How This Happened?!

Female!Hephaestus

It was usual for Hephaestus being ignored.

Not that he minded anyway. He liked the solitude, because he claimed he could create better artifacts when he was alone, without any distractions. That's what people where to him, distractions. Though, he liked to reward the female mortals that had a hand with forgery and inventions, otherwise, he'll never have kids of his own.

The last one, Esperanza Valdez, was brilliant and even more eccentric than him, if he could say so. She was always working, not stopping for a second, not even when he understood she was carrying his baby. Hephaestus admired those women that, no matter what, could still attend their work and raise a kid wonderfully (he always directed that prayer to the mother of Perseus Jackson, but if Poseidon heard it, it'd be his end).

Hephaestus never had a lot of company, so he was used to talk to his creations. Many of them wouldn't reply back, because they were scraps of metal and engines and not mobil parts. But, the ones that could move, always supplied a pat in the shoulder. They couldn't talk, so that was their way to show their master they were there for him.

For once, Hephaestus didn't want to be ignored.

And, he wasn't talking about the cold shoulder he gives Aphrodite, every time she goes out with Ares. Neither he was thinking about the small smile of reassurance that Hestia would give him every time they saw each other. No. He was talking about the physical contact. Some words of acknowledgement.

When the change occurred, Hephaestus really wanted someone to talk.

He was working, on his workshop on Olympus, since his favorite forge was being cleaned. Out with the old, in with the new, he convinced himself. He was working with some spectacles, applying tiny, almost microscopic parts into what it looked like a chip, when he noticed his hands weren't as hairier as he remembered them. At first, he didn't gave it a lot of meaning, because it was usual for him to get lost for days inside projects and forget whatever he'd done before.

He took out his spectacles and blew clean the chip, with the intention of cleaning and apply heat into the parts. His hands had turned more delicated, but equally calloused than always. Frowning, Hephaestus removed his spectacles and inspected them. They looked like a woman's hand. Rummaging through his pieces of soon either junk or masterpiece, he found what he was looking for. Though, he questioned himself of why did he had one.

Slowly, he raised the object in his hand to meet his face, only to find out that it was her face. Covered in dust and grease and sweat, but it was her face. Hephaestus dropped the mirror, not understanding what was happening. She got up and began to inspect her body. Her hairy limbs were gone, replaced by firm yet slightly delicate and less muscly body parts. Her chest had rounded and was less squared. And, let's not forget about the limping legs! Those were still there, but it was a more delicate walk.

Hephaestus kneeled down to grab the mirror again and stare at her new face. The beard was gone, so were the populated eyebrows and the wrinkles made by the fire and the forges. The hair was longer, more silky and long up to her waist. Her eyes were more rounded and kind than usually.

It must be the shock, but to Hephaestus, she was a vivid version of Esperanza Valdez.

Hephaestus explored her new body (literally) and came to the conclusion that it didn't matter if she was man or woman, people from the opposite gender will never pay attention to her. That was a new low in her mind, which only lived for her creations.

Not wanting to deal with the pressure of being judge, Hephaestus left Olympus in a flash of fire and sparks and reappeared into Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Though the name could sound like a horrible pun, Hephaestus felt right at home, walking around the forgery street, admiring the work of the people and the elegancy of the fire.

"You should melt it more" she heard a man tell his apprentice. The young man snorted and continue his bad work.

"Relax, old man... What could happen?" the guy replied, playing cocky. Hephaestus couldn't help but interfere.

"The metal bar could break, or not mold properly for whatever you're doing" she butted in, watching the piece master and apprentice were trying to built.

"What would you know about forgery, girl?!" the guy insulted her, frowning. Hephaestus frowned back.

"Listen to the young lady" the master had agreed with her, giving her a kind smile "Even, as you put it, when her lack knowledge of forgery, she can see your mistake..."

"She's a girl" the guy dragged the last word, as if it was an insult towards her "Girls know nothing about forges"

"Oh, yeah?" Hephaestus dared him. She didn't matter anyone if she was gonna be cast away forever, she wanted to teach manners to this kid "I bet I can do the same thing you're doing without any error"

"And, when you don't, I'll be here, mocking you" he answered, cocky as the beginning. Hephaestus frowned and began working. Was if time accelerated just for her, because she was working at an impressive speed, despite the fire being mortal.

"You know how to work, young lady" the master praised her. Hephaestus smiled and blushed a little "I've never seen someone work like you, so focus yet so delicate at the same time"

"Thanks. I'm autodidact on this..." she recognized to him, not losing her focus. By the time she finished, the other guy was speechless at her work and she was proud she could had beaten that cocky guy.

"Guys, come check this girl out!" The scream made her pay attention to her surrounds and noticed, for the first time, a crowd of men gathered around her, praising her and clapping at her.

For the first time, Hephaestus felt good about herself.

~oOo~

Question of the Day: How was your first New Year's week?

Question of the Chapter: you think the change will increase Hephaestus' confidence?