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Patty once stood on the Spire, staring into the ethereal light of the Rift with many distressed gods and mortals around her, not knowing if the world was about to end or be saved.
Now, 33 years later, she stands at the exact same spot. This time, for a much different reason.
Patty looks around at all of her friends that stand behind her. Some old, some new, but they’re all here out of love and support for her. It was almost overwhelming, to be seen as so important to so many people. She wasn’t always so sure that she deserved this level of attention.
She scanned the crowd for one face in particular. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen, but Patty had hope. She knew they wouldn’t miss this for the world.
“Hey,” Patty hears to her side, and she looks up at Hector. He smiles down at her, his tail curling around her as a reassuring gesture. “It’s scary, but yew’ll be alright. Yew don’t feel a thing, I praw-miss.”
Her gaze turns down to the floor as she tugs at the fabric of her dress. However she quickly stops, not wanting to mess up Vibiano’s work. She laces her fingers together instead.
“Dat ain’t what I’m worried about,” Patty sighs. “I don’t… I don’t know what ta’ do. What if I’m nawt good enough for everyone? What if I mess somethin’ up, or…” she trails off. It’s not like she can talk herself out of it by this point.
“Yew’ve been doin’ awesome so far! As long as yew keep bein’ yewrself, I’m sure da Grove will be in gewd hands.”
Patty sniffles. She wipes the tears from her eyes before pulling the former god into a tight hug. “Thh… ThhHank yew ‘EktaaAAa…” she sobs into his sweater. Hector chuckles weakly, giving her a soft pat on the head. “C’mon, now… Yew can do dis! We’ll awll be riiight here waitin’ for ya!!”
“YEAAH, GO PATTY!!” someone enthusiastically yells behind her, followed by more cheers.
Patty’s tail begins to wag at the sound of everyone’s encouragement. She takes a deep breath, lets go of Hector, and turns to face the Rift once more.
Miss Mitternacht pulls Herself out of the light and into view. She focuses on Patty, who stands much more confidently now.
“Are you ready?” She asks. The mortal nods. “Yup!!”
“Patty,” the god began, holding Her hand to Her heart, “Do you take all people under your wing? Will you forgive always, and encourage forgiveness always? Will you speak with care and kindness, and lead the gods and humans by example? Do you pledge to serve the Grove as the god of self-acceptance?”
Patty mimics Mitternacht’s hand placement. Her heart is beating so fast she feels like she could faint, but she is sure of her answer, and replies with a voice as steady as ever.
“I do.”
“Then, it would be my pleasure to have you join us.”
This is it.
Patty steps up to the edge of the Spire, towards Missy’s outstretched hands. She’s tempted to take one last look behind her, but she knows everything will be right where she left it when she comes back.
And so she takes that final step, and her vision begins to fade as she is lifted up higher and higher into the glowing tear in the sky. She can feel herself starting to relax, letting herself be carried away.
☆*:・ﾟ
When Patty opens her eyes, she is met with nothing but excruciatingly bright light. That certainly didn’t help with the pain that had already formed in the back of her head.
She wants to close her eyes again, but a blurry figure appears in front of her, catching her attention. She blinks a few times, trying to squint against the harsh lighting, and a familiar face gets a little clearer.
“There we go…” Miss Mitternacht coos. She really did have the most calming of voices.
The oldest god’s skeletal hands come up to very gently cradle Patty’s face. She swipes Her thumb against Patty’s cheek, looking her over with a touch of concern in Her eyes.
“Are you feeling well, sweetness? Is everything fine?”
“MmmhHm…” Patty mumbles, “my head hurts a lil’, though. And I feel… sore, kinda. Everywhere…”
“Ahh, no worries. That’s normal,” Missy says. She takes a step back, holding out Her hand for Patty to take. “Come with me, okay?”
Patty starts to follow Mitternacht, her gaze held onto Her face the entire time. In the distance, she can see the Rift from the other side, where she’s being led.
Only then, as she glances down, does Patty notice her own hand.
