Rooming up with Chaos (Degu x Xywel)

[Xywel]

Graves Yilven

Name: Graves Yilven
Age: 28
Race: Human
Marital Status: Single (not for long)
Occupation: Head Supervisor of Trivon Computing, Wannabe-Cultist-But-Never-Getting-There.
Personality: Skilled, Humourous, Intelligent, Passionate, Helpful, Stubborn, Lonely, Stressed.

"... No."

For a couple of moments, Graves couldn't do anything else than look at the ravishing goddess in front of him. Surrounded by green-black robes figures, his mouth fell open as confusion overtook him.
The figure in front of him was the goddess called Aella, a deity of Chaos that was the subject of worship for all these cultists. A group Graves had been working to join for the better part of a year. He'd gone through screenings by 'Jathrohd', the name the leader of the cult used (although he was mostly sure the guy's name real name was Jerry).

"W-w-w-wait to you mean, 'no', your Divineness? Did I displease you somehow?" He stammered, tilting his head as he furrowed his eyebrows. Graves was quite a successful man, being the Head Supervisor for a major tech company within the city of Tronst.
The man was sharply dressed, having opted to come here in his two-part suit, red tie and his hair all neat, to make a good impression on the goddess. Guess he... failed?

A muttering could be heard throughout the cultist's ranks, some shuffling from side to side uncomfortably. This didn't happen often. Jer-... 'Jathrohd' had approved of Graves, after all.
Graves began to sweat a little bit, waiting for what the goddess would say next.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"I meant exactly what I said. Do you not understand the meaning of no?" Aella frowned at the man stammering and then turned her attention to the murmuring cultists looking nervously between her and the man she had turned down. Sometimes they were such a hassle to deal with, and she was tempted to make use of the multiple tails hanging behind her to whip them back into shape. No, they would probably thank her for it and ask what more they could do to spread her chaos, and that wouldn't do right now. As it stood, she was on her last nerve with the current two members she was living with, and it was time for things to change. In fact...

"No, it simply wouldn't do to have you as a member, you're too..." She paused, tapping a long nail against her lips as she tried to think of the proper description. "Too neat. I will propose something different, however. How would you feel about a deity of chaos being your roommate?" The worst case scenario was he immediately shot her down now that she had turned him away as a potential member. It didn't make a ton of sense why he was so invested in trying to join the others in their little cult, but humans rarely made sense in this day and age, so that wasn't especially surprising. There was just something about this one that she couldn't quite put her finger on, although her tails had other ideas as one came out to rest just beneath the male's chin and lift his head slightly.

"Would that entertain you?"

 

[Xywel]

Graves Yilven

Name: Graves Yilven
Age: 28
Race: Human
Marital Status: Single (for a short amount of time)
Occupation: Head Supervisor of Trivon Computing, Wannabe-Cultist-But-Never-Getting-There.
Personality: Skilled, Humourous, Intelligent, Passionate, Helpful, Stubborn, Lonely, Stressed.

For a couple of moments, things just didn't compute in Graves' mind. He could clearly see Aella's annoyance at all of this, the man's mind racing in confused panic. Fuck. She shot him down on the spot. How was this fair? He even dressed up for the occasion!
Graves' life had been one stressful mess for the last two years. So many people counting on him, coating their greed for his help with niceties (little did he know most people kind of didn't). He was tired of it. And this goddess, this cult, was supposed to be his salvation. She would bring chaos and release him from that stress.

And now he was confronted with a... no.
"Too neat? But... I... I thought you'd appreciate... I mean..."
Helplessly, he looked at the other cultists and realized they were all somewhat dirty, clad in ragged robes. He was actually overdressed. Even here, his job haunted him. He didn't even realize he was dressing too neatly.

