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[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

Who: Ligea & Persephone
What: A former handmaiden hangs out with a grumpy Persephone
When: Tuesday afternoon
Where: Coffeeshop because it's 5 a.m. and I'm uncreative


Ligea was settling into her Aunt Urania's place rather well. The couple who lived upstairs was lovely, and their twins were aborable. Things were going pretty well for her, apart from apparently arguing online with mermaids. But fie on mermaids anyway.

Today she didn't have much to do, and she wasn't going to demand all of her aunt's attention be on her all day. So she headed out for a walk, determined to enjoy the fall weather before it turned bitterly cold. It was nice, the wind lifting her coppery hair and making the leaves dance across the sidewalk. As she passedba cafe, the scent wafting from the slightly ajar door made her stomach rumble, so she headed inside and ordered a pumpkin latte and a turkey panini, because why in Hades not? She took a seat underneath a heating vent, being thought of as a mermaid so long had thinned her blood, she was sure of it. She hated to be cold. But the coffee and hot food would help, she was sure of it.

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[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

Persephone was inside for much the same reason. She wanted to snack on cakes and drink coffee and ignore the fact that soon she would have to go with Hades. Sure she was determined not to be afraid this year, but the awareness that she could never be like a normal woman still got to her.

She looked up when she felt the familiar tingling of another immortal and she recognised the woman immediately. One of her handmaidens! Picking up her lime and coconut cake, she immediately relocated. "Ligea!" she said cheerfully. "It's Persephone!"

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

Ligea looked up and smiled brightly. "Lady Persephone, hello!" she said, gesturing to the opposite chair. "I haven't seen you for ages, how are you? Are your daughters well?"

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

Persephone set her cake down, pleased to see one of her own. "They are, or were when I saw them last. I see them less in the spring and summer. How have you been?"

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

Ligea nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry, that must be hard. But as for myself, I'm doing well. My mother is here, and six of my aunts, and I have a new niece I still need to meet. But I'm town to make connections with my agent and some executives. So things are pretty good, though I'm not too thrilled with these chilly winds starting to come in."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

"They are cold," Persephone agreed with a sigh. "That all sounds nice. I only have a month left with my mother and then it's to Hades' house I go."

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

Ligea nodded. Having spent time with Persephone, she knew how much she liked being in the world Above. She remembered searching the entire world and not finding a trace, only hearing about her fate after the fact. She had only been to the Underworld once, but that was enough. She wasn't too keen to go back.

"At least the world is beautiful right now," she said brightly. "The leaves will change and color the world, sometimes it looks like the trees are aflame. And you still have another month with your mother, that's nice, right?"

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

"It is," she said, letting Ligea cheer her. "I have a month and it's a beautiful month." Persephone stared down at her cake. "I am just not looking forward to this winter."

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

"Well, if you like, you're welcome to come and visit me during the winter," Ligea offered. "Hopefully I'll be out of Aunt Urania's hair and in my own place by then. If you wanted to get out of the house, I mean. Your daughters would be welcome to come too."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

"That would be really nice," Persephone admitted. "For all of us. It's nicer than it used to be because I am not stuck in the Underworld the whole time. I just wish...sometimes I wish I could have a real relationship."

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

"Then by all means," Ligea said. "But that's probably about as helpful as I can be, I'm not so great with the relationship advice. When you're a virgin handmaiden and then half-bird...it kind of limits you a little. But whatever. And from what I've seen on the journal things, Hades seems very fond of you. Perhaps there's hope."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

Persephone chuckled as Ligea explained she wasn't going to be able to help much. "You have a point," she said with a half-smile on her face. "Hades is very fond of me. And I told him to sweep me off my feet so...hopefully I won't feel so bad. To be honest, I think giving me a place to get out to is actually very helpful."

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

Ligea grinned a tiny bit. "Once in a while I manage a good one," she said.

The idea of stony-looking Hades sweeping her former mistress off her feet was definitely not something she'd ever considered before, but he could probably make it work. "Well you're both trying, and that's the important thing, right?" she asked after a moment. "But if you ever need to come by, just call me, my schedule is usually very flexible."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

"I will," Persephone said with a nod. "And yes, trying is the important thing." In a bid to change the subject she said, "so you mentioned your agent. What do you want to do with them?"

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

Ligea sat back and drained the last of her latte, rubbing at her eyes. "I don't especially want to do anything with her, but she and my lawyer and I are having our quarterly fight with the record label over the terms of my contract. No one's ever happy with it, we always have to keep revising it." She sighed, pushing the last of her sandwich around on her plate. "It's a damn good thing I love singing as much as I do, or I would've washed my hands of this nonsense long ago."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

Persephone didn't know anything about the entertainment industry but it did sound like a headache. "It doesn't sound very nice. You always did sound so beautiful though." She smiled at the memory.

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

"It is indeed a headache, and if tomorrow goes as badly as I think it will, I think I can safely upgrade it to 'pain in the ass'," she muttered, suddenly wishing she had a very large drink. "But it's necessary, I suppose." She hissed out a breath between her clenched teeth.

She smiled then. "Thank you," she said brightly. "I always did love to sing, just for the joy of it. I figured I may as well make a living doing what I'm best at. Although there's a lot less drowning involved this time."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

"Well if it's a pain in the ass we should go out afterwards," Persephone offered.

"And you're welcome. I think it's great to make a living from it. Especially with less drowning."

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

Ligea smiled. "Yes, we should, I'd like that. You can talk me down from killing a few idiot VPs."

"Yeah...they tend to frown upon that," she said with a rueful grin. "But I do actually love performing, so it mostly evens out in the end."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

"Evening out is good," Persephone nodded. "As is going out for drinks. Where are you staying, did you say?"

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

"Yes, drinks and a fun evening," Ligea agreed. "And right now, I'm staying with my Aunt Urania in DUMBO. Hopefully not for too long, though, I don't want to impose on her hospitality longer than I have to."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

"I'm sure she doesn't mind," Persephone said kindly. "Though you are always welcome with me as well. I live with my mother though."

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

"I suppose not, I just don't like to feel like I'm overstaying my welcome," she said. "But I certainly wouldn't mind staying with your mother, but only if you're certain she wouldn't mind. The last time I saw her...,". She trailed off, thinking. "The last time I saw her, she'd given me wings to search for you. I can't imagine she remembers me all that well."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

Persephone smiled a little sadly at that. "My mother won't mind if I tell her it would make me happy. You are certainly welcome. I am sure that you should be able to find a place soon but until then you have two places to consider home."

[clear-toned.insanejournal.com]

Ligea popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth. "If you'd like the company in this next month, then I would love to stay with you," she said. "We could catch up and watch the colors come out on the trees."

[persephoneie.insanejournal.com]

Finally Persephone's face split into a grin. "I would love the company," she said, heart-felt. "Thank you."