Aka Amy

After the two of us teleported ourselves back to Raven's place I asked her, "So who's next?"

"That was the last one," she replied. "There's probably more out there, but those are all the names I got from Abby Hayes."

"Oh, ok. Well I suppose three new people in one day isn't bad," I said with a shrug. "And maybe they'll spread the word too, if they've got friends or if they know people who could use some divine help?"

My angel agreed, "Word of mouth is likely to be more successful in the long run, than you and I showing up on people's doorsteps. I have a feeling you're the only Goddess who'd even consider going door to door like that."

I couldn't help laughing, "Maybe being a door-to-door sales-goddess is my true calling? I can walk from house to house, offering bargain miracles at a discounted rate."

Raven rolled her eyes but didn't bother to respond to my tease. Instead she asked, "Is there anything else you require my services for this afternoon?"

"I guess not?" I frowned. After checking the time I added, "It's not even four yet. Tess is busy studying, and I don't have anything else planned until tonight when we're meeting Krissy and Leah in the game."

I added a moment later, "What about you? Do you have things to do, you need me to leave so you can get on with them?"

She shook her head, "Not at all my Goddess. I exist to serve you, remember?"

After a long pause she added, "There is something we could do, although I'm not sure it's a wise decision?"

"What's that?" I asked.

Raven sighed, "After we met with Abby and Rachel last week, you expressed an interest in meeting May Hawthorne. I made some enquiries, checked in with some other angels I know, and I learned her whereabouts. After she left her high-school teaching position here in Ontario she returned to the UK. If you really wanted to visit her, I can take you to her."

That put an excited smile on my face, but I held back my enthusiasm for a few moments as I thought about any practical or safety issues. "They're five hours ahead, so it's about five minutes to nine there. That's not too late for a visit, right? I know you're going to advise against it but I'd really like to drop in and meet her. Apart from the obvious, do you have any input or suggestions first?"

"The same advice I gave you when you met Kai still applies now," my angel replied, after stifling another sigh. "Don't let her know about your inexperience, be the Goddess, not Amy Price. And I suppose if the encounter becomes dangerous, I suggest you escape rather than stay and challenge her."

I nodded, "Understood. All right, let's go meet another goddess."

Raven gave me a sort of resigned look, then teleported herself to the UK. I was able to keep track of her, and a moment later I appeared by her side then looked around. We were standing on a quiet country lane somewhere. It was dark out, the sky overcast, but I could tell there were plenty of trees around. In fact I was pretty sure they were all fruit trees, from the look of it there were orchards to either side of the road.

"So where are we exactly?" I asked. "And where are we going?"

My angel gestured to her left as she replied, "We're just outside small village in the east end of Kent, in the south-east corner of England. According to my information May Hawthorne has taken up residence in a small cottage in this direction. The village itself is about half a kilometre behind us."

We rounded a corner in the lane and found the cottage there, about two dozen meters back from the road. There was a compact hybrid in the driveway, and although the curtains were drawn I could see there were some lights on inside the structure. And even though it wasn't cold out I could smell the distinct scent of burning wood, and I was positive there was smoke rising up from the chimney.

As we approached Raven added quietly, "If possible, I'd request you not mention my friend or her family? We know there's some history between them and this goddess, and I'd rather not bring them any trouble should this encounter end poorly."

"Of course," I nodded. "We got May's name from Abby, we don't know anything else."

By that point we were at the door. There was an antique-looking iron knocker on the front of what appeared to be an old but sturdy solid wood door. I reached out and rapped the knocker twice, then stepped back and waited alongside my angel.

A few moments later I felt that same sort of tingly energy sensation I got when we met with Kai. I figured it had to be something gods got when they met each other, and odds were May felt it from me the same way I got it from her. A few seconds after that I heard some movement just inside the door, then the sound of a lock turning.

Finally the door swung open and there she was. She looked like Abby described, a woman in her mid-twenties, average height, with shoulder-length frizzy black hair. She had fair skin, her eyes were bright green, and she was sort of conventionally attractive. She was dressed for a quiet night in, with a large wool sweater overtop of some grey track pants and fuzzy slippers.

