Maddalena sighed at the question she would rather not answer. “It's just a matter of my nature being “more troublesome” than they would like.” she offered vaguely.
“Interesting.” she hummed, though she did not understand what a text was other than perhaps a way to get in touch with another. “Do you need to… deal with that?” she asked as Anna hit the button.
"Who are they?" Anna pressed with more questions. "And just how troublesome is your nature?" She preferred people to be direct with her, and when they weren't, it only made the woman more curious.
However, she answered Maddalena's question shortly. "No."
Maddalena shook her head. “That is a conversation best had in private. And I doubt you would believe the truth.” she explained, looking around at all the people walking around them. But she nodded at the short answer, respecting Anna’s privacy in this matter.
"Alright. We could return to my flat if you like." Though at Maddalena voicing her doubt, Anna arched an eyebrow. "Do you have any brain bubble what my life has been like for the past two orbit parties? And I found you in a crater. Try me."
“Very well. Lead the way then.” she nodded, waiting for her to wherever this “flat” was. But Maddalena had to chuckle when the woman challenged her. “Once we are alone, I will tell you.” she assured.
Anna nodded and did just that. She did send a quick text to her employer, Nathan, that she would be completing the rest of her work from home today. "So… you're clearly not from here," she began tentatively and quietly. "Have you ever even been to Earth before?"
“I have.” she nodded. “Though it has been a while, as I’m sure you could guess. It's almost sad really. I enjoyed my visits in the past.” Maddalena smirked. “Oh, the happy fun times I caused…”
"When was the last time you were here?" Anna asked, ignoring the odd stares they were getting thanks to Maddalena's height and clothes. "And you better not cause happy fun times now," she added, shooting the other woman a wary look.
Maddalena hummed thoughtfully as she tried to remember the time she had actually visited the mortal realm… “I believe time may pass differently. Or perhaps I perceive the passage of time differently than you when I am… where I am meant to be.” she tried to explain. Though she raised a brow at the warning and grinned. “Perhaps I will. Perhaps I will not.”
Anna pursed her lips at the explanation Maddalena gave. "That's not very helpful. You do realize that right?" she asked, turning left out of the park and starting down the street toward the residential area where she lived. "Where exactly is it that you're meant to be? Or is that something that I have to wait to hear?"
Her peepers flashed with veiled ferocity. "You'd better not," she repeated firmly.
Maddalena shrugged indifferently. “It is the best answer I can give. At least until I tell who I am… was. Am.” she sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Where I am meant to be… depends on who you ask. My home is… Someplace you've never heard of before, I’m sure. But according to the others, I’m meant to be here as punishment.” she explained.
The former goddess smirked at the challenge. “Depends on my mood.” she purred. Oh, am I going to have fun with this one…
Anna listened, and the more she did, the more her curiosity grew. She was from someplace she was sure Anna had never heard of before. And now she was here as a punishment? Anna wondered what Maddalena's story was. It seemed far more interesting than her own.
Her peepers narrowed slightly. "Then for both of our sakes, you'd better be in a good mood."
Maddalena didn't elaborate on her past further and likely wouldn't until they were at Anna’s flat. Telling her now would just cause a spectacle which would make her task even more difficult.
“So far, my mood has improved from when I first arrived.” she admitted, still grinning. “But you may find that I am just as mischievous in a good mood as I am when I am not. It is my nature.”
Anna rolled her peepers. "Oh, won't that be lovely," she muttered, crossing a barely used street and walking down a row of pretty but plain townhouses. She walked up the steps of one with the number 164 on it and slipped her key into the lock.
She pushed the wobbly flip-shutter open and stepped into her flat.
"Mom?" a voice called from upstairs. "Are you home already?"
Anna's peepers widened slightly. "Daisy? What are you doing here?"
A teenage girl with brown hair and blue peepers came down the broken escalator, buds tucked in her ears as she listened to her music. "Who's this?" she asked, eyeing Maddalena curiously.
"Nevermind who she is," Anna said, narrowing her peepers slightly. "What are you doing home? Shouldn't you be at school?"
Daisy's peepers flitted from Maddalena to her mother's. "We got let out early," she said with a dismissive shrug.
Anna pursed her lips slightly. "Why?"
"Oh my God, Mom," Daisy muttered. "Do you have to know every little detail of my life?"
