video.

[micycle]

[For a second after the feed fizzles into life, Mike just sits there, blinking at his device in urgent confusion. Normally it would be astonishment, but the kid's been through hell and (part of the way) back, and it shows on his face; this is going to be the coolest once he gets a good night's sleep under his belt, but right now - ]

Um. [He pushes a pair of dust-coated goggles up into his hair, and coughs. The scarf below his chin seems coated with a similar substance.] Is there an Indiana here?

[A brief pause. He knows how dumb that question sounds.]

I really need to call someone.

Comments

[micycle]

[A healer. That sounds like the absolute coolest, and once he's settled Mike will definitely pester for more info. But right now, he just shakes his head.]

I don't think I need it. I'm okay. [Debatable, but there are at least no apparent injuries.] And I looked. No one's here.

[Unfortunately, the list was sorted by last name, and the one person who is here doesn't have one of those.]

[garotted]

[ she frowns faintly, tapping a knuckle against her mouth. ] Okay, but if you change your mind, you can let Magnus or I know, yeah?

[ poor kid looks like he's been through the wringer, after all. and it's tough being on your own when you're his age-- alex remembers, and so does magnus. ]

Maybe they just haven't showed up on the network yet. It's a good idea to check once a day, just in case. Have you met your roommates yet, or was this what you did first thing?

[micycle]

I haven't looked at all the stuff they gave me.

[He slides his backpack off of his shoulders. Inside is a can of gasoline, a large flashlight, and the folder he got in Cape Canaveral.]

Um... Someone named Hunk? [That doesn't seem real.] And someone named Brendan.

[garotted]

.. Hunk. [ her lips twitch a little, but she controls the immediate urge to laugh.. barely. that's.. definitely a name. ] I don't think I know them. Not a big surprise, since I've only been here a couple of months, myself.

[ a beat, then a slightly wry smile. ] I threw all that shit away when I got here, but I'm pretty sure your paperwork should tell you about your powers if you didn't have any before. Maybe some stuff about registering and the like, too, and a school or job they assigned you. [ .. school is his guess. maybe a part-time thing. ] .. It's a lot to deal with on your first day.

[micycle]

Wait, the superpower thing is real? [Hold on, backing up.] I mean, I know it's real, one of my friends has them. But they just give them to all of us?

[He's shuffling through his paperwork now, eyes scanning, scanning - ah.]

I can... turn into a radio wave?! Holy shit.

[garotted]

[ she can't help the laugh at his excitement. ] The porter gives them to people. I already had mine, though. Demigod thing.

[ her brows lift, and she shifts, folding her arms across her knees as he discovers his power. ]

A radio wave? Sounds like a pretty awesome power to travel with.

[micycle]

[Okay, he only heard one word out of that whole reply.]

A demigod?

[garotted]

[ WELL, at least he's sufficiently distracted from the stuff bothering him. ]

That's right, Magnus and I are both demigods. You familiar with Norse mythology?

[micycle]

Yeah!

[He's read all of the Thor comics, and he's read library books, and he knows a bit about the Nine Worlds and Yggdrasil and Valhalla.]

I didn't know it was real, though.

[garotted]

Well, it is where we're from, anyway. We're both einherjar; we were just in Valhalla before we were brought here. [ her lips curl again. ] .. Actually, we were working on stopping Ragnarok.

[micycle]

[Okay, that was a lot of information in just a couple of sentences, and Mike has to stop to think about it for a moment. Then - ]

You were in Valhalla? [Blink.] Doesn't that mean... Isn't that where dead people go?

[garotted]

It’s where some dead people go, yeah. Warriors, that kind of thing. I’m not a zombie or anything, though. It’s not that much different from being alive in most ways.. except that I work for the Allfather now, of course.

[micycle]

You were a warrior? Did you have a sword?!

[garotted]

[ hahaha this kid is good for her ego. ]

No sword, though Magnus has a legendary sword that talks. Maybe if you ask, he'll let you meet him.

[ she unhooks her garotte and lifts it, wrapping it around her hands to show him. ]

I use a garotte wire. You know what one is?

[micycle]

[He shakes his head. Most of his weapon knowledge comes directly from Dungeons & Dragons.]

[garotted]

Here, I'll show you.

[ she steps back, turning the phone toward what may have been a sign-post at some point, which is now just a pole sticking up out of the ground.

she straightens then, and with a quick snap of her wrist, flings one end of the wire out, wrapping it around the pole. she snatches it back.. there's a pause, and the pole topples to the side, cut neatly in half. ]

I find it's especially effective against dragons. [ now she's just feeding into this, really. better for him to be excited and interested than worrying about something he can't change right now. ]

[micycle]

Holy shit!!!

[Mike clutches his face in astonishment.

He doesn't want to be a Paladin anymore. He wants to be an Alex.]

And it's just wire?

[garotted]

[ she stretches it out to show him, trying not to smile too obviously. ]

It was a cutting wire for pottery. Seidr--magic--is part of my godly heritage, though, so I turned it into a proper weapon.

[ with her mother's help, but she doesn't claim loki. ]

You like it, huh? Maybe I can teach you a thing or two. I always say it's a good idea to be able to defend yourself.

[micycle]

[Mike certainly doesn't look displeased with this suggestion.]

Like with weapons?

[The closest thing to a weapon that he's ever held is a candlestick.]

[garotted]

Sure, I don't see why not. I was younger than you when I started learning. .. Though we'd start out with something that's not likely to hurt when you mess up.

[ a beat, lifting her chin a little. ] I noticed you're talking to Magnus, too. You feel like getting cleaned up and grabbing dinner? We can tell you some more about this place and go over your paperwork if you want.