Her sharp eyes tracked up and down over me, then she glanced at Raven. Her eyes quickly returned to me though, she clearly knew which of us was the goddess. She asked warily, "Who are you? What brings you to my door?"

I greeted her with a friendly smile, "I take it you're May Hawthorne? My name is Amethyst. Sorry to drop in on you unannounced, but I came across your name recently, and I was hoping to meet with you? It's regarding some people who received enchanted plush toys last year."

May frowned, "What's your interest in them? The toys, or the people who received them?"

"I've been helping some of those people with their ID and other records," I replied. "It seems like whoever gave them their miracle transitions didn't do anything else for them, and that's left quite a few of them in a sort of bureaucratic limbo."

She seemed to get a little more wary of me as she asked, "Why? Why are you helping them, what's your connection?"

I watched her carefully as I responded in a level voice, "Most of the people who used those toys are trans. That's my connection, I'm trans myself and I've made it my goal to support LGBTQ people. And I've decided to help demi-humans as well, because as I said most of the ones I've encountered so far are trans, and all of them are marginalized."

May didn't reveal too much in her expression, I didn't see anything to indicate she was going to have a problem with the fact that I was trans or that I wanted to help trans people. She was watching me as well, and after a second or two she asked "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Last week I spoke with a bunnygirl truck driver," I explained, "She mentioned your name? She said you paid her a visit last year, not long after she got her miracle. She seemed to think you were connected to the plush toys in some way, but she wasn't clear how exactly."

After a brief pause I added, "That's why I wanted to speak with you. I'm curious to know how you're connected to those plush toys, and I'd love to know more about them, like where they came from or who created them."

The other goddess continued to stare at me for a few more seconds before finally asking, "So you spoke with the demi-human truck driver in person? Did you tell her you're a goddess? Did you conjure up new ID for her?"

"Yes," I nodded. "For herself and a friend that was there with her at the time."

May looked almost incredulous as she asked slowly, "You turned up on her doorstep and told her you're a goddess, performed a miracle, then talked to her about the enchanted plush toys? Don't you care about maintaining your cover? Aren't you worried about upsetting the status quo?"

I frowned, "Helping a handful of marginalized people isn't going to bring an end to society as we know it. Most normal folks would rather look the other way and pretend these people don't exist. If anything I'm cleaning up after whoever distributed those toys in the first place. As grateful as those folks are about getting their miracle transition and some fun new animal features, they've been all but abandoned otherwise."

She stared at me for a few more seconds before finally sighing, "Fine. Come in, we can talk inside."

Raven and I stepped in as she moved aside. She closed the door behind us, then led us into a cosy little living-room on the right. There was a warm fire burning in an old fireplace, with a sofa and a couple big comfy chairs positioned so they were all facing the fire.

May moved to one of the chairs and sat down there, while Raven and I settled onto the sofa. Once we were all comfortable our host regarded me and Raven for a few more seconds before offering, "I'll tell you what I can about those enchanted toys, but after that I'd like to ask you a few questions. All right?"

"Of course," I agreed.

After that May relaxed back into her chair and started talking. Most of what she had to say matched what Raven's friend Tanya already told us the week before, but with some additional insight and detail that the fallen angel either didn't have or didn't think was worth mentioning.

She confirmed that the toys looked like the work of that chaos goddess Socha, but she knew it couldn't have been her since she was banished from the mortal realm for violating the status quo over a century earlier.

"Whoever made them has an intimate knowledge of Socha's style," she explained. "The enchantments were expertly crafted, and incorporate anti-scrying magic to ensure the source of the toys couldn't be traced or identified. Beyond that, the way they were introduced to the public and what they do is also very much reminiscent of her work. Innocuous toys available for a dollar or two, distributed at random by vending machines? It seems innocent enough, until one accidentally triggers the magic within and finds themself permanently transformed with no hope of undoing the curse."

I frowned, "Abby and Rachel didn't seem to think it was a curse. Apparently they have several friends or associates who are also very happy to have received their miracles."

