)((New Growth In Asgard )( Closed )((

[Arcadia Caughey]

This was not traditional for Arcadia. In fact, the Child of Nature was quite leery when it came to matters of the gods - eternally suspicious of them whenever they choose to walk among the mortals. And yet one particular god had been on her mind lately. Perhaps she'd sensed something from him that they had in common, and that commonality was hard for her to shake. Whatever the reason, when he crossed her mind empathy sprang up in her like the shoot of the plant pushing out of the earth. Tonight it was stronger than any other night prior, and it was because of the storm. It had come quite suddenly, thick tall and dark clouds moving over what had formally been a mostly clear night sky. With them came the pulses of light, and the distant rumble of thunder.

The storm was not called by Arcadia - her wind was her own tonight, wafting around her body unseen by any might come across her [though thus far no one had]. She had ventured out tonight to harvest, not to call down a storm to use its energy for magical working. Thus it was curious to her, how quickly this one moved in, how swiftly the rain came, droplets pounding against the multitude of leaves in the forest canopy above her head. Her violet eyes watched this aggressive turn of weather, mind thinking on one in particular who was so closely wed to the storm. She started to walk - a quick, swift walk though her footsteps made little sound, a trick of the predator beast within her. She was headed uphill, towards cliffs where she had spent much time in the past. By the time she reached them, the storm raged overhead. Now the lightening streaked, the thunder crashed and water poured from the sky as steady as a fall. And yet, Arcadia did not get wet. Not because she had an aversion to water, but simply because of the manner in which the wind which always surrounded her functioned. The swirling tendrils were visible now, a silvery grey, blowing around her and deflecting most of the water which fell in her direction.

She was about to do something she never had done before - not for a specific deity, at least. But the moment was here, the opportunity was here, and the energy of this tempest seemed begging to be harnessed for a purpose. So Arcadia turned her eyes up towards the sky, stretching her arms so her palms reached over her head as if she meant to catch the rain. She meant to catch, yes, but it wasn't the rain she was after. Counting the seconds, the next time lightening flashed in the sky the swirling wind that surrounded Arcadia acted as a magnet, the lightening striking one of Arcadia's palms. The change in her was immediate - she couldn't harness natural energy that strong and manage to keep the glamour that hid her true appearance broken. Her darkness in her hair bleed free to reveal a striking bright blonde, the same happening to the violet in her eyes. All of her seemed to radiate with a star-like glow as she held the energy of the lightening within her, and then sent in out with the following prayer, one she thought she'd never ever say:
"Great Thor the Thunderer!
Warder of life, Waker of Lightning,
Thrice mighty Thurse-queller
Of Earth Mother and the Allfather,
Holiness and Hallower,
Woe of the World Serpent,
Wain-God and Wind Rider:
To you my greatest blot and blessing,
To help in Midgard's holding
Against foes of freedom,
I envigorate you, Lord of Mjollnir!

Thanks be to You, Odinson -
Well do You ward us,
Bring we gladly brimming mead
Your thirst to quench, Thunderer
Gift to You, God of Storms
Of life, love and laughter,
That you ever them enjoy,
For grow we truly
Warded by Oden's Son!"

Yes, she was sending Thor a healing and blessing through prayer. Healings, after all, were more than just treating physical ailments. There were wounds of the mind, the spirit, the emotions, the will, and all needed tender loving care at times. For some reason, Arcadia felt Thor could through such honoring and transmission of energy use such a pick-me-up.

Thor did feel the surge of energy, the invocation of his name, the prayer offered to him. long had it been since someone had offered up such a blessing to the thunderer. even longer since the thunder god recognized the worship. as it was he left his followers following an attack made in his name upon a peaceful village. The offering of energy so strong that it pulled the good Doctor Donald Blake awake from his slumber. sending his hand to the walking stick, channeling not even needed to summon the god, who so recently received praise. The instant that Thor came to be, she would find the storm ebb from her control. gaining greater force, though force controlled. perhaps a symbol that the keeper of thunder and lightning had himself awakened. a softer rolling rumble of thunder. when the thunder god greet the storm, greet the night... he reacehd out, through the storm, searching for the source of whomever it was that had offered words so great to the god. Slowly the great Mjolnir carried him towards this person, riding upon the paths of wind... when Thor reached the general area, the storm died down. the god, left soaking wet, though he relished in the water, seeking not to keep himself dry from its life giving touch. a smile in suprise when he saw it was Arcadia."Arcadia, It was you? who offered such words of power, words of kindness.... "The hammer lowered him to stand before her, before it was slid away."Thank you, keeper of the winds and earth..."

The storm grew after she spoke the words. This she noticed. It wasn't uncommon for a storm to rage greater as it crossed directly overhead. Her arms remained outstretched to it, unafraid. Each time lightening struck, it struck upon her left palm. The electric energy was consumed, transmuted, and transmitted through her other palm outward to the god of whom she prayed and blessed. The healing was one of the most powerful she'd performed in a long time - it wasn't often that Arcadia chose to tend to individuals utilizing magical energies, and when she did she most often simply used the wind, not nearly as strong as a tempest. When the storm started to wane, Arcadia dropped her hands. If she were still mortal, she would have been out of breath. As it was, she was buzzing with the adrenalin of being a house for such wild and potent energy as a storm. A single exhale escaping from her lips, there was a faint flush on her pale cheeks as she turned her golden eyes upward to read the sky. This was not simply a storm passing over and thus decreasing in power, she realized. This was a storm whose power was waned for other reasons entirely. The realization came to late, for when Arcadia turned the god was already there. She tried to not look surprised, or guilty, or sheepish, or any similar collection of emotions though surely such things wore briefly on her face. "I thought..." she did not like how soft her voice sounded on the now quiet air. With a purse of her lips she cleared her throat, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she lifted her chin. Cobwebs of shock cleared from her voice, her tone sounded its usual calm, strong brogue. "I thought it wasn't in the habits o' the gods t' come t' the source o' prayer." Did that mean she wouldn't have done it if she knew he would come?

"It is not... It was not..."Thor paused and looked to the sky." Such a strong prayer, in a land where none know of my deeds, draws one's attention...Forgive my arrival... I sought only to see who it was, that offered such kind words to a god from a distant land... I also thought perhaps it was another of Asgard reaching out to me..." a smaller smile formed again, the god reaching to his head to remove the helmet he wore."I thank you Arcadia... your words have given me a great... uplifting of sorts." and then he bow to the woman, as a gentleman would to a lady.

What in the bloody hell did a person say to a god? Arcadia had that problem whenever she was faced with a deity, for she saw them as beings who's thoughts and actions dealt in a much grander scale than those of mortal men and women. If the Child of Nature knew that there were some gods that busied themselves with parading about with mortals at balls and birthday parties and daily practices that were more human than some of the human she knew she would be utterly baffled and perhaps even incensed. But this moment was greater than simply not knowing what to say to a god - it was more specific than that. What in the bloody hell did a person say to a god who showed up right after you were praying to them and sending them a healing of blessing and strength? This was beyond awkward, at least for her. Inwardly. Outwardly, well Arcadia was a well-practice woman of reserve and calm. So her lips merely curled in a knowing little smile as she countered smoothly, "I don't believe modesty suits a man who travels by ripping his storm through the sky. Surely your name and your deeds are not unknown by all who dwell here, as this is a nexus for people of all realms and cultures." She folded her arms across her chest, regarding him with her gold-touched eyes as he offered her a bow. "Funny, it's not the first time you've mistaken me for one of your own."

