Forbidden Fruits | Lydia

[Lydia Shepard]

As Lydia ate the strawberry, she looked at Genie as she enjoyed both. Would she get yelled at later? Probably. But for now, it was completely worth it. Lydia raised her eyebrows as Genie went on to say something that her psychology knowledge was useful to an extent. Lydia couldn't help but laugh as she shook her head. "But it's kind of strange that a child of the personification of insanity is studying the brain and what happens for that insanity to happen." She smirked a bit as she shrugged her shoulders. "But working on machines must be cool. You know, you could work on anything or be able to fix practically anything. I think that's pretty neat. You can't really fix anything with the brain."

[Virginia Grace]

Genie snatched another strawberry, dipped it in the chocolate and popped it in her mouth as she continued smiling at the girl. Lydia had a nice laugh, Genie liked it, and even though she didn’t really find Lydia’s choice of study that odd when considering her dad she did hope that she would be able to make the Dionysus girl laugh again. “Nah, I don’t think it’s that strange. It’s whatcha like to do right? I think it’s pretty brave of you to want to break out of the mold like that.”

Genie considered Lydia quietly as the girl continued talking. She seemed like a pretty swell gal, one that Genie might even like to get to know a little more but it was so hard reading other folks. A car engine told you what it needed pretty plainly but if Lydia started giving her weird signals it wasn’t like Genie could just fiddle with the butterfly on her throttle and get her to purr...or maybe she could. There was just no telling with most people.

In the end Genie decided to play it cool and keep an open mind. If things went well another opportunity for them to get to know each other might open up. Until then she could just enjoy the moment. “Oh shucks, machines just have workins and I know how to fix them. There’s nothing I love more than making things work and it’s nice to see people smile if I fix something for them. Maybe you know what I mean?”

[Lydia Shepard]

Lydia finished off her strawberry as he contemplated on grabbing another one. It was wrong for the daughter of Dionysus to do the one thing she was sent out to stop, but since she was already caught up in the act... She reached for another strawberry and dipped it in chocolate as she looked over at Genie with a bit of a smile. "Well, I guess I need to be the bit of a rebel in a cabin full of partiers." She laughed lightly before she took another bite of a strawberry. She looked over at Genie as she shook her head.

"I get what you're saying," she said as she looked over at Genie and smiled at her slightly. "I really do get it, but you have to admit your talent is a lot more useful than a whole lot of things around camp. Like the Aphrodite cabin can do magic makeup. That really doesn't make the world a better place, you know? But machines can do that and you could invent the next life-changing and saving machine."

[Virginia Grace]

Genie watched Lydia curiously as she took another strawberry. The girl seemed to be relaxing now which was good. Genie tended to have that effect on people when they found out that she was as nice a person as you could hope to find these days. Such as it was the Hephaestus girl was just happy that Lydia had stopped worrying so much about a few missing berries and was just enjoying herself. That’s what really mattered after all.

“I don’t know.” Genie said thoughtfully as Lydia finished. “Magic makeup powers would be nice to have too. May not seem like much but a magic makeover can do a girl good every once in a while. I’ve never been much good at all that girly stuff myself but getting all dolled up can be nice if you have someone to get dolled up for." Genie wouldn't lie. Sometimes she wished she was a little more girly. Maybe then she could get a date every once in a while. That bring said she could understand where Lydia was coming from. "But naw I don't have any dreams that fancy. I just like working on my machines and making people happy when I fix something for them. I'm sure you probably know what I mean though."

[Lydia Shepard]

"I guess magic makeup does have its perks, but not in the ways I was thinking of, ya know?" Lydia said with a bit of a shrug. "I mean... I guess makeup can make you feel empowered so you can do anything... but I don't know... to me, it's just not the same like building society-changing machines or whatever." Lydia managed to finish off her second strawberry as she grabbed a third one with no hesitations and dipped it in sugar. She had a satisfied smirk on her face as she took another bite.

"You really did pick out the good strawberries," she said as she looked over at Genie and winked at her. "Such a shame that Chiron won't be able to sell these."

