Heidi entered her bedroom and went straight to the closet in order to take off the wet clothes that were annoying her more and more every second. Once she was free from the clothes and in a rather comfortable black silky jumpsuit, the bluenette nodded and went over to a mirror in order to begin fixing her hair.
As she grabbed a brush from off the table in front of her, her thoughts drifted back to what Audrey was doing earlier. I'm not pregnant. I don't have any symptoms...much less a belly. I would have noticed that by now. She thought before blinking a few times as she felt a headache coming on. "Migraines, however, is completely possible." She said as she placed the brush down and moved to go sit on the bed.
The woman sat down and laid down on her back. While it hadn't exactly been very long since she first tried out the spell, it was long enough for Audrey to already be sporting a bump. By theory, that would mean I have a bump like that. Heidi thought with a thoughtful expression as she ignored a wave of dizziness brought on by the migraine.
After a few minutes of the "dizzies" as Heidi had been calling them as of late, the woman sat up as her migraine subsided. She didn't want to admit that she had been having them, not with how Audrey had been reacting lately, but she was having quite a few migraine spells accompanied by waves of dizziness and sometimes nausea as a result.
Heidi shook her head as she waited to see if her stomach was deciding to rebel. After a few minutes of nothing, she stood up and went back to brushing her hair. "This is all stress-related." She mumbled to herself as she moved to brush out her bangs.
Around five minutes later, the goddess was satisfied and left her hair down. As she looked herself over, she pursed her lips...at yet another sign of her unmanaged stress issues. "...Great. Either I'm bloating or I'm eating like a pig." She said with a groan. "If I walk out...Audrey will pounce on me with the "signs" talk. It's not a sign." She grumbled out as she moodily went to change into something looser.
Looking at all her options, she rubbed the bridge of her nose as most of them were tight-fitting...except for Audrey's sundresses. The goddess let out a deep sigh before she grumpily grabbed the pink flowery sundress and put it on quickly.
This time she didn't bother to look at her reflection as she didn't bother with shoes either. Instead, she just pouted and made the rather short journey to the kitchen.
Mal and Audrey were in the middle of eating some strawberry toast when they saw the somewhat disgruntled Heidi enter...in a very pink dress.
Audrey blinked. "...I didn't know you liked my dresses…" She said as she munched on her toast.
"I forgot you liked pink," Mal said with a smirk as she sprinkled some sugar on her toast. "Looks nice on you." She said with a chuckle before she took a bite of her toast.
"I don't like your dresses, and pink and I have a unique relationship," Heidi said in a deadpan as she grabbed the egg carton out and set it down.
Audrey nodded with an 'oh' before rubbing her chin. "Well, then why are you wearing them? I don't mind...but it's not something you would do." She said while frowning a bit.
Heidi glanced back as she grabbed a cast iron skillet and started the fire on the stovetop. "...Stress-related bloating." She mumbled out with a sigh.
Audrey blinked before gaining a smirk and leaned over to whisper to Mal. "...I don't think it's stress~" She said with a glance Heidi's way.
"It could be, it could not be. She's been through a lot lately and she's bound to have something as a result from all the events." Mal said with a small frown.
Audrey looked at her for a moment before nodding and sat up. "Oh...Did you have any other issues? I know stress can...cause a lot of things." She said as she kept a concerned look on her face.
Heidi shook her head as she debated telling the other women before she bit her lip and gave in. "Yeah, some migraines with dizziness. Sometimes...the stress just gets to me and my stomach revolts." She said with a sigh, unknowingly making the two women stare at her.
Mal leaned over as she kept her eyes on her sister. "...Nausea." She mumbled to her before sitting back up. "Huh, well maybe you should try meditation or something to help you calm down." She suggested as she finished off her toast.
Heidi was scrambling the several eggs and only glanced back at the two when she could. "I guess I could. Maybe I really do need to...calm down." She said with a small frown before she went back to working on her eggs.
"We could try out a few things when we meet tonight. Maybe some aromatherapy, get Hermes to give us massages, and have Hestia help out with the meditation." Audrey said with a smile.
