After about twenty sandwiches later, the group laid on their back, stuffed to the brim. They all groaned and appeared to look almost dizzy. Well...most of them. Hazel and CJ actually seemed fine. The rest of them looked stuffed!
JR lazily moved his head and looked at Hazel with confusion. "What...how are you not in a food coma!? You ate seven sandwiches!"
Hazel tilted her head before saying, "I...don't know. Maybe it has something to do with my super fast and weird metabolism?" She said with a shrug and leaned back on the couch.
Ara, who was laying out on the floor, groaned. "...This is all you guys fault…"
Triple G, who was on a couch, said, "My fault? No..! It was CJ and George's fault! They left us with all of that food!" He said dizzily.
George blinked before saying, "Never back down from a challenge."
CJ nodded with a smirk on her face. "Exactly. I will never back down from a challenge." She said with pride. "Never have, never will."
Hazel shook her head at that. "And that logic got us a mountain of unclaimed sandwiches." She chuckled. "It always could have been worse."
Triple G nodded at that. "True. On the bright side, of I'm food hungover at least I'm with my friends." He said with a smile.
"Now, that's the right mindset," Ara said in approval.
That was before Freddie walked into the room. "Hey, guys! While y'all were eating twice your weight in lunch food, I got bored. I was looking for something to do. I was looking and looking and looking…" She said, trailing off a bit at the end.
Hazel sighed before saying, "Freddie, what are you trying to say?" She tilted her head.
Freddie blinked before smirking. "...I found Heidi's phone...and it's unlocked." She said with a cackle.
While everyone else seemed perked up at this, Hazel looked at Freddie with shock.
"Oh no. I know where this is going." Hazel said to them. "We are not going to snoop through Heidi's phone! Something bad could happen! We could delete an important text, we could alter something, we could even-" She gasped. "Accidentally send out a weird message!"
Freddie huffed at that. "Ah, Hazel." She started. "Everything will be fine. Live a little!" She said, connecting the phone to the large TV.
"They never listen to me." Hazel shakes her head. "... here comes the disaster... "
While Freddy does this, the group waits expectantly due to boredom. It only takes a few moments for Freddie to maneuver through the phone, trying to find something interesting. Eventually, she settled on looking through Heidi's photos. Freddie tilted her head before tapping the picture icon.
"Here we go, this is interesting," Freddie says with a smirk as she pulls up picture after picture.
She was basically skimming, but through Heidi's photos.
Triple G tilted his head. "It's nothing but a bunch of jewelry." He said dryly.
Freddie glanced at him with a half eyed gaze. "Boy! This ain't for you! This is for me!" She chuckled before going back to the pictures.
Triple G sighed before saying, "Well...I'm bored."
Uma walked into the room with a smile as she saw the jewelry Freddie was skimming through. "I'm not!" Uma said. "What's all this about?"
Freddie looked up for a moment. "I borrowed Heidi's phone and peeping at her pics." She blinked innocently.
Hazel grumbled aloud. "More like stealing Heidi's phone and snooping through her pics…"
Freddie shrugged at Hazel's statement. "Yeah...something like that." She said with a chuckle as she continued to skim.
Uma took a seat and asked, "So, how was sword practice?" She tilted her head.
JR tilted his head. "You know it was not bad, but Hazel did almost pull a Red Queen." He chuckled.
Hazel shrugged. "I was still getting used to the weight…" She said, looking to the side.
JR chuckled, "Riiiight...she wanted to kill me." He folded his arms.
"No, I didn't!" Hazel said with a laugh.
JR shrugged and said, "Well, It sure seemed that way." He shook his head.
Ara interrupted and told Uma, "You can tell that we've had quite the eventful and fun day." She smiled and rolled her eyes.
Uma nodded at that, before she could respond, Deuce walked into the area. He held his head with his paw. "What'd I miss?" He smiled at them.
CJ smiled at that before saying, "Deuce, you're awake!" She chuckled. "I was starting to get worried there, buddy."
As Deuce made his way over to his phone transfixed brother, the group continued their conversation. They continued to talk as Freddie skimmed for a few minutes.
It was a total of fifteen minutes before Freddie gasped.
Triple G turned his head at that before saying, "What-okay..?" He said, looking at the screen.
