ƒ𝐚𝓃𝔡𝕣𝔞ᒪ (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} thedashing) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} noexits,@ 2021-07-09 23:40:00 |
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“What are you planning on doing next?”
WHAT Breakfast conversation that covers many topics
WHEN The morning after the pool party (day 3?)
WHERE The house Julia and Kady are squatting in
WARNINGS Brief mentions of nudity, sex, death
STATUS Complete
WHAT Breakfast conversation that covers many topics
WHEN The morning after the pool party (day 3?)
WHERE The house Julia and Kady are squatting in
WARNINGS Brief mentions of nudity, sex, death
STATUS Complete
The thing about Asgardians is you can’t invite them to any sort of a party and not expect them to remain even a little chill. That wasn’t a thing they knew how to do. If there was a celebration, Fandral was doing one of the following at any given moment: 1) drinking heavily, 2) singing obnoxiously loud, or 3) having sex, preferrably with multiple people. At the same time, even.
A random pool party hosted by a couple of Midgardian witches was no different. All of those had been accomplished and upon waking the next morning, Fandral found himself face down in a bed he didn’t recognize and could barely remember falling into only a few hours before.
It had been a late evening, honestly.
He blinked himself awake slowly and rolled over, yawning and stretching out his long body to the sound of a few cracking bones. It had been a good night. He made his way out of the bed (naked, of course) and shuffled to the last place he remembered leaving the remainder of his clothing -- out by the pool. It seemed most people were still asleep as the house was relatively quiet, but once he re-dressed, he made his way back inside and toward the kitchen.
That was when he saw Julia and he gave her a sleepy but cheerful smile. “Good morning,” he said, his voice deeper than usual. Oh, he was still very tired, and in desperate need of coffee.
Julia had witnessed Fandral’s very natural walk from the bedroom he’d taken over to the pool to reclaim his clothing. Holy shit. She’d had a pretty good idea of what he looked like thanks to the choice of swimwear but that was not something she had expected to witness, either.
She kept her eyes above the waist when he rejoined her in the kitchen, finding a second coffee mug and sliding it and the pitcher of fresh brewed coffee closer to the Asgardian. “No breaking glassware in the house,” she teased. She wasn’t sure if the glass breaking was an all the time thing or a special tradition for celebrating.
Her hair was in a messy bun, her makeup was washed off, somehow she looked less like a wicked witch and more like the slightly crunchy girl next door, wearing cotton shorts and a tank top she’d meant to sleep in, but hadn’t actually changed into until she woke up that morning.
“You had a fun night,” Julia said.
The idea of Julia seeing his walk-of-no-shame hadn’t even crossed his mind. Everyone else still seemed to be asleep. Besides, what did he care? He hadn’t exactly left much to the imagination with his choice of swimwear and with the rounds of more intimate moments he’d found himself in throughout the night… well, now a handful of people at that party knew what he looked like completely naked, anyways. Good for them.
Fandral chuckled and thanked her for the coffee, taking the mug in his hands and lifting it for a healthy drink. Coffee wasn’t exactly native on Asgard, but he’d come to find out that he liked the taste of it thanks to the machine in the cafeteria at Derleth.
This coffee was much better, too.
He remained quiet for a moment as the drink settled on his tongue before he swallowed, content to sit in the peace that the early(ish) morning hours brought to the house. “It was… a busy night, to be certain.” He smirked against the lip of his mug before taking another drink. “But fun, you’re right. How was your evening?”
“Not nearly as busy as yours,” Julia said. She was still smiling, how could she not? Fandral seemed affable enough and open to teasing. “Is that like a regular night for you or…?”
He’d told her, their first encounter, he couldn’t claim to be the god of sex, but clearly charm didn’t quite cover it either. It wasn’t even seduction. People had flocked to him, and she could see why. The wager between Loki and Julia had kept them both invested and counting Fandral’s various encounters throughout the night.
The fact that he was even awake after a night like that was a testament to the sort of stamina he had as an Asgardian. A human male wouldn’t be functional for at least several more hours, yet here he was, sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee with her just a few hours after falling asleep.
Fandral shook his head a little. “I wouldn’t say it’s a regular night for me, no, though it certainly reminded me of some evenings back on Asgard after celebrating a victory at the tavern.”
Sure, he’d made his rounds amongst the women of Asgard, but he was finding that there was some sort of allure to be had with those from Midgard.
“Get it while you can,” Julia said with a shrug. “Because who knows what will happen next week.” And with the disappearance notifications, it seemed that it couldn’t be counted on who would still be around, either. Figured that Julia would show up before most the people here, and stick around after. Her, Rick, Ron and Clint.
Her smile faded, and she seemed to go back to her mostly unreadable self, sipping quietly at her own black cup of coffee.
“Don’t be surprised if you start getting some late night texts,” Julia said.
She had a point. He’d only been there a week and a half or so and so far he’d dealt with arriving in a foreign land just in time for a royal ball, having no idea who he was, a serial killer on the loose, Loki nearly dying in his arms, and now… Disney World? The whiplash that they went to from world to world was extraordinary.
Fandral raised an eyebrow slightly and drained about half of his coffee in one drink, inhaling sharply as he set the mug down to refill. “Why would I be getting late night texts? I cannot imagine anyone choosing to write me a letter or leaving me a book in the middle of the night…”
He paused. “Oh, wait, are you referring to these devices?” he inquired, retrieving his phone from the pocket of his shorts. “Very few communicate with me through this, so you will have to forgive me for not realizing your meaning.”
Julia was a little amused to be having this conversation with Fandral. Explain Midgardian dating and relationships? Why not?
“Well…” Julia pressed her lips together in a thin line and her eyes narrowed in thought. To start with the phrase booty call or not? “...on Midgard if there are people who casually enjoy one another’s company, they sometimes have a tradition of sending each other late night messages to ask if they’d like a repeat encounter.”
