Lee
The Great Locust let out a noise of surprise as she recoiled backwards, kicking her foot out instinctively at the sudden sensation of touch. Fortunately, the Empress managed to get up just in time to avoid the Abundant One's impromptu kick. Triticea considered her newly revealed sister with surprise, not having noticed that one of her siblings was even in the Hall. The younger deity scrambled to explain herself, but before the Lady of the Harvest could get a word in edgewise, another voice sounded out from across, the room, drawing her attention away from the matter with the Bloody Empress.

Glancing over, she caught sight of another new face. Another sister had appeared in the doorway of the Hall. She watched as the Keeper of the Peaks made her way towards her bleeding sibling. After a long period of silence where she'd allowed others to talk, her own voice cut through the transience. It was high, younger than her body seemed to be, and yet there was a commanding presence to it. "Don't waste your time." She huffed dismissively at Calena. "She's a goddess. Those wounds are surely by choice."

A part of her wanted to leave, but her daughter's words echoed in her head. *"Touch grass,"* Fragarie seemed to urge in her head. With a dramatic sigh, she slouched forward, supporting her face with one of her hands as she considered the two younger goddesses. "I don't think I've seen either of you two before. I guess you must be new, hm?" She raised an eyebrow at them, waiting for the confirmation that was sure to come. After all, the winged one had already mentioned being new, and the brunette didn't seem to realise that gods could not be so easily injured.

It was curious, though, that they had managed to find their way to the Hall of the Gods despite being as new as they were. Then again, she had no room to judge. She, too, had come here right after making her realm. Perhaps it was the divine power of their Mother that had drawn them here, like moths to a flame?
Larry
"Ah!" Crucia nearly jumped out of her skin, literally as she did jump back a few meters from the other gods. She held her hands up at Calena, shaking her head back and forth as quick as she could, "E-Exactly what sh-she said!" She referenced Triticea, pointing both of her index fingers at the older goddess, desperately shuffling toward said goddess to hopefully back her up further. She could not stand being confronted about anything, it made her horribly self-conscious about her bandages. Awkwardly, she plucked at them, each time she pulled them up blood spurted at her feet. That only made her even more nervous.

Quiet whimpers came from her as she basically shuffled behind Triticea like a child hiding behind their mother's skirt. It may have been a new person, but she appreciated that this goddess spoke for her. Speaking did not suit Crucia, she vastly preferred whimpering in the corner while everyone else left her alone. Those were good times, she expected such lucky days did not lie in her future. An easily bullied goddess like her would be too much of a snatch for rituals and pantheons that needed extra oomph. Not that she had ever even heard another god mention those.

"Um, uh..." This new question from Triticea had Crucia questioning everything she ever knew! Directly confronting her over it reframed the Great Locust as not a savior but another attacker! Twisting her feet back and forth, leaving bloody trails on the ground, she quietly spoke, "Y-Yes... I-I emerged, um, n-not long ago. R-Right before c-coming her a-actually. I sp-spent some t-time begging M-Mother Gaia to let m-me sleep in h-her fruit a-again. It's s-s-so scary o-out here." Even if Triticea did not seem as comforting as before she questioned her, Crucia still clung to her like a child, afraid that moving away would upset her.
Josephine
Calena was not exactly sure *Why * Someone would choose to have wounds. And as goddess of herbal medicine, she couldn't stand the sight of an untreated wound. But alas, this place and its inhabitants seemed to all have their quirks. And she felt a pang of sadness for the small goddess who stuttered in fear, for while Calena was new to the world, she understood fear. The mountains were ripe with it. 

"I too emerged recently. But I'm not sure I will stay here long, for while I love the familiarity of Mother Gaia, it's not quite..." She gestured uncertainly with her hands. "It's not quite *Home*, you know? I may explore the gardens a bit, but otherwise I will be leaving here soon. I just wanted to see who else was around."
Lee
Triticea let out a sigh, not appreciating her sister's clinginess but with enough kindness to at least not tell her off for it. Still, she had begun to get a sense of how these new siblings were. The winged one was a coward, hiding away from the world even despite her divine power that marked her as one of the supreme forces of the endless expanse that surrounded the Tree. The other was a kind, down to earth soul, yet with that same sense of nervousness as she could see within the Bloody Empress. Perhaps it was some kind of shared trait between young gods? Had *She* Been like that when she first awoke? She didn't think so, but perhaps she could be mistaken. She was not infallible, after all.

