“Am I the only one who didn't know about this slang?” Que asked me.
“Yes,” I said.
“Oh. I suppose I should leave my territory more often.” Then he spotted Eztli.
She was staring at him. Hard.
Que cleared his throat. “Hello, Eztli.”
“Hello, Quetzalcoatl.”
Blue kept his expression neutral. Smart man.
“What's happening?” Hermes asked.
I waved him down. “Something important.”
“I don't expect us to ever be friends, but I hope we can work together without me causing you further distress.”
“You don't distress me,” Eztli snapped.
Que held up his hands. “All right.”
Her face wrinkled up. Smoothed. She cursed. “I'm over it. You apologized, and I forgave you. Of course, we can work together.”
Quetzalcoatl gaped at her.
“Did you hear me?”
“I did!” Que hurried to say. “And thank you for being willing to not only forgive but also move on.”
Eztli sighed. “You're welcome.”
“Wow. That was riveting,” Horus drawled. “Could we get back to the angry beaver?”
There was far more laughter that time. Even I joined in. At first, I thought Horus had done it accidentally, but then I saw his lips twitching. That sly dog. Or sly bird, rather. I knew he couldn't be besties with Pan and not have a sense of humor.
“Get back to the angry beaver!” Pan hooted. “Oh, fuck! Thank you, buddy. I needed that.”
Hermes chuckled too. “Yes. I think we all needed some levity. But seriously, does anyone know what this fucker is talking about?”
“This is the second time he's mentioned a beaver,” Torrent said. “The first reference made the beaver sound like a victim. But now, the beaver is vengeful.”
“Probably because he was victimized,” Hekate said. “A coyote tried to blow his house down.”
“You're right,” Odin said. “We need to focus on the beaver as a victim who wants revenge for whatever was done to him. Are there werebeavers? I've never heard of any.”
“No,” Torrent said, his eyes moving side-to-side as if he was reading. “There is a Lakota Beaver God named Capa. He isthe Spirit of Labor and Taxes.”
“Has he ever had his home destroyed?” I asked.
Torrent frowned. “No. Let's see. There is also Afanc, a Welsh lake monster who is sometimes described as looking like a beaver.”
“That's a stretch,” Viper said.
“The Algonquin have a myth about a giant beaver called Wishpoosh who prevents others from fishing in his pool,” Torr went on. “The Coyote confronts him and they have an epic battle.”
“The Coyote,” Brahma repeated. “That's who blew his house down.”