"Indeed it is... I am sorry for such confusion yet again..." and Thor straitened and replaced his helmet. bringing his eyes to meet hers."perhaps there is some greater reason for such?" Thor gave nothing more then that in his statement, he had thought before maybe Arcadia held a connection to divinity, part of the reason he had invited her to Asgard when he did. in order to help tend to the plants that had not been able to be properly taken care of in the absence of their tendress.

"A need for kind company?" Arcadia posed this to him with one of her knowing little smiles. As he'd not hinted at the thoughts behind his words, Arcadia was interpreting them in a different way. That the greater reason was held by the hands of the natural order, not in the house of gods. Her golden eyes moved upward, resting on the helmet which rested upon his head. "I admire that y' wield a hammer, and not a sword." To this day she couldn't look straight at a blade without feeling the threat of a freeze in her body and the rattling of one of her fractures that normally never wished to be free. Her eyes dropped to where Thor had sheathed said hammer. She wasn't sure why she said that to him, other than to perhaps justify the reason for the healing she sent him with the power of the storm that was now quiet.

"perhaps it is... " Thor said with a bit of a leading silence a nod. the hammer was sheathed behind his his back, underneath the cape. the hammer was pulled into view when she spoke of it." Mjolnir chose me when i was a young boy... it took me a great deal of work, alot of skill in order to grow to be able to wield it... there is no other weapon i would rather hold at my side while in battle then it... no sword, whether it be a godly weapon or made of a mortal black smith..." a nod and Thor put the hammer back to its home."

Her brow arched when the god simply trailed off as he did. She even leaned slightly forward, as if to give him a silent prompt or at least show him through her body language that he was free to finish his thought. When he chose to speak of his hammer, however, her body relaxed into its natural posture. Battle. Weapon. These were things that Arcadia did not hold affinities for. She had been raised a rather stalwart pacifist, and it had only been the predatory needs of the beast that had shifted her behavior - when it came to the hunt, at least, or to show affection in the rougher manner which beasts were wont to do at times. Battle was something she approached from a defensive standpoint only. "Well," she said with a lift of both brows in a brief display of her social awkwardness, "shall I tend the plants o' your home, then?" It was the second time she made that offer - this time allowing Thor to collect - when she was at a loss of something else to say or do. She healing she had sent him was heartfelt, but now that he had come...she didn't want to waste the time of a god and tending to his plants seemed the easiest way to prevent said time from being wasted.

"Indeed, If you would like to." the hammer was pulled out once again and risen above his head. holding his hand out towards her.He was rather excited inwardly to see her in Asgard, maybe he secretly hopes her seeing it would awaken something, allow her to see that maybe some part of her may have belonged there. of course none of that was seen he most certainly couldnt just put all of that on her."The flight wouldnt be long. We might travel upon the wings of the lightning,

"I did give m' word that I would." That was not saying she would like to, she was aware of that. She had mixed feelings about traveling to any world that belonged to gods, no matter who those gods were. She had been taken, through various astrals means, to the land where dwelled the Powers that Be and those trips certainly quenched any curiosity. She could only hope that his land would be different. She had to bite her tongue, to keep her ego from insisting that she had her own means of travel. She would be a guest in his land, the least she could do was act with proper humility and accept what he offered to her. She placed her cool hand upon his offered one, applying the pressure needed to hold his to allow for the safety of travel. "I don't mind flight, I'm well traveled on the wind."

good... then you are no stranger.-Thor's fingers closed around her own and in that second they where struck by a bolt of lightning. blinding her for a moment, and when her vision would clear they would be standing before the front gate to Asgard, which stood as a mountain above them, and below them, the world. clouds obscuring the view beneath.- Arcadia, mistress of the earth and keeper of the winds, I welcome thee, to Asgard... where you will be greeted as an honored guest.

[Arcadia Caughey]

While she was no stranger to traveling on the wind and no stranger to weathering the energy of lightening within her body, she had never used the bolt to travel before. In was a new sensation, seemless and fast as he said. And oddly, much like an elevator. The sensation of being pulled straight upward. Her travels on the wind were far more roundabout than that. She cast her eyes down at the cloud cover, feeling the energy pulsing off the earth below even from this distance and despite the fact that she could not see it through the blanket of white. While still in her true golden appearance as a Child of Nature which was probably most befitting to walking a land of divine men and women, her attire was less than so. A simple black dress with a high waistline and a rounded collar that buttoned high on her neck, with sleeves that were short and puffy. One of those dresses that Arcadia wore because they were doll-like, such clothes kept Spriggan happy and quiet within her. Fishnets adorned her legs, black and aways, as were her knee high lace up boots. She carried her worn cotton back across her shoulder as always. She looked between the gates and him and said with haste, "There's no need t' trouble yourself with any sort o' fanfare on my account..." That was the last thing she needed. Gods making a fuss over her for whatever reason, when she loathed being the center of attention.

Thor could only offer her a slow nod. eyes looking about at the runways of empty garden boxes, that where one day filled with vines, ivy's and flowers. and then back down to Arcadia."Very well, would you like then to see the central Gardens? these runways."motioning up to them before he started walking." all lead to the central gardens. they where meant to give an appearance of vibrancy in the stoic stone buildings built by my father."

Her eyes watched the god's and then followed the path of his gaze. Golden eyes moved from box to box, looking at the dormant life there. Dormant, not barren - as with most patches of earth, there was always potential for life to grow from the soil. The seeds buried below merely needed to be stirred, properly fed, and in the case of Arcadia empowered to grow beyond their normal rate to sooner flourish and be able to tend to themselves. "Aye, the center o' your lands greenery, that is the place best to begin." And yet, she was straying away from the man who brought her here, walking over to one of those boxes. Without hesitation, she sank her fingers deep in the soil so that each was nearly buried. An exhale through her lips, a peaceful sigh as she felt herself connection to the vibrations of this earth and empowered to stir it. The glow around Arcadia would increase - ironically much like the glow from the sun. That energy seeping into the earth through her fingers, her intimate connection with the soil allowed her to feel the seeds stirring, and these she nurtured. Within a minute, Thor would be able to see the bright green stalks of new plant life pushing up from the earth of the garden box. Arcadia did not remove her fingers until these small stalks sprouted their first leaves. Only then did she stand, not bothering to brush her fingers clean of soil. "They will be well grown by the time we walk here next." It was said with great satisfaction, and Arcadia beckoned him to lead her onward.

They where being watched, and to Arcadia's actions there may have been mummers heard from the others regarding her ability to do that." Thank you Arcadia, you will do much to raise the spirits of those who call these grand halls home."Thor who paused his walking when she stopped to tend to the plants, continued then, making sure she stood close by, wouldnt want any of the more... shady gods to get any ideas with his guest here, afterall Arcadia was a very powerful being.

Did Arcadia hear the murmurs? Surely her preternaturally touched ears could pick up the lowly uttered sounds with ease, but knowing Arcadia she was turning a deaf ear to what words those murmurs actually shaped. It was her way of trying to ignore the fact that they were being watched, or that her actions caused any sort of fascinated stir. She really didn't like being the place where people focused their attention, probably because of a wariness to display in a public fashion what she was truly capable of. "No land should be without its plants, it upsets the natural balance and causes distempers both seen and unseen in all who dwell there." She was trying to keep her eyes in front of them, but her golden eyes started to wander. Staring at the edifices, and their arrangement, and the vibrations of the stone that the buildings were constructed off. She followed after him, of course, and Thor would find it rather fortunate that there was not even a faint whisper of his most dear sister in Asgard today. At least not on the path they currently walked.

