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[gardhouse.insanejournal.com]

WHO: Lyra & The Fates
WHEN: Friday mid-morning
WHERE: The Fates' shop
WHAT: Meeting more of the family.

The Fates had been kind enough to send Lyra a package of tea and an offer to come meet them at their shop which - Lyra had to admit - was a little bit daunting. The Fates. In Greece Lyra had grown up in a household where their mention was rather common. In fact, Lyra couldn't remember even one instance of 'thank god!' coming from her mother's lips. It had always been 'thank the Fates' for anything. ("I thought you must have managed to kill yourself with all that yelling, so thank Fates for that." - this upon young Lyra's excited squealing over winning a raffle prize.)

For Lyra, it felt a bit like she might be going to meet someone famous, or more like going to meet some distant relative often spoken about.

Lyra really hoped they liked her since she was dating their brother. (Strange thought of the day, that was. Almost sister-in-law to the Moirae.) The bell on the shop rang brightly as she stepped inside and casually started looking around as though she were any other customer, not sure how to start any conversations here.

With the weather warming up, the Fates had seen an upswing in customers coming into the shop, and that was something they always enjoyed. Provided Atropos' looming in various places didn't scare them off. Even before the installation of Nyx's security system, people seemed to know that stealing from A Thread In Time was not a good idea.

Currently, however, Lachesis and Atropos were behind the counter, bickering over what to order for their next shipment. Atropos wanted more of the classics, whereas Lachesis thought stocking a few more bestsellers might attract some more customers.

"Yes, and then we can get a big green sign and rename ourselves Barnes & Noble," Atropos said derisively.

Lachesis threw a pen at her sister. "That will not happen, and you know it. I just think it couldn't hurt to try to appeal to a broader base of clientele. Not everyone reads Faust and Vonnegut. Stephen King and James Patterson are best-selling for a reason. We don't have to get their entire catalogs, just a few of the more popular titles. Like The Shining." Her head jerked up as the bell tinkled. "Or we could ask some of the visitors. Miss, would you mind settling something for us?"

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[info]gardhouse
2012-03-30 11:22 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
Lyra approached with a shy smile and said, "sure." She tried to subtly take in everything about the women, wondering if they were two of the Fates.

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[info]relentless_fate
2012-03-30 11:33 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
Lachesis smiled at her encouragingly. "Don't mind my sister, her bark is worse than her bite." Atropos snorted and made a 'harrumph'-ing noise in the back of her throat. "So you say," she muttered, but she straightened up and smiled too when Lachesis started hissing at her in Greek to behave.

"Given the choice," Lachesis began. "What sorts of titles would you prefer to see in a store? We're independent, so the choice is largely ours, but as you probably heard, my sister and I are in a disagreement as to what sorts of titles. She thinks stocking more best sellers is 'selling out', so to speak."

"It is!" Atropos burst out. "That's why we're not a franchise! We're not funding the man!"

"By the gods, Atropos, who, exactly, is 'the man'?" Lachesis asked, exasperated.

"Publishing companies! Over-paid authors and agents! Advertising firms!" Atropos shot back.

Lachesis threw up her hands. "Sometimes, I swear, you drive me to drink," she muttered darkly in Greek. "Fine," she said in English. "Fine. We'll ask Clotho. She can be the tie breaker. See if she'll come downstairs."

"Fine," Atropos said, sweeping off to their apartment.

Lachesis rested her head on the counter for a moment, before looking back at Lyra. "I am sorry about that," she said softly. "I love my sister, but no one knows quite exactly how to needle you like family."

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[info]gardhouse
2012-03-30 11:43 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
Lyra didn't know if these people could possibly be the Fates but then she muttered in Greek and said Clotho and Atropos so it all quickly became clear. She wanted to be clever and impressive and reply to the one left behind in Greek, but her memory of the language was never the greatest and on the stop she couldn't think of how to say any of the things she wanted.

So instead Lyra admitted, "I'm not actually here as a customer..."

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[info]relentless_fate
2012-03-30 11:52 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
Lachesis cleared her order forms away, listening to Atropos stomp around and Clotho try to soothe her sister's ire. When Atropos was in a proper rage, she could take a long time to come down from it. But if anyone could do it, Clotho could. She could hear the voices moving closer to the stairs, though, so that was something. They'd most likely be down in a moment.

The girl's next statement, however, made her tilt her head curiously. "No? Well, then, how can I help you?"

