Nice house... || Athena, Herc, + Nico

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[atrb=style, height: 700px; width: 455px; background-image: url(http://i46.tinypic.com/2eoxt2r.jpg); background-repeat:no-repeat; border:inset 5px #153E7E;] Oh boy, this was awkward. So much for keeping Nicoleta’s presence a secret. Heracles knew immediately how it would look if she happened to be discovered, and the moment went by exactly as expected. "Oh, so much for you not having a girlfriend. Even if she isn't, you two look nice together.”

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Oh Athena.

Heracles chuckles lightly and somewhat nervously, and then removed his hands from Nicoleta. She seemed awake enough to balance without his help, anyway. “She’s not my girlfriend—just a friend of mine that happens to sleep over if she doesn’t feel like driving all the way home.”[/b]

It wasn’t untrue at all.

“Yes, sister. Uh—Athena, this is Nicoleta. Nicoleta, my sister Athena.”[/b] Heracles awkwardly introduced. “Would have preferred a more graceful introduction, though…”[/b]

Nicoleta wandering sleepily into the kitchen wasn’t the best reveal he had planned. Actually, he hadn’t really planned to reveal it at all, it only made things a hell of a lot more awkward than they already were when people at his door would see half-naked, half-asleep Nicoleta cross the hallway in front of the entrance.

At least this time she had her clothes on.

“Athena’s here for a visit. I didn’t even know she was living here. How neat is that?”[/b] Heracles attempted quickly to shift the subject away from the meeting. “I haven’t seen her in years, the whole family kind of went their separate ways after a while.”[/b]
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I'll find something incredible and greater than myself.

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She laughed softly, she should have known better. Of course, whether or not the two standing in front of her would end up in a relationship. she wouldn't pry about that. It was their business after all, not hers.

"N-Nice to meet you, Nicoleta."

She had meet people in stranger ways, so she didn't mind the half-asleep Romanian in front of her. She rather liked this small meeting, it was like getting two things for the price of one. She had come to see her brother, and seemed to get a friend of his bundled in that package.

"Ah, I hope the others are doing as well as you seem to be," she sighed slightly, thinking of her older siblings. She was glad Heracles was doing alright, but the others were a mystery. She could only hope, since they had so much pressure put on them.

"Oh, Herc, m-maybe if your friend doesn't mind, she could perhaps join us? Or would she like to get more sleep instead?" she asked. She didn't mind if Nicoleta wanted to tag along, but from what she can tell, the woman probably would want to go hole herself up in her brother's room again. She couldn't blame her, sleeping did seem rather appealing at the moment...

Sometimes mornings were hard to wake up to. Especially if you were up for the majority of the night. Athena knew that rather well, since she usually went to bed somewhere near one in the morning.

[Nicoleta]

The words they exchanged were immediately fed into the flames. Nicoleta frankly didn't give much care to what they were conversing about at all. The measurement of care could be observed by simply looking at her expression. The disheveled hair and listless expression under the blanket was enough to tell anyone that she was not in the mood. "No." She said flatly, not quite sure to what she was rejecting. Merely, Nicoleta felt the need to say 'no', and so she said it; for, it was the easiest thing to say while in a blotched state of mind. Such terseness and rudeness was not meant to offend; rather, it was just a slip of judgment. Maybe, things would be better off in the evening if Nicoleta can still remember her name. Yes--yes maybe. Yet the curtains close on her outstanding presence. She leaned forward and buried herself against Heracles' broad chest. His warmth was comforting to her, familiar enough to relax her senses. "Lasă-mă să merg la culcare, ass." Nicoleta drawled in her native tongue with ease. From her standpoint, she saw no reason to translate. Within seconds, her consciousness tapped out. A little blanket ghost was huddled against the Greekman and she wasn't going to wake up any time soon.

made by FLOU of OTE.

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[atrb=style, height: 700px; width: 455px; background-image: url(http://i46.tinypic.com/2eoxt2r.jpg); background-repeat:no-repeat; border:inset 5px #153E7E;] Almost as soon as she awoke, Nicoleta’s demeanor was fading back into unconsciousness. He should have known better than to try and speak to her while she was like this. Her eyes were lidded sleepily and Heracles was sure she didn’t get a single word he said. His eyes softened, accompanied by a worried smile. “Well, never mind about that then, alright—“

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And then she was out, falling asleep on her feet as she used his chest as her pillow. She spoke to him through slurred Romanian and she was out like a light, somehow managing to stay on her feet despite being completely and utterly dead tired.

