WHO: Thor and Mercy WHAT: First meeting, fooding, fanboying WHEN: During the age plot a few days ago WARNINGS: Brief mentions of the word sex? STATUS: Closed and Complete
Thor smiled as he trudged along, feeling energetic, and full of life. He had already found that this place was awesomeeeeeeeeee! He had gotten permission to go right to Hinkles and right back from his guardian, the most awesome Darcy Lewis. And so here he was, card in hand, looking around for things to do, trouble to get into, and weird shit to happen.
Oh, and food. Food was good too.
Along with adventure!!!
***
Mercy had come back from camping and stole her car out of the driveway. It had HER name in it’s glove box, it was TOTALLY hers. She had her permit. She knew exactly what she was doing. Clearly, she was going to get the look later but she didn’t care.
Instead she drove out to Hinkle’s to get food she didn’t cook over a fire.
She sauntered towards Hinkle’s swinging her keys around her fingers.
***
Thor, spotting the woman with the strut, grinned. She reminded him of Sif, and he hurried to follow her. “Pardon me, miss. MInd if I go in with you? They make fewer faces if I am around someone at least a little older.” At his very short 10-year old height, he looked up at her with a smile and hope in his eyes.
He held up his card. “I’ll buy?”
***
At 16 she still had an edge to her, that hadn’t been honed by years of fighting things that wanted to eat her face. Her first thought was ugh, no, not another kid chasing her around. She loved the Pack children to pieces, she’d practically adopted Kate as a favorite little sister already, but she’d just spent a few days in the woods with them all. She needed five minutes to clear her own brain. But the smile and hope won her over. As did the majorly polite attitude.
“Sure, come on.”
She held the door open. “I’m Mercy, by the way.”
***
“Thanks!” Thor smiled and slid into the place, eyes scanning it, almost like an animal’s really. Warrior born, trained to fight, see, and be smart about combat from birth, walking into a room always involved a lot of weighing of people and ways out for him.
“I’m Thor.” he spoke the words to her without turning, even as he slide-stepped sideways to a spot in front of a wall, his eyes swinging around the room., Then he smiled and glanced at her.
“Are you getting caught up in this weird glut of people being bounced forward and backward in time? It’s weird how it always happens to other people and never me.”
***
Mercy only shrugged a little. “It happens, it’s part of the charm of this place, honestly.” she said after a moment and shrugged again. She loved the weirdness that this place brought to the table. She was equally as cautious as she walked in, being the Coyote among the wolves meant she really needed to be on her feet.
They healed faster than she did and the kids were just awful about sneak attacks from time to time. “Mercedes, nice ta meetcha Thor.” she said with a smile.
***
“Nice to greet you, Mercedes! That is an amazing name!” He nodded. It rang. Which was cool.
Now sure the place was absent of threats, he turned his looksee to her. “Lets order. I wont bother you once we do. Just learned that some adults are jerks and that there’s strength in numbers.” He nodded. He had known that one before, but never applied it so well to kids… save with Sif and the Warriors Three.
***
Mercy grinned. “I know how that goes. Pack mentality: stronger together than alone.” She placed her order, a large burger, fries and a shake. “Ain't no problem, Thor.”
She leaned back to wait for their order. “Adults always pick on people younger. Like I wasn't allowed to drive but I have my permit.” She snorted.
***
“Aye. That’s a fact, Mercedes of the smile.” He ordered his, and paid, and then settled back with her, smiling. Her assurance that it wasn’t a problem made him smile. She was nice, for a sort of grown up.
“Truly? I will never understand Midgardian laws. I already have been piloting a skyship for a few months. Mind you, I am not yet allowed to take it outside the grounds of the inner city, but that has to do with who i am, more than my age.”
He snorted as he looked around. “Here, everyone sees but a kid. Not someone who is a blooded warrior and already sits, albeit mostly silently, on his father’s council.”
Thor grumbled, pride pricked again as he thought about it. “I go to school and tell them what I know, and try to get a job, and everyone is, ‘Oh, you’re a kid, you don’t know anything.’.” He shook his head.
“You seem a fair person, strong, and with a certain grace. There is no reason you could not drive, or ride, or be a warrior, in truth.”
***
Mercy looked at him for a moment. Then broke into a real smile. “I'm a Coyote, I'm strong and fast. I can hunt with the Wolves and hold my own. But they just see a headstrong teenager.” She shrugged a little.
At least she hadn't been ornery to the point of doing the exact opposite of what Jeremy or Jaime have said. Yet. It would come.
“Well you're better spoken than any little kid I know. So that goes a ways. But I'm no warrior, I don't heal fast like the Wolves. Coyotes are scavengers first, hunters second.”
****
“Ooo, that sounds dangerous, and fun! And bah on them! Keep training. Someday, you’ll show them all!” He fully believed you could do anything if you trained enough. Someday, he would show his father.
Someday, he would be worthy.
Somewhere, in the woods near the river, an ancient rune-marked hammer sat atop a mound of rock, and for a moment, it wiggled and the skies blew cold winds, and then it settled again.
“I do my best. Mother taught me to always try to show my best side, and be my best side.” he didn’t always manage that last part.
Thor smiled at her. “There’s a place for all in life and the cycle of it. Even if you’re a hunter second, you still have a part of it in you., And scavengers must face dangers in their work, so, still a worthy profession.” he nodded.
