sixwordstories | (no subject)

What shall we speak of, then? The scars on my lips, which were my only reward for giving Thor his hammer and Odin his spear? The deaths of my children Vali and Narfi in punishment for helping someone else to commit murder? The slow drip of venom year after year, as Sigyn and I slowly went mad?

[Oh dear god, even this one is a drama queen.]

How about something that doesn't involve you?

*Yes, because it's so easy to dismiss a thousand years of torture as being over dramatic. Anything but admit that Odin Oathbreaker and his son aren't perfect, right?*

Would you like to meet my children, then?

*That's gonna take her a minute to think about. Jane's not exactly a fan of kids.*

What are they like?

Hela is queen of the forgotten and unwanted dead. Jormungandr is the World Serpent. Fenrir is the greatest of wolves, and his children chase the sun and moon for sport. Sleipnir is fastest of horses.

Vali is a wolf too, now. He has been since Odin forced him to kill his twin. And Narfi, poor Narvi, he is always here with me. *And he raises a hand to show the broken leather bindings.* What is left of him, that is.

It sounds like you have quite the family.

I guess I'll meet any of them that won't try to hurt me.

We have no reason to hurt you. At worst you're blinded by infatuation, and that is no crime. Too few people act for love, if anything.

[Whoa, did he just call the pure and beautiful love that she and Thor share an infatuation?]

You have no idea what you're talking about.

*Hahahaha you've got to be kidding. Three days does not a pure and beautiful love make, especially when the guy started out thinking of humans as ants and then needs you to get home.*

I'm talking about Thor, who called humans worthless ants on the rare occasions that he remembered your existence, who you only knew three days and who needed your help. Sweet-talking silly girls was a hobby of Thor's, even if Fandral was more blatent about it.

Even if he convinced himself that he cared about you, romances with mayflies rarely work out well. And Odin would let a human eat of Idunn's fruits as readily as he would eat his own spleen.

He didn't sweet-talk me.

*Not really. He'd called her clever but that was hardly a come-on. Loki could say what he wanted but she knew what was in Thor's heart, and that was what made her love him.*

You are incapable of being happy for him, aren't you?

No? He did something, surely, to make you fall so fast. I'd think he gave you a love potion, if I didn't know how much he hates magic.

Never once was he happy for me, and me alone. He barely noticed me unless he needed my help, and then he called me names because I had the skills he needed. Why should I ever be happy for the beast that held me down when my lips were sewn shut, the fool who spent most of his time belittling me for powers that had just saved his life, the monster that boasted that he would help to kill my children one day?

Letting him live after Ragnarok was too kind, truly, wheelchair or not.

Maybe he's trying to get your attention?

Again, I have NO IDEA what you're rambling about.

*At this point she's desperate for a topic that won't set him on a rant.*

Your Thor is not my Thor, okay? Can we please talk about something else?

He's usually not that subtle. He just bellows "Jane" at the top of his lungs when he needs something.

It is a bit difficult. Most of my life has been spent focused on them, in one way or another.

What would you like to talk about?

*Jane can kind of understand that. She does tend to focus on her work, and once she starts talking about it she finds it hard to stop.*

Um... how about why you decided to come here?

I am curious about all the ways things could have gone. I have seen worlds where I am Odin's brother, or Thor's sister. Worlds where my children are older than I am, or magical constructs, or not there at all. Worlds where I am but a mortal man named for a myth, or an Aesir taken in by Jotnar.

It is fascinating, truly.

A what? [You're losing the Asgardian, Jane. She didn't know of stewardesses or airplanes. She hasn't spent as much time on Midgard as Thor has.]

Water would be fine. Thank you.

[Jane answers while she gets a glass of water for her.]

It's someone who serves drinks and snacks on an airplane. Do you know what an airplane is?

[She's used to Thor's blank stares, so don't worry about ignorance of Midgardian ways being a problem.]

I understand all of that, but why come to see me?

Wait, have you known other me's?

Why not? You are a part of the story, after all.

A few of you, and I have heard of others. Some killed by Odin or his tests of 'worth,' several by old age, a few who were allowed Idunn's apples, a few that lived until Ragnarok as mortals, one killed by her Thor in a lover's quarrel and one killed by her version of myself in vengeance for her Thor killing his pets.

There are many ways that history can go. Infinite ways, in truth.

It's your giant metal birds, yes? [She had seen one or two, just never really had them explained to her.]

Maybe he's trying a different approach instead of blaring out your name.

He's not even here, Darcy.

Yes. It's how us humans get from one place to another, since we can't fly.

[She returned to the table with the requested glass of water.]

Anyway... so how're things going on Asgard now that Thor's left?