What he saw was a picture of Heidi. Not only that, she was kissing someone. Apparently, it was Captain Hook. The background was not Auradon. The former VKs picked up that it was the Isle.
It took no time before the other group members saw what they saw.
CJ stood up. "Yeah...I'm going to...play around with my drumset." She said, rubbing her eyes as if she needed to wash them.
Not noticing CJ zipping off, the group continued.
JR raised an eyebrow and turned to the group. "Is this photoshopped? Edited? Green screened?" He shook his head.
Freddie chuckled and said, "I don't think so. Look how young Hook looks. I don't think green screens were invented back then." She said with a laugh.
Ara tapped her chin. "Or at least...not on the Isle back then…" She tilted her head.
Triple G nodded. "Yeah...because I know the Isle from anywhere. That background is the Isle for sure." He nodded.
That statement confirmed the group's thoughts.
Uma's first thought was, "Why, when, and how!?" She said as she cringed.
Ara shrugged. "Heidi is older than you think…and she did say she dated a lot of people…"
Uma looked at Ara, blinking. "Are you telling me..?"
Ara looked at her with a tilt of her head. "They could have! The Isle is a small place when you're stuck there for a lifetime!" She raised her hands.
Freddie tore her eyes from the picture. "...You ain't wrong." She bit her thumbnail in thought.
JR folded his arms. "I still think it's fake."
George looked over at him. "Why would she hold onto a fake picture?"
Chester nodded in agreement. "Thank you." He said.
Ara nodded at that. "That is a very good point." The princess said with a tilt of her head.
JR sighed, already knowing where this was going. "Well...who are we going to ask for answers? Heidi has disappeared!"
Hazel, finally seeing that she can't beat them, joined them. "I may know someone who could help. Just a bit." She said with a sigh.
Triple G fist pump in the air. "Yes! Hazel for the win!" He chuckled.
"I'm going to regret this~," Hazel said in a sing-song voice.
Ara chuckled and stood up. At that, the rest of the group did, forgetting about their food coma.
The blue-haired princess said, "Alright, then. Let's go find some evidence." Ara wore a smirk while Hazel wore a deadpan.
8888888
After they discovered the photo on Heidi's phone, the now healthy group went out in search of Hazel's lead. The only problem was that they couldn't find him anywhere. Even when they looked around the entire home, there was still no sign of him.
JR huffed, "We're getting nowhere, here." He said, leaning on Triple G's shoulders.
Triple G nodded at that. "Yeah...who this guy, anyway?" He asked, tilting his head.
Hazel turned to look at him. "Hades. He's her dad so he should know of any relationships she's had." She said before looking for something under the couch.
Uma looked at Hazel with concern.
Deuce tilted his head. "You're looking for Hades under the couch?"
Hazel shook her head at that. "No, silly. I'm looking for someone else." She released a sharp whistle. "She'll help us find him, no problem." She said with a smile.
The candy cane cat poked her head out from her hiding place and looked around. "I was napping…" She said sleepily with a yawn.
Hazel gave her an apologetic smile. "...Sorry, Minty. I just wanted to know if you'd help us find Hades, but if your busy…" she trailed off.
"Hades was pacing earlier...then he just ran off somewhere," Minty said with a yawn as she stretched and pawed at Hazel to pick her up.
Hazel did as the cat wanted and picked her up. "Would you know where he went?" She scratched the cat's neck.
"He went further down the hallway...turned I think...then maybe went into a room? I don't know...I was sleepy." Minty said while snuggling up to Hazel and purring.
While Ara awed at the fluffy kitten, Hazel hummed at that. "I'm guessing our best bet is to head down the halls and check each room." She tilted her head.
Uma sighed at that. "Might as well hurry up and get this over with." She said before running to search rooms.
As the group followed Uma, Ara and Hazel looked at each other before running off too.
Hazel said, "Alright. I'll check to rooms here while you check the rooms here and here." She said with a smile.
At that' the group split up in half before searching. Imaginary time, it took Ara and Hazel about five minutes. In real-time, it was nearly thirty minutes to find Hades.
Honestly, that was a good hotspot in a very open-like home.
Hazel, when she peeked from behind the door asked, "Hey...can I ask you a question?" She asked him.
"You just asked one, go away," Hades grumbled out in annoyance.
