Some days after their meeting with President Rosewater, things seemed to return to normal for Gomenne and company except for one thing—Star had began acting flaky.
While it was true that she could not participate in any scrapes and scuffles the group would find themselves in, her presence was nonetheless appreciated as they all loved Star. She is a pillar of great patience and inner strength, someone they could depend on for moral support, so seeing her act differently would bother anyone.
Any time they asked for her company she seemed to come up with any excuse to bail. It wasn’t like her to lie, at least not without reason.
Whatever the reason was, the girls decided to wait and see.
In the meantime taking care of Muffler was put into the hands of Gomenne and Kiki, but mostly Kiki.
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One morning, Gomenne woke to the sound of the mail sliding into the slot in their front door. She was normally a heavy sleeper, though the past few days had really gotten to her.
In her groggy state, she flipped through the mail until seeing an envelope that didn’t look like bills. She wanted so badly to open it but stopped herself.
It’s better if we all open it together, she thought.
The excitement of the contents of the envelope was all the adrenaline needed to wake Gomenne up as she excitedly stumbled into their living room where Kiki and Muffler were.
They were sitting on the couch together. Muffler was sitting in Kiki’s lap, where Kiki had crossed her legs to form a sort of firm seating. Kiki had rested her chin ontop of Muffler’s head and, while wrapping her hands around the small girl, was holding into a game controller.
“Morning, Gome!” greeted Muffler.
“Morning, pup. You’re up early,” said Kiki, not looking away from the TV.
“How could I not be,” Gomenne groaned. “Still, looks like we got our IDs way earlier than they said we would. We’re officially a real guild! No more cleaning some old bat’s gutters or going into sewers for us!”
“Huh, really? That’s great,” Kiki replied. “Things are going pretty well so far, huh.”
“Yeah. It’s like it’s fate or somethin’.”
“Things are gunna get harder from here on out though. We’re gunna wanna start looking for more members pretty soon.”
“Ugh, yeah, don’t remind me. I don’t even know anyone else though.”
“Oh yeah. I made breakfast, it’s in the fridge.”
“Oh right, thanks.”
“Oh! Also, Star called earlier. She says she wants to meet us for lunch today. Remember? ‘Cause she promised to pay for keeping us waiting the other day,” Kiki said a bit louder, raising her voice since Gomenne was leaving the room.
“What’s this ID card thing mean for us?” questioned Muffler.
“Means we’ll have more clout as bravers. We’ll get to do more dangerous and important stuff. It’ll make us look good, basically. Also means Gome will be able to gather faith quicker,” Kiki answered.
“Getting faith is important to gods, right?”
“Yeah. Without it they’re not much different from the rest of us, and Gome happens to be a very important one.”
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Around lunch time, the three head out to their favorite diner to meet Star.
They arrive after a few minutes but notice something when looking into the window of the restaurant from the outside. They see Star chatting at a table with someone else—someone very familiar.
The revelation of who it was caused Gomenne suddenly bolt towards the front door.
“Gome, wait!” Kiki cried out to her, although knowing it was no use to stop her.
“Huh? What’s wrong? Why did she run off?” Muffler was very confused.
“That explains why Star’s been acting weird. She must’ve not have wanted us to find out.”
“Find out what?”
“C’mon, Muffy. It’s easier if you see for yourself.” Kiki grasped Muffler’s hand and walked together into the restaurant's already agape door.
Inside, an awkward scene plays out.
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Gomenne stood in front of Star’s table, her arms crossed and face full of disgust. Restaurant patrons and staff are either attempting to get as far away from them as possible or vacating the premises entirely.
At the table, sitting across from Star, was a cat woman with a messed-up ear and forked tail.
“What the hell is this, Star? Is this what you’ve been doing this whole time?”
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“Now Gome, I’m trying to tell you—”
“Yeah I heard you the first time. What I want to hear you explaining why the hell you want me to team up with this damn cat.”
“We were going to but then you started running your mouth, as you always do,” the cat woman chided in a dry tone.
