(no subject)

[dovelike]

The Door opens onto the terrain at the base of Olympus, as always, but this second visit is slightly different than the first. They won't be hiking up the sacred mountain, not unless Clark wants to see it again, and the landscape is ordinary. Aside from being gorgeous and Mediterranean, anyway.

"Come on, my house isn't too far from here."

Eirene's smile isn't quite as blissful now, and the totally euphoric feeling has -- actually not disappeared, just lessened slightly.

Comments

[eirenikos]

"The last occupants were human, and this is but one of their vacation homes, so it is not surprising that there are so many possibilities never explored."

She turns to smile up at him.

"I will make this a refuge for anyone who needs it. Perhaps that is what I will do with the two rooms below - make them into guest rooms for those who wish to stay and heal from pain, emotional or otherwise, that life marks them with."

[hero_farmboy]

"Sounds like a good idea," Clark smiles back down at her, a smaller smile this time, but possibly fonder and more genuine than any of those he gave her earlier.

[eirenikos]

"Thank you. Now I have something to live up to." Eirene's eyes twinkle, and she may kidnap his fingers with her own before gazing across the yard with the eye of an experienced gardner.

Eventually: "Let's head down into the village. If I'm going to host you here for a couple of days, provided you still want to stay, then we'll need enough food to feed a hungry alien."

[hero_farmboy]

He glances around once more and then nods. "Kara probably won't even know I'm gone. But just a couple of days." Which means two, at most.

"You're going to need a lot of food."

[eirenikos]

"Clark, I will take you back the moment you wish to leave, have no fear of that." Cue grin. "Then let me show you what a village market looks like. Come."

She'll lead him back inside, through the house, and out to the lane, following the road down into the village proper, and into the center. To say it makes the farmer's market in Smallville look like a six year old's lemonade stand is only a slight exaggeration, for everything is sold here; flowers, fruit, vegetables, meats and fresh fish.

"Go on, pick what you want."

[hero_farmboy]

Don't be knocking the Smallville farmer's market; it's quaint and it has charm, not to mention the finest pie in the state.

Clark is clearly comfortable with the open market atmosphere, and takes his time wandering around, inspecting the fruits and vegetables, selecting the ones deemed worthy, along with some meat and fish. It's enough, he thinks, for a couple of days.

[eirenikos]

Oh, Eirene isn't knocking it. Much. Simply a matter of local pride. If Clark didn't prefer Smallville over everything else, she'd start worrying.

It's a beautiful day for strolling past the stalls, and Eirene selects almost as many items as Clark does, knowing full well that once he leaves, she'll be mobbed by the local children, and patiently waits until he's done with each section before launching into a spirited haggling session with the farmer or fisherman, until she's worn them down to a slightly lower price.

When everything has been wrapped up, packed into bags and handed over to Eirene, or at least the stuff that Clark will let her carry, she spies a stand near the end of the town center with little figurines for sale.

And promptly falls in love with a little gray elephant statue.

[hero_farmboy]

The haggling is, well, to put a word to it, adorable. Not that he has a clue what they're saying, but Clark just stands to her side, a big smile on his face, and watches her with amusement, occasionally shrugging at the vendor. Clark will be no help for him.

Once they've gathered their purchases, he finds her over by the figurine stand.

"Elephants?"

[eirenikos]

Eirene shifts a bag of apples to her hip, treating it the exact same way she would a toddler, and points toward the pachyderm, engaging in another bartering session until the vendor throws up his hands and gestures to the statue.

"Go on, woman. Take it. I will have more next weekend when the shipment comes in from India." His English is heavily laced with a Greek accent.

She bows formally and collects her prize, hugging it to her chest. "Blessings of Zeus on you, sir."

"Come on, Clark. Lets go home before he changes his mind. And yes, I adore elephants."

[hero_farmboy]

Clark is just further amused as they start back toward her house.

"Why elephants?"

[eirenikos]

"Because they're large, gentle creatures, content to just go about their lives. You have to train an elephant to be mean. Of course, there are always exceptions."

She grins while skirting around a group of kids spilling out of an alley in pursuit of a small dog or large cat, she couldn't see past the mob.

"I've just always liked them. If you ask nicely, they'll let you ride them without benefit of those horrid drivers who keep yelling at and smacking them."

[hero_farmboy]

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen one, outside of the Metropolis Zoo, and that was a long time ago." Clark steps aside to let the kids - and the dog - go by. "Personally, I liked the rhinoceros better."

[eirenikos]

"Do you want to? While you're here, I mean." She's already mentally figuring out whether to take him to an actual zoo, or the wilds of Africa, or somewhere on the Indian subcontinent if he actually says yes.

If not, it's a moot point, and they're getting closer to her home anyway.

[hero_farmboy]

Clark probably should have expected the offer. But he didn't, so Eirene will get a look.

"I'm not sure we'l have time. We need to get your house set up." There's a brief pause before he adds, "Next time, though."

[eirenikos]

"Okay." She smiles easily (always has) and leads the way back to her home. The door is standing open, which may or may not mean anything, and it's not until they get inside that the reason stares them in the face.

Almost literally.

There's a gift basket on the counter and a kitchen full of dishes and cups and everything that she was planning on shopping around for in the morning.

The basket is, thankfully, only full of golden apples, and a note from her mother. Which turns her cheeks red and is stuffed into a jeans pocket.

"Well," Eirene sighs after a moment. "At least thats one thing off the list."

[hero_farmboy]

Clark sets the packages he's carrying on the counter and gives her a small smile.

"Guess that just goes to show no matter how old you get, we're all still kids to someone."

[eirenikos]

Eirene follows suit with the couple she hadn't put down yet, and casts a glance towards the ceiling.

"This? Is very true. Why don't you take out what you want for dinner tonight and then I'll put the rest away."

[hero_farmboy]

He rummages through the packages for a few minutes and then pulls out some pork chops and setting them aside. Then he'll open the fridge and eyes it thoughtfully. "Do you have a specific order or place where all this has to go?" Some people do, he knows.

[eirenikos]

That takes Eirene completely by surprise. "Uh, no? I think the fruit is supposed to go in the draw labeled 'crisper', but everything else should be fair game. Don't worry about it, I'll put everything away in a minute."

After some consideration, she sets mushrooms and an onion next to the pork, and then starts loading everything else into the fridge in a neat, albeit slightly haphazard, way.

[hero_farmboy]

Clark wants to be helpful - that's what he's here for, after all, so he passes her items to be put away where she wants them. At least it makes him feel like he's doing something useful.

When they're finished, and all the packages are away, he turns the little elephant figure over in his hands. "So, what's next?"

[eirenikos]

"I try and figure out how to cook this without using magic so you don't freak out?"

She's ... not actually kidding, either, by the sheepish expression on her face.

[hero_farmboy]

Clark looks over at her. "I can teach you, if you want."

[eirenikos]

Stare.

"You know how to cook?"

[hero_farmboy]

"Uh, yeah?" Clark thought that was a given. "I mean, I'm no gourmet, but I can fend for myself. Mom made sure I could."

[eirenikos]

It wasn't, though it probably should have been. Eirene blinks after a few moments, and grins up at him. "That's very groovy, Clark. Yeah. I'd like that. This meal, anyway."

She extracted the elephant from his fingers shortly afterwards and carries it over to the fireplace in the living room, to a place of importance on the mantle.