But then the bombshell came as she continued. The muttering stopped immediately as she proposed her being his roommate. Graves' mouth fell open, his cheeks reddening. His eyes dropped, but Aella's tail wasn't having any of it, lifting his chin lightly so he looked at her.
Gulping, he nodded slightly, finding his voice again.
"Ehm. Sure, of course, your Grace. I'd be honored to host you."
Wait, but wouldn't that mean he was part of the cult anyway? If he hosted the goddess, wasn't he a cultist?
Her last question made something rise within him from beneath that awe. A sliver of his true self, buried beneath the stresses of life and the weirdness of this moment. Amusement, a spark of honest helpful passion. A slight smile on his face. Something else than the reverent thoughtless smiles of the cultists.
"... It would entertain me greatly indeed, having such a... well... housemate. I'm sure the number of rooms would be to your liking."

There was some silent mumbling on the cultist's part. Some jealous whispers too. Graves ignored it, some pride flaring up.
"When will you be moving in, your Grace?"

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Enough of the your Grace, I'm not one of your mortal queens." Aella scoffed slightly, examining him closely now that she could see the change in his demeanor. Although he was clearly disappointed in her outright rejection, the color in his cheeks spoke volumes. He liked the thought of her residing with him, or he was enjoying her touch, although most recoiled at the sight of her tail so close. The appendage caressed him briefly before dropping from under his chin, coming to rest behind her back with the others once more.

"I do believe you are right." Her expression changed from one of mirth to annoyance as the murmuring around them continued, her tail whipping out to knock over a stand containing a ridiculously ornate candle and send it clattering to the floor.

"Silence. I'll not hear any displeasure with my choice in home. We'll be moving immediately, I'll send for my things later." A task she was sure her current roommates would see to with loud jealousy when they were out of earshot, but no matter. They would not dare to harm her belongings, and clothes and other mortal items were easily replaceable. That said, there was the matter of her current appearance.

She couldn't very well walk down the streets with multiple tails hanging in the wind, or pointed ears poking out from under the mane of bright hair. Ah, to live the days of being out in the open would have been bliss, but for the moment she was confined to the plain, albeit revealing outfit that she wore, and to willing her tails away from human sight until she looked little more than a provocatively dressed human woman.

"Shall we?"

 

[Xywel]

Graves Yilven

Name: Graves Yilven
Age: 28
Race: Human
Marital Status: Single (for a short amount of time)
Occupation: Head Supervisor of Trivon Computing, Wannabe-Cultist-But-Never-Getting-There.
Personality: Skilled, Humourous, Intelligent, Passionate, Helpful, Stubborn, Lonely, Stressed.

As she scoffed, Graves tensed his shoulders, his face paling for a moment before the colour returned to his cheeks. He nodded slowly.
"Alright... ehm... how would you like me to call you then if you don't mind me asking?"
So she didn't want to be called 'Your Grace'? Maybe 'Divineness' or 'One Above All' would be more appropriate?

Aella was right on the money though. Even though the drive for becoming a cultist was far from gone, he was relishing the chance to have some feminine beauty within his abode. It'd been ages since he had found the time to date, after all. Way too busy, way too much stress.
His smile broadened for a moment as the tail caressed him before dropping, flinching as the candle clattered on the floor.

The effect was immediate. The cultists scrambled to avoid her displeasure and wratch, no doubt getting her stuff.
Graves looked at her change, blinking with a measure of awe and amazement.
"Wow... that's handy." His eyes moved across her, only slightly stopping at her bust and hips. Slightly. Didn't want to be too brazen.

Nodding, he led her out of the hidden basement into the alleyway.
"Alright, we shall. This way, if you'd please."
Graves' home was a small distance away, a tasteful well-sized home at the edge of the city, bordering one of the nicer-looking parks. While they walked, he was quite silent, feeling rather proud yet odd at the thought of Aella just... walking next to him. What the hell just happened?

When they arrived, Graves unlocked the front door with a digital key, holding the door open for her. The entrance hall was filled with plants and pictures. Once upon a time, there had clearly been a great deal of pride and passion here, but it seemed a bit... neglected.
The living room was the same, stylish and roomy, a comfy large sofa with a large flatscreen prominently in the room, looking out on the private back garden via a large glass wall.
"Make yourself at home. We're hou-... housemates now, after all." Damn, that felt odd to say.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Use that brain of yours and think of something." Aella merely shrugged. She was a chaos of deity, she wasn't in the habit of making things easy for people, so why would she start now? His attention seemed to have drifted down her body as it was, and she raised a light brow before murmuring something unintelligible and walking with him. He wasn't the first mortal man to stare, and he certainly wouldn't be the last. That wasn't even counting the mortal women that stared, either!

