Hazel sat nearby as Heidi worked on both of their sandwiches. They had both come in from their talk at sunrise. It was still very early, so Hazel was taking advantage of the peace and quiet. She stayed silent for the most of things, to be honest.
She was still put off by having to work through her fear. She didn't want to do it. Anything that Hazel doesn't want to do is usually never done. For her benefit and for others, she'll at least try it out.
While Hazel was in her thoughts, Vetiver had ran into the kitchen with Audrey in tow. Vetiver greeted them both happily. "Good morning! A surprise to see you up this early, Heidi!" She said as she sat in a seat.
Heidi shrugged as she kept her focus on the sandwiches. "I'm a bit of a night owl, I like to stay up sometimes." She said, not turning around yet to look at her.
Vetiver nodded at that. "Oh yeah. I forgot you do that stuff since you're all dark and mysterious." She said dramatically, not noticing Hazel staring unblinkedly at Audrey.
While Audrey sat down, Heidi blinked at that. "That is...I just like sitting out in the dark." She said before blanching at her use of words.
Vetiver nodded. "I don't mind that. It's just your thing. It sounds pretty cool though." She said with a smile while Hazel teleported to the corner of the other end of the table.
Heidi placed the sandwiches on individual plates before turning around. "It's something alright." Heidi said with a small shrug before walking over to hand Hazel her sandwich.
Hazel barely noticed that the sandwich was given to her. She stitched every few seconds and said, "T-t-t-thanks…" before shakily picking up her sandwich.
Heidi nodded and shot her a warm smile before walking over to the other two at the table. "So, what are you two doing up?" She asked, placing a small smile on her face.
Audrey shrugged. "I just followed Veti who followed the smell of food." She said while gesturing to the girl.
"I'm always up when the sun's up." Vetiver says simply. "Food would be awesome now that I talk about it. No worries. Chirpy should be here soon." Vetiver said with a smile.
Heidi nodded before she took a seat next to the shaky Hazel. "Well, I just wanted my usual food after I'm up all night. My aunt taught me and it's sort of a thing for me now." She said with a small shrug.
Vetiver tilted her head. "Your go to midnight snack is grilled cheese? Not bad." The girl said with a chuckle.
Heidi shook her head in amusement. "It was Hestia who got me hooked. She gave me the recipe and here I am two years later still doing it." She said with a small smile before taking a bite of her food.
Vetiver nodded again. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." She chuckled once more as she tilted her head at the sight of Hazel rushing through her sandwich.
Heidi subtly patted Hazel on the back as she shrugged. "Very true. You sure you don't want me to make you one? Audrey can argue that they are good." She said, pointedly staring at Audrey.
Audrey blinked as she noticed the eyes on her. "It's great?" She asked with a clueless look.
"See? Great!" Heidi replied with a smirk as Audrey's eyes halved at her.
Vetiver shook her head, but kept her smile. "I don't eat much in the morning. If you feel like it, you can make me one and put it away for lunch." She suggests.
"Or I just make you one for lunch, no biggy. By the way, have you or the boy tried out any of the toys while I was on my night patrol?" Heidi asked as she tried to keep their attention on herself.
Vetiver looked up in thought. "Oh! I ran into a bush using the hover shoes! CJ was passing by and said it was cool." She smirked with a giggle.
"Was it at least a soft bush?" Heidi asked with a matching smirk.
Vetiver laughed at that. "It was everything but soft. I'm not worried this time. I'm going to go outside and try again!" She smiled.
"Just don't go downhill, otherwise you might get some airtime if you hit a rock." Heidi advised her with a smile and a chuckle as she finished her sandwich.
Vetiver nodded at that. "I'm going to save the air time for when I know what I'm doing." She chuckled and shook her head while Hazel shook as if she was vibrating.
Noticing the girl's condition next to her, Heidi cleared her throat. "So Audrey, I assume you finished my switch? Got everything set up?" At this Audrey nodded happily. Heidi tilted her head. "Even the spells?"
As soon as she said the last part, Audrey's eyes widened dramatically. "I forgot the spells!" She exclaimed while gaining a panicked look.
Heidi shook her head. "Oh boy, well, why don't you two head back to the room and handle that and I'll bring you guys some breakfast. Sound good?" She asked as she saw her wife quickly get up.
Vetiver got up after Audrey rose. "I guess so. I need to work on some things anyway." She said with a shrug before glancing at Hazel with concern.
Heidi nodded. "Just tell Audrey if you want something to drink and she'll text me, okay?" She said to the girl with a smile.
Vetiver nodded. "Okay!" She said happily, ready to follow her mother.
Heidi waved them out as Audrey practically ran out of the room. Once they were gone, she turned to look at Hazel. "You okay?" She asked in a gentle voice.
Hazel blinked before slowly looking at her. "Mayb-be..?" She said as she exhaled heavily.
Heidi gave her a small one-armed hug before shaking her head. "Fortunately...Kirby is a lot less intimidating than those two." She said with a small smile.
Hazel sighed as she felt herself slowly calm down. "It wasn't Vetiver that I was afraid of." She said with a frown.
"It was Audrey, eh? Well...I wasn't too comfortable either, I just happen to be one hell of an actor." Heidi said with a small grimace.
Hazel nodded as she thickly swallowed. "...I surely didn't notice…" She placed her hand on her chest and focused on her breathing.
"If you haven't noticed my father at times, I think the acting thing runs in the family. I just do what comes natural and later die." Heidi said with a small shrug.
Hazel nodded before looking around the kitchen frantically as if Vetiver and Audrey would return. "Uh huh…" She said, looking about.
Heidi looked at her before promptly summoning a clone. "Go make sure they stay in there for awhile." She said simply, causing the clone to nod before vanishing in blue flames. Looking at Hazel, she offered her a small smile. "I don't think they'll be running in here anytime soon. If anything, the clone with entertain Vetiver for a bit."
Hazel slowly nodded before it sped up as she relaxed. "Okay...thank you, Heidi." She gave her a small smile.