Well, she supposed she might as well take on the role of older sister, even if only for a little while. She held up a hand, allowing a miniature stalk of wheat to grow in it. "Sister, hiding in the shade will stop you from ever sprouting. Every harvest requires the light to grow, and we gods are much the same." This was a nice way of advising that the Bloody Empress do a bit more socialising. She couldn't quite understand the feeling of fear or anxiety that her younger sibling seemed to feel, so she gave what aid that she could to try and remedy the other deity. "Hiding in the darkness will only..." The tiny plant in her hand withered into a blackened husk of itself.

"Well." She sat up a bit straighter, glancing from one sister to another. "Welcome to the Hall of the Gods. It's where a meeting place for us." She explained. "And I guess introductions are in order, too. I am Triticea, the goddess of the harvest. You?" Sure, she was *Technically* The goddess of hunger and satiety as well, but she was a god of agriculture and bounty first and foremost. Besides, *Harvest* Just had a better ring to it than any of her other domains, so it was the one that she chose to introduce herself with. Her domain might have already been obvious, though, by the way her braids resembled wheat.
Larry
Crucia tensed up, straightening herself up so she stood perfectly straight with the stalk of wheat her older sister produced. A thick gulp audibly shot down her throat as it withered away, dying with Triticea's warning. It's not like she chose to hide in the darkness, that life chose her she had no way of coming out into the light. Truthfully, she enjoyed speaking with another being who could comprehend her. It meant she did not have to lead, flashes of her past life haunted her. She shuddered, grabbing her shoulders out of undiluted fear.

Quickly shaking her head, she waved her arms, "I-I-I'll try not t-to hide i-in the d-dark so d-don't t-turn me into a d-dead husk." Her voice shook as she took a step away from Triticea. Pausing, she examined her arms and then body, realizing she may have already been the decrepit husk. Ruling as an empress may have been her chance to shine, now an eternal punishment was laid-out before her. Trapped in an all-powerful body she was too fearful to make use of. "I-I fear it m-may be too l-late for a-a thing like m-me." She murmured under her breath, folding her wings over herself to cower behind them. 

Several of the eyes dotted along her feathers opened up, to let her watch her sisters. "G-Goddess of harvest? Th-That's beautiful, um, s-sister? T-Titicea? I-I'll call you a-anything you w-want j-just don't w-wither me away." Shuffling her feathers, she peeked over them with her head, a few strands of her waterfall of darkness called hair splaying over them. "Um... I-I am Crucia, G-Goddess of P-P-Pain! T-Torment and s-submission too, um, n-not as a-amazing as you, T-Triticea. Y-You can make a-anything grow, r-right? S-Sorry for a-asking." 

Suddenly, Crucia jumped up and turned to Calena, "S-Sorry! I-I shouldn't be asking q-questions before y-you introduce yourself. Pl-Please find it i-in yourself t-to forgive m-me. If y-you must p-punish me, I understand!" She gulped yet again, swinging her torso down into a bow at Calena.
Josephine
Calena immediately became flustered. "No no no! If we are sisters, all born of Gaia, then we are equals. So you do not need to bow to me. I am not one for direct punishment, and definitely not for something as trivial as interrupting." 

Placing her hand on her chest, Calena simply nodded her head at Triticea and Crucia. "Calena, Goddess of Mountains and Herbal Medicine. And don't minimize your talents, dear Crucia. Pain is a necessary part of existence, and I am well aware of the pain and torment that mortals may experience in my mountains. So know that you are needed."

Turning to Triticea, she smiled. "And I would like to connect with you more, as you are a goddess of harvest, and I oversee herbal medicine. Maybe we can create something together, perhaps? An herb, a healing mixture?" Calena looked at Crucia, just now noticing all the eyes on her wings watching her. "Or perhaps we all create something that has an opposite effect? For herbs and medicine can not only heal, but also harm. Nature must have the balance of beautiful and ugly, relief and pain, give and take."
Lee
The goddess of the harvest raised an eyebrow at Crucia, an unsaid *You serious?* Ringing out just from her expression alone. "Sister, I meant that you would wither away on your one if you stayed alone in the dark, not that I would inflict such a pain unto you." Her voice was flat, her face unamused. Fortunately, a small smile did sprout on her lips as she listened to the portfolios that the cowardly sister held.

