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Alone in that apartment in Hell's Kitchen, Alexander had only his thoughts to keep him company. It was quiet, even with the television in the background, and he hated the solitude; it was not a circumstance he often found himself in, but of recent his desire for companionship has been stronger than usual. He had spent so much of his life alone already, why waste more years. How or why he chose his path through the city for his footfalls to bring him here, he coudn't explain. A flash in his mind, telling him that this particular establishment was where he was meant to be, is all that he had to guide him. Fate, destiny, perhaps divine inspiration, but whatever the origin, he finds himself stepping through the doorway to find a seat, leafing through a menu while he waits. For what exactly, he doesn't know. But for something. Possibly a waitress.
*
Entering not but a few minutes behind Alexander, Thalia makes her appearance at the diner, pushing her way through the door. She has come to like this place. She's not quite a regular, though some waitresses might recognize her face. After a day full of inspiration, she has decided that people watching is exactly what she needs to do, and Schrafft's is an excellent place for that. Lettering her jacket slide down her arms, she places on a coat rack near the front.
Smoothing out her dress, she starts walking to a stool along middle of the soda fountain bar. That is, of course, until her eyes land upon Alexander. The clacking of her heels changes direction slightly to where he sits, and she takes a seat across from him, giving him a look of curiousity, one eyebrow lifted in question. "Well now." She says almost immediately. "Who'da thought that of all the diners in all the cities, this is where your lil feet would bring ya?"
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ROLL: Alexander +rolls 1d100 for a result of: 4
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Alexander looks up from the menu when Thalia arrives and starts speaking, a look of confusion washing over his features. "I'm sorry," he says to the woman, placing the menu does on the tabletop while he speaks. "I think you must have me mistaken with someone else?" He certainly doesn't recognize Thalia, at least not in this form. Though, the Olympian family tree is so large and complex, it'd be a wonder he was able to keep more than just the basic relationships straight. "I'm often told I have a face that looks familiar," he states, trying to be friendly at the very least. The woman hadn't done anything to deserve a rude response, after all.
*
Chuckling softly, Thalia clucks her tongue and shakes her head. "How absolutely silly of me!" She grins. "Let me introduce myself, Phobos. Oh!" She rolls her eyes and sighs at herself. "I'm sorry, you probably prefer Alexander, don't you? Can I call you Alexobos? Or Phoboxander?" There's a short pause. "No, Alexander is probably best, isn't it? But I've gone off on a short tangent, I'm sorry 'bout that!" She has a little laugh at herself. "I'm Thalia. A muse of Olympus." She gives Alexander a little wink. "You can always call me Auntie Thalia, if the mood so strikes you."
*
Alex blinks a couple of times. It takes him a few seconds to catch up, because forgive him, but he wasn't exactly prepared to meet more extended family today. He had spent some brief time on Olympus after The Unpleasantness, but certainly not long enough to meet or become acquainted with the entire family tree. "A muse," he repeats, recalling what he can from his memories. "Oh!" His face lights up after a moment, "One of the nine," he says. "That does make you my aunt," he says after another moment's recollection. "Did you know I'd be here?" He asks, head tilting slightly to regard the woman. His own vision, the one which guided him to this place, was vague at best; if it had meant to draw him to meet Thalia, he coudn't possibly have understood until this moment.
*
"There are nine of us! You remembered! Here and I was worried you were going to focus only on your father, Artemis, Athena. You know, those who are more associated with fighting or fear." She chuckles. "It's rather understandable, though. With so many of us, I don't blame you for having some trouble remembering all of us." She leans back and tilts her head. "Did I know you'd be here? Good question. I did not. Quite. That is to say, I didn't. But I come here often enough. Perhaps we were meant to meet here, though! You know, the Moirai may be old, but they're a tricky trio. Maybe they wanted us to meet. Or maybe someone else did." She waves her hands around. "We're an unusual bunch. I mean, don't even get me started on your father! Boooyyy, Ares? Ha! He's a bucket full o' strange and then some." She giggles softly. "Honestly, though, it's quite the pleasant surprise to see you here."
