufactured pout didn't do much to cut through the delight positively radiating from Set as she pulled Phantom along into the rest of the park. "Boo, I cannot make cat and dog puns about funnel cake," she protested, puffing out one cheek as though threatening to hold her breath until she got her way, all while her grey eyes twinkled merrily. It was becoming clear to Taylor that Set didn't just want attention for attention's sake, godly predisposition aside. She wanted to be liked, to be someone people could trust and let their guard down around despite the occasional well meaning joke or trick. Going along with the impromptu excursion even for the moment had earned the sorceress a devoted is unorthodox friend, it seemed.

Sekhmet made a low growling noise in the back of her throat as she followed close behind. "Yet already I trust the Chosen One's judgement over thy own, liesmith." While Taylor may have been less conspicuous in her civilian clothing, flanked by the two Heliopolians they were still getting plenty of looks from the rest of the crowd. There was a fairly sharp contrast between the bemused the older amusement park goers, who had seen stranger living in Freedom City, if not much stranger, and the youths who pointed and snapped photos of the moderate celebrity and her companions.

"Tis fair."

[alderwitch]

"I have good judgement..." Phantom agreed with Sekhmet as she was towed along between the two statuesque gods-made-flesh, her words slightly distracted as yet another photograph was snapped. The first had startled her but she'd assumed it was a tourist taking a picture of one of those 'weird Freedom City' things. When it kept happening, however, Phantom's posture grew more and more tense. "...Why is everyone taking your pictures?"

It was a testament to her self control that the occasional flash did not turn her arm ghostly under Set's grip, but she did bring her other arm up to block her features with her forearm. She cleared her throat and added to Sekhmet, "Phantom. Most people call me Phantom in this world. Corn dogs are just hot dogs dipped in batter and fried. The funnel cakes at least  have powdered sugar which is something at least. But I haven't eaten amusement park food in, uhm..."

Well, before she was Phantom, that was for certain but trying to ratchet up together all the years in various dimensions and differing speeds and even her math wasn't entirely up to the task. Eventually she settled on, "...Ten years?"

[Gizmo]

"Taking our photograph, Auntie, and naturally because we be hot," Set explained with relish, blowing a kiss to giggling preteens as they passed and bumping her hip into Phantom playfully, enjoying being the very marginally taller one for once. "Ooh, tis exciting, I've never had an Auntie before! Well, by technicalities Nut be both mother and aunt, one supposes, but mortals tend to get hung up on that, eh?" She waved idly to the sky over the heads while pulling the out-of-costume heroine down the left path at a fork. "You must share your beauty tips with us, aye? Do you perhaps practice the pilates?" The godling cast another appreciative look at new friend's thighs in much the same way a sculptor might have appraised the work of a colleague. "Truly the definition be admirable, and I say that as a shapes--"

"The masses recognize her from the electronic nets," Sekhmet interrupted, answering Taylor's question directly once it became clear Set had little intention of doing so. She had been giving the sorceress a bemused look of her own. "Hm. Phantom. Thy age has many strange notions about death."

Set sighed at the bluntness. "I still believe 'cult' to be a bit strong but I suppose I have garnered some modest celebrity, aye. Tis mostly the 'hot' thing, however, I maintain!"

[alderwitch]

Phantom's expression at the realization that these, too, might end up on the internets, could only described as dismay. Clearly, she was desperately out of practice from having a secret identity if within her first few weeks back she was going to appear out of uniform on a super-hero's twitter feed. A-plus superheroing there. She brought up her free hand to shield her features from what she could and tried to turn her attention back to the pair of goddesses. 

"I don't do pilates," Phantom demurred, absently glancing down towards her bare legs in the direction of where Set's gaze had gone. "I kickbox. And run. I don't get any natural physicality from what Heshem bestows so I have to keep those skills up on my own. They are surprisingly useful skills in my line of work. I used to train but it's hard to find someone that's in the community and not way over my weight class, so to speak."

Phantom averted her face from another little knot of giggling teens, "Do you think we could do this a bit more... incognito, maybe? I would really rather this..." She gestured towards her body and face with her free hand, "Not get tied to super-heroes in general. It's not you, but I have a family that I'd rather not drag into the limelight. For their safety. Please?"

[Gizmo]

Set had already opened her mouth to make a no doubt compelling argument when Phantom mentioned family. Through their linked arms the heroine could feel the godling's spine go rigid for a split second as her jaw snapped shut. "Of course, I should have thought! Apologies...!" Her brow furrowed, pulling lightly penciled eyebrows together as the redhead hurriedly scanned the area. Quickly spotting a suitable opportunity she pulled Taylor along at a brisk job around the curve of a lemonade stand in the shape of a massive lemon, a straw the size of a lamppost sticking out of the top and desperately needing a touch-up of its paint. Between the stand's bright yellow exterior and the fence that separated it from roasted corn-on-a-stick booth facing in the opposite direction they had a modicum of privacy.

While Sekhmet made her way after them with a growl of annoyance, Set checked again to make sure no one was watching them then clapped her hands together. "Very well, then! Blending in, certainly." The godling snapped her fingers in the air theatrically and with a brief crimson flash Taylor's outfit changed once again, even more quickly than her cloak had retreated into the Eye. Her shoes were now simple but sumptuously crafted sandals while her shorts had been replaced with a shendyt in the same style as those the goddesses were wearing. The skirt was a good hand's length shorter on the sides than Set's but the middle piece, white fabric trimmed with a deep royal purple pattern that echoed the design of the glittering jewel around her neck, was longer and thinner, the whole length swaying subtly in the light breeze. Instead of her tank top she now wore a surprisingly flattering twisted bandeau that matched the shendyt and elegant armlets the same colour - albeit polished to a shine - as her wedding band had appeared on both upper arms. A similar loop of metal held back her ponytail and though she couldn't see it herself she'd been given makeup outlining her eyes in the same fashion as the Heliopolians.