"If you want to work on gathering all that stuff, be my guest," Heidi said as she summoned some tomatoes, onions, peppers, and a few different types of spices. "I need to get my head on straight for the meeting tonight." She used her magic to chop everything up before adding them into the eggs.
Mal nodded before her head turned as she heard the familiar babble of her daughter. She sighed with a bit of relief as Hestia entered with the baby in her arms. "Oh, Hestia...I forgot all about Mercy last night…" She said as she offered the older goddess an apologetic expression.
Hestia waved it off with a smile as the blonde-haired baby snuggled into her arms. "It isn't an issue, Mal. I knew of a spell from my own mother that helped me when it came time for her to be fed." She said as she smiled down at the child.
Mal nodded and smiled a bit. "Thanks. I wouldn't know what to do since...mine dried up extremely fast for some reason." She said, gesturing to her chest with a sigh. "Good thing I don't have to have a second one." She shook her head.
Hestia nodded as she walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "It really isn't an issue Mal. I would be happy to take care of her...just get better, okay?" She asked, saying the last part a little bit quieter so that only Mal could hear her.
Mal glanced up at the last part and she closed her eyes before nodding. "I will." She said, managing a small smile.
The elder goddess smiled back before she walked over to where Heidi was working and tilted her head. "That looks good. May I ask what the occasion is? Normally you don't do very much for meals." She commented as the baby in her arms began falling asleep.
Heidi shrugged as she added on some salt in pepper before finally transferring it to a plate with some toast already on it. "Just wanted something filling before the meeting with my father tonight. That and this recipe sounded good." She said as she walked over to the table and sat beside her wife.
Hestia chuckled. "It looks good. Well, I will be taking my leave, I'm doing my rounds and checking on everyone." She explained with a smile.
Heidi nodded and waved. "I'll see you later then." She said, causing her aunt to smile and wave back before her and the slumbering baby left the room.
After a moment of silence, Mal spoke up as she looked at Heidi's meal. "...She's right, that does look good. Though I can smell the spice from here." She said with a wince.
Audrey winced a bit as well. "Yeah, skip the spices and I think we're both good." She said with a giggle as Mal rolled her eyes in amusement.
Hades sat back in his seat with a bored expression as he watched Hecate run back and forth while writing on a massive whiteboard. He deadpanned as the blackhaired, green-eyed, goddess seemed to lose track of what she was doing. "You were babbling about mystical artifacts?" He asked in a dry tone as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
Hecate blinked and step backed a bit before smiling. "Yes! Exactly!" She clapped her hands before running up to the board. "Though I wouldn't say artifacts, since we are making these, they are, however, very much so magical. If I can imbue each and every piece of jewelry with a spell to protect us from Aphrodite's powers...it'll be like all of us have the same immunity as the virgin goddesses." She said with a hint of excitement as she wrote everything down.
Hades was silent before 'hmming' as he looked up. "...But is there a spell powerful enough to block her powers?" He asked skeptically while folding his arms.
Hecate stopped and a small grimace appeared on her face. "Well...technically no." She raised her hand to stop him from responding as her smile slipped back onto her face. "But with enough time, creativity, and books...I should be able to have them working in a year tops!"
The god's eyes halved at that. "...Yeah, can you do anything faster? In a year she'll have the entire world as her army." He deadpanned with sarcasm in his tone.
Hecate made the whiteboard disappear with a hip bump before she walked up to his desk. "I'm only one person Hades. If I had another helping me...I may be able to bring it down by a few months. This is like treating a virus, it takes time to find the right cure." She said with a small frown.
Hades grumbled a bit at that. "...Fine. Who do you want?" He asked with a frown.
Hecate paused for a moment before nodding. "I need Heidi to help me. I taught her everything I could and...she's the only other one down here that could help me speed it up. I know she has been through a lot lately, but you have to at least let me ask her." She said, her expression turning into a pleading one as she noticed his expression.
