InsaneJournal

Who: Frigga, Dr. Strange
What: magical shop talk over lunch.
When: end of June, after this request on the network.
Rating/Warning: Green.

It had been a long week, and now Stephen Strange was looking forward to a moment's respite. There had been enough time last night to shower and sleep, after a week's worth of searching for clues to Thanos' whereabouts with Thor and Sif. Trails were hard to follow and they could only travel so far. He was forced to look ahead on the astral plane before attempting to open a portal. It wasn't that Stephen thought they were going to tackle Thanos alone, because he was certain from his many fragmented thoughts that was impossible.

He only hoped to find some weakness or an exploit. Something to use against him. It was frustrating and tiring to come up empty handed, for the most part.

Now Stephen waited just outside of the entrance of the restaurant for Frigga to arrive. He wasn't dressed in his usual mystic arts garb, which he grew so fond of after his stay in Nepal. Instead he was dressed casually in a plain gray t-shirt and khakis. Standard attire after working long hours at the hospital. It wasn't a fancy place at all, and he sighed at himself for not warning her of that.

It wouldn’t have mattered how fancy or not the restaurant was. Frigga would always be dressed appropriately. Illusions were helpful that way. As it turned out she didn’t need her magic. The white sundress with the slit up the side of the skirt and the off the shoulders sleeves was just casual enough for her to fit in, but stylish enough for the queen of Asgard’s dignity.

Her hair was loose and flowing behind her as she came striding up the sidewalk. A smile graced her face as she spotted the Doctor, but she didn’t say anything until she got closer. “Greetings, Doctor. It is good to see you.”

"Your highness," Strange replied, nodding his head to her in greeting. She was fitting in seamlessly, considering it was hot and sunny this week. He wondered how often Asgardians visited Earth in the past, considering there were quite a few artifacts and folklore linked to them. He'd be able to ask about that, soon enough.

He held the door open so they could enter the little sushi shop, saying, "You look well. I hope you're enjoying the city so far."

“Just Frigga is fine,” she replied with a smile and a nod. “I am not Queen here.” And with Odin dead she wouldn’t be Queen in Asgard either should they ever return. She knew that would not stop some people from giving her the honorific, but propriety demanded that she give people the option.

She walked in when the Doctor held the door. “It is quite interesting,” she answered. “It is very primitive compared to what I was used to, but these people, the city. They have a beauty that has the potential for greatness. I am enamoured to witness their passion.” Anger. Love. Greed. Desire. Midgardians felt their emotions with their whole selves.

Her eyes flickered around the inside of the sushi restaurant. The smells were vastly different from what she was used to. “They tell me that this is Japanese cuisine. I researched Japan on those machines. It looks beautiful.”

"Ok, Frigga," Stephen said with a smirk. While the outside of the restaurant looked like a dive, the inside was clean and he'd managed to get there and hold a place before the line formed. It was some of the best sushi in the Village, after all.

"There are some extraordinary places in Asia," he agreed as they were shown to a table for two, and were offered order sheets to mark their choices on. "You've been doing your research. I always appreciate a fellow scholar."

If he hadn't been studious, he would have made a poor neurosurgeon. A photographic memory helped...although there were times when that could be both a blessing and a curse. Some things might be best forgotten, and more so when there were so many broken fragments that his mind latched onto and wouldn't let go of. Even if he couldn't figure out what fit where.

They were there to talk about magic and their respective cultures, so Stephen tried to push those thoughts aside.

"Odin apparently wasn't keen on dealing with humans too much," he said, looking the list over and making a couple of marks on the hamachi and unagi. It was easier than admitting he was one of those who was once fueled by greed and ego. "I'm guessing that isn't a shared ideology with all Asgardians. Given you believe we have a...potential for greatness."

“Oh, he was.” Frigga threw that correction out there. “A long time ago he would come to Midgard as the Grey Wanderer. He found primitive civilizations in the north, and taught them the tenants of our ways in hopes to guide them. He underestimated their nature and became what you know as Vikings.” She shrugged as shoulder. “He never again returned willingly to Midgard.”