The murmurs where not much really, just the thoughts of the lesser gods, some wowed at her ability, others speaking ill, because she was a woman and she was seen with Thor. and well she wasnt an Asgardian. but the general response was good."I could not agree with you more Arcadia, and once again, thank you." and with hat they where at the main Gardens, they where lovely, but arcadia could probably feel they where not to their full potential. something that should be jaw dropping. wasnt.

When the reached the garden, there was an intake of breath. It wasn't because of anything she saw, it was because of what she felt. All land had centers to it, places where the core and wealth of life for the immediate radius of the area was strongest. These gardens were aptly named, for here was one of the centers. She could feel it pulsing beneath their feet in a way which stirred her like few things every had before. Life centers had always had a pull for her that was very hard to ignore and which had gotten her involved in some...very intense and strange endeavors, but the pull of this one was immense. She said nothing to Thor, she touched not a single plant, and she broke away from where he was leading her to move towards the center. "Well placed," she was murmuring to herself about the location of the garden as she walked. A shiver of power quaked her entire body, but it didn't make her recoil. No she only drew closer. In fact, her wind was going to work. Pulling free the laces of her boots, yanking them each off her feet within the rhythm of her steps, and the same was done with her stockings, snapped right off the garters underneath her dress by the wind and pulled free of her feet. When the bottoms of her bare feet struck the dirt it sent zaps of earth energy up through her enough to make her gasp and all the sudden she stopped. It was the very center of this garden. "From here y' could make all o' Asgard grow..." she said softly. Was it to Thor? Or herself? Or someone else?

Thor stood at the gates of the Garden, a small crowd of Asgardians forming up behind him, though he had closed the gate, they continued to come,w atching in facination as the woman of such rich power wandered through the gardens. Thor heard her, of course he did, but he didnt say anything she wasnt really looking at him so he simply went with the assumption that she was speaking to herself while she moved.

The connection to the divine earth happened suddenly. All it took was a shift of her left foot a mere inch to the left, and it was made. Normally Arcadia sought to make the connection to the ground, but this time it was the opposite - the ground sought her. And it was bold enough to do more than that - it incited a shift she normally never would have let Thor [and certainly not the rest of the crowd there tailgating] see. Like plug to socket, she and this earth melded into one as her feet sank into the earth and she continued to sink nearly halfway up her calves. Roots grew from each of her toes with a rapidity she'd never felt before, burying down and down towards the central earth energy so that she might tap into it. As those roots grew the change grew up her legs as well, first each greened and then browned as the melded together in a trunk as sturdy as any tree. That trunk grew up her thighs and the end of the change couldn't be seen for sure as it was covered by her dress. Down her arms however the change continued to be evident in a different means. Sink was a slick green, and each of her fingers was growing and sprouting at the tips as leaves, and her hair grew not into roots as it normally did but stretched out each strand as a stiff branch. Now Arcadia had stayed planted in the ground for such phenomena to happen to her before as a natural slow growth in the greater complexity of this form of her, but never had it happened so instantaneously. Every branch of from her hair arms and fingers stretched leaves towards the sky and were receptors for energy that she was drawing from a place she honestly did not know - the energy was to her without question just as the sun beat down from the sky each day. That energy was pushing down her body, and out her roots were it ignited the earth center that it grew into. This started the chain reaction of nature - seeds which lay dormant in the earth were fed and persuaded to wake though it was not the proper season, and those plants who already had root systems established started to grow. The whole garden moved towards it's full life.

This was certainly not something that Thor expected that sort of REaction, he was in fact surprised so much so that he took a step forward towards her." Arcadia, are you alright...has our land become bewitched? would you like me to summon aid for you?" he was no botanist. but he had someone who was trying and they may perhaps know more about this then he would. though he did also notice th=at the other plants where starting to grow very quickly.

"Silence" The sound didn't come from her lips. It came out of the leaves, if such a thing could be believed. As they rusted, their sounds formed the word as those silvery tendrils of wind that surrounded her shot forward. Some to stir the leaves so that she might speak through them, others of the wind forming a barrier that Thor would have to get past in order to get any closer to her. As the energy drew down through Arcadia the glow around her only increased, shone out of every pore of her beating with the power of creation. The Child of Nature did not look distressed. In fact, with her eyes closed and the way her head was bent back so her face was turned towards the sky she looked to be in her element and quite at home. Had she expected this land to react to her in this way, and to change her so drastically and with such ease? Of course not, no land had ever taken hold of her this way. But that initial shock was replaced with the immediate peace and welcome that she always felt when planted in any earth - and this peace came with a satisfaction that beat through her body deeper than her blood. Enough that she wasn't worried about how difficult she always found it to regain her body after being turned so far into a tree, a dryad, however one wished to call her. She was immersed in her task. The gardens of Asgard were claiming their land once more with a health and vibrance that made it seem like such lush foliage had never left. Trees grew wide their canopies and thicker their trunks, plants grew new branches, new blooms and fast forwarded through their cycles with effortless ease to match the season, and new plants whose seeds had all laid dormant and buried to deeply in the earth to grow were sprouting now as well all around Arcadia. Stirring to life and movement, as all plants did when this Child of Nature fed them energy to grow. The central garden was now a bustling place. Only then, when she felt the balance of this garden restored, did Arcadia slowly bow her head back down from the sky and open her eyes. The wall of wind dropped, and her voice came to him on the leaves. "Bid the onlookers go. My work will take time, and only you may have eyes for it."

[Arcadia Caughey]

"Very well."Thor turned from her then, tearing his eyes from the spectacle before him, turning towards his people, all ages gathering." Asgard, I would ask that you disperse from your gathering here at this time... we've a guest this day who has given her word she is going to restore our home to its botanical glory... but she asks that she is able to do such without watching eyes... I assure you whens he is finished the gardens wll be open for all to enjoy... all I ask is a few moments to allow her to finish." and The people reluctantly , slowly started to disperse. leaving Thor and Arcadia alone." You're doing amazingly Arcadia... the gardens look beautiful.

The people would perhaps be somewhat appeased by the fact that Arcadia's word could now be seen beyond the gardens. Wherever plantlife had bloomed before, so shoots were sprouting there from the dirt with renewed vigor. Even places where no plant had ever grown were being stirred by the energy that pulsed out from the earth center of Asgard. Stirring and waking seeds which stretched and now began to turn their attentions towards freedom. It would certainly give the crowd something to look at, though not as interesting as Arcadia perhaps. Now that she was alone with the Thunder god Arcadia could relax. Tension that might have been mistaken for the simple rigidity of a tree released from her with a long moaned exhale from her parted lips. "This land is incredible...." breathed from her with a faint undertone of grit in her voice. She didn't even realize she said that, perhaps, or she would have been embarrassed. "Rich soil and so strong a center..." She seemed caught in some sort of euphoria. From behind him, a plant was sneaking up on Thor, turning the center of its blossom and opening its leaves wide to inspect the god.

"Such is Asgard Arcadia... Though i must say that I have never seen one, not of our lands carry such weight among its halls..." there it was again that illusive tone, maybe even a leading tone. even the sorcerer supreme, doctor strange wasn't as powerful within these walls as he was in all other places. The god himself did not notice the plant coming up behind him he in fact stepped forward. examining another tree it had been alive, but this, this was different.