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[info]gardhouse
2012-03-31 01:05 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
"Uh," she said, tucking a curl behind her ear. "I'm Lyra, Thanatos' girlfriend? I wanted to... say hi."

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[info]relentless_fate
2012-03-31 01:15 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
It took Lachesis a moment to place the name, but once it clicked, she broke out into a broad smile. "Lyra! Yes, of course. So nice to finally meet you. Hypnos tells us good things. I was so sorry to hear Eros had you in his sights last month, he tends to shoot indiscriminately sometimes. Half the pantheon wants his head at any given time, I think. I'm Lachesis, and you've already met Hurricane Atropos. Why don't we go upstairs and have some tea?" She went over to the front door, switching the sign to closed. "The beauty of owning your own shop," she said, winking at Lyra.

She beckoned the girl toward the stairs, but was brought up short by Clotho, who looked ten kinds of frazzled. "What in Hades did you say to get her so riled up?!" she hissed, eyes wide. "She's liable to start breaking china next."

"Not when we have company, she's not," Lachesis said firmly, marching up the stairs. "Lyra has come for a visit, and we are going to behave like civilized goddesses, even if that means I have to truss her up and gag her."

Clotho stared for a moment before waving at Lyra. "Hi! I'm Clotho. Sorry you had to walk into this, Lyra, usually Atropos is better behaved than this. Come on up, Lachesis made scones this morning, I'll put the tea on." There was a crash from upstairs, followed by two voices shouting in Greek. Clotho walked up a few steps, sticking her head into the apartment and calling, "Do the two of you want to make the Loom go crazy? It just got back to normal after the latest fiasco." The shouting died down a bit after that.

"And I'm supposed to be the Maiden," she said, with a laugh that was one or two shades away from hysterical.

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[info]gardhouse
2012-04-01 06:52 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
"It's okay," Lyra said with a duck of her head. "Although I'm feeling like one of Eros' favourite subjects this year, which isn't really fun."

She followed Lachesis upstairs, trying to keep her curiosity in check about every single thing around her. She wanted to see how the Fates lived and expected it to be magical, but it seemed sort of like a normal house to Lyra.

Lyra felt like she'd been thrown in the deep end here with these three and stood a little awkwardly at the side of the room while Clotho moved about. "Is it always like this?" she asked her.

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[info]relentless_fate
2012-04-01 07:19 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
"We felt the sting of his arrows last year, so we certainly agree with you there," Clotho said with a nod, pulling down mugs and setting up a tea tray. "We have to balance the knowledge that this is actually his purpose, with our annoyance. And it's not easy for some, they don't like having their emotions toyed with. Or the emotions of those they care about." She smiled at Lyra. "He must really care for you to try and enlist his siblings in his revenge. This is the first time we've seen him be less than impartial in...well, forever." Lachesis nodded from where she was watching Atropos warily.

"Stop staring at me like I'm going to set you on fire," Atropos said tersely.

"With you, I'm not so sure you won't," Lachesis said wryly, one eyebrow raised. "Can you at least keep a civil tongue while Lyra is here?"

Atropos looked over at Lyra, seeming to really notice her for the first time. "I'm not a complete heathen," she muttered. "Hospitality is important. Please accept my apology, Ms. Lyra. I'm sorry you had to walk into this."

"To answer your question, yes," Clotho said dryly. "They'll fight all day today, and then tomorrow it'll be like it never happened. We're strange and sometimes frightening to those who don't know us well. They think we're out to do nothing but steer their lives. Which we sort of are, to a point. We cannot interfere with the course of someone's life, and of course free will has to play a part. So a choice you make can alter your course, and everything branches out from there."

"Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey," Atropos said with a smile, and the corners of Lachesis' mouth seemed to turn up in spite of themselves. She pulled a batch of her scones from the oven and put them on a plate with some jam. "Sit down everyone, sit down. Tea sounds like just what the doctor ordered, don't you think?"

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[info]gardhouse
2012-04-01 08:03 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
"I asked him not to," Lyra explained, wringing her hands a little. "I was worried that he was going to start some giant war thing and then it would be all my fault and maybe then other Gods would show up on my doorstep and his mom is Aphrodite and while I'm sure she's lovely and I'd never speak ill of an Olympian I don't think she'd like me much if my boyfriend got her son all kills, so I didn't want any of that, and Thanatos said if I didn't want him to do anything then he wouldn't, which was really sweet. Although maybe 'sweet' isn't exactly the word I'm looking for when it comes to-" she shut her mouth and then looked apologetically around the room at them. "I talk a lot. I'm sorry." (The hoodie Lyra was wearing was a near-neon orange with yellow hearts but she still considered if hiding under the hood might make her invisible right then.)

