Rebekah Cross

Location: Diner, Academy Campus
Interacting With: Dana Harada @Plank Sinatra

"Nothing to excuse. The enjoyment of a milkshake is no crime." Athena's daughter replied, directing only the briefest of glances at the demigoddess opposite her before returning her attention to the screen in front of her. A few rapid keystrokes followed, a few clicks, and a large bite from the food next to her. Lather, rinse, repeat for about another minute before anything changed in the process. She directed her attention fully to Dana, resting one hand on the edge of her laptop and the other around the handle of her coffee mug. "Waitresses in America, by the way, collect the dishes from the tables they service. That is why Ms. Crowne was confused by your arrival at her station. She will learn to accommodate your habits, however. She has already learned to accommodate my own preferences."

"You are welcome at my table."

"Thank you." Dana finished taking another sip of her first shake and looked up with a small grin. "I had considered finding you and asking you to eat with me anyway. I do not have the number of anyone here, so short of hunting each of you down individually I had few options for contact."

The Japanese girl gingerly replaced the napkin in her coffee table book and closed it. The reading material was pushed to the right with her elbow, far enough that she could barely get a glimpse of the cover without the help of her peripheral vision; it would have been impolite to dart back and forth between conversation and distraction, and she had an entire day to read to herself if she wanted to. There was company present - if anything, she was the company. Time to make a good impression, Danaye.

...

Silence ruled the table for a second as Harada's curiosity began to amplify.

"What are you working on?"

---

---

He might not’ve been one to openly admit it, but Gabe felt a sort of peace being within the vicinity of the nursery. It wasn't the raw, gritty feel he felt when tromping through the forest, but it was a comforting feeling, nonetheless. He would compare the sensation to being at a botanical garden, an area full of colorful, abundant, thriving plant life. Must've been the maternal traces left in him, the ones that made him such a flower child.

Though, the difference between this place and your typical tourist garden attraction, would most likely be the massive mounds of mulch and manure and tools all out in the open. It was a store after all, and there were goods here that needed to be sold. “Imma go clock in and find the manager. Don't wander off too far, yeah?” Mala informed her friend, giving him a small smile before proceeding off. He nodded to her back before giving a brief look about the place. It was still pretty early in the day, so naturally there were no customers. Even then, the place usually wasn't the most active storefront in town, given the area and population demographics. You'd most likely see a landscaper or maintenance worker surveying wares before you'd see any school kids.

...The place sounded far too good to be true, the more Gabriel thought about it. Minimal human interaction? Easy, yet rewarding labor? And in a favorable environment, no less? The Harvestchild wondered if there was a catch. ”Either I'll end up not liking somebody, or I won't even get the job. That's usually how these things go.” He thought, his feet wandering as his mind followed suit. The area was dense with flora, all sorts of plants and shrubbery trying their best to overlap the small gravel paths. Even during the crisp climates of the Utah autumn, there were still many plants eager to grow while the soil was still warm.

As Gabe meandered down an aisle of perennials and annuals, he couldn't help but stop and take notice of a row of chrysanthemums growing in. It was a peculiar sight to the boy. They may’ve been in season, but they definitely weren't native to the Beehive State. “How well would these survive in this sort of climate?” He muttered, kneeling into the soil. Curiosity overcoming him, Gabe reached out to the plants, to see how they would react to his touch. Naturally, spry, lively plants would perform noticeably better than struggling ones. The ambiance of the area began to fade away from the boy’s ears as he reached ever so closer, his focus drowning out his surroundings.

“Find what you're looking for, man?” A deep voice called from behind the boy, noticeably spooking him out of his induced trance. Gabe sized the man up as he sprung to his feet. Gabriel usually considered himself to be somewhat tall, but this guy still had a few inches over him. His dark brown hair was wrapped in numerous, peculiar buns. His arms adorned in black, blocky, pattern-like tattoos. Between himself, Gabe, and Mala, none of them really looked like they worked there. Speaking of the wood nymph, Mala managed to catch sight of the two just before Gabe could get another word out.

“Rj! There you are.” She called out, trotting up to the two. She had replaced her jacket with a short green apron, seemingly the only element to the nursery’s work attire. “And, I see you've already met Gabe, perfect!” She added. The taller guy perked up a bit at the realization. “Ah, so that’s your name, huh? I've seen you lurk around my store a few times before.” It didn't take much for Gabriel to put one and one together from there. “You must be the manager, then.” He revealed. Rj smirked.