Hazel took that as a 'come in' before her and Ara walked in. "Funny." She said with slight humor before sighing. "All I want to ask you one question then I'm out of your hair."
"So...why should I answer a question?" Hades asked with a roll of his eyes.
"Easy. So you can get rid of me faster. You know me. I can do this all day." She said, handing Minty to Ara, who was now cooing at the cat silently.
"And I can say 'Shut up' for a century." Hades deadpanned back.
Hazel rolled her eyes before saying, "I know you're trying to mope in peace, I get that. Were Heidi and Hook a thing? I just want a yes or no so I can split."
"Were they not a thing is the real question," Hades said sarcastically with a sour look on his face.
Hazel and Ara shared a look of surprise before Hazel nodded. "I'm going to take that as a yes. Well...bye." Hazel said, motioning Ara to follow her as she began to walk out of the room.
Hades grumbled before grumpily folding his arms. "Heidi dated every man on the Isle, and when she was done there, she just moved onto the females. I blame her mother." He said, obviously unhappy about discussing the subject.
Hazel paused in her steps, not expecting him to say anything else. Her and Ara looked at each other.
"Really?" Hazel asked with curiosity.
"Yep, new boy or girl every week. Like a serial dater of sorts, though most of them just ended up stopping the whole thing due to seeing my lovely mug." Hades said with a roll of his eyes.
Ara stifled a laugh before hurriedly encouraging Hazel to continue.
Hazel nodded and mouthed an 'oh' before saying, "That's...I've never heard that before. I guess she did get around to Hook eventually."
"Heidi probably skipped over the actual number and just mentioned her list or something, she liked to do it back then," Hades said, looking at his nails in disinterest. "Hook was just another one, only he happened to last a bit longer than a week because he wasn't a scared little gremlin. That and I'm sure he thought of his hook as something that could harm me." He said dryly while leaning on the armrest of his chair.
Hazel tilted her head at that. "Doesn't he sound fun." She said with a smile and a shake of her head.
Ara, who was petting a fluffy kitty, said, "Huh...I guess Heidi did date CJ's dad. Heh, that's gonna be one awkward explanation." She chuckled at that as Hazel nodded.
"If you ask me, Hook was Heidi's favorite. Be it the ship, or the fact that he didn't match his rumored ugliness, but she always spent more time with him before they separated." Hades said with a shrug as he lazily looked up at that.
Ara tilted her head at that before nodding her head. "Really?" The princess looked up in thought. "If it was like that, I wonder why they parted." She thought aloud.
"Opposing views?" Hades offered up dryly. "She just called it quits and left and he stayed in pirate land."
Hazel quirked an eyebrow before shrugging. "Well...thanks. We'll see you around." She said with a slight smile.
Hades let out a groan at that and waved for them to leave as his eyebrow twitched.
Hazel shook her head at him in amusement before leading the way out.
Ara followed her out, kitten in her arms. She was currently scratching the kitten behind the nose and ears. "Aww...she's such a cutie!" She said with a chuckle as they walked down the hall.
Hazel shook her head at that. "Will I ever get my cat back?" She raised an eyebrow.
Ara blinked, "Never!" She said, cuddling the sleeping kitten.
Eventually, the twins ran back into the group.
Triple G tilted his head. "Did you guys find him? We've got nothing."
Ara nodded at them. "Yeah, we did. Turns out, Heidi dated literally everyone on the Isle back then. So, she dated Hook too." She answered.
Freddie tilted her head at that. "No kidding?"
Ara shook her head. "Nope."
"But he's hiding something," Hazel said as she began to lead.
JR blinks at that. "He...is?"
Hazel glanced at him. "Call it being observant or weird, but I've picked up on his behavior patterns whenever he's hiding something." She shrugged. "Not just him. I know how to aggravate mostly everyone in this house. So, when I say something is in the dark, something is in the dark."
Ara tilted her head at that. "If something is in the dark...Hades wouldn't tell us." That's when she smirked. "I need Hecate."
Freddie nearly visibly cringed. "Oh no. You mean the one that likes to talk?"
JR shrugged before saying, "I didn't mind her stopping by." He says, a bit too casually.
Deuce shrugged. "Yeah, I didn't mind either. It's nice to see new faces." He said, a bit too happily.