“I think you got your answer.”[/b] Heracles directed towards his sister, gingerly taking the exhausted Nicoleta into his arms. He hadn’t needed to do this for a long while. “Was kind of hoping she’d sleep on through this, to be frank.”[/b]

Without another word spoken he carted the unconscious Romanian back into his room, and lay her gently on the bed. Knowing her she’d adjust in her sleep to some position buried under his blankets if it suited her, so he made no effort to cover or protect her. She was a big girl that could take care of herself, after all!

“So, Nicoleta’s not going to come along with us.”[/b] Not that he expected she would. She was basically vampiric and he was sure the sunlight would kill her. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t go out!”[/b]

Now it was just a matter of where. It’d been so long since he’d seen his sister he wasn’t even sure if he knew what she liked anymore… and he was pretty sure anything he enjoyed was boring.

“I don’t care what we do.”[/b] Heracles said, shrugging his shoulders. “Actually, we could go out and just get food, maybe.”[/b]

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I'll find something incredible and greater than myself.

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She watched as Nicoleta fell asleep, leaning against Heracles. Well, apparently the Romanian could find a way to make a bed out of anything. She had to admit, she found the sight to be a bit amusing. Athena laughed slightly as her brother carried the tired woman off to his room. Maybe she could get to Nico at some other point...when she wasn't a morning zombie. Surely the other was a fine person.

She didn't really expect Nicoleta to come with them, but she was pretty much up for anything. If she didn't come, it really wouldn't change anything. She would still go out and spend time with her brother. She wouldn't let anything keep her away from however much time she had with him now.

"Well, I'm fine with just about anywhere. Though, going out to eat seems pretty good," she replied, smiling softly. Food seemed like a well enough start. Though where to eat was a bit of a problem. Surely there was more restaurants and cafes she didn't know about... She rarely ate out, most of her dinners contained of frozen microwaveable dishes. Occasionally, she might order take-out or something, but sometimes she got home too late to do so.

"Is there anyplace in particular you like to go to more or...are you fine with anything as well?" she asked. She would prefer that he chose where they went, since she wasn't really sure what he liked in the first place. She was pretty much up to trying new things anyway, so going somewhere she didn't know wasn't too bad. If he chose a place she knew, then it was a win-win situation.

That is, if they can come to some sort of decision. They would just be standing there if everything just went back and forth between the two.

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[atrb=style, height: 700px; width: 455px; background-image: url(http://i46.tinypic.com/2eoxt2r.jpg); background-repeat:no-repeat; border:inset 5px #153E7E;] Hopefully when they returned she’d still be asleep. Heracles had made a hobby out of drawing her face and body when she was asleep. Creepy, maybe, but she had a lovely face and complexion, two things that were hard to single out when Nicoleta was being her usual combative self. One of his worries when he left her alone, actually. Nicoleta had made a hobby out of rummaging through Heracles’ things, moving them around on his as a joke. He could only ever find his things in his mess of a house if no one touched them, so it seemed amusing to her… Anyway, that was not the point. She was down, possibly for the count, and he was left alone with his sister once more. Now he just needed to think of a nice place to take her for a simple breakfast or lunch. “There’s a place I know. It’s a bit of a walk, but it’s a nice day. Could use the exercise.”

[/b] Hopefully she wouldn’t assume he was making a crack. Exercise was always an open option for Heracles.

His treat. He wasn’t sure of her living conditions, but if he could manage to eat well often he could certainly treat his sister to the same. He flitted about the house, briefly brushing out the curls of his brown hair (just to look like he hadn’t just woken up). “Alright, we’ll go to breakfast, catch up a bit… maybe go somewhere.”[/b]

Heracles was rushing only a little, wanting to get out of the house before another awkward encounter with his lovely Romanian vampire. He paused and looked at her, his smile slightly lop-sided. “That is, unless you had a specific place in mind? I eat there every now and then and I know it, but is there some place you prefer?”[/b]
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I'll find something incredible and greater than myself.

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"Oh, I don't mind walking at all. And I don't have any place in mind, I'm sure if you like it, I'll like it too some extent," Athena replied from her spot to the kitchen. Walking didn't sound too bad, just as long as the place wasn't halfway across the city. Then again, he did just said it wasn't that far away.

