Ara twisted the strand before trying to yank it once again. Only this time, it was harder.
"Ah! Stop it!" CJ growled. "I told you! I'm not lying, so stop the torture methods already!" She said in a huff.
Ara looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. "What? Oh. I stopped doing that a little while ago. I was looking at...this."
Ara lowered the strand so CJ could see it.
CJ's eyebrow raised before asking, "What the hell is that?" She asked with a frown.
"You should know. It's your hair!" Ara said with a shrug.
CJ blinked in surprise before asking, "It's my hair?" She asked with a blink.
Ara looked at her in exasperation. "I'm getting nowhere with you. Chirpy! Explain." Ara gestured to the blue streak.
Chirpy looked at Ara in a deadpan. "What? Did you think I was joking when I said there was a streak? Well...there it is!" She said with false surprise.
Ara glanced at her in annoyance before looking at the streak. "Audrey. Do you know anything about random blue streaks?" She asked, interrupting the pinkette's melody.
Audrey blinked and paused. "Besides usually being caused by magic...I got nothing." She said simply with a shrug before resuming her playing.
Ara looked down at CJ expectantly.
CJ hurriedly said, "Don't you look at me! Besides the stuff from Amaterasu, I haven't touched any magic! Especially blue magic." She said with a frown. "Now, let me up!" She said in a complaint.
Ara reluctantly got off of her back. "Fine." She folded her arms while CJ readjusted. "I am curious about that color, though. It feels a bit familiar." She scratched her head. "I know I didn't hit you with anything."
Ara continued to scratch her head before looking down at the, somehow still sleeping, Heidi. Ara blinked before, to their surprise, pushing the goddess off of the bed, "Wake up!" She exclaimed blankly.
Heidi responded with a groan and muttered a curse at that. "Ugh...go away…" She mumbled in annoyance as she managed to get back on the bed.
Ara shook her head before grabbing Heidi and tossing her back on the bed. "I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me about this." She grabbed at CJ's blue hairs.
"Ouch," CJ said in exasperation.
Ara tilted her head. "Did you hit her with any...magic?" She folded her arms.
"No...shut up," Heidi said with a scowl as she tried to curl up and get comfy.
Ara looked at her with halved eyes before pushing her back off the bed with a smirk. "Hmm...if she didn't hit you with anything, who did?" She said, ignoring the grumbling woman below.
Chirpy tilted her head. "Maybe... it's just something she was born with." She said with a shrug.
Ara blinked at that before tilting her head. "A blonde being born with a blue streak? What are the odds of that?"
"What are the odds of Hazel being born with ruby hair?" Chirpy countered with a calm expression.
Ara blinked once more before tapping her chin. "Huh...touche." She nodded at that.
"What are the odds of you guys shutting up and letting me sleep?" Heidi said crankily as she struggled to get back up.
Ara leaned over and said, "Don't make me drop a pillow down there!" She called to Heidi.
"I'd enjoy that!" Heidi replied back in a sour tone.
Ara looked more exasperated before saying, "Anyway, I could just wrap this up as a birthmark...hair...birth hair? I'll work on the name." She said with a shrug. "I'll put it in my notes just in case another mystery is to be unearthed…" She said in excitement.
CJ nervously smiled. "Uh...sure. Ummm…" She asked with a blank expression. "Can you let go of my hair now?"
Ara sighed before folding her arms and letting go. "...Fine."
"What about helping me up?" Heidi asked with annoyance.
Ara looked over the bed. "...Maybe I'll help her."
Chirpy blinked at that. "What do you mean, maybe? You're the one who pushed her off of the bed!" Chirpy folded her arms.
Ara nodded with a confident smile. "I know." She said before walking over and rolling Heidi back onto the bed.
That made Chirpy sigh. "At least she isn't on the ground." He mumbled.
"What about getting me out of this blanket?" Heidi asked in a deadpan.
Ara looked her over before saying, "Hmm...that looks like Hazel's work. AKA...I can't help you." She said with a blank blink.
"Then...for gods sake, go get Hazel before I breathe out a fireball and get your eyebrows," Heidi said in irritation.
Ara silently mocked her for a bit before picking up her phone, texting Hazel. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the fireplace this morning." She said, sending the text.
