Grecian Urn...

Everyone was back to normal, sort of, but Hori didn't feel all that different. He sort of stood there, looking at the wedding party that was frozen and frowned. They were making oaths, and Hori mere presence wasn't sending anyone into fits of lies anymore, and he should have felt better right? Maybe Ate was right and he just needed some sort of...hobby.

And while the idea of checking up on Eris came to mind, he imagined she was still at the house with siblings, or with Apollo. And none of her company appealed to him. Which left...Lethe, or Elpis.

Lethe, though, was probably alright. Tucked away in her comfortable home, and maybe Elpis would want to go with him to see her. And he hadn't had the chance to really talk to Elpis yet anyway. So, well... Hmmm.

"Elpis?" He called out, tugging at the emotional ties to his sister that could act like that 'hey, look at ME' attention getting bell. "Elpis!"

"Not at all. Not at all, niece."

She sniffed and looked down her nose at Ate.

"Simply that as a spawn of my sister, I doubt you know how to properly prepare anything, let alone how to wash your hands."

Oh, that felt good. Very, very good.

Girl? Did he seriously just refer to her as girl? She just smirked and offered a bit of a shrug.

"I do clean up nice every couple of years, I suppose. I trust you're finding everything ok?"

She was tempted to introduce herself, but didn't think it really worth the effort...

    All in all, She was rather dubious about the idea of family dinner. It wasn't that she didn't want to see people... She was rather fond of everyone she was related to. Her grandparents were quite lovely, so far as she was concerned, and she did have things she needed to discuss with certain  siblings.

    On the other hand... she had a finite, short amount of time with Morpheus, before everything got all messed up again. She wanted to be irrational, and think up all sorts of ways to avoid what was going to happen... but she voiced none of them. She wasn't even sure he'd want that, if it was possible... and wasting time on theories and ideas seemed... well, a waste.

    She paused in front of her mothers house and listened, hearing the sounds from the back, and turned to face him, offering a smile.

    "It sounds like everyone's in the back. Sure you want to go? We don't have to..."

She was in the kitchen, finishing a few final touches on dinner as she heard the door swing open.

"I know I'm not dressed yet..."

She looked up, a grin forming a she saw it was Kia, and not Eris as expected.

"Ahh... it's you. Disregard that. You early?"

“I was hoping for a nice sit down dinner…”

“Well, Eris, You are rather certifiable.”

“Cheeky. That's no way to talk to your mother."

Ate laughed, and looked at Eris. “Oh, right… like any sane person would want to figure out the seating arrangements for this dinner, if they were hoping to avoid bloodshed? We’re doing a buffet. Listen to your caterer.”

“Caterer?”

“Mmm. You’ll get my bill. You’re sure you want to unleash this sort of crazy?”

“I just want everyone to get along.”

“You invited the wrong family for that.”

Eris lifted a brow at her daughter’s retort, and shook her head. “You're a horrible daughter. So, here in the garden, you think?”

Ate glanced around her mother’s garden, and smirked as she nodded. “You’ve got what... Venus fly traps, yellow trumpets, cobra lilies, hemlock, belladonna, fox glove, white oleander… I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to dine amidst the carnivorous and poisonous, but it’s not like you can uninvite the family now, is it?”

“You’re in a foul mood.”

“Gee. Considering I’ve been shanghaied into cooking for a dinner I don’t want to be at for people I don’t want to see in a place where I’ve been officially banned… and the easiest bit since it all has been convincing Hori that Curry with Sprinkles really wasn’t the thing to make… Yeah. I’m in a mood.”

“Bah. Away with you.”

Eris shoo’ed Ate toward the kitchen, and surveyed the garden. Ate did have a point… there was a lot less that needed doing if they were going to have it out here. She manifested some bistro chairs in various groupies around the garden paths, as well as some wrought iron chairs, and watched contently as a string of Chinese paper lanterns hung themselves along the privacy hedges and over the garden. Rather then candles, each one produced an orb of darkness – her parents would be bright enough for anyone.

