372/Quiet Conversations

Quiet Conversations
Date of Scene:	08 March 2020
Location:	3B - Alexander's Greenwich Loft
Synopsis:	Heidi and Alexander share a heart to heart after pizza.
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Heidi Ingerdottir

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Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The late afternoon had drifted on to early evening and with her brush with Asgardian mead, Melissa ended up passing out after a good bit of time. Though much pizza was had and shared, the delicious gooey mozzarella cheese with the robust New York marinara, and those small slices of exquisite pepperoni. It had been a lovely time with the three heroes enjoying, relaxing, and relating stories. Until eventually...
    Mel was falling asleep. Alexander had smiled to Heidi and asked her to excuse him as he saw to getting her settled off down the hallway in the side bedroom. It took longer than it probably should have. Muted tones, quiet words, some girlish giggling and teasing wry comments. But all in all it took a good fifteen minutes to get her settled before Alexander was able to extricate, closing the door on the bedroom as the sounds of sleep were already coming from within.
    Back out into the living room, that now actually seemed like people lived there. With the empty boxes and glasses and the small breadstick container still out and about. The Olympian youth emerges taking a deep breath, rubbing at the back of his neck as he murmured quietly. "She's down for the night I think. I'll keep an eye on her and all."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi gives him a sheepish smile. "I do apologize, young Alexander. I had not intended for your paramour to become so intoxicated. I was returning the kindness offered to me and she was very... ambitious." She shrugs her shoulders. "I admit fault in that I was a little unaware /exactly/ how it might affect a Midgardian and I should have been more cautious."

There's a but in there. "But," she follows up. "I will say that there is no harm in things. She enjoyed herself, she is home safe and asleep, and she and I have forged friendship. I would say that's positive, is it not?" She looks over at him and it seems, for a moment, she's actually seeking his agreement. She looks... mildly worried?

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Mmm," Alexander says succinctly and she can likely tell that the last few hours he had been holding himself a touch apart. His goal had been to basically play goalie with Melissa, keep her out of trouble, and that required a bit of focus. He steps to the side and starts to pick up the boxes off the coffee table, to consolidate them. Yet then he sits down on the couch and he tilts his head.
    "Perhaps you just don't know me very well." He keeps his voice low, "When we were having that conversation before, and Mel was asking me things, about all of that." He waves a hand to the side, "I don't like to lie. Not to her especially, but generally as well."
    His jaw tightens a little, then he looks back. "I mean hey," His lips twist upwards, a small smile that touches his hazel eyes. "I do tease some, and that's not entirely true. But for serious things, yah. Even to my enemies. Just... habit in some ways. Upbringing in others."
    "So, when I told you both, how I felt about things. I wasn't lying. And that kinda sucked to be told I was. By both of you."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi watches him. When he doesn't necessarily acknowledge her explanation for the evening's events, the corner of her mouth twitches slightly. Her arms fold carefully across her chest. "Young Alexander, I am of the opinion that someone should be taken at their word until they prove themselves to be untrustworthy. If your intentions were to be honest, I apologize that they seemed more as a joke. If your feelings were harmed, I apologize for that too. It is /certainly/ not my intention to harm."

At first, she seems as if she's going to continue, but then stops. "You tread into strange territory, Alexander." She says, simply, but does not elaborate.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Nah it's," Alexander tilts his head to the side, "Hey look," His voice had started to rise a little, but then he lowers it as he looks down at his hands in front of him, "I sort of have this nature, that I don't like to indulge in. Because of who I am sort of. How I perceive the world because I am my father's son, but what is more I have the mantle that was given to me because of it. And it... can make things tough sometimes to be... decent."
    There's a small chuff from him, "I'm not making sense am I? Just it's kind of difficult. And sometimes it'll key onto something like this and it takes a good amount of effort to not let that nature get the better of me."
    His eyebrows lift as he murmurs, "Anyways."
    But then his eyes follow her as he meets her gaze as he asks, "What strange territory?"