That made sense to him, right?
“Just be careful about sending messages yourself, because they can sometimes come off a little insensitive. But, like I said, I suspect you might be on the receiving end of such messages in the future.”
It wasn’t that Fandral had never experienced a Midgardian relationship, but a modern one? No, that was absolutely new and he didn’t quite understand the wording used on Earth now.
He listened as she explained what she’d meant and gave a nod, his expression one of understanding. “Ohh, right. That makes sense.” He chuckled. “On Asgard the women would just beat down my door if they wanted a repeat encounter.” Consider it a humble brag.
Thinking about last night, Julia said, “Yeah, they might do that, too.”
She gave him a shrug. He didn’t seem like he would be opposed to that. Bringing her cup of coffee to her lips, Julia was thankful for the potion she’d prepared in advance. By any other measure, she should have been hurting. Her magic isn’t big, nothing like Dr. Strange, but at least she knows how to prevent hangovers.
“Hungry?” Julia turned to go through the fridge. There wasn’t much, but she did spot eggs, shredded cheese and a jar of salsa. The more perishable items were tossed or consumed before the house was left empty.
Fandral smirked a bit and took another drink from his coffee, enjoying the quiet for another moment before he nodded a bit. “I am, yes.” Truthfully he could have eaten more than his fair share of food just then after the appetite he’d worked up the night before, but he’d be content to settle for whatever it was that she could offer.
After a moment he set his coffee down and leaned into the countertop, arms folded on it in front of him. “Thank you, by the way. For going to get Loki last night.” Fandral still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but he vividly remembered the brief panic he felt when he realized Loki was nowhere to be found.
Of course, the situation had undoubtedly been brought on by something Loki had said or done, but that didn’t make it any easier when he’d thought the only other person from his home was gone, even if briefly.
Julia shrugged her shoulders at his thanks. He probably wouldn’t have been so thankful if he understood her ulterior motives. She couldn’t quite bring herself to act gracious. Instead she opened the carton of eggs showing eight inside and said, “How much do you want?”
She was just going to scramble them. Julia wasn’t much of a cook, or much for keeping house. Especially someone else’s house. Although her willingness to leave a dirty pan with fried on egg stuck to it might have been a big tip to anyone paying attention that there really was a hole in her soul.
Julia set a large pan on the stovetop and turned on the heat, leaving a pat of butter to melt slowly as the element began to warm things up. The carton of eggs was set next to the stove top and she was content to go about her business like it were any other day.
Fandral gave her a curious look at the shrug. That wasn’t what he’d expected in response, but he supposed that perhaps it just hadn’t been that big of a deal to her. In all honesty, it had probably been a bother - she’d been in the midst of hosting a party, after all.
He eyed the carton of eggs and then gave her a smile. “Might as well cook them all, no? Whatever you don’t eat, I’m sure I will.” Though he quietly wished they had some bread to go with the eggs. That would help satisfy his hunger.
“Did you have a good evening otherwise?”
There was a strange thing about enjoyment for Julia. It all felt so empty. There were temporary pleasures, temporary victories. Without her shade, however, they felt so fleeting. She didn’t have the emotional anchors of her shade to give them lasting impact, to give them meaning.
“It was fine,” she said. Though it wasn’t especially convincing. Or, perhaps fine was just the end of it. The only real purpose she had, killing Reynard, was just out of her grasp. She hadn’t fully given up. The setbacks only gave her time to consider her options.
Befriending Fandral was an important option, so she gave him a smile, as an afterthought, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Once the butter melted, she went about cracking all the eggs one by one into the skillet.
“So how many people did you end up with last night? Loki and I had a bet.”
Hearing that there had been a bet going on how many people Fandral wound up with amused him deeply and he let out a laugh that felt too loud in the quiet of the house. “A bet?” he inquired, grinning broadly. Well, it wasn’t the first time that happened and he wondered whose idea it had been. Loki’s, certainly.
“Oh, not as many as I could have been.” He paused and actually had to think about it for a moment. “Four or five?” He shrugged and then reached for his coffee again.
“What were the terms of the bet?”
Julia did smile. His laugh was infectious, or she just didn’t care if it woke anyone else up in the house. Perhaps it was both. But she was always so much more reserved than those around her. (She didn’t trust herself not to be, and even then…)
“Five and under, I won, six and over, Loki won. He owes me a favor now.” Julia’s eyes were on the skillet which was a convenient way to leave out what Loki would have won had the night gone another way. Maybe she let Fandral assume the favor would have gone the other way. Revealing what Loki really asked for felt betrayal of confidence.
Julia then turned from Fandral to go through the fridge and see what else they had. She found a jar of salsa and some shredded cheese. That would work for adding to the eggs afterward.
“I certainly hope Loki will forgive me for not living up to his expectations,” he mused with a chuckle. He found the whole thing hilarious. “And I hope your favor is well worth it.” Of course, it didn’t necessarily matter to him what her favor would be — it had been worth it to him even though he hadn’t been aware of the bet beforehand.
“What would have happened if I’d slept with either of you?” he inquired, curious. “Though Loki seems to think you’d have no interest and that’s perfectly alright.”
That surprised Julia. “He said that?”
She was partially amused and a little more confused by Loki. He might not have even technically been wrong, Julia wasn’t interested in things or people like she used to be, but why would he care or tell Fandra that? “Huh.”
“I told Loki he didn’t count, since I didn’t trust him to try and pad the numbers, and then he said I didn’t count which…”
Was Loki jealous? Did Loki like Julia? She hadn’t taken his wager for a date very seriously.
“…didn’t really make sense.”
She was still pondering it.
The eggs didn’t take long to cook. They weren’t bad but they were nothing special, either. It was the limit of Julia’s culinary talent on display. She took out two bowls and scooped not quite two eggs worth of scramble into hers, and served out the rest to Fandral. She added cheese and salsa to her bowl and left them out for him if he wanted.
