InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "THE FIST ARE BACK!"

Eupheme (praise_worthy) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2012-12-13 16:13:00

Entry tags:

eupheme, momus

Who:

Eupheme and Open

What:

Considering Futures

When:

Thursday

Where:

Starbucks

Warnings:

TBD

Eternal optimist as she was, Eupheme also knew how to be realistic. When she'd brought forth the option of hiring a second counselor to the shelter, they'd said they couldn't. And Eupheme was often swamped, unwilling to allow the kids to suffer and often working many overtime hours just to see them smile for a moment, to the point where she got home to often just sleep. But she understood budgets, and she understood they simply didn't have more to offer to someone else.

And volunteers weren't always easy to find. Nor was she all too willing to leave her own paycheck behind. She had bills and liked to eat. It didn't mean she wouldn't look for options though. If she found a secondary job to counter her first, then she could tell her employers to use her paycheck to pay for another, so the kids had more then just her. They deserved that, and if she kept tiring herself out like this she'd be of even less use.

So she'd come to the coffeeshops to look at openings nearby and to indulge in the company of mortals and coffee. Her own home was quiet, and she preferred a busy environment She figured it came from growing up in a home where there'd always been something, whether it was her sisters laughing or the sounds of her father making something new. The memory of that made her smile.

It lasted even as she leaned over her computer to continue looking at the things she'd be qualified for. She knew her father would help her, but she was sure she could manage on her own.

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praise_worthy
2012-12-15 08:36 am UTC (link)

At first she hadn't noticed anyone looking. Despite the Olympian blood in her veins and being the daughter of one of the Kharites, she'd never bothered to draw eyes. She knew they still fell on her, but she usually didn't notice.

It was only after she felt the longer stare, and that nibble of familiarity, that she looked up. She could spot her sisters a mile away and it wasn't that. When she noticed Momus though she beamed. It was that click of the other side of the coin.

She'd wondered, and now he was here. Now the city could feel like home again. She raised her hand in greeting and near called out before recalling she didn't know his mortal alias. She still got up and weaved her way in between the crowd however.

"Hi," she kept her smile, even when she was right in front of him. She'd hug him if she knew he'd welcome it. She contained herself to just her smile though. "It's so good to see you! I didn't even know you were in town."

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ever_the_critic
2012-12-16 12:38 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't that Momus disliked his opposite. On the contrary; it was hard not to like Eupheme, with all her warmth and kindness and that infuriating tendency to see the best in everyone around her. There was no malice in her, no pettiness or cynicism, and it was perhaps for that Momus - ever uncomfortable with sincerity - always felt a little exposed around her.

It didn't help that she also knew him annoyingly well; well enough to be able to see past his bluster as few others did.

"Yeah, well. Been keeping my head down, trying to avoid the usual godly bullshit." He scratched the back of his head, instinctively reaching for irritation to fill the awkwardness he felt. "Unfortunately, the rest of my family had different ideas. No fucking decorum."

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praise_worthy
2012-12-16 11:22 pm UTC (link)

She spared a glance to her seat before focusing on her opposite. She hadn't seen him in a while, and she wasn't too concerned about her things. She knew they would be fine. She leaned on the table and kept her smile.

Still the same old Momus. She knew what to get him for the holidays, and was glad they'd met up. She'd have felt awful to have the holidays roll by and not give something to him. "I heard something about that." The kids often spoke of a night made of darkness and terror. She hadn't been in the city for it, could only soothe them for the aftermath. Considering the storm that had occurred the poor things were frazzled.

She avoided gods because they didn't need her. Praise was easy to get for them from the mortals. Even now she knew that was still the case. So she said nothing, because saying good or bad didn't feel right. She couldn't praise their actions, but she couldn't say anything against it either. She also didn't quite understand his family, but she knew they were needed.

"You look well. I'm glad." She figured that despite neither of them being really in the thick of it all, people still called to them. In their own ways. "What are you doing now, and most importantly how are you?" She brightened then, "oh! I'm planning on wrestling papa from his forge and having him and mama come for a holiday dinner. You're always welcome you know."

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ever_the_critic
2012-12-22 12:44 am UTC (link)

The invitation to dinner caught him completely off guard. Momus didn't get invited places all that often. He'd been told he had a tendency to bring down the mood of a party. Those times when he was asked along to something it was usually out of a sense of obligation, or because the person doing the asking didn't know him very well.