*
"Most people just call me Alex," the youth says, grinning a bit due to Thalia's jovial nature. He motions to the seat opposite him, inviting her to join him. "It's a lot to keep track of, for sure," he says allowing a bit of a chuckle. The menu is pushed to the side, and he focuses on Thalia. "I've never been here. Didn't even know it existed, actually. I was at home, and something told me to come. I walked until I found it." And it wasn't a short walk. "So I think that perhaps, the Fates intended us to meet," he suggests. "I'm just glad not all of my relatives are.. well, like my father," he says, his tone darkening just slightly. He and Ares are not exactly on the best of terms, which Thalia might already know. "What's good here?" He asks, in an effort to change the subject as smoothly as possible.
*
"Alexander it is." Thalia grins. Whether or not she'll actually call him Alex is still in the air. Getting comfortable in the seat across from him, she hums a soft tune. "If you ever need help with our family tree, just ask. I got lists up here that would give some people a headache!" She taps the side of her head lightly. She looks around, nodding a little. "The Fates work in mysterious ways at times. Honestly, I try to avoid them, but they do seem to know what they're doing!"
She gives Alexander a brief concerned look. "I know that your father isn't always the easiest of men to get along with. If you're ever having trouble with him, either call me or send him my way. I'll be sure to give you my contact information before we part ways for the day." She tells him. She brightens again, though. "Oh, I absolutely love the pie. And I mean love. Doesn't matter what kind you get, it's delicious! And don't even get me started on their club sandwich!"
*
See, this is exactly the kind of levity Alex needs in his life. He's all smiles as Thalia goes on. Even when she brings up Ares again, he doesn't get all sour about it, only mentions, "I haven't seen my father in a while now. Sent me to live with Asgardians, and haven't heard from him since." Which is immediately followed up with, "Club Sandwich and pie. Sounds good to me." Alex moves the menu to the edge, which he has grown to understand is the universal sign for being ready to order. "I'm perfectly happy with him staying out of the picture," Alex says, circling back to the matter of his father. "He never seems to make matters any better, does he?"
*
"Live with Asgardians?" Thalia chuckles and shakes her head. "What a silly man, that father of yours. Not that the Asgardians are bad. I mean, have you seen Thor? He ain't no eye-Thor, if you catch my meaning." She lets out a hoot of laughter. She's certainly not afraid to laugh at her own jokes. "Now, Ares is hot headed. That's for sure. He does not think things through sometimes. But his heart is in the right place. Well, most of the time it is, anyway. You've gotta understand, child, that he's got all this aggression deep inside him. This aggression and…and…" She makes upward circular motions with her hands as she thinks. "And power. A raw power. When he channels it and focuses it into something, into war, he is a master of his craft. Now, I ain't sayin' war is always right, and that fightin' is always the answer, but it's what your daddy does best. And when he can't do that? All that pent up energy bursts in the direction of those he cares about the most. Like his children." She tries to explain, though there's obvious sympathy etched across her face.
"But hey, we all got our daddy issues every now and then. I mean, my dad's the big cheese of Olympus!" She says as she waves down a waitress. "Hi, yes. We'll both have the Club sandwich and the pie. Thanks!" She chirps off cheerfully, turning back to Alexander. "Now, of course, I'm much different from your daddy. I love to laugh, I love being happy, and I love words. And music. And words to music. And I love to laugh. Did I mention that I love to laugh?" She just can't help but grin.
*
Alex laughs again. It feels good to laugh, and he doesn' do a lot of it. The God of Fear isn't naturally predisposed to humour, but he's also half-human, so levity of kind of a necessity from time to time. "The Asgardians have been good to me," he says after a moment. "And I've learned a great deal. So, I can't fault him for it." But it is just another instance of Ares showing no interest in teaching, parenting, or caring. Bitter much? You bet he is. But the sourness is momentary, as it seems impossible to stay in a foul mood in the presence of Thalia. Aunt Thalia, apparently. A smile comes back to his lips. "Are all of the muses so.. chipper?" He asks with a bit of a laugh.