“He did say that,” he confirmed with a small shrug. “It was an odd thing, though perhaps he also felt the same as you. Not trusting you to not pad the numbers, as you put it.”
There was a pause and he considered a question before thinking better of it.
Grinning, Fandral happily took the bowl of eggs and put some of the cheese on it before grabbing the jar of salsa that she’d poured some of onto her eggs. He eyed it cautiously and then sniffed it. “Strange. What is this?”
“Except that would have worked in his favor.” It didn’t make sense to Julia, she thought he was just being petulant at the time, which, still could have been the case. She put it out of her mind.
“Salsa,” Julia said. “You’ve never had salsa before?”
She paused, looking at him, taking a bite out of her eggs and chewing thoughtfully. “You need to take a trip through Epcot because there’s clearly a lot of food you’re missing out on.”
Looking back at the jar she explained, “It’s just tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, mostly blended together.”
“Ah, that’s fair. You are right.” Curious. Fandral raised an eyebrow and then turned his attention to the eggs again before pouring a little of the salsa onto a section to try.
“This is not something we had on Asgard, no. All of those ingredients? Yes, but somehow it was never thought to combine them.” Leave it to the humans. They always came up with the more delicious foods, Asgardian feasts aside. He tried a bite of the eggs and gave Julia a pleased look. “That is absolutely delicious,” he remarked after swallowing.
“Yeah, you’re going to need to hit up the Mexican food before the week is over,” Julia said, nodding at him. The you can thank me later was implied at the end of that. “Or, really, just eat your way through Epcot. Just, all of it.”
Unable to resist a dirty quip, Fandral swallowed his next bite and then laughed. “There are a few things I would enjoy eating my way through.” He even tacked on a playful wink before going back to his eggs, which he’d now covered in the delicious vegetable mix.
Julia rolled her eyes, “Says the guy who can’t remember if it was four or five.”
“I’d had quite a bit to drink, you know.” Plus it felt like they’d all happened in quick succession, which was not a good thing, so he kept that part to himself. “Doesn’t particularly matter though, does it? You still won the bet.”
His healthy appetite was more obvious than ever as he scraped the bottom of the bowl and let out a content sigh, pushing the empty dish aside. “That was wonderful. Thank you, Julia.”
“Could matter to anyone you’re not remembering,” Julia said. But then, she didn’t really have much more investment in that beyond the initial bet.
Whatever, everyone seemed like they had a good enough time up until the moment Loki was teleported halfway across the country. She gave him a small shrug and watched him eat.
A thought occurred to her, “You didn’t end up with my friend Kady, did you? Dark, curly hair. She was wearing a blue bikini?”
Okay, she made a good point and that caused the grin on his face to falter a little. When it was put like that, he sounded a bit of an asshole, didn’t he? He’d have to consider that for later.
“Hm?” he inquired at her question, raising an eyebrow slightly before taking a moment to think. Yes, he’d had a lot to drink the might before — enough that probably would have put a human in the hospital three times over — but he remembered a beautiful dark haired woman in a blue bathing suit. “That description sounds very familiar. We… well, we didn’t manage to make it to a bedroom, I’m afraid.”
No. They definitely hadn’t made it to a bedroom and he smiled a little to himself at the memory.
Julia made a mental note to follow up with Kady later. Her interest was in confirming Fandral’s god-status, and it would technically save Julia the trouble.
It never occurred to her Fandral might have mistaken Kady for Wynonna, who also had dark hair and a striking blue bathing suit. Then again, maybe it was a little much for Fandral, a newer arrival, to remember everyone’s names.
It took her longer to finish up her eggs and she did at least set the dirty dishes in the sink, which she had no intention of cleaning up afterward.
“What are you planning on doing next?” she asked.
This was assuming he’d even really known names prior to his encounters with them at the pool party. His time thus far had been spent at a royal ball, not remembering who he was for half of a week, and well… now this, he supposed.
He hadn’t exactly made many rounds in introducing himself to people. Yet.
Though he supposed there were worse ways to get to know someone than to fall into bed with them (or have sex with them up against an empty hallways wall). He did not, however, recall the dark haired woman in the blue bathing suit’s name. Could have been Kady. Sounded like it was Kady. He’d have to try and sort that out later.
“I’m not sure,” he replied. “It sounds as if I need to make a day of enjoying Epcot, though. What about yourself?”
Julia shrugged her shoulders. “Enjoy not getting shot? Or aging? Or breaking into song and dance? Or just generally not be accused of being sus for a week?”
She might have also brought up the mirrors housing evil reflections for a week in things she did not miss about Derleth, except her reflection had been merely identical to Julia. It was only asking questions, voicing concerns.
Had the pool party helped things? The Asgardians enjoyed themselves, everyone else seemed to have a fun time so it seemed like it was probably successful?
Fandral considered her words for a moment and let his eyebrows furrow slightly in thought. “I suppose with the resets it makes sense that we do not age here,” he mused out loud. That sat strangely with him as someone who was dead, technically.
“Ah, no matter.” He paused to give her a gentle, sympathetic smile. “I do not know what happened when you were shot, but I am sorry that it happened to you, all the same. Though breaking into song and dance? That’s new.”
“Except for the one week we did. One of the first weeks I was here. Everyone aged each night. Not all of us made it to the end of the week.” It was grim and perhaps Julia should have been more upset about the ordeal. Or afraid.
It wasn’t really until that moment that it dawned on Julia that she didn’t feel afraid anymore. The other parts of her missing shade had somehow been easy to identify. But the lack of fear, in the face of Reynard, in the face of being here, in the face of something else awful happening to them-- that was missing. She wondered if there were other bits missing that she’d forgotten about.
Her expression faltered slightly.
“Each week is different. You can pretty much expect the unexpected.”
