the_lioness | (no subject)

(no subject)

Part of Alanna's plan to distract herself from the Ordeal and Jonathan -- the ordeal of loving Jonathan, Great Mother what is she thinking? -- is to spend more time at Milliways studying or training or even resting.

Of those three, it is no surprise that training more often than not wins out.

Today she is by the lake with Lightning in hand, practicing sword forms and fighting an invisible foe who looks a lot like Roger in her imagination. Her hair is longer than it should be, long enough that she stops to lift it so the cool breeze can reach her neck. It has grown warm, and she silently debates removing her tunic for the rest of her exercises.

No. Not yet. She can't become incautious and impatient now. Instead she reaches for the bucket she'd brought up from the lake and tosses some water in her face. The day she doesn't have to worry about these things will be a very good day, indeed. This one isn't terrible, however. It could always be cold. Smiling, she goes back to work.

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Thor's not in a bad mood today. He's bored enough by the endless back-and-forth of court arguments about things no one can change yet, and irritated enough by it, to seize upon the more pleasant distraction of an interlude at Milliways when the door presents itself, but he doesn't have any real temper to burn off. So he has some coffee (spiked with whiskey, because why not), and eventually makes his way out the back door, Mjölnir in hand.

Out the back door, where there's a small probably-mortal practicing sword forms with more than a little skill. Thor pauses to watch approvingly.

Alanna holds her focus well, right up until a complicated move -- one of Captain Sklaw's favorites -- leaves her facing her audience of one. Rolling her shoulders back, she huffs out a breath and nods a greeting.

"Hello," she offers after a moment, studying him. His size is impressive. Alanna doesn't typically meet men who rival Raoul in that area.

Amiably, "Hello."

Thor's heard, and said, that greeting enough for it to sound pretty natural now! (It sounded like he was seriously quoting a foreign greeting for a while, which is exactly what he was doing.)

He's pretty sure this mortal is young-ish, as well as being tiny. Pretty sure. It can be hard to tell.

"You have skill with that." This with a respectful nod to Lightning. Even if there weren't the faint whiff of power to it -- and/or to the human; Thor's not attuned enough to nuance to be quite sure which -- he'd be respectful about somebody's weapon. That's just basic manners.

He reminds Alanna of a lion, all that light hair and those keen, focused eyes. More friendly than your average big cat, of course, but they haven't even exchanged names yet; who knows how far the comparison will stretch?

Her chin goes up, just enough to betray her pride. "I do." A pause. "I've trained long and hard to ensure it," she adds because the Code of Chivalry instructs knights in humility. Surely aiming for humble is just as good at the moment? "And you've the skill to recognize it."

She grins then, fierce and cheeky at the same time.

Thor approves of pride and fierce cheekiness! He laughs, warm and rumbling and open.

"I do."

Humility is... a thing. A thing some people have! He's working on getting better at it in some contexts, but pretending he's not a great warrior is not one of them, come on.

"I am Thor," he adds, "son of Odin, of Asgard."

They're not quite close enough for a forearm clasp, but striding forward for that will probably be the next step.

His laugh makes her smile. It's not quite wide and unguarded yet, but it is welcoming.

"Well met, Thor."

Alanna moves to close the distance between them and offers up her arm for the clasp herself. It is usually a safe option in Milliways; the other person either knows what she's about or takes her hand and shakes it up and down. Both options feel equally as natural now.

"I'm Alan of Trebond, son of... Alan of Trebond," she says with a grin. "Of Tortall."

The last is questioning in tone, almost hopeful

Edited 2015-07-21 23:48 (UTC)

Warrior-y forearm clasping it is! Thor's hand is large and warm, and closes around her arm with a firm (and extremely careful) grip. For his part he's wearing intricately decorated vambraces, as he pretty much always is.

"Well met, son of Alan."

This is cheerful, and, sadly, contains no particular sign of recognition.

"Tortall is your realm?"

"It is," Alanna confirms, her smile widening at his use of the word 'realm.' "I've not yet met a compatriot here, but at least you don't look shocked too see me wielding a sword."

Beat.

"You're a warrior?"

It's only a question for the sake of politeness. Thor is obviously not a farmer or tradesman.

(He could technically be a blacksmith with those arms, but in her experience blacksmiths always look a little singed around the edges. Besides, there's his clothing, the large hammer and something... otherwise familiar about the way he carries himself.)

Edited 2015-07-22 18:49 (UTC)

Amused, "Do I seem aught else?"

That's a rhetorical question.

(It's true, he could be! He's got a hammer and everything!

It's... really really not a blacksmith's hammer.)

"Sometimes it is better not to make assumptions," she laughs, "or so my Masters like to tell me."

Alanna pulls her bottom lip between her teeth in a mostly failed effort to hold back her smile. She knows well how dangerous assumptions can be. And how useful.

"I'm in training to be a Tortallan knight."

"Tutors will say such things," he agrees.

Scholars, man. What're you gonna do.

"A worthy goal." Well, so he assumes (ha). But the word knight, or rather the Allspeech word it translates into, is kind of a tip-off so far as he's concerned. "Where do you stand in the process?"

"Tutors say many things," she grumbles.

They aren't all like Sir Myles, after all.

Brightening, "Eighteen months from my Ordeal of Knighthood. And yes, I am counting the days already. My friends tease me mercilessly, but that's because they are already knights."

Hmph.

Thor grins at her sympathetically, as if he has some experience with this.

(It's not the same thing; there wasn't an official Ordeal with an official pre-announced deadline. But Asgardians live long, and the prime of their lives is long too. Volstagg was once one of young Thor's teachers.)

"Well then. Soon enough you'll stand among their number."

Soon enough? Alanna makes a face -- impatience and worry all rolled up in one -- and grumbles, "It feels like forever."

If only she could decide whether or not she wants time to move faster or slower. The combination of both is a recipe for anxiety.

"Does your Asgard have knights?"

Thor makes a considering face.

The Allspeech translation is really, really handy, but sometimes it makes technical terminology like that a little dicey.

"We have warriors, and fealty sworn in honor. Near enough to your knights, I think. But perhaps the details differ."

"Perhaps."

Alanna smiles and shifts her grip on the sword, glancing down when sunlight strikes the purple crystal. She loves Lightening for any number of practical and strategic reasons, but sometimes she can't help being proud of how pretty it is.

"Honor is a defining principal of our Code of Chivalry," she nods, "along with kindness, charity, lawfulness, humanity... humility."

The last is said with a knowing twist of her lips.

"And loyalty. I place great importance in loyalty."

If only everyone did, she wouldn't worry about Jon so much.

"As you should. So should any with honor in their soul."

Thor also places great importance in loyalty -- pooossibly sometimes more than he should, or at least less wisely directed than he should -- as should be apparent from the firmness of his reply.

"I think I like you," Alanna tells him with a grin. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

Her smile turns fond, but also sad with rememberance.

"I had a very good friend named Thor once. Big Thor." She side-eyes this Thor, thinking the nickname suits him better still.

The past tense there, along with that smile, is kind of a tip-off.

But Thor grins, all the same. "Then I'm honored to have such a namesake."

Names are important! The names of legacy are important too. And for all Thor knows, this Big Thor was indeed named after him, in a distant way as tales passed down. But either way, what he says is true.

"You should be," Alanna is quick to reply, only partially teasing in tone. "He was a good man. May the Dark God keep him ever happy."

A good man who deserved a better end.

Her brow furrows. "Do you have gods in Asgard? Or a god, at least?"

Yet another question she never truly considered necessary before Milliways.

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