"Not a problem. Maybe later we can work on some exercises, the emotional ones not the physical. I'm not like my father in his lessons." Heidi said with amusement.
Hazel tilted her head at that. "Emotional exercises? Why?" She blinked at that.
Heidi rubbed her chin. "Well, what I am thinking is slowly introducing the feeling of fear after you are in a calm state. The point of it is to focus on the calm and not the storm. You focus on the storm and it all goes crazy." She explained with a small shrug. "My aunt gave me the same thing, only with my anger issues instead."
Hazel blinked. "I...um...Well...I'm willing to try it?" She said, more like a question.
Heidi chuckled. "I said the same thing and called my aunt crazy, the only crazy thing is that it actually helped after awhile." She said with a smile.
Hazel gained a small smile. "Okay. Well I'll g-give it a s-shot." She said, playing with her fingers.
Heidi nodded. "It doesn't fix it overnight, but it does make you feel a bit better." She said, rubbing the girl's shoulder in reassurance.
Hazel sighed. She felt closer to calm now. So she said, "Anything is better than this… If it will help me, and if you say it works, then I suppose it's worth my time." She shivered one last time.
Heidi offered her a smile. "In the meantime I'll work on something...Maybe I could help you out a bit with that fear using my jewelry…" She said, humming at the end while rubbing her chin.
Hazel nodded at that before looking at the empty plate before her. "I will check in on you for that. For now, I never got myself ready for the day." She said before standing.
Heidi nodded. "Yeah? Well, you take it easy and if you want to hide from my wife...Just hide at Terra's." She said with a soft chuckle. "I think Audrey is a bit confused since Terra and I look too much alike."
Hazel smiled at that. "Heh. Good point." She said before walking off. "I will. See you soon! Don't forget what I said!" She told her before heading down the long hallway.
Heidi blinked in thought before shrugging as she sat down and relaxed. "I'll remember it eventually." She said in a casual manner as she closed her eyes.
888888888
After finishing up in the kitchen, Hazel, for a lack of better words, ran down the halls in a panic. She looked in all directions, trying to avoid the pregnant pinkette. She could not handle Audrey right now...or anything else concerning children. That's why she ran all the way to Terra's room. Just as Heidi had asked of her.
Hazel frantically knocked on the door. She looked around as she knocked. There was a frown on her face. She was also...still knocking. "Where is she already?" She complained.
Instead of waiting any longer, Hazel growled and banged on the door a couple times. That's when she just used her magic to remove the hinges. She hurried in the room and fixed the door back quickly. Afterward, she slid from the door onto the ground and sighed.
Terra, who had been passed out still, sleepily opened her eyes and peered at the girl. "Oh...Hey, Hazel." She said, slurring a few of the words as she rubbed at her eyes.
Hazel looked at the other woman with mild annoyance while attempting to catch her breath. "...Good morning, Terra. Sorry about the surprise visit." She told the sleepy woman.
"It's fine…" Terra mumbled out while snuggling into her blanket.
Hazel looked around before making herself comfortable on a couch. She flipped into her side. "What am I going to do..?" She asked herself miserably, her face buried in a pillow.
"Go back to bed?" Terra asked with a yawn. "I'll share my blanket…" She said sleepily with a small smile.
Hazel looked up and returned her smile. "Not exactly the problem that I had in mind." She sighed. "I'll...have to tell you later when you wake up. I've been having trouble sleeping and I doubt if I can sleep now." Hazel looked down as her smile turned into a frown.
"That's because you need a sleeping buddy…" Terra replied as she closed her eyes.
Hazel looked at her in a deadpan. "A sleeping buddy?"
"Uh...huh." Terra nodded with a smile.
Smirking, Hazel replied. "Of course. A sleeping buddy. I'll make sure to go and get my giant teddy bear. He is pretty warm." She said, inwardly chuckling.
"Too big…" Terra said while shaking her head. "Why don't you want a sleeping buddy?"
Hazel turned over on the couch. "Terra, you know how I am about physical contact in general. Sometimes I'm fine. Other times...I'm like this." She said as she shivered.
"Hugs calm you down...make you feel safe…" Terra said, stopping to yawn a few times before opening her eyes.
Hazel blinked before shrugging. "I suppose they do…" She said, before looking up.
"Plus it's a good way to burn time…" The sleepy woman said with a chuckle.
Hazel looked at her in exasperation before making her way to the bed and crawling in it. She turned away from Terra. "I am not happy." She said in an exasperated tone.
Terra sleepily smiled before offering Hazel a part of her blanket. "You just need more sleep…" She said with a tilt of the head.
Hazel accepted the portion and hurried herself in it. "I guess...a little wouldn't hurt." She said, getting comfortable.
Terra nodded at that before she appeared to doze off again.
Hazel looked over at her for nearly a whole two minutes. She did this until she finally scooted over and snuggled up to Terra's body heat.
88888888
Vetiver ran all over the yard placing things in what seemed to be, random areas. She chuckled as she placed things down. After that, she ran and had gotten some discarded boxes. Those too had been thrown about followed by a giggle fit.
Kirby walked out to see what the commotion was and blinked in confusion. "Uh...What are you doing?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Vetiver spun on her heel to face him. "Creating." She answered simply while stacking one box atop of another.
"...Creating what?" He asked while giving her a confused look.
Vetiver's face became exasperated before facing him. "This is my shooting range and these are my homemade targets." She pointed to some stacked boxes. "Basically, I took junk out here so I could have something to shoot."
Kirby subtly backed up at bit at them mention of her shooting at stuff. "Heh...Well, I'll just be over…" He looked around before spotting an area far out of range of being shot. "Over there. Yeah-I'll just be over there." He said with a nervous chuckle before running over to the area.
Sensing his nervousness, her bottom lip pokes out as she looks at him in suspicion. "Where are you going? Don't you want a turn?"
"I'm good. I'll ask Heidi to help me out later with...that." He replied as he sat down.
