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xp_logsSunday morning, Athens-time, the first of Jennie's relatives come to take her to her grandparents. He's not a nice man, and Marius and Nathan overcome their differences and get all fluffy and protective.
Athens, the cradle of western civilization. The city itself had well
over 3,000 years of history, and had only very recently hosted the
Olympic games, which, among other things, had vastly improved the
transportation system and upgraded many a hotel. If circumstances had
been better, Jennie would have highly appreciated the fact that she
was in her people's homeland. Now however, she sat on her suitcase
sandwiched between her best friend and her teacher, listening to them
bicker at 6 am.
"... it's called mounja," Nathan said irritably. "It's the
Greek equivalent of giving people the finger, to hold your hand palm
outward with your fingers spread like that. Hence the young woman was
not waving at you, Marius." He had been good. He had been very,
very good, but he was jetlagged and the boy was annoying.
"A gesture of affection, I'm sure," Marius replied, wholly unconcerned.
Despite the international flight and the insufficient night's sleep,
he was in a good mood. It had been a long time between dateline-hops,
and he'd been too preoccupied starving to death to appreciate the one
that had taken him to North America. Europe he could handle, even if
the travel plan had involved sitting a seat away from Dayspring. The
fact that he'd eaten less than 24 hours before wasn't hurting.
"Just don't take it as encouragement. I'd hate to see you slapped
somewhere inconvenient. Or worse, kneed." Nathan shook his head and
looked down at Jennie. "You doing all right, kiddo?" he asked, much
more gently.
"Hmm?" Jennie looked up at her teacher, roused from a self-induced
coma. "Yeah, I'm fine." If fine meant gut-wrenching terror. The
uncle she had never met was coming to pick them up. And from what her
mother had told her, he had never liked his older sister. Especially
after she gallivanted off to America. After a strained phone call the
night before, the feelings also extended to his sister's bastard
daughter as well.
Marius cocked his head at her. He was the first to admit his social
barometer was not the most accurate, but the taut body language and the
pale face weren't exactly subtle, even to him. Besides, it was Jennie.
He liked Jennie enough to go the extra mile and notice things.
"Oi, Jen, no worries," Marius said, reaching over to rub her back.
"Between the two of us you've got over four meters of buffer between
you an' them. Fluffy and adorable though I may be, I can manage a
decent Menace. Just because it's you."
Nathan had not been happy at the sound of the phone call, or the state
it had left Jennie in. But despite the fact that he had been to a
grand total of one funeral in his life, he did understand the concept
and etiquette involved, so he'd resolved not to find a discreet
way to express his displeasure to this ass, whenever he arrived.
"He's right, you know," he said more lightly, taking Jennie's hand and
squeezing it gently. "Great big buffer. That's one of the reasons
we're here."
Jennie gave them a weak smile and opened her mouth to speak, but was
interrupted by a shout.
"Oi! You there! You are Penelope's daughter?" The shouter was a balding man
with a paunchy gut and a hard-looking face. But there was something
infinitely familiar about him too. Jennie rightly assumed this was “Uncle Nikos.”
Jennie stood up and dusted off her behind. She managed a
tiny smile and offered her hand. "Yes, I'm Jennifer. Would you be my
Uncle Nikos?"
"Uncle Nikos" looked at the hand she offered as if it were going to
grow fangs and bite him. Instead he reached for her suitcase. "Yes,
that would be me. Come this way." He jerked his head towards a tiny
car parked on the street.
"I'll get the suitcases. No worries," Nathan said in his most amiable
voice - and rose to his full six and a half foot height in one smooth
movement. All right, so he wasn't above a little looming.
"Marius, why don't you keep Jennie company in the back seat?"
"Brilliant idea," Marius said, grabbing his duffle and thrusting
himself to his feet. Privately, he'd already arrived to his own
conclusions about Nikos. His reaction to Jennie was one Marius found
remarkably similar to the occasional encounter with less liberal
members of his own family. Luckily one of us has experience
with years and years of very public illegitimacy, Marius thought
as he gave the newcomer a sunny smile. Probably Dayspring would frown
on punching Jennie's relatives in the teeth, but there were other
ways. Like being oppressively foreign and totally oblivious to open
hostility.
Jennie said nothing, merely bit her lip and ducked her head so her
uncle wouldn't see her blush. Privately, she called him every name
she knew. Her mother had described him as having a giant stick up his
ass, and she wasn't far off. The inside of the car smelled like fish
and stale tobacco, and if Jennie hadn't already not been hungry she would
have lost her appetite. If her uncle minded the very large man in the
front seat, he gave no indication. Although Jennie got a mental of
their little car weighted down on one side driving on the freeway and
a stifled a giggle.
"You two all right back there?" Nathan asked, mostly rhetorically; it
was a little cramped in the backseat, and providing a buffer wasn't
the only reason he'd wanted to sit in the front. "I'm looking forward
to the ferry," he said, peering out the window. "Fresh ocean air and
all..."
"Bracing," Marius agreed cheerfully, rolling down the window. Gives
us a place to dump the body if her uncle gets shirty on us.
Nikos grunted and said nothing. He was too busy concentrating on the
freeway. Jennie clutched the door handle and held on for dear life.
If we die, Moira will kill me.
#Not to worry, dear, she's not quite that vindictive. She'd just kill
me,# Nathan pointed out cheerfully, telepathically.
Somehow, due to a combination of jet lag, nerves, and outright exhaustion, that struck Jennie as incredibly hilarious. To the point where she could not stop giggling. Nikos frowned at her in the rearview mirror, and she had the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Barely, she got herself under control. "I'm fine. Fine." She said. But one look at Marius' expression set her off again.
Marius folded his hands behind his head, smirking. In a foreign country, forced into close confines with a disapproving relative, and on their way to a funeral -- and he could still make a sad girl smile.