Along the side of the temple near the kitchens she conjured a long buffet table, then moved it toward the pool, Thwarting any plan Ate might have of hiding in the kitchen all night. If forcing your child to mingle with relatives at a family party wasn’t part of parenting, she didn’t know what was. Pleased with the way the garden looked, she moved toward the kitchen, watching as Ate did her thing.

“Need help?”

“I’m good.”

“What have you made?”

“Fried chicken, baked ziti, potato salad, ceasar salad, pasta salad, Shish kebab… plus crudités and an olive tray for starters, and for dessert, svinghi and kataifi.”

“Impressive.”

“Eh. You taught me how to make most of it…”

“Ahh.. and that school in France had nothing to do with it?” Eris smiled as she saw the look on Ate’s face. “You didn’t think I knew about that.”

“Didn’t think you’d care.”

“I pay more attention than you think.”

“Any attention is generally more than I think.”

“Am I really that horrid?”

“Eris… I have a lot of stuff to do. Won’t people be here any minute?”

“So that’s a yes.”

“No, it’s… no. You weren’t. We don’t have time for this conversation right now.”

“Your sister thinks this is a good time to bury the hatchet.”

“There is no hatchet. We’re never going to have some deep mother/daughter bond you seem to want lately.”

“But we could be friendlier. We could both probably benefit from that.”

“Probably. You’re beating around the bush about something… spit it out.”

“I’ll spit it out if you tell me why you’re in such a bitchy mood.”

“Will it get you to leave my kitchen? Fine.”

“My kitchen… but yes. Very well… Apollo’s asked me to marry him. I told him we needed to talk to family first.. especially Elpis. But I’d like it if the rest of you were ok with it.” She canted her head as she watched her eldest’s reaction, a bit surprised at the total lack of response. “ Your turn.”

“The only thing bothering me currently is the fact that I’m going to have very little time to get changed.”

Eris frowned, a bit perturbed at the reaction, or lack there of, and was about to argue it a bit when she heard something in the front of the temple, indicating someone had actually arrived on time.

“Yes.. do change first. I’m going to see who’s here. Yell if you need anything…”

She swept out of the kitchen, leaving Ate to finish whatever it was she was doing with various bowls and trays, making her way to the main hall, a smirk growing slowly across her lips. Oh, her parents were going to just love this… she knew it.

She shot Ate and Limos a last glare... They were going to do something stupid. It wasn't even so much a hunch, as an unavoidable fact. If one could convey the idea of "stay out of my business, or I'll glare at you some more!" into a look, Lethe did her bst to do so. Still... it was pretty much a lost cost, and so she gave Elpis her full attention, sliding one hand out of her sister's and slipping it around her waist, leaning in as she started walking down the mountain. It'd be nice to get to know her better... futile, perhaps, in the long run... but who knew when things would be fixed?

"So... What is it you want to know?"

She didn't pause before she made it outside, figuring if people wanted to stay, that was their own decision... she cared mostly about getting Limos out of there. Once out of the temple, she took a deep breath, and turned to face the others.

"I, for one, am getting off this mountain..."

Apollo pushed past him, his arms around Eris as he laughed at Hermes. They all left him in the entry way alone, Dite's voice in his head as he tried to make sense...

Everything felt wrong. His hands were shaking as he reached out for the the door, only to pull back a moment later and look away.

It is all wrong Dite, he said softly, Apollo...

He drifted, stumbling back as groaned. It was wrong. It was all wrong. He moved from the entry way, and through Dite's more private quarters. A servant came running toward him, and Hermes jerked away, surprised and startled as he pushed her away.

"I know you were behind it, just fix it all." The girl hissed it at him as he back away, "Die...Die....Poor little Hermes."

"Get away from me!"

She stopped looking at him Maliciously (or that was what he saw) before she turned an ran out of the room, Hermes falling to the floor and crawling into a corner where he hide, curled into a ball and rockin'.

