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Hestia followed his gaze around the room, returning it calmly back to the fire in front of her when she realized that he wasn’t actually looking for anything in particularly, merely taking time to formulate an answer to her question.

She scooted over a little bit, so he could sit down next to her if he wished to, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.  “Must you always be such a wise ass?”  Her eyes twinkled fondly, and she shrugged up a shoulder in response to him directing the question back at her.  “I suppose I could say the same.  Atmosphere, mostly.  Families come to small, cozy cafes and coffee shops such as this.”  She liked the people watching, in all honesty.  And it felt homey - in fact, some coffee shops were almost home to some people.  Students, mostly, who spent eight or more hours a day there, utilizing the internet connection and taking advantage of the endless coffee supply.  

“What are you up to, these days?”

What brought him here, of all places? 

The moment she turned around to look at him, he looked around the place, feigning confusion, eyes wide before he returned from looking at the low ceilings back to her. 

Honestly, this was more his scene than it was hers, so shouldn’t he be the surprised one? Really the only gods he’d been seeing frequently around these parts were Poseidon and the ever gloomy god of the Underworld. 

“Mm…coffee?” he offered, wiggling around the half full cup in his hands before getting up from the table he’d been occupying over to the fire place.

 “Atmosphere? No- the company,” he finished with a teasing grin. “Your turn.”

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Hestia had frowned as she noted that the fireplace in the middle of the cafe was burning out - which was admittedly quite unusual, as she was sure most of the fireplaces of this century were lit by gas.  She tried to look around for someone who worked there, but they all seemed incredibly busy, so she decided to take it upon herself to keep the fire going.  All it needed was another log and a bit of attention, and it’d keep burning on as usual.  After she was content that it wouldn’t immediately burn out, Hestia looked up, and did a double take.

“What brings you here, of all places?”

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Hestia chuckled at the exuberance that Hermes emitted.  Even when she was merely sitting - mostly - still, there was an exuberant, albeit mischievous air about her, and Hestia couldn’t help but be extremely fond about it.  Of course she’d helped the mortals rob the bank.  Laughing, the Goddess shook her head in amusement.  “I’m not entirely surprised that they turned on each other.  Poor things.”  The way that money, and the need for money fed man’s greed was disheartening, but Hestia still regarded mortals with the same gentle fondness that she regarded her family.

Smiling at the passerby as they maneuvered their way around Hermes, Hestia turned her attention back to her friend, laughing along with her.  The little trickster.  “Of course you had.  Well, I’m glad that you were able to get them out of harms way.  That sounds like quite the adventure.”  To be quite honest, none of Hestia’s stories were even remotely as raucous as that.  “And what else have you been up to for the past few decades?  Robbing banks and causing mischief?”

The New World Suits You / Hermes & Hestia

Hermes beamed, diving right into a story about helping six mortals rob a bank. “They didn’t know what in Hades they were doing!” she laughed. She explained how two her thieves turned on one another the second they entered the vault and tried, poorly, to shoot each other. The bullet ricocheted of the walls and nearly killed a hostage.

She gestured her hands violently, nearly hitting a passerby. “I was laughing so hard, they didn’t even realize I had moved the hostages outside. When the police got to them, they were still wondering how they’d ended up where they were!” She leaned forward again and waited for Hestia’s reaction

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Hestia was making her way home from the nearby University - she’d taken to sitting in on architecture and interior design classes in different schools, merely for enjoyment more than anything else.  It was something productive to do with her time, and the emergence of modern architecture was quite fascinating.  While she mostly enjoyed spending her time in coffee shops and cozy cafes, Hestia couldn’t help but notice all of the families playing outside in the sunshine in the nearby park, and she found herself drawn to the park.  What she hadn’t expected was to see a familiar face sunning herself, and a fond smile pulled at the corners of Hestia’s lips.  Settling down beside Demeter, Hestia got comfortable herself, and waited until Demeter opened her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, I just can’t quite help but be drawn to a familiar face.”

there are always more springs || hestia + demeter

With her face upturned after a morning spent in a heavily air conditioned building, the lady of the harvest takes a moment to delight in the sun’s warm light. This immediately brings to mind the poor nymph that turned herself into a sunflower to follow the sun’s path through the sky. She racks her mind, trying to remember the name of the girl but it is to no avail. The years catch up with the gods too, and Demeter can hardly expect herself to remember the name of every single life that her family has touched. 