Uma looked at both of them dryly. "Gee. I couldn't tell you felt that way under all of the hot chick coma you guys had going on." She said, prompting them to return her dry look.
Ara nearly facepalmed at them before saying, "Let's get this over with, shall we?" She tilted her head. "HECATE!" She called and waited for the goddess to arrive.
About five seconds later, there was a poof of smoke that blew away to show Hecate, who was currently only in a bathrobe and was holding a toothbrush. "I just got out of the shower-what's up?" She asked casually before going back to brushing her teeth like nothing was wrong.
Deuce passed out nearly immediately.
Triple G casually pulled out his blindfold again.
Ara took a moment to discard all of the questions that came into her mind before saying, "We...stumbled upon a picture of Heidi and Hook…"
Freddie interrupted, "Smooching!"
Ara blinked, "Yes, smooching. We asked Hades and, turns out, it was real." She folded her arms. "We just feel like he's hiding something as to...why they split up. Since you seem to know a lot of things…" She trailed off her sentence.
Hecate shrugged. "Sure I know about them, he liked her, she liked him, they made out a bunch, then they broke up." She said simply, looking around as she made her toothbrush disappear.
"So...you don't know the reason why?" Ara asked with a tilt of her head.
"Couples get into arguments, disagreements, even intimate ones, and they just had one of those," Hecate said, shoving her hands in the pockets of her robe.
Hazel folded her arms together before asking, "Would you...happen to know what the argument is about?"
Hecate shrugged again. "That's a Heidi question. She was super intimate with that dude and you can ask her as to what the argument was about. As for me-I need to go put on my lotion." She said before promptly disappearing into a cloud of smoke.
Hazel blinked twice before saying, "She's hiding something too."
Triple G blinked before asking, "How do you know this time?"
Hazel turned to him and said, "When has Hecate ever left our group so abrupt?" She shook her head.
Triple G nodded at that. "Very true...this girl's good!" He said with a smile.
Hazel shrugged with a smile.
Ara smacked her lips. "Hecate said that this was a Heidi question, but Heidi is not here." She tapped her chin. "She did mention Heidi was very intimate...which was weird to mention, but she did."
Freddie cringed at that, "So...this is the end of the line then?" She chuckled. "At least that cured my boredom."
JR shrugged before saying, "Well! It was fun!" He said as he started to walk away.
Ara and Hazel looked at each other before following him. Hazel picked up Deuce along the way.
Ara looked at her calculating sister. "What are you thinking about?"
Hazel looked back at her twin. "I think you know." She smiled. "Just...something is not making sense." Her smile fell a bit.
Ara tilted her head. "I know right." She sighed, "You wanna take a break? Maybe meet up with CJ in the music room?" She asked Hazel as she grew a smile.
Hazel blinked a couple of times before saying, "Eh...why not."
While the group of young adults head in the direction of the music room, there was one left behind. Chester had stopped walking with the group. He agreed. Something was not adding up at all. It was hard to tell if anyone was dropping hints by mistake or purposely.
Either way, he decided to head back to the hall where everyone was looking for Hades earlier. He trotted silently, nearly allowing his hat to fall off his head. He fixed that and kept walking. The closer he got, the more and more he heard voices. At that, he used his powers to glide a bit closer before rotating his ears as if they were satellites trying to catch a signal.
"Hades...we may have a teeny tiny...itty..bitty-"
"Hecate, shut up, and just spit it out," Hades said with annoyance, clearly not in the mood.
Hecate chuckled nervously. "So you know about the uh...thing that we agreed to not discuss? ...I think they may be looking into it."
Hades was eerily silent before he cleared his throat. "The thing I told you specifically to file away and not speak of again unless I asked you to?" There was a pause before the god let out an irate growl. "Then how the hell did they find out?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, causing the ground to rumble a bit.
"...They said they found the picture...And before you ask-I did not plant it for them to find! I don't know how they did it, hell they almost surprised my robe right off!" Hecate said as Hades groaned at her.
"Well...Do something. There is a lot at stake and just for once I'm not being seen as the bad guy." Hades said with an unhappy tone. "Lead them down a wild goose chase, lie, just make sure they don't tell Heidi or find out. Otherwise, you are in the deepest shit of your life for this one."
Hecate didn't answer for a bit before letting out a quiet "Yes." followed by the sound of her signature teleportation. Hades didn't say another word aside from an unhappy grumble and the sound of his fist meeting the surface of something before it went completely silent.
