9516/Thunder&War

Thunder&War
Date of Scene:	10 October 2019
Location:	Asgard
Synopsis:	After getting negative reports from everyone on Midgard, Thor finally gets a good report on Loki from Sif. Thor is relieved.
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Sif
Tinyplot:	Asgard's Requiem

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Thor has posed:
And so it was Thor was looking for one of his oldest friends, Lady Sif. Long before he was King, he was a prince and a friend. Eventually, he finds her, and, "Lady Sif, it's been a while. I'd hoped to find you today." Reconnecting with his friends has been one of his biggest priorities of late, particularly with those on Midgard. However, he has royal duties here on Asgard, as well proposals to look at, documents to sign, things to decide on...all of this has caused a heck of a lot of realm jumping with all the back and forth he's been doing. Most Kings don't travel QUITE that much, usually. But he does.

Sif has posed:
Thor's voice carries easily enough across the foyer between main rooms of the palace. By Sif's current state, she has recently vacated the training grounds with the Einherjar, no doubt teaching them that appearances are deceiving and the Vanir Princess is no one to be trifled with behind even a sturdy wooden practice sword and buckler.

The dark-haired Valkyrie glances up even as she's loosening one of her bracer's belting lengths and grins from ear to ear. A smudge of dirt darkens her temple by her right brow and there's muck smeared up along the silvery armor of her breastplate and greaves. This doesn't detract from her gleaming smile that lights her glacially-blue eyes.

"Thor, it is good to see you." Her path diverts to meet up and she stops before him, her countenance reflecting fond friendliness for the returned King. "But just Sif, we are not milling with the court." And he gets a light punch to the outside of his bicep, pop. "It has been some time," she agrees. "Your duties have taken you all throughout the Worlds."

Thor has posed:
"My brother has been a little too active, lately. Between misusing the Space Stone, using one of the Xmen's wards to heal himself from misusing the Space Stone, misusing my other friend Dr. Strange trying to restore Asgard...and something else I need to speak to Steve about later..." Pause, "Asgard is restored indeed, but I wish it could've been done a little more...honorably." He sounds like he's been spending a LOT of time cleaning up messes all over the place. "It is a pity you missed Carol's party, I was showing her and her friends how we dance up here."

But enough of the bad stuff, "It seems the training of the Einherjar is going well, though a few of them seem to have forgotten how fierce you are." Judging by her state, she has handed out some pointed reminders of that truth. "...Yes. Just Sif." That made him smile. "Like before..." Back when they were younger and he was relatively free.

Sif has posed:
Sif's eyebrows slowly rise to hear of the litany of tasks the apparent ressurection of Asgard has sent her fellow royal on. Her lips pull to one side and those dark brows begin to quirk until they meet.

"That is unfortunate, yes," she agrees as to the state of things. "But the training is going well." Her glance travels back towards the arched open doorway leading out to the side courtyard and beyond to the training grounds. "It is that the new underestimate and the old have not forgotten, but have become complacent. If they cannot hope to defeat me, how can they be expected to protect the royal family?"

By the shrug of her pauldrons, it's more a rhetorical question; the Einherjar are well-picked most carefully.

"I do feel terribly as to missing Captain Marvel's party, yes, but we recently spent time together acquiring a derelict vessel adrift in space. The Asgardian craft borrowed to reach it was returned, rest assurred, and piloted by my hands," the Valkyrie informs Thor, her hands now lightly fisted on her hips, stance otherwise relaxed.

Thor has posed:
"You are the best. Yet, the spirit of competition must rise in all of them. It is only when one of them actually bests you that that you know your training has been successful." Which is a pretty high bar to set, but then, that's the point. Thor wants to set a high bar for his warriors. He wants them to strive to beat the best, because that's when they know they've grown as warriors. He is also aware that the first time it happens, it probably means someone got lucky. But then, even a little bit of luck can be the start of something great.

"That is well. She has always been a trustworthy ally. And the care you take with our vessels is well known." Pause, "...I don't suppose my dear brother has informed you of what else he plans on doing while he's been running around...proving his compassion is still a work in progress?" Thor is being charitable, partly because he still loves his deeply misguided little brother and holds out hope he might actually develop real compassion someday. ...someday. Maybe. It's a longshot. But he has hope.

