Dite's Decadent Delights, Tuesday Afternoon

[trigons_child]

Raven was running a little late (which she totally blamed on being distracted by being emo about a boy) when the time came to head to work, so she teleported herself to the store instead of walking, which could be why certain people in the back room didn't hear her come in.

She flipped the sign to "Open," scritched Hercules, and tried to remember where she'd tucked away the book she'd been reading. Purely for research, of course.


[Minor OCD on the way is up!]

Comments

And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

For them who know who they are.

Re: And Moments Later....

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

It wasn't entirely clear whether they would have heard her come in anyway. They were otherwise... engaged.

But not too long after Raven's arrival, the door to the storage room opened and Max (who was, fortunately, wearing pants) walked out backwards with his shirt in one hand. The reason for this became apparent once one realized that he was pausing in that doorway to lean into a very impressive kiss which he was sharing with a certain goddess of love.

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

Raven had found her book and was researching when she heard the door. She glanced toward the storage room, thinking perhaps it was Lady Aphrodite, or that Hercules had somehow pushed opened the door. She was not expecting half-naked Max. Or any sort of Max smooching Aphrodite.

She'd become better at compartmentalizing what had happened in the Other Fandom and separating vampire!Max from this Max, but then again he wasn't half-naked! when she was training with him. Flailing gears began to engage. And while the atmosphere of the store was always charged with feelings of...affection, she shielded herself and blocked it out normally. Normal, however, did not cover Max and the Goddess of Love and tongues down throats and that was Raven getting quite a jolt of emotion and flailing and falling off the stool she'd been perched upon.

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

The noise of Raven falling off the chair startled Aphrodite, and she pulled away from the kiss in surprise. Looking past Max she spotted the girl on the floor and stepped around her guest.

"Raven? Are you alright?"

She was mildly embarrassed at having forgotten the time, and that Raven would be in the store today. But maybe this would be a learning experience for the girl. Raven had been asking questions lately.

Re: And Moments Later....

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

Max turned at almost the exact same moment the goddess did. Which led to him staring.

The first response to run through his head ("would you care to join us?") he was going to write off to his proximity to the goddess of love. But he couldn't come up with a decent second response because... well... he didn't have enough details about what had happened to Raven to know how this would affect her.

So he just smiled mildly and decided that he'd let Aphrodite take point on this one.

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

Well, at least Max knew her name now if he was paying attention.

"I am all right," Raven said, getting to her feet and righting the stool and averting her eyes as much as she could. Her cheeks were a delightful shade of red. "I was merely surprised."

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

"Are you sure?" The way Raven was avoiding looking at them made Aphrodite doubt her words, but since she couldn't ask more without embarrassing her employee, she changed tactics. "Okay."

Turning to Max she said, "This is Raven, my employee. She works the shop on Tuesdays. Max, Raven. Raven, Max."

Aphrodite, awkward. Hello!

Re: And Moments Later....

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

"Raven," Max inclined his head slightly, not even realizing that this was the first time he'd said her name. "It's good to see you again."

...

This was going to make Thursday's session very, very awkward, wasn't it? Especially since Raven's pale skin made the flushed look more than a little bit alluring.

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

Stop that, she could sense that! Which just made her blush all the more. And wonder just how much did it suck that she only picked up on those kind of feelings from someone who was a teacher and looked like the vampire who horribly traumatized her to boot? So. Not. Fair.

Whoa, train of thought getting derailed.

"I am acquainted with Professor Maximus," she said faintly. "He has been helping me experiment with my gifts" -- not that kind of experimentation! -- "and heal some of the damage that was done to me in the Other Fandom."

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that's great, you two know each other! Wait. Professor Maximus? You never told me you worked up at the school."

If they knew each other, then why was Raven still staring at the floor like that?

And gifts?

"You have gifts?" That was to Max. She knew of Raven's abilities. "You're a healer as well?"

Re: And Moments Later....

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

"I have numerous gifts," Max couldn't help but saying with a slight leer. "But among them is something similar to Raven's empathic ones. But I have more experience than she does, so we've been probing her abilities together."

"And I do have some healing gifts," he admitted. "But... I'm not very subtle with them."

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

Raven would prefer it if Max did not used the word "probe" when referring to her. She would also prefer it if Max put on his shirt because OK, she had happily stared at a shirtless Tim Riggins, but he was a boy and Max was...not.

(She may have sneaked a peek or two and then looked away and tried hard not to flail because the conflicting emotions were freaking her out.)

