Alana (athenacalled) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2009-04-01 10:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | alana kellings, herakles, teddy pullman |
Who: Alana and Herk
What: Adventures in the Park
Where: Park somewhere
When: Last week (?) Fairly current
Warnings: None really.
It'd been a slow day for Teddy. So slow, his superiors told him to relax for once and let him off early. He wasn't so sure about that until he realized he could do something with that extra time.
The front desk crew of the Jube Hotel kept glancing at Bowser, as if they were worried about the dog making a mess. The tall god ignored it and just kept looking around, wondering if he could maybe see his sparring partner while she was about.
A dog wasn't a completely unknown sight in the hotel. A dog that size, and who didn't seem to be going with his owner to any of the rooms, was much less common. For that reason, Alana had gotten a call from the front desk, and she'd headed down to act as some kind of official for the hotel. Or.. something. She wasn't going to worry about it much.
Coming off the elevator, she immediately spotted Teddy and Bowser, and a grin came to her face. This guy and his dog would be so easy to handle it wasn't even funny. She didn't even give a glance to the front desk as she walked up to the pair. "Hey boy!" she greeted the dog, bending down to give him a proper scratching around his head and ruff, her energy already seeming to engage the dog as she peered up at his owner. "Hey Giant. What brings ya here?"
"Oh sure, greet the dog first," remarked Teddy, sporting a look of fake hurt.
"I'm sorry," Alana remarked, stepping away form the dog and toward Teddy, reaching up to pat him on the head and give a fake scratch behind the ear as well. "I figured you'd be less likely to pounce me if I didn't give you attention right away."
He laughed and shrugged. "Let's hope you learn your lesson. And to answer your question, they let me off early, so I thought I'd come and bug ya. How's work?"
"Eh, same as always," she shrugged. "Though I can guess without looking over my shoulder that Sarah and Rebecca are nearly chomping at the bit and tryin' ta not look like they're watchin' us for some good gossip to spread..."
"Oh?" he asked, arching a curious eyebrow. "Like what?"
"You name it, they'll try it." She hooked her thumbs in her pockets and considered for a moment. "It'll range from you bein' my brother, single and totally bangable who is flirting with them to... some rich playboy that I'm fuckin' here in the hotel on lunch breaks and possibly payin' for the services of... and anythin' in between or beyond..."
"Well. We don't look anythin alike," he pointed out, ticking off his fingers. Bowser continue to sniff at Alana's pocket. Food? Yes, maybe, no, yes please? "And given how I dress, I doubt they'd think I'm some kinda playboy. And I've never come here before today."
"Not that they know of," she retorted. She offered her hand to Bowser again to sniff. It was probably the left over scent of her lunch or snack. Those peanut butter cookies were awesome. Maybe the front desk still had some dog biscuits? "Like I said, they're lookin' for gossip. Not intelligence. Though I can tell 'em you're available if ya want..." Alana grinned and took a step toward the desk.
He considered, then shook his head. "Nah."
She took another step, then another... "You sure?"
"Quite."
Alana grinned, then gave herself a serious expression as she turned and headed toward the desk. "I think we've got some biscuits at the desk, officer."
Teddy's confident face fell a bit. "Biscuits?" Pause. "What kind?" Oh. Temptation.
"Dog..." She glances at him, sees the expression, then grins. "I might have some cookies though. Bring over the pup."
"Oh." And here he'd been hoping it was the human kind, the kinds you ate with bacon and stuff! He blushed a bit and followed her, tugging Bowser away from his slightly alarming interested in a potted tree.
She walked over to the desk and ignored the clerks as she found some cookies, for both dog and human, and walked over, handing them to each. "I'm sure we could find some others though if ya really care though."
Mmmmm, cookies~ They were not nearly enough to satisfy him, but they were good. For now. And similarly, Bowser wolfed his own biscuit down like he'd never been fed in his lifetime. "M'not distracting you from too much work, am I?" he asked, leaning down onto the edge of the desk to look at her.