Frigga was content to allow the Doctor to order for her since she had no idea what anything was. She could, however, order a drink for herself and did so. Frigga had learned that she had a taste for sweet wines and ordered a pinot grigio.

“So tell me,” she said after the waiter left to get their drink order. “How did Midgard gain such powerful if intricate magics?”

"Then it's possible that humanity at that point in time tainted his perception," he mused after ordering a tea, finishing out the order so that Frigga would have an opportunity to try a little of everything. "It also explains why the only times that Asgard would intervene, is if Earth was in danger and there was no other choice."

That made sense, even if it was disappointing. Odin was curt and to the point when Stephen met with him, although he wasn't angry. Whatever he knew was kept a secret, and Stephen didn't pry. That would have been a waste of time on both their parts, and Stephen knew that time was a precious commodity.

"As far back as humanity existed, there have been people willing to expand their consciousness and trying to harness energies beyond what could be seen. Eldritch magic is an extension of that. A honing of the senses, the ability to harness light and fire to travel long distances, to shield, or conjure weapons. It was founded by a man known as Agamotto, thousands of years ago. He started training anyone willing to learn, and that's how the Masters of the Mystic Arts were formed. They were meant to protect earth from mystic threats. I learned from the last Sorcerer Supreme, a woman known as The Ancient One."

He stopped short of mentioning Mordo. He thought of him as a friend during his time in Kamar-Taj. He never regretted his decision to face Dormammu, even if it did mess up...a whole lot more than a friendship. That Frigga was sitting across from him was proof of that..

“There were always those with small talents,” Frigga started. She leaned forward some with her hands folded on the table. “Seers. Divination. Spells and the like.” She looked at Strange as if she could see the power within him. “But never anything like you. Odin would have known.” There was always the possibility her husband did know and never told anyone simply because of his experiences with those ancient civilizations.

“Is it that anyone can learn, or is there some hidden talent within your ancestry?”

Stephen stared back at Frigga, his face unreadable, and it was likely he was sensing or seeing something there too, in the way that only those with some higher perception could. Too many trips on the astral plane tended to cling afterward.

"No superpowers or odd genetic mutations in my history. I had my DNA tested. I'm baseline human. Nothing more, nothing less." One corner of his mouth quirked up into a wry smirk. "Anyone can learn, if they have the mental focus and the force of will to harness it enough to be useful. Maybe that's something Odin didn't like or approve of, either."

Frigga chuckled. That sounded very much like her husband. “Odin had opinions about many things in the nine worlds, and most of them he kept to himself.”

She tilted her head as she continued to look at Strange. “Were you made aware that use of such magics can have one of two consequences?” Were his teachers thorough? Some of them kept details back from their students. “Magics can lengthen a practitioner’s life. Or shorten it by burning up their life energy.”

"It's a common theme. The Masters of the Mystic Arts don't exactly advertise. I had to find them myself. By that point, I was nearly bankrupt."

If Wong kept making him pay for lunch, that might happen. He had a very expensive broken watch as a memento, and the rest of his belongings and apartment were either gone or sold off. He looked serious and somber, as he knew from his studies that there were risks and it wasn't a well you could draw from without repercussions.

"The Ancient One knew how to prolong her life, but it came with a price. Some deals shouldn't be made, even with the best intentions," Stephen admitted, handing off the slips of paper as they were served their drinks. "I know about the consequences. Things that should never be messed with." He paused to sweeten his tea, not even debating what he would say next. "Your younger son had one hell of a refresher about that, when he drained himself to the point of exhaustion."

Frigga sighed to hear that about Loki. Sometimes she wondered if he would ever learn then reminded herself that he was ever so. It was how he learned. Trial and error. It was just that sometimes he failed to take the consequences to others into consideration. Perhaps Darcy will be incentive for him to think first.

“Perhaps it is intention that decides the cost,” Frigga said with absolute certainty. “All magics judge our intentions and leave a mark thusly. It is why some of those items in your home have warnings inscribed upon them.” Some of them she recognized. Some of them she’d only heard stories of.