She tried to sit down and look as grown up as possible. "Tea would be lovely," she said, just glad that when she blushed it was hard to tell.

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[info]relentless_fate
2012-04-02 06:48 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
"If he had actually tried to go through with it, we would have stopped him," Atropos reassured her. "We are all about maintaining the balance of our world, and if that had actually taken place, there would have probably been a war, of sorts."

"Only a little one," Cloth said, trying for humor. "Honestly, not a day goes by when someone isn't fighting with someone else in our pantheon. It's par for the course, I think."

"Physically, Aphrodite is, of course, quite lovely," Atropos went on. "But she's prone to fits of jealousy and temper, and doesn't take kindly to being crossed."

"Do any of the Olympians?" Clotho asked dryly.

"Fair point."

Lachesis cut smoothly between the two of them. "It sounds like he cares for you a great deal," she said. "Thanatos is called gentle death, as I'm sure you know, perhaps that is why. We have known him for millenia, and it makes us happy to see him happy. And you may talk as much as you wish. As I'm sure you've noticed, the three of us can go on and on given the opportunity."

Clotho poured them each a cup of tea, handing Lyra hers first, then distributing them amongst her sisters. "Sugar?" she asked Lyra, taking the lid off the bowl.

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[info]gardhouse
2012-04-02 10:10 am UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
Maybe there was some girl somewhere who thought the idea of her boyfriend starting a war for her was romantic, but Lyra was most certainly not that girl. Thanatos starting a god war on her behalf was terrifying and she was glad it hadn't gone that far.

"I know all about Aphrodite's temper," Lyra said with a quick nod and slight widening of her eyes. "I was raised in Greece and my parents were followers of the old gods - uh, not old, I mean, you. My parents believed in the Greek Gods is what I mean, so they raised me like that as well. I didn't really have as much faith as they did though, it was sort of their thing and they died when I was young anyway so all this is still crazy to me. I don't know if they actually knew the gods existed - maybe they did and they'd met some of you there or something, I don't know. Um," Lyra said, frowning as she tried to remember where she'd been going with this. "I'm trying to stay under the radar of the Olympians. I'm just happy to be with Thanatos. I really love him a lot and he gets me, which... some people don't so much."

She cleared her throat a little and smiled at him, before nodding her head to the offer of sugar and saying, "two, please."

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[info]relentless_fate
2012-04-02 12:16 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
"She pales next to Hera," Clotho said darkly. "That woman could have probably made Genghis Khan turn tail and run away. Ares & Zeus are right up there too."

"We've been living it for centuries, so believe us when we tell you that crazy is really a way of life when gods are involved," Atropos added. "By all rights, we probably shouldn't be around. Some aren't anymore. The ones who are still here are both lucky and weak. And sometimes they forget that this isn't Greece anymore, and we aren't all-powerful."

"Perhaps your parents did meet one us once upon a time," Lachesis said thoughtfully. "The possibility is less outlandish than most might imagine."

"Staying under Olympian radar is the best way to go," Clotho agreed. "Usually, unless you piss them off somehow, they'll ignore your existence unless they want something from you. And you're under Thanatos' protection, which can only help." She picked up the silver tongs and dropped two sugar cubes into Lyra's tea and handed her a spoon.

"So tell us," Lachesis said after a moment. "What do you do, Lyra? Are you working, or are you still a student?"

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[info]gardhouse
2012-04-02 12:47 pm UTC (link) DeleteFreezeScreenTrack This Select
Lyra made a little smile at the mention of being under Thanatos' protection. In some ways it sounded a bit gross and medieval to her, but in this sort of world it was a good thing to have.

"I'm still at school," she told them, stirring her tea. "I'm studying to be a forensic pathologist, but I've only just started so it's going to take a long time. I was going to be a mortician but it wasn't fitting right. Thanatos helped me go visit a body farm in Tennessee, which is this big farm-place where they leave bodies to rot in different environments to understand putrefaction and it's-" Lyra realised she had a big grin on her face and toned it down a litte. "...not really something one talks about over tea but I sort of forget that. Um, I have no corpse filter, sorry. I hang around with medical students and the god of death all day."