May looked frustrated about that, but I decided not to push the issue. After all I wasn't there to provoke her, I wanted more information.

"Do you have any idea who made the toys?" I asked.

She shook her head, "My best guess is one or both of Socha's long-time associates. She consorted with a male fae and a female demon. I don't know what became of either of them after Socha was banished, but if I had to guess I'd say the demon was involved with the creation of the toys."

"Shortly before the toys came to my attention some demons were sighted in the area," she elaborated. "I didn't find out about them until after the fact. I suspect they may have been working with the one Socha associated with."

That was all she had to say on the subject, unfortunately. All in all it was maybe a little disappointing in that I didn't really learn much, but on the other hand at least she confirmed the information we got from Tanya.

With that subject exhausted my host added, "Now I'd like to ask you some questions. First, what are your intentions for those people you've helped? Do you mean to take worship from them?"

I did a 'maybe-maybe-not' gesture with my hand as I replied, "I don't know about worship, but I am hoping to gain some faith from them. I certainly won't turn any away if they want to light a few candles or perform some rites in my name, but all I've asked of those I've met or spoken with is that they hold my name in their heart now and then."

The ravenette goddess looked thoughtful as she took that in. After a second or two she asked, "Next question, you said you've 'made it your goal' to support queer people, which suggests that wasn't your goal in the past. Who or what were you previously?"

"I've always been Amethyst," I replied calmly, "But originally I watched over a small farming community, perhaps not unlike your local area here? As I'm sure you know, a lot of smaller agricultural and local deities like myself have been on the decline. I made the decision to 'rebrand' myself. LGBTQ people need help, and I want to help them."

May frowned slightly. She almost seemed confused as she asked, "How can you just change what you are?"

I had to stop and think about that for a few seconds, because it didn't seem that difficult to me.

"Actually making the change was easy," I finally replied. "The hard part was recognizing that change was necessary, and understanding that it was possible."

I added, "Maybe that's something we can learn from the mortals? They change jobs or careers all the time. They go back to school and update their education. When the old things stop working they try and find something new. Or most of them do, some can be pretty stubborn about accepting change."

She continued frowning quietly for the next few seconds as she seemed to be thinking that through.

I eventually asked, "If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious what your purview is? Are you another agrarian or local village goddess like I was?"

"No," May shook her head. "I was worshipped by wise women and village healers throughout Wessex and parts of Mercia as a goddess of magic and witchcraft. Belief in me was all but stamped out by the mainstream religions and various anti-witchcraft laws. Now thanks to the status quo it's almost impossible to find anyone willing to believe in real magic."

She sighed as she admitted, "I've found over the years that younger people are more likely to believe in me than adults. As humans age they tend to grow jaded and cynical, whereas the young are idealistic and open-minded. I've been reduced to seeking worship from teenagers. They're old enough to understand higher concepts and some rational thinking, while still being open-minded and idealistic enough to accept that there is real magic in the world."

"Couldn't you demonstrate real magic to people?" I asked. "I've helped a handful of trans people with miracle transitions, and they don't seem to have any trouble believing it when it happens to them. Even just seeing me teleport into their apartment is pretty convincing, for that matter."

May gave me another incredulous look, "What of the status quo? You're risking banishment if you call too much attention to yourself."

I frowned and glanced at Raven, but my angel seemed to want to keep out of the discussion. So I looked back at May and responded, "I'm not doing any of this on camera. I'm not advertising online, and I'm not performing miracles in public, on busy street corners. Privately helping a few people now and then isn't even a blip on the radar."

"I'm not discounting that major violations to the status quo can be dangerous," I added, "But I don't think it's some kind of boogeyman waiting to pounce the moment we step out of line."

Our host looked thoughtful again. She finally nodded, "Thank you Amethyst. I think that's all the questions I have for you. If you've nothing else for me, I'd like to return to what I was doing earlier."

"Of course," I stood up, so did my angel. "Thank you for your time May. It was nice talking with you."

She walked us both to the door, then after a slight hesitation she suggested "Perhaps we can do it again some time?"

I smiled, "I'd like that."