When Gods Grant Wishes

"Look, Neil, if you love the girl, just tell her you love her. Treat her like she means somethin' to ya. You gotta listen to 'em, you know? If she says somethin' that sounds like maybe she wants you to do something...or not do it... then you oughtta listen and do it or whatever. That's how I manage to keep my Lanie happy." Rob leaned back in the armchair and twisted open a bottle of beer, taking a long swallow as he looked at his friend. "Lanie, she says to me, 'Rob, honey, we women understand you about as much as you understand us. We gotta work together to make this work.' Best bit of advice I ever had from a girl. Last ones have always been all about them, not really about us."

"Hell, man, I know what you're saying, but I still just don't know. I love her, but she drives me absolutely mad! She can't relax and just have fun."

"I dunno, Neil. You two sure were having fun there at the beginning. Maybe you just didn't really listen to each other, somewhere along the line. Someone's gotta be the bigger person and try to make things right. Maybe it'll be her. Maybe you. Hell, you're both dancing around each other, 'stead of with. Think, man. She ever say anythin' to ya that might clue you in as to why she's gotten so upset lately?"

"I'm telling you, Rob, I don't know. There's so much I love about her, but sometimes the rest just makes me so annoyed." Neil heaved an exasperated sigh and surged to his feet, pacing around his friend's living room.

"Gotta take the good with the bad or it isn't really love, man." Rob reached out and smacked Neil's arm, getting his attention. "You've both been idiots. How 'bout you both work together, help each other out, huh?"

"How do you help out a girl who's out in the great big black beyond, when you're stuck with both feet firmly planted in the ground?" Neil looked up, as if he could see through the thick roof of the house, miles into the sky where his beloved Sascha presently lived. "I just want to hold her, Rob."

"Sounds to me like you need to get yourself some wings and learn to fly, then."

"Don't be stupid. Shit like that only happens in fairy tales and movies. There's no way I could get up into the black, unless..." He trailed off, lips pursed in thought.

"Unless?"

"You remember that story, um... the one about the wings with wax, what melted 'cause they got too close to the sun?"

"Yeah, Icarus and Daedalus, I think. Greek myths. C'mon, man, you know those Grecian gods and such weren't actually real."

"True. Everyone knows that. But, I'm thinking... someone up there might be willing to help, if I ask. You think she would?"

Rob shivered, a mixture of thrill and fear. "Sascha is one of her Daughters. It's possible. But you know Sascha fell out of favor, taking to an Earthly like she did. You'd have to prove an awful lot to her mother. Especially since you're the one that drew her Daughter away."

"I gotta try, though, right? What could go wrong?" Neil gave his friend a wry smile, both clearly thinking the same thing: I hope Bast doesn't eat me for this.