Who: Hephaestus/Vadimas Lugosi & Alana Kellings What: Vacation Where: Lemnos, Greece When: May 3rd. BACKDATED Warnings:
Hephaestus reclined on the comfortable Adirondack chair as the sun slowly set over the Aegean Sea. He sipped the sweet local wine as he snacked on fresh bread slathered with the delicious local honey. They were two of the very few things that he actually enjoyed ingesting. He lounged on the balcony of the high tech paradise that was his Lemnian mansion, his many technological distractions laying beyond the door behind him. Yet at that moment, Hephaestus admitted that, sometimes, simple pleasures were best. Even his handset was silent, though this may have had something to do with it being lunch time back in the States.
He looked over at his companion on this long-delayed vacation and, in truth, the whole reason for it.
"Are you enjoying yourself so far, Alana?" He asked casually, taking another bite and sip from his refreshments. He looked at the plate of fruit, cheese, bread, and honey and the bottle of wine between them and wondered if she found it satisfactory.
She had to pause in making her response as she finished her own bite of some bread and cheese. Yes, she was enjoying the food, and he managed to catch her just as she was taking about. Once she finished, she nodded. "Yeah, very much so." She smirked and relaxed back in her own seat, taking in the view before them. "A very good way to start off a vacation. Thank you," she said, lifting her own glass of wine slightly to him. "How's it treating you so far?"
Hephaestus tapped her glass with his own. The crystal rang clearly in the air.
"Good," he replied simply. "I always enjoy my time here. The food and wine are excellent, and my problems seem thousands of miles away." Hephaestus took another sip of his wine. "Because they are." He ended with a quip.
However, thanks largely to his own efforts over the last century, the world was a much smaller place, and his problems were always within arms' reach. VTS was the least of his concerns. He had set it up to run itself, even without the oversight from his capable girls. As always, his biggest concerns related to his family and the chaos that surrounded them. Throwing Atlas into the fray had stirred up the hornet's nest.
No! Not now! There will be time to worry about Atlas later." Hephaestus, with some difficulty, pushed aside thoughts of Zeus' memorial and Atlas. He dares not rain on Alana's parade.
"I thought the simple beauty of this place would help you relax," Hephaestus said. He was very proud of the island he had adopted as his home. "And, if not, then the wine certainly will." Hephaestus chuckled at his witticism. It was good wine.
Only because D isn't here, she thought to herself, trying to keep from cringing at the thought. Had they been in the same town, she would have been far more touchy on the idea of drinking anything with alcohol, and as it was she was almost twitchy. But one glass, in safety and distance, with trusted company... That she could manage.
She forced herself to let out a slow breath and release some of her tension. She was out of Miami. Which was exactly where she wanted to be. "I think location is a great aid at the moment. While the wine at my house may not be anything like this, it's far to close to all the other crap I needed ta get away from." Alana gave her head a small shake. "I don't think I'd have been able to find a better spot to escape on my own. Well, short of some isolated mountain top that I'd prob'ly have ta back pack up to..." And that did not sound like the best of ideas.
Hephaestus was not yet so besotted that he didn't notice Alana's tense mannerisms. He had thought her tension to be the result of her intense workload and pre-vacation stresses, but after almost a full day away from Miami, he wasn't so sure. He put down his wine glass and turned to look at her more fully.
"You know, I'm not going to pry," he started gently, "but if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm right here. I'm actually a pretty good listener. That's how a guy like me ended up with two lovely wives." Not that he had any of those lovely wives with him these days, but he wasn't about to get morose over that now. "I want you to enjoy this vacation more than some hermitage on a mountain top." He had put considerable thought into designing the vacation package for her. He wanted to see her enjoy it to the fullest.
She glanced at him more fully herself as he set the wine glass aside, and lifted her eyebrows to his words. But as he finished, she looked out over the view before them, and played with her glass as she considered the offer. Did she dare to tell? And if she did, how much did she dare to tell? Over a week and she'd been trying to simply forget about what happened, or pick it into pieces, but there hadn't exactly been anyone she could work it out over with.
After some thought, she shook her head slowly. "There's some people I'm glad to be away from, and plan to avoid for the rest of my life." And if that meant permanently moving out of Miami? It wouldn't be the first time the thought crossed her mind. "I just don't trust them, so being far out of their reach? And with someone I would trust? I think that's a very good start..." There. It was enough of a confession for her, at least for the moment. As she drank, and the night went on, who knew what she'd end up saying without intending to?
