Tartaruchi are the infamous black robed wardens of Tartarus.
They are the race of wardens who punish and tornt the forgotten enemies of creation for as long as their immortal lives allow it.
They are made from the sa set of divine materials as the strigori. The two are sohow drawn to each other when placed in unconfined spaces.
Tartaruchi can’t usually stay outside of a realm without nether for long, so Zheng was planning on dispatching them in short bursts.
On a whiteboard, he gave them all a list of potential places to start scouting and rules of engagent before he prepared to cut them loose.
"Any questions?"
The army of ghostly figures stared at Zheng with the kind of non-reactive gaze that had him questioning whether or not they had even heard what he said.
He stared at them. They stared back at him.
Birds flew overhead completely oblivious to the awkwardness unfolding beneath them.
"...Get to it then?"
The Tartaruchi finally moved from their stagnant position and drifted up into the sky.
"I think that went well!"
Zahara’s cheerful presence was as bright as the sun itself.
"I... guess so."
Zheng turned back to his in-laws and gave them a polite bow.
"Thank you for your help."
"What do we do now??"
"It’ll take a bit of ti before they can bring us anything useful or they need to be changed out. It’ll be maybe a day or two until they find sothing interesting? You can stand by until then."
When Zheng left, Zahara’s jovial attitude sowhat deflated.
"...Did he just tell us to make ourselves busy?"
"I’m afraid so, my love."
"But that sucks..! I wanted to keep doing investigative stuff like the detectives on television!"
Abaddon and Ayaana rubbed their eyes in unison.
"...How long have you been wearing that?"
"Wearing what?" Zahara blinked innocently in her Sherlock Hols cosplay.
"...Nothing, babe."
Zahara huffed as she reached inside her pocket and pulled out a smoking pipe.
"I find our current conundrum to be most peculiar, my loves. Why are the strigori abducting gods of all things? Could it be so kind of revenge play in their minds?" Zahara murmured to no one in particular.
At so point, Ayaana and Abaddon beca content to simply let their lover enjoy her fantasies without much of a fuss.
While Zahara paced about the back yard, Abaddon sat on the edge of a stone fountain and pulled Ayaana into his lap; flustering her.
"O-Oh my..."
Her reaction gave him pause. "We’ve been married a bit too long for you to beco shy over sothing like this, haven’t we?"
"I-It’s just the suddenness of it all that got . That’s all." Ayaana lied.
She avoided her husband’s gaze like it was sothing toxic. The guilt of the secret she was holding onto was making her feel nauseated.
"...You seem stressed."
"We’re in a bit of a stressful situation, you know..? I’m sure I just need so ti to clear my head a bit."
Abaddon nodded thoughtfully.
He gently took Ayaana’s hand and brought it up to his cheek.
"Since we have so ti to kill, why don’t we visit that little cafe you like? The one in Vienna."
"Oh, that..."
"We could stay out for the night if you like. Just the three of us."
Ayaana almost couldn’t resist that. It had been far too long since they had a chance to go out and really enjoy the dating aspect of being married. She had a desire to be romanced.
But she also had a panging feeling in her chest that said she did not deserve it.
When she was about to refuse him, he kissed her spontaneously and took away the option.
Ayaana lted at the suddenness of the act. Her body felt unreasonably warm and light.
She pulled away suddenly, surprising her husband for the second ti in just as many monts.
"Am I good to you..?"
Abaddon didn’t like to be an alarmist, but that single question may as well have been a bomb threat.
"Why would you ask sothing like that..?"
Ayaana shrugged halfheartedly. "Just... curious, I guess."
"Sohow I doubt that."
"Just... answer the question." Ayaana pleaded.
Abaddon showed his wife a warm, big-hearted smile.
"I have a hard ti believing that you need to... You are a better woman than I deserve. I trust you with my life and I will never leave your side for as long as I live."
Ayaana beca slightly misty-eyed.
"...Honey, I-"
"RAAHH!"
Suddenly, Abaddon and Ayaana were tackled and went crashing back into the fountain.
With a splash, they sank into the water with the hands of a rampaging Zahara around their necks.
"If I turn my head one more ti and you two butt faces are off doing sothing cute and leaving out, I’m going to cut your fucking heads off and fasten them to my keychain! I’m not-"
Zahara slowly realized the condition of her lovers’ bodies.