“Shut the hell up! I don’t wanna hear a peep out of you, I don’t wanna even hear you breathe!”
“What’s going on, Kiki?” Muffler whispered to Kiki, “Who is that and why is Gomenne so angry at her?”
Kiki replied with the same hushed tone, “That’s Capryce, the Shadow Deity and Gome’s sister. The last time they talked they got into a huge fight that ended up in them going their separate ways.”
“What did they fight over?”
“Beats me, I wasn’t alive then. Plus Gome doesn’t like to talk about that stuff.”
“Now girls,” Star started, attempting to gain control over the situation, “We shouldn’t make a scene, let’s be civil about this and just talk.”
“I’m not the one causing the scene here,” Capryce said with a sigh.
“Shut it, crotch licker.”
“Girls.” Star’s sudden stern tone startled the two sisters. “Gome, please sit down.”
Without another peep, Gomenne did as she was told and sat next to Star.
Star looked to Muffler and Kiki, who had still been standing near the entrance. “You two as well! Sorry to keep you waiting!”
The two of them took their seats on either side of the table, and Star began to explain the situation.
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“I get it now. Come to think of it, I did think it was weird we got our guild IDs so early.” Gomenne, having finally understood what was happening, slumped in her chair.
She wanted gather faith her own way but now she can’t, instead needing to work with her sister once again. It made sense as they were twins and previously worked in tandem, but their squabbles and disagreements eventually led to the way things are now.
The world didn’t just need the return of the Light Deity, it needed the two deities to work together.
“We’ve already gotten Cappy signed up to join White Clover. That paperwork shouldn’t take too long considering who it’s for,” Star said in remark.
“’White Clover?’” Gomenne asked.
“That’s the name of our guild. You got the ID cards, right? It should say it on there.”
Gomenne shuffled through her bag and pulled out the envelope she’d received from the mail. It was slightly crumpled and hadn’t been opened just yet.
“Oh right, I was sorta waiting to meet up so we could all share this moment together.”
“Well we’re all here now aren’t we? Go on, open it.”
Gomenne carefully slid a finger underneath the sealed flap of the envelope and gently tore away the top. She opened it, and took out the contents, which were folded up in several sheets of paper. The ID cards were stuck to one piece of paper by that stretch sticky stuff often used to secure credit cards in the mail.
On the cards were a picture, name, and various things about the specific members. In plain text they could see the words “White Clover” as the name of their guild with a neat logo next to it.
“Why ‘White Clover’?” Gomenne asked, raising an eyebrow.
“What’s a white clover anyway? I thought clovers were green,” added Kiki.
“Do you know the little white flowers that sometimes show up right next to clovers? Those are called white clover,” Star explained.
“Okay? But why though?”
“White clover are perennial, meaning that no matter what they have grown and will always be growing. And even though people think of clover to be weeds, we still think of them to represent ‘luck’, though the flowers themselves can mean ‘promise’ or ‘prosperity’.”
“No matter what happens we’ll always be around, just like that weed. That’s why you chose the name, right?” Capryce asked, her dull voice contrasting her poetic words.
“Yes exactly!”
“Sounds dumb,” rebuked Gomenne.
Kiki nodded. “Yeah. Even with the nice meaning I can’t help but think about being us being weed.”
“I like it,” Muffler commented with a smile, “It gives me a funny feeling in my chest.”
“You okay?” Kiki asked, concerned.
“Uh-huh. It’s not a bad feeling.”
“I guess it’ll just grow on me,” Gomenne said with a shrug.
“I hope you’re not planning to become sedentary again. They really might grow on you,” Capryce cackled.
“Can it, tuna breath.”
“Girls, please!”
And thus, though a bit rocky, the adventures of the White Clover guild had begun then and there. The twin deities are coming together once again, this time with friends to keep the two of them from biting each other’s heads off.
Though for how long and to what effect their presence has on them is entirely up to the sisters’ combined will.
The road ahead won’t be easy but for now they have decided to put their differences decide, at the very least, for the benefit of the world they once looked after together.