That morning consisted of packing and preparation for the trip ahead. Another day down and four more to go. Hazel makes sure to mark the camping spot off of her list while the others put everything away.
Triple G actually got a piece of a night's rest this time, so he took the jet ski back to wherever he rented it from before helping with the clean up.
Chester was complaining about getting bitten while being outside. He complained so much that Ara got tired of it and is making him take a bath at this time.
Once everything is done, they all say goodbye to the wilderness and pile back into the RV feeling refreshed.
Most of them had already eaten breakfast outside, so they just laze about the vehicle in comfortable silence. George and Chester went to their respective positions and started the camper.
Triple G lounges on the couch and plucks at the strings of his ampless guitar. Hazel sits beside him writing notes on her notepad while looking at the map beside her. Even Deuce was quiet. He laid beside her, curled up in cat nap formation.
Of course that's when Heidi decided to come stumbling down the stairs with a look of horror on her face. She barely caught herself from landing on her behind as she took a deep breath while trying to calm herself.
Everyone stared at the person who ruined their peace with total concern. The cats stared at her with slitted eyes and arched backs.
Triple G looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "Surprised to see you down here." He says while trying to snap out of his shock.
Heidi looked sharply at the stairs before shaking her head, "I'll be anywhere that mirror isn't…" She muttered, shivering involuntarily as she sat down on the floor.
Deuce called and said, "Crazy girlfriend problems?" He gave her a Cheshire grin as he rolled over.
Heidi nodded, her eyes still shaking. "She has insomnia and she decided to go through all of her jewelry, all of her crowns, and all of her dresses. Over the course of one night!" She said with a pitiful moan as she put her head in her hands. "She made me listen as she told me all that everyone has done, and according to her nothing, and rant for hours on end. I finally got her to go to sleep and that's how I escaped."
Hazel smirked and went back to her planning.
Triple G blinked and shrugged with a smile. "Better you than me." He went back to chilling out.
George chuckles while continuing his drive. "That's one way to get you out of that bloody room." He glances at her playfully.
Heidi was rocking back and forth at this point, "I know how much her crowns are worth...Why does she need half a billion in crowns. Why?" She said to herself, shaking her head. "Damn royal parents."
Chester looks at the goddess and says, "Yeah, she's lost it."
"Yep." George agrees.
"Uh, huh." Triple G says.
Ara walks in from the bathroom. She had just finished wiping up the water that Chester splashed around while trying to escape. Her eyes immediately go to Heidi and she walks in the opposite direction.
"And the dresses...how could she have three hundred dresses in forty different shades of pink? She even has her own shade of pink, who creates a shade of pink? Why did I ever give her an endless closet?" Heidi asked herself as she continued to shake her head.
Triple G looks at her with halved eyes and turns the TV on. George turns on the radio and begins to Antisocial. Chester greatly appreciated that, and they were soon joined by Ara and Deuce. Hazel just rolls her eyes at all of them and tries to focus on her task despite how annoyed she was suddenly feeling.
Heidi managed to snap out of it long enough to fly into a nearby shadow, most likely returning to her hiding place.
This was pretty much normal for them now, so they paid the goddess no mind and went back to spending time in each other's company. Hazel even releases a breath of relief as she went back to working deeply into the map.
Ara looks around and says, "Alright, she's gone." Her happy face turns into a flat one. "Okay, Hazel, we need to talk."
Hazel already knows where this is going, so she glares a hole through her sister before going back to work. "Ara, I don't want to talk about it. Actually, I would like to forget it. I would appreciate if you would help me forget by not bringing it up." She snapped in irritation. Her eyes changing from royal blue to violet.
Ara blinks a couple times. She would address that later. "I would love to forget about it. We all would."
"Yep." Says Triple G as he watches TV.
"But-" Ara begins.
Hazel rolls her eyes and flips a page in her book. "Here we go…"
"You're doing it again." Ara tells her.