Chester, by the end of that talk, had a paw over his mouth. He took another moment before rocketing off in the direction of the music room.
88888888
The majority of the group sat about and talked about the current events. Some of them played their instruments while doing it. While others, like CJ were casually drumming and blasting music in their ears.
Ara sighed before saying, "I'm trying not to think about it, but I can't stop! I feel like I'm so close, but so far!" She said, pulling at a few blue strands.
Hazel sighed and said, "Same!" She yelled over the loud drumming. "I do feel like it's something big, though! It has to be quite the secret for both Hecate and Hades to work hard not to give it away." Hazel looked to the side. "We may not want to get in too deep, though, maybe…"
Ara nodded. "Because it's not our business." She recited.
Hazel shrugged. "That, yes. I was thinking on the lines of, it can come back to bite us." She folded her arms.
Ara took a moment before nodding.
Right after she did that, there was the sound of one of the pet doors flapping open. Chester's heavy breathing caught everyone's attention.
Chester ran up to them with an, "Ugh...I need water…" He said, thankfully CJ had broken her drumsticks.
While CJ went to get more. Chester said, "I...have...news…"
Triple G took off his headset before saying, "Wow, Chess. Have you been running a marathon?" He tilted his head.
Chester looked at him with annoyance before saying, "Hades and Hecate. They were talking...about us." He said as they perked up and raised their eyebrows. "Basically, Hades is angry because we are on to something big and needs to be kept quiet. He even told…" He looked over his back, his ears twitching. "Look, beware of leads unless they come from your better judgment. That's all I have to say."
Hazel sat up at that. "Really?"
Uma shook her head in confusion. "It's just a short fling. What's so secretive about that that they don't want anyone to know about?" She shook her head.
Ara blinked as she let her imagination roam a bit. "Unless...it's more than that." She tilted her head as she thought.
Triple G blinked before asking, "Ara, where are you going with this?"
Ara blinked a few more times. "I'm getting there…"
Chester blinked at her. "Hmm...they were just in a relationship...or...where they?" Chester said, attempting to use his intellect to help the princess. "Hecate also brought out that they were intimate, but I don't think…"
Ara raised her finger. "Run that back?"
Chester paused. "Uhh...They were intimate..?" He winced as soon as he saw Ara's eyes light up. "Oh no. Ara, we don't have time for your imagination."
Ara turned and said, "What? This makes total sense! What else would people hide after intimate relationships? Definitely not Easter eggs!" She said, folding her arms.
JR blinked before asking, "Wait, are you saying that Heidi could have had a-ow!" He held the back of his head.
Hazel, who slapped him, whispered, "We could be getting spied on as we speak." She said, warily looking around.
JR nodded at that. "Right, gotcha. But if...that did happen, that seems pretty hard to forget and she doesn't act like she had a…" He trailed off.
Hazel shook her head. "That doesn't matter. In the other world, Hecate told me that she erased Heidi's memory many times. Memory can be erased, guys." She tilted her head.
Uma blinked at that. "When you put it that way, the sky's the limit…"
JR, laying down, said, "So...what now?" He shrugged.
Hazel shrugged, "I...have no idea, but we definitely have to watch what we say…" she said with thought.
Triple G said, "I feel like I should snitch, but that's just me."
Ara tapped her chin. "You can't snitch without proof, Trip. No one will believe that."
Hazel nodded before saying, "Huh...while you guys keep thinking, I'm going to go see if Frigg needs more help." She said before heading out.
Freddie nodded with a wave. "We'll just be here." She said dully.
That left them in peace with their thoughts...until CJ started drumming again.
"Annnnd…there she goes again," JR says with exasperation. "I swear! No one can hear us through this!"
Ara nodded at that with a smile. "Good idea!" She said as she grabbed her phone. She group called every one of them. "Can you guys hear me now?"
Uma nodded as she spoke into her phone. "Oh yeah."
Triple G nodded at that. "Much better."
Ara smiled at this. "Alright! Since CJ is running some interference, we can now discuss our next course of action." She said, holding her phone close to her ear. "We need to get a plan going, if not, we're gonna go nowhere." She explained to them.
JR tilted his head before turning to look at Chester. "Well?"