Oh, that was grim, wasn’t it? “People aged at a rapid pace?” he asked, wanting clarification and trying to imagine that. He wondered what that would have meant for him. His only chance to actually grow old. No sense in thinking about it; that had happened long before he’d arrived.
Fandral caught the change in her expression and felt a sense of worry over whatever it was that had dawned on her. “I suppose asking this is a moot point considering the situations we seem to find ourselves in, but are you alright?”
He paused then and sat back in his chair a little, folding his arms across his chest loosely. “And with something like that, perhaps it’s best to make the best of things while you can, hm?”
Julia nodded, though it wasn’t especially convincing. Technically she was alright, or as alright as she could be. She was still thinking though, her thoughts nearly visible on the surface of her forehead, just barely obfuscated.
Julia was always thinking, plotting.
“Which is why…” Julia gestured to the house they were occupying. She wasn’t against visiting the parks, and although she hosted a party, she was content to spend some time to herself quietly, enjoying a more secluded pool rather than one of the water parks.
“Hopefully next week won’t suck,” she said.
“Aye, you and your friend made a wise decision with this place.” Though Fandral was still a bit oblivious as to how exactly they acquired it. Best if he didn’t know, really.
Still, he couldn’t help like there was more on her mind than she was saying, though he didn’t think he was in a position of being able to press the matter. Whatever it was, if she’d wanted to tell him, she would. He wasn’t much to her other than someone who knew Loki the best, right?
“I hope you are right about next week. Having this reprieve is nice, though.” Hopefully those that had been trapped in Derleth longer found it helpful, as he could only imagine how traumatizing some of the experiences were that they’d been through. “Is there a pattern to the places the school finds itself at all, or is it entirely random?”
“Seven days in The Void and then seven days somewhere else. Though it’s been to Earth more than other planets, or alternate Earths, so it leans towards that.” Probably because Derleth had been a place on Earth? Anything more than that and she was guessing.
“The only other pattern I’ve noticed is it tends to take people in clusters, like you and Loki, or me and Kady. All of us here may have been present in another alternate reality where Derleth wasn’t… whatever it is now, when it was a school, but that was one week and it was weird and most people have brushed it off.”
More wheels turning.
“Just be careful around the campus. There have been cursed items that have fucked with us. They always look like mundane shit, but usually if something goes really, really wrong and it’s not someone’s powers causing it, there’s some magical item that’s been activated.”
Odd. “So by that count, we should be in whatever the Void is again next week, correct?” Hopefully it didn’t involve another serial killer on the loose and a lack of memories. Though it seemed like things never repeated themselves -- first time for everything, perhaps.
Fandral raised an eyebrow at that and then let them furrow slightly in confusion, considering her words. “Cursed items? Hel, that sounds… awful.” He paused. “Is that what happened with that lanky ginger-haired fellow who was trapped in the mirror?”
“Yep. The first time the mirror was activated, our reflections had a mind of their own. So, not entirely sure what he did this time around…”
Julia didn’t seem very disturbed by any of it, despite the fact that she was ostensibly friends with Ron, or as close to it as she was capable of, having met him after the removal of her shade.
“...But if you die or get hurt, you’ll be back next week. So at least there’s that. The aging thing I mentioned and the breaking into song were also cursed items. Ron is the one that keeps them locked up I think.”
He was quiet for a moment. Perhaps too quiet. Everyone aging at a rapid pace was due to a cursed item? Fandral felt the corners of his mouth pull into something of a frown. “I don’t suppose I might be able to look at the item that caused the aging curse?” he asked quietly, though curiously. “Though if Ron is who guards them…”
“I can talk to Ron if you’d like. He got here about a week after I did, so. As far as I know, Rick, Clint and I have technically been here the longest, but there’s still a handful that have been here nearly as long. Any particular reason?”
Julia looked at Fandral closely. The request piqued her curiosity.
His lips pressed together tightly, debating for a moment as to whether he should confess his true intentions or not. Unlike the other Asgardian here, Fandral wasn’t the sort to keep that much close to his chest. Certain things, yes, but he was a relatively open book otherwise.
“Perhaps it is a poor idea, but I… well, you know, I am dead in my world.” Fandral gave a beat and then let out a sigh, shaking his head. “I just wonder what growing old would actually be like. That is all.”
“It kinda sucks,” Julia said, but she smiled. She didn’t try to talk him out of his curiosity, certainly not in the state she was in. “But, when we figure this place out, you might be dead on your world, but you aren’t here. Don’t have to be dead in mine. I mean, assuming Reynard doesn’t kill us both.”
He had a better shot than she did, or she assumed so. He wasn’t what she imagined a god to be like besides perhaps in appearance.
Still, she was worried about Reynard killing her, she didn’t look it. Fandral, perhaps even Loki, would be a hidden ace up her sleeve.
“No, I am not dead here, you are right. But I also cannot age.” And wasn’t half of the adventure in being alive knowing that you were meant to grow old? Though he had died a warrior’s death, as he was meant to -- the issue was that he was here, not Valhalla.
Giving her a small, almost sad smile, Fandral finally shifted to slide out of his seat and back to the floor. “I am quite skilled with a sword, so perhaps we will be able to catch him off guard and I can drive my sword through his heart.” They had no plan yet, but then again, they would have to find this Reynard first.
He gestured toward the sink, where their breakfast dishes were, and then let his smile grow a bit more genuine. “Julia, thank you again. I have enjoyed our conversation greatly, though I ought to find Loki.” Then he paused. That reminded him and he let out a soft snort of amusement. What the hell? Might as well ask. “Tell me, was he correct? In that you wouldn’t be interested?”
Julia was prepared to tell Fandral more about Reynard; that he had magic, that he was a trickster like Loki (and also nothing like Loki), of the things he had done. But perhaps that would be another time, as Fandral stood up to find his friend and she forced a smile.
The question took her a little by surprise, but the smile afterward was more genuine if not slightly mysterious. “Last night? No.”