"If it says not to remove the tag on the pillow or you're breaking the law? You can remove it at home. A lot of those warnings are meant for people that aren't going to win any contests that take natural selection into account."

Strange was speaking in an utterly dry voice, as though the mere thought of a tag stating that removal was illegal and punishable by law was pretty much the stupidest thing he ever heard.

"Intention does decide the cost," he agreed. "Loki is naturally gifted, I can sense the power in him the same as I can from you. But he pushed himself past his own limits. A lot of magic users have been known to frequently test those limits, anyway. Even if that cost leaves a literal mark on us."

Himself included. Every time he dared to use the stone or go out on the astral plane. Or to stick his head directly into a dimensional crack that had freshly formed between two universes. The mere thought of that had Stephen drawing in a deep breath, before he locked his lips together in a tight-lipped smirk.

“Loki is also not mortal,” Frigga reminded Strange with a gentle smile to match her tone. “Our magics do not affect us the same as they would a Midgardian, an Alfheimr, or anyone not of Asgard.” Loki was not of Asgard, but somehow, possibly because of something Odin did, he could wield magics as well as she. Asgard itself could have changed something in Loki for being as exposed to it as he had been, but that wasn’t what they were discussing.

“Regardless.He no doubt pushed himself too far and burned through his resources.” Their drinks were delivered and Frigga paused to take a drink of her wine. “It isn’t the first time he has done that, and I rather doubt it will be the last.”

He was well aware that they had the advantage of many years to perfect and study magic, and he only possessed one human lifetime. The blink of an eye to an Asgardian. He wasn't wasting a single precious moment in his pursuit for knowledge. He let his body sleep while his astral form sped through books, skimmed ancient scrolls, or traveled to other dimensions to converse with other masters of the mystical arts. To wit, Frigga was one of those. Only in the here and now, and he actually got to eat lunch outside of the Sanctum.

"I'm getting the gist that burning through his resources a habit of his," Strange intoned, taking a drink of tea while watching Frigga with somber curiosity. He appreciated her patience when discussing these matters, since it couldn't be easy to talk about someone that she cared for so much. "He doesn't seem to notice, or care, that there are limitations. Not that I can blame him. With magic, even if it affects me differently, it feels like there's fewer boundaries and more possibilities. I'd ask him his opinion about it, but we got off on the wrong foot. He wanted to stab me. Probably more than once."

It wasn't often that magicians shared their secrets anyway. Stephen knew that he was often like oil to everyone else's water, and he wore that mantle well. It meant he could concentrate on keeping Earth safe, and monitor many different threats at the same time. He was monitoring no less than ten threats at present.

Loki was still one of them.

Was it difficult to hear such negative talk about a son she loved very much? No. Not really. Frigga understood that everyone, good or evil, had a place in this universe. Light defined dark. Good could not be understood without evil. Peace, unappreciated without chaos. There had to be a balance or apathy and entropy ruled. Would the Doctor’s pursuit of knowledge be so dedicated without individuals like her son testing him? Perhaps, but Loki served a purpose the same as Strange did.

However, they could go round and round on the topic and accomplish nothing so Frigga dropped the subject pointedly. “So what is it that you wish to learn from me that you cannot find elsewhere?”

Stephen squinted a little, quietly calculating how to navigate through a social situation when his first impulse was usually acerbic.

That took long enough that their sushi arrived. As he poured them both a little bit of soy sauce into small shallow bowls, he arched an eyebrow. He wasn't the sort to simply let something drop, even if it was an uncomfortable topic. He also wasn't about to ruin some of the best sushi in the Village, even if he wasn't going to drop the same dogged determination he used to try to master magic or medicine.

"I want to know the limitations," was the business-like reply, while he carefully picked up his chopsticks to show her how to hold them properly. It wasn't only to show her. His hands still had some fine motor control issues, but they didn't shake as much as they used to. Augmenting magic to them helped steady the tremors, but it only went so far. Throwing a punch ran the risk of knocking screws loose and the promise of a whole lot of pain.