Hades looked like he wanted to say 'no' a million times as his fist clenched and unclenched a few times before he let out a heavy sigh. "You have one shot. You only ask her once, you screw it up...ask Hermes." He said with a gaze that promised to hurt her if she did anything other than what he said.
Hecate eagerly nodded. "I will, don't worry. I don't want to stress her out anymore than she is already, okay? I want what you want...and that's for her to be alright." She said with a determined gaze.
Hades gazed into her eyes to see if she was lying before he looked away. "...Just go. She wanted to speak with me later about what the plan was." He said as he turned his chair so that his back was facing her and he could look out into the Underworld.
"Did you still wish to speak with her? Or do you want me to tell her its postponed...just so we don't unsettle her further?" Hecate asked with a head tilt.
Hades looked down as he heard Persephone enter the office. "...We'll hold it when she's in a better condition. I already erased her memory of the more...damaging things regarding Aphrodite...And I don't want her reverting to that state she was in before I did that." He told the black-haired goddess.
Hecate nodded as she exchanged a smile with Persephone. "I will be careful, Hades. She may not be my daughter...but rest assured that I will treat her like she is." She said with a small smile before she turned and left the office.
Persephone walked over to her husband before she looked at him. "...I worry for Heidi. You may have erased her memory...but that is only a temporary fix." She said with furrowed brows while her tone was filled with concern. "Who knows what Aphrodite may have done...I just hope it isn't nearly as bad as my fear believes it to be." She looked down and laced her hand with his.
"If it is...then I'll just have more to beat her for." The god replied while he rubbed the top of her hand as they both looked outside the window.
Hecate looked around as she searched for Heidi. She knew that she had one shot, not just because of Hades and his infamous death glares, but also because she had a feeling that Heidi wouldn't talk to her afterward. While Heidi did love and appreciate her, and owe her as well, Hecate knew that Heidi would probably ignore her when it came to the project that she was working on.
The green-eyed goddess pinched the bridge of her nose before shaking her head. "Just be calm and spit it out. If you over-complicate it...she'll say no." She said to herself not noticing that Heidi had exited a room in front of her and was heading her way. "Maybe if I just say that it's a...um...perhaps I could just call it…"
While Hecate continued to struggle for her words, Heidi stopped and paused at the sight of the goddess. The bluenette blinked at her and reached out to pat her on the shoulder. "Hecate?" She jumped a bit when Hecate jumped as well. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." She apologized with a chuckle while she waved at the woman.
Hecate blinked before she shrugged it off and chuckled. "Startle me? Nah...I was just practicing my "jumping abruptly" skill. I was actually looking for you." She said with a fold of her arms.
Heidi tilted her head at that. "Huh...Well, what did you want?" She asked with a blink.
Hecate rubbed her hands together before looking at the younger goddess. "...I need your help on a project of mine." She began, causing Heidi to tilt her head in interest. "I want to be able to make an amulet that is able to block the uh...mind control that Aphrodite demonstrated." She paused, watching Heidi for a moment before continuing. "That way we can get close without being at risk. Unfortunately...There isn't a spell just for that. So I need you to help me...create the spell I need, by combining a bunch of different spells." She finished with a small sigh.
Heidi was quiet for a few minutes as she thought it over. "Well...I mean…" She rubbed the side of her head. "I have Audrey...and…" She shook her head a bit.
Hecate laced her fingers together and took on a pleading gaze. "Please, Heidi? I really could use the help-I can, I mean you can work with your own schedule! Anything you want and I'll do it." She comically fell to her knees as she continued begging the woman.
Heidi stared at her and quickly waved her hands as the goddess went into an even more formal bow. "Hecate, okay, stop-I'll help you out, just stop doing that," Heidi said with a slight twitch.
Hecate smiles and happily hopped up. "Oh, thankyouthankyou!" She said giddily before she noticed what Heidi was wearing. "...Are you feeling alright? You aren't wearing leather." She pointed to the woman, prompting the bluenette to facepalm.
Heidi pinched her brow in exasperation. "I have stress-related symptoms that have been spiraling out of control lately."