So they were to walk to his home, she could handle that. Once she was aware of the destination and had explored it to her hearts content, travel between it and other places would be much simpler with her magic. Still, there was something about seeing the sights along the way and knowing where one could cause trouble that thrilled her, and she observed many details during their short walk.

"Oh, you have one of those fancy keys and everything." The intel on him had been correct after all, he was fairly well off. Aella slipped through the doorway and into the home, breathing deep and taking in the smell of the plants around them. She liked plants. She also liked destroying them, so the fate of his houseplants was now hanging delicately in the balance of whatever her mood was at any given time.

"I intend to. I like that you have a garden, although it will require some touching up to make it presentable again. Perhaps that will be one of the first orders of business during my stay."

 

[Xywel]

Graves Yilven

Name: Graves Yilven
Age: 28
Race: Human
Marital Status: Single (for a short amount of time)
Occupation: Head Supervisor of Trivon Computing, Wannabe-Cultist-But-Never-Getting-There.
Personality: Skilled, Humourous, Intelligent, Passionate, Helpful, Stubborn, Lonely, Stressed.

“Yes... Of course... Ehm... Lady Aella it is then.” It probably was because she was an entity of pure chaos, Graves thought. She was far above any pleasantries. Such an exalted being indeed. His cheeks flushed red when she murmured, quickly looking away as he mumbled a quick apology. He couldn’t help it that she was beautiful! And strange. And strangely beautiful!

All the way to his home, Graves was trying to wrap his head around the current situation. He didn’t join the cult, yet Aella was going to live in his home. Then what was he to her? Less than a cultist? A home-owner?
At some point, he just opted to politely and reverently tell her about the different spots and buildings they passed.

“I do, yes. I’ll have a spare one arrive for you to use soon, Lady Aella.” Graves said, blinking as the goddess slipped through the home before he could make a big show from it.
Silently, he looked on as she inhaled and got settled in her new abode, although he was kind of fearing for his plants with how she looked at them. Still, if she wanted to destroy them, he would oblidge, like a good cu-... wait, he wasn’t a cultist though.
This was going to be hard.

“Thank you, Lady Aella. You’re too kind. I’ll work on it this afternoon to make it presentable as quick as possible!”
Okay, maybe she was just messing around and he was part of her cult after all. Why else would she make demands?
Hanging up his coat, Graves walked to the kitchen, and a few seconds later, the sounds of boiling water could be heard. High-speed boilers for the win, of course!
“Tea is done, Lady Aella.”

He came to the living room, bringing two cups of hot water and a big box with many kinds of tea. “Take any kind you like! Is there anything else I can do for you?”

 

[Degusaurusrex]

A spare key for her, as if she couldn't simply break into the place if she wanted. How sweet.

"We will work on it." How could she make certain it was presentable in the way she wanted if she wasn't there to watch?! That, and on occasion she had been known to have a fondness for gardening. Tearing out all the dead and rotted plants all the way down to the roots where they had started their life was very amusing to her.

By the time he came back out with the cups and a box full of tea, Aella's tails were back in plain view and swinging gently behind her back. Having them put away was just so strange, and she pursed her lips before reaching out with one of them to grasp the cup and pull it toward herself. Another poked and prodded at the different bags of looseleaf tea before she stepped closer and used her hand to sift through them, smelling at the different blends before selecting one and then finding the little ball that would allow it to steep in the water.

"I would like to see more of your home while I wait for this." Now that her tea only needed to properly steep for the best taste, Aella set it down on a small table and smiled at him. Disrupting the garden could wait until later, there was much to explore and much to plot for the near future.

 

[Xywel]

It took Graves a second to register. Wait, 'we'? 'I', he could've understood, but digging in the garden together with Aella was something he had difficulty imagining.
Nonetheless, he nodded. Denying her requests wasn't going to get his closer to cultisthood.
"Of course, Lady Aella. We will work on it... together."

