Who: Herk and Alana What: Hanging out Where: Hospital When: BACKDATED to Tuesday, evening Warnings: None
Alana had finished the work that was most critical at the hotel, and fled from the scene as quickly as she could. Even so, she didn't go immediately to the hospital. Sure it was her destination, but that didn't mean it was her friend. She stalled, looking around for something to take with her as a get well gift, making a neat little care package for him, and getting Bowser to her house. She didn't want to even consider how long the dog may have been left in the house alone.
But once she finally arrived, she asked where Greg was, and started toward his room. She really hoped that she wouldn't have trouble getting into his room.
The room was dark. But that was mostly because he'd asked it to be that way. He was exhausted... or at least he felt that way. But it was all the time. He knew this wasn't true... but he hadn't felt it in such a long time. What his body had accepted and ignored before was now familiar and strange. The sensation of cells dying one by one... and not coming back. Of red blood instead of ichor in his veins, powered not by faith but by a heart and brain. All of it apparently just made him need a bad nap.
So, at present, Herakles the great was snoring.
Alana was surprised to find no one playing guard at the hero's door. Maybe they were relying on general hospital security. Right, because someone who took on a hotel security guard -- ... She wouldn't go there. Maybe they'd just walked away. As it were, the female mortal simply walked into the room after a light knock. She stood inside, listening to the pattern of his snoring as her eyes adjusted to the dark. It was kinda surreal. Once she could see fairly well, Alana crossed into the room, and set the bag down on the counter next to his bed. She'd forgotten how loud his snoring could be.
The counter squeaked a little; it did that, the hinges holding it to the wall were coming a bit loose. The hero paused mid-snort and creaked open an eye to stare at her. The white around the pupil was riddled with red veins. "Oh... hey..." he said, waving a hand to her. An IV hose stuck out from his elbow, waving along with it.
"Stop that," she scolded softly, tapping his arm to make him stop moving so much. It made her nervous. Ugh, IVs. But once her stopped, she shoved her hands into her pockets. "Hey. Didn't mean ta wake ya."
"Eh, s'okay... I was just nappin'." He gave her a tired smile that easily let it show that he was happy to see her. "How're you?"
"Overworked. Do you know how much shit people suddenly decide they need an answer on right now when the day before, a week or so would have been fine, just cause the boss ain't in? It's fucked up." She said it without much menace though, as if she didn't couldn't be bothered to be angry about it. Not right now at least. "But hey, I brought you some movies. Thought that TV alone might be kinda boring."
"Thank the gods. It's stuck on the soap opera channel..." He pointed to the chair next to the bed side. "Sit, sit."
Somehow, she managed not to make a face before doing so. "Bowser's at my place again. How long ya think they're gonna keep you here?"
"Dunno... they said I seemed pretty stable. But they said it seemed like alot of my hormones 'n stuff were goin crazy." His voice took a darker, more serious tone. "Can't blame them, I guess."
"Ah, observation... trusting health insurance to cover it all." SHe tilted her head slightly as she peered at him. "How do ya feel?"
"Eh... tired. Hot and kinda cold. Weird, mostly. Super weird..." He sighed and turned his eyes up to her. The blue of the irises were a bit... dull compared to what they had been. "Mortal, I guess is the word for it."
For a long moment, Alana simply looked at his eyes, and it came home to her what had happened. Really hit her. It was odd, impossible, surreal... "They're idiots."
"Eh?" he asked, confused. He wasn't an idiot? No, she'd said they. Med were making him dopey.
"Attackin' you and the old man? Doing whatever fucked up shit they did you leave you here?" She gestured at him, her voice quiet enough to not go beyond the pair of them. "This is stupid. I don't see one fuckin' reason for people to do this."
"Oh, yeah. It is kind of stupid. Alot of the family doesn't even like Dad all that much, but they'll go after him." The former god chuckled and sat up a bit with a groan. He didn't have the hospital gown on; they didn't have one quite his size, and he didn't like the texture anyway. And whether the nurses like it or not, the nudity didn't exactly bother him. But for Alana, he kept the blanket snut around his hips. "It's a weird relationship for us. But I can't imagine why they'd go for Dad and not anyone else... But he seemed to know why."
She frowned slightly, keeping her eyes on his face. "What do you mean?"
"There was a blond guy there, in a suit. He said Dad knew why he was there. Dad didn't say anything... but after I got shot, he didn't fight back. He just went with him," Greg explained with a frustrated frown on his face. "They had to have had something on him... right?" He wouldn't help Subrosa... but part of him somehow doubted, as painful as it was to admit. Zeus had been out of power for along time. And Subrosa, if covert, had power in their own way...
"Maybe. Maybe he thought if they could take you down, there wasn't any reason to fight. I would want to know why they'd bother even wanting him. Not like he can give 'em all an elixir of life or some shit, right?" Because if he could, Alan was going to have words with him about holding out such information on her. Not because she wanted it, but because she did not want to risk getting caught in some power battle.
