Touched by the Red Moon [Private]

[chiannehere]

Iara walked briskly down the street. The seasons were just starting to change, made apparent by the cold wind blowing through her coiffed hair. She was bored once again, and thus she decided to go back to the Jade of China to work for a couple of hours. Her short heels clacked through the pavement; maybe it wasn't a good idea for her to wear heels to work but she shrugged. A little uncomfort is nothing to her nowadays.


The neon sign just switched on the minute she reached the doors. Now away from the cold of the outside, Iara was greeted by the warmth of cooked food around her. She took a breath, and thought about how humans had it good with their delicious food and their need for warmth. It almost felt like home... if only she could remember where that was. It had been eons.


An elderly man called out to her from the kitchen. Iara replied back, spouting some Mandarin of her own. She laughed to herself at what a disgraceful first impression she must've made: a Chinese woman who didn't know a lick of Mandarin, although that's probably what many other children of Chinese immigrants struggle with today. She guessed she was part of what many people call, 'the Millennials'.


At least she took the time to learn. It was almost human-like, a goddess learning a language.


"Go fill those up with food," the man gestured to the empty counters full of steaming water. He didn't ask her where Iara had been, but somehow knew when she came through the front. She greeted her other coworkers, who were nice, not nice enough to criticize her irregular hours at the restaurant.


Maybe it was her own doing, maybe it was the old man, but somehow Iara was always paid fairly for a day's work. And the day was just beginning.

 

[Maxen]

Ami walked down the side walk, she had obviously just got out of work, she was in dire need of food. she was heading to the Chinese restaurant, she was always welcomed there despite it being early in the morning. She walked into the restaurant and took her usual seat at a booth. She always ordered the same thing, fried rice and Orange chicken. She fell asleep, her head on the table, her blue dyed hair splayed around her. Her blue eyes closed. Her pale face, normally full of pain was now peaceful.

 

[chiannehere]

"Are you kidding me?"


Iara looked over at the girl whose order she took. She was suddenly sleeping, and no wonder. It's rather too early to be eating Chinese food under any circumstances. Unless they were hungover. Is she hungover? That had to be it. Leaning against the kitchen doorway, Iara looked over the girl again, taking in how she looked. She looked really tired. Did she really just come here to sleep?


When her order was finished, Iara took it from the server's hands, flashed him a smile and took it to the girl's table. At least let her do something at the restaurant, right? "Ma'am? Your order is ready," she nudged the sleeping patron's shoulder. She hoped she would wake up, or did she have to do something to goad her out of sleeping.

 

[Maxen]

Ami's blue eyes opened and she rubbed them. "Thank you..." She said softly. If one looked closely they would notice she was beautiful, but it was hidden under her tired, worn out features. She pulled the plate close to her, her eyes looking empty. She looked up at her, quickly looking back down to hide a blush.

 

[chiannehere]

Iara peered more closely at the girl, noting that there were pretty features under that layer of tiredness. She wondered why. She guessed that anyone could be tired enough to desperately order Chinese food in the morning. With a shrug, she sat down across the girl and waved down one of the servers to get her an order of fried dumplings and rice. There was minimal protest as Iara worked her charm, hastily promising him a little surprise after work with a little wink and a pinch on his ass in Mandarin. The server quickly left to get her what she needed.


Iara caught the girl in front of her blush. After a few minutes, her order came, steaming white rice and all. She realized she hadn't eaten that morning, and figured what other way to procure food than at the Chinese restaurant she worked at? With a small smile, she ate half a dumpling and spooned some white rice. "I hope you don't mind me eating here with you. I realized that I haven't eaten myself."

 

[Maxen]

Ami blinked. "Uh, its cool." She murmured. She poked her food for a few minuets before eating

 

[chiannehere]

"What's your name?" Iara asked, picking off three dumplings before getting into the rice. The girl was rather too quiet, which meant something on her mind. It was a while she did favors in exchange for something as a goddess. Maybe this little experiment could prove to be fun. "So... what's your deal? It's not every day you see someone waltzing into a Chinese restaurant this early in the morning."

 

[Maxen]

"Ami." She murmured. She signed and finished her food. "I just got out of work, will only twenty minutes of sleep under my belt." She said

 

[chiannehere]

"Work? What kind of work would you be doing for you to keep graveyard hours?" Iara asked, pretty interested. Most of the people she's met were those who led relatively normal lives, with a 9-5 and a sizeable apartment. She guessed that Ami probably had a janitorial job or something else more skeevy. And only twenty minutes of sleep? According to what other people have said, they would describe that as a 'dead man walking'.


