Thor Odinson, God of Thunder, King of Asgard (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pirateangelbaby) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
nexus_crossings2020-03-15 01:51 pm
pirateangelbaby) wrote in nexus_crossings2020-03-15 01:51 pm
The Wheel Turns, The Sun Rises
[OOC: Follows this prose. Posted early for ease of slowtags, but takes place in the spring. If you can't tag into this for a few weeks but still want to, feel free to tag late, I don't mind. <3 ]
Winter is slow to leave the shores of Norway, but here in the Nexus, the turning of the season is far more apparent. Snow has given way to mud and damp, squishy grass, bright green buds blossom on trees and bushes, and birds sing in the trees.
A less melodious pair of voices squawk from the crook of Thor's elbow. The god of thunder is seated on one of the park benches that overlooks a running path, the sunlight shining off his loosely braided hair, gathered at the nape of his neck. He is still dressed against a chill in a soft woolen sweater, but his attention is less on the cloudless weather than he is on the little creatures he holds. Anyone who comes close enough might be able to catch a glimpse of baby birds just beginning to grow their first plumage, ugly and wide-mouthed as they beg for bits of food.
As eager as they are to gobble up the smallest scraps of meat he's feeding them, Thor is rather glad that his prosthetic fingers do not feel any pain of those little sharp beaks jabbing at him. There's a fondness in his eye as he gazes down at them, but he's troubled also, a quiet thoughtfulness that doesn't leave when he looks up. "How important do you think names are? What power do they actually hold?"
Winter is slow to leave the shores of Norway, but here in the Nexus, the turning of the season is far more apparent. Snow has given way to mud and damp, squishy grass, bright green buds blossom on trees and bushes, and birds sing in the trees.
A less melodious pair of voices squawk from the crook of Thor's elbow. The god of thunder is seated on one of the park benches that overlooks a running path, the sunlight shining off his loosely braided hair, gathered at the nape of his neck. He is still dressed against a chill in a soft woolen sweater, but his attention is less on the cloudless weather than he is on the little creatures he holds. Anyone who comes close enough might be able to catch a glimpse of baby birds just beginning to grow their first plumage, ugly and wide-mouthed as they beg for bits of food.
As eager as they are to gobble up the smallest scraps of meat he's feeding them, Thor is rather glad that his prosthetic fingers do not feel any pain of those little sharp beaks jabbing at him. There's a fondness in his eye as he gazes down at them, but he's troubled also, a quiet thoughtfulness that doesn't leave when he looks up. "How important do you think names are? What power do they actually hold?"
no subject
On the matter of her helping with Loki's children, she smiles earnestly. "Please do. Who are they staying with now, do I know them?" She's not sure if this is a friend of Thor's or Loki's, but either way, they must be close to the family.
It's nice to know that her idea has hit the mark, although she can't help but giggle a little when he admits he's forgotten the details to the myths of his own people. "You're in some of those stories, aren't you? Unless you mean the ones that came before you. I'll think of something. I could also demonstrate a science experiment or two. I promised Amelia once that I'd make a baking soda and vinegar volcano in the Plaza. Or we could make slime. That's always fun."
no subject
He's still a little less certain about Loki's friend, however, though rationally he knows that sharing the same face as someone he dislikes is no reason to mistrust the man. "Ian Malcolm. He's, uh... Loki's boyfriend, I think? I've lost track." His brother takes many lovers, it seems, though Thor can hardly point fingers given his own history on the matter, if someone were to visit ancient Norway and ask around the local villages. Teenage dalliances are the same in Asgardians as they are in humans, it seems. "Loki trusts him, anyway. And he's got a daughter, so the kids have a playmate."
"No!" he exclaims with a laugh. "Well, yes. I mean, some of them. But I meant more the sorts of stories my mother used to tell us when we were still small. Brave princes going on adventures to made-up lands, how the bilgesnipe got his antlers, that sort of thing. Earth has picture books, I've read a few of those with them, but they're not the same stories obviously." Science experiments do sound like a good idea, though he looks a little befuddled at the mention of making slime. "Fun and educational. That'd be good for them, I think. They're being tutored but I don't recall chemical volcanoes on the agenda."
no subject
In some ways, Thor is much easier to sit and talk to. She would have assumed that he was a friendly alien for quite a while longer if Loki hadn't come along to burst that bubble in his signature dramatic way. She doesn't bat an eye when Thor refers to the man as Loki's boyfriend. Gods are gonna god, especially ones with as fluid an identity as Loki. "Oh, I don't know him. That's a big deal, isn't it, for Loki to trust him. That's great that his daughter is their playmate. Kids need friends around their own age."
She smiles easily at his laughter, glancing briefly at the baby ravens to see what they think of it. "Ah, okay. Those are important stories to share." His expression at her offer to make slime is noted with a little surprise. Who doesn't like slime? Well, maybe he's thinking of the gross kind, like pond scum, and not the fun kind that feels good to squeeze. "Their tutor might not have gotten to teaching them chemical reactions yet. A baking soda volcano is the gold standard for kids' experiments." She sighs. "I really wish I had access to a powerful microscope in the Nexus, I could show them all kinds of neat stuff. Oh, I know! I can bring my field kit. I can show them water bears and a few other microscopic animals."
no subject
"It is," he agrees with a frown. "I... haven't asked how they met. There wasn't the time. But he, er, looks very much like someone else we've dealt with." The sour look on Thor's face is hint enough that he's not fond of this other person, on a deeply personal level. It wasn't there when he spoke of Ian himself, though.
One of the raven chicks has its eyes closed, hunkered down with beak tucked under its sibling's wing. The other is still awake and watching them, though when it notices Adia paying attention, it opens its mouth hopefully. More food?
