He's back after 3 years! x-posted to dear_player

[hamm3rtime]

Well here's a Thor everyone hasn't seen in a while; long hair, useful armor, hammer and all. "Oh come now, mun, new beginnings are heartening! Even if they're new beginnings without new beginnings from updates! Play from whenever you like; I wish I could go back in time so easily."

And ohhh he'd wandered into that topic suddenly. How had that happened? His smile dims a bit. It makes it even worse that his first thought, following admitting a wish to go back, was to remember the sound of Odin's pronouncement. You are unworthy... of the loved ones you have betrayed Well. Now they weren't really around for him to be unworthy of them. Unless he was to come to this place. So in a way, he could go back and forward in time, easily enough, as this place allowed. All these people from various points in time and so many universes. A tiny hope; a place of calm in the middle of the storm.

It's been nearly a year since he'd been pelted with the sharp sands of his own sandstorm, yet he swears he can still feel all the places that the sand got into. It had itched the worst at his heart and mind, and having to pour all the sand out of his armor in that London hospital wasn't really... something he could find as silly as he'd have liked to. Every grain was a tear. The night sky felt far more soothing than daylight, now.

"Listen, just type something; I want to see who's here."

Comments

[imagoodgirl]

[Well, at least someone else is here.. It's the friendly voice and shiny armor that has this horned girl curious.]

Is that heavy to wear?

[She asks this out of harmless curiosity. Thor's hammer is what she soon notices next. It looks very heavy to lift, but this man is holding it like it's not. Is he really that strong?

He may not be a normal person at all. Maybe not like me, but...]

[hamm3rtime]

[Glancing over at the girl, he's struck by how much young she appears.]

It's... about 8 stone. The hammer... is about 3, so... altogether about 11 stone?

[He's a little self-conscious, wondering if the kid will be afraid of so much weight?]

Where I am from... we weigh a lot more than humans do. I'm only carrying... about a quarter of my weight.

[imagoodgirl]

[Nana physically looks to be 14 when mentally she is seven and a half. Not that she understands why her body grows faster than most, but this never seems to bother her friends/family.

All she absolutely knows is that she is very different from normal people. She was born that way. It might be my horns that surprised him.

She doesn't have a reason to be nervous, or run away from him. What he says only causes her to want to ask more questions.]

Are you really not human? You look like one!

[A wild guess as to what he may be comes to her mind in an instant.]

Are you a super-soldier? One of my friends I live with is one. He's stronger and faster than most people.

[hamm3rtime]

I'm not, [Thor maintains, unbothered by her questioning.] I am an aesir. From Asgard. It is another rea- world of people, distantly related to humans.

[imagoodgirl]

[No, she's never heard of an Asgard, nor his species.

Another world! This quickly fascinates Nana. She's reminded right away of another friend, who travels from one world to another.]

What's your home world like? Is there anything else that makes your species different from humans?

[Her curiosity about him won't be ending anytime soon.]

[hamm3rtime]

[He smiles, for she so much reminds him of himself at her age.] Well, we have healing capabilities that are... quicker, for one. Our metabolism is also quicker and we require much more food.

[Next is the part he expects to interest her, because magic does seem to interest most humans.] The majority of the people on Asgard have at least some access to magic, which is far harder for humans to use. I can only use two types of magic, and that's... also more common than people who make it their... entire career or fighting style.

[imagoodgirl]

I eat a lot too! [She softly giggles--partially at her own excitement. Food is one of her favorite subjects. One of the best things in relation to humans is the fact that they make a bunch of delicious meals to eat. Cooking is something she enjoys.]

I cook at home every other day! My friend Hope and I take turns.

[His smile must mean he's nice! Maybe she won't have to be as careful when talking to him about anything...]

[Her pink eyes widen in hearing about fast healing, and magic. Hearing and learning about that never ceases to amaze her. Such things never existed in her original world!

She doesn't hesitate to happily tell him what she's seen.]

My friend Cloud does magic! He has these pretty and shiny round things called Materia. They come in different colors, and do different things.

Hope also does magic but with moving his hands, and focusing on the spell he wants to do.

How do you cast magic? How can you heal fast?

[Oh, right! Introductions. If she's to make a new friend...] My name's Nana, by the way. What's yours?

[hamm3rtime]

[Thor nods his encouragement as she continues rambling to him about her life at home. There's a lot to what she says, as well. Information everywhere.]

[He extends a hand in greeting,] I am Thor.

And when people on Asgard cast magic, we think of spells like your friend Hope does. But certain relics or items can make the magic stronger or more controllable. As far as healing... I'm not sure; it seems to me that humans heal slowly and, I guess to them, that we Asgardians heal quickly.