Sif has posed:
Sif lifts her chin to hear the praise. Her smile is thin to barely show teeth but pleased; she's very certain that it's luck when one of the Einherjar beats her. Either that, or a slick patch of churned mud upon the training grounds.

"We shall see what this next newly-chosen batch can do," she demurs still wearing that shark-like grin. Nothing more delightful than realigning world views on the battle field.

When Thor asks after the machinations of the Trickster God, her eyes slide off to one side. A brief turn in place follows and she makes a point of scanning her surroundings carefully before looking back to him.

"If you remember the hare during our discussion within the deserted mead hall in New Asgard, you will realize my concern of speaking about your brother and his plans," the Valkyrie replies sotto-voce, her eyebrows lifted expressively.

But...then again...it wasn't Thor in the Broken Antler she was speaking to.

Thor has posed:
Thor now looks disturbed. "...In the Broken Antler? ...We haven't recently spoken in the Broken Antler." Pause. "Which illustrates your point exactly. We will need some sort of password that you may know when it is me and when it is not. But first, I must prove I am me."

As he considers..."Of course. His illusions are many, but this he cannot duplicate." And then he summons Mjolnir to hand...and puts it on the ground. Illusions have limits, and duplicating the enchantments of Odin are beyond them. "You shall have to use that as proof as you see fit."

Sif has posed:
By the time Mjolnir is set upon the palace's floor, Sif's mouth is nearly hitting the floor in turn. Her eyes, gone wide, show their whites even as color flushes through her cheeks.

"...a password, yes, allow me to..." Her light-headed words are followed by a reach for the leather handle of Mjolnir. Of course, the magical Uru-metal hammer doesn't budge. Clearly, this time -- this is Thor.

Which made last time...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, that -- THAT -- " Her fingers disappear up into her hair heedless of their begrimed state before she begins laughing in the manner of the embarrassed. "Oh, and to think, he had me in my mead mug too." Palms press against her heated cheeks.

Thor has posed:
"Unfortunately, he is the best there is at what he does, and trickery and illusions are what he does. Do not be too hard on yourself. I didn't think he might consider impersonating me...it's always been someone else like father he impersonated in the past." But now he knows better...and knows that he is on the list of people for his dear brother to impersonate.

After considering for a while, "Just ask me if I've been in the Garden lately. If 'I' fail to mention the red flower in the corner...it just might not be me." The red flower carries some significance...Thor planted it for Sif long ago when their on again/off again relationship was on. It has since switched back to 'off', at least in that way, but it's still a flower Loki couldn't be expected to understand the significance of. To him...it's just a flower.

Sif has posed:
"Ah, yes, the flower." Grasping at a point of certainty, Sif nods agreement before she covers her mouth with one hand. A few more laughs are bottled up and away as she scrunches her nose. Clearing her throat, the Princess regains her composure.

"Yes, the garden. I shall ask after it if I am uncertain...though I note that the more simple test might be ask you to summon Mjolnir and simply test its strapping as I did earlier." A point of finger towards the weapon is accompanied by a subtle tilt of her head and rueful smile. After all, the weapon flies to the hand of the Thunderer himself and none other.

A sigh. Sif chuckles, shaking her head even as she looks off to one side. "I wondered why you were asking after things I have already shared. I should have known better. Your brother's illusions are a thing of mastercraft indeed." Her lids half-fall as she frets the inside of her lip briefly.

Thor has posed:
Speaking of that, he doesn't physically pick the hammer up, he summons it, and it just flies into his hand, where he puts it back on his belt. "He has been known to make excuses for the hammer, so I wanted a secondary path, particularly on a line of questioning he might not recognize as a test. Produce Mjolnir, pick up Mjolnir, these are obvious tests. There may at some point be a time for subtlety, and on that day...a question about the garden may slip by unnoticed." Pause. "And now I wonder if I should be vaguely shamed for trying to beat him at his own game." Or possibly he's thinking like a king and a diplomat, whom must also apply less blunt force tactics at times.