Vetiver looked at him in a deadpan before saying, "Kirby. Life is all about independence. I am going to teach myself!" She said as she picked up her bow and quiver.
Kirby moved even farther back and ducked behind a bush. "And I am gonna hide back here."
Vetiver chuckled. "I play lots of Zelda games. How hard can this possibly be." She said, unintentionally slinging arrows around as she swung around the quiver.
"Zelda is a game, that's a weapon." Kirby deadpanned from his bush.
"Life is a game!" She exclaimed before grabbing one of the arrows logged into the ground.
"Yeah...A board game." Kirby mumbled as he tried to look around for someone to try and help him.
Vetiver glanced at the bush. "Yeah...heard that!" She shook her head before lining up the bow and arrow. "Geez, puppies can't whisper." She muttered. She drew back the string.
Kirby practically picked the bush up and began fleeing the scene as soon as she began attempting to fire off any arrows.
"Hey, Kirby! I'm going to aim for the-" She looked back to find him gone. "...and they call me the scaredy cat…" She snorted before shooting off an arrow in a random direction. "Fly, arrow! Fly!"
Chirpy, who was passing by with a cake delivery for Kam, was more than surprised to see an arrow land straight in it. Her eyes widened. "I hope Kam doesn't mind arrow cake." She blinked.
After that, she heard a yelp from the other side of the yard. She winced before hurrying on to the hospital room.
Vetiver, on the other hand, chuckled. "He's going to need a new foot." She smirked.
Kirby, who had been nearby the victim of Vetiver's random firing, simply ducked deeper into his bush. "Better him then me." He said with wide eyes before getting back on the move.
"THERE'S AN ARROW IN MY FOOT!" JR said as he looked at his foot in horror and disbelief.
Vetiver laughed at that. "What? You needed your annual flu shot. Get it! The arrow flew and you got shot!" She laughed again.
"VENGEANCE! I DECLARE WAR, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" JR screamed before crumbling to the ground, holding his foot.
Vetiver snickered. "Yeah? I'll be waiting."
Kirby stared at JR from a distance. "I would find a hiding spot before she nails you somewhere more painful." He said while poking his head out a bit.
JR looked up. "...Hide!? How!? I have only one foot!"
"...Crawl." Kirby deadpanned before sinking back into the bush and moving elsewhere.
JR whimpered and grumbled as he began to crawl away.
Vetiver kept her smirk as she drew another arrow. "...Crawling, I see? Heheheh…" She closed one eye before letting lose another arrow.
"YAAAAAAAH!" JR screamed.
"Have fun crawling without a leg!" Vetiver called in response to the scream.
Chirpy watched as JR had been shot. The man was now on the ground complaining once again. "Shouldn't you be...helping him?" She asked the cake occupied healer goddess with exasperation.
"This cake comes first." Kam deadpanned with a shrug.
"DON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU DARE!" He yelled before she let lose another arrow. "AAAAHHHHH!"
Chirpy blinked. "Ummm...why don't you just take the whole thing before I lose my appetite. Blood makes me woozy." She said before frowning.
Kam took the cake with a smirk. "Eh, I don't personally mind it. The norse destroy each other far more often and in much more destructive ways than with a bow and arrow." She said, scooping some frosting on her finger to taste it.
"Charming…" She said blankly with a blinked. She regathered her composure before clearing her throat. "Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." She said before walking away, not daring to look in JR's direction.
"Cool, cool." Kam said with a distracted look while watching the 'show.'
Vetiver laughed evilly before saying, "Hey, Kirby. I call this one The Skyscraper." She said before aiming the bow towards the sky.
Kirby stared blankly before teleporting away and hiding next to an amused Kam.
The next thing you heard was another one of JR's screams. "STOP IT WITH THE ARROWS ALREADY!" He screamed.
Vetiver smirked before saying, "By the time I'm done...you'll be permanently stuck to the ground. This is for calling me a brat!" She said before chuckling.
Kam shook her head as she worked on the cake. "Ah...Kids. It's good to start them out young with the shooting and injuries, mainly because they are never accurate." She said in a casual manner as Kirby stared at her with halved eyes.
Vetiver skipped over to Kirby happily and placed her hands on her hips. "Okay. I'm done for today. You wanna hang out?" She smiled as if she didn't just shoot a man half to death.
"...Doing what?" He asked slowly while trying to sneak some frosting off the cake.
Vetiver tilted her head. "Umm...rocket shoes? Eh?" She asked with a smile.
"...No weapons?" Kirby asked with wide eyes as Kam slapped his hand away.
Vetiver smirked. "I wish." She tilted her head.
"Heh...Eh." Kirby slowly stood up as Kam smirked at him. "Sure, let's do that." He said while forcing a 'pleasant' smile on his face.
Vetiver smiled easily before leading the way. "Alright then. Let's go!" She said before skipping off.
Kirby mouthed a 'Help me' to Kam before walking out after the girl as Kam ultimately turned her attention to the cake.
88888888
Chirpy walked into the kitchen with a blank expression. In fact, it was the same expression she had when JR had been shot down a few minutes earlier. What a traumatizing sight.
She shook off all of her stiffness before walking deeper into the room. She was a bit late making breakfast, but late is better than never. However, the queen doesn't pay her to be late. So, she should hurry and not let this happen again.
As she got set up, she tilted her head as she noticed a familiar face. It's not exactly normal for Heidi to be sitting in the kitchen. On top of that, sitting in the kitchen alone. On top of both of those, sitting in the kitchen alone in the morning!
Chirpy tilted her head at that. "G-good morning, Heidi. I'm surprised to see you here." She said as she had gotten out her supplies.
"I'm just trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing. Stayed up all night, had a sandwich, and now I can't remember what I'm supposed to be doing." Heidi said with a shake of her head as she leaned with her elbows on the table.
Chirpy sniffed a combination of spices with a slight smile. "Do you need anything in the meantime? Maybe something to drink?" She asked calmly.
