13573/The end of the Artisan's time.

The end of the Artisan's time.
Date of Scene:	30 June 2021
Location:	Fortress Asgard, Kvalvika, New Asgard
Synopsis:	The month in Asgard is coming to an end. Karen and Thor have dinner which leads a draw in arm wrestling followed by a kiss.
Cast of Characters:	Power Girl, Thor

---

Power Girl has posed:
"...and somehow it works! I just don't understand how. I've had no luck achieving the anti-gravity effect though I've done the same thing at least a hundred times." Karen is pretty animated as she is talking, having gone into full on science geek mode. "I know it's just some sort of science I don't understand but I want to. I've been monitoring, taking readings. I know some sort of energy involved but it is so impossible to replicate for humans. I've even tried to bring some Kryptonian tech in but magic isn't something we do well with." Since it's one of their biggest weaknesses, right below a glowing green rock.

She picks up her flagon, realizing she is out of mead. She falls silent as she glares into the bottom of the flagon a moment, as though this is some strange joke. Then she looks up at Thor and realizes she's been babbling. For a while.

Thor has posed:
    "For me it is impossible to be sure, and I believe there are those in Asgard that enjoy the mystery." The way Thor says this, it is almost condemning as he gestures with his own large flagon. "Some have told me that it is twinned with the fact that belief is so strong for us, that we have such a great connection to our home, that we and the magic are one. Naturally this makes it harder to convey to others, yes?"
    As for Thor he did not seem to mind it at all, as they had spent the last few hours sharing dinner, breaking bread, indulging in the rites of guest and host. She spoke at length animatedly and he watched her with curiousity evident on his handsome features. At times his brow furrowed in just the right way, that might make him look almost befuddled and in some ways cute, even with that severe eyepatch, but then his smile would charm forth and change that look in an instant.
    "I am told," As he says this he takes up the bottle from the middle of the table and moves to tilt it on its side to fill her drink again should she so wish. "That science is not purely the study of technology, but more as a way of looking at the world. So magic has a place beneath the shelter of such a belief system."
    Thor smiles easily as he then takes another sip of his own mead. "As for me, I am fortunate there are smarter souls around me who share their wisdom with me, present company included."

Power Girl has posed:
When he offers the bottle, Karen pushes her flagon forward to allow for him to add some to it. Admittedly, she's going to have to stop after this one. She was a bit tipsy. Which was insane and mostly unheard of. It was just a little and she wasn't going to be drinking too fast in order to push beyond that. Mainly because she'd never actually been drunk and she had no idea what kind she would be. Would she be the sit quiet in the corner? Dance on the table? Or one that started swinging fists? Because if it was the latter, that was problematic considering what she was.

At the compliment, she blushes a little bit and smiled, pulling back her cup to balance it atop her leg. "Just because you don't have the periodic table memorized doesn't make you less smart. You are extremely smart. So well respected by your people. Though you seem to have doubts and I don't get that at all."

Thor has posed:
    "We all have our doubts I am sure," Thor offers in way of meeting at the least halfway, his own way of not fully accepting the compliment... but acknowledging it.
    He, for now, remains leaning upon the tabletop, one arm settled across it forearm before him, while the other holds the drink. His bright blue eyes finding no reason to stray from her own and when she blushes his lip curls up amused. "Indeed, if the not knowing nor memorizing of things makes one smart then clearly I am the brightest soul in all the land."
    The way he delivers those words, a lilt there in them self-deprecatingly so, but the humor clear in his eyes. "But your time in the Artisan's Quarter draws short, what planned you to do with the rest of your time left here in New Asgard?"

Power Girl has posed:
That earns a giggle from her. An actual giggle. The way he said it and the expression on his face as he did so. "That isn't exactly what I said," she says with a bright smile, stressing the E-word.

Then he brings up the fact that the month of time spent with the artisans would end very soon. That has the smile fading but only a little, now softer. "I'm going to miss this place. I've made a lot of friends while I've been here and I've enjoyed getting to learn so much. About Asgard, your science, your magic. Everything." She toys with her flagon but doesn't pick it up, more holding a hand around the base while she considers.