It was patently obvious that Alana was not telling him the full story, but he wasn't going to force a full confession out of her.
"I'm glad that you trust me," Hephaestus smiled a little, trying to be encouraging, "And I'm sorry for whatever has made you avoid certain people in your life." Hephaestus picked up his glass again and took a slow, thoughtful sip. "If you need help avoiding these people, you're with the right guy. I am very good at avoiding people for extended periods of time." Hephaestus had largely avoided running into his family from the fall up until he crashed rather violently into them in Miami. "Don't let my current string of failures at avoiding my family fool you," He added hastily.
"Well, I'm doin' as well avoiding your family as you are it seems, so I know how hard it can be." Not that all of them needed to be avoided. Just... one, really. And since he seemed very disinclined to seek her out, then she shouldn't have too much trouble avoiding him, right? one could hope. "But if I ever need help keeping someone far out of reach, I'll let you know. Maybe we can tag him with some GPS collar or somethin'." Now that was an image. She smirked. "But right now, this is enough. I'll worry about the rest later." Or not at all, if she could chase it far enough from her mind.
Hephaestus drained his glass and then helped himself to more wine and more honeyed bread. As he served himself, he surreptitiously kept an eye on Alana. The tension seemed to ease from her. Whatever problems she had and whomever she was running from, he hoped that she would be able to put it behind her during her well deserved vacation. And if she needed help dealing with said people and problems when she returned home, Hephaestus would be there. He took a large bite from the piece of bread in his hand and picked up two more. He had a feeling he would want to stay sober as long as possible.
"I doubt you'll have time to worry," He said after settling himself in his chair, keeping his tone cheerful. "I've planned quite the vacation for us over the next two weeks." As much as Hephaestus would have liked to stay in Lemnos, Greece's economic instability made that untenable. He doubted Alana would oppose an extravagant Mediterranean cruise aboard a superyacht.
It would have been tempting to say sobriety was overrated, but there wouldn't have been much truth to it, and nothing had been spoken aloud on the thoughts. Alana turned to look over the choices of food herself, and grabbed some fruit, sampling how it tasted dipped into the wine. So what if it wasn't the way things were normally done. There was only one person who was seeing her do it, and if he felt the need to scold her for it, she'd stop. She considered the mixed flavors as he made his answer. "Oh yeah? I trust there's nothin' that's goin' to end up with me defending myself with some weak excuse of 'but I was in Greece!'..." she joked with a grin, ready to accept the easy change in conversation. Distractions were good.
"Not unless you want there to be," Hephaestus joked back. It gladdened him to see Alana grin more naturally. "Besides, I won't spill any of your secrets. I can't promise I'll turn off my phone, but I definitely won't take any compromising pictures." Hephaestus chuckled a bit before taking a small sip of his wine.
"However, if you decide to extend your sabbatical past the two week point, you and your indiscretions will be on your own." Even with a mobile office in his pocket, Hephaestus couldn't possibly stay away for more than two weeks. If he didn't put in any face time for too long, his employees, clients, and partners all got nervous and started flailing about like headless chickens. If Hephaestus wasn't immortal and capable of leaving his company to himself, he would be very worried for the future of VTS.
"Understood. I can be a big girl. I'll just have ta figure out what it is that I'm doing. The only thing I know is that I plan to not be in Miami until I've spent at least a month out of it." It was how long she'd told everyone she'd be away, and she was going to use it. If they had issues with that, it was their own problem. She took a drink, finishing off her glass, and peered about to refill it. "Do I get to be in on the know of some of these plans, or are you planning to surprise me along the way?"
Hephaestus leaned over and filled Alana's glass for her. A look of mock consideration on his face.
"Well, I had planned on it being a surprise," he said coyly, "but if you're curious, I suppose I could let you know where we're going. Our plans, however, will remain my secret." Hephaestus' voice was teasing. He had a number of surprises up his sleeves. He could spoil a few and have many more in reserve.