When the man came back with tea, he had to do his best not to stare at Aella's magnificent collection of tails. Which he kind of failed hard at.
Graves kept holding the box though, even when the goddess came closer and began rummaging through more personally.
"Can you find something you like?" He said, keen to help. "There are quite a few delicious ones in this collection."
A hint of pride in his voice let her knew the man loved his tea.

Putting down his cup, tea steeping slowly in the glass, he nodded.
"Of course! If you'd follow me, Lady Aella."
His face couldn't help but smile back, the atmosphere of tea and a tour of house putting him in a rather laid back mindset.
He showed her the kitchen and hobby rooms, all tidy if a bit unused. A clear sign of his busy life.

Graves then led her upstairs, opening the door to a roomy and well furnished bedroom.
"This is the spare bedroom, Lady Aella. I hope this will suit you well. You can use it for as long as you want."
Through an open door next to this one, Aella could see another bedroom, tastefully decorated in reds and oranges. Bookshelves also lined this room, and it had a big comfortable bed in the middle against the back wall.
Graves' room.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

The room was already furnished, much to her pleasure. A little tweaking here and there, and it was work well enough to house her during her stay there. The fact that she was forced to take stairs was a small and unimportant hindrance when made up for with the furnishings inside the large room. Plenty of room and chances for her to get up to trouble when no one was looking. When they were looking too, of course, seeing the reactions on mortal faces was very entertaining.

"It will suffice, yes." However, she had spotted the room directly next to it and found herself drawn to the bold colors and the mass amount of books. "What of this room?" She stepped back into the hallway and slipped around him to poke her head into the room that looked far more appealing than the one that was to be hers.

"It smells like you." So did the rest of the house, but this room especially smelled like him, and she batted playfully at him with one of her tails. "Maybe I'll decide I like this room better. You certainly have a lot of books in here."

 

[Xywel]

At the sight of the goddess' approval, Graves visibly relaxed, the soft kind smile that was his hidden default look appearing on his face.
"Glad you like it, Lady Aella. You're welcome to use it for as long as you like."
Of course he didn't know about the goddess' intentions to cause trouble. How could he? He wasn't even a cultist. And every playful flirtatous interaction with Aella was getting him further from that goal.

Graves' face fell a tiny bit as Aella poked her head into his personal little sanctum.
It was the spot that he was most comfortable at, a beacon of rest in his seemingly stressful life.
Still, he could help but chuckle as Aella batted at him, clearly appreciating the fun gesture. Unlike a true cultist would.
"Well... I mean, it IS my own room, so it would be strange if it didn't smell like me. Although I can't help but wonder how I smell." He admitted.
"The books here are my pride and joy. You're definitely welcome to use them."
He hesitated, conflicted if he should give her his room. Did he even have a say in the matter?
"If you rather sleep there, Lady Aella, that's... that's possible. I can easily sleep in the other room."
Graves patently waited on the goddess' reacted, his eyes flickering from her eyes to those playful tails at times.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

She didn't miss the way his expression faltered when she spoke of taking his room, or the way he laughed when her tails swung his way. This man was much more intriguing than the cultists that worshiped her, tending to every need and groveling at her feet in their filthy robes and other assorted outfits. He was in order, yet not, and he was intelligent, which was something she required in a companion lest they bore her to death. There were few worse things than a stupid human, and she'd outgrown living and sharing homes with them.

"Did I say anything about you sleeping in the other room?" Would she actually share his bed, or did she just want to see the look on his face when he realized the insinuation she was making? Even Aella wasn't sure which was the more favorable option, and she grinned at him before laughing. "You enjoy the sight of my tails, don't you?"

 

[Xywel]

The reaction was frankly rather hilarious in retrospect. Graves' mouth opened as if to agree before the actual meaning of her words came through.

Instead of faltering and going bonkers like a cultist would do though, he went silent, face going red as it became obvious what his imagination played in his head.
"You... didn't, no." He slowly admitted, licking his lips as his brain did a small shortcircuit.
Before he could continue though, she fired the next impossible question at him.