Hazel gives her the halfest eyes and raises an eyebrow. "What am I doing?"
Ara gestures wildly. "That thing you always do. Basically when you pretend a person does not exist to the best of your ability? I have to admit, you are good at it."
Hazel dramatically places her hand over her chest and gasps with a fake smile. "Thank you!" She, then, turns in the opposite direction and gets back to work.
Ara gives her a bland look and says, "We have been through this. You can't just cut the poor chick off! Yeah, you have a crush on her. So what? She doesn't know that, so live your life the same! It's very easy." Ara says as she folds her arms together.
Hazel just gives her another raised eyebrow. "Oh. I think-yeah. I think Sunny is calling me." She says while slowly putting up her things and adjusting her boots. "Yeah, I'm going to go check on that…" She gets up and sashays away.
Ara calls after her in annoyance. "Hey! Get back here! I am not done with you yet!" She says to the now rushing girl. "Get back here this minute!"
"You sound like mom." She says with a smirk before shutting her door.
"She just did not." Ara says in shock and humor.
George chuckles while Chester says, "Ooh, toasted…"
Deuce offers him some dap and Chester graciously accepts.
Ara turns to the cats and says, "I heard there was a nice violin store nearby." She smirked evilly. "I heard they needed some strings…"
Both of the felines eyes widened. Both of them knew what violin strings were made of.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Heidi practically face planted out of the shadow, hoping that if she stayed on the floor she might not be seen.
The goddess had been hiding in a shadow for thirty minutes and she, unknowingly, had overheard something. She only heard little pieces of the conversation like the words, "You crush her." Of course, Heidi wasn't going to ask what that sentence meant, it honestly sounded more like a term you'd use in a video game.
Maybe they were talking about video games. Hmm...Oh well. Not my place to ask about their hobbies. Heidi thought as her eyes flickered up to the couch where the mirror was currently wedged.
If she could get a little magic to hit in just the right way, she'd be able to escape another closet situation. Oh, but she'd notice and she'd have my head. Why can't she just get her nine hours of beauty sleep? She thought as she crawled closer to the couch.
As soon as she was close enough, she raised a finger and gathered a focused orb of magic before aiming it at the mirror.
She heard Audrey say something along the lines of, "Should have known a villain's mirror would short circuit!"
Heidi climbed up onto the sofa and picked up the mirror as she saw the face go dark.
"Thank the gods…" She muttered in relief, closing her eyes as she leaned her head on a pillow.
Now I can finally take a nap without getting asked questions. She thought as she supressed a yawn. How long has it been since I slept? The blonde asked herself, frowning as she couldn't remember the last time.
Heidi wasn't keeping track of her sleeping patterns, not like they mattered, and just tended to pass out for an hour or so at random. It worked out well enough, so why change it?
She shook head as she covered her eyes with her arm, storing her thoughts away as sunk into the couch.
Just thirty minutes won't hurt.
…...
Thunder boomed loudly as a storm brewed in the distance.
A woman with dark brown hair and silver eyes walked through the hallways of the building. The building known as the 'Main Hall' or as her brother called it, the 'Argument Plaza'. It was...true to the name, as all arguments took place in the building before it usually grew and was taken out to the rest of Olympus.
The guards in golden armor parted ways for her as she walked past them.
She pushed the doors open and had to hold back a sigh at the sight.
Every god and goddess who possessed a weapon were pointing their respective items at each other. Ares was hollering at the top of his lungs while trying to throw his spear, Apollo had an arrow aimed at the War God's head, meanwhile Zeus and Poseidon looked like they were about to explode.
So, this is what happens when Hestia isn't here. She thought as her eyes narrowed in exasperation, thinking of the goddess who she had seen with the imposter and several humans.
The woman cleared her throat, attempting to get their attention. Unfortunately, she only managed to get Athena's attention.
Athena gazed at her and silently shook her head as if to say she had given up by now.
