>>“Um…sure! It would be my greatest honor, Goddess…”

The great thing about having multiple arms is that you can offer one to someone without seeming overly attached.

Mahadevi fell into pace next to the guy who was visibly flustered at the prospect of one single touch. He seemed enthusiastic and still kind of nervous, which, she had to admit, made him so much like a puppy that she considered keeping him in a basket.
A fairly big basket.
Possibly big enough for two people.

Walking down the croded hallway she basked in the gaze of many people without returning them, a trick she had learned early on while dealing with crowds. She let him lead and talk and explain, and tried to see the experience through a mortal's eyes...

Mahadevi really was being a sport about this. As he led her around, she seemed to have an air of interest as he pointed out what the various booths were so that she could get an idea of where she was. First of all, he moved her out of the Movie section and led her towards the comic books. That would be the easiest and best place to start. Plus, there should be plenty of people in costume so that she could see why he was dressed up. Might was well get rid of that elephant in the room as quickly as possible.

Leading her towards the comic area, Akshay paused and smirked as he looked around the motley assortment of people in costume as well as regular dress. It was obvious that not everyone wore costumes, just those that were the biggest fans.

Akshay paused there, watching people milling around the comic booths, others posing for pictures inside of giant toy boxes, while still others were haggling for cheaper collectables or fawning over stars at certain booths. He sighed a bit heavenly, he really did love cons of any kind!

Turning to Mahadevi, he smiled a little sheepishly before turning around to face the crowd again.

“And this is the comic section of the convention,” he explained. “Most of the people in costume end up here because they just love to wander around as their favorite characters, take pictures, maybe even snag the attention of one of the artists or two. Just a way to show your fandom. Sometimes you even get swag for a good costume!” he said as he held up his bag. He then calmed for a second before he smiled back to her again. “Too much?”

Mahadevi might have had multiple arms, but she still only had two eyes, and she was surprised how fast she started to feel overwhelmed. The crowd of people with all their strange costumes, all their excited chatter and million activities... kind of reminded her of India.
Akshay obviously knew his way around.

>>“And this is the comic section of the convention. Most of the people in costume end up here because they just love to wander around as their favorite characters, take pictures, maybe even snag the attention of one of the artists or two. Just a way to show your fandom. Sometimes you even get swag for a good costume!... Too much?”

"Quite a lot" she admitted, gracefully turning her head to return stares she got from other people. Surprisingly enough, even a genuine goddess did not stand out of the cavalcade. "You use a lot of words I don't know."

The air was shimmering with the excitement of hundreds of people. It was alive in a way that she had not felt in a temple for a long time.

"It seems like these people are... paying a lot of devotion to their idols." she mused "Even though they are imaginary as you said. Do they really only do this for entertainment?... Fascinating."

Maybe this strange lad had deities of a different kind.

>> "Quite a lot…You use a lot of words I don't know."

Akshay smirked a little as she stood back and just let Mahadevi take in her surroundings. This really must have been a change for her. Though he didn’t know anything about her personal life or what she did when she was off-duty, from her behavior Akshay had a pretty good idea that she really did think she was a goddess incarnate. This was not just a character for her, this was her real identity, or so she believed.

In a way, he felt a tad bit sorry for her. Not that he outright pitied her, but it was sad that she didn’t have any other understanding of her reality. When everyone merely encourages the delusion, really, whose fault is it? Akshay sighed. Unfortunately he was not going to be the one to break her notions of what was real and what wasn’t.

He was a friend, nothing more.

>> "It seems like these people are... paying a lot of devotion to their idols. Even though they are imaginary as you said. Do they really only do this for entertainment?... Fascinating."

Akshay nodded.

“Yeah. The main reason is for entertainment. Some people do it to meet other people, though, to make friends, or, you know, to make a connection with someone else of like-minded interest.” he shrugged. “To each their own.” He smiled as he took the lead again. “Come on, you hungry? They usually have some pretty good food at these things.”

>>“Yeah. The main reason is for entertainment. Some people do it to meet other people, though, to make friends, or, you know, to make a connection with someone else of like-minded interest. To each their own.”

That was only natural for humans, and as Mahadevi thought more about it, she assumed it was natural for gods too. She had sometimes felt alone, and remembered the joy when Kamadeva showed up for a brief visit in her life. Gods did not think in long terms, but it was a delight to meet someone's equal. She assumed that was the same for humans. Akshay certainly looked like he felt at home in the crowd.

>>“Come on, you hungry? They usually have some pretty good food at these things.”

"I wouldn't resist" she nodded. Sitting in one place and accepting devotions was hungry work. She did not know what he had in mind, but she was prepared for new experiences.