The evening brought on a chill that shook the bones of Hades' lean frame. The wind assaulted the dark curls on his head, creating a mess of hair that left Hades displeased. In all the lives he had come to live, so far he had come to love the styling choices of the 80's. He really liked the mullet style of hair and had tried to recreate his version of it for himself, and keeping this style made him happy. He pulled a set of keys from his trouser pocket, placing his briefcase on the ground beside him while he locked the front doors of the clinic. 

          He jiggled the handles, making sure they were locked before reassessing his hair in the reflection of the glass. He started pressing down on the curls in an attempt to calm it back down, his mouth falling into a frown because he couldn't seem to get it just right again. "I'll need to stop by my place before heading over." His words took the form of steam in front of him, spreading out across the cold air of the streets.

          He made his way down the road he had just traveled that morning, the trees shaking with the promise of winter. In this small Texas town of Nacolin, the weather seemed to carry a mind of its own. This morning it was a little chilly but not enough to bring along a jacket of any kind, however in the evening hours the air was cold enough to turn his words into ice on the breeze. He would have to remember how fickle mother nature could be as the year grew closer to its end.

          The breeze encouraged him to move more quickly down the brick paved road, one arm wrapped around his frame to try and keep warm. He had a habit of walking everywhere, in an attempt to avoid the very narrow lanes of the road. He didn't like how crowded the streets seemed when driving. He had been walking for several minutes now, and a white car started to slow its pace on the road beside him. The window of a small car rolled down to reveal a shaggy mess of brown hair that hid under a Kangol hat. The man offered not just a smile but a bit of laughter as his eyes fell on Hades.

          "You just refuse to drive here, don't you?" The man teased, pointing his finger towards the door. The door's lock unhinged itself, slightly opening as if the car itself offered Hades a ride. Clearly this man was more than what he appeared to be, and the two seemed to be friendly. Hades rolled his eyes, putting his briefcase in the backseat as he took the passenger seat. "We're suppose to be meeting at the diner. What has you here so early, brother?" Poseidon's smile grew wider with nerves. He started getting back on the road again as Hades got himself comfortable and buckled.

          "I just wanted to see you is all! It has been some time-" Hades raised a single eyebrow, knowing that his brother was up to something. As he cut off his brother's thought, he adjusted the air vents so that he could rid his hands of the cold they captured from outside. "We just met last week. Has something happened?" This statement made Poseidon erupt with laughter so that he could try to hid his awkward grin. "Nothing!" He insisted quickly, repeating the word a few times before letting things get quiet between them. 

          For a moment, the only sound in the car was that of the radio playing in the background. Hades too this chance to give his brother a look over, noticing the crumpled collar of his button up and the poorly rolled sleeves. Now that he thought about it, his brother's hair was more of a mess than normal and his tie was barley done. 

          "You-You are seriously sleeping with someone in town?!" He accused Poseidon quickly, starting to go on about appearances and how they needed to be careful of their descendants in this world. Poseidon sat quietly, his nerves a bit calmed at the usual rant from his older brother, but he still seemed a little put off by something. "You don't need to worry about stuff like that... especially with what we need to be doing right now." Hades may not have approved of his brother's pastime, but he really had no right to say anything about it. He was in no position to be telling Poseidon what to do. "Alright, just let me get my jacket from home before we head to the diner." 

          The brothers arrived at the diner at last, and were seated quickly. The diner was styled after the 50's rockabilly aesthetic. Poseidon didn't care much for the decor, but he knew the theming wasn't why they were there. Their menus were small, home to only sandwiches and a few burgers. Hades didn't pick up his menu while his brother looked at his with a frown. "You always pick the worst place to go. I can't even get chicken nuggets here." Hades laughed a bit at his brother's discontentment. "If you didn't eat like a child, you'd find plenty on that menu to eat." Poseidon eyed his brother from over the menu as the waitress brought them their drinks.

          Hades grabbed his glass of soda and sipped it as his brother ordered their food. "And he will have the usual." Hades always ordered the same thing, a turkey swiss sandwich that had a secret sauce smothering it instead of mayo. It had a bit of zest added that made the sandwich so much better than anything he could make at home. He put down the glass of soda and looked over at his brother, eyeing him carefully as the waitress move out of earshot. "So tell me, have you found her?"

          Poseidon frowned, swirling his sweet tea around with his straw and moving his eyes away from Hades'. "No, but I do have news from Olympus that might help..." He seemed bothered, but also afraid to really say anything to his older brother about it. Olympus was the cruise ship Poseidon and all the other reincarnated Olympians lived on. Hades had decided long ago he wanted nothing to do with the others, and instead wanted to live a quaint life with his beloved Persephone when he would find her. Some of the other Gods didn't like this very much, and one in particular seemed desperate to make it known. "Demeter has disappeared. Hera seems at ease about it so I can only assume it has something to do with Persephone."