"I am sorry," she managed to stammer. "I did not realize anyone was in the back room" -- or what they were doing but now she couldn't help but think of it -- "and you surprised me when you came out."

She also oh-so-subtly tried to kick the copy of Bound By Honor: An Erotic Novel of Maid Marian under the counter so they wouldn't know what she'd been reading. Researching.

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

After Max left, Aphrodite took a moment to close the door and inhale deeply before turning back and approaching Raven at the counter.

"I'mmmmm . . . really sorry about that. I should have totally been more aware of the time. Really sorry, Raven."


(ooc: If you want this in a different thread, let me know.)

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

"It is your store," Raven said, a little more composed now that Max and his half-nakedness was gone. "I apologize for interrupting you."

[is fine! :) ]

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

"Well, yeah, but it's your workplace, and you shouldn't have to deal with stuff like that. Won't happen again."

Next time she'd just zap them to the hotel.

Aphrodite leaned on the desk, her hands playing with one of the toys she kept to amuse Hercules. "So, Max is working with you. Is he a good teacher?"

It wasn't what she wanted to ask, but maybe if she went the long way she'd have better luck.

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

"He has much more control over his abilities than I do," Raven said. "He has been helping me to learn the differences between similar emotions by projecting them at me."

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

Max could project? This was news to her, but she only raised an eyebrow for a moment before nodding. "I suppose if you've never felt emotion before it would be hard to figure out which is which." Aphrodite rested her chin on her hand. "How similar are his powers to yours?"

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

"He can manipulate the elements as well," Raven said. She'd seen him do it to the earth, and the mists in the Other Fandom. "That is a skill I do not possess. And his empathic abilities are more...forceful than mine."

That was one way of putting it.

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

Forceful?

Again she heard in her mind Raven's words about the Other Fandom, and then Max's whispered statement that Raven had met another version of him. She had to wonderful if that Max had been forceful.

Or if this Max was as harmless as she had seen him until now.

"Raven . . . does he make you uncomfortable? Scare you?"

She really didn't want to ask, but felt it was necessary.

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

Raven found the floor fascinating.

"When I first met him here, he frightened me," Raven said quietly, "because I thought he was the vampire I met in the Other Fandom and had come to reclaim me. But I realized he not the same and that he felt truly guilty about what his other self had done to me. It did take me some time to gather my courage and seek out his help, however, because even though I know they are not one and the same, I cannot make the memories go away."

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

Now she knew what Max had meant. With a sigh, Aphrodite stared at the counter under her arm. She'd prepared for normal adolescent drama, what ever that meant, but this was so beyond that she might as well have been reading Peanuts instead of textbooks.

Still. This was Aphrodite. She found the words and hoped they were the right ones. "I can't say that I understand. I mean, intellectually I might have a chance, but emotionally I can't even come close." She shook her head. "I know how scared I was when you and Dinah collapsed, and how frightened everyone around town was when others began dropping, and no one could wake them. But having heard just a few stories of what happened? I'm amazed that all of you came back sane."

Taking a breath, she slowly reached over, giving Raven time to pull away her hand if she needed to. "I just want you to know that I'm very proud of you. I'm amazed at your strength. And I'm so pleased to call you my friend."

Re: And Moments Later....

[trigons_child]

Raven did not draw away, but she was feeling touched and awed that a goddess was telling her these things. "Thank you," she said, looking up at Aphrodite. "It has been difficult," she admitted, "and afterward I was afraid to allow myself to continue learning emotions because of what happened to me there. But I have tried to put it behind me as best as I can. I cannot allow pain to rule my life. Pain is and always will be my enemy."

Re: And Moments Later....

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

"I understand that. For a healer, that makes sense." She bit her lip. "Raven. . . Max said, as he left, that you . . . that it might help you if you could talk . . . about what happened. What the other Max," Aphrodite really hated saying that, "did to you. And I think he's right."

She straightened, keeping her hands still and her eyes on Raven. "What I've learned, and not from any books or studying, is that the more you talk about a memory, the less power it has over you. The more you share it, the more you take it out and examine it, the less it can frighten you." She knew this from experience, having lived a certain night over and over, watching her sister Athena bleed from a mortal's strike. It had haunted her more than that warrior had ever guessed.

"So, I want to encourage you to do that. Talk about it. I'm available to listen if you want, and if there's someone else you'd rather talk to, a teacher, a friend -- that's fine. But, please. Don't let the memories eat at you. Okay?"

And After That....

[trigons_child]

For your shopping and empath-embarrassing needs.

OOC

[trigons_child]

To stop the world from falling out of the post.