"I trust your judgement. Though, don't make me regret that decision, alright?" she laughed slightly. She didn't want her brother to go out of his way to take her somewhere, only to end up not liking the place.

"I would like to go somewhere afterwards, if you don't mind..." It took all of her effort not to say "Just as long as it isn't around the casino" . She could only hope that Heracles didn't have a thing for gambling. From what she could tell, he didn't, and she sure didn't want him to.

She wondered how he could find things in his house. It wasn't the tidiest of places, but she supposes that he sort of committed it to memory. Man, it must be a pain when someone moves things around. She can just imagine him spending hours looking for something like his phone.

It was a pretty hilarious thought, since he would probably mess everything up even more and the situation would just go downhill.

She couldn't help but wonder if the kitchen was the same way. Everything in the cupboards seeming to be disorganized yet have a place. She can imagine the fridge and the pantry like that for sure. It would be a miracle if things didn't just collapse. Or rather, finding a year-old carton of half-drunken milk all the way at the back of the fridge. She snapped back into reality, remembering they where going to get food. She couldn't ruin her appetite at the thought of possibly nonexistent aging food in her brother's fridge.

"Shall we be going, then?"

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[atrb=style, height: 700px; width: 455px; background-image: url(http://i46.tinypic.com/2eoxt2r.jpg); background-repeat:no-repeat; border:inset 5px #153E7E;] Everything did have a place, and they were places Heracles was quite intent on keeping them in! The last thing he needed was for his phone to disappear. The problem with such organized chaos was that he never had a Plan B for where things could appear. It was one place, and one place only. It was habit for everything to go specifically in one place and he trained himself to adhere to this rule. Anyone that broke it, well… if they wanted to be going home that night, they better hope they find the lost item. His hair now brushed into submission (but promptly messing up as he walked about, so what was even the point?), he threw on his brown leather jacket. He certainly made no attempts to mask just how lazy he was in reality. Though his worth ethic in regards to his school work and studies were incredible, home was another story. If his mother could see him now… no, scratch that. Stay away, mum. “Alright, we’re ready to head off, then.”

[/b] Heracles concluded, slipping his wallet into his jacket pocket, phone in the other. “The place we’re going to isn’t far, on a corner.”

This one was a little café. He stopped in every now and then if he was too lazy to treat himself to anything home cooked, which was actually pretty often, unfortunately. A shame, Heracles considered himself to be a decent cook.

For later he already had a place in mind. Indian food and surprisingly cheap. Though, Indian food was never supposed to be cheap, unless it was cheaply made and fake. There was a more prestigious restaurant he knew of, but it needed reservations and quite frankly there was no time for that. Cheap would have to suffice, though he hated doing that to his little sister.
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I'll find something incredible and greater than myself.

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"Alright. Might I ask, what's the place we're going to?" she asked. She was a bit curious as to where Heracles would stop every so often. Surely it must be good if it got his favor. Well, she wasn't a picky eater, so anything was fine with her. "If you want it to be a surprise, I understand," she added.

She tried to refrain from laughing when her brother's hair slowly went from neat to messy. All she could do was smile, though it took all her effort to keep from bursting out in a fit of giggles. She just kept smiling, not saying a word concerning the other's hair. Surely he didn't really care if it turned out the way it did despite his efforts, right?

She headed towards the door, really happen she had showed up. Her brother didn't turn down her company, now he was going to treat her to breakfast. Yes, this was turning out to be a rather nice day so far. "I hope your cats don't mess with curtains, or blinds, in your room. I'm afraid that friend of yours will turn into a-ash," she said, joking lightly. Surely the Romanian wouldn't be a happy camper, and hopefully the two of them would be far away if that happened.

She opened the front door and stepped outside, sighing slightly. It was a nice, cool day. The cold air was relaxing, in a way. "Lead the way," she said, looking back at her brother. She would probably get them lost if she tried to be in front. Besides, Heracles did know where the place was, and the way there from the house. It would be an idiotic thing to do to have him be the one trailing behind. She stood in her spot, glancing around the neighborhood. She was right when she thought it was a nice place to live.

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[atrb=style, height: 700px; width: 455px; background-image: url(http://i46.tinypic.com/2eoxt2r.jpg); background-repeat:no-repeat; border:inset 5px #153E7E;] “You always do that.”