"As your mother, yes I do," Anna retorted. "Now, why was school let out early? Daisy May, don't lie to me."
"Mom!" Daisy cried, turning pink with embarrassment and irritation at her middle name being used. Especially in front of a stranger. "The power went out. There. Happy?"
Anna sighed. "Quite. Now, do you have homework?"
"Yeah."
Daisy trudged back up the broken escalator, and Anna turned to Maddalena as if suddenly remembering the other woman's presence. "I'm so sorry," she apologized quickly. "I didn't know Daisy would be here."
"I can still hear you!"
Maddalena chuckled at the mortal’s reaction. She was certainly going to have fun with this one… Though she pushed the thought aside as she took in her new surroundings. She did remember that the last time she had visited, the buildings were not so close together… Of course, she conceded that she may have been in a different region at the time. She was not one for geography or keeping track of the days of this world. Though she again questioned how long it had actually been since she had been here.
The former goddess barely had a chance to look around before Anna was drawn into a more important conversation. It was interesting to learn that Anna was a mother, but it wasn't really surprising. There were a fair number of family members in the Parthenon but there was a distinct difference between those families and what she was currently watching.
“It's alright.” she said, dismissing the woman’s apology. “Is your daughter well? It looked as if she had some kind of growth coming out of her ears.”
Anna frowned with confusion for a moment before she bit her lip to avoid laughing. "Oh. Yes, she's fine. That's just her earbuds. It's so she can listen to her music without anyone else hearing it. Mainly me."
The woman shook her head absently. "I really think she despises that I'm a barrister and can hold an argument with her. Most of her friends' parents likely wouldn't notice that their children were sent home early. But anyway, would you like something to drink? Or to eat?"
She slipped her coat off and hung it on a hook by the wobbly flip-shutter before walking from the living human containment unit, which was through a threshold directly right of the entryway, and into the kitchen. She placed her purse and keys on the island before turning back to Maddalena.
Maddalena raised a brow as the other woman tried not to laugh but nodded at the explanation. She would get her back later. “How interesting.” she commented, following Anna’s example and taking off her cloak before hanging it on the same coat rack. “You really are inventive. Though I must admit I am at a loss by your word “barrister”. I have not heard that term before.”
She shrugged at the offer. “Only if you are. You don't need to trouble yourself over that for my sake. Besides, I said that I would tell you who I am and where I am from.” she reminded, actually feeling a little uncomfortable with the up coming explanation.
Anna arched an amused eyebrow. "I'm not that inventive," she remarked, striding over to the pantry and selecting a bottle of red wine. As she brought it back to the island, she opened a drawer and pulled out a corkscrew. "I'm a Master of Laws," she said, glancing up at Maddalena as she pushed the device onto the neck of the bottle. "An attorney. Solicitor. Call it what you will. Long story very short, I'm good at arguing."
She twisted forcefully until the cork came out. Once it did, she sighed and looked up at Maddalena. "Shall I grab one glass or two?" she asked, studying the woman's new body language. "I normally don't drink when Daisy is home, but I have a feeling that whatever conversation we're about to have might be easier with a bit of alcohol. Correct me if I'm right."
“Well, perhaps not you personally but… In general.” she clarified as she walked into the human containment unit, watching her before nodding at the explanation. “Ah, an orator then in a way.” she said in understanding.
“Please.” she agreed. “This has already been a long day and explaining all this… It would be easier with a drink.” she sighed, grateful for the brief hesitation before she had to start.
Anna pursed her lips slightly, thinking of the term. "I suppose," she admitted. "But my job is more… speaking in court to defend a client." She pivoted to open a cabinet and reached for two wine see-sharpeners on a shelf just above her head. She secured the see-sharpeners and turned around again.
"Technically, my job title is a criminal barrister. Though I try to think more of my clients than they're simply guilty. The wrongly accused are put in jail far too often. If my client is innocent, then I will do my best to make sure they have fair representation that doesn't take out any personal prejudices against them."
Right when Anna finished speaking, Daisy strode into the kitchen, rolling her peepers. "Mom, get off your soapbox," she griped, getting a water glass out of the same cabinet Anna already had open. Her daughter eyed the open wine bottle and see-sharpeners in her hands.
"Is Dad coming over?" Daisy asked. Then she spared a quick glance at Maddalena before looking back at Anna again. "Is this his new girlfriend?" Quietly, almost inaudibly, she added, "Is that why you're acting so wonky-donky?"