Now the god was out of the plants reach. It fluttered its petals in a huff, fluffing its leaves with irritated frustration. With the interesting man out of its reach, the plant moved back to the position it felt would give it the most sun come morning, and it closed up its petals to sleep for the night. The tree that the god touched responded immediately. Thor would hear its branches creek as it bowed its lowest branches down within the gods reach. From one of said branches dropped a piece of fruit. Unknown to earth or even Rhy'din, but the gods of Asgard would surely know the fruit that was now resting ripe in front of the gods feet. The tree was obviously making nice by offering said fruit. Arcadia watched the interaction with a pleased smile, still filled and pulsing with the stable peace of the ground beneath her. "I've yet to walk any of the halls of this land, Thunder God." Arcadia had addressed the man only as Thor in the prayer that she spoke at the start of this evening during the storm. She had an aversion to saying his name that she didn't question and simply heeded. The growth cycle of the garden was complete - it was thriving with health and teeming with excitement for feeling so restored and lush. Her work was not fully complete, however, as the energy she was channeling down her body into the roots and through the earth was now working on locations distant from where they stood.

"Thor rose his brows , kneeling down to gather the fruit., which he brought forth to his nose, offering a deep inhale. smiling a bit and offering the apple over to her" long has it been since the apples of Idunn have graced the lands of Asgard... you have offered us an amazing boon. would you like a tour of some of our greater halls? IT is the very least I may offer to you, who has done so much for us..."

While Thor inspected the fruit, the last of the channeling completed. Deep from within her a breath came, released on the air with a sigh that caused a wind to blow gently throughout all the garden. Her dryad body freed from it's channeling task, as her golden aura died down to its more muted brilliance she was able to move her body as she willed. Giving a great stretch of her arms, all her branches in fact, as her own body creaked much like the tree's hand before it dropped its fruit. "Mmmm," slipped from her. The sound of someone who felt cozy. She could stay rooted to this very spot quite easily, and the prospect was a tempting one. But there was the god addressing her, and Arcadia's eyes lazed open and spied the offered fruit. "The tree made that a gift for your lips, no?" A winsome little smile as her body started to return quite naturally to its regular shape. She could feel her roots retreating, her feet were pulling out of the ground and quite naturally returning to stand on the surface of the earth, the outer bark around her legs cracked and she stepped from the debris with no trouble at as all her branches discarded their leaves, arms returning to arms and hair restoring to hair and her skin returning to its immortal palour. She looked surprised as she stepped forward to collect her boots and stockings up in her hand. Never had that form relinquished her body so easily. It caused a rather pensive look to linger on Arcadia's features as she nodded and accepted his invitation for a matter of manners. "Aye, as y' will. I am your guest in this land after all."

"Indeed it was, I thought only to offer you a samplings of our native fruit... one might work up an appetite while walking the lands of Asgard..."Thor seemed in better spirits now that his gardens and plantlife around the city where once again bristling with life. allowing her to put her boots back on. and when she was ready to go one, Thor motioned her along. moving from the gardens, which he left open when they left them." forgive my rudeness in not asking sooner, but would you like something to eat? there are a great many feasting halls in which you may dine."

So that he didn't have to endure her lifting up the base of her dress in order to reattach her stockings to their garters she put her boots on without them, tucking her stockings away into her back as she shouldered it once more. That done, she took the offered fruit from Thor. Like him, she brought it to her nose and took a sniff. Sweet, like so many other fruits, but the particular notes of the sweetness were nothing like she ever smelled before. Miraculously, it made her mouth water when her mouth had watered for no food except on those rare occasions when she used magical means to be human for a short time. "Y' seem pleased," she remarked with a winsome little smile cast in his direction as they exited the garden. He was living proof of what she said earlier - the balance had to be restored to it's proper equilibrium for those who lived in this land to be in their proper humour. As she followed him, she gave in to her watering mouth and took a bite of the apple. It was enough to make her deadened tastebuds burst to life, "Oh, m' lord...this apple...this is no mere apple..." Arcadia was already taking another bite as she shook her head and waved her free hand at his offer. "M' a blood drinker, food is somethin' I have no taste for." Except for the apple that she was currently stuffing her face with. There was color in her cheeks, too, as she ate it. Her complexion more lively.

"I am pleased, life once again covered my home, such si something one should be pleased about.." His eyes brightened, looking back over his shoulder, seeing his subjects. warriors born each one of them. but they where enjoying the gardens as children would. it was something Thor had hoped would happen. bringing Asgardian morale up...." you are correct. the Apples of Idunn grow only in the gardens of Asgard, and only when tended by mistress Idunn..." another implication that he wasn't going to openly say. " I am rather pleased that you are enjoying it... Would you like another? or something else?" glancing over at her, he didnt know her well enough to notice that distinctive change in her color. in his defense they had usually met at night.

If Thor was pleased by the garden, their walk to whatever hall he was taking her too would please him as well. Rich, vibrant and joyful plantlife grew all over the mountain now. These plants moved quite openly and without fear, and of course as Asgardian plants they would do whatever things Thor had implied in the last conversation he had with Arcadia. As they walked past any plants Arcadia's free hand reached down to stroke and pet at them, the plants responding rather favorably to her of course, as they recognized her as the one who nurtured them back to such health. Perhaps it was the overflow of lush foliage that helped Arcadia feel so at ease here, for somewhere along this journey the social awkwardness that Arcadia was so prone to was shed. When he mentioned the one who tended the apples such as the one she was currently eating, Arcadia turned and watched those who scrambled merrily around the garden curiously. Wondering which she was, and why she hadn't sensed said gardener when she had been in there moments ago. "I could eat these all day," she sort of grinned as she turned back around to face forward, finger catching a bit of apple that nearly fell out of her mouth and popping it back in. "But y' said yourself these apples haven't grown here in a long time, and I wouldn't want t' steal them from your people. What hall are y' takin' me to?"

"one of our Feasting halls... Perhaps you might find another item that you will enjoy as much of that apple?" a small smile on his face now. watching the plants move around as they tended to. perhaps they knew that they where making everyone happier. and maybe they knew who Thor thought Arcadia actually was. and they where trying to look special for her, one could never know..." unless of course you're not really that hungry and would rather see something else."

She polished off the rest of the apple. Arcadia had eaten the entire thing but the stem - seed core and flesh. The stem she dropped into the nearest patch of grass to become part of the earth again. She was licking the juice from the fruit off her fingers. It truly was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted before. "Mmmm," was said softly to herself before she finally dropped her hand from her lips. "That fruit has t' come with some sort of enchantment, I haven't felt hunger and taste with such potency for years..." It was surely impossible, but Arcadia somehow felt nourished. Even on the rare occasions when she had eaten food, it had done nothing but sit disagreeably in her stomach until it passed with similar discomfort. Her own spirits were rather high - perhaps the joy of growth that visited this land today was infectious. She wasn't hungry, but the fact that the god might be hadn't escaped her and she was his guest. And so, she accepted his invitation. "While m' sure m' attire is not the sort that should be gracin' your featin' hall I would be honored t' break bread with you, Thor." It was the first time she'd said the god's name outside of prayer, and it nearly made her stop short in her tracks. Not because she spoke the word, but because of the strange feeling that followed. She rolled her shoulders, like she was trying to shake off a chill.