"You woke me by pushing me off the bed to ask a stupid question." Heidi deadpanned. "I don't randomly shoot magic blasts at people."
"Then where did that blue streak come from?! You must have done something!" Ara said with exasperation.
"I didn't do anything. The only thing I'm gonna do is get your eyebrows." Heidi said plainly with halved eyes.
Ara frowned at that before waving her fist. "Leave my eyebrows out of this...unless you want a rain cloud floating above your head. Just like in the cartoons."
"And unless you want smoke to blow out of my nose, like in the cartoons, I suggest you not use the rain clouds," Heidi said with a roll of her eyes.
Ara shook her head. "I was thinking precipitation in the form of hail." She said in a deadpan.
Hazel walked in at that moment with a smile. "Hey, guys. What did I-whahaha!" She said as she laughed at the blanketed woman.
Heidi gave her a glare before casually spitting out a fireball at the distracted Ara.
Ara blinked at that before moving out the way, barely saving her eyebrows. That movement caused her to fall off of the bed. "Ow."
Hazel chuckled at that with a shake of her head. "This is starting to be the best day ever." She took a pic of Ara. Then went over to Heidi. "Caterpillar Heidi~," She said in a sing-song voice as she posted.
"Don't even," Heidi said with smoke coming out of her nose.
Hazel chuckled at that. "You know...I think I'll leave you in that cacoon. I worry for my health." She said, resting a hand on her chest with a smirk.
The smoke stopped at that, and Heidi pouted. "Just get me out...I want to go back to my nap."
Hazel looked up in thought before saying, "All right. First…" She said as she held up her index finger. "I was riiiight!" She said with a celebratory dance. "I told you so! I told you so, so gooood!" Hazel chuckled as she undid the swaddle in two moves.
Heidi promptly slapped her on the arm with a moody expression before burying herself back under the blanket. "Oh, hush."
Even though she had gotten a slap, it was still impossible for Hazel to erase the smile from her face. "...My ego just went higher."
Chirpy sighed at that. "Just what the world needed."
Ara, on the other hand, got off of the floor. "... I'm still going to get to the bottom of this." She said. "With my original set of eyebrows." She said pointedly at Heidi.
"Good, while you are at it, leave me be for a few more hours before you go waking me up again," Heidi said grumpily before closing her eyes.
"Don't make me reconsider that cloud!" Ara replied to her grumpy response.
Hazel took Ara by the arm. "Come on. Let the chick sleep."
Ara was drug out with an exasperated look.
Hazel waved. "I'll see you guys later." She smiled.
Chirpy happily waved to them and anyone who was passing by.
CJ sighed heavily. "At least it's peaceful again." She said in a deadpan.
888888
Evening rolled around. Unlike a regular evening when chilling was the norm, this evening was held up by a mandatory meeting. This meeting was not just required; it was necessary. No one besides Audrey really knew what it was about. All the group knew was to be in the meeting room and not be late. Not only that, it was more than the group that was asked to attend. It was supposed to be for all of the residents of the household. The 'visitors' that everyone had gotten to know along the way were included.
Everyone sat in a seat near the meeting table, at the meeting table, or somewhere near the area in a beanbag chair. There was a bit of chatter here and there, but mostly everyone was silent to see where this meeting was going to go. They were also waiting for a few more people to arrive. Such as Chirpy, Audrey, and...Ara, who was most likely fashionably late; her usual.
After a few more seconds, Chirpy entered the room. She pushed the door open wide. She made sure it would stay open before going back for Audrey and wheeling her into the room. Chirpy happily smiled before placing Audrey at the front of the room, silently demanding everyone's attention. Chirpy made sure her wheelchair wasn't going to roll away any time soon.
After she made sure it wasn't going anywhere, she said, "Alright, Audrey. The floor is yours." Chirpy said, happily sitting cross-legged on a green beanbag chair.
Audrey waved and chuckled as she tried to clear the nervous look off her face. "The reason I have asked everyone to meet is...because we are supposed to be leaving...tomorrow." She said with a wince, almost as if she was waiting for someone to yell at that.
JR and George blinked at each other before they both did one thing...get out an open umbrella of their own.
Nearly as soon as they did that, a mini blizzard formed in the room courtesy of Elsa. "Tomorrow!?" Exclaimed before placing a hand on her chest.