"Some of my friends have challenged me to meet them on the training fields in a couple of days. Just before I leave. To show me more about your combat training." Then that little grin, the amusement back. "I think it's just to see if they can beat me in a fight."

Thor has posed:
    His lips part as they form a small 'o' as if not entirely sure what she might mean, but then they slip back toward the smile as he nods when she speaks towards her time spent there and its passing.
    "Tis good to make friends, you will find when you win the affection of an Asgardian it lasts for centuries." As he says this he gestures with his flagon toward her as if she could take the very point he was trying to make from the lip of his mug before he sets it back down with a faint clink-ca-clink.
    Then she mentions the upcoming battle in the martial fields and he laughs gently, shaking his head. "Ware, good Karen. For though some of the Asgardians there might not be as strong as yourself, there are those savvy enough to handle such a challenge." Thor takes another drink of mead then murmurs, "In my youth, the good Lady Sif bested me more often than not though I was the stronger. She had a way of turning one's own strength against them, so be mindful. Unless, of course, your intent is to woo one of your challengers. Then simply rush him and steal a kiss, assuredly that will win you the day."
    At that last said he grins a bit and takes a deep breath, letting his eyes drift toward the window and the drapes that hide it from view, perhaps considering the martial field that is only some ways beyond.

Power Girl has posed:
"I think it's just all in good fun. I'm very aware that I don't have a lot of skill in a fight. I'm more a brawler and less an artist like some people. I just happen to be good at taking a hit and that's helped me get through so far."

At mention of stealing a kiss, that has her laughing and shaking her head. "No, can't say there are any of them I'm interested in that way. Just friends." Although there is one Asgardian she wouldn't mind taking that step with, but he wasn't one who was going to be on the field. Unless...

"You should join us. Stop focusing so much on the king side of thing and focus a bit on the you side of things. Getting back to the basics, having some fun."

Thor has posed:
    "Ah," Thor says at the suggestion of 'getting back to basics'. He quirks his eyebrow for a moment and tells her, "Curious, that's what I thought I was doing." Since this could, perhaps, come under some sort of definition of fun.
    But then he holds up a hand, "Though part of me would enjoy doing so, but it is not something someone in my position should do. My father never trained with the troops, he was..." There's a sort of furrowing to his brow as he ponders and considers, then he adds, "An unassailable figure. Wise and distant. I know I am not my father, but I can still learn from his example."
    A pause as he takes another drink, then he adds, "And, of course, I wouldn't want to embarass everyone there with how badly I defeat them, yourself included of course." Those last words are naturally obscured by the mug as he tilts it back, hiding that wry smile given as he says them.

Power Girl has posed:
"You aren't your father. And you don't have to be. You can't tell me when he was younger, he didn't enjoy a good day training on the fields. I won't believe it. It doesn't fit with what I've learned of Asgardians while here," Karen says as she finally picks up that flagon by the handle to take a sip before setting it back in the place it had been.

At that addition of not wanting to embarass everyone--including her--she had to laugh. Unable to stop it from happening at all and shaking her head which had her short hair shifting with the movement. "Now _that_ sounds like a challenge," she says as she leans forward a little, folding her arms on the table in front of her. "So now we have to. Unless you'd prefer to do so in a private setting. Would hate to take you down in front of your people, make you lose face."

Thor has posed:
    That mug thumps down to the table and for a time Thor just /stares/ at her over its lip with his smile curled to the side as if something so amusing had been uttered. She can see the twinkle in his good eye, the crinkle in the skin there at the corner, the robust half-smirk that seems to offer that she's perhaps said much in those few words.
    Until finally he asks her with that lilt of the same smile in his words, "Good Karen, are you attempting to secret me off somewhere alone, to test yourself against me and find if my boast is true?"
    His nose crinkles a little, "Dear me, this sounds almost scandalous." He says as he leans a little further upon the table bringing him just a touch closer to the Kryptonian. "Is that what you're doing?"
    He asks with those words gently, quietly, teasing perhaps but with a lingering smile. "For if you look to your left..." His gaze drifts that way, "And then to your right..." His good eye shifts the other direction, "It seems we are alone now."

