hephaestus:
THERE WAS NOTHING out of the ordinary that he could find in his latest soil sample, but the feeling there was a shift of organic matter within its contents was reason for concern. All soil needed a proper balance to produce the best product. This soil was flakey to the touch, lacking the water it so desperately needed, but that wasn’t it’s only issue. What truly worried Riley was the lack of living organism found in his varying number of samples. The Actinobacteria levels were significantly reduced and that was where most of his worry stemmed. The Gram-positive bacteria should have acted like a fungi to aid in decomposition, but that process was mysteriously being skipped.
MAYBE EIGHT YEARS ago, Riley would have spent countless weeks figuring out a “fool proof” solution to reintroduce the actinobacteria, but he didn’t need that anymore. He could do it with his own two hands and that was the only good thing that came out of his awakening. Truth be told, Hephaestus he had missed his power. Missed his obvious connect to the Earth that shifted beneath his feet. It made most of his everyday tasks easier to manage, but-
THE PRESENCE WAS still there, growing stronger as they lingered in the silence. Riley could feel their power radiating off of them, tempting him to acknowledge them. He would have tried to resist but when she spoke his curiosity was peaked. He knew that voice. Not from a past life but from his current one and as he peered cautiously over his microscope he stared at her in silence for a moment longer then he should have. Elysa was the first name that came to his mind -followed by a vast collection of memories- but that was not the name that passed by his lips, “Demeter?”
HEPHAESTUS LEANED BACK in his chair as he studied her, trying to figure out why she was here and ignoring how he wasn’t completely upset to be in her presence once again, “I suppose I’m a rather slow learner.” The corner of his mouth rose for a split second, but fell quickly as he resorted to fiddling with the pen he had been holding, “So… to what do I owe this pleasure?”
She had been a lot of things in her life, and one thing she had never been, for the life of her, was patient. Demeter couldn’t quite grasp the concept. She listened to the elder mortals speak of the old days when people earned their way, of how kids these days were spoiled by participation trophies. It was laughable, really. Demeter knew people had sought instant gratification for longer than the twenty-first century. The naive Elysa who had crossed paths with a teaching assistant named Riley years before had recognized that he would be worth the effort (and perhaps the wait, as well).
“I always figured you for a hands on kind of guy, you know? Considering everything,” the last word was a drawl as it slipped from her upturned lips. Demeter crossed the room and perched on the desk next to his microscope, feet swinging nimbly as she looked down at him. He’d always been handsome, she supposed. Hephaestus, too, really. “I hadn’t realized you came home. I guess it was too much to pick up the phone and call?” It was a tease that was laced a trace of honesty.
Infatuation as a human could be consuming. It was a curse embedded in a curse to feel everything so deeply. Demeter had done this dance enough times now to understand her grief as a god tainted her eternity as a human. Her ability to become attached as a human was unprecedented. Even now that she knew who Riley actually was, she couldn’t help but feel the familiar twinge of uncertainty as he looked up at her.
“I need some advice on my greenhouse. My irrigation system, to be exact.” She strummed her fingertips on top of the desk. “The plants on the outside aren’t growing as tall as the plants in the middle, and I’ve rearranged everything. Nothing helps.” Well, except when she uses her gift to make up for what the plant lacks. Demeter was trying to remedy the issue, though. “A nerdy little wisp of a boy from City Hall suggested you.”