Chester looked at her with a mixture of shock, disbelief, and exasperation. "...Why, Audrey, why?"
Freddie shivered before saying, "I can feel my nerves getting to me already…" She said, rubbing her cold feeling shoulders. Then she looked around at the snow-covered room. "Oh. Never mind."
Audrey was nervous to the point of tears. "I...I forgot b-because of everything that just w-went on, and I'm a freaking mammoth and…" She stopped as she tried to get her wheelchair moving again.
At that, Chirpy appeared by her side with a comforting smile. "I understand. Things got pretty hectic around here. From mild arguments to nearly blowing up Rome...or Italy…" She trailed off with a wince.
Elsa turned to her with surprise. "You guys almost blew up Italy!?" She asked in shock.
Chirpy chuckled, prompting the rest of the group to chuckle as well. "That's not important. My point is that we've all been a bit distracted." She said in a calm voice.
Freddie leaned back in her bean bag chair. "Eh...she ain't wrong."
Chirpy nodded at that as everyone began to calm down a notch. She gave Audrey a look that said, "I'll stand here to make you more comfortable." Before staying put.
"U-Um...Well...We have most already handled...but you still need to pack clothes and necessities…" Audrey said slowly as she looked elsewhere.
Triple G raised his hand. "Does mayonnaise count as a necessity?" He asked, causing Uma to look at him with exasperation.
"Uh...Hermes keeps that supplied…" Audrey said with a bit of confusion.
JR shook his head. "Of course, mayo isn't a necessity! Everyone knows it's mustard. The thing no one can live without." He said proudly.
Uma face palmed while George looked at them dryly.
"Uh...Everything is fully stocked." Audrey said while waving her hands.
They both shrugged at that. Then reclined in their chairs.
Hazel blinked at them before saying, "I'll help them pack. If not, their suitcases would look like a mini-fridge."
"Thanks…" Audrey said as she trailed off.
Chester counted all of the things he needed to pack. "I will need to pack a few suits, some hats, my laptop, a few documents I have to look over…" He tapped his chin. "Maybe I'll have time to write a memo about the journey of running a big business." He said with an eager smile.
Uma looked at him in disgust. "That was the most boring stuff I have ever heard."
Chester shot her a look before saying, "Fun to me is not fun to you, okay!"
"You know what fun is?" Deuce asked from his spot in a seat.
Chester's ear twitched at that; before he could come up with a response, Ara bursts into the room. She is clearly pushing a large chalkboard while CJ and Heidi are floating after her on clouds.
Hazel looked at her sister with exasperation. "Ara...what is that?" She gestured to the large board.
Ara glanced at Hazel before saying, "Oh, this? This is a...bit of examination going on here." She turned to face them. "The meeting came in the middle of my zone, and I was not going to let it interrupt my zone. So! I brought the zone to the meeting!" She said with a bright smile.
"What exactly...is the zone?" Audrey asked slowly, not knowing just how many people probably didn't want to hear the explanation.
Ara blinked at that before grinning widely. "Wha-!? I am so glad you asked." She said, placing a hand on her chest.
Freddie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh sweet lord…" She said before Ara, unfortunately, continued.
"This!" Ara pointed to the board. "This is every idea I could think of involving the bold blue streak of hair CJ has on her head. I've written them all down on the board as scenarios." She said with a smirk.
Audrey tilted her head in confusion as she read over a few of them. "... Wha-I'm pretty sure there isn't another Heidi…" She said dryly with halved eyes.
Ara had her finger on her chin as she looked at the board in a calculator manner. "Are you sure?"
"I-Well, I don't know! It just doesn't seem likely because the other Hades never talks about another Heidi. Wouldn't he know and not go crazy over a kid that isn't even his?" Audrey said with a raised eyebrow.
Ara nodded that before crossing that idea out. "All I'm saying is, we worked our butts off, going in circles in a rollercoaster ride of a wild goose chase to find out that she-" Pointing to a face down, knocked out Heidi on a cloud. "Had a kid. Not only a kid. A CJ. Now I find out that there is a streak of blue in the middle of all of that blonde mass. I have the right to be curious." She said with a large grin.