"I have a lot of questions," he continued, carefully picking up a piece of sushi. "I'm interested in any scientific differences between our Eldritch magic and your Seidr. What energy are you drawing from to form your spells? I know we're limited by what we're familiar using most, but the manipulation itself is boundless. If we have the energy and willpower to harness and control it. On Earth, we use sigils to draw from light and fire, to form weapons or portals or shields. I noticed your son uses a lot of illusions. That makes me wonder if it's a manipulation of atomic matter or a bending of light around one's self. Is it?"

He popped the sushi into his mouth and chewed slowly, watching and waiting.

Frigga listened to the excitement in the Doctor’s voice as he explained his reasoning. He was like a child with a new discovery, wanting to know everything about how. How it worked. How far could it go. However, unlike a child’s toy the answers here were far from simple.

“These things you wish to know even I may not have the answers,” she admitted. “And none of it could be answered over a single dinner. Much time would need to be spent, the two of use locked away from distractions and behind wards to keep anything from spilling out.” Frigga tilted her head. “I have gotten the impression that time is not something we have an abundance of at the moment.”

"No, there's not a lot of time. That's why I'm asking." Strange was very much focused on those questions and any answers. He wasn't opposed to spending time on research work. It was what he spent every moment on. "I'm not opposed to shared knowledge, even if you know far more than I do. I can put us in the mirror dimension to cast spells. I have another question. One which also pertains to Loki."

He paused for a drink of tea, trying to find a way to word it as simply as possible.

"I'm talking about opening the Ways. I was with Thor and Sif, and used my portals to travel to other worlds to gather information. I seem to be limited to a few planets, or realms, all of which are known to be on the paths of the world tree. Without that Bifrost, travel beyond that is...locked out. I can't access past it. Is that true for you and Loki?"

He feared that he found that limitation. When he tried to push past it, it was impossible to manage it and quickly drained him. The portals became too dangerously unpredictable. What he tried to open was too small and chaotically unstable to dare move through, even if they could fit.

Could she and Loki? Yes. There was a reason why Loki had found allies in the outer realms. But would she open one or even attempt to teach Strange how to manage it? No. Such a thing was practically impossible for a Midgardian, but she would be crossing enough lines as it was by showing him Asgardian magic. She would not be part of introducing such higher magic into Midgard before they discovered it on their own.

“I am sorry,” she said with a smile that could mean anything. “I cannot.”

"You're saying it's possible," he clarified, catching on to her meaning in an instant, "but you won't show me how."

Half this universe was at stake and he needed every trick in the book to try to circumvent that happening. It still made sense that a fellow magic user wouldn't be willing to give up such secrets. Not to a civilization that was viewed as underdeveloped, especially by Asgardian standards. He popped a piece of unagi nigiri into his mouth, chewing slowly as he mulled over what was about to become his newest mystic arts challenge.

He smirked before asking, "Can you give me a vague maybe, if your pathwalking is somehow drawn from the energy of Yggdrasil, itself? Or some other dark matter, perhaps? I'm thinking it's because you two are more tapped into that source, that it makes it more difficult for someone like me to move further beyond those boundaries. Unless it's on the astral plane."

Frigga smiled. A term she heard sprang to mind. If he was old enough to ask he was old enough to know. It could apply in this instance. “Yggdrasil, the World Tree, is not a source. It’s branches hold the nine worlds. At its base is the Well of Wyrd where the Norns spin and weave the skeins of our lives.”

Her head tilted a little as if she were contemplating her companion. “It is from the Well that all power comes from. If you would wield the magics of Asgard you will have to negotiate with them.”

The smirk on Stephen's face turned into a knowing smile, like it was a secret tip that wouldn't leave the table they were sitting at.

"I've read about the Norns," he admitted, chopsticks poking a slice of chunky roll across the plate. "Have you ever met them, or seen this Well for yourself?""

