It's a Bird, It's a Plane

[betarade_spill]

Aw, shucks. It's that large, funny-talking horse dude with the winged helmet. What's he doing with that big wooden sign? Hammering it into the ground in the Forum? And, what does it say? "FREE PIGGYBACK RIDES." He can't be serious. Who would trust this huge, jolly weirdo (even if he does clean out demons like it's his day job)? The long-snouted thief of Thor's wardrobe must be nearly seven feet tall, and he's wide enough to weigh a quarter ton!

Oh, great. He's hovering. He must really be insane to expect anyone to go FLYING with him. The 'man' looks like some kind of monster. And, is he looking this way? Too late to hide...

"Wouldst thou care to take to the sky with Beta Ray Bill?" The joy of flight is apparently worth sharing. Boy, someone must be in a good mood...

((Note: any characters taking Bill up on this offer are in danger of seriously getting their hair mussed. Horse jokes may result in one unassisted flight lesson...just one))

Comments

[brave_heart_verity]

What's with Asgardians and the double names all the time?

"I mean, you have to take time for yourself. You have to take care of yourself."

[betarade_spill]

Some things just are the way they are and there's no fighting them. Bill should have a sign around his neck that says, 'DON'T TELL ME YOUR WHOLE NAME' But hey, she'll always know which 'Verity,' of the endless droves, Bill is referring to.

"Tis a blessing, then: Each sojourn I gather, to this world betwixt worlds, seemeth not to advance mine own docket more than a hair." It seems giving piggyback rides in the Nexus is a day off for Bill.

[brave_heart_verity]

Because it's such a common name. Really racing up the baby name charts.

"Oh, that's lucky for you. It's good you found your way here."

[betarade_spill]

It's only too bad she's not named 'Verily Willis,' as it would really simplify the conversation. Bill nods at his good luck, but they really have that in common.

"Tis true, and I come and go on a whim. Each tarriance here doth refresh. I suspect, how'ere, thou art even more fortunate than I. " Heck, not just he and she.

[brave_heart_verity]

'Verily, Verily' sounds like the start of a nursery rhyme.

"Oh yeah? How so?" She's not discounting that it is extremely fortunate for her that she has a safe place into which she can retreat. But she's not sure that counts as being luckier than he is.

[betarade_spill]

Although Bill believes overall it's a wash as to who's (un-)luckier, he can traverse space and time, for the most part, at will.

"The Nexus doth seem well-stocked with refugees, now that I ponder upon it. But when I sojourn here, it be by choice." Of course, she could have interdimensional traveling abilities he's totally unaware of, which would be totally handy for when the universe ends.

[brave_heart_verity]

He's definitely the lucky one, as far as she's concerned.

"Yeah, we. It's not. It's not the sort of club I want more people to join..." She's a little lost now.

[betarade_spill]

It doesn't matter. He dismisses the whole subject with a gesture, waving his hand low.

"I pray thy stay thus far hath been pleasant?"

[brave_heart_verity]

Okay then.

"Mostly. Except for the demons."

[betarade_spill]

He hisses a purring predatory hiss, the kind that unhappy tigers make. The kind of thing that belies his usual human-like presence. But his face, his voice seem a little ashamed.

"If only I had glimpsed it forthwith! They could have been driven back at the onset!"

Even Stormbreaker throbs with energy unhappily.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Whoa. Hey. What happened is nobody's fault. Nobody did anything wrong that led to that. It just. Sometimes bad things happen." This sort of thing is not really in her wheelhouse, but she's got to try. If for no other reason than to keep Katsuya from feeling guilty again.

[betarade_spill]

Perhaps a little more darkly than usual, he says, "Those beasts which strayed not into this realm were the luckiest of all."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Uh. Yes. That's true." Definitely Asgardian. As in, scary.

[betarade_spill]

"Unscathed, wert thee?" Yoda approves of this sentence.

[brave_heart_verity]

Yoda and Bill would get along so well.

"Yes, I.. just helped get people organized and away from the fighting. I never really saw what was happening most of the time."

[betarade_spill]

"Ah, well done." Because if you can't beat them, it's totally understandable to run like a scalded dog. Looking out for others instead was admirable.

"A haphazard retreat can cost life and limb."

[brave_heart_verity]

She's still not used to being praised for that kind of thing, so it's a delight and a surprise.

"Thank you. I'm guessing you were the light show I saw?" It's hard to miss that kind of thing, even from a distance.

[betarade_spill]

"Hmmmm," he thinks back. Demon invasion, in the Nexus. Recent. Okay, that's right, giant centipede thing.

"Aye, I did strike the critter-beast with mine best thunderbolt." Honey, you'll never guess what happened to me at work, today.

"Such a fickle thing, lightning. Here be the most bizarre I hath ever commanded."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Really? The lightning here is different than in other places?" She thought electricity was electricity. Who knew?

[betarade_spill]

"...wouldst thou care to feel the lightning that dwells in this enclave realm-betwixt-realms?"

He held out his hammer to her, upside down, so that the grip was facing her. It hummed with magical energy.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Oh. I. Um. I wouldn't be worthy." She has no illusions about who she is, and what she isn't. She never has.

[betarade_spill]

Made for two mitts larger than a human's, there's room aplenty on Stormbreaker's outstretched handle.

"Worthy enough for a peck, by my tally."

Nobody is promised tomorrow. Bill won't force her into anything, but his white eyes seem to say, 'you may regret it if you don't.'

[brave_heart_verity]

There's a moment's hesitation before she reaches out to just barely touch her fingers to the handle. She's not sure what these hammers do, exactly, when the unworthy touch them and she's frankly scared to find out. Sure, Loki can tug and tug on Mjolnir without getting electrocuted, but she's only mortal.

[betarade_spill]

The winds, the clouds, the currents of magnetic electricity surging between the flowing magma beneath the ground and the swirling ocean of the atmosphere above. Like lovers forever barred from each other, stealing a kiss only when the conditions are most favorable, Bill can feel it all through his hammer. And for this moment, so can Verity.

The energy fills one's body like a neon balloon, somehow making it feel as though one were some statue, not truly living until this moment. And like an echo, there is the memory not too distant of how lightning should feel. A fickle beast, seeking to find its own way, like a mostly homogeneous herd of wild horses only loosely aligned. But the echo betrays the Nexus' unique energy, where centaurs and unicorns, Clydesdales and Arabians all struggle for dominance, corralled by only the most skillful of wranglers.

Bill flexes the control he is so blessed with. The control beyond the power and command of the elements; there is his innate will and finesse as master over them. Like angels, sparks of Nexus lightning begin to dance around the two touching Stormbreaker. They are easily seen, but there is so much more than what can be seen, vision truly becomes a hindrance. Even Bill is only meant and able to sense but so much at once.

"Close thy eyes, Verity Willis."

A truly beautiful description, well done!

[brave_heart_verity]

"Oh." It's such a tiny word to hold so much meaning. She had no idea. She's not much given to poetry, but this is beauty. This is the sort of thing people die for and she finally understands why. Her life has always been so small, and even after she was taken out of the box she'd made for herself she hadn't dared to let much in, or out. What a waste.

The dance of lights around them is mesmerizing. How can he expect her to look away? But she does, eventually, close her eyes. The lights will be dancing in her vision no matter how tightly shut against it.