Steven was into the stars and all that shit, so he was full on for the eclipse. Had the glasses and everything. But when you were the avatar of the god of the moon and the night sky, you had to figure an eclipse got his attention too. Which was why to start it was Marc who went up on the roof of the Midnight Manor and looked around.

"Feeling proud of yourself?" Marc asked. He wasn't really expecting an answer.

IT'S GOOD WHEN THERE ARE REMINDERS OF MY POWER.

The breeze was all the warning Marc got before the nine foot tall god himself appeared.

Privately Marc wanted to point out that the eclipse was happening anyway, and was this even Khonshu's thing when it wasn't the moon of their universe. But Marc also honestly didn't know how all that worked. Maybe it was Khonshu causing it, even here.

Instead Marc went with, "Oh, so you can talk. Thought maybe you forgot."

IF YOU MISS ME, MARC SPECTOR, YOU HAVE ONLY TO ASK.

Yeah, well, there was that. Even so, "All this time and you've got nothing for me?"

Khonshu vanished from beside Marc and was now standing in front of him. YOU HAVE NEVER NEEDED MY PERMISSION TO COMMIT VIOLENCE BEFORE. WHY ARE YOU WAITING NOW?

Marc really didn't want to examine that one too closely. "I'm just saying it's hard to believe all this time and not one single person back home didn't get a fucking pocketbook stolen at 3am."

The winds kicked up. Marc wondered if he'd actually managed to piss off Khonshu. Which he didn't want to do for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was he wouldn't put it past the god to cancel the eclipse on Steven just to prove a point.

But then the winds died down. Khonshu now stood at the edge of the roof, looking out over the water. If Marc didn't know better, he would swear Khonshu's shoulders were slumped.

I HEAR THE CALLS OF THOSE UNDER MY PROTECTION. BUT THERE ARE FAR GREATER DANGERS TO MY CHILDREN NOW.

Marc came over to stand beside him. "Like what?"

Khonshu gestured. An... illusion? Window? Something? Appeared, showing what looked like stars flaring into light while others blinked shut. POWERS BEYOND EVEN THAT OF THE GODS ARE AT WORK. ENTIRE UNIVERSES ARE BEING CREATED AND DESTROYED AS THOUGH THOSE WHO LIVE IN THEM MEAN NOTHING.

The nothing was hard, bitter. One thing that could always be said about Khonshu was that he actually did care about those under his protection.

WE ARE UNABLE TO STOP IT. ONLY PROTECT WHAT WE CAN.

Khonshu turned his gaze on Marc. YOU ARE SAFE HERE, MARC SPECTOR. THIS ISLAND, THIS PLACE, WHILE YOU ARE HERE THOSE FORCES CANNOT FIND YOU.

Marc again felt that need to point out that it didn't have to be his full name every freaking time, but at the moment there were bigger things to worry about. "Wait - so we can't go home? It's dangerous?"

Because Marc sure as hell would've liked to know that before the trip to Toronto.

I WILL TELL YOU IF IT IS NOT THE TIME. BUT TO LIVE, TO STAY, YOU SHOULD REMAIN HERE. Khonshu walked away, his linen wrappings floating in a pattern that had nothing related to the breeze. I WOULD HAVE NO HARM COME TO MY AVATAR. NO HARM COME TO YOU. I WOULD HAVE YOU BE SAFE, UNTIL I AM ABLE TO FULLY USE YOU AS MY FIST OF VENGEANCE.

The stress on that you had Marc feeling a whole bunch of things he was also not going to focus on too much. Marc could also feel Steven starting to push forward and decided to try to speed up the conversation before it turned into a fight. "So I sit on my ass until you call. Got it."

YOU STAY WHERE I KNOW YOU ARE PROTECTED. BECAUSE I WOULD ALWAYS HAVE YOU BE PROTECTED.

Marc had a whole bunch of memories about being stabbed, shot, broken bones, and, yanno, killed that would seem to contradict that. But on the other hand there he was, alive and healthy, so there was that too.

"Fine," Marc said.

GOOD. Khonshu walked past him again, fading from view as he did. YOU ALWAYS WERE MY FAVORITE, MARC.

Don't trust that buzzard far as I can throw him, Steven said the second Khonshu was gone.

Marc rubbed his face tiredly. "I know. But what else can we do? Least we can still go home and visit if we want."

That's assuming everything he said was true. That we need to ask. Which I'm not buying for a minute.

That was a kicker. But something about it - it hadn't felt not true. On the other hand that was a Khonshu special. Just enough truth to make the half-truths and lies more believable.

"At least you're still getting your eclipse," Marc said. He gestured at himself. "Do you wanna?"

And with that Marc slipped back and Steven took over the body. He didn't like that bloody Khonshu had made an appearance, but he supposed it was only to be expected. At least it hadn't interfered from the eclipse happening.

Steven sat down on the rooftop, his glasses at the ready. There was a great deal for him and Marc to think about, but now he wanted to enjoy the show.

[Open for residents or anybody else who wants to come up on the roof. The part under the cut just looks and sounds like Marc talking to himself.]