"Hot cocoa? I know, it's a weird request but I drink it year around." Heidi said with a small shrug.
Chirpy nodded at that. "I don't get paid to judge." She said with a smirk before walking off to make the beverage.
"I don't get paid to make food in general, maybe I should start adding fees when my family asks for random 5-Star meals…" Heidi said while rubbing her chin.
Chirpy chuckled at that and slid the finished cup of cocoa over to Heidi. "You do you. I didn't ask for the job. I was working for free until the job got pretty much slapped on me." She said before going back to breakfast preparations.
Heidi sipped at the cocoa with a smile. "Well...I actually only get bugged because my aunts taught me. One of them said I had to properly cook since I was married...and the other one became my live-in therapist who bakes almost every hour." She said with humor.
Chirpy smiled at that and added pinches of spices to the simmering dish. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, Aunt Hesta and Aunt Hera can be nightmares at time, they do know how to cook though." Heidi admitted with a small shrug.
Chirpy smiled and nodded at that. That's when she snapped and a bag of marshmallows landed in her hand. She tossed them into the counter beside Heidi. "Almost forgot. Help yourself."
Heidi put a bunch in her hot cocoa before tilting her head. "I know Aunt Hera is mostly about actual meals...but Aunt Hestia? She's all about her cakes, cookies, brownies, you name the dessert she makes it. Didn't even realize she had a sweet tooth until she moved in." She continued on while rubbing her chin.
"Really? That sounds cool." Chirpy said as she tilted her head at the cooking dish.
"Yeah, Aunt Hestia actually made our wedding cake. Mainly because my dad asked her since he doesn't trust human bakers." Heidi deadpanned while sipping at her cocoa.
Chirpy chuckled with a roll of her eyes. "I bet your cake was amazing. I do admire the art of others despite being an artist myself." She explained without looking at the brunette due to business.
Heidi had her phone out and was looking at her notes. "I think I have the flavors in here somewhere...Oh, here we go. You want me to read em out or show you the monstrous and huge cake later?" She asked with a raised eyebrow
Chirpy, who was currently pouring batter into skillets, said, "You can read them." She glanced at the bluenette.
"Okay...Let's see here it was an eight-tiered cake with chocolate pound cake with a Bacon Bourbon buttercream on the bottom, normal vanilla in that second tier, lemon blueberry layer cake is third, red velvet fourth, strawberries and cream fifth, banana-caramel sixth, ginger spice is seventh, and finally...the eighth which tasted like pink champagne." Heidi read out loud. "Oh, and we had edible roses made out of probably the finest chocolate out there since my dad is...my dad."
Chirpy whistled as she continued to work. "Yep. Sounds like a fine cake. I'm not surprised since you gods like to do it big." She said with a sigh as she imagined the cake.
"I didn't want it that big...but Hermes invited literally every god and demigod he could think of. I didn't know half of them. We had so many food options it was pathetic." Heidi deadpanned while shaking her head.
Chirpy nodded as she used a single knife. She artistically cut at a pineapple until it was shaped like an elephant. "That sounds great…" She said, with a large grin.
"Yeah, it was until the pigs ate everything in twenty minutes." Heidi said in a casual manner. "When we do the vow renewal...I'm not letting Hermes do the invitations."
Chirpy blinked at that before putting everything on plates. "Vow renewal?" She tilted her head.
"Yeah...Audrey told me that we should do one since you guys missed the wedding." Heidi said while shaking her head as she went back for more cocoa.
Chirpy tilted her head the other way before shrugging. "Well...I don't know if I will be there or not." She explained. "It would be weird for me to be there." She looked up in confusion.
"What is weird is when a random demigod hugs you so hard that your back cracks plus a few ribs." Heidi deadpanned. "I didn't know him before, didn't know him during the wedding, and only knew him as the dude who crushed my ribs for awhile."
"I mean...yeah." Chirpy said as she balanced plates on her arms. "There are people like that...I respect them in the highest degree, but I don't understand. How can you go to such a sacred event without knowing the people who are getting married? I'm not that kind of person who would just show up like this awkward person that no one really knows." Chirpy shrugged as she set the plates out on the counter. "Honestly, I'm still learning myself and I really don't know knowanyone besides a select few people."
"To be honest...Audrey will invite you even if she barely knows you. She likes big parties...I don't but I put up with it." Heidi said before looking down at the little cocoa she had left. "Besides...She keeps saying how she is going to put the ballroom to use before she has the uh...you know, and that can only mean some big event." She explained with a plain look on her face.
Chirpy looked to the side with a small frown. "Do I have to go? Ara's going so I shouldn't have to. I'm literally just her back up...who happens to have a personality." She said, playing with her fingers and mumbling the last part.
Heidi looked up at her. "Well...I mean you don't have to. You'll just have to deal with a hormonal woman who wants to have everyone watching her manage to put on a wedding dress…" She said with a small shrug.
Chirpy looked down at her hands. "Umm...I'll be okay. Refill?" She said, regaining her smile.
Heidi nodded and looked away. "I didn't want to bring this up but...Pinky will probably drag you there. Especially after how she flipped out on me when I mentioned the cake." She said while scratching the side of her head.
Chirpy heavily sighed at that. "I'll...cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I have to work on getting out of this kitchen." She said with a slight smile.
"I can help you if you want. I got Audrey and Vetiver out earlier and told them I'd drop off their food. Though, oddly, Audrey never texted me any drink orders...Wonder where she ran off to this time?" Heidi questioned aloud while rubbing her chin as she made her cup levitate as she stood up.
Chirpy nodded at Heidi's mention of help. "Well...I haven't seen her, but I do appreciate the help."
Heidi levitated some of the plates to help relieve the girl of some of the trouble and shrugged. "Not a problem, I just hope she isn't waddling around bothering people left and right. Those hormones are getting to her and she likes to jump people lately. With questions, not literally." She clarified as she walked over to her.
Chirpy tilted her head. "She does? Why?" She said as she began her clean up process.