Hecate blinked before nodding. "Well...Did you want me to give you a checkup?" She asked, offering Heidi a smile.
Heidi paused at that before remembering how...persistent Audrey was being earlier. This caused her to sigh as she folded her arms. "...Sure." She mumbled out, having given up on the thought of denying the offer.
While Hecate smirked, Heidi looked back at her. "But I have to go speak with my father."
Hecate chuckled and shook her head. "Ah, I was supposed to pass on a message...How about I tell you when we are comfy in our handy dandy exam room?" She asked while tilting her head.
Heidi blinked before slowly nodding. "...I guess we can do that. Let's head over there." She said before beginning to walk as Hecate followed her with a smile.
As Heidi reached the room and opened the door, she had to dodge Hecate running in. The bluenette deadpanned at her and rolled her eyes before closing the door behind her. "What are we-wait, why the hell are you bringing that out?" She said irately as she noticed that Hecate was bringing out ultrasound equipment.
Hecate shrugged at looked at her. "Well, you tried a super bolt to substitute for a male subject, said bolt went all the way from Hera to Rhea before landing in your hands...and now you are reporting symptoms that are clearly side effects from a very successful attempt." She said with a smirk as she waltzed on over to Heidi. "Someone else is gonna be a mama in this castle."
Heidi whacked her away with a scowl. "I am not. Are we forgetting I'm an empath? Surely if there was a kid inside here...I would sense it nagging me to shut up and accept it." She said with a twitch as she gestured to herself.
Hecate chuckled and shook her head as she guided the woman over to what Heidi dubbed the "Fainting Couch" before the bluenette was sat down. "Maybe it's just as stubborn as you, missy." She said before she laid Heidi down and pushed her head so that it was resting on the pillow.
Heidi rolled her eyes. "Or perhaps there isn't an it inside me." She said with sarcasm.
Hecate shrugged at that as she dragged the cart over. "Remind me again when you did the lightning stunt?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as she smacked the machine when it didn't turn on right away.
Heidi deadpanned further as she let out an annoyed sigh. "...Two months ago." She grumbled out while folding her arms.
Hecate nodded as she smirked a bit when the machine turned on. "Ah, so we should be able to see if you are hiding anything." She said with a chuckle. "Now lemme see that belly."
Heidi merely blinked in exasperation. "...Could you sound any weirder?"
"Yes, now let me see it or we ditch the mortal equipment," Hecate said with a giggle.
Heidi's eyes halved at the, suspiciously, insane-sounding giggle before she let out a huff and moodily pulled up her dress. "Just get it over with." She grumbled while turning her head away.
Hecate shrugged. "Right, right...Oh, by the way...I couldn't find any of that gel they use...so I made my own!" She said cheerfully as she made said gel appear before she didn't hesitate to put it on.
Heidi winced as she felt that...instead of being cold...it was itchy and hot. "...I'm not complimenting it." She said blandly as she resisted the burning sensation and bit her lip.
"Yeah, sorry, I got an ingredient wrong," Hecate said as she grabbed the wand off the cart. "I didn't think it would be too bad," Hecate said with a chuckle while placing the wand on the bluenette's exposed belly.
Heidi deadpanned at her. "Well, it burns like...shit." She said, pausing for a moment as the burning feeling on her skin caught her off guard.
"I didn't want to test it on the undead," Hecate said as she tilted her head at something.
"Yay…" Heidi said with heavy sarcasm before looking at Hecate dryly. "Why are you looking at my gut like that?" She then kicked the woman in the leg to get her attention.
"Huh? What did you need?" Hecate lazily stopped moving the wand around and tilted her head.
Heidi deadpanned at her. "...The screen?" At that, Hecate blinked at her. "Show me the screen!" She huffed with a roll of her eyes.
Hecate 'oh'd' at that and quickly rolled it before turning it so Heidi could see it. "Sorry, I was just trying to see if I saw two or three, I'm no good with mortal machines." She said blandly while poking at the screen with her nail, not noticing the sarcasm and annoyance on Heidi's face...melting into shock.