If he thought to meet the Norns and negotiate with them Frigga wished him luck. It cost her nothing to tell him about the power sink. Since Midgard was part of Yggdrasil he might be able to gain their favor.

“I have not,” she answered then wrinkled her nose a little. “Nor would I want to. They are not pleasant.”

That was exactly what Stephen was considering. He had a way of negotiating with otherworldly entities, even if it resulted in him dying about a thousand times and remembering all of it. On the upside, he had plenty of chances to come up with defensive and offensive spells on the fly before each individual smiting. In the end, knowledge was power and practice makes perfect. Stephen stubbornly adhered to that belief, and all options were viable options. Even the far fetched ones.

He looked at Frigga for a long moment before he lowered his voice down, "If you've never met them, I'm wondering how you know they're not pleasant. Either you know someone who did, or it's what we call hearsay on Earth. What makes them unpleasant?"

Frigga chuckled. The Doctor thought he was calling her out. Fair enough. “Would you truly wish to meet anyone who controlled your fate? Who knew your secrets because they wove them into being?” She shook her head. “Such individuals are not what I would call pleasant company.”

"Let's just say, I've had some inklings when things are about to go sideways."

More like he knew on a cosmic scale when things were awry, like an alarm sounding off in the distance that he was paying heed to. It happened with Thor before Odin's death and Asgard was destroyed. It happened when he had fourteen million six hundred and five different alternate outcomes from a parallel universe slammed into his memory in a split second. It even happened when he met some of the 'new' arrivals, even if they weren't really 'new'. More like their souls split and veered off, taking one step to the side on a universal scale. That was why there was the slightest gleam of amusement in his eyes, even if his overall expression remained serious for the most part.

"I think I could handle off putting entities," Stephen said, with resolve. "I've seen a little bit more than a lot of my fellow humans have. I also have memories of dealing with Tony Stark. Times two. That's almost as bad as making deals with Dormammu."

Understatement of the century.

Ah the bravado of Midgard. Or at least the young. Frigga smiled. Was it a bit of a the same smile she’d given Loki and Thor when they claimed to know more than she did? Perhaps. But she knew better than to argue. If the Doctor was set on this course, nothing she could say would deter him. She would simply be available to help yank him from the fire if necessary.

“I have yet to meet this Tony Stark,” she commented. “I have heard...much about him from my son.”

It was a change of subject again. Just as well. Stephen wouldn't be swayed. If something seemed worth trying, he'd try it. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

He briefly laughed, and it wasn't out of amusement.

"Tony Stark is," and here he paused paused to think it over, "likely everything you've heard, from both sons. A vainglorious billionaire full of his own reckless bravado and voicing his opinions. That pretty much covers his general personality type."

Frigga smirked to hear the Doctor laugh, and she definitely recognized it for what it was. “Fortunately, I am used to such personalities, and an abundance of them.” Asgard had been full of warriors that had influenced the northmen of Midgard known as the vikings. Not only was she used to being around it, but she had managed to get in the middle of it and calm it without consequences.

"If you're curious, meet him. He might put those other personalities to shame. But since you're wise, you'll probably want to avoid him like the plague like most of us do. He's a little...."

Stephen made a crazy cuckoo spinning motion with a finger by his head, before rolling his eyes with disdain and reaching for his tea cup. If Stephen thought he had the local market cornered on being unlikable, Tony Stark was selling stock options and had taken unlikability to a global scale.

Frigga found this curious. Stark was engaged to what Frigga has heard is a very capable and intelligent woman. She rather doubted that any woman described as such would agree to spend any amount of time with, let alone agree to marry, a man as described by the Doctor.

She just smiled. “We shall see.”

It was his usual unfiltered assessment, after having locked horns with Stark a few times by now in this universe. They managed to not let their disagreements leak over onto the network, but there was little love lost there. They were merely useful to one another. In the meantime, he would work with Stark and the others....but he had a greater responsibilities now.

That was why, with a smile of his own, Stephen Strange replied with, "Yes. I suppose we will."