The woman simply took a few steps forward before launching in the direction of Apollo. With one great shove, the god was knocked over while his arrow went flying into the sky.
"Wha...Artemis! I almost had him!" Apollo said, looking shocked at the fact his sister had rammed into him.
Artemis stared at him as she folded her arms. "I don't have time for a battle, I need to report on the girl." She stated in a monotonous tone while turning to look at Zeus. "The girl is the imposter. She has powers similar to Hades and a replica of his Ember."
Zeus managed to look away from his glaring match with Poseidon. "You have found the imposter? Where?" He bellowed, focusing his electric blue eyes on the goddess.
"She is on her way here. They are not far from the wall as we speak." Artemis informed him, her voice devoid of emotion as she stared back at him.
Zeus nodded in approval, "Hmph. Artemis." She looked up at him and shot him a questioning glance. "You shall keep an eye on her and report back as soon as she reaches Olympus's territory."
Artemis narrowed her eyes before turning around and marching out. Behind her, the gods and goddesses all resumed their former positions and continued the quarreling that she had interrupted.
The goddess shook her head, Why do they do this? She thought before she transformed into a brown falcon and took to the skies, wanting to get out of there before she was dragged into whatever they were arguing about this time.
….
Heidi had awoken from her nap around ten minutes ago and she was already on her computer. She hadn't spent a lot of time reading up on the whole 'desire problem' and she had a banned book at her finger tips. That was like the single greatest thing she could ever get and she ignored it.
I could have figured out all those Fae secrets by now! How could I forget about this? She thought to herself as she scribbled something down on her notepad.
Learning Fae secrets may sound rather boring to most, but the inner history nerd in the goddess was practically screeching over the idea of knowing what the Fae were like. She couldn't help herself as she saw an old drawing of something appear on the face.
It looked like...a butterfly?
I guess the Fae liked their butterflies...Strange. Heidi thought before shrugging and continuing to the next page.
A timid knock echoed in the quiet room. It was followed by an even more timid voice behind it. "Heidi? A-Are you busy? I wanted to talk for a minute. If you are busy...I could go elsewhere." Hazel calls.
"Nah, come on in. I'm finishing up anyway." Heidi said as she closed the computer screen and set it aside.
Hazel opens the door and peeks in. After that, she walks in with her hands clasped together. Her face wearing a look of uncertainty. "Hi. Are you sure I'm not imposing?"
Heidi shook her head as she looked at her with no concern evident in her eyes. "Nope. If I read too much Fae history I'll be brain dead for a couple hours. That stuff is thick." She shook her head again, this time narrowing her eyes at nothing in particular.
"Um, o-kay." She says while twiddling her thumbs. "Well...I just wanted to ask for your advice, or opinion on a c-certain topic." She attempts to make eye contact with the goddess and fails.
Heidi raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "What kind of advice?"
Hazel takes a deep breath before saying, "It is something on the lines of...romantic advice. I think? Are you good with that kind of advice?"
Heidi blinked before smiling. "I know love like the back of my hand. As I once told someone in the past, I am a love guru. Love is second nature to me." She said as she looked up at the ceiling.
Hazel nodded before looking at the ground. "Okay. Do you know how to stop liking someone?"
Heidi hummed, rubbing her chin as she contemplated the thought. "Well, whenever someone stopped liking me, it was usually because someone else caught their eye. Like I knew someone who had a crush on me for the longest time, she sees a guy and suddenly she has no interest for me. Auradonians call it True Love, I simply call it the right guy or gal." She said before shrugging. "To stop liking someone you either have to learn to dislike them or find another person who catches your eye. That's the two main ways it happens."
Hazel glances at her, then glares at the floor. "Shit." She mumbled to herself while in thought.
Heidi leaned back as a sudden thought entered her head. "Well, I mean there are countless other ways. Letting the liking of someone die off, it takes a bit depending on who you are, rebounding with some idiot in order to kill it off, finding someone with love magic, cursing the person you like, uh...Oh! And simply deserting them. That's what I read at least. That is the last time I read a book I stole from a villain." She said in obvious disgust, seeming appalled at some of the ways.
