Well, it did make her look good too, and as petty as that was, she wasn't beyond taking advantage of any little benefit that she could get.
Still, she wanted to do something to get things moving. Even as a demon, she had a job to do, and she didn't have any desire to get chewed out by her bosses. A human superior might be able to yell and humiliate her juniors, but the 'dark side' tended to see lack of effort as an opportunity to use all sorts of 'fun' things... like electric shocks and poundings. Considering how bad that could be, and with her desire to actually get somewhere with the task that she had been given, she couldn't sit around and do nothing.
That brought her back to the temple where the Norns were living, not that it was all that surprising. No excuses were particularly needed, since messing with them would technically fulfill her duties in working to enlarge her side's 'portion' in the mortal world. Of course, the truth was that she wanted to get at them, and this allowed her to do so. Life for them tended to get peaceful every so often, so she made it into her personal duty to shake it up whenever she got the chance. She didn't have a plan for that right now, but she was pretty sure that she could come up with one soon enough.
Besides, a little chaos was good on a day like this. Why, the weather was nice and comfortable, with the sun shining over the temple like some glowing jewel. The streets were clean and clear, with shops having their doors open to welcome customers. A light breeze stirred the air, as if it was joining in the relaxation as well. Over it all was a calm that kept even the birds from hurrying around the area.
And what was going on at the shrine was clearly happy enough for the entire town.
"Guess who just got back today
Them wild eyed boys, that'd been away
Haven't changed, that much to say
But man I still think them cats are crazy"
It was enough to make her nearly fall off her perch on the lamp post.
Peering with new intensity at the shrine, the demon saw that the normally serene grounds were now filled with people milling about. Hell, with the tables that were out, the music playing, and the perkiness of the visitors, it was downright like a festival was going on. Just what was going on wasn't clear, as she couldn't see any sort of sign of a purpose to the mess. In fact, it didn't seem that there was any plan in the whole thing at all.
Whipping out a date planner from her pocket, she frantically flipped through the pages as she tried to find out just what holiday it was supposed to be. But, no matter how much she tried, it didn't seem that there was a reason for it to be had. The thing was that Marller simply couldn't figure out what it was that would cause a temple to have a party like this otherwise.
Not that she was surprised to see some of the faces, as they were merely doing things that she hadn't expected to see when she came to 'visit'.
Why, there was that big muscled fool who was joining with the idiot in the leather jacket as the pair each looped a companionable arm around Keiichi.
There was Aoshima, who rather looked like he was going to fast find a table to pass drunk out under.
Several girls, including the Morisato girl, were laughing over some antic or another.
And even Peorth was showing up, carrying bags under her arms, and a smile on her face.
"What in hell is going on here?!" she yelled, grabbing at her hair for a grasp on something that she knew was real.
Despite her best attempts to figure it out, there just didn't seem to be a point to it all. At the very least, a party thrown by the Norns should have been a simple and intimate affair, including only their close friends. This sort of ruckus wasn't exactly what she would have expected, unless Urd had gotten a bit... overly excited with her potions. However, even then, someone who have stepped in as it was, and it was clear that the eldest Norn's demonic side hadn't gotten out of control either, since Lind was currently peering intently at the punch bowl, apparently wondering if she should have a cup.
All in all, it was like something out of a demon play book... which she realized could be the answer. That came to her as she considered the possibility that Urd had gone 'rogue' for the time being. However, just like how unlikely that was going to be, she couldn't come up with anyone on her side who she could pin down as having done it. Hild might have thought the hole thing to be amusing, but she at least would have wanted to drag Marller in as menial labor. On the other hand, Welsper could have managed to get something going, but he wasn't one to do things without a reason of his own. And she didn't even want to think of why Senbee would try something like this of his own choice.
It just made her head to think about it, but it wasn't like she could find something else to focus on. The overly happy atmosphere was more than a bit nauseating, but it was something out of the ordinary. A reason for it had to be there, but she didn't have enough information on it to figure it out. Getting data would be difficult at best though, considering the defenses at the shrine, what with the brat's robots, and the powers of Urd and Belldandy, never mind the presence of those mortal eyewitnesses.
Not for the first time, the blonde demoness found herself rather put out that her ninja minions had deserted her, given that she could have had them infiltrate the holy place for her.
Grumping to herself, Marller sat cross legged on top of the light post, and wondered just what it was that the shrine's residents had to celebrate, while:
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(Posted Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:55)
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