(no subject)

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

Date: April 21st, 2003
Status: Public (Aphrodite)
Setting: The Manor (Outside and In)
Summary: This looks like a good place to stay for the night... do they have a phone?



'Dite cursed and smacked the steering wheel of her little rental coup, miraculously not chipping a nail in the process. The little white dove sitting on her shoulder screeched in surprise and decided that perhaps it would be better to ride shotgun, abandoning the temperamental woman to sit on its cage next to her. 'Dite ignored it and started to plead with the vehicle to keep going. She was pretty sure the engine wasn't supposed to be making that odd popping noise, and smoke was never a good sign. Finally, with a mighty 'clunk' the car stopped its slow forward crawl, steamed profusely, then died. Aphrodite's forehead hit the top of the steering wheel with a dull thud.

"Why now? Why me?" she grumbled, throwing the door open and stepping out of the red vehicle, her heels clicking on the pavement. She bent over below the dash and fiddled with a lever to pop the hood. Moving to the front of the car, she flung the hood upward and stared blankly down at the engine as if that would help her determine what was wrong. She hadn't the foggiest, though. With a groan, she ran her manicured fingers through thick blond tresses. Mechanics were never her strong point.

Frustrated further at her own inability to understand what made the car do what the car was supposed to do, she whistled for her pet and glanced around to get her bearings. There was bound to be somewhere nearby that had a working phone. She had long since lost her cell phone when, during a fit of temper at her lover, she threw it into a lake in the middle of an argument. She had realized in retrospect that it would have been just as effective to merely hang up on Ares as he could not actually see her throw the phone. Hind-sight was always fifty-fifty.

No far away sat a building with some promise. Large, hotel-ish, lots of windows equaling lots of rooms... if there wasn't a phone in that building she would eat her lipstick. With a brief word to Bird to watch the car (not like it was going anywhere but it was the principle that mattered) 'Dite trudged through the gate and down the lane to the front door. Poking her head in, she glanced around at the lobby.

"Hullo?" she called, stepping fully in and moving toward the reception desk.

Comments

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Oh, we're certainly having a good time," Duncan assured her, his Scottish accent thicker than it was most of the time these days - the r's more pronounced and the last word coming out as "taim" rather than anything else.

he, too, placed his order and waited for the waiter to retreat. Then he leaned forward slightly. "'It all' sounds pretty big," he observed.

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

"You have no idea," she muttered, running her fingers through her hair. "But it is not a topic that bears much joy so I try to avoid it. The last thinkg I wish to do is bring you down with a sob-story."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"So on to something happier," Duncan suggested. "How long are you planning on staying?"

He gave her a smile that alone should have sufficed to double that time.

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

"Well, the rental company told me that it may be a couple days before they can deal with the heap of junk sitting uselessly on the side of the road out there. I suppose how long I stay really depends on how much I enjoy myself until they get here. If I'm having a good time, I'll stay longer. It's not like I have a specific destination in mind, after all." She returned his winning smile with one of her own.

"So tell me about this pub we are going to later," she continued, changing the topic yet again. "Who is this friend of yours?"

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Actually," Duncan said, "it's the hotel bar. My friend's name is Joe, and we've been travelling together for a while. It's good to have a known face with you at times. He's a nice guy. I'm sure you'll like him. Everyone likes him. He can be very charming. He's also an excellent musician."

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

"Well, I am a fan of music," she admitted. "It sounds like a good time." 'Dite took a sip of her water, glanced up as the waiter returned with their food, then returned her gaze to Duncan. "Tell me about Scotland?" she asked, poking at the pasta with her fork. "One day I'll head that way."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Why," Duncan said, allowing more of his Scottish accent to enter his voice. "For a scotsman it's the fairest place in the world, of course. Though there certainly is a difference between the Highlands and the rest of Scotland. I was raised by a Highland clan chief, you see. Though it's been years since I managed to visit my clan."

He sent the waiter for a bottle of wine and tried his food. "Delicious as always," he determined.

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

'Dite took a few bites and smiled. It wasn't ambrosia but it was still pretty tasty. "Sometimes I wish I could say it had been years since I'd visited my family. I suppose we're kind've like a clan, too, all together in once place making a lot of noise." She wrinkled her nose in an impossibly cute way. "But your home sounds very beautiful. Does your clan live by the sea or are they inland? There's a lot of coast line in Greece; we're very reliant on the ocean."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"In the Highlands," Duncan said. "It's hills and mountaints, forests and lakes. I only got to see the sea pretty late in life. It was scary."

He grinned. "I've gotten used to it since then, though. So tell me - are you also the wanderer in your family, always on the road, or is this like a one-time trip?"

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

'Dite considered the question as she chewed, pondering how to go about her answer. "I suppose I'm not the only one that wanders around. I don't usually go too far from Greece, actually, but I tend to travel within the country. This trip merely serves to put as much distance between me and my home without having to leave Europe."