"Nothin' earth shatterin'. Boss is in a meetin', but all the normal shit for the day is already done, unless somethin' happens before I clear out." She glanced at a clock and arched an eyebrow. "Prob'ly should clear out before I invoke Murphy's Law."
"Murphy's Law?" he asked, clearly not understanding or at least remembering the reference.
"..... Anything that can go wrong, will?" Alana shook her head at him. "I gotta grab some stuff from my desk. You wanna come up?"
"Oh, I thought for a sec that was the one about the dead cat or something," he said with a shrug. "And, sure."
"Naw, that's... Shindigger's or somethin'." She frowned. "Can't recall the reference really. Think it was physics related. Follow me." She walked around the counter, pausing to whisper something to Sarah before leading him to the elevator, and up to the proper floor.
brb
"Come on, Bowser."
"Boof."
Alana lead them up to her floor and desk, closing a few things down on her computer, and tidying up before she grabbed her keys and straightened. "So, where we headin'?"
"Somewhere dog-friendly," was all Teddy had to suggest. "Park, beach? Figured since I"m the one buggin ya, I'd let you pick."
"I think there's a few places near by with outside tables. Dependin' on what ya feel like chowin' on, we could just go someplace close...." Thus, less hassle of dealing with two cars, or going home then taking one car, truck, whatever, somewhere else.
"Food does sound pretty good right about now," he admitted, but then, it was always a good time for Teddy and food. He gave her a smile and offered her his free arm. "Let's go stir up some gossip."
Alana laughed and took the offered arm, patting her leg to call Bowser to her other side and offering him a scratch. "We can head somewhere else that'll let him run around. There's a place with burritos close ta the park too."
"Burritos!" agreed Teddy with a laugh. "Wanna take my car? So you don't have to waste any gas or nothin'."
"That'll be fine, long as ya don't mind drivin' me back ta grab my car later," she answered, leading them to the elevator and on once more.
"Gotta be the gentleman, here," he reminded her. "And I don't mind hanging out with you one bit."
Once they got to his truck -- passing the desk clerks and no doubt stirring up days worth of gossip -- he opened up the door for her. Bowser took it as his lead, though, and hopped up into his usual spot in the middle of the seat.
"I'll have ta work harder at gettin' rid of ya then," she teased him as they headed down.
The mortal laughed a bit and grinned at the dog's actions as they got to the car, reaching to scratch him before giving him a push toward his proper location. "Sorry pup, but you'll have ta give the human the seat for now." Once she'd guided him where he needed to be though, she climbed in as well, and slipped on the seat beat.
Bowser whined but relented when Teddy gave him a pat on the head. He was just glad Alana couldn't read his mind; this was much more enjoyable, having her sit next to him rather than on the other side of the truck. "So, where's this place at?"
Alana pointed and started to give directions, offering her hand to the dog to soothe any hurt feelings. And just because she liked dogs. She really should think about getting one. It didn't take long for her to take over his radio either as she sought out a station they'd agree to.
For the most part, probably to a great grievance to his Muse sisters, Teddy didn't honestly care much for music. In reality, it was background noise to him now as he considered the woman next to him. Upgrades! Pretty, intelligent, sweet when she wanted to be, but fierce, fairly sporty. Downgrades... Mortal, bad experience with boyfriends probably making her less likely to date. Hrrrrrm.
The woman was fairly oblivious to his thoughts and ideas. Instead, she was considering what she remembered about the burritos and what she wanted on hers. Normally they were too huge for her to down in one meal, but she could probably hand the left over to Teddy, or save it. At least she'd been able to clear out of the office a little early, and the weather, for the moment, was decent. Not a bad way to spend some time.
Shaking his head out of the clouds, Teddy pulled into the parking lot of the requested restaurant. "This the place?"
She pointed to the little stand tucked into the wall, another person standing and making an order as they arrived. "Yeah, it's just over there. Easy ta grab the grub and run, ya know? And the park is just over that way, so we can easily wear this guy out as we chow down ta keep 'im from beggin'."
"I'm not sure that's feasibly possible." But it sounded like a good idea! Teddy headed over, ordering two burritos for himself, each one with half of the ingredient variants available. Mmmm. Bowser got himself a bowl full of hamburger meat.