Nice to know I'm good for something, then.
Athens, the cradle of western civilization. The city itself had well
over 3,000 years of history, and had only very recently hosted the
Olympic games, which, among other things, had vastly improved the
transportation system and upgraded many a hotel. If circumstances had
been better, Jennie would have highly appreciated the fact that she
was in her people's homeland. Now however, she sat on her suitcase
sandwiched between her best friend and her teacher, listening to them
bicker at 6 am.
"... it's called mounja," Nathan said irritably. "It's the
Greek equivalent of giving people the finger, to hold your hand palm
outward with your fingers spread like that. Hence the young woman was
not waving at you, Marius." He had been good. He had been very,
very good, but he was jetlagged and the boy was annoying.
"A gesture of affection, I'm sure," Marius replied, wholly unconcerned.
Despite the international flight and the insufficient night's sleep,
he was in a good mood. It had been a long time between dateline-hops,
and he'd been too preoccupied starving to death to appreciate the one
that had taken him to North America. Europe he could handle, even if
the travel plan had involved sitting a seat away from Dayspring. The
fact that he'd eaten less than 24 hours before wasn't hurting.
"Just don't take it as encouragement. I'd hate to see you slapped
somewhere inconvenient. Or worse, kneed." Nathan shook his head and
looked down at Jennie. "You doing all right, kiddo?" he asked, much
more gently.
"Hmm?" Jennie looked up at her teacher, roused from a self-induced
coma. "Yeah, I'm fine." If fine meant gut-wrenching terror. The
uncle she had never met was coming to pick them up. And from what her
mother had told her, he had never liked his older sister. Especially
after she gallivanted off to America. After a strained phone call the
night before, the feelings also extended to his sister's bastard
daughter as well.
Marius cocked his head at her. He was the first to admit his social
barometer was not the most accurate, but the taut body language and the
pale face weren't exactly subtle, even to him. Besides, it was Jennie.
He liked Jennie enough to go the extra mile and notice things.
"Oi, Jen, no worries," Marius said, reaching over to rub her back.
"Between the two of us you've got over four meters of buffer between
you an' them. Fluffy and adorable though I may be, I can manage a
decent Menace. Just because it's you."
Nathan had not been happy at the sound of the phone call, or the state
it had left Jennie in. But despite the fact that he had been to a
grand total of one funeral in his life, he did understand the concept
and etiquette involved, so he'd resolved not to find a discreet
way to express his displeasure to this ass, whenever he arrived.
"He's right, you know," he said more lightly, taking Jennie's hand and
squeezing it gently. "Great big buffer. That's one of the reasons
we're here."
Jennie gave them a weak smile and opened her mouth to speak, but was
interrupted by a shout.
"Oi! You there! You are Penelope's daughter?" The shouter was a balding man
with a paunchy gut and a hard-looking face. But there was something
infinitely familiar about him too. Jennie rightly assumed this was “Uncle Nikos.”
Jennie stood up and dusted off her behind. She managed a
tiny smile and offered her hand. "Yes, I'm Jennifer. Would you be my
Uncle Nikos?"
"Uncle Nikos" looked at the hand she offered as if it were going to
grow fangs and bite him. Instead he reached for her suitcase. "Yes,
that would be me. Come this way." He jerked his head towards a tiny
car parked on the street.
"I'll get the suitcases. No worries," Nathan said in his most amiable
voice - and rose to his full six and a half foot height in one smooth
movement. All right, so he wasn't above a little looming.
"Marius, why don't you keep Jennie company in the back seat?"
"Brilliant idea," Marius said, grabbing his duffle and thrusting
himself to his feet. Privately, he'd already arrived to his own
conclusions about Nikos. His reaction to Jennie was one Marius found
remarkably similar to the occasional encounter with less liberal
members of his own family. Luckily one of us has experience
with years and years of very public illegitimacy, Marius thought
as he gave the newcomer a sunny smile. Probably Dayspring would frown
on punching Jennie's relatives in the teeth, but there were other
ways. Like being oppressively foreign and totally oblivious to open
hostility.
Jennie said nothing, merely bit her lip and ducked her head so her
uncle wouldn't see her blush. Privately, she called him every name
she knew. Her mother had described him as having a giant stick up his
ass, and she wasn't far off. The inside of the car smelled like fish
and stale tobacco, and if Jennie hadn't already not been hungry she would
have lost her appetite. If her uncle minded the very large man in the
front seat, he gave no indication. Although Jennie got a mental of
their little car weighted down on one side driving on the freeway and
a stifled a giggle.
"You two all right back there?" Nathan asked, mostly rhetorically; it
was a little cramped in the backseat, and providing a buffer wasn't
the only reason he'd wanted to sit in the front. "I'm looking forward
to the ferry," he said, peering out the window. "Fresh ocean air and
all..."
"Bracing," Marius agreed cheerfully, rolling down the window. Gives
us a place to dump the body if her uncle gets shirty on us.
Nikos grunted and said nothing. He was too busy concentrating on the
freeway. Jennie clutched the door handle and held on for dear life.
If we die, Moira will kill me.
#Not to worry, dear, she's not quite that vindictive. She'd just kill
me,# Nathan pointed out cheerfully, telepathically.
Somehow, due to a combination of jet lag, nerves, and outright exhaustion, that struck Jennie as incredibly hilarious. To the point where she could not stop giggling. Nikos frowned at her in the rearview mirror, and she had the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Barely, she got herself under control. "I'm fine. Fine." She said. But one look at Marius' expression set her off again.
Marius folded his hands behind his head, smirking. In a foreign country, forced into close confines with a disapproving relative, and on their way to a funeral -- and he could still make a sad girl smile.
Nice to know I'm good for something, then.
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