[Virginia Grace]

Genie chuckled at Lydia's evaluation of the Aphrodite kids' makeup powers. Maybe they wouldn't ever save someone's life or get someone noticed on the news but you never knew, sometimes it was the smallest most insignificant things that made a big difference. You could just never count people out especially where demigods were concerned. "I guess it's all in what you put your mind to. Me? I'm pretty happy just fixing engines and fixing some things that are broken. Usually the gadgets and stuff I come up with are more for fun but who knows I may be able to think up something amazing if I put my mind to it."

Beaming cheerfully at Lydia as she finished up her strawberries Genie took the girl's statement as a huge compliment and thought it was even better that she seemed to enjoy the pilfered treats. "Well if there's one thing I know it's definitely strawberries. Well, strawberries and machines." She pointed the tip of her next berry playfully in Lydia's direction. "I thought you would like them if you gave it a chance and if it makes you feel any better I'll try to make my trips to the berry patches less frequently even though getting caught by you didn't turn out so bad I don't think."

[Lydia Shepard]

"But that's still a useful talent compared to most people," Lydia said with a bit of a shrug. "I might need to come to you to fix one of our ipods after a party. We seem to go through those quickly."

"Then I think I'll volunteer for this position more often," Lydia said with a chuckle. "Have you ever thought about making a strawberry harvesting machines?" Lydia asked as she raised her eyebrows at Genie. "That would definitely make you the hero of the Dionysus cabin... maybe even Demeter as well. Even if they turn out to be unappreciative of it, I would still like one," Lydia said with a wink. Being on strawberry duty was always the worst and she swore her cabin was always bickering over who had to go out and tend to the strawberries. Lydia managed to use reverse psychology on her siblings, but that only lasted for so long.

[Virginia Grace]

Genie chuckled. Lydia seemed certain that her Hephaestus powers were just the greatest things since sliced bread. Granted Genie had always thought she was special but it was kind of neat to have someone else think that especially when that someone else was a really cute girl that liked chocolate dipped strawberries. "Well if you ever need to find me I'm usually in the forge. iPods are really easy so just bring them over. I'm always happy to help." She smiled at Lydia hoping that she really would be seeing the girl again. Who knew, maybe she was the kind that liked a girl getting all hot and sweaty in the forge. Probably not though.

The smile continued as Lydia began talking again. Genie may have been wrong but it was quite possible that Lydia was flirting with her and her idea of a strawberry picker was perfect. Maybe this was her chance to show off what she could do. "That actually sounds like a excellent idea." She said thoughtfully as she took another bite of a strawberry. Now that the idea was in her head her mind was already racing to work it out and there was no doubt she would figure it out before long. "I can definitely see the benefits and maybe if I make one just for you you'd be grateful enough to provide some fruits from your labors?"

[Lydia Shepard]

"Well, I might have to keep you company in the forges one of these days," Lydia said as she returned the smile. "We have, like, a basket full of broken ipods. That might keep you busy for a little while and I don't mind hanging out in the forges. I usually don't spend time down there, but I might have an excuse to do so now." Lydia thought of the forges as a hot and sweaty place, but she figured she wouldn't mind it as much if she was hanging out with Genie. She seemed like she was very excellent company like she was now.

But that little bit of an idea she gave Genie seemed to run amok in her head. Lydia couldn't help but smile a bit wider as Genie started talking about it. "I think it'd be worth it to smuggle at least a few strawberries for you in exchange for a machine," she said with another wink.

[Virginia Grace]

One of these days? That sounded very promising. Genie couldn't complain about a day in the forge with a pretty girl to keep her company. Besides, Lydia might like it. Genie kept the forge, at least her part of it, surprisingly homey, a necessity for those late nights when there was a lot of work to do. Lydia could come over and hang out while Genie worked and the Hephaestus girl didn't think she would mind at all. "That sounds perfect. Just make sure you wear light clothing. There's nothing hotter than spending all day in the forge fiddlin with sensitive pieces of equipment." Genie kept smiling happily making it hard to tell whether she was flirting or if she was just thinking about her work. Truthfully though those two things could be synonymous sometimes.

Getting caught was turning out to be not that bad at all. Now not only did Genie have one excuse to see Lydia when she fixed her iPhones but another chance to see her when she dropped off the strawberry picking machine, a machine Lydia would probably be pretty grateful to receive. "Strawberries for a strawberry picker. Sounds like a pretty fair exchange to me. You may just manage to keep me out of trouble yet."