"That makes sense. I was concerned because of some of the suggestions." Hazel said still in thought.
Heidi chuckled while a smile crossed her face. "You tend to get bad things when you are stealing from the Evil Queen and Maleficent." She said and looked away as she thought about the time she stole stuff.
Hazel sighed, "Well, the most of those suggestions don't apply to me. There is only one. Letting it die off and I don't think that's going to happen until a later date." She says while squinting her eyes as she keeps her gaze low. "I might just ask Ara to hit me on the head with a skillet. That might work…" She folds her arms in aggravation.
"A concussion won't kill it. It'll simply make you forget for a while before it comes charging back." Heidi said quietly, frowning as she closed her eyes. "I...I can kill love within a person, the love for another, but I do not enjoy it. It's kind of like...crushing the person's soul and watching it weep." She whispered, freezing as a thought came to mind.
Hazel stomped her foot. "What's the point of harboring love if it's completely one-sided? If you were to get rid of it, you would be doing me a huge favor. You just have no idea." She replied, her eyes changing various hues.
Heidi's eyes snapped open to reveal deep pink orbs in their place. "I know what it feels like. I know what it is like to love someone to only receive nothing in return. I have done it once before and I ruined that person's life. I…" She froze as her breath shuddered. "I am not going to act the same way I did then. I am not going to shatter your soul into a tiny million pieces. I-I'm not going to become the woman who he hates the most." Her breathing slowed down as she stared at her hands.
"I did it again, didn't I?" She asks, referring to the other times she had pressed Heidi's buttons.
Heidi didn't respond for a minute or so before she looked up at her. "No...you simply asked for me to commit a horrible crime. I merely overreacted in panic." She answered in a deadened voice as her eyes shifted back to blue.
Hazel shook her head stubbornly and stared back at the woman with glossy purple eyes. "Fine. If you're not going to help me, then I will." She stated referring to her statement about the skillet. She rushes downstairs quickly in order to find the largest one she could find.
Heidi didn't even get up, finding that she wouldn't be much of a voice in stopping her. She was so tempted to just rip out the love that the girl hated and destroy it. If I did that she truly would have been a zombie. I don't know how to control it… She thought before picking up her computer and opening it up to continue her reading.
Hazel stormed downstairs, an obsidian color clouding her eyes as she hunts for the large cast iron skillet located in the bottom cabinet. She pulls it out roughly causing loud notices that caught attention quickly.
Hazel, then, placed the skillet on the counter. Then she lifted her arms allowing the large pan to levitate.
Ara walked over with a face full of concern. "Hey, Hazel. What's all this about?"
Hazel growls at her, "I can't take it anymore! This is driving me crazy! I am just going to whack myself one good time. By the time I get my memory back, she will be gone!" She backed up the pan, so it could get some good momentum before meeting her head.
Ara's eyes widen and she immediately side steps. When she is in proper position, she calls upon the magnetic side of her powers to get hold of the skillet.
Hazel's eyes squint in annoyance. "Ara, let go." She says angrily.
"No! You're trying to knock your marbles out! Of course I'm not letting go!" Ara says in shock that Hazel would even try to do something like this. While Hazel is trying to fight the magnetic pull, Ara looks to the wide-eyed boys. "Guys, a little S.O.S would be nice!"
Triple G gets the message. So does George. He has to pull over just for this.
George and Triple G tackle the poor girl to the ground. Ironically, that rendered her unconscious for now.
Triple G sits up and looks at the sleeping girl on the ground. "Oops."
Ara looks at the two of them with halved eyes and sighs, "Still better than the skillet…"
George picks Hazel up bridal style and says, "I will just drop her off in her room. After that, I believe she has had a rough day." He carries her to her room.
Ara shakes her head. "This is enough. I will talk to Heidi about this." Ara looks to Triple G. "This is getting tiresome.
