Well... this was... a new... feeling...

Harmonia wasn't crying. She hadn't cried during the conversation, the decision or when she ultimately walked away for the last time. She didn't cry when she wandered into the grocer, bought herself four bottles of red wine and a couple pints of ice cream. She'd cried enough lately, she wasn't going to cry. She'd gone through all that trouble of purging herself of her grief and loss... this was not going to break her.

So even when her ice cream and wine was put away so she could scald herself in a hot shower and then change into sweats, she fought crying. Harmonia even managed a small laugh when she fed Bubbles. But once she was on the couch, alone, wrapped in a blanket with a glass of wine and a pint of ice cream it started to sink in a bit more.

It was over.

The strange part was that while she was sad, really sad... she was okay. She had loved him. She still loved him, but... she was okay. Maybe she shouldn't be, but she was.

She'd just have some ice cream and some wine -or a lot of both, watch some tv and snuggle on the couch... alone. Well... with her pig. Later, when she was up to it, she was going to have to erase a lot of stuff out of her phone. Or at least dump it onto her computer. Later.

Right now it was a bit too... new and raw.

NOTE: Backdated to before this, but after this



There had always been something immanently soothing to Philotes about going home. And by home, she meant the rambling castle/rabbit’s warren/termite mound of a structure in Erebus, the darkest corner of Tartarus. But just going into the Underworld alone was enough to make the tension in her shoulders relax, and her lungs breathe easier in the cooling air. This was where she’d grown up, where she’d had love and acceptance, as well as teasing and tears. This was where her family was, and Lottie loved it here.

( But today… )

It was time. He knew it, though there was a part of him that just didn't want to leave yet. Admittedly when Dionysos had first invited him to stay, Anteros hadn't wanted to. He thought it just might be a bit too weird, Dio's lifestyle and beliefs could be out there, a bit too extreme for the brooding erote. Surprisingly, it had all worked out. What was at first only going to be a few days, turned into a week, then 2, then a month and more.

He had had fun, though being around Dionysos how could you not. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt carefree and relaxed. He had been in a rut for far too long. Though the debauchery had been fun, it was time to move on. Anteros had decided it was time to make some changes, and if he stayed here, he'd just be avoiding them.

He had hired a contractor to fix the damage to his place. As soon as it was fixed, he planned on putting it on the market. The condo was nice, but he wanted a change, which was kinda how the renovation project had started. His plan was to look for a little cottage on the beach. A place where all he needed to do was open the door and be on the beach, a few steps away from surfing or just enjoying the sand and sun.

It broke her heart when she saw the news of the destruction. Perhaps it was because even over a month later she was still a bit emotionally raw. Not having succeeded in disabling the necklace from doing damage to anyone else was hard on her heart, but harder on it was knowing that she had a constant battle with herself as far what she should keep between herself and Hera to ensure success and what she should tell Tyr to keep him from worrying too much. Not to mention she still had to find a chance to talk to Lottie about everything. It was a conversation that was not going to be pretty.

And she needed to get Bubbles back at some point. Except that was secondary to the current problem. ( The current problem was that there were people suffering. )

Harmonia did not go directly home after parting company with her grandmother. It may not have been the most pleasing thing for Hera to hear, but at the same time, there was no way for her to know how well Balance was hiding the sheer amount of aches and pains her body was sustaining. It was a minor diversion and she was quite determined it was going to be a short one. None of those attendants or nurses or whatever he kept were going to check her in for a say.

No. Just.. no. But, Harmonia would have been a complete moron to think she was able to assess everything entirely on her own for proper treatment. ( Epidarus was the place to go. )

OOC: After this.

She was biting tears back as hard as she could. Harmonia's first stop was not home, nor Lottie's -where she did occasionally stay from time to time, but the modest little temple she had on Olympus near her father's. She rarely went there so it seemed unlikely that Philotes would go there first once it was noticed that she left Anteros' without further explanation. She didn't do much other than give an extremely vague and brief explanation, via text so he didn't hear tears in her voice and demand further explanation or panic more than he probably already was, to Tyr that she was going to be mostly off radar for awhile but would check in with him here or there. Well, and pack a modest bag with a very minimal amount of necessities -she could purchase most anything else if she needed it. And the less she lingered the less likely it was that Philotes or someone else was going to want to tag along and help... and risk getting hurt in the process...

