Chapter Nine #2
"No," said Thor. "It's cooked."
Elle smiled. "That I will eat."
* * *
"Tell me about yourself," Elle said.
"I thought you knew everything about me already." He laughed.
"Clearly, I don't. The books say nothing of sushi or motorcycles. I read what books say. I heard what people say. But I don't know what you say."
Thor looked at her for a moment. "Well, I come from a massive, dysfunctional, semi-intermarried family. I have five brothers, not including the ones my parents don't talk about. I grew up on Asgard. I was taught to fight. I fought. I fought more. Then it ended."
She studied him as he piled ginger and green paste on his pieces of fish before dipping them in soy sauce and popping them into his mouth.
She saw his pain. His loneliness. She wondered for a moment what he had been like before Ragnarok.
She assumed he would have been louder, more boisterous.
Regaling people with his tales and wooing women to his bed.
"What are you thinking?"
She sipped her soda. "I wondered why you chose to stay in Helheim when you could live up here."
"Midgard is chaos. Down there is not. Humans are unpredictable, violent, and in some ways primitive. Helheim is organized. It has a hierarchy, and no matter what happens, hierarchy doesn't change. If you step out of line, you are punished. If you obey the laws, no one bothers you."
"I would have thought you'd prefer to be on Midgard, helping, trying to make order of the chaos."
"There is no making order of this place. Many have tried and failed. Until they unite and see themselves as equals and one people, there will never be peace. So, there's nothing I can do for them."
She’d never thought about that before. But then she hadn’t been in Midgard long. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel that the Asgardians could help Midgard so much. Especially the paranormal community. The werewolves and vampires, fae and demons, and every other race.
"Interesting," she finally said.
"Do you think I'm wrong?"
"I am in no position to tell anyone what they should do with their life."
"Have you thought about what you want to do with your life? I'm sure you don't want to waitress at the Raven Weaver for the rest of your existence."
"Lady Frigg has been kind to me, but no, I do not wish to waitress forever."
"Have you found anything else you might want to do?"
Elle’s food arrived in a small box. Chicken in a brown sauce, a salad, some dumplings, and rice. She stabbed at her salad. She'd spent a lot of time thinking about what to do with the rest of her life now that she had a choice as well as time to herself.
"I'm not sure,” she finally said. “I love to read, and I've always loved music, but I haven't researched what I could do with either. I've seen the people doing karaoke at the Raven Weaver, and not only do I not understand why they do it, but I don't think I'd ever sing in front of people."
"You can sing?"
Elle shrugged. "Yes. I've never sung in front of other people, though."
"Would you sing for me?"
She stared at him for a moment. "Now?"
He squeezed her hand. "When you’re comfortable."
Her stomach twisted like her insides had turned to worms. "All right."
He smiled at her, making her smile in return.
"What about jewelry making?" he asked. "Have you ever worked with anything more than base metal?"
"I've polished rocks before."
"Polished rocks?"
"Yeah. I found different rocks around… where I lived, and if I liked their color, I would pick them up and polish them until they were the shape and size I liked."
He stared at her. "By hand?"
She nodded.
"How long did that take?"
"A couple of them took me several years."
He shook his head. "You are indeed incredibly talented, as well as patient. I could never be that patient."
"I am sure if you'd had as much time on your hands as I used to, you'd learn to become that patient."
Thor snorted. "I lived in Valhalla, where I had nothing but time, and I'm still impatient."
She laughed. "Maybe that's a 'you' problem."
"I'm sure it is. Even though I enjoy taking motorcycles apart and putting them back together, I find myself getting halfway through and suddenly wishing I was already done."
They finished the rest of their meal talking about things to do in Los Angeles and the parts of Midgard Thor had visited in the past century. The conversation flowed easily, as if they'd been friends for years.
She learned Thor had traveled extensively when he'd first arrived. He'd taken to riding a motorcycle around the whole country of America before settling down in Helheim. Surprisingly, his bikes were in demand, and he made a decent living. Not that he needed money.
"Have you thought about moving to Helheim?" asked Thor as they finished up.
"To be honest, it scares me."
"Has anything ever happened when there?"
The memories from their walk to the Raven Weaver floated back. "No, it's just so dark and ominous."
"But it's also peaceful. Usually quiet, at least in my neck of the woods. And I find the Helmarked who live there to be decent. They want to live well, have fun, and be happy."
"Isn't that what mortals want?"
"Yes, but the difference is, unlike in Helheim, mortals are in such a rush to have everything now. But when you live as long as we do, you learn a bit of patience or at least become accustomed to waiting."
"But you said you’re impatient.”
“I am. But I’m a thousand times more patient than I used to be.”
She chuckled. “Wow. I can’t imagine.”
Thor pulled out some money and tossed it on the table. "Are you ready to go back?"
"Are you?" She wasn't ready to end the night, but she didn't want to keep him longer than he wanted.
"If you aren't too tired, I'd like to show you one more place."
"Does it involve more fish?"
Thor laughed. "The next place will make up for the raw fish. Promise."
She nodded. “Okay. You have one more chance to get me to trust you.”
“Then I'd better not disappoint.”