"It's probably just a freaky twist of fate or something…" Audrey said while shaking her head.
Freddie rolled her eyes before saying, "I think it's her bedtime."
The group nodded at that.
"What? No, it's not!" Ara folded her arms. "I'm on to something; I know it!"
Trip cleared his throat before saying, "The last time you were onto something, we were practically hunted and severely monitored."
Ara huffed at that. "But I was right!"
"But you nearly got us cooked!" Hazel interrupted.
Ara looked at her in exasperation. "But I was right." She smirked, prompting Hazel to heavily sigh. "And you know it! All I need is to figure out this connection. What does this mean!? All I need is a sign!"
Jupiter swallowed before asking, "Eh...Ara, have you been in the Doctor Peppers again?" He gave her a small smile.
Ara looked away bashfully. "Maybe...I only had one...two-liter…" She smiled nervously.
JR sighed before saying, "Ara, give it a rest. We already solved the mystery, and the stuff you're talking about is impossible." He said with exasperation. "I mean, there's only one Heidi; two kids." He chuckled. "What happened, Ara? The two CJ's were...somehow switched dimensions?" He laughed a bit at that.
Ara tilted her head at that before actually pondering on what he said. "...Oh?" She said as her eyes lit up.
"Idiot," Uma said to JR since she already knew what was about to happen next as Ara erased everything before writing out a new scenario.
Right at that moment, Hecate happened to be walking by and practically skidded to a stop with comically wide eyes. As if she didn't look guilty enough with her expression, the goddess blinked before frantically sprinting the other way.
Ara immediately chased after the goddess. None of the group had ever seen Ara run that fast before. They stood and craned their necks to try and get a good view.
All they heard was, "YAAAH!" Before, there was a crash.
Everyone blinked at that. Jupiter was truly entertained and had reappeared with a bag of popcorn.
Elsa looked at that with exasperation before turning to Terra. "Eh...Terra. Would you mind stepping out and…" She said, hoping Terra would catch on as they heard more crashes in the hall.
Terra gave her the deadest look possible as she stood up. Making a pit stop, she grabbed Hazel and began dragging her out with a deadpan on her face.
Hazel pouted at that. "Why do you always go for me?" She tried not to trip.
"Because it usually involves your sister?" Terra offered up with a shake of her head.
"When is it not involving my sister." Hazel shook her head, looking at the scene as they finally caught up with the two that were causing all of the commotions.
Ara was using her weight to pin Hecate to the ground wrestling style. "We can do this all night. I need answers, Hecate! Answers!" Ara demanded with a determined expression.
"I know nothing about that crap you were talking about! Absolutely nothing!" Hecate said with a huff as she tried kicking at the girl.
Ara lowered herself, trying to avoid injury. "Cut the crap! You were in charge of giving the baby to Hook! A reliable source told me that." She said, resting on the goddess. "Of all people, you should know. That's why you ran off like a guilty chicken!"
"I ran off because...I forgot my FOOD in the oven!" Hecate said with a 'ha.' "And I've transported a bunch of cargo that is top secret or completely illegal-like hell I'd haul a kid around. Most babies repel me." The goddess said with a roll of her eyes as she continued to struggle.
Ara frowned at that before tilting her head. "Don't make me get my personal lie detector."
"Ha! There is no way in all the realms that you could make me cough up the truth about anything. Whether it be who ate the dessert or who almost caused a zombie apocalypse!" Hecate said with a grin, completely missing the fact that she admitted to both of those things.
Hazel shook her head. "Oh, now you've done it." She said, referring to her sister's stubbornness.
Ara snapped her fingers with a neutral expression. "Chester! CJ!" She called.
CJ came floating on her cloud while Chester scurried there soon after. They looked at Ara expectantly.
Ara looked back at Hecate with exasperation. "I tried to do this the easy way, but I have no choice. Chester has your voice recorded from when We talked to you last. You admitted to...leaving the baby with the baby daddy? That's what you said?" She said as Chester played a bit of the recording from his watch.
Hecate shrugged. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe you ran into a shapeshifter?" She said innocently.
"A shapeshifter that talks about Helios dropping your kid as a baby?" Ara asked with a raised eyebrow. "You were hella drunk; I'll tell you that."