Power Girl has posed:
Karen is not one to back down from a challenge. The opposite to be precise. She remains where she is, their heads just a few inches apart. When he mentions the left and right, she does not take the bait and shift her eyes away from him though. Keeping that laser focus. Well, not literal. Heat vision does not come into play cause that would be awkward!

"We are also indoors in a lovely library that is oh so breakable. Wouldn't do. Unless you want to just go for something more simple. Arm wrestling?"

Thor has posed:
    "Arm wrestling it is then, if you can manage the control not to shatter the table. I'd hate to have to throw you in the dungeons for criminal mischief." As Thor says this he even has the gall to affect a regrettably sad look to his normally so stern or amiable features. As if it would be beyond his power to do otherwise.
    But then there's a /thud/ as he sets his elbow down hard upon the tabletop and holds his hand out. He definitely has a warrior's grip, calloused in places from the years of conflict and the swell of his bicep as he rests his arm there is a remarkable thing even when not tensed a'tall, more strong and thick with a few lines of vascularity marking the strength therein.
    "What shall be the stakes in our little endeavour here?"

Power Girl has posed:
"Stakes?" That catches her off guard as Karen moved her flagon to a nearby table instead of the one they were using. Wouldn't do to waste such lovely mead by toppling it with an impact on the table.

She ignored the threat of consequences, knowing she could usually control her strength fine. Although, with him being as strong as she was likely? The table was probably going to be toast if they ended up going full out.

"I figured we were playing for bragging rights? Our little secret but we will always know who won and rub it in for the centuries of friendship ahead." Because like Asgardians, Kryptonians under a yellow sun tended to have an unlimited lifespan ahead of them.

Thor has posed:
    "More fun with stakes," Thor says as if that settled it entirely. He just kept his arm out and seemed inclined to wait for her to judge. "It could be something as simple as a boon asked and given. Though I already have decided what I will ask for. So all that is left is for you to come up with something."
    That said he rises up and nudges his chair back and out of the way with one boot, leaning over the table and curved forward ready and willing. Clearly taking this for serious! Or perhaps just trying to give her that impression as his smile is still a touch wry.
    "Surely you are not afraid, and are expecting to win are you not? What is there to risk then?"

Power Girl has posed:
"I have something in mind, yes," Karen agrees as she stands up slowly, reaching behind her to catch the chair and pull it a bit behind her out of the way. Then she leans over the table, putting her elbow down. She bends her arm up, putting her hand into position and moving to take his.

Which is the moment that her already toned and strong physique becomes something more as that bicep is flexed. She is not a small frail woman. She is all toned muscles with a bit of bul to them, though her legs were even more defined than her arms. Her own hand is not really callused. While she does fight, she doesn't do martial arts. Her work is in a lab and more delicate so her hands are softer.

"So the winner gets a boon from the other, to be asked for immediately after or at a later date." She grins. "Sounds good to me. Ready?"

Thor has posed:
    "Immediately after, and at a later date." Thor says with a hint of amusement, as if the inspiration struck and took him in that instant. His lip twists, "So two boons, because I believe the phrase is what, double or nothing?" Not exactly the right usage of the phrase, but such is the way of the Thunderer.
    His arm extends and he grips her hand, taking it in his. There's a firmness to the moment as he lightly /pulls/ her toward the middle of the table only to find that she is no slouch at all where strength is concerned as the two of them make those first few hints of jockeying for position. His eyes drift down to that marked physique, then back up to her eyes as he takes a deep breath, then steadies himself with his empty hand grasping the side of the table, clearly expecting her to do likewise.
    "Are you certain your ego will be able to endure the ignominy of such a loss? I would hate to lead you to tears that would mar this otherwise lovely evening." Those words are given as they hold each other's hands, looking at each other across the grip of clenched fists. For a moment he bites his lower lip as he meets her gaze. "Whenever you are ready."
    Though he speaks lightly she can see he takes it seriously for his arms are already drawing taut, making set to resist her.