“Manager, owner, what's the diff?” He smirked and held out a hand. “Regis Fauntleroy Jr. I'm taking up the storefront where my father left off.” The two exchanged a hearty handshake. “They call me Rj, for short.” He added. “Heard from Mala here that you know your way around the flora world. What, you majoring in botany at that school or something?” It was obvious he was talking about the Academy. Gabriel had to assume the guy was human, but didn't know for sure. “Somthin’ like that. Most’a my knowledge just comes…” Gabe paused, exchanging cautious glances with Mala. “...Naturally.”

Rebekah Cross

Location: Diner, Academy Campus
Interacting With: Dana Harada @Plank Sinatra

Rebekah looked up, very briefly, from her keyboard with an expression akin to surprise. Very faint, only discernible to the very astute, but present nonetheless. It was exceptionally rare that anyone express even the vaguest hint of interest in her work, let alone actually inquire as to what her work was. Her expression normalized a second later, and her eyes returned to her keyboard so she could continue working. Her silence did not last for very long, however, as she spoke up within a few moments to provide an answer to the Japanese demigoddess' question.

"This is a summary of my theories regarding gods and demigods throughout history. Our divine progenitors, obviously, dropped off of the map after the fall of the Roman Empire, but they did not cease to exist. So I have been doing research to determine where their influence might have been felt throughout history. Mother has been one of my better sources, but she is not always... Forthcoming." She paused again a moment, typing a few words rapidly, then stopping and directing her attention fully towards Dana. "I appreciate the interest in my work. Not many are curious."

"Fewer still actually find it interesting, so I will refrain from, as they say, talking your ear off."

Dana considered that for a minute. She was far from the type of person who would let out a blanket "no, it's okay, what you're doing is very interesting Rebekah-chan," but this actually seemed like a topic of relevance to their lives. From her schedule, it appeared that much of what they were learning corresponded to the exploits of their parents. Dana was not so foolish to believe that the school they served as benefactors for, run by sycophant teachers, would serve them anything less than tales that were as idealized as Greek mythos could get.

Still, being so non-specific in her declaration of interest would be insulting. Clearly the girl had put much work into this, even going to lengths to interview her mother time and again on the exploits of the Olympians. Besides, Dana herself knew well that something as lazy as "that sounds cool" more often than not implied that you had breezed through the other person's words without truly listening and engrossing yourself in what they had to say. Dana may not have had to say much, but she was certainly polite enough to listen, and respond as intently as the other person in the conversation merited. Rebekah was threatening her way into an upper echelon of said acquaintances - and besides, it may be that she had a few of the answers Dana herself had puzzled over.

"Has your research..." she paused, thinking of the word that best fit, "yielded anything on why so many Olympians strike so far east? I find our...high number of Japanese students intriguing."

Rebekah Cross

Location: Diner, Academy Campus
Interacting With: Dana Harada @Plank Sinatra

"Frankly, I do not think they were ever confined to the West." The dark-haired girl sipped her coffee, looking as though she were mulling over how best to continue the elaboration of her thoughts. It was a topic, in truth, that she had given not inconsiderable consideration to, albeit on a broader scale. History and mythology were an... Odd blend. "Consider it from this perspective. In the eyes of most of the world, our ancestors are myths. Nothing more. The Greeks worshiped them, and when the Greeks stopped doing so, they became regarded as what they always were; stories. From this view, it is easy to see why the Greek view of them never spread."

"But in reality, they exist. Entities with immense levels of power that can be called quite literally godlike. Nothing could restrain them geographically, let alone the petty boundaries of mortal men and women. In fact the Romans adopted variants on the Greek myths for themselves, and spread them much wider across the Roman Empire. So they did spread." She paused, and sipped again. "So, in truth, there are two possibilities."

"Firstly, they did spread from the very start. They simply never interacted as closely with the world elsewhere, or were worshiped under different names. Or, secondly, they were limited. But if they truly are on the same level of power as they like to claim, mere national borders could not limit them. Something would have kept them confined to their region of worship. Something powerful enough to give a god reason not to roam about. In other words, something on or above their own level of power." Athena's daughter shrugged, tapping a finger on the side of her mug.

"I do not know which is accurate, or even if I am on the right path of consideration. Mother won't tell me. But it makes one wonder if perhaps the Greek gods are not the only ones that were real."