She gulped slightly as she kept her eyes on their now see-through clothes.
"You’re, umm... you’re gonna make this up to . I want to stay out tonight."
Abaddon and Ayaana looked at each other and shrugged.
"..Okay."
"However we can say we’re sorry."
Zahara let out a happy squeal as she pulled them up.
While wringing his shirt dry, Abaddon suddenly heard the front gate open all the way from the back yard.
"Wait... What’s today’s date?"
-
*Ding-Dong!*
Thea was just walking past the living room door when the doorbell rang. At first, it caught her by surprise.
"I can’t wait to tell everyone the story about the dragon who flinched over a doorbell." Thrudd shook her head.
"Shut up! I wasn’t expecting it, everyone we know just shows up in our living room."
"I think that makes it a little more embarrassing, not less."
"I think you should do sothing about that muscle milk mustache."
Thrudd gasped as she turned around to wipe her face rather furiously.
Thea finally went to the front door and opened it with a halfhearted surprise.
Standing on her doorstep was a small fleet of teenagers and their parents.
They looked as surprised to see Thea as she looked to see them.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, umm.." one of the mothers swallowed as she was overco by new emotions and impulses. "Is this Coach Carter’s residence?"
Thrudd poked her head out the doorfra. "Samuel L Jackson? No, why would you think this his-"
"Idiot." Thea elbowed her sister. "She ans dad."
"Well, how do you know she ans dad and not... Ohhhh..." Realization finally dawned on Thrudd.
Thea was starting to suspect that she had taken all of the brains with her when she left her mother’s womb.
"Well, yes, this is his house." Thea smiled politely at the group. "Are you looking for him?"
"Is that my delivery?!" A male voice said.
Asmodeus poked his head outside just above Thrudd’s.
Needless to say, he was very disappointed to see an army of humans outside instead of an order of pad Thai like he was expecting.
"No food out here, Grandpa... and why did you bother ordering anything when every kitchen has a fridge full of food?"
"Thruddie, darling, you’ll understand when you get married, I’m just an employee who does what I am told around here."
Thrudd actually thought that made perfect sense.
"Coach said we could have our end-of-regular-season fish fry here." A portly player said. "Is he around..?"
Asmodeus, Thrudd, and Thea were all unsure of what they should say.
The door suddenly widened and a still-wet Abaddon opened the door with a nervous smile.
"H-Hey, everyone! Sorry about that, my family is just getting settled in so I’m afraid I haven’t had a chance to catch them up on everything yet."
Abaddon wrapped his arms around his family; uncaring for the fact that he was getting their clothes wet.
"This is my dad, and my two daughters Thea and Thrudd."
"""H-Hello..""" The three of them waved.
The portly player, a boy nicknad B-Dubb, paid very close, srizing attention to Thea and her white crop top.
"...I love you, coach."
"Brandon, please don’t make push you in the lake in front of all these nice people."
One by one, the boys began trickling into the foyer. Their eyes were aptly shocked.
"Damn, coach... this place is big as a bitch!"
"Ej, watch your mouth..!" A woman hissed and pinched her son’s ear hard.
"Everyone is going to freak when they get here! It’s like a crib off MTV!"
Abaddon laughed halfheartedly. "This ain’t no house party, gentlen. Just gonna do a spot of fishing, eat so good food, and engage in a bit of good old-fashioned team building. End of the night, we’ll hit the dia room and take a look at the film for our first opponent in the conference championship."
"I-Is the dia room like a ho theater??" One of the kids asked.
"You’re a sharp one, huh, Corey?"
The young man turned to his parents with a serious look. "I’m not coming ho. Send all my mail here from now on."
A few of the fathers perked up when they heard a particular word cross Abaddon’s lips.
"F-Fishing..?" One man unconsciously rubbed his hands. "I-In that lake out there?"
"Yes sir, Mr. McGee. Got so bass, so catfish, and a couple species of trout last I checked. Should give dinner quite the spread."
The fathers looked like they were beginning to salivate, though not at the idea of eating. Their eyes developed a hopeful, expectant light that Abaddon didn’t have the heart to crush.
"...If you’ve got the ti, you’re more than welco to stick around and-"
"WE’D LOVE TO!"
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