Neither was true in Eupheme's case. He could see immediately that the invitation was sincere; she was asking because she wanted him along, not because she thought she ought to be polite. And, well, Praise knew him about as well as anybody in this place did; better than most, in fact. Well enough that she knew how much of a secret soft spot she had for this holiday, despite all of its commercial trappings and religious overtones -- and that he was probably going to be spending it alone.

"I, uh… huh," he trailed off into an embarrassed chuckle. "Don't think I don't appreciate the invitation and all, but I'm not so sure your parents would be as happy to see me as you are." Momus didn't have any quarrel with Hephaestus or Aglaia -- he even had a certain admiration for the shrewd old Smith -- but he imagined neither of them would be all that thrilled to have their family time gatecrashed by the professional buzzkill of the Greek pantheon.

"Another time, okay?" He said, a little gentler than usual. "I don't wanna be, you know, intruding."

"Mo? Grande espresso macchiato?" Another voice, the drawling tones of the bored-looking kid behind the counter, offered Momus a welcome distraction from his growing awkwardness. He retrieved the coffee, sipped it, and immediately made a face.

"Ah, that's the burnt, stale coffee taste I didn't miss." He wrinkled his nose. "You ever wonder how it is that the shitty coffee always seems to take twice as long to make as the good stuff?"

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praise_worthy
2012-12-22 01:10 am UTC (link)

Her smile fell, but she wouldn't press. She didn't like knowing Momus was alone during these holidays. No one should be. Especially not anyone that was so dear to her. And not when she'd just found him again.

The sudden turn didn't deter her and she just titled her head and gave him a quiet look before smiling and setting her hand on his. "You never intrude. My home is your home. That would never change." She shrugged and released him. She'd made her point, in her own eyes. "Besides, Papa wouldn't care. I think he'd like talking to someone who understands. But I won't force you."

"What about New Years? You're not going to evade me these holidays you know." She wouldn't be swayed from her path, even if she had to revert to stalking him until he relented. "I've only just found you again."

She turned to the barista then and with a few words made the young man smile. Lackluster coffee or not, she still did what she did best. And the smile was her reward. "And I come here for the muffins and atmosphere." She couldn't say much bad against the coffee, even if she agreed, and she let the conversation turn to the topic he'd almost crashed into to avoid anything else. "Both of those are lovely. Coffee's great but not for me. It gets me way too energetic."

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ever_the_critic
2012-12-23 06:26 am UTC (link)

Momus chuckled into his crappy, burnt coffee, more amused than irritated. "Swear to gods, kid, you could put a sparkle on the turd. No, coffee's great when it's made properly. And I know what you're thinking -- or rather, not, because you're you -- sure, the majority of Americans couldn't tell a decent cup of coffee from shit. But to get it this consistently wrong, year after year, and yet still manage to convince people that it's worth their money? Starbucks turns crappy coffee into a fucking art form.

"I'll give you one thing, though," he added, "You really don't need any extra buzz." There was, perhaps, the smallest hint of a smile in his voice, though his expression was hidden as he turned towards the condiments bar, searching vainly for something that might improve his lousy drink. He settled for cocoa powder, stirring through a generous heap before taking another sip. He made another face; it was, if possible, worse than before.

He turned back, caught Eupheme's earnest gaze, and hesitated again.

"You've got better things to do on New Years than spend it with me." There was no bluster in his voice now, no annoyance; just awkward self-deprecation, edged with uncertainty. "You're... you know, Praise. You wanna be celebrating with people, not hanging around with a bitchy old drunk."

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praise_worthy
2012-12-23 11:31 am UTC (link)

"I'm not a kid you know." She said it with a smile. She took it with grace. She knew Momus didn't mean it. She brightened though, "I know a place. They hand grind it and the owners keep swearing they import all their beans from farmers, so you know they get their money's worth too. It's divine. Like I said, this is my atmosphere place. My coffee place is secret. I'll show you one time. Even you will like it." She was sure of it.

"Some days I like it though. Mostly the mocha's. I tried coffee all of once. I didn't stop moving until a week later. On the other hand my apartment never looked better. Win win for all."

Then she let out a low sigh and turned to him with her best pleading eyes. He may be as immune to them as her father was, but she'd still try. "Please? Come on if you yourself are telling me I can have my pick of this city I pick you. Besides they don't understand." she turned to the mortals. "They expect me to be Praise. Always that. They make my words hollow sometimes and then I mean nothing. And I can't do that." She turned back to her opposite, "you get me. Balance it out. You help me find my center, otherwise I keep being off balance. Just, a favor for me?"

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