“Yeah, so it happens we all happen to be fools.” She chuckled, and it was both true and not. Many chose to enter despite the barrier, some entered because of it. Euterpe herself had the pleasure of calling San Francisco her home before it went up. “Well if anyone has an eye for art, it’s you.” She teased him. “My specialties lay more in music.” 

“I’m just.. extra talented, I guess?” Apollo shot her a bright smile. “You know I lean more towards music than the other arts. There’s just something about it that captures the soul.” He looked back at the painting. “I’ll paint for you some day.” That was a promise.

        “ yes. exactly that. “   she hums, the irritation itching at the edge of her consciousness.  mortals were certainly less  D R A M A T I C  than  the gods, but she had very little use for them.   “ how so ?  it’s not as if they have any powers, or abilities, that will help us. “    no, instead it was all give, no take.  which, for the record, she was fine with… so long as they weren’t  U N A P P R E C I A T I V E  of the gifts she bestowed on them.     

“That doesn’t matter, they’re handy for having on our side when it comes to conflict, you want someone who isn’t a god there.” Apollo shook his head. “Leverage.” 

Again, he almost dropped the damn harp. “Jesus Christ,” he reprimanded, this time angrier. “Doesn’t matter what you are sure of, we have some rules.” He almost dropped a for fuck’s sake at the end. Setting the harp down, he sighed, closing the classroom’s door just in case who knew what came out of the other’s mouth next. “Yeah,” he said bitterly. “She died on our wedding day. Not the best day, really.”

Okay, maybe Apollo should really keep his mouth shut when it came to talking about these things around the kids, but honestly? He just wanted to see how Alaric would’ve reacted. “Ouch. Sorry about that, must have sucked.” Apollo didn’t have much luck in the love department himself. 

There was both comfort and comfortability that came with Apollo’s presence, such that Euterpe couldn’t help but lean into. She dug out of his arms, though clearly didn’t mind such kiss. “An old friend.” A chuckle left her. “The kind thats smart enough to stay out of San Francisco.”

Apollo let her go and stepped away with a smile. “Well, that person is very smart to stay out, unlike the rest of us.” He snorted a little at the thought of it, some of them simply didn’t have a choice. “It’s a great picture, the brush strokes are something of a genius.”

perhaps so but not everyone remembers a name like melpomene so easily just off of the street. just like he knows how rare it would be for another to have euterpe as a name and meet a melpomene. he wasn’t as dumb as you’d like him to be. “sure.” for now he’d leave it at that. “we have plenty of acts, don’t you worry, and in a place like san francisco? plenty more yet to come. everyone is welcome when the time is right.”

“Does that mean you will be recruiting further?” He asked Ben curiously now, wondering if he needed to keep an eye on the other muses, just in case.

“Hey Apollo.” She greeted, perhaps a bit casually given their situation. She wondered if the ‘bad guy’ would fume had she went on to speak casually and say something like How’s my favorite nephew doing? it was almost a riot. Maybe if not for the binds and vulnerability. “Oh, take your time.” she joked perhaps a bit too cavalier for sure this time ( she saw in one of their necks, annoyance clear. So yes, worth it. )

She blinked her eyes, trying to put where she knew the name and then— “Oh!” Because it was a damn oh “You?” It’d been a long ass time since she even heard his name, barely even recognized him with it. “Well I’ll be damned.”

Apollo simply waved at him all cheerfully. “It’s been a long time.” Then he delivered a blow to the first guy who came at him again, it was like knocking over a feather to the God after all. “You’re looking in the wrong place for Poseidon, so if you could just hand her over, I’ll be off.” 

“couldn’t he have trapped us somewhere other than here?  the americas are far less fit for the gods, compared to places like greece and italy.  this place smells like old garbage.”

Apollo laughed when she said that San Francisco smelled like old garbage, she wasn’t wrong in that but hey! He liked it here. “But this is where we’ve all ended up.”