Triple G shrugs and sits down on the couch. "I will leave that to you guys. I know nothing."
Ara playfully rolls her eyes, "As helpful as usual…"
Triple G smiles at her and says, "Thanks."
Ara inhaled before making her way to and up the stairs leading to Heidi's space. For the first time since they have been in the RV, Ara's demeanor was serious. She walked directly into the room unannounced.
She looked to the goddess with her arms folded and steady eyes. "Alright. We need to talk." She says, tilting her head.
Heidi glanced at her, her face still devoid of emotion as her eyes bore into Ara's. "Let me guess, it's about the girl who just tried to give herself a concussion?" She asked, putting her computer aside and leaning into the couch.
"Yes." Ara responds matter of factly. "Unfortunately, I think she will have a concussion anyway thanks to two block heads." Ara's eyes become halved.
Heidi's eyes drifted to her hands. "Well, I suppose she got her wish without the frying pan."
Ara folded her arms with a small smile. "Hazel is filled to the brim with healing magic due to her chlorokinesis. The pan, or a boulder would've done it." Ara leans to the side as she continues. "A football tackle? She can hop right up after a couple hours rest, but she is out like a light, though."
"You might want to hide those frying pans. She'll go for them again." Heidi stated, looking up from her hands in disinterest.
Ara gazed at Heidi and stated, "We hide the frying pans, she'll summon a stone."
"Oh." The goddess muttered in reply, looking away before going silent.
Ara tilts her head to the other side. "What happened? At first, she flat out ignores you, now she comes up here, then she is ready to nearly kill herself. I need to know, so I can tell you what's going on." Ara says questionably.
Heidi examined her nails before looking up at her. "She came up here to ask for my advice. She wanted to know how to stop liking someone. I told her the many ways and she didn't appear to like any of them. I mentioned I could destroy the love in someone, but I wasn't going to do it. She got angry and stormed off to give herself a concussion. That's the complete story." She explained calmly, tilting her head down and beginning to inspect her arms.
Ara blinks, then she nods. "Usually, I would not do this sort of thing. I don't like spreading other's business, but when it threatens my sister's sanity...I have to do what I've got to do." Ara folds her arms again as she looks at Heidi. "What you told me makes sense. I can see Hazel wanting to forget you, even if that does mean knocking out all of her senses."
Heidi gave her a nod to show that she was listening and waved her hand through the air to continue.
Ara continues, "You may have noticed that I said that she wanted to forget you. That's because you are the...I guess the right word would be catalyst, maybe?" Ara says as she ponders words.
The goddess blinked as she tilted her head, confusion written across her face while her eyebrow rose. "Catalyst?"
Ara face palmed. "You are confused? Catalyst, cause, you are to blame. Ring any bells?" Ara raised an eyebrow at the woman.
"I know I'm to blame...I refused her request. That's on me." Heidi said as the confusion failed to leave her.
This made Ara face palm with both hands. She exhaled and runs all ten of her fingers through her shiny midnight hair. She smacks her lips before speaking. "Let me spell it out for ya." Ara gathers herself and clasps her hands together before saying, "You. Are. Her. Crush! Now does it ring any bells?!"
The blonde just stared at her, almost as if the information wasn't processing. After a minute or so, her eyes widened before she opened her mouth. She quickly shut it and scrunched up her face as she thought the words over. Finally, she looked up at her with a blank look. "Yeah, I think you've got the info wrong." Heidi told her, shaking her head in disbelief.
Ara looked at her with a cocky smirk and a raised eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"
Heidi's eyes halved as her notepad appeared in her hands. "I made a list of reasons. Would you like to see it?" She asked with a roll of the eyes.
Ara, now intrigued, asked, "Are those notes based on Hazel? My sister is a unique snowflake. Only I know her deeply." Ara says with a tilt of her head.