[/b] Heracles pointed out, only slightly annoyed. Second-guessing herself wasn’t exactly one thing he found favorable about his sister, but she’d always done it for as long as he could remember, so it wasn’t as if a comment could change it. “Put a little more confidence in your voice, Athena!”[/b]

And stop thinking Heracles will snap at you for saying something… yeesh!

“It’s a little place called the Cornerstone.”[/b] He finally specified. “It’s actually run by a couple that I’ve taught at the college.”[/b] He remembered fondly that they seemed really interested in it all, as well! He didn’t mean to stalk them to their store, goodness no. But imagine the surprise all of them of them had when they realized who each other were. It was quite an amusing day, to day the least, and not one he regretted! Since then he’d been making regular stops in to see how his old students were doing. They were a fairly newly wed couple (his family already owned the establishment and she simply married into the ownership), but quite intelligent and easy to talk to.

So, why not take his sister to their lovely little eatery, which he personally considered to be one of the best places in London, if not the most hospitable?

But no, dear sister. Heracles did not, in fact, care about the appearance of his hair, knowing fully its propensity to never stay brushed. He could feel the locks wriggle free and wave about, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. All he could do was say he tried!

"I hope your cats don't mess with curtains, or blinds, in your room. I'm afraid that friend of yours will turn into a-ash.”[/b][/I] She said, obviously amused at the though. She wasn’t too far off. He’d laughed a few times at that insinuation himself.

“If anything those cats are going to curl right up next to her. Or on her, if she finds herself cocooned under the blankets.”[/b] He expected the latter more. She tended to roll herself up into a blanket burrito in her sleep. It wasn’t even a matter of avoiding the light. His room always stayed dark.

Athena stepped outside and beckoned him to lead. Well of course! He didn’t expect her to lead them, after all.[/div]

I'll find something incredible and greater than myself.

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“You always do that. Put a little more confidence in your voice, Athena!” She was caught off guard by her brother's statement. She had tried to break that shell of hers, but, well, it never really ends how she would like it to. "A-Ah...I can try, I g-guess," she smiled softly. It was the least she could do, even if the effort would be a bit troublesome. It would be worth it in the long run.

She was pretty sure she hasn't been to the place he named, but it sounded nice enough. The fact it was owned by a few of his former students made it all the more appealing, since she would have some sort of idea how the people he taught were like. Even if they were no longer his students, it would still be nice to meet them anyway. Perhaps they can tell her of times they were in his class? It was nice if they would, since she would know a bit about her brother when he's teaching. Maybe if she was lucky, a current student of his would show up. Though, she wasn't sure if Heracles, or even the student, would consider the situation "lucky".

“If anything those cats are going to curl right up next to her. Or on her, if she finds herself cocooned under the blankets.”

She couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "Well, then h-hopefully they don't curl up right in front o-of her face, then," she commented. Surely Nico wouldn't like it if a feline's fishy breath was the only thing she could smell. The other end of the cat would be worse, as well, but if the cat curled up in a ball, two ends at once would be terrible. She felt a bit bad for the Romanian now, in case that did end up happening.

'Ah, it is pretty cold... I just hope it doesn't rain as well...' she thought. There was a chance of it, but there wasn't many clouds in the sign that could hold much rain. Hopefully if it does happen, the two would already be in the Cornerstone by then.

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After all that had happened in the last few years, Heracles was thankful at least one of his siblings still desired contact with him. Their older brothers and sister hadn't called or written since the incident with his ex-fiancee- he half expected the same of Athena. Nut ah, they were in pretty much the same boat, a pair of younger siblings who were constantly the butt of the family's jokes, and Athena was the only one of the other four who stuck by him no matter what messes he got himself into. Yes, having Athena here was good, even if she hadn't really changed a bit. "Don't just try-- I want you to do. There are a lot of awful people in this world and I'd rather not have my little sister get walked on."

"We'll see if we can't get ourselves some special treatment because I'm their former professor." As she stepped out of the house he closed the door and locked it behind them. He could already hear the meowing of Boots in response to the door's clicking, but she was only there for a few moments before her voice disappeared again, possibly to go cuddle the invading Romanian. "I wouldn't worry too much. She loves the cats too much to bother punishing them, not to mention she sleeps like a fucking rock." He explained.