Its all wrong...I didn't do it....I...

Only he wasn't so sure anymore.

Limos didn’t leave his mother’s home, not when the other’s had. Instead he read, and ate. Mostly read, though. Lethe’s world tumbled out before him, with the eloquence that could have only come from the tongue of a muse, the emotional drive to give the emotion backing to her words. As though she would forget again.

But then, he supposed she would, much like he would stop sprouting trees and flowers. Much like any of their siblings would return to normal. (Such as Hori-Boy, who had returned from his trip and promptly tumbled over into his bed, as though nothing in the world could bother him.) Only the idea of her forgetting brought the idea of her being abused by themselves all over again. And they had, hadn’t they?

He looked at the page again forlornly, wondering when they had all become so selfish that they didn’t treat Lethe as a sister any longer, but rather as a quirk in nature that none wanted to deal with. Except Hori, it seemed, who dealt with all their siblings (save Lies and Falsehood) with equal pleasure.

And so he read more, engrossed and then…

It took every fiber in his body to hold the journal steady, though rage began to build. He had taken the news of Elpis with grace, having no real care either way. But this…this was worse than any hatred a sibling could have for another. This was a crime against his blood…a repeated crime!

Ate…. he almost screamed for her, but did not. Instead he stood in one flood motion. The book closed and politely stashed to out of the way of anyone who could stumble upon it and read. No one else needed to know. He and Ate could deal with the crimes…

Would.

Eyes narrowing, Limos left his mother’s home and stalked across the greens to Aphrodite’s palace. No scenes. That would be what Ate would say…

When he entered Love’s Temple, though, he ignored the glances of his sister’s, his eyes searching out the two beings he loathed the most in that moment, surpassing his hatred for Demeter herself.

He didn’t even wonder about what he could really do to them. He didn’t care. Son’s of war or not, the would pay.

As they sat, she could hear something in the hallway just outside the chamber, and frowned in the general direction, only lifting a brow as an attendant approached her.

"We are unable to locate Lady Aphrodite... and she has many guests."

"So... you're going to make them wait in the hall? My mother will be back eventually.. Let them all in already... "

Gods... sure they were cute, but they weren't all always very bright... She waved a hand dismissing the cabana-boy-esque doorman, and offered a somewat forced smile to the three gods already there.

"And... it looks like it's about to begin. I'm offering 5-2 odds there's a fight somewhere before Mother comes back... do I have any takers?"

She glanced from them to the door was opening, rather surprised atthe number of people now entering the room.

Putting aside the deepfelt dislike she had for the plan at hand, Ate draped an arm around each of her siblings' shoulders, pulling them in just tight enough that they wouldn't be able to escape her loving grip. She offered Anteros and Flidais a smirk, matched with a light bow of her head.

"I hate to break up this little party we've got going on here, enjoyable as it is, But I think we need to go drop in on Casa de la Discord... and I'm really not nearly inebriated enough to do so in good spirit. So I'm kidnapping both my siblings here so we can get it over with... I'm sure we'll see you both at the meeting. With any luck, it'll be a good time."

Witout offering Limos or Elpis the chance to argue, she snapepd a finger, depositing all three of them in the entrance way to Eris' temple, leaving behind trees and diners and such. Not that what they saw was anything less strange... There was no sign of Eris, but Lethe sat curled on a sofa, a journal like book on her lap that she was writing in.

"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone..."

Anteros hoped he would find Ate at this diner he knew she liked to work at when she needed a break from her usual. If she wasn't there he was at a loss of where to search for her next with the exception of his house. He didn't think if her powers were as botched as his, that she would be at any of the other spots she worked. He only hoped that his mother was right in gathering everyone and hoped that once everyone was rounded up that together they could determine what had happened and hopefully reverse it. He didn't want to be...a god of hate and riots or whatever he currently was.

