Still a bit on edge, Kate nodded, âYeah â sure, sure.â
Kate followed his gaze, too, looking at the statue. To say that someone was the son of a mythological god; well, it sounded a bit⌠Crazy, to her. But, this whole thing was crazy, so maybe she could believe it. He sounded pretty convinced, anyway.
She gave him a soft smile, âRight⌠Maybe⌠Maybe they just ran out of clay, or, or, marble.âÂ
â A bad joke, but, an attempt was better than none. Though, she kept quiet as he continued to describe him. He really did sound certain of himself, of his father. She could admire that, in a sense. But, she did raise an eyebrow at âthe lightning thingâ; yeah, from what she remembered of Greek myths, that all sounded pretty accurate, if not completely spot on.
She believed him even more, now.
Her smile faltered when he asked about her. She was never really good at talking about herself. But, since heâd been so forthcoming, she could make a decent enough attempt.
âWell⌠Unless you count someone who likes to look at statues and doodle, I guess Iâm pretty normal â as far as normal things go in this city, I suppose.â
She shrugged.
It startles Jason some to hear her say sheâs normal.
   No--it doesnât startle him. It scares him.
   âI see...,â says Jason, falteringly. A million questions spring to his lips. How do you protect yourself from harm? How do you defend yourself? How do you feel safe, wandering the streets that could shift under your feet to send you spiraling at any second? Naturally, he doesnât ask. No sense in scaring someone the first time he meets her.
Still, thinking back on what she said about the statue makes him grin sheepishly and glance at his feet. âPeople always like to make Zeus look like something other than what he is,â he says, with surprising ease. âItâs funny, really, because the Ancient Greeks pretty much took him at face value, but I think modern artists want him to look...nicer, somehow. Like theyâve had enough of an angry, wrathful god and they want something softer. Itâs not so different from the New Testament in that way, I guess.â
   âHey, feel free to say no, but...if you drew my dad, would you mind showing me? I mean, I know itâs art, and itâs this deeply personal thing, but...I bet youâre good. Itâd be kind of nice to see how someone new interprets him, I guess.â