Humans and their overexaggerated-ness. But Ami didn't look like she was exaggerating.

 

[Maxen]

"I have 5 jobs. One of them requires me to be on a pole basically naked." She said blankly. "Its hard when you you have to keep up rent, a phone, food... Just to get away from your abusive father." She sighed.

 

[chiannehere]

"Damn..." Iara muttered. She didn't think there was enough time in a day to be keeping up with five jobs, but she guessed that you'd do anything for money. And abuse... Iara had a low tolerance for humans exhibiting such power. 'As if they were almighty,' she thought, finishing off her plates. She leaned back and took another good look at Ami. Any other human would have crumbled under the pressure. Maybe the girl in front of her had a more unique type of willpower. A sort of power a goddess could definitely use.


"Ami, do you believe in a higher power?"

 

[Maxen]

"I did at one point." She said thpightfully touching the table

 

[chiannehere]

Iara kept a steady gaze on the girl, almost not minding the people around them who could listen to their conversation. The restaurant began to have a steady flow of people come in and the atmosphere became busy. "Understandable," she commented. It would be difficult to maintain such beliefs when the world seems to just be against you, again and again.


"Would you be willing to believe in one now?"

 

[Maxen]

"Uh... Depends. Why?"

 

[chiannehere]

Iara leaned towards Ami, closing the gap between them as to make sure no unnecessary humans listened. "What do you think about reviving a long lost goddess?" She asked, a wide smile on her face. "I can prove you're in the presence of one right now."

 

[Maxen]

Ami blinked. "Your saying you are a God?"

 

[chiannehere]

"Goddess. A very clear distinction." Iara leaned back, almost a triumphant look in her eyes. She crossed her arms and looked around the room. What was something she could do that wouldn't burn this whole place down? Her eyes locked onto a young man sitting at the counter, eating some lo mein. "I'm the goddess of the red moon. Not as well-known as that elephant god or son of god or whatever, so that's where you come in."


"Red is the color of energy, passion, war, and desire. I will prove to you that that is who I am, the personification of red." Iara nudged Ami towards the man eating on the counter. "I will draw some blood from him," she mused with a small, menacing smile. As soon as she spoke her wishes, the man started to have a nosebleed, one that didn't seem to stop.


"Is that enough? Or should I keep going?" She asked, almost a glint in her eye.

 

[Maxen]

"He could have weak blodd vessels." She said yawning.

 

[chiannehere]

Iara's eyebrows raised. 'What an insolent girl,' she thought. She willed the nosebleed to stop, not willing to have someone die at the very establishment she worked at, even if temporary. "What happened to the days where people would believe anything?" she sighed, looking at her with piercing eyes.


"Fine. What do you want me to do to prove to you that I'm a goddess?"

 

[Maxen]

Ami shrugged. "one, I am not stupid, two, I don't know."

 

[chiannehere]

Iara's lip twitched at the girl's mention of her lack of stupidity. "I'm not calling you stupid. As you probably already know, there's many today who would believe blindly." She looked over Ami's frame once again, her eyes narrowing. She willed her blood to boil, to become hot, almost passionate and desperate. Iara took a deep breath; she almost forgot how cathartic it was to will almost pain on somebody.

 

[Maxen]

Ami became hot suddenly. She had to strip of the jacket she was wearing. But it didn't help. "What the...fuck." She panted. She glared at her. But her eyes were also filled with passion.

 

[chiannehere]

Iara could almost cackle with glee, only if that wasn't frowned upon in a social setting. "Do you want me to stop?" She asked.

 

[Maxen]

"Yes," she all but moaned getting looks from other patrons

 

[chiannehere]

Iara took another deep breath and stopped the insatiable heat rising up in Ami's body. The server that had given her food left her with the bill. She clicked her tongue. "I promise you a good time and you still ask me to pay," she spat back in Mandarin, the server turning beet red as her words reached the others in the kitchen. Iara reached into her pocket and gave her whatever money she had left. "Get the rest off my paycheck, I'm sure the old man won't mind." She stands up and offers a hand to Ami.


"Let's get out of this place."