The girl child remained silent, the quiet hanging over her like a thoughtful cloud. The goddess was impressed with her ability to remain neutral in the firestorm of opinions being flung around uselessly, and she watched her with those silver eyes, observing her and thinking. Useful. A god-child on her side would be useful. A mind never moving forward in thought was a mind wasted, and she would never, ever be a wasteful being. Everything had reason and purpose. Nothing occurred in a vacuum. Well, except the time god's heart.

Oh, and the addict spoke, further damning himself, and the goddess smiled, the expression more dangerous than any scowl. A soft, menacing chuckle escaped her lips, and she sighed. "Both, Oxy," she murmured, the feminine tones of her voice betraying her power. "Both." The goddess watched his belligerence and defiance in his actions, eating from his back purposefully and thanking her for nothing. He turned his back, and she felt black rage poison and strengthen her soul, the sickening smile on her face darkening every delicate corner of her face.

Ah, then Thranduil arrived, pulling her thoughts from the abyss as the darkness she had pulled around herself began to fade. The goddess smiled warmly - as warmly as a god of darkness could muster. She chuckled, nodding. There were few in this world who embraced truth and fewer still who so easily and wonderfully sunk and manipulated the shadows to their advantage. Though she chastised the golden boy every now and then, she did so because she knew he was better than some of his present efforts. A smile was all she offered then for more arrived.

Including a boy-child with his idle threats. The goddess stood impassively, shaking her head. Should she be a curt bitch? With words, she could tear him apart, tell him that no one would ever be seeing Circe again, but vengeance had not been her aim. With her carefully constructed puzzle, the goddess had proved her point, and the victims were the result of random chance, not purposeful selection. "Circe is honored," was all she replied, and that was all that needed to be said. The mare had fulfilled her tasks and given birth to a new child. She had a life more rich than most.

She offered Torleik a smile when he arrived and glared daggers at this pale foreigner too new to be making assumptions. The difference in language was an irritant, one easily swept away with keen understanding. Darkness pulled to the goddess body with more density and tension than a thousand storms. The black clouds churned and rumbled, a mere hint of her powers. Even the night sky above had turned black, the moon fading into the oblivion of night. Wind howled, deafening all but the goddess' words.

"You frail mortal with little understanding," she spoke, words clear and calm as day despite the blackness raging around them. "A creature as pathetic as you could never hope to defeat me, and regardless, my balance is needed. I am the night. I am the darkness. I am the moon and the wind. I forged Helovia with my breath and lessons are mine to teach."

The goddess relinquished her hold on her powers, their pressures not tiring her but making her stronger. Every fiber of her lavender coat screamed with strength, and her silver eyes glowed in the night as she took a step forward toward the stranger. "There are many fools in this world, but you are a hypocrite to think that you are not one of them," she murmured darkly, smiling in that strange, menacing way. "Death is the other side of living, a fate you will meet faster than a blink of an eye to me and my kin. Do not think yourself so special, above reproach when you are sickened by the sins of your very desires."

She made one last smile before turning to those who remained, eyeing Thranduil, Torleik and the girl-child. "You asked me before what you can do for me, Thranduil," the goddess spoke, turning to the golden one. "You can use the shadows and educate the fools of this world that they are slaves to their own mortality." She turned then to Torleik. "Welcome. Did you require anything else of me?" she asked, alluding to their conversation regarding his task and quest.