Alana only shook her head at the guys, and ordered her own burrito, extra cheese... Once it was in hand though, she nodded in the direction of the park, starting to walk, clearly intending that they head in that direction to get out of the way.
Smiling a bit, Teddy followed after her. "So, what'd you think of the party?"
"It was good. Lots of dancing, good food, interestin' people ta talk with." She took a bite of her food and glanced at him. "Did ya have fun?"
He nodded. "It was great, seeing V so happy. Lots of gods I don't know yet, too. Thanks for comin with me.
"No worries. I'm down for a good party." Alana gave him a grin. "Musta been nice ta not be the odd one out in height for a change."
"And to think that's shorter than they usually are..." He shook his head. "I thought our family was weird. At least we're not popping out six-legged horses."
"I make no comment on the things the two families do and don't do. I realized long ago if I took even half the myths literally I prob'ly wouldn't be able ta face your family. Easier ta just take it all in stride." She continued to munch on her burrito, finding a picnic table as they got within the park. She climbed up to sit on the table itself, her legs on the bench.
"You think you couldn't, try being the one who was there when it happened!" he replied with a laugh. Sitting down, he took Bowser's leash off to let him run a bit. He wouldn't go too far, or if he did, Teddy could catch him pretty quick. "Let's just hope they don't have another party any time soon. This one went way smoother than I'd thought."
"What? No plans ta go knockin' on your new family's door and ask for the invites? I bet you'd be able ta keep up with 'em pretty well..." she teased, glancing for a stick or something else to throw for the dog.
For now, Bowser seemed happy enough to just let his head lie on the edge of the table, drooling on it slightly.
"Maybe. I wanna talk to this Thor guy a bit more, find out what he does and such," he said with a shrug. "Heph is really gettin' friendly with them."
"Oh yeah? They major inta the tech and building an' shit?" She really hadn't been to concerned following that line of conversation with any of the ones she met. Dancing and jokes were much more made for the situation.
Teddy nodded and, after a long bite from his first burrito, said, "I think they run a security company of some sort? Make sense; the Norse were always big into war and honor in battle. Cool folks, in my opinion." Pause, eat, swallow. "It was neat when I was at their headquarters; they're so organized and together. It reminded me of Olympus."
"Doesn't surprise me he'd be interested then. Look how much wars are changed 'cause of technology now. Not like he was ever really huge on the peace lovin', right?" Alana continued to munch on her own food, though it was much slower. She wasn't as hungry, and wouldn't eat as much. Tearing off a piece, she tossed it to Bowser.
"I always got the impression he liked weapons, but didn't like wars," mused Herakles. "Got in the way of his work. And messy to boot."
"Maybe I'll have ta catch up with 'im and see what he says," she mentioned. He'd looked pretty busy every time she saw him at the wedding, and never really managed to chat. Not to self, consider giving him a call.
Honestly, Herk couldn't remember a time Heph wasn't busy in some way or another. He shrugged and said, "He'd probably like that..." Lucky bastard.
"Maybe. Just have ta call 'im and find out. Might end up he's pissed that the only time I've called him lately was ta drag him over to a fight..." She shrugged, taking a last bite of her burrito before wrapping it back up so she could chow on it later.
Herk chuckled, but that reminded him. "I called back on that..." He paused to look around for nearby ears, but was satisfied that nobody was close enough, and added, "By the way... that guy? He's the real thing."
"Real thing?" What, like the ichor spilling from him wasn't enough? Not like she knew all the ins and outs though.
"A Titan."
Alana blinked. She did some mental calculating. "... Okay, if I recall, there were kinda two types of titans, but I could seriously be fucked up in the memory."
"Two?" Herk shook his head. "Titans, at least in my family, are just the generation that my father and his siblings fought against for control when he came into power. Though, their children took on the titles, too. Atlas was one of the latter, brother of Prometheus and Epimetheus."
