Equilibrium

Chapter 20 - Exhibition

Zen and Kevyn waited a minute before leaving the alcove to follow Rafi. When they rounded the bend, they ran into a human couple, the woman with her phone out and pointed in their direction. Had they been taking their picture? After the initial startlement all around, the woman looked to be some mixture of enamoured and scared of the elves.

"Sorry," she said, "we were just," and for all the world she started acting like they were just passing through. Although, the man said, could we take a picture with you? Zen and Kevyn agreed with good humor.

"You'd think they've never seen elves making out before," Zen said when they were out of earshot.

"Maybe they haven't," Kevyn said.

"Or maybe they're otaku." Zen put on a zealous air, and said, "Check this out! hashtag elvesinthewild, hashtag buckfuck." Kevyn bust out laughing. "Buck," Zen enunciated. "Like because of the antlers."

"I know, but it sounds a lot like something else," Kevyn said, still laughing. "hashtag ramslam," he added. Zen laughed, tapped Kevyn's horn lightly with one finger, and then pulled him along by the hand. "I can't believe you rammed me back in the day, by the way.

"I was so angry at you."

"You rammed someone with rams horns. You could have snapped a point."

"I have a scratch from that," Zen replied lightly. "And you broke my nose."

"Let me see the scratch," Kevyn insisted. They stopped and Zen pointed where he knew the scratch to be. Kevyn ran his finger along it.

"My mom was so mad. She bought me a concealing marker for where the color is lighter. I never used it."

"If you go through life as perfect as when you came into it, you're not really living," Kevyn said.

Zen declined to mention the guide wire that his mom had him use at night to improve the shape of his horns like braces do for teeth. Looking good is different than being overly cautious, but it still highlights the difference between the way both of them were brought up. "You can bang yourself up all you want, but try to stay in one piece, alright?" Zen said. Kevyn smiled and they continued on again.

~

When they made it to the gallery, Zen could see that Rafi was engaged in a discussion with Brock. He was probably thanking him for coming or something.

He and Kevyn got in line to see the exhibit. It was impressive. The whole thing began with the most well-known personalities. Chay was there - a picture of him leaning back on a steel beam fifty stories up, the park in the background far below. Empress Evita, beautiful in a black sheath dress that was the embodiment of what humans thought a powerful Demoness should wear. Torrent rocking out with his electric guitar.

Zen half paid attention through the early times. The distrust of everything magical, the attempts at wielding magic anyway because it was useful, war between the races, the rise and fall of various gods, blah, blah.

Brock joined them then. "Hey," he said. "So what do you think?"

"This is wonderful, Brock. You've hit the big time."

Brock beamed. "Here, I want to show you the next bit," he said, indicating a large high-definition photograph of the Goddess Pragya. She's smiling serenely, playing a guitar, and wearing a simple white sari. There's a large well-read book at her feet, and her owl is watching her from a nearby tree.

"I'm guessing she didn't pose for the picture?" Kevyn said dryly.

Brock laughed. The gods could not be photographed. Many people have tried - sometimes with the full participation of the gods. Desire, for one. And Amore. "It's a deep fake based on her paintings, and fed with images of real women."