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
The strange territory bit is blatantly ignored, Heidi moving on as if the question had never been asked. "I think I understand some of what it is that you are concerned about." A pause. "I picked up a few books from the library. To read about Greeks and their history. The 'myths'." She nods a little. "So I seem to understand what you are saying. The nature you speak of."

She gives him a comforting look. "If that is not who you wish to be, you need not be it. Because you are born into one thing, it does not mean you cannot be another. It does, however, shape you as you go along. Some things we cannot just leave behind, but we learn how to live with it as we do change." She tilts her head, her voice still low. "/She/ doesn't seem to mind your nature."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Mmm," Again there's that pause, "She hasn't seen a lot of it." Alexander looks thoughtful, gaze drifting to the bedroom then back toward Heidi. "But I was meaning that... I'm Phobos. But I wasn't always Phobos. And there was one before me. And, I think, one before that." He leans forward and pushes open one of the pizza boxes, digging out a slice and picking at the cheese with two fingers but just holding it for now.
    "And I hear them." He says calmly, frowning. "At times, though it sounds as my voice. But I can tell it is an... 'other'. And usually what is said is not a good or positive thing."
    He straightens up and then takes a bite of that cheese. Chewing for a time as if needing that momentary break to gather his thoughts. "So I wasn't mad at you. Though part of me wanted to be." His lip twists a little sardonic, though perhaps more aimed at himself. "A god of fear doesn't have friends, really. Or at least doesn't have them for long. Something happens. The Fates take a hand, or they get hurt, or they get killed. So I try to sort of not be that way."
    He uncurls a hand, "So I don't know why I'm telling you this." He half-smiles and looks to the side.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi looks back towards the bedroom, then back to Alexander. "She hasn't seen a lot of it? But it seems as if the two of you are quite close." Perhaps she had misconstrued what the relationship between them was actually like. "While I cannot help you with what you struggle with, I see that there is a struggle there and I would offer to you whatever aid I am able."

She takes a moment to listen to his words. "I will only accept your anger if it is an honest one, Alexander." There's a wry smile before she continues. "I could be hurt, certainly, but I have never been killed... and I've seen a a great many battles. I suppose it only seems a few years to me, but compared to a Midgardian life, I have been at this for a very long time. Do not fear for that, Alexander. Perhaps you have lost friends before, but they were not Heidi, daughter of Inger."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    A small heh slips from him, but then he nods. "Okay," There's a pause as he looks a bit to the side then nods to her, "Okay." Then there's a hint of that youth that returns as he says, "Anyways... that was pretty much it." He straightens up and takes an actual bite of the pizza, then gives a nod toward her. "Take some of the pizza home with you if you want, it's sometimes even better the next day."
    He starts to consolidate the boxes and the leftovers, cardboard scraping and sliding as he moves them around, shifting pieces from one to the other.
    Then he draws up a little short and tilts his head, "But... what did you mean by strange territory?" For some reason that curiousity remains.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"Taking some of the pizza would be nice, but I shall leave it for the two of you. Now that I know /what/ it is, I can find more. Vast quantities of pizza. I can see why it is a staple of Midgarian cuisine," Heidi smiles at the suggestion, though the smile turns /just/ slightly odd as soon as he brings up that comment again.

"Ah, just that your prior comments were... personal?" She looks around the apartment again. "I meant nothing by it. Do not worry about it, young Alexander."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Take as much as you like," The youth takes a gander around to make sure there's enough to fill one box at least, but then the latter part of her words register with him and he stops for an instant.
    "How do you mean?" He asks as he tilts his head to the side, but finishes prepping out a carry out box. Alexander sits up and then sets it down on the coffee table, near to her and then cants his head the other way like a curious canine with some hint of what's going on, but definitely not the whole picture.
    "When I said the things about me, and Mel, and you?"

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi is fond of literature. She writes poetry and has for years, so there's a grasp of language she has. It doesn't /always/ slip into typing, but she can wield her words just as easily as she can a sword. The pizza comment is mostly shrugged off, added as an answer not to be rude. "I'll get several boxes later, perhaps."