"She's trying to pick out godparents impulsively." Heidi deadpanned with halved eyes.
Chirpy looked at Heidi with amusement. "Godparents? Umm...That is a very strong question to ask on impulse." She said before going back to cleaning.
"I told you, it's the hormones. She's incorporating names into middle names and second middle name, planning how she is going to reserve one for one person. I...don't even know what is going through her mind besides a million questions." Heidi said with averted eyes.
Chirpy shrugged at that with a blank expression. "Well, that is out of my expertise. I was born a few days ago…" she said with a few blinks.
"And I was born decades ago yet I still somehow don't understand her." Heidi mumbled with a frown.
Chirpy finished up with cleaning and put away her apron and chef togue. "So…I am finished. Cooking that is. You said you were going to bring food to your family?" She asked, tilting her head.
Heidi snapped her fingers and nodded. "Uh yeah...At least Vetiver and Kirby since Audrey is wandering around." She said while quickly forcing a smile on her face.
Chirpy looked at her with squinted eyes before shrugging it off. "Okay. Plates are right there." She said before heading towards the exit. "I'm...uh...heading towards the auditorium. You are welcome to join if you want."
Heidi nodded as her clone ran in and nabbed the plates before running back out. "Yeah...I mean I have nothing else to be doing." She said as if the clone hadn't run in at all.
Chirpy looked completely blank for at least five seconds. She sighed as she gathered her composure. "...Okay. I'll lead the way…" She said before walking to the auditorium.
Heidi nodded and followed her with a shrug as the zoomed up and gave Heidi her new guitar before zooming away. "Ignore the clone...It's a spell I learned from a famous trickster where they don't have the possibility of being different from me...and so I don't screw it up again a fourth time." She deadpanned with a shake of her head.
Chirpy waved it off. "Don't worry about it. If there is one thing I've learned here, it's the fewer questions you ask, the less trap you get into." She finally regained her smile.
"More like the less confusion you get. Took three mistakes and a wedding for me to get the secret to not screwing up again. That and the trickster found me funny until I was just pathetic at a certain point." Heidi explained a bit while looking over the guitar.
Chirpy nodded at that before glancing back at her. When she did this, she caught eye of the guitar. "Cook guitar, by the way. Electric?"
"Yeah, Veti had it made for me. I've always played electric though...ever since I was old enough to hold one up." She said with a small smile, running her fingers over the guitar strings.
Chirpy nodded with a smile. "I never had a chance to play an instrument as a child." She chuckled. "If I did, it would be an acoustic." She said while she nearly tripped on a folded rug.
Heidi chuckled at her. "When my father was serving out his punishment in the Styx, river of souls, he told me to play music since it calmed the souls. Normally I just played the organ since dad got me a famous organ player spirit to teach me, but his assistants mentioned every now and then that my father wanted to be a rock star. At least in his dreams." She smiled softly and looked up from the guitar. "I told them to find me one like his and...they went ahead and stole one."
Chirpy tilted her head at that. "Rock, huh? Cool. I can't play it, but still super cool." She chuckled. "I can show you my music when we get there." She smiled as she looked around.
"Yeah? I guess you could say that I play rock and classical...and the guitar parts of metal, not the headbanging or screeching. Played piano when I was younger...fiddled with harps when I found a broken one on the Isle. I think I found a flute? Or was it some sort of clarinet…" Heidi said before growing confused at the end.
Chirpy nodded at that. "Nice. Well...I play...a variety of pitched percussions, flute, stand up bass, acoustic guitar...ah...piano, viola, and harmonica. Yeah...the harmonica is random, but it's one of my favorites for some reason." She said with a shrug. "Those instruments are a sneak peak into my styles of music."
Heidi tilted her head. "Honestly...I can play practically any instrument. Apollo, who has this crazy musical intuition of his own, said I have it. Also told me that if I wasn't the spitting image of my dad...he would have mistaken me for one of his kids. The dude has a lot." She said in a casual manner.
Chirpy nodded happily at that. "Awesome! I...uh...would much rather stick to my small group than to play a bit of everything. I personally could never improve my unique style if I never put my full focus on...say...a few at a time." She stopped walking as they approached the separate building. She opened the doors with ease before walking in.
"I tend to not play them unless I pick them up, that's my rule. I usually only go out of my way to buy certain instruments and accessories." Heidi commented while shoving her hand in her pocket as she made a strap out of magic and strapped the guitar to her back so she could sip at her still warm hot chocolate.
Chirpy gestured to the auditorium. "Well...feel free to pick up whatever you like. I'm going to be right over there in the bass area." She said with a smile.
The greenette smiled as she saw Heidi begin to browse through the instruments. Chirpy, however, already knew what instrument she wanted to play. There was a deep brown upright bass resting on its black stand.
She rubbed her hands together before snapping her fingers, prompting a couple golden rings to appear on her index and ring finger. A pair of tap boots also appeared on her feet. Now that she was equipped with her playing gear, she began to play a tune that sounded very much like smooth jazz. She used her ringed fingers to make snapping and clacking sounds by knocking them against the instrument's body. This successfully created a basic beat along with the tapping she was doing with her shoes.
Heidi stared at her before silently moving to a rather large harp. Pulling up a stool, she shook her head in light exasperation as she saw he fingertips glow once they made contact with the strings of the harp. Deciding she'd be annoyed about them later, she rolled her eyes before focusing on the soft melody being produced.
The tap dancing girl took a moment to spin her instrument and dip it as if it was a person. With her advanced hearing, she picked up Heidi's melody. She immediately stood her bass upright, playing the same melody she did before, but altering it to harmonize with the other sound. She also changed her tapping pattern. Whenever she got a spare moment, she would use a free hand to pat on the body of the instrument, making a bongo like sound.
Heidi slowly looked up as she tried her best to ignore her glowing fingers and proceeded to stare at Chirpy once more. She raised an eyebrow at the fact that she had chosen to follow her melody before averting her eyes and looking back down at the strings.