Power Girl has posed:
"You really have me confused with someone else I think," Karen says with a little laugh. She puts her hand to the opposite side of the table, noting that this sort of furniture is made for Asgardians. Thankfully. It might make it through this challenge. Maybe. If they are lucky. She sends off a little prayer to Rao then settles in.

"Two boons? Sure, why not." She had confidence in herself so why not. "I don't cry when I win. So you don't have to worry about that. Just do your best and, know that if you feel the need to cry, I understand. It's okay, men can cry too. Especially when they get their asses kicked," she adds with a wicked smile.

She feels the tightness of his arm and then she quickly sobers. Getting her game face on. "3...2...1..."

The countdown allows him to know when she was intending to tense and tense she does, immediately that arm tightening up fully, the strength of that form fully on display now as she begins to exert pressure.

Thor has posed:
    The table buckles, almost lifting off the floor suddenly as that tension builds abruptly from naught to a thousand times more. Yet the two of them maintain their grip, their hold on each other as well as the furniture. She'll see his arm swell, that powerful bicep clenched hard as his jaw sets and he gains a serious look in that one good eye of his.
    A slow steady exhalation of breath comes from his closed mouth, like a grunt or a growl though controlled. She can see him regulate that breathing, keeping himself well in check even while their arms don't seem to move at all. Just the strong clench of two muscular warriors holding each other steady.
    A moment grows, longer. A single beadlet of sweat makes an appearance upon his brow and traces its slooow meandering way along the curve of his cheek, down the supple line of his throat, beneath the soft fabric of the jerkin he wears. It's enough to cause him to smile as he finally murmurs.
    "You realize, this is the moment when some warriors engage in mind games to try and get at the core of their opponent." His lip twists and he murmurs, though a little strained. "I hope you are not one such as them."

Power Girl has posed:
As that beadlet slid down his face, Karen's smile returned. That wicked little edge, as though she knows a secret that he doesn't. Perhaps knows that she's going to win. She watches that droplet until it disappears down into his jerkin then focused back on his face as he spoke.

"Definitely not. I prefer to win on my own merits instead of playing mind games," she says as she continues to strain against him. Damn he was strong! She knew he was but still she has that spot in the back of her head as a Kryptonian, sort of taking it for granted that there are few that can really challenge them.

She was so wrong.

She couldn't really tighten down more as she strained against him.

Thor has posed:
    As for Thor, he seemed content to hold this position, to maintain... to endure. That was how he often won such contests, not with surges of intensity, but the simple fact that he had time on his side. Though that may not be the case with Karen, for she seems to be able to endure as well. And really, during such a time to not make conversation would be horribly rude.
    "Have you given much thought to what boon you would ask?" His brow is furrowed still, still concentrating, still entirely focused upon her. He blinks slowly, gaze holding hers even as she smiles that wicked smile.
    "I ask since I most likely won't hear it considering you don't seem to be winning." Though, to be fair, he's technically not winning either. Though the table... the table as it creaks... is definitely losing. A faint /crackle/ is heard from inside its depths and perhaps for wont of protecting that antigue he eases up... and his arm moves a little in the direction she's straining toward, which makes him grimace a little.

Power Girl has posed:
Usually she could expect her opponent to tire long before she would. She could sit here, likely for hours if need be, against a lesser opponent. But against him? It wouldn't be nearly that. This was a long game sort of match since they were so close in levels.

"I have a definite idea of what I'm going to get when I win," she replied that continued verbal confidence and not letting him get into her head that she might lose.

When the table creaks, her smile fades a little. Even though she gains less than an inch advantage from it, she actually lets up a little herself which brings their hands back up even once more.

"Perhaps...we should do this somewhere else? I don't want to break the table. Because I look bad in orange." Which for where she came from sort of goes with the whole being in prison thing. At least if one watched tv shows. She wasn't sure how realistic that was.