"W-well, I mean... uhm..." Graves stammered, sighing after. "Yes. Yes I do. They're fascinating, gorgeous and elegant. I just... yeah..."
His face, still red, began to shift to a grin, the man realizing she was probably just trying to get a rise out of him. She wouldn't sleep in the same bed as him... right?
"I mean, if you dare to sleep in the bed as a human like me, I'd be delighted!"
Victorious look on hus face, it was clear he expected her to go 'nnaaaah'.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Very well, then. I imagine your bed will be more comfortable as it's already been used, and I do so hate stiff beds. Even a goddess gets sore when sleeping on something uncomfortable." She ran one of the tails down his chest before trailing it back up, tapping his chin gently before letting the appendage sway back and forth in front of him.

"You can touch them, if you'd like. I would advise against poking the tips directly, as they can be rather sharp, but I don't mind if you touch them." The way his face had gone so bright red had been endearing, almost, but definitely entertaining. Humans were still so easy to fluster, and this one didn't seem different in that regard. Did he truly think she would back down from her insinuation just because he called her out on it?

 

[Xywel]

The stunned expression on Graves' face was immediate. Wait wait wait. She bloody agreed? That hadn't been the plan.
"I... see. More comfortable. Right."
Her answer didn't adress why he shouldn't move to the other room though, but that was secondary now.
Graves shivered as her tail seductively stroked his chest and flicked his chin.

But it was when she said he could touch them that his stubburn streak surfaced. She was trying to both arouse and embarass him!
Well, two could play at that game. He would go further with this, make her back off first.
"The... ends do look pretty sharp. Noted." He said, a new more teasing sultry tone to his voice, together with some tension.
Graves gently grabbed a tail in each hand, softly massaging them in an rather intimate fashion.
"They do feel good, I'll admit..."
Now, let's see how far this goddess was willing to go.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"They feel good?" She raised an eyebrow at him curiously, watching the movement of his hands on her tails trying to determine what game he was playing. Did he think that would get a reaction out of her like she was some sort of animal? It felt interesting, especially when she considered the fact that no one else had dared to try and touch her tails without permission, much less play with them like that.

"I assure you, they are very good at causing pain, my dear human. I would be very careful what you attempt to do with them." She allowed him another moment of caressing her tails before drawing them back, letting them fall to hang with the others before she stepped into his room and began to explore.

"I must say, I am surprised at all of the reading material here. I don't believe that was mentioned when you were referred to me."

 

[Xywel]

Aaand the game was over. If it was due to Aella misunderstanding him or just being tired of the game, Graves didn't know. But she put a halt to the fun shenanigans right then and there.
His attempt at compliments had been rather clumsy though. But at least she'd given him temporary permission to touch her tails. Was that cultist-like? Touching your goddess? He should research that.

No matter the previous air of levity, Graves pulled his hands back, his face going neutral again.
"Thank you for the advice, Lady Aella. I'll be more careful."
He hung back as she explored, the man nervous that the goddess would get a random urge to wreck his room and/or beloved books. For now though... she seemed fine?
He chuckled and shrugged.
"I didn't tell them. Even cultists need a tad of privacy, right? Plus, I thought the goddes of Chaos wouldn't much care about my hobbies. Clearly, I was at least a bit wrong."
Then again, he didn't expect the goddess in question to become his bloody housemate...

"Just let me know when you want to continue, Lady Aella. Take all the time you need."

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Most humans are eager to share all the details of their life when they come groveling for a chance to join that cult." That was something that had stayed the same over the centuries, no matter the part of the world she was in, so this was interesting. The handful of times people had specifically tried to lie about things had never gone well for the liar, and she'd made it quite clear over the years that she did not tolerate being directly lied to. The battered bodies had been proof enough for her followers to make certain they were truthful to her.

"You were indeed a bit wrong." She glanced back at him and absently studied his expression, tilting her head as she mused over random thoughts. How much of a frenzy would it send the actual cultists into if she allowed him to call her Aella without a proper title before her name? That could be very entertaining, and she logged the thought for future reference should they cult inspire her wrath again.

"You seem very tense to have me around your belongings. We may continue."

 

[Xywel]

Graves began fidgetting a bit as the goddess spoke. Had he misjudged the process? Did he blew his chances?
"I just thought a room of books wouldn't be very interesting, Lady Aella." He said, subdued but with a hidden lively spark in it other cultists didn't quite have.