As Rebekah went on detailing her theories, a small smile began to tug on the ends of Dana's mouth - the only parts of her grin that were unimpeded by the straw that she was vacuuming her shake with. The Japanese girl chewed over the well of information, no doubt painstakingly accumulated, that her fellow demigod had shared. Some of it made sense. Some of it was beyond her, clearly spoken with a wealth of research that Harada hadn't partaken in. Some of it was...just cool to think about.

She took a sip from her shake again and then spun the straw 180 degrees, so that it pointed forward against the side of the glass facing Rebekah.

"Or perhaps it is a more...human boundary? Perhaps they go where they see a chance to find love." Dana shrugged and flicked her straw back in her direction, slinging her right hand over her bare left tricep as she leaned down and took another long sip of her creamy beverage. Her eyes never left Rebekah's, even as she sat up straight again with ramrod posture. "Gods revel in worship. Many of us remember our parents as being there for a brief time upon our birth, or when we first discovered our nature. They were around long us to remember them, to make us ache in their absence, and then they leave when we have other wants and needs beyond them. Think of baby birds."

Harada put a hand over her book softly and thought of her own father, as she knew him - handsome, brash, coarse; mercurial, her mother told her...but around Dana, he had always laughed.

"Just a thought."

Rebekah Cross

Location: Diner, Academy Campus
Interacting With: Dana Harada @Plank Sinatra

"Entirely possible. Though it would imply a certain... Arrogance. A very human arrogance." Rebekah took a long sip of her drink, and paused to stack the three plates at her table then slide them towards the outside edge of the booth. Her breakfast was done, with nothing left unconsumed, so she just had her coffee and her morning routine left. As per usual her tip for the waitress would be left underneath the edge of the plate stack, clocking in at precisely 25% of her total bill. This minor rearrangement complete she took a moment to key a few sentences in to her computer (at a frankly disturbing rate of words per minute), before turning her eyes on the Daughter of Ares again. "Not that this is a new thought. I have pondered the surprisingly human nature of godly emotions, and frankly concluded that a good many of them lack any real emotional maturity. That they would keep to areas where they were worshiped for reasons of affection or vanity is entirely possible."

"Their interactions with their godly children seem to be much more variable. I have heard of some who have scarcely ever met their parent, whereas I see mine at least once a month for coffee and an evasive discussion on the nature of the gods. Among other topics. They seem to be, at their core, inherently strange people."

"No surprises there," Danaye commented wanly - she didn't speak again through the rest of her shake, or while consuming the shake after that. When she was finished, she clinked the glasses together softly and smiled at the noise they made. There was one left on the counter, so she put the book on the booth beside her and pushed it around to Rebekah, setting it on the opposite side of her laptop from her coffee.

"I got this for you."

There was no further explanation necessary, and Harada quieted again. Now shakeless, she resorted to watching Rebekah type and humming under her breath for several seconds. Then she realized she had something to say.

"I'd really like to...go out to eat again. At some point. I would find it fun."

Rebekah Cross

Location: Diner, Academy Campus
Interacting With: Dana Harada @Plank Sinatra

Rebekah blinked, the outward sign of her surprise. She looped a hand around the shake slowly and drew it back towards her, taking a long sip from the straw, followed by a second. The faint upwards bend to the corners of her mouth was the first sign, since Dana sat down, that her mood was anything but neutral. She took one more sip before she said anything, returning her hands to the keyboard and inputting only a few more keystrokes before she hit save and put the device to sleep.

"Much appreciated, Ms. Harada. You need not have gotten me anything, but I appreciate it. I am quite fond of the shakes here." The Athenian demigoddess leaned back in her seat, carefully closing the lid of her laptop and remaining quiet a moment. "I would enjoy going out to eat at some point, as well."

"I rarely attend my lectures. I have none to attend today. Whenever you are free in the future, let me know. Do you have a piece of paper?"

---

---

Grinning at Mari's quip about a "wet T-shirt contest", Peter glanced at Raymond somewhat regretfully before leaving the cafe with Mari and Harvey. Perhaps he should have just kept his mouth shut - he liked Raymond. Deciding that he'd go and find him later to apologise or something, he continued on with the pair."I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Sköjare. Feel free not remembering the weird last name, most people do." He said to them both with a slight chuckle - not sure if Harvey knew him or not, but Mari appeared to be brand new. Unless she had some all seeing eye, she didn't know shit about him.