"But oh, don't say that. Agriculture is more than making crops grow, but also about weeding out the bad ones. It's the pain and torment that you rule that allows only the best of my plants to survive, making them stronger in the process." Her creations would only grow stronger through hardship, after all, so the domains of the Bloody Empress were ones she very much appreciated. "But yes, making things grow is part of my duty."

She glanced over at Calena, humming a little. "I don't mind working with you. I may be a goddess of civilisation over nature, but I cannot deny the usefulness of nature to ensure that the weakest plants are removed so that the strong may thrive." That was the closest thing to an agreement that the mountain goddess was going to get, since the Great Locust didn't much enjoy commitments.

With that done, she turned her attention back to Crucia. "Sister." She sighed, "We are gods. It is never too late for us." One of the wheatlike tendrils that she used in her true form slithered out of her back, slowly but gently brushing the shorter goddess' chin and tilting her head to look up at her two sisters' faces. "You are one of us, one of the divine host meant to carry out Mother Gaea's will. If you fear failure, most of our siblings would have no qualms with aiding you in your duty."

It was kinder than how she normally spoke, but if it was what it took to get her kin back on track to fulfilling the purpose that their creator had set out for them, she had no problem with being more encouraging, even if only for a little while.
Larry
Though she heard there was no need to bow, standing up was an declaration in and of itself. To stand tall in front of her sister, she would proclaim herself to be an opponent challenging the idea that there had been no offense. Fearing such a dreadful confrontation, she remained curved down her head lowering slightly with each passing second. She wanted to decay into the very ground, shrouding her existence from the world. It did not help when Triticea pointed out her misinterpretation, she let out a high-pitched yelp just hearing it.

"I-I help?" Straightening her back to a slouch, she hung her head low pondering on how she could do anything remotely correct. Without repentance, she brought about unending misery, that was everything she had to offer. Nothing beautiful, not even the sweet taste of death. Only the bitter sour-tasting bite of pain, the agonizing never-ending crack of torture and fearful loyalty to tyrants. "O-Oh! Like s-survival of the b-best plants, s-so they get st-stronger because of h-hardships? I-I guess th-that's kinda c-cool." She admitted, rubbing her arm rather flustered. If not for her bandages, and many wounds underneath, she would have shown a cherry-red blush.

It gave her a semblance of confidence to stand in the presence of her sisters, they referred to her as such and remedied her endless insecurities. Like floating in a warm pool of honey, she let it stick and trap her in the hall of gods for the time being, "Um," She gulped, raising her head with the grain that reminded her so much of a whip, her wings parting to let her eyes make contact with the other two. Triticea spoke, but she glanced between the two unsure who's eyes to meet for the time being.

"Erm, um... R-right... I'll t-try to be as h-helpful as I c-can to you b-both. To m-meet Mother G-Gaia's wishes." She gave a nervous nod, keeping her head askew glanced to the ground, still she felt motivated to help the two! They wanted something useful out of her, she had to give it!

** **
"Um, C-Calena, or s-sister, um, erm... Wh-what if- wh-what about like, um..." Crucia trailed off, awkwardly picking at her bandages again, "S-Sorry, I'm n-not privy to a-any innovative ideas. M-Maybe a sp-spicy idea o-or something that p-puts organic l-life through a b-bunch of hardships and u-um... They ch-change?"
Josephine
Calena smiled at Triticea's loose acceptance of creating something together. Already she could sense that her sister was focused on more than just harvest or growth. Triticea embodied the struggle and hardship that came with it as well, the necessary life and death, the growth and decay. And Calena respected that about her, for she herself understood the careful balance of chaos and structure found in nature. 

Calena turned to face Crucia as she spoke, her brows furrowed at the suggestion of natural hardships. "I'm unsure if I could make that happen, as my domain is more... Solid?" She turned to Triticea. "Are there any other siblings of yours- of *Ours*, who could help with Crucia's idea?"