          Poseidon's news was troubling. Hera was in charge of everything because Zeus had yet to make an appearance. He disappeared when Mount Olympus fell all those years ago, and in the chaos, Hera took the chance to seize power. However, to keep control she always made it clear their kind was not allowed to leave the boat once they were there. She claimed it was for their safety, but Hades knew it was just her way of showing the power she had over them all. It was the same power move Zeus did when they lived on a mountain.

          Demeter would leave the boat for a time only to bring back supplies, and always with permission from Hera. These trips usually were brought to the attention of Poseidon because he captained the ship, but it seemed he didn't know about this particular excursion. Hades crossed his arms in thought and looked away from Poseidon. After a moment he finally spoke. "If Demeter has found her before I have, I'll never get to see her in this life. She's always had it out for me."

          The Drowned God's sadness was clear in the wrinkles of his forehead. A life without Persephone has been a hard one. She brought light into his world, and without her he seemed so lost. "Hades, you can't fight Demeter forever. She has the support of Hera, the Queen of-." Hades' blue gaze found his brother's green one, and his anger could be spoken between them without the use of words. "You and I both know Hera should never have been Queen. Zeus would of wanted one of us, one of his brothers, to take care of his people." 

          Hades uncrossed his arms and reached for his drink. He knew better than to snap at Poseidon like that. He was a bit more sensitive to that kind of thing in this life. Poseidon looked at him with worry, before looking away and rubbing his arm in an attempt to comfort himself. Hades saw his brother's reaction and released the straw from his lips. He sighed in defeat. "Anyway, what kind of Queen encourages someone to keep her people apart." 

          "The same kind of Queen that sees the hardships of a mother who just wants to see her daughter safe." The waitress approached with a tray, setting out their food and thanking them. She started letting them know the desserts of the evening, but before she could finish Hades mentioned not needing anything more. She smiled and continued on her way, their conversation continuing once she was far enough away. Hades looked at his brother, deciding it was time for a change of subject. "What other news do you have? Any leads that might help me?"

          Poseidon offered a small smile, giving away that his next words were that of good news. It was always his plan to tell bad news first to make the good news a bit sweeter. "She's here, in this town. One of my followers came here to see his family and noticed Demeter in the streets." Hades perked up at this, his eyes alight with hope that wasn't there before. "She wouldn't be in a town like this if it wasn't for her daughter. Demeter despises towns too... small for her tastes." He started to think back on a few things.

          If Persephone was so close, he could usually pick her out in a crowd. It made him ask a very important question. "How could Persephone be so close and I not know?" Poseidon took a bite of his sandwich, the mayo falling onto his plate with a loud smack. Hades would ask a question when he had a mouthful. As he finished his bite, he cleaned his lips with a napkin and reached for his drink. 

          "I have a theory... but before I have actual evidence I don't want to bother you with it." He took a big drink, bringing moisture to the mouth his sandwich tried to dry out. The mayo couldn't help how dry a sandwich was if it was escaping from the back of it. "What you need to do is focus on finding her first. There's must be someone in town that resembles her in personality."

          Hades took a bite of his own sandwich and started to chew on it and his thoughts. His brother continued after seeing Hades struggle with his own memories. "You need to be on the lookout for even the smallest of signs, brother. There are forces against you..." His words traveled off along with his thoughts, and Hades already had an idea where this train of thought was leading, and so he swallowed his bite quickly and eyed his brother down. "I do not need followers. Power corrupts us, and I will not let it do so to me."

          The Olympians had become powerless when they fell. Overtime they became myths, not objects of worship like they needed to be. It was the worship, they discovered, that made them Gods of great power. Every Olympian got to work making their stories known among mortals throughout the decades. Poseidon had his followers work on his ship and all the benefits of it in exchange for their worship. Demeter offered food to the hungry and was involved in politics, and naturally people started to worship her. Hades couldn't see himself as someone who could take advantage of people. Now he could offer something to his followers, but he didn't want to see how his gift would influence the world.

          "I'll keep an eye out for her. Make sure you figure out whatever you can about Demeter. I won't allow her to take Persephone away from me, again." Poseidon finished his sandwich, offering a smile to his brother and an energetic thumbs up. "I believe in you, big bro. I'll let you know what I find." He slurped down the rest of his tea as Hades finished his own meal. 

          The two talked about their work lives for the rest of the evening. They were brothers after all, and interested in what the other was doing with their lives. Poseidon would complain about the parties Dionysus threw that trashed his poor boat, and Hades would complain about his neighbor's dog who kept chasing his cat. It was funny how mortal they were starting to become.