He did like that about new people.

As the trio sat in the foyer and Harvey directed his next - abruptly put - question towards Peter, he did a small mental eye roll."Petey? What am I, three?" He thought to himself dryly before actually answering Harvey."No, nothing like that." Peter replied, giving a genuinely - dry - smile at Harvey's last comment. "I reckon if I wanted to off someone, I wouldn't need a magic trick to do it. As for drugs, well... I'd rather give myself some substance than an innocent girl." Peter frowned ever so slightly, considering his words. Did that make him sound like a crackhead?

Probably. But shit, he was already dependant on at least three substances, so close enough. "I'm having a little trouble with my spear... if you'll ignore the innuendo." He laughed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs; one foot resting on the thigh of the other leg.

He was still debating in his mind over his opinion on the two in front of him. Naturally, they hadn't spent all that much time together - but he'd still seen a good part of the personalities in their last hour. Harvey: Brash, aggressive, arrogant. Mari; Temperamental, emotive, and... hm.. polite? Obviously, not necessarily large parts of their personality - and these traits weren't necessarily all bad either. "Guess I'll just have to wait and see."

"Oh, you got some performance issues?" Harvey mused, "perhaps you need viagra instead of Mari's magic." Harvey laughed, eyes falling ahead of him. He saw the students pass their table. Some of them gave him a nod, some gave him a glare. Harvey wasn't really popular with making friends. It was a miracle that he actually was with someone other than a few ladies under his arm. Of all people, he was with a Son of Athena. He really must be growing. A week ago he would have never been caught dead with them. But then again, Marilee was good company.

Marilee relaxed in her seat, one leg crossed over the other, hands folded in her lap. She should be used to acting normal by now, but it never seemed to put anyone around her at ease. As if they could all see through her, sense all the tense air that hung about her. Like the anticipation of bending a branch and the waiting to hear it snap. But then again, that could just be her hint of paranoia around everyone male.

Which oddly enough wasn't being soothed by being at the Academy. She had thought it would of made her feel better, being around people like her. However, Ray had seemed to of tripped up her first impression of the place. It couldn't be helped. He was dealt with. At least she thought the matter had been settled. It didn't help that no one around her could let the damn deal go.

Her eyes sparked red, though low on power that she was it shouldn't be too much of a threat...to anyone who knew her powers, like she did. The violent red glow appeared on a face the was otherwise calm and still held a corner of amusement to it. A fake face, like a mask, to appease others around her. Her eyes always gave her away...

"I'd...appreciate it...if you both would leave the previous situation. In. The. Past," she let her smile quirk just a bit more, before adding, "Please." She'd much rather not have to hear about it ever again. Like ever. But the small banter between the two men had ease the irritation back and she let out a tired sigh, leaning to one side and twisting a lock of long dark hair around her finger. "Spear issues?" she mused, glancing over at Harvey to look him up and down, before returning her gaze to Peter, "What kind of spear issues?"

Chuckling at Harvey, Peter looked back at Mari with a somewhat shrewd gaze as she talked. Well, it was obvious she was in fact, uncomfortable with what had just happened. Whether it was because she felt guilty about all three of them (Albeit, not by much), or if she felt it was a poor first impression, he wasn't sure. Perhaps both."In this case, I'm talking about an actual spear. About six foot long, blade sharper than Athena's wit." He said, rolling up his sleeves so the two fo them could see the extent of the damage wreaked by the damned thing. His arms were covered in paper stitches, band-aids, or just-healed cuts that still retained some redness and light pain.

"Okay, so maybe not the performance issues I thought," Harvey commented, laughing aloud, hearing Peter tell Marilee about his spear problem.

"A gift from my mother - except she was getting a little pissed I wasn't using it. Against what, I'm assuming the people behind these kidnappings. But I'm not Sherlock Holmes, and honestly, wasn't all that interested in putting my ass on the line trying to find the assholes." He sighed, glaring ever so slightly at nothing in particular.

"Glad to see that Artibitch isn't the only cunt goddess out there," Harvey, as always, offering up his unique brand of vulgar commentary.
Darting a somewhat sharp look at Harvey - his and Athena's relationship is not one that you could call perfect - but calling her a cunt was taking it too far, Peter looked back to Marilee, continuing.

