Second Chances Rpg

Who: Odinson and Valkyrie
What: Realize they are way over their heads and decide to seek expert advice
When:Shortly after dragon fighting
Where: On the roof, naturally.
Warnings: Precisely three f-bombs. Which all things considered? Pretty amazing.



Valkyrie stalked back from dragon handling like she was ready to kill something else. She'd sent Aragorn up his stable and she'd stalked to the tent. Stormbreaker got a good cleaning, even if she was heavy handed in it, then was neatly put up.

She sat on a chair and started to unbraid her hair, a long slow process she was hoping to clear her head. She didn't think it was going to work, her mind was swimming with a lot of thoughts.

One braid refused to unknot and she growled in rage at it. Deft fingers a little less so. It hurt constantly more, enough to make her angry. She currently felt like she was pumping ice instead of blood. Everything was excruciating.

She gave up and threw the comb into the fire, grumbling.

"Do you want to talk about it, HIlde?" Tension radiated from her body, from the way that she held herself that she had to be in pain, He wanted to circle her in his arms, wanted to soothe the pain and tension away.

"I fell off a dragon." She groused, her words bitter and sharp. She was rigid with tension, and desperately needed to unwind before she killed someone. Everything hurt and she was running out of the ability to balance it all.

He put his hands on her shoulders, thumbs and fingers working to ease the rigid muscles, as he did so he debated what to say. Do I try to reassure her that it happens to everyone… Everyone slips up sometimes, he thought remembering his own crash into a wall. Thor knew instantly that was wrong. Both of them had spent the majority of their lives in combat. If a weapon wasn't reliable it was a danger, he knew he would give her no comfort by coddling her.

"You did. Was it the seidr?" He paused looking at her tangled hair, wishing for a moment that he was the kind of guy that knew how the fuck to fix it, shrugged and went back to massaging her shoulders.

She finally pulled it free, untangling the knots, she pulled a bunch of hair off her scalp in the process and tossed that into the fire too. She took no chances.

Her shoulders started to relax under his touch, but only marginally. "It was. Hit me out of no where so hard I couldn't do anything. Like ice in my veins." She ground the words out. She knew she was becoming a liability and that grated on her nerves.

Thinking about the dragon and Valkyrie's fall, he tried to dissect what might have caused the seidr to flare. Rage flowed through him as it him what he'd been doing right before she'd fallen.

"I believe it was me," Thor said.

“This is fucking problem.” she grit her teeth and sighed, leaning back against him. “I could have put everyone in danger and I don’t know what to do about it.” She came a long way to admit that she was a weak link right now, and it strung her pride. She hated being the weak link. “I can handle the pain, just not when it catches me off guard. I’m going to get someone hurt.” she looked up at Stormbreaker where she’d hung it and scowled, she’d have to sideline herself and that was almost as painful as the pain in her veins.

"You didn't listen to me, Hilde." He ran his hands through his hair and came around to sit on the ground in front of her chair, "I caused it." His face was grim, "Right before you fell. I was thinking about how beautiful you looked, how proud you make me."

He stared up at night sky, wishing it were clear enough to see the stars, "I was thinking of how much I love you." Cracking his knuckles, he continued, "It's just like my father, make sure that we both associate love with pain."

She looked down at him, her expression softened a little, she really did find the fact he found her beautiful, while fighting, wonderful. She reached out to run her fingers over the side of his face, ignoring the twinge that raced through her. She was deciding it was going to be a constant and that it sucked. Might as well push through it. “We are going to figure out how to handle this - because you can’t help that. I mean, I am pretty awesome while fighting.” she smiled sharply.

“I love you.” she felt it echo in the pain and ignored it, she was already elbow deep in it anyway. Might as well be honest, right? “We can’t expect anything less from your father - if it’s going to be a constant, I’m going to have to find a way to handle it. I refuse to let you walk away, or make you stop thinking these things.” Every nerve was on fire and she was angry. Angry at Odin for doing this.

"Hilde, Stop fucking talking about me walking away," his face softened, "I do not like being the cause of your suffering, but I will not walk away unless you tell me to do so." He attempted a smile, "You're glorious in battle, the only time you are more mesmerizing to me is when I'm buried in you."