She didn’t get not wanting to show how amazing they were by pretending to be another human, but that was his wish. “And how is it working out for you? Being different?”

“It’s... difficult.” He told her. “But rewarding I guess?” Then he shrugged. “I’m working on it, it’s only been a couple of year.”

Artemis tilted her head. “So why go under a different name? Humans should be bowing to your feet, happy that you are teaching them. Maybe they would then be more interested.”

“Because I’m trying to be different this time around, Artemis. So it’s better if I let them believe I’m just a music teacher and not the god, Apollo.”

“Ah, no you’re right…-good little Apollo would merely have to flutter his eyelashes and offer those cops a smile for them to forget entirely what you were in trouble for in the first place.” he chuckled at such a humorous thought, giving the other a mock hurt look. “Such poor threats, brother..-if it makes you feel better, I would miss you if you were gone.” Though he gave a defensive glare. “Tell a soul however and i’ll….break your Lyre.” That happened to be the only thing that came to mind. 

“Oh please... my eyelash flutters work on everyone. Remember how it was? Pants down around the ankles back then, fun times.” Apollo nodded to himself. “Aw, how sweet.” He put his hand over his heart. “You would miss me.” His tone took a teasing one. “Not my legs? But my lyre?.... fair enough.”

“i’m not sure i understand why we can’t go back home.  or at least somewhere better than san francisco.”  she spoke to the other, “there are definitely better places to be stuck than this one.  i hear athens is nice this time of year.”

“Zeus, it’s Zeus, Athena. His death trapped us all further. There’s no breaking through it and I don’t know why.”

          “not sure if it’s the classiest piece BUT i’m never one to refuse a gift.” a small smile placated her lips. “plus i think it has it’s own type of charm.”

“It could be better, but it’s nice anyway.” Apollo commented from behind her then moved closer and put his arms around her before kissing her neck. “Who gave it to you?”

              “ apollo. “  in the past, she hasn’t been kind to the children born of zeus’ indiscretions.  with him gone, she’s less BITTER and less likely to be cruel on sight.  no, she’ll give them a chance.  but if they’re more zeus than sense ? hell hath no fury.   “ these humans… they say they want HELP, that they’re desperate and willing to pay, but then question my methods ?  what is that saying about gift-horses again ? “  

“Never look into the mouth of one.” Apollo just nodded. “Humans are... fickle let’s say, but they’re very handy to have on your side.”

          “ if one more person asks to see my credentials, or suggests i’m too young to have any insight on the human body, i’m going to leave this species to their own devices and take the gift of fertility elsewhere. “

“What are your credentials?” Apollo was joking of course and chucked a little. “What’s got your pants into a twist, Hera?”

He really was kind to her. More than a normal brother, but their relationship was different. “Thank you, Lo.” She smiled. “How do you like work?”

“Oh it’s fine, it fills my day so what else could do do with it? I can’t do what I once did back home after all. Plus, the arts are dwindling these days so if I can inspire even one kid, then that’s my job done.”

Was she really asking for too much? It was his house, and she was living in it. Plus, he always made sure she was fed and taken care of. “I can live, and I wouldn’t want to ruin the aesthetic of the house.” She will just have to buy ear plugs or maybe sleep over a Liz’s. Would that be a thing? 

“No, I want you to be comfortable. It’s your home too, I will look into sound proofing the walls.” A few panels of sound proofing should do the job enough to absorb him playing. “To be fair, I spend most of my day at work.”

Artemis rolled her eyes at that memory. “Far better choice now.” She smiled. “Speaking of, can you make my room sound proof? I hear the Swan a lot.” She nudged him. “And I need sleep.”

“It’s a old house, Artemis but I will look into it.” The money wasn’t the problem, it was the fact that it was an old house and he didn’t want to rip it up all over again to work on. “How about I move you into the third bedroom? It’s smaller but it’s completely sound proofed?” Apollo offered. “It was supposed to be my practice room but I thought fuck it and decided to play all over the house.”