"I rolled her off the bed once and all she did was roll under the bed. She's trouble to try and wake up." It was chilly, holy crap. Good thing he grabbed his jacket. Instead of wearing it like a cape, he actually wore it legitimately this time. "Nice day nonetheless. I have a feeling this will be a good week." Nothing had yet happened to suggest that nothing bad would happen, anyway. Not since the event on the Isle of Dogs. Eugh.

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"A-Ah, all right..." Athena said, sighing softly. She never really was one to argue with her brother, since he did usually know best. He was the older one, after all. She's just glad she found him, though. Words couldn't described how worried she had been about the other, but now it was nice to have something to ease her mind. He seemed to be holding up pretty well on his own, and that's all she really could have asked for.

She smiled softly. "I see. It does sound like a pain to deal with her in the morning." She glanced around. She had to agree, it was a nice day. Well, a nice of a day as London could get. "We should walk around a bit after we eat, don't you th-think? It would be a shame to let a day like this t-to not be enjoyed to the fullest..." she commented. Not only that, but she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her brother. He seemed like a busy person, so she wasn't entirely sure when she could hang out with him again. If he didn't have time to, she understood. At least they were going to eat somewhere together.

"How long have you been in London?" she asked. She figured it would probably be longer than her, but it couldn't hurt to ask. If anything, he would know the city better and be more tolerant of the weather. Athena herself wasn't used to how cold it was, she was surprised how some people could deal with the weather as if it was nothing. Hopefully she'll get used to it at some point, or else she'll turn into a human popsicle. That is, if she's lucky. If only the day would just get warmer already, the last thing she wants is to be too cold to talk...

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Another terse response from a generally terse woman. He expected nothing more, and merely sighed in response. If she was all he had left he was going to try his best to make life here easier for her - not too easy. she had to pull her own weight too. But god, if she was going to be a doormat then all the men of London were going to walk all over her.

"The queen of the night is a royal pain in the ass." Heracles turned to grin at her. Nicoleta was an absolutely handful most of the time, but he felt that was part of her endless charm. "I could go on about her-- but she's not here and this is a day for us, alright? Just keep in mind she's a lot easier to handle than she looks."

"We should walk around a bit after we eat, don't you th-think? It would be a shame to let a day like this t-to not be enjoyed to the fullest..." she stammered out a moment later. She read his mind, basically. He hadn't planned to just take her back home. The fact she wasn't really familiar with the area pointed either to her being new to London or just this part of the city.

"Sun's been rare lately, that's true." If there was one thing he hated about London it was the rain. He could have gone to any number of places to get away from the weather - at one point he had been accepted to a university in Spain. Which was one it? Ahhh, he couldn't remember. Damn.

And then she asked that question. How long had she been in London. "Six years," he replied softly. Brought back some rather unpleasant memories, but she was already with the familiar situation, she was sure. "You remember when I disappeared? I'm pretty sure mother must have been crying, or something. The wedding was called off... really abruptly. I've been here ever since. I'm surprised you even tracked her down. No one else has bothered."

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"All right," Athena said. Nicoleta seemed like a nice woman, but if her brother didn't want to talk about her any longer it was fine with her. Besides, like he said, it was their day after all. Why not just enjoy each other's company and be worry-free for a bit? Besides, the sun won't be out forever. At some point, clouds will come and cover it up like always.

Then he replied to her question in a rather soft tone. "Oh, I see..." she responded. She remembered the event from a few years ago like it was yesterday. She didn't mean to bring up such memories. "...Well, mother w-was rather upset. Some times she was crying, o-other time she was just so angry... Well, enough a-about that. No use talking b-bringing up such memories. All that m-matters is that we're together again, r-right?" she asked with a weak smile. Sure, the rest of their family might not bother to look for him, but to Athena he was all she had. Being the youngest, she did get picked on the most, especially on her birthday. Her and Heracles were as close as they could be when growing up, they always stuck together. When he left...well, if no one else was going to look for him, why shouldn't she? She wanted to show that she still loved him, and always will no matter what. It was better for him to know at least one person still cares for him than none, right?

"Now, l-let's get going before we freeze into place," she laughed slightly. She knew it wasn't that cold, but it sure did feel like it to her. Ah, well, the sooner they get to the Cornerstone, the sooner they get to heating. Besides, who knows if it'll just get colder as they stood around. She wished it would get warmer, so she wouldn't have her teeth chattering when they walked around later. Though, from what she knows of London, asking for warm weather was just too much. It was like asking for a miracle you know will never happen, almost to the point where you don't bother to ask for it.