The taller goddess made a short sound of approval and a beaming Set bounced up and down on her toes, delighted with her work. "There! Disguised!"

[alderwitch]

Phantom's breath whooshed out in something like relief as she was hauled this time towards a small corner of the amusement park. "Thank..." she started as Set's hand lifted up to gesture, and suddenly her clothes twisted to something much less, "...you."

Glancing down, she took in the rather dramatic change in her attire with a distinctly non plussed expression. The skirt, admittedly was longer than what her costumed alter-ego wore but over all there was just a whole lot more skin exposed to sunlight than Phantom was used to. Still, when a god or goddess dressed you in the attire of their people, one took that for the compliment it was and resisted the urge to fidget. Unless one enjoyed being smote by divine wrath, Phantom supposed, and while in her current incarnation that might prove difficult - the gods had a long memory. 

"I doubt I will be recognized now," the words were dry, bemused, as Phantom gave into the impulse at least to lightly touch her hair and figure out exactly how it was twisted up off of her neck. "I appreciate your discretion. Thank you."

Letting her hands fall away once more to her sides, Phantom suppressed the urge to fiddle with like top like some maiden aunt as she turned curious kohl lined eyes to the two goddesses. "And now, I am fully at your disposal to sample carnival food of dubious quality."

[Gizmo]

"My discretion be frequently remarked upon," Set agreed, resting her cheek in one palm as she gave Phantom's new attire one was head to toe inspection, still grinning from ear to ear. There was nothing sly or teasing about the smile this time, full of gleaming white teeth; this was the unironic warmth of a handmade gift garnering a positive reaction. It looked a little out of place on the godling's face, as though it wasn't an expression she'd had much opportunity to practice. "Funnel cake for humanity, indeed! First, though, a self portrait!"

She produced her smartphone again, somewhat improbably, from the modest cleavage provided by her cross halter, promising, "Shall not end up online, Auntie, god's honor! Lady of Slaughter, get over hence!" Her free arm elongated with a sort of serpentine fluidity to grab the warrior goddess' wrist and lank her over to stand on Taylor's other side, the Heliopolians with their chins above the sorceress' shoulders to fit in frame. "Remember to smile, Sekhmet. Sekhmet, smile. You be not smiling. Smile, Sekhmet. You-- nay, smile. Smile. Sekhmet. Sekhmet. Smile, Sekhmet." Before long the annoyance of the nagging outweighed the taller woman's stubborn dislike for having her photo taken and she bared her teeth, canines unusually prominent. Set sighed. "Close enough." The arm holding the phone stretched outward this time, pointing back toward them. "Ibis face, ladies!"

[alderwitch]

Phantom took her place between the two Egyptian gods, shifting to put her hands on each lady's waist hesitantly. Photography was a problematic subject in the Farretti household - family photographs were a little awkward when one member showed up in none of the photos, after all. So, the whole 'selfie culture' was not exactly Phantom's own bailiwick but she understood the basics, after all. 

Her smile was the typical, slightly tense 'someone's taking a photograph of me' but at the chanting of Sekhmet's name in progressively more nagging tones, Phantom started to chuckle. By the time that the photo was taken, Phantom was full on laughing - a fact that the photo captured. It was clear why she wore the full mask and hood as without either, Heshem's Chosen was a far less intimidating site. 

When Set had captured the photos she wanted, Phantom turned towards Sekhmet with laughter still in her voice, "You know, smiling is merely a socially acceptable way to show one's teeth - or so I am told. My husband has always made great use of that fact to intimidate people. It's not a trick I've mastered, I fear. No one finds my smiles all that disconcerting in general despite my best efforts."

It was a testament to how Phantom had relaxed in this point that her words were casual and unguarded before she turned back to Set, "I admit, I haven't been here since I was a teenager, years ago, but I imagine most of the old attractions are here. There was a fun house once..." 

[Gizmo]

"Phaw, the Mistress of Dread cares not for paltry niceties," Sekhmet insisted, tossing her head in a way that flicked her asymmetrical bangs into the air haughtily but her expression did become a little closer to an actual smile at Phantom's words. "I would be pleased to instruct thee in the manner in which I earned my titles but in truth thy be a most agreeable sort, Lady Phantom. Making thy presence seem unwelcome may be an uphill battle."

Swiping though the photos to find the best one, Set bounced on her heels and held the smartphone to her chest like a great treasure. "Oh, as if you be not a big softy yourself, Sekhmet," she teased happily as she grabbed Taylor's arm again and led the way back onto the main bath over the warrior goddess' indignant protests to the contrary. Forgoing the potential pun provided by corndogs the godling decided to defer to the sorceress' greater if somewhat dated amusement park experience and made a beeline for a booth which offered to deep fry an increasingly unlikely list of comestibles. Deciding that even with a godly fortitude a deed fried chocolate bar on a stick sounded like a poor idea, she instead paid for three funnel cakes piled generously with powdered sugar from a conspicuously thick roll of bill again produced from her cross halter.