"Even if I were drunk, which by no way I admit to being, the odds of you meeting one of my shapeshifting buddies is pretty high. Most of them know about my troubles with Helios and my demon kid." Hecate said nonchalantly as she managed to free her arm and examined her nails.
Ara shrugged at that. "Your word wasn't all, you know. I stole-ish...your phone and called Hermes... Heidi's Hermes. He told me everything, so...cut the crap." She said with halved eyes.
"What crap? Hermes is still a trickster who knows me quite well. He could just play along or lie with ease. He's the patron of thieves, for goodness sake!" Hecate said, completely overlooking the phone part.
Ara nodded at that. "Oh yeah. I'm aware he's a trickster. That's why I'm confident he told me the truth. What can be more exhilarating, more...mischievous than blabbing about a year's old secret that would cause hell?" She folded her arms. "My brother is a trickster. That sounds like the trickster thing to do."
"If Hermes pulled that...he might as well kiss his bromance with Hades bye-bye," Hecate said before suddenly winking as a crash sounded nearby. "And you think he'd give that up? I heard he had half the pantheon convinced that thanks to Hades catching the bouquet and spotting him first...that they were a thing! Hermes wouldn't give that up for anything-too much power with that little thing." She'd said with a shrug as several more crashes sounded.
Ara raised her eyebrow as she made a face of...for lack of better words...TMI.
CJ's eyes briefly glowed yellow before she brought out, "The first part...she didn't deny it." She folded her arms.
Ara looked at CJ then looked down at Hecate with a different look. "No...she didn't deny it, did she?" Ara folded her arms at that.
Hecate stayed silent long enough for a very angry Hades to go running into a different hallway. "Duh." She said with a roll of her eyes, gesturing to the flaming god acting like an angry toddler.
Ara stood before dusting herself off with a smirk. "Apparently, you have no idea whether you've switched the kids or not. All I know is that my lie detector here has a streak of Heidi blue hair in her head, and I can't trick myself into thinking that's a coincidence." She placed her hand on her hip.
Hecate floated up using her magic and folded her arms as she subtly shot them a second wink. "I am clueless and quite offended that you would even accuse me of that." She said, dramatically laying a hand on her chest and shaking her head. "And to think I have been so kind."
Chester tilted his head at that. "You have?" He asked, recalling all of the very long talks he had to endure. The thought that she was surely trying to talk him to dust.
Ara rolled her eyes before saying, "Oh, yes. I just so happen to be a spoiled child. Do forgive me with time." She looked up, obviously playing along.
"Well, now, thanks to all of you, I must go check in with my boss and report the insolence that has been given to me today," Hecate said with an over-the-top huff and fold of her arms. "I hope you are all happy for making him not." She said, tilting her head up, shooting them a smirk, before 'angrily' walking off after her flaming boss.
Ara turned around at that. "What a drama queen." She shook her head before heading back to the meeting room.
Hazel spoke up at that. "And you aren't? What was that about, anyway?" She asked with confusion and curiosity.
"Self-discovery, Hazel. Self-discovery. Chester, CJ, let's go!" Ara said before running off in the direction of the meeting room. Chester and CJ quickly followed her.
Hazel looked at them with exasperation before turning to Terra. "What do you make of this?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hecate... couldn't admit to anything aside from something ridiculous because of Hades. That's why she said the thing regarding Hermes...to upset Hades into losing his focus…" Terra said thoughtfully while rubbing her chin. "Almost like simply uttering that she did know about it...would result in something that would even terrify an immortal." She said as her voice lowered a bit.
Hazel groaned at that. "Sounds like more stress for me. Why can't we just be inactive like a normal family." She gripped to herself and walked in the direction of the meeting room.
"Because it's boring to be doing nothing aside from asking who stole your sock or shrunk a shirt?" Terra asked in a deadpan.
Hazel shook her head. "I'd rather be asking than, 'Who punched a hole in the table?' Or 'Who opened a portal to Madagascar?' Or 'Who turned outhouse into an ongoing episode of Scooby-Doo?'" She said dryly.
"Still better than a daily sock debate. Try it out for a week, and if you aren't pulling at your sister's hair...the boring life is for you." Terra said as if she had been through that very thing.
Hazel exhaled at that, still in a deadpan. "I guess."