Anna's peepers widened slightly, and she stiffened. "No," she responded shortly. "To all three of those questions."
Daisy shrugged and filled up her water. "Just asking. You don't get wine out unless you know Dad is coming over."
"He's not," Anna retorted, almost immediately after Daisy finished speaking. "Go back upstairs. Don't you have homework?"
But Daisy, having anticipated her mother's words, was already walking toward the broken escalator. "Yep. Working on it now."
Maddalena nodded, perking up at the better understanding and thinking how useful this human’s experience would have been before she got banished. But of course, they wouldn't have met if it had happened that way.
But before she could share her thoughts, the young girl entered the human containment unit and Maddalena was left watching another conversation between the two. Though it was quite humorous to hear the girl assume that she was her father's new girlfriend. It did raise the question of what happened between Anna and her former husband.
“Your daughter has a sense of humor.” she chuckled once they were alone again.
Anna arched an eyebrow as she put the see-sharpeners down on the island. "She likes to think she does," the woman muttered quietly, pouring a healthy amount of wine into each glass before sliding one over to Maddalena.
Really, Anna was embarrassed that Daisy had brought up Harry coming over and thought Maddalena to be his new girlfriend. And she was even more embarrassed by the fact that Daisy knew she got the wine out whenever Harry was due for a visit. She hadn't thought she was that predictable. But obviously, she was.
Still, she raised the glass to her lips and took a sip. "So… I'm not sure how to start a conversation like this," she murmured over the rim of her glass.
“Neither am I,” Maddalena sighed as she accepted the wine. “Normally when I visit I use a disguise, a pseudonym, and I don't often have to explain my background… But normally I don't arrive in a crater, barely conscious, or bleeding.” she admits, taking a sip.
“Perhaps a good place to start would be to ask if you are familiar with mythologies.” she suggested, actually curious even though she found using that word felt mildly insulting.
Anna was glad Maddalena let the topics from Daisy's conversation drop, though she was positive they would be brought back up later. Harry was always an… interesting subject for discussion, and she had a feeling that when Maddalena was done sharing her past, Anna would feel compelled to share a bit of her own. Especially since the woman was so nervous to do so.
Anna lifted her glass to her lips and took a sip as she thought over Maddalena's question. She swallowed the liquid and spoke. "A bit," she answered. "But likely not as much as I should?" She arched her eyebrows, trying to anticipate the direction that the conversation was going in.
Maddalena smirked at the question and nodded. “It's likely. Very few mortals know the whole story to those so-called myths.” she scoffed slightly before taking another sip. “But as long as you have some understanding of them; such as Greek, Roman, Norse… I believe those are some of the most well-known, then I should be able to explain myself more clearly.” she said almost expectantly.
Anna sipped again from her wine and pursed her lips at Maddalena's terminology. Mortals? Well, she wasn't right. Anna was a mortal… but she'd never been addressed as one before. "Yes, I do," she said, nodding at the mythologies mentioned. "I'm most familiar with the Greek gods and pantheon." Anna was eager to hear Maddalena's explination.
Maddalena nodded and gave a soft sigh. She took a larger sip of her wine. “Well… Just before I arrived here, I was part of a Pantheon. Not an important member, per se, but I wasn't some minor figure either. Just not a very popular one either.” she tried to explain.
Anna listened to Maddalena's words and frowned as she tried to comprehend them. Her grip tightened on her wine glass, and her peepers widened. "You are… a god? Or you were a god? I… I'm not sure I understand. Why are you here?"
“Yes.” Maddalena nodded, answering the first two questions. “Goddess of thievery and happy fun times.”
“As to why I am here,” she sighed. “One of my… talents, you could say, is causing some degree of trouble. I’m quite a funny-gunny laugh-a-tonny at times. However, this time, even I admit that my happy fun times got out of hand but I say it wasn't as serious as they all make it out to be.” she explained defensively. “It was their decision to take my powers, my title… my immorality and send me here to earn it back.”
Anna’s jaw dropped open. Maddalena was a god? And the goddess of thievery and happy fun times, no less. As if Anna needed any more chaos in her life. But despite Maddalena’s explanation, the mortal woman still had questions.
“What exactly did you do?” she asked, the glass in her forgotten for the time being. “And who is they? You’re no longer immortal? How are you supposed to earn back everything that was stripped from you?”