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[center][img]https://imgur.com/TBKD5Nu.gif[/img][/center]
[b][center][color=D87093]HEBE[/color][/center][/b]
[/h1][/sup][/color][indent][sub][COLOR=D87093][I]SOMEWHERE IN SEATTLE[/I][/COLOR][/sub][/indent][indent][sup][right][COLOR=D87093][b]MOOD: [I]NOT AGAIN[/i][/b][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][hr]

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☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆
A twilight breeze. The smell of summer
Familiar ageless lands
Tall grasses keep her safe; if only for a moment
But hiding is not easy
And shadows reach where light cannot
Hands rise up to clasp
to claw
to…
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Hebes eyes suddenly blinked open, the cold metal of the elevator reminding her of where she was. She thought she'd only shut them for a second, enough time to try and slow her racing thoughts. Yet an unimpressed figure now stood in front of her, arms crossed rigidly across his chest. It wasn’t clear how long he'd been there but she could tell that he was mere moments away from tossing her to the curb. Opening his mouth as if to chastise her, before he could utter a breath, she had cut him short. [color=D87093]"I'm so sorry!"[/color] The words escaped her lips in a strangled sob as she lurched to her feet, small frame brushing past the stiff board of a man that was the Maître d’Hôtel of L’Atelier Du Rhöne. 

Swerving past a couple of finely dressed diners, who had equal looks of perplexion etched across their faces, she darted out of the building. Ares’ words ran through her mind like bullets, one barely having passed through before the next took its place. [sub][color=D87093]Why was he here? Why now? What could he possibly want?[/color][/sub] He had turned her dreams to nightmares, and now her nightmares to life once more. Life was short for mortals and she had expected that the inevitable passing of years would be enough time to remove her from his mind. All [i]she[/i] wanted to do was forget but apparently even that was impossible. 

The weary goddess began to walk, mind so clouded with fear and worry that she barely took note of where she was headed. There was no way she could go back to her dorm, so instead she focused on putting one foot in front of the other, each step feeling like a heavy weight. She could only tell she was crying, once more, by the looks of concern that strangers by sent in her direction, unwittingly ignoring the few who reached out to ask if she was okay. How many times had she done so this week? For her brother, for herself, for something else which she wasn't quite certain of. It made her want to shed tears again when she realised how weak, how fragile she must look. It wasn't as if the other gods didn't have their struggles too but only she seemed to be unable to bear her burden. Even mortals could cope in times where she was just apt to drown in her own tears. 

Eventually, and without knowing how much time had passed, she reached a secluded park...one that looked like it had seen better days. The grasses grew tall, weeds sprouting up amongst the few isolated flowers, and a children's playground was filled with rusting, half-broken equipment. Ignorant to her grungy surroundings, Hebe took a seat on one of the swings, legs mindlessly swaying beneath her. 

[color=D87093]"Oh Virtus, I'm so sorry about all of this."[/color] Reaching towards her companion, she ran her fingers gently through the fur at the nape of her neck. Hebe couldn't help but feel a bloom of gratitude towards Mars, for asking her to take care of his beloved pet on this day. Of course he could have no idea how much she would need the canines presence, but she was thankful nonetheless. [color=D87093]"This is just between you and me okay? It's our little secret."[/color] She managed a weary smile, one which only reminded her of her aching head, as she raised a finger to press gently atop Vivis nose. [color=D87093]"Boop. Gotcha nose!"[/color] Laughing softly at the stupidity of her action, her own nose crinkled in a brief moment of delight as Virtus' tongue reached up to lap at her finger. Animals were so pure and unconditional. It was soothing to be around them and she couldn’t help but be reminded of all the hours she had spent playing with her father's eagles atop the summit of Mount Olympus.

Looking fondly down at Vivi, Hebe moved to pull her phone from her pocket — mind searching for something, anything to distract her as she slowly began to scroll through the wall of notifications. Shaky fingers passed over an image from the Snapchat group she’d been added to, a light giggle escaping her lips at the picture of Hermes' face, which was barely visible behind the two floof balls that were currently sat atop it. [sub][color=D87093]Always so silly Hermy.[/color][/sub] Brushing a stray tear away from her cheek, she swiped until she landed on a familiar conversation. Coco. Part of her wanted to ask for her help and, cautiously, she began to type. [I]'Something happened...can we talk...i don’t know what to do.'[/i] Again and again she tried to will herself to send something but her trembling hands daren’t commit. Coco was also struggling in the aftermath of the conclave and it would be unfair to expect her to help with this too. Deleting her last few words, she wrote a new message, one which she felt much happier sending.

[quote][b]BFF[/b] 👩‍❤️‍👩 
GL with your shoot! You’ll be awesome! 🥰😘 luv u xxx[/quote]

It wasn’t a lot but it was better than nothing...

As the message sent, Hebe suddenly became aware of a presence behind her. She'd been too engrossed in her own thoughts to hear the rhythmical beat of footfalls and so, when she turned her head, a scream threatened to slip from her lips. Clasping a hand over her mouth, her heart began to race as she focused on the shock of blonde hair in front of her.

"Are you okay miss?" His voice slurred slightly as he spoke, the overtones of cheap booze evident in his speech patterns. The guy looked like he was probably homeless, one of the down & out struggling in Seattle’s hidden world. Raggedy oversized clothes hung off his body and he clutched a half empty cider bottle in his hand. Thankfully, it was also clear that he was definitely [i]not[/i] Kyle, which was what instinct had first threatened to tell her and this was at least soothing enough to allow her to clamber to her feet. Managing a small nod as she began to back away fron the stranger, Hebe kept her eyes fixed on his precariously wobbly form. Despite his intoxicated state, he seemed nice enough, simply enquiring as to her wellbeing...but she was wary nowadays. Her mind would only tell her that if you could be betrayed by someone close to you...then what could a stranger do? 

"Are you sure?" His voice was a nearly incoherent mumble as he reached a shaky hand towards her, prompting a small growl from Virtus.

[color=D87093]"Yes, t-thank you-"[/color] Her own words came out in a stutter as she took off again, not daring to look back until she had turned onto a busy street. The hustle and bustle of everyday people going about their business was comforting and she eventually slowed down to a steady pace. Looking around, she realised she had no idea where she was. Surely it couldn't be any unreasonable distance from the restaurant but still, she felt a sudden desire to rush home, to be away from this place. Well, not home. But at least she could drop Virtus off and then figure things out from there. She hoped so anyway... 

[right][sub][b]Mentions:[/b] [color=#ED1C24]Ares[/color] [@Legion02], [color=#A62A2A]Mars[/color] [@Gothelk] [color=#B2617F]Coco[/color][@KZOMBI3][/sub][/right]