"It...is rather sad, though. By mastering lies, he's forgotten the truth, and by mastering deception, he's forgotten how to trust. Dr. Strange said he could have just asked him for help instead of going to all that effort to deceive him and steal from him. He could've found a healer who need not hurt herself on Midgard, but instead he had to take a human form and trick a healer into healing him. I suppose it cannot be fixed, but...I cannot imagine living that way. Sharing honor and trust is so much easier." This still bothers Thor, because that's his little brother suffering tremendously from his own lies.

Sif has posed:
Another wipe at her temple has Sif smearing the light scuffing of dirt up into her hairline. Her expression is gone solemn and considering, her eyes still wandering away from the Thunderer as if she was sentry for an approaching incident.

Or maybe wondering if Loki's listening in right now.

"When have you known your brother to ask for help?" Sif looks into Thor's eyes now. "I cannot remember last he did, not even in our youth. What he has accomplished is bringing a lost world into being again. I never thought I would stand in this palace again -- train the Einherjar younglings -- rise and walk through the very gardens we seek to use as surety of truth. Do you realize why I thought it was you I spoke to in the Broken Antler?"

She waits only a second before continuing. "Because he was responsible, in your guise, for leading our people home. Have you not noticed the respect he has garnered for his efforts? In court? Beyond? The people do not shy from him as they used to."

Thor has posed:
Thor actually feels...relieved by that. "Taking responsibility is uncharted territory for him. So is being respected. If it really penetrates him, if he really understands how he got that respect...and how to keep it...I do not think compassion is so far away that he cannot reach it. There is only so long you can keep faking the same emotion before it becomes real. If it can become real for him...then he might just find the redemption he's always sought." And that would be best of all. Because it would mean Thor's faith in him was finally validated. "Still, he has only taken such responsibility on Asgard. He has a long list of apologies remaining on Midgard. But any step in the right direction is a good one, and he must be commended for that."

Thor continues considering..."At the very least, I shall have to take the Space Stone back. Even if he is slowly starting to find the honor in himself I always hoped was there, he poisoned himself with that thing. I would rather he not repeat such an action."

Sif has posed:
At the mention of the Tesseract, Sif squints. "If you mean literally poisoned, then yes. Your brother sustained a great number of wounds during his efforts to rebirth this world. I was present in New Asgard for the removal of the venom left behind in his veins. I removed it myself, after all, with a device of his making." Where that vial went, the Valkyrie still has no idea.

"However, I have faith in your brother's compassion you claim he does not have. Thus far, he has shown a great amount of responsibility in matters. Perhaps commend him personally when you speak next with him?" The Princess suggests as she returns to her more neutral stance before Thor. Her arms lightly fold now. "It would mean less coming from my lips."

Thor has posed:
Thor has been hearing so many negative opinions of his brother that he was starting to think it was all downhill, that nobody had anything good to say about him, that he used and abused everyone on Midgard. "Thank you, Sif. I have been hearing so many negative opinions of him that it was starting to catch up with me. Things are neither as good nor as bad as they appear. I am glad he was able to accomplish such a miracle. Still...if you removed the poison, why did he need a girl on Midgard to finish the job? Why am I hearing only negative things on Midgard, yet get the only good report I've heard to date from you?"

"...I have not finished examining all the facts, for I have my friend Steve and his own best friend Bucky to speak to next. It would seem there is another tale to be heard there before I finish finding the rest of the story." But he has been allowed to hear some balance by this, and that surely speaks well of him.

Sif has posed:
Sif ponders how to answer the elder Odinson in clarity. It means looking between his eyes before she smiles almost to herself.

"My good report comes because he is learning to trust. In your absence, he had no one else to turn to. Speak to whom you must," the Valkyrie continues. "But remember to speak too to Loki...and remember that he was once as young as us all. Time changes many, many things if not in obvious ways."

Her hand reaches out to firmly pat-pat his shoulder, the sound of impacts ringing as friendly claps. "But I am in sore need of a bath after my efforts. Be well on your travels, my king. Know you have a trusting ear in me as you always have."

Sif gives him a final grin that twinkles in her eyes before she turns to walk off towards her personal quarters.