"Anyway...We should get back so we can see how she can sell this one." Terra said while folding her arms.
Hazel glanced at her. "You mean, how could she possibly embarrass me anymore? Yeah... let's do it." She falsely cheered at that before entering the meeting room.
Terra leaned down and pointed at Heidi. "If you ask me...she has it worse off. She's gonna wake up to this and Ara...doing something." She said while shaking her head before retreating to her seat.
Speaking of Ara, she was currently bouncing around and chuckling excitedly. She laughed as she did a small victory dance, scaring her family and friends. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! She did something! I don't know what yet, but I know she did! I'm so close I can feel it!" She said before doing a powerslide across the floor.
Triple G looked at Ara blankly. "No more caffeine for her?"
George blinked as well. "No more caffeine for her." He answered.
Audrey stared at her in a bit of concern. "I...really hate to ask at this point...but what is...this?" She said, gesturing to her with a dumbfounded look.
Chirpy answered. "She's happy." She said with an amused smile.
Ara blinked before grinning and standing. "Oh, hell yeah, I'm happy! Based on what Hecate told me-"
Chester blinked. "She didn't tell you anything." He scratched his head.
"I took the hints and read between the lines." She said, looking at him in annoyance. "Anyway. It's safe for me to assume...not completely sure where yet...but our CJ could be Heidi's real daughter." Ara said with a slight sigh in her voice.
"As I said, she has it worse off," Terra commented with halved eyes, glancing at the passed-out goddess in question.
CJ looked at Ara with halved eyes. "...You can't be serious."
Ara grew a smirk. "I am dead serious."
"It's just a random blue hair…" CJ said with a shrug.
"A group of random blue hairs that are neatly placed together. On top of that, they came out of your head. If I were you, I'd be pretty concerned. None of your parents or parent's parents have the blue hair gene...or do they?" Ara asked with a raised eyebrow.
Hazel blinked at that. "Yeah." She told Terra. "I see what you mean." She rested her head in her palm.
"She is as doomed as they come," Terra said blankly with a shake of her head.
Hazel shook her head. "Big time." She said, her vision blocked by her fingers.
Ara walked over to the board. She scribbled down some adjustments. "Now...all I need is to find how alternate CJ became our CJ. Oh, and I also need more proof that you're Heidi's biological kid." She said with a simple smile.
CJ looked at her dryly. "When you find out...let me know." She said, looking to the side.
Deuce tilted his head. "How would we figure that out. That hair is the only thing they have in common."
Ara shook her head. "You don't have to have things in common to be family. Look at Hazel and me." She pointed at the exasperated red-head.
Triple G tilted his head. "Oh...well, maybe the resemblance is on the inside?" He said with a shrug. "Hey, CJ. Does your hair light on fire when you're upset?"
CJ dryly looked at him. "No."
JR smirked before joining in. "Hey, CJ. What's your favorite genre of music?"
CJ raised an eyebrow. "Rock, that's obvious. We have a band...I play drums…" she shook her head.
JR tilted his head. "Oh yeah, that's right." He shrugged. "At least I know now."
Deuce tapped his foot. "How do you feel about...chocolate?"
CJ looked to the side, "It's fine, I guess. I'm more into white chocolate, though…" she said with a raised eyebrow.
Deuce nodded at that. "This one's a little pickier but satisfactory."
CJ rolled her eyes at that. "You know, I'm trying to keep my cool since raising hell is not good for me while I'm sick. Why don't you idiots help me do that?" She said as her brown eyes took on a yellow glow.
Ara rolled her eyes as she continued to look over her board. "Can you guys be quieter? I'm trying to focus." She shook her head.
Audrey raised an eyebrow. "...Wait, are you a light or heavy sleeper?" She asked with curiosity.
CJ looked up at that. "Eh…" She looked at the boys in annoyance, seeing them twiddle their fingers. "Well, go on. Tell her how I sleep." She waved them off.
The boys perked up at that with smirks.
Deuce was the first to say, "The heaviest."
Triple G nodded at that. "She is a pretty heavy sleeper. You can do just about anything. Hazel swaddled her while she was sleeping once." He said with a smile.