Chester looked back at him with confusion. "Well, what?"
"Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?" JR asked, giving Chester his attention. "Give us some ideas!"
Chester gave him a halved eyed expression and looked at the rest of the group that looked at Chester expectantly. "...Well," Chester started with a sigh. "It seems we have nearly exhausted our ways to get more information. The only way to get info is through Hecate." He said with mild interest.
Freddie blinked. "I thought talking to her was, you know, a bad idea?" She asked him with a raise of her eyebrow.
Chester blinked. "She's the only option we have. However, when we approach her, we mustn't bring up anything about what we are doing." He continued. "Instead, why not talk about something else, get her going, then work our way into the topic." He said, making visual gestures.
Ara nodded at that. "That...might work." She adjusted her crown and smiled.
Uma folded her arms. "It better work. If this doesn't work...we've got nothing." She said with a shake of her head.
"Yes. We have one shot at this." Chester replied. "Hold your phone's close to your ears. I'm going to whisper to you how we are going to go about doing this."
The group looked at each other for a moment. After that they shrugged and did just as Chester said.
8888888
As soon as Hazel left the group, her mind was swirling with questions. She was also hoping that getting involved in this chase wouldn't come back to bite her in any way. Heidi probably already thought of her as a liar or unfaithful by now. She would hate to screw up even further.
With that, she temporarily cleared her mind. That somewhat helped with the sudden paranoia she was feeling. At least it was helping.
The first place Hazel checked was the main family room. Seeing no one was there, she checked the kitchen. That's where Frigg was. She seemed to be eating and reading a variety of shopping magazines of all things.
"Mumoo?" Hazel called before she walked into the kitchen. "What are you still doing in here?"
"...I uh…" Frigg appeared to be caught off guard a bit as she took a moment to take a bite of a fried chicken wing. "Found these?"
Hazel tilted her head with interest before walking up beside Frigg. "...Shopping magazines?" Hazel asked, genuinely confused.
"Is that what they are?" Frigg asked with confusion. "I just saw that they have all these images-plus whatever this is." She said as she turned the magazine around and pointed to what was obviously a computer. "They have those, however!" She exclaimed before pointing at a phone.
Hazel took a look before smiling at Frigg. "Yeah! This is a magazine that promotes stores. You can go to any of these places and buy this stuff with money!" Then she turned her attention to the computer. "And...that's a computer, by the way. It's just like a phone, but better." Her smile grew.
"How is it better? It certainly is bigger but…" Frigg said while rubbing her chin before continuing on eating.
Hazel tapped her chin before saying, "Well, it is bigger which means it has more space. You can play CDs and DVDs. You can download more things. You can hook up your phone to it. It plays way better games." Hazel turned to the advertisement. "Some computers can even flip around and food like a notepad so you can draw and paint digital art. The list goes on forever. Just know that a computer can do anything a phone can do with interest. A phone is like a...computer's sidekick." She said with a shrug.
"That's all so...confusing," Frigg said while tilting her head.
Hazel chuckled before saying, "Don't worry. Maybe...just saying...if you get one, it would be easier to learn on the go anyway." She said with a shy smile.
"Oh...Well, this was much easier to understand." Frigg said while pointing at a clothing magazine. "I need new clothes...the dresses are impossible to run and jump in if an enemy were to attack." She said with a frown as she took another massive bite.
Hazel tilted her head at the thought. "Mumoo...I don't think anyone is going to attack…" She said with a few blinks.
"Somebody always attacks-" Frigg paused as she waved the chicken drumstick around. "-Be it the frost giants or a cruel joke from Loki, there is always an attack. I suppose now it would be wildlife or a fool wishing for a fight...or my son." She said before muttering out the last part and munching on her chicken.
Not quite understanding what she meant, Hazel blinked. She shook it off before saying, "If that's the case, this is a clothing magazine for...these stores." She said, pointing at the varieties of logos. "You could run but there and pick a few up."
"I don't have a clue as to where there is...Due to the fact that us Norse do not visit the Romans for...cultural differences." Frigg said plainly as she finished off another piece of chicken.
Hazel blinked before her eyes halved. "It's because of the whole...Romans are on that peaceful thing, isn't it?"
