"I'll Love You Forever, Baby Girl..." Another OXO with Swim

"Yes, really." Fale smiled some at Rei's reaction, glad for it. She looked up when Serna came out, though, accepting her bowl of food with a smile as her lover sat beside her.
"So, what all are you going to want in your room?" Serna asked, blowing softly on a spoonful of soup before eating it.

Rei fiddled with her hands a moment. "A bed and whatever else I need to put away clothes I guess," she replied. Despite the fact she was young, she really didn't know what a proper girl's bedroom was supposed to look like. She had always had her own room, but it had never been anything special. She hummed a moment, before remembering something she remembered liking. "Oh, maybe one of those really fluffy rugs?" she asked, hoping they would have something like that.

"I do believe we have a very fluffy rug you can have," Fale said, smiling softly. "What color would you like it to be?" She was ready to spoil Rei already- she couldn't help it. She wanted Rei to be genuinely happy here. The goddess was eating her own food, leaning forward some still so she could talk properly with Rei.

Rei seemed a bit surprised she was getting asked a question. Fale had only said a rug. Didn't that mean it was already a color? Well… if they were asking… "I like yellow," she stated confidently. The irony of the situation was that Rei was young enough to have not realized the two women were higher beings. She just thought they were really tall people who had to hide their extra parts to avoid scaring others.

"Yellow it is then!" Serna smiled some, looking to Fale. She hadn't explained anything, had she? Serna raised an eyebrow, only to be met with the same look as before. Fale would explain, eventually. Who knew if Rei's family had even been religious, of for the pantheon! Rei hadn't recognized their names, but Serna and Fale weren't often spoke of by most, especially to young children.
"Do you like the color yellow a lot? My favorite color is pink," Serna said, smiling still.

Rei nodded. "Mhm! 'S my favorite. Pink's a good color too," she replied, smiling some. After being around Serna and Fale awhile, she felt less afraid. They had plenty of time to do mean things to her and they hadn't. That meant they were good, right? And she didn't want to make such nice people upset! Despite that, she had been honest with her color opinion. She didn't really dislike any color, aside from brown or black depending on what it was.

"Yellow is a very very pretty color," Fale said, smiling some. "Would you like the make the room color yellow too?" The goddess finished her soup, setting her bowl down on the table as she folded her hands in her lap.
"Or would you like another color? It can be anything at all." Serna set her bowl down as well, humming softly.

Rei nodded before Serna had asked the second question. She liked the idea of her room being all bright and happy. That it would look pretty and be fun to be in. She took another bite of her food before looking up at Serna. "I think yellow's good," she assured. Really, even if it wasn't her favorite color, she would be happy with whatever she got.

"Perfect! I'll go get the room ready, and then we can see what else you'd like to add if any after you finish." Serna stood, taking her and Fale's empty bowls back to the kitchen before going down the hall.
"Here, I've got your things here," Fale said, picking Rei's bag up and setting it on her lap. "And later we can look into getting you some more toys and clothes later. How does that sound?"

Rei suddenly felt like she was taking too long, so she took another piece of chicken, starting on eating it. Despite that, she wasn't about to shove the whole thing in her mouth. Too much and she could choke! After swallowing, Rei thanked Serna politely as she watched the woman's form go down a small hallway. Turning to Fale, she smiled softly, hugging the bag to her chest. "Okay," she replied simply, already going back to her dinner. Rei felt like she was asking a lot from the two women, but didn't want to make them feel bad for trying to be nice. "Thank you," she remembered to add.

Fale didn't mind waiting for Rei to eat at all- she and Serna didn't really need to, after all, and just because they ate fast she wouldn't expect the same from the human girl. The goddess smiled back, thinking to herself. She was trying to figure out just what all Rei might like in her room. The girl didn't seem to know much about things she could put in it, but Fale would give her some ideas to work off of.
"You're welcome, dear," Fale said, smiling softly still.

Rei appreciated the fact that Fale seemed to be happy with her still. She still hugged her bag close to her, all the items within having been given from her parents. It was all she had, and all she had of her parents too. Suddenly, her body seemed to finally realize how chilly it was in the room. Her fingers were chilled, and the air caused her to shiver a bit. Rather than ask Fale for something, she opened up the small backpack and found her jacket inside. Setting the bag aside, she easily slipped it on.

Fale watched as Rei pulled the jacket on, holding back a sigh. The underworld was a cold place, and while the goddess had never minded before, he was intent to try to keep the temperature up in the house from now on. It wouldn't fix everything, but it would help.
She was patient as Rei ate, standing as the girl finished up.

