Truff
One Thousand Club
Eris snorted when he referred to himself as a transparent being. Though, she did catch the sincerity in his second comment. She watched as he grinned, showing genuine emotion. He was so excited to take over the mortal society. She gave him a grin as well. It was infectious. “I think I can manage respect if what you describe happens.” She spoke quietly, watching his excitement as his eyes met her own. He agreed to help her get the revenge she craved, but before she could respond, she saw the excitement fall him his face. She leaned forward a little to hear his quiet words, her eyes studying his face as he gazed at the ground. He wasn’t trying to hide the emotions. He was jealous, angry and sad. Sad at being unloved, jealous of Thor receiving the love and praise he craved so badly. She frowned, feeling angry at Odin for creating the sad, angry envy monster. “I believe you,” she said quietly. Her words likely meant nothing, she knew that.
She met his green eyes as he looked up. She thought for a moment about what to tell him of Olympus. “It’s a beautiful place, truly. We hang onto a lot of traditional architecture...you know, the massive columns and what not.” She smiled a little and told him of the beautiful gardens Zeus’s palace contained and how the balmy weather was perfect for the flowers that bloomed. She spoke of how her mother took great pride in the gardens and how only those who received the Goddess of Marriage’s blessing could be wed among the beauty. She spoke of her brother, Ares, and the great armies he had controlled over the thousands of years. They worked together, she explained, to conjure great wars throughout history. She spoke about her trickery within the gods. The story of pitting women against each other in a competition of who was the most beautiful was her favorite. “It resulted in the Trojan War. Which was honestly not what I was expecting.” She let out a laugh.
Loki seemed to listen politely, which just egged Eris on even more in her stories. Somehow the topic got to Zeus and Eris found herself becoming angrier and angrier as she spoke of how he ruled Olympus with a level of fear and that she was forced to train daily with the military growing up because he so desperately wanted his children to be fearsome warriors who lead armies as adults. She was fitted with armor as a pre-teen. She told of his infidelity and Hera’s endless merry-go-round of revenge fueled by her outraged daughter. It then lead to her telling Loki of the reason why she wanted him dead. How she had loved Orpheus, demi-god son of Apollo. “He knew I was being hypnotized into loving him.” She muttered, averting her eyes from Loki. “Zeus waited to catch us together. Ripped out his heart.” She fell silent. She felt vulnerable, like Loki was going to stand up, say that he had gotten what he was looking for a leave her to cry in her cell over a fake lost love.
She glanced towards him, finding him firmly planted where he had been when she began. She steadied her emotions. “Tell me of Asgard.” She said, still sounded the tiniest bit shaky.
---
Steve heard Julia stir in the cot and he glanced over to see that she was waking up. He averted his eyes, feeling it would be weird to be looking at her as she awoke. He took a bite of the potatoes on his tray. When she spoke, asking if he had brought food, he looked up. “Hm?” He looked to the tray on the desk and swallowed his bite hard. “Oh. Yeah. I just...didn’t know if the doctor was going to be bringing some so I wanted to be safe.” What did she expect from him? That he was going to starve her. He hoped not even Phillips would fall to that level. It was wrong to starve people, even if they were perceived criminals. He laughed a little when she mentioned Hodge. “No I didn’t run into him.” Thankfully. He looked to her as she began talking about how she hated people like them. He gave a thoughtful nod. “I don’t like bullies, but I would like to think they act in that way for a reason other than just being mean.” He didn’t like the thought of people doing those things out of pure meanness, though he knew people like that existed.
The room fell into a lulled silence as they ate. It was a comfortable silence, as far as he was concerned. Steve was incredibly hungry and didn’t mind eating rather than talking. When Julia spoke up, he swallowed hard again, wanting to be prepared to respond. She looked to him like she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He raised an eyebrow at her, which seemed to propel her into more of an explanation. It seemed like she was under a ton of pressure. Having the lives of millions in your hands? Banking on your success? He couldn’t imagine having that much on his own shoulders and his shoulders only.
“I don’t blame you for being nervous about it. But you’re here and it’s happening. Take everything in stride, I suppose. You’ll get through it.” He hoped, for the sake of millions of people in the future. "You seem strong enough." He took a bite of bread and chewed slowly and thoughtfully. He swallowed. “Is there any way I can help? I mean I know I’m not at all prepared and I only know what’s written on the briefs...” maybe that was where Erkstien was now. Trying to convince Phillips with the story and the mission brief. He hoped Phillips would see what Steve did – that any real spy wouldn’t be going through this much trouble for a story this ridiculous.