Thor nudges the packet of dried meat, a silent invitation for her to oblige, if she feels so inclined. "Water bears? I didn't know there were bears quite that small." Usually it's more the gigantic creatures he tends to focus on, though, so maybe it's not that surprising.
no subject
The sleeping chick attracts her attention first, because how adorable is that? And then the other chick open its mouth hopefully and her heart melts all over again. Thor does not have to offer the food twice, and she reaches into it to find an appropriate sized piece for the baby raven. "Here you go," she says, mindful of its beak.
Oh! Thor doesn't know about water bears! Adia's expression brightens, eager to talk about one of her favorite creatures. "They're officially called tardigrades, they got the name 'water bear' because they have round, stubby legs that end in claws. So they kind of look like bears, if you have an imagination. They're amazing little creatures. They can survive temperatures -- both hot and cold -- that would kill all other life. They can even survive in space for a little while! Plus, for a microscopic creature, they're pretty cute."
no subject
"Human, yes. Tall, dark hair, glasses. Some kind of math wizard, I think." That might be an actual slang term, but Thor has no idea, intending to indicate the more literal kind of wizard. "We haven't spoken much yet. But the children are familiar with him, and his daughter, and Loki is comfortable with letting them hang out unsupervised, so they must not be that bad."
The chick is still young enough that it doesn't know to bite at food, eagerly letting her put the food directly into its mouth. Thor watches with a small smile on his lips, clearly not the only one charmed by the little birds. He gaze focuses when she starts describing these water bear creatures, still imagining tiny aquatic bears swimming around unseen. "They sound formidable. We should be grateful they're not the size of regular bears, I suppose."
no subject
Adia cannot stop smiling at the way the baby bird eats, and the other sleeps. Thor's comment on water bears has her giggle a little, amused by the idea. "Yeah, probably for the best. Although it'd be neat to be able to see one on that sort of scale. You know, they're find just about everywhere on Earth. When I bring my field kit, I'll show them to you too, if you like."
Someday, someone ought to tell Adia about Hank Pym and his shrinking technology.
no subject
The chick that Adia fed settles down, momentarily sated, making creaky little noises to itself. Being a baby bird is exhausting work, naturally. Thor has little doubt that they'll both be awake and nagging him to be fed again in no time, though.
"Oh, certainly." Thor hasn't used a microscope before, but he's become familiar with the instrument from watching television. It seems a better way to observe from a safe distance, instead of risking time displacement as they'd done deliberately to set the universe to rights. He's a little uneasy with the memories, mixed feelings about their victory and the sacrifices they'd had to make to achieve it. "The only Earth science I've really explored before was the stars."
no subject
Now that both baby birds have settled down, Adia is a little less distracted by them, although those creaky sounds are terribly cute. "Could your father's ravens talk?" she asks curiously. "I've heard that ravens are wonderful vocal mimics."
As much as Adia loves tardigrades, she probably would not want to have a pair of them staring her down hungrily. "You don't even need a very powerful microscope to see them. They're small, but not as small as an amoeba." She's not surprised to hear that he studied the stars while on Earth. She smiles a touch ruefully. "You know, that's what I wish I had gotten my degree in, when I first came here. Our Fleet was searching for Earth at the time, after the colonies were destroyed. I must have looked at hundreds of star maps, but I didn't have enough technical background to make sense of them. It was frustrating."
no subject
He gently strokes the top of the little bird's head, its eyes closing in pleasure at the attention, patchy downy feathers smoothed down under his touch. "Oh yes. They spoke often to Odin, but rarely to anyone else, unless there was a great need. There were a few occasions where I was summoned home by Muninn coming to fetch me."
"Star maps are complicated," he agrees readily, "even if it's only in linear space, never mind wormholes and jump points. It took my ancestors many centuries to chart Yggdrasil reliably, back when we still crossed the stars in ships. Is it too late for you to begin studying now? You never know what skills might come in handy later."
no subject
Thor's gentleness with the little bird is unsurprising, but it puts a small smile on her face. "I wonder if it will be the same for you and them. Zelus usually gets his point across clearly without having to say much of anything."
"We never came across any wormholes in our journey, although our FTL drive essentially created them every time we jumped from point to point. The last jump that took us to Earth was the farthest we'd ever gone. I'm not sure we'd be able to map our way back..." She laughs softly at Thor's suggestion, patting the messenger bag resting next to her on the bench. "I already am, a little. I actually met an angel recently who has set up an observatory in the Nexus and he inspired me to try again. I mean, studying the stars at home must be easier than trying to study the sky in the Nexus, right?"
no subject
"I suppose we'll see, won't we?" That's certainly been weighing on his mind since he realized what the eggs were, who they might still be. Will they have the same personalities, despite the different upbringing? How much of Huginn and Muninn were intrinsic to their nature, and how much was Odin's will? (And... what does this mean for his own upbringing?)
He chuckles a little at her enthusiasm, and thinks again how she reminds him of Jane, in a way. She, too, had loved studying the stars, though Adia is far more laid-back about it. "Definitely. If you ever want to give the stars in Asvera a look, stop by in the winter. It's dark for months, and the aurora usually gives us a pretty good show, too."
no subject
Adia reserves most of her scientific passion for microbiology, but she's quick to show enthusiasm at anything that catches her interest or seems relevant to her time on Atlantis or in the Nexus. Good thing she's a quick study, although some research projects have to be shunted to the side in favor of more pressing matters. Thor's offer makes her smile brightly. "Oh, I'd love that, thank you. Aside from a few scouting vessels, we don't visit other parts of Earth out of respect for the natives. It'll be neat to finally see an aurora in person."
As much as she would love to sit and talk to Thor some more about the stars, the books in her messenger bag won't read themselves. "I ought to go if I'm going to get any research done today, but please contact me if you need me to entertain the kids, I'd be happy to."