"He could give immortality... but that was in the old days. And they don't strike me like that sort..." With a grunt, he shifted a bit. He had sat on the IV cord, and could feel the sting of pinched blood vessels. "I think they thought he was dangerous. Or... they're using him for something." Greg blanched a bit at that thought.
"Like what? Saving on their electric bill?" she snapped. Seriously, she couldn't think of any real good reason to bug a god. Then again, she wasn't any kind of scientist, and she didn't really care. Live and let live type of a deal. "I can't think of one thing he was doin' that isn't done by others every fuckin' day of the year."
Herakles shrugged. Thinking wasn't his main thing. "We don't really need to know the reason. We just gotta get him. Val was here, she told me Uncle was rounding up troops."
"Uncle..." She did a quick mental map to figure out who that probably was, then nodded. Okay. So it was one of the older group. That'd work. Though why it wasn't Hera, she wasn't going to ask. She'd just assume the goddess was to busy frothing at the mouth to be organized. It was a fun image. "Anythin' I can do, besides keeping the hotel from goin' insane?"
"Try not to get hurt? I don't think you'll be in danger, I mean. They don't seem keen on hurting mortals." Oh wait, now he was safe, he thought with an amused snort. Weird.
"If they're willing for three of their own to die, I wouldn't put it past them if they thought it would serve whatever their fucked up great good is." Still she didn't expect to be considered of any kind of interest. Hotel work it was.
Greg sighed, unsure. "It sounds like a witch hunt, to me. They're pointing fingers, and they're gonna get rid of anyone in the way."
"It'd be nice to know what that way was so we could get out of it," she muttered. She was seriously starting to want to know why they were bothering with the gods. It must have been taking some serious cash.
"... Would you be offended if I asked you to go hang out with my relatives for a while?"
"Would you care if I was?"
"Yeah. But, what if they nab you. You know Dad, and alot of the rest of us. They might think you know something. It'd be safer with Hestia; her house is like fucking Knox, y'know?"
"And what about work? And the dogs? Does she even have the space?" She glanced to the door of the room, and realized that it was open a crack. Standing, she went to shut it, glad he'd gotten a private room at least. "Bein' locked up in some house really ain't my idea of fun."
"Not locked up, just a safer place to be," he pointed out. "We can shut down the hotel, Dad's had to have done it before for other emergencies. You can take the dogs with you." He just wanted her safe.
She got to the door and took a peek outside before closing it and turning to face him again. "Yeah, but if it's not safe to be at the hotel and living my own normal life, how am I gonna be free anywhere outside her house? Sounds pretty fuckin' locked up to me."
The former god groaned. "So you'd rather be picked up by a mysterious organization that's probably cutting Dad open like a frog right now?"
"If they were gonna come after me, don't ya think they'd have done it by now? Fuck Giant, the old man's been gone for like three days now. I wouldn't have been that hard of a target to grab if they wanted me. I don't think I'm really one ta be concerned here." And who wanted to be under foot of someone else?
"I don't know, maybe they don't want you, maybe they do and they don't want to catch attention 'cause they don't wanna tip people off," he sighed. "Better safe than sorry."
Alana paused, annoyed, and crossed her arms over her chest as she walked to the foot of the bed. "Alright, I'll think 'bout it. Fair enough?" She wasn't making any promises though. She was kind of expecting this to end soon.
He nodded back, relieved. "Okay." He had a feeling she wouldn't, just to irritate him. Bah. Well, he'd be out soon... and hopefully he'd be able to see then exactly how he'd been affected.
"Good. Now, you want me outta here ta leave ya alone, or you want to watch one of the flicks I brought?" She dropped her arms and hooked her thumbs on her jean pockets.
"I'd love to see the movie."
Walking over to her bag, Alana grabbed out the movies she'd brought. It was a fair variety, most involving some kind of action.
He moved over a bit on the bed, offering her a bit of space. It was comfier than the chair, at least.
She set the collection before him to choose one out, before reaching back into the bag. "Popcorn? Or are you on some weird dietary thing?"
"Nah, don't really feel like salty," he said. "Ooh, Fast and Furious, that one."
"Anything else ya need then?" Picking up the movie, she walked across to the TV, and put it in, getting everything set up for watching.
"Nope. Got some good company and a nice movie," he said, winking at her. See, he was feeling better already.
She rolled her eyes, grabbed the remote, and took a seat in the offered space above the covers. Settling in, she hit play. Hopefully they wouldn't kick her out mid- movie because visiting hours were over.
He watched her for a moment, thinking some private thoughts about women and how crazy some of them were but how those always seemed to be the one he fell for. Bleh. He leaned back into the cushions and watched the credits roll by.
Summary: Herk and Alana hang out in the hospital and discuss going-ons, though not always in agreement.