Freddie blinked at that. "That was the day Hazel turned you all into caterpillars!" She said with humor. "Yeah, she is a pretty solid sleeper. Just don't wake her up. If you do, have the paramedic on speed dial." She said casually.
Audrey stared before deadpanning and casually pointing at the softly snoring Heidi.
Deuce tilted his head at that. "What? Does she need a paramedic or something?" He asked with a scratch of his head.
"Ara woke her up and almost lost her eyebrows from a fireball Heidi spat at her," Audrey said dryly.
Jupiter couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up at that. "You almost lost your eyebrows?"
Ara looked at the board before turning around, thoroughly amused. "Almost. Almost lost my eyebrows. It's her fault for being so hard to wake up! I had to push her out of bed." She shook her head...before she smirked. "Hey, CJ. How stubborn are you?"
CJ exhaled at all of the questions before adjusting herself to the pillow-like cloud. "Apparently...very. Not even Ama could get me to talk...which is why we almost blew up the other day." She looked to the side.
Ara nodded at that. "I was using my phone to type out my will in a pillow fort. I got to save it to the cloud before Susanoo got me." She shrugged.
"I think I slept through that," Audrey said cluelessly with a small shrug.
Freddie shook her head. "I don't know how you did it. It was hot!" She said as if she could still feel it.
"I woke up cold," Audrey said with a head tilt.
The group looked completely perplexed at that.
Meanwhile, Hazel watched them all with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, Heidi's still sleeping. This is good. She might sleep right over this mess." She said with a happy tone.
Terra was about to agree when she spotted an angry Hades run by while roaring as an exasperated Hecate chased him. "...You jinxed us."
Hazel blinked twice at what happened before looking back at Terra. "...I did?"
Terra blankly pointed to Heidi, who was stirring a bit. "You did."
"...aww man", Hazel said, now looking exasperated. "I am bad luck."
"Maybe we can...just hand her CJ as an offering, and she'll go back to sleep? Otherwise...the heatwave may return for round two." Terra said with a shake of her head.
Hazel raised her eyebrow as everyone tried to get back on track. "What would handing her CJ do?" She said questionably.
"You hand her the baby, and she goes back to bed. Kind of like giving her a teddy bear...besides, I'm sure CJ wouldn't mind." Terra said with an innocent look and a shrug. "Look at the time."
Hazel nodded at that before saying, "Alright. Anything that'll keep Heidi from melting all of my stored ice cream bars." She said with a surprisingly serious tone.
"The ice cream is a noble cause to be given up for," Terra said with narrowed eyes and a nod.
Hazel nodded before hopping out of her seat and ran over to where CJ was hovering.
CJ looked at Hazel in confusion. "Hazel, what are you-"
Hazel shook her head vigorously and pointed to a nearly awakened Heidi. "I need to borrow...you...for a minute."
CJ blinked at that before saying, "Okay…"
Hazel signaled Ara and said, "Tip the cloud!" She whispered.
Ara looked over and winced at the sight of Heidi awakening. She made sure she pushed CJ's cloud over to Heidi's before tipping CJ's cloud. That caused the blonde to roll right onto Heidi's cloud. Dizzy and confused, CJ stopped moving when she was right beside the stirring goddess.
Heidi's eyes fluttered open before she blinked and smiled a bit. Clearly satisfied, the woman practically turned CJ into her own personal stuffed animal and went right back to sleep like nothing had happened.
Hazel released a breath at that. "That...was a close one." She placed her hands on her hips.
"We almost had a contained version of a furnace turning on," Terra commented, seemingly much more relaxed now.
Freddie also relaxed as she shook her head. "I had the paramedic's number ready to go. Thank goodness I didn't have to use it, though."
Deuce was laid out on the floor. "I wasn't looking forward to that." He said with a smile.
That was before Uma tilted her body enough to get a good view of the very happy blonde. "Uhh...CJ. What's going on with your eyes?" She said, squinting her own eyes.
"Huh? What about them?" CJ asked with a smile as she looked up, unknowingly displaying the golden flecks in her brown eyes.
Ara nearly choked at that. Before saying, "Hey...Audrey...just to make sure. You see the golden things too, Right?" She asked the closest person to her.
"Hmm...Yep." Audrey said casually, not appearing that surprised at this point.
"Oh, Hazel~" Ara called to her sister.