And Harmonia could not risk someone else getting hurt because of her. She stopped at her father's armory and did lift a few things that he would definitely know were missing, but, she didn't know what she could run into -anywhere, and wanted to be prepared. He'd understand. ( He was the one that made sure she knew how to use it all anyway. )

One of the problems Philotes had, a problem most wouldn't consider a problem at all, was that she had a vast number of friends. In all honesty, pretty much everybody she met she considered a friend. So keeping up with all of them could get a bit tricky from time to time. Oh, she made time for special people in her life. The slumber party with Harmonia and Idun, for example. But then there were times when she looked at her calendar and realized she hadn't seen somebody for a while.

( Like Anteros. )

For a brief moment earlier in the day, laying a bed just a bit longer than she should have, she considered running off to visit Tyr before the girls came by her house later. It was going to be a surprise. She thought if she did her morning run, got everything situated like she needed to for the day that she could easily slip out about 2 pm, which was around 1 am in Demark if her world clock was correct, and hang out for a few hours before returning to Lana'i. That thought was quickly changed when she pulled up the weather app on her phone and saw that it was cold and raining in Denmark. Screw that. It was temperate and mostly sunny in Lana'i. Low 70s and dry in Hawai'i or low 40s and raining in Denmark. Yeah, no.

( Besides, her friends were coming by and she had to prepare.  )

The place was packed, which was how it was supposed to be. There were costumes everywhere... also exactly how it was supposed to be. Because it was Halloween. It was also Chicago and Americans went all crazy for the holiday. On top of that, it was Thirsty Thursday, something everyone in the American Midwest was familiar with. Professional drinkers, this lot, and Ninkasi loved them for it. Most of the costumed were immortal in some way, not just gods but nymphs and the like as well, but she was clearly allowing an occasional mortal in as well. There were rules outside to her bouncers for screening them properly.

Shortly, the specialty taps would be opened and her private brews would begin to flow. Which is what, she was sure, Kratos was hoping and/or waiting for. ( Wherever he was. )

Thor wasn't certain what the issue was, but there was a middle-aged waitress staring him down like she was about to face a dragon, the pen sticking out of her salt-and-pepper hairbun almost quivering as she mentally prepared for battle. She wasn't even his waitress. His waitress was the adorable little brunette with the sprinkle of freckles across her nose that was hovering behind the affronted crusader. Thor had been happily flirting with the girl right up to the point where he'd given his order, and confirmed that he intended to eat it right there. Her eyes had grown large and she'd hurried off, ( only to return with HER. )

Zosime had made herself scarce after helping Tyr get dinner ready. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but the servant he'd rescued from Enyo was becoming invaluable. She was cheery and helpful, but seemed to know when to help and when to butt out. Tyr was used to solitude, and he stubbornly continued to prefer to do the things he could himself, and Zosime had quickly adjusted. They were also beginning to understand each other a little. It probably helped that as he was "seeing" a Greek, he wanted to learn what he could of her language, while Zosime was about as far away from Greece as she could be and needed to be able to get around on her own. With two eager students, it was coming along. Tyr still had to remind himself that he couldn't just go around naked in his own house anymore, but for the most part the arrangement was working. For now. Harmonia had talked about getting her own place, at which time, assuming they were still talking, he was going to suggest that Zosime go with Harmonia.

