(no subject)

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

Characters: Ariadne and Gaia
Date/Time: Evening, June 15th
Location: Jake's Bar, Bellevue.
Rating: TBD, probably PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Denise gets a puzzle on her night out.



Bars, even expensive ones, are always crowded on Friday nights. Despite this, she managed to get a secluded booth all to herself-- one of the perks of being her, she supposed. Even with the people mingling and enjoying each others' company, it would simply never occur to anyone else to sit at the other seat on the booth. And this was just as well, for tonight, she was saving it for someone. She spread her things out on the table, sipped from her glass of wine, and waited.

Denise walked into the bar, glad to be finished with another week of development work and desperately in need of a drink. Even though the bar was almost full to capacity, the dim lighting and comfortable decor made it seem cozy instead of crowded. After getting a glass of Chardonnay from the bartender, and seeing that every chair at the bar was occupied, she went in search of someplace to sit down. Fortunately, she came across a booth where the only other occupant was an older-looking woman with large glasses and mousy brown hair.

"Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" Denise asked. The women looked up owlishly, saying "Oh, no, not at all-- please, have a seat!" As she pulled her papers closer to her, Denise got a better look at the cover of the book the woman was reading-- 1,001 Brain Teasers, Logic Problems, and Crosswords.

Comments

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

"Anything good in there?" Ariadne asked idly, gesturing at the book.

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

The woman gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "Oh, I suppose. The plain truth is, I'm not very good at these kinds of things-- not like you are, I'm sure." She turned to the crossword page she was looking at. "Here, just listen to this-- 21-down, 'Minos' daughter,' seven letters. And that's the whole clue!" She shook her head and gave the puzzle book a look as if it had deliberately stomped on her foot.

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

"There are two possibilities," Ariadne said slowly, "Phaedra... or Ariadne."

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

The woman blinked at the puzzle, and smiled slowly and widely. "Oh, yes," she said, but instead of writing down the answer, she looked up fully into her companion's eyes. "Ariadne it is indeed. I always knew you could solve problems."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

Ariadne looked back. She knew she was dealing with something well beyond anything she had the power to fight.
"...all right," she sighed, "What's the plan?"

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

The woman took a sip from her wineglass, seemingly pleased that Ariadne was responding to her. "You're a smart young lady. You know the score-- you've seen what's going on all over the country. You know you and your friends are headed for a big fight, don't you." The tone of her voice made it into a pure statement of fact instead of a question.

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

Ariadne rubbed her forehead.
"I don't think it'll end without some kind of confrontation, no. But there are 300 million American citizens against two-and-a-half dozen godlings. Hardly what I'd call good odds."

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

She gestured with her pen. "You're right, the odds aren't good-- because your cohort isn't doing what it needs to get ready," she said. "To take one example not at random: if your friends the tragic Muse and the wine-god were forced to face a real threat together right now, the enemy wouldn't even need to lift a finger-- the two of them would tear each other to shreds in an instant."
She took a small sip of wine. "This, then, is the problem you... all of you... need to solve."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

Ariadne peered at the woman suspiciously.
"...this is bigger than just the Greeks, isn't it? What you're meaning?"

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

She gave a nod and briefly raised her wineglass in a toasting motion. "Exactly. What's coming is going to affect everyone like yourself, and all of you need to deal with it."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

"So, again. What's the plan of attack?" Ariadne asked.

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

"First of all, you won't be the ones attacking," she said. "When the attack will come, or from what direction, who can say? But you need to impress upon your peers that all of you need to put your heads together and work with each other." She gave a half-chuckle. "How you choose to do that is up to you."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

Ariadne sighed.
"Easier said than done, I'll admit," she said.

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

"Important things often are," she said sympathetically. "But it may not be so hard as you expect."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

The woman sat back and took a sip from her glass before answering. "Your cohort is proud, yes. Vain. Foolhardy. Egotistical." She set her glass down deliberately. "But none of them are complete fools. If they are sufficiently persuaded, they are capable of great things. And you have a better skill at persuasion than you may recognize," she said.

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

Ariadne ran a finger over her wineglass rim, making it sing.
"...probably would be easier if I got them all drunk first," she sighed.

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

The woman laughed at that, and took another drink. "There's only one of them I know of who could manage that." Her smile cooled a little as she added "And from what I hear, he's not very welcome with some of the others. Still, I care less for arguments than I do for ending them."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

"Ah, of course. My former husband," she acknowledged, and then paused. "...what, precisely, do you want me to do there?"

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

The woman leaned forward. "Whether you like it or not, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if you didn't, you need him-- all of you do, just as much as he needs the rest of you." Smiling a little, she added "Of course, you may be on to something with your idea-- the idea of bringing him back into the fold might be easier to swallow if it's washed down with a little wine." She punctuated the point with a sip of her own. "Then again, in order to accomplish that, he'll have to be with the rest of them. That might end up in less injury to him if he arrives with a suitable escort."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

"...and you want me to be the one to vouch for him?" Ariadne asked. "I don't think I have the clout to pull that one off. Aphrodite might be better. She's supposed to be out future queen, and she's allegedly carrying his baby."

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

"Allegedly," she said. "Not definitely. And he has more definite enemies around her than you." The woman shrugged. "In any event, I do hear news that he's coming back in this direction."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

"When is he supposed to arrive?" Ariadne asked, taking a long sip out of her glass.

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

"Soon. Beyond that, I cannot say." She sighed and added "He was never very good about being punctual."

[tangledmaze.insanejournal.com]

Ariadne chuckled wryly.
"Yes, I remember," she said.

[metemmods.insanejournal.com]

The woman finished her wine, and smoothly stood up. "Think over what I said; when he comes back to town, see what he thinks. Good luck to you-- well, to all of you." She slid the puzzle book toward Ariadne, saying "A gift for you-- I hope you'll enjoy it better than I did."