“But I want to help. It seems important. And I at least know the time period...” He spoke more firmly now, looking at the dark haired woman. She did seem a little unsure of the time she was in. Even if it was braving a one on one meeting with Phillips to help convince him, he wanted to help. The mission seemed too important to fail. He supposed that was him admitting to both her, and himself, that he believed her story.
She met his green eyes as he looked up. She thought for a moment about what to tell him of Olympus. “It’s a beautiful place, truly. We hang onto a lot of traditional architecture...you know, the massive columns and what not.” She smiled a little and told him of the beautiful gardens Zeus’s palace contained and how the balmy weather was perfect for the flowers that bloomed. She spoke of how her mother took great pride in the gardens and how only those who received the Goddess of Marriage’s blessing could be wed among the beauty. She spoke of her brother, Ares, and the great armies he had controlled over the thousands of years. They worked together, she explained, to conjure great wars throughout history. She spoke about her trickery within the gods. The story of pitting women against each other in a competition of who was the most beautiful was her favorite. “It resulted in the Trojan War. Which was honestly not what I was expecting.” She let out a laugh.
Loki seemed to listen politely, which just egged Eris on even more in her stories. Somehow the topic got to Zeus and Eris found herself becoming angrier and angrier as she spoke of how he ruled Olympus with a level of fear and that she was forced to train daily with the military growing up because he so desperately wanted his children to be fearsome warriors who lead armies as adults. She was fitted with armor as a pre-teen. She told of his infidelity and Hera’s endless merry-go-round of revenge fueled by her outraged daughter. It then lead to her telling Loki of the reason why she wanted him dead. How she had loved Orpheus, demi-god son of Apollo. “He knew I was being hypnotized into loving him.” She muttered, averting her eyes from Loki. “Zeus waited to catch us together. Ripped out his heart.” She fell silent. She felt vulnerable, like Loki was going to stand up, say that he had gotten what he was looking for a leave her to cry in her cell over a fake lost love.
She glanced towards him, finding him firmly planted where he had been when she began. She steadied her emotions. “Tell me of Asgard.” She said, still sounded the tiniest bit shaky.
---
Steve heard Julia stir in the cot and he glanced over to see that she was waking up. He averted his eyes, feeling it would be weird to be looking at her as she awoke. He took a bite of the potatoes on his tray. When she spoke, asking if he had brought food, he looked up. “Hm?” He looked to the tray on the desk and swallowed his bite hard. “Oh. Yeah. I just...didn’t know if the doctor was going to be bringing some so I wanted to be safe.” What did she expect from him? That he was going to starve her. He hoped not even Phillips would fall to that level. It was wrong to starve people, even if they were perceived criminals. He laughed a little when she mentioned Hodge. “No I didn’t run into him.” Thankfully. He looked to her as she began talking about how she hated people like them. He gave a thoughtful nod. “I don’t like bullies, but I would like to think they act in that way for a reason other than just being mean.” He didn’t like the thought of people doing those things out of pure meanness, though he knew people like that existed.
The room fell into a lulled silence as they ate. It was a comfortable silence, as far as he was concerned. Steve was incredibly hungry and didn’t mind eating rather than talking. When Julia spoke up, he swallowed hard again, wanting to be prepared to respond. She looked to him like she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He raised an eyebrow at her, which seemed to propel her into more of an explanation. It seemed like she was under a ton of pressure. Having the lives of millions in your hands? Banking on your success? He couldn’t imagine having that much on his own shoulders and his shoulders only.
“I don’t blame you for being nervous about it. But you’re here and it’s happening. Take everything in stride, I suppose. You’ll get through it.” He hoped, for the sake of millions of people in the future. "You seem strong enough." He took a bite of bread and chewed slowly and thoughtfully. He swallowed. “Is there any way I can help? I mean I know I’m not at all prepared and I only know what’s written on the briefs...” maybe that was where Erkstien was now. Trying to convince Phillips with the story and the mission brief. He hoped Phillips would see what Steve did – that any real spy wouldn’t be going through this much trouble for a story this ridiculous.
“But I want to help. It seems important. And I at least know the time period...” He spoke more firmly now, looking at the dark haired woman. She did seem a little unsure of the time she was in. Even if it was braving a one on one meeting with Phillips to help convince him, he wanted to help. The mission seemed too important to fail. He supposed that was him admitting to both her, and himself, that he believed her story.
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