How Odd by Larissa
Athena felt extremely bothered as she watched Hestia run around the tables, smiling at the customers as if their presence was her delight. The goddess' new appearance was somewhat common, though different from what she usually chose. Dark hair, dark eyes, a bit younger than it was characteristic of her. Not a lot of changes, of course, and that in itself was a sign of her friend's stable nature.
These observations were somewhat useless, for Hestia had never been one to make abrupt changes. Sitting there and analyzing her for improbable alterations was like watching paint dry.
The goddess of wisdom suppressed a sigh as she lowered her eyes to the several books she'd brought along, examining its contents before scribbling some words on her notebook for latter analysis.
"Mitty!" A new voice called, full of joy and a sort of childishness that could only belong to one person.
"Good afternoon, Hecate."
The girl in question squealed loudly, skipping to where the other was seated and throwing her arms around Athena's neck.
"Don't call me that, Mitty!" She reproached softly, still hugging her friend but letting her eyes shift from one side to the other, suspicious. "We are supposed to be incognito."
Athena stared back at her with emotionless eyes.
"We're in 2013 Japan. We could get Dionysius to throw a party with Ares and Hades that they wouldn't notice."
Her monotone made Hecate pout, but the newcomer chose to remain quiet, limiting herself to a small huff before she sat down.
"That doesn't matter." She exclaimed in the next moment, never being one to stay silent for long. "You will call me Asako, because we're friends!"
'Mitty' shook her head in disapproval, but decided that trying to change the girl's mind was a lost cause. Differently from Hestia, who was continuous and dependable like her hearth, Hecate was changeable, always on a crossroads. What was she now? What would she become? Which path should she take?
"You look more feminine than usual, Asako." The goddess commented after a moment of contemplation. "Your hair looks a bit reddish."
Her companion grinned back at her, bashing her hands against the tabletop in her excitement.
"You noticed! Iyo said you wouldn't and Sasayan just kept looking at me as if I was out of my mind. He insisted that I was being shallow again."
Athena propped her chin on her hand, blinking at her in a way that let the girl know that she didn't disagree with 'Sasayan'.
"I'm sorry, but who are those, again?"
Natsume Asako, Hecate's current identity, sulked.
"You ignore all my emails, Mitty! Don't be so mean!" She leaned against the back of her chair, flinging her hair over her shoulder in a way that made the men on the table nearest stare. Seeming to notice this, she pulled up the hood of her jacket, hiding herself, before muttering about males and how disgusting they could be. In her mind, Athena chastised that, if she didn't want the attention, then Hecate shouldn't assume such distinguishing appearances. "Anyway, those are Hermes and Persephone, of course."
Having lost most of her interest in this conversation, however, Athena went back to her books, only hearing half of what the other goddess said as she described how Hermes had taken up the identity of Sasahara Souhei, even though he insisted on being called Sasayan, and how she just couldn't understand him, the idiotic Olympian, with all his status and all the places he needed to be all the effing time.
"Iyo doesn't consider him much, as always, but he can be so hard on us." Asako mumbled under her breath, in a way that, strangely, captured Athenas' attention.
"He should." The girl replied without looking up. "Hermes is quite intelligent and the two of you can be quite stupid."
There was a gasp and the sound of footsteps approaching, and Hestia was by their table in a second, putting down a tea set.
"Afternoon, Natsume-san." She greeted kindly, obviously trying to erase the indignation from Hecate's expression. "It's been a while since I've last seen you. How is Sasahara-san doing?"
Her gentle words seemed to work, because the other smiled back at her, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes as she answered that he was as busy as ever and even more insufferable, which had earned her a chuckle from the brunette.
"I still don't know why he is still around, since it's already mid spring. He has already brought her up; we shouldn't be seeing him for six months, when he will take her down to the underworld." Asako continued. "Poor Iyo, don't you think, Ooshima-san?"
Mizutani Shizuku heaved a breath of amusement.
"I'm sorry, but Persephone is an idiot. She has been for thousand of years and she will never grow up. I blame Demeter's protectiveness."
Hestia blinked, unsure of what to say, but Hecate let out a sound of alarm.
"Don't say that! Parents are very important for a child's development. Zeus must…"
"My father is useless, Asako." Athena interrupted, shooting her friend a cold glare as Hestia served them some tea. Hecate didn't seem the least bit fazed.
"Fine, fine." She replied, instead, waving her hand. "Oh, Sasayan told me Poseidon has been bothering you, again."
This time, Athena actually sighed.
"As always. He goes by Yoshida Haru, now." Her tone was blunt, but the light blush that took her cheeks made both Asako and Ooshima smile.
"Sasahara-san mentioned that he was pursuing you." The latter commented in a low voice, embarrassed by her own curiousness.
"Hermes likes to meddle too much."
Her response was accompanied with a piercing look, and Hestia shrunk in her seat.
Hecate wouldn't be so easily stopped.
"Oh, a Poseidon-Athena relationship, the integration of emotion and prudence!" She uttered dreamily, swaying in her chair.
Ooshima Chizuru and Mizutani Shizuku watched as the girl lost herself in her undoubtedly lovey-dovey thoughts.
"Mizutani-san, shouldn't we try to reason with her?" Hestia asked, as the other customers seemed to start noticing the unusual behavior of the teenager that was Hecate, but Athena had already focused back on her studies.
Draining the rest of her tea before getting up, the goddess of the hearth couldn't help it but to smile at how incredibly odd even goddesses could be.
I just really love greek mithology and TnK. This, once again, was a fill for the TnK ladies thingathon on Dreamwidth.
