#interactions | athena

[dmndmyths]

WHEN: about midnight - just after athena’s shift WHERE: the modern muffler WHO: athena and woody @redneckerthanyou​

the fact that the automechanic in islebury was open overnight honestly had been a life saver for athena over the past few years. a bizarre work timetable with an even worse sleeping pattern meant for being pretty bad at meeting nine to five appointments. now, she had realised her tail light was broken before she headed off to work but she needed to get to work and it wasn’t like she could walk there. so she had driven carefully, both to work and then from work to here. even if she had been tempted to say fuck it and go home to sleep instead. however, she had done the vaguely responsible thing and actually turned up for her car’s appointment.

with a grimace, she got out of the car. it had been a long shift and not a good pain day. it always made for a shitty combination. moving her attention from something she was well aware she couldn’t fix, she began to look for the fabled mechanic. fabled because she had been told by the owner that he was vaguely new. huh. “hello? the car with the broken tail light has arrived” she called out, eyes searching for ways out and ways in and everything else on the checklist she still hadn’t let go of since her discharge. besides, this was a mechanics at night - the bad stories always happened here.

[dmndmyths]

athena wasn’t good at being close to people, never really had been. a therapist or anyone with an interest in either psychology or people could tie that all the way back to her disjointed and fairly cold childhood. or at least, they would, if she told anyone about such difficulties. that’s besides the point though. the point is that athena found relationships hard but it was also what she loved about her work. being someone’s nurse was a common ground, the act of looking after someone, healing them, put things in a light that always made relationships far easier for her to see and develop. an example of this was one of the recurring patients in the general hospital, connor. being a patient was never a good thing but she knew from experience that sometimes familiarity helped. this was what she hoped to offer. “mr hill, it’s good to see you again, present location considered. just a regular checkup today?” @connoroverthehill​

[dmndmyths]

billie was a hard person to forget. if she hadn’t managed it in four years, how could athena have expected it to happen in a few weeks? it was infuriating. it didn’t help her mood that the memories which at one point had been a source of comfort were now a source of shame. even if there had been no way of knowing, she couldn’t help but think she should have. so, she had indeed tried to forget him, to erase from mind and body. 

then the gala happened and two things occurred. one: she saw him with another woman. that was more bothersome then anything. bothersome because she really shouldn’t have cared. two: he bid to go on a date with her and he won. that one was bothersome as well, but for alternate reasons.

whatever her feelings, she had signed up for this and everyone knows that athena never breaks her word. so that was how she found herself waiting outside the front of her house, dressed for a picnic when in reality she would rather be in bed, taking opportunity of her first day off. the most she could do was try enjoy it. even if billie was involved. when the car pulled up, she had to admit that it was off to a good start. everybody likes a car from the 1920s. making her way over, she found herself pleasantly stunned when the driver got out to help her in. once the door was closed and the car was off, that was when the nerves set in. her stomach felt sick and she found herself toying with the strap of her bag. soon enough they would be at billie’s, wherever the hell that was. @luegner​ 

[dmndmyths]

baz lurhman’s romeo and juliet had been a favourite of athena’s since the first day she saw it in cinemas. it was one of the rare occasions where she had been allowed out for something as frivolous as a romance film and she had loved it. the night had been everything she had desired as teenager, with a group of friends and popcorn and other such sugary things. the film was one that she had never grown out of loving and even if it was just for the nostalgia of it. right now, at a party dressed in the white dress with the wings on her back, she felt a little like she was in the film itself. 

it was these thoughts that distracted her enough to lose some of her awareness of her surroundings, something that was quite uncharacteristic for the woman. however, everyone had their moments and this was hers. too focused on the music, she was unaware of the man in her mouth and next thing she knew, she was walking into someone. pain. that was the first thing that she registered, that and the fact that she was about to tip over. one hand gripped her cane tightly while the other reached out to touch the while in an attempt to stabilise herself. it wouldn’t do to fall over when she wasn’t sure if she could get back up. “bloody hell, fuck.” @mayshyne​

[dmndmyths]

athena was in pain. then again, she always was to some varying degree. tonight, it was just especially noticeable. this was incredibly inconvenient as tonight was special. or at least, she was trying to make it so. after all, juliette had put so much effort into convincing her to come, even sorting out a costume that not enjoying it felt like a betrayal. even so, she needed to sit down. skirt trailing on the floor, she searched for the younger woman. luckily it only took a few moments to spot her in a booth. brilliant. hand gripping her white cane tightly, she made her way over and sat down next to her. “i don’t know if i’ve said it, but thankyou for getting me to come. you should be quite proud of yourself for that.” @julivttes​