***
Mercy looked at him like he was … something else. It wasn’t with disdain or anything, just thoughtful in appearance.
“I suppose it can be, but I’m older than most of them. A little stronger currently and faster than any of them.” she mused after a moment before laughing. “I don’t need to show them all. I’m happy being me, weird as I am. I know I’m strange but that’s okay.” she shrugged.
“Always is a place for everything and every one has a place.” she smiled warmly. “You need scavengers for a healthy nature cycle.”
***
Thor was definitely something else.“Exactly!” Thor smiled at her, and nodded. “We should totally spar sometime.”
He cocked his head as he nodded to her, peering at her. She was cute, for an older girl, and definitely had some muscles. Yeah, sparring would be fun!
Collecting their orders in two very strong hands, he smiled to her as he found an empty table, climbed into his seat and started to eat.
***
Mercy sat down across from him and started in on her dinner. “I'd be game for that. It would be fun to spar against someone not a werewolf for once.”
Then her brain kicked in.
“Wait. Dude. Like back up a second. Thor. THAT Thor?” Because she was better at Native American pantheons her brain literally just clicked into place.
****
“Sweet! It’s hard to find people to spar with here. Even at this age, I’m stronger and tougher than normal humans. Yay!”
He danced in his seat, then went back to nibbling at his food. At her words, he perked up, blushing, but looking proud.
“Yes, ma’am. That Thor. Time is wonky, so I’m not quite full Thor sized yet, the Thor of all the stories, anyway, but I will be someday.” He smiled at her, warmly.
The he looked shy, and looked down, then up at her, an almost vulnerable look on his face. “Do you believe in me?”
***
Mercy stared for a moment. “Cool.” She sipped her shake then laughed. “Dude I'm a girl who shifts into a Coyote who lives with werewolves and a necromancer. I totally believe you.”
Because that was easy logic. When her life was that strange, well, a god was just one more thing.
“Try not to break me too much yeah? I'm not like human breakable but I still break.” She grinned “this will be fun!”
*****
“Awesome!” he bounced, and almost glowed from it. No, wait, for a moment, he did glow. Her belief did that. It faded and he smiled happily.
“Thank you, Mercedes of the Coyote.” His eyes danced with lightning for a moment, before they faded.
“I wont hurt you, I promise. I will be on your side, always.” There was almost a formal statement to it. She had, after all, said she believed in him. He would rather not ever hurt her.
“This will totally be fun! I can fly a little, but not much, but I can totally take you up for a bit if you like?” He grinned at her as he ate, able to share and now feeling bouncy.
Congrats, Mercy, you made the bebe!god very happy and bouncy at you.
***
Now that wasn't something you saw every day. She grinned at him. “You glowed.” She observed between bites of her burger. She chased it with milkshake before laughing.
“I totally meant in the spar. I mean don't go easy cause I can handle it, just don't go too hard.” But she smiled because even she could hear the formal ring to his former statement. “Mercedes of the Coyote, don't I sound awesome?”
Then she grinned. “Really? That'd be cool. I can't fly, but I can run. Not as cool a skill!”
***
“That’s because you believe in me. Belief makes me more.” He nodded to her, eyes wide and warm. “That’s why believers are important.” he scarfed a bunch of food down, munching, and chewing, and delighting in the texture and taste. He wouldn’t ruin his dinner because he would run it off between now and then.
“Ohhhh! Okay! Sure! I can remember that.” He bounced and nodded. “You do to me, yes.”
He smiled warmly. “Running is cool, too. I run, but not like a coyote. I mean, I don’t even know how fast that is, but it sounds pretty cool!” He nodded, bouncing, eyes alight with wonder. Thor loved new things and people who were awesome and Mercy had leveled up in his sight.
***
“Oh. COOL.” she smiled brightly. “That’s kind of awesome really.” she noted after a moment.
She polished off her fries and started on her burger. “Thanks cause I don't like being broken.” she laughed a bit before grinning. “Well thank you. Ain’t many who found being Coyote was cool.” she shrugged a little, used to it.
“I can run pretty fast, something like 45 mph and can jump pretty far up and over too.” she smiled a bit. “I like running, it’s fun. Both in human form and on four legs. Four legs is more fun because the world is so different through the nose and under paws.” she smiled warmly.
***
Thor nodded. “It feels like nothing else. Like… like sex might feel.” he nodded. He had never had sex, but he imagined it felt like being believed in. Which just made him want to have it a lot. Someday!
He ate too, enthusiasm and bounciness filling him with a desire for food. “You are very cool. I don’t know other Coyotes, but you are, so there.” He nodded, point made, in his mind.
“Wow! That is awesome! Wait, you can actually fully shift? So cool!” His eyes were like, bugged out now. Yep, you have a fan, Mercedes.
***
“Interesting.” She replied not sure she was comfortable even saying sex let alone with a kid, god or not!
She polished off her food and stretched a little. “I sure do. Fully change in the blink of an eye. Changed when I was a few months old. Scared my mom so bad she brought me to a werewolf pack she knew.”
Mercy smiled though “but I better get back before they find me home. You and I will spar soon. Thank you for the food!”
***
“Anytime! And thanks! I will definitely be up for sparring!” he finished his food, and headed off, too. He threw her a grin as he bounced, heading home. He had so much to think about!