"I assure you there is not an enchantment upon our fruit... We leave such things to those who reside upon mount olympus..." Thor stepped up to the doors of the feasting halls, the pair of guards at the doors snapping to attention seeing thor and Arcadia, both offering a nod to thor and a thank you to Arcadia. the inside of the feasting hall was an absolutely robust atmosphere. lively, alot of people all of which having a great time, eating drinking and being merry... there was a large empty table at the head of the room, left for Thor and the rest of the royal family. and their guest, which currently included Arcadia, for whom Thor pulled a chair out." The chef will deliver food for us in a moment."

Arcadia barely heard the thank you. The doors to the feasting hall were open and she was struck dumbfounded, which was not an easy thing to do to a calm, even-tempered stoic such as she. Of course there were people within feasting, this was a Kingdom after all. But....well but, just but. She followed after the Thunder God almost as if she was walking in a dream, her fingers touching her lips to keep the sight of her slack-jaw hidden from the others who were busy dining. Normally it would be the sound of so many heartbeats and so many scents assaulting her predatory senses that would bewilder her so and throw her off her game, but that was not the issue right now. It was something else, something she couldn't put her finger on but all the sudden the fact that she was so far from the mortal earth...from Adrian, from her brothers...it hit home now and she was actually filled with fear. As if part of her was afraid that there was a chance her walking these halls would be come a common event and seperate her from all she knew. Thor had pulled her chair out, and she was just standing there. Frozen, unable to sit. "I...this...this is...is this a good idea?" She finally blurted that out, her palm pressing against her forehead as if she was trying to calm a fever. "I'm sorry, I..." a short laugh of disbelief came from her, "I can't get a handle on m'self, I don't know what m' problem is I just feel like m' head is up in the clouds and I know that's true, but..." But she needed to get hold of herself. And right now, she was rather worried that far too many people were watching.

Yeah people taking a look at Thor to see who he was eating with, but most of them had been in here for a little while and havent seen that the plants where all alive. Thor himself looked surprised." Do you not desire eating?If you would rather I could return you to your home, if you are uncomfortable here in Asgard." he had known of her reservations in coming here in the first place, he would like to keep her here, but if he couldn't he wouldn't mind. there would be time for him to see if she was who he thought she was.

"There's a..." her palm moved to press against her cheek. It was a rare feeling, but sure enough she was feeling it - Arcadia felt hot. She suspected the number of people here and the exotic piece of fruit she ate and perhaps even the sheer amount of divine energy she'd channeled, but even still that blend of things causing her to feel warmth was highly unexpected. Warmth was normally something she only felt after dining on living blood. A swallow and she cast her eyes sheepishly at the tall lord of the hall. "...lot o' people here, and we at the front o' the room, I...m' not a person well suited for crowds and attention." She let out the rest of her breath with a purse of her lips. She dropped her hand from her cheek, smoothing her dress over her stomach as she asked, "Surely there's somewhere more private t' break bread?" Part of her wanted to leave, yes. There was no question about it, and perhaps he could see that storm in her eyes. But she had agreed to come to Asgard tonight, and her reasons were more than merely fertilizing his land and inciting it to grow once more. She was here for the same reasons she offered him that storm-fueled healing and prayer. Because she felt he needed such company, for whatever reason.

Thor's eyes watched hers as she spoke, a hand rising to remove his helmet again. and then a nod."Of course there is..." behind them what looked to be simply a wall bearing the crest of Odin. was pushed open to reveal a smaller dining room, the same styled, large table this room, well there wasnt a soul in it, but the smells from the hall's kitchens could be smelt greatly in this room. Once again now, Thor would try to pull a chair out for her." The Chef will now deliver the food to this table.

[Arcadia Caughey]

Did he remove the helmet to sooth her? Oddly enough, whether or not he intended it that was the effect. Any sort of battle adornments were not things that put Arcadia at ease, even if there was no weaponry in sight. Surely contrary to the spirit of the Asgardians, such a strong battle-comfortable pantheon. Seeing the empty dining room the tension in her posture dissolved, her shoulder slumping and the straightness of her spine relaxing as well. As he pulled a chair out, she paused again. What was she thinking? She never sat upon furniture unless it was the sometime table top or bar counter. But she had already caused the poor lord enough grief, she knew that. So as she smoothed the back of her dress she said calmly, "It's not in m' upbringin' t' indulge by sittin' on chairs and the like, but I think I can make the allowance seein' as m' a guest in your land." Was she telling him that, or herself? Slowly she lowered down into the chair. Sitting upon it so gingerly, as if she expected to turn into a troll because her backside kissed the flat wood. She obviously didn't turn into a troll, however, and her relief spilled out into rarely earnest words. "Now sit and please let's have a proper conversation, if y' keep yourself as still and formal as y' are I think m' goin' t' scream, it's right intimidatin' your serious airs." Now Arcadia knew what dealing with her was like for other people!

Thor smiled, actually smiled and took his seat down at the table.- proper conversation? indeed...- a moment to think for a moment maybe asking donald for pointers on small talk. and then he asked." Tell me Arcadia, how is it you came to be one with nature as you are?

She grimaced. She couldn't help it. It was her fault for not specifying that she didn't consider talking about herself to be suitable conversation. In fact, it was something she went through great lengths to avoid. But she'd asked him to incite conversation, so it wouldn't be polite to refuse to answer the question to her. She knew that. So instead she took a moment, pulling her legs up to sit indian style in her chair, folding her hands carefully in her lap. Taking time, plenty of time to formulate a response. "It's the practice of m' people, o' the sister cities Conaill and Donagal which are cut off from the rest o' Ireland by a mountain range shaped much like a horseshoe, t' serve nature and the greater good so. M' mother schooled me in herbology and healin' with plants since I was a wee lass. When I was eight, the Elders wed me t' the wind, a complex ritual which wove the wind into m' physical body and ethereal body." A pause. She added with a glance to elsewhere in the room, "And then there was the accident I spoke about when we conversed last. That changed m' appearance t' what y' see now...stopped m' agin' process...rendered me barren and connected me t' Nature's wishes and gave me the power that y' saw a short time ago."

Thor Thought for a moment." as you grew into a woman, your elders bound you to one of natures wings?... I am sorry to hear of your accident... Do you think it was your relationship with the wind that resulted in you gaining the power over the elements from the accident?"

"I was only eight, Thor. For my kind, that's years off from womanhood." It was said with one of those wry little smiles. She had yet to show even the smallest hint of her fangs in Thor's presence, which was no unlike her regular practice with most people who's paths she crossed. Even the majority of her meals never saw her teeth, and only felt them and their effects. Arcadia glanced down at her hands, rubbing her palms lightly against one another just to have something to do and look at. "I don't know what caused the changes t' me and my ability t' do as I do. The items that fell on me that day were largely unknown t' me, and I would not speak t' me mentor at length or in detail about what befell me out o' shame. It was his cabinet, and before he left on his journey he warned me that m' curiosity should not take me in the direction o' said cabinet. I was young, and foolish, and learned m' lesson t' be sure. I worked for decades at tryin' t' reverse the effects o' the accident, and nothin' I did made a dent o' difference."

"It is in Asgard as well, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding." Thor's smile came back then eyes rising to the door which swung open to reveal a beautiful young maiden, who may have been Arcadia's exact ideal idea for a meal. and she was carrying a a tray with an array of foods, fruits vegetable, meats, from turkey legs to steaks, sitting not he edge of the where a pair of nice frothy mugs. one of which thor picked up immediately and rose to arcadia. the woman she stuck around. whispering to arcadia.' the chef asked me to stay in case m'lady's tastes are not of the mortal variety.' "Would you join me in a drink Arcadia?"

