Deimos was miserable.

He was dressed in his nicest, non-suit-and-tie clothes, which in this case were crisply pressed Dockers (brand new--it was the only way they'd be wrinkle free because he sure as hell wasn't gonna pick up an iron), a white button-down shirt with a light blue pinstripe, black socks, black penny loafers, and a black fedora. ( At least he'd been able to find mostly black clothes. )

Philotes was the best friend in the history of best friends, of that there could and would be no argument. At least not in Harmonia's eyes. Her dearest of friends had been at her side through all the trials and tribulations of Balance's life and never once left her to scramble on her own for her bearings. Except for that time when Cadmus died, but that was probably an issue of timing rather than any negligence on her part.

And now, now she had opened her secluded home among mortals in Greece to Harmonia. It gave Balance a place of safety and seclusion as she adjusted to the things that had changed around her. She needed to see her mother, she needed to see her father... she needed to see her family in general but she wasn't ready for that. Not yet. First she had to take care of the business with the necklace. ( She wasn't going to be in a proper frame of mind for reunions until that was taken care of. )

Churchill Downs was all a flutter with activity. Which made sense. It was the most exciting two days of the year at the Louisville, Kentucky track. Zeus had been on site since early yesterday. Mostly for networking purposes, as while he had interest in the Oaks -the filly race held on Friday, from a gambling side of things, he had other things on his mind. He had a horse in the Derby.

( It was a very tricky business, racing horses. )

The place was packed. And by packed, that mean that there were over a dozen people in the place, but less than two. Because even if the sign at the door said Maximum Occupancy: 29, there was no way that many people were going to fit in the place and still allow for room to breath. The Matchbox bar in Chicago, Illinois was 460 square feet of appropriately named real estate. It was tiny. It was crowded with every single one of the twelve bar stools currently occupied. And it was ( The. Best. Dive. Bar. Ever. )

After starting two schoolyard brawls last week, and a near-riot at a bar the week before, Deimos was feeling quite satisfied with himself. Sure, it was about time to start some new trouble, but he knew a surefire way of doing that.

( meanwhile, back at the motel )