Wracking his brain, he tried to think about everything Frigga had ever taught him about magic. He'd loved his mother, had felt a level of understanding from her that he'd never felt with his father.

"I want to look at the seidr again, let's go inside."

She gave him a look, then sighed and softened herself. Her lips twisted into a smirk, "I rather like when you are buried in me." She mused before getting to her feet, "You fit so well." Her eyes crinkled in amusement.

"Alright." She pulled herself to her feet, silently thinking that of the pain was equal to how much she loved Thor, she must love him very much, because it hurt. She shed her boots by the entrance.

Following her into the tent, Thor took off his boots and set them next to Val's. "We fit together." The words made him think of how good they were together, how well matched they were, how fucking good it felt to know that her need matched his own.

He forced his thoughts away from those images, knowing how easily they could veer towards causing her pain. Looking at her cautiously, he said, "I wish Frigga were here."

Leaning his back against the headboard, he gave her a cautious smile, "I feel it's most wise that we keep our clothes on."

"From what I have heard, your mother would be a great…" she stopped.

Then blinked and face palmed. Hard. "Thor. I can't take you with me. But. I might be able to go get some advice from your mother." She looked over to him. "I run the risk of running into your father, but."

"How?" He tensed, the idea of Hilde coming anywhere near his father alone was not one he wanted to entertain.

She gave him a look, "I can go into Valhalla. I'm the only living soul who can. I can probably find her. It shouldn't be hard." The risk of running into Odin was high. She knew that.

"I know you can visit Valhalla, Shield Maiden." He looked at her through narrowed eyes, "And if you find that my father awaits you?"

"I have a little more power over the dead there. I can probably hold him back long enough to get out." She was on edge, feeling every ounce of pain and not liking it. She was looking forward to finding a solution.

"Probably? And what if you can't?" He kept his voice soft, but tension radiated from him, they needed help. His mother was one of the few brave enough and knowledgeable enough to help them, but while Odin had never taken his vows to his wife seriously, Frigga always seemed to have. Now he wondered if that had truly been her wish or if she had been bound as thoroughly as the rest of them.

"My sisters are all there. They'll come." She said quietly, she was mentally plotting as she talked, then she laid a hand on his arm* you can come, but you cannot cross the threshold. You can be close."

"Your sisters are bound to him as tightly as you, are they not?" He took her hand and pressed it to his mouth. Looking at her skeptically, he leaned over yanked off his socks and tossed them towards his boots.

"Close enough to do what? Listen to him torture you?"

"They may not be able to strike him but they'll still get in the way." She sighed and threw her hands up. "I'm grasping, Thor, I am out of ideas, this is far outside of what I know." She tucked her legs up under her as she sat on the bed.

He wanted to tell her he had a better idea, he didn't and he hated it, "Until he commands them to stand down." The scent of her skin and the play of light and shadow across her face made him want to reach for her, the thought of it causing her pain stopped him.

"It is all I can think of." She smiled sadly at him, she couldn't think of a better plan. Valkyrie had no such problem, and she reached out to frame his face with her hands.

His voice was grim as he leaned into her touch, "and if you do not come back?" He loathed himself for asking the question, but couldn't stop himself from doing so.

Her fingers smoothed over his face, reverent touches, "Then burn the world to the ground to find a way in." She leaned up to kiss him fiercely, she didn't care things hurt, she just loved him. "But I'll be back. I'll always come back."

Returning the kiss, he tangled his fingers into her hair and gazed into her dark eyes, "All nine realms will fall in ashes, but I will come for what is mine. If you see my father, you tell him this, Hilde. Promise me."

She rested her head on his forehead, dark eyes boring into his, "I promise I will tell him this. I'll burn it to the ground if I must." She relished the feel of his fingers in her hair, "tell me when to go. I'll do this."

"The sooner you go, the sooner we will have an answer." Thor did not voice his fear that she could take this risk and it would be for naught.

"Then kiss me for luck, and I'll go." She didn't need him to, she knew what he was thinking.

He searched her face, he didn't trust that the Norns would grant either of them one iota of luck, "If you see my brother, tell him that I still await the day when the sun will shine on us both." Pulling her into his lap, his kiss told her what he could not; that he loved her, that he trusted her, that he needed her to come back to him.

"Hilde, two hours only. If you do not return I will begin in Muspelheim."