She studied his face for what was almost an awkwardly long time. His comment regarding seeing the ocean late in his life had caught her ear. "Forgive my nosiness, but you don't look old enough to have a 'late in life.'"

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Why, thank you," Duncan said. "But should't that be a compliment I make you, rather than the other way around?"

He smiled at her again.

"Have you ever been away from Europe? There are lots and lots of wonderful places around in this world."

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

She had to laugh at his cheekiness and grinned in return. "Well, I haven't heard you make that compliment yet so one of us had to do it," she joked back. "As far as out of Europe, I did go to China once. But I got a terrible bout of food poisoning and now I'm a bit reluctant to leave Europe. And America seems so noisy. I take it you travel quite a bit."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes," Duncan said, smiling brightly at her. "When I have good reason to. Or maybe," he mused, "when I don't have any good reason to stay in one place."

He finished this meal and put aside the fork. "Delicious as always," he declared.

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

"Yes, that did quite hit the spot." She set aside her own utensils and sipped at the wine the waiter had brought during their meal. "I hope you intend to stick around long enough to keep me company here." She smiled a bit coyly. "You've been a good companion thus far and I'd enjoy your friendship," she said honestly.

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, I assure you," Duncan told her honestly. Her parents had certainly known what they were doing when they had named her Aphrodite.

"And luckily I have no pressing need to go elsewhere." As a matter of fact, he could've very well sat here for another few hours just looking at her.

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

"Wonderful!" 'Dite finished her wine, set the glass aside, and craned her neck around to try and flag down the waiter for their check. She slipped her hand into her purse to pull out her pocketbook. "Shall we go for a walk to digest? You can show me the grounds."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"Certainly," Duncan agreed. "But it'd be my pleasure to pay for this meal if you'll let me."

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," she replied, replacing the pocketbook. "That's very kind of you."

The meal paid, 'Dite stood from her seat, gathering her purse after her. "Whatever part of the grounds you think good to start at is fine with me. I'm rather partial to gardens, personally."

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

The perfect gentleman, Duncan offered 'Dite his arm as they left and gently steered her outside.

"The grounds are mainly park," he explained as they walked. "If you come across some random color stains that didn't wash away, I'm told some of the residents had themselves a paintball war a little while back. I hear the greenhouses over there are kept by a demon, actually."

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

'Dite started to chuckle, although it was slightly forced. A demon? In the middle of po-dunk-town, Britain? She glanced side-long at Duncan. "Are demons common to this area?" she asked finally, attempting to make it sound like a joke.

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

"To be honest," Duncan said with a grin, "I don't know. I haven't even met that one yet. I certainly hope not. It's just a story I've heard and found funny. I mean, a demon tending plants, come on? Now, a demon withering plants, that'd be a lot more serious and believable. But as it is?" He shrugged. "Nothing too scary about a gardening demon."

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

'Dite opened her mouth to reply but found she couldn't say anything to contradict his comment. Instead she nodded thoughtfully, then let a playful grin spread across her features. "Let's go find out," she suggested.

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

Duncan grinned back. "Sure!" He agreed. "Come on!" Together with her, he ambled over across the grass to where the greenhouses stood.

[thinksexy.livejournal.com]

'Dite poked her head into the first greenhouse and looked around to see if anyone was present. "Hullo?" she called into the clammy chamber. She felt her hair go suddenly limp at the heat of the greenhouse and frowned. This particular house must have been for tropicals to be so humid. Perhaps their 'demon' was hiding in the more temperate greenhouses.

Shaking her head to Duncan, indicating that the first one was empty, she started for another greenhouse. Although her fun-loving side was excited about the prospect of meeting another immortal amongst these guests, she was a little nervous about whether or not this demon would be able to tell what she was. She was trying to keep a decently low profile on the ethereal radar, after all. Duncan seemed like a nice enough fellow but if he found out she was about as old as dirt (older perhaps)... she hated to think what he would think.

Hanging out with mortal humans had been so much easier in the old days when she and her fellow Olympians wandered freely amongst the Greeks. Now, however, most would call her crazy if she walked around announcing she was the goddess of love and laughter. Oh, times, they are a-changing. She sighed inwardly and opened the next greenhouse door.

[mcleod1592.livejournal.com]

Duncan made a show of knocking at and peeking into the second greenhouse. The only thing in here were plants, most of them with beautiful flowers. It reminded him a bit of Fitzcairn's greenhouse but, being no botanist, he had no idea what the flowers were actually called or where they were from. He knew some herblore, of course, but plants that had the main purpose of being pretty had never been a subject of study for him.

However, he could have sworn thatfor a second, the plants had shrunk back from the door when he had opened it.

Of course that was total nonsense. Plants just didn't do that, did they?

"No one here either," he announced. "Seems the demon is elsewhere today."