Chirpy plucked at her instrument with ease. She closed her eyes as she went to the very bottom of the bridge before bringing herself back up. She blinked before looking up. Then smiled before snapping and making a bow appear. After that she used the bass to back up Heid's instrument. She closed her eyes again while following along.
Heidi was silent for a bit longer until she saw a familiar pink-haired woman dash by with a notepad in hand. Widening her eyes, she paused in her melody immediately and blinked a few times. "...Well, I know where my wife went." She muttered out with a twitching eyebrow.
Chirpy paused when the leading melody disappeared. "...huh?" She asked with a few blinks.
"Audrey...she uh ran by." Heidi said with a much more visible twitch.
Chirpy blinked again. "That's what that was..?"
Heidi slowly nodded as she noticed somebody run in the opposite direction of Audrey was running in before looking back at her. "Yeah...Don't be surprised if you hear anything loud or...scream related." She said while shaking her head and going back to playing.
Chirpy tilted her head at that with high concern. "Umm...okay." She said before jumping back into things.
88888888
Later on in the afternoon, the whole group was together for one of their weekend meetings. They all were in the meeting room. Some of them were listening, some of them were bored out of their minds, and some were...wishing they were somewhere else. That would be Freddie.
Freddie boredly blinked before taking a smoke bomb out of her pocket and randomly throwing it across the room.
Ara, who was in the middle of talking, blinked in surprise. Then her eyes became halved. "...Freddie...why?"
Freddie shrugged before relaxing in her chair. "I was bored. I found a thing in my pocket. So, I threw the thing." She explained calmly.
Ara looked at her with exasperation before looking around. "Hey...has anyone seen Hazel?"
Uma shook her head. "I haven't seen her, but I did get a text from her saying she was with Terra. She wanted me to say something just in case you asked." She said, looking at all of them.
They all nodded at that, Freddie threw another smoke bomb, and Ara went back to her routine.
Ara cleared her throat. "Okay. As long as she's alright." She regained her smile. "Anyway, anyone have any questions about the constant purchase of pizza rolls?"
They all looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
Ara sighed, "Yeah. Dad brought out that Hazel has a problem. All for putting her on a limit?" The majority of them raise their hand. "All opposed?" She looked around. "Alright. Majority rules." She said with a smile.
Seconds after that, the doors were thrown open and Audrey charged on in. "Has anybody seen Heidi? She's hiding and I need somebody to help me pick out baby clothes!" She said while walking around the room and moving things that her wife could be hiding behind.
Freddie looked at her in shock. "Is this gonna be a regular thing with you?" She asked, referring to how Audrey always comes when they are in the middle of something.
Uma rolled her eyes at that. "What she means is, no. No we haven't."
Audrey sighed as she moved another object and huffed. "She has a dummy clone running around while she hides-meanwhile I'm trying to pick up all the supplies ahead of time. I'm just one person, Heidi!" She said, speaking extra loud at the last part.
The group looked at each other.
Deuce blinked. "Yeah...I'm gonna banana split…" He said, trying to walk away.
Ara gave him a look that said 'don't you dare'. "You stay!" She pointed to Deuce. Then she looked back at Audrey. "Maybe we can help. We're fam too, ya know." She said with a smirk.
Audrey appeared to calm down a bit at that and set the pillow she was holding down. "Really? I pretty much need everything and while I have Hecate...she's not exactly known for being good at buying these type of things." She said while playing with her fingers.
Chirpy spoke up at that. "No worries. I gotcha!" She smiled.
"So do I!" Triple G said with a grin. "I am a baby master. All kids love me and I know just what they need."
George stepped forward. "I dabble in childcare." He said with his usual monotone voice.
"Oh...Well, I still need help picking out clothes…" The pinkette said while trailing off.
Uma shrugged. "Oh. That's easy. I'll do it." She simply answered.
Freddie, on the other hand, answered with this. "Hello..? Is it me you're looking for~?" She sang playfully, promoting the group to chuckle.
Audrey smiled at that. "Well, it's better than trying to ask Veti and her archery practice to help." She said in a casual manner.
JR had his arms folded with a frown. "Uh huh." You could obviously see his bandaid collection all over his body.
"And Kirby is too busy dressed up as a bush." Audrey added on while tilting her head a bit.
Freddie shrugged. "Don't worry about it. We gotcha covered on the clothes. We'll get you guys an avalanche of fashion!" She said with a grin while the rest of the group looked either exasperated or concerned.
Chester was...on his phone.
Audrey looked down at her notepad. "Those are handled...that just leaves planning a vow renewal so you guys can see it and figuring out the godparents situation!" She said happily while closing her eyes.
Deuce exclaimed. "VOW RENEWAL!? UHHGGHGHG!" He said as he visibly cringed. "You mean all that mushy gushy twitchy cringy so sweet it'll kill me with kindness stuff!?"
"There's free food and we are remaking the eight-tiered cake from our wedding." Audrey said, innocently blinking while looking at the cat.
Freddie looked up, adjusting her rainbow top hat. "All I heard was free food."
Deuce nodded. "Same. I'm no longer shook."
JR replied, "You had me at cake."
Ara blinked before throwing on a false smile.
Everyone else looked, for lack of better words, lost. Especially Chester. He just went back on his phone. Chirpy was the only one openly displaying her excitement.
"I figured since everyone made such a big fuss about missing the wedding...we can just do something small with lots of food in the ballroom we never use." Audrey explained as she opened her eyes to look at them.
Triple G tilted his head. "Who made a fuss?"
JR snapped his fingers. "Ah. Pinky."
Ara nodded at that. "She's in the group so...she represents all of us, but I am interested in the godparents thing." She said with a wide smile.
CJ, who was still focused on the first part, said. "Can I use my annual skip this boring occasion pass? I'm not into all that lovey stuff." She folded her arms.
Ara blinked before snapping and making a notebook appear. "Huh…" She flipped it all the way to CJ's page. "Dang it, you do still have yours for this year…" Ara said with squinted eyes as she looked up in thought.