[imagoodgirl]

[She talks a bit fast when excited. It can't be helped, and it's nice that Thor doesn't mind.

Nana promptly gripped Thor's hand a bit and shook it.] Nice to meet you!

So, your magic works like Hope's?

[She sincerely hopes it's not like a brand mark! A curse. Ah! Oh no... I can't! She stops talking, and places both hands over her head all of a sudden.

Every bit of information about Asgard magic is partially heard as the worry takes over her curiosity. Hope is like a brother she never had, and it wouldn't be right to just talk about the curse part of his magic! The brand mark on his hand...]

I shouldn't say much more about his magic. I shouldn't, because... Because people at his world tried to hunt him down and kill him because of it.

[Nana really cherishes having him in her life. He's been as nice and helpful to her as her very first friend, Mayu. Making such a dumb slip up would upset, and maybe endanger him! Cloud wouldn't be happy either. She's sure of it.]

[hamm3rtime]

[He shakes back, patient as the Crown prince he's been trained to be. Normally patience was certainly not among his better qualities, but he was different with children.

It's startling (and also concerning) when she covers her head so. And then she's blurting all these dangers and... well, Thor has been trained in how to deal with this. Even though it was heartbreaking to watch her reacting to it. It wasn't... really unusual for Asgard to abuse and kill magic users, either, at one time, and he's thoroughly glad that he and his little brother are not living in times such as those. He draws a deep breath and considers her for a moment.]

Nana? Do you want to sit down? [Thor indicates a set of tables nearby, in the park, that they can sit at.]

[imagoodgirl]

[The worry in her eyes over Hope doesn't leave as he asks her this.]

M-Maybe I should. Thank you.

[Her words soften. They're not so fast paced anymore as she slowly seats herself by one of those tables. The park is nice. It's beautiful, and peaceful here.

For a long moment, Nana just focuses on her breathing, and listening to the chirping of birds. She knows she must calm down, and be brave.

It's almost as if she heard her Papa's voice when reminding to not let herself be too scared. Papa... I'm trying. I really am.

It's as if her heart hurts, whenever there are thoughts of the one and only parent she had--and lost. She also feels so guilty over nearly talking about Hope's brand.]

[hamm3rtime]

[All the training in the universe could not have prepared him for this conversation. Gentleness is often difficult enough for Thor, without having to account for conversations about very adult topics and very adult consequences with... well, she appears to be an adolescent, but doesn't act like one? He's aiming his responses toward the age she acts. He doesn't often act his age, himself.]

[It's good (while somewhat disquieting) that she's aware of how to calm herself. Thor allows her the space to listen to the birdsong and focus on her own breathing.]

On my home world, [Thor begins carefully, hoping to show some common ground, here,] magicians were once hunted, as well. Even now, there are those who are bullied or shown... disrespect for their abilities.

[A painful topic, that, especially since Thor had inadvertently caused such distress, himself.]

[He wants to explain all of this to her in little pieces, allowing her to react. Kids don't do too well, listening to long monologues, he's aware.]

[imagoodgirl]

[She looks to Thor. Worry can be seen all over her face.] They were?

[It'd be appreciated in slowly going such details. Just as Nana chooses to be slow in going over her own past experiences of being in danger. Being chased, and hurt.]

My special arms and hands aren't normal. I don't think they're magic.

I was hunted too, for a while.... I know what it's like.

[Her voice cracks a bit at the end of that statement. Pieces of really terrible memories of her past at the Facility, and terrible girls that look similar to Nana come and go as her body is briefly still.]

[hamm3rtime]

[Special arms and hands. Hm. Well, it was less important than her friend being persecuted, so he'd ask after those later.]

[It does hurt to hear that a kid so young has already experienced these things, and Thor can't help but frown momentarily in concern. Sometimes the universe really wasn't fair.]

There are many people with magic, in this place. From many worlds with many different kinds of magic. [Now the hard part. He didn't want to hurt her, but a warning was needed.]

And while usually they don't come back to our timelines, sometimes they can. So I'm not sure if it's... advisable to speak about your friend being hunted. Not here, alright? Unless you know the person you're speaking to very well.

A lot of people talk about magic, in this place. It's easy enough for them to just... assume that you're from a place where magicians aren't hunted.

[imagoodgirl]

[After the brief and jumbled mess of a flashback passes, she has to take another moment to calm down.

The guilt over almost blurting about Hope's mark of the l'Cie comes right back as she listens to Thor. It sounds like good advice, and it makes sense, sort of.

Nana nods.]

Maybe I should've just not said much about Hope's magic at all. A lot of terrible things happened to him, and he didn't tell Cloud and me about it right away...