But what she's most concerned about is the careful navigation of a topic she's not sure she wants to concern herself with. "Yes, what you said before," she doesn't elaborate on precisely which bit. "I have not been to Midgard much. This is, so far, the longest amount of time I've spent here. So I cannot say I know a lot of how time is spent down here, but I know that you and your paramour have not lived as long as I have." She pauses, her words carefully measured. "Your lives are like a flicker of flame on a candle, slowly growing brighter and hotter. A faint heartbeat growing within the sands of time." She may have been thinking about this a bit. "I understand the intent of your words. I just do not feel you undestand the ground in which you walk on."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "That," Alexander uncurls a hand to the side, "Is entirely possible." He opens his hands a little. "I mean, yes I like you, you're attractive, and kind, and you're passingly decent in a fight." His lips twist a little, perhaps mood returning a little as evidenced by him teasing her again. "But I really value Melissa and how she makes me feel. It's rare for me to connect with someone. To actually sort of care."
    Then he pauses and murmurs, "Which I know is a horrible thing to say, but it's true. And I know that I might have a skewed way of viewing things. Since my family has..." He looks to the side and murmurs, "Some old attitudes about things." Very old.
    "But yah, anyways, you're probably right."

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
"/That/ was hardly a fight," Heidi says, bursting into peals of laughter. She controls herself after a moment, containing herself as to make sure she doesn't wake up Mel in the midst of it. "Look forward to the day you /really/ see me fight, Alexander. I do not think 'passingly decent' will be the words you write in poetry afterwards." There's an amused twinkle in her eye.

"I think the bond you and she have is beautiful. I rejoice in the sight of friends who are happy and happy with each other. You have both said the same sort of thing. She said you really 'get' her. You said it's rare to connect with someone. You've bonded together in ways both of you have never bonded with someone else. /That/ is worth focusing on."

She seems a little more distant for a moment, almost lost in thought. "It is a good bond to see. I enjoy seeing Midgard."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    There's a nod that comes from him, "Indeed, see that's the thing. I'm fine with things as they are. I get this... second guessing feeling. Like she wants me to make myself available?" He leans to the side, "And maybe that's her way of like mitigating things or expecting them to go bad."
    Alexander takes a deep breath, "Or maybe it's a test and I dunno." He crinkles his nose and waves a hand to the side, "In any case..."
    His lip curls as he murmurs, "Get outta here, you've almost eaten me out of house and home. Drinking all my drinks, eating all my pizza."
    He rolls to his feet and starts to move to the door, though not really kicking her out but perhaps getting the vibe that she's said what she needs to.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
There's a heavy sigh. "I may not know everything about relationships, Alexander, but there are some things I /do/ know. I do not know Mel terribly well, but from what I did see, while she is strong on the outside, things do hurt her. She is, perhaps, in some way insecure in her ability to keep you around," Heidi watches him carefully. "She may want to push you towards someone she thinks may make you happier because she does not think she can do it herself. Or, perhaps, she thinks that the both of you can be more fufilled in other ways on top of what you have now."

She stretches her arms out, slowly moving towards the door. Perhaps he's not kicking her out, but she won't push someone's hospitality unless /offered. "Just don't do anything stupid. You both care for each other, it is very obvious."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "You might be right," He casually herds her to the door, occasionally pausing to check to make sure she has all that she arrived with, smiling a little as he slips behind her to grab the door and hold it open for her, leaning back against the wall with arms folded. "Maybe I can call you at times when we're arguing and you can translate for me."
    That said the Olympian does take a moment to look off towards the bedroom where Mel most likely snoozes peacefully before he looks back toward her. "I don't exactly make it a habit of doing stupid things, but hey thanks for the vote of confidence." That said he'll start leeeaning on the door to close it back up behind her if she's made it that far.

Heidi Ingerdottir has posed:
Heidi chuckles. "I am fairly certain that the All-Speak does not include translating the motives behind anger, but I have seen enough to offer insight." He may have been joking about it, but she's not. She offers him a warm, genuine smile. "It's not a lack of confidence, it's a reminder that you have a good thing, young Alexander, and that it's something you should treasure." With that, she slips out the door and off to who knows where.