They’d been brief encounters, and enough of them that even he hadn’t found them exactly memorable. That didn’t bother Julia, but it wasn’t what she was interested in.
“...Some other time…?”
Julia let the question hang and shrugged.
Oh, that smile made him very curious and he eyed her for a moment. Admired her, even. She was quite the interesting person, wasn’t she? Perhaps a bit cooler emotionally than he was used to but he could see how her and Loki would get along.
He chuckled softly and flashed her a quick grin. “Hm. That’s good to know… for some other time, I hope.”
CODING
A random pool party hosted by a couple of Midgardian witches was no different. All of those had been accomplished and upon waking the next morning, Fandral found himself face down in a bed he didn’t recognize and could barely remember falling into only a few hours before.
It had been a late evening, honestly.
He blinked himself awake slowly and rolled over, yawning and stretching out his long body to the sound of a few cracking bones. It had been a good night. He made his way out of the bed (naked, of course) and shuffled to the last place he remembered leaving the remainder of his clothing -- out by the pool. It seemed most people were still asleep as the house was relatively quiet, but once he re-dressed, he made his way back inside and toward the kitchen.
That was when he saw Julia and he gave her a sleepy but cheerful smile. “Good morning,” he said, his voice deeper than usual. Oh, he was still very tired, and in desperate need of coffee.
Julia had witnessed Fandral’s very natural walk from the bedroom he’d taken over to the pool to reclaim his clothing. Holy shit. She’d had a pretty good idea of what he looked like thanks to the choice of swimwear but that was not something she had expected to witness, either.
She kept her eyes above the waist when he rejoined her in the kitchen, finding a second coffee mug and sliding it and the pitcher of fresh brewed coffee closer to the Asgardian. “No breaking glassware in the house,” she teased. She wasn’t sure if the glass breaking was an all the time thing or a special tradition for celebrating.
Her hair was in a messy bun, her makeup was washed off, somehow she looked less like a wicked witch and more like the slightly crunchy girl next door, wearing cotton shorts and a tank top she’d meant to sleep in, but hadn’t actually changed into until she woke up that morning.
“You had a fun night,” Julia said.
The idea of Julia seeing his walk-of-no-shame hadn’t even crossed his mind. Everyone else still seemed to be asleep. Besides, what did he care? He hadn’t exactly left much to the imagination with his choice of swimwear and with the rounds of more intimate moments he’d found himself in throughout the night… well, now a handful of people at that party knew what he looked like completely naked, anyways. Good for them.
Fandral chuckled and thanked her for the coffee, taking the mug in his hands and lifting it for a healthy drink. Coffee wasn’t exactly native on Asgard, but he’d come to find out that he liked the taste of it thanks to the machine in the cafeteria at Derleth.
This coffee was much better, too.
He remained quiet for a moment as the drink settled on his tongue before he swallowed, content to sit in the peace that the early(ish) morning hours brought to the house. “It was… a busy night, to be certain.” He smirked against the lip of his mug before taking another drink. “But fun, you’re right. How was your evening?”
“Not nearly as busy as yours,” Julia said. She was still smiling, how could she not? Fandral seemed affable enough and open to teasing. “Is that like a regular night for you or…?”
He’d told her, their first encounter, he couldn’t claim to be the god of sex, but clearly charm didn’t quite cover it either. It wasn’t even seduction. People had flocked to him, and she could see why. The wager between Loki and Julia had kept them both invested and counting Fandral’s various encounters throughout the night.
The fact that he was even awake after a night like that was a testament to the sort of stamina he had as an Asgardian. A human male wouldn’t be functional for at least several more hours, yet here he was, sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee with her just a few hours after falling asleep.
Fandral shook his head a little. “I wouldn’t say it’s a regular night for me, no, though it certainly reminded me of some evenings back on Asgard after celebrating a victory at the tavern.”
Sure, he’d made his rounds amongst the women of Asgard, but he was finding that there was some sort of allure to be had with those from Midgard.
“Get it while you can,” Julia said with a shrug. “Because who knows what will happen next week.” And with the disappearance notifications, it seemed that it couldn’t be counted on who would still be around, either. Figured that Julia would show up before most the people here, and stick around after. Her, Rick, Ron and Clint.
Her smile faded, and she seemed to go back to her mostly unreadable self, sipping quietly at her own black cup of coffee.
“Don’t be surprised if you start getting some late night texts,” Julia said.
She had a point. He’d only been there a week and a half or so and so far he’d dealt with arriving in a foreign land just in time for a royal ball, having no idea who he was, a serial killer on the loose, Loki nearly dying in his arms, and now… Disney World? The whiplash that they went to from world to world was extraordinary.
Fandral raised an eyebrow slightly and drained about half of his coffee in one drink, inhaling sharply as he set the mug down to refill. “Why would I be getting late night texts? I cannot imagine anyone choosing to write me a letter or leaving me a book in the middle of the night…”
He paused. “Oh, wait, are you referring to these devices?” he inquired, retrieving his phone from the pocket of his shorts. “Very few communicate with me through this, so you will have to forgive me for not realizing your meaning.”
Julia was a little amused to be having this conversation with Fandral. Explain Midgardian dating and relationships? Why not?
“Well…” Julia pressed her lips together in a thin line and her eyes narrowed in thought. To start with the phrase booty call or not? “...on Midgard if there are people who casually enjoy one another’s company, they sometimes have a tradition of sending each other late night messages to ask if they’d like a repeat encounter.”
That made sense to him, right?
“Just be careful about sending messages yourself, because they can sometimes come off a little insensitive. But, like I said, I suspect you might be on the receiving end of such messages in the future.”
It wasn’t that Fandral had never experienced a Midgardian relationship, but a modern one? No, that was absolutely new and he didn’t quite understand the wording used on Earth now.
He listened as she explained what she’d meant and gave a nod, his expression one of understanding. “Ohh, right. That makes sense.” He chuckled. “On Asgard the women would just beat down my door if they wanted a repeat encounter.” Consider it a humble brag.