Regardless, Demeter takes a moment to remember the nameless girl. She will mourn her if no one else will.

But no. this is not the time for mourning. This is Spring, the best time of the year as far as Demeter’s concerned (Summer always races by and then her daughter is gone again, as quickly as she came). She’ll enjoy this sunlight and remember the poor sunflower girl some other time. 

Demeter opens her eyes and blinks, surprised she’s no longer alone.

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Hestia couldn’t help but grin as she looked around - Hermes wasn’t wrong.  A couple had just happened to walk in the door who were both pulling suitcases on wheels - a very clever invention in Hestia’s opinion - both chattering excitedly as they made their way to the counter.  Reverting her attention back to the excited woman in front of her, the Goddess smiled warmly.  It was quite a welcomed coincidence that they’d both ended up in the same spot, and she sat back down herself, folding the floor plans up so she could place them neatly off to the side.

“I’ve been well.”  Trying to rack her brain for anything that jumped out as particularly exciting that had happened to her over the last few decades, Hestia shrugged up a shoulder in nonchalance.  “How have you been, Hermes?  I’m sure you have plenty of exciting adventures?”

The New World Suits You / Hermes & Hestia

Hermes smiled and pulled up a chair at Hestia’s table, knowing her old friend wouldn’t really mind the company. “You’re in my domain,” she said. “Travelers are everywhere, just look around!” She leaned behind her to grab her coffee and took a long sip.

Hestia looked about the same as she had however many decades ago they’d last spoke. Hermes found that most of her family didn’t change their appearance often. Even she would find herself sticking to the same look over long stretches of time.

“How have you been?” she asked, leaning over the table. It was difficult for her to sit still, especially now that she was filled with this much excitement. She loved seeing friends regularly, but catching up after long periods of time is where all the good stories lived.

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Hestia found herself at the same cafe she’d been going to for weeks, mostly because it had such a homey feel to it, and well, with the emergence of technology she’d witnessed the rise of the public domain and the private domain essentially melding into one.  Coffee shops and cafes had almost become her niche, particularly ones that were designed to center around some sort of oven or fireplace.  She always found herself drawn right to the fire, finding it completely soothing and mesmerizing.  There was something she’d found oddly comforting about being surrounded by strangers.  Surrounded by humans.  Hestia had also become rather fascinated with the new styles of architecture, and the different styles of technology that humans were using to go about building their architecture.  Everything about this new era fascinated her, if she were being particularly honest.  And it would probably continue to fascinate her.

She’d contented herself to studying the floor plans of a galleria shopping mall that they were intending to start building a few blocks over, when she was sure that she heard someone calling her name.  A little confused, she looked up, and looked around.  If anyone ever tried to get her attention, it was with a different name than her own, often because they thought she was someone else.  But then, there it was again, and Hestia knitted her eyebrows together.  That was, of course, until a familiar face nearly dove right out of her chair to get the former’s attention, and a smile of genuine amusement pulled up at the corners of her lips as Hestia rose from her chair herself.  “Hermes.  My, how many decades has it been?  Two?  Three?”  Not that time really bore any significance, especially not such a short time as a few decades.  Not when you were immortal, but still, Hestia always welcomed the familiar face and the chance to catch up with an old friend.  “What is it that you’re doing in this particular cafe, of all places?”

The New World Suits You / Hermes & Hestia

Hermes had slowly but surely become obsessed with planes. Twin-engine, cargo, or jet, it didn’t matter. In the long tradition of innovations that excited her, this was one of the biggies. It was fast and efficient, plus she liked screwing with little kids as she skated through the air next to commercial planes. Sometimes she’d reenact the William Shatner Twilight Zone episode just for a bit of fun.

Airports were also a favorite of hers, but she found it was much the same as a train station or large intersection. She’d watch travelers from all over bustle about, admire her people with bright eyes and a bit of mischief. Occasionally Aphrodite would come with her, and the two would misplace luggage and create otherwise unlikely relationships.

Now she sits at a (admittedly crappy) cafe, people watching and eavesdropping on any conversation she’s within distance to hear. That’s when she saw Hestia. She nearly dove out of her chair to get her attention. “Hestia! Hes-TIA!” she shouted.

[hearth-andhestia-blog]