At admission she cared about his hobbies, Graves cheeks reddened a bit, unable to gauge her exact meaning.
Did she care about his hobbies? Did she just want to know everything? He didn't know and the goddess wasn't telling...
Neither could he have guessed the rather wholesomelly funny plots in her head.

At her observation, he quickly shook his head.
"Like I said, you can use them whenever you wish, my Lady. I just didn't expect the interest. Sorry for that."

And with that, he showed her the rest of his home. The large bathroom with a jacuzzi for two, his office that he worked at whole working at home. Aella could see the stress practically piling up here, although a glance also revealed some snippets of messenges from Graves and coworkers. They were... nice. Informal. Something wasn't quite right here, as if Graves mind interpreted these things differently than was sent to him.

Finally, they came back downstairs. It was getting a bit late. It had been the afternoon when she decided to move in. It was evening now.
"So, that's my house, Lady Aella. Your house for as long as you want. So... dinner? Maybe working the garden?"

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"You will learn in time what interests me, I suppose." He was still so fresh, so oblivious, but that would change with time, she would make sure of that. "Do not apologize." She shook her head with a chuckle, following along as he showed her around the home he had opened to her. The bathroom was very satisfying when she took a look at it, the jacuzzi was large enough she could stretch out her tails and lounge comfortably!

The office, well, that was an interesting mixture of chaos and tidiness. It looked rather neat for the moment but there was an air of... What was it? It was almost despair that clung to the desk and stacks of papers and folders, but the messages that had been left up on the screen seemed so normal for a human. What was he playing at with this front, this mask he was wearing?

"The house will do well for my needs." Between the bedroom, jacuzzi and the degrading garden she intended to fix up, it was going to be an interesting project for the goddess. "If dinner will take some time, I think I will entertain myself in the garden."

 

[Xywel]

Well, books was one thing on that checklist, Graves supposed. It was hardly surprising that Aella was a hard woman to pin down, but that was to be expected of the Goddess of Chaos.
But still... gardening... reading. It was like she liked... mundane things.
The smart part of Graves began connecting some possible dots. The wannabe cultist side of him was sputtering though, failing rather hard.
"I'm sure it will."

He blinked at the goddess' chuckle and reprimande that he shouldn't apologise though. But...he had kept something from h-...
Graves opted to smile at her, nodding his agreement. Otherwise, he might apologise again.
Aella was way more... pleasant to stay with than he'd thought.

It was a rather good tour, he saw. She liked the bathroom lots, which was interesting. He did see her think at his office though. No matter, it wasn't a fun place for her anyway. He doubted she'd find it worth her time hanging out there.

"Thrilled to hear that, and happy I can help." Graves said with a pleasant grin, obviously happy to hear that.
"The garden sounds like fun entertainment while I prepare dinner for sure."
Poor garden. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.

With the goddess... occupied, Graves began cooking dinner. At first, he was stressed, afraid that he'd have to cook a 5 star meal. But then he remembered the books and the casual air, his stress subsiding a little bit.
A large pot of good chicken meat stew finally stood on the table, a chaotic pot of meat, potatoes and veggies, and some good spice. Cooking was one of Graves more casual hobbies out of necesity. Cooking was mandatory after all wehen you lived on your own
"Dinner's ready, Lady Aella!"He called out, poking his head outside to see what had come of his garden.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

He didn't seem overly concerned about his garden. Perhaps that was because he had already left it begin to fall into a state of ruin, or perhaps he was that eager to please her after she had denied him entry into her cult. Regardless of the reasoning for his seemingly good mood, she was now given free reign to do as she pleased with what was left of a possibly once flourishing area.

With that settled, Aella made her way out to the garden, pursing her lips and examining the ruin that had befallen it with time and neglect. She could use her magic to simply uproot the parts that she wanted and start fresh, she could upend the entire thing and leave a mess for when she decided to work on it next, or she could take it slow and do things the human way.