Thinking about last night, Julia said, “Yeah, they might do that, too.”
She gave him a shrug. He didn’t seem like he would be opposed to that. Bringing her cup of coffee to her lips, Julia was thankful for the potion she’d prepared in advance. By any other measure, she should have been hurting. Her magic isn’t big, nothing like Dr. Strange, but at least she knows how to prevent hangovers.
“Hungry?” Julia turned to go through the fridge. There wasn’t much, but she did spot eggs, shredded cheese and a jar of salsa. The more perishable items were tossed or consumed before the house was left empty.
Fandral smirked a bit and took another drink from his coffee, enjoying the quiet for another moment before he nodded a bit. “I am, yes.” Truthfully he could have eaten more than his fair share of food just then after the appetite he’d worked up the night before, but he’d be content to settle for whatever it was that she could offer.
After a moment he set his coffee down and leaned into the countertop, arms folded on it in front of him. “Thank you, by the way. For going to get Loki last night.” Fandral still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but he vividly remembered the brief panic he felt when he realized Loki was nowhere to be found.
Of course, the situation had undoubtedly been brought on by something Loki had said or done, but that didn’t make it any easier when he’d thought the only other person from his home was gone, even if briefly.
Julia shrugged her shoulders at his thanks. He probably wouldn’t have been so thankful if he understood her ulterior motives. She couldn’t quite bring herself to act gracious. Instead she opened the carton of eggs showing eight inside and said, “How much do you want?”
She was just going to scramble them. Julia wasn’t much of a cook, or much for keeping house. Especially someone else’s house. Although her willingness to leave a dirty pan with fried on egg stuck to it might have been a big tip to anyone paying attention that there really was a hole in her soul.
Julia set a large pan on the stovetop and turned on the heat, leaving a pat of butter to melt slowly as the element began to warm things up. The carton of eggs was set next to the stove top and she was content to go about her business like it were any other day.
Fandral gave her a curious look at the shrug. That wasn’t what he’d expected in response, but he supposed that perhaps it just hadn’t been that big of a deal to her. In all honesty, it had probably been a bother - she’d been in the midst of hosting a party, after all.
He eyed the carton of eggs and then gave her a smile. “Might as well cook them all, no? Whatever you don’t eat, I’m sure I will.” Though he quietly wished they had some bread to go with the eggs. That would help satisfy his hunger.
“Did you have a good evening otherwise?”
There was a strange thing about enjoyment for Julia. It all felt so empty. There were temporary pleasures, temporary victories. Without her shade, however, they felt so fleeting. She didn’t have the emotional anchors of her shade to give them lasting impact, to give them meaning.
“It was fine,” she said. Though it wasn’t especially convincing. Or, perhaps fine was just the end of it. The only real purpose she had, killing Reynard, was just out of her grasp. She hadn’t fully given up. The setbacks only gave her time to consider her options.
Befriending Fandral was an important option, so she gave him a smile, as an afterthought, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Once the butter melted, she went about cracking all the eggs one by one into the skillet.
“So how many people did you end up with last night? Loki and I had a bet.”
Hearing that there had been a bet going on how many people Fandral wound up with amused him deeply and he let out a laugh that felt too loud in the quiet of the house. “A bet?” he inquired, grinning broadly. Well, it wasn’t the first time that happened and he wondered whose idea it had been. Loki’s, certainly.
“Oh, not as many as I could have been.” He paused and actually had to think about it for a moment. “Four or five?” He shrugged and then reached for his coffee again.
“What were the terms of the bet?”
Julia did smile. His laugh was infectious, or she just didn’t care if it woke anyone else up in the house. Perhaps it was both. But she was always so much more reserved than those around her. (She didn’t trust herself not to be, and even then…)
“Five and under, I won, six and over, Loki won. He owes me a favor now.” Julia’s eyes were on the skillet which was a convenient way to leave out what Loki would have won had the night gone another way. Maybe she let Fandral assume the favor would have gone the other way. Revealing what Loki really asked for felt betrayal of confidence.
Julia then turned from Fandral to go through the fridge and see what else they had. She found a jar of salsa and some shredded cheese. That would work for adding to the eggs afterward.
“I certainly hope Loki will forgive me for not living up to his expectations,” he mused with a chuckle. He found the whole thing hilarious. “And I hope your favor is well worth it.” Of course, it didn’t necessarily matter to him what her favor would be — it had been worth it to him even though he hadn’t been aware of the bet beforehand.
“What would have happened if I’d slept with either of you?” he inquired, curious. “Though Loki seems to think you’d have no interest and that’s perfectly alright.”
That surprised Julia. “He said that?”
She was partially amused and a little more confused by Loki. He might not have even technically been wrong, Julia wasn’t interested in things or people like she used to be, but why would he care or tell Fandra that? “Huh.”
“I told Loki he didn’t count, since I didn’t trust him to try and pad the numbers, and then he said I didn’t count which…”
Was Loki jealous? Did Loki like Julia? She hadn’t taken his wager for a date very seriously.
“…didn’t really make sense.”
She was still pondering it.
The eggs didn’t take long to cook. They weren’t bad but they were nothing special, either. It was the limit of Julia’s culinary talent on display. She took out two bowls and scooped not quite two eggs worth of scramble into hers, and served out the rest to Fandral. She added cheese and salsa to her bowl and left them out for him if he wanted.
“He did say that,” he confirmed with a small shrug. “It was an odd thing, though perhaps he also felt the same as you. Not trusting you to not pad the numbers, as you put it.”
There was a pause and he considered a question before thinking better of it.
Grinning, Fandral happily took the bowl of eggs and put some of the cheese on it before grabbing the jar of salsa that she’d poured some of onto her eggs. He eyed it cautiously and then sniffed it. “Strange. What is this?”
