The second we get home Faith collapses onto the bed. I give her a raised eyebrow, I love how she feels at home, since well, it is now her home too, but for some reason I’m annoyed at the lack of elegance. I revert to my vampire form, as I feel it more comfortable, and lay down besides Faith while slowly stroking her back.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just tired, you have no idea how it feels to be hit with the full force of divinity.”

Full force? Oh she has no idea. The thought of how severely she underestimates Athena’s divinity causes me to chuckle. I guess most mortals won’t really happen upon a situation where they can feel divinity, so I guess it might be hard for them. I don’t know why, but god essence just feels right. Everytime me and Athena connect, it’s like a thirst is being quenched, and a tiny piece of a puzzle is being put in it’s correct place.

“Sorry, I wasn’t aware of the effect it had on you.”

Faith turns around, looks into my eyes before giving me a quick kiss.

“I’m more surprised the president or that weird girl didn’t faint, I could feel you directed the brunt force of it towards them.”

Remembering that scene makes me let out another chuckle again, it felt good to put the ants in their place.

“That is what happens when a mortal questions my authority.”

Faith gives me a look that I can’t really comprehend, I don’t think I said anything weird?

“I’m more surprised that entire meeting happened without bloodshed, I’ve never seen you so patient, so full of restraint for stupid and annoying people.”

“I mean, it would be a hassle to remove the president, as he isn’t hostile towards me, or what I want. In fact I think it went quite nicely, bringing a goddess along to a NATO meeting to introduce them to the future of this world. It will give me a lot of info about the different standings, as currently I don’t have a network to gather information, that is after all one of the reasons I want HDA to expand quickly.”

Faith looks like she’s contemplating something for a while, before taking on a goofy grin.

“I’m more surprised you haven’t just, you know, created your own nation. Empress of Blood seems like a pretty good title for a vampire ruler, you know?”

Now that she mentions it, that actually could be a good idea. Maybe not revealing myself as a vampire just yet, but having my own nation. I can convince Ingrid to move the HDA base over there, as it would make her life easier. It would also be easier to create information networks and train an army of changed to combat and assist minor rogue gods and the HDA. Hmm.

“Uhm, Nia. I was joking. Please don’t overthrow a country.”

Huh? Oh she looks worried. I give her a deep, slow kiss as I stroke her chin.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on overthrowing any regimes, at least not yet.”

Faith looks at me and shakes her head, I can only assume she’s thinking something along the lines of “Oh no, I’ve created a monster.” Letting out yet another chuckle, I snuggle up to her.

The next few weeks have been quite busy, with me roaming around the country helping implement HDA officers and set up protocols, policies and connecting the states to the HDA. Setting up training schedules for the law enforcements, making sure the senators, governors, mayors, and other politicians keeps to the agreement between me and the president. He actually conceded a lot, I was expecting him to try to gain the advantage in our deal, but he actually gave up quite a bit. Giving me access to most of the satellites they’re using for information gathering, putting me in touch with a few generals for a few things I wanted, and generally giving me a lot of access to confidential information and other boons. Everything in exchange for simply being a nuclear deterrent, helping the country for a 5 year period until it’s stabilized, as well as helping train different departments and keep him updated on the Godly Battlefield situation.

Finally being done flying across the country, I really need to create a teleporter, I’ll have to drag Ingrid into that. Anyways most of the things are set up, now we just have to wait and see if people follow the policies. Considering it’s a presidential order, I really don’t think a lot of people will openly refuse, but acclimating to working with changed, and generally the direction we’re going, which obviously is bolstering defenses and preparing for war, I don’t know how people will react. They can either come together with a common goal, or implode. Either way, not my problem, as I’m keeping up my end of the deal.

Finally being back in New York, I sit down in my own office. Apparently the floor that Ingrid has her office is expanded on the inside with spatial magic, another thing I need to figure out. Anyways in addition to Ingrid’s office, Faith also has her own cozy fox-hut, she almost impaled me through the heart when I made that joke. She's been getting more violent with her reactions after figuring out her girlfriend is immortal. In addition I have my own, well, office? It’s a mix between a high tech battle station, the laboratory of a mad scientist, a royal’s tea room, and a CEO’s office. 

I really don’t know what came over me when I designed this room, it all sort of fits together chaotically, but it’s a patchwork of different themes, even though I have everything I need. Both Ingrid and Faith obviously wanted to comment on it, but Faith knows my revenge-teasing vampiric form wouldn’t let her go, and Ingrid didn’t say anything when Faith didn’t.

I haven’t really spoken to Ingrid since the hearing, I think she’s still semi-mad at me for killing an elected public official, but I mean, did she want me to let a mortal insect insult me in such a way and get away with it? Either way she’s been swamped with applications for new HDA employees, and approving all the different changes I want to introduce. Some of them are being rejected as she doesn’t feel like it fits into the entire Heroes Defence thing. I really don’t understand why she didn’t approve a specialized assassin team, but whatever, I managed to convince her on downgrading to information specialists and infiltrators. I just told her information is key, as she knows, and if I personally train them we have a team ready to go undercover in different locations, which means we can gather evidence of illegal activity and have them detained. She finally relented when I put it into perspective.