Her hand appears to be some kind of oval shaped stone, with four fingers all similarly being rounded rocks. Her hand is not attached to an arm, and neither are the fingers attached to her hand, rather floating in place. Instead of an arm, she has a long sleeve of some sort, composed of grass and covered in flowers.
“Whuh… Wait…“
Miss Mitternacht stops walking. “Is something the matter?”
“Can I… um… see myself foist? Before we go back?” Patty quietly requests.
“Of course, pumpkin,” Missy nods. She releases Patty’s hand, and before she can realize it, She has summoned a mirror for her.
Patty lets out a small gasp upon fully seeing herself.
The top half of her body is entirely made up of smooth, light gray stone. Swirly, spiral-ish shapes sit on either side of her head, like a replacement for hair. Although newly formed, the rocky surfaces still show signs of age, with patches of moss growing in some places and shallow cracks in other areas of her form. Below her neck is a blue and pink bowtie shaped like a butterfly, and atop her head is a flower crown of the same colors. The flower crown that Godpoke had given her years ago, that she hadn’t taken off since. And now, it would forever be a part of her. She really does love that thought.
Below her torso looks to be more grass and flowers, though it seems as if it was a patch of the ground that had been pulled up.
Patty brings a paw up to her face, running her fingers along the somewhat grainy texture of her “skin”. Her features had changed quite a bit, that’s for sure. No longer did she have the same wrinkles, or smile lines, or spots of gray hair. The evidence of sixty years of a life well lived had mostly washed away, or at least stagnated. There was something sad about it, in a way—she’d grown to love and appreciate those features of hers. Growing old would’ve been nice, she thought.
Yet despite that, despite how different she looks, Patty still recognizes herself. She sees the same glimmer in her eyes that she’s always had, and the same way her tongue sticks out when she smiles, and she knows this is her. It’s a form that will take time to get used to, yes, but she’s happy to have been given a form that she still feels like herself in. She will forever be the same Patty she’s always been.
☆*:・ﾟ
As the minutes pass, all of Patty’s friends, gods and humans alike, wait patiently for the arrival of the pantheon's newest god.
Until finally, Miss Mitternacht’s hands grab onto one edge of the Rift, and two new hands grab onto another.
Patty pokes Her head out of the Rift’s glow, a huge grin on Her face.
“HIYA EVERYOOONEEEE!” She beams down at the people below, all of which look much smaller to Her now. There’s an uproar of excitement and applause, and Patty gleefully giggles to Herself.
Just then, someone scurries to the front of the Spire. They jump and wave to try and get Patty’s attention.
Patty’s eyes widen. “COOL HAT! I KNEW YEW’D MAKE IT!!“
She immediately reaches down for the little mailcarrier, scooping them up into Her paws. Godpoke looks absolutely enamored. They sit up straight, the end of their tail tapping excitedly against Patty’s palm.
She lifts their hat up off their head and lightly ruffles their silky black fur, before pressing a loving kiss to their forehead.
Godpoke raises their hands, signing ’I’m sorry I’m late’.
Patty shakes Her head. “It’s awlright! I’m jus’ glad yer here,“ She replies, carefully setting their hat back on their head. “I love yew sooo much!“
’I love you too,’ Godpoke signs, pulling their bandana down and leaning forward to smooch the god’s cheek, which earns a soft purr from Her.
Patty is pulled from Her little distraction as She feels Mitternacht’s hand rest on Her shoulder.
“Dearest Patty, please remember the Rift still needs closing,“ Missy reminds Her, a hint of amusement in Her voice.
“Oh! Right, sawry!!“
With one last kiss to their face, Patty sets Godpoke down on the Spire. She holds onto the same side of the Rift that She had previously.
“BYE BYE! I HOPE TO SEE YEW AWLL AGAIN SOON~!“ She calls out.
Soon enough, the hole in the sky is once again shut, and the gods too have left.
While the others have already headed out, Godpoke remains on the Spire. They sit down near the edge, looking out into the darkening sky.
They feel something resting in their palm, and open their hand. Inside lies one daisy. They hadn’t brought it with them, but they know where it must’ve come from anyway. They tuck it into their fur, just below their hat.
Patty was going to do great. They were sure of it.