Thor has posed:
    "We can go wherever you wish if you simply forfeit the competition of course." Thor's voice is silky smooth even as he manages to hold onto a grunt that threatens to come out there at the end, instead making it seem more like he's clearing his throat than straining. But his smile meets hers when their gazes meet once again.
    "I know it might be difficult to ask of you to use a bit of finesse in a competition of strength." And as he says that his arm /tightens/ up, drawing back from that slightly losing position and then /pushes/ to get a little bit more of an edge himself. Which has him leaning forward and grunting with a scowl that threatens his overly calm features.
    "Tell me, do you exercise often?" For he's seen other Kryptonians in the past and none quite as with such a defined physique as her own.

Power Girl has posed:
"I do." Which might lead to a rather confusing moment cause how does someone with that sort of strength levels workout and build their physique. Not like the weights at the local gym were going to be adequate.

Her voice was a little deeper now because she was pressing, straining, trying to keep him from getting further along on that arm. Another tightening of her arm against his, trying to bear down but trying /not/ to rely too much on the opposite hand touching the table in the hopes of not breaking things.

"I know that Kryptonians are vulnerable. We have our own weaknesses. If I find myself without my powers, I want to be sure I'm not relying on my heritage for my strength, but instead making sure it is based on my physicality as well."

Thor has posed:
    "That's an interesting thought." Thor says even as the straining tone of his words lends not quite the easy conversational tone he might be going for with it. Instead he hunkers down and grimaces, his hand blazingly warm in hers as he pulls...
    And then there's a louder crack, the table's surface subtly shifting with the flex of each of their arms and then Thor eases his grip as she's able to gain a little more. But then he murmurs, "Perhaps..." His eyebrow quirks as he looks down then back to her, "You may be right. A draw?"
    His gaze shifts back to hers, and then his smile is warm as he murmurs, "And perhaps we each take one boon for our troubles." That said his arm relaxes a little, releases, perhaps giving a bit over to her should she wish to ease up as well.

Power Girl has posed:
"I...think that would be for the best," Karen admits as she breaks her gaze from his face and eyed the table warily. That isn't good. At all. Hopefully it isn't already too damaged.

"Draw. We each get one boon." As he lessens the pressure, for a moment his hand is pushed back but then she stops it by relaxing her arm as well, bringing them back to start once more. Then she begins to release his hand, yet she doesn't lean back yet. Remaining in place. Her other hand she does release the table as well.

"Rematch in the future with a proper table. Can maybe set something up in the Justice League workout room." That would explain perhaps how she is able to build muscle despite being an alien who was already superstrong.

Thor has posed:
    The grip on the table is eased, but her hand isn't. Instead he smiles into her eyes, entwining fingers with her touch, meeting her gaze evenly. He looks down, then back up before he murmurs quietly. "That may very well be a good idea."
    Yet as he speaks to her quietly, he doesn't draw back, instead he eases a little closer. Close enough that the tip of his nose lightly brushes past hers, his good eye drifting back and forth between her own, as if seeking what her thoughts might be behind them. His smile grows a little brazen, a little roguish as he murmurs, "Did you wish to tell me your boon?"
    His eyes lower again to her lips, then along the curve of her neck, before rising again as he lifts his chin a little, just enough to bring him a little closer. "I'm curious what your thoughts are at this moment."

Power Girl has posed:
Her heart was thundering in her chest. She was positive he could hear it. There was no way he couldn't being that close. Although in truth, it was only loud to her own ears. It didn't require superhearing either. It was just that roar of noise as the blood rushed through her body.

She blinked slowly when he was so close, looking at that one good eye and finding she didn't have to do that thing everyone must, trying to figure out which eye to focus on when so close.

"Funny you ask," she said in a soft tone. "Because I think I want to claim mine right now."

And with that, she closed that distance between them, bringing her lips to his for a kiss. The one thing she had wanted to claim being another kiss from him before her time in Asgard was done.