Heidi tossed the notepad over her head and folded her arms. "Yet, I've seen my share of things that would say the opposite of that 'crush' claim." She said with a pointed look.
Ara motions her to elaborate. "Like? I will translate what you tell me based on how much I know Hazel." She smiles as she sits in the barrel chair.
Heidi rolled her eyes and looked away. "I don't have the time or energy to list them all, so I will just say the biggest one. Her avoiding me like the black plague, or perhaps, as if I was a despicable being." She stated, refusing to look at the other girl.
Ara giggled. "Heidi, You don't even know it, but that is the biggest give away." She sinks into her chair. "Look, I knew she had a crush on you before anyone else. We are twins. Magical twins, so we have the ability to read each other's thoughts intentionally and unintentionally. She avoids you because she thinks what she's doing is right. She's protecting herself from herself. If you get my point. She doesn't dislike you and that is proven by how much work she put into that mirror of yours, or how every food she gives you has a side of strawberries. Hazel is just really stubborn and good at hiding things." Ara shrugs.
Heidi took in what she said and turned her head a little. Her eyes practically gave away that she admitted that the girl was right, but her stony expression remained on her face. The goddess sighed irritably. "If she wanted me gone that badly I would have flown out the window. Asking me to destroy her love…" She shook her head as she continued to mutter.
Ara nodded and replied. "You don't know things from Hazel's point of view and you don't know her's. The only reason I know as much as I know is due to our bond." Ara sighs and speaks softly. "I know you are upset, but please recognise that she doesn't understand what she was asking for. We are not like you and we have never met anyone like you before. All she knows is that she has a promise to fulfill that she does not intend to renege. She wants to get you home and wants you safe, but...it just hurts to have you around."
Heidi closed her eyes, sighing as she rubbed her arms. "If it hurts that much, then she should've just told me that I am a bad...thing, and I would've made the journey myself. I'm a goddess, I can survive, that's what we do best." She said, opening her eyes to reveal a deep sadness in them. "I don't want to cause others problems when I can fix my own mistakes."
Ara offers her a kind smile and says, "You see? This is why she didn't want to tell you." Ara turns her attention to the floor. "She's scared that you would leave."
"Hurts to be around me, yet it would hurt for me to be not around." Heidi said to herself, looking away and staring at the floor.
Ara shrugs. "Welcome to the world of Hazel. She wouldn't know what to do with herself if you were to leave and you get hurt...or the universe falls apart…" Ara shudders. "Both have terrible results, but she feels most obligated because of her promise to you. When Hazel makes a promise, it is written in stone. Pun intended." Ara says offering her a smile.
Heidi's eyes widened a little at the last part as she exhaled. "And when you make a promise with me...It's bound by some divine law crap." She said while tapping her fingers together.
Ara nods, "So...in a way...you understand." She says, looking back to the goddess.
"I understand well." Heidi replied with a small nod.
"I think it's about time for you two to talk. Properly. Once you two get passed this, the rest of the trip will be much easier, and the rest of the trip is not that far off." Ara says to her.
Heidi nodded again, this time glancing at her. "Maybe. No journey is ever easy according to my aunt."
Ara smiles and says, "It always could be worse. I mean, you are having problems with a person because they like you too much. I can name thirty things worse than that on the top of my head."
"I can think of fifty and don't say anything. You'll jinx us all if you mention something." Heidi deadpanned, her eyes halving at the thought.
Ara smirked, "Fine. I won't...grandma." She chuckles.
Heidi shook her head. "That nickname won't affect me. If I'm a grandma that makes all the gods the oldest geezers to ever exist." She said as she folded her arms.
"Wow, you read my mind! That's what I was thinking about! They are all super old…" Ara stood and said, "Well, I will see you later. Someone has to start on dinner prep since Hazel is sleeping."
Heidi sunk into the sofa and closed her eyes. "I'll just be up here, I guess." She said while frowning.
Ara turned to leave, but caught sight of her frown. "What's wrong?"