She picked through his words. "So, it was Atlas? Holder of the world and all?" She needed to make herself some kind of diagram if she was going to keep things straight. There should be a good program for that on her computer at work...
Teddy nodded. "One of the strongest in the world. While his brothers joined with us, he chose to fight. Dad didn't take to that too kindly."
"Your father wouldn't," she mentioned.
"Nope. So, he got cursed to hold up the sky for the rest of eternity." Teddy paused as a thought hit him, and he looked incredibly confused. "Always kinda wondered how he found the time or way to have those daughters. Or what he's doing here now."
.... Teddy couldn't seriously be wondering about the ability of an immortal male to have a child was he? He seemed to be. Alana could think of a few different ways, but she wasn't about to mention them aloud. She shook her head. "Who cares? Why is Miami like some fuckin' Greek reunion? I wouldn't worry 'bout it too much if ya don't have the information for it."
The tall man shrugged. "I've been thinking about that. One thing I'm thinking, is that maybe because our faith has been put out there more with Pagans and such, we're being drawn together again. Back in the old days, we always stuck together. Kinda had to, you know; as chaotic and out there as all the gods seem, they all still served a purpose to both each other and humanity. Good and bad. Or maybe the Fates just have... something in store for us again."
"Yeah, well, I not sure I like what the Fates have dealt me so far, so excuse me if I'm not thrilled with that idea..." Pushing herself up from the bench, she patted her leg to call Bowser to her. "Finish your food and let's run this beast."
Teddy chuckled and tucked in the rest of his food fast as possible. No need to fear of indigestion, here.
Alana didn't watch that. She knew how he could do that, and if she did watch, she'd probably gag. It was really for the best that she didn't think about it too much. Dog following her, she started to jog a short distance, making him keep up, looking for a suitable stick or something that could be used. There was no way she'd match the dog in running stamina, but she'd find other ways to keep him entertained.
Soon after she walked off, Teddy caught up to her with his long, easy strides, holding himself back just a bit to make sure he didn't lose her as easily as the dog did. "So... what's up?" he asked, at a lack for conversation starters. As usual.
Grinning, Alana pointed skyward. Ah, old jokes, hard to resist. A stick found, she threw it for the pooch to fetch, letting him work out some energy.
And as per usual, he gave her a tiny smack. "Brat."
"Hey, keep that up and I'm calling the cops on your abusive ass," she threatened, teasing, with a mock seriousness.
"I am a cop. A conundrum," he said with a stage gasp.
"Naw, just good gossip for the tabloids. Ya prob'ly got some kinda repressed control or domination issues that no one could even guess at." Snickering, she mimicked an imaginary neighbor. "Well, I never woulda guessed it of him! He was so sweet! And nice! He helped me with my gardening and everything!"
Teddy laughed uproariously, almost to the point of tears. "Oh for the love of Rhea, stop."
Alana grinned, chuckling to herself at his reaction as she threw the stick once more for the excited dog. "Long as ya don't say for the love of Zeus, we're good."
"No, then he'll hear, and it'll be awkward," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. Just for revenge, he gave her hair a good ruffle.
"Ack!" Alana nearly shrieked with horror and ducked away, taking a few jogging steps to try to get out of reach. "Bastard!" Not that she really was that horrified or pissed or anything, but it went well with the general joking. ... And then she slipped into her valley girl. "O. M. G. Do you even like realize how long it took me to do that? I mean, like, I had to spend, like, so so long in front of the mirror because my hair wouldn't work. And I was like, 'oh my gosh, that looks so like... you know, that one chick? With the hair? That goes like this?' And well, I just couldn't do that. And so I had to like, totally change everything..."
Teddy did a visible shudder, face growing pale, and made an ancient Greek symbol of warding off evil at her. "Evil! Evil little!"
Watch out for that hole in the ground. Big enough to sink him in up to his ankle, Teddy felt himself falling backwards. Oh my. Even as he felt, his hand jerked out for the nearest thing to hold onto. Unfortunately, his senses didn't quite discern between Alana and a solid object, and he pulled her down onto his chest as he went down. "Oof."