“Except that would have worked in his favor.” It didn’t make sense to Julia, she thought he was just being petulant at the time, which, still could have been the case. She put it out of her mind.
“Salsa,” Julia said. “You’ve never had salsa before?”
She paused, looking at him, taking a bite out of her eggs and chewing thoughtfully. “You need to take a trip through Epcot because there’s clearly a lot of food you’re missing out on.”
Looking back at the jar she explained, “It’s just tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, mostly blended together.”
“Ah, that’s fair. You are right.” Curious. Fandral raised an eyebrow and then turned his attention to the eggs again before pouring a little of the salsa onto a section to try.
“This is not something we had on Asgard, no. All of those ingredients? Yes, but somehow it was never thought to combine them.” Leave it to the humans. They always came up with the more delicious foods, Asgardian feasts aside. He tried a bite of the eggs and gave Julia a pleased look. “That is absolutely delicious,” he remarked after swallowing.
“Yeah, you’re going to need to hit up the Mexican food before the week is over,” Julia said, nodding at him. The you can thank me later was implied at the end of that. “Or, really, just eat your way through Epcot. Just, all of it.”
Unable to resist a dirty quip, Fandral swallowed his next bite and then laughed. “There are a few things I would enjoy eating my way through.” He even tacked on a playful wink before going back to his eggs, which he’d now covered in the delicious vegetable mix.
Julia rolled her eyes, “Says the guy who can’t remember if it was four or five.”
“I’d had quite a bit to drink, you know.” Plus it felt like they’d all happened in quick succession, which was not a good thing, so he kept that part to himself. “Doesn’t particularly matter though, does it? You still won the bet.”
His healthy appetite was more obvious than ever as he scraped the bottom of the bowl and let out a content sigh, pushing the empty dish aside. “That was wonderful. Thank you, Julia.”
“Could matter to anyone you’re not remembering,” Julia said. But then, she didn’t really have much more investment in that beyond the initial bet.
Whatever, everyone seemed like they had a good enough time up until the moment Loki was teleported halfway across the country. She gave him a small shrug and watched him eat.
A thought occurred to her, “You didn’t end up with my friend Kady, did you? Dark, curly hair. She was wearing a blue bikini?”
Okay, she made a good point and that caused the grin on his face to falter a little. When it was put like that, he sounded a bit of an asshole, didn’t he? He’d have to consider that for later.
“Hm?” he inquired at her question, raising an eyebrow slightly before taking a moment to think. Yes, he’d had a lot to drink the might before — enough that probably would have put a human in the hospital three times over — but he remembered a beautiful dark haired woman in a blue bathing suit. “That description sounds very familiar. We… well, we didn’t manage to make it to a bedroom, I’m afraid.”
No. They definitely hadn’t made it to a bedroom and he smiled a little to himself at the memory.
Julia made a mental note to follow up with Kady later. Her interest was in confirming Fandral’s god-status, and it would technically save Julia the trouble.
It never occurred to her Fandral might have mistaken Kady for Wynonna, who also had dark hair and a striking blue bathing suit. Then again, maybe it was a little much for Fandral, a newer arrival, to remember everyone’s names.
It took her longer to finish up her eggs and she did at least set the dirty dishes in the sink, which she had no intention of cleaning up afterward.
“What are you planning on doing next?” she asked.
This was assuming he’d even really known names prior to his encounters with them at the pool party. His time thus far had been spent at a royal ball, not remembering who he was for half of a week, and well… now this, he supposed.
He hadn’t exactly made many rounds in introducing himself to people. Yet.
Though he supposed there were worse ways to get to know someone than to fall into bed with them (or have sex with them up against an empty hallways wall). He did not, however, recall the dark haired woman in the blue bathing suit’s name. Could have been Kady. Sounded like it was Kady. He’d have to try and sort that out later.
“I’m not sure,” he replied. “It sounds as if I need to make a day of enjoying Epcot, though. What about yourself?”
Julia shrugged her shoulders. “Enjoy not getting shot? Or aging? Or breaking into song and dance? Or just generally not be accused of being sus for a week?”
She might have also brought up the mirrors housing evil reflections for a week in things she did not miss about Derleth, except her reflection had been merely identical to Julia. It was only asking questions, voicing concerns.
Had the pool party helped things? The Asgardians enjoyed themselves, everyone else seemed to have a fun time so it seemed like it was probably successful?
Fandral considered her words for a moment and let his eyebrows furrow slightly in thought. “I suppose with the resets it makes sense that we do not age here,” he mused out loud. That sat strangely with him as someone who was dead, technically.
“Ah, no matter.” He paused to give her a gentle, sympathetic smile. “I do not know what happened when you were shot, but I am sorry that it happened to you, all the same. Though breaking into song and dance? That’s new.”
“Except for the one week we did. One of the first weeks I was here. Everyone aged each night. Not all of us made it to the end of the week.” It was grim and perhaps Julia should have been more upset about the ordeal. Or afraid.
It wasn’t really until that moment that it dawned on Julia that she didn’t feel afraid anymore. The other parts of her missing shade had somehow been easy to identify. But the lack of fear, in the face of Reynard, in the face of being here, in the face of something else awful happening to them-- that was missing. She wondered if there were other bits missing that she’d forgotten about.
Her expression faltered slightly.
“Each week is different. You can pretty much expect the unexpected.”
Oh, that was grim, wasn’t it? “People aged at a rapid pace?” he asked, wanting clarification and trying to imagine that. He wondered what that would have meant for him. His only chance to actually grow old. No sense in thinking about it; that had happened long before he’d arrived.
Fandral caught the change in her expression and felt a sense of worry over whatever it was that had dawned on her. “I suppose asking this is a moot point considering the situations we seem to find ourselves in, but are you alright?”
He paused then and sat back in his chair a little, folding his arms across his chest loosely. “And with something like that, perhaps it’s best to make the best of things while you can, hm?”