She nodded her thanks at the refill of her glass, then held it carefully as she considered the choice. "Hmm..." It was hard to fake seriousness though. "I doubt I'd be able to threaten any secrets out of you, so maybe it'd be best to take what I can get. On the other hand, the more I know, the more I'll try ta pick it apart and think about what the heck we could possibly be doing..." Not that she wouldn't try to guess all the same. And they'd probably be wrong. "So, I'll leave it up to you. Is there anything I should know about? Or big secrets that I shouldn't that you want to warn me about?" Yeah, like that trick would ever work in anything but a cartoon. She would put it in for comedy then.
"Well," Hephaestus repeated, drawing the word out, "It is your vacation, so I will be kind and tell you where we're going. I wouldn't want you to go somewhere you don't want to." Hephaestus put down the wine bottle and took a sip from his glass, preparing for his not-quite-prepared-ahead-of-time spiel. "I have planned for us a cruise that will visit my personal favorite places around the Mediterranean aboard my personal yacht. We will visit Istanbul, Cyprus, Alexandria, Rome, and Barcelona. I will give you a tour of those cities that only someone who has lived for millennia can provide." Hephaestus thought that sounded suitably impressive. He hoped Alana agreed.
Considering that she gave a low whistle, it was probably safe to say she did. "Sounds like quite the collection. And a personal tour guide. Makes it all the better." And it did sound like a good deal. Until semi-recently, she hadn't traveled a lot, and it seemed like she was almost making up for it now. And the list of places was good as well. "Is it a sailin' yacht where I'm gonna get to learn something about seamanship?"
"If you want." Hephaestus shrugged, as he ate another of his pieces of bread. "I have more than one yacht berthed here." He had planned to take his superyacht, but suddenly realized that the cavernous, largely empty ship may not be as fun for Alana as a simpler, cozier sailing yacht, no matter what the luxuries of his billion dollar megayacht. "We should be able to keep our schedule no matter which we take. I'll leave the decision up to you. It is your vacation." Hephaestus stretched, seemingly without a care, but his mind was abuzz recalculating travel times to take into account the speed of his sailing ships rather than his engine driven fleet.
"Seems like it should be for you too," she returned. "Don't let me bust up your plans just because of curiosity." Though it would be cool to learn how to master a boat. Yacht. Whichever. What was the difference between them anyway? The idea made her pause and have the slightest frown of thought as she considered it. "Wait, how many yachts do you have and how different are they?" How different did yachts even get? Ugh. She'd give herself a headache if she pondered it too closely. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Whatever you want to do, I'm game."
"I appreciate your generosity, but don't worry so much about me," Hephaestus said, waving a hand dismissively. "Everyday I do the work that I love while enjoying the benefits of being rich, immortal, and superhumanly powerful simultaneously. Every day is like a vacation." Hephaestus realized he was bragging and switched the focus back to Alana abruptly. "So the question is, once again, what would you like to do? My indeterminate amount of yachts and I are at your service." Hephaestus tried to bow, but his lounging posture did not allow it. He saluted instead.
She chuckled at the words, grinning as she seemed to consider what the choices were. Somehow, it seemed weird to not be limited... Especially considering that this was all on his tab. "I think... Comfort is gonna outweigh curiosity, so whatever will fill the needs that way. However, I don't personally see the need for anything the size of a cruise ship or meant to be a home away from home for a tiny apartment complex," she joked.
"Smaller than a cruise ship, bigger than a cramped apartment." Hephaestus nodded. "I can do that. But why sacrifice curiosity for comfort? I'm sure I can accommodate both." Hephaestus finished off his drink absently. "We can take the--" What did he call it these days? Ah, yes. "--The Halcyon. It's a schooner. You can learn about sailing ships while enjoying all the luxuries I can shove in its hold, which are considerable. Besides," Hephaestus paused and looked at Alana before opening a new bottle of wine. Pouring himself a glass, he continued, "are you gonna tell me you wouldn't want to sail around in a pirate ship?" Hephaestus had almost forgotten about The Halcyon. He remembered purchasing it specifically because it looked like a pirate ship. It worked better as a photo op today than it had as a privateer vessel in the 19th century, he remembered sourly.
Alana stared at him. A pirate ship? She wouldn't deny that there was appeal in it, if for no other reason than being able to say the phrase 'I was on a pirate ship'. Bragging rights could be everything. Or at least fun. "You have a pirate ship? That I could learn to sail?" Yeah, he had her attention, and the idea clearly had her interest. "I think if you were makin' that kinda offer the temptation would be far to great ta even think of refusing." Which was a less than subtle way of not so simply saying 'awesome'.