The goddess opened her eyes and leaned forward, "Just bored. Even though I have plenty of things to do like trying to get this magic paint stain out-" She pointed at a strange white stain on her arm. "-Or figuring out Fae stuff. It's...tedious." She finished with a shake of her head.
"Well, you could always come down…" Ara says while looking to the side.
"And risk getting caught? I'd rather get jumped by Cerberus." Heidi deadpanned, propping her head up with her hands.
Ara rolled her eyes. "She's sleeping. Besides, if she hears you downstairs, she won't leave her room." Ara tells her.
Heidi looked away before reluctantly standing up. "Fine…" She murmured as she looked up at her.
Ara grinned at the goddess. "Awesome. Do you know how to cook?"
"Kind of...If you really need someone, I'll just ask Hestia a favor. She's amazing at making food." Heidi said with the smallest of smiles.
Ara's eyes widened. "Really? I...kinda want to see that." Ara shook her head and said, "Alright, come on!" She says as she galloped down the stairs.
Heidi instead flew into a shadow and landed out of one. She wasn't in the mood for dealing with the stupid thing.
Once Ara came downstairs, they boys where ready to greet her until their eyes landed on Heidi. They paused for a moment and greeted her.
"Ayy, Heidi! Finally out and about!" Triple G calls. "Chess, Deuce, George and I are about to play monopoly Chester's edition. You want in?" He grins at her.
She paused before smiling softly and shaking her head. "No thanks. I don't have a good history with monopoly. I think I may watch, though." She said as she rubbed her arm.
George chuckles and says, "No problem, but no snitchin'! If we get caught cheating we get sent to jail." He explains.
Heidi chuckled and nodded. "I won't. I've played this game with my family before, they took the 'sent to jail' part literally." She said as she cracked a grin.
Triple G stood and said, "Well, so do we." He walked over to where a blanket was covering something large in the room. "May I present to you...the jail!" He ripped the blanket off to reveal a large cage.
Ara had to take a double take. "What the-!?"
"Thats...actually nice for a jail." Heidi said in surprise as she tilted her head.
Ara scratches her head. "I really need to talk to Hazel about a budget for us…" Ara shakes her head at him. "I have to cook. I will let you guys have...that." Ara says as she walks to the kitchen.
George nods and says, "Heidi, since you are going to be watching and I think you will be rather bored, maybe you can operate the jail?" He offers a smile.
Chester smiles and says, "That would be quite entertaining. The hail also comes with this key, so you will let people in and out. How does that sound?" Chester grinned.
Heidi shrugged, "Sounds fun. I know the last person who was in charge of the jail had a grand old time. Then again...I suppose it wasn't smart to put Hermes in charge of catching people." She muttered out the last part as she scratched the side of her head.
Deuce nodded and said, "Swag. Let's get started. Highest roll goes first."
Ara says, "Don't mind me. I will just be here trying to learn how to cook…" She looks over the cookbook in confusion.
Heidi snapped her finger and Hestia appeared next to the girl, her arrival being the quietest it had ever been so it would not startle anyone.
Ara looked to her side. "Oh, hi Hestia! I just need help with...cooking." Ara explains while trying to read the recipe book upside down.
Hestia chuckled and tilted her head as she looked at the book. "Hello. She mentioned that my culinary skills may come in need, so it is no worry." The fiery-eyed goddess explained in a quiet voice. "She also mentioned not to talk too loud, apparently I distract people."
Ara nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Especially Deuce." Ara said with a chuckle.
Hestia nodded at the name. "She emphasized on that one." She said with a chuckle and a small smile.
Ara laughed before saying, "I have no idea what I'm doing. Help?" She asks pleadingly.
Hestia plucked the book out of her hands and looked it over before propping it up against the wall. She summoned some fire to her hand before it morphed into what looked like a knife. "I have memorized the instructions." Hestia informed her as she looked the object in her hand over.
Ara just gaped at it, then looked at her with wide eyes. "Umm, okay."