It was true, that Arcadia's eyes were not on the food that the maiden brought in, but on the maiden herself. The woman was undeniably fetching, and the vampire's gaze landed right on her throat. She had fed before she had sent the healing and prayer to Thor, but the amount of energy she channeled through her and into the earth would be enough to make anyone hungry if they were presented by such a delicious-looking meal. When she tried to pry her eyes off the maiden's neck, her gaze went to a place that was just as bad - her bosom. That's exactly where Arcadia's golden eyes were fixed in a slightly wide-eyed stare as the maiden whispered into Arcadia's ear. "A....drink..." she echoed slowly, somewhat distantly as her eyes were still on the pretty female. Then she shook her head and blinked hard to snap herself out of it, a bit of color in her cheeks as she grabbed up the mug that had been set in front of her to do as the god wished. "Aye, aye o' course." Note she said nothing to the maiden. She felt too leery of Thor's reaction to watching her feed to say yes but...how could she bid a woman like that to bugger off?

Thor didnt care about how Arcadia fed. he knew she was a vampire, in fact she even said before that she was a blood drinker, it mattered not." to our new gardens... may they last through the coming of Ragnarok." raising the mug again, before bringing it to his lips and swallowing back the gold liquid. it was asgardian mead, and it would taste like the greatest thing ever in beverage form.

Well Arcadia didn't know what Thor thought about it, as the laconic man hadn't said a word about such matters. Not to mention that Arcadia was not the sort of vampire who read minds. She could, possibly, but quite purposefully had never explored that avenue and she took the proper precautions to make sure that no one could walk through her own thoughts. "T' the gardens," echoed Arcadia with a funny little smile. She raised her mug as the god did, and then tipped it back to drink. Perhaps the draught she took was larger than it would have been if she wasn't feeling a bit foolish and trying so hard to ignore the scent of the maiden and the girl's enticing heartbeat. She put her glass down with a winded little gasp - she was no drinker, and that mead surely tasted strong to her sensitive tongue. A few minutes would prove that fact, but for now she was just feeling a little flush. A hungry glance to the maiden, and off her tongue were these words before she could put a stopper on them, "Y' should have a sit, lass, right here." Arcadia's palm petted the seat next to her. The slight slur in her voice was not the effects of the mead, but Arcadia's thrall at work. Creeping out on her.

the girl complied and Thor helped himself to a steak from the tray, adding to his smaller plate a few veggies, yes the god knew the virtues behind a good diet, a healthy warrior was a strong warrior. a small cherry tomato popped into his mouth." The Chef only sends what he feels that his patrons would desire Arcadia... do not be afraid to indulge yourself." another drink form his mug. and a knife and fork taken to his slab of meat.

If Arcadia wanted to resist feeding in front of Thor, having the girl take a seat next to her was the absolutely wrong thing to do. Now the girl's scent was only stronger to Arcadia's predatory nose, her heart was close enough that she could sense its pulse within the girl's bosom as well as hear the beat echo softly in her ears, and worst of all the girl was in touching distance. Out Arcadia's hand went, cool fingertips rubbing over the soft of the girl's cheek as her golden eyes were fixed right on the maiden's, and no doubt there was power in that stare as well. Down the fingers stroked to the girl's neck as she murmured huskily, "Smart chef. I don't indulge in front o' anyone....most everyone..." she corrected in a distantly spoken afterthought as Arcadia's fingers slipped behind the girl's neck, pulling her in closer. The Doctor had seen her feed, after all, as had Donald and Adrian. As her palm urged the girl slowly into her lap, her other hand creeping around to press against the girl's backside to keep her position there, Arcadia's tongue peaked out to lick the girl's jaw with a soft hungry growl, pressing a kiss there which started to work its way to the throat.

A bite taken from his steak, and a little 'mmm' offered before another knife attack and then a bite. which thor chased with another drink." if you and the young lady would like some privacy i might go and ask the brewmaster if he would refresh my drink. provide you with time to indulge yours self.

"Mmm." That was the only reply to Thor, a noncommittal sound that was teeming with enthralled hunger. At this point, Arcadia was going to feed off this maiden even if there was an audience large enough to fill bleachers - the girl was close enough that they were chest to chest and Arcadia could feel the maiden's heart beating against her own cool bosom, and even a mere lick of the girl tasted sweeter than the apple she'd eaten a short time ago. Thor could do whatever he liked, as that is precisely what Arcadia was going to do. Her fingers sliding up into the girl's hair and gripping, her other hand kneaded the girl's well-formed backside as she drew her lips back to press her teeth into the sweetest part of the girl's throat. As the blood touched her wanting tongue Arcadia squeezed the girl against her, arms closing tighter as she pulled the succor with a deep, greedy drink. The sound that came from both the girl and Arcadia was undoubtedly erotic, but let it not be said that what Arcadia was doing right now was actually behaving in comparison to her usual nightly feeding rituals.

And thats exactly what Thor would do, finish off his mead, take his tankard and rise from his seat, making his way from the room, to refill his mug there. and he took a while. allowing arcadia a few minutes to start and or finish her business before returning. "I agree the warriors three do well to brighten the spirits of all... I shall deepen my search for them my friend." was heard before the door closed behind him. the god going back to his seat

There's no need to get into what exactly Arcadia did with the fetching maiden in Thor's absence. Needless to say, she sent the girl off with a murmur into her ear about giving compliments to the chef. Not only that, but as the girl waltzed her way dreamily out of the room she had quite the enamored smile upon her face to go with those two small punctures on her throat, and there were numerous other touches that she girl had pleasurably received which came with no markings to show them. It's possible the maiden was also humming when she slipped out to the room just after Thor entered. Arcadia was caught licking her fingers, or rather touching her fingers to her lips to wipe them clean of the evidence and then licking said evidence clean off of her fingers. "The warriors three?" She said that with such a casual, even tone as if she had done absolutely nothing here during his absence. Note how quick she was to entice him into conversation that wasn't about her, however. In the short silence that followed her question, she picked up the large mug and took a second sip. A palette cleanser, perhaps.

"The Warriors three, several of the finest warriors in Asgard. Volstagg the brave, Fandrall the Gallant, and Hogun the Brave, very rarely are the three found apart one another.... they are often, the life of the party as the humans say, their absence is most certainly noticed." taking a greater drink from the fresh mug, cutting another bit from his steak."

"Aye." What else was there to say to such a thing? That Thor was enjoying the spread of food before them and that she wasn't touching it was not something that occurred to Arcadia. She had been a vampire long enough now that such things weren't noticed by her any longer. The scores of balls and dinners and events that she had to attend with Adrian as his Countess had surely cemented that fact. A glass of wine in her hand and she had enough to keep her busy and turning a blind eye to the food being butled around her at those affairs. Her hand kept on her mug now, which she had set in her lap, back to an indian style manner of sitting in her chair. Between the blood and mead that she'd consumed thus far she was feeling warm, fuzzy and slightly carried away by fancy. "Where did they go off to?" Arcadia had not spoken to Donald about what had befallen Asgard, nor Thor at great length, and she was not raised upon this pantheon and her readings had not told her of the recent events of this place.


"They fell in the final great battle... I've yet to locate them in their human hosts..." Thor said with not mallice or woe, just as he was stating a simple fact, another bite taken from the steak, and a few more cherry tomatoes popped into his mouth." it is only a matter of time though, Asgard's halls have been populating more thoroughly of late... such is rather exciting."