He opened the glass door with the brightly colored welcome sign suction stuck on the other side of the transparency.
An electric chime hailed their arrival as he waited for Flidais to cross the threshold, "After you."

He could still be somewhat of a gentleman despite the lack of sympathy for anyone other than himself.

Limos didn't care what people saw as the world exploded in color and the god appeared in the middle of the street with a seething hissing and glare. The tress seemed to perk up, flowers wiggling their way up through crack in the concrete. He couldn't stand it! It was all so wrong, and unclean. He even felt different, his sunken features slowly plumping up. His fingers look rounded out, and his eyes where clear and bright.

And he was hungry, as if he hadn't eaten for ages.

Stalking into the spoon, he hissed at the first hop that tried to give him a seat, and stomped his way to the dark girl that was sitting next to the other. His sisters. And they were in store for a storm, and didn't even know it.

"I'm BROKEN!" He roared, planets starting to perk up and lean toward him as if he were Gaia herself. "They...Its...There are flowers popping up where I walk! There is green grass, and trees, and I'm getting fat!" He looked as if he was on the brink of hysterics, an unusual sight for the usually mellow Famine. Whatever had him worked up, was something quite wrong.

"I didn't even go near her gardens! And now I'm, I'm like her," his voice pitched high and helplessly. He was hyperventilating when he finally grew quiet, shaking with furry, and unable to escaping the 'flowery' feeling he was having.

Getting off the mountain was easier than she had remembered - although, last time she was there she had been removed rather forcibly. This time she made it down on her own accord with considerably less impact to world events.

Not that she was any happier off the mount. She didn't know if it was general crankiness, some disturbing residue left over from being on the Mount for so long, or something else... but she felt off. Well, no. She felt fine... but the world around her felt off.

She had headed to her favourite place to sulk, a dark dank underground hell hole masquerading as a bar - it was cliche, sure, But it suited her mood. Or usually did. Maybe Eris had screwed the place up with some freaky discordant vibes, but everyone there was noticibly less down-trodden... the bouncer even told her he was thinking of going back to college. College! Blech. People wanting to better their lot in life was positively unnatural. She couldn't handle it in her mood, and so she'd heded out, heading for the one place guarenteed to bouy her spirits.

The community center of the town she landed in was a cheerful place, with bright colored walls covered in happy crap and posters with pithy sayings, like a kitten hanging off a branch saying "hang in there" or weird shit with babies. what the hell was motivational about a baby?

She wandered her way through the halls, checking the various descriptions on the dors before deciding to kick it old school, slipping intothe back of an N.A. meeting, just as the lovely circle of introductions were ending. There was Bill, who'd been off Meth for 182 days. Nadia, a pill popper clean and sober for 4 weeks. and Lulu, who'd stopped taking speed just three days ago, and still had the jitters real bad, y'all. Hello, her name was Ate, and she wasn't addicted to anything, but was going to help you all back down off the wagon.

A crowd like this was usually easy pickings... almost always someone broke down and realized how miserable thier lives were, how there was no redemption, how things were just better when they were killing themselves slowly from within. Once they simply accepted that their loves were ruined.

Tonight though, it had been like a eerie calm of conviction had come over them all, as they all reaffirmed their commitment to kicking a bad habit. Lulu claimed she felt the jitters just melt away, and Nadia went on some some crazy speil about how she did have a lot to live for, her life had meaning, and she was going to do it for the sake of her child.

Ate's folding chair had clattered noisily to the floor as she stood up rather suddenly, booth pounding on the linoleum as she'dstormed out of the room. This was bullshit.

She had then headed where she found herself now, the kitchen of a dirsty little greasy spoon on the graveyard shift. If people weregoing to be acting completely neurotically wholesome at least she could be doing something relaxing.

She flipped eggs and served them up with shit on a shingle, sent out pancakes and toast to any who ordered, all the while steaming internally.

This was Eris' fault. There was no other option.

And her mother was going to pay for this..whatever this was.