God of Skeptics [Yaksha/Cybele]

The sands were quiet this morning. There was only a moon in this world, but somehow over the centuries Cybele had managed to adjust and be able to tell generally what time it was, she was pretty sure. She was fairly confident if she went to the world of the living at this moment, it would be morning, the sun slowly rising over the mountains on the distant horizon, cold air brushing against her silver skin. But here, there was only waves of sand and the pitch black sky above. It was rather dull, and only reminded her of the nature of this bleak world. She had a lot of work to do, though that had never been a mystery to her. Even getting as far as she had before Aizen had thrown her plans into disarray had been almost as surprising to her as it was pleasing. But if she could get there once, she could do it again, and then reach further, and maybe the impossible was not so impossible.

She was moving quickly through the sands, the Twins trailing along to her sides but half a mile behind, watching for any undesired pursuers. There were none. They were making their way back to the castle after a rather unusual hunt, but successful in the long run, the Queen thought. Moving quickly through the sands, she was almost tempted to let Yajuu loose on the desert for some time, if only to appease her and ease the pounding headaches she would surely give her soon enough, but it was too soon yet. She had to reestablish herself more before allowing that to be freed upon the world.

She sniffed, catching an unexpected scent in the wind. Not an unusual scent, as most Hollow of this world tended to have a general scent about them that was rather recognizable, but she’d expected and almost hoped that the return trip would be more quiet than the rest of her day had been. But, curiosity could not allow the monarch to pass by a lone subject of hers without at least a greeting. She flared her Reiatsu momentarily, signaling a change in course to the Twins, and then turned, moving straight towards the Hollow. The Twins would continue to follow until they got closer, then stay out of sight and senses until the encounter came to a close.

Cybele closed the distance with the wandering Hollow, a slim, grotesque thing, seemingly almost reptilian. But the residents of this world, her world, came in many shapes and sizes, that didn’t necessarily dictate their nature, though a great many, unfortunately, were the more unsavory type. She learned long ago, however, to hold off judgment. If she didn’t, she was no better than the Shinigami and their hierarchy of institutionalized superiority.

She would not fall to their level. She would rise above that kind of arrogance.

“Greetings, child of the sands,” she said softly, her posture and demeanor avoiding any hostility. “It is rare for one to wander the sands alone, even in a cold, ruthless world as this. Do you require assistance?”