( The assumption that they would still be talking weighed heavily on what happened tonight. )

Philotes wandered through the store, agog at all the various things that were contained within what was essentially a giant pole shed. When it said it was a “farm supply” store, she really hadn't expected more than some feed, maybe some fence poles or something. But this? This was awesome! It had clothing and boots and hats, it had pet supplies for everything from cats to dogs to hamsters, it had tools, it had automotive stuff, it had toys, it had hunting and camping supplies, it had dishware and baking sets, it had cleaning goods. It had all of that plus the sort of things one would need on a farm. ( Truthfully, Fleet Farm was one of the best places Friendship had ever discovered. )

Isis had really hoped Harmonia would have been around to see her by now. She was so very pleased that the younger goddess was back among the living. She also understood that after all this time, it was going to be more than a little daunting trying to acclimate herself in the world again. Things had progressed so far. It was one thing to watch the world change over the long years, and quite another to disappear from it and be startled by it all at once upon returning.

( cont... )

Upon returning to Philotes' mountain home after her date with Tyr, Harmonia melted. Quite literally it seemed. She had tip-toed through the house in the dark, not turning any lights on because she wanted to avoid waking Lottie if she was home and because she was still processing the evening in her mind and wasn't ready to answer questions.

There likely would be questions. That's what best friends did, they talked about each other's lives and helped make sense of them. And she had left Philotes a note about where she was going knowing full well she was going to have to talk about it eventually. Except Harmonia was severely lacking in the ability to talk about men without stuttering like a moron. This whole thing, the nerves and excitement and that really warm feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her feel happy all over... it was all new. ( She had no experience. )

Tyr stood outside the CN Tower in the cold, waiting. He’d gotten there earlier than he needed to, but he didn’t want Harmonia to show up in a strange place and have to wait alone. Assuming she showed up at all. Which he had to assume she would, since she hadn’t backed out so far. Not even after he sent her a text asking her to meet him here. He’d given her a bit of a brief overview, perhaps too brief he had realized on reflection, but enough. He had advised Harmonia that they would be dining in a “fancy restaurant”, as he believed he had put it, the 360 Restaurant by name, and that she should bring a change of warm clothes for after.

( Assuming they made it through dinner and there was an after. )

Harmonia was freaking out.

Alright, freaking out might have been the understatement of the century, but she had herself so worked up without anyone to really talk to about it that she was making herself sick. This was how she ended up in San Francisco. She had made the mistake of googling, finally, what Valentine's Day was. When she found it, she read the first few paragraphs of the wikipedia entry and very nearly had a coronary. She didn't even get into the history yet when she stood up and raided Lottie's liquor cabinet, did three shots of tequila because it was the first bottle she saw, and decided she needed to do something that was the polar opposite of what the read in those first few paragraphs.

( She went to Alcatraz. )

Harmonia was laying in her bed at her mother's temple on Olympus. It was one in the afternoon and she was in bed. She wasn't in her nightshirt anymore and the bed was made, but at some point while fixing her hair she got distracted and ended up spread out back across the comforter. Though, distracted was an understatement. Harmonia was obsessing.

There had been nothing but pleasant dreams for the past few weeks, far happier than anything she had dreamed in thousands of years, and each morning she actually woke feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. Except as she ran a brush through her hair, she had made the mistake of looking at the note she stuck to her mirror so as not to lose it. And then she made the additional mistake of taking it down, opening it, reading it again and then flopping face down on the bed in a mixed mess of emotions.

( Oh, she was excited, make no mistake about it. )

It was rare this time of year that he was able to sit down and put his feet up on the tasseled hassock in his study. Which was why, as he settled into the cushy plumpness of his red velvet chair, Santa began mentally reviewing his to-do list for today. Did he really have time to enjoy his peppermint hot cocoa, or had he forgotten something that would require his attention?

( The List )

The first thing he did upon exiting the temple was turn to the nymph. He did not want to force her into servitude, nor did he know what he would want to do with her if she chose to join him in his home. He supposed he would find something for her to do. Tyr reached in his pocket and retrieved a bundle of cash. Handing it to the servant, he gave her directions to his home in Denmark, explaining that the money would get her there, or wherever else she might choose to go. The surprise on her face and the gratitude in her eyes further solidified that he had done the right thing by removing her from this place. It also appeared she intended to follow through with what she perceived as her responsibilities as she verified the directions he gave her.

So be it.

( The next order of business was to find Harmonia. )