"I cannot confirm nor deny that by word of my husband," Frigg stated before tilting her head. "I will admit that most of Asgard do not recognize most pantheons as worthy of our time, this just happens to be one of the very many." She said casually while munching on the current chicken wing.
Hazel hummed at that, still holding her expression before her mind wandered. "So...you want clothes, but you have no idea where to go."
"That is correct," Frigg said as she went for one of her last chicken wings.
Hazel blinked and rubbed her chin, obviously at war with herself. That was before she caved in. "I...suppose...I could...take you." She looked to the side.
Frigg tilted her head at that as she finished off her rather large plate and rubbed her chin. "You would do that?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
Hazel shrugged at that. "Of course. You're my Mumoo. I would hate for you to get lost or anything." She said, lacing her hands behind her back.
Frigg smiled at that and stood up. "Thank you, Hazel." She said, picking up her plate and getting ready to go wash it.
Hazel returned her smile. "It's nothing. Think of it as me saying thanks for the hug you gave me yesterday." She said shyly.
Frigg hummed at that and once she was done, she walked back over and gave the girl another gentle hug. "I hug whenever you want a hug, I do not mind it."
Hazel blinked in surprise before smiling and melting into the hug. "O-okay. I'll keep that in mind." She said, returning the hug. "Sorry. I'm not used to getting hugs."
"It is fine...I have not been able to give many since Thor declared he was a man and didn't need them." Frigg said with exasperation as she pulled away. "So my timing needs work."
Hazel's smiling increased at that. "Don't worry. I like them. So, you can practice on me if you want."
Frigg chuckled at that. "I will keep that in mind." She said before nodding. "So what are we doing, just so that my all-seeing husband doesn't call me."
Hazel nodded at that. "Was it...to the clothing store? If so, I know where this store is. I can teleport us right over."
"Oh, alright. I...may want to see that store with the uh...phones. They are called that, right?" Frigg asked, making sure she was correct.
"Hey, you remembered this time," Hazel said, referring to the phone. "I know where that store is too. We'll be there in no time!" She said with a proud look.
"Good. Do they accept gold as payment? I do not have any other currency." Frigg asked with a head tilt.
Hazel's eyebrows furrowed at that. "Eh...it'll be fine. I've done something similar many times. I can...uh….make gems and stuff." She said with a shy shrug.
"Ah...Like Njord commonly does to pay off a few things? While we do not do this, we fight." Frigg said with a small shrug.
Hazel nodded at this before preparing to teleport. "You know, Njord is my grandfather."
"Of course. I would have not brought it up if otherwise." Frigg said with a smile.
"Oh," Hazel said with a head tilt before regaining her smile. "One moment." She took a deep breath before capturing Frigg in an unexpected embrace.
While hugging Frigg, Hazel has also teleported right in front of the clothing store. Once Hazel heard the active sounds of the outdoors, she parted.
"Heh…" Hazel started, already feeling shy about the hug. "Sorry about that. I had no idea where that came from...but we're here." She nervously chuckled.
Frigg smiled at her and patted her on the back before pulling away and looking around. "So this is it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
Hazel relaxed before nodding, "Yeah. Look! You're gonna like this." She said before running up to the automatic doors. "Doors that open by themselves…" She stepped back and forth, causing them to open and close with a chuckle.
The goddess looked greatly confused at that. "How is it doing that?"
Hazel looked back at her with a smile. "See that dark looking thing up there? That's called a sensor. It can sense when you are approaching. When you're close enough it opens the doors. Pretty neat, right?" She said before grabbing Frigg's hand and leading her through the doors.
"I suppose. It is...still confusing." She said while looking back at the door.
Hazel shrugged before saying, "If you think that's confusing, wait till we get your phone! Don't worry. I'll help you with that stuff." She said after leading Frigg to all of the women's clothing.
"O-kay." Frigg said in a somewhat uncertain manner before giving all the clothing she passed a strange look.
Hazel blinked at that before asking, "Is...something the matter?" She walked up to her.
"The clothes are strange," Frigg said plainly with halved eyes.
Hazel chuckled with a scratch of her head. "Well...just like technology, clothing has changed a lot also…"
"It isn't practical," Frigg said while gesturing to several shirts in particular.
Hazel tapped her chin. "By practical, do you mean good for running, jumping, and...battles maybe?" She asked with a head tilt.