"I am making that kind of offer," Hephaestus replied simply. "I'm sure the crew would be willing to show you the ropes." Hephaestus kept a crew that could double as tour guides and 18th century re-enactors. It was costly, but it was a drop in the bucket compared to maintaining his entire fleet of yachts. And ever since the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, he could actually make a profit renting it out to other wealthy celebrities.
"Then I'm not refusing," she answered. "But I thought that old pirate ships were generally really cramped, small and everything else... So is it really like an old style one, or is it more of a new age reincarnation?" Not that she minded either way. The experience itself was going to be something to tell a tale about. And really, that was enough. More than enough.
"Oh, it's the genuine article," Hephaestus assured her. "I bought it in the 19th century, seeing it as a sound investment at the time." Hephaestus left the more sordid details of that enterprise unsaid. "I have, of course, updated it with my own touches over the years. It began life as a simple, three-masted schooner. It's 148 feet long with a topmast of over 100 feet. It can comfortably house its twenty crewmen and up to that many guests without making you feel as if you're crammed in the belly of a rum runner. Is that acceptable?" Hephaestus remembered to take a few more bites of his honeyed bread between sips of wine.
"I don't know..." she sighed, clearly teasing. "I mean, a twenty man crew? How could anyone be comfortable with twenty strangers running around." Smirking, she reached for some of the bread herself, and took a few bites. "But, if that's how it has to be, I'm sure I can find someway to survive it all." Sarcasm? Alana? Never.
"I'm sorry milady has to suffer such indignities on her vacation," Hephaestus teased back, his tone half mock-apologetic, the other half mock-indignant. "I will work through the night to resolve these issues to your satisfaction." Right after he had another drink.
"See that you do. I will be highly disappointed if my every whim is not catered to and met with perfection. I will accept nothing less," she stated, speaking as best as she could with some kind of high society air. But at the end she smirked, ruining the whole thing. "If I haven't said it yet, thank you. I'm feeling rather spoiled right now."
"What sort of billionaire playboy would I be if I didn't spoil my friends every now and again?" Hephaestus asked nonchalantly. "Besides, with Zeus' passing, I'm sure things have been tough for you. I want to do my part to help you through it." Hephaestus was earnest in his offer of help. He didn't grieve for Zeus, but the grief of those around him grieved him severely. Retracing that last line of thought, Hephaestus wondered if he wasn't starting to get a bit drunk.
"Mmm, I don't know if they'd consider this complete playboy behavior though, would they? Aren't you supposed ta have girls in overly revealing or tight fitting clothing wandering about just because they want you for your money or somethin'?" That image though seemed greatly out of place. Maybe she just didn't know his supposed playboy side. It wasn't like she bothered following celebrities much. She wrinkled her nose. "Let's forget I said that." She finished off what was in the glass she'd been absently working on. "The toughest part about his passing in some ways has been the hotel. The other part is how surreal it is to think of him as dead." Alana shrugged. "You've helped a lot with the hotel part. Once I get back, I'll just get the last pieces in order, than I can start looking to see if it's time for me to get out."
"Whatever you decide, I'll do my best to support you." Hephaestus considered his words. He was still being cautious with his promises as if he were talking with his uncle. Still, the intent of his words were clear. He wanted to make a joke about knowing he had forgotten something in regards to the absent horde of scantily clad women, but the tone had taken too serious a turn. Hephaestus shook his head. It was not to be.
There'd be other chances for other jests. The vacation was still young, and both could be inclined to humor. There was also all that wine. Alana paused, thinking about his words, then shook her head to herself. "... I think my alcohol tolerance has dropped, cause my brain just completely made that phrase sound like a line in some tear jerker Oxygen special."
"It's possible," Hephaestus answered, pondering. "I do watch a lot of TV. Occupational hazard. I have to stay current." He often had multiple televisions running as he worked. He had taken the idea from a comic he had read. It was an effective way for him to assimilate the large volume of information, much of it worthless, conveyed through television.
"However, if your life starts to resemble a tear jerker Oxygen special," Hephaestus continued earnestly, "well, I'll do my best to support you then, too." It wasn't all that long ago that it would have been referred to as a Lifetime tear jerker special, hence the importance of staying current, especially for Vadimas Lugosi, nerd icon. Hephaestus pushed those thoughts aside. He was following too much of a tangent.