It was still a bit cold, but she would put her hands in her pockets in a minute. Taking the last nugget, she finished, now feeling full. Noting that Fale stood, she realized how tall the woman could really seem. It was both intimidating and kind of neat. The little girl stood, picking up her plate as well. She couldn't quite reach the sink, whether it was normal sized or their size. Despite that, she wanted to maybe at least walk in there before sliding it on the counter or handing it to Fale in there. "Where do we put this?" she asked, not really knowing the lay out of the kitchen. She just knew it was in the other room.

It wasn't likely Rei would be able to reach high enough to slide the plate onto the counter, so Fale was going to come with the girl to put it away.
"Dirty dishes go next to the sink," Fale said, offering a smile. She'd retrieve some proper stools and stepping platforms for Rei later so things would be easier for her. For now, though, she'd help Rei out.
"Here, it's right by the window." Fale moved to lead the way, offering her sweet smile still.

Rei followed behind Fale obediently, humming a small tune as she walked. She was excited to go find where Miss Serna went and what sort of room she would be getting. It was kind of exciting. She was right in guessing everything was taller and seemed a bit saddened she couldn't attempt to do it herself. That feeling left quickly enough as she knew Fale wouldn't be upset. Otherwise, why would she have come along? Aside from showing her, that was. At seeing the window, she was really confused. That didn't look like the blue sky outside. And the flowers outside… they were glowing and looked very strange. "Miss, what are those?" she asked, completely fascinated with them.

"Hm?" Fale looked at Rei, then to the window. She smiled slightly, stopping by the window.
"Those are called soul flowers," she explained. "Do you know what a soul is?" Oh, so explaining how they were surrounded by souls was easy, but explaining Fale was a god wasn't? Serna would be disappointed, Fale knew it.

Rei hummed for a moment. She remembered vaguely what the word soul was, but she didn't think it was a tangible thing. She thought it was part of an expression like, "bless your soul." It was something everyone had apparently, but if that was the case, why didn't she see these pretty flowers everywhere? "Um, maybe? I'm not really sure," she decided to reply honestly.

"Well, everyone has a soul," Fale explained. "That's what's memories are kept, and the reason there a living things. When someone dies, their soul comes down here to rest, and store the memories away so they can go on to the next life." Fale knelt down, pointing to the flowers.

Rei seemed confused at the notion of next life. And what did Fale mean by 'down here?' They weren't anywhere she recognised, that was for sure. If she stepped out the front door, would it be that same building they walked into?
"I'm confused," she said simply, her head tilting lightly. "I get the soul thing I think, but everything else you said makes no sense," she elaborated.

Fale looked down at Rei, then back to the window.
"Well… there's a lot that won't make sense, I will admit. Did your parents ever tell you about the gods of Belcor?" Fale looked back, offering a small smile. She needed to start at the beginning anyway, since she hadn't recognized Fale or Serna.

Rei shook her head. They really hadn't talked about what they believed in much, mostly concerned on making ends meet to make their child happy. She'd be happy to learn though. If it would help her understand what the pretty flowers were and what this place was, then she was ready.

"Well," Fale said, settling down to explain, their task forgotten. Serna had come back out of the room, falling quiet as she leaned against the wall of the hall to listen.
"There are nine gods in total who are in charge of things. There are the Heavenly gods Astral, Marcos, and Celeste, and the Earthly gods, Derlik, Ethal, and Brutus. Then, there are the Underworld gods. Halm… Serna, and Fale. I and Serna are those gods, we aren't named after them," she was quick to clarify. "It's our job to watch over souls until they're ready to go back to Earth."

Rei blinked up at her, seeming very confused. "So… why am I here then? I don't wanna die. I don't understand," she frowned after a moment, a hand reaching up to rub at her eyes. She wasn't going to cry. If they were really higher beings, she shouldn't make them upset. They wanted her here. For what reason, she didn't know, but they had to be kept happy. It must be either really good or really bad for her to be in such a place. This wasn't earth anymore.

Fale gently took Rei's plate from her and sat it down, pulling the girl so, so gently into her arms.
"You're not gonna die," she said softly. "I could never hurt you, or let anyone else even try." Serna made her way over as well, sitting down next to Fale and gently putting her hand on Rei's head.
"Fale felt really bad about leaving you at the orphanage, so I suggested letting you come to stay with us," she explained, voice quiet.