There was another not exactly coherent noise that made itself past Alana's lips as she was grabbed by the falling giant. She set her hands against his chest as she went down, as if she were bracing herself, or maybe clinging to protect on impact. Reactions weren't exactly clear, with only the results visible. Blinking, she peered at the chest she'd just became intimate with. ".... The ground got a lot warmer and a lot softer since we last met," she remarked, before looking up to Teddy's face as Bowser came bounding up to both of them. "The bigger they are, they harder they fall."
"Soft? If you're talking about my abs, I'm going to be prepared to be sorely offended," he gruffed. It occurred to him he should probably move. But... hm. Maybe not yet.
She arched an eyebrow at him, then propped her elbows on his chest to lift her head up a bit more. "Considerin' that half the time when I met the ground it's a solid floor or sidewalk? I kinda hope your abs are softer... doesn't mean you've got soft abs." A pat to his chest and she rolled off, pushing the dog away and giving him a playful scratch so that Teddy could sit up as well.
Curses. No, seriously, cursing himself for not taking advantage of the moment, Teddy stood and brushes himself off. "You okay?"
"Nothin' broken. You?" She arched an eyebrow as she watched him move, oblivious to any of his possible inner thoughts.
"I'd probably be tellin' you to get about ten feet away if I was..." He paused, then leaned in close. Something had clearly caught his attention.
"What?" She tried to see what he was looking at.
"Hold still." Reaching in with careful aim and delicacy, he plucked a dandelion flower from her hair. "There." He smirked and offered it to her. "For the lady."
Alana held perfectly still, wondering if somehow there was now a venomous snake right by her hand. As he plucked out the flower and showed it to her, she laughed briefly, then accepted it with a nod and the greatest amount of nobility that she could master. "Thank you, kind sir."
"No problem..." And with that, he leaned in again. But this time, he kissed her lightly on the lips.
She.. he... wait. ... Oh. It didn't click to her thinking mind what he was doing until it was already done. She held still, letting it happen, not pulling away. Her brain seemed to freeze, and need a hint of time to reboot. Somehow, she felt very, very confused...
Despite himself and his age, Teddy found himself blushing. He stood back to normal height and reached for his dog's leash. No, he was cool. Really. Just cool.
Alana sat for a moment more, then turned and looked at him. He seemed cool. Alright. Random... kissing, then? She shook her head to herself and rolled to her feet. If he dismissed it, she'd dismiss it. And if he didn't... well, she'd go right back to being confused.
He turned to glance at her and tilted his head. Yes, definitely red. "Ah, you coming?"
"I'm comin', we don't all have legs as long as yours." She quickly made up the distance and walked beside him.
He gave her a slightly goofy smile and apologized for his long legs. "Anywhere else?"
She shrugged. "Not that I had in mind. Thought we wanted ta just get somewhere the beast could roam."
"Ah, well, just thought I'd ask," he said, groping for some sort of conversation.
No, this wasn't weird at all. ".... Any plans on doing that again?"
"Hm?"
"Nothing." Random event. She moved around him so she could scratch Bowser as they swung by the table from earlier with her remaining food still on it.
Oh. Oh! "Um, sorry?" he said, wondering if maybe she was insulted. Shit, she probably was. Shit!
She smiled and glanced up at him. "No worries, just wasn't expectin' it, ya know?"
"It was, ah, nice. Should I have warned ya?"
"Did you know it was gonna happen?" Was he planning it? Was he planning more? It might quickly become an awkward situation if he was.
"Ah, kinda?" He smiled and shrugged. "Kinda wanted to for a while." The kiss, that is!
"I thought you were in a no dating stage?" You know, like she was. She turned to glance at the dog and gave him a sound scratching on his head as a distraction. Dogs were easier then humans.
Ah. Good question. Teddy sputtered and flustered, looking from her to anything else repeatedly. "Well. I. You know, you. Um." ... Shit. "Just, you're..."
"Here?" she asked without malice. Available? An easy target? Quick and fun? The thoughts weren't fair, but she couldn't hold them back. Teddy may not want that, but it was what her cynical brain claimed.