"Anyway, she cursed it or whatever to follow me around. Before it just popped up whenever I visited a destination - kinda handy, due to the whole 'no weapons' thing on flights - but now she's made it start attacking me if I don't practice with it."
"Soo...," Harvey glanced at Peter, then to Marilee, then back to Peter, "you want her to remove an enchantment of some kind? Seems a bit basic — and lame." Harvey shrugged. He thought this would be something more exciting than a simple cursed enchantment.

"I could look through my grimoire, but..." she nibbled at her thumb as she thought, "...it is an enchantment woven by a Goddess..." Marilee thought about it, but then twirled a lock of hair around her finger. She looked between the two men slowly. "I'll look into it," the corners of her mouth tilted, "Though scars good on you."

"Hey, if it's too dangerous or something, you can just drop it. I'll gladly deal with more scars rather than get you hurt... especially if I suit them." Peter said with a laugh, rolling his sleeves back down. Honestly though, he'd hate for someone else to get harmed by this stupid-ass spear. It was his burden, he wasn't particularly interested in sharing it with someone else... but he felt the need to ask if there was some way to get rid of the burden entirely.

""Sorry for disappointing, Harvey. If I ever find myself having issues after summoning Lucifer or something, I'll let you know." He added satirically, looking back to Harvey.

"You got the wrong mythos, Petey." Harvey commented, "we are the children of the Greek Gods and Goddesses, not whatever fucking religion that Luci and those Archangles are from." Harvey said the usual Harvey words. He laughed the usual Harvey laugh, which was often smug or assholish.

---

---

“...So, uh, y’got any work experience?” Rj continued the conversation, breaking the awkward pause brought forth by Gabe’s not-so-subtle implications. ”Not really.” Gabe shrugged. ”I mean, I've worked before, just not at a store.” Rj nodded in realization. “Ohhhh, so like, volunteer stuff?” He elaborated.

Gabe had a brief lapse of thought in that moment, a memory being relived through his psyche. A peaceful outing of planting young shrubs with dryad siblings was harshly interrupted by a hellhound ambush. A horrendous incident that left Gabe with several new scars, both physical and mental. The Harvestchild parted with a sister that day, it was one of the events that had him consider moving out of the park. ”...Yeah. Something like that.” He slowly replied, diverting his gaze momentarily.

“Mala, your friend’s being weird. I can't have that shit around customers.” Rj piped up, giving the nymph a indifferent grimace. Mala’s expression curled up at the comment. “Oh grow up, Rj. Gabe's fine. He's just been through a bunch. Moving from New York n’ all...” She defended him. “He's young, strong, obedient. Give him work, and he'll do it. You can trust this one.” Rj was skeptical. “Hey, it's better than I can say for any of those other college kids.” Mala added with a smirk. Rj gave the two another uneasy look. “...Right. I'll give ‘im an application.” Relenting, he began back towards the little building that housed his office. Mala and Gabe followed behind him, staying just out of earshot. The nymph looked far more excited than the boy.

”Does he know about you, me…what we are?” He whispered to the nymph, in reference to their mythical backstories. “Well shit, Gabe, if he didn't before, he might just know now!” She whispered back, a twinge of frustration in her voice. “What was with all the dramatic pauses?” She asked. ”Memories popped up...had a lapse...sorry about that.” Gabe hesitantly replied. The confession was quick to make the nymph feel guilty for her snark. “Hey,” She stopped, pulling him to the side as Rj disappeared into his office.

“The easiest way to prevent that, is to focus on the present.” She brought him in close, her voice low and sincere. He appreciated the simple encouragement. ”Yeah...you're right.” He quietly replied. Roy Jr. reappeared back into the scene, breaking the two out of their personal moment. In his hands, were a few pieces of paper. “Aight, fill these out to the best of your ability, then hand ‘em back whenever you get the chance. Preferably before the day’s out. I'll see what I can do about getting you some work here.” He instructed, handing Gabe the sheets of application papers. ”Okay, I can do that...thanks.” He gave the two a considerate nod before turning towards the exit gates.

“Wait, you're not gonna fill it out now?” Mala tried to stop him. ”I'll get to ‘em ASAP. I'll be back when your shift’s done, yeah?” He called back. She couldn't help but sigh. “Okay...see you then, Harvestchild~.” Mala said her farewells with a knowing smirk.
”Ugh.” Gabe began walking faster. “Harvestchild? What's that supposed to mean…?” Rj mumbled at their interactions, before getting back to work.