In the end, the human way won out, if only for the satisfaction of knowing she had put work into crafting it to her own design rather than cheating by using her magic. Was using her tails cheating, or was that still considered manual labor? Regardless of the consensus on what was considered what, her many tails made themselves useful pulling weeds up by their roots and depositing them into a somewhat neat pile away from the rest of the garden as she busied herself with her vision of the future growth.

By the time that he finally put his head outside to summon her, there were multiple piles of weeds strewn about dependent on where she had been working in the garden, the bottom of her shoes were covered in dirt, and even her hands had some dirt on them where she had gotten frustrated and pulled the belligerent plants up forcibly.

"Dinner?" Had she been out there that long?

 

[Xywel]

The sacrifice of a few plants for his ascension into cultist-hood was but a trifling matter. Graves enjoyed the time he spent cooking, the thought of cooking for somebody else other than himself for once making him rather chipper. He actually forgot who was rummaging through his garden for a while, just focussing on doing something relaxed for once without a hurry. It felt... rather good.

Graves got jolted back into reality when he poked his head outside, eyes flickering to the many piles of... wait... Those were weeds, not actual garden plants. Hell, the garden plants were looking rather decent still. Guess Aella wasn't THAT destructive if she didn't have a reason to be. Interesting.
Feeling rather proud, he wondered if the cultists knew of this side of their goddess. In a way... he was a very important cultist now! Watching over the goddess and seeing a side of her no other cultist saw!
But... becoming a deity's cultist did require their approval. And seeing as Aella didn't give hers...
Nothing he could do, really.

Frankly, it had been a rather long time. Graves had gone a bit all out with cooking, the stew had simmered for quite a while.
"Indeed! Take your time though, the stew is still hot. I do recommend eating it while it's hot though, m'lady."

Stepping outside, he looked at the many piles of weeds.
"You've been having fun, I see." He said with an amused voice, picking up a pile of weeds to throw them into the compost bin. "Impressive work in such a strong time. Those nimble tails really come in handy by the looks of it!"

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Very well." Aella stood slowly and dusted off her tails, surveying the work she had done thus far as one of her tails moved a weed that had missed its pile. "We will eat while it is hot, it would be a shame to waste the food. Heating it back up kills some of the flavor, this I have learned about many of your human foods." Whether reheated in an oven, microwave, or a bout of magic, most of the time it simply didn't taste the same.

"They are very beneficial to tasks, yes." She nodded absentmindedly, mimicking his actions of throwing the piles into the bins with her tails before starting back toward the house. Her hands and tails were filthy from all of the weed pulling, something she took brief note of as she slipped off her shoes just outside of the house before entering. Perhaps that large bath would come in handy after the meal, she had been eyeing it during the earlier tour.

"I do believe that a meal and bath are in order, then it shall be back to chaos as usual."

 

[Xywel]

Silently impressed, Graves nodded in appreciation. Although she was a goddess, she wasn't aloof enough to delay eating food until it got cold. That was a good thing that he could respect. Putting things into the trash, he hummed.
"Glad to hear we are on the same wavelength in that regard. It would be a shame to let good food cool. I can respect that, m'lady."

Noticing her absentmindedness, he opted to not talk a lot further and joke. Maybe she was a bit agitated or something along those lines? Or just a random shift in mood? She was a mercurial being, after all. To be chaos was to be shifting often.
Before he could stop her, Aella was already helping him throw things away, the man looking a bit helpless at the goddess for a moment or two. Graves wanted to help, wanted to pledge himself to her. But Aella seemed determined to be on... even footing? It felt weird, having a divine being help in the garden.

At the mention of a bath, his cheeks flushed just that tiny bit as his mind went in a slightly lewd direction for a moment, the man correcting himself quickly after. Looking up, he hummed in approval.
"A bath after gardening is rather refreshing indeed. Want me to fill it up after dinner or during so you can hop in immediately after eating?"

Sitting down, the table was set for two, with Graves on one side and Aella on the other. In the middle stood the mighty pot of stew, its delicious aroma already having seized the air of the living room.
Taking a deep breath, Graves smiled and sighed, taking Aella's plate to give her a portion first.
"Feel free to sit down and relax, Lady Aella. Enjoy your meal!"