"M' parents were taken in acts of war." It was quietly spoken to her mug, which is what she was staring down at when she said it. She could see her reflection in the liquid, watch her lips form the words and seeing herself say them unsettled her a bit though it certainly wouldn't show outwardly. "When I was still a tot. You're fortunate, t' have your people back. I hope it eases some o' the melancholy I felt from you when we spoke last." She did sincerely hope that, though part of her...a very deep inner part that lived on as the child watched her parents killed by men with swords, couldn't help but feel a bit bitter that for Thor and his fellow gods to come back was so 'easy'. Or that they could come back at all, whereas for her parents and all other mortals death was most often just that. Death.

"I am, Though i hope that more of the asir would be among those that i am able to find, i do rejoice in reuniting the families of the lesser gods... My heart weeps for your loss of your parents, no child should be robbed of those who granted them life... especially not that young. I truly am sorry."

"Unless it was by your hand there's little for y' to apologize for." A brief lift of her golden eyes to meet his own as she said that, before her gaze dropped back down to her mug. Her parents and the resulting twists of her childhood were two things she did not want to think on, not right now. This was probably the reason behind the slight shake of her head, before she took a fuller drink of her mead. It's taste was very different than wine, but not entirely displeasing. This particular drink of it hiccoughed a small bit of air from her, for which she excused herself before she attempted to change the topic, even if only slightly. "I should apologize for ignorance o' what you and your people have gone through. While the folk o' my mother country know well o' you and the others of Asgard, in such isolation as I was I was never taught such. The Elders taught that service was of nature and the Powers that Be, and those forces alone."

I understand as to why your elders would do such. I knew not of midgard until i was a young man. serving my deeds to earn to right to wield Mjolnir.... It is common of children in Asgard... first to be taught of the purpose they are meant to fill before learning of where it is they are meant to fill it." Thor took a final hearty swig of his second mug, setting it top down, it was empty." though i am glad I learned of Midgard when i did, there was much wrong to right in the land.

Arcadia looked surprised. What he just described was quite parallel to her own upbringing with the Elders. "Aye...as one of two legacies of m' people I was reared in a similar fashion. The Elders raised me after my parents passed, and as they reared me there were many trials and challenges and sufferin' I had t' face out o' necessity t' fulfill m' purpose...I did not leave Donagal until Rurik discovered a rather unorthodox and morally ambiguous thing the Elders were doin' t' me. He took me when I was not even fifteen t' his home, which was just on the other side o' the mountains...but it wasn't until after I left there and started wanderin' that I truly saw the full o' the world beyond m' doorstep." And much preferred said world far from her doorstep, but she left that bit unspoken. Arcadia's lips were loosening, and it was most likely the combination of the blood and the strong mead that did it. She tipped the glass back, taking two large gulps this time. She felt warm still, like she was wrapped in a blanket that covered her entirely, even her head, and she was feeling rather light...it was possible that that sensation had her no longer sitting on the wood of the chair, but rather an inch or two above it. When one was wed to the wind, such things happened if you weren't careful.

"Rurik? is he the man with whom you worked when you encountered your accident? what sort of man was he?" maybe that was thors intention to get her tongue to loosen, he was going to try and get more sensitive information perhaps.maybe. one could never really know with him. though he did want to know if she was or was not actually the goddess Idunn.

When she lowered the glass, one hand lifted quickly to her mouth to catch a dribble of mead down her bottom lip, and she licked her finger clean. "Aye, aye. He was m' mentor, he cared for me from the day that he took me from the Elders until his death a few years after the accident...a heart condition that he was keepin' quiet from me. I was too broken by his passin' t' think on it then, but lookin' back now after so many decades have passed I think he wished for his death....not as an escape, but as a completion o' his cycle that he was ready for. I never knew his age...when he came for me he was already an Elder himself, he was counsel and teacher t' many o' Donagal's Elders when they were in their swaddlin' clothes....From what I gathered - he wouldn't speak much on it, mind - I think he was once and Elder himself on the Counsel but there was a partin' o' ways...he was a common visitor t' Donagal, the Elders consulted him when confronted with challenges they knew not the answers to, but...he was not as Orthodox in their ways as they were...they often called him a renegade...but such a powerful man o' magic, sturdy as an oak and just as wise..." Arcadia gazed off into nowhere in particular as she remembered him, words spilling from her lips like water from a tap.

"He sounds as if he where a great man. death in an honorable action. through the education of others so that ignorance would not spread. I am certain he may have earned his seat in the halls of Valhalla.." Thor looked absolutely relaxed in his seat even slouching a bit. listening to her words. absorbing them, and offering his own in reply..." A warriors death is not only found upon the battlefields of war..."

[Arcadia Caughey]

"Aye, death is," said rather emphatically on her part as she leaned forward a bit with those words to add to her earnest, before reclining back. Even in reclining, her back didn't touch the back of the chair. "It's the completion o' Mother's perfect cycle...what lives dies and then will live again as a different part o' the cycle, all o' us together growin' dyin' feedin' and nuturin' each other throughout time...matter can be created and not destroyed y' know, even the scientists agree with and don't deny the cycle they've gone and proved it..." Yes. Arcadia was officially drunk. Her hand fell on her thigh with a little slap as she shook her head with discontent. "I was lookin' forward t' it, livin' out the cycle t' me end, but the damnable Powers seem t' insist that I get nothin' opposite that...the bloody accident, stoppin' m' agin' process though I'll never know if bein' a fixed point would have kept m' life goin' indefinitely but it doesn't matter now does it, because damned Venom attacked me and patched that possibility right up with his damnable blood...they just won't let me go anywhere," a gesture upwards at the divine 'they', "they just won't....."

"perhaps it is you are meant for things greater then life and death, meant to live outside of mothers cycle to enforce a greater will... have you ever before considered the accident brought what lay dormant within you already? perhaps that is why you have been unable to find a cure..."

"I am outside o' Mother's cycle." It was a resigned almost petulant mutter, during which she even folded her arms across her chest. The good thing was the quarter cup of mead that was still in the mug didn't tip or spill, it was nestled in the nook of Arcadia's crossed legs. A sigh was heaved after she grumbled that, along with a stubborn shake of her head. "The more years pass, the less connected t' other human folk I feel, and when I am around them I have t' endure their chidin' about what distant shut-in I am. Ice Queen, I've been called. Can y' believe tha'? Hermit, that's another one. And who knows what else whispered behind m' back but I can't help that most o' the folk I encounter aren't worth m' time o' day and that I find the dirt o' the earth and what she grows far more interestin'...." Arcadia picked up her mug, contents sloshing around as she gestured with it. "I can't find a cure because it's m' punishment," she spoke that word with a pop of her lips, "for bein' a curious insolent little git, lookin' in what I shouldn't o' been lookin' in and I have t' live out the consequences for the rest o' m' endless days..." that was how she always interpreted it, anyway. She tossed her head back as she took a huge gulp from the mead. "The taste grows on you..." she muttered into the mug after the sip.

"It is Asgardian mead, guaranteed to make you feel like a god. My father originated to recipe..." maybe a bit of a proud tone in his voice there, but he changed it."I don't think it is punishment Arcadia, I think it was more of an awakening... an awakening that you didnt know anything about... standing in ignorance of what had happened to you.. why is why you may think you've been punished... how is it though that punishment has offered you such an amazing gift?"