"No!" he replied quickly, throwing his hands up to prove otherwise. "Gods, no. I, just, well..." Oh, grow some balls! Here was the god of manhood! And yet once again, he found his emotions overpowered by a woman. "You're nice. Lovely. Smart. Spunky. You're.... nice," he said, not sure how better to phrase that he found her attractive and not just physically.
"Thank you," she accepted the compliment, but then inwardly become concerned. "... You know I'm in a man hating stage, right?"
"Yeah. I... wasn't really thinking." His face was getting more red at this point, heading towards a warm beet red. And it had nothing to do with the weather. He ran his hand over his hair and sighed, "Look, um, sorry. Stupid thing to do."
Alana shrugged. "Don't worry 'bout it. I'm not offended or anythin'... I just... got royally fucked over and it was like the icing on the cake of bein' fucked over." She glanced at him once more and tried to not frown at her own thoughts. "I enjoy hangin' out with you."
Teddy felt a small twist in his gut. What exactly had his brother done...? "Sorry," he said again, guiltily. "I like hanging out with you, too. You're different than most of the people I talk to anymore."
"I keep tellin' ya that ya need ta find some more people with brains..." It wasn't the best joke, but she was striving to make things seem alright, like nothing had happened.
He laughed a little. "Are you kidding, you've got the most brains in a mortal I've met in a while. You're not all obsessed with fashion or little dogs in purses or stuff like... well, like most girls nowadays." Pausing, the god shrugged. "Look, just, forget I did anything..."
"Only if you promise not ta go all weird on me," she offered in return.
hunderbearer: "Deal," said the god with relief, holding out a hand for her to shake in agreement.
Alana took the hand and gave it a shake, then playfully gave his shoulder a shove. Not like it would do anything against him. "So, what's next Giant? I don't think I'm gonna pull off a successful dognappin' today."
"You that desperate for a dog, huh?"
She opened her mouth to answer, then paused, and seemed to really consider before shrugging. "I'll prob'ly get one. Just haven't done it."
... Hm.
"What kind, ya think? Just one like Bowser, or is he just so awesome you can't resist despite yourself?" he asked, smirking. Bowser barked as if in agreement.
Alana laughed, reaching out to scratch the dog. "I want one bigger than a cat. Prob'ly not one so big it'll be the size of a pony... Something I can train, and somethin' that won't be all energy and bark, so I can leave 'em at home without worryin'. Don't need a purebred either." She was mainly thinking out loud. "I'll prob'ly end up with a mutt or somethin'. Average size."
"I like mutts. Being one myself," said Teddy. "I'm kinda half-half on purebreeds. They're bred for real specific purposes... but it can hamper them, too. Have you checked the shelter?"
"Not yet. It'd be temptin' ta get two siblingin's, and that might be pushin' it for me for right now. Like I said, haven't been too worried about it yet." She smirked, thinking of how some people got dogs to be guard dogs, and most of the ones she'd want to be guarded from probably wouldn't be bothered by a mere dog.
"Hm." Teddy paused and let it drop there. "Cool."
"If I finally figure out when I'm gettin' one, I'll let ya know. We can try ta find someone this old guy won't mind playin' with," she grinned, giving Bowser another scratch.
"He'd love that. So, wanna go for another jog, or am I tuckering you out?"
"I ain't running." Alana did not like running. It was one of the things that would always gain him mock glares at the suggestion of. "But you can go ahead and knock yourself out."
"Oh really?" A sneaky grin, most definitely his father's, snuck up on his face. "And who says you're not coming with?" With that, he snatched her up so she was sitting on his shoulder and started to walk off after his dog, who appeared to highly approve of this new game.
Alana gave a surprised shriek at this, and struggled a bit to try and free herself. Not that she thought she'd succeed, and also, she didn't want to get dropped on the ground... At least she wasn't running herself.
Laughing, Teddy headed after Bowser. Phew. Awkward moment, totally past.
...Right? Yeah, totally. He smiled, feeling much more relieved.
Summary: Herk steals Alana away from work, and they spend some time in the park.