*
"Learning's good. Nothing wrong with some good ol' fashion learnin'! You may have to introduce me to some of these Asgardians. Could be a hoot and a half! Speaking of 'hoots'. You ever hear the joke about the singing owl who played trumpet and wore boots? He was all hoots and toots in boots!" Perhaps the joke is in response to her sensing his bitterness at his father. Or perhaps it's just Thalia being Thalia. At the question, she chuckles. "Can't say we're all this chipper, no." She shrugs. "I'm the muse of comedy, after all. Wouldn't do me no good to be a sour grump!" There's a pause, as whistful, far away look falls over her. "Oh, but you should see us when we all get together. Mmm, boy, we can sing and dance up a storm like no other! Especially if we're tellin' a story."
*
"I can only imagine," Alexander says with a chuckle, and takes a sip of his water. His stomach growls, which can hardly be helped considering he hasn't eaten in several hours and spent much of the day walking from one end of town to the other. And he'll still have to go back. "So what brings you all the way down here from Olympus, Aunt Thalia?" It's nice, actually; Alex feels like she's someone he can talk to, even if it's about something trivial, without feeling awkward. She certainly has a disarming personality, and friends are not something he has in abundance. "Not that we couldn't all use a bit more comedy in our lives." Big grin.
*
"Honestly, I do my best work when I'm here." Thalia explains. "I wanted to help create art. To bring joy to lives. There's nothing I enjoy more than knowing that a person's life is a little bit brighter because they've seen a play I helped inspire, or because I help them write the poem they've been struggling for years to write." Her smile, this time, is less that of amusement and more of fulfillment. "I am at my most content when I am here on Earth, helping others. Besides," there's a pause as she raises an eyebrow. "I may or may not have been getting on Athena's nerves. And when you've got on her nerves, you want to stay out of her way. Waaaaayyyyy out of her way."
*
"That makes sense," Alex says. "Being among mortals must bring the ideas faster, and easier. Keep in touch with the common man, so to speak. And I definitely wouldn't want to get on her bad side.." God of Fear, he's not /afraid/ of Athena, his father's sister, but he certainly has a healthy respect for the amount of hurt she could lay on him if she had cause. "It must be nice having the option, though; me, I'm stuck here on Earth. Last time I was on Olympus I was a boy," after the Unpleasantness, as he's come to refer to that whole 'kidnapped by a demon and used to try to conquer Olympus' period of his youth. "I wish I could have spent more time there, but it wasn't my choice. Or my father's, I think." Which would have made it Zeus' decision that Alexander be essentially exiled until he sheds his mortal coil.
*
"I'm sure, if you want to, you'll get the chance to see it again someday." Thalia says softly. "Besides, I may or may not know some back ways into Olympus, if you really want to go back." She offers Alexander a conspiratorial wink. It's then that their food arrives. "Ah, excellent. I was getting hungry enough to eat a titan!" She grins widely.
*
"I hope so. You know, before I die down here," Alex says with a wry smirk. On some level, perhaps, he knows how this story is going to end. "I will keep the offer in mind, but I think, probably, best not to do anything to get either of us in trouble with the big man upstairs," he half-jokes. As much as he'd love to get back there, it might not be worth the divine lightning bolt. His face lights up when the food arrives. Sandwiches and pie, there can be nothing better in life. He murmurs a 'thank you' to the waitress who delivered it, and wastes no time in diving in. Starting, of course, with the pie. And it's delicious. He decides, against all reason, that the vision which drew him to this place was for the pie first; meeting Thalia must have been just a very fortunate coincidence.