"There is too much showing...it would result in injuries very easily with all that open space," Frigg said with a raised eyebrow.
Hazel nodded at that. "Oh...that's because there isn't much fighting going on these days. People are mostly concerned with appearances and being popular these days." She said, looking down.
Frigg clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I will never understand mortals and their supposed crises." She said with a somewhat sour look.
Hazel scratched her head. "Well...you might be able to find something over there. That looks like a different style of clothing." She pointed in said direction.
Frigg tilted her head and walked over. "...I just don't know what to choose." She said with a soft huff of frustration.
Hazel looked at a few outfits before holding one up. "What about this one? You know, if you have no clue what to wear, you can go in those rooms and try it on. If you like it, you can buy it." She smiled.
Frigg looked at the clothes and tilted her head the other way. She thoughtfully looked through the rack before picking out a few. "These will fit. I'm able to tell my sizes easily." She said with a wave, not looking a bit concerned as she went about looking at other things.
Hazel shrugged before saying, "The other reason to try things on is for you to see if it looks good on you. Sometimes getting other people's opinions."
"...But that will take long." Frigg said with a pout.
Hazel chuckled, "Very true. My sister makes me try things on all of the time. It is the opposite of fast."
"Oh really?" Frigg asked innocently. "Well, this color looks good on me already…" She gestured to a teal shirt with lace details. "So I don't need to try it." She finished with a smile while effortlessly carrying quite a few pairs of pants with one hand.
Hazel looked at everything then tilted her head. "Wow. That's a lot of stuff...and you're carrying all of that?" She blinked.
"Oh, this is nothing," Frigg said with a shrug as she added more clothes to the pile.
Hazel nodded at that with an impressed smile. Hazel let her eyes scan a few of the clothing items. "So, anything else you like?"
"...Do they have any shoes?" Frigg asked with a head tilt.
Hazel nodded at that. "Actually, yeah. Right over here." She said, leading Frigg over to the shoes. "Here we go!"
Frigg scanned all the shoes before smiling. "Well, at least I know the sizes in these. Thor sometimes gives me gifts from Midgard, your world. Shoes being one of the various." She said while picking up a box with a pair of tall brown tie-on boots.
Hazel nodded at that. "Oh, that's great! That means this section will go by really fast." She said as she took a closer look at a shoe that caught her eye.
While Hazel was looking at the shoes, Frigg grabbed a few more boxes before shrugging with a smile. "Yes, it will." She said with a chuckle.
When Hazel turned back to Frigg, she noticed just how many things she was carrying. Hazel tapped her chin before smiling. She left briefly and retrieved a shopping cart. Hazel smiled at the cart before taking it over to Frigg.
"Look what I've got!" Hazel called. "Put your stuff in here."
Frigg set it all in with ease and went back to grab more stuff. "Oh, thanks. Now I can get more stuff." She said with a smile.
Hazel nodded at that before saying, "No problem. I just love helping."
Frigg was silent for a moment as she tossed a few more things in the cart before she stopped. "And...I think I'm done?" She asked with a head tilt.
"You're done?" Hazel asked with a tilt of her head. "You're done shopping?"
"...Am I? Did you want anything or…" Frigg asked in a completely clueless manner.
Hazel blinked, completely caught off guard by that question. "Me? I...didn't plan on buying anything…" She said with thought.
Frigg scratched the side of her head. "Then...I guess I'm done." She said in a somewhat awkward manner.
Hazel tilted her head before asking. "Did you want to do something else?" She asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe...later. This many people is...unsettling you see-" Frigg said with a shake of her head.
Hazel nodded. "I understand. How about we go pick up that phone and head back?"
"I would like that," Frigg replied with a smile.
Hazel nodded with a smile. "Alright. Hang on." She said before giving Frigg another hug. "Sorry. I think I have a problem." She said blankly.
"I don't see it as a problem," Frigg said with a chuckle.
Hazel shyly smiled at that. "As long as you're fine with it." She said, leading her to the register. "Let's pay for this stuff before I drive myself crazy." She said with a laugh.
Frigg nodded before beginning to make solid gold bars appear out of thin air. "I really hope this works." She said mainly to herself.
Hazel shook her head. "It will be fine. Trust me on that one." Then she looked to the side. "While you're doing that, I'm going to go get a gumball." She said before running off.