Audrey shrugged. "For the vow renewal...it will probably be the only people bunking at the castle plus Persephone. Hades doesn't wanna risk catching some flowers again…" She said, pausing as she looked up in thought.
Ara sighed as CJ plainly walked out of the room without a word. Ara brought her attention back to Audrey and said, "Well...most of us will be there. That's a guarantee." Ara gave her a smile. "Don't worry about CJ. She gets tense about this kind of thing."
"Oh, it's not a problem. There are a few that will be ditching anyway, like Heidi's brother. He doesn't want to have the same luck Hades did at the wedding...so he'll probably be hiding." Audrey said with a small shrug.
JR rolled his eyes. "Easy. All you have to do is not put your hands out." He said, lazily getting comfortable in his chair.
Deuce raised an eyebrow. "What's the big deal about some flowers anyway?" He tilted his head.
Audrey giggled. "Well, when I threw my bouquet Hades was jamming out on his guitar...As luck would have it...it bounced off of all the hands before flying over at the right moment when Hades stopped playing to watch. He caught it then later on he saw Persephone at the afterparty and he married her a year later." She summarized up with a smile.
Freddie snickered. "If those flowers start flying, Imma start running! Single bachelorette for life!"
Uma and Deuce clapped. "A-men!" They said in sync.
Ara nodded. "That sounds like a good plan."
Freddie agreed. "A very good plan."
Geo joined in. "A beautiful plan."
Triple G grabbed a paper bag. "I'm too young to get married! I'm not ready! The curse of the flowers..!" He said before breaking into a choking spree.
JR patted him on the back and said, "Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Then...repeat." He said with a smile.
Audrey shook her head in amusement. "Just dodge the flowers and you'll be fine. I'd say it wasn't a real thing...but you can never trust a goddess of marriage when she says nothing will happen to whomever catches it." She said matter-of-factly.
They all cringed at that.
Ara nodded before saying, "Well...keep that in mind." She said with a chuckle.
Audrey nodded. "Just let it hit whoever is married or Hestia, it'll never happen for her." She said casually while waving it off.
Freddie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh please. It's going to be trying to get someone new if we are around. Everything goes wrong when we step in the room. We're not Hades level...but we are pretty high up on that scale." She clapped her hands together. "All of that to say...one of us is screwed!" She said with a pleasant smile despite what she has said. The group swallowed at that.
"Hestia and Vesta will be there...so there's a chance that it could hit either of them. Hecate is...she'd test her luck just for gags, and her daughter hates everything romantic and turns men into degrading animals for no reason." Audrey listed off with a worry-free look on her face.
Triple G blinked. "So...that's four people vs the rest of all of us. If one of our group members gets involved, it affects us too. Even if it takes time." He explained.
Ara nodded at that. "Hmm...you're right on that one." She agreed as the rest of them murmured about it.
"I mean...there might be other people I don't know about. Hermes will be...probably ambushing it like he did the first time, and there might be people just hiding out in there. Heidi let's whoever she likes in when it comes to a few pantheons." Audrey explained with a thoughtful look.
Ara looked at her group with a slight smile. "Guys. It's very easy. One simple rule. Don't catch the flowers."
Once she finished, they nodded...well except Chester.
"Chester, were you listening?" Ara asked in exasperation.
Chester glanced at her while rapidly texting. "Oh yeah...you said no catching flowers. Got it." He said with a distracted nod.
Ara shook her head at him in amusement. "Alright then. Anything else, Audrey?" She raised her eyebrow.
Audrey looked down at her notepad. "Uh...Godparents and coming up with a menu ahead of time. Otherwise, you will get nothing since Heidi doesn't typically make food." She said, looking around for a seat.
Ara tilted her head. "I guess I'll do the menu. I'm good at choosing food, but I suck at cooking it." She said with a laugh.
Chirpy nodded. "Yeah. The cooking part is my thing." She chuckled with her.
"Heidi got taught how to cook by her aunts, and Hermes," Audrey muttered out the god's name before clearing her throat. "So, she is usually the one to cook when we stay in the castle." She finished before finally sitting down in a comfortable-looking seat.
Chirpy looked blank at that. "...What will I do with my life?"
Triple G blinked at that before smiling, "Use some of your other talents to keep yourself occupied?" He shrugged. "Just a guess."
Chirpy blinked before trying to regain her composure. "I...suppose." She shook her head to snap out of her daze.
Audrey blinked. "Or you could tell Heidi that she doesn't have to cook." She offered up. "She doesn't like to do it anyway since she hates making large portions."
Chirpy jumped up at that. "Yay!" She clapped.
Uma, looking exasperated at the greenette, asked, "Anything else?" She tilted her head.
Audrey tapped her chin. "You all are helping me with the supplies...menu will be planned out and I'll just throw the vow renewal plans at Hestia this time. What am I forgetting?" Audrey folded her arms in exasperation. "Did I forget to mention any topic while I was summing up my list?" She asked everyone with confusion on her face.
Deuce raised his paw. "You said something about god...parents or something?"
"Oh, right! I need to figure out godparents for the three and I am not actually going with godparents. Heidi's family gets competitive over titles apparently." Audrey said before deadpanning at the end.
JR blinked before asking, "What are those?"
"You are unofficial aunt or uncle of a baby," Audrey said simply with a shrug.
JR blinked. "Not it."
Freddie nodded with humor. "Same."
Ara, on the other hand, squeaked as she filled with excitement. "Ooh! Me! Pick me!" She asked with a grin.
"Uh, sure? Do you just want one or…" Audrey trailed off, taken by surprise at Ara's reaction.
"All of them!" She said as she sparked quite a bit.
Triple G had to duck before he was lit on fire.
Ara looked at the rest of her friends with a large smile. "If you guys want one, we can share!"
Freddie peeked from under the table. "I think I speak for all of us when I say...we pass."
Chirpy walked up to Ara with a grin. "Not all of us!" She said before her and Ara began bouncing a squealing.
