Hearth and Home

“Be worse if I woke up here just to find out no one else from SanFran poofed here too,” Effie agreed. So much worse, but at least there were people dealing with the same bullshit. “Not sure what there is to do in this town though.”

Hestia nodded, “I wish I could be a bit more helpful in that regard, but entertainment has never really been my strong suit, I’m more of a homebody.” She sighed, “At least we’re able to work through this together.”

“How long do you think that we are going to be stuck here? I’m sorry if I seem panicky it’s because I am, I don’t like when things like this happen.”She sighed softly before taking another sip of her coffee. 

Hestia smiled warmly, “You don’t need to apologize, it’s alright to be scared. In all honesty, this situation is baffling. Whoever or whatever did this was able to do this to all of us, including gods. My question is why? What do they want?”

“no hangovers for you? that sounds like a nice superpower.” he chuckled– sure, fairies took a bit to get drunk compared to a normal person, added to his above-than-average size. but it was probably exactly what made him have the worst hangovers at a time. ( the incredible alcoholic consumption ) “so everyone is human.” that was a thought– a funny one. a lot of people seemed to be freaking out about that. “right, right,” a sigh as if he was considering it, “well, nothing we can do about that, might as well enjoy our little stay.” 

Hestia smiled, “Well, to be quite fair, I don’t often find myself in a position to be hungover,” she laughed softly, “But I suppose if we Olympians could get hungover, my brother Zeus might have calmed his partying tendencies over the years.” She shrugged, “That’s been my attitude as well, there’s nothing I can do to be productive in this moment, so I might as well make the best of it.”

The hand was on her shoulder and it seemed to be a display of assurance so Peyton didn’t reject it. Or, perhaps the women had been willing something to happen that didn’t. “So it seems to be working on everyone, the thing thats suppressing our powers.”

Hestia withdrew her hand, unsure of what to do next. “It must be something quite powerful, to remove everyone’s powers and transport us here. I’ve been around for a long time, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

         “ the best of things …  what does that even mean? we tried that with san francisco. it became our home. and now, now when we JUST got used to it, we astral projected across the freaking country. ”

“I don’t know what it means...” Hestia sighed, “I have no idea what we’re doing here, and in all honesty, it frightens me. However, for the time being we are here, and we are quite literally, powerless. We’re going to have to figure out how to navigate all of this, and our best chance of that is together.”

She turned herself to face the stranger, unable to sense who was who anymore. The fact that she was hungry? Tired? And a sharp pain coming from her temple— that she only assumed was a headache, made her grouchy. “We’re in Mystic Falls and no I don’t.” which infuriated her.

Hestia furrowed her brow. It wasn’t as if she had never been down on Earth before, or taken any kind of humanly disguise. In fact, this face was quite similar to ones she’d worn in the past, however there was one major difference between then and now: those times she had chosen to come down, and even with her godly form disguised, she still had access to her abilities. “We’ll figure this out,” she spoke softly, as much to herself as to the other woman.

           “  it’s  not  stealing  if  this  used  to  be  my  house.   besides,  ric  wouldn’t  mind  if  i  borrowed  this  …  i’m  pretty  sure  i  bought   this  for  him.  ”    he  inspects  the  tag,  nods.  “  yeah,  i  did.  it’s  hugo  boss.  ”    (  @goddessofthe-hearth  )

Hestia raised an eyebrow, “If you have to justify that it isn’t stealing, isn’t that concerning in and of itself? Not that I begrudge you trying to find a shirt, if things were more... normal, I could have just made one for you.”

        “  i  woke  up  in  a  gymnasium.   which,  for  the  record,  would  be  far  less  concerning  if  i’d  gone  to  sleep  in  the  first  place.  ”  he  was  a  reaper,  for  chrissakes.  it  wasn’t  like  he  needed  to  sleep.  so  why  was  he  suddenly  exhausted  and  craving  a  nap  like  he  was  human  ?    “  something  is  off  about  this  place.  none  of  my  abilities  are  working.  i’m  —  ”   useless  ?    more  redundant  than  he  already  felt  ?   ( @goddessofthe-hearth  )

Hestia frowned, the expression felt foreign and strange on her features. “Yes, that is concerning. Waking up in a corporeal body is a very strange sensation, and while the experience is fascinating, I would much rather it have been voluntary.”