Lifetime, Oxygen... When did places even make the switch? Alana didn't know, nor care much. Same thing to her. She smirked at his comment. "I think my life is passed that point. They've already rolled the credits and moved on to the squeal, on which... The credits are prob'ly rolling right about now. Should I check that there's a mention of some kind for you? Maybe one of those 'special thanks to...' or 'guy on street' type mentions? Or do you prefer to be uncredited?"
Hephaestus paused, peering into the bottom of his glass. Either Alana was drunk, or he was, because that last sentence made no sense to him. He decided being more drunk may clarify the matter, so he finished his glass and poured another.
"I'll take the credit," He began slowly, "but I'll donate my pay to charity." He took a sip that was suspiciously closer to a gulp when something Alana said finally tumbled into place. "Wait, sequel? It sounds like you've had some rough times. However, if this is one of those specials where you overcome adversity in your life and end up getting accepted to Harvard, I can hook you up with a scholarship. If you don't already have one." Hephaestus already had such a fund set up. The Vadimas Lugosi Award in Recognition of Excellence. It was just a fancy name. Hephaestus would pay for any student he felt held the power to truly further the fields of science and, occasionally, art. Naturally, he would also pay for any mortals he had a good relationship with. The number of awards he gave out always changed. It was usually more than one, but less than one hundred.
"Harvard? Who would want to go to Harvard?" Well, okay, many people did, but as she considered it more for its law programs and she had absolutely zero interest in that, it wasn't a likely school choice. "If I were ta take a scholarship for somewhere, it'd have ta be someplace useful. Someplace with construction or something." ... That was a lot of 'some's in one sentence. Her ability to make clear sentences was not in its highest abilities just now. The wine must have been getting to her. Eh, wasn't an all bad thing, was it?
'You mean a vocational or trade school?" Hephaestus asked. "I think I own/sponsor/whatever a few of those, too." Which ones did he own, and how many? The names and numbers eluded him. It was vexing, but Hephaestus let it go. He could always look it up. What was more vexing was that Alana had shrugged off another of his attempts to find out what had caused her to flee Miami. With a small sigh, he let it go. Even though he had a device somewhere that could siphon the answers from her very mind, something about that seemed inappropriate.
"That might be a better shot then. If I ever figure out what the heck it is I want to learn." Or, more to the point, what she wanted to do. "I think, once I get back, I'll see what I think about staying with the hotel. And if not, then I'll just jump back toward handyman and test things out until I figure out what I like. Maybe try some different hobbies or something." Her bank accounts should be good enough to allow it by that point. She did get a decent salary from the hotel.
"Whatever it is you decide to do, if it has anything to do with using your own hands and skills to make a living, I can help you with it." It was, perhaps, a bit of a stretch, but he was lord of artisans, craftsmen, and sculptors. There were very few, if any, skilled trades that did not fall under his purview. He thought about making just such a declaration, but settled for having another drink.
Alana chuckled. "If you were anyone but you, I'd probably end up owing a first born." She paused. "Or my soul. Or some kind of insane amount of money that can never really be paid, thus forcing me to offer the soul or first born... But I think then I've just changed into an ep of Supernatural..." She shook her head. Oh how the mind could wander.
"Souls aren't my area of expertise," Hephaestus said nonchalantly. "Did you know that I can't even see ghosts? The only thing I could do with a soul is ask Hades to come and cart it away." He considered a moment. I guess I could try to make it some sort of Robocop-esque soldier, but that's so impractical." Hephaestus was pretty sure he had read that in a book somewhere. Something about a god of artifice spiting a god of magic. Hephaestus was on good terms with the only god of magic he regularly dealt with.
"Anyway," Hephaestus said, waving his hand to dismiss his wild tangent, "All I ever ask of the mortals upon whom I grant my favor is that they use it to further their craft." The further the humans pushed the limits of technology, the more his power grew. He considered it a fair exchange.
"Oh, I think I can manage that." As long as he wasn't expecting her to recreate the computer or design something that would make NASA drop its jaw, she'd probably do well enough. Reaching and grabbing a slice of the bread this time, she settled back into her chair and looked out over the view.
Summary: Hephaestus and Alana spend some quality time at his estate in Lemnos, Greece, before embarking on an ambitious Mediterranean cruise. They talk of this and that.