*
"Oh, something tells me that I can get on his good side. Or not. I've never been so good with the future." Interestingly enough, Thalia starts with the pie as well. Maybe it's a family trait. That or the pie really is that good. "Oh! Before I forget, before we leave, remind me give you a bit of cash to help get you back to where you're living. It's the least Auntie Thalia can do." She reaches over and gives him a little pat on the arm and a kind smile. Though the look on her face quickly changes, and she furrows her brow. "You met a girl named Daisy recently, didn't you?" She contemplates Alexander for a moment before saying, "You should ask her out, if you know how to reach her. I think you two would make an adorable couple. I mean, it would be nice to see how you two get along sober, but there's always time for that."
*
Alexander practically chokes on the pie when Thalia brings up Daisy. He coughs a couple of times, and manages to clear his airway; the God of Fear is not going to be taken down by a slice of pie, people. Once he's out of mortal danger, Alex reaches for a napkin, and dabs his mouth a bit to take care of any unintentional spillage. "How in-" he stops himself; she's a muse, she probably sees /all kinds/ of things. His pale cheeks flush, and he looks down at his plate, before up at Thalia again. ".. yeah. Kind of.. already a thing," he says, and then lets a shy smile creep to his lips. "It's a bit new for both of us, so.. just seeing where things go, I guess. And I think we're both swearing off drinking for a little while."
As for the offer of cash to get back home, Alex offers a polite refusal. "You don't have to do that, Aunt Thalia. I can cover a cab back to Hell's Kitchen," Alexander says, with half a mouthful of pie. Like hell he's going to walk all that way again. And then the remainder of his pie is shoveled in. There can be no denying the pie. Once the pie is gone, it's on to the main course. And halfway through that, he'll have to order another slice of pie for dessert.
*
"Hey now, don't go dyin' on me! I can't go tellin' Ares I killed his son because I asked about a girl!" Thalia laughs, finishing off her own pie as she listens to him. She raises an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm gonna have to meet this girl, you understand? Give her the proper once over? I mean, it's either me or your dad, and your dad ain't gonna be as nice as I am about it. So you best not be tellin' me 'no'!" She crosses her arms as if that settles the discussion.
"Hell's Kitchen?! Weren't there vampires hanging around there? And now some sorta weird cockroaches…or bugs…or something? I am giving you some money to make sure you get home safe. It'll give me peace of mind. Peace…piece….I'd like another piece of pie, please!" She calls out in hopes that their waitress, whever she is, can hear her. "In the mean time…it's time to focus on some food." She smiles happily and starts to devour her sandwich.
*
"Me too, please!" Alexander calls out after Thalia shouts for more pie, and then laughs again. "I think I can probably convince her to agree to meet you," he says with a nod. "Meeting dad, though, might take some work. Neither I, nor history, have painted him in a very positive light." But really, that's as much Ares' fault for being a bag of dicks, as it is Alexander's for not finding some positive qualities to extoll. "And the vampires are mostly gone now. I haven't run into one in /weeks/," he says, probably joking? Not that he can't look after himself though; Thalia would certainly know all about his demonic samurai training, Grasscutter, and the simple fact that as the Son of War he can match swords with any mortal or monster on this plane. Or at least, that he thinks as much. "The roaches of unusual size are a more interesting problem, but nothing I can't handle." Most things will die if sliced with a divinely-forged blade. And as long as creatures possess a self-preservation instinct, he can make them afraid to bother him if needs be. It's not inappropriate to use his power as the God of Fear against bugs now, is it? "If you're going to insist, I guess I can't really say no, right? So, thank you." He laughs again, and dives in on the sandwich, now that his pie is gone. Thankfully, more is (hopefully) coming soon.
Food is eaten, more stories and laughs are shared; some of which, Alexander is sure, Thalia already knew. She seems to know a lot of things about him already, but he doesn't find that strange in the slightest. It's nice, really, as the two seem to develop an instant bond. One he never shared with his father, at least not for many, many years. A lifetime, in fact. And when they're done, Alexander shares his address and phone number with his newfound Aunt. And despite another brief argument over it, eventually accepts the monetary assistance before getting into his cab, and back across town. This is going to be an interesting story to share. And he'll have to bring Daisy here for the pie.
*