Faith has been put to task hiring consultants and instructors, and a lot of other people for the inevitable influx of new hires we’re going to have over the next month. We’re preparing to go international, and I know the second we do, a few countries are going to require our help in regaining control over their government. Some countries have done well, others are on the brink of anarchy. I have until that time to figure out a way to create a global scale information network. I don’t think I can do this with people, as such a large scale team would require extensive background research to weed out traitors and spies, as well as it simply being too large to be covert. Honestly I want puppets or something along those lines, but I have yet to find anyone with that ability. 

I’m about to pack up for the day when a familiar scent seeps into the room. I turn around and smile at my foxy little girlfriend standing in the doorway.

“Hey Nia. I’m done for today, looks like you are too, wanna go home? Pick up some food on the way? I’m too tired to cook dinner tonight.”

We make our way out of the HDA building, and walk hand in hand through the streets as we make small talk. Eventually reaching a sushi place that Faith loves to order from. Do foxes have any particular liking for fish? Faith mentioned she had a theory she wanted to test out, considering the amount of sushi she ordered, I don’t think everything is for her, which makes me curious, I think I know what she wants to try out.

After another 30 minutes we arrived at our home. It still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to call it our home, it doesn’t feel as empty as it did when I came here. No friends, no nothing. I still don’t really have any friends, but why would I make friends with uninteresting people, they’re basically nothing more than insects.

“Nia, so you know how when eating sushi, you generally dip the pieces in soy sauce? Well, what if you tried mixing soy sauce and life force, maybe it would work?”

Figured as much. I haven’t really seen the need to eat, but I can tell that Faith would like to have dinner together, meaning eating food, that is not her. I can tell she enjoys being my “source of food”, but I can also tell she wants the emotional connection of sitting down and eating together, eating human food that is.

I try what she says and mix life force into the sauce, dipping a maki bite into the sauce, before bringing it to my mouth.

“Well?”

I shake my head at her. “Nothing, sorry. I can somewhat tell it’s soy sauce, but the rice is just a squishy texture, and the fish simply feels disgusting as it grates against my teeth and tongue.”

Faith looks dejected, but I don’t think she’s going to give up on her little experiment. Maybe I should try helping out, as I would like to be able to taste food again, I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of Faith’s blood, but it would be nice to at least have the option of tasting food. I look over at Faith and she’s noting something down on her phone. I’m assuming she has a list of ideas.

“How have things been here while I’ve been flying across the country?”

Faith puts away her phone, being done eating she jumps into my lap, giving me a look as I sigh and transform into goddess form. She apparently likes how tall I am when she’s sitting on me in this form. Wrapping a couple of tails around us as she leans into me and starts purring.

“It’s been mostly boring, the same. We’ve had an increase in applications, but nothing like we’ll have when we start going global next month. I’ve mostly been working on gathering people across the globe to prepare for that influx of people and officers. Scouting locations and writing contracts for buildings in major cities. I like what we’re doing, but considering what I know is going to happen in the future, I’m not sure what HDA is doing is enough. For once I feel like this country might be too small, too insignificant in the grand scheme of things.”

“Yeah I guess. I’ve been thinking that we really need to prepare, but it’s hard to prepare when we’re essentially blind. We know the avatars are out there, and I’m starting to have a few theories that our world might not be as disconnected as it first was, I think maybe a few of the rogue gods that moved the Earth in the first place might have resided on the planet, I can’t confirm anything yet, but it’s a possibility, considering how many avatars we’ve already met. I can imagine what they could have done over millennium.”

“Millenium huh. Nia there’s something that has been bothering me a bit.”

“Hmm?”

“I mean, you’re immortal, right?”

I know where this is going, but I guess I’ll follow her train of thought, it’s probably important to her, I think I already have a few solutions, but nothing I want to tell her before I’m sure, maybe. We’ll see how this conversation goes.

“Mhmm.”

“That means you’ll live forever, while one day I’ll die.”

“I guess that is true. What exactly are you getting at?”

“You mentioned something about turning people into blood slaves, would that mean you can turn me into a vampire?”

“Absolutely not. While yes, I am 99% certain I can. I do not know what happens to your mind. If the few records Athena has are anything to go be, you will be bound to me in a way that cannot be broken, I don’t want to make you into my slave.”

“I wouldn’t mind, you know? I don’t think it’d be any different than it is now, I am essentially a slave to your love.” She gives me a quick kiss, trying to placate me, it won’t work.

“No. I have already thought of this, and there are other things I want to try before doing anything that risky. Even if that is our last solution, I’m not going to do it to you first. I want to make sure it’s safe.”

“What other things? Are there even any other options?”

“Ethenia, I don’t think we should tell her yet. I trust her, but the fewer who knows the better, the second she knows, Sigyn and Khione would know too.”

I know. I let out a sigh and gently grab Faith’s cheek, turning her head so her eyes are locked on mine.

“I can’t tell you yet. There are too many uncertainties, and too many things that can go wrong, but I promise that the second I figure it out, I will let you know. If I am going to be alive, forever, I’d like to spend that eternity with you.”