Julia nodded, though it wasn’t especially convincing. Technically she was alright, or as alright as she could be. She was still thinking though, her thoughts nearly visible on the surface of her forehead, just barely obfuscated.
Julia was always thinking, plotting.
“Which is why…” Julia gestured to the house they were occupying. She wasn’t against visiting the parks, and although she hosted a party, she was content to spend some time to herself quietly, enjoying a more secluded pool rather than one of the water parks.
“Hopefully next week won’t suck,” she said.
“Aye, you and your friend made a wise decision with this place.” Though Fandral was still a bit oblivious as to how exactly they acquired it. Best if he didn’t know, really.
Still, he couldn’t help like there was more on her mind than she was saying, though he didn’t think he was in a position of being able to press the matter. Whatever it was, if she’d wanted to tell him, she would. He wasn’t much to her other than someone who knew Loki the best, right?
“I hope you are right about next week. Having this reprieve is nice, though.” Hopefully those that had been trapped in Derleth longer found it helpful, as he could only imagine how traumatizing some of the experiences were that they’d been through. “Is there a pattern to the places the school finds itself at all, or is it entirely random?”
“Seven days in The Void and then seven days somewhere else. Though it’s been to Earth more than other planets, or alternate Earths, so it leans towards that.” Probably because Derleth had been a place on Earth? Anything more than that and she was guessing.
“The only other pattern I’ve noticed is it tends to take people in clusters, like you and Loki, or me and Kady. All of us here may have been present in another alternate reality where Derleth wasn’t… whatever it is now, when it was a school, but that was one week and it was weird and most people have brushed it off.”
More wheels turning.
“Just be careful around the campus. There have been cursed items that have fucked with us. They always look like mundane shit, but usually if something goes really, really wrong and it’s not someone’s powers causing it, there’s some magical item that’s been activated.”
Odd. “So by that count, we should be in whatever the Void is again next week, correct?” Hopefully it didn’t involve another serial killer on the loose and a lack of memories. Though it seemed like things never repeated themselves -- first time for everything, perhaps.
Fandral raised an eyebrow at that and then let them furrow slightly in confusion, considering her words. “Cursed items? Hel, that sounds… awful.” He paused. “Is that what happened with that lanky ginger-haired fellow who was trapped in the mirror?”
“Yep. The first time the mirror was activated, our reflections had a mind of their own. So, not entirely sure what he did this time around…”
Julia didn’t seem very disturbed by any of it, despite the fact that she was ostensibly friends with Ron, or as close to it as she was capable of, having met him after the removal of her shade.
“...But if you die or get hurt, you’ll be back next week. So at least there’s that. The aging thing I mentioned and the breaking into song were also cursed items. Ron is the one that keeps them locked up I think.”
He was quiet for a moment. Perhaps too quiet. Everyone aging at a rapid pace was due to a cursed item? Fandral felt the corners of his mouth pull into something of a frown. “I don’t suppose I might be able to look at the item that caused the aging curse?” he asked quietly, though curiously. “Though if Ron is who guards them…”
“I can talk to Ron if you’d like. He got here about a week after I did, so. As far as I know, Rick, Clint and I have technically been here the longest, but there’s still a handful that have been here nearly as long. Any particular reason?”
Julia looked at Fandral closely. The request piqued her curiosity.
His lips pressed together tightly, debating for a moment as to whether he should confess his true intentions or not. Unlike the other Asgardian here, Fandral wasn’t the sort to keep that much close to his chest. Certain things, yes, but he was a relatively open book otherwise.
“Perhaps it is a poor idea, but I… well, you know, I am dead in my world.” Fandral gave a beat and then let out a sigh, shaking his head. “I just wonder what growing old would actually be like. That is all.”
“It kinda sucks,” Julia said, but she smiled. She didn’t try to talk him out of his curiosity, certainly not in the state she was in. “But, when we figure this place out, you might be dead on your world, but you aren’t here. Don’t have to be dead in mine. I mean, assuming Reynard doesn’t kill us both.”
He had a better shot than she did, or she assumed so. He wasn’t what she imagined a god to be like besides perhaps in appearance.
Still, she was worried about Reynard killing her, she didn’t look it. Fandral, perhaps even Loki, would be a hidden ace up her sleeve.
“No, I am not dead here, you are right. But I also cannot age.” And wasn’t half of the adventure in being alive knowing that you were meant to grow old? Though he had died a warrior’s death, as he was meant to -- the issue was that he was here, not Valhalla.
Giving her a small, almost sad smile, Fandral finally shifted to slide out of his seat and back to the floor. “I am quite skilled with a sword, so perhaps we will be able to catch him off guard and I can drive my sword through his heart.” They had no plan yet, but then again, they would have to find this Reynard first.
He gestured toward the sink, where their breakfast dishes were, and then let his smile grow a bit more genuine. “Julia, thank you again. I have enjoyed our conversation greatly, though I ought to find Loki.” Then he paused. That reminded him and he let out a soft snort of amusement. What the hell? Might as well ask. “Tell me, was he correct? In that you wouldn’t be interested?”
Julia was prepared to tell Fandral more about Reynard; that he had magic, that he was a trickster like Loki (and also nothing like Loki), of the things he had done. But perhaps that would be another time, as Fandral stood up to find his friend and she forced a smile.
The question took her a little by surprise, but the smile afterward was more genuine if not slightly mysterious. “Last night? No.”
They’d been brief encounters, and enough of them that even he hadn’t found them exactly memorable. That didn’t bother Julia, but it wasn’t what she was interested in.
“...Some other time…?”
Julia let the question hang and shrugged.
Oh, that smile made him very curious and he eyed her for a moment. Admired her, even. She was quite the interesting person, wasn’t she? Perhaps a bit cooler emotionally than he was used to but he could see how her and Loki would get along.
He chuckled softly and flashed her a quick grin. “Hm. That’s good to know… for some other time, I hope.”