"Don't." Hazel plainly stated.
"I was riiiiight!" Ara said with a laugh that came afterward. "Victory screech! Oololololololooo!" She said while running around the room.
Elsa shook her head at that. "...Yeah, I'm speechless."
Freddie nodded at that. "Same here, but it's fun to watch." She said, watching Ara run around in excitement.
Chester facepalmed. "Now we have something else. To tell Heidi."
Chirpy shook her head at that. "Something tells me that she will be doing all of the talking." She said, referring to the hyper girl.
8888888
Ara walked out of her room with a nice-sized blue suitcase. She had successfully gotten herself completely packed in the past two hours. She made sure that she had every necessity she could possibly think of. She had an array of clothing, one for every task she could think of. She only packed one pair of gladiator sandals for shoes. The rest of her things were the bare essentials: hairbrush, toothbrush, jewelry, etc.
Ara tilted her head, trying to decide which crown to bring. Her seashell crown or her Atlantean crown. They were both gifts, and she loved them both, so it was quite the debate. Thankfully, she had somehow found room in her suitcase to fit her relic crown inside. Now that this was handled, she placed her seashell crown on her nightstand. It was all set for the morning now.
Now that she was ready, it was time to go check on everyone else. Ara headed out of her room with a small smile seeing her friends scramble around, trying to get their things together. To help them out, Hazel made them a list of things they needed to pack. On that list, she also gave them a recommended suitcase size. She even told them where to put certain things in the suitcase.
Speaking of Hazel, Ara saw her walk past with one of the said lists in hand. Ara waved at her. "Hey, Hazel. How's the packing going?" She asked, tilting her head.
Hazel turned at her sibling's call with a smile. "Pretty good. The boys are on autopilot; George is done. I'm done. I'm waiting on word from Freddie, Uma, CJ, and Audrey. I'm pretty sure Heidi, Terra, and Seraphina can handle their own packing. As for Audrey, Chirpy is helping her pack." She informed.
Ara nodded at that before smacking her mouth. "Alright. I guess I'll go help CJ then. You guys keep doing what you're doing." She said before running off in the direction of CJ's room.
Knowing that there is a high possibility that the girl could be sleeping, Ara tip-toed into the room. She took her chances, looking at the two people in the bed, knowing if they saw her, she'd most likely have to draw her eyebrows on for the next couple of weeks. To her relief, they were both sleeping still. Not only that, they were both snuggled up to one another. Heidi using CJ as a teddy bear and CJ burying her face in Heidi's clothing.
Ara grinned at that with a small sigh. "Awwww…" She melted silently before getting to work.
This is the best part about working around heavy sleepers. As long as you're not Hades level loud, you can make just about as much noise as you like around them. Ara texted Hazel and asked her to send her a digital copy of the packing list. When Hazel did, Ara got started with the packing work. She packed the necessities and also things that CJ would like to have. Ara knew what kind of clothes CJ liked, so she completely had the blonde covered there.
The only thing was...CJ mostly wore boots. They were either flat boots or heeled boots, but mostly boots. The blue-haired woman tilted her head at that. CJ doesn't know how to fly yet. The main thing she knows how to do is run and fight. Her running is...not the best at the moment, but she's getting there. Maybe...just maybe it has something to do with her choice of shoes? Sonic wears shoes.
That got Ara thinking. When the woman looked behind herself to take another glance at her sleeping friends, she lightly smiled before instantly teleporting herself to the nearest shoe factory.
"Aright. I need something that looks like a boot, but not a boot. She needs to run in it like a shoe…" Ara told herself confidently as she walked through the store.
That's before something caught her eyes. It was an advertisement for Converse. "Oh. These could work." She walked over, picking up a pair of strappy black and white ones. "I bet she'll love these. The straps will keep her laces from coming undone. Yeah. These are the ones." She said, shaking her head.
That was before something else caught her eyes. "Puma Muse Echoes! Whoa... I'm getting her these." She said before taking a box of the red and gold ones. "She'll be running like a Lambo in no time!" Ara said with a chuckle.
She tilted her head as she headed to the register. "...I don't know how much speed she'll be able to pick up in those bulky clothes she wears all of the time."
That prompted Ara to blink. Then, she smiled. "Oh...I can fix that."