I promise to be a good sister to him. I want to help him be safe, and happy. He's not alone. [She wipes away her tears.] We live far away from all those bad people now.

...I remember. Our friend Mari said that each world comes with their dangers. She said we should always be careful on what to tell people.

[Especially about what she is, and what she's capable of. Nana knows she should be careful. Thor's really nice, so she doesn't have to worry around him hurting her, or taking advantage of her. In return, she doesn't at all want to cause him harm. But there are still things that would be so hard for her to speak about.]

[hamm3rtime]

[I promise to be a good sister to him, sounds a lot like little Thor would have sounded about his own brother. The poor kid was weighed down by far too much, already. She needed help.]

It's good to get away from all of that, [Thor agrees, trying to be warm and keep his own side of the conversation light weight.]

Do you have someone at home, who knows about all of this, to talk about it?

[imagoodgirl]

It really is. And there was the other time when I lived with nice people, in my first real home in the world I came from. Hope and the others I know now would like Mayu, Wanta, Yuka, Kohta, and Nyu.

[She pauses to remember what Mayu especially looks like. That girl had been her very first friend since after Papa had helped her escape from the Facility.

There have been times in which Nana wished her first family and current family could all live together. At least in the same neighborhood, if not in the same house. Papa too, if he hadn't chosen to sacrifice himself, to save her...]

Mari knows about other world stuff more than the rest of us do. Because she met a lot of people from them. Cloud, I know I can talk to about all other things, whenever she has to go to that really big building. Cloud and I went over there with her once.

Teleporting isn't fun though, because my tummy would hurt for a bit whenever we did... [Nana frowns when speaking of the experiences.]

I almost got sick the first time.

[That's when Nana wonders, and asks...]

Have you ever heard of Mari, Thor? She always has that small device with her. She uses it to teleport from one world to another.

[hamm3rtime]

[The child's long list is heartening. So he didn't have to provide everything here, just a listening ear, then.]

I've not heard of her yet, no, [The Thunderer replies with a smile.]

[imagoodgirl]

[Mari is another person Nana has concerns for. Her life is complicated, that much Nana does know.]

Maybe you might, one day. I don't know... She doesn't use her device often, because of that bad side effect the teleporting causes. She said she also has to be careful on where to go.

She has a lot to do, and I know it's really important to her. Cloud, Hope, and I do what we can to try to help.

[hamm3rtime]

[Thor nods, regarding meeting the mysterious woman. He thinks for a moment on how to answer, and when he does, his tone is encouraging.]

How old are you, Nana?

[imagoodgirl]

I'm seven and a half.

[She decides that maybe it's time she tells Thor a little about how different she is from most normal people.]

I've been told that I look older than most kids my age. That's because I'm a mutant called a diclonius. Most of us grow up that way. That's what my Papa told me.

[Papa would've liked to meet Thor. And Hope, and Mari, and everyone else. He'd be so proud to know I have a lot of friends...]

[hamm3rtime]

[Thor really only has a vague idea of how humans age, anyway. He's heard the term teenagers used interchangeably with adolescents, so he's at least a little aware that she looks older than she is, but he's not sure how much. The Avengers had some teenagers in their group, but no one younger?]

[He understands the idea of mutations, but that doesn't mean he's heard a lot about the mutants of Earth, just yet, either. Thor's spent most of his time lately, either fighting, romancing, or showing up in this place, after all.]

[She'll get a nod from him about the information anyway, to show he's listening. He'll share a little about age himself:] I'm... about a millennia and a half old, by now. For an aesir, that's... about a quarter of our lifetime? Maybe a third?

[imagoodgirl]

Is a millennia really old?

[She's not familiar about that at all. It's not that she's been enjoying life for very long within a much more safer, kinder, and along the lines of a normal environment. As normal as she could tell!]

Do aesir live longer than most people?

[hamm3rtime]

[Thor shrugs about a millennia being a long time. Depends on how you see it.]

We don't live longer than most people on Asgard, no. But a millennia is a thousand years. So I am fifteen-hundred years old.

[He expects that to surprise her, and even mischievously enjoys it a little. It's always so odd, at his young age, to be referred to as ancient every time he goes to Earth.]

[He realizes he could see it as bragging rights, or as tragedy, but he doesn't. He prefers to enjoy things while they last, including ridiculousness.]

[imagoodgirl]

[She does seem surprised alright. Not that she's sure how big a thousand is, exactly. She only overheard through her family members talking.]

Wow, that's older than anyone else I know!

[Nana's fairly easy to impress, since there's still a lot of stuff she hasn't understood yet.]