Hestia offered a smile before she went about looking for the ingredients as if this was a normal thing for her.
Ara looked at her in a puzzled manner. "Wa-aren't you immortal?You don't have to eat to live. How do you know how to cook?!"
Hestia nodded at that as she pulled several different ingredients out and sat them on the counter. "While it is true that we do not need food, we enjoy it. I've always known how to cook and as somebody once told me, it came as a perk with my title. I'm not as known for it as some of the other gods, but I have been told I'm 'up there'." She explained, smiling as she spoke.
Ara noddes. "Interesting… Well, thank goodness for that perk, or we would be eating Frosted Flakes for dinner." Ara shrugged with a smile.
Hestia chuckled at that as she found the last few ingredients.
Ara looked around before saying, "Do you need pots, skillets, pans?" She asked, cringing when she said pans.
"A large pot. That is all." Hestia said as she looked up in thought.
Ara smiles. She looked in the cabinets, making everything sound like an earthquake until she pulled out a large enough pot. She rinsed it out and set it one the stove in waiting.
Hestia nodded in thanks. "It will be what my brother calls, 'Stew Worthy for the Gods' only he usually shouts it. He doesn't get it often." She said in obvious amusement.
Ara's eyes twinkle in thought. "Anything that has 'Worthy for the Gods' in it, is definitely on my taste testing list!" She smiles and sparks a bit.
Hestia smiled at her reaction, finding it similar to how one of her brothers reacted to her food. "I'm glad you find it, what did she say? Oh, 'On the bucket list of delights to eat', that girl is very expressive." Hestia gestured to Heidi with a tilt of her head.
Ara blinked, then looked at Heidi. She smirked and turned her attention back to Hestia. "Ah, that does sound like a Heidi thing to say. If Heidi says it's good, now I really want to try it!" She smiles brighter.
Hestia matched her smile and went about handling the ingredients.
Ara watched happily until her conscience got on her for letting Hestia do all of the work. That motivated her to ask, "Oh-umm, do you need any help? What can I do?" She bounces on her toes as she speaks.
Hestia quickly separated half of the vegetables she had gathered, "You may cut half of these if you wish." She said before going back to what she was doing.
Ara looks at them with headed eyes and grabs a knife out of one of the many droors. "B-B-B-B-But-But…" Ara stutters as she stares at them.
Hestia raised an eyebrow in curiosity, looking up from what she was doing as she twirled the fire knife around in her hand.
"But I don't know how to cut them in a way that's…'Worthy for the Gods'..." She pouts.
Hestia let out a soft laugh as she shook her head. "They don't need to be cut in a grandiose way. Zeus just likes to be very…'extra' with the names he gives things. Most of them just call it stew." She explained as she used air quotations with the word.
"If I made it, it's just stew. If you make it it's 'Holy Stew'." She says while also using air quotes. "Are you following?"
Hestia nodded, her full attention on her. "Yes. I do follow. However, it is not something that is made special by me. Anyone can make it, I just use hotter flames to cook it." She glanced around the room before covering her mouth. "Heidi informed me that she once made it to see if she could trick my brother, she said she followed the directions down to the last detail. When she brought it, she told him that I had sent her ahead with it. Later on, she said that Zeus couldn't tell the difference. She didn't know how to cook." Hestia said with a chuckle, remembering the story that she had been told during one of their 'sessions'.
Ara blinked in thought of everything she had been told. "Huh. Anyone can make it?"
"Anyone." Hestia repeated the word with a nod.
Ara smiles and begin to cut the vegetables to the best of her ability. She narrowly missed here fingers a couple times, but she was learning quickly. "That makes me feel a bit better."
Hestia smiled and went back to her own half. "I'm glad." She said with a small nod.
Okay, guys! This was day four of the count down to Olympus!
From here on out it is going to get super chaotic as Heidi's time in Ara's world draws to a close. Don't miss it!
SuperNova out⭐