Freddie looked at them with exasperation. "Not including Chirpy." She hid back under the table.
While Audrey continued to stare at them, Susanoo, who happened to be floating by on a cloud, backed up and stared at the two. "Who won the lottery?" He asked with confusion in his eyes.
They both froze before smiling at him with matching smiles.
Ara chuckled. "No one won anything. We're just excited to be godparents! I just wuv babies and their fat and their big old eyes!" She grinned.
Chirpy nodded happily. "And you can't forget the skin. So smooooth…" She sighed.
"So smooth," Ara repeated in confirmation.
"Uh...You both do know how to handle a baby, right?" Susanoo asked slowly, turning his head a bit as he looked at everyone else for some sort of response.
Everyone else was either hiding, distracted, or not chiding to answer.
Ara waved it off. "Pfft! How hard can it be? My sister is a pro at this stuff and it doesn't take long for her." She smiled.
Chirpy chuckled and smirked. "I can. That means Ara can't. I can do whatever Ara can't do!" She exclaimed happily.
While Susanoo facepalmed, Audrey perked up. "Oh, wait, Susanoo...do you know how to care for babies?" She asked with curiosity.
"Yeah, of course I do. Why are you-" Once he removed his hand from his face, he noticed the happy look on Audrey's face. "...I'm not doing what you want me to do." He deadpanned, prompting Audrey to pout.
JR chuckled. "Apparently you are. You are too qualified, man." He shook his head.
"Wha-I'm not getting myself involved. You can't make me." Susanoo exclaimed, pointing at Audrey as she was about to say something. "No, not doing it."
Ara put her hands together. "Please? I hate to admit it but I m-m-may need a...little...h-h-h-help…" She coughed. "Since...I'm not that good with babies…" She mumbled the last part.
Susanoo looked at her with halved eyes. "You want me to be a baby tutor?" He asked in a deadpan.
She nodded with a smirk. "Uhh...yeah. You're a good thunder teacher. I bet you're an awesome baby teacher!" She said as she sparked a bit.
"...What would give you that idea?" The god asked with a twitching eyebrow and a deadpan.
Ara shrugged. "Because...you're Susanoo! And you are my only hope with this situation." She shrugged once more.
He stared at her. "That translates to...Susanoo, you probably have had so many kids that it's second nature by now." He said and lazily looked at Audrey. "Or, at least that is what you are thinking." Once he said this, Audrey chuckled and slowly looked back down at her notepad.
Ara looked at him with a smile that said, 'Oh shoot! He read between the lines!' Before waving it off. "I didn't say that. I just assumed that you would be a great teacher! Although…it would be weird if you were a bad parent with that many kids…" She mumbled the last part to herself while Freddie bursted into hysterics.
Susanoo rolled his eyes. "I was a 'bad' parent to the first five, the other fifteen turned out fine." He said indifferently while folding his arms.
"That's..!" Triple G counted on his fingers and turned to his brother. "Twenty kids!" They both grabbed their chests and passed out at the thought. Comically, they had x's on their eyes.
Ara blinked at the number blankly. "You know, that would be something to mention on a first date. I like to draw, my favorite color is blue, I have twenty kids…" She said, naming examples.
Susanoo shrugged. "Well, you don't hear my sister commenting about the fact that she has thirty or something with almost all of her descendants being royalty and famed heroes. Not to mention that she's a divorced chick." He replied casually with a head tilt.
Ara face palmed while Uma cleared her throat. "How about the baby topic?" Uma asked in amusement.
Ara glanced at her before looking back at him. "Susanoo, I refuse to sit still while there are babies around. It's against my morals. You have got to teach me!" She said in a pleading manner.
Susanoo glanced around before a crooked smirk appeared on his face. "You do realize what a 'baby tutor' sounds like, right?" He asked while Audrey, who had been drinking water, started coughing at his words.
Ara blinked blankly at his words, her denseness coming into play again. "...A...person who teaches others about babies..?" She answered with a smile.
Freddie, who was already laughing, fell out of her seat at that.
Audrey managed to get her coughing under control as her eyebrow twitched. "Oh...there is teaching alright, physical and vocal…" She said as her face turned red at her words before she buried her face in her notepad.
Freddie rolled as she nearly came to tears on the floor. "Oh gods...make it stop! I-I-I can't stop!" She said as she continued her laughing spree.
Ara tilted her head at that. "What? Are we going to be singing and dancing or something?" She asked in confusion. That's when Uma began to laugh.
Before Susanoo could answer, he was cut off by the abrupt snort of Hades who was leaning on the wall. "Kid, the one way to learn about a baby...is to get personal." He said with a wink. "And I mean really personal."
Ara blinked as her head tilted even more.
That's when Chirpy walked up with a blank expression. She took a moment to whisper something in Ara's ear. Ara's eyes became comically wide as her mouth hung agape.
Ara looked at Susanoo for a moment before taking a deep breath and walking around the room a couple times. She took another breath, "Is there another way I could learn!?" She asked once she regained her composure.
"Best way is by getting-" Before Hades could yell the rest out, he was hit by a very red Audrey who was holding a large pillow.
Susanoo stared at the god who was getting beat up before slowly looking back at her. "Uh...books?" He offered innocently, trying to ignore the cackle of the blue-haired god at his response.
Ara blinked at that. "I think I'll take my chances with the books…" She said in a monotone voice while she looked around as if she was still trying to regain her senses much to her friend's amusement.
While Susanoo innocently whistled and floated out of the room, Hades was retreating with a massive grin. "Oh, come on. You have to admit I'm right. What better way to learn than kick in those instincts with a quick ol-" He was then pushed out of the room with Audrey slamming the door in his face.
Ara blankly grabbed her mallet and threw it at the gong instead of doing things the traditional way. "Yeah...meeting dismissed. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if there is a way to bleach my brain." She said, teleporting to her room.
Freddie, who finally stopped laughing, said, "Whew! Best...meeting...ever!" Before crumpling back on the floor.