Feel like a god. Did he catch the look she gave him then? Not to mention the mug slowly found its way back to the table...for some reason in her considerably tipsy state she felt like putting the mug back in slow motion would draw the least amount of attention, though the opposite was probably true. "Because I don't belong...I've spent most o' me years on the outside o' things lookin' in...steppin' in long enough t' teach and train and help and heal but then I'd step right back out when the business was done just couldn't stand t' forge relationships any deeper than that until recent years, until after Adrian's blood took the place o' the work done by Venom's....but even now it's precious few people I keep company with and it's harder and harder for me t' spend time in pubs or inns or anywhere with people just t'....be with people...and awaken bullocks!" she said with another smack to her thigh. "M' da was the legacy before me and nothin' was awoken like this not even in his moment o' death and so it was with all the legacies before him and same for Archer's line...."

"It matters not whom your parents are, Fate often choses one to share a life with another... I believe Arcadia, that you where one of the chosen... tasked with guarding within you the being of the keeper of groves here in Asgard... I believe that the reason I have been unable to locate the Goddes Idunn is that she has awakened before I could find her.

First he's telling her she's drinking stuff that would make her feel like a god, and next he'd telling her she's a house for a god just like Donald. She couldn't stay seated. She couldn't. She didn't even try to, really, she was up and out of her chair before the man could even finish speaking, pacing the length of the room before whirling around and pointing a finger at him from where she stood. "I already house plenty, thank y' very much to you King o' the God Castle, without y' tryin' t' make me rent more room inside o' me. M' carryin' half o' some bloody ancient thing in a cage inside o' me that simply cannot be allowed t' be whole out of damnable duty t' me people, the same people who tried t' split parts of me off but not well enough so they grew into different bloody people and I got three o' them rattlin' around in me mind and takin' me over whenever they get loud enough that I can't ignore them anymore, and now you're goin' t' try t' shove a stick in my hand and tell me t' bang it on the ground like poor Donald whenever one o' your divine folk feels like stealin' me body too?! I fixed your garden! I gave y' a prayerful healin' when normally I'd drop dead before I'd pray t' a god, if I could drop dead that is. And this...this...!!" is how he repaid her, was the unfinished part of the sentence. Her golden eyes shot her unfinished mug of mead a murderous look, sending her wind out like a ball to knock it off the table so it spilt and clattered on the floor. "That's what I think about that!" she concluded in a shrill huff. Precious few ever saw Arcadia behave this way, and it went beyond inebriation. She'd dropped the wise cool calm collected sageliness from her personality. This was the eternal youth rearing its ugly head.

Arcadia, I'm not saying that at all... I do not mean for there to be a miscommunication.... -Thor stood too, taking her her pointing finger, he didn't look very up beat anymore. rather forlorn now.- I merely think that she is already awake within you, you already stand with her, as an equal in mind and body... I believe that is what the accident did to you...I thought nothing until i noticed the ground of Asgard accept you so readily as it did... how quickly it was you where able to bring her plants from hibernation... I am very thankful Arcadia, do not think that I am not... I simply an not a man who hold back what his mind wishes to be spoken."

Arcadia stopped pointing. So that she could fold her arms across her chest, very tightly so as if she was trying to hug herself through this. She was silent. Eyes fixed no point in particular, just on him. She was thinking about the series of events. The accident happened. Arcadia was horrified at how it changed her - inside, outside, in totality. She'd replicated what the Elders did, splitting that part of her off and suppressing it. The Earth Mother. Until the time about two years ago where she'd reconciled with the parts of her that she'd split off herself, accepting what the accident had done...accepting it privately, at least. "Who am I then?" She asked finally, barely above a whisper. "Someone else?" The goddess he mentioned is obviously who she meant, but there was no way she was going to ask out loud if she was a divine someone else. The fact she'd managed to ask anything at all was more than enough for her.

"You are who you have grown to be... a child raised of the earth, taught to treat its gifts well, and protect the lands of her being...I believe you carry the light of Idunn within you... it is true that you and she carry many similarities...You are nothing more then you already know yourself to be... I believe I have discovered the source of your accident, that is all I mean to say

Words could be so deceiving. The way they can be arranged to say something in a manner which appeased a person when the true meaning of those words wouldn't appease them at all. That's what Arcadia felt about Thor's words just then. It was the same thing he'd said earlier which got the large reaction out of her, just in a 'break it to you gently' sort of fashion. A sugar coat. "I hope you're not phrasin' it so just t' keep me from knockin' stuff about the room, because you're not the only one who can command a storm." That could be taken as a threat, but she didn't mean it like that. She was just being honest. She could cause a storm and her temper was a storm all of its own when she lost her handle on it. She leaned against the wall that was just behind her, turning in a way that she half turned her back on him. "Y' think y' refuted m' belief. Y' didn't. If what y' say is true you've only proved it. A punishment. I don't belong down below, I don't belong up here....m' like some sort of Frankenstein monster, a bloody accident fusin' together what shouldn't be together so, if y' were t' put your point more bluntly." At least that's how she understood it, which...could be a potential misunderstanding considering the way she saw what had happened to her and the sheer amount of years she'd been viewing it so.

The Thunderer shook his head then."No, I don't mean that at all Arcadia, I mean to imply that you are welcome here in Asgard, should you ever desire to be within her walls... know that she will welcome you as one of her own... Perhaps I am wrong, and I see connections where there are none... may that be the case, you are still welcome here, in this place. in this city. and you would not find a single within her walls that would disagree with me." well since Loki was off base right now that was true.

As Loki had little interest in fauna and so on, she would most likely find Arcadia small potatoes in comparison to her greater aims. Now if Loki got wind of Arcadia's fractures...then it might be a different story. Arcadia remained against the wall, now pressing her back completely against the stone, arms still hugging around her as she let silence speak for her while she thought all this over. Her decision was to say nothing more on it. He could not prove his point, or at least if he could he had no desire to prove it, so there was no reason to dwell more on it. Right now. When she was returned to Rhy'din, however. She would be paying a visit to her brother. Which one? Perhaps both of them, but most likely the Doctor. She didn't want to even hear Archer's opinion on Thor's theory or Thor as a god or her yet again tainted by something that wasn't the duty of their legacy. They'd just made peace with each other about her vampirism. This would probably start the whole damned cycle over again. The Doctor it would be. Until then, she pushed away from the wall, heading back to the chair she abandoned. "M' sorry for that. M' behavior...in the middle o' a meal when m' a guest here by your invitation and ye've been nothin' but kind...it wasn't right o' me."

"think nothing more of it Arcadia, it is I who should appologize... I allow my desire to see my land united to cloud my judgement at time, and for that I am sorry..."Thor himself returning to his seat then."

She took her seat as well. It was striking how she could be in such a tempest one moment and a paragon of smooth decorum the next. So the rest of this visit in Asgard passed with pleasant but more importantly 'safe' conversation that had nothing to do with her past or her present or her possible fusion with a goddess of this land. But while it wasn't spoken of aloud, it was the weight on her mind for the remainder of her visit. And she was no fool; with the way the Thunder God had mentioned it to her, the earnest on his face and his tone of stolid certainty which had retreated only because of her temper, all those things told her the issue was most likely on Thor's mind too. The elephant in the room, as the saying goes, walking invisible between them until her return to Midgard after the end of their meal. They parted ways affably, thanks exchanged on both sides. As soon as the god moved on with his business, Arcadia began her next journey with haste - she needed the counsel of a certain Doctor.

[end!]

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