[Lydia Shepard]

"Sensitive pieces of equipment?" Lydia repeated with an amused look on her face. "I might need to stop by after all. And light clothing? Good thing I own a ton of dresses. Then again, I think a lot of my sisters do, since that seems to be their go-to party gear of choice." Lydia was seriously tempting the idea of just hanging out with Genie in the forges. Why wouldn't she? Genie seemed like she would enjoy it and she looked like someone she would like to get to know better in more ways than one.

Lydia laughed as Genie mentioned saying out of trouble. "Hey now, there's still hope for your trouble making. Haven't you heard that the best thieves make the best cops? So there's maybe hope for your strawberry stealing ways."

[Virginia Grace]

Genie giggled at the thought of Lydia getting all dressed up just to come and see her. The forge wasn’t really the place to get all fancy but if anyone could understand that need to just get dressed up every once in a while Genie could. It wouldn’t have been the first time she had done the same thing and she could respect that Lydia wasn’t the type that would find the forge too dirty or grimy to do so. “Well we’ll just have to have a party all our own when you come by. What better excuse is there?”

She wouldn’t get her hopes up or anything but Genie thought her and Lydia could get along quite nicely especially if the girl was serious about this strawberry offer. There were many ways to Genie’s heart but the one that was quickest and easiest was paved with gifts of berries. Lydia may not have been fully aware of what she was getting into but the Hephaestus girl definitely liked what she had seen so far even if she did have to come clean in a few ways. “That might be too squeaky clean for me but we’ll see. Besides, it’s just a little thievin.” She clarified in a sing song voice. “When I make that strawberry picking machine it’ll be the perfect way to make up for the ones I took I think.”

[Lydia Shepard]

"And who better to party with than a Dionysus girl?" Lydia said with a light laugh as she shook her head. It looked like she was going to make a trip to the forges sooner rather than later, but it was for a good cause and a good time. She would be hanging out with Genie who seemed pretty cool and she would also be getting all those ipods replaced. In Lydia'a book, that was a complete win-win situation. The question after that would be how to spend more time with Genie, but Lydia figured she would be making as many excuses as she could.

"I guess I can let you get away with a little thieving," Lydia joked a bit. "As long as I turn my back, then I won't be none the wiser. Besides, I think people will be too obsessed with your shiny machine to worry about a few strawberries going missing."

[Virginia Grace]

This plan was sounding better and better all the time. Genie had never really hung out with a Dionysus girl before but Lydia definitely seemed to be fun. She guessed she had been missing out all this time but that was okay. Genie didn't have to go to some big party to have fun. Sometimes you could have fun just hanging out with another person. "What do you think about Friday?" She ask curiously. "Most of my brothers and sisters have things to do on the weekend so I'm usually the last person in the forge. You can bring them by then and since we'll have some music once they're fixed we'll just have our own little shindig."

Did she just invite Lydia out on a date? If so it had to be the weirdest date the girl had ever been asked on. She guessed it could be taken a couple of different ways but Genie did like Lydia and setting a date would at least make things more real. She just wandered what the other girl would think about all that. Too bad it wouldn't be proper to just come out with it right now but for the time being getting to know her was enough. "Well if they are distracted by shiny things I'll just make sure it's the shiniest machine I've ever built. Kinda like me." With that her face lit up in another one of those bright smiles. There would be a lot of planning between now and when they met again but hopefully Genie could come up with something impressive in that time.

[Lydia Shepard]

Friday? Lydia did a quick check through her mental calendar before she nodded her head. "Friday works perfectly for me. Gods know that my siblings will be probably throwing some big party. It'll be nice to have something... calmer and quieter for once. I think it sounds like a perfect plan." They had a date. Kind of. It was a bit of a weird kind of a date. Maybe more like a hanging out session. Lydia really didn't care about the terminology as long as she got to see Genie again and for, hopefully, a little bit longer.

Lydia giggled a bit as she shook her head as Genie started talking about shiny machines. She didn't know why, but it was slightly funny to her. "I'm pretty sure everyone is like crows sometimes with how much they like shiny things. But I think you'd win them over. It sounds like a good plan."