“HELLO? HELLOOOOOO?” he tried over, and over. but everytime he dialed aidy’s number, it went straight to– NOT EVEN HER VOICEMAIL. it was dead, plain DEAD. like trying to dial a number that didn’t exist at all. uh, something was definitely– fucking wrong. a woman approached him, and he shrugged– “mystic falls?” he shoved his phone in his pocket. he’d try later. “i thought it had just been a weird hungover BUT it’s not? unless it’s a collective one.” a huffed chuckle at what he just said, “man, that’s something.” 

Hestia furrowed her brow, “A hangover? I doubt I can even get hungover, although... I suppose if everything else about me seems to be human at the moment, perhaps I can be?” She tried to refocus herself on the issue at hand, “Whatever is happening to all of us... it seems to be more powerful than any hangover could possibly be.”

Veronica sighed as she took a sip of her coffee, thankfully she found a coffee shop to go in and try to wrap her head around everything that was going on. “This is simply crazy, how on earth did we end up in a place like this?” She questioned. 

Hestia took a deep breath in and out. Part of her was enjoying all of the strange new sensations that seemed to come with being... human, but she had yet to find the answers to any of her questions about how and why this had happened. “I’ve been wondering that exact question myself.”

“The one and only, WELL, the best.” Apollo exclaimed brightly upon being recognized by the other. “Honestly SAME.” a piece of slang that Apollo had grown accustomed to and fond of. “Hestia, right?” She confirmed with a quirk of a smirk. 

Hestia’s smile widened, any family, especially one she was so fond of was a welcome sight. “Same?” She asked, “I don’t quite understand... is that a human term?” She laughed softly, “Yes, I’m glad to hear you’re so quick to recognize your favorite aunt.”

          from the moment he woke up, he felt it. he knew his powers were gone  —  AGAIN. a small nuisance, but a nuisance nonetheless. the biggest issue is that it made his hangover all the more prevalent. that and the fact that he could no longer recognize his ‘family’. when a voice reaches for him, he has to narrow his eyes ( god, his head hurts like hell ). “ hi, ” he greets back, slightly unsteady on his feet. “ i got …  nooooo idea, not gonna lie. word has it might be one of those asshole gods again. just between you and me. ”

Recognition flashed behind her eyes as she heard the man speak, there was something familiar about the way he spoke... but she couldn’t quite place it. “One of those... asshole gods? Again?” She looked down at her hand and moved her fingers, everything felt strange in this new body. 

as much as she was angry at the gods, namely poseidon and athena for dragging her into their little war and making her a victim of it, there are a few gods and goddesses she didn’t mind much for. it’s not distaste or annoyance. maybe a little regret she hadn’t chosen to serve a different god compared to athena. she opens an eye lid to look at the voice and she sees it. a vague feeling of familiarity before she sees it – a serpent pin (it’s a brooch, medusa, a brooch) on the other’s dress. “hestia,” she exclaims with a breathless gasp. it doesn’t sound startled, more like… she never thought she’d be in her presence again. “i’m fine.” medusa gave a smile that quirked into a maybe, i don’t know kind of expression. “i’m human again but you’re here… so you probably are human as well.” which sucked because life didn’t such all that much for gods. she never met one that wished to be human had she? much less one that had the choice made for them.

Hestia furrowed her brow, it wasn’t that she was unhappy to see the gorgon, in fact, she’d always harbored a soft spot for her. She felt for her, and tried to help her in the little ways she could just after everything happened, she’d done all she could to help make sure Medusa’s isolated island felt at least somewhat homey. “Human...? Is that what this strange feeling is?”